© iTwin Pte Ltd
For the modern businessperson, data security and accessibility has never been more relevant. But transporting those all-important files and data comes at the cost of carrying a bulky and fragile notebook computer with you wherever you go. The iTwin device developed at A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) is set to revolutionize the way we do business by providing a simple and complete answer to secure remote access to computer files, making lugging a laptop a thing of the past.
Resembling a flash drive with a USB plug at each end and weighing in at only 50 grams, the iTwin does not store files or data but acts as a combined virtual cable connecter and encryption key that allows complete and rapid access to nominated files on a remote computer. The operator can read, copy, alter and store files with automatic protection by AES-256 encryption, one of the most widely used strong security protocols currently available.
As its name implies, the iTwin is comprised of two identical halves that can be pulled apart in the middle. One end stays plugged into the master machine in your home or office while the other half goes with its owner to be plugged into a computer at the user’s final destination, establishing a connection between the two via the internet.
A key feature of the iTwin is its plug-and-play simplicity. Connecting the combined halves of the iTwin device into the master computer opens a new window into which the user drags and drops any files that they wish to access remotely. There is no limit on size—users can even drag in the whole hard disk, and unlike existing cloud computing options there are no monthly fees. Links to the nominated files are established between the two halves of the device, which allows access to those files over the internet from another computer anywhere in the world. As no files are transferred to or stored on iTwin, there is no risk of data leakage should one half of the device be misplaced, and the system can be disabled quickly and effectively at any time ensuring complete security.
“The two halves share a randomly generated security key, which only the devices know and is not stored anywhere else,” says Kal Takru, cofounder of iTwin Pte Ltd, a spin-off company from I2R. “That key is also used to encrypt communications. So it both authenticates and secures the system.”
© iTwin Pte Ltd
The innovative concept behind the iTwin was unveiled in September 2009 at TechCrunch50, a major Silicon Valley event for start-up companies to which iTwin was the first Singaporean company ever to be invited. The product was the result of a conversation in 2008 at I2R between Takru and Lux Anatharaman, who now serves as iTwin’s CEO.
“Twin technology is a conceptual insight that Lux came up with,” Takru explains. “It solves a significant technical problem—how can you reliably know who is on the other side—with remarkable elegance.”
The product itself was designed and developed with funding and help from A*STAR’s commercialization arm, Exploit Technologies, which has now signed an agreement giving iTwin an exclusive global license for the technology. Exploit Technologies also provided funding to build a proof of concept, then a prototype, and finally design a production-quality device.
iTwin has received “a significant amount of money” from Walden International and Ideas Ventures, two established venture capital companies in Singapore, according to Takru. Orders for the iTwin, which currently retails for US$99, are starting to roll in both from online sources and via agents and distributors in the US, South America and Europe, and the device has caught the imagination of the information technology community and blogosphere.
Currently available only for machines running Windows operating systems, the next step for iTwin according to Takru is to develop versions for other platforms such as Mac and Android-based systems. Plans for the development of a one-to-many system are also under discussion.
More information about iTwin device can be found on the iTwin website
About the Institute for Infocomm Research
The A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R) was established in 2002 with the mission of becoming a globally preferred source of innovations in interactive secured information, content and services. I2R conducts research and development in information technology, wireless and optical communications, interactive and digital media, signal processing and computing.
About iTwin Pte Ltd
iTwin Pte Ltd is a spin-off company from the A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research that was established in 2009 to develop and market the iTwin device. Research, development and commercialization of the product was conducted with the support of Exploit Technologies, the strategic marketing and commercialization arm of A*STAR. The iTwin product is now marketed around the world. The company’s long-term mission is to build further on its patent-pending technology to enable people to connect any two computing devices, simply and securely.
About Exploit Technologies
Exploit Technologies, the strategic marketing and commercialization arm of A*STAR, was established to identify, protect and exploit promising intellectual property created by A*STAR’s research institutes by supporting the translation of A*STAR inventions into marketable products or processes. Through licencing deals with industry partners and spinoffs, Exploit Technologies is a key driver of technology transfer in Singapore, actively engaging industry leaders and players to bridge the gap from mind to market.
