Whether it's Lawrence Livermore, whether it's NIST,
some of the most brilliant people in the world are in research in these places,
and they're creating novel inventions.
And those novel inventions really shouldn't just sit there.
>> We are developing new technology that the industry can use to enhance
their competitiveness in these areas.
>> The government invests about $150 billion every year into the R&D sector,
and all that money is coming from the taxpayers.
And so, it's great that the taxpayers can fund these great technologies for
government purposes.
What many people don't know is that you can take that technology and
license that out and create new businesses from that.
>> I lead a project on prognostics and
health management, for reliable operations in smart manufacturing.
We wanted to provide the manufacturing community with a very
cost-effective test method that the manufacturers can deploy and
get information on the health of their work cell.
What technologies can NIST develop that can be made publicly available
to enhance robot work cell health degradation?
>> Brian wasn't in the business to create a commercial product.
Brian was in the position of taking research dollars, and
apply them to understand a research project.
When you transition and start talking about, Would you use this product
in your manufacturing line, the whole sets of questions used changed.
And really that's why FedTech was born, to uncover this research and
figure out how to apply it to solve real-world commercial problems.
>> We identify technologies in the labs that we
think have the foundation to be commercial products.
So after we found great people and great technology,
FedTech is really the mechanism in which we bring the two together.
>> This was NIST's first interaction with FedTech, but
I was enthusiastic from the perspective that this would be an opportunity for
my technology to get exposed to an audience outside of NIST.
>> So, in March,
during the FedTech kickoff, we met with the inventors from NIST.
And the ensuing four months was an all-out sprint.
Customer discovery, obviously deep dive learning about the technology.
Potential use cases, applications, and I'm happy to say the incorporation of Nuance
as a new business entity to pursue the commercialization of these technologies.
>> Thinking about how something would be commercialized and
going through the motions in a meaningful way,
of working with folks who will talk to stakeholders and
think about how you would implement a technology outside of a vacuum.
I think it's a great learning experience for the inventor.
>> The benefit of interacting with an entrepreneurial group such as Nuance
is that I get to understand my technology from a different set of glasses.
>> A company like Nuance, a program like FedTech,
can really act as a supercharger, as a force multiplier.
There's only so much you can learn, and do, and develop in the confines of a lab.
The second you introduce it to real-world users, you get just
a phenomenal array of feedback and fresh perspectives.
>> For me, it was definitely a breath of fresh air, and
it gave me some measure of validation.
Government does a lot a great research, especially here at NIST.
I believe it's in our best interest to become more involved in the technology
transfer process.
All our technologies should find a home in the community,
where the community is drawing some type of economic benefit.