ANN ARBOR ? Six companies competing in the Great Lakes Entrepreneur?s Quest business plan contest will get an opportunity to pitch their plans to an expert panel and audience May 25 at the MITC Building.

The Expert GLEQ Investor Panel consists of Jack Ahrens – TGap Ventures, Tom Edwards – !deaWorks, LLC and Tim Petersen – Arboretum Ventures.

Presenting companies include:

sci_Zone: Andrew Santangelo – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are playing an ever expanding role on the battlefront and in a wide variety of applications worldwide. Funding by the DoD alone is projected to grow to over $5 billion in the next five years. UAVs and the surveillance/communications systems they carry can play an important role on the local and national level in supporting Homeland Security. However, until collision avoidance in the National Airspace can be addressed, UAVs will only be available on a very limited basis. sci_Zone?s business concept is to develop a certified Flight Management System that incorporates a Collision Avoidance System.

B.A.Maze: Robert Mazur – The PurrFect Opener is available at Meijer stores! B.A.Maze, Inc. is a wholesaler of consumer products specializing in the design, marketing and sales of creative and simple-to-use products for an aging population. The lead product, The PurrFect Opener, is a daily living aid for opening a variety of product packaging, including over-the-counter and prescription medications. With a dedicated team and established operations, the business plan highlights the introduction and marketing of future innovative products.

Accuri Instruments, Inc.: Jennifer Baird – Designs and develops innovative, easy-to-use research instruments that measure characteristics of cell populations ? quickly and cost effectively Accuri?s products are based on design concepts developed at the University of Michigan that were previously considered infeasible. The result is a breakthrough instrument that meets the needs of life sciences researchers in immunology, molecular biology, proteomics, genomics, drug development, and other fields. The Cytet 3000 offers performance comparable to existing systems at 5-10x lower cost. Typical reactions from researchers when told about the Cytet are ?Wow! When can I get one??

NextServices: SATISH MALNAIK – A practice mgmt company that provides customized business solutions to physician groups of sizes 1-10 who are burdened by administrative overhead and are unable to sufficiently focus on patients. Our HIPAA compliant services bring cost savings through targeted outsourcing and technological innovation.

ElectroJet: Kyle Schwulst – Electronic Fuel Injection for small four stroke engines. Modular, electronic, emissions reducing technology.

Technical Products Group (TPG): Ronald Redmer – Provider of advanced vision products and technologies for navigation, surveillance, security, weapons systems, and emergency response including Fire Rescue and FEMA recovery operations. Our technologies provide better-than-daylight illumination in absolute zero light conditions at distances ranging from contact to greater than 1KM. Our innovations operate with industry standard video equipment and are capable of positive identification imaging through glass, smoked and tinted glass, water, fog, smog, smoke, and vapors. We have several breakthrough technologies that will have substantial impact for homeland security, law enforcement, and search/rescue organizations.

To learn more, click on GLEQ.Org