IN/BOX
QMI Considered for Global Innovation Prize
QMI Security Solutions is being considered for the 2015
Innovation Prize at the R+T world trade fair for roller shutters,
doors and gates, and sun protection systems in Stuttgart,
Germany, to be held February 24 to 28, 2015. New products
from around the world are presented at R+T and product
innovations are celebrated with the Innovation Prize.
QMI's Qompact roll shutter offers a proprietary slat
design that allows the slats to roll into a tighter coil, reducing
the shutter box size by up to 40 percent, the company states.
The roll shutter is divided into groups of different sized slats.
As the roll gets larger, the slat size is adjusted so the hinges
sit next to each other (adjoining) instead of on top of each
other (stacking), often referred to as a "nested" design.
The Qompact shutter meets FBC hurricane compliance
and is pending Miami-Dade certification. Qompact's FBC
allowable maximum widths are up to 19 feet, six inches and
up to 166 inches wide at 100 psf. Qompact has a maximum
height of 15 feet in just an eight-inch box housing, QMI
states. Most of its shutters up to 122 inches tall fit into a 6.5-
inch box housing, the company adds.
The R+T show is held every third year in Stuttgart.
Winners for the 2015 Innovation Prize will be announced in
January 2015 prior to the show's opening.
Nation's Preparedness: New Approach to Recovery
U.S. residents are learning important lessons from past
disasters, according to the Federal Emergency Management
Agency's 2014 National Preparedness Report. Among the
findings of this year's report is that citizens, emergency
managers and governmental officials are embracing a
new approach to disaster recovery. In the wake of recent
disasters—notably, Hurricane Sandy—recover efforts are
not just looking to restore communities to pre-disaster
conditions, but are increasingly tying recovery activities to
strengthening resilience and mitigation efforts with an eye
to future disasters. Nationwide, FEMA reports mitigation
efforts have reduced the cost of natural disasters by an
estimated $3.2 billion in fiscal 2013.
This year's National Preparedness Report is FEMA's
third annual assessment, as required by a presidential
policy directive. The 2014 report highlights accomplishments
achieved during 2013.
Slimmest Tubular Motor
for Rolling Shutters from Somfy
Somfy Systems, Inc., Dayton, NJ, has introduced the
latest addition to its SIMU brand of exterior motors. The
T8S and T8S DMI tubular motors are the slimmest designed
for commercial door and rolling shutter applications, the
company states.
The SIMU T8S group of motors features brackets that
allow the motor to be installed in any position while
providing access for setting limits. The motors fit all types
of installations including between walls and surface-mount
and have an intuitive manual override that is easy to
engage, the company adds.
NASA Selects Winners of Hurricane
Tracking System Design Challenge
NASA, in July, selected engineering teams from three
universities as design challenge winners of uncrewed aerial
systems (UAS) used to track and collect data on hurricanes.
This year's challenge called on students and faculty advisors
to design a UAS the could exceed the flight limitations of
current systems, which gather data for computer models that
predict the path of storms as well as the process of hurricane
formation and growth.
The winning teams are: First place: Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA; Second place:
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN; and Third place:
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
Virginia Tech's Gobble Hawk (shown) is an aerial system
consisting of two aircraft, each with a flight endurance of
7.8 days and using liquid hydrogen as fuel. The team
estimated the total cost of the system at $199.5 million for
production plus 10 years of operation and maintenance.
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
team captured first place in NASA's University Aeronautics
Design Challenge with its proposal for the Gobble Hawk
high-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed aerial system for
tracking and collecting data on hurricanes.
Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech.
6 STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION / PEOPLE IN THE KNOW 2014
