Q) When did NanoArk Corporation introduce Waferfiche technology as a product in the market place?

Ans) NanoArk Corporation introduced the Waferfiche Technology in May 2008

 

Q) In what capacity are your customers primarily using the product?

Ans) Our current customers intend to use this product as an archival as well as a reference copy. They are very appreciative of the fact that the data stored on this medium is very stable and can last for centuries in normal environmental conditions. The Waferfiche technology advances the move towards green living by limiting the dependence on power hungry devices such as computers and data servers. It also provides cost savings since special climate-controlled environments are not needed for storing the Waferfiche.

 

Q) Why wouldn't customers be concerned that your readers for the stored data may be unable to read the data as technology changes?  How is this concern any different from a customer attempting to read data stored on a 5 ¼ floppy disc today when desktops no longer provide this reading capability?

Ans) Information archived on the Waferfiche can be retrieved electronically (by connecting a USB cable to the embedded flash memory) or optically. Due to the fact that an analog image of the data is archived on the silicon wafer, retrieval is independent of the technology changes (eg. file format changes etc) as these images are human readable with/without magnification. As a result, a Waferfiche reader can be assembled using off the shelf components (light source, magnification and XY stage are the main components).

 

Q) Are there any other types of data other than textual, grayscale images and drawings that can be stored on Waferfiche?

Ans) At this time, Waferfiche technology can archive only textual, grayscale images and line drawings that include graphs, construction and industrial drawing.

 

Q) Can you store data that is in color?

Ans) NanoArk has a patent pending technology that enables archival of true color information. However, research and development is under progress to design a commercially viable process. This technology is expected to be released into the market by May 2010.

 

Q) Is the Waferfiche storage capability limited to one time use only?

Ans) Since, Waferfiche is a Write-Once-Read-Many media data archived on this media is permanently archived. As a result, the media cannot be reused. 

 

Q) You mentioned in your presentation that the life expectancy of Waferfiche is 500 years.  The manufacturers of polyester base roll film also make the same claim.  In fact there are those in the archival filed that also claim that microfiche that are film base also have a 500 year life expectancy.  If one assumed that all three products indeed have a 500 year life expectancy, what are the benefits of using your technology over the other two? 

Ans) Microfilm manufacturers list the life expectancy of the film to be 500 years. However, this is valid only if the film is stored under controlled temperature and humidity settings. Any deviation from the listed conditions would reduce the life of the microfilm drastically. Data stored on the Waferfiche is very stable and doesn't require expensive climatic conditions. Short-term exposures to high temperatures, water, electric/magnetic fields and sunlight do not affect the Waferfiche.

 

Q) Does the portability of the readers allow for multiple uses across desktops?

Ans) Currently, the reader is configured for single user system. However, depending upon customer requirements, custom configurations could be provided that enable multiple users across a network.

 

Q) If the Waferfiche becomes our preservation storage media, how do we get back to .pdf if we lose or destroy the .pdf?  In other words, what are the issues in recreating the .pdf if our .pdf is lost, damaged or destroyed?

Ans) In the embedded flash memory of a Waferfiche, we store the customer data PDF and PNG formats along with the TIFF image format. For example, if a PDF document is given to us for archiving, we store the PDF document along with the tiff images in the flash memory. This data can be retrieved using a standard USB cable. In an event of a disaster, the analog images stored on the Waferfiche can be retrieved using our Waferfiche reader which outputs in tiff format. These tiff pages can then be converted to PDF using off-the-shelf software packages.

 

Q) If I can view the Waferfiche through the USB port why do I need a reader?

Ans) The life expectancy of the flash memory is only 10-15 years. We provide the flash memory for enabling ease of retrieval (the luxury of retrieval of archived documents straight to your laptop/pc anywhere and anytime). However, if you wish to access the documents on the Waferfiche after 20 years or would like to access the documents in an event of disaster (which could result in loss of data due to hard drive crash, fire/water damage, electric/magnetic field/ radiation), the only technology-independent recovery would be optical retrieval of the data stored on the silicon wafer.

 

Q) What are the dimensions of the Waferfiche, length, width, and height?

Ans) The dimensions of the Waferfiche are as follows: Height: 8.3", Width: 7", Thickness: 0.46"