Category Archives: Technology

During COVID-19, firms experienced unprecedented shocks. Their supply chains were disrupted as were their relationships with customers and workers; demand plummeted, as no one knew what would happen next. The dual shocks pushed firms to look for new ways to stay afloat and navigate their businesses. But in some cases, the crisis became an opportunity for innovative businesses, especially those that increased the adoption of digital technologies. How widespread was the innovation? Will it be enough to foster a productivity-driven recovery?

An initial analysis of novel data collected between April 2020 and January 2021 from Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania, suggests that the pandemic triggered some innovation. Still, it was limited to low-hanging fruits and varied depending on firm size and previous technology investments. A mix of financial constraints and managerial capacities likely limited deeper and more widespread innovation in firms.

COVID-19 lockdowns, workforce restrictions, and limited access to inputs (60 percent of firms reported problems obtaining inputs) reduced firm productivity and supply capacity. At the same time, demand slumped or shifted toward new products and services. These shocks were compounded by unprecedented uncertainty about the virus, the extent and duration of public policy responses, and future outlooks. These channels affected firms and sectors differently and in a manner that required businesses to adopt novel solutions or risk going out of business.

Firms needed a moment, but they did react. Initially (April-August 2020), most firms (more than 60 percent on average) did not implement any adjustments to the way they carried out their business. However, the share of firms that adopted some innovation steadily increased over time. By the end of January 2021, close to 60 percent of firms had either expanded the use of or invested in new digital technology, or introduced product innovation (Figure 1).

The challenges from the pandemic were multifacetedfrom the disruption in the availability of inputs to the need to guarantee safe working conditions for workers or recreate broken relationships with customersand so were the firms adjustments. Some firms reorganized production and distribution processes (process innovation, like takeaway and delivery in the hospitality industry). Others revamped their products to meet the customers needs (product innovation). We find that while both types of innovation were common to all three countries, on average, process innovation occurred more frequently than product innovation.

Firms responses were much more nuanced and complex than what the aggregate numbers suggest. Among the firms that did not increase their digital technologies usage, a minority (9 percent) did not use ICT (information and communication technologies) before COVID-19 and did not start using them during the crisis. Similarly, there were businesses that were already using ICT and did not increase usage during the crisis (55 percent). By the end of the second wave, about 90 percent of firms were using digital technologies for their business and almost one-third of firms had either started using or increased their use during the pandemic (Figure 2).

A higher intensity in the use of digital technologies could already contribute to a faster recovery. It could induce productivity gains and reduce the persistent productivity gap previously found between European and U.S. firms. However, digital technologies are complex and heterogeneous and can affect the opportunities of growth and convergence across different firms and local economic contexts unevenly.

For digitization to spur a productivity-driven recovery, it must concentrate on business functions with the highest potential to spur upgrade and firm growth (according to recent World Bank research). In these three countries, we find that digitization has concentrated in business functions such as marketing, sales, and business administration (Figure 3), which can be considered low-hanging fruits with less potential for spurring productivity at the firm level. So far, digitization is making very limited inroads in areas such as production and supply chain management, which require complex organizational changes.

More opportunities await firms with the possibility of expanding and incorporating digital technologies toward optimizing production capacity and more efficient supplier management. Given these findings, in our next blog, we will address the question of what could be preventing firms from expanding the use of digital technologies.

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Leveraging digital technology during the pandemic - Brookings Institution

(WTRF) Heres a look at the weeks top headlines.

Its been labeled the forgotten epidemic, but no matter what we call it, overdose deaths are reaching record numbers.

93,000 people died of an overdose nationwide last year.It appears COVID accelerated the crisis. In West Virginia alone, there were more than 1,200 fatal overdoses, a 45% increase from the previous year.In Guernsey County, theres a new upgraded 911 system that could allow emergency responders to save more lives.

Its called the Carbyne-C Live System and allows the dispatcher to see the scene of an emergency as well as hear the callers voice.If the caller is on a cell phone, the dispatcher texts them a link.When the caller clicks on the link, it creates a video feed.It also allows people in need who cant speak to silently text the 911 system to get help.

In Wheeling, theres a new mobile unit in town to help with unsolved gun-related crimes.

Wheeling police get help with unsolved gun-related crimes

The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, assists law enforcement in linking unsolved cases through ballistic evidence.A weapon in question is test fired in the mobile unit, the shell is collected and analyzed, and then police get a list of possible similar results to be reviewed by a trained technician.

Weirtons former city manager suddenly announced his resignation during a city council meeting this week.

Joe DiBartolomeo did so after accusing multiple council members of violating state law.Assistant City Manager Dee Ann Pulliam is filling the duties of the role now, and mayor Harold Miller stays the city will begin the process next week to permanently fill the position.

Its the weekend country music fans have been anxiously awaiting. the Blame My Roots Festival is back in Belmont County!

A jam-packed performance schedule featured headliners Miranda Lambert and Neil McCoy, and even some local favorites.After taking a break last summer, organizers say the festival tripled in size with a bigger stage and thousands of people relaxing on the grounds listening to live music.

Stay with 7News for the latest headlines all week long.

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Overdoses reach record numbers and new technology could help saves more lives: Here are the weeks top headlines - WTRF

I can use all the help I can get trying to manage my three big, willful dogs at home and in the outdoors. So I understand the desire to apply the same tech solutions that have made work and home more convenient, more connected, and safer to dog ownership. Ive tried connected dog trackers with great enthusiasm. But after some testing, I found them all lacking. Let me save you time and money by explaining where they went wrong and point you toward the products and training approaches that actually work.

Whistle, Fi, and Halo all fall into a new category of product known as connected dog collars. Each one offers some degree of location or activity trackingor in the case of Halo, training and geofencingwhile connecting to your smartphone through Bluetooth, cellphone signal, or WiFi. These arent the only connected dog collars on-sale right now, but these three products are the most well known, and together represent all technologies currently available in the space.

Whistle currently offers two devices: an $80 motion-based fitness tracker and a $150 unit that adds live GPS tracking. Both are small, unobtrusive, and clip to your dogs existing collar. Using the Whistle app, you can define a perimeter around your yard and receive an alert if your dog leaves that area. In addition to tracking exercise intensity and duration, Whistles motion sensors are equipped with algorithms designed to identify and alert you of problem behaviors like licking and scratching. Fitness tracking plans start at $5 per month; location trackingstarts at $8.25. Battery life for the GPS tracker is said to be three days if the dog is away from your WiFi connection.

The $150 Fi Series 2 collar offers a very similar feature set to Whistle. It provides GPS location tracking and alerts if your dog leaves a designated area, as well as activity tracking. Its main advantage appears to be battery life, with up to three weeks of run time if your dog is away from WiFi signal (which I assume it will be on any walk). Fis monthly subscription starts at $7.50 per month.

By offering a shock-based training and geo-fence aid, Halo promises substantially more function than Whistle or Fi. And, for $1,000-per-collar, with a $2.70 monthly subscription fee, it better. But Halos unique selling point is clear: with the tagline The go-anywhere wireless fence, the brand says its product will contain your dog within custom areas you can define anywhere, at home or away. Halo works with celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan and runs owners through a mandatory 21-day training school on the app that teaches them how to humanely and productively apply shock training to their dogs. You need to recharge your Halo collar every night.

Take your dog for a walk around town, and youll probably notice that the number of signal bars on your phone varies as you walk past tall buildings, through heavily wooded areas, or up and down hills. Thats because the UHF radio frequencies that your phone uses to communicate with a cell tower must travel in a straight line between source and receiver. In other words,cell phone signal is line-of-sightphysical obstructions between your phone and a tower can block it.

The problem likely gets worse if you take your dog on a hike outside of town. While all of these devices are capable of receiving location information from GPS satellites, they transmit that location to your phone using cellular phone networks. The potential for problems double, because were talking about two devices here: the collar on your dog, and the phone in your hand. The second either one of those loses its cell signal, you lose the ability to track your dog.

This problem was evident testing Whistle back in Los Angeles, where I used to live. My favorite spot to hike the dogs there was Runyon Canyon, a mega-popular city park in the Hollywood Hills. There, we found cellphone blackout areas at the bottom of the parks canyons and the crowded trailhead on the parks south side. Whistle wasnt able to track dogs or communicate with my cell phone through parts of the most popular dog park in LA.

Borrowed or rented a car lately? Shared a wireless speaker with your partner? We all know how challenging it can be to pair your phone with another device using Bluetooth, maintain that connection as you leave and return to an area, and share a device with multiple users.

Bluetooth-enabled devices transmit radio signals on the same frequency as other wireless gadgets, like baby monitors and cordless phonesthe same frequency emitted by microwaves and fluorescent lights. All of our homes and public spaces are packed full of devices that compete for that frequency or interfere with it. Smart collars also use Bluetooth to communicate with your phone when theyre in close proximity for functions like setting changes, or in the case of Halo, training inputs.

The first step to using any shock collar is to put it on your dog, and begin testing to see what degree of shock is needed to elicit a response. As Ive explored at length, the humane use of shock in dog training relies on finding the minimum effective dose that works on your dog. The goal isnt to hurt them; its to establish a clear and immediate communication cue. So new Halo in hand, I fitted it to our middle dog, Bowie, used my paired phone to set the shock function to its lowest setting, and began pushing the test button in the app to transmit shocks.

Or at least I thought I did. An athletic 75-pound husky-German shepherd mix, Bowie is a tough little guy, so I wasnt surprised when Id moved through the first half of shock intensity without seeing any sort of reaction. I kept turning the level up and pushing the button to fire the shock until Id reached the maximum level. The apps interface kept telling me it was working, but Bowie was just sniffing around like usual, unbothered. So I pushed the shock button a few more times. All of a sudden, Bowie did a giant backflip while letting out an awful yelp. Turns out my phone hadnt been communicating with the collar, so the first shock he received was at one of the highest levels. I took his collar off and didnt try it again until a couple weeks had passed.

Aside from trouble reliably transmitting training cues, Bluetooth also suffers from a limited range (typically 30 feet or so, not enough to cross my backyard) and generally unreliable connection. The technology throws a wrench in the ability of any of these products ability to provide consistent training cues or assured safety.

The Global Positioning System is a series of 24 satellites launched and controlled by the Department of Defense. Each of those satellites constantly transmits its location and the exact time. To determine its location, the GPS receiver on your device looks at the signals transmitted by at least four of those satellitesand compares the time it took those signals to arrive to calculate its position on earth in three dimensions.

Buildings, trees, terrain, and other obstructions can block satellite transmissions. So while the best-case scenario accuracy level for any of these devices is seven feet or less, that number can rapidly grow, depending on your surroundings.

While simply tracking a dog, temporary variances in location accuracy shouldnt be a major problem. If your dog is 100 yards ahead of you on the trail, it doesnt really matter if your display is saying 99 or 110 yards. But variances in accuracy can cause issues when it comes to geo fencing.

Testing Whistle and Fis escape alert functions by having a friend leash up one of the dogs and walk them away from the house, neither product proved able to reliably provide an alert of the dogs escape until they were well away from the house. In some cases, that alert came after theyd moved a couple blocks away, across a couple of major roads.

In the case of Halo, location accuracy problems proved more fundamental. I wanted to use it to contain the dogs within the yard of our cabin. Since its located near Glacier National Park, there are large predators like grizzly bears and wolves in the immediate vicinity, but the lake its located on also freezes over in the winter, and that ice is often of dubious thickness. Keeping the dogs in the yard is a matter of life or death.

I tested Halos accuracy by holding two collars in my hand and moving around and off my cabins property. I was sometimes able to walk out onto the ice with no feedback from the collars whatsoever, and up into the wooded hills on the other side, again with no reaction from the collars. In other cases, the collars would skip the audible warnings and move straight to applying shocks. Sometimes, the shocks would come at the precise border Id defined, and other times those shocks would occur ten yards or more past that point.

Fitting the collar to Wiley, our oldest, and most strong-headed dog, I noticed him receive a correction at the border of the property, then continue his adventure onwards, unchecked.

Given that the purpose of a shock collar is to provide consistent, immediate, clear training cues, this is incredibly problematic. By failing to reliably alert my dogs of the border of the property, they werent able to receive effective training to stay within it. And by applying shock unpredictably, Halo created the risk of frightening the dogs and causing them to run further into danger.

I have since given the collars to friends who live on a ranch outside of town, here in Montana. Their property is all grassland, with an unobstructed view of the sky and covered in strong, consistent cellphone signal. Its not near any roads or other major dangers. In that best-case environment, they have found that Halo is able to keep their small dogs from visiting the nearest neighbors, several hundred yards away.

Despite the frustrations I ran into testing these collars, I am successfully able to keep my dogs contained at home, at the cabin, or in camp and can even track them when theyre off-leash. Heck, I even know how much exercise they get. Heres how.

To keep our dogs in the yard and off the busy street we live on here at home in Bozeman, Montana, I built a six-foot tall fence. The total cost? $5,000. Or only $2,000 more than the cost of three Halo collars. And that fence is 100 percent reliableas long as my friends remember to shut the gate.

At the cabin, Ive installed a sort of aerial dog run by tensioning a strong rope at head height between two trees. Clipping the dogs leashes to that allows some small degree of outside activity and bathroom breaks. No matter how I hang it, the dogs always find a way to get tangled, but it is safe. No dog has gotten out on the ice or chased a moose yet.

In camp, I just rely on the recall Ive built into each dog with years of consistent positive reinforcement training. Theyre a ways from being absolutely reliable with a simple call, but I also choose to camp a long ways from other people, so its not a huge issue.

I use a Garmin Astro 430and T5 collars. The system isnt cheap, starting at $650 for the handheld device and a collar, and $250 for each additional collar. And its not without its own problems: the interface isnt very user friendly, the handheld receiver runs on expensive lithium batteries that have to be fed every few hours of use, and the collars use a proprietary charger that you have to buy a new collar to replace. But man, this thing is reliable.

Unlike the collars mentioned above, Garmin employs a radio transmitter (the big antennae you can see the my dogs wearing in the photo on top of this article) to transmit the location of each device back to the handheld receiver. That gives the Astro a nine-mile range between human and dog, even in heavily wooded mountains. The collars are also made from the kind of robust materialsnickel-plated steel hardware, polyurethane-coated nylon strapsthat have stood up to all of the abuse our dogs can throw at them for two years with no signs of wear. While the big antennae might seem awkward, our dogs have never gotten them stuck on anything, and so far as I can tell, dont even notice theyre there.

Each of the dogs got about ten miles of moderately-paced hiking in last Saturday. How do I know that? I clipped on their leashes, put on my boots, and took them on a ten-mile hike. I can tell how far we went by looking at a map and watching the terrain we cross. I can gauge how theyre doing by observing their body language. And I can determine if it was enough exercise by whether or not they fall asleep when we get home. I dont need an app to tell me that stuff, and neither do you.

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The Unsuccessful Intersection of Dogs and Technology | Outside Online - Outside

Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drives daily audio interviews onApple PodcastsorPodcastOne.

We conclude our series on the Federal Lab Consortium and the business of federal tech transfer with a look at the operational arm that keeps it all going. Its called the TechLink Center, and its housed at Montana State University. Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked about it with the Centers new executive director Brett Cusker.

Tom Temin: Mr. Cusker, good to have you on.

Brett Cusker: Very pleased to be here, thank you.

Tom Temin: And we should begin with your own background. You are a retired Air Force Colonel, and you were in the tech transfer business for the military somewhat before coming over here. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Brett Cusker: Thank you. Yep, I have served 25 years in the Air Force and ended up in the acquisition community finishing my career at the Air Force headquarters level and running command and control system acquisition. And thats what got me connected to the technology transfer world, as well as the Small Business Innovation Research world. So coming out of this service, was looking for employment and found an opportunity here with TechLink, as the doodies primary partner for technology transfer, made an application and very thankfully got hired a few years ago, and then took over as executive director, as you mentioned recently.

Tom Temin: And youre in some beautiful territory, we might also add. But tell us about the TechLink Center. What specifically does it do and which federal labs does it do it with?

Brett Cusker: So the MSU TechLink Center is a part of the Montana State Universities system Montana State is a land grant university of the state of Montana and all land grant colleges have an economic development mission. So MSU was defined as a Center for Economic Development back in 1996. And our first federal partner actually was NASA. And we were helping them connect with industry partners, regionally, the success that we saw there, got us noticed by the Department of Defense, and we have been the DVDs primary partner for industry outreach nationwide since 1999. And so our main purpose is to find those small, non traditional companies out there that could benefit from licensing intellectual property that the Department of Defense has patented. And we are experts in the field of licensing all my folks, Ive certified licensing professional credentials, and most of them have patents in their own right. So we have a very, very experienced group of people here that know the art of licensing federal DoD property, intellectual property, as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Tom Temin: I almost want to ask you how the sushi is in Montana, because when you think of startup innovation companies, you would think theyre all on the coasts. And yet youre in Montana, trying to find these companies. How does it work in a day to day sense?

Brett Cusker: Yeah, so day to day what we have is a really aggressive marketing outreach campaign thats centered. Really on our website, its techlinxcenter.org, where you can go and find all of the available intellectual property for the Department of Defense, as well as whats available through the Department of Veterans Affairs in one place. We are the only location that entrepreneurs can go to, and search for intellectual property that might help them in their business development efforts. And we love to promote the opportunity that tech transfer gives because through tech transfer, businesses of all sizes have partnered with the Department of Defense and VA labs, using their intellectual property that significantly cuts time and resources from their own R&D efforts and has successfully brought new products and services to market with speed and efficiency.

Tom Temin: And I want to say that as someone who has a kid read the Lafayette radio catalogue at night, your site is really a cornucopia of various technologies. Im looking at high performance PCB based Yageo capacitor for greater than 100 watt applications, overlapping vein mufflers, small low power solar radiometers. I mean, this is real stuff youve got listed here. These are available for licensing in other words.

Brett Cusker: thats absolutely correct. And licensing terms can vary based on the company needs. So one of the things that my folks have been successful in doing is not only explaining and cord connecting interested licensees with the laboratory and the inventors themselves, but also creating a really unique strategy for how to license that intellectual property, whether it be an exclusive license for all fields of use, or a partial exclusive license or a non exclusive license, every case is different. Every agreement is different. And at the end of the day, what TechLink is doing and why the department offense has paid us to do this. We dont take any money from any of these deals were paid for by the Department of Defense and the VA to help broker win-win agreements as a center of excellence really an experts that understand the licensing ins and outs, as well as the opportunity that that license offers to both the government and that industry partner.

Tom Temin: We were speaking with Brett Cusker. Hes executive director of The TechLink Center at the Montana State University. And what makes a good outfit, startup or maybe an established company, to be a place to which you can transfer technology? How do you know, hey, this is a great place?

Brett Cusker: So we have worked with businesses large and small. Whats really interesting about federal tech transfer as envisioned, through the enabling legislation back in the 80s assistance, and wildland vital acts was, there was a desire by Congress to connect with non traditional small entrepreneurial companies in order to see these basic research advancements within the Department of Defense and federal laboratory system, find a home and connect with those small, innovative, agile companies that can take this baseline technology, further develop it into something thats commercially viable, or in the case of the Department of Defense, something that will provide a capability that doesnt currently exist within the department and reduces the overall cost of innovation for both the Department of Defense and that industry partner. So in terms of companies, we see about 95% of our companies are small, or very small, were talking less than 100. employees, several are startups, as you mentioned, even less than 10. And these are people that have an idea and drive a capability and a capacity and maybe even a track record of success of licensing intellectual property. A key piece of their application is a commercialization plan. Its part of the requirements to license federal intellectual property, there has to be a commercialization plan, the expectation is that licensee will actually do something with the innovation. And so our team here at TechLink will help that licensing, or that firm actually write their commercialization plan so that theres good confidence on the government side that this licensee will take the innovation and do something with it and be successful.

Tom Temin: And can more than one company license a particular technology?

Brett Cusker: Thats an excellent question. And the answer is yes. And as I mentioned earlier, theres lots of different flavors of licenses, you can have an exclusive license for all field of use, which would mean that nobody else is going to be able to take that invention and do something with it. You could have an exclusive license for certain fields of use, you can have a partial exclusive license and a non exclusive license. Theres lots of different resources through the technology transfer tools that Congress has given our country for really tailoring the kind of licensing agreement that makes the most sense to that industry partner, as well as the government agency that owns that IP.

Tom Temin: And can licenses cross domains from which the original technology came or was intended, Im looking at something here a adjustable clamp device for aircraft, pretty nifty little gadget. The idea here is adjustable clamp that can be mounted to aircraft. And you can route wires and do different things without the need for adhesive. You can do it with a simple screwdriver if Im looking at this, right. But maybe something not connected to aircraft could use the same type of clamp, maybe a car with a lawnmower.

Brett Cusker: Thats very observant. And youre exactly right. Were seeing multiple uses for innovation, it may have been a desire by the Department of the Navy, for example, to create a baseline capability that addresses a very specific problem to the maritime environment. But that innovation very well could be a solution in another domain as well. And so yes, we see a lot of different applications and of these innovations going in directions maybe that that researcher that Principal Investigator didnt even realize it could go to and theres been a lot of excellent success in that cross domain area.

Tom Temin: And do you ever walk through, say an airport or through a factory or somewhere and say, golly, I helped license that?

Brett Cusker: Yeah, in fact, there are several interventions that have come out of DoD labs that are in practical use on a day to day basis, whether its cargo loader at that airport, or even different manufacturing capabilities and carts, just it kind of runs the gambit, anything that you can think of in any kind of genre, the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs is probably researching the next great advancement.

Tom Temin: And you have metrics on the annual value to the government of the tech transfer licensing agreements.

Brett Cusker: We sure do. In fact, if you go to the techlinkcenter.org, we have an impacts page that unpacks the impact of technology transfer for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies that we have supported asking that very question has there been a return on investment and does this work and so if the very thankfully my organization has been researching the success of technology transfer through an economic impact studies since 2009, and we are renewing for the third time licensing impact study just this year, so were keeping a running total of the six They have not only the licensees, but the interventions and the innovations that are coming out of the Defense Department. Its a very significant success story, not only for our own organization, but certainly demonstrating that the intention of tech transfer is meeting and exceeding the expectations that were set all the way back in the 1980s.

Tom Temin: Order of magnitude is it millions, tens of millions, billions a year?

Brett Cusker: Billions, yes. It has been billions of dollars worth of impact across all these different licenses over time.

Tom Temin: Well, Im hoping to license the Vulcan Fire Torch. I dont know what that is, but it sounds like a lot of fun. Brett Cusker is executive director of the TechLink Center at Montana State University. Thanks so much for joining me.

Brett Cusker: Well, thank you. Its a pleasure to be here with you today.

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What it takes to keep federal technology transfer going - Federal News Network

If you have attended a baseball game recently at Wild Things Park, then you might have noticed the four small silver tube-like objects fixed atop the home teams dugout along the first-base line.

Are they security cameras? Do they have something to do with the Frontier Leagues live video streaming package that started this season? Are they radar guns?

They are high-speed cameras that are part of the Yakkertech system that was installed at the ballpark this spring. Yakkertech is an imaging system that uses multiple cameras to instantly measure data from a pitch and batted ball.

They have cameras directed at all the reference points from the pitchers mound to home plate. They track the velocities and spins at those points and it instantly collects all the data and combines it all and visualizes it, Wild Things general manager Tony Buccilli explained.

Yakkertech yakker is an antiquated term for a big-breaking curveball is an Arizona-based company that specializes in collecting high-speed data about the movement of a baseball and many other things about the sport.

This does the exact same things you would see in a major league park. It picks up the same things, Buccilli said. It is telling us how much depth there is on a pitch, how much its spinning, horizontal movement, vertical movement. Its giving everything you would get a traditional major league ballpark and more.

Yakkertech is more of a startup but their technology has been getting glowing reviews.

While Major League Baseball has used Statcast to supply similar data at its games since 2015, Yakkertech is creating a niche for itself at the college and independent league levels.

Yakkertech ownership reached out to management of the Frontier League. They made a trip to Florida for the league directors meetings and made a presentation, Buccilli explained. Owners at that point voted to move forward with it as a collective group. They provided two options for teams in the Frontier League to get Yakkertech. One was a no-cost and another was a cost-associated for equipment. The differential was based upon who would own the player data. Every team but one went with the free option because it was just a complete unknown. Would we need this information?

The equipment at Wild Things Park was installed days before Washingtons home opener. Frontier League deputy commission Steve Tahsler said in addition to Washington, Yakkertech systems have been installed and are up and running at ballparks in Florence, Windy City, Sussex County and New Jersey.

What the system does is instantly provide data about each pitch thrown during a game, ranging from velocity and spin rate to break and movement. It also measures a batted balls exit velocity, trajectory and distance. For example, during the Wild Things last homestand, Washingtons Grant Heyman hit a towering home run over the videoboard beyond the right-field wall in a game against New York. The Yakkertech system gave an estimated distance of 437 feet for Heymans blast.

Yakkertech also can give information about other facets of the game, such as player movement. It can even track if a pitch is in the strike zone or not, and gives an end-of-game percentage of correct ball/strike calls made by a home-plate umpire.

The only drawback is the Yakkertech information is not yet transferable to the videoboard at Wild Things Park, which is why the pitch speed is no longer displayed during games.

While the wealth of Yakkertech information is new to Frontier League teams, it has been helpful resource for major league scouts.

The biggest beneficiaries of this data are MLB teams, Buccilli said. Its interesting now that this data is here. I have (MLB) teams asking for specific things, largely spin rates. They ask, Whats his spin rate on a fastball? Whats his spin rate on a breaking ball? They want to see beyond statistics being a great measuring stick of talent, they want to make sure the spin rates play to what MLB teams are prioritizing.

I even had an MLB scout in the stands ask about a pitchers spin rate. He was a guy in the Frontier League who had very good stats, but after getting the information the scout said he could see why his breaking ball is a little flat. He thought maybe the pitchers stuff might not play well at the next level. Another team signed him. Each team looks for certain things.

The information Yakkertech takes from each game is fed into a database and stored by one of its partners, BaseballCloud. Buccilli said the amount of data about the Frontier League is minimal at this point.

We can take all the information and get answers. What is a guy throwing? What is he throwing on certain counts? What zones does he work in? You can really break it down, but I dont think we have a large enough sample size to make all those kinds of judgments, he said.

The game is going more toward math than people. Look at how much hype there is about exit velocity. Thats all people talk about these days. Pitch speed, spin rate, exit velocity, estimated distance, peak velocity, speed out of the hand, speed at home plate. All of that data has its place, but I dont try to bog myself down with those numbers. You can find a number to prove or disprove just about everything.

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Wild Things technology feature tells tale on pitchers - Observer-Reporter

Congress is mulling a number of proposals aimed at investing in technology and traditional scientific research and development that could make huge strides on racial diversity in science.

Why it matters: The proposals come as science institutions face pressure to hire and cultivate more teachers of color, diversify research fields and ensure that there is greater diversity in the STEM workforce overall.

Congress is mulling a number of proposals aimed at investing in technology and traditional scientific research and development that could make huge strides on racial diversity in science.

Why it matters: The proposals come as science institutions face pressure to hire and cultivate more teachers of color, diversify research fields and ensure that there is greater diversity in the STEM workforce overall.

Details: The U.S. Senate last month passed the mammoth U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, also known as the Endless Frontiers Act. The bill focuses on making major investments, on the order of about $250 billion, in the federal funding of scientific research and development.

What they're saying: The whole meritocracy system that we believe science is based on is not actually applied the same way to Black, Hispanic, Native American people and people with disabilities, Yaihara Fortis Santiago, associate director for postdoctoral affairs and trainee diversity initiatives at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told Nature after the death of George Floyd.

The bottom line: More money won't solve the entire problem. But pending science research and development legislation, combined with additional funding contained in infrastructure spending proposals, would be a bold step toward diversifying STEM fields.

The rest is here:

New federal actions aim to tackle diversity in STEM fields - Axios

Shed of Tangshan Interchange Toll Station / AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studio

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Text description provided by the architects. In 2019, ATA design team received the task of designing a toll station for Tangshan Interchange of Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway. As the most important transportation hub in the east of Nanjing, the owner hopes to show the image of Tangshan as the "East Gateway of Nanjing" through the shed of Tangshan Interchange, and it is also an important node for the peripheral transportation organization of the 2021 Jiangsu Garden Expo Park.

Audience group, value, and viewing way.In view of safety, economy, and functionality, transportation facilities such as toll shed usually adopt standardized styles and sheds usually adopt large-span steel structures to meet the traffic needs of lanes. Pillars are set as supporting structures on toll islands or at both ends of stations, and the roofing materials are mostly metal profiled plates or membrane materials. Each toll station is identified with a different station name to show its difference. Standardized structural components can effectively reduce the construction cost and ensure the reliability of the structure. In recent years, highways have improved the comfort and experience of drivers and passengers by building special service areas, and local governments also regard highway exits as the display of the local image, so they have higher requirements for the form of toll station sheds.

Generally, the way to improve the image of the toll shed is to do some two-dimensional modeling on the facade of the shed to meet the perspective of normal pedestrians. But is it applicable to drivers and passengers on expressways? These are the three points that need to be made clear in design, which are Audience group, value, and viewing way. For drivers, station name signs, lane signs, toll deduction signs and gate bars need to be paid attention to first when driving. The modeling of the station shed and the space under the shed are more focused on the overall space perception than the detailed modeling. Passengers in the rear row look at the outside from the side windows. Therefore, the probability of observing the space under the shed is higher than that of the facade of the shed. Because the manual toll collection channel is set by the outside road, drivers and passengers will have more opportunities to observe the shed from the lower side while waiting in line. According to these line-of-sight analyses, large-scale physical features and regular spatial language are more likely to impress people than complex transformed concrete images. Therefore, how to shape the space under the shed and extend people's experience from two-dimensional facades to three-dimensional spaces provides a new thinking aspect for design.

Standardization and locality.From the perspective of economy and safety, the use of standardized steel members to build large-span structure selection is in line with the identifying characteristics of toll sheds as transportation facilities. Therefore, grid structure and truss structure are the mainstream of structural forms, and columns are often supported at the four corners and the middle according to different spans. However, standardized industrial components are easy to appear monotonous due to their lack of changes, and it is difficult to show their characteristics, especially how to show the local characteristics of buildings, which is a difficult problem faced by architects.

The locality of architecture is not a static concept but coexists with the contemporariness of architecture. The humanities, history, and topography around the site are of course the local characteristics of the building, but the current construction technology level, the difficulty of obtaining materials, and the cost constraints under the expressway system are also the local elements of the building in the contemporary context.

In this project, the design team tries to find a balance between the standardization and richness of the structure and uses the expressive force of the structure itself to present the localization characteristics of the building. The design team adopted the structure of the bifurcated support column & folded plate roof. The bifurcated support column consists of standard steel bars supported vertically and obliquely in the plane. The roof is a space folded plate structure composed of cross beams. The interface dimensions of the inclined steel support bars are divided into three categories, which are smaller and smaller according to the stress characteristics, and finally connected with the roof beams.

Considering the unobstructed line of sight and the safety of vehicle traffic, the bifurcated support column is arranged in the upper space of the toll island but does not enter the upper space of the driveway. The standard steel brace forms different cross column forms through different combinations, and the cross column is in different positions on different toll station islands. In this way, the space under the shed is rich in structural and physical changes, and these changes are more attractive to observe at low speed. The skylight on the roof allows natural light to enter the shadow area under the shed, making the space bright and full of layers, which draws on the impression of the hall space where guests are received in traditional buildings. Its purpose is to make tourists feel like passing through the hall into the inner chamber when they pass through the tool shed, and the opposite view of the shed is the main mountain range of Tangshan, hence named The shed with mountain view.

At night, the light-receiving surface and the light-receiving surface are reversed, the folded roof is illuminated from below, the grid of repeated array strengthens the twists and turns of the roof, and the bifurcated supporting columns in the light are visually staggered and overlapped, so the shed is as impressive as a temple in the forest.

Detail nodes.When using structure as the element of spatial expression, an important principle is that each component truly reflects its stress characteristics and each structure plays its role. For example, the size change of section steel of cross column from bottom to top corresponds to the change of bending moment, the tension rod is clear at a glance, the web areas of the cross columns and beams are closed by aluminum plates, which is used as a bridge box for cables. However, on the one hand, the purpose of exposing the structure at the intersection node is to facilitate the daily maintenance of bolts, and on the other hand, is to realize the crossing of cables here.

When we chase the ambitious curve modeling created by computer algorithms, the method of analyzing the basic problems of architecture by using the basic means of design is still applicable in traditional architecture. It can also create a building space with controllable cost, practical function, and profound influence with the publicly available materials and simple and reliable construction.

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Shed of Tangshan Interchange Toll Station / AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studio - ArchDaily

As some of the worlds largest companies invest billions to advance battery technology, Dominic Spooner has been working at solving the next problem: the impact of unwieldy and environmentally unfriendly battery casings.

Spooner runs his lightweight battery casing technology firm Vaulta from a shared garage in Brisbanes north. Batteries will change our lives in ways that were maybe not even totally aware of, but we can create our own new group of problems if were not careful, he says.

From a workspace surrounded by packing boxes and other junk, like an old door, Spooner and his team have caught global attention.

This year Vaulta has signed agreements with aerospace and car battery companies, including one with Braille Battery an American manufacturer of ultra-lightweight batteries for Nascar, IndyCar and the Australian Supercars.

Last month the company received a $297,500 federal grant to commercialise its technology.

For those still sceptical about the extent and pace of global innovation being directed towards battery technology, the International Energy Agency says patents for energy storage inventions have grown four times faster than the rest of the technology sector, and are set to catalyse clean energy transitions around the world.

In 2020, Samsung spent US$710m (A$950m) on research and development of next-generation electric vehicle (EV) batteries. An Israeli firm has this year begun production of an EV battery that can charge in five minutes.

So how does a tiny garage-bound Brisbane startup find its place among global giants in the rush to innovate?

It seems like almost every other day there are tech advancements in the cells, cell types, cell shapes, cell geometry coming out of the US or Europe, Spooner says.

But the way theyre being packaged, the way theyre being housed, was just being overlooked.

Vaultas technology reduces the number of components used in battery cases. The casings reduce the battery size by about 18%. They also dont weld parts together, which means they can be taken apart and reused rather than dumped a start on preventing some of the 98% of disused batteries that goes into landfill.

Spooner says the lightbulb moment was a decision to work towards making a casing that could be disassembled.

At the end of that first life, can you replace cells? Can you change them over? Is any of that feasible? What we started realising was we were just scratching the surface.

Because were not welding the cells, when they come out of that casing they have the same properties as when they went in, and they are better set up for reuse scenarios.

[Battery innovation] is driven by performance further, longer, cheaper ... all the things that are going the help the take-up of batteries. But weve also got the time to do something right now, to do them in a smarter way. Its not just about recycling and reuse, but how can we get them into peoples hands.

In an electric car, the battery can weigh several hundred kilograms about a third of the cars total weight.

Audrey Quicke, a climate and energy researcher at the Australia Institute, says about a quarter of the cost of an electric vehicle comes from the battery under the hood.

Upfront cost is one of the biggest barriers to EV uptake in Australia, Quicke says. Although the fuelling and maintenance costs are cheap compared to petrol and diesel vehicles, its the upfront sticker price that stands out in the showroom. Any tech developments that bring down the price of batteries would likely help increase EV sales.

Quicke says a 2018 Senate inquiry recommended a comprehensive EV manufacturing roadmap, which would also cover battery and component manufacturing, but that many of the recommendations remain unrealised.

EVs and batteries are not a high priority in the governments technology roadmap, and theres no federal electric vehicle strategy to speak of, she says.

Thank you for your feedback.

But the writing is on the wall. It is the state governments and tech entrepreneurs that are driving the EV, charging and battery innovation in Australia. Imagine what could be achieved with a nationally consistent supportive EV policy environment to provide direction for this transition.

Spooner says the company doesnt intend to produce battery casings at a commercial scale. Rather the aim is to license the technology and to work with manufacturers in Australia and overseas. But he says the ability to reduce the weight of batteries could unlock a second tranche of innovation.

Flying cars, for instance, no longer sound like a film fantasy and could be on the market within a decade.

It could really open the door here or overseas for vehicle makers and for [vehicles] that dont exist yet, Spooner says.

Locally theres not a huge EV industry in Australia, but thats not to say there wont be. Theres advanced aerospace ... manned and unmanned. Stationary storage is here to stay as well.

Percentage gains in those sorts of fields are really exciting to be a part of for a car to be delivered as concept, then to be reined in and delivered to the mass consumer.

The boundaries for new technology to enter the market would be less.

But batteries also have a big role to play right now. In a lot of ways its a mature technology in its early stages of rollout.

At the outset of the pandemic as Spooner began to work on the battery casing technology, he spotted a neighbour, an engineer, working in the garage of a nearby home.

Vaulta sublet the space soon after and has no immediate plans to leave. For one thing, its too convenient right around the corner from Spooners home, which allows plenty of time to spend with his young daughter.

When we talk about the garage, its actually an upgrade from where we were, Spooner says.

We were working from home. We basically worked through emails, phone calls, text messages.

Through Covid weve managed to find a way to do business with Canada, parts of the US. You just kind of adjust and I actually quite like it. You cant beat the commute and were pretty comfortable there, to be honest.

Read more:

Lightbulb moment: the battery technology invented in a Brisbane garage that is going global - The Guardian Australia

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Core One Labs Inc. (CSE: COOL), (OTC: CLABF), (Frankfurt: LD6, WKN: A3CSSU) (Core One or the Company) is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert E.W. Hancock, the Companys Chairman, and CEO of its wholly owned subsidiary Vocan Biotechnologies Inc. (Vocan) will be presenting at a Company hosted Virtual Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. PST/ 4:30 p.m. ET/ 22:30 p.m. CET.

The Virtual Town Hall event will comprise of a presentation by Dr. Hancock on the status of Vocans production of biosynthetic psilocybin and will include live video from the Companys operating laboratory in Victoria, British Columbia. Dr. Hancock will also be answering questions from investors.

2021 has been a significant year for Core One Labs, and our teams have been very focused on building a company that we truly feel sets precedent in the psychedelics space. Our multi-faceted business model envisions a Company that addresses the full psychedelics cycle; from research in proprietary product development, developing and implementing appropriate clinical trials research, as well as addressing the treatment needs of clients in their various journeys to attaining sustained mental health well-being, stated Joel Shacker, CEO of the Company.

This is a vision that every one of our team members is committed to, and diligently works towards. In the past few months the Company has accomplished significant milestones, and I am very excited to announce that our Company Chairman, psychedelics as alternative medicines visionary, and world renowned scientist, Dr. Robert Hancock will be presenting in the Companys first-ever Investors virtual town hall to provide all market participants with in-depth insight into some of our exciting developments.

About Core One Labs Inc.

Core One is a biotechnology research and technology life sciences enterprise focused on bringing psychedelic medicines to market through novel delivery systems and psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. Core One has developed a patent pending thin film oral strip (the technology) which dissolves instantly when placed in the mouth and delivers organic molecules in precise quantities to the bloodstream, maintaining excellent bioavailability. The Company intends to further develop and apply the technology to psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin. Core One also holds an interest in medical clinics which maintain a combined database of over 275,000 patients. Through these clinics, the integration of its intellectual property, R&D related to psychedelic treatments and novel drug therapies, the Company intends to obtain regulatory research approval for the advancement of psychedelic-derived treatments for mental health disorders.

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Core One Labs Inc.

Joel ShackerChief Executive Officer

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: info@core1labs.com 1-866-347-5058

Cautionary Disclaimer Statement:

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect managements current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Companys limited operating history and the need to comply with strict regulatory regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

In addition, psilocybin is currently a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) and it is a criminal offence to possess substances under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) without a prescription or authorization. Health Canada has not approved psilocybin as a drug for any indication. Core One does not have any direct or indirect involvement with illegal selling, production, or distribution of psychedelic substances in jurisdictions in which it operates. While Core One believes psychedelic substances can be used to treat certain medical conditions, it does not advocate for the legalization of psychedelics substances for recreational use. Core One does not deal with psychedelic substances, except within laboratory and clinical trial settings conducted within approved regulatory frameworks.

See the article here:

Core One Labs to Present on its Proprietary Biosynthetic Psilocybin Technology at Investor Town Hall Event on August 4, 2021 - Yahoo Finance

When Terre Haute attorney Michael Ellis and his clients appeared at a bankruptcy hearing recently, they didnt have to travel to the federal courthouse on Ohio Street.

Instead, they each appeared via video from different locations, as did the bankruptcy trustee who administered the case.

My client was able to stay home taking care of two disabled children, Ellis said. Her husband was at work. He took a break and called in to the hearing. She didnt have to get child care. And I didnt have to go to court. It was just as successful, and it got the job done.

In Vigo County trial courtrooms, defendants and plaintiffs with internet access are also attending criminal and civil hearings remotely. And the public has been able to watch the judicial system in action by tuning in to a statewide audiovisual communication network approved by the Indiana Supreme Court.

The network was put in place to comply with social distancing and stay-at-home orders issued during the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the publics affinity for televised courtroom debates and investigative rehashing of real crime cases, a prohibition on cameras in Indiana courtrooms has long kept video viewers out of trial action.The coronavirus pandemic changed that for the courts, to some extent, and for the public as well.

As one Terre Haute attorney said recently during a discussion of video court, My wife used to watch all of the real crime shows on TV. Now shes hooked on our courtroom livestream and she thinks its more interesting. She can see what I do in the courtroom.

Many attorneys have been hesitant to talk on record about whether they like or dislike the video hearing process in case their comments or opinions are turned against them in future legal matters.

Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said he believes the livestreaming and Zoom conferencing of hearings and trials has worked fairly well, minus some internet connectivity issues at times.

When you think about it, it helps with security by allowing people to watch a trial from home rather than coming to the courtroom and having it jammed with people, Modesitt said.

COVID-19 forces changes

Indianas court systems made multiple adjustments to continue functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the receipt of federal CARES Act funds last year, both state and federal court systems have added and supported technology to help courts function with social distancing and to become as paperless as possible.

Its been a change that legal experts like Joel Schumm, clinical professor of law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, have been watching with interest.

I suspect there will be serious discussions and proposals to make cameras in trial courtrooms an option or even required going forward, McKinney said. The livestreams, which are optional, seem to have worked well. Many judges and lawyers are now more comfortable with cameras in courtrooms having lived through livestreaming the past year.

Indiana has been historically quite resistant to allowing cameras in trial courtrooms, Schumm said. The exception has been webcasts of oral arguments in front of the Indiana Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for the past two decades.

In her recent State of the Judiciary address, Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush lauded the adjustments made by court staff around the state to keep the courtrooms active and the wheels of justice turning.

Our judges were determined to keep courts across the state operational, and technology was the key, Rush said. We bought hundreds of Zoom licenses and laptops and we even built our own application to host live court proceedings online to make them available to the public. And you know what? People watched.

Rush stopped short of saying whether livestreaming and remote hearings in Indiana would continue once pandemic-related restrictions are removed and courtrooms become fully open to the public.

Former Vigo Circuit Court Judge David Bolk, now a professor of constitutional law at Indiana State University, admits he was resistant to the use of video hearings.

From my personal experience, I was not a fan of doing anything on video, Bolk said of his 26 years on the bench. I avoided that. For example, if someone who has been cooking meth appears on video, and all I can see is their face, I cant see their hands to see that they are burned up from cooking meth. I cant see that their hands are shaking. I cant see they have four people in the gallery who they are making eye contact and signs with, or that they have 20 family members there in the courtroom who seem to be pretty supportive and want to get this person some help. Those are things you cant get in a video proceeding.

Since criminal trials continue to be conducted in person and witnesses still appear in courtrooms where the defendants can face their accusers, no constitutional issue is raised by video hearings, Bolk said.

For hearings in civil matters, such as contested family law cases, some contested hearings have been conducted electronically, but those dont raise constitutional issues because the confrontation clause does not apply.

Having a video record is not necessary to the judicial process.

Each Indiana court must make an audio recording of hearings and trials in case an appeal is filed. When an appeal happens, the transcript is prepared and the Indiana Court of Appeals bases its decision on the wording in the transcript. The appeals court is not going to watch hours of video in a trial; they will read the transcript.

An area in family court that has benefitted from video access has been adoption hearings, which are confidential.

Bolk said clients who are out of state can attend hearings via Zoom if the presiding judge finds that acceptable.

Bolk, who now handles family law cases in addition to his ISU duties, said he handled an adoption hearing recently for clients in Missouri who appeared via video.

I dont know if that would have happened a couple of years ago, he said of the use of Zoom video. It is also nice if you have people from around the country who wanted to watch an adoption so they can be included in the happy event.

Court didnt stop

When the Vigo County Courthouse hallways fell silent in spring 2020 as part of the social distancing effort, it was in stark contrast to previous days when courtrooms had bustled with activity as defendants and attorneys appeared for hearings.

By order of the county commissioners, appointments had to be made for those doing business with offices in the courthouse, and visitors were screened for coronavirus symptoms and required to wear masks.

Prior to COVID-19, Vigo County was among a few Indiana counties that periodically utilized video connections for remote hearings between courtrooms and jails to dispense with inmate transport. The public, however, had no access to that video outside of sitting in the courtroom to watch video monitors with court staff.

Some logistical and technology issues prompted the courts to stop using that system a few years ago. Only one court at a time could use the video connection to the jail, and hardware issues did not maintain a stable connection for voice and video, which was frustrating to attorneys and judges.

Joe LaBree, information technology manager for the county courts, said ongoing upgrades to the system since the pandemic have increased bandwidth to stabilize the ability to send out and receive more information faster. That has stabilized audio and video for remote hearings.

Court didnt stop. Only the trials did, LaBree said. We still had hearings.

Livestreaming in-person jury trials, which were allowed to resume March 1, has been more challenging.

The first challenge was going from no courts using video to six courts being able to run video and livestream in the span of a week.

Some issues had to do with hardware capabilities of cameras, how the hardware runs with the software we are using, how secure the software is that we are using, and really just putting it all together in a way that not only works, but is simple enough for everyone to use, and stable enough to use multiple times a day, LaBree said.

Indeed, judges quickly became adept at starting and stopping the livestreaming of court hearings.

For the more complicated jury trial settings, LaBree has been in the courtroom to handle the technological aspects of public access to trials.

It is important to note the public is prohibited from recording any court proceeding that is livestreamed, and video is not archived by the courts. The public has a choice of which court proceedings to livestream by going online to https://public.courts.in.gov/incs#/

Advantages and disadvantages

Judge Michael Lewis of Vigo Superior Court 6, said he thinks the Vigo County court staff has become comfortable with streaming hearings.

Some courts still do not stream everything, and this is due to either confidentiality of the type of hearings or information that is contained within the hearing, Lewis said.

The countys courtrooms are limited in space, so even pre-pandemic, it was a tight squeeze to get 75 potential jurors seated in the gallery for the selection process.

To allow for social distancing, the courts made arrangements with local agencies that had large gathering spaces to spread potential jurors. Once 12 jurors and two alternates were selected in those venues, the trial process returned to the courtrooms where the jurors were again socially distanced throughout the gallery and jury box.

Safety guidelines also meant no paper or other evidence objects could be handed to jury members to examine during trials. The courts set up a few video monitors in the courtrooms so images of documents and evidence could be shown while staying touchless for the jury members.

With the lack of space in a courtroom, that is really where the streaming of the trials has helped a great deal, in that we do not have space for the public or even any visitors in the courtrooms, LaBree said.

Lewis said the livestreaming did not, however, have much effect on reducing the backlog of criminal cases in the courts. But, the backlog did not get as out of control as it could have without the video hearings.

The livestreaming really only helped facilitate the ability for the public to be able to see and hear the court proceedings, Lewis said. The remote hearings part of the video equipment in the courtroom did allow us the ability to hold hearings even when we were under the peak COVID-19 waves, without putting any parties in danger, he said.

The system still has its disadvantages.

With jail video, for instance, the number of inmates allowed in the video room still must be limited. That creates a delay as the next group of inmates are brought into the video room for hearings.

Technology manager LaBree said video rooms are being included in the new Vigo County Jail now under construction to more easily accommodate hearings for defendants in custody.

Many of our courts have been weaving in live parties between video parties to reduce the amount of downtime and waiting between cases, Judge Lewis said. In some other situations, there could be glitches in the video depending on outside parties connection strength or equipment.

Some defendants and litigants connecting from home use older laptops or cell phones that might not maintain a stable connection during the video hearing.

Quality in the electronic hearing is essential, because a good record is needed in case the information becomes part of a defendants appeal.

The video technology has also been useful in civil cases, such as small claims hearings.

Some of our civil hearings were the first to use video testimony from a remote witness during a hearing, Lewis said, as well as displaying videos over the feed to testify about.

While the increasing use of video in criminal and civil cases has helped to protect defendants, court staff, lawyers and the public from exposure to COVID-19 in the courtroom, it also carries the potential for some constitutional downsides.

Defendants do have the right to be present during hearings, confront witnesses and to communicate privately with their counsel. Another constitutional issue impacted by the pandemic is the right to a speedy trial.

The Indiana Supreme Court has not set an expiration for its emergency order permitting expanded remote court proceedings. Any decision about the future of video recordings in the courtroom will come from the Supreme Court.

Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or at lisa.trigg@tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter at TribStarLisa.

Read more from the original source:

Cameras in the Courtroom: Technology upgrades expand public access to hearings, trials - Terre Haute Tribune Star