Techie Trekkies: Bringing Star Trek to Life

#sxsw #tricorder

From tablets to 3D printers to smartphones, Star Trek has given life to some of today’s hottest technologies. 40 years after the show’s launch, technology has finally advanced to where we are able to live in the future, and not just replicate but recreate these props for global use and benefit.
One of the most coveted devices from the Starfleet is the medical tricorder, a swiss army knife of hospital grade capabilities used for diagnosing any medical condition. With recent advances in sensors, imaging and mobile technology, Scanadu is finally bringing this device to life, and to the masses. The Scanadu Scout has the potential to disrupt the entire healthcare system.
Join Rod Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and Walter de Brouwer, CEO and Founder of Scanadu, as they discuss the ways in which the innovations imagined in the movie are inspiring entrepreneurs and coming to life today.

Presenters

Rod Roddenberry

CEO

Roddenberry Entertainment

Eugene Wesley Roddenberry, Jr., is the guardian of the Roddenberry legacy and champions its timeless and universal ideals to new generations through creative and inspiring science fiction productions, merchandise, publishing, underwater adventures and philanthropy.

As the son of legendary science fiction producer, Gene Roddenberry, whose Star Trek series changed the face of television and continues to inspire today, Rod has followed in his father’s footsteps to be a catalyst in the creation of a world where humanity works together for the greater good.

Rod became chief executive officer in 2001 of Roddenberry Entertainment, a science fiction leader with a tradition of groundbreaking entertainment. Roddenberry Entertainment builds on the best of Gene Roddenberry’s work and continues to pioneer the development of a multi-media portfolio of smart and provocative science fiction that incorporates graphic novels, comics, television and film projects, including the critically acclaimed Trek Nation, which debuted in 2011.

Trek Nation is the documentation of Rod’s 10-year journey to explore his father’s life. The undertaking inspired him to fully embrace the vision Gene had for the world and invest himself in its future. One expression of this was the founding of The Roddenberry Foundation in 2010. The Roddenberry Foundation funds paradigm-changing solutions to critical global issues in science and technology, the environment, education and humanitarian advances.

The Roddenberry legacy is further lived out through the Roddenberry Dive Team. Much like his father navigated the heavens through Star Trek, Rod founded and leads the adventure-based dive team in its exploration of strange, new underwater worlds and strives to inspire stewardship of our oceans. A scuba diver since 1993, Rod holds a Divemaster certification and has participated or led more than 1,000 dives from exotic locations around the world.

Sam De Brouwer

Co-Founder

Scanadu

Sam de Brouwer is a technology entrepreneur, advocate and co-founder of Scanadu, a NASA Ames Research Center based company with the mission of making this the last generation to know so little about our health.

After a life-altering family medical emergency, de Brouwer co-founded Scanadu in 2010 to revolutionize home medicine and build the tricorder once imagined in Star Trek. She is also Director of TEDxBrussels, which brings together innovators and inspirational speakers in the capital of Europe each Fall.

Prior to Scanadu, de Brouwer served as the Advocacy Director of One Laptop Per Child Foundation Europe and was the Director of the National Institute for Teleworkers in Belgium. Earlier in her career, she was part of MIT MediaLab's Starlab team and the founder of Jobscape, one of Brussels first online recruitment companies.