Vesper was a finalist for two 2017 Best of Sensors Awards: the Innovation Award for the VM1010, its ZeroPower Listening piezoelectric MEMS microphone that uses sound energy itself to wake voice-activated battery-powered devices from sleep; and Engineering Team of the Year, for the design team responsible for bringing the VM1010 from concept to market. Best of Sensors winners were announced during the awards ceremony on June 28, 2017, supported by the event's official publication, Sensors Magazine.
2017 Innovation Award Winners include:
Gold Level: ams AG - Smart Accessory Communications Interface (ACI)
Silver Level: Analog Devices, Inc. - ADXL1002 MEMS Accelerometer
Bronze Level: LeddarTech - LeddarVu - Vu8 Solid-State LiDAR Sensor
Honorable Mention: Vesper - VM1010 Piezoelectric MEMS Microphone
2017 Application Award Winners include:
Gold Level: Libelium - MySignals
Silver Level: ISORG and FlexEnable - 500 DPI Large Area Fingerprint Sensor on Plastic for Biometric Applications
Bronze Level: ROHM Co., Ltd. - Machine Health Sensor Collection Environment
Honorable Mention: Health for America - KnightCap
In addition, awards were given for Engineering Excellence. Dr. Michael Cullinan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin was named the 2017 Rising Star and the team at Vesper was awarded Engineering Team of the Year.
“We are honored to be recognized by Sensors Expo for both product innovation and the strength of our engineering team,” said Matt Crowley, CEO, Vesper. “We are thrilled that the Sensors Expo judges have recognized Vesper for the VM1010, the first MEMS microphone to bring voice activation to battery-powered consumer devices while drawing nearly zero power. Introducing a new full-stack solution that spans expertise in material science, MEMS design, mixed-signal ASIC design, test development, DSP integration, and algorithms is one of the most difficult tasks in technology. The VM1010 engineering team overcame these many challenges to do something remarkable: bring the VM1010 from scientific concept to high-volume production in less than one year,” Crowley added.
“We congratulate all the winners of the Best of Sensors Expo awards and applaud their innovative application of sensing technology to solve real world challenges,” said Mat Dirjish, Executive Editor of Sensors Online. “It is an exciting time for this market and we are grateful to showcase the incredible talents of today’s engineers catapulting the sensors market to the next level.”
“Sensors Expo is the de facto event for the sensing industry, and it is validating to be included among the best of the best. We will continue to invest in our product, our team, and our vision for the future of this industry, and we look forward to sharing our advancements with the Sensors Expo & Conference community for years to come,” Matt Crowley remarked.
Led by CTO and Co-founder Bobby Littrell, the Vesper VM1010 engineering team also includes:
· Ron Gagnon, director of ASIC technology
· Yu Hui, senior MEMS design engineer
· Wang-Kyung Sung, senior MEMS design engineer
· Adam Whittemore, senior product engineer
· Shin Nagpal, senior test/characterization engineer
· Arthur Zhao, characterization/mechanical engineer
· Tung Shen Chew, integration engineer
Vesper is a privately held advanced sensor company based in Boston, MA. With origins at the University of Michigan and initial funding from NASA, NSF and the NIH, Vesper’s award-winning microphones are driving a new era of pervasive voice interfaces and acoustic event-detection products via its proprietary piezoelectric MEMS technology. These products include hearables/wearables, smartphones, smart speakers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and connected cars. Vesper is funded by Accomplice, Amazon’s Alexa Fund, AAC Technologies, Hyperplane, and other strategic partners.
sensorsexpo.com/awards
www.vespermems.com
