Award recognises small business innovation

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 6, 2006

Geomagic has won a 2006 Tibbetts Award from the Small Business Technology Council.

Geomagic has won a 2006 Tibbetts Award from the Small Business Technology Council.

Named for Roland Tibbetts - acknowledged as the father of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme - the prestigious Tibbetts Awards are given annually to those companies, projects, organisations and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in SBIR achievement.

Geomagic has been awarded several SBIR grants for its technology leadership in digital shape sampling and processing (DSSP).

The company has used the grants to focus its software development on mass-customisation technologies that fundamentally change the way products are designed, engineered, and manufactured.

Phase I, II and IIB SBIR funding from the National Science Foundation has enabled Geomagic to take on high-risk and high-impact research important to the nation.

Geomagic technology has created a paradigm shift in manufacturing, allowing US companies to produce customised products and services at the same cost as mass-produced goods.

"The SBIR program has funded cutting-edge research at companies with talent but limited resources", says Ping Fu, Chairman, President and CEO of Geomagic.

"Receiving this Tibbetts Award validates and celebrates the talent of our innovative people and the results they have achieved".

"SBIR grants have allowed our company to work on technology that has benefited the US economy and improved its global competitiveness", says Mike Facello, Geomagic Director of Research and Development.

"We are grateful to the National Science Foundation for its trust in and support of our company".

The Geomagic software suite includes the company's Geomagic Studio and Geomagic Qualify packages.

Geomagic Studio automatically generates an accurate digital model from any physical part and is the world's leading software platform for automated digital reconstruction for reverse engineering.

Geomagic Qualify enables fast, easy-to-understand graphical comparisons between as-built parts and their CAD models for first-article inspection, inline or shop-floor inspection, trend analysis, 2D and 3D geometric dimensioning, and automated reporting.

Geomagic manufacturing customers recognise the powerful productivity gains that the company's software suite offers.

"Geomagic's vision of DSSP is an example of true vision", says Rus Emerick, Process Improvement Specialist at industrial manufacturing giant, Schneider Electric.

"The company has introduced and brought to market an entirely new technology, causing a major shift in how companies design products and conduct quality and part inspection".

Over the last few years, Geomagic DSSP software technology has distinguished itself in several projects that have revolutionised processes and led to industry breakthroughs.

Geomagic software played a critical role in ensuring safety of the astronauts on the Space Shuttle Discovery by enabling NASA to automatically create an accurate digital model of shuttle tiles to assess safety risks, develop repair strategies, and validate any needed repairs.

Geomagic software has helped digitally preserve the Statue of Liberty in case of terrorist attacks or natural disasters, recreate high-performance engine manifolds for a Nascar racing team, and reduce the time it takes a top-three automaker to create complex surface models by 80%.

The use of Geomagic software for mass customisation is a significant market differentiator in the medical device industry, where fitting a product to the unique shapes of the human body is increasingly critical to success.