Company History

With expanded manufacturing space and capabilities, Intellisense doubled its production output and produced the 2000th Micro Weather Station. The landmark weather station was an MWS^®–C600 purchased by an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) service provider that specializes in drone deliveries. The C600 is the ideal weather-monitoring solution for UAS applications because it reports key weather data within the nearest mile that may not be captured in traditional weather models.

Intellisense celebrated its fifth year in business with multiple events across the month of February. These events serve as a thank you the employees and partners that have helped the company grow and thrive since 2018.

The Integrated Weather Observation System (IWOS) was declared the primary tactical weather station to be used the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Weighing just 25 lb and taking less than 15 minutes for one service member to set up, the IWOS will greatly improve the efficiency of USAF operations and the safety of service members in hostile terrain where meteorological data may be limited but essential.

Intellisense was awarded a contract from the United States Air Force (USAF) to provide Replacement Multi-Function Controls and Displays for the C-5M Super Galaxy. The C-5M is the USAF’s largest cargo aircraft in service and the third largest plane in the world. Under this contract, Intellisense will replace the existing displays with modernized, ruggedized, large-format 15-inch displays with three separate GPU line-replaceable units.

The Intellisense production team has manufactured and shipped the 1,000th Micro Weather Station (MWS^®), the all-in-one weather-monitoring solution. The MWS has supported a variety of military and commercial customers who need an autonomous, quickly deployable, and highly accurate weather observations. The 1,000th MWS produced was part of an order of 70 units of the MWS-M625.

Intellisense won a contract to supply its advanced, large-format primary flight display (PFD) for the Calidus B-250, a light attack combat and training aircraft. This 20 in. by 8 in. cockpit display – also known as the LAD-2008 – met all of Calidus’s performance requirements and featured patented optical design techniques, which provided outstanding brightness and contrast ratio for peak sunlight readability and reduced reflections in the B-250’s bubble canopy.

Intellisense Systems expands to the first floor of a building next to its headquarters at 21061 South Western Ave. in Torrance, California. The new building provides an additional 20,000 square feet of production and testing, and office space to meet our growth and expanding capabilities. All Intellisense products, including the Micro Weather Station (MWS^®), the AWARE Flood System, and advanced avionics systems, will be produced at this new facility.

Two AWARE Flood units on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain endured 140 mph winds and nearly six feet of water to provide essential water-level data for first responders following Hurricane Ida, the second strongest storm to strike Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. The system’s camera sensor transmitted images of the site over several hours, even when flood waters unmoored its mounting point from the ground. This information was critical to helping first responders who were monitoring the area and determining when they could safely send in personnel.

The Integrated Weather Observation System (IWOS) revolutionizes portable weather stations by stacking multiple, highly accurate and very rugged weather-sensing modules into a compact package that takes less than 10 minutes to install. Specialists can easily transport, install, and customize their stations with the exact weather parameters and communications they need for nearly any application, including aviation and maritime work.

The beta version of Quantimet, the environmental data visualization solution that works with all Internet of Things (IoT) connected environmental sensors, officially launched in April 2020, delivering a complete overview of environmental data and enabling remote commands and data logging to select customers.

Located in the heart of Southern California’s South Bay area, Intellisense’s new headquarters in Torrance, California nearly doubles our office and engineering space and puts every department under one roof, improving collaboration and boosting productivity. It enables Intellisense to add to its team of qualified engineers and tackle clients’ needs more efficiently. The new Intellisense building also gives the company the space to continue on its trajectory of rapid technology and product growth.

Since its introduction in 2016, the Micro Weather Sensor (MWS^®) has served U.S. defense branches for their remote and unattended meteorological sensing needs, and non-military customers wanted the same level of integration, reliability and accuracy of these remote weather sensors. In early 2020, Intellisense introduced a new line of Micro Weather Sensors designed specifically for commercial applications.The MWS Commercial Series exemplifies accurate, durable environmental reporting into a single, elegant, wireless package. Every product in this line integrates cloud-based data logging, processing, cellular LTE-M communications, and a solar power system into a single unit that weighs just under 4 pounds. This commercial series brings our weather sensing capabilities to a wider variety of customers in need of a compact, rugged, and reliable environmental sensor solution.

As a development organization, Intellisense incorporates CMMI best practices into system engineering processes throughout the life cycle of every product. Achieving this benchmark in November 2019 certifies the company’s commitment to quality, continuous improvement, and dedication to customers.

Shortly after its founding, Intellisense started Phase I development of its first display solution, the Large Area Display (LAD). Less than two years later, the company won a Phase III contract to begin production of the Video Display Terminal (VDT), a rugged avionics solution that is both backwards compatible with legacy XGA resolution displays and open source for future software.

Intellisense’s first autonomous flood sensor began development in 2016. Three years later and with 100 beta units deployed in counties across the U.S., the advanced inundation sensor with IoT capabilities won a Phase III contract from the Department of Homeland Security to begin mass production.

To better build the trust of our government clients, Intellisense implemented Deltek Costpoint company-wide starting in 2019 to better account, report, and manage the hundreds of projects we complete for federal, state, and local governments.

ISO9001:AS9100D is an aerospace industry standard that incorporates all the same ISO9000 requirements while adding quality and safety regulations. ISO certified Intellisense’s QMS to be compliant with both AS9110 and AS9100D for maintenance and repair of aircraft equipment, which are crucial requirements for working with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Previously a wholly owned subsidiary of POC, Intellisense surpassed 100 employees and transitioned to an independently operating affiliate.

When Tyndall Air Force Base lost power after Hurricane Michael struck the Gulf Coast, the MWS was deployed and remained operational for 72 hours straight, ensuring resupply efforts could arrive at the base safely.

Although operations officially began in September 2017, POC announced their spin-off, Intellisense Systems, on February 23, 2018.

This Phase III award, combined with the previous Phase III award for BAO, gave POC the financial agility to start a spin-off that focused on designing advance sensor solutions and augmented intelligence through the SBIR.

Intellisense donated six MWS units to be installed along the fire line of the Thomas Fire, one of the most destructive in California’s history. Cal Fire praised the sensor’s ability to be set up in less than 60 seconds, deliver accurate data on 27 environmental parameters, and provide full 360-degree panoramic imagery of the area to ensure the safety of firefighters battling the blaze.

The company begins as a merger of two divisions inside POC that developed new sensing technology through the SBIR. Combining these two divisions enabled greater investment and growth in these advanced sensing projects. 83 employees transferred from POC to Intellisense, and of those 83, 29 employees received promotions. All 29 promoted employees are still at the company today.

After five years of development, the MWS wins a Phase III award from the U.S. Air Force’s BAO office to begin mass production.

POC wins a contract from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop an autonomous, wireless, unattended ground sensor to offer remote weather reporting to support military operations.

Physical Optics Corporation (POC) starts with the mission of developing integrated system technology for the military, defense, and select commercial markets. Over the next three decades, POC becomes a global leading provider of advanced system integrations and wins thousands of bids and contracts from the U.S. Military and commercial customers.