SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Uniting proven miniaturized personal communications technologies gained through the acquisition of Sonitus Technologies with the garment manufacturing expertise and supply chain of Bluewater Defense, Integrated Tactical Technologies (“iT2”) has been formed to develop unified personal communications based wearable solutions for defense, commercial, and consumer markets that extend the utility of apparel beyond mere clothing.
Core to this vision is a highly reliable, discreet, and secure wireless personal communications platform developed by Sonitus Technologies. This proprietary platform features a sophisticated body sensing capability and encrypted wireless network that seamlessly links communication and biometric data with existing communication infrastructure and devices.
A proven DOD provider that recognized the need for new human-machine interfaces nearly a decade ago, Sonitus Technologies started designing a solution leveraging advanced hearing aid technology first developed by serial entrepreneur Amir Abolfathi in his initial company Sonitus Medical. That technology was later spun out into Sonitus Technologies led by CEO Peter Hadrovic.
Under Mr. Hadrovic, Sonitus Technologies further developed the hearing aid technology into a proprietary communications platform, forming strategic partnerships with government customers and seasoned industry partners, all with the vision of accelerating and expanding the reach of the novel communications platform.
The formation of iT2 combines Sonitus Technologies’ unique domain expertise, intellectual property, communications platform, standing contracts, and customer relationships with Bluewater Defense’s garment manufacturing, textile product development, and supply chain expertise. This uniquely positions iT2 to bring next generation wearable communications technology to new markets.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Early Investors and partners in Sonitus Technologies were In-Q-Tel, Panasonic, KCK, and the Defense Innovation Unit of the DOD.
“We see ourselves as a startup on steroids, leveraging the incredible technology developed by the founders and team at Sonitus Technologies,” said Eric Spackey, Chairman and Co-Founder of iT2 and CEO of Bluewater Defense.
“We all increasingly interact with more and more digital machines, not merely to get more things done but to efficiently extend human capacity and potential in all aspects of our lives. To optimize this moment, we need better human-machine interfaces and iT2 is ideally positioned to meet that need. Our established end-to-end global capabilities exemplify our abilities to innovate and execute,” Spackey continued.
Rethinking Human and Machine Interfaces
Interfaces to date have been application specific, singularly focused, and unintelligent. Examples are haptics/touch systems for typing on keyboards, tapping out instructions on smartphones, tablets, and watches, and for unlocking our cars; and voice for talking into phones and more recently for requesting information from services like Alexa; and immersive, attention demanding “heads-down” screen based visual displays such as those used in popular online games.
“An entirely new approach is needed,” said Spackey. He added that iT2 will focus on a new human and machine interface that is:
- intrinsically part of the user and the user experience
- multi-modal, capable of serving numerous vital purposes
- extendable and compatible with existing systems
- intelligent, secure, and reliable in any scenario
- producible in quantities great enough to make them commercially viable
“Our solution will be like a sixth sense, a second skin, like night vision for your ears,” he added. “More importantly, it will serve as a sensory platform that will support new applications and technologies as they become available in the years to come.”
iT2 will honor existing contracts and continue to support current Sonitus Technologies customers and partners with “bolt on” innovations and new solutions through channel partners to extend market reach.
The Sonitus Technologies flagship product was Molar Mic™, a miniaturized module that fits comfortably in a user’s mouth and can accommodate sensors for a range of real-time applications, from two-way personal communications to biometrics. This wireless two-way communications system snaps onto a user’s back teeth and enables them to communicate clearly and securely with any device in even the harshest conditions.
“Molar Mic is a unique communications device that combines a hearable that requires no additional equipment in or on the ears and a microphone that captures speech from inside your mouth – in even the harshest conditions – all rolled together,” said Hadrovic, CEO of iT2 and formerly the CEO of Sonitus Technologies. “This is just the start. Molar Mic is part of an on-body wireless communication and sensing system that will serve as a platform upon which we will fill gaps that previously could not be addressed by conventional wearables.”
Ensuring Commercial Viability
A major challenge facing new entrants in the wearables market has been the inability to produce new solutions in quantities great enough to achieve commercial viability. iT2 addressed this challenge from the get-go through a manufacturing partnership with Bluewater Defense.
Bluewater Defense is a trusted provider of innovative apparel and functional fabric solutions specifically designed to enhance human capacity in the most demanding military, industrial, and commercial environments. A trusted provider for more than 30 years to a wide range of customers within the DOD, Bluewater has proven expertise in advanced apparel manufacturing utilizing increasingly dynamic fabrics and wearable technologies.
Bluewater also is a premier partner in alternative materials research, manufacturing best practices, and sustainability projects with Advanced Functional Fabrics of America at MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Georgia, Lincoln Labs, and other industry leaders.
About iT2
iT2 is a global wearable technologies company that is marrying advanced fabric and apparel design with miniaturized personal communications technologies to produce a novel line of wearable solutions based on an entirely new human-machine sensory interface. For more information, visit iT2.
