Who they are: Cambridge Bio-Augmentation Systems, a U.K.-based startup that recently debuted at Y Combinator’s demo day.
What they do: They make a “USB port” that connects bionic devices to your body.
Why it’s cool: It basically turns humans into cyborgs. The founders say their technology has enormous potential for amputees — they implant a connector into the patient’s bone and tissue that allows a prosthetic limb to be snapped on and off. That makes the limbs more comfortable, cheaper and better standardized. And the company hopes to ultimately create a way for patients to control their robotic limbs with their minds, via a connection between the device and their nervous system.
Where they stand: Cambridge Bio is set to begin clinical trials this year, and expects its technology to be available for wider patient use in late 2018.
Only in Silicon Valley:
We have connected homes, connected cars — even connected refrigerators. So why not connected cows? Cowlar, another Y Combinator-backed startup, has come up with the Fitbit for dairy cows. Their product attaches to a cow’s neck, and by tracking the animal’s temperature and activity, can tell when the cow is in heat, is showing symptoms of disease, or is stressed. All that information goes straight to the farmer’s phone or computer, and is supposed to help increase milk yield while reducing labor costs and medical expenses.
Cowlar, which has offices in Sunnyvale, Tennessee, and Pakistan, says it already has hooked up more than 600 cows and has another 7,000 on its waiting list.
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