Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010 - (Page 27)

June 7, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page M27 Focus: Defense Industry Defense in Washtenaw: Company profile Company’s focus is saving lives on battlefield Soar Technology Inc. CEO and Chief Scientific Officer Michael Van Lent describes the company he took over in January as a developer of cognitive software systems — for man and machine. Its products can gather data from the front lines and save lives. The research and development firm averages about $5 million in various grants, ranging from firststage Small Business Innovation Research grants of $70,000 to multiyear grants of $2 million or more to help bring certain products to market. He also said that even though customers range from the Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren to the Arlington, Va.-based Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Soar is well-suited to calling Ann Arbor home. “A lot of what would count as our competition is in D.C. or the Virginia area, and we have contemplated adding a local office there, just to be near the customers we work with on several research projects,” he said. “But there hasn’t been much talk of a complete relocation.” The 12-year-old company had fewer than five employees at inception, and had grown to 26 when Van Lent became CEO. Today it has 28. It launched to commercialize TacAir-Soar, an artificial intelMedi-Bot software system to take over operation of robots used to disarm explosive devices and Founded: 1998 have it function as a mobile assisCEO: Michael Van Lent tant to a field medic treating Employees: 28 wounded soldiers. Revenue: About $5 million per Van Lent said the goal is to reyear in grants purpose conventional military roCore products: Software bots so they can gather medical development for robotics, warrior data on wounded patients and training transmit it to an Army field medic, Why Washtenaw: History as who may be holding a mobile deUniversity of Michigan spinout, vice and aid decision-making on proximity to talent pool which patients are the most critiligence “cognitive architecture” cally wounded or who is treatable. program designed to emulate pilot “The data we’ve seen indicates behavior in a multithat as ple-plane tactical air much as setting. But 25 percent of Van Lent said all medical very little of personnel its work still who were involves killed in acTacAir-Soar. tion someToday it dewhere in velops intellitheater may gent training have been and simulakilled while tion systems, attempting image processing to treat a paand cognition softtient who ware for unmanned under the ground vehicles, Michael Van Lent, Soar Technology Inc. conditions and specialized decould not cision-making software. have been helped,” he said. “We’re The company has been a project trying to develop a system that can partner with Massachusetts-based aid in that medical decision-makrobotics contractor QinetiQ North ing process that can save lives.” America, and has been developing a — Chad Halcom Advanced manufacturing and alternative energy education and training for your employees. SOAR TECHNOLOGY INC. Visit our new website: www.MichiganSkillsToday.org Macomb Community College We’re trying to develop a system that can aid in that medical decisionmaking process. “ ” Educational Leaders in Economic & Workforce Transformation Defense: Washtenaw County has tech strength ■ From Page M26 tive client companies. Last fiscal year, the PTAC consulted with an average of 485 companies across a four-county region about defense contracting per quarter, compared with 164 per quarter in the 2001-02 fiscal year. More but smaller contracts In 2009, Washtenaw County businesses landed a record 520 contracts, worth $111.7 million, according to new data from govern mentcontractswon.com. But that and the local PTAC success rate suggest the latest growth is in contract volume, not value. In the preceding year, Washtenaw scored 492 contracts worth $113.4 million, and in 2007 there were 487 contracts worth a combined $151.5 million. In 2009, the contracts ranged in size from $19.6 million for Altarum and $16.3 million for GDAIS in Ypsilanti to less than $100,000 for several companies. Michigan Aerospace, which scored $1.5 million in new contracts during the year, reports about 30 employees as of May, down from two years ago, according to Ron Swonger, the company director of business development. Swonger said defense research budgets are tighter now than they were then, but the company is still well ahead of the headcount when President and Chief Scientist Paul Hays and board Chairman Lennard Fisk launched it in 1996. The UM spinout company develops atmospheric measuring technology using light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and some “predictive analytics” using data mining to foresee possible weather or atmospheric changes. The company has had research and development contracts with the U.S. Air Force in this area and has explored applications of LIDAR technology in unmanned air vehicles, as well as manned aircraft and weapon systems. Michigan Aerospace also has hired at least 10 former ERIM employees, and Swonger credits a long institutional memory with keeping the company close to its local roots. “Our sponsors are spread throughout the country, so there’s no need for us to stay in Ann Arbor,” he said. “But it’s the technology environment of Ann Arbor that keeps us here, and we have a lot of employees who have been here a while and obviously like living in this area.” Chad Halcom: (313) 446-6796, chalcom@crain.com http://www.MichiganSkillsToday.org http://www.MichiganSkillsToday.org http://www.ndia-mich.org http://governmentcontractswon.com http://governmentcontractswon.com http://www.ndia-mich.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010

Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010
In this Issue
Economic Makeover
Lesson Plan for Education Reform
Teaming Up for Action
Time for a Cultural Revolution
Defense Mechanism
Slowing the State's Brain Drain
Intern, Employers of the Year

Crain's Detroit Business - Mackinac Section - June 7, 2010