Technology developed by ME's Ramani wins top Silicon Valley award
ZeroUI is recognized for making robotics widely accessible through its plug and play IoT robots and smart interactions.
Ziro hand-controlled robotic kit, which allows for free-form robotic construction using wireless motor modules, was recognized at the event as next-generation, interactive educational tech products.
The technology was researched and developed at Purdue University by Karthik Ramani, the Donald W. Feddersen Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Ramani is a fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and has published in numerous venues, including the ACM Computer and Human Interaction, ACM Interaction Design for Children, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design and the User Interfaces and Software Technology.
“The Ziro kit allows users to build and create free-form robotics construction and operate the robot using gestures with their hands when wearing a glove that comes with the kit,” Ramani said. “We have basically made something that is complicated and made it easy and fun. As a result we hope to engage more kids in engineering and other STEM fields.”
Ramani serves as chief science officer and co-founder of ZeroUI, with Raja Jasti, who also serves as CEO of the company.
“TiE50 is a highly competitive technology showcase, and we are very humbled by the recognition that ZeroUI and the whole team have received for the technology,” Jasti said. “I am proud of the team’s hard work to move Ziro and our other technologies to the public.”
TiE50 judges are composed of a panel of experts in the entrepreneurial arena. Criteria for winning is based on a nominee’s intellectual property and potential for strong growth.
An awards ceremony will be held Friday (May 4) at TiE Inflect 2018, the world’s largest conference for tech entrepreneurs, at the Santa Clara (California) Convention Center.
The Ziro technology was previously called one of the “Best Gadgets of CES 2016” when it made its debut at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show. ZeroUI licensed the technology through the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization. The company has offices in West Lafayette, Indiana and San Jose, California.
Source: Hand-controlled robotic kit garners top honors at TiE50 Silicon Valley awards program