LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Keynote Addresses Announced

Stanford University Professor Sebastian Thrun addresses the role of Linux in artificial intelligence and machine learning during the opening keynote address

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IDG World Expo has announced that Sebastian Thrun, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University, will kick-off the LinuxWorld® conference program with an opening keynote address focused on the role of Linux in robotic technology. Thrun will discuss the integral part that the Linux operating system is playing in the emerging area of automotive robotics, a technology that has the potential to overcome the inefficiencies and environmental challenges posed by automobiles. LinuxWorld Conference & Expo® is scheduled to take place August 4-7, 2008 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

“A set of networked computers, all running Linux, endowed those robots with the necessary artificial intelligence and I look forward to sharing the details of the project with LinuxWorld attendees.”

Thrun’s keynote, entitled “Making Cars Drive Themselves,” will be delivered on Monday, August 4, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. Thrun will present Stanford's research on the basic artificial intelligence behind robotic technology, in particular, he will report from two recent autonomous robotic car competitions organized by The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and dubbed "Grand Challenge" and "Urban Challenge." Machine perception, computer vision, machine learning, and probabilistic computation all play major roles in the design of these systems, as did the Linux operating system. Thrun will also shed light on the inner workings of these robots and discuss the impact of self-driving cars on society once the technology has matured.

"Linux was at the core of both of the Stanford Racing Team's prize-winning robotic cars, named Junior and Stanley, in the DARPA Grand Challenges. The cars exhibited unprecedented skill and reliability in races organized by the US Government to advance robotic technology,” said Sebastian Thrun. “A set of networked computers, all running Linux, endowed those robots with the necessary artificial intelligence and I look forward to sharing the details of the project with LinuxWorld attendees."

Additional keynote addresses scheduled for LinuxWorld include: Jim Zemlin, Executive Director, The Linux Foundation; Mark Sunday, Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Oracle Corporation; Bob Sutor, Vice President, Open Source Standards, IBM; and Simon Crosby, CTO at Citrix Systems Inc.

"The Linux Foundation is pleased to be speaking and exhibiting at LinuxWorld this year," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of The Linux Foundation. "LinuxWorld gathers industry leaders together to present the latest advancements in enterprise Linux. We look forward to seeing the extended Linux ecosystem in San Francisco this year."

"IBM is rapidly approaching the beginning of our second decade of working with the free and open source communities and their technologies," said Bob Sutor, Vice President, Open Source Standards, IBM. "We're pleased that we will be at LinuxWorld and Next Generation Data Center to be able to share our experiences and lessons learned, then discuss what we see in our crystal ball for the next few years."

For a complete schedule of the 2008 LinuxWorld keynote addresses, please visit www.linuxworldexpo.com.

LinuxWorld is the premier event for the Linux and open source community, bringing together industry leaders shaping the future of new enterprise technology in the largest single gathering of business and technical leaders deploying Linux and open source solutions. To register for the event, please visit www.linuxworldexpo.com.

About LinuxWorld Conference & Expo

LinuxWorld Conference & Expo is the premier event exclusively focused on Linux and open source solutions. As the world’s most comprehensive marketplace for open source products and services, LinuxWorld provides business decision-makers with information and resources to implement Linux and open source solutions into business infrastructure and enterprise networks. For more information or to register for the event, visit the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Web site at www.linuxworldexpo.com, or call [phone]. For exhibiting opportunities, please contact Amy Bonner at [phone] or [e-mail] or Giovanni Stein at [phone] or [e-mail]. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Ellen Boland at [phone] or Michelle Mohr at [phone], or [e-mail].

About IDG World Expo

IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) is a leading producer of tradeshows and events for professionals and consumers seeking world-class education, peer-to-peer networking and one-stop comparison shopping. IDG World Expo's portfolio of conferences and events includes Entertainment For All™ (E For All™), E3 Media & Business Summit, GreenXchange Xpo™, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo®, Macworld Conference & Expo®, Next Generation Data Center™ (NGDC™) and REVEAL Los Angeles…The Fashion & Design Event™. IDG World Expo is a business unit of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and event company.