For decades, office workers have used conventional office nameplates
to help identify each other's offices. These simple nameplates use
simplistic old technology: a laser-printed name on a transparency,
tucked into a panel mounted on the office door. Here's a standard
installation at a Large Corporation:
Nametag before
[MP4] (download original)
Our new Unified Nameplate technology brings the old office
nameplate into the future!
Nametag after
[MP4] (download original)
Unlike conventional analog nameplate technology, Unified Nameplate
runs right on your existing IP network. A camera captures the position
of the door. This data is transmitted to a computer which runs
vision software to detect the door's position. The position data is
interpolated into a servo position command, which is transmitted back to
a USB servo controller.
That controller drives an old Futaba radio control servo that has been
along for the ride on about five different model planes that have been drilled
into the soft Oregon soil, but now turns a wood plate mounted on a
lazy susan.
The box ty-wrapped to the plate is made of space age sytrofoam laser-cut
to precise tolerances. Vertical planes inside the box mount (from the front):
- a 50mm lens (Value Village, $3),
- a 2X telephoto adapter (Value Village, $3),
- a film plane (laser printed on transparency, but much, much smaller than
in the obsolete old technology), and
- a 100 mW white LED.
As the door moves, the projected image of the nameplate tracks the door.
This major advance in technology integration has huge benefits that will
be obvious to IT departments.
Some users complain about trivial problems:
- the projected image has lower contrast than a conventional nameplate
- the projection lags behind the correct position of the door
- the nameplate stops working if there is a power outage or a software
problem
- the promised integration with desktop applications has yet to be
delivered
But we think they're just naysaying dinosaurs. Won't you join us
as we embrace our new unified nameplate vision?