The MassTLC Leadership Awards recognize and honor “the best and the brightest” of the Massachusetts tech ecosystem each year. On July 18, after months of nominations and judging, the finalists in each of fifteen different categories were announced (learn more about the selection process, here).
Who will be crowned the winners? Find out on October 3, 2018, at the 21st annual Mass Tech Leadership Awards Gala.
In the meantime, let us introduce you to our finalists and the great work that they are doing here in Massachusetts.
In the words of their nominators, meet the 2018 “Cutting Edge Technology” finalists.
Coravin for The Coravin Model Eleven
Coravin is transforming the way the world drinks and thinks about wine by allowing consumers to pour a glass of wine without removing the cork. The Coravin Model Eleven is the first fully automatic wine preservation opener featuring Bluetooth connectivity to the Coravin Moments app.
For hundreds of years, consumers have been constrained by the way wine is sold to them: by the bottle. The Coravin Wine Preservation System is the first system that allows wine drinkers to pour a glass of wine without removing the cork. With Coravin, consumers can drink any wine, in any amount – without wasting a drop and preserve the wine remaining in the bottle for weeks, months or even years.
Coravin is changing the way that wine is served, sold and enjoyed. With the Model Eleven, wine lovers and connoisseurs can explore food and wine pairings, throw unforgettable wine tasting parties, or use their favorite wines for cooking – all without wasting a drop. The Model Eleven gives users even more freedom of choice to drink the wine they want, whenever they want.
iZotope for Spire Studio
Spire Studio is a portable, wireless, multitrack recorder that pairs with a free iOS app. With Spire Studio, any musician can quickly and easily capture inspiration outside the confines of a recording studio. They can achieve professional-sounding audio, personalize their sound with creative effects, easily mix and layer their tracks, and share their music with bandmates for collaboration or straight to storage services, social media, or SoundCloud.
Traditionally, the process of recording presents musicians with a unique set of challenges that inhibit spontaneous creativity. iZotope had to create a whole different way of looking at and interacting with music recording—one that would be comfortable to newcomers yet not alienating to experienced musicians.
In the way GoPro opened a market for DIY video capture, Spire opens a new market segment for DIY creatives working with audio.
Formlabs for Form Cell
Form Cell is the first solution for stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing available to customers for automating creation of mass customized products. Form Cell reduces cost per part and downtime with reliable, stable printing as well as with automated prepping, printing, and washing of 3D printed parts.
Form Cell moves 3D printing closer to the idea of consumers being able to finally purchase customized, 3D-printed products on demand. By parallelizing the process with a row of Formlabs’ Form 2 stereolithography (SLA) printers, companies can now automate the customized 3D part fulfilment process.
Form Cell eliminates repetitive manual processes to finally bring 3D printing into the lights-out, 24-hour digital factory.
Markforged for Metal X
The Metal X is a new kind of 3D printer. By printing metal powder bound in a plastic matrix, it eliminates the safety risks associated with traditional metal 3D printing, while enabling new features like closed-cell infill for reduced part weight and cost.
Traditional metal printing employed gigantic machines that require hazmat suits to operate – the Metal X is the size of a household appliance and is safely at home in a design office, machine shop, or on the factory line.
The Metal X is up to 10x less expensive than alternative metal additive manufacturing technologies — and up to a 100x less than traditional fabrication technologies like machining or casting.
Vesper for VM1010
The VM1010 is the first wake-on-sound MEMS microphone that consumes nearly zero power – allowing consumers to voice-activate battery-powered smart speakers, smart earbuds and TV remotes without draining the battery.
Thanks to its ZeroPower Listening ™, VM1010 extends battery life to months or years by enabling the rest of the system to completely power down while waiting for a keyword. Vesper MEMS microphones represent a radical shift from capacitive MEMS microphones.
As pervasive voice interfaces become a bigger part of our lives, consumers will purchase devices that work better and last longer, and those are products with piezoelectric MEMS mics.
