Strategic technology research (STR) acts as Vanguard's internal research consultant and technological think tank.  STR is committed to supporting Vanguard's business objectives through the timely, expert evaluation of new and emerging technologies.

Projects

Roundtables
Institutional Wireless
Bluetooth
Corporate Wireless Services
Blade Servers
Instant Messaging
Cisco Content Transformation Engine
Intern Project
Information and Documentation

Contacts

Joseph_Psiuk@Vanguard.com

Ed_Hess@Vanguard.com

Roundtables

Twice a month STR held what they called "Roundtable" meetings.  At these meetings, members of the team would present to the group a new technology that they had been researching.

Roundtable objectives met:
Researched each topic.
Prepared documentation for publication in the STR environment.
Performed presentation on topic for the STR crew.

Topics:
Call Control extensible Markup Language (CCXML)
Embedded Networked Sensing Systems (ENSS)

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Institutional Wireless

Carried out a pilot program to test ViewSonic’s v100 Super PDA in the Vanguard environment.  
 
Provided extensive user support which included refreshing devices that had been hard reset.  
Received fifteen webpads and performed the initial preparations for distribution.
Researched and tested ViewSonic’s v100 Super PDA (webpad).
Tested the wireless technology to be implemented with the webpads.
 
Prepared device documentation including:
  Training manual
  Support document
  Feedback document
  Quick Reference document
  Accelerated rollout summary
  Webpad RAM update
 
Prepared and conducted extensive training sessions with crewmembers.
Carried out an accelerated rollout of three of the devices to meet the needs of crew members
during three days of one-on-one education sessions.

Made final preparations to prepare the webpads for distribution.  This included:
  Providing all documentation in PDF form on each device.
  Installation of wireless card and supporting software.
  Desktop graphics, and various other configuration changes.

Designed an Access database to manage each device.
Recorded user feedback.

Supported STR’s webpads in the studio, and for various other presentations.

Found solution for full device resets in the form of a new memory module with permanent storage.
Provided Robert Samuel with a connection at ViewSonic to order the new memory modules.
Integrated new memory module into three webpads.
Developed ongoing dialog with Nancy Duong of ViewSonic in order to receive higher levels of support with the webpads, in particular with the new memory modules.

Created an 802.11 connection between a webpad and the network in order to provide
functionality that closest resembles ActiveSync due to the unavailability of ActiveSync. 
This connection enabled remote operability of host PC.

Prepared instructions for refreshing a device from permanent storage once it has been hard reset. 

Tested AT&T GPRS cards, but found the cards were not compatible with the webpads.

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Bluetooth

Researched Red-M 1050AP LAN access point.

Configured and tested Red-M 1050AP LAN access point with other Bluetooth devices.

Setup an HP Bluetooth printer and a Bluetooth iPAQ to communicate with the LAN access point in the Vanguard Studio.

Gathered information for further Bluetooth documentation to be published in the STR environment.

Met with Villanova graduate student to discuss Bluetooth and his current work with the technology.

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Corporate Wireless Services

Aided Robert Samuel with the Corporate Wireless Services initiative.  This included researching and selecting the approved Palm applications, determining the security features of the devices, and providing a final configuration for the devices.

Wrote the code for, and compiled a wireless web-clipping application for the Palm operating system, which demonstrated the possibilities for future applications. 

Obtained access to Palm developer site.

Provided research to Robert Samuel on Palm application development.

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Blade Servers

Provided STR access to the original three blade servers. 

Used one of these servers to host Design Studio for the CTE.

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Instant Messaging

Researched MindAlign instant messaging product from Divine.

Worked with a team from Divine to install the MindAlign product three times. 

Tested MindAlign and provided feedback and concerns to Divine..

Provided accounts to STR crew for feedback, and to further test the MindAlign product.  Acted as “administrator” to the MindAlign system.

Compiled a list of concerns from testing and from user feedback.

Prepared a document for STR on MindAlign and corporate instant messaging.  This document was used in the instant messaging section of STR’s three-year business plan.

Aided Jim Tait in the selection of an IM product to provide a proof of concept for the technology.

Created an STR network account for each STR crew member, and provided password resets when necessary.

Enabled Outlook and NetMessenger for each STR crew member.

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Cisco Content Transformation Engine

• Completed reading extensive training documents and user manuals in anticipation of the delivery of the CTE.

• Researched and installed various handheld emulators in order to test the transformations created on the CTE.  This included making modifications to the firewall to allow these emulators internet access. 

• Worked closely with Ed Hess to prepare CTE transformations to demonstrate the abilities and the constraints of the CTE.

• Presented the content transformation engine to the CIO Tim Buckley for his feedback and recommendations.

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Intern Project

Completed with a team of four other interns.

• Selected project topic and devised a strategy for its successful completion. 

• Began research and divided responsibilities.

• Attended various meetings with Vanguard crew to gather information.

• Prepared and presented our project to the intern class and various Vanguard crew.

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Information and Documentation

STR Three-Year Plan

Reviewed and revised section on VoIP, wireless MAN, desktop video conferencing, bandwidth shapers, cellular data services, multimodal interaction, speech technologies, unified messaging, and VoiceXML.

STR Information Exchange -

• Analyzed the current methods information is received into STR.

• Gathered information from crew.

• Summarized findings and recommendations in a report submitted to STR.

• Wrote XML file that contains approximately one hundred online technology research links.  This file is available for use, and is hosted on a local server.

• Refreshed content in room a meeting room.

• Built database to manage STR owned books and magazine subscriptions.

• Added to existing short take template to better allow the short takes to be displayed in meeting room and on the STR bulletin board.

• Updated content on STR bulletin board.

STR on CrewNet (intranet site)

• Compared archived STR documents to those available online through CrewNet. 

• Prepared an organized excel document which recorded comparison findings. 

• Highlighted corrections and recommended changes to the document filing structure on STR CrewNet.

• Palm development paper

• CTE paper

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