The start up company, ViaSpace Technologies, was founded by Dr. Carl Kukkonen, formerly of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). "These technologies are coming to the marketplace via the American space program," said Kukkonen ViaSpace's president, CEO and chief technology officer. "hence the company's name."

Kukkonen, who left his senior management position as Director of JPL's Center for Space Microelectronics Technology to set up ViaSpace, has obtained options for exclusive licenses from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for five technologies that JPL, a division of Caltech, has developed for NASA space exploration missions.

A physicist whose entire 25-year-long career has been spent in advanced research and development, Kukkonen is confident these technologies will find profitable commercial applications in such diverse fields as communications, agriculture, medicine, industrial controls and environmental monitoring.

ViaSpace technologies include, an infrared sensor that can create clear black and white images of objects or scenes in total darkness, just from the heat that every substance�whether hot, room temperature or sub-zero cold�gives off.

A laser diode that can be "tuned," like a radio, to the specific tell-tale frequencies that molecules and compounds absorb. Digital cameras and systems based on the active-pixel-sensor, an ultra low-power microelectronic chip, that requires only 1/100th the power of the charge-coupled devices used in many consumer video products today.

A compact but extremely sensitive humidity sensor, called a "microhygrometer," capable of detecting as little as a spoonful of water sprayed inside a volume as large as the White House. A research effort still being negotiated by ViaSpace and Caltech.

In some cases, Kukkonen said, these technologies will significantly improve existing products or processes based on older technologies, by making them smaller, lighter, cheaper, better-performing or all of the above. In other cases, he expects these technologies will lead to new products or processes beyond our imagination today.

"NASA and the Department of Defense (one of the sponsors of JPL's Center for Space Microelectronics Technology) have invested millions of dollars in developing these technologies for the needs of specific missions," Kukkonen said. "With a modest additional investment, ViaSpace can transform this government technology for the commercial marketplace."

Speaking of the infrared sensor, technically called a "Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector," Kukkonen listed a number of possible, near-term applications: night vision optical devices; unobtrusive security/surveillance systems; agricultural sensors (diseased or blighted crops have a different infrared signature than regular plants); medical sensors (breast tumors give off more heat than healthy tissue); and national defense systems.

"The Defense Department is happy to have ViaSpace as a commercial source of Quantum Well Infrared Detectors," said Dr. Dwight Duston, assistant deputy for technology at the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. "We need quantum well infrared detectors for missile detection and tracking, and we intend to demonstrate them on one of our space missions next year."

The tunable diode laser can determine the presence and concentrations of different gases, both naturally-occurring and man made, in atmospheres as well as industrial and medical settings. NASA is presently using a tunable laser diode to measure the distribution of water vapor in Atlantic Ocean hurricanes and is planning to fly several lasers aboard a spacecraft bound for Mars next year to see how much water vapor and carbon dioxide are present and prevalent in the Martian atmosphere. The laser also has great potential for industrial process controls and fiber optic communications.

The JPL active-pixel-sensor technology is aboard NASA's New Millennium Deep Space One mission launched October 24 to image asteroids and comets, according to Kukkonen. These tiny units will provide detailed images of their surfaces.

Here on Earth, the ViaSpace president expects the digital camera on a chip to lead to a new generation of video cameras, video conferencing systems, machine vision "eyes," security systems and toys. When combined with JPL's advanced communications technologies, the low power camera has been demonstrated as a battery-operated, wireless system capable of transmitting images from remote sites to a base station up to a kilometer away.

Weather monitoring is an obvious use for the microhygrometer�JPL has already made a prototype microweather station, the size of a soda can, with one of these humidity sensors, and tested it on balloon and aircraft flights�but an even greater market might be in high-technology factories. "There are some fabrication processes, like those of semiconductors," said Kukkonen, "where water vapor and other gases must be measured with extreme accuracy."

ViaSpace is moving quickly to commercialize these technologies. The firm has already formed a joint venture with the Rainbow Group of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to develop the infrared photodetectors for certain military and civilian uses. It also has an agreement with Omicron Technologies, Inc., of Miami, Florida, to develop new imaging systems based on the active-pixel-sensor digital camera on a chip.

To augment its cutting-edge expertise, ViaSpace has joined JPL's Technology Affiliates Program; this will allow the firm to have access to those JPL scientists and engineers who developed these technologies and to the Laboratory's microelectronics fabrication facilities.

"Caltech is pleased to encourage an entrepreneurial company like ViaSpace which seeks to commercialize Caltech and JPL technologies as a means of creating new industries and jobs in the region," said Dr. David Baltimore, Caltech president.

Omicron Technologies

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