Rex skeleton to decode the past, embed the future at ESC

MANHASSET, NY -- Plan to meet up with "Samson," the 66-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton discovered in South Dakota in 1987, at next-month's Embedded Systems Conference.

The "Decode the Past. Embed the Future" display is the ESC's organizers way of  showing that the modeling techniques used to map the shape and density of fossilized bones are similar to those used in developing tomorrow’s advanced embedded systems in aerospace, transportation, and medical applications.

"Once paleontologists could only look upon dinosaur fossils and fantasize about how the creatures might have lived. But in recent years, the paleontologists, biomechanics specialists, systems modeling engineers, and medical researchers have pooled their skills,” said Ron Wilson, editorial director of UBM Electronics’ ESD, EDN & EE Times Designlines, and ESC program organizer.

UBM Electronics, EE Times' parent company, is partnering with Green Hills Software on the Rex display. GHS is a provider of operating systems for high-reliability military/avionics, medical, industrial, automotive, networking, and other markets that demand industry-certified solutions.

"Today we build biomechanical computer models, and determine much about how these creatures actually lived their lives," said Wilson.

One of the largest known Tyrannosaurus rex specimens in existence, Samson was discovered on private land in South Dakota in 1987. The site was fully excavated in 1992 and the bones were transported to the PaleoLab at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for scientific analysis and preparation.

Using a combination of 3-D imaging technologies and computational methods such as finite element analysis (FEA), paleontologists, technologists and engineers worked together to assemble Samson's almost 40-foot long skeleton and gain unprecedented knowledge of the anatomy, lifestyle and evolution of the Tyrannosaurus rex.

In 2005, Samson's skull, likely the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skull ever discovered, was sent to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where scientists studied it with the same Computed Tomography (CT) scan technology and equipment used to examine the space shuttle.

"Learning about Samson's life from this wonderfully complete skeleton is very analogous to the modeling and simulation that medical professionals use today to plan surgeries on human limbs and to develop smart, powered, and interactive prosthetics, " said Wilson.

GHS' Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer Dan O'Dowd will deliver the Embedded Systems Conference 2011 keynote address on Tuesday, May 3 - 10:30am - 11:30am.