THIS WEEK IN TECTORIA

A community blog celebrating Victoria's booming tech sector

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Got a cool story about technology and creativity in Victoria? Email stories, tips, pictures, links and anything of interest to Tessa Bousfield at: tectoria@viatec.ca

Attendance up at small tech startup group

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There’s an interesting post on the Techvibes blog about Jesse Learmonth, founder of Bet Smart Media, who runs a group on Meetup.com targeting Victoria’s small technology entrepreneurs and tech businesses with ambitions to expand.

“I wanted to create something that gives us a chance to get together without any agenda or membership fees,” explains Learmonth. “A way to meet people like myself.”

A meeting last month was attended by around 85 people. The group has been going for 12 months and is going from strength to strength. Victoria is a town full of tech startups so this makes sense. The group can be found on Meetup.com under Technology Startups in Victoria. They meet once a month.

German marine systems company opens for business in Victoria

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The lovely Carla Wilson reports in the Times Colonist that a German company specializing in high-tech marine systems has opened an office in Greater Victoria to win contracts from the lucrative Canadian maritime sector.

Rick Gerbrecht is running the newly incorporated Atlas Elektronik Canada Ltd, and he’s hiring now. The parent company, Atlas Elektronik Group, is headquartered in Bremen and is affiliated to the massive ThyssenKrupp.

The Canadian government has $35 million budget put aside for non-combat vessels so Atlas Elektronik Canada is well placed for orders for British Columbia shipyards.

Experience Tectoria off and running

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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

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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.

Experience Tectoria coming soon

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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.

Q5’s ‘multi-billion-dollar’ camera

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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.

Seaworthy design software from ShipConstructor

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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.

Visual effects from Victoria’s RaceRocks 3D

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[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/35586501 w=550&h=300]

One of the most interesting technology companies in Victoria is RaceRocks 3D, which specializes in creating high-end 3D imagery and models. RaceRooks build impressive products for the gaming, film and television industries as well as the business and defence sectors. Clients include Fox, ABC, Warner Brother and the US Army.

On the video above you can see Scott Dewis from RaceRocks talking about the company’s move into defense simulations and its expectations for growth.

You might be unfamiliar with this company but you have probably seen its visual effects on Lost, Pushing Daisies, FlashForward, and Fringe.  Take a look at the RaceRocks’ show reels.

Astronaut Julie Payette to speak at UVic

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There’s an interesting event coming up at the University of Victoria – Canadian astronaut Julie Payette will be giving an illustrated presentation on Monday August 27 at 7 p.m. in the Farquhar Auditorium.

Payette’s presentation will feature photos and video from her space flights and there will also be a Q&A . It’s free and suitable for all ages.

An astronaut and a professional electrical and computing engineer, Payette has twice left the Earth and logged more than 611 hours in space. During her mission on the space shuttle Discovery in 1993, she orbited the Earth 153 times and was the first Canadian to board the International Space Station. Payette served as mission specialist, operating the robotic Canadarm and supervising the spacewalk. In 2009, Payette served as flight engineer on the crew of the shuttle Endeavour during a mission to the space station.

Payette was chief astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency from 2000 to 2007. That’s quite the resume and it should be a fascinating evening.

Tickets must be reserved in advance. Call 250-721-8480 or go online.

What does a school technologist in Victoria do?

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A quick browse through the VIATEC job board reveals there is no shortage of open positions for folks in the technology industry in Victoria. One job caught my eye – school technologist. When I was at primary school, technology didn’t exist outside of the black and white television that was kept in the gym. The Internet was an impossible dream.

Even during my college years (1986-1989), there was a single Apple Mac available to the entire department of several hundred students and teachers where I studied. My children are growing up in a much different world here in Victoria and they expect technology to be everywhere, and that includes schools.

What does a school technologist do?  According to the job description from the Greater Victoria School District….

 The School Technologist’s (ST) primary responsibility is the administration and maintenance of school educational networks including servers, workstations, and supporting school staff. This position is required to install computer software, configure hardware systems, maintain current network configurations and troubleshoot network and software problems on a variety of different platforms that may include Windows and Macintosh. The ST works with the Help Desk in implementing and maintaining the service delivery of technology to the school. Duties may include providing advice related to technology purchases, installation and support of client access devices and printers, and software evaluation. The successful applicant will work in an environment of numerous and varied applications running on a wide range of computers and operating systems and supports both current and legacy technology.

So there you go.

(Image courtesy of the Greater Victoria School District)