Epicore Biosystems Secures $1.2M Military Contract for Smart Hydration Wearables
Key Insights
Epicore Biosystems (search) received a $1.2 million AFWERX (search) Phase II SBIR contract to deploy its Connected Hydration (search) platform for Air Force personnel hydration management.
The smart wearable technology uses sweat-sensing capabilities to provide real-time personalized health insights and haptic feedback for military operations.
The partnership aims to enhance operational readiness and safety for airmen, guardians, and military medics operating under extreme conditions.
Epicore Biosystems (search), a digital health company spun out of Northwestern University, has secured a $1.2 million SBIR Phase II contract from AFWERX (search) to advance military hydration management through its Connected Hydration (search) wearable platform. The award will accelerate deployment of the company's smart wearable technology to support Air Force operations and training.
Advanced Sweat-Sensing Technology for Military Applications
The Connected Hydration (search) platform utilizes advanced sweat-sensing wearables that provide real-time personalized health insights through clinically validated smart wearable solutions and cloud analytics. The technology is designed to address the personalized hydration management and recovery needs of personnel in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).
"This AFWERX (search) collaboration enables Epicore to deploy our Connected Hydration (search) platform in high-risk, mission-critical environments where human performance and thermoregulation are paramount," said Stephen Lee, CTO and Co-Founder of Epicore Biosystems (search). "Our product roadmap, which is rooted in smart wearables, hydration data analytics, and real-time haptic feedback and recovery, will now help support the evolving needs of airmen, guardians, and military medics operating under extreme conditions."
Strategic Partnership with Defense Innovation Arm
AFWERX (search), the innovation arm of the Department of Air Force (search) and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory (search), selected Epicore through its streamlined SBIR process. The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to accelerate the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines and reduced bureaucratic overhead.
The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018, expanding the range of innovations funded. Since 2019, AFWERX (search) has awarded over 10,400 contracts worth more than $7.24 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability.
Operational Readiness and Safety Focus
Roozbeh Ghaffari, CEO and Co-Founder of Epicore Biosystems (search), emphasized the broader mission impact: "The AFWERX (search) contract is a significant milestone in our mission to protect those operating in harsh environments, from industrial worksites to national defense operations. This partnership with the DAF reinforces our commitment to real-time hydration and well-being management for operational readiness, resilience, and safety."
The company's technology platform is already deployed globally and licensed by leading Fortune 500 companies and the Department of Defense. AFWERX (search) employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at four hubs and sites, executing an annual $1.4 billion budget to bring cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address pressing DAF challenges.