INIT
Conversations with the inventors of our shared future
About the show
Technology is shifting from engaging just your eyes and ears to engaging your entire body. Immersive technology and next-generation wireless networks, sometimes collectively called the Tactile Internet, will shift the fundamental relationship between humans and the technologies we invent. The transition of cyberspace from being virtual to being a physical place you can visit with all your senses is the biggest deal since... maybe since ever. Let's talk about it!
INIT is a different type of tech podcast. We get geeky, but we keep track of the human story. More than anything, INIT is about people – the people behind the tech, why they do what they do, and their vision of the future. We've all heard the adage, "the best way to predict the future is to invent it." INIT brings you conversations with the inventors of our shared future.
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Episodes
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Current Issues in Haptic Interaction Design
1 December 2019 | 53 mins 28 secs
design tools, ethics, music
Dr. Marcello Giordano is a research scientist at Chatham Labs. He has a background in HCI, music, and haptics, and previously worked at Huawei and Ultrahaptics (now Ultraleap). Discussion topics include haptic musical interfaces, metronomes and synchronization of performance groups, contrasts in experience working for small and large companies, mixed reality, ungrounded and mid-air haptics, robot and haptic ethics, and human enhancement.
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Ghost in the Interface
28 November 2019 | 34 mins 20 secs
ai, neural implants, sensory substitution
Laura Buecheler is the CEO and Co-founder of GHOST-feel it GmbH, a Berlin-based startup focusing on haptic user interfaces. Topics of discussion in this episode include product design trends, smart prosthetics, AI, sensory substitution, and neural implants.
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Evolution of Touch Technology
11 November 2019 | 1 hr 29 mins
Dr. David Parisi is a professor specializing in emerging media. In this episode, we talk about his new book, Archaeologies of Touch: Interfacing with Haptics from Electricity to Computing, which traces the iterative development of haptics across four centuries.
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Cool Heat
8 November 2019 | 1 hr 9 mins
Inventor and entrepreneur Dr. Matthew Smith created the first wearable personal thermostat. In this show, he relates his experience starting his company, lessons learned from customers, the science of how we feel temperature and its profound impact on our subjective experiences.
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The Signal and the Noise
6 November 2019 | 1 hr 5 mins
Dr. Carolina Brum is an HCI expert with a background in music, gesture acquisition and signal processing. As part of Google's ATAP team, she helped create the radar-based gesture input feature for the Pixel 4. Topics of discussion include sensor fusion, AI, digital privacy, and cultural conventions for interpersonal touch.
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Introducing INIT
6 November 2019 | 11 mins 21 secs
INIT is a show about technology, humanity, and the inventors of our collective future. In this short introductory episode, Dave talks about the idea behind the show and what you can expect to hear in future episodes.