Robotic tail decoys for hunters and a vacuum gripper designed to cart products around massive distribution centers were among the 10 area projects awarded a collective $1 million by the Technology Collaborative.

The startup developer, located on Technology Drive near the Birmingham Bridge, issued the round of funding with money provided by the state Department of Community and Economic Development and the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, a statewide program that helps fund incubator programs but has faced recent budget cuts.

Double Take Decoys LLC of Pittsburgh plans a fall commercial production run of the animated tail decoys, which will be used by practicing hunters to simulate prey. And Lightfoot Inc. of Ambridge will use the money to upgrade its Agilis product, a robotics system that digitizes the manual process of moving cases in a distribution center.

As the mobile market continues to offer more portable computers, some Collaborative awardees are focusing on location-based software.

A State College-based business, Buzby Network, designs indoor GPS systems that can be used to track individuals through wireless tags. The company hopes to target the assisted living community and boomer population.

Targeting a different market with location-sensitive technology is Metis Secure Solutions of Oakmont, which deploys emergency warning notifications on places like college campuses and high-rise buildings.

As the world becomes more wired, MobileFusion on the South Side is hoping to help sort the crush of data accumulated from sensors in locations as varied as the battlefield or an oil rig. This is the company's second round of Collaborative funding, and it will be used to help bring its SmartFusion platform to market.

A Seven Fields-based company called eMetrics/Neya Systems wants to organize a crush of data, too -- the data that records how much energy a major facility expends. It wants to build a program prototype that promotes energy conservation.

The remaining projects run the gamut of new technology.

Allpoint Systems LLC of Downtown will use the money to develop a graphical interface for 3D models that are drawn from laser scanning.

Bradford Woods-based Foresys Inc. anticipates a $4 million investment in new engineering jobs after it uses Collaborative funds to develop an Ethernet application that transports audio and video feeds.

With funding from the Collaborative and the Department of Defense, iRimsens on the South Side will launch the year-long development of an infrared sensor system and sensor chip prototype.

Another sensor project comes courtesy of Virtus Advanced Sensors, a Downtown-based company that will develop a program for physical therapists that analyzes a patient's movement, balance and gait.

All 10 projects are slated for completion by next summer.

The Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority funding was cut in the most recent state budget by more than $3 million for a total budget of $16.8 million.

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