SBIR-STTR Award

As society further develops technologically reliable broadband connections become an increasingly foundational resource used to access business education healthcare public safety and more. Financial burdens and physical isolation limit rural communities' ability to build the infrastructure to establish high speed broadband connections. Without the requisite infrastructure rural areas are left to fading technologies resulting in reduced business outdated education and spotty healthcare to say the least. IsoTruss seeks to design a tower and installation system that will eliminate those roadblocks to infrastructure expanding the reach and quality of internet service to rural America. IsoTruss will use the Phase I project to prove the feasibility of the crane-less tower technology. The objectives are to generate a tower design and installation plans for a crane-less deployment; to evaluate many potential crane-less tower solutions with respect to cost time and safety; and to locate a future proof-of-concept site with an interested customer. By the end of Phase I IsoTruss will complete a baseline design and analysis and be ready to move forward with prototyping and a proof-of-concept deployment in future projects. Once developed and tested the IsoTruss crane-less tower technology will be commercialized with the intent to assist in establishing infrastructure in any location regardless of distance or topography.

Versatility is an important feature for rural broadband solutions aiming to close the digital divide and better support the needs of rural communities. Mobile cell sites or cell-on-wheels (COWs) provide temporary connectivity for a host of potential scenarios including emergency situations, tourist attractions, and temporary needs such as when a network experiences an outage or is in process of being installed or updated. Building on successes supported by the USDA and industry partners, IsoTruss, Inc. proposes to design, test, and produce mobile towers using its patented IsoTruss geometry and composites expertise. Depending on customer needs, IsoTruss composite solutions can either decrease weight by 1/12 making transportation and setup easier or increase loading capacity up to 10x increasing the potential use cases for mobile applications. IsoTruss products also extend product lifetime up to 5x which significantly reduces the carbon footprint and total cost of ownership. The overall purpose of the proposed Phase II project is to develop the technology from Phase I feasibility success into a commercially viable product. IsoTruss will accomplish this goal through three main objectives: 1) Prototype and test IsoTruss tubes focusing on designs that reduce transportation cost through light-weighting and reduced space requirements. 2) Develop design procedures and tooling to produce guyed IsoTruss towers, and 3) Demonstrate and asses the developed technology with a partner-customer. Dr. David W. Jensen, inventor of the foundational IsoTruss geometry, will lead the team as Principal Investigator. This project will allow IsoTruss to transition its technology from research and development into sales and deployments.