Three years ago, Jeff Jonas told a TTI/Vanguard audience that spatial and temporal information was “superfood” for big data. Since then, we’ve seen that borne out; mobility and IoT have made big data bigger and better than before. But as they get bigger, ensuring they’re better becomes ever more challenging.
But big data isn’t the only data of interest. A story is told about Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA. A business consultant went to his office for an appointment with him and was told he was probably down at the store checkout. Sure enough, he was manning one of the cash registers. The consultant asked why, and Kamprad replied, “This is the cheapest and the most efficient research. I can ask everyone why they choose it and why they didn’t choose it.” IKEA collects plenty of data, but Kamprad needed to complement it with small data.
Big data is in some ways a misnomer; the most useful big-data analyses often involve finding tiny subsets within big databases. And much of it comes from only a handful of measurements, often coming from small devices. Sparse data, probabilistic and fuzzy data, emergent data, and smart data all come together under the ambiguous rubric of small data.
SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute)
February 15, 2017
9:15AM–4:00PM
We will be visiting SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute), the non-profit research institute at the forefront of many of Silicon Valley’s most remarkable innovations. For 70 years, SRI has shaped the future by creating ground-breaking advances in artificial intelligence, network communications, security, robotics, health, and STEM education. Today, researchers across SRI collaborate with clients and partners to develop solutions to the world’s most pressing problems ranging from cybersecurity, such as recent disruptions of the Internet of Things (IoT), to meeting the challenges of an aging population. At the heart of SRI’s work is a commitment to creating and applying technology to make people healthier, safer and more productive, and a belief that by working together we can invent a better future for the generations to come.
Lab visits will span a range of disciplines: Robotics (MOTOBOT Yamaha-motorcycle-riding humanoid, PROXI walking humanoid, and robotic surgery); a soft-exoskeleton wearable for aging populations; advanced space radar applications; IoT security solutions; and rapid triage of radiation exposure.