In Control

Yesterday I had an email from my friend Maurice Nygaard at BSI Proteomics in Maryland. Maurice tells me that there is a good chance we will get a ride in a Space Shuttle this (northern) summer. Not us, as in us guys, but "our" equipment.

BSI Proteomics are in the business of "rational drug discovery". They are experts on growing near-perfect crystals of important proteins and then analyzing them in a synchrotron to determine their exact crystal structure. Apparently, if you know the structure of a nasty protein you can then design a friendly molecule that will knock it off. The more perfect your subject crystal the better your results.

We have a program on Australia's national TV broadcaster the ABC, called The New Inventors. A remarkable "first" happened tonight. One of our customers, Brian Gay, became the first inventor to appear twice with his inventions. And both his inventions rely on SPLat controllers!.

The first invention appeared about a year ago. It is called Suspense and is an kind of aquatic exercise tank.

The other invention, featured on TV tonight, is Brian's water conservation shower, Quench. The Quench shower uses a unique recirculation system to allow you to take long, hot showers without squandering vast amounts of water, and with an saving in energy of up to 70% or more. Quench won the Housing Industries Association "2007 Best new product award".

".. SPLat Controls is a sound company with highly professional engineering and excellent quality production. Their contribution to the success of our companies has been most significant." - Brian Gay, HydroCo, Australia

You can see movies of both these products in action.

Projects using SPLat have been featured on TV twice this week! The day before yesterday it was Brian Gay's watery inventions. Last night it was the new Melbourne City Council office building, known as CH2. It was featured on Catalyst, a weekly, highly regarded science show on ABC, our national broadcaster.

CH2 is an amazing office building that works with the environment rather than against it. It uses about 85% less energy and 70% less water than conventional office buildings. Architect Mick Pearce looked to termites for inspiration for the HVAC design of the building. Termites keep their nests at around 30°C (85°F) - despite outside temperatures varying between 40°C (105°F) in the day and below freezing at night. Pearce uses a whole array of methods to make the building thermally efficient, including intelligent opening and closing of windows to make maximum use of natural air movement and cooling.

Tonight (July 25, 2007) Australia's ABC television show The New Inventors for the third time featured an invention containing a SPLat controller. The invention is called Tube Terminator, a machine that safely disposes of fluorescent tubes, compact fluoros and even large industrial HID lamps. The mercury vapor and other toxic substances are captured by the Tube Terminator instead of being released into the environment, making for completely safe disposal of tubes. The operation of the machine is controlled and monitored by a SPLat MMi202 controller. You can see the Tube Terminator video here. You can clearly see the MMi202 front panel layout at at the 1:12 time point in the video.