Innovation & Tech Today -- Summer 2021 by Innovation & Tech Today

JENNA ELFMAN TALKS FEAR THE WALKING DEAD

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SUSTAINABLE FASHION COMPANIES

VIRTUAL VACATIONS

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WRITER & DIRECTOR

JAMES GUNN ON THE SUICIDE SQUAD, LIFE & MUSIC

BOOTS ON MARS IN 2026? RISE OF THE HOME ARCADE RIDING THE CRYPTO/NFT WAVE PANDEMIC SPIKES MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY TECH ZONE: PITTSBURGH

Summer 2021

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

Charles Warner, Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief

“ Whether it’s wind, solar, or hydrogen, these solutions bring good-paying jobs and an opportunity for American entrepreneurship to lead the world.”

Sustainability in Everything As we began putting together the Summer issue of Innovation & Tech Today, I found myself thinking harder about what sustainability means to me. I guess the first thing that comes to my mind, and likely yours, when someone mentions sustainability is carbon emissions. I think of smokestacks, pollution, and the many things that have damaged our planet and affected our health. But, in reality, sustainability is the exact opposite. It’s how we’re finding solutions to those long-term problems. Scientists and innovators worldwide are actively seeking creative and highly technological solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues like climate change. Sustainability is happening, and it is clever, bottom line-oriented, and it’s become trendy. One of the first thing’s that comes to mind for me is the Tesla. Elon Musk took electric cars from being homely little golf carts to being a sought-after high-performance machine. Is it so wrong to want to look good while we try to do our part? Being the people that we are, Americans weren’t too interested until the first Tesla rolled out. I’ll never forget the first time I drove one. It was a 2019 Model S. I flipped on Ludicrous Mode and floored it. The sheer amount of torque and power thrust me back into my seat, and I was hooked. My nine-year-old daughter loved it! Sustainability means better business practices. Sure, sometimes it means more money upfront, but it is an investment that pays off in the long run.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Sustainability means monitoring air pollution — and it’s working. Anyone who visited Los Angeles in the 1980s can fully attest to the fact that the skies are clearer than they’ve ever been. It’s not perfect, but a massive improvement with that many cars is a true accomplishment. Sustainability means less dependence on nonrenewable resources. With continued instability in the Middle East, the rising cost of fossil fuels, and the issues they create for the atmosphere, reducing that dependence is crucial. Whether it’s wind, solar, or hydrogen, these solutions bring good-paying jobs and an opportunity for American entrepreneurship to lead the world. But above all, sustainability is the pathway to a brighter future for our sons and daughters. It will lead them to the world our generation dreams of for them. So, let’s all do a better job of doing our part. Support companies with sustainable business practices. Invest in sustainability. Take the paper bags at the grocery store. If we all do something, even something tiny, it adds up quickly. Let’s leave our children the world we wanted so we can all be healthy, happy, and prosperous.

SINCE LAST ISSUE

2021: CHEERS TO A YEAR SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN THE LAST It’s been an interesting quarter here in the U.S. We started the year wading through the same old pandemic. COVID-19 continued its rampage across the globe, but numbers began improving in late spring as vaccines started really ramping up. The vaccinations have been largely uneventful aside from a brief scare with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. While most continue to work remotely, some people are heading back to the trenches. The healthcare sector continues to explode, and not just with COVID tests. The telemedicine sector exploded in 2020 as people hunkered in their homes but needed healthcare more than ever. Telemedicine companies were left to upscale their businesses and entire infrastructures overnight. Essentially, business projections for five (or more) years out became the projections for the next week. We chatted with a group of experts at CES 2021 about that and a number of other ways the pandemic affected healthcare innovation. Since last issue, Innovation & Tech Today has been covering the blossoming NFT (non-fungible token) sector quite heavily. The NFT market blasted onto the art scene with a monster sale in March. Digital artist Beeple sold a digital image for $69 million at a Christie’s auction. Not only was it the first NFT auctioned by Christie’s, it went for such a high price that Beeple is now the third most valuable living artist. Another hot button topic has been the near decimation of new car sales. Who knew the effect one little chip could have on such a massive industry? Empty car lots and signs offering to buy your car litter the streets in small town America this spring as executives and legislators grapple with a solution. We have an in-depth story breaking down exactly what happened, and what it means for the future.

PUBLISHER/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Charles Warner cwarner@goipw.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shane Brisson shane@goipw.com MANAGING EDITOR Corey Noles ASSOCIATE EDITOR Patricia Miller GAMING EDITOR John Gaudiosi AUTOMOTIVE EDITOR Michael Coates HEALTH TECH EDITOR Scott Jung TECH ZONE EDITOR Robert Yehling STAFF WRITERS Chynna Pearson Jeremy Glowacki CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Steve Broback Jordan French Jau Huang Erin James Melissa Jenkins Allison Kugel Chris Mellides Destiny Nolan CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Mary Roche V.P. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Steven Higgins V.P. EAST COAST OPERATIONS Dave Van Niel ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Justin Jaffe Miranda King James Smith VIDEO/PODCAST PRODUCER Dalton Brown EDITORIAL AND PR COORDINATOR Taylor McLamb SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Crystal Segovia Gomez SENIOR DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT David Marble Distribution CMG Printing Publication Printers

As we push for the summer here at Innovation & Tech Today, we plan to continue our legacy of finding the deeper story in all areas of technology. With sustainability at the forefront of this issue, we hope to recognize those who are fighting the good fight and inspire others to do the same.

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INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

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contents

SUMMER 2021 FEATURE STORY

58 A Man of Every Talent:

James Gunn on The Suicide Squad, Life & Music

Photo: Art Streiber

Departments 10 Event Wrap-ups 12 By the Numbers 14 Quick Bytes 18 DENT Files 20 Pet & Family Tech 22 Crypto 24 Artificial Intelligence 26 Space 77 Product Revolution 79 Events/Coming Next Issue 80 The Lighter Side

28 Innovator Profile Robosen Robotics

30 Connected Car The Auto Industry Needs Students to Focus on STEM for its Future 32 Tiny Chip, Huge Problem

36 Outdoor+Adventure Tech Nadia Aly — Diving Into the Unknown 40 Outdoor+Adventure Gear Guide

42 Health Tech How the Pandemic Sent Medical Technology into Hyper Speed

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

contents

SUMMER 2021

44 Gaming+Entertainment The Rise of the Home Arcade 48 Jenna Elfman Talks Life and Fear the Walking Dead

52 Connected Life CES 2021 Highlights 54 The Virtual Vacation: Around the World in Your Easy Chair 56 Is Travel Booking Ready to Fully Embrace Artificial Intelligence?

64 Tech Zone Pittsburgh — From Steel City to Smart City 68 Pittsburgh’s Top 50 Tech Companies of 2020

70 Sustainability Today Top 10 Sustainable Fashion Companies 72 EMT — Ionized Hydrogen Peroxide Systems

74 STEM Today In Search of More STEM Talent

76 Reviewed Elegant and Simple Smart Audio — Cleer Crescent

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Event Wrap-Ups Emerge Virtual Cannabis Conference Spring 2021 The event featured a variety of speakers including Salvador Santana, Montel Willams, and Dr. Chanda Macias. The event is held 100% virtually inside the Hyperfair platform. Attendees and exhibitors design custom avatars that allow them to interact with one another. Emerge took place March 30-April 1 and welcomed more than 2,500 attendees. Over three days, attendees could participate in more than 30 sessions and see 50+ exhibitors. “The Emerge conference allows me to learn about new facets of the industry and connect with experts in different sectors,” said Patricia Miller, managing editor of Cannabis & Tech Today. “I always leave feeling informed and inspired.” Stay tuned for their announcement of their next follow-up show. It’s definitely worth your time.

CES 2021 The first-ever, all-digital CES 2021 made history as the largest digital tech event. Almost 2000 companies unveiled next-gen innovation for a better future. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the all-digital CES 2021 featured product launches from startups to tech giants, keynotes from global industry leaders, live entertainment from Hollywood, and more than 100 hours of conference programming. “The all-digital CES 2021 engaged the global tech community to experience innovation, make connections and conduct business,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “CES showed how the pandemic accelerated the arc of innovation and illustrated the resilience and innovative spirit of our industry. From the latest innovations for the home and entertainment, and advances in 5G, vehicle technology, AI and digital health, the technologies at CES 2021 will pave the way for a brighter tomorrow.” CES 2021 kicked off Jan. 11 with Media Day, featuring 19 press conferences with companies, including Bosch, Canon, Caterpillar, Hisense, Intel, LG Electronics, Mercedes-Benz, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, and Sony, breaking news and launching products. Trends from Media Day focused on “the home” with innovation that personalizes work, health, and entertainment at home, as well as advancements in transportation and mobility. Almost 2000 companies launched products during the all-digital CES 2021, including almost 700 startups from 37 countries. Exhibiting companies included tech giants, such as Intel, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, and Sony, as well as non-traditional tech companies, from AARP to Bridgestone, Caterpillar, Indy Autonomous Challenge, John Deere, L’Oréal, Moen, and Procter & Gamble. New companies exhibiting at CES 2021 included ASUS, BioIntelliSense, Bose, Sono Motors, and Volvo Penta.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Photos courtesy of CES

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For decades, the focus on at-home recycling has been one of the most sustainable choices an individual can make. Separating your cans and bottles may seem like a tedious task that’s barely worth the trouble, but rest assured — it is. As more and more communities continue to mandate recycling, we have a choice to make in our homes. It doesn’t take much effort to step up and make a small difference. The figures below are here to help you understand the impact even one aluminum can could make. Read that, focus on it, and then step up to the plate at home and make a small change or two.

Making Sustainable Choices These consumers spent

Since 2014, these influential shoppers have grown sustainable product sales by nearly 20%, with a compound average growth rate (CAGR) that’s four times larger than conventional products (3.5% vs -1.0% comparatively).

$128.5 billion on

sustainable fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products this year.

Nearly half (48%)

of U.S. consumers say they would definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce their impact on the environment.

By 2021, we expect these sustainably minded shoppers to spend up to $150 billion on sustainable FMCG goods an increase of $14 billion – $22 billion.

Facts About Recycling There is no limit to the number of times you can recycle an aluminum can.

9 out of 10 people

said they would recycle if it were “easier.”

Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as it takes to burn it. It only takes

5 recycled plastic bottles to make enough fiberfill to stuff a ski jacket.

All statistics from The Nielsen Company

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

The U.S. recycling rate is around 34.5%. If we’re able to get the rate to 75%, the effect will be like removing 50 million passenger cars from U.S. roads.

A single recycled plastic bottle saves enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 4 hours. It also creates 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than would be created when making a new bottle.

You can make 20 new cans from recycled material using the same amount of energy that it takes to make 1 brand new can.

An estimated

five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year.

Photo: iStockphoto.com/matejmo

Photo: Weizhi Ji, Kunming University of Science and Technology

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USPS is Monitoring Social Media A branch of the United States Postal Service has been quietly monitoring social media, according to documents obtained by Yahoo News. The memo shows that USPS has been both tracking and collecting social media posts. The surveillance effort is known as the Internet Covert Operations Program (ICOP) and is managed by the USPS’ law enforcement branch. The memo stated they are searching for inflammatory posts and then the information gathered is sent to various government agencies. The program was developed so they could monitor activity surrounding planned protests in March 2021. Groups were expected to gather in cities around the globe for the World Wide Rally for Freedom and Democracy. The USPS report to Homeland Security showed a variety of posts suggesting violence.

Scientists Create Human Monkey Hybrid Scientists at Salk University have created a part human, part monkey hybrid embryo. Researchers are growing human stem cells in monkey embryos in an effort to better understand how cells communicate. Scientifically, they are known as monkey-human chimeras. The scientists hope to use the embryos to learn more about human development and possibly create organs for transplant. The chimera embryo was developed by U.S. and Chinese scientists. The team injected 25 stem cells from humans into embryos from macaque monkeys. The embryos were grown for 20 days to study how the animal and human cells would communicate with each other. The overall goal is to begin studying whether monkeys would be able to grow human organs. Thousands die annually while awaiting organ donors.

Nextdoor Will Keep You From Being Racist Neighborhood social networking app Nextdoor has developed what they call the “anti-racism notification.” The plan for the feature is to let users know when something they say could possibly be found offensive. The system works by identifying any of a number of trigger words. The company hopes it will lead to better conversations among people with differing opinions. The user will still have the option to post anyway, but the company’s hope is that it will help people to think before they hit that last button. Nextdoor also has a kindness feature that it states has lowered inflammatory posts 30%. Whether that will work for more heated discussions remains to be seen. Images courtesy of Nextdoor

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

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Banks Using AI to Monitor Customers and Workers An increasing number of banks in the United States have begun using artificial intelligence to monitor employees and predict customer behavior. The use of visual AI tools in banking has grown in prominence over the past year. The development of these technologies led to an interesting junction between banking security and individual privacy.

Photo: iStockphoto.com/metamorworks

CIA Refuses to Rule Out “Lab Leak” as COVID-19 Origin

The acceptance of such technology in the banking sector would definitely signal a more mainstream move for facial recognition. Numerous questions have been raised regarding increased surveillance and biometric use in banks.

CIA officials reiterated they can’t rule out the possibility that COVID-19 was leaked from a lab in Wuhan. Of course, they’re also not confirming it. The CIA confirms an investigation is ongoing. If that is the case, the most likely lab would be the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Scientists working there have been accused of experiments involving coronavirus and animals.

City National Bank will begin trials with facial recognition in 2022 joining the likes of Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase. Effective this past January, Portland, Oregon, banned businesses from using facial recognition technology. In addition, Rite Aid shut down its nationwide facial recognition program.

A lab leak is one of two theories under investigation. The other is that it emerged naturally from human contact with infected animals. Photo: iStockphoto.com/tuachanwatthana

The World Health Organization, on the other hand, says the possibility of a lab leak is extremely unlikely. They assert the disease likely made its way from a livestock farm in southeast Asia.

The FBI Might Have Fixed Your Server After the Microsoft Hack If you aren’t running updates as you should, the FBI might be doing it for you, according to an NBC News report. The FBI has been “quietly accessing” hundreds of American computers that were hacked through Microsoft Exchange and removing malicious code themselves. The Department of Justice reported they obtained a warrant for the operation, which only stands to show the severity of the hack itself. The Exchange hack allowed dozens of hackers to breach organizations since early this year. Questions remain regarding FBI jurisdiction in cybercrime cases. It’s unlike the FBI to clean up malicious code on computers just to lend a hand. The FBI notified victims whose code has been cleaned, according to the warrant. Photo: iStockphoto.com/vchal

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

DEPARTMENTS / DENT Files

Photo: iStockphoto.com/Dmitry Kovalchuk

Carbon Capture, Game Theory, and Climate Change

Once again, Bill Gates and Elon Musk are ahead of the curve. For decades, the world has been obsessed with what seems to be the obvious solution to manmade climate change. Common sense stipulates that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so the preferred path forward has been — and continues to be — the limiting of global CO2 emissions. Restricting citizens and industries in their burning of coal, gasoline, and natural gas via global government policy has been the universal strategy. Sadly, we’ve been working the preventative angle for 33 years, but have little to show for it. From Stockholm and Kyoto to the Paris agreements, carbon emissions have surged over the decades to a new high of 37 gigatons in 2019. Negative emissions technologies, or NETs, have largely sat on the sidelines. These technologies are designed to suck CO2 from the air. Not only is IPCC stressing the need for NETs, but tech leaders like Bill Gates, Elon Musk and others are funding ambitious projects involving CO2 extraction technologies. In 2020, more than 240 groups filed documents for “carbon capture” efforts. Compare this to fewer than 90 groups in 2018-2019. While better late than never, this path should

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

have been taken earlier. Climate science led the way in the campaign to save Earth, but that economic science has been tragically ignored. Despite the effort and ink spilled investigating taxation, auctions, and clever credit exchanges, what should have been consulted is Game Theory. Even a cursory look could have predicted the disappointing outcome we’ve seen. In the famous “prisoner’s dilemma,” John von Neumann posited the ideal solution to the problem of incarceration is straightforward. If two arrested criminals stick to the same story of mutual innocence, things are likely to go well for both of them. Unfortunately, this ideal scenario is almost impossible to achieve in reality, since if one or another squeals, the squealer gets a reduced sentence. If the non-squealer sticks to his story, he will now be in serious trouble. Since one prisoner cannot know what the other will do, defection is the “dominant strategy.” The “inferior strategy” is sticking to the mutually agreed on denial. As it is so often in real-life, the great is the enemy of the good. The same holds true of climate treaties. In economic prosperity, you’d be hard-pressed to find a stronger correlation than fossil fuel consumption versus GPD. While correlation

By Steve Broback doesn’t imply causation, that won’t discourage former prime minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull. Turnbull was ousted by fossil fuel enthusiast Scott Morrison, who called CO2 limits “reckless” and “job-destroying.” Since Morrison took the helm, the U.N. claims “There has been no improvement in Australia’s climate policy since 2017, and emission levels for 2030 are projected to be well above the target.” This is not an Australian problem, it’s the nature of the game. China, the largest CO2 emitter on the planet, has nearly 250 GW of coal-fired capacity under development, a 21% increase over 2019. While a Biden administration will almost certainly work harder on participating in global carbon agreements, it’s the United States at large that needs to be considered. While carbon extraction initiatives are a step forward, and solve some of the incentive issues, global treaties will need to be put in place to employ these expensive extraction technologies. What needs to be emphasized going forward is that in the case of climate treaties, defection is also more than an attractive idea, it’s usually the optimal strategy. ■

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DEPARTMENTS / Pet & Family Tech

Safe Home & Baby Tech

Thinking outside the box with touchless doorbells, air quality monitors, and next-level baby monitors. By Michael Heiss One of the reasons I enjoy trade shows so much is the chance to see things I didn’t know about or hadn’t seen in person. Sometimes I slap my forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” These products are the often-obvious things that will make a home tech installation easier or improve the lives of homeowners. AurAir Aero 1 Seen during CES 2021, AurAir’s Aero 1 is more than just a smoke and CO2 monitor. It detects and measures the presence of temperature, humidity, particulate matter, and VOCs. There is an LCD display for immediate status notification, as well as an app and provisions to control ventilation systems. On its face, Aero 1 is another one of those things that seems obvious, but have you seen anything that performs those measurements?

Cubo Ai Plus uses AI to alert if a baby rolls over or when their face is covered by a blanket or toy. Italy-based Filo Srl created Tata pad to fit under a child’s car seat and the Tata Band goes over the car seat straps to monitor a baby inside a car.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

position. Concerned about flipping over? This will detect that and alert the parents via an app. Sensors also detect heart rate, body temperature, and bowel movements. Depending on the settings and based on the current sleep state, it can play one of five white noise modes or initiate one of five motions such as “swing” or “car ride” at five speeds. The goal is to soothe and improve sleep. Another take on this concept is Cradlewise. It expands the product’s life cycle from crib to bassinet, making it something that will last up to about two years of age. It has similar features as the bebeLucy, but it adds more. The feature set includes a night vision camera along with the typical audio so that you may monitor things without even turning the lights on.

Connected Baby Care The “connected nursery” is one area of residential technology that received a great deal of product attention at CES. These are more than the simple baby room monitors. The key here is to monitor sleep patterns, report anomalies, and do a variety of things to both help the baby get to sleep or lull them back to sleep when they wake in the middle of the night.

One more fascinating approach to this category is Cubo Ai Plus. At first glance, its egg-like design looks like a standard “baby cam monitor.” However, it is much more than that. Billed as a proactive monitor, it combines a mic and a 1080p night vision camera with AI for cry detection. Even better, though, it uses the AI to alert a rollover or when the baby’s face is covered by a blanket or toy.

One example of this is “bebeLucy” from Emma Healthcare, which is billed as a “smart baby crib.” It monitors the room’s temperature and humidity, the infant’s heart rate and sleep state, and uses AI and a camera to sense the baby’s condition and

The best trick here is that, using the AI, the camera may be set to recognize “danger zones.” If a toddler walks around the room, the device can, for example, sense that the little one is about to wander into the kitchen or down the stairs and alert the app. ■

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DEPARTMENTS / Crypto

Riding the Cryptocurrency Wave By Jordan French

Now-popular cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, started as a joke. Or at least that’s what its creator, Bill Markus, told us about what is now a $50-billion favorite among “HODLers” — a punchy term for cryptocurrency investors and enthusiasts alike. For the uninitiated, in 2008, a Japanese kindergarten teacher, Atsuko Satō, adopted a Shiba Inu and named her Kabosu. In 2010, Sato took a picture of Kabosu. Little did she know her picture would not only create an internet meme — but an iconic piece of cryptocurrency. Dubbed “Doge,” the exploitable face of Kabosu has ruled the internet for years. On the other side of the world in late 2013, IBM employee Bill Markus created what is known as Dogecoin — quite literally — as a joke. At first a “meme” of the now-famous Kabosu dog fixed atop a coin, the cryptocurrency is now worth more than $50 billion. Much Doge So, why did Dogecoin take off? Dogecoin is popular among “HODLers,” a punchy term for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investors alike.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

HODL stands for “hold on for dear life,” and it’s a reference to investors riding out a cryptocurrency crash without selling what they have. Of course, cryptocurrency itself isn’t new. Bitcoin, one of the first decentralized cryptocurrencies, has been around since 2009. In internet years, it might as well be as old as CocaCola and has support from many sides.

Night Live or other shows, they are the butt of most jokes.

In simple terms, cryptocurrencies use digital files for currency, and use digital signatures for secure transactions.

A Rocky Market Media isn’t the only industry side-eyeing these upstart cryptocurrencies. Legacy banks and stalwart investors question its purpose.

One reason they are popular is because no government or person controls them. Instead, a list of transactions, known as a digital ledger, governed by “consensus” from stakeholders, controls them. Best explained visually: The blockchain on which cryptocurrencies are built and traded is much like a spreadsheet with shared access — which cannot change unless a majority agrees to a change. In theory, with large enough numbers, it’s immune to tampering. Even with such a simplified explanation, the lack of understanding around cryptocurrencies has made for ample fodder in mainstream media and especially comedy. If you tune into Saturday

This spring, for example, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, was on SNL to explain Dogecoin and crack jokes at it. SNL did explain cryptocurrency, but Musk’s contrition was poorly received. After his appearance on SNL, Dogecoin dropped by around 30 percent.

Warren Buffett has been a harsh critic, saying Bitcoin will come to a “bad ending” and has called it worthless. He said cryptocurrencies “can’t mail you a check,” and don’t have any value. Long-time Buffett partner, Charlie Munger, was even harsher on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. He called Bitcoin’s success “disgusting” and “useful to kidnappers and extortionists.” These two investors have many years of experience, but both are in their 90s. Cryptocurrency evangelists including Micheal Saylor argue the duo is out of touch with what may be the future of currency.

Not all institutionalists have opposed it. Jay Clayton, former SEC chairman, joined a crypto advisory board and has spoken out against regulating the currency. He stands at odds with current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who believes there needs to be regulation to stop fraud. Elsewhere, central banks have tiptoed upstream of cryptocurrency markets. For example, the European Investment Bank, in April 2021, created an Ethereum (a popular blockchain) based bond. Regulators, in particular, have wrestled with the inevitable onslaught of new coin launches. In 2018, investing in newly launched coins through an “ICO,” or Initial Coin Offering, reached a fever pitch. Purposely analogized to a stockmarket Initial Public Offering or “IPO,” a proportion of ICOs turned out to be unregulated scams and half were effectively worthless by Q2 2018. The ones who succeeded? They suffered losses as well in the downswell. Even those who evangelize cryptocurrencies will admit the market is volatile. But in 2009, what was thought of as a niche trend appears to be here to stay as a viable asset class. But new

uses — specifically Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) might put the utility question to bed. The New Contenders DeFi, short for decentralized finance, takes out the intermediaries in a financial transaction. Celsius Network, one crypt lender, has both DeFi and a more centralized finance network. Meanwhile, NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have taken the art world by storm. NFTs are a token that cannot be altered, and artists can sell NFTs to buyers. The token proves the buyer is the owner of the work. They’re popular amongst many artists. But, NFTs have been criticized as well, with “crypto influencers” including Jonty Wareing articulating the problems with NFTs, including how if the NFT goes bust, the token is worthless. In addition, there are environmental issues stemming from the energy usage to “mine” the cryptocurrencies used to buy NFTs. One analysis found the amount of power used to mine an NFT was the equivalent of a month’s worth of electricity for someone living in the EU. Many artists are taking advantage of them and

seeing success. An artist known as Beeple, whose work usually goes for $100 at the most, earned $69 million for one piece. Celebrities like Paris Hilton have rushed to sell, too, including one piece for $1.1 million. Some people have used NFTs to sell popular memes. “Disaster Girl,” a meme that shows a child smiling in front of a burning house, sold for $500,000 by the girl herself, Zoe Roth. Many different hubs have risen to allow artists to sell their works. Terra Virtua, OpenSea, and ViciNFT are becoming new hubs for artists to take advantage of the craze. A Rocky, but Rewarding Wave The market is unpredictable, but crypto is a Pandora’s Box. It is a much more volatile form of investing compared to stocks and bonds. Most “cryptos” behave like mispriced commodities akin to cocoa, wheat, or crude oil — as if there is supply shock. In other words, volatility reigns. While it is volatile, the rewards can outweigh the risks. That’s why some investors think it’s smart to take chances and remember to HODL. ■ SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

DEPARTMENTS / Artificial Intelligence

Scan Me In!

COVID-19 is rewriting the history of biometrics adoption. By Dr. Jau Huang Biometric technology tends to take on an air of futurism or science fiction when we imagine being able to unlock, pay, or verify with just the use of our faces. Yet, the beginnings of this technology pre-date inventions as old as the diesel engine or vacuum cleaner, with fingerprinting beginning as far back as the 1880s. Today, large tech players like Apple have played an enormous role in making us comfortable with this functional technology, with the 2013 iPhone debuting fingerprint unlocking and Face ID being integrated starting in 2017. The push for the most recent and most secure form of biometrics, facial recognition, has been making its way through nearly every industry since its wider development over the past decade. Nothing has yet fueled the acceleration of this adoption curve more than the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which has underscored a never-before-seen level of demand for secure, remote, and touchless verification. Realizing Remote Authentication in Financial Services The COVID-19 pandemic initiated sweeping changes to the way businesses operate. Now, if you don’t absolutely need to be present in person to open an account or make a purchase, you shouldn’t be. Every person-to-person exchange for a business carries an inherent liability of spreading COVID-19 to either the customer or employee.

to identity theft, credit card fraud, violation of federal regulations or worse. As a result, this industry has been forced to adapt more rapidly to the need for remote authentication during the pandemic, and facial recognition has stepped in as a key solution. From software like FaceMe, eKYC, and Fintech, to Intel’s recently announced RealSense ID, accessible facial recognition solutions have found their way to the financial services market. It allows consumers to securely and easily verify their identity via their computers, smartphones, or bank kiosks, to open accounts, conduct transactions, and more without interacting with a physical person.

Photo: iStockphoto.com/izusek

This widespread cultural change of how we interact with businesses has highlighted how many of our security practices are hinged on inperson verification, whether it be presenting a physical ID card or being matched to your account by looking at your face.

The Push to Touchless Hospitality In the hospitality space, where a remote approach is less practical (good luck experiencing that exotic hotel from your apartment), the industry has quickly jumped on touchless processes as the best solution. From checking in at a hotel or restaurant, to paying, or gaining entry to different areas like the pool or spa, touchless solutions including biometrically enabled kiosks and POS systems are quickly gaining wide adoption.

The stakes for this in-person verification are nowhere else as high than in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) industry, where a false authentication could lead

It’s also critical to acknowledge however, that the pandemic will eventually end, and at some point, life, and the way these industries operate will have to shift closer to normal. However, we

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

expect to see an enduring shift, especially in payments, as individuals who during the pandemic grew accustomed to businesses not taking cash, have finally made the jump to using their Apple Pay or other facial recognitionenabled payment interface. Now onboarded, these individuals are much more likely to continue using this going forward, and we can expect to see biometrics continue to play a larger role in these daily activities. A Greater Focus on HealthTech Biometric technology has long been working its way into hospitals and care centers, as the need for security and identity verification is present at nearly every turn. The COVID-19 pandemic turned hospitals into war zones, and keeping individuals in the right isolated, secure areas was critical in not allowing the virus to spread throughout the facility. The use cases in the medical field also expand far outside the usual realm of access control. Facial recognition-enabled smart medicine cabinets are now ensuring only the appropriate, credentialed staff have access to protected drugs. Facial recognition-enabled security cameras can easily be used to monitor for face mask usage throughout the facility, including whether it’s being worn properly, fully covering the nose and mouth. Even while wearing face masks, in the case of FaceMe, these cameras can still identify and grant access to the appropriate individuals with an up to 95 percent success rate. The COVID-19 pandemic is rewriting the way we approach not only security, but even basic processes like sign-ins and payments across so many industries. While things will eventually begin to shift closer to a new normal, the progress in biometric adoption across industries is something that won’t be undone, and we’ll continue to see greater security and convenience through these applications. ■ Dr. Jau Huang founded CyberLink Corp. in 1996, with a focus on developing world-class digital video and Internet technologies. He currently serves as chairman and CEO.

DEPARTMENTS / Space

BOOTS ON

MARS

IN 2026?

Elon Musk says “yes”.

By Chris Mellides

Being determined to pave the way for a spacefaring future where Earth’s inhabitants might one day colonize a foreign planet may seem like a plot point stripped from an old science fiction serial, but Musk couldn’t be any more serious in his intent. In a January 31 interview with Good Time on the Clubhouse audio-chat app, the tech billionaire claimed that the fate of humanity hinges on its ability to achieve multiplanetary status. And that we may be just five-and-a-half years away from making our start toward that reality. Musk announced in 2017 that a manned spaceflight to the Red Planet would commence in 2024. Adjustments were made to the timeline and the new Starship rocket’s launch date has been moved two years later than Musk had previously proclaimed.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Image courtesy of NASA

One of the most important considerations when it comes to ensuring a successful Mars mission is the timing, according to Musk. Earth and Mars are in sync once every 26 months when the two planets find themselves aligned in “the same quadrant of our solar system.” Launching Starship within this window of time, as narrow as it may be, allows for more timely “interplanetary transfer.”

Image courtesy of NASA

Beginning with engine development in 2012, achievements in the years that followed included the development of the first Starship rocket prototype in 2016. This fully reusable two-stage launch vehicle has undergone several improvements and is designed to bus cargo and eventually become a passenger-carrying spacecraft.

“So, I think, for the first time in the fourand-a-half billion-year history of Earth that [it may be] possible to extend life beyond Earth and make life multi-planetary,” Musk said. “And this window of opportunity may be open for a long time. I hope it is, or it may be open for a short time. And I think it would be wise for us to assume that it’s open for a short time.”

“[If] there’s some chance it’s only open for a short time, we should take advantage of this brief window of opening,” says Musk. “…we can transport life to make life multiplanetary, and humanity is essentially the agent of life in this process.” While that might be true, there are a number of other factors that may make interplanetary travel harder than perhaps even Musk has admitted. If we are to ensure the continued existence of our consciousness, as Musk puts it, addressing those limitations is paramount. Dr. David Klaus, a professor in BioServe Space Technologies at the University of

Image via Wikimedia Commons Steve Jurvetson

While the timeline for a manned spaceflight to Mars has wavered over the years, SpaceX Founder and CEO, Elon Musk, believes that his aerospace company is within reach of meeting its interplanetary goal in 2026.

Will the first human footprint on mars resemble that of the one on the moon? Shown in this rendering, the Perseverance rover was sent along with the first helicopter to fly on the red planet, Ingenuity. Elon Musk has his sights set on 2026 to launch the first manned expedition to Mars on the back of his Starship class vehicles.

Image courtesy of SpaceX

SpaceX-1, the company’s first rocket.

Colorado’s College of Engineering and Applied Science has remained optimistic towards SpaceX achieving its goal but notes that a Mars voyage would be rife with its own unique set of problems. “Getting humans to Mars within a few years from now is an ambitious goal to be sure, but the only likelihood that is certain is that if we don’t try, we definitely won’t get there,” Klaus said. The University of Colorado professor, whose focus area is in bioastronautics, says that the two fundamental functions needed for a successful voyage to Mars are dependable transportation to get there and back, and a reliable habitat to keep the crew alive, healthy and happy for one or more years with minimal-to-no external assistance. “All of this is technologically achievable, but all systems have to work for the duration of the mission, so ensuring reliability is key,” Klaus said. “If there is a problem in low Earth orbit, or even going to the moon, you can get home in a matter of hours to a few days.” Adding, “Once you are en route to Mars, however, there is virtually no turning back if anything goes wrong, so from a general safety perspective, there is simply a lot more risk to accept in this scenario.” Klaus believes that landing a human-sized spacecraft on Mars may be the biggest “novel obstacle” to overcome, followed by launching it again from Mars for the return trip to Earth. “It mostly comes down to launch mass capacity and risk acceptance,” he said.

“ What becomes harder to grapple is how to succeed in interplanetary travel without considerable support from and communication with ground teams.”

a self-sustaining city on Mars, which I think is one of the most important things.” While human beings are knowledgeable enough to launch people and large systems from Earth to orbit for extended durations and have made the International Space Station (ISS) possible, what becomes harder to grapple is how to succeed in interplanetary travel without considerable support from and communication with ground teams. “This means the vehicle and onboard crew will need to become increasingly self-reliant, requiring various technological advances in areas like machine learning and robotics, additive manufacturing, anomaly detection and correction, etc.,” Klaus said. “I think increasing self-reliance and improving radiation protection are probably the two biggest general challenges overall,” he added. It’s the continued pursuit and interest in seeking the answers to questions pertaining to exploration and our humanity that have led NASA to successfully land its space rover Perseverance on Mars in February. For the first time, Earth’s inhabitants were exposed to high-definition video and audio captured from the surface of the Red Planet.

However, Musk has stated that the building blocks for ensuring that the SpaceX crew can return to Earth from Mars are readily accessible on the Red Planet and that a return spaceflight is possible.

So long as our fascination with the cosmos and determination to allow our consciousness to live on for generations to come, interplanetary space exploration and the technology that drives it will continue to flourish.

“On Mars, you need local propellant production, so you take CO2 out of the atmosphere and combine it with the water ice (H2O) to create CH4 methane and oxygen,” Musk said. “If you have those elements, life can become multi-planetary and we can have

“I think we almost have an obligation to ensure that the creatures of Earth continue even if there was a calamity on Earth, which as I said, could be man-made or it could be some natural calamity,” Musk said. “Civilization on Earth can end with a bang or a whimper.” ■

Background photo: iStockphoto.com/cokada

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Innovator Profile

Robosen Robotics By Corey Noles

T9 T9E

It’s not often you see a new product today and have a true “Wow” moment. Unless that is, you have seen the robots produced by Robosen Robotics. Robosen Robotics Co., Ltd. was established in 2008 to provide technical solutions and ODM services for global consumer robot manufacturers. The company is a professional high-tech enterprise focused on robotics with independent research and development, production, marketing, and services. The company has been in the robotics field for the past 12 years specializing in servo motors, robot walking, and mechanical movement technology.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Chairman Samuel Chen was a fan of the Transformers cartoons as a child and wanted to someday be able to create his own line of robots. Well, someday has arrived.

motors, a speaker and microphone, a Bluetooth connection and supports between 30 and 80 voice commands. T9 is controlled via a mobile on your phone or tablet.

Samuel got into robotics young and became an industry leader in the field. He passed up multiple lucrative career opportunities to fulfill his vision of starting his own robotic company.

Since that time, Robosen has designed a variety of other robots including the T9 Planetary Rover, the K1 Pro Interstellar Scout and the K1 Interstellar Scout.

After more than 12 years of research and development and fine tuning the robots, Robosen launched T9, the world’s first advance auto converting robots in the U.S. in 2019.

The next robot, however, is a real-life Optimus Prime from the Transformers, a special project for Robosen. From the rivets on the side panels to the shape of the exhaust pipes, it is an impressive Optimus Prime replica.

The T9 is a vehicle that transforms into a highly functional robot. It contains 22 servo

The upcoming model is already available for

pre-order on their website. According to the company’s U.S. representative, John Wong, the goal is to create an immersive, interactive, entertaining, and educational robot. Wong said Robosen wanted to show the world that with its multiple patented technologies and cost control of its servo motors, it can produce transforming, programmable, and AI robots at a reasonable cost. “We wanted to show that we can create well known robotic branded characters,” Wong said. “We also want to establish our own line of products and we put a lot of efforts into creating our own mobile software to control and program our base robot.” K1

K1 PRO

Robosen wants to be a trend setter and the leader in defining how people can embrace robotics in game play and have them accepted as a utility product in every household. Moving forward, the company will continue to pursue partnerships and work with licensors, like Hasbro, to manufacture their own products. They also plan to push into the robot service industry in the future. “Our core engineer team, multiple patented technology, cost control of our servo motors and the advance technology set us apart from the competition,” Wong said. “We successfully proved to Hasbro that we are able to manufacture a converting robot that impressed the creator of the Transformers robot series.” The company is intent on ensuring it continues to manufacture more fan favorites, while also improving the user experience with the latest technologies built into their robots. ■

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

CONNECTED CAR

The Auto Industry Needs Students to Focus on STEM for its Future

Beyond the ICE In 2020, despite the pandemic, European car buyers bumped up their choice of plug-in cars to 11% of total sales. General Motors expects EVs to account for 40% of its Chinese sales in the next five years. In the U.S., EV-only carmaker Tesla has set a sales record in 2020 of more than a half million sales, even after two down quarters due to the pandemic shutting down its production facilities. EV sales are the tip of the iceberg as automakers around the world double-down on electrifying their lineups. More than 100 new EVs and PHEVs will hit the American market alone during the next four years, according to industry trade journal Automotive News. The consequence of this is that car companies will need to have new hires steeped in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) training. The electric powertrain is the future of the auto industry, but it needs some help. Adapting existing automotive platforms or even traditional automotive configurations to electric drivetrains

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

will not win the day. Automakers need designers and engineers fully versed in the potential of these new technologies in order to create and sell automobiles that will offer buyers fully-realized cars of this new transportation mode. Another Wrinkle — Autonomy In addition to being versed in electric technology, engineers conversant with the potential impact of autonomous technology will also be needed. The challenge for those working on this sea-change of how we view the automobile will need to not only be able to develop this particular set of advanced automotive driver assistance systems, but figure out how to present them to customers who may not fully appreciate the value of these revolutionary technologies. Autonomous vehicles may complicate future designs depending on how the technology is regulated and deployed. This will require a further level of understanding and an ability to communicate the value of these new technologies.

STEM knowledge is critical for future cars & trucks. By Michael Coates Batteries and Other Components Here’s a case where the sum of the parts can only be greater if all of the parts are optimized. In electric vehicles, this is most true when it comes to batteries. While EV batteries have made great strides in price reductions, energy density and packaging advances in the past decade, more breakthroughs are needed. Those breakthroughs will only come from researchers versed in STEM. Some new ways of thinking about batteries are already appearing, the result of an intense focus on technology advancement. Tesla’s recent Battery Day laid out one pathway to a smarter battery future that also reimagined the manufacturing process of not just batteries, but the whole automobile. Others are working on different paths, including solid state batteries that would increase energy density and safety, but currently need further development to lower costs and increase manufacturing scalability. Toyota is leading the charge into solid state batteries, which it sees as the key to

CONNECTED CAR

Photo courtesy of Hyundai

(Facing Page) The GMC HUMMER EV SUV will be built at Factory ZERO, an assembly plant in Detroit and Hamtramck, Mich. (Left) Hyundai launched its fuel cell commercial vehicle roadmap, with the XCIENT Fuel Cell truck. Automated vehicles like Nuro could become more common on the roads as AI improves. Lexus made a bold statement with the premiere of the LF-Z Electrified BEV concept car which symbolizes their next generation vehicles. GM’s versatile Ultium platform provides the building blocks for everything, from mass market to high performance vehicles — all from a single, common cell in most markets and a set of interchangeable propulsion components. The Ultimum will cost 60 percent less than the batteries in use today with twice the energy density expected.

expanding EV acceptance because of their faster charging times and increased safety. Other battery chemistries are also attracting attention from researchers, the result of billions of dollars of government and private capital flowing to this area. It remains to be seen when any of these new approaches to batteries might prove to be a real advance and start to make an impact on the market, but STEM grads will find many avenues to pursue their passions in this arena.

Photo courtesy of Nuro

Photos courtesy of General Motors/Steve Fecht

Photo courtesy of Toyota

Photo courtesy of General Motors

Other Propulsion Systems Batteries and electric drive systems are not the only transportation areas for STEM graduates to pursue. A parallel zero emission technology relies on a fuel cell to pull electrons from hydrogen to produce the electricity to power a car. Everything from fuel cell-powered passenger cars to semi-trucks have been produced, but this field is wide-open for innovation from the chemistry of the fuel to the design of the fuel cell to the vehicle’s overall configuration. As with batteries, to be successful in the marketplace fuel cell powertrains need to become cheaper to produce, more efficient, and their fuel (compressed hydrogen) needs to cost less. Hydrogen-powered big rigs (which have had a recent spike of interest) are another area where automation may play an increasing role and will need to be designed-in to future vehicles. The roles for STEM graduates in the auto industry are broad and deep. The transformation of cars and trucks during the coming decades will rely on core STEM knowledge to advance. These grads will play key roles in an industry reinventing itself for the 21st century. ■ SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

CONNECTED CAR

What the chip shortage tells us about the future of the auto industry. By Michael Coates

TINY CHIP,

HUGE PROBLEM

As one industry executive put it, succinctly, the lack of a $1 microcontroller shut down production lines for $40,000 vehicles and put tens of thousands of autoworkers out of work. Those chips have become a more and more important part of the automobile over the past several decades. Even more significant, many of the vehicles affected by the lack of chips were ones that were making major contributions to the bottom lines of major auto companies. The multi-billion dollar impact of the chip shortage had a complex origin, but more important, it offers a window into future vulnerabilities that are likely to cause similar interruptions. Other than to corporate accountants, the chip shortage of 2021 is likely to be forgotten relatively quickly. The auto industry is known for its resilience, but addressing the cause of this major supply chain hiccup may take the better part of the decade, if it’s addressed at all.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

How We Got Here Automobiles are complex machines and they’re becoming more so in the age of connectivity and automation. Even comparatively simple (compared to more complicated internal combustion engine cars) electric cars like Tesla contain more than 10,000 parts sourced from all over the world. Having those parts arrive at the right place at the right time was a challenge solved in the 20th century by lean manufacturing processes and just-intime ( JIT) deliveries. Generally, the system works — until it doesn’t. In one dramatic example, Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster a decade ago devastated an area where Toyota had manufacturing plants, but also disrupted parts production that halted manufacturing around the world. A less severe earthquake hit the same area in February of this year and caused a similar, though less extreme, chain reaction.

Historically, the auto industry often employed multiple vendors to ensure a backup supply of components, but that changed in recent years as JIT helps drive automakers to better profit margins through less carried part inventory. When auto demand dropped due to the pandemic last year, many automakers cut back on their chip orders, assuming they could turn the supply spigot back on as needed. At the same time, chip demand for nonautomotive uses like iPhones and data centers was escalating because of increased work-fromhome during the pandemic. When auto demand began to ramp back up later in the year, companies found their suppliers couldn’t accommodate them because they were making more money in other markets. Above: Innovations like Mercedes’ all-digital dash revealed at CES rely on chip support. Inset: Nvidia is one chip supplier working directly with automakers as well as other suppliers

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CONNECTED CAR

Tiny Chip, Huge Problem

Left: The connectivity that is standard on most new vehicles is built around microchips in the vehicles’ systems. Above: Tier One suppliers like Continental take microchips and use them in a variety of components they supply to OEMs

Another side note in this story is that the chip suppliers were often buried fairly deep within the supply chain, so when semiconductors stopped showing up, it cascaded upward through the much larger tier one suppliers like Continental and Bosch. Further complications came from the U.S.China trade disputes that raised prices and limited some choices, as well as automotive chips reliance on older manufacturing processes that are on the margins of economic viability. Another added layer of difficulty is something the auto industry is quite familiar with — lead time. Putting up a new chip plant can take more than two years — similar to the issue of developing new vehicle production — so a long-term fix for this issue may be years down the road. The Government to the Rescue? The Biden administration jumped into the chip shortage in February and proposed investigating the issue with a view toward relocating more chip production in the U.S. Given the low margins on automotive chips, it would seem more likely any new factories would be oriented toward gaming or artificial intelligence use, so this may or may not be the relief the auto industry is needing.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Currently, almost 70% of the automotive chip market is produced by the huge factory operation known as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC). While the auto industry depends on TSMC, the automotive chip business accounts for only 3% of TSMC’s operations, even as it produces chips for key automotive suppliers like Renesas, NXP, and Infineon-Cypress (who collectively cover a majority of the automotive market according to IHS Markit). Collectively, the auto industry appears to still be in crisis mode, trying to deal with the imminent issue. They don’t seem to be looking into the systemic problem of a too-thin supply chain and lack of visibility into the lower echelons of that chain where the chip suppliers reside. As one supplier told the Wall Street Journal, “They don’t know how the sausage gets made at the bottom,” even though the automotive chip business globally is a $43 billion industry. Some car companies are reportedly talking directly to chip suppliers in an attempt to stave off a similar problem in the future. Those car companies are not talking publicly because of the complicated supply chain relationships.

Some have publicly struck deals with chip makers like Nvidia, whose high-powered chips are critical to the increasingly advanced technology showing up in cars. Another response, done prior to the current crisis at upstart automaker Tesla, was to take chip design in-house rather than relying on a supplier. Production of the Tesla chips remains outsourced with Samsung or TSMC, but Tesla has much more visibility into the supply chain. It also is working on higher value chips, which may give it more clout when it comes to reliable supply, even if their volume is smaller than some larger rivals. In this area, not surprisingly, Tesla is following fellow tech companies like Amazon, Apple and Google that have gone down similar paths. General Motors, with its take-over San Francisco autonomous car start-up Cruise, may have a better handle on the chip world. Expect other automakers to follow suit, either with technology investments or closer relations with semiconductor companies. The chip is too vital to the modern automobile to be left to chance. Expect to see a shift of focus, though it may take years to have a real impact, either on chip design or production. ■

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Nadia Aly sees the depths of the oceans with an oxygen tank and a camera.

Diving INTO THE

Unknown

By Taylor McLamb / Photos courtesy of Nadia Aly The dark depths of the ocean can seem daunting, especially since 80% of the ocean has yet to be discovered, causing many to fear what unknown entity could lurk just below the surface.

However, for award-winning wildlife photographer Nadia Aly, the ocean is her second home. Aly spends 250 days out of the year submerged in the water, traveling all over the globe, to capture intimate moments with beautiful marine life in their natural habitat. By bravely swimming face-to-face with some of the most intimidating animals to capture a once-ina-lifetime photo to taking people on expeditions with her company Scuba Diver Life Expeditions, Aly hopes to bring awareness to all the breathtaking creatures that also call Earth home. In this exclusive interview, Aly chats with Innovation & Tech Today about the meaning behind her work, the technology that makes her passion possible, and why helping people overcome their fear of the ocean can be so rewarding.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Innovation & Tech Today: Your photography is absolutely stunning. What do you hope viewers take away from your work?

Nadia Aly: I think my main reason why I focus on ocean animals so well is because so many people don’t go into the ocean. They’re so scared of it. A very high percentage of people don’t spend time in the ocean. So with my work, I want to capture these animals and share them with people around the world and show people that a hairy frogfish does exist and a mantis shrimp does exist and bring voices to these animals that are so frequently overlooked. You think about the access to animals on land, like gorillas, monkeys, even praying mantis, all sorts of different animals. It’s so much easier to access and view and capture these animals. When you get into underwater photography, you have so many more things and so many more challenges in front of you. First of all, you’re on a tank and your tank air is limited by air, right? And you need to be welltrained in case something happens so that you can abort and get to the surface so you don’t die. On top of that, when it comes to photography,

you have visibility of the water, you have the currents in the ocean. Sometimes you can get gnarly currents. You have the movement of yourself versus the animal. It’s not like you can stake out a lion and sit there for eight hours. You can’t do that in the ocean, right? That’s not something that can happen. So there’s all these different challenges that come into play when you get into underwater photography specifically. I think that’s what makes it so special, because when you get one of these captures, it’s more special because it was that much more challenging. I&T Today: Can you tell me about the technology that you use to take these photos during your dives and how the technology has changed since you first started? NA: Technology wise, when it comes strictly to underwater photography, we’re using mirrorless or DSLR cameras and we’re using underwater housings. Those housings have to be tested and ergonomic so that you have all camera functions available to you while you’re underwater.

‘‘

I THINK THE BEST FEEDBACK IS BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE THESE EXPERIENCES FOR SO MANY PEOPLE. IT’S SO MANY PEOPLE’S DREAMS TO SWIM AND SEE WHALES…

’’

Live vicariously through underwater photographer Nadia Aly as she captures up-close photos of sea creatures from around the world. Featured here (upper left) is a Reef octopus from South Africa, (upper right) Comensal shrimp with eggs in Indonesia, (lower left) Seahorse from Indonesia, and (lower right) the peacock mantis shrimp.

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Diving Into the Unknown

While hardware technology has played a huge role in Nadia Aly’s development, software innovations are where the big changes came from. Final Cut Pro, Lightroom, and Photoshop have changed the photography game forever.

It’s interesting to see the development of the technology for underwater just in the past 10 years, because when I started, they didn’t have simple things like port and dome locks, meaning the dome port, which is the glass area that goes over your lens and connects to the housing could slide open, and that actually happened to me once. A few years later, I would even say in 2015, they started coming out with a port lock, so you wouldn’t have that failure when you’re underwater. A good example was when I was in Indonesia. This was probably 2012, my camera was in the housing and the boat was taking us to the dive site and the boat was obviously hitting the water and bobbing up and down. That bobbing up and down motion was turning my dome. When I got into the water, my dome popped off and my whole rig flooded because they didn’t have dome locks at the time. Then outside of that, you’ve got postproduction technology, you’ve got Lightroom, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, things

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

like that. It’s very digital. I&T Today: Have these advances in technology made an impact on your work? NA: I think the hardware technology has definitely made an impact to prevent flooding. Other than that, I think the advances within post software editing, like Final Cut for video editing or Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop, there are small things that come out every year that help with post-production workflow that just at the end make things easier. I think as we move forward with technology, things do become a little bit easier. I always say to people, underwater photography is 50% getting the photo and then the other 50% is post producing that photo and making it come to life in post-production. I&T Today: What has been the best feedback you’ve received from someone who has attended an expedition with you through Scuba Diver Life Expeditions? NA: I think when people come on expeditions with me, the primary goal is to get great

interactions with wildlife in the water. My trips to Tonga that I specialize in, I bring about 400 people a year to Tonga to swim with the whales. That is, for so many people, life-changing because interacting with a 40-ton animal is… There’s no words to dictate the feeling or emotion that comes out of spending 30 minutes within 10 feet of a humpback whale staring and rolling around with you. I think the best feedback is being able to provide these experiences for so many people. It’s so many people’s dreams to swim and see whales like humpback whales in specific. That to me is really a fulfilling thing that makes me happy. The feedback is just the gracious attitude and emotion that people have when they get these closeup wildlife encounters. That means the world to them. It’s really about the experience and those moments. That’s what life is. That’s all you can take with you when you leave Earth, right? Is your experience? It’s really emotional and very meaningful for so many different people. ■

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Fieldmaster Ideal for everyday adventures or odd jobs in the garden, the versatile Fieldmaster pocket knife works just as well outdoors as it does on indoor projects. With 15 features, from blades to a bottle opener, scissors to screwdrivers and wire strippers to a saw, the Fieldmaster won’t let you down. This is a multi-tool you’ll use over and over again and wonder how you ever managed to get things done without it. $38

Ember Travel Mug2 Ember Travel Mug2 features a lighter design and an extended battery life of up to 3 hours. Pair with the sleek, more streamlined charging coaster for all-day battery life. Control your temperature with the new touch display or from your smartphone. Use the Ember app to set your temperature, customize presets for your favorite drinks, receive notifications when your desired temperature is reached, name your mug, and more. $180

Invoxia Cellular GPS Tracker The Cellular GPS Tracker has a host of advanced features including its ability to work inside and outdoors as well as its exceptional battery life of up to 4 months! It is discreet, compact and portable enough to be placed virtually anywhere. These features are thanks to a novel combination of radio technology protocols that switch between Bluetooth and LTE CAT-M1, 4G network. It is ideal for keeping cars, bikes, motorcycles and scooters safe, locating often misplaced valuables like bags, luggage and backpacks, as well as loved ones of all ages secure. $129

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Ember Mug2: Stainless Steel Edition Stainless Steel Edition is a new take on Ember’s classic smart mug, and is guaranteed to make every morning shine. Ember allows you to set your preferred drinking temperature (from 120°F - 145°F), so you can enjoy your hot drink — just the way you like it — from the first sip to the last drop. Ember Mug² maintains your chosen drinking temperature for up to 1.5 hours with the built-in battery, or all day with the included charging coaster. $130

GEAR GUIDE Big Turtle Shell Ultra The Big Turtle Shell Ultra from OutdoorTechnology.com is a large, waterproof, rugged Bluetooth speaker that is loud, sounds amazing and is unlike any other. Your mind is already made up, you want one but wait…there’s more! A built-in lantern for mood lighting, power bank for charging devices, and the ability to wirelessly pair multiple Big Turtle Shell Ultra’s together! So now you want two of them, that’s okay, we’ll let you get two but only you because you’re special. Here’s your participation trophy. $180 + free shipping

Lion Energy Safari LT Experience the freedom of 500 watts of zero-emission power in an easy-to-carry, 11-pound package. A lithium-ion battery offers more than 1000 full cycles of use. Plus, this little generator goes from zero to fully charged in just five to seven hours using solar, wind, water, or AC. With four USB ports, two AC ports, and a 12V port, the LT can power anything you throw at it. Charge your phone 32 times on a single cycle, run a 55” TV for five hours, or a four-watt LED lamp for 80 hours. With so many options, it’s hard to go wrong with the sustainable versatility of the Safari LT. Use code ITT for 15% off your purchase. $599

Rylo Rylo is a powerful little 360° camera powered by innovative software to create larger-than-life, cinematic video in beautiful 5.8k resolution. It captures everything around you with breakthrough stabilization technology. When you're done shooting, simply connect Rylo to your smartphone and use the Rylo app to easily edit and create a video you're proud to share. $499

BioLite Fire Pit The latest upgrade to the BioLite FirePit creates hyperefficient flames with patented airflow technology and gives you a front-row seat to the magic thanks to the X-Ray mesh body. Lift the fuel rack and toss in charcoal to transform it from a fire pit to a portable hibachi-style grill, complete with included grill grate. Control the size of your flames manually or remotely with the free Bluetooth app. $250

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Health Tech Presented By

The COVID-19 Benefit

How the pandemic sent medical technology into hyper speed. By Corey Noles

every hospital, every clinic, every health center, and every lab in the nation.

Health care professionals, along with public health officials, scrambled nationwide to gather consistent and accurate data on the true state of COVID-19 in the U.S. Data had to come from

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

“There’s not been a major bottleneck, but there are a bunch of minor bottlenecks that we have had and will have to work through,” he said in early spring. By press time the state of Missouri had vaccinated nearly 3 million people.

Photo courtesy of U.S. F.D.A.

“The pandemic taught us a lot about innovation in real time and learning from those innovations would work over time,” Abernethy said. “I think there’s many different ways that consumers and health care professionals are all partners in a pandemic. The real lesson is about collaboration and communication.”

Dr. Alex Garza

Bumps in the Road Dr. Alex Garza, chief community health officer of SSM and head of the St. Louis Pandemic Task Force, reiterated similar concerns. While there were difficulties all along, the vaccine presented a unique set of challenges due to a lack of central processing at the federal level. “Tracking the cold chain, supply interruptions, distribution struggles — there’s been a few bumps in the road and there’s no sense in trying to explain those away,” Garza said. “There are a number of challenges. In the beginning it was how do we get our vaccine and when? How will

Photo courtesy of SSM Hospital

The Rise of Telemedicine “For digital health we often think of the pandemic of the rise of telemedicine, but it’s more than that,” said Amy Abernethy, principal deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. “It’s the pairing of telemedicine with remote sensors and the ability to communicate that back to a physician. Secondly, not only was data important to how we manage the pandemic, but getting and processing the data was the real trick.”

The next question, he said, and possibly the most difficult, is to understand why some people do not want the vaccination.

Different places shared different standards from hospital to hospital and state to state. This presented a mountainous challenge to healthcare professionals.

What was believed to be the technology of five years down the road, has overnight become the technology of today. Telemedicine has grown to levels overnight they didn’t expect for many years, leaving the industry rushing to open call centers and signing doctors on as caregivers across the planet.

Amy Abernethy

we store it? How will we get it distributed?”

Dr. David Rhew

The Early Lack of a Centralized Response Dr. David Rhew, chief medical officer & VP of global healthcare for Microsoft, stressed the difficulty that not having a centralized response created for healthcare professionals nationwide. Garza said that at the local level those struggles had been quite real. “Data flowing in from labs and such was coming in fax machines and stuff like that,” he said. One thing is for certain, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed medical technologies and regulatory advancements forward by many years. ■

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

It’s tough to say there can be any benefit to a pandemic that has strewn a path of destruction across the globe. But, there is at least one — the launch of medical technology years into the future.

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RISE of the Home

The

It’s never been easier to bring retro gaming into your garage or man cave. By John Gaudiosi

ARCADE

Even before the global pandemic quarantined most of the world inside their homes for a year and counting, the retro gaming craze had established itself as more than just a fad. COVID-19 only exacerbated this phenomenon as the World Health Organization (WHO) advised people to stay home and play video games (in separate recommendations). As the rise of the man cave has opened more space for gaming in the basement, garage (and even she-shed), companies like AtGames, Arcade1Up, and IrrCade have established themselves as major players in the straight-to-home arcade cabinet business. I’m old enough to have spent countless hours in old school arcades back in the ’70s and ’80s. While the quarter-munching games were amazing and continue to attract new audiences to this day across every platform, the cigarette smoke, greasy, germ-coated joysticks, and sticky floors weren’t part of the charm. New arcade cabinets eliminate the quarters, offer multiple games (if not entire libraries at your fingertips), and allow all of the multiplayer fun to occur safely inside your virus-free home.

Legends Arcade, $600, AtGames.net Home arcade units have come a long way over the years. The great thing about this cabinet is that it’s full-sized but very light and easy to assemble in a matter of minutes. It’s also nice that the unit comes packed with 300 classic games, including great titles like Asteroids, Burger Time, Lunar Lander, Tempest, Tetris, Centipede, Space Invaders, and Missile Command. The library includes actual arcade versions as well as an assortment of Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, and NeoGeo games. There’s also the option of BYOG to stream your Steam library from your PC. Plus you can access an additional selection of over 80 games through the ArcadeNet subscription service, which starts at $10 per month. The 1080p visuals and stereo sound bring the action to life, while the joystick, button, and trackball controls are solid and accurate. Two player support allows you to take on virtual challenges with friends. The sheer depth of pack-in content and expandable library makes this the one cabinet to have in your place.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Photo courtesy of AtGames.net

NBA Jam, Arcade1Up, $500 There are certain games that have stood the test of time and demand a full four-player experience. The ’90s hoops hit NBA Jam is one of those titles. Arcade1Up has delivered an authentic recreation of the original over-the-top, boom-shakalaka experience with this home cabinet. It comes packed with the original NBA Jam as well as NBA Jam Tournament Edition and NBA Hangtime. All of these titles support four-player joystick and button controls, and there’s room for friends to gather around the 17-inch HD screen and play two-on-two arcade ball. This unit comes with an adjustable NBA Jam stool for long solo gaming sessions. The cabinet is also Wi-Fi enabled, allowing for online multiplayer sessions with friends who aren’t in town. The beauty of this franchise is that you don’t have to be a huge NBA fan to get hooked on the action. It’s one cabinet that will satisfy just about anyone. Outrun, Arcade1Up, $550 I spent my high school summers at the Jersey Shore playing way too much Gauntlet and Outrun. While there’s not a new Gauntlet home machine (yet), this sit-down arcade racing game is a must-have for any man cave.

Photos courtesy of Arcade1Up

Sega has included four driving games in this collection, including the original Outrun, Turbo Outrun, Outrunners, and Power Drift. All of these games support the steering wheel, shifter and pedals to replicate the authentic arcade experience. The custom bench can be disconnected if space is an issue and the cabinet works as a standup experience, but sitting down is how the original game was meant to be played. Racing virtually across country has never been more fun than in this retro classic.

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

The Rise of the Home Arcade

Star Wars Arcade Cabinet, Arcade1Up, $470 Long before the prequels and sequels, Lucasfilm licensed its original Star Wars Trilogy to Atari to serve up a trio of vector graphics 3D arcade machines. That trilogy has been captured in this cool cabinet, which features the original yoke from the ’80s games. Players pilot an assortment of ships from George Lucas’ films and relive the key battles in retro 3D. The colorful visuals (a la Atari’s BattleZone but with more colors) still stand out today as unique. Given the fact that these games aren’t available elsewhere, and the controls are much different than a typical machine, this is definitely a cabinet for any Star Wars fan. It’s been hard to find since the pandemic, but is definitely one to keep an eye out for online.

Golden Axe, Arcade1Up, $500 Sega’s collection of 16-bit multiplayer games offers up to four-player cooperative support with these five classic games. Golden Axe and its sequel, Revenge of Death Adder, are the headliners here, allowing friends to choose their warrior and take on a horde of enemies. These button-mashers are great fun using the four joystick controllers and button combinations. Also included in this library are Shinobi, Altered Beast, and Wrestle War. All are solid multiplayer offerings. ■ Photos courtesy of Arcade1Up

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Speed MEETS Mobility CES 2021: AMD Bringing Ryzen 5000 Series to Ultra-Thin Laptops By Corey Noles

Photos courtesy of AMD

AMD made the day of millions of PC gamers around the globe at CES 2021. The company announced it will move its full line of AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile Processors to the laptop market. New laptops powered by Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile processors are available from major PC manufacturers including ASUS, HP, and Lenovo. Throughout 2021, AMD expects a broad portfolio of more than 150 consumer and commercial notebooks based on the Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile Processors. “As the PC becomes an even more essential part of how we work, play and connect, users demand more performance, security, and connectivity,” said Saeid Moshkelani, senior vice president and general manager, client business unit, AMD. “The new AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop and Mobile Processors bring the best innovation AMD has to offer to consumers and professionals as we continue our commitment to delivering best-in-class experiences with instant responsiveness, incredible battery life, and fantastic designs. With our PC partners, we are delivering top-quality performance and nocompromise solutions alongside our record-breaking growth in the notebook and desktop space in the previous year.”

AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Mobile Processors Building upon the previous generation of leadership mobile processors, the 5000 Series includes high-performance H- and ultra-mobile U-Series processors. At the top of the product stack, 5000 H-Series Mobile Processors deliver impressive gaming experiences by combining unmatched performance with outstanding battery life, featuring up to 8 cores and 16 threads and built on the new AMD “Zen 3” architecture. Topping out the mobile processor offering, the HX Series processors provide gamers and creators with elite-level performance while HS processors bring the power of H-Series in thinner and lighter form factors. The new 5980HX processor is capable of up to 23% increased single-threaded performance and up to 17% faster multi-threaded performance over the previous generation2, making it the ideal solution for gaming and creator notebooks. For mainstream consumers looking for performance on-the-go, the AMD Ryzen 5000 U-Series Mobile Processors offer an ideal blend of performance and efficiency. The new AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor offers: • Up to 16% more single-threaded performance and up to 14% faster multithreaded performance over the previous generation

• Up to an incredible 17.5 hours of general usage battery life and up to 21 hours of movie playback on a single charge These processors provide new levels of productivity and collaboration along with seamless manageability to meet the ever-shifting demands of modern work environments. It will aslo offer enterprise-level security features with innovative layers of defense at the silicon, OS and platform levels, giving IT teams confidence their PCs have protection, no matter where their workforce is stationed. AMD Ryzen Desktop Processors AMD also announced reduced-TDP alternatives to the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X desktop processors, coming to pre-built OEM systems only. Powered by the new “Zen 3” core architecture and with a lower 65W TDP, the processor offers an average of 24% faster 1080p gaming across select titles compared to the prior generation. Additionally, AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO Processors are now directly available to consumers. Threadripper PRO Processors offer an unmatched feature set to workstation customers with up to 64 cores, 8 channels of memory, RDIMM and LRDIMM support, 128 PCIe Gen 4 lanes, and AMD PRO security technologies. ■ SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

JENNA TALKS LIFE & ELFMAN FEAR DEAD

THE WALKING

By Allison Kugel

In AMC’s hit series, Fear the Walking Dead, the post-apocalyptic spin-off series of The Walking Dead, now in the second half of its sixth season, actress Jenna Elfman brings a tour de force performance as former ICU nurse and apocalypse survivor, June Dorie. Her character carries significant trauma, and Elfman plays each note to perfection amid a flawless ensemble cast. What makes Jenna Elfman so interesting to watch on screen are her exotic blue eyes that dance wildly in comedic roles and simmer with intent during heavier, more dramatic onscreen moments. Having come into our homes in the late 1990s and early 2000s as spirited Dharma Finkelstein on the Chuck Lorre created sitcom, Dharma & Greg, and later in romantic comedy films like Keeping the Faith and EDtv, audiences got to know the funny platinum blonde livewire that embodied a younger Jenna Elfman. As Jenna puts it during our conversation, “young ingenue” roles were her lane for many years; whether playing opposite Matthew McConaughey or Ben Stiller, her characters were somebody’s wife or somebody’s girlfriend. Jenna Elfman yearned to tackle the kind of self-contained, multi-dimensional character work she now enjoys with her role in Fear the Walking Dead. Innovation & Tech Today: What parallels do you draw between the year 2020 and your apocalyptic show, Fear of The Walking Dead? Jenna Elfman: Good question. We really got to see what people do when their survival is threatened (laugh). You see the ones that tend

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Photo: CSI, Scientology Media Productions

Rubén Blades as Daniel Salazar and Jenna Elfman as June, in season 6, episode 9 of Fear the Walking Dead.

to help, and you see the ones that tend to hoard, and everything in between. I think with the extreme example of what we do on Fear, which portrays a true apocalypse setting, it is an extreme version of the homeopathic dose we saw manifest amongst ourselves last year. I&T Today: And your take on our current society and culture? JE: Changing, and hopefully evolving… I&T Today: What do you think the upside would be if we needed to rebuild our society from the ground up, like in Fear? JE: There is always a greater opportunity for harmony and tolerance, and a broader and enlightened sense of each other, and respect. I would always hope that as a culture changes, it would improve in those ways so that we could [collectively] expand our culture in a way that is safer and more fun to live within. I&T Today: I first became aware of you years ago from your sitcom, Dharma & Greg. I remember seeing you in different settings, on red carpets, and thinking, “What’s the deal with this woman? Why is she so happy?” I don’t know if that is your 24/7 being, or if that is what you portrayed publicly. But there is a lightness to you. Where does that come from?

Jenna Elfman shares a scene with Colby Minifie (Virginia) in season 6 episode 9. Virginia and her rangers are involved in a standoff with another of the groups

JE: I love living life. I think life is fun and people are interesting, I have always been that way. I don’t know if it is my 24/7. I certainly move through all the human emotions like a normal person, but I do, as a general living condition, enjoy living life. Even the problems I tend to enjoy because I like to try to solve them. You feel so kickass when you solve problems, and that’s part of the adventure and I enjoy that. I also genuinely enjoy and love people. I&T Today: Did you want to take the role of June in Fear the Walking Dead to explore a darker, grittier side of yourself? Is that what attracted you to this show? JE: As an artist, I was craving a new opportunity to express myself in a different way. I love comedy! Comedy always comes from, to me, a sense of the tragic and the absurd. That comedy is a result of tragedy and exposing the humor of it. There is a certain kinetic rhythm to comedy which I love, but I was craving a change

Photos: Ryan Green/AMC

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

Jenna Elfman Talks Life & Fear the Walking Dead and I was craving a way to express myself as an artist, in a different way, and looking for that opportunity. Then Fear came along and offered me this great role, and it was exactly what I was craving. I also wanted to express myself in a more mature way than how I had been seen previously. I felt the bulk of my career had been expressing myself kind of through a young ingenue’s viewpoint. Having aged a bit and lived life, and had so many experiences, I now wanted to express myself, artistically, through the viewpoint of a woman and bring that to my work.

decision about someone, that is prejudice. I am pre-judging somebody before I’ve ever met them and before they have had the opportunity to show me who they are. So, I don’t do that at all anymore and I know that I have changed and grown, and I would certainly like others to give me the opportunity to show and be who I am through my current actions and behaviors. It is much more exciting to allow someone to show you who they are in the present moment, and then make decisions based off that.

I&T Today: I get that. This show is heavy and intense at times. Do you bring parts of it home with you?

I&T Today: What has been your greatest lesson, and how have you used that lesson in your life? JE: The greatest lesson that I have ultimately taken along my journey is that I do not, as a policy, make assumptions about people at all anymore. Until I have had ample time with them, and I have shared experiences with them where they define who they are to me. I do not make decisions based on rumor, hearsay, or things I’ve read. I refuse to, because it is almost always wrong, and you are shortchanging somebody. Also, people change and grow and learn. If I make a snap assumption and a

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

I&T Today: I like that. What item still remains on your bucket list? JE: I really want to go to Greece. There was five years of my early education where I went to a Greek Orthodox school in our neighborhood, and we got to learn about Greek culture and religion. We learned the Greek language, and I love Greek people so much. There is just something incredibly special to me about Greece, and I’ve always wanted to go there to experience and fully immerse myself in that beautiful culture. I&T Today: What would you still like to attempt in your career? JE: I would like to continue the opportunity of character work. That is what I love about acting so much, is the ability to live many lives in one lifetime through these characters. I am really kind of obsessed with the journey of acting and growing as an actor. That is really my jam right now. I love and will always do comedy, but I accomplished a lot in comedy. I’m on this new journey of becoming a dramatic actress and expanding my abilities in that way. I’m craving the opportunity to play more characters and to work with great artists to grow and learn from working with them. Photo: Ryan Green/AMC

JE: I do not bring parts of it home. It is not a very mushy psychological situation for me. When the cameras are rolling, I am June. All my preparation at home, spending hours working on the script, researching it, and working through the scenes prepares me for when the cameras are rolling so I can wholly and fully be that character. When they say cut, I’m back to Jenna. For me, the story lives in me, as just that, a story. I am always contemplating the story and how I want to play tomorrow’s scenes as far as understanding my character more deeply. But I don’t bring the character home. I have too many hats to wear at home as it is, and that would make things way too difficult (laughs). You and I are both boy moms… and your son is very handsome by the way.

world. I think to be curious about the world and life, and about other people. I hope I would inspire others to be curious and interested in life, and always reaching into life and not backing away from it. Be brave, be interested, and don’t be scared to communicate.

I&T Today: You recently moved from California to Texas, where Fear the Walking Dead shoots? Do you miss L.A.? JE: Yes, I used to commute to Austin every week or every two weeks where we film the show, and with COVID-19 happening, that commuting was not going to be a reality anymore, and now that I’m homeschooling my kids, it was like, “Okay, why not?” Austin is a great city, the people are super friendly, and the food is outstanding. We found a great neighborhood in a cul-de-sac and everybody is so nice. I don’t miss L.A. right now because it has gotten pretty dark there. It feels kind of apocalyptic in L.A. right now. I grew up in L.A., I was born and raised there, and it’s not the city I grew up in right now, but it will revive itself. I&T Today: What do you think you are here to teach? JE: I would hope to impact people by inspiring them to have a healthy curiosity about the

I&T Today: Lastly, what is in store for your character June as this new season progresses. JE: There are some big June stories coming. We are going to see this new strong, but challenged, side to her and she has more story to go through. I think viewers are really going to enjoy it. ■ Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment and pop culture columnist and author of the book, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record. Follow her on Instagram @ theallisonkugel and at AllisonKugel.com.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY DXRACER

SITTING ON AIR

DXRacer has been at the top of the gaming chair field since its introduction in 2006. In 2021, they have made a unique entry into their product line with the DXRacer Air. The DXRacer Air is unlike other traditional gaming chairs, as it’s more comparable to top ergonomic chairs than conventional gaming chairs. It is a true blend of both styles that has been missing from the chair market. The DXRacer Air is entirely different than other DXRacer’s sitting experiences. It starts with the material, while most gaming chairs use a form of leather. Instead, the Air swaps it up for a breathable and eco-friendly mesh. The mesh is smooth but also strong making it very wear-resistant. The chair is comprised of recycled materials. The leather change also means a difference in the cushion, as memory foam is replaced by suspension springs on the sides of the chair. Suspension springs are typically used in automobiles to create a stable and comfortable ride. The springs fit nicely as a replacement for a cushion. As you slightly sink into the mesh when sitting for a tranquil sitting experience. Plus, the springs allow the middle to be open-air, allowing you to sit and remain cool. We have yet to mention the lumbar support featured in the chair. It is one of the many changes that differentiate this between your standard gaming chair and the Air. As there is no lumbar pillow, it is replaced by an integrated lumbar support system. An adjustable bar allows you to fit the support to your comfort level within a 15 cm range. In addition, the rail-mounted lumbar support system allows a more robust and customizable back support. The head pillow remains like in other DXRacer chairs, but it is now a much larger pillow shaped to a person’s whole head. It is a definitive upgrade over standard gaming chair neck support pillows. The Air is also a part of DXRacer’s modular series. This adds another layer to customization for the user. There are quite a few additional pieces sold separately that are used to customize the chair, including a highly useful multi-functional bracket. It is a sturdy laptop and phone holder that turns your chair into a workstation or helps create more desk space. Users can also add a Bluetooth speaker headrest, cup holder, footrest, and an RBG lighting back. If you don’t prefer the mesh style, you can also customize your chair with a leather or soft furlike cover. The DXRacer Air is one of the best chairs on the market. There is a chair for everyone with the many combinations you can form with a few different colors and plenty of customization options. The Air is a unique mix of gaming chairs and ergonomic chairs with plenty to customize. ■ SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

connected life

Connected Life: CES 2021 Intel, Mobileye Set Sights on Autonomous Cars for All Intel and Mobileye have set an ambitious goal — autonomous cars everywhere, for everyone.

Image courtesy of Mercedes Benz

Mercedes-Benz Presents the MBUX Hyperscreen The new MBUX Hyperscreen from Mercedes-Benz made its debut at the first all-digital Consumer Electronics Show (CES). With a width of 141 centimeters, the unique screen unit consisting of three apparently seamlessly merged displays is not only the largest human-machine interface built by Mercedes-Benz to date, but also by far the most intelligent — aesthetically impressive, radically easy to operate, and downright eager to learn. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the display and operating system adapt completely to the user and make personalized suggestions for numerous infotainment, comfort and vehicle functions depending on the situation. The MBUX Hyperscreen will be launched in the fully electric EQS luxury saloon. “The new MBUX Hyperscreen combines unique electrical aesthetics with outstanding user-friendliness. A decisive strength is the clever networking of all systems based on intelligent, adaptive software. This makes the Hyperscreen the brain of the car; it’s connected to and communicates with all components of the vehicle,” said Sajjad Khan, Mercedes-Benz AG and CTO.

Autonomous cars were a super hot topic at CES 2021, with dozens of companies Image courtesy of Intel Corporation introducing their solution. Mobileye, an Intel Company, previewed its strategy and technology that will enable autonomous vehicles (AV) to fulfill their promise globally. During two sessions at Consumer Electronics Show, Mobileye President and CEO Amnon Shashua explained how Mobileye is set up to win globally in the AV industry. “The backing of Intel and the trinity of our approach means that Mobileye can scale at an unprecedented manner,” Shashua said. “From the beginning, every part of our plan aims for rapid geographic and economic scalability — and today’s news shows how our innovations are enabling us to execute on that strategy.” In describing the trinity of the Mobileye approach, Shashua discussed the importance of delivering a sensing solution that is orders of magnitude more capable than human drivers. He will describe how Mobileye’s technology — including Road Experience Management (REM) mapping technology, rules-based Responsibility-Sensitive Safety (RSS) driving policy and two separate, truly redundant sensing subsystems based on world-leading camera, radar and lidar technology — combine to deliver such a solution.

Bosch Doubles Down on AIoT for 2021 Bosch, once a simple automotive parts company, made it clear during the CES 2021 opening keynotes that company executives see its future leading the AIoT field. AIoT, the artificial intelligence of things, is still a budding field with companies around the globe diving in headfirst. While Siri and Alexa fit the bill, as a technology, this goes so much deeper into various household items and increasingly autonomous vehicles. For Stuttgart, Germany-based Bosch, that focus begins with health and safety. “We combine AI and connectivity to form the AIoT, which helps us improve energy efficiency and fight the coronavirus,” says Michael Bolle, Bosch board of management member. “AIoT offers enormous potential. We are already unlocking this potential and plan to expand our efforts in the future.” Leading the way is a rapid COVID-19 home test it developed. The test detects Covid in about 30 minutes. The company also showed off a sensor that measures factors such as air quality and relative humidity. This delivers information about the concentration of aerosols in the air — data that is important in the fight against coronavirus.

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

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Sony Unveiled its Airpeak Drone Sony has a new drone. It’s called Airpeak. And you want it. The highlight of Sony’s CES 2021 Media Day press conference was the unveiling of Airpeak. This drone is a part of its project in the area of AI robotics. Sony launched the Airpeak brand with the goal to further develop today’s drone technology while achieving the utmost in value creation. As the first phase of this project, Sony will launch a new business targeted for professional photography and video production in the spring of 2021. In order to fully support the creativity of video creators, the payload of the drone can be equipped with an Alpha mirrorless camera to capture high quality, full frame aerial photography and video. Airpeak, the industry’s smallest class of drone that can be equipped with the Alpha system, is capable of dynamic filming and precise, stable flight, and aims to contribute to the world of entertainment while also pursuing new possibilities for creative expression.

Panasonic Brings AI-Enhanced Awareness to Drivers with AR HUD Panasonic announced a new Augmented Reality (AR) vehicle HUD that could improve driver safety for years to come. Panasonic utilizes its latest advances in optics, volume optimization and imaging technology, combined with AI technology from its SPYDR cockpit domain controller to render near-field and far-field content for vehicle information (like speed), object and pedestrian detection, and mapping/ route guidance, for a seamless, more engaged and informed driver experience. “The HUD market is one of the fastest growing categories in mobility, but traditional HUDs only cover a small section of the road,” said Scott Kirchner, president Panasonic Automotive and executive director, Panasonic Smart Mobility. “Panasonic’s AR HUD solutions cover more of the roadway, with traditional cluster content like speed and fuel in the near field as well as 3D overlays in the far field, showing navigation, and other critical driver data mapping spatially to the road ahead.” Panasonic’s Augmented Reality HUD system projects 3D, AI-driven key information into the driver’s line of sight to help reduce driver distraction and potentially increase safety on the road.

Verizon, UPS, and Skyward Announce Drone Delivery Drone delivery took a giant leap toward reality with a huge announcement from Verizon, UPS, and Skyward. Skyward, A Verizon company, and UPS Flight Forward add “have combined for a group effort to deliver retail products with drones connected to Verizon 4G LTE, as well as 5G testing and integration for delivery. “We will need the ability to manage and support multiple drones, flying simultaneously, dispatched from a centralized location, operating in a secure and safe environment. To do this at scale, alongside Verizon and Skyward, we’ll need the power of 5G,” said Carol B. Tomé, CEO of UPS. The logistical struggles of such an ambitious project are very real, but the companies seem to be ready to make the jump. ■ SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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The Virtual Vacation: Around the World in Your Easy Chair By Chris Mellides The spread of COVID-19 has fundamentally disrupted everyday life for millions of people throughout the world. For many, travel plans have been canceled or delayed indefinitely. However, if there were a way to explore exotic places from the comfort of your own home, would you do it? The global pandemic has given rise to innovation within the travel space, and the answer to some travelers’ wanderlust woes may come in the form of virtual tours. This means of cultural immersion has garnered renewed interest as many people want to experience sightseeing but cannot during this continued period of isolation. All throughout social media there are many guided events being advertised that promise to give participants a glimpse of some of the best museums, historical sites, and travel destinations the world has to offer. Moreover, there are many tours that are being offered at little to no cost by well-known and trusted organizations. Girl Travel Tours (GTT) is one such organization that initially offered Girl Scouts and their families and friends chaperoned international service-learning trips each summer. Eventually, GTT transitioned online and began offering virtual tours to anyone interested in travel. During the beginning of the pandemic, GTT group leader, Marah Walsh, saw tragedy impacting the lives of so many people and witnessed many of her friends “making masks and collecting cleaning supplies to distribute.” It

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wasn’t long before she felt that she had to do her part to help those in need of a fun distraction. “I really wanted to do my share and volunteer in some way to help the greater good during this time of so much sadness and emotional struggle,” Walsh said. “And as a business professional and volunteer adult Girl Scout, who has a marketing background and understands technology pretty well, I thought this may be something I could do to ‘make the world a better place’ during the lock-down.” Walsh also says that the appeal of virtual tours comes from the participants’ lack of interactivity during the pandemic and that virtual sightseeing is just one more option to provide a relaxing and educational escape. Some of the more popular virtual destinations have been to the Amalfi Coast, an African safari, and the Highlands of Scotland, according to Walsh, who has acted as a guide to these destinations. “It also offers professional guided tours of many regions people may have on their bucket list or may never get to but have an interest in learning about,” Walsh said. “My tours are educational in nature. A blend of history, culture, and fun.” Virtual tours, like those that Walsh leads, are being advertised on Facebook and via e-mail and are generally offered as Zoom webinar events. Live streams are hosted on Facebook and those interested can also gain access to recordings of destinations that they can enjoy on their time and at their leisure.

Walsh’s tours are offered for free to the public with a “pay-as-you-wish” model in place for those participants who wish to contribute monetarily. “I want to be sure people can afford these tours,” Walsh said. “I believe those that can tip will and those that can’t will pay it forward in their life when they are able.” Janet Larson, a New Jersey resident, is an avid traveler who has been drawn to virtual tours during the pandemic and has experienced some of the programming that Walsh has offered through GTT. She first heard about virtual tours on Facebook after a friend of hers showed interest in a virtual tour of a road trip from Pompeii to the Amalfi Coast back in September 2020, just a few months after the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States. Since watching her first road trip virtual tour with her husband, Larson continued her journey by watching “a dozen more live virtual trips” as well as “a few of the previously recorded ones.” “It’s a great way to escape for a night of travel to places we’ve been or would like to go to in the future,” Larson said. “For future travel, it also provides a wealth of information from local tour guides about the history of the area as well as interesting things to see and do that could easily be missed on your own.” Larson and her husband returned from a cruise leaving Barbados traveling to the Netherland Antilles just before the COVID-19

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Opposite page: Dominican Republic. From top left: working with the Girl Scouts, group photo from the Scotland/Ireland trip, The Colosseum in Rome, Italy, and the Sydney Bridge in Australia. Photos: Marah Walsh

shutdown. She says that the pandemic had affected their travel plans until very recently. Believing that she and her husband would be getting vaccinated early due to their age, Larson booked a trip to Florida in February and kept to her travel plans despite not getting vaccinated. “Even though shots were not available to us, we went ahead with the trip, being extremely careful following CDC safety recommendations,” she said. “Hopefully, we will be traveling this summer to Europe with GTT, which was scheduled last year during the pandemic.” In Europe, tourism has been hit particularly hard, according Elena Salerno, a local guide based in Italy who has partnered with Walsh on a number of tours. Salerno has been working as a tour director for eight years and was originally a culinary professional before moving to Rome. Almost 10 years later, she is still working at the same tourism agency and is enamored with her role there. Consequently, the pandemic has weighed heavily on her. “The emergency arose with the COVID-19 outbreak impacted every one of us and most economic sectors, but tourism was definitely hit the hardest,” Salerno said. “Working as a freelancer I am at a particular disadvantage, as

everyone in my same position within the [travel] industry.” The young tour director also says that she hasn’t been working in-person with clients since the beginning of January 2020, and as a result, has been living for more than a year without a regular income. Virtual tours, according to Salerno, have provided her and others in the industry space with some income and that virtual vacations are being embraced by those who host the events as well as those participants who ultimately find value in them. “Personally, virtual tours have been a lifeline this past year, and my only source of income, albeit occasional. But it hasn’t been just about the money,” Salerno said. “It gave me the chance to do something that resembles my actual job, which I miss terribly; it has put me in contact with some great people from all over the globe; it has been an occasion for learning tons of new things about places I have been visiting for years. Overall, it has been a very pleasant surprise,’ she continued. Salerno works with a company that organizes trips for high schoolers and their teachers and says that a lot of the adolescents she works with

come from small towns and have often never traveled before. Additionally, Salerno says that some of her foreign clients may feel overwhelmed upon arrival in Europe for the first time. “…with everything around them so different from what they’re used to, and having to make new, sometimes scary experiences [the trip is] completely out of their comfort zone,” Salerno said. “Watching them gain confidence as the days go by, develop a deep desire to travel the world and widen their perspective onto it, knowing you are partly responsible for this change is extremely rewarding,” she continued, “And I must admit that when you are part of the moment when a kid gets to see the sea, or the snow for the first time in their life, well that’s pretty awesome!” When it comes to virtual tours, Walsh hopes that participants continue to look forward to joining her and GTT in their weekly virtual tour series and that they get some value out of the experience. “I hope the excitement built from attending my virtual tours encourages participants to bridge the gap from virtual tours to physical travel when we are able to go!” ■ SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Is Travel Booking Ready to Fully Embrace Artificial Intelligence? By Sam Hilgendorf

Conventional wisdom has been that planning travel, whether for leisure or business, is still too personal and confusing for artificial intelligence (AI) to replace the travel shopping experience. While the stereotypical road warrior may know all the flight schedules and hotels within five miles of their destination, the average traveler is starting from scratch every time. Searching for the right price, at the right time, with the right services is often tedious and timeconsuming. There are many questions and challenges with trying to implement AI for travel. If it takes me so long to find precisely the suitable options at the correct cost, how could a bot do it any better? Would AI understand the inter-dependencies between the airline, hotel, and ground transportation? What about incorporating all my personal preferences? An AI engine could not ensure I have a great travel experience, could it? These are all questions I have been asked over the past year as AI has started making progress in other industries. The unwritten rule of booking travel is simple, “To ensure a good experience, either myself or someone I trust has to plan out the details.” Well, chaos has a way of simply rewriting the rules. We are currently amidst the bleakest period the travel industry has ever experienced. There continues to be tremendous pressure on the entire travel supply chain to reduce operating costs and labor while demand remains devastatingly low. Even with the positive progress on vaccines and stimulus, this cost control pressure will not subside for the foreseeable future. There is an industry-wide need to provide a more effortless travel planning experience that is not labor-intensive. Answers may lie in Natural Language Processing (NLP). NLP is a subfield of

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artificial intelligence focused on processing and analyzing both spoken and written languages. An NLP application could provide the mechanism for planning and booking a complete travel experience. Only with exceptions and errors sent to an experienced travel agent for analysis and discussion. NLP technology is not new. Grammar checkers, autocorrection engines, and email spam filters using NLP have been mainstays for years. Voice assistants, such as Alexa and Siri, are also examples of NLP coupled with speech recognition technology. Like Uber and Disney, each of these solutions changed our behavioral norms, many of which we take for granted. NLP provides both the strategic direction and a means to change the traveler booking experience permanently. In 2020, major milestones were achieved in NLP. Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI all made significant progress this past year with understanding and interpreting conversational language. Natural Language Processing has recently shown the ability to correctly complete sentences, summarize documents, and provide direct answers to complex questions. Just this fall, OpenAI’s GPT-3 language generator platform wrote a 500-word op-ed to convince all of us that robots really do come in peace. Here are a few areas where NLP could significantly change the travel planning experience. Travel Agent Assist For the more challenging travel planning, NLP could assist experienced travel agents, reducing the time, errors, and cost associated with planning. Take, for example, a multi-country European business trip that includes air, rail, ground, and lodging, each with negotiated corporate rates. NLP could support the agent by listening to the

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conversation and recognizing key search parameters, like destination, date, and preferences. The agent would receive relevant search responses and options, with any corporate travel policy applied. This reduces time and removes any data entry errors. It also allows the agent to focus their energy on making recommendations and recognizing either risks or better alternatives within an itinerary. Conversational Chatbots for Travel Planning Conversational chatbots are used in many customer service industries, but they are not pervasive within travel planning websites. There are already great travel research and review websites, such as TripAdvisor and Yelp, for determining what experiences are available within a specific city. But they do not include a conversational aspect. With NLP’s prediction modeling capabilities, the conversational chatbot could inspire a unique experience during the travel planning process. For this example, take a leisure traveler thinking about a Caribbean vacation. An NLP-enabled chatbot could offer up the typical questions a travel agent would ask within the initial dialogue. Say I am interested in snorkeling, but not SCUBA. The chatbot could ask a simple follow-up question, “Why not SCUBA?” My answer may be that I was never trained. With this input, the chatbot could then suggest that I easily get certified on the same vacation with just a few hours of training my first two days, including my first dive. Take this single example and now multiply it across every choice made during vacation planning. While many decisions may lead back to the initially stated desire, the opportunity to prompt thought around new and unexpected experiences can make vacation planning more inspirational.

A Voice Assistant for Full Itinerary Booking Voice Assistants have become a common household appliance, but there has been limited adoption of voice assistants to purchase travel. Today there are very few applications that allow for booking travel. And they are limited to just a single airline ticket or hotel reservation. Buying a full itinerary combining air travel, hotel, and ground transportation still presents complexities in logistics and dependencies. As NLP better understands the requirements and dependencies of travelers, a solution to book a complete trip with your voice assistant will become available. Taking a voice assistant and combining them with conversational chatbot capabilities creates an entirely new travel planning experience. I could be talking through my desires and interests while being prompted with new ideas and opportunities. Previously I would have to come up with those myself through time dedicated to research. If my itinerary becomes too complex, then the voice assistant could perform a seamless transfer of me to a knowledgeable travel agent for further assistance. These capabilities could both reduce the time and effort, leading to a better travel experience. These potential innovations might provoke similar cynicism as Disney during the depression or if Uber had been suggested in the 1980s. However, the devastating impact the pandemic has created on travel has rewritten all the rules. We need to get creative with leveraging AI and NLP for booking trips. It is time to challenge conventional wisdom. Twenty years from now, if internet memes are still a thing, we will see some fun stuff on how travel “used to work.” ■ Sam Hilgendorf is the Chief Information Officer for Fox World Travel.

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

FEATURE STORY

A Man of Every Talent James Gunn dishes on The Suicide Squad, life, and music. By Charles Warner and Corey Noles

Photo Art Streiber

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Photo by Jessica Miglio/™ & © DC Comics

FEATURE STORY

(L-R) Idris Elba and writer/ director James Gunn on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure The Suicide Squad.

James Gunn has done it all. He’s been a musician, comic book artist, author, actor, writer, director, and producer. Gunn has produced several blockbuster films in his career, including Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and The Belko Experiment. He got his start making movies for famed B-movie studios Troma Entertainment, has written and directed cult classic films such as Slither and Super and has produced several blockbuster films including Avengers: Infinity Wars and Avengers: Endgame. He also wrote and directed one of Marvel’s most memorable film franchises, Guardians of the Galaxy (including Vol. 3 coming in January 2023.) Gunn has also written/directed/produced the upcoming television series Peacemaker, a show about a DC superhero so dedicated to world peace he’s ready to use violence to get it.

Most recently, though, he’s the man behind The Suicide Squad — set for an August 6, 2021, release in the US. The new flick serves as a standalone installment following the 2016 Suicide Squad feature. Filmed in the style of a 1970s B-movie, the movie tells the tale of a task force of convicts from Belle Reve penitentiary sent to destroy a Nazi-era prison and laboratory. The film has a stellar cast, including Margot Robbie (returning as the deranged Harley Quinn), Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, and Sylvester Stallone. Innovation & Tech Today recently chatted with Gunn about life, films, and his passion for music.

And I think it was, other families, they sort of put a high worth on academia. Other families put their value on playing sports and athletics. And our family, all we ever cared about was telling stories and making each other laugh around the kitchen table like it was a competition. When you have six kids in your family within seven years, you don’t see much of your parents. They’re off dealing with something. Whatever else is going on at that time. And we were really left to our own devices, so we sort of created this little imaginative world of play and making movies and doing all these things that kept us happy.

Innovation & Tech Today: Growing up in St. Louis, what were some of the early influences that moved you and your brother Sean into music and film?

I&T Today: When I think of you, and I think this is true for many fans, not only do we think of your movies, but music. You have a really personal relationship with the music you put in your films. What is your influence when it comes to blending the music with scenes in a movie?

JG: Well, I think it was each other. You know, it’s not only Sean but my brother, Patrick. He’s in the business side of the film industry, my brother Brian is a screenwriter, and my brother Matt is a writer on Real Time with Bill Maher and has been for many years. So, all of my brothers are in the entertainment industry.

JG: Well, yeah. I mean, I have a pretty OCD relationship to music. I listen to a lot of music, and I listen to it intently. I sort of collect and categorize it in my head at all times. I have SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

FEATURE STORY / A Man of Every Talent JG: Right now, I’m watching Gangs of London, which I think is pretty fun. It’s Gareth Evans’ show. He’s the guy who did The Raid movies. I’m a big action movie fan. So, I like a lot of that stuff. The way that my partner, Jen and I, relax is by watching TV and movies. I just finished Schitt’s Creek. I thought that was a blast. I think I watch a lot of Asian cinemas. So, a lot of things that maybe other people aren’t watching. A lot of South Korean movies and Japanese films. So, there’s a lot. I have an eclectic taste.

James Gunn and cast on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure The Suicide Squad.

hundreds and hundreds of playlists on both Spotify and iTunes. I&T Today: I follow yours on Spotify. It’s awesome. JG: Oh, and those are just my public ones. There are hundreds more that are not public. I keep everything categorized. Like, it’s a thing I do. And it really is just about having, and for me, it is always, part of it’s listening to music because I love listening to music. Part of it is listening to music so that I can be like, “Where could this ever go in a story? How would this fit? Would this be something that would contrast with what I saw on screen or something that would go along with what I see on the screen?” And so, the music is organically embedded in anything I do.

Photo by Jessica Miglio/™ & © DC Comics

I&T Today: What kind of a setup do you have for your home theater? Is there any particular gear that you really like?

bigger rig, two people operate it, and it moves the camera in a way that is both very alive and very visceral. You can move it fast, but that also doesn’t give you a handheld feeling that makes you sick. The same guy who invented Stabileye invented, for me, a rig called the Nano.

I&T Today: What are some of the production technologies that make you, as a storyteller, most excited? I’m sure many things have changed and new technologies are coming out, allowing you to do more things.

It was created especially for The Suicide Squad, especially for me and how I want to shoot. Because I realized there are always these shots I’m designing that are not physically possible. I want to be able to move very quickly in and around faces, between people, and through people. There’s never been a rig that could do that. So today, with the really small size of the red cameras, combined with this tiny little rig that we have, we were able to shoot The Suicide Squad in a way that is ultra, incredibly alive, incredibly visceral, incredibly fast-moving, but also in a way that doesn’t make the audience sick to their stomachs. It’s a magnificent thing to see on a big screen, and it’s a completely new way of filming that was created for this movie by me, Henry Brimm, and the Nano and Stabileye teams.

JG: Yeah. The biggest thing on Suicide Squad, one of the most exciting things, is we used a rig called a Stabileye on Guardians 2. We were the first movie to use it. And the Stabileye was a

I&T Today: What do you like watching when you’re not working? Are there particular shows that really impress you? What do you dig?

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JG: Well, right now, I’m a nomad. So, I’ve been moving around. The only home I own is in Georgia, so I’m a Georgia resident. But I never fully moved in, in the way of moving all my home theater equipment. I’ve been here in Vancouver. Before that, I was renting a house in Los Angeles. So, in terms of the newest stuff, I’m just not there. I will say I love my computer setup. I have the new big monitor for my apple that I love. Their new ultra high-def monitor is fantastic. I&T Today: I think everybody’s really excited for The Suicide Squad. JG: I feel great about it. I mean, it’s like, I think it’s the most fun movie I’ve ever made. I set out to do something completely unhinged, something without limits, making it a type of superhero movie that nobody’s ever seen before. But, they’re not really superheroes; they’re supervillains. And to really be true about the comics and sort of reinvigorate the old war caper films I loved growing up, watching the late-60s war caper films on Saturday afternoons out on the local TV stations. Whether it’s The Dirty Dozen or Where Eagles Dare, Kelly’s Heroes, the old war adventure films. And that’s what [The Suicide Squad] is at its essence, just with a bunch of shitty super villains. I&T Today: Can you tell me a little bit about The Peacemaker? JG: Yeah. I mean, that’s truly a result of [COVID-19]. So, we were fortunate to finish shooting The Suicide Squad right before the pandemic really took hold in the United States. So, I finished shooting that, went into quarantine in this house we were renting in Los

FEATURE STORY Photos from the set of The Suicide Squad (2021). (Top) John Cena as Peacemaker with David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rich Flag and King Shark (Middle, from left) King Shark, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Joel Kinnaman Col. Rich Flag, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. (Bottom left) Elba and King Shark. (Bottom right) David Dastmalchian as Polka Dot Man, Cena, Elba, and Melchior.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/™ & © DC Comics

Photo by Jessica Miglio/™ & © DC Comics

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

FEATURE STORY / A Man of Every Talent

Courtesy of Marvel Studios/Chuck Zlotnick

Courtesy of Marvel Studios/Jay Maidment\

seems like, are super hard workers, too. John Cena, Dave Bautista — you’ve really been blessed.

(Top) Writer/director James Gunn on the set with actor Sean Gunn perfecting a Rocket Raccoon motion capture scene. (Bottom) James Gunn with Michael Rooker as Yondu.

Angeles, edited the movie from home over the internet with my editors, Fred and Chris. And that was great.

Then I was stuck with nothing to do because I still had quite a few months before we started shooting Guardians Vol. 3. And so, being stuck, I just started writing this TV series. I wrote eight episodes of the TV series in two months. And now, I’ve got the greatest cast around me with a bunch of fantastic people, and we’re shooting it. We’re on the seventh episode of eight. Then, we have one more to shoot. Fred Anderson is directing this one, and I’ll direct the last one.

like, “Oh, this scene goes to the next scene, this scene goes to the next scene, this scene …” Even in movies that seem sort of languid, that’s still the general structure of them. But with a TV show, you really can focus on the characters. You can get into the intricacies of their relationships and their personalities and get to know those people. So, this show is both more comedy and more drama than I’ve ever done before because you have the room for all of those things. It’s been a complete blast making the show. And it’s hard to have a blast when you’re sitting in plexiglass booths with masks on your face.

What’s so fun about doing a TV show, which I’ve never done before, is that I love my characters. In a movie, basically, you have to be

I&T Today: You’re obviously talented at what you do. But, still, you also get to work with some really incredible people who, it

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JG: Yeah. I think that if I have one gift, it’s that I’m able to pick good people to be around me. And we’re very careful. I don’t choose haphazardly. Every once in a while, I’ll make a mistake and choose the wrong person. But, for the most part, I’m really careful about who I put around me. Life is way too short, and I don’t need the headaches. I don’t care how famous somebody is if they’re an asshole or difficult or pushy or controlling, I just don’t want them in my projects. So, I worked very, very hard to put the right people in there and people that will treat the crews with respect. It’s very important that we have a healthy atmosphere on set and a supportive atmosphere so that every person working on the project is proud of what we’re creating and feels like a part of it, whether they’re a PA or number one on the call sheet. I think of those people you mentioned, Dave Bautista, Chris Pratt, and Zoe Saldana. They are those people. I&T Today: It’s the same thing in business. You can have someone with all the talent in the world, but if they’re a pain in the ass, it’s not worth it. They’re poison. JG: How much worse is this movie because that star is in it? I’m thinking of specific people, but I won’t say. I&T Today: Well, given the popularity of cinematic universes, are there any mashups you would like to see? For example, would it be cool to see DC and Marvel in a movie like Alien vs. Predator? JG: Not only would it be cool, I have already volunteered to do it. So, I brought it up. I’ve honestly brought it up, and I was not told no. So, I think it’s unlikely that it’s going to happen in the near future, but I would never say never. Like Marvel vs. DC, Marvel and DC, or whatever way you want to look at it. I think there is a possibility of doing that. And I think that would be just a blast to do that if the structure was right. At the end of the day, what matters to me the most is that the story is good, and the story is exciting. I don’t care if you have Alien meets Scooby-Doo. Yes, I love the idea of Alien and Scooby-Doo, but if it’s not a good story, then who cares. ■

FEATURE STORY

Courtesy of Marvel Studios/Film Frame

(Top) Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Chris Pratt as Star-Lord/Peter Quill, and Dave Bautista as Drax. (Middle) Saldana, Pratt, and writer/director James Gunn. (Bottom) Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Bautista, Pratt, Kurt Russell as Ego, and Saldana.

Courtesy of Marvel Studios/Chuck Zlotnick

Courtesy of Marvel Studios/Film Frame

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

tech zone

PITTSBURGH

From Steel City After its core Industrial Age industries fell to progress and changing times, Pittsburgh reinvented itself to become one of the most innovative tech hubs in the world. By Robert Yehling

When Andrew Carnegie, Thomas and Andrew Mellon, E.J. Heinz, George Westinghouse, Edwin Drake, and Henry Clay Frick moved into Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood in the mid-19th century and launched the Industrial Age, they created the foundation that still serves part of our economy today. However, they also inspired something else: a spirit of innovation and progress that has helped Pittsburgh move from one of the nation’s top industrial manufacturing hubs, known as Iron City (18001859) and then Steel City (1859-1946), to a leading new economy and new technology center. Now, the city that sits at the convergence of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers is becoming as known for gigabytes and robotics among younger generations as it was as an industrial mecca.

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Pittsburgh is red-hot and vibrant again. Always known as a diverse city, Pittsburgh features 90 distinct neighborhoods with their own subcultures, as well as 3,000 urban parks to serve its 302,000 residents.

However, where steel, glass, and iron once ruled, we now find medicine, education, health care, robotics, software engineering, and high-tech industries leading the way.

The same ingenuity, collaboration, and innovation that served the Industrial Age founders is alive and well in one of the country’s greatest tech hubs. It is a leading “Next City”, which is no surprise: in the past decade, Pittsburgh’s tech sector has generated $22 billion in revenue. In 2017 alone, nearly $700 was invested in tech initiatives.

In addition, Google, Facebook, Uber, and Apple all maintain strong presences in town, to go along with the 10 centenarian firms credited with building Pittsburgh and, in some cases, America: ALCOA, Bayer, Clark Candy, Heinz, Kennametal, Mine Safety Appliances Corp., PPG Industries, Starkist, U.S. Steel, and Westinghouse (all of which still operate and employ thousands of workers).

How are they doing it? Unlike some areas, which have essentially erased their brick-andmortar pasts to dive headlong into new technologies, Pittsburgh is marrying the old with the new. Smart move, since its building trade union still has more than 60,000 members.

“We want to build a Pittsburgh and a region in which the lines between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ economy are erased and value is placed in the work ethic here and the dedication to community, while building a future for all,” said Morgan O’Brien, co-chair of the Pittsburgh

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Works board. “We’re recognizing and capitalizing on a confluence of interests, bringing the labor movement into a shared program with management. This has evolved from the history of this region, working from a set of shared values, built on valuing both people and our environment.” How has Pittsburgh risen again to become a tech hub just as vibrant as the city that built America? As always in the tech world, a multilayered collaboration between private industry, the city, several tech and business development groups, and angel and venture investment came together. Some of the key players include: • Innovation Works: The largest seed-stage investor of innovative startups and tech investors into SW Pennsylvania, Innovation Works helps startups who come to the area from all over the country. Their portfolio includes

robotics, AI, medical devices, retail technologies, enterprise software, and other companies. Some of the fast-growing IWsupported startups include 4Moms, Wombat Security, Bossa Nova Robotics, ALung Technologies, and Civic Science. In addition, three startups were later acquired by Fortune 500 companies: Vivisimo (acquired by IBM), Modcloth (WalMart), and NoWait (Yelp). Since its formation in 1999, IW has supported nearly 730 companies, with investments totaling $117 million. In 2020, they provided $6.7 million in financial assistance — but that’s only the top of the iceberg. In addition, IW connects venture capitalists and angel investors with new startup opportunities. In 2020, seed fund and accelerator companies attracted $372 million in investment. In addition, more than 100 venture capital firms in the U.S. have invested in companies in the region. All in all, IW helped to

capitalize $2.9 billion in follow-on investment. • Pittsburgh Technology Council: Businesses that move into town, or start up, always need help securing workforce — something the Pittsburgh Technology Council solves. PTC members can connect with people and organizations they need for success. The organizations support programs include more than 120 tech training, talent development, IT best practices, and other events for its members. PTC also sets up network groups, the most active being the IT Network, Creative Industries Network, and Manufacturing Network. In addition, the Pittsburgh Tech Council hosts the 50 Innovators of the Year awards, which covers all essential tech categories (see story on page 66). Within its 2020 winners and finalists is reflected the unique convergence of old industry and new technology that only an area SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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From Steel City to Smart City

Helping to further the tech advancements in Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Technical College provides careerfocused programs ranging from business to IT. Photos courtesy of The Pittsburgh Technical College

as storied as Pittsburgh can provide. Also, while the awards are area-centric, they also aptly demonstrate the diversity and national influence of the area. The 2020 winners include Astrobotic (AI/ML/Robotics), Digital Dream Labs (Consumer Goods), Schneider Downs & Co. (Security), Idelic (Data Science), Mitsubishi Electric Power Products (Manufacturing), Sentact (Medtech), Smart Futures (Non-Profit/ Education/Community), PittMoss (Solutions Providers-Innovative Tech), Truefit (Solutions Providers-Services), and Indiana University of Pittsburgh (Top COVID Pivot). • Pittsburgh Works: One of Pittsburgh’s biggest reasons for the impressive transition from industrial hub to tech hub is the way it has worked with area business, civic, and labor leaders to integrate the building trades in economic development. That comes from Pittsburgh Works, which follows the example set a century ago by European steelworker Joe Magarac, who became a folk hero within the steel industry. Their vision of economic progress embraces existing and emerging industries, inclusiveness and diversity, and ensuring a sustainable environment. They work

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closely with the Pittsburgh Building Trades Union and its 60,000-strong membership. “Yes, robotics are great, but somebody has to build and maintain them – that’s our building trades,” said Tom Melcher of the Pittsburgh Building Trades Union. “Talk is cheap. We’re in this for our survival. We’re being realistic and responsible. The Shell cracker plant, for example, is attracting new industries and jobs for the region. That’s a good thing. We are the number one producer of energy in the world, right here in western Pennsylvania. If we do this right, the potential is huge.” • Pittsburgh Technology Center: While the Pittsburgh Tech Center is fairly new, with $150 million in new construction completed in 2007, its location is one of the true epicenters of the Industrial Age. On the site in 1849 sat the Pittsburgh and Boston Copper Smelting Works, then was occupied by the Jones & Laughlin Steel Mill for a century until it closed in 1979. Now, the Tech Center occupies the space as a hub of advanced academic and corporate tech research. • Pittsburgh Technical College: One of the

educational hubs to feed tech workers into Pittsburgh is the Tech College, which has 30 career-focused programs from business to criminal justice, from design and engineering, healthcare, energy and electronics, School of IT and Technology, School of Trades Technology. Founded in 1946, it switched to nonprofit status in 2017 to give greater opportunity to students of all income levels. Other colleges and universities that are educating and training tomorrow’s tech workers and entrepreneurs include Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, Bidwell Training Center, Forbes Road Career & Technology Center, Kaplan Career Institute, and Triangle Tech. Because of the area’s industrial and energy past, it has become a highly popular destination for next-generation energy businesses (such as Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, one of the winners in the 50 Innovators of the Year competition). Because of the city’s commitment to sustainability and new tech, it is working to build a tech legacy that is just as long-lasting — and far-reaching — as what the East Liberty neighborhood industrialists created. ■

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PITTSBURGH

Tech 50 2020 Pittsburgh’s Top Technology Companies Compiled by Melissa Jenkins and Destiny Nolan CATEGORY: AI/ML/ROBOTICS WINNER: Astrobotic Astrobotic Technology, Inc. is a space robotics company making space accessible to the world. They develop advanced navigation, operation, and computing systems for spacecraft, and their fleet of lunar landers and rovers will deliver payloads to the Moon for companies, governments, universities, non-profits, and individuals. The company has more than 50 prior and ongoing NASA and commercial technology contracts and a corporate sponsorship with DHL. In June 2020, NASA announced a $199.5 million contract with Astrobotic to deliver the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the south pole of the Moon in 2023. FINALISTS: Anys, Aurora, Hebi Robotics, IAM Robotics, Locomation, Voci Technologies

CATEGORY: Cybersecurity WINNER: Schneider Downs & Co., Inc. Schneider Downs is a Top 60 independent Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm providing accounting, tax, audit, and business advisory services to public and private companies, not-for-profit organizations and global companies. They also offer Internal Audit; Technology Consulting; Software Solutions; Personal Financial Services; Retirement Plan Solutions, and Corporate Finance Services. The Schneider Downs cybersecurity team recently launched Redlure, an open source phishing assessment platform designed for red teamers and penetration testers. Their cybersecurity practice continues to expand service offerings to include a wide range of assessment, training, and remediation services. In addition to cybersecurity needs, their unique firm structure allows them to provide IT Audit and Compliance services to mitigate cyber and compliance risks. FINALISTS: CyLumena, LLC, Ethical Intruder, Qintel, VigilantOps

CATEGORY: Data Science WINNER: Idelic Idelic is revolutionizing transportation safety while embracing their Pittsburgh and technological roots. Founded by Carnegie Mellon University graduates, they are dedicated to continuing their work to innovate and impact the world and keep drivers safe. With an industry-leading Driver Watch List that utilizes advanced proprietary Machine Learning (ML) technologies to predict drivers at-risk for a preventable crash, Idelic empowers fleets to prevent crashes, reduce driver turnover and lower insurance costs. Idelic, the creator of Safety Suite®—the trucking industry’s leading driver management platform dedicated to improving fleet safety—announced their partnership with Samsara, a $5.4 billion technology company. FINALISTS: Cognistx, Exchangelodge, RoadBotics, VISIMO

CATEGORY: Manufacturing – Kurt J. Lesker III Award for Excellence WINNER: Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. Vision Systems, a Warrendale, PA, division of Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. (MEPPI), introduced the world to the first fullcolor large-scale video display in 1980 and has revolutionized the game day and public entertainment experience ever since. Throughout their time in the industry, they’ve introduced numerous technological advancements and have been involved in some of the industry’s largest and most complex video board projects. The Diamond Vision Systems Division has won many awards including six Guinness World Records and an Emmy for pioneering development of large-scale display technology. Using the latest technology, Diamond Vision introduced a newly designed lightweight cabinet to use on arena center-hung displays. This innovative product allows customers to add more display area without being limited by weight restrictions, which serve as a critical factor when retrofitting displays found in existing buildings. Their designs help to reduce any additional structure needed and keep the customer’s budget to a minimum. When it comes to creativity and engineering, the Diamond Vision Division has evolved within the last year. FINALISTS: Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM), Catalyst Connection, Intervala, LLC

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CATEGORY: Consumer Goods WINNER: Digital Dream Labs Digital Dream Labs (DDL), a pioneer in STEAM technology, develops entertaining games that just happen to teach core pillars of education. The company currently has games that teach coding, math, art and chemistry being used in more than 3,500 school districts. Digital Dream Labs recently announced their partnership on numerous projects, including a game for youth, integrating robotics and AI with the music industry. As the leading provider of hands on ed-tech for children ages 4-9 with products that satisfy the need for engaging, language- and system-agnostic designs, DDL allows pre-readers to interface with both on-screen environments and other devices such as educational robots, smart speakers, and other smart devices and drones. The companion robots, Vector and Anki, also serve as a unique and important tool for the special needs community, the elderly and veterans with PTSD. FINALISTS: BirdBrain Technologies, BlastPoint, BluChip Solutions, LLC, DICK’S Sporting Goods, NuMoola

PITTSBURGH CATEGORY: Medtech WINNER: Sentact Sentact is an industry-leading provider of healthcare technology solutions that transforms the patient care journey. Their platform automates data from clinical practices, the healthcare environment, and patient feedback to orchestrate action and improve the quality of patient safety and experience. Sentact has been implemented in more than 600 healthcare organizations and clients have realized significant outcomes—from increasing patient and caregiver satisfaction, to improving safety and quality and reducing hospital acquired infections— resulting in lower costs and increased revenue. The platform includes a comprehensive digital rounding solution, a mobile fulfillment system, and a patient and caregiver feedback hub. SentactRounding offers a mobile, full-suite rounding solution that connects to users’ EHR, HR, active directory, and work order systems to create a seamless user experience. SentactRounding is specifically designed to address all types of rounds, including COVID-19 Response Tools, Infection Prevention, Employee and Visitor Screening Tools, Environment of Care, Nursing, and Patient Experience. FINALISTS: Philips, Rimsys, TeleTracking Technologies

CATEGORY: Top COVID Pivot WINNER: Indiana University of PA

CATEGORY: Solutions Provider – Innovative Tech WINNER: PittMoss PittMoss produces next-generation gardening amendments and mixes. Their products are a result of decades of testing to produce a growing media unlike anything on the market. Not only do they follow cuttingedge practices to benefit our planet, their unique, organic, recycled, and engineered fiber structure creates a perfect environment for plant growth. The revolutionary properties of PittMoss allow more air, more water, and more nutrients to be delivered to customers’ plants, encouraging faster, stronger development of flowers, vegetables, shrubs, grass, and more. They aim to make Pittsburgh the first peat-free city before growing to the rest of the world. FINALISTS: GrayMatter, JazzHR, River Point Technology, SGK, Smith Micro Software, Inc., Sparkwear

CATEGORY: Solutions Provider – Services WINNER: Truefit CATEGORY: Non-Profit/Education/Community WINNER: Smart Futures Smart Futures is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping PA kids, teens, and young adults understand who they are, where they’re going, and how to get there. Smart Futures has dedicated themselves to providing PA schools with an online platform that makes it easy for them to comply with the recent Governor’s mandate requiring every student create a K-12 career plan and portfolio. Currently used by 25% of all PA schools, serving more than 600,000 students, and 40,000 teachers, Smart Futures continues to grow rapidly. They are the first educational software application in the U.S. to offer student accounts and artifacts that are portable between districts, schools, career/ technical schools, and community-based organizations. Smart Futures is revolutionizing the market and further establishing Pittsburgh as a leader in cutting-edge Ed-Tech software companies by fully disrupting the way schools think about post-secondary decision-making and planning—no longer assuming that college is the golden ticket and continuing to demonstrate the value of skills over degrees. FINALISTS: Computer Reach, Flexable, Indiana University of PA (IUP), Smart Futures, Tech Elevator, Vibrant Pittsburgh

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Truefit serves clients from entrepreneurs to executives who need to create new software products that engage their users and grow their business. Their cross-functional product teams work collaboratively through their Idea Launch™ process by integrating human-centered design, agile software development, and lean business principles to reduce inherent risks in new product development and to increase market success. As an integral part of Truefit’s Idea Launch process, their teams begin with a comprehensive discovery to deliver insights that facilitate true strategic decision-making—understand the why before the how. FINALISTS: Hamiltonian Systems, I.T’s 4 Me, Piper Creative, SDLC Parnters, L.P., TiER1 Performance

IUP’s greatest accomplishment this past year is their quick reaction to the COVID-19 crisis in March, migrating well over 1,500 courses taught by nearly 650 different faculty members in 10 days. The university remarkably was able to deliver 3,300 synchronous sessions in the first week of online learning. While many institutions faced similar challenges, IUP’s accomplishment occurred in the face of somewhat unique challenges. The vast majority of faculty had never taught a fully online course and IUP was on spring break when the pandemic hit, leaving many faculty members unavailable and not immediately present to convert their materials. Additionally, the original requirement was to provide only one week of online materials, and this cost valuable time in switching to fully online curricula. Finally, the rules kept changing in those early days and this constant change continually destroyed numerous newly-created plans. This achievement rolled into a highly successful virtual orientation for the first time in university history, with some 1,750 students and families being oriented and tested in a fully online modality. In the wake of their online course migration, IUP’s agility with technology is not limited to the classroom: in response to the pandemic and the need for social distancing, IUP also successfully pivoted its admissions and visitation program and orientation programming to a fully online format. FINALISTS: BirdBrain Technologies, Cognistx, Ethical Intruder, Locomation, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. – Diamond Vision Division, Piper Creative, PittMoss, Sentact

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Top 10 Sustainable Fashion Companies Produced in partnership with

By Melissa Jenkins & Destiny Nolan Fashion companies have gotten the message loud and clear: sustainable practices, hiring choices, materials selection, growing of plants needed to make materials, and disposal and recycling of waste and used product is not only all the rage, but also entirely necessary for staying in business in the 2020s. Produced in partnership with

Sustainability Today looked at many sustainable fashion companies, and found 10 that stood out for their innovative sustainability practices: Produced in partnership with

Boody is a sustainable apparel brand known for making easy on the skin, hypoallergenic, and highly breathable everyday essentials made from either 100% bamboo yarn or a blend of bamboo and other yarns such as cotton, hemp, spandex and nylon. The bamboo used to make the yarn is grown in China and is grown in accordance with the international organic standard of OCIA/IFOAM and the USDA National Organic Program, so as to ensure each bamboo stalk is of 100% natural growth and free of any chemical pesticides. Everyday, 38,356,466 pounds of trash are dumped into our oceans and that is why United By Blue came up with a way to resource these materials in their outerwear, accessories, and single-use products. Some of the sustainable materials they use are hemp,

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organic cotton, recycled polyester, corozo, micro modal, wool, and tencel. For every product purchased, United by Blue removes one pound of trash from oceans and waterways. So far they have removed 3,430,466 pounds of trash.

Nube is a proud woman-owned company that turns recycled plastic into responsible and fashionable activewear using recycled polyester. They partner with artists and designers around the world to create prints motivated by the environmental crisis that inspire connection and action. They work with artists, fashion students, and rag traders (companies that buy scraps to make their products, like mops) as a way to turn their fabric scraps into something new. All of their dyes are non toxic, low impact, and lead free. All of their shipping materials are plasticfree, made in the USA, and 100% recycled and recyclable.

All of the virgin cotton in Patagonia’s line has been grown organically or has been recycled, without the use of harmful chemicals. 72% of their materials are also made from recycled fibers. With Provisions they sell deeply flavorful, nutritious foods under the widespread adoption of Regenerative Organic Certification, which ensures that food is produced in ways that build soil health, ensure animal welfare, and protect agricultural workers.

Every piece of ARTICLE22 jewelry is locally handcrafted in Laos using recycled materials from Vietnam War bombs, plane parts, military hardware, and other aluminum scraps. Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. dropped 2 million tons of ordnance on Lao PDR, averaging one B-52 bomb load every 8 minutes, 24/7, for 9 years. Each bracelet purchased clears 3m2 of bomb

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littered land. Since ARTICLE22 began working with the village in 2009, there are now 15 husbands and wives that make Peacebomb jewelry with hopeful messages that inspire action toward our future.

waste while maximizing their impact on the planet — and look great while doing it. Produced in partnership with

Arms of Andes makes sustainable outdoor clothes from the Inca’s most functional fiber: alpaca wool. Once the alpaca fiber has been produced, it is processed into yarn, dyed and woven into a specially designed fabric, which is then used to create our high-performance garments. From the Peruvian factories, your garments are shipped to a regional distributor and then straight to you, reducing the number of flights involved in the production process and overall carbon footprint from transport. ■

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In 2014 legendary 11-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater teamed up with acclaimed designer John Moore and started expanding his sustainable brand Outerknown. Over 90% of Outerknown’s products are made from organic cotton and hemps, recycled, or regenerated materials. If you look closely on the buttons of their S.E.A. LEGS jeans you will find the coordinates of where the plastic was harvested. The buttons are made from recycled ocean plastic, corozo fruit, or nuts.

If you’re looking for organic hemp sneakers, then you should check out Etiko. They were the first fashion brand in the southern hemisphere to become fair trade certified. Etiko’s engagement with fair trade certified suppliers means they are working with raw material and factory suppliers who are investing in the economic and social development of farmers and workers. Through its fair trade purchasing model, Etiko ensures that each product it sells reduces inequality and tackles poverty. The business’ commitment to organic and FSC certified inputs also means its products create a cleaner, greener world.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SUSTAINABLE COMPANIES FEATURED IN THIS ARTICLE: www.boodywear.com www.unitedbyblue.com www.nubeusa.com www.patagonia.com www.article22.com www.outerknown.com rothys.com etiko.com.au

Rothy’s is inspired by the remarkable women of today, and proudly craft sustainable styles that help them effortlessly move through their day. Their signature thread is spun from repurposed plastic water bottles and transformed into stylish, sustainable, washable must-haves. Every minute, one million water bottles are sold globally. Their specialized 3D knitting technology allows them to minimize

Everything they make at Pact starts with Earth’s Favorite™ Fiber, organic cotton. Growing cotton organically saves vast amounts of water and uses no toxic chemicals. At Pact, they choose to use organic cotton because it sustains the health of soils, ecosystems, and people by using natural farming processes. That means no toxic chemicals and 91% less water than nonorganic cotton.

wearpact.com armsofandes.com To learn more about sustainability-minded companies and their initiatives, visit our friends at sustainablebrands.com

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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Why ‘Microbial Area Kleaners’ Can Help Save Our Seas Produced in partnership with

EMT CEO Randall Mount addresses the benefits of MAKs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a third of the commercial fishing industry’s revenue vanished, subjecting the entire industry to vulnerabilities for which it simply couldn’t prepare. According to NOAA, restaurant closures heavily impacted the seafood industry, social distancing protocols, and the need for safety measures. Reports from the NW Seaport Alliance revealed that the industry is responsible for $1.4 billion in total business output, with over 11,300 jobs and 300 commercial fishing vessels.

Photo courtesy of Starbound

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The Starbound is a 300’ fishing vessel with a breadth of 48’, owned and operated by Aleutian Spray Fisheries, targeting primarily Alaskan Pollock.

Microbial Area Kleaners Can Help Protect Crews On Board Restrictions are finally starting to loosen after vaccinations have become publicly available. Several industry vessels, such as the Starbound and other ships at the Port of Seattle, are turning to new technology as a method of protection for crews onboard: Microbial Area Kleaners, or MAK systems. The technology belongs to Extreme Microbial Technologies (EMT), which uses hydrogen peroxide plasma. The plasma eliminates viruses and other air and surface contaminants, especially in close-quarter living spaces like fishing boats. “The Starbound, like most commercial fishing boats, has a quarantine room, sanitation procedures, and even UV lights in the HVAC system,” explained Starbound’s Captain and Managing Partner Karl Bratvold. The issue of sanitization, according to Bratvold, became even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2016, Bratvold oversaw and directed a $45 million project to rebuild the Aleutian Spray Fisheries C/P Starbound. It extended the vessel’s length to 300 feet while adding a new fish meal plant, factory, propulsion system, and

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electronics. For 24-years, Bratvold captained Starbound and is now serving as its Managing Partner. Wanting greater control over the health of his crew, Bratvold began to research solutions. He quickly realized he needed a more “active” technology, unlike the “passive” technology of UV lights, which led to the creation of EMT. Since the company installed MAK systems in December, the overall health of the Starbound crew is substantially better. “There has not been so much as a single case of the common cold on board. It’s been really incredible,” Bratvold told Innovation & Tech Today. “People are just amazed.”

“Consequently, the adoption of MAK technology grew incredibly quickly, which uses Hydrogen Peroxide Plasma to significantly reduce microbes such as molds, bacteria, and viruses including COVID-19” in an indoor environment.” In using hydrogen peroxide plasma, MAK systems seek out and eliminate pathogens 24/7 in any indoor environment and are validated to reduce the concentration of microbes indoors by 99% or more.

Mount says that this type of technology is “especially effective in the close quarters of a ship.” Passive Technologies Only Facilitate Today’s Newest Viruses “Cutting-edge MAK technology is recognized as a gamechanger for its active approach,” Mount explains. Unlike traditional passive technology, MAK’s use of hydrogen peroxide plasma makes it cutting-edge. The systems require very little routine maintenance and are customizable for any size indoor environment.

“Viruses and other contaminants have always been a concern for commercial fishing boats, which require crews to live together in close quarters for weeks or even months at a time,” said Randall Mount, CEO at EMT. “Illness can spread like wildfire on a boat and can be crippling to operations.”

“Filters and ultraviolet light are old-school technologies; these passive solutions require the microbes to find their way to the technology, instead of the other way around. Standard HEPA filters and UV systems can only trap or kill the microbes that encounter the filter material or the light waves emanating from the bulb in the ductwork. Even then, many microbes are too small to be trapped and pass through, or they are moving so quickly the UV light does not have time to adequately expose the organism to the harmful UV rays.”

He emphasized the need to find better ways to protect crew member health now more than ever since COVID-19 has continued to be part of our daily life.

This technology, according to Mount, is publicly available to consumers and is often used in single-family homes and individual living spaces, in addition to a variety of

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Since 2009, cruise ship passengers have skyrocketed from 17.8 million to 30 million, an annual growth rate of 5.4%.

Photo: iStockphoto.com/dcsliminky

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industries ranging from food processors and restaurants to schools, medical offices, and a variety of retail stores.

still exist and can be hard to contain aboard even large vessels like cruise ships or commercial fishing boats, Danishek said.”

“Businesses and individuals should expect to notice improvement quickly in the form of lower particle counts and fewer illnesses,” he continued. “The Starbound commercial fishing boat reports it has not had any health outbreaks since it installed MAK technology back in December 2020.”

Mount believes that cruise operators can embrace active MAK technology. The tech helps prevent the spread of illnesses and reassure customers that the indoor environments onboard like restaurants, theatres, and shopping areas are protected and safe.

The Return of 2021-2022 Cruise Season This spring, President Biden signed the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act into law. The law lifts the requirement that foreign-registered ships traveling between the mainland United States and Alaska must stop in a foreign port. Stephanie Jones Stebbins, the managing director of maritime for the Port of Seattle, says the loss of the 2020 cruise season has already cost the Puget Sound region plenty. “When Canada closed the ports… it essentially wiped out our cruise season,” said travel expert Steve Danishek. He points out that the bulk of Seattle’s cruise business relies on ships traveling to and from Alaska. In taking a closer look at the Port of Seattle, Seattle’s cruise industry plays favorably into introducing MAK systems. “An increase in registered ships traveling to and from the Port of Seattle and the mainland U.S. will only drive demand for the MAK technology — even when COVID-19 is not an imminent threat, colds, flu and other illnesses

The bulk of Seattle’s cruise business relies upon ships traveling to and from Alaska. With the closure of the 2020 cruise season, what can the cruise and commercial fishing industry expect as restrictions start to loosen up? “Like other industries, the cruise and commercial fishing industries are regaining capacity,” Mount says. “As businesses of all kinds look for long-term solutions to the pandemic, the cleaning of air and surfaces has come to the forefront. COVID-19 has woken us up to a seemingly obvious issue: the quality of the air we breathe, like the cleanliness of surfaces we touch, is incredibly important.” Addressing President Biden’s recent enactment of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act into law, Mount says that any return to normal will grow demand for active technology like MAK systems, which have been validated as 99.9% effective against COVID-19 by the University of Louisville, Center for Predictive Medicine. “The technology is being distributed across the U.S. and other areas of the world as an added layer of protection in schools, nursing homes, restaurants, and a variety of other industries.” ■

Debunking Misinformation Surrounding Air Filtration Technology Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses sought to protect products and processes but now have shifted their focus on protecting people, mainly from misinformation.

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We asked Mount to help us debunk industry myths that are just plain wrong today. Myth #1 – Traditional Air Filters Work Just Fine Air filters and other passive technologies are not as effective as users might hope. Rather than seeking out and eliminating microbes, these passive technologies require microbes to travel to them.

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Additionally, when changing an air filter, you expose everyone to the microbes collected. Myth #2 – Putting Hydrogen Peroxide into the Air is Bad The hydrogen peroxide plasma MAK units produce is entirely safe for people, pets, and plants. Myth #3 – This Effective Technology Must Be Expensive Users of MAK technology are usually pleasantly surprised about the price for installing and operating the equipment. When schools, businesses, and other organizations consider how much they spend on chemical sprays and other cleaning supplies, they quickly realize the MAK technology pays for itself. Myth #4 – Getting Sick is Just Part of the Job Illnesses are quickly passed around in fishing boats and other tight work environments. But, after implementing the active hydrogen peroxide plasma technology, businesses are drastically reducing or even eliminating illnesses among staff and guests. Photo courtesy of Starbound

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

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In Search Of…

More STEM Talent Both the public and private sectors are scrambling to find STEM workers. Here’s how they can succeed. By Rick White and Alexander Kirillov Each week we see concerning reports about the STEM skills gap continuing to widen in the United States. The good news is Congress and the Biden Administration have a unique chance to help move things in the right direction. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, there were 1.4 million open tech vacancies in 2020 and only 400,000 computer science graduates. This is an alarming statistic, especially for a country that prides itself on being the home of Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. Furthermore, with the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering travel and borders, companies have no longer been able to rely as much on skilled workers from other countries — and the U.S. educational system has not caught up with the need for STEM-skilled workers. Closing the STEM skills gap will be an important step in keeping America competitive with the rest of the world in innovation. According to Bloomberg’s Innovation Index, the United States has already fallen out of the top 10 most innovative countries. In many countries, cultivating STEM skills is the primary way young people can improve their economic situation and raise their standard of living. Students in the United States, however, generally have more options, and graduate trends show they tend to choose different paths. The federal government can only do so much to push the STEM agenda, and government programs that don’t take the right approach can

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

lack the necessary impact, waste money, and even be counterproductive. But there are a few things the government can do that will make a difference. We need to invest in STEM education early and get younger generations excited for the opportunities that STEM can offer them. We also need to incentivize and reward businesses that are hiring and retaining those with STEM backgrounds. Now that Congress and the Administration are proposing a $2-trillion-plus infrastructure plan, we have a chance to make a real impact if STEM spending can be targeted towards these key action points. Starting Young Many professionals choose their career based on childhood experience. If we want more STEM graduates, we need to plant the seed in the minds of younger generations before they graduate from high school. By the time they enter college, it may be too late. In recent years, private groups and local organizations have developed promising STEM programs focused on elementary school children but making more federal funds available to them could increase their impact. Unfortunately, the draft of the infrastructure plan focuses almost exclusively on higher education. It allocates $50 billion for STEM programs at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions (MSIs), but little to K-12 education.

While spending on STEM programs in higher education is undoubtedly important, some of this funding could have a greater impact on younger students. For example, the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC) has a program targeted at third grade girls in underserved communities called STEAM Town USA. The afterschool program invites female engineers and scientists to volunteer with young girls and teach STEM skills through projects and activities. High school programs like the National Robotics League (NRL), previously featured in Innovation & Tech Today, also provide practical hands-on experience in fun competitive environments. This program lets students build and program robots to expose them to STEM career opportunities in the manufacturing space, where a significant amount of private sector research and development takes place. While the NRL goes beyond the classroom to get young people engaged, this program has consistently faced funding issues. The administration says its goal for the infrastructure plan is to rebuild a more modern economy. If it can include a robust plan for enhancing STEM education in grade school and high school, it will have a much stronger chance of reaching this goal. Incentives for STEM Employers We also need to incentivize the businesses that are hiring STEM graduates, so that a student’s

STEM jobs are nothing to scoff at, with a median hourly wage in 2020 of $38.85. These jobs are growing at a faster rate than even non-STEM jobs. The biggest need is, and for years has been, finding more workers qualified to take the jobs. Photos: iStockphoto.com

hard work in getting a STEM education can pay off career-wise. The Biden administration has proposed tax increases on business to pay for the infrastructure bill, specifically raising the corporate tax rate to between 25% and 28%, increasing the global minimum tax on corporations to 21% and treating capital gains as ordinary income.

consultants and digital transformation companies in particular, which hire large numbers of STEM graduates, will benefit from improved network infrastructure because of the work they do to elevate the technological capabilities of legacy American businesses.

These tax hikes on companies hiring STEM graduates are counterproductive – in fact, they limit employment opportunities for those who have focused on the technical fields. Fortunately, there are existing incentives for most STEM employers, and the Biden tax plan needs to protect and, if possible, expand them.

The private sector also has a role to play. At a minimum, it needs to do a better job of taking advantage of the incentives the government already makes available to STEM employers. IT consultants and digital transformation companies in particular have a history of overlooking the R&D credit, and even those who do claim it are often significantly underclaiming.

As the infrastructure plan is implemented, the value of the R&D will only increase. The plan will not only improve our roads and bridges but also our broadband and cellular networks. IT

Just as the federal government needs to put resources behind encouraging STEM students, they also need to be educating STEM employers about the incentives for which they are. In 2020,

there was bipartisan support for the FORWARD Act, which would have created a budget to promote the credit, increase its value, and make on-job training a qualifying activity. This is a time of great potential. If just a small percentage of spending in the infrastructure plan can be directed to a few key areas, and if the private sector can do a better job of using the incentives that the government makes available, we can make significant progress in narrowing the STEM skills gap. ■ RICK WHITE is a former U.S. Congressman currently serving as a member of the Strategic Advisory Board at alliantgroup, a tax consultancy. ALEXANDER KIRILLOV is Director for alliantgroup’s Mid-Atlantic headquarters in Washington D.C. SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

REVIEWED

Elegant and Simple Smart Audio —

CLEER CRESCENT

By Jeremy Glowacki Right out of the box, the Cleer Crescent smart audio speaker blew me away with its solidly built crescent shape, all-metal control panel, stainless steel mesh grille and rubberized foundation.

powered on automatically and the four LEDs on the front of the speaker lit up.

At its widest, the speaker is 26 inches across the top and 13 inches at the base, so it’s not tiny, but it also does not dominate the room.

Cleer Vice-President of Marketing Aaron Levine also noted that Google Home was the best option for Crescent’s linear speaker array, with the app’s wide variety of streaming content as well as better implementation of Cleer’s software.

The speaker’s champagne color, which is currently the only finish option, is elegant, unique, and neutral enough to blend into most rooms. Setting up Cleer Crescent Cleer Crescent is not a “portable” speaker, so there is no battery, just an AC power cable and power adapter plug in the wall. Once connected, Crescent

For Crescent’s price ($699 MSRP), Google Home offered different features from other competitors in its price range.

Getting It Up and Running Crescent also enables playback from Chromecast, AirPlay 2, and Bluetooth, as well as an external playback device via an AUX, optical audio, or Ethernet cable. During playback, it is easy to locate the volume up and volume down buttons, which are separated by the play/pause button in the middle of the control panel on top of the speaker. By pressing the mic on/off button, you can mute or unmute the built-in microphone. A mic LED light will indicate the microphone is muted. In addition to the unique industrial design, build quality, and audio performance of Crescent, I

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

really enjoyed toggling through the three available audio modes within the speaker’s software. By pressing the audio mode button on the control panel, an LED indicates each audio mode with a different color. For stereo music, the blue LED represents Stereo Widening Mode, which is described as a “well-defined, wide stereo soundstage, expands well beyond the speaker’s physical placement. The red LED is for TV/movies or gaming. My favorite audio mode on Crescent is Room Fill Mode (a green LED), which was designed for party or casual listening. It is described as “for occasions with multiple listeners… an ultra-wide sweet spot engages listeners equally in every corner of the room.” What’s Inside Crescent Aesthetics are only part of the reason Crescent is shaped like a crescent. Inside the speaker is an eight-speaker linear array featuring 40mm full-range drivers. Cleer built the speaker in an array because they wanted to create a compact integrated speaker that would perform like a larger 2-channel or more traditional speaker. The exterior is stainless-steel bent rail handmade at Cleer’s factory. The top control panel is aluminum, adding to the speaker’s rigidity and higher-end appearance. ■

PRODUCT REVOLUTION Limitless PowerPro Go – The Limitless 3-In-1 Wall Charger and 10,000mAh Power Bank supports a wide range of devices by providing USB, Type-C, and wireless charging outputs. Combining a portable charger with a powerful wall charger, you can stay powered every day with highspeed capabilities and fully charge most devices from anywhere. The 18W Type-C Port PD (Power Delivery), 3.0A QC (Qualcomm Quick Charge) USB-A Port, and 10W Wireless Charger provide the fastest possible charge to devices including phones, laptops, tablets, and more. $60

AirThings Wave Mini – Cost-effective, smart, indoor air-quality companion, offering users real-time measurements and analysis of their home’s TVOCs, temperature, and humidity – an ideal first step for anyone looking to take control of their indoor air quality. Includes sensors for TVOCs, humidity, and temperature, giving users a constant real-time glimpse of the air quality inside their homes. Bluetooth supports use with the free mobile app. Thanks to its low power consumption, batteries can last up to two years. $79

Withings Sleep Tracking Mat – Withings’ Sleep tracking Mat offers sleep quality assessment that is able to seamlessly fit under any mattress. With the Health Mate app, users are able to easily track their sleeping habits, as well as receive coaching and advice on how to improve the quality of their sleep so that they can remain well rested to conquer the day ahead. Sleep features include sleep monitoring, snore detection, heart rate tracking, a sleep coaching program, and sleep disturbance detection. $100

Ambassador Interpreter – Ambassador Interpreter is a shareable over-the-ear interpretation tool that provides prosumers with highly accurate and natural translations in 20 languages and 42 dialects. Its translations can be delivered via over-the-ear audio, text on a smart app, and be broadcasted live in a conference environment. This allows prosumers to use the translation tool in any situation, from individual conversations and group meetings to lectures and speeches. Up to four Ambassador Interpreter units can be paired with one smartphone, making it easy to set up and use. $199

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

PRODUCT REVOLUTION

Hot Rock – Hot Rock was developed by Dr. Tony Rocklin, an orthopedic sports medicine physical therapist, veteran, and founder of MedRock. It is the only foam roller that heats up past 1600F. Unlike microwave-heated rollers that lose heat and can’t be regulated by the user, HotRock is a plug-in device that can heat up and maintain its selected temperature in less than four minutes. HotRock utilizes heat and myofascial release therapies, a drugfree, natural technique proven to improve mobility, decrease pain and soreness while also increasing relaxation and flexibility. $119 The Lift – Combining the best aspects of a personal desktop whiteboard and laptop riser, The Lift is a streamlined desktop hardware accessory designed to elevate your workspace while reducing paper waste and modernizing your desk setup. $79

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

Roborock S7 – The Roborock S7 is the latest robot vacuum and mop system from Roborock featuring one of the fastest sonic mops on the market. The upgraded mop feature is tough enough to tackle dried-on dirt with advanced tech designed to lift when carpet is detected to offer a more efficient, convenient single cleaning session without interruption. $649

Limitless Dual CupStation – Adapt the small, standard vehicle cup holders into an expandable base capable of fitting large drinks, water bottles, tablets, and other accessories with the Limitless Dual CupStation. Not only does the Dual CupStation give you the freedom of holding virtually anything, it also adds a second holder, doubling the space available in your center console. Safely secure cell phones, keys, coins, pens, sunglasses, beverages, and more all while keeping them within reach. $25

Events

COMING NEXT ISSUE

JULY 23-25

Comic-Con International San Diego, CA

27-28

Finnovex Southern Africa Virtual

AUGUST

Esports Revolution

The rise of esports should come as no surprise to anyone. The video game revolution that began in the early-1980s had a similar meteoric rise to popularity. In our fall issue, we’ll be diving into the esports phenomenon and it’s growing fanbase. While we don’t think of gaming as a traditional sport, it’s structure is not all that different. From sponsors and gambling to screaming fans, be assured this is no passing phase. In our fall issue, we’ll have everything you need to know about esports and then some.

Outdoor Fitness

9-13

HIMSS 2021 Global Conference & Exhibition Las Vegas, NV

10-12

ATX Automation Technology West Anaheim, CA

16-19

Auvsi Xponential 2021 Atlanta, GA

The outdoor fitness sector is growing every day. During the pandemic, it became a way to get a change of scenery. From cycling to running to outdoor yoga, the possibilities for outdoor fun and fitness are endless. In our next issue, we’ll be diving into the hottest gear and innovations on the market. We’re searching the planet for the greatest gear we can find in the worlds of futuristic cycles, the best wearables to track your progress, and even high-tech shoes.

The Latest in Medtech

SEPTEMBER 6-7

Blockchain Expo Global London, UK

6-7

AI & Big Data Expo Global London, UK

No single sector has grown more during the COVID-19 pandemic than that of medical technology. CES 2021 was filled with companies sharing new devices and technologies. Of course, disinfecting UVC lights, high-tech masks, and other COVID-19 prevention devices made up a lot of the show. New therapies and medical implements are designed all the time, with a bigger push than ever currently underway. The good news is those innovations mean better health and personal care for all of us. This fall, we will find everything you don’t even know you need.

Sleep Science

Another world we don’t touch on often is the science of sleep. So many companies claim to have it dialed in — it’s difficult to determine who’s telling the truth. But don’t sweat — we’re working nights to find the best sleep solutions backed by science.

7-8

Finnovex Middle East Hybrid platform/Dubai, UAE

14-16

Super Niche LIVE Denver, CO

From the countless mattresses that dial-in a perfect night’s sleep, to the latest in wave machines, we’re going to be diving in face first to find the answers.

SUMMER 2021 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY

The Lighter Side 10 Reasons I NEED a Samsung BotHandy By Corey Noles Of the thousands of products I looked at during CES 2021, nothing blew my mind quite like the awesome Samsung BotHandy. This thing is everything the lazy American needs to truly maximize their coveted couch time. BotHandy can do just about anything, and is arguably, the most impressive home robot we’ve seen to date. Here are 10 reasons why Samsung should send me one immediately.

ASSISTANT I need an assistant. To have someone waiting around for me to bark orders would really help organize my life. I don’t have time for these new-fangled things like calendars and planners. I want a robot who can simply say “You have a doctor’s appointment at noon today.”

GO-GETTER I’m tired of walking to the bedroom when I forget my charger. I desperately want someone who when I ask for my iPad and a charger, can just go handle that. Because I’m lazy and I don’t really want to do that anymore.

can give BotHandy a ruler and send him in to watch the kids, scramble YouTube and whack them when they touch their phones. This alone frees up hours of my week and likely improves their efficiency as students.

WINGMAN If I drink myself into oblivion while trying to get this issue out, BotHandy could call 911 and save my life. Of course, there is a risk of robot-assisted CPR when I’m simply drunk, and I don’t know if one could mentally (or physically) recover from that.

ROBOCOP

HELPER FOR MY WIFE I need someone to go grab a soda from the fridge for my wife. Every night I lay there all comfortably and she looks at me with her beautiful eyes and I cave. “Hey BotHandy, go grab my wife a drink,” is like music to my ears.

DISHWASHER Dishes suck. BotHandy does dishes. I don’t need to say much else for this one.

CHEF Cooking sucks as much as washing dishes. This thing can cook your dinner. Even if it needs a little help, the ability to streamline cooking would be an improvement. Think of BotHandy as Rosie from The Jetsons. Who doesn’t want a Rosie in their life?

HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL He can be my kids’ high school principal. Let’s face it, if I had any desire to be an educator, I would have studied education in college. I

Home security. BotHandy can hang in the living room armed to the hilt like he’s headed for ‘Nam, ready to end any potential intruders while my family and I sleep like babies.

DOG WALKER He can walk the dog when I’m not home (and occasionally when I am). Imagine if while you’re gone for the day, a robot could ensure your dog goes out when they need to handle their business. Let’s be honest here, I don’t look like a guy who walks a lot.

THE ONLY REASON THAT MATTERS Because I want a robot. Since the first time I saw Sico in Rocky IV, I’ve dreamed of this day. And let’s be honest, do we really need a reason other than this? So, Samsung, I have plead my case. Now step up and send me my robot. ■ Photos courtesy of Samsung

INNOVATION & TECH TODAY | SUMMER 2021

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