October 3, 2020 – Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada – Once again, First Robotics Canada Team 2056 will be hosting their annual “2056 Ways To Inspire Conference”. It will be taking place on October 3rd and 4th, 2020. It will be held virtually online this year due to the implications and restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MICAN Communications’ Michael J Martin will present to high school students from the First Robotics Southwest Ontario region virtually. This is Martin’s second time presenting to the First Robotics students at their regional confernence. In 2019, he talked to the students about Autonomous Mining. Martin is the CEO of MICAN, a business and technology consultancy focused on Broadband Networks and the Internet of Things. He is well versed in a myriad of related technologies including: artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, blockchain, analytics, cloud computing, federated networks, and autonomous factories and machines.
Artificial Intelligence
Martin will deliver a presentation to introduce these students to the fundamentals of artificial intelligence technology. Artificial Intelligence is a rapidly evolving technology aimed to augment human work efforts and provide assistance in every aspect of life. Canadians interact with AI platforms everyday and rarely realize it. They are in your new car, your Alexa, Siri, or Echo virtual assistant, all social media apps, your smart city web connections, your email messages, and of course, all of your web searches. AI is even talking to you in that chatbot you effortlessly communicate with when booking online or ordering products from Amazon. So, when you actually think you are speaking to a human operator – you are casually chatting with an AI appliance acting as a human customer services agent. Artificial Intelligence is transparent and omnipresent today in Canada. This presentation will help students to understand what, where, when, and how AI works and why it is the best means to support human work today.
About First Robotics
These Orchard Park students are engaged in the global First Robotics’ mission as Team 2056. The objective is to inspire young people to pursue further studies and careers in the field of science, technology, and engineering. First Robotics pursue their mission primarily through running robotics competitions for school-age students at the elementary, junior high school, and senior high school level.
About Team 2056
Team 2056 is dedicated to helping its members grow as individuals and as a team; working together to learn about science and technology and to pass that information on to others. They strive to provide the best possible experience for their students to learn from our team’s dedicated mentors and volunteers. They believe in hands-on education, allowing their members to work hand-in-hand with industry professionals and experts in their fields. They also provide orientation seminars to all new members about mechanical design, programming, strategy, teamwork and work ethics with a strong emphasis on problem solving skills. It is their hope that this will provide them with a solid base from which they can expand their expertise into any field that interests them.
Team 2056 implements a student-mentor program as well to help the younger students learn from the senior members. The team is organized into 3 main divisions; Strategy, Engineering, and Administrative, each with their own sub-sections and lead by a senior student. Every year new members are asked to fill out a sheet of positions they are interested on our team. They are then partnered up with a veteran student in that department to help teach them the skills they need in that area. This way Team 2056 provides a continuous, effective learning environment, and prepares the students with both practical, hands-on training and leadership experience.
Michael J Martin, michael.martin@micancommunications.com, 416-287-3400 Office
Orchard Park Secondary School, 200 Dewitt Road, Stoney Creek, Ontario, L8E 4M5, info@2056.ca, 905-662-3838 office