Unmanned Aerial Vehicle The latest drone news
This Sawtooth anti-drone technology, made by Black Sage, has been voted the coolest thing made in Idaho. Photo courtesy of Black Sage
Like many other success stories, it all started with a man working in his garage.
Today, Black Sage has left that space and is reaching not just all of Idaho, but other parts of the world as well with its counter drone technology.
The Idaho Manufacturing Alliance, with support from public voting, has recognized one of Black Sage’s products, the Sawtooth, as “The Coolest Thing Made in Idaho.”
Named after the Sawtooth mountains, this technology detects, identifies and defeats drones, Black Sage innovators described in a press release. Once identifying a drone threat it provides public and private entities a solution.
“I was very pleased,” said Ross Lamm, co-founder and chief technology officer. “We are excited to be part of Idaho, and be a part of something titled the coolest thing. This drone threat … has emerged very quickly for airports and military. We’re really proud the community thinks (the Sawtooth is) cool now; it will evolve as the threat continues to evolve.”
Hailey Huston
“They showcase the innovative projects in Idaho,” said Hailey Huston, marketing and communications specialist for Idaho Manufacturing Alliance. “They’re a great example of that. Mostly, we just think it’s cool that such innovative technology was created here in Idaho, but their drone defense system is provided to air lines, internal security agencies and airport authorities all over the world. They are working to keep folks safe all over the world.”
Idaho Manufacturing Alliance (formerly Southwest Idaho Manufacturers’ Alliance) received 117 nominations for The Coolest Thing Made in Idaho and had nine finalists. Almost 1,400 votes came in for the finalists.
The first-ever Coolest Thing Made in Idaho contest, sponsored by Idaho Power, is intended to celebrate the ingenuity and creativity of Idaho’s manufacturers, event organizers stated in a press release.
“We had much more engagement with this contest than we anticipated we would have in the first place,” Huston said
What’s next for Black Sage?
“We’re trying to get it out to the rest of the world,” Lamm said.
Two teams of Black Sage employees are in the Middle East right now, and one is in Southeast Asia. And, Black Sage is working on several U.S. government RFPs, currently being in the “nomination phase” for these projects.
“It’s business as usual for us,” Lamm said. “We’re very proud to be a part of that as an Idaho company, to help protect our warfighters.”
For Lamm, it’s also exciting to see how the company has grown over the last six years. The company is nearing 50 employees, and continues to have a work ethic and real interest in what the company does that “really propel the company forward.”
In addition to recent urban landscape testing, Black Sage tests its technology in the desert of southwestern Idaho, similar to the “austere environments, where our military needs to operate.”
“That is really born out of the Idaho spirit,” Lamm said. “Part of the DNA of Black Sage is really a ‘can do attitude;’ we’re a get out in the dirt and make bits and bytes work in the dirt company.”
Watch for the Coolest Thing Made in Idaho contest next year
Planning for next year’s contest is already underway. Idaho Manufacturing Alliance will likely start taking nominations in September, so that the winner can be announced at its annual “Made Here! Expo” (assuming it can hold an in-person event in 2021).
The plan is to prepare for the contest well in advance so that nominee information, outreach and the voting process are nailed down, Huston said. The idea of breaking nominated products into smaller groups such as food, aerospace and recreational technology is also being considered. Nothing has been finalized yet.
“Ultimately, we want the competition to run more smoothly next year, so we’re going to evaluate and look at opportunities for improvement,” Huston said. “What’s cool (about the competition) is we have a lot of manufacturing companies in Idaho that got a lot of exposure. It showed how much is being done here. We’re excited to shine light on Idaho manufacturers.”
In addition to Black Sage, the eight finalists for the Coolest Thing Made in Idaho were:
- indieDwell Container Homes
- The Patented Side Puller, by In The Ditch Towing
- The Guardian Wave, by Pedsafety a Campbell Company
- E3 Lightweight Night Vision Goggle, by Aviation Specialties Unlimited
- The VenturePack Camper, by Talus Expedition Gear
- The Kodiak 100 Series, by Kodiak Aircraft Co.
- Stancraft Boats
The Guardian Wave by PedSafety and the Patented Side Puller by In The Ditch Towing received second and third place respectively. The full list of nominees and finalists is available at madehereidaho.org/coolestthing.
