At the end of the International Exhibition, a nine-day tribute to the technology and innovation offered by the Google Developers in Thessaloniki.
Nine days, 25 speakers from around the world and everything about the latest developments in technology and innovation: These are just some of the elements that describe Google Developers' "Playground" held during the Thessaloniki International Fair.
International speakers shared their experiences and tried to introduce us to new technologies, teach us with workshops and codelabs, and welcome this initiative, aimed at becoming the "Center for All Innovative Things". This is the annual meeting that gives the opportunity to leading technology developers and visionaries, visionaries and technology enthusiasts, but also innovators, startup companies and established entrepreneurs, to discuss and share radical ideas that can change their daily routines.
"It was the first time, after 12 months of operation of GDG Thessaloniki in the city, where the public 'became one with the technology and its protagonists', embraced the Playground as if it were a daily habit, showed a special interest in the developments of the technology and he supported the overall event, suggesting new things to us, sharing his thoughts, offering his help and actively participating in what we aim for: to create a point of reference in Thessaloniki and especially in TIF-HELEXPO for all things technology and innovation . It was a certain milestone that made the Google Developers community here in Thessaloniki feel part of the society" said Panagiotis Tzinis, founder of the Google Developers community in Thessaloniki and added: "We are very proud and excited that finally, after a year of hard work work, we were able to see a response and willingness to participate not only from people coming from the technology sector, but also "regular" people who are interested in learning more and getting familiar with technology. It's a big step forward! Thank you for the trust you have shown us."
What did we learn at the GDG Playground?
Γνωρίσαμε τις νέες τεχνολογίες που θα βγουν επίσημα στην αγορά τους επόμενους μήνες, “αγγίξαμε” τη σφαίρα της εικονικής πραγματικότητας (virtual reality) και της επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας (augmented reality), μέσω της παρουσίασης του Google Cardboard για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα. Το Google Cardboard είναι ένα φθηνό, διασκεδαστικό εργαλείο που ξεκίνησε στο Google I / O στο Σαν Φρανσίσκο, τον περασμένο Ιούνιο και στόχος του είναι να κάνει προσιτό το Virtual Reality (VR) σε περισσότερους ανθρώπους. Η Εικονική Πραγματικότητα έχει προοδεύσει εκπληκτικά τα τελευταία χρόνια, ωστόσο, η απόλαυση ή η ανάπτυξη του VR εξακολουθεί να απαιτεί ακριβό, εξειδικευμένο εξοπλισμό. Το Cardboard είναι το αποτέλεσμα ενός πειράματος που έκανε μια ομάδα από λάτρεις του VR στη Google. Η ομάδα χρησιμοποίησε ενα smartphone για την “καθοδήγηση” των VR εμπειριών και κατασκεύασε ένα περίβλημα χωρίς πολυτέλειες που μετατρέπει ένα τηλέφωνο σε ένα βασικό VR headset. Ενώ η εργαλειοθήκη “λογισμικού ανοιχτού κώδικα” που το συνοδεύει, κάνει το γράψιμο λογισμικού VR τόσο απλό όσο η creation μιας web ή mobile εφαρμογής!
"We had the opportunity to present the Google Cardboard to various businessmen and government representatives, who visited our stand -the Playground- at the Thessaloniki International Fair. Their reactions were extremely positive. In fact, some ideas were heard so interesting that our community has already started working on them ", said Mr. Tzinis.
"We mainly focus on an idea that is worth advertising and is relevant to the promotion of Greek tourism. About how we can highlight some of the beauties of Greece, through Cardboard. Created specifically for this purpose, the Cardboard team is implementing a software that will be able to create a few minutes of virtual reality promo-videos with the best sights of Greece. As a community we would like this to be promoted to major tourist offices abroad. This will also be a tool for promoting our country for them. A particularly interesting feature of Google Cardboard is that because it is made from a simple piece of cardboard you can customize and personalize it. At the moment we are talking to some key people in the tourism sector in Greece, in order to officially present the project immediately", added Mr. Tzinis'.
At the same time, during the first days of the Playground, the Lady Geek Day event, inspired by the initiative of Google's Women Techmakers, took place for the first time in Thessaloniki. In the panels παρευρεθήκαν 4 κορυφαίες στο χώρο τους γυναίκες: Όλγα Σταυροπούλου, Μαρίκα Λάμπρου, Σάντρα Ζαφειρακοπούλου και Λιάνα Γούτα, ενώ τα χαιρετιστήρια μηνύματά της έστειλε μέσω hangouts η κα. Eva Fabry, πρόεδρος του Ευρωπαϊκού Κέντρου Γυναικών και Τεχνολογίας (ECWT). Οι 4 γυναίκες, μοιράστηκαν με το κοινό τις εμπειρίες τους και επικεντρώθηκαν στην ανάγκη για κατάρριψη των στερεοτύπων, που εμποδίζουν τις γυναίκες να ασχοληθούν με τις θετικές επιστήμες, την τεχνολογία και την επιχειρηματικότητα. Η επίλυση του προβλήματος σύμφωνα με τις ίδιες έρχεται μέσα από τις αλλαγές των βασικών κοινωνικών δομών, όπως αυτή της οικογένειας, αλλά και μέσα από την connection of the educational community with the labor market. A pleasant surprise was the presence of two young girls, who announced their intention to create a women's tech outreach group in our city, in an effort to bring the fairer sex closer to creating code and beyond.
After the break, the event moved to booth 14, in the Google Developers Playground. There the representative of Media Hackers, Mr. Yiannis Kotsifos, presented the actions of the group. The main goal of Media Hackers is to develop a flexible core program educations for journalists so that they are better equipped to deal with new technologies.
Playground this year focused on wearable technology and hosted some Q&A sessions for the Google Glass project, while for the first time, the GDG community got into the process of helping startups and creating the right entrepreneurial ecosystem with everyone's support. of players in the city.
During the seminar, GDG Launchpad members and teachers gave "their lights" to 10 selected start-up companies about making better use of Google tools and helping them better understand business development, strategy marketing strategy, brand strategy and product scalability in order to develop and better promote their products and services in the marketplace. Launchpad is a global initiative from Google that aims to boost start-up companies to take off, utilizing Google's free tools and platforms and of course understanding the basic market rules.
Playground "extended"
"Playground was so successful that we were invited to extend our presence, in cooperation with the CERN Technology Museum in the city, at the 14 Pavilion of the Thessaloniki International Fair. We are genuinely excited about the opportunity that has been given to promote the use of technology in our daily lives and with the support and confidence of the HELEXPO, to create the right environment for the development of innovation culture. So if you want to come and visit us, you will find us at the famous kiosk # 14! "Said Mr. Tzinis.
The Playground "extended" will focus on children, aiming to bring them closer to the world of technology by presenting three thematic sections: Touchless technology (LEAP Motion), Automation and games, Virtual reality and Google cardboard.
From October 11 to 17, 2014, the Playground will officially host the European Code Week with hundreds of events, workshops and codelabs for the "little ones".
The aim of the initiative is to promote the concept of programming to children, giving them the opportunity to attend classes and workshops throughout the week. Millions of children, parents, educators, entrepreneurs will participate in mass events and acquire the relevant skills.
The aim of this special week is to familiarize millions of children with programming, for example, demonstration workshops, developing learning tools and contributing to teacher education. It is worth noting that companies such as Rovio (Angry Birds), Microsoft, Google, Telefonica, Liberty Global and Facebook support the European Week Code by participating in events.
This year's DevFest is also aimed at adults, presenting three main thematic units, Design - Develop - Distribute, and their application on different platforms and technologies. During these days, you will have the opportunity to see for the first time wearable technology, with devices that will be brought exclusively to the public by the Google Developers team, here in Thessaloniki. Wearable devices - which, in addition to Google Glass, can be either smart watches or smart bracelets - open new frontiers in applied technology, offering new opportunities in new markets. Many leading companies have embraced this innovation, accelerating the testing and production processes of the devices. w. DevFest will give you the chance to see them and try them out.
If you need more information about the Playground, or if you want to get in touch with the Google Developers community here in Thessaloniki, call 2310-291141 or send an email to gdg.thessaloniki@gmail.com
