SBIR Phase I: Transparent Capture of Information Relationships

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses this problem: with the explosion of data and apps, it is ever harder to find information in context. How can information be found if it was lost or not captured in the first place? The proposed solution enables to 'capture the moment' : the connections among pieces of disparate information across apps and the human mind, while people keep working with familiar tools. Captured information is globally addressed, persistent in time, and hyperlinked based on the user's work: hence, it can be found -as it was- via searches or navigating the links. This project will involve research and development to beta test the technology with selected professional users while they use familiar tools, and to validate the benefits with respect to the status quo. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to significantly improve personal and collaborative information management and search, and to solve inefficiencies in information technology that affect productivity. The initial target users for the product are researchers that perform studies using disparate information and data from various sources of information and compile documents: the product has the impact to enhance scientific collaboration. The technology can be expanded to significantly improve personal and collaborative information management for a worldwide user base, with specialized products in many information intensive professions, resulting in a leap in actionable knowledge production and productivity.