16 Nov 2017  -  Most engineers didn’t go to school aiming to become economists, but that’s often what it feels like once you take on a managerial role. High-performance equipment is expensive, and downtime is costlier than ever.  Lubrication is a fact of life, as is maintenance, whether it’s an airliner on the ramp or a conveyor on an assembly line, and the overall cost of preventative maintenance is always in play. High temperature applications make the problem even worse. At 400° F and higher, conventional hydrocarbon lubricant formulations aren’t enough.

For the difficult environments found in aerospace and aviation applications, for example, high-performance perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricants can perform under extreme temperatures, pressures and exposure to harsh chemicals. Often, advanced PFPE lubes are the only solution, but what about cases where hydrocarbon formulations can survive? In this case, there are still strong cost and performance advantages to going with higher performance products.

Consider the true cost of lubrication in manufacturing. Maintaining Lubrication in Extreme EnvironmentsMachines can fail for any number of reasons, but improper lubrication is often a leading culprit. This is commonly due to environmental factors such as temperature, pressure or exposure to harsh chemicals, or due to a lack of scheduled maintenance and relubrication.  Extreme environments pose a significant challenge for keeping machines properly lubricated. Steam turbine controls, for example, will see wear on cam shafts, valve lift bar anti-friction bushings and gears if they’re using conventional lubricants, leading to

| Continue toread the full article here  ||  November 16,  2017   |||

15 Nov 2017  -  A study done by the University of Southern California and New Zealand’s Victoria University shows that additional trade schools could be a better way to close the income gap than universities. The research found that more investment is needed to go to vocational training because "there are too many four-year colleges serving too many students, and too few institutions with greater focus on vocational education and training," according to Joshua Aizenman, economics chair at University of Southern California.

Data shows that the amount of available vocational training relative to the size of a country's manufacturing sector may reduce income inequality and improve the fortunes of workers earning below the top 10 percent of household incomes, according to the report.

"Pushing more students to B.A. granting colleges may no longer be the most efficient way to deal with the challenges caused by the decline in manufacturing employment," said Aizenman.

Many believe fewer works would mean decreased output, but real gross domestic product manufacturing has risen over the past two decades, according to the report. This leads to the popular conclusion that machines have replaced labor in the workplace.

Read the full report here.

| A news4sa.com release  ||  November 15,  2017   |||

15 Nov 2017  - What brings an extremely wealthy Australian tech guru to the backblocks of the South Island? Granted, there is a small stream on the western boundary of his 550 hectare North Canterbury farm that might harbour brown trout but there’s certainly no lake, no private golf course, no hint of equestrian activity, no magnificent country estate, rather just a random collection of innocuous sheds of varying sizes and shapes.

On closer inspection there are, however, extensive tar-sealed roads, one in particular running for nearly a kilometre alongside a narrow public access road that forms the inland route between Waiau and Kaikoura. It’s along this road that gobsmacked tourists sometimes get to experience the cacophony of sound as a speeding ‘Formula 1-like’ race car blasts past their vehicles at what must seem like insane speeds on the other side of the farm fence.

It’s all that separates the 2.8 kilometre long race track from a normally quiet public road, just 50 metres away. David Dicker, head of Dicker Data Australia, which recently turned over A$1billion in sales revenue, is certainly not the only rich man to build himself a private race track here, and probably won’t be the last. Such a man could therefore be expected to have a collection of fast toys, and he has them in spades; Ferraris (his favourites), Lamborghinis, and Porsches but few such enthusiasts own a Lotus 125 “F1 customer experience” race car, complete with a screaming 650bhp Cosworth V8 engine.

Even fewer have their own 2.8km race track on which to unleash the beast whenever they . . . .

Continue here to read the full story written by Mark petch in AutoCarNew Zealand ||  November 15,  2017

14 Nov 2017  -  Portland’s year-long effort to attract regular liner services back to Oregon’s only container port took an important step forward Monday with the announcement that Swire Shipping will initiate a monthly service that will carry truck exports to Australia-New Zealand and containerized imports from Asia.

“It’s a first step, but a critical first step,” said Keith Leavitt, Portland’s chief commercial officer.” He added, “This is important to us because we have to demonstrate to the trans-Pacific that Portland is back to work.

In addition to its thriving breakbulk and bulk services, Portland for years was an important gateway for containerized exports from Oregon and western Idaho and imports of consumer merchandise, primarily from Asia. At its peak, Portland handled about 340,000 TEU a year.

Portland in 2012 began to experience labor problems when the International Longshore and Warehouse Union became engaged in a jurisdictional dispute with another union. That event escalated into a bitter, three-year confrontation between the ILWU and ICTSI, operator of Terminal 6 at the time. Productivity plunged as the ILWU engaged in work slowdowns that caused Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, and Westwood Shipping to end their liner services.

ILWU officials in Portland accused ICTSI, an international terminal operator based in the Philippines, of running Terminal 6 as a “third-world” operation. Bill Wyatt, the port’s executive director at the time, said the union was upset because when ICTSI took over operation of Terminal 6 in 2010, it began to pull back on wasteful and inefficient work practices that had been common for the many years that Portland managed the terminal as an operating port.

Leavitt said port managers the past year have had a number of meetings with the ILWU locals and they are confident that a return of shipping services will be greeted with improved productivity. “I feel like we’re in a good spot,” he said.

Swire Shipping, which is based in Singapore, will be in charge of handling containers at Terminal 6 when the service begins operating in January. Leavitt said Swire has no presence in Portland and may contract with a stevedore to discharge and load containers. The port will continue to contract with Harbor Industrial Services for the breakbulk stevedoring work. Port authority staff have been working with the ILWU to get the cranes and other cargo-handling equipment back into good working order, he said.

As a river port with draft limitations, Portland is unable to accommodate the mega-ships of 10,000-TEU capacity and greater that are common today at West Coast ports. Nevertheless, Portland is a good gateway for north-south services and niche carriers that do not operate mega-ships, Leavitt said. The base cargo for the new service will be trucks manufactured in Oregon by Daimler Trucks North America. Portland was once a profitable port for importers of containerized merchandise destined for importers in the region. Importers and exporters have been shipping most of their cargo the past two years through Seattle-Tacoma.

The new service will be triangular, carrying mostly non-containerized cargo and trucks from Portland to Australia and New Zealand. The vessels will steam to China and South Korea and will load containerized imports for Portland.

| A joc.com release  ||  November 14,  2017   |||

14 Nov 2017  -The New Autodesk Connect and Construct Exchange partner program tames construction app chaos.  LAS VEGAS, Nov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- At its 25th annual flagship user conference, Autodesk University, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) previewed its next generation BIM 360 platform, a seamless cloud service connecting the entire construction project lifecycle. Autodesk also launched the "Connect and Construct Exchange," a new BIM 360 integration partner program designed to bring third-party software applications and data into the BIM 360 construction workflow. The Connect and Construct Exchange launched with more than 50 inaugural BIM 360 integrators. 

The next generation of BIM 360, built on the Autodesk Forge platform, supports informed decision-making throughout the construction project lifecycle by centralizing all project data in a single place. Autodesk Forge is a connected developer cloud platform which enables customers and partners to create customized, scalable solutions for engineering, construction and manufacturing challenges. BIM 360 connects project stakeholders and workflows at all stages of the building lifecycle – from design to construction to operations, from the field to the office and back. BIM 360 removes the uncertainty that plagues construction projects of all sizes by pairing its project management tools and database with machine learning analytics and insights. The result is closer collaboration among project teams, greater transparency about changes, and improved data continuity that translates into increased profitability.

"Construction projects are growing more complex, but Autodesk meets that challenge head-on with BIM 360, making construction work safer, simpler, and connected," said Andrew Anagnost, president and CEO, Autodesk. "With the confusion of an ever-increasing number of construction apps across the industry, the option to manage all project data in a single cloud platform results in more predictable building project outcomes."

Developed with Autodesk Construction Industry CustomersThe new BIM 360 platform is a result of collaboration between Autodesk and 500 construction professionals from 100 organizations who informed the company's software development process. Autodesk BIM 360 solutions presently house almost four million models, and BIM 360 customers have logged approximately 200 million field observations.

"Autodesk made it a priority to work in lock-step with construction professionals to build the BIM 360 platform, which has resulted in a game-changing project management service," said Andy Leek, director, Virtual Design and Construction at PARIC, a St. Louis, Missouri based construction services firm. "Construction software is so fragmented with endless vendors claiming to offer the best mousetrap for each particular process. PARIC is trying to solve all of our problems as seamlessly as possible, and Autodesk BIM 360 could ultimately be our backbone to connect everyone from design to ownership in one place."

Connect and Construct ExchangeBIM 360 connects fragmented workflows across preconstruction, execution, fabrication, installation, and facility management. The new Autodesk Connect and Construct Exchange launched today adds value for each of these phases of construction with an inaugural group of more than 50 BIM 360 integration partners of which more than 40 are now available on the exchange. The exchange's goals are to showcase, catalogue and generate awareness for all applications and integrations to the next-generation BIM 360 platform so customers and partners have a broad choice of solutions to enhance and extend their workflow to better meet their unique construction needs.

"Rhumbix enables construction teams to manage timekeeping, quantity tracking, and other critical tasks from the palm of a hand with just two taps on a mobile device," said Zach Scheel, CEO, Rhumbix. "Our seamless integration with BIM 360 ensures that everything on the job site is tracked and communicated back to the home office and field trailer."

Rhumbix modernizes construction field operations, helping builders go paperless in the field and improving how they measure and manage labor productivity to be more profitable.

AvailabilityAvailable immediately. Learn more about Autodesk's next generation BIM 360 platform preview. Visit Connect and Construct Exchange for more information on Autodesk BIM 360 integration partners.

New ZealandCADPRO Systems is New Zealand’s leading supplier of professional Computer Aided Design (CAD) technology an an approved provider on the Autodesk Services Marketplace. They specialise in providing Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology to architects, engineers, contractors and owner/operators in the Architecture, Engineering & Construction markets, as well as Digital Prototyping solutions for Engineers & Manufacturers.

14 Nov 2017  -  Port Taranaki is withdrawing from the container sector, including closing its container transfer site. Port Taranaki chief executive Guy Roper said changes to the New Zealand supply chain had prompted the decision, particularly the introduction of larger international container vessels, the development of inland ports for the containerisation of products, and the increased use of rail transport linking regions to ports with international departures. With coastal shipping impacted by these changes, there was now reduced incentive for shipping lines to call at Port Taranaki.

“We have not had a full container service at Port Taranaki for three years – the last container ship to call was in October 2014,” Mr Roper said. “Since then we have worked hard with potential customers and shipping lines to make it viable to call at the port.

“However, container services rely on scale and throughput, and with the changes to the national supply chain, we have been unable to secure sufficient trade to attract shipping lines. As a result we will no longer seek to recommence a container shipping service.”

Mr Roper said the decision would result in the closure of the container transfer site.

“As a service to Taranaki companies, through an arrangement with shipping lines we have maintained a container transfer site, making containers available to local importers and exporters,” Mr Roper said. “However, with Port Taranaki’s decision to withdraw fully from the container sector, the container transfer site will close.”

Mr Roper said the port was in consultation with two staff who would potentially be affected by the closure of the container transfer operation.

The site is expected to close at the end of January. From 1 December the site will operate from 7am to 3pm weekdays.

In addition, Port Taranaki has closed the cold store on the Blyde Wharf, which stored chilled and frozen products for the dairy and poultry industries. The closure, which was effective from 1 November, resulted in the loss of one position at Port Taranaki.

“Because of the halt in container trade in the past three years, the cold store has been under-utilised, which is why we decided to close it,” Mr Roper said.

The decision to withdraw from the container business has been made following a strategic review of the container sector by the Port Taranaki Board.

Board chairman Peter Dryden said the changes occurring within the New Zealand supply chain and the need to operate a sustainable and successful business for the benefit of the Taranaki community, had brought about the review and subsequent decision.

“After examining our position in the container sector and what we believe are permanent changes to the New Zealand supply chain, investing in future capability to be competitive, such as machinery and systems, was not viable,” Mr Dryden said.

“Port Taranaki will now focus on growth in other areas of the business, such as our burgeoning log business, as well as concentrating on our core business of bulk liquids, bulk dry products and support of the offshore oil and gas sector,” he said.

Mr Dryden said the port would retain its mobile harbour cranes in support of other work, including Port Taranaki’s offshore business.

“We will be working with local logistics providers to ensure continuity for Taranaki importers and exporters,” he said.

| A Port Taranaki release  ||  November 9,  2017   |||

14 Nov 2017  -  Michael Molitch-Hou posted on engineering.com an article on HP’s Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology.  He writes that this technologythat  has been one of the most exciting to watch, not just in terms of what it is capable of now, but what it portends for the future— a future that includes embedded electronics, augmented reality, ceramics and even metal.  Laying out the road to that future, HP announced both the release of a new MJF printer, ahead of formnext, and, this past October, plans to embark on metal additive manufacturing (AM). Along with the new Jet Fusion 3D 4210 system, HP has also announced, as a part of its Open Materials Platform, an expanded materials portfolio and additional partners.

Jet Fusion 3D 4210

The newest MJF system, the Jet Fusion 3D 4210, is an upgrade to one of its flagship machines, the Jet Fusion 3D 4200. The 4200 was already an improvement upon the other flagship system, the 3200, in that it printed and cooled faster, and had lower material costs for serial production.

The 4210 takes these improvements further and, according to HP, “rais[es] the ‘break-even point’ for large-scale 3D manufacturing to up to 110,000 parts.” This means that producing up to 110,000 items on the system matches the costs of traditional mass manufacturing methods. Based on the company’s internal testing, parts can be mass produced at 65 percent of the cost of other AM technologies, such as fused deposition modeling and selective laser sintering (SLS).

Ramon Pastor, general manager of Multi Jet Fusion for HP’s 3D printing business, put this point in context, “HP’s Jet Fusion 3D systems have now reached a technological and economic inflection point that combines the speed, quality and scalability needed to accelerate manufacturing’s digital industrial revolution.”

The increased productivity is the result of hardware and firmware upgrades made to the existing Jet Fusion systems, which make it possible to perform continuous operation. This includes a new processing station for handling higher material volumes. Preorders for the machine, including upgrades for existing Jet Fusion customers, are available now.

New Materials

HP has a unique approach to its materials for MJF, allowing partners to develop proprietary materials on MJF systems to be sold through HP’s distribution network. As a part of the Open Materials Platform, it’s also possible to work with what the company dubs a Material Development Kit (MDK), which gives customers access to specific parts of the MJF process at various stages of printing, beginning with powder distribution.

Up to now, the materials were somewhat limited to a couple of varieties of black nylon powder. This material set has expanded with the latest news from HP, adding several materials that bring MJF closer in line with the technology’s number one competitor, SLS.

These materials include:

• HP 3D High Reusability PA 11: This form of nylon is meant for low-cost, functional parts with impact resistance and ductility, like insoles, snap fits and living hinges.
• HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 Glass Beads: This form of nylon brings added dimensional stability and repeatability, making it useful for parts that require stiffness, such as enclosures, molds and tooling.
• HP 3D High Reusability Polypropylene: This durable material maintains greater flexibility and chemical resistance than the others and is ideal for lightweight and watertight applications.

HP’s materials partners previously included Arkema, BASF, Evonik, Henkel, Lehmann & Voss, and Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company. Along with news of the above materials, HP also added two more partners. Dressler Group will be giving the aforementioned chemical companies access to its toll grinding manufacturing capabilities to enable quicker material development. Berkshire Hathaway’s Lubrizol, a chemical company with thermoplastic polyurethane expertise, has also been added to the group and will be developing materials for final part production with MJF.

According to HP, over 50 chemical companies are “actively engaged” in the Open Materials Platform. The latest are Dow Chemical and DSM, who have purchased the MDK to develop powders for MJF. Evonik and Henkel have also purchased Jet Fusion printers themselves to develop powders for the platform.

HP Aims for Metal AM

At the HP Securities Analyst Meeting 2017 in Palo Alto in October, the company also announced that it was planning to enter the metal AM market, something I’d hypothesized since the launch of MJF at RAPID 2016.

President of 3D Printing at HP, Stephen Nigro, relayed at the event, “We have developed a novel 3D metal approach that is built to run a combination of high quality and improved economics [for] 3D-printed metals. Today’s 3D metal industry is focused primarily on specialized, high value, expensive applications. Our invention will transform the 3D metal into a more mainstream, high-volume production.”

The MJF platform had already been modified so that it could produce ceramic components, which likely involves binding the ceramic powder together before this completed green part is sintered in an oven. Metal, then, would require a similar approach, with the ceramic swapped out for metal.

This Metal Injection Molding-style technique has already been implemented with Desktop Metal’s technology, possibly putting the startup in direct competition with HP. We’ll know more next year when HP will officially announce the platform and its business plan for metal AM.

Also at the event, Nigro said that HP will be releasing its full-color MJF platform next year. This will give MJF a serious leg up on SLS, which requires either dying printed parts or printing in monocolor plastics. Combined with the productivity of MJF, full-color 3D printing will make it possible for the technology to compete with injection molding even further.

“MJF will be the one and only 3D printing technology in the industry that can make mechanical and robust functional full-color parts,” Nigro explained.“We plan to combine this color capability with a new, lower price position. The lower price position will open up new markets to HP, making it easier for designers and creators to access the technology. Being able to prototype with the same technology as full-scale production, which will change the end-to-end design process and accelerate the adoption of 3D printing.”

In an industry filled with hype, I’m reluctant to say that both of these announcements may have a profound impact on how the 3D printing industry evolves and may shake up the $12 trillion manufacturing industry, as HP claims it will.

| An engineering.com release  ||  November 13,  2017   |||

13 Nov 2017  -  Recent changes to the TPP agreement, now called CPTPP, appear to be a step forward, particularly with the potential removal of some of the more controversial parts, such as Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses. Yet, we need to remind ourselves that the primary target of these FTAs is the reduction of tariffs, providing benefits to our primary commodity exporters, but little relief to our high value manufacturers, who frequently encounter obstacles to free trade in the form of non-tariff barriers.

“Non-tariff barriers are the ‘dirty little secrets’ rarely written into trade agreements, but a matter of daily practice far away from glamorous trade talks. And probably, just as harmful to local manufacturers is the almost complete lack of enforcement of product standards in our domestic markets, allowing imported goods to trade on a price advantage. Not to mention government procurement practices that in most cases pay lip service only to the principle of giving local manufacturers a fair chance, says Mr Dieter Adam, CE, The Manufacturers’ Network.

“The removal of some of the contentious parts of the previous agreement is a positive move from the Government, giving the eventual agreement broader support in New Zealand. However, we know from past experience that the really hard work starts once the agreement comes into force, in working to remove the non-tariff barriers that form the biggest challenges for high-value manufacturers making the most of the markets involved, says Mr Adam.

“Quality trade agreements are a vital component of improving our export competitiveness, especially when non-tariff barriers that effect manufacturers are properly addressed. We cannot ignore the fact, however, that in spite of a string of recent FTAs, such as the China and Korean FTAs, the share of exports in GDP has been dropping over the past decade, rather than growing by 25% - the goal the previous Government had set itself not long after coming into power in 2008. As the new Government is rightly pointing out, New Zealand’s future prosperity can only be secured by significantly growing our exports of high-value products and services. And one of the key preconditions for that lies in improving our productivity, which has lagged through successive governments. Improving productivity and thus increasing our ability to create high-value goods and services is where the new Government should focus.

“The other critical enabler to a more balanced approach to growth in our economy is a more favourable and fair exchange rate, especially against the Australian Dollar, given that Australia is a key market for our manufacturing exports. And in that context comments made by the Acting Governor of the RBNZ, Grant Spencer, at the November MPS press conference that “We’re happy with this [the current] level of our currency, it’s in the vicinity of fair value” are certainly not helpful and point to a change from recent RBNZ statements under Graeme Wheeler, setting around 60 cents as a target rate. It will be interesting to see the response of the new Government to this new assessment of ‘fair value’ by the RBNZ. Addressing our exchange rate, which has remained significantly above trends in the previous decade, need to be part of the discussion in the upcoming review and appointment of a new Governor, said Mr Adam.

| A The Manufacturiers Network release  ||  November 13,  2017   |||

13 Nov 2017  -  Steel prices have risen 14 per cent writes Anna Gibson for the NZHerald earlier today.  Rising international prices have prompted Pacific Steel to increase costs to its New Zealand customers by 14 per cent.  Stan Clark, Pacific Steel's sales and marketing manager, wrote to customers, telling them of the price hike.

"As an outcome of international steel price movements since the middle of the year, traded steel prices have increased here in New Zealand throughout that period. As a consequence, Pacific Steel has reviewed its prices and will be reflecting this market movement by increasing its prices by approximately 14 per cent commencing for orders placed for manufacture from the November production campaign," Clark wrote

Continue here to the full article published in the NZHerald  ||  November 13,  2017   |||

7 Nov  -  Dr Lynn Wilcox is the chief technology officer at Fuji Xerox’s Palo Alto Laboratory (FXPAL) in California and an expert in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI).  Recently, Wilcox and her team at FXPAL have been working on projects in the ambient intelligence space – that is, the real world, practical application of IoT and AI.

From a smart teleconferencing system that will notify individuals interrupting the meeting to tracking the location of patients in a hospital, as Ambient Intelligence develops - the impact it could have across all industries is exciting.

But what exactly is Ambient Intelligence and why should we care about it?

In anticipation of her upcoming visit to New Zealand, Wilcox breaks down why we should be excited about Ambient Intelligence, what’s going on at FXPAL at the moment and what happens when the use of IoT technologies becomes unethical.

What is Ambient Intelligence, and why should enterprises be excited about it?

Ambient Intelligence refers to electronic environments that are sensitive and responsive to people.

It utilises IoT to collect data about people and the environment from various types of sensors. It then analyses and makes inferences from this sensor data using AI to provide personalised and contextual actions.

Ambient Intelligence has the power to make work more efficient - for example, by automatically knowing when you walk into a conference room that you would like to display the agenda and other information about the meeting that has been scheduled for this time, and order preferred beverages for the people scheduled to attend the meeting.

How does FXPAL work, do you develop technology solely for Fuji Xerox, or do you do work with other partners?

FXPAL is a research lab wholly funded by Fuji Xerox.

We develop prototypes to demonstrate technology and if there is interest we deploy the technology outside the lab to test real use cases. Our primary goal is to provide successful technology to Fuji Xerox for commercialisation.

In certain cases where FX is not interested in using the technology for their business, we license it to third parties. We also generate a good amount of Intellectual Property in the form of patents, which Fuji Xerox commercialises.

FXPAL is developing some very exciting AI and IoT technology with the capability to track the location of people in factories and hospitals, could you tell me about what has gone into developing these technologies?

The work began as a project to help locate co-workers in and out of the office and used a variety of technology such as GPS, device monitoring and cameras. To achieve more precise indoor localization, we began experimenting with BLE beacons.

FX Australia got interested in the technology and asked us to help develop a solution for office space management that could track which offices and meeting rooms were in use and how frequently various types of space was used. After that, the business development team at FXPAL found an application for patient management at a health care facility and we helped them deploy our technology there.

Last year Fuji Xerox Manufacturing executives visited FXPAL and saw a demonstration of our localisation technology and invited us to do a trial at the FX Suzuka factory.

We did the initial deployment this summer and are working with the factory to maximise the utility of the technology.

How often would you scrap a project?

Do you ever get right to the final stages of development before you decide the technology won’t work?

The typical research cycle is to first describe the concept, usually in an Invention Proposal, then demonstrate the concept to others, then build a prototype to test outside the lab.

There are checks at each of these stages. For example, we review Invention Proposals and if the idea is not sound or has already been described by someone else, research is stopped.

Similarly with demos, if they are not convincing the project is stopped. Finally, if the prototype fails or if no business case can be found we stop the work.

Many of our research projects are never used in products or solutions, sometimes because the technology is just too early for the market.

Could you discuss the FXPAL’s development of a secure document viewer that only allows viewing of an electronic document in secure locations?

Where are you at in the development of this technology and what would define, or who would define, a secure location?

We are at the demo stage of this technology.

We can demonstrate how a secure viewer would work by using our indoor location technology to determine whether you are inside the secure location or not. To secure a specified location, for example an executive office space, we simply deploy beacons around the office.

So far, we have not developed a location aware document viewer that would be needed for a prototype system.

One of the projects that FXPAL is working on that’s really intriguing is the creation of a smart teleconferencing systems that will monitor participants, notifying them if they are interrupting the conversation, or speaking too much.

Could you tell me more about it?

How does it make decisions such as what’s interrupting and what’s considered a contribution?

The system analyses the audio and video content of the video stream during the teleconference. It knows when each of the speakers is talking, and so can detect when a speaker begins talking while another person is talking - that’s an interruption.

It keeps statistics on how long each person is speaking during the meeting and visualises this by smaller or larger circles depending on how much each speaker is talking, so it is easy to see how your circle compares to others.

When can the use of IoT and smart technologies by enterprises, or any users, cross the line and become unethical?

How can this be monitored and prevented, and is there a danger in the power these technologies could give certain users?

That’s a good question - the same problems already arise with our online activities. There we encrypt information before sending it over open networks.

The same could and should be done for IoT devices. I think the general rule is that if a technology provides sufficient value to us we overlook the loss of privacy.

A good example is surveillance cameras.

At first we rejected them but now seeing their value in preventing crime and terrorism, everyone accepts them.

What excites you about the future of IoT? What area would you like to see IoT, AI and AR move into?

I’m particularly excited about AR, which uses IoT for localisation and AI for vision.

I’d like to see AR used for providing more information about things and places in the real world. In the digital world, I can learn more about something by doing a search.

With AR, I’d be able to look at something, for example building, and see information about its history or how it was constructed.

This would be possible with an AR wearable device that could sense my location, then recognise the building, search for related information and project it on a wearable display.

| An ITBrief release  ||  November 7,  2017   |||