World Economic Forum picks 2011 tech pioneers

MANHASSET, NY -- The World Economic Forum has selected 31 start-ups as Technology Pioneers of 2011 for answering some basic human needs with their innovative technologies.

Among the criteria are technologies that will do the following:

• manage and treat water as an important resource
• treat rare and neglected diseases
• modify behaviors to reach a low-carbon economy
• find more benefits from the 24/7, ubiquitous connection to the Internet

Among the selected pioneers of 2011 is On-Ramp, recognized for its Ultra-Link Processing (ULP) Wireless Networking System, a wireless system capable of demodulating signals below the noise floor at never before achieved levels, while simultaneously enabling efficient use of spectrum to connect millions of low data-rate and low power devices.

On-Ramp's system enables an advantage of network coverage by 600x and by 25-40 times throughput efficiency over competing protocols which results in an order of magnitude reduction in network infrastructure, according to the company.The system is being used for metro-scale critical infrastructure monitoring within Smart Grid, water efficiency, building efficiency, location tracking and security applications.

The Forum received more than 330 applications from around the world which were evaluated by 68 global technology experts.

"The World Economic Forum is proud to recognize an outstanding group of innovative companies as Technology Pioneers for 2011," said André Schneider, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Economic Forum, in a statement. "Their technologies and business models will have a durable and valuable effect in several industries and society as a whole. We look forward to their unique contributions to the mission of the Forum: improving the state of the world."

The list of Technology Pioneers 2011 can be found here.