| Author | Message | ||
     David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2864 Registered: 4-2003 |
As some of our RROC[Australia] members may know, my older son works for Amazon Web Services who held their 2018 Sydney Summit and Innovation Day the week before last. I attended this event and one presenter during the Innovation Day particularly interested me with a presentation on the use of Artificial Intelligence to help people with special needs. His profile in the list of speakers said "Dr. Jordan Nguyen is on a mission to change the world. He is an acclaimed thought leader on the intersection between technology and humanity with a magical combination of technical brilliance and inspiration. Upon completing his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney, Jordan was accepted into the prestigious UTS Chancellor's List. Now his mission is to improve the lives of as many people as possible. As founder of Psykinetic he designs life-changing technologies focusing on intelligent, futuristic and inclusive technology. Drawing on his experience of almost breaking his own neck, Jordan developed a mind-controlled smart wheelchair for people with high-level physical disability. Jordan's work has been featured in a range of TV, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews, including ABC's Catalyst and Channel TEN's The Project. His recent documentary, 'Becoming Superhuman' won the 2017 Eureka Prize for Science Journalism. Jordan was a NSW State Finalist for Australian of the Year 2017." I was especially pleased to see Dr Nyguen open his presentation with an acknowledgement to the late Professor Stephen Hawking for his work. The truth of Professor Hawking's oft-mentioned quote "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change" was evident in all the presentations during this session. He showed extracts from the ABC Catalyst programme "Becoming Super Human" which attracted a lot of interest and comment and, yes, there is a motoring connection.......................... IMHO well worth the time of an hour or so to watch the following videos. Episode 1: In this 2-part series, biomedical engineer Dr Jordan Nguyen tries to make a boy's wildest dreams come true with cutting-edge technology. He's promised 13 year-old Riley Saban he will invent a device to help Riley achieve the impossible… and even have a super power. Will Riley be able to train his brain to use Jordan's technology? Will Jordan's technological vision become reality? And will Riley get his superpower? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q0MRwrlD1BylkBppiAzqjvjKBeIToBk-/view?usp=sharing Episode 2: In the second episode of this 2-part series, biomedical engineer Doctor Jordan Nguyen and 13-year-old Riley Saban aren’t content to just develop cutting edge technology that gives Riley superhuman powers, they want to know if young Riley can drive a car. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qcTS1_TT3OAi4bIIion4RnbL5kC_Qd5O/view?usp=sharing The applause from the audience at the end of his presentation was deafening. I know a significant number of our members have families with individuals who have special needs and I trust this gives them hope for the future life enhancement of these special people. My rating:  . | ||
| Patrick Lockyer. Grand Master Username: pat_lockyer Post Number: 1850 Registered: 9-2004 |
Truly amazing. | ||
| Patrick Ryan Grand Master Username: patrick_r Post Number: 1876 Registered: 4-2016 |
Fantastic stuff David. Thanks for sharing this with us. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 862 Registered: 2-2013 |
Ngugen is Vietnamese. Vietnamese are very smart without being educated. No surprise about what he is capable of. However, I doubt he can make me sane. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2865 Registered: 4-2003 |
Vladimir, I would not be so sure - Jordan has a Vietnamese father and Australian mother and he obviously has inherited the best traits of both nationalities. Jordan Nguyen's father is Hung Nguyen, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at UTS Sydney and Co-Director for the Centre of Health Technologies. During school, Nguyen wanted to become a professional tennis player. However, a back injury prevented him from pursuing it further. In his third year of university, Nguyen dived into a friend's swimming pool, hit the bottom, and damaged the muscles in his neck. Although he did not break his spine, Nguyen began exploring the options available to quadriplegics. When he discovered how limited they were, he decided to persevere in engineering to help develop technologies for disabilities. One thing is certain - the world is a much better place and will get even better thanks to his work and that of his fellow researchers. You might be a challenge in the beginning however I have no doubt he would succeed in the end. P.S. I forgot to include the number of people who were present in the Sydney International Convention Centre main theatre to hear Jordan was well in excess of 8000. . | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Grand Master Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 433 Registered: 5-2016 |
It's heart warming to witness technology being developed for such beneficial use and the prospects are endless. Thanks for sharing that most interesting story David. |
