ASBTDC client Fauxsee Innovations has received $50,000 from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s SBIR Matching Grant program.
The grant will support the company’s performance on its Small Business Innovation Research Phase I award from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication. Fauxsee’s SBIR grant is being used to develop RoboHear™, a non-surgical and more affordable alternative to a cochlear implant for the profoundly deaf.
“We are currently conducting a joint research effort with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, investigating the use and encoding of haptic perceptions as a substitute for the ability to hear and understand human speech,” said Brandon Foshee, CEO of Fauxsee Innovations.
In addition, Fauxsee is developing a prototype version of its RoboHear device that will be used by the UAMS researchers in a clinical setting for evaluating the human ability to learn and understand speech encoded as haptic stimuli. This is a one-year research effort. “If the results of the clinical trials with this small cadre of patients is successful, the trials will be expanded to include a larger cadre of patients and we will develop a production version of RoboHear in a follow-on two year research and development effort,” said Foshee.
Use of SBIR Matching Funds
Fauxsee plans to use the $50,000 match from the state to support hiring a new full-time engineer. “We are still seeking an electrical engineer with experience in embedded systems design and development,” said Foshee, who encouraged anyone interested in the position to email him at brandon.foshee@fauxsee.com.
ASBTDC Assistance
The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center’s innovation consultant assistance with the matching grant proved valuable. “Rebecca Todd of the ASBTDC informed Fauxsee about where to acquire the SBIR Matching Grant application, what information was needed to support our efforts to apply, and also helped prepare the application materials. These materials included the PowerPoint presentation and script, the application form and the project description that included our funding received to date and how Fauxsee will advance employment in Arkansas,” said Foshee.
Advice for Prospective Applicants
“I would definitely recommend applying for the Matching Funds program to any SBIR awardees in the state. It is a fairly painless process compared to the SBIR program in general, and the funds can have a significant impact in your company’s growth,” said Foshee.
Next Milestones
The next milestones for Fauxsee will be completing both of their current Phase I clinical trials. “We would like and anticipate the results of these to be promising enough to achieve our next milestones, which would be Phase II clinical trials on each product respectively,” said Foshee.
