Airplanes cannot easily turn unless they can bank. Much like a turning speedboat, an airplane must lean into the turn if it is going to be a well controlled turn. Over the last 100 years the mechanism that enables such banking is the aileron on each wing. Many of us confuse ailerons for flaps, but if you watch carefully the next time you fly you will see them used whenever the airplane turns.
However, when the Wright brothers invented the airplane they recognized the need to bank into turns, but they noticed that birds did it by twisting their wings. So that is how the Wright’s did it with early airplanes. Within a decade wing twisting was replaced by ailerons because the twisting of bi-plane wings could be hazardous at even moderate speed. However, advances in materials is now making possible the bird-like twisting motion and Dan Grant who is a U-of- F doctoral student has demonstrated the feasibility in this video. He now is working on the mathematical modeling of the wing.
Position Logic is a Naples-based company that is focused on the Geo-location marketplace. They develop software that enables hardware tracking devices to be monitored via computerized online maps. Their software is used by major companies in the United States and abroad. The company believes that its technology can enable small entrepreneurs to start-up promising new businesses engaged in the service of asset tracking and recovery.
This interview is with Brian Marks of a company called Barking Snail. It is a subsidiary of Tampa-based Irvin International which is a leader in the market for outdoor billboards.
Clearly the technology for outdoor billboards has evolved only slowly, but is now moving toward electronic displays. Irvin International formed Barking Snail to get started in the market. So far the subsidiary is focused on indoor signs as opposed to outdoor billboards. In this video Brian demonstrates a number of touch screen applications including one that permits customers to get started with an ordinary computer display.
This interview is with Doug Pace who is the CEO of Bayshore Solutions in Tampa. His company has been building websites and helping clients with online marketing since 1996.
Doug shares his ideas on best practices for the design of a commercial website. He also discusses ways to use YouTube in your business and evaluates email market as compared to Twitter marketing.
Imagine is a Tampa-based company that makes interesting consumer gadgets. If Sharper Image were still in business, one would expect the Imagine gadgets to be on sale at such stores.
We discuss a geolocation device that Imagine makes. The unit enables parents to keep track of their child’s location via an online map. All they have to do is give the device to the child for her to keep in her pocket. It is the kind of thing that was science fiction when the James Bond movie Goldfinger was released.
Tampa-based Sand Corporation makes makes computers rugged. They’ll convert conventional laptops into devices that will still keep working even if you throw them in the pool. So if you are prone to spill coffee on your keyboard, you may want to keep Sand Corporation in mind.
The company also makes a tablet computer designed for doctors to use in hospitals. They will be able to get a patient history merely by scanning the patient’s hospital bracelet. They can update information on the computer’s tablet-like screen and even take a picture with an on-board camera. The device is also made for rugged treatment including the occasional spill of a drink.