On an ocean fishing outing, Houman Nikmanesh let his kayak drift too far out to sea. He spent about four hours paddling back in to San Diego Bay. 

His main thought during those grueling hours was “I need a motor on this kayak.”

So he invented the Bixpy Jet, a light weight, handheld motor that attaches to several types of battery packs to propel divers, kayakers, paddle boarders and other small craft.

“The motor housing, that is the essence of what we built,” said Nikmanesh. “The efficiency of it and the force it creates with just a 2 pound motor.”

Bixpy Jet won the Sports and Active Lifestyles category of the 29 annual Most Innovative New Products Awards competition put on by Connect, a San Diego start-up mentor and accelerator.

The start-up joined nine other winners in categories ranging from defense technology to medical devices. The winners were announced Thursday evening.

“Tonight’s winners demonstrate the incredible brain-power and drive that continue to elevate the region’s innovation economy,” said Connect Chief Executive Greg McKee.

Among the winners was Cubic Corp. with GATR inflatable satellite antennas that allow military customers to set up satellite communications links in the field.

Cubic acquired the technology through the $233 million purchase of the Huntsville, Ala.-based invent of the GATR system in 2015.

The antennas, which look something like work-out balls at gyms, can be air dropped into a military unit in extreme environments. They can be set up in 60 minutes without special tools and weigh 85 percent less than conventional systems.

Aira, a start-up co-founded by Suman Kanuganti, taps the power of Google Glass to create a platform for helping the blind.

Using the Google Glass camera that connects to Aira’s smartphone app, a blind or visually impaired person is able to connect with an agent to assist them in real time – something like GM’s On-Star for the visually impaired.

The agent sees not only what the Google Glass camera sees but also has the user’s profile, location information, Google Maps for directions and Yelp reviews for nearby businesses, among other data.

There are 22 million blind and visual impaired people in the U.S. Aira is working with the Veteran’s Administration to pilot its technology and hopes to get Aira approved for insurance reimbursement from Medicare and other providers, said Amy Bernal, director of agent services.

For now, the company has three pricing plans, ranging from $329 per month for unlimited use to $129 for 200 minutes. There is no cost for the camera equipped glasses.

Google has discontinued Google Glass as a consumer product, but it still supplies glasses to business customers, said Bernal. Aira’s technology works with a variety of smart glasses brands, however.

“Our users are basically able to launch and connect to a real person -- right now from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the continental U.S.,” said Bernal. “Our platform is agnostic of hardware and can work with many types of smart glass.”

In the Blue Tech category, Water Pigeon won with a low-cost, easy to install smart meter. Using a camera, battery and cellular connectivity, Water Pigeon allows utilities to convert standard water meters to smart meters without replacing any existing plumbing.

The camera sits in the cap/opening that accesses the meter. Software algorithms read the meter, processes the images and sends the data back to utilities – significantly reducing meter reading costs, said Chief Executive Clay Melugin.

The battery lasts for 20 years. Only about 15 percent ofthe U.S. is equipped with smart water meters, so the market is large, said Melugin. The company is in the process of raising about $750,000 and has five pilot projects on tap.

Bixpy Jet recently wrapped up a $160,000 crowdfunding campaign, where about 270 people ordered the handheld motor. Nikmanesh plans to deliver the motors in March. Retail prices range from $1,000 for systems with large batteries to $750 for smaller batteries. Batteries can last up to 7 hours, depending on how fast users go.

Nikmanesh estimates that market for the Bixpy Jet is about $270 million annually, not only from individuals but also from resorts, diving tour operators and fishing guides.

“It is a very new product,” he said. “There is nothing like this out there. So it is hard to gauge how big the market is. It could be much bigger, hopefully.”

Other winners of Connect’s Most Innovative Products are:

• Guru’s San Diego Museum of Art App in the Software/Digital Media category. The app uses video, audio, games and augmented reality to enhance the museum experience.
• CleverPet in the Robotics category. The company makes a robotic feeder to offer cognitive stimulation to pets when their humans are at work, including giving them tasks to complete to earn a treat.
• Acadia Pharmaceutical’s Nuplazid in the Pharmaceutical category. Nuplazid is the first approved treatment for hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis.
• Onciomed’s Gastric Vest in the Medical Device Category. The system includes an implantable device used to enable weight loss. It imitates a sleeve gastrectomy but does not involve stapling, cutting or removing part of the stomach.
• Camston Wrather in the Cleantech category. The company recovers precious metals and polymers from electronic waste in a way that is more environmentally friendly than current methods.
• Echo Laboratories’ Revolve in the Life Sciences category. Revolve is a hybrid microscope that transforms between upright and inverted configurations, merging the capabilities of two instruments.

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune