Zephyr hooks up with US giant

JOHN SELKIRK/ Dominion Post

VITAL SIGNS: Product manager John Molloy with a transmitter-equipped harness.

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United States communications technology giant Motorola has snapped up a stake in Auckland firm Zephyr Technology for an undisclosed sum.

The Kiwi start-up has also attracted investment from a venture capital firm in the US and moved its head office there to be closer to its main customers.

Zephyr's smart-fabric sensor technology monitors physiological information including a person's pulse rate and skin temperature through sensors woven into garments such as chest straps, and transmits that data across wireless systems.

Product manager John Molloy said Motorola Ventures, the venture capital arm of Motorola, did not wish to reveal the size of its stake, but the deal was significant for the Kiwi company.

"It's lifeblood for the company. It allows us to continue to develop our products and push them into markets which is a fairly expensive exercise."

Motorola, which had a US$30 billion (NZ$47b) turnover last year, was a key player in Zephyr's main markets the emergency services and "first response" markets.

"We measure the vital signs of people doing pretty crazy things and can send that information anywhere in the world. It could be anybody in a dangerous situation, whether they are firefighters, guys on oil rigs or guys putting themselves in danger in Iraq.

"Motorola dominates those markets as a supplier of hand-held radios.

"They've got global distribution and sales teams. They're an excellent vehicle for us."

Zephyr's technology was used by Nasa's Ames Research Centre to monitor astronauts during training, and the US Special Operations forces in specialist firefighting and rescue operations.

The forces are trained to carry out highly dangerous and pressured tasks such as raids on al Qaeda operatives in the Middle East and much of their work is top secret. "Most of us here don't even know what they [US Special Operations] do but it's some reasonably serious stuff."

Other customers included US firms AD Instruments and BioPac which supplied data-gathering equipment to the likes of defence and armament company Lockheed Martin and pharmaceutical research firm Pfizer.

Zephyr's products ranged in price from US$100 to US$1400.

A system for monitoring 15 people cost between $500 and $700 a person, he said.

Zephyr has 15 staff in New Zealand, three in the US and one in Europe.

- © Fairfax NZ News