Page 30 - NMRA Roundhouse March-April 2018

New Digital Age Products
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Recently, at a downtown Los Angeles hotel, Michael J Conner Junior, President and CEO of Conner Indus-
tries, announced a planned range
of products designed to take model railroading into the digital age. To manage the development and launch of the new products Conner Indus- tries has head hunted and appointed two new vice presidents, Dr B Rains and Ms C Hatty, from the games and social media industries respectively.
Dr B Rains will manage the devel- opment of a virtual world in which
the modeller can participate in all aspects of model railroading. Draw- ing on the latest advances in game and immersive technologies Con-
ner Industries will build and market immersive headsets allowing the modeller to enter and explore a virtual world. Modellers will be able
to buy virtual models of everything from track to rolling stock at a fraction of the cost of the real thing. Starter
sets will be available to kick start the development. As well as laying track and running trains modellers will be able to build scenery, in a way similar to current CAD track planning pro- grammes, and populate their world with buildings and people.
In parallel to the development of the virtual world Ms C Hatty will develop a social media site which will encour- age collaboration amongst modellers. In the same way that modules are currently brought together at exhi- bition and meets, standards will be developed to allow individual virtual layouts to be joined together. In the first instance collaboration will be encouraged through the establish- ment of Conner Industries led special interest groups. Once the principle is established it is expected that others will form new groups.
The immense computing power of the central server combined with the power of the distributed network of
home computers will allow truly huge layouts to be developed and operat- ed. These layouts would be operated by modellers communicating with each other through the newly devel- oped social media site. In principle there is no reason why a long stretch of main line could not be modelled and operated like the prototype. Modellers would have the opportunity to ride in a dome car or perhaps as
a switchman in a caboose over the modelled line. Others would play the role of dispatcher, engineer etc. As in current exhibitions visitors would pay modest sums to either railfan or travel over the line.
In an exclusive interview with Round- house Mike Tricker, Conner Indus- tries sole UK representative, said that the new products were truly game changing as they will allow modellers to participate in all aspects of the hobby without the hassle of actually having to make something!
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Conner Industries announce the launch of new products for the digital age
30 ROUNDHOUSE - April 2018