Guest: Shawna Pandya. Topics: CiviGuard and smartphone applications, the space connection. We welcomed Shawna Pandya to the program. Note that there was a telephone line problem responsible for less than clear audio noise which you will hear, especially during the first segment of the program. We do apologize for this. In addition, please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com. In our first segment, Ms. Pandya provided us with her background that enabled her to leverage technology and help create the concept of CiviGuard. Her attendance at the Singularity University was instrumental in shaping her thoughts in this direction as they were challenged to develop ideas and technologies that would be important to one billion people in a ten year period of time. CiviGuard is a direct outgrowth of that challenge. As she explained it, its now in one city in Manor, Texas but will soon be rolled out elsewhere. As you will hear, CiviGuard is a new way to get disaster information to people using smartphones with far more detail and relevant info than other means now in existence. In our second segment, Shawna connected using space to CiviGuard through Earth Imaging. She explained how they are doing it, the push technology being used, and more. Since we were talking about NASA and space spin-offs, a question was asked why the spin-off argument does not do that well in selling space to the larger public. We also talked about differences in Canada as compared to the US, especially Silicon Valley. I believe you will find this discussion most interesting. In our third segment, Shawna pointed us to the two key websites, www.civiguard.com and also www.civiguard.me. The latter site allows one to sign up for information even if their cell phone, smartphone or other communication device is not yet supported by Shawna's company. In this segment, I asked Shawna about human factors and the life sciences for long duration spaceflight and going to Mars. In addition, we talked about Canadian and Europeans playing larger roles with European citizens in achieving portable medical data, including telemedicine and teleradiology using space resources. Shawna had much to say on these subjects so don't miss her comments. A listener asked Shawna if she actually had classes at the Singularity University with Dr. Ray Kurzweil and what the students had to say about his known attitudes on space travel, humans, and robotics. This was a fascinating discussion you will want to hear. Toward the end of the program, I asked Shawna for her take aways from her education and work. She talked about empowerment and passion. If you have comments or questions for Shawna Pandya, post them on the above blog URL and you can email her at shawna@civiguard.com.
Guest
The Space Show
