From data center solutions to E-textiles and fiber developments, all this and more was displayed in abundance during the Aberdeen Proving Ground 2009 Spring Technology Products and Services Expo at Top of the Bay April 29.
It was the expo's 20th anniversary of bringing the latest in office technology and innovations to the installation.
The Corporate Information Office of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command and the APG Garrison's Directorate of Information Management hosted the event.
"There's anything and everything here for the Soldier," said Theresa Cavallucci, RDECOM Small Business administrative assistant. "We're looking to inform small businesses how they can get in on the ground floor."
To help celebrate the 20th anniversary, organizers raffled off give-aways every 20 minutes, said organizer Lisa Yurcovic, an RDECOM Information Technology contractor.
"We just wanted to make this special," she said.
More than 40 exhibitors participated in the event. Along with mainstays like XEROX, IBM, Metro Furniture and AKO, several first-time vendors were in attendance.
Newcomers included Neo Technologies, Inc., a computer hardware maintenance firm from Baltimore that specializes in office equipment, network and graphic printers and document management and work-flow solutions. Chief operating officer Steven P. Jones said although the company has contracts with some APG organizations it was happy to network with new faces at the expo.
"Today we're trying to meet with APG tenants and tell them about our document management options," Jones said. These include network, graphic and multifunctional printers, fax machines and their supplies and components, he added.
Neo Technologies services all of its products and offers onsite as well as in-site services. To learn more, visit www.neotechs.com.
Another newcomer, Physical Optics Corporation, led by business development director Dave Silvestris, displayed the latest in opto-electronic technology including the Wireless Personal Information Carrier, WPIC, which stores a patient's medical records and gives medical personnel instantaneous access to encrypted medical data through high speed wireless communication.
The WEARNET™ Wearable Personal Area Network display, consisting of a Snapnet™ vest system with its video camera, connectors and GPS tracking capabilities, drew the most attention.
Silvestris said Warfighter survivability is what drives the small business research initiative and that the company has been designing WEARNET™ for the Army's Special Forces for some time. It also is developing digital dog tags and thumb-sized cameras.
"Eventually the weight of equipment [troops carry] will be reduced to twenty to twenty-five pounds," he said, adding that that is down from the 50 to 75 pounds troops normally carry.
Future developments in E-textiles will allow for the storage of personal information on special fibers available in a T-shirt, Silvestris said.
"Commercialization can save billions in lost records and it meets the president's mandate of VA records security," he said. "It's all U.S. inventions and U.S. built."
Newark Electronics, a Chicago-based electronics distribution company displayed a variety of test equipment and electronic engineering components including a Tektronix Mixed Signal Oscilloscope, a thermal imager, air meters and power analyzers.
The systems perform power quality analyses, filter energy and make machinery less expensive to operate, said branch manager Bob Wheatley.
Christopher C. Zukowski, a recently retired RDECOM mathematician who's been involved with the Expo for 20 years, said he came back to see old friends.
"I thought it would be a courtesy to all the workers, volunteers and exhibitors to say goodbye and thank you," he said. "I spent thirty years of my life [on APG] and the expo has really grown. It's all about getting the word out to those [companies] that have services to offer."
Visitors seemed impressed with the event.
Fay Walker Banker, a billing official with the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center, said she found the Metro furniture display "interesting."
"I'm looking for new ink cartridges but I like to visit the expo to see what's out there and how to find it," Banker said.
Vendors included 3MProjection Systems, ACL Computers/Software, Inc., Alliance Micro, Army Knowledge Online, AVI-SPL, Avocent, Booz Allen Hamilton, Business Machines, CACI, CCS Presentation Systems, CDW-G, Commercial Data Systems, Consulting Services, Inc., Dell, Emtec Federal, EPS Corp., F.A. O'Toole Office Systems, Fujitsu, Graybar, Hartford Computer Group, IBM, Insight Federal, Konica, Minolta Business Solutions, mLINQS, Nelson White Systems, Neo Technologies, New Horizons CLC of Baltimore, Newark, Office Eagle, Panasonic, Perot Systems, Physical Optics Corp., Plantronics, Plug-In Storage, Praxis Engineering, Promark Technology, RDECOM Small Business, RGB Spectrum, Raritan, Red Hat, STG Inc., Survice Engineering, TCG Tektronix, Transition Networks, Tripp Life, Universal Business Technologies, Wey Technology, Wright Line and Xerox.
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