High-tech chocolate

Chocolate. How does a simple, bitter bean transform into something so desired? Learn how chocolate is made, the new way, by a new kind of chocolate company. TCHO Chocolate has disrupted the old-school chocolate industry with a mix of sophisticated technology, social consciousness, and entrepreneurial spirit. It combines innovative methods and a sense of social mission with a commitment to creating obsessively good dark chocolate.

Our neighbors at FXPAL have been working with TCHO to apply emerging technologies in clarifying end-to-end chocolate production processes. The two companies are experimenting with new technologies for fine-grained monitoring, mobile process control, and real/virtual collaborations based on real users and real-world problems in manufacturing industries.

Timothy Childs will show and tell how TCHO does chocolate–from scouring the world for the perfect flavor beans, to controlling the lab and factory from his iPhone.

Yes, there will be a chocolate tasting for all. And (just in time for Mothers Day), TCHO chocolate will be available to buy.

Presenter(s)

Timothy Childs is a successful chocolate entrepreneur, with previous experience co-founding and launching Cabaret Chocolates, an early pioneer of single-origin chocolate with distribution through Whole Foods and other national outlets. Prior to his initiation in the chocolate industry, he worked on machine vision with NASA’s Space Shuttle program, and launched several early-stage companies in the internet and computer graphics industries. Timothy has a deep background in community building, and was a cofounder (with Linda Jacobson) of the popular homebrew virtual reality users group and educational non-profit, VeRGe. Timothy’s other obsessions are paragliding and multi-camera video timelapse projects.