Irena Cronin - The Infinite Retina: Spatial Computing, Augmented Reality, and how a collision of new technologies are bringing about the next tech revolution

The Infinite Retina

Spatial Computing, Augmented Reality, and how a collision of new technologies are bringing about the next tech revolution

Irena Cronin

Robert Scoble

BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI

The Infinite Retina

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First published: May 2020

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When I was young, I told my dad that I'd rather own a computer than a home. Of course, that was back when a 4K Data General Nova cost more than a house in Silicon Valley.

Today, just a few decades later, we all carry a computer that is thousands of times more powerful than the computers of my childhood. Computers used to be huge, but today's tech is getting so small, we can wear them. The $250 Apple AirPods Pros have more compute power inside them than an iPhone 4 and certainly a lot more than that Data General computer that cost tens of thousands of dollars back in the 1970s.

People often ask me what I would engineer if I were starting out today. When I worked at HP we built calculators and huge laser printers. Currently, there's tons of research being done in Spatial Computing, which includes the hardware and software surrounding Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality. All of these bring interesting engineering problems that would keep me interested for sure. I see the potential in all of them to bring computing to people in a way that is ubiquitous, more powerful, and far more personal.

Spatial Computing will move computing from something that sits on a desk, or that you hold in your hands, to something you move around with. There, you'll be joined by robots, virtual beings, and assistants. I'm optimistic that Spatial Computing will be used to serve us with a deeper understanding of ourselves, and give us wild new ways to experience the world and new ways to become more productive in businesses and classrooms.

Children soon will have "imagination machines" on their faces. That will be in contrast to the toys I grew up with. One of my favorites was a transistor radio, which had six transistors (a modern phone has billions of transistors, by comparison). That radio brought the world to me. Spatial Computing will open up new worlds to today's kids that simply didn't exist when I was growing up.

To me I'm excited by what the children of today will do with these technologies and hope they remember that life is about happiness. Smiling and laughing is good. Hearing music in new ways is good. Telling new jokes to each other is good. Spatial Computing can do all that and can bring new ways to learn, work together, and travel the world to boot.

What Irena Cronin and Robert Scoble have done in their book The Infinite Retina is provide readers with an accessible, useful and entertaining guide to all of the latest advances in Spatial Computing and how this new technology is influencing and priming the way forward for a host of new innovations that will affect how we live our lives, how we go to work, and how we communicate with each other for years to come.

Steve Wozniak

Irena Cronin serves as CEO of Infinite Retina, which provides research and business strategy to help companies succeed in Spatial Computing. She was previously CEO of Transformation Group, which advised decision makers on business strategies related to Artificial Intelligence, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Machine Learning, Facial Recognition, Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, and related disruptive technologies. Previous to this, she worked for several years as an equity research analyst and gained extensive experience of evaluating both public and private companies.

Cronin has a joint MBA/MA from the University of Southern California and an MS in Management and Systems from New York University. She graduated with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in Economics (summa cum laude). She has near-fluent proficiency in Mandarin, intermediate in Japanese, and beginner in Korean.

Robert Scoble is Chief Strategy Officer at Infinite Retina and works with companies that are implementing Spatial Computing technologies. He is a futurist and technology strategist and the author of three books about technology trends, being the first to report on technologies from autonomous vehicles to Siri. Previous positions include being a strategist at Microsoft, a futurist at Rackspace, and the producer and host of a video show about technology at Fast Company.

Robert Crasco, futurist, thought leader, influencer, social media manager, and occasional developer and designer. His focus is on Spatial Computing (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, 360 Video, VR180, Volumetric Capture, and virtual worlds), Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, 5G and technology's impact on society. He has a background in computer science and marketing and has worked for various tech companies, including AT&T, Ziplink, NewsCorp, and iBasis. He was a contributing author on