FEBRUARY 15, 2002
ISCA TECHNOLOGIES AWARDED $499,700 BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) TO DEVELOP THE MORITOR PEST MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

ISCA Technologies (Riverside, CA) was awarded $499,700 by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program to fund further research and development of the Moritor Pest Management Information System (PMIS) and its integration with complementary technologies such as statistical analysis tools, GPS/GIS and automated insect counting devices.

With the Moritor PMIS, field data is collected with handheld or automated devices, sent to an Internet accessible centralized database, where they are parsed, stored and analyzed to generate reports which identify alarm situations and predict pest population densities, thereby facilitating and significantly reducing the time required (from days or weeks to hours) for decision making and the deployment of pest control measures in the field. The Moritor PMIS enables targeted and environmentally friendly pest management practices - the right pesticides and quantity, at the exact location, at the right time – specifically tailored to the customer’s needs. When developed, the Moritor PMIS is anticipated to save the average U.S. farmer about $23,000 in pest management costs.

ABOUT THE NSF SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PROGRAM

The National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency of the Federal Government, supports high quality projects on important scientific, engineering, or science/engineering education problems and opportunities that could lead to significant commercial and public benefit if the research is successful. The NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector, by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged persons and women-owned small businesses in technological innovation.

The primary objective of the NSF SBIR Program is to increase the incentive and opportunity for small firms to undertake cutting-edge, high risk, high quality scientific, engineering, or science/engineering education research that would have a high potential economic payoff if the research is successful.

return to News Releases