MWC 2016

The field of non-invasive Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) is gaining massive momentum as startups, companies and researchers are pushing hard. The race on BCI research is on improvement of the efficiency and the accuracy of the systems, while some of the first commercial efforts are testing the waters with several affordable devices already available to consumers. Professor Bin He, a pioneer in the field of Biomedical Engineering, talks about the ground-breaking research currently being done at the University of Minnesota in decoding brainwaves more accurately and reliably using non-invasive interfaces. We discuss the already impressive results of a  brain-controlled helicopter experiment, some of  the present challenges and the upcoming breakthroughs in the field of Brain Computer Interfaces. Interviewed by George Voulgaris for Tech Talks central.

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TTC #109 Your brain as the ultimate controller, Prof. Bin He

James Tagg, author of the book ‘Are the Androids Dreaming Yet?’ presented in front of an audience his own beliefs on the Singularity issue. He started out by answering his own question ‘Can a Machine think Creatively?’ and argued mathematically on how much artificial intelligence has progressed, which are the crucial parity point dates and why he doesn’t believe that machines can surpass the creativity of humans. The speech was conducted during a Heroes of Mobile event organised by its founder Helen Keegan, on the 2nd of March at the Talent Garden(TAG).


TTC #145 Are The Androids Dreaming Yet, James Tagg

Background, context, and poem text: http://www.brainpickings.org/2015/05/28/keeping-quiet-sylvia-boorstein-reads-pablo-neruda

Excerpted from https://soundcloud.com/onbeing/what-we-nurture-with-sylvia

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Sylvia Boorstein reads "Keeping Quiet" by Pablo Neruda

Marcello Melgara Responsible for International eHealth Projects, Italy /
Karima Bourquard, IHE-Europe Director of Interoperability, France

How does compliance with the European Interoperability Framework(EIF) help a National health system’s sustainability? At what percentage would you say your country’s NIF is aligned w/ the EIF when it comes to eHealth? What are the obstacles? Does your country have a published eHealth Strategy and what are its core objectives? In what percentage is it being implemented?


TTC #204 Interoperability & eHealth Strategies In Italy & France

Dimitra Liveri, Network and Information Security Expert at ENISA /
Marcello Melgara Responsible for International eHealth Projects

European eHealth companies have a huge potential to grow, by approaching an ever growing market inside and outside EU borders. Apart from the obvious innovation potentials in a broad number of health & patient care sectors, markets like that of the US, Latin America and China have come ‘closer’ due to international agreements. What kind of impediments will European eHealth companies have to overcome, in order to reach these markets effectively?


TTC #205 Extroversion of eHealth Companies

George Crooks, Medical Director for NHS24 and Director of the Scottish Centre for Tele-health and Telecare. President of the European Telematics Association (EHTEL) & leader of the Integrated Care Action Group of the European Innovation Partnership for active and healthy ageing for the European Commission

George Crooks responds to our questions on whether Scotland has a published eHealth Strategy and what are its core objectives. Also, how does compliance with the European Interoperability Framework(EIF) help a National health system’s sustainability? 


TTC #210 George Crooks on Scotland’s eHealth Strategy & Interoperability

Grab a cocktail, put on your favorite karaoke track, and let’s talk some more about disentangling audio data!

The Cocktail Party Problem

Kostas Sarafianos, Commercial Director at mPass explains how their new Internet of Things platform for retailers, Explor IT works. Although the concept is simple they hope to facilitate different retailers, who need something easy and manageable to enhance consumer experience. Interviewed by Vicki Kolovou for Tech Talks Central.


TTC #231 Bringing IoT Functionality to Retailers

The CEO & Co-founder of CityCrop, Christos Raftogiannis, reveals what CityCrop is working on and how they make indoor farming automated. He highlights the value proposition of having a smart Internet of Things device for farming and what it can offer to every household. He goes on to explain why they attended 4YFN. Interviewed by Sakis Triantafyllakis for Tech Talks Central


TTC #230 Grow Your Own Food at Home

Katre Kasmel, Head of Marketing & Communications e-Residency Team explains what the Esthonian e-Residency card entails, why they’re doing it and how developers can use their APIs to create software services. She talks about how entrepreneurs can open up their company in Esthonia, what the procedures are and emphasizes that by 2025 Esthonia wants to have 10 million e-residents. Interviewed by Vicki Kolovou for Tech Talks Central.

TTC #229 e-Residency in Estonia

Prof. Kevin Curran, IEEE senior member & lecturer at Ulster Uni., Carl Uminski, Co-founder & COO at Somo Global, James Tagg, CIO at Truephone and Helen Keegan, Mobile marketing consultant & Sweedish Beers organiser gathered at a VIP meeting room at Mobile World Congress 2016 and discussed with us... Artificial Intelligence and how it will impact our lives, health and growth through our devices, smartphones and cars. They talked about the need for education of users; how education will change itself; mobile addiction and how decisions will be our own, despite being influenced by technology. An interesting conversation by key players in mobile technology and artificial technology. Coordinated by Vicki Kolovou for Tech Talks Central.


TTC #228 When Will Our Smartphone Become Smarter Than Us?

Albert Forn, Associate Director at Mobile World Capital and Renee Jimenez, Manager at Mobile World Capital GSMA explain the purpose of the edu_Hack workshop coordinated by mSchools, the joint initiative by Mobile World Capital Barcelona and GSMA. Conducted during the weekend preceding MWC16, at the Arena in Plaza Espanya, they managed to bring together over 400 teachers from private and public schools to collaborate and develop ideas for integrating technology into schools. Although the audio was recorded under difficult conditions, the whole experience, watching these tutors use the business model canvas, was amazing.  Interviewed by Vicki Kolovou & Yannis Rizopoulos for Tech Talks Central.


TTC #233 mSchools #edu_Hack. Re-educating Teachers in Technology

Good news for travellers around the globe, which are now able to save some money on roaming for calls and data! Gregory Gundelfinger, Chief Executive Officer at KnowRoaming presented such a product at MWC16 offering uninterrupted and much cheaper service to frequent travellers. Their scheme is based on a special sticker placed upon the normal SIM card of the user, some kind of e-wallet and a lot of agreements with local operators, as KnowRoaming offers its services in more than 80 (popular) countries. Talking and texting prices differ a little from country to country, but the fixed price of $7.99/day for unlimited data seems really interesting. Interviewed by Sakis Triantafyllakis and Venetia Kyritsi for Tech Talks Central


TTC #237 Affordable Mobile Roaming With Your Own SIM Card

Centuries ago, Germany came up with a way to keep books that contained "dangerous" information without releasing them to the general public: The Giftschrank.
The word, a combination of "poison" and "cabinet," has a variety of meanings in different contexts. At its most literal, a Giftschrank is a space for storing controlled substances in places like pharmacies. Colloquially, it can refer to spaces reserved for all kinds of hidden and forbidden objects, ideas or stories.

203- The Giftschrank

So... about those bots. Bots bots bots. Bots!

In this episode of the botcast, a16z partners Benedict Evans and Connie Chan -- along with Chris Messina, longtime advocate of the open web and more -- pull apart various threads related to the topic of bots, mobile, and beyond: the (evolution?) from web to apps to messaging to bots; chat as an interface; “conversational commerce”; and so on. They also discuss why framing messaging through the lens of WeChat both reveals useful things (what works/ might not work) and not-so-useful things (such as seeking the “WeChat of the West”).

More importantly, how can we keep bots, and what they represent, in perspective -- beyond the fad? Especially when it comes to considering innovation on the 'web' vs. 'mobile' (remember the mobile browser!) and when it comes to removing friction (vs. adding limited interaction). What contexts (like customer service) are most useful for thinking about bots? And how can we even know, given it’s early days yet and we haven’t moved much beyond the command-line interface... 

Finally, as computing moves outside the classic work-centric paradigm to room- and urban-scale, how do we think about integrating online and offline, ubiquitous and “diffuse” computing through bots?

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a16z Podcast: Bots and Beyond

The Tech Talks Central web radio covers all the hot topics and trends in the connected world and features interactive interviews with thought leaders, as well as movers and shakers of the tech industry.
It’s a joint venture between entrepreneurs working in the mobile and technology field and people who love the radio waves!

TTC #237 Affordable Mobile Roaming With Your Own SIM Card

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