The man with no tan

Not wanting to selfishly indulge in all of the great travel and business opportunities that come with the job of being the Editor of Vision Systems Design magazine, I have decided to dispatch our Senior Editor Dave Wilson off to one of the most prestigious of all of the events in the Vision Systems Design calendar.

That's right. This week, he will be attending the 20th Annual Automated Imaging Association (AIA) Business Conference, which is being held at the Orlando World Center Marriott from January 18-20.

While it all might sound like a bit of a holiday for our Senior Editor -- who is more accustomed to living under the slate gray Victorian skies of rainy England -- I can assure you that it's not.

Indeed, to ensure that he does not spend his days lounging by one swimming pool or another, or even visiting resorts populated with mice featuring large ears, I have specifically asked him to cover a number of key industry events while he is in Florida.

On Wednesday, for example, he'll be meeting up with the good folks at PPT for an entire day's session to learn a lot more about how their company's third-party integrators have developed numerous vision-based solutions for the industrial marketplace.

After that, it's a work-packed two days at the AIA Business Conference itself, where Dave will be sitting through several important presentations including one entitled "Outlook for the Global Economy" by Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute for Trend Research.

But that's not all he'll have to do. Oh no. There will be other sessions that he'll have to attend too, including one from George Chamberlain of Pleora Technologies on AIA Standards as well as an update on the Machine Vision Market in North America by Paul Kellett from ATC.

Naturally enough, while he's there, Dave will be only too pleased to discuss any new, exciting applications that you or your company might have developed over the past year or so -- great fodder we might be able to develop as stories for upcoming issues of Vision Systems Design magazine.

While it sounds like an arduous schedule, it should be easy going for an old pro like Dave. But just to make sure that it isn't too easy for him, I've even shipped down an old notebook PC of mine to the hotel where he's staying to ensure that -- should he actually have any free time -- he can spend it working, rather than goofing off.

If Dave looks tired after the event, I'll know he has done his job properly. If he has a tan, however, send me an e-mail to let me know.