Scientists, starship designers, and record-breaking daredevils delighted a crowd of almost 1,300 attendees at this morning’s fascinating Innovation Forum. Speakers shared their unique experiences using technology to stretch their limits in an extreme environment—land, space, or the ocean. Their tales were deeply inspiring, and each speaker offered a valuable perspective on the future.
Space
Angelo Vermeulen, space researcher and Renaissance man, described his work designing environments for space colonization. He has had surprising success designing like a termite: no plan, built first, revise as needed. Angelo believes that a successful future will include greater cross-cultural collaboration (which brings out the best in everybody), and technology that will “acquire more and more qualities of biology.” Dr. Bob Richards is a space entrepreneur and futurist. His organization Moon Express, Inc. is expected to become the first privately-held company to explore the Moon two years from now.
Oceans
Aquanaut Fabien Cousteau (grandson of Jacques-Yves) and his team completed 3 years of research in a month, thanks to technology that enabled them to remain underwater for the duration. They got know their deep-sea “neighbors” and gained insights about the psychology that unfolds on the ocean floor. Autodesk technologist Pete Kelsey described the various technologies used to study the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. He believes that the greatest discoveries occur at the intersection of various disciplines.
Land
Mouse McCoy is a world-class racer, stuntman, and the founder and creative director of Bandito Brothers, an award-winning media studio. Greg Tracy is among the top stuntmen in Hollywood and a Guinness Book of World Record-holder. Emerging technology will be pivotal in facilitating their epic jumps and other insane stunts with a greater margin of error—as Mouse puts it, “less cowboy.” Here's Greg's record-setting jump for Hot Wheels.
You can watch this recorded Innovation Forum online anytime: Mindset: Tools to Anticipate, Plan for, and Create the Future.
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