2017 Robotics Alley Highlights Three Innovative Companies

The 2017 Robotics Alley Conference & Expo in Minneapolis featured the event's 2nd annual "Invest in Innovation" start-up showcase. 

Invest in Innovation allowed three business concepts to showcase their technology in front of the Robotics Alley audience as well as a panel of Midwest-based angel investors.

Participants in this year's event included IoT company 75F, smart eyewear maker Awear Technologies, and Facet Technology Corporation, which has innovated in the use and development of LiDAR sensors.

The panel for the event included Tommy Kenville, Valley Angel Fund; David Russick, Founder, Managing Partner, Gopher Angels; and Todd Fronek, Attorney, Larkin Hoffman.

75F

75F is an IoT start-up disrupting the building systems industry by taking a new approach to HVAC, lighting and other controls in commercial buildings that saves energy and improves comfort. 75F uses cloud computing and machine learning to predict needs and proactively control its Internet-connected devices to achieve unprecedented energy savings of 30% to 70% of HVAC utility costs. 

Awear Technologies

Awear Technologies’ award-winning, patented smart eyewear is designed to naturally and sustainably improve attention and focus. Ten million students suffer from chronic or periodic attention gaps that negatively impact learning outcomes. Their innovative wearable was developed with NSF, NIH and Department of Education funding to improve learning, especially reading.

Facet Technology Corporation

Facet Technology Corporation uses advanced sensor technology to measure our world. Facet has developed a number of technologies, including innovative uses and advances in LiDAR Technology. It has a strong technical history and significant accomplishments delivering services and software. Founded in 1999, Facet customers are around the US and North America, and Facet has driven over 1,500,000 miles of roadside Image + LiDAR capture. A few notable Facet projects include routing and mapping the city centers of 120 US cities and performing high-resolution image capture for points-of-interest in those cities.

The Invest in Innovation session also featured updates from Harvest CROO Robotics and NimbeLink, two of the companies that participated in the inaugural event. Harvest CROO Robotics was established as a technology company focused on revolutionizing the agriculture industry with automation. NimbeLink is an innovation leader for today’s cellular-based machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions. 

About the Robotics Alley Conference & Expo

The Robotics Alley Conference & Expo is an annual gathering in Minnesota’s Twin Cities that is on pace to become one of the world’s leading conferences on robotics and automation. The event began in Minneapolis in 2011 as an industry-led initiative to spotlight the rapid growth of robotics and automation both globally and in the Midwest. It sought to bring together businesses, researchers, engineers, investors and others to help catalyze the fast-emerging robotics industry in Minnesota and the surrounding region. Since that time, it has grown to attract attendees from across the U.S. and the world. The event features discussion of leading-edge technological developments, world-class speakers and hands-on demos. This year’s event took place February 28-March 1 at The Depot Minneapolis.