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The plumbing subcontractor started installation last week and the electrical subcontractor confirmed the first floor raceways to begin installation shortly.  Both subs will be very active this week to keep with updated schedule. This drone photo of the south side of the building was taken Friday, 5/12.

The NAB Show (National Association of Broadcasters) is an annual trade show that takes place every April in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Show attracts approximately 100,000 visitors from 160 customers and 2,000 vendors.

​Listed below are a few of the highlights I experienced during the 2017 Show:

Sitting in on a talk sponsored by Intel featuring A.R. Rahman (composer for Slumdog Millionaire.)

Rahman is in the process of filming a 360 VR movie called ‘Le Musk’. He explained the hurdles involved with filming in 360 VR, such as transferring and storing footage of that size, utilizing the 360 cameras to tell a story in a way that is an experience as opposed to being a gimmick, and getting past using headsets to watch VR movies. The biggest problems with using headsets to watch things in VR is motion sickness, and the disconnect; the viewer isolates themselves by having to watch through a headset instead of being a part of a shared experience. The Intel booth had these awesome pod chairs for visitors to experience the trailer for Le Musk in. They vibrated, spun and emitted odors in conjunction with what you were seeing in the headset. Here’s a link to movie trailer and more information. 

Another cool find, a prototype of a set of Augmented Reality drone glasses called Moverio made by Epson. They look like regular reading glasses, but when connected to the drone you get an amazingly clear view of what the camera on the drone is seeing. That part isn’t the prototype. So, they’re in the process of making it so when you do a predetermined flight path, you can move your head and see where you’ve put your fly points for the drone to get a visual of your flight path. Could be extremely useful as we continue to improve our blade inspections, a lot of the larger blade inspection companies use predetermined flight paths in coordination with special software to conduct their inspections for big wind farms.

​I met with a data transfer company called Signiant, it’s not a service we currently need, but may be useful in the future. They produce high speed, large file data transfers over long distances. For example, a 10GB transfer from LA to NY that would normally take 8 hours, with their algorithms only takes 1.5-2 hours. I believe their services, depending on your needs run between $10-20K.

By far the coolest thing there was this 360 Dome at the Canon exhibit. Canon (with their projectors) partnered with Full Dome Pro, who manufacturers the domes, to allow visitors to experience watching a movie in a completely new way. It’s a 12-meter dome, with between 8-10 projectors projecting a 360 movie on the ceiling of the dome. For the exhibit, they had bean bags in the middle of the dome so you could lean back and enjoy watching a 360 film without needing a headset, allowing for the viewer to still share their experience with those around them.

One of the most beneficial aspects of the conference was being able to sit in on around-the-clock tutorials at the Adobe booth. It was the 25th anniversary of their video editing program, Premiere. So, they gave a bunch of great seminars on what the latest features are, as well as tutorials on Photoshop, and personal insights from industry leaders.

I appreciate OE giving me the opportunity to learn more about where technology is going; the conference was incredibly insightful.  I have quite a few handouts and informational materials that I brought back to share with the team; I’ll leave them out on a round table.  
​- Hank Doster, Media Coordinator

We now have three issued patents.  This information is in Paper as well, but wanted to highlight in the News Feed.  John has been spearheading this activity. Its important to know that we have issued patents and be familiar with what they are for.

Patent #3 Issued
Reinforcement assemblies, fixtures, and methods
Patent #: US 9,617,704
Issue date: Apr. 11, 2017
Inventor: Kent
Click on the link for more information and diagram.

Patent #2 Issued
Devices, systems, methods, and kits for remotely operating a switch
Patent #: US 9,536,682 B2
Issue date: Jan. 3, 2017
Inventors: Kent, Everett, Bumb
 
Patent #1 Issued
Suspended deck systems, kits, and methods of installing, inspecting, and repairing a suspended deck system
Patent #: US 9,487,960 B2
Issue date: Nov. 8, 2016
Inventors: Kent, Everett