Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

IE 10 Basics of Industrial Engineering

1st semester, AY 2013-2014

Riding the Technology Wave

Mr. Ricardo F. Banaag

Technology is truly advancing faster than anyone can imagine. From having cabinet-sized to
nano-sized storage devices that can contain gigabytes of information, to smart phones, and
different ways of charging phones. Mr. Ricardo Banaag, together with Intel, has brought
products to the public which seem ridiculous at first but at the end have huge impacts on
humans lives. Theyve invented the USB, which as we all know, one of the necessities of
students and businessmen alike nowadays. The ideas the company presented in the past and for
the future were all user-oriented which helped push their products to success.
One of Intels explorations which caught my attention is the way of charging phones and laptops.
Not through the use of electricity but through waves travelling in air. Though, I have seen phones
being charged using solar power and even batteries which can be charged using water. I think
solar power is more readily available and cheaper for everyone compared to the wireless charger.
Moreover, solar charging surely posed no risks to humans health. I wonder if the company is
into this kind of technology as well.
On the other note, Mr. Ricardo has boosted everyones interest in ones course saying that IEs
are not limited to the manufacturing and service sectors but have taken positions even in the
information technology industries. For IEs, there are countless problems that must be addressed
and solved in a company including the efficiency and effectiveness of their processes and
systems.
As we ride the technology wave, Mr. Ricardo kept on emphasizing that we should not take
technology for granted. The USB, the modern computers, the smart phones- all started from
humble beginnings. We, as users, must recognize their evolutions and humans effort to realize
these products so as to appreciate their usefulness and operability.
Overall, the session came up to be very interesting and a learning experience. The venue where
the talk was conducted is okay. Maybe it would be better if there would be improvements on the
registration and accommodation of the participants.

Masangya, Chenille B. 2010-00107 | T V