Siemens Energy Innovation Center Orlando near UCF brings high-tech help to businesses

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Maryann Kilgallon, a UCF Incubation Program client and business founder, heard a harrowing story about a Duke Energy employee — the kind of story her company’s product was designed to avert. 

"This man, John, was on assignment in Puerto Rico, cutting down trees for a power-related project. He was working alone when a tree fell backwards, hit him, and pushed him over the side of a mountain. His radio was in his truck, so even though he was alive, he had no way to call for help,” said Kilgallon. 

The end of his shift came and went with no sign of him, so his supervisor drove to the site to look for him. By the time he was discovered and rescued, many hours had passed. 

Kilgallon’s local tech company Pink Lotus Technologies makes the “peace of mind monitor” — or POMM for short — an alert device perfect for lone workers in crisis. The device’s sensors detect falls, and when there’s an emergency, the touch of a button activates a call to emergency services or a designated contact. 

In anticipating the product’s roll-out, Kilgallon needed a durable and perfectly shaped clip that any worker could use to attach the device to their person. The leadership team at the incubator teamed her up with the Siemens Energy Innovation Center Orlando a tech hub that opened in 2019 and is populated with a staff of mechanical, electrical, automation, software and evaluation engineers as well as tools and machines to make an infinite range of products.

“I did the tour. I saw all the equipment. I was like, ‘Wow, they probably have what I need here,’” she said. 

Kilgallon said she was surprised she hadn’t known the 30,000-square-foot facility existed, and that inside were robotic arms, metal and plastic 3D printers, scanners and a machine shop.  

She worked side by side with mechanical engineer Curtis Herron to harness the additive manufacturing capabilities at the center, and in the end, she got the clip she needed. She’s a few steps away from going into production.  

Kilgallon’s project was funded by Siemens, though normally customers working in the space will pay to have projects completed.  

The range of projects that can be served in a space like this is striking. On Oct. 9, a Siemens client — the Saudi Arabian company Aramco — announced it is collaborating with the Innovation Center to develop a small-scale direct air capture unit set to be finished in 2024. The unit will extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into solid or liquid forms to be stored underground, according to the company. 

The Orlando Innovation Center underwent a $2 million upgrade resulting in expanded capabilities that help drive custom solutions in a timely manner.

The center is available not only for the development of projects owned by Siemens or its clients, but also UCF incubator clients and any other businesses with applicable projects. The best way for a business to assess whether the center’s services are a fit for its needs is to contact Josh DeAscanis at joshua.deascanis@siemens-energy.com. 

About Pink Lotus Technologies

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