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Greetings!
I recently had the pleasure of attending London Tech Week 2022 with a good friend of mine. This event is held in London (obviously) which spans over three days and consists of many talks given by industry professionals and some down time to explore the company stalls. Anyone from small start ups to giant international corporations will have stalls here to network with new people whilst advertising their brand, and latest technology.
It was really interesting to hear about the developments in Crypto, Web3 and Web5, ClimateTech, FoodTech and Medical Virtual Reality.
Virtual Reality
One of my favourite stalls was a company called Vantari VR, based in Australia. They produce an immersive virtual reality surgery-practicing software. It is critical for every aspiring surgeon to train extensively before becoming qualified as well as professional surgeons to stay aware of various, potentially uncommon procedures. Vantari provides step-by-step procedural training based on recommended medical guidelines. I am not sure how many times (if any) this goes wrong practicing on live patients but I can confidently assume that using this product removes the risk of harming a patient and reduce the number of animal trials required - overall a lot less suffering, lower associated cost for the number of times you can re-practice and perfect for remote education and training. Here is me giving it a go!
I found this particularly interesting as I have previously interned at a Cambridge-based medical robotics company called CMR. Furthermore, I have an affinity for game development and although surgery is not 'a game', the aspect of simulating a real world environment like this to practice surgical procedures has a game-like feel to me. Although this has much more positive and tangible consequences 🧡.
Climate Tech
In my eyes, a topic that could not be more relevant right now is ClimateTech. This covers all technologies that are focused on reducing GHG emissions, or addressing the impacts of global warming. Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, spoke passionately about how technology can make changes for the better however we are suffering with a slow adoption process. Octopus provides 100% green electric energy and carbon neutral gas to homes across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. Their website has some really cool statistics, you should see:
Food Tech
As a foodie myself, it was thrilling to learn how involved technology can be in modern food. FoodTech goes beyond just aiding the growth of vegetables to actually manufacturing the food that we eat. I know it sounds crazy but developments like this can be equally healthy and nutritious (if not more) and helps reduce our meat consumption. TiNDLE's Joel Hambly gave an insightful speech on the progress his company have made in producing a chicken substitute made from a collaboration between chef and scientists. The chick'n product consists of only 9 ingredients which are common and well-known to regulatory bodies and other food producers. It is high in protein and fibre and contains no antibiotics, hormones, cholesterol, or genetically modified ingredients. Chicken made from plants requires less land and water to produce as well as emitting less CO₂ than chicken from birds. Based on a 2020 Blue Horizon report, choosing plant-based chicken uses 82% less water, 74% less land and 88% less greenhouse gas emissions.
This is no longer a niche market for crazy vegans, many people have adopted a 'flexitarian' diet in an effort to improve their health and the health of the world around them. TiNDLE's parent company, Next Gen, recently secured a $100 million funding from investors, the largest deal in plant-based meat to date.
Reflection
Overall, it was a fab day out in London in the sun and I definitely want to attend future events. I hope this inspired you to consider techy conferences like this also, even if it is just for the freebees. If you ever see me there, please come and say hi!👋
#WomenWhoTech