6:00 PM

We're back at Hideaway on Thursday 16th April for an evening of industrial-strength AI talks. This month we're focusing on AI in the real world. The messy, physical, manufacturing world where defects matter and quality is everything.
Expect two quick-fire lightning talks followed by a deep dive into industrial AI. Plus the usual drinks, chatter, and the best tech community in Sheffield.
Vibe Coding entered the chat: Time to Get Over Yourself: Steve Cheshire (Koala)
18:30 - 18:50
Steve kicks us off by talking about vibe coding in 2026
Lightning Talk: Jonas Ruginis (Nocturne Agents)
18:50 - 19:10
Jonas is building AI voice support for eCommerce businesses. He'll share what he's learned building Nocturne Agents and how AI is changing customer service.
Main Talk: Jim Carroll (CTO, Digica)
19:30 - 20:00
"AI for Industry: Turning Data into Quality"
Jim joins us from Digica to talk about putting AI to work in manufacturing. Real factories. Real production lines. Real quality control.
He'll cover how AI methods apply to industrial environments, with a focus on anomaly detection and quality monitoring. You'll learn about the challenges of limited defect examples, using synthetic data to train robust models, and why edge deployment matters for real-time decisions.
Plus case studies from the field. Defect detection in silicon wafers. Automating industrial paint quality tests. The kind of problems where getting it wrong costs money and getting it right saves millions.
The Practical Stuff
Cost: Free
Who: Anyone interested in AI, machine learning, or just curious about how this stuff actually works in practice
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