DAYTON, Ohio (April 24, 2018) – The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and Soin LLC announced Tuesday that Battle Sight Technologies, a startup business based in Dayton, has won the 2018 Soin Award for Innovation.
Battle Sight Technologies produces the MARC IR, a chemiluminescent writing device, which allows its user to write with a reusable luminescent material.
“It’s a glow stick that you can write with and is reusable,” said Nicholas Ripplinger, co-founder, Battle Sight Technologies. “When you write with the MARC IR, you’re leaving a very thin layer of wax that’s not visible. There’s a series of microcapsules that break when you write with them. The chemicals inside react with the chemicals in the wax, and that’s what causes the glowing reaction.”
The initial product launch uses a chemical that emits infrared, making it visible exclusively to our military, law enforcement and emergency management agencies using night vision.
“It’s invisible to the enemy who’s walking around, but when you have your night vision goggles on, it glows. So what really benefits the soldiers is they can now write words or symbols, so visually, everybody now knows what’s going on in that environment.”
The technology for the MARC IR came to Ripplinger through the Technology Acceleration Project (TAP), which is The Entrepreneur Center’s pilot project designed to transfer technology from research to market. The program connects technological advances discovered by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) with for-profit teams equipped to bring the technology to market. TAP is based on the idea that technology that was developed to address AFRL research needs can be solutions to real business needs or consumer demands.
Battle Sight’s connection with AFRL and other business supporters in the Dayton region has been beneficial to getting the business off the ground, said Ripplinger.
“Dayton has been a huge part of our success,” he said. “We wanted to rally the community behind us. We’re involved with several non-profits including the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Entrepreneurs Center. We’re trying to be the best community stewards we can be. In return, we gained a lot of support for what we’re doing.”
The Soin Award for Innovation panel of judges, made up of area business leaders and representatives from small business supporters in the Dayton region were impressed with the many applications for Battle Sight’s technology and the company’s strategy for bringing it to the market, focusing first on the defense applications. The judges poured through business plans, financial information and other submissions before choosing a top three, which then presented their ideas to the panel.
Battle Sight Technologies’ win earns a $25,000 prize and various marketing opportunities thanks to support from Soin LLC, Cox Digital Marketing and CareWorks.
The Soin Award for Innovation began on the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce’s 100th anniversary as a way to honor the businesses carrying on the innovative heritage of the Dayton region. The Raj Soin family has generously been the benefactor of the award since its inception.
Learn more about Battle Sight Technologies and the MARC IR at www.battlesighttech.com.
About Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce: The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce brings together more than 2,400 businesses and organizations in a 9 county area surrounding Dayton, Ohio. The Chamber strives to improve the region’s business climate and overall standard of living through public policy advocacy, economic development initiatives and providing networking and training opportunities for its members. Information about the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce is available at www.daytonchamber.org or 937-226-1444.
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