04 Jun 2020 Five Ws with the TIAs Finalists: Excellence in Technology Innovation
Damon Motorcycles, Fatigue Science, and Terramera at the 2020 Technology Impact Awards Finalist Announcement on April 28th, 2020.
In the lead-up to the 2020 Technology Impact Awards, BC Tech is profiling all 38 finalists in 11 award categories. Today, we look at three companies whose technologies clearly demonstrate next-level innovation and breakthrough solutions with significant market impact. The “Excellence in Technology Innovation” award is presented in partnership with MDA.
Damon Motorcycles
Who: Founded by CEO Jay Giraud and CTO Dominque Kwong in 2017, Damon’s team of industry veterans “are hand-picked ex-Intel, Recon, Citroen, Peugeot, Broadcom, Nokia and Mobify outliers who’d rather be in charge of their own destiny,” Jay says. “Having evolved from an imaginative spark through to three generations of proven development, we plan to hire about 80 people over the next year in just about every position you can imagine.” (Visit Damon’s careers page here.)
What: Damon is redefining the motorcycle industry by making the riding and commuting experience perpetually safer and smarter. The company’s Hypersport two wheeled vehicles employ radical innovations in sensor fusion, robotics and AI to prevent accidents by collecting rider, traffic and vehicle data and sending it to Damon’s cloud for industry-wide consumption. “Our system learns from every rider, every intersection and every situation,” Jays explains.
When: In winning the “Best of Innovation in Vehicle Intelligence and Transportation” award at the 2020 Consumer Electricos Show, the Damon Halo Hypersport was described as “the safest, smartest, and most advanced electric motorcycle ever made.” No wonder the series sold out in a flash. Damon then went on to raise $3 million in financing, and acquire the IP portfolio of Mission Motors, a developer of high-density EV powertrains.
Where: “Vancouver is a real hotbed of innovative transportation technology,” Jays says of Damon’s home base. “We’ve been innovating fuel cell and electric vehicle and battery technology for almost 40 years in this province, so getting this recognition as a TIAs finalist is huge given how much we’ve achieved in a short time.”
Why: We look like a motorcycle company, we behave like a motorcycle company, but we have a vision to radically alter personal mobility over the coming 10 to 15 years,” Jays says, adding that Damon’s goal is to eliminate fatal accidents on its vehicles by 2030.
Fatigue Science
Who: Fatigue’s 30-member team is “elated” over its TIAs nomination, President and CEO Andrew Morden says. “It’s a great validation of all the work our talented and growing group has been doing over the past year.” (Visit Fatigue’s careers page here.)
What: By combining validated sleep research with its ReadiAnalytics predictive analytics enterprise platform, Readi app and Readiband wearable technology, Fatigue Science is making it possible to measure, predict, analyse, and forecast human fatigue and its impact on performance, safety, health and wellness. Companies such as Caterpillar, Rio Tinto, Newmont, and BBMV, and pro sports teams including the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and Toronto Raptors, are using this tech to enable high performance and create safer and healthier work environments.
When: Fatigue Science started with great success in High Performance Sport and Military with clients ranging from NFL, MLB, and NBA teams to the English Premiership and Olympic athletes, along with the Canadian, US, UK and Australian military. Its clients include dozens of pro teams, athletes and special forces operators around the world who have adopted Fatigue Science’s technology since the Vancouver Canucks purchased exclusive NHL rights in 2013. Now they have a new and expanded focus on heavy industrial firms who are willing and able to take advantage of Fatigue Science’s IIOT and AI solutions. Their users have flourished, with BBMV being awarded “Best Use of Technology: Health & Safety” at the 2017 New Civil Engineer TechFest Awards for its use of Fatigue Science’s Predictive Fatigue Management Solution.
Where: “A wonderful ride” is how Andrew describes his 20-plus years in the B.C. tech sector. “What’s readily apparent to me is that people from other jurisdictions don’t have the support that we have in B.C. and in Canada. There’s great innovation in the B.C. tech sector, and really cool local success stories in diverse areas of the technology sector. I love the entrepreneurial spirit here as well.”
Why: “If you care about the performance of your workforce, if you care about their output, safey, and overall health, then it makes sense to apply the Internet of Things and AI to your most valuable asset – your people,” Andrew says. “That’s why we think of ourselves as an ‘Internet of People’ technology.”
Terramera
Who: “We have attracted a world-class bench of engineers, staff and advisors,” says CEO Karn Manhas, who founded Terramera in 2010. “It’s especially important for tech companies to have the best and brightest people, so we’re always looking for top talent.” (Visit Terramera’s careers page here.)
What: By fusing science, nature and artificial intelligence, Terramera is working to transform how food is grown and the economics of agriculture in the next decade with more than 200 patents in its IP portfolio. Its revolutionary agtech platform, Actigate, aims to reduce the global synthetic pesticide load by 80 percent by 2030.
When: Terramera hasn’t looked back since completing $1.8 Million in SEED financing in 2012. Its many awards include the 2019 LifeSciences BC Company of the Year prize and recognition in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards. Last but definitely not least, Terramera was named one of the founding members of Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster in 2018, and went on to lead its “Precision Agriculture to Improve Crop Health” project.
The company has unfinished business at the TIAs, having been nominated twice in the past. “I love the theme of this year’s TIAs,” Karn says. “We’re all about focusing on the spirit of B.C. tech and the purpose that drives all of us.”
Where: Headquartered in Vancouver, Terramera has integrated operations in Canada, the United States and India that include research labs, a greenhouse and a farm.
Why: “We are working to help make farming healthier, more sustainable and more productive so we can ensure a world that thrives and provides for everyone, while also helping to turn back the clock on climate change,” Karn says.