In just over one week’s time the center of the real-time communications world will be Chicago, with TADHack-mini Chicago running over the weekend from the 3rd – 4th October, and the Illinois Institute of Technology Real Time Communications Conference from the 5th – 8th October. I’ve reviewed IIT RTC in 2014 and 2013, the event is unique because it brings a diverse range of telecom, IT and web people together in an atmosphere of critical thinking across both academia, regulation and industry. It forces people to step up their game and not accept the usual industry crap-trap.

TADHack-mini Chicago will run over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th October at the Idea Shop in Chicago. The Hackathon will focus on IoT (Internet of Things), next generation emergency services (NG911), Telecom APIs and WebRTC, identity / federation, and speech / video processing. Matrix, a founding sponsor of TADHack, has teamed up with Trossen Robotics to offer the HROS1 Humanoid Endoskeleton for the best hack using the Matrix platform. We’ll even have a loaner robot to hack on during the event.

Its a chance to meet with an amazing group of technologists and industry leaders from around the world in a relaxed technology-focused meetup / hackathon that runs over the weekend. And compete for the $8k prize money available, each sponsor has $1k prize (or HROS1 equivalent) they will decide how to allocate. The sponsors include:

• Clarify – an API to search and understand audio and video
• Dialogic – PowerMedia XMS is a software media server and video MCU for real time communications for SIP and/or WebRTC
• Flowroute – a carrier that provides intelligent communications for modern business
• Matrix – open standard for decentralized communication
• Telestax – the guys behind the open source project Mobicents and creators of an open market for telephony apps
• Truphone – the world’s coolest MVNO, used by the rich, famous, Russian oligarchs, and lots of geeks
• Tropo – automate communications, connecting your code to the phone network with both voice and messaging.
• IIT RTC Labs – will provide access to their NG9-1-1 test bed

Its a unique mix of sponsors, the potential for interesting mash-ups across them is high. The winners and runners-up can also give a keynote pitch to the main IIT RTC Conference during the week, a mix of industry leaders, academics, service providers and vendors.

On the Monday are two important tutorials:

• WebRTC Tutorial – 9:00 AM – 12 Noon. Given by Alan Johnston, Distinguished Engineer; Avaya and Adjunct Professor; IIT and Dan Burnett, Principal; Burnett Consulting Services.
• Federated Identity Tutorial 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. Given by Daniel Wagner-Hall, Software Engineer; Matrix.org.

Then the main conference has 5 streams:

• IPTComm (Principles, Systems and Applications of IP Telecommunications);
• Mobile Networks, Platforms and Applications;
• WebRTC and Cloud Communications;
• Next Generation Emergency Communications Services; and
• Internet of Things.

Some of the juicy items in the conference agenda includes:

• Winners from TADHack will give their pitches at a keynote session from 11-noon on Tuesday;
• Contextual communications panel discussion including Tim Panton, Dean Bubley, Ivelin Ivannov, and I’m sure some of the other leaders in this emerging space;
• Truphone will be showcasing their Open Source Communications Framework (OSCF) first announced at TADHack Global in June;
• The future of open source telecom software panel discussion including Brian West from Freeswitch, Ivelin Ivannov of Telestax, Emil Ivov of Jitsi, and many more leaders in open source telecom software;
• The Channel of Last Resort: why the telephone is obsolete and what will replace it – Ben Klang, Mojo Lingo;
• Convenience Stores vs Gas Stations – Why Carriers Must Embrace Services to Survive – Scott Barstow, Telestax;
• Thumbs Beats Lips:  Real Time Communications between People and Everything Else – Thomas McCarthy-Howe, Founder and Designer of KISST;
• WebRTC market review from Dean Bubley, and looking at the future of WebRTC with Chad Hart;
• An amazing line-up of IoT sessions including: The Impact of IoT connectivity on the Consumer Durables Business Model – Mark Karasek – The Chamberlain Group; Internet of Things (IoT) Architecture: A Technology Overview – Kevin McQuown; Windy City Lab, Brenna Berman – CIO, City of Chicago, Smart Cities; and lots more;
• The final keynote is a can not miss session from Henning Schulzrinne of Columbia University on 5G: What can we learn from the previous four generations; and
• Apologies to the many other sessions I simply did not have room to include.

See you in Chicago, the center of the real-time communications world, its going to be an amazing 6 days. And only 6 weeks after this event will be TADSummit, 17-18 November, where the whole telecom app development ecosystem comes together as the market starts to take-off.