Tag Archives: Avi Reichental

Printing food, changing prostheses, and talking with Google (Larry Page) at TED 2014′s Session 6: Wired

I’m covering two speakers and an interview from this session. First, Avi Reichental, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) 3D Sytems, from his TED biography (Note: A link has been removed),

At 3D Systems, Avi Reichental is helping to imagine a future where 3D scanning-and-printing is an everyday act, and food, clothing, objects are routinely output at home.

Lately, he’s been demo-ing the Cube, a tabletop 3D printer that can print a basketball-sized object, and the ChefJet, a food-grade machine that prints in sugar and chocolate. His company is also rolling out consumer-grade 3D scanning cameras that clip to a tablet to capture three-dimensional objects for printing out later. He’s an instructor at Singularity University (watch his 4-minute intro to 3D printing).

Reichental started by talking about his grandfather, a cobbler who died in the Holocaust and whom he’d never met. Nonetheless, his grandfather had inspired him to be a maker of things in a society where craftsmanship and crafting atrophied until recently with the rise of ‘maker’ culture and 3D printing.

There were a number of items on the stage, shoes, a cake, a guitar and more, all of which had been 3D printed. Reichental’s shoes had also been produced on a 3D printer. If I understand his dream properly, it is to enable everyone to make what they need more cheaply and better.

Next, Hugh Herr, bionics designer, from his TED biography,

Hugh Herr directs the Biomechatronics research group at the MIT Media Lab, where he is pioneering a new class of biohybrid smart prostheses and exoskeletons to improve the quality of life for thousands of people with physical challenges. A computer-controlled prosthesis called the Rheo Knee, for instance, is outfitted with a microprocessor that continually senses the joint’s position and the loads applied to the limb. A powered ankle-foot prosthesis called the BiOM emulates the action of a biological leg to create a natural gait, allowing amputees to walk with normal levels of speed and metabolism as if their legs were biological.

Herr is the founder and chief technology officer of BiOM Inc., which markets the BiOM as the first in a series of products that will emulate or even augment physiological function through electromechanical replacement. You can call it (as they do) “personal bionics.”

Herr walked on his two bionic limbs onto the TED stage. He not only researches and works in the field of bionics, he lives it. His name was mentioned in a previous presentation by David Sengeh (can be found in my March 17, 2014 posting), a 2014 TED Fellow.

Herr talked about biomimcry, i.e., following nature’s lead in design but he also suggested that design is driving (affecting) nature.  If I understand him rightly, he was referencing some of the work with proteins, ligands, etc. and creating devices that are not what we would consider biological or natural as we have tended to use the term.

His talk contrasted somewhat with Reichental’s as Herr wants to remove the artisanal approach to developing prosthetics and replacing the artisanal with data-driven strategies. Herr covered the mechanical, the dynamic, and the electrical as applied to bionic limbs. I think the term prosthetic is being applied the older, artisanal limbs as opposed to these mechanical, electrical, dynamic marvels known as bionic limbs.

The mechanical aspect has to do with figuring out how your specific limbs are formed and used and getting precise measurements (with robotic tools) because everyone is a little bit different. The dynamic aspect, also highly individual, is how your muscles work. For example, standing still, walking, etc. all require dynamic responses from your muscles. Finally, there’s the integration with the nervous system so you can feel your limb.

Herr shows a few videos including one of a woman who lost part of her leg in last year’s Boston Marathon bombing (April 15, 2013). A ballroom dancer, Herr invites her to the stage so she can perform in front of the TED 2014 audience. She got a standing ovation.

In the midst of session 6, there was an interview conducted by Charlie Rose (US television presenter) with Larry Page, a co-founder of Google.

Very briefly, I was mildly relieved (although I’m not convinced) to hear that Page is devoted to the notion that search is important. I’ve been concerned about the Google search results I get. Those results seem less rich and interesting than they were a few years ago. I attribute the situation to the chase for advertising dollars and a decreasing interest in ‘search’ as the company expands with initiatives such as ‘Google glass’, artificial intelligence, and pursues other interests distinct from what had been the company’s core focus.

I didn’t find much else of interest. Larry Page wants to help people and he’s interested in artificial intelligence and transportation. His perspective seemed a bit simplistic (technology will solve our problems) but perhaps that was for the benefit of people like me. I suspect one of a speaker’s challenges at TED is finding the right level. Certainly, I’ve experienced difficulties with some of the more technical presentations.

One more observation, there was no mention of a current scandal at Google profiled in the April 2014 issue of Vanity Fair, (by Vanessa Grigoriadis)

 O.K., Glass: Make Google Eyes

The story behind Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s liaison with Google Glass marketing manager Amanda Rosenberg—and his split from his wife, genetic-testing entrepreneur Anne Wojcicki— has a decidedly futuristic edge. But, as Vanessa Grigoriadis reports, the drama leaves Silicon Valley debating emotional issues, from office romance to fear of mortality.

Given that Page agreed to be on the TED stage in the last 10 days, this appearance seems like an attempt at damage control especially with the mention of Brin who had his picture taken with the telepresent Ed Snowden on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at TED 2014.