Source: https://www.innovationdrift.com/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 09:08:27+00:00

Document:
INNOVATION DRIFT 2019 is the 4th bi-annual chance to take a part in the most groundbreaking technological achievements forum in the Baltic Sea region.
The brightest minds and influential decision makers gather in Vilnius, Lithuania on the 13-14th of June 2019 to discuss regional and global challenges, share views on innovations and create possibilities to solve pressing economic and social challenges.
The organizers – Ministry of the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania and the driving force of innovations implementation the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA) are ready to challenge everyone to project how Lithuania and the world are going to change in 10 years.
Päivi Tahkokallio is the President-elect of BEDA, The Bureau of European Design Associations with 50 member organizations in 26 European countries, and Founder and CEO of Tahkokallio Design+, a design thinking and strategic design agency from Lapland, Finland. Her two year term as President begins in May 2019. As well, Päivi is Vice President of Ornamo Art and Design Finland, an association of some 2 600 Finnish designers, the Chair of Design Committee of Lapland Chamber of Commerce, and a Fellow of Royal Society of Arts in UK.
With her track record on strategic and social design Paivi has been called the mother of Arctic Design, a design approach to support sustainable development of the Arctic region. She has extensive experience in the inclusive approach to design through her earlier career at the University of Art and Design Helsinki (now Aalto ARTS) and The National R&D Centre for Healthcare and Wealth, and through leading European Design for All network.
Martin is Co-founder & CTO of Particle3D, a medical technology start-up founded in 2017. Particle3D aims to revolutionize treatment of bone loss by delivering 3D printed patient specific bone implants consisting of natural materials, that over time degrades and transforms in to liv­ing bone tissue, healing the patient to prior bone damage.
The technology are currently being tested preclinically in Odense, Denmark. Human testing have been planned for 2020.
In 2018, Martin was listed in the European Edition of the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Sci­ence & Healthcare for his contributions towards Particle3D.
Dr. Zukin finished medical school in 1979 and worked as a consultant in genetics receiving his doctorate in this subject in 1991. He worked in the field of IVF from 1992 onwards and managed an embryology laboratory. From 1999 for 2005, he was general director of the “Isida” clinic. The author of 17 scientific works.
He is Vice-President of the Ukrainian Association for Reproductive Medicine and a member of European Society of a Reproduction and Embryology and the CEO of Clinic of Reproductive Medicine “Nadiya”, one of the largest IVF clinics in Ukraine.
Dr. Zukin and his team use a mitochondrial transfer technique that creates embryos that carry the chromosomes of two parents, but the mitochondrial DNA of a donor.
Mr. Nehmad is Israeli technology entrepreneur & a leading figure in the international startup community. Teddy has founded, invested in and helped dozens of startups ventures in a variety of sectors (Mobile, IT, Biotech, Medical, brain research etc.). Mr. Nehmad is a founder & CEO of C Capital based in Herzliya high tech zone near Tel Aviv, as well - a co-founder of SIH Innovation Center, a professional startup technology accelerator based in Haifa, Israel. In 2018 Mr. Nehmad founded & led a unique acceleration program for Lithuanian startups in Israel.
Paolo Balboni (qualified lawyer admitted to the Milan Bar) is a Founding Partner of ICT Legal Consulting (ICTLC), a law firm with offices in Milan, Bologna, Rome, an International Desk in Amsterdam, and multiple Partner Law Firms around the world. Together with his team he advises clients in the fields of Personal Data Protection, also acting as Data Protection Officer in outsourcing, Data Security, Information and Communication Technology and Intellectual Property Law. Paolo has considerable experience in Information Technologies including Cloud Computing, Big Data, Analytics and the Internet of Things, Media and Entertainment, Healthcare, Fashion, Automotive, Insurance, Banking, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing.
Paolo is Professor of Privacy, Cybersecurity, and IT Contract Law at the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity within the Maastricht University Faculty of Law, President of the European Privacy Association based in Brussels and Cloud Computing Sector Director and Responsible for Foreign Affairs at the Italian Institute for Privacy in Rome, Italy.
Alex is a catalyst and connector encouraging cultural change, empowering people through social enterprise and entrepreneurship, playing with ideas and creativity, experimenting with cookery and food innovation and a wannabe food anthropologist. Alex is a serial entrepreneur and investor, has extensive experience in public, private and NGO sectors as well is a leadership mentor and change management consultant.
Katalista Ventures was founded as a hybrid startup accelerator and private equity fund to provide customized support, driven by experienced entrepreneurs and professionals in the Baltics.
Arvydas Plėta is an Innovation Partner at Katalista Ventures and an alumni and mentor of European Innovation Academy Corporate Innovation Head.
Krisstina wants to live on a spaceship exploring the Universe with Seven of Nine, the Borg with restored humanity, where species interact in respectful and complimentary ways and where great food and fine wine can be replicated at any time. In the meantime, she is constantly coming out as an English major at NASA using good communication and critical thinking skills to help others connect in their attempts to explore the Universe from right here on Earth.
As the Dean of Students for NASA Ames Research Center and the Project Manager for the NASA International Internships, Krisstina Wilmoth works with students and mentors from around the world to find NASA projects of mutual interest. Having been a professor for over 10 years before joining NASA and participated in the formalization of NASA’s field of astrobiology, Krisstina is used to extreme and diverse communities in both science disciplines and human nature. She enjoys seeing the possibilities to advance science, technology, and exploration for the benefit of all.
Nishan believes strongly in education's impact on the future generation's role in society. He originally joined TUMO as a content developer, creating self-learning activities before moving on to lead Filmmaking and Writing workshops in TUMO's Armenia centers. Currently, he serves as the Instructional Content Coordinator, coordinating the development of TUMO’s self-learning curriculum, ensuring the overall quality of the educational content and approach.
The TUMO Center for Creative Technologies is a free educational program for 12 to 18 year-olds. The center’s educational methodology is unique as it puts teenagers in the driving seat, allowing them to shape their own learning process related to 14 learning targets. These are Animation, Game Development, Filmmaking, Web Development, Music, Writing, Drawing, Graphic Design, 3D Modeling, Computer Programming, Robotics, Motion Graphics, Photography and New Media.
The education method applied by TUMO is highly innovative: it alternates between independent learning activities (e-learning), hands-on workshops and project labs. This hybrid educational model makes it possible for students to develop a variety of soft skills ranging from teamwork, initiative-taking, empathy to effective communication. At the same time, they acquire specific technical knowledge and know-how related to their specific chosen thematic area. Out-of-the-box thinking guides all activities as students are encouraged to combine their local, cultural heritage with state-of-the-art international tools.
Aili – weights 2 GB, never sleeps, never gets cold, never gets nervous and get rest only 4 hours every other day. Aili is a first virtual influencer in Lithuania, a friend of world famous virtual influencers Lil Miquela and Shudu Gram.
The virtual influencer Aili has been designed to imagine the face of LABAS brand managed by the telecommunications company Bitė Lietuva, if Aili were a human being. Aili does not like the advertising content, thus the decision not to speak on behalf of the company but rather hand over full communication to the "influencer" that is equal to followers, is handy.
Goda Vengrauskaitė, LABAS Brand Manager. Goda works so that LABAS, a pre-paid service of smart solutions company Bitė Lietuva becomes more and more #loveable and #digital on a daily basis. LABAS is the first in Lithuania to create a virtual influencer Aili that manages the brand account on social media Instagram.
Dr. Vytautas Ašeris is Partner Professor at Vilnius University, Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, and Head of Danske Bank Wealth Management Business Development Department in Lithuania. He has experience of more than ten years in the fields of software engineering and agile team management.
Dr. Vytautas innovative approach and contribution to the future of banking, in combination with the decade of experience in higher education, allows Vytautas to share insights and knowledge on innovation and technological progress in businesses while engaging his students.
Deepak – dynamic young engineer and researcher having experience of building electronics products in past. He has participated in various projects from academic institutions like IIIT - Hyderabad & Sine IIT - Bombay while alongside publishing multiple research reports on mobile robotics & consumer electronics. Today, he's conquering the ever-evolving start-up culture while constructing Li-Fi & disclosing its application in exciting new verticals.
Arvydas Laurinavičius is Professor of Pathology at Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine and Director of the National Centre of Pathology, Affiliate of Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos. He received his MD degree from Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine (1981-1987), PhD - from Moscow Medical Academy (1989-1992) and completed Renal Pathology Fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on digital image analytics to derive novel tissue pathology indicators for disease modelling. In particular, Prof. Laurinavicius has together with his research group at Vilnius University and researchers at Caen and Nottingham Universities developed methodologies for comprehensive digital immunohistochemistry analytics to empower information retrieval from routine IHC slides. He represented Lithuania in the establishment of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization (SNOMED International), he was a member of its Management Board and chaired Research & Innovation Committee. In 2010, he chaired European Congress of Digital Pathology in Vilnius.
Dr. Sara Medina is a Member of the Board of SPI, an international consulting Group with offices located in Europe (Portugal and Spain), North America (USA) and Asia (Beijing and Macao) and SPI Ventures. Dr. Medina contributes to the overall management of SPI, being responsible for managing SPI's activities and services in China since 2004 as well as in the Southeast Asian market.
She has coordinated projects for public and private sector clients in Europe and around the world, including projects for international organizations in innovation management, technology transfer, R&D, internationalization, sector studies, establishment of partnerships and policy development. She also manages projects funded by the European Commission (EC), the World Bank and InterAmerican development Bank.
Dr. Medina is an expert and International Committee Member for International Technology Transfer Network (ITTN) in which she promotes international technology transfer and innovation cooperation in China.
Currently, Dr. Sara Medina is involved in the coordination of a project in China promoted by the European Commission through Horizon 2020, that resulted in the creation of ENRICH in China – a global network of centers and hubs that promotes the internationalization of European science, technology and innovation (STI).
Christoph is known as “The Pitch Doctor” in the Berlin startup scene and beyond. After working in advertising, he got into startups in 2007, and has since worked in many roles related to that industry. All his own startup ideas have failed miserably, but he always had great pitches.
If you ever meet Christoph, and he's not wearing a brightly colored adidas jacket – it's not Christoph.
Kalev has been active in electronic identity field for over 20 years first working in public sector, then in banking and ICT Industry and for last 10 years has been CEO of SK ID Solutions. He has experience in infrastructure integration projects, people management and facilitating courses (IT and sales).
Heba is the CEO and founder of UtterBerry Ltd. UtterBerry is a patented intelligent wireless sensor system which works on extremely low power. Fitting in the palm of the hand and weighing less than 15 grams, UtterBerry sensors are the smallest and lightest wireless sensors in the world and are also the first to employ artificial intelligence. Despite their size, they work to sub-millimetre precision, measuring multiple variables; collecting and interpreting data at the source and transmitting information in real time.
Heba studied electronics and computer engineering . On graduation she worked as a central processing unit engineer for microchip design company ARM. After being an integral designer of the ARM Cortex processors, which is found in virtually all mobile phones in the world today, she moved to another role in ARM as a technical sales engineer. Heba went back to The University of Cambridge to do her PhD in low power wireless sensor networks, it was during her PhD that Heba founded UtterBerry.
Heba has been named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to technology, innovation, and STEM education.
Päivi Tahkokallio, President-elect of BEDA, The Bureau of European Design Associations and Founder and CEO of Tahkokallio Design, will be speaker at Innovation Drift.
Teddy Nehmad, Founder & CEO of C Capital, co-founder of SIH Innovation Center, will be speaker at Innovation Drift 2019!
Has AI taken over the world just yet?
Ateities visuomenės paveikslas daugumos vaizduotėje prasideda nuo minties apie robotus, pakeisiančius mus darbo vietose. Dr. Vytautas Ašeris, „Danske bank“ turto ir investicijų valdymo padalinio vadovas, Vilniaus universiteto partnerystės profesorius ir forumo „Innovation Drift 2019“ pranešėjas teigia, kad vis dėlto ateityje bus svarbiausia mokėti prisitaikyti prie sparčiai besikeičiančių aplinkybių, rūpintis ekologija ir būti sąžiningu piliečiu, o robotai mūsų darbo vietų neatims.
Apie ateityje svarbias asmenines savybes forumo „Innovation Drift“ metu kalbės ir Paivi Tahkokallio, Europos dizaino biuro asociacijos, vienijančios daugiau nei 50 organizacijų, prezidentė, dar žinoma kaip „arktinio dizaino“, kuriuo stengiamas išsaugoti ekologinę pusiausvyrą regione, pradininkė. Daugiausia dėmesio ji atkreips į tai, kodėl kūrybingumas išliks svarbus ir kokios ateities visuomenės galime tikėtis.
Viena forumo pranešėjų P. Tahkokallio teigia, kad inovacijos gali būti įrankis siekiant išsaugoti mažesnius miestus ar net šalis. Prieš kurį laiką moteris su savo šeima iškeitė Helsinkį į Rovaniemi miestelį, kuriame gyvena vos 60 tūkst. gyventojų, kas sudaro trečdalį Laplandijos populiacijos. Norėdama savo pavyzdžiu pagrįsti savo idėjas, Paivi kartu su šeima gyvena gamtos ritmu ir stengiasi įkvėpti kiekvieną pagalvoti apie gamtos svarbą kasdieniame gyvenime.
„Politinė galia mažesniuose miestuose nėra tokia didelė, todėl geriausias būdas įkvėpti pokyčius yra inovacijos kasdienėse veiklose, nes kitu atveju galime susidurti su mažųjų miestų išnykimu ir tai ypač aktualu Europoje“, – teigia P. Tahkokallio. 60 metų dizainerė organizuoja įvairius renginius, pavyzdžiui, Arkties dizaino savaitę, ir seminarus, kurie atspindi socialinius pokyčius.
V. Ašeris taip pat antrina, kad ateityje stiprės tendencijos kreipti dar daugiau dėmesio į ekologiją, žmonės bus draugiškesni aplinkai ir gamtai. „Vaikai auga apsupti informacijos apie rūšiavimą, ekologiją. Jie nuo mažų dienų sužino, kodėl nereikėtų naudoti plastmasinių šiaudelių ar vienkartinių puodelių. Mes užaugome visiškai kitokioje aplinkoje ir visi šie dalykai mums vis dar yra naujovė, tačiau jaunajai kartai tai jau tapę norma“, – sako V. Ašeris.
Jau dabar moksleiviai iš daugiau kaip 100 pasaulio šalių, tarp jų – ir Lietuvos, palaiko protesto judėjimą „Fridays for Future“ (liet. „Penktadieniai už ateitį“). Šis judėjimas ragina imtis atsakomybės ir drastiškų žingsnių prieš klimato šilimą – šimtai tūkstančių moksleivių penktadieniais pamokas iškeičia į demonstracijas, kuriomis skatina politikus imtis veiksmų.
Dar vienas „Innovation Drift“ pranešėjų Nishan Paparian teigia, kad didžiausią įtaką ateities visuomenei turės dabartinė šveitimo sistema. Siekdamas pabrėžti šveitimo įtaką, N. Paparian savo laiką skiria TUMO kūrybinių technologijų centrui, kuriame eina mokymų koordinatoriaus pareigas. Šiuo metu veikia keturi TUMO centrai Armėnijoje ir jau netrukus bus pradėta veikla Albanijoje, Libane ir Prancūzijoje.
Šios organizacijos veikla – nemokamos edukacinės programos 12–18 metų jaunimui. Unikali centro metodologija suteikia galimybę jaunuoliams valdyti savo mokymosi procesą atsižvelgiant į 14 mokymosi tikslų, tarp kurių yra animacija, žaidimų, filmų, svetainių kūrimas, muzika, rašymas, piešimas, grafinis dizainas, 3D modeliavimas, programavimas, robotika, judesio grafika, fotografija ir naujoji žiniasklaida.
Kai kalbama apie ateities visuomenę, Vilniaus universiteto partnerystės profesorius V. Ašeris taip pat pabrėžia švietimo ir ugdymo svarbą. Tačiau jis teigia, kad kai kurios mūsų šalies švietimo įstaigos vis dar orientuotos į „momentinį“ žinių suteikimą, kur dėsto „visa žinantys“ dėstytojai, tačiau tai atspindi senąją sistemą, kuriai atėjo laikas keistis.
„Universitetai dažnai vis dar laikomi įstaigomis, kuriose tam tikro amžiaus studentai gauna tam tikrą kiekį žinių per ribotą laiką ir vėliau jas naudoja darbo rinkoje. Tikiu, kad laikui bėgant švietimo įstaigos pasikeis, ir spartėjant technologijų raidai jos ne tik suteiks tam tikrų žinių kiekį, bet ir dar geriau išmokys žmones mokytis visą gyvenimą, nes būtent tai lems jų sėkmę darbo rinkoje“, – teigia vyras.
Ekspertas teigia, kad, be gebėjimo mokytis, ateityje, norint būti sėkmingu visuomenės piliečiu, sąžiningumas bus vienas iš kertinių kriterijų. Anot jo, technologijos sudarys sąlygas saugesnei ir sąmoningesnei visuomenei. Pavyzdžiui, gatvėje eismą filmuojantis įrenginys gali automatiškai užfiksuoti pažeidimą ir išsiųsti jį policijai be žmogaus įsikišimo.
„Esu įsitikinęs, kad technologijos gali užtikrinti didesnį saugumą bei auginti sąmoningumą. Neleistiną veiksmą norintis padaryti pilietis, tikėtina, pagalvos dukart prieš nusižengdamas, jei žinos, kad gali būti užfiksuotas automatinio įrenginio ir neturės galimybės su juo susitarti. Analogišką įrankį sukūrė ir Vilniaus universiteto studentai“, – pasakoja V. Ašeris.
Stebint pastarųjų metų darbo rinkos tendencijas, tikėtina, kad naujai kuriamos darbo vietos reikalaus iš darbuotojų ne tik profesinės kvalifikacijos, bet ir stiprių asmeninių įgūdžių. Būtent šis perversmas paskatins darbdavius ieškoti darbuotojų, kurie pasižymi ne tik dideliu žinių kiekiu, bet ir gebėjimu nuolat mokytis bei prisitaikyti prie greitai besikeičiančių aplinkybių, empatiškai reaguoti į aplinką ir klientus, atpažinti ir valdyti emocijas. Dėl nuolat spartėjančių rinkos pokyčių ir trumpėjančio reakcijos laiko, darbo struktūrose keisis užduočių delegavimo ir sprendimų priėmimo mechanizmai.
„Kaip pavyzdį galime imti IT sektorių: šiuo metu per dieną visame pasaulyje yra sukuriama daugiau nei 2000 naujų mobiliųjų programėlių. Galime įsivaizduoti, kaip sudėtinga sugalvoti kažką naujo, todėl gebėjimas prisitaikyti prie nuolat kintančių aplinkybių, mokėjimas dirbti komandoje, suprasti jos narių nuotaikas ir įžvelgti potencialą neišvengiamai taps pagrindinėmis savybėmis, kurių ieškos potencialūs darbdaviai“, – sako V. Ašeris.
Taip pat jis teigia, kad baimės, jog tobulėjančios technologijos išstums žmones iš darbo vietų, yra perdėtos. „Visų pirma, reikėtų pažvelgti į istoriją bei statistiką: visos iki šiol įvykusios industrinės revoliucijos kėlė didelę visuomenės baimę dėl darbo vietų. Skaičiai byloja, kad atsirandant gamykloms ir automatizuojant darbą jų skaičius ne tik kad nesumažėjo, bet ir augo. Lygiai tą pačią tendenciją įžvelgiu ir šiuo metu: svarstoma, kad robotai gali pakeisti daugelį darbo vietų, tačiau jau dabar atliekami tyrimai atskleidžia, jog šis perversmas sukurs dar daugiau naujų“, – mintimis dalijasi V. Ašeris.
Apie ateities visuomenę, laukiančius iššūkius bei naujausias inovacijas, galinčias pakeisti mūsų kasdienybę, bus galima išgirsti ketvirtus metus organizuojamame technologijų forume „Innovation Drift“. Renginio metu pranešimus skaitys daugiau nei 50 pranešėjų iš viso pasaulio, tarp jų NASA tarptautinių stažuočių projektų vadovė Krisstina Wilmoth, lūžio technologijų ekspertas Deepakas Solankis, 3D technologiją medicinoje taikantis Martin Bonde Jensen ir kiti.
Ketvirtasis „Innovation Drift 2019“ forumas vyks Vilniuje, LITEXPO parodų ir kongresų centre, 2019 m. birželio 13–14 d. Forumas skirtas visiems inovatoriams, kūrėjams, ekspertams, inovacijų politikos formuotojams ir vykdytojams, siekiantiems tiek pristatyti inovacijas, tiek pasitelkti praktinį jų pritaikymą.
Renginį organizuoja Mokslo, inovacijų ir technologijų agentūra (MITA) kartu su LR ekonomikos ir inovacijų ministerija, jis finansuojamas Europos regioninės plėtros fondo lėšomis. Inovacijų forumas yra nemokamas, tačiau dalyvių skaičius ribotas, todėl norintieji dalyvauti kviečiami registruotis innovationdrift.com svetainėje.
From 3D printed implants to innovative testing solutions - future of health is the topic that interests so many. One of those who care how the health sector is evolving? Don't miss out on Arvydas Laurinavicius's speach then! Professor of Pathology at Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine and Director of the National Centre of Pathology, Affiliate of Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, his research focuses on digital image analytics to derive novel tissue pathology indicators for disease modelling. In particular, Prof. Laurinavicius has together with his research group at Vilnius University and researchers at Caen and Nottingham Universities developed methodologies for comprehensive digital immunohistochemistry analytics to empower information retrieval from routine IHC slides. Learn more during the INNOVATION DRIFT 2019 - register today.
Called the mother of Arctic Design - a design approach to support sustainable development of the Arctic region - Päivi Tahkokallio is President-elect of BEDA, The Bureau of European Design Associations and Founder and CEO of Tahkokallio Design. She has extensive experience in the inclusive approach to design through her earlier career at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, The National R&D Centre for Healthcare and Wealth, and through leading European Design for All network - and she's ready to share it with all at the #InnovationDrift2019.
Lūžio technologijos ir bene garsiausia iš jų – dirbtinis intelektas (DI) – pasauliui seniai nebe naujiena ir pirmiausiai siejamas su kasdieniais daiktais. Iš tiesų jau nelabai mokėtume gyventi be dirbtinio intelekto, ar tai būtų natūralios kalbos generavimas, ar balso atpažinimas, kai su jumis kalba Siri, ar virtualūs asistentai, padedantys apsipirkti „Amazon“, ar „Google“ žemėlapiai... Iš kitos pusės, nepaisant gausios informacijos apie DI, dažnai pametama riba tarp realybės ir fantazijos – virtualūs influenceriai, jau pasiekę ir Lietuvą, nėra dirbtinio intelekto kūriniai, tačiau puikiai iliustruoja lūžio technologijas.
DI apima labai platų technologijų, imituojančių žmogaus protą, spektrą. Dažniausiai jis siejamas su mašininio mokymosi savybe – tai reiškia, kad technologija nėra tik automatizuotas, visada tokį pat rezultatą generuojantis procesas, bet keičiasi pagal turimus duomenis. Dėl to labiausiai pabrėžiama DI savybė – gebėjimas kurti vertę apdorojant milžiniškus duomenų kiekius ir pagal tai priimant sprendimus. Įsivaizduokite: per sąlyginai trumpą laiką gali būti patikrinamos visos iki šio buvusios teisminės bylos ir pagal palankiausią precedentą pasiūlomas naudingiausias sprendimas arba iš milijonų per dieną atliekamų bankinių operacijų išskiriamos potencialiai siejamos su pinigų plovimu.
Jau dvejus metus iš eilės Harvardo, su NASA glaudžiai bendradarbiaujančio Masačiusetso universiteto, nevyriausybinės organizacijos „OpenAI“ ir kitų pasaulyje garsių organizacijų atstovai rengia „DI indeksą“. Jame atsižvelgiama ne tik į šiandieninę pažangą, bet ir prognozuojama, kaip toliau kompiuteriai ir robotai mokysis pažinti pasaulį bei kada ir kaip perims įvairius žmonių veiksmus virtualioje ir fizinėje realybėje.
DI lyderiai, futuristai, ekonomistai, akademikai ir net politikai sutinka, kad DI išskirtinai klesti Europoje ir tokiose Azijos šalyse kaip Kinija, Japonija ir Pietų Korėja. Be tyrimų, kompiuterio mokymasis ir tikimybinis modeliavimas (angl. probabilistic reasoning) užima pirmą vietą. Taigi, tikėtina, kad netrukus nebeturėsime jokios galimybės laimėti kompiuterinius žaidimus, kuriuose varžysimės su DI varžovais. Antrąją vietą užima kompiuterinis matymas (angl. computer vision) – tai pažanga, siejama su savivaldžiais automobiliais, papildytąja realybe ir objektų atpažinimu. Beje, kompiuterinis matymas tobulėja žaibišku greičiu: objektų atpažinimui naudojamoje duombazėje „ImageNet“ vaizdus atrenkančio algoritmo kūrimas per 18 mėnesių sutrumpėjo nuo 60 iki 4 minučių. Taigi, procesas pagreitėjo 16 kartų!
Nors aišku, kur DI yra dabar, jo ateities perspektyvos kelia itin kontraversiškų klausimų – pavyzdžiui, kaip valdyti DI naudojimo paplitimą. Pripažįstama, kad neišsprendus DI etikos ir netgi technologinių klausimų skubama DI naudoti teisėsaugoje, karo pramonėje ir kitose itin jautriose srityse. 2018 metais paviešinta, kad „Amazon“ jau pardavinėjo savo veido atpažinimo sistemas teisėsaugos institucijoms, o „Google“ įsivėlė į skandalą dėl teikiamos kompiuterinio matymo tyrimų informacijos su valstybės gynyba susietai dronų programai. Jei tokie pavyzdžiai atrodo per mažai reikšmingi, reikia prisiminti Kiniją, kurioje DI jau padeda valdžiai kurti moderniausias sekimo sistemas. Pasak „The New York Times“, čia milijonai kamerų ir DI naudojančių veido atpažinimo technologijų jau leidžia kurti pažangiausią „visuomenės valdymo“ sistemą net 1,4 milijardo žmonių. Naujoji sistema įgalins socialinių kreditų sistemą, kurioje piliečiai bus išskirstyti į skirtingų galimybių ir privilegijų visuomenės grupes – sprendžiamoji informacija bus ne tik išsilavinimas, finansai, bet ir kasdieninis elgesys.
Tuo metu, kai DI etika ir galingumo reguliavimas kelia pasauliui vis didesnį galvos skausmą, Lietuvoje vienas populiariausių klausimų yra „Kada robotas perims mano darbą“. Toks klausimas keliamas gana pagrįstai – Ekonominio bendradarbiavimo ir plėtros organizacija, kurios nare Lietuva tapo 2018 metų liepą, sudarinėja sąrašus dėl DI plėtros pasekmių šalių narių visuomenėms. Pasak organizacijos atlikto tyrimo, politikams laikas spręsti ne tik žmonių-darbuotojų gebėjimų pritaikymo naujiems rinkos poreikiams, bet ir darbo praradimo klausimus. Tarptautinė organizacija prognozuoja, kad netolimoje ateityje su DI siejamomis technologijomis pagristas automatizavimo procesas perims arba kardinaliai pakeis daugiau nei 60 procentų Lietuvoje esančių darbų. Iš 32 vertintų valstybių Lietuva pažeidžiamumu nusileidžia tik Slovakijai.
Tokie vertinimai itin pabrėžia būtinybę Lietuvai nusistatyti savo strateginę ir taktinę veiklos kryptis su DI srityje ir pasiruošti ateinantiems pokyčiams. Pagal Ekonomikos ir inovacijų ministerijos pateiktą Lietuvos dirbtinio intelekto strategiją, Lietuvoje pirmiausiai pastebimas akademinės bendruomenės susidomėjimas DI. Vilniaus, Kauno technologijos ir Vytauto Didžiojo universitetai vykdo tyrimus net 6 DI srityse – giluminio mokymosi, natūralios kalbos generavimo, duomenų kasimo, žaidimų kūrimo, kompiuterių matymo ir robotikos. Nuo akademikų, be abejonės, neatsilieka ir privatus sektorius – šalyje veikia 39 mažos ir vidutinio dydžio įmonės, įsitraukusios į DI produktų tyrimus ir kūrimą. DI projektams per 3 paskutinius metus buvo sutelktas daugiau nei 20 milijonų eurų finansavimas.
Sausus skaičius apie lūžio technologijų įsigalėjimą šalyje geriausiai iliustruoja visam pasauliui matoma pažanga. Toks pavyzdys – mobiliojo ryšio prekės ženklo LABAS sukurta pirmoji Lietuvoje virtuali influencerė Aili. Kol kas 20-metė, geltoną spalvą mėgstanti Aili nėra humanoidė veikianti DI pagalba – ji yra judesio grafikos šedevras. Tačiau yra tik laiko klausimas, kada tokie kompiuteriu kurti vaizdai bus susieti su DI, nes ties tokių naujos kartos influencerių kūrimu jau dirba tokios kompanijos kaip į medijų startuolius investuojanti kompanija „Betaworks“.
Aili kaip verslo sprendimą komentuojanti įmonės „Bitė“ atstovė Goda Vengrauskaitė tikina, jog jį nulėmė įmonės noras neatsilikti nuo dabartinių pasaulinių technologijų srities ir verslui itin svarbaus „Instagram“ socialinio tinklo tendencijų.
„Virtualūs influenceriai tapo tokių garsių prekės ženklų kaip PRADA, UGG ir kt. kampanijų reklaminiais veidais. Virtualūs influenceriai yra puikus sprendimas verslui: jiems nereikia mokėti didelių honorarų, jie pozuoja, daro ir rodo tai, ką reikia, o rizikų, kad jis pasakys kažką neteisingo ir padarys neigiamą įtaką prekės ženklui, rodos, iš viso nėra. Tačiau klausimas, ar virtualūs influenceriai visiškai pakeis tikruosius ir prekės ženklai dirbs tik su jais, vis dar neatsakytas“, – pažangiausių technologijų naudojimą versle komentuoja G. Vengrauskaitė.
Anot jos, žinant pasaulinį kontekstą ir kaip naujovės intriguoja žmones, itin įdomu stebėti, kaip prekės ženklo virtualioji influencerė Aili „įsilieja“ į socialinio tinklo bendruomenę. Pasak jos, ne vienas buvo nustebintas arba... netgi ėmė kurti planus sutikti Aili mieste.
„Pasakius pirmąjį „Labas!” savo „Instagram“ paskyros sekėjams, Aili sulaukė daug dėmesio – tiek gero, tiek blogo. Yra ir sumišusių, kurie iki šiol nesupranta, ar tai tikras žmogus, ar ne. Taip pat yra daug žmonių, liaupsinančių jos išvaizdą, aprangą ir norinčių ją sutikti mieste, nusifotografuoti. Ironiška, nes to padaryti neįmanoma, bet noras sekėjams kyla“, - realiu pavyzdžiu, koks yra lūžio technologijų paveikslas ir įtaka žmonių gyvenimui Lietuvoje dalijasi G. Vengrauskaitė.
G. Vengrauskaitė Aili pristatys ir Vilniaus inovacijų forume „Innovation Drift“. Šio renginio metu lūžio technologijoms bei jų tendencijoms skirtos sesijos metu dalyviai taip pat turės išskirtinę galimybę pabendrauti ir su kitais visame pasaulyje garsiais lūžio technologijų ekspertais, tokiais kaip Deepakas Solankis iš Indijos.
Ketvirtasis „Innovation Drift 2019“ forumas vyks Vilniuje, LITEXPO parodų ir kongresų centre, 2019 m. birželio 13-14 d. Forumas skirtas visiems inovatoriams, kūrėjams, ekspertams, inovacijų politikos formuotojams ir vykdytojams, siekiantiems tiek pristatyti inovacijas, tiek pasitelkti praktinį jų pritaikymą.
Renginį organizuoja Mokslo, inovacijų ir technologijų agentūra (MITA) kartu su LR ekonomikos ir inovacijų ministerija, jis finansuojamas Europos Sąjungos regioninės plėtros fondo lėšomis. Inovacijų forumas yra nemokamas, tačiau dalyvių skaičius ribotas, todėl norintieji dalyvauti kviečiami registruotis innovationdrift.com svetainėje.
Glad to be welcoming this speaker: an Israeli technology entrepreneur & a leading figure in the International Startup community; person, who founded, invested and helped dozens of startups ventures in a verity of sectors (Mobile, IT, Biotech, Medical, brain research etc.); founder and former leader of an unique acceleration program for Lithuanian startups in Israel – ladies and gents, Teddy Nehmad is, for sure, your go-to person for startup-education. Make sure you have all your questions ready before June!
Want to live on a spaceship exploring the Universe with Seven of Nine, the Borg with restored humanity, where species interact in respectful and complimentary ways and where great food and fine wine can be replicated at any time? Krisstina Wilmoth, Dean of Students for NASA Ames Research Center and the Project Manager for the NASA International Internships, does. And in the meantime, she is constantly coming out as an English major at NASA using good communication and critical thinking skills to help others connect in their attempts to explore the Universe from right here on Earth. Share same passion, want to be inspired by the endless possibilities in space (yes, space!)? Register for free and meet Krisstina at the Vilnius Innovation Forum.
3D printing solutions - trendy topic in future innovations, and Martin Bonde Jensen, co-founder of Particle3D has a lot to tell about how this innovation is already shapping present - and what it has in store for the future of healthcare. Their 3D printed patient-fitted bone implants for facial reconstruction are closer to native tissue than current implants and transform into native tissue over time. Don't miss out - regsiter for the #InnovationDrift today.
Pastaruosius 20 metų žmonija kruopščiai nagrinėja kosmoso platybes, tad inovacijų forume neliks pamiršta ir kosmoso technologijų tema. Kur nuves žmonijos siekis užkariauti dangaus platybes: kiek realus kosminis turizmas, planetų kolonizavimas? Nors ir negalime šioje srityje lygintis su JAV, tačiau ne tik kad esame paleidę savo kosminius nano palydovus, bet ir mūsų kosmoso technologijų įmonės sėkmingai kuria kosmines nanotechnologijas, kurių pirkėjai – užsienio mokslo centrai, verslo klientai ir... ta pati NASA!
AI has mastered a lot of tasks in recent years - from winning chess matches to providing personalized shopping experience with no human interaction. But has it taken over the world just yet? From AI solutions to creation of futre jobs - at INNOVATION DRIFT, we dig deep into the subject with all those passionate think-alikers. Join the group of innovations-savy audience - meet in June and shape, not just predict the future.
Even though manufacturing companies have migrated to low cost countries like China, the industry robotics can fundamentally change this situation. Today robots start to take over factories and are able to make decisions and organize their work without the help of humans, and such smart factories can be established in any corner of the world. Foreign experts explain that this kind of system is able make us forget the current reality when everything is made in China.
What are the smart factories?
Hans Praat, who is looking after the development of the smart factories in the Netherlands explains that the so called industrial revolution 4.0 is often times discussed in the press, however it’s realistic influence over manufacturing is still a mystery to the wider public.
Meanwhile, an entrepreneur Claus Risager, one of the creators of Blue Ocean Robotics explains, that largely reduced costs of robotics within the last year influenced more utilization within any large activity of the industry.
How can technologies transform the global market?
H. Praat, the expert, who looks after the smart factories in the Netherlands, is certain that the process, which has already began, will entirely change the entrepreneurs’ perception of manufacturing. And even though this will unavoidably bring positive results, undesirable changes may come to smaller countries and companies at the same time.
On the other hand, as the cost of establishing such factories is quite high and there is a limited number of experts, who are able to do that, at this point only large companies can attain it.
“Small or medium enterprises will simply not be able to afford smart factories. Such companies can solve this problem by sharing smart factories: in the near future it will be necessary have a smart factory in order to stay competitive, therefore it will be handier for the small companies to share factories with other manufacturers instead of trying to staying competitive by using old methods”, says H. Praat.
Can Lithuania keep up with the leaders of the global market?
Justinas Katkus, the CEO of Lithuanian robotics company Factobotics explains that Lithuanian industry robots have been used ten years ago and so far has been keeping up with the global standards.
However, this number can be deceiving, as while evaluating the level of robotisation one would take into account not only their number, but also the country’s readiness to accept the innovations.
These subjects will be discussed more in detail during the innovations forum “Innovation Drift” October 12th-13th at the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre Litexpo. One of the largest events in the Baltic Sea Region on the subject of futurism will bring over 50 scientists, entrepreneurs and futurologists, who will present the recent innovations and their challenges.
The Innovation Forum Innovation Drift was opened at the exhibition centre Litexpo on 12th – 13th of October. The event this year drew over 40 businessmen, scientists and futurologists from 15 different countries. One of the first speakers of the event was Mike Otworth, he explained why great technologies today hand over their ideas to smaller start-ups and how to avoid the failure of the majority of innovative technologies even before they reach the market.
M. Otworth, one of the founding members of the Company Innventure, works with technologies, which we haven't seen before. While the Forbes magazine claims 9 out of 10 start-ups fail even in Silicon Valley, Innventure has successfully sold 10 out of 11 projects in the past year. Why do we have such disproportion?
When choosing where to make an investment, M. Otworth is trying to identify the so-called disruptive technologies. These technologies address a certain and so far ultimately unrealized need of the market and has the potential not only to become one of the competitors, but also the only supplier of an invention. The business model of his company is based on sophisticated algorithms and identifies technologies with potential not only to satisfy the customer, but also to radically change the current market.
The lecturer uses the Pure Cycle Technologies Company's technology as an example, which allows extracting 100% polypropylene during the recycling process and to successfully and completely recycling natural and non-biodegradable products. The purpose of Innventure is to successfully take this idea from the laboratory to manufacturing.
Real disruptive technologies have only one barrier, an old business model. They just do the job that no other earlier equipment is capable of doing. If such inventions are appropriately developed and presented, not only they attain success, but also change the entire market. This is a very important quality, another one is to make sure that after it has been developed, no one is be able to replicate it, said M. Otworth in his presentation at Innovation Drift.
These are the ventures, which every international company looks for when aiming to add the most desirable inventions to their services. Such companies like Amazon have recently been changing their model and instead of financing development of the new ideas in their company, they invest into smaller innovators, who would continue creating despite traditional business models.
M. Otworth's business model is based on the fact that large companies are capable of selling new versions of an old product, but in best-case scenarios, they successfully develop and prepare for the market one out of five products. The remaining four times innovative thought just dies on the way.
That's why today there is a demand for companies, which are able to take the ideas of creators from large companies and without intervention create a new product, which will return to the hands of the large company at a later stage.
"The multimillion profit companies are often weary of products in which they themselves invest, as they start competing for the same customers and may negatively affect the sales. At the same time, I haven't met any scientists, who are working at large companies in research stage and who didn't have the pressure on them to reduce the budget. And in the end, the main drawback of the large technology companies is the fact, that it may take months or even years to get approval of all investors, while the technology becomes no longer revolutionary," says one of the leaders of Innventure.
Even the risk capital model, which allows large companies to invest without risk in new unlisted companies in the stock market, raises a lot of concerns to the innovators. The multi–million profit companies upon evaluation only rely on the original obligations, which are sometimes impossible to fullfill due to the changed activity concept and they start applying parameters to start ups that better suit large businesses. This is done disregarding the fact that disrupting technologies often cost a lot and give little profit due to their development activity.
The Innventure model for technology investments is based on several principles: to reach the market as soon as possible, a company, especially established for one project for external capital investment management, to have clear positioning of the company in the market, bearing in mind the fact, that unique technologies must be represented to the society completely differently than those already existing and, finally, to allow the investor join only in the last stages of the product development.
"Investment into new technologies is a certain science, where there is no space for guessing. The fact, that from 80% to 90% of start-ups fail is disastrous, a young innovator can't find money without the help from large companies, but while working with them he has bigger chances of going bankrupt than attaining success. It's obvious that such companies just aren't able to take truly unique ideas to the final stage and small companies do it better simply because of their working speed." says M. Otworth in his lecture.
Successful examples of his work are 11 projects completed in the two years that his company has been open, 6 of them have generated the value of $ 4.5 billion during the public share sales and the 4 remaining projects are so far closed to the share buyers, while only one is considered completely unsuccessful.
In the meantime, when asked about the place of such a small country like Lithuania in today's market, M. Otworth compares it with a start-up: "A small company is always faster than a big one. It's likewise when we're looking at countries: if a government level decision is taken faster than that of a large country's, and if the changes are adopted quickly and comprehensively, then it's possible to expect to grow innovations here easier".
The Vilnius Innovation Forum Innovation Drift from 12-13th October is organised by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania and Lithuanian Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA). The European Regional Development Fund funds the Event, which is held during Innovation week. One of the biggest futuristic events in the Baltic Sea region this year attracted more than forty scientists, businessmen and futurologists from 15 countries of the world.
Ray Hammond is a world-renowned futurologist and businessman. The expert, who has published 17 books and even podcasted his lectures on Google, forecasted the importance of the internet 33 years ago and today at the Innovations Forum Innovation Drift he talks about 6 problems, which will shape the world in 2030.
The United Nations (UN) has been counting that in 2030 there will be 8.2 billion people on Earth and this number will reach 11.2 billion the end of our century. This number is going to become a concerning problem, because our planet will have to supply food, energy and water to all these people.
"The biggest challenge of the future world will be clean water supply. Our food industry can potentially feed 8 or 10 billion people, we make further steps in energy production every day, however the shortage of clean water is already noticeable today. The solution to this problem is evident – we must find an invention or a process, which would allow to purify salty or polluted water and use it in the poorest countries," says R. Hammond.
"Perhaps the biggest change will be within the medical sciences. At least four revolutions are awaiting us, which will ensure that the biggest part of the audience here today will live up to at least to 100 years and there will be some, who will cross 120 mark. First of all, the DNA tests, which are already accessible, should be so common in 2030, that we will be researching the DNA of every unborn baby. What does it mean? We will be able to personalize medicine: today doctors must warn that the same medicine doesn't work for everyone and we have to find out by testing it ourselves. When the medics know the DNA, they will be able to immediately establish what is suitable for a person and what's not," claims the futurologist.
Two more innovations should reach us soon: nanomedicine, by using which a biodevice can be inserted into an exact spot in the body and with the help of digital tracking, will constantly monitor patient's blood pressure, blood sugar levels and other parameters, via the Internet of things and smart phones.
The fourth medicine revolution will be the stem-cell science. Today it already can produce new organs, but within ten years it will be able to create any functioning organ, except for the brain. It means that a 90 year old, who will have enough money, will be able to replace his heart, lungs and liver into 30 year olds. R. Hammond at Innovation Drift jokes that only one question remains: would he still want to go to dance in a club or would he feel too old for that?
According to the data of the World Health Organisation, climate change around 2030 will cost at least a quarter of a million lives a year. This will be the result of hunger, malaria, diarrhoea and heat waves caused by it. In the following decades there should be significantly higher number of people dying from storms, hurricanes and other natural disasters. If the entire planet will not start taking drastic measures soon, the well-known 2% mark (it is threatened that if it happens, it will totally change life on Earth) will be crossed in a few decades.
"The climate change itself doesn't cause hurricanes or earthquakes. However, it strengthens them significantly. This year the catastrophes that were destroying the earth were unique not because they happened, but because they were so powerful," says the futurologist in his speech.
Humanity is moving towards the clean energy much slower than it would be desirable. The election of Donald Trump in the USA signifies big challenges that are awaiting our planet. The amount of solar and wind power plants needed to replace the biggest energy needs won't come without long-term development and further investments into coal and oil industries won't only add to the quickly worsening climate situation, but also keep further preparing people for the labour market, which soon won't be needed anymore.
"Recently, solar energy harvesting became 80% cheaper and wind energy became 50% cheaper. However, there is one very important detail: so far we don't have a battery, which would be capable of storing the energy. Half of Europe's energy by 2030 should come from renewable resources, however, when this model is transferred to other countries, there will be a need for batteries, which could compactly store high quantities of energy," says R. Hammond.
The futurologist comments that even though recently globalisation hasn't disappeared anywhere, it's no longer desirable to be discussing it. The USA and some other European countries instead of openness, on the contrary, put emphasis on distance. One may think that the pace of globalization is slowing down, however, a truly global culture exchange and mix has never been so important.
"When globalisation became faster in the nineties thanks to the opportunities the freedom of movement provided, we have saved a billion of people from poverty. Sometimes globalization in rich countries is perceived as not a very positive process, however during the attempts to end poverty, it had more direct influence than the total amount of aid to the poor countries since the II World War," says R. Hammond.
According to the expert, if we want to reduce poverty, we'll have to solve a question of traveling by robots, we must invent such machines, which businesses can send to poor countries for a relatively small cost and some earn profit.
In the end, all of these slogans will be have a common aim to adapt to every–day technologies, which will be so powerful; we can't even imagine that today. The futurologist himself demonstrated a device behind his ear, which allows using a mobile phone without actually touching it. And this is only the beginning – in 2030 it will seem like a distant past.
"When first cars appeared, the English speakers didn't know what to call them, so they named them horse-less carriages. Our phones and computers in 10 years will become thousands of times more powerful than the current ones and soon the first smart phones will remind us of a horse carriage rather than a luxurious car," says R. Hammond.
The Vilnius Innovation Forum Innovation Drift from 12-13th October is organised by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania and Lithuanian Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA). One of the biggest futuristic events in the Baltic Sea region this year attracted more than forty scientists, businessmen and futurologists from 15 countries of the world.
Hyperloop One company is planning to open routes in the USA and Europe in 2021, which should allow us to travel long distances a few times faster than flying and the tickets would be a lot cheaper. YJ Fisher, Senior International Counsel of Hyperloop One at Vilnius Innovation Forum Innovation Drift revealed how this transport revolution became possible and when it will reach the Baltics.
Hyperloop trips are like this: passenger gets into a capsule, the door closes and the capsule starts moving to the chosen destination inside a closed tube. When the capsule reaches the necessary speed, it starts levitating due to an electromagnetic interaction between the tube, the capsule and the pressure, which replicates the laws of the universe, it can reach up to 1,080 km/h speed. Besides, such trip doesn't do any harm to the environment and, compared to plane flights, on the contrary, doesn't require long preparation and departs when the passenger is ready. Meanwhile the movement shouldn't be affecting the body more than a flight – the passenger can stand up and walk in the Hyperloop capsule.
"Since the beginning of the 20th century, when the aeroplanes were invented and developed, this was the first revolutionary vehicle. Hyperloop One is the only company in the world, which connects every field from science, needed to implement the technology, to law for obtaining safety certificates. We tested the Hyperloop technology this July in Nevada, USA and today the technology is one step away from implementation," said YJ Fischer in her speech.
It is planned to open factories and Hyperloop One centres in Europe and the Middle East in 2018. The company is currently having talks with the EU so that it can begin working in all of Europe in the next year.
The question we hear the most often is when the system is going to be implemented everywhere. Our answer is, in 2021. It seems like a very short time for the entire world's transport system to change, however the technological side of the system is ready to implement if the safety certificates are issued and the government decides to approve the technology. According to the Hyperloop Counsel, the entire Hyperloop movement from the theory to the real model was created within a year and a half, so it can be applied for commercial use in four years.
One Hyperloop trip is without stops or changes so the capsule is able to reach the speed of an aeroplane. A human does not operate it, but rather by a computer, so there is no room for mistakes and the entire transport system must be perfectly coordinated.
"Imagine that I need to travel from Vilnius to Los Angeles and someone else needs to go to Berlin. We go to the station, board our capsules and get moving. We are moving in the same tube for some time, but later on you detach and are moving ahead. This is basically an Uber travel mode, which allows someone to choose when and where they want to travel independently of other people: Hyperloop connects the speed of a plane with the rail system, which allows to disconnect from other capsules at the convenience of metro system," explains Y J Fischer.
Hyperloop One uses Helsinki and Tallinn as an example. Today even the speed train between them takes 30-40 minutes, on top of that, people need to stick to the timetable, so the trip takes even longer. Using the new Hyperloop system, this trip with would take 6 minutes. The specialist jokes about a very realistic idea of: "Being able to travel to a different country, eat your lunch and get back to work".
"When we take a city like Helsinki, which has an excessive number of residents, so that new arrivals struggle to find a cheap place to live, we can see how Hyperloop can help solve such problems. Life in suburbs is now cheaper, but an inconvenient alternative, for which one needs to own a car, and spend extra time. However, if hundreds of kilometres can be travelled in minutes, then the distance between the metropolitan areas and the suburbs would no longer be an obstacle.
Society is already looking for higher speed. In a few years the speed of travel will allow us to rethink our lives. For example, if you own a big company: you can have operations in the suburbs without considering employees, who may not want to live there, because then they'll be able to travel to work in several minutes and you also won't need to worry about the supplies, as you could keep them hundreds of kilometres away and ship them without worrying about long truck journeys and so on. It will become so easy to live and work on different sides of the Globe and it will become so simple, as it is to live in suburbs and work in the city centre today," explains YJ Fischer.
The representative of Hyperloop One came to Innovation Drift not only to present common goals of the company, but also to reveal its particular vision for Lithuania. One of the first long distance European routes is planned for Vilnius.
"You already have Via Baltica. But, when we look at the three Baltic capitals on the map, it's obvious, that on a Vilnius-Tallinn route, Riga requires a turn-off. If you have a line between Vilnius and Tallinn, then Riga would only need a small turn off tube and everyone would save time. We don't expect to stop here: Vilnius may be connected to Warsaw, Warsaw to Berlin, then Copenhagen, Stockholm and then again to Tallinn. You can see it on the map – you have a kind of loop, from which other routes branch off and we will cover everything from Scandinavia to Germany," the Counsel of Hyperloop shares the company's vision.
Journeys in this loop shouldn't take too long: 90 minutes from Tallinn to Berlin, 35 minutes from Tallinn to Vilnius, and 18 min. from Tallinn to Riga.
Y J Fischer named their biggest challenges: prejudice against the cost of such innovations and difficult certification processes, which don't comply with the principles of Hyperloop operation. And the most important problem, the cost, isn't very high.
"Take Sweden as an example. They are looking into the national high-speed train and it will cost 35 billion Euros even with modest calculations. Meanwhile, independent agency research has shown that designing analogous Hyperloop routes would cost between 22 and 27 billion Euros. What is more, since the capsule is levitating for most of the time, it doesn't require any fuel and therefore every trip costs less than going the same distance today," says Y J Fischer.
From the realities of cyber security to the challenges of smart cities and innovation routes that are open to the larger society – this is the programme that will be offered this year at the third and already one of the greatest forums in the Baltic Sea region: the Vilnius Innovation Forum titled “Innovation Drift”. On 12-13 October, not only will the globally elite representatives of science and technology come under the same roof in Vilnius, but also the representatives of international business companies, alongside the most famous academics and businessmen of Lithuania.
“We are living in the age of innovations. The way we live, what we consume, how we treat ourselves for illnesses, where we travel or even what we eat has changed beyond recognition during the past ten years alone. Questions about how we are going to change next, what we will create, as well as what and why and how we will jointly respond to the new global changes that arise, remains open, yet also necessitate an answer. And these are precisely the questions that we will seek answers for together with various professionals and the public,” said the Minister of Economy, Mindaugas Sinkevičius.
During “Innovation Drift”, significant attention will be given to the field of cyber security, to the potential challenges caused by technologies, robotics, transport, space technologies and nanoparticle technologies, as well as to smart cities. At the Forum, we will discuss the issues of innovation and competitiveness in companies, health technologies, start-ups and a number of other topics.
According to the Minister of the Economy, it is only through the joint meetings of professionals in various areas that not only the need for changes but also the necessity for the creation of new opportunities can be met.
“First of all, innovations are born from need: the need for a higher quality life, or a better, faster and more comfortable life. They are created by curious and open minds both in Lithuania and worldwide, who are seeking to solve very concrete issues and to facilitate the activities performed in everyday life and work. Business usually recognises such a niche; meanwhile, science offers the solution for how to fill it. Quality is created when the professionals in various areas act together,” he said with conviction.
The best known participants in “Innovation Drift” this year include a representative of the NASA Ames Research Centre, Rose Grymes; global-level Futurist, Ray Hammond; the Project Manager of “Silicon Vikings” from the Silicon Valley, Eilif Trondsen; Mike Othworth from the “Innventure” company who has worked on the commercialisation of “Procter & Gamble” technologies; representatives of the “Hyperloop One” company involved in creating new generation transport systems; the Project Initiator of the “Smart Factory”, Hans Praat; Director of the robotics company “Blue Ocean Robotics”, Claus Risager; and others. This year, the participants in the Forum are inviting to listen to over 50 interesting speakers, most of them from abroad. It is foreseen that over 1500 individuals will visit the Forum.
Previously, the Forum was successfully held in 2013 and 2015, when it attracted hundreds of the top businessmen, creators and representatives of worldwide famous organisations; and this year it is returning with the new task of encouraging collaborations among professionals in various areas.
“During the Forum, we will not only talk about the under-explored opportunities to collaborate, but will also create real opportunities to expand collaborations and partnerships. This is a contact fair, which will include visits to innovative companies operating in Lithuania, discussions and informal communications that will allow the participants to make new contacts,” M. Sinkevičius stated.
The Forum will be held at the initiative of the Ministry of the Economy and the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA) and will take place on 12-13 October in the LITEXPO Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre.
The ongoing discussion regarding the introduction of modern technologies into the learning process has now reached Lithuania. However, while we are just beginning to see projects being done on computers or tablets in Lithuanian schools, in some other countries virtual reality has already being integrated into the learning process. The economist and businessman Eilif Trondsen, who has worked in both the Silicon Valley and in the Baltic region, tells us about the most innovative modern schools, and he urges us to get ready for the inevitable changes that will be dictated by the introduction of new technologies into the educational system.
E. Trondsen says that perhaps the biggest challenge he has noticed in relation to the education of very young children is the fact that, along with modern technology, there are a lot of factors that can arise to distract the attention of the pupils.
“In the near future, one of the most important difficulties facing the educational system will be the introduction of modern technologies in the learning process, particularly those that are internet-connected. This is an inevitable change, but its usefulness for pupils can be reduced by the teachers’ fear of technology and by political or cultural forces that are opposed to radical change. It is essential to prepare for this change in a suitable manner and to use the opportunities it will provide to make the training system more effective, and to achieve total accessibility to quality education with a reduction of costs, savings of the teachers’ time and a greater involvement by the pupils themselves,” E. Trondsen explained.
This philosophy that does not discourage students from spending time with technology, but on the contrary allows them to use all the advantages that technology provides, is particularly popular in the Silicon Valley where the very latest inventions can be accessed.
For example, the AltSchool opened there in 2013, where traditional tests and controls have been abandoned, and instead the teachers attempt to inspire the children to seek their own solutions to real practical problems.
For example, the children learn to create electrical circuits on their own, or to design and build play houses with their own hands. The power of technology is used for these projects – starting with the most basic circuit wires and progressing all the way through to 3D printers or virtual simulation applications.
In this way, it is hoped that the ‘rote learning’ of unnecessary information is eliminated from the students’ daily routines, and that they are instead allowed to work on projects that inspire them to develop their talents and to acquire the necessary skills. In this way, the learning process becomes much more individualised and the child is helped not only by the teacher but also by internet resources. The existing AltSchools are already achieving great success, and there are plans to set up more of them all over the US. As in Lithuania, the young people in the Silicon Valley who are best acquainted with the new technology, and who were among the first to learn such skills at school, find it easiest to find a place in the employment market. On the other hand, not every family can afford to send their children to schools where they have an opportunity to work with the latest systems. The solution to this problem is offered by businesses that have the vision to integrate the resources they have with the state schools, thereby investing right at the school benchmark level in capable youngsters with a huge potential, who it is believed, will become the future employees in their companies. “The rate of change in the educational culture depends very much on the location; but in the US we are already seeing pilot programmes for so-called ‘joint learning initiatives’ that combine the energies of the state and business. A few months ago, all of the Silicon Valley was talking about a pilot partnership project that was developed between a private school and a public school and was run by the technology company Oracle, which allowed a business investment to be combined with the development of young talent on a scale never seen before,” said E. Trondsen. In the Silicon Valley, the free Design Tech High School supported by the technology giant Oracle has been operating for a while, but in 2018 it will move into new accommodation on the company’s premises. As with AltSchool, it features an educational system that is based on the creation of personal learning plans, with as many students as possible undertaking practical projects. The representatives of Oracle say that caring for schoolchildren in this way is useful, not just in hunting for future employees, but also as an effort to encourage young people to be directly involved in the company’s activities, as they have a somewhat more intuitive understanding of technology. High school students are being offered not just practical work, but also short-term work involving the company’s new projects and creations, as a way of incorporating the ideas and solutions of the students that might not occur to older people.
As in Lithuania, the young people in the Silicon Valley who are best acquainted with the new technology, and who were among the first to learn such skills at school, find it easiest to find a place in the employment market.
On the other hand, not every family can afford to send their children to schools where they have an opportunity to work with the latest systems. The solution to this problem is offered by businesses that have the vision to integrate the resources they have with the state schools, thereby investing right at the school benchmark level in capable youngsters with a huge potential, who it is believed, will become the future employees in their companies.
“The rate of change in the educational culture depends very much on the location; but in the US we are already seeing pilot programmes for so-called ‘joint learning initiatives’ that combine the energies of the state and business. A few months ago, all of the Silicon Valley was talking about a pilot partnership project that was developed between a private school and a public school and was run by the technology company Oracle, which allowed a business investment to be combined with the development of young talent on a scale never seen before,” said E. Trondsen.
In the Silicon Valley, the free Design Tech High School supported by the technology giant Oracle has been operating for a while, but in 2018 it will move into new accommodation on the company’s premises. As with AltSchool, it features an educational system that is based on the creation of personal learning plans, with as many students as possible undertaking practical projects.
The representatives of Oracle say that caring for schoolchildren in this way is useful, not just in hunting for future employees, but also as an effort to encourage young people to be directly involved in the company’s activities, as they have a somewhat more intuitive understanding of technology.
High school students are being offered not just practical work, but also short-term work involving the company’s new projects and creations, as a way of incorporating the ideas and solutions of the students that might not occur to older people.
Innovations are not only affecting the Silicon Valley. E. Trondsen explained that the technological revolution that is currently taking place could provide any country the opportunity to find itself at the very centre of an educational revolution.
All over the world, most modern schools are united in their desire to create an individual training plan for each student that can respond to his/her abilities and needs, and which will assist the student to learn with the help of technologies that can replace the teacher for part of the time.
E. Trondsen is visiting Lithuania for the “Innovation Drift” forum in Vilnius. The forum, which will take place on 12–13 October, is the largest event organised in the Baltic Sea region on the topic of future technology. More than 50 world-renowned scholars, business world representatives and futurologists will attend this Lithuanian forum, where they will not only share their experiences and insights, but will also look for possibilities for new collaborations and business niches.
ven though manufacturing companies have migrated to low cost countries like China, the industry robotics can fundamentally change this situation. Today robots start to take over factories and are able to make decisions and organize their work without the help of humans, and such smart factories can be established in any corner of the world. Foreign experts explain that this kind of system is able make us forget the current reality when everything is made in China.

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