Exciting opportunities across hardware

Exciting opportunities across hardware

April, HardwareCon – Something truly remarkable is happening across hardware – stated Mark Hindsbo from Ansys, in his opening keynote speech at HardwareCon 2017 that took place March 24-25 in San Leandro, California. Hindsbo referred to the megatrends including IoT that is being applied to make devices smarter; composite materials, that allow for the creation of new complex shapes and application flexibilities that were not possible before and new processes such as 3D printing which is leading the new area of additive manufacturing. All of them have been creating many exciting opportunities across hardware. Hindsbo explained that analysts, such as the Boston Consulting group, estimated this new industry sector to be $11 trillion by 2025.

This year HardwareCon event is now part of Hardware Massive and their global community.  At the event, the show welcome had a show of hands response that identified close to half of the attendees were non-local to the Silicon Valley area, including Europe, Asia and South America.  The event focused on innovators and their products that are all hardware based solutions for the industrial and retail sales channels. The common theme of hardware development brought a keynote from Ansys Corporation that was highlighting their startups program, and the advantages of using a computer to test out design in advance of making the prototypes.

Coverage of the event in the form of highlights from the Keynote, a one-on-one discussion with Mark Hindsbo and an overview of the exhibits as described by the innovators themselves appears on the Bright Blue Innovation television program produced by Roadway Media. In this episode made its appearance: Ansys Corp., Hello Axis, Theia, San Leandro Next, Product Realization Grop, Berkeley Sourcing Group, Skunk Lock, Rush Order, First Cinema, Alex Witkowski Law, Tindie, Bullz-I, Brain Portal, Tittle Light, Looksee, CloudKeyz and Recreation Sound.

http://roadway.media/bright-blue-innovation/bright-blue-innovation-season-2-spring-2017/bbi-s2-ep6-hardwarecon-2017/

The Local & Global Hardware Startup Ecosystem Gathers for HardwareCon

The Local & Global Hardware Startup Ecosystem Gathers for HardwareCon

HardwareCon, March 2017 – HardwareCon, the 2-day conference devoted to helping hardware startup founders & CEOs take their startup to the next level takes place this Friday and Saturday March 24th-25th at the Zero Net Energy Center in San Leandro, CA. In it’s third year, the show boasts a packed agenda filled with keynotes from Mark Hindsbo the CMO of ANSYS, who will be presenting their new innovative simulation tool for digitizing hardware prototyping and a fireside chat with Euan Thomson the Head of Johnson & Johnson’s medical device team who will discuss how large corporations and startups can work together to advance innovation.
Hardware entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to meet & learn from industry veterans and have their toughest business & engineering questions answered during one of their many breakout sessions. Some panels will focus on how to optimize your manufacturing for scale, how to create a defensible hardware product using software & data and online and brick & mortar retail strategies for consumer product businesses.  Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn from our panel of thought leaders around the world about what is happening in their local hardware communities including the the surge of interest in hardware from their local governments and investors.
“We’re pleased to be able to include more international entrepreneurs and companies in this year’s HardwareCon event,” said Greg Fisher, co-founder of HardwareCon.  “Our Hardware Massive partners are bringing in attendees, startups and experts from their 26 chapters around the globe and this brings even more insights and opportunities to our participants.”
HardwareCon will also be featuring a wide array of local & international hardware startups on Hardware Blvd. On the final day of the conference 5 hardware startups will compete to win the 24k grand prize package. These startups went through qualifying rounds at Hardware Massive’s chapter’s around the world and we’re carefully selected by the conference delegation. The 5 finalists are:

  • AXIS – AXIS Gear is the first ever retrofit smart device to motorize and automate your existing window shades.
  • MendUX – keeping cognitively impaired seniors safe from wandering while maintaining elder care facilities bottom line through prevention
  • BBQbot – Good barbecue is amazing to eat, but very difficult to make. BBQbot allows anyone to easily make competition quality barbecue by converting their cheap barbecue grill into a smart, automated, professional quality barbecue smoker.
  • Lumos – The world’s safest commute backpack
  • PhysioCue – Consumer digital health and therapy device company that empowers people with high blood pressure conditions to live healthier, happier and longer lives. PhysioCue has developed a completely new approach for hypertension management that combines the latest bio-sensor (PPG & ECG) technology.
Steve McGough presents “hi” at HardwareCon

Steve McGough presents “hi” at HardwareCon

The author of the proverbial statement – Necessity is a mother of invention – is unknown. It is sometimes ascribed to Plato, the Greek philosopher who lived in Athens in the time 300 years BC. But even the quote is very old, the meaning is current. Difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions.

This is what happened to Steve McGough, founder of product named Hi that helps women and couple experience new way to relax and enjoy life. Since 2009 their unique technology has been refined and tested on over 2000 women. Today their method and technology has been patented in the US and Australia with patents pending in the EU and Canada. At the 2016 HardwareCon in San Leandro, California, Steve presented a lunch time keynote session and presented his soon to be on the market product to the crowd.

Heading back to his story of invention.

Steve discovered the technology behind “hi” when trying to help his wife Wendy find a way to relieve pain from a surgical adhesion. In 2007 he rushed his wife to a hospital for emergency C-section following 5 years of trying to have a child. Steve and his wife Wendy, then had their life take a dramatic turn. In the last few months of pregnancy, Wendy was exposed to an antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Their son lived for only one day. Wendy left with not only mental scars but also physical scars that were not healing quickly. Steve researched everything he could think of that might help with the physical issues, and finally he came up with an abdominal massage technique that helped reduced her pain. The method required continuous vigorous massage for 5-10 minutes.  This wasn’t easy to maintain manually and he started to look for automated massage devices. He was unable to find anything that fit his needs, so as an engineer he designed it by himself. It took him about a year to design & build a unit that worked well.

But there came a surprise.

The side effect of massaging the abdominal was an orgasm. After Wendy noticed it some of women who volunteered to test the device, over their clothing, reported the same effect.  Steve who previously worked in neuroscience research was looking for an answer. Talking in the role of an “IT guy”, as he describes himself, about something that is still taboo, especially in the southern portion of the US, wasn’t easy. He contacted investors and friends who repeatedly warned him to abandon the project “before it destroyed his reputation”. Instead he ended up going on journey across US, the Caribbean and Asia. After 7 years of research and refinement (testing on over 2000 women) he proved the effect and outcome to be true. Along the way, Steve became a professor of clinical sexology in San Francisco to better discuss the issue with an interested community.

To bring the product to market, he had to start the manufacturing process.  Manufacturing for the large device is very expensive, typically $800K – $1M. He received the offers from adult entertainment & products related investment groups, but he knew that this new technology helps women relax in many ways far beyond sexual areas. Fortunately he met Greg Fisher, the CEO of Berkeley Sourcing Group, LLC who realized full potential of the product.  His turn-key product development company finalized the designs and set up manufacture in Asia. Together with Greg, and his team of mostly female designers and engineers in China they created this version of hi that will be released in 2016.

Tim O’Reilly talks about growth opportunities

Tim O’Reilly talks about growth opportunities

At the HardwareCon 2016 Tim O’Reilly, publisher entrepreneur, and the founder of O’Reilly Media, presented a map showing where technology is going and the role of enthusiasts who are passionate about new products and ideas.

Tim brought back the famous quote from Thomas Watson, the longtime CEO of IBM, who said in 1943 “I’ve seen no need for more than five computers in the whole world”. Watson’s misjudgment allowed other companies to enter the market for computers. Over time, this trend led to the entry of  many smaller companies to the market and gave them an opportunity that IBM neglected. Today, startups continue to play the same role, especially in the IoT landscape.

Tim presented that the trend started in2000.  At that time, the smartphones and tablets were entering the market and PCs were on a small stable increase. As the mobile devices proliferated, they rapidly took away growth and market share from the PC space. That was the marketplace until about 2014 when the smartphone and tablet growth became flat as the market approached saturation. .  This market change has given an opportunity for huge numbers of devices in the “Internet of everything”. IoT is the new thing in the market with projected 35percent growth and will stay with that pace until 2019.

What’s next in computing?

O’Reilly stated three key trends on the horizon: small, cheap and ubiquitous hardware, the golden age of AI software, and software and hardware combining into new computer platforms.

Many entrepreneurs are taking their chances and hope to participate in these opportunities and define a new and large market segment with their products.