Apr. 20—Mitch Freeman can see the future.
But he's not gazing into a crystal ball. He's looking through an augmented reality headset developed by Ocutrx Technologies, his medical device startup.
Freeman, the company's chief operating officer and co-founder, wore the headset around the Space Symposium, a six-day Colorado Springs conference this week focused on the future of space, because he believes Ocutrx is a part of that future.
That's why Ocutrx, based in Southern California, acquired Spectrum Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, an aerospace, military and medical technology manufacturing and assembly company in Colorado Springs.
With the acquisition Ocutrx will not only manufacture its augmented reality headsets, but expand the technology into other nonmedical areas such as aerospace by working with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, NASA and other Spectrum clients.
"We're teaming up with this wonderful, high quality manufacturing company that has excelled in the space industry," Freeman said. "They've got an electronics slant on a lot of the things that are in space today."
The deal, which closed this year, will allow Spectrum to keep its name, roughly 45 employees and location at 3855 Interpark Drive. Jeff Riggs, Spectrum's CEO, also will remain on board and be a minority partner with Ocutrx.
Ocutrx intends to grow Spectrum, building on its well-established manufacturing reputation, Freeman said.
Officials with Ocutrx declined to disclose the cost of the acquisition.
Ocutrx and the creation of its augmented reality technology were born out of a desire to correct the effects of macular degeneration, an eye disease that causes vision loss.
Freeman's grandmother suffered from macular degeneration. So as kids, Mitch Freeman and his brother, Michael Freeman, CEO of Ocutrx, tried to help their grandmother read her Bible by enlarging the print with a camera.
Later on, Mitch and Michael's father, a retired Air Force general and entrepreneur who started a computer company, also suffered from the disease.
"I remember him saying, 'Guys, this is really frustrating. We need to do something to help people,'" Mitch said.
Mitch and Michael, entrepreneurs and inventors similar to their father, filed a patent for the technology with him in 2014. But about a year later, he died.
Since then, Ocutrx has grown to own eight patents for its unique augmented reality and extended reality technology with shipments for the headsets expected to start in September.
"My dad's last vision was, 'Hey, boys, we need to do something to help people,'" Mitch said. "And I think we're really doing that."