Geographic Freedom

With the demands of a high-tech society, it seems like people are being asked to be in several places at the same time. While this may seem impossible, NASA managed to find a way to do just that through the Internet. NetLander, Inc., a Titusville, Florida, company has licensed the technology from Kennedy Space Center for use in a variety of commercial applications.

Kennedy originally developed a web-based, near real-time monitoring system called JView, used in Space Shuttle operations. Written in the JavaTM programming language, JView allows users to access Space Shuttle and ground support equipment data from any desktop computer with a web browser. Engineers can view information found in Mission Control rooms with a delay as short as two seconds.

NetLander has taken this technology and developed its commercial cousin, JTouch, to monitor and distribute data using the Internet. JTouch can be used to monitor sensors around the globe from one location using a standard web browser and any existing web connection. The capability to monitor systems from multiple sources without leaving your desk, also known as geographic independence, has significant benefits for companies using the JTouch system.

Most of the benefits reaped are increases in efficiency, through reductions in time and costs. Company travel expenses can be reduced as facilities fanned out around the globe can be monitored at one desktop computer rather than by visiting each site. Productivity is increased through better communications and improved decision making by company executives, who have access to real-time data rather than outdated material. In the past, outdated information did not allow for timely solutions, so that by the time a decision was made, the problem had passed or a new, more pressing problem had arisen.

JTouch is presently finding ain the manufacturing and telemedicine fields. It can support up to 200 users in its original form and up to 800 with a scalable design. JTouch also has graphic capabilities that allow for the generation of color charts and graphs to capture incoming data in a usable, visual format. The system can process multiple data streams with up to 50,000 measurements per stream. Due to its Java programming language, it can run on Unix or Windows® operating systems.

NetLander is a tenant of the Florida/NASA Business Incubation Center (FNBIC). The FNBIC aims to foster the successful development of new high tech companies in the region by providing office space and other resources to young, developing companies. Prior to creating NetLander, company president Thomas Beever was a NASA employee for 13 years and the original leader of the "Java Think Tank."

Besides current sales, NetLander has received interest in the JTouch system from semi-conductor manufacturers, clothing manufacturers, utility companies, and university labs. With JTouch, anybody can turn a local desktop computer into Mission Control.

JavaTM is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.