{"id":10711,"date":"2015-06-19T12:16:27","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T16:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=10711"},"modified":"2015-06-19T12:16:27","modified_gmt":"2015-06-19T16:16:27","slug":"tomorrowland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/tomorrowland\/","title":{"rendered":"Tomorrowland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summerguide 2015 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Here on the Atlantic Rim, we\u2019re not afraid to do things a little differently.<\/h3>\n

By Karen Hofreiter<\/p>\n

\"SG15-Tomorrowland\"<\/a>Close your eyes and imagine a new universe. In this universe, you can see and hear the future; robots fight fires and violent crime; musical instruments are not what they seem; and farmed fish are just as delicious as wild-caught.<\/p>\n

Now open your eyes. Take a look around. If you are in Maine, you already live in this topsy-turvy universe. Wait, you think, we\u2019ve got blue lobsters and produce 90 percent of the country\u2019s toothpick supply, but our own Silicon Valley?<\/em><\/p>\n

Yup. In fact, Portland was listed in Techie.com\u2019s 2013 \u201cTen Most Unexpected Cities for High-Tech Innovation\u201d and placed among the top five in Sparefoot\u2019s \u201cUnder-the-radar Tech Hubs\u201d in 2014. The state is also dedicated to continuing this trend, with organizations like the Maine Technology Institute pouring over $100 million of funding into over 1,300 technological projects since 2000.<\/p>\n

Innovation takes perseverance, creativity, endurance, independence, and willingness to fail many times before finding success\u2013all characteristics of the Maine way of life. (Just think of how many creative homemade solutions Mainers have devised to deal with snow alone.) The best part of Maine\u2019s innovation sector is its variety. From floating fish farms to robotic vehicles to immersible alternate worlds, here is a cross-section of the most forward-facing technologies in the state.<\/p>\n

Ocean Farm Technologies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taking high-tech to the open seas<\/p>\n

It may not be too long before the fruits of Maine ingenuity arrive on your dinner plate. Morrill-based Ocean Farm Technologies (OFT) has found a more sustainable way to produce a tastier fish with the Aquapod, a patented containment system for marine aquaculture\u2013or, in other words, a giant floating fish farm.<\/p>\n

Stephen Page, CEO, created the Aquapod in 2005 as an answer to what he saw as huge problems with the conventional fish-farming industry. \u201cMarine aquaculture is limited by its location in shallow inland waters. Conflicts arise all the time\u2013mostly the sharing of resource space with recreational vehicles, private property, fishing boats, et cetera. The solution for expansion and sustainability of aquaculture is moving it out to the open ocean. My goal was to design platforms robust enough to survive the open ocean,\u201d says Page. The geodesic domes\u2013which can range in size from eight to 20 meters in diameter\u2013are constructed of triangular net panels. The panels can be manipulated as needed for daily operations, including feeding, cleaning, and harvesting. The Aquapod is specially designed to keep out predators and operate fully submerged during foul weather.<\/p>\n

Additional advantages of the Aquapod compared to conventional fish farming include less pollution and better fish health. The life-cycle cost of an Aquapod can range from $30,000 to $200,000. \u201cSounds like a lot, but a fish farm can make a half-million dollars just in one harvest,\u201d says Page.<\/p>\n

Aquapods are currently bobbing in locations across the globe, including South Korea, Indonesia, Panama, Hawaii, and Mexico, where OFT is developing advanced automation systems. The focus is on automating operational activities such as feeding and cleaning. \u201cOur goal is to reduce the need for human intervention (divers) as much as possible for reasons of both safety and costs. We are also taking steps to develop and implement underwater cameras and robotic devices. The idea is that I can sit here in Maine, monitoring what is going on in Mexico and operating the system remotely.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about the Maine location, Page cites a number of advantages, including its pool of talented people skilled in aquaculture. \u201cWhat I also appreciate about doing business in Maine is the people who come and work for me\u2013they are the incredibly productive workers and great problem-solvers.\u201d Maine has yet to move into open ocean aquaculture. \u201cIt has been disappointing. But within five years we will have a robust turnkey platform and will be able to demonstrate the economic efficiency. That\u2019s what everyone wants to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

And taste, of course.<\/p>\n

Hodgdon Yachts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Combining tradition with technology<\/p>\n

One wouldn\u2019t expect a 200-year-old, five-generation family company to be a high-tech leader in its industry. And yet, that is exactly what Hodgdon Yachts of East Boothbay has worked hard to become. \u201cEven traditional technology enjoys a rich and storied history in Maine, given the boat-building industry. Some builders choose to stick with the traditional. We are not one of those companies,\u201d says Ed Roberts, director of sales and marketing.<\/p>\n

Hodgdon has been making boats since 1816 and enjoys a worldwide reputation that\u00a0 it has achieved, in part, by being an early adopter of cutting-edge technologies in boat design and materials (e.g., pre-preg carbon fiber, which is typically used in advanced aerospace aviation applications).<\/p>\n

In 2008, Hodgdon made headlines when the U.S. Navy decided to test the 83-foot\u00a0 Mako. Mako was a joint program with the University of Maine. The idea was to build a boat similar to a Navy boat but with composites instead of aluminium and then compare the shock mitigation. The aluminium boats used by SEALs and Special Ops are hard on the crew and can present safety issues, yet the Navy has been reluctant to consider other materials. \u201cOur purpose was to demonstrate the usefulness of composites,\u201d\u00a0 says Roberts. Despite the excitement around the Mako, \u201cdefense is not a growing part of [Hodgdon]. Mako is certainly part of our story, but our focus going forward is pleasure crafts\u2013racing, performance cruising, and heirloom vessels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enter Comanche<\/em>, Hodgdon\u2019s most recent technological wonder. This racing craft was conceived by Jim Clark (co-founder of Netscape) with the goal of building the fastest monohull on Earth. Comanche<\/em> was built from pre-preg carbon fiber using a specific method requiring a 120-foot oven, the largest marine oven in the U.S. \u201cOnly six yards in the world are capable of doing a boat like the Comanche<\/em> because of the required infrastructure, ability to apply the technology, and employee skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if super yachts are perhaps a bit out of the price range of most Mainers (the impressive quote is \u201c$1 million a meter\u201d), there are benefits to having such an industry located in the state. \u201cThere is a saturation of jobs in the industry and an increasing need for skilled people. Maine should be more aware of the potential economic benefits of visiting super yachts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Economics aside, Hodgdon\u2019s creations are a sight to behold.<\/p>\n

DEMERBOX<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not your parents\u2019 boombox<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to create a party for people no matter where they are or what they are doing,\u201d says James Demer, co-founder of Portland-based DemerBox. Dubbed the \u201cTonka Truck\u201d of boomboxes, the DemerBox keeps the music playing in all manner of extreme environmental elements and activities.<\/p>\n

The DemerBox is a product of both new, proprietary technologies and \u201cinnovation in taking existing high-tech parts and putting them together in new ways.\u201d Looking something like a cross between a toolbox and camping stove, the boombox\u2013which can be operated from a smartphone\u2013features a Bluetooth range of over 30 feet and up to 40 hours of battery play. Nothing on the market today approximates the DemerBox, although Demer expects that to change as the business grows. \u201c[Co-founder Jayson Lobozzo and I] love being in Maine, and Portland is full of creative, supportive people. Portland is somewhere we can safely grow our business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although technically invented by Demer during a film shoot in Alaska, the Maine inspiration in the Demerbox is clear, surviving the most rugged of conditions and appealing to our sense of adventure. \u201cWe strapped it to a kayak and went for a ride at Steep Falls on the Dead River in Maine. We have frozen it in ice, buried it in snow. We\u00a0once dropped it\u00a0from\u00a0our office\u00a0balcony onto the cement floor 30 feet below. It bounced\u00a0and spun five times in the air before landing back on the floor. The music never stopped playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the ultimate test of durability is fishing boats. \u201cThe elements are extreme\u2013the temperature, splashing water, getting knocked around. And the fisherman, they have to have the music really loud if they want to hear it, and they also play it all day. If DemerBox can survive life on a fishing or lobster boat, it can survive anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Demerbox survive a kayak ride on Maine\u2019s Steep Falls at http:\/\/demerbox.com\/pages\/videos.<\/p>\n

VEMI Labs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Igniting imaginations<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are horrible at imagining things. What we do is allow people to get inside scenarios and actually experience them,\u201d says Dr. Nicholas Giudice, director of VEMI Labs at the University of Maine. VEMI, an acronym for Virtual Environment and Multimodal Interaction, is one of the few laboratories in the country\u2013and the only lab in Maine\u2013to research and study applications of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies with a multimodal focus.<\/p>\n

Um, say what?<\/p>\n

No worries, it\u2019s not as complicated as it sounds. A quick primer: Virtual reality is a made-up world (think Google Glass); augmented reality projects virtual information onto real life imagery (e.g., via a smartphone or tablet, informational text can be superimposed onto buildings as a person passes them); and multimodal refers to the senses, such as touch and sound.<\/p>\n

VEMI was created in 2008 to serve as a research resource. \u201cThe idea is how we use technology to understand how we interact with our environment. For example, navigation. How do you get from one place to another, and how can technology be used to better navigate a physical space?\u201d says Giudice. \u201cAudio and tactile cues give the same information to the brain as visual cues in many instances, but the brain just wants the information\u2013it doesn\u2019t care how it gets it. And this is where the multimodal aspect of our research comes into play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real-world applications of the research being done at VEMI are impressively broad. Says Richard Corey, director of operations, \u201cWe did a project dealing with wind turbines proposed for three miles off the coast of Monhegan Island. We rendered a digital model and placed the turbines into the model at exactly where they would be. Through head-mounted displays people could see exactly how it would look and sound from any point on the island, even from a window in their house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith augmented reality, we brought them right inside the scenario. They were then able to make a decision based on real data,\u201d Giudice continues. The impact was powerful, changing perceptions of the project in a positive direction. \u201cThey became more open to the idea and less concerned about how it would affect tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another application assists the blind with \u2018seeing\u2019 visual graphics and navigating unknown physical spaces. Giudice says, \u201cThe blind have text access through speech devices or braille, but they are not able to access graphical information. We created a vibro-audio interface that gives them this ability. For example, the data line running across an x-y axis graph will vibrate so that the person can follow it.\u201d Tactile representation can also be made of an indoor space. \u201cThe blind have seeing-eye dogs, but dogs cannot read arrows and signs. So this is another navigation tool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming from disciplines as diverse as engineering, science, philosophy, and theater, students working in the lab also benefit, learning vital technology skills to take to future jobs. \u201cThese skilled students feed into Maine\u2019s labor market, which is good for the state,\u201d Giudice says.<\/p>\n

Corey continues, \u201cMore than half our students want to stay in Maine after graduating. But when offers are coming in from Google and other tech giants, it\u2019s hard for them to stay. So we are always looking to connect with more Maine companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howe and Howe Technologies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mobilizing for a better world<\/p>\n

There are not many technologies that can claim to protect firefighters and policemen, aid the military, make off-road adventure handicap-accessible, and help Bruce Willis and The Rock overthrow the Cobra Commander. Yet the technology behind brothers Geoff and Mike Howe\u2019s \u2018extreme\u2019 vehicles can do all of that and more.<\/p>\n

At the Howes\u2019 Waterboro-based company, \u201cwe build vehicles you cannot find or buy anywhere in the world because either the technology does not exist or it is far too expensive.\u201d Those vehicles include the robotic (i.e., unmanned) Swat-bot (for police use); Thermite (firefighting); Terramec (plow and bulldozer); and the Ripsaw (military operations). The Ripsaw is the world\u2019s fastest tank and was named \u2018Invention of the Year\u2019 in 2009 by Popular Science<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Another vehicle, the Ripchair, is an off-road vehicle that does not require a handicapped person to get in and out of his or her wheelchair, allowing for greater freedom. \u201cWhen a client test-drives the Ripchair, he is crying [with joy], his mother is crying\u2026 these people have been in accidents or on the battleground or experienced a debilitating disease and some have not been out of their houses for 20 years,\u201d says Geoff Howe. The vehicle retails for around $39,000 for the computerized version.<\/p>\n

Born in Augusta, the Howes are \u201cproud Mainers\u201d who wanted to stay in and stay true to the state, even if it costs a little more to do so. \u201cSince 2006, we have brought over $10 million into the state. We spend the money in Maine, purchasing from local companies when possible. People out in California and Colorado, where there are frequent wildfires, ask us, \u2018Why Maine?\u2019 Yes, it would make sense for us to be in the middle of the country from a shipping standpoint, but we are committed to staying here.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a Maine native, Howe believes growing up in Maine develops character traits that are typical of great technology innovators. Mainers are presented with challenges in daily life and in business which they learn to deal with in creative ways. \u201cWe don\u2019t always have access to everything here, but the attitude is that we have to make things work because we love where we live. So we find ways around problems. You are going to get a lot of innovation out of Maine, plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

XHarp<\/strong><\/p>\n

A world of sound in a single blow<\/p>\n

When Wayne Read blows into his harmonica, you never know what is going to come out. Maybe it\u2019s the twang of a harmonica\u2013or maybe the dolce<\/em> lull of a flute, the sing of a violin, or the whir of a helicopter\u2019s wings. This is not Bob Dylan\u2019s harmonica\u2013this is the XHarp.<\/p>\n

Musician and composer-turned-inventor \u201cWayne from Maine\u201d (as his younger fans call him) has taken the humble harmonica to the \u2018x-treme\u2019 with a serious high-tech makeover.<\/p>\n

The plastic, sandwich-sized XHarp\u2013which has no reeds\u2013uses pressure sensors that respond to the player\u2019s breath, creating notes and controlling volume. A MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) chip allows the player to choose from over 100 sounds. The system is analogous to an electronic keyboard. The advantage, however, is freedom of the fingers. \u201cA musician can play the sounds of an electric keyboard while simultaneously playing the guitar or even the drums,\u201d Read says.<\/p>\n

Another advantage of\u00a0the XHarp is its full range of tuning possibilities. Unlike the traditional harmonica, which is tuned to one key (typically a 7-note diatonic), can be tuned to any type of scale, such as chromatic (12-note), yo (five-note, Japanese), Persian (seven-note, Middle Eastern), and Phrygian (seven-note, Flamenco). \u201cIt is very multifunctional in a cultural sense. It really opens up possibilities for the player.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the current version, the V24, is still in the beta stage, Read is already dreaming up other applications. \u201cFor example, a paraplegic person could use our mouthpiece to write, with the holes representing alphabetic letters and phrases instead of musical notes.\u201d<\/p>\n

A very limited number of V24s may be on the market as early as June of this year and are set to retail around $1,000. Hear Wayne and his XHarp every Sunday, 5 to 8 p.m., at Ron\u2019s Landing in Hampton Beach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summerguide 2015
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