Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer gave out nearly $6 million in state funds and a wee bit ($22,000) went to a new firm with a goal of using former government technology for sensing and mapping.

One firm is S & K Electronics, which will do the sensor hardware, but its TerraEchos Inc. which got the grant. The new company was started by Alex Philp (he's also behind GCS Research). Both companies are located in the MonTEC business incubator, a center aimed at commercializing research from the University of Montana.

The technology in play is the U.S. Navy's “BLUE ROSE”: Battlescape Land Undersea Extensible Rayleigh Optical Scattering and Electronics. It's a very sensitive sensor of sound and movement on the ground which was declassified after 9/11.

The state grant is being matched by a $25,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the USDA. Once complete the vision is to use the final product in security operations.

- The Missoulian