At the turn of the twentieth century, the swelling populations of newly arrived immigrants in New York City’s Lower East Side reached a boiling point, forcing the City to pass the 1901 Tenement House Act. Recalling this legislation, New York City’s Mayor’s Office recently responded to its own modern housing crisis by enabling developers for the […]
In The Spirit Of Ada Lovelace: Female Entrepreneurs Build Next Generation Robots
Near the end of World War II, Adm. William “Bull” Halsey of the famed Third Fleet steered directly into a typhoon, losing 790 crewmen and 146 aircraft in the Pacific. Dr. Eric Daimler, formerly an innovation fellow with the Obama White House, shared this story with me in 2017 as an illustration of the importance of trusting data. It […]
A Personal Saga To Understanding Hardware Market Opportunities
The shock ripped through the industry, on almost every social media platform techies were bemoaning the loss of Anki. As a former robo-toy maker, I read the epitaph months earlier in the title of Lara Sorokanich’s Medium post, “Anki’s AI Robot Is a Delightful (and Expensive) Desk Toy.” When asked this week to comment, I could […]
Are Ethics Keeping Pace With Technology?
Returning from vacation, my inbox overflowed with emails announcing robot “firsts.” At the same time, my relaxed post-vacation disposition was quickly rocked by the news of the day and recent discussions regarding the extent of AI bias within New York’s financial system. These unrelated incidents are very much connected in representing the paradox of the acceleration of […]
Automate 2019 Startup Showdown Recap
It’s been two years since the last time I judged the Automate Startup Competition. More than any other trade show contest, this event has been an oracle of future success. In following up with the last vintage of participants, all of the previous entries are still operating and many are completing multi-million dollar financing rounds. As an […]
Conquering The Home, One Shirt At A Time
Last week, attending the Our Crowd Summit, I felt engulfed by the breadth of innovation and minds gathered in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center. Jonathan Medved’s billion-dollar crowd-funding platform has launched some of Israel’s most promising mechatronic startups, including ReWalk, Intuition Robotics, Airobotics, and Argus Cyber Security. Medved’s success is his infectious positivity and confidence that fosters collaboration across the venture ecosystem. […]
Machines That Smell Trouble
Abruptly, I enter the cab escaping the arctic weather to confront something worse than freezing rain – body odor. Luckily, another taxi pulled to the curb and I continued my journey to last Tuesday’s RobotLab forum on Cybersecurity & Machines. Moderating a panel at the new Global Cyber Center, with John Frankel of ffVC and Guy Franklin of SOSA, I […]
Is the Green New Deal Sustainable?
Washington DC was abuzz with news that had nothing to do with the occupant of The White House. A group of progressive legislators, led by Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, in the House of Representatives, introduced “The Green New Deal.” The resolution by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was in response to the alarming Fourth National Climate Assessment by […]
What Happens When The Unmanned Awakens And Becomes Self-Aware?
The star of the Super Bowl wasn’t on the field, but the robot in Michelob ULTRA commercial. The metal beast was featured living and playing among humans, taking any opportunity to show off his brute strength. The bot smugly proves he do anything better than his organic citizens, except down a cold one. In the closing caption, […]
Executing Better By Listening To Public Discontent
In the wake of the closure of Apple’s autonomous car division (Project Titan) this week, one questions if Steve Jobs’ axiom still holds true. “Some people say, ‘Give the customers what they want.’ But that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do,” declared Jobs and […]