Cisco buys Cork-based ThinkSmart Technologies

BRIEFS:Cisco has bought Cork-based ThinkSmart Technologies for an undisclosed sum.

Under the deal ThinkSmart, which provides location data analysis using wifi technology, will become part of Cisco’s Wireless Networking Group. Maples Calder advised on the deal.

The agreement was announced in a blog post on Cisco’s website yesterday, and will allow Cisco to boost its ambitions to deliver an intelligent network that gives customers a better overview of what is going on in their premises.

ThinkSmart’s technology helps take raw data from location services and turns it into useful information for businesses – behaviours, typical paths, and traffic patterns that companies can work with.

Enterprises can then use this data to improve their services, for example by identifying appropriate staffing levels, reducing wait times, optimising business processes. It will also allow the businesses to take advantage of new commercial opportunities.

ThinkSmart started out at University College Cork’s incubation centre, and earlier this year, partnered with Cisco on two trial deployments and a flagship demo at February’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Market launch for camera that decides when to shoot

A groundbreaking camera that decides itself when to take a shot will go on sale in Britain in November, in the first consumer application of technology developed by the British maker OMG Plc.

The device, called the Autographer, uses five in-built sensors and software developed by Microsoft to chose the best moment to capture an image without any intervention from the user.

The high-resolution pictures, which can number 2,000 in a day, can then be combined to create a visual record of an event like a party, a music festival or a typical day in the life of the owner.

The Autographer, which can be worn around the neck, clipped to clothing or placed in a particular vantage point, is the first consumer device from OMG, whose stop-motion technology is used in fields ranging from computer game development to surveying roads.

The company originally developed a version of the Autographer as a memory aid for people with dementia, but said it decided to launch it to the broader market after finding users and their families were also using the devices to record and remember special occasions.

OMG Chief Executive Nick Bolton said the camera occupied a space between stills photography and video.

“It can capture really meaningful single images, but there’s actually something about watching the day back in sequence,” he said. “It tells a story about the day you’ve just experienced.”

The camera will be sold for $650, Bolton said. He added that potential launches in the US and Japan could follow. – (Reuters)

100 companies shortlisted for Spark of Genius final

The shortlist of finalists for the Spark of Genius awards has been announced, with 100 entries competing for a prize fund of €100,000. The competition, sponsored by Electric Ireland, focuses on promising high potential start-ups.

Each of the 100 finalists will be given the chance to pitch to a panel of investors and experts that includes Atomico, Google Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, among others, at the Dublin Web Summit next month.

Among the finalists are road safety firm Clever Miles, home automation company Smartthings, and Fixational, which offers eye gesture control for apps.

Winners will be announced at the close of the event, which takes place on October 17th and 18th.

Web Summit chief executive Paddy Cosgrave said the entries had increased five-fold this year. “We see this competition as an incredible platform for Irish start-ups to pitch to the world’s top investors and media,” he said.

Minister for Research and Innovation Seán Sherlock said he was delighted at the response to the competition.