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Airak, Inc. has Successful Install

Airak, Inc. successfully installed a 3 phase medium voltage optical distribution monitoring system (ODMS) in a neighboring municipality on May 25th, 2006.The installation took only a one man bucket to install. Because the fiber optic leads do not conduct electrical current, it was safe to the lineman doing the installation, and there was no need to shut down power operations.  The small size and light weight contributed to the ease of installation.  Find more details about the installation on the  Downloads Page to download the article titled: "Electrical Distribution Load Monitoring Case Study."

Optical Current Sensor Receives 15 KV Class Certification

Ashburn, VA -- September 2005 --  Airak, Inc., developer and supplier of optical sensors and systems for electrical monitoring and control,  is pleased to announce 15 KV Class Certification by PEMCO Corp. of Bluefield, VA. The results have been made available through an independently conducted voltage withstand test. This test was conducted by PEMCO Corporation of Bluefield, Virginia in accordance with IEEE Standard C37.20.2 and successfully tested Airak's Optical Current Sensor at 36KV for 1 minute as well as at 95KV impulse levels.

The sensors passed all tests with no failures and installation of the sensors had no impact on the insulation performance of the metal clad busbars. This qualifies the sensors to be used on 15KV class and lower switchgear. These test results can be found on the downloads page of our website or by simply going to the following link: http://www.airak.com/downloads.htm

Airak, Inc. Announces $1.2 Million Dollar Contract

Ashburn, VA – March 9, 2005 -- Airak, Inc., developer and supplier of optical sensors and systems for electrical monitoring and control, announced the award of a $1.2 million dollar contract by the U. S. Navy. The systems will provide ship-wide monitoring of mission critical electrical systems and power plants. In addition, it will alert, in real-time, notification of problems and will ensure overall reliability.  Airak will be providing it’s advanced optical sensor solutions through the American Competitiveness Institute (ACI) MANTECH program in ACI’s role of supporting the transition of technologies for DoD.  An additional $1.1M has been allocated by the Navy to ACI and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, Philadelphia to assist Airak in hardening, testing, and certification of the optical sensor systems.

Qualified optical current and voltage measurement systems will be delivered to an aircraft carrier in early 2006.  The 12-month program will concentrate on busbar monitoring within electrical switchgear and the provision of performance analysis systems.  Airak’s optical sensors are 98% smaller than other measurement systems capable of the same range making them ideal for the constraints imposed by a shipboard environment.  The all-fiber construction of the sensor, which allows for isolated measurements, makes them far safer to use in higher power systems than their conventional counterparts.  Additionally, the small size of the devices permits installation without disassembly of the busbar, resulting in less down time and lower installation costs.

 “It is very exciting to be able to provide our technology to the Navy and to contribute to increasing shipboard effectiveness and reliability,” says Paul Duncan, President of Airak. “This will be the first installation of our optical sensors and systems in battle hardened environments.  We expect to be able to provide similar systems in electrical utility environments later this summer that can contribute to improving the reliability of load monitoring, reduce costs, and assist managers in avoiding the catastrophic power failures that we have seen in the past.  Our team is comprised of very talented people in production and test.  This is the start of the solution to a much bigger problem in power delivery and we are pleased to have the Navy as a prestigious customer who shares our vision in making this technology a reality.”

Airak, Inc and Prototype Productions, Inc. Announce Integration of Operations

Ashburn, VA - January 12, 2005 -- Airak, Inc., supplier of optical sensors for electrical load monitoring and control and Prototype Productions, Inc., a state-of-the-art product development and volume manufacturing firm, announced today that that they have formed a partnership that includes integration of design and manufacturing operations for the further development of sensor technologies and applicable products.

To accelerate the integration Airak, Inc. (Airak) has moved its facilities from Manassas to Ashburn, VA and is co-located with Prototype Productions, Inc. (PPI).  Airak's proven track record of developing next generation optical sensor and power electronic technologies, when coupled with PPI's design-for-manufacturing capabilities and commercialization achievements, results in a combined capability to address the Nation's growing need for improved electrical load monitoring and control.

"The integration of operations is a natural step in the evolution and growth of Airak.  Airak and PPI have been working together for four years on the development of our advanced sensor and power electronic technologies, and now that we're accepting orders for these systems, it makes sense for Airak and PPI to leverage each other's capabilities to provide quality solutions to our customers.  Being under the same roof improves communications, accelerates schedules, and ultimately results in lower costs for our customers.  Furthermore, we don't have to invest in developing a manufacturing facility -- it's already done and is highly successful.  This integration allows the Airak/PPI team to focus on optimization of manufacturing and reduction of costs which will make our products more competitive and accessible to developing markets," said Paul Duncan, President of Airak.

Italo D. Travez, President of Prototype Productions adds “PPI is proud to be involved with Airak, a company whose innovation and technical expertise brings tremendous value to DOD and the utility industry.  Our new, close proximity will improve and accelerate our abilities to develop and deliver quality products to Airak’s markets.” 

 The initial efforts of the team will focus on standardization of manufacturing and volume scaling of Airak's optical current and voltage sensor technologies that are targeted for 13.8 KV and lower applications.

 About Prototype Productions, Inc.

Prototype Production's primary mission is developing, prototyping, manufacturing, and commercializing products.  PPI, which was founded in 1991, has been successful in the space flight, defense, medical, communications and building industries.  PPI was recognized as one of the Fast 50 Technology Companies in the region by both Techway Magazine and Deloitte & Touche. PPI is located at 21641 Beaumeade Circle, Suite 311, Ashburn, Virginia 20147, mailto:bfeldman@protoprod.com, and http://www.protoprod.com

July 2003: Airak wins prestigious "R&D 100" award for the company's Fiber Optic Current Sensor

R&D Magazine named Airak, Inc. a year 2003 winner of the prestigious “R&D 100” award. The award recognizes the company’s fiber optic current sensor as among “the 100 most technologically significant new products and processes of the year.”

The Chicago Tribune called the R&D 100 Awards “The Oscars of Invention.” Others have referred to them as the “Nobel Prizes of Applied Research.” Since their inauguration in 1963, winners have included instant film, the digital wristwatch, antilock brakes, the liquid crystal display, the halogen lamp, the fax machine, the computer printer, lab-on-a-chip and high definition TV. The most prestigious companies, research organizations and universities in the world submitted entries for the 2003 competition. Editors and staff of R&D Magazine and 70 outside experts judged and selected the winners.

Airak's fiber optic current sensor measures magnetic field phase and amplitude, current phase and amplitude, and/or temperature on conductors using light and a property of certain crystals known as the Faraday effect. Due to the fiber optic construction of the sensor, it is safe for personnel and interconnected equipment. Additionally, as system voltage levels increase the voltage isolation requirements increase, which cause conventional sensors to become larger and heavier. Not so with Airak's sensor -- the sensor weighs only 28 grams, independent of system voltages or currents, at least to 12KV or currents to 30KA.
 

June 2003: Airak wins "Bronze" Best of Sensor's Expo award

The editors of Sensors named Airak, Inc. 2003 "bronze" winner of the Best of Sensor's Expo award, presented at Sensors Expo & Conference Spring 2003 in Rosemont, IL. With the Best of Sensors Expo awards, the editors of Sensors, the leading publication in the sensors industry for over 19 years, recognize new products that they predict will significantly impact the use of sensing in designs and applications. Airak's fiber optic current sensor measures the magnitude and phase of electrical currents within wires using light to measure electrical current and, because of its fiber-optic interconnects, is safe for high-voltage monitoring applications. Other winners in the sensors category include Honeywell and Motorola.
 

April 2003: Airak is awarded patent to protect optical chemical sensors from biofouling

Airak received the Company's fourth U.S. Patent 6,551,583 on April 22, 2003, which discloses a method of protecting optical chemical sensors from the affects of algae or bacteria. The patent specifically addresses using algaecides in combination with charge-transfer compounds in optical chemical sensors.
 

March 2003: Airak is awarded optical sensor patent

Airak received the Company's third U.S. Patent 6,534,977 on March 18th, 2003, which discloses a rare-earth iron garnet sensor assembly that can be used to monitor magnetic fields, currents, and/or the temperatures surrounding conductors.
 

December, 2002: Airak is awarded optical sensor patent to monitor micro displacements

Airak received the Company's second U.S. Patent 6,496,265 on December 17th, 2002, which discloses a method to measure extremely small changes in displacement using fiber optics. The patent protects technology that can be used to measure parameters such as pressure, displacement, temperature, acoustic phenomena, load, and magnetic fields.
 

August, 2002: Airak is awarded patent to optically monitor current, magnetic fields, or temperature inside of power electronic modules

Airak received U.S. Patent 6,437,885 on August 20th, 2002, to use certain rare-earth iron garnet materials to monitor current, magnetic fields, or temperatures inside of power electronic modules. The technology is based upon the Faraday effect, which is an intrinsic property of crystals to modify the properties of light in the presence of a magnetic field. Processing the current, magnetic field, and/or temperature on the chip allows greater flexibility in control of the device, which results in increased safety to personnel, interconnected equipment, and the device itself.
 

May, 2002: Airak Wins $750,000 USDoE Award to Build World's First Optically Isolated 5 MW Inverter

In May 2002, Airak was notified that it had been awarded a $750,000 grant by the USDoE to continue the Company's development and commercialization of high-power, utility-scale, optically isolated power conversion systems. The goal of this effort will be to develop a pre-production full-bridge 5 MW inverter system based upon the Company's demonstrated technologies. This inverter system will utilize a new generation of optical sensing and control, innovative DSP control algorithms, and the newest form of HVIGBT devices to produce a complete inverter system with greater than 99% efficiency, that exhibits higher reliability, and that occupies a smaller footprint.
 

March 2002: Airak Successfully Tests the World's First Optically Isolated 1.4 MVA Inverter

Airak, Inc., under funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and in collaboration with the research and development team led by Dr. Jason S. Lai at the Center for Power Electronics Systems at Virginia Tech, has successfully tested the world’s first optically isolated mega-watt level cascaded inverter building block for distributed energy resource (DER) applications. This technology is based upon recent advances in optical sensors, optical control interconnects, and a new generation of High-Voltage Integrated Gate Bipolar Transistors (HV-IGBTs). The effort to date has concentrated on the development of a single phase inverter building block, and the next development effort will build upon these successes and will produce a full five-MVA, three phase system. Development of stackable modular topologies enables the realization of extremely flexible high power systems, and when combined with optical voltage, current, and temperature sensors as well as optical control interfaces, enables a topology that tremendously simplifies the design of high-power electronic systems while improving their safety and overall reliability
 

March, 2002: Airak Successfully Tests a Low-Cost Optical Current Transducer

Airak, Inc., under funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, and in collaboration with Prototype Productions, Inc. of Ashburn, Virginia and Deltronic Crystal Industries, Inc. of Dover, NJ, has successfully tested the world's first low-cost, quick connect/disconnect fiber optic current sensor (FOCS). The technology is based upon recent advances in optical telecommunications as well as semiconductor crystal growth techniques. When combined with a scalable manufacturing design the result is a compact, robust, and intrinsically safe optical current sensor that can be used in high voltage (tested in excess of 2000VDC), high current (tested in excess of 4000Apk) applications.

Page Modified Wednesday August 01, 2007