Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1153097
AUGUST 2019 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 41 try 4.0, on average, people have five or six sen- sors or internet connection points right now. In a couple of years, they're going to have hun- dreds, and there's opportunity surrounding all of that for the youth. Williams: And IoT is a big thing because kids have been brought up with it. Even though they don't know it as IoT, they still have every- day technology that just happens. Matties: And we have our electronic "dog tags" that we carry around with us. We are so connected. And for you and me, we're from of a generation where it wasn't always that way. Williams: Definitely not; it's a new thing to which we've adapted. Matties: And some kicking and screaming be- cause we understand the illusion of privacy now where kids today are growing up online and wide open. It's a completely different attitude. Williams: For our generation, we've had house phones and public payphones through to the generation of PCs and smartphones. Now, we have smart gadgets in our hands all the time. For example, I always travel with my iPad; it connects me everywhere. Matties: Why would you leave it behind? Williams: That's right. It gives me everything I need. I can see who's at my door because I have a camera on the door for security. You can also see if your children are okay, such as if they're infants and lying in their crib. It's phenomenal. Matties: And every one of those needs a de- signed circuit board. It's a huge opportunity, but it's not viewed as a glamorous position. Williams: Right. Wearable technology today is also phenomenal because of what we can do with wearables to make everyday life more bearable. Matties: You're a tool provider. Are you taking part in the local schools and going in and edu- cating them? Williams: We do it at high school and univer- sity levels. Matties: How does that work? What's your typ- ical approach? Williams: As a local company, we would give a talk on something that the students may find interesting, challenging, scientific, and techno- logical. We pitch it as something that's a pos- sibility to explore, whether it's electronics, the design, or something mechanical. Matties: Is the strategy to teach the career counselor about what this is? Williams: That could be an idea. We haven't done that yet, but we tend to go to them. Matties: Because if the career counselor un- derstands the opportunities in a stronger way, then they could be a champion voice in the school. If you have 100 schools and you reach each of their career counselors, you'll be able to reach 100,000 kids. Williams: And we're seeing more women com- ing into it as well, which is great. Matties: Because not every kid is going to go to university or find a glamorous job. But with a job like you're talking about with an eight- month to a one-year training program, they're going to walk out making 70, 80, or 90 thou - sand dollars, for example, each year. Williams: That's right. We have a continual process of recruiting, and what we're look- ing for is not somebody with a degree neces- sarily, especially for coders. We're looking for somebody with an interest in using software. Have they designed projects outside of col- lege? We have an interesting set of challenges that we pose to them. And we do live code tests, too, to see how they process the prob-