There appears to be picking and choosing going on on both sides here. Yes, Nanosys has an automated batch reactor, but per your post:
"staff members monitor the growth of the crystals by shining light on them and measuring the wavelength of the fluorescence; the smallest crystals don’t fluoresce at all, then, as the crystals get larger, the wavelength changes. Nanosys stops the process when the fluoresced light hits the target wavelength"
So it does not appear to be fully automated system since it requires staff to evaluate samples over time and stop the process when they think the reaction has reached the appropriated stage. Not what I would consider the most sophisticated process system.
However, as pointed out in Clay's recent writeup, the QMC continuous flow micro reactor is fully automated and maintains tight control over the quality of the end product.
"One of the key features of both machines is that they are equipped with a sophisticated laser system that monitors the output side of the system in real time measuring the performance specs of quantum yield (or brightness level) and FWHM on the fly to ensure each batch of quantum dots is exactly to spec."
From a technical standpoint, I found this fact to be the most significant new item in the latest writeups since it helps to confirm to me that the continuous flow micro process is superior to the semi-automated batch process being used by others.
Of course, this is just my opinion based on a BS in physics, graduate work in Nuclear Engineering including thermodynamics, fluid and quantum mechanics, working for 30+ years as a design engineer in complex nuclear power plants, etc.
