Globe Labs, JumpSparc, Microsoft lead PH Bootcamp on Internet of Things (IoT)

With corporations and developers scampering to produce items which can “talk” to each other, Globe Labs has partnered with JumpSparc and Microsoft to teach interested parties – from students, professionals, hardware enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs – the easiest way to join the Internet of Things (IoT) bandwagon.

IoT promises to transform customer experience by allowing physical objects with embedded technology to transfer data over a network. For instance, car sensors can inform the driver if something is wrong with the vehicle; a smartphone can be used to activate a coffee maker; a washing machine can be monitored via wifi, among other things.

The Jumpsparc IOT Bootcamp which will occupy the six weekends of March and April focuses not just on the technical aspects of product development but delves into the business and human-centered design side. Mentors will also be available to provide continuous feedback.

“Globe Labs wants to help facilitate the discovery of products that genuinely help people and solve problems, assist in validating their ideas, and develop the social and selling skills of the participants. What better way to do this than to collaborate with Microsoft Corporation using their Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform and with JumpSparc, a company which advocates the do-it-yourself electronics and robotics culture and is an expert on bootcamps,” said Anne Michelle Santos, Globe Labs Project Manager for Digital Media.

Elymar Apao, co-founder of Jumpsparc added: “Imagine a Disneyland for electronic enthusiasts and hardware entrepreneurs. That’s what we do. We provide access to the hardware as well as the educational experience.”

Microsoft, on the other hand, wants to help organizations set up and run IoT-styled distributed systems by providing a set of integrated Microsoft’s Azure cloud services designed to cut deployment times and management hassles.

The bootcamp aims to provide opportunities for anyone to become a maker of things and earn from their projects while improving the people’s way of life. It will culminate in a hackathon for IoT to showcase what the participants have learned from the sessions.

The sessions include product conceptualization and design; code and hardware walkthrough, home application, and presentation pitch practice; basic electronics and intro to sensors, motors and hardware interfacing; power supplies and interfacing isolated systems; physical and aesthetic design and projecting potential income; and Maker/IoT hackathon.

The bootcamp will run from March 13 to April 19 at the Globe Telepark, Valero St. in Makati City.