First partnership formed in new zone Business will market screening device developed at
Lehigh.
By Nicole
Radzievich Of The Morning
Call
From her Virginia home, Audree
Chase-Mayoral was stunned one day when she came across a network news
story about a high-tech device that, with seemingly Superman capabilities,
was able to see through walls to detect concealed weapons.
What was
even more amazing than the technology, Chase-Mayoral thought, was it was
being developed at Lehigh University — practically her
hometown.
Now, after 11/2 years of phone calls and research, the
Southern Lehigh graduate is returning to her roots with her husband,
Leopoldo Mayoral, to market that technology to the law enforcement
community.
The couple formed a company, SuperVision Technology
Inc., and plan to launch it in Bethlehem with the help of the state's new
Keystone Innovation Zone, designed to help communities grow technology
businesses by forging partnerships with universities.
Bethlehem and
Lancaster received the first designations, and Bethlehem on Thursday
became the first in the state to award a technology grant with a $10,250
check to SuperVision.
''The commonwealth of Pennsylvania has
granted us a tremendous opportunity through the KIZ program to develop our
business and produce a state-of-the-art system,'' Leopoldo Mayoral,
president and chief executive officer of SuperVision, said during a news
conference at Lehigh University. ''We expect that [the device] will change
the face of national security in how law enforcement currently examines
individuals for hidden weapons.''
While the grant is relatively
small, officials say it is a significant step in developing the Keystone
Innovation Zone, which aims to head off ''brain drain'' by enticing
graduates to find high-paying work in the state. There are now about a
dozen such zones in the state.
The zone includes much of the South
Side: Lehigh University, nearby neighborhoods, the South Side business
district and a large part of the former Bethlehem Steel
property.
As part of his $2 billion economic stimulus package, Gov.
Ed Rendell in July presented Bethlehem with $250,000 to kick off the
program. That money was matched by the South Bethlehem KIZ Committee,
which got about half its money from the Ben Franklin Technology
Development Authority.
The city and university have been working on
a host of projects, including creating a wireless network on the city's
South Side.
In addition, Bethlehem's KIZ also has set up a
subcommittee to investigate how it could use university and public
transportation to acquaint students with the surrounding
community.
''Through nationally recognized programs like the
Keystone Innovation zones, Pennsylvania is demonstrating its commitment to
creating high-wage, high-skilled jobs and strengthening Pennsylvania's
overall economy,'' said Richard Overmoyer, deputy secretary of the state
Department of Community and Economic Development's Office of Technology
Investment.
Ray Suhocki, president and chief executive officer of
the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., which locally administers
the KIZ program, said the coming of SuperVision shows how the state is
combatting ''brain drain.''
''Entrepreneurs like SuperVision
Technologies Inc. demonstrates how the KIZ initiative is becoming a
reality and how the program benefits the economy in the Lehigh Valley,''
Suhocki said.
SuperVision plans to use the grant to do a marketing
study on the product, called Portable Multi-Sensor Imaging Fusion System.
A prototype could be ready within six months and it could be marketed in
less than a year.
Developed by Lehigh University professor Rick
Blum, the device can project images to law enforcement that show weapons
hidden behind walls or concealed on humans underneath clothing.
The
technology fuses two types of images using complicated algorithms Blum
created.
The first image uses millimeter-wave sensors that emit
high-frequency radio waves to detect metal objects, such as weapons, and
project the information in an image similar to an X-ray. The second image
comes from a digital camera so law enforcement agents can see human
features and clothing.
Blum said he expects the technology to cater
to the departments of Defense and Homeland Security. The company will be
working on making the device more affordable to other law enforcement
agencies.
The company will begin with three employees and could
expand to 10 within two years.
Mayor John Callahan described the
company's arrival as an important step in the KIZ program.
''Any
time we can bring a company from Virginia to the Lehigh Valley is quite a
coup,'' Callahan said.
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