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Thursday, October 23, 2003 |
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Robotic Sciences had demo robots welcoming guests to the Technology Celebration. I didn't interact with them too much, but I don't think they were to advanced. I think they could move about (don't know how much they could sense, but I wasn't run over), play messages, and capture video. They could also fold up into a package the size of a suitcase. I wish I could find a picture, but the Robotic Sciences site is pretty light. Folding demobots isn't Robotic Sciences real goal, though. Robotic Sciences is a spinoff of NetPlanner Systems, Inc., which is a cabling services company, and it seems they are most interested in using them for remote presence--which makes sense.
The Robotic Sciences representative mentioned that they had been working on a Segway-based robotics platform, and coincidentally enough, lemonodor reported on the same the next day.
I pointed the Robotic Sciences rep to something I've been meaning to blog about for a while, which is Marshall Brain's Robotic Nation. |
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The "Where do we go from here?" panel was populated by current generation entrepreneurs, including my friend Ed Trimble of EzGov. This group picked up on the topics that came up during the first panel discussion and brainstormed actions to take to improve the technology environment in Georgia. A number of ideas were generated. What I recall is that they centered on education, marketing, mentoring, and tax credits. (I should have blogged in situ or taken notes, but my laptop battery was weak and there was no WiFi in the conference, so I just wasn't in to it. There was WiFi in the "Cyber Café", but not elsewhere--a real oversight, IMHO.)
I thought it was interesting how many suggestions for tax credits and the like came from this panel given how several members of the first panel went out of their way to point out how government had never helped them and could only get in the way. I wonder what is going on there. My guess is that in retrospect many people underestimate the impact others (including governments) had on their success, whereas those actively involved in creating their success are willing to get help where they can.
Via a first round of voting by the panel and second round by the audience, the list of ideas was winnowed down. In the end, I think the idea with the most backing was creating a mentoring program for new generation entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs from prior generations. Fortunately enough, Tycho Howle had announced the creation of just such a program during the earlier panel discussion. |
Last update: 11/2/04; 6:13:08 PM .
