NEXT MEETING Monday, October 17, 2005
(noon to 1:00pm)______
in the Tallan Cellar Restaurant at the corner
of M.L. King, Jr. Blvd. and Carter Street in downtown Chattanooga
Monday, October 17: "Too Much Data, Not
Enough Information" Paul J. Wolff, PhD, WolffWare, Ltd.
Although data available to industries has
increased exponentially in the last few decades the amount of information
extracted from that data hasn't kept pace. This is because it takes a great deal
of effort to reduce data into relevant information from which decisions can be
made. As a consequence, companies have
come into being that offer to automate the complicated data analysis process to
create useful statistics or results. Wolffware, Ltd. is such a company that
provides specialized data analyses primarily for the electric power industry.
Paul Wolff, president of the company, will
explain how they automate the complicated analysis process in a way that frees
up engineers and statisticians for other tasks. Automation usually results in fewer data processing
errors.
Paul Wolff is a graduate of Georgia Institute
of Technology and has written numerous papers on fluid flow and finite element
analysis in specific applications.
Invocation: Ron
Burton
Menu: A buffet lunch for
$11 will be available for attendees beginning at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will
include a salad, lasagna, squash casserole, slaw, roll, and peach cobbler.
Reservations are not required, and guests are welcome. For more
information, call Judy Driggans at 751-7616 or Brad Baucom at
751-4696.
Parking: Free parking (for those
who leave a notice on their dash indicating they are with the Chattanooga
Engineers Club) is available for attendees at the Days Inn on Carter
Street. There is also a parking garage behind the Tallan
Building.
PREVIOUS
MEETING_____________________________________
October 10, 2005 "Automated Wide-Area
Surveillance” Don Campbell, VistaScape Security Systems
Don Campbell, VistaScape's Director of Product
Marketing, told us that most security systems are designed to reduce
theft. If your security system looks complicated then thieves will
hopefully avoid your facility. But the security system must not be so
complicated that the security personnel can't benefit from the information it
can provide. Tests have shown that people viewing security camera displays get
distracted and can be less reliable than a computer. VistaScape uses computers
to watch and evaluate the secured area. They generally start with photographs or
actual camera images of the area to be secured. This 3-dimensional view becomes
background for the security information display. Personnel are quickly oriented
to the security display because it includes actual items they see in the area
during their patrols. Computer software is used to examine changes from one
frame to the next. If an object moves, how fast is it moving, in what
direction, and how tall is the object. Based on the location and speed of the
object, can it be identified by the computer? Is it OK in the rule set for that
type of object to be in that area during that time of day or week? If not,
the display screens outline the area in alert status and another screen shows
zoomed images from that alert area. Campbell distributed brochures with a DVD
that shows demonstrations of their systems and several news stories on
VistaScape. One story revealed their systems can also show security camera
information on hand held PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) that security
personnel have with them on patrol.
This was a joint meeting of the
Chattanooga Engineers Club and the Chattanooga Chapter of the IEEE Computer
Society.
FUTURE MEETINGS
____________________________________
Monday, October 24: "New
Non-Nuclear Propulsion Systems" Les Johnson, NASA Marshall Space Flight
Center
Monday, October 31:
"Cell Phones and What All They Can
Do" Dr. Joseph Kizza, UTC
Monday, November 7:
"Chattanoogas New Wind
Tower Manufacturing Plant" Walter Thompson, Aerisyn Inc.
QUESTIONS,
SUGGESTIONS? If you have any questions or suggestions about
program items please contact Judy Driggans at 423-751-7616 or by email at
jdriggans@comcast.net. You can find
references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org
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