Technology & Innovation

Coverage of innovative research, development and deployment of technology and technological advance, including hardware, software and software as service.

Dynamic Robotic Solutions aims to double in size

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Economic Development

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October 9, 2014

KMT Robotic Solutions is rebranding itself as Dynamic Robotic Solutions, and the Auburn Hills-based company has some big plans for growth over the next few years. "Our goal is to double in size over the next 3-5 years," says Dick Johnson, director of business development and marketing for Dynamic Robotic Solutions. The 29-year-old company has made a name for itself in robotic trimming with more than 1,500 of its systems installed around the world. Dynamic Robotic Solutions more specifically works with water jet cutting. So while the water coming out of a faucet may clock in at 20-25 psi, the water Dynamic Robotic Solutions's robots use spits out at 65,000 psi. That’s strong enough to take the flesh off your finger. "If you add in a little bit of sand into the stream you can cut two-inch steel," Johnson says. Robotic cutting is often used in manufacturing, such as cutting the roof liners in cars, carpet for automotive floor mats, and plastic in instrument panels. The company had its best year in 2012 in regard to revenue growth and is on track to have another strong year. It has hired five people over the last year, expanding its staff to 60 employees. It’s also looking to hire a handful of people in software engineering and sales. Source: Dick Johnson, director of business development and marketing for Dynamic Robotic Solutions Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Latest in Technology & Innovation

Father & son launch car-mechanic software startup, Optus Software

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General

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October 9, 2014

Martin Waldo played around with an idea for a startup that would help create trust between automotive mechanics and motorists a few years ago. The idea went sideways at the time, and he put it to the side. Then his son, Austin Waldo, graduated from the University of Michigan early this year, and the father-son duo became inspired. "We decided to relaunch and try again," Austin Waldo says. That's how Optus Software began early this year. The Northville-based startup is creating a software platform that enables mechanics to utilize visual media to help gain the trust of their clients. So when a motorist comes in to get a car fixed, the mechanic can show them pictures or video of the problem and any other problems that arise during the inspection. "It's a whole 360 transparency experiment so the customer can feel like they can trust the dealership," Austin Waldo says. Optus Software's team of three people is currently testing the system with a large car dealership group at two of its dealerships in Canton and Plymouth. They plan to sell it to the dealerships as software as a service. "We're close to having a finalized product," Austin Waldo says. Source: Austin Waldo, co-founder of Optus Software Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Sisters launch organic deodorant company, Rustic Maka

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General

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October 9, 2014

A pair of sisters in White Lake have turned making organic deodorant into their own company, Rustic Maka. Kasia Rothe and Monica Stakvel started down this road a few years ago when Rothe was pregnant and developed a body odor she didn't like. She couldn’t do much about it with options available on store shelves. "Nothing seemed to be working for me," Rothe says. So she started making her own deodorant. Rothe is also a stickler for living a healthy lifestyle so she made sure she only used natural ingredients, leaving out the likes of parabens and aluminum that are often found in deodorants. "We realized deodorant, among other things, has a ton of bad ingredients," Rothe says. That home-made deodorant turned into the answer Rothe needed, working for her for 12-24 hours. She and Stakvel turned it into Pachy, the new odor-fighting deodorant for Rustic Maka. They launched the company in February and have been selling Pachy online and in 12 stores (primarily natural foods shops) across the state. "We're hoping we can get some national exposure and take this to the next level," Rothe says. Source: Kasia Rothe, co-founder of Rustic Maka Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

LogiCoul Solutions makes semifinals of Accelerate Michigan

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General

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October 2, 2014

If it's the little things that add up in life, then LogiCoul Solutions is well on its way to collecting more than its fair share this year. The Sterling Heights-based startup that calls the Macomb-OU INCubator home has made a number of base hits in 2014, putting it into position to make a significant score before the end of the year. The battery-enhancement technology startup was one of the 20 presenters at the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium last summer and recently made the semifinals of this fall's Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. It also received the patent for its technology last July. "That's very exciting for us," says David Stout, executive vice president of LogiCoul Solutions. The 6-year-old company is developing technology that sends electromagnetic waves to a battery, which lowers resistance and creates more useful energy. The bottom line is a longer-lasting and more energy-efficient battery. The company started out with the idea of using it on lithium-ion batteries but switched to a lead-acid battery focus to take advantage of a much bigger market. "We have never met a battery our process didn't like," Stout says. The three-person startup is currently looking to hire a vice president of engineering. It also hopes to lock down a seed capital round later this year or early next year to continue the push toward developing its technology. Source: David Stout, executive vice president of LogiCoul Solutions Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Delphinus Medical Technologies brings on new CEO to ramp up growth

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Health

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October 2, 2014

One of Metro Detroit’s most promising startups has a new leader who comes with a history of shepherding biotech companies through to acquisition. Delphinus Medical Technologies has hired Mark Forchette as its president and CEO. Forchette served as OptiMedica Corp’s president and CEO before taking the job. The company specialized in ophthalmic medical devices. He led OptiMedica Corp. through commercialization, successfully completed multiple rounds of financing, and oversaw the company’s acquisition by Abbott Laboratories last year. He says he sees the same sort of potential with Delphinus Medical Technologies. "I see an incredible technology that can improve women's health," Forchette says. Delphinus Medical Technologies makes SoftVue, a "whole breast ultrasound tomography system" that helps diagnose breast cancer more effectively than traditional mammograms. The technology spun out of Wayne State University and the Karmanos Cancer Institute in 2009. It has raised a $12 million Series A round in 2010 and a $11 million Series B last year. It has since hired 15 people, expanding its staff to 35 employees. "We're in position now where we have on-boarded a lot of talent," Forchette says. "We're really excited about that." That team will work to gain technical credibility with doctors and health systems, enabling them to thoroughly adopt the SoftVue technology. "We have to do that clinically," Forchette says. "It's a process of incorporating physicians deeply within the company." Source: Mark Forchette, president & CEO of Delphinus Medical Technologies Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

OU medical student invents new surgical device utilizing Google Glass technology

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Community Development

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October 2, 2014

A medical student's promising new technology device means surgeons will be able to keep their eyes trained on their patients. Excerpt: "Florence Doo, a second-year medical student at Oakland University, has her hands full. Not with school, although that certainly keeps her busy, but with starting and growing a medical device company that plans to use Google Glass to deliver heads-up displays to surgeons. The benefit? Surgeons don't have to take their eyes off their patients during procedures to look around at video screens scattered around the operating room displaying the information they need. Surgeons can pull up important images such as CAT scans — and even transmit images of the operation in progress for teaching purposes — all while keeping their eyes on the task at hand." More here.

Computing Source hires 120, moves to bigger office

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Economic Development

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October 2, 2014

Computing Source is growing so fast the firm’s founder is having a hard time describing it. He knows it has grown by a multiple of six over the last 18 months, but can't figure out how to express it succinctly. He can tell you the company has hired 120 people since early last year, and it now employs a staff of 140. That prompted it to move from a 9,000-square-foot office in Southfield to a just under 40,000-square-foot space in Madison Heights this week. "We were squished," says Mark St. Peter, managing director & CEO of Computing Source. Computing Source specializes in offering all-in-one digital evidence solutions for legal professionals. It can provide electronic discovery, computer forensics, copy/scan/print services, hosted document review, contract attorney staffing, expert testimony, trial technology services, demonstrative evidence and trial boards, and paralegal on-call support. "It's less hassle and more cost-effective to have it under one roof," St. Peter says. "We can't think of anyone else who is doing what we do as effectively under one roof." The recent hires include electronic evidence techs, forensic examiners, trial presentation professionals, attorneys, and court reporters. The company has a number of open positions right now, so many that St. Peter can’t put his finger on the exact number. "If you're a nerd, please call us," St. Peter says. Computing Source just finished opening an office in Indianapolis to go with its offices in Chicago and Metro Detroit. St. Peter is considering keeping the former Southfield headquarters as a satellite office. He expects to open more offices across the Midwest over the next three years. "Cleveland is next," St. Peter says. "Then Milwaukee and Pittsburgh." Source: Mark St. Peter, managing director & CEO of Computing Source Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

AcuMax creates new survey to match employees & employers

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Economic Development

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October 2, 2014

Many employee assessment programs judge a subject by his/her past behavior. A new company in Dearborn, AcuMax, thinks there is a lot more to people than that. "We don't try to predict based on past behavior or personalities," says Ed Fisher, consultant with AcuMax. "Behavior and personalities change over time." The one-year-old company provides management tools and useful information to its customers so they can improve hiring, employee placement, and engagement. Its team of five people has developed the AcuMax Index that bases its results on a statistically valid, EEOC-compliant employee assessment that measures how an individual is naturally wired in the course of a five-minute survey. The survey measures four areas, including autonomy and idea flow; communication skills; work-style preference; and how information is processed to make decisions. "We have an over 90-percent retention rate with our clients," Fisher says. He says that nearly 70 companies are using the AcuMax Index now, including Wayne State University and Liberty Title Co. "We're excited about our growth rate," Fisher says. "We're at about 50 percent a year, and I don't see why it would decline." Source: Ed Fisher, consultant with AcuMax Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ka-Ching! develops new easy-to-use instruction technology

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Education

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October 2, 2014

Inspiration hit Bill Crose when he was trying to come up with a better way to train hotel workers. At the time he was working as the eLearning development manager for Intercontinental Hotels Group, figuring out the best way to train housekeepers, cooks, and bartenders to do their jobs. "Really anybody who is doing a step-by-step procedure," Crose says. That's when the idea for Ka-Ching! popped into his head. He left his job and started working on the Rochester Hills-based startup, a client of the Macomb-OU INCubator. Ka-Ching! is developing Pythia, a training system that audibly streams step-by-step directions through a mobile-headset audio device. It comes with completion-time reports for each step and a patent-pending interface between voice response, text-to-speech, and Wi-Fi technologies to link custom databases to the device. "Anything that is a task that you don't know how to do can be delivered to you in a step-by-step process," Crose says. Which means it could be used by businesses and large organizations looking to train employees. It could also be used by consumers who are trying to learn how to cook with certain recipes or people at the gym following a trainer’s routine. Ka-Ching is currently in the early stages of developing its prototype. Crose expects to work on perfecting the prototype over the next year and have it ready for commercialization in time for the 2015 holiday shopping season. Source: Bill Crose, CEO of Ka-Ching! Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Novi hotel caters to daytime guests with Workspace on Demand

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Arts & Culture

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October 2, 2014

The Baronette Renaissance Hotel in Novi has turned part of its lobby, a conference room and another common area in the hotel into free and rentable workspaces. Marriott, owner of the hotel, has partnered with LiquidSpace, an organizer and booker of workspaces in all sorts of places in several cities. Together the hotel chain and LiquidSpace launched Workplace on Demand after some minor renovations. LiquidSpace guarantees the space, and Baronette provides and services it. "We have great spaces in our hotel that are sometimes not being used during the day. These include both our public spaces as well as meeting rooms. It’s a great opportunity for us to welcome in people who may not be staying at our hotel to see how great the experience is," says Sora Chan, director of sales for the Baronette Renaissance. The 155-room Baronette Renaissance property, at Twelve Oaks Mall, is one of a handful of metro Detroit hotels offering the service, which is commonplace in some cities. In the six months since Workspace on Demand began, bookings have stacked up, says Chan. "Our public space has been regularly booked on a weekly basis and it has been very popular with our guests," she says. "This is very common in bigger cities like in NY and LA. We see a lot of sales people and consultants who are in need of a place to 'touch down' in between client meetings. Often they find coffee shops to be too crowded and unreliable, so they like the assurance of knowing they have a reserved space." At the Baronette, the "Corner Seating" workspace is a comfy corner couch, chairs and a table for free. The "Library" is also in the hotel lobby and is free. It offers intimate seating for eight. The "Maple Boardroom" is a private meeting space for eight and is wired for presentations at a cost of $400 a day, $300 for a half-day. All spaces include WiFi, internet service, printing, scanning and copying, TVs, coffee and tea service. Source: Dave Jones, account executive, Shazaaam Public Relations and Sora Chan, director of sales, Baronette Renaissance Hotel Writer: Kim North Shine