On February 10, all members of the HBS community (including those without Cyberposium tickets) will have an opportunity to see and touch cutting-edge products and technologies that have the potential to make a substantial impact on the way we live and do business. The Show’s featured themes include wireless devices, converging media, mobile computing, and next generation interfaces. Beginning at 11:00 a.m. in the Williams Room in the Spangler Center, these exhibits will give TechShow attendees a unique opportunity to interact with innovators on the leading edge-from the just-hatched, upcoming high tech venture to the cutting-edge think tank within a major corporation.
Exhibitors will show off the latest in 3-D display, face recognition, Bluetooth, Internet appliance, interactive television, robotic, and mobile computing technologies. Charmed Technology, will show off the latest in wearable computers. SensAble Technologies will demonstrate a device that allows human beings to feel 3-D surfaces and shapes that they see on their computer screens.
At 3:45 p.m., TechShow will host the first public unveiling of the first-generation Digital Angel wristband by Applied Digital Solutions. Digital Angel brings together for the first time web-enabled wireless, global positioning, and bio-sensor technologies. Designed for a variety of applications, Digital Angel could be used, for example, to remotely monitor the condition and location of at-risk medical patients, children, and pets.
Digital Angel is the brainchild of CEO Richard Sullivan, who experienced the loss of his brother several years ago. Mr. Sullivan realized that quick notification of his brother’s condition might have saved his life. When Mr. Sullivan came across a patent for a GPS-locating chip, he seized the opportunity to use the technology to improve the quality of life of people at risk.
The wristband device has an embedded microchip with bio-sensing capabilities. Vital signs measured by the chip (e.g.temperature, pulse) are transmitted wirelessly to a service center, along with location data sent via the global positioning system. The information can then be accessed by a subscriber (a doctor or loved one, for instance). Subscribers can receive both real-time and historical biological and location information about the wristband wearer, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If a heart patient wearing a Digital Angel device goes into cardiac arrest, an emergency 911 call will be immediately triggered. Emergency technicians would have an accurate reading of the patient’s vital signs and location, a feature that could allow Digital Angel to literally save lives.
In addition, Takeshi Natsuno will demonstrate the revolutionary third generation wireless service iMode. iMode is a brand and a service of wireless Internet connection at the touch of a button on a cell phone. NTT DoCoMo started this service in February 1999 in Japan and had over six million subscribers 14 months later. The latest iMode interface includes a car navigation system that provides congestion news, localized weather forecasts and parking updates.
All TechShow events are open to the entire HBS community and select local graduate schools. For more information, please contact Quintin Anderson, Susan Chen, or Johnson Tan .
