My Review of London Tech Week

Last week, was London Tech Week – and on this blog, I shared what it was about, what to look out for and my thoughts on some comments the Mayor of London had said and around Smart Cities.

I was able to go down for a few days… there was a lot going on, and it was great to see how everyone was willing to learn and understand, share and interact with audiences and communities.

First for me, was Tug Life…

A pop-up event, with 12 events, 50 speakers over 4 days… it was great. I was able to listen and learn to some key people. There was some great information being shared, for example, the Four Stages of Creativity…

I was also asked to share a few words, which I gladly did. I spoke about how retail is changing, and how with the advancement of technology is helping us digitally engage with products – and how important it is for customers to experience the journey and story of what they are buying into. Traditional methods made this easy, but now it’s slightly more difficult in the digital space as a) it’s easier to do, and b) how can you stand out from all your competitors.

On Thursday, I was over at the Excel Centre for Tech XLR8…

There was ALOT going on! – and that was only a good thing. Honestly, from the various talks being given around the various rooms in the centre, to the folk exhibiting their latest technology and engaging people to understand and experience…

An example, Daqri had a booth where they had their smart helmets and glasses – folk where coming along, understanding that you don’t need a whole huge infrastructure – you can start small and grow with your needs. This is just one example, there were many more folk showing similar technology…

Then there was the Robotics zone..

I could write 2 or 3 blogs just on what they were showing and demonstrating. Let’s be honest, robotics is becoming more and more popular and the use of robotics in a variety of industries is becoming more and more effective. For example, takeaways, and a certain delivery company using robots for deliveries (rather than humans)…

And then there was my first love… Kodak

who have been using their camera and lens knowledge to develop some amazing 360 cameras, and other new tech… it looks like, they’re beginning to do something effective with their knowledge of cameras.

All in all, a great few days, and more importantly, I was able to not only share my knowledge and experience, but also take in & learn from industry experts, especially around Robotics and Reality (both, Augmented and Virtual).

There were many more events taking place around the capital city.. and next year, i’m looking forward to spending the whole week and participating in more events.

The more we are able to collaborate, the more we are able to experiment on new ideas.