October 2014
12 951 km from Busan to East London
7 hour time difference
Cyber-security debate
The global Internet debate
To introduce an ICT
Innovation Hub where
Engineering & ICT
graduates will be
provided an opportunity
to present and develop
their innovative projects
in a mentored and
creative environment.
The targeted graduates
will be mentored to
become inventors &
entrepreneurs over a twoyear period.
The exit strategy is that
they will be assisted to
establish their own
companies, introduced to
the industry and skilled
through skills
programmes.
To create global players through leading R/D and incubation platform
To activate nurture and support technology innovation.
Sponsor and
mentor
The Cortex Hub
Four universities
(sourcing graduates))
Where innovators gather together
For the potential founders the Cortex Hub will:
1
provide an incubated co-working space
2
support through provision of computing and networking resources
3
engage in business development programmes
4
take start-ups from pre-incubation towards the exit strategy of an established software
company
5
ensure the environment fosters a space for creative thinking and having fun while
innovating
Eastern Cape system of innovation:
Activation of IT (Software/Apps) innovation and start-up culture, tightly linked
to Universities, within the Eastern Cape
Cortex Hub as a key player in the local system of innovation
Linking local IT innovation activities to global players in the sector (through
Silicon Valley partnerships)
Early engagement
and strong
partnership with
Universities
(Hackathons,
seminars,
competitions)
Working with
universities to
develop / improve
and support
innovation
Highlight and profile
local
entrepreneurship
success stories
Inculcate and
encourage a culture
of hard work for
entrepreneurs hosted
at Cortex Hub
Object Oriented Design and Embedded Computing
• Real -Time Lynx
• Real-Time Java
• Real-Time Cobra
Industrial Internet (IoT)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Online Forum
Intel Developer
Auto Developer Challenge
Wearable Tech UX
Bootstrap
TC3 -Telecom Carrier Developer
API Strategy and Practice dev platform
WIP Jam @ a M-health
Industrial Internet
Internet of Things Consortium
Mentor and
Coaching
Meet-ups
Disrupt
Angel Investor
Gigs
Social Media Hubs
Hardware
battlefields
Pitch-Days
Hackathon
University
Tech
Marathons
Internet research group
Network of centers .net
•
•
•
•
code.org model
encourage coding in schools
hackathons
coding grand challenges supporting identified focus areas

Cultivation of views on:






Success
risk aversion
fear of failure
passivity
IT graduates seeing employment as the only career option
Ecosystem challenges: innovation chasm, funding
1
Identification and selection of “founders”
from the universities
2
Host the founders at the Cortex Hub
3
Exit start-ups from the Cortex Hub and
facilitates company’s ability to compete in
the global market (through Silicon Valley
partnerships)
Entrepreneurship qualities
• Hard working
• Risk taking
• Attitude to failure
• ~2 – 4 month of pre-incubation
• ~12 – 18 months of incubation
• Providing: basic amenities, computing
and networking resources, link to
business mentorship and coaching,
interaction with other founders, access
to Cortex Hub funders and financiers
•
•
•
•
•
•
Work ethic
Attitude to failure
Willingness to learn
Working long hours
Discipline
Depth of knowledge and interest in deepening
The Cortex Hub is a no alcohol zone
•
•
•
•
•
SETA Support
Stipend
Local support (GP, Psychologist, Dietician)
3 Meals and food
High Speed Connectivity
FibreCo
(Phase 1)
WACS
GENIVI® is a non-profit industry alliance committed to driving the broad adoption of an
In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) open-source development platform. The alliance aims to
align requirements, deliver reference implementations, offer certification programs, and
foster a vibrant open-source IVI community;
•
•
•
•
•
Cars getting more connected;
Consumers are also wanting to be connected everywhere;
Smartphones connectivity solutions are standard everywhere but in cars;
CCC is global consortium to develop smartphone based connected car solutions;
Implements solutions through MirrorLink
• QNX software embedded in systems such as Audi;
• Also prevalent in systems such as:
• Air traffic control;
• Surgical equipment;
• Nuclear power plants;
• Media features for in dash radio and even casinos;
• The group/focus area will develop big data applications using leading global
standards and technologies
• These technologies and standards include:
•
•
•
•
No-SQL
Map-Reduce Hive,
Cloudera Hadoop
Cloudera Impala
The focus area will look to develop applications and systems based on future chip
set technologies and location based services, including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gimbal Toolkit
Qualcomm
Gemalto dev toolkit
Matlab
TOM from Cetecom
DWDM ZTE platform
Wifi 802.11 ac, ad
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Test Station/Prototype Station
Prototyping Consumables & Parts / Component Boxes
Motion – Stepper motors, DC Motors, RC Motors + Controllers
Linux/Android/Embedded Single Board Computers
Robotics – Controllers & Actuators
Power Solutions
Arduino Station
Sensor Station
Intelligent Displays and Print
Arduino
The world around us is made up of analogue and digital signals. The Arduino Uno is a
microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins, 6 analogue
inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller;
by simply connecting it to a computer with a USB cable, allows you to control the analogue and
digital world around. This test-bed will be used to configure/upgrade the system over a serial
interface.
Sensor
Sensors are simply device that responds to a stimulus, such as heat, light, or pressure. Having a
sensor test-bed will be used to detect or generates a signal that can be measured and interpreted.
The combination of these signals can then be manipulated to make their information more usable.
Linux/Android/Embedded Single Board Computers
Modern embedded systems are often based on microcontrollers. Apart from being a controller of
the digital and analogue signal world, an embedded controller is typically used as PC clone. Most
of the embedded computers at the Hub will be Linux-based development boards like the Raspberry
Pi for more advance electronics/telematics development.
Robotics
Industrial robotic design will continue to experience a high demand for the next few decades. The
fact Robotics are such an integral part of many industrial manipulators, the robotic test-bed is
dedicated to robotics systems design to suit the need in the market.
Company A
Company B
Company C
The Cortex Hub
Venture Capital
Fund
Company D
Company E
Company F
Company G
Take Equity
between 10-30% in
each of the
companies
Company H
Company G
Initial advisory committee members*
Siya Xuza
Khanyi
Maqubela
John
Mathwasa
Mzwanele
Ngubo
Malusi
Gcakasi
* Membership to be expanded to increase diversity
Nico Muka
Kamalenga
Solomon
Freer
The Cortex Hub