Overview 

Spot Devices combines advanced software, component and materials technologies with expertise in server-based, Internet-enabled, wireless, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems to produce industry-leading pedestrian safety, traffic guidance, and transit arrival notification systems. With an installed base of products and services serving a broad list of customers in a variety of applications, the company is emerging as a major innovator in the billion-dollar Intelligent Traffic Safety (ITS) market.

Going beyond standalone crosswalk applications, Spot Devices systems are proving their value in traffic safety, transit safety, and industrial safety applications. In the city of Houston, for example, Spot Devices systems enhance the rider experience on Houston Metro "Quickline" Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles. These systems use Global Positioning System (GPS) and ISO-certified redundant M2M network technology to give buses priority at traffic signals, thus reducing travel time and fuel consumption, and improving on-time performance. Transit passengers waiting at a stop also receive audio and video notification of upcoming bus arrivals. In addition, Spot Devices ITS applications include the use of in-road lighting systems to increase motorist awareness of approaching light rail vehicles.

History

Spot Devices was founded in January of 2004 in Palo Alto, California. In September of 2005, Haws Corporation, a leading domestic manufacturer of industrial safety showers, safe water delivery systems, and drinking fountains, purchased an equity interest in Spot Devices. The company subsequently relocated to the Haws ISO 9001 facility near Reno, Nevada.

In the spring of 2006, Spot Devices launched an industry-leading wireless In-Road Warning Light (IRWL), the solar-powered Road Spot RS200 series. With thousands of units installed throughout the United States, the RS200 was rated by The Urban Transportation Monitor in its May, 2007 issue as one of a handful of Outstanding Traffic Engineering Products that appeared on the market within the last three years. Spot Devices shared this honor with only six other companies, including General Electric and Motorola.

In 2008, Spot Devices began field-testing of its first Transit Tracking and Arrival System, as well as a wired, heavy duty IRWL, the modular RS320. At the same time, the company began offering M2M and GPS-enabled systems that greatly expanded the applications for its products and services.

2009 saw the Houston Quickline system go into full service, complete with a Web-based administrative interface which allows for real-time tracking and dispatch of all Quickline buses. In addition, an expanded line of Web-enabled beacon systems, including the popular HAWK and Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon (RRFB) crosswalk systems, began shipment in the third quarter. All these systems are managed via the Spot System Infrastructure Management Applications (SIMA) suite, using intuitive graphical interfaces accessible from any device equipped with a mainstream browser, including smartphones, netbooks, notebooks and desktops.

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