Radiosense, an Austin-based startup that provides precise positioning for automated vehicles, recently placed in the top three at Texas Wireless Summit (TWS) 2016’s Autotech Startup Showcase. Radiosense was founded by WNCG student and CEO Andrew Kerns, fellow student Daniel Shepard and alum Ken Pesyna.
Produced as a partnership between TWS and the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) and sponsored by Rohde and Schwarz, the TWS showcase identified promising autotech startups from across the country and created a distinct platform for exposure and industry engagement.
“The showcase is not just about wireless communications technology, but about the business models one needs to enable those solutions to come to market,” ATI’s Assistant Director of Clean Energy, Kathleen Baireuther, states.
Out of dozens of applications, only eight companies were selected to participate in the final showcase competition, held during TWS 2016. The startups competed in a fast-pitch session and juried showcase. The first-place recipient, Kenguru, received a $5,000 prize from Rohde and Schwarz, as well as admission to ATI.
A panel of five independent judges volunteered their time and expertise to determine the winner. These judges included: UT Austin Professor of Innovation and Murchison Fellow of Free Enterprise’s Bob Metcalfe, NXP’s ADAS Product Manager for Automotive Microcontrollers and Processors Roger Keen, Moovel North America’s VP of Marketing Rachel Charlesworth, Southwest Research Institute’s R&D Manager in the Cooperative Systems Section Eric Thorn and UT Austin’s Network Modeling Center Assistant Director Prof. Natalia Ruiz.
The startup competitors included: Acerta, a platform that analyzes vehicle data to detect problems and predict failures; Astrapi, which commercializes spiral modulation; Civic Smart, which has enabled over 2,000 cities to unlock smart parking solutions; Fathym, which offers end-to-end IOT, data capture, analytics, alerting, visualization and messaging solutions; Kenguru, which provides electric low speed vehicles to drivers with physical disabilities in wheelchairs; Molocar, which streamlines the car shopping experience for both dealers and customers; Radiosense, which provides low-cost, centimeter-accurate precise positioning systems for automated vehicles; and SPLT, an enterprise-first carpooling platform that connects drivers and riders within organizations to share the commute.
The startup showcase allowed startups to network with business leaders, academics, students and investors to raise awareness, and sometimes funds, for their new ventures.
To find out more about TWS 2016, visit: http://texaswirelesssummit.org/
About the Austin Technology Incubator
The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) is the startup incubator of the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. ATI works with seed and pre-seed-stage companies. ATI helps prepare these businesses for commercial success, with a particular focus on helping startups compete in capital markets. The incubator has operated since 1989 with a dual mission: to create jobs and wealth in Central Texas through technology entrepreneurship and to provide teaching and research opportunities to the UT Austin community. Over the past 10 years, ATI companies have raised over $900 million and created more than 6,500 jobs, nearly $1 billion in economic impact, and over $20 million in tax revenues in Central Texas.