This week I am talking to Kathleen Griggs, the President and Founder of Databuoy a unique and clever technology that uses acoustic sensor mesh networks to localize sounds to monitor activities and integrate with other information sources and makers of ShotPoint a gunshot detection mechanism that works indoors and outdoors.
The company was founded in 2006 with the name deriving from the early US Navy work of the same name and in use at the National Data Buoy Center that has a worldwide collection of sensors monitoring our marine environment. You might remember this technology seen in the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” (If you are interested in the science behind the movie concept this post is a good primer). Their sensors are land based but work on similar principles.
We discuss the development of the technology and the confirmation of a recurring theme in Innovation that not all good ideas are good or will amount to anything. In this case, as Kathleen puts it
90% of all research projects at DARPA amount to nothing and are discarded
But it is this willingness to explore all areas that create unique and interesting innovation opportunities. In this case, while the technology principles worked the challenge in the military environment including an inability or unwillingness to change 10,000 batteries and “feed and care” for systems in the battlefield meant it was no use.
They applied the learning and technology and developed a commercial solution for inside and outside that in the example of the tragedy at Las Vegas and the Mandalay Bay hotel would have been able to accurately and quickly locate the shooter.
Listen in to hear about the science of sounds, supersonic, transonic and subsonic sound detection and how their technology could even be used to determine the sex of the mosquito flying near their sensors.
Listen live at 4:00 AM, 12:00 Noon or 8:00 PM ET, Monday through Friday for the next two weeks at HealthcareNOW Radio. After that, you can listen on demand (See podcast information below.) Join the conversation on Twitter at #TheIncrementalist.
Listen along on HealthcareNowRadio or on SoundCloud
