Barco Simulation’s Annual Open House Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Xenia, Ohio – Barco Simulation, a world leader in high-performance visual display products and solutions for simulation, virtual & augmented reality and edutainment, celebrated 20 years of service with an open house September 15.
The event was highlighted by the presentation of a plaque of appreciation to the founders of the company, Richard and Carole Holmes, and Joe and Ann Mays. The plaque honors the founders for “…their vision, commitment and untiring efforts… (and) for laying the groundwork for our present success, and the success of the next generation.”
“We had a nice turnout and a good response,” said Steve McCullough, Vice President and General Manager of Barco Simulation. “It was nice to be able to honor the Holmes and Mays for what they created, as well as to celebrate our history and our future.”
EIS founders Richard and Carole Holmes receiving plaque of appreciation. From L to R: Carl Olvis, Carole Holmes, Richard Holmes, Masoud Ali.
Various civic leaders, government officials, customers, and suppliers attended the three-day event. The open house included a series of technical presentations and demonstrations designed to showcase Barco Simulation’s display systems. “Our goal for this year’s open house was to demonstrate the capabilities and potential applications of our technology,” says McCullough. “We’re here to help our customers develop and grow their business in an increasingly more challenging environment.”
Electronic Image Systems, Inc. (EIS) was founded on August 11, 1983. On January 17, 1997, EIS was purchased by Barco n.v., a worldwide technology leader in the commercial projection business. This same year, the company officially changed its name to EIS-Barco. In 2003, the company moved to unify its corporate identity and EIS-Barco became Barco Simulation.
Among the exhibits at this year’s open house was a new communications product called VCAD (Virtual Collaboration, Analysis & Decision). Specifically designed for the United States Homeland Security effort, this system analyzes complex data and graphically renders key relationships in a stereoscopic display to help intelligence agencies accurately assess complicated situations and make timely, correct decisions.
Other key technologies displayed at the open house included:
- Barco’s three-channel curved screen BR Center display system for active 3D visualization of scientific, medical, engineering design, and other technical data
- Barco’s collaborative effort with the SimAF group at Wright Patterson AFB to develop new, innovative high-fidelity display systems for military flight training; visitors were allowed to test drive an Air Force jet simulator
- Various Barco digital and CRT-based, high-quality projection systems for flat and curved-screen applications, such as the Reality SIM4 single-chip DLPTM projector with FLEX4 technology for geometry correction, Galaxy WARPTM three-chip DLP and SIM 6 Ultra Enhanced LCD projectors with proprietary WARP6TM technology for geometry distortion, and Reality 909 projector with 9-inch liquid-cooled CRTs
- Barco’s x-RACUTM projection control system with intuitive graphical user interface for global control of all projectors in a system, centralized storage of display parameters, and quick and easy system setup
- The industry’s first automated alignment system that performs multiple levels of alignments without operator interaction
- Barco’s TRACETM, a scalable, portable, plug-and-play virtual reality environment for team collaboration to visualize, analyze, and explore complex data; driven by Galaxy WARP three-chip DLP projection technology; designed to fit through a normal door opening without requiring any room modifications or build-out
Visitors were given tours of the entire plant, including Barco’s extensive manufacturing operation where the company designs and fabricates high-end, raster-calligraphic projectors. The raster-calligraphic CRT-projectors combine raster scan (projection of TV-like images) with calligraphic scan (projection of light points and lines). The EIS-brand raster-calligraphic projectors are used in full-flight simulators. Visitors had a chance to talk about their own applications with Barco Simulation projection experts during open forum discussions and one-on-one meetings.
Colleagues from BarcoView, a member of the Barco Group, demonstrated various modular, network-centric, and integrated LCD display solutions for intelligence, military, aerospace, and other demanding applications. Barco Simulation customers had a first-hand view of these rugged systems with requirements for viewing graphics, video, and other RGB data on a single, flat display. In addition, customers were given a broad overview of BarcoView’s solutions-delivery approach, including system definition, hardware design, software development, environmental testing, flexible manufacturing, program management, and lifetime support.
More on Barco Simulation
Barco Simulation has grown to become today’s leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance visual display systems, delivering innovative solutions to customers worldwide. Over the years, the company has exhibited continued growth because of its investment in people, significant contributions to industry, business relationships with local vendors, and economic impact on the local community.
The Barco Simulation facility in Xenia is over 43,000 square feet, with additional room to grow. The company employs approximately 90 people; 25 are engineers active in research and development. Drawing upon its expertise in projection technologies, optics and opto-electronics, colorimetry, electronics and image processing, and customized precision mechanics, Barco Simulation and its partners provide the solution to meet any simulation, Virtual & Augmented Reality, and Edutainment requirement.
The Barco-EIS projectors and MRP’s (Monitor Replacement Products) are presently used by the majority of full-flight simulator integrators and are widely regarded as the highest performance system available. Barco Simulation products are installed and in active service in at least 27 countries and are backed by a three-year warranty.
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, is active in three key areas of imaging technology. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. Barco has a network of subsidiaries, distributors and agents in almost 100 countries. Barco is quoted on Brussels/Euronext and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company.
*DLP (Digital Light Processing) is a trademark of Texas Instruments. WARP, WARP6, x-RACU, and TRACE are trademarks of Barco.
