AwareAbility Technologies Advances the Internet of Things (IoT)
What do buildings in cities, fields in farms, and arid expanses of deserts all have in common?
Besides all being part of the physical world, they are locations where AwareAbility Technologies, a Columbus-based technology business, will be solving problems that couldn’t be solved before. By connecting previously unattainable data with advanced processing, AwareAbility provides decision-makers with insight into normal operations and anomalies.
AwareAbility creates solutions that will deploy inexpensive sensor systems to connect all types of devices in all types of physical environments.
from pedestrians with wearable electronics on Broad Street in Columbus, to the soil in corn and soybean fields across the Midwest, to desert outposts or isolated stretches along the Texas and Arizona borders.
The young firm is addressing two of the most challenging aspects of the Internet of Things (IoT)—device connectivity and long-lasting (decades, not weeks), cost-effective sources of power operable in harsh environments and connectivity.
Advancing Machine Learning, Radiological Technology, Power Sources
“The vision for our company is to explore solutions that leverage three technical areas—machine learning, radiological technology, and power sources,” said Vasil Hlinka, AwareAbility CEO.
From that vision, imagine millions of inexpensive sensors with affordable, miniaturized power sources based on radioisotope micro-battery technology (licensed from The Ohio State University) connected to all types of devices in all types of physical environments—think IoT supersized.
“OSU has some great technologies in the nuclear engineering field,” Hlinka said. “With the help of OSU’s technology commercialization team, we were able to find the technologies that fit our company vision. If it was not for the technology commercialization team there, we would not be where we are today. They have been invaluable to us in getting the company off the ground.”
Add to that solution, advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, enhanced by machine learning, and the result is far-reaching predictive analysis that makes sense of all that data–analysis which humans and organizations can then use to make better decisions immediately with a touch—from fixing machines before they break, to changing schedules for planting or harvesting, to monitoring.
AwareAbility Teams with the National Science Foundation to Validate Technical Solution
In January, AwareAbility received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to take on the challenges of power sources for small electronic devices in Internet of Things (IoT) “smart city” and “smart rural” applications.
As part of the grant, the company is working to develop a set of breakthrough technologies for real work applications. “One of the great things about the work with the NSF is that we are able to tackle some of the big technical unknowns and further de-risk the technology,” said Hlinka.
“We are wrapping up the project with the NSF to develop a new battery technology that can power electronics for a very long time, perhaps twenty to thirty years, in very harsh, austere environments,” he said.
AwareAbility has demonstrated the product, achieved funding milestones, and is working on meeting product milestones in 2019.
