I've just received notice that my sixth U.S. Patent has just been issued. It is U.S. Patent Number 8,099,187 and is entitled "Securely processing and tracking consumable supplies and consumable material". 

This patent is based on some work I did back at HID Global, a company that specializes in credential management.  Part of the work I did there revolved around the printing and encoding of plastic ID cards that included embedded RFID tags.  One of the problems encountered by the users of these types of systems is the secure management of the credential during the process of printing and encoding.  The team I was part of designed a software / hardware management system that provides complete security of the process by  identifying the state of the credential being processed, the user executing the process, and the disposition of the final credential. 

In addition to the technological innovation resulting in this patent, the system we designed solved a real-world problem for HID's customers.

We've been collaborating with a company named Concert Window on a very interesting application that uses some of our camera control technology.

Concert Window is a live streaming concert network partnered with top-notch venues around the United States, including Club Passim in Boston, MA; (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York, NY; The Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, CA; The Berklee Performance Center in Boston, MA; and more. 

For music fans it's only $3 to watch each show or $8.99 for unlimited monthly access. 

Dan Gurney, President of Concert Window, commented, "In an era of plummeting music sales and rampant digital piracy, we believe that the music industry must leverage the power of live concerts more than ever before. So, we help musicians and venues by streaming their performances, advertising their music and merchandise, and sharing two-thirds of subscription and pay-per-view proceeds with them".

Applied Logic is proud to support Concert Window on this exciting new venture.

More information is available at www.concertwindow.com. 

I attended the annual Gales Of November conference in Duluth, MN yesterday, which is a day-long celebration of the maritime history of the North Shore area.

My friends Ann Merriman and Chris Olson of Maritime Heritage Minnesota gave a great talk on the USS Essex, which is wrecked just outside the Duluth harbor.  The Essex is significant because it is Minnesota's only U.S. Naval shipwreck -- Chris and Ann have been working on documenting the wreck and recommending various ways to preserve it for the future.


 

We were happy to contribute many of the digital images that were shown in MHM's presentation.  We were able to get on the wreck on a couple of different occasions, taking both still and video images that helped document the current state of the wreck for MHM's analysis.

MHM is a non-profit that could always use donations to continue their work.  They have several different projects going on, including the Essex work, documenting steamboat shipwrecks in the upper Mississippi River, and investigating wrecks in Lake Minnetonka from the early 1900's.  Take a look at their site and donate.

Applied Logic Engineering, Inc. has announced the world's most complete Sony LANC control software for the PC.  When combined with one of ALE's LANC controller products, this software allows for the remote control and monitoring of Sony and Canon camcoders, recorders, and other LANC-compatible devices.

This program allows the user to control the following camera / recorder functions:

          * Zoom In (fast, med, slow)                                    * Play
             * Zoom Out (fast, med, slow)                                 * Record
             * Manual / Auto Focus                                              * Rewind
             * Focus In                                                                   * Fast Forward
             * Focus Out                                                                * Stop
             * Manual / Auto White Balance                              * Snapshot to tape/disk
             * Manual White Balance Set                                  * Snapshot to Memory Stick
             * Power Up from sleep mode                                * Video / Photo Mode
             * Power camera off                                                  * Display on/off
             * Picture Profile                                                         * Shutter
             * Gain                                                                          * Iris
             * White Balance Presets (A,B)                               * Menu on/off
             * Menu cursor (up,down,left,right)                         * Menu Select




The software runs on any PC equipped with Windows Vista or Windows 7.

For more information and to order, see http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page1047.htm.

Applied Logic announced today that they have a new adapter that allows you to add  802.15.4 (Zigbee) compliant wireless communication to your PC.  Zigbee is a wireless communication scheme that allows for the creation of local mesh networks for communication between PCs and/or other devices.  As an example, you can add an adapter to a pair of PCs to create a wireless connection over serial communications.

Key features include:

• Fully 802.15.4 compliant
• Uses the Digi Xbee module
• No external power required
• 4 LEDs indicating operation —
  • Power
  • Signal Strength
  • Transmit Data
  • Receive Data
• Establishes a virtual COM port on the PC — no special software DLL required
• Drivers available for Windows, Mac, and Linux
• Includes USB cable

Check http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page1049.htm for more information and to order

Applied Logic announced today that they have entered into a distribution agreement with Eagletron Inc. for their Power-Pod LANC camera mount system. 

The PowerPod-LANC is a compact motorized base that pans and tilts a camcorder under your computer's control. In addition, the PowerPod-LANC includes technology to control optical zoom and focus via the LANC connector found on most Sony camcorders.

The PowerPod-LANC connects to your PC via a USB connection and provides a simple (but powerful) software application for camera movement and control.

With this product addition to our current offering, Applied Logic has become the most comprehensive supplier of Sony / Canon LANC control products for system designers and developers.

Check out http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page1175.htm for more information on this new product.

Applied Logic Engineering (www.appliedlogiceng.com) has just released a new version of our Sony / Canon LANC control software.  This Windows application, when combined with one of our LANC controller boards, allows a user to remotely control the functionality of a camcorder and/or camera directly from a PC.

This new version (v2.2) adds the following capabilities:

    * Support for our new ALE710 / ALE711 controllers in addition to our ALE702 and ALE708 controllers
    * Automatic COM port finder -- detects the correct COM port that is connected to the controller board
    * Improved smooth continuous Zoom In / Zoom Out functions
    * New function button -- Video/Photo Mode

This new functionality is built on top of a full function camera and recorder feature set.  You can get more details here -- http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page1389.htm.

   


We've been in contact with NICTA in Australia on an interesting project. They have developed a low cost system for performing video surveys of roads and road assets that uses Applied Logic's USB to LANC adapters to control the cameras.

The system consists of 2 Sony handcam’s, one mounted on the front windscreen, and a second mounted on the rear windscreen. Via our LANC adaptors, they use a small computer running linux (which looks like a mobile phone) to control the cameras.  The software on the phone controls when the camera are recording etc. via the LANC adaptor

NICTA's  project is designed to aid in automatically constructing maps of road traffic assets (particularly signs) from digital video, which their customers use to construct and update the maps that go inside a TomTom or Navman GPS navigator.  The volume of video available for processing was constrained by the cost of the survey grade capture vehicles and systems that they were previously using.  By building a capture system out of consumer grade equipment, it will be much more economical to capture video.

This is a great application of our LANC controller technology.

Applied Logic has just announced a new embedded controller for Sony and Canon camcorders that can control up to two cameras simultaneously.  One of the exciting uses for this type of product is its application in 3D (stereoscopic) recording where two cameras are used and both cameras must be synchronized for successful recording.  This controller determines the necessary camera information regarding acceptable recording sync, which is displayed on the on-board LEDs for a visual indicator to the end user..

This controller works in two ways -- it has 9 on-board buttons that are preprogrammed to control the following camera functions simultaneously in both cameras:

    * Zoom In                            * Zoom Out
    * Focus Auto/Manual        * Focus In
    * Focus Out                        * Photo Capture
    * Record Start/Stop           * Power On
    * Power Off

In addition, this controller contains a USB connector which can be used to connect the board to a PC so that both cameras can optionally be controlled from a PC.  Our ALE704 LANC Controller software has been expanded to provide dual camera control for this new controller.

This controller is available for single camera or dual camera control.  Check out http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page567.htm for details and for ordering information.

I've written a new article discussing the concept of Beta Testing.  It is available over on the Applied Logic web site (http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page1483.htm).

A lot of organizations that I have worked for in the past struggle with software beta testing.  Everyone generally agrees that it is a good idea, but few companies really understand what it is, how to construct a successful test, and how to use the information obtained to have a positive impact on the product.

Give it a read and let me know what you think.  Does it mesh with your experience?