Instruments - Controls - Electronics : Innovation + Job News

Zia Systems says it has a better way to keep track of inventory and equipment. And now, it's using its patented technology to tap into what it says is an $8 billion to $10 billion pipeline rehabilitation industry.

Zia, which has an office at the National Environmental Technology Incubator at Central State University near Springfield, is the outgrowth of efforts that began in 1997 when equipment was stolen from Zia CEO and co-founder Jack Conte's construction company.

Conte asked two remote monitoring experts -- brothers Larry and Gary Rapp (Zia's chief technology officer and chief operating officer, respectively) -- to investigate ways to devise a security system around the construction site.

The first application was built on existing GPS and cellular technology, Gary Rapp says, and allowed Conte to track trucks and equipment on job sites. Later, the technology was extended to government contractor Washington Group International, which was moving equipment for construction in Iraq.

"We said there is a market out there for GPS tracking devices," Gary says. "But the market had so many players, that's really something we didn't necessarily want to stay in, and we thought 'can we build our own system that's unique.'?"

The result was a patented system using tracking tags and sensors to keep track of just about anything within a defined area, like a building, warehouse or field. If a tagged object is moved, sensors can send an alert to a smart phone, or a call center or a computer.

While the technology has a number of applications, Zia's target market today is the infrastructure rehabilitation industry -- specifically, storm water and sewer pipelines that rely on resin liners that are cured with heat. Zia technology can measure temperatures every 10 to 20 feet, rather than just at the manholes, which is where temperature readings have typically been taken.

While the technology for now is being applied to locate specific temperatures along a liner, Conte says the next step is to provide sensors to track the exact position of the liners.

The five-person company recently landed its first order for pipeline sensors -- 10,000 lineal feet of product.

Sources: Jack Conte, Gary Rapp and Larry Rapp, Zia Systems
Writer: Gene Monteith

Imagine an imaging technology that can identify TNT or anthrax beneath a terrorist's clothes. That's exactly the kind of capability the Columbus startup Traycer wants the world to have.

Conceived in an Ohio State University lab, incorporated in 2007 and housed in the TechColumbus incubator, Traycer is already attracting attention for its promising terahertz -- or "T-ray" -- technology.

"Terahertz is just a different wavelength of light," explains Don J. Burdette, director of scientific research. "It falls between infrared and microwave, so there are a lot of applications for infrared technology -- you know, catching the bad guys running from the cops."

But many materials that aren't easily detected using infrared or microwave can be readily identified using T-rays. "So this has a lot of applications for spectroscopy, food quality control, chemical detection under people's clothing, detection of breast cancer -- the applications abound."

That potential has attracted the attention of TechColumbus, which in early 2008 awarded it $500,000 in pre-seed funds. And it's caught the eye of the U.S. Air Force.

"We're in our third contract with the Air Force to prove out the technology," says CEO Brad Beasecker. "And there certainly are numerous applications within the department of defense."

The company is working with a variety of partners -- including IDCAST (Institute for the Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology) in Dayton, where it has lab space -- and numerous Ohio and out-of-state universities.

Beasecker says the three-person company was expected to close this week on an investment round led by Ohio Techangels. But it's most important next step lies ahead.

"We've got to finish the camera. It's pretty simple."

If all goes as planned, Traycer could be in the marketplace early next year and "generate a new industry based here in Ohio," Beasecker says.

Sources: Brad Beasecker and Don J. Burdette, Traycer
Writer: Gene Monteith

If you've got a complex system -- a jet engine, for example -- the last thing you can afford is for it to fail at a crucial time. Frontier Technology says it has a way to predict those failures well before they can happen.

Frontier, whose top executives are based in Dayton, is commercializing a pattern recognition system called NormNet, which can analyze any system that uses sensors and predict when a component will fail, says Frontier senior scientist Sam Boykin.

Boykin says the technology began as a project with the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Along the way, the company has benefited from several Ohio Third Frontier grants and is nearing the end of a two-year, $350,000 commercialization grant.

Boykin says the technology has been successfully demonstrated to a number of companies, including Caterpillar, Parker Hannifin and General Electric Aviation. NormNet has also been tested at wind farm companies in Texas and on jet engines for the British Air Force.

"It's a software solution," Boykin says, and works "as long as there are some kind of sensors on the system. So when the system is operating healthy, the system creates relationships between each sensor and all the others. That's really how (NormNet) is able then to predict -- when it sees the degradation, it sees one of these relationships start to change."

He adds that "in all cases, we've been able to predict these failures -- sometimes days and weeks ahead of where they actually occurred."

Frontier's Dayton operations employ 20, including the addition of two to three new jobs over the past two years.

Source: Sam Boykin, Frontier Technology
Writer: Gene Monteith

Athens-based Sunpower soon could see its super-efficient engine technology blast into the heavens though a partnership with NASA.

Sunpower founder William Beale, a former Ohio University professor, developed Sunpower's signature Stirling engine � a free-piston Stirling engine that will run for 100,000 hours without stopping � that's been the basis for the company's cryo-coolers, engines and compressors. Beale developed the technology in the 1970s, but it's been refined over decades.

Sunpower's cryocoolers have long cooled down highly sensitive sensors, including medical devices, nuclear material detection devices and their engines have been developed for solar, biomass, diesel, and natural gas generators. But recently the company has set its sights higher, into space to be exact, through a partnership with NASA that will launch Sunpower technology into deep space.

"When we started, this technology had just been invented, now we have commercial cryocoolers products and engines designed for space applications," company CEO and president Mark Schweizer said. "Our engineering services today are all around NASA. Going forward we're developing engines for terrestrial applications (solar power generation and critical remote power) for commercial customers."

Under the joint sponsorship of NASA and the Department of Energy, Sunpower is helping developed a high-efficiency Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (or ASRG) for future NASA Space Science and Exploration missions.

Sunpower is developing two Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs), operating at a hot-end temperature of 650 degrees Celsius for the ASRG. It's a joint project, along with Lockheed Martin and the NASA Glenn Research Center  of Cleveland.

The company's work with NASA has fueled expansion. Sunpower has grown 32 percent in the last two years, and now employs 71. Many of the employees are engineers and technicians, many who have been recruited from Ohio University and nearby Hocking College respectively.

Source: Mark Schweizer, Sunpower
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

When Kent Displays launched Improv Electronics as a new business unit Jan. 21, the company expected its first direct-to-consumer product to be popular. What it didn't expect was that, in a matter of days, its U.S. distributor -- Amazon.com -- would be sold out.

Buyers are boogieing toward what, at first glance, is a big step up from the Magna Doodle and giant leap from the Magic Slate -- that plastic-over-wax tablet that kids once used to sketch animals and nasty notes to siblings.

It's the Boogie Board, and unlike lower-tech, paperless writing tablets, it capitalizes on Kent Displays' "ReflexTM, no power LCD technology."

"The image is completely produced by the ambient light reflecting off of the display," explains Kevin Oswald, Kent Displays' communications director. "And because it reflects off of the display, there's no power required. When you write on it, that writing will stay on there indefinitely until I push the erase button."

The company sees the Boogie Board as an alternative to sticky notes, memo pads, and other paper-intensive writing tools. At half the size of a steno pad, it can fit into a purse, briefcase, or backpack.

People with physical disabilities might also find the Boogie Board useful, Oswald says. "If you've got a speech problem due to an injury or a birth defect, this is a board you can write on."

Oswald declined to say how many of the units have been sold, but said the company is working to keep supplies ahead of demand. In the meantime, the new product has contributed to a boost in employment from 60 last fall to more than 75 now.

Source: Kevin Oswald, Kent Displays
Writer: Gene Monteith

Innova once made the delivery boxes that kept your pizza warm. Today, it's developing systems designed to keep the heat off of American military personnel.

Formed in 1994 as the offspring of CJ Laser Corp., Innova has its hands in numerous high-tech applications based on its expertise in lasers and other photonics applications.

Innova President Nilesen Gokay and her husband, Cem Gokay -- the firm's executive vice president -- say their relationship with researchers at the University of Dayton, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and a number of startup companies in the instruments- controls-and electronics industry has powered the firm's growth.

"We have a 7,000 square foot facility, and its going to grow to a 11,000-square-foot facility," says Cem Gokay. "(A year ago), we had five employees; now we have 17."

Innova is working with companies like FLIR Systems, which makes thermal imaging cameras, and Carl Zeiss Inc., which makes advanced optical lenses, to build systems needed for stabilized gimbals -- technology used in the noses of aircraft or ships to home in on military targets. Innova is also working with fellow Daytonian STAN Solutions to add capabilities to a mega-pixel camera STAN is refining for military applications.

Yet, the Gokays describe their main goal during the past two years as working to bring in larger defense companies to the Dayton region -- and lay groundwork for additional training capabilities for the industry.

Those efforts have led to Portland, Ore.,-based FLIR establishing a sales office in the community as a precursor to setting up production operations, says Cem Gokay. He says similar efforts are under way with Zeiss, and that "we hope that by end of 2010 we will be in the manufacturing phase with both."

Sources: Nilesen and Cem Gokay, Innova
Writer: Gene Monteith

Disney, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Advance Auto Parts know what's hot. This trio of major companies is among many who've tapped Youngstown's SenSource to count "people traffic" through thermal imaging technology.

SenSource was founded in 2002 by President Joseph Varacalli and Vice-President Kevin Stefko. Varacalli, an electrical engineer, has more than two decades experience in sensor manufacturing, while Stefko is a veteran district sales manager.

In SenSource's short life, the company has developed a variety of high-tech counters that track people, retail traffic and pedestrians through body heat. Companies use these counters for a variety of reasons like monitoring staffing needs, measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and identifying effective sales people. SenSource also offers vehicle counters and environmental counters that monitor temperature and humidity.

A number of well-known retailers have used this thermal imaging technology, including Famous Footware, Lacoste, Vera Bradley, Skechers and Vitamin World. Libraries, too, use counters to monitor library traffic.

Disney is one of SenSource's latest clients. SenSource declined to divuldge exactly why Disney is using the product, but it's been reported that one use is to gauge wait times in lines at amusement parks.

"Disney is known for being particular about every detail of its business, making us pleased that they would chose to work with SenSource," says company Marketing Coordinator Jessica Sferra.

SenSource has grown from two employees at its founding to 12, including two hired in 2009 in product support and marketing. The company plans to hire two more sometime this year.

Source: Jessica Sferra, SenSource
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

Born out of tragedy, Dayton-based STAN Solutions believes the work it's doing will lessen the chances of similar incidents in the future.

"Stan Harriman was a friend of my brother's," explains J. Tony Manuel, president of the Dayton company that now bears Harriman's name. "He was on patrol in Afghanistan with my brother. There was an insurgency in the area, and an air strike was called in to provide assistance. They saw my brother, but they didn't see Stan."

Manuel said the loss spurred Chris Manuel to ask Tony if something could be done to prevent friendly-fire casualties in the future.

Manuel, a former engineering instructor at Sinclair Community College, launched STAN Solutions in 2002 to do just that, starting with three questions that have dogged militaries for centuries: Where am I? Where are my buddies? And where is the enemy?

Today, the answers are coming for the first time using a real-time network using video, data and text -- a system that now allows military personnel in places like Afghanistan and Iraq lessen friendly-fire casualties and civilian deaths.

Meanwhile, the company has continued to branch out into new network capabilities and sensor technologies that show promise in both military and civilian applications. STAN currently has the sole licensing rights to a super-camera developed by Israel-based Adaptive Imaging Technologies. STAN is making refinements to the instrument's capabilities to provide 360-degree giga-pixel resolution from 6.5 miles away, Manuel says. The camera has potential not just for the military uses, he says, but for such things as spotting the cause of smoke in a forest or allowing a rural doctor to transmit crucial medical images to a specialist.

The company currently employs about 50, Manuel says, but continues to grow.

Source: J. Tony Manuel, STAN Solutions
Writer: Gene Monteith

In the middle of Preble County, surrounded by the small town of Eaton and the cornfields beyond, stands an anomaly: Silfex. An anomaly because, as one of only a handful of U.S.-based companies that grow silicon crystals, you might not expect to find it here.

Yet, Silfex has managed to grab more than half the world-wide market for custom silicon parts used in machines that make memory and logic components -- at the same time other U.S.-based companies have found the required investment too daunting or been content to leave the business to foreign firms, says Michael Snell, general manager.

Silfex, a division of Lam Research Corp., started life in 1971 as Bullen Ultrasonics, a family-run business that specialized in ultrasonic machining technologies. In 1999, silicon crystal manufacturing was added. In 2006, Fremont, Calif.-based Lam Research Corp. -- one of Bullen's major customers -- purchased the company's silicon-growing and fabrication operations.

Silfex recently completed a large expansion of its silicon-growing operations and enhanced its capabilities for bonding, cleaning and clean room manufacturing. It employs some 250 in Eaton and another 50 at a sister plant in China, Snell says.

Snell says there are lots of good reasons to keep Silfex in Eaton, including the fact that "when you get to be this size, it's extremely costly to move. But our workforce is also an advantage. We have the experience and the work ethic in this area that we need."

He says the fact that Ohio has enjoyed relatively low electricity costs is another advantage. The silicon furnaces used to melt raw material and grow silicon into large, glassy crystals use megawatts of electricity -- so much that Snell says Dayton Power and Light plans to build a substation nearby.

Source: Michael Snell, Silfex
Writer: Gene Monteith

Jack Berlekamp is an idea guy. A former marketer, he took knowledge garnered as a contractor for the armed forces, where workers handled specialized electronic instruments out in the field.

Those instruments, which tested or measured equipment on large vehicles or airplanes, were cumbersome and often failed in bad weather. For more than a decade Berlekamp worked to understand how to make life easier for these men and women in uniform. And in 2005, he founded Pallas Systems, LLC, an advanced logistics tool provider.

He started the company out of his Delaware County basement in 2005, with the help of some talented Ohio engineers who could make reality his idea. They created a rugged, multi-functional tool that streamlined tasks.

"Most of the time, when you go out in the field, each instrument has single function, and you have multiple boxes that you take out. We created a ruggedized instrument and its software is programmable. It can change its personality and add function based on what field service is doing," he said.

Berlekamp moved his company from Columbus to Springfield to be near the opportunities afforded by being located near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base . He's currently in Springfield's National Environmental Technology Incubator where he moved the company earlier this year. He has four contract engineers he plans to make full-time employees early next year, with the help of an Ohio Third Frontier Innovation loan.

"Because of the defense focus I recognized I needed to be more involved in the Dayton area. I moved my company to a part of Ohio better able to support the technology," he said. "You have to be a little flexible to be able to tap into those levels of expertise."

Source: Jack Berlekamp, founder Pallas Systems
Writer: Feoshia Henderson

Since its formation in 1994, NexTech Materials has grown from zero employees to 35. Along the way, it has gained attention for both its leadership team and its innovative products.

But the real growth is coming, says William Dawson, NexTech's chief executive officer.

NexTech, based in Lewis Center, does business in 35 countries and offers more than 100 products, mostly related to ceramic materials used in solid oxide fuel cells. The company is working with a number of partners in development of new products -- but much depends on the adoption of fuel cell technology in the U.S. to power vehicles and buildings, Dawson says.

"There's a lot more going on outside of the United States due to government incentives," Dawson says. "Korea provides an 80 percent subsidy for (homeowner purchases of) fuel cells. Japan has thousands of units going into homes right now."

While a number of stationary power demonstration units exist in the United States, widespread use here is in the future, Dawson says. Yet, the advantages are clear, both for stationary units and mobile units used in military applications or to power vehicles, he says.

"They have very high efficiency, they don't create pollution, and because of their high efficiency the greenhouse effect is reduced more than 50 percent."

While NexTech continues building inroads into the fuel cell business, it is also forging ahead with production of a number of sensors used to detect the presence of gases in the surrounding air.

"We just started offering hydrogen safety sensors (to detect hydrogen in the air), and are working on emissions sensors that we hope will be coming to the marketplace in two to three years," says Dawson.

Source: William Dawson, NexTech
Writer: Gene Monteith