Home Blog Page 24

Defense industry CEO says unity will drive Orlando tech further

Marco Santana
-
0
Defense industry CEO says unity will drive Orlando tech further

John Brooks has no doubts about Orlando as the best place to continue to build his 11-year-old military and simulation business Mass Virtual.

He didn’t need to look much further last week than the annual defense technology show I/ITSEC for proof.

However, he says the next step in the ecosystem’s evolution will be a coming together, so to speak.

“It is siloed,” he said. “If you get board membership that is all of like-minded individuals, that’s not a good thing.”

Brooks’ business was one of the hundreds to showcase their wares for military officials and others in the business at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference.

The annual show is one of the biggest in the world and takes over the Orange County Convention Center each year.

Virtual reality is defense in 2022

Mass Virtual showed off an immersive, virtual reality-driven environment that takes students into a virtual hangar to train on various aircraft.

The program took users onto a tarmac alongside several military planes, walking them through a training module that would allow for group sessions for schools and military entities.

Brooks said I/ITSEC’s presence in Orlando certainly drives the conversation.

“Many people do not think of Orlando as a tech hub,” he said. “But [those people are] more silent because technology definitely drives the majority of business here.”

While Mass Virtual has been at I/ITSEC in the past showing off its technology, the floor also included plenty of first timers or, perhaps, second timers.

Orlando firms show well at I/ITSEC

Jason Irving and his engineering firm Engenium made their debut as a booth host in 2021.

This year, the Orlando company returned because, he said, the event is a “must attend” for anyone in Orlando’s robust simulation and training industry.

“Having a booth is instant credibility,” he said. “When you have one, everyone here knows you exist in this industry.”

Irving said the company had a steady flow of visitors at its booth, including several that planned follow-up meetings after the show.

“This is how we showcase the work we do,” he said. “It’s one less barrier.”

The show served as a kind of “Welcome to Orlando” for HAVIK, which only recently announced it had moved its headquarters from California to Central Florida.

The company builds a portable, self-contained virtual reality training system for the U.S. Special Forces, military and allies.

“When I joined, I was focused on making sure we found a good home base for talent and that was business-friendly for our industry,” COO Glenn Banton Sr. said.

On the floor, Banton said I/ITSEC’s presence in Orlando also contributed to the decision.

“I/ITSEC is the Olympics of the defense industry,” he said. “We need to use this as a platform to show off what we have.”

Brooks has no doubt that building in Orlando benefits his military tech and simulation business.

But a small push could take the community even further, he said.

“It’s all here but it just needs someone to mix it up,” he said. “That will drive this community even further.”

Falcons exec at IAAPA on upcoming Punta Cana theme park

Marco Santana
-
0
Falcons exec at IAAPA on upcoming Punta Cana theme park

Falcons Beyond has moved beyond building digital content for theme park customers to building its own, full-scale, front-to-back theme park.

Katmandu Punta Cana is the second in a series of theme parks built by the Orlando company and is expected to debut sometime in early 2023.

The high-tech attraction leverages the company’s intellectual property and technological expertise to provide an immersive experience for visitors.

Falcons Executive Vice President of Technology Saham Ali sat down to chat with Orlando Tech News about the park and other topics.

Among the highlights:

  • He dishes on the theme park, which has been in development for several years.
  • The company understood life spans of theme park products are finite so they developed replayability factors into the features they put into their attractions. For example, a personalized experience and gamification of attending a theme park.
  • Coming from a TV/film industry, he’s been excited about the convergence between gaming, TV and entertainment.

You can see the entire interview below.

IAAPA’s return full of big announcements, deals … and bubbles

Marco Santana
-
0
IAAPA’s return full of big announcements, deals … and bubbles

Every year, the theme park industry comes to Orlando for a weeklong visual
tour de force.

This year, for the first time, Orlando Tech News attended with a visuals
team to document the crazy and cool things that we saw on the show floor.

Of course, this is not comprehensive.

Even with a four-day outing to the show, we still missed some things.

It’s that big of a deal.

Now, we will use the material we collected several times on our social media
across the next several months.

However, below, we have a collection of some of the cool scenes we saw at
the Orange County Convention
Center.

Photos by Marco Santana and Steven
Seidman.

 
 
 
 

IAAPA returns to high-energy conference after pandemic slump

Marco Santana
-
1
IAAPA returns to high-energy conference after pandemic slump

When Brandon Naids was a kid, growing up in Central Florida, he wanted to design rollercoasters.

He became a ride operator at Universal Studios and spent time as an engineering intern there.

Now, as a CEO of a company that designs virtual reality experiences, he attends IAAPA every year and is surrounded by leaders in an industry he has always enjoyed.

Of course, among the options his company Talon Simulations offers its virtual riders? A virtual rollercoaster.

“I am always excited when IAAPA comes through,” said Naids, whose booth on the IAAPA floor saw a steady stream of curious visitors.

This year’s version of IAAPA represents the seventh time he has attended the world’s largest theme park industry trade show.

IAAPA returned to the Orange County Convention Center in full force, one year after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted what had been steadily growing attendance figures.

“This really feels like it’s our first IAAPA,” said Naids, noting that the last two years have been rough on the industry. “It’s exciting and the whole vibe has changed.”

Across a 515,000-square-foot exhibit area, more than 10,000 companies saw a resurgent energy, with businesses looking to discover new partnerships or reconnect with old friends.

A walk across the floor showed off the latest in technology in what has become an industry rooted in tech.

Virtual reality spaces, rollercoasters and all sorts of simulators provided the fuel to a buzz that far outpaced that of the last couple of years.

While the show annually serves as a great place for smaller companies to connect with potential clients, the industry’s biggest players usually have a few tricks up their sleeves, as well.

SeaWorld, for example, unveiled its latest ride vehicle, which will be part of its spring 2023 surf coaster “Pipeline.”

Dollywood, meanwhile, announced that it had inked a deal with a design company to unveil custom ride vehicles for the largest attraction in the park’s 36-year-history.

“For me, being able to work in a world like this, you never plan it,” said Derek Blankenship of Orlando-based Jaycon Systems. “It’s kind of like a fantasy. You get to live in a fantasyland and design the technology around what the future of the industry will be.”

Jaycon has built crucial systems for one of the largest themed entertainment companies in the world as well as Virgin Voyages.

The 60-person company employs most of its workers in Melbourne and plans to next year double its Orlando workforce, which right now stands at about 7 people.

A return to pre-pandemic attendance levels at IAAPA offers businesses a boost in several ways, said Saham Ali, vice president of technology for Falcon’s Creative Group in Orlando.

“The energy is back in the air,” he said. “It’s very exciting to see our partners and our friends that we have seen for many years are finally back out.”

“The industry went through some tough times, but our rebound is killer,” he said. “We didn’t get to see some of our friends who were developing very interesting things. We are finally seeing that innovation because they are out here on the floor.”

The appeal of IAAPA is the range of businesses that have a presence on the floor.

It’s essentially a start-to-finish group of industries.

Among the groups sectioned off in the space were food vendors, prize creators and escape rooms.

“This show allows us to see other people in our space and see some things that we perhaps have not thought of,” said Steve Croughan, operations director for Escapology in Orlando. “It’s great to meet them here.”

He attributes the success of his industry, which has seen consistent growth since it emerged in the early 2000s and even more so since the pandemic encouraged people to plan more family outings, to one simple reason.

“It’s escapism, really,” he said. “You feel like a kid again.”

At Synapse, Orlando signals emergence in gaming, VR

Marco Santana
-
0
At Synapse, Orlando signals emergence in gaming, VR

Orlando has long been associated with Mickey Mouse, Universal Studios and all things theme parks, at least from afar.
But as sectors like video games, virtual reality and location-based entertainment grow, so, too, could the idea that Orlando has become more than just a tourist destination.
It could become simultaneously a rising force in technology, meaning its economy could be poised for a hefty surge as more companies and industries dive into these disciplines.
“Orlando has a large concentration of the nerd culture,” said Jason Ambler, president of digital media for Orlando-based Falcon’s Beyond. “That ties into games and building a community of people around the unique aspects of entertainment. That’s a big part of it. It’s special to not only make great entertainment but be innovative in its delivery.”

Synapse brings tech together

The recent Synapse Orlando event had a healthy dose of entertainment-based technology representation from Central Florida.
Ambler took the stage for multiple panels, along with Electronic Arts’ highest-ranking executive based in Orlando Daryl Holt, 302 Interactive CEO Kyle Morrand and Falcon’s Executive Vice President Saham Ali.
The message sent, while not overt, was clear: Orlando tech has depth when it comes to gaming and entertainment tech.
“A lot of this growth happened organically and it has not really been drum beating,” Ambler said. “Up until this point, this community has been looking to support the industry that is here.”
The assets that exist in Orlando appear to add up to a strong showing in themed entertainment technology.
Schools like UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, Full Sail University and the DAVE School specialize, to an extent, in teaching skills related to video game development.
Add in the volume of students in the region, a budding independent video game community and the presence of larger companies like EA and Iron Galaxy and you get a formula that works.
Holt said he has been encouraged by the region’s embrace of The Metaverse, with economic leaders launching an effort to brand the region as “The MetaCenter.”
“It’s an incredible opportunity for us as a community,” Holt said of the power of play and technology. “Play and gaming are the on-ramps to those experiences that will shape the future.”

Gaming can drive economy

Electronic Arts recently unveiled a high-tech downtown Orlando campus that now hosts 1,000 employees, more than 40 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.
To be clear, tourism will never be an afterthought in Central Florida. 
Beyond even the major theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, there is a healthy ecosystem of small- and mid-sized attractions throughout Orlando.
Still, technology based upon virtual reality and other technologies often associated with gaming have the potential to drive Orlando’s economy.
“Where Orlando shines when it comes to gaming technology is its natural integration with a variety of industries to help solve real-world problems,” said Morrand, whose firm uses video game-related skillsets to develop applications and products for companies in sectors like healthcare and entertainment. “Like Walt Disney’s vision for EPCOT Center, as emerging technologies seek to culminate in a cohesive Metaverse, Orlando will continue to be a model of the future for what our industries and communities can become when they work together.”

Leaning into “The MetaCenter”

As Orlando pushes further into its “The MetaCenter” rebrand, the businesses that exist here could adapt and lean into that persona.
Falcon’s, which employs about 100 in the region, has been an example of businesses that can flex and adapt.
While the company’s roots lie in digital experiences, the firm has done more work recently in building physical theme park attractions than it ever has in its 20-plus year run in Orlando.
“We have this convergence of entertainment, tourism and industry here that, when we work together becomes a fairly large community,” Ambler said. “There is a culture of innovation here because we have all of these unique elements in one place.”

Orlando’s MyRadar chosen by NOAA to develop tech to detect wildfires

Marco Santana
-
0
Orlando’s MyRadar chosen by NOAA to develop tech to detect wildfires

An Orlando tech company has joined the battle against wildfires through a new partnership that could put its popular weather app to use.

MyRadar’s app has been downloaded more than 50 million times and has more than 14 million active users.

The company’s partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will allow the firm to develop and demonstrate technology that uses satellite-based information to detect and mitigate wildfires.

The award “allows MyRadar to tailor our satellite-based AI approach to near-fire detection and alerting use cases through laboratory and field data collection,” MyRadar’s Chief Scientist and COO Sarvesh Garimella said in a news release.

The company has a constellation of satellites that will use its onboard artificial intelligence and machine learning to process sensor data, allowing unique forecasting of potential wildfire risks.

Users on the ground can then be alerted to impending wildfires.

MyRadar launched its app in 2008 and has been a leader in the weather space ever since. The company now employs 40 people.

“Ultimately the research being done under the NOAA award will bring improved wildfire resilience to bear to help combat the increasing threat,” said Andy Green, MyRadar’s CEO. “This will allow us to provide life-saving, advance intelligence directly through the MyRadar app to its tens of millions of users as one additional tool to help mitigate the destructive effects of wildfires.”

MyRadar launched three satellites in May.

Synapse CEO: Florida’s regions should keep own identity while collaborating

Marco Santana
-
0
Synapse CEO: Florida’s regions should keep own identity while collaborating

Brian Kornfeld cringes whenever he hears that any ecosystem strives to be the “next Silicon Valley.”

What they should be doing, he said, is capitalizing on their own strengths while building community.

It’s the approach he tries to spread as he builds Synapse Florida, an organization that runs events around the state and will return to Orlando on Friday for the second time.

“Everything is about identity,” Kornfeld said. “What I’ve always loved about Florida is that it tends to be the most authentic state in the country. Keeping our identity and innovative thoughts, leveraging them and using the resources we have here are what will take this community to its max potential.”

As he unwinds from welcoming thousands of innovators, community leaders and entrepreneurs to downtown Orlando on Friday, he chatted briefly with Orlando Tech News, sharing his team’s mission along with a message to those who remain on the fence about engaging the community his team at Synapse is building.

Spoiler alert: He says you should be a part of it.

Q: Thanks for joining me Brian. Give me and my readers an idea of Synapse Florida, why it’s important to the community.

A: Synapse’s mission has always been to make Florida an incredible place to innovate and grow innovative organizations. We want the community to scale, start new companies and hire talent. We focus on the entire state because it just adds so many opportunities and resources together. Florida is a resource-rich state when you think of our university system, talent pipeline and some of the companies that are here.

Q: You have hosted several events in Orlando, including last Friday’s Synapse Orlando event. How important is this community to what you are building at Synapse?

A: Orlando is a big part of that because it’s home to so many of the elements that make up the elements of the Metaverse. We want to spotlight that and get this community engaged locally. We want to give those who are not sure how to engage a first step into opportunities.

Q: Where are we, as a state and community, when it comes to our innovation ecosystem’s growth?

A: A lot of the development that started places like Silicon Valley was done in the 60s and 70s. This takes time. If we can combine efforts and truly act as a community, ask questions like ‘how can I help deliver on collaboration?’ – and not just say we want to – the market will pave its own path. There is no limit to where this can go. For other markets, the future is already scripted. Here, we are in a very cool place because we’re still getting this scripted.

Q: We just had Synapse Orlando. It was phenomenal. What would you say to those who missed out and have hesitated to join this community?

A: Give it one chance. If you don’t [interact], you know exactly what will happen. If you give it a chance, you could open up an opportunity you didn’t realize was there. You might learn something new, meet someone new or find out something you didn’t’ know before.

Q: Finally, what message would you want to share with those who attended?

A: My favorite part of this whole event is not the event days itself. We set this up as a one-day event to propel the community forward for the next 365 days.

Unity, Orlando Economic Partnership unveil digital twin downtown

Marco Santana
-
0
Unity, Orlando Economic Partnership unveil digital twin downtown

A digital representation of Orlando unveiled Wednesday for the first time will help economic leaders recruit businesses by showcasing a tech-forward strategy and the talent that exists here.

However, the high-tech rendering of the city, built by Unity and shown off by the Orlando Economic Partnership, could eventually make commutes for residents shorter, improve their utility service and even save lives during natural disasters.

“That is the grail,” OEP President and CEO Tim Giuliani said.

More than 200 stakeholders collaborated on the project, the first of its kind in the country.

Those same businesses and community members will play a role in providing potential use cases, Giuliani said.

“It’s nice and it’s really cool to have but [use cases are] the real value” of the digital twin, Giuliani said.

The process of creating a digital twin

The project mapped out 800 square miles in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties using 3D technology.

Of those, forty of those have been rendered in high fidelity.

Officials say it’s the largest digital twin in use by an economic development group in the country.

The unveiling showed off what is the first in a five-phase project, which incorporates datasets from multiple sources.

Phase II will launch an online version of the project.

The ‘WOW’ factor

During remarks at the unveiling, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the effort was “mind-blowing.”

“This gives us a big tool to be able to present Orlando in the best light,” he told Orlando Tech News after his presentation. “There is definitely a ‘Wow’ factor at play here. It’s definitely built to impress.”

Digital twins have become more popular in recent years.

Companies have built virtual representations of everything from wind turbines and automobiles to diagnose problems before they happen.

However, this is the first effort to build a digital twin of an entire city.

“The sky is the limit on the digital twin and what we can do with it,” said Electronic Arts’ Orlando-based Vice President and General Manager Daryl Holt. “It’s a virtual time machine, to a certain extent, for the region.”

Holt said the digital twin opens the door for companies and stakeholders to explore potential applications of the technology.

The digital twin aggregates both public and private provided data to build datasets and visualizations that will only grow as the project pushes forward through its phases.

Economic leaders said the use cases are “nearly unlimited.”

“This takes us from something very flat in a PowerPoint to really demonstrating what we have in this region,” said David Adelson, OEP’s chief innovation officer. “We are able to show clusters and show where we have certain segments of industries, or even just transportation or utilities. It really brings our city to life and give a much larger perspective.”

Building Orlando’s reputation as a tech hub

Adelson said the digital twin could enhance the region’s reputation as a tech hub, which could draw jobs and talent.

“This affects us all,” he said. “It can affect how companies relocate here or individuals that want to be a part of this.”

Unity VP of Digital Twin Solutions Callan Carpenter said in a news release that the company was excited to be a part of the collaboration.

“We hope it’ll help companies to better plan for expansion in the future and map out new transit routes to connect Floridians with new jobs in the process,” he said.

Giuliani pointed out in his presentation that the project reached a milestone but that more work remained to be done.

“The vision goes well beyond what we are having here today,” he told the gathered crowd of stakeholders, city leaders and Unity partners. “The idea now is to transform this from a marketing center to Orlando’s digital twin in a way that brings partners in.”

He said the model would be crucial to Orlando landing businesses.

At the same time, it will provide a digital infrastructure that companies in Orlando can build upon.

However, the ultimate goal was to use the digital twin in service of the community through specific use-case scenarios, simulations and disaster-response modeling.

“While that won’t happen next year to know that we can get there is pretty exciting,” he said.

‘I know this is not nothing.’ UCF alum produces cloth material with seaweed

Marco Santana
-
0
‘I know this is not nothing.’ UCF alum produces cloth material with seaweed

Derek Saltzman and Mason Mincey had to break a few eggs before landing on the right ingredient to help them create high-performance material that is both sustainable and environmentally friendly.

They were surprised to find what they were looking for in a naturally occurring plant: seaweed.

“It was exciting to learn that you can make products in a renewable way that don’t suck,” Mincey said. “We were enamored with the concept of using plant-based material like flax or hemp in our previous startup and carried that philosophy over to what we’re building now.”

The discovery led to the creation of their startup, Soarce, which recently finished a program at Lake Nona’s IeAD sports accelerator.

IeAD program aftereffects

As a result of that program, Mincey and Saltzman recently announced that they are seeking manufacturing space in Lake Nona.

A Lake Nona office would be a far cry from the garage that they first discovered the seaweed factor.

It was there they conducted experiments in an air conditioned, zip-up tent, that they compare – at least aesthetically – to a mini-version of the “Breaking Bad” set.

“Once it worked, it was one of those things where I thought, ‘I know this is not nothing,’” said Saltzman, who along with Mincey was part of the second graduating class the UCF Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “We started to see how this could be a successful company.”

BEFORE
AFTER

The path to Soarce has not exactly been smooth sailing.

Both Mincey and Saltzman had launched a drone-related business, having studied aerospace engineering at UCF.

However, three years into the business, they had to shift gears.

They didn’t see a future for the company, despite a stint with the popular program TechStars and collaboration with Red Bull.

“It was one of the lower points in our entrepreneurship journey,” Saltzman said. “We went back to the drawing board.”

“It was demoralizing,” said Saltzman, noting that the company had lost a few employees after having already pivoted from the original idea.

Ever since they turned their attention to Soarce, the company has racked up small wins that have them confident in the idea.

Crucial wins

In 2020, they landed a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

They have since gone through the Lake Nona accelerator and will soon start at Creative Destruction Lab, a nonprofit based in Toronto.

Mincey said dealing with adversity and still receiving support from communities like IeAD have been encouraging.

“It has been humbling as you start to understand what is really required to build a large, successful company,” he said. “It’s not always just about building good technology.”

Saltzman said the mentors he met at IeAD would be gamechangers for the company.

“Being able to communicate with those who have been there, done that and can tell you where the pitfalls are is life-changing,” Saltzman said. “It’s about being a sponge.”

Former SpaceX engineer’s startup punches ticket to Synapse, announces investment

Marco Santana
-
0
Former SpaceX engineer’s startup punches ticket to Synapse, announces investment

It has been a whirlwind 24 hours for former SpaceX engineer Tim Balz, who now leads Melbourne-based Kalogon.

Not only did the company punch a ticket to be a presenter at Synapse Florida next month by impressing a distinguished panel of judges during an event in downtown Orlando Thursday night.

But the company also shared news Friday morning that it had raised $1.9 million for its medical-tech company.

SeedFundersOrlando led the round, with Sawmill Angel Network, venVelo and DeepWork Capital also joining.

Kalogon uses a combination of machine learning and “air cell technology,” which uses air pockets similarly to shock absorbers, in its smart wheelchair cushion design.

The technology aims to increase comfort and blood flow for those using wheelchairs by adjusting the cushion and giving control to users through a mobile app.

“We are on a mission to redesign wheelchair technology to help prevent these injuries and give wheelchair users the freedom to do what they love,” Balz said in a release announcing the investment. “This is the first step in our journey to revolutionize seating for everyone.”

Balz worked for SpaceX’s Dragon, Starship and Falcon 9 projects during a nearly 4-year stint with the space giant previously.

Through federal grants, Kalogon pushed its recent investment total to $3.3 million.

Last year, Kalogon landed a much smaller round of $200,000, which was also led by SeedFundersOrlando.

“They have demonstrated the ability to innovate and rapidly execute and have exceeded expectations,” SeedFundersOrlando CEO Dennis Pape said in the release.

But first, an event win for the team

On Thursday, the Kalogon team participated at the Orlando Economic Partnership’s TenX Tech event downtown.

As part of the event, eight startups met the community and presented to judges who would select a winner.

Kalogon, because of its win, will now have a stage to present at next month’s Synapse Orlando, a fast-growing tech event that returns this year. Orlando startup Overhead Intelligence won a crowd-based vote to also present there.

“Being able to be part of this community has been awesome,” Balz said in an interview with Orlando Tech News. “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate with people who have helped us get here.”

At Thursday’s event, hosted jointly by Orlando Economic Partnership and Orlando Tech Council, Orlando Tech Council chair and Blue Wave Resource Partners CEO and Founder Charlie Lewis said the Synapse tie-in was important to continue pushing the ecosystem forward.

Orlando Economic Partnership’s David Adelson during Thursday’s TenX Tech event in downtown Orlando.

“If your goal is to get funding, find talent and clients then you need to be as connected in this ecosystem as you can be,” he said. “Everyone in the ecosystem will be at Synapse.”

That’s why Christina Drake, CEO of the presenting startup Kismet Technologies, put her business up for consideration at the event.

The company has developed a safe material that provides long-term virus and bactria protections for surfaces, something that became increasingly important during the COVID pandemic.

Drake said the event was more general interest than others she has presented at but that this offered unique opportunities.

“It’s definitely different from a typical show we’d be at because you have a wider range of people here,” she said. “The types of questions you get are different. It makes you think more about your business. It gives you a much different perspective.”

For companies like Kalogon, it also sets up what could be a crucial appearance at Synapse.

“Kalogon’s technology has created an entirely new market in smart seating, with applications in wheelchair mobility and beyond,” said Ben Patz, DeepWork Capital managing partner. “We are thrilled to help get their groundbreaking technology to everyone who needs it.”

1...232425...36Page 24 of 36
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv