Some pictures from the recent Experience Tectoria event.
Experience Tectoria off and running
Andrew Duffy previews Experience Tectoria – the three-day conference and networking event that brings together high tech leaders from way beyond Victoria – in today’s Times Colonist.
Experience Tectoria offers a variety of seminars, workshops and pitch opportunities for local companies to strut their stuff, while visiting VIPs personally invited to Victoria for a high-tech familiarization tour will get a peak behind the scenes of the $2.5-billion sector.
Microsoft files US patent for new gaming system
The BBC reports on a Microsoft patent in the US related to a new video gaming system that projects images of the game’s environment around a player’s room.
Microsoft’s patent suggests that current games console systems are constrained by their reliance on a single screen.
“Such displays are typically the only source of visual content, so that the media experience is bounded by the bezel of the display,” it said. “Even when focused on the display, the user may perceive architectural and decorative feature of the room the display is in… such features are typically out of context with respect to the displayed image, muting the entertainment potential.”
And what’s this got to do with the technology sector in Victoria? Earlier this year, Microsoft opened a game design studio in downtown Victoria, so I’m putting one and one together to make two. I have been told by one of the new hires that it’s an excellent place to work.
Underwater robot to boost search for Franklin’s ships
Archeologists hunting for the wreckage of the doomed Franklin Expedition in Canada’s frozen north have discovered human remains but there is no sign of the two missing ships. But help is close at hand in the form of an automated underwater vehicle from the University of Victoria that will arrive soon. The Globe and Mail has more.
AbeBooks to stage Hackathon coding competition at Uvic
Some news from my neck of the technology woods (I’ve worked for AbeBooks for more than seven years). Students in the University of Victoria computer science and software engineering programs are being invited by AbeBooks.com to participate in a 24-hour Hackathon coding competition on September 28-29.
The challenge is to conceive and produce an innovative application using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing platform. At the conclusion, the students will demonstrate their work to a team of AbeBooks’ software engineers, who will award a series of prizes that include $500 worth of access to AWS. A group of AbeBooks software engineers including Director of Engineering Tim Munro and Engineering Manager Cliff McCollum will be on hand to answer questions and assist students with the processes. Students can compete individually or in groups of up to four.
The event will be staged at the University of Victoria engineering labs and begins at 4pm on Friday September 28. The event is limited to the first 40 applicants.
It is free to participate and all entrants will receive a copy of a book called Programming Amazon EC2 by Jurg van Vliet, a commemorative t-shirt (modelled by my colleague Kerry Wright in this picture) and a valuable learning experience with AWS; access to which will be provided by AbeBooks for the coding competition.
It should be a lot of fun. We have strong links to UVic – a couple of new interns from the computer science and software engineering programs were introduced to the company just yesterday.
Experience Tectoria coming soon
The broad scope of technology in Victoria is going to be showcased by an exciting event called Experience Tectoria, organized by VIATeC, that takes place from September 13 to 16.
Folks involved in the Victoria technology scene are being joined by experts and gurus from out of town for a series of seminars, workshops and events that include tours and music. It’s not going to be all tech talk as the booking of comedian/entertainer Reggie Watts (pictured) shows.
Technologists, start-ups, established firms, venture capitalists, M&A firms, angel investors and tech bloggers and journalists will be present. Here is the line-up of speakers, which includes Hootesuite, Q5, Telus, Acetech, Terapeak, ChatterBlock and Nokia. Here is the schedule of events.
Ocean Networks Canada takes its technology to the Artic
Ocean Networks Canada has been given a five-year licence to install a cabled observatory system under the ice off in Nunavut, reports the Times Colonist.
The system uses technology that is already in use and sending real-time information from under the sea off Vancouver Island to scientists around the world.
Information about ice thickness is particularly important for people living, working and travelling in Northern Canada.
The aim is to connect the real-time data to information from satellites and other sources. The system is being tested at UVic’s Marine Technology Centre. Recent reports show the Arctic sea ice has melted to its lowest extent since 2007.
Q5’s ‘multi-billion-dollar’ camera
Andrew Duffy wrote in the Times Colonist over the week about Q5 and its “real-time polarization difference imaging camera” called Detect POL, which is designed to enhance images captured in challenging environments like smoke, fog and dirty water.
(CEO Sage) Baker says matter-of-factly that the camera has multi-billion-dollar market potential, likening it to the impact thermal imaging had on a number of sectors.
Drone aircraft coming to sky near you
The University of Victoria’s Centre for Aerospace Research is to receive $671,500 in funding from the federal government, according to this report. The centre, located near Victoria International Airport, will research and develop unmanned air vehicle technology (that’s drones to you and me) with the intention of making the technology available for commercial use.
Unmanned aircraft can be used by farmers to check on their crops but they can also be used to monitor forest fires, isolated coast lines, ports, borders, avalanche areas, endangered wildlife environment and pipelines.
UAVs can fly up to 30 hours with a high-resolution camera attached to the undercarriage and follow a preprogrammed route.
Seaworthy design software from ShipConstructor
This is a mean looking ship. It’s actually a “Littoral Combat Ship”, the USS Independence. And what’s that got to do with Victoria, BC? Well, this state-of-the-art US Naval craft was designed with ShipConstructor software.
The Independence is designed to handle submarine, surface and mine threats in the 21st century. It has a crew of 40, three helicopters and carries armoured Humvees and troops below deck.
ShipConstructor is a Victoria firm that offers shipbuilding software that provides design and modeling tools for building marine structures, so that includes oil rigs and platforms as well as a whole range of marine craft from tugs to massive cargo ships. This page offers examples of what the software can be used to design. I also found a YouTube tutorial video of the software in action.
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