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Industrial design: Prepare for product as a service

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3dexperience-platform

Bob Hillier, managing director of product lifecycle management solutions provider Design Rule discusses the concept of PaaS and the software tools that can help OEMs make the move to this new sales model

Global power systems company Rolls-Royce recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its “Power-by-the-Hour” approach to engine maintenance management.

Since its introduction, we’ve seen companies from the automotive, aerospace and industrial sectors following suit, making product as a service (PaaS) plans available to their customers.

Offering PaaS involves a complete transformation of the original equipment manufacturer business model. It returns ownership and responsibility to the OEM, which drives the need for more reliable and higher quality products being delivered.  [Read more…] about Industrial design: Prepare for product as a service

Command and control rooms: Navigating the internet of things

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spock kirk bridge
“Sensor readings, Mr Spock” … “Captain, you must make me believe in luck”

lockWho doesn’t want a control room of their own? If you grew up watching the original Star Trek series, you still might warm to the idea of something similar to the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, which wouldn’t be bad at all. 

But, sadly, things have moved on.

Star Trek may have been decades ahead of its time – demonstrating such technologies as tablet computers, flip-top mobile communicators, and of course a truly space-age command and control room – but reality has now almost caught up with the visions of the sci-fi show’s creators.

Today’s command and control rooms may still have some of the basic elements of what we saw on the Enterprise bridge, but they’re a lot more complex and sophisticated, although that’s not for an absolute certainty since we don’t have warp speed to deal with yet.  [Read more…] about Command and control rooms: Navigating the internet of things

Industrial internet: Advantech joins LoRa Alliance

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Advantech, which claims to be one of the world’s leading suppliers of industrial computers and “intelligent systems”, has joined the LoRa Alliance. 

The LoRa Alliance is open, non-profit association which provides a forum for its 400 members to develop standards for internet of things technologies.

Advantech says it will provide the LoRa gateway and sensor node devices based on the M2.com open standard for Industry 4.0 and Smart City applications.  [Read more…] about Industrial internet: Advantech joins LoRa Alliance

Virtual factory: Visual Components launches new version of its industrial design application

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visual components robots

Visual Components has launched the latest version of its design application which the company says offers a number of new features and capabilities. 

Visual Components 4.0 is the company’s new range of 3D factory simulation products, designed for manufacturing professionals and built on a “powerful, flexible, and scalable platform”.

The company says the new version offers:

  • smarter simulation;
  • improved user interface refresh;
  • better performance;
  • advanced rendering; and
  • open architecture.

Visual Components was founded by a group of simulation experts with long experience in industry.  [Read more…] about Virtual factory: Visual Components launches new version of its industrial design application

Artificial intelligence is better than humans, says IBM

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Rashik Parmar, lead IBM cloud advisor, Europe
Rashik Parmar, lead IBM cloud advisor, Europe

IBM prefers artificial intelligence to humans, according to an interview published on em360tech.com, in which one of the company’s most senior executives says humans can’t see what’s right in front their faces while AI sees everything, as well as things that aren’t even there. 

Rashik Parmar, IBM’s lead cloud advisor for Europe and one of the Watson team, says algorithms are smarter than humans will ever be, and that AI can spot patterns in large-scale enterprise architecture that human beings cannot.

AI can “make connections that you wouldn’t be able to make yourself”, claims computer fanatic Parmar.

Full story at em360tech.com

Qualcomm unveils first communications chip for connected cars

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qualcomm at ces

Chip giant Qualcomm has revealed its first communications chip for connected cars, a market in which it is soon to be dominant after its acquisition of NXP Semiconductor goes through. 

Presenting the new chip at CES, Patrick Little, Qualcomm’s senior vice president of automotive, said the chip can handle cellular signals at speeds measured in gigabits per second, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

“No longer will you be cranking windows and pushing buttons,” WSJ quoted Little as saying. “You’ll walk into your car and it will feel like a very seamless transition with your handset.”

Full report on Wall Street Journal

Massive cyber attack affecting 500 industrial companies in 50 countries, says Kaspersky

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A globally co-ordinated cyber attack has hit 500 industrial companies in 50 countries in the past few months, according to security company Kaspersky. 

The worst affected were companies in the smelting, electric power generation and transmission, construction, and engineering industries.

The attacks take the form of emails purportedly from famous companies – such as DHL and Saudi Aramco – and most were sent from “legitimate email addresses belonging to valid organizations”, says Kaspersky.  [Read more…] about Massive cyber attack affecting 500 industrial companies in 50 countries, says Kaspersky

Artificial intelligence systems replacing finance sector professionals

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ibm brain chip
IBM has developed what it says is a ‘brain-inspired’ chip

More and more people are realising that it’s not just factory jobs the robots are after – it’s your intellectual jobs too. 

In the latest developments, an insurance company in Japan has replaced 34 of its insurance claim workers with artificial intelligence systems.

And the world’s largest hedge fund says it will replace all its managers with AI systems – after it drains the brains of its human employees and distills their knowledge into an algorithm.

Full story at em360tech.com

Tata Elxsi showcases advanced Automotive technology solutions at CES 2017

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tata elxsi auto tech

Tata Elxsi will be unveiling its latest automotive technology solutions driven by emerging industry requirements for cyber-security, safety, comfort and user experience at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The company will be at CES 2017, booth number 6223, at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.

Tata Elxsi, a global design and technology services company and a leader for automotive electronics and software engineering services, is showcasing key solutions addressing Autonomous Vehicle, Connected Infotainment, Automation, IoT and Artificial Intelligence at CES 2017.  [Read more…] about Tata Elxsi showcases advanced Automotive technology solutions at CES 2017

Predictions for the future of manufacturing

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industrial trends

Martyn Williams, managing director of industrial software expert Copa-Data UK, examines three of the most prominent automation trends of 2017 and discusses how these trends are changing manufacturing operations

As manufacturing facilities incorporate greater levels of automation, the demand for new technologies continues to grow.

Recent years have seen several trends create a shift in the way the industry operates.  [Read more…] about Predictions for the future of manufacturing