CAST of Toronto, Canada is proud to announce that its BlackTrax 6D tracking system won a Gold Innovation Award from PLASA, the Professional Lighting and Sound Association. Recipients of the Innovation Award must demonstrate a new style of thinking, improve technical practice, aid safety, or help with sustainability. It has been noted that BlackTrax achieves all of these.
A panel of judges comprising professionals from the lighting and sound industry unanimously selected BlackTrax for the Gold Innovation Award during the PLASA 2012 trade show. Announced by PLASA President Matthew Griffiths, it was presented by Chairman Ed Pagett to CAST Chairman Bruce Freeman and CEO Gil Densham at an award ceremony on 10 September at Earls Court in London.
The Gold Award is considered a distinct honour indeed. What is particularly significant is that the Gold Award is such a high recognition that it has only been awarded twice before in the last 10 years.
CAST BlackTrax is an Ethernet-based, powerful, fast, and accurate solution that tracks objects or people in a defined 3D “Space” and delivers the dynamic positional data in realtime in up to 6 Degrees of Freedom – the usual x, y, z, plus roll, pitch & yaw – to 3D audio, moving lights, robotic cameras, and media technologies, using a BlackTrax Beacon® which emits a virtually invisible infra red light via the LED that is seen by BT's proprietary, custom designed camera system which delivers the positional data to the BTServer. A tiny wireless radio in the BTBeacon streams the additional data for 6D -- roll, pitch, and yaw -- as well as redundant 3D backup. The onboard gyroscope communicates the orientation of a moving piece or performer at over 250 frames per second. Control can be located up to 100 feet (30 metres) away with ¼” tracking accuracy.
“This is an incredible honour to be recognised by PLASA, “ says Freeman, “We've worked so hard to make BlackTrax revolutionary, and consistent with what we predicted it's wonderful that our peers agree: BlackTrax will revolutionize our industry!”
Griffiths said of BlackTrax, “The level of integration with other tools and potential for applications across the industry is incredible.”
Immediately following the award ceremony, Freeman and Densham delivered the news to a CAST Reception hosted by Canada's High Commssioner, Mr. Gordon Campbell, and held at Canada House, Trafalgar Square. The Reception had been arranged to celebrate CAST's Game-Changer Award from NAB 2012 for BlackTrax, another significant accolade. Guests were delighted by the news that BlackTrax had won another incredibly prestigious award that night.
Chairman of the PLASA Innovation Award judges Richard Cadena quoted Steve Jobs as saying, “'You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.' Who am I to argue with Steve Jobs? But every once in a while, someone comes along who is pretty good at connecting the dots looking forward.”
CAST has no intention on resting on its laurels and will continue to develop this groundbreaking technology.
CAST Software Ltd., 35 Ripley Avenue, Suite 1, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6S 3P2. Tel: +1 416 597 2278. Fax: +1 416 597 9594. Email: [email protected].
Photo L to R: Gil Densham, Ed Pagett and Bruce Freeman