Dr. David Hanson presented at TED2009 some of the research and prototypes of robots that are capable of recognizing human expressions. This is some groundbreaking work in the area of robotics & facial recognition.

The Hanson Robotics team setup their Einstein example and this is a video of it mirroring some of the expressions I was making for it.

The robot is capable of tracking different people in it’s view, maintaining eye contact, some basic voice recognition and mirroring of the expressions of the people it has focused on.

Very cool stuff.

TED curator Chris Anderson humorously suggested title “Bill Gates releases more bugs into the world at TED” which got a laugh from the audience as Bill released some malaria-free mosquitoes into the theater. The presentation instead was an incredible introduction into the work that the Gates Foundation is doing in two of its areas of focus.

As the first TED 2009 presentation to go online I wanted to share it with the Akoha audience.

Bill Gates did an incredible job talking about two of the many issues the Gates Foundation has focused on. Malaria and Education reform. As the largest philanthropist on the planet, Bill leads his foundation in a metric & results based approach to some of the worlds largest problems.

You can hear him talk about these issues in the following TED video.

Very few of us will ever have the resources to undertake the massive social issues that the Gates Foundation is tackling. What struck me during the presentation though, was the thought that it is very possible that Gates may be one of the last great large philanthropists.

The type of organizational structures that are required to tackle the challenges of this century will most likely be lot’s of small organizations using new technologies to collaborate, engage and inform. There will be a role for major organizations like the Gates Foundation - but the future of change may very well be each of us.

Already the world of philanthropy is following what David Weinberger calls “Small Pieces Loosely Joined Together” model that refers to the organizational systems that have given us Wikipedia, Open Source Software, the blogosphere and the Internet itself. As David mentions in one of his chapters about the Web - Hope.

Hope - The Web’s hyperlinked architecture is connective and based on shared caring. It thus reflects the basic structure of morality. Hope is in order.

The optimism that Gates has in our ability as a society to face these challenges should not be a luxury afforded to the wealthy or priviledged. We have within each of us the ability, the tools & technologies to make a difference.

We hope Akoha will play a role in parts of this sea change of hope, but equally important is that we each feel empowered to make a difference.

There are more TED 2009 talks that will be coming online over the next few months. We’ll be posting some of our favorites including the small presentation I was able to share with the TED audience about the inspiration & history of the Akoha project.

CEO Austin Hill to Speak about Akoha at TED University.

Montreal, January 27, 2008 - Akoha Inc., a developer of online and real-world social games designed to make the world a better place, is excited about the opportunity to share its message next week at the world-renowned TED conference.

Austin Hill, Akoha’s CEO and co-founder, will be speaking at TED University about how the concept for Akoha emerged at a TED conference that featured the theme, “Ideas Big Enough to Change the World”, and how the game links players’ activities to philanthropic projects such as a school being built in Nepal in partnership with the charity organization Room to Read.

Inspired by elements of social entrepreneurship, massively multiplayer and reality-based games, Akoha is a real world and online game in which players carry out missions that involve performing small acts of kindness for others.

The activities of Akoha players are described on “mission cards”, and as Akoha players perform more missions, they advance in the game, recruit new players, and spread good deeds across the planet.

Akoha will be giving away 2,200 decks of its new Inspired Minds mission cards to TED attendees. These missions were inspired by various TED speakers and the talks available at TED.com. Nine new Akoha missions are included in the Inspired Minds deck. These missions include:

Akoha Inspired Minds deck: New mission cards that are contained in the Inspired Minds deck of missions.

• Share a TED Book – Inspired by the TED book club in which books that change the readers’ view of the world are sent to TED community members.
• Photograph the Need for Change – Inspired by the TED Prize winner and photographer James Nachtwey, who has used photography to document wars, conflicts and critical social issues.
• Calculate your Carbon Footprint – Inspired by Nobel Prize Winner and TED speaker Al Gore’s call for urgent change to help fight global warming.
• Share a Documentary – Inspired by TED Prize winner Jehane Noujaim’s TED talk and the Pangea Day project in which documentary films where shown at live sites in Brazil, Egypt, India, Rwanda and the United States.

“Much of the inspiration for our work on the Akoha project grew from our attendance at the TED conference, so we are very excited to be able to introduce the project to the TED community.” Hill said. “With so many people involved in projects to improve the world, this is a great audience to share Akoha’s message as we continue to expand our beta community of players.”

Over the past four months, Akoha has experienced significant progress as it continues to develop and improve the online game. Among the company’s recent achievements include the launch of its private beta at the TechCrunch50 in September, and the release of its public beta in December. To date, Akoha members have carried out more than 2,000 mission plays in 33 countries. An impressive 60% of beta players have joined Akoha as a result of someone giving them a mission card.

Akoha Missions Map: New map lets players track the path of missions and Akoha player activity around the globe.

Akoha Mission Management: New Mission management page lets players manage the Akoha missions they have undertaken.

At TED 2009, Akoha plans to unveil a number of improvements to the user experience and interface. This includes improved site navigation, new ways for players to track their missions on a world map, new profile pages, and a new mission management page that enhances how players manage and track mission cards.

Another part of Akoha’s goal to help make the world a better place are partnerships with philanthropic organizations around the world. Akoha’s first partnership is with the charity organization Room to Read. It involves a community challenge to sponsor the construction of a library in Nepal as 25,000 missions are completed by the Akoha beta community. This will see Akoha sponsor the construction of a new library, and fill it with books, games and posts.

“Our involvement with Room to Read is an example of how Akoka’s players are already playing missions to support causes around the world,” Hill said. “It shows the promise of the impact Akoha can have on making the world a better place. We welcome the opportunity to create partnerships with a growing number of organizations focused on making a difference.”

Since December, anyone who has been interested in joining the beta and purchasing starter kits and mission decks has been able to do so at Akoha Store: http://store.akoha.com/. Today, the new Inspired Minds deck is also available.

About Akoha

Akoha combines online games, social networking and real-world activity to help make the world a better place. Akoha players carry out acts of kindness - known as “missions” - to collect points recruit new players and, as important, spread acts of kindness. The Montreal-based company was founded in 2007 by long-time friends and entrepreneurs Austin Hill and Alex Eberts, who believe that games and online communities could make make a positive impact on people around the world.

Akoha is currently in beta but it has already attracted accolades from organizations such as the Canadian Innovation Exchange, Banff Venture Forum and the Crunchie Awards.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit that organizes events where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. “TED” originally stood for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. In recent years however, TED has widened its scope, identifying and showcasing interesting and relevant ideas in any discipline. Attendees have called it “the ultimate brain spa” and “a four-day journey into the future.” The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.

TED was first held in Monterey, California, in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson’s Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman. In recent years, TED has expanded to include an international conference, TEDGlobal; media initiatives, including TED Talks and TED.com; and the TED Prize, an annual award granting three individuals “one wish to change the world.” TED2009, “The Great Unveiling,” will be held Feb 3-7, 2009, in Long Beach, California, with a simulcast event in Palm Springs, California. TEDGlobal 2009, “The Substance of Things Not Seen”, will be held July 21-24, 2009 in Oxford, UK.

Akoha Media Contact:
Mark Evans
mark@akoha.com
647-273-6747

Fellow Akohans,

Akoha will have a chance to present at TED 2009.  This amazing opportunity will give us a chance and platform to spread the message of Akoha to others, in hopes of igniting their inspiration and motivations to spread kindness through play.

TED 2009 is a conference whose mission is to showcase the ideas of thought leaders to change the world.  Standing for Technology, Entertainment and Design, it brings together masters of these fields that enlighten the listeners with inspirational topics.  Previous speakers have included people like Richard Branson, Bono, Paul Simon, Jeff Bezos, Al Gore and many, many more.

Past TED Talks

There are many astounding TED talks that continue to inspire others to bring about world change.  For example, Bono’s call for action at TED resulted in one million people signing up for the ONE campaign whose goal is to eradicate poverty.  TED videos can be found on the TED Talks page.  Additionally, there is content on YouTube (search for TEDTalksDirector).

Inspiration and Action

By using the TED videos as inspiration, we want you to get you involved.  In the coming days leading up to TED 2009, Akoha will be announcing new missions, upcoming changes to the Akoha site and various ways that you can get involved with Akoha.  Stay tuned to this blog by subscribing to the Akoha RSS feed for more updates.

You can follow us on Twitter too:

• The Official Akoha Twitter Account
• Our CEO Austin Hill is on Twitter.  He talks about what it’s like to be a serial entrepreneur and to inspire world change.
• I’m the Akoha Community Manager, and you can find me (Sean Power on Twitter) as well.  I’ll make sure @akoha and @seanpower follows you back, though it might not happen right away.

Trying to figure out how to play your next Akoha card?  Check out this blog post that outlines a few tips on how to play Akoha.

Want to talk to us?  Find out different ways that you can reach us on our blog.