GE laser lab specialist examines industrial applications for high-tech products

Robert Tait, an optical specialist in the Laser & Metrology Systems Lab at GE Global Research, will be at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. As he writes on the lab’s blog, he attends every year to see how the latest consumer technology could be leveraged for industrial applications.

What in particular draws him to CES? Tech like wireless battery chargers that could be used by sensors in critical machinery; tiny digital video recorders for internal inspection of steam turbines; or even remotely piloted vehicles that might one day fly up and inspect wind turbine blades.

“Even the Xbox Kinects [which uses a Webcam that spots gestures and spoken commands to interact with a user rather than a game controller] is of interest, because it uses a 3D mapping technology that may be useful in tracking parts, or monitoring assembly actions,” says Robert. "Although we have experts in this field at GE Global Research who could develop this technology in house, a prototype would cost around $200,000. If we adapted existing technology and off-the-shelf components, it could cost a fraction of that.”

He also goes expecting to be surprised: “Every year I come across technology that can have a real impact on the bottom line of projects that are totally unexpected. One vendor had a gizmo that would accept a SIM card from my iPhone, and turn it into a wireless hot spot. For remote sensing (say sending diagnostic images from the top of a wind tower) this could save the cost of buying and installing 80 meters of Cat6 [high-performance Ethernet] cable and the related hardware.”

While CES is a great chance for scientists such as Robert to do one-stop-shopping and meet the developers of some of the hottest consumer electronics, it’s also just plain fun. “This year, others from GE will be joining me at CES as they will be showcasing EV technology. The booth is right across from Dream Cheeky, which makes gadgets to harass coworkers [such as a webcam-controlled foam missile launcher and a squeezable USB-connected stress ball that lets you temporarily “destroy” work on your computer screen]. Good spot!”

 

Tech crunch: The photo above from the 2010 CES shows the kind of crowds that the gadget-fest draws. This year will be GE’s first at CES, with smart grid technologies for the home taking center stage. Photo: CES

* Read “GE’s CES Debut: Smart Homes, EVs & an Interactive ‘Desert Quest’” on GE Reports