City Attorney
Quick Links for this Section:
Digital Media Center Incubator Adds New Resident Business
July 22 , 2010
Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Digital Media Center (DMC) Business Incubator has announced one new resident company at its Santa Ana facility. The new resident is Wildflower Technologies, Inc., making smart electronic modules that are easy to use for non-technical designers. These components can be readily integrated into everyday products and venues, including cakes, furniture, artwork, interactive displays, theaters, homes, and more. With its addition, the DMC Business Incubator is at capacity with nine resident digital media companies.
“Our company’s name stems from the idea that when anyone looks at a flower, they see something that is very pretty, but flowers are actually highly functional. They can grow, reproduce, convert CO2 to oxygen, and provide pollen for insects. Even with all these capabilities, people still just see something that’s beautiful. And this is what we aim to do, to help people create beautiful things that are alsofunctionaland sophisticated,” said Mark Merlo, president of Wildflower Technologies.
Merlo, who is working on his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the University of California, Irvine, (UCI), describes his emerging technology company as a spinoff from UCI. In fact, the four partners in the enterprise have all been colleagues at UCI’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering. Merlo is Wildflower Technologies’one full-time employee. The company’s part-time employees include Mark Bachman, Ph.D.; who teaches electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, manufacturing technology, and innovation design at UCI; Tiffany Chua, who earned a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at UCI; and Arthur Zhang, with a Ph.D. in physics from UCI.
“Our team includes experts in embedded electronics, microsensors, microdevices, wireless networks, and software development with years of experience integrating technology into non-technical projects,” said Merlo.
The applications for Wildflower Technologies’ smart modules are countless. For example, the company’s smart modules will assist a Los Angeles-based artist in creating a puppet show. By simply connecting a smart module to the puppets, the smart module can control the opening and closing of the puppets' mouths to the tune of "Happy Birthday.” In yet another example, Wildflower Technologies' smart module will be used by a cake decorator to allow the cake to light up when people begin singing. The smart modules will allow artists with no technical background to create works that are responsive and interactive to environmental stimuli, such as sound, temperature, motion, and light.
According to Merlo, the DMC is a perfect location for their emerging company. “Artists and designers come here every day,” he said. “The location, facilities, and lower rent are all great, as well as access to creative people.”
Wildflower Technologies has yet to seek its first round of funding. In the meantime, their first priority is to finish developing their first series of products. To do so, they are targeting early adopters and spreading the word about their mission in appropriate settings such as the Maker Faire, an event that celebrates arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the do-it-yourself (DIY) mindset.
The DMC Business Incubator, an economic development program of Rancho Santiago Community College District, is a dynamic workspace for emerging digital media companies that offers completely furnished office space at competitive lease rates, a high-speed network infrastructure, a wireless Ethernet, an executive conference room, meeting rooms, and an incubator lounge. Business support services include access to business consulting and mentoring from legal experts, graphic design specialists, strategic marketing and social media authorities, and investor groups; discounted memberships and free access to networking organizations; monthly CEO roundtables; and on-site educational opportunities.
Uniquely hosted by a community college district, the DMC affords businesses a close connection with the Santa Ana College’s educational programs in digital media arts, television and video, business, and digital music. Resident companies often utilize student talent and insights to assist their burgeoning enterprises. In addition to Wildflower Technologies, the DMC Business Incubator includes Abroadcasting, CouponEx, DesiYou, Just Enjoy, MelRoK Corporation, Nuvolo, Reazon Systems, and Topgallant Power & Locomotion.
For more information about the DMC Business Incubator, call (714) 241-5836 or visit www.dmc-works.com.
