UCF researchers work to improve firefighter safety using sensors

A $500,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help UCF researchers develop a sensor that could help firefighters and others accurately detect blazes and dangerous chemicals remotely.

The award represents the first time UCF has received a fire prevention and safety grant from FEMA.

The idea is to develop portable detection systems that are cost-effective and can analyze toxic fumes quickly, said Kausik Mukhopadhyay, senior researcher at UCF’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

He will also be the lead researcher on the project.

The design of the sensor will be done for the UCF team at imec, a Belgian-based company with a Kissimmee group that has worked on several sensor-based projects.

The sensor will use radiation-based waves that detect chemicals consistent with a smoldering fire, which has the potential to give firefighters greater lead time to detect developing blazes.

Accesso to build for nature center

Lake Mary’s Accesso announced this week a threeyear agreement with the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell, Ga., to provide the technology behind its ticketing and operations platform at the center, which draws more than 130,000 visitors per year.

The company has previously provided ticketing infrastructure to the Daytona International Speedway and the Six Flags family of parks.

The new system, which integrates Chattahoochee’s series of camps, nature-centric programming and more, will help the park’s efforts to promote added experiences to customers who are in the ticketing system.

In a release, officials said the benefit of this will be to provide visitors with more options for in-park experiences while also boosting the park’s revenue.

The 127-acre Chattahoochee Nature Center is the latest client for Accesso, which last year started building products for two Major League Rugby teams.

Accesso has been on a steady growth period, having jumped from 134 people employed in Lake Mary in 2015 to now being home to more than half of its 500 worldwide employees there.

Tech fund returns for Year 2

The City of Orlando and Orlando Economic Partnership will once again put money into technology-based events next year.

For the second year, the Orlando Technology Community Support Program will provide matching grants of between $1,000 and $10,000 to organizers whose events focus on technology.

The process will start with an informational session scheduled for Dec. 17.

Applications can be found at the partnership’s website and are due by midnight, Jan. 21.

A team of judges will sift through the applications and announcements of the awards will be made on Feb. 18.

Sixteen groups received funding in the program’s inaugural year.