Simon Birrell

Last updated

Simon Birrell
Born
Simon Birrell

(1966-07-26) 26 July 1966 (age 57)
Bristol, England
NationalityBritish
Alma mater Cambridge University
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, technologist, film maker
Known for Ambient intelligence

Simon Birrell (born 26 July 1966) is a British entrepreneur, technologist and film maker. He was part of the team that invented ambient intelligence and who, with Eli Zelkha, coined the term. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Early life, education and career

Born in 1966 in Bristol, UK. He graduated from Cambridge University in 1988 with a degree in Natural Sciences. [3] [4]

He has been a founder or co-founder of three companies. Euro-Profile/i-Profile – a business intelligence company based out of Silicon Valley which was acquired by Virgo Capital (2008), [5] Vemm Brazil, a publisher of consumer advice websites in Brazil which was acquired by QuinStreet (2015) [6] [7] and Silicon Artists, a Madrid-based entertainment technology company funded by Silicon Valley-based Tandem Computers. [8] [9]

Ambient intelligence

In 1998, Birrell was part of the team at Palo Alto Ventures that invented and developed the ambient intelligence concept and who, with Eli Zelkha, coined the term. [10] [11] It was presented by Roel Pieper of Philips at The Digital Living Room Conference on 22 June 1998. [12] [13] [14] [2]

Since its invention in 1998, Ambient Intelligence labs have been formed at leading universities [15] [16] and ambient intelligence has become part of the core strategies of many of the world's leading technology companies, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon and IBM. [17] [18] [19]

Robotics and deep learning

Birrell is researching deep learning and robotics at Cambridge University. [20] He is the author of the blog Artificial Human Companions. [21]

Video games, virtual reality and other activities

He developed some of the very first video games for Richard Branson's Virgin Interactive in 1983. [22] These included Bug Bomb – BBC Micro (1983), [23] Microbe – BBC Micro (1983), [24] [22] High-Rise Horror – Commodore 64 (1984), [23] [24] Strangeloop – Commodore 64 (1985), [24] [25] Shogun – Commodore 64 / Amstrad (co-design). [26] [27] [28] [9]

From 1993 to 1995, Birrell was the CTO of an early virtual reality company in Spain called Realidad Virtual S.L. [29] At Realidad Virtual, he developed Pandora – the first Spanish online virtual reality platform for the Internet. [30] [31] [32]

Mundo de Estrellas (1998) was a distributed virtual reality environment for hospitalised children in Andalucia created by his company Silicon Artists. [33] [34]

He is also a film maker and writer. As a film maker, he has directed two shorts [35] [36] [37] [38] and collaborated with cult filmmakers Jess Franco [39] [40] [41] and Jose Ramon Larraz. [38] [42] [41]

Birrell authored a chapter in an MIT book on Information Design [43] and co-authored a book on videogames. [44]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Records</span> British record label

Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Phil Collins, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, Lenny Kravitz, the Sex Pistols, and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M and Island Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Group</span> British multinational conglomerate

Virgin Group Limited is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970.

Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.

<i>Tubular Bells</i> 1973 album by Mike Oldfield

Tubular Bells is the debut studio album by the British musician Mike Oldfield, released on 25 May 1973 as the first album on Virgin Records. It comprises two mostly instrumental tracks. Oldfield, who was 19 years old when it was recorded, played almost all the instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Mobile</span> Wireless communications brand

Virgin Mobile is a wireless communications brand used by seven independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Mobile branded wireless communications services are available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Poland and Mexico. Virgin Mobile branded services used to be offered in Australia, France, Singapore, India, Qatar, South Africa and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Level 9 Computing</span> Video game developer and publisher

Level 9 was a British developer of computer software, active between 1981 and 1991. Founded by Mike, Nicholas and Pete Austin, the company produced software for the BBC Micro, Nascom, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Oric, Atari, Lynx 48k, RML 380Z, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Amiga, Apple II, Memotech MTX, and Enterprise platforms and is best known for its successful text adventure games until a general decline in the text adventure market forced their closure in June 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Galactic</span> Space tourism company

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and operates from New Mexico. The company is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists. Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two. Virgin Galactic's maiden spaceflight occurred in 2018 with its VSS Unity spaceship. Branson had originally hoped to see a maiden spaceflight by 2010, but the date was delayed for several years, and then delayed again, primarily due to the October 2014 crash of VSS Enterprise.

<i>Last Ninja</i> Series of video games

Last Ninja is a series of video games published by System 3. The first game in the series titled The Last Ninja, was released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and was one of the most successful games for the system. In 1988, System 3 released Last Ninja 2, and in 1991 the third game in the series, Last Ninja 3. In 1990, Last Ninja Remix was released for 8-bit systems. This was Last Ninja 2 with new music, a new introductory sequence, slightly changed graphics and fixed bugs. Confusingly, the 16-bit versions of the original The Last Ninja game were also released in 1990 as Ninja Remix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambient intelligence</span>

Ambient intelligence (AmI) is a term used in computing to refer to electronic environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people. The term is generally applied to consumer electronics, telecommunications, and computing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Necker Island (British Virgin Islands)</span> Privately-owned island in the British Virgin Islands

Necker Island is a 30-hectare (74-acre) island in the British Virgin Islands just north of Virgin Gorda. The island is entirely owned by Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, and is part of the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio of luxury properties. The whole island operates as a resort and can accommodate up to 40 guests, with additional room for six children.

This is a list of Richard Branson's business ventures from the 1960s to today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual assistant</span> Software agent

A virtual assistant (VA) is a software agent that can perform a range of tasks or services for a user based on user input such as commands or questions, including verbal ones. Such technologies often incorporate chatbot capabilities to simulate human conversation, such as via online chat, to facilitate interaction with their users. The interaction may be via text, graphical interface, or voice - as some virtual assistants are able to interpret human speech and respond via synthesized voices.

<i>Moondust</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Moondust is a 1983 generative music video game created for the Commodore 64 by virtual reality pioneer, Jaron Lanier. Moondust was programmed in 6502 assembly in 1982, and is considered the first art video game. Moondust has frequently been used as an art installation piece in museum exhibitions from Corcoran Gallery of Art's 1983 "ARTcade" to the Smithsonian's 2012 "The Art of Video Games". It has also been used by Lanier and others in papers and lectures as an example to demonstrate the unexpected ephemerality of digital data.

In information science, profiling refers to the process of construction and application of user profiles generated by computerized data analysis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SiliCon</span> Pop-culture technology convention in the U.S.

SiliCon with Adam Savage is an annual pop culture and technology convention, at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California. The convention was founded by Steve Wozniak, Stan Lee and Rick White. The inaugural event was held March 18–20, 2016 at San Jose's McEnery Convention Center. The convention was rebranded as SiliCon in early 2020 and Adam Savage was appointed as the creative director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eli Zelkha</span> American entrepreneur, venture capitalist and professor

Elias "Eli" Zelkha was an Iranian-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist and professor. He was the inventor of ambient intelligence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supermicro</span> American supplier of servers and other information technology products

Super Micro Computer, Inc., dba Supermicro, is an information technology company based in San Jose, California. It has manufacturing operations in the Silicon Valley, the Netherlands and at its Science and Technology Park in Taiwan. Founded on November 1, 1993, Supermicro is one of the largest producers of high-performance and high-efficiency servers. It also provides server management softwares, and storage systems for various markets, including enterprise data centers, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 5G and edge computing.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1990 video game) 1990 video game

Judge Dredd is a 1990 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1990, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.

References

  1. ↑ Olson, Nasrine; Nolin, Jan Michael; Nelhans, Gustaf. "Semantic Web, Ubiquitous Computing, or Internet of Things?". doi:10.1108/JD-03-2013-0033.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 "Inteligencia artificial aplicada a perso" (PDF). It.uc3m.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "1983: Simon Birrell of Norwich Shows His BBC Micro Computer Game Bug Bomb To Virgin Interactive's Richard Branson". Flashbak.com. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  4. ↑ Jacobson, Robert E.; Jacobson, Robert (2000). Information Design. MIT Press. p. 350. ISBN   9780262600354 . Retrieved 3 May 2017– via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "Virgo Capital purchases stake in research firm". News OK. 14 September 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "QuinStreet Announces Acquisition of VEMM LLC in Brazil (NASDAQ:QNST)". Investor.quinstreet.com. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "QuinStreet acquires Brazilian lead-gen firm Vemm – QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST)". Seeking Alpha. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "About Us". Silicon Artists. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  9. 1 2 Jacobson, Robert E., ed. (1 January 2000). Information Design. MIT Press. ISBN   9780262600354.
  10. ↑ Wright, David; Gutwirth, Serge; Friedewald, Michael; Vildjiounaite, Elena; Punie, Yves (8 January 2008). Safeguards in a World of Ambient Intelligence. Springer. ISBN   9781402066627 – via Google Books. Safeguards in a World of Ambient Intelligence, Page 24, by David Wright, Serge Gutwirth, Michael Friedewald, Elena Vildjiounaite, Yves Punie, Published by Springer Publishing, 2008
  11. ↑ "What is Ambient Intelligence?". 25 March 1994. Retrieved 1 February 2017– via YouTube.
  12. ↑ "'Digital Living Room' Webcast schedule". ZDNet. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  13. ↑ Aarts, Emile H. L.; Encarnação, José Luis (13 December 2006). True Visions: The Emergence of Ambient Intelligence. Springer. ISBN   9783540289746 – via Google Books.
  14. ↑ Aarts, Emile H. L.; Encarnação, José Luis (13 December 2006). True Visions: The Emergence of Ambient Intelligence. Springer. ISBN   9783540289746 – via Google Books.
  15. ↑ "Ambient Intelligence Laboratory – Test bed for Innovations". Ami-lab.org. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "A I R Lab – Ambient Intelligence Research Lab Stanford University". Airlab.stanford.edu. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  17. ↑ "Microsoft delivers data platform for the era of ambient intelligence | News Center". Microsoft. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  18. ↑ Grossman, Gary (7 May 2016). "The next stop on the road to revolution is ambient intelligence". TechCrunch. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  19. ↑ "Inside Sundar Pichai's Plan To Put AI Everywhere". Forbes (in French). Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  20. ↑ "Machine Intelligence Laboratory". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  21. ↑ Birrell, Simon. "Robots, ROS, AI and robotic software". Artificial Human Companions. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  22. 1 2 "1983: Simon Birrell of Norwich Shows His BBC Micro Computer Game Bug Bomb To Virgin Interactive's Richard Branson". Flashbak.com. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  23. 1 2 Birrell, Simon. "Games by Simon Birrell". Everygamegoing.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  24. 1 2 3 "Simon Birrell Games – LaunchBox Games Database". Gamesdb.launchbox-app.com. 1 July 1985. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  25. ↑ "Lemon – Commodore 64, C64 Games, Reviews & Music!". Lemon64.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  26. ↑ "james clavell's shogun &copy virgin games (1986)". Cpc-power.com. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  27. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. ↑ "Simon Birrell : Interview". Stairwaytohell.com. September 2000. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  29. ↑ "Full text of 'PCMania 16'". Archive.org. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  30. ↑ Elola, Joseba (21 October 1995). ""Seis pintores madrileños multiplicarán su audiencia" | Edición impresa | EL PAÍS". El País. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  31. ↑ "Museos virtuales y Digitales | Estudio de Arqué Poética y Visualística Prospectiva". Arquepoetica.azc.uam.mx. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  32. ↑ Salvat, Begoña Gros; Bolós, Alejandro Català; Pampols, Carles Feixa; Martínez, Javier Jaén; Díaz, Pilar Lacasa; Luisa Lamazán Álvarez, M.; Borda, Rut Martínez; Zaballos, Laura Méndez; Agües, Jose Antonio Mocholí; Sánchez, Isidro Moreno; Miró, Xavier Vilella I.; Cuello, Antònia Bernat; Magri, Manel Camas; Ballestero, Juan José Cárdenas (14 March 2008). Videojuegos y aprendizaje – Carles Feixa Pampols et al. p. 79. ISBN   9788478278275 . Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  33. ↑ Pampols, Carles Feixa; Díaz, Pilar Lacasa; Bolós, Alejandro Català; Zaballos, Laura Méndez; Martínez, Javier Jaén; Miró, Xavier Vilella i; Álvarez, M. Luisa Lamazán; Sánchez, Isidro Moreno; Borda, Rut Martínez; Ballestero, Juan José Cárdenas; Agües, Jose Antonio Mocholí; Magri, Manel Camas; Cuello, Antònia Bernat (14 March 2008). Videojuegos y aprendizaje. ISBN   9788478278275 – via Google Books.
  34. ↑ López, Ruth Martínez (10 August 2011). Mundos virtuales 3D: Una guía para padres y formadores. Editorial UOC. ISBN   9788497883481 – via Google Books.
  35. ↑ "El último deseo". IMDb. 12 November 2005.
  36. ↑ "His Last Request (PAL): Iris Daaz, Carmen Vadillo, Ramon Rados, Jack Taylor, Simon Birrell, Milena Ivanova: Movies & TV". Amazon. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  37. ↑ "Aceite quemado". IMDb. 14 February 2004.
  38. 1 2 "Le Giornate del Cinema Muto – Screenings Database – EL ÚLTIMO DESEO". Cinetecadelfriuli.org. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  39. ↑ "Mondo Digital's SICK PICKS". Mondo-digital.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  40. ↑ "Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula". IMDb. 1 January 2000.
  41. 1 2 "HIs Last Request". Fright.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  42. ↑ "El Último Deseo (2005)". MYmovies.it. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  43. ↑ "Information Design". The MIT Press. 24 August 2000. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  44. ↑ "Games For Your Acorn Electron (Virgin Games) – Acorn Electron World". Acornelectron.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.