INDUSTRY TEAMINGS
03 Apr 08. IBM and Linden Lab, the creator of Second Life, are to develop an enterprise-class virtual world to convince companies of the value of communicating through avatars and 3D environments. The corporate world has been put off virtual worlds such as Second Life by a lack of security, control and stability. There have been sporadic incidents of residents staging terrorist-style attacks on in-world retailers and realtors with virtual bombs and flying genitalia. The joint project between Linden Lab and IBM will put parts of Second Life’s “Grid” platform behind IBM’s company firewall for greater security and will host it on IBM Bladecenter servers for increased operational scale and stability.This “first” for Second Life is aimed at creating a packaged product that businesses can deploy quickly. IBM and Linden’s efforts are an attempt to capitalise on a growing corporate demand for more bespoke virtual worlds and puts them in competition with developers including 500 Mirrors, Qwaq and Multiverse. (Source: FT.com)
02 Apr 08. Lockheed Martin and Karem Aircraft Incorporated have signed a teaming agreement to jointly develop Karem Aircraft’s Optimum Speed Tilt-Rotor (OSTR) design. The OSTR concept is one of three approaches selected by the Department of Defense (DoD)’s Joint Heavy Lift program office to receive a Concept Design and Analysis extension contract.
20 Mar 08. TTTech, the foremost supplier of solutions in the field of time-triggered technologies, and ON Semiconductor a global leader in power management solutions, have agreed to join forces to develop a controller for TTP® (Time-Triggered Protocol). This new TTP controller is targeted at cross-industry applications and especially the aerospace market. TTTech and ON Semiconductor will offer the new high-speed data bus controller with up to 25 Mbit/s per channel for aerospace projects that demand the robustness of the TTP technology as well as the reliability and longevity of ON Semiconductor products. The TTTech/ON Semiconductor technology arrangement will help developers of critical applications to manage risks of capital-intensive aerospace programs more effectively. (Source: ASD Network)
28 Mar 08. Boeing Co. has agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in a South Carolina fuselage subassembly facility in a move that could improve efficiency in the construction of the new 787 airplane. Under the deal announced Friday, Boeing is acquiring Vought Aircraft Industries’ interest in Global Aeronautica LLC for undisclosed terms. Global Aeronautica operates a fuselage subassembly facility for the 787 near Charleston, S.C.