RIoT Virginia Developer Day 2023

Developer Day is a free full-day professional development event—featuring coding, building, learning, and a career fair. This event is geared towards those in the trenches, building IoT solutions in hardware, software and IT systems—but with multiple session tracks, so there’s something for everyone. Check out the sessions below!

How Virtual Reality and the Developers Behind It Are Changing the Museum Experience

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hold a revolutionary war pistol? Or discover the mystery of colonial wig curlers? Gone are the days of velvet ropes being the closest museum goers could experience history. Access VR partnered with the Stafford Museum and Cultural Center to create a virtual reality experience for museum visitors. But, doing so required the team to develop the software (Dev Ops), user interface and experience (UI/UX Design), cybersecurity, and more. Access VR will walk you through the museum, discuss the development of the product, and how virtual reality is shaping the future of cultural experiences and the overall industry as a whole.
Speakers:

Caius Ruscella, Lead Developer, AccessVR
John Ulbrich, Developer and 3D modeler, AccessVR
Matt Watson, Director of Government Relations, AccessVR
Sue Henderson, Director, Stafford Museum and Cultural Center

Digital Community Transformation – Data, AI, Sensors, Oh My?

What good is technology if, instead of being used to improve citizens’ lives, it creates new requirements and controversies? The interconnected levels of the technology revolution are the main driving force of smart cities. However, how can we be sure that these technologies are being used to serve the community?

This session will examine how the smart community model is being rolled out across Virginia – from partners, to localities, to tech companies – and explore real world examples of technology going behind the scenes on development and deployment. Learn how technology is being developed, the process of working with local governments to approve deployment, what data this technology is collecting, and how you can use this information to build new products or services.

Speaker: Dave Ihrie, Chief Technology Officer, Vice President Division of Strategic Initiatives
Company: Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation

How 5G Innovation Is Pushing UAS Technology Forward

If you have a cell phone you’ve probably heard of 5G. 5G stands for fifth-generation cellular network technology, the next major development in wireless communications. As it gets deployed, 5G is bringing you 4K streaming on your phone and 10x faster internet browsing. But 5G can be used for much more than just improving your internet browsing capabilities!

Learn how MITRE Engenuity Open Generation has utilized 5G in Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) conditions, created the first private 5G network available on an FAA-designated UAS aviation range – bringing together industry, academia, startups, and government to accelerate 5G deployment, see initial results from experimentation related to UAS operations, and the future of 5G in additional areas of focus related to smart agriculture, smart cities, and smart health, intersect with reliable connectivity, network slicing, mmWave, private networks, and machine learning.

MITRE Engenuity Open Generation 5G consortium is an R&D collaborative of organizations that look at how 5G can accelerate ecosystems to market. We do this by using real life use cases, performing experiments on those use cases and publishing the results for the public good.

Speaker: Dr. Leila Z Ribeiro, Technology Director
Company: MITRE Engenuity, Open Generation

What’s Really Happening When I Turn On Bluetooth?

We all know how to “turn on” bluetooth to connect our headphones to our laptops and phones. Yet, the inner workings of how the signal is transmitted and what happens when you turn on bluetooth is often unknown by the user. Join Spanalytics to uncover this mystery with Spanalab – a portable, hands on, Bluetooth laboratory. Press buttons, unlock a lock, play a game, turn on some lights, and with the help of our PANalyzr protocol analyzer, we’ll explain how Bluetooth makes all of that happen! It’s an all-in-one gaming, access and security, industrial lighting (mesh), asset tracking, and audio system designed to show the different types of Bluetooth data used.

Speaker: Rhonda Smithbey, Senior Software Engineer
Company: Spanalytics

Cyber Attacks: How to Prepare, Support, and Survive

Turn on the news most days and “Cyber Attack” is a headline you’ll see. From big name companies like Yahoo to critical infrastructure such Colonial Pipeline. Cyberattacks are unwelcome attempts to steal, expose, alter, disable or destroy information through unauthorized access to computer systems. Businesses of all sizes, even small non-tech businesses, need to be prepared to deal with these potential attacks. As more workforce goes remote, more work is done on public wifi networks, and businesses use internet connected devices, the risk of an attack increases. How can you prepare your business and workforce? Pete Harris, a cybersecurity professional with over 20 years of experience, will share real-world experience, guidance, and answer questions on how to prepare your business and the broader cyber workforce for these risks.

Speaker: Pete Harris, Director of Cybersecurity
Company: Innovation Orange

Innovation Is Great, but What Happens When It Doesn’t Meet The Customer Need?

One of the primary reasons innovation fails is a lack of market need. Or, in more straightforward terms: innovators built a product or service no one wants.

NSWCDD Innovation Lab empowers innovators to test ideas and solve naval warfare challenges while utilizing hands-on experimentation and the human centered design process to drive innovation and collaboration. Tamara Stuart, Innovation Lab Director, NSWCDD will discuss how the ILab and innovation broadly focuses on constantly seeking new and better ways to solve problems, create value, and seek continuous improvement. Learn how by continuously exploring new ideas, developing new solutions, and adapting to new technologies, we can drive progress and create new opportunities for growth and success.

Speaker: Tamara Stuart, Innovation Lab Director
Company: Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD)