Spring break for the high tech: Attendees go wild for unmanned aerial vehicles
Thursday, 22 July 2010 11:57
Dick Morley
In March I received an interesting invitation. I would be treated as a VIP at the Military Air Assets Exhibition and Conference (MAASEC). This was a conference that I know nothing about. For good reason, it was the first time this conference was offered in Florida. "Well," said I, "time for spring break vacation." I could justify the trip on a marketing basis. My speaking engagements seem to be less in the corporate direction and more in the government, education and military areas. For once, I could follow my own advice and leave the box of comfort (a.k.a. my...
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Teaching innovation: Creating the right environment is often all you need
Thursday, 22 July 2010 10:02
Dick Morley
I recently travelled to Winnipeg on a manufacturing rescue mission to discuss the future of manufacturing and innovation in Manitoba. I, along with the well-renowned automation consultant Jim Pinto, went there at the behest of the Winnipeg Industrial Technology Centre. This organization provides technical services to Manitoba manufacturers as part of an economic development mandate. They work with local companies to create awareness of advanced technologies and stimulate competitive advantages in the global economy. We spent several morning sessions with local manufacturers during which I...
Dreaming of electric sheep: Harness the power of professionals to get the job done
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 15:15
Dick Morley
I had a dream, probably inspired by the medications required for replacing my fourth knee, and it was all about dimensions. This dream opened with an abstract vision of a single cell, similar to a red blood cell. The narrator (yes, some of my dreams have a narrator) suggests these cells are dimensionless. A worm was a single scalar number. Next, a dog was shown; it was an example of the three dimensions. The number five (representing the dimensions x, y, z, time and gravity) was shown the dog catching a Frisbee. What next? I wondered. The dream ended with an overload of images, which...
The physics of marketing: It is all about surfaces when it comes to technology
Monday, 14 December 2009 00:00
Dick Morley
This fall I attended the fourth annual ISA Marketing and Sales Summit — a strong change for me. Over the years, my attention has been diverted from geek-hood to marketing. Why? Because the connection and communication between the source and use of raw tech is communicated by the folks in the sales and marketing domains. The boutique conference was held in Boston in September. Shari Worthington of Telesian Technologies and her friends put it together for ISA. She emailed me and asked for a keynote talk and a journey to the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center. I agreed, though...
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No single basket wins the game: The evolution of anti-lock braking systems was a group effort
Monday, 12 October 2009 00:00
Dick Morley
Most inventions stand on the innovations of the past. They aren’t usually solo efforts — they require group participation. For example, Edison — the electric-light guy — had a large, talented staff. Together they discovered “1,000 ways not to make an electric light.” Who was the “true” inventor of the electric light? Arguments abound. We seem to think the last point made in a basketball game wins the game. We make the player who made the shot a hero when it is all the players, coaches, owners and fans who are the heroes. Electricity...
Beyond the leading edge: Technology in the new millennium
Monday, 21 September 2009 00:00
Dick Morley
Welcome to the Y2K millennium. Whatever happened to the Y2K bubble? We seem to have more bubbles and hype than we need, and we worry too much. For instance, ants – like most of the animal kingdom – don’t worry; they deal with the present very well and solve their problems without stress. While we, the dominant carbon life form, worry about everything. We worry about politicians, weather, spousal infidelity and the price of gasoline. We seldom can improve anything with stress and worry. Most of the talking heads on television tend to try to predict the future. It can be for...
Modern sensing: It's a system-oriented sensing and measuring world out there
Monday, 08 June 2009 00:00
Dick Morley
Since Manufacturing AUTOMATION has a readership in the automation business, I tend to write about manufacturing and automation in my columns. I do, however, have other interests. I wander off into venture capital, chaos, autonomous agents, supercomputers, rapid transit, movies and biology. Most of these subjects have a lot in common. They are “self-similar,” meaning that the processes of control resemble each other, but are described with different jargon. The sensing processes for automation, buildings, hunting dogs and physics all seem self-similar. Sensing means to be aware of...
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