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WHITE HOUSE DEMO DAY Rogue Rovers founder shows company's electric farm vehicle at the White House Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 4, 2015 at 10:58 AM Updated Aug 4, 2015 at 5:00 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 4, 2015 at 10:58 AM Updated Aug 4, 2015 at 5:00 PM » Social News As August visitors from around the globe stop by the White House for photos and tours, an Ashland entrepreneur is visiting to showcase her innovative electric vehicle. President Barack Obama hosted the first White House Demo Day Tuesday, signaling the administration's push for expanded resources for innovative enterprises through public and private financial backing and university support. Among the 32 entrepreneurs and innovators scattered around the White House was Rogue Rovers founder and CEO Melissa Brandao, who hauled her electric-powered FarmDogg, a robotic farm utility vehicle, to Washington, D.C., for display at the event. "It's hard to equate this opportunity to anything," she said. "It's an extraordinary opportunity, and humbling. To be one person going to the White House is just a surreal experience, very surreal." While the rest of the participants were set up inside the White House, Brandao's machine was parked at the east entrance, ensuring every attendee at least got a glimpse. "We couldn't get the Dogg inside," Brandao said. "They tried, but they realized it would probably be better not to have a FarmDogg on the White House carpet, even though it's emissions-free." Brandao was nominated to appear at Demo Day by Karl Mundorff, who oversees research programs for Oregon BEST, a state-funded clean technology accelerator. She learned of her invitation to the event last Wednesday while attending an electric-vehicle conference in Portland. "I didn't know anything about the event two weeks ago and found out we were invited Wednesday," she said. "I had to be there on my own dime with the vehicle the next week. It's pretty cool." That meant heading east on a four-day, cross-continent dash Friday in order to make it to the nation's capital by Monday night. Tuesday began with White House guards doing a routine scan of the FarmDogg before it was moved to the east entrance. "The last time I was here was on a tour when I was 12," said the 46-year-old Ashland resident. She was set up by 9:30 a.m. During the day, the Obama administration announced 116 winners of two Small Business Administration prizes: The Growth Accelerator Fund, for startup accelerators, incubators and other entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the President’s “Startup in a Day” initiative, empowering mayors to cut red tape for local entrepreneurs. The White House said it will scale up the National Science Foundation I-Corps program with eight new and expanded federal agency partnerships, introducing hundreds of entrepreneurial scientist teams across the country to a rigorous process for moving their discoveries out of the lab and into the marketplace. "Any time an entrepreneur can get the name of their company out there, especially something high profile like that, it's a great opportunity," said Jessica Gomez, CEO of Rogue Valley Microdevices and a member of the Oregon Business Development Council. "The PR she's getting is icing on the cake." Brandao has been through two rounds of Sustainable Valley incubator and accelerator programs, and her latest efforts have been housed in a leased facility off Table Rock Road. With an array of investors and people who know people on hand, Rogue Rovers stands to benefit in multiple ways. "From an entrepreneur's standpoint that's nice," Gomez said. "Where the rubber meets the road, though, is when it comes to funding. Any time you're preparing a company for funding, it's going to be extremely valuable to make connections." Two other exhibitors from Oregon also were invited: BikeTrak, a GPS-powered tracking and security system for bicycles, from Portland, and Onboard Dynamics, a Bend firm developing natural-gas-powered capabilities for cars. One intriguing aspect of the FarmDogg is its DoggBone.io Cloud-based rover operating platform, which enables farmers to manage the machine and its data collection capabilities remotely. In recent weeks the FarmDogg has taken on a new dimension as engineers have honed its skill sets and steering. "Our robotic integration was a huge step forward," Brandao said. "They're not so visible but they are critical and had to be sorted out before we began production of the vehicle. We're pretty happy with our steering system that has enabled the robotics integration. It's no longer motorcycle steering, and not car steering, either. We've come up with a design that gives you control over the entire vehicle remotely, from the servo motors to the actuation systems that allow you to switch things on and off remotely." The FarmDogg's target users are specialty and small farms. Thus the journey home will be much different than the rush east. "We're using this as a kickoff to our "50 States of Farming" Kickstarter campaign," Brandao said. "We'll be visiting farmers along the way, taking videos and photographs along the way." The first two stops will be in Virginia, before trekking north to Pennsylvania and Ohio. "We've done some outreach to a few universities to help spread the word," she said. "The agricultural industry is pretty small, especially when you are working with small farms, who are more interested in environmentally friendly innovations. We've got something unique, much better than what they've got." Brandao will turn her attention to the National Museum of American History today. Her work in electric vehicle innovation is part of the museum's “Places of Invention” exhibit, which opened July 1. The exhibit looks at geographic areas where innovators and inventors share ideas and technologies, as has been the case with electric vehicles. A video produced by ScienceWorks and Southern Oregon Historical Society highlights a variety of efforts, including Brandao's. "For there to be two functions," she said, "both involving myself in Washington, D.C., in one summer, that's surreal." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/EconomicEdge By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 4, 2015 at 10:58 AM Updated Aug 4, 2015 at 5:00 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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