The WMed Innovation Center was recently awarded a $34,757 grant from the Michigan Business Accelerator Fund (BAF) to support the work of client company SafeSense Technologies. The BAF is a state-funded program that is available to participating business accelerators in Michigan’s statewide SmartZone network. These funds are used toward the delivery of specialized services to assist advanced technology companies. This BAF award will be used for the development, fabrication, and field testing of SafeSense Technologies’ Smart Helmet Impact Sensing System. This is the second BAF grant the WMed Innovation Center has received in support of SafeSense Technologies, bringing the total BAF awards for the company to $49,680.
SafeSense Technologies provides innovative sensor technology using flexible electronics for the sports performance, physical therapy, and medical diagnostics markets. Unlike other helmet sensor solutions SafeSense Technologies’ sensors seamlessly integrate into the helmet and can provide a full profile mapping of the intensity and location of the impact (much like weather map). Location, as well as force of impact, is important when evaluating sports performance metrics and possible head injuries. SafeSense Technologies has tremendous potential beyond football helmets. As a platform technology, opportunity exists in other sports such as lacrosse, hockey and boxing, as well as in military and law enforcement situations. Beyond head impact sensing, the company’s technology can be used in any application where knowledge of impact force, as well as location is important, such as sports training aids and physical therapy.
Dr. Binu Narakathu, President/Chief Technology Officer of SafeSense Technologies said, “The BAF funding is instrumental to having product available for the fall football season. MEDC state-funding, like the BAF, as well as continuous support from the WMed Innovation Center have been the partners a small start-up like ours need for successfully launching a product. Without the BAF funding we may not have been able to get there – now it’s all steam ahead.”
SafeSense has been a client of the Innovation Center since January 2016 when the Innovation Center requested and secured an initial BAF award of $14,920. Recently, in December 2017, SafeSense Technologies became the first member of the Innovation Center’s newest co-working space, The Workbench. Designed with designers in mind, The Workbench is an engineering co-working environment for startup companies creating prototypes and minimum viable products (MVPs). The Workbench provides month-to-month access to low-cost physical science workspace and amenities in an entrepreneurial, innovative atmosphere. It provides networking opportunities, as well as access to on-site business tools and resources, helping technology companies grow to the point of taking on conventional leases at the Innovation Center or re-locating to existing facilities in the local community.
“The Business Accelerator Fund is a tremendous benefit to the WMed Innovation Center, which is the Kalamazoo SmartZone,” said Sandra Cochrane, assistant dean of the WMed Innovation Center. “These dollars allow us to help companies achieve critical milestones in their development, keeping them on the path to success.”