Ohio State Startups - Robotics, Sensors & Advanced Manufacturing

AwareAbility Technologies LLC

License fiscal year: 2018
Ohio State primary inventor(s): Lei Cao
College: Engineering
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Leadership: Vasil Hlinka
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Columbus, OH
Description: AwareAbility Technologies is bringing to market IoT sensors that are durable, able to function in harsh environments and have a 10+ year power life. The company’s tracking tags help businesses analyze data from almost anywhere in the physical world. This enables them to overcome barriers by gathering and processing data in austere environments through three core technologies: radiological power technologies, Internet of Things-based data collection and machine learning analytics.

Circular Wave Drive Partners Inc.

License fiscal year: 2015
Ohio State primary inventor(s): Jacob Martin; Yuan Zheng
College: Engineering
Department: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Leadership: Flavio Lobato
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Columbus, OH
Description: The robotics, aerospace and medical equipment industries rely heavily on speed-reduction technology. However, existing speed reducers have a short lifespan and are expensive to manufacture. Circular Wave Drive’s technology enables a full product line of low-cost, compact and highly-efficient speed-reducing gearing systems which overcome the limitations of both the Harmonic Gear Drive and Nabtesco RV. This allows Circular Wave Drive to disrupt both the value and premium markets. The company is focused on launching the technology in China due to the country's sizable command of the robotics market and aggressive push toward innovative speed-reducer technology.

Collaborative Concepts, LLC

License fiscal year: 2022
Ohio State primary inventor(s): Ming Chen
College: Engineering
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Leadership: Kevin Sickles
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Dayton, OH
Description: C7i seeks to commercialize a "GPS Denial Training Unit." These units are used to deny GPS reception to a single platform for training purposes. The product enables platform operators to experience the system impacts of lost GPS signals, allowing instruction for platform operators to train on alternative forms of navigation when a GPS system is compromised.

Matsaki Technologies Inc.

License fiscal year: 2020
Ohio State primary inventor(s): Sanjay Krishna
College: Engineering
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Leadership: Earl Fuller
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Columbus, OH
Description: Matsaki Technologies is developing a system that enables utility company crews to identify and evaluate the danger of natural gas leaks. This system uses infrared technology to detect danger from a safe distance, without exposing first responders or the public to harm. Matsaki is targeting use cases with both government and commercial enterprises.

Nikola Labs Inc.

License fiscal year: 2015
Ohio State primary inventor(s): Chi-Chih Chen
College: Engineering
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Leadership: Brian Graham
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Westerville, OH
Description:Nikola Labs is a wireless power company with an advantaged far-field technology that converts radio-frequency (RF) energy into direct current (DC) power. The company’s first application is predictive facility maintenance (PfM) system for manufacturing equipment, such as motors, bearings, pumps and gearboxes. The Nikola PfM system includes wirelessly powered temperature and vibration sensors, a transponder that powers the system, and a cloud-based software application that allows customers to view and analyze the data.

Tech4Imaging LLC

License fiscal year: 2008
Ohio State primary inventor(s): Liang-Shih Fan
College: Engineering
Department: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Leadership: Quassai Marashdeh
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Columbus, OH
Description: Tech4Imaging produces a non-invasive, non-destructive electrical capacitance volume tomography (ECVT) imaging technology for commercial and industrial use. ECVT provides 3D volume images by reconstructing electrical signals acquired from a capacitance sensor. Combining this sensor with advanced analytics software and consultation services, the company provides industrial process visualization, combustion volume imaging, multi-phase flow measurements and imaging that can be applied to energy, aerospace, automotive and pharmaceutical industrial processes.

TeraProbes Inc.

License fiscal year: 2015
Ohio State primary inventor(s): Kubi Sertel
College: Engineering
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Leadership: Niru K. Nahar
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Columbus, OH
Description: TeraProbes manufactures innovative, non-contact metrology systems for high-frequency electronic device and integrated circuit testing. TeraProbes’ proprietary test-bed consists of an automated probe station and virtual, no-contact probe tips, enabling S-parameter characterization for the entire mmW and THz bands. The highly accurate, no-contact system reduces probe wear and tear, as well as the high hardware and operation costs associated with on-wafer characterization.

Three Firefighters LLC

License fiscal year: 2021
Ohio State primary inventor(s): John Volakis
College: Engineering
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Leadership: Michael Maher
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Columbus, OH
Description:Three Firefighters LLC is developing technology to enhance the safety of first responders by improving tracking and accountability of emergency personnel. The company has developed the DoorBoss, a proprietary firefighting tool that limits fire growth by starving fire of oxygen, thereby helping to save lives and avoid property loss. The company will incorporate sensors into its DoorBoss and leverage technology developed at Ohio State to create an IoT-integrated system that can track and report biometrics and the location and movements of emergency personnel in real time.

ZiiROBOT

License fiscal year: 2018
Ohio State primary inventor(s): Yuan Zheng
College: Engineering
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Leadership: Yuan Zheng
Ownership status: Privately held
Headquarters: Columbus, OH
Description: ZiiROBOT is developing an active robotic walker using cooperative pulleys to enable a disabled person to walk.