BLUETECH:
BlueTech is a term that represents innovation companies involved in maritime (ocean and water-related) technology. Since San Diego is known as the largest BlueTech cluster in the United States we added it to the lineup of Most Innovative New Product Award categories this year. We are excited to introduce to you the three inaugural BlueTech finalists: Cardinal Point Captains, Planck Aerosystems, and Water Pigeon.
CARDINAL POINT CAPTAINS: DIVER 6
CPC is a Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business providing a broad range of maritime services focused on client satisfaction and safe mission accomplishment. We had Sales Manager, Alex Dowell, answer a few questions about CPC and Diver 6 here:
CONNECT: What’s your biggest achievement to date?
Dowell: In February of 2015, Diver6 was added to the Navy’s Authorized for Military Use list and we consider this to be a tremendous achievement because it not only proved our new life-saving technology was safe to use around Navy divers but it removed a major barrier to entry for the military market.
CONNECT: What does being a finalist in the Most Innovative New Product Awards mean to you?
Dowell: BlueTech is a growing and integral part of the San Diego economy and we couldn’t be more proud to have Diver6 considered among this group of finalists. Diver6 is a piece of diver safety equipment that we think will keep commercial, military, and search and rescue divers safer and having a product that is being recognized as innovative and potentially life-saving is tremendously gratifying.
PLANCK AEROSYSTEMS
A combination of advanced hardware and cutting edge image processing software enable Planck Aero UAS to tackle pressing problems for commercial and industrial maritime operators. Founder and COO, Dave Twining, answered a few questions about Planck Aerosystems here:
CONNECT: What’s your biggest achievement to date?
Twining: The first time we performed a fully autonomous mission from a customer’s boat was a huge achievement. They didn’t know our capabilities were even possible, but the system worked flawlessly.
CONNECT: What’s the biggest obstacle or challenge you’ve overcome?
Twining: Launching and landing on a moving boat at sea was certainly the biggest challenge. It is hard problem to solve and requires the right mix of experience in maritime aviation, drones, and control algorithms, which we have. Once we solved that problem, lots of opportunities opened up.
CONNECT: What does being a finalist in the Most Innovative New Product Awards mean to you?
Twining: It’s a huge honor. San Diego is such a vibrant technology hub, especially in BlueTech, and it feels great to be recognized among innovators in that community.
WATER PIGEON
PGN is an alternative solution to existing automated metering infrastructure (AMI) for water. Co-Founder, Sarp Sekeroglu, answered a few questions about Water Pigeon here:
CONNECT: What’s your biggest achievement to date?
Sekeroglu: Our biggest achievement to date was to sign up 5 major utilities in San Diego County for pilot tests in a relatively short time period.
CONNECT: What’s the biggest obstacle or challenge you’ve overcome?
Sekeroglu: The biggest obstacle was a clear path to IP protection. Our law firm, Pillsbury, reviewed our provisional patent and performed a patent scrub. The results came back clean and we are moving forward with patents applications.
CONNECT: What does being a finalist in the Most Innovative New Product Awards mean to you?
Sekeroglu: Being a finalist validates our vision. It proves that Water Pigeon resonates with people and it purposefully addressed a need. Being a finalist also brings us traction which helps us move forward.
For more information on the 2016 Most Innovative New Product Awards click here.