Innovation & Tech Today -- Summer 2020

GAMING+ENTERTAINMENT: BEHIND THE MAKING OF THE RIGHT STUFF

■

SUMMER GEAR GUIDE

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BEST OF TECH ZONE

ESSENTIAL

Frontline Workers, Reactive Technologies, and Our New American “Normal”

Streaming is Up, Movie-Going is Down • Upgrade Time? Smart Home Product Guide What’s in Your BackYard Oasis? • HeaLthcare employee Tech • Working remotely revisited

Summer 2020

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FROM THE EDITOR

Joe Toppe, Managing Editor

“ Solutions are born from innovators of each generation — people dedicated to science, humanity, civilization, and improvement.”

New Beginnings No doubt, this summer will be much different for all of us. We’ve been introduced to new words and phrases like COVID-19 and social distancing, we’ve seen Elon Musk, NASA, and Boeing reinvigorate space travel, and we are experiencing national unrest reminiscent of the American civil rights movement 50 years ago.

away sometimes. This summer, many of us will retreat again to our tents along a familiar trail, our cabins, and vacation spots near a mountainside or waterfront. How we do it and what we do while we’re there is being drastically altered by relative technologies built to make each human effort easier and more efficient.

There are now major shifts in industry research and development with an emerging emphasis on medical tech and digital health. Movie-going, grocery shopping, and a thousand other routines are on-hold and will most likely never return to their previous design.

Speaking of change.

But as the old proverb summarized so nicely, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” and whether it is a pandemic, technology, or social inequalities, solutions are born from innovators of each generation — people dedicated to science, humanity, civilization, and improvement.

As Innovation & Tech Today’s newest managing editor, not only am I fascinated by our world’s brightest minds and scientific endeavors, I am also committed to a schooled journalistic integrity and devotion to reporting the truth, objectively.

Even in technological innovation, business, entertainment, and economic development, there is a political intersection and subsequent news more suited to report by the numbers, free of spin and influence. However, we all love valuable information in the form of a good story too, something to pull us away from the daily barrage.

This issue is dedicated to “Essential Workers” guarding the frontlines of the coronavirus. As so many have become sick or died, these folks have hunkered down and gone to work every day.

What technologies and what new innovations are they using to get the job done? What knowledge and scientific applications created as a reaction to this virus will remain? What is diverse enough for use elsewhere in biotech, service, or healthcare?

And at the same time, we all need to unwind and find time for family as well. We just need to get

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

The public office space will never return to what it was before COVID-19. And one can only imagine what air travel will look like in the verynear future. Right now, electronic noses can be installed on commercial jets to sniff out dangerous chemicals, and of course, the coronavirus. Social distancing tools and techniques are updating boardrooms and office kitchens around the globe, while the entire homeexperience is undergoing a digital revolution as the pandemic spiked a mass migration “back to the house” and remote work for positions over a large swath of industries.

What does this mean?

The home office, home entertainment, home gym, and the backyard pool are being outfitted by a rush of fresh start-ups and incumbent manufacturers reacting to the new market.

Gaming and entertainment are also exploding despite it all. The PS5 and Xbox Series X will go head-to-head in 2020 while esports is reaching new heights — as most major sports leagues remain shut down.

At Innovation & Tech Today, we are dedicated to STEM, sustainability, and award-winning content.

As this publication’s managing editor, I am committed to not only our work and products, but our team and vision. I look forward to bringing our readers the best in innovation and technology in this issue and many more to come.

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SINCE LAST ISSUE

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Charles Warner cwarner@goipw.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shane Brisson shane@goipw.com

WHERE DO WE START? Since we celebrated our five-year-anniversary edition at Innovation & Tech Today, we have all been changed forever by the COVID-19 pandemic. In our last issue, we got to speak with Neil DeGrasse Tyson about the cosmos, Michio Kaku told us why he thought toilets can detect cancer, and we learned about harvesting water from thin air using solar energy.

Today, how we shop, entertain ourselves, or go to work is being shaped by not only the coronavirus, but the subsequent technologies born out of necessity. Nearly everything has changed. The way we travel, meet in public, or even pick up lunch is undergoing a revolution in standards and protocol.

While many things have changed or been put on hold since the spring, annual conferences like Collision and Outdoor Retailer kicked off the virtual event era, our sister publication, Cannabis & Tech Today, won an award for best niche podcast, and Innovation & Tech Today brought on a new managing editor.

We’ve also been beefing up our online content with a variety of new writers covering everything from gaming and entertainment to sustainability, automotive, and business. Our e-newsletter runs twice per week showcasing the latest in technology and innovation from around the world.

Whether it is 3D printing applications in healthcare, lightweight materials in aircraft construction, or the latest in gaming, we not only have the bandwidth to increase our digital footprint between print issues, we have connections to the decision-makers to ensure our content is not only accurate but directly from the brands and personalities that matter.

MANAGING EDITOR

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ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Patricia Miller

GAMING EDITOR

John Gaudiosi

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HEALTH TECH EDITOR

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TECH ZONE EDITOR

Robert Yehling

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Steve Broback Kayla Matthews Alex Moersen Jennifer Oladipo Monica Stockbridge

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

contents

SUMMER 2020

COVER STORY 18 Innovator Profile Essential Workers and 5 Technologies Keeping Them Safe

By Kayla Matthews Cover Model: Jennifer Oladipo Cover Photo: Joe Toppe for Innovative Properties Worldwide, Inc.

Departments 8 Event Wrap-Ups 10 By the Numbers 12 Quick Bytes 14 Dent Files 16 The New Office 84 Product Revolution 86 The State of Events | Coming Next Issue 88 Lighter Side

20 Connected Car The Post-Pandemic Automotive World

24 Outdoor+Adventure Tech Getting Around Will Not Be the Same 26 Gear Guide

28 Health Tech Quarantine Tech

32 Gaming+Entertainment Aiming for Space — and Our Higher Potential: Behind the Making of The Right Stuff 36 Next Generation Gaming Takes Flight 40 Not Coming to a Theater Near You

42 Connected Life Make Your Home Work for You 46 COVID-19 and the Emerging Backyard Oasis 50 Smart Home Product Guide Photo: National Geographic/Gene Page

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

contents

SUMMER 2020

52 Tech Zone: The Best Of Tech Zone

Courtesy of Tesla

Courtesy of r.cup

54 S anta Clarita’s Smart Approach to Tech and Growth 56 M oreno Valley Brings Manufacturing to the Inland Empire 58 Choose Flagstaff: The City of Innovation 60 N ew Mexico Lures Companies with Diverse Business Landscape 62 G rand Junction: Merging Tech with Distributed Workforce 64 Michigan’s Auto Industry Surges Forward 66 F ayetteville-Cumberland’s Recipe for Growth: Festive, Young, and Tech-Savvy 68 H enderson County’s Trails, Tourism, and Innovation 70 S ecuring Homes and Businesses — and People 72 C ybersecurity Highlights FloridaWest’s Growth Plan 74 S hreveport Building for a Post-COVID-19 Economy

76 Sustainability Today Produced in Partnership with Sustainable Brands

Redefining Live Events, One Reusable Cup at a Time

80 STEM Today

Produced in Partnership with the USA Science & Engineering Festival

The School Reopening Dilemma 82 D BW Returns With Packed Online Conference Agenda SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

7

Event Wrap-Ups

Collision From Home While the coronavirus pandemic nearly erased the entire 2020 event schedule, Collision from Home pressed forward in 2020 by taking its inviteonly event online.

Collision 2020’s virtual event provided one on one opportunities for guests to talk with speakers like Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.

Already boasted as North America’s fastest-growing tech conference, Collision ran from June 23-25 and featured more than 600 speakers ranging from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Yorker Editor David Remnick, to former athletes turned entrepreneurs like Terrell Owens and Rob Gronkowski.

The unique virtual conference saw over 32,000 attendees from 140 different countries worldwide. Of the attendees, 45.2% were female while over 1,000 start-ups from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and everywhere across the globe made an appearance, Collision reported.

Zack O’Malley Greenburg and Paris Hilton take part in Collision 2020 Q and A.

Designed as a two-screen experience — using the web app on your computer and a mobile app in your hand, the online event also featured media roundtables, Q and A’s, workshops, press conferences, and a live networking venue where attendees could meet and speak with a multitude of other visitors one on one.

The mobile app was created as a lightweight assistant and event companion, which helped attendees plan the event and network. Attendees found it valuable to discover people and companies, start conversations using the chat feature, and schedule meetings.

While the COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly reshape many aspects of the traditional event for years to come, the 2021 Collision event is slated for June 21-24, at Toronto’s Enercare Centre and will showcase an exhibition floor, onstage sessions, roundtables, and Night Summit events for free. ■

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

In addition to industry speakers, former pro athletes like Terrell Owens used the Collision online platform to discuss his entrepreneurial endeavours in life after the NFL.

Event attendees were privy to moderated roundtables including a variety of noted personalities like Lori Lightfoot and John Tory.

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COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders created one of the strangest events of this century. In a world devoid of human activity and contact, many of us were forced to reach the outside world via screens. To understand just how significant those first few months of "shelter-in-place" were, we can easily take a look at the stats pertaining to the two things that most of us were doing: Zoom-chatting our friends and coworkers and streaming content. With major surges on many platforms, the effects of COVID-19, both positive and negative, will likely persist for years to come.

Business is Zooming

Source: businessofapps.com

Zoom Peak Daily Meeting Participants 300 Million+

300 300300

Zoom Monthly Active Users

Zoom Daily Downloads 2.5M 2.5M 2.5M

151515 12.9 Million

250 250250

2.0M 2.0M 2.0M

121212

~10.7 Million

200 Million+

200 200200

2.13 Million 1.7 Million

9 9 9 ~8.7 Million

1.5M 1.5M 1.5M

666

1.0M 1.0M 1.0M

333

500K 500K 500K

000

000

150 150150 100 100100 505050 ~10 Million

000

Dec. 2019

March 2020

April 2020

Zoom revenue is projected to

2018

2019

Feb. 2020

56,000 Jan. 2020

$36 in April 2019 to $150 in April 2020,

a 318% growth.

$622.7 million this year.

The Latest Revenue Stream

Source: www.forbes.com

Estimated

Netflix Originals by Viewership (January 2020-April 2020) Netflix

Spenser Confidential – 84 million

expected 7 million new subscribers from January 2020 to April 2020.

They actually received

Tiger King – 64 million

15.77 million Source: www.theguardian.com

Love is Blind – 30 million 20

40

60

80 Source: www.theguardian.com

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

March 2020

Zoom stock grew from its IPO listing of

nearly

double in 2020, from $330.5 million in 2019 to

0

Feb. 2020

100

Internet usage up

50-70% in May 2020 since stay-at-home orders were issued, while general streaming jumped by

12%.

$11 billion losses for the movie industry, with a

15-25% drop

in TV advertising.

Source: www.forbes.com

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Bird Brains

You Can’t See What a Hummingbird Sees We’ve all watched them flutter over a flower through the window. We’ve seen them dart and zig-zag like carpenter bees while foraging. What we didn’t know until recently is hummingbirds are not only masters of acrobatics in flight, their eyes can see more colors than the rainbow, perceiving a spectrum beyond that of human vision.

A study by the National Academy of Sciences revealed birds have four color cone types in their eyes, compared to just three in humans. According to the data, this should allow birds to discriminate a broad range of colors, including colors outside the light spectrum.

Researchers say when broad-tailed hummingbirds look at objects like plants and bird plumage, they see colors that we do not. Colors outside the classic rainbow may account for one-third of what hummingbirds see around them.

It’s thought the hummingbird’s ability to survey such a colorful range might be especially vital because colors outside the spectrum of light are common in both the plumage and plants of a hummingbird’s environment.

(Top) An artist’s interpretation of a baby mosasaur emerging from an egg just moments after it was laid. The scene is set in the shallow waters of Late Cretaceous Antarctica. In the background, mountains are covered in vegetation due to a warm climate. In the upper right, an alternative hypothesis for egg-laying is depicted, with the mosasaur laying an egg on the beach. (Right) A side view of the fossil of the giant egg.

Top Image: John Maisano/The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. Bottom Image: Legendre et al. (2020)

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

As it turns out, we have more in common with our feathered friends than you may have first thought. Just as we spend years under the nurturing arms of our parents until we feel steady enough on our own two feet to leave the nest, so too does a certain type of bird – minus the “years” thing. But corvids, a group of birds including ravens, jays, and crows spend considerable time under the watchful eyes of their parents before stretching their wings on their own.

Photo: iStockphoto.com

How Do You Like Your Eggs?

Scrambled? Fried? Sunny-side up?

What about fossilized and the first of its kind?

Researchers from the University of Konstanz say the unique strategy among animals and extended tutelage from their parents may explain why corvids are so smart. The birds are large, bigbrained, and often live in close-knit social groups of related and unrelated individuals. They are known for their cleverness and can use tools, recognize human faces, and even understand physics.

In fact, some researchers think a crows’ mental capacity is greater than that of the apes.

Scientists now say a strange fossil found in Antarctica almost 10 years ago is an egg that likely came from a large aquatic animal similar to the Loch Ness Monster. “The Thing,” as it is lovingly referred to by scientists, is a fossilized, soft-shelled egg — the biggest discovery of its kind. According to researchers from the University of Texas, it is the first egg uncovered on the continent and dates at around 66-million-years-old.

Since the egg’s discovery in 2011, its origin had puzzled researchers who likened it to a deflated football. The unusual fossil measured about 11 inches long and 7 inches wide. Through microscopic analysis, they were able to finally confirm the fossil was actually an ancient egg.

Scientists also analyzed the body size of 260 living reptiles and compared them to their egg sizes. Estimates show the animal capable of laying the egg found in Antarctica would have been over 20 feet long.

Photos: iStockphoto.com

Photo: iStockphoto.com

Croczilla Perhaps you thought crocodiles crawling on four short legs just above the mud was menacing enough? Now, imagine them standing up and chasing you down on two legs.

Photo: iStockphoto.com

Why an Astronaut Should be Quiet as a Mouse If we are ever going to travel to the stars, our astronauts will need to enter hibernation cycles to avoid the negative impacts of microgravity during long treks through space. They will also need to conserve as much food and water as possible.

This isn’t just nightmare fuel, researchers from the University of Colorado say fossilized footprints found in South Korea show proof that over the 200 million years crocodiles have roamed the earth, they didn’t always do it so close to the ground. In fact, scientists originally believed these types of footprints were made by a flying reptile, but new evidence has convinced researchers they belonged to a bipedal crocodile, an animal that walked on two legs because it was semi-adapted to land.

The Birds, the Bees, the Drones?

Roboticists from the University of Auckland used a toy bubble gun to blow pollen-laden bubbles on the flowers of three trees in a pear orchard.

After 16 days, the subsequent fruit was just as ripe and full as those pollinated by hand.

FUN FACT! A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

One print cited in the study was measured at 18 to 24 centimeters long and suggests the croc’s body was nearly 10 feet long. A 2015 study proved a crocodylomorpha lived in North Carolina 230 million years ago. The crocodile used blade-like teeth to kill prey and researchers named it Carnufex carolinensis, or the “Carolina Butcher.”

What does this mean?

Scientists say not only do the pollenladen soap bubbles exhibit various biological and physicochemical properties that allow effective flower pollination, but a flying robot equipped with a bubble maker can also be used for large-scale autonomous work.

By activating a certain group of brain cells, Japanese scientists from the University of Tsukuba have been able to trigger a hibernationlike state in mice. According to the research, animals that don’t naturally sleep through the winter are capable of hibernation, even humans.

Pesticides, land clearing, and climate change have interfered with natural pollination by bees and other insects, which is an essential, biological process for nearly 75% of the global crop species.

But hibernation isn’t just falling asleep for a long time, it is an instrument for animals to slow their metabolism and lower their body temperature when food becomes scarce and winter sets in. The sleeping animals are even capable of quieting their brains and slowing their heart rate and breathing.

Scientists say humans may have similar brain cells that can also be manipulated to trigger a hibernation-like state. The hope is one day humans will be able to enter hibernated states for missions to Mars and beyond.

While hand pollination has been an effective method in use since antiquity, the application demands heavy labor to manually apply the pollen grains to all flowers. In fact, human application involves the tedious use of cotton swabs or a small brush.

Photo: iStockphoto.com

In the near future, scientists anticipate using a drone and soap bubbles for large-scale pollination.

SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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DEPARTMENTS / DENT Files

Of Poker and Pandemics

By Steve Broback

I, along with our Dent community members, had the good fortune to participate in a conversation recently with author Maria Konnikova. She has a Ph.D. in psychology and is the author of two New York Times bestsellers: Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes and The Confidence Game. In addition, she’s authored scores of articles for The New Yorker on psychology and science.

Her latest book is The Biggest Bluff of All: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win. The book is notable in that while researching her original thesis (the synthesis of luck vs skill using poker as a model for real-life), she found herself immersed in a new career: professional poker player. Entering tournaments to better understand the world of poker, Konnikova quickly became a consistent winner. A turning point was when she won first place in a PokerStars tournament, taking in $84,000. At that point, her transition to pro was well underway. So far her total winnings exceed $300,000.

During her chat with us, which focused on how her expertise in psychology could assist people struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, a large amount of her guidance was anchored in poker-related themes. It soon became clear that much of the book’s title (“Pay Attention, Master Myself ”) was highly also relevant to helping her deal with being a New Yorker in a small apartment during an extended pandemic lockdown.

As it goes with successful poker players, Konnikova asserts that there is no one best way to play a hand and there is no “one size fits all” approach to coping with stress. It is up to each individual to execute on their own set of techniques and strategies for coping. She does have a few general approaches that she feels will help many people who are dealing with uncertainty and stress be more productive and able to cope.

Konnikova says it’s key to focus on what really matters. Now is the time to cut out unnecessary distractions and stressors that don’t have long-

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

Photo: Neil Stoddart/Poker Stars

term relevance. In the chapter “Texting Your Way Out of Millions,” she discusses how unnecessary exterior stimuli (like texting) inhibit one’s poker play. She suggests that trying to go completely offline for extended periods can reduce mental clutter.

Compartmentalizing can be a useful approach, or “selective forgetting,” as Sherlock Holmes used to control his mind.

What can be eliminated is the things you have no control over. Focus on what you do control, things like: what you pay attention to, how you respond to events, and how you take out your stress. Writing things in a journal has been a help to Konnikova. As items repeatedly come to mind, documenting them helps prevent them from re-emerging as a nagging background mental process.

Another way to help eliminate mental chatter is through meditation. Even without training, simply closing your eyes and focusing only on your breathing for 5-10 minutes can be very effective in clearing your head.

Regardless of which techniques or tactics you employ, remember that you are in control of how you process — and act on — uncertainty and risk. In life as well as in tournament poker play, we are all in a high-stakes game of incomplete information. ■

DEPARTMENTS / The New Office

The New Office How the pandemic is reshaping the work space

By Joe Toppe Photos: iStockphoto.com

Innovation in office technologies and distance communication were already revolutionizing the American work experience before the COVID19 pandemic put ‘leaving the house’ on-hold.

market, Life and Safety’s Lobby Safe software is also an entrance screening tool providing customizable, modular solutions with off-theshelf options.

While many prepare for a return to work outside the home, the coronavirus will demand social distancing techniques and an improved option for remote work from many others.

Before the virus, “many companies did not use or consider health screening processes for employees and visitors,” Nathan Bennett said, VP of Technology at Life and Safety Consultants Inc., a company specializing in OSHA compliance and cutting-edge safety tools.

While using facial recognition, thermal imaging, and badge printing to make the process as efficient, automated, and touchless as possible, Bennett said “our technology can also integrate with any office or manufacturing facility.”

Roger Throckmorton, Chief Brand Officer at International Plastics, said it is vital American manufacturing function at high levels during this unprecedented time.

“If a facility did use a screening process, it was likely a digital receptionist tool used to inform visitors of the company’s safety procedures, violence prevention measures, or their visitation policies,” he said.

Now, mitigating health risks is not only the chief concern of businesses around the globe, it appears a high item agenda for the federal government and health organizations as well.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Equal Employment Opportunity, and the White House are now backing symptoms and temperature screening at businesses. In fact, certain states require employers to conduct regular temperature checks.

Today, “for the safety of employees and business continuity, we’re asking people health questions and taking their temperature before allowing them entry into our facilities,” Bennett said.

In addition to no-contact screening technologies being templated throughout the

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

A recent CBRE study showed 82% of companies are preparing space-use policies in line with social distancing strategies, while 61% expect to reconfigure their furniture layouts.

As many remain home, “business must go on while implementing new workflow patterns, entry screening processes, and spacing techniques to ensure not only the health of employees but our economy by keeping production on schedule,” he said.

Whether it is height adjustable furniture, social distancing techniques, or natural lighting options, there is a renewed vigor for workplace quality of life.

For most positions, remote work is quickly becoming a long-term solution as modern enterprise video communications improve the efficiency of their platforms.

“There are sit-stand converters for home or office desks,” said Corey Porteous at Office Interiors in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A Zoom spokesperson told Innovation & Tech Today, “during the COVID-19 epidemic, we evolved into the primary medium for any and nearly all business and social interaction.”

“While adjustable furniture has trended for years, office workers forced home spiked the popularity of portable converters,” he said. “The kitchen table is not a feasible workstation for an extended time.”

Additionally, mobile printing apps, unified communication tools, biophilia, and natural lighting options are on the rise.

Porteous said providing people, “not just executives,” access to natural light and views of plant life can make a staff less-stressed, more productive, and creative.

“This company’s solutions are aimed at organizations ranging from SMBs to global enterprises, spanning both the private and public sectors — from education, finance, government, and healthcare.”

Moving forward, social distancing strategies and remote work options will multiply daily, and while experts predict the coronavirus pandemic will subside, there will be residual policies and technologies in place for a long time to come. ■

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innovator profile

Essential Workers and 5 Technologies Keeping Them Safe

By Kayla Matthews

Frontline medical workers like doctors and nurses have received justifiable praise during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are also many others along the frontlines putting themselves at risk every time they clock in.

Some are retail workers, cashiers at the grocery stores, restaurant staff, and factory workers.

Others are care, sanitation, or health support workers in nursing homes, shelters, and hospitals.

delivery and pick up a little simpler, which can help reduce the number of customers in-store and further help these frontline workers. While it’s not clear if cash and cards spread COVID19, there is strong evidence enclosed spaces like restaurants and grocery stores contribute to the spread of the virus. Cutting down on the time customers spend in-stores and providing options so they never have to come inside can help keep workers safe.

These workers face serious health risks every day and have pushed researchers and businesses to develop new tech — while finding ways to apply existing technology — to keep them all safe.

While not popular pre-COVID-19, these offerings may become the new norm for retailers of all kinds, even after the pandemic has ended. Many major retailers have already adopted the tech. There are also signs retailers plan to keep contactless payment and pickup options available.

These five technologies are helping keep frontline workers safe and healthy — and they are likely to have major long-term impacts, even after the pandemic has ended.

Contactless and Mobile Payment Technology Brick-and-mortar retailers expanded available payment options to keep workers safe.

Contactless payment options have increased, likely because customers are less comfortable handling cash and using keypads on credit card readers.

18

Wearable Tech Wearables are worn devices that collect and transfer information. Most are familiar with these devices in the form of fitness-tracking smart wristbands and smartwatches.

Right now, researchers and businesses are finding ways to repurpose these popular consumer devices to prevent the spread of the virus.

Using these methods, customers can simply tap their phone or another smart device on the card reader to complete payment. Cashiers and servers are not required to handle a card or paper money.

New wearables, like those developed by Proxxi, a Vancouver start-up known for designing gadgets to keep electrical workers safe is now helping workers across the board maintain six feet of distance while on the job.

The payment methods also make contactless

Other devices, like the Covid Radius and

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

Estimote, fill a similar niche. These wearables are likely to be the most helpful for construction and factory workers trying to maintain distance from coworkers while on the job.

Researchers at West Virginia University and the University of California at San Francisco say wearable tech can spot coronavirus symptoms before you even realize you are sick. In addition, the researchers are repurposing consumer wearable tech like Fitbits to detect early signs of COVID-19.

Early detection, if followed by self-quarantine, is one of the best ways to help keep workers safe.

This is especially true for retail and restaurant workers, who are in close contact with large numbers of potential COVID-19 carriers every day.

Remote Patient Monitoring Technology Remote patient monitors are not new, but their use has expanded massively over the past few months, primarily in response to COVID19. These solutions can allow doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators to track patient health while minimizing contact.

Hospitals like Circolo Hospital in Northern Italy are using robot nurses equipped with patient monitors, video screens, and cameras to observe patient health. The features also allow quarantined patients to remotely stay in contact with doctors and family members.

Robots developed by software maker UiPath Inc. can sort and distribute test results from a

Photo: iStockphoto.com

Photo: iStockphoto.com

Photo: iStockphoto.com

hospital’s on-site lab in minutes, enabling staff to quickly put infection prevention and control measures in place where necessary.

Hospitals and businesses around the country are adopting the tech to improve sanitation procedures.

The robots can even allow caseworkers and therapists at nursing homes to converse with residents remotely, which reduces their risk of catching the virus. The robots can also deliver packages and food items to residents while continuing to reduce contact between residents and on-site care workers.

Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, Al. has adopted a UV light-based cleaning system in response to the coronavirus. The system uses the light to render bacteria and viruses inert and is capable of disinfecting hardto-reach places without the use of harsh chemicals.

Telehealth services — like HIPAA-compliant teleconferencing tech — have also enabled front-line doctors and nurses to follow-up with patients without an in-person visit.

While the devices cannot sanitize rooms by themselves, meaning sanitation workers will still need to do the work of wiping down surfaces and high-touch areas, they do help to ensure rooms are as clean as possible.

This technology can protect both doctors and patients recovering from COVID-19. For example, if a patient were recovering from the virus and took a turn for the worse after being discharged from the hospital, doctors would be able to intervene quickly thanks to telehealth technology, which includes a remote blood pressure monitoring wearable.

UV/Contactless Sanitation Contactless sanitation tech uses ultraviolet light to clean surfaces and kill bacteria and viruses, including those that cause COVID-19.

They may also help the hospital’s environmental services staff stay healthy.

Orlando Demoss, the department’s director, said of the hospital’s 52 sanitation workers, “not one has missed work because of COVID-19 or called out because of it”.

Artificial Intelligence/Big Data Analysis Of all existing tech, AI has probably been applied the most widely to help doctors, public health officials, and front-line workers manage exposure to COVID-19. AI has also been used

to help public health officials forecast the spread of the virus and how quickly cases grow.

A study conducted by the California Institute for Infectious Disease showed new AI models are helping them to forecast the spread of the virus. Researchers claim the tech has also been used to help radiologists find signs of COVID19 in CT scans, allowing for quicker and more accurate diagnoses.

Chinese tech giant, Baidu, created an AIpowered fever screening tool that can scan the body temperatures of up to 200 people a minute without disrupting foot traffic. The system is currently being used in railway stations, hospitals, and government buildings across China.

AI is also powering new self-driving delivery vehicles as their popularity has surged while social distancing became the norm. The vehicles may also help reduce contact between restaurant staff, delivery drivers, and customers.

It is likely COVID-19 will continue to be a threat through the rest of the year, if not longer.

For the foreseeable future, this technology will remain crucial in protecting vulnerable frontline workers. ■

SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

19

CONNECTED CAR

The Post-Pandemic Automotive World Everything Changes While Everything Goes Back to Normal

By Michael Coates

Courtesy of Carvana

While we won’t know the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the auto industry for some time, we know it’s already changed the way the entire business works, and many of those changes look like they’re going to stick.

chats were offered, and virtual transactions

As sales dropped, people stayed home, and most retail dealers closed, online auto sales companies like Carvana and Vroom, with “touchless” delivery methods, boomed.

we’ve accelerated our plan to make this a

Automakers and their dealerships developed their own contactless car buying to compete.

Sanitized vehicles were picked up and dropped off at homes for test drives, walk-around video

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

without the dreaded trip to the F&I office became the new norm.

“Planning to implement this technology began two years ago but since the pandemic took hold, permanent tool for our dealers,” said Anthony Bandmann, president and CEO of VW Credit.

The only question remaining is — will people want to go back to the old way? Once you had a “Shop. Click. Drive.” (GM’s response to the disruption) and you’re happy with your deal and car, why would you do it any other way?

This raises the question of whether the historic dealer franchise system may finally be challenged, not only by newcomers like Tesla but by the dealers themselves. On the other hand, a recent survey by MAX Digital found 85% of consumers were still comfortable with the traditional dealership car buying process if enhanced safety precautions are taken.

Getting Cars Made Even though he pushed local authorities to reopen his Fremont, California plant, Elon Musk admitted in an email to employees’ that production and supply chain issues were slowing the ramp-up of critical Model Y

Electric Car Charging Safety Some of the best-selling EV Charging Stations are not safety-tested and certified

A

fter deciding to buy a plug-in electric vehicle, often the next decision is to purchase a Level 2 charging station for faster charging at home. The technical name as defined in the National Electric Code for these products is EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment), commonly called charging stations.

Safety might not be the first consideration when selecting a charging station, but safety is actually the most important thing to consider. The primary function of a plug-in vehicle charging station is to provide electrical safety for the operator and electrical infrastructure throughout the charging process and specifically to address the risks of fire and electric shock.

The good news is charging an electric vehicle is actually very safe and easy when done with proper, independently safety-certified equipment. The challenge is that not all charging stations on the market are independently safety tested and certified.

When a charging station manufacturer develops a new product, or makes even a minor change to an existing product, they should send samples to a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), such as Intertek (ETL mark) or Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL mark). Safety engineers at these labs perform months of extensive safety testing that the products must pass before they can be safety certified and made available to the public for sale. Only products with these marks appearing on the manufactured product’s rating plate are safety certified.

Look for these (ETL or UL) certification marks on the station itself when shopping for a charging station:

Do a quick experiment in your own home: look around at the electrical appliances purchased from a reputable source and you will see they are all marked with a safety label. If you find a product that plugs into the wall that is not marked, you might want to consider not using it.

Be Cautious of These Things:

Deceptive Markings - Some manufacturers use officiallooking marks such as the CE logo. If you only see a CE mark then the product has not been independently certified. CE is a self-certifying mark and it should not be trusted in the US, Canada, and Mexico. A CE mark in addition to the UL or ETL mark is acceptable.

Do NOT use a product that only has a CE mark.

Uncertified Products are being sold by what seems like a reputable seller - Buying the product from what seems to be a reputable seller doesn’t mean the charging station has been safety certified. Most large home improvement retailer stores like Lowes and Home Depot have standards in place that require NRTL certification for electrical appliances. However, there are online retailers, such as Amazon, direct sellers, and sources from outside the United States that DO carry and sell unlisted products.

Deceptive Claims - When selecting a charging station, if you are unsure about the NRTL certification status of a product, reach out to the product supplier and ask them to provide confirmation that the product you are interested in is NRTL (UL or ETL) certified.

Non-Grounded Plugs - If you are purchasing a plug-in charging station, NEVER buy a station with a NEMA 10-30 or 10-50 plug. The NEMA 10-30 and NEMA 10-50 style outlets do not have an earth ground connection.

There is NO possibility that a charging station delivered with one of these plugs is properly NRTL safety certified.

One of the key safety functions of a charging station is providing an earth ground connection to the vehicle.

This assures the vehicle body is safely grounded during charging.

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production. It was also reported some returning line workers had contracted the coronavirus, further complicating a return to production.

Other automakers reopened plants, only to have employees show signs of the virus, which in some cases led to temporary shutdowns. At Kia’s Georgia plant, the company deployed high-tech scanners from Seek Thermal to check employees as they entered the building.

They’ve deployed two and plan to add eight more. The company said: “They [the scanners] have also been a morale booster for team members, providing comfort as the first process when preparing to enter through our turnstiles.”

Courtesy of Seek Thermal

Others have redesigned work areas to allow for social distancing and changed work schedules to keep interactions of employees down. It remains to be seen what kind of impact this has on the bottom line.

Getting a car made became harder this year because of the stoppage caused by the novel coronavirus, but new model development and introductions also took a hit. Lincoln dropped its planned Rivian-derived electric crossover, GM delayed the intro of its GMC Hummer EV and Tesla pushed back the intro of its Semi for a year. Media introductions continue virtually, but the pace has slowed.

The disruption is thorough and looks like it will be long-lasting. The upside is cars may end up being easier to buy, but the downside is they may end up being more expensive because of changes in the manufacturing process.

Things may return to normal, but they will never be the same. ■

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

Courtesy of VW

Courtesy of Tesla

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Getting Around Will Not Be the Same

The Future of Travel Post COVID-19

By Michael Coates

Let’s stipulate at the outset — we can’t and will not try to predict the future. That said, in the middle of this pandemic is as good a time as any to figure out what life will be like when it’s over. Let’s look at travel — how we’ll get around when restrictions are finally lifted and life returns to what we’ll call, for now, the “new normal.”

Big Picture Issues Analysts who follow the oil industry have an interesting and potentially earth-changing observation. Rystad Energy, an independent research and business intelligence firm, looking at news, trends, and the impacts of COVID-19, predicted while demand for oil will rebound post-pandemic, peak demand will hit later in the decade as transportation shifts to electric drive and renewable energy continues to gain ground.

Airbnb Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky told Axios in an interview he felt global travel may never fully recover from the impact of COVID-19. In his vision of the near future, he expects more travel by people within their own countries, possibly for longer stays.

Air Travel & Remote Work If the Airbnb exec is correct, air travel may see the biggest impact. Airlines have already been hit hard by the pandemic, although they’ve also benefited from some generous grants and loans to ease the pain.

Airline industry analysts noted it took six years for the industry to fully recover after 9/11. That was without the fear that any fellow traveler might be carrying a deadly disease.

Business travel often involves not only sitting on a packed airplane, elbow-to-elbow with your

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

fellow travelers, but in-door meetings, conferences full of handshakes and tightly packed receptions, and vertical travel on crowded elevators — all no-nos during the pandemic that will have a lingering negative aftertaste.

Business travel also typically can involve car rentals, another area we know will be seeing changes. Hertz declared bankruptcy as the pandemic unfolded, dropping employees and vehicles and causing reverberations in the auto industry. As with other travel-related industries, the recovery for car rentals is likely to be long and drawn out with potentially more casualties along the way. With new protocols for cleaning

cars, but fewer employees, the customer experience is likely to suffer for some time.

Companies will be making big financial decisions now. If a business has kept on pace with workers operating remotely and meetings taking place over Zoom, are the expenses of large offices and hefty travel budgets justified?

Upwork CEO Hayden Brown told Forbes, typical of many tech companies, “all employees will work remotely by default,” adding teams will be able to come together when offices reopen. Others were more direct about the longterm impact — Twitter and Square bluntly said all employees will have the permanent option of telework.

and many would not return to previous service levels. Samsara found in their surveys transit ridership appears stabilized at around 35% of pre-COVID-19 levels even as cities and states reopened.

Ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft have already taken a hit, and if these surveys are believed, will not be coming back in full force. Both companies and others are hard at work developing autonomous versions of their services, but they may also encounter a backlash if people question the cleaning protocols.

Microtransit Electric bikes and scooters surged in popularity prior to the arrival of the novel coronavirus and skidded during the pandemic. Layoffs and pullbacks were seen around the world as ridership dropped, which coincided with increased Sea cruises may take some time to rebound, though many lines are already accepting reservations for 2021. More people are turning to bicycling as an investor skepticism in the alternative form of mobility as the public transportation sector has suffered from business models of some of the the pandemic. San Francisco alone has cut 40 of its 68 bus lines, according to the companies. Some moves during San Francisco Chronicle. the pandemic may aid the return of micromobility — street a sensor and analytics company, also found Sea Cruises closures, car-free zones, and expanded bike speeding increased by 20% during the pandemic Ocean cruises are already carrying an image lanes. It remains to be seen how the shift from as regular traffic thinned out. backlash from early in the pandemic when they transit, a return to private cars, and the shift to were pinpointed as Petri dishes for the Some on-road traffic increased as former working from home plays into the future for this coronavirus to spread exponentially. Cruise line transit riders quit buses and subways where kind of last-mile transportation. Early indicators companies took major hits and essentially have social distancing was more difficult, and are promising as industry reports showed a written off much of the year. That said, most cleanliness was suspect and shifted to personal strong resurgence of bike and scooter sharing in lines are accepting reservations for next year’s cars. The IBM Institute for Business Value both China and Italy as the impact of the virus cruises and are finding takers, especially since surveyed consumers when travel was restricted receded. they are typically offering reduced rates to and found 53% of respondents who regularly Destinations entice folks to return. used public transportation indicated they would Travel is all about where you’re going and how either reduce use or discontinue use of transit The Future of Mobility you’re getting there. The choices of postand other mobility services like taxis and rideDuring COVID-19’s sojourn, personal cars COVID-19 will be more complex. In addition hailing. have undergone a role change. While to cost and time considerations, consumers will commuting was once a primary task, cars now Transit agencies have been reeling from the now be factoring in cleaning protocols and the sit in the driveway with nowhere to go for work lack of riders, bleeding cash, and reacting by proximity of other passengers if they have to or pleasure. Anecdotally, stories have circulated cutting back on service. For example, San share space to get to a destination. While the of people using their cars as an escape from Francisco’s transportation chief Jeffrey Tumlin “new normal” will have some similarity to the quarantine. Car parades for graduations or old ways, it looks like we’ll be traveling told the San Francisco Chronicle 40 of the city’s differently for some time. ■ 68 bus lines have been cut during the pandemic birthdays have become commonplace. Samsara, SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Fossil Hybrid Smartwatch HR Collider – This watch is the perfect marriage of yesterday’s sleek style with today’s contemporary functions including an alarm clock, email, text, and social media alerts. The watch is also Bluetooth Smart enabled, features heart rate tracking, is waterresistant, and has three weeks of battery life. $195

Rovr Rollr 45 – Engineered with a unique design optimized for maximal cooling, this cooler on wheels is not only bearresistant, but it can also store 60 cans and 10lbs of ice without the Deep Freeze dry bin installed.

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Vanco PulseAudio Indoor/ Outdoor Speaker with Bluetooth Technology – The backyard party is seeing a revolution. Why not entertain yourself and your guests this summer with a PulseAudio’s wireless Bluetooth speaker. Not only is it water, weather, and UV resistant, making it perfect for outdoor use, the 2.1 audio speaker system with 8-inch woofer provides deep bass and 360 degrees of commanding, superior sound with a broadcast range of 150-ft. $525

The Original Rumpl Puffy Outdoor Blanket – This blanket is packable, portable, and can go everywhere. Using a ripstop shell and insulation made from 100% recycled materials, it’s warm, durable, and sustainable.

The Puffy blanket features corner loops, DWR finish for stain and water resistance, and is machine washable. $99 Oniva X-Grill Portable Charcoal BBQ Grill – Why not take the BBQ with you? This portable, folding tailgate grill sets up in seconds and uses electro-plated steel to pack down flat as a pancake. The X-Grill also offers a chrome trifold cooking grate and a durable polyester canvas carrying tote with shoulder strap. $55

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

GEAR GUIDE Barebones Railroad Lantern – This lantern is a modern twist on an antique and well-loved Union Pacific lantern. It showcases seeded glass and copper accents and utilizes battery or USB with a run time of 100+ hours on low or 3.5 hours on high. The adjustable brightness LED Edison-style bulb provides a classic warming glow perfect for every occasion. $75 Tribit MaxSound Plus – The waterproof MaxSound Plus is loaded with extra bass, 20 hours of playtime, and 100ft of Bluetooth range. The wireless speaker also features an “XBass” button to deepen the pulse. Not only that, but a single charge can also give you nearly a full day of use, while effortlessly connecting to your smartphone or tablet. $50

EarthPak 30L Torrent Series – Need a dry place to store your keys, sunglasses, and other items? The waterproof EarthPak offers durable protection from scratches and scuffs, keeping your gear safe and secure on the trail or on the river. The bag uses padded shoulder straps, roll-top closure, and a low sternum strap to take the weight off your back while hiking or rafting. $32

PoolCandy Tube Runner – This motorized pool tube features a 3-blade propeller and a 66-watt motor capable of moving you with ease through the water. At the touch of a button, the PoolCandy offers 360 degrees of control whether you are moving forward, in reverse, or spinning in a circle. $130 The pHin Smart Water Monitor – Want a smarter way to keep an eye on your pool? The smart water monitor provides accurate chemical and water temperature readings, is easy to install, and supports Amazon Alexa. The pHin system comes with a floating monitor, a plug-in Wi-Fi bridge, a tether rope, and a calibration kit containing 25 test strips and a calibration card. $349

SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Health Tech

Quarantine Tech

By Scott Jung

How Medical Technology is Advancing the Fight Against COVID-19

We’re living in unprecedented times with the novel coronavirus wreaking havoc on nearly all aspects of our society. Though it has been several months since states issued stay-at-home orders, there is still much we don’t know about the coronavirus, or when and how life might return to normal.

But if there’s one bright spot in this horrible pandemic, it’s that we’re seeing healthcare and medicine at its best. Here’s a look at some of the medical technologies that are being used in the battle against coronavirus and some that will be used to help prevent future outbreaks.

Molecular Testing Picks Up Speed Up until recently, most disease testing generally required that a patient visit a doctor’s office to collect a sample. The sample would be sent out to a lab where it was analyzed on large molecular testing devices, and after several hours or even days, a result would be relayed back to a physician.

Companies such as LabCorp and Everlywell have developed convenient, at-home COVID19 testing kits. This will let people who think they may have been infected collect a sample while safely and comfortably quarantined to limit their exposure.

Fundamentally, contact tracing is low tech; it’s basically detective work to find out who has been feeling symptomatic, where they’ve been, and who they’ve been around. However, smartphone technology is enabling contact tracing to happen faster and more efficiently.

Molecular diagnostics company Cepheid has developed a COVID-19 test that is still conducted in a lab but can deliver results in as little as 45 minutes, allowing more people to get tested faster. Health giant Abbott has created a device that takes COVID-19 testing out of the lab altogether. Its ID NOW testing device is portable enough to be used in a doctor’s office or field clinic and can provide a test result in just 13 minutes.

While this is still the case for most COVID-19 testing, the pandemic has spurred the development of better testing methods.

Medical innovations in testing have multiplied exponentially since pandemic set in.

Though there is still a severe shortage of COVID-19 tests in much of the United States, these innovative products will help to fill that gap more quickly. And once we make it through this pandemic, rapid, portable, and more convenient testing will help control a resurgence of COVID-19 and limit the outbreak of other viruses that we may someday face.

An App For That Contact tracing is the process being used to further prevent the spread of COVID-19 by tracking and monitoring the number of people who have been exposed to the virus. It’s an approach that helped eliminate smallpox and also slow the spread of SARS in 2003.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

In a rare partnership, Apple and Google have jointly developed a feature for their smartphones that utilize Bluetooth technology to help with contact tracing. It works by having their smartphones exchange anonymous “keys” whenever one smartphone user meets another user. If one of them is diagnosed with COVID19, the software can use these keys to trace who was potentially exposed and can send a notification to those users. As 3 billion people are estimated to be Apple or Google smartphone owners, this technology has huge potential in stopping the current pandemic and preventing future resurgence.

Tech-based contact tracing is only valuable if it is widely used, and there are numerous challenges that still need to be addressed.

Foremost, privacy advocates are concerned

Health Tech about the sharing of sensitive health data and the constant broadcasting of their location. For their apps to receive broad adoption, companies like Apple and Google will need to gain the public’s trust to ensure that their privacy is safeguarded.

Automakers Contribute to the Fight While a handful of companies are working quickly to develop a coronavirus vaccine, there is no treatment yet that can completely cure the virus. Until then, doctors must work to manage the potentially fatal symptoms of COVID-19.

COVID-19 primarily attacks the respiratory system and often causes difficulty breathing. In these cases, ventilators are a critical intervention and have been a source of much publicity due to shortages. They work by monitoring a patient’s breathing patterns and subsequently forcing oxygen into their lungs as necessary.

Modern ventilators have been around for many years, but what makes them special considering COVID-19 is that several companies outside of healthcare have helped to design and build cheaper, easier-to-manufacture models. From the automotive industry, Ford in partnership with medical equipment manufacturers Airon and GE Health, and General Motors in collaboration with ventilator manufacturer Ventec Life Systems, have temporarily repurposed their manufacturing plants to help build ventilators. And back in April, Tesla revealed a prototype ventilator they had designed using parts from their Model 3 electric vehicle, including its prominent touchscreen display.

Manufacturers from a wide array of industries are outfitting their machines to contribute to the fight against the coronavirus.

But the auto industry isn’t the only one joining in the fight. Dyson, known for its vacuums and fans, had developed the CoVent ventilator for a possible equipment shortage in the UK which thankfully never occurred. Wearable company Fitbit recently unveiled the Flow, an inexpensive ventilator designed to be used only when a traditional commercial ventilator is not available.

Perhaps most promising is a ventilator called VITAL that NASA successfully designed and built in just 37 days. Since it was first announced in April, VITAL has undergone successful SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

29

Health Tech

New developments in sensor technology could be used to stop outbreaks

simulation testing, received emergency use authorization from the FDA, and has selected eight companies to manufacture the ventilators.

Sensors and AI Will Help Prevent Future Outbreaks Of all the technologies being used to combat coronavirus, artificial intelligence may potentially have the most far-reaching impact.

For a highly contagious disease like COVID19, it’s critical that potentially infected people be identified as early as possible to better manage their symptoms and limit its spread. Artificial intelligence, when coupled with wearables, IoT medical devices, and mobile technology, can be powerful tools in detecting COVID-19 early. As part of the NBA’s plan for restarting professional basketball, more than 2000 of its players and staff will be wearing “smart rings” from Finnish company Oura. The ring monitors heart and respiratory rate, as well as temperature and sleep patterns.

These vital signs are combined into a “risk score” whose increase would alert the team doctor and possibly warrant a COVID-19 test.

The Oura ring has already been used by the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute to create an AI platform

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

to spot COVID-19 symptoms three days prior to its onset with 90% accuracy. Digital health company PhysIQ recently received a Department of Defense contract for its AI-based analytics platform. Using data from the VitalPatch wearable biosensor, developed by medical device company VitalConnect[1], PhysIQ’s “pinpointIQ” platform remotely monitors for changes in a wearer’s vital signs to help predict the onset of an infection.

Artificial intelligence can also help predict future disease clusters. Another healthcare company, Cotiviti is using its AI-driven longitudinal data and analytics platform called “Caspian Insights” to create the COVID-19 Outbreak Tracker. It’s a heat map of the U.S. that uses financial and clinical data from health insurance claims to forecast geographic areas down to the county level that may be impacted

by COVID-19 in the near future. The tracker is updated frequently and is available for anyone to view.

Finally, artificial intelligence is helping researchers develop new drugs and vaccines that could someday treat and cure coronavirus.

Hong Kong-based Insilico Medicine is using AI

to create new potential drug molecules that can bind to parts of the coronavirus’ surface to interfere with its functioning. While this process takes many years and often encompasses a researcher’s full career, Insilico Medicine’s AIbased system created 100 promising molecules in just four days that will be synthesized and tested and hopefully developed into an effective drug.

One COVID-19 drug discovery project doesn’t need scientists to contribute to the effort.

Folding@home is a computing project that works by creating hundreds of movies showing the movement of proteins that make up much of the structure of viruses and determine how they function. These snapshots can help to identify potential sites on a protein’s surface that drugs can bind to, which will disrupt the virus’ behavior.

The project started in 2000 to help find cures for diseases like cancer, ALS, and Parkinson’s, but recently shifted to studying the structure of coronavirus. It’s a momentous task that already involves some of the fastest supercomputers in the world, but anyone with a computer and internet can help by downloading the Folding@ home software which will analyze proteins during a computer’s idle time. A cure for COVID-19 could be discovered on your own computer. ■ [1] Financial disclosure: The author was previously employed at VitalConnect but did not receive any compensation for this mention.

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Aiming for Space — and Our Higher Potential:

L to R: Eric Ladin as Chris Kraft and Patrick Fischler as Bob Gilruth in National Geographic’s The Right Stuff streaming on Disney+.

(Photo: National Geographic/Gene Page)

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2020

Behind the Making of The Right Stuff

By Beth Covington

I

t was one of the best books written about one of mankind’s greatest feats.

When Tom Wolfe published The Right Stuff, it was 1979, just 10 years after Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon to complete a dizzying first decade of space flight. The you-are-there bestselling book focused on the Mercury astronauts, all test pilots, and how the new NASA space program changed their personal lives — and what we believed to be possible.

A three-hour movie version of The Right Stuff, starring Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, and Ed Harris, came out in 1983, winning four Academy Awards. Now, Nat Geo, Warner Brothers, and Leo DiCaprio’s Appian Way drill down even more into Wolfe’s iconic portrayal with an eight-show opening season. It will premiere on Disney+ on October 9 The tone, gravitas, and significance of the space program in the 1960s is captured in riveting fashion by an all-star cast. This ranges from excellent portrayals of the Mercury 7 astronauts, our first, to the way in which family lives, technology, and excruciating go/no-go decisions touched the people involved, while launching us into space exploration permanently. It is the first National Geographicbranded scripted TV series to appear on Disney+. Plenty of space fans, old and new, are in for fulfilling binge-watching when it premieres.

The cast includes many familiar faces: Limitless alum Jake McDorman (who plays the first American in space, Alan Shepard) and Suits co-star Patrick J. Adams ( John Glenn) lead the way. Others include Colin O’Donoghue (Once Upon A Time), Aaron Staton (Mad Men), James

Lafferty (One Tree Hill) and Michael Trotter (Underground). The showrunner and scriptwriter is Mark Lafferty.

We had the opportunity to talk with actors Patrick Fischler and Eric Ladin, who play the engineering brain trust behind America’s space program, Flight Director Chris Kraft (who died in July 2019 at age 94) and Chief Flight Engineer Bob Gilruth. In listening to them, it was easy to feel their sense of continued wonder at what NASA and American workers pulled off by putting a man on the Moon just 10 years after starting a space program — with technology we’d consider highly primitive today.

Innovation & Tech Today: Gentlemen, what first drew you to The Right Stuff? Was it the story? Your love of the early space program?

The momentous achievement for humankind that it represented?

Eric Ladin: “It was the words. Mark Lafferty wrote a beautiful script that attracted a lot of great actors. But space is something that has always riveted me. I grew up in Houston, visited NASA while in school, and we talked about space all the time. Being able to tell this story in long form was really appealing to me. We all hoped to be astronauts, but very few were, then I hoped to play an astronaut. When that ship sailed, I got this chance to play the Mercury flight director. It’s an honor.

Patrick Fischler: “This was one of the best scripts I’ve read in a long time; it captured me instantly. I think space takes the greatest form of storytelling there is. It has adventure, drama, purpose, questing, and a beginning, middle and end. The main thing is that the urgency is there, always. People love watching these kinds of

adventures, because it brings out something deep in all of us. Before I took the role, I didn’t know much about Bob Gilruth. I wanted to make sure I honored him in a way he deserved.

He’s responsible for the beginning of the space program, but he was a super timid man, and didn’t want recognition.

I&T Today: When watching the pilot and second episode, a number of scenes jumped out (spoiler alert). One that struck us was how 110 men signed up for a program no one knew about — they received certified letters.

Both of you marveled at the moment in space history as well. Can you describe your experience in working with it?

PF: It’s my favorite scene in the pilot. Gilruth and Kraft were working in a vacuum. When they made a call for volunteers to be the first astronauts, they didn’t know anyone would volunteer. They would’ve been happy with 20 candidates. Little did they know that 110 men were thrilled to be involved. That led to their next challenge. You can only do so much testing with 110 highly qualified test pilots to decided on seven astronauts. Kraft and Gilruth relied on their instincts to choose them.

EL: The real charge is when the guys do show up. The assistant comes in and says, “two names.” “Two names? We only got two?” “No, only two guys didn’t show.” Kraft and Gilruth weren’t prepared for this; they had to ask themselves, who will have the best relationships with each other and with us? Chris was not a fan of John Glenn; he’d run into him when Glenn was a test pilot. He didn’t like Glenn’s stubbornness. But that stubbornness made Glenn a great test pilot, and then a great astronaut.

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I&T Today: The show also dives headfirst into the astronaut family story, which played out publically in a feel-good way throughout the 1960s, but was far more complicated behind the scenes.

PF: What happens to the astronauts and their families? What happens inside their homes? I love how we portrayed it. These were test pilots, known in the military but not outside it. Within weeks, thanks to Life Magazine and NASA’s announcement, they became seven of the most recognizable faces in the world. It’s exciting to see them turn into instant celebrities, which some handled better than others, as we show.

Dr. Robert R. Gilruth (right), MSC Director, sits with Dr. Christopher C. Kraft Jr., MSC director of flight operations, at his flight operations director console in the Mission Control Center, Building 30, during the Apollo 5 (LM-1/Saturn 204) unmanned space mission.

wives were. In one sense, the space program projected a 1950s sort of simplicity, but that simplicity didn’t exist for any of the astronauts or their families.

I&T Today: A most miraculous thing about the 1960s space program is that we even got off the ground. We literally had to build the technology from scratch. By today’s standards, it’s really primitive — and yet, the space program started the buildout that led to many of the conveniences and tech we enjoy today. Your thoughts?

John H. Glenn, one of the Mercury Seven Astronauts, runs through a training exercise in the Mercury Procedures Trainer at the Space Task Group, Langley Field, Virginia. This link-type spacecraft simulator allowed the astronaut the practice of both normal and emergency modes of systems operations.

Photos courtesy of: NASA

EL: I don’t believe NASA was looking at how the men would translate as celebrities. Kraft and Gilruth were engineers, and then Life came into the picture and boosted seven astronauts into celebrity… it was quite a headache for Craft.

I&T Today: Another sticky point wellportrayed is how these test pilots, who always took their lives in their own hands, suddenly had to let NASA flight engineers on the ground control their flights – since the astronauts weren’t actually flying the Mercury spacecraft.

EL: Test pilots have huge egos — they have to.

In the show, Alan Shepard tells about the

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conflict of trying to lose his edge, which people and public relations want, but the edge kept him alive; his willingness to live on the edge made him a great test pilot. When they realize they’re going to be “spam in a can”, it’s obviously a huge problem for them. On one hand, they’re doing interviews, buying Corvettes for a dollar, having the time of their lives. On the other, they don’t actually get to fly the spacecraft.

PF: I watched the show with my daughter, who’s 11. She said, “I didn’t know anything about any of this.” She kept asking, “Was this true?” She was surprised when my answer was always “Yes”, when we showed how complicated the job was and the relationships with their

EL: It amazes me what was accomplished with so little technology. For young people to see this when they watch the show, while playing with their smart phones, apps, talking to anyone in the world in any number of ways… your smart phone has more computing power than the command modules and lunar landing vehicles did. Yet, these Mercury, Gemini and Apollo engineers used slide rules, graphs and their brains to put people in space from remote locations all over the world. When we went to the Mission Control Block House in Cape Canaveral and saw what engineers worked with 60 years ago… it’s amazing to think they actually got this done.

I&T Today: And with that, The Right Stuff hits home on the emotional component, how engineers felt inside about sending these

asked if they’d step aside because they were worried about dying, they would never let that happen. It speaks to why they felt more comfortable taking major risks.

I&T Today: Both of you have stated you think the timing of this show’s release is significant for more than start-of-fall-season reasons.

PF: Sometimes, I feel specific shows can change the course of where we’re going. Right now, in these tumultuous times, The Right Stuff really speaks to the possibility of humans, what we’re able to create, and where we can go.

People are working out there to get us out of the Astronauts Alan Shepard and John Glenn at breakfast before Shepard's Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) spaceflight.

situation we’re in. The same with the engineers and people behind the scenes doing this for space.

EL: Has there ever been a time when we’re in more need of inspirational or aspirational shows than (nine) months into 2020? We need a TV show that reminds us of our possibilities.

Instead of picking up at Apollo, what everyone most remembers — the moon walk — we took it back all the way, to what they accomplished in the decade leading up to Apollo 11. Hopefully, when we get to a Season 5 or 6, we can show people like Elon Musk sending us back to the Moon, then to Mars.

I&T Today: Finally, what do think is the

Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., peers into his Freedom 7 Mercury capsule before launch on the morning of May 5, 1961.

Walter C. Williams, Flight Operations Director; and Chris Kraft, Chief of the Flight Operations Division, MSC, are shown in the Mercury Control Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, as the decision to go for the full 22 orbits is made for the Mercury Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission.

Photos courtesy of: NASA

men into space — and how then, it seemed, people were willing to “push the red button” more than today. Can you elaborate?

every day. If it goes one way, it’s an utter disaster.

If it goes the other, it’s utter celebration. How terrifying.

PF: These guys took this very, very seriously and very much to heart. Getting to the moon, and all the missions beforehand, was their entire life for a decade. Bob Gilruth died a thousand deaths every time a rocket went up with a human on top of it. He feared for every astronaut who ever flew. The show brings out the fear that existed in he and Kraft. People don’t think about that. They rode a fine line,

EL: We don’t push the red button now like we did then. We’re too caught up in ‘what if ’s’ and needing to have all this security and regulation for everything. This is a different generation, a different time. Maybe we know too much. The generation that became our astronauts and engineers in the ‘50s and ‘60s lived to a different mantra. If you asked any of them if they’d be willing to die in space, they’d say ‘Yes.’ If you

greatest single achievement of the 60-year history of the space program?

PF: For me, our greatest accomplishment in space was Shepard’s flight, because of how crucial was. If we could get one guy up, then it was a rocket ship blasting us to Apollo and beyond — and that’s what happened.

EL: Putting a man on the moon. With the difficulty of the mission, time in history, using not just one craft but two, the dramatics of seeing fellow humans walking on the surface… that’s the greatest achievement. Kraft wrote in his book about running into a World War II veteran right after Apollo 11. The veteran was crying as he told Kraft, ‘That makes me as proud as anything I’ve seen.’ ■

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Next Generation Gaming Takes Flight

By John Gaudiosi

While most of the world has been focused on the pandemic, global recession, and sea change of social justice, the video game industry is poised for a banner year. In fact, 2020 could mark the official end of the traditional console market. Most experts believe that Sony Interactive Entertainment’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X will mark the end of the console wars and the conclusion of the discbased battle for the living room. In fact, both consoles will be coming out with cheaper digital-only boxes to accommodate the generation of consumers who have grown up in

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a completely digital landscape.

But console gaming still has another decade or more of growth behind it. Sony traditionally supports each console for at least 10 years through new software, and Microsoft has followed that pattern since it entered the business. As game hardware prices drop over time, new consumers enter the arena and enjoy catalog titles (most of which are also now offered digitally). One thing’s for sure, the console wars are going out with a bang — and with more gamers stuck home around the

world, the time couldn’t be more perfect for a slew of new games to showcase what next-gen gaming means.

At first glance, the two consoles — both powered by the same AMD Zen 2 processor technology found in NAVI graphics cards — appear to boast similar specs. Features include 8K support for those TVs that are sitting on store shelves, as well as 120 frames per second graphics capabilities. But there are slight enhancements that could give Sony an edge over Microsoft. At the end of the day, it’s going

to come down to the exclusive game franchises that ultimately will sway gamers to purchase one, or both, of these new devices.

Sony PlayStation 5: Play Has No Limits Sony has dominated the video game space since launching PlayStation in 1994. Four of the five best selling game consoles in history were created by the Japanese giant. PlayStation 4, which still has a lot of life ahead of it, has sold over 110.4 million consoles worldwide. It still has a ways to go before toppling reigning champion PlayStation 2’s 157.7 million units sold.

But the stage is set for PS5 to continue that successful legacy. The new console is focusing on faster gameplay by practically eliminating loading times. The new solidstate drive (SSD) shreds the current hard drive technology by making the on-screen action fly. Sony showed off Insomniac Games’ bestselling Spider-Man fast-traveling through Manhattan on PS5 hardware.

What took 15 seconds on PS4 was done in less than a second (0.8) on PS5.

Another next-gen feature is ray tracing, a rendering technique that models how light travels and interacts with virtual objects. What this means to the average player’s virtual environments will come alive like Pixar movies or the more super-realistic alien planet environments of The Mandalorian. Hollywood visual effects artists have been using this trick for years, it’s only now that a home console has the processing power to deliver these graphics.

One interesting note is Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 (coming in 2021) debuted on PS5 hardware this June.

This technology was used by Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic on the Star Wars films and TV shows.

Now, game developers are creating games with this technology that will make full use of the processing power of PS5 (as well as Xbox Series X). Sony recently invested $250 million in Epic Games to work more closely with the game developer.

“With PS5, we are making a significant leap to deliver a truly new generation of transformative play experiences that will redefine expectations for what games can be,” said Jim Ryan, President and CEO of SIE. “Worlds will be richer and more beautiful, they’ll captivate your senses in ways you didn’t think possible, and you’ll be able to experience them much more seamlessly, with lightning-fast loading.”

The Games Sony has a long lineage of exclusive franchises that it’s cultivated over the decades. Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales (Insomniac Games), Gran Turismo 7

Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales

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(Polyphony Digital), and Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games) are all launch titles. In addition, the company has aligned with big game franchises from third-party publishers over the years to create exclusive windows or content for PlayStation users.

One of the biggest series of all time, Grand Theft Auto, will be coming to PS5 from Rockstar Games.

Enhanced and expanded versions of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online will launch on PS5 in the second half of 2021. In addition, a new standalone version of GTA Online will also be made available, with access to all PS5 owners for free within the first three months of the title launching. Once the entitlement is claimed, the game is theirs to keep, and with a PlayStation Plus membership, PS5 owners will be able to play GTA Online as much as they want.

Other games heading to PS5 include NBA 2K21 (2K, Visual Concepts) and Resident Evil Village (Capcom), as well as brand new IP launching on PS5 as console exclusives, such as DEATHLOOP (Bethesda) and Project Athia (Square Enix/Luminous Productions).

New titles from independent developers, such as Stray (Annapurna/ Blue Twelve Studio) and Bugsnax (Young Horses), demonstrated the diversity of content coming to the platform.

Xbox Series X: Power Your Dreams Microsoft has been chasing Sony since entering the video game industry in 2001 with Xbox. The tech giant hit paydirt with Xbox 360, which went on to sell over 85.8 million units to date. Its more recent (and confusing chronologically) Xbox One (and its Xbox One S and X upgrades) haven’t fared as well with 47.8 million pieces of hardware sold. Now Xbox Series X (again, this name game at Microsoft is just confusing) promises to be 12 teraflops more powerful than Xbox One X. While the new Xbox edges Sony out on teraflops, Sony’s SSD is more powerful. That said, Microsoft demonstrated, State of Decay 2 flying through a load screen on the new box in just seven seconds, compared to 45 seconds on Xbox One X. These SSDs aren’t just about loading times. They’re part of a shift from an operating system perspective that allows games to be accessed in smaller chunks.

Anyone who’s waited what seemed like an eternity to play the new Call of Duty knows how frustrating these time wastes can be. Next-gen consoles will all but eliminate this hassle. Microsoft’s expected to adopt a shared kernel approach with its code, which will enable multitasking and combat the sluggish user interface of current Xbox consoles.

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Gran Turismo 7

by Polyphony Digital

343 Studios’ Halo

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Microsoft has also adopted Game Core OS for its development community, which utilizes DirectX 12 to enable cross-platform play. The company has been pushing cross-play between Xbox and Windows 10 PC, as well as PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on occasion.

With multiple Xboxes available this holiday and the focus of backward compatibility by both Microsoft and Sony, this will allow games to look the best on each box.

Microsoft is launching Smart Delivery to allow gamers to buy one version of an Xbox Games Studios title and then automatically receive it

including Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (Ninja

free across additional consoles. For example, anyone who purchases Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red) on Xbox One will get the upgraded version for Xbox Series X for free when they turn on that new console.

Theory), Chorus (Deep Silver), and Call of the Sea (Out of the Blue Games). There will be several exclusives, including The Medium (Bloober Team) and Scorn (Ebb Software).

The Games Master Chief, the titular hero from 343 Studios’ Halo series, has been the unofficial mascot of Xbox for over 18 years. Microsoft is launching its newest console with Halo Infinite, which will be the killer app to incentivize gamers to make the upgrade. There will also be other titles only available on Xbox platforms,

And third-party publishers will be flooding both current and next-gen consoles with big titles this fall, including Electronic Arts’ FIFA 21 and Battlefield 6, 2K’s NBA 2K21, and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Watchdogs: Legion, and Rainbow Six: Quarantine. ■

Here are all the tech specs for PS5 and Xbox Series X in a handy table.

Component

PS5

Xbox Series X

CPU

8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (Variable Frequency)

8x Cores at 3.8 GHz (3.6 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU

GPU

10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (Variable Frequency)

12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs at 1.825 GHz

GPU Architecture

Custom RDNA 2

Custom RDNA 2

Die Size

—

360.45 mm²

Process

—

7nm Enhanced

Memory

16GB GDDR6/256-bit

16 GB GDDR6 w/320b bus

448GB/s

10GB@560 GB/s, 6GB@336 GB/s 1 TB Custom NVME SSD

Memory Bandwidth

Internal Storage

Custom 825GB SSD

I/O Throughput

5.5GB/s (Raw), Typical 8-9GB/s (Compressed)

2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed)

NVMe SSD Slot

1TB Expansion Card (Matches Internal Dtorage Exactly)

Expandable Storage

External Storage

USB HDD Support

USB 3.2 External HDD Support

Optical Drive

4K UHD Blu-ray Drive

4K UHD Blu-ray Drive

Dimensions

—

151mm x 151mm x 301mm

Weight

--

4.45 kg

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Not Coming to a Theater Near You

With the stay-at-home orders shuttering movie theaters, tensions have never been higher between theaters and film studios. The question is: Can either live without the other?

By Alex Moersen At the onset of spring this year, it was clear we were moving toward a shutdown. I remember going to the movie theaters on March 14 to see the new Sonic film and was greeted with a building void of customers, and a theater that was equally as empty. As the credits began to roll, I had a feeling it would be the last movie I saw in theaters for a while.

The entertainment landscape has been changing, this much is clear, especially as streaming has only grown in popularity over the years. Not only that, but home entertainment systems are also getting cheaper, making the athome viewing experience not so different from theater quality. However, while movie theaters may not have been the robust entertainment sanctuaries they once were, they’ve kept alive, obtaining a somewhat sustainable relationship with streaming. Netflix and Amazon originals typically see a brief theater debut before hitting their platforms, allowing theaters to have a fleeting moment of exclusivity. And, of course, the major blockbusters still do their standard theater runs – for now, that is.

When the U.S. realized the severity of COVID-19 and started to shut down, it forced this gradual shift in the entertainment industry to become more severe. First and foremost, while theaters had to shut down completely, streaming services gained the upper hand, not only just operating, but operating at increased capacity. According to Nielsen, time spent on streaming platforms grew by 34 percent over two weeks at the beginning of March, with collective usage going from 116.4 billion minutes the week of March 2 to 156.1 billion the week of March 16. Further, the total amount of viewing for March 16-22 was more than

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Home entertainment is undergoing a revolutionary change amid pandemic.

double that of the same week in 2019.

These streaming and video-on-demand stats have more implications than you may realize.

With the onset of coronavirus, many film studios had to cut their theater runs short and rush to get their movies onto on-demand platforms. Other major studios delayed their summer blockbusters until 2021. One particular movie, however, opted to bypass a big-screen run completely, opting to go straight to ondemand platforms, marking the first time for a major title to do so. This brings us to Trolls World Tour, the sequel to the 2016 animated musical. Per Variety, in mid-April, Universal announced that the animated film landed the biggest debut for a digital release. Of course, at the time, Universal did not provide any statistics to back this up, but with little competition and everybody’s children stuck at home, it’s not completely unbelievable.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

While this may seem somewhat inconsequential (after all, it’s just an animated kids movie, the attraction likely being the sing-along factor, that garnered a relatively average 69% on Rotten Tomatoes), it may have a significant impact on the landscape of film entertainment.

Just a few weeks after Universal’s claim at “biggest debut for a digital release,” The Wall Street Journal reported that the film had made nearly $100 million in the three weeks of its digital release. With significant success, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell followed up, charting a new course for his movies: “As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.”

This, in theory, could have serious implications for a theater industry that is dependent on the exclusivity of blockbuster movies. In fact, shortly after Shell’s claim, AMC

owns Regal Entertainment) and Odeon.

However, Shell and NBCUniversal haven’t shown signs of backing down. In fact, in late April, Universal announced plans to skip a theatrical release for Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island and release the comedy on demand in June instead.

In response to Aron’s remarks, Shell said this during Comcast’s earnings call in April: “I’ve spent a big chunk of the last decade in the film business and there is no question that theatrical is someday again going to be the central element to our business and the film business itself and how people make their movies and how they expect their movies to be seen. But the flip side is the majority of movies, whether we like it or not, are being consumed at home and it’s not realistic to assume that we’re not going to change, that this part of the business is not going to change like all parts of the business are going to change.”

Entertainment and gaming brands are reoutfitting their products and services to accommodate changes made

by COVID-19.

CEO Adam Aron penned an impassioned letter to Universal Studios boss Donna Langley.

First, he highlights the symbiotic relationship theaters and studios have always had: “For 100 years, AMC Theatres has served as a strategically critical and highly profitable distribution platform for moviemakers, and for all that time the exclusivity of the theatrical release has been fundamental. When a movie is ‘Only in Theaters,’ consumers perceive it to be higher quality entertainment. Countless filmmakers and moviegoers believe that their creative works are best enjoyed by consumers on the big screen…”

Later, he goes on to address Shell’s comment: “This radical change by Universal to the

business model that currently exists between our two companies represents nothing but downside for us and is categorically unacceptable to AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest collection of movie theatres.

“Going forward, AMC will not license any Universal movies in any of our 1,000 theatres globally on these terms.”

The letter, which can be read in full online, is extremely clear, adding that if other studios join in, he would cut them off as well. The response may seem over reactionary, or rash, but it isn’t difficult to imagine why Aron and AMC would want to cut this practice off at the source.

Following Aron’s letter, other theater chains have joined him, including Cineworld (which

It’ll be a delicate situation going forward, but it’s likely that any future shifts in the studiotheater relationship or entertainment landscape will be traced back to these moments. In reality, it’s unlikely that any long-term decisions will be made during this unprecedented period.

Studios may be forced to do more straight to on-demand debuts with their more minor titles while delaying their major blockbusters, at least until lockdown orders reduce and theaters begin to open back up.

Is it the beginning of the end of the movie theater? Not quite. While Trolls World Tour did gross about $95 million in its first 19 days, the original Trolls movie made almost $154 million in box offices, showing there is still a lot of money to be made from the big screen. In reality, neither can afford to pick a fight with the other, a fact that will likely be seen in the coming future. Additionally, while Universal is opting to debut smaller titles, like Trolls and King of Staten Island on video-on-demand, their main blockbusters, namely Fast 9 (the 9th installment of the Fast & Furious franchise) and Minions: The Rise of Gru, were pushed back to 2021. Whether those films will be welcome in AMC Theaters, or if either party can afford to not have them shown in theaters, is yet to be seen. ■

connected life

Make Your Home Work for You

By Jennifer Oladipo

First, it was weird, then it was rare, now there is an emergency response. But as the end of the year looms, and the COVID-19 pandemic continues, working from home (WFH) has become a regular part of life for more people than ever.

Several months have already passed since Shopify’s CEO Tobias Lutke tweeted the company was officially “digital by default” and “office centricity is over.” Facebook, Twitter, Square, and countless other small and mediumsize businesses came to similar conclusions. The future of work is officially here.

has responded to them with a slew of options that boast substantial back and neck support and incredible comfort.

Now, you could choose a respectable, low profile, all-black chair. But why not go for something space aged like Anda Seat Assassin King, or an AKRacing Master Series Pro that looks like it was designed for a racecar driver — because it was?

So, where does that leave the workforce?

Unfortunately for some, it has meant sitting hunched over a laptop in a corner of their home, but that’s not sustainable, or very much fun. It’s time to think bigger. Get your laptop off your knees and own your space. Make it work for you.

Owning your space doesn’t mean recreating a cubicle, bland office, or open plan workstation either. We reached out to tech employers, manufacturers, and dedicated gearheads to find out what technology can help you stretch beyond the boring desk and laptop setup.

Everything else is changing, so why not shift your thinking about what the WFH experience can look like?

Whether you’re working at home or planning to stay for the long term, you’re going to need the right gear. It’ll keep you sane and make it possible to reap the benefits while reducing the friction.

Here are some changes you can make to own your WFH space — and the innovations that will help.

Gamify It Why not let gamers guide you while sitting at home on your computer all day? The market

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AKRacing Master Series Pro

They’ve also been shown to reduce eye fatigue, especially if you’re working in a poorly lit environment — a high probability if your home workspace was originally designed as a bedroom or basement.

Work It Out Anda Seat Assassin King

While your gaming chair wraps itself around your body, you can let your screen wrap around you as well. Acer’s Predator X34 is marketed for the immersive experience it provides for gaming and viewing, but curved screens also have practical benefits. A single large curved display is more ergonomic than multiple flat displays.

As a result of the pandemic, WFH may be just one part of a general reduction in the amount of time we’re getting up and getting out. But that’s no excuse not to take care of yourself. Even the smallest space can be enhanced with a few health tools to help you stay productive.

The Cubii is a low-profile elliptical that lets you get a workout anytime throughout the day.

It sits discreetly at your feet, monitoring activity

connected life

iRig Video Creator

Acer’s Predator X34

Interchangeable attachments let you get just what you need, whether for a quickie break or an end-of-the-day wind-down session.

Glam It Up Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to attend a video call or presentation where somebody bothered to add some pizzazz to an otherwise lackluster experience. Some add music for waiting and downtime, or fade in speakers oneby-one for dramatic effect.

The Drum Massager

such as distance, strides, and calories burned so you can set and track your fitness goals. It’s also quiet enough to consider using on a conference call, though we can’t vouch for what coworkers will say if you start to sweat.

You can also really step up your wellness game with the Drum, a mini massage gun created to relax away from the inevitable effects of desk work.

The Drum uses percussive ATEM Mini Pro therapy, a form of soft tissue manipulation that’s said to help muscles recover faster, reduce muscle pain and lactic acid build-up, improve range of motion and flexibility, and encourage blood flow.

If you want to up your A/V game, one longtime tech reviewer told us using the ATEM Mini Pro will make you “king of the hill on Zoom calls.” It’s a multi-port HDMI switcher that lets you utilize multiple cameras and microphones.

It also supports overlays, a green screen, and a studio mixer. This one’s for the real nerds. It can essentially turn your workspace into a mini

broadcast itself is your product — imagine yourself on the big screen instead of in your small office and see the difference a little bit of production makes.

Big-screen thinking means considering lighting as you might never have before. It makes a difference, though, helping create more intimate and engaging conference calls or videos. Using just your cell phone, you can do wonders with the iRig Video Creator setup. This kit delivers better lighting, audio, and stability when using a smartphone for filming videos or joining video calls. The main features are a 6” USB-powered LED ring light that mounts to the top of the stand and offers adjustable color and brightness, and a tiny microphone that clips wherever it’s needed.

While you’re at it, graduate from PowerPoint already. Prezi came on the scene several years ago with dynamic presentation capabilities.

Now, Prezi Video allows you to add graphics live next to your face while you film, similarly to visuals used on news broadcasts or late-night TV. The interface is simple, but you can still Prezi Video

Hollywood studio. If you’re broadcasting live for sales presentations, seminars, or department meetings — or if the SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

43

connected life

build your presentation and import to Prezi if you must.

Go Virtual No one ever said WFH meetings and collaboration can only happen in 2D. VR/AR software company Kinemagic responded to pandemic distancing by repurposing its Stratus software — originally intended for designing industrial facilities — so that it can be used by anyone to meet virtually. Brainstorm together.

Whiteboard together. Leave notes. Do coffee breaks and happy hours. If you can’t physically bring people to the ideal space you’re creating at home, use virtual reality to build one you can share with anyone, anywhere.

Kinemagic Stratus

microbes for you with ultraviolet light. This drone combines a proven industrial drone platform with verified UVC disinfection capabilities to reduce health risks for humans.

While you are already working from home, why not spruce up the desktop as well with a Cybertrack H4 webcam. You will feel like you’re in the room with its high-resolution video and messaging compatibility. The impersonal can become the “new person” in the digital age.

Aertos 120-UVC drone

Play It Safe Back at the office, companies might have stepped up the cleaning and sanitizing game.

But, out here in WFH world, you’re on your own. Whether it’s a pandemic or just a regular flu season, a clean space is a must for staying healthy and productive.

Cybertrack H4 webcam

As the pandemic persists, working from home may become the new standard for companies across a large swath of industries. As robotics continues its revolution in the manufacturing sector and in manual labor or dangerous employment, working from home may become the only way to get the job done. Video conferencing, distance learning, and business are rapidly becoming the market’s latest accommodation to the COVID-19 pandemic, and much like many other shocks to the system, there will be many residual customs to remain in place.

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You could walk around misting your house with Lysol every day, or you could let the Aertos 120-UVC drone fly around destroying the

APC Smart-UPS

You also want to be prepared for potential disruption caused by a power outage. In most cases, utility companies repair commercial lines first, homes last. Make sure your most important devices are connected to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). A UPS, or battery backup. It can provide backup power when your voltage from your normal power source drops or disappears altogether.

Take Charge An ideal WFH environment can be an incredibly cool space, but it’s also important to the bottom line. In this new world, employers need to embrace the idea that remote work requires investing in the ideal environment, just as they would in an office.

Self-employed people, this means you too.

Having access to the same or even better tools than would be used in a traditional work environment helps ensure the type of productivity a traditional workplace encourages, if not better in some cases.

Negotiating for better WFH tools, or putting them into your entrepreneurial budget, will have to become the norm. Go ahead, prioritize the ergonomic furniture, the safety devices, the health enhancers, and the extras that make remote work more productive and enjoyable.

There are no rules limiting how you can make your space work for you. A little imagination and short-term spending could pay big dividends in the long run. ■

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connected life

COVID-19 and the Emerging Backyard Oasis

By Joe Toppe

Since the coronavirus pandemic forced us into our homes in the spring, a growing list of smarthome products and reactive technologies have debuted on the market. Everything from exercise equipment and chargers, to smart upgrades in backyard staples like barbeque grills and patio furniture.

In July, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 3 million COVID-19 cases nationwide with nearly 60,000 new infections every day. As the virus continues and innovation centers around social distancing, healthcare, and a recommitment to home technologies, both manufacturers and consumers are finding creative ways to enhance not only the house and the way we live and work, but the backyard and the way we entertain.

Home theatres, tech appliances, seating comforts, and lawn repair products are all being re-outfitted with smarter technologies and even greater conveniences.

Brian Kuney, a regional VP for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership warned “if your business is to survive during COVID19, you will need to rethink pre-production, delivery, and execution.�

The market is now traversed with new protocol and public standards while the home has been transformed into the new office, gym, or movie theatre, he said. While much of the technology focus is on healthcare, social distancing strategies, and remote work, the home is quickly becoming the new hotspot to stream film releases, conduct business meetings, or even enjoy a date night.

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Photo: iStockphoto.com

connected life Data provided by the National Association of Realtors show sales of existing homes jumped nearly 21% in June compared to May, making it the largest monthly gain since realtors began tracking the information more than 50 years ago. With no real end to the pandemic in sight, the home, remote office, and backyard are being prepared for the long haul.

The home retreat could become the most prized opportunity for electronics and gadget manufacturers as the pandemic has put a temporary end to large gatherings in the public space and has forced consumers and brands alike to rethink how things will be done in a postpandemic world.

While the entire market has been altered by the coronavirus from the manufacturing process to delivery, and use, Kuney said “where we enjoy many products and services in the future may be centered on the home.”

Right now, companies are responding to new demands whether it is on the production line, public, or private use, he continued. In addition to changes in protocol at hospitals, sporting venues, and other public meeting spaces, “we will undergo a shift in what we do in our own backyards.”

Jessica Benoit, Director of Sustainability at Jadex Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturing and material science company, agrees saying “in the ‘new normal’, innovation is more critical than ever.”

In fact, “it is vital we accelerate the efforts to develop products and services that accommodate changing behaviors, demand, and financial limitations,” she continued. “Keeping our economy moving will require fundamental changes in how we operate and do business, but it should not constrain the ability to innovate – especially in this digital age.”

Home improvement brands, electronics companies, and smart-products are flooding the market with everything from robot lawn mowers and portable lighting gadgets, to refractor telescopes synced to your smartphone and patio umbrellas with LED lighting.

As work, play, and visiting with friends and family becomes a renewed fixture of the backyard, the opportunity to spend more time outside grilling, gardening, or catching up on emails from the patio chair could also be good for your health.

SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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connected life A study by the Department of Homeland Security showed laboratory testing suggested the novel coronavirus may fade during the summer months because of how the virus interacts with ultraviolet light, heat, and humidity. Like many other viruses, the study showed COVID-19 does not survive as long on certain surfaces or in the air when exposed to those conditions.

While innovations seen in healthcare or lines at the grocery store place a spotlight on the “new American normal” and restrictions mount for the good of the public health, the backyard is being repurposed as an oasis. A green getaway capable of supporting the latest in smart-devices, remote work capabilities, and entertainment, whether streaming the latest film, finishing up the yard work, or playing backyard astronomer looking up at the stars.

Photo: iStockphoto.com

Research conducted by Dr. David Rubin, a pediatrician and director of the PolicyLab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, concluded the more we stay home, the less COVID-19 could spread. The study showed when residents of a typical county cut their visits to nonessential businesses in half, a single infected person transmitted the virus to 46% fewer people they would have in a county where business proceeded as usual. According to the study, that reduction could end the outbreak in some counties.

In addition to the increasing health risks of getting out and about the way we once did, we risk perpetuating the pandemic and getting sick ourselves. While there are downsides to confinement, the proximity of family provides a unique opportunity to reconnect, catch-up on old times, or get to know one another for the first time.

This summer, streaming is up, and movie-going is down. The office is now a desk in the corner bedroom, the gym’s in the garage, and the backyard is more than an escape. It is the movie theater, the dining room, meeting place, and playground for a slew of new tech gadgets ranging from lawn care equipment to the Bluetooth speakers on the deck.

As the coronavirus pandemic persists and health organizations and professionals urge safer practices to ensure we survive the event until an attainable and thorough vaccine is administered to everyone worldwide, it is critical we follow updated guidelines outlined by the appropriate bodies.

Staying home, remote work, and the emerging backyard oasis are now more than tools to reconnect with family and get up to snuff on the latest in smarthome products and tech gadgetry, it has become a needed standard to defeat a pandemic and restore the public health. ■

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Photo: iStockphoto.com

The new backyard oasis can feature outdoor dining experiences, electronics, entertainment, smart patio furniture, robotic lawn-maintenance equipment, and even telescopic instruments for the backyard scientists.

Photo: iStockphoto.com

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connected life

Smart Home Product Guide Philips Hue – Smart Lighting – Bluetooth makes getting started with smart lighting easy — and with this setup, you can control up to 10 lights in a single room using a Bluetooth-enabled LED bulb and the Hue Bluetooth app.

Creating the perfect ambience is just a word away with Hue smart lighting. Now available in a variety of colors, adjust your lighting instantly via Bluetooth, app, or voice. $50

Roomba s9+ Robot Vacuum – Now you’ll have time to clean even when you don’t have time to clean. This autonomous vacuum cleans deep into corners and along edges too, mapping your home and even emptying on its own. Don’t bother getting up. If something spills on your floor while heading out the door or nestling in to watch a movie, just tell the Roomba s9+ Robot to handle it using Alexa or Google Voice Assistant. $1,100

Ecobee Smart Thermostat with Voice Control – Want to warm up the house before you get home? Eager to turn on the air conditioning without getting up from the couch? This thermostat includes Alexa built-in, SmartSensor technology, and it saves an average of 23% on annual energy costs while being controlled from anywhere on iOS and Android. $249 Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip – This is the ultimate power strip.

You can independently control six smart outlets and charge three devices with built in USB ports, ideal for controlling the power of your electronics in the home, home office, or small business. The strip can be controlled from anywhere and features surge protection, energy monitoring, and voice control options. $80

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connected life

SmartThings WiFi Smart Plug – Did I leave that light on? What about the small appliances and electronics? These common worries while away from home are now a thing of the past. This smart plug allows you to easily control the things you use every day — all from your phone or tablet. It’s compatible with Bixby, Google, and Alexa. Combine multiple Smart Plugs and automate an entire room. $18

Brilliant: All-in-One Smart Home Control – Make your home even smarter while taking command over all your IoTenabled products with a simple app and display. Goodbye outdated light switch!

This all-in-one mobile app eliminates hubs, ugly wires, countertop clutter, and the need for multiple apps. $299

Echo – Smart Speaker with Alexa – Powered by Dolby to play 360° audio with crisp vocals and a dynamic bass response, this third-generation speaker showcases voice control for music and your smart home. Use your Alexa devices like an intercom and talk to any room in the house with Drop-In and Announcements. $99

Eufy Video Doorbell 2K (Wireless) – There is no place like home, and now you can keep it even safer with AI technology and a doorbell camera that detects body shape and face pattern, ensuring you will only be alerted when a human being is at the front door, not a stray cat. The camera uses high-definition technology combined with HDR and distortion correction to make sure every video is recorded in 2x the quality. $160

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tech zone

BEST OF

A Year of Tech Pivoting and Innovation:

The Best of Tech Zone

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tech zone

BEST OF

Stories Compiled & Written

By Robert Yehling

When COVID-19 descended upon us, businesses and regions needed to innovate and rethink their approaches — quickly. Typical in-house meetings became Zoom or Teams calls. Plastics and cloth manufacturers started providing PPE. Already growing sectors, such as cybersecurity, content streaming, and video communications, grew whitehot. And economic development organizations turned from sleek marketing outfits to highly creative thinkers.

For this issue of Innovation & Tech Today, we feature eight regional tech zones and economic development groups with diverse strategies and types of business: Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation, Flagstaff, FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance, FayettevilleCumberland County Economic Development Corporation, Elk Products, Henderson County Tourism Development Authority, Grand Junction Economic Partnership, and Moreno Valley.

All were impacted substantially by the pandemic.

As we explored how these groups and organizations pivoted, adjusted, and solved problems they never knew they would have to face, we learned how they moved forward. Some of their innovative tools and strategies also offered a look into a post-COVID-19 business world that might well feature: • Companies operating through satellite offices and hubs.

• A large workforce based at home.

• Enhanced personal and business security systems.

• Streaming as a constant form of communication and content delivery.

• Do-it-yourself, outdoor-based tourism.

• Educating kids as young as six for the tech and advanced manufacturing careers that will keep them in the community.

• Economic development groups widely diversify a region’s business profile and then build residential mixed-use communities with smart home features.

Their stories paint an impressive portrait of ingenuity, resilience, and creative solutions that not only are keeping business alive but setting its tone for the next decade.

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tech zone

BEST OF: CALIFORNIA

Santa Clarita’s Smart Approach to Tech and Growth

Long the site of movie studio “western” sets, Santa Clarita has emerged as an innovative and diverse tech hub, thanks to the efforts of officials including Alison Needham (center).

When visitors and businesses think of Los Angeles, visions of a sprawling, densely populated basin often come to mind. So does being close to the action while somehow remaining far enough away to enjoy a balanced work and personal life — and avoiding the mind-sucking commute.

Santa Clarita Valley is establishing itself as that place. Located 30 miles north of downtown L.A., the foothill city’s mix of aerospace, advanced manufacturing, digital media, film production, biosciences, and medical tech connects it firmly to the L.A. Basin. Then you go into the affordable neighborhoods, including two new smart communities under construction, or into the outer hills, and it feels like another world.

“We have a real range of companies here,” says Alison Needham, Marketing and Operations Manager of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation. “Our focus is on continuing that diversity of businesses. Our industries work complementarity, as well as being different. In normal economic cycles, a lot of the skill sets can overlap.

Workers can move from one sector to another in terms of production skills. We find them to be good and complementary. It’s a really diverse mix on top of the consumer-facing businesses like restaurants and retail.”

Long known mainly as the home of Six Flags Magic Mountain and its harrowing roller

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coasters, Santa Clarita has become both a headquarters and hub location. It is the 10th most economically diverse city in America.

Princess Cruises is headquartered there. Quest Diagnostics, the world’s largest medical lab testing facility, has a major regional headquarters in town. Logix, Boston Scientific, Woodward, and Honda Performance Development are also there. Hundreds of other companies, from large corporations to small businesses to Hollywood, have large footprints in the community, costing them a fraction of planting business in L.A. “We’re really a growth area, taking a huge share of what’s needed in L.A. County as we go forward,” Needham said.

They’re also innovative. Santa Clarita has put together one of the nation’s top plans to deal with COVID-19 from a business standpoint.

After educating businesses on the complex regulations in opening up, and watching many local companies switch over successfully to making PPE, they vaulted into the future to look at a post-COVID-19 work world. The focus is on satellite offices and hubs. Given Santa Clarita’s proximity to L.A. and its presence in California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, it’s a strong strategy.

“I think people will continue to at least partially work from home, even when we get past the phase of being expected to work from home,” Needham said. “Telework has worked

way better than most people thought. Thanks to COVID-19, we compressed five years of change and adoption into 90 days. We think companies will be much more supportive of people working at home.

“Companies may set up network satellite offices in locations where their employees live, so they can bring people into a physical space to be together, but not the same employee densities pre-COVID-19, and not in locations that demand long commute times. You might see a satellite office for a company based in downtown L.A. open up in Santa Clarita.

Maybe the dozen to 20 employees of a company that live out here go to that office periodically. I think we’re well-positioned to host these offices.”

Among Santa Clarita’s initiatives are a pair of master-planned smart tech communities: Vista Canyon, with 1,100 residential units and 1 million square feet of commercial office space and hotels; and the sprawling Valencia community (formerly Newhall Ranch), with 21,500 homes and 11.5 million square feet of commercial.

“With that scale of a project, you have the opportunity to think about transportation, lots of electric vehicles, a net-zero greenhouse gas community – solar on all buildings, electric vehicle chargers in all homes and commercial spaces, it can have electric community vehicles,” Needham said. ■

tech zone

BEST OF: CALIFORNIA

Moreno Valley Brings Manufacturing to the Inland Empire January was an interesting month for Moreno Valley City Manager and Economic Development Director Mike Lee. When 200 travelers returning from China were quarantined at nearby March Air Force Base, Lee and his team were introduced to COVID-19.

They promptly swung into action, anticipating the spread of the Coronavirus. Consequently, Moreno Valley emerged as one of the bestprepared and least impacted manufacturing, industrial, and tech zones in the country when COVID-19 shut everything down in March.

“We were one of the few cities already prepared for COVID-19,” Lee, a city government employee for 25 years, said. “We’d just spent the past two years updating all our tech, so we had the tools for something like this. We accelerated our preparations in January, issued computers to city staff, finished putting our permitting process entirely online, and prepared for work-at-home.

We never missed a beat, and have operated as if it’s business as usual.”

Business is as hot as a mid-summer day in this Inland Empire hub. Located 45 minutes from major cities in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, Moreno Valley is a business and tech juggernaut. In the past five years, they have opened nearly 40 million square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space to the likes of Karma Automotive (the top luxury automaker builds in Moreno Valley), Solaris Paper, Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Sketchers, ResMed (breathing apparatus machines), Harbor Tool distribution centers, Walgreens, Aldi’s, and United Natural Foods (which supplies Whole Foods).

In addition, both Riverside County Hospital and Kaiser Permanente are in the middle of million-square-foot medical office and hospital projects. March Air Force Base, its airstrip and 9,000 workers host three major business operations — Amazon Prime flights, corporate

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jet flights, and the Predator drone military project.

Not to mention the massive World Logistics Center, headquartered in Moreno Valley. Its sprawling campus totals 2,700 acres — larger than many small cities — and the corporate business center occupies 40.4 million square feet.

Besides the focus on medical, manufacturing, and logistics, Moreno Valley is also increasing its tech and business footprint in advanced manufacturing and the aerospace industry.

All of this is happening in a city of 213,000, but it’s not another Southern California sprawl town.

Moreno Valley’s 51-square-mile city limits are larger than San Francisco, the pre-COVID-19 unemployment rate was 4 percent (down from 17.5 percent in 2009), the population is growing at 5 percent annually, and the average threebedroom house is $340,000 — a steal in SoCal. Moreno Valley has created more than 20,000 jobs since 2014, and the median household income has jumped from $63,000 to $85,000.

“People have a lot of disposable income here,” Lee said.

With a highly skilled and trained local workforce, quick permitting, a vibrant Employment Resource Center with a 40,000name database, and 40 percent of its square mileage undeveloped, it’s no wonder manufacturers and businesses are looking to the area.

“Developers keep building here because the demand is non-stop,” Lee explained. “We can accommodate anything from small businesses to large industrial operations, and we’ve already spent years building our infrastructure.

“There’s a lot of interest relocating to the Inland Empire. We have the ports nearby, and a lot of companies in Orange and L.A. counties are looking to expand. Where in their counties will they find, say, a 300,000 square-foot space? They won’t. So they look to us.” ■

Mike Lee (top) has overseen Moreno Valley’s emergence as a vital auto, industrial, manufacturing and medical tech power in Southern California.

C A LIFO RNIA

2nd

largest city in Riverside County

213,914

Moreno Valley Population 2020

21st

largest city in CALIFORNIA

20-mile radius population

2,375,586 TRANSPORTATION

SERVED BY

20,000

JOBS created in 6 years

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CALIFORNIA STATE ROUTE 60 | INTERSTATE 215 METROLINK CHARTER & CARGO FLIGHTS FROM MARCH INLAND PORT AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS FROM ONTARIO AIRPORT

951.413.3460 | edteam@morenovalleybusiness.com www.morenovalleybusiness.com

tech zone

BEST OF: ARIZONA

Choose Flagstaff: The City of Innovation How a Flagstaff MedTech Nonprofit is Making a Local and Global Impact At 7,000 feet, Flagstaff is a place of world-class outdoor recreational activities. Located in the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest and centered along the “Mother Road,” historic Route 66, it has both small-town charm and the bold energy of an outdoor mecca.

What you may not know is that Flagstaff is also a tech, science, and business incubator, and you will see it in the many names of Flagstaff, such as the City of Innovation and America’s First S.T.E.M. City. However, the names don’t stop there. Named the First International Dark Skies Community, Flagstaff ’s Lowell Observatory research facility and astronomical incubator attract research astronomers from around the world. The USGS (United States Geological Survey) is the home of the Mars Rover which was created, built, and tested in Flagstaff. Flagstaff also holds one of the longestrunning science celebrations, the Festival of Science, which brings together area businesses and community members of all ages each fall.

One of those thriving local businesses is the Translational Genomics Research Institute, or TGen, a nonprofit institute with a mission of translating genomic research into life-changing results. TGen North, located in Flagstaff, is the home of the Pathogen and Microbiome Division, led by Dr. Paul Keim (known for his investigative work on the anthrax letters) and Dr. David Engelthaler, who has been the CoDirector and Associate Professor of the Pathogen and Microbiome Division at TGen North since 2006.

“Because there’s a strong history of science in Flagstaff, building up the MedTech capacity has been an easier fit than it would be in other smaller towns,” Engelthaler says. “Flagstaff has an incredibly rich science and tech background,”

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TGen's Dr. Paul Keim and Dr. David Engelthaler

due in part to other great companies like W.L. Gore & Associates, as well as research opportunities at Northern Arizona University.

“Being tucked away in a large national forest, it’s not an obvious place for a growing MedTech environment,” he says. Yet, Flagstaff doesn’t succumb to the competition of a big city, which may make it easier to connect with collaborators around the world. “Once you’re here, a lot of folks realize this is the place they want to live and where they want their families to grow.”

Flagstaff truly invites people to visit, discover, and grow.

TGen North, known as a genomic first responder, has been the lead on numerous local, national, and international infectious disease investigations, using genomic epidemiology to help public health and safety officials to stop and prevent disease outbreaks. And as a nonprofit, TGen’s mission is to make positive impacts on human health.

“Not just developing better drugs and tests,” he says, “but better tools for public health and analyzing organisms to understand new emerging diseases.”

TGen opened their doors with four people, but that number had grown to nearly 40 in recent years. With the COVID-19 response, that number has nearly doubled. In fact, Engelthaler feels that TGen has been building to this point for the past 13 years.

“Even though this [virus] was brand new, and no one had been working on this particular virus until the beginning of this year, we were able to jump in with both feet and immediately start having an impact. Thankfully, we’re able to do that here in Flagstaff.”

At the outbreak, TGen had developed a test

similar to the CDC’s test. “Using advanced molecular technology, [TGen] built our own version of the test using our own supply chains so we didn’t need to use the CDC test or those supplies they required,” Engelthaler says. “We had a test up and running, and we were able to stand up a clinical diagnostic lab to do testing on patient samples.” TGen was the first organization in the state, besides the state lab, to do that. That means that the Flagstaff community was able to start testing people very early on.

“We see this as important not just to understand and characterize the virus, but now moving forward … we’re doing real-time sequencing so we can understand if there is a new strain that’s popped up in the community, or is there a strain that’s problematic and continues to spread? That’s what we’re starting to see now by doing these analyses.”

In Flagstaff and beyond, TGen is making all their data publicly available. They’re also developing public visualization tools of the genome sequences and viral family trees to get a better picture of how the virus is spreading.

One of the other reasons why TGen North is in Flagstaff is because this is a strong, supportive community. “We connect with the schools and we connect with healthcare and we connect with policymakers so that we can make a positive impact locally as well as trying to have this broader global mission,” Engelthaler says.

“We get to see the impacts of our science and technology locally in our communities with our neighbors and know we’re making a larger scientific impact.” ■ To learn more about the innovations happening in Flagstaff, visit chooseflagstaff.com.

This is Flagstaff

PLA NET RIDE R FL AG STAF F LU NA R LEGACY Photo credit: USG S

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AXOL OT L BI OL OG IX POBA M E D IC A L

chooseflagstaff.com

tech zone

BEST OF: NEW MEXICO

New Mexico Lures Companies with Diverse Business Landscape New Mexico enjoys one of the most diverse landscapes in the United States. From high mesas to river valleys, the Sacramento and Sangre de Cristo mountains to ancient seabeds and the White Sands Missile Range, from skiing in Taos south to the Sierra Blanca glacier, the State of Enchantment has been exactly that for thousands of years — and to visitors for the past century.

What works for the landscape appears to be working for New Mexico’s business and economic fortunes. The state’s outreach to businesses seeking to relocate or expand to New Mexico has focused on the various sectors in place — and reaping major rewards.

Mexico has stood at the forefront of innovation for decades, thanks in part to top research institutions and universities that provide opportunities for business and industry to collaborate. New Mexico is home to two Department of Energy National Labs (Sandia and Los Alamos) and the Air Force Research Lab. New Mexico also houses the White Sands Missile Range, which U.S. Armed Forces, allies, partners, and defense tech innovators have used since 1945 to test the nation’s defense readiness.

New Mexico is also home to several wellestablished technology companies. They include Facebook, Intel, Raytheon, and Virgin Galactic, with a rapidly-expanding tech startup sector. “Many small tech companies have found enormous success in our state. We have unparalleled access to talent with people employed in a broad spectrum of industries with a variety of skills and a pipeline of new talent coming from our top tier research universities,” Lee said.

That’s on top of an enticing business environment that is 15-30% cheaper relative to other regions where companies are concentrated. The state also provides a suite of impactful incentives to incoming organizations.

Training workers in new tech specialties contributes to New Mexico’s economic growth.

“One of our unique features is how diverse our economy is,” said Jonathen Lee of New Mexico Partnership, which attends trade shows and other events to bring in new business. “Oil and gas have been big here for decades, but now, we’re seeing more growth in aviation, aerospace, small tech companies, industrial and manufacturing, and further expansion in tourism and special events.”

Just a snapshot look bears out the state’s strong footprint moving forward. For instance, New

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Many companies take advantage of New Mexico’s central location (2 ½ hours by plane from Los Angeles, less than four hours from the East Coast, bordering a major trading partner in Mexico). In Albuquerque, the international airport has undergone a major facelift in the past 15 years. Once sitting on its own little mesa near downtown, the airport now is surrounded by industrial and corporate parks and a residential community, reflecting the bustling scene today.

Practitioners of the latest in advanced manufacturing and technology are finding New Mexico a welcome home. Among them are Ideum, which has evolved its touch-screen technology to read gestures in these COVID-19 times; RS21, a data science and visualization

Whether planning new initiatives or incubating new businesses, New Mexico’s diversity is drawing many companies to the state.

company that solves timely complex problems like climate impacts and population health; Descartes Labs, which generates AI from millions of satellite photos to predict crop yields around the world; Build With Robots, which for its newest project enables robots to deliver spray disinfectant to sanitize areas; and Respira Therapeutics, in Phase 2 clinical development with a combination powder inhaler drug and device to help people suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension, which has been exacerbated by COVID-19.

Another major strong suit is New Mexico’s incubator system, paired with venture capital funding that focus on tech start-ups. Small business incubators and accelerators greatly increase the survival rate of new businesses, the Partnership pointed out. Some include the South Valley Economic Development Center, WESST Enterprise Center, Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University, FatPipe, Enterprise Center at San Juan College, ABQid, Team Accelerator, the New Mexico Startup Factory, and many others. ■

tech zone

BEST OF: COLORADO

Grand Junction: Merging Tech with Distributed Workforce

Page Tucker, the CEO of ProStar (left) and Mara Hardy of Grand Junction Economic Partnership are two of the leading forces behind Mesa County’s tech presence, which is spiced up by the new Riverfront at Los Colonias Park’s industrial and recreational footprint.

After the 2008-09 recession decimated Grand Junction and Colorado’s Mesa County, the two set out on a decade-long initiative to diversify business strength.

company headquartered in Telluride, CO and Pasadena, CA. Recently, the company announced it would move its California office to the Western Slope, where the owner lives.

They didn’t want a single-industry presence.

They also wanted to move to the forefront of technology and workforce practices as the Western Slope grew in popularity as a place to live.

They’ve hired 100 people since Memorial Day, with another 100 hires scheduled through September.

Flash forward to 2020. Not only has Mesa County and Grand Junction weathered the COVID storm, but they’ve become a fastgrowing hub of distributed workforces and a beacon of public health. As of July 13, no one had died from COVID-19 in Mesa County — and the overall business output continued to benefit from a pair of highly profitable years in 2018 and 2019.

“We’ve been very fortunate,” Grand Junction Economic Partnership Business Development Manager Mara Hardy said. “We were one of the first counties in Colorado to reopen, thanks to county and public health officials’ efforts.

Because our economic development partners have worked really hard for the past 5-10 years to diversify our economy, we’re not solely dependent on tourism or another single industry. Our business community has been very resilient through this.”

Case in point: InFocu5, a software service

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“They are incentivizing workers to move to the area, where they can be remote workers, a distributed workforce,” Hardy said. “This is huge for us. It’s exactly the type of owneroperated company we’re looking for. The owner loves what’s happening on the Western Slope and wants to concentrate the company here. I think we’ll see more tech companies like this move into the area with a distributed workforce.”

The distributed workforce was a major theme at the recent Western Slope Startup Week, which Hardy created for the area. So was the software sector. After welcoming 300 attendees in 2019, they went virtual due to COVID-19 in 2020 and had 400 attendees participating in 70 seminars.

“We have quite a few IT companies, but our target is software development,” Hardy said.

“This was definitely our strategy before COVID-19, but COVID-19 solidified this as the direction we should go — businesses where people can work from home and from the office.

We’re seeing an increase in these kinds of

companies reaching out.”

Grand Junction’s old footprint used to rely heavily on tourism, farming, and mining. That has changed. Another big growth area is the geospatial software sector, thanks to anchor companies KAART and ProStar GeoCorp, which just received a four-year Jumpstart rural tax incentive.

Other sectors that have fared well during COVID-19 will remain growth areas moving forward — outdoor recreation and activities, and road-based tourism.

“A couple of our bike manufacturer companies have done really well, the same with RV and teardrop trailer companies,” Hardy said. “We’re finding that people are traveling a different way, taking road trips and staycations, and we have the businesses to support that. Also, anything that involves DIY, home improvement, or gardening has done really well.”

As Mesa County and Grand Junction grow, many new residents will be moving into the sprawling Riverfront at Las Colonias mixed-use development. The 140-acre park includes a 15acre business park for tech and recreation businesses, an amphitheater, river park with two standing waves on the Colorado River, and a wilder, open space park feature. Two companies, Rocky Mount and Bonsai Design, have already moved into the business park. ■

Grand Junction, Colorado

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PARK

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RIVERFRONT at las colonias

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RIVERFRONT at las colonias PARK offers entrepreneurial companies an immersive experience geared toward wellness, community and unparalleled recreation.

Our 15-acre business park nestled in a 140-acre city park sits in the heart of downtown Grand Junction, yet offers unique access to rivers, lakes, mountains and deserts. Choose from shovel-ready sites or state-of-the-art, energy efficient buildings that offer multiple options: office, commercial, warehouse or build-to-suit.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT GRAND JUNCTION ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

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tech zone

BEST OF: MICHIGAN

Michigan’s Auto Industry Surges Forward

Autoliv’s new North America Headquarters & Technology Center will be completed at the end of 2020. Photo credit: Autoliv.

Michigan remains a viable part of America’s economic engine. The sights of automobiles rolling off assembly lines and Motown music filling the airwaves still conjure up fanciful images of The Motor City — Detroit’s handle since Henry Ford built his first assembly line more than a century ago.

Innovation, creation, and determination still drive those who have committed themselves to the region. There is a palpable grit and thriving motivation to maintain the area’s reputation as the epicenter for putting the country on wheels, whether powered by gasoline or electricity.

Not only is the state home of the “Big Three” automakers, but it’s the global landing point for those interested in research and development for all things surrounding the future car. The scores of suppliers located along a stretch of Interstate 75 north of Detroit proves that our society still needs its cars, trucks, and SUVs — with future versions to also include hybrid, electric, and autonomous vehicles. Engineers, designers, creative-types, exhibitors, and others have the opportunity to shape and be part of the next hottest vehicle on the road.

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Behind the most successful nameplates are smaller yet agile companies that the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) rely on to build their brands and boost sales. With new occupant protective equipment becoming standard, and customers growing more aware of numerous distractions from cell phones and careless drivers, safety technology has become sexy again. This has been evident at the massive Detroit Auto Show, as well as other shows throughout the country, during the past five years.

Swedish automotive safety systems supplier Autoliv is a company that fits this future vision, with plenty of innovative and forward-thinking technology while serving today’s driver. Their airbags, seatbelts, and steering wheels are made in 27 countries and are aimed at preventing injury – or worse – in a vehicle.

According to United Nations data, an estimated 1.35 million people are killed every year in road crashes and up to 50 million more are injured. This costs the global economy $1.85 trillion. In the United States, nearly 39,000 people were killed last year and 4.4 million more

were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Influenced and inspired by the Swedish “Vision Zero” approach to strive towards zero accidents and zero deaths, Autoliv also joined Together for Safer Roads (TSR), a coalition of leading private sector companies dedicated to preventing traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths on roadways around the world. Among other things, TSR addresses strategic road safety challenges in select locations by working with local governments, while also advancing innovative solutions to accelerate the growth and social impact of road safety tech.

“We can encourage each other to influence better driving habits in order to create a safer society in a positive and sustainable way with the goal of saving more lives,” said Dr. Cecilia Sunnevång, Autoliv Vice President of Research.

Next time you look at the map of the U.S. and see the state of Michigan, perhaps that mittenshaped hand will be a reminder to reach up and grab a seat belt, one likely made by Autoliv. That simple decision could save a life, perhaps even your own. ■

Worldwide Leader in Automotive Safety

airbags • seatbelts • steering wheels | autoliv.com

tech zone

BEST OF: NORTH CAROLINA

Fayetteville-Cumberland’s Recipe for Growth: Festive, Young, and Tech-Savvy

From Pentagon South to Main Street USA to the nation’s finest High-A minor league ballpark, Fayetteville houses defense contractors, tech leaders, and others that have drawn one of the nation’s youngest and most vibrant workforces.

How does a city with a known historic past launch into today’s high-tech, fast-moving times and successfully refashion its downtown area?

A great place to look is Fayetteville, NC, the hub of Cumberland County, known to many as “Pentagon South.” With a population of 211,000, Fayetteville is North Carolina’s sixthlargest city, drawing thousands of visitors annually. They roll into a historic community where the military, sports, art, culture, and a rapidly growing tech footprint blend as smoothly as a mug filled from one of the many craft breweries. The home of Fort Bragg, the most populated military base in the country, and one of the nation’s most affordable housing markets, Fayetteville teems with the very age group that drives technology, advanced manufacturing, and innovation — millennials.

The median age is 30. No wonder one magazine recognized Fayetteville as “The Most Innovative City in the Country.”

The blend of technology, innovation, community development, and business that makes Fayetteville so dynamic is evident in its $150 million work-live-play civic growth endeavor, “Project Homerun.” According to Natalie Johnson, Director of Marketing for the

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Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation, Project Homerun will ultimately bring nearly 1,100 jobs and $50 million to the local labor pool.

A public-private partnership lead by the City of Fayetteville, Project Homerun began in 2016 when the Houston Astros committed to a 30year lease for their Class A Advanced Affiliate team; now, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers play in state-of-the-art Segra Stadium, honored by Ballpark Digest as “The High A Ballpark of the Decade” after opening in 2019.

The multi-faceted construction project brings together buildings old and new, along with new businesses and offices. Among the highlights: • The 95-year-old Prince Charles Hotel, once the crown jewel of old Fayetteville and a lodging spot for Babe Ruth, among others, returned to life after many dormant years. It was renovated and repurposed into 59 luxury apartments.

• The 4,786-seat, $40 million Segra Stadium features natural grass, a 25x70 LED scoreboard, six luxury suites, four field boxes, a premium club level, outdoor party deck, kids zone, and more. It drew 250,000 fans for the 2019 season and is also used for various entertainment

events during the off-season.

• A five-story, 119-room Hyatt Place Hotel.

While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed construction, it is expected to be fully operational in 2022.

• More than 84,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of retail space, along with nearly 500 parking spaces, in an office/retail complex located behind Segra Stadium’s grandstands. It is built to unite the new and existing structures, with space in front of the ballpark for vendors.

Fayetteville and surrounding Cumberland County are also home to major tech centers from ACLC, Aevex, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics, IBM, MAG Aerospace, and Microsoft. Last year, $1.3B was performed in prime Federal contracts. Technology and defense contractors thrive on the military presence, young workforce, advanced manufacturing know-how, and extensive broadband capacity, which strongly benefits the already well-focused STEM education offerings at Cumberland County Schools, Fayetteville Technical Community College, and Fayetteville State University. ■

When it comes to developing the people and the technology to protect America’s freedom, it’s hard to think of an area that has more experience than Fayetteville and Cumberland County. We’re the gateway to Fort Bragg, home of the U.S. Army’s Airborne and Special Operations forces, with leading tech and defense contractors that performed �1.3B in prime Federal contracts last year. Our young and skilled workforce is drawn from an internationally diverse community with vibrant, creative energy and an upbeat downtown.

Visit investfayetteville.com to learn about your next business opportunity in Fayetteville.

Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation | info@fayedc.com | 910-500-6464

tech zone

BEST OF: NORTH CAROLINA

Henderson County’s Trails, Tourism, and Innovation

Few places have used do-it-yourself adventuring to bolster their economy during COVID-19 like Henderson County.

In addition, tech and agri-tourism have made the county one of the fastest-growing in North Carolina.

If you traveled from U.S. and Canadian airports in 2019, you saw promotional video ads at some point. One 15-second video might have seemed unusual, in that it promoted the semirural Henderson (NC) County.

You weren’t alone in your perception: an estimated 65 million people per month saw it.

How did a county of under 125,000 with a 19th-century county seat community, and agriculture and manufacturing as its top business components get prime positioning in North America’s airports?

Much credit goes to the “remnant queen,” Beth Carden, Executive Director at Henderson County Tourism Development Authority and resident storyteller. One of the most innovative and devoted tourism officials in America, she is retiring in December after more than 40 years in the industry.

“I’ve always taken a visionary approach, how to bring together heritage and history, retail businesses, rural experiences in our case, agritourism and technology, but always looking at helping what I call ‘time poverty’ — people don’t have enough time,” Carden said. “Part of my vision was creating experiences for visitors to have their own adventures.”

It has worked — and then some. Since 2011, Henderson County (which includes Asheville

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as well as the county seat, Hendersonville) has brought in more than $100 million through tourism.

Though ranked just 26th in population among the state’s 100 counties, Henderson County is 14th in tourism, drawing visitors from 30 countries and all 50 states. Its population also grew by nearly 10% from 2010-2019.

An estimated 30 to 35 percent of visitors come back — some to buy first or second homes in the area. USA Today cites the county as a top relocation destination. “When you walk down the street and people talk with you, that’s welcoming. You can’t find that everywhere,” Carden said. “Tourists are more interested in rural experiences. They want to get out of the cities and into something safer, healthier, and slower.”

Henderson County Travel & Tourism just enjoyed a record year, with the North Carolina Apple Festival drawing 250,000 people and the Garden Jubilee, one of the largest outdoor garden events on the East Coast, drawing another 200,000. Year-to-year growth was up a record 15 percent before COVID-19 hit.

Much of this is due to an approach that mixes history, agriculture, technology, and the surrounding Smoky Mountains (The Last of the Mohicans and the first Hunger Games were filmed in DuPont State Recreational Forest).

The most innovative Carden-led initiative creates diverse experiences with a trail theme, whether the Cheers Trail (visiting 20-plus craft breweries, wineries, or cider retailers), the Cider Trail (picking your own apples or getting cider from the seventh-largest apple-growing region in the U.S.), the Art Trail (15 galleries), or the Heritage Trail (featuring Hendersonville’s 19th-century retro postcard setting), “People who base their tourism on museum tours have a hard time drawing young people,” Carden said. “Young people are looking for their own experiences. All of our created experiences offer brochures and maps, and they can have their own adventure. These have a huge following.”

Another strong suit concerns the infrastructure and impact on local businesses.

Rather than ask businesses to join a onestrategy-fits-all approach, Carden and her team created customer service, finance, marketing, and media relations tools for them to adapt to specific ways of promoting themselves. “I’ve taken what we already had and provided tools to respond to visitors, to re-evaluate themselves, and to create these experiences,” she said.

Henderson County has fared far better than most during the COVID-19 shutdown, able to offer virtual and some outdoor activities. ■

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tech zone

BEST OF: NORTH CAROLINA

Securing Homes and Businesses — and People We visited with Strickland to get her take on the security climate and ways residents and business owners should be looking at their security and tech needs in today’s changed home, school, and business environments.

Innovation & Tech Today: What changes have you seen in demand since the pandemic started?

Amy Strickland

Elk Products has been solving security problems since the internet became more than a curiosity. They’ve also ridden the wireless wave from day one.

Now in its 28th year, the venerable North Carolinabased company has defined, evolved, and driven many security solutions, adapting to everything from basic home and business needs to the information superhighway and COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve focused on designing with easily upgradeable firmware from the beginning, so we don’t have to always restart whenever tech leaps forward,” says Marketing Design Manager Amy Strickland, who has been with Elk for 16 years.

“This enables us to keep up with changing trends and assures the longevity of our hardware.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elk Products, their techs, and installers have been working double-time. Business surged across Elk Products’ numerous product categories — including network security, wireless, residential tech, energy management, business, and voice.

“A lot of our installers have more work than they know what to do with,” Strickland said.

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Amy Strickland: We’ve seen a lot more demand for increased security systems throughout our product line, especially in the convenience and comfort side of things.

I&T Today: What is driving that?

AS: The stay-at-home situation, for sure. But also, businesses and homes have felt an increased need for security, and assessing outdated systems. We’ve done a lot of beefing up to existing systems, such as increased access control. We’ve seen custom message annunciators pick up, for delivering concise and timely information, motion detectors to promote social distancing, things like that. Our on-board mic records a message that has multiple channels for various scenarios, like motion detection, and can handle the logic of when to trigger a warning.

I&T Today: It would seem wireless security is a big one, especially with stay-at-home businesspeople and schools going to home video conferencing and going online a lot more.

AS: Wireless continues to grow in popularity, especially in the DIY market. However, with a lot of products, even some professional-grade, we’re still using older tech, unencrypted over a

single channel, which leads to hacking and worse. We’ve been successful lately with a twoway wireless system that features frequency hopping and encrypted communications.

Also, we’re focusing on wellness – to make sure the space you’re in supports wellbeing, mental health, lighting rhythms, air quality, and soundscaping. People don’t think of wellness in terms of overall security, but it is a major part of how secure we feel.

I&T Today: What about energy management? With all of us staying home more, doing things inside and out, energy and resource demands are higher than normal.

AS: Early on, we focused on saving money as the most appealing thing. Now, it’s also about redirecting consumption without sacrificing comfort. There are lots of ways you can do that — smart automation of lights, thermostats, water heaters. Even dimming the lights. You dim just a few levels, and it reduces the level every room is consuming. We also have smart irrigation and water shut-off system. If you have quick detection of a leak, it protects the integrity of your home or business, using less water and avoiding expensive repairs.

I&T Today: Getting back to do-it-yourself, you’re very cautious about that. Can you explain it?

AS: There are lots of cookie-cutter security solutions out there. That’s not the best way to go. Consider how your needs will change over time, and adapt to both your future and the future of tech. We recommend seeking a tech or security professional who can help you figure out what you need now and in the future. ■

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tech zone

BEST OF: FLORIDA

Cybersecurity Highlights FloridaWest’s Growth Plan CEO Scott Luth (left) has led the charge as FloridaWest has given the Pensacola area a business facelift, from a strict defense-shipping focus to those areas, plus cybersecurity, finance, chemical and advanced manufacturing, aviation and much more.

The Florida Panhandle and its epicenter, Pensacola, are no strangers to cybersecurity. Nor to be a major business, military, and commercial center. Cybersecurity has operated there for a century, and commerce ever since Tristan de Luna first set camp in Pensacola Bay in 1559.

“Pensacola has been a strategic location for business, commerce, and the military since before the US was founded,” FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance Director of Communications Sena Maddison said.

Added CEO Scott Luth, “Cybersecurity was birthed out of Pensacola, what used to be called ‘The Cradle of Cryptology’. It was being done here 100 years ago, interrupting communication lines, monitoring all over the world. It evolved with the birth of the Internet into the Information Warfare Training Command.”

Those two statements speak volumes to the area’s reputation as a major business, tech, and military hub — and how it will grow forward.

The hub of the FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance’s region, Pensacola, is the home of Naval Air Station Pensacola — where all Naval aviators and aircraft maintenance personnel receive their training and wings. It’s also home to a sparkling, revitalized downtown area, a beautiful new waterfront baseball stadium for the city’s AA franchise, and a beachfront refreshingly devoid of the high-rise condos that dot neighboring communities.

“We’ve never permitted multiple high-rise condos on our beaches, like the other

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communities around us,” Luth said. “Because of that, we target a different sector – families, family vacations, and business executives seeking second beach homes. CEOs can work remotely from here.”

Then there is the region’s diversified business and tech portfolio. Offering a mix of chemical manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, energy, military contractors, aviation, material development and construction, and commercial businesses, it is firing on all fronts. Among those doing business are International Paper, Ascend Manufacturing (the world’s largest nylon manufacturer), Huntsman, Exxon Mobil, Arizona Chemical, GE Wind, Bell Steel, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics.

Singapore Tech recently bought a hangar and created 400 jobs for its cargo and passenger jet maintenance and repair operations; it will soon expand to three hangars. And, 12 years after a Navy Federal Credit Union call center arrived with 400 jobs, that operation now employs 8,000 — making it bigger than Navy Federal’s corporate headquarters in Virginia.

Meanwhile, cybersecurity has become a cherished growth sector — for the region and nation. FloridaWest and partnering interests are turning the area into the nation’s cybersecurity hub. The Naval Training Center for Cybersecurity is a major part of FloridaWest’s growth and future strategic plan. The Department of Homeland Security has a cyber ops center with more than 400 employees. “As it relates to the Navy, we have 50 big and small companies supporting cybersecurity, including

locally-based companies, companies located in the downtown area, or within five to ten minutes of NAS Pensacola,” Luth said.

A most impressive aspect concerns the education and training programs for tomorrow’s experts — and keeping them home.

Cybersecurity is the biggest tech issue in the world, with cyber crimes costing the world $6 trillion annually by 2021 — up from $3 trillion in 2015, according to Cybersecurity Ventures.

The overall workforce is expected to approach 2 million by 2023, needed when nearly 1.2 million attacks are blocked daily, according to Symantec.

Through a partnership between FloridaWest, the Escambia County School District, local cybersecurity businesses, Pensacola State College, and the University of West Florida (UWF), students begin learning about cybersecurity in first grade (by becoming proficient in Microsoft Office, among other things). Then they receive the skills and tools to enter the industry through age-appropriate curriculum right through their college years.

“Seven years ago, we started capitalizing on our CyberTech sector, beginning with educating businesses and the community,” Luth said.

“Everyone needs cybersecurity, whether for their home computer or device, or their business. We’re striving to keep our young people home for rewarding cybersecurity careers – either after high school, trade school, or college, or after they’ve served in the military.” ■

our

There’s No Place Like Home Right now, you could be working…

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Contact us today and find out why Pensacola, Florida is the place to work Scott Luth – floridawesteda.com 850.898.2201 sluth@floridawesteda.com

tech zone

BEST OF: LOUISIANA

Shreveport Building for a Post-COVID-19 Economy Images provided by Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce/ magnerphoto.com

Tim Magner (center) and other Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce officials survived the downside of an oil and gas boom. Now, they are a sought-after location for young and remote workers, with booming IT, space, medical research and science, defense and new business development sectors.

It’s a growing business jewel in the south. With remote offices, a major IT presence, manufacturing, new business acceleration and biomed the hot-button topics, the Greater Shreveport business community is operating a “timing is everything” blueprint to make it a strong regional presence for the 2020s.

“We’re doing OK. We were in growth mode in general, looking to expand, so this has given us a bit of a setback, but also allowed us to rethink the options and opportunities we have,” said Chamber President Dr. Tim Magner. “With our motto of live here, work anywhere,’ we’re already promoting remote working. It really is the kind of place if you have a portable job, or are in the tech sector — a slower pace, with a yard and no commute, but with everything from office to remote to large corporate presence.”

Adds Economic Development Director Brandon Fail, “We have in place all the bones we need to radically expand technology, innovation, and start-up sectors. We have a highly preferable environment for a lot of tech businesses, with angel investors, low costs and a tax credit of 25% from the state, a software development and media tax credit.”

Shreveport blends the best of business and lifestyle, and rolls it out in an area where urban,

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suburban and rural living are minutes away from downtown. The area features retail, oil and gas, Barksdale Air Force Base (which houses half the nation’s B52 fleet and controls two-thirds of the nation’s nuclear arsenal), an IT-tech sector led

by General Dynamics IT, manufacturing, and riverboat casinos, with easy access to Dallas, Memphis, New Orleans and Atlanta. General Dynamics IT is the connecting tech force between military and the private sector, catering to government contracts, management and emergency troubleshooting (think hurricanes) with its 1,000 employees.

There is also the strong biomed community.

“We have one of the three medical schools in Louisiana, and we’re a regional medical hub, with three hospital systems as well as a Shriners Hospital, and the LSU Health Science Center,” Magner said. “We have a number of strong entrepreneurial developments along the lines of these growth areas, a lot of R&D going on here.

This is a great draw for clinicians, researchers, and people getting into biomed.”

Shreveport actively promotes its IT presence and lifestyle to organizations throughout the country. One area is its thriving, six-year-old Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (EAP), which has already talked to 1,000 businesses

about launching and added 100 businesses and 233 jobs to its portfolio.

“We take where you are and help you launch,” EAP Executive Director Dave Smith said.

“Rather than follow the accelerator model where you spend up to 16 weeks in training beforehand, we have a team of five full-time analysts and an entrepreneur-in-residence to help companies launch now and get things going, and assist along the way.

“The other thing, we stay with our businesses after they launch. For example, we’ve been helping our portfolio businesses pivot and build in resiliency during the pandemic. We work with all types of businesses, from bakeries to widget builders to cyber security.”

The city is also in the process of bringing on a program to pay for tuition and educational opportunity for 100 young people for coding, “We’re looking to double the number of software developers, for remote and regular employment, in the next couple of years,” Fail said. Added Magner, “We’re developing workforce pipelines for our future.”

Shreveport is also zeroed in on remote workers, and large organizations seeking to move or create hub offices in the city. Both have gained enormous momentum from the pandemic. ■

Produced in partnership with

Redefining Live Events, One Reusable Cup at a Time Produced in partnership with

Veteran music producer and environmental solution innovator Michael Martin puts his love of live concerts and the planet together. The result is r.Cup, the most disruptive — and reusable — product holding drinks at a show near you.

Produced in partnership with

By Robert Yehling

Produced in partnership with

Michael Martin (opposite page) has turned r.Cup into the green refreshment container of choice at concerts, festivals, and sports events nationwide, including SXSW.

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Produced in partnership with

It only makes sense, some 30 years after he threw off his tie, produced the massive Earth Day 1990 celebration, and became an acclaimed live event producer and expert on greening practices at venues, that Martin would create a product that married together with his two great passions. With r.Cup (http://www.rcup.com), headquartered in Minneapolis, Martin has not only fulfilled that goal but created a fast-growing product that is becoming a cultural hit for three generations of music and sports fans.

“We’re combining culture with social change impact through our work with live music and other events. I can’t think of a better platform to launch our efforts since this audience tends to be very receptive and action-oriented toward environmental and social issues. Our goal is for concerts to minimize their environmental impact,” Martin said. “We want to create complete awareness to stop using single-use plastics.”

His approach is brilliant. Thanks to more than two dozen partnering bands — including heavyweights like The Rolling Stones, U2, Dave Mathews Band, Rod Stewart, Jack Johnson, Radiohead, and Roger Waters — fans buy their drinks in r.Cups at those shows. They can then either use the cup at the show and return it or bring it home with them as a logo-embossed collectible.

That’s the delicious catch — no r.Cup is thrown away. Instead, the r.Cup team collects cups from bins set around arenas, stadiums and festival grounds, along with the turned-in cups, then washes, sterilizes and redistributes them, over and over again. The #5 virgin bioplastic used to make r.Cups, an environmentally sound product, makes that possible.

“Single-use plastics— even those made of biodegradable material— is an outdated approach in need of systematic change,” Martin said. “With r.Cup, we can inspire that kind of

change in a way that rewards fans while removing hundreds of tons of plastic from the waste stream.”

In so doing, Martin and r.Cup are directly addressing one of the worst and most harmful pollution sources — single-use plastics. Every year, 600 billion single-use cups are used and discarded, an average of 80 cups for every man, woman, and child on the planet. Of those, 4 billion come from live events. They end up in landfills, incinerators, and oceanic gyres, all of which break down the cups into microplastics that end up in our food supply. When a credit card-sized portion of microplastic ends up in our diets weekly, as it now does, the environmental impact becomes a personal health concern.

In contrast, zero r.Cups are single-use.

When you total up all the concerts, venues, and festivals in which r.Cups are made available, the savings to the environment amount to more than 150,000 pounds of plastic trash eliminated from landfills, and more than 1 million pounds of carbon dioxide that never reaches the atmosphere. Those were r.Cup’s figures for 2019. It should come as no surprise that r.Cup was named one of Fast Company magazine’s “World’s 10 Most Innovative Live Event Companies” for 2020. Another of its innovative features? Ten percent of the company is owned by non-profits working on the plastic crisis.

“The problem at concerts, is because of their nature, you can’t use glass cups, and most markets require see through cups” Martin said.

“It forces you to use plastic, so the best solution is to reuse the plastic.

Our vision is to become the backbone of the reuse economy. We’re promoting and educating on greater awareness of reuse, along with the impact traditional single-use plastics are making on all of us — from environmental stress to plastic in the ocean to the broken-down microplastics in our food supply. We feel we’ve hit the combination of sustainability and efficiency.”

Concert venues, promoters, band managers, producers, and other decision-makers in the multi-billion live music and entertainment

Produced in partnership with

Produced in partnership with

Courtesy of r.cup

Michael Martin’s path through business life looks more like the twists and turns of the Road to Hana — with just as much green around it.

Ever since he pushed aside an early career as a Wall Street investment banker to focus on using capitalism for good, and to find ways to benefit individual and planetary health, Martin has been a crucial environmental disrupter and innovator.

Produced in partnership with

world are notorious for butting heads — especially when it comes to tickets, concessions, and other money-making opportunities. As a man who has produced numerous concerts and festivals, Martin knows the politics of event production well. For that reason, he came up with simple programs for r.Cups to be used in three different types of relationships: with touring bands, event venues (sports too), and festivals.

The core program is the deposit model. When someone attends a concert featuring one of r.

Cup’s branding partners — the Stones or U2, for example — they pay a $3 deposit when buying a drink at the concession stand. The cup is branded with the band’s logo; it’s an instant collectible. Concertgoers have the option to use the cup and return it to the concessionaire or a green-shirted r.Cup official onsite for a deposit refund; put the used cup in an available bin (to have their refund donated to a local non-profit); or take it home.

“Everyone wins,” Martin said, “because the floor is spotless, the fans get a cool keepsake, the social media is great and the venue makes some money. The venue wins because typically, 80 to 90 percent of waste from a concert goes to landfills or incinerators. None of our cups do.

They’re either reused or taken home.”

The other model, used with r.Cup partnering venues such as the Chase Center is the “no SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Produced in partnership with

Produced in partnership with

Produced in partnership with

Courtesy of r.cup

deposit” program. The building embeds an added fee into drink prices, and fans receive an r.Cup of higher quality than the typical singleuse plastic. They can refill, reuse, return, put the cups in the bins, or take them home.

What happens to the cups placed in bins at the venue? They are harvested, sanitized, and reused, over and over. No cups remain on the floor; none go to a landfill.

Not surprisingly, artists and venues are flocking to the r.Cup caravan. They see the combination of strong environmental messaging and direct assistance to the planet with brand identification and great public relations, through the most-held product besides a mobile phone at any show — a drink cup. If the concept of sustainability could be magically bottled, these would be the ingredients. In just the past two years, r.Cup has partnered with the First Avenue venue in Minneapolis, the Hollywood Bowl, in Los Angeles, St. Augustine (FL) Amphitheatre, Warped Tour, and others. Martin has worked with Live Nation and U2 since 2009, which is why r.Cups were fixtures on U2’s eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour.

“U2 and Live Nation continue to be leaders in showing how global tours can address

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sustainability the right way,” Martin said. “r.Cup continues a tradition started on the U2 360 Tour and joins efforts like offsetting CO2 emissions, donating excess catering supplies to local food banks, working with venues to adopt paper straws and engaging directly with fans on actions they can take.”

Martin’s longstanding work on the environment has accelerated in the past twenty-five years, through his agency, Effect Partners, which created r.Cup. Their reach stretches into some of our largest manufacturing and consumer product concerns.

Besides working with the world’s leading artists on greening initiatives, along with President Obama’s administration and EPA, Effect Partners has identified major sustainability issues and acted as a catalyst to develop business and culture-based solutions to tackle them. Among the projects: • Working with Live Nation to help develop their sustainability strategy; • Working with Toyota to launch the Prius; • Working with Apple Computer to take complete responsibility for their CO2 emissions; • Working with Green Mountain Energy and Native Energy to launch green energy in the US; • Helping to make Earth Day an annual event following the huge 1990 celebration; • Creating the nation’s first global warming campaign in 1999, the Ben & Jerry’s Dave Matthews Band One Sweet Whirled Campaign.

Martin grows even more excited when considering r.Cup’s growing foothold in the 2020s fight to mitigate climate change and further environmental damage — and the young musicians, entertainers, and venues run by young entrepreneurs. For them, the environment isn’t a cause to explore optionally, like it was for many of their Baby Boomer and Gen X parents and grandparents; it’s a matter of life.

“Artists have always had a voice in identifying and speaking out on issues,” Martin said. “That’s part of our rationale for working with music and

sports industries. If I knock on a door, it might not open. If an artist knocks, people will listen.

Artists are not only catalysts for change, but also spokespeople for change — whether it’s through educational programs, sampling, not using single-use, or trading in. This is how society ultimately changes, how people wake up.

“There are younger bands and artists getting involved with us. Their advantage is they’re already environmentally aware and are outspoken. They also have social media platforms that are way more powerful than what the classic artists had when they started. They can put out the message in ways that are heard.

“I love to work with emerging artists. They’re already geared to make social change and to make their tours greener. It’s really about artists influencing the world. This generation has a supercharged way of getting it out because of the power of social media,” he concluded.

This commitment to engagement, and providing a product that can make a cultural and environmental impact, fuels Martin’s mission moving forward. He sees it as a tangible way every person can reduce trash and their carbon footprint, while also benefitting from the wide platform and podium musicians, athletes, and other performing artists enjoy. He also hopes it can inoculate a younger generation from the despair and hopelessness many feel as they hear the latest daunting news about the state of our planet.

“Today, there’s a huge feeling of helplessness we’re feeling, between climate change, plastics in the ocean, single-use items, not being able to make a difference,” he says. “We see the problem as being so much bigger than us, and not all governments are working to improve it. We’re all trying to think of something we can do to help.

“I see that manifested in r.Cup. Because of the message, it sends a positive signal to communities — we want the world this way. It’s disruptive. People know that what’s happening now is not right for children and future generations; our economic frontloading is destroying the planet while making a few people rich. When people see r.Cup, they message us on social media saying, ‘Why hasn’t this been done before?’ It gets them to think of solutions and how they can use the cup in their community efforts.” 

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The School Reopening Dilemma

Do we open schools? Or not? What happens if we open — and then have to close again?

A look at the issue — and options for STEM teachers Perspective by Robert Yehling

Normally, back-to-school is a time of great energy and excitement. Parents and teachers are thrilled the kids are headed into the classroom.

Learning is in the air. School sports, clubs, robotics, and academic competitions crank up again. The economy receives an $80 billion boost in sales of school supplies, tech, and clothes according to the National Retail Foundation.

This year is far different. Rather than circling mid-August to early September on their calendars and eyeing it with growing anticipation, many parents, teachers, and administrators have wrung their hands about back-to-school for months. With COVID-19 roaring at a level we never saw during the shutdown in March that started this, many view this normally festive time with fear and trepidation, as well as uncertainty. After all, what happens if kids go back to school and teachers begin testing positive? What about the many rural communities where there is little to no spread?

The recent hard push by the Trump Administration to reopen all schools, regardless of public safety, has added gasoline to an already flammable issue. When the press secretary says “science should not stand in the way” of schools reopening, parents and teachers push back.

Hard. As they are doing. The larger question, it seems, is how will students and teachers focus

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Buncee is one of the most innovative and interactive virtual educational platforms — a perfect combination for STEM learning needs today.

on a full curriculum — while still catching up from the lost months of early 2020 — if they have one eye looking over their shoulder at a possible COVID-19 outbreak?

There’s no question that kids will benefit more from being in school than not. Experts have cited the social, mental health, and academic benefits, not to mention keeping students on a consistent nine-month learning track — which, of course, creates good students and a future workforce in which education will be of paramount importance, particularly for

business, tech, medical, and STEM-based careers.

However, how much will they — or society — benefit with a virus raging on their campuses?

How much will they be protected if the schools follow CDC guidelines for socially distanced classrooms, masks, closed cafeterias, and public gathering areas, and possibly staggered hours and days to keep the on-campus numbers down?

On the surface, the coronavirus numbers among students appear to be low enough to at

Interactive story and character creation, whether in socially-distanced classrooms or online, will be a major part of reading curricula moving forward.

least initiate a re-opening. According to the CDC, 4.6% of kids test positive. Only 1% are hospitalized, and 0.3% die from COVID-19.

The number that is not known, and which doctors and scientists crave, is the percentage of adults in schools that get the virus from kids. We don’t know, because kids have been largely at home since March.

It’s a fair question, especially after the reported death of an Arizona summer school teacher in July — one of three teachers in that school who contracted COVID-19 during class sessions. It has also been reported that many teachers are preparing wills ahead of the school year.

These are the questions and issues behind the school reopening debate, which continues to rage throughout the country. Despite threats from the White House to not provide funding to schools that remain closed, and mandates from some states and school boards to open, individual school districts are taking matters into their own hands.

For example, in Southern California, the Orange County Board of Education voted to return kids to school without masks or social distancing in mid-July. The largest school districts in the county — Irvine, Santa Ana, Anaheim, etc. — promptly turned against that ruling and opted to begin the year with online learning. This came a day after the Los Angeles and San Diego school districts also announced they would begin online. Houston, Atlanta, and many other crowded districts in areas besieged

by COVID-19 are following suit.

Which brings us to online learning. A year ago, online learning enjoyed a strong college platform, with virtually all universities using it in some capacity — or entirely. At the high school

and primary school level, it was a strong classroom tool, also a way to offer alternative classes or to extend an existing course.

All of that changed at the speed of a virus.

After being forced to ramp up in a hurry last spring, educators and administrators have spent the past months working out kinks and curriculum so that the online experience can be almost as academically rich as in-class learning.

They’ve learned new platforms, refined or replaced existing school platforms, and become far more proficient in virtual teaching. Noted Alison Needham, a parent and marketing communications manager of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp., “We compressed five years of change and adoption into 90 days.”

Online learning is here to stay. The teachers and administrators we’ve talked to for STEM Today can no longer imagine an educational world without it. Students get much of their daily information online — YouTube videos, NatGeo channel, social media, program streaming — in the same way, previous generations got it from reading or listening to the radio. With the sharp ramp-up in video communication use this year, teachers now can see all of their students while splitting their own screens to deliver classroom lessons.

Also, there are great companies and initiatives that not only provide strong education platforms and portals, but also innovative and collaborative programs within it. For instance, Buncee’s platform (www.edu.buncee.com) works on a creative and educational partnership between students, teachers, and parents.

Projects are created from scratch and can involve students chatting with each other from

different countries. Hundreds of schools already use Buncee, whose regular participation is closing in on 1 million users. The leader of the pack is Udemy (www.udemy.com), with 40 million students and some 50,000 instructors.

Coursera’s (www.coursera.org) scholastic and professional online courses draw 23 million students. Skillshare (www.skillshare.com) has 4 million students and nearly 24,000 courses that combine small videos, class projects, and a student community that runs discussion forums.

Some other great providers of online learning include Quality Matters (www.qualitymatters. org), Google Classroom, Education.com, Pearson (www.pearson.com), and LearnWorlds (www.learnworlds.com).

With good planning, creativity, pooling between parents to help guide specific subjects as homeschoolers do, and at-home discipline, online learning may well be the savior of the 2020-21 school year — especially if COVID-19 rages on and the vaccine isn’t distributed to all in the next several months. And especially for STEM students, who are proficient on computers, devices, and online communication.

While everyone wants schools to open, the cost in health and lives to children, teachers, and adults on problem campuses is not worth it to many. We may have to deal with up to another year of virtual school in many (if not most) communities — so be sure your school, or your home, are equipped with the best online learning options possible. ■ ROBERT YEHLING is a former high school and college educator, and the Executive Editor of our sister publication, STEM Today.

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DBW Returns With Packed Online Conference Agenda Key figures of the book publishing world will join Innovation & Tech Today in Nashville for Digital Book World Global, one of publishing’s most important and prestigious events.

The 10-hour online event will be held Sept. 16, after event organizers decided in late July to cancel the originally scheduled accompanying two-day live event in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DBW Global will feature virtual presentations by some of publishing’s most influential and innovative leaders, including Penguin Random House managing editor Jennifer Baker, Bookshop CEO Andy Warren, Vooks co-founder Shannon Bex, super-agent Jeff Kleinman of Folio Literary Management, and more.

The Digital Book World Awards will go on as planned. Nominations were closed on May 29, but awards will be given in nearly 40 categories for winning authors, publishers, libraries, podcasters, booksellers, media outlets, and more.

Innovation & Tech Today was one of the presenters in 2019 and will be again in 2021. The awards will be announced online on August 3.

Registrations remain open for DBW Global. Please go to www.digitalbookworld.com to register.

Innovative Properties Worldwide, the parent company of Innovation & Tech Today, is a charter media partner of Digital Book World. Innovation & Tech Today has participated in DBW since its inception.

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We won't get to see programs live at Digital Book World, like the 2019 talk between Simon & Schuster Executive VP Liz Perl (L) and DBW Producer Bradley Metrock, but DBW 2020 will still provide a full day of online presentations by the top influencers and leaders in publishing today.

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OMNIA Mix Dual Port Charger – Powered by AUKEY’s OmniaChip, this charger provides up to three-times faster charging with just half the size and weight. The OMNIA can fast-charge PDcompatible smartphones like iPhones or Pixels while powering a regular phone at the same time using the other port. The device can also charge a 13” MacBook Pro and other similar USB-C laptops in record time. $50

Petcube Bites 2 – What loving pet owner wouldn’t want to peek in on their pets while away from home? With Bites 2, you can watch your furry friend with live HD video, night vision, and 4x digital zoom. Dispense a treat with a swipe of your phone, quickly reinforcing good behavior or calming anxiety.

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SUMMER 2020 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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EVENTS

Gone Virtual

The Next Step in Event Production, Implementation, and Attendance… If Only for a While While many organizations embrace the virtual event, industry pros maintain a need to return to the traditional ‘in-person’ experience. The remaining 2020 event schedule has been thinned out with only the biggest and the baddest of the industry remaining to take their shows online.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced most organizations to shut down their events and hope for better days in 2021. However, some have embraced the opportunity to improve the virtual event experience as not only a

An Event “First”

potential necessity, but as an

Charles Warner, CEO of Innovative Properties Worldwide and Editor-in-Chief of Cannabis & Tech Today, said: “It is time people reimagine virtual events.”

option for those not able to make the real thing down the road.

“There were glitches in the early stages of virtual events, but we feel Hyperfair — a virtual reality environment with avatars — is more engaging and sustainable for attendees and exhibitors,” he said. “If companies cannot create compelling virtual events with the leading technology, they are missing a valuable opportunity.”

Created by Innovative Properties Worldwide and beginning Sep. 8, the Emerge Virtual Cannabis Conference & Expo is not only the cannabis industry’s first avatar-based virtual event, the two-day live event will conclude with 90 days of learning and networking.

Emerge Virtual Cannabis Conference & Expo: September 8-9, 2020

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coming next issue A Return to STEM

Although there are many changes to daily protocol, autumn is typically the time we return to school, to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

What’s Left This Year?

Not much, but events like Collision from Home 2020 and Outdoor Retailer Online already dipped their toes in virtual waters this summer while annual extravaganzas like CEDIA, Greenbuild, and CES embrace the online format with one eye on the future.

The CEDIA Expo Virtual programming will include a series of Tech Talks, Keynotes, Design plus Connection track, CEPro Fireside Chats, and TechBites.

Following the three-day live event, the CEDIA Expo Virtual platform will be available on-demand through the end of 2020.

CEDIA Expo Virtual Event: September 15-17, 2020 Are you a leader in sustainability? Are you an advocate of climate and green building? Alongside their event newcomers, Greenbuild is also going online to ensure their regular attendees and exhibitors can enhance their understanding of architecture, net zero, carbon, energy, resilience, health, and wellness.

Greenbuild Virtual International Conference + Expo: November 10-12, 2020

Will the skills gap finally catch up with manufacturing? Are higher rates of women joining the STEM fields? How do modern gaming, sports, and the ‘new normal’ intersect with the sciences?

The Emerging Esports Industry

If your major sporting team wasn’t shut down this year due to the coronavirus, it is much different than what it was before. While esports may not have needed a delay from the major sporting leagues to lift off, it didn’t hurt the emerging industry to become the only show in town for a while.

Are we seeing the evolution of a new sporting profession like skateboarding in the 1970s and 80s? Are professional teams recruiting gaming talent? Is it a viable career option for your child?

A New Way to Travel

The COVID-19 pandemic placed an overdue emphasis on developing safer travel protocol.

In our fall Issue, we plan to highlight them all.

Everything from electronic noses installed in airplanes to sniff out dangerous chemicals or disease, to anti-microbial plastics and coatings to address cleanability and surface integration of electronics in cars.

What are companies like Boeing, Airbus, and Lockheed Martin doing in aircraft construction to help? Are their designers considering not only the coronavirus, but other potential pandemics coming down the line?

CEDIA Goes Virtual ‘The Industry Standard’ and New State of Events Caroline Finnell, senior coordinator at the Consumer Technology Association, producer of the CES event, said with concerns about the spread of COVID-19, “it was not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person.”

CES 2021 provides an opportunity to focus on building a first-class digital experience for attendees, she said. “We plan to return to Las Vegas for CES 2022, combining the best elements of a physical and digital show because nothing can truly replace face-to-face connections and discovery.”

CES Digital Event: January 6-9, 2020

No doubt, past attendees saw this coming.

Emerald, owner of the CEDIA Expo trade show, announced dates for a virtual conference replacing the in-person annual convention.

The first-time CEDIA Expo Virtual event will be held September 15-17, 2020, as a completely virtual and interactive experience.

Check out Innovation & Tech Today’s fall Issue to find all the answers.

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The Lighter Side

You Know You’ve Been In Quarantine Too Long When…

By Joe Toppe

Each of us could provide a laundry list of answers here. Whether its 12-hour binge sessions in the soft red light of the Netflix logo or keeping a vampire’s hours because you haven’t been up before noon in nearly two months.

Whatever your answers, Innovation & Tech Today’s compilation below is sure to be at the top of someone’s list.

You know you’ve been in quarantine too long when…

Six rolls of toilet paper become a valuable currency.

Now, we’re not saying you’re out making some extra money on the street, but you can sure get a free meal from mom for a few squares.

Not only that, but you can also score some extra points with your better half by holding out on the last roll until they’re wobbling down the hall looking for paper towels.

You know you’ve been in quarantine too long when…

You know you’ve been in quarantine too long when…

Four naps a day makes sense, especially when they’re guilt-free.

While living through a pandemic poses many challenges, staying at home provides a unique opportunity to live in your sweatpants and disregard the snooze button for the first time.

Two outfits each day consist of your “morning pajamas” and your “evening pajamas.” Perhaps you’ll be energetic enough to match your bottoms with your top? Perhaps your best evening wear is tattered shorts and a conference championship t-shirt from the early 2000s?

Why?

You never turned it on in the first place.

You know you’ve been in quarantine too long when…

Nine pounds. of extra weight are okay because you’re in your pajamas. Remember how uncomfortable those work clothes could be? Do my socks match my tie? Does this blouse look better with my hair up or in a bun?

In quarantine, the fashion show is letting its hair down. Come as you are!

Whatever the case, you’ll never have to use your iron again.

You know you’ve been in quarantine too long when…

Seven days feel like a week and a half, or just like an afternoon. It’s pretty easy to lose track of the days in a quarantined pandemic. Up is down and down is up. Cats are chasing dogs and Mondays no longer haunt our Sunday afternoons. The dreaded work week has been cut off at the head. In fact, it’s just the opposite under quarantine.

Under quarantine, we are all enjoying a lost weekend together.

You know you’ve been in quarantine too long when…

5 o’clocksomewhere never ends. We’ve already said it here. No need for early bedtimes, work clothes, or a calendar. When you’ve got nothing going on, the party doesn’t have to end… Unless you live in a dry county or where the liquor stores close at four.

Photos: iStockphoto.com

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