Posted in | News | Sensors General

Record Number of Visitors for LiveWorx Premier IoT Business Event

Reviewed

Jun 16 2016

PTC hosted the LiveWorx® premier IoT business event on June 6-9 in Boston. The award-winning event attracted a record number of over 4,500 attendees and 4,100 more via livestream in over 40 countries.

LiveWorx featured four days of compelling keynotes, over 200 breakout sessions, and presentations from business leaders who shared challenges and successes on a broad range of IoT topics in a series of content tracks for design, development, manufacturing, and service. From defense contractor Raytheon to the US Army, from software company Electric Cloud to consumer business Hallmark Cards, attendees had the opportunity to listen and learn how these organizations are building and deploying IoT strategies.

In the Xtropolis™ expo hall, attendees experienced the IoT for themselves through dozens of demos of PTC’s full product portfolio and leading partner technologies, bringing the IoT from concept to reality. During the IoT Mix@6 reception, the 4,500 attendees were able to network and discuss their LiveWorx experiences.

PTC Vision

During his opening keynote, PTC President and CEO Jim Heppelmann discussed the power and capability of the IoT through live demonstrations with customer companies, including Caterpillar Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives, and Flowserve, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of pumps, valves, seals, and components to the process industries. Heppelmann also unveiled the company’s new branding, including its new logo that visually represents the convergence of the physical and digital and the company’s focus and leadership in the IoT.

Massachusetts as the Hub of IoT

LiveWorx returned to Boston, which is increasingly considered to be the hub for IoT. Tom Hopcroft, CEO of MassTLC, led a panel discussion with fellow Massachusetts-based leaders Colin Angle, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of iRobot; Michael Porter, professor at the Harvard Business School; and Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO of PTC to discuss the promise and adoption of IoT in the Boston area, as well as the industry as a whole.

Co-located at LiveWorx, the MassTLC IoT Conference showcased companies that have developed, tested, and successfully deployed IoT products and solutions locally and across the world. The Mass Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC) is the region’s leading technology association and the premier network for tech executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and policy leaders.

STEM

A common theme throughout the event was the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math education). Keynote speakers Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, co-hosts and executive producers of the hit Discovery Channel TV show MythBusters, talked about the series’ impact on STEM, calling it an unexpected but rewarding aspect of the entertaining and educational TV show that aired for 14 seasons.

STEM was a key part of another main stage keynote presentation. PTC is dedicated to supporting the engineers and innovators of tomorrow through a strategic partnership with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) as part of its Engineers of the Future Program. Students from FIRST Team 4909 – Bionics in Billerica, Mass. joined PTC President and CEO Jim Heppelmann on stage at LiveWorx for the opening keynote to talk about their experience using Agile Engineering to more efficiently develop their competition robot in six weeks. Attendees could meet several FIRST teams and demo their robots in the Xtropolis expo hall.

ThingWorx IoT Partner Summit

As part of LiveWorx 2016, PTC hosted its annual ThingWorx IoT Partner Summit, with over 350 attendees representing a growing IoT ecosystem. A select group of ThingWorx partners received awards in the following categories: