Month: March 2013

Have Scientists Just Created an Invisibility Cloak?

We like science and technology so when Mashable posted a report that researchers at the University of Texas, Austin had created a light scattering metascreen–we had to check it out.

Light scattering metascreen? See also ‘invisibility cloak.’ Well, sort of.

Titled “Demonstration of an ultralow profile cloak for scattering suppression of a finite-length rod in free space,” their research, published in the New Journal of Physics, describes a cloak consisting of 66 µm-thick copper tape and 100 µm-thick flexible polycarbonate film which scatters and cancels out incoming waves.

At this stage the researchers agree that the same process could be applied to visible light wavelengths but that the objects they could “hide” would have to be very small.

With its focus on customer service and penchant for saying “yes to everything of reason”…

Your employees need tools that can survive the work place, you need something more. You want rugged devices and superior customer service. You don’t just need equipment that can survive bouncing around in a cab, a three foot drop, or thousands of hours of vibration, bumps, and impacts. You need a partner dedicated to solving your problems.

Glacier computer has always been that partner.

We are successful at selling a wide range of rugged solutions because we focus on customers first.

Our persona quickly developed as one of immediate service and response. People would call us, and in minutes, someone would get back to them. It was no surprise how appreciative customers were to this level of service. –Ron D’Ambrosio CEO, Glacier Computer.

Glacier’s success continues to turn on our focus on customer service and penchant for saying yes to everything of reason. Someone will get back to you right away. If you come to us with your technology problem we’ll try to hunt down a solution even if one has not been created yet.

It is difficult to put a price on that but we do it every day, in a competitive marketplace, dancing our way around the sluggish behemoths.

This, (blistering fast customer service) combined with more robust product offerings, means customers get the expertise of a market giant with the service focus of a small company. “Today, we’re still one of those little guys, but we are able to offer world-class products and service,” D’Ambrosio states.

Touchscreen PC Submerged Then Hosed off…Fully Powered and Operational

We took a fully functional touchscreen PC, submerged it in a puddle of muck, then hosed it off, all while plugged in and running.. because we could.

This computer (Glacier – S9000) is made for food processing operations, outdoor kiosks, farms, or any any indoor or outdoor application, fixed or mobile, AC or DC power, anywhere you might want a shiny stainless steel unit you can hose off whenever you think it’s gotten too dirty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8kULR3wAC8U

On-Line Training Options for Aerial Lift Operators

Aerial Work Platforms are great places for using rugged computing power. Wireless data collection when you are elevated above the ground-whether on a fixed, tablet, or hand-held computer--just makes sense. But before you ever set foot on one you’ll want to make sure you are certified and fully understand the best practices that ensure safe operation.

To that end the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) and its US affiliate–American Work Platform Training (AWPT), have developed a successful online training program to help achieve the necessary certification.

Trainees who complete the online session must still pass a supervised theory test at an AWPT-approved training center and must successfully complete a half-day of practical training and testing before being issued with a PAL Card (Powered Access Licensed-Registration) as proof of successfully completed AWPT operator training.

Forklift Action News (free registration required) recently reported on this same program and how NES Rentals Holdings Inc (NES Rentals), a supplier of all kinds of lift equipment, had successfully “trained most of its 1,040 staff members to the level of the Powered Access License (PAL) card.”

“eLearning opens up alternative methods of delivering education and takes the AWPT training program to a new level,” says IPAF president Wayne Lawson. “It provides a new way for training centres to reach greater numbers but does not replace practical training. It enriches the learning process and allows us to bring the safe and effective use of AWPs to a wider public.”

Laser Scanning And Mobile Computing Meet The Construction Industry

The Journal of Commerce reports that Construction and excavation operations are taking advantage of mobile technology and 3D laser scanners to do what used to take hours or days.

“The 3D laser scanner creates thousands of point clouds to take measurements and visualizations,” he said.

“It’s much faster and more accurate than survey crews.”

Buness used a survey rod with a hand-held controller that looks like a rugged outdoor tablet and which contained the survey control points.

“After the scan was created, it was converted into a usable 3D point file, and then it was integrated into the 3D BIM environment,” Buness said.

“Once in the 3D environment, the scan was used to establish the location of the excavation wall faces.”

The ability to take mobile computing power into the field, combined with new imaging technology, will provide better detail analysis for a wide range of applications, at a fraction of what it used to cost to pay survey crews.