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TechJournal South ewire 01.21.08
January 21, 2008
By Allan Maurer
ORLANDO, FL-Although Orlando generally calls to mind theme
parks and palm trees, it is also gaining an increasing
reputation as a hotspot for medicine and science. The city
has racked up an impressive number of high tech wins in
recent months.
Among other achievements:
Doctors throughout the world have their eye on Orlando
with the announcement that Florida Hospital will build
the Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement - a medical
innovation and advanced surgical training facility expected
to host 20,000 surgeons each year.
On top of that, the hospital has launched a Global Robotics
Institute where surgeons will continue to advance robotic
surgery for prostate and gynecological oncology patients
and other conditions.
Dr. Vip Patel has accepted the position of Medical Director
of the newly established Global Robotics Institute at Florida
Hospital. Ray Gilley, president of the Metro Orlando Economic
Development Commission called the announcement last week, "another
great economic 'shot in the arm' for Central Florida that
will help bring new business to our area and put us on
the map as the place where patients want to come for their
healthcare."
Patel has personally performed almost 2,000 robotic prostatectomies
(minimally invasive removal of the prostate), making him
one of the most experienced robotic surgeons in the world.
He also leads one of the world's most experienced robotic
surgery teams, which will now join him in Central Florida,
and is the Editor in Chief of The Journal of Robotic Surgery.
$530M Mixed Use Projects Planned for Area Around
New Biotech Hub
Three development projects announced in Southeast Orlando
are riding the wave of the growing biotech hub that's emerging
here and that is expected to attract more companies and
residents as the Burnham Institute for Medical Research,
the University of Central Florida Medical College and the
VA Hospital get off the ground in the next year. The projects
are:
--A $500 million, 120-acre mixed-use project dubbed Orlando
Gateway that would include two hotels, up to 1,200 apartments,
200,000 square feet of office space and 140,000 square
feet of retail space
--A $24 million, six-acre, 80,000-square-foot office project
geared for simulation and pharmaceutical research firms
--A $9.1 million, 26-acre parcel that will be used for
330,000 square feet of retail space.
Four Orlando-area companies leading in voice-touch
tech
Through new technologies being developed by companies in
the eWeek-designated "blooming tech community" of Orlando,
interactive voice systems are operating military aircraft
and allowing soldiers to easily communicate in Iraq, while
fingerprint ID software is providing security measures
for our nation's port workers and to average citizens.
These tech innovations point to an even bigger picture-human
factors research & development (that is, studying how
humans relate to and interact with technology) has taken
off in the past few years. Leading work in this field is
happening at the University of Central Florida, now the
sixth largest university in the country.
UCF has noted researchers and scientists, maintains a dozen
applied experimental and human factors research laboratories,
and boasts recognized masters and PhD degree programs in
clinical, industrial/organizational psychology and human
factors
Four area companies leading in this research are:
Adacel: The company established its North
American headquarters in Orlando and is an industry leader
in aviation speech recognition technology, software integration
and simulation. In October, Adacel was selected by Boeing
to provide a Voice Activated Cockpit interface to be used
in human factors R&D studies for the AH-64 Apache attack
helicopter.
This system will provide the pilot and weapons system operator
with the capability to interact with avionics functions
using voice commands as an alternative to manual input.
And, it has the potential to significantly optimize the
work load of the Apache crew, allowing more focus on the
mission and less time on aircraft administration. www.adacel.com
ID Solutions:
Earlier this year, four-year-old ID Solutions was awarded
a contract from the Transportation Security Agency to supply
sophisticated fingerprint ID software to help the agency
eliminate fraudulent or duplicate credentials among the
nation's 850,000 port workers.
The company provides highly accurate, scalable, and cost-effective
credentialing solutions including secure access, voter
registration, registered traveler, and border and immigration
programs in the US and around the world. www.id-sol.com
Sequiam:, If Sequiam CEO Nick VandenBrekel
isn't at your front door yet, he will be soon. The company
is a major player in biometric security and has designed
a biometric lock for your front door.
Just swipe your finger over the sensor and you're in. A
partnership between Sequiam and lock company Kwikset, a
division of Black & Decker, will put biometric security
- once the province of Homeland Security applications -
literally in the hands of the average consumer. "We think
about it not just from the security standpoint, but also
about convenience," VandenBrekel emphasizes. "Think about
not having to carry keys. At some point in the near future
most, if not all, of human transactional behavior will
be authenticated through biology." Sequiam is not only
on the ground floor of a growing industry that's projected
to reach $8 billion by 2009, it built a big piece of that
floor. www.sequiam.com
Vcom3D: The VCommunicator Mobile LC is
the latest tech gadget aiding our military. Through a recent
contract awarded by the Army, hundreds of these iPod-based
tools are already in the hands of our soldiers, allowing
them to communicate in Iraqi Arabic and Kurdish on mission-specific
issues.
And the timing couldn't be better as there is a severe
shortage of translators in Iraq. Soldiers can either use
it to learn the languages themselves or to project the
recorded voice phrases.
It also includes virtual characters speaking the phrases
and video animations of culturally appropriate gestures.
Not bad for a company that started exclusively to assist
the deaf and hard of hearing. www.vcom3d.com
Orlando Makes News on the Alternative Energy Front
Everyone's going green . office buildings, hotels, etc.
Orlando, however, just made a 'red' announcement that's
turning out to be the largest one in the Southeast. The
Orange County Convention Center, the second largest convention
center in the nation, announced that it will undergo a
$7.3 million transformation to blanket its roof with solar
panels - becoming the largest solar project in the Southeast.
In more news:
--Energy-tech start-up Planar Energy Devices established
its headquarters in Orlando - fueled by $4 million in venture
capital. The company is developing commercial applications
for advanced micro-batteries that can be used in medicine,
alternative energy and consumer electronics.
--Another recent start-up, Green Skies Inc. (an aviation
consulting company) will help airports, airlines and aviation-related
firms become more environmentally friendly. Founder Michael
Miller is a noted aviation expert, having served as editor
of Aviation Daily and frequently appearing on national
TV.
On the startup front
While Orlando may not have the startup reputation of some
more established tech hubs, it has an increasing number
of new companies tackling problems in biotech, alternative
energy, digital media and homeland security. Here are a
few:
Petra Solar - recently raised $14 million and is working
with the University of Central Florida to develop affordable
solar energy products. www.petrasolar.com
Welnia - offers a comprehensive software platform for disease
management and wellness. They have partnered with top-ranked
Florida Hospital and are targeting physicians and corporate
clients to support employee wellness - a key issue in the
corporate world these days. www.welnia.com
Revelations Training - offers a multi-media interactive
web-based sales training product that's attracting national
companies. (Several companies wanted to buy them already.) www.revtrain.com
Knockout Digital Media - offers digital, multimedia broadcasting
products (live video streaming, etc.). Clients already
include some big guns: ESPN Radio, Disney, ABC. www.kodigital.com
Rini Technologies - provides a cooling technology- and
chemical/biological-protection-suits for military personnel,
and cooling tech for missile defense systems. www.rinitech.com
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