Archives for October 18, 2018

Home to numerous federal facilities, over 30 businesses and 1,200 employees, the I-79 Technology Park has been a provider of high-paying jobs in West Virginia for over 25 years.

Located on 400 acres of land in Fairmont, the park is perhaps most notable for the numerous government agencies that have offices within there, including NASA, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and more.

High Technology Foundation President and CEO Jim Estep said with big agencies come big contracts; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), for example, has a major impact in the park.

“NOAA has its environmental security computing center located here in the park,” he said. “It’s one of the most advanced supercomputing centers in the country.”

The contract that supported the setup, maintenance and running of the NOAA center was $553 million, a portion of which went to funding West Virginia-based jobs. In addition to that massive contract, the park also has ties to government satellites.

“We have a backup satellite ground station for NOAA’s Geo-station Area Environmental Satellite Program,” he said. “That’s one of the highest priority civil programs in the United States — responsible for all the satellites that collect all the weather and climate data around the planet.”

Estep said the focus on lucrative science and technology contracts is beneficial to the region, the nation and beyond, fueling world-changing work.

“By focusing on science and technology, we’re attracting businesses who do work in those areas,” he said. “And those businesses are bringing high-paying jobs in their sector to our region.”

While he is proud of the work the park has done, Estep said there is still much more for the state to do to catch up and keep pace with the fast paced technology sector.

“Right now I think West Virginia really needs to carve out a role in the national knowledge sector,” he said. “That’s the fastest growing industry in the country.

Director of facilities and property management Brad Calandrelli is responsible for leasing and construction projects throughout the park, as well as writing up proposals for prospective companies.

Calandrelli has been responsible for bringing in numerous federal agencies, a process which he says can be time-consuming.

“Back in 2006, we submitted an application for the NOAA project,” he said. “It’s a lengthy process; we started in 2006, and they didn’t end up coming here until 2013.”

-The park uses a federal anchor model, explained Calandrelli. By recruiting massive agencies like NOAA and the FBI, private businesses will also begin to take interest in the area, drawn to the work these agencies provide.

“Once you have the federal anchor there, of which we have several, other companies want to locate in your area to do business with them,” he said. “Right now, we are intending to offer land free of charge throughout the park in order to create that anchor and draw these other businesses and employers in.”

Estep expanded on the federal anchor model, describing the park as an ecosystem of businesses and knowledge, with each contributing to the health of the other.

“We’re actively recruiting federal operations from the D.C. area that are looking to relocate from that region,” he said. “There is a ridiculous cost of operation and cost of living and national security concerns associated with that area that can make it unappealing to run a business in.”

Estep said the federal anchor program has been effective for the park, spurring scientific and other industries to relocate.

“When NOAA decided to relocate their supercomputer here, for example, we awarded a $30 million construction contract to a West Virginia company,” he said.

Calandrelli added that one of the park’s biggest goals is bringing prominence to different career paths in West Virginia’s economy.

“One of the most important things to the park is the diversification of the economy,” he said. “West Virginia has been so dependent on the extraction economy over the years that now that coal mines are seeing a downturn, it’s taking the economy down with it.”

As the father of a daughter who left the state to pursue a career in science, Calandrelli said it’s important to him to help bring more STEM careers to West Virginia.

“A diverse economy means that when kids graduate from West Virginia colleges, they will be able to stay in West Virginia and get good-paying jobs,” he said. “Right now, it’s a struggle to keep them there because we just don’t yet have the jobs.”

Believing the recent decrease in population in West Virginia has been a direct result of the lack of viable employment, Calandrelli hopes that by expanding the I-79 Technology Park, he is doing his part in to fix the problem.

“Our state’s population has been decreasing, and that’s because we just don’t have those high-paying jobs,” he said. “We want to change that at the park because this is a great state in which to live.”

New technology will have new meters in homes by 2019

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — New technology is heading to homes all across Arkansas.

Entergy Arkansas, Inc. is beginning to install new communication networks all across the state. These networks are going up in advance of the meter technologies which coming statewide January 2019.

The commutation network will be able to read the new meters and will send the information back to Entergy. This would eliminate the need for drivers to have to go door to read each meter.

“Today customers are able to see their energy usage in 30-day increments they get a bill and it shows their 30-day usage,” says David Wasson, spokesperson for Entergy Arkansas, Inc. “Tomorrow, we are installing advanced meters in the future that will let customers be able to see their usage the day after the usage occurs in 15-minute increments.”

Only 63 of the 75 counties will be affected by the new technology, including Little Rock. The meters are said to look no different the already digital meters out on the market.

“We have 70,000 customers living in Arkansas,” explains Wasson. “So this process is going to last from now until 2021 – it’s a methodical approach we are taking.”

The new technology will allow customers to track their energy usage and see where they are spending the most energy.

“Residents can sign into a portal to manage their energy usage,” says Wasson.

The new installation comes at no cost to current customers. Customers do have the option to opt-out of the new program but will be charged a fee for a truck having to drive to their individual home in order to read their meter.

Technology is revolutionising ports, introducing remote-control cranes, self-driving trucks and other innovative systems to speed up loading and unloading of vessels

While the days of broad-shouldered stevedores manhandling cargo nets to the quayside may have slipped by in our maritime past, few could have anticipated that the time when a ship could arrive in port to be unloaded without a human being in sight would arrive so quickly.

Yet this is exactly the scenario being predicted for the harbour at Caofeidian, a reclaimed chunk of land 200km east of Beijing. Port bosses say that by the end of the year the facility will be completely autonomous, with ships loaded and unloaded by automatic cranes, and containers driven away by self-driving trucks, all co-ordinated from a central remote-control room.

With their restricted, confined roadways, lack of pedestrians and predictable driving scenarios, ports are the . Europe’s biggest port, Rotterdam, is being used to test the concept of truck-platooning in which a series of unmanned trucks follow a lead vehicle, mimicking the actions of its driver. These small convoys make for a smoother traffic flow, as well as cutting CO2 emissions.

How tech is transforming Europe’s largest port
Technology is driving other changes in Rotterdam too, as the port gears up to receive autonomous vessels by 2025. Working with IBM and Cisco, port authorities are creating a new digital dashboard to replace traditional radio and radar communications between captains, harbour pilots and terminal operators.

The system will use a complex array of internet of things (IoT) sensors to collect data around tidal streams, wind strength and visibility, helping to reduce vessel waiting times and automatically guiding the crewless ships into berth.

“We are taking action to become the smartest port in the world,” says the port’s chief financial officer Paul Smits. “Speed and efficiency is essential to our business, and requires us to use all the data available to us.”

It is estimated that using this real-time information could save operators as much as $80,000 each time they dock a vessel.

It’s all about speeding things up and meeting the demand from online consumers, who now expect next-day delivery – Matt Abbott, Head of communications, DP World London Gateway

Embracing automation could create jobs, as well as eliminate them
In the UK, DP World London Gateway is also embracing automation. The state-of-the-art deep-sea port on the lower reaches of the Thames is home to 12 of the world’s largest ship-to-shore cranes, colossal 138m giants which can be controlled remotely as they unload four 20ft containers at a time.

The remote-control cranes bring operational efficiencies and because they’re unmanned, the port can continue to run when high winds make it too dangerous for traditional cranes to operate and force other ports to close.

In addition, the port has 60 automated stacking cranes, unique to the UK, which run up and down tracks straddling the containers, stacking them dockside. The cranes also load and unload around 1,800 trucks a day using sensors and sophisticated cameras, all in a bid to get goods on the road as quickly as possible.

“It’s all about speeding things up and meeting the demand from online consumers, who now expect next-day delivery,” explains Matt Abbott, the port’s head of communications. “We are constantly testing new initiatives. Automation across the port is becoming more and more prevalent.”

Although Mr Abbott is quick to add that docks are still major employers and, while automated cranes may no longer need drivers, the complex machinery is creating more maintenance and engineering jobs.

Tim Morris, chief executive of the UK Major Ports Group, agrees and says the automation of ports is ushering in “ and safer jobs”.

It’s about upskilling, he continues, with digital technology and artificial intelligence taking care of physical tasks, such as moving containers, leaving operators to concentrate on more complex roles.

Digital twins helping to optimise port operations
Another technology being trialled by some ports is This virtual version of the port enables operators to run different scenarios, using real-time information to improve decision-making and problem-solving, and support predictive planning.

Data, information and how it’s handled will be at the core of the way ports operate in the future, says Mr Morris. “Ports are global gateways for physical traffic and there is a role for them as digital gateways as well,” he says.

Take an imaginary widget, which could pass through around 30 different stages moving from Chengdu in China to Wolverhampton.

“Digitisation can streamline this, reduce the number of stages, make it contractually a lot simpler and a lot smoother,” he says. “The greater level of visibility also makes the physical transfer more efficient. Better data flow means better predictability about where the widget is going to be at any given time.”

Using blockchain to improve port connectivity
Which leads to , described by Jody Cleworth, chief executive of digital logistics business Marine Transport International, as “the buzzword of the logistics industry”.

The company has recently signed a memorandum of understanding to work with Associated British Ports to create a pilot programme to use blockchain technology to improve port connectivity.

Blockchain offers a way of securely linking the disparate systems that shippers, port operators and hauliers use to record and track goods, also reducing the time spent manually re-entering data.

“Blockchain-enabled technology has the potential to provide a transparent, secure and accurate way of capturing and sharing data with key parties,” says Mr Cleworth.

“The logistics industry is awash with proprietary technology that forces users to work in a certain way; with blockchain, we can connect all those systems to ensure data is accurately and quickly shared, helping speed up and simplify the flow of trade in and out of the UK.”

Two of China’s leading STEM application institutions launched an innovation competition on October 16th in an event that showcased a vast expanse of industrial technology including space technology, industrial vehicle applications, smart manufacturing, information technology, new materials, and highlighting examples of military and civil technology integration.

Winners of the Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, which is organized by the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA) and Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), will be announced in December. The competition was first held in 2017.

Offering up to RMB 500,000 (around $72,000) to winners and potential access to investment from alumni, the competition aims to discover early-stage high-tech applications, and emerge as a platform where “innovators meet investors,” according to organizers.

While the blueprint may resemble that of an incubator or accelerator, the BUAA-BIT alliance wants to tap close innovator-investor relationships built on alumni associations. The competition also hopes to become a channel for private financing and help non-state-backed institutions discover tech investment opportunities.

This plan has been welcomed by the administrative and technology departments of Haidian, the district of Beijing that is home to the institutions. Haidian also hosts some of China’s top institutions including Peking University and Tsinghua University.

The competition launch event featured four existing companies or projects with connections to the organizers.

Galaxy Energy is a BUAA alumni project that focuses on innovation in rocket fuel ingredients and supply to reduce launch costs.

“There is massive potential in China’s private space exploration,” a spokesperson from Galaxy Energy said. “State policies are now backing up the field, which signals acknowledgment to guide more private capital to enter.”

Tencent’s AI incubation beneficiary Cool High Technology, a BUAA alumni project and collaboration partner of UC Berkeley, specializes in flying devices for use cases including fire rescue, anti-terrorism, science sample collection, and even flying cars. The company also owns a factory in Virginia, in the US.

Wanting to safeguard their technology, many of the startups were cautious about publicity or sharing their cooperation opportunities, even within the alumni clubs.

For example, FM Aviation Technology, a company that produces high-capacity logistic drones and cooperates with Alibaba’s Cainiao, SF Express, and JD.com, hid the name and other personal information of its chief technology officer when it introduced the background of its R&D activities. The company’s latest drone model FM150, with a max capacity of 1.5 tons and 50-meter departure and landing distance, will complete its first flight by the end of this year.

Adhere Miracle, a company started by undergraduate students who upgraded industrial robots’ ability to process clothing materials with electrostatic technology without causing wrinkles or damage, said the company is extremely cautious regarding market application strategy. Though having already built a cooperation relationship with suppliers of Adidas, Nike, and Uniqlo, Adhere said it sees the competition as one step toward real case application.