We got up this morning and got on the tram to Qualisys. We found our way there and were met by Magnus Sjolin, who is the Marketing Area Director. Magnus gave us a quick tour of their office, and then showed us the studio.
He then ran down the presentation (yet again with times that he expected to be done) and introduced Helen, who is the Global Marketing and Communications Director. He gave us an overview of Qualisys right after. Qualisys is “a leading provider of precision motion Capture and 3D positioning tracking systems for engineering, biomechanics, animation, virtual reality, robotics, and movement sciences.” They manufacturer the cameras, consult with potential clients, and create software for the cameras to generate. They are around 40 strong, and produce around 2,000 to 2,500 cameras a year. They have clients such as Harvard University, BMW, ABB, and the Department of Veterans Affairs in the US. They have 2 camera series, the Oqus and Miqus and different cameras within that line. the Miqus M3 is there best seller.
What was especially impressive was their satisfaction rate. Magnus said that 96% of their current clients would recommend them to another company. He also mentioned that they are the only provider of these cameras that has the ability to make their cameras work underwater which is a huge advantage for them.
After this, Helen came in to speak about some of the companies marketing efforts. She mentioned how she had to start from the ground up, establishing rules and templates for the team to use and follow. She gave us a brief description of some of the things that the company takes part in, like the 40- odd trade shows or events they attend every year.
After this, they gave us a demonstration of their cameras. They had Robby, a classmate of mine, get into a pair of running shorts and a shirt that would allow them to put reflective orbs on him so that the system would work. He then ran on the treadmill they had and we watched it transform his motion into data.
After this they had 3 more classmates suit up for an animation demo. They put on skin suits and we got a first hand experience to exactly how easy it is to animate with this technology. After this, we had a really great lunch. It was fish (Cod?) and a potato. They also had some vegan meals clearly labeled as so. On a side note, I really like how vegan and vegetarian friendly it is here. They then gave us a really nice goodie bag with a water bottle, shirt, some candy, a notepad, pen, and pamphlet on the company. We said our goodbyes and left for SKF.
We arrived at SKF around half an hour later. SKF stands for Svenska Kullagerfabriken which translates to the Swedish Ball Bearing Factory. We were greeted by Lars Werner. Lars showed us to a room and opened with a brief history of the company (and gave us all fidget spinners). SKF was founded in 1907 by Sven Wingqvist and now has around 44,000 employees. They are the world’s largest bearing manufacturer making around a billion bearings a year. Lars is a 30 year veteran of the company and gave us a very special tour. He had us put on steel toed boots and led us out the door. They have a very nice area showcasing some of their products but, he also let us see the production line which is nearly entirely automated. This, I should mention, is fairly uncommon. We were not allowed to take pictures, but it was so incredible that I am sort of happy that I didn’t even need to think about it. This entire facility is automated. Robots do everything. They drive the forklifts, pick up parts, package them, assemble them, and much more. It was extremely impressive. One of them had an issue while we were there (a cardboard box got folded over and got jammed in the machine) and instead of quickly walking away from it, he pointed it out and said that it will stop soon. He also talked about how maintenance is one of the things that robots cannot do, so most of the people on the production line were doing maintenance. This little thing is so important. Mistakes happen, even in machines and his acknowledgement that this is true made me more confident in the company.
We walked back to the main building and said our thank yous, and headed back to the hostel. For dinner, my roommate and I (Alex) found a local pizza place.
Daily Reflections
MoCap is just as cool as you might think
Bearing production is actually really interesting
Lars is a very captivating speaker
These robots are so interesting. I like how smooth and quick their movements are.
Sam's Trip to Sweden 