Vubiq, Inc.

 

Vubiq, a Nevada corporation headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, is a millimeter wave technology company specializing in the packaging of 60 GHz silicon transmitters and receivers for high volume production.  While there is a strong worldwide effort to develop the silicon by major fabrication houses, no other company has achieved the capability of effectively packaging that silicon into an efficient, low cost, and highly manufacturable product.  Vubiq has two issued patents and nine others in process, which cover both the core technology and specific applications thereof.  We are developing products and solutions for a number of different industries utilizing silicon-based 60 GHz transmitters and receivers in order to achieve low cost, high speed communications and radar applications.  Some of these applications included uncompressed wireless HD video transport, multi-gigabit per second data links, wireless personal area networks (WPANs), and radio frequency identification (RFID). With its initial revenues beginning in May 2008, Vubiq has begun its transformation from purely a technology development focus into a profit-driven commercial organization.

 

The technology underlying all of Vubiq's current and future product offerings utilizes millimeter wave radio frequencies to transmit and receive signals and data at extremely high data rates.  Millimeter wave is the term commonly associated with radio frequencies ranging from 30 to 300 GHz, and Vubiq's initial focus is on the 60 GHz band.  This band, specifically the band from 57 GHz to 64 GHz[1], has been allocated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as "unlicensed spectrum," meaning that it is available to anyone to use without the need to purchase rights to the spectrum.  Similar bands of unlicensed spectrum exist at 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and many others, and over the past decade standards have been put in place at each of these bands in order to develop common user interfaces and interoperability between the products of different manufacturers, with the goal of increasing overall demand for these products and systems.  This same process is well underway for the 60 GHz band, and IEEE standards are expected to be finalized by the end of 2009.

 

The strong appeal of the 60 GHz band can be summed up in one word:  bandwidth.  With 7 GHz of spectrum available, the theoretical rates for sending data across wireless links at 60 GHz exceed those of lower frequencies (e.g., Wi-Fi, UWB) by orders of magnitude.  In both the academic and commercial worlds, researchers are working feverishly to create the critical components required for a cost-effective 60 GHz wireless system; specifically, the analog circuitry of the transmitters and receivers utilizing a silicon-based semiconductor.  While millimeter wave technology has been around for decades, the components were typically created using expensive materials and processes - far too expensive to be considered for any type of commercial or consumer application.  Only recently has there existed the availability of these radios fabricated using a silicon-based process, and with the promise of huge markets such as wireless HDTV, gigabit capacity mobile backhaul, and WPANs, to name a few, there is now a rush to come to market with a cost-effective solution.

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[1] This is the unlicensed frequency band in the US, Canada, and Korea.  In other parts of the world the lower and higher limits may be different, but in general the band is almost universally 7 GHz wide.

 

Adam Button, Chief Executive Officer

Adam has been with Vubiq since its incorporation, developing the financial and commercial relationships required to allow a start-up company to develop its fundamental technology.  Adam has extensive experience in managing technology companies:  prior to Vubiq, he was CEO of an XML software technology company called VertaPort; CFO of Amber Telecommunications (a Wi-Fi startup); and CFO of ibidlive, an auction portal combining live, televised auctions with remote Internet-based bidders.

Adam developed his background for management in strategy consulting and investment banking, having worked as a consultant for both The Boston Consulting Group and the LEK Partnership, and as an investment banker with L.F. Rothschild & Company.  He also founded a successful independent consulting company, Adam Button, Inc., which assisted small companies in developing business strategies, honing business plans and presentations, creating financial projections, and obtaining financing.

His educational experience includes receiving his AB degree cum laude in Economics from Harvard, and his MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

 

Michael Pettus, Chief Technology Officer

Mike is the Founder and CTO of Vubiq, having conceptualized the intellectual property of the company four years ago.  He has spent the last 20 years in wireless technology development, designing and developing wireless solutions in a number of different industries utilizing multiple frequencies, modulation technologies, and systems designs.  Most notably, Mike was the Director of Systems Engineering at Metricom for 11 years.  At Metricom he was responsible for the design and implementation of the Ricochet wireless network - a city-wide wireless mesh data network that pre-dated Wi-Fi - from components to a national infrastructure of over 100,000 working outdoor wireless access points / mesh nodes.  In this role Mike introduced several patented software technologies for spread spectrum, packet routed wireless networks and power line carrier communications.

Prior to Metricom, Mike developed expertise in video technologies as well.  As Vice President of Engineering at Convergence Corporation, he managed the design and productization of professional / broadcast video editing systems and interactive video teleconferencing products.

Mike received his BA in Philosophy of Science and Mathematics from California State University, Fullerton, and did post-graduate work in digital signal processing, telecommunications networking, packet networking, IP protocol, and design for manufacturing.

 

Vubiq has developed and taken to market the world's first integrated 60 GHz radio, selling transmit and receive micromodules in a Development System to allow for applications development at corporations, universities, and research groups around the world.  To date, Vubiq has shipped its Development Systems to such customers as BAE Systems, BMW, Broadcom, Canon, Cardinal Health, Her Majesty's Government Communications Centre, Oki Electric, Panasonic, Sandia Labs, Tokyo Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, and others.  With a second Development System incorporating a waveguide with the radio available in September 2009, we anticipate demand for these Development Systems to accelerate.  Vubiq's goal in selling these systems is to seed the market with the capability to develop applications at 60 GHz, which will in turn lead to large volume micromodule, waveguide module, or system sales.  Specific applications include the markets listed below.

Wireless Uncompressed High Definition Video

Vubiq has developed a solution for wireless transport of uncompressed high definition video utilizing the SDI/HDMI formats.  The proprietary approach we have taken prevents its publication in this document, but this system is able to transport high definition video with no compression of the video stream required, in an extremely low cost manner.  The possible implications that this technology may have on the consumer electronics market are quite large, as essentially every major vendor of high definition televisions (e.g., Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic, LG, Sharp, Pioneer, JVC, etc.) is making attempts to find effective wireless HD video solutions for consumers.  However, our initial focus will be on the industrial/commercial video market, and our initial product was introduced at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in April, 2009.  At NAB, we exhibited our VuLink VL300 Video Link, which transports uncompressed high definition video streams wirelessly up to 150 meters at 1.485 gigabits per second, with a suggested retail price of US$14,995.  In our discussions with end users and dealers at the Show, the response was overwhelmingly positive, with orders placed on the spot, and a distribution agreement with industry powerhouse Leader Instruments has resulted from this very positive showing.  This professional video market not only values the picture quality achieved by uncompressed video transfer, but also requires very low latency, or lag, which we also achieve.  Lastly, on-the-fly editing of compressed video is not achievable today, and with uncompressed video, this now becomes a reality.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

Vubiq proved its groundbreaking concept of being able to identify completely chipless tags in December 2007.  In a laboratory, a 60 GHz transmitter and 60 GHz receiver were set up in a radar configuration to scan tags moving across a conveyor.  Utilizing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging techniques, Vubiq's RFID solution allows for the identification, location, and tracking of tags that contain no onboard electronics whatsoever, allowing for a solution whose tag costs will be significantly lower than existing RFID solutions.  Vubiq's Series A lead investor, Cardinal Health, plans to incorporate this technology into a number of its offerings to hospitals, including asset tracking, medicine management, inventory control, and patient monitoring.  Outside of the healthcare market, the potential applications are limitless, with such markets as mail, airport security, and parcel tracking among those currently being discussed with major players in their respective markets.

Point to Point Data Communications

With the near-term availability of its waveguide transition micromodule, a large opportunity opens up to Vubiq for supplying low cost radios to the point-to-point data and cellular telecommunications markets.  Vubiq is now in discussions with point-to-point data communications market leaders around the world to supply them with critical low-cost transmitters and receivers that would allow them to provide a much lower cost point to their customers.

Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN)

Vubiq will incorporate multi-gigabit per second wireless data transfer capability to portable electronics such as cameras, laptops, and cell phones.  Currently no other company in the world has this solution available.  We are negotiating a Letter of Intent with a key industry supplier to develop this solution.

First mover advantage.  Vubiq is the first company in the world to have developed commercially available silicon-based 60 GHz radios, and has been shipping them since May 2008.  With expertiise in communications and radar hardware, SiGe and CMOS integrated circuit design, antenna design, high frequency package design, low cost baseband modulation techniques, proprietary MIMO architectures, and software integration, Vubiq is well-positioned to become a market leader in the rapidly growing 60 GHz field.  Small and agile, with partnerships with some of the key market leaders in their target markets, Vubiq strives to focus on innovation in order to provide its partners with superior technology solutions for their respective markets.