The Google Glass failed when it was released, but this did not deter Nick Cherukuri from pursuing business applications of mixed reality and augmented reality glasses.  ThirdEye was formed from a team with 50+ years of experience developing augmented reality technology for the Department of Defense.  The company’s vision is to “create the next generation of Mixed Reality Glasses and augmented/mixed reality software.”  The technology they are developing will “bring about a new era of hands-free human interaction via directly interacting with surrounding objects or placing digital info into your field of view.”  Nick believes that these glasses can “have a life changing impact on the way workers go about their everyday tasks.”  The glasses allow workers to view schematics, diagrams, and instructions while improving first time fix rates, decrease error rates, and do more quality jobs in a day.  The ThirdEye glasses can also be used for collaboration as they have a feature that allows a supervisor or expert to see what the user sees and provide feedback, and all of the features can be used hands free.  Another use of the glasses is for training new employees.  The glasses are being developed for a wide range of uses including aerospace & defense, architecture, education, field services, first responders, healthcare, law enforcement, and manufacturing.  First responders will be able to use the glasses to access patient records and talk to doctors.  Law enforcement can use the glasses for suspect facial recognition in real-time.  Security can be a concern for the glasses, but ThirdEye says that their Mobile Device Management platform can protect devices and data at every level.  This technology is not being widely used at this point, but it will be interesting to see where it goes as it is further developed.

Chris Fink founded Unmanned Vehicle Technologies as a way to get out of his corporate job.  He had worked as a firefighter and dispatcher using drones, but he found that there was a lack of support from the manufacturers.  Chris decided to fix this problem by making a company that would focus on supporting customers and meeting their needs.  He founded UVT in 2014 with a home built drone with a GoPro strapped to it, but the company has now had 4,200 customers and sold more than 19,000 drones.  In 2017, Chris met Andrew McKinney, the owner of Express Aerial Solutions and another firefighter and dispatcher, who was working on commercial leasing for industrial drones because many companies could not afford the large cost of a drone up front.  UVT and EAS merged to provide a new method for customers to get UVT’s products and services.  In 2017, Matt Rybar, a Sheriff’s Deputy, merged his company, Alpha Consulting Group, into UVT.  Alpha Consulting Group focused on training for drones to be adopted into public safety agencies.  This merge allowed UVT to expand its offerings to customers.  UVT seeks to supply customers with the most advanced industrial drones that have customized hardware and software to meet their needs as well as providing outstanding customer support.

Chris also has a small unmanned aircraft systems pilot ground and flight certification that he has used learn about drone operation which helps him provide better solutions through his company.  People who have worked with Chris say that he understands the market and is open to ideas and feedback.  His willingness to listen to customers and employees is likely a large part of why his company has been successful.  He understands how important it is to learn the customer’s needs and create a high quality solution to meet it.