Blancer.com Tutorials and projects

Back in March location-based game SCVNGR launched a spinoff venture called LevelUp — a direct competitor to Groupon, Living Social, and other daily deal sites. LevelUp’s key twist is that it has a heavy focus on generating repeat visitors, as opposed to customers who only stop by a venue once to redeem their deal. And today it has some significant news: it’s partnered with American Express to start allowing LevelUp users to redeem their coupons simply by swiping their credit cards — a feat that they say is the first in the daily deal space.

To use the new feature, users connect their AmEx cards with their LevelUp account (a process that you only need to do once). Then, once they purchase a deal from a merchant that accepts American Express, they’ll see a button that prompts them to ‘load’ their card with the deal. When the card is swiped at the merchant, the user receives an immediate push notification and email notification informing them that the coupon was applied successfully, and they don’t have to bother pulling out a printout or showing their phone to an employee.

This steup may sound familiar. That’s because Foursquare had a similar pilot program at SXSW, which used the same American Express ‘Smart Offers API’ (you could check-in at specific venues and have deals loaded onto your card). That pilot program is over for now, but don’t be surprised if you see it make a return down the line at a broader scale. LevelUp’s arrangement with American Express is also considered a pilot, but it doesn’t sound like there’s any finite time limit established (in other words, expect the feature to stick around).

In conjunction with the news, LevelUp is also announcing that it’s landed Levis as its first national brand to use the service. Levis is  offering ‘$10 for $20′ at Level One, ‘$10 for $30′ at Level Two, and ‘$10 for $50′ at Level Three. LevelUp is currently only available in Philadelphia and Boston (the service plans to open in more cities this summer), but Levis is temporarily offering the deal in San Francisco as well.

For those that haven’t used it, LevelUp’s model works as follows: first, customers are offered a special deal that’s very similar to what they’d receive from Groupon. They’re also informed that if they return to the same venue a second time down the line, they’ll be able to receive an even better deal (the same is true for the third trip). The model is designed to build customer loyalty — businesses have to offer some pretty steep discounts at Levels Two and Three to keep users coming back, but SCVNGR CEO Seth Priebatsch says that results from the first 6-8 weeks of the service have been very promising.

When people talk about near-field communications (NFC) chips in phones, they usually bring up mobile payments. But NFC chips, which are already in some Android phones, can be used by other apps besides payments (which won’t take off as quickly as people expect anyway).

At Google I/O this week, NFC apps will be highlighted. Foursquare will allow Android users to check in by swiping their phones near posters with NFC chips. Also just in time for I/O, Hashable’s Android app now supports NFC features as well. Android users can swap contact info via NFC, and also check into the same activity with someone, like #dinner or #drinks.

Hashable is a lightweight way to track the people you meet and exchange contact info. It’s completely replaced business cards for me. But on my iPhone, I still have to enter the person’s email or Twitter handle. With the Android app, if you meet someone else with an NFC-powered phone, you can just hold the phones next to each other and contact info will be exchanged via the app. It’s like Bump, without the fist-bump.

If the other person is a new contact, Hashable will add that person as one. If it is an existing contact, it will trigger the check-in feature, which on Hashable allows you to check into people instead of to places. It’s a way of noting that you are doing an activity with someone to remember later or broadcast it out to your network. The Android app also now includes a QR-code reader incase someone hands you a card with one of those. Scan it, and throw it away.

Google’s annual I/O conference kicks off tomorrow and it will likely bring a range of big announcements. But one of the cooler things that will be on display at the event was actually pre-announced today by Foursquare: NFC-based check-ins at the event.

Google and Foursquare are teaming up to make this a reality at the conference over the next few days. Around the conference center, you’ll see Foursquare posters that will actually have NFC chips embedded in them. This means you simply need to bring your phone close to these posters in order to check in via Foursquare. Very cool.

And when you do, you’ll get a Google I/O Foursquare badge, naturally.

Of course there’s one big caveat: you’ll need an NFC-enabled phone for this to work. Foursquare notes that many of the newer Android devices have NFC chips in them, but these devices still aren’t too widely used yet — the biggest one is the Nexus S. But if any place will have a big group of people with new Android devices, it will be I/O. Those without NFC-ready phones can still check-in regularly or scan QR codes on these posters.

Foursquare notes that they’ve been testing check-ins via NFC for some time now in their own offices. Here’s a tweet to prove it from February.

This partnership is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, Google has their own location-based service, Latitude, which just this year finally began doing check-ins. No word on if you’ll be able to check-in to Latitude in a similar fashion at I/O. Second, as some may recall, Google actually bought the predecessor to Foursquare, Dodgeball, and then proceeded to do nothing with it, which led to some bad blood and the founders leaving Google (both of which are now back with Foursquare). I guess the wounds have been mended.

Facebook did something similar last year with Presence (check-ins via RFID) at their f8 conference. But that was also with a special chip you received when you got to the conference, and not via your phone.

While this is clearly just a test of the technology, the stake are high for NFC check-ins. This is likely the future of these services, as NFC will make it much easier and more convenient for mainstream users to check-in to venues.

We’ll be at Google I/O covering it live all week.

One of the main limitations on touchscreen interfaces these days is that all you can do is poke at them. We do all kinds of things with our hands, but when it comes to screens, we just poke at them all day. UIs are doing all right, since our phone OSes still mimic mouse-based desktop OSes to some extent, but Microsoft is looking to ways to integrate more natural hand gestures incorporating more than just a “click” derived from a fingertip.

Hrvoje Benko, a researcher at Microsoft, is working on methods of recognizing shapes formed by hands and equating those with spatially-consistent gestures.

Continue reading…

In January of this year, DreamIt Ventures, a Philadelphia-based VC firm and startup accelerator, announced that it would be expanding to the Big Apple, creating a startup accelerator program based in New York City.

The program offers $25,000 in seed funding to its portfolio companies, along with coaching, exclusive speaking engagements, a chance to pitch at a Demo Day to affiliated angel and venture investors, and a collaborative workspace.

After reviewing hundreds of applications over the first quarter of this year, today DreamIt is officially announcing its final NYC roster. The program will include 15 startups that hail from all over the U.S. The selected companies include students and alumni from Harvard Business School, Wharton, Yale, and Carnegie Mellon, and its founders boast prior experience at companies including Yahoo!, Microsoft, American Express, and McKinsey. Like DreamIt’s Philly program, 5 of the 15 startups are digital education businesses and were selected in partnership with Startl — a social enterprise dedicated to accelerating digital innovations for learning.

All 15 companies will spend the summer working out of 6,000 square-foot of shared office space at 28 West 27th Street in downtown NYC. The program is set to run through mid-August, at which point DreamIt will host a Demo Day to showcase each company’s summer progress.

The advisors for the accelerator program’s summer class includes Gil Beyda, founder of RealMedia (acquired by WPP), Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg, founders of FutureNow and both New York Times bestselling authors, Jonathan Shapiro, the CEO of MediaWhiz and former Chief Strategy Officer at Doubleclick, Jonah Goodhart, co-founder of Colonize.com and board member of Right Media, and Michael Yavondite, current CEO of Hashable and former CEO of Quigo, which was acquired by AOL.

So, without further ado, here is a brief introduction to the 15 startups participating in DreamIt’s inaugural NYC program:

1DocWay, St Louis, MO: video-chat based doctor’s office with back-end automation
Admitly, New York, NY: Admission pipeline to US schools
AfterSteps, Boston, MA: Online end-of-life planning platform. Store your wishes and important information securely in the cloud, and access expert advice on how and why to prepare for the worst-case scenario in
advance. Experts include estate, financial and funeral planners.
Class.io, Honduras: Online classroom communication, helps teachers share assignments with students
Clothes Horse, New York, NY: Data-driven platform that makes fashion fit
Cognection, New Haven, CT: Online retail optimization
CustomCoup, Philadlephia, PA: Demand-driven deals, focusing on local, aiming to give the user the power to determine prices on the things they want
Hoot.me, Austin, TX: Interactive knowledge network; put Facebook into study mode by connecting you with friends for homework and projects.
KeepRecipes, New York, NY: iTunes for all-star chef’s recipes
LearnBop, Pittsburgh, PA: Online adaptive learning platform
LetsGiftIt, New York, NY: Social gifting platform; a way for friends, family, and coworkers to contribute towards the purchase of a gift for someone special
ListenVoice, Boston, MA: App creation and distribution platform, allowing individuals and organizations to launch any form of content using mobile and web applications without prior programming knowledge
New Quill, Los Angeles, CA: Mobile publishing and collaborative learning
SocialAdMX, New York, NY: Social and mobile app publishing and advertising
TakeTheInterview, Boston, MA: Cloud-based video interviewing platform for employers to more efficiently screen candidates

Google confirmed the existence of its YouTube Movies service earlier today and has just released more details on which studios and movies will provide the 3,000 titles in its repertoire. YouTube has partnered up with Universal, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros and others to offer full length feature films on YouTube.com/movies. Fox, which we mistakenly reported had joined the brood earlier, is noticeably absent.

From the YouTube blog:

“Today, we’re announcing another step in our goal to bring more of the video you love to YouTube: the addition of thousands of full-length feature films from major Hollywood studios available to rent in the US at youtube.com/movies. In addition to the hundreds of free movies available on the site since 2009, you will be able to find and rent some of your favorite films.

From memorable hits and cult classics like Caddyshack, Goodfellas, Scarface, and Taxi Driver to blockbuster new releases like Inception, The King’s Speech, Little Fockers, The Green Hornet and Despicable Me. Movies are available to rent at industry standard pricing, and can be watched with your YouTube account on any computer. The new titles will begin appearing later today and over the coming weeks to www.youtube.com/movies, so keep checking back.”

Google also sent us a helpful YouTube Movies FAQ, which I’m including below.

Q. What are some of the new studios you’re partnering with?
A. Universal, Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers.

Q. How many films have you added and how many total movies are now available on YouTube?
A. We have added a total of approximately 3,000 new titles including catalog and new releases from Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Universal, Lionsgate Films and many great independent studios. This brings the total number of movie titles available to rent on YouTube to over 6,000.

Q. Where and when will the additional movie titles begin appearing on YouTube?
A. Movies for rent will be available at www.youtube.com/movies and new titles will begin appearing to users today and be added throughout the week.

Q. Where are the new movies located and when will they be available on the site?
A. The new movies are located at www.youtube.com/movies and will start appearing at that destination throughout the day.

Q. How many total studios are now represented at YouTube.com/movies and what are they?
A. Studio partners include Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, Lionsgate Films, Starz, The Weinstein Company, and Magnolia Pictures, among others.

Q. How much will the movies for rent cost?
A. Movies are set at industry standard pricing (i.e. most new releases start at $3.99 and library start at $2.99).

Q. How long will a consumer have a movie once he or she has purchased it?
A. For most movies, viewers will have 30 days to begin watching their rental. Once they start watching the movie they will typically have 24 hours to finish.

Q. What transaction service are you using?
A. The service accepts all major credit cards.

Q. Will movies for rent be available at the same time as DVD releases?
A. It’s always up to the content owner, however, many movies will be available at the same time as DVD releases.

Q. Is this a subscription service?
A. No, this is a transaction offering.

Q. Are the movies downloaded, or streamed?
A. Streamed.

Q. Is this global?
A. No. This service is available to US YouTube users only.

Q. Do you need a YouTube account to purchase a movie for rent?
A. Yes.

Q. Will YouTube movies for rent be available on Google TV?
A. Yes, these will be available via the browser (www.youtube.com) on Google TV.

Q. Can rented movies be shared or embedded into other sites including blogs, Facebook and Twitter?
A. Users can embed movies on other sites. If a user who has not rented the movie views the embedded video, the embedded player will show the movie’s trailer along with an overlay that users can click on to rent the full movie.

Q. Is the content in HD?
A. YouTube supports video in up to 4k resolution, however, it is up to our partners to specify what video quality they provide. Most movies for rent will be available in standard definition.

Q. What is unique about the YouTube Movie experience?
A. Movies on YouTube are about providing a complete movie experience. With YouTube Movie Extras movie fans can get more into their favorite films through cast interviews, clips, alternate movie endings and other highly produced content from talented YouTube partners. YouTube reaches one of the largest and most engaged online audiences in the world, with hundreds of millions of views a day in the US alone.

Last Friday, we posted about the negotiations between Apple and voice recognition company Nuance. While these talks have been going on for months, sources told us that it wasn’t yet entirely clear what the outcome would be — either a broad strategic partnership or, less likely, an acquisition. Things are looking a bit more clear now.

In digging into the information about the relationship between the two companies, we had heard that Apple might actually already be using Nuance technology in their new (but yet to be officially opened) massive data center in North Carolina. Since then, we’ve gotten multiple independent confirmations that this is indeed the case. And yes, this is said to be the keystone of a partnership that Apple is likely to announce with Nuance at WWDC next month.

More specifically, we’re hearing that Apple is running Nuance software — and possibly some of their hardware — in this new data center. Why? A few reasons. First, Apple will be able to process this voice information for iOS users faster. Second, it will prevent this data from going through third-party servers. And third, by running it on their own stack, Apple can build on top of the technology, and improve upon it as they see fit.

Obviously, Nuance, which owns the technology, would have to sign off on all of this. And we now believe that they have. Hence, the big time partnership that should be formally announced soon.

All of this plays in nicely with our report that Siri would be a big part of the upcoming iOS 5 software. Apple is expected to show off iOS 5 at WWDC, but it would be launched this fall, as we previously reported. In order to work, Siri requires Nuance. When Apple bought Siri last year, they immediately began negotiations with Nuance to ensure that Siri was able to keep running. But it now appears that after months of tense negotiations, the two companies have decided that it was best to take the relationship a step farther.

Why would Apple go to all of this trouble to use a third-party technology? Probably because it’s well known that Nuance holds and strictly enforces a wide range of patents in this space. And there are only a handful of experts who really understand this stuff enough to build such a system from scratch — and those people mainly now work at Nuance or Google, is our understanding. In other words, even if they wanted to, Apple probably couldn’t build up such a system themselves without being sued. And Nuance knows this, so they likely have no problem striking a huge deal with Apple to use (and expand upon) their technology as they see fit.

As for why Apple wouldn’t simply buy Nuance, again, it’s probably because it just would not be a very smart deal. Nuance is a public company with a market cap over $6 billion (the stock is surging today due to our report last week and has hit a 52-week high, adding some $500 million to their cap). This means that Apple would have to spend upwards of $10 billion to acquire the company, and immediately after they did, the value would plunge since much of it is based on their partnerships with other companies not named Apple. It would be a straight-up strategic acquisition that would be a very expensive one for Apple. Nuance, naturally, knows all of this.

So yes, it appears very likely at this point that a Nuance/Apple partnership is a big part of Apple’s cloud initiative. The next question is what this will mean, if anything, for developers at WWDC? Will they get access to this advanced voice recognition technology through iOS APIs right off the bat? Or will this technology mainly serve Apple’s own applications at first?

Oh and one more thing: one anonymous tipster who correctly knew other information about the two companies tells us that Microsoft had been pushing Apple hard to use their own voice recognition technology in iOS. That attempt was rebuffed, apparently. It will be Nuance all the way.

If you have been watching TechCrunch TV interviews lately, you may have noticed the videos are much sharper, crisper and much higher quality. The reason: we’ve gone HD. We are now using a new workflow with HD cameras and HD video switcher. Our shows from New York (Fly or Die and Founder Stories) have always been produced in HD at AOL Studios. But, now our San Francisco studio has gotten the upgrade.

You might be saying, “Wait a minute, high definition today means 720 or 1080 lines of resolution. I’m only watching the videos on a smaller-than-HD window on the TechCrunch website or smartphone. That’s not HD, so what’s the point.” Well, there is a big point.

It’s true most of our viewers don’t watch on HD size displays. You can watch in HD resolution on a monitor by clicking the fullscreen button in the player. But even on smaller displays, the image quality is much better. It’s partly a case of GIGO – garbage in, garbage out. Starting with the highest quality images will get the best end result after all the encodings, decodings, and scaling – which also needs to be kept to the minimum.

For cameras, we use 3 robotic Panasonic AW-HE50′s. These cameras, introduced last summer, look like those security cameras in the ceiling. But, we have them mounted on tripods at eye level. They are not very intimidating to guests. We control them with a robotic camera controller, which allows us to store shots and make changes remotely.

We’ve chosen to use the cameras in 720p mode (for you video techies, the cameras output this via HD-SDI). Our programming is mostly viewed on computers or mobile devices with progressive displays so this mode works well. The cameras also offers 1080i and 480i outputs. Before getting our HD switcher, we used the 480i output in a DV timeline and the image quality was poor. But, shooting, switching and editing in HD mode has solved this.

Below is a screenshot using the SD 480i and DV timeline

And here’s a screenshot using 720p mode, HD switcher and HD timeline

Our production switcher is Newtek’s TriCaster TCXD850. The same model, launched last year, was used to produce the Facebook Live townhall with President Obama, MTV’s MVA red carpet show, ESPN’s X Games and many other sporting events. We bring in our HD camera inputs, add name or other graphics, and can do double-box graphic effects to put multiple sources on the screen at once.

We also input multiple Skype video sources into the switcher, so we can do multi-box interviews with anyone with a Skype connection and a webcam. Many cameras used for Skype output a 4:3 image. But, we can use the switcher to keep the image at 4:3, and put it over a background using the ‘virtual input feature’ that fills our 16:9 screen, so guests don’t get stretched.

The TriCaster also runs Adobe’s Flash Media Live Encoder, so with one button we can launch a live stream to our Ustream channel.

We record our studio segments on the TriCaster’s hard drive. From there, we render it in a format that works in Final Cut Pro, then transfer the file over our network to another computer for editing. After editing, we encode and upload a h.264 file to Ooyala, which makes multiple versions of the file for different bandwidths and player size. For playback, Ooyala uses adaptive bit rate streaming to dynamically select the highest quality stream to send to each viewer. You won’t get the highest quality feed if you don’t have the bandwidth for it.

While we’ve gone HD, the most important thing for us is our editorial content. If we have something our readers and viewers would be interested in, as long as you can see it, hear it, and aren’t distracted by the technical issues, we’ll bring it to you no matter what it’s captured with.

Much of our field shoots are done with Panasonic HVX200a cameras. We’ve also used iPhone cameras, Skype webcams, point-and-shoot digital cameras that record video, and DSLRs like the Canon 7Ds to capture our videos. Arrington even bought us some Barbie Video Girl cameras, which shoot with an impressive 320×240 image. That might have been called very high definition in the 1930s, when television systems used as few as 30 lines of resolution. Watch this fun video on how the Barbie-cam stacks up to the 7D.

Shoefitr allows you to find a shoe that is similar in size and shape to a pair of shoes you already own. For example, say you’re into Nike Free Runs but they discontinued the model you like. You tell Shoefittr and using the site’s 3D scanning system it finds a pair that matches the size and shape of the shoe you like. The 3D scanning system is based on the same systems used to scan feet for orthotics.

Read more…

YouTube chief Salar Kamangar has just written a post on the YouTube blog titled “Welcome to the future of video. Please stay a while” , in which he hints at some major announcements that will be coming later today. The gist of the post: users are now racking up 2 billion views on YouTube per day, but they’re spending just 15 minutes a day on YouTube — compared to five hours a day watching TV (seriously, you folks watch a lot of TV).

YouTube’s been on a mission to grab more of that TV-watching time for itself, with initiatives like YouTube Next, which helps train some of the site’s elite users on how to create compelling content. But historically you’ve always had to look elsewhere — like iTunes and Netflix —for big-name movies and premium content. Now it looks like that’s finally starting to change: YouTube is adding around 3,000 new movie titles to its rental section, including ‘blockbuster films’. From Kamangar’s post:

Today, we’re going to start adding around 3,000 new movie titles for rent available to users in the U.S. (more on this in a post later today) that will be accompanied by reviews and behind-the-scenes movie extras. Whether it’s short movie trailers, funny movie parodies or full-length blockbuster films, we encourage you to sit back and settle in to the YouTube movies experience.

YouTube hasn’t yet announced which movies are being added, but this seems to confirm reports that the company has signed deals with multiple major Hollywood studios. There will be more details on this later today.

YouTube has actually offered movie rentals for over a year now, but the selection hasn’t had broad appeal ,consisting largely of indie flicks and older movies (though there are some gems).

Following in the footsteps of Facebook, Twitter, Digg and even Google, blogging platform Tumblr has released its ‘Share On Tumblr’ button, which allows publishers to add a button encouraging users to share their content on Tumblr (just paste the javascript tag into your source code).

The basic behavior of the button is simple enough, but the advanced features are where the ‘Share on Tumblr’ button sets itself apart from other social engagement buttons out there.

With the ‘Share On Tumblr’ button,  publishers can decide whether their content appears as a Link, Quote, Video Embed or a Photo on Tumblr. The button is fully customizable and is versatile enough to appear anywhere on a site, whether at the footer of articles or while hovering over paragraphs. You can also choose whether the content will appear as an excerpt or summary when reposted on Tumblr.

Tumblr is responsible for 26 million visitors per month globally, according to comScore. Currently there are over 5 billion posts on Tumblr, 18 million total Tumblr blogs and there have been already 30 million Tumblr posts just today. Publisher-friendly options like a multi-faceted share button will indubitably increase that number, and drive considerable traffic to publishers.

The company raised $30 million in funding last December.

@DanPatterson
Dan Patterson

…and like magic, Tumblr has jumped in to the @abcnewsradio top 5 referrers.

about 7 hours ago via webReplyRetweetFavorite

TNG Pharmaceuticals, developers of a vaccine to keep cattle free of blood-sucking horn flies, took top prize at the “Moot Corp.” business competition this weekend.

Formally renamed the Venture Labs Investment Competition(VLIC) in 2010, but still widely referred to as “Moot Corp.,” the annual event began in 1984 at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin. At Moot, TNG Pharmaceuticals won a prize package including: $25,000 in cash; a range of free and discounted consulting and business services, and a full-page ad in Inc. magazine. The total value of the prize package, according to a McCombs spokesman is around $135,000.

TNG Pharmaceuticals’ chief executive, Jenny Corbin, said the company plans to use its winnings from McCombs — and from previous competitions held by the University of Cincinnati, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and at Rice University — to develop and test manufacturing processes for their cattle vaccine, FlyVax, then advance it through federal regulatory processes.

Corbin, who grew up and has worked around horses and cattle her entire life, explained the vaccine’s potential impact to the cattle industry:

“The horn fly causes an economic pain of $1 billion to the [cattle] industry in North America, annually. It makes cows lose weight and it decreases their dairy yield. It stresses them so that beef producers get less steak, dairy producers get less milk, and have to spend more time taking care of their cows.”

According to competition finals judge Mike Dodd, a partner at Austin Ventures, TNG Pharmaceuticals locked first prize because:

“The team was experienced and well-versed in [biosciences] and intellectual property, while understanding the dairy, meat and leather industry. They told us about the way the industry is dealing with the horn fly problem today. It is with something like a flea collar. It’s actually a tag that goes around the cows’ ears, and it doesn’t really work that well. Looking at an average annual population of 94 million cows in North America, there’s a huge problem. This vaccine could solve it.”

Another finals judge, Betty Otter-Nickerson, president of Sage North America’s Healthcare Division, added:

“TNG Pharmaceuticals’ biggest risk is a regulatory risk. Can they get through all the U.S.D.A. and F.D.A. stuff in the time period that they said they could? They have credible people on their board, supporting a time frame they’ve outlined. That helped them win.”

Second-place winners at the competition, Reveal Design Automation, created software to help chip makers avoid costly mistakes, and long delays in the verification and manufacture of their chip designs. The team is spinning its technology out from the University of Michigan.

Tech entrepreneur and investor Mike Maples, Sr. (who is also the father of Floodgate’s Mike Maples Jr.) judged at the Moot Corp semifinals this year, and observed:

“Reveal Design Automation is working on some very big problems. Their technology is supposed to do things like verify that millions of circuits are lined up properly, and make chip design verification thousands of times faster than what’s possible today. Even if the company has just a hundred potential customers — who would be [the makers] of next generation ARM processors — these are customers spending an awful lot of time and money on engineers to design, test and release those chips.”

Reveal Design Automation took hom $5,000 in cash from Moot Corp.

Last year’s Moot Corp. winners, Biologics MD, went on to secure a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense in January this year to continue testing and developing a drug that treats osteoporosis.

Biologics MD president Paul Mlakar wrote to TechCrunch this weekend: “We have actually started some of the pre-clinical work, and hope to move into our own lab space in July. We are also evaluating additional technologies that fit within our expertise and will add value to the company.”

Images:

UT-Austin longhorns logo, under creative commons license and
TNG Pharmaceuticals team photo, credit – Steve Moakley

A list of all of the 2011 Moot Corp. semifinalists follows below, with finalists denoted with an asterisk, courtesy of McCombs, UT-Austin.

cycleWood Solutions
University of Arkansas

cycleWood Solutions, LLC offers a sustainable and profitable alternative to conventional single-use plastic bags. Our product, the XyloBag, is comprised of a biodegradable lignin-based plastic and biodegrades in 150 days. We are targeting the $4 billion U.S. plastic bag market.

GalvaPlus Company
Thammasat University

Even with current preventative coating methods, the replacement and correction of steel corrosion in civil construction costs billions of dollars each year in the US alone. GalvaPlus offers an innovative nickel based alloy galvanization, improving steel corrosion by 4 times, at a lower cost, saving an average customer millions in annual maintenance.

Kalood*
Brigham Young University

Kalood is an online platform that connects merchants and consumers. Consumers use the platform to rate deals and be notified when deals they’re interested in are available. Merchants use the platform to measure demand for their store, and to target and send custom deal notifications to consumers who have rated their deals highly.

O2 Insights
Ohio State University

O2 Insights is commercializing a revolutionary oxygen diagnostic that meets a critical need in the growing 6.5M patient chronic wound market. The system has received strong buy-in from thought leaders in wound care. The technology will be brought to market for $4M (plus overhead) over the next three years.

Reveal Design Automation*
University of Michigan

Reveal Design Automation designs and sells an automated software solution for performing comprehensive formal verification of digital logic designs to key customers in the IC design industry. Reveal’s technology, based off University of Michigan research, scales to handle more complex designs with less time and with fewer people than existing verification solutions.

TheraCord
Johns Hopkins University

TheraCord is a medical device venture out of Johns Hopkins University developing a disruptive technology to optimize the collection of cord blood stem cells for use in regenerative therapies that could treat over 300 million people worldwide.

Titin Tech
Georgia Tech

Titin’s mission is to provide the absolute best in athletic training apparel. Titin’s weighted clothing is a patented hyper-gravity training shirt with integrated hydro-gel inserts. We strive to position ourselves at the top of the market in terms of comfort, performance, usability, and results.

TNG Pharmaceuticals*
University of Louisville

TNG Pharmaceuticals has developed a revolutionary vaccine that will alleviate the negative impact of the horn fly, considered the most health depleting and economically damaging pest of cattle. FlyVax is targeted to reduce the number of horn flies per cow, leading to increased farmer efficiency, production, and lower pesticide use.

Medtric Biotech
Purdue University

Medtric was founded in 2010 on a vision to deliver clinically robust and economically sensible wound care solutions. Medtric is pioneering a unique method of destroying bacteria for the prevention and treatment of infected wounds. This technology represents a new class of antimicrobial that combat infection and promote wound healing.

BlackLocus
Carnegie Mellon University

BlackLocus is a SaaS platform that enables SMB online retailers to price their products smarter and faster; 60 times faster.