Alex Hertel (Intuit) on Mixing Bits and Atoms within the World Computer
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The Guest
Alex Hertel is the former co-founder and CEO of Xperial, and currently an inventor at Intuit where he is a director in their Futures group.
Alex completed his Ph.D. in computer science at the University of Toronto and is an expert in no-code languages as well as the use of immersive technologies to make the physical world digitally interactive.
After his PhD program, he co-founded Walleto, which was acquired by Google and became Google Wallet. After several years at Google, he left to become the co-founder and CEO of Xperiel, where he helped to create a user-friendly programming language called “Pebbles” with the goal of democratizing AR and IoT programming in order to connect the Internet to the physical world.
The Conversation
In this conversation, Alex explains how he applied his research to a concept he calls the “world computer” and how it relates to computing paradigms of the past. He sees the roles of displays being replaced by AR glasses, and our computing peripherals being replaced by the many internet-connected devices around us.
Alex goes on to describe how a new no-code language can make the process of creating AR experiences more accessible. He also describes lessons learned through his two entrepreneurial experiences and the benefits of now being an inventor in Intuit’s Futures Group.
Links From The Episode
- Company: Xperial - Welcome to the Real World Web
- Article: Xperiel Introduces Real World Web, An AR Enabled OS For The Physical World by Charlie Fink for Forbes
- Blog Post: Pebbling, An Old Game, With a New Lesson for Web 4.0 by Alex Hertel
- Article: Kings Partner With MGM Resorts, Xperiel to Upgrade Call the Shot by Arena Digest
- Press Release: Xperiel and Amazon Collaborate to Increase Fan Engagement through Seamless Prizing for Augmented Reality and Predictive Gaming Activations
- Article: Google acquires NFC specialist Zetawire for “Walleto” e-wallet tech by Chris Davies at SlashGear
- Book: Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age by J. Shurkin
- Episode Transcript