The Picarro Surveyor scanning the air. Photo by Dean Le

This Picarro Surveyor was recently spotted in Santa Clara County by SoloPoint Solutions CEO, Dean Le. This surveyor is used to “sniff” out possible gas leaks in the area by having the instrument mounted on a car and the data gets collected using a geo-informatics platform. This means the air analyzed by the surveyor gets plotted through a GPS map. The way the Picarro Surveyor was engineered is to distinguish natural gas isotopes from other forms of methane with no false positives. The data collected then can be generated, plotted on a map and shared in a secured cloud platform.

Dean’s comment about the mechanical design aspect of this device as “pretty amazing, given that it can detect gases at parts per billion level.”

To learn more about the Picarro Surveyor, visit their website at: www.picarro.com

In order to address this problem, Fraunhofer FIT, a European company, is developing a software solution that is designed to monitor manufacturing processes and develop new answers for saving money on energy costs. In many cases, changes that companies make to become less reliant on traditional energy can save upwards of 10% every year on their overall energy expenses. This is significant, and could have a huge impact on manufacturing companies.

Developing this software hasn’t been easy however, particularly when you consider just how varied different manufacturing industries are. No two companies operate in exactly the same way, which presented a challenge to the software developers.

“It is a real challenge to integrate the plethora of devices involved, coming from many different manufacturers and using diverse communication protocols and interfaces, in a coherent system and to make the massive amounts of data they generate usable in a company’s business IT systems. With our software platform, this can be done,” said the head of Fraunhofer’s FIT Department of User-Centered Computing, Dr. Markus Eisenhauer.

This new software has the potential to revolutionize the way manufacturing companies operate. In addition, it could also have a tremendous impact on the environment. As more manufacturing companies work towards a more sustainable, eco-friendly way of operating, everyone wins. The environment bears a lesser impact and the companies save money, enabling them to hire more people and produce better products. This cycle is definitely a win-win for everyone involved.

These advances also spell success for those involved in manufacturing and engineering. The push towards creating sustainable energy practices is demanding and there is a need for engineering students who specialize in this particular industry. It is expected that the demand for these types of positions will only increase in the years to come.

Do you have a question on the changing face of the engineering industry and how green initiatives will impact it? Ask the experts at SoloPoint today!

One new innovation shows the most promise. Called the CORBYS robot, this new machine has the ability, through sensors, to sense how strong a patient is, how they are responding to treatment and can make even the most minute adjustments that are needed. For example, if a stroke patient is walking on a treadmill, the CORBYS robot can be hooked up to them through a series of stick-on sensors and a special cap. As the patient begins walking, the robot monitors their heart rate, muscle tension and strength as well as their current heart rate.

“The walking robot has several settings, and the therapist selects the correct mode based on how far the patient has come in his or her rehabilitation”, says Anders Liverud of SINTEF. “The first step is to attach sensors to the patient’s body and let them walk on a treadmill. A therapist manually corrects the walking pattern and, with the help of the sensors, create a model of the patient’s walking pattern”,

“The patient wears an EEG cap which measures brain activity”, continues Liverud. “By using these signals combined with input from other physiological and system sensors, the robotic system registers whether the patient wants to stop, change speed or turn, and can adapt immediately”, he says. “The robot continues to correct any walking pattern errors. However, since it also allows the patient the freedom to decide where and how he or she walks, the patient experiences control and keeps motivation to continue with the training.”

These new advances will have a big impact on the medical community and the demand for engineers who specialize in medical technology is high. As more medical companies begin to adopt this technology, the demand is only going to increase.

This is great news for engineering students who wish to enter the medical field. Not only are the job opportunities strong and the pay competitive, but they will also have the ability to have a tremendous impact on the lives of patients by improving their rehab prospects as well as their overall quality of life.

Do you have a question about the impact of engineering in the medical field? Ask the experts at Solopoint today!

This event explained in detail what the Affordable Care Act is; who is eligible and what employers are responsible for.  SoloPoint Solutions provides contract engineering staffing and employee leasing so in effect, it has many employees who will be eligible for insurance coverage.  Being on the leading edge of employment SoloPoint Solutions is proactively ensuring that it is and will be in compliance with all aspects of the new health care reform laws.

For information about the upcoming reform, please visit the following links:

· CA Exchange – www.healthexchange.ca.gov

· Covered California – www.coveredca.com

· CMS Center for Information & Oversight – http://cciio.cms.gov/

· Kaiser Foundation – www.kff.org/

· Health Affairs – www.healthaffairs.org

The idea behind this app is that in order to properly combat traffic congestion and get things moving as smoothly as possible, each driver needs to adjust their driving behavior. If you can get everyone driving properly, it follows that the congestion will be minimized. The app currently being tested by Honda allows drivers to glance at their smartphone periodically to determine whether or not they are driving properly for the situation.

The app monitors acceleration and deceleration as well as reporting on whether or not the current driving behavior will lead to a traffic jam. By aligning with other vehicles and optimizing their driving, a reduction in the amount of traffic jams was actually realized during the study. While more testing is necessary, and the fact that encouraging drivers to use their smartphones while driving is frowned upon in most areas, it does appear that by encouraging drivers to change their behavior, smoother traffic conditions can be realized. Honda is also working on features of the app that will audibly alert the driver to eliminate the need to glance away from traffic while driving.

Eventually, it may be possible for engineers to create a built-in solution to vehicles that will help maintain a constant flow of traffic and eliminate the problems of traffic jams. There is certainly demand for these applications and as the population continues to rise, the need will continue to increase.

For students interested in engineering, these apps prove that there is definitely room for improvement in the engineering process of vehicles, as well as providing apps for drivers that can reduce the likelihood of traffic jams. Third world and developing countries and high population amounts will definitely need help to address these problems as they occur. For those in the engineering field, the future in this industry is definitely bright.

Do you have questions about developing new technologies in engineering? Ask the experts at Solopoint for advice today!

Wysips, a French technology start-up, recently announced that they are working on a new solution that promises to revolutionize the way we charge our phones. Their engineering team has created a light-powered film that can be applied to a smartphone. Once applied, if the phone is left out in sunlight or even artifical light, it will slowly recharge the battery. Overall, it takes about 10 minutes of direct sunlight to provide 2 minutes of actual use time.

Ludovic Deblois, the CEO of Wysips stated, “With 10 minutes in the sun you will be able to communicate for two minutes. To recharge completely you will have to expose it for six hours, so our technology is not necessarily for a full recharge but rather for an energy boost for specific applications. For example, for security if you have to make an emergency call. So if you arrive at the airport and you have your boarding pass on the mobile you can’t have a telephone that runs out of battery so you can just put it in the light and recharge it.”

This new technology has the potential to eventually replace the need for constantly recharging our phones and it is ideal for those in emerging marketplaces. Deblois also added, “The African continent interests us in terms of market because there are more than 500 million people with a mobile telephone but it is a continent that is only 40 percent electrified, which means people need energy to recharge their telephones.”

Engineers created this film to be low-cost, which will allow just about everyone access to it. Right now, it is estimated that it costs just 1 Euro to create the film. The final price however will be set by the manufacturers who adopt the film on their phones.

This is big news for the engineering field at large. As phone companies embrace this technology, there will not only be a higher demand for engineers who can continue to improve on this invention, but it will also broaden the smartphone engineering sector.

Want more information on how engineers are constantly impacting our daily lives? Ask the experts at Solopoint!

Let’s look at just a few ideas that you can begin implementing at your company right away. All of these ideas are very low cost, and some are even free!

Get a Little Clever

 Creativity goes a long way – not only does it show that you actually put some thought and time into your gift, it’s also a light hearted way to say thank you. For example, you could put together a small gift of a coffee cup, filled with packs of Reece’s Pieces and with a little note that says “We appreciate you to Pieces!” Little gifts that are handmade and feature a cute play on words are always appreciated.

 Creating a Recognition Board

 Public recognition also means a lot to employees. Create a special board in a break area and use it to highlight employees who go above and beyond to help customers or do their job. You can also use this board to display special letters and recognition you receive from your customers. This gesture means a lot to employees and will also serve to motivate other employees who would like to be seen on that public board.

 Simple and Free

 Recognition doesn’t have to be costly – in fact, it can even be done for free. Simply taking aside an employee and thanking them personally lets them know how much you value their contributions to your company. It means even more if it comes directly from the owner or boss of the company. Again, it’s not what you spend, it’s the fact that you’re making an effort to go out of your way to show your appreciation.

Any or all of these programs will help your employees know just how much they mean to you and your company. You don’t have to go all out to make someone feel valued. In many cases, it’s the little things that truly mean the most.

Do you need a few more ideas on how to create an affordable employee recognition system? Ask the experts at Solopoint today!

The exterior view of the stadium. Photo by: Dean Le

A glimpse of the field being built. Photo by: Dean Le

Inside the stadium. Photo by: Dean Le

Safety vest with the 49ers logo. Photo by: Dean Le

From left to right: Dean Le (CEO), Tom Truong (CFO) and Tom Sons (COO)

On April 18, the SoloPoint Solutions’ executives caught more than a glimpse of the upcoming new home to the San Francisco 49ers. Dean Le, Tom Truong and Tom Sons were invited to take a tour of the Santa Clara Stadium that’s being built approximately 2.5 miles away from the company’s headquarters. The new stadium will include up to 68,500 seating capacity and has an estimated building cost of $1.4 billion. According to the website www.newsantaclarastadium.com, the stadium will have an open layout that includes green and sustainable design, while featuring innovative technology that the Silicon Valley is best known for. The stadium design includes photovoltaic panels, water-conserving plumbing fixtures and HD video boards that measures over 13,000 square feet.

Out of the $1.4 billion in budget, the San Jose Mercury News states that $368.6 million has already been spent to date and the expenses include $25.7 million in electrical systems, $20.9 million for plumbing, $30.5 for concrete and $70 million for steel. 2013 is expected to be the last season for the 49ers to play in Candlestick Stadium, home of the 49ers since 1971. They are expected to play their 2014 season in the new stadium.

Tom Truong, CFO of SoloPoint Solutions, said, “The complexity and magnitude of this project including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and construction logistics can really be appreciated when you have an opportunity to see the work in progress.”

Thanks to a new release from Tacton Systems, this problem has been solved with an amazing result. The improvements to this ETO application, TactonWorks, have been shown to cut engineering time down by around 90%. That is very significant and spells a big change coming in the engineering world.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Corporation, (MCO), started using this software in 2011 and they are the ones who reported the shocking improvement to their workflow. Its automated processes and superior quickness had a major impact on MCO as well as their suppliers, who began using TactonWorks a few months ago. The company was so impressed with this result that they plan to convert more of their systems over to TactonWorks.

“We are amazed at the amount of time we’ve saved since starting to use TactonWorks—and this after implementing it in only one part of our product assembly. We really believe in this solution and are eager to start using it for our other models as well”, says Mr.Yasuhiko Omi, Director of Plant Engineering Division at Technology Management Center, MCO.

Christer Wallberg, the CEO of Tacton Systems added, “We are very happy to see a customer get such fantastic return after using our solution for only a short period of time. We look forward to seeing how much more time they will save in the coming phases of the project.”

These new advances will have a huge impact on the engineering industry as a whole. Saving time means saving money and this is something that companies always want to hear. That money can go into hiring new engineers and improving their teams even further, so that they can stay competitive in today’s marketplace. This is great news for engineering candidates. Not only will companies reap the benefits from using TactonWorks, the end-user and suppliers will also benefit from this time and money saving capability.

Do you have a question on the changing engineering industry and how it will impact employment both for companies and new engineering graduates? Ask the experts at Solopoint today!

Thanks to a new application from Geomagic Spark, this problem is soon to be a thing of the past. Instead of having to rely on separate applications during the design process, engineers can quickly and accurately scan in their 3D images, continue on to the CAD modeling stage and work in both 3D and 2D environments smoothly.

While the current price-point will not appeal to casual users, it is definitely well within the range of professionals and given its capabilities, well worth the overall cost. Another great feature of the Geomagic Spark app is that once you’ve completed your image, it can easily translate into dozens of other formats, meaning that it will be easy for users to share, regardless of their platform or software of choice.

Geomagic Spark has the potential to revolutionize the workflow of engineers involved in 3D design and as new improvements are announced, it will only gain in the power that engineers crave. The timing of this launch from Geomagic coincides with the drop in price point for 3D scanners. Previously, they cost between $10,000 and $30,000 but now this has dropped to a much more reasonable range of $2,000 to $3000. All of these factors are causing companies to take note of this technology and many manufacturing companies are beginning to embrace the industry.

What does this mean for engineers? Easier workflow translates into higher productivity rates and new positions will soon be opening up for those who are able to master these applications. The engineering field is currently one of the fastest growing industries in the world and the trends indicate that this is going to continue for some time.

Do you have a question about the new advancements in engineering and what this means for the engineering job market? Ask the experts at Solopoint for more information today!