By Tom Kehr Almo Pro A/V Sustainability. Sometimes it’s about sustaining the humans. When designing an audiovisual system, we often discover that our main challenge is the actual room. Crazy, isn’t it? We try and work around and implement, as best we can, a technology solution when maybe a better solution could involve a lot […]

Virtual Anatomy 101 Robert Hasel had an idea about how to change the teaching of human anatomy for medical, dental, and health science students which, instead of cutting into a real human corpse, involved wanting his students to get immersed via virtual and augmented reality. Hasel is associate dean for simulation, immersion, and digital learning […]

Since 2006, InfoComm has been actively involved in sustainability and technology under the leadership of my predecessor for this column, Scott Walker of Waveguide Consulting. Scott headed up the Sustainability Task force for InfoComm and then mustered up a motley crew of twelve consultants, manufacturers, integrators, and end users to create the Sustainable Technology Environments […]

I am currently working on a two-hour online presentation for the Green Building Research Institute called iGreen: Digital Technology for the Next Generation due out in October and while doing research on the topic came across what could be one of the best paradigm shifts in the Green Building movement — USGBC, ASHRAE and the […]

You know something I never really considered before? I never really stopped to consider the potential benefit both to and from places of worship if they were to implement greener practices. I’m sure some of you who service this market segment are shaking your heads at the no-brainer, but I’ve just recently stopped to think […]

Well, we have officially finished our first one. Complete. Done. It’s outta’ here! After many years of involvement we got through a STEP pilot project. For those of you who don’t know, have short term memory, or just plain haven’t been paying attention, STEP stands for the Sustainable Technology Environments Program. If you are familiar […]

Northwestern Europe has often been seen as the utopia for living sustainable. Not only have they lead the world in locally produced and distributed environmentally sound energy forms, sustainable agriculture, and top notch green building practices, but they have also partnered with their neighbors to share ideas and technologies. The United States recently jumped on […]

The new PN-U473 from Sharp is a 47-inch LED backlit LCD monitor designed for commercial applications. It can run 24/7 and can be mounted in landscape or portrait configurations. The 40-pound PN-U473 is 2″ deep and is both LEED and ADA compliant. It offers 1920×1080 resolution; VGA, HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort inputs; 700 cd/m2 brightness; […]

The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Milestone AV Technologies’ newly renovated global headquarters and design center a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) Silver certification. Milestone, home to the Chief, Sanus, Da-Lite and Projecta brands, expanded into the new location in Eden Prairie, Minn. earlier this year. The U.S. Green […]

September’s Inside the EcoChamber interview is with Bruce Toman, AIA, a principal with Perkins+Will and member of InfoComm’s Smart Building Imperative Task Force. Scott Walker: As we in the AV industry play catch-up to the overall A/E/C industry with regard to sustainability, there are lessons we can learn about what it felt like for architects […]

This column was reprinted with permission from InfoComm International and originally appeared here. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system is among the most prominent of its type. In a roundabout way, it contributed to the formation of the Sustainable Technology Environments Program (STEP), a green rating system for AV and other installed systems, […]

Last year marked the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program’s first decade of existence, a span bookended by two major economic slumps. Despite spending much of that time tightening their belts, many enterprises, government agencies and other organizations were able to justify paying a premium for energy-efficient buildings — so much so that […]

2011 should be a much better year for systems integrators based on the construction forecasts I’ve seen recently. First, the McGraw-Hill construction market forecast shows a positive picture for the fist time in several years. Overall, we can focus on one big number: new construction starts nationwide are projected to be up 8 percent. The […]

InfoComm’s Sustainable Technology Environments Program or STEP seeks to learn from and complement LEED, which focuses on the shell and core of a building, by adding a rating system for the electronic systems that work within that shell and core.  The system, now in draft form, invites participation throughout the project — from AV program […]

By Brian E. Huff Intro LEED is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, a national benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings, started in 1998 by the U.S. Green Building Council.  It’s a voluntary certification program for building owners and architects to improve performance in five […]

By Brian E. Huff This is a two-part article about the LEED initiative. Read Part 2 in the next issue. I recently attended a construction kickoff meeting for a well-known educational institution’s first new building in many years.  At the table in the construction trailer were the normal complement of project management, architectural, landscape, structural, IT, […]