Consider the Origination of Thought and 3D

Consider the origination of thought, expression of design on a PC, tablet, or mobile device, or by capturing a picture drawn on a surface and sending of an image of an object design to India, China, or Eastern Block countries for conversion into a computer aided drafting (CAD) file (Kim, 2015), which is then sent back to the originator, and then forwarded onto an individual or company that does 3D printing from CAD (usually a .STL file).  

The characteristics of the company doing 3D printing should be considered, specifically quality and complexity, printing fees, shipping fees, and interaction with the customer such that if something in the CAD file looks amiss, they will alert the customer as to the issue, and possibly suggest corrections to the file, or the 3D printer company staff may be able to correct issues with the CAD file.  In addition to quality issues, the location of the 3D printer is to be considered as well as the quality issues as the distance shipped, and the weight of the 3D printed object affect the cost of the entire process.  

References

Baltzan, P. (2015). M: Information systems (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Kim, S. (2015). 3D model data generation and conversion for 3D printers. Journal of Electronic Materials, 44(3), 815-822. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11664-014-3584-5

3D and the Time Machine

In chapter five, Sousa and Oz (2015) discuss 3D Geographic software such as Google Maps and Trimble's SketchUp (formerly owned by Google) and suggests uses for this type of software by city service providers such as fire departments such that the fire departments can locate fire hydrants in an emergency.

The use of 3D is becoming more prevalent, especially with the development and distribution of devices such as the Microsoft Kinect.  Devices such as the Microsoft Kinect incorporate "a depth sensor, a color camera, and a four-microphone array that provide full-body 3D motion capture, facial recognition, and voice recognition capabilities" (Zhang, 2012, p. 4). 

If one extends the technology into the future, it would appear that such devices would be incorporated on a global scale, in a time independent way.  What this means is that both outdoor and indoor activities would be recorded and made available to those authorized to view or work with such content.  An example would be that an individual in a home could be recorded from the time they woke up in the morning, went through their morning routine, recorded getting into their car, recorded driving to get their morning cappuccino, then to work, and all of their foot traffic there would be recorded, then their travel to little Jimmy's baseball game where all of the players and play would be recorded, then travel back home, and the evenings activities in the home would be recorded, then to bed, and the next day would start anew.

The interesting aspects of this type of recording is that as the data recorded includes both imagery, sound, as well as 3D coordinates, a viewer could place him or herself anywhere in the mix and get a perspective from that location live at any time in recorded history.  Mix in a bit of hypermedia and you (with permission and authorization) could visit an accident scene, review the accident from several angles, click on a car, then click on a person in the car, and get the individuals medical records, from previously broken bones, to dental films, to current medications.  It would essentially be a time machine on steroids with a "view only" capability.  An individual would be able to "rewind" an accident scene to the point at which one of the cars in the accident was seen stopping at the local pub to "chug a few" with the guys. 

This could revolutionize society as we know it.

References

Sousa, K.J., & Oz, E. (2015). Management information systems (7th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Zhang, Z. (2012, April). Microsoft Kinect Sensor and Its Effect. IEEE MultiMedia, 19(2), 4-12. Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/microsoft-kinect-sensor-and-its-effect/

A Revolution in Payment Systems that is Occurring Even Today.

One element in the Sousa and Oz (2015) chapter 4 caught my attention.  They discussed a credit card processing system called Square, which is one that my computer tech uses when I pay him.  This is part of a revolution in payment systems that is occurring even today.  There exist two sides to payment processing, making a payment and accepting a payment.  Apple (Apple, n.d.) has created a system called Apple Pay whereby you can use your Apple device to make payments wirelessly by placing your Apple device next to a complementary payment device.

Chase Bank (Chase, n.d.) also has a payment system.  Chase covers both sides of the payment equation with the ability to both make payments and accept payments using their app on your mobile device.

These three systems provide benefits for both Fortune 500 companies as well as the small office/home office (SOHO) worker.  Now the independent knowledge worker is on an even par with larger firms in terms of making and accepting payments for products or services rendered.

References

Apple. (n.d.). Set up Apple Pay on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac. Retrieved from https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204506

Chase. (n.d.). Chase Mobile® Banking. Retrieved from https://www.chase.com/online/digital/mobile-banking.html

Sousa, K.J., & Oz, E. (2015). Management information systems (7th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

One of the most incredible things I can think of using 3D for is the design, visualization, and marketing of products that have not yet been created!

One of the most incredible things I can think of using 3D for is the design, visualization, and marketing of products that have not yet been created!  For instance, if I have an idea for a cool widget, but I don't have the cold hard cash to create one, I could have the widget modeled in 3D, create an advertisement showing the widget in use by consumers in a video using the widget's 3D model, and offer the widget for sale on a website with various views and perspectives, and evaluate the demand of the widget based on website sales, calls, and various other inquiries.  

For those early adopters, I could 3D print the cool widget, and charge a premium, and if demand warranted, I could use the 3D model of the widget to create castings, molds and the tool and die necessary for mass production.  The interesting aspect of having a virtual item is that you can present it visually for promotional purposes, without the time, effort, and expense of actually creating a real widget, and save the expense in time and money until you have actually sold the widget!  Then 3D print or manufacture based on demand.

The blue doodad in the picture is a webcam mount I designed and had 3D printed for my robot after I had taken a CAD class at the local community college to prepare myself for writing a dissertation on something related to 3D printing.  

Data Analysis for Small Firms / SOHO

In chapter 11 Sousa and Oz (2015) discuss the various ways of processing data and gleaning meaning, trends, and patterns within the data.  These methods go by the names of Business Intelligence (BI), Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) Data Warehousing, and Data Marts (Sousa & Oz, 2015), I have a bit of experience in Microsoft Access and SQL Server databases, and although what I have done may not be as sophisticated as some of the applications in chapter 11, they have served their purpose.

For instance, a friend of mine wanted to send out a postal mailing for a special offer.  He wanted the offer to be available to his best previous customers in a four-state area in order to minimize shipping costs.  He has data available from his online store.  So we downloaded the data, and imported it into Microsoft Access.  In slicing and dicing the data, it became apparent that the data was not "clean."  In other words, it was not normalized.  By sorting on the criteria of last name, first name, ZIP code it became readily apparent that some of those who we thought were "good" customers were actually "great" customers.  Other customers, those who appeared in the data to have just purchased small items here and there were actually "great" customers as well, they made small purchases, yet they made several purchases which added up to a substantial sum over the course of a few years.  This is an example of how even small companies can mine their data to realize a benefit with desktop database tools. 

Reference

Sousa, K.J., & Oz, E. (2015). Management information systems (7th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.