DIY Document Camera

DIY Document Camera

My brother, Dr John Worthington, is an Educational Psychologist. Like many professionals, he is providing consultations remotely due to the . So I talked him through how to make a  document camera (visualiser).

Much can be done by telephone and video conference. However, occasionally it is necessary to show a client something. For this it is useful to have a document camera. This has a plate which sits on the desk, where you put a document (or small object). There is an arm to hold a camera above, and a light. Audio visual equipment is in short supply, but you can make a document camera out of a web camera and items around the home.

There are numerous articles online about how to make a document camera. I made a prototype from the surplus parts from a drawer unit. You need something for the base: I used the side off a modular basket drawer unit. You need an arm: I used a spare metal rod from the drawer unit (the rod is long enough to balance the weight of the camera on one end). You need a camera: I used a web camera which had a tilt and swivel mount which makes adjustments easier. The components are held togehter with zip ties, but rubber bands, or gaffer tape could be used. So far I haven't needed a light.

No specialized software is needed. If you have two web cameras, then use the one pointed at you first, so the client can see you. Then switch to the document camera, using the setting in your video conference software. When finished with the document, switch back to the other camera.

Remote Meetings for Running Australia

Previously I suggested Australian governments and organizations interpret existing laws and rules to allow electronic decision making. NSW councils have been told they can hold electronic meetings for the next sixth months, due to the . I suggest that this will be needed for more than six months, and should be made a permanent feature of the way local government, and other organizations, work. The technology exists to allow people to participate remotely, and there is no good reason to not do this.

It will be interesting to see how taking turns speaking is handled at council meetings, which, like state and federal parliament, can have robust debates. Most of the video conferences I have been to were relatively informal with a dozen people, who could speak at any time. A few large ones, with hundreds of people, required clicking the "raise your hand" button, before the host would switch on my microphone.

Videoconferencing usually also comes with other feedback features, such as a up and down thumb buttons, which might be used for a quick indication of support for a proposal at a meeting. Webinars (as distinct from Video Conferences) tend to have more feedback features, such as polls which might be used for formal votes. However, there would need to be a way to limit this to a subset of participants (that is the elected members). Given there are not many who can vote at a council meeting, a simple show of hands should be sufficient (with a virtual hand or by voice for those without a camera).

The NSW COVID-19 Local Government Resources page says "Requirements for members of the public to be permitted to attend meetings can now be satisfied by live-streaming the meeting using an audio-visual link.". Video conferecne systems, such as Zoom can typically have hundreds of participants, and webinars thousands. If a larger number of members of the public are expected (a council could have hundreds of thousands of residents), there is the option of streaming the video. This would also a way to have two levels of participation: those in the video conference who can interact, and those on the streaming service. Some streaming services (such as YouTube and Facebook) allow comments from participants. It should be noted that council meetings, also allow for the public to present their case to a meeting, so these people would need more than just streaming.

ps: In my 1997 final report as President of the Australian Computer Society I proposed all MPs and Senators of the Australian Parliament be provided with secure video conferencing to their offices, and half the sitting days replaced with electronic meetings.

Go Electronic for Meetings and Consultations

This is to suggest that Australian governments, organizations, and the community, interpret current laws, regulations, and procedures, as allowing for electronic decision making, meetings and documents. In the current we should not wait for changes to written rules, and laws, to allow for this. Instead governments, and the heads of associations can endorse the practice. This approach has worked in the past for making the Internet part of daily life.

Organizations across Australia are continuing to have meetings in person, as their rules and legislation does not specifically authorize electronic meetings. I suggest that these bodies meet electronically, where logistics allow. We should not waste time, and risk lives, waiting for a change to black letter law.

Similarly, I suggest Governments announce that restrictions on tele-medicine are lifted. All health professionals should be able to help patients though any communication channel, where it is practical for them to do so.

As an IT professional, I have assisted in the conversion of manual government and non-government processes online. This was done for reasons of efficiency. It is time, I suggest, to make this chnage across Australia, to save lives. In many cases when my colleagues and I proposed changes we were told that this was contrary to the law. In all cases I found that there were no law specifically banning electronic work. In same cases there was already law which allowed older forms of electronic working, such as with telegrams and telex, going back decades. In other cases it was just that no one had thought to use electronic means. As an example, the Australian Government got web sites, not because a law was changed to allow it, but because a group of people, referred to as the Internet Cabal, did it.

Telehealth for dealing with the COVID-19 Coronavirus

Yesterday, Professor Paul Kelly, the Australian Deputy Chief Medical Officer, discussed the advantages of Telehealth for medical practitioners dealing with the COVID-19 Coronavirus. But if you are going to talk to patients by phone or video conference, I suggest spending $100 setting up for it. I have been helping my university colleagues set up for their online student consultations. Audio is most important: get a Bluetooth or wired headset, to put the microphone near your mouth (about $50). If using the your smart phone, put it in a cradle for a stable image. If using your laptop, get a USB web camera (1,280x720 pixels will do for $50). You might want a second camera for showing diagrams. Ensure your face is lit, and dress the set behind you: tidy your bookcase, straighten your certificates, and remove your half eaten lunch.

"So I think Telehealth has a number of advantages. One is the one you mentioned but the others side that particularly for those who have chronic disease and therefore- or the elderly - and are therefore at that highest risk of getting the more serious end of the spectrum of this disease. And just remembering that 80 per cent of cases will be mild and probably don't need to see a doctor at all, once we have a large number of cases if that occurs. And then there's the protection of the health staff themselves but it will also importantly minimise the use of personal protective equipment. You cannot catch this virus over a Telehealth consultation. And so that certainly from a public health point of view and decreasing the numbers of cases that may be found in the community. That's an important consideration as well."

From  Deputy Chief Medical Officer's press conference about COVID-19, National Incident Room, 7 March 2020

Computer Professionals Need to be Ready with Teleworking for Coronavirus

Computer professionals need to be ready to support remote working on a large scale if the COVID-19 Coronavirus closes offices, I suggest. This is mentioned in "Will coronavirus make you work from home? Remote working takes off as the virus spreads." (Casey Tonkin, Information Age, Australian Computer Society, 3 March 2020, 12:26 PM).

Computer professionals have an important role in ensuring services are provided to the community. They need to become familiar with the precautions to take to protect their health, and that of their staff, so they are then able to help their clients. Computer professionals also need to be ready to help deliver government, industry and education services online, on a scale not yet seen. Professionals need to ensure they are equipped to work from home securely, in the event workplaces are closed.

The Australian Department of Health has activated its Health Sector Emergency Response Plan, indicating the seriousness of the situation. The US CDC has identified teleworking as a measure that may be used to maintain business while limiting infection. Australian universities have had a head start with this, due to the need to support international students unable to attend campus due to travel bans. Government agencies, schools, and companies will be hard-pressed to support their staff, and clients, working remotely, on a much larger scale.

Computer professionals need to discuss measures with their clients across all sectors of government and industry, now. There will be a need for leadership. At a meeting a few weeks ago the question was asked who we turned to for advice and decisions. I had the sobering realization that we were it: there was no one to turn to, and others would be looking to us for advice. Computer professionals need to be ready to dispense calm, authoritative advice.

On 14 July 1997, as the President of the Australian Computer Society, I advised professionals that they must assess and report the extent of the Y2K problem in systems they were responsible for. They were not obliged to take remedial action, just report to their clients on the extent of the problem. With this advice, we were too cautious, and did not provide enough guidance. Governments and large corporations overacted to Y2K and spent more money than it warranted. There is less scope for throwing money at the COVID-19 problem, and much more potential for panic.

Previously I have had some involvement in planning IT for emergencies at the Department of Defence, and pandemic response. In my book "Digital Teaching In Higher Education" (2017), I warned that the flow of international students to Australia could be disrupted very quickly and set out the steps for e-learning. I have been teaching this way at ANU since 2009, and have provided some advice for educators for the current situation.

The video contains images that were used under a Creative Commons License.

Australian Workforce Must Meet NBN Competition

The impact of the NBN on Australian business will be similar to the removal of tariff barriers in the 1990s. The greengrocer will be less effected, as it is difficult to transmit zucchinis online, but book-stores are already disappearing and knowledge based service industries will be under intense competition via broadband.

The impact will be greatest in service industries with national and global standards. The local accountant, lawyer and teacher will find they have Australian and international online competition. Even services which require some face-to-face component, such as real-estate and medicine, will have part of the function online and thus subject to global competition.

This change has already happened in large corporations, where computer programming and accounting are outsourced to overseas locations. The NBN will enable the individual and the small business to also outsource their services.

Currently Australian vocational and higher education is moving online, with the help of funding from the Australian Government. This will see some satellite campuses close, as is happening with Swinburne University's Lilydale campus closure. While media discussion has been about Swinburne students having to travel to other campuses, they already offer online courses. The online courses are convenient for the students, and also for the institution, but require a difficult transition for staff. Online education allows permanent local staff to be replaced with remote casuals, located anywhere in the world.

The solution to the threat of online competition is not to scrap the NBN and raise virtual tariff barriers to protect Australian jobs. Australia needs to ensure that its service industry personnel are trained in how to work well online, so they can compete. Some low value jobs will be lost in the service industries and we need to move up to higher skilled, higher paid parts of the industry.

In addition, there will be a need for some government programs to aid the transition, with many jobs lost in urban and regional Australia, as a result of the NBN. Programs can help the businesses and individuals find new areas of work.

Australian state and federal governments are providing some funding for the move to the online world of work. The National VET e-Learning Strategy helps both government TAFEs and non-government Registered Training Organizations (RTOs) with how to teach online. In the Higher Education sector, the Office for Learning an Teaching provides small grants for researching how to use eBook, eLearning and ePortfolios. There is also the NBN-enabled Education and Skills Services program. However, these are very small programs, compared to the billions of dollars spent each year on education and the potential loss of this industry to overseas competition.

Telecommuting for Education as Australia's Second Export Industry

A recent discussion in the TeleworkAustralia discussion forum has been on the legal impediments to working online. In response, I did a quick web search and found "Telecommuting: Issues in Public and Private Sector Employment", Nicolee Dixon, Queensland Parliamentary Library Research Brief, 2003:

"This Brief will attempt to examine the issues that may explain why the uptake of telecommuting has fallen short of expectations held many years ago. It will discuss, as matters for consideration by workplaces, the perceived advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting in achieving improved business outcomes and client services that are important to the
future of Queensland."

In my view it is not so much the legal issues, but the problem of defining what work is, which holds up telework use. If your boss can't see you "working", then they will have to judge by the results you produce. They might not mind that so much, but then their boss might want to judge them, by their results.

At present I am learning how to design online courses and then will apply that to research supervision.

The same issues arises teaching as with telework: how do you know if the students are "studying" and the teachers are "teaching", if you can't see them in a classroom? The obvious answer is that you get students to exercises and judge what they have learned from that. You judge the teachers by the results of their students and by what their students say about them. This then works its way up, with the school and principal, or university and vice-chancellor, being similarly assessed.

Education may emerge as the major use of telework in Australia. Education is Australia's largest export industry (after mining). As courses go online, it is very natural for teachers to telework.

I will be discussing some of this at the 7th International Conference on Computer Science & Education (ICCSE 2011) in Melbourne (Australia), mid July 2012: http://hdl.handle.net/1885/9013

Use e-Learning to Teach Teleworking

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said yesterday that Australia's low rate of teleworking was due in part to cultural barriers. He suggested that this could be changed through education and awareness of telework’s benefits. I suggest that e-learning could teach the needed skills and provide experience with an on-line working environment.

The minister was speaking at the announcement of "National Telework Week", to be held 12 to 16 November 2012. Senator Conroy emphasized that the National Broadband Network (NBN) will allow easier access to work from home, with high-definition multi-party video conferencing, large file transfers and real-time collaborative business tools.

However, the Minister did not announce any education initiatives to address the issue of the low take up rate of teleworking. As the Minister suggested, employers and employees need training in how to set their business up for teleworking and how to use it. This is, in the main, not a technical problem of not having computers and Internet access, but of not knowing how to use what they have effectively.

Teach Teleworking via e-Learning

I suggest that one very effective way to introduce personnel to tele-working is trough e-learning and blended learning (a mix of on-line and classroom learning) at secondary school, TAFE, university and work short courses. The some tools and techniques used for teleworking are also now used for education. While teaching staff directly about how to telework, or while teaching them some other subject, students can be introduced to new ways of working.

Learn to Use On-line Formats

Working out how to teach students on-line has taught us a lot about how to communicate on-line in general. One lesson is that documents need to be clear, direct and technically efficient. Documents designed for paper, do not provide the best on-line experience. An example is the Department of for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) National Telework Week Fact Sheet. This contains very useful information about what employers and employees can expect from teleworking, but has been poorly presented in the form of a four page 1.1 Mbyte PDF file. The document is formatted as a traditional paper brochure, with two columns of text. This is hard to read on a small smart phone or tablet computer screen. Also the PDF formatting makes the document ten times as large as it need be. While that size is not significant for someone on a high speed NBN connection, it could be slow and expensive on a wireless device, so I have appended a copy of the text of the brochure.

Effects of Telework on the Environment

Having the NBN's ability to carry high-definition multi-party video conferencing, large file transfers and real-time collaborative applications will enhance teleworking. But what what people first need is to know how to use text, audio, email and the web. National Telework Week (NTW) will help with awareness, but needs to be backed up with more substantial education for Australian employees.

NTW has an interesting list of human resource, IT and building industry backers: Australian Human Resources Institute, Australian Industry Group (AIG), Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), the Australian Network for Disability and the Local Government Managers Australia. Cisco, the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Unity4, Telstra, BlackBerry, Polycom, Infrastructure Australia and the Green Building Council of Australia.

At first glance it would appear that teleworking would be negative for the building industry as if more workers stay at home, fewer office buildings will be needed. But in practice many teleworkers only work a few days a week from home and still need an office to go to. Those offices need to be designed differently for the more mobile workforce. Fewer permanent offices and more meeting rooms and casual areas are needed. The same trend is seen in educational institutions, with learning centres which look more like an airport business lounge than a school.

Teleworking causes challenges for human resource management, as business has to manage staff they do not see much of the time operating out of home office environments they have little control over.

Teleworking also create opportunities and challenges for building and business environmental ratings. If fewer staff are in the office, the electricity bill may be lowers. But the business may have to cool a large building to hold peak staff demand, even though the building is part empty most of the time. This requires changes to building design and meeting scheduling. Also if the energy used by staff in poorly designed home offices is included, the organization's environmental rating may be in jeopardy.

National Telework Week

Telework is working regularly from a place other than the office, in most cases from a home office. Telework utilises information and communications technology to stay connected to colleagues and work systems.

The Australian Government is declaring 12–16 November 2012 as National Telework Week and is encouraging businesses, not-for-profits and government agencies to commit to participating.

Telework offers a range of benefits to both employers and employees. Employers find it easier to attract staff from outside of their local areas. They find they are less likely to lose teleworkers, who appreciate the benefits of telework and are often more productive than their office counterparts. Telework provides employers with a way to save on office costs and increase business continuity during disasters and crises. Meanwhile, teleworking employees typically report a better work/life balance, reduced cost and stress from less daily commuting and better job satisfaction.

Telework benefits the community. It reduces urban congestion on roads and public transport and reduces pollution and fuel consumption. Because of the savings in commute times, and people spending more time in their local areas, local communities also benefit from telework, which is good for local business and community life. With telework, some teleworkers may be able to move to more affordable housing areas—a particular benefit for young families and those with regional or rural ties.

What will National Telework Week in Australia involve?

National Telework Week will provide a national focus on the benefits of increasing telework in Australia. It will encourage businesses, not-for-profits and government agencies to trial or adopt telework.

During Telework Week, the employees of participating organisations across Australia can commit to telework for at least one day, or a number of days. In particular, organisations connected to the National Broadband Network (NBN) will be encouraged to participate, to take advantage of the greater telework opportunities it creates.

For businesses, not-for-profit organisations and government agencies, the lead up to Telework Week is a time to consider how to incorporate telework into their operations. Case studies, information and advice will be available to participating employers and employees on a range of important issues.

For employees interested in working from home, the lead up to Telework Week provides an opportunity to approach managers to sign up to Telework Week to trial telework.

A number of other countries have an awareness week for telework, including Finland, France and the United States (US). One of the largest and most successful is the Telework Week organised by Telework Exchange in the US.

During the first US Telework Week in 2011, nearly 40 000 employees committed to teleworking that week, saving US$2.7 million on commuting costs, gaining back more than 148 000 hours into their days, and removing some 1800 tons of pollutants from the air while not driving more than 6 million kilometres. To read more about these results and what is possible, go to www.teleworkexchange.com/teleworkweek

Telework reduces urban congestion on roads and public transport and reduces pollution and fuel consumption.

What will telework using the NBN be like?

What does telework using the NBN mean in practice? Here is a picture of it from the perspectives of employers and employees. Of course, the situations will change depending on who you work for, what you do or what your home set-up is like.

Managers

After logging onto the network in the office, managers can see who else has logged in for the day—either in the office or from home—using any number of web- based management tools. A quick status update lets everyone know who has logged on and is available for contact.

On the days that employees are working from home a quick video-based team meeting (that is, a many- to-many connection) could be called early in the morning. The NBN will not only enable these multi- party videoconferences but will simultaneously enable participants to use electronic whiteboards and other web-based collaborative tools.

Such meetings serve a number of purposes. Managers can clearly communicate the day’s outcomes expected of staff in the office or working from home. They also establish a connection between staff members at the beginning of the day, which reinforces that those working from home are a fully functioning part of the team. Known barriers to telework include reluctance by office-based staff to initiate contact with colleagues at ‘private’ residences, and people working from home feeling isolated from their colleagues.

Throughout the day, work continues as usual. Occasionally, if a home-based staff member has a quick question or needs an informal chat that person could message the manager or a team member using a desktop communications application. This is a quick and easy way to talk—much less time-consuming than the back and forth of email. However, email could still be used for more formal requests or correspondence.

Next-generation telework using the NBN will enable managers to supervise employees no matter where they live. As webcams, web-based collaborative tools and high-speed broadband connections become commonplace, managers will interact with teleworkers in a way that is little different to interaction in the office.

At the end of the day, another quick video-based meeting could be scheduled to ensure outcomes are being met or work is on track. It is also an opportunity to manage team performance and provide guidance or feedback with all home and office-based members present.

Teleworkers

After breakfast it is time to get to work. But instead of heading outside for a long and stressful commute, the office is set up at home. By working from home employees have, on average, an extra hour outside of work each day leading to improved work/life balance.

After logging onto the office network, it is business as usual. Thanks to the high-speed and stable broadband connection delivered via the NBN, staff meetings are held as a videoconference. Employees at home can see everyone in the office via continuous, full-screen video and everyone in the office can see them. Bluetooth headsets and voice over internet protocol connections mean employees are no longer tethered to a computer or phone and can move freely around the home or office while working.

Throughout the day teleworkers can use the NBN to interact seamlessly with clients or colleagues located anywhere around Australia. Large files are transferred quickly and network connections remain uninterrupted. Managers, colleagues and clients can collaborate in real time using a range of innovative communication tools and interactive software.

Employees at home find there are fewer distractions and they can be more productive. Reduced stress and greater flexibility leads to greater job satisfaction and teleworkers feel more valued by employers and enjoy better relationships with colleagues.

At the end of the day there is another quick meeting with the office to report on what tasks have been achieved. For teleworkers, the end of the day is stress-free, with no peak-hour traffic to negotiate.

For more information

The Australian Government will partner with a range of organisations to support National Telework Week.

Organisations interested in partnering with the government to promote telework are encouraged to make contact via telework@dbcde.gov.au For more on telework, including to sign up for Telework Week (12–16 November 2012) email updates, view other factsheets and videos, and participate in ongoing discussion and networking, go to:

Website: nbn.gov.au/telework
LinkedIn: Telework2020
Twitter: @DBCDEgov, #telework2020

From: National Telework Week Fact Sheet, Department of for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE), Australian Government, 2012

National TelePresence System

Mr. Gary Gray, Australian Special Minister of State, announced an upgrade of the National TelePresence System (NTS) 31 October 2011. The NTS is a secure video conference network used by federal government officials to replace travel. Apart from reducing travel costs (handy in the recent QANTAS airline shutdown), the system also reduces greenhouse gas emissions from travel.

The NTS was used for organizing the recent CHOGM meeting in Perth. It was claimed to have saved $12M and 2,330 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The NTS is also used for video conferences with state government officials for organizing routine meetings and during emergencies, such as floods. The system uses Telstra Next IPTM network and Cisco hardware and has been in operation since October 2009. The system cost $13.8 M over four years, with state government contributing $4.6M. There have been 1031 meetings totaling 1660 hours held.

Australian Government Telework Forum

As part of the Telework Initative, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is hosting "Telework Forum: Bringing Home the Benefits of Teleworking Using the NBN" with the AIIA, in Sydney, 3 August 2011. The morning sessions will be webcast live. There is also a LinkedIn Group and Twitter tag #teleworkforum.

Telework Forum
Bringing home the benefits of telework using the NBN

8.30am Registrations
9.00am Opening: Julie McCrossin
9:05am Keynote Address: The Hon Stephen Conroy
9.30am Telework: How the NBN will Make a Difference
Geoff Johnson—Gartner Research, Vice President and Research Director
9.50am Panel Discussion: The Case for Telework
Economic: Ric Simes—Deloitte Access Economics, Partner Environmental: Jon Dee—NBN Champion, 2010 NSW Australia of the Year, Co-founder of Planet Ark
Workforce Participation: Suzanne Colbert— Australian Network on Disability, Chief Executive
10.20am Coffee Break
10.45am Organisations Successfully using Telework:
IP Australia: Doug Pereira—IP Australia, General Manager of Corporate Services
Cisco: Tony Wright—Cisco, Lead Smart and Connected Communities Australia New Zealand
IBM: Matt English—IBM, Partner, IBM Global Business Services; A/NZ Leader, Smart Planet Initiative
Unity 4: Dan Turner—Unity4, CEO
11.45am Panel Discussion: Implementation
12.05pm Business Case Assessment Toolkit: Assessing the Business Case for Telework
Ric Simes—Deloitte Access Economics, Partner
12.20pm Overview: Ian Birks—Australian Information Industry Association, CEO
12.30pm Lunch
1.30pm Workshop: The Development of Telework in Australia—Next Steps Julie McCrossin
3.00pm Close: Julie McCrossin


From: Telework Forum: Bringing Home the Benefits of Teleworking Using the NBN, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Australian Government, 2011

Reflective paint for 3D video conference effect

At the hardware store recently I noticed spray cans of White Knight "Reflect-All light reflective paint" and thought it might be suitable for spraying on a walls to make a high efficiency screen for projector. I tried it out in a typical tutorial room at the ANU. To avoid damaging the walls I sprayed the paint onto a piece of transparent plastic and dark blue cardboard and attached these to the wall and projected onto them. I compared this with flat very light blue wall paint, a whiteboard and a projection screen.

The reflective paint worked as expected. However, working as a retro-reflector, the image only reflected a narrow cone of about ten degrees either side of the projector. This makes it impractical to use for a projection screen in a typical classroom.

The paint may still be of use in some difficult applications, such as in very bright lighting conditions, with a very dim projector, or one in a very large auditorium. The paint did not have the problems I was expecting with stray reflections and so there could be a very bright light source beside the screen without washing out the image.

The paint may have other uses. Because the light is reflected back strongly in the direction of the source, a camera at that point will show the subject in silhouette. This can be used to electronically extract the subject from the background. The subject can then be transmitted to a remote location and inserted into a scene. This effect is commonly created against a black background, reflective grey cloth or a specially coloured surface (chroma key). But the reflective paint would have the advantage of being able to be applied to any coloured surface. The wall of a meeting room or classroom could be painted without interfering with normal use of the room.

For educational or video videoconferencing use, a presenter could be videoed live in the room next to a projected presentation. The wall behind the presenter would act as a screen for the projected image seen by those in the room. The wall would also act as a reflector for the video image. The camera recording the presenter would be able to see them, but not the projected image. As a result just the image of the person could be recorded, or transmitted. Their presentation could be digitally inserted into the same video image, or transmitted separately in a separate video stream. This would provide a much higher quality image (and use less bandwidth) than attempting to record the presentation slides with a camera.

Reflective paint for invisible projection screens

At the hardware store recently I noticed spray cans of White Knight "Reflect-All light reflective paint". This is available in a silver metallic colour, but more interestingly also as a clear varnish. This might be suitable for spraying on a walls to make a high efficiency screen for projector, particularly new low power LED projectors. When not in use the screen would be all but invisible and could be painted on a dark colour wall.

The paint has "microbeads" which act as retro-reflectors, showing up brightly in the dark when a light is shone on them. This is similar to the material used in road markings. The difference is that it is available at the retail level and in a clear form, rather than the bright white used for road markings. Also the beads are much finer than those in road markings. The paint when applied looks like a frosted translucent finish with a rough mat texture. If applied in a thin coat to a very dark shiny surface it is noticeable as a milky film. In a thicker coat it looks like ground glass. But on a lighter matt surface, such as typical flat creme wall paint, it is all but invisible.

Having bought a can and tried it out the paint looks promising. It reflects so much more light than conventional paint that it would make a very good projection surface. This would be particularity useful for new LED projectors, which are not as bright as halogen ones. It would allow projectors to be used in much brighter environments and on dark and uneven surfaces.

But there are some limitations. As with any highly reflective screen, any blemishes are highlighted. The paint would need to be applied professionally, preferably by a trained operator with a professional spray gun, not the retail spray cans. The wall would have to be kept clean, as any grease would show up. Also any abrasive cleaner used may mar the surface. The microbeads reflect light back in a narrow cone, so there is not a wide viewing angle for the screen and the projector has to be near the viewer. The paint could not be used in a room with a brightly lit window, or spotlight opposite, as the reflective surface will show up (but then if used for protection there should not be a window or light opposite anyway).

The material could allow projection in rooms which are usually unsuitable. As an example, the projection surface could have lights or windows on each side. The ambient light would not be reflected towards the viewer, but the image from the projector would be.

Applied to a black or very dark wall this material might provide a way to produce a low cost hologram-like effect for video conferences. There are some systems using half silvered mirrors or film to give the appearance of the person in the room, however these are cumbersome and inflexible. Instead the lighting in the room could be carefully arranged so that it does not reflect from the wall into the camera lens. As a result the wall would be a very dark black, allowing anyone or anything in front to stand out clearly from the background for a very clear video image of the person. An image could be projected onto the same background which would show in sharp relief. With this arrangement two people could be in separate remote locations, with their images projected next to each of them, so they both appear to be standing next to each other at both locations.

It might also be interesting to apply the paint to glass or clear plastic sheeting. This would create a sheet of translucent frosted material which would act as a very good projection surface. A meeting room could have a frosted glass wall onto a corridor, which could be used as the projection screen. With the lighting carefully arranged, the image would be clearly visible in the room, but not in the corridor on the other side.

Before using the material on a large scale in a confined space the safety of the microbeads and the paint they are embedded in would need to be considered. The spray gives off a strong paint smell and some of the microbeads may become airborne in the process.

ps: The pain might also create a new form of subtle graffiti: The reflective paint is not visible during the day, but would show up clearly in car headlights at night.

Virtual Reality for Commanding the Australian Defence Force

The Australian Department of Defence has issued a Request for Tender for a "Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) Telepresence System" providing virtual reality meeting rooms. There is a 94 page document available, but only a couple of pages addresses the requirement in very general terms. This seems a good opportunity for those with advanced systems to offer products beyond ordinary video conferencing. One limitation will be compatibility with systems such as those I observed personnel using on the USS Blue Ridge.

The Department of Defence (Defence) requires solutions for a virtual reality meeting capability between two Defence locations in and near Canberra, ACT, Australia.

Defence is seeking a Respondent's proposed solution that will:

a. provide Defence with visibility of Respondents products, indicative costs and options for a virtual reality meeting solution;

b. meet Defence's current and future defence capability requirements;

c. provide Defence with a value-for-money solution;

d. provide significant and sustainable benefits to Defence, defence industry and the Respondent who is ultimately successful in the process; and

e. provide long-term cost benefits and risk reduction to other forms of personnel communications over short, medium and long distances. ...

From: "Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) Telepresence System, AZ4477, Defence Support Group of the, Department of Defence, 23-Feb-2009

News Limited Green Awards

News Limited is running some Green Awards, inciting readers to vote. In the Green Business category, the finalists are:

1. GoGet Car share

2. Computers Off Australia
   

3. Unity4 Call center
   

4. OZ Bin Cleaning

Teleworking talk, Canberra,

The Australian Computer Society is having a talk on Teleworking by Bevis England from Telework Australia on 9 April:

Australian Computer Society

Teleworking

with Telework Australia's Bevis England

Wednesday 9th April 2008

Telework is an innovative and flexible working practise that delivers many business benefits.

In 2004 the Australian Government established a telework taskforce to advise on the options and impediments to the development of telework for employees and businesses. This taskforce, the Australian Telework Advisory Committee (ATAC), had it's final meeting in February 2006 at which it recommended that Government encourage the growth of telework. In support of the recommendations made by ATAC, the Telework Australia resource centre was established to help promote the benefits which telework can deliver to business.

So what is Telework? At it's simplest, Telework 'work from a distance' but it covers a wide range of work forms and can have many names. It is about people; how they work, how they interact and how they prepare for an increasingly changing world. And it's about flexibility: flexible work locations and work times, flexible management structures and flexible responses to the challenges of change.

In this session, Telework's Bevis England will clarify many of the misunderstandings surrounding telework and explain just why there is such a need for flexibility in the workplace as well as discussing the the role that telework can play in providing that flexibility and its many benefits to organisations.

Biography:

Bevis England

New Zealand born Bevis England was educated in New Zealand and Australia, gaining a degree (Politics) from the University of Western Australian in 1976. He then lived and worked in Scotland and Hong Kong with extensive travel throughout Europe, the USA and Asia before returning to New Zealand in 1986.

Bevis started working in the "Telework" field in 1989, researching, studying and and promoting the concept to individuals, companies, communities and Governments.

Telework New Zealand was established in 1997 to provide a wide range of services in the telework field and was contacted by the Australian Federal Government to produce and manage the Telework Australia initiative in early 2007.