eSOL a Japanese embedded software developer, has added superior real-time performance and high reliability to x86-based industrial, medical, and robotics devices.

With these enhancements, eSOL customers can accelerate development of applications based on high-end embedded processors including multi-core, with the scalable, multi-profiled real-time operating systems, that are tightly integrated with development tools and middleware components to create flexible development platforms

eSOL says its eCROS real-time OS-based software platform will now support the x86 CPU architecture. eCROS for x86 is scheduled to be released in the second quarter of 2012. By adopting eCROS for software development on x86 CPUs, including IntelR Atom? processors, developers will be able to incorporate the real-time capabilities and high reliability of the eT-Kernel real-time OS?the heart of eCROS. eT-Kernel also enables developers to reuse existing Linux software assets so that they can reduce costs and shorten development time. x86 processors and eCROS are the ideal combination for development of industrial, medical, and robotics devices, which require higher-level functions such as sophisticated GUIs and networking capabilities.

Many developers of such devices often build them on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) single board computers. Developers frequently select x86 processors for these systems, not only because x86 processors can meet their stringent requirements, but also because x86-built-in single board computers from a variety of COTS vendors are available at reasonable prices. With easily accessible x86 hardware and eCROS, which fully integrates the eT-Kernel RTOS with middleware and development tools, developers can quickly start application software development.

eT-Kernel is used worldwide in many applications that require real-time performance and reliability, including car navigation systems, satellites, and other spacecraft. The eT-Kernel RTOS family consists of four scalable profiles. The top-of-the-line profile is eT-Kernel/POSIX, a POSIX-compliant RTOS. eT-Kernel/POSIX is highly compatible with Linux: several Linux software assets such as Android and Nokia’s Qt? application and UI framework have been quickly and successfully ported to eT-Kernel/POSIX with little modification. As a result of this compatibility, manufacturers are able to use Linux software and draw from thousands of Linux-trained engineers for x86-based software development.

eT-Kernel’s four profiles can be used for small-sized to large-scale, multifunctional systems. The eT-Kernel family includes eT-Kernel Multi-Core Edition for multi-core processors. eCROS incorporates eSOL’s eBinder development suite. eBinder’s tools and features designed specifically for RTOSes, help developers solve system issues quickly and optimize the OS for their projects.

“We believe developers of x86 systems will greatly benefit from our eCROS real-time OS-based integrated software platform,” said Nobuyuki Ueyama, Executive Vice President of eSOL. “Industrial, medical, and robotics devices in which x86 processors are widely used require the excellent real-time performance and high reliability that eT-Kernel provides. In addition to an integrated software platform, eSOL offers professional services to support developers of x86 systems as we do for users of ARM, SH, MIPS, and Power Architecture.”

A $ 350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will create a four-part ethics program based on a 2010 pilot course jointly developed by Marc Edwards, the Charles Lunsford Professor of Civil Engineering and a MacArthur Fellow, and Yanna Lambrinidou, an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies of Virginia Tech’s National Capital Region.

The course emphasizes the importance of seeking out and listening to the concerns of diverse stakeholders as a “best practice” for engineers and scientists.

“If engineers and scientists of the 21st century are to expand their traditional responsibility of problem-solving to include problem-defining, they must have the skills to work collaboratively with the public,” said Lambrinidou.

The original pilot course was started with grant funding from an initiative jointly sponsored by the Virginia Tech Institute for Society, Culture and Environment; the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Sciences; and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute.

Edwards and Lambrinidou first teamed up during a now famous study of lead contamination from drinking water pipes in several Washington, D.C. neighborhoods.

Congressional investigators later characterized the contamination as a “public health tragedy.” The two researchers later collaborated on a $ 450,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant that took a new look at the federal Lead and Copper Rule.

The new grant is a natural extension of their experiences and observations. Other Virginia Tech partners involved with the ethics modules include the Virginia Tech Public Health Program, and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program’s Water Interface and Sustainable Nanotechnology programs.

Under the terms of the agreement, PARATERA will resell Bright
Cluster Manager throughout China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It is a complete solution for configuring, provisioning,
monitoring, scheduling and managing HPC, GPU, Hadoop, and storage
clusters.

“China is one of the world’s fastest-growing, highest-potential HPC
markets. It has already shown its prowess by seizing the number one spot
on the TOP500 list a year ago, and moving into second place for the
number of systems on the list.” – Steve Conway IDC research vice
president

“The undertaking can support the growth of this market by providing solutions designed to
help existing users and many expected new users to manage their HPC
systems productively.”

“China is firmly committed to advancing supercomputing as a means to
drive commercial and scientific breakthroughs.” – Dr. Chen Jian CTO
PARATERA.

One of the most critical factors for delivering the required speed and
processing power within in an HPC environment is to ensure that clusters
can support the massive computations in the most efficient, accurate and
expedient way possible.

If these clusters are not properly managed or
monitored, jobs can crash unexpectedly, compute resources needlessly
idled, delaying results and negatively impact the time and money
invested in HPC.

To address these business and technical issues, Bright
Cluster Manager enables users to tightly manage their clusters with
complete visibility to all system elements and increase efficiency by
automating tasks.

The company also identifies system problems and sidelines
underperforming nodes before they impact performance, ensuring the
maximum productivity from clusters.

This is in support of its recent public listing in Canada.

e.vestor will advise the Corporation on capital markets strategies and manage investor relations outreach programs with a view to enhancing investor awareness, education and reachability.

e.vestor is a full service investor relations firm applying a modern investor relations model for publicly listed clients to engage today’s evolving online investor audience. Through innovative, responsible investor relations communications, e.vestor has established a reputation within the investment community for small capitalization technology listings.

The Corporation has granted to certain employees of its wholly-owned subsidiary, ePals, Inc. (“ePals”), stock options to acquire a total of 143,000 common shares of the Corporation. The stock options are exercisable, once vested, at a price of C$ 0.55 per share for a period of 10 years, with 1/12 of the options vesting quarterly in equal amounts over the next 12 quarters.

In addition, the Corporation granted stock options to consultants to acquire a total of 213,700 common shares of the Corporation. The stock options are exercisable,  at a price of C$ 0.55 per share for a period of 10 years, with various vesting periods.

All of these stock options were granted pursuant to the Corporation’s incentive stock option plan.

The Corporation also awarded to certain officers and employees of the Corporation and ePals a total of 618,466 restricted share units which may be redeemed for an equal number of restricted voting common shares of the Corporation. It has 1/12 of such restricted share units vesting quarterly in equal amounts over the next 12 quarters.

In addition, the Corporation awarded 19,740 restricted share units to a consultant which vested on the date of award and are redeemable for an equal number of restricted voting common shares of the Corporation. All of these restricted share units were awarded pursuant to the Corporation’s restricted share unit plan.

This year’s conference focuses on the theme of “Cuidades Inteligentes” – in English “Smart Cities” – a Costa Rican redevelopment project which seeks to bring the latest technologies to the country’s urban environments.

The format of Expo Telecom Costa Rica is an exhibition coupled with assorted presentations, keynote speeches from industry experts, roundtable events and public sector trade talks.

Majority of the country’s leading telecoms professionals will head to San Jose for the event.

The expo will be held at the Hotel Real Intercontinental in downtown San Jose, the heart of the city’s business district.

Conference delegates and attendees who wish to stay near the event venue for networking purposes are advised to book their accommodations immediately.

“The Costa Rican telecommunications sector is certainly on an upswing and events like Expo Telecom Costa Rica are testament to that. With so many of the industry’s leading executives and professionals in San Jose for the event the availability of value for money accommodation will be lower than usual.” – Lek Boonler marketing head DirectRooms.com

The program was launched 17 years ago by Puget to identify and recognize companies which make it to the top of their industries. To be eligible, companies must: be privately held and headquartered in Washington; have at least $ 500,000 in net revenue in 2008; show an overall growth from 2008 to 2010 fiscal years; and agree to have their net operating revenues verified by the Journal.

“The companies that make this list are, by definition, among the most dynamic in our region.” –  Gordon Prouty publisher

Wipliance was founded in 2006 and specializes in providing technology solutions for your home or business that are simple to use, reliable to own, and give best-in-class performance.

The 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies program is presented by the Puget Sound Business Journal and sponsored by Lane Powell, Robert Half International, BDO, Comcast Business Class, and Sound Mental Health.

Puget Sound Business Journal is the region’s premier source of business information, serving an unparalleled audience of business and community leaders. In addition to the weekly newspaper, the publication provides daily updates via its web site and email alerts. The company also plays a vital role in bringing the area’s leadership community together by hosting a wide variety of events throughout the year, from the Women of Influence awards event to the Washington’s Best Workplaces event at Safeco Field.

The university’s pioneering program is also the first to receive accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the organization that accredits engineering programs nationwide.

“The institution took the lead to establish the first undergraduate program specifically designed to prepare a new breed of engineers with the cross-disciplinary skills and the business savvy needed to drive the emerging robotics industry.” – Eric Overstram provost

The board commended the Institute among the departments of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, which jointly established the bachelor of science program.

“By its nature, robotics engineering is highly interdisciplinary because robots consist of electrical and mechanical systems, including motors, servos, cameras, and other actuators and sensors, controlled by sophisticated algorithms and computational technology.” – Michael Genner computer science professor

The board also highlighted the enthusiasm of students for the robotics engineering program.

In addition to building its academic offerings in robotics engineering, the university has expanded its educational and research capabilities in robotics engineering, adding new tenure-track faculty members with expertise in different areas

These include surgical robots, human-robot interactions, robot learning, navigation, and manipulation, and intelligent mechatronic and embedded systems; developed new laboratory and teaching spaces to support the degree programs.

In 2011, Worcester Polytechnic Institute was selected by NASA to manage the Sample Return Robot Challenge, one of the agency’s Centennial Challenge prize competitions developed to help inspire innovative solutions to technical challenges in the aerospace industry.

This is the first time that NASA has partnered with a university to manage a Centennial Challenge. The contest is expected to bring hundreds of competitors from industry and academia to campus next spring to compete for a prize purse of $ 1.5 million.

The school earned a perfect score in the Energy Balance category, placed second in Affordability and Comfort Zone categories, third in Hot Water and fifth in Market Appeal. Team Purdue selected the SunPowerZ E19 / 238 Solar Panel for its INhome entry.

This marks the fourth consecutive Solar Decathlon that Sun Power’s solar panels were featured on homes among the top three scoring teams. Overall, four schools using Sun Power panels were in the top ten in this year’s contest.

Placing fourth overall with its Self Reliance home, Middlebury College installed the aesthetically-pleasing all black Sun PowerZ E18 / 225 Solar Panel. The team won the Market Appeal, Entertainment and Communications categories, and placed fourth in Architecture, Appliances and Energy Balance.

“Competitors from schools around the country, along with thousands of visitors, have now had an opportunity to see and learn more about Sun Power’s high efficiency, high reliability solar systems with guaranteed performance.“- Tom Werner SunPower CEO

Students from the University of Illinois at Urbana Campaign scored first in Appliances and Energy Balance, and fourth place in Hot Water. Team Massachusetts, comprised of students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, earned fourth place in Affordability, second in Energy Balance, and fourth in Market Appeal.

Florida International University placed first in the Energy Balance category. Team New York from the City College of New York, earned fourth place in the Communications category.

The solar decathlon concluded with a final awards ceremony at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.

The competition challenged teams of university students to compete in 10 contests over nine days. Nineteen collegiate teams representing 13 U.S. states, five countries and four continents competed for high scores across the ten contests. These included architecture, affordability, marketability and energy balance.

HobbyTron carries an extensive selection of remote control cars, full kits, toys, and new and used vehicles along with an assortment of other products.

Shoppers looking for remote control cars can search through 17 categories to find the model that fits their budget.

Each model is clearly marked with its normal MSRP and the HobbyTron price, so customers can see exactly how much money they will save over the manufacturer’s price.

Every model page explains the car’s features, physical specifications, battery or power requirements.

Although shoppers can start their search with the all categories, the selection may be overwhelming for first-time buyers. The three sections offering package deals allow newcomers to start with the necessary equipment in a single box.

Cars powered by electricity have become popular in the real world, and HobbyTron offers a full line of electric RC models.

The Cheap RC Cars category allows customers to look at entry-level models that may be suitable for children. Although the cheap models may lack some of the full features of the expensive cars, they are easily replaced if a child has an accident while learning how to drive. Prices are $50 and below for most models, while the others cost $20.

Customers should check the buggy section if they want their vehicles to handle rugged off-road conditions. Buggies have a wider wheelbase and thick tires for greater stability on uneven ground.

Enthusiasts can also find extra equipment such as batteries, paint, and related body parts in the category.

HobbyTron has full sections dedicated to clearance and wholesale items for shoppers on a budget, and a rotating 1-Day Deal is always offered on the website. It cuts 50 percent to 80 percent off the total cost of a model.

The company also received assistance from Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, Ron Conway’s and David Lee’s SV Angel, and CrunchFund.

“The accomplished team of investors we have put together speaks of the massive opportunity we see. Prism Skylabs is setting out to truly disrupt how consumers interact and engage with physical spaces online, as well as create entirely new revenue streams for all kinds of businesses.” – Steve Russell Prism Skylabs CEO

“Prism’s game-changing vision, coupled with the seasoned team capable of executing against it, makes Prism Skylabs something truly unique and a company on track to disrupt the industry,”- David Lee,  SV Angel managing member