Alberta-bred “smart” machines were the real show stoppers at a special demonstration of intelligent systems projects this past week at the Alberta Research Council.
Fourteen displays highlighted the unique ways high-tech equipment and software can be used in the workplace.
“We’ve got a shared commitment to work with companies in the private sector on complex technical problems that might need intelligent solutions,” said Dean Wallace, manager of flow and sensor technology for the Alberta Research Council, of the alliance between ARC and PRECARN Associates.
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| Dave Olecko, Business Edge |
| Keith Chrystall, program manager for Intelligent Systems Engineering at the Alberta Research Council, gets a 3D view as he works the excavator behind him using remote control. Smart machines were a hit at the ARC show. |
PRECARN is a non-profit research consortium of high-tech industries that manages more than $10 million in research projects in Canada each year.
About 100 people, including several Calgary businesses, attended the one-day display and workshop Thursday at ARC’s offices in University Research Park.
Chrystall is using a helmet-mounted display system which is linked via radio to a remote camera platform located on the excavator behind him.
Stereo-paired cameras on the excavator provide the operator with a three-dimensional monitoring view. A specialized tracking helmet relays head motion to the cameras, which turn synchronistically with the operator’s head movement.
“We’re operating in a global economy, and Canadian companies have to be as efficient or more efficient than their competitors,” noted Wallace.
“We just hope that the companies which came (to the exhibit) embrace the idea of trying to incorporate more intelligent systems into their normal operations.”
Alberta’s prime resource areas of energy and forestry are ripe for smart systems projects that will ultimately lead to potential spinoffs and diversification of the economy, Wallace believes.
