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News - People & Companies
(updated 01 July 2010)
Integrated Systems Events has signed up Keith Watson to its Board of Directors. Watson, Marketing Director for Harman’s mixer business at Soundcraft Studer, joined ISE’s Advisory Committee in 2009 and attended his first meeting of the Board of Directors during InfoComm.
The Board maintains three positions for representatives of ISE’s exhibitors, each of whom serves a three year period of office. Watson replaces Tim Penn of AMX, whose term expired. Penn will retain direct involvement with ISE by remaining on its Advisory Committee.
After qualifying as a designer in Mechanical Engineering, Watson went through a series of Cranfield and Harvard business and marketing modules before joining Harman in 2003. His previous appointments spanned advanced design software for the aerospace and automotive sectors, and a spell working for a marketing and design agency. In his current role, he is responsible for all Soundcraft Studer product management and brand promotion, alongside multi-brand programmes with Harman sister companies AKG, JBL, Crown, Lexicon, dbx and BSS.
Mike Blackman, Managing Director, Integrated Systems Events, says Watson’s appointment has added significance beyond merely ensuring that the voice of ISE exhibitors continues to be heard at the highest level. “When ISE first started,” he says, “professional audio played a relatively small role not just in our events but in the AV industry generally. Since then we have seen audio start to assume much more significance in the planning and implementation of AV projects across all sectors, and the number of pro-audio exhibitors at ISE has increased substantially year on year.”
“We felt it was important to reflect this trend,” Blackman continues, “by appointing someone with a strong pro-audio background to our Board when Tim’s three-year term came to an end, and Keith’s position and experience made him the perfect candidate.”
For his part, Watson adds, “Like many other audio manufacturers, we at Harman have seen the growing influence of professional AV and systems integration on our business in recent years, and ISE has become increasingly important to us. I’ve enjoyed serving on the ISE Advisory Committee since 2009, and feel privileged now to be joining the Board of Directors as well. The next three years promise to be very exciting indeed.”
Integrated Systems Europe 2011 takes place at the Amsterdam RAI from February 1~3 next year.
www.iseurope.org
Steve Read is the new Sales Account Manager at DisplayLite, taking on the role to look after and expand regional growth across the entire range of DisplayLite products.
Previously with Midwich, Read was a high technology sales specialist for interactive touch screens and digital signage. Marketing Manager Simon Perry feels he will fit in well with both the company ethos and clients alike. "Steve comes to us,” he says, “with over 15 years experience in a background close to our own and as our reputation is built on excellent quality service and not just sales, he ticks all the right boxes. The role is vital for us to meet an upturn in sales and also for us to source opportunities in other areas where digital signage technology is emerging."
As the newest member of the DisplayLite team Read comments, "The challenge I've been set is something I'm more than happy to meet and I really believe that I can add value to DisplayLite overall in the future months. Their technology innovations, high quality products and varied client base make for an exciting role."
www.displaylite.co.uk
3M says its multi-sensory touch system offers games machine manufacturers and operators the chance to provide video based, haptic feedback without mechanical buttons. So its next generation surface capacitive touch technology has now been incorporated in gaming machines built in central Europe for deployment worldwide.
Slovenia based Gold Club plumped for the 3M MicroTouch MCT system for many of its gaming machines including its 22in multi-user electronic roulette tables, to provide a more responsive and immersive user experience. Gold Club adopted this 3M touch solution for its own-built machines and selected it for externally manufactured machines throughout its casino operations.
“As both an operator and manufacturer we want to deliver the best user experience to our customers,” says Boštjan Stopar, General Manager of Gold Club. “We looked hard at the alternatives and the most powerful advantage was the strength of MicroTouch. MicroTouch is very nice for the user: it is fast, intuitive and has solved problems we have had in the past with mechanical integration and calibration.”
Gold Club’s experience highlights the key advantages of next-generation touch screen technology for the casino gaming industry, according to Francesco Fasoglio, business manager, 3M Touch Systems Division. “Game designers are looking for new ways to enhance players’ gaming experience and keep them engaged for longer. Tactile feedback response, as embodied in our MCT System, enlivens the usual slot functions and heightens bonus round play experience. As well as replacing mechanical buttons on standalone machines, it’s also ideal for multi-user games.”
The 3M MicroTouch MCT System consists of an enhanced 3M MicroTouch Sensor SCT3256, a hybrid 3M MicroTouch Controller MX touch and haptic feedback electronics, and two or more touch screen actuators, according to screen dimensions. This system provides haptic feedback effects for on-screen video buttons so users actually ‘feel’ like they are depressing mechanical buttons.
Haptic feedback effects are created when the user simultaneously sees a video button depress, hears an audio file of the mechanical ‘click’ and feels a vibration in the touch screen’s glass surface. The user instinctively interprets the combination of these three sensations as pressing a mechanical button, when in reality they are simply touching a solid glass surface.
Gold Club’s electronic roulette tables incorporate up to 10 touch screens all attached to a single main computer. The MCT System, with its 5.4ms minimum contact time and greater than 99 per cent positional accuracy, ensures fast response to finger input on multi-player games like roulette. Touch screen materials ensure 91.5% light transmission for crisp and vibrant displays, and the robust 3M MicroTouch ClearTek surface coating provides optimal anti-glare properties. The scratch resistant top coat provides a smooth, easy glide touch surface.
www.3M.co.uk/touch
