If Nerdism were a religion, we would be kneeling down before this holy trinity of topics: alien hunting, augmented reality, and robots. We are not worthy! Come worship at the Rickshaw’s stage; grab a libation (or three); and meditate with an astronomer from the SETI Institute, an expert in wearable computing, and a robot evangelist. Be there and be square!
Wednesday, 10/16/2013
Doors at 7 pm, show at 8
Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell St @Van Ness
$8, all ages
Tickets on sale now!
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Brilliant!Science presents: “Confessions of an Alien Hunter” with Seth Shostak and Ryan Wyatt
Seth Shostak knew he would spend his life hunting for signs of life in the Universe from the time he was just 10 years old. He is now a senior astronomer at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin, nature, and prevalence of life in the Universe. Shostak has published hundreds of scientific articles, written several popular books and even has his own radio show. Ryan Wyatt, director of Morrison Planetarium and Science Visualization at the California Academy of Sciences, will join him on stage to hear the latest confessions of one of this world’s leading alien hunters!
Brilliant!Science is running several other awesome events from now until 10/26; learn more at http://www.calacademy.org/brilliantscience/
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“Wearable Computing and Big Data” by Anselm Hook
Wearable computers and big data will make our current Internet seem like a simple “series of tubes” after all. With technologies such as dense 3D scene reconstruction and a new, shared open voxel (volumetric pixel) map of the world, get ready for your Iron Man-style augmented reality (AR) dreams to come true! See fun examples of Anselm’s recent AR work and discuss some non-obvious implications while we break through the Google-Glass-ceiling to catch a glimpse of the future.
Anselm Hook is a software programmer at Dekko, an AR startup. He also worked on Terry Gilliam’s latest movie, The Zero Theorem. Prior to that he was at Xerox PARC, and in a former life he wrote video games.
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“It’s 2013. WHERE IS MY PERSONAL ROBOT?” by Elad Inbar
We often hear about the robotics revolution that’s set to change every aspect of our lives. From self-driving cars, pizza delivery drones, humanoid robots, all the way to the simplest vacuum cleaners, robots are here, and the trend is accelerating. But look deeper, under the flashy PR, and it’s obvious that the way to a bright, Hollywood-style future–with a Jetsons Rosie in every home–is still a long way off. Join a live demo of robots (including the humanoid NAO) and an open and intriguing discussion.
Elad Inbar is the founder and CEO of RobotAppStore, the first marketplace for robot apps, and RobotsLAB, a boutique firm dedicated to teaching STEM topics using robots.
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NNSF t-shirts return! $20. Designed by our über-talented DJ, poster artist, and now t-shirt maker, Alpha Bravo. He’ll also be spinning tunes specially selected for the presenters’ themes. Follow the setlist on Twitter @djalphabravo.