SBIR involved from when the firm was launched in 1998 and - by choice - still a very small, small firm (30+ employees) continuously program active, Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc. develops optical sensing devices, software, and instrumentation. By design - from when the firm was first launched - the strategy has been for management to take innovative technologies through the development cycle - all the way to the achievement of a fully-functioning independent spin-off company that focuses on one/more of the firm's areas of interest in the physical, chemical, remote sensing, and biological sensing instrumentation in key markets. The company offers in-line process monitoring, post-process evaluation, and in-service inspection products, such as fiber optic-based sensors for pressure, temperature, electromagnetic fields, and various chemicals; acoustic emission sensors; signal and image processing systems; specialty light sources; nonlethal weapons; and nondestructive visual and laser ultrasonic inspection systems. The firm's products are used in automotive, medical/biotech, aerospace, manufacturing/industrial, security/military, and environmental markets - from the earliest days of operation, the firms technology and product developments often receiving high acclaim. OpTech's first spin-off company, OptiSense, LLC, pursued hydrogen sensor markets in the automotive, fuel cell, and aerospace sectors. The company has locations in Torrance, CA and Pasadena, CA. The firm also has an associated entity - designated Optech Ventures, LLC - usefully understood as the commercialization sister company of IOS, currently selingl a full line of commercial instruments for industrial inspection based on laser ultrasonics.
