Augmented reality firm raises $2.5m for tech designed to improve research, lab work
According to the Jersey City, NJ-headquartered company, Affinity is the only GMP/GLP industry compliant solution that does not require any alteration from the standard operating process.
“The platform is designed to replace unreliable, time-consuming, difficult to audit operating practices with safer, more reliable, cost-effective methods,” Apprentice CEO and co-founder Angelo Stracquatanio told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.
With the influx of funding, Stracquatanio said the company plans to expand its team, continue development, and pursue additional product deployments at contract research organizations (CROs), chemical and cosmetic companies, among others.
“Augmented reality (AR) is one of the most promising digital technologies currently transforming all of the life science industries such as healthcare, medical, biotech, and pharmaceutical,” said Stracquatanio.
The company is also releasing a 3.0 version of the platform with updates to the user interface and more dynamic workflow, computer vision, and machine learning.
Unleashing potential
Affinity features three main modules, which run on smart glasses, such as the Microsoft HoloLens or Google Glass, and provide users with hands-free access to remote troubleshooting tools, process and workflow aids, and intelligent data capture.
The modules are “designed to improve productivity, reliability, audit readiness quality, and safety within highly complex pharmaceutical lab and research environments,” Stracquatanio said.
“Workers can easily perform tasks, reference procedures, record data, and manage batch records and assays with greater confidence, deftness, and reliability.”
The technology is also able to record procedures for future point-of-reference material and enables scientists to preview procedures and practice on a digital replica of equipment.
Stracquatanio explained the augmented reality solution removes physical restrictions “to unleash the fullest potential of operators, scientists and engineers.”
“As a result, process deviation can be prevented and companies preemptively eliminate unnecessary cost and time expenditures while gaining insight into their human processes all through our augmented reality platform,” he said.
“When you are working in an industry in which losing a single batch can mean million-dollar losses, increasing efficiency and eliminating human error wherever possible becomes crucial for company and consumer alike.”
