Syracuse, N.Y. — A U.K. company that makes imaging equipment that helps police and security forces monitor valuable assets and facilities in remote or challenging locations walked away with the $1 million grand prize in the Genius NY business competition Thursday night.
After the company and four other finalists presented their business plans in front of 100 people in the Grand Ballroom of the historic Syracuse Downtown Marriott, a panel of five judges, Archangel Imaging Ltd. was chosen for the top prize.
Although Archangel won the $1 million grand prize, the four runners-up did not leave empty-handed. Each will receive $500,000.
Archangel was founded in 2016 in Oxfordshire, England. It makes devices equipped with cameras that use artificial intelligence to search for trespassers and other lawbreakers in remote areas. Among the areas where they can be deployed are railway facilities and areas where poachers hunt protected animals.
The cameras can even detect whether a person approaching a herd of elephants in Africa, for example, is holding a gun, said Don Sulla, an engineer and British Army veteran who helped found the company.
When they detect a trespasser or predator, the devices can automatically generate visual or audio alerts for suspects, and can even launch a drone to automatically capture them until police or other security personnel arrive, he said. do
Sola said the company plans to use the $1 million prize money to hire workers in Syracuse and begin production of the latest version of its devices. The company is currently looking for a local manufacturer to partner with, he said.
All five finalists moved into The Tech Garden, a business accelerator in downtown Syracuse, in August. Under the terms of the contest, they must operate their business in central New York for at least one year.
Award money is distributed throughout the year based on their needs and meeting business milestones, said John Leidy, interim vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship at CenterState CEO, which runs the tech park.
The annual government-funded competition is open to startups worldwide that can demonstrate the potential to succeed in the unmanned systems industry. This year’s finalists were selected from over 200 applicants from over 50 countries.
This year is the sixth year of this competition. In the first five years of this program, the amount of 15 million dollars was awarded to 27 companies. Since 2017, Genius NY companies have raised more than $90 million in follow-on funding and created 75 jobs in the region, according to CenterState’s CEO.
These four people are the runners-up of this year’s tournament:
AVSS – Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc. (Canada): Produces a parachute recovery system for unmanned aerial vehicles. This system allows drones to land safely if their engines fail.
Dronehub (Poland): Dronehub has developed automatic charging docks for drones – a kind of gas station for unmanned aerial vehicles – that help companies with large infrastructures reduce monitoring costs and data. Receive air in real time.
Fusion Engineering (Netherlands): Fusion is working to create an easy-to-use flight controller for any type of multi-rotor drone.
Wonder Robotics (Israel): This company has developed a system that enables the operation of autonomous commercial drones.
Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Do you have a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: E-mail | twitter | Facebook | 3148-470-315
