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.

More Info

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

MORE / POEM TEXT

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

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?

---

The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.
 
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.

Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

a16z Podcast: Bots and Beyond

Dimitrios Niarchos, Director of Research at NCSR Demokritos, talks about his specialty - magnetic materials; a multibillion dollar industry with a very bright future and the effort to get to new materials with better properties, that open the way for new markets in the coming Age of Magnetic Materials. Dr Niarchos tells us that his lab in NCSR produces innovative and novel materials like permanent magnets containing less or no rare (and expensive) earths, and has already several breakthroughs to be proud of. They are also working on recording media, passing  -in a short of mini revolution- from 2D to 3D recording and, finally, they are putting a lot of research on transformers for mobile devices, having already increased their efficiency to over 95% meaning a longer life for batteries and many benefits for the environment. Interviewed by Yannis Rizopoulos for Tech Talks Central.

Tech Talks Central @ ERN16

TTC #288 Preparing for the Age of Magnetic Materials

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 #288 Preparing for the Age of Magnetic Materials

Tech Talks Central

Related tracks