Luminary Labs launched the Tool Foundry initiative earlier this year to expand access to science. Funded by grants from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Schmidt Futures, Tool Foundry is supporting the development of powerful tools anyone can use. During a four-month accelerator, inventor teams have been strengthening their accessible tools and building a foundation for sustainable growth.
The Tool Foundry Showcase, to be held November 18, celebrates the people inventing the future of scientific discovery. Since July, the five accelerator cohort teams have worked closely with Tool Foundry’s collaborator network to refine their business strategies and iterate their prototypes. At the Showcase, the cohort will discuss their tools’ potential for scientific impact and share their future goals.
The Showcase will be held at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a mission-driven industrial park on the Brooklyn waterfront that’s home to more than 400 businesses at the intersection of manufacturing, design, and technology.
Learn more about the cohort:
Feles: Bringing DNA sequencing to the classroom — and the kitchen table.
The Feles One Desktop Biolab is an all-in-one device that integrates multiple scientific instruments, including a thermo-cycler, spectrometer, and centrifuge, to complete most molecular biology and synthetic biology experiments. Earlier this year, the Boston-based team’s Kickstarter campaign was funded in less than ten days, raising more than $89,000 from 156 backers.
MakeItSo: Helping scientists automate experiments, leading to new breakthroughs.
MakeItSo is an end-to-end, open-source solution for scientists to design and execute scripted, machine-driven processes that require the precision and accuracy of computer control. This team hails from the University of Washington in Seattle and is led by Nadya Peek, Assistant Professor of Human Centered Design & Engineering and Honorary Board Member of the Open Source Hardware Association.
Octopi: Automating disease detection to save lives.
Octopi is an open-access, modular and high-throughput microscope that can be rapidly configured for specific applications in disease diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and research. Developed by Stanford University’s Prakash Lab, the makers of Foldscope, Octopi can be designed and redesigned for specific applications, including by clinical practitioners and researchers for health and environmental monitoring.
On-Target Cards: Helping citizen scientists test contaminants in water supplies.
On-Target Cards enable affordable, fast, quantitative testing of elements such as copper, iron, zinc, cadmium and manganese in water. The credit-card sized tools, developed by Colorado-based Access Sensor Technologies, can be used to monitor any source of water, including streams, rivers, and lakes.
Spectra: Making medical imaging safer than an X-ray and cheaper than a trip to the radiologist.
Spectra is a portable, open-source, biomedical imaging system that uses the same method as a CT scan for real-time, inexpensive image reconstructions. Developed by Mindseye Biomedical in San Francisco, Spectra enables anyone to explore medical physics from their own home, without expensive hospital equipment. The team’s campaign on Crowdsupply was funded by 122 backers.
Following the presentations, guests will have the opportunity to meet the cohort and demo their tool prototypes. A networking reception will offer a chance to connect with entrepreneurs, funders, and other experts in this inspiring community.
Join the cohort teams at the Tool Foundry Showcase
The Showcase is free to attend, but space is limited and advance registration is required. Newsletter subscribers will receive early access to registration on Monday, October 28 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Sign up for the Tool Foundry Journal to receive registration information in your inbox.