PROFILES I N   S U C C E S S SPRING 2013
CONTENTS 01 02 03 04 05
SUCCESS
Measuring the success of research and development (R&D) is a challenge! The federal government invests in revolutionary technologies – aircraft that fly at supersonic speeds using a blend of JP-8 and camelina (wild flax); wars fought using only unmanned systems; advances in regenerative medicine that will make the wounded whole again. Technologies such as these don’t make it to market quickly. They take years of rigorous research and development, followed by countless rounds of tests and evaluation, system integration, production scale-up and marketing. So how do you know if you are on the right track? How do you know if you are on the road to success? We believe the answer is - money! If there is sufficient market pull for what you are developing and if you are sufficiently diligent and gregarious to engage potential partners, investors, and customers, then it is likely that you will secure funding to advance your technology. Money is a good indicator of business success!
Advanced Rotorcraft Technology, Inc. TOPIC NUMBER: N05-091 Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc.
TOPIC NUMBER: N06-072
Coherent Logix TOPIC NUMBER: N05-078 EM Photonics
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Dr. Jenny C. Servo
TOPIC NUMBER: N06-079
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Adrienne Stiles
Phase Matrix, Inc. TOPIC NUMBER: N06-008
COMMENTS We welcome comments and questions from our readers. Please feel free to email us at: profileseditor @dawnbreaker.com
Visit us online at: www.dawnbreaker.com
FROM THE EDITOR This issue celebrates the achievements of companies that participated in the 2009-2010 Navy Transition Assistance Program (TAP). Cumulatively, participants received in excess of $123,701,704 Phase III funding during the 18 months following participation in the TAP. Sponsored annually by the U.S. Department of the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Office and developed and managed by Dawnbreaker, Inc., the TAP assists companies in achieving more rapid transition of SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR)-funded technologies to the fleet. Companies that participate in the TAP are invited to present their technologies to potential customers, partners, and investors at the Navy Opportunity Forum®. Since 1990, Dawnbreaker has had the pleasure of assisting over 4,500 SBIR and STTR-funded firms, using a methodology that is highly interactive and focused on developing specific tools, opportunities and relationships that facilitate transition. Dawnbreaker believes that success should be measured, and as such, collects data from participating firms at 6, 12 and 18 months following the Navy Opportunity Forum®. On average, 50 percent of participants in the Transition Assistance Program receive Phase III funding following program completion. The success stories highlighted in this issue of Profiles in Success are a subset of the companies that individually achieved more than $1 million in sales, Phase III contracts and/or investments during the 18-month evaluation period. Funding came from a wide variety of sources including Phase III contracts with the Department of Defense, or prime contractors, corporate acquisitions, equity investment, licensing, partnering, and sales. Congratulations are extended to all of the program participants for their Phase III achievements.
This issue celebrates the success of companies that achieved Phase III success during the sustained economic downturn.
Jenny C. Servo, Ph.D. President, Dawnbreaker, Inc. The Commercialization Company 4 • Profiles in Success
Profiles in Success • 5
01
Advanced Rotorcraft Technology, Inc.
Visit Advanced Rotorcraft Technology online at: www.flightlab.com
Phase III Success: $3.8M in product sales to the Navy, Army, prime contractors, and universities Topic Number: N05-091
ADVANCED ROTORCRAFT TECHNOLOGY, INC. (ART) is one of the more experienced companies that participates in the Navy Transition Assistance Program (TAP) having received in excess of twelve Phase II SBIR contracts. Despite this level of experience, ART still finds the TAP valuable. According to Ron Du Val, President of ART “Despite the number of times we have participated in the Navy TAP, we always identify new Navy contacts that have an interest in our rotorcraft technology. We ended up with some very useful contacts that we never would have made without the TAP program.” These contacts resulted in sales of over $3.8 million (from the most recent Navy Opportunity Forum® event) of the ART Flight Dynamics Model (software) across the Navy, Army, prime contractors, as well as several universities. The U.S. Army Aeronautical Design Standard for rotorcraft handling qualities (ADS-33E-PRF) is accepted as the formal specification and as design guidance for rotorcraft handling qualities by all the major helicopter
6 • Profiles in Success
manufacturers. The Army upgraded this specification (as a replacement for the handling qualities military specification MIL-H-8501A) to address rotorcraft flying qualities specification requirements. However, it was upgraded primarily for land-based rotorcraft operations without taking into account the naval rotorcraft flying qualities requirements such as the ability to incorporate the new and enhanced requirements in support of shipboard and heavy lift rotorcraft handling qualities. Additionally, UAV evaluation and control design still needed to be addressed in this upgrade; as did the specifications for cargo and heavy lift rotorcraft under Navy shipboard interactions. NAVAIR initiated an SBIR in 2005 (NAVAIR N05-091) to provide the needed shipboard enhancements to the handling tool kit. The objective of updating the Army’s ADS-33E-PRF specification was to accommodate the needs of shipboard rotorcraft handling and heavy lift helicopter specifications. It focused on the unique requirements for maritime rotorcraft, Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and cargo and heavy lift helicopters. A series of tests were conducted on NASA’s Vertical Motion Simulator at the Ames Research Center using flight dynamics models developed under ART’s FLIGHTLAB Development System to evaluate the new handling qualities specifications for these operational requirements. The Navy-based upgrades to the ADS-33E-PRF specification added requirements to define handling qualities requirements for shipboard operations for manned and unmanned aircraft. No such document existed prior to this innovative ART approach. In the development of this specification upgrade, ART worked with Hoh Aeronautics (which assisted in the original ADS-33 development.) Hoh Aeronautics focused on defining the handling qualities requirements for maritime rotorcraft, heavy lift, VTOL, and UAV while ART focused on the simulation development and criteria evaluation to be performed in FLIGHTLAB. This effort incorporated new and enhanced requirements into FLIGHTLAB’s ADS-33 Toolbox in support
of shipboard and heavy lift rotorcraft handling qualities analysis and UAV evaluation and control design. The new handling qualities evaluation and simulation tool developed from this SBIR has proven to be of value to rotorcraft manufacturers, research institutes, universities, government agencies, as well as, of course, the military. The importance of the Aircraft Design Standard (ADS-33E-PRF) is seen in the fact that ART ended up (after the 2009 Forum) selling its simulator software to several organizations such as Liverpool University, Penn State University, the U.S. Army, as well as sales to Lockheed Martin. ART also sold its software to L-3 and the Korean government for the Lynx Helicopter Simulator. Advanced Rotorcraft Technology, Inc. (ART) is a 20 person organization founded by Dr. Ron Du Val in 1982 and located in Sunnyvale, CA. It is primarily focused on software development providing the industry with high fidelity simulation models of rotorcraft dynamics. Through its flight dynamics modeling and analysis tool
(FLIGHTLAB), it supports government, industry and academia in performing engineering analysis of rotorcraft. ART has integrated its dynamics models into a wide array of third party real-time simulators for engineering and training applications. It has combined its simulation software with the most cost-effective commercial off-theshelf simulator hardware available. This combination has allowed ART to provide affordable, high fidelity turnkey rotorcraft simulators to military and commercial customers. ART’s rotorcraft expertise, coupled with its simulation software and system integration experience has positioned it as a leader in the highly specialized area of rotorcraft simulators. Dr. Ron Du Val emphasized “The majority of our engineers have doctorates in Aerospace engineering and can provide consulting and engineering services for many different disciplines including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Computational Structural Dynamics (CSD), Stability and Control Modeling and Analysis, and Engine/Drivetrain Modeling and Analysis.”
- Training & Engineering Simulators - Software Development
- Flight Model Development
Profiles in Success • 7
02
Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc.
Visit Basic Commerce and Industries online at: www.bcisse.com
Phase III Success: $6,257,000 Topic Number: N06-072 application can function as an extension of the larger
BASIC COMMERCE AND INDUSTRIES, INC. weather environment providing local area information.
(better known as BCI) has established a strong reputation over the past 30 years in the areas of radar and communications systems design and real-time signal processing system development. This radar work has extended into the field of weather radar with particular emphasis on the development of weather radar processing systems. Fire Controlman 2nd Class Stephen Through this SBIR, BCI has developed a weather radar Dinsdale, left, processing system that can be used to add advanced weather tracking capability to existing tactical radar sysobserves as Fire Controlman 3rd tems. This modular software architecture (MSA) provides Class Tamerlane a low-cost adjunct weather processing capability to tactical radar by extracting weather data from raw radar Bastes demonstrates how to read the SPS- returns in a “non-interfering manner” with the radar’s 48E radar system tactical mission. Imagine the improved weather forecasting and aboard the Nimitzclass aircraft carrier tracking capability that is delivered by these softwareUSS Carl Vinson defined algorithms when applied to a variety of Navy (CVN 70). radar. Radar systems equipped with this software
8 • Profiles in Success
This modular software architecture (MSA) is essentially a set of radar processing algorithms that are designed to interface with a common raw radar data structure. This software architecture can provide weather-related information in parallel to the radar’s tactical mission without any negative impact on radar resources. In this manner, the BCI technology enhances the operational effectiveness of air, ground and sea assets to understand the current weather conditions for asset allocation and mission planning. Virtually every tactical radar system used by the US Armed Forces employs unique interface schemes, hardware configurations, and operational characteristics. The MSA front end translates these custom radar interfaces into a common radar data format which then feeds the common back end processing algorithms. Thus, significantly different radars such as the SPS-48E, SPY-1D, and MPQ-64 can be augmented with a common adjunct MSA processor with greater commonality. BCI initially launched the first MSA system on the USS Peleliu in the Persian Gulf (2005) and subsequently on the USS Washington for sea trials in 2007. Based on the success with these sea trials, BCI was awarded a Phase II.5 ($2.55 million) to complete the development of this technology as well as a SPAWAR IDIQ (that now exceeds $2.9 million). Through this IDIQ, BCI has now outfitted 14 other ships from landing crafts to large carriers with its MSA system. Additionally, given the convenience of this IDIQ contract, the Air Force has provided funding to modify the MSA system to their radar systems for weather forecasting. The Air Force Weather Agency (part of the Air Combat Command) has adapted the BCI technology for use in Afghanistan in early 2012. Most importantly, this Navy-funded SBIR effort has allowed BCI to extend this technology into the commercial sector through a strategic relationship with EWR Weather Radar Systems headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. EWR Weather Radar has been the industry leader in portable
weather radar design since 1982 and its systems are in the hands of a broad spectrum of end users. Their customers range from domestic and foreign governments as well as U.S. and international corporations, service providers such as broadcasters and community emergency readiness agencies to local and national weather services and small to mid-sized airports. As stated by Tim Maese, Director of BCI Sensor division: “This is the true strength of the SBIR program, funding the initial ‘high risk’ development of the underlying technology that, once proven, can be offered to the commercial market. Our strategic relationship with EWR Weather Radar Systems will allow BCI to extend its technology through the extensive network of satisfied EWR users.” Founded in 1982, BCI has grown into a technology company performing independent research and development in the areas of radar and communications systems design and real-time signal processing system development. In addition to the modular software architecture for Advanced Weather Radars program, other current
programs include the development of a transmitter noise compensation system for high-power tactical radar systems and development of radar tracker processors. Their growth has been noted in Inc. magazine, Forbes Magazine and by New Jersey Business News as being one of America’s fastest growing private companies. BCI currently has 150 employees and generates approximately $25 million a year, 90% of which is government contracts. With regard to the effectiveness of the Navy Transition Assistance Program (TAP), Maese stated “We were somewhat different than most companies in the TAP program since we already had a Phase III contract for implementation of our technology; however, we found that the TAP program value was in the discipline of consciously thinking through the various elements of the Narrative Briefing, Quad Charts and Navy Forum presentation. We specifically benefited from the marketingoriented ‘elevator speech’ that could be communicated quickly to very busy executives wanting to understand the essence of our technical capability.”
Workers remove the SPS-48E threedimensional air search radar from the tower of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) during routine maintenance.
Profiles in Success • 9
03
Visit Coherent Logix online at: www.coherentlogix.com
Coherent Logix
Phase III Success: $6,000,000 from product sales and private investment Topic Number: N05-078 AFTER THE 2009 NAVY OPPORTUNITY FORUM®, Coherent Logix successfully secured $2.5 million in Phase II.5 funding for continued development of the HyperX™ processor based Radio and Waveform Development System. In addition, Coherent Logix has sold in excess of $4.0 million in HyperX technology products to both military and commercial customers. Commercial applications include software-defined radio, video and image processing, data compression, encryption, and industrial and medical imaging. What exactly is the HyperX processor and what are its inherent advantages? The HyperX processor is a massively parallel processor chip. This processor’s unique capability is realized by interconnecting energy efficient processing cores with an instant-on and bandwidth-ondemand network fabric, while at the same time offering a seamless hardware programming model across cores and chip boundaries. The chip is supported by a full suite of development tools and targeted market reference hardware development systems that enable realtime prototyping. The HyperX processor was developed in coordination with both military and commercial customers to meet the rigorous requirements of high performance embedded systems, including software-defined radios (SDRs) and image and video processing systems. Historically, stateof-the-art reconfigurable, programmable processors used in software-defined radios had severe limitations in power, performance and reliability. Typically one or more of these characteristics had to be sacrificed in order to achieve the other required capabilities. The Coherent Logix high performance, low power HyperX processor provides the power and high energy efficiency needed to make SDR practical. The HyperX design replaces at a minimum the digital signal processor (DSP) and field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices in the SDR. In doing so, the HyperX technology can provide more than an order of magnitude improvement in power savings and improvement in performance, while
10 • Profiles in Success
reducing development time and resources (when compared to conventional multi-chip processing solutions.) By establishing this capability, Coherent Logix has achieved the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) goal of providing the implementation of standard communications waveforms using “software” defined hardware thereby assuring that a common radio platform can be configured (and reconfigured) by way of software modifications to operate with other radios through one or more of the JTRS standard modulation schemes. Implementation of JTRS radios requires a new class of processors that have sufficient computational bandwidth to implement JTRS waveforms, while consuming significantly less power than traditional programmable solutions. Additionally, the HyperX processor is suitable for developing a wide range of signal processing applications including wireless communications, image processing, electronic warfare, synthetic aperture radar, and sensor fusion. Michael Doerr, the Chief Technology Officer for Coherent Logix stated: “While the Navy works very closely with the funding organizations and primes during the SBIR period, the Army complements this approach by participating in the joint DoD programs. Not only was Coherent Logix successful in securing a Phase II.5 from the Navy, but given the ‘joint services’ nature of the JTRS program, Coherent Logix was also awarded a contract from the Army for further development of its HyperX technology.” Doerr emphasized, however: “While the Navy Opportunity Forum® was a great event, it made Coherent Logix fully aware of the long development cycle needed to get military technologies approved. SBIR firms should recognize that the military cycle is more on the order of five to ten years to get a technology all the way through field or sea trials. Regarding the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) provided by the Navy, we found the TIP [market research] information and associated Points of Contact the most helpful; beyond the Forum itself.” Subsequent to the Coherent Logix success with this
SBIR, the company has successfully engaged with commercial base station and handset software defined system customers. While this was not a direct result of their Phase II success, it is a clear indication of the power of being successful with these DoD initiatives and developing both the commercial and military opportunities from these SBIRs. Coherent Logix designs, manufactures and markets programmable digital signal processing solutions to various commercial, government and military markets. Over the past several years, the company has successfully transitioned technology developed under DARPA and DoD contracts to commercial products. Coherent Logix operates R&D, marketing, sales, and support organizations in Austin, TX; San Jose, CA; Portland, OR; and Tokyo, Japan. Looking further ahead, Coherent Logix expects the HyperX processor to provide more general purpose solutions across larger markets.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE TECHNOLOGY The HyperX technology is the culmination of years of R&D effort through cooperation with industry, universities, and government. The Coherent Logix team blends together some of the most seasoned and respected veterans in the semiconductor and electronic design automation (EDA) industry with the freshest young minds from the world’s most prestigious universities. Many individuals on the team contributed to the dawn of processor design and EDA development more than 25 years ago. The team has been on the cutting edge ever since.
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04
EM Photonics
Visit EM Photonics online at: www.emphotonics.com
Phase III Success: $1,500,000 in government contracts Topic Number: N06-079 THE MILITARY HAS A NEED to improve imaging
capabilities in degraded visual environments (DVEs), as missions maybe altered or cancelled due to poor visibility. Brownouts have been a particular problem in both Iraq and Afghanistan, where forces are dependent on helicopter support. Recent research efforts focused on harnessing the unique ability of millimeter waves (MMWs) to penetrate obscurants, including fog, dust, smoke, and blowing sand, to combat brownout and other DVE events. One such effort, pioneered by Phase Sensitive Innovations (PSI), is the development of a novel sensing platform consisting of a distributed array of passive MMW antenna elements. Using a combination of optical and signal processing techniques, this system is able to produce imagery unhindered by obscurants to aid pilots in navigating DVE situations. EM Photonics has partnered with PSI to add capabilities to their MMW technology. This work focused on the design and integration of an advanced electronic control system, suitable for airframe deployment, to synchronize the MMW imaging system and to acquire and process data collected. The target platform for this improved MMW imaging system was the CH-53 helicopter operated by the Marine Corps. The CH-53 family of heavy lift helicopters combines power and versatility like nothing else in the sky. Flying a range of missions that include heavy lift operations, CH-53 helicopters carry cargo, vehicles, artillery and troops and are designed to operate in naval environments. Given the importance of this naval role, the CH-53 was chosen as the target platform for this MMW technology. Once the feasibility of this technology was demonstrated, the operational challenge was to reduce the overall “footprint” of the system as well as “positioning” the computer on the helicopter given the limited space available. These are the same issues confronted by most airborne retrofits; how to accommodate the restricted
12 • Profiles in Success
size, weight and power requirements of the aircraft. EM Photonics was successful in developing the smaller footprint and was subsequently awarded a follow-on Phase II.5 contract for $1.5 million (and a contract from the Office of Naval Research for the same amount of $1.5 million as matching funds to further component reductions and complementary processing algorithms) for continued development of this MMW technology. PSI was funded under an ONR Future Naval Capabilities project for developing a passive MMW imaging system that would ultimately be transitioned to NAVAIR PMA-261 for initial deployment on CH-53 helicopters. The combined efforts of these two firms provided complementary electronics and image processing algorithms. The electronics developed at EM Photonics enhanced the performance of this PSI MMW imaging system, as well as other MMW imagers. The ultimate goal of this Commercialization Pilot Program (Phase II.5) was to design, build, and integrate flight-ready custom electronics for a 220-channel MMW distributed-aperture imager. Expanding the EM Photonics design from a single-channel prototype (breadboard) environment to a 220-channel system ready for flight testing was a significant challenge. The prototype functionality had to be appropriately scaled while achieving the strict size, weight, power and operational considerations of the CH-53 helicopter. EM Photonics also addressed the need for extended field processing to achieve “real time imagery” since the raw MMW images were initially fuzzy and had distorted characteristics. Significant real time processing was necessary in order to improve the resolution of the captured image and to compensate for motion during imaging. To address these limitations, EM Photonics developed a novel hardware-based accelerated processor specific for MMW imaging. With regard to the Navy Opportunity Forum® (and subsequent Phase II.5 program) Eric Kelmelis, the CEO for EM Photonics commented: “We found working with
Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to be overall a valuable experience, particularly the Navy Opportunity Forum®. We were able to make several contacts there that resulted in partnerships and helped secure our Phase II.5 funding.” This final EM Photonics design is scheduled for flight testing in June and October of 2012. Given success in this flight test scenario, this technology will benefit many sectors including military, security, and surveillance. Specific applications include situational awareness in DVEs, long-range imaging, automatic target recognition, weapons detection, situational awareness in hostile conditions, monitoring of harbors and coastal areas, and all-weather imaging. Founded in 2001, EM Photonics is a recognized leader in accelerating computationally intense algorithms with commodity hardware platforms. Using off-the-shelf graphics processing units (GPUs) and custom-designed
FPGA-based embedded hardware, they have applied their technologies to many applications requiring high computational performance in data center, desktop, and embedded system form factors. EM Photonics currently markets a number of accelerated simulation tools such as ATCOM, which is a family of accelerated image processing tools used to compensate for atmospheric distortion. In addition to direct sales, they offer consulting services to government and prime contractors for algorithm acceleration and embedded system design.
Two CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 (HMM-265) land aboard the forwarddeployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2). Essex is part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group and is conducting operations in the Western Pacific.
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RF & Microwave Instruments, Sub-systems, and Components
Phase Matrix, Inc.
A National Instruments Company
Visit Phase Matrix, Inc. online at: www.phasematrix.com
Phase III Success: $2,000,000 in product sales Topic Number: N06-008 PHASE MATRIX WAS FORMED IN 1999 as a privately held California corporation. Since that time the company has been involved in the development and manufacturing of high quality, cost effective, RF and microwave test and measurement instruments as well as sophisticated RF/microwave components. Phase Matrix began its operations in a small facility within the “golden triangle” of Silicon Valley and gradually became a leading supplier of RF and microwave instrumentation to many DoD Test and Measurement programs (e.g., Air Force’s [BAE] Improved Avionics Intermediate Shop (IAIS), Marine Corps’ TETS & VIPER/T programs, Air Force’s [Northrop Grumman] F-15 Downsized Tester) as well as major test equipment Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs.) National Instruments (NI) became aware of Phase Matrix’s technology back in the 2003-2006 time frame when Phase Matrix was working with BAE Mission Systems, a Phase II “Fast Track” sponsor, on the development of their PXI Downconverter hardware; NI
14 • Profiles in Success
equips engineers and scientists with tools that accelerate productivity, innovation and discovery, and is the world’s leading supplier of PXI hardware and software. Consequently, a strategic alliance was formed between BAE Mission Systems, Phase Matrix, and National instruments promoting the concept of Radio Frequency/ Microwave (RF/MW) applications, such as Synthetic Instrumentation, employing the PXI platform. Through this relationship, National Instruments became interested in the Phase Matrix technology development of the PXI technology to expand their RF and microwave reach. Since this approach provided downconverters in the 100 KHz to 26.5 GHz range, it could potentially open the military K-Band market (at that time there were no commercially available downconverters covering this range with the PXI format). Subsequently, Phase Matrix was acquired as a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Instruments in May of 2011 due primarily to a culmination of the above events, as well as the deep professional and personal relationships garnered between both companies over the eight year time frame. Phase Matrix launched their family of PXI RF/ MW Downconverter modules to the marketplace in September of 2009 at Autotestcon 2009, the premier DoD Automatic Test system conference. Since then, Phase Matrix has sold PXI modules to commercial, DoD, and international clients. National Instruments has since taken over the sales and distribution channel for this product line and is providing global sales and support while Phase Matrix focuses on RF/MW development on the PXI platform. The key element required for movement to the PXI standard (initiated in the late 1990s time frame) was the need for a reduced “form factor” for the military and commercial test and measurement marketplaces. The PXI technology is designed for measurement and automation applications that require high performance and a rugged industrial form factor. At that time, RF/MW Down converters were available in a variety of large formats
such as chassis mount assembly, rack mount assembly, or larger modular formats such as the VMEbus Extensions for Instrumentation (VXI). Hence the military’s interest in developing a smaller “form factor“ offered by the PXI technology represented a modular instrumentation platform targeted specifically for test and measurement and automation applications in support of smaller foot print “rack/stack” systems, transportable test systems, portable test systems, and (ultimately) embedded test systems. With PXI, the user could select the modules needed for a particular application and integrate them into a single PXI system from multiple vendors. Employing modular PXI test and measurement components in support of military automatic test systems mitigates test system obsolescence and provides a tractable upgrade path for test systems; these systems must continually keep up with ever-changing and expanding military test system requirements over their typical 20-30+ years of operational support life. In the spring of 2009, Phase Matrix received a Phase II.5 award for continuing development, design and manufacturing of their PXI RF/MW technology. The primary objective of this “continuing development (CD)” contract was to validate a family of PXI Upconverter/ Synthesizer modules that, when integrated with supporting commercial off the shelf (COTS) components, would provide a 100 KHz–26.5 GHz stimulus generation and analog/digital modulation capability that complemented their Phase II Downconverter development. The resulting small form factor PXI stimulus source serves as a technology enabler for lighter and smaller portable and transportable “Synthetic Instrumentation” based test systems. This technology development also provides a replacement technology path in support of obsolete legacy instrumentation in both DoD and the commercial markets. A successful system demonstration of this Phase II.5 module set was conducted in the early October 2011 time frame in San Jose, CA for Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force representatives. Based on demonstration results and customer feedback, commercialization of the module set has been initiated. Michael Granieri, Vice President of Advanced Programs and Business Development for Phase Matrix, offers this advice for SBIR neophytes: “I think it’s extremely important to fully map out how your particular SBIR technology idea maps to the customer’s problem set over the long term, who your potential partners or customers would/should be going forward, how your technology can employ or work within the context of industry standards,
Microwave Components
Traditional Microwave Counters VXI Microwave Counters & Synthetic Instrumentation PXI Synthetic Instrumentation
QuickSyn™ Frequency Synthesizer
Phase Inc. mcan 109 Bonaventura Drive, San Jose CA 95134 m Tel: 1-408-428-1000 m www.phasematrix.com and Matrix, how one leverage your SBIR technology into the
commercial space (dual use). These are challenging system/business level tasks - probably equally or more challenging than the very technology that you are developing! These issues should be addressed and validated prior to and during your Phase I development to insure some probability of success going forward.” As a wholly owned subsidiary of National Instruments, Phase Matrix will continue to support its existing customer base as well as providing National Instruments with a K-Band capability through this PXI technology. The senior management team consists of experienced individuals who have successfully designed, managed, and delivered world-class, high-quality, dual-use products in support of both commercial and military applications. National Instruments (www.ni.com), headquartered in Austin, TX has more than 6,600 employees and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 13 years, Fortune magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. The Best Places to Work Institute named NI one of the 25 “World’s Best Multinational Workplaces” for the second consecutive year.
Profiles in Success • 15
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