Wearable Tech and Smart Textiles Meetup

~~~Update for waitlisted candidates~~~

Being on the waitlist, if you are keen to attend this meetup, please share your details here: http://goo.gl/forms/xObnwQizWh. We will try and accommodate as many requests as possible from serious candidates who would benefit from participating in this meetup. Request you to complete this by Thursday 10:00 PM and we will send invites to as many people as possible by Friday.

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At this meetup, we will take a closer look at wearable tech and smart textiles, and some of the available tools, materials, platforms and best practices that can help with rapid prototyping in these areas. This meetup will be especially relevant for:

1. Those working on wearable tech ideas, projects, and startups

2. Those exploring smart textiles for use in clothing (daily wear, fashion, etc), industry (hospital gowns, safety vests in oil rigs, etc), home (furniture upholstery, bedding and blankets, drapes, etc), automotive (car seats, plane seats, seat belts, etc.)

Schedule:

4:00 PM - Networking over tea

4:30 PM - Welcome and updates on local IoT activity

5:00 PM - Talk on "Wearable Tech and Smart Textiles" - Prof Michael Reidbord, The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, via Skype

• Latest developments and interesting use-cases in wearable tech from around the world

• Wearables that have a special significance in emerging markets

• Design approach for wearables

• Gathering consumer insight in the fashion, industrial, healthcare, first responders and health and wellness sectors

6:00 PM - Demos of tools and materials

• Conducting threads, resistive fabric, channel ribbons, EL tape, Neopixels, etc - IoTBLR

• Sensors and components recreated with smart textiles - Welspun

6:30 PM - Talk on “LinkIt platforms for wearables and startup support” - Ashish Bedekar, MediaTek

7:00 PM - Event conclusion and networking

Speakers:

Michael Reidbord Professor, The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York
Advisor, MediaTek

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Michael Reidbord is a technology and apparel executive experienced in building companies in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, and Europe and involved in numerous start-up successes within the technology and consumer products sectors.

Mr. Reidbord was President & CEO of Blue Dasher Technologies, an award winning location-based services provider to the real estate, travel & tourism, retail, and engineering industries. In 2000, Reidbord founded technical apparel producer Brilliant Asia Corporation. Within four years, he grew the company to $45 million in sales with customers including BP, Delta Airlines, VF, Disney, Securitas and Wells Fargo.

Michael has also held senior positions in the U.S. and Europe with companies including Palm Beach and Bayer, and oversaw global manufacturing and operations for Lion/GSCM Germany: a leading supplier of technical products to police, fire, and emergency response personnel in multiple countries.

Currently Mr. Reidbord has been tasked with developing a Wearable Technology business for MediaTek, one of the world’s leading chip design companies, and advising them, and other leading technology providers, on entering the emerging Wearable Technology sector. Building this business involves bridging a very wide gap between how the fashion/apparel industry functions and the engineering, design, development and manufacturing processes of the electronics business. Michael also is a professor at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

Ashish BedekarHead – MediaTek Labs, India
MediaTek

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Ashish is the Head of MediaTek Labs, India. Ashish leads the region for developers and technical partner relationships, community engagement, business development, ecosystem evangelism, go-to-market planning & execution and outreach engagements. MediaTek Labs is an initiative of MediaTek, a fabless semiconductor company that’s changing the future of wearable technology and IoT devices.

He is well-connected leader with expertise in business development, partner relationships in wearables/ IOT Mobile, Telecom, IT/Tech, with India and APAC experience. Ashish is also an advisor and mentor at an Indo-Canadian accelerator - Zonestartups India ( http://india.zonestartups.com/about/advisors )

You can know more about Ashish - http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishrbedekar

Follow him: t: @ashishrbedekar | G+ : ashishbedekar

Pricing: This meetup is free to attend but requires prior registration (see below for registration process), as seats are limited and tend to fill up quickly.

Registration: To reserve your seat, please RSVP “Yes” at this page, your participation will be confirmed on the attendee list on a first-come-first-served basis.

If the attendee list is already full (i.e., you are on the waitlist) but are keen to attend this meetup, please submit your request here: http://goo.gl/forms/xObnwQizWh. We will try and accommodate as many requests as possible from serious candidates who would benefit from participating in this meetup.

Event sponsors:

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We would like to thank our sponsors, MediaTek Labs and Welspun India Ltd., for making this event possible!

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About MediaTek Labs

MediaTek makes technology that’s at the heart of the things you use every day, from smartphones and tablets to smart TVs and wearable devices. MediaTek Labs is a new global ecosystem initiative supporting device creation, application development, and services based around MediaTek offerings in Internet of Things (IoT) and wearable devices. MediaTek is a young and entrepreneurial company that has grown quickly into a market leader. MediaTek therefore identifies creative and innovation-driven pioneers in the maker and developer communities, and recognize the benefits in building an ecosystem that fosters your talents and efforts to innovate.

About Welspun India Ltd.

Welspun India Ltd. (WIL) is a fully integrated home textile manufacturer. It is one of the largest global home textile players, with world class manufacturing facilities in India. The company was ranked 1st in the Top 15 Supplier Giants (USA) by Home Textiles Today Magazine, January 2013.

Today, WIL holds an undoubted global leader position owing to its willingness to embrace new technologies and develop innovative products. With a network across 32 countries, the company offers the entire range of home textile products to consumers from almost every corner of the world and are one of the trusted suppliers to many of the top retailers in the US and Europe. Welspun India also owns leading brands like Christy, Hygro Comfort and others.

The Welspun Group also has a presence in other business verticals such as Steel, Infrastructure and Energy.