Darix awarded CHF 130,000 by Venture Kick
© Zuzanna Adamczewska-Bolle
Darix, the IC start-up created in the Image and Visual Representation Laboratory lead by Professor Sabine Süsstrunk, was awarded CHF 130,000 in start capital by Venture Kick, a philantropic three-stage funding scheme supporting Swiss start-ups to begin their entrepreneurial success.
Darix has developed an augmented reality solution - ‘Vizir’, which allows firefighters to see through smoke and better understand their environment. Vizir comes with a mini infrared camera and transparent screen installed in the oxygen mask, providing firefighters with two images in their field of view: what their eyes see – which can be close to nothing in extreme condition of firefighting, and what the thermal imaging camera records and displays in real time – which enables to see what was previously invisible.
The patent pending augmented vision solution increases the firefighters’ safety and allows them to be much more efficient, enabling shorter intervention times and lowering fire and water damages. The system was ergonomically designed with Swiss firefighters. Darix has already sold pilot projects in Switzerland and attracted strong interest from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. The product launch is planned for early next year.
With the mission to turn scientific innovation into entrepreneurial activity and job creation, Venture Kick provides spin-off projects launched within Swiss universities with pre-seed capital, coaching and access to professional investors. Members from a pool of jury, including leading start-up experts across Switzerland, evaluate and support 16 spin-off projects in three sessions every month. Since its launch in 2007, 463 start-up projects have received over CHF 18,650,000 in pre-seed capital support.