Posted: Thursday, July 24, 2024
It opened in Eatonton only six months ago, but ViziTech USA seems to be growing beyond reality.
The company – which designs and sells 3D technology training/educational programs – has “picked up some significant contracts,” increased its workforce, developed new products and opened another office in Virginia, according to Stewart Rodeheaver, owner and president.
Four full-time employees joined ViziTech this month, and two of them moved to Eatonton from South Carolina. Ken Kistner and Donna Daniels said they are happy “to be working for such an exciting company,” and they “look forward to being a part of the community.” ViziTech now has 16 full-time employees who work with the Eatonton office, plus two contract employees who work from their homes in England and Texas.
Its long list of clientele includes Fortune 500 companies, national forensic labs, the armed forces, aviation and utility companies, state agencies, school systems, technical colleges and universities, including medical and aeronautical universities.
Its newest products include a 3D imaging screen that can be viewed without wearing specialized eyeglasses and a wireless computer keyboard that resembles a game controller and has analog controls for games, as well as a small touch screen mouse and cell phone-style keyboard for computers. Its new “augmented reality tags” can make pictures in school textbooks interactive, allowing students to touch and manipulate them.
Whether creating programs for schools, businesses or governmental agencies, ViziTech specializes in “holoprojected 3D” – images that can be projected in a room and manipulated. “In the entertainment industry, 3D is used for only one purpose – novelty,” said Dr. Carroll Lastinger, ViziTech’s vice president and chief scientist. “But it has value in education. It is a proven fact that if you use our equipment, you increase grade scores 33 percent.”
For schools, ViziTech supplies 3D AV Rovers, a portable system with thousands of core curriculum lessons; 2D and 3D “Techbook” tablets; 3D content packages; and/or customized content creations in 3D. “It’s experiential learning as opposed to kinesthetic, visual, auditory, reading styles of learning,” said Lastinger, who developed the process. “(The learning styles) are all combined in a direct experience.”
The typical person remembers 10 percent of what they read after 24 hours, Lastinger said, and 20 percent of what they saw. “But if you engage them in the task to retrieve the information, they will remember 90 percent,” he said.
The Georgia Department of Transportation recently began working with ViziTech on a training program for street workers who clear snow and ice from roads in winter storms. “We were out filming during ‘Snowmageddon’ to learn what they were doing,” Lastinger said, adding ViziTech used the film to figure how much sand/salt should be spread and created a training program that allows workers to learn the method in a simulator as opposed to traveling to a frozen area during winter. “So the employees are proficient no matter if they live in the northern or southern part of the state,” he said. “DOT cut back on overtime pay, plus they can be trained and ready before it snows.”
Another program ViziTech provides GDOT allows inspectors to virtually “walk” roads and bridges, which has “normalized distribution of funds for road repairs,” according to Lastinger. “We show all our customers the capabilities, and ask, ‘What would you like to have happen?’” he said.
For more information, please contact Stewart Rodeheaver, CEO, ViziTech USA, 706-749-8099, csr@vizitechusa.com or visit www.vizitechusa.com .
