Hot on the heels of the release of Palette Edgematic, our revolutionary no-code approach to creating and fine-tuning ML applications, we’re preparing for another exciting first here at SiMa.ai — the debut of our own original YouTube series, “On Edge.”
Hosted by industry experts and longtime SiMa.ai team members Carlos Davila and Alicja Kwasniewska, “On Edge” is a new video series built to bring you the latest news, deep discussion and friendly debate around all things relevant to the embedded edge. We’ll discuss applications in AI across every industry imaginable, from education to aviation, from governmental agencies to agriculture to personal finance and public safety — innovation at the embedded edge is set to disrupt them all, and we’ll leave no stone unturned.
Our hope for this series is that it will be illuminating and informative. Our intent is to provide a consistent forum of discussion for anyone building and shaping the technologies we all use in the future. We want to hear from you, too, and will provide opportunities with each episode to submit questions, observations and any other thoughts you might have on the topics at hand. As our first episode’s title implies, all are welcome at the embedded edge.
Why now?
Today, we live in a world where what once might have been considered science fiction is normalizing as reality in everyday life. Technologies that have merely been theoretically possible for decades are becoming a reality, thanks to incredible advances in underlying infrastructure that allow us to build without yesterday’s constraints. While we are still patiently waiting for the technology that allows Scotty to beam us up, the rest is truly not that far behind.
And though we have the technological infrastructure we need to capitalize on these advances, a new social infrastructure has to be conceived alongside. That stage of the journey can’t just happen in a lab. It has to involve an industry-wide and ultimately worldwide dialogue that helps guide and shape the transformational new technologies we’re bringing into existence.
We believe we’re in a unique position at SIMa.ai, because our technology is purpose built for the embedded edge. It’s embedded – pun certainly intended – in our company’s founding DNA. And yet, the reality is that both the embedded edge and the technologies being created at the edge are still in their infancy. In the grand scheme, we’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible. We will see exponentially more applications built at the edge, and exponentially more people using those applications.
Throughout history, there have been many technologies built and deployed that change the course of our daily lives – some for the better and others for the worse, but most often a combination of both. We know what the consequences can look like when applications are built without care, without foresight, or without diversity of thought. The technological capabilities in front of us today dwarf even the most impactful innovations of the past. Therefore, it is critical for an open, inclusive and accessible conversation to exist around what we’re creating and how it will affect the future. And practically speaking, it’s important we arm the Embedded Edge Believers, those who are fighting the good fight. These are the folks on the forefront of their organizations who see and believe the opportunity ahead in unleashing the edge, but have a long way to go in convincing others around them through proof of concept, or pipeline or application testing. We see you!
“On Edge” is our formal contribution to this dialogue, one that we hope will bring levity, personality, empathy and relatability to a topic that is on the cusp of exploding, but with so many chapters yet to unfold. The promise AI holds is dependent on our ability to infuse key components of humanity into our creations with an informed purpose as well as unwavering commitment to empowering the embedded edge believers. We hope you will join us on this journey, and help drive the discourse with your own unique perspectives.
Meet the Hosts
Carlos and Alicja both bring a deep expertise and a fresh perspective to the discussion in their roles as “On Edge” co-hosts. Alicja holds a PhD in engineering from the Gdansk University of Technology and has helped lead SiMa’s ML practice as Senior Principal Architect for the past three years. She’s also a lifelong metalhead, and doesn’t like chocolate – but we try not to let the latter of those two traits undermine her credibility. When she’s not hosting On Edge or hard at work, Alicja enjoys knitting, making her own handbags and writing medical whitepapers. You know, the usual stuff.
Carlos holds an MS in Computer Engineering from San Jose State, and joined SiMa more than four years ago as Senior Principal Solutions Architect. He was born in Cuba, but it was the ten years he spent in Spain that made him a die-hard Real Madrid fan. Carlos enjoys playing mad scientist during his time off, inventing and tinkering in between DIY home improvement projects. You might also find him in the kitchen, but likely only before noon — Carlos is a breakfast food aficionado and can whip up an egg sandwich that would make even Ron Swanson proud.
Together, the duo represents both coasts; Carlos based in Miami, and Alicja in San Diego (when she’s not on the road). Carlos and Alicja consider themselves Embedded Edge Believers, share a passion and excitement for the applications being created at the edge, and the increased accessibility to life-altering technologies that will follow.
Episode One
In this inaugural episode we learn how the embedded edge connects AI, ML and a BBQ grill stolen from Carlos’s neighbor. Our hosts discuss the myriad of unexpected ways that the embedded edge already touches our lives, and the connections between everyday objects and futuristic applications for ML and AI. They walk through how to write an application at the edge using AI, the design challenges associated with building those applications, and how to think about the system design up front.
They also talk about recent advances in AI, like LLMs, and why the cloud is typically not a viable option for latency critical applications (2:55). And for the Millennials in the house — what are the parallels between Napster and LLMs (5:10)? The episode continues with a discussion of applications in the news today, like the emergence of personalized learning tools from Khan Academy (7:20).
Other topics touched on in episode one include a discussion of the key requirements to fulfill before coding can begin (10:40), as well as the major challenges that sit outside the model when coding for edge computing (16:44). The hosts then talk about the important considerations to take into account when choosing hardware in order to find the right fit (17:37), as well as how to test and evaluate that hardware (20:39).
Of course, we’ve included a brief look at the latest and greatest from SiMa.ai — Palette Edgematic — at the end of this week’s episode (22:21). For a more detailed look, visit our website: https://sima.ai/palette-edgematic/
Do you have a topic or discussion idea for a future episode? Perhaps a question, or just a general comment? We’d love to hear from you. Submit your thoughts to Carlos and Alicja, either via email at OnEdge@sima.ai, or in the comments section on our LinkedIn page. Ultimately, this series is for you — help us shape it!
