Biren Gandhi

As adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) makes the world more “connected,” drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are no exception. We are seeing an increasing number of cloud-connected drones deployed for commercial applications. But what happens when there is an absence of continuous connect…

Speech control of drones and robots is so popular these days that a simple Google search reveals about 14 million results on the topic. However, many of these projects are meant for hands-on technical people as opposed to business or operational folks interested mainly in outcomes. Wait no more. Cis…

As promised in my last blog post, here are some solutions to tackle the 7 fatal flaws of innovation. (Inspired by the book Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the 7 Flaws of Thinking.) We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein Solution 1: ‘F…

A friend and colleague suggested an awesome book to me last week called Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the 7 Flaws of Thinking. Although the book focuses on limitations in our thought process, I could see how these same flaws are perfectly applicable to innovation initiatives at companies of all siz…

A recent episode of CBS 60-minutes highlighted the U.S. military’s research and development around drone swarms and mission-centric self-converging fleets. Seeing these futuristic maneuvers of tiny drones, many of us might wonder about the future of commercial drones in year 2017 and beyond. If we l…

During the final days of 2016, the news that Coca-Cola shut down its Founders program caught many by surprise. It shouldn’t shock experienced trailblazers though as we embark on our innovation journeys into 2017. Transformation, after all, is a journey and not a destination. As articulated quite eff…

Much has been made of the commercial potential of drones, yet actually implementing commercial drone applications seems to be mired in a complex web of unclear regulations and doubt about technical feasibility. While it may yet take a long time to work through the regulatory issues, Cisco is moving…

Last month, as part of Cisco’s ongoing drone innovation efforts, I helped organize Cisco’s first-ever hands-on drone workshop for employees in our Bangalore office. “Drone Stars” was jointly sponsored by the Corporate Strategic Innovations Group and thingQbator, Cisco’s internal maker lab, which sup…

“Can drones save lives?” It’s a question that many outside the drone industry might find startling. Much of the general public still perceives drones as being deployed primarily for aerial surveillance or attacks in times of war.  This view was certainly reinforced in the recent movie, “Eye in the S…