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phase II
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3DEO, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: An Affordable Metal Additive Manufacturing Machine
Contact
14000 Van Ness Ave Ste C
Gardena, CA 90249–2942
NSF Award
1757478 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,399,999
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II Project aims to tackle the two greatest barriers to technology adoption associated with metal additive manufacturing (AM) - cost and quantities. Current metal AM platforms use expensive core components and consumable materials in high-priced machines that produce 99.9% dense parts. The proposed project calls into question the performance requirements that most American manufacturers have for industrial grade stainless steel parts. While these manufacturers require high performance, they cannot currently afford to take advantage of AM benefits due to the high capital expenditure, maintenance, and operating costs associated with current commercial technologies. This proposal re-examines the material performance, machine cost and reliability requirements necessary for a novel metal AM system to satisfy most American manufacturers' needs. In developing a low-cost AM alternative, the goal of the proposal is to allow an estimated over 50,000 American manufacturers to capitalize on the benefits of AM and simultaneously compete in an ultra-competitive, highly globalized manufacturing industry. In addition, procurement for low to medium volume order quantities (1000 - 20,000 pieces) is incredibly challenging with respect to high cost and long lead times. The proposed invention of a low-cost machine allows for never seen scalability in metal AM, allowing for smaller manufacturers to scale by taking advantage of meaningful order quantities and compete with the resources of large conglomerates. This research has broad implications in many industries and could be fundamentally enabling for the growth and prosperity of American manufacturing. The proposed project re-examines the need for high technology, high cost core components in currently available commercial metallic AM machines. Through an innovative deconstruction of the inkjet print head-based, binder jetting process, a method for producing metal end-use parts has been created. The 3DEO process is based on a novel combination of two low-tech and low cost, established technologies. The creation of a robust prototype with this novel method is a highly challenging, multi-faceted project involving key advances in materials science trough the development of a novel binder system compatible with the new process as well as a fundamental evaluation and improvement of material properties of the as-built parts. In addition, completely re-designed sintering cycles and a lengthy evaluation of shrinkage characteristics will be core challenges to overcome to achieve the tight tolerances manufacturing partners require. As such, these challenges will require tight cross-disciplinary collaboration for a meaningful outcome. The goal of the proposed research is to fabricate powder metallurgy parts of adequate structural integrity to satisfy industrial end-use requirements. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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A-Alpha Bio, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Developing a Platform for Multiplexed Drug Profiling Using Yeast Synthetic Agglutination
Contact
4000 Mason Road
Seattle, WA 98195–0001
NSF Award
1950992 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$620,472
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a platform technology for discovering molecular glues. Many illnesses, including cancers, autoimmune diseases, and neurological diseases, can be treated by controlling the activity or abundance of specific proteins in the cell. However, many proteins cannot be targeted by traditional drugs. Instead, pharmaceutical companies are now using a new strategy to hijack the cell’s native quality control pathways and degrade proteins to control their abundance rather than their activity. This approach has been validated as a powerful therapeutic strategy, but significant challenges remain for discovering molecular glues. The proposed platform for molecular glue discovery is expected to have a major commercial and societal impact by conducting high-throughput screening. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to advance the development of a novel platform for discovering molecular glues, or drugs that function by agonizing protein-protein interactions. This platform combines the throughput of a cell-based assay with the accuracy of a bioanalytical technique by linking yeast haploid mating efficiency to the affinity of proteins displayed on the cells' surfaces. Initial results demonstrate that next generation sequencing of diploid cells can be used to simultaneously measure the affinity of many protein-protein interactions with high accuracy and correctly determine the effect of well-characterized small molecules that inhibit or enhance particular protein-protein interactions. Additionally, the platform is functional in a 96-well plate format, which is important for compatibility with standard high-throughput screening workflows. The primary goals of this project are to improve the sensitivity of the platform for the detection of molecular glues that induce a weak protein-protein interaction, reduce the per-well screening cost by improving assay efficiency, and incorporate new proteins into the platform and validate their function with existing small-molecules. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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ADVANCED REMOTE SENSING, INC.
SBIR Phase II: A Novel Method for Atmospheric Correction of Earth Observation Satellite Data
Contact
407 N VANDEMARK AVE
Hartford, SD 57033–2315
NSF Award
1950746 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$682,948
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to improve satellite-based agricultural imaging to allow monitoring and managing of broad regions for enhanced sustainability and food security. The proposed algorithms address noise in satellite data that is caused by the atmosphere. The method can be used for many types of satellites, providing advantages in efforts to reduce weight and space to control launch cost. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to address a major issue in modern remote sensing, atmospherically induced noise in the data. EOS systems look through the atmosphere that distorts spectral relationships of reflectance (ratio of EOS-measured reflected light to the sunlight that would be received were there no atmosphere). The variable atmosphere distorts the data variably so must be corrected to accurately interpret highly useful measures such as agricultural production/yield, photosynthesis, plant water use, plant disease/insect infestations, etc., rendering EOS data unreliable unless corrected. The technical tasks are to: (1) study European Space Agency Sentinel 2 EOS data, (2) migrate the method to NASA/USGS Landsat 8, (3) adapt the method for calibration of the several decades-long Landsat Multispectral Scanner record that cannot otherwise be corrected to surface reflectance, (4) develop a calibration tool for multiple commercial EOS, and (5) develop a fully integrated software system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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ADVENT Diamond
SBIR Phase II: Advancing High-Power Diamond Devices Towards Commercialization
Contact
1475 North Scottsdale Road, #200
Scottsdale, AZ 85257–3538
NSF Award
1951263 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
05/15/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the improvement of high-power devices that will enhance the efficiency and reliability of electric vehicles (EVs) and their charging stations. The development of the proposed high-power devices will potentially reduce EV charging time to less than 10 minutes by increasing the charging module's power from 300 kW to over 1 MW. Furthermore, this technology can potentially increase the range of electric vehicles significantly by increasing efficiency, and miniaturizing power modules by eliminating cooling systems. These systems are based on diamonds, which have special properties when used in advanced devices, and will be easily extended to applications requiring high-temperature operation (above 300 C) and high-power switching capabilities, such as geothermal drilling, aerospace, and power grids, as well as application in extreme environments and space exploration. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will fabricate next generation semiconductor high-power diodes (1200 V blocking and 10 A forward current at less than 10 V) that are reliable at high temperatures (300 C) and overcome many of the challenges with existing technologies. Diamond has a higher breakdown field than other existing semiconductor (wide bandgap) materials; thus, diamond devices offer the potential of higher blocking voltage. Technical objectives of this project include optimizing the workflow of material deposition, device design and device fabrication processes to achieve 1200 V blocking voltage by developing device designs that increase breakdown field by 2-4 times to enable broad translation of this technology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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AIVOCODE
SBIR Phase II: A Novel Platform to Enable Directed Delivery of Therapeutics into Brain Injuries
Contact
4350 Manchester Ave
Encinitas, CA 92024–4931
NSF Award
1660165 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$907,731
Start / end date
04/01/2017 – 12/31/2020
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop precision-guided delivery of drugs or diagnostic compounds to the site of damage in traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI is quite common; every year, over 10 million people worldwide injure their brain, and it is the most common cause of death and disability in young people. There are currently no drugs available that would limit the additional damage to the brain from swelling and inflammation after the injury or help repair the brain. The company's technology allows one to guide a drug to the injured brain and keep it there until it has done its job, while less of the drug goes to normal tissues. This way, it will be possible to use drugs that, while beneficial in brain injury, may do damage elsewhere. It also makes it possible to use new types of drugs that would otherwise not reach their target in the brain. If the company is successful in bringing this technology to the clinic, it may make brain injury victims better, and significant savings to the healthcare system may also be obtained. The proposed project will develop a highly efficacious technology platform for site-specific delivery of drugs to acute brain injury. The main reasons for the failure of neuro-protective agents in clinical trials are lack of specificity and the dose limiting effects of the therapy. Targeted delivery can circumvent this problem. In Phase I, the company described a novel peptide, CAQK, which specifically delivers various types of payloads to sites of brain injury from systemic administration. Developing improved variants of this peptide with high affinity and stability is important in ensuring optimal clinical translation of this technology. The objective of this project is to optimize the delivery platform by exploring different modifications of the CAQK peptide, and to use high throughput screening of chemical compound libraries to search for compounds that reproduce the CAQK activity. The outcome of this Phase II application will be a panel of stable, long-circulating, high affinity peptides and/or small molecule chemical mimetics that can be used for targeted drug delivery to injured brain. The most promising compounds will be validated in animal models of brain injury. Transformative advances in brain injury treatment in the form of increased efficacy, reduced side effects, and ease of administration should ensue.
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AL-POWER, INC.
SBIR Phase II: Novel microalgae for high yield hydrogen production
Contact
340 E PARKER
Baton Rouge, LA 70803–0001
NSF Award
1951305 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
08/01/2020 – 07/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a microalgae-based commercial hydrogen production process that will surpass current or developing technologies. A technology for low-cost, high purity, renewable, scalable hydrogen production can facilitate greater domestic energy independence. Many industries, such as the petro-chemical, chemical, and electronics sectors, would benefit from low-cost industrial hydrogen. Transportation and electric power generation industries would benefit from increased fuel efficiency. Environmental benefits include replacement of fossil fuels, switching hydrogen production from natural gas to sunlight and water, substantial emissions reduction. and reduction of airborne pollutants generated by coal- and natural gas-powered power plants. The goal of this project is to advance the use of engineered algae, in combination with recent advances in bioprocessing and hardware engineering, to manufacture clean, renewable hydrogen. The proposed project will develop microalgae strains that generate high hydrogen yields using a novel metabolic engineering strategy. Hydrogen production rates are challenging to improve due to complicated metabolic pathways and gene regulation guarding hydrogen production. The proposed project will create advanced algal strains combining increased hydrogen production rates with robust growth under the target process conditions. The objectives are: 1) engineer the chimeric genes to implement the metabolic engineering strategy, 2) validate the engineered genes in algae overexpressing a proprietary hydrogenase gene cHYD1, 3) determine effects of genotypes of parental strains on the chimeric genes, 4) combine the best selected genes in the developed parental genotypes and generate new production strains; and 5) demonstrate adequate H2 production rates in the production strains under controlled testing conditions. This project will produce the desired production strain with greatly increased hydrogen rates in the target commercial process environment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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ALGENESIS CORPORATION
SBIR Phase II: Soft Foam Polyurethanes from Algae Oil
Contact
1238 Sea Village Dr
Cardiff By The Sea, CA 92007–1438
NSF Award
1926937 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$797,994
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to help address the issue of non-bio degradable plastics polluting the planet through the development of biodegradable urethane monomers, formulations yielding industry standard performance metrics for their application. There are 2,600 pounds of plastic trash accumulated for each living person today, with at least 18 billion pounds of plastic entering our oceans every year. Sustainable products have yet to be commercialized at scale due to high cost and low quality. We will change the urethane industry through the commercialization of high-performance biodegradable materials and development of high value consumer products. This project proposes to address the lack of biologically based materials in consumer products by utilizing algae polyols, and their formulation chemistries, to develop and optimize appropriate bio-based formulations, specifically polyurethane foams, for consumer use as footwear. The company will demonstrate biodegradability of the product. The company will also develop the supply chain and associated processes for their algae raw materials to produce algae polyols at scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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ALLIED MICROBIOTA LLC
SBIR Phase II: Remediation of recalcitrant and emerging environmental organic contaminants of concern using bacterial approaches
Contact
140 58th St., Bldg. A, Suite 8J
Brooklyn, NY 11220–2539
NSF Award
1927687 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$711,620
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is addressing the critical societal need to remediate toxic organic pollutants in soils and sediments. The proposed technology would enable environmental goals to be met on many contaminated sites whose remediation is currently limited by high costs. The technology would contribute to the re-development of many billions of dollars in real estate by returning properties to productive and appropriate use. The hybrid bacterial augmentation and thermal technology provides a model for additional systems with other bacteria uniquely suited to applications in emerging contaminants and water treatment. This project proposes to commercialize a bacterial treatment for the degradation of organic contaminants of concern in environmental matrices such as soils and sediments. The thermally-enhanced bioaugmentation technology evaluated in Phase I is based on a novel bacterial strain and its enzymes that function at elevated temperatures and are capable of degrading a variety of ring based, organic pollutants, including chlorinated forms difficult to remediate. Pilot tests on soils contaminated with Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) demonstrated degradation for both TPH and for the heavier poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PaHs) on the EPA's list of priority pollutants. Phase II goals are to expand these initial studies to the full commercial scale of 100s to 1000s of tons of soil by working with established environmental engineering firms with extensive experience in thermal treatments of large volumes. To fully commercialize this new technology, the production capacity for the biological agents also will be scaled up by over an order of magnitude. The technology will be applied both ex-situ and in-situ as the process evolves. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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APPLIED LIFESCIENCES & SYSTEMS POULTRY, INC.
SBIR Phase II: Innovative High Throughput Automated System for Individualized Poultry Vaccination and Recognition and Removal of Unhealthy Chicks
Contact
2804 Glen Burnie Dr
Raleigh, NC 27607–3009
NSF Award
1758659 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$909,999
Start / end date
02/01/2018 – 12/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project has the potential to help enhance disease resistance in poultry and increase yields due to the delivery of only healthy, fully vaccinated chicks to farms. These healthier chicks will reduce the need for antibiotics in poultry, aiding to combat antimicrobial resistance. This technology has immediate applications in other food animal industries and fisheries, and allows for data capture on numbers of animals and types of treatments given. Broader applications would include any image capture and analysis that relies on analytics to identify target areas for delivery of substances to live animals or humans. This SBIR Phase II project will allow for the advancement and commercialization of imaging technologies for the use of screening and targeting live animals. This proposal brings innovation in the care of food animals allowing for producers to move away from flock health and focus on the care of individual animals. This will be a dramatic change for the poultry industry, but is necessary in the face of antibiotic removal to be able to improve the current vaccination efficiencies and screen chicks for health status. Individualized care is currently not possible due to the high throughput needed to keep pace with large scale commercial hatchery operation. The technical challenges this proposal will overcome include 1) the safe and effective handling of chicks in an automated system that can process 100,000 chicks per hour, 2) the development of imaging systems for health checks and target recognition, 3) the delivery of the appropriate dose of vaccine with the correct amount of agents (virus, bacteria, parasite, and other agents) while not damaging the agents during delivery, and 4) development of a system that is rugged and robust enough to survive in a hatchery environment.
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ATHERAXON, INC.
SBIR Phase II: New 5G and internet-of-things systems for tracking and identification in shipping
Contact
3076 RANLO DR
Atlanta, GA 30340–4612
NSF Award
2025896 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance new real-time tracking technologies that increase the efficiency and reduce the costs of container shipping across the world. The container shipping industry underpins the modern supply chain and represents a $1.5 B market. The proposed solution introduces 5G internet-of-things to tracking in worldwide shipping by demonstrating performance in the dirty, complex, and highly-cluttered environments of repair facilities and terminals crowded with container stacks. The intellectual merit of this project will be the continued exploration of backscattered mm-wave radio frequency identification (RFIDs) for localization and communication. In addition, although hardware and standards used for standard ultra-high frequency RFID-based localization systems have benefited from decades of improvements, methods appropriate for higher-frequency methods are virtually unexplored and feature radically different challenges. This effort will advance the tag and reader hardware and software, followed by optimization of the standard for the concurrent localization and communications with mm-wave backscatter tags. Finally, the project will conduct verification and validation of the mm-RFID system's mechanical and functional performance. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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ATOM COMPUTING INC.
SBIR Phase II: Spatially Modulated Light For Trapping And Addressing Of Alkaline-Earth Neutral Atom Qubits
Contact
11250 SUN VALLEY DR
Oakland, CA 94605–5736
NSF Award
1951188 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result from the development of a scalable, universal quantum computing platform. The range of applications are broad and will expand in parallel with the development of new quantum algorithms, with initial applications including molecular simulations for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, currently limited by the approximations necessary to make calculations tractable for classical computers. In order to perform these simulations at a scale useful for commercial applications, quantum computing must be significantly scaled. The proposed system will develop a new method to trap and control individual atoms for scaling of quantum computers. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop technology for parallel, high-fidelity single- and multi-qubit gates in neutral atom quantum computers. The technology will enable neutral atoms as a platform for scalable quantum computing technology with fault-tolerant capabilities. The proposed project includes: 1) development of systems to control atomic qubits in parallel; 2) a methodology to enact high-fidelity gates; and 3) development of necessary infrastructure for a cloud-accessed quantum computer. With a previously unrealized degree of coherent control to atomic systems, the proposed system will serve as an entirely novel tool to study many-body physics, enabling new quantum simulations of new phases of matter or high-energy physics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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AURAL ANALYTICS, INC.
SBIR Phase II: A tool for estimating objective outcome measures in clinical speech applications
Contact
1475 N SCOTTSDALE RD STE 200
Scottsdale, AZ 85257–3538
NSF Award
1853247 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$949,979
Start / end date
07/01/2019 – 12/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to introduce a set of powerful neurological health metrics for objective and reliable tracking of patient outcomes, clinician performance, and therapy efficacy. Significant societal benefits may be realized from the introduction of this technology in the clinical applications and clinical trials markets. The company's technology is easy to use, reliable, objective and cost-efficient. No other existing technology for tracking neurological health or patient outcomes shares this set of features. In the company's clinical application, the company can close the gap on current health disparities and access for 1) those in rural communities, 2) those living in urban islands with limited healthcare workforce, and 3) those too sick to travel. It enhances the practice of speech-language pathology, enabling rapid objective characterization of speech production to document treatment effects. In the clinical trials market, potential impact is enhanced by the aging of the global population, and the increasing prevalence of diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. The company's technology holds promise for early detection and sensitive tracking of disease progression that provides the opportunity for global-scale impact in drug development for slowing or curing neurodegenerative disease. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to address the serious challenge of tapping into brain health without expensive and invasive technologies by using speech analysis. Speaking is a deceptively complex task. Elaborate brain networks translate thoughts and ideas into sequences of movements that produce the sounds of speech. Any disturbance in these networks can lead to changes in how we speak and what we say. Research shows that subtle changes in speech precede diagnosis of many neurological diseases. Leveraging this research, the company built proprietary metrics that use speech to capture changes in neurological health. Here the company extends the analytics to detect changes in cognitive health as possible early indicators of Alzheimer's disease. The company will develop 1) a series of simple tasks to elicit speech from an individual using our app; 2) a custom speech recognition platform to automatically generate a transcript of what the person said; 3) algorithms to automatically analyze the transcript and output clinically interpretable measures of cognitive performance. Finally, the company will evaluate the validity/usability of the app in clinical settings. The product of this research is a platform ready to move toward commercialization to realize its maximum potential for health and societal impact. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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AVISI TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Nanotechnology-Enabled Implant for Controlling Intraocular Pressure
Contact
3401 GRAYS FERRY AVE
Philadelphia, PA 19146–2701
NSF Award
2024217 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
09/01/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project is an improved treatment for patients suffering from glaucoma. Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness, affecting 3.4 million Americans and 80 million people worldwide. The global glaucoma surgery devices market will reach $1.74 billion by 2024, increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 20%. In the U.S., glaucoma incurs over $4 billion in medical and societal costs annually. For patients with glaucoma, elevated eye pressure must be lowered to prevent optic nerve damage. However, conventional surgical implant treatments are bulky, highly invasive, and cause chronic discomfort. Newer, smaller devices are less invasive but affect long-term efficacy as they inadequately sustain lower eye pressure when scarring occurs. This project will develop an implant many times thinner than a human hair to safely reduce eye pressure while minimizing patient discomfort and failure from scarring. The device will facilitate patient comfort and surgical ease through a combination of mechanical and materials engineering. Beyond glaucoma, the technology will play a key role in future permanent and efficacious ocular implants - a rapidly growing component of vision care. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project continues development of an ultrathin implant to treat glaucoma. Specifically, this project will optimize a novel corrugated microstructure with a unique combination of mechanical and fluid flow properties. These characteristics provide the implant with stiffness required for handling, flexibility to conform to soft eye tissues, and flow properties for controlling intraocular pressure. Devices will be fabricated using improved micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) methods and validated on a new instrument designed to evaluate flow resistance. This project will conduct biocompatibility, toxicology, and performance studies, monitoring intraocular pressure, levels of inflammation, adverse events, and implant stability. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Abalone Bio, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: A platform for identifying antibodies that modulate human membrane receptors involved in disease
Contact
2600 Hilltop Dr, Bldg B Rm C332
Richmond, CA 94806–1971
NSF Award
1853147 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
03/01/2019 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a drug discovery platform that will identify novel types of antibody therapeutics. The goal is to use antibodies to increase or decrease the activity of a type of cell signaling receptor called "G protein-coupled receptors" (GPCRs). There are more than 400 non-olfactory human GPCRs that are involved in all aspects of health and disease, including cancers, autoimmune diseases, pain, inflammation, and others. About 25% of GPCRs have been targeted by approved small molecule drugs, but efforts for the remaining have often failed because of the inability of small molecules to distinguish between similar GPCRs. Antibody drugs can overcome this hurdle because of their much higher specificity for their targets. This project will bring to commercialization the first technology that directly identifies antibodies that modulate GPCR function. These antibodies will impact healthcare by enabling therapies for diseases with poor or no current treatments. They also will impact scientific understanding by enabling the study of GPCR-related physiology and disease. The commercial impacts are potentially very large. The GPCR drug market is over $100B, and most antibody therapeutics have annual sales over $1B. The platform described here could enable dozens of novel GPCR antibody therapeutics, creating value for patients, society, and co-development partners. The intellectual merit of this SBIR Phase II project is to develop a drug discovery technology for discovering antibodies that modulate G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Current methods are limited because GPCR antigens are often not properly folded, and because antibodies are selected by how tightly they bind GPCRs, rather than by the effect they exert. Those that bind typically do not have any effect at all. This project will build on the successful proof-of-concept from Phase I that demonstrated the platform's ability to identify directly functional antibody agonists for a human GPCR. The proposal addresses the four main technical requirements that pharmaceutical customers cite as important: Ability to work on many types of GPCRs, ability to isolate antibodies with varied modulating effects, use of a highly diverse, high-quality scFv library, and a workflow that can quickly isolate, optimize and characterize dozens of candidates. The goals of this project are to improve how the platform's yeasts express GPCRs and functionally couple them to different selectable readouts, construct a proprietary scFv library, and optimize the workflow by incorporating sequencing bioinformatics and antibody characterization, including flow cytometric analysis of cell-binding and functional assays on cultured mammalian cells. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Abstract Engineering LLC
SBIR Phase II:An IoT Smart Shower for Hotel Utility Savings
Contact
8200 Neely Dr. Apt 151
Austin, TX 78759–8950
NSF Award
1927045 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to save over $50 billion in building utility costs annually across the U.S. by saving 200 billion gallons of water and 1 trillion kWh of energy. Reducing the overall water and energy demand decreases the strain on municipal infrastructure. The proposed project consists of a highly accurate method to generate valuable utility end-user behavior data in hot, humid environments. Public and private organizations can use the data to design better policies and best practices. Moreover, the occupancy detection technology can be used for other applications where difficult ambient conditions prevent the use of conventional sensors. In addition to the economic and environmental benefits to the user, the business will create engineering, sales, and customer support jobs. The proposed project will eliminate behavioral water waste occurring when a bather leaves a shower unoccupied even after water warm-up. Project objectives include development of: (1) a device that can accurately sense shower occupancy across multiple shower/bathtub layouts; (2) a low energy circuit and algorithm for long battery life; and (3) systems engineering of a designed enclosure resilient to a shower's hot and humid environment. Project tasks include signal analysis for sensor accuracy, in-situ pilot testing across all rooms of multiple buildings, industrial design and accelerated aging tests. Technical milestones include: (1) Design a sensor that detects human presence within a 1% error margin when tested across at least 25 different hotel bathtub/shower layouts, (2) Complete live user-sponsored pilot tests in the rooms of at least 3 hotels for at least 1 year, and (3) Demonstrate that the amount of shower water and energy saved is at least 20% when compared to the baseline. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Accelevir Diagnostics, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Development and Optimization of a New Molecular Test to quantify Latent HIV-1 in Samples from HIV-1 Infected Individuals.
Contact
855 N Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21205–1508
NSF Award
1738428 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,199,981
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be to enable and support the future development, approval, and clinical use of new therapeutics the cure HIV-1 infection. HIV-1 infection can be controlled by available antiretroviral therapy, but cannot be cured due to the persistence of the virus in a quiescent, or latent state. This latent HIV-1 is the barrier to curing infection. While latent HIV-1 can be found in all infected individuals, it is present in very low frequencies. To cure HIV-1 infection, new therapeutics that eliminate latent HIV-1 must be developed. This development is hindered by current lack of a sensitive, accurate, and scalable test to measure latent HIV-1 in infected individuals. The proposed project seeks to develop and optimize a sensitive, accurate, and scalable test to measure latent HIV-1 in the blood of infected individuals. Current tests used in research laboratories to measure latent HIV-1 are either non-specific or require large volumes of blood and many days to complete. This project is focused on developing a new molecular test that specifically measures latent HIV-1 from a minimal volume of blood in hours. Specifically, the project is focused on defining initial test performance and developing critical assay controls needed for robust performance of this new molecular test for latent HIV-1. Successful completion of this project will yield a latent HIV-1 test prototype that can be advanced to market to support research and early-stage clinical trials.
Errata
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Addenda
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Aclarity, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Performance and Feasibility Evaluation of Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation Technology for Water Purification
Contact
10 Chestnut Hill Rd.
North Oxford, MA 01537–1103
NSF Award
2026035 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
09/01/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is a cost-efficient and comprehensive water treatment solution that destroys water contaminants on contact, enabling on-site advanced water treatment in many industries with the potential for zero-liquid discharge/reuse operations. The proposed technology uses an innovative electrochemical design for water treatment. This practice reduces costs (e.g., transport, treatment, permitting) associated with hazardous waste and fresh water supplies, while safeguarding communities and the environment from potential contamination through accidental release, incomplete treatment, or non-secure storage. Industries adopting zero-liquid discharge can reduce freshwater demand and redirect it for other critical uses, such as agriculture. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will advance the development of an electrochemical oxidation and reduction destruction technology for industrial and municipal water treatment. The proposed technology destroys contaminants in a single step using a reactive electrochemical membrane easily customized to the appropriate voltage and amperage to efficiently oxidize or reduce target contaminants in the water. This project will address the following objectives: 1) optimize efficacy and efficiency to destroy PFAS, 1,4-dioxane, nitrate, and perchlorate, 2) finalize large-scale device design, 3) develop a pilot system and explore the performance-cost trade space, and 4) iterate on system design. The impact of process conditions on treatment efficacy will be explored to optimize for low cost and energy efficiency. Verification and validation will take place with on-site brine treatment pilot testing, while characterizing performance relative to state-of-practice and exploring potential economies of scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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ActivSignal, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer using Multiplex Protein Profiling
Contact
142 Marsh St.
Belmont, MA 02478–2133
NSF Award
2026113 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to improve clinical outcomes and quality-of-life for pancreatic cancer patients. Only 10% of pancreatic cancer survive five years after diagnosis because most cases are detected at later stages when clinical interventions are relatively ineffective. Earlier detection improves interventions, prevents unnecessary procedures arising from uncertain diagnosis, and leads to health system cost savings. Roughly 5 million individuals in the US are at higher risk, but there is no screening test available today for earlier stages, a surveillance market estimated at $3 B. This project will develop a diagnostic test for surveillance of people at high risk for developing pancreatic cancer, with methods potentially applicable to other types of cancer and other diseases. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance a technology using a small blood sample to detect the functional state of multiple biological signaling pathways known to participate in cancer inception and progression. This technology can analyze these low abundance proteins at a low cost suitable for a widely adopted surveillance test. A purpose-built bioinformatic system analyses and compares the bio-signature identified by the assay across many individuals. This Phase II project will optimize the panel of protein targets in the assay to detect high-performing differential bio-signatures for early stages of the disease, and it will enhance the machine-learning-based matching methodology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Activated Research Company
SBIR Phase II: A carbon selective detector for liquid phase chemical detection of organic molecules
Contact
7561 Corporate Way
Eden Prairie, MN 55344–2022
NSF Award
1853063 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$906,957
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 12/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the potential to directly and positively impact the speed of chemical analysis leading to cleaner and more advanced products. Technology resulting from the proposed activity will solve several pain points in the chemical analysis industry, including non-linearity, small dynamic range and variable, sometimes negligible, detector response. As a result, the technology will have broad use and lead to improved detection in pharmaceuticals, drug development, fuels, chemicals, renewables, foods, flavors, and academic and industrial research. Uniform response to carbon from flame ionization detection (FID) would be completely disruptive to the painstaking methods of calibration of known compounds and the guesswork associated with the quantification of unknowns. The benefits of this technology are expected to result in immense improvements in the speed and accuracy of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, thereby leading to better and safer products, with faster development times. Applied to the pharmaceutical and new drug development industry, this technology will have lasting impacts on the health and safety of society due to better and faster analyses available. This SBIR Phase II project aims to deliver a carbon selective detector (CSD) to the global scientific market. The CSD is a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detector that produces a linear response to all organic compounds using a flame ionization detection (FID) and a catalytic reactor. The key innovation is the novel development and use of a catalytic reactor to transform organic molecules and remove solvent in liquid chromatograph effluent streams. The FID, similar to those ubiquitous in gas chromatography (GC) systems, yields a universal response to organic compounds converted to methane with unparalleled linear range and robustness. The device will overcome limitations of the FID that have prevented previous use in HPLC by selectively removing solvents, oxidizing organic compounds to carbon dioxide, reducing carbon dioxide to methane, and detecting the resulting methane with the FID. The resulting product features, most notably a universal response to carbon, will provide pre-clinical pharmaceutical researchers with a tool that can quantify drugs and their by-products during screening, long before the process has been scaled up for the production of calibration standards. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Adnoviv, Inc.
STTR Phase II: Occupancy Estimation and Energy Savings with True Presence Sensors
Contact
2800 Woodlawn Dr
Honolulu, HI 96822–1862
NSF Award
1831303 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,191,970
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will extend to a number of applications, including smart buildings, home automation, and security. The development of this new technology for efficient indoor sensing, and development of new algorithms for occupancy sensing and counting techniques, will have immediate implications in the building automation and home construction industries, where improved occupancy sensing is necessary to achieve the promise of Smart Buildings that adjust environmental conditions such as lighting and air conditioning automatically to suit the needs of the occupants. Implementing this false-alarm free technology will realize millions of dollars in cost savings from reduced energy use. Such energy savings would impact the US energy independence while helping to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to "smart building"/energy efficiency applications there are also significant opportunities to apply these highly-reliable and difficult-to-defeat sensors to facility security, military, law-enforcement/correctional facilities and in-home care monitoring. This project represents Broadening Participation: As a woman-owned minority business in an underrepresented geographical location (Hawaii), the success of Adnoviv will bring opportunity for graduate students through our relationship with the University of Hawaii and encourage young girls to enter Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related fields. This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project will result in a revolutionary advance in occupancy sensing for smart buildings and energy-use reduction by providing a low-cost sensor capable of real human presence detection and occupant count and eliminating the issues that have limited the utility of occupancy sensors in many applications. The feasibility of using radio frequency Doppler radar to detect human cardiopulmonary activity and estimate number of occupants using a low power system-on-chip (SoC) platform will be demonstrated. In particular, reliable occupant detection without false alarms, and occupant count estimation will be investigated to further enhance energy savings potential, especially in conjunction with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) loads. The significant commercial potential of such True Presence Occupancy Detection Sensors in energy-saving applications will be demonstrated in partnership with one of the largest building automation companies in the world. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Advaita Corporation
SBIR Phase II: A multi-omics data integration approach for precision medicine and improved clinical trial success
Contact
3250 Plymouth Rd. #303
Ann Arbor, MI 48105–2552
NSF Award
1853207 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$714,707
Start / end date
03/01/2019 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be the development of an analysis method and software package to identify human disease subtypes using omics data. This technology will enable the ability to provide personalized treatment for patients, and more successful and cost-effective clinical trials, bring drugs to market more rapidly. The goal is identification of disease subtypes and patient subgroups, a prerequisite to the ability to distinguish between patients who are in danger and need the most aggressive treatments, and those who are less suited to treatment because they will never progress or recur or they will develop resistance. Currently, 70% of drugs entering Phase III clinical trials fail, leading to a loss of more than $1 trillion per year. This may be avoided by refining trial inclusion criteria and administering the drug only to the patients most likely to respond. The technology is designed to identify patient subgroups most likely to respond or not respond to a given treatment. This technology also may reduce the cost of prophylactic clinical trials by reducing the number of subjects and/or duration necessary to achieve sufficient power. The technology will significantly reduce drug development costs while simultaneously improving patient care by selecting the correct treatment for each patient. The intellectual merit of this SBIR Phase II project is to develop a novel analysis method and software package that is able to identify subtypes of disease based on the integration of multiple types of omics data. Many drug candidates fail and many patients receive inappropriate treatment because of the current inability to distinguish between subgroups of patients (respondents vs. non-respondents) and/or subtypes of disease (aggressive vs. non-aggressive). The current unmet challenge is to discover the molecular subtypes of disease and subgroups of patients. Attempts to achieve this based solely on gene expression signatures have been undertaken but yielded only modest success (very few gene expression tests are FDA-approved to date). The technology proposed here may be used to discover clinically relevant disease subtypes by integrating multiple types of high-throughput data. In addition, the Phase I results obtained on real patient data demonstrated that the technology is able to distinguish between more and less aggressive types of cancer based on their molecular profiles alone. This Phase II project proposes to extend this technology to integrate genomic and clinical data. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Advanced Silicon Group
SBIR Phase II: Improving silicon nanowire biosensors: throughput, repeatability, and quantifying measurement advantages
Contact
173 Bedford Road
Lincoln, MA 01773–1512
NSF Award
1853059 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$815,001
Start / end date
05/15/2019 – 01/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to further develop improved biosensing for biomanufacturing. Improved biosensing will enable biomanufacturers to better measure the purity of their products and thus develop processes that result in more pure products. Specifically, this phase II project is to develop a silicon nanowire biosensor from proof of concept to a working platform suitable for initial testing and deployment for the detection of host cell proteins in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. An improved biosensor developed in this project promises to improve yields, reduce costs, and improve patient outcomes through higher purity and safer biopharmaceuticals. The proposed project will validate the sensor's use, function, and measurement accuracy in comparison to current methods for detection and measurement. The innovation is a low-cost, quantitative biosensor that can detect many different proteins on the same chip and do so even when the proteins are present at a low concentration level. The company will use vertically aligned silicon nanowire arrays, an inexpensive process to make nanowires, and a device design that eliminates the difficulties in electrically contacting nanowire arrays. The company will fully characterize the sensor's response and compare this response to the metrics that are currently used in the industry. In order to achieve this goal, they will increase the process throughput required to make these sensors, set manufacturing controls to achieve an acceptable consistency in the sensors, measure the response of these sensors over a wide range of protein concentration values, and build a validation package to assist customers in their implementation for using these sensors. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Aerodyne Microsystems Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Air Quality Monitor For IoT Applications
Contact
P.O. Box 641596
San Jose, CA 95164–1596
NSF Award
1927574 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$744,631
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to improve health and save lives while addressing a market opportunity of over a billion dollars per year. Worldwide particulate matter air pollution is responsible for nearly as many deaths as cancer, and more than malaria and AIDS combined. The goal of the project is an inexpensive, consumer market air pollution sensor that offers performance comparable to laboratory instruments costing hundreds to thousands of dollars. The proposed technology has important societal benefit as it will help mitigate the negative health effects of air pollution in the environment, home, and workplace. The proposed project contributes to scientific knowledge and understanding by developing novel air pollution analysis techniques and enabling a highly-sensitive, portable, and low-cost monitor for studies of air pollution. Markets for the sensor include smart homes, smart cities, green buildings, automobile cabin monitoring, air purifiers, industrial hygiene, and others. The proposed project will investigate a novel sensor for monitoring particulate matter air pollution. Existing air pollution monitors are expensive, large, and power hungry. The monitors on the consumer market use optical techniques that provide only a proxy estimate of pollution levels and are unable to detect ultrafine particulates which have diameters smaller than 100 nanometers. These ultrafine particulates pose serious health risks. The sensor of this work employs thermophoretic deposition of airborne particulates from a sample stream onto an acoustic wave resonator, and determines the mass deposited by measuring the frequency shift of a sustaining electronic oscillator circuit. The monitor of this work detects particulates from a few microns in diameter to ultrafine, and provides a true mass concentration measurement of the pollution, which is acknowledged as the industry gold-standard. Key activities of the proposal include the development of innovative techniques to collect and analyze particulates and to improve the sensor stability and lifetime. Anticipated technical results include enhanced monitor longevity, improved level of detection, improved manufacturability, and a significant reduction in power consumption. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Aerosol Devices Inc.
SBIR Phase II: New devices Bioaerosol Sampler for Accurate, Time-Resolved Characterization of Viable Microbes and their Genomes
Contact
430 N. College Ave, Ste 430
Fort Collins, CO 80524–2675
NSF Award
1853240 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$898,347
Start / end date
07/01/2019 – 06/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to provide general commercial access to a new generation of affordable, high-efficiency aerosol samplers that will primarily be used in the Industrial Hygiene and Indoor Air Quality market. The collection technology in these new instruments is unique in that it captures, concentrates and preserves airborne microbes in the same physical state they exist as they are suspended in the air we breathe- a tremendous breakthrough for forensic aerosol analysis. This work optimizes a novel collection method that chronologically resolves air samples into a portable compact platform, which ensures purity, minimizes handling and is safe for mail. The sample output is delivered in small, sterile medical grade disposable plastics that are compatible with a broad range of users' analytical needs whether it be the military, health care, atmospheric researchers or indoor air quality sector. This instrumentation is portable, and requires no filters or chemical additions; it rapidly condenses airborne microbes out of ambient air by manipulating humidity, offering a reliable way to assess microbiological air pollution-indoors or out. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to optimize the design of condensation growth-based bioaerosol samplers for commercial validation, rapid manufacture and high-quality reproduction. The accurate assessment of airborne biological agents remains a tremendous scientific and practical challenge. The intellectual merit of this work lies in finally overcoming the technical barriers posed by conventional air sampling equipment, which require extensive sampling time and significantly compromises the very information military, medical and building science professionals need: what is the identity, distribution and abundance of airborne microbes. This team will use the latest forensic genetic sequencing technology to isolate the detection limits of this new collection equipment for common airborne pathogens and allergens. The objective is to validate these new filterless aerosol recovery instruments in controlled laboratory experiments, with a broad range of common pathogenic bioaerosols. The team will demonstrate how the sample preservation benefits of this technology, can be realized for commercial benefit in monitoring high-density indoor environments, including health care settings and public schools. Operating this new equipment in occupied indoor spaces, we anticipate collecting bioaerosol in excess of forensic detection limits in less than 30 minutes, while maintaining exceptional sample fidelity. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Agile Focus Designs, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Fast Focus and Zoom in Microscopy
Contact
280 W Kagy Blvd Ste D #215
Bozeman, MT 59715–6056
NSF Award
1951117 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
03/01/2020 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is an imaging system with complete flexibility in focus and zoom while keeping the sample and all optical lenses stationary. The system will alter magnification without mechanical motion, allowing inspection of samples during manufacturing processes with 100x faster focus and zoom. The attachment will easily integrate with benchtop microscopes for failure analysis, quality assurance in manufacturing, electrophysiology, and cryogenic applications; these solutions can be used in the food, petroleum, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. The proposed SBIR Phase II project will develop fast, small- and large-diameter MEMS mirrors and demonstrate them in a zoom and focus system made for microscopy. Gross electronic focus control capability has only recently become available, enabling the development of new standard optical design practices to best utilize varifocus elements and characterize imaging performance, since traditional optical analyses assume fixed focal length lenses or mirrors. The proposed technology has potential applications in cameras, wide-field, confocal and two-photon microscopes, optical coherence tomography, and endoscopic imaging systems. In this project, a series of MEMS mirrors in combination with standard optics capable of rapid 2x zoom with additional focusing abilities will be developed, enabling a typical 20x optical microscopy to rapidly zoom to 40x. The technical objectives are: 1) improve fabrication and packaging processes on MEMS mirrors; 2) automate characterization of their focusing range and dynamic behavior; 3) design a small form factor, large bandwidth, high-voltage amplifier; and 4) characterize the imaging performance of complete optical systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Akabotics LLC
SBIR Phase II: Novel, Noninvasive Comprehensive Aquatic TOol (CATO) for Sediment Management in Waterways
Contact
55-319 Old Halaula Mill Road
Kapaau, HI 96755–0000
NSF Award
1927090 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
08/15/2019 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project represents a major paradigm shift in the methodology by which waterways can be maintained for optimum usage and water quality. Instead of the status quo in which water quality is only periodically tested and sediment buildups are only removed in massive quantities that can shock sensitive aquatic ecosystems, the system under development offers regular water quality monitoring and regular sediment removal at volumes less impacting to aquatic habitat. Shifting the paradigm of waterway maintenance into a more regular process will allow for reduced pollutant levels in waterways as pollutants are promptly removed instead of continuing to accumulate toxins which, in turn, will increase property values, utilization, and income within the marina industry. Additionally, embedded sensor intelligence and continuous waterway monitoring will grant the dredging regulatory agencies increased visibility and understanding of the health of the marine life in the waterway and allow them to more closely monitor environmental violations. With widespread adoption, the innovation could impact the technology area of water robotics and potentially have far reaching benefits that assist with water and energy security by keeping the inlet canal's reservoirs that comprise our society's infrastructure clean and running at peak efficiency. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to continue development of an intelligent suction tip via a robotic platform for use in year-round sediment removal in waterways while minimizing harm to marine species. The research seeks to contribute to the knowledge base of marine life behavior and water-pollutant interactions through addressing the need for waterway technologies designed specifically to satisfy the requirements of waterway owners while being sensitive to marine life needs. The project activities include continued technical development and refinement of the environmental niche modeling and suction tip systems whose proof of concept was developed during Phase I activities, refinement and ruggedization of supporting subsystems in preparation for pilot testing, conducting closed environment testing, conducting pilot testing in a local operational waterway, determining a feasible manufacturing roadmap, and conducting pilot testing in an operational waterway in San Francisco Bay while closely documenting its performance and dredged material to determine marine species impact for report to the regulatory agencies. Akabotics expects to prove that its innovative approach has only a minimal impact to marine organisms while providing regulatory agencies with increased oversight and will lay the groundwork for approval to work outside of currently prescribed environmental work windows. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Akai Kaeru, LLC
SBIR Phase II: The Data Context Map
Contact
302 E 88th Str.
New York, NY 10128–4931
NSF Award
1926949 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$759,343
Start / end date
08/01/2019 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is that it will help scientists gain a better understanding of the underlying relationships in their data and as a result help humans make better decisions from data. The advantage of big data is that it allows for the possibility of identifying truly meaningful relationships. Exposing these relationships can provide great benefits for many different problem domains, and therefore has high commercial appeal in applications such as fraud detection in credit card or insurance data, drug discovery, and identifying threats to national security in homeland security data. Identifying previously unseen relationships also plays a big part in scientific research and discovery. Great scientific discoveries come from a deep understanding of the world around us. Data can capture these relationships, but this is only useful if a researcher can identify them. This motivates the need for sophisticated tools that can present these relationships in a comprehensible way. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will address the problem of mining and visualizing very high dimensional and time varying data sets. Modern data sets can have many thousands of attributes which can introduce a significant amount of noise and conflicting relationships. This problem is compounded in time varying datasets as some relationships can be inconsistent and disappear over time. There is hence a great need to find and explain temporally consistent and reliable relationships in large data sets. This Phase II project will accomplish this by developing a set of novel interactive visualizations that will find these consistent relationships and explain how they change over time. It will use causal analysis and also extend it to the temporal domain in which causes with delayed effects will be identified (e.g. smoking causes cancer after many decades). Finally, as these data mining techniques can be very computationally expensive, this Phase II project will develop useful optimizations to make them more efficient. The company expects that the results of this research will enable scientists and consequently end users to identify previously unseen relationships, leading to new discoveries. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Akanocure Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Multiplex Expansion of the Chiral Carbon Catalog Platform towards Stereo-enriched Non-propionate Chemical Classes and Industrial Applications
Contact
3495 Kent avenue, Suite E-100
West Lafayette, IN 47906–1074
NSF Award
1951076 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase II project is to develop tools and platforms to produce valuable chemical building blocks for synthetically challenging compounds, known as polyketides, on large scales. These compounds have diverse and powerful biological activities across multiple indications within the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and veterinary industries. The high impact of this class is hampered by the inefficiencies of current chemical processes to fully tackle their complex structures. To fully unlock the potential of this class of compounds, improved chemistries with greater efficiencies are required to successfully identify high impact candidates for further development. This project will enable the development of a novel class of compounds as antimicrobials and anticancer agents. This Phase II SBIR project will expanding a synthetic toolbox to produce non-classical polypropionate polyketide building blocks, which currently cannot be synthesized at scale. The proposed platform is a synthetic toolbox that allows stereoselective large-scale economic synthesis of various complex polypropionate building blocks from simple starting materials, allowing large-scale production without tedious/expensive purifications and using industrial-friendly crystallization instead. The platform allows easy monitoring of reaction progress, enables smooth process production, and avoids using the cost prohibitive chiral auxiliaries. This project will expand on previous work demonstrating one set of enantiopure polypropionate polyketide natural products (PPNP) precursors for broad applications; these precursors were used to design and synthesize potential lead compounds for anti-microbial crop protection applications. In the proposed work, we will expand our chemistry platform to a more diverse collection of precursors enabling enhanced lead design capabilities and optimization. If computational analysis and rational design call for synthesis of new compounds, these targets will be prepared with our building blocks, which include all possible arrays and are not restricted to naturally occurring compounds. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Albeado, Inc
SBIR Phase II: Predicting Healthcare Fraud, Waste and Abuse by Automatically Discovering Social Networks in Health Insurance Claims Data through Machine Learning
Contact
5201 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054–1157
NSF Award
1758684 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,049,842
Start / end date
04/01/2018 – 03/31/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will usher new Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) products delivering high accuracy with explainability. Without rationale behind predictions, decision makers can't trust and effectively use AI/ML solutions. Outcome of R&D through this project would lead to more accurate and faster detection with appropriate explanation of anomalous interactions and recommend effective controls to 1) eliminate billions of dollars of fraud, waste and abuse (FWA) in Health Insurance markets; 2) lower costs, improve quality and speed of Health Care delivery to consumers; and 3) promote new markets in Personalized Health and Smart Health sector for emerging Medical Internet-of-Things (IOT) devices and systems, enabling economic growth. The results of this research are expected to enable the discovery of medical anomaly together with advancing the detection of new types of FWA. The boost in detection accuracy with explanation will save hundreds of millions of dollars. Societal impact includes reduced costs to consumers and taxpayers through better FWA control and advance health outcome through early medical IOT anomaly detection. More broadly, the system is expected to detect possible opioid or substance abuse epidemic cohorts, under/over-medication, advanced alerts for community health anomalies. The proposed project will extend and generalize a novel machine learning method to solve the Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (FWA) problem in health insurance, coupled with explanatory capability providing rational behind predictions and operationalized in a distributed parallel computing framework for scaling. The technical problem is how to combine relations between entities (e.g., doctors) with their attribute (e.g., a doctor's prescription history). This project advances the state of the art by combining relations between rows in the training data (e.g. doctors) with standard machine learning to improve prediction accuracy while facilitating local explanation. The result is vastly improved prediction accuracy with explainability. Thus, the method uses network information to fill in the gaps of entity information alone and vice versa while facilitating explanation for a test case. This method is expected to significantly improve the ability to detect FWA and pave ways for multi Billion dollars savings, call out IOT-based medical anomaly in advance to improve health outcome and build trust in the predictions for the decision makers through the explanations provided. The team intends to deliver not only the accuracy boost with explainability, but a fully operational system with automated data pipeline, parallel and distributed algorithmic processing framework which can be deployed on a SaaS basis or an enterprise solution. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Alcorix Co.
SBIR Phase II: X-Ray Focusing Device for 20-100 keV Photon Energies
Contact
14047 Franklin Ct.
Plainfield, IL 60544–6098
NSF Award
1831268 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$798,975
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project targets the fabrication of devices capable of focusing X-rays with high energy (from 10 keV to above 100 keV) to spot sizes as small as 7 nanometers. This capability is critical for imaging, microtomography, and elemental and structural analyses of materials and will permit imaging in spectral ranges and at resolutions unavailable today. These devices will enable scientists to better image the interplay of structure and functionality for a wide variety of applications, including the development of life-saving drugs, the creation of materials for high-tech devices, and for a number of important basic scientific purposes. The devices? primary use will be in high-end synchrotron radiation facilities and in X-ray microscopes with in specialized industrial and research environments. These devices form a special class of high-value consumables, addressing a global market segment worth about $7 million today with the potential to increase to more than $14 million in the near future. The intellectual merit of this project is threefold. First, the innovative method of fabrication explores and exploits the ultimate capability of atomic layer deposition (ALD) for achieving nanometer-scale smoothness in very thick, multilayer films. Unlike related methods that rely on deposition onto wires and slicing, this method uses ALD to deposit sequences of low and high refractive index materials onto batch-fabricated cylindrical silicon precursors, with well-controlled layer thicknesses varying from a few nanometers to tens of nanometers. Subsequently, polishing the wafer will yield membranes with hundreds of high-value focusing devices on a single wafer, minimizing the processing costs per device. Second, the envisioned wafer-level processing method allows for a necessary tilt control of the precursors, not possible with wires, for better focusing properties. Third, the method is extendable towards depositing sequences of more-than-two material layers, which enables the fabrication of step-wise graded index diffractive devices with single foci and featuring ultimate diffraction efficiency. Phase I qualified the individual key processes and proved their integration capability into a complete fabrication sequence, while Phase II will deal with the fabrication and testing of prototypes and preparation for production, using long runs of atomic layer deposition processes, as is necessary for functional devices. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Alef Omega, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: A mathematics communication and collaboration system
Contact
2060 Broadway St, Suite B-1
Boulder, CO 80302–5224
NSF Award
1853226 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$820,000
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project continues an ambitious project to create an entirely new way of doing mathematics. It leverages off the recipients' previous projects that resulted in an interactive equation manipulation system and a mathematics communication system. This project expands the technology into a comprehensive platform for learning, doing, and communicating mathematics. The innovation directly addresses deficiencies in STEM education and educational technology products by providing a tool whereby users can learn math by exploration and rapidly develop an intuitive understanding of how equations work through discovery. As such, it opens the creative doors to the world of mathematics to a wide range of students who might otherwise slip through the cracks of traditional mathematics education simply because they think differently. The net impact on society is a lower barrier to entry to STEM fields and an increase in math literacy - thus helping to maintain our standing as global leaders in innovation. This project researches and develops a comprehensive modern mathematics system for students and professionals to effortlessly explore and solve complex equations through a simple and artful interface, elegant design, and powerful math engine. It expands on the recipient's already unique product offerings to create a transformative mathematics platform. The platform is an innovative new way of doing math that allows users to enter any equation on almost any device, and solve it using simple drag-and-drop gestures. Its freeform approach to computer algebra retains the exploratory aspects of pen-and-paper calculations, while benefiting from the computational prowess of the underlying math engine. With a unique user interface and networked multiplayer support, it is also a powerful real-time communication and collaboration tool. This project drastically enlarges the breadth of the technology by focusing on critical tasks in three core areas of development: expanding its core mathematics features, maturing its peer-to-peer math communication system, and structuring its overall system architecture. The project prepares the platform for a precise product-market fit to target school districts for direct licensing, and online education companies for partnership. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Alligant Scientific, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Plug-and-play intelligent charging hardware and software that increases safety, performance and life of lithium ion and lithium metal batteries
Contact
640 Plaza Dr Ste 120
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129–2399
NSF Award
1951242 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$698,255
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to enable greater electric vehicle use; furthermore, the technology’s potential to double battery life will reduce the environmental impact of disposed batteries. This project accelerates electric car adoption by enabling use of 100% of battery operating ranges and maximize usable energy capacity, increasing ongoing driving ranges by 50-100x. This project is a key enabler for expected growth in the global lithium-ion battery market (expected to grow to $68 B by 2022) and the annual hybrid and electric car market (forecast to exceed 10 million vehicles annually by 2025). This SBIR Phase II project proposes to optimize the technology for battery fast charge and capacity retention targets. Battery performance advancements are most often limited by chemistry and materials improvements to electrodes, electrolytes, or cell structure limiting the trade space (i.e., requiring power vs. energy tradeoffs). The proposed charging technology and associated software will selectively optimize cell design for various performance metrics by controlling electrode surface phenomena, such as lithium plating and dendrite formation, that otherwise cause permanent capacity loss during normal use and accelerate internal physical processes limiting charge rate. Technical tasks include: 1) Demonstration of performance improvements to commercial Li-Ion and fabricated Li-metal battery cells; 2) Adaptation of the process from small cells and modules to electric vehicle battery packs; 3) Development of refined sensing and feedback-based control algorithms using Predictive Learning (PL) and Machine Learning (ML) systems; 4) Verification and validation for Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and System on a Chip (SoC) formats. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Allotrope Medical
SBIR Phase II: Ureter Detection during Minimally Invasive or Robotic Surgery by Electrical Stimulus Evoked Responses
Contact
2450 Holcombe Blvd Ste J
Houston, TX 77021–2041
NSF Award
1852999 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$951,914
Start / end date
04/15/2019 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to completely change how critical anatomic structures such as the ureter are identified and protected during surgery. As surgical technology advances and procedures are done using robots and through millimeter-sized incisions, there is an ever-increasing need for technology that quickly and easily identifies different structures in the body during surgery to increase the safety of these techniques, shorten the operations and decrease healthcare costs both from a procedure length standpoint as well as surgical complications. Precise electrical stimulation that generates targeted smooth muscle structure contractions make them immediately visible to the surgeon without needing to perform complex and risky dissections, and eliminates the need for costly (and invasive) products such as ureteral stents to keep patients safe. Smooth muscle stimulation during surgery will change how we operate both today, and in the future. It can help surgeons identify tissue structures with the push of a button, help determine healthy and unhealthy tissues from each other, and can guide clinical decision making. With an ever-increasing need to deliver quality care to patients, technology that increases surgical efficiency, patient safety and decreases healthcare costs will have high demand and significant commercial impact. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will greatly advance the field of surgery through design, development and clinical use of an innovative smooth muscle stimulation device. Surgeons currently spend up to 40% of their operating time looking for structures such as the ureter to prevent accidental injury in over 3 million operations done each year in the US alone, and injuries to this structure accounts for over $3 billion in annual healthcare over-spending. This Phase II project will bring a unique smooth muscle stimulation technology into the operating room to benefit surgeons and patients. A signal generator will be designed and built (with safety features in place), tested, and paired with sterile surgical instruments. These will be tested first in large animal models as well as in-silico studies to confirm safety and efficacy, and then a clinical pilot study will be performed in the hospital setting in patients that consent to participate. The anticipated result of this project is to have a medical device system that passes all standard electrical safety requirement for human use that is shown to be clinically effective in assisting surgeons in identification of structures such as the ureter during lower abdominal/pelvic operations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Altrix Medical, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Smartphone Automated External Defibrillator
Contact
15504 Vine Cottage Drive
Centreville, VA 20120–3750
NSF Award
2026090 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$904,739
Start / end date
10/01/2020 – 09/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to save lives through the miniaturization of automated external defibrillators (AED) integrated with smartphones. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) kills more than 320,000 Americans a year outside of the hospital. An SCA can cause death if it is not treated in minutes. If an AED is available, it can save a person's life. Unfortunately, today’s AEDs are often not available outside of buildings or large population centers and are too big to easily transport outside of an emergency situation, and thus they often arrive too late for a victim. This research creates a new type of AED designed to function as a personal device, small enough to be carried everywhere and securely connected to the Internet through smartphone integration. These next-generation AEDs will save lives by making them available when and where they are needed. These units will be a lightweight addition to an EMT, soldier’s, or park ranger’s emergency kit as a simple and lifesaving addition to everyone’s smartphone. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will advance translation of a novel AED. Specific activities include methods to develop language support; creation of new channels for ECG transmission to emergency rooms and catheter labs prior to patient arrival; and integration with telecommunication systems used by emergency response personnel (e.g., 911). This project will optimize the trade space between form factor and performance, using systems engineering methodologies for verification and validation of the proposed solution. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Ambercycle, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: High-Purity Extraction of PET from Textile Waste
Contact
1900 E 7th Pl
Los Angeles, CA 90021–1602
NSF Award
1830987 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
09/01/2018 – 10/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to allow for the recycling of valuable materials from complex wastes that today cannot be recovered. The commercial impact from this innovation is to allow for complex waste streams that contain multiple materials, such as textiles, to serve as the source of raw materials for the manufacture of new goods in a way that is cost advantaged. This gives those businesses that use such raw materials a sustainable alternative and importantly, a lower-cost, efficiently produced material. In this way, there will be significant incentive for the reuse of thousands of tons of material that today either goes to landfills, oceans, or is incinerated for energy, a very low value application. A funded, successful project will yield an entirely new framework for recycling of complex, multi-component materials. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop novel technologies for fractionating complex wastes. Multi-component wastes such as textiles represent upwards of 4% of total landfill volume. Today, there does not exist technology for recovering the high-value materials that are in these wastes. The proposed project intends to develop a new approach using chemical techniques as opposed to simple melt recycling to enable the value-added recycling of high value polymers from such wastes. Chemical process development will take place in order to take the current status of the technology to implementation in a pilot plant. The main technical objective of the proposal is to develop the process so as to produce large amounts of consistent, high purity product. Materials such as polyester and nylon cannot be separated from natural or cellulosic fibers such as cotton or other textile materials. The goals of the research are to develop the proposers' current process for fractionating the synthetic resins with an emphasis on achieving high purity products at larger volumes. To this end, various chemistry and chemical engineering techniques will be investigated for exclusion of impurities from end product polymer at the kg scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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AmpX Technologies, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Integrated Onboard Charger and Auxiliary Power Module for Electric Vehicles
Contact
387 Technology Advmnt Bldg
College Park, MD 20742–3371
NSF Award
2025899 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$980,058
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to design and develop an integrated charger for electric vehicle applications. Electric vehicles produce less than half the emissions of conventional combustion engine vehicles. This project develops a new integrated onboard charger and auxiliary power module for electric vehicles. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project advances an integrated onboard charger for electric vehicles. Currently, all the upcoming and commercially available electric vehicles are equipped with an individual onboard charger to charge traction batteries and an additional auxiliary power module to power auxiliary loads. This project develops a new topology, design, control, thermal management, packaging, and validation of the first integrated charger onboard and auxiliary power module for electric vehicles. Systems engineering tasks include: optimize the converter design, implement a closed-loop controller, conduct a thermal management study, conduct reliability analyses, design the enclosure, and demonstrate automotive-level functionality requirements. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Amriton LLC
SBIR Phase II: Regenerable Adsorbent Filter for Water Purification
Contact
3401 Grays Ferry Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19146–2701
NSF Award
1660215 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
03/15/2017 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact / commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to offer a low-cost novel filter to purify water with higher effectiveness and superior performance than currently available technologies such as carbon filters. The global water scarcity, including some parts of the US such as the southwest, has led to a strong need for efficient technologies to purify wastewater for direct or indirect potable reuse. Recently, there has been growing concerns over emerging contaminants such as perfluorinated compounds (PFCs e.g. PFOA and PFOS) in surface and groundwater. These PFCs are being found at many groundwater sites and in drinking water wells affected by PFCs. Current technologies are not efficient for the removal of PFCs from water, and there is an immediate need for new cost-effective treatment technologies. To address this unfulfilled need, this project seeks to develop a low cost, reusable filter unit for water purification to remove emerging contaminants such as PFCs. The technology is expected to be used by entities conducting industrial wastewater and groundwater treatment, and wastewater utilities that have a focus on water reuse. The objectives of this Phase II research project are to develop a prototype water filter, test and optimize it for the removal of emerging contaminants with a focus on PFCs. Specifically, the project will focus on: (1) optimization of the adsorbent performance and synthesis method; and scale-up of the synthesis method for bulk production of filter media; (2) optimization of the filter regeneration process; and (3) design, construct, and test a prototype unit of the technology; and determine the process cost. The work will confirm the effectiveness of the filter in removing the target contaminants as well as the effectiveness of the regeneration process to reuse the filter. The PFC contaminants will be first removed from the water and then destroyed. The overall performance of the technology will also be evaluated and compared with other available technologies to determine its cost-effectiveness.
Errata
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Anaflash Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Logic compatible non-volatile neural network accelerator using analog compute-in-memory architecture
Contact
3003 N 1ST ST STE 221
San Jose, CA 95134–2004
NSF Award
1951113 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 10/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to enable energy efficient smart internet of things (IoT) devices capable of running a neural network locally. The proposed energy-efficient neural network accelerator solution uses circuit architecture that allows for chips with a small area, a key enabler for cost-effective adoption and inclusion in space-constrained systems such as mobile devices. The solution is energy-efficient compared to the existing digital logic-based accelerator solutions, which will enable edge implementation for systems with power constraints. The manufacturing process is fully scalable in advanced standard logic processes at almost all manufacturing foundries, thus allowing for widespread adoption of the architecture. The outcome of this project will be an energy-efficient system on a chip (SoC) solution that offers artificial intelligence integration in smart IoT devices without cloud access, while enabling security and privacy enhancements. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to further develop an energy efficient analog circuit topology and variation tolerable system solution. To enable analog compute-in-memory architecture based neural network accelerator solution in an advanced semiconductor process technology, significant design challenges need to be solved with reduced supply voltage and noise margin. Along with the newly proposed area efficient and performance efficient analog compute-in-memory architecture solution, the logic compatible non-volatile neural network accelerator intellectual property core will be designed, fabricated, and validated in the advanced process technology through the project. Once verified successfully from the fabricated silicon in this project, the proposed neural network IP will be ready to be integrated as a key building block of future artificial intelligence systems on a chip and enable energy-efficient smart edge IoT devices. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Antheia, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: A complete bioprocess for medicinal plant opioids
Contact
1505 OBrien Dr. Ste B1
Menlo Park, CA 94025–5222
NSF Award
1758423 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,233,952
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a manufacturing platform for opioid medicines. Opioids enable physicians to provide compassionate care to patients suffering from acute or chronic disease and trauma. The need for opioid analgesics is even more salient for surgeons anticipating the post-operative recovery of their patients and planning for end-of-life care. However, opioids are highly addictive medicines, a property that has been exploited for commercial gain by certain players in the pharmaceutical industry. The impact of this project will be to deliver a technology that transforms the existing supply chain for opioids by removing the need to grow opium poppy as a drug crop. Instead of sourcing poppy materials from poppy-growing countries, this new technology will allow for complete production of opioids in a secure industrial facility located in the United States where federal agencies can provide oversight and regulation. Additionally, investment in this technology will enable the development of many more existing and experimental medicines derived from plants, including greatly improved opioids with improved efficacy and safety, and cardiovascular and chemotherapeutic therapies that will extend and enhance human lives. This SBIR Phase II project will develop a bioprocess for opioid active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). To date, the only commercially-competitive method for manufacturing opioids and related alkaloids is to extract these molecules from plants. However, Baker's yeast was recently engineered to biosynthesize opioids, which is a technological advance that could enable opioid production by fermentation. However, many technical hurdles remain in developing a reliable and cost-effective, commercially-viable production system based on existing strains. The objective of this Phase II project is to provide a complete demonstration and pilot-scale operation of an API bioprocess that is ready for industrial scale up. The research employs four approaches: 1) Further development of the engineered yeast strains, 2) scale up of fermentation from laboratory scale to pilot scale, 3) optimization of downstream recovery and purification, and 4) evaluation of the resulting products to establish their validity as drop-in-replacements for existing opioid APIs. The outcome will be a process validated at pilot scale and ready for technology transfer to a secure industrial facility that will make and sell into the opioids API market. This research will replace opium poppies with a modern bioprocess that resembles established, standardized pharmaceutical industry methods for antibiotic and biologic APIs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Antora Energy, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Research and development of production-scale high-efficiency Thermal Photovoltaic (TPV) cells to enable ultra-low cost energy storage.
Contact
4385 SEDGE ST
Fremont, CA 94555–1159
NSF Award
1951284 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,234,779
Start / end date
06/01/2020 – 11/30/2023
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to generate inexpensive, reliable electricity through solar cells. As renewables such as wind and solar provide a new low-cost means of generating power domestically, energy storage systems capable of transforming these intermittent sources into dispatchable ones are increasingly commercially attractive. However, conventional energy storage technologies, such as advanced batteries, cannot provide the needed resiliency of on the length scale of days. Ultra-low-cost storage technologies, such as those based on thermal energy storage in earth-abundant materials, have the potential to address this large commercial opportunity. The proposed project will advance the development of a new type of heat engine to convert heat into electricity. The proposed project aims to move this thermophotovoltaic (TPV) heat engine from the lab to the market. The goal of this project is to develop large-scale and high-yield manufacturing of these cells with industrial equipment and large-area substrates. The proposed project will explore the cost-performance trade space toward the goal of high-volume production of PV material. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Applied Biosensors, LLC
SBIR Phase II: In-line sensor for monitoring monoclonal antibody production based on hydrogels containing peptide aptamers
Contact
2500 S State St
Salt Lake City, UT 84115–3110
NSF Award
1831249 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,136,329
Start / end date
09/01/2018 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project will benefit society by reducing the cost of manufacturing biologic pharmaceuticals and improving their quality, including pharmaceuticals that are currently too costly to manufacture because they target relatively small patient populations. In order to accelerate the availability of newly discovered drugs, the pharmaceutical industry and federal regulatory agencies have identified a great need for advances in process analytical technologies (PATs) in biomanufacturing. This project will advance state-of-the-art PAT by providing a continuous in-situ sensor enabling novel methods of drug quality assurance. This multi-analyte sensor will allow biopharmaceutical companies, for the first time, to monitor the concentration of the product in-situ as it is being produced along with the concentrations of other important cell culture conditions. This ability unlocks new avenues for optimizing biopharmaceutical production which consumes about 35% of the biologic drug cost-of-goods. Efficient control of upstream processes using sensors such as the one proposed here is expected to reduce these costs by up to 30%. Furthermore, this technology can be directed towards other analytes by replacing the bound affinity ligands. Thus, this technology can be used as a sensing platform in biopharmaceutical manufacturing or medical diagnostics, food processing, and water quality monitoring. This project will advance scientific knowledge of biosensing, hydrogel chemistry, and process analytics by developing the first continuous monoclonal antibody (mAbs) sensor suitable for biomanufacturing. Remarkable progress has been made in developing affinity ligands that specifically bind to targets, but thus far the primary application has been medical therapeutics. This project will develop a biosensor adapting affinity ligands, aptamers in particular, for the first time for application in bioprocess monitoring. This will be accomplished by synthesizing the first antibody-responsive hydrogel containing covalently attached peptide aptamers. Each of the four objectives will focus on hydrogels, electronics, software and system validation respectively. The mAb biosensor will be capable of monitoring quality and yield of mAbs besides the key parameters: pH, osmolality, glucose, and lactate in cell culture environments. This novel hydrogel will be the basis for the first in-situ bioreactor sensor for real-time antibody measurements during biomanufacturing. This adaptable technology can be leveraged towards a number of protein targets; thus, this project represents a transformative approach that will advance scientific knowledge of biosensing across a multitude of applications. Thus, the proposed sensor array will be a powerful tool to advance process analytics and biomanufacturing. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Ares Materials, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Low-cost polymer films for foldable cover lenses used in flexible displays
Contact
840 F Ave., Suite 103
Plano, TX 75074–6864
NSF Award
1853034 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,425,997
Start / end date
03/15/2019 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide the $4B/year cover lens market an economically viable material for the upcoming form-factor it must address: foldable displays. While this market size currently represents displays that employ rigid LCD or OLED technologies, major handset manufacturers are looking to move to highly differentiated form-factors such as foldable phones to gain market share in the competitive flagship smartphone tier. To do so, the entire display module must be foldable and one of the last components to allow for this behavior is the cover lens. Foldable displays therefore must eliminate hard, brittle materials such as glass and utilize materials with the same excellent scratch-resistant properties of glass, but with the flexibility and durability under folding of polymers. This project develops a novel polysulfide thermoset for this application. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop the first low-cost, high-performance foldable cover lens technology using polysulfide thermosetting polymer films. Currently, the amorphous polysulfide thermosets can yield the excellent optical properties and folding durability required for application in foldable display technologies. However, these materials are as of yet unable to meet the strict hardness requirement set by manufacturers looking to replace rigid glass cover lenses. In this work, the expansion of the polysulfide thermoset family of materials will be undertaken to introduce chemical and physical modifications which allow for the resultant thermosetting films to possess the requisite hardness. The resultant resin materials will then be converted using standard wet-film extrusion and curing tools commonly found in the printing industry, allowing for cost-competitive production of the resulting films. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Armaments Research Company, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: IoT System for Small Arms Detection and Response
Contact
6422 Broad St
Bethesda, MD 20816–2608
NSF Award
1926683 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
09/01/2019 – 10/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project lies ultimately in saving lives. This project proposes a Machine Learning-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) firearms detection system for law enforcement. Implementation of this technology would significantly reduce the cognitive burden of police officers in dangerous situations, allowing for more informed decisions. Additionally, there are benefits to the warfighter and security professionals to improve their capabilities in keeping the nation and public safe. Successful implementation and commercialization of a firearms detection system will grant capabilities to objectively monitor and leverage firearm usage data to find insights previously unknown, and to provide a data-driven approach towards real-time reactions around firearms and firearm usage. The proposed project aims to research and develop a Machine Learning-enabled, integrated IoT system dedicated to detecting and processing small arms firearm activity, such as discharges and unholsters. The challenges are two-fold: 1) to develop and iterate based on pilot user feedback regarding the hardware and software portions of the system; and 2) to employ machine learning on a unique dataset for insights on firearms knowledge and handling. The proposed research and development plan calls for pilots with several law enforcement agencies, hardware and software iterations based on user feedback, and research into a real-life dataset collected by police officers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Ascribe Bioscience Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Controlling plant pathogens with novel seed treatments based on nematode-produced ascarosides
Contact
950 Danby Road, Suite 101
Ithaca, NY 14850–5795
NSF Award
1951164 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
07/15/2020 – 06/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) phase II project is to develop a novel seed treatment technology, based on naturally occurring small molecules proven to strongly activate plant’s natural defenses against a wide range of agriculturally important pathogens. The proposed innovation is active at extremely low concentrations, can be readily synthesized in large quantities, and is biodegradable and non-toxic. Every year, approximately 500 million kg of more than 600 different chemical pesticide types are used; this costs an estimated $10 billion and yet 37% of all crops are still destroyed by pests and pathogens. By providing an alternative, effective method for managing diseases in crops, dependence on existing agrochemicals, synthetic fungicides and antibiotics will be reduced, as will the rate of resistance development. The proposed research will establish viability of a natural small molecule as a crop protectant and can improve the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture by reducing the use of potentially harmful pesticides and significantly enhancing global food security. The proposed project seeks to develop a novel control for plant pathogens by leveraging a class of small, naturally occurring molecules that elicit specific immune responses in plants. The proposed project will demonstrate a seed-coating formulation capable of long-term stability and efficacy under field conditions, adversely affecting neither seed germination/ growth nor natural microbe/insect populations. The project objectives are to 1) Perform multi-location field trials with wheat and soybean against three high-impact pathogens to confirm efficacy of seed treatments; 2) Conduct greenhouse studies to investigate potential synergies of seed and spray treatments, including in combination with other crop protection agents; 3) Determine effects of seed or spray treatments on nematode infestation in soybean; 4) Scale chemical synthesis of the active ingredient and optimize the seed-coating formulation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Astrapi Corporation
SBIR Phase II: Spiral Polynomial Division Multiplexing
Contact
100 Crescent Court
Dallas, TX 75201–2112
NSF Award
1738453 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$987,173
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 11/30/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is that it addresses the bandwidth crisis, the problem of transmitting an exponentially growing amount of data through a fixed amount of increasingly congested spectrum. The bandwidth crisis limits economic growth by constraining communication, and also poses very serious challenges for national defense and disaster response. Making better use of limited spectrum is therefore of high societal and commercial importance. This project will study a new approach, called spiral modulation, for achieving much more spectrally efficient communication than previously thought possible and thereby directly addressing the bandwidth crisis. Commercially, this could facilitate much more rapid data transfer, enhancing existing business applications and enabling new ones. Spiral modulation is applicable to any form of electromagnetic communication, whether wireless or wire-based. It could lead to commercialization across a wide range of communication sectors including but not limited to wireless, mobile internet, unmanned vehicles, automotive, aviation, and Internet of Things. It is a dual use technology with both civilian and defense applications. Ultimately, spiral modulation could become the core technology for the worldwide telecommunications industry. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project applies new mathematics to the problem of encoding information into waveforms for telecommunication. In current digital communication, information is transmitted using symbol waveforms constructed from sinusoids which have constant amplitude over each symbol period. This approach is known to produce a sharp upper bound on the highest spectral efficiency that can be achieved. By instead constructing symbol waveforms from sinusoidal waveforms with continuously-varying amplitude, spiral modulation bypasses the theoretical limitation on spectral efficiency. Building on prior Phase I research, this project will build an end-to-end hardware prototype to establish the implementation path and performance characteristics of spiral modulation. The research will progress in stages from waveform design and spectral efficiency measurement experiments, through end-to-end radio design in software, the hardware prototype development and documentation of best practices. It is anticipated that this research will show significant spectral efficiency advantages over existing signal modulation techniques. Other possible advantages for spiral modulation may also appear, such as greater tolerance for interference and phase distortion.
Errata
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Astrileux Corporation
SBIR Phase II: Next Generation High Performance EUV Photomasks.
Contact
4225 Executive Sq Ste 490
La Jolla, CA 92037–8411
NSF Award
1927546 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$899,999
Start / end date
10/01/2019 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to drive the next generation of advanced computing power and performance by manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs) at 7 nm and smaller. Today's central processing units (CPUs) contain 7.2 B chips and over 1.2 sextillion chips are manufactured per year. Next generation technology is expected to enable artificial intelligence and machine learning through both conventional computing and potentially new paradigms for transformative applications such as self-driving cars and smart buildings, but new ways are needed to make appropriate chips. The proposed project will develop a technology to address this need as chipmakers meet their desired goals. The proposed project addresses challenges related to high volume manufacturing at the 7 nm node for lithography tools and their components. An EUV photomask, a high commodity component, patterns and replicates integrated circuit design into silicon wafers. Current EUV photomasks have a sub-optimal manufacturing yield of ~65% and suffer from defectivity during fabrication of its architecture. During operational use the photomask sustains damage from the debris generated by the EUV plasma light source that implants in the mask and inevitably replicates in the wafer, destroying the integrated chip pattern. In high volume manufacturing, these issues manifest in the wafer yield, the reusability of a mask, and drive the need for high cost real-time inspection and metrology. We propose a new EUV photomask which promises a higher robustness to defects, a higher manufacturing yield, better uniformity and more reusability of masks in operations and longer lifetime. The goals of the project are to evaluate new integrated architecture for the EUV mask design, develop a higher yield fabrication process and characterize their EUV performance. More robust architectures reduce capital outlay requirements for in-situ metrology and inspection and ultimately bring down the cost of next generation electronics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Atoptix, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Field-deployable, hand-held spectrophotometer sensor platform for citrus growers to rapidly screen for HLB disease
Contact
200 Innovation Blvd
State College, PA 16803–6602
NSF Award
1831224 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$875,423
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to increase overall crop health and production with the proposed smartphone compatible crop health sensor. More specifically, crop disease remains a significant threat to global food security, and with the ability to perform pre-visual screening, the proposed platform enables cost efficient, quantitative detection of crop disease, empowering farmers to take action to reduce disease impact. Initially the sensor platform provides a timely solution for cost effective, high throughput, and pre-visual screening of citrus Huanglongbing disease (HLB), enabling citrus growers to effectively manage HLB in their groves and remain profitable. The pre-visual, cost efficient and quantitative detection capability also translates to detection of diseases in other crops. In addition, the sensing technology developed can be used for quantitative assessment of crop nutrient and water stress, enabling farmers to optimally manage crop health, providing a means to optimize profits, increase crop yields, and reduce environmental impacts. This is critical to ensuring national and global food security, and protecting national water supplies by reducing eutrophication of water bodies due to misdiagnosis and mistreatment of crop stressors. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 project is built upon Atoptix?s patented compact self-referenced spectrophotometer design, which reduces the size and cost of an optical spectrophotometer to enable field use and integration with smartphone technology. For each spectral measurement, the sensor simultaneously records a self-referenced spectrum, retaining the sensitivity and reliability generally reserved for costlier and bulkier spectrophotometer designs, but also enabling a non-technical user to collect data in the field at the push of a button. Distinct from surface reflection methods, the proposed sensor enables pre-visual detection of a pathogen, as it only captures light that has penetrated inside of a leaf and interacted with internal structures. By lowering the cost of the optical sensor through patented designs, increasing ease of use via a smartphone, and joining the precision of optical spectroscopy with machine learning based analytics, the proposed sensor can enable widespread adoption by growers in disease prone regions, where community wide screening is key for protecting grower assets. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Automated Controversy Detection, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: A Controversy Detection Signal for Finance
Contact
10 Oak Dr. Apt A
Granby, MA 01033–9767
NSF Award
1951091 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$742,421
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result from development of a technology to automatically detect controversy and disinformation, providing a means for financial institutions to reduce risk exposure. Controversies and disinformation have received public attention and political concern recently. Application of the technology in the finance industry is part of a growing trend toward "alternative data" products relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning, saving analyst time and enabling faster reactions to news stories and social media. Demonstrating the innovation in a quantifiable application, such as finance, is expected to lead to more far-reaching societal impact by enabling users to critically and quantitatively evaluate the often-overwhelming stream of online content. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project advances the development of novel algorithms that automatically detect controversy in social media, news, and other outlets. The proposed project will apply a real-time controversy detection signal to financial data, using methods such as language models and machine learning. Additionally, this project will: 1) build core capabilities based on existing controversy detection technology; and 2) construct novel algorithms with broad applicability. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Autonomous Healthcare Inc
SBIR Phase II: A Clinical Decision Support System for Fluid Resuscitation of Intensive Care Unit Patients
Contact
132 Washington St
Hoboken, NJ 07030–4692
NSF Award
1831225 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$962,001
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project involves addressing complexities in fluid management, one of the most important issues in critical care. Suboptimal fluid management results in many complications such as pulmonary edema. Studies show that fluid overload is associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality. Recent studies also show that restrictive fluid resuscitation protocols result in a reduction of mechanical ventilation days and hospital length of stay. The clinical literature provides ample evidence of optimized fluid therapy benefits for different patient populations including those with sepsis and post-operative patients. However, implementation of fluid therapy is highly subjective. Specifically, the most critical unanswered questions involve the timing and the volume of fluid infusions. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project proposes to develop a system which uses continuous measurements from a standard intensive care unit hemodynamic monitoring device to provide actionable feedback for clinicians to optimize fluid and vasoactive drug management. In the proposed Phase II work, we will further develop the clinical decision support system developed in Phase I. This includes further development of the underlying technology and also performing preliminary clinical studies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Avidhrt Inc
SBIR Phase II: Affordable Remote Cardiac Monitoring Device For Improved Firefighter Safety Outcomes
Contact
2721 Sophiea Parkway
Okemos, MI 48864–4078
NSF Award
1853192 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$763,644
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a comprehensive physiological monitoring platform that provides individuals working in hazardous occupations, such as firefighters, with longitudinal and real-time physiological monitoring that includes predictive diagnostics. Because existing physiological monitoring products are cost-prohibitive for most fire and emergency service agencies, and 50% of firefighter deaths are due to sudden cardiac events, this technology offers fire-service agencies an affordable mechanism for addressing this critical problem. Multiple studies have shown that early detection of an irregular heart-rate event (arrhythmias) offers a significant advantage in preventing and treating further CVD. The proposed technological innovation would consist of a wearable physiological monitoring device, which will use a range of networking mechanisms to communicate with a user-friendly analytical platform. Further, the integration of a self-alert system into a wearable patch would support a standalone operation even if there were to be a communication lag between a firefighter and command center. Early detection of arrhythmias and promoting corrective actions could reduce each individual cardiovascular disability claim by about $325,000. The proposed project aims to reduce the economic and social costs associated with firefighter injuries and fatalities due to underlying cardiovascular-disease and the extreme physiological strain resulting from the hazardous occupational environments in which fire services personnel work. The affordability of the proposed technology would not only improve occupational safety in the industry, but also enable scientists to further scientific knowledge about the interrelationships between oxygen saturation, ECG values, and extreme heat and physiological stress by using this technology to conduct experimental and field-based research. The longitudinal analysis possible with this platform would also give scientists the tools necessary to research the relationships between physiological stress and human performance factors, to gain a deeper understanding about critical factors in mechanisms such as decision making, risk perception, and communication. These factors are frequently cited in National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) after incident investigations of firefighter fatalities, along with playing important roles in the operating procedure standards set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Avium, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Dual Element Matrix (DEM) Water Electrolyzer
Contact
1714 W 26th St
Lawrence, KS 66046–4206
NSF Award
1951216 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to make on-site hydrogen generation convenient and economically viable. Hydrogen is a chemical used widely in industry and serves an alternative fuel source for electric vehicles, increasing drive range and shortening refueling time, but adoption has been limited by the needs for refueling infrastructure. One method to address this is to create hydrogen by splitting water, alleviating the safety, logistical, and reliability issues associated with the delivery and storage of hydrogen, but existing technology has been associated with high capital and operating costs. The objective of this proposal is to advance water splitting technology, enabling a non-polluting, zero-emission hydrogen solution. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an advanced electrolyzer. The project will (1) synthesize the catalysts and fabricate these electrodes on an industrial scale; (2) characterize the relationship between electrode architecture and kinetic and mass-transfer limitations; and (3) identify the electrode architecture, stack compression, and flow rates required to translate the performance of these electrodes to an industrial-sized prototype. The project will utilize mathematical modeling to guide electrode architecture development and a three cell industrial-sized test stack for experimental testing before employing electrodes in a full 4 kg/day stack. Furthermore, the project will employ the electrodes in a 4 kg/day pressurized stack and integrate these components to produce hydrogen at 20 bar to the SAE J2719 standard of 99.998% purity. The projected targets for stack and system efficiency for the final system are 43 kWh/kg and 55 kWh/kg. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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AwareAbility Technologies LLC
SBIR Phase II: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Betavoltaic Powered Sensor Controller
Contact
1275 Kinner Rd
Columbus, OH 43212–0000
NSF Award
1853115 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$912,043
Start / end date
04/15/2019 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a breakthrough power source for small electronic devices that will move the reality of smart cities and smart rural areas closer to the vision. The center piece of the innovation is the wide bandgap semiconductor betavoltaic power source, essentially an innovative nuclear-based micro-battery. The energy storage density of this power source is estimated to be three orders of magnitude greater than conventional NiMH battery technology. This power innovation will be combined with the very latest in ultra low power electronics and energy harvesting circuitry to realize sensors that are effectively self-powered for the useful life of device. The betavoltaic power source will enable the realization of the 'Internet-of-Things' vision by solving the power challenge, supporting the public good through enhanced safety and security, improved mobility and support for new and disruptive business ventures. The proposed project will attempt to solve a portion of the power challenge that today limits the implementation and scale of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Experts predict billions and possibly trillions of "things" connected by IoT technologies. This requires transformative advances in the science, technology, and engineering. The proposed betavoltaic power source will achieve advancements in all three areas, focused on the power challenge. Although research papers have been published on micro nuclear batteries, the power levels of the previous implementations are insufficient for broad market application. Through the use of novel fabrication techniques and optimal material selection and placement, the proposed power source will achieve at least an order of magnitude improvement in power efficiency over any previous result achieved, with target power efficiency level in excess of 30%. This surpasses the breakout power level required for mass adoption of the new power source. Work on this power source will result in new technology development for enhancing the efficiency of nuclear micro-battery. New semiconductor material processing and fabrication techniques related to the incorporation of radioactive materials will be developed as well as greater understanding of wide band gap semiconductor material behavior under irradiation as applied to radiation-hardened electronics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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AxNano LLC
SBIR Phase II: Effective Treatment of Groundwater Pollution Using a System Utilizing Controlled Release Polymer Materials
Contact
527 Bridge Street
Danville, VA 24541–1405
NSF Award
1758621 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$753,347
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will pilot field test controlled release polymers (CRPs) as an in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) remediation material. With a controlled time release of the oxidant payload, the CRPs technology treats contaminated water over longer periods eliminating the occurrence of contaminant rebound resulting in overall shorter cleanup time and total cost. ISCO is the fastest growing field among sub surface contaminant remediation technologies. Current commercial ISCO deployment methods utilize liquid oxidants as reagents which possess short term reactivity (days). To address contaminant rebounding, these injectable formulations require costly re-injections. This project would result in a novel product that is environmentally benign and achieves sustained release of oxidative agents over extended treatment periods (months to years) with a single application. CRPs are a novel technology, offering a highly tunable remediation amendment for the $1.4B Chemical Treatment Remediation Market. Ultimately, CRPs based treatments will decrease exposure to groundwater contaminants known to cause many human health disorders. The technical objectives in this Phase II research project will be to field test CRPs patented, controlled release polymer technology for in situ chemical oxidation of contaminated groundwater. To support field testing, a pilot scale manufacturing process for the initial minimum viable product established in Phase I will be developed. Manufacturability will be tested in terms of product quality and stability, throughput, and cost. CRPs formulations based on multiple oxidants, will be manufactured to address a broad range of environmental contaminants including chlorinated solvents, BTEX (benzene/toluene/ethylbenzene/xylene), PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), and petroleum hydrocarbons. CRPs will be pilot tested at two field sites with impacted soil and groundwater. The rate and duration of oxidant delivery and contaminant degradation will be measured. In particular, pilot field testing will assess the ability of CRPs to eliminate rebounding. Field data and computation modeling will be used to create a remediation design tool to prescribe future CRP dosing deployment strategies. Collectively, this Phase II program will result in a clear understanding of in-field performance of the CRPs technology to guide future full scale deployment and market uptake. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Axalume Inc.
SBIR Phase II: High-performance, tunable silicon laser arrays designed for mass production
Contact
16132 Cayenne Creek Rd.
San Diego, CA 92127–3708
NSF Award
1927082 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$774,518
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is demonstrate new lasers for advanced communication and sensing applications. The proposed work includes the design, simulation, and testing of new lasers to meet rapidly-growing high-speed data center optical communication and emerging automotive laser range-finding requirements. The proposed project activities will include the design, simulation, and experimental verification of hybrid, external-cavity silicon-based optical sources to meet rapidly-growing high-speed datacenter optical communication and emerging automotive laser range-finding requirements. The project will demonstrate that a flexible electronic-photonic integration process can be created to enable dense integration of silicon-photonic and silicon-electronic circuits, independent of specific foundry or fabrication production limitations. This process can be used to develop arrays of high-performance, low-noise, and widely-tunable lasers for advanced optical communication and sensing applications. The proposed project will address existing laser mode-control issues and reduce back-reflection issues. The result will be silicon-photonic lasers suitable for commercial production that will demonstrate industry-leading semiconductor laser capabilities including low-noise, narrow-linewidth, and wide tunability in single and multi-laser chipsets. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Azimuth1, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Envimetric - Soil and water contamination predictive modeling tools
Contact
501 Church St NE
Vienna, VA 22180–4711
NSF Award
1831137 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project is a significant reduction in the cost and time to remove hazardous contaminants from the soils and groundwater impacting communities. Properties observed from thousands of contaminated sites serve as inputs to a computerized mathematical model of the site, forecasting the most likely shape and depth of a contaminant plume. This machine learning model gives remediation planners access to a fast delineation of volume to be remediated as well as the uncertainty of the modeled estimate. This saves time and money searching for these contaminants that are deep underground and in groundwater. This Phase II project will expand on the Phase I prototype, creating an operational product capable of reaching the needs of environmental engineers and scientists around the globe, providing the stimulus to cut remediation time and cost in half. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Azitra Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Re-engineered skin bacteria as a novel topical drug delivery system
Contact
400 Farmington Ave
Farmington, CT 06032–1913
NSF Award
1853071 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$719,727
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project aims to develop a novel engineered microbiome as a potential therapeutic for a rare skin disease called Netherton syndrome. Netherton syndrome (NS) is a rare, severe skin disease with high mortality and few treatment options. This proposal aims to develop a new therapeutic for this disease, a microbe-based protein delivery system of LEKTI, the missing protein responsible for NS symptoms. At the end of this project, a candidate live biotherapeutic product candidate (LETKI-secreting strain of S. epidermidis) will be nominated and the Company will have sufficient data with which to proceed into formal preclinical studies and subsequent human testing. This proposed product will have the potential to address thousands of patients in the U.S., and the broader proof-of-principle of this microbe-based technology offers significant potential to treat millions of patients living with skin conditions. This offers significant advances in innovation in addition to broad commercial potential. This project aims to develop a novel therapeutic candidate composed of an engineered strain of S. epidermidis that secretes LEKTI protein to the skin for the treatment of Netherton syndrome (NS). NS is a rare but severe autosomal recessive disease that affects the skin, hair, and immune system. NS is caused by mutations in in the SPINK5 gene encoding the serine protease inhibitor lymphoepithelial Kazal-type related inhibitor (LEKTI), which contains 15 serine protease inhibitory domains. The goal of this Phase II project is to demonstrate a proof-of-concept therapeutic for NS: an engineered commensal microbe that delivers discrete domains of LETKI to the skin. The proposed Phase II research plan will establish critical criteria for nominating a potential live biotherapeutic product (LBP) candidate composed LEKTI-secreting S. epidermidis. This research will perform key activities in preclinical development of an LBP: identify an optimal sequence of LEKTI; develop analytical methods for detecting LEKTI secreted from an engineered strain of S. epidermidis; and develop analytical methods for measuring biodistribution and adsorption of LEKTI secreted by S. epidermidis in a human in vitro model. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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BADVR, INC.
SBIR Phase II: Novel Platform for Visualizing Big Data in Virtual Reality
Contact
4505 Glencoe Ave
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292–6372
NSF Award
2025890 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be a fundamental advancement in the way people see, understand, and work with geospatial data. The proposed research will commercialize immersive analytics technology across the telecom, Internet of Things (IoT), and transportation industries, all of which use outdated 2D mapping tools. This technology can also improve visualization of data regarding environmental changes, health crises, and other changing situations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project fuses augmented reality and virtual reality with artificial intelligence to address data visualization pain points in the telecom sector. Like the buildings they inhabit, wireless signals exist in three dimensions and are difficult to represent through traditional 2D charts and graphs. The objective of this research is to develop a an immersive analytics platform where users literally step inside their geodata and manipulate it in real time. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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BENANOVA Inc
SBIR Phase II: Lignin-Based Formulations for Efficient and Sustainable Control of Plant Pathogens
Contact
840 Main Campus Dr. #3550
Raleigh, NC 27606–5221
NSF Award
1950915 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on addressing environmental challenges associated with extensive use of synthetic agrochemicals by developing novel sustainable nanoformulations for efficient management of bacterial and fungal pathogens. The broader impacts of this research and development effort are important on several levels; the sustainable agricultural treatments developed in this project could help protect natural resources, enhance security of the national food supply by reducing crop losses, and improve public health. While the initial focus is on efficient delivery of anti-microbial and anti-fungal crop protection chemicals, this platform can be applied for actives and biologicals with other functionalities. Thus, in addition to agricultural crop protection products, the environmentally benign nanoparticle delivery system developed in the project may find future applications in many products targeted to the consumer market, construction, personal care and healthcare. This SBIR Phase II project will advance the development of a novel platform where engineered nanoparticles made from sustainable materials will replace harmful and persistent synthetic chemical agents used presently. The research objective is to utilize the widely available bio-renewable resource lignin as a natural non-persistent bio-degradable delivery system for agricultural actives. Colloidal particles made of technical lignin will be fabricated in large amounts by non-solvent precipitation in a continuous, green, low-cost method and then functionalized for stability and improved targeted attachment to the plant foliage. A multi-disciplinary approach is proposed to characterize thoroughly the new formulations and correlate their material characteristics and agronomic performance. This new knowledge will make possible to develop physico-chemical means of enhancing their field efficacy. In addition, research will focus on safety evaluation via human health risk assessment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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BERD LLC
SBIR Phase II: Advanced Manufacturing of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Metal Hybrid Structures for Bicycle Spokes
Contact
2400 N 2nd St
Minneapolis, MN 55411–2256
NSF Award
1951193 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the replacement of steel with synthetic materials that are stronger and lighter. The beachhead market for this technology is the performance bicycle spoke market, which is a $180M global market. The potential benefits of this technology go beyond cycling because the polymer-to-metal interface has other potential applications. Cable assemblies are used in a wide variety of applications and industries such as industrial, aerospace, construction, and consumer goods. Advances in the termination of synthetic cable assemblies will enable the creation of higher strength-to-weight ratio cables and thereby increase efficiencies in transportation applications and improve the safety of tension based systems. An application of particular societal benefit is wheelchair wheels, where weight reduction increases portability for those with physical disabilities. Investment in termination technologies for high performance polymers will also help bridge the gap between polymer research and industry, helping society benefit from developments in polymer science occurring in academia. Finally, the ability to produce low-cost rope terminations will increase US manufacturing competitiveness because the majority of high-volume production is outsourced to low-cost labor markets. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an advanced manufacturing process for ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and metal hybrid structures for bicycle spokes. UHMWPE has a strength-to-weight ratio of fifteen times that of steel, but it cannot be utilized in many applications because of the difficulty in manufacturing high-strength bonds to metal. The primary objectives of this research are to automate the insertion and bonding of stainless steel rods inside the hollow cavity of braided fibers, and to automate the creation of eye splices. These operations require delicate manipulation of fibers in a confined space, and are typically performed manually. Instead, we will develop novel automatic machinery that will create these bonds, inspect the final product, and validate the strength with 100% in-process inspection. Another objective of this research is to develop a black surface coating process for braided UHMWPE fibers. To achieve this, we will identify a surface pretreatment procedure to add functionality to the non-polar backbone of UHMWPE, develop the coating chemistry, and create an in-line coating system that integrates with our manufacturing process. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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BLUESHIFT, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Solar Concentrator Unit for Low-Cost Metal Additive Manufacturing
Contact
575 Burbank St
Broomfield, CO 80020–1666
NSF Award
2026177 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$950,618
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project comes from the development of a concentrated solar 3D printer capable of operating on the Moon. The 3D printer efficiently harnesses the heat of the Sun to fuse lunar soil into custom parts for producing mechanical components and structures. The resources on the Moon, particularly sunlight and soil, enable in situ parts production without the expensive step of launching materials from Earth. This capability for in-space manufacturing could be used for many applications. Furthermore, the proposed technology can be used to develop a low-cost, consumer 3D printer capable of fabricating custom components of metal, glass, and many previously inaccessible materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance development of a Solar Additive Manufacturing (SAM) test platform. This project will explore several feedstock materials, including lunar soil simulants, glass, and a select metal. Test coupons will be produced to characterize part quality and strength and iterative testing will be performed to optimize printer performance. Custom mechanical components will then be produced from lunar soil simulants as a demonstration of practical parts for lunar manufacturing. The final stage of the project will be to reduce system complexity and design a lightweight, purpose-built solar 3D printer. This effort will produce a low-cost solar printer ready for the consumer market as well as a lunar payload prototype design for testing in a lunar environment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Bakman Technologies LLC
SBIR Phase II: A Spectroscopic THz Sensor for Mixed Gas Analysis and Air Pollution Monitoring
Contact
15462 Longbow Dr.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403–4910
NSF Award
1831168 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$930,019
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 05/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to create an economical, light‐weight, high performance Terahertz (THz) spectrometer to allow testing of air and fossil fuels for the presence of harmful compounds. A frequency domain THz spectrometer is capable of characterizing the different molecules and chemicals in a gas sample. Historically these spectrometers have been relegated to the laboratory because of their size and complexity but recent technical advancements have made it possible to build a spectroscopic THz sensor small enough and light enough to be flown on a consumer drone. The reductions in size and cost have opened the door to using THz sensors for emissions testing of ships entering U.S. waters or contaminant testing of fossil fuels at petroleum processing facilities. This is significant because the ability to analyze samples locally removes the time and expense of collecting and shipping potentially dangerous compounds (i.e. flammable compounds or pollutants) to a laboratory for analysis. It also allows detection and classification to occur on short notice and without the need to subject personnel to the local environment. The proposed project will produce the first article of a compact, battery operated, autonomously operating spectroscopic THz sensor capable of mixed gas analysis to parts per million sensitivities. It will be constructed predominantly from economical off‐the‐shelf fiber optic components in a novel highly compact, light‐weight form factor. In order to achieve the high sensitivities, the spectroscopic THz sensor will incorporate: high fidelity lasers from the telecommunications industry, custom designed and fabricated high efficiency, hermetically sealed photomixers, a folded, light‐weight, carbon fiber sample cell incorporating patented 3D printed mirror technology and a patented optical phase‐modulation technique that removes the effects of coherent detection. The instrument will first be employed for laboratory based measurements of sulfur-containing contaminants in gas flows. Upon the successful demonstration of the capabilities of the instrument, a first article will be used in initial testing and collaborative field work. Sales of a larger laboratory instrument based on the same technology will begin simultaneously. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Battery Resourcers LLC
SBIR Phase II: A Closed Loop Process for the recycle of End-of-Life Li-ion Batteries
Contact
94 Francis Ave
Shrewsbury, MA 01545–3014
NSF Award
1738027 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,177,850
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to demonstrate the feasibility of Battery Resourcers recycling process on a scale that has commercial significance. This will further allow Battery Resourcers to scale its process such that it can be a player in the lithium ion battery recycling market place. Battery Resourcers' ultimate goal is into increase recycling rates of spent Li-ion batteries by providing an economically viable domestic recycling option. Additionally, Battery Resourcers process produces low cost cathode materials for the battery industry which may ultimately further enable green technologies like solar, wind and electric vehicles. This SBIR Phase 1 award proposes to scale the Battery Resourcers recycling process from 50kg to 0.5 tons of spent Li-ion batteries. The proposed research focuses on process speed, safety and the quality of the recovered materials. Rate limiting steps in Battery Resourcers recycling process will be studied with an effort to improve process speed. Specifically, Battery Resourcers will look at new filtering methods for the solutions generated in its process. A method to safety shred Li-ion batteries is examined by controlling the atmosphere and removing the batteries' stored energy. Finally, the production of quality cathode materials from spent Li-ion batteries is scaled from 50kg to 0.5 tons. Battery Resourcers' goal is to produce commercial quality cathode powder on a scale that matters to industry.
Errata
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Addenda
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BenchFly Inc
SBIR Phase II: A secure educational interactive software platform for improving high school student achievement
Contact
5543 Edmondson Pike #247
Nashville, TN 37211–5808
NSF Award
1738332 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$975,784
Start / end date
09/01/2017 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project is focused on the challenge of significantly improving student achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts through the development of an innovative video software platform that leverages the benefits of video-based active learning in the educational environment. STEM fields are widely regarded as vital to a nation's economy, but a disconnect exists between the STEM knowledge and skills that students acquire in schools and those that they need to succeed in an increasingly global, technology-dependent workplace. Phase II research will enable development and testing of a video and peer review tool that will merge the core inquiry steps of successful scientists with state-of-the-art video proprietary technology, and allow collaboration between students and teachers located anywhere in the country. Commercialization of this technology will provide school districts with a needed educational tool to help teachers direct and assess STEM activities, and support students as they learn critical thinking skills and master STEM concepts, a mastery fundamental to successful careers in science and engineering. Encouraging the growth of students' STEM competency through this technology will encourage the growth of scientific innovations of the future, supporting domestic jobs and a strong financial tax foundation for our country's economic prosperity. The technical innovation in this SBIR project is an educational video software platform designed as a framework for STEM critical science inquiry, incorporating proprietary source code, student peer review, teacher assessment, analytics, a searchable database, and secure class-to-class video sharing. Each project requires that students work within a framework mirroring the best practices of professional scientists: Students organize concepts in terms of hypotheses, evidence, and analysis, and communicate their evidence-based projects to be peer reviewed. The secure video software platform is designed to be used within high schools and integrated into teachers' existing Learning Management Systems (LMS) to assess student progress. The goals and scope of the research are to develop the interactive video player source code that supports the educational framework and then demonstrate the results of this platform on student achievement utilizing a standardized achievement test. These goals will be accomplished through several tasks focused on software development to incorporate secure account creation, peer-review interactivity, and LMS integration, followed by demonstration of class-to-class connectivity of the platform. A pilot study will assess the software platform?s functionality and validate its potential to significantly increase high school student critical thinking and scientific inquiry measures on a standardized test.
Errata
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Addenda
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Bender Tech, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Internet-Connected Urinalysis System for Passive Health Monitoring
Contact
414 Fayetteville St.
Raleigh, NC 27601–1793
NSF Award
2026127 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase II (SBIR) project is to help remote monitoring of patients with chronic liver disease to reduce unnecessary procedures, improve quality of care, and lower costs. This project will advance a novel internet-of-things (IoT) smart-toilet for passive urine testing. This project will help provide a passive way to monitor the 4.5 million liver disease patients in the United States, an estimated market valued at $860 million. The proposed solution will enable quality care to be delivered at home and in remote locations, improving treatment for traditionally underserved populations. It can potentially be used for other medical conditions as well. This SBIR Phase II project will develop a novel urinalysis system. The systems engineering include integration of: mechanical and electrical engineering solutions to power passive, automated mechatronics and sensor-testing equipment, biomedical engineering for the development of biosensors, signal analysis to measure physiological urinary biomarkers, software engineering related to the aspects of firmware and internet-connected data processing, and data science for algorithm development informed by longitudinal health data. The technical tasks include: hardware design for manufacturing and assembly compatibility; development of architecture for database management, device registration, over-the-air (OTA) updates, and error handling; and front-end development for both web and mobile data integration and visualization. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Berkeley Brewing Science Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Engineering brewer's yeast for enhanced flavor production during fermentation
Contact
2323 Spaulding Ave
Berkeley, CA 94703–1627
NSF Award
1831242 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$949,999
Start / end date
08/15/2018 – 01/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop engineered brewer's yeast to produce hop flavor compounds during beer fermentation, so as to replace the need for agriculturally produced hops. Using agriculturally produced hops as a flavor component poses several challenges: 1) hops farming is natural resource intensive, 2) flavors imparted by hops are inconsistent from batch-to-batch, 3) lengthy agriculture timelines decouple demand from supply, and 4) new flavor varieties are restricted by slow and capital intensive hops breeding programs. This project establishes a product development framework for engineering brewer's yeast to produce flavor compounds during fermentation that are matched to consumer preferences. The technology developed during this project will allow for sustainable, consistent, on-demand production of hop flavors, and, in addition, may be extended to additional flavors and other fermentable products. This SBIR Phase II project will develop engineered brewer's yeast for production of flavor compounds that are ordinarily derived from hops. At present, the beer industry relies on agriculturally produced hops to impart organoleptically rich flavors and character to beer. Engineered yeast strains will serve as a drop-in replacement for conventional brewing strains, in that they both ferment beer and produce flavor compounds at concentrations desired in the finished beer. By applying an agile development framework towards yeast strain development, new brewer's yeast strains will be generated that produce flavor bouquets preferred by brewers and consumers. Genes that encode biosynthetic pathways for production of flavor compounds will be incorporated into brewer's yeast, and various gene regulatory programs will be tested that give rise to myriad flavor bouquets in finished beer. Strains will be initially evaluated in small-scale micro-aerobic fermentations and analyzed by GC/MS to screen for relevant flavor compound concentrations. Based on screening results, strains with desired target flavor compound concentrations will be used to produce beer at industrial pilot scale for evaluation by sensory analysis panels as a means of generating consumer feedback. This workflow will be deployed in an iterative fashion to optimize the performance of the hops flavor-producing brewer's yeast. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Bert Thin Films, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Low Cost Copper Contacts with Built in Barriers for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells
Contact
625 Myrtle St
Louisville, KY 40208–2241
NSF Award
1660161 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,249,996
Start / end date
04/01/2017 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to develop copper based pastes for the metallization of silicon solar cells. Photovoltaics (PV) offer an opportunity for clean and affordable energy and over the past decade the PV industry has seen annual compound growth rates of over 50%. Although revenues are high, the profit margins for many manufacturers have substantially diminished, necessitating the need for cutbacks throughout the value chain. One area marked for cost reduction, is in the metallization of the solar cells, which now commands nearly 10 percent of the world's supply. Having the cost of photovoltaic panels tied to a precious metal with price volatility can lead to higher prices for renewable energy; thus replacing silver with copper is a significant opportunity for the industry. Thus the outcomes of this project would be a product for making solar energy more affordable. The project also includes creating two new full time positions in Kentucky in Advanced Research and Manufacturing. This proposal will enhance scientific understanding of the copper-silicon contact formation and durability of the material during operation. The technological feasibility of the copper pastes with an inherent diffusion barrier was demonstrated on standard and bifacial solar cells in Phase I. Phase II will further improve the screen printable pastes to industry standards. To achieve the high electrical performance required in this market, the project will investigate the copper-silicon interface to investigate the mechanisms involved during contact formation, and the chemical nature of the copper-silicon interface. This information will be used to optimize the chemical composition and thermal treatment of the pastes to improve electrical performance and cell lifetime. The pastes will be optimized for industrial operating equipment to provide the manufacturer with a product that can be dropped in, with minimal changes to the production line. Phase II will also involve scale up of the core materials in the pastes to be able to engage customers in further printing trials. Through the assembly and testing of prototype solar cell modules, the durability of the copper contacts will be demonstrated. The outcomes of this proposal will be screen printable copper pastes that can be direct drop in replacement for the silver pastes; thereby enhancing the profit margins of the solar cell manufacturer.
Errata
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Beta Hatch Inc
SBIR Phase II: Scalable insect farming for agriculture
Contact
1421 S 192nd Street
Seatac, WA 98117–2328
NSF Award
1831538 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,304,454
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project are foundations for an emerging industry: insects in agriculture. Beta Hatch is pioneering the production of new animal feed ingredients, developing technology to mass produce insects, and creating STEM jobs. The proposed work will allow scaling insects as a sustainable protein-rich feed ingredient. With predictable year-round production, this will contribute to a more robust and secure agricultural system. The Beta Hatch insect ranch, which will be designed through integration of the results from this project, is an on-site solution to convert organic by- products into valuable feed ingredients and fertilizer. These ranches are being designed as conversions of underutilized spaces (warehouses and poultry barns), to bring jobs to rural and HUBZone areas. We work closely with farmers, our main customers, to establish the performance and economic value of our products. Insects provide nutrition and make animals healthier. Our frass (insect manure), is an organic fertilizer that stimulates healthy soils, and has no nitrates (no runoff). The proposed work will allow us to establish insects as the world?s most sustainable animal feed ingredient, and to disrupt the $400B animal feed market. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to cost effectively scale insect production for agricultural markets. Of the millions of insect species that exist, only a handful have been successfully reared under controlled conditions and even fewer have been mass produced. And yet insects have the potential to fill essential roles in agricultural supply chains by biodegrading wastes, removing or recycling toxins, and providing nutrition for animals. In order to meet the scale, quality and cost requirements for agricultural markets, significant R&D must solve some core challenges in insect mass production. We propose to integrate biological and engineering approaches to develop novel oviposition substrates, identify and mitigate causes of mortality, design automated and flexible diet handling systems, optimize rearing trays (the basic unit of production), and maximize yields with automated water and diet delivery. The proposed work will cut over 80% of our costs, produce several patents, and inform the design of a scalable insect ranching facility. As a natural part of animal diets, insects are a predictable protein-rich alternative feed ingredient, with year-round controlled production. In Phase 1 of this project, we established an insect breeding program, explored novel inorganic diets, and identified the core production challenges for scaling insects-as-feed. For this NSF SBIR Phase 2 project, we develop solutions that will reduce the cost of production and control the cost of future facilities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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BioHybrid Solutions LLC
SBIR Phase II: High-Throughput Combinatorial Polymer Bioconjugates Synthesis and Application in Biocatalysis
Contact
320 William Pitt Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15238–1329
NSF Award
1927021 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$742,796
Start / end date
08/15/2019 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project includes advancement of the field of white biotechnology, which utilizes enzymes to create valuable industrial products. As biological molecules, enzymes are more difficult to manipulate than conventional chemicals and often need more extensive development before they can be adapted to industrial or pharmaceutical manufacturing. This SBIR project will demonstrate how enzymes' performance can be improved using stabilization with special synthetic materials known as polymers. Enzymes are characterized by precise, unique structure and function, which is in turn essential for their role in catalysis of complex chemical reactions. Synthetic polymers, on the other hand, despite being less precisely structured, can be rationally designed to withstand or respond to chemical, thermal or biological conditions. The synergistic fusion of enzymes and synthetic polymers results in an advanced enzyme with improved chemical properties, leading to new manufacturing processes for valuable products such as chemicals, biofuels, and pharmaceuticals; these processes should require less energy, utilize fewer hazardous reagents, and generate less waste. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop a combinatorial synthesis device that can feed high-throughput screening of enzyme-polymer conjugates with desired properties (for instance, temperature, pH- or organic solvent stability). To date, only low-throughput synthesis and characterization methods have been applied to the preparation of enzyme-polymer conjugates, limiting development to only few types of polymer modification per protein and depending on stochastic guesswork to select the variants tested. Thus, in order to fully benefit from the diverse set of polymers currently available on the market, it is important to develop methods to scale the identification of optimally performing enzyme-polymer conjugates. This will be achieved through combination of high-throughput synthesis of enzyme-polymer conjugates and high-throughput screening of attained properties. The target application of the proposed research is focused on pharmaceutical biocatalysis. Application of a high-throughput method will not only result in faster research and development cycles, but also will accelerate our development of fundamental knowledge of identifying protein properties that can be achieved through polymer modification, thereby establishing this method for industrial applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Bioxytech Retina, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Non-Invasive Retinal Oximetry for Detecting Diabetic Retinopathy prior to Structural Damage
Contact
408 Anita Ave
Belmont, CA 94002–2011
NSF Award
1853245 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$791,540
Start / end date
03/01/2019 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project demonstrates and clinically validates a novel, non-invasive imaging technology to detect diabetic retinopathy before structural damage occurs. Diabetic retinopathy is among the leading causes of vision loss in the world. This devastating complication of both type I and II diabetes results in structural damage to the sensitive vasculature of the retina. Once structural damage is inflicted, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ameliorate it. Small changes in the retinal vasculature's oxygen saturation have been shown to be a reliable indicator of diabetic retinopathy before structural damage occurs. Since there is no clinical non-invasive technology capable of detecting these small functional changes, a major need exists for new retinal oximetry technologies. Diabetic retinopathy affects 200 million people worldwide. The American Diabetes Association reports that the cost of diabetes in the US in 2012 was $245 billion, including $69 billion in reduced productivity and $176 billion in medical costs. Since 40% of diabetics are anticipated to develop diabetic retinopathy, the estimated economic cost of diabetic retinopathy is $98 billion annually. By mitigating the occurrence of diabetic retinopathy, this technology will help reduce the cost of diabetic retinopathy treatment, its overall economic burden, and help save the vision of millions of people around the world. The primary technical innovation behind the proposed technology is its use of a novel physics-based model to overcome the challenges of high-resolution retinal imaging. These challenges include the multi-layered structure of the retina, absorbance dynamics, and the need to produce an image in one snapshot to reduce motion artifacts. Compared with existing methods based on structural imaging, the successful outcome of this project will become a commercial technology-of-choice for ophthalmologists around the world, enabling cost-effective detection of early stage diabetic retinopathy or pre-retinopathy. The development of the technology proceeds through iterative optimization between laboratory and real-use environments to generate robust, validated data. Specifically, in Phase II, the research objectives of the project are pursued in two parallel tracks: 1) refinement of the core imaging system, and 2) validation using model and human subjects in a clinical environment. The outcome of this project will be an easy-to-use, reliable diagnostic imaging and monitoring technology with proven clinical utility in detecting the onset of diabetic retinopathy based on functional properties, before structural damage has occurred in the patient. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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BirdBrain Technologies
STTR Phase II: A Low Cost Robotics kit for Elementary Education
Contact
544 Miltenberger St
Pittsburgh, PA 15219–5971
NSF Award
1831177 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$817,999
Start / end date
08/15/2018 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
This STTR Phase II project supports standards-based math education in elementary school classrooms with a hands-on technology intervention. Research has shown that many elementary teachers suffer from low confidence and limited subject content knowledge in math and struggle to develop instruction designed to meet or exceed common core math learning goals. Teachers and researchers alike seek new approaches to engage students and improve teacher effectiveness to improve learning outcomes. The primary goal of this project is the development of a flexible, user-friendly, hands-on robotics kit with associated curriculum and support for teachers, that will engage students in learning math content, align with core curriculum, and measurably increase student achievement. The commercialization of this research-based classroom kit will enable school districts to adopt active learning into their math pedagogy. Ultimately, this promotes the NSF mission to increase national prosperity through science innovation by improving math preparation for students across the United States and preparing them to participate in careers that drive the advancement of science and technology. The core contribution of this work is composed of a flexible hardware kit to enable active learning within the core elementary curriculum as well as more traditional maker activities, and a suite of apps that allow students to use this kit to learn specific math content while also providing options to learn computational thinking through general purpose programming apps. To accomplish this, the team employs a proven design process in which hardware, software, and curriculum are simultaneously designed to align to learner goals, evaluated in classroom studies, and iteratively refined. The kit will combine the ease of use and simplicity of a regular snap-together style electronics kit with the flexibility of a programmable microcontroller. The apps developed for this project will build on a new math-based paradigm for robot programming. These math-oriented apps will remove the barrier of programming skills for elementary teachers and students alike when using the electronics kit for math instruction. Simultaneously, programming apps will enable open-ended explorations of making and computational thinking. Another contribution of this project will be the testing and analysis of the hardware system and complementary math curricula. Formative evaluation will enable exploration and understanding of novel mechanisms for learning math, and evaluation of the program's efficacy will enable characterization of the impact on student outcomes in math achievement and attitudes towards math. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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BluHaptics Inc
SBIR Phase II: Collaborative Subsea Manipulation Interface
Contact
3601 Fremont Ave N, STE 412
Seattle, WA 98103–8753
NSF Award
1556109 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,396,184
Start / end date
04/15/2016 – 12/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project results from the advancement of telerobotic control technology for subsea operations. As humans deploy and maintain ever more complex underwater hardware, conduct subsea scientific sampling and exploration and develop natural resources in hostile, deep and remote locations, the need for ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) is increasing. ROVs have transitioned from basic transport and inspection tools to mission critical machines for construction, maintenance and intervention. Despite advances in sensing and machinery, significant challenges persist which have plagued the industry with high costs and unacceptable downtime, as well as safety risks. Limited situational awareness, data deluge and inadequate manual operator controls combine to create high rates of equipment breakage, unpredictable and inefficient task completion and high mission overhead. This work is developing innovative products for 3-dimensional visual awareness and computer assisted control systems for subsea teleoperated robots. Divers can be replaced in hazardous situations by telerobots using this technology. The rate of untoward incidents and their severity will be reduced for a large range of subsea activities. Economic benefits include reduced costs, new employment opportunities, competitive advantages and contributions to the national technological infrastructure in subsea operations. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 project will address fundamental challenges of connecting higher-dimensional data from remote environments to intuitive controls. Its intellectual merit is the refinement of a collaborative approach to command and control allowing ROV pilots to communicate seamlessly with each other and the robotic system. This will be done by developing several foundational innovations that, separately, enhance capabilities (and may become individual products), and that together derive immense value to the customer. These technologies are in the areas of: (1) Pilot Interface/Control room software; (2) Sensor fusion and processing; (3) Task assistance and workflow management; and (4) Manipulator and vehicle control. Successful implementation of visualization, sensor fusion, control methods, and haptic virtual fixtures serves as an excellent demonstration example of these technologies. With these technologies combined into a single software platform and integrated with a robotic system, increased performance, predictability, and safety can be achieved in a way that surpasses what is currently possible for purely automated or manual robotic systems. Although this work is focused on underwater operations, it can also be extended to terrestrial applications, such as industrial assembly, welding and machining, nuclear maintenance and robotic dredging and excavation.
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Boston Materials, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Leveraging Z-axis Milled Fiber to Enhance the Performance, Economics and Sustainability of Carbon Fiber for High-Volume Applications
Contact
23 Crosby Drive
Bedford, MA 01730–1423
NSF Award
1951183 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,250,000
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 09/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a high-performance, economic, and sustainable carbon fiber material and associated processing technology for consumer electronics, aircraft interiors, and mass market automobiles. In current processes, roughly 30% of carbon fiber is typically scrapped during manufacturing. By 2024, an estimated 50,000 metric tons of virgin carbon fiber will be scrapped and disposed in landfills. The proposed technology will extract value from scrapped fiber and prevent disposal, offering up to 25% cost reduction compared with carbon fiber products commercially available today. This technology creates higher usage and new opportunities for this advanced material. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will support the development of a high-performance composite that utilizes low-cost and sustainable milled carbon fiber. An industrial roll-to-roll production process will be used to compound virgin carbon fiber with milled fiber. These reclaimed fibers are oriented in the Z-axis using a proprietary technology adapted from an industrial process originally developed to make thermoset products. The proposed project will develop a market-ready thermoplastic product with dense Z-axis reinforcement while retaining key in-plane properties. This new thermoplastic product will be targeted towards translation to high-volume consumer electronics, aircraft interiors, and automotive applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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BrainStem Biometrics
SBIR Phase II: Non-invasive Neonatal Brainstem Monitoring to Improve Sleep, Minimize Disruptions and Enhance Feeding Stamina Leading to Earlier Discharge and Healthier Development
Contact
2352 MAIN ST STE 201
Concord, MA 01742–3847
NSF Award
1853211 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$949,999
Start / end date
05/01/2019 – 10/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is improved health and lowered cost of care for 15 million babies who are born prematurely or severely underweight each year. These 'premies' require weeks or months of care in specialized hospital units (e.g. NICU). In the United States, a typical NICU stay costs about $80K, and the total cost of healthcare during the first year of life is about $16B annually. These babies are at elevated risk for a range of serious lifelong complications that economically burden society by over $30B. This project has the potential to make a substantial impact to one of the most core vital elements of neonatal growth and development by improving the baby's sleep-wake-feed cycle. Today that cycle is irregular, episodic and disrupted almost 80% of the time which prolongs hospitalization. If successful, this project and technology would provide clinicians with a new tool and approach to help babies establish regularity, build up more energy and take on more calories so they can be discharged 20% faster. More importantly, this technology could lower the rate of downstream neuro developmental complications which are linked directly to poor sleep patterns. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result in a simple miniature wearable patch and display system that clinicians can use to monitor neonatal sleep and development patterns. This new tool will help clinicians achieve their goals of improving sleep-wake-feed cycles. In Phase I the team developed a prototype sensor configured to work on tiny babies and demonstrated that it could be used to accurately measure sleep cycles. In Phase II, the main objective is to advance the design and performance of this instrument to enable routine reliable use. It should be simple and non-intrusive for any clinician to reliably position the sensor and monitor any baby for multi-day periods. Analysis data should be presented real-time in an easy-to-interpret and actionable format. The work includes further biomedical engineering to improve attachment, amplifier circuit modelling to widen dynamic range and signal processing to automate artifact handling. The team will develop and test machine learning routines that will display detailed accurate and reliable instantaneous and trend data of brainstem-based sleep patterns that are not available today. These new advances, built on novel brainstem biomeasures will open up broad adoption supporting the development of a business and substantial medical advances. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Brainleap Technologies, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Hacking Eye Movements to Improve Attention
Contact
4231 Balboa Ave #209
San Diego, CA 92117–5504
NSF Award
1927039 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$797,753
Start / end date
09/01/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research SBIR Phase II project will be in standardizing attention assessment in elementary school children. Teachers currently dedicate too much of their valuable time to tedium. The standard school attention assessment calls for a highly trained teacher or aide to observe a child for about fifteen minutes and record their attention behavior every few seconds. The observer tracks behaviors including out of seat time, audible noise, vocalization and so on. Teachers and aides recognize several unappealing aspects of this process, e.g., it subjectively depends on the observer, is not standardized across observers, and is too time-consuming to provide more than an occasional snapshot of the full range of children's attention skills. Worse, these difficulties affect the most vulnerable children who may be experiencing challenges due to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The time teachers must spend evaluating children's progress limits that very progress. The resulting downward spiral for these talented, intelligent, and creative young people can be avoided if teachers can focus on teaching, rather than the current time-intensive, unstandardized processes. With the current rise in rates of ASD and ADHD in children nationwide, the reliable, simple, repeatable attention assessment tool proposed in this project provides important data to meet schools' needs by better using teachers' time while generating better outcomes for students. The intellectual merit of this SBIR Phase II project lies in the research and development critical to commercialize an objective attention assessment tool that measures sustained attention, distractibility, attention orienting, focus, and inhibitory control. The assessment tool uses eye-tracking technology when children play gaze-driven games to allow monitoring of their attention. Eye trackers use small cameras to measure where an individual's eyes are relative to their head. From these data, eye trackers can tell precisely where the person is looking on the screen, indicated by a cursor that follows the person's gaze. The tool uses this cursor to control video games that were specifically designed by researchers at UC San Diego to improve various attention skills. With these games, children practice focusing and orienting their vision and learn to ignore distractions. The primary goal of this Phase II project is to test a statistically relevant sample in the target population of school aged children to validate new attention assessment tools compared with existing tedious, expensive, time-consuming tools. This research and development links these new attention assessment tools to real school outcomes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Branch Technology LLC
SBIR Phase II: Additive Manufacturing in Construction
Contact
100 Cherokee Blvd
Chattanooga, TN 37405–3878
NSF Award
1632267 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,399,999
Start / end date
09/15/2016 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is in support of Branch Technology's novel Additive Manufacturing (AM) process that combines 3D printing technology and conventional construction materials to enable a new way to create buildings. The construction market in the US is approximately 8% of GDP. Any portion of the market that could be enhanced would have a large impact in the US economy. To that end, Branch is creating a process similar to building found in the natural world. In the formation of natural systems, material is the most expensive commodity; a structure is derived by the efficient use of material, but shape is free to be created in almost any form. Branch can approach this efficiency with additive manufacturing, where form is created and material is deposited only when needed and little waste is created. At the core of Branch's method of AM-based construction are three key developments: a three-dimensional freeform structure (the cellular matrix or lattice) which serves as a scaffold for other materials, a robotically- controlled extrusion mechanism by which the cellular matrix is produced, and the algorithms necessary to control the robot for successful production. The proof of concept for this process and more have already been demonstrated by Branch in Phase I of this grant. The technical objectives for Phase II focus on improving the procedures and technology already created. The focus areas for this phase are algorithm development, hardware improvements, the application of finishing materials, code compliance testing, and material science experiments. Algorithm development consists of refining and creating the software necessary to extrude the printed matrix and support a client base. Hardware improvements are necessary to improve the speed and efficiency of the process to create a commercially viable workflow. This research will necessitate the purchase of extra hardware for experimentation. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) testing for load bearing capacity is necessary to enter the market and provide code compliant construction. Experimentation in the application of finished materials to the 3D printed lattice such as spray foam and concrete are vital to the realization of complete buildings.
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BriteSeed, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Label-free imaging for real-time, intraoperative blood vessel visualization
Contact
4660 N Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640–4510
NSF Award
1660240 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,250,969
Start / end date
05/15/2017 – 04/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a novel, intraoperative imaging technology to address the problem of inadvertent cuts to vasculature during minimally invasive surgeries. More than 17% of patients who undergo these types of in-patient surgeries suffer from an intraoperative bleeding event. When a vessel is injured, there is a higher probability of hospital borne infection due to the loss of blood, and the added cost of care per patient increases by thousands of dollars due to corrective action and extended length of stay for the patient. The risk of vascular injury is compounded by risk factors, such as obesity, which limit the surgeon's ability to visualize and navigate vasculature. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify and assess hidden vasculature in real time. The proposed technology helps identify blood vessel before a cut is made. Importantly, this system will be designed for seamless integration into a suite of surgical instruments for multiple applications. Long term, the company will provide surgeons with the preeminent imaging platform to view, assess, and characterize a range of vessels (i.e. arteries/veins, ureters and bile ducts) in real-time for improved surgical guidance and outcomes. The proposed project will develop a novel blood vessel detection and visualization platform using low-cost optical imaging sensors and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The proposed technology will provide visual and quantitative information about vessel presence and size in real-time that can supplement a surgeon's technique. This system will be simple, cost-effective, easy to employ, and highly accurate. Traditionally, the avoidance of blood vessels during minimally invasive surgery is accomplished by visualization or costly intraoperative imaging. The proposed technology will use pulsatile light absorption characteristics of blood vessels to provide quantitative information about vessel presence and size in real-time, supplementing a surgeon's technique. This project will also add significant value to the body of research conducted in the areas of signal processing and image analysis. In addition, the proposed technology will remove the risk of data loss due to artifacts in general and motion artifacts in particular. The proposed technology will be validated ex vivo and in vivo using a porcine animal model.
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C&B Tech
SBIR Phase II: Novel Semiconductor Warpage Measurement Device
Contact
6370 Lusk Blvd F-110
San Diego, CA 92121–2751
NSF Award
1758583 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 10/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the enablement of advanced integration of thinner, more flexible and heterogeneous semiconductor devices. It will accelerate the adoption of next generation integrated circuit chips and bring significant benefit to society through the development of high performance electronics. Driven by portable devices in the mobile internet industry and the cost reduction requirements in Internet of Things (IOT), integrated circuit chips are becoming thinner and more flexible, whereas the working environments expose them to more extreme conditions. This trend creates increasing challenges and reducing reliability due to their higher inclination to failure. This proposed novel opto-mechanical system is able to identify early indications of potential problems. It can accelerate the recent industrial trends moving toward IOT and autonomous vehicle by significantly reducing development cycle time and engineering labor. These emerging industrial trends have induced many mechanical reliability issues, and are making it difficult to meet required quality and reliability of semiconductor devices. Many of these issues could be anticipated in integrated circuit design and on production lines with an instrument capable of measuring the sensitivity at the micron level. The objective of this proposed project is to develop a system for noncontact detection of premature failure. An imaging approach and stereo cameras are used to measure and track the sample. The anticipated result is to develop an instrument with ten-fold performance improvement over instruments currently available. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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CACTUS MEDICAL,LLC
SBIR Phase II: Finalized Design, Performance and Safety Testing of SmartOto, A Handheld Device for Detection of Otitis Media
Contact
2062 BUSINESS CNTR DR STE 250
Irvine, CA 92612–1147
NSF Award
2025870 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to improve diagnosis of pediatric otitis media (ear infection). Otitis media is the leading cause of unnecessary antibiotic use in children and the second most common pediatric physician appointment. It is estimated that more than 90% of children will suffer at least one case of otitis media before age 5. Despite its prevalence, there may be less than 60% diagnostic accuracy in primary care where the vast majority of cases are seen. Current clinical diagnostics have proven inadequate to address over-prescription of antibiotics and unnecessary specialist and surgical referrals. Otitis media is typically diagnosed using an otoscope to view the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and assess visual signs of an infection. Otoscope designs have changed little since the 1800’s. This SBIR Phase II project advances a novel device that integrates clinical standard otoscopy with a novel technique to non-invasively assess ear health using light in real time and with 98% accuracy. This new otoscope has the potential to create a new standard of care in diagnosis and management of otitis media, and stands to save billions in direct healthcare costs through more accurate diagnosis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance translation of a device providing clinicians with an objective, real-time indicator of ear health during standard otoscopy. At the push of a button, the LED driven measurement will provide an instantaneous, accurate indication of the presence or absence of middle ear effusion (MEE) – the most sensitive and specific indicator of acute otitis media per established clinical guidelines. This project will meet the desired technical specifications of sufficiently sensitive visualization capabilities and reducing measurement time from 1.4 seconds to less than 300 milliseconds. This project will also: 1) Optimize manufacturability and assembly; 2) Develop a standard automated calibration system; and 3) Conduct standard electronic, photobiologic, and biocompatibility testing for safety and regulatory purposes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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CIRCLEIN, INC.
SBIR Phase II: The Smart Study Recommendations Engine
Contact
12020 SWALLOW FALLS CT
Silver Spring, MD 20904–7818
NSF Award
1951222 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$631,874
Start / end date
10/01/2020 – 09/30/2022
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project may improve student achievement. Within U.S. higher education institutions, $47 billion per year is spent on academic support for roughly 22 million students. When a child struggles after a lecture ends, help has historically been delivered by tutors and homework hotlines; Those avenues can be inadequate in closing learning gaps for students after they exit the classroom. The Smart Study Recommendations Engine is expected to further democratize homework assistance and help with studies outside the classroom. As a peer to peer platform, the technology may shrink the cost of personalized homework and out of classroom assistance, enabling students to proceed at their own time and pace. This platform seeks to especially impact students from economically- or socially-challenged backgrounds. The goal of the project is to help make academic success more attainable, common, and inclusive for all students everywhere. The technology is initially being deployed in U.S. colleges and universities, with the goal of achieving a global impact. This Small Business Innovation Phase II project harvests data from internet study resources, analyzes the resources to surface predictive insights, and automatically delivers wide-ranging, peer-reviewed, personalized study materials to help students close learning gaps, without requiring the students to perform complex internet searches. The project will also provide students with the ability to connect with capable peers who can provide additional support by listening to their issues and providing deeper subject clarity. The company is using machine learning as the underlying technology to enable the Smart Study Recommendations Engine. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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CLEARSIGHT, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Presbyopia Correcting Intraocular Lens with a Novel Refractive System for Restoration of a Complete Range of Vision and Spectacle Independence
Contact
12635 E MONTVIEW BLVD STE 155
Aurora, CO 80045–7336
NSF Award
1951259 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase II project aims to address two common conditions in the aging population, presbyopia and cataract, with a single device. Presbyopia, the age dependent loss in the ability of the eye to adjust focus, is expected to affect an estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide by 2020. Cataract, the irreversible clouding of the lens that results in blurred vision and the leading cause of blindness in the world, is expected to affect an estimated 30 million Americans by 2020. Currently no single product restores both visual clarity and a complete range of spectacle-free vision following cataract surgery. The proposed device will change the standard of care for cataract surgery, leading to improved outcomes. This SBIR Phase II project will develop an intraocular lens using a new, highly sensitive optical system that leverages large differences in refractive indices and has a novel mechanism of action, potentially leading to levels of accommodation on par with the abilities of a young, pre-presbyopic individual. Prospective technologies may fail to exhibit adequate accommodative amplitude to restore a full range of vision, produce unwanted visual artifacts, or are too complex for adoption at scale. Using highly sensitive optics, the proposed device mimics the shape of the natural lens while still maintaining relative simplicity, allowing for maximum utilization of the minute forces in the eye to produce significant accommodation and permitting the use of standard cataract surgical procedures. This technical tasks associated with the new intraocular lens include: (1) assuring visual quality through the device’s accommodative range, (2) optimizing mechanics for restoration of a complete range of vision, (3) integrating seamlessly with existing surgical procedures, and (4) testing implant longevity and safety. Validating the objectives above through optical and mechanical testing in benchtop, cadaver, and animal models will provide a strong foundation for clinical investigations and translation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Calyx, Inc.
STTR Phase II: SMART Colorimetric Sensor for Airborne Methane Detection
Contact
450 Sutardja Dai Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720–0001
NSF Award
1660263 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,409,999
Start / end date
04/01/2017 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project aims to develop a sensor with the ability to provide an accurate, small, cost-effective, and low-power device for the detection and quantification of natural gas. The current U.S. industrial natural gas leak detector market is estimated to be $325 million, while the residential natural gas detector market exceeds $2 billion, both of which indicate the strong market potential of this technology. Phage-based colorimetric sensing is a new sensing mechanism, and has the potential to replace and improve detection across many applications. This project, if successful, will have a number of broader impacts. Firstly, 670 billion cubic feet (cf) of methane is leaked annually in the U.S. natural gas industry. Better monitoring and recapturing of the lost gas will result in less reliance on imported gas (3 trillion cf in 2015), thus stimulating economic growth and reducing waste. Additionally, a new type of sensor that provides accurate, compact, inexpensive, and power-efficient natural gas monitoring with wireless communication capabilities will enable large scale natural gas emission monitoring studies, providing a tool for scientists and regulators. Finally, a reduction of methane emissions will help combat climate change, as methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. During the Phase I project, we have successfully fabricated colorimetric thin-film sensors, developed a data analysis algorithm, and shown our sensors are both consistent and selective against individual components of natural gas at industrially-suitable sensitivity. In Phase II, we will further improve the production and performance of the phage sensors. There are six objectives in this Phase II project. The first is to do sensor calibration using precise gas calibration instrumentation to improve sensor accuracy. Secondly, the sensors will undergo environmental stress testing to evaluate longevity. Third, a scale-up feasibility study will be undertaken to determine and optimize sensor cost. The fourth task involves the development of improved and more inexpensive sensor designs, while the fifth task will optimize the production process of the new sensor. The sixth objective involves a more comprehensive characterization of the sensor. It is anticipated that by the end of Phase II, we will have a precisely- calibrated gas sensor with data recognition algorithms, and an established and scalable manufacturing model, resulting in an improved colorimetric sensor development kit for natural gas that better meets customer needs in the field.
Errata
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Camerad Technologies, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Point-of-Care Patient Photography Integrated with Medical Imaging
Contact
2098 Sylvania Dr
Decatur, GA 30033–2616
NSF Award
1853142 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$759,942
Start / end date
05/15/2019 – 04/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the widespread adoption of an efficient and accessible technology to integrate patient photographs with radiology images to improve patient safety, increase healthcare efficiency, and reconnect radiologists with their patients. A successful commercialization outcome is this adoption leading to direct cost-savings in healthcare by improving patient safety and hospital quality; even a 10% improvement in radiologists' efficiency leads to healthcare savings of ~$900 million. The broader impact of this novel technology is that it can provide patient authentication for the digital data being generated by hundreds of new digital medical devices. Any of this digital data could end up in the wrong patient's medical record and authentication is crucial. Rapid advances in smart, telehealth systems present the danger that patients can turn into mere data, but these photographs can return the interpreting physician's focus to the patient, leading to improved outcomes through patient-centered care. The technology achieves this by allowing doctors to connect with the patient as a person before diving deep and exploring data at anatomic, physiologic and molecular levels. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will seamlessly and securely integrate a radiology patient identification system to improve patient safety, by avoiding preventable errors, and enhance throughput. This transformative approach overcomes the failure of existing patient identification methods while harnessing the power of an embedded camera system to improve patient care. Technology to automatically and simultaneously obtain and embed audio and video data of the patient during X-ray and CT acquisition will be developed under this award. Specifically, the following objectives will be completed: 1) develop a mature software framework for rapid system scalability to a large number of hospitals, 2) expand the system to CT scanners and stationary X-ray machines, 3) improve image quality by adding infrared stereoscopic image capture, to ensure photographs add value even when obtained in low light settings, 4) enhancing the cameras with video and audio capabilities, which will improve patient identification, while simultaneously gathering rich clinical information, and 5) refine the triggering method for photograph acquisition. The long-term objectives are to increase the detection rate of wrong-patient errors by embedding an intrinsic, externally visible biometric identifier with medical imaging studies; and increase interpreting physician throughput by decreasing interpretation time. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Capro-X
SBIR Phase II: Microbial Fermentation Bioprocess to Produce and Extract Platform Chemicals from the Dairy Industry Acid Whey Waste Stream.
Contact
915 N Tioga St
Ithaca, NY 14850–3669
NSF Award
1951231 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$724,052
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to commercialize a novel fermentation technology offering a sustainable solution for dairy industry waste issues. The system is initially focused on upcycling acid whey waste from Greek yogurt production into treated water and natural food-grade bio-oils that are sustainable alternatives for chemicals sourced from palm oil. These systems will be installed on-site at yogurt plants and are expected to lower customer expenses by at least 20%, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by 90%. This pilot project will inform treatment of other problematic wastes, such as process line cleaning water and manure, as well as milk and cheese processing byproducts. The bio-oils produced this way could serve as animal feed and as drop-in alternatives for biofuels. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to optimize the system design of a novel fermentation technology. Evaluations are focused on upcycling acid whey waste from Greek yogurt production into treated water and bio-oil. Project objectives include: 1) bench-scale evaluations on bioreactor architecture and operating parameters, such as internal packing materials, gas dosing flowrates, and pH control; 2) bench-scale mass transfer optimizations performed on the current bio-oil extraction architecture, as well as on a novel membrane-less alternative. Results from bench-scale studies will inform process design and construction of a 2,000-gallon demonstration system installed at a Greek yogurt plant, where parallel bioprocesses will systematically evaluate operational parameters (temperature, pH, flow) at a larger scale to explore the trade space of acid whey treatment, production of bio-oil, and operating cost and optimize the operating parameters. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Carbon Technology, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: High Quality Carbon Nanotubes for Radio Frequency Applications
Contact
232 Trafalgar Lane
San Clemente, CA 92672–5481
NSF Award
1632566 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,165,698
Start / end date
08/15/2016 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project can be found across the semiconductor industry with its initial market in wireless communications. Due to the extraordinary properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), applications include low noise amplifiers (LNAs), mixers, and RF power amplifiers (PAs). Looking forward, carbon nanotube transistors (CFETs) can reshape analog radio frequency electronics, enabling the higher data rates and improved capacity demanded by next generation wireless systems due to their intrinsic linearity and associated low out of band interference . CFETs are highly efficient, dissipating less unwanted power than current state of the art technologies while handling high power levels. This translates into more battery life for mobile devices with lower cooling costs. With more linear RF transistors, many billions of dollars of spending on additional base stations, larger batteries, and radio spectrum can be avoided, at great savings to consumers and industry. More speculatively, the creation of reliable grwoth techniques for CFETs and associated manufacturing processes may offer an excellent sensor platform or better ways to form on chip interconnects. The key problems being investigating of in situ growth of high performance nanotubes are applicable to the fabrication of CNT based devices for many electronic applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop electronic devices for radio frequency applications using carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CNTs are a one dimensional material with diameters in the nanometer range. CNTs have unique and highly desirable properties ranging from superior mobility to current carrying capability to thermal stability. Calculations show CNT amplifiers will be inherently linear with noise suppressed to the lowest possible quantum limit. These properties allow for electronic devices that will perform better than existing technologies, such as silicon and gallium arsenide. Just as importantly, the cost for making these devices will be dramatically lower due to the relatively simple method for material synthesis and device fabrication. This work will enable wafer scale arrays of high density in-situ tubes to be grown on silicon enabling the development of carbon electronic components a manner comparable to silicon devices. This work will enable cost effective wafer scale growth of devices which exploit the groundbreaking linearity that CNTs can deliver.
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Cerillo, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Development of a Miniaturized Multiwell Plate Reader
Contact
1516 Cherry Ave
Charlottesville, VA 22903–3714
NSF Award
1831082 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,097,741
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 08/31/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be an instrument that alleviates several current difficulties in the growth measurement of many microbes, especially anaerobic and other fastidious organisms. A large number of these species are naturally occurring in the human body, and have recently been shown to play critical roles in allergies, autoimmune diseases, dietary health, cancer, infection response, and more. The study of these species is considered by many to be the next frontier of modern medicine, especially as current approaches to managing infectious diseases, such as traditional antibiotics, appear to be losing effectiveness. However, current measurement technology is largely incompatible with the specialized environments and chambers in which anaerobic organisms must be grown. There is a large unmet need for better ways to measure anaerobic bacterial growth; this need is growing quickly as interest in the field increases. The ability to conduct high-throughput experiments in specialized environments will become critical as research into various human microbiomes accelerates, and demand for high-volume data grows. The existing market for high-throughput measurement devices is at least $300 million and growing. This platform will allow for systematic studies of cell culture growth that can be accomplished easily and economically. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop and refine a miniaturized multi-well plate reader that measures optical characteristics of up to 96 cell samples for measuring growth of many microbial samples simultaneously. The continuing rise of systems and computational biology demonstrates a growing demand for large amounts of quantitative data, and the variety of microbes relevant to the human body necessitates such an approach. However, these measurement techniques are not universally accessible due to current instruments' complexity, size, and cost. This project will continue development of a miniature, simplified version of a device called a multi-well plate reader, expanding the availability of parallel growth measurement (and other metrics) to a wider array of researchers and environments. The first goal is to simplify the instrument's electronics, add an on-board display for clarity, and allow battery-powered operation. The next goal is to accelerate equilibration to any surrounding environment to allow proper functioning even in extreme conditions, by measuring a wide array of environmental variables at different points in space and time. The third goal is to solidify the device's mechanical aspects for reliability and stability in a shaker. Finally, this project will support the development of a fully-functional wireless interface for control and data management, allowing effective remote use in any environment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Chef Koochooloo
SBIR Phase II: A Novel Approach To STEM Education Through A Personalized Mobile Cooking App For K-8 Students
Contact
179 Georgetown Court
Mountain View, CA 94043–5265
NSF Award
1853253 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,011,796
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project involves developing a gamified educational platform for use by K-6 students, their teachers and parents. The application allows users to learn about various topics-including STEAM (mainly science and math), nutrition, and geography. The curriculum is culturally sensitive and also compliant with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as the students learn to cook recipes from around the world. By engaging students with carefully developed interactive content, the project aims to simultaneously develop a highly practical and useful life skill (healthy cooking), create excitement about learning, and enhance student proficiency in STEAM concepts related to nutrition and global competence, when compared to a traditional school curriculum. The project aims to tackle both the failure in STEAM teaching and the obesity crisis children in the US face today. Its goal is to improve the health, education and happiness of children across the country, which is consistent with the NSF mission to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare. During Phase II, we will develop the current version of the project into a commercially viable educational platform, by incorporating innovative components and features, the importance of which emerged during customer discovery interviews with teachers. The finalized application will include: novel gamification features, class monitoring tools for teachers, an adaptive learning component (for more effective student learning), and an intelligent recommendation system for determining students' latent food proclivities "i.e., food dimensions that children often have a hard time articulating their preferences on, yet which play an important role in determining overall food liking" and providing healthy recipe suggestions tailored to each student's palate. This carefully crafted combination of features is meant to enhance students' learning experience and their engagement with the platform. The finalized platform will be a robust, responsive multiplatform web application that includes a complete set of K-6 lesson plans aligned with national and state educational standards and delivers an individualized learning experience to students. The learning effectiveness of the lesson plans, included scientific concepts, and gamification and personalization features will be thoroughly evaluated through in-class testing, while the recommendation system will involve the use of supervised Machine Learning. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Chromatic 3D Materials Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Novel Dynamic Elastomer System For Additive Manufacturing
Contact
15292 80th Pl N
Maple Grove, MN 55311–2166
NSF Award
1853265 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,397,386
Start / end date
03/01/2019 – 02/29/2024
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project will create a material, printer, and software system for printing a novel set of flexible, durable materials for additive manufacturing technologies. Additive manufacturing, or 3D Printing, is a rapidly growing $7bn industry, which enables small and medium enterprises to competitively manufacture new and innovative products. It is a key to strengthening the US manufacturing economy. Continued growth and health of the 3D printing industry, particularly for manufacture of functional parts for finished goods, will depend upon an expansion of the available material library. 3D printing materials are limited to a small segment of the plastics in common industrial use today. This project will expand that material library with development of printable polyurethane elastomers with a broad range of flexibilities. These materials will be particularly relevant for markets that demand personalization and customization, such as patient-specific medical devices, sporting goods, and footwear. Manufacturers of flexible, durable polyurethane goods for industrial and automotive products will also benefit from low cost small-scale production of parts made from materials with performance that match their product specifications. The printing system will enable production of parts with user-specified geometry and flexibility, and will also enable multi-material printing for novel product designs. This SBIR Phase II project will produce a set of reactive polyurethane precursor formulas which can be combined to form printable, flexible polyurethanes with a broad hardness range. The Phase II project will also produce an integrated system of printer control software and printhead design for production of parts with the polyurethane precursor formulas. The materials will be printed using extrusion 3D printing techniques, and customized to handle liquid, reactive feeds. The research approach will include determination of the starting materials to control reaction rates, rheology development, and part solidification. Software development will incorporate printing parameters for the spectrum of materials that can be produced from the starting materials in order to produce a user interface where part flexibility is specified as a function of part geometry, and the printer receives commands for printing the desired object. The material will be parameterized to determine space-filling properties of the material as a function of composition, print speed, and printhead geometry. This 3D printing technology will overcome challenges in part durability and printing speeds that are common to photo-cure approaches to produce flexible parts, and will greatly extend the part durability and flexibility available to extrusion 3D printing. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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ClearFlame Engines, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Development of a Stoichiometric, Direct-Injected, Soot-Free Engine for Heavy-Duty Applications
Contact
6520 Double Eagle Drive #527
Woodridge, IL 60517–1582
NSF Award
1853114 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$747,192
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
Diesel engines remain critical to global economies, but are under threat from increasingly-stringent emissions regulations. Many alternatives, like spark-ignition and electric vehicles, sacrifice some of the performance or range benefits of Diesel-style operation. This creates a market need for technologies that can maintain Diesel engine performance while remaining decoupled from the dirty emissions of Diesel fuel. This proposal centers on the development of the ?ClearFlame Combustion System? (CFCS): a novel combustion process that enables Diesel-style engines to combust low-carbon alternative fuels like ethanol and methanol without sacrificing the power possible with traditional Diesel combustion. Further, the sootless nature of alternative fuels such as methanol and ethanol obviates the need for a Diesel particulate filter, and enables stoichiometric air-fuel ratios to eliminate the need for selective catalytic reduction of NOx (smog). The engine technology has the potential to alter the dynamics of any market dominated by Diesel engines (including heavy-duty transportation, agriculture, rail, and power generation) and can be licensed to, or jointly developed with, OEMs for simple integration into their existing product lines. Phase I results have shown a 30% increase in engine torque at increased efficiency, while engine-out soot emissions are more than 100x lower than that of Diesel engines, falling under the 2010 EPA regulation limit without aftertreatment. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will continue development of the CFCS. The Phase I results showed that three critical CFCS subsystems?engine insulation, alcohol direct injection, and a combustion chamber optimized for stoichiometric combustion with exhaust gas load control?could be developed and integrated to achieve a previously unattainable combination of strong performance and low emissions. This Phase II effort will further advance these key components and demonstrate the benefits of the CFCS on a commercial engine platform, using CFD modeling and engine experiments to show the advantages of the CFCS compared to the Diesel baseline. The goal is to show how the CFCS enables a multi-cylinder heavy-duty engine to simultaneously improve power density by 30% at no loss of efficiency, while also achieving sootless stoichiometric exhaust conditions that are compatible with low-cost and highly-effective three-way catalysis (the same system that enables gasoline and natural gas engines to be much cleaner than Diesel). A Phase II prototype demonstration would realize a longtime industry goal of integrating three-way catalysis with a Diesel-style engine, allowing Diesel-style engines to achieve the emissions profile of the cleanest alternatives (like natural gas). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Clerio Vision, Inc.
STTR Phase II: Refractive correction using non-invasive laser-induced refractive index change
Contact
312 Susquehanna Rd
Rochester, NY 14618–2940
NSF Award
1738506 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,250,000
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project enables the development of the next generation of contact lenses for vision correction based on a novel photomodification technique called "LIRIC (Laser Induced Refractive Index Change)." More than 2.3 billion people world-wide suffer from refractive error in their visual system, while over 500 million have inadequate access to refractive correction. Glasses are an option for refractive correction, however there can be practical limitations and even social stigma associated with wearing glasses, particularly among adolescents. Meanwhile vision correction with contact lenses is limited to lenses whose optical prescription is determined by their thickness profile. This has negative consequences for visual quality, on-eye stability and corneal health. The research represents a fundamental shift in how vision correction is applied because it alters the refractive index of an optical material, enabling previously unavailable visual correctors in thin, stable contact lenses. LIRIC uses a high repetition rate, femtosecond laser to micro-modify the local medium to produce custom refractive corrections in hydrogels, and in living cornea. LIRIC works by accumulating localized refractive index (RI) changes in an ocular material to create a refractive lateral gradient index lens. Changing the refractive index using LIRIC instead of the surface shape can lead to several fundamental advances for vision correction, with profound implications for vision care: 1) contact lenses can be manufactured specifically for patient fit and stability with the refractive correction decoupled from the lens shape; 2) difficult and irregular refractive corrections (i.e. for irregular astigmatism, presbyopia, and higher order aberrations) could be written more easily and with better spatial resolution than with existing methods; 3) multifocal and diffractive optical designs can be utilized for presbyopic and macular degenerative corrections. Patients viewing through LIRIC lenses, created in Phase I, had visual performance (visual acuity and contrast sensitivity) on par with a control lens. The objective of the Phase II work is to demonstrate that LIRIC works in contact lenses at process speeds necessary for commercial manufacturing. The goal of this work is to demonstrate that a 6.5 mm optical zone can be successfully processed in <15 seconds. To effectively do so, the LIRIC process has to achieve more than 1 wave of phase change (at 555 nm wavelength) at laser scanning velocities in excess of 10 meter/second.
Errata
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Codecraft Works, LLC
SBIR Phase II: A Co-creation, Cross-curricular, Standard Aligned Computer Science, Engineering, and Cybersecurity Education Technology Platform
Contact
407 Riverview Lane
Melbourne Beach, FL 32951–2716
NSF Award
1831060 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$741,395
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 11/30/2020
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project aims to transform the lives and future economic opportunities of young people and their communities through democratized access to cross-curricular computer science, engineering, and cybersecurity education. Daily life, economies, innovation, and national security all depend on having a strong and skilled STEM workforce. For this workforce to exist, our schools must provide the necessary education and experience to prepare students for such careers. Unfortunately, a vast majority of K-12 educators today are not equipped with the resources to do so successfully. The importance of solving this problem cannot be overstated; developing a plentitude of competent STEM professionals is critical to ensure economic and security stability. These project goals are aligned with NSF?s mission to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense. The resulting technology innovation is of potential service to more than 50 million primary and secondary school students and 3.5 million educators nationally, with an ability to impact their course of study, improve STEM outcomes, increase hands-on project-based experience, and improve future economic opportunities. This technology innovation emerges at the intersection of cloud-based software technology, real-time collaboration tools, and learning management systems. This reimagined technology tool easily connects, attracts, and fosters delivery of cross-curricular, educational computing literacy resources aligned with national and state educational standards. The project aims to empower and support educators and students in tackling the many new opportunities and growing number of resources in computer science (CS) and engineering education at home, in classrooms, and in community centers. As the CS education landscape evolves with new and exciting technical curriculum, this innovation analyzes the willingness of educators to create or adopt new computer science education, the effectiveness of real-time collaboration tools on CS education outcomes, and measures student awareness and feelings about computer science and engineering disciplines. This technology innovation promotes customer participation and a unique ability to provide support at the ground level in real-time. There are solutions that provide massive online CS courses and curricula; however, none targeting K-12 classrooms or educators which support and integrate cross-curricular computer science, engineering, and cybersecurity education. Offering cloud-based, synchronous technology tools this technology enables real-time, expert mentoring and pair-programming in a K12 virtual learning environment on a massive scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Codelucida, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Low-density parity-check error correction for enhanced reliability of flash memories
Contact
100 N. Stone Ave., Suite 1103
Tucson, AZ 85701–1511
NSF Award
1534760 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,408,239
Start / end date
08/15/2015 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project are both technical and economic. The developed error-correction solutions will enable flash-memory-based devices to have higher capacities, higher reliability, and faster speeds at lower power while driving down the cost. This will have a major impact on mobile computing capabilities and enterprise storage by improving the efficiency and reliability of data centers, servers, and mission-critical storage that incorporate flash memories. Improved enterprise storage boosts the efficiency and growth of IT businesses, e-commerce, and financial trade. The solutions will also enable reduced power consumption and heat dissipation leading to greener systems. The benefits of the error-correction solutions are also applicable to the hard disk drive and communications industries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and validate novel low-density parity-check (LDPC)-based error-correction for flash memory-based solid state drives (SSDs). SSDs are rapidly being deployed for both enterprise and consumer storage due to their fast speeds, low power, and low heat dissipation. But they bring numerous technical challenges stemming from the fact that reducing flash memory cell sizes leads to an unavoidable degradation in the reliability. With a trend of increasing die density to enable higher storage capacities, the industry is swiftly moving towards adopting LDPC codes to provide more powerful error-correction. However existing LDPC solutions use complex post-processing and multiple reads to bring down the error rates to the desired levels which lowers the read speeds, making them unattractive for future SSDs. Novel binary LDPC-based solutions will be developed for a range of parameters, and validated in hardware. The design method will be extended to develop new non-binary LDPC solutions which provide even greater reliability enhancements, leading to greater endurance in SSDs.
Errata
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Cognii, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Virtual Learning Assistants for Open Response Assessments
Contact
169 11th St
San Francisco, CA 94103–2533
NSF Award
1831250 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
09/01/2018 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project focuses on creating scalable Virtual Learning Assistant technology for automatic educational assessments using open response questions. Educational researchers and experts believe that the best pedagogies responsible for improving students' learning outcomes involve (i) open response questions assessments and (ii) one-to-one instructional tutoring. Students learn better when they are given an opportunity to construct answers in their own words instead of selecting from multiple choices and when they receive immediate guidance and coaching. However, these two pedagogies are very time consuming and expensive to implement, making them very difficult to scale. The proposed project will apply the most advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing to solve both these problems. Students will benefit from the interactive formative assessment that engages them in a natural language conversation. This innovation is applicable across the grade levels in K-12, higher education, and adult learning and across the subject areas including the sciences. It will facilitate implementation of more rigorous academic standards and make online education more effective. This innovation will improve students' learning outcomes, save teachers' time and reduce the cost of delivering high quality engaging education at a large scale. This project will create a new type of virtual assistant technology that is exclusively focused on education. The proposed Virtual Learning Assistant (VLA) will advance the conversational AI technology to create pedagogically rich learning and assessment environments for any topic in a content area. The VLA is uniquely distinct from general purpose virtual assistants in its ability to evaluate an open response answer instead of merely serving information. This project will investigate and create various algorithms for processing natural language input arising in an educational setting across different subjects or topics. The resulting mobile and web based product will allow teachers to create new high-quality assessment items with minimal input and assign them to their students. When a student answers a question, the VLA will analyze it instantly for linguistic syntax and semantics using statistical and deterministic knowledge representations. The VLA will generate not only a numerical score reflecting the accuracy of the answer, but also a qualitative feedback that will guide the student towards conceptual mastery of the topic. As part of this Phase II research, a pilot study will be conducted each year involving teachers and students to study the efficacy of the VLA and its scalability. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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ConsortiEX, Inc
SBIR Phase II: Development of a Track-and-Trace Medication Barcoded Label
Contact
1000 N Water St
Milwaukee, WI 53202–6669
NSF Award
1660080 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,276,000
Start / end date
03/01/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at improving healthcare patient outcomes, potentially saving lives, and decreasing healthcare costs. The Drug Quality and Security Act of 2013 set stricter manufacturing standards on sterile injectable compounded medications that have closed many third party suppliers, thus creating shortages and higher prices. In response, the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists expects 40% of the US market, 2000 hospitals, by 2018 to receive insourced compounds. Hospitals that insource hope to decrease their costs and improve patient safety with higher quality product. Today, insourcing hospitals often have multiple information systems and use paper records cobbling together how a compound is made and to whom it has been administered. When an ingredient recall occurs, hospitals spend hundreds of man-hours identifying the problem source and affected patients. To prevent further patient risks speed is demanded. This SBIR Phase I project will provide hospitals the capability of an end-to-end quality management that will track every production process step and tracing medications to patients. Hospitals will be able to prevent patients from receiving recalled medications and identify quality production compromises thus improving patient outcomes and potentially saving lives. The proposed project is a novel medication barcoded label encryption technology compatible with existing hospital scanners to provide track and trace capabilities of intravenous medication compounds. Key objectives include both patient specific and anticipatory workflows with labels, a Passive Auditing management system for compounding quality control, and an innovation to improve operating room environment medication barcode scanning compliance. Today, healthcare providers utilize multiple barcoded label technologies with minimal embedded medication data across disparate systems. Medication labels could be the link across these systems for ingredient traceability. However, existing solutions are inadequate to meet 2013 legislative traceability mandates. The project invention will encrypt serialization fields within the barcoded label connecting a specific medication to its production data, and eventually to the patient. Compounding process data, such as ingredients, environmental conditions, and production instructions, will be connected to individual medication labels and stored in the patient?s electronic record. When an ingredient is recalled or questionable process identified, an extraction algorithm will pull the encrypted data from the EHR and will be connected to production data. Success of this project will be label readability by existing hospital scanners and retrieval of the serialized data from the EHR
Errata
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Core Quantum Technologies, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Magnetic Quantum Dots for Cell Separation and Characterization
Contact
1275 Kinnear Road
Columbus, OH 43212–1180
NSF Award
1926986 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR phase II project will develop magnetic and fluorescent reagents for the separation and analysis of cells from tissue samples stored in biobanks, central repositories for biological samples, including tissues, cells, blood, sera, and urine, and their associated patient data, used in research to identify new methods to diagnose and treat disease; this industry is currently $52 B/yr with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5%. Biobank samples typically consist of a mixture of pathologically normal and diseased cells and tissues, requiring separation. Sample quality is thus critical for biobanks. The cell separation market ($3.9 B/yr, CAGR 4.1%) is dominated by the flow cytometry segment ($3.1 B/yr, CAGR 3.6%); whereas magnetic cell separation is a growing market ($582 M/yr by 2020 CAGR of 6.4%). Most biobanks currently provide unpurified samples or samples purified via flow cytometry alone, with typical recoveries of <10% at purities of ~20%. This research will develop and commercialize reagents that combine magnetic separation with flow cytometry analysis for target cell purification from biobank tissue samples. In the company's Phase I research of cells in suspension, these reagents yielded ~100% recovery with purities >75%. This research will expand this technology to tissue homogenates with increased heterogeneity and viscosity, increasing purity of biobank samples and enhancing researcher ability to develop breakthrough medical technologies. This research will develop magnetic-fluorescent nanoparticle reagents for cell separation and subsequent flow cytometry analysis of heterogeneous clinical tissue samples from biobanks. Given the heterogeneous nature of biological specimens that may contain more normal than diseased components, purification technologies are critical to biobank operation. Based on the Phase I research, the company anticipates that this technology could increase recovery and purity to > 75% (vs. 10-20% currently). This will be accomplished by: (1) developing an open magnetic separation system to reduce obstruction compared to existing commercial magnetic bead-packed columns; (2) optimization of reagent magnetic and fluorescent content to maximize cell separation and analysis signal while minimizing size and signal overlap with tissue autofluorescence; (3) protocol development for tissue homogenate analysis using commonly employed mechanical and enzymatic tissue digestion methods. This research will yield new tools for cell isolation from complex, viscous environments that will greatly enhance the utility of biobank samples in research and clinical investigations. Such improvements will also benefit applications with less rigorous engineering design requirements, including bio/pharma separations, bioprocessing (e.g., CAR T-cell therapy), and clinical diagnostics (e.g., circulating tumor cell recovery). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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CueThink
SBIR Phase II: An embedded and in-context professional learning platform for math problem-solving instruction
Contact
8 Furbish Pond Lane
North Reading, MA 01864–2636
NSF Award
1660216 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,287,318
Start / end date
03/15/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
This project proposes to develop an innovative approach to improve and sustain math educators' problem solving teaching skills. Despite the expectations placed on math teachers by the Common Core State Standards, most are insufficiently prepared to teach students how to become critical thinkers. Much of this problem is due to limited pedagogical skills of teachers in providing adequate problem solving instruction and supports on top of teachers' own limited problem solving skills. This project remedies this with its integrated modules and powerful analytics engine that suggests learning pathways for both expert and novice teachers. They anchor their research in National Council of Teacher's of Mathematics Principles to Action. It will help teachers develop confidence and skills in planning and evaluating their lessons, as well as understanding student misconceptions and intervening in a timely manner. Teachers who approach problem solving with confidence inspire students to approach difficult math tasks the same way. This has great implications for how many students will continue to enroll in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs. In addition, the project sets the stage for educators to develop 21st Century skills including critical thinking, communication and collaboration - essential job skills for the young minds they mentor. This effort refines and scales up their product, which is a web and mobile application that works seamlessly in conjunction with our current student-facing platform, to provide teachers with timely supports for improving students' problem-solving skills and math communication. This project will deliver professional development continuously and in-context using virtual peers, rich rubrics, interactive tools and actionable data. The analytics engine leverages adaptive learning models in order to build robust modules. The Data Collector Layer will contain interfaces for users to get recommendations, receive user feedback and provide other analysis reports. The Analytics Core Layer will be implemented using a collection of machine learning algorithms. The Service Layer will calculate recommendations based on user profile, user feedback, pre-stored best practices and other use cases. The Persistence Layer will store and get calculated data to recommendation engine's own database. The company plans to conduct several formative evaluations during the course of the project, as well as two pilot studies at the end of each year with a control and experiment group. The results will enable them to determine the effectiveness of ongoing, just-in-time supports for improving teachers' skills and confidence inside and outside the classroom.
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Culture Robotics, Inc
SBIR Phase II: Hardware and Software Systems for Testing Engineered Microorganisms
Contact
180 Steuart St #193554
San Francisco, CA 94105–9992
NSF Award
1927080 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop technology to bring biomanufactured products to market more rapidly. Today, biology researchers use genetic engineering to turn microorganisms into living factories: Cells that produce novel therapeutics, foods, materials, and fuels. This project will make it easier for researchers to evaluate if cells are ready to be promoted from lab-scale to production-scale. New methods for testing microorganisms will be developed, and the cells' growth conditions and media will be evaluated. This work will allow potential products to be optimized for potency, cost, and production time, enabling researchers to bring their biomanufacturing solutions to market more quickly. These biomanufactured products provide revolutionary solutions to some of society's biggest challenges including biochmeical production, climate change, plastic pollution, human health, and the sustainability of our food systems. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop technology that will address the challenges faced by researchers seeking to produce novel genetically engineered systems at scale. Today, evaluating the efficacy and commercialization potential of engineered microorganisms requires considerable empirical work, and this is slowed down by legacy hardware and software systems. With the goal of improving the time-to-market of these products, this project will create advances in the fields of industrial biotechnology, bioinstrumentation, automation and biological simulation. Evaluations of these techniques will be conducted using a variety of standard organisms and processes. Systems will be tested for increased predictive power and gains in efficiency. The overall objectives are to extend automated cell testing to new types of microorganisms, to develop new automated cell culture instrumentation and techniques, and to create new statistical models of the dynamics of cellular growth. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Curie Co. Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Production of Biocidal Enzymes for Antimicrobial Applications
Contact
101 Avenue of the Americas
New York City, NY 10013–1941
NSF Award
2026057 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
08/15/2020 – 07/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II is to replace chemical preservatives with sustainable alternatives in everyday products. To date, manufacturers have had few alternatives to the preservatives critical for preventing microbial contamination of water-containing products. However, enzymes are biodegradable and have a low risk of penetrating the skin, making them an appealing alternative to traditional chemical preservatives. The proposed project will advance the translation of sustainable antimicrobial enzymes as replacements for chemical preservatives by developing a scalable manufacturing process. The proposed SBIR Phase II project will advance the translation of biocidal enzymes to replace chemical preservatives in consumer products. The focus of this project is improving production of the active biocidal enzyme and potentiating its antimicrobial properties. These enzymes are highly toxic to bacterial and yeast, making them attractive alternatives for chemical preservatives, but creating a challenge for manufacturing at scale. This project incorporates a suite of chemical and genetic switches to tightly modulate the enzymes' biocidal activity during production to allow for high enzyme titers during production in a microbial host organism. The research objectives are two-fold: 1) optimize production strains and genetics for overexpression of the biocidal enzyme, and 2) optimize downstream processing of the final enzyme product to maximize biocidal activity. These objectives will be fulfilled using a combination of a novel directed evolution platform and established strain engineering infrastructure. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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CycloPure, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: High-Affinity Cyclodextrin Polymers for Point-of-Use Filtration Products
Contact
171 Saxony Road, #208
Encinitas, CA 92024–0000
NSF Award
1831206 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,420,797
Start / end date
09/01/2018 – 02/28/2023
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to provide a solution to the problem of drinking water contamination by developing an advanced adsorbent for point-of-use/home filtration applications. Micropollutants, pharmaceutical residues, pesticides, industrial chemicals and other organic compounds present in water resources at trace concentrations of one part per billion and less, are recognized as a major factor of contamination. Consumers around the world no longer trust the safety of their drinking water due to the presence of micropollutants and other contaminants. These compounds are pervasive and can present toxicity at trace concentrations. As a result, consumers have significantly increased the non-sustainable use of plastic bottled water, now a $260 billion market. Current point-of-use filtration products are primarily designed to improve taste and odor, and are generally ineffective in removing micropollutants. CycloPure's technology has been developed specifically to target and remove micropollutants from water. This project focuses on the further development of the company's cyclodextrin adsorbent to improve the effectiveness of point-of-use filters. This material can be used as a drop-in replacement without changes in filter design. CycloPure's materials will allow households to safely use readily available tap water. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to identify strategies to develop a suitable form factor to incorporate CycloPure's high-affinity cyclodextrin adsorbent into point-of-use filters. The company's adsorbent is formed by reacting cyclodextrins, which are derived from corn starch, with readily available monomers in a single step process. During the Phase I period of this project, scalable reaction conditions were identified for production of the adsorbent in powder form. Flow-through applications, such as gravity filters, frequently require granular particles to achieve desired flow rates. Early activities will focus on the preparation of the adsorbent in granular form to demonstrate scalability and retention of removal performance similar to powder form. Thereafter, column studies will be performed in order to assess the removal performance of granular media under flow-through conditions at environmentally relevant micropollutant concentrations. Following identification of adsorption characteristics and appropriate flow conditions, a prototype point-of-use filter will be constructed and tested for the removal of micropollutants from tap water using advanced analytical techniques, including a combination of target and non-target screening approaches. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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DIGITOUCH HEALTH LLC
SBIR Phase II: Smartphone-based blood pressure monitoring via the oscillometric finger pressing method
Contact
7 DANA RD STE 111
Valhalla, NY 10595–1554
NSF Award
2025947 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$999,561
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to improve on-demand, low-cost blood pressure monitoring. High blood pressure (BP) is a major cardiovascular risk factor affecting up to 1 billion people worldwide. It is treatable, yet hypertension awareness and control is not common. Ubiquitous BP monitoring could improve hypertension management but existing devices require an inflatable cuff and are inconvenient for on-demand BP measurement. The market for a portable, cuff-less blood pressure monitor is estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. This project will develop a technology for portable, convenient BP monitoring. The proposed project will advance a novel technology for blood pressure monitoring. The proposed device uses the standard oscillometric finger-pressing method, but instead of using an inflated cuff, the user presses a finger against a sensor to determine the blood pressure. This program will advance the hardware, algorithm, and associated app. The R&D plan includes optimizing the sensing technology to accommodate a wide range of finger sizes; miniaturization of the hardware; optimization of the algorithm for a broad range of low, normotensive and hypertensive users; and development of the app user interface. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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DMC Limited
SBIR Phase II: Commercialization of Synthetic Metabolic Valves
Contact
5333 Euclid Ave
Boulder, CO 80303–2837
NSF Award
1738450 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,339,998
Start / end date
09/01/2017 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project, if successful, will be to demonstrate the potential of the technology to dramatically reduce the cost and risk currently associated with production of bio-based products, enabling ultra-low cost product development. The field of metabolic engineering historically has been limited in predicting the behavior of complex biological systems in vivo from simplified models and basic in vitro biochemical principles. In many cases, it has proven much more difficult than expected to integrate a well characterized production pathway into a living host and balance the complex requirements of both biomass growth and production. The technology under development is a first of its kind, truly scalable, high-throughput metabolic engineering platform enabling the rapid development of microbial production strains. This significant reduction in development cost enables the possibility to produce numerous specialty products that would otherwise not have acceptable internal return on development capital. This SBIR Phase II project will develop a high throughput metabolic engineering platform that enables the rapid development of microbial production strains. The platform, which bridges a gap between current in vivo and in vitro bio-production approaches, relies on the dynamic minimization of the active metabolic network in the context of a standardized two-stage bioprocess. Metabolic networks are highly interconnected wherein each metabolite and/or enzyme can interact with endless others. This combinatorial complexity results in a huge potential design space, which is intractable to the kinds of systematic experimentation required for the development of standardized design principles. The global challenges in addressing such a large biological design space have persisted, despite the dramatic advances in, and decreased costs of, reading and writing DNA, high-throughput DNA assembly, and microbial strain construction approaches. Dynamic metabolic network minimization not only results in a design space with greatly reduced complexity, but also provides strains that are robust to environmental conditions. Robustness leads to predictable scalability from high-throughput small-scale screens or "microfermentations" to fully instrumented bioreactors. This project will extend the validation of predictable strain performance from high-throughput microfermentation to pilot scale fermentation.
Errata
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Data Security Technologies LLC
SBIR Phase II: A Security, Privacy and Governance Policy Enforcement Framework for Big Data
Contact
PO Box 836088
Richardson, TX 75083–6088
NSF Award
1758628 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$759,993
Start / end date
04/01/2018 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be the creation of a new tool that could prevent the loss of sensitive data stored in big data management systems due to cyber-attacks. Furthermore, the proposed cybersecurity tool can allow organizations to audit their big data usage to prevent data misuse and comply with various privacy regulations. Recent attacks have shown that the leakage/stealing of stored data may result in enormous monetary loss and damage to organizational reputation, and increased identity theft risks for individuals. Furthermore, in the age of big data, protecting the security and privacy of stored data is paramount for maintaining public trust, and getting the full value from the collected data. The company's proposed tool will potentially have significant impact by addressing these important societal needs with respect to big data security and privacy. Based on customer discovery findings, this tool will also address an important customer need found in many different industries and has the potential to have significant commercial impact as more and more companies are adopting big data technologies. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will commercialize a novel big data privacy, security and governance management tool that provides efficient data sanitization, attribute-based access control, accountability and governance policy enforcement capabilities for protecting sensitive data stored in big data management systems. In addition, the proposed product will provide novel data sensitivity aware intrusion detection capabilities. The Phase II research objectives are: 1) to develop an efficient attribute-based access control framework to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data; 2) to develop data sanitization capabilities for complying with various regulations; 3) to develop a scalable audit log capture, storage and querying framework for increasing accountability for big data usage; and 4) to develop a data sensitivity aware intrusion detection framework to quickly detect potential attacks against sensitive data. These objectives pose significant research challenges with respect to scaling to big data without impacting the existing workflow of the companies. The company proposes to address these challenges by using novel code injection techniques combined with risk aware audit log generation and data sensitivity aware machine learning based intrusion detection techniques. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Data2Discovery Inc
SBIR Phase II: Semantic Link Association Prediction for Phenotypic Drug Discovery
Contact
901 E 10th St
Bloomington, IN 47408–3912
NSF Award
1660155 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,323,521
Start / end date
03/15/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of an informatics-based software platform that will help pharmaceutical companies create more new, effective, and safe drugs earlier in the R&D pipeline. This software platform will address a need for data integration and analysis tools to aid pharmaceutical researchers in 1) phenotypic screening, 2) toxicology analysis, and 3) drug repurposing. It will help these researchers quickly gather and interpret complex molecular and phenotypic data, making the drug discovery process more efficient and creating value for pharmaceutical companies. The economic impact of reducing the preclinical drug discovery process by just two weeks is estimated to be a $252 million cost savings for the industry. By using data more effectively earlier in the R&D process, this software platform also promises to enhance the quality of drugs that enter clinical trials. Thus, it provides an opportunity to reduce overall R&D spending and increase the number of drugs that enter the market - resulting in more economically priced medicines available to the population. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to build an informatics-based software platform that solves cross-domain data integration, analysis, and user application challenges in order to effectively use data to draw insights earlier in the R&D process and compress the development pipeline for new or repurposed drugs. Using highly scalable semantic graph technologies, a flexible three-layer architecture is being developed that includes the 1) Biomedical Data Layer, 2) Computational Layer, and 3) Application Layer. This architecture allows the system be fully scalable and extensible to other datasets and biomedical applications. The system will be beta-tested by pharmaceutical researchers and evaluated though the creation of scientifically relevant use-cases. This development will result in a commercial software system that makes important biomedical data and insights available to all researchers within a pharmaceutical organization by addressing high need data integration, analysis, and application challenges.
Errata
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DataChat Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Democratizing Data Science Through Conversation
Contact
1403 University Ave
Madison, WI 53715–1055
NSF Award
1853057 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$915,975
Start / end date
05/15/2019 – 10/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to increase the number of users within an organization that can carry out sophisticated data analysis. The proposed approach, if proven successful, can also open a new vertical in the analytics market in which text-based chatbots aid humans in carrying out the task of creating, deploying and running complex data science pipelines. Such a positive outcome could lead to the creation of a sub-market in the existing analytic software market, and it could also help improve the productivity of the (non-technology) sectors of the economy that increasingly require high-quality and fast insights from both archival and real-time datasets. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project targets the issue that it currently can take substantial human effort and time to extract meaningful insights from data. The company aims to change this cumbersome process by training text-based chatbots to perform complex analysis tasks on enterprise data. These chatbots then allow users to acquire answers about their data by chatting in (a controlled subset of) written English. Instead of dedicating hours or even days to answer a single question, large datasets could then be queried multiple times in minutes, enabling businesses to make informed decisions in real-time. Thus, this technology aims to dramatically improve human productivity in gathering insights from data and democratize data analytics by making it available to a broad class of users within an enterprise. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Diatomix, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Improving Indoor Air Quality using a Biosilica Based Functional Paint & Coatings Photocatalyst
Contact
8195 SW Nimbus Ave
Beaverton, OR 97008–6414
NSF Award
1927040 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$777,787
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is that it will provide a next-generation commercial method of removing volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) such as benzene, formaldehyde and methylene chloride from indoor air. These compounds are potential carcinogens and also exacerbate allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems. Indoor air quality is generally 5 times worse than outdoor air quality, and VOCs are prevalent indoors because they are emitted from carpets, adhesives, plastic products, typical household chemical cleaners and electronics. Children are especially sensitive to VOCs, and indoor environments pose greater health risks because of the time spent indoors. Alleviating the daily discomfort and financial burdens, estimated at around $50 billion annually in the U.S., posed by environmental air pollutants such as VOCs can significantly improve human health and comfort. The development and commercial deployment of this new technology will also provide enhanced scientific understanding of manufacturing for nanotechnologies. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will focus on validating the ability of a biosilica-based photocatalyst to actively and continuously improve indoor air quality by reducing total VOCs found in indoor environments when the photocatalyst is added to floor and carpet coatings. VOCs are emitted as gases from certain solids and liquids, and they include chemicals potentially causing short- and long-term adverse health effects--especially indoors, where concentrations may be up to ten times higher than outdoors. This project will test the performance of this unique additive when applied to floor and carpet coating systems to reduce total VOCs and will validate manufacturing processes to achieve scale-up quantities needed for commercial production. The technology works by first adsorbing VOCs and then degrading them to CO2 and H2O. Coated surfaces in test chambers simulating a typical indoor environment will be evaluated via continuous monitoring of airborne pollutants. It is anticipated that the ultimate deliverables of this project would include validation of a VOC-degrading additive for multiple products and advanced knowledge of nano-manufacturing processes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Diligent Droids, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Mobile Manipulation Hospital Service Robots
Contact
2418 Spring Ln PO Box 5017
Austin, TX 78703–4480
NSF Award
1738375 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,199,909
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project on hospital service robots is improving the quality of care in hospital systems that are under increased pressure to provide high-quality patient-centric care while functioning as profitable businesses. Hospitals face a shortage of qualified nurses and high rates of nurse turnover. Nurses play a critical role in communicating care plans, educating patients, and guarding against medical errors. The amount of time they spend in direct care activities is a key determinant of patient satisfaction, better patient outcomes, fewer errors, and shorter lengths of stay. In the face of nursing shortages across the U.S., it is increasingly important to have nurses performing at the 'top of their license'. Reducing the amount of time they spend on non-nursing tasks is crucial to this goal. Automation could address these challenges and labor shortage by allowing clinical staff to focus on providing skilled care. The proposed project aims to develop technology that is general-purpose enough to transfer to other markets, such as long term care facilities and, eventually, individual consumers. Robots that perform assistive tasks in homes could increase the feasibility of independent living for many older adults. The proposed project will establish the technical and commercial feasibility of developing hospital service robots that act as assistants on acute care units, enabling nurses to spend more time at the bedside with patients. This project will make technical advances along three dimensions: the ability of the proposed robot to autonomously navigate within nursing units and across the hospital (navigation capabilities); to easily adapt its manipulation skills to specific tasks and to physical characteristics of a particular hospital/unit (adaptive learning of manipulation skills); and to work alongside humans in a socially acceptable manner, including appropriate navigation in crowded hallways, speech, and eye gaze behaviors that communicate the robot's intentions (socially intelligent interoperability). The team intends to collaborate closely with a single partner hospital to iteratively improve the reliability and robustness of the artificial intelligence software suite developed with NSF funding and to deploy production-quality versions of the three core competencies. The final 6 months will involve a long-term deployment, with the robot autonomously working on an acute care unit of the partner hospital. The impact of the robot on unit staff and workflows will be documented, with the ultimate goal of developing a service robot that hospital staff view as a competent member of the care team.
Errata
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Dimensional Energy Inc.
STTR Phase II: HI-LIGHT - Solar Thermal Chemical Reactor Technology for Converting CO2 to Hydrocarbons
Contact
107 Penny Ln
Ithaca, NY 14850–6273
NSF Award
1831166 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$880,184
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this STTR Phase II project will result in significant economic activity through the utilization of waste carbon dioxide. The photo-catalytic reactors funded in the project will lead to novel methods to chemically store energy from the sun. Each year, human activity releases 38 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Dimensional Energy envisions a future in which we can utilize this carbon dioxide as a feedstock for industrial production of hydrocarbon fuels and chemical intermediaries by harnessing the power of the sun. This STTR Phase II project proposes to develop HI-Light - a photo-thermo-catalytic reactor platform technology that enables the conversion of CO2 and water to synthesis gas at a rate significantly greater than the state of the art. The unique feature of the technology is that it uses embedded optical waveguides to evenly distribute light within the reactor, increasing the efficacy of the catalyst and ultimately the productivity of the system. In Phase I a fully functional integrated prototype reactor was constructed, demonstrating continuous operation, and showing productivity in terms of the grams of hydrocarbon produced per gram of catalyst per hour more than 10x greater than the state of the art. The approach solves the two major roadblocks in photo-conversion of CO2: (1) the semiconductor catalysts can only use photons with energies greater than their bandgap, which is a small fraction of those present in sunlight and (2) a large fraction of the catalyst material in these reactors is under-utilized due to sub-optimal light and reactant delivery. Our unique reactor uses a patented, multi-scale approach to enhance light and reagent transport directly to the reaction site and makes use of traditionally unused photons to provide heat and enhance reaction efficiency. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Drone Amplified, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Intelligent Drone Ignitions To Manage Fires
Contact
1811 S Pershing Rd
Lincoln, NE 68502–4840
NSF Award
2025871 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$983,676
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be to transform how firefighters battle wildfires by improving safety, decreasing costs, and increasing effectiveness. Wildfires are increasing in number and severity, costing billions of dollars and resulting in thousands of lost homes and numerous deaths. Today, firefighters are unable to perform the backburns needed to contain wildfires without putting firefighters at risk. This project will result in technologies that directly address the critical pain points of firefighters by improving the intelligence and capabilities of drone systems. The research will develop algorithms for coordinating groups of robots, deep learning approaches and the development of novel datasets, algorithms that can predict fire activity and plan missions, and autonomous health monitoring approaches. This project will lead to safe, fast, affordable fire management. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will enable the development of the critical pieces of the technology that will transform fire management. More specifically, the proposed work focuses on the following key technical challenges and activities to incorporate intelligence into fire management: 1) Scaling to multiple drones intelligently operating in tandem and larger drones to cover complex, large terrain faster; 2) Transformation of pre- and post-fire mapping, currently a manual process taking more time than actual firefighting; 3) Creation of intelligent ignition planning and automated sensing capabilities that predict and take into account fire activity to increase safety and efficiency; and 4) Beta tests with customers to collect data for learning algorithms and to validate the research under field conditions. These challenges are especially difficult given the harsh fire environment, the weight and power constraints of commercial drones preferred for these activities, and the integration of two distinct domains, drone aerial navigation and fire management. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Dynalene Inc.
STTR Phase II: Corrosion Inhibition of Stainless Steel Alloys in High Temperature Chloride Salts for Concentrated Solar Power Applications
Contact
5250 West Coplay Road
Whitehall, PA 18052–2212
NSF Award
1831220 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$737,213
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
This STTR Phase II project will focus on the development of cost effective, high temperature molten salt heat transfer fluids for third generation concentrated solar power (CSP) plants with operating temperatures >700?C. In the Phase I of this research, an additive package was developed that formed an adherent ceramic oxide coating on 316/316L stainless steel at the temperatures >700?C when added to specific chloride salt blends and inhibit corrosion. The utilization of the inhibitor package strategy will enable the utilization of economical stainless-steel alloys in the CSP plants and would reduce the infra-structure cost. Such solutions will have a direct impact on the renewable energy market which would help to lower the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) for thermal solar from the current cost of 12?/kwh to the target 3?/kwh by 2030. The scientific and technological insight gained in this project could be beneficial to many other applications, such as molten carbonate fuel cells, thermal energy storage systems, nuclear molten fluoride/chloride reactors, and other high-temperature systems that are susceptible to aggressive corrosion. Incorporation of the inhibited molten chloride salt in the CSP plants will also provide sustainable green energy, reduce water usage, create more jobs and offer U.S. energy independence and security. On a societal level, impact will be achieved by the continued delivery and development of educational activities based on the research topics embodied by this work. The core innovation in this proposed program is the development of a chemical mixture, an additive package that would minimize the corrosion of stainless steel induced by molten chloride salts at temperatures >700?C. The additive package reacts with the stainless steel and forms a corrosion inhibiting ceramic oxide coating in-situ when added to the molten chlorides at operating temperatures>700?C. The chloride salts are proposed to be the heat transfer fluids for third generation CSP plants. The feasibility of the inhibitor package strategy in a real world CSP plant will be critically assessed in this proposed research. A prototype bench scale molten test loop will be designed and built to mimic the flow conditions in a CSP plant. The effect of prolonged exposure to high temperature molten salts on the mechanical properties of the base metal under dynamic conditions will be studied with attention to the molten salt induced degradation of strength and toughness at elevated temperatures. The degradation behavior of the salt with the inhibitor package will be studied as well. Additional research will be performed to gain fundamental insight on the nucleation and growth of the ceramic oxide coating and its thermal and mechanical stability in dynamic flow conditions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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E-THERA, INC.
SBIR Phase II: A Therapeutic Machine-Learned Triage Application For Early Detection and Triage of COPD Exacerbations
Contact
315 W 33RD ST APT 8F
New York, NY 10001–2766
NSF Award
1950994 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$761,837
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of SBIR Phase II project aims to reduce significant disease flare-ups in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), increase in-patient quality-of-life, and reduce expensive and unnecessary healthcare utilization. COPD is one of the leading chronic conditions driving potentially avoidable hospital admissions, accounting for an estimated $25 B in 2018 patient care costs. Current at-home care support for COPD patients is often completely missing or consists of action plans that fail to provide effective, individualized care. Integrating health management and a smart triage system offering instant healthcare guidance has the potential to reduce unnecessary COPD hospitalization and provide long-term maintenance treatment of COPD symptoms. The proposed project will develop an easy-to use, personalized triage application that catches disease degeneration early, tracks patient health history, and provides decision support to guide patients appropriately. Moreover, an easily accessible, highly accurate, convenient solution can empower patients to make better health decisions early. This SBIR Phase II project focuses on optimizing and deploying a triage application that provides personalized decision support and therapeutic benefit to patients with COPD. The proposed project will validate this application for a new population and test the integrated system. Specific technical tasks include the expansion of algorithms to include jointly diagnosed COPD-asthma patients, an important population at risk, as well as optimization of configurations for usability and performance. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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EDEN GEOPOWER, INC.
SBIR Phase II: Directional Permeability Enhancement Using Electric Well Treatment
Contact
444 Somerville Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143–3260
NSF Award
1951212 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$740,370
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a novel waterless rock fracturing technology that can replace hydraulic fracturing in the future. Hydraulic fracturing requires pumping of millions of gallons of water into a reservoir to create permeable pathways within the rock, and increase hydrocarbon recovery rates. However, hydraulic fracturing technology has been banned in some regions within the United States, and in various countries across the globe due to water scarcity and environmental concerns. This has left trillions of dollars in petroleum resources trapped within the earth, negatively impacting the global economy. The waterless fracturing technology being developed under this project utilizes pulsed electrical energy to fracture rocks instead of water, allowing for hydrocarbons to be recovered with minimum environmental impact. The research conducted during this project will provide further insights into the advantages of utilizing electricity to fracture petroleum reservoirs and assist in accelerating successful commercialization of the technology. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop a novel electric reservoir stimulation method to increase reservoir permeability without requiring pumping of hazardous material into the subsurface. This project will advance the development of an electric stimulation method by testing it on rock samples under higher pressure and temperature conditions, to mimic the downhole conditions of several common petroleum reservoirs and allow for optimization. This project will also include the design of a downhole tool that will be utilized to carry electrical current from the surface to the target reservoir for field demonstrations of the technology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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EINO, INC.
SBIR Phase II (COVID-19): Improved 5G Network Performance and Demand Prediction in a Virtually Connected World
Contact
2 W LOOP RD
New York, NY 10044–1501
NSF Award
2025956 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
08/15/2020 – 07/31/2022
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be to ensure accessible, reliable, high-speed internet. Operators spend $350 B annually on network upgrades, but only an estimated 75% of this is effective. This project will help improve the efficiency of upgrades by providing hyper-local information about network demand as well as forecasting future needs. This can be applied both to upgrading current networks and deployment of future 5G networks, and it improves energy efficiency by aligning resources with needs. This technology will enable ongoing and improved operation in fields ranging from education, emergency responders, government work, and corporate activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated social distancing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a novel prediction platform for efficient long-term planning of 4G and 5G mobile networks. This project will develop a platform that can accurately forecast network usage and behavior based on key performance indicators and external contextual data. The platform will provide accurate data regarding network demand at the micro-scale, localized by individual cell sites and frequency bands; this will enable better capacity optimization (i.e., when, where, how much). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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ENERGYXCHAIN, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Transforming Complex Utility Transaction Management
Contact
13515 SERENITY ST
Huntersville, NC 28078–6569
NSF Award
1951161 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$786,315
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is empowering the 68 million U.S. natural gas consumers and their transaction managers and partners to access transaction status in real time, enjoy continuous control of their transactions, settle transactions in time scales less than the industry’s current monthly accounting cycle, and enjoy heightened levels of security. The United States natural gas industry has operated in its present physical form for more than a century, and over the past four decades the industry has evolved through various policy and regulatory actions to open transaction participation to thousands of parties. In other industries, the past two decades have introduced digital capabilities that share transaction information and automate select functions, but these developments have not enjoyed infusion in natural gas transaction management processes. The proposed solution will serve as a platform for industry innovation by multiple parties, reducing transaction cost and increasing speed. This innovation will have applications in other industries characterized by complex, multi-party transactions. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to advance blockchain innovations and related technologies to transform complex natural gas utility transaction management processes across production, transmission, distribution and consumption functions. The proposed solution will accelerate the development of third-generation smart contracting frameworks with user-friendly/interactive human-machine-interfaces (HMI) and predictive and interactive smart contracting functionalities based on artificial intelligence, and with advanced cybersecurity measures. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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ESal
SBIR Phase II: Novel Water Flooding Technique to Enhance Oil Recovery
Contact
1938 Harney St Ste 216
Laramie, WY 82072–5388
NSF Award
1853136 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$949,876
Start / end date
05/15/2019 – 04/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to deploy a revolutionary water-flood technology to increase oil recovery. The best current technology is limited to 30 - 50% recovery leaving significant resources in the ground. The available methods to further increase recovery are expensive, have limited application and can cause environmental damage. The proposed method is much less expensive and has minimal environmental impact. Our technique does not use chemicals or additives thus avoiding the risk of contaminating ground and surface water resources. Rather than drill thousands of new wells, our approach revitalizes old fields and requires little modification to the existing infrastructure and operational procedures. It would allow older fields to continue to operate, providing jobs and taxes while increasing and further diversifying our domestic oil reserves. Full success of enhanced oil recovery,could produce up to 21.7 billion barrels of additional oil generating over $1 trillion for the US oil industry over the next twenty-five years, thereby increasing the energy security of the U.S. and creating more jobs while stabilizing domestic oil production at much lower costs than other technologies. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to validate the technology to optimize wettability in existing oil reservoirs through flotation experiments, computer modeling and field pilots. Once we have achieved good pH control during the flotation experiments, we will determine the impact on reservoir wettability, the effect of salinity on wettability and the equilibrium constants for the surface complexation computer model. Finally, we will conduct concept validation projects in field to verify a minimum of 5% OOIP increase in oil production. Thus, we will provide producers with a field-verified process operators can implement to yield significant results for little cost. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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EarthSense, Inc.
STTR Phase II: TerraSentia: Ultra-compact, Autonomous, Teachable Under-canopy Phenotyping Robot for Plant Breeders and Crop Scientists
Contact
60 Hazelwood Drive
Champaign, IL 61820–7460
NSF Award
1951250 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$816,000
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project include improving food security, while at the same time enhancing the economic viability and environmental sustainability of large-scale production agriculture. In order to improve crop varieties, agricultural production, and sustainability of farming, there is an urgent need for better technologies to acquire under-canopy plant trait and health data. Examples of high-value under-canopy data include emergence, stem width, corn ear height, plant life-cycle events like flowering and fruiting, and symptoms of pathogens, diseases, and nutrient deficiency. Because these data cannot be obtained by aerial imaging, under-canopy data collection has dramatically greater actionability and value compared to aerial data. However no cost-effective, scalable ways of collecting this data are currently available. In fact, the state of the art is manual data collection by crop scientists (and their students or interns), agronomists, crop-scouts or farmers - an extremely labor intensive, and therefore expensive way of collecting this highly valuable data. Our work will greatly enhance the availability of under-canopy data from field crops, benefiting crop scientists and agricultural product development professionals as well as enable large scale field monitoring and management in production agriculture. The commercial value of the field data for crop breeding is in excess of $50 Million/year for breeding major row-crops in the US. This STTR Phase II project proposes to establish autonomous data collection under-canopy from field crops using a low-cost ground robot. The proposed work will enhance the ability to collect data autonomously in full-scale crop-breeding fields throughout the season and enable on-site data analytics for remote sites with limited connectivity. Long-term field adaptive autonomy will be achieved through implementation of multiple low-cost sensors. Robot's real-time control algorithms will be developed to adapt camera perspective and robot path in order to obtain the highest quality information from the complex and dynamic under-canopy field environments. Finally, the research will develop hardware specific edge-compute versions of the analytics algorithms to enable on-site data analysis. These innovations will together enable global deployment of the system for effective data collection and phenotyping. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Ecolectro, Inc
SBIR Phase II: Ultrathin Polymer Electrolyte Composites with Exceptional Conductivity, Mechanical Strength and Chemical Durability
Contact
201 Eastman Hill RD
Willseyville, NY 13864–1229
NSF Award
1951215 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$747,653
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop a new class of reinforced polymers that advance renewable hydrogen and clean energy devices, such as electrolyzers and fuel cells. The proposed materials will address the high materials costs, toxicity, and modest performance of current state-of-practice solutions. The support and fabrication innovations enhance mechanical performance and durability and reduce materials costs by engineering specifically for the intended applications. The proposed device will generate capital expenditure reductions of 40% and improve durability by 3x. This SBIR Phase II project will address performance, durability and scale issues of reinforced Alkaline Exchange Membranes (rAEMs). The project will advance the development of rAEMs with high mechanical performance and durability; the project will develop mesoporous supports to achieve higher quality. Proposed chemical innovations will improve electrochemical performance by boosting ion mobility and exploiting hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase separation dynamics in the polymer electrolyte. The project will advance innovations of Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEA) with non-platinum catalysts to further reduce device cost. Technical goals include performance and durability of the rAEM (stability for 1,000h, ASR < 0.08 Ohm-cm2, hydroxide conductivity > 25 mS/cm, Stress @ break > 30 MPa, < 15% swelling), MEAs in fuel cells (current density > 800 mA/cm2 at 0.65V @ 60 degrees C over 50h) MEAs in electrolyzers (current density > 750 mA/cm2 at 1.8V @ 60 degrees C over 100h), and successful incorporation of non-platinum electrodes into MEAs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Ecovia Renewables Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Efficient Production of a High Performance and Eco-Friendly Superabsorbent Microbial Biopolymer for Hygiene Applications
Contact
600 South Wagner Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103–9002
NSF Award
1660217 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,249,929
Start / end date
03/15/2017 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project includes tremendous commercial potential, societal benefits, and scientific advances. Conventional superabsorbent polymers (SAP) are based on polyacrylates or polyacrylamides derived from petroleum feedstock. They are widely used in the absorbent cores of hygiene products, with disposable diapers representing approximately 85% of the global SAP market of $6B. Increasing consumer and supply chain demand for more natural, sustainable materials and products has driven the development of eco-friendly / natural labeled absorbent hygiene products (AHP). Eco-friendly diaper products currently make up about 3% of the global market and are experiencing strong growth at 10-15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This project will lead to the commercialization of a low-cost high-performance biobased SAP, offering significant environmental benefits as a more sustainable, eco-friendly alternative to petrobased SAP. This project could also generate positive economic impacts on domestic agriculture by creating new demand for bio-feedstocks such as waste glycerol. Finally, this project advances the scientific and technological state-of-the-art by developing a new bioprocess based on microbial co-cultures that could be extended to render more efficient, cost-effective routes for producing other biobased fuels and chemicals. The objectives of this Phase II research project are to develop a new biological route, based on microbial co-cultures, for cost-effective production of gamma-polyglutamic acid (PGA) and to commercialize cross-linked PGA SAP for AHP applications. In Phase I of this project, a microbial co-culture process was developed for efficient production of PGA via in-situ precursor production (ISPP) from low-cost bio-feedstocks. materials. Building on promising results in Phase I, further R&D will aim to reach pilot-scale production by the end of Phase II. Three specific technical objectives will be pursued: Objective 1: Strain engineering and bioprocess optimization to develop an ISPP fermentation process with commercially viable performance metrics. Objective 2: Optimization of downstream purification, SAP cross-linking, and finishing to produce a high performance finished PGA SAP product. Objective 3: Pilot-scale process demonstration to produce commercial quantities of PGA SAP for large scale customer/partner trials. This R&D plan will lead to transformative technological outcomes. The proposed process based on microbial co-cultures represents a distinct shift from the conventional paradigm of utilizing single-species monocultures for bioprocessing and offers substantial cost-savings. The engineering and process development strategies developed during this project will be transferrable for a broad range of other co-culture bioprocessing applications.
Errata
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EigenPatterns Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Early Detection of Anomalies in Large-Scale Gas Networks
Contact
1527 Ilikai Avenue
San Jose, CA 95118–1943
NSF Award
2025906 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$999,855
Start / end date
08/01/2020 – 07/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to reduce the incidence of natural gas pipeline failures across the country within the next 3 to 5 years. Every year there are a few hundred 'significant' pipeline accidents (fatalities or significant property damage) causing massive damage to life and property, dispersing hazardous materials and disrupting gas delivery services. Such events can have severe consequences for a utility including bankruptcy, billions of dollars in liabilities, civil/criminal penalties and higher insurance premiums. This proposed scalable and economical capability to proactively identify potential issues prior to catastrophic failure will significantly reduce the likelihood of such failures without requiring additional infrastructure. The project will also help prevent unauthorized third-party activity near pipelines, a leading cause of accidents. The methods developed in this project can be directly applied to improve detection accuracy in other contexts such as power-grids, computer cluster management and financial fraud detection. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to detect anomalies in large-scale gas-utility networks through statistical inference from continuously observed time-series data on pressure, temperature, and network characteristics. Anomalies within gas-utility networks occur for various reasons, such as sulphur or ice buildup, regulator malfunction, corrosion/aging of hardware, and human error. Such failures are often preceded by detectable signatures in the time-series of gas-pressure data. Early detection of such signatures with significant advance warning (90 minutes or more) allows corrective action that will avoid loss of life, property damage and service disruption. This project proposes new methods for the rapid estimation of short and medium timescale models of gas pressure behavior from real-time pipeline data, along with methods for constructing prediction bands through Monte Carlo and stochastic optimization techniques. Such methods are non-generic and their success relies crucially on exploiting specific structural properties unique to network-level gas-pressure time series. The proposed stochastic optimization techniques will probabilistically classify identified anomalies into failure type, allowing the prioritizing of network level emergency operations. The project will also develop scalable automated high-dimensional classification models to detect construction activity from satellite and other image data, to initiate preventive action. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Elektrofi Inc
SBIR Phase II: Novel Formulation for the Delivery of High Concentration Protein Therapeutics
Contact
75 Kneeland St
Boston, MA 02111–1901
NSF Award
1831212 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,115,998
Start / end date
09/01/2018 – 08/31/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project aims to transform intravenous (IV) infusions of biologic medicines into simple subcutaneous (SC) injections. Biologics have improved the treatment of human disease. Unfortunately, their delivery is burdensome. The standard of administration of these biologics is often by IV infusion at low concentrations, which can take multiple hours to deliver, cause patient discomfort, and increase the risk of infection. Although SC injection is preferred, constraints on SC volume (1.5-2.0 mL) would necessitate concentrations much greater than 100 mg/mL, which are often unfeasible. Solutions at concentrations exceeding 100 mg/mL are highly viscous (honey-like), making them difficult to inject and leading to unstable products. This project's microparticle suspension technology can deliver high concentrations while fully preserving the protein structure, function, and efficacy. Transforming the delivery of biologics offers advantages to patients, healthcare providers, payers, and biopharmaceutical companies. Patients will experience less pain and discomfort, save time, have fewer infections, and have better access to biologics. Healthcare providers will be able to process more patients, decrease the chance of complications, and use fewer human resources. Payers will have decreased reimbursement costs. Biopharmaceutical companies will have patented product differentiation and the ability to develop otherwise intractable biologics. This SBIR Phase II project aims to develop a soft atomization manufacturing platform for the production of microparticle suspensions capable of transforming intravenous (IV) infusions of biologics into simple subcutaneous (SC) injections. The standard of administration of biologics is intravenous infusion at low concentrations, which can take hours to deliver, cause patient discomfort, and increase the risk of infection. Although SC injection is preferred, constraints on SC volume (1.5-2.0 mL) necessitate concentrations greater than 100 mg/mL, which are often unfeasible. Solutions at concentrations exceeding 100 mg/mL are highly viscous (honey-like), making them difficult to inject and leading to unstable products. This project's gently processed microparticle suspensions can deliver high concentrations while preserving protein structure and bioactivity, an accomplishment not well-demonstrated with other microparticle technologies. This project aims to advance the readiness level of the innovation by performing process calibration of a bench-scale system, followed by developing and characterizing the resulting particles and suspensions produced on that system. With well-formulated suspensions, in vivo pharmacokinetic and efficacy studies will commence. The project will support the development of manufacturing capabilities towards a goal of transitioning to pilot-scale production. This project aims to offer advantages to patients, healthcare providers, payers, and biopharmaceutical companies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Elloveo, Inc
SBIR Phase II: Interactive, Combined Circuit & 2D Field Simulator for Educational Mobile Game
Contact
362 E 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012–4203
NSF Award
1927081 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$739,510
Start / end date
08/15/2019 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research SBIR Phase II project will be achieved through creation of a new way of teaching abstract scientific concepts, like electricity and magnetism, and presenting them in an approachable, visual way. The project involves the expansion of the interactive, combined circuit and field simulator built in Phase I. The phase II research will include adapting the existing simulator to cover additional topics covered in middle school and high school physics, for example: semiconductors, solar panels, LEDs, transistors, logic circuits, memory, computers, etc. This innovation is a complex simulator that allows users to "play" with charges, conductors, magnets, generators, motors, and particle accelerators. This allows the user to feel confident with the concepts before they dive into the complex mathematical equations behind the science, which often intimidate students. The goal is to make this very challenging material easier for young people to understand, ultimately inspiring more students to pursue engineering and physics degrees in higher education. The intellectual merit of this SBIR Phase II project lies in developing a new simulator that will be parallelized. Simulating a semiconductor in real-time (60 frames per second) would require handling the electric/magnetic field and diffusion behavior of hundreds to thousands of charges simultaneously and has never been accomplished. Modeling diffusion and increasing the particle count to thousands will require a parallelized, GPU-based simulation engine to handle the physics of the large number of particles required. This is equivalent to incorporating Fick's Law for diffusion and the continuity equations for semiconductor current into the company's existing electricity and magnetism engine. Using this updated engine, students can intuitively learn about the technologies surrounding them (computers, solar power, LEDs, etc.). Additionally, the GPU-based engine will be inherently cross-platform so that it can be used on any device (Apple, Chromebook, PC, etc.). This interactive field and circuit simulator is the first of its kind, and is ideal for allowing students to visualize, experiment with, and intuitively understand complex electricity and magnetism topics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Emergy LLC
SBIR Phase II: Sustainable alternative protein cultivation from fungal mycelium for human consumption
Contact
973 5th st
Boulder, CO 80302–7120
NSF Award
1926981 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,250,000
Start / end date
08/01/2019 – 07/31/2023
Abstract
The broader impact and commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is a new source of human-grade protein that it can be produced at an estimated half the price of wholesale chicken and 2000 times higher protein yields per acre compared to soy with a fraction of the input requirements. The new protein addresses pain points in industry of potential allergens, amino acid composition, poor flavor and texture, and limited processability. If successfully commercialized, Emergy's potential impact is the ability to provide high quality protein to millions of people at 50% the price of animal protein, while saving the world greenhouse gas emissions, all with a significantly reduced land footprint. This SBIR Phase II proposes to use the efficiencies of biological organisms to produce high quality, economical, and sustainable protein for human consumption. To achieve this goal, Emergy grows filamentous fungi biomass as a human-grade protein source. The fungal biomass has one of the highest protein contents of any raw source available on the market (60% by weight) and is one of the only complete proteins. Emergy has developed fermentation parameters and used directed evolution to produce a fungal process/strain that provides several inherent advantages over traditional protein production methods. Advantages of production include, low resource requirements, high yields, safe and toxin free, and low unit costs. While this process has been demonstrated at the benchtop level, the technical hurdles include scaling production to industrial systems while maintaining the proper texture and quality. Emergy Labs plans on executing these goals by optimizing growth conditions in scaled bioreactors, defining industrial operating parameters, designing and proving a scalable manufacturing process, and demonstrating commercially relevant scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Emissol LLC
SBIR Phase II: Novel Urea Mixer to Enable Low Temperature Reduction of Diesel Exhaust Nitrogen Compounds
Contact
16300 Mill Creek Blvd. Ste 208-F
Mill Creek, WA 98012–1279
NSF Award
1831231 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$746,477
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/ commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project includes reducing emission of Diesel engines' toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) in challengingly low temperature exhaust operations, while eliminating damaging urea deposits saving warranty costs for vehicle manufacturers, saving fuel, reducing greenhouse gases CO2 and N2O as well as particulate matter, while potentially enabling downsizing the complex and costly diesel emission control systems. The novel technology developed in this SBIR project may be configured for retrofitting existing diesel platforms. Nitrogen oxides pose risks to human respiratory and pulmonary systems, are associated with forming ground level ozone, photochemical oxidants, acid rain and fine particles, amongst a variety of their detriments, and their emission is therefore regulated. Our concept, when successful, will therefore make available a broad value proposition to the society, the environment and to the mobility industry. Finally, the insights developed into its gas phase reactions may have applications in other branches of science and technology. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to resolve a currently unmet need in mitigating emission of toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel engines, especially in low exhaust temperatures such as when the vehicle operates in stop-and-go, in local delivery or when idles its engine. The goal of this project is to develop a low cost, easy-to-fit and simple-to-integrate novel technology enabling low temperature Diesel NOx reduction. Continuing our successful Phase I research results, in this Phase II project more advanced prototypes will be developed and tested in low-temperature exhaust conditions, demonstrating rapid reduction of NOx on a commercially-available Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalyst, while evaluating the impact on lowering greenhouse gases CO2 and N2O. High fidelity computer simulations will be heavily utilized to further our understanding of underlying mechanisms such as the gas-phase reactions as well as to accelerate the development path. The project outcome is expected to alleviate a remaining challenge in Diesel emission control and to be rapidly welcome by the Diesel engine and vehicle industry. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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EnTox Sciences, LLC
STTR Phase II: The BaroFuse, a Microfluidic Multichannel Measurement of Tissue Oxygen Consumption For Drug Testing
Contact
6901 94th Ave SE
Mercer Island, WA 98040–5441
NSF Award
1853066 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$899,970
Start / end date
04/15/2019 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
This STTR Phase 2 project is aimed at providing technology to address the high costs of developing effective and safe drugs. Bringing a new drug to market typically involves screening 100's of thousands of compounds for efficacy and toxicity utilizing cell, tissue and animal models to ultimately select a lead compound that will be tested in clinical trials. This process can take years, billions of dollars, and in the worse case leads to compounds that fail during clinical trials due to safety concerns. Advances in microfluidics and 3D-printing have enabled the construction of tissue culture devices with nearly unlimited numbers of tissue chambers and flow channel complexity. Combined with optical sensors with unprecedented sensitivity, instrumentation can be built that maintain large numbers of biopsied tissue samples, while assessing the effects of exposure of the tissue to libraries of drugs. This technological platform provides resolution of drug effects on human tissue with high sensitivity thereby reducing the cost of animal testing and the risk of bringing toxic drugs to clinical trials and the market. In addition, the technology will impact the fields of personalized medicine, where drugs could be tested on an individual's own tumor or tissue, and environmental health. Measuring in vitro cellular responses to pharmaceutical compounds is critical for identifying toxic effects of candidate drugs prior to costly in vivo animal and clinical testing. To address this need, instrumentation to maintain and assess biopsied tissue in real time is being developed. The technology utilizes microfluidics for optimal maintenance of tissue viability and function, and optoelectronics to measure oxygen uptake with unprecedented sensitivity. The fluidics are driven by gas pressure, circumventing the need for unwieldy pumps, and the channels are fabricated by 3D printing, allowing for nearly unlimited numbers of chambers and flow channel complexity. The technological platform will aid in the selection of lead compounds for clinical trials, estimation of doses for first-in-human tests, and support applications to the FDA. In this Phase 2 STTR proposal, the company will build two 96-channel turnkey instruments for a contract research program and for beta testing by pharmaceutical companies. The functionality of a low-capacity (16- channel) system has been previously demonstrated. The funding will support scaling up the throughput of the system as well as enabling additional modes of operation. The instrumentation will be used for contract research and for direct sales to the large market of drug discovery within the pharmaceutical industry. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Enable Biosciences Inc
SBIR Phase II: Development of an ultrasensitive, high-throughput autoantibody discovery platform using agglutination-PCR
Contact
675 Sharon Park Drive, Suite 202
Menlo Park, CA 94025–6908
NSF Award
1758698 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 11/30/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will be to develop a platform technology for detecting autoantibody markers for research and clinical diagnostics. Precision medicine requires the development of more powerful bioanalytic technologies to diagnose disease and direct targeted therapies. This platform uses a ligation-based DNA barcoding technology for improved antibody detection with increased analytical sensitivity and multiplex power to detect more at the most clinically useful time. Additionally, as a solution-phase assay, it is able to detect numerous clinically-relevant autoantibodies that are refractory to common techniques like ELISA. This platform has the potential to accelerate the development of lifesaving diagnostics across a broad spectrum of human diseases. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to develop the first solution-phase, ultrasensitive and multiplex antibody assay platform for the early detection, monitoring and treatment of human diseases. The Antibody Detection by Agglutination-PCR (ADAP) platform represents a major advancement in multiplex immunoassay testing. Many current multiplex technologies, such as microarrays and bead-based arrays, scale poorly due to cross-analyte interference, and lack the analytical sensitivity to detect crippling diseases at the most favorable time. The Phase I results showed the expanded and validated ADAP technology for the ultrasensitive and multiplex detection of antibody biomarkers. The Phase II objectives are: 1) Validation of the multiplex ADAP assay for clinical diagnostics serving autoimmune connective tissue diseases, thyroid disorders and celiac diseases; 2) High-throughput automation of multiplex ADAP assay technology for clinical diagnostics; 3) Manufacturing of assay reagents and establishment of quality control standards; and 4) Demonstration of the applicability of multiplex ADAP for a broader set of antibodies. The intellectual merit of this project resides in the achievement of 10,000x increased sensitivity, and 20-30% increased specificity at multiplex while having the option to use existing PCR reader platforms to help keep lab capital costs low. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Esculon LLC
SBIR Phase II: Novel Device for Maintaining Continuous Fluid Drainage in Small-Bore Chest Tubes after Cardiothoracic Surgery
Contact
3929 Harney St Ste 3008
Omaha, NE 68131–3717
NSF Award
1660238 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,409,999
Start / end date
03/15/2017 – 10/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to significantly improve outcomes for cardiothoracic surgical patients while reducing healthcare costs by ensuring proper post-surgical drainage. In the United States, approximately 750,000 major cardiothoracic surgeries are performed each year. Each of these patients receives an average of two chest tubes to drain fluid and facilitate proper recovery, but approximately 36% of chest tubes become clogged. Patients with clogged chest tubes are more likely to experience post-surgical complications, which can result in life-threatening conditions and significantly increase the cost of care. To mitigate the risk of clogging, surgeons typically use large-bore chest tubes, which are more likely to be misplaced and to cause injury to surrounding organs. The novel device under development addresses these issues by preventing clog formation in small-bore chest tubes, thus maintaining proper fluid drainage. Anticipated impacts of the device include reduced time to ambulation and discharge, hospital readmissions, and nursing time. Commercially, the device addresses a $300 million initial market opportunity and has the potential to save the U.S. healthcare system approximately $1.7 billion per year from costs associated with preventable chest tube complications. The proposed project aims to develop a novel chest tube device to address the clinical need of maintaining proper fluid drainage after cardiothoracic surgery while enabling the use of small-bore chest tubes. Existing systems are prone to clogging, which can lead to life-threatening conditions, longer hospital stays, and increased costs. Building on the feasibility demonstrated in Phase I, the objective of this research is to continue development of the device and prepare for market entry; the research will be performed in three Aims. In the first Aim, critical aspects of usability and manufacturability will be addressed and incorporated into the final device design. In the second Aim, verification and validation activities will be performed to ensure the device meets all safety and functional requirements before clinical use. In the third Aim, the device?s supplemental ability to monitor lung healing status in patients undergoing thoracic surgery will be refined and tested on the benchtop and in an in vivo animal study.
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Etaphase, Incorporated
SBIR Phase II: Enabling Ultra-Compact Photonic Integrated Circuits with Designed Disordered Dielectrics
Contact
8201 164th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052–7615
NSF Award
1534779 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,425,999
Start / end date
08/15/2015 – 12/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to allow the Internet infrastructure to keep up with explosive growth demand. A core aspect of Internet operational viability is switching speed of optical devices at various points of the transmission, storage, calculation, and access chain. Current technologies are not poised to be able to meet the speed and stability needs of the projected growth in Internet data volumes and access speed requirements. These are currently growing well beyond a Moore's Law pace. Needed is a disruptive approach to optical switching that will allow data management to keep pace with market needs. Ability to delivery this essential capability will provide not only essential international leadership in internet services, but also avail companies involved in the innovation to make a substantial commercial impact directly for their shareholders and to those of their partners and affiliates. This Small Business Innovation Research phase II project is an effort to cross the chasm between fundamental new physics insights relating to the structure of matter and an aggressive approach to commercializing 'Semiconductors of Light' in an emerging market for high density optical interconnects priced for datacenters. Until recently, the only known photonic bandgap solids were photonic crystal structures consisting of regularly repeating, orderly lattices of dielectric materials. It was generally assumed that crystal order was essential to have photonic bandgaps. This longstanding assumption is now known to be false. New photonic bandgap structures, characterized by suppressed density fluctuations (hyperuniformity), include disordered structures that are isotropic. This means that light propagates the same way through the photonic solid independent of direction (which is impossible for a photonic crystal). While the layout of waveguides in conventional photonic crystal and quasi crystal photonic bandgap materials is tightly-constrained to follow characteristic crystal axes, the layout rules for hyper uniform disordered solid waveguides have no such fundamental constraints. The universal protocol and highly-efficient computational framework covering the full range of photonic crystal, quasi crystal , and hyper uniform disordered solid-based photonic bandgaps will be generalized to a broad class of critically important photonic components by the application of a powerful new gradient-free optimization methods.
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Everix, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Thermal Drawing of High-Performance Bandpass Filters for High-Volume Applications
Contact
2372 N. Forsyth Rd.
Orlando, FL 32807–5304
NSF Award
1951386 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$746,372
Start / end date
06/01/2020 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to ultimately reduce the cost of manufacturing of high-performance optical filters, a key component in many emerging technologies. The cost can be reduced by over 10x at high volumes. This will enable widespread use of many devices, such as medical diagnostic tools, sensors for robotic systems, and other applications. The proposed project eliminates the capital-intensive vacuum coating process from high-performance optical filter production and replaces it with the more scalable process of thermal drawing (resembling optical fiber drawing) for the filters supported by the thermal drawing process. To this end, the proposed project will: design and build precision equipment; improve the precision of a prototype process; and demonstrate industry-standard filter quality. The thermo-fluidic aspects of the process will be optimized for production quality at relevant sizes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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FARMSENSE INC.
SBIR Phase II: Inexpensive Automatic Classification And Counting Of Insects To Enable Precision Agriculture
Contact
786 NAVAJO DR
Riverside, CA 92507–6018
NSF Award
1951256 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$736,056
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 10/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in improving crop yields while reducing pesticide use. Insects damage or destroy about $150 B of crops each year. Improving the accuracy and timeliness of insect surveillance will allow more effective pest management, allowing the insect interventions to be targeted in space and time; for example, rather than broadly spraying harsh pesticides across an entire field, the proposed system could suggest spraying of a milder (and cheaper) pesticide in select “hot spots” at the optimal time of day. Reducing the volume of pesticides has further positive benefits by reducing pollution and potentially mitigating colony collapse disorder. The hardware, algorithms, representations, and data models created in this project can be applied broadly to mosquito surveillance, with implications for control of insect-vectored diseases of both humans and livestock. The proposed project will advance the state-of-the-art in flying insect classification, with the goal of improving insect surveillance for precision agriculture. The study will advance the use of algorithms and representations for a wide range of conditions (temperature, pressure, humidity) encountered in the field, as these conditions affect air density, which in turn impacts insect flight. Current models use standard models for density and lift, treating insects as idealized aerodynamic objects and ignoring effects of the environment on insect physiology. This project will use machine learning to improve model accuracy and precision. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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FAS HOLDINGS GROUP
STTR Phase II: Scalable fabrication of stable perovskite solar panels using slot-die coating technique
Contact
10480 MARKISON RD
Dallas, TX 75238–1650
NSF Award
1927020 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$708,030
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is to advance the development of new low-cost and high-efficiency solar cells. This process uses abundant natural resources as the raw material, using a novel technology to make parts that can be printed on plastic foils to significantly reduce manufacturing and installation costs. This project will develop advanced manufacturing technology for the solar cell industry. This STTR Phase II project proposes to develop a reliable, reproducible, and cost-effective upscaling of perovskite photovoltaic (PV) devices using an industry-proven slot-die coating technique, to ultimately produce flexible and rigid, highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PSC). The efficiency of perovskite solar cells has surged to over 22% in recent research and now rivals that of CdTe, and Si-based solar panels. Most research lab perovskite solar cell devices are fabricated via spin casting and have a device area of less 1 sq. cm. Despite the progress of perovskite solar cell technology, three fundamental issues need to be addressed for commercialization: device lifetime, controllable perovskite deposition, and improved manufacturing, especially in the area of scalability. This project's objectives are to: 1) produce a hybrid perovskite (HP) slot-die deposition solution for large solar panels sized 600-1200 mm and beyond, 2) build slot-die coating solution for perovskite-silicon tandem photovoltaic cells, and 3) conduct modeling and reliability studies to optimize the system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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FLASKWORKS
SBIR Phase II: Automated Closed Systems for Manufacturing Autologous Dendritic Cell Therapies
Contact
38 Wareham Street, 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02118–0000
NSF Award
1926967 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$749,998
Start / end date
09/01/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in the development of new technologies to manufacture personalized therapies for cancer and other diseases, based on a patient's own cells. Such therapies have shown tremendous potential in the treatment of previously intractable cancers. However, challenges in manufacturing these completely personalized therapies are a significant impediment to the ability to realize their full societal potential both in terms of therapeutic efficacy and cost. This project aims to remove major manufacturing barriers for therapies based on dendritic cells, which are an important part of the human immune system and can be modified to target specific diseases. No manufacturing systems currently available can perform all the required steps of manufacturing personalized dendritic cell therapies. This project will address this major unmet need by leveraging advanced concepts in engineering and biology to design an integrated system for cost-effective dendritic cell therapy manufacturing. Given the large number of personalized cell-based therapies currently in clinical trials and recently approved, such a system is expected to address a major societal need and have significant commercial potential. This SBIR Phase II project will advance to commercialization an advanced bioreactor system for closed-system manufacturing of autologous dendritic cell therapies. Multiple technological challenges must be overcome to automate and integrate the unit operations associated with the manufacturing of these therapies. Because of their low abundance in blood and tissue, dendritic cells are typically generated from leukapheresis-derived monocytes. Adherent monocytes must first be converted into nonadherent immature dendritic cells via incubation inIL4 and GM-CSF, prior to maturation and stimulation with tumor specific antigens. In order to achieve automation and integration of these steps on a single platform, the proposed system will build on successful Phase I work in perfusion-based dendritic cell culture that enables reduction of process steps associated with cytokine infusion and achievement of perfusion in a simple and cost-effective single-use bioreactor design. In addition, an agile product development methodology will be utilized in conjunction with computational modeling to rapidly and iteratively create prototypes and test them in the hands of potential customers. Feedback obtained from these users will be incorporated into the assembly of a pre-production beta system to be launched commercially at the end of Phase II. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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FLORA COATINGS LLC
SBIR Phase II: Transparent Flexible Quasi-Ceramic Intelligent Multifunctional Coatings for Corrosion and Biofouling Protection
Contact
275 N Gateway Dr CEI Ste 137
Phoenix, AZ 85034–0000
NSF Award
1830986 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$874,241
Start / end date
08/15/2018 – 05/31/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project aims to develop and commercialize a transparent, thin multifunctional coating for corrosion and biofouling prevention on coated surface. Its environmentally friendly product will be an efficient ready-to-use single component product that can be applied with ease, and would dry in ambient conditions without the need for external heating equipment. The global annual expenditure to mitigate corrosion is in the range of $2.5 trillion, roughly equal to 3.4% of the world's GDP. Protecting assets from corrosion is, hence, a critical requirement for all the industries. A broad range of applications can benefit from this coating technology such as aviation industry where removal of toxic chromium compounds from coating procedures is of high priority, automobile manufacturing where extended corrosion protection to vehicles without using toxic treatments is constantly sought, structural engineering where providing long life protection to bridges is always needed, marine engineering where protecting ships from corrosion and not contributing to ecological imbalance is long sought, military where minimizing the maintenance downtime of tanks and guns is of prime importance, hospitals that are interested in longer lasting medical implants, and paints and coating industry that is desiring removal of volatile organic components from their paints and coatings. The proposed coating is expected to offer scratch resistance and oleophobic characteristics in addition to corrosion protection. The initial success of this project will result in two high-volume products. This project aims to develop a specialized single-part, ready-to-use, nominally bioceramic liquid coating for protection against corrosion and fouling activities. On application over desired surface, this transparent liquid transforms into hard-yet-flexible coating. This thin coating composition consists of in-place generated nanoparticles of organometallic compounds in the 3D network of polysilsesquioxane. The reactivity of the precursor to coating is designed such that material can react with substrates in ambient conditions and dries to solid film without the need of any external heating. The hardened coating adheres to most surfaces including metals, ceramics, plastics, glasses, and wood. The optimum thickness of coating is approximately ten microns and can impart various desired surface functionalities to the coated object. In this project, efforts are directed towards optimization of current composition to be compatible with broad range of commercially available topcoat materials. The optimized coating composition will be subjected to a rapid properties screening before third party testing, validation and approvals. An extensive field testing will be conducted in collaboration with potential customers. This innovative coating technology will initially result into two products that can be used in place of carcinogenic hexavalent chromium compounds that are currently in use for the corrosion protection of metals. While one of the products would act as a corrosion prevention compound that can adhere to commercial topcoat paints, the other would act as self-cleaning coating to prevent biofouling activities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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FLUIDION US Inc.
SBIR Phase II: e-CHEM: A fully-autonomous connected in-situ chemical sensor
Contact
396 S San Marino Ave
Pasadena, CA 91107–5050
NSF Award
1927079 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$743,701
Start / end date
10/01/2019 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will be on public health, with the proposed "e-CHEM" solution enabling the monitoring of chemical water quality with high temporal resolution, providing early alerts when quality degrades. The World Health Organization has recognized water chemical safety risk management as essential for ensuring public health. By informing water utilities and end-users early on about problems in the drinking water quality or in the distribution infrastructure, the duration of poor tap water quality episodes can be drastically reduced. For the industrial sector, e-CHEM will measure wastewater contamination, allowing its effective treatment and reuse and limiting fresh source water use particularly in regions affected by drought. e-CHEM will have major commercial impact across multiple industries, minimizing costs, reducing liabilities, and improving health. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to commercialize the e-CHEM analyzer developed and pilot-tested in Phase I to provide a complete data analytics solution for performing water quality monitoring autonomously in critical applications where lack of infrastructure (power, communications), location remoteness, or limited human resources currently impose severe constraints. e-CHEM uses novel reagent-based and reagent-less lab-on-chip sensor technology to continuously quantify multiple water contaminants within a highly-miniaturized instrument, with accuracy and sensitivity levels approaching and even surpassing current laboratory capabilities. This Phase II project will involve a combination of fundamental and applied research aimed at improving the e-CHEM prototype for environmental variations during field operations, optimizing and ruggedizing the system for user operations, and developing machine learning algorithms for data analytics. After full validation of e-CHEM technology for drinking water, the e-CHEM system will also be adapted for harsh environments, such as monitoring of industrial wastewater from unconventional oil-and-gas operations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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FOLIA WATER, INC.
SBIR Phase II: Affordable point-of-use water disinfection through mass-produced nano-silver embedded paper filters
Contact
1401 FORBES AVE STE 302
Pittsburgh, PA 15219–5152
NSF Award
1951210 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$899,999
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 06/30/2022
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
The broader impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on the research and development of an antimicrobial nanoparticle filter paper for low-cost point-of-use water purification. The proposed project will develop an antimicrobial paper water purifier, packaged like a coffee filter, to be distributed through retail channels. This project will offer safe water to many communities throughout the world. This SBIR Phase II project will advance the development of a process using large-scale paper machinery and similar reel-to-reel processes to manufacture low-cost nano-metal functionalized materials, such as nanosilver filter paper. Phase II objectives include: (i) optimize the process to reduce materials and other costs, increase flow rate, and maintain high-quality performance, (ii) demonstrate a more robust filter system by mitigation of water chemical and microbiology variability through improved formulation and formal determination of product shelf-life, (iii) demonstrate production at pilot and industrial speeds and output levels, while validating a non-destructive quality control program, and (iv) integrate third-party product safety certification tests. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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FORCAST ORTHOPEDICS INC
SBIR Phase II: Antibiotic-Dispensing Spacer for Improved Periprosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) Treatment
Contact
6224 TREVARTON DR
Longmont, CO 80503–9095
NSF Award
2025352 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$999,923
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will help total knee replacement patients who have a joint infection. Periprosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) is a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection of a total joint replacement. Beyond immediate treatment, infections can develop years later from unrelated injuries, increasing PJI incidence as older patients opt for replacement joints. Roughly 15.6 million people in the US currently use a replacement joint, and without improved treatment, PJI will represent an estimated $2.2 billion annual US healthcare burden by 2023. The current standard of care treatment cannot generate sufficiently high antibiotic concentrations within the joint over enough time to eradicate bacterial biofilms on the implant and tissue, the known cause of persistent infection. This project will advance a proprietary implantable drug delivery system to easily generate and maintain an antibiotic concentration in the joint sufficient to eradicate biofilm and resolve an infection with less surgical trauma, easier patient recovery and lower healthcare cost than the current standard of care provides. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance translation of a novel implantable drug delivery system with an externally worn controller that communicates through skin to a simple implant comprising a pump and reservoir. When therapy is complete the pump can be left in place with no requirement to remove it, avoiding additional surgery common with current implantable pump technology. This project advances the development of the implant and controller to generate prototypes for thorough testing, including efficacy evaluation for biofilm eradication within a simulated environment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Fact Labs Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Scalable Collaborative Analytical Modeling
Contact
1864 15th St Unit 204
San Francisco, CA 94103–2252
NSF Award
1831280 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$877,102
Start / end date
08/15/2018 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project is to enable organizations - whether businesses, governments, or non-profits - to make more informed, more data-driven decisions. All organizations must decide how to allocate limited resources and do so in the context of meeting a set of objectives, such as profit, social wellbeing, or health. Modeling as a process and models as artifacts of that process allow decision makers to understand data through the lens of objectives and to then make decisions; data alone, no matter how much, cannot make decisions. As more aspects of the world are instrumented and captured digitally, the breadth and quantity of data will out of necessity require larger, more complex models to be built. Organizations will need a modeling workflow and supporting tools that scale with these demands. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the challenge of many users collaboratively building and maintaining analytical models that are consistent and reproducible while allowing for divergent and convergent change. This project will address the resource management challenges identified in development and the interactivity gaps identified in user testing of the Phase I prototype. The result will be a commercial software application for building models that manages code, data, and the evolution of both over time by many users. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Farm Vision Technologies Inc
SBIR Phase II: Apple Yield Mapping using Computer Vision
Contact
287 Wilder St N
Saint Paul, MN 55104–5127
NSF Award
1927568 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$743,082
Start / end date
09/01/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to use the proposed system for automation of yield mapping so that growers will be able to improve their growing and harvesting processes. Yield mapping is critical for fruit growers. An accurate estimate is enormously beneficial to sales operations, harvest time logistics, and crop management. Currently, yield mapping is performed manually in a difficult, laborious process prone to sampling and counting error. The proposed system would enable growers to sell better fruit at higher prices while using less resources. By bringing improved certainty to harvest quantity and timing, the system will also improve the efficiency of the entire fruit supply chain, making fresh fruit more readily available in stores at more consistent prices. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will address the problem of automated yield mapping for fruit crops. Rather than relying on expensive sensing equipment such as laser-based lidar scanners, the company proposes to build a robust, yet inexpensive, fruit mapping system using commercial, off-the-shelf components. In order to achieve this goal, significant computer vision and systems challenges must be overcome. These include: (1) Adapting and developing accurate computer vision algorithms for fruit detection and segmentation, as well as geometric algorithms for sizing and tracking fruit and mapping the foliage; and (2) Building usable and reliable systems for scanning, upload, cloud processing, and results visualization. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Fathomd, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: A Systematic Approach, Language and Platform for Building and Distributing Interactive Educational Games in Operations Management
Contact
POBOX 191194
Dallas, TX 75219–0000
NSF Award
1738325 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$739,252
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project should increase the adoption of pedagogically validated educational games that facilitate retention and effective use of business concepts taught and relevant to managing organizations. Start-ups, for-profit and nonprofit companies all need managers who can make effective decisions in the face of complexity and uncertainty. It is of the utmost importance to society, therefore, that the next generation of business leaders is equipped with relevant frameworks and tools that supplement traditional teaching methods and enable effective use of knowledge on the job. Hence, this project has the potential to empower the U.S. workforce to be more productive and innovative, which will improve existing business outcomes and thus drive U.S. job and economic growth. Improved business operations will also lead to more profitable business in general and potentially larger tax revenues for the U.S. government. Eventually opening the GDL to third-party authors in the $18.6 billion global game-based learning market will accelerate game innovation and usage in other business and engineering disciplines at a lower cost, which will both enhance the effectiveness of the STEM workforce and encourage more economic activity in the game development market. This project is based on three innovations that differentiate this solution from others: (1) a scientific Game Research and Development (GR&D) process designs games containing pedagogical learning objectives; (2) a Game Design Language (GDL) accelerates implementation of game concepts as automatically validated, domain specific language while eliminating runtime errors; and (3) an innovative web Game Distribution Platform (GDP) minimizes the effort to setup and manage games in the classroom. Typical educational game development in languages such as JavaScript is time-consuming, involves professional software engineers and requires debugging of runtime errors, while usage of game technology in the class is disruptive to the flow of instruction. Such challenges are therefore prohibitive for non-professional programmers and game administrators such as professors. To mitigate the problem of runtime errors, this project employs methods of video game development, which typically use domain-specific languages based on non-Turing-complete models of computation to solve these issues. Games created with GDL will enable rapid new game development and have a guaranteed level of technical quality, allowing professors to focus on pedagogical relevance during instruction. The main technical hurdle is to tailor these methods to result in GDL capable of expressing the Operations Management (OM) games conceived during the scientific GR&D process and playable via the GDP that enables seamless class integration.
Errata
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Feasible, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Electrochemical Acoustic Tools for the Analysis of Batteries
Contact
1890 Arch St.
Berkeley, CA 94709–1307
NSF Award
1831080 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,449,999
Start / end date
09/01/2018 – 11/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be in helping batteries exceed the quality, performance, and safety demands of mass-market electric vehicles, renewable energy generation, and next-generation consumer electronic devices. The need for high-performance batteries is accelerating, and as batteries grow in energy density, size, and production volumes, so will the issues that persist with quality. Unless these issues are addressed, they will continue to have major implications for the performance, safety, and adoption of these important technologies. The challenge is that outside of R&D labs, the industry relies on essentially the same basic data as when batteries were first invented: voltage, current, and temperature. As a result, at commercial scales, only a small percentage of batteries are inspected in a meaningful way, with methods that only provide indirect information about physical condition. This Phase 2 project is focused on developing a new platform for production-level battery inspection that directly probes the physical condition of batteries with a high testing throughput. This could lead to better decisions in manufacturing environments and could decrease system costs, increase capacity and operational lifetime, and accelerate the scale-up of promising new materials. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 project addresses the need for a physical mode of inspection in battery production environments that is capable of screening every cell with high fidelity. Currently, inspection in production-level environments are limited to electrical measurements and X-rays. Electrical methods provide only indirect and cell-averaged information about physical condition, and X-rays are not practically able to detect the distribution of electrolyte within batteries nor the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer (both of which strongly affect long-term reliability, performance, and safety of batteries). This Phase 2 project aims to develop a platform that utilizes sound-based methods to inspect batteries in production-environments. This will involve developing a scaled, automated hardware system as well as software and computational methods for processing and analyzing the acoustic signals. The Phase 2 project will also include various testing and validation efforts to assess the ability of acoustic analysis to both directly determine the performance quality and reliability of cells beyond beginning of life capacity and resistance, as well as to improve the performance of strings of cells and modules. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Ferric Contrast, Inc.
STTR Phase II: Relaxivity mechanisms of Fe(III) MRI contrast agents
Contact
Baird Research Park
Amherst, NY 14228–2710
NSF Award
1951127 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$749,917
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will focus on the preparation of new iron-based compounds as safer contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an issue that particularly affects patients who have frequent MRI scans and those with chronic kidney disease. This project will advance the development of safer medical imaging. This STTR Phase II project will focus on further development of the first Fe(III) macrocycle-based T1 MRI contrast agents as alternatives to Gd(III) agents. The macrocyclic ligands in these complexes are used to control the spin and oxidation state of the iron, as well as the biodistribution and pharmacokinetic clearance of the agent. The macrocyclic ligands will be modified to further increase T1 relaxivity of the Fe(III) complexes. The hydrophicility of the complexes will be increased to better mimic the clearance profiles of Gd(III) based agents. Scale-up of the synthetic procedures will produce sufficient compound batches for toxicity studies in mice, including the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the no adverse effect level (NOAEL), imaging studies in rats, as well as histology and metabolic panels. The most promising complexes will be subjected to further toxicity studies including Ames testing, thymidine kinase cell screens and cardiotoxicity assays. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Filament Games, LLC
SBIR Phase II: RoboEngineers
Contact
316 WEST WASHINGTON AVE, SUITE 1
Madison, WI 53703–3432
NSF Award
1853206 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$783,132
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 06/30/2021
Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project is a game-based learning virtual reality (VR) and desktop experience focused on fostering STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and robotics interest in young people. The project's intent is to address the growing skilled labor shortage in STEM fields and prepare learners for the cross-industrial rise of robotics. Through exposure to experiential STEM learning, the project will create a groundswell of student interest and aptitude that will help close STEM workforce gaps in the long term, as well as plant the seeds for a future cohort of robotics professionals. The project's hypothesis is that its game-based VR-enhanced learning platform can reliably instill design/engineering thinking skills into learners while exceeding the capabilities of existing educational tools in terms of scalability and adaptability to student needs. The project is additionally intended to drive K-12 VR hardware adoption by providing a compelling and teacher-customizable solution that will justify institutional hardware investments. When proven scalable, the project will act as a beachhead for other VR and game-based learning entrants to bring their own innovative learning content into the K-12 ecosystem, simultaneously promoting the progress of science in alignment with the NSF's mission, as well as providing a broad economic lift to the American economy by unlocking a new market sector. As a VR-first experience, this project will provide students with a first-of-its-kind immersive robotics sandbox that allows for hands-on experimentation. Players will be able to form hypotheses, build robots, test, and iterate, mirroring the processes of project-based robotics and maker programs. Beyond robot construction, the project will offer challenge courses that test players' ability to build to specification. Each course will require a different physics-based solution for which a capable robot must be constructed. For example, a course might challenge players to navigate a set of stationary obstacles and then place a cube on a pressure plate, requiring a robot with maneuverability and the ability to pick up, transport, and place objects. This task serves as a model of the underlying dynamics of engineering design: identifying a problem, thinking critically, and developing a solution engineered specifically to that problem. To establish this project in the larger context of teaching media, it will be developed as a desktop-only intervention, a VR-only intervention, a desktop/VR hybrid intervention, and a paper-based control intervention. These variants will be tested with middle school and high school end users to verify the efficacy of game-based VR as a pedagogy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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FireHUD Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Biometric IoT system for First Responders
Contact
1701 Oakbrook Dr. Suite K.
Norcross, GA 30093–1800
NSF Award
1926847 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$748,654
Start / end date
10/01/2019 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to reduce injuries and costs due to overexertion and heat strain in firefighting through a real-time, biometric monitoring system and accompanying analysis tools. This system collects each firefighter's vital signs and sends the data to authorized commanders for real-time strategic decision-making. By receiving access to life-critical information, commanders can make informed decisions on the allocation of key resources during the hectic scene of an emergency. Every year over one million firefighters risk their lives to protect others. Almost 60% of the deaths in firefighting are caused by overexertion and stress, which can induce heart attacks as well as other serious medical issues. Around 70,000 firefighting injuries occur each year, and associated costs total over $7 billion annually. The proposed system can be easily adapted to serve other first responders, such as military personnel, industrial workers, and others with occupational risk. The proposed project will improve the occupational safety of first responders through the research and development of the following components: 1) An improved biometric collection wearable; 2) software used by the biometric monitoring system; 3) a location-monitoring tool; 4) algorithms to estimate sleep quality, fatigue, and detect symptoms for certain diseases, and improve exertion and core-body temperature estimates. 5) network improvement solutions allowing first responders in remote areas to utilize biometric monitoring tools. All five objectives will consist of multiple pilot studies with ongoing research and development that will incorporate crucial feedback from end-users. It is expected that the outcomes of this project will demonstrate a significant reduction in firefighter injuries, paving the way for a clear return on investment for partnering fire and emergency services. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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FlexCompute Inc
SBIR Phase II: Ultra-large and low-cost Electrodynamic Modeling in Commercial Clouds
Contact
5141 Pepin Pl
Madison, WI 53705–4722
NSF Award
1738397 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,389,348
Start / end date
09/01/2017 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop novel algorithms for electrodynamic simulations in commercial clouds. Electrodynamic simulation is essential for computational prototyping in optical and radio-frequency devices. Current commercial solutions require significant upfront investment of both software and hardware. They also suffer from low productivity due to limited in-house computing resources. This project will develop a cloud-based simulation service which will provide on-demand, pay-per-use, virtually unlimited simulation capability without requiring users to purchase any hardware or software. This simulation technology will greatly improve productivity, reduce the barrier to entry, and minimize cost in the design of optical and radio-frequency applications. Moreover, it will serve multiple scientific and engineering disciplines and will facilitate the use of high-performance simulation in all phases of scientific discovery and engineering design. It will revolutionize large-scale scientific simulation and allow anyone with internet access to gain unprecedented simulation power. Ultimately, this technology will help accelerate research and development in the health, energy, and defense industries by offering intuitive, on-demand, and practically infinitely scalable scientific software to engineers and scientists at a price-point significantly lower than any other cloud computing service. There is currently no electromagnetic simulation software which performs efficiently in commercial clouds, because they were written under the assumption that the underlying computing platform is homogenous and has low inter-CPU communication time, i.e. low latency. Starting from the most fundamental level of space-time discretization, we will develop the first electrodynamic simulation software that is latency-tolerant and cloud-optimized. The work completed in Phase I developed several proof-of-concept cloud-based electrodynamic solvers and demonstrated that commercial cloud computing platform is a viable option for offering extremely low cost computing. The general solver to be developed in Phase II will serve a broad set of applications, and will be commercialized as the electromagnetic simulation service in the cloud, featuring a fully immersive web-based visualization interface.
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FlexTraPower
SBIR Phase II: Conformal Temperature Sensors for Remote Monitoring of Diabetic Ulceration
Contact
29-10 Thomson Ave FL 7 ste 24
Queens, NY 11101–2929
NSF Award
1853105 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$730,200
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide a new class of soft, flexible, nonabrasive sensing elements which provides precise temperature readings to positively impact the health and mobility of diabetic patients. The principle impetus of this research is to focus primarily on advanced diabetic patients who suffer from nerve damage to their feet. These patients cannot feel their feet, leading to two important and related results. First, they are at high risk for an increased number of undetected ulcerating injuries from tissue damage produced by walking (friction) or standing (pressure). Second, since these injuries are undetected and unfelt, there is a decreased urgency by the patient to seek medical care. Delays in medical intervention further exacerbate injuries and complicate treatment, leading to an economic burden associated with foot ulceration estimated at $15 billion annually. More importantly, the 5-year mortality rate after first ulceration (40%) approaches mortality rates from heart failure (50%). The key need for a simple and cost-effective ulcer-prevention paradigm is a safe, easy-to-use foot monitoring system with temperature-sensing capability with a remote readout. The proposed project utilizes an innovative approach to develop a non-invasive sensing system that will provide the ability to constantly monitor skin temperature that would be integrated into a diabetic-friendly insole. Skin temperature has been shown to be a predictive indicator of foot-ulcer development and can additionally be used as a measure of wound healing. A simple system enabling early detection of imminent skin ulceration subsequently reduces further tissue damage, decreasing limb amputations and saving financial, medical and emotional resources. The proof of concept shoe insert is designed to reside daily in a patient's shoes to continuously record the patient's foot health. In addition, the software system, including a mobile app for users as well as a doctor dashboard, is developed as a communication channel between the patient, the healthcare provider and the caregiver. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Fluency Lighting Technologies, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Laser-Stimulated Phosphor Light Sources for Next-Generation Solid-State Lighting
Contact
819 Reddick St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93103–3124
NSF Award
1758320 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$913,397
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 01/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project are numerous and include commercial, societal, environmental, and educational impacts. Commercially, an innovation of this magnitude would enable flexible design illumination, with great control over light placement, beam shape, stray light, and light pollution, all while decreasing the size and complexity of the optics and fixtures required. This will impact the amount of electricity used for lighting, helping to reduce global energy consumption, preserve our environment, and create economic and societal benefits. This project will also result in the employment several technical personnel to carry out the project's technical goals. Educational outreach will continue to impact the local community, students and researchers at nearby institutions, as well as visitors through seminars and workshops on solid-state lighting, materials research, and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the technical results may also inform future materials research in the development of robust materials, components, and device architectures with optimal properties to advance other areas of solid-state lighting research. The proposed project is aimed at achieving deployment of laser-stimulated phosphor technology for illumination in the commercial marketplace. Research in the field of solid-state lighting is advancing towards the goal of ultra-efficient and smart lighting. Exploring laser-stimulated phosphor emission could lead to next generation, energy-efficient light sources, surpassing the limitations of current lighting technologies. Optical modeling and thermal simulations will be used to optimize the optics, phosphor materials, and device architectures to achieve narrow-beam angle, low-etendue, and high color-quality white light sources, while maintaining efficient operating temperature. Secondary components will be designed, including the electronics, packaging, heat sinks; compatibility tested with fixtures and manufacturing processes; and implementation into a light engine compatible in design and functionality with customer-specific applications. Regulatory, safety, and performance testing will be completed to achieve industry-specific standards, by working with regulatory bodies to test lifetime and durability in operating conditions, implementation of safety mechanisms, and photometric testing to ensure performance metrics. Lastly, planning, partnerships, execution, data collection, and reporting of field trail testing of products in real life conditions will result in a fully deployed and tested product, ready for implementation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Fluid Synchrony, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Wirelessly Operated Implantable Micropump for On-demand Drug Administration in Laboratory Animals
Contact
892 N Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91103–3046
NSF Award
1353643 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,497,949
Start / end date
04/15/2014 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project couples the precision of microtechnology with low-power microfluidics to realize a fully-implantable micropump specifically tailored for drug delivery applications in rodents. Currently, drug administration is predominantly conducted by manual handling and needle injection which is labor-intensive, induces stress and other ?white-coat? effects and is limited to simple drug release profiles. There is a need for advanced drug administration capability in animals that enables new complex dosing profiles, provides automation for chronic studies, and improves scientific validity. Technical challenges include the development of a low-power inductively-powered pump actuator, ten-fold pump miniaturization and wireless control of a large number of implanted pumps. The research objectives are (1) to optimize pump performance and usability (2) to extend cage size compatibility and connectivity (3) to optimize software usability (4) to optimize system design and establish quality assurance processes for scale-up and (5) to conduct an in-vivo validation study. Successful demonstration of the remotely-controlled implantable infusion pump system will enable new dosing schemes, provide precise temporally controlled dosing for more reproducible results from acute and chronic studies, and enable new approaches to drug therapy that would not otherwise be possible. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project lies in uniquely improving scientific outcomes and facilitating the drug development/discovery process. Currently, only one in 10,000 drug candidates successfully attain FDA approval with a significant number of candidates failing or discarded due to inadequate drug administration. Rapid and accurate evaluation of efficacy, safety and toxicity early in the drug development process is improved through the fully automated, wirelessly-controlled drug dosing technology supported by this Phase II project. This project targets the international laboratory animal market estimated at $3.4B in 2012. Animal models are employed throughout the drug development pipeline and in particular, rodents are critical to drug candidate target validation, screening, and optimization. Included in this effort are several significant first-to-market capabilities such as chronic dosing capability in freely-moving, tether-free mice and high-throughput evaluation of multiple new drugs through automation. The controlled delivery of agents, including emerging biologics, siRNA, peptides, and small molecules, is an important capability in a multitude of clinical and preclinical research applications including neuroscience, pharmacology, toxicology, and physiology. More importantly, this project will enable drug studies that to be performed in a manner that will facilitate and enhance the translation of candidate therapies from animal to human.
Errata
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GLOBE BIOMEDICAL LLC
SBIR Phase II: Feasibility of a Wearable Blindness Prevention System
Contact
25014 LAS BRISAS S
Murrieta, CA 92562–4029
NSF Award
1951039 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$714,786
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase II project aims to further advance novel wearable technology for glaucoma patients and prepare the technology for broad adoption. Glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness, has an unknown cause and affects more than 70 million people worldwide. Currently, there is no cure for glaucoma, but early can often save one’s vision. Eye pressure is the most commonly used measure for predicting and monitoring glaucoma. The wearable technology developed under this SBIR project will monitor eye pressure throughout the day and allow clinicians to provide a higher quality of care for at-risk patients. The technology uses photographs to measure how the eye stretches under high pressure. This project aims to adapt the imaging technology into stylish eyeglass frames and develop custom software for converting photographs to eye pressure measurements, informing providers and improving compliance associated with at-home medication. This project aims to advance a novel technology in which wearable eyeglass frames are used to track intraocular pressure (IOP) by imaging the level of pressure-induced mechanical strain associated with the tissue at the front of the eye - specifically, exposed sclera. IOP is, by far, the most commonly used metric for predicting glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness. In this project, a custom machine learning algorithm will identify characteristic patterns residing in small regions of the scleral images and, by tracking pressure-induced displacement of the regions, calculate IOP. The key objective of Phase II is to accurately measure IOP in real-world conditions with human in-vivo studies, incorporating necessary electronics in the frames. The technology will be further developed in order to improve correlation of the algorithm with conventional IOP captured during the image collection period. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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GRO BIOSCIENCES INC
SBIR Phase II: Synthetic biology platform for production of stabilized high-value proteins
Contact
131 FULLER ST UNIT 3
Brookline, MA 02446–5711
NSF Award
2024671 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,000,000
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to help patients living with diabetes. The disease accounts for 12% of deaths in the US and patients face major lifestyle changes. Most patients transition to insulin replacement therapy, which carries a complex dosing schedule that, if not followed closely, can leave patients in dangerous states of glucose dysregulation. More than 50 million diabetics currently use basal insulin analogs designed for longer activity than human insulin. The convenience and improved safety of these analogs has led to widespread adoption and a global market surpassing $10B. However, all current basal insulins require daily injections, a dosing burden that leads to poor treatment adherence, leaving patients vulnerable to dangerous fluctuations in blood glucose. The modified insulin described in this Phase II project is intended to provide the stability necessary to achieve once-weekly dosing. Relaxing the injection schedule should dramatically improve compliance and safety for patients; furthermore, the solution can be delivered at lower cost. The project uses a scalable in vivo protein production platform to produce long-acting insulin analogs for the diabetes market. The project utilizes the platform’s unique capability to site-specifically install non-standard amino acids into proteins, and to produce the modified proteins at scale. By replacing key bond-forming amino acids in insulin with non-standard amino acids that form stronger bonds, the modified insulins can achieve the stability necessary to support once-weekly dosing. The research objectives are to: produce sufficient quantities of variants of this insulin analog to support an experimental program, demonstrate improved stability of the variants over wild-type insulin in cell-based assays, and demonstrate sufficiently prolongated pharmacodynamics of the insulin analogs in an animal study to support once-weekly dosing. Potential outcomes include the first insulin analog capable of filling a major clinical and commercial need for affordable, safe insulin analogs with relaxed dosing schedules. Further, the work provides technical validation of a novel protein production platform. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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GUARDION, INC.
SBIR Phase II: Ultrasensitive ion-sensors for wide range pressure measurement
Contact
151 SOUTH BEDFORD STREET #7
Burlington, MA 01803–5295
NSF Award
2026087 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$999,687
Start / end date
08/15/2020 – 07/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is enabling increased throughput and quality in semiconductor, chemical and biochemical manufacturing. The ability to monitor pressure from atmosphere to ultra-high vacuum is a critical need for these industries. This need is currently addressed by using combinations of vacuum monitoring technologies that, in many cases, require the high cost of employing multiple devices for a single job, allowing for multiple failure modes, and increasing the space constraints on the manufacturing equipment. Errors in accuracy in current systems can lead to lower production yields and failures due to exposure of fragile elements to atmospheric pressure can lead to higher maintenance costs and lower process availability. In this context, this new technology offers a substantial commercial benefit across several large-scale manufacturing industries. This technology will be further leveraged for other large-scale verticals such as mass spectrometry and radiation detection. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will exploit ultrasensitive ion-sensing properties of low-power graphene sensors combined with voltage-controlled ion sources and resetting mechanisms for vacuum sensing. The core scientific breakthrough that underpins this technology is an ultrahigh intrinsic charge-to-current amplification mechanism inherently present in the graphene sensors. This results in measurable changes in electrical conductance caused by the attachment of trace quantities of ions on the sensors. The nonlinear nature of the charge-to-current amplification scales to higher values at lower ion-flux rates, thereby allowing greater effective sensitivity at lower pressures. In addition, combining these sensors with voltage-tunable ion sources and appropriate resetting mechanisms enables stable, long-term operation over a wide range of operating vacuum pressure. Manufacturing sensors at the chip scale allows for multi-sensor readout for improved signal and reproducible behavior, along with resilience against failure. Taken together, these technological innovations will allow the development of high-performance vacuum gauges for diverse applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Gadusol Laboratories, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Production and formulation of a safe and natural sunscreen to replace ingredients harmful to human and environmental health
Contact
750 SW C Avenue Apt 4
Corvallis, OR 97333–4335
NSF Award
1926689 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
09/01/2019 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a safe, effective, and sustainably-produced natural sunscreen compound, gadusol, to replace harmful ingredients widely used in current sunscreen products. Two to three million cases of skin cancer are reported globally each year, including 132,000 cases of melanoma. In 2015, the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention reported 80,442 new cases of melanomas of the skin in the U.S. The potential exists to reverse this trend with effective, safe, aesthetically-pleasing sun protection products that provided long-lasting full-spectrum UV protection. Sustainable production of gadusol and the assurance of its safety and efficacy will enable such products to be developed. With a global sunscreen product market of $16.5 billion and growing, along with the demonstrated need for natural, safer sunscreen actives, this project is poised to have a worldwide, long-term impact on national and global health. This SBIR Phase II project will demonstrate the feasibility of sustainably producing gadusol, a natural, marine-based compound with proven sun protection capability. Recent research has documented that widely used sunscreen ingredients pose hazards to the environment and possibly to human health, leading to bans on popular sunscreen products. Mineral active compounds such as ZnO and TiO2 are safer substitutes but pose aesthetic disadvantages, leading to products that many consumers dislike. Gadusol has the potential to replace some of these widely-used chemical actives as a safe, effective, and natural UVB blocker. The technical scope proposed includes overcoming obstacles to sustainable production of gadusol using the tools of synthetic biology, establishing gadusol's safety through standard pre-clinical tests, and assessing its efficacy and suitability in prototype formulations (SPF value). Successful completion of this project will reduce the risks of adopting gadusol as a new sunscreen ingredient, enable its commercial production, and provide essential safety data prior to initiating clinical testing required for FDA approval. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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GelSight, Inc
SBIR Phase II: A High-Resolution Digital Fingertip
Contact
179 Bear Hill Road
Waltham, MA 02451–1063
NSF Award
1951207 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$728,732
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a high-resolution digital fingertip: a soft, easy-to-use, and compact sensor that will provide human-like tactile sensing. Such a sensor can be used to automate assembly tasks in next-generation factories, enable smart objects to understand their tactile environment, and equip scientists with a finger-like sensor for studying human touch. Industries have been transformed by the digitization of our auditory and visual worlds. A high-resolution digital fingertip will provide the mechanism for digitizing the tactile world, leading to applications and technological developments that will affect many industries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a soft, compact, and high-resolution tactile sensor based on elastomeric imaging technology. To achieve the desired form factor while maintaining a large sensing area, this project will develop novel optical and illumination configurations more compact than designs using conventional optics. These developments will demonstrate micro-scale imaging by a compact device and allow for modularity to expand the sensing area. This effort will lead to new insight into illumination design for shading-based 3D measurement, as well as optimizations to allow for real-time tactile information. The system will be coupled with a software development kit that provides real-time tactile information, including contact locations, force, and shape. The software development kit will make the system accessible to researchers and engineers from other disciplines, essential for broad adoption. The high-resolution digital fingertip, together with the software development kit, will enable new applications benefiting from tactile information. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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GenXComm Inc.
SBIR Phase II: 3D Photonic Filters for Full Duplex, Interference Free Network Links
Contact
10000 Metric Blvd STE 200
Austin, TX 78758–5208
NSF Award
1926684 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$704,874
Start / end date
10/01/2019 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project include the ability to meet the requirements of cable infrastructure while opening additional markets in spectrum allocation by solving key technical problems. There is a massive need for improved connectivity for both fixed and mobile applications, in both urban and rural communities, within the nation. Wired infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the needs of users due to the large capital involved in deploying fiber to communities. Additionally, new applications like Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous vehicles are entirely reliant on wireless technologies. Mobile data usage has been experiencing exponential growth, 92% CAGR from 2006-2016. Current mobile infrastructure cannot support next generation applications like remote healthcare, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication for self-driving vehicles and next generation connected farming. These applications are constrained by the available bandwidth, low reliability and high latency of today's mobile networks. The industry is looking to expand reach and capacity of existing infrastructure to enable these applications with the potential to drastically communication. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will build upon the existing low-loss photonic integrated circuit (PIC) Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter technology developed under Phase I by demonstrating a commercially viable three-dimensional (3D) PIC filter and canceler. The intellectual merit centers around the 3D PIC architecture with fast layer switching and ultra-low-loss waveguides for creating highly adaptable, tunable true time delays and detailed characterization of interfering signals in complex, dynamic multi-path reflection environments in cable and wireless solutions. The 3D PIC system aims to achieve under this project: total interference cancellation of >100 dB; small die footprint for a multi-tap cancellation FIR filter; high-speed switching; demonstration of full duplex communication links; and demonstration of band leakage and PIM interference cancellation in a laboratory environment. The improved designs will allow targeting additional markets in wireless communication involving complex interference cancellation scenarios that today severely limit spectrum utilization and network throughput. The proposed 3D PICs not only enable full duplex operation (co-channel self-interference) but also adjacent channel cancellation (guard band elimination) and passive intermodulation distortion (PIM) cancellation for higher throughput backhaul. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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General Probiotics Inc
SBIR Phase II: New Antimicrobial Technologies to Eliminate Salmonella Carriage in Poultry
Contact
1000 Westgate Dr., Ste. 122
St. Paul, MN 55114–1964
NSF Award
1738431 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$905,622
Start / end date
09/01/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project, if successful, will be the development of a probiotic treatment that may be used to reduce or eliminates Salmonella and other infections in poultry. The recent FDA Veterinary Feed Directive will result in the use of antibiotics being phased out of livestock production. New technologies are needed to control pathogens in the absence of antibiotics. The goal of this technology is the reduction of pathogens in pre-harvest poultry, which may result in safer food and reduced foodborne illnesses. In addition, this technology may help reduce the amount of antibiotics used in poultry production, which has been cited as a major factor in the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This SBIR Phase II project will result in the development of novel antimicrobial technologies using probiotics engineered to produce antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small proteins with remarkable bactericidal properties. During Phase I, probiotics were built successfully and tested as AMP-delivery vehicles. Probiotics are bile-resistant microorganisms that can be provided to animals safely in their food or water. The antimicrobial probiotics will be used to test the reduction of pathogens in poultry guts. Pathogens in poultry guts are considered the major source of contamination of poultry meat during processing. The engineered probiotics will use synthetic DNA promoter regions that are designed to precisely control the delivery of AMPs at the site of infection. The impact will be examined in field trials of probiotics with controllable AMP delivery on poultry challenged by Salmonella enteritidis and Campylobacter jejuni, two common foodborne pathogens. Antimicrobial probiotics also will be tested against Clostridia perfringens, the causal agent of poultry necrotic enteritis, an illness that causes billions of dollars in productivity losses every year in the US.
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Geneshifters, LLC
SBIR Phase II: New dwarfing genes to improve yield and abiotic stress tolerance in wheat
Contact
640 SW Sundance ct
Pullman, WA 99163–2080
NSF Award
1632575 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,122,943
Start / end date
09/15/2016 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be to improve wheat yield globally by deploying newly developed, region-specific dwarfing genes. World population is predicted to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050. Wheat demand is expected to increase also due to a shift from rice to wheat consumption due to an expected increase in wealth around the globe. The increased wheat demand will have to be met under less land area and changing climate. Water use efficiency and increase in wheat yields will be important factors in meeting this demand. The proposed technology is poised to increase wheat yield under abiotic stress conditions. All of these benefits are expected to have a major positive impact on humanity. The wheat seed business is currently valued at up to $8.3 billion. The proposed technology will provide a competitive advantage to capture a significant market share of the wheat seed industry while contributing positively towards food security during the changing climate. This SBIR phase II project proposes to further develop and test alternative dwarfing genes to improve wheat yield and abiotic stress tolerance around the globe. Responsible for the "green-revolution," dwarfing genes are required to obtain higher yields, but the two dwarfing genes present in more than 90% of the currently grown wheat varieties have serious ill-effects including abiotic stress sensitivity, reduced root length and biomass, seedling emergence, and vigor. During the Phase I research, four new dwarfing genes were identified and shown to be significantly better than the currently used genes. Phase II will focus on the comparison of the new genes with the old genes to show their true benefits. This research also will generate valuable data required for the development of "release-ready" varieties. Genetic background effects will be studied by transferring one of the new dwarfing genes into two different backgrounds followed by field and controlled condition evaluation. Future competitive advantage will be maintained by pyramiding the new dwarfing genes with complementary gene action. Closely linked DNA markers will be developed for an efficient transfer of the technology into diverse backgrounds.
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Genoverde Biosciences, Incorporated
SBIR Phase II: Genetic improvement of loblolly pine for increased wood density and improved wood quality
Contact
604 Avis Dr.
Upper Marlboro, MD 20774–2282
NSF Award
1831226 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$798,716
Start / end date
09/01/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to engineer loblolly pine to increase wood density (yield) by 20% with no additional land, water, or fertilizer use requirements. With global demand for wood products expected to rise 60% by 2060, managed pine plantations will play a key role in helping to meet this need. By identifying and studying the genes that control plant development, particularly as they relate to cellulose (wood) production in the cell wall, the tree's natural ability to capture and utilize carbon dioxide (CO2) for more wood growth has been enhanced through genetic engineering. This technology will strengthen the United States' position as the leading producer and exporter of commercial wood products, i.e., pulpwood for paper, sawtimber for lumber, and wood pellets for fuel. Additionally, with advancements in the understanding of the pine genome, the work proposed here will stimulate the development of novel innovations in the field of forest genetics while the proposed genetically engineered seedlings help to address growing industry needs for commercial wood products. This SBIR Phase II project will develop a more efficient approach to engineering high wood density loblolly pine varieties. In contrast to traditional breeding, which has seen a modest 6% increase in wood density improvements over the past 20 years, this work proposes to increase wood density in pine by 20% through application of a directed, "gene trait" method to genetically engineer loblolly pine by altering secondary cell wall gene regulation. The proposed research will utilize a newly improved pine transformation protocol to scale up prototype production of tree seedlings designed with patent-pending, cell wall gene platform technologies. Also, this work establishes a pine engineering pipeline using germplasm adapted to different selective environments. This will streamline the production process while allowing for faster testing and development of technologies that improve growth traits in multiple growing regions. Specifically, plants engineered with this method will be tested for their long-term wood quality characteristics in both greenhouse and field trials. The goal of this project is to establish a commercial scale production program for loblolly pine engineered seedlings, and prepare for field testing and ultimately commercial sales of the cell wall platform technologies that have been developed. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Geopipe, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Reconstructing Consistently Detailed City-Scale Environments From Incomplete 2D and 3D Data
Contact
16 West 22nd Street 6th Floor
New York, NY 10010–5969
NSF Award
1853175 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$800,000
Start / end date
05/15/2019 – 04/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the ability to more completely understand the real world through a perfect virtual copy. This SBIR Phase II project makes it possible to create virtual reproductions of real cities that not only show how the world looks, but reproduce every object and every detail perfectly, allowing users to interact with it. These virtual copies make it possible to quickly and effectively train soldiers and first responders, train autonomous ground and flying vehicles, place new construction into a dense city, simulate the effects of catastrophic weather, and explore imaginary scenarios through games. Billions of dollars are already spent mapping and 3D modeling the real world for these and many other applications, but these virtual cities are created through painstaking manual methods that can take months to years, or lack necessary information about what is in the world. This SBIR Phase II project will make it possible to rapidly and automatically create detailed 3D copies of any area of the real world. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance the state of the art in reconstructing highly detailed 3D models of the world for diverse commercial applications. This project introduces new methods for turning raw multimodal sensor data into semantic information describing the world and immersive, interactive-ready 3D models. It will remove the time, money, and manual effort necessary to create accurate 3D models of real world areas today, by using computer intelligence instead of human effort to parse sensor data like photographs and laser scans. The resulting 3D models and underlying semantic information describing the world will be used directly in game engines and simulation software, in analysis tools, in rendering software, and beyond. This research will build on the associated Phase I project, first improving the detail that can be identified and reproduced in virtual copies of the real world, then showing readiness for commercialization with paying customers. The result of the project will be a market-ready product for an initial market segment, capable of accurately reproducing real cities in 3D models that customers can readily use, as well as traction that demonstrates customer need for the product. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Gigajot Technology, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Room Temperature High Speed Photon Counting Quanta Image Sensor Camera for Scientific Imaging Applications
Contact
3452 E Foothill Blvd Ste 360
Pasadena, CA 91107–3145
NSF Award
1853160 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,241,210
Start / end date
04/15/2019 – 03/31/2023
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be a revolutionary, high-speed, high-resolution and extremely high-sensitivity camera. This Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) camera will be the only compact complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera in the market with photon counting capability at room temperature. This camera can be used in scientific and medical imaging applications where high-sensitivity is extremely important. The current state-of-the-art camera technologies cannot satisfy the needs of the customers in these markets, and customers are desperately seeking a better technical solution. The QIS is a platform imaging technology and can be used in a broad range of imaging applications, such as automotive, augmented-reality & virtual-reality, security & surveillance, among others, where high-sensitivity, high-resolution and high-speed operations are required. The global image sensor market is expected to expand at an annual growth rate of 10.4% from 2015 to 2021, reaching $18.8 billion market value by 2021. Since the QIS technology is compatible with the mainstream CMOS fabrication lines, it has the potential to dominate the image sensor and camera market by high-volume production. The proposed project addresses the major drawbacks of the state-of-the-art scientific EMCCD cameras, such as high noise (around 1 electron read noise with external cooling), nonlinear response and unpredictable readout gain, low-resolution, low-speed, massive size and extremely high-power consumption. In this project, the second generation Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) chip will be designed and fabricated, and will be implemented into an 8 megapixel QIS camera which can function at 120 frames/s and the whole camera power consumption will be less than a few Watts. The average noise will be around 0.25 electron that unlocks the true photon-number-resolving at room temperature, with about 99% accuracy. The modular compact QIS camera will contain some peripheral digital IC chips, power supplies, FPGA, USB 3 interface, etc. A QIS image processing algorithm will be implemented in the camera module to form an output image from the bits received from the QIS imager. Advanced industrial and commercial standard tests and characterizations will be performed to comprehensively measure the performance of the prototype QIS camera. Also, the camera will be tested by beta-customers and their feedback will be received to improve the QIS camera. The QIS camera will be available in monochrome and color. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Glauconix Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Development of a High-Throughput Drug Screening System for Eye Diseases
Contact
251 Fuller Road
Albany, NY 12203–3640
NSF Award
1660131 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$909,979
Start / end date
04/01/2017 – 12/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a drug screening system that will accelerate drug discovery for several eye diseases, including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular edema. This technology will fulfill unmet needs of small and large biopharmaceutical companies engaged in drug discovery for various eye diseases by reducing development cost, expediting preclinical research, and increasing the chances of clinical success. From the socio-economic standpoint, this technology will result in the development of more effective ocular drugs that will decrease eye disease treatment cost. Furthermore, this model will facilitate more rapid development of technologies for the diagnosis of glaucoma and new surgical techniques in the management of this disease. Overall, this screening system will accelerate the development of medications for eye diseases, enhancing the quality of life for millions of people. This SBIR Phase II project will address the lack of effective models for testing targeted glaucoma therapeutics and additional ocular diseases. Currently, none of the available glaucoma medications target the eye tissue responsible for this disease due to absence of clinically relevant testing platform that incorporates this particular eye tissue. Presently, animal or human cadaver eyes are used to study and test the effects of medications on such tissue, however, these preparations are cumbersome and expensive. The proposed work will be the first-of-its-kind to engineer physiologically-relevant 3D human eye tissues utilizing novel cell culture methods along with microfabrication techniques and a microfluidic system. These 3D tissues will facilitate the development of disease-relevant in vitro model systems for understanding not only glaucoma but also diabetic retinopathy and macular edema pathology. This tool will help increase the success rate of glaucoma and ocular vasculature-related medications at later stages of drug development pipeline.
Errata
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Glyscend INC
SBIR Phase II: Orally-dosed Intestinal Coating for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Inspired from Bariatric Surgery
Contact
1812 Ashland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 02120–5150
NSF Award
1738372 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,199,998
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 06/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the healthcare needs of the 27 million Americans and 300 million patients globally suffering with type 2 diabetes (T2D). These patients are desperate for a safe treatment that reestablishes glycemic control to augment or replace current management strategies such as metformin and insulin, which only slow the progression of the disease. This proposal provides a unique approach to T2D based on an orally delivered intestinal coating that mimics the beneficial metabolic effects of bariatric surgery. The potential commercial impact of this novel treatment is highly significant as the total estimated cost of diabetes management in the US is upwards of $245 billion, and rising. Overall, an astounding 1 in 5 US health care dollars is used for the care of people with diabetes. Therefore, major insurers are very interested in the reimbursement of alternative approaches for treating T2D, thereby lessening the national cost burden. The proposed project supports the further development of an entirely novel treatment for T2D based on new insights from bariatric surgery. The medical community has recently recognized that certain bariatric procedures involving duodenal exclusion confer profound and immediate benefits in glucose tolerance. Sleeve-type medical devices have provided clinical validation for this approach, but such devices are invasive and not currently approved due to safety issues. The investigators propose a non-invasive and safe orally-delivered intestinal coating which is expected to provide the same effect as surgery and implanted sleeves, but requires neither a specialist nor sedation. This proposal describes in-vitro and in-vivo experiments that build on positive results of the Phase I project, and drive the company towards human clinical trials. Specific Aim-1 is to optimize the active lead compound through evaluation of a limited number of rational structural variations. Specific Aim 2 is to demonstrate the dose-dependent efficacy and safety of lead formulations in a chronic diabetic animal model. Consultation with leading endocrinologists, gastroenterologists, and material scientists has guided the selection of the materials and methods of this proposal. Completion of the studies outlined in the NSF SBIR Phase II proposal will accelerate clinical translation, bringing this novel treatment closer to patients in need.
Errata
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Addenda
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Green Mountain Semiconductor, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: In-Memory Artificial Neural Network
Contact
182 Main St., Suite 304
Burlington, VT 05401–8349
NSF Award
1831151 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$760,000
Start / end date
09/01/2018 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is provided by a novel data processing architecture, utilizing high-parallel in-memory computing for certain recurring and data intensive functions. Traditional computer architecture funnels all data through the central processing unit (CPU). Multiple CPU cores and very high clock frequencies are used to address the issue of ever increasing demands on data processing capability. However, the transportation capacity of data between memory and CPU cores has become a limiting factor creating a 'memory bottleneck'. This limitation is most noticeable in the recent and rapid development of artificial intelligence applications which deploy so called neuromorphic computing techniques, which in turn require a very high parallelism in computation and proportional demands on memory bandwidth. This project performs key repetitive operations within the memory itself, leveraging the inherent parallelism of the memory architecture, thereby avoiding a large percentage of the data transport otherwise required. The resulting elimination of the memory bottleneck provides a path forward for high complexity neuromorphic computing applications such as autonomous navigation used for self-driving cars. Reduced demands on data transport and CPU also significantly reduce power consumption, enabling a wide variety of mobile artificial intelligence applications. The proposed project investigates the system level integration challenges of a memory-centric neuromorphic computing approach, and aims to demonstrate a seamless integration with existing software platforms currently using traditional neuromorphic computing processors. It is important for a novel hardware platform to be compatible with existing software in order to lower barriers to market entry. This Phase II project also develops the actual semiconductor product which has been investigated in Phase I as a feasibility demonstrator. The Phase II product is based on a non-volatile high density memory architecture, and as such is expected to provide the full capability in terms of both power and operations per second. Once the hardware is available in the second half of the project, these key parameters will be thoroughly characterized and benchmarked against the current state of the art technology. A projection will be made outlining the future scaling potential using ultra high density volatile and non-volatile memory geared towards high complexity neuromorphic computing beyond what is currently possible using existing approaches. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Grow Plastics LLC
SBIR Phase II: High performance biodegradable sandwich core structures
Contact
7734 15th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115–4336
NSF Award
1738543 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,332,499
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will be the development and demonstration of a new manufacturing technology for lightweight bio-based plastics. Plastic produced from plant materials can have lower environmental impact than petroleum-based plastics, but price and performance issues have limited their adoption. In Phase I, Grow Plastics demonstrated the ability to produce lightweight, low cost, thermally stable 100% bio-based packaging products. In Phase II, Grow Plastics will continue the development of its products while also working to develop a full-scale manufacturing line. The goal of the technology is to replace billions of pounds of petroleum-based plastic with a lower density plastic requiring half as much material, which is made from plants. This SBIR Phase II research project proposes to continue the development of a new manufacturing process for layered structures in biomaterials. Grow Plastics has demonstrated the ability to generate novel, high-performance layered cellular structures in biopolymers in a new manufacturing process using new machinery. The challenge in Phase II will be to continue the development in materials from Phase I while also scaling the technology to industrial scale. Materials science and manufacturing techniques will include polymer blending, solid state foaming, and thermal crystallization of polymer blends. Analysis techniques will include tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry, thermo mechanical analysis, and evaluation of final product properties.
Errata
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Guiding Technologies Corporation
SBIR Phase II: Using Data Mining to Optimally Customize Therapy for Individuals with Autism
Contact
1500 JFK Blvd Suite 1825 2 Penn
Philadelphia, PA 19102–1710
NSF Award
1632257 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,016,170
Start / end date
08/01/2016 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will revolutionize the treatment of individuals with autism. One of every sixty-eight US children has autism (over 1.1 million). The estimated cost of providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to those who could benefit is $7.5 billion dollars annually. Societal impacts include: 1) more individuals with autism across the globe will receive treatment regimens that will enable them to live more fulfilled lives and reach their full potential; 2) families whose children are good candidates for treatment and receive it will experience reduced stress and better family life; and 3) the additional lifetime cost of not effectively treating children with autism, which is approximately ten-fold the cost of treatment, will be reduced. Because high-quality, contextually rich ABA performance data will be collected for the first time, efforts to apply data analytics will contribute in two important ways: a) patterns may be discerned across individuals with autism to better understand variations in autism and create therapies to target these differences; b) expansion of the frontiers of data mining to provide guidance in real time will contribute to a number of areas within and beyond ABA therapy. The proposed project will optimize therapy outcomes for individuals with autism by transforming agent-based guiding technology into an adaptive and intelligent ABA therapy assistant for supervisors and instructors. The project pushes the boundaries in providing cost-effective, adaptable, intelligent, real-time guidance and data-collection support to instructors that integrates naturally into the instructional process and is easy to learn and use. ABA therapy experts, supervisors and instructors will verify the analyses and resulting guidance incorporated into the technology. Advanced theories of usability engineering, including some developed by the project team, will be used to build interfaces that supervisors and instructors can intuit without the need for learning new concepts and syntax. The project will utilize the collected logs from multiple sessions with multiple therapy recipients and multiple therapy providers to uncover hidden patterns and assist supervisors in selecting appropriate therapy steps personalized for the individual with autism. The project will build on a large body of recent work in visualization, machine learning on temporal predictive modeling and sequential pattern mining, including some of the previous results of the project team. Special attention will be paid to the recent work in educational data mining and intelligent tutoring.
Errata
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HABITAWARE, INC.
SBIR Phase II: New Wearable for Body Focused Repetitive Behavior Detection
Contact
6465 Wayzata Boulevard
Saint Louis Park, MN 55426–1733
NSF Award
2026173 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$998,258
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will help people who suffer from body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs). Over 4% of Americans suffer from skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting, the majority of whom resort to covering up the problem with makeup, gloves, wigs, and even tattoos due to treatment cost barriers and lack of effective tools to facilitate behavior change. While behavior therapy, and in particular habit reversal training, has shown efficacy, this method is traditionally burdened by unreliable journaling, a lack of access to treatment, and difficulty for patients to perform in real-time because of a lack of awareness. While real-time awareness devices do exist, there is room for improvement in detection accuracy. This project will integrate a novel sensor system into a wearable device that can lead to state-of-the-art detection accuracy of BFRB-related behaviors. This wearable sensor solution is the first of its kind, using the novel sensor to extract meaningful biomechanical information. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result in new behavior recognition algorithms, a new remote monitoring system, and new data generated from in-field experiments. The project will: 1) develop a new sensor calibration system and characterize signal artifacts that may influence detection accuracy; 2) develop new behavior detection algorithms using data captured in the lab; 3) conduct self-guided experiments in the field using the remote monitoring system proposed; and 4) refine recognition algorithms. Such sensitive measurements require ideal signal integrity, be sufficiently immune to signal artifacts, and tight electronics integration within wearable design constraints. This wearable system can profoundly impact the efficacy of habit reversal training during cognitive behavioral therapy, the leading method for reducing the negative effect of these behaviors. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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HALCYON BIOMEDICAL, INCORPORATED
SBIR Phase II: A New Approach for Isolating Leukocyte Sub-populations to Enable Efficient Manufacturing of Cellular Therapies
Contact
2319 BRIGHTON PARK LN
Friendswood, TX 77546–3357
NSF Award
1951153 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$749,400
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will offer an improved and simpler alternative to existing equipment currently used at several stages of cell therapy manufacturing. An efficient, standardized, and scalable approach to manufacturing will accelerate the translation of lab-scale discoveries to curative, widely available therapies. This project will also enhance understanding of applications of microfluidic technology concepts to clinically relevant applications (requiring high volumetric throughput) in a practical manner. The proposed technology will offer a passive (pump-, equipment-, and even electricity-free), high-throughput, continuous-flow platform that is easily kept sterile, readily used with no formal training, and inherently scalable, thus leading to a new low-risk and inexpensive technique. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to employ a revolutionary cell separation approach for a high-throughput prototype device to help simplify and streamline the manufacture of cellular therapies. The proposed project will optimize the technology for a scaled production process relying only on passive gravity-driven flow to operate. The performance of prototype devices will be measured with respect to enrichment of lymphocytes versus removal of red cells, platelets, monocytes, and granulocytes from an initial blood sample. Retention of 75% or more of lymphocytes from the initial sample, processed at a rate of 5 mL/min or higher, is expected. Further, the degree to which the isolated T-lymphocytes expand in culture and are transduced with standard cellular therapy vectors will be measured and compared to conventionally-isolated cells. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Haima Therapeutics, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Manufacturing and Characterization of a Synthetic Platelet (SynthoPlateTM) Technology
Contact
11000 Cedar Ave Ste 100
Cleveland, OH 44106–3056
NSF Award
1951301 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$749,312
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to advance a technology for the treatment of uncontrolled hemorrhaging (bleeding) after traumatic injury. Uncontrolled hemorrhage from trauma is the a major cause of death, but an estimated 40% are potentially preventable if hemorrhage control can be achieved rapidly. In hospitals, such traumatic bleeding is treated by transfusion of donated blood to assist with clotting to stanch bleeding, but this source suffers from lack of timely availability, high risk of bacterial contamination, and short shelf-life (5-7 days). The proposed technology will rapidly stanch bleeding by adhering to the injury site and amplifying the individual's clotting mechanisms. In addition, it offers advantages of large-scale manufacturing, sterilizability, long shelf life, and easy portability/storage for on-demand use. This project will advance the engineering of this nanotechnology at scale. This SBIR Phase II project will advance the development of a synthetic hemostat nanotechnology for manufacturing at scale. Uncontrolled hemorrhage from trauma is typically managed by transfusion of donor blood-derived platelets, which suffer from many disadvantages. This project will advance the development of a synthetic platelet surrogate nanotechnology with the following technical objectives: 1) Develop and validate lipid-peptide conjugation methods; 2) Develop and validate lipid-peptide characterization methods; 3) Develop and validate liposome manufacture methods; 4) Test at batch scale; 5) Test consistency at scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Harvest CROO, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Orchestration of Multiple Robotic Subsystems into a Commercially Viable Robotic Strawberry Harvesting System
Contact
100 Stearns St.
Plant City, FL 33563–5045
NSF Award
1831161 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$749,720
Start / end date
08/15/2018 – 12/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes development of berry post-picking screening and handling that will provide a safe and efficient way to remove contaminated berries from the processing stream of an automated harvester. The project will advance machine vision technology for robotic harvesting and will be a key enabling technology leading to acceptance of automated harvesting as safe and effective. The market sector addressed by this project is strawberry farmers, though the technology will be applicable to other types of fruit and vegetable farming as well. The automated harvesting technology advanced by this project will alleviate chronic and worsening labor shortages faced by strawberry farmers and will ensure that strawberries remain affordable and available to consumers. Filling the need created by farming labor shortages is a $1 billion business opportunity. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop new vision processing and inspection methods vital to enabling use of an automated, robotic strawberry harvester. Acceptance of automated harvesting technology by strawberry farmers hinges on the ability of the harvester to remove bad berries from the plant without allowing the undesirable berries from entering the harvester packaging stream and potentially contaminating large quantities of berries. To achieve this, it will be necessary for the harvester to identify and eliminate diseased, rotten, damaged, or infested berries at multiple stages in the stream from automated picking to final packaging. The classification method that identifies the berries to be eliminated will be extremely accurate, with a very high detection rate and a low false alarm rate. The methods developed will be suitable for installation on a farming machine that is subject to a harsh outdoor environment as well as the shock and vibration environment found on a robotic harvesting device. New handling processes will be developed that will allow automated inspection of the entire berry without damaging the fruit or creating a risk of cross contamination from infected berries, significantly advancing the state of the art for automated strawberry processing. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Haselton Baker Risk Group, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Rapid Calculation of Earthquake Repair Costs for Pricing of Building Risk
Contact
120 W 2nd Street, Suite 3
Chico, CA 95928–5360
NSF Award
1632429 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,399,999
Start / end date
09/01/2016 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is that it will enable a group of customers we call Risk Pricers (specifically, property and casualty insurance underwriters and mortgage bankers in financial firms) to profit from tailoring pricing on their products. They can do this by rapidly predicting financial losses for buildings having specific configurations, using the software developed in this proposal. These customers can then tailor pricing of earthquake insurance and mortgage terms based on refined analyses that we facilitate. Besides offering a clear financial benefit to Risk Pricers, this new analysis approach will also fundamentally change market forces and incentives around building safety. If a building's owner is incentivized to improve its earthquake performance (via lower insurance and mortgage costs), then high-performance buildings become more appealing and this will encourage design of better buildings. As the company's software makes more explicit the links between building properties and financial costs, society will benefit from more efficient resource allocation, ultimately leading to increased societal resilience. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop algorithms and software tools that provide financial guidance to customers interested in repair costs and closures of buildings due to earthquakes. To complete the development of its tool, the company will focus on calibrating statistical models to predict displacements and accelerations in a wide range of building types, when they are subjected to earthquake shaking. The company's method for rapid estimation of structural responses utilizes principles of engineering mechanics, but applied in a domain where academic research does not focus (i.e., estimating response of a structure whose properties are not fully known to the analyst). The key identified need is to calibrate a statistical predictive model for the response of a structure that is effective over all popular construction types of interest to customers in the insurance and mortgage banking markets (i.e., light frame wood, steel, concrete, concrete tilt-up). The company will also develop loss metric and calculation outputs that incorporate insurance contract conditions such as deductibles and limits, in order to link the calculations to customers' workflows.
Errata
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Hats & Ladders, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Hats & Ladders: A Mobile Platform to Foster Career Self-Efficacy in Youth Ages 14 to 25
Contact
27 W. 20th Street
New York, NY 10011–3729
NSF Award
1853120 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$917,356
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 06/30/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project serves a national need for stronger career readiness by building the confidence of youth at an age when researchers believe it matters the most. A key objective is to close equity and opportunity gaps by equipping youth and their advocates with a data-driven, motivational career development solution - one that taps into existing initiatives and connects users to meaningful career-building experiences online and in their communities. The intended outcome is a web-based career platform that fosters career self-efficacy and increases knowledge of occupations and career pathways. The proposed platform consists of (1) an engaging app for youth ages 14 to 25 based on popular game mechanics; (2) a Web-based advocate (educator) dashboard that reports on individual and aggregate user career exploration and skill-building activity, and supports public and private organizations? need for visibility into youth interests and skills as a way to prioritize funding; and (3) an implementation toolkit, featuring 30+ lesson plans as well as professional development videos for integrating the platform in a wide range of formal and informal academic and advisory settings. This project's broader impact is to help youth foster career readiness and, thus, increase their likelihood of staying in school, finding good employment, and gaining greater social mobility. This increased career readiness ensures a pool of qualified applicants for employers in industries across the U.S. This project combines empirically-tested career development methodologies, proven game-based learning principles, and open big data about careers to provide personalized, accurate career guidance. The app engages youth in building personal profiles using visualized psychological assessments (based on validated inventories). A proprietary system then recommends Hats (careers) to explore and Ladders (activities) to complete that provide real-world learning supported by a range of motivators (level design, self-reflections, achievement badges, social sharing, and mentor communication). Data generated during Ladder activity and self-reflections strengthens the user's profile and, thus, the accuracy of the recommendation engine. The project employs design-based methods as the overarching research approach. A final evaluation of the completed program will be conducted in both high school and after-school settings. Career readiness, persistence, and perceptions of ability and of the H&L program will be assessed using quantitative methodologies. The anticipated result is a highly effective career development program that engages 21st-century learners with foundational career-building experiences. Students will be able to identify career aspirations, based on interests and occupational data, and gain greater confidence in their ability to navigate and adapt to changing career pathways. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Hauoli, LLC
SBIR Phase II: EW: Champion Air Tracker (CAT)
Contact
PO Box 201271
Austin, TX 78720–1271
NSF Award
1738525 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$909,999
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is significant. On the commercial front, this project introduces a disruptive technology in motion tracking. The technology can benefit a broad customer base, including gaming, VR/AR and smart appliances. On the societal front, the motion tracking technology enables new ways of controlling virtually everything around us, which can lead to new ways of education, telepresence, health care, and scientific experiments. Moreover, the novel algorithms developed in the project significantly advance the state-of-art in localization and motion tracking technology. Through its internship program, the project provides exciting hands-on research experience opportunities for students and teaches them how to transfer research into products. Such experience will train them as leaders in future research & development roles. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project develops accurate motion tracking and gesture recognition systems using acoustic signals to offer four distinct advantages: (i) high tracking accuracy; (ii) low-cost and easy deployment without the need for additional hardware; (iii) easy to use; and (iv) the ability to function under a wide range of scenarios. The technology can potentially revolutionize gaming, VR/AR, and the smart appliance industry, and opens the door to new applications. In addition to designing accurate motion tracking systems, the project will create a software development kit (SDK) and several significant applications that take advantage of the accurate tracking capability.
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Histogen, Inc.
STTR Phase II: A novel wound dressing for infection control and tissue regeneration
Contact
10655 Sorrento Valley Road
San Diego, CA 92121–1627
NSF Award
1660301 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
03/15/2017 – 12/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is to overcome limitations that prevent effective treatment of wound infections. There is a large potential market for this product as the U.S. spends over $50 billion per year on wound care and current wound care products have a high risk of rejection, scarring, and antibiotic resistance. The proposed novel wound care product will reduce the costs to treat infected wounds and limit the number of medical procedures required to restore tissue function. The product consists of a patented human extracellular matrix (hECM) coupled to a novel antimicrobial peptide (AMP). The main innovation of the proposed product, compared to current treatments, is that it is designed to be toxic to infective bacteria and other pathogens, without harming human tissue. The hECM has regenerative and anti-inflammatory activity to enhance wound healing and improve treatment outcomes. In addition to creating a transformative product in a global market, achievement of AMP extracellular matrix tethering will lead to a broader understanding of AMP activity and unlock their commercial utility. The product can be used as a temporary wound dressing, a tissue restoring implant, or an implant coating. The proposed project will utilize a patented recombinant protein with an antimicrobial peptide, combined with a human extracellular matrix (hECM) material. The patented antimicrobial protein (AMP) is designed to bind collagen in the hECM. The combination of hECM and AMP will result in an antimicrobial regenerative matrix that will reduce the incidence of infection and improve wound healing. The objectives of the project are to scale-up hECM and AMP manufacturing processes, establish methods for assessing product characteristics and performance for manufacturing quality assurance and release criteria, and evaluate the shelf-life and in vivo performance of the scaled-up manufactured AMP-hECM product in a clinically relevant infectious wound healing model. The AMP-hECM will be evaluated using biochemical, antimicrobial, mechanical and cell growth performance assays. Scale-up of the bioengineered AMP and hECM will be achieved by optimizing the in vitro manufacturing bioreactor growth parameters and processing methods to improve overall product yield. The anticipated outcome of the project is to have defined the large-scale manufacturing protocols and release criteria for the AMP-hECM product. This milestone will enable the execution of validation production runs, and advance the regulatory and commercialization pathways for the product.
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Hummingbird Nano, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Innovative Platform Technology for Rapid Three Dimensional Fabrication of Capillary Electrophoresis Chips: Phase II Proposal
Contact
1500 Bull Lea Rd. #9
Lexington, KY 40511–1268
NSF Award
1555996 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,406,123
Start / end date
04/01/2016 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in developing a novel method of manufacturing micro sized parts in three-dimensions without layers at high volume. With no parting lines, the technology represents a significant advancement over current state of the art molding and 3D technologies for certain applications. As this represents an entirely new field of research, not merely an extension of solid freeform fabrication (SFF) techniques, it opens and enables wide research areas in engineering and chemical disciplines. More imminent is using the technology to create capillary electrophoresis (CE) chips that vastly reduce the amount of reagents, provide previously unattainable properties, and at a significantly lower price. By doing so, the technology will accelerate and broaden the adoption of microfluidics which are currently used in applications such as forensics, genomics, drug making, drug analysis, clinical diagnostics, biosensors, and environmental testing, among countless others. This project automates and expands a novel platform technology to manufacture high resolution micro parts. The technology is focused on a unique and inexpensive method to fabricate microfluidic channels and wells, which form the basis of all microfluidic chips. The objectives for Phase II are to: 1) Expand the versatility of the system by inclusion to the platform system of fiber optic cables, temperature control capillaries, microfluidic design of static mixer and expansion of molding materials, 2) Design and construct a pilot automation system to increase control and reduce variability, 3) Test the automation system, 4) Test chips produced via the automated system and test additional versatility components from (1), and 5) Continue to commercialize the products. The technological outcome is an automated system with expanded versatility that will center on the construction of capillary electrophoresis chips, with the objective of making the system on that can manufacture a wide variety of microfluidic chips.
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IDEM, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Novel Field Drug Test System for Law Enforcement
Contact
311 6th Ave.
Indialantic, FL 32903–4301
NSF Award
1951074 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$749,891
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop technology that will improve law enforcement (LE) effectiveness in combatting the U.S. illegal drug epidemic, which contributed to over 67,000 drug overdose deaths in 2018. An affordable, effective field drug test system, superior to conventional color test kits and Raman-based test systems, would address this challenge, particularly because the widely used color test kits are outdated, hazardous, and susceptible to a high false positive rate. This novel drug test system will improve the accuracy, reliability, ease of use, safety, and affordability of field drug identification and permit data analysis that will help LE reduce the supply of dangerous drugs from the communities they serve. This innovation has the potential to expand into other markets, including medical diagnostics and environmental analysis. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will implement a novel system for on-site presumptive drug testing and collection of drug intelligence for LE. Conventional color tests are inaccurate and highly flawed, often resulting in failure to accurately detect common drugs and novel drug analogues as they are introduced into the illegal substance market. Commercially available handheld devices that utilize Raman spectroscopy are superior to color test but are too expensive for local and state LE agencies to widely adopt. The research objectives involve further developing a system that leverages photoluminescence spectroscopy in a low-cost handheld spectrometer, a sampling device that uses a drug-indicating chemosensor, and software that consists of a mobile app and cloud-based technology to help identify illegal substances and specific drug signatures. The anticipated technical results will be the optimization of the handheld spectrometer design and drug-sampling device, identification of new photoluminescent chemosensors for controlled substances, and software to enhance the accuracy of the sample data analysis. This system will establish tools for forensic analysis of drug signatures and regional trends in illegal drug trafficking. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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ILANS, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: LookingBus: Improving Public Transportation Services for the Blind
Contact
2416 Stone Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105–2541
NSF Award
1926652 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$736,553
Start / end date
10/01/2019 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop an industry-ready service to improve public transportation for riders with disabilities, specifically visual impairments. The LookingBus technology helps drivers accommodate the needs of certain riders, while limiting distractions from their primary roles of driving safely. Individuals with visual impairments depend heavily on public transit as an essential service for daily life, social activities, and employment. However, they often face challenges with (1) finding the correct bus stop, (2) determining which bus to board, and (3) departing the bus at the right stop. By developing an advanced notification service for alerting bus drivers, LookingBus will address the societal and market needs to mitigate these challenges. The product will promote independent, confident use of public transportation for riders with visual impairments, which may also promote a greater opportunity to pursue and maintain employment. The proposed project will further develop and commercialize LookingBus, an industry-ready service to enhance public transportation experience for riders with disabilities, such as visual impairments. LookingBus provides an advanced notification system alerting drivers about riders at upcoming stops and their planned destinations. The proposed system will integrate a beacon at the bus stop with a display on the bus connected to an app on the user's mobile phone. This assures that riders with disabilities can safely utilize fixed-route public transportation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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INFINID LEARNING LLC
SBIR Phase II: Helping Students Acquire 21st Century Skills Through Immersive Group STEM Simulations
Contact
600 S GENEVA RD
Orem, UT 84058–5803
NSF Award
1853212 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$820,000
Start / end date
04/15/2019 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will contribute to the introduction into the educational market of a product uniquely designed to help educators prepare today's students for the challenges of tomorrow's workforce. The ability to think critically and creatively, to communicate effectively, and to solve problems in a collaborative, technology rich environment previously defined 21st Century Skills. New research indicates that in addition to the need for literacy, numeracy, and these advanced cognitive skills, students must also be equipped with social and emotional skills. These social-emotional skills range from self-awareness to empathy for others and from self-management to leadership. The demand for higher order skills makes it more important than ever for school administrators and teachers to find the answer for students who are disinterested and difficult to motivate, especially in the areas of science and math. Students complain that they are bored and do not see the purpose for what they are being taught; they desire meaningful application for what they learn and the ability to direct their own learning. Designed to address these needs, the proposed program offers students a distinctly different learning experience. The immersive platform gives students the ability to exercise autonomy and a new opportunity to interact and work together. Important life skills come to the forefront as students begin to understand how one's ability to negotiate interactions with others in socially, ethically, and culturally appropriate ways is key to achieving one's goals. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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INFINITE COOLING INC.
SBIR Phase II: Enhanced Water Recovery at the Energy-Water Nexus: Towards Water-Efficient Cooling Systems
Contact
477 BEACON ST APT 3
Boston, MA 02115–1330
NSF Award
2026016 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$999,908
Start / end date
08/01/2020 – 07/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to save significant amounts of water at power plants and other industrial facilities, potentially saving hundreds of billions of gallons of water every year in the US. This will help reduce the water footprint of power generation and other cooling applications, reduce operating expenses for these facilities, and increase the reliability of power generation. The annual savings can be several millions of dollars per facility and the market opportunity in the US is estimated at around $4 B. Furthermore, this technology can be used for upcycling the captured water from cooling towers that use wastewater or seawater, potentially producing pure distilled water for commercial and domestic use. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to advance a water capture technology for cooling tower plumes. The proposed technology uses electric fields to ionize the air around a cooling tower outlet, charge the water escaping cooling towers, and direct it toward a mesh-based collector and ultimately a collection tank on the periphery of the cooling tower. The Phase II proposal includes both systematic experimental studies to optimize the collection setup for real-world deployment, as well as material choice and durability studies. This project will optimize the design and build a pilot system, including a control panel designed for compatibility with existing systems. Data collected from the pilot installation on collection efficiency, water quality, and power consumption will be used to iterate and improve the design. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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INNAVASC MEDICAL, INC.
SBIR Phase II: Development of a novel graft to provide safe and reliable vascular access for hemodialysis patients
Contact
110 SWIFT AVE
Durham, NC 27705–4880
NSF Award
1951020 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$799,943
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will advance the development of a device to eliminate complications associated with maintenance hemodialysis, a life-sustaining therapy for patients suffering from renal failure. Hemodialysis (HD) enables blood to be withdrawn and cycled through a dialysis machine that performs the function of the failed kidneys. This process must be repeated at regular intervals and thus requires repeated, high flow access to circulating blood. Adverse events due to mode of access and device failure are frequent, costing the healthcare system billions of dollars per year and leading to significant morbidity and mortality for patients. Currently, no technology on the market addresses dialysis graft needle injury or graft material degradation due to needle trauma. The proposed device will minimize injury levels and decrease the probability of serious complications for chronic HD patients. The proposed Phase II SBIR project will advance a technology for prosthetic arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) for hemodialysis. The general principle is to engineer a graft with a backplate material optimized for rigidity to prevent needle injury, while maintaining sufficient flexibility to maximize optimal flow. The technical objectives include: 1) systems engineering to optimize the cost and performance trade space; 2) advanced biocompatibility testing; 3) design verification and validation testing. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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INNOVEIN, INC
SBIR Phase II: Venous Valve Prosthesis as a Cure for Chronic Venous Insufficiency
Contact
1100 Industrial Road Suite 16
San Carlos, CA 94070–4131
NSF Award
1927074 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$726,664
Start / end date
10/01/2019 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be to develop a medical device for valve replacement treatment of chronic insufficiency of the veins (CVI). Currently, no definitive treatment option exists to address the underlying cause of the disease, valvular reflux, which leaves millions of patients with chronic venous ulcers, skin thickening, and pain for years to decades. When brought to market, the proposed novel prosthetic valve and delivery system will provide a viable curative therapy superior to current treatment options and mitigating complications associated with existing valve prostheses, such as thrombosis and valve incompetence. The proposed product will curtail substantial health care expenditures associated with CVI, such as wound care, hospitalizations for infections, and associated secondary procedures. Because implantation of this valve does not require the complex or invasive surgical interventions of existing technologies, its use also will avoid expenses associated with open surgical procedures and rehabilitative care. The commercialization of this innovation is expected to benefit CVI patients, while significantly reducing costs. This SBIR Phase II project aims to develop a novel, reliable, and marketable prosthetic valve and delivery system for the treatment of incompetent veins. In Phase I, a design was created for a device that exceeded laboratory and animal benchmarks. Phase II proposed development improves the design for broader deployment by demonstrating the the valve's ability to minimize thrombosis as well as the capability to be produced at scale. Phase II objectives are to: 1) Develop and produce the next generation valve for in vitro and animal testing; 2) Compare safety of valve designs in an in vitro study; 3) Demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the leading design in a chronic animal study; 4) Complete biocompatibility testing on the design to ensure it is appropriate for human testing; and 5) Establish manufacturability of the device. These steps will provide the foundation for future clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy of the device in humans. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Imagen Energy, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Extremely Compact, High Efficiency, Integrated Converter and Energy Storage System
Contact
15230 W. Woodland Dr.
New Berlin, WI 53151–1915
NSF Award
1831221 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$752,227
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to enable vast deployment of energy storage to increase installation of renewable energy for reduced pollution and greenhouse gases, to improve energy security, and to improve energy efficiency and safety. The project will realize a dramatic reduction in cost and size of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) that will allow penetration of ESS into markets served by fossil fuels. One key market is grid ancillary services which includes Frequency Regulation (FR) that regulates grid frequency and stability. With the potential of this project, the FR market for battery based ESS is expected to grow from $100M/yr to over $4B/yr. This project has the societal benefits of replacing fossil fuel based ?peaker? plants that are commonly used to perform FR, with clean Li-ion battery based ESS. Furthermore, by providing lower cost FR capability for the grid, the project will enable grid penetration of more renewable energy, which requires additional FR capability. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a highly compact integrated modular inverter/energy storage system to revolutionize deployment of energy storage system for grid, micro-grid, energy efficiency, and energy reliability support. The development effort proposed here includes an advanced energy storage system consisting of an extremely compact 150kW high frequency 3-level inverter, an integrated 100kWhr compact Li-ion battery system, proprietary battery management systems and internet communications capability. This will provide a highly integrated and scalable 150kW Energy Storage System with an integrated battery string inverter with 60% reduced system cost and 10X reduced size that will open new markets for energy storage and renewable energy. The project will develop key technology innovations which work together with advanced Li-ion batteries to form a revolutionary new product. These innovations include: high frequency 3-level inverter with innovative high frequency control and output filter to achieve >10X reduction in volume; a novel topology that integrates inverters into each cell string and eliminates many components resulting in 60% system cost reduction; a modular and scalable design that is fault tolerant and allows easy optimization for multiple system uses. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Immersed Games, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: A Group Video Game Challenge for Integrated Applied Science Learning
Contact
802 NW 5th Ave
Gainesville, FL 32601–3828
NSF Award
1853068 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$946,063
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 06/30/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
This SBIR Phase II Project will produce a cooperative applied video game challenge where students work together within an active, simulated environment to collect and analyze data, construct explanations, then test and iterate solutions to a problem. Only 22% of the United States? graduating high school seniors are proficient in science. This is important due to the estimated 2.4 million unfilled jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in the United States, to provide higher-paying STEM jobs to citizens, and promote a scientifically literate citizenry. Recent research supports new approaches for how to improve this scientific literacy, and states across the country are adopting new science standards to support this effort. The outcome of this project will support development of students' scientific literacy with a novel approach which utilizes cooperative, interdisciplinary, problem-based learning within a video game. Commercialization of this product will transform the process of inquiry-based learning by putting the tools in the hands of student scientists as they test their own solutions. The project supports the NSF's mission by empowering students to develop strong science and engineering skills, as well as supporting development of 21st century skills such as collaboration and problem solving that are desired by employers. The technology developed by this Phase II project will produce a group problem-solving experience for up to five students to analyze a problem and implement an engineering solution within a live simulated environment, providing educators with a powerful curricula tool to engage their students in the real problem-solving cycles a scientist would engage in, within a feasible setting using the video game. The research goals include creating a flexible content authoring tool that designers and educators can use to generate their own unique scenarios and creating an easy-to-use educator dashboard to accompany it. The content authoring and customization options empower educators to reflect local context, student interest, and student background knowledge, strategies which are essential for educators of diverse populations currently underrepresented within STEM. The technology and its dashboard will also serve as a powerful formative assessment tool, enabling group assessment that is able to parse group and individual participation, and is designed to promote balanced group problem solving. The result of this research will create a uniquely flexible tool that will enable educators to engage learners in deeper, contextual learning, encourage transfer of information, cooperative learning, development of science and engineering skills such as data literacy, and be utilized for assessment of these skills. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Impactivo LLC
SBIR Phase II: Linking eLearning to patient outcomes
Contact
1606 Ave. Ponce de Leon
San Juan, PR 00909–1827
NSF Award
1926846 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase II project focuses on improving the management of chronic disease by enabling team-based primary care is key to achieving clinical results and taking advantage of new “value based" payment reforms. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, six out of ten adults have a chronic disease and 90% of the national annual healthcare expenditures are spend on people with these conditions. Our technology proposes to apply precision-education instructional theory to enhance primary care team competencies and promote situational awareness, enhanced communication, defined role clarity, improved coordination and leadership support to improve patient outcomes which is directly aligned to the National Science Foundation’s mission of promoting science to advance the nation’s health. This project is being designed for commercial use in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which serve one in twelve people in the United States. There are 1,373 FQHCs in the US serving 27 million patients annually in medically underserved areas. Public and private payment models are rapidly moving toward incentives/bonuses for team-based care and demonstrated outcome improvements. Improvements in the cost and outcomes of care for this patients with chronic disease will have enormous social and economic benefit for the Nation. This SBIR Phase II project uses machine learning to integrate individual-level clinical and social characteristics into suggested treatment paths and to apply precision training techniques that improve the skills of individual members of the care team. Our objectives focus on validating the feasibility of machine learning to provide health professionals with recommended workflows and continued education based on trends and gaps in care identified from patient data. The method includes a computational engine to guide reinforcement learning. Machine learning has made possible the development of statistical models to establish effect sizes of clinical interventions, enabling personalized instruction and support to health team members based on patient outcomes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Impedx Diagnostics
SBIR Phase II: Universal electronic platform and system for rapid (direct from sample) phenotypic Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST)
Contact
8318 W 102nd Street
Overland Park, KS 66212–3420
NSF Award
1831243 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$730,181
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 10/31/2020
Abstract
This SBIR Phase I project addresses the need to reduce the time associated with conducting tests currently used to establish targeted antibiotic (and dose) to treat infections. Sepsis and septic shock are one of the leading contributors to death in US Hospitals, responsible for 250,000 deaths annually (estimated at 30-50% of all hospital deaths). To combat these high death rates, time is of the essence. The administration of targeted (versus broad-spectrum) antibiotic therapy in the first five to six hours of septic shock increases the likelihood of survival by roughly fifty percent. This project combines electronics and microchannel fluidics to rapidly obtain results on antibiotic susceptibility. The project requires engineering, software development, and method development, resulting in an instrument that utilizes disposable cards to conduct the testing. The resulting product will allow transition from broad spectrum to targeted antibiotic therapy faster (1 day - weeks), leading to major benefits: (1) patient outcomes are greatly improved by faster transition to directed antibiotic therapy; (2) Reduced hospitalization stays (reduced intensive care stays), resulting in significant monetary saving for healthcare systems (estimated at a cost savings of at least $3.75B annually). (3) Reduced broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy reduces the current fostering of antibiotic resistance in healthcare settings globally. This project uses Microchannel Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (m-EIS) to measure the "bulk capacitance" (Cb) of a suspension. Cb is a measure of the amount of charge transiently accumulated at the membranes of living cells in a suspension. Cell proliferation results in an increase in Cb, whereas cell death results in a decrease. Using m-EIS to measure bacteria in the presence of candidate antibiotics and doses, is robust, sensitive, and extremely fast, determining, in real time, cell growth, stasis, or death (in approximately 4 hrs). This project will develop a rapid, direct-from-sample, inexpensive commercial system. This is achieved by using commercial MNPs to isolate microorganisms from clinical samples such as blood culture broth, urine, sputum etc., and re-suspending the pathogens in specified volumes of growth media to obtain a suspension containing optimized concentrations of bacteria. Pathogen growth or death is then monitored using m-EIS in microfluidic cards where they are exposed to a range of antibiotic concentrations. The result is a phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility (AST) profile, yielding the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of multiple candidate antibiotics within 4 hours of sample collection. The AST and MIC information is then used to treat infections with targeted therapeutic. The first products utilizing this system/method will focus on urine and positive blood culture broth samples. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Impleo Medical, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Endoscopic injection device for submucosal esophageal injection of bulking agents in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease
Contact
1290 Hammond Rd
St. Paul, MN 55110–5959
NSF Award
1949263 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
08/15/2020 – 07/31/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop a minimally-invasive device for treating gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD is the most common gastrointestinal diagnosis in the US, afflicting ~26% of adult Americans (>60 million people), undermining their sleep, productivity, and quality of life, and leading to other gastrointestinal diseases. Approximately one-third of GERD patients continue to suffer from symptoms despite treatment; moreover, long-term use of currently prescribed drugs has side effects and risks. Current surgical solutions are invasive, costly and carry significant risk. The proposed injection system offers a less invasive and costly treatment for GERD by safely injecting a treatment into the base of the esophagus, reducing healthcare costs, improving the quality of life for patients, and potentially reducing the incidence of other gastrointestinal diseases. This SBIR Phase II project will develop an endoscopic injection system for consistent multiple injections of bulking agent into the submucosal tissue plane in the lower esophagus. This technology includes a novel system controlling injection depth and directing a needle tip to the desired submucosal tissue. This project will optimize the design of the needle and associated guidance system for injection of viscous solutions, particularly a bulking agent creating submucosal tissue bulging at the lower esophagus and ultimately preventing gastroesophageal reflux. This will be the first system to use a dual lumen injection needle with the assistance of a saline pilot injection. The project will further explore the design space of the final manifold housing with rapid iterative 3D-printing prototyping. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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InkSpace Imaging, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: A suite of flexible printed MRI coils for newborn to adult patients
Contact
5635 W Las Positas Blvd
Pleasanton, CA 94588–0000
NSF Award
1831253 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,415,547
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a suite of screen-printed receive coils for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), that are flexible, lightweight, low-cost and adapted to the entire population from infants to adults. MRI is widely used to establish a broad variety of clinical diagnosis, but suffers from long examination times and a high rate of failure, resulting in a yearly loss of more than $4 billion in the United States alone. Printed receive coils are extremely flexible, lightweight, and conform well to the human body. With this technology, coils can be designed and manufactured inexpensively to fit all patient sizes, thus improving image quality and enabling robust acceleration of the method. These benefits can contribute to increase the success rate of MRI exams, speed up procedure time, enhance the clinical workflow, and reduce equipment costs. Printed coils will improve the quality of care offered by MRI suites and increase the availability and use of MRI to a wider patient population. Overall, this project will develop a clinical-ready system capable of delivering the full economic and clinical benefits of printed coils, which will contribute to a reduction of the healthcare costs associated with MRI. This project aims to fully realize a clinical-ready system consisting of a collection of printed, flexible lightweight MRI coil arrays, and connecting to a single universal cable to interface with the MRI scanner. A first part of the project will focus on the design of the cable and the associated connection scheme allowing interchange of multiple printed coil arrays of different sizes. Different strategies will be examined with the intent of maintaining high performance and safety while maximizing the advantages brought by printing. A second project goal will focus on the development of a collection of printed coil arrays for patient sizes ranging from newborn to adult, that are compatible with the universal cable and for both 3T and 1.5T scanners. The arrays will be designed for body imaging and will consist of 32-channel devices divided into 16-channel posterior and anterior portions. Their performance will be compared to a commercial 32-channel product. The final system will meet all the safety requirements for medical use and will be ready to be manufactured at scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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InsightFinder Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Providing Automatic System Anomaly Management Software as a Service for Dynamic Complex Computing Infrastructures
Contact
154 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013–3141
NSF Award
1660219 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,260,000
Start / end date
03/15/2017 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be to greatly improve the robustness and diagnosability of many computing infrastructures including both public and private computing clouds. The proposed technology will significantly reduce the occurrence of performance degradation and service downtime in cloud computing infrastructures, which can attract more users to adopt cloud computing technology and thus benefit society as a whole, which depends increasingly on cloud technology. The project will also advance the state of the art in cloud system reliability research by putting research results into real world use. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will transform system anomaly management for dynamic complex computing infrastructures. The novelty of the company's solution lies in three unique features: 1) predictive: the solution can raise advance alerts before a serious service outage occurs; 2) self-learning: the solution automatically infers alert conditions and performs automatic root cause analysis using machine learning algorithms; 3) adaptive: the technology adapts to dynamic systems. The proposed research will produce novel and practical anomaly prediction and diagnosis solutions that will be validated in real world computing infrastructures. Specifically, the project consists of three thrusts: 1) adaptive learning in dynamic environments; 2) real-time feature extraction and pattern recognition over system metric and log data; and 3) full stack root cause analysis. During the project the company will implement its software products and carry out case studies with prospective customers on real world computing infrastructures.
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Inspirit IoT, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Efficient Custom Machine Learning for Embedded Intelligence in the Internet of Things
Contact
2510 Hallbeck Dr.
Champaign, IL 61822–6879
NSF Award
1831263 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$909,704
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result in a significant improvement in the performance, power, and cost of deploying machine learning (ML) solutions through horizontal platform technologies that enable many vertical applications. This improvement will accelerate deployment of intelligent systems and improve scalability through localized intelligence. Our technology automates hardware design, implementation, and deployment to Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platforms. Our initial target verticals: Security and Surveillance, Predictive Maintenance, and Healthcare represent hundreds of billions USD in growth markets for IoT devices and substantially more economic impact through improved efficiency in deployment and operations and reduced societal costs. Improved performance, power consumption and scalability of these key technologies will lead to improved public safety, improved intelligence in home healthcare services, and more efficient manufacturing and energy systems through deployment of Predictive Maintenance technologies on key industrial equipment. Wide deployment of these technologies will lead to substantial energy savings and a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions, reduced economic loss due to negative events, improved scalability and response time to predicted or active negative events, and lower cost in deployment and operations due to low cost, low power, and physically small sensor systems. The proposed project focuses on design of high performance, energy-efficient platforms for ML applications, and associated design tools and libraries. Neural networks are heavily used for many machine learning problems but optimizing for efficient deployment currently requires extensive trial-and-error for the large design space of options. Our deep neural network (DNN) optimization framework applies bit-width optimizations, weight sharing and pruning automatically to reduce computation and weight storage demands by more than 10X, while analyzing quality of results impact and using fine-tuned retraining to minimize or eliminate accuracy degradation. Our high level synthesis (HLS) tool then translates optimized networks to hardware while applying pipelining, functional unit parallelism, resource sharing, and platform-specific optimizations. Together these tools automate and accelerate the process of analyzing, optimizing and implementing ML for hardware deployment, reducing time and required expertise for hardware design. Our deployment platforms are modular, composable platforms for small, low-cost deployments of audio/video signal processing, feature extraction and classification, systems control (e.g. pan-tilt-zoom cameras), and communications to decision-making or cloud services. We will extend competitive advantages from our Phase I project with features for solutions in the security/surveillance, predictive maintenance, and healthcare verticals, and tight integration of platforms, tools and IP libraries. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Ion Dx, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Ion Mobility Spectrometer for Macromolecular Analysis
Contact
8 Harris Ct., STE C-5
Monterey, CA 93940–5715
NSF Award
1926636 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$898,365
Start / end date
09/15/2019 – 02/28/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will be the development of an analytical instrument to detect protein changes across all stages of protein production. The production of highly-engineered therapeutic proteins has outpaced the development of analytical assays to guarantee effectiveness, purity, and shelf life of the drug. A key control parameter during manufacturing is protein conformation; currently, this is difficult to monitor with commercially available technology. The goal of this project is to provide manufacturers with a new generation of analytical technology that allows them to identify variations between batches. This technology also provides information about product stability so manufacturers can guarantee a longer shelf life for their products, regardless of storage conditions. It is anticipated that this instrument will increase efficacy at all stages, from discovery through scaled-up production and formulation to pre-release certification. This SBIR Phase II project aims to improve biotherapeutic drug production through the commercialization of analytical technology that provides a new metric for the rapid QC/QA assessment of the conformation of proteins. The gold standard for determining protein conformation is x-ray crystallography - a time-consuming technique that requires high quality crystals and a high-energy physics facility to produce coherent x-rays. The proposed highly sensitive bench-top ion mobility spectrometer detects small variations in the cross-sectional area of a protein and detects small conformational changes. This provides a capability to determine protein stability during discovery when only microgram quantities of recombinantly expressed proteins are available. This process also indicates if a protein refolded after it was subjected to a pH change during purification, and thus it may be used to identify challenges to long-term shelf life. This instrument will be used to demonstrate that for the first time, ion mobility will produce highly-reproducible and biologically relevant measurements of the quality of biomanufactured proteins. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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JEEVA WIRELESS INC
SBIR Phase II: Passive Radio for the Internet of Things
Contact
4000 Mason Road Ste 300
Seattle, WA 98195–0001
NSF Award
1758699 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,409,890
Start / end date
02/01/2018 – 07/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to develop low-power, low-cost and small form factor wireless connectivity solutions, facilitating the deployment of inexpensive and long-lived wireless sensors and devices for a diverse set of applications. For instance, it is infeasible to place conventional sensors or wireless connectivity on low-cost or disposable items due to the high cost and short battery life of wireless communication devices. With the successful completion of this project, items ranging from consumer packaged goods to medical consumables and pill bottles could be connected to the Internet. Brands and manufacturers could gain previously inaccessible market and product insights based on the way products are used, while consumers could enjoy benefits ranging from new services and features (such as automated product reordering) to better-designed products which more closely fit their needs. By enabling new use cases for wireless connectivity, this technology can prompt innovation across many industries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project introduces a new long-range backscatter-based communication technology based on Chirp Spread Spectrum, a wireless protocol which can be detected at extremely low signal levels. The low-power wireless system prior to this project is comprised of three elements: A passive backscatter-based radio, a first gateway device which provides an illumination signal, and a second gateway device which receives the resulting backscattered data and forwards data to the Internet. In this project, the passive backscatter-based radio will be implemented in an integrated circuit form, realizing the low power and low cost possible with this technology. The two gateway devices will be combined into one full-duplex radio device, to address the needs of the majority of deployment scenarios. Techniques to localize the backscatter radios within the field of the gateway device will be explored. Finally, security challenges will be addressed and the system will undergo extensive evaluation and testing.
Errata
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Addenda
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Joylabz LLC
SBIR Phase II: Making Makers- Developing Multiple Pathways to Invention through a Low Cost Maker Device
Contact
1060 River St
Santa Cruz, CA 95060–1706
NSF Award
1758663 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,038,684
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 12/31/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will continually refine and move towards production of this project's Creative Maker Tool, an augmented reality experience where the act of playing is inherently inventing. The system uses modern technology to avoid digital screens. Throughout this experience, learners tap into their natural proclivities to make and shape ideas in the non-digital world, and develop the ability to fluently construct new ideas in a technical medium. The commercialization of this project will address two, nationally important issues. First, by scaffolding young learners through progressively bringing their ideas into reality, this project will foster creative confidence: the natural ability to come up with ideas and the courage to act on them. Next, there is a gender gap in innovation and entrepreneurship in the United States. Women patent at 40% the rate of men, only 9% of information technology related patents have one or more female inventors, and only 8% of the beneficiaries of incubators meant to commercialize innovations were women. This project will address gender equity issues in the maker community (currently 80% male) and by widening pathways to engage in making. The system is composed of a projection system that allows real-time programmable interactions between everyday and virtual objects without a computer screen. Throughout this research, we will create and refine STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) Apps, which are built-in augmented activities where users create small inventions with everyday objects to code interactions and affect program flow or gameplay, develop Augmented Tutorials, bridge seamlessly to existing STEM tools through real-time interfacing, as well as manufacture and prepare the system. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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KANDRA LABS INC
SBIR Phase II: Zulip threaded group chat
Contact
235 Berry St Ste 306
San Francisco, CA 94158–1629
NSF Award
1831273 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result from group chat technology that enables knowledge workers to collaborate more effectively than ever before. It is the first tool built that empowers users to efficiently carry out both real-time and asynchronous conversations in the same system, with each user reading only those conversations that are important to him or her. In particular, the technology empowers teams to make decisions in virtual meetings that take place asynchronously over periods of hours or days. This is in contrast with existing group chat technology, where conversations usually end as soon as someone starts talking about something else. This ability to conduct long running, virtual meetings is invaluable for large teams that need to coordinate work across different locations and time zones. Large, distributed teams are fast becoming the norm for how organizations operate, as instant communication and globalization make such teams the workforce of the future. Coordinating the efforts of such teams is a huge pain point for companies, and this technology is a leap in the state of the art in this space. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project has three major research objectives: scaling the technology to teams of 10,000+ people; faithfully translating the user experience to mobile devices; and developing techniques for serving the needs of diverse deployments large and small. For scalability, one major area is "presence", telling each user who else is currently online. Presence data naturally grows with the number of pairs of users, therefore much faster than the number of users, and the company will need to develop algorithms to focus presence on significant connections between users. Among the unique challenges on mobile, the often-limited Internet connectivity demands algorithms that remember data previously fetched from the server to avoid asking for it again, carefully balanced with getting needed updates to never show out-of-date information to the user; the immediacy required for a great chat experience makes both horns of this dilemma especially sharp. Serving diverse deployments demands techniques for making software updates routine and seamless, a practice recently popularized in browsers and mobile apps but rarely accomplished to date in distributing server applications such as that described here. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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KLAR SCIENTIFIC, INC.
SBIR Phase II: Spectroscopy and imaging of irregular surfaces using confocal microscopy
Contact
1615 NE Eastgate Blvd
Pullman, WA 99163–5300
NSF Award
1830766 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$904,550
Start / end date
08/15/2018 – 01/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project?is?the development of a portable, cost-effective confocal microscope that profiles surfaces, obtains spectra, and enables immediate identification of composition, impurities, and morphology for users throughout the research and industrial markets.??The system will make a major impact in the $6.2B microscope market, with a near-term commercial potential of over 5% of the market and significant growth potential. This technology will address the needs of materials science and other research laboratories, quality control in manufacturing, and supply chain monitoring, thereby providing a positive economic impact. Integration of topographic mapping with a diverse set of spectroscopic tools enables comprehensive materials analysis at very small scales. Users will be able to identify features and defects in electronic, optoelectronic, and structural devices, as well as coatings, tubing, devices, disks, and specialty mirrors. Societal impacts include improvements in the design and manufacture of components and systems.?Because of its compact size and low cost, the microscope can be used in educational institutions, providing students with experience in measuring properties of complex objects and helping prepare them for careers in various research, development, and production settings.? The proposed project will translate spectroscopic confocal optical profile microscopy from the lab bench to prototypes with market-ready features and performance. The developed microscopes will enable spectroscopic and surface analysis of topographically complex structures.?The key innovation is the integration of precision surface profiling with multiple spectroscopic interrogation methods.??Users will capture accurate topographic maps of irregular surfaces and use them to extract spatially accurate spectroscopic and imaging information.??This approach will enable in-focus, diffraction-limited photoluminescence and Raman maps for a broad range of materials.??Research objectives include (1) integration of optical profiling with spectroscopic scanning, (2) optimization of hardware based on customer feedback, and (3) development of acquisition and analysis software.??Successful completion of these objectives will result in a portable instrument that can capture the surface topography and spectral information of a sample with tens of thousands of sample points in a few minutes, with 10-50 nanometer vertical precision and diffraction-limited spatial resolution. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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KNOX Medical Diagnostics Inc.
STTR Phase II: User-Friendly Spirometer and Mobile App for Self-Management and Home Monitoring of Asthma Patients
Contact
175 Bluxome Street Unit 234
San Francisco, CA 94107–1552
NSF Award
1738560 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,209,998
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 02/28/2023
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is the development of a user-friendly asthma management solution. The asthma management tool consists of a portable medical device and mobile app combination that measures lung function with the consistency and accuracy of a trained lab technician, displaying current asthma status, and providing health insights to act upon. During the 2-year duration of this proposal, the applicant will further develop a machine-learning algorithm that obtains the same level of consistency and accuracy as if a trained lab technician were coaching and correcting the asthmatic patient on proper usage. Steps will be taken to establish the efficacy of such technology through verification of classification by pulmonologists. In order to engage users to continue using the product over several months, gamification elements will be implemented into the mobile app. By expanding on the machine-model through a longitudinal study, earlier detection of asthma exacerbations may be identified. Early detection leads to improved self-management as measured by the reduction of severe asthma attacks, the use of systemic corticosteroids, hospitalizations, emergency department or urgent care visits related to asthma. The proposed project aims to develop an asthma management tool that provides parents a simple way to reliably monitor their child's lung health, eliminating the guesswork associated with relying on symptoms alone. The rate of asthma continues to rise, with an increasing amount of healthcare utilization among asthmatic individuals. Effective technologies for proper management remain trapped within the hospital due to high costs and requirement of a skilled lab technician for proper measurement collection. This proposal aims to develop an algorithm alongside UCSF pediatric pulmonologists to gain consistent and accurate spirometry measurements, so that only proper measurements are acted upon. Our machine-learning algorithm will determine the cause of failure and prompt the user on corrective action to achieve a good quality measurement on a subsequent effort. By the end of this proposal period, the applicant will have a mobile app algorithm that is able to achieve the consistency of a trained lab technician, provide effective corrective feedback, engage users over the span of months for consistent lung monitoring, and potentially predict the onset of an asthma attack.
Errata
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KW Associates LLC
SBIR Phase II: Vacuum Arc Control using Arc Position Sensing and Induced Magnetic Fields
Contact
1546 Industrial Way SW
Albany, OR 97322–0000
NSF Award
1831255 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$914,790
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will provide commercial validation at scale of feedback-based control of arc behavior within the vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process. This will improve VAR performance in the production of specialty metals, resulting in improvements to ingot quality while reducing electricity consumption. Specialty metals, such as titanium and nickel alloys, are used in critical high-performance parts in industries such as aerospace, energy, and medicine, where the failure of these parts may lead to catastrophic systems failures and potentially life-threatening situations. In a VAR furnace, extreme temperature gradients from constricted and/or diffuse arcs sustained between the melting electrode and ingot can cause non-homogeneous material and inclusion defects, resulting in up to 8% yield loss per ingot, representing $1.024 billion in losses across the domestic industry. Improved control over the arc distributions during the melting of these metals is expected to decrease the frequency of defects in the final product and increase overall yield from the process. The proposed project is expected to reduce these loses by up to 50% through the application of active, feedback control of the arc dynamics. This type of control is expected to increase yield, decrease energy requirements, and increase safety of the manufacturing process industry-wide. This project will result in a system capable of detecting and manipulating the distribution of the arcs utilized during VAR processing. The Phase I effort showed that it is possible to simultaneously detect arc locations on the electrode and influence their movements, using electromagnetic coils, in real time. In Phase II, the arc measurements will be coupled through feedback to control the arc distribution in an industrial-scale research VAR, providing proof of concept at industrial scale. In so doing, the optimal electromagnetic coil geometry, hardware, and materials for driving the arc motion at scale will be identified and constructed. A series of industrial experiments are planned to validate the control system. The chemical composition of the ingots produced during controlled and uncontrolled conditions will be characterized to correlate defects with observed arc behaviors and to identify optimal control parameters. Similarly, the measured arc distributions will be used to validate the computational solidification modeling, which will be used to identify probable defect regions. The combination of experimental data and validated simulation results will be used to inform the VAR feedback control system regarding optimal arc distribution, yielding an improved control strategy for tailoring the melt process and improving ingot quality. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Kalion, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Low-Cost, High-Purity Biobased Glucaric Acid
Contact
92 Elm St.
Milton, MA 02186–3111
NSF Award
1951200 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$746,822
Start / end date
07/01/2020 – 06/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is the low-cost, high-purity biobased production of glucaric acid, a compound with a broad range of applications. This production of glucaric acid will enable a broad change from petroleum-based sources for everyday materials, such as nylon in clothes or PET in two-liter bottles, to a bio-based product generated from renewable resources. Similarly, this technology will allow an evolution beyond the traditional phosphates used in water treatment systems to a safer, cost-effective alternative. The proposed project will develop a strain, fermentation process, and scalable downstream separation workflow to produce low-cost, high-purity glucaric acid from glucose as a feedstock. Microbial fermentation represents an attractive option for the production of fuels and valuable chemicals from renewable resources, such as cellulosic sugars. Microbes are well suited for the conversion of carbohydrate feedstocks; several examples of their metabolic engineering have been demonstrated to direct these feedstocks to non-natural chemicals and materials of industrial value, often as drop-in replacements for petroleum products. On the other hand, products derived from sugar oxidation pose a new, less explored challenge because of the need to direct glucose into the product pathway rather than the competing path to catabolize the sugar for biomass and energy production. Initial methods, such as deletion of glycolysis and other competing pathways, result in poor glucose uptake because of the cell's complex regulatory circuits. This project proposes to develop strains of E. coli that can efficiently take up glucose while also directing it to the glucaric acid pathway. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Katz Water Technologies
SBIR Phase II: Modified Finned Tube Heat Exchangers for Economically Purifying Produced Water
Contact
4801 Woodway Drive, Suite 300
Houston, TX 77056–1884
NSF Award
1951190 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$715,127
Start / end date
05/01/2020 – 10/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will improve the use of water for the oil and gas (O&G) industry, especially during hydraulic fracturing, transforming the industry into a producer of fresh water and changing produced water from its current status as a waste product to a commodity. The proposed technology creates two reusable products: purified water and heavy brine. In addition to the high cost, disposal of produced water through deep injection wells has recently been linked to seismic activity and may impact groundwater quality, prompting policy solutions. The O&G industry competes with other water uses, especially in US arid regions where significant O&G production occurs. Produced water, contaminated with salts, hydrocarbons, and metals, is generated each year through O&G production, costing $37B to manage in the U.S. Current demand for global fresh water resources for agricultural, industrial or domestic purposes is increasing, primarily due to reduction of water supplies in areas affected by drought, climate change, population growth, and expanding industries, as well as degradation of water quality due to contaminants from industry, flooding, or runoff. The proposed project will provide a new treatment for water used in O&G production, creating a renewable source of fresh water from otherwise unusable wastewater or impacted water sources. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to advance the development of an innovative thermal distillation treatment system for produced water generated during O&G production. Current treatment technologies, like reverse osmosis, cannot handle the high-total dissolved solids (TDS) content of most produced water, and thus only a small portion may be reused currently. Disposal is generally through permitted deep injection wells, with water transportation typically serving as the largest disposal cost component. The proposed system accomplishes the entire thermal distillation process in one piece of equipment - a technological advance over state-of-practice thermal distillation units requiring separate energy sources, heat transfer, distillation, separation, and condensation units. It reduces manufacturing and maintenance costs, and it uses less energy in operation. The system can be set up on-site at the well, eliminating the need to transport produced water off-site for disposal. The proposed treatment process yields two reusable products: (1) purified water, which may be sold for use at the well site, sold for agriculture/industrial uses, or discharged to surface waters; and (2) heavy brine, which may be sold as a drilling fluid. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Kytopen Corp
SBIR Phase II: An Automated Platform for Rapid Discovery in Cell Biology
Contact
501 Massachusetts Avenue 3rd FL
Cambridge, MA 02139–4018
NSF Award
1853194 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$748,461
Start / end date
03/01/2019 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a fast, efficient, and scalable cell engineering technology that is easily automated through integration with liquid handling robots. Currently, there is a bottleneck in the process of cell engineering, especially in the engineering of cells for discovery of new therapeutics. The field of delivery of genetic or other material to cells has not kept pace with advancements in genetic modification and high-throughput screening technologies. The proposed platform will offer an alternative to the time-consuming and labor-intensive methods of transfection including lentiviral transduction and cuvette-based electroporation, which are difficult to automate. Applications of cell engineering technology range from fundamental research in cell physiology to the discovery of new targets for cellular therapies. The platform will allow scientists and clinicians to more rapidly and reliably engineer immune and other cells for discovery of new therapeutic targets and therapeutics. The intellectual merit of this SBIR Phase II project will be to develop a scalable, automated, non-viral cell engineering platform with the potential to operate up to 10,000 times faster than conventional electroporation using high-throughput liquid handling. Using the core cell engineering technology developed in Phase I, the goal is to develop an automated protocol for gene transfection on a liquid handling robot compatible with 96 or 384 well plate technology. The first objective is to demonstrate the manufacturability of cell engineering devices for high-throughput cell engineering. Preliminary work in this area has shown that these devices can be injection molded, thus reducing cost while increasing the potential for production at scale. In the Phase II project, injection molded prototypes of the cell engineering devices will be developed to prove manufacturability and determine the cost to manufacture at scale (millions of parts per year). Second, there are several supplemental systems that must be integrated with a liquid handling apparatus to enable the proposed high-throughput cell engineering. Supplemental systems include a power source and power distribution manifold that interacts with each sample of the 96 or 384 well array. In this project, these systems will be integrated with the cell engineering devices and automated liquid handling robot. Third, the integrated system will be used to generate a large library of primary human T cell variants as proof-of-concept to demonstrate the potential for high-throughput cell engineering for therapeutic target discovery. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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LIV Medical Technology Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Optical Coherence Tomography(OCT)-Sensor Guided Sub-Retinal Injector
Contact
301 W 29th St
Baltimore, MD 21211–2960
NSF Award
1951120 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$640,899
Start / end date
05/15/2020 – 04/30/2022
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Project continues from Phase I to realize a new surgical tool system to enable safe and precise delivery of stem cells and genes for ophthalmic application, specifically to repair and restore vision for patients with retinal degeneration. Visual impairment occurs in the natural course of aging, with some conditions potentially addressed surgically. Associated improvements in both quality of life and reduced health care expenditures can be addressed with a system involving augmented real-time visualization technology, tools capable of minute actions, and smart algorithms informing surgical actions. The proposed technology improves imaging by incorporating machine vision, with applications in ophthalmic treatment and beyond. This SBIR Phase II project will advance the development of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) guided sub-retinal injector system. Technical tasks include conducting studies to test clinical safety and procedure efficacy on both cadaveric human eyes and in-vivo porcine eyes. Specifically, trained surgeons will use the system to validate the capability to execute tasks related to subretinal microinjection procedures, determine the time to task completion, and characterize the magnitude and frequency of errors. The system will be validated with histology samples and compared to current the standard of care of freehand performance. Optimization and validation studies will take place to advance the translation of this technology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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LUDLUM MEASUREMENTS, INC.
SBIR Phase II: AQSync for Distributed Calibrations of Mobile Air Quality Sensing Platforms
Contact
2100 CENTRAL AVE STE 105
Boulder, CO 80301–2887
NSF Award
1925735 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$674,263
Start / end date
11/01/2019 – 10/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to enable a new paradigm for air pollution monitoring and mapping through the U.S. and globally. According to the World Health Organization, 4 million deaths per year globally are directly linked to ambient air pollution. Until now, the approach to monitoring of air pollutants has been limited to measurements at a few fixed-base stations spread throughout each U.S. state (e.g., ~30 in Colorado for a population of 6 million), and those stations are purposely located far from air pollution hot spots in order to obtain approximate averages. Recent advances in low-cost sensor technology has enabled new high-resolution mapping of air pollutants throughout cities and rural areas through vehicles of opportunity, such as those associated with ride share services and delivery vehicles, carrying small air quality sensor packages continuously uploading air pollution measurements to the web. The principal roadblock to this approach, addressed in this project, is a method to continuously verify the calibration of these mobile air quality sensors, inherently less accurate than traditional instruments. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop, test and evaluate a distributed calibration station, AQSync, to be mounted on lamp and traffic light posts throughout cities and towns to provide frequent distributed calibrations of vehicle-borne air quality sensor packages. A major challenge has been the development of relatively low-cost miniaturized instruments offering highly accurate measurements for inclusion in AQSync. This is particularly true for black carbon, believed to contribute substantially to up to 200,000 premature deaths each year in the U.S. through pollution-related health conditions such as asthma, stroke, heart disease and cancer. The development and commercialization of a Black Carbon Photometer in Phase I of this project represents a potentially disruptive technology facilitating measurements of black carbon directly in the gas phase, without the known artifacts associated with previous instruments and within a small footprint suitable for AQSync. This project addresses the next challenge of developing algorithms and demonstrating that implementation of distributed AQSync calibration stations enable accurate mobile sensor measurements to inform policy-makers, subsequently improving human health. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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LUNEWAVE INC.
SBIR Phase II: Novel Radar Using 3D Printed Luneburg Lens for Autonomous Transportation
Contact
4991 N. Fort Verde Trl.
Tucson, AZ 85750–5903
NSF Award
1758547 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,377,495
Start / end date
04/01/2018 – 09/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be that this research will address the resolution and detection range requirements of autonomous driving in complex environments such as urban scenarios. The next major revolution of transportation is undoubtedly autonomous driving, which will increase safety, mobility and productivity. Fully autonomous transportation may eliminate human error, the leading cause of traffic accidents, and could also lead to reduced traffic congestion, higher energy efficiency, and enhanced mobility for the aging and disabled population. The proposed advanced sensing system with intelligent algorithms is expected to help enable and advance the autonomous driving revolution. The proposed effort will also have great commercial impact. The global market size of autonomous sensors is expected to grow from $5.2 billion in 2018 to $11.9 billion in 2023, with the radar-based sensor segment representing $2.9 billion in 2023. In addition, the expected research outcome may lead to advancements in a number of important market sectors including wireless communications, sensing, mobile internet, assistive technology, and additive manufacturing. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 project aims to realize a 3D-printed Luneburg lens-based high performance automotive radar for autonomous driving. Existing automotive radars do not have enough distance detection, field of view, and angular resolution for classifying and locating dense targets, which is critical for achieving fully autonomous driving. As a result, current autonomous driving tests utilize LiDAR ((Light Detection And Ranging) systems which are more expensive and less reliable than radar especially under adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, fog, and smoke. Compared to conventional manufacturing techniques, this project utilizes 3D printing, which is convenient, fast, inexpensive and capable of implementing millimeter wave Luneburg lenses. Based on the Luneburg lens?s ability to form multiple beams with high gain and broad bandwidth, a novel automotive radar will be designed by mounting radar detectors around the lens. Moreover, with the wide bandwidth and natural beam forming capabilities of the Luneburg lens, an adaptive sensing approach is proposed to improve the scanning efficiency and avoid interference from nearby or intruder radar systems. With these proposed approaches, the objective is to achieve a high performance and high value millimeter-wave sensing system suitable for autonomous transportation applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Lapovations, LLC
SBIR Phase II: AbGrab Laparoscopic Lifting Device
Contact
2746 N Hidden Springs Drive
Fayetteville, AR 72703–9203
NSF Award
2025984 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$999,429
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is a reduction in the negative effects of laparoscopies, procedures to enter the abdomen through a small incision. Over 15 million laparoscopies are performed worldwide each year, particularly gynecologists, who represent roughly half the surgeons performing these procedures in the U.S. The proposed procedure does not require surgeons to alter their surgical techniques and requires minimal training. It uses equipment already in the hospital. The benefits will include better surgical outcomes, decreased patient post-op pain, and increased surgeon and patient satisfaction. Furthermore, it can ultimately be used in other surgical interventions, such as pannus retention, wound management, and liposuction. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project addresses the need for a less invasive and more reliable method for lifting the abdominal wall during laparoscopic surgery. Current lifting techniques include manually grasping the abdominal wall and using invasive perforating towel clips. With manual grasp it can be difficult for the surgeon to maintain grip and proper elevation, especially with lean or obese patients. Alternatively, using perforating towel clips is invasive because the towel clips perforate the abdominal wall tissue to provide a handle by which to lift and elevate. The perforations can be a significant source of post-op discomfort and bruising for the patient. This project focuses on developing a medical device that uses suction to attach to and lift the abdominal wall more reliably than manual grasp and less invasively than perforating towel clips. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Leading Edge Crystal Technologies, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Development of a Continuous Doping and Feeding System for Controlling the Resistivity of Floating Silicon Method Silicon Wafers
Contact
98 Prospect Street
Somerville, MA 02143–4109
NSF Award
2024523 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$998,820
Start / end date
10/01/2020 – 09/30/2022
Abstract
The broader impact potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is improved global solar panel manufacturing. To date, conventional solar panel manufacturing technologies are still expensive, but the market, estimated at $40 B, offers significant potential. The proposed technology will simplify the manufacturing process at industrial scales. It will reduce all-in solar manufacturing costs by 25% and the overall capital intensity of solar manufacturing by almost 50%. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project enables a commercial pilot of a single crystal wafer manufacturing technology. This novel technology can produce drop-in silicon wafers for solar panels in one step at 50% lower cost than the incumbent seven-step wafer technology. The project will extend the current production capabilities from a few wafers per batch into continuous production consistent with industrial use. Tasks include developing the subsystems to continuously feed raw silicon feedstock into the machine and controlling material properties to critical specifications for long production runs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Addenda
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Li Industries, Inc
SBIR Phase II: A Direct Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Process Yielding Battery-Grade Cathode Materials
Contact
1872 Pratt Dr Ste 1500
Blacksburg, VA 24060–6322
NSF Award
1951107 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
06/01/2020 – 05/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this SBIR Phase II project is to significantly improve the economics of lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling, while minimizing its environmental impact. Direct recycling uses less energy and generates less pollutive waste and fewer emissions than alternative recycling approaches, while simultaneously producing more valuable products. The proposed project will advance the development of a recycling technology that will lower LIB cost, reduce the reliance of LIB production on the mining of expensive virgin metals, create a local supply of LIB materials, and facilitate the adoption of clean energy products (e.g., electric vehicles, grid storage). This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop a cost-effective and scalable direct recycling process at a pilot-scale level. The proposed project will study LIB deactivation, component separation, purification, and regeneration processes that can be economically reproduced on a large scale. For example, a battery deactivation process that is quicker, safer, and cost-effective can be used in other waste management processes as well to discharge batteries. This project also will enable a better understanding of the key parameters of electrode extraction and purification processes able to preserve electrode chemistry and morphology. By focusing on the characterization of structure, morphology and electrochemical performance of the recycled materials, this project will lead to a more profound understanding of the effect of relithiation and heat treatment conditions on the quality of recycled cathode materials. Together, these studies will advance the knowledge and understanding of not only the process, chemistry, and mechanics behind the direct recycling process but also process optimization for a production-scale LIB recycling operation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Liberate Medical LLC
STTR Phase II: A Novel Abdominal Stimulator to Assist with Ventilator Weaning in Patients
Contact
6400 Westwind Way
Crestwood, KY 40014–6773
NSF Award
1632402 – STTR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,407,653
Start / end date
09/15/2016 – 03/31/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project, in which a non-invasive respiratory muscle stimulation device and approach to weaning patients from mechanical ventilation will be developed, is a reduction in public health care expenditure and a reduction in morbidity for the half a million patients who have difficulty weaning from mechanical ventilation each year in the US. These patients suffer from an array of clinical complications (for example, pneumonia) and cost the US health care system $16 billion annually, a great deal of which is borne by Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, the current reimbursement landscape economically incentivizes hospitals to wean patients at the earliest possible time. The proposed innovation has the potential to positively benefit society by providing a solution to this serious healthcare problem. In addition, it promises to improve our scientific understanding of respiratory muscle physiology and mechanics in difficult to wean patients. It will also improve our technical understanding of non-invasive respiratory sensors and biofeedback algorithms for the purposes of electrical muscle stimulation. Finally, as demonstrated by the number and cost of difficult to wean patients, as well as current healthcare reimbursement policies, the proposed innovation has potential to results in a considerable commercial impact. The proposed project will develop a non-invasive electrical stimulator that automatically applies stimulation to the respiratory muscles in synchrony with a patient?s voluntary breathing pattern. This approach is expected to address the imbalance between respiratory muscle strength and respiratory muscle load - a major factor responsible for weaning difficulty - by assisting ventilation during weaning sessions and strengthening the breathing muscles that have become weakened as a result of mechanical ventilation. In Phase 1 a functional prototype was developed; clinical feasibility of the approach was also demonstrated. The Phase II proposal focuses on refining the stimulation algorithm to maximize its clinical effectiveness and on developing a novel stimulation electrode system so that the device can be quickly applied to patients. In addition, methods will be developed to interface the technology with a mechanical ventilator to expand its clinical application. Finally, a complete works-like, looks-like prototype will be developed that is designed to international standards and is safe for clinical testing. The work completed in this Phase of the project will enable a controlled clinical trial of the proposed approach and ultimately allow the device to gain FDA regulatory clearance.
Errata
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Light Foundry, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Science-Based Networked Tools for Effective Design and Manufacture of Green Buildings and Green-Building Products
Contact
210 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder, CO 80302–5821
NSF Award
1738566 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$897,999
Start / end date
09/15/2017 – 01/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project stems from the development and commercialization of a networked-based, easy-to-use, fast and accurate tool that will allow architects, consultants, manufacturers of green building products to quickly compare, manipulate and optimize lighting strategies, perform whole-building annual glare analysis and access recommended manufactured products as solutions, to help make informed decisions for integrated design. Daylighting is a crucial piece of the green building puzzle. With the appropriate tools, daylighting is arguably one of the most cost-effective methods of achieving high performance buildings (and happier, healthier occupants) throughout the design process. World-wide green building is expected to double every three years. The world's green building market is a trillion-dollar industry, moreover, the green building materials market is expected to reach $234 billion by 2019. By 2018, green construction will directly contribute 1.1 million jobs and $75.6 billion in wages by 2018 in the United States. Between 2015 and 2018, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings in the United States are estimated to have $1.2 billion in energy savings. Green buildings use fewer energy and water resources; save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce carbon emissions; and prioritize environmental and human health. This projects proposes to create robust software for measuring, analyzing, and for recommending solutions to glare in buildings. A novel dynamic tree parallelization architecture is proposed to manage complex, dynamic, and massive amounts of lighting calculations. This will include building the first commercial grade 3 and 5 phase lighting analysis engine. It will also produce a new generation artifact for creating and manipulating data for glare analysis. It will conclude with a validation study.
Errata
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Lightform, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Reliable, Scalable Projection Mapping Systems with Reusable Content
Contact
251 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94108–5029
NSF Award
1632533 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,399,999
Start / end date
09/15/2016 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project includes new ways to inform, educate, advertise or entertain through a technology called projection mapping. This technology uses commodity video projectors to augment the surfaces of ordinary objects; applications range from advertising, events, and entertainment, to educational experiences at museums or schools, healthcare applications for rehabilitation and visualization, and simulation (e.g. military or employee training). Through multiple deployments at retail locations across the country, the company's prototypes have demonstrated that these applications will benefit not only the brands and companies that employ the technology, but also the end-users (students, consumers, etc), resulting in better engagement and faster learning when compared to achieving these same tasks through other media such as videos. Research performed during the Phase II project will allow the company to develop a scalable product and fulfill many deployments, bringing projection mapping to new markets. A free version of the company's software will also be available for non-commercial and academic use, enabling interdisciplinary research in fine arts and computer science. The R&D results generated from the research will be published and disseminated to the public. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will build a commercially viable and scalable projection mapping system. While projection mapping has a long academic history, this captivating medium still remains out of commercial reach. As learned from over 50 customer discovery interviews, retailers are shifting towards location-based experiences to increase customer engagement and sales. Many other industries have a similar need to attract attention and convey information, but without a scalable product that can be easily deployed and maintained, they lack the means to provide these experiences. To address this need, the company will develop hardware and software systems to enable captivating and immersive projection mapping experiences. The core of this system is in software: the developed algorithms will robustly calibrate projection mapping systems comprising any number of projectors/cameras, automatically align projected content to the scene and perform color-correction when the display surfaces are non-white/textured. These algorithms will be validated through standard benchmarks, resulting in novel, state-of-the-art practices. Additionally, these methods will allow for reusable projection mapping content, a critical feature lacking in existing software, as well as cloud deployment and monitoring. New hardware configurations will also be developed to achieve new uses for projection mapping.
Errata
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LinkDyn Robotics Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Force And Impedance-Based Exoskeleton Robots For Seamless Assistance And Neurologically Sound Rehabilitation
Contact
2201 Buffalo Tundra Dr
Austin, TX 78754–5961
NSF Award
1853183 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$907,139
Start / end date
04/15/2019 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader societal impact/commercial potential of this project centers on improving rehabilitation outcomes for individuals suffering from motor dysfunction due to stroke, spinal cord injury, and other conditions. In the US alone, there are 600,000 new stroke patients each year who rely on conventional one-on-one therapies for recovery. Due to cost and labor limitations they do not receive consistent, frequent, and intensive training needed for full recovery and optimal quality of life. As a result, stroke care guidelines recommend robotic rehabilitation in all care settings. Providing robotic rehabilitation using the proposed exoskeleton robots is a compelling solution for hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and senior living communities. In addition to providing frequent and intensive therapy, the devices can accurately measure patient progress and performance for personalized care. The exoskeletons are also a powerful research tool into effective rehabilitation methods and have the potential to transform the manufacturing sector by providing a solution for industrial processes that are too complex for full automation and too physically demanding for humans. The proposed exoskeleton devices reduce the risk of injury from accidents and overexertion for individuals performing repetitive, high-stress tasks. Additional results include increased productivity and decreased absenteeism and turn-over. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project advances the development of exoskeleton robots targeted at rehabilitation. A substantial portion of the US population requires intensive rehabilitation services for neuromuscular impairment. Robotic rehabilitation has attracted attention due to the potential for better patient outcomes. Current robotic solutions lack the anatomical mobility and compliant dynamic behavior to produce neurologically-sound therapeutic behaviors. The proposed project addresses these deficits and will result in exoskeleton robots capable of essential advanced rehabilitation behaviors. During the Phase I project, a high-performance, force-controlled actuator was developed and will be the core component enabling the desired behavior. In this project, the physical structures and control algorithms of the exoskeletons will be designed and built with a focus on dynamic transparency and kinematic compatibility with the human body to capitalize on the capabilities of the actuator. Additionally, the control software will use feedback loops and a visually interactive environment with performance metrics to keep patients engaged. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Litterati, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Building a Global Community to Crowdsource-Clean the Planet
Contact
131 Turvey Ct.
Chapel Hill, NC 27514–5260
NSF Award
1853170 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,117,996
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 12/31/2021
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
This SBIR Phase II project focuses on litter - one of the world's most pervasive and toxic problems. To many, it's dirty, disgusting, and someone else's problem to solve. Unfortunately, we all suffer the consequences, as litter impacts our economy, degrades the environment, demoralizes community pride, kills wildlife, and poisons the food system. This project builds on the accomplishments of an SBIR Phase I project that developed a mobile technology empowering anyone to identify, map, and collect the world's litter, while simultaneously connecting to a broader community of associated brands, cities, schools. The company has integrated image recognition and machine learning algorithms into its software to advance the crowdsourcing of litter data and cleanup activities. This advancement will allow for the identification of litter even if the item is in a deep state of decay and decomposition. This project also aims to continue building the Global Database of Litter, a technology platform that integrates the company's litter taxonomic classification with other data sets including location, time, retail locations, and the watershed. This data provides great potential to improve municipal infrastructure, resource allocation, brand packaging redesign, and individual responsibility that promotes positive behavioral change. Like the National Science Foundation, this project aims to promote the progress of science and advance our national health, prosperity, and welfare. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Living Ink Technologies, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Engineering novel pigmented cyanobacteria for the use in the ink, printing and colorant industries
Contact
3185-A Rampart Road
Fort Collins, CO 80521–2025
NSF Award
1758587 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$909,999
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is developing a safe and sustainable ink for the global ink industry. Approximately nine billion pounds of ink is produced annually around the world. Currently, ink is predominantly made of petroleum or inorganic chemicals mined from the earth. For example, carbon black is commonly used in traditional ink, which is derived from petroleum, not biodegradable, and toxic for humans. To solve this problem, nature has produced a multitude of molecules capable of replacing pigments currently utilized in ink. While many organisms that produce these alternatives are slow growing and require energy sources like sugar, photosynthetic microbes, such as cyanobacteria, are capable of being engineered in an efficient manner to produce pigments in ink formulations that are safe, renewable, and 100% biodegradable. This ink will be used by businesses for printing packaging, marketing material, and other printed products. Developing and integrating these ink products will decrease significantly the overall detrimental impact of traditional inks on the environment, and more importantly, human health. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop sustainable ink formulations using cyanobacteria as feedstock for producing optically black pigments for printing inks. This project will also engineer cyanobacteria cells capable of generating cellular pigments for a color spectrum of cyan, magenta, and yellow. These colored cyanobacteria will act as pigments that replace mined pigments found in traditional ink formulations, such as carbon black and cadmium. This project is developing a unique process in which extraction of pigments/dyes is not necessary, thus saving energy and reducing cost. Using cyanobacteria cells as pigments creates a renewable source of biomass for bio-products, as these organisms leverage sunlight, carbon dioxide, wastewater and land otherwise unsuitable for conventional agriculture to rapidly generate biomass. In addition to the development of colorful renewable cyanobacteria strains, this project will focus on manufacturing thousands of pounds of ink products for testing and consumer use as well as testing the applicability of these natural pigments to act as colorants in the food and textile industries. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Looking Glass Ventures, LLC
SBIR Phase II: An End User Authoring Tool for Open and Intelligent Technology-Enhanced Assessments.
Contact
202 Sequoia Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306–1043
NSF Award
1758301 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,405,068
Start / end date
03/01/2018 – 08/31/2023
This phase II award received additional funding to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.Abstract
This SBIR Phase II effort will create transformative open tools to enable affordable access at scale to high quality assessments (problems & questions) for foundational subjects in secondary and post-secondary education. The explosion of online student audiences, rapid growth of Open Educational Resources (OER), and the need to support individual learners are creating an unprecedented demand for digital assessments. Assessment authoring tools today are controlled by large organizations, require advanced skills and proprietary assessment delivery platforms with restrictive collaboration features. This inequity is particularly pronounced with respect to technology-enabled assessments (TEAs) which are sophisticated, digital assessments that enable deeper learning. This effort will democratize the process of authoring and sharing TEAs through the creation of intuitive end user tools that will enable educators without advanced technical skills to author and share TEAs. This has the potential to disrupt the status quo by empowering educators to take charge of the assessment creation and distribution landscape with ground-breaking tools that enable easy authoring and distribution of sophisticated TEAs without being restricted by a proprietary assessment system. Eventually, this will empower educators at scale by triggering the evolution of a peer-to-peer marketplace around the need for assessments, and impact hundreds of thousands of learners in secondary and tertiary education settings. This project will follow through on two principal innovations. The first is an end-user tool that will dramatically reduce the time and expertise required to author technology-enhanced assessments. The tool will facilitate intuitive authoring of TEAs by using symbolic representation of programming constructs. The second innovation is a new standard for representation of technology-enhanced assessments that makes them usable in any delivery platform, thus making the assessments platform-neutral. This effort will also advance the frontiers of authoring beyond individual assessments to the creation of adaptive assessment pathways that will provide personalization for diverse learners. It will explore novel technologies including the representation of TEAs as intelligent and portable objects that are interoperable with disparate assessment platforms through application programming interfaces. The research studies will provide insight into how the proposed innovations can make authoring of TEAs more efficient while lowering the skills barrier for educators, and the degree to which such TEAs are effective in eliciting student reasoning and thinking processes in foundational subjects. This will be achieved through a combination of usability and validation studies in partnership with secondary and post-secondary educators drawn from different institutions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Lotic Labs, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Hydro-financial modeling architecture for the automated optimization of low basis risk indices
Contact
1547 N Leavitt S
Chicago, IL 60622–7066
NSF Award
1927042 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$749,121
Start / end date
08/01/2019 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result from improved financial resilience of hundreds of thousands of water-dependent businesses and municipalities currently threatened by hydrologic volatility and severely strained ecosystems. This SBIR research will enable the seamless integration of scientific and financial modeling for the water economy. The innovation lowers the costs and improves the performance of two climate risk mitigation investments: 1) Green Infrastructure (projects that emulate or protect nature in order to ensure clean water supply for commercial and public use); and 2) weather insurance contracts, which provide businesses and utilities with financial relief from droughts and floods that hamper their operations. With 50% of the global population projected to face water scarcity by 2050 (according to the UN), and $10B in economic value destroyed annually by floods, droughts, freezes in the US, these new approaches to risk mitigation are crucial to reducing water demand stresses through a free-market approach to water resource conservation. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to eliminate technical barriers currently hindering seamless data and model integration for hydrology and finance. The Phase I project validated technical feasibility by demonstrating the utility of a semantic web technology to provide end-to-end modeling solutions for quantifying hydro-financial risk. Phase I established that the technology 1) greatly improves the interoperability between massive heterogeneous data sets and models for quantifying hydrologic-financial risk, and 2) enables data and models to be linked through a tamper-proof distributed network. The Phase II project builds on the technological foundation to deploy a production environment for running a suite of models encompassing ecosystem services, hydrology, and actuarial sciences. The project builds foundations for AI-enabled decision support tools. If successful, this research will enable significant reductions in the time and costs associated with modeling the financial value of investment in natural water infrastructure, generating comparisons between a wide range of water projects and financial structures seamlessly and without compromising scientific rigor. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Louisiana Multi-Functional-Materials Group LLC
SBIR Phase II: Smart Two-Way Shape Memory Polymer Based Sealant
Contact
8000 Innovation Park Dr
Baton Rouge, LA 70820–7400
NSF Award
1758674 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$746,325
Start / end date
02/15/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to provide an affordable sealant for sealing joints and cracks in cement concrete pavement, asphalt concrete pavement, bridge deck, etc. In transportation infrastructure, joints are intentionally constructed in order to allow movement of the structural elements due to linear thermal expansion/contraction when temperature rises/drops. Cracks are a common failure mode in pavement, and if not properly sealed, can cause water damage and rupture of the concrete. Sealing cracks and joints is a common practice to maintain or extend the service life of structural elements. Various types of sealants are currently used with an annual market value of about $6.1 billion. Unfortunately, many of these sealants fail to work properly and are ineffective in extending service life. In this project, a smart sealant will be developed that expands upon cooling and contracts upon heating, a thermal characteristic opposite to that of concrete. The product will address a significant problem in the industry arising from thermal movement of joined/cracked structural elements. It is expected that the product will have about 0.8% market share in 5 years helping with the need for longer lasting and more reliable infrastructure. The intellectual merit of this project lies in the development and validation of a smart sealant technology. The root cause for joint failure is that the thermal expansion characteristics of most sealants is similar to that of concrete, i.e., contraction upon cooling and expansion upon heating. This behavior is contrary to what is required of sealants in order to avoid thermally induced separation between the sealant and the concrete. Unfortunately, few materials can fulfill this requirement in a cost effective way while maintaining other desired physical properties (such as, deformability). This Phase II project will solve the century-long problem through the use of a two-way shape memory polymer (2W-SMP) based sealant that addresses the root cause. Building upon the feasibility study of the Phase I project, the Phase II project will focus on further improving the 2W-SMP based sealant for sealing joints or cracks in pavement, and validate the product through third-party lab-scale testing, and full-scale field-level verification in both hot and humid environment and extremely cold regions. Technical outcome will include lab-scale validation, field level performance and verification, and construction protocols for this new smart material, laying a solid foundation for adoption by home owners and transportation agencies.
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Lumedica, Inc
SBIR Phase II: Extended depth imaging with optical coherence tomography (OCT)
Contact
1312 Dollar Ave
Durham, NC 27701–1120
NSF Award
2025988 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$999,281
Start / end date
09/15/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in the development of new optical imaging techniques for evaluating the health of skin, teeth and gums. Optical imaging uses light instead of X-rays to produce detailed images of tissues. It has not yet been widely applied for dental and dermatology applications because the light does not penetrate deeply enough into tissues to be useful, and these devices are prohibitively expensive to manufacture. This project will develop a a new imaging scheme that allows deeper penetration into tissues, providing more useful diagnostic information; and with current 3D manufacturing techniques, it could cost roughly ten times less than the current alternatives. This technology will enable new safe, affordable imaging processes. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project advances translation of a novel optical technique, dual axis deep imaging optical coherence tomography (OCT), for clinical imaging of skin and teeth. Translation of OCT is advanced for retinal imaging but has not enjoyed the same success in other applications. This project will create new instruments for dentistry and dermatology by demonstrating: 1) how dual axis OCT can penetrate more deeply in biological tissues using instruments designed for each application; and 2) the economic feasibility using 3D manufacturing and system design. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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LumiShield Technologies Incorporated
SBIR Phase II: A Cost-effective, Environmentally-responsible Alternative to Toxic Metal Coatings
Contact
1817 Parkway View Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15205–1422
NSF Award
1660132 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,157,433
Start / end date
03/15/2017 – 04/30/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will address a pressing need for more environmentally responsible coating alternatives in the anti-corrosion market through the commercialization of a novel aluminum-based coating. If successfully commercialized, the aluminum electroplating process will displace multiple existing anti-corrosion coatings, which are based on toxic metals. The current market for these coatings is valued at $10 billion annually. The replacement of the toxic metals with aluminum will eliminate their release into the environment. The process is also expected to be less expensive than the incumbent technologies. The reduction in cost arises from decreases in plating solution, waste treatment, and metal costs. By decreasing the cost of corrosion-resistant coatings, it may also be possible to reduce the flow of plating jobs to less environmentally responsible areas overseas. For the aerospace industry, which is the initial target market, the availability of the process will mean safer conditions for workers, less environmental impact, and lower costs. In the process of addressing these needs in the coatings market, the research will elucidate a variety of interesting phenomena associated with electroplating of highly active metal species. The intellectual merit of this project is associated with its exploration of aqueous electroplating of highly active metals in the presence of atmospheric moisture and oxygen. Typically, electroplating of aluminum has taken place from organic solvents such as toluene at elevated temperatures under an inert purge. The expense and difficulty in scaling this technology has prevented its adoption for many applications, which might make good use of aluminum coatings. The goal of the project will be to overcome the technical challenges in scaling-up an aqueous aluminum electroplating process for producing aluminum coatings. Challenges to be addressed include mass transfer, current distribution, and coating quality control in industrial-scale plating baths. To address these challenges, the project team will work closely with partners in the electroplating industry, ultimately demonstrating the technology at scale in a working commercial plating shop.
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Lux Semiconductors
SBIR Phase II: Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing of Highly Crystalline Thin Film Semiconductor Substrates for Flexible Electronics
Contact
1400 Washington Ave
Albany, NY 12222–0000
NSF Award
2026115 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$999,755
Start / end date
09/01/2020 – 08/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will help enable the expansion of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) through new peel-and-stick sensor nodes. Such IoT nodes require low device cost, and thus low sub-component costs for sensing elements, processing circuits, communications, and power. In addition, they are power constrained, requiring minimal energy consumption during sensor data collection, processing, and transmission. Integrating low-cost and low-power components into a single size-limited device becomes a substantial challenge using conventional semiconductor fabrication materials and processes. This SBIR Phase II project will use a novel System-on-Foil approach that patterns efficient silicon circuitry directly into a novel flexible silicon substrate, alongside low-cost printed electronics. This approach enables the integration of all core IoT elements, including microprocessors, sensors, antennas, interconnects, and power supplies, making robust systems with applications in condition monitoring for civil infrastructure, human health monitoring, automotive, grid battery management, wind turbines, aerospace, and industrial equipment. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance a novel semiconductor recrystallization technology to support a new generation of flexible electronics. To include on-board processing, communication, and memory circuitry, current state-of-the-art flexible electronics rely on surface mounting and soldering of off-the-shelf silicon chips, similar to rigid printed circuit board assemblies. This pick-and-place approach not only reduces device flexibility, but also leads to interconnection challenges that severely compromise device reliability. This project leverages a thin film recrystallization process where equivalent silicon circuits can now be patterned directly into flexible silicon, resulting in a highly scalable manufacturing process that drastically improves device reliability. By patterning all components directly into a high-temperature substrate, conformal electronics can be made that are durable even in heavy vibration and shock environments. The project objectives include the transition of prototype recrystallization processes to a higher throughput and higher quality pilot-scale recrystallization system. The resulting flexible silicon substrates will then be used for preliminary development of integrated circuit fabrication to produce active silicon components as a step toward fully patterned System-on-Foil electronics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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Lygos Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Large-scale, high-throughput optimization of gene expression in industrial yeast for improved small molecule production
Contact
1249 8th St.
Berkeley, CA 94710–1413
NSF Award
1456071 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,425,979
Start / end date
03/01/2015 – 10/31/2020
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is development of a microbial technology for the conversion of low-value sugars into high-value chemicals. Most industrial chemicals produced today are derived from petroleum and other nonrenewable raw materials. The long-term growth and sustainability of the chemical industry benefits from development of new routes to existing chemicals using renewable raw materials. Furthermore, due to higher infrastructure costs and stricter environmental requirements, many chemicals that were once produced in the United States are now produced abroad. This contributes to the U.S. trade deficit. This Phase II proposal aims to develop a fermentation technology where domestically grown agricultural materials (for example, corn and waste agricultural residues) are converted into high-value chemicals. The optimized fermentation process is estimated to be cost-competitive with the incumbent petrochemical route when scaled. If successful, this proposal will facilitate growth of a domestic bio-chemical manufacturing industry, targeting the $30 billion organic acids market. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to develop large-scale, high-throughput techniques to optimize gene expression in industrial yeast. A significant problem within the field of industrial biotechnology is the ability to engineer and optimize the fermentation performance of non-academic or model microbes. Most molecular metabolic engineering tools are developed for use in two model prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes, E. coli and S. cerevisiae, and are not suitable for use with industrially relevant microbes. Without these tools it is costly and slow to commercialize new fermentation technologies. The goal of this Phase II project is to develop and implement a set of molecular biology tools designed for acid-tolerant yeast, and working to apply them toward improving small molecule production. Specifically, the molecular biology tools are useful for tuning (up- or down-regulation) user-defined gene transcription and translation. Engineered microbes harboring the desired genetic modification(s) are assayed for improved small molecule production from sugar in small scale fermentations. Successful genetic modifications are those that result in more efficient small molecule product formation from sugar, and ideally decreased biomass formation from sugar, providing a lower production cost in a scaled, commercial process.
Errata
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Addenda
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MAIA ANALYTICA LLC
SBIR Phase II: Real-Time Decision Making Software for Wastewater Treatment Operators
Contact
3830 NW BOXWOOD DR
Corvallis, OR 97330–3350
NSF Award
2025902 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$883,713
Start / end date
08/15/2020 – 07/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development of a real-time software for wastewater facilities to improve nutrient removal and recovery at reduced costs. The technology developed through this SBIR project will provide a proactive monitoring process that allows wastewater operators to observe and diagnose future process upsets, proactively mitigate underlying root causes, and prevent pollutant release without the use of expensive and environmentally damaging chemicals. Improvements in treatment effectiveness and reduction of operating and maintenance costs will limit the environmental impact of human activities, improve sustainability of wastewater treatment infrastructure, ensure public health, and reduce financial burdens associated with wastewater treatment. Following deployment individual facilities may see annual commercial savings upwards of $1.4 M per large facility from improved compliance and reduction in chemical costs in a wastewater services, a market opportunity estimated at upwards of $420 M in the United States. This project could lead to 35% improvement in regulatory compliance, 35% reduction in chemical treatment costs, and a guidance system for inexperienced operators in an industry expecting 50% of its operator workforce to retire over the next 5-10 years. In addition, the project will develop a game-based training program to train new operators in the skill sets to lead operation of sophisticated facilities. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to further the development of a software platform that uses available operational, biological, and meteorological data as inputs to deliver process forecasts and insights regarding biological phosphorus removal to operators. Machine-learning forecast models will be the basis of an attribution-based inference and decision-making system used for diagnosis and mitigation of upsets to the notoriously unstable biological phosphorus removal process. In this project, data systems of a full-scale wastewater facility will be synced with the software platform to deliver real-time results that will be evaluated over 12 months of pilot testing. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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MITO Material Solutions, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Tough polymer composite materials through iLAMB, or interlaminar modifications through master batching
Contact
1414 S SANGRE RD
Stillwater, OK 74074–1810
NSF Award
1926906 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$874,367
Start / end date
08/01/2019 – 07/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to help usher in a new age of material consumption. While metals have been used for hundreds of years, composites are fairly new but can withstand even more wear and tear than steel. This project is aimed to advance composites even further by making them last longer or shed more weight. This will enable engines to have better fuel efficiency, allow lighter prosthetics, or achieve dependable, durable composite automobile frames. MITO hopes to aid all of these industries with the introduction of competitive and proprietary resin modifying nanoaddtives that enhance durability and toughness, reduce weight, and can be integrated into common composite manufacturing processes, including infusion molds and pre-pregs. With these potentials, it is estimated that this project could capture roughly 5% of the worldwide additive market currently worth $3.8 billion dollars, positioning material science to solve the composite industry's biggest problems with nano-sized solutions. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will scale up hybrid nano-fillers based on graphene oxide (GO) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) to kilogram quantities and produce nano-fillers that have reactive moieties that are exactly compatible and dispersible in various resins, which has never been attempted before. The Phase I project successfully met all the technical goals. MITO additives will be added to epoxy or vinyl ester or polyester matrices through a Master Batch process to enhance the interlaminar fracture toughness of composite by more than 70% at extremely low addition levels (~0.1 to 0.2% by weight) without any changes in current manufacturing processes. It is proposed to scale up the existing hybrid nano-fillers, develop novel hybrid nano-fillers with better compatibility with epoxy, vinyl ester and polyester resins by introducing matching reactive groups into the fillers and Master Batching so that interlaminar fracture toughness can be improved by more than 100%. Flexure, Impact and SENB fracture tests, and XRD as well as SEM characterization will be performed on the cured Master Batches and composites. Flexure, double cantilever beam fracture and tension tests will be performed on composite samples to optimize the nanofiller content and the Master Batching process. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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MOBIUS PBC
SBIR Phase II: Scale Up and Commercialization of Lignin-Based Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics for Horticultural and Agricultural Applications
Contact
808 Olde Pioneer Tr Apt 181
Knoxville, TN 37923–6242
NSF Award
1951230 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
04/15/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
This broader impact of this SBIR Phase II project is to develop low-cost, biodegradable biopolymers to replace non-degradable, single-use plastics to reduce plastic waste. Currently, most plastic products are made from non-renewable resources and are not degradable in nature. In agriculture and horticulture, there is a need for low-cost, biodegradable and compostable plastics to support the production of food and other agricultural products. More broadly, in other industries, like consumer packaged goods and food-service packaging, there is a growing demand for biodegradable and compostable products. The proposed research will demonstrate scale-up and commercial viability for biopolymers made from lignin, the primary waste product of the paper and biofuel industries. These biopolymers will have mechanical properties comparable to commercial plastics; they will be biodegradable in soil in under 2 years and in industrial composting conditions in under 6 months. At the end of this project, multiple grades of biopolymers will be identified and optimized for applications, such as nursery containers for greenhouses or agricultural mulch film for farmers. The scope of this project will also include the exploration of novel manufacturing processes that will address product applications beyond agriculture and horticulture. The proposed SBIR Phase II project will advance the development of a new family of biodegradable plastic materials using lignin, an organic waste product from the paper and biofuel industries, as a key low-cost input material treated as a copolymer, rather than a reinforcing filler, such as carbon black. The proposed research will demonstrate scale-up and commercial viability of a novel reactive extrusion technology, capable of producing biodegradable and compostable thermoplastics with lignin contents of at least 50 weight percent, using solvent-free reactive processing. The polymer alloys will have mechanical properties comparable to commodity polymers, such as low-density polyethylene and polypropylene, and biodegradable in soil in under 2 years and thermophilic composting conditions in under 6 months. These materials will be validated for commercial scale production using twin-screw extruders, converted to raw material feedstocks used in plastics manufacturing including filament, pellets, and sheet, and then converted with standard equipment into products such as containers for agriculture, floral, and forestry plant production. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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MOSAIC MICROSYSTEMS LLC
SBIR Phase II: Manufacturable Implementation of Thin Glass for Next Generation Electronics Packaging
Contact
500 LEE RD STE 200
Rochester, NY 14606–4261
NSF Award
1951114 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$813,957
Start / end date
04/01/2020 – 03/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a packaging platform for the next generation communications electronics, particularly for 5G applications for defense and commercial use. Enabling the processing of thin glass substrates for next-generation communications and packaging needs will mean faster communications with improved power efficiency. The wide range of applications and end markets include mobile devices and infrastructure, automotive radar, internet of things, and other uses. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project enables thin glass packaging solutions to be processed in existing semiconductor factories. As the need for data volume drives wireless technology towards frequency bands in the 30-100 GHz range, commonly used packaging substrates begin to fail. Glass is an attractive alternative due to its dimensional stability, smooth surfaces, low RF absorption up to 100 GHz, limited dielectric constant variation with temperature, and moisture insensitivity. Reduced thickness also decreases interconnect length (yielding low loss and low latency) and reduces overall product thickness. Thin glass can be difficult to handle in a free-standing state. In this project, thin glass using a novel handling solution will be fully metallized and patterned on both sides, creating test structures verifying through-glass via integrity, reliability, and robustness. Optimized metallization approaches will be explored, along with improvements to second-side processing, for commercially relevant wafer substrates. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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MURA INC.
SBIR Phase II: Advanced Computational Imaging System for 3D Surface Microgeometry and Reflectance Properties Measurement
Contact
4020 Moorpark Ave Suite 105
San Jose, CA 95117–1801
NSF Award
1831274 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$923,904
Start / end date
09/15/2018 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project can lead to a revolution in 3D microgeometry and reflectance properties measurement of object surfaces at the micron-scale range. The proposed technology will significantly improve photorealistic rendering in digital prototyping, and therefore reduce the waste from using physical material samples during design, engineering, and manufacturing. This technology will help reduce product development time and cost, and lead to a greater sustainability. The proposed project will develop a computational imaging system that allows for high-resolution 3D microgeometry and reflectance properties measurement of object surfaces. The current approaches for 3D surface measurement at the micron scale are based on sophisticated optical and mechanical components that are expensive and can be difficult to use, and most of these approaches cannot capture the full appearance of a surface, such as diffuse reflection, specular reflection, and surface roughness. The goal of this research program is to develop a combination of hardware and software that can measure 3D surface microgeometry and reflectance properties with micron-scale accuracy. The proposed technology is expected to achieve superior performance at greatly reduced cost. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Madorra
SBIR Phase II: Developing a Novel, Non-Hormonal Device for Vaginal Atrophy for Breast Cancer Survivors and Post-menopausal Women
Contact
4226 Juniper Lane
Palo Alto, CA 94306–5921
NSF Award
1660255 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,417,978
Start / end date
03/01/2017 – 08/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a hormone-free treatment alternative for women suffering from vaginal atrophy. Vaginal atrophy is a condition in which the vaginal tissue is thin, dry, and inelastic. Women with vaginal atrophy experience day-to-day vaginal dryness and pain with intercourse. This SBIR project catalyzes the development of a technology platform that will enable a novel home-use, hormone-free medical device to treat vaginal atrophy. This project represents a medical device treatment for vaginal atrophy developed specifically for women wishing to avoid hormone-based therapies. Currently available treatment options fall in two categories: over-the-counter products and hormone-replacement therapies. Over-the-counter products, like lubricants, are available at drugstores, but these products are often limited in their efficacy relative to the severity of symptoms many women experience. Hormone-replacement therapies on the other hand, such as estrogen creams, can be effective for women; however they are contraindicated for large market segments of women (e.g. breast cancer survivors and women with cardiovascular risk factors). Therefore, this SBIR project is critical to the development of a safe treatment alternative for women and represents a chance to significantly improve their quality of life. The proposed project supports the technical work required to develop this medical device treatment and addresses a major unmet need for breast cancer survivors and post-menopausal women. The work supported by this SBIR grant will complete necessary device improvements and prepare the technology platform for commercialization. The main objectives of this project are to 1) optimize the device for safety and usability, 2) execute specific design enhancements to ensure cost-effective manufacturability, and 3) complete all necessary quality system testing to meet FDA (Food and Drug Administration) requirements. To achieve the first objective, the company will complete all prescribed activities under the company's quality management system. User interviews will also be completed with device prototypes to explore features that enable and encourage appropriate device use. This work will be completed in cooperation between the company's engineering team and an outside industrial design firm. The second objective will require design for manufacturing activities, which will also be completed in a partnership with an outside firm. The third objective will be executed again by following the company's quality management system policies, processes, and procedures. All of these activities, once complete, will ensure the company's device is ready for commercialization.
Errata
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Malachite Technologies
SBIR Phase II: Scalable Linear Ion Beam For Large Area Plasma Processing
Contact
455 Diamond Street
San Francisco, CA 94114–2822
NSF Award
1853254 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$899,999
Start / end date
04/01/2019 – 03/31/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project touches upon everything from shower doors to consumer electronics to window glass. Deposition of high-quality thin films on a large scale with precise energy control can allow, for one example, diamond-like carbon (DLC) on glass. DLC coatings on glass can prevent soapy film build-up on shower doors, can improve the scratch resistance of mobile phone displays, and can reduce the cost of energy-conserving windows. The control of energy during fabrication processes won't just broaden what films can be made; it will allow the use of a greater variety of substrates. In recent years, a number of applications have utilized traditional inorganic coatings like silicon oxide on top of new materials like organic solar cells and organic LEDs. These organic materials show greater sensitivity to degradation during the coating processes. This ion beam source can give industry, as it begins to bring these innovations to market, a tool with the level of energy control that will allow lab results to translate to high yield, low cost manufacturing. The proposed project addresses the challenge of depositing advanced thin films on insulating and/or delicate substrates. Control of the deposition's energy flux has been shown in laboratory demonstrations to be required for many thin films including diamond-like carbon, transparent conductive oxides on silicon and organic solar cells, and ultra-thin silver. A scalable linear ion beam sputter source will establish a high-volume manufacturing tool for thin films limited today to much smaller scale. In Phase 1, the source's functionality was demonstrated. Phase 2 has two major components: hardware development for scale and usability; process development for specific commercial applications. The company will deliver a fully integrated control system and a source, scaled by 2x and designed for manufacture. Process development will consider beam energetics and geometry of beam/target/substrate relative to film and substrate properties. For DLC, this will focus on tribological and optical properties. For silver, they will test for continuity of ultra-thin films. Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) efforts will focus on electrical properties and substrate impacts, particularly carrier lifetime in silicon. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Errata
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Mallinda, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Development of Advanced Composite Materials for Athletic Equipment
Contact
1954 Cedaridge Cir.
Superior, CO 80027–4489
NSF Award
1632199 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,408,623
Start / end date
10/01/2016 – 12/31/2020
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is for the development of scaled processes for the industrial manufacture of end-user moldable advanced composite materials for use in protective athletic equipment. Currently, protective athletic equipment and accessories must be produced using industrial manufacturing techniques that have high tooling costs. As a result, manufacturers produce a small range of predetermined sizes and shapes, which do not provide a custom fit for end users. In the case of athletic gear, there is a growing market for hard-shell protective equipment which can be custom molded for a better fit. Polyimine polymers and advanced composites offer a compelling blend of strength and malleability in order to create more user-friendly lightweight and durable advanced composites that may be shaped by the end-user. In addition to creating greater user customization, both the virgin polyimine polymer, and advanced composites that incorporate polyimines, are intrinsically recyclable in a closed-loop, low-energy, solution-based system. The total U.S. composite materials market is $25 billion, representing 36% of the global composites sector. Polyimine polymers and advanced composite derivatives will reduce environmental waste and increase manufacturing efficiencies across a broad range of vertical markets in the composites sector including personal protective equipment, aerospace, automotive, and infrastructural materials. The intellectual merit of this project derives from the development of the unique chemistry of polyimine polymers. Polymers can be broadly grouped into two categories, thermosets and thermoplastics. Thermosets are strong due to the chemical characteristics of the plastic. However, once cured, thermosets cannot be reshaped. As a result, thermosets are neither repairable, nor are they efficiently recyclable. In contrast, thermoplastics, which are weaker than thermosets, may be molded and remolded. However, remolding requires very high temperatures. Polyimine polymers represent a new class of moldable and remoldable thermoset materials. Importantly, these polymers combine high rigidity and tough mechanical properties with mild molding temperatures. This Phase II research project will include scaled processes for the industrial manufacture of end user moldable composite materials that are a maximum of one-quarter inch in thickness and meet industry standards for limb joint protective equipment. The Phase II effort will also include a variety of types of material and mechanical testing, both in-house and at certified laboratories, in addition to extensive efforts at proving out manufacturability, as well as pilot production.
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Manus Biosynthesis, Inc.
SBIR Phase II: Development of a low-cost production platform through engineered bacteria for a novel natural acaricide.
Contact
1030 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138–5390
NSF Award
1738463 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,219,999
Start / end date
09/01/2017 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project, if successful, will be the development of a microbial process for the economical and sustainable production of a highly potent natural acaricide, which is a pesticide that kills mites and ticks. Increasing wariness of synthetic insecticides combined with the need to prevent tick-borne illnesses creates a tremendous opportunity for natural acaricides. The project's terpene target has long been known as a highly effective and safe acaricide; however, its commercialization has been hampered by a high cost of production. The aim is to develop an alternative manufacturing process for biosynthetic production enabling the cost reductions required to effectively penetrate the $1.6 B acaricide market. Because the target is GRAS and because it has been used extensively as a food ingredient for decades, there is a compelling safety benefit combined with its potent efficacy, which may spur increased spraying in public areas and private residences. Overall, this project will provide a new sustainable, cost-effective production route, thereby enabling acaricide commercialization. This SBIR Phase II project will lead to sustainable, scalable, and economical access to a highly potent natural acaricide. A commercial fermentation process will be developed by employing advanced metabolic engineering and protein engineering approaches for improving strain and enzyme performance. Achieving these production metrics will enable formulation and commercialization of various acaricidal products, including yard/area sprays, which will allow better control of tick populations and halt the spread of tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease. In addition, this work will significantly advance the understanding of producing complex plant natural ingredients, thus providing economical and scalable commercial access to a wide array of compounds with significant potential benefit.
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Marinus Analytics LLC
SBIR Phase II: Decoding Obfuscated Text to Find Trafficking Victims
Contact
4620 Henry Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213–3715
NSF Award
1660190 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,425,894
Start / end date
04/01/2017 – 09/30/2021
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to combat modern day slavery in the United States and Canada. In this project the company will go beyond the public sector, selling its capabilities to the hospitality industry, which shares a role in tackling this problem. Banks also play a part in detecting financial transactions which stem from criminal revenue streams. These new markets expand the revenue opportunity and social impact of the technology. The proposed Phase II research and development will solve huge challenges voiced by the company's law enforcement users. The deployment of these research products through a platform that enables evidence management and collaboration will accelerate the impact by increasing communication among the fragmented law enforcement jurisdictions in the United States. This will enable agencies to conduct more effective investigations, and empower them to take on larger cases involving organized crime across state lines. Finally, human expertise will be developed within the company and through its partnership with Carnegie Mellon University to commercialize advanced computing research for real-world, social impact. These innovations will empower more victim rescues and exploiter prosecutions. The project will create a culture within the company to nurture engineers in social entrepreneurship. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will expand on machine learning technology created in Phase I to deobfuscate escort ads and implement end-to-end innovations for investigations. Each day, there are thousands of online data points related to prostitution. Hidden behind this content are victims of sex trafficking, those forced or coerced into sex work, including juveniles who have not reached the age of consent. Big Data presents the opportunity to seize this information to disrupt traffickers and organized groups who drive the cycle of exploitation. The company's research objectives include maximizing evidence recall using sophisticated crawlers and deobfuscation methods, as well as generating leads using natural language processing and multi-modal machine learning. The project will further develop computer vision capabilities to interpret features of an image and enable visual search for missing victims. It will formalize methods for collecting ground truth, preventing false positives, and diagnosing algorithmic performance relevant to users' needs. Finally, the company will deploy this research into accessible software products that provide real-time, digestible, and actionable information to law enforcement, resulting in the rescue of hundreds, or potentially thousands, of sex trafficking victims.
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Massachusetts Materials Technologies LLC
SBIR Phase II: Hardness Strength and Ductility Tester for Field Assessment of Structures
Contact
810 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139–4662
NSF Award
1660214 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$1,399,965
Start / end date
03/01/2017 – 02/28/2021
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will support the technological refinement and concomitant commercialization of the first accurate and portable instrument that can perform in the field nondestructive test for hardness, strength and ductility of existing infrastructure. The material properties measured include yield strength, work hardening exponent and ultimate tensile strength of metals, specifically steel. The on-shore oil and gas pipeline transmission industry has pressing needs for non-destructive tests because of the aging infrastructure, national need for energy, and recent explosions and leaks that have cost lives and billions in remediation. Although transmission pipelines have low failure rate per mile of assets, pipeline operators are asked to proactively enhance pipeline integrity where they do not have all the necessary strength data. Therefore, there is an immediate need to verify strength during the 80,000 excavations done each year so that the life of these costly assets can be extended by identifying and remediating the few sections that are vulnerable within the extended network of 300,000 miles of pipelines. Pipe cut-outs and hydrostatic pressure tests are alternatives to nondestructive testing, but both damage the asset and require expensive and complex service interruption. The overall technical objective of the Phase II work is to perform the necessary research and development to enable the development of engineering specifications, system integration, and validation of the instrument to successfully perform valuable nondestructive testing to provide precise and accurate material property data. The research and development program includes three milestones, each enabling the implementation of the research into design and manufacturing of beta test units. Milestone 1 is to enable full instrument functionality under adverse field environments such as vibration, moisture, and extreme temperatures. Milestone 2 is to perform the necessary work for designing ruggedized field units. Completion of this milestone will enhance the capability for initial field testing services. Milestone 3 is to develop the knowledge to fully and reliably integrate the system, validate the sub-systems, and package it for manufacturing. The overall goal is to enable the company to have the necessary knowledge and experience to enter the instrument market with a leasing program for use in pipeline inspections.
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Max-IR Labs, LLC
SBIR Phase II: Real-Time Nitrogen Sensor for Wastewater Treatment Optimization
Contact
1809 Westridge Dr
Plano, TX 75075–8571
NSF Award
1951152 – SBIR Phase II
Award amount to date
$750,000
Start / end date
06/01/2020 – 05/31/2022
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase II project will be to supply nitrogen sensors for wastewater treatment process control and automation, potentially saving $600 M per year in electric energy for the U.S. municipal wastewater treatment industry. Municipal wastewater treatment processes are based on energy-intensive aeration. Currently, the primary monitoring method is sending “grab-samples” to a lab, with delays in receiving results. By enabling real-time process control of the energy-consuming denitrification process, electric energy usage can be reduced by 20% or more. The economic impact to each municipal wastewater treatment plant is an average energy savings of $200 k per year, with less than 6 months payback, and lower operating costs while reducing/preventing out-of-control effluent events. Competing technologies for real-time nitrogen sensors are limited by poor performance, high maintenance needs, high cost, and reliability problems. The proposed new sensor offers a reliable, cost-effective, low-maintenance alternative with potential applications in direct potable reuse (DPR), and managing environmental water quality in agricultural fertilizer runoff, industrial discharge and feed-lot monitoring. The proposed system will help assure the nation’s clean water supply. In addition, as a platform technology for use in related fields, future applications include industrial sensors for real-time manufacturing process control, homeland security sensing for chemical and biological defense, and biomedical use for point-of-care diagnostics. This STTR Phase II project proposes to develop an infrared-detection sensor for real-time monitoring of nitrogen as nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia in municipal wastewater. The technology addresses strong IR attenuation in water with the first industrial-scale sensor application based on a fiber-optic evanescent wave technique, guiding mid-IR radiation from a tunable quantum-cascade laser through an IR waveguide rather than through the wastewater itself. The incorporation of an ion-exchange material as an encapsulating medium reduces interference and acts as protection against fouling. Novel control algorithms for auto-calibration enable long-term autonomous operation and ensure a reliable signal-to-noise ratio, for 24x7 real-time control of the energy-intensive aeration process. The proposed nitrogen sensor will have a wide range of sensitivity, from 0.1 ppm to 250 ppm, and can be used for other important chemical species with fingerprints in the mid-IR spectral range, such as phosphorus and organic contaminants, making it a robust tool for water quality assessment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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