The final 12 entrants in NWEN’s First Look Forum gave their 5 minute pitches to a packed room of investors Tuesday afternoon in downtown Seattle. LaserMotive was ninth in the line-up, and things went very well (no matter how Tom felt). The audience then voted for their top choices, and LaserMotive was one of the final 5. We later found out that LaserMotive was the audience favorite “by a wide margin” although this was not officially announced. These five companies then had one more minute to talk about one additional slide, followed by questions from three judges. Those judges then chose the winner and runner-up. LaserMotive is proud to have been chosen as runner-up from amongst a field of a dozen well-presented companies! In addition to the sponsored prizes, this honor will help as we start raising money from outside investors.

We want to give a big thanks not only to the judges and audience members who voted for us, but also to Rebecca Lovell and Caitlin Goetze of NWEN for all their support, and to our coaches throughout the process!

The data center where LaserMotive’s website is hosted suffered a short in a large UPS late Tuesday night, which damaged more than 3,000 machines. As a result, our website and email were unavailable for the past two days. Everything seems to be back up now, but if you tried sending us email in the last few days, please try resending it since it may have been lost during the restoration attempts.

The Space Frontier Foundation is calling for support for the administration’s version of the 2011 NASA budget (and to oppose the House version of the budget). One of the ways they’re advocating is via video collecting interviews from the “NewSpace” community. LaserMotive’s Tom Nugent is one of the individuals included in the video. Check it out!

UPDATE: The Senate version of the NASA authorization bill passed.

NWEN has chosen the 12 finalists for their First Look Forum. LaserMotive is in this group, and will be presenting on October 12th. If our laser-powered helicopter demo works well when we present at the CleanTech Open regional semi-finals on October 4th, we’ll likely bring it with us to the FLF.

The Northwest Entrepreneur Network hosts a First Look Forum (FLF) twice a year to expose new and promising start-ups to the venture investment community around the Pacific Northwest.
We are proud to announce that LaserMotive made the cut to the top 20 applicants for the current FLF. We are now working to make the next cut to the top 12 later this month, at which point we will participate in the First Look Forum on October 12th. To find out more, check out the First Look Forum page.

LaserMotive issued a press release today: “LaserMotive to Demonstrate Laser-Powered Helicopter at the AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2010”  Come see us and the heli in booth #227 all this week at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems conference and trade show.

KENT, WA–(Marketwire – 08/23/10) – LaserMotive, an independent R&D company specializing in laser power beaming and winner of the 2009 NASA-sponsored Power Beaming Challenge, has announced that it will be showcasing a demonstration model of a laser-powered remote controlled helicopter at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America 2010 Conference, August 24 – 27 in Denver, Colo., booth #227.

The demonstration model, which uses a tethered remote-controlled helicopter, is eye-safe and has been designed to fit inside LaserMotive’s booth at the show. In lab tests conducted by LaserMotive, the laser-powered helicopter has flown for nearly two hours, making it the longest duration laser-powered helicopter flight on record. The helicopter will be flown all day long during the four-day Conference, the company said.

“The ability to fly an unmanned helicopter for this length of time using laser power beaming is an important technological advance for unmanned aerial vehicles,” said Tom Nugent, President of LaserMotive. “Not only does this provide a way for UAVs to be powered in flight without the need for fuel, but it potentially can extend their abilities and enable new missions.”

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently one of the one of the largest growth sectors in the aerospace and defense industries. According to industry research firm Teal Group, the market for UAVs is expected to grow worldwide from $4.9 billion annually to $11.5 billion annually in the next 10 years.

The system uses laser power beaming — the wireless transfer of energy over distances using laser light — to provide a virtually endless supply of power to the helicopter. It is safe to the eye, and based on technology the company developed for its winning entry in the 2009 Power Beaming Challenge for a purse prize of nearly $1 million, marking the first time any team ever won the Challenge.

According to the company, today’s announcement is part of a series of strategic steps the company is taking as part of its long-term blueprint to develop a full-scale laser power system for unmanned aerial vehicles, which the company announced earlier this year. LaserMotive’s next step is to demonstrate power beaming to a larger, free-flying UAV.

Headquartered in Kent, Wash., LaserMotive is a privately-held R&D company specializing in laser power beaming for commercial applications. The company was co-founded in 2006 by Dr. Jordin Kare, one of the foremost experts on laser propulsion, and Tom Nugent, former Research Director for LiftPort Group. Its industry partners include some of the leading companies in aerospace and lasers, including The Boeing Company, DILAS, MS Kennedy, Ophir Spiricon, 4D Optical, and In-Tec. For more information, including the white paper on LaserMotive’s UAV strategy, please visit the company website at www.lasermotive.com.

LaserMotive is proud to introduce a 5 minute video that tells who we are, what power beaming is and what applications we think it can enhance or enable.

Many thanks to Owen Kindig of Ztoryteller for his awesome work in creating this video.

June was an extremely busy month at LaserMotive, and although I tweeted the news, I realize I never posted it here:

LaserMotive was one of the companies chosen as a semi-finalist in the CleanTech Open business competition in the Pacific Northwest division. We are proud to have been chosen, and will be working hard in the next two months to prepare our entry for the final round this fall.

About the Cleantech Open
The Cleantech Open is the world’s largest cleantech business competition. Its mission is to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental and economic challenges. The program provides the infrastructure, expertise and strategic relationships to turn clever ideas into successful global cleantech companies. Since 2006, through its one-of-a-kind annual business competition and mentorship program, the Cleantech Open has enabled hundreds of clean technology startups to bring their breakthrough ideas to fruition, helped alumni contestants raise over $260M, and created an estimated 1,200 green collar jobs. Fueled by a network of more than 600 volunteers and sponsors, the Cleantech Open unites the public and private sectors in a shared vision for making America’s cleantech sector a thriving economic engine. For more information, visit www.cleantechopen.com, and follow @cleantechopen on Twitter.

LaserMotive issued a press release today: Team LaserMotive Announces Latest Sponsors for Its Entry in the 2010 Power Beaming Competition. We will be blogging about each new sponsor individually in the near future.

KENT, WA–(Marketwire – June 15, 2010) – LaserMotive, an independent R&D company specializing in laser power beaming and winner of the 2009 NASA-sponsored Power Beaming Competition, has announced its newest sponsors for its entry in the 2010 Space Elevator Games. At stake is a purse prize of up to $1.1 million.

Sponsors announced today include Zaber Technologies, a manufacturer of computer-controlled linear actuators, stages, mirror mounts, motors and other devices; Ophir Spiricon, a global leader in precision IR optics components and laser measurement equipment; and National Instruments, pioneers of virtual instrumentation for the measurement and automation industry. All three companies join LaserMotive’s growing list of corporate sponsors, including industry notables such as Boeing and DILAS, for its 2010 entry in the NASA Centennial Challenge Power Beaming Competition, also known as the Space Elevator Games. LaserMotive won a purse prize of nearly $1 million in the 2009 Competition, marking the first time a company had won since the Competition’s inception.

“We’re pleased to announce these industry partners as sponsors of Team LaserMotive as we prepare to enter the next round of the Power Beaming Competition in 2010,” said Tom Nugent, president and co-founder of LaserMotive. “Laser power beaming — the wireless transfer of energy from one location to another using laser light — offers tremendous potential to businesses in a wide variety of industries, ranging from alternative energy to unmanned aerial vehicles. Not only do we believe that the sponsorships will enhance the development of our entry for this year’s Competition, but the technology developed can be used to further practical applications for laser power beaming, both near and long term.” In May 2010, LaserMotive announced its blueprint for creating the first endless power system for unmanned aerial vehicles, based on technology LaserMotive developed for its winning entry in the 2009 Power Beaming Competition.

Headquartered in Kent, Wash., LaserMotive is a privately-held R&D company specializing in laser power beaming for commercial applications. The company was co-founded in 2006 by Dr. Jordin Kare, one of the foremost experts on laser propulsion, and Tom Nugent, former Research Director for LiftPort Group. Its industry partners include some of the leading companies in aerospace and lasers, including The Boeing Company, DILAS, MS Kennedy, 4D Optical, and In-Tec. For more information, please visit the company website at www.lasermotive.com.

Daniel Terdiman’s CNET blog post, “The laser turns 50” highlights the history of the laser and celebrates the fact that Sunday, May 16th is the 50th anniversary of the demonstration of the first working laser.

This entire year, there are various events to celebrate the 50th anniversary as part of LaserFest. Check it out to learn about the many ways lasers have changed the world in the last 50 years. And come back here from time to time to see a few ways that lasers will change the world in the next 50 years!