Techies race (and crash) self-driving DIY Robocars in Oakland

Every month, a group of technology enthusiasts meet in an Oakland warehouse to build tiny self-driving cars. “DIY Robocars” was organized by Chris Anderson, who also runs drone company 3DR. While these cheap, disposable cars aren’t as sophisticated as the ones being developed by Tesla or Google, Anderson says that the advantage of using these “Robocars” is that there is lots of room to fail.

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The future of tech in Oakland, as seen in 11 new spaces

View from Fruitvale. Photo by Craig Hickerson

Oakland’s technology scene is in flux. Like other cities, its government, its residents, and its businesses are trying to evolve with new technologies. Schools are trying to incorporate them into their curriculums, the owners of parking lots are figuring out how best to accommodate the fast growing numbers of electric cars. Longtime residents and businesses…

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Kapor Capital hosts hackathon to promote diversity

Kapor Capital hosted a hackathon competition this weekend to “hack bias” out of the workplace. Dozens of coders, designers, recruiters and advocates—the vast majority of whom were women and minorities—competed in teams to build tech products that prevent bias and increase diversity and inclusion at work.

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Google to open learning center in Oakland

The Google offices in located Mountain View, California. (Photo via Creative Commons.)

Internet company Google is opening a new technology education center in Oakland for minority students amid criticism that Silicon Valley is not diverse enough. Claire Shorall, the manager of computer science for the Oakland Unified School District, said that the company had been working with local groups for over a year to pilot the project,…

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Mars Experience Bus brings virtual reality to Oakland youth

The Lockheed Martin Mars Experience bus sits stationed at the Chabot Space and Science Center, providing a virtual experience of traveling through the red planet on Friday, September 9, 2016.

On September 9, the Mars Experience Bus made its first California stop on its long national tour at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland to share with children a virtual reality experience of the red planet. The Mars bus stayed on the premises for the weekend, and the Lockheed Martin Center invited the…

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How Oakland’s startup scene is trying to do tech right

Oakland's home-grown startup scene emphasizes community.

For years, Oakland has been the subject of startup-centric speculation: Is it about to blow up into the Bay Area’s next tech hub? Will San Francisco’s astronomical rents drive companies out of SoMa and across the bridge? There’s plenty of reason to bet “yes” on both. While the tech sector accounts for only about three…

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Turnitin: An ed tech original

Staff members in Turnitin's downtown Oakland office. (Photo courtesy Turnitin)

Education software company Turnitin is arguably one of Oakland’s biggest technology companies that few people know about. Turnitin, which makes anti-plagiarism software, was founded in 1998 by John Barrie and Christian Storm. Both were doctoral candidates in neuroscience at UC Berkeley when they came up with the idea after seeing a high level of plagiarism…

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