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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 2 2 , 2 0 2 2 12 G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E have the potential to add $1.5 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Hansen says a strong understanding of technol- ogy can make graduates more appealing to potential employers. Digital twin Husson has a longstanding information technology program and long relationships with businesses like Geaghan's to create career-training opportunities. e restaurant simulation was a natural segue. e idea was to create an immersive virtual expe- rience for studentas in the School of Hospitality, Sport & Tourism. "We worked with our team to come up with some language about what we were trying to do and scheduled a time with Geaghan's," says Knupp. "Students and a professor went down, met with a Geaghan's representative, set up equipment and did multiple scans using an iPad." e team returned to campus and began rendering the digital file for a virtual reality simulation. rough that process, they realized the restaurant environment was more complicated than they realized, with lots of surfaces such as tables, chairs and service stations. ey returned to Geaghan's to do a video shoot. is sum- mer, students are rendering the imagery, using tools such as light detection and ranging scanners, or lidar, a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure variable distances and provides a high degree of accuracy and specificity. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E F O C U S Michael Knupp, director of the School of Technology and Innovation, says the institution of diverse technologies fast- tracks the school's ability to help students learn how to solve real-world problems. P H O T O / F R E D F I E L D

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