The Virtual Transportation Network
This week’s conference epiphany was the parallel between software defined telecom networks and software defined transportation networks. In both industries, the hardware is becoming secondary, as software allows for dynamic reconfiguration to meet demand. Telecommunications will be increasingly important as one of the inputs to connect sensors and make the transportation network more intelligent and, as mentioned dynamic. And both networks have various divides to cross.
The Book on Autonomous Cars & Land-Use
Will autonomous vehicles create a utopian or dystopian future? This is a question that Lauren Isaac, Manager of Sustainable Transportation –WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff has been thinking about for a couple of years. Her thoughts on the topic can be found on her blog and in a guide she created to help governments plan for the autonomous future.
The Energized and Lit City
Distributed energy production via renewables is what Deborah Acosta describes as the InDERnet and it will cause a huge disruption to the electrical distribution industry. Speaking at the Smart Gigabit Bay Area conference, Acosta, the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of San Leandro explains that the power of distributed energy is more than just renewable energy, as it is improving the resiliency of the grid caused by single-point failures.Underlying the City of San Leandro’s distributed grid efforts is a signaling system that is enabled by LIT San Leandro, a city-wide fiber backbone.
And the Winner of this Year’s Elections….
Whatever the outcome of the local and national elections, the media business will be a winner, according to David Solomon, Chief Revenue Officer for Viamedia. Viamedia manages advertising for over 60 cable and IPTV operators nationwide. Solomon suggests that the ability to target on a geographic basis will make this a winning year for cable and IPTV providers. The Independent Show, next week, will be a good place to get an update from Solomon to see if his prediction holds true in this unpredictable election cycle.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- Telecom construction experts: Is it acceptable to temporarily tie to another operators’ strand as pictured?
- Impressive and exclusive ridecast video interview from my friend Marc Farley with Pokémon Go characters Pikachu and Charizard. I woudn’t know what to ask and wouldn’t understand their responses.
- It will be interesting to see if any Pokémon Go characters are on the Disney properties or if somehow the mouse can keep them out. Talk about a virtual invasion. Will see at next week’s TIS16.
A Platform for Pokémon Go and More
Summer 2016 may be marked in history as the year that Augmented Reality turned the corner in terms of widespread adoption thanks to Pokémon Go. And the experience is somewhat crude, compared to what will soon be possible in the near future. At last month’s Augmented World Expo 2016, Osterhaus Design Group gave a glimpse of the future with smart glasses that would give a hands-free experience as people hunt for extremely realistic looking Pokémon characters in the real world.
Read more and watch the video interview here.
