TECHNOLOGY trendsetters took part in a second day of the Welsh Government’s third annual digital conference at the Celtic Manor earlier today.

The Argus-sponsored Digital 2015 conference kicked off with a welcome by AM Julie James who set out the Welsh Government’s digital targets.

She said its Superfast Cymru programme aims to cover 96 per cent of the country by the end of 2016 and that it plans to prevent people feeling digitally excluded.

Ms James added a key target is to boost the number of women working in the digital sectors.

She said: “Women represent half of the workforce but when you go into many digital companies, you’d be pushed to see that.”

Today's keynote speaker was Anthony Vanky of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who spoke about how cities could become intelligent.

One of MIT's projects in 2006 was to create a real time map of Rome where they monitored mobile phone activity during the World Cup. This showed how mobile phone usage peaked at times where Italy scored or just after the match.

Mr Vanky said the living map could be used to create a smart city that knows where people are, prompting him to ask, "if the bus knows where I am, why am I running for the bus? Shouldn't the bus run after me?"

One of MIT’s ideas is to use the data to encourage taxi sharing to not only save people money but to cut down on traffic.

In New York, traffic could be cut down 40 per cent if people were willing to travel for an extra two minutes and 90 per cent if they would travel for an extra five minutes.

In a session on sport, Carys Jones and Natalie Williams from Welsh Cycling explained how they use digital technologies to achieve top results.

Cyclists record their nutrition, training, sleep, wellbeing and gym sessions and using a number of user-friendly, confidential software programmes, the data can then be used to influence performance.

In a question and answer session, Rhys Long, of Welsh Rugby Union, said Wales is the epicentre for analysis in sport.

He said the WRU started analysing 16-year-old rugby players at the same level as the national team.

“Over a period of seven to eight years they’ve grown up being analysed and using the information effectively,” he said.

Other talks focused on cyber security and digitalisation challenges within traditional industries such as aeroplane manufacture but Simon Bradley, of Airbus, warned that no matter how many simulations you make, the real thing might be very different.