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Skip Speaks, Chief Executive Officer, Rosum Corporation, USA
 1) Briefly tell us what it is about your company/project that makes it so special?
What makes Rosum special is both who we are and what we do. We have brought together some of the greatest minds to create a unique technology that solves a very pressing problem – accurate, reliable, real-time location of people and assets in urban and indoor environments, where GPS and assisted GPS solutions often fail. Rosum is the first and only company to use unmodified broadcast TV signals for position location.
Simply put, Rosum has extended the ability to locate people and things into environments where most people reside and where most commerce occurs. This is done using the existing broadcast infrastructure and does not require investments in new hardware for each cell tower or for each building. Because we leverage existing high-power TV transmitters without modification, ours is an extremely cost-effective global solution.
As I mentioned earlier, what makes Rosum special is our brain trust. We have assembled some of the best and brightest minds from around the world to develop our broad-reaching, extensive intellectual property portfolio. Our international staff, company co-founders and early investors include the early architects of fundamental technologies such as packet switching and even the Global Positioning System itself. Technology visionaries such as Drs. James Spilker and Matthew Rabinowitz are part of the Rosum leadership team.
2) What country best facilitates starting a tech company? What single thing can a government do to encourage Technology Pioneers?
I can speak to the environment for innovation here in the United States. I believe that the single most important action a government can take is to invest fully in its education system. A society well-educated in the arts and sciences creates the fundamental foundation necessary to develop generation upon generation of technology pioneers. It is to our advantage as a nation to make sure we are developing bright, intellectually curious young people who have the tools to contribute.
It is also to our advantage to keep our doors open to the rest of the world. I mentioned foreign nationals earlier. One of our founders is South African, for example, and he chose to come to the U.S. because of the education he desired. I believe it is in our best interest to make sure bright, ambitious people from around the globe keep coming to the U.S.
3) What makes an innovator?
Being a successful innovator requires a number of attributes. First, a passion for solving difficult problems. Second, the persistence it requires to get to your goal. And third, the willingness to take on the risks entailed in making one’s passion a reality. There are obviously psychological and emotional rewards to this, but financial incentives are important too. Brilliant ideas seldom see the light of day without financial backing. In the U.S., the ability to become financially independent through your innovation is an important motivator.
4) How does your company directly contribute to improving the state of the world?
We believe that Rosum’s greatest contribution to the state of the world will be in the field of public safety. Rosum’s technology has strong potential in the areas of personal and homeland security; police, fire and first responder rescue; and asset tracking and recovery, and these are just the initial applications. Our hope is to better the lives of those who are dedicating theirs to public safety.
If you think about how GPS started, it was developed for government and military purposes and then extended to commercial applications. We’ve started with a commercial focus, but certainly we are dual-use, like GPS.
On a larger scale, there has been a lot of attention of late on how to augment or extend the GPS constellation, either into environments and areas where GPS is hard to receive, or in scenarios where it has been jammed. TV positioning is a natural means to do this. So there are global applications where we directly contribute to public safety.
Quite honestly, we’re probably only scratching the surface in terms of what we can do. Rosum is extending location awareness indoors, where it traditionally has not been available. We are certain that the market will eventually teach us what is possible, not the other way around.
5) What value do you hope to gain from being a Technology Pioneer?
We are honored to be recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. It is extremely gratifying, given the hard work and countless hours that have gone into developing Rosum’s technology. On a day-to-day basis we are focused on issues inherent in being a technology startup. Therefore, we hope this forum will serve as a spring board to deliver our message to a broader audience, on a greater scale.
We hope that worldwide recognition of the power and importance of Rosum’s positioning technology from such a prestigious global organization will strengthen our marketing message and garner attention from critical technology partners and decision makers. We look forward to participating in World Economic Forum events and in engaging in meaningful discussions with the world’s political and technology leaders.
6) What do you think the role of technology should be in society?
Technology does and should contribute to advancements in the quality of life for all people. Advancements in communication, life safety, mobility and national security are at the heart of the global technology boom. One need look no farther that the creation of the Internet to witness the power technology has to impact the quality of life. We believe that Rosum will be a powerful enabler of global security and safety-of-life applications.
7) What is the right balance in society between scientific interest and ethical concerns?
I believe that scientific interest must be driven by a high standard of ethics by all involved and that societies and individuals must direct their energy toward ethical outcomes to create this balance.
At Rosum, we are fortunate to be developing technology solutions which facilitate the position location of people and assets. Rosum technology will serve the public good by facilitating the work of first responders and will aid in the dispatch of rescue personnel in disaster recovery situations. Our technology can also provide reliable location information used to protect valuable cargo through the supply chain or to track hazardous materials through urban areas.
However, there are times when, in interest of security, people or assets should not be found. Privacy is one of the fundamental tenets of the U.S. social fabric. We cherish that notion and work with our partners to ensure the balance between technology and individual privacy is maintained.
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