Orbit Logic celebrates the news of becoming one of the recipients of the Prestigious Tibbetts Awards granted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Orbit Logic received the award for their SpyMeSat mobile app, which evolved from a prototype mobile app developed under a Phase I SBIR contract.
The Tibbetts Awards recognizes those that exemplify the very best achievements in SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
In 2010 Orbit Logic designed, developed, and tested a mobile handheld app to task the GeoEye-1 commercial high resolution imaging satellite through a Phase I Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) SBIR award under an “apps for the warfighter” SBIR topic. The mobile app, named Sibyl for the ancient Greek oracle at Adelphi, met all of its planned objectives.
In 2013, Orbit Logic took the basis of Sibyl and turned it into the SpyMeSat mobile app and made it available to the general public resulting in more than 150 thousand downloads, SpyMeSat is the most widely-used mobile app for satellite imagery in the world.
“For nearly four decades, the SBIR and STTR programs have been assisting small businesses with launching ideas from conception to market. The Tibbetts Awards highlight our nation’s next generation of competitive creators who help push the U.S. economy into the future,” said 2020 SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza. “SBA continues to play a key role in administering these research and technology funding programs, providing ‘seed money’ to help our nation’s greatest and most innovative research entrepreneurs start, grow and transition into high-growth companies. The companies and the technologies they create played a unique role in job creation, the building of new industries and communities and addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges.”
Currently, SpyMeSat is creating a competitive marketplace for satellite imagery and is making satellite imagery more accessible. From a single user having the peace of mind that their friend’s or family’s home is safe after a natural disaster, to industry professionals using satellite imagery to monitor remote sites in a more cost-effective way, SpyMeSat is helping expand the use of satellite imagery around the world. The SBIR program is a foundational tool for the development of technological innovations, and was the initial stepping stone that led to Orbit Logic’s patented and award-winning SpyMeSat mobile app.