Experience the MLOVE!

Justin Moon

The Monterey Peninsula is arguably one of the most inspiring backdrops for a conference on the planet. I couldn’t think of a better place to hold this year’s MLOVE Confestival USA. MLOVE brings together thought leaders, business innovators, and forward thinking engineers in the mobile space for three days of inspirational talks and thought-provoking workshops. The goal of the conference is quite simply to inspire attendees and spark innovation. This year the QNX team pulled out all the stops — not only did we have a speaking slot but the QNX technology concept car (a specially modified Bentley) was front and center throughout the entire conference.

Day 1
MLOVE was the first outdoor public demonstration of the Bentley, so Mark Rigley and I started the day by putting the car through its paces. Connectivity? Check. Screens visible in the sunlight? Got it. Input, voice, touch, media? All good! In the afternoon we demonstrated the Bentley to delegates from a wide range of mobile companies. Kudos to our talented concept development team for flawless execution.

The evening’s festivities were in the key of inspiration. A very engaging talk by Maurice Conti of Autodesk on future trends was the opening salvo. Steve Brown, producer and director at Spark Pictures, introduced a feature film that showcases passion and empowerment during the Burning Man Festival.

Inside the Bentley

Day 2
The second day was jam-packed with presentations, an open space interactive ideation session, and even a startup competition. The focus of the day’s presentations included the internet of things, wearable computing, artificial intelligence, and transformational media. Highlights included discussions not just on the digitization and connectivity of things, but on the over-arching experience contained within the idea. We also learned what space startup Nanosatisfi is doing with lightweight, inexpensive satellites (CubeSats) that users can rent for experiments. Talk about the Internet of Things! Each break in the action saw the Bentley come back into focus with engaging conversations as well as demonstrations.

Day 3
Connected Vehicle day! Day 3 saw a very passionate set of presentations focusing on connected vehicles and how we will interact with them. Topics included direct interaction (the fusion of mobile and automotive technology), inter-vehicle communication, and interaction with city infrastructure. I had the opportunity (and the pleasure) to deliver a talk around reshaping the mobile and automotive user experience. The exclamation point to my presentation was the seamless interaction between my mobile device and the Bentley, which was just outside the conference area. Not only did I speak about the possibilities, I demonstrated them.

Moving the needle
MLOVE is about innovative people coming together to discuss future trends in mobility, to figure out what needs to be done to move the needle, and generally to be inspired by the experience. Ideation was abundant and minds were blown. Thank you MLOVE — now I have so much more to think about! In all seriousness, great conference, great ideas, great people, a great experience.