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News
5 min read
Announcement : Spiria is certified SOC 2 Type 2
<div><h2>What is the certification SOC 2 ?</h2><p>SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2) certification is a standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that assesses an organization's ability to manage the risks associated with the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy of the data it processes on behalf of its customers.</p><p>SOC 2 certification is based on five principles, known as trust criteria, which define the minimum requirements an organization must meet to ensure the security and quality of its services. These criteria are as follows:</p><ul> <li><strong>Security</strong>: the organization protects data against unauthorized access, modification, disclosure, damage or loss.</li> <li><strong>Availability</strong>: the organization ensures the availability and continuous operation of its services in accordance with customer agreements.</li> <li><strong>Integrity of processing</strong>: the organization processes data in a complete, valid, accurate, timely and authorized manner.</li> <li><strong>Confidentiality</strong>: the organization respects confidentiality commitments and obligations towards its customers and third parties concerning the data it processes.</li> <li><strong>Privacy protection</strong>: the organization respects the privacy principles defined by the AICPA and the laws in application concerning the collection, use, storage, disclosure and disposal of personal data.</li></ul><p>« Obtaining and maintaining the SOC 2 certification is to me like an ultramarathon, rather than a 100-meter sprint. It's a first step in a long and continuously evolving process. Cybersecurity, as a whole, requires rigour and constant attention to detail, which our team is ready to invest in. »</p><p>– Vincent Huard, Vice President of Data Management and Analytics</p><p>To receive the SOC 2 certification, an organization must undergo an independent audit by a qualified accounting firm to ensure that it complies with the trust criteria applicable to its services. The audit covers the conception and effectiveness of the controls put in place by the organization to ensure compliance with the five trust criteria.</p><h2>What is the difference between SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 ?</h2><p>There are two types of SOC 2 certification. Among other things, it is the duration of the audit that distinguishes them. SOC 2 Type 2 is covered by a more extensive and rigorous audit.</p><ul> <li>SOC 2 Type 1 certification attests that the organization complies with trust criteria on a given date. It assesses the conception of controls, but not their effectiveness over time.</li> <li>SOC 2 Type 2 certification attests that the organization meets the trust criteria over a defined period of time, generally from three to twelve months. It assesses not only the conception but also the effectiveness of controls, taking into account their actual use and evolution.</li></ul><p>In other words, SOC 2 Type 2 certification meets more demanding and rigorous criteria, as it involves continuous monitoring and regular verification of controls. It offers greater assurance of the quality and security of the services provided by the organization.</p><h2>What are the benefits for our clients ?</h2><p>By obtaining the SOC 2 Type 2 certification, Spiria reaffirms its position as a trusted partner in the development of digital solutions for its customers.</p><p>Here are some of the main benefits that enable our customers to undertake large-scale projects with peace of mind:</p><ul> <li>The guarantee that we uphold the highest standards of data security.</li> <li>The guarantee that we protect our customers' data against internal and external threats.</li> <li>The confidence that we ensure the availability and performance of our services.</li> <li>The confidence that we are able to react quickly and effectively in the case of an incident.</li> <li>The certainty that we treat your data with integrity, while complying with validation, accuracy, traceability and authorization rules.</li> <li>The peace of mind that we respect your confidentiality obligations and do not disclose your data to unauthorized third parties.</li> <li>The security of knowing that we respect privacy principles and comply with applicable laws on personal data.</li></ul><p>SOC 2 Type 2 certification is a guarantee of trust and security for our clients, testifying to our commitment to delivering quality services and upholding industry best practices. It represents excellence in data security across industries, and is becoming increasingly sought after for software development projects. It was therefore only natural for Spiria to be one of the few expert firms in North America to be certified.</p><p>We are proud to be certified and to guarantee the excellence, reliability and rigor of our business practices.</p><p>Start a project with confidence : <a href="mailto:NewProject@spiria.com">NewProject@spiria.com</a>.</p></div>
Strategy
5 min read
Choosing Between a Time-and-Materials or a Fixed-Price Contract
<div><p>Spiria teams have thorough and extensive experience with both types of projects. In this blog, we’ll share what we have learned on the subject over the years and what criteria contribute to the success of each option.</p><p>But first, let’s go over those two types of projects:</p><h3>Time & Materials projects</h3><p>These are projects whose scope (activities, deliverables, inclusions and exclusions, etc.) are moderately well defined. The initial proposal provides an estimated price range for completing the project, after which costs are billed based on actual hours worked plus the required hardware and resource expenses (such as software licenses or cloud services). This approach is more flexible, as it allows both parties to adjust or change the specifications throughout the development process. This encourages agility and puts an emphasis on project management controls.</p><h3>Fixed-price contracts</h3><p>In contrast, the scope of this kind of project is usually well or very well defined. The initial cost estimate can be stated with confidence because it is based on more reliable information than in the T&M project. As the name suggests, costs are established at the outset, regardless of the actual hours worked and the materials and other resources expenses. Therefore, risk and profitability are critical considerations in opting with this type of contract. Any change to the initial specifications is policed by a change-request process and is billed as additional work.</p><p>Let’s imagine a first scenario in which a project has been previously defined. The client would opt for T&M or Fixed-price, a decision sometimes dictated by the organization’s internal requirements or even by industry regulations. This is often the case with calls-for-tender, which are mostly Fixed-price. Whenever possible, Spiria suggests an approach that leads to a better understanding of the project’s scope, thus mitigating risk. Spiria could recommend that the client invest in an initial discovery phase, whether in T&M or in Fixed-price mode, then propose the actual development and deployment phases as Fixed-cost. This helps the client assess whether it needs to change priorities or modify the scope as a result of the discovery phase. This flexibility allows us to negotiate the defined scope while amending the inclusions/exclusions, in order to remain within the agreed contractual Fixed-cost budget.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/11800/process-en.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/11800/process-en.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/11800/process-en.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/11800/process-en.webp" style="width: 60%; border: none;" alt="A Typical Project Cycle." title="A Typical Project Cycle."></source></source></source></picture></p><p style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">Figure 1. A Typical Project Cycle.</p><p>In a second case where the type of contract is not predetermined, we have more latitude to choose our strategy. A client schedules meetings with various suppliers for a Q&A session, followed by internal discussions to evaluate the factors leading to the best strategy. To help the teams decide, the table below presents a non-exhaustive list of criteria that are quantifiable (easily identifiable and measurable) or qualitative. The answers will depend on the information provided during the initial meetings and in the specifications, and on information obtained by asking the client directly. The symbols in the two right-hand columns suggest ways to weigh the answers relative to the two types of projects.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:76%"><strong>Points</strong></td> <td style="width:12%"><strong>Fixed</strong></td> <td style="width:12%"><strong>T&M</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td>The business plan, requirements, needs and expectations are clear.</td> <td>➕➕</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The business rules and processes are numerous and complex.</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➕➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The client’s budget is defined and budget planning is set.</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➖</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The schedule is tight or critical due to the client’s circumstances or business context.</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➖</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The required expertise is clearly defined.</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The organizational and decision-making structure is large and complex.</td> <td>➖</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The legal aspects are complex.</td> <td>➖</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>A past relationship already exists, or a mutual contact recommended us.</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The risk, uncertainties and contingencies are high.</td> <td>➖</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>There is a high likelihood of scope-creep.</td> <td>➖</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The client has staff or other internal capacity<br> (designer, development team, QA, etc).</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The technological environment is familiar.</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>There are significant technological constraints (e.g. legacy system).</td> <td>➖</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>There are many and complex challenges to integrating the solution.</td> <td>➖</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The choice of technology is pre-established.</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Data is available to reliably do quality assurance.</td> <td>➕</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The solution is subject to special certifications.</td> <td>➖</td> <td>➕</td> </tr> </tbody></table><p><br>This reflection can lead to different approaches, represented in the following diagram:</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/11800/strategies-en.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/11800/strategies-en.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/11800/strategies-en.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/11800/strategies-en.png" style="width: 100%; border-style:solid; border-width:1px;" alt=" Possible strategies or approaches." title=" Possible strategies or approaches."></source></source></source></picture></p><p style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;">Figure 2. Possible strategies or approaches (click to enlarge).</p><p>The strategy selected dictates how the contract agreement is concluded and has implications for the entire life of the project and its final success. The relationship will start out on the right foot if our process is transparent and we can explain our reasoning to the client. Our ultimate objective is to deliver a project that respects our Spirian values and that provides the expected value to the client.</p></div>
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Design
5 min read
Design News, June 2018
<div><div><h2>Adobe XD CC now free</h2><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-1.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-1.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-1.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-1.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><p>Adobe seems determined to take control of the user interface prototype application market. To wit, Adobe’s XD (Experience Design), which is striving to catch up with the competition in terms of features, is now available for free. The only limitation of this free version is that you can only share one prototype and one design spec at a time. There is no limit to the number of files you can save.</p><p lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">⇨ <i>Webdesigner Depot</i>, Ben Moss, “<a href="https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/adobe-xd-is-now-available-for-free/">Adobe XD CC is now available for free</a>.”</p><h2>1970s posters by IBM</h2><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-2.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-2.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-2.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-2.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><p>These fantastic posters were produced in-house by IBM in the 70s to inform, motivate or amuse employees. They are remarkable for their quality graphics but also for their highly conceptual and creative design, which companies would be well-advised to emulate in their own advertising campaigns even today.</p><p lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">⇨ <i>Visual Memoranda</i>, “<a href="https://www.visualmemoranda.com/poster-gallery/">The IBM Poster Program: 1969–1979</a>.”</p><h2>Material Design site revamped</h2><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-3.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-3.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-3.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-3.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><p>Google has redeveloped its Material Design Web site experience. Introduced in 2014, Material Design, with its library and design philosophy, quickly became a major player in the world of user interface design for mobile devices and for the Web.</p><p lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">⇨ <i>Webdesigner Depot</i>, Ezequiel Bruni, “<a href="https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/material-design-redesigned/">Material Design redesigned</a>.”</p><h2>Priority guides, the alternative to wireframes?</h2><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-4.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-4.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-4.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-4.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><p>This article proposes an alternative (or complementary) approach to wireframes: priority guides. Briefly stated, priority guides structure and prioritize content based on the importance and relevance of each of its components. According to the author, this approach avoids the grey areas that plague prototype-based projects. (Thanks to Kevin Dekker for the article.)</p><p lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">⇨ <i>A List Apart</i>, Heleen van Nues, Lennart Overkamp, “<a href="http://alistapart.com/article/priority-guides-a-content-first-alternative-to-wireframes">Priority Guides: a content-first alternative to wireframes</a>.”</p><h2>“Design is History”</h2><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-5.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-5.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-5.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-5.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><p>CThis Web site, which is unfortunately no longer updated, explores the history of design through the movements and creators that have shaped graphic design from the XVth century (when printing was invented) to today.</p><p lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">⇨ <i><a href="http://www.designishistory.com">Design is History</a></i>.</p><h2>Infotainment systems in 2018</h2><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-6.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-6.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-6.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2296/1806-design-6.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><p>This page lists the 10 most sophisticated on-board human-machine interface and infotainment systems in 2018. Generally restricted to concept or high-end vehicles, they seek to push the limits and possibilities of user experience through tactile interfaces. Granted, their practical and safety aspects are debatable.</p><p lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">⇨ <i>Goodpatch Blog</i>, “<a href="https://goodpatch.com/blog-en/10-hmi-and-infotainment-systems-presented-in-january-2018/">10 HMI and infotainment systems presented in January 2018</a>.”</p></div>
Artificial Intelligence
5 min read
Deep learning: the capsule network revolution
<div><div><p>Geoffrey Hinton is a world leading British-Canadian researcher specializing in artificial neural networks. Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, he was one of the first researchers to demonstrate the application of the backpropagation algorithm for training multilayer neural networks, a technique that has since been widely used in the world of artificial intelligence. We also owe him many models and algorithms whose use has become common today.</p><p>Last fall, Hinton and his team (Sara Sabour and Nicholas Frosst) published an open access scientific article: “<b>Dynamic Routing Between Capsules</b>”, which presents the architecture of a type of neural network, <b>capsule networks</b>, or CapsNets (the concept of CapsNet had already been presented in a 2011 paper). But above all, the architecture is accompanied by an algorithm allowing the training of these new networks. As fundamental innovations are rare, the interest of specialists has been piqued and they see in CapsNets a major advance over <b>convolutional neural networks</b> (ConvNets), widely used for still and moving image recognition, recommendation systems and automatic natural language processing.</p><p>ConvNets are awesome for many tasks that they manage to perform quickly and efficiently, but they have their own limitations and drawbacks. Take the classic example of face recognition: detecting its oval shape, a pair of eyes, a nose and a mouth indicates a very high probability of having to deal with a face. But the spatial distribution of these elements and their relationship between them are not really taken into account by the ConvNets.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2320/it-is-a-face-en.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2320/it-is-a-face-en.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2320/it-is-a-face-en.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2320/it-is-a-face-en.webp" alt="The limits of facial recognition with a convolutional neural network." title="The limits of facial recognition with a convolutional neural network."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>The limits of facial recognition with a convolutional neural network.</p><p>The main components of a ConvNet are <b>convolutional layers</b> that detect notable characteristics in the input data. The first layers, the deep layers that are closest to the raw input data, learn to detect simple characteristics, while the upper layers combine simple characteristics to produce more complex characteristics. Finally, the final layers will combine high-level characteristics and produce classification predictions. Between the convolutional layers, <b>max-pooling layers</b> are introduced which reduce the size of the representation by subsampling while accentuating strong signals, which allows essential gains in computational power.</p><p>Through this whole process, and especially the max-aggregation layers, the notions of position, orientation, scale and relation between the characteristics detected by the first layers are lost. In fact, the internal representation of the data of <b>a convolutional neural network does not take into account the important spatial hierarchies</b> between simple and complex objects, for example, we no longer know if the nose (simple object) is in the middle of the face (complex object).</p><p>To be as simple as possible, a CapsNet is composed of capsules and <b>a capsule is a group of artificial neurons</b> that learn to detect a particular object in a given region of the image and which produces <b>a vector whose length represents the estimated probability of the object’s presence and whose orientation encodes the object’s pose</b> (“instantiation parameters” — position, size, rotation, etc.). If the object is slightly modified (for example, translated, rotated, resized, etc.), the capsule will produce a vector of the same length, but oriented slightly differently. Thus, <b>the capsules are equivariant</b>. Unlike ConvNets where a small change in input will not produce a change in output (invariance).</p><p>As with ConvNet, CapsNet is organized in layers. The deep layer is composed of <b>primary capsules</b> that receive a small portion of the input image and attempt to detect the presence and placement of a motif, such as a circle, for example. The top layer capsules, called <b>routing capsules</b>, detect larger and more complex objects.</p><p>Capsules communicate through an iterative “<b>routing-by-agreement</b>” mechanism: a lower level capsule prefers to send its output to higher level capsules whose activity vectors have a big scalar product with the prediction coming from the lower-level capsule. “Lower level capsule will send its input to the higher level capsule that ‘agrees’ with its input. This is the essence of the dynamic routing algorithm.”</p><p>We are, of course, only scratching the surface here of the complexity and richness of CapsNets, but we must remember that they represent a great step forward in remedying the traditional shortcomings of ConvNets. The technology is still in its infancy, but since the publication of “Dynamic Capsule Routing”, many researchers have been working to refine algorithms and implementations, and advances have been published at a rapid pace.</p><p><b>The main advantages of CapsNets:</b></p><ul> <li>Unlike ConvNets which require a large amount of reference data for the training phase, CapsNets can generalize using much less data.</li> <li>CapsNets do not lose information between layers as ConvNets do.</li> <li>CapsNets give the hierarchy of characteristics found, for example: this nose belongs to this face. The same operation with a ConvNet involves additional components.</li></ul><p><b>The drawbacks, in the present state (but it evolves quickly…):</b></p><ul> <li>CapsNets are very demanding in computing resources.</li> <li>They do not work as well as ConvNets with large images.</li> <li>They cannot detect two objects of the same type when they are too close together (this is called the “crowding problem”).</li></ul><p>The subject has caught your attention and you would like to explore it further? Here is a list of useful references:</p><ul> <li>Sara Sabour, Nicholas Frosst, Geoffrey E. Hinton. <i><a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1710.09829.pdf">Dynamic routing between capsules (PDF)</a></i>. November 2017.</li> <li>Geoffrey Hinton, Sara Sabour, Nicholas Frosst. <i><a href="https://openreview.net/pdf?id=HJWLfGWRb">Matrix capsules with EM routing (PDF)</a></i>. April 2018.</li> <li>Geoffrey E. Hinton, Alex Krizhevsky, Sida D. Wang. <i><a href="http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~fritz/absps/transauto6.pdf">Transforming auto-encoders (PDF)</a></i>. June 2011.</li> <li>Aurélien Géron. <i><a href="https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/introducing-capsule-networks">Introducing capsule networks</a></i>. O’Reilly Media, Ideas, February 2018.</li> <li>Max Pechyonkin. <i><a href="https://medium.com/ai%C2%B3-theory-practice-business/understanding-hintons-capsule-networks-part-i-intuition-b4b559d1159b">Understanding Hinton’s capsule networks series</a></i>. AI<sup>3</sup>, November 2017.</li> <li>Nick Bourdakos. <i><a href="https://medium.freecodecamp.org/understanding-capsule-networks-ais-alluring-new-architecture-bdb228173ddc">Understanding capsule networks — AI’s alluring new architecture</a></i>. FreeCodeCamp, February 2018.</li> <li>Thibault Neveu. <i><a href="https://becominghuman.ai/understand-and-apply-capsnet-on-traffic-sign-classification-a592e2d4a4ea">Understand and apply CapsNet on traffic sign classification</a></i>. Becoming Human, November 2017.</li></ul></div>
Artificial Intelligence
5 min read
A history of neural networks (part 1)
<div><div><h2>AI in a nutshell</h2><p>Programming involves writing lengthy, detailed instructions to tell a computer what to do and how to do it in order to achieve a desired outcome. But artificial intelligence attempts to do the opposite: you write an algorithm to enable a computer to figure out a new algorithm to solve a given problem. Clear as mud? Read on.</p><p>Imagine a programme that recognizes the letters and numbers on license plates. A traditional programmer would write code providing a myriad rules to cover hundreds or thousands of exceptions in order to obtain an effective algorithm. An intelligent algorithm, on the other hand, would enable the computer to learn these rules on its own to complete the required task.</p><h2>A short history</h2><h3>The perceptron: the first building block</h3><p>The field of artificial intelligence is not new. In fact, it’s been explored for decades more or less intensely, depending on the availability of technical resources and funding for primary research. Since the ’50s, researchers have been positing what intelligence is and how to replicate it artificially. The goal isn’t so much to copy the human brain, but rather to emulate its cognitive abilities to find new solutions to a wide variety of problems. Research in the field of artificial intelligence is intrinsically tied to that of neuroscience, and both fields are progressing independently yet simultaneously, working apace to reproduce intelligence.</p><p>The first model of an artificial neuron was the <b>Rosenblatt perceptron</b>, developed in 1957. Rosenblatt’s impressive and innovative work, which is still considered the beginning of intelligent algorithms, was quickly set aside due to the limited concrete applications of the actual algorithm. The Rosenblatt artificial neuron is in fact little more than a linear, binary sorter for classification. However, it was a ground-breaking development that would set the stage for future research.</p><h3>John McCarthy and LISP — a world of functions</h3><p>Less than a year later, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), John McCarthy, one of the pioneers of AI, invented a purely functional programming language called <b>LISP</b>, which quickly became the language of choice for AI research. LISP was first made public in a paper in <i>Communications of the ACM</i>, in which it was stated that computers should be able to handle declarative as well as imperative sentences and exhibit “common sense”.</p><blockquote><p><a href="http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/recursive.pdf">McCarthy, John. <i>Recursive functions of symbolic expressions and their computation by machine, Part I.</i> Communications of the ACM, 3:184–195, April 1960 [PDF]</a>.</p></blockquote><p>LISP was nothing short of a revolution for computer science, becoming the tool of choice for research and experimentation in the field of artificial intelligence.</p><h3>The first occurrence of “machine learning” and artificial neural networks</h3><p>British scientist Arthur L. Samuel first coined the term “machine learning” in one of his pioneering articles on neural networks. Samuel explained the representation of an algorithm for a machine to learn to play checkers. Samuel was also a significant contributor to TeX, a system for the writing of scientific and mathematics documents.</p><blockquote><p><a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5392560/">Samuel, Arthur Lee. <i>Some studies in machine learning using the game of checkers.</i> IBM Journal of Research and Development, vol. 3, issue 3, July 1959 [PDF]</a>.</p></blockquote><h3>Learning, the brain and algorithms that can learn</h3><p>Of course, there’s more to the history of neural networks; take, for example, the appearance of <b>gradient backpropagation</b>, which will be the subject of another feature. But all the fundamental research was predicated on the basic idea of artificial intelligence, which is to get a computer to find the optimal way to perform the simplest of tasks (for example, binary classification in the perceptron example) or the most advanced demonstrations of the principles of cognitive learning (for example, learning to play checkers).</p><h2>What about the human brain?</h2><p>Neuroscience is the scientific study of the functioning of the nervous system. Artificial intelligence does not seek to replicate the functioning of the human brain, but rather to emulate its principles to find innovative solutions. The human brain is perpetually learning, and the electrical discharges between neurons direct all our actions. The brain is constantly stimulated by external and internal signals, coming from the five senses or from an empty stomach for example, and neural networks are responsible for the transmission of this information.</p><h3>A few facts</h3><ul> <li>There are 86 to 100 billion neurons in the human brain (10¹¹).</li> <li>The brain weighs between 1.3 and 1.4 kg.</li> <li>There are 200 million more neurons in the left hemisphere than in the right.</li> <li>Some impulses can reach speeds of 400 km/h.</li> <li>There are over 160,000 km of axons in the brain.</li></ul><h3>How does the brain learn?</h3><p>The brain is bombarded with information, which it processes at lightning speed. Neurons communicate with each other through energy signals called nerve impulses, which trigger a chain reaction of synaptic activity. A signal strong enough to stimulate any given neuron triggers it to relay the message to the next neuron, and so on.</p><h3>What is a neuron?</h3><p>Let’s look at the biology of a neuron; this will help us understand the equations that we’ll be looking at later.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2350/neurone-ant-en.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2350/neurone-ant-en.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2350/neurone-ant-en.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2350/neurone-ant-en.webp" alt="Neurone." title="Neurone."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>From left to right, the various parts of a neuron are represented thus:</p><p>The green circle points to a cellular body called the perikaryon. This is the nucleus of the neuron, the region that analyzes signals and sends them to the axon for transmission to other neurons.</p><p>The blue circle points to dendrites. Dendrites are limb-like extensions to the perikaryon, responsible for picking up external signals, determining their intensity, and relaying them.</p><p>The yellow circles indicate synapses, the physical contacts between neurons.</p><p>The pink circle shows the axon. This is an extension of the neuron that generates the nerve impulses, or action potential, to send to the next neuron. The intensity of the action potential determines whether the next neuron will also fire.</p><h3>Nerve impulses</h3><p>Neurons communicate through impulses, or action potential. These are very low-intensity electrical signals (about 100 millivolts). Transmission speeds can reach 150 metres per second.</p><p>A neuron fires when a nerve impulse reaches its nucleus through its dendrites. The cellular body absorbs this information and relays it to the axon through an electrical signal. The signal travels to the collateral axon then to the synapses, the site of inter-neural communication. If the signal is strong enough, the next neuron also fires, and so on. A single neuron can handle the nerve impulses of over 1,000 other neurons.</p><h3>Neuroplasticity</h3><p>At first, neurobiologists believed that links between neurons and the resulting networks were fixed and couldn’t be “rewired”. However, science has shown that brain connections are constantly evolving in response to many factors, including learning. This ability of the human brain to change throughout its life is called neuroplasticity and this recognition has transformed the field of neuroscience.</p><h2>AI neurons</h2><p>Let’s look at a digital neural network to see what happens in each of its parts, and how they can perform impressive feats by working together.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2350/neuron-model-en.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2350/neuron-model-en.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2350/neuron-model-en.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2350/neuron-model-en.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><h3>Input values</h3><p>This is the equivalent of the information provided to neurons for processing. Each input is given a weight indicating its “importance” for processing purposes. Input values and their respective weights are used in the combination function.</p><h3>Combination function</h3><p>The combination function considers every input, with its unique value and weight.</p><p>Let’s take a basic example of a neuron: the perceptron. The combination function makes a simple equation factoring the weight and value of every input to determine if the result passes the activation function threshold, triggering the perceptron. As mentioned, the perceptron is the most straightforward way to represent “artificial intelligence”. The basic function of a perceptron is to perform a binary classification of an input.</p><h3>Activation function</h3><p>The activation function looks at the result of the combination function and determines whether the neuron needs triggering. There are several types of activation functions, and their relative merits are constantly examined and compared to improve the accuracy of neural networks.</p><h3>Perceptrons: simplicity and limits</h3><p>Though ingenious, perceptrons nevertheless have limited practical applications, since they are binary in nature, i.e. either positive or negative. Remember that at their inception, available computing power was a major issue in basic research. </p><h3>Multi-layer perceptrons and non-linear results</h3><p>With the passage of time and breakthroughs in computer science, new researchers built on their predecessors’ work and improved upon it. For example, they revisited Frank Rosenblatt’s work, developing and extending the basic concept as well as its theoretical and practical applications.</p><p>Perceptrons might only be used to solve linear problems, but later research combined perceptrons to provide greater flexibility and a wider field of application in problem resolution. </p><p>Based on neurobiological principles, computer scientists have posited the basic model of what is today called artificial intelligence. Neural networks create thousands of links between different layers, each link relaying a signal according to a given set of rules </p><p>In the next installment, we’ll analyze multilayer perceptrons, the various layers of neural networks and how they learn.</p><h2>Final thoughts until the next installment…</h2><p>Neural networks are rife with possibilities. Universities across the world and the GAFAM are working intently in the field, coming up with new ideas and breaking down barriers. </p><p>The development of artificial intelligence is a watershed moment in the history of computer science. Computers will no longer follow instructions blindly; they will take the initiative to figure out the best algorithm to solve any given problem.</p></div>
Dev's Corner
5 min read
Introduction to cellular automata
<h2>Introduction</h2> <p>First off, let’s define a cellular automaton (plural: automata) as a series of cells evolving according to a predefined set of rules, creating a <strong>new generation</strong> of cells. This principle is used in several fields such as digital imaging, physics, chemistry, and any application requiring automation, such as industrial engineering.</p> <h2>Concrete example</h2> <p>The rule governing every individual cell’s evolution is predicated on its neighbours’.</p> <p><strong>So, if the rule for evolution is the following:</strong></p> <div><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_custom.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_custom.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_custom.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_custom.webp" alt="decorative" /></picture> <ul> <li>0 with 0 to the right becomes 1.</li> <li>0 with 1 to the right stays 0.</li> <li>1 with 0 to the right stays 1.</li> <li>1 with 1 to the right becomes 0.</li> </ul> </div> <p>Starting with the following arbitrary state of 0010, generation 0 will evolve as follows:</p> <div> <ul> <li>The first 0 will become a 1 according to rule no. 1.</li> <li>The second 0 will stay 0 according to rule no. 2.</li> <li>The first 1 will stay 1 according to rule no. 3.</li> <li>The last zero will become a 1 according to rule no. 1 (looking at the first 0 as its right-hand neighbour).</li> </ul> </div> <p><strong>The result is the following:</strong></p> <div><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/example_ca_0.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/example_ca_0.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/example_ca_0.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/example_ca_0.png" alt="decorative" /></picture> <ul> <li>0010 (generation 0).</li> <li>1011 (generation 1).</li> <li>1000 (generation 2).</li> <li>1110 (generation 3).</li> </ul> </div> <h2>Let’s take it one step further</h2> <p>This principle is easily extendable. For example, by using both right-hand and left-hand neighbouring cells, we can compare 3 cells with two potential states rather than two cells in two states.</p> <p>So that gives us 2^3 = 8 rules to define (i.e. determine whether they yield a 0 or a 1).</p> <p>Each of these rules provides <strong>2</strong> possible results (0 or 1), which gives us <strong>2</strong>^8=256 possibilities. These rules, known as the <strong>Wolfram Rules</strong>, yield patterns that are sometimes predictable, sometimes chaotic, but never random, since everything is <strong>predictable</strong> and <strong>reproducible</strong> as long as you know the rule applied and the configuration of generation zero.</p> <p>Here are a few examples of these rules and their results (as above, each line is a new generation). (Source : <a href="http://wolframalpha.com">http://wolframalpha.com</a>.)</p> <h3>Rule 30</h3> <div> <p><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_30_def.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_30_def.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_30_def.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_30_def.gif" alt="decorative" /></picture></p> </div> <div> <p><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_30_big.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_30_big.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_30_big.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_30_big.gif" alt="decorative" /></picture></p> </div> <h3>Rule 43</h3> <div> <p><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_43_def.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_43_def.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_43_def.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_43_def.gif" alt="decorative" /></picture></p> </div> <div> <p><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_43_big.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_43_big.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_43_big.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_43_big.gif" alt="decorative" /></picture></p> </div> <h3>Rule 90</h3> <div> <p><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_90_def.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_90_def.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_90_def.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_90_def.gif" alt="decorative" /></picture></p> </div> <div> <p><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_90_big.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_90_big.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_90_big.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/rule_90_big.gif" alt="decorative" /></picture></p> </div> <h2>Now, let’s go 2D or more!</h2> <p>With one line of 2-state cells, you quickly reach a limit if you only consider the contiguous cells.</p> <p>To put it in binary terms, imagine taking a phrase (for example, a password) and converting its binary value into an 8 cells wide matrix.</p> <div> <p>10100101<br />01011010<br />01110010</p> </div> <p>Then, you pick rules for the four neighbouring cells (above, below, left and right). Including the value of the center cell, that makes 2^5 = 32 rules to determine, each cell producing two potential output values (0 or 1). So, using the same calculation we used for the Wolfram rules, there are 2^32 potential rules, or over 4 billion.</p> <h3>The Game of Life</h3> <p>By taking one cell and its 8 immediate neighbours, John Conway created a set of 4 rules that he then animated, to produce “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway's_Game_of_Life">Game of Life</a>”. Check out his rules and how they interact:</p> <ol> <li>A live cell dies if it has fewer than two live neighbours.</li> <li>A live cell survives if it has two or three live neighbours.</li> <li>A cell dies if it has more than three live neighbours.</li> <li>A dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell.</li> </ol> <p><strong>Here are some examples of the results:</strong></p> <div></div> <p><strong>To summarize:</strong></p> <p>Given S number of possible states for a given cell, and N number of verified cells to establish the next generation, we get S^(S^N) possible rule combinations.</p> <p>For example:</p> <ul> <li>For 2 states and 3 verified cells (as in rule no. 30), we get 2^(2^3) possibilities.</li> <li>For 2 states and 9 verified cells (for example a pixel and all its neighbours), we get 2^(2^9) possibilities.</li> <li>For 2 states and 27 verified cells (for example by comparing a matrix of 3D-cubes, like in <em>Minecraft</em>), we get 2^(2^27) possibilities.</li> </ul> <h2>Applications</h2> <h3>Digital imaging</h3> <p>Take a 2D model with over two states, for example color pixels. Now you can play with them to create effects such as fuzziness or contrast, refine the grain, or clean artifacts left over from compression.</p> <h3>Random generation</h3> <p>Wolfram rule 90 allows you to generate a pattern that looks random. Just choose an initial binary population based on a known value (date and time, IP address of the user, etc.) to generate a new binary, random-like sequence after a set number of generations (given that absolute randomness does not exist in computing). You can then use this “random” value as an encryption key, as a value for salting, etc.</p> <p>Randomized generation for creating terrain maps (for example in video game types such as Dungeon Crawlers and Rogue-like games) use cellular automaton algorithms to clean up the result of parasitic elements.</p> <p>In the example below, <a href="http://www.roguebasin.com/index.php?title=Cellular_Automata_Method_for_Generating_Random_Cave-Like_Levels">taken from roguebasin.com</a>, a wall (#) stays a wall as long as it is surrounded by 4 walls. If it isn’t already a wall, it becomes one if it is surrounded by 5 walls or more. Otherwise, it becomes empty space. Cellular automata are used to clean up the pattern.</p> <div> <p><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/ca-map-cleaning.400x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/ca-map-cleaning.760x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/ca-map-cleaning.1039x0.webp" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/ca-map-cleaning.webp" alt="decorative" /></picture></p> </div> <h3>Security</h3> <p>I’ve been talking about binary transformation since the beginning of this article, so there is no need to justify its usefulness for encrypting data. As you can guess, encryption is usually unilateral, depending on the type of rule. Though there are plenty of potential combinations, as demonstrated above, not all of them are usable. For example, in unilateral encryption, there is absolutely no need for all data to always go to zero. Ultimately, from a less extreme viewpoint, there is always a risk of collision between rules (see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_table">Rainbow Table</a>). However, it is an efficient method if your goal is to keep anyone from reverse-engineering a password from its encrypted version.</p> <p>On the other hand, you can change rules at each generation, vary the number of times generation zero evolves according to known criteria, etc.</p> <h2>What about more than two states?</h2> <p>Until now, we’ve only talked about binary cells, with just two possible states. What if we were to increase the number of states? Obviously, it would increase the number of possibilities.</p> <p>Take <em>Minecraft</em>, and imagine we’re using a cellular automaton algorithm to create the world, a “Big Bang” algorithm. Based on a completely random zero generation made up of lava, water, air and earth, you could evolve a puddle into air, for example, if it is surrounded by 4 squares of lava, or into earth if only surrounded by two lava squares. Just set the rules, then let the world unfold naturally.</p> <p>The <a href="http://necsi.edu/postdocs/sayama/sdsr/iccs2/short.html">Langon Loop</a> is an 8-state automaton algorithm able to reproduce itself, and shrink when necessary.</p> <div> <p><picture><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/langton_loop.400x0.gif" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 599px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/langton_loop.760x0.gif" type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 999px)" /><source srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/langton_loop.1039x0.gif" type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)" /><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2131/langton_loop.gif" alt="decorative" /></picture></p> </div> <h2>So what?</h2> <p>As John Conway stated in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8kUJL04ELA">an interview</a>, his Game of Life is not in itself a mathematical breakthrough. His “game” is simply a demonstration of what can be accomplished with a set of very basic rules. Furthermore, it would be inconceivable to create a set of valid rules producing symmetrical encryption, and performance becomes a problem when evolving too many cells with too many rules.</p> <p>That said, cellular automata are used in many fields. In digital imaging, they allow pixel-by-pixel manipulation to create effects like those mentioned earlier. In physics, they provide prediction and estimation models, for example, for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lattice_gas_automaton">lattice gas automaton</a>. In industrial applications, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Neumann_universal_constructor">Von Neumann’s universal constructor</a> demonstrated that a machine can reproduce itself; by extension, a system should be able to evolve on its own. In fact, bright minds are working on integrating cellular automata and artificial intelligence.</p> <p>Documentation is still thin on the ground and the field is still young; if your interest in this topic is piqued, I encourage you to read up on it!</p>
Best Practices
5 min read
Creativity: a profitable tool for companies
<div><div><h2>Some key points:</h2><h3>Where there’s a will…</h3><p>Why is it so important to foster and value a creative environment? Well, employees know better than anyone when day-to-day operations are not running smoothly. They can suggest creative alternatives to improve processes and further the company. In a creative environment, employees feel they can express their ideas and be heard, making them feel valued, which is very motivating. In a creative environment, however, managers and directors must be able to relinquish control of the “how” to concentrate on the general direction and definition of team objectives, allowing employees to make needed improvements to their work environment. A corporate will to value creativity is necessary for employees to feel free to speak up and work out a problem to its potential solution and spark innovation. </p><h3>…there’s a space</h3><p>Creativity needs space. Space in terms of time for brainstorming and for bouncing ideas around. Not all the ideas that emerge will be good, but good ideas can only emerge in a non-judgemental, safe space. The idea is to write down every idea, then pick the one that best suits your current situation and constraints. This final selection can be made as a team. To avoid the problem of ideas flying off in all directions, set a pre-determined framework. For example, a team leader could ask the following question: how can we improve our ordering process while respecting timelines and without spending extra money?</p> <h3>Engaging and communicating</h3><p>Once the ideas are out there, you have to do something with them. Otherwise, you’re wasting everyone’s time and energy. Take the time to plan and set a timeline for the implementation of new ideas and initiatives. All changes will have to be communicated to the team as a whole, explaining why a given option was chosen. This requires a little more energy than working on business-as-usual automatic pilot. But it’s so much more stimulating for employees, who feel that they belong.</p><h3>Beneficial effects of creativity on companies:</h3><ul><li>Furthering and growing the company from the ground up, rather than top-down. The ground-up approach is so much faster, with everyone involved in the process.</li><li>A competitive advantage. </li><li>Continuous efficiency improvements, after an initial investment of time and attention.</li><li>Increased employee ownership.</li><li>Team engagement and stimulation. </li><li>Reinforced feeling of commitment, loyalty and respect.</li></ul><p>Everyone has creative potential; no need to be an artist to generate innovation and new ideas. And every field and department of your company can benefit from an injection of creativity: marketing, finance, IT, sales, human resources, etc. At the very least, companies are well advised to listen to employees, find out how they would fix an irritant, or how they would address a daily challenge. Why not take advantage of the resources at hand? Often, the best ideas and solutions are right under your nose.</p></div>
Mobile Development
5 min read
The era of 5G is nigh
<div><div><p>As the era of 4G, or LTE, is hitting its zenith, large telecommunications companies and infrastructure vendors are already gearing up for the next standard. The growth of mobile telephony remains strong worldwide, and Cisco <a href="http://www.itworldcanada.com/article/large-scale-deployment-of-5g-infrastructure-to-start-in-2020-cisco/390835">predicts</a> that by 2021, 5.5 billion people will be using mobile phones, i.e. 8 out of every 10 people on the planet! Cisco also predicts that for the same period, mobile data traffic will increase seven-fold worldwide and by a factor of five in Canada, for an annual growth rate of 36%. </p><h2>And that means it’s upon us</h2><p>The growth of data consumption is also a result of the proliferation of connected devices, in other words the Internet of Things. Just think of self-driving cars, which run on data and will need streams of it to make on-the-spot decisions.</p><p>In 2016, large telcos tested 5G networks in Canada and abroad, and some, like AT&T and Verizon, plan on deploying them in key markets this year. By simultaneously using bands of different frequencies, data rates can be magnified; for example, Bell and Telus tests in Canada <a href="http://branchez-vous.com/2016/07/29/bell-nokia-ont-teste-avec-succes-le-5g-pour-la-premiere-fois-au-canada/">showed</a> 5G rates 6 times higher than 4G. </p><h2>5G NR</h2><p>Qualcomm, who, along with Intel, is the largest supplier of modems for mobile devices, recently announced what will be the keystone of the 5G network: 5G NR (“New Radio”). NR is capable of adapting to a wide range of frequencies, while dramatically lowering latency, or connection time. This technology offers several advantages, most notably the ability to re-use existing cell towers by combining frequencies, allowing operators to deploy their new 5G networks that much faster – and at a lower cost. </p><p>Qualcomm’s new technology already enables higher speeds on existing LTE networks, which, at 1.2 Gbit/s, is much higher than anything currently available to households. And when the 5G network is deployed, rates <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/news/351837/qualcomm-shows-off-a-real-5g-connection">could reach</a> a quasi-mythical 45 Gbit/s. </p><h2>Capacity vs. speed</h2><p>For the time being, capacity, rather than speed, is at the heart of development efforts. Qualcomm’s Chief Technology Officer, Matt Grob, is currently testing scenarios where over 100,000 devices are simultaneously connected in a single city block. "We want to yield hundreds of megabits in an application even when a system has multiple users ... and also support very dense use cases”, he said.</p><p>Just think of all the thermostats, light bulbs, city infrastructures and sensors that could soon be connected… you get the picture. Hence the need to plan infrastructure capacity today to meet the data demand of tomorrow, which is bound to grow exponentially – even if human-based demand stands still. Not for nothing did Aicha Evans, Corporate Vice-President and General Manager for Intel’s Communication and Devices Group, talk about the era of 5G in prophetic terms: “<a href="">The machines are coming</a>”.</p><p>The technology isn’t quite cast in stone yet for very large-scale deployment; in fact, the final specifications for 5G (Release 15) won’t be released until September 2018, according to 3GPP, a standards-setting body. But 5G should be widely available by 2020, with Ovum analysts <a href="https://www.ovum.com/press_releases/5g-will-hit-24-million-subscriptions-worldwide-2021/">predicting</a> 24 million 5G subscribers by the end of 2021.</p></div>
Culture
5 min read
How to graduate from being a “junior” developer
<div><div><p>A junior developer is someone who has yet to demonstrate his or her ability to consistently produce quality work, be it in front of a project leader during a client meeting, the client’s technical team during implementation, or a more experienced developer during code review. </p><p>If you’re a junior developer, we’ve got a few tips to help you avoid sending bugs into production and to ensure that the ones that do escape your attention aren’t fatal. These tips will bolster your confidence and independence, and, ultimately, show your supervisors that you’re truly deserving of the title of “Intermediate Developer.”</p><h2>Tips for junior developers</h2><h3>Learn to backtrack</h3><p>Own your code: Get comfortable with a code version management tool, like Git or SVN. For instance, learn their basic concepts and have a clear branching system, making sure you know the most common operations and leave relevant comments.</p><p>When it comes to messing up with a DBMS (database management system), don’t even think about touching production data until you can do the following:</p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"> <li>export data to create a copy, and. </li> <li>perform a rollback (that is, cancel changes).. </li></ul><p>Unless you can execute these operations in your sleep, don’t touch data! Lost data means lost time and money, or worse.</p><h3>Learn to debug your code</h3><p>All contemporary languages allow you to do things like monitor code during execution and to add breakpoints and console outputs. They allow you to delve quickly into projects in progress and learn their structure, and they are indispensable for debugging your own code. A variety of such techniques and tools are available, depending on the language you want to use.</p><h3>Program thoroughly</h3><p>Just as knowing how to read and write doesn’t make you a writer, knowing how to code doesn’t make you a developer. Write your code so that it’s readable for machines and humans alike. Humans will generally read code to change or correct it, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll be around to explain it. So, follow the golden rule: create self-explanatory code. Read up on the subject at hand and learn about the best and worst practices in your field (for example, names of variables and methods, further nomenclature, indentation and documentation).</p><h3>Test code before sending it</h3><p>The quality assurance (QA) team can catch many balls you'll drop, but they won’t go fishing them out of the bottom of a lake for you! As developers we are the people most closely acquainted with the code and can assess the impact of our changes. You can validate the number of instances in which the modified method is called up within a few seconds by using a good IDE, which will avoid bugs down the line for the QA team, the client and users. </p><p>Once we developers say that our code is ready, we have to be confident that it is, in fact, ready.</p><h2>Best foot forward</h2><h3>Become more detail-oriented</h3><p>The best developers do everything humanly possible to ensure that they complete the task as instructed, asking for clarification as necessary. There’s a reason someone took the trouble to write specifications. It’s up to the developer to make sure that those specs are followed to the letter.</p><h3>Be rigorous</h3><p>Effective developers provide thoughtful solutions, not the first solution that comes to mind. They take pride in their work and see that it’s entirely completed before sending it for review to colleagues, clients or others to avoid wasting their time. Their work is always dependably good.</p><h3>Stay humble</h3><p>The first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that the problem exists. Developers learn from their own mistakes and those of their team. And since everyone makes mistakes, the chances to learn are endless! Better a glitch detected and corrected than a glitch that slips by without mention.</p><h3>Roll with the punches</h3><p>Normally, developers are not involved in each-and-every decision made during a project. Respected developers are those who are willing to admit that they don’t know everything. They can live with the fact that their proposed solution won’t always be the one that’s chosen since there are more experienced people on their team. While their solution might seem like the best one to them, it may not suit the client simply because of budgets, deadlines or legal (and other kinds of) restrictions. So don’t get offended, it’s not personal!</p><h3>Collaborate</h3><p>Developers take part in discussions, but learn mostly by listening. Since all projects involve at least two people, they have to learn to work professionally with others. They ask questions to clear up grey areas and keep the project moving forward. When they learn something new that could be useful to others, they document it and share it.</p><p>Tackling a problem as a group is sometimes the best solution. Two brains are better than one: hence innovative developers use “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pair_programming">pair programming</a>” approaches. Sometimes, even a rubber duck is better than nothing! (See the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging">Rubber Duck Debugging</a> method.)</p><h3>Teach yourself</h3><p>Developers make the best impression when they accept that it isn’t up to their more experienced colleagues to teach them, but that it’s up to them to learn. They know, for example, that projects may demand they locate and assess the quality of information along with learning it on their own.</p><h3>Adapt</h3><p>Clients change their minds, sometimes after weeks of work. It’s frustrating, but that’s life. Every change of tack may cost money, and the client will be well aware of that fact. Effective developers know that it’s best to ask why a change was necessary so that they can avoid it happening again by advising future clients.</p><h3>Focus on the big picture</h3><p>The best developers maintain an overall vision of the entire project to analyze needs, advise the client, and don’t get emotionally attached to the part of the project they’ve been specifically tasked to complete. They look beyond the task at hand. They may have been working on a task for days, but are able to set it aside to take on another, more important and urgent priority. With an eye to new tasks coming down the pipe, they are constantly reassessing priorities.</p><h3>Get curious</h3><p>Curiosity is the last, but by no means the least important personal attribute of great developers, as technology is evolving at an ever-increasing pace, thanks to open source libraries. Developers have to accept change, and even seek it out. Otherwise, their talents quickly become obsolete. This rule holds true at every hard-earned rung of the job ladder. And you can be sure that employers are always looking for developers who are continually updating and improving upon their skills sets.</p></div>
Culture
5 min read
Visit our Gatineau office in 3D!
<div><div><h2>Something old, something new</h2><p>A major step in <a href="https://www.spiria.com">Spiria</a>’s growth over the last few years has been the acquisition and outfitting of our Gatineau office. Since it was going to be home to a superstar team of developers, designers, and experts in user experience, we knew it had to be really special.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-04.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-04.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-04.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-04.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>As the building is in fact the historic St James church, the structure is artistically and architecturally impressive. What’s more, the church is rooted in the community’s history and traditions. To turn it into Spiria’s Gatineau home, we used clean, modern lines and cool industrial touches, harnessing the church’s naturally sun-lit spaces to enhance the office’s open-concept design.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-08.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-08.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-08.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-08.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-09.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-09.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-09.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-09.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-07.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-07.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-07.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-07.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><h2>Matterport 3D imaging</h2><p>But don’t take our word for it. Thanks to Matterport, you can see for yourself, wherever you are. Matterport’s 3D imaging and photography captured our space, which you can tour as if in Google “streetview”, or view as a “dollhouse” 3D floorplan. The mix of stained-glass windows and stonework with our open-plan workspaces, glass partitions and custom furnishings reflects Spiria’s own blend of tradition and innovation: a fusion of experience, industry knowledge, and face-to-face interaction, supported by leading-edge technology and development.</p><h2>Living Room</h2><p>An office is more than just a physical space. A company’s workspace should be a living, breathing part of its culture, creating a favorable environment to support its values, goals, and philosophy. At Spiria, we work as a team, and we take inspiration from the people around us. Moreover, our company culture recognizes that the nature of work is changing: gone are the days of cubicles, water cooler breaks, and the 9-to-5 workday. Our office needed to reflect that shift, and to create an environment amenable to all kinds of working styles and needs. With modern workstations and a variety of meeting spaces, the Gatineau office lets people choose the space that’s right for them.</p><h2>Culture and community</h2><p>Finally, we recognized that offices aren’t just for work anymore, and that not all work requires sitting at a desk. Our rec room is the perfect space to let ideas percolate or to get creative juices flowing with a little activity – whether jamming on our piano, crushing the competition at a round of foosball, tucking into a great lunch in our kitchen, or hosting a social event. Community is a big part of <a href="https://www.spiria.com/en/career/">our culture</a>, and we wanted to honour that part of our organization – the part that strives to meet the needs of its employees and take into account those of its clients.</p><p>Which means that Matterport’s super-cool imagery of our space actually misses the most important thing about it. We hope you’ll come visit us in person to see the transformation of this beautiful building into a leading-edge workspace, and to meet the people whose hard work and bright ideas light it up from the inside every day.</p><p>Visit our Gatineau office in 3D :<br><a href="https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=nheYEdSKBUo" target="_blank">https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=nheYEdSKBUo</a>.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-01.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-01.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-01.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-01.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-02.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-02.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-02.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-02.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-03.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-03.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-03.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-03.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-05.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-05.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-05.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-05.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-06.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-06.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-06.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2205/spiria-matterport-06.webp" alt="Spiria Gatineau." title="Spiria Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p></div>
Culture
5 min read
Spiria turns 15!
<div><div><p>But let us tell you more about the location, in case you haven’t heard of it. This spectacular hotel is in Montebello, a small town in Quebec on the Ottawa River, about halfway between Ottawa and Montreal. Built in Scandinavian style by Finnish master builder Victor Nymark in 1929, it’s the largest log building in the world. It was originally built as an elite private club called the <i>Seigniory Club</i>, for visiting businessmen and politicians. In 1970, the building was bought by Canadian Pacific Railways and turned into a hotel, called not <i>Overlook Hotel</i> but rather <i>Château Montebello</i>. Nowadays, the hotel is owned by Chinese interests and managed by Fairmont. It is still a jewel of the Ottawa Valley.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/chateau-montebello.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/chateau-montebello.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/chateau-montebello.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/chateau-montebello.webp" alt="Le Château Montebello. Photo Pierre Bona." title="Le Château Montebello. Photo Pierre Bona."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello.</p><p>For many Spirians, this meeting was a chance to get better acquainted, while for others, it was a first chance to meet in person, especially for the Toronto team, which is <a href="https://www.spiria.com/en/blog/press-releases/spiria-toronto">new to Spiria</a>. And while we often work together on projects digitally, there’s nothing like meeting our analog selves. Our new Toronto friends had over 100 new faces to sort out, 100 new people to get to know for future collaboration!</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-rouleau.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-rouleau.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-rouleau.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-rouleau.webp" alt="Stéphane Rouleau at Château Montebello." title="Stéphane Rouleau at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>Stéphane Rouleau, CEO.</p><p>The agenda for these two days was chock-full of all manner of events planned by the organizing committee. Of course, there was a presentation by Spiria management, and a keynote on Spiria’s achievements by our CEO Stéphane Rouleau. But the highlight of the gathering was what we called the “Great Knowledge Fair”, a sort of trade exhibition where teams from the various locations presented the projects they’ve been working on, such as a framework developed for Thinking Capital, or our contribution to the development of Autodesk’s Lustre and Flame, or a mobile application for Paymi. At the fair, many of us discovered new technologies, learnt about the company’s advanced (and sometimes surprising) know-how, and gained insight on potential synergies between offices.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-01.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-01.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-01.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-01.webp" alt="Spiria at Château Montebello." title="Spiria at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-02.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-02.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-02.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-02.webp" alt="Spiria at Château Montebello." title="Spiria at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-03.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-03.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-03.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-03.webp" alt="Spiria at Château Montebello." title="Spiria at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-04.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-04.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-04.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-04.webp" alt="Spiria at Château Montebello." title="Spiria at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-05.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-05.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-05.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-05.webp" alt="Spiria at Château Montebello." title="Spiria at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-06.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-06.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-06.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-gfs-06.webp" alt="Spiria at Château Montebello." title="Spiria at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>“Great Knowledge Fair”.</p><p>But we made sure to have fun too! Spirians had a choice of activities: an initiation to curling lesson, a dogsled ride and an indoor treasure hunt. And in their spare time, Spirians took full advantage of the hotel’s awesome amenities, like its magnificent, full-length, indoor pool straight out of the 1930s.</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-curling.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-curling.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-curling.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-curling.webp" alt="Curling at Château Montebello." title="Curling at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-traineau.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-traineau.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-traineau.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-traineau.webp" alt="Traîneau à chiens at Château Montebello." title="Traîneau à chiens at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>Finally, the gathering ended on Friday night with a gala dinner, followed by dancing with top DJs until the wee hours of the morning. Exhausted but happy, we all travelled back to our respective cities on Saturday with fond memories of an amazing, rewarding two days. Thanks and kudos to all those who worked so hard to organize the event and make the magic happen. </p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-spirians-01.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-spirians-01.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-spirians-01.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-spirians-01.webp" alt="Spiria at Château Montebello." title="Spiria at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-spirians-02.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-spirians-02.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-spirians-02.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2260/montebello-spirians-02.webp" alt="Spiria at Château Montebello." title="Spiria at Château Montebello."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>And now, we’re already starting to think of our 20<sup>th</sup> birthday, with who knows how many cities! Today, there are four (Boston, Gatineau, Montreal and Toronto); who knows how many there will be in five years from now: 5, 6, 7, 8, or more? The bets are on!</p></div>
Culture
5 min read
Many hands make light work
<div><div><p>Our clean sweep project was the bright idea of an in-house group called SpiriaEcolo, made up of Francis Poulin, Valentine Mollereau and myself, Martine Brouillard. Spiria supported us by giving us a few hours’ leave to plan the initiative and perform the clean-up with our fellow Spirians. The City of Montreal chipped in with jerseys, gloves and equipment like rakes, shovels, and garbage bags of all shapes and sizes. Organizing a clean-up is quite straightforward; just visit this <a href="https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/corvees/">website</a>.</p><h2>So, how was it?</h2><p> Obviously, we were expecting to pick up quite a bit of trash, but we were surprised by the sheer number of cigarette butts littering the sidewalks and especially the dirt patches around the trees, which were basically giant open-air ashtrays.</p><p>In some spots, the trash was layers-deep, reminding us of an archaeological dig. We were left wondering when exactly was the last time some nooks and crannies got cleaned out! Another discouraging observation was the state of some of the properties. We would have liked to clean it all, but we had to save our energy!</p><p> <picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_20170512_113840.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_20170512_113840.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_20170512_113840.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_20170512_113840.jpg" alt="Ruelle." title="Ruelle."></source></source></source></picture> <br><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_20170512_114329.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_20170512_114329.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_20170512_114329.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_20170512_114329.jpg" alt="Ruelle." title="Ruelle."></source></source></source></picture></p><p> Before and after</p><h2>The bright side</h2><p>One of the many good things that emerged from our clean-up was the many positive comments from neighbourhood residents. Several of them stopped to thank us, and to learn more about our efforts. Most of them thought we were City workers, and were pleasantly surprised to learn that this was a private, on-the-clock initiative. We were even hailed by one of our clients, who recognized our Spiria t-shirts.</p><h2>Statistics and factoids</h2><ul> <li> Three different teams covered about one kilometre in 1.25 hours.</li> <li> We filled at least 7 garbage bags, plus one brown bag of leaves and branches.</li> <li> The two most surprising items found were a bottle opener and a pregnancy test.</li> <li> The most common items (by a landslide): cigarette butts and gum.</li> <li> We found several snails in a laneway.</li></ul><p> <picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/escargot_crop.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/escargot_crop.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/escargot_crop.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/escargot_crop.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture> <br><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/test.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/test.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/test.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/test.webp" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><h2>Shaking things up</h2><p>Getting some air, walking around, cleaning up: we felt miles away from designing, analyzing and programming. And making our bodies work instead of our brains was hugely beneficial! Not to mention the picnic to crown our efforts (many thanks to <a href="http://www.dinettetriplecrown.com/" target="_blank">Dinette Triple Crown</a>!).</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_1270_0.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_1270_0.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_1270_0.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_1270_0.jpg" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture> <br><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_1272.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_1272.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_1272.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2110/blogue_medium_img_1272.jpg" alt="decorative"></source></source></source></picture></p><p>Now that we’ve cleaned up one corner of our city, we can’t unsee the trash everywhere else. If everyone would just clean the sidewalk in front of their own house, the load would be so much lighter, and everyone’s quality of life would improve.</p><p>Thank you to the Spiria team, without whom the clean-up wouldn’t have happened!</p><p> Francis Poulin, Valentine Mollereau, François Mayrand, Michel Émond, Isabelle Renaud, Christian Roy, Cédric Barrancos, Michel Dupont, Daniel Sauvé, Daniel Mesmin, Jérémi Leclerc-Côté, Nadia Hilario.</p></div>
Culture
5 min read
Gatineau’s Techtoberfest II: another hit
<div><div><p>For this second edition, virtual reality was once again the main attraction with demos galore, but this year visitors were also able to discover electric vehicles, including a Tesla Model S in our parking lot.</p><p>Video game players were especially spoiled, being able to test a brainwave-controlled Flappy Bird game with the <a href="http://www.choosemuse.com">Muse headband</a>. But AR and VR gamers also got to play with all the best wares: the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive and Microsoft’s Hololens. Richie’s Plank on HTC Vive, presented by TCI, was especially exciting: imagine walking on a narrow plank atop a skyscraper! Gatineau’s Escape Room also offered several games on the HTC Vive platform, while with the Oculus Rift and Project Cars, you could drive race cars using an actual steering wheel and physical set-up, for a completely immersive experience. Finally, those who love destroying robots gone berserk could practice their shooting skills with Robo Recall.</p><p>We also demonstrated the Matterport tool, which we used to digitize our Gatineau office in 3D, as per <a href="https://www.spiria.com/en/blog/working-environment/visit-our-gatineau-office-3d">last week’s column</a>.</p><p>The artistically inclined discovered the <a href="https://www.masterpiecevr.com">Masterpiece VR</a> sculpture application, with which they could perform 3D modelling with their hands by manipulating virtual matter. Visitors could also have themselves digitized in 3D with <a href="http://mademill.com">MadeMill</a>’s scanner, then discover their digital selves in VR on Oculus Rift. Finally, <a href="http://www.gibsonproduct.com">Gibson Product Design</a>, specializing in industrial design, displayed their considerable skills.</p><p>Many thanks to our partners <a href="http://www.williamjwalter.com/">William J. Walter</a> for their yummy, varied sausages, and <a href="http://bistrocoqlicorne.ca">CoqLicorne bistro</a> for their great pretzels.</p><p>But the best part of the evening was without a doubt meeting the community and getting to know each other. And since “third time pays for all”, go ahead and pencil in Techtoberfest III in 2018!</p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-02.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-02.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-02.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-02.webp" alt="Techtoberfest, Gatineau." title="Techtoberfest, Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-03.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-03.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-03.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-03.webp" alt="Techtoberfest, Gatineau." title="Techtoberfest, Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-04.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-04.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-04.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-04.webp" alt="Techtoberfest, Gatineau." title="Techtoberfest, Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-05.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-05.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-05.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-05.webp" alt="Techtoberfest, Gatineau." title="Techtoberfest, Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-06.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-06.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-06.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-06.webp" alt="Techtoberfest, Gatineau." title="Techtoberfest, Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-07.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-07.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-07.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-07.webp" alt="Techtoberfest, Gatineau." title="Techtoberfest, Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-08.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-08.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-08.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-08.webp" alt="Techtoberfest, Gatineau." title="Techtoberfest, Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-01.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-01.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-01.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2206/techtoberfest-2017-01.webp" alt="Techtoberfest, Gatineau." title="Techtoberfest, Gatineau."></source></source></source></picture></p></div>
Culture
5 min read
Build a well, inspire will, take down a wall
<div><div><p>Partnering with community members in the village, we helped build a well that provides clean water. Easy access to clean water not only improves health outcomes, but also improves access to education and employment for women by reducing the time spent gathering water for basic sustenance.</p><h2>A common philosophy </h2><p>This project really spoke to us for many reasons. Of course, it feels good to do good, especially since we live in such a privileged society, where water is something we can take for granted (until we have too much of it, that is!). But more than that, there’s something about the <a href="http://www.sopar-balavikasa.org/">SOPAR</a> model that reflects what we do every day at <a href="https://www.spiria.com">Spiria</a>, in our regular work.</p><h2>Built to last</h2><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2195/sopar-01.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2195/sopar-01.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2195/sopar-01.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2195/sopar-01.webp" alt="Photo SOPAR." title="Photo SOPAR."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>SOPAR doesn’t just hand resources to needy communities: as part of the model, the community has to buy in too, contributing funds and labour, and even more importantly, community involvement through a committee that drives the project. So, while the physical outcome of the project is a well that has many different positive impacts on the village, the process provides even more benefits: those involved gain experience in community development and infrastructure, and in organizing and managing people and projects.</p><h2>The power to do more</h2><p>In the process, the SOPAR model fosters entrepreneurial spirit and innovation: the well itself supports innovation by improving quality of life and meeting basic needs, without which communities can’t get ahead; then, the process of planning, organizing and building the well empowers participants to innovate in their own way going forward, fostering sustainable, continuing, self-driven success. </p><h2>Great minds think alike</h2><p><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2195/sopar-02.400x0.webp" media="(max-width: 599px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2195/sopar-02.760x0.webp" media="(max-width: 999px)"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2195/sopar-02.1039x0.webp" media="(min-width: 1000px)"><img src="https://mirror.spiria.com/site/assets/files/2195/sopar-02.webp" alt="Photo SOPAR." title="Photo SOPAR."></source></source></source></picture></p><p>SOPAR’s humanitarian goals dovetail with the way we approach our work with clients. We help them build tools that create the space they need to get more out of their work, and therefore spur innovation. We work together with them, in a collaborative process, rather than handing them what we think they need and then walking away. We strive to enable our clients to do more, and to set them on a path of sustainable innovation and success. SOPAR uses the same approach to effect real, lasting change in vulnerable communities, by working with those communities to build their own power and momentum.</p><h2>Leaving our mark</h2><p>We’ve been thinking about SOPAR a lot lately, because we’d like to keep that momentum going – maybe with a new project or humanitarian initiative. Our Montreal team recently gave back to the community by helping out with <a href="https://www.spiria.com/en/blog/working-environment/many-hands-make-light-work">community clean-up</a>. The devastating floods in the Gatineau region prompted both spontaneous and organized acts of kindness and generosity. Every day, we see proof that people who work together can have a big impact on quality of life.</p><p>Our experience with SOPAR was incredibly inspiring: we love that project because it built something lasting – not just a well, but a future of freedom to create, improve and innovate. It also made a lasting impression on us by showing us that we really can make changes in the global landscape, and in the lives of others, when we approach it as a team. There’s so much work to be done, but it <i>can</i> be done, and we can help do it.</p></div>