Ann Arbor-based
NovoDynamics is a software development company that creates state-of-the-art applications that integrate techniques in pattern recognition, data mining, and image analysis.
The company's software helps customers process, analyze, and retrieve critical information from badly smudged photocopies, obscured faxes or even discolored historic documents that have been stained beyond recognition.
NovoDynamics is best known, however, for developing Arabic Optical Character Recognition (Arabic OCR), text retrieval and image enhancement applications for Middle Eastern languages. This is especially revolutionary when you consider the complexities of most arab languages, which feature interconnected characters and difficult-to-read diacritical marks that influence the meaning of a given text.
The company’s data mining and pattern recognition capabilities have also been employed to help support drug discovery efforts in the pharmaceutical industry and complex pricing analysis in the automotive industry.
NovoDynamics currently employs 14 people locally but CEO David Rock says they expect to double that number within the next two years.
A merger between Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM) spin off onLinear Dynamics and California company Catalytica NovoTec, NovoDynamics --contrary to traditional high-tech migration patterns-- moved from Silicon Valley to Michigan in 2001 because of Ann Arbor's growing life sciences industry and the talent and innovations generated by the University Of Michigan. In 2003, NovoDynamics became an In-Q-Tel Portfolio company.
The company has contracts with both commercial and government entities as well as academic institutions and libraries. Prominent institutions, such as Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the premier Library of Alexandria, Egypt, Yale University, and Stanford University are just a few of the company’s prestigious customers.
The company intends to expand its advanced imaging discovery technology to recognize Asian and European languages.