Tesseract’s robot reveal: Wearable proximity trackers to keep workers at a safe distance
May 27, 2020 | Austin Barnes
Kansas City-wired clip-on robots could make social distancing a second thought, as Tesseract Ventures shares its first mainstream product with the world.
“This product exemplifies our mantra that there is nothing more human than technology and is a great example of what you can expect to see from Tesseract Ventures in the future,” said John Boucard, Tesseract Ventures founder and CEO.
Tesseract PRISM
The high-tech robotics startup — one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020 — announced the Tesseract PRISM (TM) Wednesday, marking the first major unveiling of a product for the company, which has raised significant venture capital from local funders — despite heavily guarding its plans and technology.
“We recognize how hard essential employees are working right now, and we are proud to be able to provide a technology that can help create safer work environments during this difficult time,” Boucard added.
Click here to read more about Boucard and his vision for the future of robotics.
Unveiled as Stay at Home orders continue their roll back, PRISM acts as part of a larger cyber-physical worksite-management system, in tandem with Tesseract PRISM Anchors — wearable badges which track and document the proximity of workers and students in real time and alerts staff and management if social distance is broken, ultimately creating safer work and school environments, the company explained in a release.
“The capabilities of this product are endless, now and in the future,” said Dave Starr, vice president of research and development for Tesseract. “Not only is PRISM a vital piece of technology for ensuring workers keep their distance from one another during this pandemic, it was originally designed to benefit industry operators by providing data to help them identify problem zones within a site.”
Full product capabilities include credentialed worker identification; emergency SOS beaconing; control site access, defined entry and exclusion zones within the job site; the ability to assign workgroups, privileges and certifications for individuals; the ability to assign personal space requirements and receive alerts when cross-contamination occurs; rugged, site-ready construction; and RFID compatibility with existing access points.
John Boucard, Tesseract Ventures
PRISM was developed in Tesseract Ventures’, Crossroads-based Future Lab — an advanced, multi-disciplinary R&D studio — and was built in the company’s Martin City-based Cyber-Physical studio, which develops products that will define the future of work.
The company has two additional development studios — Experiential Entertainment and Human Things — which round out its mission to empower businesses and people to be able to defy the boundaries of space and time, Boucard told a crowd gathered for the Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020 Celebration in January.
The startup’s mission was most recently backed by a $2 million investment from UMB Capital Corporation in March.
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Listen to Startland’s bonkers SXSW experience
Virtual reality, smart cities and a whole lot of habaneros. There was more to Startland’s adventure to Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest — but those three items were certainly some memorable highlights. The Startland team spent five nights in Austin, taking in the insanity that is SXSW. We saw a ton of incredible technology — virtual…
Kansas City named a finalist for $50M award at SXSW
Austin, Texas — Kansas City is a finalist for a $50 million award that could transform its transportation system. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced on Saturday at South by Southwest that the City of Fountains was among seven finalists in the “Beyond Traffic, Smart City Challenge.” The challenge aims to help mid-sized cities…
Startland News hits the road to SXSW
Load up the clown car — Startland is going down south. Kansas City’s source for entrepreneurial and tech news is venturing to arguably the nation’s top conference for innovative ideas: South-by-Southwest Interactive. The Startland team has a jam-packed schedule while at SXSW, mingling with techies, early-adopters and thousands of Austonians. Make sure you follow along on…
The WTF Series: Triple constraint
One of the hardest parts of software development is managing stakeholder expectations. Of course, everyone wants as much as they can get, as fast as possible, for the lowest price. Why wouldn’t you? The problem is that most programmers get frustrated when a stakeholder asks for too much too fast, and don’t know how…