Robots in Open Space - test

[Gerard Muller]

Last week I facilitated the “Maiden” Open Space in the Great Barn at Bramstrup,
where OSonOS 2003 will be held, with 230 participants. You can see the invitation
(in English or Danish) at www.innovationday.com, and anyone who understands Danish
or wants to attempt to do so will also find the reports and some press cuttings
there.
The topic was “A shorter road from idea to reality: how do I create innovative
partnerships for my company ?”
(in agriculture and the food processing industry)

There were interetsing topics, ranging from discussing selling directly to end
users (skipping wholesalers, supermarkets and the lot),
“shall we use paper and pen or wireless internet ?, autonomous syetsms and sensor
technology,
“chaos or structure - how do we ensure an environment where ideas and people can
grow ?, to
  a winetasting session organised  by a lady who had a winetasting stand on the
premesis but who quickly grasped the opportunity
(and so did quite a lot of the participants).

It was great to be able to test the place before we have OSonOS there - and here
are the results:

- there is plenty of space: if not for the fact that apart from the humans there
were also the latest
  robots, machines, telecommunications equipment and lots of things I have no idea
what they
  were I might even have felt a bit overwhelmed by all the space
- there are clearly some favourite spaces for group discussions. Some of you I know
have already
  decided for the old thatched teahouse, but this time around it turned out the
tower was a good place
  for visionary discussions.
- those of us in the risk zone better watch their diet bebore and/or after OSonOS.
Niels, our host,
  seems to have a superior network in the how-to-get-hold-of-really-good-food
arena. Same goes
  for the wine. Don’t see I did not warn you
- the camping area seems big enough to house all of us five times over
- lunch for 150 was served in the old stables, a cozy place
- the acoustics turn out to be those of a cathedral: good for singing and
symphonies (in fact the first
  soprano and orchestre will perform there ten days from now in another one of
Niels’ projects);
  we need to finetune the PA-system to make the most of it, or work with a double
circle rather than
  with one large one
- telecommunications and IT-equipment was probably the best I have ever had, due to
a partnership
  with one of the phone companies which means there currently is a 4.0 Megaaud
wireleless system
  functioning whereever you are on the premises.
- if the weather is good, the five double doors (some 5 meters high and 8 wide - 16
by 27 feet) can be
  opened and you feel part of the landscape, if its bad you need quite powerful
illumination. But that
  will not be necessary if we do an effective Sundance when we start.

So far the progress report from Svenmark,




Gerard Muller
Open Space Institute Denmark

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