New Hampshire is a hotbed for innovation. We have a higher percentage of tech jobs than most states, and a third of our gross state product is tied to high tech. With efforts underway to cultivate NH's high-tech ecosystem, expect that emphasis on innovation to grow as new tech companies make NH their home and develop the next generation of tech products. Here are a few of the hot tech items recently developed by NH firms.
SensiNet
Wireless Sensors
Portsmouth
A typical high performance data center might have thousands of servers and consume as much power as a small city to keep servers cool. SensiNet provides wireless sensors that talk to each other allowing specific temperature regulation throughout a room. The plug and play nature of the sensors allows them to be easily moved to where they are most needed, and the system can automatically recalibrate to adjust for changes in location.
The SensiNet system is designed to be immune to any power disruptions as it operates on battery power, with back-up battery power on some devices, making it more reliable than wired systems. In addition to data centers, the SensiNet system can be used in industrial settings, laboratories and food services, basically anywhere temperature regulation is critical. The product was launched in early 2012.
WeatherStation WX Series
Airmar Technology
Milford
Weather monitoring often happens in harsh environments, including atop tall mountains, in the ocean and at nuclear facilities. Airmar's new WX Series WeatherStation, released last year, houses up to seven different sensors (all with no moving parts) in a soda-can sized sensor that is waterproof and resistant to sunlight and chemicals. The weather and position data provided by the WX Series WeatherStation usually requires using three separate instruments.
The WeatherStation line has five different products based on customer needs, with the 150WX (the mid-range of the line) selling for $600. Each system is calibrated in a wind tunnel to ensure it runs properly. The WeatherStation uses embedded GPS technology.
While most sensors offer apparent wind speed (the wind speed while moving or on a boat), the WeatherStation offers true wind speed (the actual motion of the air relative to the earth), which is vital to marine vessels.
Sensible Spreader System
Sensible Spreader Technologies LLC
Durham
Snow is a part of life in New England and so, unfortunately, is salt contamination of waterways by road salt. But what if plows were outfitted with sensors to measure specific road conditions and automatically put down just the right amount of salt, or a non-chloride alternative in environmentally sensitive areas? That would reduce waste, save money and protect the environment.
That's the idea behind Sensible Spreader, which built a proto-type de-icing system that uses GPS technology to measure how much salt is used and where. Once sufficient data is collected, it will be displayed in an easy-to-read map. The company is now seeking a municipality to install and test their technology next winter. They are also working on the next step-creating an automated system that manages both non-chloride and chloride products, recognizes environmentally sensitive areas and applies the more expensive non-chloride products in only those areas.
The prototype won first place from the University of NH's Paul J. Holloway Innovation-to-Market prize last year. Sensible Spreader would produce data that is easier to read than other technology currently available, and would allow plows to carry and control two de-icers instead of one.
Point of View Camera
Miveu Inc.
Manchester
It takes two hands to climb mountains, bike across rugged terrain, balance while skateboarding and skydiving, leaving no hands free to record the sites as you go. The Miveu point-of-view camera converts an iPhone into a chest-mounted action cam. The Miveu-X snaps over the iPhone, with the phone's camera lens lining up with the Miveu's fisheye lens that expands the iPhone's viewing angle. The chest plate is attached to adjustable straps that wrap around the user's torso to hold it in place.
Since it uses the iPhone's existing technology, the Miveu costs $80, about a third of the price of other point-of-view cameras. And because it is recorded on an iPhone, footage can be immediately edited and uploaded to social media. Miveu also sells a $15 multi-mount for any use, including ATVs, and is working on a handlebar mount. The Miveu went on sale last spring.
For more news, see The Buzz Online each Monday at BusinessNHMagazine.com.