This LASERZurich will feature three renowned researchers that will cross pollinate their research by discussing this exciting and controversial topic.
Felix Adamczyk (Engineer from Smart Home Technology, Zurich) and Agung Firmanto Budiharto and Agus Tri Budiarto (Media Artists from Lifepatch, Yogyakarta, Indonesia). This discussion will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Jill Scott.
Felix Adamczyk: What is a smarter world?
Current industry sees a development of more than 50 billion smart devices in the year 2020 (Swisscom, 2017). Just in 2018 we will witness more smart connected devices on earth than mobile phones (Ericsson Mobility Report 2016). What are these smart devices and why is this sector of the so called Internet of Things (IoT) growing so rapidly? Felix Adamczyk, the founder of Smart Home Technologies will demonstrate why smart things are now seen as key drivers for efficiency in several industries. He will explain, why his company invented a solution called IoT Concentrator to turn offline products or services into online services in the context of Industry 4.0. He will talk about exact risks of these solutions for us, the citizens. His technology called Zero Standby® may in fact, be an essential element in IoT developments to re-empower the citizen as well as save energy.
Felix Adamczyk was born in 1986 in Bavaria, Germany. He worked in Santiago de Chile in the sector of smart connected devices and spent several months in engineering projects in Tanzania. Since 2007 he lives in Switzerland. He is fascinated by smart solutions and is critical of efficient solutions. He studied Electrical Engineering at ETH Zurich and Fraunhofer Insitute in Kaiserslautern. In 2011 he founded his first company with the idea to make smart connected buildings and in 2014, he founded his current company, the ETH Spin-off Smart Home Technologies to collaborate with the industry of connected devices. In 2016, their invention Zero Standby® created a lot of attention, as it is a solution to turn off electrical devices if they are not in use. This approach saves huge amounts of energy as well as extends battery life.
Agung Firmanto Budiharto and Agus Tri Budiarto
Agung Firmanto Budiharto and Agus Tri Budiarto will talk about their organization Lifepatch: a collaborative citizen science activity in the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Lifepatch creates positive and effective applications in art, science and technology such as "grab the waste" and guerrilla planting to increase awareness of city problems through DIY and DIWO ideology. Here they build networks that engage in art, science and technology by connecting to the community. How can citizen science develop through such group activity? They share and discuss environmental issues, organize workshops to brainstorm and learn, as well as create chill-out time to collect ideas. In other words, they create an alternative education platform focused on technology, the urban environment and citizen empowerment.
Agung Firmanto Budiharto a.k.a Geger is an environmental activist working with many groups in the community. In 2010 he started Ordinary Acts: an action to promote positive acts for the environment such as "Grab the Waste", “Your Two Hands Actions” and “Guerrilla Planting”. He collaborates with students, young people and activists, in order to increase awareness about city problems, reclaim public spaces for bicycles and make street art. He is interested in food security and wants to have his own library for his neighbourhood.
Agus Tri Budiarto a.k.a Timbil is a chemical engineer who is interested in local ecology issues and bio-punk movements as well as IB:SC, an art and science collaboration project on safe wine fermentation methods with the Microbiology Department UGM (Transmediale Award 2011). He graduated from University of National Development Veteran (UPN-Veteran) in chemical engineering and has been active with local communities as a citizen scientist on ecology issues like the restoration of ecosystems and biohacking.