The Seventh Sense: Power, Fortune and Survival in the Age of Networks the new book by Joshua Cooper Ramo was presented by the author at a recent Dallas World Affairs Council event on a rainy evening in downtown Dallas. Those that braved the thunderstorms were in for a real treat. Cooper-Ramo is Vice Chairman and Co-CEO of Kissinger Associates, adviser to CEOs, Politicians and on a number of notable corporate boards. Mr. Ramo has a unique ability in recognizing patterns and relationships of seemingly disparate events and envisioning where those trends will lead us into the future.
Mr. Cooper-Ramo has spent much time in China (living as close to a national as possible –keeping company with locals and speaking fluent Mandarin). He has witnessed, firsthand the ascension of China’s economic prowess and the dynamism of that economy. His new book is a very interesting as it presents a new way of looking at the world. A world where terrorism, mass refugee migrations, unbelievable technological and medical advances and whole new industries look just like chaotic events. Mr. Cooper-Ramo draws parallels and explains what he believes is the secret to power and fortune in the coming age. That secret power lies in understanding how networks function and the part they are playing in our changing economy, our geo-political structures and societal values.
Well worth the read and kudos to the Dallas World Affairs Council for yet another informative and engaging event.
Malcom Gladwell was recently quoted “The next president needs to read the Seventh Sense, starting on the morning of November 9th. Joshua Ramo’s latest book is a fascinating guide to the way the world is changing.” The book is an important read not only for political leaders but for those of us working in Technology. The Internet of Things, Smart Cities and other Smart technologies will be part of the disruption that Cooper-Ramos discusses in his book.
Spacee is a company whose mission is to create amazing spatial experiences. Spacee specializes in making the physical world digitally interactive through Spatial Augmented Reality. No Phones, No Glasses, No Helmets required. All Spacee projects are designed to be powerful communal
experiences that deliver a deep personal connection. Spacee injects actual intelligence into physical space. Imagine a world where everything is proactive, interactive and reactive. What if a building/store/space could react to a person’s profile and current emotional state? What if media and products merged? Spacee is finalizing a platform allowing anyone to create these experiences without being a programmer.
It all started 3 years ago when Skip Howard, founder of Spacee, attended an event and hacked into a Microsoft Xbox Kinect. Through that experience, Skip was hooked and devoted all his free time to computer vision. He started by creating an in-air gesture interactive restaurant menu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhxoh3KIsUw). It was a total failure after the restaurant owners decided that customers would be confused with all the hand waving, but it sparked an idea and Skip spent the next two years working on: Create a virtual touchscreen with a camera. After working on the problem and the methods, Skip founded an organization: Computer Visionaries (http://www.meetup.com/Computer-Visionaries/) to meet like minded people that he could bounce ideas off of. Computer Visionaries is now the largest Computer Vision meetup group south of New York City. Because of the relationships and encouragement of the group’s members, Skip was able to create the first technology to make any surface or 3D object digitally interactive with the same camera system that can see the world and react to people. The Spacee Interactive Wall was born and so was Spacee the company. Since this invention, a patent has been issued and several other technologies are patent pending.
Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Marc Gilpin joined the company to bring advanced UX practices, UX principles and a lot of hard work. Through Marc’s creative guidance, the experience has been taken to the next level making the technology shine.
The first world facing project launched in August of 2015, the Touch Car Experience in partnership with Mercedes-Benz of Plano. Spacee turned a Mercedes into a touchscreen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWLPG2Wvkvk). The car is installed inside a Mall and any person is able to interact with it. (https://youtu.be/lf9Ppapdy-4)
A customer will approach the vehicle and is then invited to touch an icon to begin.
Using the latest in projection mapping techniques, a transition animation is displayed to the customer and the projection enters an active state.
In the active state, a series of touchable icons are presented, allowing the customer to interact and explore the available information. Once the user places their hand on the icon, the system will register a ‘touch’ and will be able to show the user the correct content in a new animated video.
Once the content video has ended, the system will return to its active state. The customer will be able to choose other icons.
Touchable icons are not just limited to one spot on the vehicle or even to the vehicle itself.
The system achieves virtual touch by using light only. Nothing is installed on the vehicle.
It has exceeded expectations and has sold Mercedes-Benzes all by itself.
Spacee Capabilities
Spacee Wall – Computer Vision based digital signage / Interactive wall of real-world items/ Virtual Touch. Make any 2D Surface interactive including glass.
*1 Patent Issued, 1 Patent Pending
Spacee Virtual Ghosts – a projection on a glass obelisk that allows a user to communicate with an interactive video. The system uses voice recognition and gestures to understand and react to the user.
Reactive Spatial Awareness – the ability to touch a real world object and have a separate display react to the user’s touch. This is used for marketing and analytics
The Spacee Overlay: Virtual touch and Spatial AR on any 3D object and surrounding area. The Spacee framework will work on practically anything and in practically any situation.
Incorporated Tech: Spacee also uses Facial Recognition/detection, Emotional detection, image recognition, demographic detection, in-air gestures, 3D scanning/mapping and mobile integration and other creative technologies.
Spacee is changing the way you interact with everyday objects. We are working on the future and would love your feedback or ideas.
