Around the end of June, Jasper, Antony, Eduardo, and I got the opportunity to attend O’Reilly Solid, a conference centered on hardware, software, and the Internet of Things. While we were only able to be there on the last day of the three-day event, we got to see some truly fantastic keynote speakers, technologies, and companies.
The day kicked off with speakers Jon Bruner from O’Reilly Media and Joichi Ito from MIT Media Lab, both of whom gave a talk about the rapid growth of the hardware field, and why that is more significant than the Internet of Things. What stood out to me most from this presentation was at the end, when they spoke about the emerging trend of combining the two areas to produce technologies like driverless cars, or create companies such as Nest, Tesla, and Rethink Robotics. In a sense, the natural combination of the two fields only serves to validate the fact that robotics is rapidly becoming a field in which some of the most significant impacts can be made.
Two other memorable speakers were Quentin Mitchell, a Kenyan rally car driver, and David Kong, from MIT. Quentin Mitchell gave an excellent talk about his struggle to become one of Kenya’s youngest rally car drivers, and how that experience has given him the ability to create communities not only in Kenya, but in San Francisco as well. David Kong also gave a talk about community, but his is a more specialized one that is centered on enabling the public to take part in working in synthetic biology. What set these talks apart was the fact that the themes were around using technology to bring together people, not just how to effectively use technology or how to create a successful company – while the latter two are equally important, the reminder that at its core technology is used to make an impact on people was significant.
Blade, one of the first 3D-printed cars, designed by Divergent Microfactories.
After seeing some of the speakers, I went to the tradeshow to talk to some of the companies that were in attendance. Directly upon entering was the Blade, one of the world’s first 3D-printed cars! This was manufactured by Divergent Microfactories, and was extremely impressive and sleek. Continuing in the vein of 3D-printed objects, Autodesk was also in attendance, with an equally sleek and “smart” 3D-printed bicycle, along with a motorcycle, robotic arm, and keyboard that had all been designed using Fusion 360 – which you can download for free!
Kast 3D printer and booth!
Last in this category was the Kast 3D-printer, developed by startup Photonfluid. The printer uses a resin-based process to print, similar to the stereolithographic process of using a UV light engine to cure layers of resin. What was notable about this printer is that it can print 8-10 inches an hour, meaning it’s up to 5-12 times faster than existing printers. They’re planning on launching their Kickstarter campaign soon, and you can sign up on their website to receive updates here!
Education and general public enablement were also huge themes, as I had noticed from the speakers earlier. Proto Labs, SkyBot, and Magnitude.io are all fairly new companies that are centered on either K-12 education, in the case of the latter two, or providing a platform or resources for the public to use, in the case of the former.
Proto Labs provides manufacturing services for companies and individuals alike, and showcased ideas that they aided such as a heat powered battery charger, portable tripod, and a smartphone-to-microscope converter. SkyBot makes 3D-printed quadcopters and supplies Node.js-based, open-source software to control them, making it easy and affordable for schools to use these in their classrooms to teach students. Their Kickstarter was recently successfully funded, so they will be available soon! On a similar note, Magnitude.io is focused on increasing education in STEM, through their “CanSat”, a satellite in a can. They provide the materials and curriculum for grades 6-12 to learn more about sensors, data analysis, science writing, and flight testing.
Particle Photon kit!
Photo credit: Eduardo Pelegri-Llopart
Overall, Solid was full of individuals, huge companies, and small startups all invested in a common interest: innovation. Unlike the Augmented World Expo, it was much more about meeting like-minded people and less about business. I came away from the conference with an increased awareness of what is happening in the tech world (and a Particle Photon kit!). It was an incredible experience to be able to attend and see how technology is rapidly evolving, and I am really excited to see all of these products and technologies come to life!
**NOTE: Credit for many photos goes to Eduardo Pelegri-Llopart**
Shivali Chandra 