Technology Inspires

The future is now at the Think Big Festival, a multi-day event August 20 through the 22 at North Idaho College that will educate and inspire its attendees. The event is organized by the Innovation Collective, an entrepreneurial group in Coeur d’Alene working to make North Idaho a center for technology and business.

The festival brings together some of the leading minds in technology and innovation. Think TED talks on a more personal level. This year’s line-up includes speakers from Microsoft, Johns Hopkins, Boeing, BMW Group Deisgnworks and other researchers and entrepreneurs.

There will be robotics experts, university professors, software designers, physicists and engineers. Listen to them discuss not only their areas of expertise but also how they have incorporated other technologies into their professions. Watch entrepreneurs pitch their ideas or listen to how some people are channeling their ideas into live products.

Some of this year’s speakers include, Amish Patel, Director of Experiences and Design for the Microsoft Devices group. He has worked on products such as Kinect, Xbox One, Windows 8 and the Tablet PC. The former Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense, Christine H. Fox, will be here. She is the highest ranking female official ever to work at the Pentagon and is the Assistant Professor for Policy and Analysis of the Johns Hopkins Physics Laboratory. Dr. William C. Torch, a neurologist specializing in patients with spinal cord neuromuscular neuro-psychiatric disorders will discuss his work.

Local, Josh Hartung, CEO and co-founder of Harbrick Technologies, will speak about autonomous driving vehicles and the technology behind them. Another local and prodigy at the event will be 16-year-old Rathdrum teen, Erik Finman, who started Botangle, an online tutoring platform and was named one of TIME Magazine’s most influential teens of 2014.

There will be a kick-off concert Thursday night from 7 to 11pm. On Friday, talks cover the various ways robotics will assist and change our ways of transportation (via “robo cars”), health care and our way of using money. Saturday is “Robotics Experiences Day” where conference attendees can experience a self-driving car, fly a drone or control an underwater drone and witness how an exoskeleton works in addition to numerous stations demonstrating robotics.

The festival is sure to open anyone’s mind to understanding and appreciating the latest in technological innovations that are so rapidly changing the world in which we live. For tickets and information, go to thinkbigfestival.com and also check for festival updates on Facebook.

#events #entertainment