Closing thoughts: An interview with James Ionson of RemoteReality Inc.
James Ionson, the CEO of RemoteReality Inc., has made his scientific career in imaging technology. He is credited with creating the Innovative Science and Technology Directorate for the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative, now known as the Missile Defense Agency. During the early 90s, he was in charge of developing Polaroid Corp.’s digital imaging business. In his current role, he’s developing technology that cannot only see and record an unusual event, but also differentiate it from everyday images. Here, he talks about technical blind spots – both mechanical and human.
WBJ: RemoteReality technology brings high-resolution quality into an 'instant transmission' setting and then evaluates it. What can it do that competitors can't?Competitive systems consist of mirrorless pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) or fish-eye-lens cameras. A PTZ camera has a limited field of view. And a fish-eye-lens camera offers a wider field of view but with image quality that rapidly deteriorates as you move to the periphery. Our systems deliver 360-degree views with consistently high-quality imaging from the closest points to the edge. RemoteReality’s systems, which involve patented technology and proprietary software, are able to continuously stare at a 360-degree surrounding, with persistent situational awareness, and you cannot hide from them. You can program a system so that if an event occurs anywhere in the 360-degree domain, you can find what the event is. The system will drill down on that particular event, while it’s still staring at the 360-degree domain. It doesn’t suffer the tunnel vision that humans or traditional cameras have, and, when two or more cameras are in use, there are no blind spots. Conventional technology just can’t do that.
WBJ: What might one of your systems cost a customer?
When it comes to cost, there are a few things to consider: the military market requires hardened, ruggedized systems that are much more expensive than, say, systems that a casino or a mall operator might deploy. So, there is no one price fits all. And RemoteReality sells to systems integrators who already have access to the marketplace, and they are the ones who set the end-user prices. But I can tell you that just one of our cameras could replace a number of conventional cameras; and our cameras, because they are solid state and have no moving parts, also require little maintenance, another cost factor.
WBJ: How do you distinguish between what is truly a new technology and what is just more of the same, such as digital cameras with more megapixels?
Let’s use telescopes as an analogy because they relate to optics and cameras. The old-style telescopes that Galileo used were purely lens-based. You could only see so far because they had limited light-gathering power; and there were aberrations introduced by the lens. Astronomers learned that if you incorporate mirrors along with the lenses you get much higher quality imaging, greater clarity and you can see farther out. The technology is elevated to a totally different plane. That’s what we’ve done with our technology -- integrating high-resolution 360° mirrors, optics, sensors and intelligent processing into unique single-lens, solid-state, high-frame-rate video appliances. We’re the Hubble of the 360-degree-imaging world.
WBJ: What's the early-adoption window for this technology?
Today’s realities are influencing rapid adoption of video technology. For instance, in the military, the days of just having one battlefront in front of you are over. You need constant 360-degree capability to be aware of your situation, to prevent casualties, whether you’re in an armored carrier, a submarine, a helicopter or a fighter jet. In the government sector, besides the obvious crime-prevention and crime-solving applications, there is also great opportunity for use in border surveillance. We just don’t have enough manpower to cover it. With our systems, as soon as somebody tries to come across the border, he or she will enter the surveillance loop. And in commercial arenas, including enterprise business, there are numerous applications in many vertical markets, such as for surveillance in casinos, in retail malls, in parking lots, in banks and at ATM machines, and for crowd control at large public events, just to mention a few areas. And our systems can also raise the bar in the area of video conferencing, or video collaboration. With our technology, there is the ability to see an entire conference room at one time. There’s a need to simulate what a human can do in terms of visualization. This system can do more; we programmed tunnel vision out of it.
WBJ: What was the biggest challenge in developing Polaroid's digital imaging business? How did the old concept of "instant pictures" translate into the new concept of instant transmissibility?
This is a good example of how markets demand certain things and how you must evolve an older technology to meet those demands or suffer for not doing so. Demands for instant imaging went beyond pushing the button and handing you a picture. People wanted the picture to show up on a computer halfway across the world, on another camera, or to print out instantly. In 1993 I presented to the Polaroid board a digital camera with a cellular capability on it and began talking with telecomm companies – making Polaroid one of the first to have cell-phone camera capability. But, unfortunately, the company embraced an older technology platform called instant film and didn’t survive. At RemoteReality, we have a brand new technology platform that is ready to sprout a variety of products to meet the robust demands of the marketplace. And RemoteReality’s technology will continue to evolve to meet the needs of its customers.
WBJ: I guess it gets back to fighting today’s war with yesterday’s technology.
Many technological advances are being tested in today’s war and the nonmilitary markets will continue to be the beneficiaries, as they always have been.
WBJ: How does the 360-degree camera withstand impact or shockwave of battlefield explosions? Don't they throw the camera's mirrors out of kilter?
I’ll go back to the Hubble, which worked just fine, sitting on top of a space ship blasting off from a rocket. There are ways to make a solid-state device durable enough to withstand these shock waves. That’s why the military version will cost more than a casino version.
The Ionson File:
Born: Boston, 1950.
Education: University of Michigan, BS in math, physics and astronomy; masters’ degrees in aerospace engineering and physics; PhD from University of Maryland in theoretical plasma astrophysics.
Started career: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, also adjunct professor of physics, University of Maryland.
Biggest career challenge: Translating technical credentials into business leadership and entrepreneurial success.
Biggest career achievement: Creating, from scratch, the technology arm for the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative – and running it.
Just for fun: Athletics; former member U.S. World Championship flat-water kayaking team.
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