Smart Hound Technology

WANT TO MONITOR YOUR HOME FOR BEDBUGS? SPEAK NOW OR YOU MAY NOT HAVE THE CHANCE

Innovative use of trained friendly insects to detect not-so-friendly insects

Smart Hound technology has the potential to redefine how consumers can monitor for and detect bedbugs but if you want the ability to regularly scan for bedbugs, you have to tell Bennett Aerospace via their crowdsourcing campaign on IndieGoGo.

"Our technology, derived from US Department of Defense R&D on explosives detection, will put the ability to detect bedbugs directly in the hands of consumers," says Julia Bennett, the CEO of Bennett Aerospace. And consumers are going to have to vote via crowdsourcing. Laboratory Z within Bennett Aerospace, the self-proclaimed fringe of the traditional research spectrum, goes live with the Smart Hound project in November and December 2012 on IndieGoGo (www.indiegogo.com/SmartHound ).

Thus far, the inexpensive, hand-held Smart Hound device has been proven in the laboratory to detect chemical signatures of bedbugs, mold and fungus, illegal drugs, plant diseases, explosives, and even termites. The Smart Houndв"ў device is more cost efficient and easier to use than other alternatives including a visual inspection by trained humans or large animals, such as dogs, that require expert handlers.

What may prove to be the most impactful and potentially revolutionary aspect of Smart Hound is the potential for the consumer to detect household pests like termites and bedbugs at any time, within seconds. And, with sufficient detection cartridges, scan on a daily basis, if desired.

Naturally, the potential for such a shift in the power of detection from traditional exterminating companies to individuals has garnered interest.
"This tends to be an easy story to sell," says Douglas Bennett, President of Bennett Aerospace and the company lead for strategic partnering. "The technology is so simple to use and inexpensive that it could be in the hands of any consumer who is concerned about a pest infestation." One concept is that the Smart Hound units and the associated cartridges could be carried in by individuals to scan, or in this case sniff, their home, apartment complex, hotel, or office for any variety of pests. But consumers need to speak up now while the IndieGoGo project is active, to indicate that this technology is needed and desired.

"We need to see a strong showing from the crowd on IndieGoGo," said Mr. Bennett. “If we have 10,000 or 20,000 supporters, that is a clear indication that consumers want this capability. If people do not respond, we will continue our discussions with the large exterminating companies." The downside to not having the technology as a direct-to-consumer offering is that the opportunity to use the technology on a routine basis will be limited, or potentially much more expensive.

While the applications of Smart Hound are potentially revolutionary, how the Smart Hound technology actually works is just as startling.

Insects are Now our New Best Friend?
"Smart Hound uses trained insects to detect the odors of interest," states Dr. Brandon Conover, Director of the Advanced Technology Division at Bennett Aerospace. "This is technology that was originally funded by the USDA and DARPA [within the US Department of Defense]. Bennett Aerospace holds the rights to the intellectual property, which includes the training of invertebrates."

The insects, dubbed SensorBugsTM are pre-trained to detect a specific odor using food, much like a dog is trained using treats except these insects can be trained in two minutes. A dog can take weeks or months, depending on the application, and requires a trained handler. The insects, when sensing the chemical they have been trained to find, will produce a behavioral response that is automatically detected by the Smart Houndв"ў device, meaning it can be used by minimally trained people. All of this happens in a span of 10 to 20 seconds, and the user gets a green light (nothing found) or red light (the scent has been detected).

Dr. Conover, who also has oversight of Laboratory Z, encouraged his people to focus on crowd-centric applications. "We chose to focus the Kick Starter project on bedbugs. This is an increasing problem in the United States and the world. It is a low risk effort because we've already proven it works in the lab, and it would have a near term benefit to society."
And focusing on bedbugs is also more consumer-friendly, which IndieGoGo projects require.

The future business model is to allow consumers to have a Smart Houndв"ў hand-held unit in their homes and to ship in cartridges on an as needed basis.
"Think of Netflix discs and your DVD player," Dr. Conover explained. "You have a DVD player at home. When you want a movie, you request it from Netflix and the company mails you a disc. In our case, consumers would have inexpensive Smart Hound units in their homes. When they want to monitor for something, they would get online and simply tell us to send them a cartridge for whatever they are interested inвЂ"be that termites, bedbugs, or other pests."

The future of any direct-to-consumer offering is completely in the hands of the crowd at this point. And like the presidential election—when the Smart Hound campaign ends, we will have our answer, and so will Bennett Aerospace.

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Bennett Aerospace, Inc. is a PhD-level R&D company based in Research Triangle, North Carolina. While traditionally focused on providing Government sector R&D solutions, the company is increasingly steering towards commercial market applications and products. Bennett Aerospace was named as a Top-25 North Carolina Company to Watch” by the Edward T. Lowe Foundation in 2011, as well as a Top-25 NC Women-Owned business and Top-100 NC Privately Held Business.

Laboratory Z at Bennett Aerospace is a laboratory of innovation intended to mold cutting-edge ideas into realities that are at the forefront of technological evolution. The innovators of Z focus on projects with a short timeline from concept to creation for rapid impact and maximum societal benefit. Z does not limit thinking or imagination. Z encourages creativity and experimentation. Z sees no limits—only opportunities.

Press Contacts
If you would like more information about this topic, please call Bennett Aerospace at 919-859-5454 or e-mail media@bennettaerospace.com.

Provided by Bennett Aerospace