U.S. manufacturing activity has contracted for a seventh straight month, per the Institute for Supply Management. This trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down, putting companies in a bind when it comes to innovating on new and existing products. Instead of resting on their laurels, these companies can take a page from federal R&D labs — leading to creative ideas and business growth.
In this newsletter, we’re highlighting how small businesses can partner with DOD and VA labs to drive R&D and innovation without the need for additional infrastructure. Plus, find development opportunities featured: a new learning system, negative pressure surgical masks, and more effective water transport to manage unmanned marine vehicles. Read on for more.
For tech companies, R&D is often one of the most resource-intensive parts of operating. And with less than one-quarter of sales coming from new products, the risk of innovating from scratch can run high for small businesses.
With technology transfer, businesses of all sizes can license federally developed technologies to fuel early R&D phases more efficiently. Check out our latest blog to learn how tech transfer can help businesses drive innovation and improve speed to market while managing costs and risk.
TechLink’s expert technology managers combed our marketplace to highlight this month’s top licensing opportunities. Read on for the latest from DOD and VA labs.
Naval Postgraduate School professors have invented a customizable web-based learning system called CHUNK — an acronym for "Curated Heuristic Using a Network of Knowledge." Now available for commercial licensing, the CHUNK Learning system allows users to create a profile that captures their background, skills, interests, goals, and learning preferences. The system then creates a learning content map that shows the user how to progress towards their goals.
The CHUNK Learning system has potential uses across education, employee onboarding, career development, and more. See here to learn more about the system and get licensing support.
Scientists at the Air Force’s 59th Medical Wing have developed a patient surgical mask designed to protect healthcare workers from infection. The negative pressure mask is now available for licensing to private businesses for commercial use.
Typical masking procedures aren't always possible during surgery — for example, in oral or nasal surgeries. The new surgical mask fixes this issue using two ports: one that creates suction between the mask and the patient's face, and one that forms a seal while allowing insertion of medical instruments. The result is a mask that protects medical personnel from potential virus exposure without blocking the surgical site.
Interested in developing this invention for commercial use? Learn more and get in touch with a licensing expert here.
NIWC-Pacific scientists have built an open water transport system for payloads. Water transport benefits payloads that can be used in collecting data about the ocean, inspecting and repairing oil valves and chokes, and serving as countermeasures for mines. This system aids in transporting, launching, and recovering unmanned underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles in shallow water.
This technology is less expensive and easier to transport than existing methods and allows for the open water transport of items weighing up to 2,000 pounds. Learn more about the licensing opportunity here.
With TechLink’s R&D Innovation Performance Interactive Assessment — a new, online benchmarking tool — companies can compare their R&D innovation practices and performances to other companies at no cost. See where you stand among innovation leaders.
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In case you missed it, here's the latest on the DOD and VA tech transfer landscape.
The medical industry has seen incredibly rapid innovation during the pandemic. Attention to air quality, mass diagnosis and drug delivery, and increased speed and accuracy of medical decisions through AI are all improving medical outputs.
While private companies were behind many of these advances, government labs are playing a significant role in helping entrepreneurs commercialize licensing opportunities, whether via licensing technologies or Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs). These opportunities allow companies to more rapidly develop drugs and medical devices that save lives.
To see some impressive examples of biomed inventions from government labs, read the article.
