Innovate and Celebrate Celebration

By Bayle Emlein

A 3 day global celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship, originating in San Francisco

The Consumer Technology Association does so much more than sponsor CES, the premier B2B lollapalooza in Las Vegas each January. In its second year, INNOVATE/CELEBRATE brings together the ideas that will be making news at CES. Partnering with TECH.CO to not only provide ideas that have developed to market-readiness a forum but also to provide mentoring, funding information, and individualized support in moving from inspiration to marketabiity.

Frank Gruber, CEO and founder of TechCo reported on the selection process for companies seeking the honor of being among the final 100.  To show the kinds of opportunities that might evolve, NASA sends representatives to both provide input as to what is needed and also to gain inspiration.   

Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CTA reported two significant developments from Washington that represent not only progress but also wins for consumers: legislation that defines hearing aids as over-the-counter consumer products, rather than as high-priced medical devices. Also, states will individually be able to regulate self-driving vehicles.

Gary reported on the renewed focus on making life better, healthier, and more informed via technology and innovation.  Technology empowers people and equalizes opportunities. As old jobs disappear, new jobs that empower not only the users but also the workers in new industries. It is critical that new ideas get exposure with the fewest bureaucratic barriers.

   

Senior Vice President and General Manager of New Technology Group at Intel Corp, Josh Walden, keynoted how data-driven innovation is “the new oil” for the post-industrial economy. A smart world is a connected world, and we are rushing to a more connected world. Not just data, but analysis of data, drives innovation.  Josh leads Intel’s  New Technology Group to identify nascent technologies both within Intel and partnering with other companies. His horizon is 5 to 10 years. Initiatives that are not consistent with the Intel mission might be spun off, with funding support through Intel Capital.  It is critical that companies working together have congruent missions and vision.

Drone technologies are nascent technologies, but they are already saving time (=money) and lives. They can easily perform inspections where humans cannot go. This is consistent of the core Intel value of improving the experience of being human. The Intel Insight platform enables drone operators to analyze data and create actionable information. For example,  it can already report on vegetation encroachment in places like railroad tracks and power lines. It will eventually be able to report on developing  infrastructure problems before they become disasters. Because of regulatory barriers in the US, Europe currently leads in opportunities for testing and development.

Partnering with established leaders as well as with start-ups, Intel continues to seek to fill in gaps in the developing landscape.

Amy Jo Martin, Author of Renegades Write the Rules interviewed COO of GoPro, CJ Prober. CJ recapped this fall’s launch. Quick Stories automatically offloads GoPro content to your phone. The next feature of the announcement is the Hero 6 camera. The final announcement was the first GoPro 360 camera.  The Hero 6 edits automatically and highlights the most interesting content.

GoPro took off as a popular item. Just before their IPO, they began expanding not only as a company but also in devices. Customers were confused and the company was in financial trouble. Under CJ’s leadership, GoPro has flattened the organization and refocused on customer experience and content. Focusing on a few priorities and continually sharing information transparently helped GoPro return to profitability with minimal delay and the least pain possible.

The GoPro vision is that the camera is as an untethered lens to your phone. This makes sharing easier and more natural.

Amy Jo asked CJ about his personal operating system. It’s very organized and focused. Amy Jo then asked about common themes in the big decisions of CJ’s life. One that he could identify is following his passion. He is super analytical in planning, but in the end he pays attention to his gut. Regular physical activity is how he maintains perspective.

“What keeps you up at night?” asked Amy Jo. CJ’s answer:  striking a balance between growth and innovation and company focus.

Amy Jo’s final question for CJ asked what advice he would give his earlier self. He answered that maintaining focus was important. Team health has been critical, especially in the light of the layoffs necessary to return to profitability.

CTA’s Five Technology Trends to Watch, Jeff Joseph, Senior Vice President for Communications and Strategic Partnerships, CTA noted that the future of work will be increasingly automated and connected. Even garbage collectors will need new skills. STEM education ensures that the workforce of the future will be ready.

A second trend will lead to 5G smarthomes being as normal as indoor plumbing is today.

Justin Fishin, COO of Local Motors described how crowd-sourced vehicles and microfactories have changed the face of mobility. Safer transportation addresses the world’s number one cause of death in young adults: traffic accidents. In 2014 Local Motors introduced the world’s first 3D printed vehicle. Their goal is to be able to deliver a vehicle to customized consumer specs within a day. A traveler could choose the features that are needed for any kind of driving experience.

Crowd-sourcing a problem from a large manufacturer enables Local Motors to find solutions quickly. Olli, the autonomous trolley, is one example.

The Local Motors vision is to create many local microfactories,creating jobs at dispersed facilities. They are also focusing on creating the world’s most accessible vehicle.

Holly Liu, Co-founder and Chief of Staff at Kabam global gaming company. She addressed challenges and lessons learned as the company has grown.

In the founding phase of a company, innovation is natural. The company is unknown, and you have a lot of freedom. It's easy to re-invent yourself, you can see your impact quickly. In this phase, it’s more important to have a few users who love you than gazillions who sort of like you.

In the growth phase, it’s important to have enough resources to manage expanded use. Real competition provides solid impetus for growth.

As it goes to scale, building a company becomes focused on the organization rather than the product. Maintaining innovation becomes an issue. Focus on real users, reduced reporting, adequate resources, a system that works for the particular company all help to keep innovation alive as a company expands.

Cybersecurity is one of five technology trends to watch. Michael Hermus, Chief Technology, Department of Homeland Security, was interviewed by Jeff  Joseph, Senior Vice President of Communications and Strategic Partnerships with the Consumer Technology Association. INNOVATE and CELEBRATE hosted a Fireside Chat with the Department of Homeland Security.

What can companies do to be repared? It’s an uneven playing field: the bad guys only have to be right once. The good guys have to be right all the time.

Good online hygiene is essential. That includes keeping software updated, two-step authentication, and using the services of security experts in companies that don’t have inhouse security personnel. Even small businesses need to manage their security.

In the government, personnel operations (hiring and firing) and purchasing have become increasingly cumbersome. Each regulation is the result of reaction to the missteps of a few.

The DHS mission includes disaster recovery and law enforcement. Wearables and sensors are big in law enforcement, not only reporting incidents but also enhancing the safety of first responders. Advanced analytics will change the effectiveness of DHS.

The impact on jobs is not that jobs are being displaced but incorporating change is becoming increasingly important. Technology generalists who understand systems and how to work within the existing environment will become  technology leaders.

DHS, and the government, are just beginning to develop strategies for taking advantage of community resources. It is up to entrepreneurs to approach the government, and at this time it isn’t necessarily easy. Various agencies are at various stages of progress in adapting. The smaller, more independent agencies are less constrained. As one of the larger, Cabinet-level departments, DHS is relatively agile.

The rate of change is accelerating. Organizations need to learn to adapt. The competition is small and agile and is not necessarily constrained by the rule of law.

Jeff’s final question for Michael focused on his favorite technology now. In addition to the new iPhone and the new xBox,Michael is amazed by what a single user can accomplish with open resources such as Python.

Beyond the sharing economy, is the experience economy. GenZ (born after 1995) usage predicts the trajectory of change. Older users will eventually be brought along.

Kara MGuire, Advisory Leader, CEB Iconoculture Consumer Insights offered Insights on the GenWe (aka GenZ) Generation. This group believes in the power of the group. Surprise: many millennials are now parents.

GenWe worries about terrorism, war, bullying, homelessness, pollution. GenWe is diverse; it values individuality: being different is interesting. GenWe is shaped by technology. Teens don’t necessarily make a distinction between off-line and on-line. It’s all part of Real Life.

The top 10 GenWe values are success, equality, authenticity, loyalty, happiness, sharing, courtesy, comfort, ambition, and enjoyment. Many of these values are shared with Millennials.Sharing, ambition, and enjoyment are unique to GenWe. Purpose, fun, ambition and adventure are all important to the group as a whole. This generation has more social concerns than previous ones. They can’t just go to college without thinking of how to pay for it and how to make it pay.

What are the important traits of GenWe? Kindness, self confidence, common sense, hardworking, self control.

        

“I care about what happens to others, and, “When Someone’s feelings have been hurt, I try to make them feel better,” are the two statements GenWe survey participants found to be most descriptive of themselves.

Through technology, kids are empowered, viz. a teen Nobel prize winner, teen and pre-teen entrepreneurs. Access to technology also helps teens research options and make choices. Three quarters of kids consider how much things cost. This generation also realizes there are no guarantees and that they will need to work harder than those in the past to have a satisfying career. Work is not necessarily a bad thing for this group: doing something you care deeply about and making a profit are not mutually exclusive. Companies that depend on brand loyalty, beware!

        

To conclude day two of INNOVATE and CELEBRATE, Frank Gruber of TechCo hosted a couple of robot demos. First was “Sub” Datta of Soft Robotics. Problem: strawberries are very fragile and must be picked by hand. And because of lack of pickers, many rot in the field. And at the same time, companies hire a vast workforce for the holidays, invest in giving them space and training, only to let them go in a few months. Traditional robotics don't work in food and ecommerce.

         

Soft Robotics has developed a gripper that adjusts to the shape of the object to be grasped without additional programing. The Suerpick robot can be trained through Human-in-the-Middle programming to perform tasks. The robots can be controlled remotely, and one person can control multiple robots. It’s not a question man vs. robots; now its cooperative. Eventually they might have home uses, especially valuable for people with physical limitations.

The final demo was

Kaijen Hsiao CTO of Mayfield Robotics conducted the final demo  at the CTA/TECH.CO INNOVATE AND CELEBRATE conference in San Francisco. She presented Kuri. They designed Kuri to be a normal home robot, a part of the family. She has a touch sensor in her head to recognize touch, a heart light to express emotion, gestural mechanics in her eyes add expression, speakers for voice, 4 microphones so she can “hear” directionally.

         

Mayfield Robotics developed their own laser sensor to help Kuri navigate in the unstructured environment of a home.The user experience was critical to Mayfield. This included a quiet drive train. Kuri makes robot sounds, but does not speak; she is a companion like a pet. She is not a maid or butler. But she can recognize and capture video of family moments.  

It is important for robots to have believable personalities to become accepted. Mayfield worked hard to give Kuri a realistic personality. This acceptance can lead to kids becoming interested in robotics as a career field. In the meantime, before the demo was over, at least one audience member had preordered Kuri to be a watchful companion for her elderly mother, who is often home alone.