What do holders make of this?
I take it as a very positive release, but it begs the question of whether and when chips will be in the hand to demo! And when will prospects be available to demo to. Both delays are clearly pointed to as being a result of COVID.
I can only assume, given the closing statements, that this is "imminent".
And I can only assume that this is only dependent on:
a) receiving final packaged chips, because we have been assured that every other hurdle in making and packaging them has been overcome, and;
b) that once chips are in our hands, doing demonstrations is achievable, and;
c) getting bums on seats to attend actual planned demos then becomes the final piece of the jigsaw, because prospects have clearly indicated their intent to attend.
That is what was clearly signalled to be done by or before the end of Feb 2021.
If that had happened it would presumably have been covered by the Significant events since the end of this period.
The only problem with all of this is that the announcement does not clearly state that:
a) We definitively have finished chips, and even though they are apparently with the packager, the packager is in Israel, and they will be available for whenever we can arrange a demo.
b) We are ready for and have arranged definite demos, and customers have agreed to come to them, however we have not been able to arrange them in a time or place because of COVID uncertainties.
The absence of such clear statements disturbs me somewhat.
Review of operations [Jan - Dec 2020]
As has been reported throughout the period, achievements were technical in nature, focused on advancing the Company’s proven prototype technologies into a mass-production product. The main focus of the period has been an intensive effort to combine the company’s accomplishments into working devices that can serve as product demonstrators as well as engineering samples for select customers.
The primary highlight of the period was the successful sampling of playing chips while still in wafer form in our cleanroom. As has been demonstrated the sound clarity and low frequency range of the chip was incomparable to any currently available technologies of similar form factor. Activities required to reach this milestone involved changes to structural design and fabrication processes of our MEMS transducer, advancements of algorithms, signal processing, chip assembly and packaging, measurement capabilities, as well as the design and production of electronic circuitry required to demonstrate the technology.
It should be noted that the global COVID-19 pandemic caused and continues to cause incongruities into our plans, forcing management to constantly adjust timelines involved in migrating the success of the technology demonstration out of the noisy environment of the cleanroom, where suitable assessment can be conducted by industry and customers.
Highlights of particular activities as follows:
· MEMS Fabrication – during the period a number of flaws in the fabrication process were detected as contributing factors to the functional failure of devices, lower than expected yields, as well as diminishing life-cycles. Correcting such shortcomings required improvements to the fabrication process as well as a number of relatively minor changes to the structural design that serve to reduce dependencies on manufacturing tolerances. The modifications to both the design and fabrication process have been proven to be sufficientlyeffective as to sanction the fabrication of larger quantities of wafers required to serve the objectives of product demonstration / engineering samples. Additional process optimization activities remain ongoing in an effort to improve device yield (i.e. number of good chips per wafer).
· Device Performance – Recent advancements in computational modeling tools has for the first time permitted the possibility to simulate the acoustic phenomena that are relevant and prevalent in our MEMS transducers. The company is currently bringing a highly advanced dynamically coupled system online, that enables analysis and prediction of the acoustic performance of our structures. The addition of such capabilities to the company’s “toolbox” is a significant gamechanger to achieve and maintain technological superiority, as such simulation capabilities which have not been feasible before, empower the company to use a software-only approach to explore and predict the influence most any structural or functional modification might have on the acoustic performance of the device.
· New Generation ASIC – during the reporting period the company authorized a redesign of its proprietary Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) controller – the component responsible for converting algorithms into precision electrical signals required to drive our MEMS transducer. The primary impetus for this undertaking was to improve controls of the Simplified Acoustic Half Structure.
· Measurement Capabilities – During the reporting period the company undertook a major upgrade and expansion of its test and measurement equipment and capabilities. This effort was deemed necessary to support the inclusion of packaged chips to the test and measurement capabilities as well as to support the characterization of larger quantities of wafers and chips, for longer periods of times.
· Demonstration Capabilities - During the reporting period the company expended considerable resources designing and building electronic circuitry that enable the company to demonstrate and showcase the capabilities of our technologies. This effort also included developments associated with the packaging of individual chip as well as chip arrays (multichip demonstration). Effort in this regard including the qualification and addition assembly and packaging vendor, located locally in order to help overcome logistical complexities spurred by the COVID pandemic experienced by our European based vendors and their global suppliers.
While a number of technical issues arose during the reporting period, solutions have been identified and successfully implemented to resolve all known challenges. Overall, the magnitude of accomplishments achieved during the reporting period present a positive outlook on the company’s ability to reach in a timely manner, its next critical milestone involving demonstrating our technology to the marketplace.
Further information concerning the operations and financial condition of the entity can be found in the financial report and in releases made to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) during the year.
Changes in state of affairs
There was no significant change in the state of affairs of the company or the consolidated entity other than that referred to in the financial statements or notes thereto.
Significant events after balance date
There has not been any matter or circumstance that has arisen since the end of the financial year which is not otherwise dealt with in this report or in the financial statements, that has significantly affected or may significantly affect the operations of the company or the consolidated entity, the results of those operations or the state of affairs of the company or the consolidated entity in subsequent financial years.
Future Developments
The consolidated entity will continue to focus on the development of its digital speaker technology.
(20min delay)