Autorama was over a week ago and with just one day off to wrap up loose ends I hopped a plane to Orlando, Florida to attend the cutting edge i/itsec conference to help a good friend with Air Medic Sky One. If you want to be on the inside and up to date with the latest in simulation technology i/itsec is a must. The conference’s main focus is on military training but civilian response departments in the arena of law enforcement, fire fighting and medical are also represented. I dusted off some clothes I hadn’t worn in a while and oiled up a rusty pitch for a 3 day step back into the professional world.
Before mastering my skills of traveling the planet on a low budget I spent two years in Boulder, Colorado fully immersed within a startup company. Wild Divine was/is a biofeedback product in a game like format developed by my best friend Corwin who I’ve known since college. During my time with Wild Divine I wore many hats that included sales/marketing, project development/management, trade show organization, and customer/tech support.
To make a long story short I learned an enormous amount working for Wild Divine but in the process became thoroughly burned out. As is the case for most startup's new management moves in, things change, and I was more or less pushed out while being too tired to fight it. I didn’t like the direction the company was headed and didn’t really fit in anyway. I left on civil terms and good references along with an in to promising job possibilities in the Bay Area. I wishfully hoped my stock options would pay off at some point and decided to leave the corporate environment indefinitely.
I left Colorado in October of 2004. At first I went to Texas for a couple of months then headed to the Caribbean for four months. I’ve been traveling off and on ever since. The persona of World Traveler and Thinker appealed to me so I’ve employed myself to live up to the title. Needless to say it’s been interesting and fun.
As I stepped into the i/itsec arena I was surprised how fast my experience with Wild Divine chimed in. As I walked about the trade floor I felt an ease in familiarity with understanding how a professional trade show/conference works. Talk when you know what you’re talking about and keep your mouth shut when you don’t. Ask questions, observe, and listen. Have fun in knowing that people are people regardless and an intelligent easy going personable manner will get you further than just about anything.
Most of the technology on display involves interactive computer graphics. Not long ago Corwin was commissioned to develop an interactive biofeedback game for a hospital in Holland that addresses doctor patient safety. Corwin was up for an award at i/itsec and invited me along as support. Although I was not fully up to speed with the new software I was project manager for the hardware while at Wild Divine. My name is included on the patent for the finger sensors.
Air Medic Sky One utilizes biofeedback hardware comprised of three finger sensors. Two sensors monitor galvanic skin response and one sensor monitors variable heart rate. With sensors attached to finger tips the data is read by a small box connected to a computer via USB. The data interacts with the software. The software provides real time feedback in the form of subject appropriate animated challenges. For example, relaxed breathing changes colors in a garden and energized breathing fills a syringe. In between biofeedback challenges there are more traditional question and answer exercises that help doctors make better decisions under times of pressure. The purpose of Air Medic Sky One is to improve a doctors decision making process while better understanding how to manage their own level of stress. The game accomplishes this by uniquely educating the player how the mind affects the body.
Kor from Holland flew in for the conference and three of us managed the small booth in the Serious Games section of iitsec. Although my pitch was rusty as I stumbled over words from time to time I really enjoyed the environment and felt quite at ease. My position was a little off to the side. After all I hadn’t worked on the project and clear marketing goals have not been established. Nonetheless, I hopped into the networking game and made new friends. With beer freely flowing around 4 pm from various booths amidst the trade floor I felt even more comfortable.
Numerous companies filled the convention center vying for government grants, private interests, and general attention from businesses in the trade. There was a wide variety of flight simulators on display and I had the opportunity to try a couple with a 180 degree view. One simulator mimicked G force for fighter pilot training. Some simulators utilized virtual reality eye wear for ground troop training. The most graphic training devices were real life manikins with serious injuries for medical training with life like organs that appear and feel real. One of the more interesting booths offered training on lightning quick medievac training. It was demonstrated by watching a reenactment of a suicide bomber in a tent. The display complete with noise, yelling, smoke and blood provided about as real a life simulation as you could expect.
At first I must admit I wasn’t sure how I felt about all of the military training content. Sometimes I think excessive preparation for war leads to war but on the other hand better trained troops hopefully lead to fewer casualties on both sides. Simulation is the safest training option.
During the Second evening at the conference I found myself at an upscale mixer with an open bar and people at the top of the trade. Corwin and Kor made some new contacts as I got to better know a couple of guys specializing in cyber security I met earlier in the day. It was quite a contrast from Autorama. It made me take pause and realize with the necessary drive and desire I could fall into a good opportunity within such an environment. Drive and desire are a key component for me because I’ve never been driven by power or money. I’ve got to like what I do.
At 1 pm on the last day of the conference we attended the awards ceremony for serious games. I wasn’t surprised when Corwin won First for Air Medic Sky One in the Business category. The final award was basically a best in show award. It was distributed to a competitor who had not won an award in the other categories. The presenter made it clear that Air Medic was as close a second as possible. In other words, it was like saying Air Medic was best in show but awards were not being duplicated. It was all done in good political fashion in my opinion.
Corwin is truly the most creative person I have ever known and he received numerous personal compliments from judges and i/itsec officials which were well deserved. That night we attended a Black Tie mixer and Banquet under dressed in a fashion only artist can get away with. The butter came in the form of a small duck with a fine aged steak and good cabernet.
In the end i/itsec was a wonderful diversion from the path I’ve been on. It’s caused me to ponder my position in the game of life. In some ways it showed me how far I’m living below my potential. In a time of so called economic woes I see boundless opportunity in a land of plenty. I guess it all depends on where you’re viewing the view from. As I tightly manage my nickels and dimes the trade off for me is that I’ve spent 6 months this year traveling around the world doing whatever I want to. That’s pretty damned good in my eyes. Still, there’s a longing to utilize my skills, knowledge, and life experience their full potential. On a scale of 1 to 10 I feel like I’ve settled on a 2 or 3. So, what am I going to do about it? We’ll see. You never know with me. Somehow, I think the best is yet to come.
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