For those who believe Hawaii’s economic future lies with innovative technology and global thinking, DataHouse can be a poster child. The Honolulu-based company, with offices in Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco, this year signed a contract to design and…
Problem: Search online for, say, a traditional hula kahiko dancer, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a high-quality image you can easily download and use for your business. Daniel Leuck, CEO of the Honolulu-based creative agency Ikayzo, saw that need for good…
The most heated argument about modern offices pits the relative privacy of cubicles and offices versus collaborative nature of open workspaces When the cubicle hit the furnishings market in 1967, it forever changed the landscape of office culture and the…
Legacy Isle Publishing is a new company that says it removes the stigma of the “vanity press” by giving self-published writers access to professional editors, designers and printers to enhance their books. Creators: George Engebretson and Dawn Sakamoto, respectively publisher and…
Phillip Ana, an employee at Hawaii’s Executive Office on Aging, leads workshops on state-run disability services, manages an online database of resources and consults with clients by phone about services for Hawaii’s disability community. Andrew Sensano is in charge of…
Problem: Box jellyfish kill more swimmers than sharks in Australia and elsewhere in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Stings from the smaller Hawaii species can be painful and debilitating. Controversial “antivenom” treatments have a poor 40-year track record and fail to…
New products, services and processes are a great way to increase your revenue and strengthen the bottom line. Management consultant Vino Mehta offers this guide to creating a culture of innovation: 1. Generate ideas. Encourage every employee to come up…
The Manoa Innovation Center – home to many small, high-tech startups – must find a new location by the time its lease with the University of Hawaii expires in April 2015. UH wants the space for its own programs, but…
Company: Irehab is a Hawaii-based company offering online instructional videos for physical therapists to prescribe to their patients after initial rehab. Product: “Through Web and mobile technology, we provide patients with specific treatment…
Creator: When New York native Chris Akin learned to surf, it rubbed him the wrong way. He’d leave the water with so much board rash his arms and chest were pink and raw. The 35-year-old marketer wasn’t satisfied with the…
What is C.E.P.A.S.? Navatek, the R&D subsidiary of shipyard operator Pacific Marine, specializes in developing advanced hull forms and flow-control technology. Its new Catalyst Enhanced Plasma Actuation System is designed to improve the efficiency of large, commercial wind turbines by…
Local company designs and builds unmanned aircraft systems. The military is a major user of unmanned aircraft, but Jeff Williams says it’s the civilian market that will “explode” with new products and applications in the next few years when federal…
Problem: Breast cancer strikes one of every eight women in the United States. “Everyone knows someone or is related to someone who has breast cancer,” says Dr. Beth Rhodes of the Breast Care Center of Hawaii. “But, today, (a breast cancer diagnosis)…
Three Styles: iRun Performance is a short-wired earphone for iPod Shuffle users who wear hats or shirts while they train. iRun Advantage is for those who strap smart phones to their arms or attach iPods to their sports bras. iRun…
What it is: frii is a daily deal app for iPhones and iPads where everything is free. Users can browse categories where merchants list their giveaways for free. Freebies have included shave ice, fish tacos, chiropractor exams, ice tea and a…
The App: HealthCare Alert is a free app created by a Hawaii physician, Dr. Alfonso Jimenez, who has an Ewa Beach practice. The app has iPhone, Android and Mobile Web versions that are all designed to alert users of preventive…
Creator: Wilson Vinano Jr., avid surfer and owner of Z to A Innovations, has been inventing things for years and wanted to make the ocean safer for people. With the help of two local engineering and development companies, Vinano says,…
Problem: About 6 million Americans live with some form of paralysis. At Honolulu’sRehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, the staff works each year with 5,500 patients recovering from strokes or injuries, including brain, spinal cord, orthopedic and sports injuries. New Device: A robotic,…
WHAT IS STANDING FIT? Standing Fit converts tables or countertops into stand-up desks. It’s a 3/8-inch-thick plexiglass stand designed by Kona native Tiffiny Taylor, and manufactured and shipped to customers byGlasplex LLC, based in New Jersey. Unlike a traditional stand-up desk,…
COMPANY: Tetris Online has been headquartered in Honolulu since its launch in January 2006. Co-founders Henk Rogers and Minoru Arakawa have homes in Hawaii, and Rogers’ other organizations, including Blue Planet Software and Blue Planet Foundation, are based in Honolulu.…
What is ReadiBand? ReadiBand is a civilian product that commercializes technology developed for the military to identify, assess and manage fatigue. It is made by Fatigue Science, a spin-off of Archinoetics, a Hawaii-based, dual-use company. How does it work? ReadiBand…
Creator: Robert Yonover is a serial inventor. Although he studied volcanology at the University of Hawaii and has worked at MIT, for much of the last 30 years he’s been inventing search and rescue devices. RescueStreamer is one of his…
Problem: Autism diagnoses are increasing as much as 17 percent a year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but school districts nationwide lack enough highly qualified teachers to help these children. Solution: A Hawaii startup called Autism Training Solutions (ATS)…
“Joe Volcano” saw an opportunity in the ban on smoking in workplaces and restaurants, so he quit his job selling ad space on tourist maps two years ago to launch Volcano E-cigs. The company says it is one of the…