Unique Technology-Focused Event Coming to Mississauga
Published June 28, 2018 at 6:46 pm
If you look around you, you might be tempted to think that we already live in the future.
Or, rather, that the future is here.
But even though we’ve never been more connected to (or reliant on) our handheld devices (how did we find our way around the world before Google Maps?), it looks like our bodies and technology can merge even further.
And the upcoming Driving Dreams conference at the University of Toronto–Mississauga (UTM) is going to explore how (and how individuals and businesses can use what it calls the Internet of Me (IoMe) to their advantage).
“This is a conference where Internet of Things (IOT) intersects with digital health, smart mobility, Industry 4.0 and advanced materials. By focusing on personal enablement and industrial automation, we’ll learn how this growing technology can be applied to a variety of areas,” says Igancio Mongrell, strategic relations & innovations manager, ICUBE UTM – Entrepreneurship in Action.
“It can improve health and mobility or allow engineers on the factory floor to get vital information that could make their jobs safer and more effective.”
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The conference, which will take place at UTM on July 12, will focus on what organizers call personal enablement and industrial automation.
The IoMe conference is the second annual Driving Dreams event and it will be run in partnership with Arrow Electronics, RIC Centre and I-CUBE at UTM.
As for what, exactly, IOT and IoME is, a Wired interview with Arrow Electronics president and Chief Digital Officer Matt Anderson helps define the concept.
“The future is more advanced than we realize. It will integrate with our DNA. Think of all the different systems in your body fighting with each other, telling you where to look, how to use your hands, what to put in your mouth,” Anderson told Wired.
“Now imagine tech working in your body at the biological level. Your body could express itself on its own, without you having to be in charge, to deliver more happiness, better health, whatever you truly need and want.”
According to the RIC Centre, a non-profit entrepreneur and innovation hub for Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, the conference will help attendees learn how these growing technologies can be applied to a variety of areas. The event, organizers say, will provide attendees an opportunity to hear from industry leaders while providing a collaborative environment for networking.
“We did a similar event last year and it was focused on Internet of Things and personal health and accessibility. This year is about Internet of Things and how it connects to you as an individual,” says Pam Banks, executive director at the RIC Centre.
“If you think about what you would today, everything is all connected. Your Fitbit or coffeemaker will tell you it needs something, such as maintenance. A lot of sensor devices are in our manufactured goods. We’ve got all of these things in our home that are talking. How do we distill this data into something meaningful that impacts the way we live? We’ve structured the panels to give the 360 perspective.”
Banks says the conference will help existing companies looking into the future and figure what the major disruptors are going to be.
“It’s also for earlier stage entrepreneurs who are asking if their product addresses this need or problem. We’ve also included components for students and academics.”
This year’s event boasts experts from Microsoft Canada, SOTI and more. The RIC Centre says they will provide insight into the uses of IoT in digital health, Industry 4.0, mobility and the future of materials and electronics and how we can build the new Internet of Me.
The centre says the conference will be attended by industry professionals, C-suite executives, government representatives, academic institutions, small businesses, technology entrepreneurs and vendors.
As far as speakers go, attendees can expect to hear from former Indy racing league driver Sam Schmidt (who became a team owner after a crash left him with quadriplegia), Aiden Mitchell from Arrow Electronics, Greg Dashwood from Microsoft Canada, Michelle Chretien from Sheridan College, Edward Shim from Studio 1 Labs, Sanya Sidhu from the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium, Wendy Cukier from the Ted Rogers School of Management and more.
Banks says attendees can see Schmidt’s technologically advanced car.
Sam Schmidt’s race car will be there on display,” she says. “It’s been outfitted with sensors so that he, as a quadriplegic, can drive that car. There are sensors in his baseball cap that move the car based on where he moves his eyes. A tech will explain the number of processors in the car.”
Tickets will range in price from $25-$75, but prospective attendees can get a deal (25 per cent off) if they purchase before June 29.
“Tickets are going fast,” says Banks.
Food and beverage are included are included in the cost of the ticket.
To purchase tickets, click here.
For more info, click here.
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