We know how to get people to work together. How do you get robots, drones, autonomous vehicles, and smart systems to collaborate? Welcome to TechFirst with John Koetsier. No jobs are simple ... getting a pizza requires multiple steps, processes, and hands, not to mention a car. Everything in factories takes steps and processes too. If we're going to get to an autonomous reality ... smart machines need to work together. In this episode of TechFirst with John Koetsier, we talk to Kumardev Chatterjee, CEO of Unmanned Life. His company is working with Walmart, Vienna, Deutsche Telekom, and other companies to help drones and robots work together. One example? Drones that take off from fire trucks and fly ahead to help in search and rescue operations, which Unmanned Life is doing now with the city of Vienna.

Will your next home be a bioceramic dome? They last 500 years, are bugproof, don't rot, mold, or rust ... and they're carbon-neutral. They're also much cheaper, according to Geoship.   I interview the CEO, Morgan Bierschenk, on live social video.  We talk about construction, materials, permitting, whether they're built on-site or off-site, and what kind of maintenance they need. We also talk about new models of living: how they can be joined, and how you can form communities with bioceramic domes.   And, of course, we chat about the cost.   The full transcript will be available at johnkoetsier.com, and you'll be able to subscribe to the podcast at anchor.fm/techfirst.

Fake news: the truth about lies .... what is fake news? How can you spot it? And what can we do about it?   In this edition of TechFirst with John Koetsier, we chat with Mitch Chaiet, who is the Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin.   We'll discuss computational propaganda, reality bubbles, and Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation, as well as how to spot fake news and how to fight fake news. (Including how to bring it up with Uncle Bob, who won't like it if you tell him his news is fake.)   We'll also talk about who creates fake news, and why. (Hint: there's a lot of money in fake news.)

Are WiFi, Bluetooth, massage, adjustable positions, and built-in speakers essential for a good night’s sleep? For the past few weeks, I've been sleeping in a adjustable position bed with more tech than my whole bedroom used to have. In this episode of TechFirst, we talk to Intellibed CEO Colin House about the $70 billion sleep industry, what technology matters (and what doesn't) and what works best for sleeping. Hint: According to House, it's different for men and women.

Today we're stuck at home. Wouldn't it be great to virtually wander the world in virtual reality? (At least until we can go out for real again!) In this episode of TechFirst we chat with Simon Che de Boer from New Zealand’s Reality Virtual, who took 4,000 photos in Queen Nefertiti's tomb and digitally reconstructed King Tut's mask.  They're working on technology to virtually re-create real physical locations, make them available to all, create ways for people and organizations to contribute to sort of a Wikipedia of virtual places, and tele-present us in more real ways than ever before. How? A ton of machine learning, generative adversarial networks, and a lot of computer. Graphics processing tech from Invidia helps, as did a big grant from Epic Games.

Just one health-care startup had 139,000 new doctors join and 1.35 million patients use telemedicine last week. Is this temporary or the evolution of a trend with staying power?   In this edition of TechFirst with John Koetsier, I chat with the CEO of Vonage, Alan Masarek.   Some of the increases he's seen:   - Total video traffic up 6.5x in last six months   - Total video traffic up just over 2x in the last 3 weeks of March   - Healthcare is specifically up more than 20x

Jeff Pulver created VOIP and founded the $3B Vonage. Now he's reinventing video, voice, and text communications online to fix security issues with Zoom and other platforms.   Is secure, private communication a complete pipe dream?   Jeff Pulver literally created VOIP. He also got the US government to issue the Pulver Order, which ensured that voice over IP was not restricted. Now he's working on a blockchain-based communications platform that could reinvent video, voice, and text communications online ... and make it much more secure.   We dive into the details ... along with what's happening with Coronavirus and COVID-19.

Mobile app spend in Q1 2020 was the highest in history. And mobile app use was up 20%. In this episode of TechFirst with John Koetsier, I talk about a story I just published at Forbes based on a new App Annie report. Lots of apps, especially social, education, business, and fitness, are up and to the right. But will this last?

Coronavirus is leaving our elders alone, lonely, and frightened. In this episode of TechFirst, we dive into the tech you need to stay connected.   I talk to photographer and technologist George Krieger about the tech he's set up for his dad, who built the Iomega Zip drive. It includes a remotely controllable PC, a camera, a TV that shows who he's talking to on a large screen, a wearable device called Tempo from Care Predict, an Echo Show from Amazon, and smart plugs to control lighting.   The result: much more peace of mind. Less stress for seniors, and much more connection and safe socialization, even when you're shut out of the care home thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instacart is getting record downloads. Uber and Lyft are seeing record lows. How is Coronavirus impacting the app economy? Will Coronavirus be the death -- or the savior -- of our digital economy? Welcome to TechFirst with John Koetsier.   COVID-19 is changing everything. When it comes to mobile apps, some industries are way up, and some are way down. With us today to discuss which is which is Adam Blacker from Apptopia.   Airlines are in tough. So are hotels, but the drops are not completely consistent. And Uber and Lyft are experiencing record lows for app installs and usage.  Delivery apps like Instacart, however, are way up, breaking download records every day for about four days straight. But ready-to-eat food delivery apps are down, Blacker says.