VastVision Technologies is a company with an inventory management and asset tracking platform that works with GPS and radio frequency tracking. The company licensed MagTag technology from Sandia National Laboratories after recognizing its potential to revolutionize how assets are tracked. Unlike RF tags, MagTag technology is a chip-scale magnetic smart tagging and sensing platform. Originally developed to track nuclear materials which are often stored in heavy metal containers that make RF tags unworkable, MagTags have magnetic-based resonator arrays that can be pinged with an AC magnetic frequency by a handheld reader that can measure and analyze the response. They require no batteries or maintenance.
“We were excited to work with Sandia through the TRGR Program. The support and funding provided were instrumental in helping us achieve our goals, and we’re proud of what we accomplished together.“
Kyle Guin
CEO and Co-founder
VastVision Technologies LLC
In order to move the promising technology to market, VastVision partnered with Sandia for a TRGR Project that would leverage the Labs’ specialized equipment and expertise. Sandia Scientists Jamin Pillars and Christian Arrington, who helped develop the MagTag technology, worked with the company to advance the TRL from Level 4 to 5 by further developing the handheld reader, the system’s environmental sensing capabilities, and microfabrication techniques for including multiple types of detection sensors on one chip.
After achieving its TRGR goals, VastVision was accepted into the New Mexico Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program to continue research, and received a $925,000 Advanced Energy Award from the state of New Mexico, bringing total investment in the company to over $2 million. VastVision is growing with both Pillars and Arrington leaving Sandia and joining the company via the Sandia Entrepreneurial Separation to Transfer Technology program.