Problem: “Where did those shots come from?” Even on today’s high-tech battlefield, it’s often hard to tell. That’s why Honolulu-based Oceanit developed FLASH – Fast as Light Assessment of Snipers and Hostile Fire – which uses infrared sensors and high-speed processors.…
Problem: Piracy costs the U.S. movie industry more than $20 billion annually, according to industry experts, who say illegal downloads and bootleg copies prevent many independent filmmakers from turning their passion into a livelihood. Solution: EggUp.com is a platform created in Hawaii…
For a farmer, water is king. But rainfall is fickle and even irrigation systems can falter. That’s why scientists and technicians atSyngenta, a Swiss-based agricultural-technology company with seed operations on Kauai and in Kunia, have developed a new variety of…
Clyde Tamaru, an aquaculture specialist atUH Manoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, is on a mission: putting marginal land to good agricultural use with aquaponics. Along the way, Tamaru helps enhance the reputation oftilapia, a fish that many…
As big round figures go, this one is remarkable: Hawaii imports an estimated 85 percent of its food. Meaning, of the $3.7 billion that Hawaii consumers fork over annually for food, only about $550 million is spent on locally grown…
Armstrong Builders and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands have partnered to create housing communities that are both energy and water efficient. “We’re always looking for new opportunities and are committed to building as many green projects as the market can absorb,” says Daniel…
Problem Hawaii spends $5 billion a year on imported oil, but biofuels that can replace oil usually require a lot of agricultural land. Solution Using its library of algae strains, Kuehnle AgroSystems says it can select, analyze and optimize algae for specific…
Wish you could afford to run commercials promoting your company and products all day long? Now you can with Pacific Digital Signs’ sexy new Digital Nametag. “This will definitely stop people in their tracks and deliver a perfect message every…
A few years after Chee and his partners launched Locations in 1969, they quietly computerized the local MLS listings – giving Locations a big edge over the competition and helping turn it into one of the top real estate firms…
At first glance, the ingredients in Grower’s Secret seem more like a mai tai mix than a plant-growth energizer designed to work with fertilizers. Derived from a brewing process involving Maui pineapple juice, pureed papaya, molasses and mushroom, Grower’s Secret…
Medicom Technologies says its Medical I.D. Wristband is the first device with audio-visual capabilities that stores, displays and voices a patient’s complete medical history in up to nine languages for first responders and hospital personnel in an emergency. “This could be…
ATCO Software’s Web-based technology lets users quickly make real-time reservations for restaurants, tours and attractions without picking up the phone. How it works Tourists can book online before arriving, or visit the hotel’s concierge desk or an ATCOKiosk. For example, the…
Presented with uncommon design constraints, Critchfield Pacific Inc. came up with a unique air-conditioning system for the new Hale Pawaa Professional Services Building. Critchfield says the system could be used on other high rises. The Problem Hale Pawaa’s developer didn’t…
Location-based advertising is creating a lot of buzz, but how do restaurants, stores and other small businesses get on board without breaking the bank? Conversely, how do creators get paid for mobile apps that can cost thousands or even hundreds…
It's been a dizzying year for Craig Carapelho, CEO of Honolulu-based Team Vision Virtual and honcho of what’s billed as the world’s first 3D travel Web site. In April, he completed a Series A round of investor financing, led prominently…
The old saying that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” holds true for Dana and Shaun Roberts. The owners of KonaRed are taking the red fruit of the whole coffee bean, which is usually thrown away, and processing it…
An emerging way for stores, restaurants and other businesses to connect with customers is location-based social-media networks like MyTown, Foursquare, GoWalla and Whrrl. Rob Bertholf, chief search architect of Chapter Three LLC, a San Francisco consulting firm, says there are…
Dustin Shoedel and Brian Brooks have an interesting new product – a relaxing drink made from kava and orange juice – and plan to tell the story of bringing it to market month-by-month on the Internet. The pair created RZO…
Ever go to the beach and wish you had somewhere to stash your keys, ID and a few dollars? Cameron Olson has created the solution: Sandaloha surf slippers with a heel compartment secured invisibly with Velcro. “The Sandaloha is one…
Deep Ocean Hawaii is taking Hawaii’s most abundant resource — ocean water — desalinating it and selling the purified product in bulk to companies in countries like China, where water is polluted or in short supply. “Hawaii can become an…
Green Car Hawaii is the first car-share service in the state and the nation’s first aimed at tourists, say founders Warren Doi and Justin MacNaughton. Concept Rather than rent a vehicle for whole days or an entire visit, Green Car…
Susanne Friend wants Hawaii to take back its food supply. “Over the last 50 or 60 years, we’ve let our food supply be taken over by agro-businesses with massive transportation lines,” Friend says. In response, she and her husband, Tim…
Idea Engineers used to rely on meteorological towers to measure wind speed. But “met towers” only give you data for one location; they don’t tell you anything about wind velocities around a valley or along a ridge. Wind 3D, a…
Developing a vaccine is a “pretty rigorous, complex process,” says Elliot Parks, CEO of Hawaii Biotech, which is deep into development of West Nile and dengue vaccines, and beginning to develop a vaccine for tick-borne encephalitis. “Further back” in the…