Mobius Labs awarded NSF grant for leak detection product
Internet of Things (IoT) developer Mobius Labs has been awarded a $750,000 grant (€672,666) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the commercialisation of its FirstDrops™ water leak detection product.
The start-up, which is based in Albany in the US, expects commercial sales of the product to begin by the end of 2019. In July, the company received the Center for Economic Growth’s Technology Innovation Award.
FirstDrops has been designed to help owners of high occupancy buildings to identify leaks before they cause major problems with significant costs. The products are currently being demonstrated and operated in local apartment complexes and commercial buildings in the US, as well as in Marriot, Hilton, Hampton Inn and Doubletree hotels.
The IoT devices uses artificial intelligence and advanced software to identify leaks and notify building managers. The longer the device is used, the more its software learns about the plumbing and fixtures, making it possible to predict leaks and plan maintenance before leaks occur.
“The market needed this product yesterday,” commented Karl Appel, Mobius Labs’ co-founder. “Our technology is ready to provide the solution to our customers.”
The funding from the NSF is a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, which will allow Mobius Labs to continue research and development (R&D) on the device and software. The company was awarded a $225,000 (€201,815) Phase I NSF grant to support initial product R&D in June 2017.
“The National Science Foundation supports small businesses with the most innovative, cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to become great commercial successes and make huge societal impacts,” said Andrea Belz, director of the NSF’s Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships. “We hope that this seed funding will spark solutions to some of the most important challenges of our time across all areas of science and technology.”
The start-up, which is based in Albany in the US, expects commercial sales of the product to begin by the end of 2019. In July, the company received the Center for Economic Growth’s Technology Innovation Award.
FirstDrops has been designed to help owners of high occupancy buildings to identify leaks before they cause major problems with significant costs. The products are currently being demonstrated and operated in local apartment complexes and commercial buildings in the US, as well as in Marriot, Hilton, Hampton Inn and Doubletree hotels.
The IoT devices uses artificial intelligence and advanced software to identify leaks and notify building managers. The longer the device is used, the more its software learns about the plumbing and fixtures, making it possible to predict leaks and plan maintenance before leaks occur.
“The market needed this product yesterday,” commented Karl Appel, Mobius Labs’ co-founder. “Our technology is ready to provide the solution to our customers.”
The funding from the NSF is a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, which will allow Mobius Labs to continue research and development (R&D) on the device and software. The company was awarded a $225,000 (€201,815) Phase I NSF grant to support initial product R&D in June 2017.
“The National Science Foundation supports small businesses with the most innovative, cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to become great commercial successes and make huge societal impacts,” said Andrea Belz, director of the NSF’s Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships. “We hope that this seed funding will spark solutions to some of the most important challenges of our time across all areas of science and technology.”
