Now in its 13th year, the KIKK Festival, the international meeting place for the creative and digital industries, places the Walloon capital at the center of the global innovation map for four days. The general public (25,000 people expected this weekend) and professionals (2,800 entrepreneurs of 60 different nationalities) come here to be inspired and discover the latest technological innovations. We've unearthed the gems made in Wallonia for you.
The center of Namur is abuzz with activity. The KIKK Festival runs until October 27. For 4 days, the international festival of creative and digital industries puts the spotlight on innovation.
At the KIKK Market, unique and innovative projects from Belgian and international entrepreneurs are presented to the public. The entrepreneurs come from all over the world. From Kenya to China, Spain to France. And let's not forget the Belgian companies playing at home. The KIKK Market is an opportunity to test and handle innovative objects.
As we wandered through the aisles, we came across some of the Walloon innovations on show at this year's KIKK Festival.
Druw Audio
This is the Verviers-based company behind Beatsurfing, an electronic music creation program that brings human performance back to the center of the music production process. “Our project was born out of an observation I made as an electronic music composer. There were no tools for playing live electronic music. That's how we came to develop this tool,” explains Pascal Demez, CEO of Druw Audio. A tool that was financed in part by French and American artists.
Since the creation of this tool, Druw Audio has expanded in the United States, with an office in Los Angeles, and has also recently set up in Japan.
After developing their tool on iPad, Druw Audio is also working on a plug-in that can be inserted into the music creation programs used on computers. “We spend a lot more time on this tool, which is used by 99% of people and is easier to monetize than the iOS product,” explains Pascal Demez, who takes part in almost every edition of the KIKK Festival. “The KIKK allows us to meet new people. Today, we're working on projects with friends we met for the first time at the KIKK Festival,” he adds.
Cortex Machina
In another aisle of the KIKK Market, we bump into Romain Pecher, chief science officer for Cortex Machina. He's at the KIKK Festival with a funny helmet that can read your head. This helmet is capable of analyzing concentration, mental load, fatigue, emotions and much more. Initially, Cortex Machina developed a technology in the medical field to diagnose epilepsy. “To carry out an electroencephalogram, this is basically done in a hospital environment, as it has to take into account a series of parameters. Our aim is to make electroencephalograms possible at home”, says Romain Pecher, one of the co-founders of Cortex Machina.
His wish is to use his technology outside the medical field. “If more people in different fields work on EGG data and BCI (Bring Computer Interface) technology, we could create an ecosystem and move forward much faster,” he says.
For example, Cortex Machina has developed a prototype game in which the user must move a character forward by concentrating, as detected by the brain activity recorded by the headset. In a way, it's a matter of moving the character by thought.
For Romain Pecher, his innovation can be used in a variety of fields. “In the defense field, to see if people are operational. But it's also interesting for marketing. Up to now, when people are a test panel for a new product, they then have to answer a questionnaire. It has been shown that many parameters influence questionnaire responses. Using the headset, it would be possible to analyze a person's emotions as they discover the new product,” says Romain Pecher between two demonstrations to the audience. He also sees the usefulness of this technology for VR headsets in the gaming world.
Poolpio
Based in Brussels and Charleroi, Poolpio is working on a new real-time 3D technology. The company is also developing virtual reality technologies for applications, films and immersive experiences.
“We've been involved in film projects, as well as short films using virtual reality. We've also developed a virtual reality experience that lets you put yourself in the shoes of a choreographer and make the characters move,” explain Mathieu Demany, technical artist, and Geoffrey Minez, lead developer. Poolpio also had the opportunity to present one of its creations on the famous Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower in Dubai.
For Poolpio, there are several reasons for taking part in the KIKK Festival. “It's about showcasing our innovations and creating partnerships for projects in Belgium and abroad. It's also an opportunity for networking”, say our two contacts.
Lala
TRAAK, a creative hub offering a space dedicated to Namur's cultural, creative and digital industries, also has a space at KIKK Market to showcase projects that TRAAK supports. Here we met Kenzo Latour and Matthias Lapotre, two young students aged 20 and 21. They propose an application called Lala that breaks the codes of social networks.
“Today, everyone is on their phones all the time, watching what's happening on social networks. We wanted to create an app that brings people out into the real world,” say Kenzo and Matthias. “Our aim is to build a community of users and create partnerships with local businesses and venues to offer discounts and benefits to our community,” they add.
On the Lala app, which is currently under development, you become popular by the number of actions you take. “You don't have to be good-looking to get ahead,” smiles Kenzo.
For the two students, the KIKK Festival is an opportunity to showcase their project to the general public and use the feedback to develop their application.