RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:From SedarFair enough... I agree with the cart before the horse comment. They definitely need some systems out in the field doing pilots. I've tried to figure out where they might be on this front.
My understanding of where things are at in the development cycle is as follows based on watching videos and reading. If others have different or additional info, please add to this.
1. The core hardware design has been taken from lab prototypes to a minaturized and largely commercially ready state. We do know that this aspect of hardware is done and production ready because this would have been a requirement for FCC submissions and approval.
2. The vector network analyzer (VNA) is a hardware component that is sourced from copper mountain and they (copper mountain) are working on a commercially ready version of the VNA to use for pilot installs. The role of the VNA, if I understand correctly, is to take the signal from the detection equipment which PAT has developed and make it into a signature which the software component of the system can analyze and match again pattern in the weapons database. Patriot one has likely been using the VNA technology in more of a lab-packaged format for quite some time so that they could develop their analysis software. "Commercialization" of the VNA technology likely entails packaging the equipment differently and perhaps adding usability and safety features for use in a commercial setting. No exact timeline was given but this should not be an extremely time consuming step.
3. The core analysis and pattern matching software, along with a partial weapons database are in place. This, like component 1 is a critical and proprietary part of the system and probably the part where a large part of the R&D effort of the past decade or so has gone. This is the part that takes a raw signal and matches it up to a database of signatures. It's also the part that has the machine learning component which is what makes the system get smarter over time. My understanding is that this part, which is the single biggest piece, is also production ready and working well. This is the part which they are measuring parameters like the "specificity" of weapons matching on and coming back with those nice number in the 93% area.
4. In their various videos, we've seen the user interface software that throws up an alert when something is detected. It looks like a fairly functional interface but nothing particularly polished or fancy. We've also been told about some of the integration features such as the ability to send off alerts to phones and other equipment. The part that is missing on the user interface side is the polished commercial interface. They said in the MD&A that the software user interface is being commercialized. A "user experience" design and software development company, Macadamian, has been engaged for this. The likely result of that will be a much more polished looking software interface with usability design done. The company is also being employed to help with hardware integration. I'm not clear if this would be on the signal capture side or to help intergrate other security equipment (e.g. automatically disable an access card in a hotel, lock a turnstyle, and some of those other things we see in videos).
Item 4 seems to me to be the single largest "missing" piece for pilot install and full commercialization. However, for pilot runs, it's likely that they will be able to put in early protorype style interfaces for proof of concept and then add bells and whistles. No timeline on this part was given. I am hoping to get some more detail out of the company on this.
Are we looking at Q4 on this? I'd say they probably miss Q4 since there's just a month to go. However, perhaps they can install early versions of things to start gathering real life data sooner than full systems and maybe that is underway in early stages this quarter. To me, it would make a lot of sense to talk to McMaster about putting up a test system for the university.