Awesome Keynotes Show How Our Community Has Grown

In case you missed it, we’ve announced our 2017 keynoters, a group that (including the luminaries giving SKY talks) gives you six more very good reasons be Austin the fourth week in June. All the information you need on the lineup is here. I know you are perhaps too busy to dig through this, so LMGTFY and share with you some highlights:

● Monday, Joe Costello, Chairman & CEO, Enlighted, Inc., IoT: Tales from the Front Line. Joe is going to be talking about how IoT is transforming commercial properties, a topic new to the DAC main stage. As a taste, you can hear Joe’s stellar sense of humor and easy manner in this interview with an L.A. radio host last month, a format that may not be for the faint of heart. The segment starts at around 1:50 p.m. and is worth a listen.

● Tuesday, Chuck Grindstaff, Executive Chairman, Siemens PLM Software Inc., The Rise of the Digital Twin. Chuck is an energetic explainer of how creating and testing digital copies of complex machines is proving transformational in a host of industrial contexts. Siemens, you might have heard, is the new parent of Mentor Graphics, the most venerable of our big three EDA. Here Chuck is making the case for the digital twin a few years back.

● Wednesday, Tyson Tuttle, Chief Executive Officer, Silicon Labs, Accelerating the IoT. Those around Austin likely know Tyson as a fixture in the local tech scene. In addition to building a slew of microcontrollers, sensors and other nifty IoT devices, he’s also created a company with an incredible, fun culture that his employees rave about enthusiastically. Seriously, check out the reviews on Glassdoor. Tyson, one of the good guys in tech, is here on Silicon Labs 20th anniversary.

● Thursday, Rosalind Picard, MIT, Emotion Technology, Wearables and Surprises. Picard, declared a “tech superhero” by CNN, says that devices with emotional intelligence are a lot closer than we think. Filmmakers and novelists who latch onto the dystopian possibilities should probably chill out. A more likely outcome — and the one that motivates Rosalind’s work — is that people with autism, epilepsy, depression/anxiety, addiction and chronic pain will be helped by new applications on the horizon. Rosalind is here at a TEDx event a few years back. (Among the things I like about Rosalind is her willingness to jump into the comment fray generated by her talk.)

Conference speeches are an interesting communication category, one whose importance and function is of course widely debated on the internet. (What isn’t?)

I like the notion that those on our main stage are sort of tribal leaders of design automation. The fields and backgrounds of this year’s speakers show just how expansive our tribe has become. But even as the relevance of design automation stretches out into new applications and industries, the essential quirky, fun and very personal nature of our community remains.

Now is the time to register for DAC. Advance registration is open now providing a 25% discount on conference registration fees. Check out the full program and join us in Austin!

Register today!