ThingMagic (MIT) introduces M6e UHF RFID Module

ThingMagic, an MIT spinoff that develops RFID technology, introduced its new Mercury6e (M6e) UHF RFID Module on Wedneday, April 14. The M6e is the world’s smallest 1 Watt, four port module. Among the firsts of the M6e are: being the first four-port UHF RFID module with multi-protocol support, being the first four-port UHF RFID module that operates at greater than 30 dBm, being the first UHF RFID module to deliver FCC and ETSI support in a single module configuration at 36 dBm EIRP and 33 dBm ERP, respectively, and being the first commercially available UHF RFID module based on the Indy R2000 chip from Caltech-spinoff Impinj. A beta program for the M6e is being conducted.

Luminus (MIT) announces growth of lighting products and four new ballasts

Luminus, an MIT spinoff that develops and manufactures high performance solid-state light sources, made two announcements on Wednesday, April 14, at the Light & Building 2010 Show in Frankfurt. The first announcement focused on new lighting applications using the company’s flagship lighting class LED products, the SST-50 and SST-90.

The second announcement centered on the launch of four new ballasts: LB-030-15, LB-030-09, LB-060-15, and LB-150-48. These ballasts are optimized to power its “big chip” technology LEDs for lighting professionals.

Impinj (Caltech) announces certification by Mexican government

Impinj, a Caltech spinoff that develops UHF Gen 2 RFID solutions, announced with Digilogics S.A. de C.V. on Wednesday, April 14, that the Mexican government has certified Impinj’s Speedway Revolution reader. The certification paves the way for state agencies and the automotive industry to purchase Speedway Revolution reader for Mexico’s electronic vehicle registration initiative, which mandates a countrywide vehicle identification program.

Firetide (MIT) announces deployment by Jincheng Coal Company

Firetide, an MIT spinoff that provides wireless infrastructure mesh networks, announced on Tuesday, April 13, that Jincheng Coal Company has deployed Firetide’s products on its railroad tracks. The tracks are now equipped with a wireless mesh network, which replaces 800 MHz walkie-talkies that conductors utilized. The network provides VoIP and WiFi, allowing conductors to communicate more safely and reliably.

Welcome

This blog’s purpose is reporting news from companies that were founded either: (1) by professors or students at a university, or (2) by licensing technology developed at a university. Examples of these types of companies include:

• Bose (Prof. Amar Bose at MIT),
• Broadcom (Prof. Henry Samueli and his gradaute student Dr. Henry Nicholas at UCLA),
• Gatorade (Dr. Robert Cade of the University of Florida Gators),
• Google (co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were graduate students at Stanford),
• Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard), and
• A123Systems (Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang at MIT), which went IPO in September 2009.

University spinoffs have been discussed in multiple places. For instance, the topic has been discussed in academic papers by Prof. Ed Roberts at MIT, in Ph.D. dissertations by Prof. David Hsu and Robert Lowe, a book by Prof. Scott Shane, and a blog by David B. Lerner. However, following these companies from their spinoff out of the university to the their buyouts or IPOs has been challenging. That is the gap that this blog will fill.