Near the end of World War II, Adm. William “Bull” Halsey of the famed Third Fleet steered directly into a typhoon, losing 790 crewmen and 146 aircraft in the Pacific. Dr. Eric Daimler, formerly an innovation fellow with the Obama White House, shared this story with me in 2017 as an illustration of the importance of trusting data. It […]
Tech
5 Exciting Technologies That Need Your Execution Help
As a business advisor and technologist, I often think about the large array of opportunities for entrepreneurs as technology seems to be evolving faster and faster. Yet I still too often hear the question, “Can you give me a really sure-fire idea for starting my own business?” My standard answer is that ideas are a […]
Are Ethics Keeping Pace With Technology?
Returning from vacation, my inbox overflowed with emails announcing robot “firsts.” At the same time, my relaxed post-vacation disposition was quickly rocked by the news of the day and recent discussions regarding the extent of AI bias within New York’s financial system. These unrelated incidents are very much connected in representing the paradox of the acceleration of […]
Embrace Raises Another $4.5M to Bring Performance Monitoring to Mobile Apps Like Never Before
Apps that mysteriously crash is annoying for users and even more so for the software engineers that built the app that are often flying blind in the app ecosystem. Existing mobile app architecture hasn’t readily provided the means to effectively track and understand the causes of app crashes and technical glitches. Replicating the user experience, […]
Automate 2019 Startup Showdown Recap
It’s been two years since the last time I judged the Automate Startup Competition. More than any other trade show contest, this event has been an oracle of future success. In following up with the last vintage of participants, all of the previous entries are still operating and many are completing multi-million dollar financing rounds. As an […]
Conquering The Home, One Shirt At A Time
Last week, attending the Our Crowd Summit, I felt engulfed by the breadth of innovation and minds gathered in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center. Jonathan Medved’s billion-dollar crowd-funding platform has launched some of Israel’s most promising mechatronic startups, including ReWalk, Intuition Robotics, Airobotics, and Argus Cyber Security. Medved’s success is his infectious positivity and confidence that fosters collaboration across the venture ecosystem. […]
RelayCars Puts You in the Driver’s Seat of Any Car with VR
The true power of VR and AR can be seen in the automotive industry as the power of these technologies can be truly harnessed in meaningful visual applications. RelayCars is the LA startup that uses VR and AR to innovate the car shopping experience. Long gone is the need for thick, glossy brochures that end up […]
Machines That Smell Trouble
Abruptly, I enter the cab escaping the arctic weather to confront something worse than freezing rain – body odor. Luckily, another taxi pulled to the curb and I continued my journey to last Tuesday’s RobotLab forum on Cybersecurity & Machines. Moderating a panel at the new Global Cyber Center, with John Frankel of ffVC and Guy Franklin of SOSA, I […]
What Happens When The Unmanned Awakens And Becomes Self-Aware?
The star of the Super Bowl wasn’t on the field, but the robot in Michelob ULTRA commercial. The metal beast was featured living and playing among humans, taking any opportunity to show off his brute strength. The bot smugly proves he do anything better than his organic citizens, except down a cold one. In the closing caption, […]
The US Dollar Is A Ponzi Scheme
Per Wikipedia, a Ponzi scheme …. is a form of fraud which lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors by using funds obtained from more recent investors This is how the U.S. government now operates. It loses massive amounts of money every year (i.e. runs at a deficit) and finances it with new debt. When […]
Network Next Raises $3.2M for the Internet Fast Lane for Gaming and Interactive Content
The internet may not be as smart as you think. It currently treats all internet traffic exactly the same, which is a big problem for gamers because gaming traffic needs to be in real-time and highly responsive. The solution to this problem is the internet fast lane startup Network Next. This Santa Monica-based startup, founded […]