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Phase I
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37DEGREES, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Portable and modular system for long-term live cell & tissue culture imaging
Contact
748 TANAGER LN
Geneva, IL 60134--3152
NSF Award
2423518 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable a personal cellular video microscopy solution which will democratize the ability of scientists to visualize dynamic biological phenomenon on a regular basis and at an affordable cost. A large proportion of scientists in the US and globally are currently limited to single-frame time-point images, consistently loosing rich information and insights from cell culture-based experiments that multi-frame videos can provide over hours, days and weeks. Overcoming these limitations will empower the usage of cellular video microscopy into high-impact areas such as research efforts in academia, industry and within service-based contract research organizations (CRO) units, and in science education in university settings. While the former would result in augmentation of research and discovery efforts, the latter would empower the strengthening of STEM education domestically, particularly in the growing field of cell biology. The commercial impact of the project is the spawning of a next-generation cloud-based ecosystem that uniquely supports an exponentially growing library of cellular videos and analysis algorithms with social sharing and monetization paradigms, one that speaks seamlessly with integrated hardware devices located in common biological laboratories, field research and educational facilities.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to resolve key technical problems limiting cellular video microscopy. A first essential problem is keeping cell culture alive in their native incubated environments for extended periods of time (hours, days and weeks), while performing the video microscopy. Existing approaches of engulfing microscopes within large incubation chambers or placing microscopes within large incubators are expensive, cumbersome, contamination-ridden and / or space-intensive. In this project we resolve this problem by modifying a compact, portable and modular incubator with a specially designed optical port to allow for video imaging. This module then integrates with a newly designed video imaging module for automatic alignment and video capture. Seamless integration, multi-day automatic and stable video collection of live cellular samples will be technical results of the project. A second problem involves managing very large video data volumes (often in several Terabytes), analysis, storage and data sharing bottlenecks that ensue. This project resolves these problems by leveraging rapid advancements in Graphical Processor Units (GPUs) and device-to-cloud architectures. Technical results will therefore also include real-time on-board video analysis by GPUs to dramatically reduce data volumes and achievement of a cloud ecosystem to share processed video data.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ACATECHOL, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Anti-infective Foley catheters for long-term prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections
Contact
1396 POINSETTIA AVE
Vista, CA 92081--8504
NSF Award
2334168 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,982
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel anti-infective coating to mitigate catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). These infections often lead to severe complications, resulting in an estimated 13,000 annual deaths while incurring nearly $6.2 billion in direct and indirect U.S. healthcare system costs. The hybrid catheter technology aims to provide continuous protection against infections caused by biofilms, offering chronic antimicrobial and biofilm-repelling properties through a synergistic combination of biofilm-repelling and static antimicrobial surface moieties. The proposed catheter technology aims to demonstrate significant decreases in infection rates, improved catheter longevity, and broad-spectrum protection against pathogens to reduce the risks of infection associated with long-term catheter use, reducing the reliance of patients on antibiotics. The scope of this technology's application has broader potential beyond urinary catheters to include other catheter-based applications and acute in-hospital use medical devices. The overall technological objectives are to improve infection control practices and risk reduction for many common U.S. in-hospital procedures.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel device surface coating with enhanced anti-pathogen and biofilm resistance. The objective is to develop and validate in vitro an innovative catheter design that offers prolonged resistance to biofilm formation, superior to current single modality approaches. During this Phase 1 project, the anti-biofilm properties of zwitterionic moieties will be combined with the durable static microbicidal action of a Gemini-dicationic moieties into a single coating. Initial bench tests at the materials level demonstrate a significant reduction in biofilm formation superior to currently available methods. Invitro testing will be completed on the novel combined mode material to demonstrate reduced infection risks relative to existing antimicrobial Foley catheters. The proprietary material will then be integrated into manufacturing processes to prevent infection in catheter-use medical settings.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ACTUALIZATION AI LLC
SBIR Phase I: Reducing Medical Insurance Claim Denials with Code-Augmented Policies
Contact
14809 CARNATION DR
Tampa, FL 33613--1809
NSF Award
2423392 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,926
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project to provide a framework so that AI systems can follow rules given by humans, in the form of policies, laws, contractual agreements, or the like. This will allow for trustworthy chatbots and interactive AI agents, which are already becoming widespread amongst all industries despite their known limitations (particularly problems of hallucination) and inability to behave in accordance with the given policies. Actualization?s technology will streamline build the medical claims creation process, by allowing for complex insurance policies and regulations to be incorporated into the considerations of healthcare management systems. Given that virtually all industries with a customer interaction component are turning to chatbots, the economic impact of the project is significant. Furthermore, this work will advance the scientific and technological understanding of how to design rules such that they can be consistently interpreted not only by different humans, but by artificially intelligent systems. To establish commercial feasibility, market and customer hypotheses will be tested through a survey, customer discovery interviews, expert feedback, and the development and testing of a pilot prototype.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop an automated method for converting policies, rules, and laws into a format that can be understood and enforced by both humans and machines. It does this by using a combination of state-of-the-art natural language processing techniques developed through prior research on automated legal reasoning to convert policies and examples of that policy?s interpretation into code-augmented policies (CAPs), and to generate test cases designed so that human experts can evaluate whether the CAPs capture the intent and spirit of the original policies. The CAPs can then be integrated into existing frameworks, focusing initially on the domains of customer service chatbots and healthcare claims. Because legal, regulatory, policy, and contractual language are open-textured to allow for flexibility in interpretation, it can be difficult for automated systems to reason about whether a novel action is permitted. And because it is typically impossible to anticipate all possible boundary cases and implications of policies, writing policies can be difficult. Thus, this project will establish technical and commercial feasibility via three experiments designed to discover which AI approaches best overcome these technological hurdles, and which automatic measures of policy-CAP fit best reflect human preferences.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ADA TECH LLC
SBIR Phase I: Methods for Embedding User Data into 3D Generative AI Computer-aided-Design Models
Contact
65 PAMELA DR
Holliston, MA 01746--2055
NSF Award
2335491 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of a novel Artificial-Intelligence-powered generative design solution that is able to address the needs of industrial and consumer-product manufacturers by exploiting the abundance of data (social media, usage, telemetry) currently available. The proposed framework will create new opportunities for American design and manufacturing firms to better align their products with rapidly evolving consumer needs while reducing the product development challenges that currently exist. It also enables faster cycle times for product development and the near-real-time inclusion of consumer sentiment into product design. The proposed computational methods will translate consumers? digital insight into new ways to increase the quality of the design concepts and the diversity of consumer perspectives incorporated into AI-generated design concepts, thereby enhancing the designers? ability to innovate socially aware, consumer-centric products. This project will foster the design of novel, effective, and efficient design models, augment designers? creativity, promote designer-AI co-creation and bias mitigation, and bridge the gap between consumer-needs discovery, Design for Excellence (DFX) engineering, and social impact. This has ramifications for nearly every industry and application.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enable a generational leap in three-dimensional generative design capabilities by integrating qualitative and quantitative information into generative AI models for the efficient production of novel designs. The primary objective is to develop a testable demonstrator for fusing consumer data, data from the Internet of Things (IoT), and Design for Excellence (DFX) engineering specifications into 3D geometric data. The Phase I project will focus on exploring new methods for natural language processing, generative modeling, and data fusion models to integrate consumer data and technical requirements with IoT-based telemetric data, drawing inferences for product design, and building novel semi-supervised models to inject these data inputs into 3D CAD generative models. The project will determine how to directly connect consumer needs with functional performance and study the real-world effectiveness and efficiency gains from the generalizability of 3D generative design. The project will address several challenges of current generative design solutions, including the translation of qualitative and quantitative metadata into concepts, the control and iteration of automatically generated designs, and their seamless integration into manufacturing processes and workflows.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ADAVANCE NANOLYTICS INC
STTR Phase I: AAV QC using SANE Sensor
Contact
7223 ARBOR OAKS DR
Dallas, TX 75248--2201
NSF Award
2415309 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is it will demonstrate a plasmonic nanopore sensor device for all-in-one DNA loading characterization of adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) used for gene therapy. In the longer-term, the company anticipates that it will extend uses of this device to accurately test the drug or DNA/RNA loading consistency of soft nanoparticles such as exosomes, other viruses, and liposomes, to make this quality control (QC) technology applicable to all nanoparticles with biological applications and beyond. This project has inextricable interests in biochemistry, nanoengineering, photonics, and resistive pulse sensing which would be beneficial to encourage more students to pursue STEM degree through its outreach program. The PI will lead the company?s outreach in the Dallas County Community College District, whose mission is to build up the local workforce to today?s market needs, with nanosensor demonstrations and discussion of broad applications. The proposed technology also has the potential to drastically reduce the time and resource demands of AAV QC processes and increase success rates in early-phase gene therapy trials, accelerating FDA approvals for desperately needed treatments.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will demonstrate a plasmonic nanopore sensor device that will outperform existing analytical techniques by capturing multiple optical-electrical data types per AAV particle to enable, for the first time, unambiguous payload classification (single-stranded DNA versus double-stranded DNA, or empty) at low, pre-scale-up concentrations to optimize formulations in small batches, enabling significant savings in subsequent large-volume production. The proposed work will show feasibility of the proposed device to be nanofabricated in a scalable manner by electron beam lithography, namely optimize sensor nanofabrication protocol for accuracy and production reproducibility of the 3D plasmonic trap, and ensure accurate laser source alignment with bonded optics, and a photodetector collecting optical signals transmitted through the sensor. In addition, this work will optimize machine learning-based sensor discrimination between empty versus partly and fully loaded AAVs by optimizing the spectrum of AC pulse frequencies that scan each particle during trapping. Once successfully tested, the prototype?s nanofabrication and machine-learning workflows will be ready for further development into the company?s first commercial device after a subsequent Phase II.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ADVANCED CARPET RECYCLING LLC
SBIR Phase I: Advanced Manufacturing Technology for Composite Lumber
Contact
2928 BLUE QUAIL LN
Bedford, TX 76021--4161
NSF Award
2415610 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will reshape synthetic lumber production and contribute to more environmentally friendly and durable solutions within the rail sector. The standard wooden railroad tie must be chemically preserved to maybe last 25 years causing over 21 million ties to be replaced annually. This synthetic innovation extends the crossties? life and eliminates the need for harmful preservation chemicals, which currently threaten disadvantaged communities. By sourcing whole, used carpets to produce a synthetic rail crosstie, this project removes some of the annual 4 billion pounds of carpet waste; thus, saving landfill space from both future carpet and wooden crosstie disposal. Proving a reproducible, streamlined process by using 100 percent of waste product will advance knowledge into recycling efforts. The $7B railroad industry faces two major challenges in using wooden crossties: newly harvested, immature timbers causing 20% installation failures, and the U.S. creosote shortage causes outsourcing. This technology solves these issues and will meet the industry?s stringent regulations where other synthetics fall short. The project will first supply crossties to short-line railroads while waiting on needed certifications to enter class 1 rails.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project for developing railway crossties will enable repurposed waste carpet to be converted into a form with the structural and performance characteristics required for the product to be used as a crosstie. The product must pass standards set by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-Of-The-Way Association (AREMA). By using a one-step manufacturing technique, this project has the potential to realize a lower price point with a superior-quality product compared to the competition?s three-step processes. The innovation centers around the repeated layering of carpet material, application of resins, and simultaneous application of heat and pressure needed to reach the required crosstie properties and size. Phase I?s research will investigate the high chemistry risks involved in upscaling this technology to produce larger, more complex pieces while minimizing waste, eliminating hazardous waste, and optimizing process time. Validating chemical reactions in a hot fuse environment is critical. The project must also identify the correct resins needed to ensure the variable insource material does not hinder the final product. Scientists from two nationally known laboratories will assist in identifying and mitigating these chemical risks, identifying needed resins, and running necessary tests to meet AREMA standards.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AEPNUS TECHNOLOGY INC
SBIR Phase I: Novel electrolyzer architectures to enable electrified chemical manufacturing at industrial scales
Contact
2828 FILBERT ST
Emeryville, CA 94608--4513
NSF Award
2321842 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,986
Start / end date
09/15/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the creation of an economical and climate-friendly method to produce valuable commodity chemicals from inexpensive feedstocks such as chemical waste streams. Chemical manufacturing accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions: waste produced from manufacturing battery chemicals and recycling Lithium batteries could be converted back into input chemicals. The technology focuses on developing new electrodes that use electricity to produce acid and base from sulfate-containing waste streams. This innovation will stimulate the US manufacturing sector by improving energy efficiency, competitiveness, and environmental sustainability. This technology could eliminate 3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions through electrification of chemical manufacturing, while recycling or eliminating the production of a hazardous waste. Moreover, the technology is more economical than current methods, increasing the likelihood of widespread adoption. Replacing outdated manufacturing plants with clean, efficient electrolysis systems would provide high-paying jobs and tax revenue for the region.
Conventional salt electrolysis systems rely on titanium electrodes coated with a precious metal catalyst (e.g., iridium oxide) to enable efficient operation. The metal catalysts used for these coatings are expensive, rare, and fragile. This means that the capital cost of existing salt splitting systems is high, while their operating conditions (e.g., temperature, current density, and operating efficiency) are fairly limited. This innovation will develop gas diffusion electrodes that can help produce acid and base electrolytically from sulfate waste streams at industrial cost parity. The unique microstructure and materials design of the electrodes minimizes the use of precious metal catalysts to lower costs, enhances lifetime for robust operation under corrosive environments, and achieves higher operating temperature (>75 C) and improved current density (5000 A/m2) for lower operating costs. In this project, Design-of-Experiment principles will be used to determine the best combinations of binder, catalyst, and filler/support materials to outperform conventional systems. Optimal chemical and electrochemical properties will be sought for high electrical conductivity, ability to withstand corrosion in highly acidic environments, and minimal oxidative dissolution of catalyst. The durability and efficiency of the new electrodes will be tested first at the lab scale (25 cm2) for 100 hours and then scaled up to 500 cm2 cells for pilot-scale analysis. In all studies, actual sodium sulfate waste obtained from industrial partners will be utilized. The effects of impurities ions in the feed stream on the electrode and membranes will be tracked via spectroscopy and electron microscopy.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AERHART, LLC
STTR Phase I: Passive Actuation for Enhanced Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Capability
Contact
6461 KANAN DUME RD
Malibu, CA 90265--4039
NSF Award
2334180 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
05/15/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project provides increased efficiency and range for urban air mobility (UAM) air-taxi systems. This research allows aircraft to reconfigure in-flight, enabling the craft to land in cityscapes while still being able to fly significant distances. As UAM aircraft primarily use electric power, this technology will facilitate the transition to greener modes of transport in cities, while alleviating surface level congestion due to traffic. The primary focus of this project is on improving the safety of in-flight reconfiguration to promote the well-being of passengers and payload. The UAM sector is set to rapidly expand in the coming years, providing services and creating jobs. By laying the groundwork for improved performance while maintaining high safety standards, the sector, passengers, and public will benefit.
Aerodynamically-actuated wings on urban air mobility vehicles come with the risk of asymmetric deployment. This project aims to mitigate risks by producing a closed-loop aileron control method that promotes symmetric deployment while simultaneously ensuring that even an asymmetric deployment does not induce aircraft instability. Wind tunnel data will be generated for a number of static and dynamic fold conditions. Methods for governing when and how fast reconfiguration takes place will be tested to bridge the control gap between motorized and aerodynamic actuation. Implementation of these methods will allow for operations resembling motorized actuation, without the associated weight penalties and disadvantages. Wind tunnel data will be used to produce the closed-loop aileron control method which will then be tested in the wind tunnel to verify that the level of expected roll torque variance is observed throughout asymmetric reconfiguration. Success will show a marked decrease in roll torque variance compared to reconfiguration where no closed-loop corrective action is taken. Together these methods and risk mitigation techniques will overcome the need for a mechanical actuation device, reducing the complexity and barriers to entry of reconfigurable designs. Introducing such benefits to size constrained aircraft will translate to a better performing urban air mobility sector.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AGIL THERAPEUTICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes through Cryoablation of the Duodenum
Contact
155 EASTWOOD DR
San Francisco, CA 94112--1227
NSF Award
2321818 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/01/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase (SBIR) I project is a novel procedural treatment for the 5-10 million people in the U.S. with medical refractory Type 2 Diabetes. Current treatments require self-management of insulin injections and/or medication, frequent visits to specialists, and a controlled diet. Patients can fail to achieve optimal glycemic control due to the individual medication dosing requirements, safety, and tolerance limits. Poorly managed patients can suffer from adverse events including heart attack, stroke, nerve damage, blindness, and early death. This Duodenal Cryoablation system aims to provide an outpatient, minimally invasive procedure for controlled ablation of the duodenum utilizing a standard, cost-effective endoscopic approach. If successful, the novel therapy will decrease or eliminate insulin and/or medical therapies in patients suffering from medical refractory Type 2 Diabetes.
This SBIR Phase I project aims to develop a novel cryoablation system that delivers a highly controlled and targeted cryoablative agent for freezing the duodenum. The system is based on emerging evidence of duodenum remodeling upon ablation resulting in restoration of glucose control and regulation. The technical engineering milestones include managing high pressures of the cryogenic fluid within extreme dimensions including small luminal diameters and long length, within a unique and tortuous path. A key objective is to produce a system ensuring consistent cryogenic fluid delivery down a small diameter, insulated, long length lumen to a set of sprayers placed in the duodenum. A second objective is the development of a method of consistent cryogenic fluid distribution through the sprayers to the target tissue. The final objective is the development of bench methods and testing capabilities validating consistent cryogenic fluid delivery. The design will be tested in preclinical models and the harvested tissue evaluated via histopathological analysis for ablation efficacy.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AIKIDO TECHNOLOGIES INC
SBIR Phase I: Detailed Engineering of 100kW Self-Upending Floating Wind Platform
Contact
3101 20TH ST
San Francisco, CA 94110--2714
NSF Award
2346763 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is in the development of a next-generation floating wind platform that could dramatically reduce the time, cost, and equipment/vessel requirements of installing commercial-scale floating wind farms. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be over $1 trillion (T) invested in floating offshore wind projects around the world, totaling up to 250 gigawatts (GW) of capacity. A major challenge facing the floating wind industry is the massive size of turbines and floating platforms, prohibiting them from fitting in existing United States (US) port infrastructure. Furthermore, the supply chain is severely constrained as only a few shipyards and port facilities in the world, can build, assemble and load-out these massive structures. The proposed platform solves these challenges because it can be assembled and transported horizontally, significantly reducing the required depth, overhead clearance, and overall footprint.
The intellectual merit of the project relates to the development of the upending procedure for an offshore floating platform with a pre-installed turbine. The platform can be assembled and transported in a horizontal position, and then unfolded into its vertical position through an upending process that only uses ballast water. During this project, the upending procedure of the platform with a pre-installed turbine will be studied to determine the optimal design to ensure the turbine can withstand the mechanical forces associated with assembly, transportation, and upending, as well as the materials challenges associated with an offshore environment. In addition, the upending procedure will be modeled in a variety of conditions to determine the maximum weather conditions in which the upending procedure can safely occur.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ALGOFACE INC
SBIR Phase I: Face Analyzer / Semantic Search
Contact
37204 NORTH TRANQUIL TRAIL
Carefree, AZ 85377--9633
NSF Award
2335287 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,996
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is significant as the company?s advanced Face Analysis AI technology will accelerate AI projects by 18-24 months. This innovative technology is poised to have a positive influence on various sectors such as retail and public safety, offering applications that go beyond facial recognition/identification. By focusing on collaborative human-AI facial tracking and analysis, this technology addresses ethical concerns and mitigates the risks and consequences of traditional facial recognition technologies. The project promotes diversity and inclusion in STEM fields by emphasizing a diverse team to combat bias and equity issues in technology development. The technology can contribute to national defense efforts by enabling efficient search for facial attributes of interest based on semantic queries. This aspect is particularly relevant in public safety scenarios with large crowds and high-security concerns. By reducing bias, improving accuracy, and addressing privacy and ethical concerns, the technology can have a lasting impact on the AI industry while advancing the welfare of the American public and supporting security efforts.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to create Face Analyzer/Semantic Search, an AI system bridging descriptive text and facial photos. Unlike conventional face recognition systems, which necessitate a probe photo for comparisons, the company's innovation seeks to eliminate this requirement. This approach offers benefits in terms of time, cost, and accuracy, challenging the conventional wisdom in the field. The project's initial challenge involves assembling diverse training datasets with labeled face photos and textual descriptions, establishing a scalable data pipeline to enhance accuracy and mitigate bias. The second challenge is assessing the accuracy of facial attribute classification models derived from text and images across various attributes, image types, sizes, and ambient conditions. The third challenge involves optimizing model size and computational efficiency for cost-effective deployment. The proposed solution entails constructing a comprehensive training image dataset, expanding computer vision capabilities, developing a natural language processing module, and implementing a matching system. Key milestones for product development include creating precise facial image indexing modules, enabling the extraction of facial attributes from textual descriptions, and efficiently deploying the system in the cloud. The innovation promises to streamline and enhance facial analysis, potentially reshaping the field of face AI.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ALL-IN PEPPERS AND SPECIALTY PRODUCE LLC
SBIR Phase I: Developing an Indoor Method to Produce Morel Mushroom Fruiting Bodies
Contact
673 FOXTREE CIR APT 5
Burlington, WI 53105--1694
NSF Award
2325697 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project creates disability-friendly food production equipment for growing highly nutritious morel mushrooms. Creating equipment that is disability-friendly allows more work for an immensely underserved population and a greater employee base for farmers, who regularly need more employees than they can find. The project also focuses on farmers in both rural and urban food deserts, where nutritional needs aren?t being met. Leftover colonized agar media and fruiting bodies will be dehydrated and extracted into further nutritional supplementation. Morels and their mycelium are shown to be rich in nutrients and have many health benefits. Making the mushrooms easier for the general public to purchase consistently will improve the health and well-being of Americans. The higher supply of morel mushrooms will allow for their use in widespread nutritional supplements and a renaissance of mushroom cooking in the culinary world.
This project is based on a novel, self-contained method to grow fresh morel mushroom (M. esculenta) fruiting bodies on agar media using a single inoculation step. There are no existing commercial production methods that meet the market demand. The main supplier of fresh morels is through foraging, which is extremely labor intensive, ecologically destructive, and has a small window of procurement opportunity every year. This severely limits the availability of this incredibly nutritious and delicious food source. Two major technical hurdles must be overcome in order to bring this production method to market. The first hurdle is demonstrating microclimatic conditions for consistent production output. The project must identify a modified approach from the preliminary method in order to definitively determine appropriate microclimatic conditions. The second aim is to incorporate protective measures from adverse effects, such as the ongoing Trichoderma spp. epidemic which plagues mushroom farms worldwide. SBIR Phase I success will be measured by the ability to retain production output while producing morels with consistency of taste equal to or better than wild morels. Taste will be evaluated by a team of chefs who are experienced with their use.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ALLIUM ENGINEERING, INC
SBIR Phase I: High-performance, chloride-proof, ferritic steel for cold spray coating of steel rebar
Contact
6 BIRCH ST
Peabody, MA 01960--3324
NSF Award
2231660 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,993
Start / end date
04/01/2023 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop and commercialize a new type of steel rebar which resists corrosion but outperforms existing rebar and is cost competitive. The advanced steel rebar from this project will enable safer and longer lasting concrete infrastructure, requiring fewer repairs and replacements. This technology will provide increases in the lifetimes of concrete structures thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also supporting a number of clean energy technologies, such as offshore wind, hydroelectric, and nuclear power, all of which require long-lasting reinforced concrete.
This SBIR Phase I project aims to develop a novel custom composition of stainless steel to serve as a protective outer cladding for low-cost carbon steel infrastructure. Several technical challenges will be addressed including tailoring of the composition to be highly corrosion resistant in high chloride environments, maintaining a ferritic structure and mechanical compatibility with a carbon steel substrate, and developing a cold-spray compatible processing technique. This project promises to shift the paradigm in corrosion resistance of steel and concrete infrastructure, enabling a novel coating composition and method to integrate into existing steel mills. If successful, this technology will enable low-cost steel components to reach the lifetimes of stainless steel components at less than half the price, extending lifetimes of key infrastructure as much as 3-fold and avoiding massive public costs and carbon emissions.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY MATERIALS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Dry Powder Pressing Additive Manufacturing (DPP-AM)
Contact
730 SW STALEY DR
Pullman, WA 99163--2077
NSF Award
2419486 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,915
Start / end date
12/01/2024 – 11/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be the development of a new additive manufacturing technique for ceramic materials. Technical ceramics provide unmatched performance in harsh environment applications found throughout the energy, defense, healthcare, and IT sectors. Applications requiring miniaturization or process intensification would benefit from a novel additive ceramic manufacturing that can form internal microfeatures and combine different materials into functional layers for chemical reactions, imaging, or energy transfer. This proposal will advance from proof-of-concept to a functional prototype of a dry powder pressing additive manufacturing printer. This work will improve our understanding of the fluidization and aerosolization of ultrafine and dense nanopwders that are prone to compaction and static adhesion. The high-resolution from dry powder pressing additive manufacturing will lower monolith fabrication cost an order of magnitude to accelerate the adoption of emerging ceramic technologies. No existing ceramic production technology can combine multiple functional materials in the same layer or produce internal flow features at the proposed sub-mm scale. The technology will be leased or sold to advanced ceramic fabricators to enable further technology developments in the ceramics industry. The manufacturing will first be applied to the energy market, but has the potential to impact defense and health imaging technologies as well.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to scale the throughput capacity of a dry-powder pressing additive manufacturing technique that can fabricate multifunctional ceramic monoliths with internal flow structures. Five key capabilities distinguish dry-powder pressing additive manufacturing from existing ceramic additive manufacturing methods: i) applicability to materials not amenable to laser sintering, ii) co-deposition of multiple materials with high lateral precision, iii) densification of materials typically incapable of pressureless sintering to full density, iv) a quality control step can reject a layer prior to adhering to prior layers, and v) co-deposition of fugitive material can form internal gas routing that eliminates costly and complex ceramic sealing technology in harsh environment applications. The proposed work will advance the technology by creating a high-throughput printing system to deposit patterned 50 cm2 layers in a single pass, representing a 100x throughput increase. Automation will also address two precision targets; layer deposition below 7.5mg/cm2 and lateral resolution less than 0.5mm. The scope of work will advance the science of dry powder deposition and transfer to refine the processing capability for thinner layers and finer microfeatures while simultaneously engineering a high throughput device representative of pilot-scale manufacturing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AMERICAN PRIME SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS LLC
STTR Phase I: Commercial applications of CropMAP (Monitoring, Analysis, and Prediction) for oil seed fields
Contact
201 DAVID L BOREN BLVD RM 124A
Norman, OK 73072--7337
NSF Award
2423424 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project involves the development and evaluation of the Crop Ecosystem Monitoring, Analysis, and Prediction (CropMAP) tool. This project addresses the critical need to support food security profitability by optimizing resource management and decision-making through advanced monitoring and predictive analytics in crop production. The significance of this research lies in its potential to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability across the United States, thereby improving the lives of farmers by increasing yield outputs and reducing losses. Furthermore, the successful commercialization of CropMAP could generate substantial economic benefits, including increased tax revenues and job creation in the agricultural sector. By aligning with NSF?s mission to advance the progress of science, this project contributes to the scientific understanding of agricultural ecosystems and impacts related fields such as environmental science and economics.
This project represents a significant technical innovation in the field of precision agriculture through the development of the CropMAP tool, a high-risk effort with substantial potential for high impact. CropMAP integrates novel algorithms and models with real-time data feeds for enhanced monitoring and predictive analytics of crop conditions. The primary innovation involves the application of machine learning techniques to satellite images and climate data to predict crop yields, water usage, and soil health more accurately than current methods allow and the use of artificial intelligence to make actionable insights timely available to technical and non-technical users. The goals of this project are to validate these models' effectiveness in real-world settings and to establish a scalable framework for its application across various agricultural contexts. The project will employ rigorous methodological approaches, including the use of time-series image analytics and data-driven diagnostic models, to achieve these objectives. Through its focus on innovation and scalability, the project aims to set a new standard in agricultural practices, ultimately facilitating better resource management and sustainability.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AMHYTECH LLC
SBIR Phase I: Solvent-Free Ammonia Electrolyzer: Efficient Ammonia to Hydrogen Conversion at Ambient Conditions
Contact
16790 CHANDLER RD APT 2319
East Lansing, MI 48823--7139
NSF Award
2423448 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,127
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project centers on overcoming hydrogen storage and delivery challenges using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier. As of 2023, the global hydrogen market is valued at $242.7 billion and is expected to grow to $410.6 billion by 2030. Despite its vast potential, the deployment of hydrogen in decentralized applications, such as refueling stations and remote power generation, remains restricted due to logistical hurdles related to its storage and transportation. Ammonia offers a viable solution, due to its efficient transport capabilities, high hydrogen content, and carbon-free nature, positioning it as a key facilitator in the hydrogen economy. Unlocking ammonia?s potential as an energy carrier requires an efficient ammonia cracking solution. This project proposes an innovative ammonia cracking system based on electrolysis that allows for the on-site conversion of transported ammonia back to hydrogen under ambient conditions. By simplifying hydrogen logistics, this technology aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in sectors such as transportation and stationary power generation, which account for over 74% of global emissions. This advancement not only promises substantial commercial returns but also supports environmental sustainability and enhances technological understanding in clean energy.
The intellectual merit of this project stems from its innovative strategy for liquefying ammonia under mild conditions and efficiently cracking it through a tailored electrolysis system. Key technical challenges include achieving solvent-free ammonia liquefaction and creating an optimized electrolysis setup for effective ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion at ambient temperatures. The Phase I objective focuses on designing and optimizing a stable, conductive system for ammonia liquefaction, alongside developing an electrolysis-based cracker to maximize hydrogen conversion efficiency and purity. The research will involve comprehensive physicochemical and electrochemical studies, material characterization, and integration efforts to ensure optimal performance across various operational conditions. Anticipated outcomes are a high hydrogen yield with minimal energy consumption, scalable system design, and enhanced robustness under real-world conditions. This project aims to substantially improve the viability and sustainability of ammonia as a clean, carbon-free hydrogen source.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AMRF LLC
SBIR Phase I: Design and Develop Decade-Bandwidth Beamforming Integrated Circuits
Contact
1811 RONIE WAY
San Jose, CA 95124--3631
NSF Award
2415054 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,993
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the design and implementation of wideband radio-frequency front-end systems with phased arrays, which are poised to transform wireless communication hardware development. The front-end market continues to expand with a fast annual growth rate of >13% till 2030 to reach 60 billion USD. However, this market is highly fragmented in terms of applications and frequency bands. While customized front-end components are commonly developed for specific applications, the potential for wideband designs to unify and standardize solutions has yet to be realized at an economic scale. The proposed Radio-Frequency Fractional Hilbert Transformation design theory in this project establishes a crucial foundation for developing ultrawideband beamforming integrated circuits. In addition to this type of products, the company plans to expand its portfolio by incorporating wideband functional blocks such as power amplifier modules.
This Small Business Innovation (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on exploring the feasibility of designing ultra-wideband beamforming integrated circuits using the innovative Radio-Frequency Fractional Hilbert Transformation design theory. Through this project, the company aims to validate the ultra-wideband beamforming concept, assess its performance impacts, identify crucial design parameters, and create a prototype to demonstrate its effectiveness in a 1x4 phased array. As the initial phase of the project, the team will design and implement multiple radio-frequency signal processing units using commercially available components and printed circuit boards. These units form the fundamental building blocks for the project's objectives. Upon successfully completing the second step?assembling and characterizing the performance of ultra-wideband beamforming circuits using signal processing units?a 1x4 phased array demo system will be developed. This will highlight the technology's capabilities and potential. The ability of this array to scan radiation patterns across frequencies from 2 to 18GHz will be critical in demonstrating the successes of Phase I and setting the stage for Phase II of the project. Additionally, the company will explore integrated circuit-based solutions to further enhance the implementation of ultra-wideband circuits within the project.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ANEURISK, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Aneurisk - A Clinical Decision Support Tool to Manage Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Patients
Contact
5504 BEACON ST
Pittsburgh, PA 15217--1904
NSF Award
2422725 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will provide a novel software solution that enables clinicians to potentially improve the treatment of patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Abdominal aortic aneurysm is the ballooning of a major blood vessel in the body that if left untreated can rupture, leading to almost certain (85% mortality) death. AAA is the 13th leading cause of death (1 in 100,000) in the United States. The current clinical standard for surgical intervention relies on measuring the diameter of the aneurysm from medical images. This undesirable method leads up to 23.4% of patients rupturing before reaching the diameter that indicates safe, surgical intervention/repair. Therefore, there is a need to help doctors identify and treat high-risk patients who remain below the threshold of safe aneurysm diameter. This STTR project supports the development of a unique, artificial intelligence, solution that combines aneurysm diameter with stress, strain, shape analysis, and patient information to predict future patient outcomes and aneurysm growth. The patent-pending technology can disrupt how doctors currently watch and follow aneurysms by providing them with a risk profile to avoid dangerous rupture events allowing them to provide the patients with the right treatment at the right time
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop and validate machine learning models for risk classification, growth projection, and wall stress prediction for abdominal aortic aneurysms. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is the 13th leading cause of death in the United States, with a mortality rate exceeding 85%. The current clinical standard for intervention is based on the diameter of the aneurysm, however, between 7 and 23.4% of patients rupture before the threshold is reached. The Aneurisk team is developing artificial intelligence-based tools to accelerate image, biomechanical, and morphological analyses. Additionally, the Aneurisk team will perform cross-validation of previously trained long short-term memory recurrent neural networks to forecast diameter and a classifier that predicts patient outcomes (remain stable, eventual repair, or eventual rupture). The toolset is effectively a method to achieve virtual surveillance to provide clinicians a method to better understand when to treat patients. If successful, the Aneurisk approach will reduce the number of surveillance visits to track diameter, reduce patient anxiety, and reduce costly and high-mortality rupture events.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ANOVA BIOMEDICAL, INC.
SBIR Phase I: 3D printing of personalized vascular grafts using novel elastomeric resins
Contact
237 KING RD E
Ithaca, NY 14850--9448
NSF Award
2431804 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,811
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is that the proposed resin, and the devices whose manufacturing it enables, will advance treatment of cardiovascular disease ? one of the leading contributors to medical spending and death in the United States. Current vascular grafts used for treatment of vascular disease have poor long-term success and lead to a tremendous amount of patient suffering, rehospitalization, reoperation, and premature death. Thus, there is an urgent unmet need for improved treatment options. Successful translation of the proposed technology will result in an entirely new class of vascular prosthetics for this patient population to improve quality of life and decrease morbidity, all while alleviating a tremendous financial burden on the American healthcare system. Commercialization of this technology will generate new jobs in the biotechnology/additive manufacturing sector in upstate NY ? a region that is severely lacking in these industries ? demonstrating a positive potential impact on the economic advancement of the region.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project consists of three distinct objectives that will further development of our product, and significantly derisk the technology. The development of our novel 3D printing resin in this proposal is focused toward production of personalized, elastic, bioresorbable vascular grafts. Development, characterization, and optimization of this resin is the primary objective. Once the resin is produced, its ability to be manufactured into personalized vascular grafts will be demonstrated by using human CT angiography images to 3D print vascular prosthetics. Finally, vascular grafts produced from the resin will be implanted in the rat carotid artery to demonstrate the bioresorption of the material over time as an elastic neo-artery regenerates in its place. To date, we have demonstrated the ability to produce one-size-fits-all bioresorbable grafts that fully transform into elastic neo-vessels. This work will enable the growth of that technology for use in situations that can benefit from a personalized device ? pediatric patients, arteries with diameters below 6mm, and branching arteries, to name a few.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ANYGLABS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Autonomous System for DNA Sequencing Prep in Space and Austere Environments
Contact
5770 OBERLIN DR
San Diego, CA 92121--1723
NSF Award
2344191 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to democratize access to advanced diagnostics tools by building an automated, miniaturized system for DNA extraction and preparation for sequencing for both in space and austere environments. This automated and miniaturized approach has the potential to contribute to a higher throughput acceleration of in-space R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization for biotechnology. DNA sequencing is used for various purposes in research and medicine ? for example, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, monitoring of pathogens in water supplies and food, and study of the effects of the environment on human, crop, and pet health. Yet nearly 50% of the world?s population has little or no access to such advanced diagnostics tools, and at least 2.2 billion people lacked safe drinking water in 2022. Even though there is high interest in genetic testing among individuals of low socioeconomic status, such tests are inaccessible due to cost or availability. The global DNA sequencing market size of $11B in 2022 is expected to grow to over $50B by 2032. This project is disrupting the status quo and addressing an unserved market by developing a small, portable, automated, high throughput, and cost-effective system for extracting DNA from a variety of biosamples to prepare them for next-generation sequencing. The in-space environment has the potential to leverage microgravity advantages for a wide range of biotechnology-based advances but is currently capacity and throughput-constrained. This project will further accelerate a high-throughput, faster iterative approach to in-space R&D to achieve more of the disruptive solutions possible from microgravity.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes a unique approach to technology development ? building the technology for space and microgravity, the most extreme environment. Currently, no such automated, miniaturized technology exists in space for DNA extraction and sample preparation. Space is a unique environment that can offer novel scientific insights. The availability of advanced tools in microgravity, such as the technology proposed in this project, will enable scientists to push the boundaries of knowledge across a variety of disciplines, from aging and longevity research to cancer medicines to stem cell expansion and organoid production in space. Furthermore, by solving for space ? an extreme, harsh environment with many constraints ? the technology will also solve for Earth?s austere environments and provide a high-caliber diagnostic system for populations in remote, underserved, under-resourced, and extreme environments, which includes military field operations for national defense and security. This technology is pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery in space and democratizing health and welfare on Earth. The first product is only the beginning of a series of products for portable advanced end-point-analysis tools. The platform technology will spin off subsequent devices that will eventually enable in-home or point-of-care diagnostics.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AQUAPAO, INC.
STTR Phase I: Solar-driven, thermally responsive membranes for off-grid water purification
Contact
93 ELM RD
Princeton, NJ 08540--2523
NSF Award
2213218 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$256,000
Start / end date
09/15/2022 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this STTR Phase I project will be the development of a solar-based water purification solution that has the potential to overcome the persistent barriers to safe drinking water access plaguing the more than 81 million Americans living in counties with elevated water quality issues. As the frequency of climate-related natural disasters and the prevalence of contaminated drinking water supplies (e.g., from detection of per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ?forever chemicals?) increases, there is an urgent need for easily implementable water treatment options to maintain access to safe drinking water. Offering an off-grid, cost effective, energy-free approach, this technology is suited to provide a safe drinking water solution that can be cost-effectively deployed without requiring a water infrastructure overhaul. In contrast to existing water treatment approaches, which rely on energy inputs and infrastructure investment, the proposed technology is both sustainable and reliable, and has the flexibility, modularity, and scalability needed for facile deployment. Potential commercial impact of this disruptive technology is high, considering the number of communities currently seeking water treatment solutions that would be easily met with the technology, and the subsequent jobs created related to installation and maintenance.
The technical innovation of this project comes from the development of a solar absorber gel (SAG) membrane that passively purifies water using natural sunlight or a waste heat source. This system is designed to selectively capture clean water at low temperatures and release it under natural sunlight at higher temperatures. Compared to other passive solar water purification methods, which rely on the energy-intense evaporation and condensation processes, this technology does not rely on a phase transformation but instead absorbs and releases liquid water due to minor temperature swings and can achieve the critical temperature for water release within a matter of minutes. This system holds promise for both modular and stationary water purification in a sustainable manner. Phase I project will focus on demonstrating performance capabilities to meet drinking water standards, improving water collection rates, and enhancing the durability of the membranes. The objectives include: 1) investigating the properties and performance of SAG membranes with an open-cell membrane structure that dramatically improves the water purification rate; 2) performing detailed investigation on the SAG rejection rate to harmful mixed impurities and meeting National Sanitation Foundation standards; and 3) assessing the long-term reusability of the SAG membrane, including on accelerated degradation studies.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ARCLET LLC
SBIR Phase I: Health Communication Software Integration with AI and LMLs To Target Localized, High-Quality Health Information Messaging
Contact
18 MAIN ST
Asheville, NC 28803--1428
NSF Award
2432755 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,920
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is to enhance public health communication by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) technologies. This project aims to support health communicators in creating, customizing, sharing, and measuring the effectiveness of health messages tailored to diverse cultural and linguistic contexts. By addressing the challenges of delivering accurate and engaging health information, this innovation seeks to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities in communities across the United States. The project has significant commercial potential, with an initial market focus on health agencies, hospitals, and community-based organizations. Driven by the unique value proposition of providing a user-friendly platform that integrates multiple health communication functions tailored to diverse audiences, the project offers a promise to advance scientific and technological understanding while offering a comprehensive solution to meets the specific needs of health communicators and the patients they serve.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the critical need for culturally and contextually relevant health communication. The research objectives include developing capabilities to generate and customize health messages, creating a dataset to train novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, and evaluating the effectiveness of these messages in real-world settings. The proposed research involves collecting health communication materials, processing and tagging this data using Natural Language Processing (NLP), and employing large language models (LLMs) to generate initial drafts of health messages. Customization tools will refine these messages to reflect local cultural and linguistic nuances. The project will implement A/B testing to determine message effectiveness and collect feedback for continuous model improvement. Anticipated technical results include a scalable platform that enhances the ability of health communicators to deliver effective health messages, supported by robust data on message usage and impact. This research aims to bridge the gap between advanced AI technologies and practical health communication needs, ultimately contributing to improved health outcomes and reduced disparities in underserved communities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ARED LLC
SBIR Phase I: Portable Full-Recirculation Incubator for Salmon Incubation/Restoration
Contact
730 CASE AVE
Wrangell, AK 99929-
NSF Award
2403690 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project is in creating a new salmon incubation system to restore the wild salmon population of natural streams. Food security continues to escalate as a global crisis, especially for healthy whole foods. The proposed technology impacts both wild salmon (affecting both commercial and subsistence economies) and farmed salmon by offering tools for wild salmon restoration and advanced economic/environmentally sound aquaculture practices in salmon farms, eliminating toxic chemical use and dramatically less freshwater use. This project brings a new, self-contained, portable, full-recirculation incubation system to rear salmon eggs to the emergent fry stage of salmon development without the use of toxic chemicals and decreasing the amount of freshwater used from millions to hundreds of gallons. Further, the societal value of community involvement (STEM) in reversing extinction trends in wild salmon is immeasurable.
Wild salmon requires embryonic development with water from their natal stream. Hence, it is now recognized that the conventional central multi-million-dollar hatchery facilities are no longer suitable as they cannot accomplish this. This SBIR Phase 1 project intends to develop an incubation technology that will preserve genetic integrity, use water from the wild salmon?s native watershed, eliminate toxic chemical use, afford the ability to track restoration progress and avoid million-dollar hatchery capital costs. It will create a new salmon egg/alevin incubator by re-engineering and combining two proven salmon incubation systems together in a compact portable size. Among other features, the system will be designed for tight temperature control, having almost no vibration, and the ability to withstand major earthquakes. The system is expected to increase the survival of young fry several-fold; using water from their indigenous source, otolith mark them with a natural mark and restock the fry back into their wild stream of origin.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ARTIMATIC TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Artificial Intelligence for Automated Custom Avatar Creation
Contact
4190 TUCKERSHAM LN
Tucker, GA 30084--2233
NSF Award
2334192 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
12/01/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will create a way for experienced animators to rapidly make high quality three-dimensional (3D) content, and for novices to create engaging 3D content without the need for years of technical training or powerful but expensive software. Engaging computer graphic content has revolutionized education, entertainment, medical, and virtual environments. This project will use artificial intelligence (AI) to unlock the full potential of 3D graphical content, a $17.21 billion annual market, by alleviating major bottlenecks in the workflow. While there are more than 62,000 animators currently employed in the United States, fewer than 10,000 work specifically at 3D animation studios, and a smaller proportion of them possess the skills for weight painting. Weight painting is a vital technique in 3D design that adds realism to characters, enabling them to move smoothly during animation. Compounding the difficulty, weight painting 3D models is a tedious task that can take an expert up to 2 days (or around 16 work hours) to manually complete one model. Smaller animation shops often do not have the expertise to perform this task at all and are unable to compete for bigger, more lucrative contracts. Furthermore, researchers and students at universities around the world are often unable to perform this weighting task, which reduces their ability to create animations for medical, athletic, and entertainment uses in augmented reality or virtual reality.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will utilize deep neural networks (DNN) to create 3D models from text input as well as a weight-painted rig from an industry-standard skeleton system and a 3D model mesh. The technology converts the mesh and skeleton into a format that can be processed by machine learning (ML) code, introducing a brand-new data structure. Additionally, the project will explore an adaptation of the COO (Coordinate List) matrix, a sparse matrix that performs effectively with neural networks but faces challenges when applied to machine learning tasks in 3D space where coordinate ordering is uncertain. The most difficult issues, such as weight painting and modeling, have been hampered by four specific limitations: 1. Lack of ground-truth, 2. Limited training data, 3. Lack of a-priori ML architecture, and 4. Lack of robustness and specificity for non-gaussian data. This project will make inroads into each of these areas by establishing a methodology for incorporating and transforming non-gaussian data for DNN analysis and will create a comprehensive data training set while establishing a domain specific ground-truth based on the canonical Turing test.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ASIMICA LLC
SBIR Phase I: Boosting Industrial Bio-Fermentation with Microbial Stem Cells
Contact
1938 HARNEY ST STE 305
Laramie, WY 82072--3037
NSF Award
2222602 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,100
Start / end date
05/01/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to reimagine bio-manufacturing with a novel platform technology that could boost the yields of many products, including food additives, biomaterials precursors, biofuels, and pharmaceuticals. The technological advancement addresses a fundamental issue that limits conventional bio-fermentation, which is that producing cells suffer limited health and viability in exchange for higher yields. In this proposal, genetic tools will be used to divide the labor of cell reproduction and product synthesis into two different cell types, called stem cells and factory cells. As older factory cells become exhausted, productivity is maintained by new factory cells, which are born from the stem cell population. The approach may be particularly well suited to biofuels and other molecules that are difficult to produce in large quantities by conventional bio-fermentation because the product is toxic to the cells that make it. It could be applied toward increasing the profitability of existing bio-processes and also for bringing new products to market, which are currently too difficult to produce. In this project, the team seeks to demonstrate the benefits of producing a fuel (limonene) and a dairy enzyme (chymosin), as proof of its application in biofuel and agricultural sectors. Broad industrial implementation will advance bio-manufacturing toward the ?green? revolution, contributing to the development of cleaner industries and decreasing US and global reliance on fossil fuels.
This project aims to solve two major limitations of microbial fermentation processes: metabolic exhaustion and genetic drift. These are nearly universal problems in the industry. Highly producing cells can become inactive due to the lack of metabolic resources, cytotoxic effects of products, and mutations that break the biosynthetic pathway. In this project, Microbial Stem Cell Technology (MiST) uncouples growth and production by establishing a multicellular system. One cell type is dedicated to product synthesis (factory cells), while another (stem cells) is responsible for cell division and the generation of new factory cells. As older factory cells lose productivity, the bioreactor is continuously replenished with new factory cells, derived from the stem cell population. By maintaining an active factory cell population, MiST-supported cultures are expected to exhibit increased production longevity and higher overall yield than conventional bio-fermentations. This project aims to validate the technology in E. coli engineered to produce limonene, a precursor for biodiesel and other useful chemicals. In the factory cells, T7RNAP will drive high-level expression of a suite of biosynthetic enzymes. Since limonene has a cytotoxic effect on producing cells, MiST-supported factory cell replenishment is expected to increase productivity by more than 2-fold compared to the conventional limonene-producing strains.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ASTRIA BIOSCIENCES, INC.
SBIR Phase I: A Blood Test to Detect Cerebral Aneurysms
Contact
1123 PINEWOOD DRIVE
Pittsburgh, PA 15234--1809
NSF Award
2335396 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
12/01/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is expected to advance the diagnosis and treatment of cerebral aneurysm (CA). CAs affect 2-5% of the population. Nearly 30,000 Americans each year suffer CA rupture without warning, resulting in approximately 50% mortality. CAs are largely asymptomatic, and therefore usually undetected until ruptured. By providing the first blood test able to detect and evaluate CAs, this project will enable monitoring at frequencies not possible today. The technology will also offer a dynamic rupture risk score that can be integrated into the patient care routine to better guide preoperative, invasive diagnosis and surgical interventions. Decreased testing costs enabled by this technology will promote more regular monitoring and early action, benefiting minorities and other groups with lower socioeconomic status who struggle to access preventative healthcare. Ultimately, this project has the potential to lead to improved patient outcomes and better quality of life for patients living with unruptured CAs and reductions in healthcare costs, as well as new insights into CA pathogenesis. The technology will bring peace of mind to those in high-risk groups and their families.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to advance the first simple, whole blood-based diagnostic test to detect the presence and monitor the progression of a cerebral aneurysm (CA). The project will develop a dynamic rupture risk score as well as novel aneurysm subgroupings. Currently, CAs can only be diagnosed with cerebral imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography angiography. These approaches are not suited for regular screening due to prohibitively high costs and potential risks. This project will exploit the fact that aneurysms are dynamic and exhibit different cytokine signatures over time. With a carefully selected panel of cytokines and a proprietary model, these inflammatory signatures can be reliably differentiated in CA patients with unruptured and ruptured aneurysms. This project will generate a robust dataset of CA patient blood samples, with a focus on increasing sample representation from underserved populations. The dataset will be used to train a proprietary probabilistic equation to develop a risk of rupture metric. Data will be stratified using machine learning-based principal component analysis to create distinct aneurysm subgroups with key cytokines of interest. This analysis will open the door for precision-medicine molecular therapy against specific drivers of inflammation in those patients.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ATMOSENSE, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Optimized High Surface Area Functionalized Nanomaterials for Parts Per Billion (PPB) Gas Sensing Using Machine Learning Models
Contact
5414 OBERLIN DR STE 150
San Diego, CA 92121--4751
NSF Award
2423212 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,991
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable the discovery of new materials used in microchip gas sensors for fast detection of harmful gases. The company proposed this project to promote the progress of science through development of advanced materials analysis tools that can help predict which materials should be made for detecting difficult target gases, such as formaldehyde and methane. Formaldehyde is a colorless, carcinogenic gas which is present in various sealants and resins used within the home. Methane is an outdoor greenhouse gas which is more than 80x more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Significant market opportunities exist for development of low-cost, high sensitivity microchip gas sensors which can be integrated into various devices (air purifiers, air conditioners, wearable electronics, IoTs, etc.) to diagnose the air quality of our surrounding environments in real-time. The company is also pursuing a commercialization path for another developed gas sensor market segment (ozone). However, this SBIR Phase I project proposes new R&D technologies for rapid discovery and synthesis of complex nanomaterials at manufacturing scale, which can provide a sustainable competitive advantage for future detection of other difficult target gases.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes using machine learning-based materials discovery methods to model electron exchange sensing mechanisms at the target gas (formaldehyde, methane)-nanomaterial interface. This approach can help narrow down which high surface area, noble metal decorated metal oxide nanomaterials need to be synthesized via advanced experimental methods. Key objectives to be accomplished during this Phase I project revolve around accelerating development of candidate nanomaterials by integrating high-throughput synthesis and experiments with first principles computations and state-of-the-art machine learning models. Commercial gas sensors which use thin film metal oxide materials for formaldehyde gas detection typically require significant heating and have difficulty distinguishing among other cross-interferent volatile organic compounds (such as ethanol and isopropyl alcohol). Methane gas is highly stable and unreactive with thin film metal oxide materials used in chemiresistive gas sensors, even when heated to high temperatures. Machine learning-based predictions will help inform the synthesis of candidate high surface area, noble metal decorated metal oxide nanomaterials. Further materials characterization will determine nanomaterial morphology, particle size, surface area, interface active sites, and formulation stability before depositing onto micro-electromechanical microchip electrodes (with integrated micro-hotplates) and conducting gas sensor testing with an outside facility.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ATRILITY MEDICAL LLC
STTR Phase I: Development of Automated Post Operative Rhythm Identification Through Computerized Evaluation of Atrial Signals
Contact
455 SCIENCE DR STE 120
Madison, WI 53711--1067
NSF Award
2423318 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project stems from the development of methods to display and diagnose heart rhythms more accurately and continuously after cardiac surgery. Inadequate post-operative rhythm monitoring remains a significant concern in over 400,000 cardiac surgeries in the United States (US), 30-50% of which result in arrhythmias. Arrhythmias, especially when missed or diagnosed late due to inaccurate or delayed monitoring, often lead to worse patient outcomes, including stroke, cardiac dysfunction, heart failure, and death. These issues are associated with hospital expenses exceeding $9,000 per hospital stay per patient within the growing $8-billion US post-operative cardiac care market. Beyond the significant economic impact, more accurate and continuous post-operative cardiac rhythm monitoring would provide substantial, potentially lifesaving benefits to human health.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to address the limitations of current post-operative rhythm diagnosis using standard surface-based electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. The inadequacy of atrial signal quality makes it challenging or impossible for providers to interpret rhythm accurately. Additionally, significant variations in patient and ECG characteristics limit the utility of current rhythm monitoring systems, impacting the optimal care of critically ill patients. This project will develop and validate a method for continuous rhythm diagnosis and display using the highest quality atrial electrogram. The diagnosis method will be developed, validated, and optimized with real patient data, ensuring adaptability to varying patient, rhythm, and ECG characteristics. The anticipated outcome is a shift from the current labor-intensive, non-real-time, and inconveniently displayed methodology, which requires specialized training, to a real-time, more accurate, continuous, and easily accessible diagnosis system. If successful, this project is expected to substantially improve post-operative care and establish a more accurate standard for post-operative rhythm assessment.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AUDIOT, INC.
STTR Phase I: Using Audio Analytics and Sensing to Enhance Broiler Chicken Welfare and Performance by Continuously Monitoring Bird Vocalizations
Contact
311 FERST DR NW STE L1334
Atlanta, GA 30318--5602
NSF Award
2335590 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will be in enhancing the well-being of chickens on poultry farms and in equipping growers with effective tools to monitor bird conditions. As chicken is a widely consumed source of live-animal protein globally, there is a growing consumer preference for ethically raised animals. The project addresses this demand by fostering improved welfare practices in poultry farming. There are collaborative movements with major producers and institutional consumers to establish evidence-based welfare standards impacting entire supply chain. With a declining agricultural workforce in the United States, it is essential to have automated mechanisms to extend a farmer?s capabilities. This project will develop a smart monitoring system for the birds meeting these needs, resulting in improved bird welfare and amplification of the farmer?s capacity.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project uses audio monitoring and machine listening to measure animal behavior. Since poultry operations differ significantly from farm to farm and over the life of the chicken as it grows from chick to a mature bird, the machine learning algorithms must adapt. The monitoring systems must be appliance-like in that they do not require expertise or any more than minimal involvement on the part of the farmer. This research will result in the advancement and productization of acoustic machine learning algorithms which search out unusual behaviors in the animals in their environment and provide early indications of distress, sickness, discomfort, and feed and water issues to the grower based on intelligent listening and inference. Acoustic approaches do not disturb the animals, are more robust than video for long-term deployment in dusty environments, and operate around the clock and in the dark. By providing early actionable insights to the grower, this technology can correct problems early, thereby improving not only the animal?s welfare, but their productivity as well. By deploying inexpensive microphones at multiple locations in a grow-out house, activities and problems can be localized, bringing precision livestock technology to flock-based animal management.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AVANPORE, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Organic Solvent Nanofiltration Membrane Process
Contact
21C OLYMPIA AVE
Woburn, MA 01801--6307
NSF Award
2403678 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will be enhancement of filtration capabilities across a range of industries. The project will develop a novel membrane filtration process to address the market need for energy-efficient separation and recovery of products on the molecular level from industrial process streams. This is critical across a range of industries. As an example, every day 100M barrels of crude oil is processed in refineries around the world by thermal distillation, a process that uses ~1% of global energy use. In contrast to these high levels of energy use membrane based separations have potential to provide a 10-fold increase in energy efficiency. This efficiency can also be leveraged across a range of industries including pharmaceuticals and production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). This project?s novel process will increase energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of the purification and recovery of products which will be enabling for chemical, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical industries alike.
This SBIR Phase I project will develop a novel membrane separation technology to address the energy-efficient separation of small molecules from industrial process streams for a range of industries. Separation/recovery of molecules in organic solvents in the Molecular Weight range of 150-2000 Da is currently carried out by distillation, solvent extraction, or crystallization. Energy-intensive distillation dominates the separation of organic solvent mixtures (MW< 2,000 Da). Pressure-driven membrane processes such as organic solvent nanofiltration (OSNF), and organic solvent reverse osmosis (OSRO) are needed since they consume less energy vis-à-vis distillation. Industrial implementation of OSNF and OSRO processes is currently limited due to the limited solvent and thermal resistance of commercial polymeric membrane materials. Advances in polymeric membrane?s chemical and solvent stability are needed to rival the industrial success of membrane-based water treatment. This project will develop functionalized nanoporous membranes from commercial plastic. The engineering polymer utilized in this project will provide exceptional solvent and chemical resistance and outstanding thermo-mechanical properties. The polymer is functionalized by a reticulate synthetic methodology to form a composite membrane with separation properties in the OSNF range. The membrane preparation methodology will be advanced towards the separation of Active Pharmaceutical Intermediates (APIs). OSNF process for separation and purification of APIs from a range of industrial organic solvents will be developed.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
AXPRO SEMI
SBIR Phase I: RISC-V and FPGA Pipeline-Coupled Heterogeneous Compute Microprocessor Architecture and Emulation Software Tools to Dramatically Improve CPU Performance
Contact
882 LOUISE DR
Sunnyvale, CA 94087--4138
NSF Award
2403483 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop economical, green, and powerful computers for a hyperconnected, intelligent world. These scalable computers, from wearables to cloud-based systems, will revolutionize traditional computing, making artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, cryptocurrency, and big data more affordable and sustainable. The ongoing data explosion requires smart, instantly-analyzed, handheld, battery-operated, content-driven, and voice-image recognized access to information. Users demand secure, private, upgradable, evolving, dependable, and economical connectivity anytime, anywhere. Battery-powered supercomputers in wearables and IoT devices will significantly enhance productivity, quality of life, and flexibility. These advanced computers will provide personalized features tailored to individual needs, ensuring families are safer, healthier, and more secure. Ubiquitous connectivity with voice-controlled access will enable new, unpredictable experiences, continuous learning, increased productivity, and improved lifestyles by balancing work and family time. Real-time generative AI prompts will assist us in daily life, remind us of forgotten tasks, teach us and our children, enhance healthcare, and suggest entertainment and food options.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to revolutionize computer architecture by shifting from the traditional 60-year-old von-Neumann instruction computing to flexible content computing. This novel concept involves executing application software content as hardware images customized by the content to enhance computer metrics. Traditional computers rely on pre-defined instruction sets and hardware components, so that application software can be compiled into a sequence of selectable pre-defined hardware executables. This method is inefficient and consumes high energy, as instruction interpretation is more resource-intensive than the actual computational actions. The proposed innovation eliminates the dependency on instructions while retaining computational capabilities, thereby alleviating the data-bandwidth bottleneck. A novel hardware architecture augments a standard CPU pipeline with user-configurable hardware units. A novel compiler orchestration layer automatically generates a programmable hardware image that befits an identified software content. Flexible content computing is expected to significantly improve computer metrics, including: Super Scalar Instructions Per Cycle exceeding 30, performance increasing from 2 to 100, price reduction of 1/2 to 1/10, power reduction of 1/2 to 1/100, and code compaction by 1/3 to 2/3 times. These advancements promise to enhance computational efficiency and sustainability, setting a new standard in computer architecture.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Amplified Sciences, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Development of a SERS-based diagnostic platform for multiplexing ubiquitous inflammatory markers in cancer.
Contact
1281 WIN HENTSCHEL BLVD
West Lafayette, IN 47906--4331
NSF Award
2348543 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,750
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project stems from the fact that cancer causes approximately 10 million deaths yearly worldwide, and the economic burden on cancer patients in the United States alone is estimated to be around $21 billion/yr, excluding lost productivity. Over 600,000 people die from cancer in the United States each year, and cancer cases among the younger population are on the rise. Currently, only a handful of cancers, such as breast, colon, cervical, and prostate, have recommended early screening, and sadly, 70% of cancer deaths are caused by cancers without recommended screening. Early detection, coupled with accurate monitoring and surgery in appropriate cases, appears to be the ideal strategy to improve outcomes and quality of life and reduce healthcare costs. The availability of novel diagnostic technology for minimally invasive biomarker analysis using biofluids to accurately predict malignancy potential would greatly benefit patients and clinicians in the early diagnosis and management of deadly cancers. Development of the technology proposed herein would have a broad impact on the cancer diagnostic space in terms of accurate early detection and diagnosis, quality of life, mortality, and healthcare burden.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop multi-marker diagnostic assays to bridge a critical gap from biomarker discovery to diagnostic assay translation. This project leverages principles from synthetic chemistry, enzymology, spectroscopy, and engineering, leading to a novel biosensing platform that couples Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) and a protease turnover assay to provide highly accurate methods for biomarker detection. This project will lead to developing next-generation sensors to meet the unique requirements for a multi-molecular protease activity assay from highly viscous, proteinaceous clinical samples and deliver a stackable assay workflow readily accessible to clinical laboratory staff with rapid turnaround. The technological hurdles that will be addressed during Phase I will include: 1) synthetic development of ultrasensitive SERS-active dyes and their conjugates with substrates of proteases associated with high-grade dysplasia in pancreatic cysts and other cancers, and 2) development and optimization of a multiplexed multi-protease turnover assay employing the aforementioned substrates using an automated-SERS detection platform with high-throughput capability for eventual commercialization in a CLIA lab setting. This technology has the potential to be transformative due to its multiplexing capability, high sensitivity and selectivity, cost-effectiveness, and reliable performance in complex biological fluids.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BACTRIA PHARMACEUTICALS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Combating Multi-Drug Resistant Gram-negative Healthcare-Associated Infections
Contact
820 PEAKVIEW RD
Boulder, CO 80302--9472
NSF Award
2310453 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,937
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop therapeutic drugs that restore antibiotic sensitivity in bacteria that cause severe infections in patients that are hospitalized or receiving healthcare for another condition. Antibiotics are paramount to modern medicine. In addition to treating infections and controlling their spread, these drugs enable safe surgeris, facilitate childbirth, and provide treatments for diseases such as cancer. However, as microbes evolve and develop resistance, these life-saving drugs are losing effectiveness. Eleven potent and specific small molecules have been identified that restore antibiotic sensitivity in these bacteria. Bloodstream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by Gram-negative bacteria are two severe healthcare associated infections that despite current treatments cause significant excess mortality (150 deaths/1,000 patients), longer hospital stays, and incremental costs estimated at nearly $50,000 per patient. Developing therapeutics that restore the sensitivity of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) Gram-negative pathogens to commonly used, well tolerated antibiotics addresses a major unmet medical need and would be transformative for patients and physicians.
This project involves developing small molecules to restore the sensitivity of Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria to commonly used, well tolerated antibiotics. The role of bacterial efflux pumps in MDR Gram-negative bacteria is well documented. These pumps are virulence determinants essential for infection, and by exporting antibiotics across the bacterial cell envelope they play a key role in antibiotic resistance. Eleven potent and specific small molecule inhibitors of bacterial efflux pumps (EPIs) have been identified. These EPIs are in early-stage lead optimization and this project involves three foundational assays: cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), membrane permeability, and in vitro antibiotic combination assays, followed by in vitro characterization, safety pharmacology, and liability screening. Cryo-EM provides insight into the mechanism of action and binding of these EPIs to the efflux pump, enabling in-silico docking studies and the design of new analogs. Some prior EPI research failed due to membrane permeabilization, a property that can result in apparent in vitro efficacy. Cryo-EM data together with results from in vitro efficacy and membrane permeability assays allows early deselection of poor-quality compounds, focusing screening studies on the most promising EPIs. This project may provide insights into links between MDR, persister cells, and virulence in Gram-negative pathogens.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BASS AGRITECH, INC
SBIR Phase I: Long-Term Railcar-Mounted Wheel Bearing Monitors
Contact
300 LON RD
Rogersville, MO 65742--6200
NSF Award
2423352 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$269,642
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is in improving the efficiency and safety of railroads by accelerating the commercialization of long-term railcar-mounted wheel bearing monitors. These devices can provide live temperature monitoring of railcar wheel bearings in transit, enabling railroads to proactively prevent derailments caused by overheating of bearings. This technology could dramatically reduce the economic impact of damaged equipment and infrastructure: the 2023 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio which inspired this innovation resulted in over $2 billion in damages. Furthermore, these devices can be deployed at a cost of at least two orders of magnitude lower than the cost of existing track-based defect detectors, providing railroads with a far better solution at a lower cost. The potential benefits of this technology extend beyond railroad finances: many trains carry hazardous materials, and derailments run the risk of spilling carcinogens and other toxic substances, damaging ecosystems and harming nearby communities. This innovation can drastically lower the risk of these catastrophes.
The intellectual merit of this project stems from its goal of ascertaining the effectiveness of wheel bearing monitors deployed on railcars long-term. The primary innovation inherent in this project is the monitoring device, which will be designed to withstand the harsh environment of railroad use, update sensor readings over a cellular connection, and recharge in transit via a novel axial flux generator harvesting energy from the rotation of the railcar?s axle. The research objectives revolve around quantifying sensor durability on a railcar truck, axial flux generator feasibility in railroad IoT devices, wireless sensor network reliability in a railroad environment, and digital temperature sensor accuracy and response time on a railcar wheel bearing. It is anticipated that the technical results of this research will conclusively demonstrate that wheel bearing monitors of this type are suitable for long-term deployment in a railroad environment.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BEIROBOTICS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Unmanned Aerial Payload Systems for Live-line Access
Contact
1717 E CARY ST
Richmond, VA 23223-
NSF Award
2136680 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$256,000
Start / end date
09/15/2022 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I project is the potential use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) applications in performing inspections and repairs on a variety of live transmission equipment without the need for manned helicopter or bucket truck crews, reducing the time linemen are in harm?s way. The cost of transmission grid inspections and maintenance may decrease, leading to more frequent routine inspection and more timely and proactive inspections of infrastructure with potential for failure. Transmission grid operators may have a more resilient grids with lower losses thanks to increased and improved data from frequent inspections. The American people can potentially benefit from a more resilient grid with fewer outages and more consistent delivery of electricity. Fewer line losses conserve energy and reduce the amount of fossil fuels burned to generate electricity locally.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) inspection capabilities enabling access to utility infrastructure unreachable and/or difficult to reach by current methods. Inspection, maintenance, repair, and auditing processes for electrical utility infrastructure are costly and hazardous to personnel. Current UAS-mounted payload technology has demonstrated initial success with inspecting connectors by approaching horizontally-arranged transmission conductor sets from above. Vertically-arranged conductors that cannot be approached from above represent a significant portion of transmission infrastructure. The project?s research seeks develop UAS payload system technology that delivers linemen?s tools to vertically-arranged, high voltage transmission infrastructure by approaching from the side and from below. To accomplish this research, new approach methods will be designed, engineered, constructed, and rigorously tested in de-energized and live environments to prove viability. Completing the research objectives of the project may establish commercial feasibility for the next generation of UAS payload technology in the electrical utility sector, paving the way for a safer and more efficient national electrical grid.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BEKEN BIO, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Liquid Biopsy Diagnostic for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer Targeting Novel Extracellular Vesicle Biomarkers
Contact
9276 SCRANTON RD STE 200
San Diego, CA 92121--7703
NSF Award
2423675 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on advancing a novel ovarian cancer (OC) diagnostic to enhance patient outcomes significantly. This initiative introduces a pioneering method for identifying biomarkers within extracellular vesicles (EVs), early markers specific to cancer circulating in the bloodstream. By targeting cancer EVs in a minimally invasive blood test, the project aims for unprecedented sensitivity and specificity in early detection. Success in this endeavor could pave the way for adapting the approach to develop diagnostics for other cancer types. The global market for OC diagnostics, currently valued at $1.3 billion and growing at an annual rate of 7%, reflects increasing incidence rates in younger populations and a growing emphasis on early detection strategies. A successful outcome from this project would position any resulting products favorably in the broader landscape of cancer detection technologies.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a highly sensitive, minimally invasive laboratory test to detect early-stage ovarian cancers (OC) by assaying relevant biomarkers on circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) in patient plasma. EVs provide significant advantages in sensitivity and patient outcomes over tests using circulating tumor cells or cell-free tumor DNA, as they are secreted by living cancer cells within the primary tumor. This project will utilize a novel technology to identify key proteins in EVs from various OC subtypes, engineering an assay to differentiate between patients with malignant tumors and those without cancer with high specificity. The second objective is to employ a machine learning tool to perform diagnostic classification, providing actionable information to clinicians regarding the presence of a tumor. Successful completion of these objectives will facilitate the development and validation of scalable workflows for the diagnostic assay during Phase II, with the goal of having a laboratory-developed test ready for commercialization by the end of Phase II.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BERKM INC
SBIR Phase I: Transparent Clay-PET Nanocomposite for Lightweight Packaging with Extended Product Shelf Life
Contact
22 BOND ST APT 615
Watertown, MA 02472--3758
NSF Award
2408935 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,424
Start / end date
06/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project includes reducing plastic pollution, food waste, and CO2 emissions. The project focuses on new and economical ways of manufacturing clay-polyethylene terephthalate(PET) nanocomposite. The nanocomposite displays significantly improved material properties. The improvement in properties enables the use of up to 20% less plastic per package and reduces food and beverage waste by extending product shelf-life 5X-6X. The end beneficiaries of the technology are consumer packaged goods companies. Using the proposed technology, they can save costs from raw materials and product shelf-life extension and meet their sustainability goals. The company has several patents and trade secrets that have been developed over 30 years and the chemistry concept behind the project can be used to develop multiple additive product lines for different polymers. The estimated total addressable market size for inorganic polymer additives is $33B. The company intends to commercialize initially in specialty packaging followed by carbonated drinks.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to make clear PET soda bottles with a 2-3X improvement in CO2 barrier that displays industry acceptable yellow index. The team can achieve 5-6X improvement in the CO2 barrier on lab-scale films and is working to convert lab-scale performance to the final soda bottle package. This project aims to understand the barrier performance and haziness of the packages made from our clay-PET composite. The team will use a variety of microscopy and characterization techniques to study the nanocomposite through the bottle making process to determine if particle agglomeration, rapid crystallization, and/or micro-voids are causes for haziness. Depending on the findings, the team will develop co-monomers, high-temperature injection processes, and different compatibilizers to manage haze while maintaining CO2 barrier properties.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BETAFELD LLC
SBIR Phase I: CAS: Upcycling Farm-level Food Waste to Accelerate the Transition to a Circular Economy
Contact
245 FIRST STREET
Cambridge, MA 02142--1200
NSF Award
2335238 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
12/15/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project facilitates the upcycling of farm-level food waste using an innovative technological platform to connect farmers and buyers. Of the more than one hundred million tons of U.S. food waste generated yearly, an estimated twenty percent is comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables wasted at the farm level due to surplus or because the produce does not meet stringent aesthetic sales standards. This project connects farmers to additional buyers for whom aesthetics is not relevant, providing them with lower-cost materials and creating a circular supply chain. This reduction in food going to landfills will decrease methane emissions from landfills. Positive environmental impacts will also be discernible in the communities surrounding landfills through cleaner air, lessened water and soil contamination, and improved human health. As aesthetically imperfect and surplus fruits and vegetables enter the food supply chain, more affordable food will be available, combating food insecurity and promoting social fairness.
This SBIR Phase I project combines artificial intelligence and a powerful prescriptive analytics engine to build an innovative solution for mitigating farm-level food waste. The project?s primary innovation is creating a material valorization database for customers to access known and new alternative uses for food waste. Verification of saleable produce images will protect customer liability and improve material traceability. Novel custom decomposition optimization will account for produce aging, storage parameters, shipping schedules and consolidation, and transportation logistics to address farm-level supply chain challenges and optimize operations. Carbon-equivalent emissions reductions will also be available for each transaction. Beyond these features, obstacles such as service outages from high customer traffic and poor potential performance from neural networks will also be addressed. The project will address the complexity of large-scale transactions in optimizing farms, buyers, and operation logistics, providing a powerful, vital tool for achieving a circular economy.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BEYOND SILICON, INC.
SBIR Phase I: strain-relief interconnection and encapsulation of perovskite/silicon tandems
Contact
1101 E CHERRYWOOD PL
Chandler, AZ 85249--5622
NSF Award
2423304 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is to increase the competitiveness of the United States in photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing through the development of advanced perovskite/silicon tandem technology. Photovoltaics (PV) are an important energy source to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, and its annual deployment needs to quadruple to meet that target. However, PV companies are suffering with low gross profit margins due to little-to-no product differentation. Perovskite/silicon tandem technology offers >30% higher efficiency than today?s best-in-class silicon PV technology. This improved efficiency could drive down manufacturing cost of PVs and increase the profitability of US PV manufacturers. The high efficiency panel also further discounts the balance-of-system cost, lowering the levelized cost of electricity, which, in turn, could accelerate the deployment of PV as the dominant energy source to power a sustainable future.
The intellectual merit of this project is in the demonstration of strain-relief interconnection and encapsulation technologies for perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaics. To address the challenges associated with the temperature-sensitive and mechanically delicate perovskite materials, this project will seek to first understand both the thermal and mechanical stress thresholds of tandem devices and then implement metallization and encapsulation strategies to minimize the thermal and mechanical stresses during the module fabrication processes, delivering reliable tandem modules.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BIOCOGNON LLC
SBIR Phase I:Combinatorial Platform for the Discovery of Improved Molecular Recognition Components for Use in Therapeutic and Diagnostic Antibodies
Contact
2403 SIDNEY ST STE 255
Pittsburgh, PA 15203--2194
NSF Award
2418011 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,550
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the fundamental improvement of crucial antibody components that recognize and bind therapeutic or diagnostic targets. Modern antibodies are usually engineered as protein chimeras comprised of different parts, including one to several molecular recognition domains that mediate binding. The proposed research will integrate breakthroughs in next generation DNA sequencing and synthetic and computational biology to create a combinatorial high throughput platform for generating better recognition domains. The core aim is to creatively and efficiently use genetic information from patients, pathogens and antibodies for the advancement of therapeutics and diagnostics across a spectrum of diseases. The platform could expedite the design and discovery of current antibody-based therapeutics to reduce the enormous costs and time required to bring these drugs to market. The platform is ideally suited for the development of new classes of therapeutics where very rapid, adaptable and inexpensive response is required, such as in truly personalized treatments of continuously changing tumors or in rapidly evolving viral pandemics where passive vaccines need to be generated at scale.
The proposed project will demonstrate that a novel yeast-based high throughput screening platform is able to efficiently generate molecular recognition domains that specifically recognize clinically important targets. The proof-of-concept target antigens are a human receptor/ligand pair important for the immunosuppression of certain cancers and a coronavirus surface protein that mediates infection by binding a human receptor. In these screens, the use of yeast cells that surface display antibody recognition domains, and secrete these target antigens from the same cell, enables next generation sequencing to identify the genetic information encoding both the domain and the target. This dual detection capability is made possible by innovative fluorescent biosensors and is unique to this screening platform. The project will utilize synthetic biology to construct a library with a rich variety of recognition domains that will be screened simultaneously against several target antigens of varying design. Next generation sequencing analysis will show that it is practical to implement combinatorial screens using engineered recognition domains and antigens to identify recognition domains with desired binding specificity and affinity.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BIOLATTICE, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Corneal Tissue Restoration with Engineered Tissue
Contact
3401 MARKET ST STE 200
Philadelphia, PA 19104--3358
NSF Award
2342532 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,416
Start / end date
12/01/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project includes reduces the financial burden of cornea blindness and advances the medical device manufacturing industry in the US. Vision loss costs communities in lost wages and medical expenses. In 2018, the combined cost for blindness and MSVI (moderate and severe vision impairment) was $55.51 billion in North America. By providing a treatment for cornea blindness equivalent to s donor cornea, this innovation would help restore the vision of patients affected by corneal blindness, improve their ability to contribute to society, and lower the burden on their caretakers. In addition, by contributing to the general process of tissue engineering, the engineered cornea will help foster research in the field of alternatives to donor tissues, which will contribute to the well-being of individuals in society as a whole. The development of engineered cornea would also help advance the position of the US in the cornea replacement material field and more generally in the engineered tissue research field and could result in growth opportunities in the medical device manufacturing industry, therefore increasing US competitiveness.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project creates a novel acellular polymer membrane for use as a cornea substitute. The artificial cornea will differentiate itself from other artificial cornea options by offering a true alternative to donor cornea for full thickness cornea replacement (also known as penetrating keratoplasty). The artificial cornea will consist of a crosslinked polymer membrane that will provide biocompatibility with ocular tissues and suturability similar to a donor cornea. In addition, specific surface modifications will be added to the membrane to maintain its optical clarity, by preventing the adhesion of environmental and biological contaminants. These modifications will enable secure integration into the patient?s eye. The new materials will be aesthetically equivalent to existing donor cornea. By contrast to current artificial cornea options, the artificial cornea aims to provide a true replacement to donor cornea that can be used as a standard of care treatment for full thickness cornea replacement, without the risks generally associated with donor cornea tissue and without the need for refrigeration or complicated transport logistics.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BIOSUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY, INC.
STTR Phase I: Bioengineering lung surfactant for the treatment of respiratory disease
Contact
1731 PENNY WAY
Los Altos, CA 94024--6234
NSF Award
2210373 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$255,987
Start / end date
06/15/2022 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop a synthetic lung surfactant product for the potential treatment of serious respiratory illnesses in neonatal patients. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia affects 10,000-15,000 pre-term infants per year and has a high mortality rate. Exposure of immature lung tissue to air results in inflammation and damages lungs and airways. Decreasing bronchopulmonary dysplasia is anticipated to reduce the number of days infants spend in the hospital, the need for supplemental oxygen, and other burdens on the healthcare system. The average length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for an infant with bronchopulmonary dysplasia is currently 103 days.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project may result in the formulation of synthetic proteins for a bioengineered lung surfactant that contains full-length critical phospholipids and anti-inflammatory agents. Currently, bioengineered pulmonary surfactants are not as effective as animal-derived pulmonary surfactants for the treatment of illnesses related to bronchopulmonary dysplasia such as neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. The synthesis of full-length, native surfactant proteins has yet to be achieved. This research seeks to synthesize proteins which may add significant viscoelasticity to the pulmonary surfactant. The protein will be combined with major surfactant phospholipids and anti-inflammatory therapeutics at defined ratios to potentially generate fully-synthetic pulmonary surfactant preparations with anti-inflammatory properties. These surfactant formulations will be screened in vitro and in vivo using a neonatal rat hyperoxia model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BLUESTEM BIOSCIENCES INC
SBIR Phase I: Improved Proton ATPase for the Anaerobic Biomanufacturing of Organic Acids
Contact
3555 FARNAM STREET, FL 12
Omaha, NE 68131--3311
NSF Award
2342475 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,910
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project includes rural revitalization, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and domestic supply chain security. To meet the urgent need for more sustainable manufacturing supply chains with reduced greenhouse gas emissions and to remove reliance on foreign supply chains and petroleum, this project will include researching and commercializing the anaerobic bioproduction of commodity chemicals. Acrylates are a primary monomeric component in paints, coatings, plastics, and super-absorbent polymer applications. 3-Hydroxypropionate is a precursor to acrylates and acrylic acid. A bio-based production method must be created to significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the current petrochemical method for acrylate production. The most prevalent and heavily explored form of biomanufacturing is aerobic fermentation. However, due to their large capital and operating costs, as well as a lack of available aerobic fermentation capacity, aerobic fermentation efforts have largely been unable to scale.
The proposed project seeks to modify yeast microbes to produce chemicals as a byproduct of their growth, just like yeast naturally creates ethanol. Specifically, these chemicals should be made in a way that helps the microbes continue to grow and maintain a balanced energy state. The project is focusing on developing ways to produce commercially valuable organic acids such as 3-hydroxypropionic acid. However, unlike ethanol production, making these acids usually requires using extra energy to push the products out of the microbe cells. A significant goal for the project is to find methods to reduce the amount of energy needed for this process, as efficient energy use is essential for using these methods in settings that don't have oxygen. While previous studies have laid some groundwork, solving the energy-efficient export of these acids is still an unresolved challenge. By utilizing a vast array of documented genetic variations along with advanced computational tools for designing proteins and innovative strategies for selection, a method is proposed to find or develop an enzyme that operates within a cell membrane and can expel more than one particle for each energy molecule it breaks down, a process which is possible within the laws of thermodynamics.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
BRAINSTORM THERAPEUTICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Development and Validation of a Novel Parkinson's Disease Drug Discovery Platform Using Patient-Derived Midbrain Organoids
Contact
5370 TOSCANA WAY H208
San Diego, CA 92122--5656
NSF Award
2414877 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project spans several fronts, starting with advancements in public health and welfare. The project goal is to reduce risks in clinical translation and expedite the development of crucial therapies for Parkinson's disease. Additionally, the highly scalable nature of the proposed platform offers the long-term potential to extend its application to other complex brain disorders and therapeutic domains. The platform will guide therapeutic candidate discovery, stratify patient selection and refine clinical trial endpoints. Beyond health, the project impact extends to the economic competitiveness of the US. For example, by providing therapies that can help address the challenges people with neurological disorders face in the workforce, the developed product will contribute to operational efficiency, reduce healthcare costs, and boost workforce productivity. The commitment to accelerating therapeutic development also fuels innovation, attracting investments and creating high-value jobs, solidifying the US as a global leader in healthcare innovation. Furthermore, the project team actively promotes partnerships between patient foundations, academia, and drug developers in the biopharma industry.
The proposed project addresses the urgent need for effective disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson's disease. There are no approved disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson's disease due to challenges, including the lack of reliable animal models that accurately predict human efficacy, and a poor understanding of the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors contributing to dopamine neuron degeneration. To overcome these hurdles, an all-in-human Parkinson's disease drug discovery platform will be developed. This approach utilizes familial Parkinson's disease patient-derived midbrain organoid disease models, biomarker-based screening endpoints, and advanced data analytics to identify disease-modifying therapeutics that halt, prevent, or reverse dopamine neuron degeneration. This platform is positioned as a game-changer in the discovery of impactful Parkinson's disease treatments. The core innovations of the approach include patient-derived stem cells capturing human disease biology at the earliest drug development stages, human-first drug discovery reducing reliance on animal models, scalability and reproducibility of organoid production, robust and reproducible quantification of disease-specific phenotypes, and screening compatible with various therapeutic modalities. The focus on genetically validated targets and converging pathways in sporadic Parkinson's disease aims to de-risk clinical translation, reduce costs, and accelerate the discovery of transformative Parkinson's disease therapies.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CABRERA RESEARCH LAB LLC
SBIR Phase I: Thinkquery: Empowering People to Thrive in a Complex World
Contact
450 E MILLER RD
Ithaca, NY 14850--9435
NSF Award
2335521 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project empowers individuals with enhanced cognitive skills essential for success and innovation in the modern world. In today's global economy, the ability to think critically and creatively is crucial, but many people face developmental hurdles that hinder their economic competitiveness. Unlike existing cognitive tools, this innovation offers a user-friendly, chat-based approach that leverages each individual's language skills to cultivate transferable thinking abilities. The solution guides users through a systematic problem-solving process, helping them map their mental models, fostering metacognition, and enabling them to challenge assumptions and biases. Ultimately, the technology equips users to better comprehend and address a wide range of challenges. This project's primary aim is to support the diverse and underserved populations enrolled in community colleges. The technology enables students to learn at their own pace, break down developmental courses into shorter modules, and tailor content to align with their specific career aspirations. This adaptability and accessibility have the potential to transform education, providing a flexible and effective learning tool for a wide audience. The team addresses a pressing societal need for improved cognitive skills, enhancing not only individual prospects but also contributing to the nation's economic vitality.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on enabling individuals to effectively navigate complex challenges in the 21st century by leveraging the Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, and Perspectives (DSRP) Theory within a machine-interpretable data structure integrated into a visual-structural recommender system. The technical objective is to empower users with a tool that facilitates in-depth exploration and understanding of various problems and topics. The project's key components develop algorithms that incorporate DSRP theory and Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) techniques to create collaborative filtering and content-based filtering for generating user-specific questions. The solution creates a comprehensive reporting schema, coding, and statistical tools to validate empirical measures for different usage scenarios. The team also defines use case conditions and user experience design parameters to enhance the effectiveness of the technology. Initially, this project targets diverse, underserved, and disadvantaged students in developmental education programs who often struggle with college-level coursework. The innovation's accessibility, driven by the use of everyday language as inputs, makes it a commercially viable cognitive skills training technology with reduced friction and greater user-friendliness compared to existing solutions. The technology addresses both technical challenges and educational barriers associated with mind-mapping technologies, promising a significant impact on learning and problem-solving capabilities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CARAVEL BIO, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Next generation enzyme engineering: high-throughput directed evolution of spore-displayed enzymes
Contact
4640 S MACADAM AVE STE 130D
Portland, OR 97239--4283
NSF Award
2409142 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide a novel synthetic biology platform that generates customizable enzyme solutions for industrial biocatalyst applications. The use of enzymes as industrial biocatalysts continues to expand, offering environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions to a wide range of industrial processes while driving innovation in fields such as pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and food production, and more recently biomining and carbon capture. Viewed as an alternative to conventional chemical catalysts, enzyme biocatalysts offer greater sustainability in their processes owing to their biodegradable nature, high selectivity, ability to operate under mild reaction conditions, and their ability to generate a low amount of byproduct during a reaction; they also negate the need for potentially toxic or energy intensive reagents typically needed for conventional chemical catalysis. These advantages confer downstream impacts on operational efficiency, costs, and energy requirements. With the proposed technology?s enhanced capabilities, there is potential to increase this impact by providing novel enzyme solutions that confer greater robustness and efficiency at lower costs and environmental impacts.
The proposed project aims to apply directed evolution and high-throughput screening technologies to spore-displayed enzymes, enabling rapid prototyping of spore-enzyme variants to improve important variables like enzyme activity, stability, and loading density. While enzyme catalysis is used in a wide range of industries, the ability to create enzymes with thermal and chemical stability that are also reusable remains a challenge. Using a process called spore-display immobilization, the platform uses bacteria to make and assemble enzymes on the surface of spores, a self-assembling and genetically encoded microparticle. The platform is based on key foundational research that resulted in the characterization of 37 proteins that make up the spore coat of Bacillus subtilis and their ability to act as fusion partners for enzymes. To further develop this technology, the following objectives are proposed: 1) Use the platform to implement directed evolution of a commercially relevant enzyme on the spore; establish feasibility of approach to yield improved biocatalytic properties and benchmark to industry standard; 2) Advance system screening capabilities to enable high throughput selection using a microfluidic encapsulation approach; demonstrate ability to screen >1 million enzyme variants per day, and 3) use machine learning to predict and learn from improved catalyst variants.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CARBIDE RADIO INC
SBIR Phase I: Silicon Carbide Radio Frequency Switches
Contact
6301 LILLIAN WAY
San Jose, CA 95120--1817
NSF Award
2334387 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
12/01/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on wireless communication technolog, specifically the development of a special semiconductor known as silicon carbide (SiC), which has the potential to revolutionize the industry. Unlike traditional semiconductors, SiC can operate at much higher power levels and in harsh environments, making it ideal for wireless communication devices. Currently, the industry predominantly relies on gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors, which are not only rare but also mostly imported, raising national security concerns. By demonstrating that SiC can match or even surpass the performance of GaN in radio frequency (RF) applications, this project aims to pave the way for a robust SiC RF semiconductor industry within the United States (U.S.). The RF switch market alone is estimated to be worth $2 billion by 2024. A successful SiC RF switch product would not only capture a significant share of this market but also establish the U.S, as a leader in RF semiconductor technology. The project has the potential to create jobs, foster innovation within the domestic semiconductor industry, and enhance national security by reducing reliance on foreign-produced semiconductor materials.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will produce commercially competitive RF switches made from SiC. The RF switches are intended for use in sub-6 GHz cellular infrastructure applications, such as base stations, where high power and ruggedness are difficult to achieve in conventional silicon-based technologies. SiC and, more specifically, SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), have gained significant market share in the electric vehicle industry. In contrast, SiC MOSFETs are essentially non-existent in the RF industry. The main reasons are poor mobility, resulting in high on-state resistance, and high off-state capacitance. For an RF switch, the product on-state resistance and off-state capacitance are critical specifications, with lower numbers being better. This project develops two semiconductor innovations to reduce these factors while handling high power levels. Research focuses on developing the semiconductor fabrication processes to produce an RF switch integrated circuit product that is competitive with existing high power RF switches, such as those made from GaN having insertion losses less than 0.8 dB up to 6 GHz, isolation of around 20 dB, and handling high peak RF power levels of 50 dBm/100 W.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CASIMIR, INC
SBIR Phase I: Development of devices to manipulate the structure of quantum field energy for use in electric power generation
Contact
16441 SPACE CENTER BLVD STE D200
Houston, TX 77058--2015
NSF Award
2423233 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,920
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is a paradigm shift in how electrical power is generated leading to compact, clean, and lightweight power sources able to provide consistent power no matter the environmental condition. The proposed product to be developed as part of this work offers the potential for broader societal and economic benefit. The proposed activity seeks to conduct research and development (R&D) to demonstrate technical feasibility of continuous power generation from the quantum field for terrestrial and space applications. The research activity will advance knowledge and understanding of quantum field theory and the nature of the quantum vacuum for the purpose of power generation and commercialization. This is expected to enable a continuous baseload renewable type power source in environments where other renewables are often not readily present. In so doing, the research will also enable new pathways for novel forms of radiation generation and detection, thereby enhancing space sensing and providing new communication capabilities making use of novel forms of radiation. This product may also benefit from high throughput scalable in-space manufacturing advances going forward, and serve as a reliable, light weight and abundant power source for the acceleration and growth of the large scale in-space economy. The technology is also expected to bring an array of advantages to national security and defense.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to validate numerical analysis design tools that will enable optimization of custom power cells. The research objective is to commercialize the company?s power-generating nanotechnology. These custom Casimir cavities interact with fluctuations of the quantum field to generate continuous power. The innovation in the approach is the customization of the original Casimir cavity concept to incorporate an array of electrically connected and conducting pillars arranged along the midplane of the cavity. With this enhancement, the custom Casimir cavity structure establishes an electrostatic potential between the pillars along the midplane and the cavity walls. The goals and scope of the research are: prediction of tunneling current magnitude for given metal-insulator-metal combination; and optimal selection of combinations of materials and insulator thicknesses. The methods to accomplish validation of software analysis tools are as follows: fabricate numerous metal-insulator-metal samples; conduct laboratory tests to quantify tunneling current performance; update analysis tools with measured performance data. The anticipated technical result is validated software analysis tools to predict the tunneling current magnitude for a given metal-insulator-metal combination of materials.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CE-RI-SS MATERIALS LLC
SBIR Phase I: CHAPS (Carbon Hybrid Anchoring Precipitation System)
Contact
12512 DUDLEY STATION LN
Knoxville, TN 37922--5583
NSF Award
2417770 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,919
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is based on the manufacture of new lightweight materials made from aluminum and carbon fiber. These materials can be created with advanced properties and at accelerated production rates, resulting in superior and affordable materials used in high-performance industries. Current metal matrix composite materials have inferior mechanical properties due to defects at the interface between the metal and the carbon fiber phases and poor metallurgical bonding. Through scientific investigations into the structure and dynamics of phase formation, this project will develop materials with the low defects and effective load-transfer properties needed for commercial application. The new material has environmental benefits by reducing the weight of manufactured parts in vehicles and other applications, thus reducing fuel requirements and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Customers span high-performance sectors such as transportation, automotive, aerospace, and defense, all pursuing materials that merge mechanical excellence, energy efficiency, and cost effectiveness. The market for such composite materials in the U.S. is projected to grow to $124 million by 2028. The proposed material?s competitive advantage will be superior performance, high-throughput processing, and lightweight yet strong characteristics.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to demonstrate high-strength reinforcements in a metal matrix composite where failure is most likely. The proposed process achieves this by leveraging interface precipitates influenced by reactions between the carbon fiber, aluminum matrix alloying elements, and rare earth element coatings. These precipitates act as anchoring phases, resulting in low-defect-density interfaces and enhanced composite performance. The Phase I objectives are to (1) elucidate the microstructural evolution at the interfaces of aluminum-carbon fiber composites under the influence of rare-earth element coatings and copper in the matrix alloy, (2) identify the composition and microstructure of the anchoring phase at the aluminum-carbon fiber interfaces, and (3) understand the role of coatings in infiltration behavior during casting of aluminum-carbon fiber composites. The project uses high-resolution characterization to investigate the microstructural dynamics and phase formations, the uniformity of precipitate distribution, the influence of rare-earth element coatings on the composition and nanostructure of the interface, the infiltration behavior during casting, and the interfacial adhesion dynamics and metallurgical bonding and defect density in the material. The outcome will be a demonstration of the material?s high mechanical strength and the impact of interfacial phases on mechanical properties. The study will enable new composition-of-matter intellectual property based on unique microstructure arrangements and properties.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CENSYN INC
SBIR Phase I: PenEEG: An Objective Assessment Tool for Concussion and Recovery Management
Contact
35 CASPIAN
Lake Forest, CA 92630--1468
NSF Award
2304353 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,970
Start / end date
11/15/2023 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a mobile and compact Electroencephalography (EEG) concussion screening and recovery monitoring tool to reduce the time needed to seek proper patient care. Each year in the US, 5.5 million mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion cases are reported with athletes disproportionately affected. Most concussion assessments rely on subjective measures but have an estimated 50% false negative rate resulting in potentially harmful return to play. Current imaging tools detect structural versus functional injuries, and existing EEG systems are not readily usable for field applications. This system aims to provide a field usable, on-demand concussion screening tool that enables patients to seek care in a more rapid manner in the event of a concussive event. It will also reduce unnecessary emergency room visits during instances of non-concussions when used in conjunction with current assessment measures. The project presents an ultra-portable solution with quantifiable concussions measures. The innovation targets the $6.8 billion concussion care market opportunity within sports injury management, military health, and hospital sectors.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a handheld electroencephalogram (EEG) device designed to simplify data collection for long-term brain health tracking. The device is a two-channel tool that can be used at multiple locations on the head to conduct rapid, quantifiable brain assessments. The system aims to overcome the current size limitations and training required for current brain wave-measuring equipment. The size and portability of the device enables use across a variety of situations including sports events, military applications, or at home/on-base during recovery. The project aims to address two technical challenges: developing a system to guide untrained users in effectively positioning the device to collect high-quality data and developing a discriminant function to sense a series of acute brain wave signal changes in individuals over time for detecting concussions. The objective of this project is to develop a usable prototype with suitable sensitivity and specificity when compared to current diagnostic screening measures.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CHANGEAERIAL LLC
SBIR Phase I: Integrating deep learning algorithms for UAS-based infrastructure inspection: Path to fully automated, commercially viable and scalable monitoring
Contact
5022 ONSTAD ST
San Diego, CA 92110--1552
NSF Award
2420601 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,727
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will be improving the lives of US residents by increasing electric power grid resilience through increased effectiveness and efficiency with automated electric infrastructure monitoring based on imaging with uncrewed autonomous system (UAS) (i.e., drones). Automated UAS monitoring approaches incorporating novel AI algorithms will disrupt conventional approaches, increasing the spatial extent and temporal frequency of infrastructure inspections, and will accelerate identification of all types of defects and reduce operating expenses. Such tools and technology will also support programs for integration of large-scale renewable-based power projects and electric vehicles to help meet sustainability targets. They will also reduce wildfire risks and duration of weather-related power shutoffs. While electric utility infrastructure is the primary focus, inspection and monitoring of myriad infrastructure types such as telecommunication towers, pipelines, and bridges, both in construction and operational phases, will benefit from this technology. Step-change productivity gains through adoption of digital workflow automation will require workforce role evolution and drive new job creation. A diverse and skilled company team will be built by emulating the culture of diversity and inclusion of the co-founders? university roots.
This project will facilitate a major leap towards exploiting highly detailed imagery captured by uncrewed autonomous system (UAS) to achieve greater performance and automation for infrastructure inspection. The goal is to integrate time-sequential UAS imagery captured from the same location in the sky, with multiple AI algorithms to achieve both detection and identification of damage to overhead electric infrastructure (and ultimately many types of infrastructure). The centerpiece of the integrated AI model framework is a model that exploits temporal changes in conditions of electric utility apparatus to detect defects requiring maintenance. Another AI algorithm will simulate apparatus damages in images used to train AI routines, since actual damage is a relatively rare occurrence within the thousands of inspection images captured by UAS. A riskier but transformative research element will involve integrating the novel damage detection model with AI models that identify specific damage types from single-time images. This hybrid modeling approach will restrict the image domain for which damage is identified, to focus the attention of infrastructure inspectors on changes confirmed to be associated with damage. Temporal image sequences will ultimately feed predictive analytic models that forecast the likelihood of damage or failure and prioritize the timing of inspections.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CHASCII INC
SBIR Phase I: An Interplanetary Smallsat for Fast Connectivity, Navigation, and Positioning
Contact
1879 E ALTADENA DR
Altadena, CA 91001--2146
NSF Award
2322390 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,548
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to deploy a commercial space platform in cislunar and deep space to provide fast connectivity, navigation, and positioning to space users. This cislunar network will include nodes in low-Earth Orbit, Geosynchronous orbit and Lunar orbit to create a secure and covert gigabit network for scientific, commercial, and military applications. This project will develop a revolutionary spacecraft that will be the heart of the new network. This product will be a small yet nimble spacecraft that uses lasers, a novel architecture, and machine learning software to provide high-data-rate omnidirectional coverage of its surroundings. The company plans to place clusters of this satellite as network nodes. It is envisioned that space users can use these interplanetary small satellites (and their network) for gigabit connectivity as well as accurate navigation and positioning in cislunar and deep space.
This project will develop a novel small satellite with embedded optical communications systems. It will be equipped with two distinct optical communications terminals, one for long-range connectivity and the second one for short-range, swarm connectivity. The small satellite?s long-range terminal consists of six optical transceivers evenly distributed around the body of the spacecraft to provide omnidirectional coverage. The transceivers will be fully integrated into and commanded by a fast processor. The small satellite will have a coherent modulation architecture operating at around 1550 nanometers. The transmitter design to be pursued during this project includes a distributed feedback laser diode, a phase modulator, an optical amplifier, a circulator, and a collimator. All these components will be connected by optical fibers. The seed laser will produce a 10-milliwatt laser beam, which is passed through the phase modulator where it is modulated at high speeds (10-100 gigabit per second). After the modulator, the modulated beam is boosted via an optical amplifier and passed through a collimator to generate a collimated, high-power beam. The collimator launches the beam into free space and directs it to a steering mirror for coverage of its field of regard. It is envisioned that the system could achieve transmission speeds as high as 100 gigabit per second.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CHITOVATE LLC
SBIR Phase I: Mushroom Chitosan Biorefinery and its Application in Food Engineering
Contact
393 ABBEY RD
Caledonia, MS 39740--1014
NSF Award
2409236 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,956
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project is in significant reduction of fresh food waste by providing a clear, edible coating on fresh fruits and vegetables. Food waste is a major issue worldwide. In the United States, almost 40% of food is wasted each year, yet more than 54 million Americans are food insecure. Globally, about 30% of food for human consumption is wasted, which equates to over a billion tons of food per year. Food waste negatively impacts food insecurity, greenhouse gas emissions, water supplies, and economic losses. Current fresh food preservation techniques are failing to rise to this challenge, and some techniques pollute the earth with packaging. The proposed solution utilizes mushroom chitosan extracts as an edible coating to extend the shelf life of fresh foods, reduce food insecurity, and relax pressure on precious resources.
This project employs a specific mushroom species with high chitin content to create a clear, edible coating that can double the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. Further, this project creates a greener extraction process to replace conventional chitosan extraction, which will be both cheaper and more eco-friendly compared to conventional methods. Successful mushroom-derived edible coatings will exhibit excellent antimicrobial and gas barrier properties, perform well on sensory consumer analyses, and be produced with green chemistry processes that offer cheaper, more sustainable, and scalable potential. Performance will be compared to non-treated fresh foods as well as other competitive coatings where applicable. The mushroom-based edible coating is a more sustainable alternative to many other edible coatings since the production of mushrooms does not compete with arable land, can be produced with a small fraction of the water, nitrogen, and energy inputs, and can contribute to circular bio-economy given that mushrooms are nature?s great recyclers.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CIRCULARITY FUELS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Sorbent-Enhanced Catalysis for Robust, High-Conversion Single Pass Hydrogenation for Renewable Natural Gas Production
Contact
2566 BAY RD
Redwood City, CA 94063--3014
NSF Award
2432928 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in its potential to revolutionize the wastewater treatment market for renewable natural gas (RNG), valued at approximately $2 billion. The potential solution focuses on capturing and upgrading biogas from wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs), which produce a consistent mix of approximately 50% methane and 50% carbon dioxide (CO2). By converting CO2 into methane, the output of RNG can be effectively doubled, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This approach provides WWTFs with a cost-effective way to increase revenue through RNG sales and carbon credits, while addressing capital constraints that often hinder facility upgrades due to the cost of separating CO2 from waste streams. Beyond the wastewater market, this innovation has broader implications for other CO2-laden industrial waste streams and the larger anaerobic digester market, including 8,000 dairy, swine, and poultry farms across the U.S. Overall, this project not only offers significant commercial potential but also contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gasses, supporting broader societal and environmental goals. By aligning with sustainability-focused municipalities, a new standard for renewable energy production and environmental stewardship in the wastewater and agricultural industries can be set.
The intellectual merit of this project centers on advancing the understanding of sorption-enhanced catalytic processes for upgrading waste gasses to renewable natural gas (RNG). The research objectives are fourfold: 1) map the impact of varying catalyst and sorbent compositions on the sorbent enhanced catalyst (SEC) for the first model system, aiming to identify optimal configurations; 2) measure the impact of catalyst and sorbent identity on the sorbent-enhanced catalytic effect, particularly focusing on resistance to contaminants, which is crucial for long-term system performance; 3) elucidate the role of humidity in mediating the synergistic interactions between the catalyst and sorbent, an aspect critical to enhancing the overall efficiency of the process; and 4) investigate how different heating mechanisms influence the system's performance, aiming to optimize energy efficiency and reaction kinetics. These research efforts are anticipated to yield significant insights into the catalytic and sorption processes, thereby enabling the development of a highly efficient, scalable technology for converting waste gasses into RNG, with broader implications for sustainable energy production and environmental impact reduction.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CISTERNA BIOLOGICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Development of a Novel Platform for Cost-Efficient mRNA Production in Yeast
Contact
3349 LAS VEGAS DR
Oceanside, CA 92054--3809
NSF Award
2415711 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,980
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a platform technology that manufactures high-quality messenger RNA (mRNA) at 1/10th the cost of current systems. In Vitro Transcription (IVT), the primary method of synthesizing mRNA for therapeutics and vaccines, encounters significant challenges in the form of expensive patented raw materials, complex purification processes, and supply chain shortages. There is an urgent need to fundamentally redesign mRNA production to accommodate the growing demand, enhance access to affordable, high-quality mRNA, and resolve supply chain issues. This project aims to innovate mRNA production by transforming yeast cells into efficient mRNA factories and using advanced chromatographic techniques for purification. The proposed platform could streamline mRNA manufacturing to significantly reduce costs and to broaden the scope, applicability and accessibility of mRNA. This innovation aims to provide pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, and research institutions in academia, with affordable high-quality mRNA for vaccine development, therapeutics, and research purposes. This democratization of mRNA technology should accelerate innovation across different fields, shorten time-to-market for new treatments, and expand mRNA applications in emerging markets. Additionally, it may improve access for populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), significantly advancing global health.
The proposed project seeks to overcome high costs and inefficiencies associated with current IVT methods. This project introduces a novel approach to mRNA production by overexpressing a ribozyme-mRNA fusion in yeast, which is then immobilized and precisely cleaved on-column upon addition of a specific substrate that activates the ribozyme. This innovative method facilitates the efficient release and subsequent purification of the targeted mRNA directly from an RNA fusion construct expressed in yeast. Key technical objectives include demonstrating stable expression of the target RNA fusion in yeast, establishing a robust on-column purification system, and validating the purity and potency of the purified mRNA. Achieving these goals will validate the platform's feasibility and facilitate scaling of the technology to produce large quantities of mRNA, from grams to kilograms, at reduced costs, thereby revolutionizing mRNA production for diverse applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CLUE GENETICS INC.
SBIR Phase I: ClueGen: a fungi-focused metabologenomics platform for natural product discovery
Contact
2748 BETTE ST
Alameda, CA 94501--7858
NSF Award
2334278 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be on addressing current global problems concerning disease, pollution and climate change through the development of a new biological technology platform powered by fungi. Many natural product chemicals with broad potential uses have been discovered through traditional bioprospecting methods. However, the Achilles heel for commercial development of products based on these discoveries is that many of the compounds are difficult, expensive, or impossible to produce at scale. Further, many potent biochemicals are not typically produced under laboratory conditions, and therefore remain concealed within their host genomes. By associating known and new commercially-relevant metabolites with the genes responsible for their synthesis, this platform will open new opportunities for accessing the powerful chemistry found in fungi through modern synthetic biology and genomics.
The proposed project will enable discovery of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding bioactive metabolites from a large private collection of Ascomycetes. The mature platform will contain thousands of annotated genome sequences from this large group of relatively unstudied fungi that have high potential for producing new drugs and crop protection molecules, in addition to uncovering enzymes that can be applied to multiple industries. A set of specific targets encompassing anti-cancer molecules, insecticides, antibiotics, and novel enzymes will be used as validation guides on the route to fully developing the resources needed for novel discovery. The goals for this project are to fully annotate BGCs from 200 genomes selected from a diverse set of bioactive fungi, and design at least 15 heterologous expression constructs encoding verticillins, antimicrobials, and insecticidal compounds for a Phase 2 project. Additionally, it is anticipated that over 100 valuable enzyme candidates will be discovered for immediate value creation with customer-partners. Together, successful completion of this project will validate the tools needed for application of the platform to the remaining ~50,000 strains in the fungal library, and drive the investment needed to launch the company.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
COGNI TRAX
SBIR Phase I: Subtractive-waveguide based Display for Augmented Reality Smart Glasses using Spatial-temporal Multiplexed Single-CMOS Panels
Contact
978 LEITH AVE
Santa Clara, CA 95054--1950
NSF Award
2335927 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the realization of Augmented Reality (AR) displays for smart glasses that can show digital content in the full dynamic range, including the black color. The conventional optical components currently used in AR smart glasses cause the digital content to appear translucent and, hence, lack realism. The proposed work is on developing a display technology that controls per-pixel transparency in the virtual image plane, virtual objects, and 3D holograms for black color. The blocking of light for black-colored parts in a hologram can show as realistic physical objects over the background reality. Using this approach, each display pixel can be made black, semi-transparent, or transparent at a user?s will, making visibility of digital content possible even in direct sun-lit environments.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes a holistic display solution for AR smart glasses that consists of three key elements: a spatially-multiplexed Total Internal Reflection?based subtractive-waveguide combiner; a single photo-reflective spatial light modulator (SLM) that is illuminated by two spatially-multiplexed illuminants; and a temporal multiplexing algorithm whereby the two spatially-multiplexed illuminants can be selectively modulated by the SLM during their dedicated sub-frame times. Since pixel-wise transparency control allows hard-edge occlusion, hence the proposed smart spatiotemporal multiplexed approach enables a single display that achieves pixel-wise hard-edge occlusion using only a single silicon display panel, thereby reducing cost and complexity while increasing see-through efficiency and battery life performance. These technological improvements are industry firsts and together allow for addressing a market need for AR devices for outdoor well-lit scenarios.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
COSMIC EATS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture: Enhancing Post-Harvest Quality, Reducing Contamination, and Easing Sterilization for Value Added Mushroom Producers
Contact
1941 EVANS RD
Cary, NC 27513--2041
NSF Award
2423642 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,885
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a more efficient and sustainable way of producing mushrooms in a novel farming set-up. Currently consumer demand for mushrooms exceeds supply, and demand is growing very fast in the US and across the world. Some challenges faced by specialty mushroom growers in operating their businesses include the resource intensive requirements for growing the mushrooms as well as losses incurred due to the short shelf life of the harvested mushrooms. This proposal explores deep, transformative science questions with the goal to implement a novel technology to help mushroom growers overcome these challenges. Successful implementation will result in the growers operating more successful businesses, and will facilitate more novice growers to enter the market. The overall outcome will be an increase in supply to meet the unmet demand of the US consumer. Currently there is a great reliance on imported mushrooms to meet some of the demand. This project will enable an increase in domestic production capabilities thus improving national security, and will support the White House?s National Strategy on Food Insecurity and Better Health.
The innovative research proposed in this project is to define and implement a plasma treated water sterilization method that will impact multiple stages of mushroom cultivation and has the potential to transform production processes by reducing labor, water, and energy usage while enhancing product quality and extending shelf life. The application of plasma treated water in mushroom growing is relatively unexplored but seems promising as it has known antimicrobial activity due to reactive nitrogen and oxygen species. The reactive oxygen and nitrogen species also are known to boost post-harvest quality in mushrooms. However, there is risk that antimicrobial activity could also harm fungal mycelium and delay, inhibit, or otherwise disrupt growth resulting in yield loss. The project seek to understand the impacts of plasma activated water on mushroom production and seek to minimize the deleterious impact on fungal mycelium and mushrooms while maximizing its benefit. Successful applications of plasma activated water for mushroom production through this Phase I project will bring a significant efficiency gain for mushroom growers and reduced reliance on resources will enable production of mushroom in formerly inaccessible environments (such as in austere and isolated environments), thus opening new markets while providing more sources of nutrition to the local populations.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
COVALABIO INC.
SBIR Phase I: Cell-penetrating monobodies targeting oncogenic KRAS
Contact
7084 MIRAMAR RD STE 401
San Diego, CA 92121--2343
NSF Award
2321926 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in technological development of a new pharmaceutical intervention called cell-penetrating monobodies (CPM). The validation of this new CPM intervention will be demonstrated by designing potent and selective CPM-based inhibitors targeting certain cancers. The success of this project will establish a powerful pharmaceutical technology for designing personalized therapies to treat the oncogenic mutant-driven lung, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers, where treatment options are extremely limited. This project will also enhance the academia-industry partnership, strengthen a burgeoning life science ecosystem in the Buffalo area, and develop a globally competitive STEM workforce for the Western New York region.
The proposed project addresses a critical barrier in the clinical translation of monobodies - a class of powerful tool biologics that are not cell-permeable despite their small size. The CPM technology overcomes this barrier by combining orthogonal crosslinking ? a proprietary method to rigidify monobody structure through site-specific inter-strand crosslinking - with monobody surface supercharging. As a result, the CPM technology potentially possesses several innovative features: 1) genetic modifications facilitate recombinant production of CPM in bacteria both at research scale and for manufacturing; 2) high binding affinity and specificity toward intracellular oncogene targets can be readily obtained using well-established display technologies; and 3) robust cytosolic transport efficiency can be obtained owing to the rigid scaffold and tunable surface charge. This project aims to unlock the commercial value of CPM technology by identifying potent and selective inhibitors oncogenic KRAS mutants that proved to be elusive with the small-molecule approach. Extensive optimizations of charge distribution and physicochemical properties will be performed using a reported monobody-based KRAS inhibitor as a template, with a goal to identify one CPM with sub-micromolar inhibitory activity in the KRAS mutant-harboring cell lines.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CRABLINE ROBOTICS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Crab-like Robotic Platforms for Cutting Underwater Structures
Contact
19000 SHELBURNE RD
Shaker Heights, OH 44118--4947
NSF Award
2335382 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
12/15/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops a dexterous, crab-like aquatic robot for underwater construction and decommissioning of structures. With growing efforts to develop sustainable offshore wind energy infrastructure, like wind turbines, new technologies are needed to make the management of this infrastructure safer and more efficient. Existing practices often put human divers at risk in deep, cold, turbid ocean environments while existing aquatic robots or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) cannot adequately manipulate tools to execute construction and deconstruction work underwater. This project seeks to develop a new class of aquatic robotics that are highly dexterous, inexpensive, and capable of expanding U.S. engineering knowledge and capabilities. This new type of robotic platform is needed by offshore construction and salvage contractors to reduce costs associated with infrastructure management and to improve safety practices. This technology provides underwater robotics capable of supporting the projected growth of marine construction and offshore energy development.
This project creates a crab-like robot that utilizes multiple robotic legs to stabilize around a target and deliver a tool, such as an exothermic cutting rod, to the desired target. Inspired by living crabs and their ability to pull inward to grasp a substrate, this new robotic platform will stabilize on a substrate and trace a pre-defined tool path. Using the inward forces of legs combined with adjustable end effectors, the platform will demonstrate easy detachment and secure adhesion to a substrate at different phases of the gait cycle. Novel approaches will be developed to traverse challenging craggy, slippery, and bio-fouled marine structures in order to precisely deliver tools to targets. With legs with more actuated degrees of freedom than the six supports of a Stewart platform, the robot will still be able to stabilize if one leg cannot find purchase during walking motions. The goal in this SBIR Phase I project is to demonstrate a new type of aquatic robots capable of tool stabilization and manipulation at depth.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
CRYPTO ASSET TECHNOLOGY LABS INC
SBIR Phase I: Quantum Resistant Cloud-Based Vault Service for Cryptocurrency Key Backup and Recovery
Contact
1010 S FEDERAL HWY FL 14
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009--7181
NSF Award
2404481 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to significantly reduce the economic and national security threats posed by the persistent theft of billions in digital assets by cyber criminals and adversarial nation states. This project solves the problem of private key mismanagement as one of the most common attacks suffered by investors, digital asset custodians, businesses and law enforcement agencies. This project?s innovation will address the technical challenge of secure and privacy-preserving cryptographic key management. Current key backup and recovery (KBR) products are cost-prohibitive, expose keys to third parties, and have recovery processes which can take up to 48 hours. This project will develop a cloud-based vault that utilizes quantum-resistant cryptography that securely stores cryptocurrency keys while guaranteeing privacy and a faster recovery process. Fundamental scientific advancements from this project will demonstrate the potential of quantum-resistant KBR, and will lead to advancements in public key infrastructure. Commercialization efforts will lead to a new product that provides crucial support to target markets, including institutional investors and government investigators. This, in turn, will lead to improved economic competitiveness, national defense, and enhanced STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) workforce development by advancing the field of cryptography.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to address digital asset security risks stemming from improper key management by demonstrating the technical feasibility of a cloud-based vault service (CBVS) utilizing multiple concurrent cryptographic protocols, including quantum-resistant threshold fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). The system will enable cryptocurrency keys to be securely stored, sharded, distributed among multiple data centers or commercial cloud providers and instantly reconstituted at will. This research aims to optimally integrate and implement FHE into the design of the CBVS to ensure efficient and secure processing, storage and recovery of secret keys while maintaining privacy and preventing third party key exposure. This includes defining the data model, encryption schemes, access controls and authentication mechanisms to protect private keys from unauthorized access or exposure while striking a balance between security and usability. A comprehensive, scalable key management system will be developed within the vault to enable users to securely generate, store and retrieve private keys as needed while enforcing strict access control and maintaining an audit trail for key operations. By addressing key technical challenges and reducing technical risk, this research will pave the way for a commercially viable and impactful product that can revolutionize the cryptocurrency security landscape.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DEBATER HUB, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Revolutionizing Learning Through AI Augmented Debate Centered Instruction
Contact
19616 ADAIR DR
Castro Valley, CA 94546--3306
NSF Award
2431521 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is to transform education by developing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) enhanced debate-centered learning platform. This innovative technology addresses the crucial need for cultivating 21st-century skills in students, with a focus on critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and self-regulation. The platform provides personalized and engaging debate experiences, aiming to democratize access to high-quality enrichment education, especially for underserved communities. The innovation applies cutting-edge AI techniques to educational contexts, including multi-agent language systems, graph neural networks, and mixture of expert models, thereby enhancing scientific understanding. The target market includes K-12 schools, universities, and workplace learning programs seeking cost-effective solutions to improve student outcomes and career readiness. The technology offers a unique competitive advantage through its innovative integration of AI and debate pedagogy, providing a scalable solution for enhancing student outcomes and career readiness across diverse educational settings. The business model focuses on scalable, subscription-based software distribution, with the potential for rapid adoption across educational institutions which aims to transform how students learn to think critically, debate with evidence and reasoning, and engage with complex ideas.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered platform for debate-centered instruction, addressing the complex challenge of enhancing student learning outcomes through advanced technology integration in education. The research objectives include developing an AI-powered Learning Management System for debate education, creating advanced natural language processing algorithms for argument analysis and feedback, and designing a scalable infrastructure for personalized learning experiences. The proposed research will employ a multi-faceted approach, combining techniques from machine learning, educational data mining, and cognitive science. Methods include developing and training specialized language models for debate contexts, implementing knowledge graph technologies for efficient information retrieval, and creating adaptive learning algorithms that respond to individual student growth over time. The research will investigate innovative approaches for ethical AI implementation in educational contexts, focusing on transparent oversight, bias mitigation, and privacy protection while maximizing educational benefits. Anticipated technical results include a functional prototype of the Augmented Debate-Centered Instruction platform, demonstrating improved learning outcomes in critical thinking and debate skills. The research aims to advance the field of AI in education by tackling unique challenges in debate instruction, such as real-time argument evaluation and personalized feedback generation while providing insights into optimizing human-AI collaboration in complex learning environments.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DEEPBITS TECHNOLOGY LLC
SBIR Phase I: ReleaseChecker: Lastline Software Supply Chain Security via GPU-accelerated Binary Diffing
Contact
20871 WESTBURY RD
Riverside, CA 92508--2974
NSF Award
2433062 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,383
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to introduce unique AI-powered code diffing capabilities to defend against software supply chain attacks, capabilities that are not yet available in other software supply chain security solutions. This innovation offers several benefits. Firstly, by reducing cybersecurity operation costs, it improves the competitiveness of U.S. companies, allowing them to allocate resources more efficiently. Secondly, it bolsters software supply chain security, significantly reducing the risk of cyberattacks and protecting sensitive data for governments, enterprises, critical infrastructures, and individuals. Additionally, this innovation will extend our understanding of how to apply AI to program analysis for cybersecurity, including binary code disassembling, function feature extraction and embedding, model training, and optimization. It establishes a new program analysis pipeline based on the latest AI technology, which can be extended to many other cybersecurity applications.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the critical need for enhancing software supply chain security and compliance. Unlike other solutions that monitor each stage of the software supply chain, this project aims to leverage AI-powered code diffing technology to precisely and efficiently find the differences between two released versions of the same software. It further combines software composition analysis and large language models (LLMs) to understand the risks associated with these differences. This solution acts as the final check before the software is released or deployed. The anticipated results include improved accuracy and efficiency in diffing analysis and comprehension, as well as a prototype for testing and commercialization.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DEEPLUX TECHNOLOGY, INC
SBIR Phase I: Lightweight Learning-based Camera Image Signal Processing (ISP) for Photon-Limited Imaging
Contact
981 MARWYCK ST
West Lafayette, IN 47906--7234
NSF Award
2335309 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,702
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation (SBIR) Phase I project will result from the ability to operate digital image sensors at lower light levels than is currently possible. The technology is expected to be deployable in any mid- to low-level camera device, with potential applications across all industries that leverage camera technology. Consumer applications that would benefit from improved low-light imaging include dashboard cameras and notebook cameras for videoconferencing; military and national security applications include night vision and autonomous navigation; while the technology will also enable improved diagnostic capabilities in medical procedures such as endoscopies. The technology is expected to have a direct impact on workforce development, and deployment of the solution will drive economics in consumer electronics.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to achieve photon-limited image denoising using a lightweight algorithm that has the potential to be implemented on a camera chip. Accomplishing this goal requires several technological breakthroughs, collectively leading to a new image signal processor (ISP) known as a Small and Learnable ISP Module (SLIM). The key to SLIM is to identify the bottlenecks of physics-based ISPs and replace them with customized learning-based modules. Specifically, SLIM consists of five innovations: (i) learning-based frequency demodulation, (ii) guided denoising, (iii) learned feature extraction, (iv) learned indexing, and (v) learned filtering. In Phase 1, the team proposes to optimize SLIM and implement it on a field programmable gate array (FPGA). This includes shrinking the size of the filters and streamlining the indexing scheme to further speed up SLIM, introducing new encoders to improve generalization, and optimizing the memory, communication, and processing through improved programming and real-data evaluation and demonstration.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DEEPSEQAI LLC
SBIR Phase I: Development of an AI-Driven Humanized and Developable Single-Domain Library Design Platform for Accelerated Drug Discovery
Contact
3400 COTTAGE WAY
Sacramento, CA 95825--1474
NSF Award
2409105 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,797
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact /commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to address major technical and commercial limitations in protein drug discovery. Drug discovery is currently a slow and expensive process, taking an average of 10 years and $2.6B per drug. In 2021 the US pharma industry spent almost $100B on drug research and development (R&D) efforts, with ~10% dedicated to protein drugs. Although some artificial intelligence (AI) solutions exist to support this process, fundamental problems exist: no current system optimizes multiple protein functions simultaneously, existing models rely heavily on predicting protein structures, and there is a lack of transparency in the models. This proposal supports the development of an AI system to improve the identification of small, highly specialized antibodies. The proposed technology could enhance the speed of identifying lead molecules while also reducing the cost through technical innovations. Therefore, this work has enormous clinical and commercial potential.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is intended to support the creation of an AI model to improve the identification of highly developable single-domain antibodies. These molecules have accepted advantages for therapeutic use (strong binding affinity, good thermal stability and chemostability, and less steric hindrance than conventional antibodies). However, they are typically obtained through a time- and cost-intensive process that involves immunizing a camelid or screening a large synthetic library. This proposalwill support the development and validation of an AI model specifically intended to quickly identify effective and highly developable single-domain antibody leads against a given target. In order to accomplish this goal, the proposed work encompasses training a multimodal AI model that is able to ecognize key features and residues of single-domain antibodies, then produce libraries of sufficient depth and quality to generate stable, safe leads with strong binding affinities. After the study period, the model and developed workflows will be evaluated for their ability to rapidly identify lead molecules.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DEFINED BIOSCIENCE, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Protein isolate serum replacements for low-cost cultivated meat medium
Contact
6404 NANCY RIDGE DR
San Diego, CA 92121--2248
NSF Award
2412327 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,995
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable a robust, scalable, and cost-effective means of cell expansion for cell-cultivated meat. Cell-cultivated meat offers an alternative source of animal meat products that may address issues of sustainability, conservation, and ethical sourcing. Current meat consumption is 30-40 kg per person per year in a population of nearly 9 billion people, presenting a major and growing annual demand for animal meat. Cell-cultivated meat, by bypassing animal slaughter through the growth of animal-derived cells in controlled environments, could help to meet this demand in a way that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, foodborne illnesses, and land and water usage. It also could offer more control in terms of metabolic profile, fat content, product sourcing, and food testing and analysis, a level of control from single cells to finished meat product. With concerns for animal meat sourcing over the next several decades, cell-cultivated meat may offer an opportunity for supplementing a shortening food supply and an alternative to traditional meat sourcing.
The proposed project expands on a low-cost and highly optimized cell culture medium formulation to enable scalable production of bovine cells for cell-cultivated meat. Cell-cultivated meat expects to use orders of magnitude more growth media than any previous market demand. Even pending the inevitable advancements in high-density cell culture, medium recycling and perfusion, scale-up bioreactor design, and limiting factor replacement that will all reduce this burden, there remains a profound need for lower-bulk, lower-cost media. A challenge is that cell culture has historically relied on blood serum to provide nutrients, growth factors and proteins?the most abundant and costly of which is albumin. The goal of this work is to replace high-cost recombinant albumins with plant-sourced albumin or albumin-like proteins, enabling the affordable production of cells for cultivated meat. Recombinant albumin improves on current formulations in the proliferation of bovine cells, and plant-derived fractions derived from US agricultural waste streams can similarly improve performance. This project aims to identify the highest-performing isolates among a defined set of candidates, followed by formula optimization. The resulting medium would be a low-cost solution for the growth of cells for cultivated meat?with the potential to serve other albumin applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DELAQUA PHARMACEUTICALS INC
SBIR Phase I: Triblock copolymer micelles for enhanced drug solubilization and stability
Contact
7016 TURKEY FARM RD
Chapel Hill, NC 27514--9787
NSF Award
2432717 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is rooted in enhancing the therapeutic use of hydrophobic drugs and yielding improved treatment outcomes with fewer side effects. The proposed technology has the potential to revolutionize the pharmaceutical field by increasing the bioavailability of known hydrophobic drugs and stabilizing new drugs. The technology will improve the health of the American population by allowing more therapeutic to be injected at lower volumes, thereby increasing therapeutic availability and efficacy. The platform will enhance America?s economic competitiveness in the global nanopharmaceutical market by providing a critically needed solubility-enhancing carrier platform. Research, sales, manufacturing, and management jobs will also be created domestically. The technology will engage with pharma companies and academic research groups on the evaluation, co-development, and licensing of novel drug formulations that improve the therapeutic window and reduce side effects. The platform will hasten the development and success rates of therapies that address the unmet medical needs of patients suffering from a broad spectrum of indications including cardiovascular conditions, cancer, infectious diseases, and neurological conditions like Alzheimer?s and dementia.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enhance the efficacy and safety of hydrophobic drugs and drug candidates through a polymeric micelle approach to drug solubilization. Estimates suggest 40% of approved drugs and 90% of molecules in the discovery pipeline are poorly soluble, thereby hindering bioavailability and efficacy and preventing many late-stage drug candidates from reaching the market. Current solubility-enhancing drug carriers require high amounts of inactive excipients, which adds costs and complexity and may cause adverse side effects. As such, there is a clear need for improved drug delivery methods. This Phase I work will establish the capabilities and safety of the polymeric micelle platform as a robust and widely applicable method of solubilizing and stabilizing hydrophobic drugs to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Objectives are to 1) improve formulation of spherical micelles for enhanced stability and drug solubilization, 2) perform initial toxicity study on polymeric micelles establishing the safety of the platform, and 3) demonstrate efficacy of the platform for solubilization of compounds of different drug classes. The proposed work will generate a scalable, well-characterized, and improved polymeric product for solubilizing active but poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients, thereby enhancing clinical development and commercialization of much-needed therapeutics.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DENCODA LLC
SBIR Phase I: Development of a DNA-linked Kinase Assay
Contact
3203 ELKHART ST
West Lafayette, IN 47906--1152
NSF Award
2332861 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,990
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this small business innovation research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of a highly specific and sensitive kinase assay that can be used as a research tool to discover new therapeutic targets or a clinical diagnostic test. Kinases are involved in the dysregulation of multiple cellular processes that drive the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as cancers, diabetes, and Alzheimer?s disease. Measuring kinase activities in the early stages of various kinase-driven diseases including cancers could improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Herein, kinase activity assays will be developed in an innovative, low-cost, high-sensitivity, and multiplexed format to improve kinase activity detection and quantification for cancer-related kinases. This approach offers a critically needed innovation that could overcome multiple barriers facing existing kinase assays and better arm scientists and clinicians to understand kinase function and for personalized treatment. The development of this assay has the potential to drive new discoveries and improve clinical care across many disease areas by enabling researchers and clinicians to detect kinase activities precisely.
The proposed project addresses the unmet need for sensitive, accurate, and cost-effective methods to quantify kinase activity in disease. Current kinase assay systems lack key features required for precise measurement of disease-related kinase activities. This Phase I project aims to develop a novel DNA-based kinase assay platform that enables multiplexed quantification of kinase activities with superior sensitivity and specificity compared to existing assays. DNA-based activity assays offer advantages, including cost-effectiveness, high multiplexing ability, and sensitivity. The assay is estimated to be 10- to 100-fold cheaper than current assays due to the low cost of DNA synthesis and multiplexing capability. Successful completion of Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing this DNA-based approach for measuring kinase activities in cancer cell lysates. Subsequent Phase II studies will validate the assay with clinical samples such as patient blood, urine, and tissues. Ultimately, this DNA-based kinase assay platform aims to enable highly sensitive kinase activity profiling that is currently unattainable. This will pave the way for assay-guided patient stratification and therapeutic development by overcoming the limitations of current kinase assays.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DINYA DNA LLC
STTR Phase I: Commercializing Architect-directed DNA Synthesis
Contact
505 DOUGLAS ST
Durham, NC 27705--3888
NSF Award
2350533 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to expand innovation in the biotechnology sector through the development of a new DNA synthesis technology. DNA synthesis is a key enabling technology for synthetic biology and biotechnology.
Traditional DNA synthesis methods build DNA one nucleotide at a time and can only synthesize short strands of DNA due to fidelity limitations. These short strands of DNA can be assembled into larger DNA fragments but this process is sequence dependent and often fails. This results in high costs, delayed timelines, and even an inability to complete certain research goals. This project seeks to overcome these challenges by developing an entirely novel DNA synthesis technology that will significantly reduce costs and lead times, while also enabling the synthesis of long and complex DNA. These advances will significantly accelerate and enable innovation and development of new therapeutics, biomanufacturing, agriculture, and more.
The proposed project is focused on the commercial development of novel DNA synthesis technology. This technology is a hierarchical approach to DNA synthesis that relies on small 2-5 bp DNA precursors that can be enzymatically assembled into larger DNA sequences in an exponential fashion (eg, 2 bp to 4 bp to 8 bp to 16 bp, etc). Funding in this program will be used to i) develop new methods for ensuring higher fidelity DNA precursors, ii) reduce synthesis costs by streamlining synthesis reactions, as well as iii) characterize quality control approaches. If successful, this project will pave the way for high fidelity DNA synthesis at low costs and rapid turnaround times.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DMAG USA LLC
SBIR Phase I: Nickel-Tungsten-Carbon/Fullerene Coating with Superior Performance for Aerospace Applications
Contact
13 E MORGAN AVE
Evansville, IN 47711--4525
NSF Award
2409791 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop a Nickel-Boron-Tungsten-Carbon Fullerene coating which will promote safety in aerospace applications, which enable essential travel and logistics services for society. Aerospace systems require coatings that protect them against the harsh conditions they typically operate in. This project?s coating is expected to improve durability of products, which means they will last longer, be more safe/reliable, and require less maintenance. This new environmentally safer plating process replaces harmful hexavalent chromium 6 plating, which is known for polluting air and water. Additionally, the coating can benefit cell phone infrastructure by improving antenna performance and it can protect planes and satellites from unwanted radiation. Finally, the coating technology will enhance air travel safety by providing corrosion resistance, preventing essential safety parts like brakes and hydraulic cylinders on landing gear from rusting or having other failures.
This SBIR Phase I project aims to develop a coating based on boron nickel co-deposited with Tungsten, carbon fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and nano diamond that will withstand hypersonic environments to meet national level hypersonic vehicle goals. This development and expected performance is based on previous formulations that incorporated one or more of the above-mentioned materials. Prior formulations developed by the company such as nickel sulfate based electroless nickel and tungsten (Wolfram) co-deposit were tested for temperature resistance, hardness, coefficient of friction, and wear resistance, with exceptional results on non-aerospace components (heatsinks and hydraulic cylinders). That success is leading to development of incorporation of nano materials to achieve engineered characteristics for other use-cases. The key to success lies in the functionalization of the nanomaterials and incorporation into the base boron nickel bath without deleterious effects. Tungsten was selected for its high melting temperature, while boron and nano diamond were chosen for their high hardness value and wear resistance. Carbon fullerenes/nanotubes will improve lubricity, conductivity, heat transfer, mechanical strength, and ablative properties without increasing the weight of the deposit. Silicon Carbide may be incorporated to further increase heat resistance and durability.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DOCARE LLC
SBIR Phase I: Detecting clinical trial communication behavior and preference patterns at a large scale to predict and improve clinical trial participant retention
Contact
1250 AVE. PONCE DE LEON
San Juan, PR 00907--3949
NSF Award
2350202 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,188
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project
may be to improve the success rates of clinical trials by possibly enhancing the engagement and retention of participants.
Poor clinical trial communication causes participant disengagement and attrition, resulting in incomplete data,
failed trials, and associated economic losses for the pharmaceutical industry The dynamic communication behavior
prediction tools that will be developed by this research may improve participant engagement through tailored
communication strategies. This technology combines unsupervised machine learning and operations research
models to predict participant communication and optimize contact protocols to increase engagement and
retention. This is a data-driven approach to improve clinical trial decision-making, schedule flexibility,
and participant outcomes, and reduce no-shows and dropout rates.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a large language model that will
improve the communication between clinical researchers and the participants in clinical trials with a focus on
optimizing engagement and retention to prevent trial failures. The project will use cluster analysis of
communications data from several clinical trials to understand and model group behavior for key variable
detection. These data will be integrated to design customized communication strategies for identified
behavioral clusters. The clustering and group assignment models will be tuned to develop a synergistic model
for employing optimal communication with clinical trial participants. Increased research staff productivity,
improved data collection efficiency, and advances in clinical trial research scientific and technological
understanding are predicted. This new technology could solve a major problem in the industry,
improve patient outcomes, decrease healthcare costs, and increase the success rate of clinical trials by
achieving response rates close to 95% total participation. The ultimate goal is to improve treatment efficacy
and healthcare delivery quality by incorporating a multi-objective machine learning methodology to increase
patient engagement in their care.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DTP THERMOELECTRICS LLC
SBIR Phase I: The DTP-90 Thermoelectric Device with Distributed Transport Properties (DTP) for Refrigeration and Beyond
Contact
650 SIERRA MADRE VILLA AVE STE 201
Pasadena, CA 91107--2068
NSF Award
2415451 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,773
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is to enable a carbon reducing, energy efficient cooling and refrigeration solution, with far-reaching societal benefits. The novel thermoelectric cooling (TEC) module's portability and compactness are invaluable for applications requiring reliable and precise temperature control, such as medical devices, vaccine storage, and portable refrigerators used in transportation. In off-grid or remote environments where conventional refrigeration is impractical, these modules offer a lifeline for preserving medicines and perishable goods. This technology could prove crucial in disaster relief efforts, field hospitals, and everyday scenarios like camping trips, improving quality of life and access to essential services, particularly in regions with limited electricity. The thermoelectric cooling module has the potential to benefit society in numerous ways, from enhancing electronics efficiency and sustainability to providing critical cooling solutions for portable applications. The solid state thermoelectric device technology does not have any working fluids, offering an innovative solution to current refrigeration systems which contribute to increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) production.
The intellectual merit of this project is to produce distributed transport properties TEC modules using composite elements composed of materials with targeted transport properties informed by modeling and synthesized using conventional thermoelectric alloys. Distributed transport properties (DTP) is the optimal structuring of transport material properties, Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity, within thermoelectric (TE) elements to create solid-state temperature control systems with greatly increased performance. The introduction of a Seebeck coefficient gradient within the TE elements partially counteracts detrimental distortion of the internal temperature profile induced by Joule heating. This technology will help portable refrigeration applications to be more efficient and less costly with increased portability. The Phase I objective is to produce a prototype DTP module which can achieve a maximum temperature difference greater than 90 Kelvin (K) with a 3 times increase in cooling efficiency (coefficent of performance (CoP)) and heat pumping at DT=70K as well as a pathway to large-volume manufacturing of DTP modules in the United States (US). The program goal is to combine DTP structure and additive manufacture to enable highly cost-effective manufacture in the US of the world?s best performing TE devices. These advancements can revolutionize both consumer and industrial applications for thermoelectric systems, contributing to a more sustainable and technologically advanced future.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DURAVAX INC
STTR Phase I: Development of Thermostable Formulations of mRNA Vaccines and Therapeutics
Contact
704 WILLIAM AND MARY PL
Wilmington, NC 28409--8148
NSF Award
2404627 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,991
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to overcome the cold-chain limitation for messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) therapy. Besides the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer, many other mRNA vaccines and drugs are under development for treating cancers and infectious diseases, gene therapy, and cell therapy. The average global revenue of mRNA therapy in the next decade is projected to be ~$18 billion annually. One main bottleneck for the distribution of mRNA therapy products is the poor stability of the mRNA drug products, which results in high cold-chain costs, big wastage, and limited accessibility to rural areas. The thermostable mRNA formulation technology developed in this project will help pharmaceutical companies to save multi-billion dollars per year associated with low stability and expand the market to the rural US and tropical countries. The thermostable formulations will make the revolutionary mRNA vaccines and drugs accessible to the approximately 60 million rural population in the US and the approximately 3 billion people living in tropical countries without adequate cold-chain facilities. Expansion of the market will also lead to more affordable prices of mRNA therapy products for low-income, especially uninsured, families.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will provide a low-cost and scalable solution to eliminate the cold-chain challenges in the distribution of mRNA active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and mRNA lipid-nanoparticles (mRNA-LNPs) drug products. mRNAs and mRNA-LNPs in aqueous solutions undergo degradation through various pathways. Currently, the only way to increase their stability without freezing is to remove water by lyophilization, which requires additional facility, costs, time, and process development. This STTR Phase I project aims to test the feasibility to store the thermostable liquid formulations of mRNAs and mRNA-LNPs at room temperature for transportation and long-term storage. The research plan is designed towards two objectives: (1) To demonstrate mRNA APIs with various lengths in the optimized granule formulations retain >90% activity after transportation at 20ºC for more than two weeks; (2) To demonstrate that the optimized thermostable formulations of mRNA-LNP drug products retain >90% activity after storage at 20ºC for more than six months and 50ºC for up to 7 days during tropical outdoor transportation. Completing the Phase I project will provide the evidence to support that thermostability of the proprietary mRNA and mRNA-LNP formulations can meet the industrial requirement.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
DYNAMIC LOCOMOTION, INC.
STTR Phase I: Low-Cost Autonomous Sailboats for Long-Term Ocean Missions
Contact
107 CORONA AVE
Groton, NY 13073--1206
NSF Award
2213250 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$248,418
Start / end date
08/15/2022 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is the development of new technologies to facilitate ocean data collection. Understanding the oceans is important for climate research, naval operations, maritime domain awareness, and ecosystem preservation, yet traditional data collection methods using research ships, commercial vessels, and buoys are cumbersome, expensive, and limited in their scope of discovery. While satellites have enabled remote data collection, they are affected by weather and limited in the types of data they collect. Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) - robotic boats - are promising, but even today?s smallest oceangoing USVs are too costly for many applications. Thus, many regions of Earth?s oceans are rarely studied. The technology developed here aims to meet this need by enabling low-cost deployment of sensor-equipped robotic fleets. Better access to ocean data may improve understanding of the ocean and its resources, leading to better climate modeling, improved safety, economic gains, and more effective regulations. Further, ocean monitoring and surveillance is key to understanding ocean water quality, identifying contaminants, and devising strategies to prevent future contamination and pollution of the ocean?s waters. Ultimately, cost-effective oceanic data collection may help sustain and grow the ocean economy.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to develop a small, low-cost, autonomous robotic sailboat that uses an innovative sail arrangement and weather-optimized navigation system. With a combination of affordability and utility, the technology represents a new approach for widespread oceanic data collection. This technology can be deployed virtually anywhere in the ocean, can be small (2 meters or less), and is 100% wind- and solar-powered. The research in this project seeks to further this technology by advancing two innovations: passive directional stability and weather-optimized navigation. Unlike most other robotic sailboats, the proposed USV does not need active steering to hold a course, once set. Further, the proposed USV has a navigation system that exploits the spatial and temporal variance in the weather and uses local weather data to direct the boats to navigate more efficiently. This STTR proposal seeks to address areas of high technical risk including stability of the steering system under various wind and water conditions, resistance to traveling excessively downwind during storms, effectiveness of the optimized navigation system in both actual and simulated weather conditions at locations worldwide, construction and performance of prototypes in lakes and oceans, and long-term resistance to marine environments.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
E-2 UNLIMITED TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Safeguard Kids and Maintain Privacy
Contact
304 HILLTOP LN UNIT G
Annapolis, MD 21403--1518
NSF Award
2321317 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,996
Start / end date
11/15/2023 – 10/31/2024
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I proposal is making online and digital interactions safer for children between the ages of 10 ? 14 years of age by using artificial intelligence technology to monitor text communication and inform their parents of potential danger in real-time. Youth aged 10 ? 14 years are particularly vulnerable to the risks of online activity since they are newcomers to the metaverse and they are likely getting a personal communication device for the first time. Parents want their kids to have the freedom and privacy to use their devices but fear the risks involved. This project will result in the development of a mobile app that monitors text communication in real-time and alerts parents if it detects potential danger (e.g., online predation, cyberbullying, and/or school violence) or risky behaviors (e.g., drug and alcohol use, and/or self-harm), so parents can intervene to protect their child. The app will provide an attractive alternative to existing products on the market because of its sophisticated artificial intelligence engine and because it does not collect and transfer all the phone?s data ? the solution reduces the risk of data leaks while still keeping parents informed.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is advancing the state of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies by developing a detection algorithm that runs entirely on a mobile device and is tailored to the user?s activity. Unlike large language models, which are general and wide-ranging, and thus require a lot of computing at a central server, this technology will have a small footprint and be personalized and adapted for each family. Throughout this project, the team will collect and label textual communication directly from youth and use the data to improve the algorithm?s accuracy, as measured by precision and recall. The project team will also develop the technology to collect and process the data on popular models of cell phones and to alert the parent when needed. The project will result in the development of a mobile app that monitors text communication in real-time and alerts parents if it detects potential danger or risky behaviors, so they can act proactively to protect their children from harm.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
E-ROOTREE LLC
SBIR Phase I: Design of E-Kit implanted as Synthetic root by biomimicking xylem hydraulics for Environmentally & Economically sustainable Holistic Tree care system for Angiosperms
Contact
1028 WILLIE RANCH WAY
Leander, TX 78641--5715
NSF Award
2432240 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$262,960
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to reduce the chemical use in the form of fertilizers and pesticides and promote tree crop agronomy. Lands being cultivated for centuries now mostly rely on fertilizers and other chemical solutions to maintain yields. Nutrient management plays a key role in tree metabolism, growth, yield and the aesthetics of crop, pest, and stress resistance which determines crop yields. Nutrient consumption is increasing annually with a current consumption of 19 million metric tons in US that is projected to grow to 117 Megatons in 2027. Agricultural emissions contribute to 11.2% of US emissions which challenge our sustainable development goals for 2050. The methods of application of these fertilizers negatively impacting our environment via acidification of soils, toxification of water bodies, harming pollinators, increase emissions and unnecessary economic costs. This project aims to create a single approach to address the multitude needs of tree crops, thereby promoting economic and environmental sustainability in fruit and nut tree crops.
This project focuses on designing a state of the art, unified and stand alone, easy use kit for diverse species of fruit and nut tree to provide regular nutrient, growth, biotic-abiotic stress and pest management from single node on a tree trunk that will cover the entire tree canopy while imparting zero environmental exposure. Such a quantum leap forward in chemical resource management and zero environmental toxification for holistic tree care is possible by integrating bio science and engineering to build a sustainable tree nutrient delivery kit based on Microelectromechanical systems, which bio-mimic the xylem hydraulic system, correlate the energy that drives the transport and allow for compatibility with anatomical structures. This proposal investigates the xylem hydrodynamics and tree susceptibilities to identify and obtain design conditions, needs, and risks in engineering the system. For the kit to function efficiently from single site it is important to control both axial and radials flows to achieve adequate distribution across the tree. The merit of this method is in engineering both flows and ability to distribute wide range of solutions with various viscosities, dosages and flow rates.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
EARTHEN INC.
STTR Phase I: Packed Bed Thermal Energy Storage (PBTES) in sCO2-based thermo-mechanical energy storage for short and long durations
Contact
6401 W ORCHID LN
Chandler, AZ 85226--1140
NSF Award
2404520 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,723
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this STTR Phase I project involves the development and deployment of an integrated energy storage solution designed to harness and store excess energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar. This project addresses the critical need for effective energy storage systems to manage the intermittency of renewable energy sources. The anticipated commercial impacts include significant advancements in grid stability and the potential reduction of reliance on fossil fuel-based peaker plants. The market for grid-scale energy storage is projected to reach billions of dollars globally, positioning the technology to capture a substantial share of this growing market. Additionally, the project is expected to contribute to environmental sustainability by facilitating a higher penetration of renewable energy sources into the grid, thus reducing carbon emissions and enhancing air quality. The successful development and implementation of this technology could also foster greater scientific understanding of advanced energy storage systems and promote further technological innovations within the renewable energy sector.
The intellectual merit of this project stems from its innovative approach to combining thermal and mechanical energy storage using supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as the heat transfer fluid in a Packed-Bed Thermal Energy Storage (PB-TES) system. The research objectives focus on optimizing the heat transfer efficiency and minimizing mechanical losses in the system, aiming for a heat transfer efficiency greater than 90% and a levelized cost of storage (LCOS) below $60/megawatt hour (MWh). The research will involve detailed design, modeling, and testing of PB-TES configurations to handle the high pressures of sCO2 and achieve efficient thermal management. Anticipated technical results include the development of a scalable, cost-effective energy storage system that can be rapidly deployed and integrated with existing renewable energy infrastructures. This project not only aims to advance the state-of-the-art in energy storage solutions but also enhances the scalability and economic feasibility of renewable energy systems, contributing significantly to the field of energy engineering.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ECATE LLC
STTR Phase I: High-resolution, spatially selective intraspinal stimulator to restore sensation in spinal cord injury patients.
Contact
3686 BARHAM BLVD APT H301
Los Angeles, CA 90068--1153
NSF Award
2403910 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,976
Start / end date
06/15/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is a novel custom-made micro-probe electrode system for restoring organ function in nervous paralysis and paralysis-related conditions such as neurogenic bladder or fecal incontinence. The electrode system aims to provide real-time, bi-directional, closed-loop spinal cord machine interface to restore both sensation and volitional motor control in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. The system aims to provide restorative function for the 5.4M US paralysis victims, while providing smaller, more accurate, higher capacity implantable electrode platform for the $7.6 B neurorehabilitation and neurostimulation market.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to demonstrate the preclinical feasibility of a novel spinal cord neural interface as an effective scalable platform for rehabilitating paralysis-related conditions including neurogenic bladder and mobility. This project will develop a new type of neural interface that delivers selective stimulation to specific targeted regions of the patient?s spinal cord in order to evoke a target sensation. For example, bladder fullness will trigger the proposed intraspinal stimulator to deliver safe current pulses to the patient?s spinal cord to reenable the sensation of bladder fullness. The proposed probe will also sense the patient?s intention to urinate and relay the signal to a bladder stimulator to reenable patient?s control over their micturition. Nanopatterned stimulating electrodes will be fabricated and coupled with custom-designed complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chips to deliver safe and spatially selective current pulses. The system aims to bypass the spinal cord injury to restore communication between the subject?s body and brain. The system will be validated in rodent nervous models and characterized for future human use.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ECHOICS
STTR Phase I: Tunable Transceivers for Multi-Standard Wireless
Contact
308 WORTH ST
Ithaca, NY 14850--4927
NSF Award
2423440 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will be an improvement in the quality, reliability, and coverage of wireless networks, including defense communication and commercial cellular (4G/5G) networks. By advancing scientific understanding of a new type of tunable wireless frontend, wireless networks will achieve higher data rates, a higher number and density of users, and lower energy use. These technical improvements result in lower total ownership costs for communication hardware and more reliable coverage in dense urban environments. Taken together, this project will lower the economic and logistical barrier of entry to wireless connection, enabling more equitable access to the Internet and each other. This Phase I project will help launch a fabless semiconductor business focused on a patent-pending multi-purpose wireless frontend integrated circuit based on this project?s proof of concept. The existing market for such hardware is the $8B software defined radio market, which is immediately impacted by 10x performance improvements in the same form factor as existing products. This same product family will also be suitable for use in the much larger network infrastructure market ($110B).
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project focuses on the commercialization of a novel tunable resonator circuit technique for radio frequency integrated circuits. Radio frequency systems can be designed with hardware tuning (as in frequency modulation receivers), or without hardware tuning, where the signal of interest is isolated from other radio frequency signals in software. This second approach, called software-defined radio has been lauded in academic and industry research for its potential improvements to overall modern wireless network throughput, however the lack of tuning causes software-defined radios to suffer poor efficiency, susceptibility to interference, and high cost. These downsides have prevented adoption outside defense applications. This project aims to close the gap between these two approaches by developing a transceiver that is both tuned and programmable, achieving the benefits of both approaches. Specifically, this project will develop a prototype transceiver integrated circuit with wide frequency flexibility (<400MHz to 8GHz), with built-in filtering of incoming and outgoing interference to eliminate the tradeoffs in existing software defined radio systems. This project?s software-tunable transceiver frontend will serve as a proof of concept demonstrating a path to realizing the benefits of software defined radios without the prohibitive downsides of current hardware.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
EDNA INC.
SBIR Phase I: Addressing Mental Health in Underserved Athletic Populations
Contact
4 MAYFAIR CIR
Oxford, MA 01540--2722
NSF Award
2430370 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact and commercial potential of this SBIR Phase I project lies in its innovative approach to proactively monitor mental health support for student-athletes, particularly those from underserved communities. Research shows that college athletes face 20 times higher rates of mental health issues than their non-athletic peers, with students of color encountering unique challenges tied to economic, culture, and social constructs. This product will launch at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), where underfunded institutions, lack of social support, and imposed responsibilities compound the pressures of athletic competition.
This project focuses on developing an AI tool that provides conversational check-ins, identifying language indicative of mental distress. By leveraging minority data, this tool engages student-athletes in a culturally relevant manner, promoting their mental wellness. The primary objective is to train a large language model (LLM) using this data to proactively monitor the health and wellness of these student-athletes. The bot integrates subjective conversational data with objective clinical surveys through proprietary algorithms, offering a more accurate assessment of mental distress. With a projected revenue of $3 million by year three, this comprehensive approach has the potential to revolutionize mental health support for student-athletes, with broader commercial applications for other vulnerable populations.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ELIF ENVIRONMENTAL LLC
SBIR Phase I: Improving feedstock biogas methane yield via microwave and electromagnetic field application
Contact
8737 N RANGE LINE RD
River Hills, WI 53217--2032
NSF Award
2431910 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is centered on enhancing the efficiency of anaerobic digestion for the generation of biogas from organic waste. The United States produces an estimated 70 billion tons or organic waste each year. The bulk of this waste is currently disposed in landfills, where they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental contamination. Conversely, anaerobic digestion is one of the most effective methods of organic waste management, in that it not only eliminates the environmental hazards associated with mismanaged waste (e.g., reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10-13%), but also produces biogas, a valuable renewable energy resource that has been predicted as capable of offsetting 6-9% of the world?s primary energy consumption. This project seeks to develop, model, and validate a technology that leverages microwaves and electromagnetic fields to drive improvements in anaerobic fermentation efficiency by at least 20%. The advancements toward building renewable energy-based infrastructure and reducing organic waste support public health and welfare by contributing to climate change mitigation.
The proposed effort is focused on developing a novel technology that enhances anaerobic digestion efficiency by pretreating organic matter with a combination of microwaves (MW)and electro-magnetic fields. Development of a modular system compatible with a wide range of feedstocks while retaining cost-efficient operation is a non-trivial R&D pursuit. The diverse spectrum of inputs with varying dry matter contents and compositions will require different models, operational parameters, and exploration of new technological avenues. Technical de-risking to deliver a core system that is customizable to application-specific needs will require development of 1) mathematical models representative of the technology?s performance against wide array of commercially relevant materials and digestate (e.g., manure, anaerobic digestate, aerobic activated sludge, food waste, and several combinations thereof) and 2) cost-effective operational approaches capable of responding dynamically to feedstock conditions. Technical challenges arise from the complexity of potential feedstocks and the interacting effects of the multi-component system, which could be applied in series, concurrently, or a combination of both, at various ranges of microwave radiation and electromagnetic field application intensities. To overcome these challenges, this project entails development, computational modeling, and testing of a modular system for pre-treatment of a range of commercially relevant organic wastes, to improve anaerobic digestion by at least 20% while maintaining cost- end energy-efficiency.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
EMPALLO, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Developing Artificial intelligence Models to Predict In-hospital Clinical Trajectories for Heart Failure Patients
Contact
809 PEACHTREE BATTLE AVENUE NW
Atlanta, GA 30327--1313
NSF Award
2304358 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2023 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project includes improving cardiovascular management, personalized medicine, inclusivity for historically underserved populations, and clinical trial design. The project could improve the health and wellbeing of heart failure (HF) patients while saving billions of dollars in HF hospitalization costs. If the technology proves feasible, it could shift the paradigm of HF management from reactive to proactive. The proposed machine learning model extracts latent features and detects subtle patterns from clinical data, which derives digital biomarkers that can potentially enable novel phenotype discovery and eventually personalized medicine. The digital biomarkers derived from the proposed innovation, when used in clinical trials, could also improve inclusivity and greater generalizability of novel therapies when applied to diverse populations. The proposed technology could enable clinical trial sponsors to achieve the desired statistical power with smaller patient populations. This, in turn, would enable faster, cheaper, and more effective clinical trials.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project mitigates the burden of heart failure (HF), which afflicts over 6.5 million Americans. As the leading cause of hospitalization in the U.S., HF results in more than $29 billion in hospital charges and $11 billion in hospitalization costs, annually. A large portion of hospitalization costs are driven by readmissions, with about 20% of heart failure patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge. The fundamental challenge is the variability of this disease. A treatment regimen that works for one patient might not work for another, even if they show similar symptoms. Anticipating clinical trajectories, treatment response, and potential complications, and translating those insights into actionable interventions is key to improving outcomes for HF patients. To help clinicians anticipate a HF patient?s response to treatment and adverse events during hospitalization and enable personalized intervention planning, this project will develop explainable and generalizable multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) models that predict a HF patient?s clinical trajectory shortly after admission. This technology is a methodological innovation grounded in large-scale, multi-center, clinical data. The key milestone in Phase I is to yield a reasonably accurate predictive AI model, cross-validated between the data of two large healthcare systems.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
EMPIRI, INC.
SBIR Phase I: A cancer diagnostic instrument to measure empirical treatment response
Contact
7505 FANNIN ST.
Houston, TX 77054--1953
NSF Award
2322382 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,930
Start / end date
08/01/2023 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve personalized cancer care by developing a first in class cancer diagnostic instrument that can deliver clinically actionable, personalized, drug response data from individual cancer patients using the E-slice assay. The E-slice assay is a novel 3D culture-based assay which has been shown to accurately predict individual cancer patients? responses to treatments. The E-slice assay is currently registered as a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments Laboratory Developed Tests (CLIA LDT). The cancer diagnostic market is expected to grow from $56 billion in 2022 to $162 billion by 2027, and this test and automation could capture a significant share of this rapidly expanding market. Beyond improving outcomes for cancer patients, the automation of this assay could have far-reaching implications, such as accelerating and economizing drug screening, discovery, and development for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and academia.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the most challenging and risky portion of automating the E-slice assay. The novel engineering solutions that the team proposes to develop will automate the processing of live human tissue samples from a needle biopsy or surgery, generate precision-cut slices, and then precisely position them in a tissue culture plate for downstream culture and analysis. The new device will do so in a manner that maintains sterility, minimizes thermal, chemical, and mechanical stresses, and performs in a highly reliable way. The primary technical challenges are ensuring reliable performance that is equal to or superior than manual methods. The technical milestones include meeting thresholds for reliability, sterility, and tissue viability compared to manual processing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ENCHROMA INC.
SBIR Phase I: Contact lens for assisting color vision deficiency
Contact
2001 ADDISON ST
Berkeley, CA 94704--1192
NSF Award
2335248 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel biocompatible dye integrated into contact lenses for improving color recognition in people with various forms of color blindness. The technology aims to improve color recognition in patients with color vision deficiency (CVD), due to either hereditary (11.3 million anomalous trichromats) or acquired (33 million retinopathies and maculopathy affecting color vision) causes. Common reasons include macular degeneration, Type II diabetes retinopathy, and glaucoma. Classroom information is also nearly 80% color-coded, and the technology poses a more equitable learning environment for color vision deficient students who wear contact lenses and in a less externally obvious manner. The system thus poses the potential impact of improving learning, task performance, and quality of life as demonstrated through spectrally identical external eyewear studies for contact lens wearers. The total addressable domestic market exceeds 5 million patients with over 1 million patients suffering from hereditary causes and 4 million from acquired color deficiencies, resulting in an annual market of up to $326 million.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to embed narrow-band hydrophobic dyes into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a primary hydrophilic contact lens (CL) hydrogel, to create a contact lens that offers color vision deficiency assistance. Narrow-band absorber dyes provide spectral shaping, modifying light reaching the eye. The technical hurdles to be addressed is developing a fabrication method which ensures the dyes and PVA are embedded into a stable format such that they do not leach out during prolonged submersion and wear. A novel chemical process that combines dyes into a common solvent, when combined with the PVA-water solution will be integrated into a contact lens such that it permeates and impermeates the porous substrate without precipitating. Upon curing and cross-linking, this embeds less than a microgram of hydrophobic narrow-band dyes to create a thin and stable lens layer. The effects will quantified using optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to provide a basis for a human grade contact lens.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ENCORE CO2 LLC
SBIR Phase I: Ethanol Production via Electrolytic Recycling of Byproduct CO2 from Fermentation
Contact
1624 WYOMING ST
Baton Rouge, LA 70802--8514
NSF Award
2432964 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to advance sustainable manufacturing by converting CO2 into valuable products. Traditionally, carbon-based products are produced using fossil fuels as both an energy source and carbon source. The company's electrolyzer technology uses renewable energy to transform CO2 and water into common products such as ethanol for use in beverages, sanitizers, and consumer goods. This new process reduces the carbon intensity of ethanol manufacturing by at least an order of magnitude. The project's outcomes will also enable the production of other carbon-based products like food and pharmaceuticals using only CO2 and water. At the heart of this system are novel, large-scale electrolytic processes poised to revolutionize carbon-based product manufacturing. Beyond its sustainability impact, outcomes from this project will drive economic growth centered around CO2 recycling.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to advance sustainable manufacturing by developing scalable technology to convert CO2 into high-value products. Our focus starts with ethanol production. Future efforts will expand to include other two-carbon products and derivatives including food and medicine. The project focuses scaling with high conversion efficiencies and reduced energy consumption. Key research objectives include developing new electrolyzer designs along with more durable, high-performance electrocatalysts and electrolyzer components that maximize CO2 conversion rates and product selectivity. The team will iteratively refine electrolyzer designs to improve performance and energy efficiency. At the end of the project, the anticipated outcome is a prototype tool capable of producing at least 1 liter of ethanol per day with minimal energy input. Beyond mitigating CO2 emissions, products from this work will drive economic growth around CO2 recycling.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ENVISION HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES INC
SBIR Phase I: ADAPTIVE PERIMETRY FOR HEAD MOUNTED DEVICES
Contact
16 STURGIS RD
Bronxville, NY 10708--5003
NSF Award
2415015 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of a novel tool for the diagnosis and monitoring of functional visual field (VF) defects due to glaucoma.?Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, is asymptomatic in its early stages and challenging to diagnose, often resulting in late detection.?3 million Americans have a diagnosis of glaucoma, and this number is expected to double by 2050 contributing to a market size for treatment exceeding $7 billion by 2028. Early identification of disease and disease progression is key in preventing vision loss. Using a novel testing method, this technology will capture VF changes with higher sensitivity and specificity than the current standard of care. If successful, the proposed solution will allow for earlier detection of glaucoma and glaucomatous progression and facilitate earlier clinical intervention by eye care providers, reducing the overall burden of disease and incidence of irreversible vision loss.???
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This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims?to improve the early detection of vision loss due to glaucoma through the development of fully automated adaptive perimetry software. Conventional VF testing, known as static automated perimetry (SAP), lacks sensitivity, often leading to late diagnosis of glaucoma and irreversible vision loss. With SAP, defects can only be detected when they affect at least 3 degrees of the visual field, providing only a macro understanding of vision loss. This project aims to develop a fully automated adaptive perimetry test that combines the uniformity and standardization of SAP with greater precision and individualization of an adaptive test strategy. This novel testing algorithm will intelligently adjust stimuli based on individual responses, increasing the sensitivity and specificity of early defect detection, and mapping functional deficits to retinal anatomical defects. Objectives include mathematical modeling of the retinal pathophysiology of glaucoma, development of spatial analysis for real-time test location determination, development of methods for active correction of fixational errors using eye-tracking, and determination of suprathreshold contrasts.?
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ETHAR, INC.
STTR Phase I: Semantically-Enabled Augmented Reality for Manufacturing
Contact
1806 UNIVERSITY DR NW
Huntsville, AL 35801--5743
NSF Award
2335533 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project facilitates safer and more efficient human-centered manufacturing tasks. The introduction of context-sensitive work guidance through immersive technologies will expedite workforce training, enhance users' spatial awareness, and outperform existing manufacturing work instruction systems, leading to heightened productivity across industries. This development embodies the emergence of cyber-human relationships and Digital Twin and Smart Factory applications, reinforcing U.S. manufacturing leadership, bolstering economic competitiveness, and fortifying national security. The anticipated commercial Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution is poised to benefit approximately 10,000 U.S. manufacturing firms. Beyond its economic implications, the first-generation, open-specification Reality Modeling Language (RML) developed in this project is expected to gain widespread acceptance in the international standards community, improving spatial system automation across diverse industry verticals. Ultimately, this system will render the physical world more accessible, searchable, and comprehensively annotated with data, unlocking new frontiers in user support, safety, and efficiency.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project addresses mission-critical challenges for fully leveraging Augmented Reality (AR) tools in manufacturing environments. It draws upon ontologically structured data and a proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven knowledge system for automating the generation and display of context-specific AR content in 3D space, eliminating the need for individually designed AR interactions. The solution enables training and work instruction systems to become spatially- and contextually aware, in order to adapt to dynamic conditions impacting worker safety and efficiency. The objective of this project is to demonstrate and quantify how automatically generated, spatially- and semantically aware AR can provide work guidance, machine status data, and hazard warnings to increase worker capabilities versus conventional guidance tools. The RML will be derived and logically describe and computationally code the 3D spatial scene of a simulated factory floor, and later, RML will be released as an open code library to the developer community. The system will sense the real world and objects in real-time, learn as input is received, and prioritize and render AR content communicating context-specific suggestions and warnings. This project will demonstrate integration between workers, their environment, and the tools engaged to complete their tasks so production personnel can act confidently, safely and effectively.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
EUGIT THERAPEUTICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Tissue specific delivery of payloads
Contact
930 BRITTAN AVE
San Carlos, CA 94070--4002
NSF Award
2423571 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is pivotal for the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which affects around 3.1 million adults in the United States. Traditional treatments are broad and often lead to severe side effects. This project develops a targeted therapeutic delivery system intended to increase treatment precision and reduce adverse effects. Specifically, it aims to provide relief for the 5-10% of patients unresponsive to existing treatments, opening a market opportunity estimated at $4.65 billion. This technology is anticipated to advance the field of precision medicine by enabling therapies that specifically target diseased tissues, potentially improving treatment outcomes for a variety of chronic conditions beyond IBD, and paving the way for reduced healthcare costs and enhanced patient well-being.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is dedicated to creating a novel platform for identifying agents that can specifically accumulate in diseased tissues. The primary goal is to develop a proof of concept showing that our platform can uncover agents capable of targeted delivery to the gastrointestinal tract. This phase involves comprehensive testing in macaques, chosen for their physiological similarities to humans, to ensure the agents maintain their targeting ability without losing functionality. Expected results include demonstrating that these agents can consistently localize to specific tissues in the gut. Success in this phase will set the stage for Phase II, where these targeting agents will be paired with therapeutic compounds to test efficacy in improving treatment outcomes. The project?s completion will enable the company to engage with pharmaceutical companies for potential partnerships and to apply for further funding through an NIH SBIR Phase II project, focusing on enhanced therapeutic applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
EVOLVE GENOMIX, INC.
SBIR Phase I: A low-cost field-use DNA-based rapid diagnostic device for plant diseases
Contact
1249 QUARRY LN STE 130
Pleasanton, CA 94566--8446
NSF Award
2433122 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$270,128
Start / end date
11/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to enable farmers to take early action against destructive plant diseases to protect their crops, reducing reliance on harmful pesticides. Climate change and global trade have led to an increased spread of harmful pests and plant diseases like Citrus Greening. These diseases threaten the world's food supply and cost farmers billions of dollars each year. Farmers are forced to rely heavily on pesticides, harming the environment, human health, and ultimately, their sustainability. Currently, identifying these diseases often involves sending samples to centralized labs, which can be slow, inconvenient, and inefficient. This Phase I project aims to develop a user-friendly, affordable testing device that allows farmers to quickly identify plant diseases right in their fields. This early identification of plant diseases would enable the farmers to practice more sustainable farming methods that would lead to higher crop yields, improved food security, maintain U.S. competitiveness in the global food trade and preserve jobs in the agricultural industry. This on-site testing and data-driven decision making by less-skilled farm workers also leads to increased science education, thus serving NSF?s mission.
On-site testing by farm technicians is a critical need for the early detection of destructive plant diseases like Citrus Greening in the pre-symptomatic phase to reduce the spread of infection and to lessen the prophylactic use of pesticides. This project aims to enable such rapid on-site testing of vector-borne plant diseases through development of a low-cost, battery-operated, accurate, nucleic acid-based molecular diagnostic test kit that can process diverse, hard-to-lyse plant tissue samples and produces easily-readable results in 30 minutes. The main goals of this Phase I project are to develop a simple, field use-friendly hardware kit for sample homogenization, nucleic acid extraction, isothermal amplification and signal readout and to formulate optimal formulations for lysis, extraction and amplification reagents. The outcome of this 9-month project will be a universal hardware kit and a Huanglongbing (HLB) disease-specific reagent kit that would be designed and optimized to have >90% sensitivity and 100% specificity for Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the causative pathogen of HLB disease. The universal hardware kit can be used with other pathogen-specific reagent kits that would be developed in the future.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
EXIGENT SOLUTIONS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: An Artificial Intelligence System to Accelerate Semiconductor Production using Physics-embedded Lithographic Foundation Model
Contact
3908 VERBENA ST
Aubrey, TX 76227--1998
NSF Award
2336079 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,985
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to expedite the wide adoption of next-generation semiconductor chips, which is a major factor in driving technological innovation across industries and societies. As technologies rapidly evolve, shifting to extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) systems in semiconductor manufacturing has significantly increased design and manufacturing complexities, leading to prohibitively high costs and stifling innovation. This project aims to alleviate the design and manufacturing bottlenecks by integrating leading-edge artificial intelligence into these complex processes. This innovation aims to significantly boost efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate time-to-market for new chip designs, overcoming current limitations in next-generation process nodes. Importantly, this proposal is poised to strengthen domestic semiconductor capabilities, a crucial element for maintaining U.S. national security, global competitiveness, and technological leadership.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is focused on advancing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence for simulating photolithography in rapidly emerging semiconductor technologies. As technology evolves and process precisions improve, minor design and manufacturing deviations, such as the 3D mask effect and stochastic variations, can no longer be neglected. Addressing this arising technical challenge requires a swift and precise simulation tool, essential for optimizing yield, throughput, and time-to-market, to maintain competitiveness in this market. The proposed work will create the Lithography Foundation Model (LFM), a system with physics integrated deeply into its framework that understands the intricate dynamics of extreme ultraviolet lithography processes. The technical approach of embedding physical modeling into LFM enables rigorous accuracy across any permutations of process conditions. Coupled with leading-edge hardware-software optimization, LFM promises real-time simulations with exceptional precision. The versatility and modularity of LFM enables applications for various processes, including process simulation, layout correction, and manufacturability optimization.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
EXOPOWER INC.
SBIR Phase I: In-Motion, Capacitive, Wireless Charging System for Material Handling Vehicles
Contact
2514 LAKE MEADOW DR
Lafayette, CO 80026--9162
NSF Award
2228928 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$251,522
Start / end date
08/15/2023 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader and commercial impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will eliminate the downtime for battery charging of material handling vehicles (MHVs) (i.e., mobile robots and forklifts) with in-motion capacitive wireless charging, thereby increasing the productivity and economic competitiveness of warehouses. Implementation of in-motion capacitive wireless charging in warehouses and roadways would enable the use of much smaller batteries (up to 80% smaller) for most electric vehicles (EVs) and MHVs, dramatically reducing costs and making them less expensive than their gasoline powered counterparts. This dramatic price reduction will speed up the transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Mass roadway deployment of in-motion capacitive wireless charging would significantly reduce air pollution and the US dependence on oil, increasing US national security.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a capacitive wireless charging system for in-motion charging of MHVs. The project will develop a robust, safe, and fully automated system capable of wirelessly charging an MHV on demand, at power levels up to 1 kW. The research will address three technical challenges: 1) achieving high power transfer in the presence of coupler misalignments; 2) activating and deactivating the charging apparatus in a seamless and safe manner; and 3) maintaining thermally stable continuous operation and achieving efficient rectification at 1 kW, 6.78 MHz with commercially available power semiconductor devices. The misalignment tolerance will be enabled through an enhanced coupler design that ensures full power delivery over a substantially enlarged area of overlap compared to conventional coupler designs. The automated activation and deactivation will be enabled by a sensing, control, and communication system comprising a modulated optical actuation scheme and power-transfer based decision making. The continuous power delivery will be enabled by a custom-designed thermal management solution. The efficient rectification at high frequency will be enabled by innovations in matching network design that mitigate the impact of the rectifier?s parasitics. Addressing these challenges will enable the technology to be commercializable.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FEMTOSENSELABS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Quantum Magnetometer
Contact
1281 WIN HENTSCHEL BLVD STE 1300
West Lafayette, IN 47906--4360
NSF Award
2403857 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,786
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result from the development of a cutting-edge scanning magnetometer microscope. This technology will enable high-resolution imaging of novel magnetic materials with unprecedented sensitivity at the nanoscale level. These novel magnetic materials serve as fundamental building blocks for advancing computer memories and pioneering new computing technologies through the field of spintronics. Spintronics utilizes the intrinsic property of electrons known as ?spin? to engineer electronic devices. Imaging this property is beyond the capabilities of conventional microscopes. However, the magnetic footprint associated with spin can be captured using advanced techniques such as scanning magnetometer microscopes. Therefore, breakthroughs in advanced microscopy techniques are a necessity for the field of spintronics to succeed in developing novel magnetic materials. The implementation of such novel magnetic materials holds the promise of accelerating the development of faster and more energy-efficient computing devices to address the demand for more capable mobile computers.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes a new technique for utilizing atomic defects for sensing applications. Atomic defects in host crystals such as diamond have emerged as a groundbreaking platform for quantum technologies. Atomic defects are naturally protected by the host crystal which eliminates the need for complex trapping mechanisms. Better yet, unlike many platforms for quantum technologies which require vacuum and cryogenic temperatures to operate, crystal defects can retain their properties even in ambient conditions. Harnessing these features is a promising path toward realizing advanced microscopy tools with atomic resolution which can be integrated in the workflow of R&D labs. However, due to the small size of these atomic defects and their relatively weak signal, engineering a reliable instrument based on this platform faces significant challenges. The goal of this project is to develop a robust technique for harnessing atomic defects to improve the performance of scanning magnetometer microscopes and break into new territories of resolution and sensitivity. This achievement will pave the way for developing novel magnetic materials for spintronics to build faster and more power-efficient computing devices.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FIGURE 8, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Recovery of NH3 from Livestock Manure for Clean, Zero-Carbon Fuel
Contact
6094 MADBURY CT
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401--8244
NSF Award
2332849 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,922
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is to promote the swift decarbonization of industries, in particular the synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer industry which generates 33.8 Megatonnes (Mt)/year (y) of life cycle assessment (LCA) carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) emissions in the U.S. The proposed technology provides an alternative to the current N fertilizer production by recovering N from livestock manure and producing renewable, low-carbon ammonia (NH3) as a fuel. Green NH3, on the other hand, is costly and still requires long-term development to be commercially viable. Until Green NH3 becomes affordable, the renewable NH3 produced by the proposed technology can serve as a bridge fuel to help the industries start energy transition now. This technology could replace half the current synthetic N fertilizers. Manure generates 180 Mt of CO2eq emissions by applications to the soil. This technology has a significant potential to reduce GHG emissions. The market value of the N fertilizers is about $10 billion in the U.S. The estimated dollar value of the target market would be half that amount. The proposed innovation will help advance a fundamental scientific and engineering understanding of a consecutive liquid-gas (LG) and gas-liquid (GL) multiphase and multi-component mass transfer coupled with chemical reactions, a common phenomenon in many chemical and biochemical processes.
This project's intellectual merit is in acquiring the knowledge involved in a complex, consecutive LG-to-GL mass transfer, which is essential to a wide range of industries. A new kinetic model for such a mass transfer of NH3 will be developed and applied to optimize the operating parameters to maximize the NH3 recovery efficiency, which has never been accomplished before. The Phase I objective is to increase the NH3 absorption mass transfer rate by an order of magnitude by applying the model. The model will be validated by comparing the model against experimental data to be collected in Phase I. The experiments will be conducted using two columns: one for the NH3 stripping and another for the NH3 absorption. The operating parameters will be explored to maximize the mass transfer kinetics based on the model for flushed manure samples. The anticipated result would be a new, validated consecutive LG-to-GL mass transfer model, establishing the relationship between the mass transfer rate and the operating parameters and optimizing parameters that would significantly increase the NH3 recovery efficiency, making the technology affordable to livestock farmers.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FINIKS FORGE, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Upcycling animal hair waste into regenerated textile fibers
Contact
24 BERKELEY ST
Somerville, MA 02143--1604
NSF Award
2317482 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
12/15/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project reduces the environmental footprint of the fashion industry by engineering regenerated sustainable textile fibers from protein waste. The millions of tons of industrial and post-consumer keratin waste produced every year from the food, beauty, and textile industries are targeted as sources of biomass to engineer sustainable and cost-effective protein-based textiles with properties comparable to animal fibers such as wool and cashmere. This project would allow the introduction of a new player in the eco-friendly fiber market space and contribute to the fight against the detrimental environmental impacts of synthetics. The repurposing and revalorization of keratin waste from the wool, leather and poultry industries would benefit a broad part of the US agriculture ecosystem. The fundamental research on protein self-assembly and biomaterial engineering necessary for the development of the keratin regenerated fibers will serve as a scientific asset in other industrial sectors including biomedical, high-performance materials, and green chemistry industries.
This SBIR Phase I project will develop chemical processes and material fabrication platforms to enable the upcycling of keratin protein waste into textile fibers proving processability through standard fabric manufacturing technologies. The target deliverable is planned to be achieved by 1) developing an efficient and sustainable method to extract keratin from animal hairs; 2) engineering the textile fibers at the molecular level to first match, and then improve the mechanical and sensorial properties of wool and cashmere; and 3) implementing a custom lab-scale fiber manufacturing process, demonstrating potential scalability into a multifilament production line. The following activities will be conducted to meet the planned milestones: 1) implementing a non-denaturing extraction process of keratin from hair waste and formulation of the extracted protein into a material processable through extrusion-based fabrication platforms; 2) reconstructing the fibrillar and anisotropic architecture of animal hair by chemically and physically regulating the self-assembly process of the extracted keratin during the fiber fabrication process; 3) modulating the hygroscopicity of the fiber by modifying the reactivities of both fiber core and surface; and 4) tuning the rheological properties and the liquid-to solid phase transition of the protein material under shear stress and during the fiber formation step, respectively.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FIRSTTHEN INC
SBIR Phase I: A novel caregiver-centered mobile app and artificial intelligence (AI) coaching intervention for pediatric Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Contact
5338 EMERSON AVENUE
Dallas, TX 75209--5004
NSF Award
2335539 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,184
Start / end date
11/15/2023 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is its potential to improve approaches addressing pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a condition affecting 10 percent of all U.S. children. The primary challenge families face is accessing psychosocial treatment, a crucial component of comprehensive care. Many families cannot access these interventions due to various barriers including cost, time, and a shortage of mental health professionals. This project introduces a self-guided, family-focused ADHD treatment mobile application complemented by a virtual coach. By addressing caregiver stress, which plays a significant role in treatment outcomes, this innovation offers a scalable, affordable, and effective solution. This initiative aligns with the National Science Foundation's mission to promote scientific progress and support the well-being of the American public, especially during the current youth mental health crisis. The potential commercial and societal impacts of this project include enhancing scientific understanding of ADHD treatment, providing a competitive advantage in the digital health sector, and addressing a significant market opportunity in mental health care.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMS) to create a scalable, accessible, and robust caregiver-centered mobile treatment system for pediatric ADHD, complemented by a virtual coach. The innovative aspect lies in merging human-centered design with rules-based conversational AI and an empathetic chatbot, aiming for a lasting, scalable impact on caregivers of children with ADHD. The intent is to broaden access to evidence-based psychosocial interventions, improve adherence to these treatments, and achieve superior outcomes. ADHD, a condition that hinders self-regulation and executive function, affects a significant portion of U.S. children. Despite the known advantages of early intervention, many affected children do not receive optimal care. The project's objectives include the co-design of the app, which incorporates a multi-module psychosocial intervention and caregiver coping techniques; the development of the virtual coach's role with clinician guidance using AI; and a proof-of-concept test involving caregivers. The project will assess feasibility and acceptability, and gather preliminary data on potential improvements in caregiver and child wellbeing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FLAWLESS PHOTONICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Revolutionizing Optical Communications from Ground to Space with Novel ZBLAN Manufacturing
Contact
19345 BROOKTRAIL LN
Huntington Beach, CA 92648--5579
NSF Award
2423603 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project builds upon the unique properties of ZBLAN, short for Zirconium-Barium-Lanthanum-Aluminum-Sodium fluorides, which boast many advantageous properties, including a wide transparency window, superior optical transmission loss, and small phonon energy when compared to state-of-the-art silica. ZBLAN can unlock radical performance improvements for telecommunication products, fiber lasers, and remote sensors. However, commonplace manufacturing techniques cannot develop ZBLAN without light-scattering defects, rendering glass to applications but ineffective for many of the most important ones. Based on modern automation, robotics, and processing techniques, this project builds a path to manufacturing this fiber to limit the growth of light-scattering defects. Moreover, the manufacturing process is further enhanced when performed in space. Due to the exceptional characteristics of microgravity, it is possible to produce a ZBLAN product devoid of scattering defects, offering a transformational leap in optical transmission capabilities. After successful preliminary tests, this project will develop the necessary hardware to develop ZBLAN at scale, both on Earth and in microgravity. This project is expected to catalyze a high growth, high throughput, scalable and profitable in-space production process with meaningful societal impact.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop an instrument capable of rapidly casting molten ZBLAN glass through minute-scale apertures, aiming to streamline manufacturing by eliminating bubbles and restricting defect growth. This project seeks to overcome the challenges historically hindering ZBLAN optical preform production. The approach will produce high-value products that can radically improve optical capabilities by identifying a method to create precise preform core dimensions. Currently, state-of-the-art manufacturing processes lack the accuracy and standardization required to meet ZBLAN's stringent tolerances. This project leverages extensive theoretical calculations to optimize the melting, casting, and annealing of ZBLAN, which is crucial for minimizing crystalline defects and maximizing transparency. By leveraging novel automation techniques, harnessing the unique properties of microgravity, and effectively managing heat loads, this project is pioneering the in-space manufacturing industry, as demonstrated by the company's recent ISS experiment where astronauts pulled ~10km of ZBLAN in space. The project will develop an automated ZBLAN manufacturing technology to enable scalable terrestrial and in-space ZBLAN production. It will allow the company to develop new optical products - starting with free-space mid-wave infrared optical links. This innovative approach is poised to pioneer in-space manufacturing and propel the development of high-value ZBLAN products.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FLEX ORTHOPAEDICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: A Compliant Intramedullary Stem to Increase Longevity of Total Knee Replacements
Contact
5222 CANGAS DR
Agoura Hills, CA 91301--2306
NSF Award
2404125 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,997
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel ancillary orthopedic implant for increasing the lifespan of total knee replacement devices, with a tibial stem which bends and flexes to accommodate knee motion and relieve mechanical stress. Knee replacement is a common procedure for osteoarthritis with one million patients undergoing knee replacement in the United States each year. These systems have a failure rate of 10-20% within 20 years due to mechanical wear and fatigue. Failures often require subsequent invasive surgical revisions with decreased success, and increased risks of knee fusion or above-knee amputation. Each revision also results in approximately $30,000 of additional costs and resources needed for the surgical revision and follow on care. The purpose of this project is to develop a novel ancillary implanted device that reduces the mechanical stress and strain of total knee replacement orthopeduc implants, extending their functional lifespans.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will prototype and validate a flexible tibial stem providing mechanical relief for orthopedic knee replacement implants. The device integrates a compliant mechanical mechanism accommodating the multi-dimensional knee motion to reduce wear on the primary implant while avoiding additional wear surfaces. During this Phase 1 project, the design engineering of system will be finalized, full implant prototypes fabricated, and the prototypes validated in an accelerated mechanical testing model. The specific technical objectives are to optimize structural features for overload protection of the stem, validate short-term implant performance in overload scenarios and failure, and cycle test prototype stems under accelerated mechanical testing to validate long-term survivorship under simulated patient conditions including walking and general movement under daily use. The results are expected to demonstrate feasibility for the design and contraints for developing a device suitable for eventual human use at a future date.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FLO MATERIALS, INC.
STTR Phase I: Dynamic Covalent Polymers for Transition to Circular Plastics Economy
Contact
5400 HOLLIS ST
Emeryville, CA 94608--2508
NSF Award
2432707 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project is reducing society?s reliance on hard-to-recycle plastics and transitioning towards a more circular plastics economy. 400M metric tons of virgin plastic is produced each year, <10% of which is recycled. 12% of global virgin plastic productions are thermosets which have a recycling rate of nearly 0%. In the US alone, 2% of energy consumption is dedicated to manufacturing virgin plastics, polymer resin, and synthetic rubbers. By enabling closed-loop plastic recycling with an infinitely recyclable material, waste can be reduced, costs can be lowered, energy consumption can be cut, and greenhouse gas emissions can be drastically reduced. This technology may enable plastic material recovery and significantly mitigate the volume of plastics ending up in landfills and the broader environment, ultimately curtailing a massive source of environmental microplastics that threaten human health. Incorporating commercially viable bio-based inputs will lower the environmental impacts of plastic production by upcycling agricultural waste and using plant-based feedstocks, providing domestically sourced and sustainable inputs. Overall, the technology is positioned to enable and incentivize plastic material recovery, mitigating the plastic waste issue that has allowed plastics to infiltrate water resources, the environment, and the food supply.
The technical innovation of this project lies in the unique features of Enamine Covalent Adaptable Networks (ECANs). These networks have the potential to revolutionize handling of hard-to-recycle plastics, enabling closed-loop lifecycles and significantly reduced waste. ECANs are a platform polymer technology that produces a variety of resins for manufacture into films, sheets, foams, fibers and textiles, adhesives, composites, elastomers, and other high-value raw materials. Unlike conventional polymers, ECANs are dynamic covalent polymers that can undergo associative dynamic bond exchange reactions. ECANs are chemically recyclable and can be quickly recovered and remanufactured into next-generation ECANs. Platform development will occur through the following objectives: 1) develop new pathways for the synthesis of environmentally friendly and cost effective ECANs, 2) develop a platform of ECANs with controllable properties meeting the needs of diverse customers and applications, and 3) validate recyclability over multiple lifecycles. Production of resins with tunable properties will be examined through combinations of small molecules, triketones, polyamines, plasticizers, solvents, and colorants using various synthetic and processing conditions. Thermo-mechanical and rheological measurements will be performed on each newly formed ECAN to determine performance through each new generation. Extrusion and other existing plastics manufacturing processes will be employed for customer ease of adoption of ECAN resins. Recycling parameters will be optimized to increase purity, yield while decreasing cost, energy, and CO2 emissions.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FLUXWORKS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Scalable Magnetically-Geared Modular Space Manipulator for In-space Manufacturing and Active Debris Remediation Missions
Contact
707 TEXAS AVE
College Station, TX 77840--1976
NSF Award
2335583 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$261,795
Start / end date
04/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the derisking and catalyzing of a novel backdrivable gearbox technology that will potentially step-improve robotic and automation system operating costs, mean-time-before failure, efficiency, high throughput, and manufacturing capabilities, especially in microgravity/space environments. Having the potential to isolate vibrations and operate far longer without maintenance compared to the status quo, integrating this backlash-free gearbox with commercial-off-the-shelf servo motors and controllers could enable commercial original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and U.S. government entities to create platforms and commercial space stations with higher throughput and faster iterative research capabilities in the microgravity environment, offering a plethora of benefits for semiconductor, biotechnology, advanced materials, and other industries. The targeted specifications are relevant to end-effectors with flight heritage to enable rapid transition for lunar, low-earth orbit, terrestrial robotic manufacturing, and scientific applications. Through investment in this technology, this HUBZone-certified firm is concurrently creating STEM and manufacturing jobs in the HUBZone area in which the company resides and increasing exposure to STEM in the community at large. Moreover, the company?s products are and shall continue to be, fully U.S.-sourced and manufactured to stimulate the U.S. manufacturing economy and supply chain security.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop and validate the operating principle of the patent-pending innovative flux angle mapping magnetic gear and determine space-actuator feasibility for the commercialization of magnetic gear technology. The proposed noncontact magnetic gear is an entirely new magnetic gearbox topology with a novel set of operating principles that differ from all other existing magnetic gearbox topologies and have never been demonstrated as an operational prototype. It has been validated previously by high-fidelity finite element analysis (FEA) simulation and analytical derivation. The first key objective of Phase I is to design, fabricate, and test a prototype FAM magnetic gearbox. The second key objective is to use FEA combined with the first prototype's experimental results to re-simulate and characterize the performance of a second-generation minimum viable product magnetic gear. The mechanism to assess success is the achievement of four milestones: (1) designing a manufacturable technology demonstrator, validating manufacturability; creating an operational prototype (2) demonstrating the expected gear ratio, validating the fundamental operating principle and (3) performing in concordance with the simulation results, validating our models; (4) designing a full-scale space-relevant gear with calibrated models, validating commercial feasibility.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FORCHUN LLC
SBIR Phase I: Universal Electric Propulsion System Gridded Hall Thruster For Satellite Life Extension And Space Debris Removal
Contact
6710 LOOKOUT BND
San Jose, CA 95120--4649
NSF Award
2335156 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,958
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project has far-reaching impacts that benefit the global community by offering crucial solutions to uncertain challenges encountered in space, both in Earth's orbits and deep space. The successful outcome of the project is an innovative electric propulsion (EP) system which will be a foundation for on-orbit servicing systems. The new EP technology will directly benefit satellite operators by potentially extending the operational lifespan of their satellite fleet with its high propellant utilization capability. It will also offer solutions for safely removing end-of-life space objects from orbit by utilizing its high thrust capabilities for de-orbiting. Furthermore, the innovative EP system opens opportunities for deep space applications, such as deflecting asteroids, which were previously only achievable using high-impulse systems like the gridded ion thruster (GIT). Overall, the new EP system holds immense potential for commercial and scientific advancements in the space industry.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the concept and feasibility for an innovative EP system that enables various on-orbit service activities. The project aims to combine two distinct electric propulsion technologies, namely the GIT and the Hall thruster (HT), into a single ion thruster known as the Gridded Hall thruster (GHT). This integration will involve specific performance measurements and characterizations to evaluate the success of this novel combination. The GHT addresses the limitations associated with individual technologies. It overcomes the low thrust limitation of GIT and the low specific impulse of HT, as well as mitigates the inherent process instabilities like the ionization-induced instability found in HT. By doing so, the GHT achieves optimal performance and extends its usable lifetime. Additionally, the GHT offers another potential significant benefit. It enables neutralizer-free electron generation, which simplifies the ion thruster architecture and improves overall efficiency. This advancement in electron generation represents a simpler and more streamlined approach to ion thruster design. The successful completion of this project will contribute significantly to the advancement of electric propulsion technology and pave the way for critical applications in on-orbit servicing in space.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FORSEE, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Fire-Resistant Polymer Composites Using Recycled Processed African-American Hair
Contact
1851 RIVERTON DR
Prattville, AL 36066--1918
NSF Award
2420037 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is in addressing an increasing need to develop more eco-friendly, non-toxic fire-resitant materials in applications ranging from protective gears for firefighters, for industrial workers working in hot environments, and in construction materials such as tiles, wall panels, and roofing. Creating improved fire-resistant materials for homes, buildings, and personnel will decrease costs to homeowners and insurance companies and can potentially save lives. The rise in global temperature, and the escalating frequency and severity of structural and wildfire incidents at scale, combined with need to use non-fossil fuel based materials in industry underscores this critical need. This project is likely to to introduce a brand new natural polymer - Afro hair- to develop as an additive to fire-resistant products. A successful development of this technology is also likely to create economic opportunities for a broader section of society that would participate in this novel endeavor.
Processed African-American hair possess notable characteristics such as a high nitrogen content, robust elliptic structure, and cross-linked cell membranes. When subjected to high heat levels, these cell membranes expand and create a protective barrier, hindering oxygen from reaching the substrate and thus preventing the spread of fire and heat. The processed material does not liquefy, merge, or melt and can act as insulation or a barrier, impeding or reducing fire spread. This remarkable discovery represents a significant advancement in creating lightweight, fire-resistant building materials, clothing, and reinforcing fire-resistant plastics. Phrase I R&D plan focuses on optimizing material compositions where African-American hair loading in the composite mix will adjusted through scientific experimentation for processing ease and improvement of desired properties. These compositions will be then used to develop prototype products that meet or surpass the industry performance standards set by existing fire-resistant products.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FOURIER LLC
SBIR Phase I: Thermoformable Technical Ceramics for Thermal Management Solutions
Contact
40 WEDGEWOOD ROAD
West Newton, MA 02465--1918
NSF Award
2415557 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to establish, understand, and improve a thermoformable ceramic technology that uniquely provides a scalable pathway to overcome significant thermal management limitations faced by next-generation electronic systems, including 5G cellular devices, high-performance vehicles, renewable energy, and consumer electronics. Thermal management limitations in electronics are a $26B dollar problem that spans industries and is the cause of 55% of all electronic system failures. Within this space, thermal management materials are considered the innovation bottleneck in electronic applications, especially for components with reduced size and weight requirements. The thermoformable ceramics and scalable manufacturing processes proposed in this project offer a new materials paradigm to deliver thermal management solutions with high production volumes, short lead times, and low prices. Further, this project provides a critical path to reestablish U.S. manufacturing of these next-generation technical ceramics enabling domestic economic benefits and supply chain resiliency.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to address and mitigate the remaining technical challenges for the commercial adoption of thermoformable ceramics in thermal management applications. Thermoformable ceramics are uniquely positioned to provide thermal management solutions for electronics due to their ability to conduct heat effectively while remaining electrically insulative, like diamond. However, unlike diamond, thermoformable ceramics can be manufactured at scale and with precise three-dimensional geometries, offering unprecedented thermal materials solutions for the electronic industry. The first technical challenge addressed in this project is to understand and improve the material's robustness against solvent attack. This enhancement will expand the target markets to include maritime technologies and fluid-based heat exchanger technologies. The second challenge is to establish the scalability of part sizes and feature complexity. Successfully addressing this will enable thermoformable ceramics to accommodate larger part sizes, higher production volumes, and entry into higher-value markets. The third challenge is to achieve best-in-class performance in application-based testing. Meeting this objective will facilitate faster customer adoption by reducing the technology's risk through market-relevant testing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FREESCALE LLC
STTR Phase I: Development and Analysis of Functional NanoInks for Printed Neuromorphic Electronics and Smart Sensors
Contact
103 HAMPTON LEE CT APT 2C
Cary, NC 27513--5540
NSF Award
2334413 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,972
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project from Freescale LLC will be on scalable additive manufacturing of micro and macro scales for analog electronics, artificial intelligence (AI), and sensing applications. The project will leverage recent advancements in electrohydrodynamic and micro-transfer printing, alongside AI-controlled manufacturing, to produce micro and macro-scale electronic devices with a submicron resolution. The resulting devices will have the capability of computing and sensing, similar to biological brains. The project will strengthen domestic microelectronics innovation and production capabilities and support US leadership in AI and quantum computing. New intelligent systems developed using these techniques can help address challenges in healthcare, aerospace, defense, transportation, energy, and more.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to demonstrate the manufacturing of
fully printed functional devices using an innovative multifunctional printing platform for next-generation electronics. The platform will provide development, optimization, and delivery of specialty inks with
conductive and semiconductive properties that will be printed on rigid and flexible surfaces to produce analog computing and sensing functionality. The platform will support printing at micro and macro scales, leveraging real-time feedback and artificial intelligence (AI) control for intelligent composition modification, delivery parameter optimization, and scalable manufacturing. Currently, conventional lithographic fabrication of functional devices is expensive and inefficient, as it requires complex supply chains, expensive hardware, and offshore production. This STTR project will combine precise inkjet printing for thin layer deposition and micro-transfer printing for large-area development to enable seamless fabrication of functional devices for sensing and analog computation in days instead of months, bypassing the complexities of modern silicon manufacturing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FREYYA, INC.
SBIR Phase I: An ambulatory pelvic floor monitoring and feedback device for use in physical therapy
Contact
1305 S CONCORD ST
Salt Lake City, UT 84104--2901
NSF Award
2304490 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
11/15/2023 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel device that enables pelvic therapists to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients during activities responsible for pelvic floor symptoms. One in four women in the US has a pelvic floor disorder and this disorder results in $20 billion in annual costs and negative recurring patient experiences. Pelvic physical therapy is the recommended first-line treatment but requires regular management, burdening the patient and clinical resources with each visit. Current systems are limited to static patient conditions with specific situational muscle conditions. This novel pelvic floor monitoring device aims to provide optimized pelvic floor muscle feedback during chronic ambulatory conditions when a significant percent of pelvic floor events occur.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel device to reduce the burden of pelvic floor disorders in a patient self-managed manner. A wearable pelvic floor monitoring device will provide dynamic evaluation and treatment for chronic ambulatory conditions. This project aims to design and prototype the components and system of a pelvic floor force sensor for use during exercise. The device will be integrated into a comfortable and ergonomically fitted silicone shell with interchangeable sleeves to fit different patients? anatomies, and a wireless biofeedback software for communicating data from the device to the patient and therapist. The system will be benchtop tested to ensure accurate and robust performance of the sensors and data transmission. The ergonomic shape will be tested in a limited patient pilot for comfort and vaginal retention. Successful completion of this project will demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility of a novel ambulatory pelvic floor monitoring and feedback device for patients.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FRINGE METROLOGY LLC
SBIR Phase I: Rapid and Accurate Large Aperture Surface Metrology for Future High Speed Communication
Contact
2842 N TUCSON BLVD
Tucson, AZ 85716--1824
NSF Award
2335106 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,769
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to revolutionize how high-precision antenna dishes for satellite communications and radio astronomy are constructed. By developing an optical metrology system capable of measuring large antenna dishes with micron precision in minutes, this project addresses a critical bottleneck in the production of high-accuracy, low-cost, mass-manufactured antenna dishes. Current metrology methods like holography and photogrammetry are slow, costly, inconvenient, and lack the accuracy required for future dishes. The commercial impact of this project targets the growing multi-billion-dollar market of satellite communications and radio astronomy, with an addressable segment valued at approximately $2.3 billion for the next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) alone. The goals of this project not only promise to enhance global connectivity and defense communication networks but also support groundbreaking discoveries about the universe.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in its pioneering approach to optical metrology, stretching the capabilities of current systems to their limits for measuring objects up to 18 meters in diameter outdoors. The research objectives focus on overcoming fundamental challenges such as maintaining high precision and accuracy over large areas, construction of lightweight and portable hardware, and designing a system that is ready to be deployed by antenna technicians. Anticipated results include a prototype system capable of significantly advancing the field of optical metrology and providing a scalable solution for the high-volume production of precision antenna dishes. This innovation will produce significant advancements in satellite communication and radio astronomy by streamlining the construction and maintenance of high-precision dishes.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
FUM TECHNOLOGIES, INC
SBIR Phase I: Materials Science Digital Experts and AI-Powered Data Platform
Contact
178 HARVARD ST
Cambridge, MA 02139--2723
NSF Award
2423569 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
06/15/2024 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project lies in its potential to significantly streamline the process of discovering and utilizing novel materials, vital for advancements in sectors like healthcare, energy, and national defense. A large portion of essential materials data is currently inaccessible, hidden within complex documents or known only to a handful of experts. This project aims to develop a technology that transforms this inaccessible data into useful information, drastically reducing the time needed for material selection from weeks to minutes, thereby accelerating scientific and technological advancement and enhancing national prosperity and security. The market for advanced materials is projected to grow to $2.1 trillion by 2025, and the business model for this initiative focuses on providing technological services to materials suppliers, ensuring a sustainable competitive advantage by improving access to and usability of critical data. Initially targeting the semiconductor industry and industries reliant on polymers, the strategy is to achieve significant market penetration, with anticipated substantial annual revenues by the third year of production, underlining its impact across multiple high-value industries.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the critical challenge of "dark" data in materials science?valuable data that is unutilized because it is trapped in diverse formats or accessible only to a few experts. The primary research objective is to develop an artificial intelligence-driven platform capable of extracting and synthesizing this data into an accessible and interpretable format. The proposed research involves the creation of a customizable, conversational digital expert system that leverages advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) to interact with and learn from heterogeneous data sources, including natural language texts and inconsistent file formats. This system will enable the transformation of complex datasets into structured, actionable insights, facilitating rapid and accurate materials selection and application. The anticipated technical results include the successful demonstration of the platform's ability to interpret and organize large volumes of dark data, significantly reducing the time and expertise required to access this information. This breakthrough has the potential to catalyze discoveries and innovations in materials science by making decades of accumulated data readily available for research and commercial use.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Forward Edge AI, Inc.
SBIR Phase I: A Cyber Assured Space Internet Device
Contact
10108 CARTER CYN
San Antonio, TX 78255--2458
NSF Award
2327618 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project presents urgently needed improvements to cybersecurity in space to enable a larger scale, higher throughput, and a more securely interconnected ecosystem. This includes enabling high-throughput on-orbit manufacturing for the next ten years and is aimed squarely at small and medium manufacturers (SMM), large manufacturers, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) that will supply large-scale space production industries. The ability to use Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) to remotely modify, optimize, and enhance the resiliency of Cube Satellites to cyberattacks is crucial to this evolving industry. The solution extends to the high growth commercial space industry-related Earth Observation (EO), and Direct Satellite to Device/Smartphone markets. The development of small satellites has notably increased the interest of private companies and government agencies in investing in this field, as it allows for more affordable access to new business models in space, including satellite constellations. Space applications, ranging from machine to machine (M2M), the Internet of Things, and Earth observation use cases, are expected to reach more than $22 billion in service revenue by 2031. The market is rapidly moving from an infrastructure-heavy investment cycle towards an as-a-service-focused recurring revenue business model.
This SBIR Phase I project will develop the technology needed to accelerate the commercial development of the hybrid space and terrestrial communications architectures, in-space manufacturing, and industrial infrastructure. ML algorithms that can differentiate between anomalies triggered by natural phenomena and cyber-attacks represent a significant advancement. This can be applied at increasingly larger scales, higher-throughputs, and speeds for robust security and acceleration of this sector. Through adaptability and precision, ML can significantly reduce the occurrence of false alarms but also excel at predicting the source of the anomaly and attributing the anomaly to its origin. Applying the ML predictive capabilities enhances early warning systems, fortifies cybersecurity measures, and ensures continuous monitoring in an ever-evolving threat landscape. The project would accelerate the integration of terrestrial telecommunications networks and satellite communications technologies, decrease costs, increase service coverage, and provide added resilience and multi-level security compatibility to the nation?s communication infrastructure. Mimicking the operational capabilities of the human immune system will allow for the long-term and evolving effectiveness of a space platform's cyberattack detection and response capabilities. This decentralized approach will be able to leverage decentralized autonomous organizations and strategic defense capabilities to accelerate human endeavors in space.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Funxion Wear
SBIR Phase I: On-Demand Color Changing Materials
Contact
8622 OLD MAPLE LN
Humble, TX 77338--2126
NSF Award
2304234 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will validate the commercial potential of an erasable dye technology intended for apparel. The transformative nature of the approach lies in its ability to reduce environmental impact every time a new design is downloaded. The conventional apparel industry consumes vast amounts of water and emits significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) for every piece of clothing produced. This project aims to drastically reduce these environmental implications while providing consumers with a quick and climate-friendly alternative. By tapping into proprietary light-programmable color-changing dyes, this endeavor seeks to disrupt the fashion industry. By targeting the millennial and Gen Z market segments, which are increasingly conscious of sustainability, the project foresees significant commercial uptake, initially in the $8 billion custom domestic T-shirt market.
The intellectual merit of this project stems from its unique combination of advanced functional materials science, chemistry, and manufacturing to create a sustainable apparel solution. At the heart of the method lies a proprietary dye system which can provide repeatable color changes. Unlike conventional photochromic dyes that degrade quickly under visible light, this dye system is engineered to be durable, enduring repeated cycles of color change. The research objectives focus on refining this dye system to make it commercially viable, especially for the initial use case of custom and re-printable T-shirts. With the successful realization of this technology, the fashion industry will witness a paradigm shift, paving the way for a more sustainable and innovative future.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GENALPHA NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES LLC
SBIR Phase I: Development of Metal Foam-based Neutron Sensors for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Instrumentation
Contact
1510 VETERANS DR APT 12
Traverse City, MI 49684--3403
NSF Award
2404863 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a metal foam electrode-based neutron sensor that can withstand the harsh, high-temperature and radiation-suffused environments of advanced nuclear reactors. Such a product does not yet exist on the market. Advanced nuclear reactors could become a major contributor to our planet?s clean energy solution in the coming decades. Since their safety and performance rely on instrumentation and control systems, advanced reactors? successful deployment is contingent on developing commercially viable, adaptable high-temperature and high-sensitivity neutron sensors. Currently, domestic and global market sizes for neutron sensors are approximately $12 million and $50 million per year respectively; both these figures are expected to double over the next two decades. More broadly, the sensors being developed could find numerous applications in other industries, including medical diagnostics and treatments, medical isotope production, sterilization, space radiation effects, national security/nonproliferation, manufacturing, industrial processes, oil and gas, and direct (electric) energy conversion power devices. Any situation requiring radiation detection and measurement, in any environment, is a potential target market for the proposed sensors.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in gaining an understanding of the complex physics occurring in open-cell metal foams when subjected to nuclear radiation. Under these conditions, these structures both generate and contain a nuclear-excited low-temperature plasma through which an electrical current ? at high densities ? can be extracted. The goal of this project is to understand how nuclear-excited low-temperature plasmas in metal foams are affected by various parameters including: radiation type and intensity, foam composition, and foam porosity. The team will execute a research campaign using a nuclear reactor which characterizes these parameters? effects on sensor performance at both ambient and high temperatures. The experimental findings, validated by modeling and simulation methods, will test the sensor electrodes? performance. If successful, the Phase I outcomes are expected to show sensor performance that will significant exceed that offered by state-of-the-art competing devices, ultimately validating this novel concept.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GENEXGEN INC
STTR Phase I: GEX: an mRNA-based tolerogenic vaccine for viral-based gene therapies
Contact
169 E PORTOLA AVE
Los Altos, CA 94022--1242
NSF Award
2337317 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,763
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop a scalable, relatively affordable, easily programmable and specific solution to the problem of unwanted immune response in cell and gene therapies, autoimmunity, and transplantation. If successful, this could greatly expand the number of patients who are able to be treated by these types of therapies, including many suffering from rare diseases with little or no current treatment options.
The proposed project uses mRNA technology and novel anti-adjuvant technologies, to train the immune response to ignore an antigen encoded in the delivered mRNAs. This project focuses on adeno associated virus-based gene therapies, but the insight gained can be applied in other conditions when hyperactive immune response against self or foreign antigens creates unwanted result. Current gene therapies face a number of challenges associated with immune response to delivery vehicles or the therapeutic proteins. Achieving high and persistent level of therapeutic product expression has been a challenge, often leading to failure of therapies and necessitating redosing. The proposed mRNA based tolerogenic vaccine, will prepare the body to receive multiple doses of gene therapies and to achieve higher level of transgenes in light of body?s response to gene therapies.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GEOFINANCIAL ANALYTICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Tiered multi-satellite observation scheme for methane quantification and attribution
Contact
141 BULKLEY AVE
Sausalito, CA 94965--2231
NSF Award
2405214 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in being able to assess and mitigate company-level methane emissions from oil & gas operations across the globe. Methane, with its global warming potential 85 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, represents a critical target in meeting the climate change goals. Specifically, the proposed intervention could help flatten the methane emissions curve ? cutting emissions of US oil & gas producers by 75% over five years. This 75% reduction in emissions from fossil fuels aligns with the International Energy Agency?s goal for 2030 that would enable limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Additionally, decreased global warming mitigates the frequency and severity of climate-related disasters such as wildfires, floods, and heatwaves. These changes have profound implications for biodiversity, ecosystems, and human livelihoods, particularly in vulnerable regions which includes much of the U.S.
The proposed technical innovation is a computationally efficient, tiered multi-satellite monitoring system that tracks daily-to-weekly methane emissions from oil & gas assets across the globe. These are then used to assess company-level emission performance and benchmark companies amongst their peers. The technology integrates satellite observations from multiple sensors, deep learning models, and statistical data aggregation. A crucial component is a deep learning model which automatically detects methane plumes in high-resolution imagery from satellites not designed to detect methane, like the Landsat suite and Sentinel-2. These plumes are used to refine TROPOMI baseline observations. Most quantification methods, and deep learning models in particular, are too computationally expensive to use at a global scale. Thus innovative, computationally efficient methods for emission quantification and statistical data aggregation must be developed. A significant technical risk is that these new computationally efficient methods may sacrifice some accuracy in methane quantification. Larger uncertainties using these methods could result in a data product that lacks meaningful insights. The intellectual merit of the proposed project is in developing computationally efficient new methods which strike the appropriate balance between efficiency and accuracy that meet real-world information needs of key stakeholders.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GFORCE ANIMATION INC
STTR Phase I: Fire Ground VR
Contact
26410 OAK RIDGE DR STE 112
Spring, TX 77380--4352
NSF Award
2333972 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,828
Start / end date
12/01/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to revolutionize firefighter training by creating a virtual environment that mirrors real-world scenarios, such as interactive fire equipment usage. This training program reduces training costs, improves safety by reducing training injuries, and reduces the environmental impact of live firefighter drills. The potential commercial and societal impacts of the project include enhanced training effectiveness, broader accessibility and inclusivity, standardized training, research and development, crisis management and preparedness, and global collaboration. The project may also have applications in diverse fields such as emergency response, industrial safety, and specialized vocational training.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project offers immersive training environments for firefighters, a departure from traditional classroom and live fire exercises. The technical innovation of this training solution incorporates mobility, real-time data sensors, and tactile feedback mechanisms, such as a haptic nozzle, to enhance the training experience. The project will employ a controlled laboratory setting to test the virtual reality environment, leveraging advanced technologies like gaming computers, spherical cameras, and specialized headsets. These tools blend real-world interactions with digital content, creating a virtual reality that mimics natural dimensions across various sensations. The project will also assess graphic technology's adaptability to integrate with online platforms for data management, ensuring secure access, storage, and retrieval. This adaptability ensures scalability and efficient data retrieval, further enhancing the training experience.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GLOBAL ENERGY CORPORATION
SBIR Phase I: A Fusion-Fast-Fission Reactor
Contact
5025B BACKLICK RD
Annandale, VA 22003--6044
NSF Award
2423343 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,936
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is a safer, less expensive, proliferation-resistant hybrid nuclear technology. Previous experiments fissioned natural uranium without enrichment, thereby removing nuclear proliferation as one of the roadblocks to the use of nuclear power. The hybrid sub-critical reactor has no chain reaction and can't run away. The hybrid is cooled with helium gas which can't become radioactive. Without cooling water, a large pressure dome isn't required reducing plant cost and site size. The hybrid produces fusion neutrons without large lasers or enormous magnets while keeping its fuel at a billion times the fuel density of tokamaks. The fast fusion neutrons will fission thorium and spent reactor fuel. A good business case comes from being paid twice to fission existing nuclear waste while generating electricity. Hybrid fuel rods can be installed in existing reactors to "burn" nuclear waste on-site while reducing the time between refueling cycles. The hybrid reactor makes the best use of fusion's fast neutrons and fission's high energy density without the complications of either. A new, safer, cleaner nuclear technology can reduce carbon emissions and present environmental advantages.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to characterize the Lattice Confinement Fusion-Fast Fission of depleted uranium through time-resolved neutron spectroscopy. Lattice Confinement Fusion holds deuterium fuel in a metal lattice as an electron-screened, cold plasma at a billion times the plasma density of a tokamak. Extended Electrodynamics may provide insight into the fusion driver. Earlier experiments measured the fast fission of deuterium-loaded natural uranium and thorium by high-resolution gamma (HPGe) spectroscopy, alpha/beta scintillator spectroscopy, and solid-state nuclear track detectors. Neutron energies were calculated to average 6.4 MeV. Phase I will use these diagnostics and measure the fast neutron spectrum with multiple neutron scintillator spectrometers with 500 MHz sampling rates and 200 keV energy resolution from 300 keV to 20 MeV. We expect to observe the 2.45 MeV Deuterium Deuterium (DD), 14.1 MeV Deuterium Tritium (DT) fusion neutrons and conventional neutron fission spectra peaking at 1 MeV, averaging 2 MeV with a Maxwellian tail past 10 MeV. Phase I control, and active experiments will be shielded against cosmogenic neutrons. Four sets of ten-day runs are planned with four simultaneous micro-reactors per run. The neutron flux, drive currents, and voltages will determine the scaling efficacy of a fusion-fast-fission sub-critical hybrid reactor technology.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GNU COMPANY, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Safety Syringe Needle for Prevention of Unintended/Accidental Puncture (Needlestick Injury)
Contact
147 HIGHLAND AVE
Winchester, MA 01890--1435
NSF Award
2219892 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$249,369
Start / end date
05/01/2023 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel medical device for intramuscular injections that will reduce needlestick injury. Unintended or accidental puncture is the second most common occupational hazard for healthcare staff. An estimated 385,000 needlestick injuries occur in the United States each year impacting 5.6 million healthcare workers. Needlestick injury represents one of the largest risks, both financially ($258 million annually) and medically (e.g., bloodborne pathogen exposure), to healthcare providers. This project aims to develop a novel, flexible hypodermic needle with a safety syringe that enables rapid injections while replacing sharp needles and significantly reducing risks of unintended health care provider injury.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project provides a novel, flexible, polymer needle-based safety syringe for health care providers to perform intramuscular injections in patients. A novel and variable stiffness shaft is integrated with an external safety lumen mechanism to create an integrated delivery system with the same delivery reliability and repeatability as standard needlesticks. The design will be prototyped and evaluated under a variety of human factors considerations. The device will be required to pass several mechanical tests for puncture, insertion, and lumen integrity in a consistent manner, as anticipated during routine clinical use.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GRAYSKYTECH, INC
SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Parallelism for Faster Simulation and Validation of Integrated Circuits
Contact
19505 219TH AVE NE
Woodinville, WA 98077--6732
NSF Award
2414353 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be in significant reduction of the time required to design complex integrated circuits (ICs) and accomplish comprehensive verification. ICs are integral part of modern electronic devices and play a critical role in determining device performance and cost. However, exponentially rising demand for better smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc., is forcing IC designers to include more features within a smaller format. These complex designs can take months for complete verification using the current state-of-the-art tools (simulators and emulators). Due to extremely high market competition, IC manufacturers are doing partial design verification and launching the products in the market. This is causing increased revocation of launched products, consumer dissatisfaction, loss of billions of dollars, and generation of e-waste. This work will enable comprehensive verification of ICs at a faster rate and lower cost thereby preventing massive economic losses and environmental pollution.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a technology that will provide IC design houses a distinctive advantage over the competition concerning time-to-market, risk, and remediation of post-silicon bugs, and design NRE (non-recurring engineering) by dramatically improving simulation performance. The innovation is based on successfully minimizing the limitations imposed by Amdahl?s law. To overcome Amdahl?s law, the company is developing an instruction-less, configurable computer architecture. It incorporates a bulk synchronous data flow architecture, using a proprietary data format and algorithm. The technology can in effect turn a single FPGA (field-programmable gate array) into hundreds of incredibly fast virtual processors that can concurrently solve product terms for equations at the speed of the processor-to-memory interface. The company has developed an initial virtual processor called the Boolean Processing Unit (BPU). The software converts the design from Verilog into a set of Sum-of-Product form Boolean equations, that the BPU can solve via targeting IC behavioral simulation computing, 30x faster than existing simulators. The innovation has the potential to provide emulator performance at simulator cost and features.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GREENKEY, LLC
STTR Phase I: Nanocellulose Derived from Sargassum Dissolving Pulp
Contact
27 AMANDA DRIVE
Penrose, NC 28766--8802
NSF Award
2423491 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project lies in transforming Sargassum seaweed, an invasive species, into low-cost nanocellulose for sustainable packaging. This innovative approach addresses the environmental challenge of Sargassum blooms while contributing to the circular economy by creating valuable products from waste. The project's potential impact includes significant environmental benefits by reducing plastic waste and reliance on non-renewable resources, stimulating economic growth in coastal communities affected by Sargassum, and fostering green technology innovation. By making biodegradable solutions more accessible and cost-effective, this project supports the national interest by promoting scientific progress, advancing national health and prosperity, and enhancing environmental welfare. The technology offers a market opportunity by providing a competitive alternative to traditional packaging materials.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel, cost-effective process for producing nanocellulose from Sargassum seaweed. The technical challenge addressed includes overcoming the high cost and energy requirements associated with current wood-based nanocellulose production methods. The research objectives are to validate a proprietary pulping process, optimize energy and water usage, and achieve efficient nanofibrillation of Sargassum dissolving pulp. The proposed research involves detailed characterization of the resulting nanocellulose, comparing its properties and production costs to those derived from hardwood pulp. Anticipated technical results include establishing a scalable method for producing high-quality nanocellulose, demonstrating reduced energy and water consumption, and providing a sustainable alternative to conventional materials. This project builds on preliminary research that has shown the potential of Sargassum-based nanocellulose to meet industry standards, with significant implications for materials science and environmental sustainability.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GROUND CONTROL ROBOTICS, INC.
STTR Phase I: Weed Control Via Terradynamically Robust Robots
Contact
720 HUNTING VIEW POINT
Atlanta, GA 30328--2784
NSF Award
2335553 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project develops a robotic platform that can provide automated weed control throughout crop development stages. In recent years, weed control costs have been growing due to the rise of herbicide-resistant weeds and the increase in costs of agricultural labor. Additionally, increased demand for fruits and vegetables leaves these specialty crop farmers struggling to find options to increase productivity while keeping expenses manageable. Several companies offer automated weed control in vegetables; however, these large platforms struggle not to damage fruit in berry orchards. This project aims to develop swarms of robotic devices that can operate underneath the plant canopy to provide mechanical weed control for berries throughout the year without impacting plant growth. This technological development will enable domestic fruit production to meet the growing consumer demand and allow for less chemical use in fruit production, reducing herbicide-associated health risks to farm workers and consumers. Long term, these devices can augment weed control strategies in other crops and perform different agricultural tasks such as fungicide treatments and plant health monitoring, with the goal of automating agriculture to be more efficient and sustainable.
This Small Business Technology Transfer project aims to develop rugged, low-to-the-ground, multi-legged robots that can locomote in various agricultural fields. This technology builds off of recent works demonstrating the effectiveness of centipedes and centipede-like robots when traveling over diverse terrains. When properly coordinated, these mechanically redundant legged systems demonstrate robust locomotion in complex terrain without the need for sensory feedback. This project will leverage this platform and perform systematic robot experimentation and theoretical modeling to develop coordination schemes for various maneuvers in agricultural terrain analogues. These strategies will then be implemented on a hardened robot to reliably locomote beneath the canopy in crop fields and identify weeds using an onboard camera and computer vision techniques. This device will make use of low-cost components and principles of mobility in complex environments to deliver guaranteed locomotion in these unpredictable terrains. Eventually, swarms of these devices will be deployed on various crop fields to provide autonomous weed management throughout the growing season, decreasing the costs of production for farmers and consumers. This project will result in a robust robotic platform that can provide cheap, reliable, all-terrain locomotion and such a device can extend beyond agriculture to address other U.S. sectors such as search-and-rescue and defense.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GROUP1, INC.
STTR Phase I: Potassium Ion Battery with Intermediate Charge Rate Competes with Lithium Ferrophosphate (LFP)-based Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs)
Contact
3055 HUNTER ROAD
San Marcos, TX 78666--6460
NSF Award
2332113 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,986
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project addresses the growing demand for "beyond lithium (Li)-ion" technologies by developing Potassium (K) Ion Batteries (KIB) as sustainable alternatives for Lithium (Li)-Ion Batteries (LIBs). In 2022, the market for Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries was valued at $12.5 billion, and projections suggest it will reach $52.7 billion by 2030, with a notable 19.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2030. The main driver behind this growth is the increasing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). KIBs have the potential to become a cost-effective performance alternative to LIBs in EV and stationary applications with a domestic materials supply chain. The primary objective of this project is to enhance KIB performance, particularly focusing on enabling fast charge cycling for EVs applications. This endeavor aligns with the pursuit of a sustainable energy future, reduced dependence on critical materials, and the promotion of economic growth.
The intellectual merit of this project addresses a key question in ?beyond Li-ion? energy storage systems: Why do non-Li architectures, that should in principle function as well as Li architectures, fall short at faster charging rates and how can this be resolved? While individual non-Li components (cathode, anode, and electrolyte) are highly promising in terms of charge transfer and storage behavior, why does the holistic system fall short? In a broader sense, resolving this quandary could potentially enable other earth abundant non-Li architectures to become viable, enabling domestically sourced energy systems to flourish. The commercially focused effort operates at the core of structure-functional properties relations within non-Li systems, where there is markedly much less understanding versus existing LIBs. The project will unravel key structure-properties relations in the nominally more reactive K-based architectures. This collaborative effort will allow for a broad spectrum of learning, starting at basic mechanistic insight at meso scale and advancing to commercially relevant full KIB pouch cell testing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
GROW OYSTER REEFS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: CAS: Biomimetic 3D Printed Metal Mold to Mass Produce Dry-Pressed, Modular, Biophilic Concrete Reef Substrate
Contact
4400 MECHUMS SCHOOL HL
Charlottesville, VA 22903--6951
NSF Award
2334667 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/01/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused on the development of an innovative 3D printed metal mold that works with industry standard concrete block production machinery to mass produce dry-cast, nature-based, concrete reef restoration substrate units. These modular units will be suitable for use for shoreline protection and ecosystem restoration along estuaries, rivers and vulnerable coastlines. Offshore, these units will provide the US offshore wind industry with the means to restore the seabed, while protecting cables, creating sanctuary reefs, increasing biodiversity, and improving water quality. Produced by existing concrete block manufacturers in coastal locations, or on-site, using the novel metal molds, the substrates, located in the inter-tidal zone attract and protect embryonic shellfish including oysters, mussels and clams, and a multitude of other aquatic organisms including crabs, fish, and submerged aquatic vegetation. In deep water, the same substrate units attract abundant cold-water corals and sponges. Working with nature, these units can help protect coastal communities from the impact of climate change, storm surge, rising water levels, and erosion ? creating jobs in concrete fabrication, restoring wetlands, reviving fisheries and commercial aquaculture, and increasing revenues from tourism ? with reefs teeming with life.
This SBIR Phase 1 project encompasses the design and fabrication of an intricate 3-D printed steel mold suitable for the production of dry pressed, biophilic concrete, modular shoreline protection and aquatic ecosystem restoration units. This project addresses considerations of ecological impacts, technical constraints in the concrete industry and both offshore and coastal infrastructure construction practices. Additive metal manufacturing will be used to fabricate the mold. Biomimetics, learning from the reef-building capacities of oysters, corals and other calcitic organisms, will inform the geometrically complex surfaces of the dry-cast, calcium carbonate rich, modular unit produced by the mold. The cast will resemble the benthic topography of a reef, providing a stable substrate for larvae that supports their growth from spat to maturity, providing protection from predators. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations will be used to examine water flow within and around the larval settlement surfaces. The unit will include fissures, cavities, cracks and crevices, dimples, linear channels, and large and small holes to provide a variety of interstitial spaces at multiple scales (micro and macro) that sustain multi-species cooperation in a diverse aquatic ecosystem.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Goeppert LLC
STTR Phase I: Ultrascalable Non-volatile Memory with Multifunctionality by MOCVD Direct Growth Two-Dimensional Materials
Contact
2200 ARCH ST UNIT 504
Philadelphia, PA 19103--1343
NSF Award
2420854 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project is to advance the development of high-performance, energy-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. The proposed innovation enables the scalable integration of adaptive, non-volatile memory elements based on atomically thin molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) into complex silicon trench structures. This approach promises to overcome density and bandwidth limitations in current memory technologies, providing a platform for specialized AI accelerators with tightly coupled computation and storage. Successful commercialization could significantly enhance the capabilities of machine learning systems across various domains, offering societal benefits in fields such as healthcare, transportation, and scientific research. The project fosters collaboration among academic institutions, government agencies, and industry partners, strengthening the U.S. position in the strategically important AI hardware sector.
This STTR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel manufacturing process for integrating two-dimensional (2D) MoS2 material into trenches composed of CMOS-compatible materials to make high-density memristors in a high-aspect-ratio microstructure. The goal is to demonstrate the feasibility of directly growing conformal MoS2 monolayers on complex 3D topographies using a low-temperature metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. The research objectives include optimizing the growth parameters to achieve reliable resistive switching performance and assessing the scalability of the integration scheme. The anticipated technical results comprise a proof-of-concept demonstration of multifunctional MoS2 memristor arrays with improved storage density as well as fabrication process uniformity compared to planar designs. This project aims to establish the groundwork for further development of this technology toward commercially viable AI hardware solutions for less energy-hungry, multifunctional, and highly efficient computing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
H-BAR INSTRUMENTS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Liquid Helium Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Sample Holder for Atomic Imaging of Next-Generation Materials
Contact
625 REVENA PL
Ann Arbor, MI 48103--3639
NSF Award
2322155 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,771
Start / end date
12/01/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to enable atomic- and nano-scale imaging of materials and devices at temperatures as low as 10 K through the development of a stable liquid helium transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimen holder. Though TEM imaging modalities are amongst the most powerful metrology tools used in materials science, a long-standing lack of stable ultra-low temperature capabilities limits the range of their application to materials and technologies that operate at relatively high temperatures. Stable ultra-low-temperature capabilities are urgently needed for state-of-the-art TEM machines to enable scientific discovery and development across a broad range of emerging, previously inaccessible fields. This project targets and expands the electron microscopy market (expected to exceed $10 billion by 2028) which is rapidly growing in tandem with metrology needs of semiconductor, quantum device, renewable energy, and life-sciences markets.
This project includes the development and testing of a novel cryogenic specimen holder with high stability as well as the quantification of high-resolution TEM imaging and stability metrics at liquid helium temperatures. To successfully gather atomic resolution or high-quality spectroscopic data, high thermal and vibrational stability, long hold times, and precise temperature control are necessary. Current low-temperature holders are not only incapable of reaching cold enough temperatures, but they suffer from significant instabilities and thermal losses, heavily affecting image resolution. They rely on small cryogenic dewars which lead to severe temperature fluctuations and vibrations as the unstable cryogen (liquid helium) rapidly evaporates. This project incorporates an innovative design with controlled liquid helium flow cooling, vibration decoupling, and precise temperature regulation over long hold times. The technology will result in the development of a commercial instrument that turns any TEM into an ultra-low-temperature imaging platform capable of characterizing novel materials for next-generation technologies.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
HENDTECH LLC
SBIR Phase I: Computer Vision for Merchandizing Forest Products
Contact
111 BELLS CREEK DR
Simpsonville, SC 29681--4294
NSF Award
2329601 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result from applying leading-edge artificial intelligence technology to the logging industry. Logging (wood harvesting) is the first step in the production of paper packaging, health and hygiene products, clothing fibers, and even resins that are used in our technology devices. The forest products industry employs nearly one million people and contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to the US economy each year. Yet, there has been very little technological innovation in logging in recent decades. This project aims to research and develop computer vision technology that will augment a person?s ability to grade harvested trees accurately. The resulting technology may increase the number of jobs available to unskilled workers in rural areas, ensure effective and efficient utilization of harvested trees, and increase revenues for thousands of small businesses in the wood supply chain.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a computer vision system to augment the skills of human-machine operators in the tasks of grading and sorting logs. During the project, a suitable domain-specific dataset will be established, a new chain of computer vision models will be created and trained, and a fully integrated prototype will be deployed in a remote environment. To achieve these goals, the company will research the use of self-supervised learning to expedite the creation of a domain-specific dataset, along with adaptable chains of models and model compression to enable efficient inference at the logging site (i.e., without the need for cloud computing resources). The company will also create new methods for determining specific objects of interest (such as defects) and assessing the grade of each log. If successful, the project will demonstrate a computer vision system that is able to identify and locate specific logs of interest, track the logs, assess each log?s dimensions, locate defects on the logs, accurately determine a grade for each log, and give visual feedback to a machine operator ? all within the operator?s brief decision timeframe.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
HENSUN INNOVATION LLC
STTR Phase I: Colleague: An AI-Enhanced Assistant Empowering K-12 Teachers with High-Quality Math Instruction
Contact
906 W 2ND AVE STE 100
Spokane, WA 99201--4540
NSF Award
2423365 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will contribute to the development of the nation?s STEM workforce through enhancing K-12 students? mathematical proficiency beginning with support for educators. The artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced platform augments K-12 teachers? capacity to develop high-quality and inclusive math instruction to meet diverse students? learning needs. The innovation leverages rapid advancement of AI in transforming both the workforce and educational landscapes, providing educators with a companion to significantly improve students' math performance, critical thinking skills, and readiness for a future AI-enhanced workforce. Importantly, this platform will democratize access to high-quality educational resources, particularly benefiting teachers in under-resourced schools by alleviating their workload stress and fostering a community of shared knowledge and practices. The adoption of this platform offers significant commercial opportunities within a $15bn market for educational technology in K12 education and offers a model of industry-university partnership in the development of educational technology, providing a robust and research-based solution to enhance scientific innovation and practical, classroom-based applications of AI while keeping humans in the loop through participatory co-design with educators. The project not only aligns with the national interest by promoting scientific progress and educational excellence but also holds substantial promise for economic returns.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to tackle the pressing challenges in K-12 math education in terms of widened achievement gaps among student demographics, by developing education-specific AI technology. Phase I research and development will integrate new AI models which assist teachers in their ability to retrieve or generate lesson materials, catered to teachers? instructional approaches and their students? learning needs, and meeting research-based math instructional quality criteria. Personalized instruction, including formative assessment, auto-scoring and generation of diagnostic reports, targeted materials for enhanced student mastery or remediation as well as student feedback will be infused into the platform through iterative, participatory co-design student with 30 math educators and A/B testing with thousands of educators. Utilizing retrieval and augmentation models, nudging algorithms, and domain specific generative AI models that work alongside teachers to inspire creativity, agency, and growth that works alongside teachers, acting as a trusted companion, to prompt teachers to refine parts of the drafty lesson plan. This platform aims to shift the nature of AI-powered instructional technology with research-based practices tailored to domains and provided to educators in real time to transform how educators develop lesson materials and amplifies their ability to provide learners with more effective, personalized, and engaging instruction.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
HOOFPRINT BIOME, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Bioengineering probiotic yeast to mitigate methane emissions from cattle
Contact
840 OVAL DRIVE
Raleigh, NC 27606-
NSF Award
2322126 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,111
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops a technology that could drastically reduce the impact of livestock production on the environment. Methane emissions from livestock account for over 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which must be reduced significantly in order to meet climate change reduction targets. Simultaneously, profit margins in beef and dairy farming are slim, leaving farmers unable to adopt climate-friendly practices that are too costly. This product could increase the profitability of cattle farming while playing a key role in achieving net zero emissions from the food system.
This team develops enzymes to be secreted from a probiotic yeast to eliminate methane emissions from cattle. The company has previously identified a set of enzymes that restrict methane production in the rumen of cattle. This project will further develop and package these enzymes in a probiotic yeast strain which has already been shown to increase milk yield by over 5%, thereby offering a dual benefit to the farmers. Project success requires a) screening an enzyme library to identify lead candidates for reduction of rumen methane, b) optimizing enzymes for further methane reduction, and c) demonstrating enzyme secretion and cost-efficient enzyme delivery by the probiotic yeast. Completion of these objectives will yield a product that will decrease cattle methane emissions by a minimum of 30%, and potentially by up to 98%, while simultaneously improving the health and productivity of cattle.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
HPLUS INC
SBIR Phase I: ADVANCING PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE WATER ELECTROLYZER TECHNOLOGY USING A MULTIFUNCTIONAL POROUS TRANSPORT LAYER TO PRODUCE LOW-COST GREEN HYDROGEN WITH LOW ENERGY
Contact
990 CHELTENHAM RD
Santa Barbara, CA 93105--2234
NSF Award
2430376 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$269,334
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the stress on the nation?s energy infrastructure by reducing carbon pollution through increasing energy and electrical efficiencies and integrating renewable energy sources. Electrolysis, a promising hydrogen production option, addresses all these areas and has a global polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzer market valued at $131.01 million in 2022, predicted to reach $2.304 billion by 2031. Phase I of this project targets key design advancements that benefit the broader scientific community, through increased efficiencies of these electrolyzers. The proposed efficiency improvement ensures the United States maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies and enhances economic and energy security by lowering the $/kilogram (kg) of hydrogen, making green hydrogen cost competitive. This, in turn, helps reduce imports of energy from foreign sources as green hydrogen is incorporated, resulting in a reduction of energy-related emissions.
The intellectual merit of this project aims to reduce electrolyzer operating expense, constituting 50% of the total ownership cost, by improving electrolyzer efficiency by 20%. This enables polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) to use only 44 kilowatt-hour (kWh)/kg hydrogen (H2), surpassing the Department of Energy?s 2026 targets, and is more efficient than current PEMWE tech at 53 kWh/kg H2. This is realized in Phase I through systematic studies to improve porous transport layer (PTL) design and validate the efficiency improvements under normal commercial operating conditions. As such, Phase I technical objectives are to: (1) Develop an advanced multi-scale, physics-based numerical model to understand the impact of microstructure parameters on mass transport and access the efficiency gains in the tunable 3D space; (2) Harness photochemical etching of the novel titanium microfluidic-based PTL prototypes for precise control of morphology and related performance; (3) Conduct performance tests for design validation and to understand performance and ohmic loss mechanisms; (4) Address market risks relevant to PTL design through mechanical durability and hydrogen crossover testing. Anticipated results include higher efficiency and cost reduction from PTL design optimization, successful implementation of manufacturing leading to scalability and cost effectiveness, and addressing market risks, advancing the product toward commercialization.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
HYPERKELP INC
SBIR Phase I: Feasibility of an L5 GPS-Based Tsunami Detection and Alerting System
Contact
1702 SWALLOWTAIL RD
Encinitas, CA 92024--1259
NSF Award
2345775 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,694
Start / end date
06/01/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in the development and deployment of an effective, affordable, and globally accessible detection and alert system for tsunamis on coastlines worldwide. Tsunamis are among the most significant ways in which the ocean impacts human civilization. With the increasing population density along coastlines and the global rise in sea levels, the potential for tsunamis to cause unprecedented harm is higher than ever. The proposed product providing enhanced wave height and arrival time maps to its customers could provide significantly more timely alerts to at-risk populations, providing them with essential evacuation information and crucial hours to prepare for approaching waves. This could herald a major shift in tsunami preparedness and resilience. This technology offers wide-ranging benefits for various groups and industries such as small island economies, defense operations, and commercial port operators.
To develop these capabilities, this project proposes a buoy-deployable software product that takes advantage of new generations of Global Positioning System (GPS) to detect tsunamis at sea, hours before they make landfall. It will use revolutionary advancements in GPS technology, particularly in vertical accuracy, to detect, prepare for, and mitigate the formidable threat of tsunamis. For the first time, new generations of GPS provide sufficient resolution to detect the subtle vertical displacement of the ocean surface caused by passing tsunami waves with a single receiver even in open ocean. The project will focus on the development of novel methods of signal classification using Dense Neural Network (DNN) and optimize them with rapid Machine Learning (ML) methods. This is expected to help demonstrate that tsunami signatures can be perceived in real-time by low-cost and low-power on-edge processing capabilities. When this new on-edge technology is deployed on widespread ocean buoys, it would form a robust tsunami detection network. These buoys will serve as sentinels, capable of sensing distinct sea level changes that signal an impending tsunami.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Himet Materials LLC
STTR Phase I: Wafer-Integrated Soft Magnetic Composite Films for Inductors with High Power Density and Efficiency
Contact
16433 MONTEREY ST. SUITE 120
Morgan Hill, CA 95037--7168
NSF Award
2304631 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,972
Start / end date
09/01/2023 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to revolutionize the miniature-powered Integrated Circuit (IC) converter market, widely used in cellular phones, Internet of Things devices, and microsensors. The technology will provide form factor reductions of various modules, leading to the further miniaturization of on-chip components. A manufacturing facility can service several IC companies by providing foundry capabilities to integrate inductors according to each customer?s design. The technology can provide US manufacturers of such devices with a significant competitive edge in the very large mobile electronics and miniature electronics markets both in commercial and defense markets. Establishing manufacturing capability in the US will support a revival of component packaging and back-end integration business.
Mobile device miniaturization is increasing at a rapid rate. In on-board power converters, passive components such as inductors and capacitors are among the largest components. The non-availability of IC-compatible, low-cost, soft magnetic cores with low loss, high frequency (>10MHz), and high saturation magnetization limits the implementation of on-chip inductors. The project aims to create innovative, soft magnetic composite (SMC) materials for inductor cores. IC-compatible high-performance SMC films, with thicknesses that can be scaled to 50 microns and above without losing performance, will be developed for the first time. The project's initial goal will be to develop physical and electrochemical synthesis methodologies for high magnetic moment, low loss, SMC materials that can be used to fabricate on-chip inductors, replacing ferrite core-based inductors in circuits. The approach can be scaled to handle different ranges of power and can be integrated on wafers, package substrates, or boards. These cores will enable inductor thickness to be reduced by at least 10 times for use in low form factor, point-of-use, direct current (DC) to DC power converters and IC voltage regulator circuitry.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ICONIUM ENGINEERING COMPANY
STTR Phase I: Refrigerant Ionic liquid Separation
Contact
2029 BECKER DRIVE
Lawrence, KS 66047--1620
NSF Award
2232475 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
04/01/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will be to provide the refrigerant industry with the first commercial designs for separating complex, multi-component, azeotropic refrigerant mixtures for economical recycling. The American Innovation and Manufacturing Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase down production and consumption of refrigerants causing global warming by 85 percent over 15 years. The societal, economical, and environmental benefits are estimated to create thousands of jobs and increase manufacturing by billions of dollars in the U.S. while reducing venting and incineration, and subsequently global temperature rise. There are millions of metric tons of mixed refrigerants that cannot be reclaimed using current fractional distillation technology. The proposed ionic liquid extractive distillation technology will make possible the separation and reuse of these complex refrigerant mixtures. The startup company funded through this project will provide a novel separation technology to the refrigerant industry that is of strategic national interest. Outreach activities, especially toward the inclusion of women and underrepresented minorities will be supported through this project.
This STTR Phase I project proposes to demonstrate that complex, multi-component, azeotropic refrigerant mixtures can be separated using ionic liquids, and that the products can meet industry standard specifications. Refrigerant mixture R-404A, used broadly throughout the commercial refrigeration industry (e.g., grocery stores) is a complex, ternary azeotropic mixture containing HFC-143a (1,1,1-trifluoroethane), which has a high global warming potential. HFC-143a will be one of the first refrigerants to be reused in new low global warming blends containing hydrofluoroolefins if the HFC-143a can be economically separated. Over 100 complex, multicomponent refrigerant mixtures exist in the market. This project will enable the development of processes, technologies, and systems designs required for industry to meet and exceed the phase down goals. The program objectives include the separation of R-404A into components, the creation of a process model, and testing of recovered R-404A from industry to understand the effects of impurities. The results will be used to develop a technoeconomic model and commercial scale designs that the team will build and/or license to the refrigerant industry.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
IHNNOVA LLC
STTR Phase I: Hand-Held Induction Heaters for Pancreatic and Prostatic Cancer Treatment
Contact
234 CALLE ERNESTO RAMOS ANTONINI, MAYAGUEZ BAJOS
Mayaguez, PR 00680-
NSF Award
2404556 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a portable device providing focused magnetic field applications for treating cancer using magnetic nanoparticle-based cancer strategies, but in patients with metallic implants (e.g., joint replacements, pacemakers, stents) who are currently ineligible for the treatment due to their peripheral effects. Cancer treatments typically require customized strategies and the appropriate tools for treatment without damaging the surrounding tissues. The proposed innovation aims to provide contactless heating of electrically conductive materials in challenging areas to directly access of the patient, enabling access to a subset of patients for an emerging therapy for cancer treatment who are currently ineligible due to compatibility issues with the form of energy delivery and their peripheral effects. The potential opportunity of the 2 million patients with either pancreatic and prostate cancer who may be contraindicated for existing systems represents a 131MM annual market opportunity.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to advance the development and evaluation of hand-held induction heaters for cancer treatment. The system aims to provide magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH), an emerging electromagnetic thermal treatment for treating cancer. The system proposes benefits to current larger and more complex systems with exclusion criteria for patients with metallic implants below their neck due to heating risks. The objectives are to (a) develop methods to deliver signi?cant thermal energy to pancreatic and prostate porcine organs in vivo, and (b) characterize and validate the extent and severity of tissue damage using patented, unique, deep technology on swine models. This project will focus on its feasibility as a cancer treatment, to advance the proposed technology from a Technology Readiness Level 4, representing laboratory validation, to Level 6 indicating the technology has been validated in a relevant environment. The Phase 1 results will finalize feasibility assessments for a novel instrument that enables an emerging MFH cancer treatment but for currently contraindicated patients, into clinical practice for human use, at a future stage.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ILLUMINATE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: The LADDR Platform for Precise Delivery of Nucleic Acid Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer and Esophageal Cancer
Contact
16 ALISO WAY
Portola Valley, CA 94028--7527
NSF Award
2432864 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in the development of Illuminate Therapeutics? Light Activated Drug Delivery and Release (LADDR) platform technology to improve patient outcomes in head and neck (H&N) and esophageal cancer treatment. H&N and esophageal cancers are some of the most common cancers worldwide and make up 4.5% of all new cancer cases in the US. Over 60,000 cases of H&N cancer and over 20,000 cases of esophageal cancer are newly diagnosed in the US each year. The total market for H&N cancer treatment is ~$1.2 billion in 2021, with a CAGR of 12.5% during the forecast period. The esophageal cancer market is similarly sized, with the market valued at $1.14 billion in 2021, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.50%. The LADDR platform enables precise spatiotemporal delivery of small therapeutic RNAs to tumors by a combination of nanoparticle-mediated delivery and activation triggered by external light. The use of LADDR with microRNA mimics in the treatment of cancer will preserve healthy tissues, maintaining critical tissue function while eliminating the common side effects associated with current standard-of-care treatments.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is crucial to the commercialization of the LADDR technology by derisking two major potential issues: 1) predicting responsive and non-responsive tumors and 2) determining the impact of route of administration on LADDR?s basic pharmacokinetic/dynamic properties. The key objectives in this study are to: 1) identify microRNA-mimic-responsive and non-responsive patient-derived tumors, 2) select the predictive markers for responsive tumors, and 3) determine the basic pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the LADDR vehicle for delivering functional microRNA mimics to tumors in vivo. The research is separated into two objectives. Objective 1 will determine the breadth of each microRNA mimic?s activity in representative patient-derived tumor organoids derived from H&N and esophageal cancers and identify biomarkers of responsive and non-responsive tumors for the development of personalized therapies. Objective 2 will determine the impact of the route on LADDR?s basic pharmacokinetic/dynamic properties. The insight gained in this study will allow the identification of the functional targets of microRNA mimics in H&N and esophageal tumors and provide a proof-of-concept for therapeutic microRNA mimic delivery using light-activated LADDR vehicles in vivo.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
IN VIRTUALIS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Neurotechnology for Enhanced Access to Virtual and Physical Reality
Contact
501 N J ST APT 7
Tacoma, WA 98403--2035
NSF Award
2423677 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in developing a bi-directional interface between the mind and machine to support advanced neuroprosthetics and devices aimed at restoring functional independence to the more than 21 million Americans struggling with paralysis and motor deficits. This innovative product will enable individuals to seamlessly connect to the digital world by using thought to control adaptive Artificial Intelligence (AI) and wearable devices, linking directly to myriad devices and leveraging advanced computer vision, embodied AI, and accessible extended reality (XR). By integrating AI, existing invasive and non-invasive neural devices merge with virtual and augmented reality technologies to accelerate Brain Computer Interface (BCI) research and provide portable and accessible BCI development platforms. Additionally, the brain-to-AI interface can adapt to various user input modalities. This scalable design platform presents a significant commercial opportunity and contributes to national health and welfare by accelerating scientific progress in service of individuals with a need for enhanced physical and neurological supports.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to overcome the limitations of low bandwidth neural control in brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and accelerate the development of deployable BCI solutions that can restore independent activities of daily living (ADLs) in individuals with sensorimotor needs. To achieve this, the project will develop a Unity-based eXtended Reality (XR) BCI-development platform, a unifying API capable of handling data from diverse real-time digital signal processing pipelines, and sophisticated XR environments simulating ADLs. An inferential AI agent will be designed to translate minimal API inputs into complex ADL actions. The development of the AI agent will focus on designing a meaningful and solvable ADL challenge in virtual reality (VR), which will then be replicated in augmented reality (AR) to support future XR-BCI deployment. Anticipated technical results include the development of a sophisticated XR-BCI design platform and API, along with the successful demonstration of AI-mediated XR-BCI in both VR and AR settings. This project combines state-of-the-art AI and XR spatial computing to advance scientific development and accelerate the deployment of real-world BCI solutions that can restore functional independence to those with sensorimotor impairments.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
INFORMUTA, INC.
STTR Phase I: Leveraging Sequencing to Identify and Predict Multidrug Resistance
Contact
2719 DABADIE ST
New Orleans, LA 70119--2213
NSF Award
2421262 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to develop a platform for detecting genetic antibiotic resistance motifs that are predictive of current and future susceptibility to therapeutics. Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis that is predicted to overtake cancer and heart disease as the leading cause of death by 2050, taking 10 million lives annually. Antibiotic-resistant infections directly cause 1.2 million deaths and play a significant role in an additional 4.95 million globally. In the US, there are over 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections annually, which result in 35,000 deaths which cost the US health system >$20B in direct medical costs. Contributing to this crisis, it is estimated that half of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary or misused. There are currently 6,129 hospitals in the U.S. that have created a total available market for antibiotic resistance diagnostics of $3.9B. With the adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques making the required data inputs more available every day, this project will expand the 10% market share already garnered by NGS technologies for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST).
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will establish the feasibility of leveraging mutational signatures found in the DNA of bacteria and predict current and future drug resistance status. Mutational signatures are highly specific global patterns associated with mutational processes in cells. We have shown they can be indicative of past antibiotic exposure leading to an understanding of current resistance status. Additionally, we have shown specific signatures are indicative of rapid future multidrug resistance acquisition, lending to insights into the likelihood or lability of an infection to mutate and become resistant to treatment unlike any current product on the market. This approach offers two significant advantages: 1) no reliance on specific genes/mutations to identify a genotype/phenotype, enabling detection of emerging, uncharacterized resistance mechanisms, and 2) species agnosticism due to high evolutionary conservation of signatures. The current project will build upon signature analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that lead to a near 100% accuracy in predicting antimicrobial susceptibility and extend the approach to Acinetobacter baumannii, the second most burdensome resistant infection. Whole genome sequences of historical clinical samples, which have undergone extended AST with known exposure and resistance profiles, will be used to identify new signatures in a new bacterial species. These will then be replicated in the lab and finally validated in the clinic by the collection of prospective clinical samples to assess the predictive utility of the newly identified signatures.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
INFRATIE SOLUTIONS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Developing a Smart Virtual Assistant-Enabled Sewer Asset Management Tool
Contact
1201 S INNOVATION WAY STE 590
Stillwater, OK 74074--1579
NSF Award
2404975 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,627
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve the level of service for the nation?s sewer infrastructure systems, save millions of dollars of annual spending on sewer pipe rehabilitation costs, and promote human health as the result of the reduced sewer overflows. This innovation is critical to the commercialization of the data management tool as the proposed virtual assistant can unburden data users of the required coding skills for database inquiries. The successful commercialization of the data management tool will have a significant impact on the local economy by creating jobs in sales, civil engineering, data science, and data analytics, business administration. The collaboration with academia will cultivate the future STEM workforce needed in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. In addition, the undergraduate and graduate researchers to be hired on the project will be exposed to entrepreneurship activities, which will cultivate their business thinking and entrepreneurial spirit, leading to more startup company creation in the future.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a smart virtual assistant-enabled sewer infrastructure asset data management tool to facilitate the implementation of data-driven asset management practices in the wastewater divisions among municipalities. Several technical hurdles will be overcome by the proposed R&D activities. First, the tool should be able to map natural language queries both in text and voice (with different accents and under noisy environments) formats to the correct SQL syntax. Second, the tool should be able to interpret the natural language and precisely retrieve records from specific table/tables, and data field/fields from a large sewer database. Third, the tool needs to identify the correct analysis to present the results either in tabular or graphical formats based on data types, the number of data records, and users' personal preferences. The innovation of the proposed solution goes beyond traditional voice recognition and natural language processing techniques by designing a continuous learning framework, in which cloud large language models (LLMs) and local transformer-based models are integrated to improve the real-time responsiveness of the virtual assistant.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
INIA BIOSCIENCES, INC.
STTR Phase I: Non-invasive focused ultrasound treatment to modulate the immune system for acute and chronic kidney rejection
Contact
1209 N ORANGE ST
Wilmington, DE 19801--1120
NSF Award
2312694 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is a novel medical device therapy for improving the clinical outcomes of patients receiving organ transplants. Over 100,000 kidney transplant procedures are performed worldwide each year, with up to 20% of patients experiencing rejection. Existing drug treatments, including immunosuppressants, often entail significant side effects with a high financial cost of nearly $30,000 per year per patient. This project aims to develop an external system for reducing inflammatory responses thereby reducing adverse events associated with the transplant and extending the lifetime of the new organ. Beyond kidney organ transplantation, the technology provides potential extensibility for other organ transplants as well as addressing various chronic inflammatory diseases.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel ultrasound-based medical device therapy for reducing post-transplant organ rejection. The external system stimulates targeted nerves in the spleen to modulate the immune system through established physiologic pathways. The proposal aims to optimize various ultrasonic parameters in a transplant model to further development towards a functional prototype. The key objectives include 1) developing a pre-clinical transducer delivering the desired therapeutic ultrasonic waveform to the targeted splenic nerves, 2) optimizing the treatment parameters using an accepted preclinical skin allograft model, and 3) validating the reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines in situ in accepted preclinical models. The results of this proposal will demonstrate the safety and feasibility of this technological approach toward eventual clinical patient translation.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
INSIGNA, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Safe non-surgical alternative to spays in female cats
Contact
60 HAZELWOOD DR # 230G
Champaign, IL 61820--7460
NSF Award
2415687 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
11/01/2024 – 10/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is achieved through developing a novel non-surgical method of sterilizing female cats. Unlike traditional spays, this innovation uses a single injection of a small implant to achieve sterilization. The high costs and risks associated with surgically removing reproductive organs often lead cat owners to delay or avoid sterilization, which contributes to cat overpopulation and abandonment. This situation exacerbates the strain on animal shelters and communities, contributing to around 500,000 cats being euthanized annually and an estimated 32 million free-roaming cats across the US. This new approach may address the substantial market of over 2 million female kittens born annually in the US, offering a commercially viable solution to these widespread issues. Additionally, the proposed project is expected to enhance the understanding of reproductive endocrinology in domestic cats, paving the way for future veterinary advancements. In the long term, this product could revolutionize traditional population management approaches and improve the care of companion animals.
The proposed project addresses a critical need for a more affordable, less invasive sterilization method for female cats. The main objective of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel non-surgical method for sterilizing cats, including its effect on fertility and sexual behavior. Female kittens will be treated with three escalating doses and at two different ages to determine the optimal dose range and treatment age. Effectiveness on fertility will be assessed by measuring blood sex hormone concentration, executing histological examination of reproductive organs, and conducting breeding trials. Effectiveness on sexual behavior will be determined by monitoring their reproductive cycles and assessing their mating behaviors in the presence of proven male cats. This treatment is expected to cause infertility by irreversibly inactivating reproductive neurons in the hypothalamus that play a critical role in fertility in the female cat. The proposed study aims to accomplish two goals: refine the product to suit the unique metabolic and reproductive traits of female cats and provide evidence of its effectiveness and safety to initiate regulatory approval.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
INSILICOM LLC
SBIR Phase I: Knowledge Graph-powered Information Retrieval and Causal Inference
Contact
8117 VIBURNUM CT
Tallahassee, FL 32312--5701
NSF Award
2335357 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is as follows. The exponential growth of scientific literature poses two critical challenges: (1) missing important prior studies during research design can lead to resource and time wastage, incorrect conclusions, and missed discoveries, and (2) effectively utilizing the vast volume of scientific knowledge in raw text form has become increasingly difficult. This project aims to build disruptive, commercially valuable products that address these challenges, benefiting the pharmaceutical industry and academic research. In addition, the success of the project in developing advanced AI technologies will have a significant impact on the growth and development of the AI industry in Tallahassee, FL, and the broader southeast region of the United States.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop AI-powered, commercially viable applications enabled by a large-scale biomedical knowledge graph (KG) constructed recently using an award-winning natural language processing (NLP) pipeline. The KG has been further transformed into a causal KG by integrating causal relations and enhanced by incorporating data from 40 public databases and analysis results of some commonly used genomics datasets. To facilitate seamless access to the KG, the project team has developed a versatile query interface named iExplore. This interface enables highly accurate information retrieval and supports causal inference, providing users with valuable insights. In the current project, Insilicom LLC will further increase the coverage of the KG and build a novel literature alert system called iPulse. By combining the advancements in AI, the richness of the knowledge graph, and the utility of the query interface and literature alert system, this project will result in practical and commercially viable applications that will revolutionize the way biomedical knowledge is accessed, interpreted, and utilized.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
INVERSAI, INC.
STTR Phase I: Integrating Vision-Guided Collaborative Robots for Postharvest Processing of Produce
Contact
111 RIVERBEND RD
Athens, GA 30602--1514
NSF Award
2208902 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$212,153
Start / end date
01/15/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to empower the processors of harvested fruits and vegetables with the flexibility to use robotic automation to meet their labor needs. The automation uses collaborative robots (cobots) guided by computer vision, which are potentially safe around humans. The technology will help assure consistent produce quality and processing rates. Through a robust cobot-based solution, the project will provide an affordable, sustainable, and safe means for farms of all sizes to keep up with their production goals, which will sustain competition and the nation?s food supply. This project has the added benefit of upskilling workers in farms by creating openings for more technically oriented positions, both in monitoring and maintaining the cobots. Instead of tediously programming the cobot for each use, the project is introducing a new way of translating the tasks performed by humans to the cobot by learning from camera recordings. It will also improve understanding of how cobots can safely be used alongside humans in a shared working space.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase 1 project aims to make it possible to use cobots with human workers on tasks that go beyond the traditional pick-and-place. The proposed technology will automate processing line tasks that require computer vision, which is challenging because accurate and reliable perception must guide the robot?s motion. Research has coalesced the technical challenges on the path to a viable commercial product around five steps. These start with a formal description of the task domain followed by using robust implementations of noise-tolerant machine learning algorithms for automatically learning the task, and end with a solution that integrates the learned task behavior with a vision-guided cobot system. Phase 1 will support research toward addressing two problems. The first is to design an intuitive way to elicit a precise specification of the client?s task domain. A digital conversational assistant will utilize multiple modalities for the elicitation. The second is the inability of available implementations to generate coworker-aware and efficient cobot movements. The research will investigate and develop significant improvements to the cobot motion to improve coworker safety while reducing the processing time by an expected 50%.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
IRONSIDES MEDICAL INC
SBIR Phase I: AI-Powered Otoscope for Ear Infection Diagnosis
Contact
1 MIFFLIN PL
Cambridge, MA 02138--4907
NSF Award
2419700 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel automated diagnostic medical device technology for diagnosing ear infections, a common condition affecting up to 80% of all US children by age three resulting in nearly 9 million antibiotic prescriptions each year. The diagnostic tool aims to improve ear infection diagostics in multiple settings including pediatric, urgent care, and emergency exam room, with a novel otoscope that improves diagnostic accuracy from 50-60% to in excess of 92%. The improved otoscope aims to reduce the long-term health consequences of poor or improper diagnosis including antibiotic overprescription and antibiotic resistance risks, and adverse drug reactions. The novel system will automate the otoscope access and navigation procedure, and utilize advanced adaptive algorithms to analyze digitally acquired images to improve the clinical diagnostic and prognostic measures for the nearly 500,000 physician and nurse practioners who examine ears in the United States on a routine basis. The device has an annual commercial potential of $240M.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the critical technical challenges in diagnosing ear infections by developing a guided, image analysis enabled otoscope. The Phase 1 objectives advances the steerability and maneuverability of the system, and integrates a high-resolution camera onto an active otoscope enabled with advanced Machine Learning algorithms to guide users in obtaining the optimal eardrum view. The research objectives include systems engineering and development of the prototype including hardware development and algorithm integration, followed by performance validation using a mechanical bench test model. The anticipated outcomes include demonstrating feasibility for the novel prototype otoscope and its navigational software algorithm, for enhancing clinicians and then parents ability to accurately move through the ear canal, avoid wax, and enabling eardrum access and clearer visualization. The results will enable the company?s proprietary image based algorithm for clinicians to make more accurate diagnoses.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
IRRADIANT SENSING CORPORATION
STTR Phase I: Novel Fluorescence-Based Force Sensor for High-Resolution Tactile Sensing
Contact
2281 DAILEY ST
Superior, CO 80027--8318
NSF Award
2432516 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial impacts of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project are in the area of tactile sensing technology for robotics and biomedical instruments. The tactile sensors enable robots and machines to perceive and interpret physical touch and texture. As the robotics technology is increasingly required to perform complex and delicate operations which requires advanced tactile sensors, it is essential to ensure safe and precise interaction of robots or robotic tools with their environment. There are, however, gaps in the current tactile sensing technology. One is concerned with recognizing textures, and another is safely interacting with soft environment such as biological tissues. The sensor to be developed in this project will enable highly effective recognition of textured surfaces, which then would allow robots to recognize objects more efficiently. Also, it will lead to a safe and precise robotic tool for medical procedures. There exists a large and fast-growing market for tactile sensors which the new technology is expected to make inroads into. The initial market segment will be robotic surgery which will be followed by other robotics market such as humanoid robots.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is designed to develop a novel tactile sensing technology with applications in robotics and biomedical instruments. As the robotics technology matures, there is a growing need for an advanced tactile sensing technology to ensure safe and precise interaction of robots or robotic tools with their environment. The current technologies, however, lack several key capabilities which include high spatial resolution and high force sensitivity. These deficiencies in turn lead to grand challenges such as texture recognition and interaction with soft environments such as biological tissues. The new sensor to be developed in this project will achieve both high spatial resolution and high force sensitivity. It can be mounted on modules with small and adaptable form factors, making it applicable to a wide array of applications. The new ability to effectively recognize textures will enable highly complex and dexterous operations of robots and robotic tools including the emerging humanoid technologies. High sensitivity can be used to ensure safe and precise interaction with biological tissues, which would then enable improved medical procedures. The initial market segment will be robotic surgery which will be followed by other robotics market such as humanoid robots.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ISLEX THERAPEUTICS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Islet Targeted Restorative Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes
Contact
15 HOLLY CREST DR
Lutherville Timonium, MD 21093--4029
NSF Award
2432114 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact and commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lie in demonstrating the efficacy and safety of beta-cell restorative therapeutics in preclinical studies. This will foster investment and partnerships for further clinical development and eventual commercialization. The technology addresses a significant unmet need in the treatment of stage 3 type-1 diabetes (T1D) and other forms of diabetes with severe beta-cell loss. If successful, the innovation could lead to new therapeutic options for millions of patients worldwide, improving their quality of life and reducing healthcare costs associated with diabetes-related complications. Additionally, the successful commercialization of this therapy has the potential to create high-quality jobs within the biopharmaceutical industry, driving economic growth and innovation.
This phase 1 project aims to develop antibody therapeutics for the treatment of stage 3 (or clinically overt) type-1 diabetes (T1D) by harnessing the synergistic effects of autoimmune protection via a beta-cell masking antibody, insulin supplementation, and targeted delivery of mitogenic drugs to the pancreatic islet, the specific disease site of T1D. This research initiative will draw upon technical expertise in islet biology and autoimmunity, beta-cell regeneration, antibody-drug conjugation, islet-targeted drug delivery, and therapeutic evaluation in mouse models of T1D. The molecular target of this technology is ZnT8, an islet-specific autoantigen implicated in T1D pathogenesis. Insights into ZnT8 biochemistry, cell biology, and its role in T1D autoimmunity have been translated to address the critical need for beta-cell autoimmune protection and targeted delivery of beta-cell regenerative therapies for patients with stage 3 T1D, with potential applications extending to other forms of severe beta-cell loss, including latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) and insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes. The outcomes of this proposed research include the development of a novel therapeutic product that could revolutionize the treatment landscape for stage 3 T1D and future expansion to other forms of severe beta-cell loss.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
JUNO PROPULSION INC.
SBIR Phase I: Rotating Detonation Combustion Satellite Thruster Using Novel, Non-toxic Propellants
Contact
33530 1ST WAY S
Federal Way, WA 98003--7332
NSF Award
2415516 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,969
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a new satellite thruster with improved performance over competing chemical propulsion solutions. The space economy is rapidly growing to a projected $1 trillion industry by 2030. Despite the strong demand for products and services offered by space providers, there remains a large barrier to accessing and operating in space. The key driver in the economics of operation in space is the performance of the propulsion systems used for transferring the satellite to its intended orbit, performing orbital maneuvers, station-keeping, and de-orbiting at the end of life. Currently, a large portion of the satellite mass must be allocated to propellant, significantly limiting the size and weight that can be allocated to revenue-generating and mission-critical functions like imaging, telecommunications, and other scientific objectives. The thruster developed under this Phase I is projected to operate with significantly higher specific impulse than the current highest-performance solution, leading to an increase in satellite lifespan on the order of 100% in low earth orbit. This new paradigm will permit improvements such as a 40% increase in camera resolution, or an increase of 40% in the amount of mass that can be moved to geostationary orbit.
The intellectual merit of this project is the development of a new in-space thruster using rotating detonation combustion (RDC) and non-toxic propellants. RDC uses detonation combustion to burn reactants at a higher pressure and extract more usable kinetic energy for the same amount of propellant mass. This SBIR effort will also innovate the use of non-toxic propellants which heretofore have not been investigated for use in an RDC. The overall objective for the NSF SBIR program is to develop a pre-flight qualification RDC satellite thruster prototype by focusing on three major goals: (1) development of a performance and detonation prediction tool, (2) demonstration of RDC for the thrust class and propellants of interest, and (3) demonstration of the performance benefit of RDC for the application. These goals will be achieved through a parallel efforts to develop an advanced computational modelling tool as well as initiatives for production and hot-fire testing of the first prototype. By the end of the Phase I program, the goal is to advance the technology to a higher state of feasibility: demonstration of the prototype?s performance in a relevant, vacuum environment.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
KAI TECH LLC
SBIR Phase I: ECG-AID: Electrocardiogram with Advanced Interpretation and Diagnosis
Contact
2224 AHA NIU PL
Honolulu, HI 96821--1009
NSF Award
2432686 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact / commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop an advanced software system for automated electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis. By integrating a large dataset with a clear delineation of normal and abnormal values and innovative machine-learning models, this technology could improve the accuracy and accessibility of ECG interpretation. The ECG-AID software is an inexpensive and user-friendly solution that provides accurate and reproducible automated ECG interpretation that may lead to timely diagnosis of heart disease. The market for this innovation is significant, given that over 300 million ECGs are performed annually in the United States alone. The commercial potential is projected revenues of $25 million by the third year of operation. ECG-AID aims to promote national health and welfare by prioritizing rural healthcare facilities.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project targets a pressing issue in the medical field: the potential inaccuracy of the diagnoses of heart conditions due to 1) a lack of specialized medical expertise leading to highly variable and inaccurate ECG interpretation and 2) outdated automated systems with poor predictive values. The project proposes to develop an innovative software prototype that significantly enhances ECG diagnostic capabilities by integrating a comprehensive ECG database, Z-score-based assessments, and novel machine-learning techniques. This project aims to facilitate the detection of subtle cardiac conditions that are often overlooked, resulting in earlier and more accurate clinical decisions. Through a structured approach involving the design of algorithm sequences, user-friendly interpretations, and automated data extraction, the anticipated technical results in a state-of-the-art ECG analytic system could improve the overall diagnostic accuracy of ECG. This prototype adds tremendous value to an inexpensive and fast test: allowing the development of large-scale high-throughput screenings, it will transform the role of ECGs in standard practice. By fulfilling these objectives, the ECG-AID project is positioned to revolutionize cardiovascular diagnostics, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and a substantial societal impact.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
KNOX NETWORKS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: File-Based Digital Assets
Contact
1840 CENTURY PARK E STE 1600
Los Angeles, CA 90067--2116
NSF Award
2341319 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,193
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop a novel technical approach to regulated forms of digital money and securities, including money and government securities, commercial bank money and corporate securities, and others via tokenization of File-Based Digital Assets (FBDAs). Tokenization represents a new frontier in finance that was originally pioneered in blockchain and cryptocurrency, and has many commercial applications to make payments and securities settlement faster, more transparent, and more reliable in the current regulatory environment. FBDAs are not blockchain based and can improve upon existing global payment solutions in making systems more scalable, easier to integrate with other payment systems, and more privacy-enhancing for institutions and consumers. The platform also allows for open sourcing and increased financial inclusion through the digital identity solution which gives the ability to move assets without friction globally. The commercial potential of FBDAs is significant, and tokenization products can be sold to domestic and international commercial and central banks, and allow third-party providers to build out their own financial products. This project will explore the technical market for FBDA-based tokenization and gain user feedback to improve the technology?s commercialization potential.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to research and create a production-ready (99.999% availability with defined RPO/RTOs) File-Based Digital Assets (FBDAs) product, a novel tokenization scheme applicable to not only currencies and tokenized deposits, but also to securities and other assets. FBDAs improve upon many of the issues that Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and traditional database systems have, particularly in the realms of scalability, interoperability, privacy, and programmability. FBDAs utilize a flexible fixed-denomination asset design that is simpler and more robust than Unspent Transaction Output UTXO-based systems while beating the performance of Account-based systems. In addition, FBDAs allow for a disaggregation of the asset layer from the transaction layer, thereby allowing for easier separation of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and from programmability rules for specific transactions. The Phase I project proposes to further explore different design choices of FBDAs and get technical and customer validation on achieving scalability, interoperability and privacy prior to large scale commercialization. The Phase I project will include a sandbox environment to test out different architectural setups, modeling of different financial instruments to expand tokenization potential, and to receive customer feedback from real-world financial institutions.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LAB2701 LLC
SBIR Phase I: Oscillator Processing Unit - Physical Reservoir Computing on the Edge
Contact
4376B N 372
Atwood, OK 74827--9738
NSF Award
2335448 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$272,615
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result from creating the Oscillator Processing Unit (OPU), a computational processor that would be a disruptive technology for analog computing devices operating at the network edge. The edge computing device market is projected to reach $157B by 2032. Expanding on this, machine learning, especially deep neural networks (DNNs), relies on cloud infrastructure to conduct massive computation for both model training and inference, so OPUs would have beneficial security and environmental impacts since they would reduce reliance on the cloud. The proposed OPUs could overcome the von Neumann bottleneck while also enabling a smaller form factor, increased energy efficiency, and faster speeds. As the US seeks to reduce reliance on foreign microchip manufacturers, OPUs could also provide a powerful, viable alternative that could be manufactured in the US. The technological impacts of this project would result from a more fundamental understanding of how oscillators, which are one of the most prolific dynamic systems in the universe, can also be reconsidered as physical computers.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to leverage two types of oscillator-based neuromorphic computers. By exploring the dynamics of oscillator computers, an improved understanding of how nonlinear dynamics are translated into computational ability will be developed. Further, this is expected to provide insights into how optimal oscillator cores could be constructed for Oscillator Processing Units (OPUs). These enhanced OPUs will converge two separate methods of analog computing: physical reservoir computers and adaptive oscillators. Ultimately, since an oscillator core?s memory and processing are not independent, OPUs could provide a solution to the von Neumann bottleneck. This work would establish a fundamental scientific understanding of the link between physics and information. Leveraging these two disparate forms of neuromorphic intelligence will also be the basis of a powerful Oscillator Processing Unit capable of acting as both an AI inference processor and a generalized computing processor.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LASER GRAPHICTRONICS LLC
STTR Phase I: DigitFoal: An Early Labor Warning System for Safe and Successful Foal Delivery
Contact
3605 BLUE CEDAR LN
Columbia, MO 65203--6614
NSF Award
2335352 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this STTR Phase I project is reflected in the innovation of DigitFoal, a sophisticated early labor warning system tailored for the equine industry. By leveraging state-of-the-art dual wearable photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors and a pre-trained deep learning algorithm, this system is poised to greatly mitigate the foal mortality due to dystocia. It is projected to reduce foal deaths by 30%, translating to a substantial economic benefit of over $82.5 million annually. The broader implications extend beyond economic savings, promising enhancements in scientific understanding and livestock management. This technology could revolutionize not only equine breeding practices but also be adaptable for monitoring other livestock and wildlife, thereby contributing to broader societal, environmental, and educational advancements.
The intellectual merit of this project is anchored in the integration of innovative PPG sensor technology with a robust echo state network model to monitor and analyze critical physiological signals of horses, which are predictive of foaling stages. This approach is designed to fill a significant void in current market offerings that largely depend on manual monitoring and are plagued by high rates of inaccuracy and labor intensity. The research will further refine the predictive capabilities of the technology, facilitating real-time, accurate assessments of foaling risks. This project is expected to yield significant advancements in non-invasive, real-time animal monitoring systems, contributing invaluable knowledge to the field of precision livestock farming and enhancing the technological landscape of animal health monitoring.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LATTICE THERAPEUTICS INC
SBIR Phase I: Proof-of-concept of a customizable, next-generation RNA delivery particle
Contact
7144 13TH PL NW
Washington, DC 20012--2358
NSF Award
2413714 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,947
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the creation of a novel RNA drug delivery platform with implications for treatment of cancer and other various diseases with unmet medical need. Current delivery technologies fail to realize the potential of nucleic acid drugs because of limitations like target specificity, toxicity, and administration. Next generation delivery technologies are ultimately required to achieve the full therapeutic potential of nucleic acid drugs. The technology being developed in this project is designed to address the limitations of existing delivery modalities, resulting in a flexible platform with target- and cargo-customization ready for progression to evaluate multiple clinical disease targets. This will expand treatment options, initially for oncology targets, with further applications in gene editing and vaccines, and continue to address existing patient needs. The technology developed in this project has the potential to expand the nucleic acid delivery market and result in improvements to length and quality of life for individuals facing life-threatening diseases in multiple therapeutic areas in both the United States and globally.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address the proof-of-concept milestones required to validate delivery of RNA cargoes to target cells using an engineerable protein nanoparticle. The particle platform has several key attributes incorporated that enable efficient and targeted delivery, and which are required for full platform functionality: 1) the ability to package nucleic acid, 2) display of targeting moiety, and 3) the ability to disassemble within the intracellular environment and release nucleic acid cargoes. In this project, particles engineered to target specific cancer cell surface markers will be 1) in vitro loaded with mRNA cargoes, 2) evaluated in vitro for delivery of RNA cargoes to specific cancer cells, 3) evaluated in vivo for delivery of RNA cargoes to target tumors with exceptional specificity, and 4) evaluated in vivo for efficacy of therapeutic RNA delivery. The result of this project will be a validated customizable delivery platform positioned for clinical development against multiple targets.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LENSGUIDE IMAGING TECHNOLOGY INC
SBIR Phase I: A nano-optical imaging microendoscope for in vivo Imaging
Contact
707 ANDERSON AVE
Rockville, MD 20850--2104
NSF Award
2432611 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enable researchers to visualize the dynamics of the biological events in live animals. The product, the miniaturized optical imaging micro-endoscope, will change researchers? current paradigm of only visualizing and exploring the superficial layers of tissue at a subcellular level. Visualizing the deeper layers of tissue in >1 mm depth at the subcellular level using the miniaturized optical imaging micro-endoscope will enable a range of discoveries in different areas of biomedical research. In the long term, the developed product can be utilized by physicians to improve the current standards of care in various medical applications.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is developing a nanophotonic imaging microendoscope for in vivo imaging with minimal damage. Current optical microscopy imaging cannot be used for imaging beyond 1 mm depth. The current microendoscopes have a diameter larger than 0.5-1 mm, so they cause severe damage to the tissue when inserted into the tissue. The current microendoscopes cannot provide images in >1 mm depth since the damage to the tissue changes the whole tissue structure. Miniaturized microendoscopic tools with subcellular resolution are vital for deep tissue imaging (>1 mm). The product of this SBIR project will be 100 µm diameter, a hair-size micro-endoscope allowing researchers and scientists to conduct their studies at >3 mm depth in a live animal. The state of the art of optical design and nanofabrication techniques will be utilized to make the miniaturized microendoscope. This project will lead to derisking the risks associated with the miniaturization of the optical microendoscope and enabling its usage for in vivo imaging.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LEVIOSA TECHNOLOGIES LLC
SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Computing Techniques for Quantum-inspired Ising Machines
Contact
9955 ARROWWOOD TRL
Woodbury, MN 55129--7537
NSF Award
2233642 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/01/2023 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will result from the development of a high-speed, low-power solver based on standard semiconductor technologies that can directly solve combinatorial optimization problem (COP) problems. COP problems have broad applicability across manufacturing optimization, semiconductor wire routing, logistics planning and execution, and financial portfolio management. However, COP problems are notoriously difficult or even impossible to solve via classical computers on a scale suitable for commercial application. Current state-of-the-art COP solvers need tremendous computing power, are unsuitable for edge computing, rely on undeveloped technology, or use similar algorithms to classical computers. The goal of this project is to provide consumers with a drop-in replacement COP solver that is faster, more precise, more mobile, and more energy efficient than state-of-the-art classical computers and COP solvers.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor (CMOS) based parallel combinatorial optimization problem (COP) computing cluster accessible through a cloud interface. The proposed solution will directly solve COP problems, increasing the speed, precision, and power efficiency compared to classical computers or current quantum-based COP solvers. Additionally, the cluster uses all standard semiconductor technology allowing for near-term hardware manufacturing, unlike current quantum computing competitors. The device also works at room temperature, making it the only suitable edge device for directly solving COP problems. A hybrid computing algorithm combining the custom and classical methods will parallelize the COP solving across numerous custom chips. Many custom chips will be combined into a single cluster to maximize the speed and efficiency of the hybrid algorithms. An introductory cloud service interface will be incorporated with the custom computer cluster to facilitate outside access. The end goal of this project is to create a state-of-the-art scalable, accessible, and economical COP solver that overcomes the inherent disadvantages of quantum and classical computing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LIEBOLD TECHNOLOGIES LLC
SBIR Phase I: High-Efficiency Liquid Desiccant Regenerator for Desiccant Enhanced Evaporative Air Conditioning
Contact
400 STAN DR
Melbourne, FL 32904--1000
NSF Award
2335500 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$266,556
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops air conditioning technology, unveiling a high-efficiency, liquid desiccant regenerator that promises to unlock the full potential of liquid desiccant air conditioning (LDAC). The solution promises substantial energy savings for families and industries alike. For families, the technology translates into reduced energy costs, offering tangible financial relief and enhancing their quality of life. On an industrial scale, it stands to reshape the power requirements of various sectors, paving the way for more sustainable and cost-effective operations.
The project is focused on overcoming the efficiency barriers that have historically impeded LDAC's widespread adoption relative to today?s vapor-compression air conditioners. A suitable membrane technology is adopted for the regeneration of the liquid desiccant as it promises to substantially improve the coefficient of performance for the LDAC. The plan is to develop design specifications for an LDAC that combines the size and cost characteristics of today?s conventional air conditioning systems with the anticipated leap in energy efficiency. The key challenge is in designing a system where membrane behavior at extremely high salt concentrations is robust and predictable. The experimental development is focused on the assessment of performance of various membranes under various flow rates and salt concentrations. The resulting experimental data are modeled with established mathematical models from literature. Computer simulations of the liquid desiccant regeneration process are developed using the experimental membrane models to demonstrate the regenerator's feasibility and predict its efficacy and value.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LIFE SEAL VASCULAR, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Aneurysm Sealing Device (ASD) for Endovascular Applications
Contact
2744 GANNET DR
Costa Mesa, CA 92626--4755
NSF Award
2407378 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,547
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in its revolutionary approach to treating abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), a significant health concern especially prevalent among the elderly. This project aims to introduce a novel device that promises to significantly lower the rates of aneurysm related complications and reduce the need for repeat invasive procedures, which are common with current treatments. By potentially saving significant healthcare costs and reducing the frequency of medical interventions, the device presents a transformative solution that could ease the financial burden on healthcare systems and patients alike. Moreover, the project has the potential to expand access to life-saving treatments in underserved and remote areas, thus leveling the playing field in healthcare accessibility. The commercial and societal implications of this innovation could spur economic growth through intellectual property generation and job creation, thereby contributing to the advancement of the biomedical engineering sector.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to address the limitations of current endovascular treatments for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) by developing a new device that aims to completely seal the aneurysm sac, eliminating the risk of post-procedure endoleaks. The research objectives include validating the device's adaptability to different aneurysm profiles and its compatibility with various aortic locations, ensuring broad patient applicability. The technical approach involves a compressible body unit designed for precision deployment and a dual function that allows for drug delivery post-deployment. The anticipated technical results include demonstrating the device's effectiveness in sealing aneurysms in a benchtop flow model, thereby setting the stage for potential regulatory approval. This project represents a significant leap forward in the treatment of AAAs, offering a more reliable and versatile solution compared to existing methods.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LIGHT RESEARCH INC
STTR Phase I: Snapshot, on-machine metrology system for high-precision optical manufacturing
Contact
4815 N ROCK CANYON RD
Tucson, AZ 85750--6064
NSF Award
2322208 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,524
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project advances precision manufacturing. The on-machine metrology system will have a transformative effect on highly efficient and precise optical manufacturing, additive manufacturing, and precision machining. These industries currently face a shared technical challenge: the lack of real-time quality control during fabrication. The on-machine metrology tool's real-time quality control capabilities will not only drive efficiency in high-precision manufacturing but also contribute to reduced manufacturing costs and enhanced product quality. Overall, the project's anticipated outcomes include an efficient high throughput manufacturing process with on-machine metrology, the development of a compact, snapshot, multi-wavelength on-machine metrology system, and the establishment of a next-generation innovation and entrepreneurship training program.
This STTR project seeks to develop a compact, snapshot, dual-mode, multi-wavelength interferometric system for in situ metrology in high precision manufacturing. The lack of real-time quality control during fabrication is a critical hurdle, leading to delays and manufacturing errors. This system integrates unique techniques to overcome this challenge and enhance throughput and accuracy. The technology utilizes a polarization-based, multi-wavelength, snapshot technique providing real-time measurements of machined surfaces with minimal environmental impacts. By offering instant feedback on surface quality, reducing iterations for diamond tool centering, and improving throughput and accuracy, the system becomes the smallest interferometric system suitable for integration into existing equipment for in situ metrology. The project's goal is to develop a market-ready, on-machine metrology system through prototyping, software development, and performance validation. This real-time, in-situ metrology process is estimated to achieve efficiency improvements of 30% or more in diamond-tool alignment and 50% or more in surface metrology. Successful development and commercialization of this system will hold significant intellectual merit, overcoming a critical hurdle in high-precision manufacturing and enabling real-time quality control.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LIMAR AI INC
SBIR Phase I: Semantic 3D for infrastructure asset modeling, maintenance, and predictive analysis
Contact
11569 PRAIRIE SHADOW PT
San Diego, CA 92126--8000
NSF Award
2344140 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,904
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the on the effective maintenance, construction, resilience and performance of large-scale infrastructure. The technology developed in this work will dramatically improve the productivity, accuracy, and quality of the information products generated by surveyors and engineers charged with assessing, designing, and maintaining infrastructure. For example, the roughly 200M utility poles in US should be surveyed and corresponding solutions engineered approximately every three years for weather robustness, fire mitigation, line capacity, and for future overhead and underground extensions. The technology has broad application in adjacent domains like water, natural gas, mining, oil and gas, power generation, transportation, mapping, and construction.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project integrates geometric methods for constructing detailed three-dimensional (3D) models from photographs with semantic methods used to segment and classify features or objects in two-dimensional (2D) photographs. Key challenges include building 2D-3D correspondence across the geometric (3D) and semantic (2D) techniques, improving computational efficiency, and creating user interfaces to interact with and label data. The integrated computer vision capability will be validated on datasets for electric power distribution infrastructure to extract critical features like line attachment points, pole height and inclination, wire gauges, pole deterioration, vegetation intrusion, electrical component types.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LIMELIGHT STEEL INC.
SBIR Phase I: Laser furnace to thermally decompose iron oxides for cost-competitive green iron production
Contact
2431 PERALTA ST STE 2471A
Oakland, CA 94607--1700
NSF Award
2404156 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to reduce emissions, energy consumption, and hydrogen demands associated with one of the world?s more carbon-intensive industries?steelmaking. The leading green steelmaking process, green hydrogen direct reduction and electric arc furnace (H2 DR-EAF) is expensive, energy-intensive, and requires high-grade iron ore as a starting material, which accounts for only 3% of global iron ore resources. This project develops on a sustainable, low emissions, and energy-efficient laser heating method to convert low-grade iron ore into molten iron metal and steel. This approach lowers costs by 1) enabling the use of the low-grade feedstocks that make up 97% of the world?s iron ore supply and 2) implementing an energy-efficient and thermo-kinetically optimized heating approach. The commercialization of this technology would deliver a sustainable steelmaking process that is more cost-efficient than current green steel technologies and has a lower carbon footprint than any existing steelmaking approach, helping the United States steel industry secure a competitive advantage over other global producers of green steel. This approach has the potential to yield a market-disrupting technology poised to supplant carbon-intense, resource-demanding iron and steel production processes, resulting in an economically viable pathway to green steelmaking.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a laser furnace that thermally decomposes iron oxide while reducing the amount of hydrogen required to produce green iron and steel, using blue laser diodes to rapidly heat iron ore to temperatures needed for thermal decomposition. Phase I will establish the feasibility of the approach as economically favorable to leading sustainable steelmaking techniques and validate its potential to significantly reduce energy consumption. In Objective 1, decomposition of low-grade iron ore, which contains <67% iron and higher amounts of impurities, into wüstite will be pursued by exploring the relationship between ore composition, laser heating parameters, and purity of the partially reduced ore. The thermal decomposition reaction mechanism and degree of decomposition will be evaluated. Objective 2 focuses on reducing wüstite from low-grade ore to iron metal, leveraging unprecedented temperatures enabled by laser heating, and investigating methods and process conditions to minimize hydrogen demand. Reduction reaction mechanisms, degree of reduction, and impurity content will be characterized. This work will provide a novel opportunity to produce molten iron metal from low-grade iron ores and reduce hydrogen demands, avoiding the need for high-grade ores and hydrogen requirements that limit other fossil-free ironmaking techniques.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LOOMIA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Development of the thinnest, most flexible, sustainable and cost-efficient hands-off-detection sensor and steering wheel heating insert for autonomous vehicles
Contact
67 35TH STREET
Brookly, NY 11232--2245
NSF Award
2404987 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop a Hands-Off-Detection (HOD) system for the vehicle steering wheel with integrated heating functionality, addressing the performance and implementation issues of current solutions, and replacing traditional, more cumbersome systems with a simplified design and the use of proprietary electronic textiles. The broad impact of this project is helping to mitigate human errors that cause driving accidents, significantly reducing the economic costs associated with motor vehicle accidents, and ultimately, helping to save lives. Additionally, the innovation promotes sustainability by minimizing waste and material consumption through the integration of electronic components directly into fabric. This eco-friendly approach will not only enhance fuel efficiency in transportation applications but also offers streamlined manufacturing processes and ease of recycling, addressing the challenge of electronic waste. Furthermore, the project supports the advancement of flexible circuit technology, potentially benefiting other sectors such as medical devices, robotics, and smart clothing. Hands-Off-Detection is a crucial and mandatory element of any steering assistance system. Specifically, all cars with Line-Keeping-Assistance are required to have Hands-Off-Detection. The global market size for this component is estimated to reach $721 million by 2030.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in its innovative approach to integrating a Hands-Off-Detection system with heating functionality within a vehicle steering wheel using special electronic textile technology. The core innovation replaces the traditional, bulky two-electrode capacitive touch sensors with a single antenna system, enhancing reliability and reducing material use. The primary research objectives are to demonstrate the feasibility of this new Hands-Off-Detection and Heating component by ensuring it meets critical technical parameters, performs consistently across the full automotive interior temperature range, and achieves a reduced carbon footprint. The research will involve building and testing a functional prototype in a controlled lab environment, focusing on minimizing false readings and interference, optimizing sensor response time, and achieving uniform heating performance. Anticipated technical results include a thinner, more flexible, and easier-to-integrate Hands-Off-Detection & Heating component that not only meets but exceeds the performance standards of existing solutions. Additionally, this project aims to validate the environmental benefits of the proprietary electronic textile technology used to build this automotive component, ensuring it provides a sustainable alternative to current market leaders. This project is expected to advance the field of electronic textiles, providing a robust, scalable solution for automotive and potentially other applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LUMONIQ INC
SBIR Phase I: Nanoscale Hybrid Optical Interconnect Platform
Contact
3175 HANOVER ST
Palo Alto, CA 94304--1130
NSF Award
2423362 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will involve revolutionizing internal computer chip connections, called interconnects, by replacing materials like copper with light-based connections. The high-speed interconnects are the information highways of modern-day computing systems, and, unfortunately, these highways are hitting fundamental peak capacities and interconnects are now a critical limiter to computer system performance. This project will advance photonic integrated circuits and computer interconnects by researching commercialization pathways for a new photonic approach, called coupled hybrid plasmonics (CHP), that uses the interaction of light and metals to squeeze light and devices down to nanometer-scale sizes. Commercialized CHP will potentially enable durable interconnect product advantages in bandwidth, power, area, and cost. The ultimate go-to-market motivation for commercializing CHP is to enable short-distance (meters down to millimeters), all-optical interconnects and replace electronic interconnects in computer systems (e.g., in the multi-trillion-dollar Information Technology and Telecommunications markets). The first commercialization challenge for CHP is to develop a manufacturing flow that uses mainstream processing.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will bridge the gap between CHP principles and industrial manufacturing. The primary challenge this project faces is that the CHP effect requires a new multi-layer stack ? metals, dielectrics, and semiconductors ? that does not exist today in mainstream silicon-photonics/semiconductor chip manufacturing facilities. Industrial CHP manufacturing recipes and device architectures are the gateway to future proof-of-concept prototypes and then products. The project will employ industry-standard simulation and modeling tools to rapidly design and evaluate candidate CHP recipes, devices, and circuits. It will quantitatively benchmark CHP devices and transceivers against today?s state-of-the-art silicon photonic circuits (e.g., ring-resonator based) and assess candidates based on the bandwidth, area, and energy consumption they achieve. The overall project goal is to create preliminary industrial manufacturing recipes and a design-library of CHP-based devices and transceiver circuits.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
LUNEXUS SPACE, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Silane Recycling from Decommissioned Photovoltaics using Microgravity-analog Fluidized Bed Reactor with Sonication.
Contact
1449 7TH ST
Denver, CO 80204--2011
NSF Award
2323566 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/01/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable on-orbit manufacturing by providing raw materials recycled or sourced in space, directly on-orbit. Manufacturing hardware on-orbit can potentially relieve the costs and qualification lead times of space operations by significantly reducing launch costs. However, on-orbit manufacturing will still require inexpensive feedstock. This project?s business approach which is space production from in-space materials addresses this core problem of orbital manufacturing. This project will bring significant transformations to a wide range of space activities, promoting a circular space economy, lowering the cost of orbital power, and simultaneously providing an economic incentive for satellite/debris reclamation, thus mitigating orbital debris and congestion. Providing raw materials sourced in space for on-demand, on-orbit manufacturing holds the potential to increase the economic competitiveness of the US through financially feasible space operations by reducing launch mass, costs, development time, and current payload and size limitations, supporting the US national defense by improving military power projection and logistics resilience, supporting future scientific studies of the solar system and deep space, expanding the limits of long-term exploration missions, and reducing dependence on cargo missions through in situ manufacturing and recycling capability.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel approach for recycling photovoltaics in an orbital environment. The vacuum environment of space will be optimal for many steps in semiconductor manufacturing and can be considered a high-potential application for orbital manufacturing, enabling silicon production to scale well beyond the current constraints of terrestrial vacuum chamber bottlenecks. However, while the vacuum will be beneficial overall to silicon production, nearly every process in modern chemical manufacturing is reliant on gravity and needs to be adapted to function in a microgravity environment. This project focuses on the development of a fluidized bed reactor (FBR) for microgravity analog production of monosilane gas from end-of-life silicon photovoltaics and various hydrogen sources, as it constitutes the most critical step in the silicon production line. Within the scope of this project, particulates produced from PV cells will be characterized, a basic model of the thermochemical reactions will be developed to determine design parameter nominals and a benchtop prototype to characterize the mechanics of particle and gas flows in an analog to microgravity will be developed, establishing its feasibility for in-space processing for the envisioned applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
M3D, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Gamma Camera Design Studies for Intraoperative Imaging
Contact
812 AVIS DR
Ann Arbor, MI 48108--9649
NSF Award
2404776 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact and commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel capital medical imaging system enabling new 3-Dimensional (3D) image capture and analysis for real-time guidance of surgical cancer biopsy and resection procedures. The system aims to significantly improve radio-guided surgical procedures with a novel means of rapidly and accurately detecting gamma-ray emitting radiotracers used to identify the location of lymph nodes (LN) and drainage of lymphatic fluids from tumors to be biopsied for determination of whether the primary cancers have spread. The overall benefits include shorter durations and more accurate sentinel lymph node biopsy procedures. If successful, the system represents a new standard of care versus current non-imaging technologies including Geiger pens, and targets a $3B initial opportunity for an initial target market of skin cancer accounting for 1.5M annual new US cases per year. The system provides potential to impact other similar performed procedures used to assess suspected breast, pelvic and head and neck cancers.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the company?s proprietary gamma ray radiation imager suitable for use for image guided tumor diagnostics. The project will include individual and grouped characterization of the design parameters and their effect on diagnostic sensitivity for acquiring images, and whether convolutional mathematical approaches to iterative image reconstruction can reduce the time needed to produce the final image of a medical radiotracer. The final objective is to determine the optimal collimation design parameters and image reconstruction techniques, followed by validation. The end result will be to demonstrate proof-of-principle that the novel gamma imager can produce fast, high-resolution images adequate for radio-guided lymph node biopsy and resection surgeries. The result will demonstrate superiority to current gamma camera approaches that utilize parallel-hole, pinhole, or coded-aperture collimation allowing them to produce either 1) low-resolution images rapidly or 2) high-resolution images slowly, but not the fast and high-resolution imaging needed for surgical guidance.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MAGNIFY BIOSCIENCES INC.
SBIR Phase I: Unlocking the Full Potential of Next-Generation Expansion Microscopy through Automation
Contact
1632 NORMAN DR
Sewickley, PA 15143--8557
NSF Award
2415004 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,998
Start / end date
06/15/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project stems from addressing critical barriers in nanoscale bioimaging?specifically, the prohibitive costs, technical complexities, and specialized expertise required for super-resolution and electron microscopes, which range from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars with sample preparation costs up to thousands and processing times exceeding a week. This project introduces a transformative solution by automating Magnify Expansion Microscopy into a cost-effective device, enabling conventional optical microscopes to achieve detailed biological insights at the nanoscale. By reducing sample preparation costs to under $10 and cutting processing times to less than a day, this technology will democratize nanoscale imaging, expanding research capabilities across various scientific domains. It enables researchers in labs without advanced microscopes to explore molecular and structural changes in diseases, discover new biomarkers, and develop diagnostic and prognostic tests. Societal benefits include pioneering discoveries in untapped territories, innovative diagnostic and prognostic tools, and significant healthcare cost reductions. Commercially, equipping existing microscopes with the AutoMagnify device is set to revolutionize the high-end microscopy market, potentially creating a billion-dollar industry by dramatically enhancing speed, cost-effectiveness, and ease of use, paralleling the transformative advancements seen in next-generation sequencing in genomics.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop an automated AutoMagnify device that physically expands biological specimens up to 1000 times in isotropically in 3-dimensions, while preserving their spatial and molecular integrity. This advancement will enable conventional light microscopes to achieve imaging resolutions down to 25 nm, capabilities typically reserved for super-resolution and electron microscopy. By shifting the focus from costly optical enhancements to physical specimen magnification, this project offers a practical, scalable solution for widespread nanoscale bioimaging. The AutoMagnify system reduces the sample preparation time from traditionally over a week to less than 24 hours, dramatically lowering both the financial and technical thresholds for super-resolution imaging. This project builds upon foundational Magnify Expansion Microscopy techniques to develop new rapid protocols and leverage durable gel compositions that address machine handling and reliability issues. The expected result is a fully functional prototype that standardizes sample preparation and staining protocols, enabling researchers in academia and pharmaceutical companies using conventional microscopes to access super-resolution quality images for their discovery needs. This pivotal innovation not only makes advanced imaging techniques more accessible but also significantly extends the research capabilities of scientific laboratories globally, potentially redefining the landscape of nanoscale imaging.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MANZANITA COOPERATIVE, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Domestication of Western Lupine - Manzanita Cooperative
Contact
44280 GORDON LN
Mendocino, CA 95460--9758
NSF Award
2414864 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$254,903
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project lies in generating a novel sustainable, climate-resilient food source through development of lupine hybrids. By focusing on US-native, drought-tolerant lupines, this project will introduce alternative high-protein, low-water, native-derived options to traditional protein crops? ecological footprint. This project will enhance food security while increasing productivity from marginal lands with native crops? reduced input needs- aligning with NSF priorities toward ecological and public health stewardship. Project outcomes will provide more sustainable options for farmers than traditional commodity crops- without sacrificing land profitability. By introducing a protein-rich, low-water-use alternative crop, the project will promote consumers? access to nutritional density. As demand for plant-based protein grows, commercialization of these cultivars could position them toward the lead of a burgeoning plant protein market. This will support one FT position and one researcher to screen hybrids for desired traits to enable Phase II hybrid selection and patent protection. Upon Phase II completion, the project will move toward commercialization. Following this, at least 3 FT and 3 PT employees in R/D, Product Manager, Business Development and other roles will be filled to support projected growth.
This project proposes rapid domestication and commercialization of novel, native-derived lupines to address the need for sustainable, climate-resilient crop protein sources. This initiative focuses on development of heterozygous F1 lupine hybrids, incorporating the pauper allele from the 'Amiga' cultivar of European White lupine (EWL, Lupinus albus) into four drought-tolerant, US-native species (Lupinus arizonicus, Lupinus stiversii, Lupinus succulentus, Lupinus arbustus). This allele confers reduced alkaloid content, enhancing lupines? palatability without sacrificing the drought and disease resistance of native lupines. Phase I of the project will generate these hybrids through genetic marker-accelerated introgression of the pauper allele while overcoming challenges, including potentially reduced fertility from aneuploidy among US-native and EWL parents. The project?s comprehensive approach includes PCR-based genetic analysis to confirm presence of the pauper allele, alkaloid profiling to ensure the trait's expression in various tissues, and evaluation of growth and yield. Intellectual property protection is a cornerstone of our strategy, ensuring novel cultivars' commercial viability while maintaining control over the seed-to-consumer cycle to safeguard company innovations. Resulting crops will bolster modern agricultural resilience with a focus on sustainability, reduced crop inputs, and improved nutritional value, aligning with our aim to utilize native biodiversity for food security.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MARK O'NEILL, LLC
SBIR Phase I: New Traffic Stripe 1,000 Times Brighter than Current Technology
Contact
9500 RAY WHITE RD
Ft. Worth, TX 76244--9105
NSF Award
2432539 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,524
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be a substantial reduction in fatalities from vehicle crashes at nighttime by using a new ultra-bright traffic stripe. Brighter road stripes reduce crashes, and the new stripe is 1,000 times brighter. By enabling the development of the new traffic stripe from an environmentally friendly polymer, this project will also help eliminate a major source of environmental damage. When fully adopted, the new traffic stripe will reduce the tons of arsenic and lead dumped onto American highways each year when applying conventional traffic stripes composed of glass beads dropped into white paint. Considering only the white edge lines on U.S. interstate highways, the market for the new traffic stripe is $3.6 billion at $3 per foot installed cost and over 1,300 lives could be saved per year. Economic analysis of the new stripe shows a huge benefit to cost ratio due to the economic value of American lives saved.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will attempt to advance a unique ultra-bright traffic stripe technology from the laboratory toward the highway. The new stripe uses prismatic structures on both top and bottom surfaces of a thin polymer film to retroreflect incident light from distant headlights back toward the driver and sensors of the vehicle. The new stripe has already been shown in certified retroreflectivity testing of early prototypes to be 968 times brighter than the 2022 Federal Highway Administration standard of 50 mcd/m2-lux. Under the NSF SBIR program, a radical new approach to master tooling will be attempted, using gray scale lithography to cost-effectively provide millions of microscopic cube-corner prisms on the bottom surface of the film. Two sets of light-turning prisms for dry and wet conditions will be molded onto the top surface of the same thin film of transparent polymer. In Phase I, small building blocks will be tooled, molded, and assembled into testable prototype stripes, with retroreflectivity measured in a certified laboratory. In Phase II, a mass-production process will be implemented, and on-road qualification testing will be done. These critical results will enable the technology to be licensed to an established manufacturer.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MATERIALIZE BIO, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Bioengineered Next-Generation Tympanostomy Tubes to Improve Patient Outcomes
Contact
7 COLLEGE HILL RD
Somerville, MA 02144--1219
NSF Award
2423477 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the advancement of implantable medical devices through innovative use of natural biopolymers, specifically silk and chitosan. Through the development of a novel manufacturing approach optimized for biopolymers, this project addresses significant limitations in traditional manufacturing methods and unlocks the potential of biopolymers for complex medical applications. The anticipated commercial impact includes reducing healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes, particularly for the millions of children requiring tympanostomy tubes annually. This project aims to eliminate the need for surgical removal of tympanostomy tubes by creating degradable, biocompatible, and antimicrobial alternatives, ultimately enhancing the quality of pediatric care and expanding market opportunities for advanced biomaterials in medical devices.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on a groundbreaking method to manufacture biopolymer-based implants using 3D printed molds, centrifugation, and polymerization. Unlike traditional manufacturing techniques, this approach ensures high fidelity to intricate geometries, minimizes waste, and allows for rapid prototyping. The project aims to develop degrade on-demand tympanostomy tubes from natural biopolymers with inherent antimicrobial properties. The research objectives include optimizing the manufacturing process, testing mechanical properties, and ensuring consistent quality. Anticipated technical results include demonstrating scalable production of complex 3D structures with superior mechanical integrity and biocompatibility, paving the way for broader application of natural biopolymers in various medical fields.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MATHINVESTMENTS, INC.
STTR Phase I: A Technology for Learning to Infer from Unlabeled Financial Data
Contact
3120 LEEMAN FERRY RD SW
Huntsville, AL 35801--5325
NSF Award
2343777 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,936
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to enable long-term, above-average profit returns from investing into the U.S. stock market. Currently, investors rely on the financial models that can forecast the future business performance of company only by looking through a rear-view mirror, and, consequently, create risks for the speculative stock trading that does not deliver any actual goods or services. If successful, this STTR project will make an important social impact that is controlling speculation by discouraging stock trading of company without material changes to its valuation. The research and educational impact of the current project is that selected results from the proposed studies beneficial to the fundamental research will be made available to the U.S research community for analysis, data mining, and search and will be also used to enhance contents of undergraduate and graduate courses. The economic impact is that the proposed efforts will create new financial technology related jobs in the North Alabama region.
This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project will develop and validate innovative technology capable of learning to infer from time series financial data in a resource-scarce environment. This technology will address the following technical hurdles: (a) well-documented deficiencies of machine reasoning of the qualitative parts of financial reports and earning call transcripts containing information that is much richer than just the financial ratios; (b) current reliance of the language-based models including ChatGPT on human annotation in resource-scarce environment, (c) difficulties with transfer learning for extensive, specialized documents, and (d) scarcity of labeled financial text. The technology will be based on innovative algorithms that use language-based models to augment original unlabeled data and utilize such augmented data for predicting the company valuation far ahead of the existing models. The feasibility of the proposed technology will be conducted in collaboration with academic and industrial partners.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MATTIQ INC
SBIR Phase I: The Impacts of Microgravity on Catalyst Crystallization and Performance - Ultrahigh-Throughput Investigations of Reversible Fuel Cell Catalysts
Contact
8045 LAMON AVE
Skokie, IL 60077--5318
NSF Award
2420066 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project lies in the exploration of an entirely unexplored design knob for the preparation of inorganic catalyst materials. Inorganic catalysts impact nearly every aspect of the modern world and economy, as nearly all physical materials have at least some component that was manufactured via a catalytic process. Researchers have spent decades turning all traditional design knobs, such as composition, size, shape, etc., to improve catalyst performance by even a fraction of a percent, which can have massive implications for downstream economics. Yet, as catalyst research has previously been confined to Earth, there is limited understanding of how gravity impacts catalyst material formation and performance. This project will explore the impacts of gravity on catalyst formation and performance in the most expansive and broad conceivable fashion to generate a robust fundamental understanding of the impacts of gravity in catalyst formation and performance. This work will allow uncovering previously unknown design levers that can be tuned to improve catalyst materials for existing and emerging renewable applications. Additionally, the project?s small-scale but high-throughput technology enables unparalleled information yield from experiments performed on the International Space Station (ISS).
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to utilize a ultrahigh-throughput catalyst synthesis and screening technology to directly compare a broad range of unique catalyst materials (>1M) synthesized either under Earth gravitational conditions or low-Earth orbit gravitational conditions. There is limited present understanding of how gravity affects the crystallization and subsequent performance of catalyst materials; This project will fill this gap in understanding by synthesizing catalyst libraries, each containing ~50,000 unique catalyst compositions, under both gravitational conditions and characterizing both their crystal structure and their catalyst performance. This direct comparison across such a vast materials space will allow the approach to unearth gravitational impacts on catalyst crystallization and performance, and subsequently leverage those impacts to improve catalyst performance for a myriad of applications. Ultimately, this work will result in both a structural and functional comparison of a broad range of novel catalyst materials prepared under vastly different gravitational conditions, potentially opening an entirely new era of catalysis science and understanding.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MAXWAVE LLC
SBIR Phase I: Long-Range, Millimeter-Wave, Wireless Power Beaming with Enhanced Efficiency
Contact
2616 DUBLIN WAY
Waunakee, WI 53597--9457
NSF Award
2334557 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
12/15/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to drive high-tech industry development in the Midwest region of the United States. This team develops and deploys wireless, power-beaming technologies for applications in both civilian and military contexts. The project explores wireless generation and distribution of mass energies through electromagnetic waves. The resulting technology spans applications from the wireless charging of vehicles to green energy distribution and solar power beaming. Immediate applications include long-distance flights of heavy-duty drones, which can be remotely charged from terrestrial power beaming stations. With the addition of relay drones, this technology may also establish a resilient airborne energy distribution network for military purposes. In the long term, the technology's scalability enables solar power beaming, a significant leap toward carbon-free green energy production.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the fundamental limitations of existing wireless power-beaming technologies. Conventional methods suffer from poor efficiency and require large physical dimensions for Radio Frequency transmitters and receivers. These limitations have made a long-range power-beaming solution impractical. To overcome these obstacles, this project aims to develop a unique operational mode for wireless power-beaming technology: power beaming at the near-field zone using millimeter waves. This approach offers significant advantages, including improved efficiency, compact dimensions, outstanding long-range performance, and safe operation. By leveraging the extended near-field range of a transmitter operating at millimeter waves and utilizing an adaptively controllable collimated beam, the technology can significantly enhance power efficiency, allowing power to be transmitted over much greater distances. Furthermore, a uniquely devised frequency plan within the low-loss region of atmospheric transmission windows enhances the system's resilience in adverse weather conditions. The utilization of shorter wavelengths in the millimeter-wave spectrum enables substantial reductions in the size of transmitting and receiving systems. Precise control of the transmitter's focal point ensures a secure and reliable power-beaming connection between subsystems. This technology has the potential to revolutionize wireless power beaming, facilitating efficient transfer of high powers and unlocking capabilities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MAYFAIR GROUP LLC
SBIR Phase I: Intelligent Interactive Guidance System for Litigated Insurance Claims
Contact
150 W MAIN ST
Norfolk, VA 23510--3403
NSF Award
2329603 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project enhances the efficiency, fairness, and cost-effectiveness of the United States' property and casualty insurance claims processes. This project aims to develop an advanced, artificial intelligence (AI) powered guidance system that will transform how litigated insurance claims are managed and resolved. By enhancing the decision-making process of claims professionals with automated, evidence-backed guidance, the system will significantly reduce the time and expense currently required to resolve claims, resulting in quicker payouts to claimants and decreasing the burden of legal costs. The system's innovative approach will assist in identifying critical case information, supporting claim professionals in making more informed decisions. The project has the potential to improve the overall transparency and reliability of the claims litigation processes, engendering greater trust in the insurance system. Additionally, by streamlining operations, it could lead to more efficient use of resources within the insurance industry, lowering insurance premiums for consumers and businesses.
This SBIR Phase I project represents an opportunity to significantly improve the processing and handling of litigated insurance claims. The project?s research objectives include the development of a novel approach for information extraction from massive unstructured data collections typical in insurance claims and summarization frameworks for presenting the extracted information, enabling a concise yet comprehensive view of complex claims data. The project aims to design a visualization interface that aids understanding and facilitates more informed decision-making by claims professionals. The research applies cutting-edge AI and machine learning techniques to these objectives, expanding past the boundaries of current capabilities in data analytics within the insurance industry. The anticipated technical results include demonstrating the feasibility of this innovative system to quickly and accurately present relevant decisional information from a broad array of data, providing users with essential insights for making decisions. By improving how information is processed, summarized, and presented, the project is expected to lead to better, faster decisions in litigated insurance claims management, setting a new standard for technological applications in the field.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MEDFREE, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Novel Self-Closing, Transcatheter, Edge-to-Edge Repair Device to Percutaneously Treat Tricuspid Valve Regurgitation Using Jugular or Femoral Vein Access
Contact
9165 RUDDER WAY
Newark, CA 94560--7311
NSF Award
2322197 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops a novel medical device enabling minimally invasive surgical revision and repair of the tricuspid valve. More than 1.6 million patients in the U.S. suffer from moderate to severe tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR) resulting in a market-size exceeding $2.4 billion by 2028. The prevalence of this repair increases with age, with women over 4 times more likely to be affected with TR than men. There are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved percutaneous devices for TR treatment. Isolated TR surgery is rarely performed due to the inherent risks associated with major surgery with post-operative complications resulting in high morbidity and mortality rates of 36.1% among severe TR patients. Hence, only about 8,000 of all U.S. patients with moderate to severe TR currently receive surgical treatment.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops a novel, percutaneous, catheter-based device and procedure for surgically revising the tricuspid Valve in patients suffering from Tricuspid Regurgitation (TR). The tricuspid valve is the largest of the four heart valves presenting unique challenges due to its complex anatomy including 3 thin leaflets and location. The valve is difficult to access using traditional femoral vein access. This project aims to provide a novel, low-profile catheter and implant device via the jugular vein. The Phase I objectives include demonstrating the ability to grasp valve leaflets, validating the design using a benchtop model simulating human conditions, further designing, developing and validating an animal model, and performing a transcatheter tricuspid edge-to-edge repair (t-TEER) procedure via the jugular vein in a lab setting. The results from the technology development, bench testing. and preclinical models will further the system towards eventual human use.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MEDIMINT
SBIR Phase I: Development of a Blockchain-Powered Medical Image Sharing Solution
Contact
2141 I ST NW APT 610
Washington, DC 20037--2366
NSF Award
2407644 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to address long-standing challenges with current medical image sharing practices. Despite electronic data transfer availability, healthcare institutions still rely on outdated physical media (CD/DVD) for medical image sharing due to interoperability issues, high costs, and security risks associated with digital data transfer solutions. This project?s platform mitigates these challenges through a secure, distributed network ensuring interoperability across various health systems through a hybrid blockchain and cloud architecture. Novel cryptographic protocols and smart-contracts safeguard data access and privacy, while decentralization provides transparency, immutability, and data integrity. By providing instant access to prior imaging, this project has the potential to eliminate the $30B national burden from redundant medical imaging. This project will empower patients with ownership over their medical data, catalyzing a transformation into a unified, patient-centric health ecosystem. The impact includes substantial reductions in healthcare expenditures, enhanced operational efficiencies, increased profitability for healthcare providers, enhanced patient outcomes enabled by real-time data access, facilitation of telemedicine adoption across diverse and underserved locations, and environmental sustainability by reducing physical media waste. The project will outperform existing solutions in interoperability, security, and patient-centricity, facilitating seamless data sharing.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a blockchain-enabled medical image sharing platform to address the long-standing challenges associated with current medical image sharing practices. The key research objectives are to design novel security protocols and smart contracts that enable decentralized access control and data sharing across a distributed ledger, while ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations including HIPAA. The research will focus on integrating blockchain with off-chain storage to facilitate efficient and secure storage and retrieval of imaging data. Anticipated technical results include a functional prototype demonstrating seamless generation of non-fungible tokens representing medical images, with metadata references to the imaging data stored on decentralized storage networks. The platform will integrate robust access management mechanisms through smart contract rules, empowering healthcare providers to securely release medical records to patients while assigning ownership. Patients can dynamically grant and revoke data access permissions, ensuring control over sensitive health information. The platform remains vendor-neutral, ensuring compatibility and integration across various healthcare systems, with a user-friendly interface that abstracts the complexities of blockchain using gasless transactions and account abstraction. Overall, the outcomes include a functional prototype demonstrating feasibility, simulation results validating the system's performance, security, and interoperability, and a validated business model.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MEDMICROMAPS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: MedMicroMaps A Novel e-Learning Platform and Immersive Experience in the Microbial Metaverse for Life Science Learners
Contact
2208 SPRUCE ST
Billings, MT 59101--0537
NSF Award
2432936 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,388
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is to advance science education in microbiology through an interactive, virtual microbe world. This innovation will make complex scientific concepts more accessible to diverse learners, including those traditionally underrepresented in STEM. The application allows students to explore microscopic organisms at various scales, enhancing understanding of microbiology, immunology, and public health. By providing immersive, hands-on experiences, it brings textbook concepts to life, potentially improving comprehension and retention. The project targets educational institutions offering life science programs, particularly undergraduate medical education, with plans to expand to other disciplines and secondary education markets. This technology addresses the growing need for engaging, technology-enhanced learning tools in STEM education. By improving science literacy on microbial infections, vaccines, and antibiotics, the project serves the national interest in advancing health and scientific understanding. The business model focuses on institutional licensing, with potential for individual subscriptions. This approach could significantly impact how students learn about and interact with the microbial world, fostering a deeper appreciation for life sciences.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the challenge of effectively teaching complex microbiology concepts to undergraduate medical students. The research objectives focus on leveraging extended reality (XR) technology and artificial intelligence to enhance the learning experience of infectious diseases and microbes. The proposed research involves developing a novel XR application using the Meta SDK platform within the Unity game engine, incorporating 3D microbial assets created with Blender and Adobe software. These assets will feature realistic textures based on microscopy images, ensuring scientific accuracy. The system will employ a bacteriophage AI-assist to adapt content delivery based on individual learning styles, including auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and text-based approaches. The anticipated technical results include a cross-platform accessible WebGL build compatible with XR headsets, mobile devices, and personal computers. This innovative approach aims to significantly improve learning outcomes for both traditional and non-traditional students by providing an immersive, interactive, and personalized educational experience. The project's scope encompasses the development, testing, and evaluation of this XR-based learning system, with the potential to positively impact microbiology education in undergraduate medical curricula.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MIMIC SYSTEMS INC
SBIR Phase I: Refrigerant-free heat pump using high-performance thermoelectric materials and methods
Contact
19 MORRIS AVE BLDG 128
Brooklyn, NY 11205--1095
NSF Award
2415650 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is through the development of a more efficient and cost-competitive solid-state heat pump technology for heating and cooling. Buildings are one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions, substantially associated with heating, cooling, and domestic hot water production. As an all- electric technology, solid-state heat pumps can easily be powered directly by renewable power, such as solar or wind. This would not only reduce reliance on fossil fuels but will also contribute to the sustainable electrification of the built environment that is necessary to mitigate the effects of climate change. This refrigerant-free technology may also avoid refrigerant leaks that contribute to climate change. As a retrofit, it would enable multifamily residential buildings to comply with the emerging more stringent carbon emission standards. In New York City alone, this represents a potential $2.2 B market.
This project aims to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of traditional solid-state heat pumps based on thermoelectric energy conversion by leveraging new thermoelectric materials and modern manufacturing processes to surpass the performance of traditional vapor-compression heat pumps. The approach aims to integrate the active components of thermoelectric heat pumps, specifically the thermoelectric legs and electrodes, directly and in intimate thermal contact with active heat exchanger surfaces leveraging ink-based thermoelectric systems with high figure of merit. The proposed configuration and manufacturing process minimizes the deleterious interface and heat pump substrate thermal resistances, increasing the system performance. A multi-disciplinary team will integrate scalable fabrication processes for thermoelectric materials using sintering with printable electronics on metal core substrates. The goal of this project is to determine the feasibility of the approach by building and testing a representative assembly that can be easily scaled up to provide larger heating and cooling capacities. This approach constitutes a radical redesign to how thermoelectric systems are assembled, unlocking new opportunities toward delivering sustainable and scalable solutions for heating and cooling.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MINTANGIBLE, INC.
SBIR Phase I: IP Programmable Rights Units On Blockchains
Contact
12405 NORTHLAKE PL
Henrico, VA 23233--6636
NSF Award
2335060 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/01/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to revolutionize global participation in the intellectual property ecosystem. This company's innovation signifies a paradigm shift in how society comprehends and manages intellectual property, paving the way for increased value creation and democratizing a system historically marred by complexity, cost, and opacity. Leveraging the inherent characteristics of blockchains?decentralization, peer-to-peer dynamics, transparency, and cryptographic verifiability it is possible to establish an open, efficient, and inclusive system for intellectual property licensing and transactions. This project?s innovation will break down barriers, both legal and economic, for creators across diverse fields, including artists, writers, filmmakers, and scientific and business innovators. Technical understanding of cost-efficient blockchain based platforms, today one of the biggest barriers to large scale blockchain based use cases, will be enhanced due to the efforts of this project. Additionally, enhanced technical understanding of composable legal representations and models while maintaining business meaning will be achieved. The global intellectual property rights market is projected to be $21B by 2029 and the blockchain token/NFT market is projected to be $211B by 2030. This disruptive enabling technology has significant commercial potential.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the ability to deconstruct intensely complex prose based legal constructs representing intellectual property rights into ?programmable rights units? and operate these units on any blockchain in a compute efficient and cost efficient manner. The objectives are twofold. First, the project will accurately deconstruct prose-based legal documents into composable IP licensing elements, ?programmable rights units,? and represent them in non-lossy semantic meanings. These deconstructed units must be capable of execution on blockchains in a commercially viable way. Second, the project will demonstrate the ability to implement composable programmable rights in a blockchain-agnostic form. This objective is crucial for commercial success as the proliferation of blockchains will continue, thus, supporting many blockchains is required for a broad addressable market. These objectives will require usage of modeling techniques, linguistic pattern analysis (natural language processing and otherwise), technical architectural cost impact analysis as well as algorithmic evaluation of leading edge technologies such as zero knowledge proofs and cryptographically independently verifiable artifacts and identities. The anticipated results will be a proven, blockchain agonistic platform that accurately represents the semantic meaning of complex IP rights business models that can be automatically interacted with for executing commercial transactions.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MITHRILAI CORP.
SBIR Phase I: SaiFE: Trusted AI with Hardware Security Enforcement
Contact
1107 CRAB ORCHARD DR.
Raleigh, NC 27606--3517
NSF Award
2333126 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$272,773
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is centered on elevating economic and societal well-being by significantly enhancing the security posture of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) hardware and systems, which are increasingly ubiquitous and used in safety/security-critical applications. As this project analyzes hardware attacks and pioneers new defenses, it ensures a more reliable foundation for AI/ML technologies that society relies upon for healthcare, finance, and national security. The commercial potential is substantial; as developers deploy these fortified systems, they mitigate the risk of costly breaches, fostering trust and accelerating adoption. Economic benefits also extend to a reduction in expenditure related to cyberattacks and an increase in market competitiveness for secure AI/ML products. Furthermore, by deepening understanding of hardware vulnerabilities and defense mechanisms, the project pushes the frontiers of scientific knowledge in cybersecurity. As a result, the innovations from this project are poised to reinforce critical infrastructure against hardware-centric threats, thereby safeguarding the digital economy and reinforcing the United States' leadership in secure technological advancements.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project conducts a transformative approach to addressing the acute problem of securing AI/ML hardware systems against emerging hardware attacks such as side-channel and fault injection attacks. Recognizing the vulnerability of these systems to hardware exploitation, the project aims to comprehensively analyze the attack vectors and devise innovative defense mechanisms. The proposed research is set to employ a multi-layered methodology that integrates cutting-edge cryptographic techniques and novel machine-learning algorithms to enhance hardware security. Through rigorous experimentation and validation, the anticipated technical results include the development of trusted hardware modules, the establishment of a benchmarking framework for hardware threat assessment, and the creation of adaptable, resilient defense architectures. This will significantly advance scientific understanding of hardware security in the context of AI/ML, potentially setting a new standard for industry practices, while addressing a critical vulnerability in modern computing infrastructure.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MITO-BIOTHERAPEUTICS, INC.
STTR Phase I: Novel Bio-Intervention to Attenuate Neurological Damage Following Traumatic Brain Injury
Contact
30934 WAKEFIELD DRIVE
Spanish Fort, AL 36527--5280
NSF Award
2335218 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,855
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project hold global consequences in healthcare and scientific advancement. Foremost, it addresses an unmet medical need. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of injury-related death and disability with an estimated annual world-wide incidence of 69M people. Project success will improve the quality of life of millions and lessen TBI?s social and economic burden. This intervention will stem TBI?s progression to follow-on neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson?s and other forms of dementia which, in turn, will broaden our scientific understanding of neurodegenerative pathways and reveal potential other novel drug targets. This technology also offers a mechanism that provides a drug agnostic delivery system across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). It has direct implications for US military combat readiness and veterans, noting 19% of deployed troops (Iraq & Afghanistan) suffered TBI. This project?s success will be most beneficial for Black and Hispanic patients, who are more susceptible to the after-effects of TBI. Importantly, this construct may hold therapeutic utility in myriad other disorders, including Alzheimer?s, Parkinson?s, ALS, stroke, myocardial infarction, insulin resistance, etc. As a first-to-market product, the commercial potential to treat TBI is considerable.
The proposed project will test a novel fusion protein construct (NFP), which can cross the BBB and deliver a biologically active, targeted therapeutic payload to repair mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage in neurons. Significantly, restoring neuronal mtDNA integrity enables proper encoding of proteins required for cellular energy production and reestablishes bioenergetic levels to avert programmed cell death pathways and ensuing neurodegeneration. The project will advance understanding of the extent of bioenergetic dysfunction and its role in neurodegenerative progression. To achieve technical success in the setting of TBI, NFP must be able to maintain structural integrity within the circulatory system, traverse brain capillary endothelial cells, penetrate neuronal cells, and then target and enter mitochondria to deliver the protein payload at the site of mtDNA damage. The goals of the proposed R&D program will verify NFP?s technical capability for such complex navigation and demonstrate its ability to attenuate neurological damage following TBI ? to be confirmed through in vivo animal evaluation of TBI biomarker assays and analysis of behavioral changes. Program objectives will also achieve optimization of the protein?s component structure, quantify target site bioavailability, and identify a time-related dosing profile, with intervention occurring at differing time points from initial insult.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MOLECULAR INTERFACES, LLC
SBIR Phase I: High Light-Throughput Electrodes for Top-Emitting and Transparent OLED Displays
Contact
200 W MADISON ST STE 3300
Chicago, IL 60606--3607
NSF Award
2433105 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,953
Start / end date
01/01/2025 – 12/31/2026 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is the generation of more efficient and brighter organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) which are the individual lighting emitting elements within the displays of our cell phones, tablets, and smart watches. This project seeks to provide the same quality of OLED display but at 1.5? higher efficiency, thereby allowing a phone, for example, to run at 11% less power, with potential savings as high as 19%. If one considers the power used by the 4.9 billion cell phones worldwide (equivalent to the power generation for the state of Delaware) the cumulative saved power provides a significant effect in aggregate. Beyond large aggregate energy savings, this project provides other benefits to the end consumer. These include better brightness for outdoor usage of phones/watches/tablets, better viewing in augmented reality or virtual reality headsets, and even potential improvements in see-through display applications.
The efficient and brighter OLEDs are enabled by the project?s ultra-thin chemical adlayer which is placed on top of the materials in the OLED stack, resulting in superior transparency of the top-laying metal electrode. This circumvents the problem that has long vexed OLED display manufacturers, specifically, that the thin metal electrode providing electrical current to the materials in the OLED stack needs to be both transparent and conductive. Normally, reducing the thickness of the electrode improves transparency, but severely diminishes conductivity. As such, this thin metal cannot be reduced any further, and still limits the amount of light that can pass from the OLED. The project avoids this issue by making the metal a more uniform (continuous) layer by reducing self-aggregation of the metal, allowing the metal to retain high conductivity at a much lower thickness. This effect is enabled by the project?s technology, which is an unusually effective nucleation inducer. The project validates the effectiveness of the chemical adlayer in OLED pixels and then optimizes chemical structure for increased effectiveness. The resultant chemical treatment is then capable of reaching the targeted metric of 1.5? more efficient/brightness OLED pixel.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MOLTEN MATERIALS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Upcycling waste plastics into high value thermoplastic elastomer
Contact
1269 S WRIGHT ST
Santa Ana, CA 92705--4511
NSF Award
2430937 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,991
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in the development of a sustainable solution to the global problem of plastic waste. Currently, over 90% of plastics ever produced still exist in the environment, posing significant threats to ecosystems and human health. This project aims to transform waste plastics into valuable materials that can be used in infrastructure applications, such as road construction. By recycling non-recyclable plastics into high-performance elastomers, this project not only reduces the environmental impact of plastic waste but also enhances the durability and longevity of pavements. The commercial impact includes the creation of new jobs in the recycling and construction industries, generating tax revenue, and contributing to a more sustainable economy. This project aligns with NSF's mission to promote scientific progress and support innovations that address societal challenges, ultimately improving the quality of life for U.S. citizens.
The strong technical innovation in this project is the use of Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization to produce high-value elastomers from depolymerized plastic oligomers. This method allows for precise control over the polymerization process, resulting in materials with superior mechanical properties compared to traditional recycling methods. The research will explore the optimal conditions for depolymerizing waste plastics and subsequently polymerizing them into elastomers suitable for infrastructure applications. The goals of this project include demonstrating the feasibility of this approach, optimizing the material properties for pavement use, and conducting performance testing to validate the effectiveness of the produced elastomers. The methods involve a combination of laboratory experiments, material characterization, and mechanical testing to ensure the produced elastomers meet industry standards for durability and performance. This innovative approach has the potential to revolutionize the recycling of plastics and contribute to the development of sustainable infrastructure materials.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MORPHOSIS INC
SBIR Phase I: Continuous Identity Verification via Wearable Neural Interfaces
Contact
1152 EUCLID AVE
Berkeley, CA 94708--1603
NSF Award
2415318 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enhance digital security by integrating continuous biometric authentication into all human-computer interactions. The World Economic Forum cites widespread cyber-crime among the top 10 most severe global risks, with widespread impact on private industry, critical infrastructure, and cyber warfare. Recent developments in artificial intelligence compound these risks, with ?deepfake? technology and Large Language models producing highly convincing fraudulent communications that easily bypass human scrutiny. This project develops and evaluates a new form of real-time authentication based on a novel biometric sensing approach that can secure every interaction an individual has with digital systems. At scale, the technology can mitigate cyber threats to secured systems by continuously certifying the authenticity of human-computer interactions.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will commercialize a fundamentally new biometric authentication approach for secure human-computer interaction. When interfacing with digital technology, there is no direct link between a user?s actions and their identity. Current approaches to solve this problem (e.g., usernames, passwords, biometrics) are imperfect, presenting a major weak point in digital security that is commonly exploited. As humans interact with technology, their hand movements and posture arise from unique neuromuscular activity patterns that could be used for real-time identity verification. This project develops sensing technology to capture these unique signals to create a new kind of continuous, biometric authentication. This approach essentially provides a user-specific ?watermark? that the wearer?s actions (keystrokes, gestures, etc.) are authentic and authorized. Real-time user verification can streamline the authentication process and overcome core vulnerabilities in legacy approaches that make them susceptible to compromise, setting the stage for secure and intuitive human-machine interfacing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MVMNT-X, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Optical methods for improving productivity of microalgae cultivation
Contact
563 ENCINA AVE
Menlo Park, CA 94025--1822
NSF Award
2415744 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in removing carbon dioxide and other pollutants generated by agriculture. Concentrated animal feeding operations are an integral element in the American economy and food system. Today, manure from dairy and swine operations is stored in lagoons where it festers for months before eventually being spread as fertilizer. Lagoon runoff contaminates the environment and endangers public health downstream, causing hundreds of billions of dollars in losses; methane and nitrous oxide gases pollute and warm the atmosphere; and valuable nutrients are lost. Rather than being in conflict with our environmental, health, and resource stewardship priorities, this project will help empower animal farms to be climate positive. This project creates that connection, enabling animal farm wastes today to efficiently, cleanly, and easily become fertilizer or animal feed for farms tomorrow. And because the technology captures carbon, farmers can verifiably store the carbon in soil, thereby empowering large farms and small farms alike to sell into the burgeoning carbon economy.
This project develops a new class of illumination methods that will enable an ultra-high density, high efficiency microalgae hybrid-photobioreactor scrubber for reactive carbon capture at the source in agriculture waste management systems. Algae bioreactors under development in this SBIR Phase I project may bridge the productivity gap between low-cost manure ponds and expensive algal biofuel photobioreactors. Productivity of microalgae reactors is generally limited by light distribution, as the algae nearest the surface consume all the light. New low-cost optical methods in optics and reactor management will allow natural sunlight to be delivered within the algae volume rather than at the surface, thus vastly accelerating carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus capture during wastewater processing, at no extra energy cost.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MYANIML
SBIR Phase I: Early Disease Prediction with Cattle Muzzles Using Artificial Intelligence, Facial Recognition, and Camera Capturing Technology
Contact
14305 OUTLOOK ST
Overland Park, KS 66223--1253
NSF Award
2330500 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,866
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need for technologies that can benefit the production, protection, and health of agricultural animals, like cattle. The profit margins for cattle owners are very thin. Treating a disease costs cattle owners on average about $80 per head. By the time an owner can tell their cattle are infected, it is typically too late to prevent infection and the spread of the disease in the pen and feedlot. With the successful implementation of the proposed technology, cattle owners will save on average about $80 per head. For an average 500-head owner, pinkeye can impact 90% of the individual cattle herd if one individual animal is infected, costing over $15k to treat in the case of an outbreak. The proposed technology aims to reduce the cost to only the cost of one vaccine since the proposed system should alert the owner about this risk early, allowing early isolation before the disease is able to spread. The proposed solution would enable early disease detection, help to secure the US food supply chain, reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses, and benefit the US economy by preventing cattle loss.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel artificial intelligence (AI) technology to detect Bovine Respiratory Disease early on in a small pilot study. The company will develop an app (beta-version) that can automatically take pictures of cattle, use AI to analyze the muzzle, and then immediately send a notification of infected cattle to the cattle owner. When new calves that are sick enter a feedlot setting, they typically are not as active as healthy calves. There are also visible symptoms such as droopy ears, nasal discharge, and watery eyes. However, since the calves might be stressed due to travel, these symptoms do not necessarily mean the calf is sick, making it challenging to identify sick cattle. If successful, the proposed solution would reliably identify sick cattle and thereby enable early, targeted treatment.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
MYCONAUT LLC
SBIR Phase I: Unlocking the Potential of Mycoremediation: An Integrated Biological Approach to Combatting PFAS Contamination
Contact
7260 COUNTY ROAD 550
Marquette, MI 49855--9766
NSF Award
2337246 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/15/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in its potential to revolutionize soil remediation techniques, addressing the lack of effective treatment options for soils contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The proposed remediation method utilizes the natural mutualistic relationship between plants and fungi to remediate contaminated sites, offering distinct advantages over traditional methods. This innovation not only preserves site ecology, but also allows for the reuse of remediated soils, distinguishing it from other solutions that have high environmental impact. By mitigating soil-based sources of PFAS contamination, the project contributes to public health by reducing exposure risks and safeguarding water and agricultural resources. Furthermore, the successful completion of this project will provide compelling evidence for field trials, paving the way for regulatory approval and commercialization. This advancement has significant economic implications, enhancing the competitiveness of the United States and stakeholders by allowing for the reallocation of resources through cost savings, and addressing pressing environmental concerns. This enhanced approach offers significant promise for furthering scientific knowledge and delivering tangible benefits to society by tackling a crucial environmental issue, yielding far-reaching benefits.
The proposed project focuses on developing a scalable and effective biological remediation method that utilizes synergistic interactions between fungi and plants to degrade and remove PFAS from contaminated environments. The project aims to expand on fungi that are able to efficiently degrade PFAS and evaluate their effectiveness in degrading six specific PFAS compounds recommended by the EPA. The research expands the understanding of fungal degradation of PFAS by identifying additional defluorinators and characterizing the resulting breakdown products. The impact of several environmental factors on degradation rates will be assessed to understand how site-specific challenges may impact remediation efforts. Additionally, various delivery methods for microbial inoculation, such as pelleting, soil drenching, and in-furrow application will be evaluated for consistent inoculum application to contaminated sites. Bench trials will assess the efficiency of this approach, combining fungi and hybrid poplars, for PFAS remediation. This research addresses a critical need for effective PFAS remediation methods, expanding the frontier of scientific knowledge in fungal bioremediation, offering a fresh perspective and innovative approach towards mitigating the impacts of PFAS on our ecosystems.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
NEARABL INC.
STTR Phase I: Handheld Mobile-based Dynamic 4D Mapping and Indoor Space Reconstruction
Contact
33 WEST END AVENUE
New York, NY 10023--7820
NSF Award
2416474 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project includes enabling infrastructure owners, real estate developers and trade workers to optimize their operations and reduce rework, leading to a reduction in their environmental footprint and contributing to a more sustainable future. Furthermore, the project aims to decrease costs associated with digitizing infrastructure by 40-60% and lower socioeconomic workforce barriers for knowledge workers, facilitating increased construction and renovation, ultimately transforming buildings into "smart buildings" in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, the project will make indoor spaces more inclusive and accessible for individuals with disabilities by including customizable wayfinding and accessibility options; increase the safety and efficiency of construction and maintenance workers with on-ground mixed reality based work instructions; and educate the first responders and provide essential navigation to speed up the evacuation.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project focuses on innovating mobile-based 4D progression of indoor places - with a dynamic three-dimensional (3D) mapping and reconstruction process over the time dimension, capable of augmenting the physical structure of buildings. The proposed research will develop an attention-based modeling and reconstruction mechanism to enhance 3D reconstruction, coupled with a user-friendly AI-enhanced Mixed Reality guide to improve data collection by users, aiming to achieve precise 3D modeling with data collected from mobile devices, despite their inherently low quality. To minimize the required rescan work, given the ever-changing nature of construction and maintenance projects, a knowledge-based dynamic updates mechanism will be introduced, leveraging prior knowledge of the physical infrastructure to be modeled.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
NEURALTRAK, INC
SBIR Phase I: AI-Powered Low-dose, Low-cost, High-Quality CT imaging
Contact
511 LASSEN ST
Los Altos, CA 94022--3911
NSF Award
2433137 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable local (and global) access to high-quality, low-cost, and low-radiation exposure three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) imaging using existing 2D equipment. Examples include walk-in clinics, lung cancer screening centers, rapid stroke assessment centers, mobile platforms (e.g., ambulances), battlefield hospitals, and clinics in rural and underserved areas. This advance will result in greater public access to advanced healthcare and should result in substantially lower healthcare costs. For example, moving complex spine surgeries from hospitals to local ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) can save payors $10B in costs annually. The ASCs will also benefit; a relatively low percentage of complex monthly procedures can double their profits. Patient satisfaction should improve by moving more complicated spine surgical procedures to smaller ASCs closer to home with fewer infection risks. The useful life of legacy X-ray systems will be extended following conversion to 3D, thereby reducing waste and landfill space. Beyond medicine, the project technology has widespread applications in nondestructive testing, from manufacturing to failure analysis/prevention to archaeology and art! All these advantages will enhance US competitiveness.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enable simple, small-footprint, mobile, two-dimensional (2D) X-ray imaging systems to generate three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) images at low cost, with one-third of the X-ray dose of a conventional CT scan. The project combines recent advances in imaging physics with artificial intelligence (AI) to overcome the limitations of current CT image acquisition. This contrasts with conventional AI-based CT de-noising (image cleaning) algorithms that function only in the image domain with no physics input. The project has three primary research objectives. First, enhance deep learning-based image reconstruction's ability to produce high-quality images from limited data. Second, devise real-time geometric calibration methods to overcome mechanical instabilities inherent to simple X-ray systems. Third, develop high speed and high image fidelity data transfer methods to interface existing hospital imaging systems to the project computing platform while maintaining FDA and HIPPA compliance and avoiding disruption of hospital workflow. Successful development of the three core technologies described will be used to create a minimum viable product (MVP). Medical practitioners will use the MVP to evaluate the technology and refine the features needed for a clinical product.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
NEUROBIONICS INC
SBIR Phase I: NeuroBionics OmniFiber: A Multifunctional Neural Probe for Advancing Neuroscience Research
Contact
16 LINDEN AVE
Somerville, MA 02143--2266
NSF Award
2423454 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$254,456
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable novel preclinical research into brain disorders and screening of neurological drug candidates by providing a versatile, multifunctional tool for neuroscience research. This flexible, fiber-based neural probe integrates electrical, optical, and chemical capabilities into a single implantable device for the brain, empowering scientists to combine recording of neural activity with electrical and optical stimulation along with targeted delivery of pharmacological agents in animal models. This is a crucial advance to enable insights into neurological disorders and translation of neuroscience discoveries into effective therapies. The technology has significant commercial potential in the neuroscience research market ($240M Annually) as well as the pharmaceutical market for screening of neurological drug candidates ($600M Annually) based on both primary and secondary market research. The completion of this Phase I project will significantly de-risk the commercialization of this groundbreaking neurotechnology.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address a key shortcoming of today?s neural interfacing research technologies: a lack of available tools that can combine key methods spanning electrical, optical, and chemical modalities into a single device in a single brain region. To address this challenge, a novel neural probe will be developed based on multi-material, flexible, microscopic, bioelectronic fiber technology that integrates diverse capabilities including electrophysiological recording, optical and electrical stimulation, drug delivery, and neurotransmitter monitoring. In this Phase I project, key technical challenges to commercializing and scaling the multifunctional neural probe?s production will be addressed by (1) integrating electrodes and microfluidic channels along the length of the probe to achieve broader spatial sampling, (2) developing a novel integrated back-end connector comprising electrical pins, optical ferrules, and fluidic fittings, and (3) establishing an automated and scalable manufacturing approach. At the conclusion of the project, a versatile tool enabling novel neuroscience research paradigms will be ready for commercialization.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
NEW ENGLAND HEMOLYTICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Rapid & Automated Pathogen DNA Extraction from Venous Whole Blood Samples
Contact
11 SYCAMORE WAY
Branford, CT 06405--6553
NSF Award
2422587 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,858
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to advance a technology that can significantly decrease the time to diagnose sepsis from 1 ? 5 days to less than an hour. Sepsis is a $30B healthcare problem, with over 1.6 million cases annually in the U.S. Successful treatment requires rapid and accurate pathogen identification to determine the correct antibiotic, which is not currently available. The current standard of care for patients suspected of sepsis is blood cultures followed by analysis of positive cultures. This process is not only too slow (1 ? 5 days), but also fails to detect a significant portion of cases because some pathogens cannot be reliably cultured. Therefore, the goal of this project is to develop a device that can automatically and rapidly (~20 minutes) capture sepsis-causing pathogens from a tube of whole blood, and extract the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), thus enabling their rapid and accurate identification via their DNA signature. A diagnostic test with this capability would revolutionize the standard of care for patients suspected of sepsis and would be suitable for use in all hospital labs, with an annual test demand over 20 million tests in the United States.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will support the testing and optimization of the novel pathogen extraction device across a wide variety of common sepsis-causing pathogens, including bacteria and fungi. The standard process of pathogen identification is via blood culture, which takes much too long and frequently delays life-saving treatment. The novel system being developed in this Phase 1 project integrates innovative technologies into a commercial-form instrument and cartridge, currently entering beta phase, that can deliver pathogen DNA from whole blood for analysis in under 20 minutes. The extraction instrument consists of a novel whole blood liquefaction system, a filtration-based pathogen capture system, and a high-efficiency pathogen lysing and DNA elution system, all integrated into the simple to use device. Commonly available, open-platform DNA-based diagnostic instruments and commercially available DNA detection kits are used to identify and quantify the captured pathogens, and to assess the process efficiency and overall detection accuracy of the diagnostic system. The data acquired during this study will be used to advance the reliability and efficacy of the technology, with the goal of field testing the instrument in selected hospital labs at the conclusion.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
NONA TECHNOLOGIES
SBIR Phase I: Maintenance-Free Water Treatment using Ion Concentration Polarization
Contact
286 VASSAR ST APT F1
Cambridge, MA 02139--4957
NSF Award
2422906 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,994
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in addressing the critical issue of water scarcity through an innovative membrane-free, chemical-free, more particle tolerant desalination technology. The project aims to make desalination more accessible and affordable, thereby providing communities facing water shortages with new water sources and enhanced water recycling. The technology is designed to be energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable, reducing the barriers to widespread adoption of desalination and water recycling. By advancing the field of water treatment, the project aligns with NSF?s mission to promote the progress of science and advance national health and welfare. The successful commercialization of this technology has the potential to generate significant economic benefits, including job creation and increased tax revenue, while also addressing a pressing environmental challenge.
This project proposes a groundbreaking innovation in desalination technology through the development of an Ion Concentration Polarization system. Unlike traditional methods, the ICP system requires significantly less energy and eliminates the need for harmful chemical pre-treatments. The primary innovation lies in the scalable design of the Ion Concentration Polarization system, which can effectively transition from small-scale to large-scale applications. The research aims to optimize the internal flow architecture and electric current distribution to achieve a production capacity of 1,000 liters per hour from an initial 10 liters per hour at bench scale. The methodology includes rigorous experimentation and prototype development to ensure the technology's efficiency and reliability at larger scales. This advancement holds the promise of revolutionizing the desalination process, making it more viable for widespread use and significantly impacting water treatment practices.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
NOVINEER, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Computational Synthesis of 3D Printed Composite and Infill Layouts
Contact
1511 AVIATION CENTER PKWY
Daytona Beach, FL 32114--3857
NSF Award
2334913 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
12/15/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project expedites the growth of additive manufacturing for end-use parts through automated design software. Additive manufacturing has emerged as an appealing alternative to traditional subtractive manufacturing to fabricate end-use parts with tailored stiffness and strength. A critical production stage required to unlock the potential of additive manufacturing for end-use parts is the design process, which currently requires extensive engineering experience and high engineering design time. The new technology will allow a paradigm shift from the current slow, tedious, and failure-prone design process to an automated design process. The algorithm utilizes high-performance computing and designs components based on strength, specific material properties, and manufacturing constraints. The technology is expected to reduce engineering design time and, as a result, the production cost and time, which will enable the industry to scale production. Additionally, by using the automated design process, the material distribution can be tailored to achieve the desired structural responses, and lightweight structures can be fabricated. The reduction in weight results in a reduction in fuel consumption in aviation and auto industries, which will provide both ecological and economic benefits.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project advances the state of the art by (a) developing novel approaches to optimize layout, fiber paths, and plastic infill distribution, (b) generating additive manufacturing toolpaths based on structural performance and efficiency, and (c) implementing multiple failure criteria to understand failure loads in composite additive manufacturing. Due to the significant cost difference between continuous fiber filament and plastic infill, it is crucial to consider the design of fiber paths, carbon fiber reinforced regions, and plastic infill layout. Another challenge is that current design processes do not include a single failure criterion that can predict failure under different loading scenarios. To address these two challenges, the team is investigating a stiffness and strength-based topology optimization for composite additive manufacturing that will enable the design of the geometric layout and toolpath for 3D printing simultaneously. Anisotropic material properties for stiffness and strength in different directions are implemented to utilize the full potential of composite parts. Toolpath constraints such as curvature, minimum length, and width are also implemented in the optimization process to prevent print failure. Finally, an intelligent slicing program will be developed to control the movement of the 3D printer nozzle and eliminate part failure due to stress concentration.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
NOVOTHELIUM, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Novel Scaffold for Nipple Areolar Regeneration
Contact
2509 KENNEDY CIR BLDG 125 FL 4
San Antonio, TX 78235--5116
NSF Award
2429456 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,194
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be the ability to regenerate the nipple areolar complex after mastectomy. Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women and many must undergo mastectomy, which results in the loss of the breast including the nipple. Patients report not feeling whole or complete after the loss of their nipples and this can have a devastating psychological impact on quality of life. Current nipple areolar reconstructive techniques use a surgical skin flap, where skin on the reconstructed breast is cut and sutured together to recreate the appearance of a nipple, and then tattooed for desired pigmentation. After reconstruction, only 13% of patients report being totally satisfied with their nipple reconstruction, flattening being the most common reason for dissatisfaction. Instead of just recreating the appearance of a nipple, this project enables patients to regenerate the nipple areolar complex using an acellular nipple areolar graft. The broader impact of this project would be transforming the clinical standard of care, resulting in improved outcomes and quality of life for women during their cancer survivorship. Additionally, this project further advances the understanding of extracellular matrix grafts for complex soft tissue reconstruction.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on investigating cellular ingrowth into the acellular nipple areolar graft through in vivo studies. The graft is created through a patented technique, in which the DNA and cellular components are removed from donor nipple areolar tissue, leaving behind an acellular extracellular matrix scaffold. The key challenges in bringing this technology to market center on demonstrating feasibility of cellular infiltration to the entirety of the graft and maintained nipple projection. The experiments proposed in this project investigate the graft cellular infiltration, biocompatibility, nipple projection, and pigmentation in vivo. The successful completion of the proposed studies in this project will facilitate advancement of this research and support studies for clinical application.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
NUCLEON POWER INC
SBIR Phase I: Hyper-Compact Neutron Generator for Advanced Detection
Contact
78 MITCHELL RD
Oak Ridge, TN 37830--7953
NSF Award
2419140 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,834
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to transform spectroscopy systems that identify materials by detecting a specific signature of gamma radiation. Such nondestructive detection technology is used in agriculture, mining, defense, oil and gas, border security, and other industries. The proposed innovation is a novel ultra-compact neutron generator, which is an essential component of material analysis systems used for a wide range of elements. Advantages of the proposed neutron generator are its ultra-low size, weight, and power consumption, which will enable portable detection applications, reduce costs, and greatly expand the potential to adopt this detection technology in more applications and enable its use in tight spaces, such as on board small aircraft or space vehicles. The improved neutron generator will significantly enhance security by improving detection capabilities in applications such as the identification of explosives, hazardous chemicals, and special nuclear material. It will also enable wide-field surveys for agricultural, natural resource exploration, and geological applications. With the neutron-activation analysis industry valued at over $100 million domestically, this breakthrough has the potential to increase this market size by at least $14 million. Thus, the project promises substantial technical, economic, and national security benefits.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in its innovative use of lithium niobate piezoelectric transformers (PTs) arranged in a novel antiphase configuration to accelerate deuterium and tritium atoms for a nuclear fusion-based neutron generator. This approach uses resonance drive technology to leverage the high gain of the PTs and achieve acceleration potentials that maximize the fusion reaction rate without magnetic or voltage multiplier components. Furthermore, the unique in-vacuum operation eliminates the bulky and expensive high-voltage hermetic feedthroughs. This resulting neutron generator will produce 300 million neutrons per second with a weight of under 5 pounds, a power draw of less than 10 watts, and a volume of less than 90 cubic inches. The research objectives of this project are to develop an in-vacuum mounting strategy to enable the high gain of the PT, develop antiphase resonance drive circuitry, develop a target and ion source that are integral to the PTs, and design a field-forming geometry for the vacuum chamber. Combined, these advancements will result in a neutron generator that surpasses the performance of existing systems, in multiple metrics, by more than an order of magnitude, marking a significant leap in neutron generator technology.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
OBLIVIOUS LABS INC.
SBIR Phase I: The Encore Oblivious Computation Framework
Contact
508 LLOYD ST
Pittsburgh, PA 15208--2831
NSF Award
2423358 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,988
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide a fast, universal, and easy-to-program technology called Encore, that enables privacy-preserving computation on sensitive data. Users are becoming increasingly aware of the privacy risks of giving up private data to online services and sending sensitive queries to Large Language Models (LLMs). Further, there is a recent push by big players in industry (e.g., Google, Apple, Signal) to roll out new privacy-preserving services. The proposed Encore framework will allow businesses to ?switch on? privacy for their existing services with minimum migration cost and runtime overhead. Further, it will help companies with existing privacy offerings to scale up their privacy-preserving services to big data and save computational cost. Through the company?s open-source efforts, the proposed project will make confidential computing techniques accessible to even non-expert programmers. This will in turn encourage wider adoption of confidential computing techniques, and pave the way for a private data economy where users are in full control of their data and may choose to contribute them to data analytics tasks (e.g., clinical or population-wide studies).
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop oblivious computation techniques that allow provably secure obfuscation of access patterns to sensitive data, while minimizing the overhead. Encryption at rest is a standard technique for protecting confidential data. However, encryption alone fails to hide the access patterns to data, which can completely reveal the users? queries or intentions in many applications such as contact discovery, database search, and queries to Large Language Models. Oblivious computation relies on algorithmic techniques to ?randomize? the access patterns such that they leak nothing. Earlier, the team proposed simple and practical oblivious computation techniques which have already gained large-scale adoption, e.g., by the encrypted messenger Signal. The proposed project will build on the team?s prior expertise and develop a new family of oblivious algorithms specifically optimized for hardware enclaves. Further, this project will develop new algorithmic techniques for parallelizing oblivious computation, as well as compilation techniques for converting insecure legacy code into oblivious implementations. The team plans to open source an Oblivious STL library which contains oblivious counterparts of common data structures and utility algorithms, and can be viewed as a privacy-preserving counterpart of the standard STL library for popular languages.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ONCOBLAZE LLC
STTR Phase I: Preventing Tumor Recurrence by Heat-Triggered Drug Delivery
Contact
8 FOREST CREEK CT
Charleston, SC 29414--7328
NSF Award
2415653 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project relates to a novel cancer therapy that addresses cancer regrowth after surgical therapy. Surgical removal of cancerous tumors is the first-line therapy for many cancers. In 30-40% of patients for certain cancers, cancerous cells remain after surgery that result in tumor recurrence. Such tumor recurrence is associated with worse prognosis and these patients often have limited treatment options. This project will develop technology that can deliver a large amount of chemotherapy precisely to the tissue where remnant cancer cells are anticipated after surgical tumor removal. The approach is based on heat-sensitive lipid particles that encapsulate the chemotherapy. When exposed to temperatures in the fever range, the lipid particles release the chemotherapy in the heated tissue regions. This approach enables the precisely targeted delivery of chemotherapy drugs to tissue with remnant cancer cells. If successful, this technology could cure many of those patients that would otherwise face tumor recurrence. Furthermore, the often-costly follow-up treatments will be avoided, making the approach cost-effective.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will develop a novel device for the targeted delivery of chemotherapy agents to tissue surrounding surgically removed tumors. The device is based on an infrared laser which can be precisely targeted to the intended tissue region. The laser will be computer controlled to heat the tissue indicated by a physician to accurately controlled temperatures, triggering drug release in this tissue region. Furthermore, drug release will be monitored by an imaging technology that will be developed as part of this project. This imaging technology will provide feedback on amount of chemotherapy delivered, and location of delivery. The research objectives are: (1) Build and test a device prototype. The testing procedures will ensure that a targeted region can be heated to accurate temperatures. The imaging system component will be evaluated in terms of accuracy and sensitivity. (2) Large animal studies. These studies will confirm prototype operation in living organisms, where mock surgeries will be performed. The animal studies will confirm that adequate chemotherapy amount can be delivered to tissue surrounding a surgically removed specimen. Furthermore, the animal studies will ensure that no unintended organ damage occurs before transition to studies in human patients.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ONE SPOT LEARNING, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Holistic System for Comprehensive Student Assessment
Contact
741 CONESTOGA RD
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010--1039
NSF Award
2423635 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$256,800
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to help educators meet the needs of all their students by leveraging AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools to examine robust sets of student learning data including quantitative and qualitative samples such as essays, written assignments, lab reports, and reflections, to determine student progress based on specific standards and competencies for more holistic and comprehensive assessment of student learning. The real-time, detailed analysis of student learning through qualitative and quantitative data analysis enables educators and administrators to understand how each learner, class, grade, and school is progressing in their learning. By contrast to more summative, end-of-course or end-of-year assessments which offer limited or delayed insights on student learning, this project provides educators and learners with access to deep analysis of student learning to make systemic course corrections and enable teachers to identify which standards and skills student's have been mastered and which need additional support in support of a more holistic approach to assessment and learning in primary and secondary education.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will investigate the effects targeted large language model (LLM) fine-tuning using parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) and natural language processing (NLP) and infinite-context LLM based natural language generation (NLG) on qualitative and quantitative assessments of learners in grades 5-12. This research goal addresses, first, the problem that NLG is being used to generate feedback and content without targeted fine-tuning. There is an opportunity to use PEFT to allow for rapid, individualized NLG. Second, assessment relies on grades and tests that may not capture learning as robustly as necessary for a more holistic assessment mechanisms to make rapid and real-time shifts and provide comprehsive feedback. The technological innovation will use infinite context LLM pipelines and NLP techniques to allow teachers and administrators to gain a more complete view of students? learning over time. This technical innovation will be paired with discourse analysis of collaborating educators and administrators to investigate effects of these novel NLP and NLG technologies on student learning over time. It is anticipated the intervention will provide educators with much greater visibility into distinct learning paths and provide timely feedback to improve K12 education.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
OPAL THERAPEUTICS INC
SBIR Phase I: AI-driven PROTAC drug discovery - Pioneering non-hormonal therapeutic targets for uterine fibroids and endometriosis
Contact
2789 GOLDEN GATE AVE
San Francisco, CA 94118--4108
NSF Award
2423337 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact /commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in potentially developing new therapeutic options for women suffering from chronic gynecological conditions such as uterine fibroids and endometriosis. These conditions affect millions of women, causing chronic pelvic pain, painful menstruation, and infertility. Traditional drug discovery often overlooks female biology, leading to a lack of effective treatments and often necessitating surgical interventions. This project aims to develop a uterus-in-a-dish platform technology that rapidly identifies relevant disease mechanisms and possible new therapeutics specifically for fibroids and endometriosis. By focusing exclusively on female biology, this project seeks to discover innovative therapeutic solutions that significantly improve the quality of life for women, alleviating the physical, financial, and emotional burdens associated with these debilitating conditions.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop an advanced screening platform that utilizes patient-derived uterine organoids to accurately capture disease pathology and identify therapeutic proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTAC) degraders for treating uterine fibroids and endometriosis. Despite the high prevalence and significant disability caused by these gynecological conditions, there has been a notable lack of non surgical therapeutic options from the pharmaceutical industry. In the past 15 years, only one drug has been developed for endometriosis-associated pain, and no new drugs have been developed for fibroids. To address this unmet need and create new therapeutic modalities for women?s reproductive health, the project goals include building a comprehensive gynecological biobank of patient samples, training AI algorithms to identify disease-relevant phenotypes in cell and organoid models from high-content images, employing in silico predictive molecular modeling to propose PROTAC structures to target disease phenotypes, and high-throughput screening of curated chemical libraries on organoid assays. Achieving these research objectives will yield new PROTAC structures with the potential to treat fibroids and endometriosis in patients.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
OPTICALX, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Space-Time Projection Optical Tomography (SPOT)
Contact
20654 ALDER AVE
Tracy, CA 95304--8404
NSF Award
2404362 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,996
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 12/31/2026 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to understand how to harness the power of Graphical Processing Unit (GPU)-computing to detect and track small space debris. The last decade has seen rapid growth in satellite launches as well as space explosions which profoundly worsen the space debris environment, particularly in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Debris smaller than 5 cm is not detectable by current radar and optical techniques, remains in orbit for many years, travels at 5 miles per second and, therefore, poses serious collisional hazards to operational spacecraft and the inhabitants of the International Space Station (ISS). Ultimately, the concern is that the number of space objects beyond a certain threshold will trigger an unintended exponentially growing avalanche of fragments making LEO unusuable.The only option then is orbit maneuvering and it requires knowing the orbits of each of the debris pieces hours or days ahead of time. The proposed technology is a step toward a comprehensive space surveillance system to ensure sustainable use of the Earth?s orbits.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop an optical solution for space debris detection using a small array of telescopes and algorithms implemented on GPU-based parallel computing platforms. If successful, the proposed technology transforms arrays of inexpensive small, wide field-of-view cameras into powerful computational telescopes with sensitivities enough to potentially detect objects smaller than 1 cm. Also known as synthetic tracking, the technology has been successfully utilized to detect large numbers of near-Earth asteroids for planetary protection. The same method is likely to benefit detection of small objects in LEO. However, it is computationally more challenging because the LEO objects move across the camera view much more rapidly. This requires taking 100x more picture frames per second, requiring the analysis of petabytes of data. More importantly, processing of these many frames is computationally more demanding. On the other hand, the sensitivity gain is significantly more, potentially allowing the detection of sub-cm objects. In contrast to building massive and expensive radar and optical telescopes, this project aims to provide a sustainable and low-cost solution to track millions of particles to provide protection for space assets now and eventually for human inhabitation of space.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ORBITAL SERVICES CORPORATION LLC
SBIR Phase I: Optimizing Safety and Fuel Efficiency in Autonomous Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) of Uncooperative Objects
Contact
A9 VILLA JAUCA
Santa Isabel, PR 00757--2703
NSF Award
2311379 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
02/01/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enable a novel class of in-space proximity operations. This research has the potential not only to sustain and improve space operations, but also to strengthen national security and result in a thriving economy in space. The expected advances include sophisticated capabilities for satellite inspection, repair/upgrade, end-of-life servicing, debris remediation, and even manufacturing and assembly operations. This project's emphasis on the safety, robustness, and autonomy of missions also ultimately paves the way for safer human spaceflight operations and contributes to vital areas like debris mitigation and collision avoidance. This effort also extends to the exploration of frontier technologies such as asteroid mining. This project's approach creates commercial opportunities and unlocks the in-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing value chain.
This SBIR Phase I project will synthesize Neural Lyapunov functions, which can be integrated into filter schemes for any type of control system that accepts state feedback from multi-sensor measurements. The primary objective of this study is to enable the inspection and capture of uncooperative, uncontrolled, and unprepared objects. This ability is achieved by fusing data from multiple sensors and applying barrier functions, rooted in Neural Lyapunov theory, to ensure safety within actuation limits and state constraints during the docking and 'combined stack' phases (i.e., when a servicer is docked with a client spacecraft). Furthermore, this technology developed path planning algorithms that use real-time optical measurements to account for the detumbling rates of client satellites, ensuring safer inspection and docking maneuvers. These steps are critical for ensuring safe autonomous operations during the docking phase and combined stack maneuvers. The final outcome of this research is to develop a mission design, analysis, and planning tool to help operators account for different mission scenarios involving in-orbit proximity operations, while analyzing tradeoffs of safety assurance versus fuel optimization.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ORTHOMECHANICA, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Tendon-Implant Integration in a Tendon-Mounted Implant for Reconstructive Surgery
Contact
3635 SE MIDVALE DR
Corvallis, OR 97333--3229
NSF Award
2406646 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel medical device approach for restoring movement and recovery during reconstructive surgery. The surgically implanted system integrates a differentiated mechanical approach for redirecting internal forces and movement transmission of the tendons and ligaments in order to restore articulation and strength. The overall objective is to develop an implatable system capable of chronically integrating lateral movement from a tendon-mounted implant and two tendons, to reroute movement from a single tendon to multiple tendons. If successful, the system will provide greater restorative function to grip strength and rehabilitative compensation of arm movements following reconstructive surgeries due to a vatiery of neuromuscular conditions including but not limited to spinal cord injury or nerve trauma. The new implantable approach aims to improve surgical functional outcomes for over 100,000 patients each year through improved manual dexterity and recovery.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project advances the design engineering and preclinical evidence validation for a small implantable medical device with an integrated passive swiveling mechanism using biological tendons. The first stage will complete design and fabrication of the prototype incorporating biomechanical grooves and pores to facilitate tendon in-growth. The second stage will validate the design with a chronic lapine study of lateral integration between a tendon-mounted implant and two tendons in order to reroute movement from a single tendon to multiple tendons. Upon surgical implantation, the device-tendon construct aims to distributes movement from one muscle across multiple output tendons, while allowing each tendon to reach its own tension equilibrium. A histological and mechanical evaluation to will be performed on the tendon-implant attachment to demonstrate chronic feasibility. It is expected the implant will significantly improve function, integrate with the tendons, and not adversely impact tendon health. Upon completion, the design and preclinical evidence will be integrated into a product design plan to reach human use during the subsequent stage.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
OSO SEMICONDUCTOR INC.
SBIR Phase I: Ultra-low loss beamformer and combiner-first technology for lower power, consumption phased arrays
Contact
1572 JENEVEIN AVE
San Bruno, CA 94066--4135
NSF Award
2335496 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,992
Start / end date
12/15/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a new phased array communication technology which will be able to achieve lower power consumption, smaller form factors, and more affordable price targets. Phased arrays antennas are essential for satellite communications and the broader 5G, defense, and automotive radar markets. The company?s new phased array architecture will significantly decrease the power consumption and the number of silicon chipsets that are required. This is particularly important in thermally limited and power-constrained environments like mobile platforms and satellite communication systems and leads to the reduction of batteries, bulky power supplies, and additional cooling components. Addressing the high cost and power consumption of these phased arrays will have a significant, positive impact on the commercial opportunity by enabling step changes in performance (like data rates and capacity) or reducing costs for sensitive customer segments.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate a more power-efficient and cost-effective phased array semiconductor technology. This technology uses a novel ultra-low loss, high-linearity, passive beamforming circuit in a unique low-power architecture. In the receive configuration, this technology will be able to achieve a 75% reduction in power consumption due to a 4x reduction in the number of receiver signal chains. In Phase I, the company aims to advance their ultra-low loss beamforming technology to achieve even lower losses, which will enable the combination of the beamformer with their unique low-power architecture. The following objectives realize these goals: 1) development of the novel ultra-low loss beamformer and integration with a receive front-end, 2) fabrication and performance of benchtop testing on the integrated receive circuit, and 3) performance of over-the-air testing of small and moderately sized phased arrays using the receive circuit. The low-power beamforming technology will overhaul current phased arrays, eliminating many of the lossy, power-intensive and expensive components traditional units require. This technology will enable the creation of higher performance, lower cost phased arrays for many critical industries ranging from satellite communication to 5G to radar.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
OmnEcoil Instruments, Inc.
SBIR Phase I: Prostate cancer diagnosis with an integrated endorectal MRI and targeted transrectal biopsy
Contact
2936 LAKEVIEW BLVD
Lake Oswego, OR 97035--3648
NSF Award
2037190 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$255,787
Start / end date
12/15/2020 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve detection of prostate cancer, a highly prevalent fatal cancer in men. Approximately one million prostate biopsies are performed annually in the U.S. Unfortunately the standard diagnostic method is imprecise and inefficient. The proposed project will advance a new method that uses Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to target biopsies for improved detection.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance diagnosis of prostate cancer by developing a system that combines an endorectal MRI coil and a multichannel array of transrectal biopsy needle guides and allows for endorectal MRI with in-bore biopsy as a single rapid integrated procedure. The project will advance a procedure that optimally combines endorectal MRI and MRI-targeted biopsy.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PARADOCS HEALTH INC.
SBIR Phase I: Tackling Healthcare?s Paradoxes: Quality Patient Care, Provider Workflow, and Data Security
Contact
2450 HOLCOMBE BLVD. STE X
Houston, TX 77021--2041
NSF Award
2233197 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/01/2023 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact /commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide a new tool for physicians to potentially automate the preparation of insurance documentation and facilitate claim building which may help to lower provider costs and increase patient access to and quality of care. Physicians can spend up to 50% of their time performing non-clinical tasks which have also been associated with physician burnout, a psychological condition known to result in medical errors, lower quality of care, higher costs, and overall poorer patient outcomes. The proposed innovation is a proprietary algorithm that leverages data to automate the completion of insurance form documentation. This new technology aims to resolve workflow bottlenecks and complement existing clinical workflows by delivering a simpler provider experience by streamlining the preparation of medical form documentation.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a machine learning-enabled electronic medical record access toolset designed to automate and streamline the preparation of insurance form documentation. A major issue in the US healthcare system is the process through which healthcare providers seek reimbursement through health insurance companies. Filing claims and seeking prior authorizations on procedures or tests from insurance companies is a manual process that is slow and error prone, often resulting in delays in treatment or even rejection, jeopardizing patient health, and resulting in higher costs. Designed for physicians, the proposed technology will facilitate claim building using pre-trained natural language models to extract medical text and relationships from various inputs including patient and provider demographic information as well as payer information, clinical taxonomy, functional features, and relations.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PARALLEL PIPES, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Generative Physics-Informed AI for Computational Physics and Model-Based Engineering Development
Contact
31 PARKER ST
Quincy, MA 02169--5009
NSF Award
2335626 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,970
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be the democratization and enhancement of physics-based simulation models in product engineering. By developing a Generative Bayesian Physics-Informed Classifier (B-PIC) network, this project aims to make advanced simulation tools more accessible, reducing the need for specialized analysts. This innovation has the potential to significantly lower development costs and time, enabling earlier and more frequent simulations in the product design process. The resulting sustainable engineering practices will lead to longer-lasting, higher-performing products, benefiting various industries and contributing to economic growth. Additionally, this technology will foster broader scientific and technological understanding by integrating recent advances in generative artificial intelligence into physical sciences, paralleling the impact seen in computer vision and natural language processing.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to address the challenges of mastering and setting up analyst-caliber physics simulations. The current process is complex, time-consuming, and requires extensive training. By incorporating strategies from Physics-Informed Gaussian Process (PIGP) and Bayesian Physics-Informed Neural Network (BPINN) architectures, the B-PIC network will integrate physics into its architecture, loss, and error functions. This approach aims to minimize the need for package-specific expertise and promote efficient, accurate simulations. The research objectives include developing the B-PIC network, optimizing the setup process for partial differential equations (PDEs), and demonstrating the system's effectiveness in reducing simulation time and cost. The anticipated technical results will showcase the network's ability to transform physics simulation from a validation tool to a crucial development driver in product engineering.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PATHFLOW INC.
SBIR Phase I: Enhancing Pathology Efficiency with On-Chip Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Imaging Technology
Contact
224 EAST ST
Lexington, MA 02420--1934
NSF Award
2423517 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project are to revolutionize pathology diagnostics through the development of an advanced imaging technology. This project aims to introduce a silicon chip based system that will provide fast, accurate, cellular-level resolution imaging. By improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing diagnosis times, this technology will enhance patient care, reduce the workload in pathology labs, and lower diagnostic costs. The project supports the NSF's mission to promote scientific progress and improve national health, prosperity, and welfare by providing a technological solution with substantial commercial and societal impact. The innovation will enhance scientific and technological understanding, address a significant market opportunity, and provide a durable competitive advantage. The proposed business model targets pathology laboratories as the initial market segment, with projected substantial annual revenues by the third year of production.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on developing a silicon photonic optical coherence tomography (OCT) imager for pathology diagnostics. The primary objective is to create a high-performance, portable, and cost-effective imaging solution by integrating all optical components onto a single silicon chip. The research will address key technical challenges, such as achieving high resolution and speed while maintaining a compact size. The project involves designing, prototyping, and testing the OCT imager to ensure its effectiveness in accurately identifying diagnostic tissues. The anticipated technical results include demonstrating the imager's capability to provide real-time, 3D cellular-level visualization of tissues, thereby significantly improving the pathology grossing process. This technology is expected to set a new standard in pathology diagnostics and enable broader applications in medical imaging.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PERCEPT BIOSCIENCES INC.
SBIR Phase I: Percept Development Plan Agent: Accelerate drug repurposing research and development
Contact
1889 BACON ST STE 11
San Diego, CA 92107--3083
NSF Award
2410320 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,947
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to allow companies to be able to efficiently lead drug repurposing initiatives by automating the formulation and writing of drug repurposing development plans. Addressing the needs of underserved disease communities presents both a societal imperative and a unique business opportunity. While repurposing allows companies to build off of existing safety and efficacy data for already approved drugs, companies frequently depend on external consultants to support such development, which can be slow, expensive, and error-prone. This project?s primary benefits would be: (1) enabling smaller, more streamlined teams to spearhead drug repurposing development, significantly reducing associated costs, and (2) catalyzing significant growth in the market for drugs targeting orphan diseases via the adoption of a more competitive cost structure. It could improve efficiency in the regulatory process by integrating knowledge across publicly available data sources, optimizing drug targets and candidates, and assembling this information into a coherent development plan with a high probability of scientific and regulatory success. Such increased efficiency may lead to a greater throughput of repurposing discovery, expansive growth of the market, and increased availability of repurposed drugs.
The proposed project addresses the problem that drug repurposing development plans mandated by the FDA require significant time and effort in searching multiple databases to mitigate biological, regulatory, and legal risks. Automating this process using software systems could accelerate drug discovery and reduce development costs but is complicated by the heterogeneity of the knowledge organization of data required to create such plans. This project proposes a tool which, given a drug target and the current list of FDA-approved drugs, will generate a repurposing development plan. The tools developed in this project are based on recent advances in automated reasoning and knowledge extraction using Natural Language Processing. The project will extend these advances in novel ways to make them radically more useful and trustworthy, and a natural fit to heterogeneous biological data. This includes ways to provide references in support of a given claim of knowledge made by the system across multiple knowledge sources and ways to create a cogent narrative from a list of claims and create a report from the narrative. The resulting tool will create referenced and cross-checked reports for drug candidates, ready for review and submission to the FDA.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PERCEPTRA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
SBIR Phase I: High-Performance Integrated Photonic Raman Analyzers
Contact
8000 EDGEWATER DR STE 200
Oakland, CA 94621--2042
NSF Award
2433138 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of optical sensors that make on-demand and realtime chemical analysis accessible to everyone. Currently, most reliable chemical analyses and tests require expensive, bulky equipment that are only available in centralized laboratories. The lack of access to on-demand chemical analysis has negatively impacted both society and industries; for instance, the absence of quick chemical screening contributed to loss of life from fentanyl overdoses, and lack of realtime chemical data has led to inefficiencies in manufacturing industries. This SBIR project focuses on addressing chemical analysis needs of the industrial sector, which urgently requires sensor technology to advance research and development and improve manufacturing. While the optical sensors proposed in this project have demonstrated the ability to provide reliable chemical measurements, their high cost and large size have limited their widespread accessibility. This SBIR project proposes a novel approach that leverages advanced chip manufacturing technology to reduce the cost and size of these sensors, making them broadly accessible. This will not only ensure the commercial success of this technology but also its broader impact on society and manufacturing industries.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is focused on the design, optimization, modeling, and initial validation of a high-sensitivity integrated photonic Raman spectrometer. The large size and high cost of existing Raman systems have limited their broader impact, and the goal of this SBIR project is to demonstrate the feasibility of achieving the performance of large Raman spectrometers in a compact form-factor. This project employs a novel approach called swept-source Raman spectroscopy, where a tunable laser is used instead of a dispersive spectrometer for scanning the Raman spectrum. This new architecture is more amenable to miniaturization, as photonic integration of the tunable laser does not impact light-collection and sensitivity -- unlike the miniaturization of dispersive spectrometers. Nevertheless, this architecture requires widely tunable lasers, which are challenging to implement on-chip. A wide tuning range is required to build a generalized Raman spectrometer capable of covering the entire fingerprint region of the spectrum. This SBIR project explores novel integrated photonic architectures for implementing the tunable laser, as well as wavelength tracking devices to address the challenges of on-chip lasers. This project also studies the impact of fabrication tolerances to ensure that the proposed designs are robust for mass production.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PHAGE REFINERY LLC
STTR Phase I: A Platform for Systematic Acceleration of Phage-based Therapy Development for Multi-drug Resistant Bacterial Infections
Contact
2603 TRINITY PASS
San Antonio, TX 78261--2343
NSF Award
2409676 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,652
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to help accelerate the opening of a second line of attack against bacterial infections that can be used in concert with or instead of traditional chemical-based antibiotics, particularly against multi-drug resistant infections. Since the discovery of penicillin, chemical-based antibiotics have been the almost exclusive choice to treat bacterial infections, but are becoming increasingly ineffective, even against infection types that were considered easily treatable twenty years ago. The traditional antibiotics global market represents almost $50 billion annually, and their use avoids trillions of dollars of potential healthcare costs, attendant suffering and loss of life. But this market is under growing threat that may reach 10 million global deaths and over one trillion dollars of healthcare expense by 2050. This project develops ways to accelerate the development of one of the only known effective alternatives to chemical-based antibiotics: bacteriophages. These micro-organisms are all around us, the most abundant form of life on the planet, and are highly evolved to eliminate specific bacteria. But this abundance, and our own immune systems, also make them challenging to achieve effectiveness at scale. This project tackles some of these challenges.
The proposed project has the goal of developing a rapid and efficient parametric model for predicting the likelihood that a given phage will be able to survive sufficiently long in the presence of an active immune system that they may be effective as a treatment against their target bacterial infection. The basis for this project was the recent discovery that phage thought to be broadly similar could have vastly different average lifetimes in the blood of mice. Review of the literature revealed that very little prior work had been done to attempt to characterize phages based on this in-blood lifetime, or persistence. While persistence can be measured for a given phage by using animal models, this is a time-consuming and expensive approach that is difficult to scale. This project will simultaneously gather physical parameters and in-vivo persistence measures using mice models for 400 phage. The resultant data will then be analyzed to develop a parametric, predictive, statistical model that can be applied to a broad category of phage to obtain persistence likelihood without the time, effort, and expense of using animal models.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PHYTOSTONE LLC
SBIR Phase I: A Novel Carbon-Sequestering Biomaterial for Dropped Ceiling Tiles
Contact
501 SILVERSIDE RD, STE 105
Wilmington, DE 19809--1376
NSF Award
2304384 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$273,652
Start / end date
08/15/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to validate a new, biochar-enriched building material as a ceiling tile product. The plane of ceiling tiles represents a vast, untapped opportunity in combating climate change through carbon sequestration. With the innovation, a proprietary mineral matrix is enriched with 50-80% biochar. Biochar is the resulting charcoal-like residue from pyrolysis. This stabilized form of carbon is nearly crystalline and resistant to emissions-causing oxidation. Combined with a proprietary mineral binder, the resulting novel material is non-flammable, ultra lightweight, and biodegradable. As a ceiling tile, it can reduce a building?s embodied carbon in an easily quantifiable way, position the building for carbon sink remuneration, boost the green ratings of the building, help qualify a building for sustainability-linked financing - all without compromising on fire safety standards. This project capacitates an innovation that adds to the nation's toolkit in creating a climate-responsible built environment.
The project innovation is a novel, biogenic, cementitious chemistry composed of plant-based biochar, clay, binding minerals, proprietary catalysts, optional reinforcement fibers and optional pigments. The inclusion of biochar is a major characteristic of the innovation, comprising up to 80% of the material. Unlike carbon stored in plant matter, the ocean or in soil, the carbon atoms of biochar are more resistant to losing electrons and being converted into carbon dioxide, therefore making the innovation a novel solution towards converting the built environment into a "carbon bank". There are three major questions to resolve: how could varying biochar particle sizes impact tile integrity, can the innovation perform satisfactorily in standard tile dimensions amidst different ambient humidity levels, and can the tiles achieve the Class A fire standard of competing tiles. The iterative experimental protocols will utilize the classic American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) tests used to demonstrate building code compliance in all three of these research areas.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PIRVISION LENS LLC
STTR Phase I: ActiveLens: Enabling Stationary Occupancy Detection of Passive Infrared Motion Sensors
Contact
18842 MONTALVO OAKS CIR
Los Gatos, CA 95030--3091
NSF Award
2341560 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
04/15/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is in developing innovative technologies that have the potential to improve indoor occupancy sensing devices significantly. It will enable new features and approaches in applications like occupancy-centered lighting, temperature control systems, surveillance, etc. To address challenges associated with standard passive infrared (PIR) sensors, the company has developed ActiveLens, a lens technology with advanced features overcoming issues related to mechanical shutters. ActiveLens sensors use artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and processing to achieve improved detection capabilities. This project will expose fresh graduating students, particularly women, first-generation college students, and other underrepresented minorities, to valuable skills in areas like semiconductor chip design, data processing, and quality control. This project fosters collaboration between researchers, business leaders, and other organizations. The team has already refined prototypes and is now discussing with commercial users to develop customized solutions.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will support research activities for PIRvision Lens LLC to bring the proprietary solid-state ActiveLens technology to the market by overcoming technical challenges in optimizing infrared energy transmittance, differentiating human signals from other warm objects, and modularizing AI algorithms to enable minimum viable product development. Today, buildings are equipped with PIR sensors for occupancy detection, owing to their low cost, low energy consumption, wide field of view, and high reliability. Despite these advantages, PIR sensors only detect motion, not stationary occupancy. This long-standing limitation has hindered applications that demand high-accuracy occupancy detection. If successful, the proposed semiconductor modulator will enable novel capabilities for standard PIR sensors, including stationary occupancy detection, human infrared signal differentiation, occupancy counting, activity identification, and classification - representing the first true technological innovation in PIR sensing in over 40 years. It is a disruptive, innovative, efficient, and cost-effective solution that can be combined with any standard PIR component sensor to identify underutilized spaces and minimize operating costs.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PITCH AERONAUTICS INC.
STTR Phase I: Drone Localization Near and Manipulation Control in Contact with Power Lines
Contact
6323 S FEDERAL WAY UNIT 17
Boise, ID 83716--9134
NSF Award
2414567 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,853
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project is to alleviate the 2TW backlog of renewable energy projects desiring to connect to the power grid by installing and replacing dynamic-line rating (DLR) sensors on power lines with a novel cyclorotor drone. Currently, such (un)installation tasks are being performed manually with the help of helicopters, cranes, scaffolding, and/or rope access. Such manipulations are dangerous since, for example, a helicopter would be at low altitude where it would be impossible to recover from an engine failure and would have substantial risk of colliding with the line. On the other hand, conventional multicopter drones cannot perform heavy sensor installations. Specifically, they move by first pitching or rolling (underactuated motion), which hampers their ability to counter wind disturbances. This project will develop (i) techniques for localizing the drone with respect to power lines and (ii) control strategies that enable installation, removal, and maintenance of DLR sensors.
The work proposed in this project is to use innovative algorithms to navigate a cyclorotor-based drone to a power line based on the measurements of the electric and magnetic fields around power lines. This state-estimation technique around power lines is robust, using only the root-mean square (rms) electric/magnetic field that is present around the power lines naturally due to the flow of power through them. In parallel, a control system will be developed to bring the drone stably into contact with a power line to install and uninstall dynamic-line rating (DLR) sensors, bird-diverters, and other line products. This control system will be designed to seamlessly handle any abrupt transitions from free-flight to contact with a power line. Upon successful completion, the project will provide an efficient method of installing and replacing power line sensors, bird diverters, and other line components. The IoT line sensors can help alleviate transmission congestion, allow increased penetration of renewable energy, and decrease wildfire risk.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY VENTURES LLC
SBIR Phase I: Exploration and Development of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) for Diverse Industries
Contact
21 PINE PLAIN RD
Wellesley Hills, MA 02481--1143
NSF Award
2337771 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to advance Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) as a novel form of digital collaboration and governance systems that can be utilized to advance new commercial value propositions. DAOs, which leverage distributed ledger technologies, allow for democratic decision-making and coordination without a centralized authority, something that enables new business collaborations amongst trusted and untrusted entities alike. This innovative structure can potentially enhance various sectors of society, paving the way for novel commercial applications. DAOs offer a dynamic and adaptable approach that can benefit various sectors, including finance, healthcare, environmental sustainability, and more. This project aims to investigate the application of DAOs initially in the high-value field of voluntary carbon credits, which is anticipated to reach up to $40B in 2030, to enable enhanced environmental sustainability and accountability. It will rely on commercial transactions across a wide range of diverse participants of varying levels of trust who need to be able to verify the credits and their chain of custody and sustainability, integrated from a wide range of external data sources. Moreover, the DAO platform, a core product of this initiative, will be a versatile commercial "sandbox" adaptable to developing commercial products for various markets that demand decentralized participation. This will include input and transactability across varying DAO participants, including commercial partners, expert networks, customers, regulators, and broader stakeholders, such as water rights allocation, healthcare, carbon credit marketplaces, and more. By leveraging the power of DAOs, it may be possible to enhance operational efficiency, drive the growth of new technologies, and create more democratic and inclusive systems.
This SBIR Phase I project aims to pioneer the development of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) as a platform for value creation in various sectors, starting with carbon credits. The research will investigate the innovative integration of off-chain data consensus protocols within DAOs, a largely unexplored and complex area. The proposed R&D involves deploying smart contracts for trustless verification of off-chain data via on-chain incentives, a process that demands a sophisticated blend of cryptographic techniques, game-theoretic mechanisms, and decentralized network design. This design has to be robust against malicious actors, ensuring fairness, incentive compatibility, and resilience to Sybil attacks. Crafting a decentralized smart contract for off-chain consensus requires balancing fairness, compensation, sufficient voting thresholds, and ground truth comparisons. This equilibrium mitigates malicious influences and encourages truth in adversarial environments. Despite these significant technical challenges, this work represents an innovative stride toward understanding the future potential of DAO technology across diverse sectors. In addition to exploring the benefits and successes of DAOs, it will also enable the identification of key risks and potential failure modes across various use cases to allow exploration and development of improved future alternatives and DAO designs.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PRHOBE INC
SBIR Phase I: Solving the 4,023-year-old logistics control problem using modern IoT standards and a novel combination of passive RFID, UWB, cellular technology & their application
Contact
42850 CASTILLEJO CT
Fremont, CA 94539--5109
NSF Award
2404638 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/15/2024 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to revolutionize logistics and transport management via real-time visibility at the unserved serial number level through integration of wireless technologies. This research will enhance scientific and technological understanding by providing unprecedented insights into the movement of goods, thereby optimizing transport methods and materials. The market opportunity addressed by the proposed technology is vast, with a value proposition centered around real-time tracking, digital control empowerment, and reduced tracking costs. By leveraging precise on- and off-premise technology with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), the solution promises to provide a durable competitive advantage. The technology will be offered at a reasonable monthly pricing per unit, unlocking commercial opportunities both domestically and globally. This novel approach is projected to capture a significant portion of the market currently underserved by existing methods. Initially targeting pallets, containers, and commercial vehicles, potential annual revenues of $10M+ are projected in the third year of production, paving the way for expansion into wider domestic and global markets. Ultimately, the technology is poised to be a key factor in enabling commercial success while offering societal benefits such as minimized disruption of production and improved food quality.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to provide technology for tracking reusable transports (e.g., pallets, containers, trailers, trucks) to reduce disruptions for manufacturers, movers, and package receivers by over 50%. Logistics operation inefficiencies in manufacturing, food distribution, and pharmaceutical delivery could be eliminated, reducing item journey monitoring costs and wasted time. The proposed devices will attach to pallets/containers, read passive RFIDs attached to serial numbered items, and communicate their location/state to a cloud based digital twin for each serial number. This will allow users to monitor products during shipping, updating product whereabouts, condition, and expected delivery timeline, boosting operational efficiency and product safety and creating the potential for circular logistics chains and goods that deliver themselves. This project will de-risk the device using evaluation hardware and demonstrate blink rate optimization feasibility, producing a prototype capable of transmitting and connecting to the monitoring software across various transportation types. The R&D will include reference design-based device testing focusing on battery longevity, chip power usage evaluation, and deployable antenna design for multi-item reads. The result will be an early prototype capable of being tested in an industrial pallet configuration for modular battery implementation in post-Phase I efforts.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PROMPT DIAGNOSTICS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Hybrid DNA-protein quantification platform for point-of-care diagnosis of syphilis and human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV)
Contact
301 W 29TH STREET, STE 2004
Baltimore, MD 21211-
NSF Award
2232930 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$255,667
Start / end date
02/01/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the creation of the first all-in-one automated syphilis test available at the point-of-care. The number of syphilis cases in the United States have doubled in the past 5 years with a five-fold increase in congenital syphilis passed from a pregnant mother to the fetus. Annual infections now account for $170 million in lifetime medical costs. This low-cost, portable test will enable care providers and outreach efforts to immediately diagnose and treat patients in a single visit to halt the spread of syphilis infections in the most vulnerable populations. Syphilis testing in this platform will be readily combined with hybrid detection of human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) to streamline syphilis testing with existing programs for HIV diagnosis and further encourage uptake of this test solution into clinical practice.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need for easier syphilis testing solutions to provide comprehensive diagnosis on-site with the patient. Syphilis diagnosis relies on two separate antibody tests, of which one requires quantifying antibody levels with a tedious laboratory procedure called Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) to confirm if the patient has an active infection. The lack of resources and personnel to conduct RPR testing on-site severely limits the ability of public health clinics to effectively diagnosis syphilis in a timely manner. This project will combine both antibody tests including quantitative RPR into an automated cartridge for rapid and complete syphilis diagnosis at the point-of-care. The research proposed in this project will develop magnetic particle-enabled assays for each antibody test and integrate the assays into a multiplexed plastic cartridge. These cartridges, combined with a portable instrument, will enable all steps required for syphilis diagnosis to be completed within minutes in an affordable and easy-to-use format.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PROTEIN DESIGN SOLUTIONS LLC
SBIR Phase I: A computational framework to mitigate protein aggregation
Contact
2440 PEACHTREE RD
Allentown, PA 18104--8903
NSF Award
2418194 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,640
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Phase I project addresses the significant and persistent challenge of protein aggregation in the
development of protein therapeutics, which can impede therapeutic efficacy and increase
manufacturing costs. Protein-based therapies hold immense promise for treating a wide range
of diseases due to their specificity and potency. However, their development is frequently
hampered by aberrant aggregation, which can lead to loss of function and immunogenic
responses. This project proposes a novel computational platform that predicts aggregation-prone
sites and, critically, suggest specific mutational mitigation strategies to stabilize proteins
without altering their therapeutic function. The successful development of this technology has
the potential to significantly reduce the time and possible cost associated with drug development,
enhancing the availability of effective treatments and supporting the health and welfare of the
population.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on advancing a
computational platform that leverages state-of-the-art simulations and a modern
understanding of the physics of protein hydration to identify and mitigate problematic
aggregation sites in therapeutic proteins. The project aims to validate and enhance the
platform's predictive capabilities through a comprehensive analysis involving a diverse dataset
of proteins. In particular, this project will focus on developing the abilities of the technology to
identify transient protein interfaces likely to mediate aggregation and to suggest rigorous
mutational strategies to mitigate aggregation without disrupting biological function and
therapeutic efficacy. The expected outcomes include a scientifically validated tool that can
reliably predict and correct aggregation issues early in the drug development process. By
improving the stability and efficacy of biologic therapeutics, this technology has the potential to
have a significant commercial impact on the fast-growing biopharmaceutical market.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
PROVIZIGEN LLC
STTR Phase I: Injectable Biotherapeutic for Treatment of Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
Contact
111 FOURTH AVE APT 2M
New York, NY 10003--5245
NSF Award
2335299 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
11/01/2023 – 10/31/2024
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project develops an injectable therapeutic to treat post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). PTOA is a painful disease of the cartilage caused by external mechanical force. The current treatment for PTOA involves an invasive surgical procedure - total joint replacement - which is often associated with infections and may need a revision knee replacement. There is no disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug nor a non-surgical cure for these patients. While some drugs help mitigate pain, they have no effect on disease progression, and their use can be limited greatly by their potential severe side effects. This solution serves as the first and only treatment to slow the progression of PTOA, which would prevent PTOA patients from potentially suffering a lifetime of pain and expenses. As a result, customers will potentially save thousands of dollars, acquire peace of mind that they have taken the only action to help prevent the development of osteoarthritis, and most of all, prevent a cycle of increasing pain, medical issues, and associated treatments with their injury.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will lead to an optimized, deimmunized therapeutic that changes the disease progression of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). The solution combines a unique thermoresponsive hydrogel carrier capable of sustained delivery of a therapeutic protein that enables disease modification when delivered via a single injection, avoiding the surgical procedure in total joint replacement. State-of-the-art computational tools will be employed to improve the properties of the hydrogel and experimentally test the constructs for function.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
QUANTIREAL INC.
SBIR Phase I: Synthesizing large and diverse data-sets for training machine learning algorithms using physical modeling and simulation
Contact
3430 MONROE ST
Santa Clara, CA 95051--1418
NSF Award
2404821 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project, would be to diminish the hurdles in building a synthetic data generator for robust automated detection technologies. Passenger and personal property screening is an essential component of Department of Homeland Security?s (DHS) strategy to combat terrorism and targeted violence. The synthetic data generated by the proposed technology can be used to train as well as characterize the advanced screening solutions deployed. This will boost understanding of expected field performance and hence confidence in systems used to protect people and critical infrastructure. At airports, fewer false alarms from people and baggage screening equipment would translate to shorter lines, smaller wait times and decreased stress levels. Better threat detection rates would boost confidence in the screening solutions and truly help in reducing anxiety surrounding air travel, large gatherings, and outdoor events. The apparatus for generating synthetic data can also benefit education and training of the budding STEM workforce in advanced technologies.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to demonstrate that a novel radiation physics solver based on first principles can generate synthetic data that matches the realism of data obtained through manual acquisition on physical radiation-based scanners. In addition, the solver can grow/widen the sample probability distribution to more closely match the population probability distribution than manually acquired data and do so in a hitherto unrealized linear computational time. In an emerging world of machine learning based automated threat or anomaly detection, this cost-effective data synthesis fulfills an immediate need to address the problem of data paucity to both train and test such algorithms. The research and development effort in this Phase-I project will be focused on developing computational methods to estimate the residual energy post photon-matter interaction in a cost-efficient manner. Representative object assemblies will be constructed to virtually scan and generate realistic and precisely annotated imaging data. Appropriate metrics will also be developed to measure the quality of the created synthetic images. The challenge will be to match the resolving power of the relevant modality as it applies to specific application areas.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
QUARKSEN LLC
SBIR Phase I: eQuanta's Next-Gen STI Diagnostic Device: Unveiling the Power of Graphene-Based
Contact
241 FRANCIS AVE
Mansfield, MA 02048--1548
NSF Award
2409808 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide rapid, effective, affordable, non-invasive, and easy-to-use diagnosis of viral and non-viral sexually transmitted infections (STI), such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis C, and trichomoniasis. STI are estimated to be present in one out of five people in the U.S. and the estimated direct medical cost associated to their treatment is approximately $16B. While early diagnosis will ultimately contribute to better public health outcomes and economy, the principal barrier in seeking a diagnosis is the lack of available health services, cost, long clinic waiting times, invasive sample collection methods and the negative social stigma associated with looking for STI testing. This project will develop an affordable and point-of-care diagnostic device for STI, that will not only reduce diagnostic time but also lower healthcare costs.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project advances an innovative STI diagnostic device. This project leverages self-assembled chemistry to form tailored cavities, which are sensitive and selective to the biomarkers of interest. The project aims to validate preliminary studies indicating the device's capability to detect viruses, opioids, and biomarkers for STI diseases, enabling early disease diagnosis and quantification of viral or bacterial loads in exhaled breath or urine. Phase I of this project will be focused on the fabrication of a device composed of an array of sensors to detect biomarkers of viral and non-viral STIs with high selectivity and sensitivity from day one of contagion. Detection of hepatitis C, HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis biomarkers from cervical mucus discharge/swabs will be evaluated. Additionally, user testing on a clinical research environment will be undertaken at Ragon Institute.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
RADIUS TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS, INC
SBIR Phase I: Over One Million Transactions per Second - A Parallel Smart Contract Platform from Radius
Contact
153 5TH ST
Cambridge, MA 02141--2031
NSF Award
2423309 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
06/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to develop a platform which can process smart contract transactions at extreme scale for very low cost. Due to the antiquated technology of current payments systems infrastructure, many financial transactions are slower and more expensive than necessary. With modern computing power and cryptography, smart contract-based platforms can automatically execute transactions of various levels of complexity atomically and with real-time settlement. Improved transaction efficiency and instant settlement have the potential to revolutionize our payment systems, particularly in the areas of micropayments and cross-border payments. A high-volume and very low fee platform can support micropayments priced out of the market by the fee schedules associated with current payment methods. The feasibility of micropayments has the potential to substantially change the business model of the internet. For example, users could pay a minimal amount to view a website ad-free instead of using ad-blockers, and content creators could charge small amounts for users to view individual articles or web posts. Smart contracts can also be used to more efficiently process a wide range of transactions.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to achieve throughput over 1 million transactions per second through parallel execution and horizontal scalability. While public blockchain systems have led to significant technical advancement and inspire aspects of our design, they face scalability challenges due to routing all transactions through the bottleneck of a single unparallelizable consensus mechanism. This project?s key innovation and line of research is the ability to execute smart contract transactions in parallel without needing to serialize a global order for all transactions on the platform. Crucially, this design enables horizontal scalability. Platform data is stored as a key-value database stored across multiple geographically replicated shards. When users initiate transactions, they are handled and processed by one of numerous transaction processors operating in parallel. Notably, the platform is compatible a range of smart contracts and other blockchain platforms as well as alternative runtimes. A key aspect of this research will involve on-demand scaling - the ability to bring additional database shards online and distribute keys and transaction activity across the new shards in accordance with transaction volume demands, all while the platform remains online and operational.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
REBORNC LLC
SBIR Phase I: Polyolefin-derived carbon Joule heater for enabling decarbonized synthesis
Contact
66 BRIDGEFIELD TURN
Hattiesburg, MS 39402--8395
NSF Award
2423301 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve public health and local economies by developing technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption associated with industrial heating processes. Currently, industrial heating processes are a major contributor to global emissions. The technology developed through this project will enhance the efficiency of established processes in the chemical industry and beyond, significantly reducing energy consumption for heat production compared to conventional technologies. The underlying technology of this project provides a significant competitive advantage over current competitors in Joule heater production by reducing production costs, improving manufacturing efficiency, increasing heating performance, and offering greater product customizability. This will enable widespread adoption across multiple markets. Targeting the rapidly growing alternative fuels market, the technology developed through this project is projected to generate substantial revenue over the next three years, serving as a critical pathway for the associated company success. Overall, this SBIR project will enable robust technologies of high-performance Joule heat production, leading industrial decarbonization efforts through and ensuring the success of a burgeoning small business.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enable the development and scaled production of novel additively manufactured, plastic-derived carbon materials as Joule heaters for decarbonizing critical industrial processes, such as large-scale chemical syntheses. Producing heat for these reactions is one of the largest contributors to CO2 emissions in the industrial sector. Electrifying these processes with high-performance Joule heaters significantly reduces energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and allows for the use of renewable energy sources. Traditional Joule heaters, typically made from metal alloys, are difficult to manufacture into complex geometries optimal for chemical reactions and offer limited energy savings. This project will investigate the effects of various parameters during the chemical treatment and pyrolysis processes that convert additively manufactured plastic precursors into structured carbon products. This research aims to provide critical insights into controlling pore textures, material properties, and reproducibility of the carbon products, ultimately translating this technology into market-ready products. By optimizing these processes, the project seeks to develop high-performance carbon Joule heaters that offer superior heating efficiency, reduced energy consumption, and increased durability, thus supporting the transition to more sustainable industrial practices and contributing to environmental sustainability and economic growth.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
REFIBERED, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Automatic Sorting of Prominent and Contaminant Fibers in Textile Wastes
Contact
10235 BYRNE AVE
Cupertino, CA 95014--2809
NSF Award
2423377 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,955
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in enabling textile circularity. Today, over 92 million tons of textile waste are generated each year, and less than 1% is recycled into new clothing. While textile recycling technologies have been slowly scaling over the last decade, recyclers are facing a large challenge with a lack of recycling infrastructure. Specifically, recyclers are missing a method to accurately sort textile waste by material. All recyclers need to have access to well-sorted feedstock for the input of their process, but textile waste is notoriously difficult to sort due to the numerous blends, dyes, and contaminants present in each garment. This project is focused on developing an artificial intelligence-based material detection system that will accurately detect the presence of key materials for recyclers, as well as any contaminant materials that could interfere with recycling. If the proposed technology development is successful, textile recyclers could begin to recycle post-consumer waste at scale, which comprises >85% of the global textile waste stream.
The proposed activity involves using hyperspectral cameras and artificial intelligence to develop a methodology for contaminant detection in textile waste. A lack of accurate sorting capabilities is primarily the reason less than 1% of the textile waste is recycled into new textile. This project will focus on developing a textile waste detection system that can detect the presence of common fiber recycling contaminants, specifically a) elastane fibers, b) nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 fibers, and c) man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs). The biggest technical hurdle that this proposed project involves is the development of a regression-based machine learning algorithm which will provide a quantitative estimate of each potential contaminant and material present in each textile sample. The methodology for developing this system will involve 1) compiling a dataset of textile samples that represent the target contaminants and performing a complete spectral analysis of each sample, 2) experimenting with different machine learning algorithms and model refinement to optimize for contaminant detection, and 3) validate contaminant model accuracy on customer-provided textile samples.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
REHABNETICS MEDICAL LLC
SBIR Phase I: A robotic system for the physical therapy of the wrist and hand.
Contact
2330 STINSON BLVD
Minneapolis, MN 55418--4041
NSF Award
2331128 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel robotic technology training aid enabling restoration of impaired wrist and hand function. Diseases of the nervous system including stroke, traumatic brain injury, and Parkinson's disease often result in sensory and motor deficits. Nearly 50% of patients that suffer from stroke, and 70-90% from Parkinson?s disease, suffer motor deficits associated with dysfunction in body awareness (proprioception), impairing daily living activity. The technology proposed aims to enable prolonged and greater intensity restorative training to improve function and enable more rapid recovery for 1.6-1.8 million US patients each year that suffer from upper limb motor deficits.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to complete a prototype for a robotic wrist-hand exoskeleton device that provides tailored physical rehabilitative exercises based on quantified measures of therapeutic progress. The technical milestones to be completed include 1) developing objective diagnostic markers on human motor function of the wrist and hand, 2) developing an adaptive robot-aided rehabilitation therapy program based on individual patient?s rehabilitation plans and goals and 3) developing a therapist-friendly user interface for clinical use. Upon completion, a minimum viable prototype will be completed enabling patient use in the rehabilitation setting. The system will enable conducting large sample clinical trials to evaluate clinical efficacy at a future stage
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
RELAI, INC.
SBIR Phase I: RELAI: Enhancing Reliability of Large Language Models
Contact
7600 NEWMARKET DR
Bethesda, MD 20817--6624
NSF Award
2432702 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project are significant and multifaceted. By improving the reliability of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models such as Large Language Models (LLMs), this project will contribute to safer and more effective AI implementations across various industries, thereby enhancing economic competitiveness and fostering public trust in AI technologies. This project not only contributes to the foundational understanding of LLM reliability but also provides practical solutions that can be widely adopted in the industry. Additionally, the enhancements in AI reliability will have far-reaching impacts on sectors like healthcare, finance, and customer service, where accurate and unbiased decision-making is crucial. For instance, in healthcare, reliable LLMs can lead to better diagnostic tools and personalized treatment plans, ultimately improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs. In finance, these models can enhance risk assessment and fraud detection, providing more secure and efficient financial services. The project?s integration with academic and industry partners ensures that the developed technologies are not only cutting-edge but also grounded in real-world applicability. Furthermore, the project includes a strong educational component aimed at training the next generation of AI practitioners in ethical AI practices.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project introduces innovative methodologies to enhance the reliability of large language models (LLMs). In particular, the project presents methodologies to inspect and mitigate jailbreaking issues of LLMs, where adversarial prompts can circumvent their alignment, methodologies to inspect and mitigate LLM hallucinations, where models can generate non-factual responses, and methodologies to inspect and mitigate LLM biases. In particular, the development of methodologies to inspect and mitigate jailbreaking in LLMs represents a significant advancement in adversarial machine learning. This work not only identifies the vulnerabilities in current LLMs but also proposes robust countermeasures to fortify these models against sophisticated attacks. Moreover, the methodologies to inspect and mitigate hallucinations in LLMs involves sophisticated analysis of model outputs to identify when and why hallucinations occur, providing deeper insights into the internal workings of LLMs. Finally, addressing biases in LLMs is a critical component of ensuring ethical and fair artificial intelligence (AI). By integrating these advanced tools into a comprehensive, user-friendly, and unified platform, this project establishes a new benchmark for the development and deployment of reliable AI applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
RESILIENT LIFESCIENCE, INC
SBIR Phase I: Development of wearable medical device to detect and treat opioid overdose.
Contact
100 S COMMONS
Pittsburgh, PA 15212--5359
NSF Award
2335577 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,964
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel wearable medical device providing on-demand field delivery of naloxone for intervening in instances of opioid overdose or similar medical emergencies. CDC data indicates opioid overdose was the leading cause of death for Americans under 45, responsible for claiming over 80,000 American lives in 2022. Naloxone delivery represents the current standard method for acutely stabilizing the effects of opioid overdose, but approximately 69% of opioid overdose deaths occur without a bystander present to administer the intervention. This project proposes a wearable device that integrates an external non-invasive sensor coupled with a drug delivery system capable of delivering a subcutaneous injection of naloxone upon opioid overdose. This poses the potential to save 50,000 American lives due to opioid overdose each year.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop and validate two components for a novel external system to detect and intervene during instances of opioid overdose, using sensor-derived measures of oxygen saturation and respiratory rates. A novel self-contained wearable mechanical, low-power drug delivery mechanism and a novel naloxone formulation will be developed and validated for stability under simulated use conditions. The first component, a self-contained patch-based drug delivery platform, will be designed and validated for reliable mechanical delivery, enabling multiple consecutive doses of custom naloxone within the physical and power constraints of the wearable system. The naloxone formulation will be validated for stability during accelerated age testing at elevated temperatures indicative of daily wear conditions. The components will be integrated into a prototype system with the company?s algorithm integrating heart rate, respiration, and oxygenation to complete a prototype system suitable for future human use.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
RESONANCE SIGNATURES LLC
SBIR Phase I: iNQR: A Low-cost, Smart, Portable Spectroscopy Device for Material Authentication
Contact
2649 NW 136TH TER
Gainesville, FL 32606--4750
NSF Award
2335565 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,997
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to develop and commercialize a handheld authentication device, based on the principle of nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectroscopy, that can help improve the health and safety of the general public. The portable form factor and low cost of the device will make it accessible for everyone to utilize without any restrictions. The powerful analytical capability of this device to provide accurate and reliable results quickly and non-invasively can be used in different stages of the modern supply chain. Specific use cases of the device will include the law-enforcement agencies and postal systems, where it can be used to rapidly identify and isolate illegal drugs, thereby mitigating the illegal drug epidemic. In addition to its use in law enforcement and forensics, this spectroscopy technology has potential applications in the medical field for drug screening and monitoring. Its applicability in drug and pharmaceutical products detection alone will impact a multi-billion-dollar market. Overall, this innovation will greatly enhance our scientific and technical understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the NQR spectroscopy technology for chemical analysis and create a pathway for its widespread deployment in diverse fields.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in utilizing NQR spectroscopy to provide a highly specific and sensitive method at low cost for detecting drugs based on their unique chemical identifiers (UCIs). The project will focus on developing a portable NQR spectrometer device for general consumer use to detect and identify various compounds based on their unique chemical and structural properties in the solid state. NQR spectroscopy can detect drugs that may be difficult to identify using other techniques, such as those that are highly pure or are concealed in complex mixtures or disguised as other substances. The project will explore new approaches to improving the sensitivity based on pre-polarization methods, as well as size, cost, and selectivity of NQR spectroscopy for drug detection, as well as developing new portable instrumentation. Major hardware components, including the broadband tuner and backend signal processing unit, will be custom designed to minimize the footprint and improve sensitivity. The device will be extensively evaluated for wide range of drugs and other substances (e.g., dietary supplements, which often include unregulated harmful chemicals) for its efficacy in commercial settings.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
RETRN BIOWORKS INC.
STTR Phase I: High-performance biopolymer platform for sustainable, safe packaging
Contact
1029 LANCASTER AVE
Syracuse, NY 13210--3029
NSF Award
2414139 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impacts of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project are rooted in the reduction of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and plastics such as polyethylene (PE) as barrier coatings for paper-based packaging. The industry is seeking to phase such plastics out as they are non-renewable, non-degradable, carry health risks via ingestion of microplastics, and are energy-intensive to produce and poorly recyclable, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. With PFAS linked to reproductive and developmental abnormalities, immunotoxicity, carcinogenicity, thyroid damage, and many other health risks, upcoming legislative bans on its use in the food packaging industry have left suppliers without adequate replacements. Biodegradable bioplastics are among the most sought-after technologies to replace conventional plastics but are hampered by their use of food crops as the primary raw material, which adversely affects product sustainability and limits commercial feasibility. The proposed biodegradable bioplastic technology 1) uses abundant agro-industrial wastes as the raw material to drive down costs while supporting sustainability and 2) has significant technical performance advantages (i.e., mechanical properties, tunability, scalability) over current bioplastics. This innovation is poised to advance the market for commercially viable, biodegradable bioplastics, enabling the replacement of both PE-based plastic coatings and PFAS-based coatings.
The proposed project seeks to develop and validate a platform to deliver biodegradable coating solutions for the packaging industry. Customer discovery has revealed an unmet need for sustainable coatings with the properties needed for mechanical processability at scale (melting temperature, flexibility) and barrier performance of the coated fiber-based product (water vapor, liquid holdout, melting temperature, flexibility). While industry experts point to advanced polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics as a potential technical solution, the scalable production of PHAs with medium-chain length (MCL) comonomers that improve processability and range of applications has remained out of reach. A fermentative process has been developed to overcome this hurdle in which sugars obtained from hydrolysis of lignocellulosic waste are fermented using inhibitor-resistant recombinant microorganisms with modifications that direct feed components toward P4HB (poly-4-hydroxybutyrate)-based MCL copolymer synthesis. This novel technology enables the production of high-performance, fully biodegradable, and tunable P4HB-co-MCL copolymers fit for a range of applications. Phase I objectives are: 1) Create a process for producing P4HB-co-MCL copolymers from non-structurally related feedstocks and 2) Demonstrate industry-relevant mechanical and barrier properties of developed copolymers. This will establish commercial viability of the platform to transform waste feedstocks into P4HBs with desirable and tunable mechanical properties amenable for commercial adoption.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
RETURN TO VENDOR, CO
SBIR Phase I: Innovative recyclable nylon textile yarns
Contact
423 W 43RD ST
New York, NY 10036--5321
NSF Award
2423551 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project includes reducing textile waste entering the landfills, which is nearly 28 billions pounds a year in the US alone. The project focuses on new and disruptive ways of manufacturing novel nylon fibers for the textile industry in such a way that less pollutive monomaterial clothing can be realized. The modified nylon fibers will significantly improve the material properties of the fibers, particularly their elasticity and recovery enabling it to replace pollutive elastic polyurethane based fibers such as elastane (lycra). The improvement in these properties makes the use of the modified nylon fibers 100% recyclable while maintaining their comfort and stretch. The main beneficiaries of the technology are consumer apparel companies that will incorporate the improved fibers into their textile products. Reuse of the raw material rather than disposing them at landfill means 100% of these materials are regenerated into fresh new products with zero environmental impact with a nylon that has nearly 5x lower carbon footprint. The company has developed the chemistry concept behind the project to enable creation of nylon yarns and accessories used in apparel creation that mimic the performance of blended fibers (such as nylon/elastane) to enable creation of monomaterial clothing. The estimated total addressable market size for the modified nylon is $7B. The company intends to commercialize its products initially for consumer textile manufacturers, including athleisure apparel and fashion brands.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to create a nylon fiber with built-in stretch/recovery. This will enable replacement of pollutive spandex (elastane) fibers from performance apparel. The modification of nylon with proprietary additives with a potential 20% increase in stretch and recovery respect to the unmodified Nylon fibers will enable removal of spandex (elastane) from blended yarns. This monomaterial approach will negate the need for disassembly of blended fibers during recycling with a target of 100% recyclability. With the current chemistry modifications, the company has already achieved an enhanced nylon fiber that has >20% stretch and ~100% recovery compared to unmodified Nylon. This project aims to understand the stretch/recovery performance of fibers and whole fabrics that use the modified Nylon monofiber. Multiple material characterization techniques will be used during the project to characterize the materials, including X-ray diffraction and scanning calorimetry to assess crystallinity; thermogravimetric analysis for degradation and other techniques to measure tensile properties. The company will develop a set of fibers and yarns with varying degrees of modification of the nylon.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
REVA X-RAY SYSTEMS CORPORATION
SBIR Phase I: Development of a novel high-brightness rotating envelope micro-focus transmission X-ray source
Contact
1414 8TH STREET
Alameda, CA 94501--3472
NSF Award
2400667 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,158
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is dedicated to developing a novel high-brightness X-ray source that will have a significant impact on industries like semiconductor manufacturing, battery production, and non-destructive testing. This technology aims to substantially enhance the throughput, resolution, and sensitivity of X-ray metrology systems, promising dramatic improvements in both industrial and scientific applications. The broader impacts of this initiative are significant, enhancing the economic competitiveness of the United States by promoting technological leadership in essential high-tech sectors. This project is expected to open new economic avenues within an addressable market for X-ray analytical equipment valued at approximately $1 billion. The successful execution of this project will enable breakthroughs in applications ranging from improved battery safety in electric vehicles to innovations in advanced semiconductor packaging that will power the next generation of Moore's law scaling.
The intellectual merit of this project lies in its development of a novel high-brightness X-ray source, which represents a significant leap forward for X-ray metrology technology. This innovation addresses the critical need for enhanced resolution, sensitivity, and throughput in X-ray imaging systems, particularly in the fields of semiconductor manufacturing and battery safety. The research objectives include optimizing the X-ray source to achieve unprecedented levels of spectral brightness and flux density, thereby enabling more high-resolution imaging at reduced length- and timescales. The research will employ rigorous computational modeling and experimental validation to refine the design and functionality of the X-ray source. Key innovations include the use of a rotating anode and advanced electron optics to distribute heat effectively, thus preventing damage during high-power operation and maintaining image clarity. Anticipated technical results include achieving a 200-fold increase in spectral brightness, an outcome that could revolutionize the capabilities of lab-based X-ray systems.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
REVIVBIO, INC
SBIR Phase I: Enzymatic bioremediation of poly and perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), a class of toxic and bioaccumulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
Contact
750 MAIN ST
Cambridge, MA 02139--3544
NSF Award
2423538 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in the development of a cost-effective and environmentally benign PFAS bioremediation strategy. This strategy aims to harness microbial enzymes that are capable of breaking strong chemical bonds in these molecules under mild conditions, offering a systematic approach to detoxify per- and polyfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs). These PFCAs belong to a class of toxic and bioaccumulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). While exposure to these toxic molecules is associated with cancer, thyroid disease, childhood obesity and other medical conditions resulting in an estimated economic burden of $5.5-63 billion in the US, current energy intensive PFAS remediation technologies are costly, environmentally unsustainable, significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, the proposed bioremediation technology may provide a scalable and systematic solution to degrade PFAS of varying lengths, effectively remediating environmental contamination. Additionally, adopting this technology allows the US advanced manufacturing sector to continue essential PFAS use for strategically important advanced materials while preventing new PFAS from entering the environment.
The proposed project aims to harness cutting-edge protein engineering techniques to design fluoroacetate dehalogenase enzymes (FADs) capable of fully degrading PFCA (perfluorocarboxylic acids). While existing FADs can break carbon-fluoride bonds in simple fluorinated compounds, no natural FAD has been identified for PFAS degradation. To achieve this, an ultra-efficient protein engineering platform will be leveraged. Initially, generative AI and quantum mechanics/molecular dynamics (QMD) guide the creation of extensive FAD gene libraries, exploring sequence space to identify variants with enhanced catalytic activity, stability, and broad substrate specificity for C2-C8 PFCA. These large gene libraries are screened on a proprietary droplet microfluidic platform. Subsequently, AI models will be trained based on screening data to design new starting libraries for identifying improved variants with enhanced C2-C8 PFCA activity under industrial conditions. After iterative cycles of design and screening, it is anticipated that highly active enzyme variantswill be identified, which will be characterized to ensure benign reaction products. The enzymes will be assessed for stability in diverse industrial wastewater conditions, expected temperature ranges, and expression levels in a production host. Successful demonstration of complete enzymatic PFCA degradation through this NSF-SBIR phase I project, would be compelling for industry partners to enter into pilot studies that is required for adoption of this technology.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
RIVALIA CHEMICAL CO
SBIR Phase I: Sustainable Rare Earth Element Production from Coal Combustion Byproducts
Contact
310 W. 112TH ST APT 2B
New York, NY 10026--3245
NSF Award
2335379 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to enable rare earth element (REE) production without mining, by harvesting REEs from coal combustion byproducts, namely coal fly ash. The U.S. produces over 100 million metric tons of coal fly ash each year through burning coal for power and has more than two billion metric tons in storage ponds across the country, estimated to contain up to 100 years? worth of U.S. demand of REEs. What is missing is a sustainable, scalable, and economic method of separation. REEs play critical roles in many different technologies, ranging from national defense applications to manufacturing and consumer electronics, to healthcare treatments, and much more. One particularly important industry is clean tech, where REEs are used in high-performance wind turbines and electric vehicles. Currently, the U.S. lacks a stable domestic supply of REEs and is reliant on mining efforts in foreign nations that lack similar labor and environmental protections. This dependence is a strategic vulnerability. Harvesting REEs from coal ash would build a sustainable, diverse, and resilient supply chain of materials needed to support the clean energy transition, as well as create new jobs and provide utilities with an economic pathway to better utilize ash and empty existing ash ponds.
This SBIR Phase I project will optimize a novel ionic-liquid-based recovery process to harvest rare earth elements (REEs) from coal fly ash. The ionic liquid in question has a high binding affinity for REEs and additionally displays unique thermomorphic behavior: upon heating, water and the ionic liquid form a single liquid phase, and REEs are leached from coal fly ash via a proton-exchange mechanism. Upon cooling, the water and IL separate, and leached elements partition between the two phases. The recovery strategy exploits this behavior in a new method that represents a breakthrough technology: the ionic liquid can extract the REEs directly from the solid ash without the need for digestion and separate the REEs from bulk elements. This dramatically lowers chemical consumption and waste generation and simplifies costly downstream processing. In Phase I of the project, efforts are focused on improving REE concentration in the IL phase, developing new processes for purifying REEs from ionic liquid concentrate, and validating the process for a variety of coal ash samples. The output of this project is expected to be comprehensively tested and validated recovery process ready for scaling.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ROOTWORDS INC
SBIR Phase I: Asset-Based Latin Morpheme Approach to Language Learning
Contact
1651 LAKESIDE CIR
Park City, UT 84060--7730
NSF Award
2423673 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$271,780
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is an innovative approach to language acquisition leveraging a tumbler-style mechanism. This method capitalizes on cognates from Latin-based languages to expedite vocabulary development and enhance literacy skills across diverse age groups. The application's design, rooted in morphological principles, offers a robust framework for learners ranging from novices to advanced practitioners preparing for standardized tests. By emphasizing Latin roots, the tool unlocks access to a vast array of STEM fields, as the professional lexicon in these areas is predominantly Latin-derived. The versatility of this approach enables its adaptation to multiple languages sharing Latin origins, significantly broadening its potential impact. The unique root-based learning methodology provides a distinct pedagogical advantage, facilitating cross-linguistic connections and deepening overall language comprehension. This technology's potential to revolutionize language education lies in its scalability and wide-ranging applicability. By making complex vocabulary more accessible, the tool has the capacity to enhance scientific literacy and foster greater engagement with technical subjects among the general population.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to address the inefficiencies in vocabulary acquisition by investigating the efficacy of morpheme-based learning strategies. The research objectives encompass demonstrating that learning lexical components accelerates vocabulary development, enhances decoding abilities for complex unfamiliar words, and improves long-term retention of lexical items. The proposed research methodology involves the development of a digital application that employs a tumbler game mechanic to teach vocabulary through morphological analysis. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted, stratifying subjects into three cohorts: a control group utilizing traditional whole-word definition methods, and two experimental groups engaging with the application for 30 and 60 days, respectively. Assessment will be conducted via standardized multiple-choice and matching instruments at baseline, 30, 60, and 90 days. Anticipated technical outcomes include: 1) inferior long-term retention and novel word decoding capabilities in the control group; 2) enhanced interpolation/decoding skills and 90-day retention for the 30-day experimental group; and 3) a 50% increase in interpolation/decoding proficiency and superior long-term retention for the 60-day experimental group compared to both other cohorts.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ROTOHEATER LLC
SBIR Phase I: CAS: Advanced Thermal Oxidizer to Cost-effectively Control Greenhouse Emissions from Small Sources
Contact
716 FOUNTAIN STREET
Ann Arbor, MI 48103--3269
NSF Award
2326861 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$256,657
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to reduce air pollution, specifically emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, toxic/carcinogenic organic compounds, and odors. Reduction in these emissions serves the public interest by improving human health, well-being, and the environment and is in alignment with NSF?s mission to promote innovative unproven technologies that can benefit society. These emission reductions will be accomplished through the development of a new type of air pollution control technology that can be cost-effectively applied to small emission sources that cannot be effectively controlled using existing technologies. These small emission sources are numerous, and in some cases, located near sensitive or overburdened communities, so the emissions control will have a large impact. The improved cost effectiveness and simplicity of this technology should reduce increasingly more stringent regulatory compliance costs, freeing up both human and capital resources for productive use in other areas.
This SBIR project will support research and development (R&D) into an air pollution control technology for combustible gases that uses a novel, patent-pending, continuous heat regeneration system to enable re-use of thermal energy in a thermal oxidizer. The effort will focus on investigating the fundamental heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and material science of the invention as well as construction and testing of full-scale prototypes to increase the durability and reduce the performance risk. This continuous, regenerative, thermal oxidizer system is unlike any existing pollution control technology and will enable a significant reduction in size and complexity compared to conventional technologies. The system will be mass-produced, unlike existing systems that are custom built. The combination of reduced size, reduced complexity, and mass-production should result in a large reduction in cost. The new system has other advantages such as reduced warm-up time, greater flexibility in applications, and greater safety.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ROWLAND ROBERT REEVES
SBIR Phase I: The Pulsar Rocket Engine; A Valve-Pulsed Detonation Rocket Engine
Contact
1934 DELGADO WAY
Sacramento, CA 95833--1415
NSF Award
2404698 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will be substantial. This new advanced rocket engine with its increased thrust, efficiency, and simple design will significantly increase spaceship launch to orbit capabilities and reduce kilogram to orbit costs. Spaceship launch sizes in terms of cargo weight and volume will be significantly increased compared to the current most advanced rocket engines. The commercial impacts will be significant. For the first time space tourism on a large scale will be made possible. The general public can realistically expect to participate in the great space adventure that only a relatively few astronauts and other adventurers have experienced to date. Dreamers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and the space industry in general using this rocket engine will be able to plan and actually build orbiting artificial gravity structures providing multiple uses. For example, the enabled space infrastructure can be utilized as orbiting factories, habitats, science platforms, bases for asteroid mining, and tourism opportunities to name a few. The power and efficiency of this innovative rocket engine will enable launch to orbit efficiencies that will stimulate rapidly expanding space based commercial activity for decades to come.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to demonstrate the advantages of using pulsed reactant detonations as a means to increase engine thrust via the detonation of the fuel and to use those same reactant detonations to temporarily vacate a combustion chamber between detonations. In a vacated/partial vacuum condition backflow pressure to the turbo pumps from the combustion chambers is greatly reduced enabling significant increases in mass flow rates. For all current rocket engines backflow pressure is a significant impedance to the turbo pump?s ability to inject reactants into the chamber. Thus, the insight gained here is that the thrust from reactant detonation is not the primary benefit of pulsed detonation engines. The primary benefit of detonation of reactants is in the momentary partial vacuum that occurs within the combustion chamber that is created between each detonation cycle. Because of the momentary partial vacuum and resulting lack of back pressure within the combustion chamber far greater volumes of reactants per second can be injected into the chamber by the turbo pumps. Mass flow rates are greatly increased resulting in increased thrust and engine efficiency. The engine generates added thrust by detonating the reactants and by greatly increasing the mass flow rate.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
RUSHNU INC
SBIR Phase I: System for High Efficiency Continuous Single-step Carbon Capture and Mineralization
Contact
5495 BLACK AVE, UNIT 2
Pleasanton, CA 94566--5971
NSF Award
2423576 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be enabling the cost-effective capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the emission point source and its transformation into value-added products, thereby helping the industrial sector achieve net-zero CO2 emissions. The net-zero emissions target is aimed at combating pollution and mitigating the effects of climate change. The industrial sector currently has few financial incentives to sequester CO2. The technology will address this gap by reducing the energy and associated costs required for capture and conversion of CO2 generating revenue through the production of sustainable by-products. The ability to produce valuable co-products will be particularly beneficial to industries reliant on raw materials, such as the chemical sector, glass manufacturing, and wastewater treatment plants. The technology will be offered to these industries, as well as to businesses seeking economically viable decarbonization solutions, through a business-to-business model. The model is projected to generate significant annual revenue through the sale of green chemicals to end-users and distributors upon commercialization.
This SBIR Phase I project will adapt a single-step carbon capture and mineralization process, integrated with a thermocatalytic system for solvent recovery, into a commercially viable design featuring continuous operation (as opposed to batch). The thermochemical process has already yielded promising results regarding capture, mineralization and solvent recovery. However, it has not demonstrated high capture rates at scale or been applied in different use cases. In this project, the process will be improved by increasing the single pass capture and mineralization rate and by optimizing the post-mineralization units for efficient recovery of the solvent to be reused in the capture and mineralization step. This will first involve evaluating operating conditions and reactor design to determine the optimal temperature, reactor configuration, gas flow rate, and solvent flow rate for maximizing CO2 capture and mineralization. For solvent recovery, different aspects of the system will be tested to enhance the efficiency, including temperature, catalyst size, gas flow rate, and reactor height. Finally, different mixing methods and catalysts will be evaluated to maximize catalyst regeneration and extend its durability and lifespan.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SABER THERAPEUTICS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Cell-Mediated Delivery of Targeted Protein Degraders
Contact
4706 SW BEDINGFIELD ST
Bentonville, AR 72713--3033
NSF Award
2404721 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,991
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will serve as the proof-of-concept for a new approach to deliver cancer-cell killing proteins specifically to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) cells while sparing healthy cells. The data that emerges from this grant will serve as the foundational demonstration that this new technology has the potential as a cancer therapy. Results are anticipated to be sufficient to attract subsequent public/private funding to continue drug development. A better way to treat AML would benefit patients, enabling them to live longer healthier lives, reduce the strain on limited healthcare resources, and advance the health and welfare of the American Public. Development will be executed as a biotechnology start-up, an approach many believe is the fastest and most capital efficient path to the market. This endeavor will generate a considerable economic impact in the US and enhance the scientific competitiveness of the county as it will create dozens of well-paying Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) jobs. Many such roles will require partnership with top graduate programs to recruit candidates and a special emphasis will be placed on hiring traditionally underrepresented groups by working with empowerment organizations.
The proposed project combines the best of, and complements the limitations of chimeric antigen T-cells (CAR-Ts), the late-line standard of care in certain blood cancers; and targeted protein degraders (TPDs), a potentially revolutionary therapeutic modality. If successful, this work could lay the foundation for a new generation of anti-cancer medicines. While CAR-Ts can provide a durable remission in select tumors, they face multiple efficacy-limiting technical hurdles. This proposal circumvents such shortcoming by instead using Natural Killer (NK) cells engineered with TPDs against cancer-driver proteins. NK cells are anticipated to be less vulnerable to a tumor?s antigen escape as they don?t rely on a single targeting antigen, and should contain more oncolytic potential due to the addition of TPDs. Tumor targeted delivery of the TPDs could also address the observed toxicity of naked TPDs brought on by non-specific uptake of both target and bystander cells. The goal of this project is to develop NK cells equipped with TPDs against three common AML drivers using well-described methods from the literature. The resulting cells will be tested against numerous AML lines for cell killing via flow cytometry. In parallel, several aspects of the platform?s limitations and potential will be assessed.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SAKURA SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS, LLC
STTR Phase I: A digital engineering tool for integrated software and hardware reliability
Contact
828 HEATHERTON DR
Naperville, IL 60563--2221
NSF Award
2348264 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,880
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to streamline system reliability analysis, catering to industries such as healthcare, telecommunications, and transportation, where system failures can be life-threatening. With a projected $20.8 billion software quality assurance market by 2030, the project's impact can be substantial. The proposed solution employs automation and advanced data analytics to revolutionize system reliability. It introduces data-driven reliability analysis, offering automated, collaborative, cloud-based, and visually intuitive tools to enhance system dependability. Positioned at the convergence of Software-as-a-Service, software quality assurance, and data analytics markets, the solution holds significant commercial potential. Given the critical role of system reliability across industries, the successful implementation of this project will be a key enabler for Industry 4.0.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project focuses on the domain of system quality assurance. In this domain, the state-of-the-art approach focuses on either hardware reliability or software reliability before deployment. However, in practice, the most critical part of the system lifecycle is during software operation, and failure depends on both software and hardware. Therefore, the project introduces a pioneering system-level reliability model to merge software and hardware reliability. It also aims to create advanced analytics algorithms for estimating failure intensity and pinpointing critical system flaws. Additionally, the project plans to design, implement, evaluate, and deploy quantitative models for system reliability within a cloud-based software-as-a-service platform. This platform will facilitate collaborative analysis, offering descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics on integrated software and hardware reliability. Through interactive reliability block diagrams, the platform democratizes system reliability assessment, lessening reliance on manual expertise for the first time.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SALIENT PREDICTIONS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: A physically informed machine learning model for subseasonal forecasting of extreme temperatures
Contact
39 GULL RD
Falmouth, MA 02540--2676
NSF Award
2428903 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,912
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in helping industries such as energy and agriculture increase protective measures and improve resiliency in the face of extreme temperature events. Sub-seasonal predictions on extreme weather should help customers optimize performance, mitigate risk, improve resiliency, and plan initiatives up to a month in advance. Although instruments like satellite and radar are highly accurate in detecting these extreme events at short time horizons, not enough time is given for businesses and communities to take action to ensure their survival. For a community that might be impacted by extreme heat or cold, this is not enough time to take action to mitigate crop damage, protect power generation facilities, etc. For example, extreme cold in Texas brought on by the ice storm Uri placed immense pressure on power grids, costing >$100 billion over several days. The company believes that the opportunity for increased knowledge and greater lead time to make strategic business decisions like such as advanced contracting with maintenance crews, foliage management, stockpiling replacement parts, insulating critical components, or installing de-icing equipment will drive customer adoption of the sub-seasonal model over current models.
The combination of a changing climate, a chaotic atmosphere and the relative rarity of extreme events makes forecasting extreme heat and cold events at a sub-seasonal timescale a particularly challenging problem. This project focuses on developing a machine learning model to improve forecasting extreme heat or cold 1-month out. There are three significant problems with current forecasting systems: 1) historical analogs that are used to develop these models are becoming increasingly irrelevant, (2) day to one-week timeframes do not allow enough time for communities to prepare for extreme events, and (3) lack of operational products. This project aims to build a proprietary model that combines the technologies underlying current weather forecasting tools with improved machine-learning powered models and the ocean, land, and atmospheric data that highly influence extreme heat or cold. Such a model may enable more accurate weather predictions 1-month out. A predictive model capable of delivering precise forecasts over a sub-seasonal timeframe, integrating the constantly shifting dynamics of the atmosphere attributed to climate change, would empower industry (namely energy and agriculture) to effectively prepare for extreme temperature events to best serve and protect citizens.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SAVIMBO INC.
SBIR Phase I: Biodiversity credits for Indigenous and local communities
Contact
37 LOST VALLEY DR
Orinda, CA 94563--3928
NSF Award
2423048 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in addressing the need for innovative financing mechanisms to meet Global Biodiversity Framework targets, the aims of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Kunming-Montreal Accords. The global biodiversity market is projected to value $180 billion by 2050. But the market is in its infancy, lacking clear rigorous science that is market-tested and acceptable to all stakeholders who work in biodiverse regions. This project aims to deliver market-tested public protocols, peer-reviewed scientific methodologies, transparent tracking, clear unitized accountability for biodiversity gains and losses (conservation, restoration, and impact accounting), and provide fair, direct, funding mechanisms to Indigenous Peoples and local communities for their global contributions to planet health. Gains in these components of a fair and functional biodiversity credit market will not only benefit biodiversity frameworks but all nature-based accounting frameworks and broader human health, generating tax revenue, jobs, and sustainable commerce both for US citizens and for global citizens.
This project provides a breakthrough approach to biodiversity crediting based on a combination of Indigenous knowledge, high-tech efficiency, and modern scientific understanding of complex adaptive systems. The methodology monitors impact via ex-post crediting of indicator species observations done by locals themselves (game cameras, audio recordings, photos). The novel unit equates to one hectare, over one month, of intact ecosystem where all ecological niches are available to, and filled by, native species. Observations are typically rare, threatened, endangered animals on conserved land which have no other source of conservation funding. Biodiversity credits are then auto-calculated with open-source computer code and released for certification as biodiversity credit commodities to the international market. A highly qualified interdisciplinary team of biodiversity scientists, Indigenous rights experts, and economists are collaborating to commercialize this solution. They address the planet-wide dual-need to: 1) Reward the populations who are actually preserving biodiversity on the ground, and 2) Target high-biodiverse zones without conservation funding. This proposal aims to bring this solution across the rocky terrain of an international frontier market for biodiversity credits, for the benefit of Indigenous Peoples and the continued protection of 80% of the world?s biodiversity and 30% of the intact planet.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SCHNACKEL ENGINEERS, INC
SBIR Phase I: Automated and Optimized Three Dimensional Routing
Contact
3035 S 72ND ST
Omaha, NE 68124--3569
NSF Award
2404228 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project includes the development of new automated routing optimization methodologies, as well as advanced 3D data compression techniques, which will benefit a wide range of industries and applications beyond the initial focus on building construction systems, including civil and infrastructure design, data center design, robotics, path planning, military applications and the semi-conductor industry. Any industry requiring 3D spatial analysis and/or routing will benefit from the work of this project. The project will have broader economic and societal impacts due to a substantial reduction in construction materials and labor necessary for new and remodeled buildings. Carbon reduction, including embodied carbon and operational carbon, is a critical part of all climate change initiatives. This AI software will result in a meaningful reduction in emissions due to the ability to optimize the use of materials and labor in the construction and operation of buildings. The proposed technology will address many forms of design coordination and construction waste, dramatically reducing the amount of raw material, labor and construction waste required to construct a building, while simultaneously reducing the cost and time to occupancy of the construction project.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project aims develop a suite of software that automatically routes building services systems through 3D obstructed space achieving a near optimal, clash-free solution. This involves developing a hyper-efficient 3D modeling environment using a process called ?low-resolution surface tessellation? (LRST). In lieu of trying to achieve a high-resolution surface, the project will create as rudimentary of a surface representation as possible to minimize the number of data points stored, thereby reducing the size and complexity of the data set necessary in which to compute routes. The project will develop new 3D optimized routing algorithms in the new 3D environment using a combination of mixed integer linear programming, visibility graphs, non-linear reduction, and variable relaxation among other techniques. The resulting technology, if successful, will find the most efficient path from Point A to Point B through a 3D space filled with any nature of obstructions in polynomial time, or better with no conflicts or clashes.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SCORPIDO PHOTONICS
SBIR Phase I: Instant non-invasive diagnostics of cancer with plasmonic nanobubbles
Contact
1536 W 25TH ST
San Pedro, CA 90732--4415
NSF Award
2417093 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,990
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a novel optical method of detecting microscopic tumors for more rapid and accurate point of care cancer diagnoses. The system aims to improve cancer biopsy diagnostic procedures through a novel plasmonic nanobubble mode of action for detecting and destroying microscopic tumors that may otherwise remain undetectable using current direct access and iterative surgical means. By integrating the proposed photonic sensor diagnostic technology into current clinical tools including endoscopes, assessments can be performed without the need to physically extract the sample tissues in question and perform laboratory testing. The system aims to supplement existing invasive surgical diagnostic procedures to capture a portion of the $25.5 billion annual cancer biopsy market.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a prototype endoscope diagnostic cancer sensor using laser-activated plasmonic nanobubbles (PNB). The project integrates plasmonic nanobubbles sensors into a component medical device platform and onto a standard sized clinical endoscope, for performing lung cancer diagnostic procedures. The objective to develop a universal tiny fiber optical probe, the critical component, for enabling a mininally invasive optically based diagnostic system. This flexible probe, administered to a patient through a standard endoscope, will noninvasively generate and detect plasmonic nanobubbles in the tissue, connected to an external system via optical fibers. The probe aims to achieve diagnostic sensitivity and speed sufficient for the instant direct detection of microscopic tumors in patients using a standard endoscope, matching invasive diagnostic performance measures for assessing lung cancer.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SCRIPT BIOSCIENCES INC
SBIR Phase I: CasPlus: A safer, more efficient, and targeted method of deploying CRISPR in vivo
Contact
29 LUDLOW ROAD
Yardley, PA 19067--2751
NSF Award
2335124 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,438
Start / end date
06/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to decrease the risks associated with current gene editing practices. Gene editing offers significant promise for a wide variety of difficult to treat and currently untreatable conditions. Examples include cancers such as leukemia and multiple myeloma, muscular dystrophy, and cystic fibrosis. Last year, the FDA approved the first gene editing treatment for sickle cell anemia. Progress in gene editing has been slow due to unwanted side effects, which can delete the incorrect gene, insert a gene in the wrong location, etc., leading to undesirable impacts and ineffective treatment. The innovation is a platform technology that significantly reduces the potential inaccuracy of current gene editing technology. This leap forward in gene editing targets the desired gene, increasing the safety of gene editing, which is critical to the success of the technology. The innovation is a platform that could be used to advance promising therapies that are, in their current form, unsafe for patients and develop new therapies for disease unmet treatment needs.
The proposed project will examine the feasibility of the platform technology by targeting the use of the technology in myotonic dystrophy type 1. The disease affects skeletal and smooth muscle, heart, endocrine system, and central nervous system in a progressive, age-dependent manner, with death resulting from pulmonary or cardiac complications. There are no current treatments for this disease. A potential cause for the disease is misfiring by genes that repair DNA. When this gene is not present, there is no known associated loss of function in the biological species. This project will deploy the innovation to: 1) Optimize the formulation in vitro to target the problem gene. This task requires using the formulations in the target cell, sequencing the cells after editing to determine editing efficiency and understand if there are unwanted effects; 2) Determine the delivery dose required for testing in a mouse model using the optimized formulation from first task; 3) Use an in vivo study to determine the feasibility of using the innovation in a mouse model. This study will use the optimal formulation and dose to study the impact on the target genes and potential effects.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SEIA BIO INC
SBIR Phase I: Protecting beneficial microbes from harmful stressors to enable their widespread use
Contact
24 PLYMOUTH ST
Cambridge, MA 02141--1914
NSF Award
2335482 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
11/01/2024 – 10/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable the widespread adoption of beneficial microbes. Microbes are highly efficient, sustainable, and can replace chemical products when they?re able to be delivered in a live, viable form. In agriculture for example, switching from chemical fertilizers to biological fertilizers can reduce a significant amount (>500Mt) of CO2 emissions, while also reducing chemical fertilizer costs that can ultimately help reduce food prices to consumers. Beyond microbial fertilizers, there are many other applications ranging from cosmetics to healthcare that are ready to use either newly identified or already developed microbes, but only if they can be produced in a consistent and reliable manner. Unlocking microbial products will enable consumers to switch from chemically produced products to microbial products as a lower cost, more sustainable alternative.
The proposed project aims to address the problem of microbial stability when exposed to stressors through a fundamental understanding of how the ingredients form and how they contribute to increases in microbial survival. The proposed R&D work will advance the understanding of these formulations to be used generally across any microbe, while also pushing the boundaries of physical protection to understand protection against common stressors such as heat, UV-light, shock and humidity by simulating real-world conditions. This will be accomplished by measuring a variety of physicochemical properties as well as viability using both established and newly developed tests. Furthermore, this work will explore the formation properties both on the small and large-scale of production to understand the fundamental dynamics of coating assembly. This innovative work will result in 1) a generalized process for formulating any microbe for protection and 2) an understanding of engineering parameters required to scale-up microbial production to enable the widespread adoption of beneficial microbes.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SEMEN AND EMBRYO ADVANCED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES (SMART), LLC
SBIR Phase I: Improving Domestic Small Ruminant Reproduction Through Computer Assisted Embryo Analysis
Contact
2208 DUNCAN ROAD
Jonesboro, AR 72401--0477
NSF Award
2415628 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,996
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (or Small Business Technology Transfer) Phase I project will be to accelerate the quality and growth of U.S. sheep and goat production through improved embryo transfer rates. The United States is forced to import 1.5 billion USD yearly of small ruminant protein to fulfill national demand. Embryo transfer use to improve domestic herds is currently limited due to low success rates and almost exclusively used in a small margin of elite herds. By improving the success of this technology and lowering the cost, it will democratize it for wider industry use. Accelerating national sheep and inventory numbers through more productive and prolific animals will significantly bolster the health, safety, and welfare of the American populace through increased access to economical, lean protein. More animals entering the food supply means job creation and an expansion of tax revenue through increased demand for animal feedstuffs, routine animal care, veterinarian services, transportation, animal processing, and distribution of value-added products. Fulfilling U.S. consumer needs with U.S. grown sheep and goats means job creation and internal food security.
In this project, machine learning models with computer vision and multifactorial herd qualities will be studied to significantly improve sheep and goat breeding success rates. Key identified features in the embryo will be used as a baseline that will enable evaluation of a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to the ewe during the gestational period to better understand environmental factors related to pregnancy failure and success. This analysis will produce a comprehensive embryo and animal health analysis that can be used in sheep and goat embryology laboratories to enable veterinarians, embryologists, and producers to improve breeding success rates. The resulting user interface incorporates the data collection and processing with herd breeding management to serve as a minimum viable product for immediate wider industry adoption.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SET POINT SOLUTIONS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Set Point Solutions - Safeguarding Lives By Enabling Communication in Austere and Remote Environments
Contact
143 RAMIREZ WAY
Toto, GU 96913-
NSF Award
2212209 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$246,858
Start / end date
12/01/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will extend the range of on-hand wireless communications devices to austere and remote environments. Public safety agencies will now be able to utilize available resources more efficiently, precisely geolocating distressed individuals and/or connecting individuals in need with specific resources and personnel to facilitate their rescue. The propeller-enabled Projectile Assisted Repeater/Relay Of Transmissions (PARROT) technology will benefit the civilian market that requires communication in remote locations or emergency situations. Potential customers include individuals whose vocation or vacation takes them into austere locations where the ability to communicate effectively may be compromised. Additionally, the PARROT would be a lifesaving piece of equipment for individuals whose work often requires them to be in areas lacking robust or functioning communication infrastructure: commercial truck drivers, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) responders, search and rescue teams, etc.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project highlights how communications solutions historically evolved by modulating the specific frequency range, whereas the approach applied to solving this problem is to allow the user to prescribe the location of a relay and rapidly introduce that physical relay (capable of loitering for sufficient time to allow for two-way communications) into their environment. The envisioned device could utilize existing tools to deploy its innovative technology. Additional variants could be developed as part of all-in-one kits supplied to outdoors enthusiasts. The principal scientific and engineering research objectives are to engineer, develop, and design electronic components small enough to fit in the desired form factor, yet rugged enough to withstand the significant set-back forces associated with ballistic, short-tube launches. Computer aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) processes will be used to model, prototype, test, and evaluate the design. Once that task is completed, the device will be able to safeguard the lives of first responders and outdoors enthusiasts globally.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SHAMRCK SOCIAL IMPACT CORP
SBIR Phase I: Solving Minority Equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Driven Workforce Development
Contact
925 LANEY WALKER BLVD
Augusta, GA 30901--2951
NSF Award
2304546 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/01/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enhance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) career awareness in minorities by engaging their interests and correlating those interests with real career aspirations. The research aligns with diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in STEM fields, exposing students in secondary schools and providing support for career exploration that may need to be more equitably available to students. With the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence, the research is designed to evaluate the social impact involved in the misalignment of minorities in STEM fields and use technology to correct the alignment for larger, more prepared talent pools. This practice should help increase diversity in fields like biological sciences, data science, and engineering, to name a few. Additionally, upskilling talent before they enter the workforce helps to create a more robust workforce that can push the boundaries of STEM fields much faster, leading to new innovations, socioeconomic balance, and societal growth.
This SBIR Phase I project combines the use of Holland occupational themes with natural language processing in machine learning to recommend and create pathways for secondary school students to gain knowledge and experience in anticipated career paths, especially STEM careers. Based on statistical data about underperforming schools and the workforce of an area, the system can nudge students through pathways to help them be more employable as well as to provide school resources more equitably. By using real-time data to train the models, students are able to gain career readiness skills and immediately apply those skills to complete project-based internships with small to medium businesses. This process ensures that information provided by the model is industry relevant and can pivot quickly to align with changes in an industry such as hiring patterns, technology, industrial-organizational psychology, and other trends that increase the applicability of a talent pool.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SHARON WASHINGTON
SBIR Phase I: Multilingual Adaptive School for Youth (MASY)
Contact
3730 KIRBY DR STE 904
Houston, TX 77098--3994
NSF Award
2431924 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,576
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project addresses significant educational disparities faced by over 200 million young people with no access to schooling and an additional 600 million struggling with basic literacy and numeracy skills despite being enrolled. The United Nations projects that the number of out-of-school children will increase by 84 million by 2030. This project aims to solve this problem by developing a universal platform for delivering educational content in multiple languages and cultural contexts. Education and language translation technologies rarely engage in cross-field research, yet they are deeply interconnected. Unlike existing digital education programs, this innovation is designed specifically for low-resourced language communities, where digital education is most needed. Low-resourced languages typically lack extensive digital data, comprehensive dictionaries, and detailed linguistic analysis, making it impossible for current natural language processing (NLP) models. Consequently, no comprehensive or high-quality educational content exists in these low-resource languages. This project aims to merge these fields by developing a global comprehensive PreK-grade 12 school platform that employs advanced language translation in its educational content delivery system, to exponentially increase access to high-quality education across linguistic barriers in regions where education in local languages is severely limited or completely absent.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a core universal natural language processing (NLP) model specifically designed for low-resourced languages. The primary technical objective is to create a model capable of handling the unique linguistic features of low-resourced languages, leveraging limited data, and incorporating cultural and contextual nuances to reduce language barriers as well as increase access to high-quality education globally while simultaneously extending the current ability of extant NLP models. The research will involve selecting and fine-tuning pre-trained models and adapting them to low-resourced languages through transfer learning, cross-linguistic techniques, and generating synthetic data to enrich training datasets. The project will also develop specialized layers for morphological analysis, tonal recognition, and flexible syntax parsing. Data collection and preprocessing pipelines will be established to ensure high-quality training data, while bias detection and mitigation techniques will be integrated to promote fairness and accuracy. The anticipated technical results include a highly adaptable NLP model that can deliver educational content in multiple low-resourced languages with high accuracy and cultural relevance. This project has the potential to significantly advance the field of NLP while providing a scalable and effective solution for the delivery of high-quality educational content globally.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SHROOM-E CO., LLC
SBIR Phase I: BlockSI: Shroom-E Co's Specialty Cultivated Mushroom Fruiting Block Production System
Contact
1106 HARBOR TRACE CIR
Charleston, SC 29412--4967
NSF Award
2423596 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact /commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to potentially improve the production of specialty cultivated mushrooms (SCM) with the proposed SCM fruiting block (FB) production system by increasing production speed while reducing labor, energy, and contamination risk; this system will also create opportunities to eliminate single-use plastics in SCM production. The global SCM market is ~$29.2 billion currently and is expected to grow to $41.2 billion in five years. According to the USDA, 2022-2023 sales on SCM produced domestically were $90.4M, but ~40% of the SCM consumed by the US were imported. The proposed system will be deployed in an SCM production network and rapidly scaled with a franchise or co-op business model. The system?s improved efficiency over conventional methods will be a key factor driving the success of the SCM production network, which will in turn support greater production of SCM in America, and thereby reduce US imports of SCM, which pose health risks to consumers, reduce food security, and increase pollution. Within the three years of production, the annual revenues derived from capitalization of the system are expected to approach $1 million.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to complete the development of the proposed system prototype and conduct two experiments to test its performance. The conventional production of SCM fruiting blocks (FB) requires substantial time, energy, labor, and space. This system will automate the steps of FB production ? sterilization, inoculation, and packaging of substrate ? and introduce innovative processes to further improve efficiency of FB production. To prove the technical feasibility of the proposed system, its sterilization efficacy will be evaluated against a robust mold, Aspergillus niger. To prove commercial feasibility of the system, its SCM production outcomes, at varying sterilization doses, will be compared to outcomes from a conventional process. These experiments are expected to identify parameters that result in a 10-4 reduction in microbial load within 30 minutes and demonstrate faster colonization with comparable or greater yields, respectively. Compared to conventional methods, it is estimated that the system will produce FB 2-20x faster, reduce energy consumption by 40-95%, eliminate the need for lab technicians along with the contamination risk they introduce, and consolidate production space from several large rooms into a single space about the area of an office cubicle.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SIGN-SPEAK Inc
SBIR Phase I: Real-Time Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bidirectional American Sign Language (ASL) Communication System
Contact
7290 SHALLOW CREEK TRL APT F
Victor, NY 14564--9446
NSF Award
2213235 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$256,000
Start / end date
02/15/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve the communication between Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) individuals and the hearing community through automated sign language recognition. In the United States alone there are over 48 million D/HH individuals, who in total possess $87 billion in purchasing power. It appears businesses are not adequately serving this community, as is evidenced by the plethora of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits against numerous companies. The proposed technology will provide plug-and-play software for organizations to improve their interactions with D/HH individuals. Businesses and governments will be able to interact with their D/HH employees, customers, or constituents when interpreters are unavailable. This technology can be integrated into a variety of platforms, from retail point-of-sale equipment to chatbots and video/teleconferencing systems.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project aims to develop technology to perform unconstrained sign language recognition and natural sign language production. Specifically, current methods to train language translation models are ill-equipped to handle the sign language domain due to the lack of training data within this domain. Additionally, all currently established methods (apart from motion capture, which is unscalable) for producing American Sign Language (ASL) result in stilted, unnatural signing from an avatar. This project will develop solutions to these issues within the domain of ASL via semi-supervised expert-augmented models and data augmentation techniques. Technical hurdles include the lack of models to handle high-dimensional low-resource language domains, and lack of sufficiently large datasets. Technical milestones include creating semi-supervised datasets, engineering data augmentation techniques, generating a natural signing avatar, and performing extensive usability testing. This project aims to produce a method for automatically interpreting between a low-resource sign language and English to improve accessibility and increase equity for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SIGNAL-WISE LLC
STTR Phase I: AI- and Laser- Assisted Targeted Noise Control
Contact
1797 NEW CASTLE DR
Troy, MI 48098--6548
NSF Award
2348512 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project enables engineers to identify the root cause and weak spots of noise within a structure and apply local fixes rather than global treatments to mitigate noise emission. Employing the proposed AI and laser-assisted targeted noise control technology will enable the design and implementation of quieter and lighter metal structures. Studies have exhibited a direct correlation between weight reduction and CO2 emission. Statistics have revealed that for every 1 kg of steel used, 2.75 kg of CO2 will be emitted, and every 1 kg of aluminum used, 8.25 kg of CO2 will be released. In general, reducing 1% material weight in an automobile will decrease 1.25% CO2 emission. Our preliminary test results showed that using the proposed technology, sound transmission loss through a steel panel was increased, but its overall weight reduced by 38%. Therefore, this technology is not only cost-effective in mitigating noise issues, but also ideal for sustainability by simultaneously reducing structural weight and CO2 emissions.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is expected to produce a disruptive tool for engineers to perform targeted suppression of structure-borne sound radiation and transmission with higher precision, flexibility, and control than conventional sound characterization techniques. Specifically, the proposed technologies will enable engineers to see and determine: 1) where and how much acoustic energy is radiating from a complex vibrating machine; 2) where and how much sound is transmitting through a panel structure; and 3) where and how much to suppress acoustic radiation or sound transmission to meet noise mitigation requirements. Most importantly, it enables engineer to reveal the most critical components of structural vibrations that are responsible for sound radiation and uncover the root causes of noise issues. Accordingly, engineers will be able to enhance local stiffness, viscous damping, and mass without re-engineering the entire structure or increasing its weight. These targeted treatments can greatly shorten production cycle, cut production costs, enhance competitiveness, and increase profitability for U.S. manufacturing industries.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SINGLE CRYSTAL DIAMOND INC
SBIR Phase I: Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD) Diamond Growth for Photonic Switches
Contact
101 FRANKLIN STREET
Douglas, MA 01516--2334
NSF Award
2429341 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,586
Start / end date
10/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is significant, as it addresses the critical need for high-purity diamond substrates in various ongoing science programs. Several of these programs have been hindered by lack of Diamond substrates which are repeatable and reproducible as well as being commonly available. project?s advancement will not only propel scientific research but also has the potential to revolutionize industries by improving the performance and capabilities of devices such as photonic switches. Large 10 mm size diamond substrates will be produced, a size which is currently not available. The research focus is upon the societal benefits include advancements in technology that contribute to national security and healthcare, particularly in areas such as radiation therapy dosimetry. The commercial impact is promising, with the potential to establish the United States as a leader in semiconductor diamond production which has been and setting up a large-scale PE-CVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) diamond platform for limited lab production. Diamond devices, when manufactured can lead by creating technology and economic growth to commercialization across a range of fields spanning: semiconductors and advanced electronics, optical lenses/Raman laser, high voltage switches, and radiation monitoring devices.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to address the challenge of limited availability of high-quality diamond substrates, which hinders progress in various ongoing commercial and science programs. The research objectives include establishing a nitrogen matrix study to control and maintain consistency in nitrogen levels, which has been a significant barrier in the past. The project will grow and fabricate diamond substrates with the required purity and dopant levels, tailored for specific applications. The research will utilize Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD) to grow diamond films and create Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for potential standardization. Anticipated technical results encompass providing nitrogen matrix slices for evaluation, establishing nitrogen selection for a Photonic High-Frequency (HF) microwave switch. This project is strengthening the only domestic supply chain that has been established since 2020 for semiconductor Diamond Substrates. The project aims to significantly advance the field by delivering semiconductor diamond devices that outperform current offerings in High frequency Microwave switching and proton irradiation therapy dosimetry as well as other applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SIRENOPT INC
SBIR Phase I: Cold Atmospheric Plasma Sensor for In-Line Metrology of Battery Electrode Manufacturing
Contact
8000 EDGEWATER DR STE 200
Oakland, CA 94621--2042
NSF Award
2420602 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,770
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable more sustainable, scalable, and cost-effective lithium-ion battery (LIB) production. The team is developing a novel sensor that can be readily integrated into the LIB electrode manufacturing processes to provide real-time measurements of multiple battery electrode properties. Such a sensor is essential for detecting electrode defects and process changes. The average battery factory loses up to $275 million per year from scrapping defective electrodes and overbuilding battery packs to compensate for variability in electrodes, leading to global annual losses of up to $26 billion by 2030. This sensor can transform current LIB manufacturing practices by creating opportunities for intelligent decision-making capabilities, that can significantly reduce the economic cost and environmental footprint of battery manufacturing by enhancing the efficient use of raw materials, energy, and capital resources. The sensor will also serve as a key enabling technology to provide critical information to accelerate process development for scalable and cost-effective manufacturing of next-generation batteries.
The intellectual merit of this project stems from using cold atmospheric plasmas (i.e., atmospheric pressure, weakly ionized gases near room temperature) interacting with materials for non-destructive measurement of multiple lithium-ion battery electrode properties. Current electrode metrology solutions rely on separate, specific, and often destructive measurement techniques for LIB electrode properties. This plasma sensor uses the information-rich electrical, thermal, and chemical interactions of plasma with an incident material, combined with the expressive power of physics-based artificial intelligence (AI) models, to predict multiple critical electrode properties in parallel and in real-time. To enable integration of the plasma sensor into high-volume electrode production lines, this project seeks to design and integrate an array of plasma sensors into a pilot electrode coating process for real-time measurement of multiple electrode properties at various spatial resolutions and develop an advanced multivariable control system to ensure reliable sensor performance in view of exogenous and environmental variabilities and disturbances in high-volume manufacturing processes.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SKILLSGAPP LLC
SBIR Phase I: Place-Based Platform for STEM Career Discovery
Contact
102 E SHALLOWSTONE RD
Greer, SC 29650--3311
NSF Award
2423615 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,428
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project aims to address the persistent global skilled workforce shortage in STEM-based careers by facilitating corresponding career discovery in priority youth populations, outside of traditional K12 settings, using mobile gamification with a personalized, AI-generated career recommendation engine. Building on the foundation of game-based pedagogy that inspires and engages a diverse population, the AI-enhanced gaming platform will educate and guide youth toward local, meaningful career paths in advanced manufacturing relevant to their in-game proficiencies, personal preferences, and location. This geo-specificity is imperative in breaking cycles of poverty and keeping communities thriving. The core of this innovation lies in a synergistic combination of key AI technologies to provide unbiased, personally relevant learning experiences with actionable career guidance and mentorship through engaging and adaptive game mechanics. The insights gleaned from this endeavor will extend the project?s impact beyond advanced manufacturing careers to additional STEM industries in an effort to close social equity and knowledge gaps and foster a more diverse workforce around the world.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project utilizes the integration of an LLM (Large Language Model) and RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) framework into a career gaming platform that carefully selects and provides context from controlled sources of information that the AI uses to generate personalized career guidance. Included in this innovation is the development of benchmarks where an AI-Judge, fine-tuned on the relevant data from a vector database, is leveraged to determine efficacy of the LLM to utilize knowledge in the RAG pipeline. The development of benchmarks and analytics layers around this environment creates a performance-driven closed loop system that allows for continuous improvement. Additionally, by controlling the datasets from which the AI retrieves information, this approach mitigates the risk of replicating biases and stereotypes and ensures diverse perspectives and data specifically relevant to the target. This method will also reduce computational demands, accelerate content updates, and is significantly less costly than fine-tuning a pre-trained LLM, allowing for easy adaptations of the knowledge it has access to. The combination of these adaptive technologies is poised to scale early career discovery across all STEM industries, for all youth, no matter where they live or what they look like.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SLUICEBOX, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Generative AI Toolbox for Interactive Life Cycle Assessments
Contact
11801 DOMAIN BLVD FL 3
Austin, TX 78758--3430
NSF Award
2423700 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,192
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in shifting the way industries manage and mitigate their environmental impact through the development of an advanced generative AI toolbox for life cycle assessments (LCA). The project addresses the critical challenge of reducing Scope 3 emissions, which are often the most complex and significant part of a company?s carbon footprint. By providing real-time, explainable, and privacy-preserving insights into these emissions, the project aims to significantly enhance sustainability practices across various sectors. The innovative AI tool will empower businesses to make informed decisions that reduce their supply chain based environmental impact. This project aligns with NSF?s mission to promote the progress of science and advance national health, prosperity, and welfare. By facilitating better environmental management, the project is expected to create new jobs, stimulate economic growth, and generate income through increased efficiency and compliance with regulatory standards.
This project proposes the development of a generative AI toolbox for interactive life cycle assessments (LCA), which represents a significant technical innovation in the field of sustainability. The primary innovation lies in the integration of state-of-the-art generative AI with environmental data from various sources, including environmental databases, satellite imagery, and scientific literature. This high-risk effort involves creating a domain-specific large language model (LLM) that can process complex, multi-modal data and provide real-time insights into Scope 3 emissions. The goal of the project is to develop a robust, scalable, and privacy-preserving tool that can accurately predict and analyse the environmental impact of industrial activities. Methods include the development and validation of machine learning models, the standardization of heterogeneous data, and the implementation of advanced confidentiality and IP protection mechanisms. The successful completion of this project will result in a powerful tool that enhances decision-making capabilities for sustainability and drives significant reductions in environmental impact.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SMARTCHARTS INC.
SBIR Phase I: SMARTCharts: A Rehabilitation Documentation Optimization Tool using machine learning (ML) and data visualization
Contact
308 S JEFFERSON ST # 110
Chicago, IL 60661--5605
NSF Award
2415539 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to transform rehabilitation healthcare by developing software that standardizes and automates documentation processes, creating personalized progress visualizations and notes. By using machine learning, this innovation could provide care teams with easy-to-understand visuals that accurately show patient progress, improving communication and decision-making while reducing costly rehospitalizations, procedures, and surgeries. It aims to improve productivity, quality of care, and patient experience by simplifying rehabilitation communication and documentation processes. The software aspires to be a go-to resource for patient and care team communications, impacting over 557,000 rehabilitation therapists who support over $550 billion in annual spending on speech, occupational and physical therapy services. After completion, the software will serve as a business-to-business (B2B) Software as a Service (SaaS) healthcare system, benefiting providers in various rehabilitation settings.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the challenge faced by healthcare providers in efficiently creating documentation that aids patient understanding, facilitates care team communications, and could ensure easy reimbursement by insurance companies. The research objectives include utilizing machine learning and data visualization to construct a data source that accurately represents patient therapeutic rehabilitation progress. The proposed research synthesizes novel rehabilitation documentation data sources to produce datasets structured for visual representation of progress. The anticipated technical results involve establishing a database in Phase I that integrates data from various sources across rehabilitation settings, yielding reliable datasets for future modeling. The scope of research entails determining the feasibility of organizing novel data sources to create meaningful visual representations of patient progress in therapeutic rehabilitation.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SNOCHIP INC
SBIR Phase I: All-Semiconductor Nanostructured Lenses for High-Tech Industries
Contact
98 MARION DR
Plainsboro, NJ 08536--2016
NSF Award
2335588 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/01/2024 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop lightweight, compact, and all-semiconductor-manufactured optical devices based on metasurface technology. The manufacturing process of conventional optical devices involves techniques that face challenges in integration, assembly, and testing as well as long turnaround times and high costs. This lens technology, called metalenses, is superior to conventional lenses, which are typically made of glass or plastic. Metalenses are made from arrays of nanostructures, and these nanostructures interact with light at the nanoscale, allowing for precise control of the light properties. This project will significantly reduce the complexity of fabrication process where metalenses will be integrated with a semiconductor laser diode in a conventional manufacturing facility without the need for any additional or special equipment. The novel metalenses will be engineered and made of special multilayered thin films with high reflectivity. The metalenses will have wide application across a spectrum of industries, including, but not limited to, imaging, sensing, telecommunication, aerospace, and defense. The realization of this project will amplify global competition within the photonics industry and increase the competitiveness of the United States. It will increase employment opportunities across diverse high-tech domains, including chip manufacturing, photonics and optics.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to address the limitations of conventional methods for the control of laser beams. The innovation offers a novel approach to design and fabricate a spatial-dispersion-engineered metalens through cost-effective wafer-scale manufacturing. The metalenses will have the potential to replace the distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) in both top- and bottom-emitting Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers. This goal is to achieve either low (< a few degrees) or high divergence (> 30 degrees) angles. The metalenses will be designed with a proprietary algorithm and special code based on an application programming interface linking and enabling data exchange between different design software and will have design flexibility such that wavelengths of interest could be achieved by linearly adjusting each film thickness followed by an optimization. The project's key objectives are (1) the validation of the concept and exploration of its limitations, (2) the experimental fabrication and characterization of the designed metalenses, and (3) the development of scalable manufacturing pathways for the integration of such metalenses with laser chips.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SOARCE, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Multifunctional, low carbon nanocomposite fibers derived from seaweed
Contact
6555 SANGER RD
Orlando, FL 32827--7584
NSF Award
2409680 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to phase-out fossil fuel-based textiles with sustainable, non-toxic fabric alternatives with enhanced properties. Currently, fabrics for high performance applications require toxic additives or coatings that may pollute air and water systems; additionally, most of them come from fossil fuels, contributing to global warming. If successful, the proposed project will produce novel seaweed-based textiles with enhanced properties like fire and ultraviolet blocking and infrared shielding properties. These properties are inherent to the material; thus, no further treatment will be needed, simplifying the manufacturing process. The material will be attractive to US work apparel and outdoor activewear manufacturers seeking to increase the sustainability of their products. The business model will be commercialization of the raw material and licensing the technology so manufacturers can fabricate the textiles to their needs. By doing so, the company requires less operational investment, easing its introduction to the market.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project uses seaweed biopolymers combined with nanomaterials to create fibers and fabrics. The enhanced properties like fire resistance, ultraviolet protection and heat shielding, as well as the mechanical properties of the fibers, can be finetuned depending on the formulation and the production method. The aim is to develop a formula that will produce flexible fibers capable of being woven into fabrics with high performance characteristics. The team will vary the formulation chemistry, the spinning process and will test how it affects the mechanical and chemical characteristics. The project will focus on obtaining a fully plastic-free knitted yarn where UV protection, heat shielding, and fire resistance are achieved without adding plastic binders, coatings, or films.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SONOGEN MEDICAL, INC.
STTR Phase I: Ultrasonic Fracture Healing Assessment
Contact
3710 WILLIAMS LN
Chevy Chase, MD 20815--4950
NSF Award
2335462 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
06/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is a novel medical device algorithm for assessing the status of bone fracture healing using ultrasound measures. The system aims to provide advantages to current X-ray based paradigms by reducing cost and radiation exposure, and by enabling portability. An estimated 130 million X-Ray procedures are performed in the US each year, at a cost of $16 billion with as much as 25% redone due to quality issues. Furthermore, 2.8 million patients are considered at risk for delayed/non-union fractures. The combined market potential is $1.3B/year as a software solution to ultrasound equipment vendors and $1.4B/year for at home monitoring.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to develop the company?s proprietary fracture healing algorithm utilizing ultrasound data. During the first phase the company will acquire, analyze, and compare in-vivo ultrasound, X-ray, and micro-CT data in a lapine model across the healing cycle of surgically induced tibial diaphysis fractures. The company aims to de-risk their fracture healing to monitor the stage of orthopedic healing versus X-rays with 90% statistical confidence. The risks to be addressed include signal characterization versus noise ratio, back-scattering, and fracture healing classification. The results of the Phase 1 study will provide a working algorithm suitable to begin human feasibility testing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SONOVANCE, INC.
STTR Phase I: Novel signal estimation methods for low-cost diagnostic ultrasound acquisition by non-expert operators.
Contact
4203 SOMERSET PLACE
Baltimore, MD 21210--2708
NSF Award
2409639 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
06/15/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project can shape advances in health and welfare, national defense, and in science. The overall product simplifies image acquisition. It is an application for remote tele-health and enables any ultrasound device to take images without the operator needing to see the images acquired. Any physician, any nurse, and/or novice can acquire images, which can then be made available for experts, human or artificial, to examine. This opens up the bottleneck of high-cost trained sonographers to enable more rapid growth of the market, and can scale rapidly on any of the devices of large ultrasound device manufacturers. The technology can reduce costs associated with training and reduce variability in hospitals and health systems, reach patients in their homes, in primary care or retail clinics, and in urgent and remote care centers. Other needs that can be met include the Veterans Administration in its community-based outpatient clinics currently lacking imaging facilities; and in the Army in battlefield situations where ultrasound in the front lines can now be used due to obviating lengthy training requirements. Scientifically, other coherent imaging methods such as optical, photoacoustic, and thermoacoustic would also benefit.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project develops low-cost
hardware and software for the acquisition of ultrasound images so that no anatomic training is needed, instead guiding even a lay operator with easily learned graphical clues until data acquisition is complete and can be passed, for example, to an examining physician in a format familiar to her from other radiological images. The central innovation is in signal and image processing that will allow accurate image reconstruction from freehand 2D ultrasound signal data with imperfect information on the position of the probe that comes from low-cost sensors. This is an essential element that enables the low-cost solution envisaged. Instead of the conventional approach of registering two image sets by comparing overlapping images, new methods are proposed so that different scan planes which do not have overlapping sets of images can be co-registered accurately. The key objectives of the research are to implement and test the algorithms for improved localization of an ultrasonic echo return, and then to determine whether these improvements are sufficient to obtain images of clinical quality as deemed by a qualified radiologist. Success allows a prototype satisfying the overall goal of the first sentence above.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SONOVOICE, INC.
STTR Phase I: The SonoVoice Voice Evaluation and Monitoring System
Contact
2640 FARLOW GAP LANE
Raleigh, NC 27603--5945
NSF Award
2416498 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project lies in its potential to improve the diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders. Voice disorders affect an estimated one in eight adults in the United States annually, costing nearly $15 billion in healthcare expenses. This proposal focuses on a portable digital device and smartphone application for voice health evaluations to potentially enhance our understanding of vocal health. The potential societal impact of the innovation could be to improve the quality of life for millions of individuals with voice disorders. The commercial potential of the system derives from its potential large user base: it is designed to meet the needs of both voice-specialized clinicians and the primary care workforce, addressing a substantial market opportunity. The proposed technology employs a unique combination of modern digital electronics and machine learning that provides a durable competitive advantage centered on affordability, portability and precision.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop a novel system for voice health evaluation. The problem being addressed is the current lack of accessible, precise, and affordable tools for diagnosing voice disorders. The research objectives are to conduct iterative prototyping and calibration of a digital device and smartphone application, followed by their rigorous validation with human subjects to ensure accuracy and reliability in voice health evaluations. The proposed research will involve initial concept design, feasibility testing, iterative prototyping, calibration, and extensive validation with human subjects to ensure the precision, reliability, and user-friendliness of the multimodal voice assessment tool. The anticipated technical result is the successful development of an affordable, reliable, and easy-to-use device for voice health evaluation that captures and classifies differential vocal performance over a range of vocal tract resistances, thereby providing a comprehensive picture of vocal function. This project's intellectual merit lies in its potential to advance knowledge in the field of vocal health assessment, providing a solution that is not only technologically advanced but also broadly accessible.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SOSTOS LLC
SBIR Phase I: A web portal for artificial intelligence (AI)-based comprehensive discovery of repositioning drugs
Contact
591 HERMAN AVE
Morgantown, WV 26505--2031
NSF Award
2334510 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project accelerates the development of potential new drug options for improved survival outcomes of cancer patients with greatly reduced time and costs. This project will use a novel artificial intelligence (AI) technology that utilizes big data to comprehensively discover repositioning drugs for treating refractory non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients after exhausting all therapeutic options. Drug repositioning (also known as drug repurposing) involves the investigation of existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes. The software product enables oncologists to select repositioning drugs and design clinical trials. This project will specifically aid oncologists who do not have options to treat cancer patients after the prior therapies failed as well as their patients. The novel partnership between subject experts in academia and industry will increase the effectiveness of the technology. The software product built during the project can facilitate the research and development at pharmaceutical companies, benefit millions of cancer patients, and reduce the healthcare burden by improving the quality of care.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will test the feasibility of developing a software product developed using a patented artificial intelligence (AI) technology that enables oncologists to choose among repositioning drugs for the treatment of lung cancer in patients with failed prior therapies. Based on established proofs of concept, this project will develop a software product with a cloud-based backend data portal with more than 378 therapeutic compounds discovered using AI technology for treating lung cancer. The solution will also have a web-based frontend with a graphical user interface for oncologists to select a repositioning drug based on patient responder characteristics and new indications for treating lung cancer. Since the safety profiles of repositioning drugs are established, the efficacy test of their new indications can bypass preclinical studies and Phase I clinical trials. The software product can accelerate Phase II/III clinical trials of the new indications of existing drugs for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Meanwhile, this solution will also facilitate new drug development for pharmaceutical companies. Once feasibility is validated, the team will expand the software product to other cancer types.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SPACE KINETIC CORP.
SBIR Phase I: Electromechanical Mass Transfer System for Space Operations
Contact
2420 ALAMO AVE SE STE 104
Albuquerque, NM 87106--3217
NSF Award
2335593 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to advance a novel electromechanical platform for in-space logistics to facilitate economic development, technical and scientific advancement on the lunar surface, and in other low gravity environments. On other celestial bodies (e.g. Mars), this platform can similarly be utilized to enable early exploration and development with minimal wraparound infrastructure investments. The subject of the SBIR project is an electromechanical mass transfer system; this will be the first such innovation that enables a cost-effective mass transfer in low gravity environments leveraging centrifugal acceleration. This platform can enable the movement of resources through space without the use of consumable fuels or on-board propulsion systems, unlocking more cost-effective space operations. The successful execution of this project will enable swift TRL raising of the platform. The comprehensive testing and validation process will demonstrate the capabilities of our technology to potential customers and stakeholders, providing tangible evidence of its reliability, accuracy, and efficiency. The successful development of the platform can provide the mobility required to empower robust exploration, science, and economic development on the surface of the Moon. This platform will be more economical than other alternatives due to its low mass and plug-and-play functionality. Ultimately, the system aims to provide the cheapest, most comprehensive logistics services that catalyze the promising lunar market.
This SBIR Phase I Project will address the technical challenges associated with transporting resources across the lunar surface with a novel electromechanical "throwing" platform. The platform, which utilizes an electromechanical system to throw payloads across the lunar surface, offers an innovative solution for lunar surface logistics and other space-based mobility problems. The goals of the proposed R&D include developing a reliable, accurate, and energy-efficient prototype and demonstrating its feasibility and capabilities on Earth. Lunar operations are complex and expensive, and with novel technology such as the proposed platform, customers and other stakeholders will be looking for assurances that the platform will be both repeatable and accurate. Wear and tear on the system, varying environmental effects such as variable Lunar gravity, and built-in system inaccuracies such as error bands around release angle and velocity can cause a failure that could put customers at risk. The purpose of this effort is to demonstrate with specific hardware improvements that the platform can safely and repeatably deploy assets across the lunar surface.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SPACERAKE, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Multiple Access Laser Communication Terminals for Optical Orbital Hotspots
Contact
1 KENDALL SQ, SUITE B4401
Cambridge, MA 02139--1661
NSF Award
2319654 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,120
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in the development of an Optical Orbital Hotspot network that will enhance satellite data collection and utilization. This innovation is projected to make small satellites operating more efficient and accessible, thus empowering businesses, agencies, and new entrants. The expected result is an increase in data generation and transfer, improving connectivity to cloud-based services and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space-based platforms. By decreasing the technical and cost barriers to LEO access, rapid innovation will be enabled, leveraging existing aerospace research. This development is aligned with a growing market, with the satellite laser communication market expected to reach $4.1B by 2031. The commercial implications are vast, including opportunities to address an even larger satellite ground station market, with the potential to enable transformational opportunities across various sectors.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop and refine the technology for an Optical Orbital Hotspot network integration and implement advanced beam steering technologies. The primary challenges lie in the creation of multi-access lasercom terminals (MALT) and the development of orbital optical hotspot technology. The research will mature the optical designs of the MALT and compact user lasercom terminal systems (micro-LCT). Research and objectives to be addressed range from operations development to preliminary hardware design. The anticipated technical results will include the establishment of orbital models, multibeam steering technology development, interface and requirements definition, and design for the MALT and micro-LCT systems. These efforts will collectively solve the 'last mile problem' for small size, weight, power, and cost satellites, enhancing capabilities and lowering high data rate communication barriers in the Earth observing systems market.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SPECTACULAR LABS, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Automated AI-supported sample preparation and enrichment technology for rapid detection of food pathogens
Contact
79 HARBOR VIEW DR
Richmond, CA 94804--7496
NSF Award
2402679 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to provide the food industry with a fully automated platform for rapid detection of food pathogens. In the U.S., foodborne diseases cost ~$60.9B in medical care, lost productivity, and lives lost, rising to $90.2B when taking quality of life losses into account. Food pathogens also lead to greatly increased costs for food producers, both due to food safety testing itself and recalls caused by contaminated food, which average $10M in direct costs. The proposed food pathogen detection system will meet the food industry?s large unaddressed need for portable, affordable, accurate and time-sensitive testing that can be performed by non-specialists. Critically, an affordable onsite system will lower direct costs and increase testing capacity?the increased volume of testing will reduce the risk of contaminated food entering the marketplace with the associated costs to both businesses and the U.S. economy. Further, data collected by the proposed system will provide insights into the food safety landscape resulting in a safer food supply chain and reduced food producer liability.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop an end-to-end, affordable, fully automated, easy-to-operate, portable system for accurate and rapid detection of food pathogens across a broad range of food types. The system uses adaptive design of experiments to optimize the platform hardware and protocols, enabling rapid testing and allowing for earlier detection of food pathogens than currently possible. The proposed technology will provide the same value as traditional third-party laboratories, yet faster and at a fraction of the cost with the ability to test in-house, thus meeting the needs of small to medium-sized food producers and food processing plants. In Phase I, the company aims to 1) Build an automatic sample preparation module and explore its ability to enhance enrichment across food groups; 2) Develop an automated experimental design workflow to speed up the optimization of enrichment time; and 3) Using experimental data, develop an algorithm to quantify the microbial concentrations in food samples. Successful completion of this work will lay a foundation for future Phase II commercialization activities where the platform will be scaled to additional use cases.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SUBTIDAL, INC.
SBIR Phase I: A Scalable Ocean Carbon Sensing Grid
Contact
62 TERRENCE AVE
East Falmouth, MA 02536--5406
NSF Award
2404712 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,916
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enhance the capabilities for precise measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) of ocean carbon dioxide removal (CDR). By developing an innovative volumetric carbon flux approach, this technology aims to provide a scalable and accurate method for quantifying the effectiveness of various ocean-based CDR strategies. Ocean carbon dioxide removal, capable of extracting up to 5 gigatons of CO2 annually from the atmosphere, is crucial for achieving the global imperative of removing 10 gigatons of atmospheric CO2 annually to limit warming to 1.5-2°C. By introducing an accurate, scalable solution for measuring ocean carbon removals, the proposed technology has the potential to accelerate the expansion of the ocean CDR market to $25 billion by 2030 and up to $500 billion annually by mid-century. The successful implementation of this technology would significantly advance our scientific and technological understanding of carbon cycles, support environmental sustainability, and foster substantial economic growth in a sector critical for global climate mitigation strategies.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to tackles the critical challenge inhibiting the ocean carbon dioxide removal (CDR) industry from achieving its potential to remove up to 5 gigatons of CO2 annually: the absence of precise measurement tools to accurately quantify ocean CO2 removal. The research objectives for this phase include developing and validating a mooring-based sensing grid capable of delivering three-dimensional carbonate chemistry data with the sensitivity necessary for continuous and direct measurement of net carbon removal in various ocean CDR projects. The proposed research entails designing, implementing, and testing the sensing grid to ensure it meets the stringent requirements necessary for effective deployment in ocean carbon dioxide removal environments. Anticipated technical results include achieving measurement sensitivity, accuracy, and reliability, necessary to continuously measure net carbon removals for a wide variety of ocean CDR methods. Successful completion of this phase will lay the groundwork for subsequent phases aimed at piloting and refining this technology with ocean CDR developers, potentially establishing the first direct measurement system for carbon removal efficacy in the ocean CDR sector.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SUFFICIENTLY ADVANCED, INC.
SBIR Phase I: AI Generated Robotic Behavior
Contact
2509 DEKOVEN AVE
Belmont, CA 94002--1421
NSF Award
2404534 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be an expanded automation capability and adaptive future labor force. Robotic automatic technology requires systems integrators and engineers to predict and account for every system detail, from motion planning to obstacle detection and avoidance. For example, many automation attempts have yet to scale due to the rapidly increasing costs of a high-mix, high-SKU business model. Cost-effective deployment of robotic automation systems is critical to economic success. The proposed work and innovation aim to enhance the scientific understanding of applying generative AI to minimize the skill to deploy new automation capabilities. The proposed solution is expected to automate specific repetitive labor tasks in the near term, with potential applications across various labor challenges. The proposed solution will increase productivity, improve safety, and transform the nature of our future workforce. The technology is expected to drive competitive economics in various labor markets, including enabling domestic manufacturing to be more economically viable.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance generative AI technologies to address new types of robotic control previously too expensive or impossible with conventional methods. The proposed R&D will focus on advancing and developing new solutions for non-rigid materials and environments, an area of labor that is underserved by current robotic technologies. In Phase 1, the company proposes to build a robust system to demonstrate the feasibility and capability of the proposed AI system and cross-experimentation against best-in-class imitation learning techniques. The project will also include experimentation and development of novel AI model architectures to better address the unique requirements of the problem. Once developed, the advanced robotic control technology is anticipated to help address many repetitive, dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks that are faced across various domestic industries. This includes creating high-value jobs and a more robust and independent domestic labor capability.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SUNAIRIO INC.
SBIR Phase I: High Fidelity Climate Simulation Powered by Generative Adversarial Networks
Contact
509 S EXETER ST
Baltimore, MD 21202--4369
NSF Award
2335370 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the creation of a broad (1,000 outcome), hyperlocal (less than 3 km) climate simulation archive that can be used by power grid planners and energy industry investors to better understand forward-looking risks to grid reliability and renewable energy asset viability. This simulation data will be pre-computed for all locations within the Electronic Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power grid, enabling planners and investors to quickly model the probabilistic impact of different renewable energy capacity pathways and different electrification trends. Ultimately, this data will support a more reliable grid and faster energy transition because decision-makers will have access to a single source of future weather data that incorporates extreme events, natural variability, and climate change.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes the creation of a climate simulation engine that generates synthetic hourly local weather patterns for many locations and many weather variables (all that are needed to model energy resources such as utility demand, wind generation, and solar generation). The project will not rely on physics-based global climate models due to the computational intensity of those models and the need to model local rather than regional or global weather. Instead, this project will research an innovative combination of statistical simulation with artificial intelligence (AI), leveraging the strengths of each to compensate for the weaknesses of the other. For example, statistical simulation models are precise but do not scale, while AI simulation models can scale almost without limit but are not precise. The project research will investigate a new method to impose precision (via known statistics) on AI pattern generation, yielding a high-fidelity climate model at scale. The expected technical result of the project is the creation of a simulation engine that can simulate 1,000 outcomes of hyperlocal hourly weather over the state of Texas--with accuracy similar to a pure-statistics model benchmark while keeping the cost of cloud computing resources low.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SYNSORYBIO, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Engineering drugs that sense and respond to disease
Contact
24 WESLEY PARK APT 1
Somerville, MA 02143--1803
NSF Award
2404668 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to create cancer medicines that turn on only at the site of disease and remain inactive in healthy tissues. An estimated 90% of drugs fail to gain FDA approval, in large part due to off-target side effects and dose-limiting toxicities. This is because drugs are typically active all throughout the body, where the drug can act on disease tissue and healthy tissue. This is especially problematic when deploying potent cancer immunotherapies. Cancer immunotherapies are designed to stimulate the immune system to fight cancer and have been a revolutionary approach in the last decade. The discovery of immune checkpoint inhibitors garnered the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and now many patients are commonly prescribed treatments such as Keytruda and Yervoy. However, indiscriminate immune activation can be lethal to patients, cause long-term complications, and limit the full potential these treatments. This project aims to develop a method to turn on these drugs only at the site of disease to create drugs that are safer and more effective to treat cancer.
The proposed project focuses on creation of protein switches that ?turn on? when they see a pre-defined disease signal at the site of disease. Specifically, this project aims to control the activity of a previously approved immunotherapy. This immunotherapy increases immune responses toward many types of cancer, but it is underutilized due to off-target side-effects and toxicity. To overcome this issue, a new version must be engineered to act locally at the site of disease, akin to how the body naturally mounts an immune response. This problem is being addressed by engineering protein therapeutics that sense-and-respond to disease. This protein therapeutic will be modified to only turn on when it sees a disease signal associated with many cancers. Locally acting therapeutics remain a long-standing goal in medicine, but current technologies used to locally deliver protein therapeutics lack versatility and truly local activity. In contrast, the proposed approach uses a versatile mechanism to control a protein?s activity following engineering principles. This phase I proposal may create proof of concept data to show that this novel technology can conditionally trigger a therapeutic response by a pre-defined disease signal. This platform technology may also be adapted to extend to other protein-based drugs and impact many other areas of therapeutic development.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
SYNTHETIC VECTOR DESIGNS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Directed evolution of site-specific bacterial transposase genes to alter specificity and efficiency of insertion of large DNA segments into restorable gene fusions
Contact
4340 DUNCAN AVE STE 252
Saint Louis, MO 63110--1110
NSF Award
2234291 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
08/01/2023 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to develop methods to facilitate the efficient, reproducible insertion of large DNA segments into stable locations on bacterial vectors, viral and non-viral shuttle vectors, and the chromosomes of prokaryotic and eukaryotic host cells comprising novel target sequences plus helper and donor vectors that could impact many areas of synthetic biology. Directed evolution experiments will be carried out to recover genes encoding bacterial transposase variants that have altered specificity or increased efficiency of transposition, compared to those recovered by products encoded by the wild-type transposase genes. Homologues of the bacterial target site will be used to recover genes encoding variant transposases that should function efficiently in eukaryotic cells. Modified helper and donor vectors will also be constructed with promoters and genes having optimized codon preferences to facilitate the efficient, direct generation of composite vectors harbored in eukaryotic cells, and eventually, the efficient, reproducible generation of cells harboring large DNA insertions at one or more specific stable sites within a host cell chromosome.
The proposed project will exploit the key properties of the bacterial Tn7 transposon system for much broader utilization in many aspects of systems biology. Genes encoding transposases and accessory proteins will be mutagenized to alter the specificity and enhance the efficiency of insertion events in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. This platform could have advantages over other gene transfer approaches by allowing stable, precise insertion events without the subsequent remobilization or the creation of indels/rearrangements at the target site. The ability to move large segments of DNA in such a manner would benefit many fields of synthetic biology.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Solsona Enterprise LLC
STTR Phase I: Vertical Structure Thin Film Transistors for High Performance Displays and Internet of Things Devices
Contact
7088 TATLER RD.
San Diego, CA 92131--3924
NSF Award
2014979 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$224,900
Start / end date
05/15/2020 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to improve the performance of flat panel displays of various form factors and sizes. One of the key subsystems of a flat panel display is a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) backplane that drives the pixels in the panel. There are increasing demands for improved resolution and frame rate in displays, posing significant challenges on the performance of the TFT backplane. The proposed STTR research will produce TFT devices that are several orders of magnitude faster using existing semiconductor materials. This technology will lead to more capable solutions for displays, printed electronics, and internet-of-things applications.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project develops a novel Thin Film Transistor (TFT) design for displays and other electronics that require transistors. Conventional TFT transistors switch current laterally and are difficult to reduce below micron-level sizes. The proposed research will produce TFT transistors that switch current vertically. The path length across which the switching occurs is much shorter in the vertical devices and therefore the switching happens faster and can carry more current than conventional designs. This project develops a vertical TFT using amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide semiconductors. The project will advance the development of a prototype vertical TFT.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TANDA BIOTECH CORPORATION
SBIR Phase I: High-capacity reusable filter technologies for large scale perfusion applications
Contact
1410 WINSTON DR
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089--6833
NSF Award
2413512 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will drive advancements in tubular membrane filter design, effectively tackling the critical bottleneck associated with capacity limitations. By doing so, it will contribute to reducing operational costs and minimizing plastic waste associated with polymer filters used in bioproduction, particularly in cell separations.
This SBIR Phase I project aims to validate an innovative filter flow channel design, enhancing resource efficiency, expediting cleaning and regeneration processes, and significantly boosting filtration system capacities by one or two orders of magnitude. Tubular membranes with rigid walls, such as ceramic membranes, offer higher flux rates and proven reusability but require high recirculation pump rates in tangential flow filtration systems, leading to bulkiness and substantial consumption of cleaning reagents. Through a combination of mathematical modeling and lab testing, the project will develop and validate innovative flow channel designs for tubular membrane filters. Upon completion, the project aims to reduce the cross-flow rate of tubular membrane filters, improve transmembrane pressure across all membrane surfaces, and mitigate membrane fouling while enhancing flux rates. These advancements in flow channel design are expected to extend processing time and capacity between regenerations, thus optimizing system performance.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TEARDX, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Point-of-Care Detection of HSV-1 Keratitis using Minimally Invasive Ocular Inserts
Contact
15 W 61ST ST APT 21A
New York, NY 10023--0183
NSF Award
2423595 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a cost-effective, rapid point-of-care diagnostic test to differentiate ocular herpes infections from other types of eye infections. Ocular herpes is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the United States. Current diagnostic methods are often inaccurate and cumbersome, leading to frequent misdiagnoses and inappropriate treatments that exacerbate symptoms and cause further ocular damage. A rapid and minimally invasive ocular herpes test would ensure patients receive proper treatment, improve patient outcomes, and reduce total healthcare costs associated with misdiagnosis. With approximately 7 million annual visits to eye specialists, urgent care centers, and primary care physicians for eye infections potentially linked to ocular herpes, this test holds substantial commercial potential. By equipping clinicians with an effective tool to quickly screen for the herpes virus and monitor recurrent cases, the test addresses a crucial need. Additionally, this project will lay the groundwork for developing further point-of-care tests to accurately diagnose other major causes of infectious blindness.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on creating a point-of-care diagnostic test for eye specialists and urgent care clinicians to quickly and accurately identify ocular herpes infections. This project will consist of the development, fabrication, and analysis of an ocular sampling tool and point-of-care assay to detect active herpes infections. The objectives of this project are to (i) reformat a previously developed laboratory test that has successfully detected ocular herpes infections in animal models into a user-friendly, accurate diagnostic tool suitable for urgent care settings, (ii) optimize the test to meet the necessary detection limits required for high diagnostic accuracy, and (iii) validate the test can accurately detect active herpes infections in mice models over the typical infection timeline. If successful, the project will yield the first rapid diagnostic test prototype capable of accurately detecting ocular herpes infections at the point of care.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TECTARIA BIO LLC
SBIR Phase I: Engineered Cell Lines with Activated Proteasomes for Increased Biomanufacturing Efficiency
Contact
4300 LAZYRIVER DR
Durham, NC 27712--9543
NSF Award
2415545 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to reduce the costs associated with the biomanufacturer of advanced therapies by making their manufacture more efficient. This project seeks to test the feasibility and application of a novel technology to significantly increase the protein production capabilities of cell lines currently used in the manufacture of biologics, gene therapies, and vaccines. Achievement of this project?s objectives could enhance the health and welfare of Americans by making advanced therapies more economically accessible. As the population ages, the prevalence of debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer is on the rise. This project could make the solutions to these issues more affordable and effective, significantly impacting the quality of life of Americans. In addition, this project could help revolutionize treatment for rare genetic disorders by overcoming the current hurdles of high manufacturing costs, thereby broadening access to these vital treatments.
The proposed project seeks to build on initial data showing that enhancement of the cellular proteasome has an unexpected and counterintuitive effect on protein production in cells. The aims will be to demonstrate that this technology can be applied to cells commonly used in the manufacture of advanced therapies and that it can enhance the production of protein types relevant to human health such as gene therapy vectors and biologic drugs. Successful completion of this project will also provide new insights into the function of cells used in biomanufacturing and potentially enable further innovation in this area to ease this bottleneck on the production of advanced therapies.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TEMPRIAN ONCOLOGY, INC.
STTR Phase I: Monobenzone (MBEH) Supercarriers: Production and Melanoma Treatment
Contact
411 N OAK PARK AVE
Oak Park, IL 60302--2270
NSF Award
2327009 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
12/01/2023 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project develops a novel cost-effective treatment for melanoma that allows treatment delivery both at home and in remote geographic locations. The importance of the project is reflected in the 100,000 individuals that are diagnosed with this devastating skin cancer annually as well as by 8,000 patients a year being lost to the disease. The proof of concept is a step towards the development of a novel therapy for the treatment of stage III and IV melanoma. The overarching goal is to develop surgically accurate drug delivery at both the tissue and cellular levels that will result in a tissue-level triggering of an immune response that heightens the impact of the drug. The solution should drastically decreased side effects when compared to competing treatment alternatives. The method allows for off-the-shelf delivery, giving patients living in remote locations access to state-of-the-art therapy. Annually, >$5.7 billion is spent on melanoma treatment in the US. Drugs targeting stage III and IV disease make up $1.5 billion (26%).
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project aims to demonstrate proof of concept for supercarriers that will treat stage III and IV melanomas. The application employs lauroyl-monobenzone to produce selective anti-melanoma action and effective immune activation, packaging the drug in biocompatible nanoscale liposomal particles for selective melanoma delivery. The design enhances efficacy while minimizing side effects by transporting the active ingredient directly to the tumor. Due to the selective uptake of nanoparticles by tumor cells rather than healthy tissues, and because supercarrier contents are released only when the nanoparticles enter the lysosomal/melanosomal compartment, the impact will be felt primarily, if not exclusively, by the tumor. Tyrosinase converts the prodrug into a quinone that haptenizes the melanosomal enzyme(s) present to generate neoantigens with increased visibility for T cells. The resulting direct and indirect melanoma cytotoxicity form the key to supercarrier treatment success. Low toxicity, combined with simple off-the-shelf delivery, enhance patient quality of life. As enhanced immune activity comes without patient-specific tailoring, the application allows for convenience and an attractive cost-to-quality ratio. Flexible, close-to-home drug delivery, few side effects, low cost, and enhanced life expectancy are expected to build the reputation of the drug, propelling the demand.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TERRA AI, INC
SBIR Phase I: AI Systems and Methods for Critical Natural Resource Development
Contact
440 N WOLFE RD # 148
Sunnyvale, CA 94085--3869
NSF Award
2415734 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,361
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to accelerate the development of mineral and energy resources critical to the US economy and electrification of global energy. Improved mineral targeting and screening will increase the effectiveness of each dollar spent on exploration for copper, nickel, cobalt, and critical rare-earth minerals. More effective drill-targeting can shorten the time required to measure a deposit by several years, helping to get critical supply into the market sooner. Applying AI to the design of carbon storage and geothermal reservoirs will help generate more energy and store more CO2 while ensuring critical safety requirements can be met with confidence.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance the capabilities of several key AI methods to address challenges for the geosciences and natural resources. Generative and autonomous decision-making AI have radically changed several important industries from vehicles to biotechnology. They have the potential to do the same for the geosciences and industries like materials and energy by making it easier to interpret large, high dimensional data and design complex systems for underground resources. These methods, however, cannot be directly applied without modifications to address the size of geological problems and the significant diversity of data and relatively small amount available. The company?s approach focuses on improving neural network architecture to improve sample efficiency and to utilize foundation model approaches to reduce training data volume requirements. The company anticipates that this research will result in a class of state-of-the-art AI methods for geological resources and scientific applications.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TERRAFORMA CARBON LLC
SBIR Phase I: Geologic Biosolid Sequestration using Preexisting Wastewater Disposal Wells
Contact
119 S BURROWES ST
State College, PA 16801--3864
NSF Award
2423575 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in creating a new carbon sequestration method that requires significantly less energy, water, land use, and cost per ton of carbon removed. By addressing technical challenges posed by geologically sequestering biowastes such as human biosolids and agricultural manure, this project attempts to turn a waste problem into a revenue opportunity that also mitigates climate change. It is not yet known if geologic biowaste sequestration can be performed safely, and this lack of known feasibility keeps regulation from being introduced to allow it to be generally permitted. The commercial impact of the project, however, is significant. Current carbon removal credits cost over $800/ton. The proposed project could pave the way to removal of as much as 7 billion tons of CO2e in biowastes alone each year at costs as low as $10 - $20/ton. The technology has the potential to create about 400,000 high-quality jobs in the US and save local governments almost $1 billion in wastewater treatment costs per year that could be reallocated for additional social benefits.
This project aims to overcome the high-risk technical challenges associated with commissioning new injection well classes, or modifying existing ones, that are focused on geologic sequestration of biowastes. The goal is to demonstrate that biowastes can be injected into the subsurface safely without inducing earthquakes, clogging reservoirs, or creating unsafe pressure buildup. Critically, it will also determine that over long periods, microbially produced greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, and nitrous oxides) emitted from the biosolids do not migrate out of the reservoir and into overlying freshwater aquifers. Other contaminants including bacteria, toxins, and other harmful chemicals will also be monitored to show that they remain permanently sequestered. Furthermore, there is currently no credible protocol for generating carbon removal credits for biowaste sequestration. This project could develop scientific basis for carbon accounting?including CO2e from methane and nitrous oxides?that generates accurate removal and offsetting credits. Thus, the project will attempt to address the unknowns associated with storing solid carbon in the subsurface and the associated carbon accounting.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
THERACEA PHARMA LC
SBIR Phase I: Development of 18F-radiotracer kits for detection of biomarkers by Positron Emission Tomography
Contact
6196 N CORTE SAN BELLA
Tucson, AZ 85741--3691
NSF Award
2423679 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact and commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project extend to several key areas. Firstly, it aims to enhance the quality of healthcare and improve the health outcomes of the American public by offering cutting-edge diagnostic tools for the detection and assessment of various diseases. These advanced diagnostics will provide clinicians with precise and reliable information, thereby improving disease management and patient care. Secondly, the project will create valuable opportunities to train a skilled STEM workforce in the United States. By hiring individuals with expertise in chemistry and biology, it will contribute to the advancement of scientific frontiers and support participation in the technology-driven economy. Thirdly, the project fosters the integration of research through collaboration between industry and academia. By leveraging the expertise of non-profit research institutions, it will expand the practical applications of scientific discoveries to industry settings. Lastly, the development of a globally demanded product is expected to enhance the economic competitiveness of the United States on the international stage.
This Small Business Innovation Research SBIR Phase I project focuses on harnessing recent advancements in the basic sciences, particularly in chemistry and biology, to design innovative diagnostic products. These products have applications in both preclinical research and clinical diagnostics, particularly in the field of disease detection and treatment. The proposed diagnostic agents, designed for use with Positron Emission Tomography (PET), will assist researchers and physicians specializing in oncology. These tools will enable more precise selection of appropriate therapies for cancer patients, providing critical data on the early assessment of immunotherapy, which is considered a breakthrough treatment in oncology. The project not only advances scientific knowledge and techniques but also addresses technical challenges in developing novel PET diagnostic agents. A multidisciplinary team, renowned for their expertise in nuclear chemistry, medical imaging, and immunology, is collaborating to ensure the successful completion of the project?s objectives. Their combined efforts will propel the development of these innovative products and technologies, ultimately facilitating their use in human healthcare.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
THERAFLUOR, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Research and Development of a Multi-mode Instrument for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Companion Animals
Contact
4023 NE HANCOCK ST
Portland, OR 97212--5324
NSF Award
2335292 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,999
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel therapeutic approach for detecting and treating cancer in companion animals. The project aims to develop a medical instrument when utilized with a novel proprietary molecular therapeutic compound, will visualize, target and effectively eliminate cancerous cells. The system aims to become a standard approach for the $3B companion pet cancer diagnostics and treatment annual market and create a new diagnostic and therapeutic approach.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a low-cost instrument for use in standard veterinary clinics that will visualize and monitor the delivery and effectiveness of the photosensitive compound molecule silicon naphthalocyanine nanoparticle (SiNc-NP), for targeting and eliminating cancer cells in an animal model. Preliminary invitro evidence indicates SiNc-NP differentiates cancerous tissue from non-cancerous, and can identify and kill the cancerous tissue upon an evoked response. This project proposes to yield a cost effective, manufacturable and robust multimodal instrument enabling veterinarians to utilize SiNc-NP as a cancer treatment in a standard clinic. The technology development to be completed during this phase includes integration of light optics, mechanical and electronics design, and software engineering to develop an instrument capable of imaging both the visible spectrum (400-700nm) and near infrared (~800nm) and present the user with an integrated and aligned single video stream that differentiates cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. The instrument also directs high intensity radiation onto the SiNc-enabled cancerous tissue and measure the tissue temperature to indicate when the temperature and exceeded the targeted temperature (5-50C) for the minimum duration (~>10 minutes) sufficient for killing the cancerous tissue.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
THERMOCAP LABORATORIES INC
SBIR Phase I: High-Throughput Direct Ratiometric Calorimeter for Drug Discovery
Contact
2350 NW SAVIER ST UNIT 108
Portland, OR 97210--2788
NSF Award
2402322 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/01/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the production of the first high-throughput and low-cost Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) instrument. DSC is an extremely powerful tool for drug discovery that has low adoption due to high costs and low throughput of only one sample every two hours. The power of DSC is the thermodynamic measurements, which do not require any prior specific knowledge of the molecules being studied and do not require any labels. By not requiring any specific knowledge, it is possible to screen a wider variety and a higher quantity of compounds in the search for new drug molecules. The instrument to be developed from this project will be capable of processing 24 to 96 samples every two hours, thereby making DSC-based drug discovery commercially viable. Innovations from this project will also reduce the cost of producing DSC instruments, making them widely accessible for research and educational purposes. An added benefit of the reduced costs is the potential also to be utilized as a teaching tool. The combination of unique drug discovery knowledge and low costs will serve to reduce the costs associated with discovering and analyzing potential new drug molecules.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project comprises the research and development activities required to produce a high-throughput differential scanning calorimeter. A unique feature of the proposed instrument is the utilization of single-use, sterile sample cartridges that can hold 24 to 96 samples. These cartridges will enable high-throughput sample processing compared to currently available instruments. Current instruments use sensors and heaters that are permanently attached to the sample cells. This project will address the technical challenges associated with using non-permanently attached sensors and heaters to enable a sample cartridge that can be inserted and removed from the instrument. Activities of this project will identify optimal materials and components and determine the layout of sample cells to maximize the number of sample cells in each cartridge. These activities will minimize risks associated with producing a production-ready instrument and deliver maximum customer benefit.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TIAMI LLC
SBIR Phase I: Intelligent Repeaters for Pervasive Millimeter-Wave Wireless Broadband Connectivity
Contact
10041 WILD ORCHID WAY
Elk Grove, CA 95757--4345
NSF Award
2335455 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to enable pervasive, next-generation, mobile broadband connectivity across the United States through the development of an intelligent wireless repeater. Equal access to high-speed broadband connectivity is integral to the economic security and competitiveness of the United States. However, widespread disparities in broadband access continue to persist, especially in underserved urban and rural areas. This project will transform the economics and complexity of delivering ultra-high throughput wireless connectivity over large areas. The associated total addressable market is expected to reach $660 million by 2027 at a compound annual growth rate of 59%. The successful development of the hardware and software solutions in this project will disrupt the telecommunications industry and pave the way for optimal usage of new high-frequency spectrum bands, thereby unlocking the potential of next-generation mobile broadband connectivity.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the current shortcomings of fifth generation (5G) wireless networks that have failed to provide Gigabit-level data rates and sub-millisecond latency across wide areas. This failure is because millimeter-wave 5G networks at frequencies of 28 GHz and higher have very poor propagation range, and building a hyper-dense network of millimeter wave base stations for pervasive coverage is prohibitively expensive. Millimeter wave repeaters are an appealing solution to extend network coverage at a fraction of the cost of deploying new base stations, since they have a simpler software stack and do not require fiber backhaul. However, network operators have a strong aversion to deploying repeaters today since current repeaters have fixed transmission power and beam directions regardless of the actual traffic conditions on the macro network, which increases inter-cell interference and reduces spectral efficiency. The corresponding lack of pervasive millimeter wave 5G coverage exacerbates the digital divide in the U.S. and harms the national and economic security. This SBIR Phase I effort will design and prototype an intelligent 5G repeater that addresses these pain points.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TISSUEFORM, INC.
SBIR Phase I: NatruGel: Next-Generation and Granular Tissue Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting
Contact
2147 KINCAID PL
Boulder, CO 80304--1900
NSF Award
2423489 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,822
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project achieves several NSF broader impacts outcomes. First, it will advance a new granulated bioink technology to advance the rapidly growing 3D cell culture, 3D bioprinting and organ-on-chip markets, and position the United States to maintain and increase economic competitiveness in these markets on a global stage. Second, the proposed granulated bioink library will accelerate healthcare developments in drug discovery by providing realistic 3D tissue models for human disease, health, and toxicity, thereby improving the screening of drug candidates that may succeed in human trials. Finally, the team is committed to hiring and maintaining a diverse group of employees at all levels of the company and is committed to prioritizing partnerships with companies that follow the same philosophy.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to provide new materials and knowledge to the extrusion bioprinting and 3D cell culture community, including (1) first-of-its-kind bioinks with granulated structure based on human tissue, (2) foundational evidence linking gene activation of cells to the microenvironment defined by granulated bioinks, and (3) a platform technology to more broadly develop tissue and disease models, miniaturized organ systems, or 3D cell culture to benefit drug discovery. Structural complexity and hierarchy are hallmarks of tissues of the body. For most tissues, the extracellular matrix is organized into specific domains, together with specialized cells and signaling molecules that define tissue-specific and unique structure-function relationships. Unfortunately, few realistic models of tissue mimics, and therefore realistic human disease models are available, and current 3D bioprinting materials and technologies are limited in their ability to mimic tissue structural complexity and hierarchy. This proposal will develop a library of human based bioinks for cartilage, bone, skin, liver, and kidney. Additionally, the work will overcome the hurdle of viable cell incorporation in granular bioinks, including maintaining viability throughout a print. This work will establish new granulated bioinks as foundational biomaterials to accelerate 3D bioprinting research, drug discovery, and organ-on-chip markets.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TOP GRAIN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Advanced Manufacturing of Oxide Dispersion-Strengthened Superalloys for High Temperature Creep and Hydrogen Environment Applications
Contact
4200 SAN JACINTO ST
Houston, TX 77004--4853
NSF Award
2335531 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to advance the conversion of gas turbines for power generation to utilize sustainable hydrogen as a fuel. Although hydrogen offers zero exhaust emissions, it poses challenges due to its higher flame temperature and reactivity with alloys compared to natural gas. This project focuses on developing a high-temperature alloy system, fabricated through additive manufacturing, ensuring longevity and reliability in hydrogen combustion environments. Through scaling a patent-pending thermal treatment, the project aims to enhance the alloy's material properties for durable aftermarket parts like vanes, blades, shrouds, and panel segments. These components can surpass the properties of existing precision investment castings and are essential for converting industrial gas turbines to efficiently burn hydrogen, currently powering a significant portion of US combined heat and power and global electricity generation. The carbon abatement potential is substantial, with the conversion of one targeted segment capable of reducing over 1 GT of CO2 emissions. The innovation extends to manufacturing advanced, high-value components for aerospace jet engine repair and overhaul, presenting a potential Year 3 production revenue of $20 million and providing critical supply base resiliency for hard-to-source components in gas turbines.
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to advance additively manufactured, high-temperature alloy research, focusing on applications in hydrogen combustion within industrial gas turbines. The project will fabricate mechanical and environmental test specimens using an alloy composition containing oxide dispersion-strengthening constituents designed specifically to withstand reactive hydrogen conditions. Testing will encompass critical properties like creep resistance, low cycle fatigue, and hydrogen embrittlement. A pivotal aspect involves post-processing the alloy through directional heat treatment and modifying the grain structure to enhance creep resistance, which is critical in the high-temperature operation of vane segments, shrouds, blades, and gas turbine components. Studies show superior properties compared to existing additively manufactured superalloys and precision investment cast equivalents. The project's objectives include optimizing the alloy, refining manufacturing conditions, and obtaining key performance data for service conditions. Preliminary design curve data will be established, facilitating the fabrication of components for hot-fire testing and retrofitting into real gas turbine engines. This initiative promises significant progress in high-temperature alloy capabilities, particularly for advancing hydrogen combustion technology in industrial gas turbines.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TOWARD A BETTER HUMANITY, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Development of the Institutional Accountability Network
Contact
138 S DALLAS AVE
Pittsburgh, PA 15208--2624
NSF Award
2429361 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is the successful addressing of longstanding institutional problems that have historically plagued American society. Data is clear in showing that American institutions perpetuate a myriad of problems that have not been successfully addressed (e.g., inequitable wages and access to resources; harmful climates including bullying and harassment, abuse of vulnerable populations). These problems impact the health and well-being of institutions and the individuals within them. These problems also have slowed the evolution of science and the ability of the United States and its citizens to thrive into the future. This project involves the creation of an online platform (informed by research in social and organizational psychology) that will address institutional problems on a far-reaching scale to promote a better humanity. This platform is aimed at eliminating destructive institutional behaviors, and aimed toward increasing integrity, equity, inclusion, community, and honor in institutions. It will promote institutional accountability and will address institutional problems with greater permanency than has been achieved in the past. It will positively impact all American outcomes (e.g., increase economic competitiveness and healthcare access, improve military institutions and national defense, improve educational institutions, and increase the happiness of all citizens).
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will create a novel multi-component platform that is designed to integrate and analyze data provided by users regarding their institutional affiliations. It will be designed (based in research in social and organizational psychology) to have a positive impact on humanity by addressing institutional problems that have not heretofore been addressed successfully. The deep technical complexity includes the creation of a multi-component and multi-function platform that has web-based applications and is scalable across multiple devices. The technology will incorporate complex statistical analysis of institutional data that is provided by users who are institutional members or affiliates. The technology will integrate and summarize accumulated data and will yield an institutional score that represents each institution. Constructing this platform will be a cyclic, iterative process: (1) The design stage involves considerations of human behavior, eliciting information from targeted users and then incorporating results into the design. (2) The implementation stage involves programming and rapid prototyping. (3) The evaluation stage involves empirical research aimed at usability testing. The technical goal is to create a human-centered software, service, and system that improves lives through the innovative technology and the societal issues it aims to address.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TREES ROI LLC
SBIR Phase I: CAS: Tree Root Quality Inspection System with Noninvasive Evaluation
Contact
25 ELDERBERRY LN
Hinesburg, VT 05461--3020
NSF Award
2333948 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,990
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project improves the quality, value, benefits, and life span of nursery stock trees, so they will grow and thrive in the landscape where people live. Trees, with their myriad benefits for human health, ecosystem services, and climate mitigation achieve their full potential when they thrive long term. Current methods fail to adequately address tree root quality. By modernizing root inspection, this technology will not only improve industry standards and boost economic competitiveness, but also promote environmental stewardship on a global scale. With this technology, arborists and growers may be able to identify above-ground tree root defects and take corrective action to promote good quality root systems that are needed for these important tree assets to grow to maturity.
This SBIR Phase I project focuses on the development of a 3-dimensional, non-destructive, ground penetrating radar (GPR) computed tomography (CT) system with cutting-edge software analytics to inspect and assess the quality of container-grown root systems in nursery stock trees. This innovation is based on the understanding that the GPR signals are generated by the large differentials between live tissues and the surrounding soil. The technology detects serious root system defects that could cause early tree mortality if not corrected before the tree is planted. The data will be collected with the help of an innovative apparatus designed to seamlessly capture 3D root data from container-grown trees using a commercial GPR system with a wireless antenna that works as a secondary layer around the container, emulating the precision of an X-ray CT scanner. A novel root quality classification model will inform the development of a root analysis software program to build an initial GPR dataset for the machine learning model and subsequently to adopt an active learning approach. Initial experiments will focus on a sufficiently large number of one or two species of trees.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
TRIANGLE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE LLC
SBIR Phase I: Selective Ion Separation and Recovery for Wastewater Treatment
Contact
105 HOOD ST STE 3
Durham, NC 27701--3794
NSF Award
2432982 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project are in water management and resource recovery. Conventional wastewater treatment methods lack solute selectivity, leading to costly and energy-intensive inefficiencies and thwarting efforts to mitigate emerging contaminants. Waste streams may also contain valuable resources that could generate revenue if recovered. Further, improved water reuse operations are needed to address the growing demand for clean water. The technology presented in this project transcends the existing paradigm by offering a method for the highly selective separation of target solutes from water sources, creating multiple, distinct ionic products and substantially dewatering the feed source. In result, this technology may be used to simultaneously remove unwanted contaminants, recover valuable byproducts, and produce clean water for non-potable reuse. Various industries would benefit from this technology, but the ultimate aim is to lower the financial and infrastructural barriers to advanced treatment and reuse for economically disadvantaged communities. By significantly reducing the energy and maintenance costs of wastewater treatment and disposal, and enabling further cost-recuperation through resource recovery, this innovation is poised to greatly enhance the viability of water reuse, ensuring that all communities have equitable access to clean water and healthy ecosystems.
The core technical innovation of the proposed technology lies in its ability to selectively separate specific ions from heterogeneous waste or raw water sources; such selectivity does not exist in current water treatment practice. The technology functions through the strategic implementation of energy-efficient electrochemical processes. This approach surpasses existing treatment conventions by not only performing selective exclusion, but by simultaneously generating four distinct, highly concentrated product streams that are differentiated by ion charge and valence, as well as an additional clean water stream that emerges during product concentration. This NSF SBIR Phase I project will focus on three main tasks: optimizing technical design for maximum solute selectivity and concentration, evaluating separation performance with representative wastewaters from three key industries, and scaling up the system for future pilot testing. Experimentation will validate total concentration and dewatering capacities, but initial estimates suggest products may be concentrated up to 10x their starting values and feed volume may be reduced by up to 88%. Evaluation with different waste effluents will determine the technology?s adaptability and marketability in different contexts. The successful completion of Phase I testing will lay the foundation for further commercial development of this innovative concept.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Tiptek, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Controlled Geometry Ultrasharp Nanoprobes for Semiconductor Diagnostics
Contact
239 WEATHERHILL DR
West Chester, PA 19382--5599
NSF Award
2325389 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,995
Start / end date
09/15/2024 – 02/28/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to improve a critical method called nanoprobing used to manufacture semiconductors by enabling the technique to probe smaller and more complex electrical devices for longer periods of time. Nanoprober instruments are used to diagnose and analyze electrical faults in the most advanced computer chips made today; without them, the manufacture of state-of-the-art advanced semiconductors would be impossible. The improved semiconductor nanoprobes that are the focus of this project will greatly enable those who develop and apply the most advanced microelectronics for an array of products across the private commercial and federal government sectors. These include artificial intelligence, cutting-edge electronic and quantum computing devices, advanced control systems for power generation and refrigeration, advanced weapon systems, medical diagnostics, computer controlled surgical equipment, consumer electronic devices such as computers and mobile phone technology, among others. The commercial potential of this application will be realized via the sales of nanoprobes to fully integrated chip manufacturers, fabless semiconductor companies, and chip foundries. Annual worldwide sales of nanoprobers exceed $100 million and annual sales of nanoprobes used in those instruments exceed $25 million.
The intellectual merit of this project derives from a recent and fundamental discovery in surface science. This breakthrough allows the application of external conditions to influence how a nanoprobe apex forms. The innovation inherent in this project will use this discovery to develop an additive manufacturing technology to create a probe tip with new and novel properties and predetermined geometries idealized for nanoprobing from a variety of materials. The research objective of this R&D is to explore a set of fabrication variables that will optimize both the process yield and probe tips properties. The research of this project will entail a determination of the exact procedure and conditions to yield nanoprobes that have geometries and oxidation-resistance suitable for next-generation semiconductor technology nodes. The anticipated technical results from this project will be advanced nanoprobes and a better understanding of how to control the surface properties of these probes. The results will also serve as a knowledge base and platform technology to develop other tip-based applications, such as scanning probe microscopy.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
UBIQUITX, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Chimeric Ligands for Induced Proximity (CLIPs) for Targeted Proteome Editing
Contact
160 W 87TH ST
New York, NY 10024--2934
NSF Award
2405853 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
07/15/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to foster the economic competitiveness of the United States, advance the health and welfare of the American pubic and enhance partnerships between academia and industry. Drug discovery is hindered by high costs and lengthy development time, with costs often passed onto consumers. To alleviate these burdens, the private sector has invested in new research to discover faster, more cost-effective drug development methods. The platform in this Phase I effort may offer an answer to drug discovery challenges through rapid and inexpensive development of post-translational protein-editing therapeutics. The commercialization of the technology detailed here also may support the drug discovery field and advance America?s influence in the pharmaceutical production space, specifically for the generation of a novel therapy promoting liver regeneration in alcoholic hepatitis. The platform may also advance the health of Americans by offering a method to program the localization and activation of disease-relevant proteins currently considered undruggable and advancing therapeutics for alcoholic hepatitis as an initial focus. Further, the protein-editing platform was developed by members with pharmaceutical industry background as well as academic professions, thus demonstrating the importance of partnerships across these sectors.
The proposed project will advance a programmable, modular therapeutic platform for the direct modification of proteins of interest (POIs) via artificial intelligence, protein engineering and mRNA as a therapeutic entity. Proteins are a logical avenue for the development of novel therapies, but the current drug discovery pipeline requires targeting proteins with drug binding pockets and involves extensive, time-consuming screening to identify lead candidates. The platform described here leverages engineered enzymes to recognize and edit POIs by removing/installing post-translational modifications rapidly and precisely. The protein editors, chimeric ligands for induced proximity (CLIPs), feature a targeted recognition domain and protein modification enzyme component tailored to the POI. Following successful demonstration of targeted degradation of specific CLIPs in previous studies, the platform has also successfully achieved target POI stabilization, demonstrating platform modularity. This Phase I project seeks to expand the applications of the platform by designing and implementing CLIPs for other post-translational modifications by conjugating computationally derived peptides to various enzymes targeted to the POI. In vivo target engagement studies will also be conducted on CLIPs generated to extend the platform and demonstrate applicability in stabilizing ?-catenin and subsequently initiating liver regeneration.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ULTROPIA CORP
SBIR Phase I: Development of a Modular Ultrasound Transducer Array for Efficient Washing and Drying of Textiles
Contact
10015 LAKE CITY WAY NE
Seattle, WA 98125--7773
NSF Award
2335611 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,831
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on the development and qualification of a modular ultrasound transducer used for both cleaning and drying textiles to enhance the energy efficiency, performance, and volume of throughput for commercial laundry systems. The 2022 San Diego Regional Decarbonization Framework?s Technical Report states, ?Commercial laundry systems face higher barriers to the adoption of electric options than do residential. Running many large electric dryers, as in a laundromat, could require substantial upgrades to a building?s electrical system if it is transitioning from gas equipment. The slower speed of heat pump dryers is also more of a challenge in throughput-limited commercial laundry systems than in residential applications?. This project aims to produce an easily integrable laundry-specific ultrasound array to support the electrification of the $5.3 billion commercial laundry market. The benefits align with laundry facility operators' needs by reducing energy costs by as much 80% and improving processing times by as much as 50%. The resulting cost savings for facilities helps promote the use of reusable linens and shifts demand from disposables.
The intellectual merit of this project includes a demonstration of a robust, highly efficient ultrasound transducer that easily integrates into arrays for use in laundry equipment. State-of-the-art laundry systems rely on mechanical agitation and evaporative drying. Power ultrasound enables efficient energy transfer for the washing and drying processes, reducing energy usage by as much as 80% while increasing linen throughput. The primary deliverable for Phase 1 is a proof of concept for a linen-specific ultrasound transducer array for commercial laundry that performs the task rapidly and significantly reduces energy usage. The proprietary design employed in this work enables a low-cost, durable, and configurable method of integrating ultrasound into commercial laundry processing equipment. These benefits ultimately reduce processing time and energy costs for operators. The key objectives for this project are: 1) manufacturing, refining, and validating the washing subsystem via standardized tests, 2) adding drying functionality to the array and independently validating the drying performance of the fabricated transducers; and 3) verification of the performance of the combined subsystems for both washing and drying, including an evaluation of the energy efficiency and processing time in lab-scale tests.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
UNLAB LLC
SBIR Phase I: Fluctuation Flow Propulsion
Contact
5407 REYNOLDS ST
Savannah, GA 31405--5480
NSF Award
2432831 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is based on a new type of space vehicle propulsion (the initial product will be a reaction control system) that operates with fluctuation flow based propulsion and has a long operation lifetime with a compact and lightweight form factor. It enables orders of magnitude greater maneuver capability than current state-of-the-art electric or chemical propulsion. Space vehicles will be able to operate longer on station and will have the freedom to change inclinations and altitudes to optimize mission performance. It will significantly increase the US leadership in the space industry, speeding the deployment of space-based services that will greatly help society and the American public. Fluctuation flow propulsion supports the national defense of the United States by enabling rapid redeployment and tasking of space assets to respond to current requirements and potential threats. The breakthrough improvement in propulsion performance will also enable efficient and high-speed interplanetary travel, opening opportunities for deep space exploration missions, asteroid mining ventures, and scientific expeditions. The innovation will enhance our understanding of how quantum vacuum fluctuations interact with and can be controlled by asymmetric nanostructures and potentials.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a new type of propulsion based on the motive forces predicted to be generated from the interaction between quantum vacuum fluctuations and asymmetric nanostructures and potentials such are found in Resonant Tunneling Diodes. Asymmetric nanostructure devices will be fabricated on micron-scale cantilevers. The cantilevers will be deflected by the force generated. The amount of defection will be measured using white-light interferometry and the associated force will be determined. A parametric series of device configurations will be measured, and steps will be taken to ensure that that there are no outside factors (such as vibrational, thermal, and electromagnetic effects) influencing the results. The devices will be measured in both up and down orientations which will change the direction of the force, making it readily discernible from other factors and the influence of gravity. The proposed experiments will be the first measurements of vacuum fluctuation based motive forces. The experimental results will enhance our understanding of the quantum vacuum and will be the first-time broken symmetry has been proven to control vacuum fluctuation behavior.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
URL TO IRL INC.
SBIR Phase I: Automated Digital Accessibility Testing and Remediation Compliance Platform for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Contact
15932 60TH AVE SE
Snohomish, WA 98296--4646
NSF Award
2408875 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,990
Start / end date
05/01/2024 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this SBIR Phase I project is to make the Internet more accessible for those with physical, mental, or cognitive disabilities. Over the last three decades every sector has experienced a digital transformation. Despite federal regulation requiring digital assets such as websites, kiosks, or mobile apps to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), over 96% of the million most-visited websites are not ADA compliant. For the 17% of Americans with a disability the Internet is unusable. This innovation applies novel breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence to automatically identify and remediate ADA violations in digital assets. Thus, ensuring that any platform from healthcare to public transportation to voting platforms are universally accessible. Consider the implications: an elderly citizen with deteriorating vision can seamlessly navigate an online prescription platform; a veteran with motor disabilities can effortlessly book transportation to a voting center; a K-12 STEM student with auditory challenges can access vital educational information or public service announcements without impediments. Automation of accessibility testing, and remediation leads to significant cost savings for companies, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses that want to access the $17 trillion of spending power that disabled Americans and their families hold.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project replaces the manual testing, manual remediation, manual training, and manual auditing that software engineers or consultants use to make digital assets compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The aim is to leverage artificial intelligence, computer vision, and novel production code reassociation techniques to accurately identify 65% of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance issues, significantly higher than industry leaders, and provide solutions that are both context-aware and developer-friendly directly within Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), something no industry-leader today does. The research will refine a novel approach which allows frontend software to be retraceable for automated testing and fixing at the source code level, enabling engineers to pinpoint exactly where an accessibility violation is located. Existing solutions completely lose track of the relationship between production software and the original source code that generated it. Instead, resorting to screenshots or inaccurate approximations to give developers context. The core technical innovation not only detects non-compliant elements, but also provides real-time contextual developer solutions in the immediate line of code or component where the error occurs. This research pushes the digital accessibility industry to full automation, resulting in a more usable Internet.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
VARIABLES MACHINES COMPANY
SBIR Phase I: Variable Machines
Contact
34 MADISON ST
Somerville, MA 02143--1209
NSF Award
2415303 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,579
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to drastically reduce the cost, lead time, and material waste associated with large format additive manufacturing. This is achieved through the development of a reconfigurable print bed composed of an array of linear actuators, which can be individually adjusted in height thereby eliminating the need for a printed support structure. Additive manufacturing plays a critical role in R&D, and small volume manufacturing across the aerospace, renewable energy, automotive, and maritime industries. This technology will be instrumental in stirring innovation across these industries by enabling faster, more efficient rapid prototyping, and unlocking additive manufacturing as a viable mass manufacturing process. This technology is estimated to save manufacturers on the order of $1.1M in material costs per year, while requiring only 30% of the capital expenditure of existing large format additive manufacturing technologies.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project entails the design of a reconfigurable additive manufacturing print bed composed of an array of linear actuators, where each actuator is capable of sub 10 micron closed loop position feedback, and a pneumatic end effector capable of contact detection. A pair of these actuator arrays will be built, including the development of the embedded and front-end control software necessary to program them for a variety of tasks such as additive manufacturing and dynamic work holding. These actuator arrays will then be integrated with existing large format additive and subtractive manufacturing platforms, as well as an internally developed hybrid additive CNC tool. Particular research and development efforts will focus on early layer print process, where bridging between actuator end effectors will require non-planar slicing and control algorithms. Parts printed with this technology will be characterized to adjust process parameters and improve their final mechanical and thermal material properties.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
VAYUH INC
SBIR Phase I: Subseasonal Forecasting and Climate Risk Analytics Combining Physics and AI
Contact
465 40TH ST
Oakland, CA 94609--2586
NSF Award
2335210 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
02/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project lies in the development of a weather forecasting and climate prediction tool for subseasonal forecasting, extreme weather events, and long-term climatological changes. The proposed technology is expected to impact a significant number of industries, including agriculture, insurance, logistics/supply chains, and the public sector, with an initial focus and market entry in the energy sector. This market is financed by large banks, carries large insurance policies that are priced based on risk, and needs to allocate resources in both the short and long term to meet customer needs and prevent service interruptions. Without these forecasting capabilities, there is a risk of drastic economic and societal costs. For example, the 2022 Pacific Northwest heat wave resulted in $8.9 billion in damages and cost the lives of 1,400 people. With 4 weeks of advanced notice, energy companies could have adequately prepared, saving lives and minimizing the damage to physical assets. The suboptimal management of weather events costs the US an average of 839 lives and $161 B/year for the last five years (cumulative >$750B), a 2.5x increase from the previous five years.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to establish the
feasibility of utilizing physics-informed machine learning to create probabilistic models of crucial climatological parameters and extreme weather events. A proof-of-concept demonstration
focused on a single forecast variable, temperature, capable of predicting temperature anomalies 2-4 weeks in advance with 30-50% higher accuracy than the leading physics-based forecast for North America. The climate prediction models operate by using unpublished, state-of-the-art physics-informed machine learning methods and data distillation to provide high-resolution subseasonal forecasts. This SBIR project aims to (1) increase the accuracy of the temperature predictions using cutting-edge transformer networks and AI-foundation models, (2) expand predictive capabilities to extreme weather such as severe convective storms, (3) and enhance the robustness of the product by leveraging improved Bayesian modeling to capture the uncertainty of forecasts.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
VIADUCT TECHNOLOGIES LLC
STTR Phase I: Microwave-Enhanced Modular Ammonia Synthesis
Contact
720 MCKINLEY AVE
Morgantown, WV 26505--5722
NSF Award
2335104 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
03/15/2024 – 11/30/2024 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project lies in its exploration of Microwave Enhanced Ammonia Synthesis. Microwave research holds the promise of disruptive innovation and enables opportunities for substantial carbon emission reductions through reduced energy requirements, minimal direct emissions, and increased process selectivity. Applying microwave energy to chemical processes may transform how chemical reactions occur. This project targets the production of ammonia, which is the second most-produced chemical in the world. Ammonia is used as a fertilizer but also as a carbon-neutral liquid fuel; it allows power generation without carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, making it crucial for sustainable energy. As a hydrogen carrier, ammonia?s role in hydrogen-powered systems is expected to increase with decarbonization efforts. Microwave-enhanced ammonia synthesis can transform the commercial landscape by meeting the increasing demand for ammonia, opening new market opportunities, and potentially increasing profitability.
This STTR Phase I project will address the Haber-Bosch process, which has been the standard method to produce ammonia in bulk for over a century. However, this process functions at high pressures and temperatures and requires a constant supply of energy, which equates to higher operational costs and increased emissions of CO2. Microwaves offer instantaneous, selective, and volumetric heating via interaction with electromagnetic radiation that targets the active sites, inducing electron transfer on the surface of a heterogeneous catalyst. This results in a fundamentally different reaction mechanism than conventional thermal heating, conductive, or convective heating. The goal of the Phase-1 project will be to directly test the feasibility of a specific microwave frequency, design, model, and test the optimization of an ammonia-specific microwave-enhanced applicator cavity that implements high flow rates, electric-field uniformity, catalyst temperature uniformity with high electrical efficiency. The research will involve electromagnetic numerical analysis, laboratory catalytic activity experiments, determining frequency effects, and the continued development of microwave-sensitive catalyst and catalyst support material. The anticipated technical results include the development of a more efficient, renewably powered, cost-effective method for ammonia synthesis, contributing to the decarbonization efforts of the energy sector.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
VITRO3D INC.
SBIR Phase I: Parallax Manufacturing
Contact
4800 OSAGE DR APT 26
Boulder, CO 80303--3932
NSF Award
2420671 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to commercialize parallax manufacturing, a new polymer structuring method with unprecedented speed, choice of materials and manufacturing integration. Parallax manufacturing fabricates parts over 100x faster than current layer-by-layer additive manufacturing and eliminates resin injection, reducing typical manufacturing time from hours to seconds. This prototype will be applied in the initial markets of orthodontics and electronic connectors. The former will result in better patient care at lower cost, while the latter will remove the cost barrier to low volume, high bandwidth electronics packaging. Beyond these initial markets, PM has the potential for broad societal impact via sustainable, point-of-use manufacturing of bespoke high-performance products in fields such as personalized medicine, automotive and aerospace. The PM machines will be sold directly to manufacturers to embed systems into their manufacturing lines. A recurring revenue model tailored to customers' high value needs will utilize Hardware as a service payment structures to maximize the commercial revenue potential.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops parallax manufacturing, a new form of contact-free additive manufacturing with record-breaking throughput, part size and resolution. PM rapidly moves an optical toolhead above a flat cartridge containing components in photo-sensitive resin, similar to computer numerically controlled milling. The light projected from the toolhead continuously changes shape to fabricate arbitrary objects around the components immersed within the resin. This unprecedented capability enables hybrid assemblies using high viscosity resins with critical properties such as low creep or flame retardance that cannot be fabricated by other AM techniques. The primary goal of this project is to answer critical questions that will enable an alpha product prototype. The technical hurdles to be addressed are 1) understanding the requirements on the optical toolhead, 2) developing optimal post-processing methods, and 3) establishing the limits of manufacturing speed. The first will be answered by incorporating the Zemax OpticStudio application programming interface into an existing parallax manufacturing modeling framework to simulate performance. The second will be answered by combining solvents of varying molecular weight, temperature, sonication, and optical flood exposure. The third will be answered by establishing how toolhead trajectory, resin sensitivity and object complexity influence fabrication time.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
VOLTA ENERGY INC
SBIR Phase I: A Novel High Voltage, All-Solution, All-Iron Flow Battery (AIFB) for Long-Duration Energy Storage
Contact
3 RUTLAND TER
Worcester, MA 01609--1659
NSF Award
2421998 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the potential development of a cost-effective and long-lasting all-iron flow battery (AIFB) suitable for long-duration energy storage (LDES). This type of battery is needed to facilitate the world-wide transition from a grid principally powered by fossil-fueled electricity generators to one powered by renewable electricity generators, solar cells, and wind turbines. Cost effective LDES would be a key enabler in this transition, since solar/wind generators are variable and, unlike fossil-fueled power plants, cannot be turned on or off to meet peak demand. In fact, the U.S. grid would need 225-465 gigawatts of LDES capacity by 2050, with a net investment of $ 330 billion. For short-term (? 10h) energy storage, the rapidly improving lithium-ion batteries are already practical, but flow batteries are needed for longer-term (? 10h) energy storage. The state-of-the-art flow battery technology is the vanadium redox-flow battery (VRFB), but the high cost and limited supply of vanadium restricts its application to shorter durations. The AIFB is based instead on iron as the active material, which is substantially cheaper and more Earth-abundant, thus offering the potential to approach more closely the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) target of $0.05/kWh that is needed to realize this vision.
The intellectual merit of this project is the scientific and technological development of an all-iron, all soluble, high voltage, and cost-effective flow battery that would attain the LCOS target for long-duration energy storage. The development of such a flow battery is challenging because, unlike vanadium, which has four different oxidation states allowing for its use at both electrodes, soluble iron species come in only two oxidation states. Competing commercial all-iron-based batteries are typically hybrid batteries rather than flow batteries, requiring a large footprint, and providing a low cell voltage in an effort to avoid gas evolution. These scientific challenges are overcome in AIFB by suitable choice of ligands that form the soluble iron complexes for the posolyte and the negolyte, and by fine-tuning the pH, thus providing a large cell capacity via high solubility along with a high voltage. The specific objectives of this project include finalizing the electrolyte chemistry for a cell voltage exceeding the 1.5 V limits of aqueous batteries to avoid gas evolution, reducing the cell resistance to ensure a high round-trip efficiency, and establishing stable cyclic performance to ensure a long lifetime.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
VORTEX SPACE SYSTEMS LLC
STTR Phase I: Hyper Transfer Vehicle Concept Demonstration
Contact
24225 WELSH RD
Gaithersburg, MD 20882--3929
NSF Award
2233424 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,454
Start / end date
04/15/2023 – 10/31/2024
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project is to develop a new, non-rocket based thrust technology capable of removing debris from space. This project will provide two separate business models including hardware fabrication and testing, and active orbital debris removal services. Six Department of Defense (DoD) and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sun Synchronous Orbits (SSO)SSO spacecraft have broken up in high-value low earth orbits since 2000, and the US Space Force tracks over 550 pieces of NOAA-16 and NOAA-17 debris objects (>10cm). This technology provides solutions to help remove such problematic debris from space. The technology will be designed for beneficial use by both US Government agencies and commercial space companies. The proposed vehicle fleet production is expected to enable efficient deorbit services for removal from space.
This STTR Phase I project proposes to develop an innovative method for Earth orbit transfer, called a Hyper Transfer Vehicle (HTV). HTV is a non-rocket technology that solves performance limitations of in-space rocket thrusters. HTV offers reusable and economically sustainable orbital space debris removal solutions across all earth operational orbits. This proposal addresses the space debris problem not caused by operational satellites, but from non-maneuverable objects and debris in the highly populated Sun Synchronous Orbits (SSO). Historically, SSO space objects have contributed to technical, societal, and scientific advancements. The potential outcome of HTV research is a viable and reusable technology for cost-effective orbit object disposal in high value SSO with clean Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP). Instead of expelling propellant, HTV rotates a working fluid gas inside a toroidal cavity to generate a usable force. HTV torus structure draws in the gas while mounted inside an ambient pressure enclosure, which is separate from the vacuum of space. HTV generates a reactive force by employing the Conservation of Angular Momentum (CAM). CAM is preserved when HTV fluid angular momentum (H) and rotational energy (Trot) change. This project will demonstrate with experimental measurements an external force by using air as the working fluid gas, while satisfying CAM.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
VUEMEN, INC.
STTR Phase I: Innovating Micro-Light Emitting Diode (LED) Manufacturing with Novel Quantum Dot Micro-Patterning Technology
Contact
4712 48TH AVE NE
Seattle, WA 98105--3826
NSF Award
2335283 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project focusses on chip manufacturing to create micro-Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Micro-LEDs are semiconductor chips devices that emit light when an electric current passes through them. Micro-LEDs will benefit virtual- and augmented-reality (VR/AR) technologies. VR/AR are immersive technologies that have revolutionized the way we interact with digital information and the physical world. VR/AR displays are in dire need of innovative optical technologies to achieve widespread availability and accessibility across various platforms and locations. Applications where the displays are closer to the eyes are very expensive due to the need for high resolution images with sufficient brightness in a compact form. Micro-LED displays are a leading solution, but current chip manufacturing is low-yield and cost prohibitive for consumer-grade devices. This project will provide an innovative process to overcome many chip manufacturing obstacles through the use of micro-patterned quantum-dot (QD) color converters. The process is simpler, significantly cheaper, and compatible with standard semiconductor manufacturing already employed by industry.
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will investigate the use of micro-patterned QD color converters to mitigate the need for pick-and-place assembly of red, green, and blue micro-LEDs. The current state of the art, a pick-and-place method, has severe limitations and insufficient yield. The goal is picking and placing millions of sub-pixels from epitaxial wafers with nearly zero defects. This problem is a top contributor to the overall cost for micro-LEDs today. This technology will take a different approach to achieve full color with high resolution. It will use color converters to reduce the number of steps by orders of magnitude, through only one lift-off process. For VR, the display resolution must be >1000 pixels-per-inch, which can be challenging to achieve via standard approaches. For AR, the requirements are even higher. The new process will achieve extremely high resolution and will be suitable for a wide range of color conversion materials, including most common QDs. The technology also has the essential benefit that unused QDs can be recycled and reused. The outcome from this STTR Phase I project will be a prototype demonstrating the viability of the method to produce high-resolution QD patterns on a static backplane.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Virolock Technologies Limited Liability Company
SBIR Phase I: A novel platform for virus enrichment and isolation
Contact
200 INNOVATION BLVD
State College, PA 16803--6602
NSF Award
2222991 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,459
Start / end date
07/01/2023 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be the creation of a virus capture technology that may improve the reliability of diagnostic tools needed to detect viral infection in humans, animals, and plants. The proposed device will be designed to be easy to use, portable, and cost-effective, and could accelerate virus detection, providing superior analytical and clinical performance. Early and accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases is critical to curbing the spread of viral infections, improving health outcomes, and reducing economic losses. This technology is a platform potentially applicable to a wide range of target viruses and could be functional in different scenarios like virus surveillance, identification of emerging viruses, and detection of virus mutations.
The proposed project seeks to validate the technical feasibility of this technology for direct virus detection methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunoassay, and next generation sequencing (NGS), to improve the virus to host ratio and allow for faster results. The project aims to develop a portable sample processing platform that enables high-efficiency virus trapping and purification from field samples (from cotton swabs or tissue biopsy) without using antibodies. This technology uses carbon nanotube arrays to trap virus particles by size discrimination while segregating host contaminants. This technology could be integrated into standard virus diagnostic protocols to achieve a faster, simpler, and more accurate diagnostics compared to traditional processes for virus sample preparation, such as ultracentrifugation and membrane filtration. Currently available state-of-the-art technologies present limitations in extracting pure virus particles from the host material, especially when the viral content is low, usually leading to false negative results.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
WALIA, RAMPYARI
SBIR Phase I: Endogenously secreted bispecific natural killer cell engagers (BIKEs) for therapy of solid tumors
Contact
1453 NORTH CUYAMACA ST
El Cajon, CA 92020--1508
NSF Award
2322959 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project provides a novel, intramuscular gene delivery platform that supports sustained expression of any therapeutic protein, a capability yet to be commercially realized. The ability to provide sustained expression and endogenous secretion of bispecific natural killer cell engager (BiKE) therapeutics is expected to be paradigm shifting by providing a solution that bypasses current immunotherapy treatments for solid tumors. This approach, which is less invasive than the current state-of-the art, could eliminate the need for continuous/frequent repeated infusions of therapeutics and would circumvent the need for hospitalization during administration. The approach has a lower price point, potentially reducing the cost of therapy by tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to other immunotherapies, and is amenable to low resource settings, significantly increasing the availability of treatment. The proof-of-concept therapeutic will target hepatocellular carcinoma, a solid tumor that accounts for 90% of liver cancers. The platform has broad applications, supporting delivery of any gene therapy application (e.g., monogenic disease) that can benefit from systemic expression of a secreted protein, including bi-specific antibody T cell engagers, therapeutic antibodies, and vaccine candidates (e.g., endogenous therapeutic antibody production, delivery of DNA vaccines, and expression of therapeutic proteins to treat monogenic rare diseases). Anticipated impacts of the platform include improved treatment efficacy and improved patient quality of life.
This project seeks to advance the development of a safe, efficient intramuscular gene delivery system for redosable gene delivery as well as the demonstration of the platform?s ability to express endogenously secreted bispecific natural killer cell engagers (BIKEs) in vivo for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a solid tumor. To date, gene therapy approaches to cancer treatment have been costly, labor intensive, and limited in efficacy. This platform is expected to enhance gene delivery by over 1,000-fold compared to the injection of naked DNA and to enable efficient secretion of the gene product into the blood stream, thereby allowing for systemic expression. Specific aims are to establish a cell expression system for production, purification, and functional validation of the recombinant BiKE in vitro and to make bioluminescent hepatoma cell lines transduced with a commercialized lentivirus co-expressing RedFLuc and secreted GLuc for more sensitive detection of tumor survival. The project will also validate the efficacy of the BiKE expression construct in a humanized, orthotopic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mouse model. Proof of concept will be established with the demonstration of sustained systemic expression of the secretable BiKE for ? 1 month at serum levels of ?100-500 ng/ml, as evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assays at days 3-60 post-intramuscular delivery.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
WATER ILLUMINATION INC
SBIR Phase I: A Tunable Deep Ultraviolet (UV)-based Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Destruction Technology for Water Treatment
Contact
240 DESERT BLOOM
Irvine, CA 92618--8872
NSF Award
2335229 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the global contamination issues of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ? also known as ?forever chemicals? ? in drinking water resources. The technology aims to develop a proof-of-concept, cost-effective technology that destroys PFAS chemicals even at very low levels and converts them to non-toxic. benign products in an ambient environment. Ultimately, the project team aims to provide improved water sustainability and safeguard public health. The project is aligned with the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act by advancing of the health and welfare of the American public. Initial demonstration of these impacts is expected to be felt in the water-scarce and economically fast-growing inland southern California region for both centralized and decentralized water treatment.
This effort focusses on the development of a highly efficient and cost-effective photochemical treatment system for the destruction of PFAS in drinking water resources. Using a novel tunable deep ultraviolet light (a.k.a. vacuum ultraviolet or VUV), the technology aims to achieve nearly complete destruction of PFAS without generating secondary waste streams or toxic byproducts in drinking water. VUV light is one of the most accessible and efficient water ionization photon sources because it takes advantage of abundant water molecules as photon sensitizers, can be readily generated from common UV lamps, and is easy to control and operate. Tuning this light source in conjunction with other benign chemicals creates a highly reactive environment for efficient destruction of PFAS, converting waterborne PFAS into non-toxic fluoride. The effort will involve combination of chemical kinetics investigation, advanced chemical analysis, and technology scale-up in collaboration with potential customers.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
WATERUS LLC
SBIR Phase I: Flow-cell Assisted Softening Technology (FAST) for Whole Home Water Treatment
Contact
201 ASCOT RIDGE RD
Irmo, SC 29063--7923
NSF Award
2345601 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
05/15/2024 – 04/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is rooted in addressing the pervasive challenge of hard water?a condition affecting over 85% of households in the United States, leading to significant economic and environmental burdens. Hard water, characterized by high concentrations of calcium and magnesium, contributes to the inefficiency of water-using appliances, increases maintenance costs, and necessitates the use of environmentally harmful water softening methods. This project proposes an innovative, environmentally friendly solution to softening hard water without the use of salts, which are traditionally discharged into water systems, causing pollution and exacerbating regulatory challenges. The significance of this research lies in its potential to provide millions of U.S. citizens with access to soft water, thereby improving quality of life, reducing household expenses, and contributing to the preservation of natural water resources. Additionally, by offering an eco-friendly alternative to current water softening methods, this project aligns with the National Science Foundation?s mission of advancing the health, prosperity, and welfare of the nation, while also possessing the commercial potential to create jobs and generate tax revenue.
This project introduces a significant technical innovation in the field of water treatment through the development of a novel electrochemical process for softening hard water without the addition of salts. Unlike existing technologies that rely on ion-exchange resins or chemical conditioners, this project employs a unique method based on redox flow cell technology to selectively remove calcium and magnesium ions from water. This high-risk effort is characterized by its attempt to overcome the limitations of current water softening systems, including high operational costs, environmental impacts, and maintenance challenges. The goals of this research include achieving a softening capacity suitable for the average American household, ensuring water safety standards, and demonstrating the system's long-term durability and cost-effectiveness. The research will employ a combination of electrochemical engineering, material science, and fluid dynamics to optimize the design and operation of the softening system. By addressing the technical hurdles associated with membrane durability, electrode stability, and system efficiency, this project aims to bring a groundbreaking solution to the market, setting a new standard for sustainable water treatment technologies.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
WEKA BIOSCIENCES LLC
SBIR Phase I: Developing a Microbial Process for Creating a New Type of Natural Polymer
Contact
322 PASEO DE PERALTA
Santa Fe, NM 87501--1861
NSF Award
2406036 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,727
Start / end date
08/01/2024 – 07/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project involves the development of a novel sugar polymer designed specifically to improve chromatography, a technique used by scientists to separate and analyze mixtures. This project focuses on chiral chromatography, which is crucial for distinguishing between molecules that are mirror images of each other but behave differently in the body. This capability is especially important in pharmaceutical manufacturing, where the safety and effectiveness of drugs often depend on these molecular distinctions. By creating a stable, synthetic sugar polymer through a microbial process, this project aims to provide a more reliable and efficient alternative for chiral chromatography. This innovation will not only enhance the precision of drug manufacturing but also contribute to safer and more effective medications, aligning with broader public health goals.
The proposed project will focus on engineering a microbial process to produce a novel sugar polymer that meets the specific demands of chiral chromatography. By optimizing the production of this polymer in microorganisms, the project seeks to enhance the properties of chromatography materials, such as increased durability and improved ability to separate molecular mirror images. The research will involve refining genetic pathways for maximum yield, scaling up fermentation processes, and establishing purification protocols to ensure that the polymer adheres to high industry standards.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
WESTWOOD AEROGEL CO.
SBIR Phase I: Advanced Manufacturing for Aerogels for Low and Zero-Emission Applications
Contact
555 PIERCE ST APT 1531
Albany, CA 94706--1010
NSF Award
2401627 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,855
Start / end date
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to develop and optimize an advanced manufacturing process for aerogel insulation materials. Aerogels are a class of lightweight thermal super-insulators that are challenging and costly to manufacture due to a high-heat, high-pressure drying process in the final stages of production. To address this, a new method for drying aerogels using ambient pressure and ambient temperature has been developed. This process enables low-cost, high volume production and reduces aerogel production costs by up to 90%. This process will first be used to develop thermal insulation for batteries in electric vehicles, where aerogels are critical as a lightweight, high-temperature material for maintaining stable temperatures. The market for aerogels in EV batteries is rapidly growing, and has a balance of price sensitivity and demand that makes it suitable as a first market using this new production process. Once this process is scaled and optimized, aerogels may become viable for other critical markets including building insulation, energy storage and aviation.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a low-cost, scalable manufacturing process for aerogel insulation materials. Aerogels are a class of super-insulating materials known for their light weight and superior insulating properties, but are extremely expensive and scarce due to inefficiencies in the production process. The current manufacturing involves using specialized pressure chambers to dry aerogels under high heat and pressure, resulting in high energy costs and low production volumes. This project proposes a novel aerogel production process that dries the aerogels under ambient pressures and temperatures in a continuous process that resembles window glass manufacturing. This ambient drying process dries aerogels by saturating wet gels in a gas atmosphere, slowly drying the gels without causing stresses that can crack the gel. This reduces costs and energy consumption, and allows for a continuous, linear production process without the use of specialized pressure chambers. By enabling scalable production of high-quality aerogel insulation, this innovation could make aerogels more accessible and affordable, transforming insulation across a variety of modern industries. The project aims to use this manufacturing method to develop thermal separators for electric vehicle battery insulation to enhance safety and performance in extreme temperatures.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
X-COR THERAPEUTICS INC
SBIR Phase I: Respiratory dialysis for extracorporeal carbon dioxide treatment of COPD
Contact
7144 13TH PL NW STE 2260
Washington, DC 20012--2358
NSF Award
2415446 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,274
Start / end date
08/15/2024 – 01/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the development of a novel extracorporeal approach removing excess CO2 from the blood of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. COPD is a leading cause of death globally and is responsible for over 550,000 hospitalizations in the US annually at a total yearly cost of $50 Billion. COPD leads to impaired quality of life, increased hospitalizations, and costs with poor overall prognosis despite modern interventions. Current end-stage treatments rely on mechanical ventilation, often resulting in further lung damage and high mortality rates. This project aims to develop an ultra-low-flow carbon dioxide removal system to support extubation, or avoid intubation, for providing respiration augmentation. The implementation of the therapy has the potential to reduce mechanical lung based interventions thereby improving patient outcomes, reducing adverse events associated with lung damage and diaphragmatic atrophy, and reducing overall hospitalization costs up to $17,000 per patient.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to optimize a prototype system providing respiratory dialysis to treat patients suffering from hypercapnic respiratory failure for extended durations. If successful, the project will address existing limitations of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal techniques that requires high blood flow rates and specialized equipment. Results to date indicate significant increases in carbon dioxide capture efficiency versus existing methods, however risks and challenges remain in managing the removal of non-target ions and reducing dialysate waste generation. The specific objectives of this project are to develop a dialysate capable of capturing bicarbonate from the blood as a means of addressing hypercapnia while minimizing non-target and essential ions (K+, Mg2+, Ca2+). Additionally, this project aims to reduce the total dialysate usage requirement through a novel recirculation loop for dialysate recycling and reuse. If successful, the initiative will optimize dialysate composition and enable prolonged therapy while minimizing waste generation.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
XHEME INC.
STTR Phase I: A Completely Non-Toxic Blood Bag That Keeps Blood Healthier, Longer
Contact
149 WISWALL RD
Newton Center, MA 02459--3530
NSF Award
2335363 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$274,987
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to replace a 50+-year-old technology that uses toxic blood bags with a completely non-toxic blood bag that keeps blood healthier and longer. With the European Union (EU) banning the toxic plasticizer in the current polyvinyl chloride (PVC) blood bags and the disposal of PVC products releasing toxic, chlorine-based chemicals that build up in the water, air, and food chain, this is an urgent need. This technology replaces both PVC and the toxic plasticizer in addition to preventing a short supply of blood. The solution has the potential to save millions of lives yearly while avoiding waste by storing blood longer. The technology can seamlessly integrate into film manufacturing and blood storage infrastructure. The new technology can be expanded into non-toxic dialysis bags, intravenous (IV) bags, medical tubing, and bioprocessing industry applications. The technology's commercial potential in the global blood bag industry is expected to reach about $845 million by 2033.
This STTR Phase I project applies interdisciplinary tools, encompassing the chemistry of nanoporous macrostructure materials, polymer engineering, and blood biology, to advance the knowledge required to develop non-toxic composite bags while taking into consideration stringent requirements of physicochemical and mechanical properties for application as a blood bag. The technical challenge is to balance the competing needs of a blood storage container and manufacture using commercial blood bag machinery while ensuring sufficient active surfaces of the composite films without any leaching of the active ingredient during blood storage. The technology development addresses several technical challenges for storing whole blood longer than 28 days while keeping it healthy. Additionally, technical challenges in sealing the composite films while maintaining the required polymer integrity during steam sterilization are addressed. Solutions to the above-mentioned challenges are anticipated to achieve the primary goal of the Phase I project, which is to demonstrate that the non-toxic composite blood bags extend the shelf life of human whole blood by protecting against cold storage-induced oxidative injury and spontaneous hemolysis of red blood cells.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
XMIZE LLC
SBIR Phase I: Scalable optimization-based wire routing software for custom circuit design
Contact
8220 CRESTWOOD HEIGHTS DR
Mclean, VA 22102--3125
NSF Award
2432498 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 08/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is in increasing competitiveness of the United States in electronic design automation (EDA) of custom circuits comprising analog/mixed-signal integrated circuits, micro-electro-mechanical systems, and opto-electronics. As opposed to the mature design automation standards of digital circuits, the design workflows of custom circuits remain highly manual due to a wider range of electromagnetic sensitivities and signal couplings that must be accommodated. Despite the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and abundance of compute power, many commercial EDA tools of the multibillion-dollar custom circuit industry still rely on heuristics and procedural routing approaches that require several days of human efforts to provide wire blueprints of a layout. This project develops an AI-powered software tailored for custom circuits that may alleviate days of routing trial and error and guarantees performance of the finalized wired circuit. The proposed technology allows for producing custom chips and devices faster and at a fraction of the cost, enhances circuit security as it incentivizes small businesses to complete circuit routing within the nation, and additionally lowers the skill and experience barrier for the American workforce to enter the electronic design profession.
The proposed project will capitalize on techniques from graph theory, operations research, and AI to arrive at an automated wire routing software that supports the wide variety of complex design rules prevalent in custom integrated circuits with thousands of devices. The crux of this technology is based on three proposed innovations: The first innovation is in application of graph search methodologies to succinctly identify all routable regions of a layout. The second innovation is the development of comprehensive and accurate mathematical models of design rules that, if satisfied, guarantees the performance of the resulting circuit. The third innovation is the devise of an AI-powered solver to find realizable wire routes satisfying all bespoke design rules without requiring manual and time-consuming human expert interventions. The inherent structure of custom circuits such as symmetry and paired wirings are embedded as algorithmic guidance into the AI-powered solver to expeditiously calculate feasible routes for each circuit. The software is created with fabrication cost optimizations in mind and excels in applications that minimize routing layers to maximize signal to noise ratios. The software will be shipped with input and output interfaces to commonly used EDA tools to facilitate its adoption by the community.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Z-POLYMERS, LLC
SBIR Phase I: Conquering 3D FDM Printing's Achilles Heel, Inter-Layer Adhesion, to Print Engineering Grade Products on Consumer 3D Printers.
Contact
61 COUNTRY CLUB LN
North Andover, MA 01845--2047
NSF Award
2421903 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
09/01/2024 – 05/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project lies in its potential to revolutionize the nation?s 3D printing industry by introducing Tullomer, a proprietary liquid crystal polymer (LCP) that offers unparalleled strength, lightweight properties, radio transparency, inertness, and non-flammability using sustainable non-toxic materials. Eliminating lower performance, difficult-to-print polymers like PEEK, which require fluorobenzene processing and annealing, the project's innovative approach to improving as-printed tensile strength shall establish Tullomer as a superior alternative to existing FDM filaments. Tullomer also has the potential to greatly expand the $1B high-performance 3D printing market by democratizing engineering-grade printing on consumer printers. The company?s business model involves strategic partnerships with major industry players, ensuring strong market entry and scalability. The initial market segment will target applications where lightweight, high-strength materials are critical, such as automotive, defense, and aerospace industries. Tullomer?s potential to replace both metals and certain unsustainable high-performance polymers is key to Z-Polymers' commercial success, innovation, and economic growth.
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 project addresses significant limitations in fused deposition modeling 3D printing by developing a novel liquid crystal polymer known as Tullomer, derived from 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. Traditional fused deposition modeling materials suffer from inadequate inter-layer adhesion, leading to weak and inconsistent parts. This project aims to enhance the mechanical properties and environmental compatibility of these materials by optimizing monomer ratios, integrating nucleation additives, controlling mesogenic state formation, and tuning molecular weight and viscosity. The technical approach involves developing methods for surface activation and incorporating cross-linking additives to improve inter-layer bonding and rheological properties. Distinctive attributes of this liquid crystal polymer include its melt-processability, lack of per-fluorinated compounds, and absence of Bisphenol A in processing, which contributes to its superior environmental compatibility. The anticipated results are a high-strength, eco-friendly filament that can be processed on standard 3D printers (~300°C). This filament is expected to outperform existing materials in terms of both mechanical strength and sustainability. Validation will include performance testing against industry standards and comparison with current filaments. The project aligns with global trends, positioning Tullomer as a disruptive force in the 3D printing market, particularly for applications in electric vehicles, defense, automotive, and aerospace industries.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ZEBRAMD INC.
SBIR Phase I: A Clinical Decision Making tool to improve diagnosis, management and research in rare and genetic disease
Contact
423 TAFT FAMILY RD 1302
Quechee, VT 05059--3070
NSF Award
2403838 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
11/01/2024 – 10/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to potentially improve the diagnosis and management of patients with rare diseases by developing an Electronic Health System integrated artificial intelligence Clinical Decision Support Tool. 1 in 10 people are affected by a rare disease worldwide, half of them are children, and 30% of them will die within the first 5 years of their life due to their disease. On average, it takes 12-15 years from the onset of symptoms to be diagnosed with one of the >10,000 currently known rare and genetic diseases, much longer for patients who reside in rural and underserved communities. Patients with a rare disease are seen by all medical specialties, but it is not possible for any physician, not even a specialist, to be and remain an expert in the over 10,000 currently known rare diseases, leading to preventable adverse patient outcomes. It costs approximately $28,000 more a year to treat a patient with a rare disease in comparison to a patient with a common chronic disease. 70% of this excess medical cost is carried by governmental single payors such as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop an Electronic Health Record (EHR) integrated artificial intelligence system that can predict rare diseases in undiagnosed patients based on their patient data alone and give evidence-based, personalized treatment recommendations of already diagnosed patients relevant to the department specialty. With improved and earlier precision management this system can reduce diagnostic delays and prevent adverse outcomes while leading to significant cost savings per patient of up to $28,000 a year, totaling nearly $1 Billion dollars of direct medical cost savings in the US alone per year. The project utilizes diverse EHR data from various institutions across the US enriched by published data sources such as NIH databases to create predictive algorithms for undiagnosed patients and evidence-based management algorithms for already diagnosed patients using virtual pooling technology; This eliminates the need for patient-level data sharing across institutions and enables wide scalability to any rare disease. This point-of-care EHR-integrated app can be used in any setting worldwide with any patient population as it continuously self-updates locally and globally through bidirectional algorithm sharing.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ZENOLEAP LLC
STTR Phase I: High-Sensitivity Flexible Quantum Dots/Graphene X-Ray Detectors and Imaging Systems
Contact
4517 WINGED FOOT CT
Lawrence, KS 66049--3837
NSF Award
2322053 – STTR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
04/01/2024 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel sensitive x-ray imaging platform based on a quantum approach to photo-detection. This project will leverage recent advancements in Quantum Dots/Graphene technology to demonstrate its suitability and superior performance for x-ray-based imaging medical capital equipment. This novel technological approach aims to provide an X-ray diagnostic imaging platform with superior performance and lower potential price points than semiconductor detector paradigms. The commercial impact is a novel detector array platform for the $16 billion annual x-ray imaging market, focusing on the $6.9 annual computed tomography (CT) scanner subset of the market.
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a functional prototype for a novel Quantum Dots (QD)/graphene nanohybrid x-ray array detection platform for use in medical diagnostic capital equipment. This initiative aims to design and quantify the critical attributes of a novel quantum sensor platform for x-ray capture, down-conversion, and detection of down-converted low-energy photons. During this first phase, experimental tests will be completed. The results will be used to design and develop a prototype detector array with a QD-layer design onto rigid and flexible substrates for scalability onto large X-ray imaging systems. The completed prototype system will then be tested and validated for performance versus existing platforms. This Phase 1 project will quantitatively benchmark several critical attributes (cost, sensitivity, efficiency, preliminary safety) for a novel x-ray imaging nanohybrid platform versus current hybrids for future commercial integration.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
ZEPSOR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
SBIR Phase I: Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS)-Based Near-Zero Power Infrared Sensors for Proximity Detection
Contact
145 S BEDFORD ST STE 240
Burlington, MA 01803--5480
NSF Award
2304549 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$275,000
Start / end date
01/15/2024 – 12/31/2025 (Estimated)
NSF Program Director
Errata
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Abstract
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks the development of a first-of-its-kind proximity sensor that consumes near-zero power at standby for touchless interface applications. The proximity detector is based on a proprietary micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) infrared detector technology that is more accurate, more compact, and 100 times more power efficient than any existing infrared detector technology. The innovation is a digitized, ultra-low power, uncooled infrared detector. The total addressable market for this proximity sensor is estimated to be ~$4.7 billion in 2023, with a serviceable obtainable market of hundreds of millions for the technology. Although the market for proximity and presence sensing is extremely broad, the team has chosen to target touchless faucets and auto sanitizer dispensers as the go-to-market applications due to the technology and market readiness. The product and its commercialization process are expected to create societal and economic impacts in four areas including conservation of resources, hygiene promotion, and enhanced partnerships between university and industry.
The intellectual merit of this project includes the first demonstration of a near-zero power proximity sensor with a wide field-of-view, tunable detection range, and temperature stability in a relevant indoor environment. State-of-the-art sensors drain battery power continuously regardless of the presence of target signal. The team recently broke the fundamental paradigm of wasting energy in standby mode with the invention of a completely passive sensor microsystem that can detect and discriminate events of interest by exploiting only the energy contained in their specific physical signatures. Remaining challenges for chip-scale hand detection include efficiently harvesting the tiny amount of thermal energy emitted by a hand to trigger a micromechanical photo-switch while achieving a high level of immunity to background temperature changes. A new plasmonically-enhanced, long-wave infrared absorber, a threshold tuning mechanism, and vacuum packaging are developed and expected to lead to the demonstration of a miniaturized prototype capable of reliably detecting a hand at 2-10 cm distance, while consuming less than 1 microamp current in standby mode.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. -
Zeteo Tech, Inc.
SBIR Phase I: Automated Robotic Disinfection System (COVID-19)
Contact
6935 WARFIELD AVE
Sykesville, MD 21784--7454
NSF Award
2036162 – SBIR Phase I
Award amount to date
$256,000
Start / end date
07/01/2021 – 03/31/2025 (Estimated)
Errata
Please report errors in award information by writing to awardsearch@nsf.gov.
This is a COVID-19 award.Abstract
The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project will improve infection control in public transportation. There is currently no high-speed, autonomous method capable of decontaminating commercial aircraft and public transit vehicles. The proposed technology rapidly inactivates viruses and other potential biothreats in an automated robotic disinfection system.
This SBIR Phase I project proposes development and scaling of a system using radiofrequency (RF) directed energy to activate a benign chemical, producing biocidal reactive oxygen on surfaces. Preliminary studies of MS2 bacteriophage viruses have demonstrated inactivation of 99.999999% of MS2, despite being 7-10x more difficult to inactivate than SARS-CoV-2. The proposed system consists of four subsystems: application sprayer, RF, robotics, and power. This project will optimize and integrate these subsystems. A key technical objective is identifying the power density threshold and appropriate frequency for virus inactivation without negative interactions with electronic equipment.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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