Super Connectivity

Innovation Center Pacific has 10 viewing screens, including one that is 22 feet wide. L to R: the reception area; the theater, with a conference room in the background; the 22-foot-by-7-foot screen; and a lounge Photos: Courtesy BAE Systems

Defense contractor BAE Systems says it has opened one of the world’s most advanced conference centers inside its offices at the First Hawaiian Center and is willing to share the facility with others.

Innovation Center Pacific cost $2.5 million to build and requires $1 million a year to operate, BAE says. Using three secure, T1 Internet lines, it lets users connect with people worldwide using images, video and more.

Ten viewing screens, the largest 22 feet by 7 feet, showcase products, models, simulations and software applications — something not possible with conventional telephone conferencing, BAE says. Users can also experiment with “what if” scenarios in real time, speeding up research and development, according to BAE.

ICP was built so BAE’s Hawaii employees could collaborate with their counterparts in similar centers in California, Virginia and New Hampshire. Qualified Department of Defense “dual-use” companies — through an arrangement with the Hawaii Technology Development Venture — will have access to the center at no cost. Other companies can use it, BAE says, but may have to pay a nominal fee.

Locally, BAE Systems has about 1,000 employees working on ship repairs at Pearl Harbor, the design of electro-optical sensors in Honolulu and a host of other projects.

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