CyberInnovation
Institute
1620 Howe Hall Ames, IA 50011
CyberI Technical Collaboration
Facility
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New companies located at the CyberInnovation Technical FacilitySeveral start-up companies have located at the CyberInnovation Technical Collaboration Facility, building on CII's commitment to economic development in the state of Iowa. This vision means creating a space that encourages collaboration and community amongst researchers and industry. Start-up companies located at CII include Clearsighted, Kung Pow Studios, Mack Enterprises, and Medical Visualization Strategies. Funded by a $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Clearsighted designs and develops Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) software to change the ways that future computer-based learning is done. For instance, rather than watch videos to learn new software, users interact with intelligent tutors. As you work, the ITS tracks your learning and gives you personalized guidance when you make mistakes. ITSs do so by working inside the tutorial, leading users through the interfaces and offering help when needed. While ITSs have been used successfully in military flight simulators and in math instructional software, ITSs have been expensive to build and maintain. Clearsighted's product makes developing an ITS much easier and more affordable, making it accessible to a wider array of projects. In joining CyberInnovation, Clearsighted President Stephen Gilbert says: "As a start up company, we joined CyberI because of its incubator environment—it's a fertile atmosphere for growth. We can share resources (from the copy machine to student interns) and network with other startups as well as bigger IT companies. Overall, being a part of CyberInnovation eases the start-up process by providing a space to collaborate on the challenges in commercializing new technologies." Other companies located at CII include Kung Pow Studios, a custom animation company, Mack Enterprises, a video and sound company, and Visual Medical Solutions LLC, a company founded by CII Director James Oliver, ISU professor Eliot Winer, and Blank Children's Hospital pediatric surgeon Thom Lobe. Visual Medical Solutions is developing a technology that lets medical personnel easily visualize and interact with 3-dimensional images of patients' complex internal systems. With this technology, surgeons can look at internal organs or tumors as three-dimensional objects to help them plan and prepare for specific operations. |
