IDC defines edge as the information and communications technology (ICT) related actions that are performed outside of the centralized data centre, where edge is the intermediary between the connected endpoints and the core IT environment.

Characteristically, edge is distributed, software-defined, and flexible. Edge is the movement of computing resources to the physical location where data is created, transacted or stored, thereby increasing the enablement of business processes, decisions, and intelligence outside of the core IT environment.

"Edge computing will play a pivotal role in the deployment of AI applications," said Dave McCarthy, research vice president, Cloud and Edge Services at IDC. He added that to meet scalability and performance requirements, organisations will need to adopt the distributed approach to architecture that edge computing provides. OEMs, ISVs, and service providers are taking advantage of this market opportunity by extending feature sets to enable AI in edge locations.

Across 19 enterprise industries, IDC segments edge ICT spending for more than 500 named enterprise use cases in six domains. In the service provider industry, investments for edge services delivery are built on infrastructure spending for multi-access edge computing (MEC), content delivery networks, and virtual network functions. Combined, these three use cases will account for nearly 22% of all edge spending this year.

For enterprise adopters, including the public sector, examples of edge-named use cases with large investments and rapid growth through 2027 include augmented maintenance (augmented reality), production asset management, AI-augmented supply and logistics, augmented diagnosis and treatment systems, supply chain resilience, in-home remote patient monitoring, and in-store contextualized marketing.

Examples of emerging edge use cases that are forecast to have the fastest spending growth over the 2022-2027 period include autonomous mining operations, site design and management (construction), pipeline inspection (utilities), augmented training (multiple industries), and expert shopping advisors & product recommendations (retail).

"Enterprise investments have continued to shift the past 24 months toward infrastructure expansion and greenfield deployments. Companies are acting on plans to build more robust local computing infrastructure capabilities. And through it all, customer-facing new services and products and enabling new business processes are top enterprise drivers," said Marcus Torchia, research vice president, Data & Analytics at IDC.

"Over the next two years, the share of planned investments moderately favours MEC offerings. Yet on balance, enterprises are looking to rationalize total service provider outlays. This sets up a dynamic market of capex and opex-based edge offerings competing for investment dollars through 2027."

Marcus Torchia

Across enterprise end-user industries, the sheer size of discrete and process manufacturing will account for the largest portion of investments in edge solutions this year, followed by the retail and professional services industries.

IDC expects all 19 enterprise industries profiled in the spending guide will see five-year compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) in the low-to-mid teens over the forecast period. The service provider segment will see the greatest CAGR of 19.1%.

The largest investment share will continue to be led by hardware, at close to 40% of total spending, to build out edge capabilities especially driven by service provider infrastructure. Hardware spending will be driven by investments in edge gateways, servers, and network equipment.

Over the forecast period, adoption of provisioned services by enterprises will surge, surpassing hardware share by 2026 for the first time. Within provisioned services, connectivity and IaaS will represent the greatest share and fastest growth categories, respectively. On-premise software will be a critical component of edge infrastructure but remain the smallest category in terms of overall spending.

IDC predicts that China will experience the fastest spending growth over the five-year forecast with CAGRs of 16.2% and 15.3%, respectively.

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ABI Research says manufacturers can expect significant announcements and releases of AI functionality for QMS software in 2024, with deployments commencing in 2025.

“Major impactful AI applications for QMS will include advanced analytics and risk management, Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) automation, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) authoring and AI-powered statistical process control,” explains James Prestwood, industrial and manufacturing technologies industry analyst at ABI Research.

QMS software vendors such as ComplianceQuest, Intellect, and Dot Compliance are first movers by adding AI directly into their solutions. Larger vendors such as ETQ, PTC, Rockwell Automation, and Siemens are also developing AI applications to ensure that strategic manufacturing challenges have been addressed, alongside doing significant backroom testing.

The transformative effect of AI on QMS software will close the loop on quality management by driving continuous improvement in both the product and the production process. Prestwood concludes that due to an entrenched resistance to change in operations, quality workers will be slower to develop an affinity for AI functionality, aside from background data analytics processes.

The post AI-powered QMS to narrow quality management for manufacturers appeared first on FutureIoT.

For organisations to reap the benefits of automation via AI/ML workflows and capabilities, there is an entrenched need to modernise and renew their legacy software applications with new intelligent ones.

These intelligent AI and GenAI infused applications will pave the way for enhanced user interface thus user experience; and boost data-driven insights, timely decisions, and better business outcomes.

IDC predicts that AI will create an organisational cultural shift and new technology frames will augment 50% of APEJ workforce by mid-2025, slowly reshaping the enterprise toward more technology usage, and enhancing performance.

IDC expects this transformation to reshape organisations towards higher technology usage with greater human-machine collaboration, which will generate demand for strategic and value-added roles which are not able to be fulfilled by AI and GenAI.

IDC predicts a substantial surge in technology buyers' investments in AI and GenAI-driven enterprise software applications to transform their business operations.

Top AI-driven predictions for APEJ for the next five years

• Human-like interfaces fast-track decision velocity. By end-2025, 30% of APEJ organisations will take advantage of humanlike interfaces in their enterprise applications to gain more insights quickly, improving decision velocity.

• Self-healing enterprise applications. By 2025, 15% of A2000 will gravitate to autonomous tech with self-healing code to improve processes; 30% will evolve for seamless integration in 2026, and 50% will evolve to self-healing apps by 2027.

• Enterprises applications modernisation. By early 2025, 60% of APEJ organisations still on legacy systems will need to modernise their applications immediately to survive and adapt to the digital world already surpassing them.

• Human-machine collaboration. GenAI/AI will close 15% of enterprise talent shortage gaps by 2025, but the practice and usage of GenAI/AI will create a surplus of talent across all lines of business by 2027.

• The time gap to decision-making narrows. By late 2024, 40% of the A2000 will focus on technology and the process time between the event that occurs and the point of decision-making to gain a competitive advantage.

Estelle Quek, senior research manager for software applications and channels strategies at IDC Asia/Pacific, says to expect a multi-phased adoption of intelligent enterprise applications by APEJ organisations between 2024 to 2028.

She opined that from 2024 to 2025, Asia's top 2,000 organisations will focus on changing internal perception and receptivity towards human-machine collaboration.

“By 2026, they will progress to integrate data and enterprise applications seamlessly and evolve to run as autonomous organisations by 2028. IDC outlines the deliberate strategies for tech buyer organisations to navigate this era of AI everywhere in this research," she concluded.

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Red Hat Device Edge aggregates an enterprise-ready and supported distribution of the Red Hat-led open source community project MicroShift (a lightweight Kubernetes project derived from the edge capabilities of Red Hat OpenShift) along with an edge-optimized operating system built from Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

With general availability, Red Hat Device Edge now also includes Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform for more consistent Day 1 and Day 2 management of hundreds to thousands of sites and devices.

As edge computing adoption grows across nearly every industry, Red Hat Device Edge offers customers and partners:

A minimal footprint that supports the deployment of workloads in small, resource-constrained devices in challenging environments by preserving system resources for workloads rather than using them for device operation itself;

One edge platform, two tailored deployment options based on specific edge needs. Red Hat Device Edge with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Podman is well-suited for very small deployments with static applications. Optionally, MicroShift can be added during or after deployment to bring Kubernetes for more dynamic environments that require advanced container orchestration and Kubernetes integration;

A more consistent operational experience at the edge using the same tools and processes used in centralized environments. Whether apps are deployed on Red Hat Device Edge for the smallest edge devices or Red Hat OpenShift for large systems in the datacentre and cloud - it’s all one environment;

Greater workload flexibility with support for deploying and managing bare-metal, virtual or containerized applications;

Simplified deployment at scale with automation, meaning it's easier to oversee hundreds or thousands of devices across heterogeneous hardware and software environments.

Red Hat is working with partners and customers including ABB, DSO National Laboratories, Dynatrace, Guise AI, Intel, Lockheed Martin and more to deploy, test and validate that Red Hat Device Edge can extend operational consistency across edge and hybrid cloud environments. Devices can be deployed in a remote desert, at sea or even in space, all while maintaining a consistent deployment and management experience, while using familiar processes and tools.

Delivering automation at the far edge

Effectively managing workloads at the edge increases the importance of consistent and reliable automation. The general availability of Red Hat Device Edge adds the power of Ansible Automation Platform to Red Hat Device Edge, adding the power of industry-leading IT automation.

What’s included?

• More predictability and repeatability in automating edge workloads;
• Standardized and repeatable connectivity configurations, policies and deployments to help maintain system health and integrity;
• Enhanced security and compliance posture at the edge with automated management and maintenance, including patches, updates and upgrades;
• Lowered barriers to entry for IT and OT (operational technology) teams, with automation tooling making it possible to manage edge workloads and devices with little to no IT specialty skills;
• The ability to configure and audit the devices and services needed like networking, Wi-Fi, DNS, SSL certificates and the applications running on the devices.

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That’s a big number!

It’s especially large when you consider that most organizations are trying to stabilize, pilot or get approval to change their planning tools.

Proportion of Supply Chain Transformation Benefits Achieved

When trying to think about what is missing, or why so many are failing to adopt new technology, the main theme that comes up is that most organizations are trying to implement a solution based on current processes and ways of working. Technology enables a transformation of your operating model that includes processes and organization. But shouldn’t your mindset evolve as well?

When I started working in planning, the first thing I learned was that if our company’s plans were precise everything would work out. I just needed the magic number that would make everything flow.

If only life would be so easy.

The reality is that even when you set a magic number, plans always deviate. Things are dynamic. You most likely don`t have exact plans in other areas of life. Then why do you keep focusing on a single number that will make — or, more likely, break — your supply chain plans?

As companies invest in technology, they should invest in changing the mindsets within their organizations from the obsession with a single forecast to using a range of possibilities.

Range of Possibilities

Assuming that all you need is a single plan that will make everything work is like assuming that the exact optimal circumstances will always occur. But that’s not true. The exact internal and external dynamics will rarely come together in the exact right way. By assuming all you need is a single plan, a single number, organizations make their supply chains fragile. Anything that goes above or below that number will register as a surprise.

And from that point, you know the story. … You rush in with emergency teams, firefighting these new situations as they impact your business results. Let’s face it, anytime you expedite deliveries or steer inventory due to the plan going awry it will impact your cost to serve. In fact, organizations report that they suffer a 4% increase in the cost to serve for every disruption. And they have at least five disruptions per year. So, at minimum, you’re talking about a 20% hit to the P&L.

By changing your mindset to plan for a range of possibilities and probabilities you’ll be better prepared for what will most likely occur. You can’t rely on being precise. There is a range of options from variability of lead time to variability of product mix to variability in order placement. In fact, by abandoning the idea that you must be precise, you can plan for most of the possible options you might face. 

Even if you do plan for a range of possibilities, will all of them be right? Of course not. Only one option will be correct. The rest of them will be wrong. Embrace the idea that you will be wrong most of the time. Think of it this way: you have to be wrong to be right.

Now, I know that nobody likes being wrong. Because everybody wants to avoid errors, they avoid taking risks. But if you avoid risk, then how are you going to win? From Gartner’s most recent survey of supply chain technology user wants and needs, we found that 38% of those surveyed are not encouraged to take risks. Within that group, 12% are actively discouraged from taking risks.

As supply chain planning leaders, you must actively work with your teams to change this point of view.

Just like you’re investing in processes and technology, you need to make an investment in change management — you must embrace a new mindset. You can’t adopt a different operating model and new tools but continue to be stuck in your old way of thinking. If you are planning to transform your supply chain — or even if you’re in the middle of such a transformation — change your planning approach and you will be more than halfway there.

First published on Gartner Supply Chain Insights

The post Doing more with less: quality month 2023 and supply chain risk appeared first on FutureIoT.

A survey of 400 manufacturing leaders on their thoughts around technology, business strategies, workers, and industry, and reveals several important trends that may influence how manufacturers will forge ahead in 2024:

Key takeaways on technology include:

• 67% of manufacturers are embracing a data-first strategy.
• 61% of manufacturers are heavily embracing automation.
• 49% of self-described modern manufacturers are employing AI.

Key takeaways on the workforce include:

• 77% of manufacturing leaders say their company is prioritizing upskilling.
• 60% of manufacturing leaders anticipate increasing budgets for hiring new talent.
• 44% of manufacturing leaders say that turnover has remained the same at their organization.

Key takeaways on priorities and challenges:

• The biggest priority for manufacturing leaders is quality control.
• The biggest daily challenge for manufacturing leaders is hitting product targets.
• Another big challenge is ensuring workplace safety and compliance.

These insights can help manufacturers benchmark themselves against their peers and help them navigate the many evolving challenges, opportunities and unpredictable futures that lie ahead.

Click on the link to download this report to help you guide your strategies in the coming years.

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“AI-augmented and machine learning (ML)-powered software engineering is changing the way software is being created, tested and operated, and the need for responsible AI is growing,” said Dave Micko, senior director analyst at Gartner. “Practices such as platform engineering will begin injecting insights from deployed systems into the systems being developed.”

These technologies, along with others, are climbing the peak of inflated expectations and the transformational benefit they are expected to have on software engineering in the next few years could have a significant impact on an organisation’s business models, driving new strategies and tactics (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Hype Cycle for software engineering, 2023

AI coding assistants

Gartner predicts that by 2027, 50% of enterprise software engineers will use ML-powered coding tools, up from fewer than 5% today. Code generation products based on foundation models can generate complex and longer suggestions resulting in a significant increase in developer productivity.

Because software demand exceeds most organisations’ capacity, existing developers are maxed out, unable to build features fast enough or find satisfaction in their work. AI coding assistants are emerging as accelerators, boosting developer productivity and happiness. By handling routine tasks, the assistants enable developers to focus on higher-value activities. This allows organisations to deliver more features faster with existing teams.

AI-augmented software engineering

The software development life cycle includes routine and repetitive tasks such as boilerplate functional and unit-test code and docstrings, which AIASE tools automate. This allows software engineers to focus their time, energy and creativity on high-value activities like feature development.

Along with more productive, engaged and happier software builders. the benefits of using AIASE include the allocation of software engineering capacity to business initiatives with high priority, complexity and uncertainty, helping quality teams develop self-healing tests and nonobvious code paths which detect issues, offer fixes and automatically generate test scenarios. 

Platform engineering

To help manage the complexity of the technology ecosystem, many digital enterprises are embracing platform engineering practices and establishing platform teams to provide consistent, integrated and secure platforms to their development and product teams. Platform engineering focuses on providing self-service tools, capabilities and processes that help platform users deliver business value while managing cost and risk.

Gartner predicts that by 2026, 80% of software engineering organisations will establish platform teams as internal providers of reusable services, components and tools for application delivery.

The post Gartner: AI will change software engineering appeared first on FutureIoT.

The report offers guidance for policymakers to address severe disruptions and long-standing development challenges in cities for a sustainable urban recovery in Asia and the Pacific.

The problems and challenges of governments and city developers are nothing new. But with new technologies and lessons learned from other countries, Asia may yet to reap the benefits of not being the first mover.

Jacques Beltran, VP for Cities and Public Services at Dassault Systèmes says what is happening in Asia is not local to the region. It is a global trend. “Asian cities face two major challenges – demographic growth and climate change,” he called.

“Today, half of the world's population lives in cities, and it’s expected to reach 80% of the population by 2050. This creates huge demographic pressure on existing and new cities being built. Cities are also facing enormous challenges related to climate change and all the natural disasters that come with it.”

Jacques Beltran

Previous top priorities of urban planners

Beltran says due to urban demographic growth, urban planners have much work to do to ensure that citizens living in cities have a good life, and that has to do with meeting fundamental needs like housing and mobility.

“Mobility is probably the top issue globally and in Asia. Cities need to ensure that people can go from one point to another in a reasonable time and a sustainable manner. There are also issues with car traffic and air pollution. Mobility, housing, and access to energy and clean water are issues at the heart of urban planning worldwide,” he continued.

Climate change and its impact on city living

Asked how significant the impact of climate change on cities in Asia, Beltran was quick to pronounce: Major! He explains that the number of natural hazards hitting cities has multiplied by five since the 1980s. Flooding is probably the top natural hazard that's hitting cities, particularly in Asia. There are also extreme temperatures or wildfires.

“Such natural hazards have become a key focus for urban planners and agencies. We are doing everything we can to find ways to help cities adapt to those risks and climate change challenges. Cities need to become more sustainable and resilient,” he elaborated.

Sustainability aspirations and its influence on urban development

According to Beltran, people living in the cities are increasingly conscious of sustainability challenges, and they are increasingly thinking about their impact on climate change. He acknowledged that this is a major challenge not only for urban planners but for city governments themselves.

“What’s obvious now is that transformation will not work without a strong political will to change how cities are managed. We firmly believe that technology, supported by a strong political will, can help those cities become more sustainable and resilient,” he added.

The influence of evolving technology

Reflecting on the past 20 years, Beltran acknowledged a huge acceleration in technology that can help cities transform how they operate and plan for the future.

“For mobility, intelligent transportation systems have been developed for public transportation. Mobile apps help people find their way around traffic jams. Smart grid technology is helping cities cope with the ever-increasing energy demand. IoT sensors capture data on how a city is functioning, and that data, together with data analytics, helps city authorities plan for the future."

Jacques Beltran

“To help your city adapt to future challenges, you must first understand the reality now. Today’s technology helps us do that tremendously well,” he continued.

Challenges for urban planners

Beltran cites two main technological building blocks that urban planners can use today:

Data analytics and AI. Once city data has been captured widely, these technologies can be used to interpret, understand and transform that data into actionable information.

3D modelling and 3D simulation. One of the biggest challenges that cities face is breaking the silos. Everybody sees the city from a certain perspective. 3D simulation technology, or digital twinning, helps different stakeholders see the city through a common view by aggregating all available data into one single 3D referential. This lets all stakeholders move ahead as one.

Ownership and stakeholders of 3D models

3D mockups and 3D representations of the city are easy to do. What’s more complex and adds much value is identifying the types of data to inject into the 3D model.

“We can connect different dimensions, such as safety, environmental, and economic development in a 3D model. From there, entire city ecosystems can be improved, covering aspects such as diverse administration, businesses, and citizen comfort,” said Beltran.

He commented that all stakeholders involved in city planning and development should have access to such a 3D modelling and simulation system.

Challenges ahead for urban planners

Beltran says one of the major challenges for urban planners is building what-if scenarios. He opines that 3D modelling and simulation can help cities design future products like infrastructure.

“The beauty of such technology is that you can do virtual testing of different policy options – by setting up each scenario, assessing the merits of each scenario, and seeing what will happen when each option is selected,” he elaborated. “Aircraft manufacturers use the same technology to circumvent crashing their planes. Such what-if scenario enablement and testing are invaluable to city planners.”

Click on the PodChat player to listen to Beltran elaborate further on smarter ways for modernising urban development.

1. Give us a state of city growth in Asia.
2. Before sustainability became the buzzword, what were the top priorities of urban planners?
3. How significant is the impact of climate change on cities in Asia?
4. What mindset is needed to make cities sustainable for the long haul?
5. Beyond mindset, do we have the technologies and skilled/experienced people available/ready to make the change towards more sustainable urban development?
6. Can we go into a little bit of detail in terms of what technologies are available today for urban planners?
7. Describe the challenges urban planners face in Asia in the coming years. What can we learn from global cities when it comes to sustainable development?

The post PodChats for FutureIoT: Smarter ways for modernising urban development appeared first on FutureIoT.

There are nine operational AutoStore warehouse projects with four more in the planning stage. This will position DHL Supply Chain as one of AutoStore’s largest 3PL clients, reinforcing their commitment to digitalisation and automation.

The nine existing Systems effectively operate 800,000 bins, with the forthcoming four Systems elevating the total number of bins to a remarkable 1.2 million. In the future, DHL intends to construct five further facilities in addition to those already in operation or planning.

This innovative automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) technology has been developed to efficiently manage and optimise inventory using vastly reduced warehouse space. Its highly modular and scalable design makes it a preferred solution for e-commerce and businesses handling smaller products such as fashion and tech items.

The partnership aims to accelerate the implementation of this technology that enhances abilities to meet diverse client needs.

A fleet of more than 1,000 robots will enhance operational efficiency and throughput

Markus Voss, COO and CIO at DHL Supply Chain, emphasises the importance of this collaboration: "We are pleased to expand our existing relationship with AutoStore as we continue to implement our digitalisation and automation strategy in a growing number of warehouses, allowing us to better and faster serve our customers.”

He commented that AutoStore’s standardised and modular technology perfectly aligns with DHL’s aim to make operations more efficient, enabling swift scalability and adaptability across various use cases and end markets – a crucial factor for DHL as a third-party logistics provider.

“Through a standardised approach and dedicated stock availability we will be able to significantly drive down implementation times,” he added.

The post DHL Supply Chain accelerates global warehouse automation appeared first on FutureIoT.

In a survey of 1,350 technology decision-makers, only a minority of SMBs and enterprises (8% and 4% respectively) had yet to experience the benefit of ERP applications in the cloud. The rest have their ERP system either entirely in the cloud (13% and 6% respectively) or hybrid mix (79% and 89% respectively).

This Epicor report reveals:

• The top triggers for re-evaluating an ERP solution
• Five things manufacturers value most in an ERP provider
• How the partnership you have with your ERP provider can help you elevate your performance and results

Click on the link to download your copy of the Manufacturing Industry Insights 2023.

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Sponsored by Epicor, this IDC research paper reports that manufacturing companies using Epicor Kinetic solutions achieve strong value by enabling more efficient and reliable manufacturing operations and improving their overall business results.

Epicor customers achieved benefits worth an annual average of UD$2.90 million per organization ($866,800 per 100 users of Epicor for Manufacturing) through increased their manufacturing operations throughput, operational quality and continuity, the automating of inventory activities and equipment monitoring, and winning more business and improving margins.

Click on the link to download your copy of Enhancing Your Business Value with Epicor for Manufacturing.

The post Enhancing your business value with Epicor for manufacturing appeared first on FutureIoT.

These advancements promise a more secure and robust infrastructure, positioning the sector on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution.

GlobalData’s FutureTech Series report, “Transformer in Utilities 2.0 – How Tech is Driving the Sector Innovation”, highlights more than 30 disruptive forces in power and utilities as emerging, accelerating, and maturing innovation areas based on their rate of growth in innovation.

Kiran Raj, the practice head of disruptive tech at GlobalData, says the emergence of digital twins has revolutionized transformer asset operations by offering insights, paving the way for real-time monitoring and proactive maintenance.

He added that by harnessing AI and machine learning, extensive data can be analysed to anticipate potential system disruptions, ensure consistent energy output, and extend equipment longevity.

Vaibhav Gundre, a project manager for disruptive tech at GlobalData, adds that the transformer asset landscape is being redefined through the surge in patents and innovative breakthroughs, which are accelerating technological advancement and fostering knowledge proliferation.

He further posits that these advancements highlight a significant shift from reactive strategies to predictive solutions, reflecting the dedication to not only address current grid necessities but also anticipate upcoming challenges.

5G makes its mark

5G technology is reshaping the transformer sector with real-time monitoring and swift data transmission. In February 2022, Jiangxi Mingzheng patented a 5G-enabled transformer safety system for remote fault detection, comprising a base, radiator unit, rotating top, and two infrared cameras attached to a ring.

Advancements in AI are streamlining the diagnostics of the transformer sector. In January 2022, Onepredict filed a patent for an AI-driven method to predict transformer states. The process considers transformer data, assesses if the oil has been filtered, and utilises different prediction models accordingly to determine the transformer’s condition.

Robotics is modernising transformer maintenance and inspection. In December 2021, Hitachi Energy patented a submersible robot to inspect liquid-cooled transformers. Using cameras, it captures and wirelessly transmits internal images to a base station for analysis.

“The fusion of 5G with the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) highlights the power sector’s commitment to uninterrupted connectivity, laying the groundwork for remote operational capabilities and insights-driven decision processes."

Vaibhav Gundre

"Concurrently, the incorporation of robotics and drones is reshaping how inspections are approached, enhancing safety, speed, and depth of evaluations. This technological synergy holds the potential for significant advancement in both efficiency and safety benchmarks within the sector,” he concluded.

The post Power sector enters industrial revolution 4.0 appeared first on FutureIoT.

By combining the advantages of blockchain and IoT, these dApps introduce innovative solutions that significantly improve security, transparency, and operational efficiency across various industries. These emerging trends are anticipated to stimulate the expansion of the market.

In addition, the integration of blockchain and IoT is revolutionising data sharing, transactional trust, and process automation, leading to the emergence of innovative business models and lucrative growth opportunities.

Key industry insights & findings from the report:

• The software & platform component segment accounted for the largest market share of 51.6% in 2022 owing to the increasing adoption of blockchain IoT solutions
• The smart contracts application segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 30.7% in 2022
• The self-execution and automation capabilities of smart contracts in the market are expected to drive the segment growth
• The transportation & logistics vertical segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 21.8% in 2022 due to its properties in creating transparent and immutable records of transactions
• The SMEs segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 60.2% in 2022 due to the increased implementation of the technology to help SMEs meet regulatory compliance requirements

Blockchain IoT market growth & trends

The growing awareness about the vast potential of this technology in numerous areas, such as supply chain management, asset tracking, smart cities, healthcare, and energy management, is also expected to augment the market growth.

Several companies focus on launching new products and partnering with key players to cater to the larger customer base and strengthen their foothold in the industry. For instance, in March 2022, IoTex, a modular Web3 infrastructure platform, partnered with Google Cloud.

The collaboration leads to the global expansion of MachineFi, a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform designed specifically for the IoT ecosystem. The Google Cloud-based infrastructure will help the company to make MachineFi's services and apps more secure, scalable, and reliable. Such partnerships by key players are expected to propel the market growth.

The post IoT blockchain to drive new business models appeared first on FutureIoT.

IoT Analytics market research, Matthieu Kulezak, observes that within the (ICT) supply chain there are three distinct submarkets: software, hardware, and connectivity. The software itself is further segmented into sourcing software, supply chain planning and design software, and supply chain execution software.

This software is then connected to hardware like packing and place machinery, and automatic sorting and retrieval machinery for logistics. Finally, there is the connectivity submarket such as IoT-based track and trace devices. Network operators fit into the connectivity submarket.

Changes introduced during the pandemic

According to Kulezak, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CEOs and CFOs assumed that supply chains just operated unencumbered by the day-to-day problems of running a business. The pandemic revealed just how complicated supply chain issues were – vulnerable not just to business cycles but to operational issues of suppliers and business parties.

“They realise that supply chains are important, and they need to work to have their business working so that that's clear. And they'll ask way more questions on supply chain visibility,” he added.

He concluded this is why supply chain managers are undertaking digitisation.

Digitalisation and transformation of the supply chain

Kulezak noted the recent big push for digitisation in part to support remote work and to gain supply chain visibility.

“There's been a lot of issues on the structures of the supply chain, on the networks. For example, an automotive or pharmaceutical manufacturer realised that they could not produce, not because of their own production capabilities, but because of a supplier that couldn't produce,” he added.

He acknowledged that at times, it’s the very little things that can stop an entire production system. He noted that the adoption of digital twins is enabling manufacturers to create replicas of the entire supply chain network to identify and pinpoint where the issues are.

Trends influencing the digitisation of the supply chain

He reiterated the big push towards visibility across the supply chain. He observed that the different players in the supply chain will have their view, albeit narrow, as to what constitutes visibility within their supply chain.

This complicates the challenge for IT vendors who, according to Kulezak, face a “fight for semantic” where depending on the business of the party in the supply chain will have a different interpretation of what visibility within the supply chain is important.

By way of example, a transportation company may have a different track and trace requirement compared to a manufacturer or warehouse distribution hub or parts supplier.

The cybersecurity angle

Complicating the digitisation journey for organisations in the supply chain is cybersecurity. Kulezak concede to have a functioning supply chain requires that all parties are connected.

“For example, an automotive manufacturing company will need to have all of the inventory of production capability data from suppliers, as well as the suppliers of its suppliers, in order to have a good prediction of the future,” he elaborated.

The predicament here is that some organisations may not be so open to sharing their data with others in part because they are concerned about cybersecurity risks. He called out efforts in some industry sectors to create third-party platforms that allow for data to become available to participants in the supply chain in a secure fashion.

Conclusion

Kulezak sees healthy growth in the software and hardware sectors of information technology supporting the supply chain.

He sees a growing demand for the simplification of technologies that deliver supply chain visibility. This, in turn, is resulting in a consolidation of the technology solutions marketplace. He foresees pe challenge for ICT players – choosing the right product to go for.

Click on the PodChat player to listen to Kulezak’s observations and recommendations for supply chain leaders in 2023.

1. Define Digital supply chain.
2. Looking back from pre-pandemic to this period (mid-August 2022), how have things changed regarding digital supply chains?
3. In accelerating digital transformation, which areas of the software have gained relevance in the industry verticals of the supply chain?
4. Which trends are helping in terms of digitisation of the supply chain?
5. How are companies approaching the topic of cybersecurity in the supply chain?
6. In summarising everything we’ve discussed, what are IoT Analytics’ recommendations for business, operations and technology leaders?

The post PodChats for FutureIoT: Changing the future of global supply chains appeared first on FutureIoT.

"In many phase one projects enterprises focused on a single use case and on acquiring the data streams from single sources but as the organisations gain a deeper data-driven understanding of their operations, they can start to use other data sources (such as geolocation, machine maintenance data, weather, transactions activity, vehicular telemetric traffic data, and so on) to improve their analytics and expand beyond the original use case," he continued.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that any device that is connected to the internet is susceptible to some form of cyberattack. The Mirai Botnet and Stuxnet are two infamous attacks against targets that caused massive disruptions.  

Any device that is connected to the internet is susceptible to some form of cyberattack. Apart from the fact that IoT devices inherently have very little built-in security, and that patch management can be difficult because of their physical nature, the interconnectedness of these devices and the subsequent complex environments they are implemented pose grave security threats across entire networks.

Monitoring is a vital part of every security strategy, ensuring that all classic security tools like firewalls, unusual detection systems or privileged access management (PAM)-tools work flawlessly.  

Suitable monitoring solutions can ensure physical security by integrating door-locking systems, security cameras, smoke detectors or temperature sensors into central monitoring. And businesses in APAC should be prioritising this in 2023 to reduce their risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches.

In describing the state of IoT security or lack of it, David Montoya, the global head of IoT at Paessler, noted that it is not just the lack of security features in the IoT devices themselves that is the challenge, but where these devices are located.

“When you think about cybersecurity from the IT perspective, everything is central. You might have the perimeter and then you have all the endpoints in the middle. But here (with IoT) we might be talking about having a device, which is sending out information about the flow of water, or temperature or humidity of the soil, for example, in the farming context,” he explained.

“It is important to look at different security problems or challenges because we are not only talking about the security of the information. We are, in several cases, even talking about the security of the device itself.”

David Montoya

“People are creating vulnerabilities out of IoT, and they are willing to get a device, open it up and figure out how to reverse engineer it.  They will then try to figure out how it works and then install it again with some malware, which can then make the network vulnerable,” he continued.

Why IoT continues to be vulnerable

Montoya comments that despite more regulations and security practice context within the vendors, it is very costly or inconvenient for them to put extra resources, like computing resources into these tiny little IoT devices in use to be able to deal with patches and updates.

“For companies creating IoT devices, there is not a lot of value in needing to put more resources there,” he surmised.

He argued that device manufacturers are incentivised to create small devices that cost as little as possible. The other issue is the variety of devices and vendors. “Even though there are more regulations, there are still no standard practices put in place as to how the information should be stored,” he commented.

Twin standards to consider

Montoya clarifies that there are two standards they consider when it comes to IoT – security and communication. One is related to a standard for protocols and the way those devices connect to different cloud-based systems monitoring systems. These central consoles ensure all the devices are on and reporting data, etc. In such a heterogeneous environment the lack of standards is creating chaos in the IoT world.

“Every vendor with a specific device for a specific reason created specific ways of communication that led to multiple protocols nowadays,” he continued. “When you have different players, each looking at their market niche, what ends up happening is a lack of communication standards and protocols.”

“This (situation) opens the same vulnerabilities that have happened for operational technology (OT) before now happening for IoT as well. Stronger standards are one way things can get better in terms of how to secure all these kinds of devices.”

David Montoya

Monitoring tools can help improve the security of IoT

According to Montoya, monitoring tools help visualise the data, including receiving alerts about the data. And while IoT vendors may provide tools to monitor their solution, the variety of vendors and the specificity of their use cases, suggest that a user may have a collection of monitoring applications that track a specific kind of device.

And because these may not come from the same vendor, it is likely that these do not use the same standard and may not be able to communicate with each other.

In addition, Montoya believes that users will not likely stay with one vendor for the same use case throughout the entire life of the process. “It is very normal that you have a certain IoT device from a certain vendor today and maybe two, or three years later you need to go for another technology and another vendor,” he explained.

The result is complexity on the part of the user trying to make decisions on the entire system or process. “You will have multiple different visualisation tools with different databases where the data is stored. And whenever you are trying to retrieve the data from multiple sources, you will take more time to know what is going on, how to use the data, how to bring the data into a central location, how to use that central location to provide central visualisation,” elaborated Montoya.

Ideally, you will want a central location from which to manage all these different proprietary technologies, standards and protocols, something Montoya says is what Paessler does.

“We keep up with all these new technologies to provide a single pane of glass. So that multiple vendors for IoT devices can share the information with our visualisation tool and monitoring solution. So that the users can see everything in one place and can handle everything from a single location, we provide a central database, and they can also get centralised alerts,” he explained.

Where do we go from here?

IDC market analyst for Asia-Pacific, Sharad Kotagi, says enterprises no longer think IoT value is only limited to achieving operational efficacy and improved productivity.

“They see IoT as an enabler in the evolution of enterprises' requirements and challenges in an ever-changing business environment. Many organisations are willing to invest in digital technologies such as IoT, and AI to fully leverage the new expansive role of data in emerging digital business models.”

Sharad Kotagi

But in the race to Industry 4.0 and the promise of smarter IoT-enabled enterprises, businesses and operations should not forget that behind the facade of benefits such a transformation promises, lies a myriad of security threats and vulnerabilities that must be addressed not for the lifecycle of the IoT but the use cases it is trying to enable.

Click on the PodChat player and hear Montoya talk about the challenges organisations face as they integrate IoT into their operations, and why monitoring may be the best path forward to securing IoT as the converged future of IT, OT and IoT.

1. Paint us a picture of the security landscape where it involves IoT.
2. Technologies like IoT, security practices and regulations have evolved, why do IoT continue to be vulnerable?
3. Is the lack of standards around IoT protocol a problem for securing IoT?
4. Will this wide range of protocols also hinder the effective use of monitoring tools and services?
5. As IoT start to connect – be part of the enterprise, how should the CIO, CISO and the COO or head of operations work together to better secure IoT as these connect to the enterprise?
6. Your thoughts for 2023?

The post PodChats for FutureIoT: Why monitoring is essential in IoT adoption appeared first on FutureIoT.

The annual report highlights changes in consumers, retail associates (front-line retail staff) and decision-makers among retailers over the 15 years the survey has been conducted.

Gearing toward a mobile-first retail experience

Among surveyed shoppers in Asia-Pacific (APAC), 68% say inflation has caused them to delay purchases (compared to 75% globally). However, they are still returning to stores. However, most shoppers (76% globally, 68% APAC) want to get in and out as quickly as possible. They are also willing to help make that happen with their growing affinity for self-serve technology.

Preference for a traditional check-out register staffed by a store associate has similarly declined (51% in APAC).

This trend for using self-checkouts is now being echoed among retailers in APAC with 79% viewing staffed checkouts as less necessary, while 53% have converted store space to self-serve areas and 52% are offering contactless options.

Device shopping

Overall, shoppers are ready for technological advancements, with about eight-in-10 expect retailers to have the latest technology.

Among shoppers in APAC, 46% of those surveyed opted for cashless payment methods. Half of APAC respondents prefer paying with a mobile device or smartphone.

Consumers also continue to rely on their smartphones during shopping trips; this year’s usage indicates price sensitivity as over half of those surveyed are checking for sales, specials, or coupons (48% in APAC), aligning with a good majority of shoppers (67% in APAC) concerned about having to reduce spending to make ends meet.

Everything experience

Consumers expect a seamless experience when they shop. Seven in 10 prefer shopping both in-store and online as well as favour online retailers that also offer brick-and-mortar locations. Convenience is king for fulfilment: most shoppers (73% in APAC) prefer the option to have items delivered and opt for retailers who offer in-store or curbside pick-up (64% in APAC).

The same is true for reverse logistics: about 77% in APAC prioritise their spending with retailers that offer easy returns. About 49% of surveyed retailers in APAC are converting space in their stores for order pick-up, supporting consumer fulfilment preferences.

Mobile ordering continues to increase, with around eight-in-10 shoppers and nine-in-10 millennials using it, and around seven-in-10 shoppers wanting more retailers to offer such services.

"With the convergence of retail channels today, retailers need to step up to meet renewed shopper expectations and ensure a seamless experience across their offline and online platforms,” said George Pepes, the APAC vertical solutions lead for retail and healthcare at Zebra Technologies.

“Furthermore, as the retail sector heads into the future of fulfilment, it is more important than ever for retailers to empower associates with the right technology to better perform their tasks.”

George Pepes

While 79% of global shoppers (76% in APAC) are concerned about inflationary price increases on everyday essentials, they are not necessarily leaving stores without the items they wanted due to price. Retail associates expressed out-of-stock complaints as their number one frustration (43% globally, 38% in APAC).

In APAC, the share of shoppers that do not complete their intended purchase order is lower overall (64%), with reasons including out-of-stock products (44%) or having found better deals elsewhere (27%).

Retailers are painfully aware of such reasons; 80% acknowledge the maintenance of real-time visibility for out-of-stocks as a significant challenge, needing better inventory management tools for accuracy and availability (84% in APAC).

Leveraging labour

Generally, shoppers, retail associates and retail decision-makers agree shoppers have a better experience when retail associates use the latest technology to assist them.

In the face of labour shortages: 74% of surveyed retail associates in APAC and 82% of retail decision-makers agree that stores leveraging retail technology and mobile devices attract and retain more retail associates as well. 

To further improve the shopping experience, more than eight-in-10 retailers surveyed aim to enable more retail associates or seasonal staff to help customers pick and fulfil online orders for the 2022 holiday season.

This also addresses another challenge cited by 73% of surveyed retailers in APAC: improving online fulfilment efficiency and expense (71%).

“To keep up with the ever-evolving retail landscape, retailers need to embrace intelligent automation and transform the way they integrate technology into their operations. Retailers also need to recognize that associates are a significant touchpoint to achieving long-term customer loyalty,” said Christanto Suryadarma, Southeast Asia (SEA) sales vice president for Zebra Technologies Asia Pacific.

“By equipping retail associates with the right technologies and processes, retailers will be well-prepared to respond to shoppers’ needs and deliver on-demand effectively.”

Christanto Suryadarma

The post APAC retailers moving to self-service egged by consumers appeared first on FutureIoT.

Part of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of software and services, Capital Electra X offers users sophisticated electrical design capabilities with lower cost-of-ownership and shorter time-to-productivity than traditional on-premises solutions.

“Many products across multiple industries are differentiated via increasingly sophisticated electrical content, driving rapid adoption of commercial electrical design tools,” said Frances Evans, senior vice president for integrated electrical systems at Siemens Digital Industries Software.

She noted that individual electrical engineers or small design teams often struggle with the higher cost-of-ownership and longer time-to-productivity of more complex enterprise-focused solutions.

“Instead, a browser-based SaaS solution designed for ease of use, rapid adoption and with minimal training requirements, will enable them to create electrical schematics easier and faster, using any device, for a low monthly cost.”

France Evans

Roots in acquisition

The new Capital Electra X offering is based on technology from the recently acquired Radica Software, a provider of cloud-native electrical CAD.

“The combination of the Electra Cloud technology from Radica, bolstered by Siemens’ technology, development capacity and global reach, provides the opportunity to better serve the SMB electrical design market with the first fully cloud-native SaaS solution tailored towards individuals and small teams,” said Thomas Yip, CEO, Radica Software.

Chad Jackson, CEO and chief analyst at Lifecycle Insights says research has shown that companies of many sizes are building out electrical design competencies to support the development of smart, connected products.

“With Capital Electra X, Siemens supports small and medium-sized businesses’ efforts to incorporate electrical systems into their offerings with power and ease of access.  More broadly, this acquisition bolsters the entire Capital suite, allowing Siemens to serve the right solution to those working on products of any complexity and in any stage of growth.”

Chad Jackson

The post Siemens lowers the barrier to cloud-native software for electrical design appeared first on FutureIoT.

IoT Analytics market research analyst, Matthieu Kulezak, acknowledged a persistent confusion in the market as regards what constitutes IoT software. He points to vendors that refer to IoT software as a bigger umbrella term for any kind of software that they wish to fit and bundled together.

For its part, IoT Analytics classifies it as a subset of a more extensive umbrella called industry software. In a typical manufacturing firm, for example, there’s designing, manufacturing, supply chain and service involved.

There are very specific functions, operations, and software for each of these steps which make up the three types of IoT platforms: application enablement, device management and data management.

At FutureIoT, we dare ask: are we at the beginning of software-defined manufacturing? And if so, how do we transition to this future?

IoT software is evolving

Back in 2017, the industrial software market was approximately 40% smaller than the hardware-centric OT market, but things are changing quickly.

Kulezak noted that back in 2018, the researcher estimated about 600 vendors selling software specific to IoT platforms. Fast forward to 2022, he estimates that about 200 of those vendors have stopped developing IoT platforms. He posits that the industry may be seeing consolidation as major players vie for a larger share of the market and a stable value proposition.

He posits that 2022 is a turning point for manufacturers.

For the first time, the average manufacturer will spend more on industrial software than on industrial automation hardware (OT hardware), according to IoT Analytics’ latest report on the industry titled Industrial Software Landscape 2022–2027.

Kulezak acknowledged that the pandemic and the boost in digital transformation efforts have benefited the software industry.

Ten years after Marc Andreessen, in 2011, proclaimed that “software is eating the world,” manufacturing is becoming software based. It is estimated that five years from now, the industrial software market will be twice as big as the OT hardware market. (The total market size for 2021 is $109 billion; the estimate for 2027 is $288 billion).

Why manufacturers are embracing cloud

Kulezak commented that manufacturers are embracing the software-as-a-service movement and cloud. But in the process, they are also discovering the limitations of the SaaS model – customisation. As a compromise, he noted a rise in interest in low-code and no-code platforms.

He opined that customisation was part of the legacy on-premises strategy of the past. With the cloud and SaaS model, the underlying intent is to harness the other benefits of cloud – scale and flexibility.

He further posited that customisation introduced complexity.

“That would be way too complicated to scale up. I think here the key is to go with a flexible go-to-market approach so flexible deployments and something quite standard so you can scale up."

Matthieu Kulezak

Recommendations

He suggests that manufacturers start very simple.

“Do trials and explore the new capabilities. It does not have to be a very complicated customised software which would be difficult to scale up in the future. Go for low code no code platforms, start with a standard, and then scale up,” he added.

“Digitisation requires leadership and commitment so IT leaders are doing more than before. There are security concerns which is why higher-level commitment is essential so the digitisation journey is smooth.”

Matthieu Kulezak

Click on the PodChat player to hear in detail Kulezak’s observations on how IoT is helping the digital transformation of manufacturing and hear his recommendations on how to take advantage of the opportunities.

1. Define IoT software.
2. Looking back from pre-pandemic to this period (mid-August 2022), how have things changed when it comes to IoT software?
3. In the period of accelerating digital transformation, which areas of IoT software have gained in importance?
4. Which software trends are helping in terms of IoT software adoption and development?
5. What needs to happen for organisations in manufacturing for us to see greater integration of IoT software in industrial settings?

The post PodChats for FutureIoT: Transforming manufacturing through IoT software appeared first on FutureIoT.

These are some of the findings from the 2022 IoT & Edge Developer Survey, published by the Eclipse Foundation and administered by the Eclipse IoT Working Group, the Eclipse Edge Native Working Group, and the Eclipse Sparkplug Working Group.

Another survey finding is that edge computing is gaining traction in real-world applications as top edge computing workloads all show significant increases in adoption.

“IoT and edge computing are arguably the most important technologies today, particularly for industries like industrial automation, agriculture, and automotive,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation.

The post Survey reveals top edge computing workloads appeared first on FutureIoT.

Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) network technologies, such as 3GPP standards like LTE-M and NB-IoT, offer long-range communications with broad coverage, the ability to handle a large number of devices and low power consumption to IoT devices to operate for 10 years or more.

Relay allows for battery-operated, easy-to-deploy network coverage extensions at a fraction of the cost of adding additional gateways.

Challenges however remain. Participants in a VDC Research-sponsored study, identified several challenges related to IoT system development using LPWA including 1) minimizing power consumption; 2) securing IoT data; 3) lowering project development time, and 4) reducing the total cost of ownership.

Working on the problem, the global association of companies backing the open LoRaWAN standard for the internet of things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), the LoRa Alliance has expanded the LoRaWAN link-layer standard with the addition of a relay specification.

This allows LoRaWAN to achieve excellent coverage in use cases requiring deep indoor or underground coverage, or relay data on satellite-connected LoRaWAN devices within proximity.

“LoRa Alliance members identified that end users in specific markets needed a solution to achieve full network coverage due to environmental challenges surrounding their deployments,” said Donna Moore, CEO and chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance.

“With relay, we’re providing a standardized solution that allows for full end-to-end communications in the extremely challenging underground, metal and concrete environments where sensor signals could use a boost or redirect to reach either the gateway or end-device.”

Donna Moore

She added that the new relay feature is a direct response to market needs and provides an essential building block to enable massive IoT.

Relay use cases

One of the first markets to adopt relay is metering in the utility sector. Utilities represent a massive opportunity for IoT, with VDC Research estimating that worldwide LPWAN communication services revenue will reach $2.47 billion by 2025.

Adding relay to the LoRaWAN standard to achieve coverage for even the most difficult cases (e.g., meters inside metal closets) significantly strengthens LoRaWAN’s market position in metering and utilities, and more broadly across key verticals including smart cities and buildings, and industrial IoT.

Using a relay is ideal for any application monitoring static assets in challenging environments.

LoRaWAN relay feature

The LoRaWAN standard is proven for long-range communications, however, there can be physical limits to where LPWAN communications can reach, such as around turns, underground, where a signal needs to be reflected/relayed into a specific location, etc. LoRaWAN relays allow signals to go where they physically couldn’t go before.

The LoRaWAN TS011-1.0.0 LoRaWAN Relay Specification document describes the relaying mechanism used to transport LoRaWAN frames bi-directionally between an end-device and gateway/network server via a battery-operated node. By enabling relay, the device can transfer LoRaWAN frames between an end device and network when there is insufficient coverage from the gateway.

This specification enables Network coverage extension through the battery-operated relay and maintains compatibility with the LoRaWAN Link-Layer standard in terms of protocol and security. The new relay nodes are battery-powered and can be installed anywhere and do not require electricity or internet connectivity. This makes them a very easy-to-deploy, low cost and low-power way to extend network coverage, without needing to add additional gateways. Relay endpoints allow LoRaWAN to provide coverage of all devices with only a nominal cost of installation.

The post Relay feature extends LoRaWAN coverage for metering, utilities, smart cities and industrial applications appeared first on FutureIoT.

HiveMQ has added distributed tracing to help organizations achieve end-to-end observability and make their IoT applications more performant and resilient.

With the Distributed Tracing Extension, HiveMQ adds OpenTelemetry support to provide complete transparency for every publish message that uses the HiveMQ MQTT broker. OpenTelemetry is an open standard for instrumentation that allows for interoperability across all services so organizations can achieve visibility over their entire system.

“We’re the first MQTT broker to enable true IoT observability so customers can trace MQTT data and gather diagnostic information in real-time rather than after the fact,” said Christian Götz, CEO and Co-founder of HiveMQ.

“IoT observability is key as it allows customers to quickly identify latency bottlenecks or reasons for failure in critical transactions and decrease the time spent resolving these issues.”

Christian Götz

Competitive landscape

HiveMQ offers first-class integration into a broad range of Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tools such as Datadog, Dynatrace and Honeycomb, or open-source alternatives like Grafana Tempo.

APM tools are being adopted rapidly but when used alone they typically have a blind spot around the MQTT data which leads to poor observability of applications.

What’s new

With the Distributed Tracing Extension, HiveMQ has solved that problem to unlock more value from expensive APM investments and shorten the time required to discover and resolve issues.

“In a complex architecture, customers often don’t know where to start when they experience a problem,” adds Götz. “Say opening the car door with a mobile application is taking 5 to 10 seconds instead of 1 second. A detailed look at where the message request travelled and how long it took at each step makes it easy to identify the root cause of latency so it can be fixed.”

The post HiveMQ claims first-to-market real-time IoT observability from device to cloud appeared first on FutureIoT.

The new joint venture company based in Singapore sees a tremendous opportunity in the region with the increased adoption of virtual healthcare and growing investments in digitalisation by healthcare institutions.

“Owing to the rise of artificial intelligence, IoT, and big data in healthcare, the region’s digital health market, valued at US$40.3 billion in 2021, is expected to expand to US$326.7 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 26.5%. As such, Healthcare Triangle’s entry into the region couldn’t be timelier,” said company chairman and CEO Suresh Venkatachari.

The company’s expansion into the region is expected to bolster the role of Singapore as a medical innovation hub. With their experience working in the developing healthcare technology industry in the US, Healthcare Triangle aims to help healthcare companies scale their digital solutions and innovation in the region.

Fostering partnerships for a resilient healthcare ecosystem

Meanwhile Healthcare Triangle will be  fostering partnerships and collaborations that help create better and more robust digital healthcare solutions in the Asia Pacific.

Specifically, the company plans to tap into Shankar Group, a leading diversified enterprise in FMCG, property development and services presence across the region, including South Asia, the Middle East, Japan, and Australia to expand its services all over the ecosystem.

Partnerships have been crucial  in enabling Healthcare Triangle to create a resilient healthcare system. It is one of the few providers in the region that has such a comprehensive network of partners that allows them to support regional and global healthcare projects.

The company is HITRUST certified and a premier partner of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud (GCP) and Microsoft Azure to provide multi-cloud services to customers. To provide holistic digital health solutions, it collaborates with EPIC and Meditech, leading Electronic Health Records (EHR).

Opportunity abounds across the region

According to McKinsey, digital health in Asia could collectively create up to US$100 billion in value by 2025, up from US$37 billion in 2020.

A large population of the APAC region still lives in remote areas seeking digital healthcare services. Increasing awareness about telehealth services and the growing demand for low-cost remote patient monitoring services are expected to drive the market in the next ten years.

The growing need for clinical information systems and electronic medical records will propel digital healthcare platform adoption.

“We are confident that our platform solutions will elevate healthcare and life sciences businesses with the power to transform and manage their cloud infrastructure across any CSP (Cloud Service Provider) and empower businesses with utmost security and compliance to harness the full potential of their data and thereby speed up their data-driven digital transformation journey,” said Venkatachari.

The post Healthcare Triangle eyes APAC digital health market appeared first on FutureIoT.

This is one of the key takeaways from the “Emerging Giants in Asia Pacific” report, which looks into the region’s maturing technology-focused ecosystems that are producing billion-dollar companies at a rapid rate.

"Fast-growing technology start-ups are the new wave of SMEs contributing towards economic growth and more. Looking ahead, the global push towards carbon-neutrality will be a major driver of innovation as traditional sectors go green, and Emerging Giants will likely play a key role in developing the technologies that can reduce carbon emissions and promote more responsible stewardship of the environment. Asia will be a crucial battleground in the fight for a more sustainable future," said Honson To, chairman, KPMG Asia Pacific and KPMG China.

Close to over 6,500 technology startups with a valuation of up to US$500 million were studied across 12 markets, including China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia,  Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the report, the emergence of new sector verticals is attracting record-breaking investments, leading to a proliferation of larger, more valuable startups in the region.

Beyond Fintech and SaaS

Beyond the traditional sectors associated with new economy businesses such as FinTech or software-as-a-service, the report identified around 120 technology-related industry subsectors among these businesses, with blockchain, smart city, and sustainability and ESG verticals being the most prominent.

Sustainability and ESG verticals such as EV charging infrastructure, sustainable packaging and sustainable fashion are among the top 20 subsectors, making sustainability-related products and services a key focus for roughly 15% of the emerging giants identified.

The top 20 list also included four health-associated verticals, including assistive tech, AI-powered drug discovery, neurotechnology and mental health technology.

Meanwhile, the smart city-associated areas, such as IoT security and digital twins were present in the leading 10 subsectors. Virtual collaboration technologies also feature prominently with two categories – virtual events and low-code/no-code – making the top 20 list.

Advanced computing technologies were also well represented, with quantum computing making the top 5 and cognitive computing making the top 20.

"Emerging Giants in Asia Pacific excites us because we see the start-up ecosystem as complimentary to the established end of the financial services industry: they're a source of innovation, and invigorate both local and regional economies with their dynamism," says Surendra Rosha, co-chief executive, HSBC Asia-Pacific.

Other key findings

Daren Yong, head of technology for media and telecommunications, KPMG Asia Pacific, noted that the region’s emerging giants are bold, ambitious and cutting-edge in the new platform and software applications they are offering.

“Most importantly, they are transforming and pioneering the technology landscape over the coming years, in addition to thinking about what is useful to their customers now," said Yong.

Meanwhile, below are other key findings from the report.

• While a repeat of the record-breaking private investment levels in 2021 is unlikely, 1Q 2022 figures suggest that 2022 is on target to exceed both 2020 and 2019 funding levels in the Asia Pacific. Australia, Malaysia and South Korea have already seen deal values pass or nearly pass 2020 totals.
• As the world's biggest fintech adopter, the Asia Pacific region has experienced a boom in financial services transformation within the last two years as fintech applications progress in tandem with user uptake. Considerable interest in cryptocurrencies has also led to a surge in crypto financial services providers and blockchain players.
• Top challenges faced by Emerging Giants include navigating regulatory complexity and securing technology talent. Formulating effective ESG and tax strategies, as well as leveraging government incentives and implementing management processes for distributed workforces, will be cornerstones of future growth.

The post Explosive growth seen for APAC’s ESG and smart city startups appeared first on FutureIoT.

The first three projects involves testing  new clean energy innovations on Jurong Island, under a S$6-million grant awarded by the EMA and JTC with support from Enterprise Singapore.  (More than 30 proposals were received following the open grant call in October 2021. The grant supports the prototyping and demonstration of the awarded projects over the next two years.)

The investment in clean energy technologies is part of Singapore’s energy transition to decarbonise its energy supply and will support Singapore’s raised climate ambition to achieve net-zero by or around mid-century.

These projects, piloted for the first time on Jurong Island, cover a diverse mix of technologies. They include innovative floating solar deployment and the development of a virtual ledger system to support green hydrogen production.

One of the projects will also look at using existing infrastructure to deploy energy storage systems and the electrolytes used for energy storage can be produced from recycled industrial waste, which enhances circularity on Jurong Island. The awarded projects were selected based on their innovativeness, commercialisation potential and scalability

“With Singapore’s limited renewable energy options, new energy technologies and innovations are key in our decarbonisation journey. Solar is our most viable renewable energy source, and we hope to push the boundaries further to maximise the amount we can harness. We are also looking at low-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen to reduce our carbon emissions in the longer term. The partnership with industry and research community will accelerate our transition towards a more sustainable energy future,” said Ngiam Shih Chun, chief executive, EMA.

If shown to be commercially viable, the test-bed projects could be scaled up and deployed across more companies on Jurong Island as well as other industrial companies looking for cleaner energy solutions.

Sustainable solutions in underwater infrastructure inspection

Another two projects, this time as part of the S$8-million partnership between EMA and Shell, have been awarded to two local startups BeeX and SunGreenH2.

As a deep tech spin-off from the National University of Singapore, BeeX specialises in designing and building autonomous equipment used for inspection of underwater infrastructure. Their solution could potentially be used to remotely monitor and inspect underwater energy infrastructure such as subsea cables or floating solar photovoltaic systems. This reduces the need for manual inspections as Singapore scales up solar deployment on water bodies and taps on regional power grids to import low-carbon electricity.

For their pilot, BeeX will be collaborating with Shell to trial a HAUV (Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), to make underwater inspections safer, more efficient and effective at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore on Pulau Bukom.

On the other hand, SunGreenH2 has developed a proprietary electrolyser technology used to produce low-carbon hydrogen. The Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) technology has the potential to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of producing low-carbon hydrogen, a clean renewable energy source that may one day become an alternative fuel for power generation.

“We strongly believe that innovating and collaborating with the different players of the energy value chain is key in moving towards a low-carbon world. Startups are an exciting source of new ideas and innovation,” said Thomas Wong, general manager of Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore at Bukom and chairman of Shell StartUp Engine Singapore Committee .

He added: “Supporting and working with local innovative startups like BeeX and SunGreenH2 is valuable in not only helping us to transform our business and the industry, but also contributing towards a net-zero world.”

EMA and Shell kicked off their partnership in 2019 to nurture local energy startups through the Shell StartUp Engine Singapore accelerator programme. To date, the partnership has supported 18 startups. Among the supported startups, EMA has also provided grants to selected startups to further develop their solutions to advance the energy sector’s transition towards greener sources.

Calls for R&D proposals in next-generation energy tech

Meanwhile, EMA and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) jointly launched their second grant call for research and development (R&D) proposals in next-generation energy technologies.

Funds from the S$20 million Exploiting Distributed Generation (EDGE) programme, which was started in 2019, would be used to develop innovative power engineering projects that will boost power engineering capabilities and support Singapore’s transition to a more sustainable energy future.

"Singapore’s energy demand is forecasted to grow in the next decade, driven by increasing electrification and digitalisation. Our power grid needs to evolve to support a more complex power system as we transition into various sources of cleaner energy and integrate them into our power system to meet increasing demand,” said Ngiam of EMA.

The second EDGE grant call is open to researchers from Singapore-based institutions of higher learning, research institutes, public sector agencies, as well as local companies and company-affiliated research laboratories/institutions. Funded projects must be implemented in Singapore. All proposals must be submitted by 15 October 2022, 1200hrs, Singapore time.

Indeed, with the increase in distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar photovoltaic installations and the rise in the adoption of electric vehicles, power systems of the future will need to be flexible and responsive.

Singapore’s power grid to evolve and adapt to variable power sources while continuing to ensure the reliability and stability of our power system. Because of this, EMA and SIT are seeking innovative solutions to manage the increasing DERs while ensuring continued grid stability and reliability.

Successful grant applicants would be able to test-bed their solutions on SIT’s Multi-Energy Microgrid at its Punggol Campus, located in the heart of the Punggol Digital District when ready in 2024. The Multi-Energy Microgrid serves as a platform for the industry and academics to catalyse R&D by allowing them to test-bed their solutions under real-world conditions. This could enable their ideas to be developed into market-ready solutions for commercialisation.

"Through EDGE, we aim to leverage Singapore’s first campus microgrid infrastructure for SIT’s Punggol Campus, which will serve as a national infrastructure that is open to the research community and businesses in Singapore,” said Professor Chua Kee Chaing, president, SIT.

“This platform allows new technologies and solutions to be tested in a controlled environment within the main grid while providing SIT students with the opportunity to work with industry partners and energy start-ups,” he added

In 2018, EMA and SIT launched the EDGE programme to support the building of capabilities in distributed energy technologies to prepare Singapore for an increasingly decentralised energy landscape. Since then, three projects in the research areas of microgrid design and distributed energy optimisation and management have been awarded.

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The  ESS will contribute to helping the SGMS to improve the energy efficiency of port operations by 2.5%. It will also reduce the port’s carbon footprint by 1,000 tCO2e per annum, the equivalent of removing around 300 cars off the road annually.

“Electricity demand will grow in the next decade with increasing electrification. The adoption of innovative demand-side technologies such as smart energy management systems and energy storage systems will help us optimise our energy supply and power grid capabilities,” said Ms Jeanette Lim, director of the industry development department at the Energy Market Authority (EMA).

She added that  innovative digital solutions such as this project will play a part in making Singapore’s energy systems more efficient and resilient.

The SGMS project is part of the S$8 million partnership between the EMA and PSA Corporation (PSA) to transform PSA’s energy usage in port operations through the use of smart grid technologies and energy management systems. A consortium led by Envision Digital has been tapped for the project, which also includes the installation of solar panels.

The EMA-PSA partnership is part of EMA’s Accelerating Energy Storage for Singapore (ACCESS) programme to facilitate ESS adoption in Singapore by promoting use cases and business models. This project will also go towards supporting EMA’s target of deploying at least 200 MW of ESS beyond 2025.

Real-time automated forecasts

With the dynamic nature of port activities, energy demand can fluctuate throughout the day. Port operations involve the use of energy-intensive equipment such as cranes and prime movers. Due to the dynamic nature of port activities, the energy demand can fluctuate throughout the day.

The ESS is managed by the EnOSTM platform uses machine learning to provide real-time automated forecasts of the terminal’s energy demand. This enables long-term planning of port assets, short-term scheduling and real-time energy management within the Pasir Panjang Terminal to reduce overall energy costs and carbon footprint.

Whenever there is a forecasted surge in energy consumption, the 2 megawatt/2 megawatt-hour battery ESS is activated to supply energy to help meet demand. With this enhancement to Pasir Panjang Terminal, spikes in energy demand of the port will be minimised.

“As a premier hub port driving innovation, digitalisation and sustainability, PSA can play an active role in contributing and co-creating Singapore’s smart grid architecture and energy systems. We are excited to partner EMA in unlocking the full potential of battery energy storage solutions to achieve cleaner and more efficient energy for our operations. As PSA enhances efficiency with port automation, we will continue to drive collaborative innovation with our partners for greater resilience in our energy future,” said Alvin Foo, head of new technologies and sustainability at PSA.

Meanwhile, at times when the ESS is not being used at the terminal, it will  participate in the National Electricity Market of Singapore to provide ancillary services to the power grid and to generate revenue. Insights from the project may also validate the possibility for commercial and industrial users to adopt ESS to serve multiple purposes, such as demand management on-site and providing commercial ancillary services to support power systems.

Sustainable development journey

Tan Joo Hong, head of global ports solutions at Envision Digital said its collaboration with the PSA will result in a reference model for ports embarking on sustainable development journey.

“With energy, machines, and systems orchestration through the use of EnOSTM, our jointly developed SGMS solution will support PSA in its sustainable development initiatives such as large-scale electrification and enable better management capabilities when PSA adopt different green energy sources,” said Tan.

Insights from the SGMS can also be applied for advanced energy management and optimisation at the Tuas Port, which would be the world’s single largest fully automated terminal upon completion in the 2040s. For greater sustainability, retired batteries from port equipment such as automated guided vehicles can be repurposed into second-life ESS.

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Called “Connected Product”, the packaged offering is jointly developed  by the two companies as part of their strategic alliance signed in 2020. The tracking solution provides greater visibility across the entire supply chain, and agility to activate immediate reactionary procedures, in case of damage or delays.

“What we’re announcing today improves supply chain visibility for logistics companies and insurers here in the APJ region, and delivers on NTT and SAP’s shared vision of helping companies around the globe achieve greater resiliency and agility to ensure they are prepared for future disruptions,” said Paul Marriott, president of SAP APJ, at the SAP Sapphire Conference held in Tokyo yesterday.

Logistics and supply chain disruptions have been commonplace these past two years as a result of the COVID pandemic and climate change, with marine transportation one of the most affected areas in the global supply chain model.

According to NTT DATA, there are instances when products were not tracked for three months and found out to be damaged or lost in transit – resulting to  more than US$5 billion in insurance claims.

“More than ever before, global logistics need to be resilient and adaptative. Long-term planning alone is no longer sufficient, and organisations must be able to react quickly especially in times of uncertainty. Critical to enabling this type of agility is to have the right data in the right hands, in real time,” said Norbert Rotter, SVP, NTT DATA Corporation, and CEO, NTT DATA Business Solutions.

The Connected Product solution responds to this need by monitoring the location and environmental conditions of goods in transit, particularly fragile goods, such as solar panels; bulk liquids, such as wine and olive oil; and sensitive cold chain shipments, such as cheese, pharmaceuticals, and even vaccines.

Making insurance management easier

More than 70% of supply chain claims are due to breakages and until the cargo arrives at its destination. Nobody has any idea of its actual condition and if it is suitable for sale to end customers.

Losses due to poor transportation conditions is becoming a multi-billion dollar problem, because it is almost impossible to know who did what and when an incident was caused.

This lack of visibility prevents companies from taking proactive decisions to avoid significant contractual penalties by setting accountability for each stakeholder.

To make insurance management easier, the new Connected Product solution connects SAP business network for logistics with smart insurance policy management assets powered by NTT DATA.

This provides real-time information on operations to all stakeholders, digitising all shipment and insurance documentation – triggering  and executing insurance policies automatically through NTT DATA smart shipments and giving everyone the ability to adapt to potential incidents quickly.

How it works: it all starts with sensor data

The solution starts when goods are loaded in the container a sensor is installed and linked to the logistics order shipment and the smart shipment policy the sensor collects data and sends its geo-location and transportation conditions every hour.

Alongside marine transportation of the goods, the solution monitors all variables that could affect the cargo. All this real-time data gathered remotely facilitates automatic decision-making provided by NTT DATA smart shipments that optimises insurance-related processes significantly and assures all stakeholders across the supply chain that everything is in hand no matter what happens.

Meanwhile, all stakeholders across the supply chain can follow the order conditions using dynamic dashboards showing insurance policy coverage and impact with light medium or heavy categories to anticipate potential breaches.

If the transport conditions defined in the policy are breached during the shipment of the goods, the NTT DATA  smart insurance policy is triggered and executes the payments of the insurance policy reducing claim management overheads and general costs

Piloting the solution

Right now, SAP and NTT DATA are piloting the solution with 20 shippers. From March to September this year, the Connected Product solution are tracking 400 container shipments bound for Europe, Asia and Europe. The journey spans more than 5 million kilometres, collecting more than 200,000 pieces of data from the sensors

It is especially useful for tracking fragile goods, such as solar panels; bulk liquids, such as wine and olive oil; and sensitive cold chain shipments, such as cheese, pharmaceuticals, and even vaccines.

The data gathered by IoT sensors helps to ensure that conditions critical for the goods – like temperature, luminosity, or shock-proofing requirements – are managed during the journey. That information gives customers the opportunity to quickly react to incidents.

After the pilot,  NTT DATA plans to incorporate the system into business operations, extending the solution to more international insurance and logistics companies.

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Takeaway business for the city’s F&B businesses have skyrocketed in the last three years with social distancing measures encouraging people to stay at home.

The Japanese fast-food chain has tapped Zeek, an on-demand logistics technology platform, to provide is SaaS solution to expedite the creation of Yoshinoya’s online store in the territory.

Established in 2017, Zeek deploys logistics technologies and big data analytics to provide a range of logistics services covering quick commerce freight, takeaway and grocery goods for individual, corporate and e-commerce clients. Its SaaS solutions are tailored to corporates' business needs to empower seamless digital transformation.

ZeekSolutions enables corporate clients, using ZeekStore module, to build their branded Quick Commerce ordering channel, apply geofencing for intelligent store assignment and integrate with POS/CRM/Apps.

Janet Yuen, CEO of Hung's Food Group, said: "Optimising customers' satisfaction in the food ordering process has always been one of the missions of Yoshinoya. With the collaboration with ZeekStore, Yoshinoya customers will enjoy the convenience of food ordering at their workplace or at home.”

He added that Zeek’s territory-wide delivery network enables Yoshinoya to reach customers easily from anywhere and at any time.

“We can also streamline the entire ordering process starting from order placement to final delivery for enhancing the customer-restaurant relationship. I believe that the seamless setup of Yoshinoya's online ordering platform by ZeekStore will offer our customers a beneficial dining experience,” said Yuen.

Yoshinoya has been in the Hong Kong market since 1991 and currently has around 50 stores across the city, serving millions rice bowls every month.

"We are thrilled to partner with Yoshinoya which is a leading multinational brand,” said KK Chiu, CEO of Zeek adding that  besides enhancing diners’ takeaway experience, the fast-food chain can now also leverage their customer data with analytics to curate strategic marketing promotions in a cost effective manner.

To date, ZeekSolutions has already assisted over 50 brands and simplified the connection from restaurants and e-commerce to their customers and was instrumental in assisting these brands to venture their Quick Commerce business in the new normal.

Zeek’s market coverage reaches beyond Hong Kong to Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia and the company plans to expand to the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan this year.

It currently operates a delivery team of over 30,000 fleet members as of December 2021.

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The annual gala concert dubbed "A Lovers' Reunion" will give the audience a brand-new symphonic experience driven by the integration of cutting-edge AI technologies developed by researchers from the HKBU's Augmented Creativity Lab.

The HKBU Symphony Orchestra will share the stage with an AI virtual choir to perform a newly arranged choral-orchestral version of the song Pearl of the Orient. It will be the world's first AI choir to perform a choral piece with Chinese lyrics.

“The first human-machine collaborative performance of its kind in the world presented by HKBU at the Gala Concert is an important outcome of the 'Building Platform Technologies for Symbiotic Creativity in Hong Kong' research project. It is also a milestone of AI research revealing the unlimited potential of human-machine symbiotic creativity,” said Professor Guo Yike, vice president for research and development at the HKBU Augmented Creativity Lab.

Professor Guo is the project leader of a research project entitled "Building Platform Technologies for Symbiotic Creativity in Hong Kong" – a HK$52.8 million research fund awarded by the Theme-based Research Scheme (11th round) under the Research Grants Council (RGC) for a period of five years.

He added: “HKBU is dedicated to building a world-class AI art-tech platform that will drive a new revolution that transforms the creative and cultural industries. It will enable Hong Kong to assume a leading position in art-tech on the global stage.”

For the gala concert, Professor Guo’s team has also trained an AI artist to create a cross-media visual narrative based on the lyrics and music to accompany the choral piece. The audience is invited to share the AI's imagination of Hong Kong as the Pearl of the Orient.

Another highlight of the concert is a ballet performance featuring AI virtual dancers in Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, accompanied live by the HKBU Symphony Orchestra. The ideas for the choreography come from the natural world, which provides dance movements inspired by a newly discovered species of box jellyfish in Hong Kong. In collaboration with professional dancers from the Hong Kong Dance Company, the AI-generated dancers have been trained to perform the ballet with movement-data collected by HKBU scientists.

The concert will also spotlight the artistic prowess of our award-winning student musicians in the performances of Saint-Saëns's Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28; Borne's Fantaisie brillante sur 'Carmen'; and Lauryn Kurniawan's Rasa for string quartet and gamelan.

Professor Johnny  Poon, who is also the music director and conductor of the HKBU Symphony Orchestra and the Collegium Musicum Hong Kong, said: "In addition to celebrating HKBU's young musicians, the innovative concert showcases how the University is using technology to push the envelope of human imagination in the arts and cultural sphere.

"By leveraging our established strengths in both the arts and sciences, HKBU is taking a trans-disciplinary approach that will advance the development of the arts, culture and creative media in Hong Kong. Our art-tech research also enables musicians and artists to go beyond the traditional forms and interact with the audience in brand new ways."

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The company, primarily known for its security products and applications, deployed an intelligent video system to monitor the animals’ activities and their interaction with humans. The system integrates professional video software with dedicated functions including AI-equipped cameras that can identify this unique animal automatically.

"The protection of pangolins is of great value in protecting the biodiversity in our forests," said Li Chen, director of Xizijiang Ecological Conservation Center, a non-profit organisation for monitoring, studying, and protecting wildlife.

Focus has been placed on surveying and monitoring wild pangolin populations and their habitats. Patrolling forests and mountains has radically diminished poaching efforts while also strengthening on-going research on the artificial breeding measures currently underway.

“The intelligent video system allows for smart, information-based and real-time monitoring of pangolins. It relieves researchers from patrolling pressures and provides precious data for the scientific research of pangolins. We are expecting more technologies to be used in the future of the Wuquinzhang Reserve to protect pangolins, so that more of them can thrive here,” he added.

Before the system was installed, research in the reserve was impeded by the lack of data and video footage on the local ecosystem in general and pangolin activity in particular.

Researchers were forced to travel dozens of kilometres on foot deep into mountainous areas and dense, unfriendly forests only to collect very limited data. After the Hikvision system was put into place, however, workers have been able to access large amounts of video footage, studying and documenting pangolin living habits. These valuable materials currently help reveal and restore populations as they facilitate the work of researchers.

Critically endangered

Known as “guardians of the forest”, pangolins are ancient creatures that appeared in fossil records possibly going as far back as 35-55 million years. Even with the strong shield pangolins wear, their population has declined at an alarming rate – the result of poaching and illegal trade.

What’s more, deforestation and intrusive human activities have disrupted their forest ecosystems extensively, leaving pangolins vulnerable. The destruction of their habitats further exacerbates their plight. Pangolins feed almost exclusively on ants and termites. Such a simple diet makes them particularly poor at adapting to changes in their environment.

In China alone, its population is estimated to have decreased by an exorbitant 90% since the 1960s, prompting the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to put the Chinese pangolin on its red list as a critically endangered animal.

Governments and international organisations have intensified their efforts to crack down on poaching and illegal trading of pangolins over the years. Significant resources have been dedicated to the animals' protection and breeding in the field. The United Nations has declared the third Saturday of February as "World Pangolin Day" in order to raise awareness about protecting these creatures across the globe.

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It will also expand its reach across the GCC countries, which comprise of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

Pure Harvest opened up about its market expansion after securing its latest growth funding of US$180.5 million.

“We have demonstrated that we can reliably deploy our high-tech farming solutions across the GCC. Now it is time to enter new markets that share similar challenges to our own – fast-growing populations, seasonal import-dependence, and an awareness of the crippling effects that short-term crises such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and climate change – are having on our global food system. The future of farming is here… now, we have the resources to bring our solution to the world,” said Sky Kurtz, co-founder and CEO, Pure Harvest.

The company also will use its new capital to invest in research and development.

The financing was raised by a consortium of key global investors, including Metric Capital Partners, UK, IMM Investment Corp, Korea, and Olayan Group, KSA, joined by several existing investors and management.

It represents the largest-ever convertible financing in the MEASA region. The funding round was vastly oversubscribed, and a few strategic investors are still in discussions for further upsizing, underscoring the strong institutional investor appetite for Pure Harvest.

The growth capital cements Pure Harvest’s role as the MEASA region’s champion within the fast-emerging, global high-tech agriculture ecosystem.

Kurtz said: “We are humbled by this investment from an esteemed group of global investors, backing our mission: to harness the wonders of science, the power of nature, and the passions of people to provide tasty, affordable, sustainably-grown fresh produce anywhere. “

Established in 2016 in Abu Dhabi, Pure Harvest grow crops in smart greenhouses installed with controlled-environment agriculture technologies to deliver fresh produce that is “cleaner-than-organic”. For now, the company only produces tomatoes.

The company deploys technology to circumvent the UAE’s hostile climate and create an environment that can sustain agriculture. Its high-tech greenhouses provide precise climate & environmental controls, enabling increased productivity and reduced waste, including water, energy and  time).

An advanced system analyses data to adjust sunlight, temperature and humidity. Other variables such as levels of carbon dioxide, water and airflow are also measured. There is also an advanced on-site water treatment to ensure food safety.

Pure Harvest packs its own produce: immediately cooling fresh-picked produce to extend shelf life – preserving freshness, firmness and flavour.

Controlled-environment agriculture is the future

Investors in Pure Harvest’s latest funding are confident that controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) plays a vital role in ensuring global food security amid the worsening climate change.

"It's clear that controlled-environment agriculture is becoming increasingly important as a solution to food security issues while also mitigating the environmental impact of food production. We believe Pure Harvest is extremely well positioned to thrive in this growing market driven by its excellent team, innovative approach, and proven track record of building and operating at scale in a region characterised by difficult climatic conditions for agriculture,” said Bjørn Tessiore, partner at Metric Capital Partners.

Hyun-Chan Cho, partner at IMM Investment, said: “Due to our longstanding successful investment in Farm8 (PlanTFarm), we knew the CEA space well. With Pure Harvest, we saw a complementary solution that let us double-down on an investment thesis that we continue to believe in, and that tangibly contributes to global food security, water conservation, economic diversification, and sustainability objectives. We are proud to actively support Pure Harvest as it brings its solution to Asian markets.”

The leading alternative investment firm in South Korea, IMM has forked out an initial USD $50 million investment in Pure Harvest in October.

One of the company’s latest investors, the Saudi Arabian-based Olayan Financing Company, said the climate and water challenges that Pure Harvest works to overcome is vital to the global economy.

“Pure Harvest has proven its ability to deliver incredibly high-quality, safe, sustainable products at affordable prices, and they’ve shown an openness to partner with others to achieve their mission. I believe this funding will allow them to unleash significant potential, and to meet growing food demands in many new markets. We are pleased to be joining the company at this critical point in their journey, transitioning from a regional leader to a global one,” a spokesperson from Olayan Financing Company said.

The latest round of fundraising cements Pure Harvest’s leadership position as the pioneer in CEA in harsh climates. This fundraise, together with the sizable research and development incentives secured from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office in 2020, will allow Pure Harvest to accelerate its growth plans, deploying growing systems in new markets and increasing research and development investments.

Pure Harvest  is also investigating a number of new growth initiatives, including product extensions and water-efficient CEA solutions for fodder production.

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“BlackBerry remains the leading choice for safety-critical automotive software, deployed in millions of vehicles globally, reflecting an industry-leading strategic vision,” said Roger Lanctot, director for Automotive Connected Mobility at Strategy Analytics. “Over the past seven years, BlackBerry has retained and grown its position in a rapidly changing market, and successfully delivered innovative automotive software solutions, which OEMs and Tier 1s embed in vehicles sold around the world.”

Strategy Analytics determined the volume of vehicles embedded with BlackBerry QNX software based on the number of BlackBerry QNX products that are shipped in the automotive market and the number of cars that contain BlackBerry QNX products and technology. The vast majority of BlackBerry QNX software products that are integrated and used in automotive ECUs are licensed on a per-unit royalty basis.

Automakers deploy BlackBerry QNX software in a broad range of applications for today's increasingly connected vehicles. These applications include digital cockpits, advanced drive assistance systems, instrument clusters, acoustics, and infotainment. Companies that have used the embedded software in their vehicles include BMW, Bosch, Continental, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Visteon.

“We continue to be the clear market leader in safety-critical embedded automotive software, with consistent growth in vehicles count, from over 16 million in 2013 to over 215 million today. We are delighted to be trusted by automotive OEMs and Tier 1s around the world,” said John Chen, executive chairman & CEO, BlackBerry.

Indeed, the QNX royalty revenue backlog has increased to approximately US$560 million at the end of BlackBerry’s first quarter of fiscal year 2023. This represents a 14% increase, from approximately US$490 million last year.

The backlog metric is calculated annually using QNX’s royalty rates and current projections of anticipated volumes over the lifetime of a design. BlackBerry QNX has recently achieved design wins with industry leaders such as Aptiv, Denso, Ford, GM, Hyundai, LG Electronics, Magna, and Volvo.

“Connected-autonomous vehicles are central to the development of smart cities, so as the two key markets that BlackBerry serves – IoT and cybersecurity – converge into an interdependent and combined market, our growth in the automotive industry will accelerate the emergence of a trusted smart world,” said Chen.

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Satellite networks have global broadband coverage allowing for IoT to be provided in remote locations terrestrial cannot reasonably access either because of cost or terrain, including at sea, in the air, or other unconnected locations.

Intelsat operates one of the most trusted satellite telecom network, touting what it claims as the world’s first hybrid, multi-orbit, software-defined 5G network designed for simple, seamless, and secure coverage when and where enterprise customers most need it.

“We work in building infrastructure, but doesn't get the recognition because we simply wholesale to people who provide consumer services. With a constellation of 52 geostationary satellites, we cover 99% of the world's population – 13  of those satellites cover Asia. In aviation, IntelSat  connects with our backlog of aircraft, linking 3,000 commercial aircrafts worldwide - that's Live TV and broadband connectivity,” said Terry Bleakley, regional vice president - Asia,  IntelSat.

He added: “We also connect with the biggest supplier of capacity to military bases. A big portion of our work is connecting ISPs, mobile telephone companies, telcos and data centres. For land mobility, we connect vehicles on the move, buses and trains. For the maritime industry, we largely focus on ships. 98% of all cruise ships use intersecting capacity, with our own network. The Flitz maritime network connects 9,000 merchant ships of all types. We connect two billion people, so they can watch channels that we distribute globally. In Asia Pacific, we reach about 240 million through distributing television content.”

At the recently-concluded Asia Tech X Singapore, FutureIoT sat down with Bleakley to discuss the complementary role of satellites with terrestrial providers in the hyperconnected world.

How do you see IntelSat taking the role in hastening connectivity that will enable smart cities? How do you work with governments and partners to develop this hyper connectivity around the world?

Terry Bleakley, IntelSat: You can connect using 5G technology, or 4G, or you can ’fibre’ a city. Our expertise lies with ISPs and telcos, and connecting areas where it's difficult to link terrestrial infrastructure. That's the edge of the network, outside cities but deep in rural areas. Eight of the world’s largest mobile network operators use IntelSat to provide cellular backhaul. It connects mobile base stations in areas where they can't reach with fibre. Two of Japan's largest telco networks rely on IntelSat.

Government initiatives help to reduce the digital divide. But as cities get connected, there's a gap in education, access to information in the cities or in rural communities. The problem for the rural communities is with the low spending power and the ability to use technology. It's expensive to get to those rural areas, so government subsidies matter.

Can you share a specific community that has benefited from building this capacity development?

Terry Bleakley: Indonesia comes under the Bakti project, and we work with a local partner, Lintasarta in Indonesia who is a division of telecom service. With our capacity, we connect them to the networks in local schools, hospitals and government departments throughout Indonesia.

The other project is a government funded project with the Department of Information, Communications and Technology (DICT) in the Philippines. We do the same thing by bringing connectivity to schools, hospitals and communities in remote areas. The topographies of these countries are alike, and both have large populations that are spread out across many islands within the archipelago.

We have worked with the telecommunications authority of the Marshall Islands which is also an archipelago. Some distant islands have no mobile phone connectivity, then we upgraded their existing 2G network to 4G - that’s a big jump. For the first time, they have ‘voice,’ and now it's upgraded to 4G. So, it's not just building a mobile infrastructure but using half the capacity to connect to schools, hospitals - people and places that matter.

What are the current challenges now in satellite deployment today? What are the kinds of challenges that IntelSat is facing right now, as a business?

Terry Bleakley: People say that satellites are going through a revolution. There's a lot of interest because there's new constellations coming up. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are getting into the space race with rockets - and rockets need satellites. This helps propagate other verticals of their business by getting involved in building their own constellations. They see just like Greg Wyler, the founder of O3b, who says that more than 2.8 billion people in the world are still unconnected. They see an opportunity for using a constellation to reach the unconnected. The biggest problem though, is that in remote countries, they only earn US$2/ week, but spend US$2 a month on mobile phones. It's a challenging financial model when you don't have the same spending power as developed cities. This puts a lot of interest into the business, and has brought a lot of private equity into the industry. It calls for more innovation, and if you look at telecommunications and Pay TV spending annually, it's between $1.6 trillion and $1.7 trillion.

It’s a startling figure but how do you qualify these numbers? What is the business potential and impact on the telecommunications market?

Terry Bleakley: According to the Northern Sky Research report, the satellite has about US$13 to US$14 billion of that pie so 1% of it in telecommunications. This explains why it sits outside of the core standards of the terrestrial network. It works in a proprietary fashion where satellite manufacturers only talk to the same satellite manufacturers and integrate it into the main telco infrastructure. Intelsat has been a proponent of open standards and we sit on the 3GPP group. This group consists of seven international organisations who develop the standards for mobile networks for 3G, 4G and 5G.

On data centres -  IP goes over the ethernet, now this becomes the default standard for everyone. We were the first satellite company to become MAF 3.0 - attributed. It allows them to connect all the way across and then the other part of it is virtualizing the network.

So, what is being done to move to the next level of development? What would you see the shape of things to come in the next five or 10 years? What is going to be next for Intelsat?

Terry Bleakley: We were very much hardware oriented before and now we're moving to a virtualized orchestrated network. Working with Kratos in network virtualisation with a standard they call open space. Within that, we're also building software defined satellites. Now we can move power and follow aircraft as it is travelling. It creates incredible flexibility. So, combining a software defined satellite, keeping with open standards, having virtualisation of the network, means that we can cross platforms for the first time, integrating all that into a total network. It's a massive change. We will move from 1% to 2% of that pie and our wholesale addressable market goes from 14 billion to 28 billion. It will be a big step towards that journey.

So where is IntelSat in that journey?

Terry Bleakley:  We have been instrumental in making sure the satellite was part of that 5G standard. With Cloud Connect, we connect with Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. We're working with the SD WAN product, which is the first stage of virtualization and content aggregation. Our core expertise is in geostationary satellites and have filings for MEO constellations. The whole idea is to look after the space component by interfacing with LEO, MEO and Geostationary satellites. So, the quality of service will have priorities based on the most resilient, least cost effective, the fastest, that can create the best capacity and deliver a solution.

So, what is in it for the carriers you work with - how would they benefit with the new direction?

Terry Bleakley:  Well, the direction is set for the software defined satellites. This virtualised network won't be here till 2025. We will become the 5G network for telcos for areas where they're not strong. Not all telco networks are the same. Some are not strong on aircraft or on boats. Some are not strong in rural areas. So, we become the roaming network for the hard to get places. For example, when a Singtel or Starhub customer gets on a plane, they stay on the network. It may look like they’re on the same network, but they are just effectively roaming on the aircraft. The passenger does not pay anything except for roaming charges on that aircraft without effectively logging on or off. He/ she is not really paying for it in the bill because the cost is hidden. It will be the carrier's part to ask a high-end passenger, who is on a 20 gigabit /month plan if it could offer the customer one gigabit free on a plane. So that's really up to the carrier to decide how to charge their customers. So, with a 5G core, we connect them on a plane and make that experience seamless. That is how IntelSat uses its  unparalleled expertise and global scale to connect people, businesses, and communities, no matter how difficult the challenge.

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The VoltNet service is being launched by eMobility platform provider Voltality, a company owned by Singapore startup Beep which builds universal automation platforms for the Internet of Things (IoT).

VoltNet will digitally connect Charge Point Operators (CPOs) and eMobility Service Providers (eMSPs) on a single network, providing EV drivers in the Lion City with the convenience of using any EV charger across city state with a single interface.

The pilot programme will onboard 25 private hire drivers from ride-hailing company Gojek Singapore who will be issued with a VoltNow Card, and will be progressively expanded to all Gojek drivers renting EVs from its GoFleet partner, Singapore Electric Vehicles Pte Ltd. This pilot programme counts Charge+, ComfortDelGro ENGIE, Shell Recharge, Keppel Volt and QuickCharge.SG as CPOs.

Lien Choong Luen, general manager at Gojek Singapore, said the VoltNet service arrives at a crucial time when the automotive and transport services industries are locking step with the government’s comprehensive roadmap to drive EV adoption among local residents as part of the Singapore Green Plan 2030.

“We hear first-hand the concerns of our driver-partners when considering switching to an electric vehicle. Creating a simplified charging experience and payment process is a significant step towards helping to remove barriers and encourage EV adoption among drivers. We look forward to our driver-partners experiencing the benefits of VoltNet through this pilot, ultimately helping improve EV infrastructure in Singapore, contributing to Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, and our own ambitious target to transition the entire Gojek fleet to EVs by 2030,” Lien said.

Gojek’s participation in the VoltNet pilot comes on the heels of the company’s recently announced partnership with CRX CarbonBank, which will enable its EV driver-partners to benefit from monetised carbon credits through the Electric Vehicle Accelerator (EVA) programme.

Seamless and interoperable eMobility payment

With VoltNow Card in hand, EV drivers can simply tap and go at participating charging points to seamlessly pay  for their charge session. An e-receipt will be sent to drivers via SMS to upon the completion of a successful charge session.

“I am pleased to finally see a solution that will help to make EV charging easier and payments seamless,” said Brian Heng, Gojek driver-partner. “We all know EVs are better for the environment, but many drivers, like me, still find the systems challenging, particularly when it comes to paying to charge our vehicles. Charging points vary hugely, often requiring different payment methods or different apps to operate.”

Freddie Chew, general manager of ComfortDelGro ENGIE, echoed that the new service alleviates the anxieties of EV drivers and encourages EV adoption across various stakeholders in Singapore.

“With the rapid growth of the EV population, we recognise the need for increased interoperability in the eMobility ecosystem. It is therefore timely that ComfortDelGro ENGIE is now on VoltNet as it will provide EV drivers greater accessibility to more EV charging services, including ours, under a single charging network,” said Chew.

Kumail Rashid, general manager, Greenlots (Shell Recharge Solutions), APAC, pointed out:  “A seamless driver experience is pivotal for EV uptake, not only in Singapore but for the region as well.  The Shell Recharge network already spans across borders, including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and it is our aim to continue to provide the freedom of travel.  We look forward to working closely with Beep and Voltality on this pilot to provide added convenience to EV drivers.”

Meanwhile, Voltality hopes to expand VoltNet’s seamless and interoperable eMobility payment experience to the EV industry across Southeast Asia.

Kristoffer Jacek Soh, co-founder and CEO of Beep, said: “We are heartened by the support of the various CPOs in our eRoaming initiative, VoltNet, which is a first in Southeast Asia. With Voltality & VoltNet, we look forward to providing a seamless and interoperable charging solution for EV Drivers, eMSPs and CPOs in the region.”

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UAP builds net-zero ground infrastructure for eVTOL passenger air taxis and autonomous delivery drones.

Critical to this digital infrastructure will be BI’s Vertiport Information Management System (VIMS), powered by its proprietary device integration platform capable of remote beyond visible line of sight (BVLOS) autonomous control and operation of drones to autonomously perform tasks that would normally require human input.

“The development of the new vertiports will see the perfect marriage of ground and air architecture driven by an autonomous digital platform at the core,” the companies said in a press statement.

In addition, BI and UAP  will work together on several proofs-of-concept (POCs) for practical applications of autonomous drone operations such as transportation of medical supplies, industrial maintenance/inspection work and logistics solutions, paving the way for remote pilot passenger operations and ultimately autonomous passenger air travel.

Since 2016, BI has been conducting extensive research and development into a vertiport system, the “BEP Port”, in collaboration with the Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan and the University of Tokyo, which combines their VIMS digital platform with infrastructure design – the expertise UAP will bring to the table. This groundwork has already seen BI conducting multiple POCs throughout Japan.

The agreement between UAP and BI will enable further POCs to be developed in an effort to create social implementation of AAM not just in Japan, but on a global scale.

“Japan is a key market for Urban-Air Port. Collaborating with Blue Innovation establishes us in Japan, providing best-in-class technology as well as a platform for further development and co-operation,” said Adrian Zanelli, chief financial officer, Urban-Air Port.

He added: “Similarly, this agreement gives Blue Innovation a far broader reach in terms of geography and customers. We’re excited to make this announcement today and look forward to making the strongest AAM ecosystem in Japan and across the world.”

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This was one of the key takeaways from a newly released global study entitled “The Race to Decarbonization”, which evaluate progress companies have made in pursuing  their sustainability goals.  Forrester Consulting in collaboration with Johnson Controls conducted an online survey in September 2021, polling over 2,348 sustainability strategy leaders in 25 countries  and across 19 industries.

“The survey clearly shows that business leaders in Southeast Asia see sustainability as the number one business priority now. And among the different key sustainability initiatives, energy efficient buildings and workspaces is high on the agenda, with 91% deeming this an investment priority within three years," said Charles Lim, leader, Southeast Asia, Johnson Controls. “More than three quarters of respondents have goals to reduce carbon emissions across their portfolio of buildings by 26% or more; and 11% are gunning for net zero or carbon negative.”

The global survey found that North America is the most aggressive with their carbon reduction goals. While the urgency among the private sector is picking up in Southeast Asia, more is needed. The ASEAN State of Climate Change Report noted that “there are still large gaps in implementation and ambition” based on emission reduction targets in 2030 and emission trends up to now.

Where to start a challenge

Although organisations recognise the benefits of implementing sustainability practices, many companies do not know where to start in preparing for critical business transformations. Top five hurdles today relate to managing multiple parties involved, lacking strategic plan, lacking external partners, understanding of changing policy requirements, and struggling to scale up.

The survey further found that only 18% of respondents in Southeast Asia have ESG reporting software to help measure their progress while 41% of respondents believe their organizations have a shortage of internal expertise, preventing them from tracking their carbon emissions effectively.

"In the race to decarbonisation, companies must align priorities to the demands of many stakeholders, work with partners to develop transparent sustainability roadmaps, and identify  metrics and adopt tools to track progress," said Mei Peng Hor, business development director, sustainable infrastructure, Asia Pacific, Johnson Controls.

She added: "More customers are looking for ways to make this process easier, and are transferring their sustainability commitments and the risk to reach these targets to an external partner that has the capability, scale and ecosystem. Our OpenBlue Net Zero Buildings as a Service, for example, has helped the University of Hawaii reduce energy use by 80% across four campuses, saving US$80 million, through energy retrofit and renewable energy solutions."

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The solution will identify all facility-wide assets, deliver risk and vulnerability management capabilities, and provide continuous threat monitoring to protect enterprise investments.

“The integration of IoT in buildings is sparking an exciting shift across the sector, but like with any innovation, it also presents new risks,” said Annick Villeneuve, vice president for digital Enterprise Solutions, Schneider Electric.

Smart buildings face heightened exposure to risks

Indeed, Schneider Electric cited that IoT technology for buildings is expected to grow from an existing 1.7 billion connected devices at the end of 2020 to over 3 billion by 2025.

As these commercial buildings evolve into smart buildings of the future, they share at least one common trait: heightened exposure to risks. This is driving commercial buildings to digitize their assets, including modernising their building management system.

The sector must address the security challenges presented by smart buildings. Studies have shown that 57% of IoT devices are vulnerable to medium or high-severity attacks. Cyberattacks have already harmed several businesses, including critical infrastructure such as hospitals, data centers, and hotels. The commercial building sector must find ways to safeguard both its access to the company’s IT systems as well as its mission-critical infrastructure.

Villeneuve said: “For threat actors looking to disrupt operations, benefit financially and/or achieve other objectives, and in so doing to put individuals at risk, buildings can appear to be the perfect target. It is with this in mind that we are partnering with Claroty to bring our customers a comprehensive, industry-leading solution that meets the unique security and operational risks facing buildings of today and of the future.”

Protecting cyberphysical assets

As more IoT devices are deployed within the buildings space and increased connectivity between previously isolated operational technology, building management systems (BMS), and their IT counterparts, have made them attractive targets and vulnerable to cyberattacks. Additionally, facility managers oversee hundreds of vendors, service contractors, and technicians in a fragmented manner, increasing complexity and risk.

“When it comes to securing cyber-physical systems, including BMS, the number one priority is to keep physical processes operational and safe,” said Keith Carter, vice president of worldwide channels and Alliances, Claroty. “By fusing Claroty’s deep domain expertise and purpose-built technology with Schneider Electric’s renowned services and commitment to driving digital transformation globally, we are empowering our customers to reap the benefits of smart building technologies without increasing their exposure to cyber risk, thereby taking a profound step toward creating a more efficient, sustainable future for the world.”

The Cybersecurity Solutions for Buildings is designed to give building owners, facility operators and security teams a simple solution without adding further workload. It identifies baseline risks, continually reduces both cyber and asset risks, and identifies and remediates threats in their environment before services are interrupted. Some of its key features include:

• a simple, vendor agnostic solution with which they can easily fulfil secure remote access, asset inventory, efficiency, and other related requirements from building owners and asset managers.
• automated asset discovery and network mapping solution that identifies and catalogues all system assets (BMS, IoT, UPS, Power Systems, etc.).
• continuous threat detection solution that constantly monitors buildings networks to identify, assess, and alert at the earliest indicators of network and asset level anomalies.
• external, secure tunnels to connect to and maintain specific resources and assets in the building network easily and without introducing additional risk.
• dashboards and reporting capabilities to enable management and security teams to understand current situations, receive tailored recommendations, and drive the proper actions to reduce a building’s exposure to safety, operational, financial, and reputational risks.
• secure remote access (SRA) solution that is purpose-built for buildings and OT environments to increase building security when vendors, contractors, and technicians are performing remote maintenance activities.

Furthermore, the visibility and intelligence gained on the building OT and Asset Environment through the deployment of Schneider Electric’s Cybersecurity for Buildings solutions can also bring additional benefits to the building owners and operators to enhance their building operational efficiency and productivity with actionable insights.

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The partnership will help WeRide in accelerating its on-board application of automotive-grade smart solid-state LiDAR. It will also speed up the large-scale series production and commercial application of autonomous driving technologies.

RoboSense is a provider of smart LiDAR sensor systems while WeRide is a provider of L4 autonomous driving technologies.

“We support WeRide in achieving production and application of autonomous vehicles faster, more efficiently and on a larger scale with our large-scale production and delivery capacity of the leading smart solid-state LiDAR products, and to further deepen the auto industry reform by making pragmatic, bold and innovative efforts as a technology enterprise,” said  Chunchao Qiu, co-founder and executive president, RoboSense.

RoboSense has been exploring the autonomous driving industry for years and is anticipating an exponential growth in the large-scale commercial application of autonomous driving technologies amid the positive macro environment.

Constant technological innovation, aim at commercial application, and focus on large-scale production are the basis of the partnership between the two companies.

Currently, RoboSense has connected with a number of upstream and downstream partners in the industry to integrate advantageous resources and establish a complete supply chain. Deployment of a number of smart production lines of RoboSense in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other cities are basically completed, with an expected annual production capacity of one million units, which guarantees a continuous and stable supply of advanced and reliable products for WeRide and other partners.

“With the strong support from RoboSense, WeRide gained rich experience in the application of solid-state LiDAR to autonomous vehicles and formed ideal solutions,” said Tony Han, founder and CEO, WeRide.

He added: “The sensor kit has been further optimised in terms of size and power consumption, while maintaining consistent accuracy, stability and safety in handling increasingly complex urban traffic conditions in China. This gives our next-generation SAE L2-L4 autonomous driving solution a strong competitive edge."

With their strategic cooperation, both companies will deepen industrial integration through technological innovation to provide a safer and convenient autonomous driving experience.

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"Many manufacturers are considering introducing smart factory technologies that incorporate information technology into their manufacturing processes to flexibly respond to changing markets and strengthen competitiveness through continuous innovation," said Yong-ha Lee, regional director, Rockwell Automation Korea.

"The CEC provides a one-stop location where customers can physically and virtually interact with our cutting-edge solutions and understand the value of the connected enterprise. I hope the centre will be a place where customers can experience how digitalisation can address real business problems and immediately begin developing tailored strategies together with us," added Lee.

The centre consists of five zones where customers can experience Rockwell Automation's latest smart factory technologies first-hand, including the motor control centre, Independent Cart Technology, Internet of Things (IoT) control systems and cybersecurity systems, distributed control systems, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications.

Hands-on demonstrations will be administered by Rockwell subject matter experts and visitors can download an AR-enabled app to experience the solutions for themselves. In addition, all solutions are operated based on real-time data, so visitors can behold the actual operation status of facilities.

With over 120 years of experience, Rockwell Automation provides cutting-edge smart factory solutions to companies in more than 100 countries.

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"Sharks and rays play an important role in maintaining marine ecosystems by keeping other fish populations in check. If stripped from our oceans, there would be dire consequences for ocean health, which would affect us, and our food security,” said Dhanushri Munasinghe, project coordinator at the Conservation International Singapore.

He added: “As one of the world's most significant transhipment hubs, Singapore is well positioned to combat illegal wildlife trade. Conservation International, supported by Microsoft and other partners, is excited to support Singapore and the Singapore National Parks Board's leadership in conservation through the creation of Fin Finder".

The mobile app was created by a Singapore-led team from Conservation International in consultation with NParks with support from the Microsoft AI for Earth program. It will be used by officers from the Singapore National Parks Board to combat illegal wildlife trade.

Fin Finder, a complex AI and cloud based mobile application that runs on Microsoft Azure, was created in just nine months to address a pressing need. The project was supported by a highly collaborative consortium of global experts in conservation and technology, with resources, data, and volunteer contributions from Microsoft, Conservation International, the NParks, Sineurope, Rumah Foundation, Coastal Natives and Wild Me.

Stopping illegal trade of sharks and rays

There are approximately 1,000 species of sharks and rays in the world, of which over 30 species are listed under the appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for regulated trade.

Between 2012 and 2020, more than 160,000 kilograms of fins from CITES-listed sharks and rays have entered the Singapore waters. The current process requires officers to collect the fins from each shipment for DNA testing to determine its species. This takes an average of up to one week.

Ivonne Higuero, secretary general of CITES, said: "The first step in ensuring international trade complies with CITES regulations comes with the, sometimes difficult, process of identifying the species being traded. Fin Finder is a welcome and innovative addition in the identification of fins and will complement other tools such as iSharkFin. It will give customs and enforcement officers an easy-to-use tool that will contribute to an international trade in CITES-listed species that remains legal, traceable, and sustainable."

Fin Finder optimises the identification process by allowing officers to take photos of fins that will be matched against a database of over 15,000 shark and ray fin images via an AI-driven algorithm in the app. In a matter of seconds, the AI-powered app which runs on Microsoft Azure will quickly and accurately provide a visual identification of shark and ray species onsite and empower officers to quickly flag suspicious fin shipments for further DNA testing to stop the illegal trade of shark and ray fins.

When wildlife species are traded illegally, the consequences are far-reaching to many ecosystems, economies and communities around the world, according to Dr Adrian Loo, group director of wildlife management, NParks.

“By using advanced technology in the creation of Fin Finder, we can strengthen the enforcement against the illegal trade of sharks and ray species following CITES regulation, and boost Singapore's capabilities in conserving precious biodiversity,” Loo said.

Fin Finder as a single-platform directory

Beyond identification of illegally traded shark and ray fins, officers from the NParks will also use Fin Finder as a single-platform directory of relevant shark and ray species. The app also offers onsite access to reference materials that can be used for validation of CITES-approved permits or shipping documents. This feature is expected to reduce the time and effort spent to on shipment validation, enabling officers to help put a stop to illegal wildlife trade more quickly.

Richard Koh, chief technology officer, Microsoft Singapore,  said: "AI has the potential to solve critical environmental challenges. By taking AI tools out of the lab and putting it into the hands of experts in the field, we can accelerate new solutions for a better world. That's why we are proud to support Fin Finder as it protects global shark and ray populations and preserves our ocean life. By conserving wildlife with help from technology, future generations can enjoy our natural world, as we empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more."

Fin Finder is a project in Microsoft AI for Earth, a global program that supports organisations applying responsible AI and cloud computing to address critical environmental issues. The program is part of Microsoft's AI for Good initiative, which aims to solve the world's most challenging problems, from climate change to agriculture, biodiversity and water. To date, AI for Earth has awarded 138 grants to people and businesses in more than 45 countries globally.

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The companies will also collaborate around creating and deploying smart factory IoT solutions for VinES batteries manufacturing and VinFast electric vehicles manufacturing.

“Vingroup has always been a pioneer in bringing consumers smart products and services integrated with world-class technologies, advanced features and outstanding experiences to improve their lives. We work towards realising this vision through partnerships like this, to create a smarter and more sustainable future for everyone,” said Le Thi Thu Thuy, vice chairwoman of Vingroup.

The collaboration is part of a continued effort from Vingroup to work with top tier global suppliers who can aid with manufacturing development, smart services and electric vehicle initiatives.

Vingroup recently adjusted its orientation and redefined three key groups of activities, namely technology and industry, trade and services, and social enterprise.

To develop the technology and industry group, Vingroup focuses on two main strategies: building Vingoup's technology ecosystem and connecting global intelligence – cooperating with the world's leading technology partners to accelerate the application of the most advanced and new technologies to Vingroup's products and services.

Advancing automotive technology

Under their new MOU, Vingroup and Intel will also  collectively define and build both an optimised and scalable computing architecture for AI training and inference for Vingroup's in-vehicle and cloud applications.

The applications will enable a specific in-vehicle experience for consumers and an optimised multi-cloud strategy to potentially migrate and deploy open-source in-vehicle and in-building applications. They can include high-performance data management systems for ADAS and Infotainment, manufacturing and supply chain management along with enterprise solutions for Vingroup facilities.

Both companies will also work together to define a shared vision of future in-vehicle computing platforms and build scalable in-vehicle computing platforms for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) based on Mobileye technology and infotainment systems that deliver a unique in-vehicle experience for Vingroup and VinFast customers and create a suite of services that will differentiate them from competitors.

"The digitisation of everything is contributing to the insatiable need for semiconductors, especially in the automotive sector. Intel has the depth and breadth of software, silicon and platforms, and process with at-scale manufacturing our partners need for their next-generation innovations. This collaboration with Vingroup can help deliver needed technology innovations for safer roads, more sustainable manufacturing and smarter cities," said Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO.

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The Nokia MXIE is a future-ready, high-capacity and highly-resilient as-a-service OT on-premise edge solution that accelerates the digital transformation of operational technology (OT), and is powered with 4.9/LTE and 5G connectivity provided by the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC).

Through the expanded  partnership with Microsoft, Nokia MXIE and private wireless solution customers have seamless access to the full Azure ecosystem offering on MXIE. For one, the integration will allow Nokia customers in industries such as automotive, manufacturing, energy, logistics and government to run Industry 4.0 applications in the traditional cloud, as well as directly on their premises. It will also provide numerous benefits such as increasing worker safety through AI and automation, while decreasing the amount of needed backhaul with local data processing.

“Our extended collaboration with Microsoft will enable and enhance the performance of Industry 4.0 mission critical applications allowing our customers to tap into Microsoft Azure Arc in the cloud and on the customer premise’s edge,” said Stephan Litjens, vice president, Nokia Enterprise Solutions.

Nokia has deployed mission-critical networks to more than 2,200 leading enterprise customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale and public sector segments around the globe. It has also extended its expertise to more than 450 large private wireless customers worldwide across an array of sectors.

Microsoft Azure Arc offers a simple way to deploy and manage Azure applications on-premise with multi-cloud resources, such as virtual or physical servers and Kubernetes clusters. It simplifies governance and management by delivering a consistent multi-cloud and on-premise management platform.

Microsoft Azure Arc running on Nokia MXIE provides enterprises with added access to Azure capabilities while benefiting from private wireless connected assets’ real-time data and on-premise, highly-resilient OT-centric edge processing. Keith Sutton, CTO, telco service line at Microsoft said: “Nokia is an established leader in fully integrated industrial edge and private wireless solutions to provide features and automated management tools that accelerate OT digitalization. With Microsoft Azure Arc, a wide ecosystem of applications, and our long standing work with Nokia, we can provide AI-powered insights and identify solutions to workflow issues for mission critical Industry 4.0 applications running at the edge.”

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Called AI Verify, the self-test toolkit aims to promote transparency between companies and their stakeholders through a combination of technical tests and process checks. The is developed by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC).

“It is another step forward in Singapore’s AI development. This will promote greater public trust towards the use of AI. We invite industry partners from all around the world to join us in this pilot and contribute to building international standards in AI governance,” said Josephine Teo, Singapore’s minister for communications and information, at annual meeting last Wednesday of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, Switzerland.

Globally, testing for the trustworthiness for AI systems is an emergent space. As more companies use AI in their products and services, fostering public’s trust in AI technologies remains key in unlocking the transformative opportunities of AI.

Objective and verifiable testing process

Developers and owners can verify the claimed performance of their AI systems against a set of principles through standardised tests. A.I. Verify packages a set of open-source testing solutions together, including a set of process checks into a toolkit for convenient self-assessment.

The toolkit will generate reports for developers, management, and business partners, covering major areas affecting AI performance. The toolkit will transparently show how the AI model claims fared against  test results in areas such as: on the use of AI to achieve what stated outcome; understanding how the AI model reaches a decision; and, whether the decisions predicted by the AI show unintended bias

The toolkit will also assess the safety and resilience, as well as the accountability and oversight of AI systems.

“Rapid digitisation has led to a proliferation of data and improved algorithms. As companies across sectors continue to innovate, this toolkit will enable them to turn concepts of responsible and trustworthy AI into practical applications,” said Chia Song Hwee, deputy CEO, Temasek International and member of Singapore’s Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data, which guided the development of the toolkit.

Positive industry feedback

Already, 10 companies from different sectors and of different scale, have already tested and/or provided feedback. These companies are AWS, DBS Bank, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Singapore Airlines, NCS (Part of Singtel Group)/Land Transport Authority, Standard Chartered Bank, UCARE.AI, and X0PA.AI.

“As organisations worldwide continue to harness data and drive increased adoption of AI-based solutions, it is more important than ever to establish the guardrails to ensure this is done responsibly. Singapore has, for some time now, been at the forefront in developing the thinking around the important and emergent subject of AI governance,” said Piyush Gupta, group CEO, DBS Group.

According to Pier Luigi Culazzo, group chief data officer at Standard Chartered Bank, the development of the AI Governance Testing Framework is an integral progress to Singapore’s vision of building a robust digital economy.

“From integration with other jurisdictions to standardisation across industries, the use of IMDA’s framework will go towards enhancing accountability and transparency of the AI ecosystem in Singapore, motivating more organisations to deploy AI responsibly,” said Culazzo.

George Wang, senior vice president – information technology at Singapore Airlines said: “We brought our strong data science and AI expertise and capabilities to IMDA’s AI Governance Testing framework, contributing to efforts to make it a Minimal Viable Product. Through this partnership, we gained insights that enhance our own digital capabilities.”

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority, which participated in the pilot together with its partner NCS, expressed optimism over the AI Governance self-test.

“The Land Transport Authority is in the nascent stage of exploring the use of AI to augment our work processes, and we are mindful that there should be clear guidelines and processes in place for safe and responsible application of the technology,” said agency chief executive Ng Lang.

IMDA is also working together with the U.S. Department of Commerce to build interoperable AI governance frameworks. Beyond the pilot stage of the MVP, Singapore aims to work with AI system owners/developers globally to collate and build industry benchmark, which will enable the city to continue contributing to the development of international standards on AI governance.

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The entry of insurtech has also opened new avenues for insurers to market products, in some cases, create totally new offerings in new locations, not possible with the conventional model for marketing insurance.

Concirrus CEO Andrew Yeoman acknowledged that the pandemic has challenged the insurance industry business model in Asia. He commented that COVID-19 has given the industry problems and opportunities.

"It's given us a problem because operating a business where you're we've been predominantly used to doing face to face work, and then trying to do that remotely has been challenging. And clearly, there's going to need to be some investment going forwards in some of that backend office and infrastructure. The very manual methods of perhaps processing policies have been challenged," he added.

IoT-led innovations in insurance

According to the IMARC Group report, IoT Insurance Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027, the global IoT insurance market reached a value of US$20.2 Billion in 2021. The Internet of Things (IoT) insurance refers to a technological solution that collects, transmits, and shares data of the client to insurance companies.

Yeoman acknowledges that IoT is creeping in everywhere. "Everything that we see in touch with seems to be monitored these days. What we're starting to slowly see is that the insurers are building products around that," he added.

"We're seeing it rising everywhere at the same time, both in personal lines and in commercial lines. And really the most exciting part of it is that it gives you some that hyper-personalised proposition so around how you work, how you're behaving and how you're driving."

The value proposition of IoT in insurance

IoT brings with it data not previously available to insurers. Yeoman commented that the data represents the behaviour, in the form of how, where, and when, of the asset. He cited the example of vehicular insurance. Where traditional insurance would mean that the insurer would only have a record of an incident during an insurance claim, embedded insurance describes a behaviour that is a far better indicator of risk than the static factors that have been used previously.

According to Yeoman, from the insurer's perspective, the data that they get from IoT devices will allow for disaggregation of risk. He posited that using data gathered by IoT devices, insurers can price their products and services to the risk profile of the insured.

"The secondary benefit that it also provides is the concept of nudge behaviour. I think that notion of those additional benefits changes our relationship with an insurer from just being somebody that's there, when things go wrong, to somebody that can help me live a healthier life," he added.

Supporting the operations of insurers

Beyond the embedding of IoT into insurance products, Yeoman says insurance companies make their living off managing the risks of the insured. He cited the example of insured vehicles – that under the traditional business model, the insurer has no awareness of where an insured vehicle is at any given time, whether it is on the road or parked somewhere, the road conditions and the driving habits or pattern of the driver.

He posited that the insurer would not know how many risks the insurance company is taking during the lifetime of the policy. IoT quantifies some of these risks and provides a granularity of risks down to the individual policy owner.

Importance of data

To realise that example of automotive insurance, it is important that data from IoT devices are collected and processed according to a pre-defined workflow.

To succeed in integrating IoT into the insurance business model, Yeoman says it is important to have a very clear understanding of what their business model is going to be, how that's going to scale, and how they can adopt such a business model.

He posited that insurers would need to be willing to experiment and be able to adapt to what works for them. "They need to see what's acceptable to their policyholders. And they need to do that quickly. I think the short, sharp, focused experience. What can we learn? We call it fail-fast," he commented.

Managing the unknown – IoT skills, experience, and expertise

Yeoman noted that insurers are used to dealing with data – much of it recorded on paper. With an IoT-led insurance model,

Clearly, if you go in with an IoT enabled proposition, you might take on a new supply chain, you might have to buy hardware, you might have to have connectivity issues in terms of SIM cards or other sorts of network connectivity. And you need a supply chain to then say, both procure those but then get those shipped out or installed with a customer or whichever. I think that in terms of the insurance expertise, depending on the particular business case, and the line of business that going into, clearly, it changes the need of an insurer, what skills they need in that supply chain. My one-sentence advice is, don't build that in-house, just partner with somebody who's an expert in that.

Click on the PodChat player to hear Yeoman's insights and recommendations around how the insurance industry can meet the evolving challenges using IoT.

1. How has the insurance industry in Asia evolved in the last five years?
2. It can be argued that IoT is still relatively new as applied in insurance. Can you cite one or two recent innovations around the use of IoT in insurance?
3. What is the value proposition of IoT in the provision of insurance products and services?
4. There are two aspects of IoT that need to be addressed in insurance: risk management and the other is around data privacy and protection.
   1. How are insurers using IoT to better manage their risks? (insight into behavioural analysis)
   1. In your observation, is the understanding of IoT technology, sufficiently mature around data privacy and protection?
5. How important is having a clear business model to benefit from IoT data? And how can businesses adopt such a model?
   1. What skills, expertise, and experience must an insurer have access to benefit from the use of IoT?
   1. When looking to tap IoT, what questions should leadership ask their CIO/CTO to ensure they are in the right direction and frame of mind?
6. What does Concirrus bring to the table?

The post PodChats for FutureIoT: Redefining insurance with IoT appeared first on FutureIoT.

To cater to the demand for reliable inspection tools, Flyability has unveiled what it claims to be  the world's first collision-tolerant drone equipped with a LiDAR sensor for indoor mapping. Powered by new SLAM engine, the new drone also creates 3D models of points of interest (POIs) as it flies.

With its new Elios 3 drone, Flyability continues its pledge to create cutting-edge technology designed to keep humans out of dangerous places to perform the most demanding inspection tasks.

"The Elios 3 has some of the very best stabilisation in the world, a modular payload, the ability to create 3D models in real time while in flight, and it paves the way towards an increasingly autonomous future," said Patrick Thévoz, co-founder and CEO of Flyability.

Flyability specialises pioneered confined space inspection drones that help companies improve safety, reduce downtimes, and cut costs for their internal inspections. Its drones are used in diverse industries from power generation, oil & gas, mining, chemical, maritime to infrastructure and utilities. It has  almost one thousand clients in over 60 countries, with offices located in Switzerland, China, Singapore, and the US.

The company has been working on the Elios 3 for four years. In that time, its engineers have spent thousands of hours on research and development and performed over 200 missions in the field to collect feedback, learn what clients want, and refine the technology in order to make the most reliable indoor drone on the market.

"For industrial inspections, the Elios 3 is a key enabler of Industry 4.0, presenting an inspection solution that can make inspections safer, more efficient, and less expensive than ever before,” said Thévoz.

Mapping areas that are out of reach or too dangerous for humans is very difficult, yet critical to support operational decisions in many industries.

The Elios 3 comes with an Ouster OS0-32 LiDAR sensor, allowing inspectors to collect data for the creation of survey-grade 3D models using software from Flyability's new partner, GeoSLAM.

By combining the best of confined space drone data capture and 3D geospatial software technology, Flyability's partnership with GeoSLAM enables professionals to produce survey-grade point clouds of the most inaccessible places in their workplace, completely removing the strain of approximations and guesswork from their operations.

In addition to carrying a LiDAR sensor, the Elios 3 can accommodate a second payload that allows it to be customised for each individual user's needs.

Creating 3D models in real time

The Elios 3 is powered by a new proprietary SLAM engine called FlyAware, which allows LiDAR Data to be turned into 3D models in real time, while the drone is in flight.

The new SLAM engine on Elios 3 delivers ground-breaking stability. Combining data from the drone's three optical cameras and its LiDAR sensor to catch the tiniest unpredictable movement and instruct the flight controller to compensate for it. This stability and other ease-of-use features make the Elios 3 easy to operate, so that new pilots can be trained and perform their first inspection in the same day.

Using Flyability's new Inspector 4.0 software made for reporting with the Elios 3, inspectors can now visualise POIs found during an inspection in a high-resolution 3D map using Inspector 4.0's 3D Map Viewer. This feature lets stakeholders navigate from POI to POI in a digital representation of their assets, providing a clear visualisation of the defects found within them to support planning, monitoring, and maintenance efforts.

"The Elios 3 is the single biggest project that Flyability has ever undertaken," said Adrien Briod, CTO of Flyability. "If you think of the Elios 2 as your classic flip phone, only designed to make phone calls, the Elios 3 is the smartphone. It's made to be customized for the specific demands of each user, letting you attach the payload you need so you can use the tool as you like, and allowing it to grow and improve over time with new payloads or software solutions."

As part of the effort to make the Elios 3, Flyability collaborated with top universities around the world by joining Team Cerberus, which competed in—and won—DARPA's multi-year Sub-T challenge for autonomous robotics in underground environments.

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The project called “Own My Voice” seeks to provide a “spontaneous-style” text-to-speech technology, which essentially makes the synthesised voice sounds like a real person in its intonation, pause speed and other features. It hopes to replace the monotonous electronic voice with a more natural one.

Currently, this technology applies to many smart devices equipped with Xiaomi, the AI voice assistant of Xiaomi. The "Own My Voice" project shows spontaneous style text-to-speech technology can also be widely adopted in accessibility areas and improve user experience.

“We are excited to explore multiple values that technology innovation brings to us, such as responding to users' demands for the self-identity and the construction of identity,” said Zhu Xi, technology committee topic convener on Tech for Good initiative at  Xiaomi Corporation.

The backbone of the project is a group of speech technology experts from Xiaomi AI Lab, who have published 37 papers on speech at top international conferences, such as the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP).

Deploying voiceprint matching algorithm

To generate the most suitable and personalised voice for intended users, Xiaomi AI Lab gathered voices of 200 volunteers from within the company.

The project team then deploy voiceprint matching algorithm to match the features of donated voices with those of the recipient’s voice. Through this approach, they find the most suitable voice as the basic sound of voice reference for the recipient.

In consideration of personalisation and privacy protection, the chosen real voice is manipulated with complex acoustic modification to form a new and original sound of voice. After this, the Xiaomi project team use spontaneous style text-to-speech technology to train AI model to gradually gain a natural voice rhythm and intonation that can express the emotion and the tone of a human.

"If we notice and address the needs of minority groups at an early stage, the process of technology diffusion could be greatly shortened. This allows the benefits of new technologies to become accessible to users with special needs without delay,” said Zhu Xi.

The "Own My Voice" project combines a variety of advanced algorithms with Xiaomi's self-developed speech technology to ensure the specificity, safety, and high-level of authenticity of the synthesised voice.

Moving forward, Xiaomi will continue receiving feedback from the voice recipient, and further study the feasibility of  this project for a wider range of applications.

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“The EU’s General Food Law, Canada’s SFCA (Safe Food for Canadians Act), and the United States’ FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) are driving adoption for supply chain traceability solutions, as navigating greater regulatory scrutiny is critical for firms across the value chain wishing to access these large food markets,” said Abdullah Haider, IoT markets research analyst at ABI Research.

He added:  “For countries that have yet to implement end-to-end traceability mandates, the insight of other regional countries which have already done so serves as a blueprint for companies to better adjust to future regulatory changes based on past experience.”

In its new research on asset visibility in the food and beverages supply chain, the ABI Research cited Europe and North America for leading the move towards food traceability.  But many countries in Asia Pacific and rest of the world regions are looking to roll-out their own systems to avoid being left out of the lucrative food export market.

Evolving food safety regulations

Spurred by voluntary industry standards, the regulations have evolved to react to food safety incidents, localise food recall, and meet export requirements.

According to ABI Research, industry players throughout the food and beverages supply chain are adjusting to the regulatory changes and adopting technology which meets the legal baseline both for domestic food production as well as for food imports and exports, while simultaneously looking to benefit their bottom line. The direct impact of traceability is greater implementations for full supply chain visibility, a growing topic of interest for food networks worldwide.

The latest research sees emerging countries paying particular attention as they seek to develop their food industry, while countries with more established industries such as Japan and South Korea also aim to tackle the challenge for domestic food markets. As the market for food traceability systems becomes more penetrated in Europe and North America, specialist software companies offering digital record-keeping will start focusing their efforts on the much more fragmented markets in the APAC and ROW regions.

Companies leveraging batch-level traceability will find it easier to manage a food incident by having a local batch recall rather than nationwide product recall.

“Traceability regulations are transforming food supply chains. While the regulatory environment in both North America and Europe is relatively certain, and implementation is expected to accelerate, countries in Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World can learn lessons from industry-led initiatives in Europe and North America, including voluntary associations to accelerate their timeline and address hurdles such as scale and scope of traceability based on different food and beverage items, laying a strong foundation for supply chain visibility that can be leveraged for many more use-cases like Real-Time Transport Visibility beyond the initial regulatory compliance layer,” said Haider.

The research analyses historic, current, and future trends in traceability mandates and industry initiatives, key data requirements, level of responsibility of different actors along the supply chain, and methods of data collection and storage. In addition, the research looks at the implications and complexities of industry initiatives which are often leading regulatory requirements.

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The centre will  enable communications service providers (CSPs), enterprises and infrastructure companies to gain in-depth knowledge about the real-life workings of local 5G – to jointly develop solutions, demonstrate use cases, and conduct research innovation to test various applications using actual equipment and simulate the real usage environment to help them discover how the technology will perform in a real-world scenario.

Nokia has acquired a local 5G radio license from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which allows it to demonstrate Local 5G in the Tokyo, Roppongi office. The ATC will help Nokia provide technical training for faster customer deployment.

"We look forward to showcasing our latest 5G innovations and how they open new opportunities for our customers. Nokia’s Lab-as-a-Service will allow communications service providers to quickly launch innovative services and products by being able to validate them for real-world reliability and performance,” said John Lancaster-Lennox, representative corporate officer, President at Nokia Japan.

He added: “It enables us to train our professionals in a simulated real-world environment and to quickly resolve any deployment issue.”

Established in 2017, the ATC has helped CSPs test and conduct 5G demonstrations. The upgraded centre will now leverage Nokia’s end-to-end 5G products to enable Local 5G demonstrations, integration testing and interconnection testing with third-party application partners in the vertical segment.

Nokia’s industrial-grade private wireless solutions have been helping companies in their industry 4.0 transformation. Its AirScale Radio and private wireless solutions including Nokia Digital Automation Cloud and industrial-grade private wireless core Compact Mobility Unit are used to enable local 5G coverage around the ATC.

Furthermore, its Fastmile 5G Gateway Japanese model will provide 5G Wi-Fi coverage for the Wi-Fi devices and Nokia's IP networks will also be used to provide high-speed connections between the Radio, Core and Edge nodes within the ATC.

Nokia plans to further expand the local 5G network to the workplace floor of the Roppongi office and create an environment where all employees can use the local 5G network at the office.

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"This is a great opportunity for us to showcase our solutions, from devices to software and services, all tightly integrated and presented in a narrative that highlights the impact that we are making to organisations and industries in Singapore," said Nigel Lee, general manager - intelligent devices group at Lenovo Singapore.

"We are putting a spotlight on our efforts as a service-led company in how we are bringing all these incredible technologies – artificial intelligence, augmented reality/virtual reality–into the world, and transforming experiences in the workplace and the classrooms of the future. And we are very proud that we are achieving this in a way that's sustainable,” Lee added.

The event provided a peek into the smart workplace of the future to demonstrate how CIOs can re-examine their IT infrastructure, while keeping in mind aspects such as employee experience and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).

Lenovo showed  its extensive suite of devices, services and solutions through six immersive experience zones.

New suite of building and workplace solutions

The Lenovo's Workplace Solutions zone showed how solutions like simplified workspace booking, utilization analytics, and smart facilities management coupled with professional services can help businesses provide employees with enhanced flexible working options, offering the benefits of both in-office interactions and remote work.

The Lenovo Workplace Solutions portfolio helps businesses and CIOs adapt to the hybrid work era with several smart workspace solutions, including:

• Workspace Booking: Scheduling software offering real-time visibility on workspace occupancy enabling employers to manage capacity better, helps employees book facilities quickly to save time, and improves contact tracing with automated post-event reporting.
• Workplace Analytics: Delivered via a dashboard providing real-time insights on space usage, based on non-invasive data from heat and motion sensors.
• Digital Signage: Content management system that turns traditionally static displays and signages at high-traffic locales and touchpoints into visually-rich multimedia screens that is dynamically updated to convey important updates in a timely manner.
• Smart Locker: Flexible self-service storage service enabling employees to store, pick up and drop off assets securely 24x7 with minimal fuss and reduced waiting time.
• Smart Collaboration: All-in-one meeting room solution with video conferencing software and integrated devices that are easy to use and scale according to meeting sizes, protected by ThinkShield, a suite of security solutions to safeguard users' privacy and data.

A glimpse of extended reality technologies

In 2020, COVID-19 became a catalyst for extended reality (XR) technologies (both AR and VR) to help enterprises maintain business continuity and enable people to collaborate and work remotely more efficiently.

Lenovo showcased its ThinkReality A3 Smart Glasses, which is being targeted for various industries such as manufacturing. For one, Lenovo ThinkReality powered by holo|one software is giving Micron's engineers the ability to keep production facilities running while helping the company meet growing demand for its products.

Meanwhile, Lenovo also demonstrated how Lenovo Asset Recovery Services (ARS) and CO2 Offset Services mitigate security and environmental risks associated with new device procurement and end-of-life asset disposal. These services ensure organizations are procuring, managing, and disposing their technology hardware in a responsible and sustainable manner, while making sure that the entire process is legally compliant, secure, and consistently applied globally.

"In many ways, Lenovo Experiential Day 2022 highlights that Lenovo is no longer just a device-centric company," said Lee, "but an end-to-end solutions provider that is helping customers embark on their journey to digital transformation 2.0 in an era filled with increasing challenges but also tremendous opportunities."

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“It’s important we design in a way that is built for the real world — and doesn’t take you away from it. And AR gives us new ways to accomplish this,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet, during his keynote speech at the conference.

“Let’s take language as an example. Language is just so fundamental to connecting with one another. And yet, understanding someone who speaks a different language, or trying to follow a conversation if you are deaf or hard of hearing can be a real challenge. Let's see what happens when we take our advancements in translation and transcription and deliver them in your line of sight in one of the early prototypes we’ve been testing,” he added.

This is Google’s second attempt at developing smart glasses. It comes 10 years after the debut of Google Glass, a pair of avantgarde spectacles fitted with built-in camera, which raises privacy concerns.

On the other hand, the latest prototype looks like an ordinary pair of glasses. In a video shown at the conference, the new AR glasses are shown displaying  conversations involving English, Mandarin, Spanish and American Sign Language.

“What we're working on is technology that enables us to break down language barriers. Taking years of research and Google Translate and bringing that to glasses,” said Eddie Chung,  “I’m actually looking straight into your eyes, and it seems like you're looking right at me. Making access to information just instant and intuitive. By doing that, technology fades into the background, and we're more connected with the people and the things around us.”

Google has been building augmented reality into many of its products from Google Lens, multisearch, scene exploration, and Live and immersive views in Maps.

“These AR capabilities are already useful on phones and the magic will really come alive when you can use them in the real world without the technology getting in the way,” said Pichai.

At the conference Google also gave a glimpse of its product roadmap: a tablet to be launched in 2023 and a smartwatch that will go on sale late this year.

Google has been trying to come out  with wearables and devices that can stand up to Apple, but its hardware business remains small. According to IT research firm IDC, its global market share in smartphones is under 1%,

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AI giant SenseTime has been working hard to develop digital humans that can carry out  various tasks across different milieus in the real world.

“With the dawn of the AI era, digital human is developing into a more advanced and intelligent model which is comparable to human beings. The AI-enabled intelligent service provided by a digital human can significantly increase productivity, facilitating the integration of digital economy and physical economy,” said Tian Feng, dean of SenseTime's Intelligence Industry Research Institute.

Five development stages of digital humans

The AI pioneer recently came out with what is touted to be the first-ever definition of  the five development stages of digital human, analysing its core technologies and future trends.

In a whitepaper entitled “AI Digital Human: New Momentum for Digital Economy Development”, written in collaboration with The China Augmented Reality Core Technology Industry Alliance (CARA), SenseTime described the development stages of digital humans from two perspective: level of automation and similarity to human beings.

At levels 4 and levels 5 of development, SenseTime claims that a digital human attains a level of sophistication to simulate human behaviour.

“AI digital human of L4 can learn from a large number of human conversations, facial expressions, and body languages. It can achieve intelligent human-like interactions by performing natural facial expressions and body movements,” SenseTime said in a statement.

With its advanced deep learning capabilities, a digital human at the upper development levels can rapidly acquire knowledge from various scenarios to become an “expert” of a specific field. The intelligent interactions by AI digital humans of L4 or higher can be applied in general scenarios and various industries, providing momentum for industrial transformation.

AI digital humans to empower industries

Moving forward, SenseTime will continue to leverage AI technologies to unlock the potential of  digital humans in empowering industries to forge a path for its smart journey

The company leveraged proprietary multimodal interaction, deep learning algorithms and full stack AI-Generated Content (AIGC) to create smarter and more professional AI digital humans, enabling human-machine interactive experience.

At the 2020 World Artificial Intelligent Conference, SenseTime’s digital human acted as a docent to guide tours for guests and visitors. Meanwhile, the company’s  digital humans have served as a shopping guide in Guangzhou AEON Mall, as well as the customer service manager in the Bank of Ningbo Shanghai Branch, providing inquiry services for customers.

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The partnership between the two companies aims to streamline work processes, allowing efficient mobilisation of on-site manpower resources. It will also improve customer service experiences with more targeted and enhanced cleaning services

“We have always been committed to providing solutions such as Whiz, an AI-enabled vacuum cleaning robot to facility operators. With the use of disruptive technologies such as predictive data on maintenance monitoring, it will provide building owners with building intelligence that is needed to digitally transform this industry operating landscape,” said Kenichi Yoshida, chief business officer, SoftBank Robotics Group Corp

“Teaming up with UnaBiz, we are confident that this partnership will not just add value to our customers but eventually make a difference in the entire sector,” Yoshida added.

SoftBank Robotics believes that facilities management operators are faced with handling many different building management tools and different brands of robots. On the backend, there are several dashboards – most of which don’t have a central control system for easy management.

It’s alliance with UnaBiz is part of the company’s  overall roadmap to implement an IoT system onto a unified smart facility management platform – where IoT devices trigger alerts and automate AI-enabled autonomous vacuum cleaning robots like Whiz to tasks in addition to providing AI predictive data analytics.

Massive IoT provider has deployed UnaBiz has deployed last year one of the largest Integrated Facilities Management projects in Singapore, with over 3,000 sensors at Temasek Polytechnic. On top of smart facilities management, UnaBiz also focuses on smart cities applications like smart metering, asset management, and asset tracking. The scaleup has deployed more than 1.3 million sensors globally, of which, over 1 million were smart gas meter sensors for Nicigas, Japan’s major LPG company.

Henri Bong, co-CEO and co-founder of UnaBiz said : “Facility managers are embracing technology to increase the productivity of the workforce, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce carbon emissions. Both IoT and robotics have a lot of complementary purposes and the synergy of both can unlock new value for future disruptions and growth. We are confident that the right mix of SBRG robotics and our IoT devices could greatly benefit the whole industry.”

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Located within the premises of Mitsubishi Electric Automation (China), the centre plans to hire 100 engineers by 2025.

In recent years, there has been a growing need for a variety of specialist applications for FA products in a wide range of industries, including automotive, logistics, food and beverage as well as digital-related fields like semiconductors, electronic components, and data centers, and more recently decarbonisation-related fields such as lithium-ion batteries.

To quickly respond to the changing  needs of Chinese manufacturers, Mitsubishi Electric will leverage the new engineering centre to develop FA applications customised to the local market. The FA solutions will span custom functions, motion programs and custom screens for products ranging from programmable controllers and servos to human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and inverters.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Electric plans to open similar collaborative engineering centres in India and other countries in North America and Europe from 2023 onwards.

By 2025, Mitsubishi Electric plans to assign more than 200 engineers to these centres to fortify its FA product application development process and provide customised applications on a global scale.

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"We are  committed to the Singapore Green Plan 2030 by introducing more electric vehicles to our fleet," the company said in a press statement.

As of March 2022, GetGo has introduced the Hyundai IONIQ Electric, Hyundai Kona Electric and the MG ZS Electric to its car fleet.

As Singapore pushes towards transforming into a greener, more sustainable city in seven years’ time, the company said its car rental solutions are timely.

With more experienced car rental services available in the market and car rental becoming easier and more convenient, residents in Singapore may be ready to forgo the comforts of owning a car.

"We see carsharing and hourly car rental services becoming an alternative option for Singaporeans that's more economical and sustainable,” the company said. “Solutions like these move the city a step in the right direction, in line with its efforts to reduce overall carbon emissions. Fewer cars on the road also means lesser demand for areas designated for parking. This frees up land for conversion to more green spaces for recreational use.”

A year of accelerated growth

Singapore's car ownership costs are one of the highest in the world and makes residents think twice about forking out the money for one. But for those not ready to give up the convenience of driving and do not wish to put up with rising fuel costs and increasing COE prices – they can consider GetGo's enhanced car sharing service.

Established in February 2021, GetGo’s hourly car rental service makes renting a car hassle-free, affordable and enjoyable – attracting more than 20,000 users in a span of two months.

It stands out from the other car-sharing services in Singapore with Its unique Pay-As-You-Go policy, requiring n deposits and no membership fees are. Also, users can enjoy the flexibility and accessibility of car renting. This makes it easy for first-time users and those who use the service on a frequent basis.

GetGo now has a network of over 1,000 locations across the city, implement policies that safeguard drivers, and offer a total of 18 different car models.

New app features enhance overall user experience

Marking its first year anniversary, GetGo has upgraded its mobile app to include a promo code wallet, which lets users  to receive, redeem and review promo codes with ease.

With the new  app feature, users are able to view all the available promo codes that can be applied for an upcoming car rental booking, view the validity period and full T&Cs of a promo code, and save these promo codes for future redemption.

Additionally, with the wallet, they are now able to apply a code to their booking in just one click, as opposed to manually keying it in during the rental process.

With new easy-to-use features, GetGo's app is now more shareable and accessible. Customers can look forward to a seamless experience with the app online and with renting out a car.

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The joint software development will be based on the current BMW Automated Driving software stack first launched with the BMW iX in 2021, which will be further extended in the next generation through this cooperation.

In November 2021 the companies announced that BMW’s next generation Automated Driving System will be ported on the Snapdragon Ride Vision system-on-chip (SoC) including Arriver Computer Vision and the Snapdragon Ride Platform’s compute SoC controllers managed by Snapdragon® Car-to-Cloud Services platform.

 “This is an important milestone for the BMW Group with regards to our next generation Automated Driving platform. To enable sophisticated and safe functionalities in a vehicle you need state-of-the art software in all components of the digital value chain. This forms the backbone for intelligent driver assistance systems,” said Nicolai Martin, senior vice president - Driving Experience, BMW Group.

The three-way partnership will focus on creating a scalable platform for Automated Driving based on a common reference architecture, sensor-set specifications, and safety requirements with joint development, toolchain, and a data centre for storage, reprocessing, and simulation.

The cooperation will see more than 1,400 specialists working together in locations worldwide, including Germany, USA, Sweden, China, Romania, and the BMW AD Test Center in Czech Republic.

According to Nakul  Duggal, senior vice president and general manager for automotive at Qualcomm,  building on already commercialised stack components from BMW Group and Arriver “will position us to extend BMW Automated Drive software to the Snapdragon Ride platform, and expand the accessibility of safer self-driving technologies to other automakers and Tier-1s in an open, flexible and scalable deployment framework”. 

He added: “We believe Snapdragon Ride will create significant economies of scale and time-to-market benefits across the automotive industry with the launch of the automated driving software globally in BMW’s series production vehicles, which have always been an exemplar of the highest quality, performance and safety standards in modern day automobiles.” 

Giuseppe Rosso, president and managing director of Arriver, is pleased that Arriver’s Vision Perception and NCAP features will be combined with the BMW Automated Driving software stack.

“This cooperation is a key milestone for Arriver and a proof point of the rich competence of our teams through years of experience in ADAS & safety,” he said, adding the co-developed product will be offered to the company’s customers worldwide.

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Already, Singtel has conducted successful trials on Paragon. It also has invited partners in 5G-related fields – from chipset manufacturers, IoT devices, apps and software developers, content producers, systems integrators and solution providers - to join in scaling the platform regionally and globally with other telecommunication players.

“Many enterprises are undergoing rapid digitalisation while exploring and developing tailored 5G solutions for deployment in their industries. We understand the challenges and complexities that they face in managing the various networks, edge cloud applications and services with the required cyber security, resiliency and demanding service assurances required, cost-effectively. Paragon was conceived, developed and delivered to help enterprises meet these needs through a single platform,” said Bill Chang, chief executive officer, Group Enterprise at Singtel.

One platform to accelerate enterprise digital transformation

Compared to the current 4G and public cloud-enabled edge computing solutions, Paragon provides a huge improvement in latency with much higher bandwidth throughput from Singtel’s 5G network. This means better performance and faster decision-making at the edge where the data resides, critical for use cases like autonomous systems like robotics, drones and vehicles, immersive, video-rich experiences and powerful real-time edge AI use cases.

Without an all-in-one solution like Paragon, enterprises have to juggle multiple tools to manage their network connectivity, cloud and application lifecycle at the edge, according to Singtel.

“Paragon empowers enterprises to interact with the 5G network and deploy their edge computing applications and services on Singtel’s infrastructure independently, securely and within minutes. This shortens their innovation curve and improves time-to-market as well as reduces costs. Enterprises can also access a wide range of solutions from our partners to deliver their 5G use cases,” said Singtel in a press statement.

Other unique 5G features like network slicing – which usually requires weeks to acquire and set-up – can be done almost instantly, autonomously and as many times as needed. Enterprises can also optimise cost by utilising a network slice only when there is a need and for the intended duration.

Building a strong 5G MEC eco-system

Through the Paragon Marketplace, which operates like an app store, Singtel 5G ecosystem partners can integrate their offerings through robust industry-standard API to rapidly build and deploy their solutions on Paragon.

According to Singtel, some of these solutions are already available, including real-time fleet management, mixed reality and metaverse-based simulations, smart warehouse management, among others.

“As we scale Paragon across the region with a number of telecommunication leaders, partners in our 5G eco-system will have access to multiple markets based on their solutions they have built on the Paragon platform. We remain committed to helping partners through the Singtel Partner Programme to develop solutions needed by customers across industries, validation of the solutions, from the commercial structure and go-to-market support on Singtel’s 5G platform and finally onboarding the applications into the Paragon Marketplace,” Singtel said.

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The technology research firm made this projection as it anticipates digital giants such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Alibaba or Tencent, further expand their footprint in vehicle technology this year.

“These tech companies are bringing the car closer to their respective ecosystems, which, in turn, opens new vehicle-connected services,” said Pedro Pacheco, senior research director at Gartner.

He added: “As developing technology and software on their own is difficult, car companies can either partner with digital giants to succeed in turning software into a main moneymaker or build vast in-house resources to achieve it mostly on their own.”

Software is king

Pacheco noted that for the last 100 years, automakers have focused on the mechanical side of car development and have mostly left software to other parties.

“As digital technology becomes the differentiator in the car, software will become the main profitability growth driver for automakers. Ultimately, the goal for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will be to turn into tech or software companies,” said Pacheco.

Indeed, Gartner sees that partnerships between tech companies and automakers will increase in the years ahead.

In 2022, this collaboration between these two sectors will gain momentum particularly in the areas of open data  and open source, as several tech companies last year create open-source vehicle architecture operation systems and open electric vehicle (EV) platform

In addition, automotive companies will increasingly look at data in a similar way to that of the tech world.

“Their aim is not to sell data, but to build or integrate ecosystems that will allow them to access a broader diversity of data, with the purpose of developing more compelling features or digital services,” said Pacheco.

Automakers to ramp up OTA as main digital revenue channel

Last year saw major changes in the automotive over-the-air (OTA) software market when several car manufacturers began to offer software updates.

As most automakers have updated the hardware on the vehicles to enable software updates, they will now begin to shift to a revenue model that is based on services rather than the sale of the asset.

Gartner analysts predict that by 2023, half of the top 10 automakers will offer unlocks and capability upgrades through software updates that can be purchased after the sale of the vehicle.

Hurdles persist for commercialisation of autonomous vehicles

Despite sensing technologies improving, perception algorithms becoming more sophisticated and regulations and standards progressing, Gartner expects developers of autonomous vehicles continue to struggle to scale autonomous operations to new cities or geographies.

Automakers have begun to announce Level 3 autonomous driving cars and are working on the deployment of Level 4 self-driving trucks and commercial robotaxis. However, proving the safety and effectiveness of autonomous technology is taking a long time and extensive simulation and real-world testing are making commercialization slow and expensive.

In addition, issues such as liability in the event of an accident, associated legal and societal considerations, such as how human driven vehicles will interact with an AI-driven vehicle, are adding to the challenge.

“The very high R&D costs involved for robotaxis or Level 4 trucks hinder speed of adoption in terms of coverage, but also in delivering ROI. This is ironic given that one of the main advantages associated with autonomous drive is reducing operational costs of transportation,” said Jonathan Davenport, research director at Gartner.

Nevertheless, Gartner analysts predict that by 2030, there will be four times as many Level 4 autonomous robotaxis operating globally than there are taxis in 2022.

For more details on automotive technology trends for 2022, click here.

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“We are excited and honoured to collaborate with ARTC. This gives us a great opportunity to further develop our automation and processing technologies and capabilities in the areas of advanced manufacturing and remanufacturing,” said Takeshi Oshima, managing director of Mitsubishi Electric Asia.

He added that they are looking forward to sharing their expertise on Mitsubishi’s e-F@ctory solutions in research and development projects with other industry members to improve and reinvent business models.

“This is in line with our mission and purpose to creating values and realising a safer, more sustainable society,” said Oshima.

The e-F@ctory solution is an integrated factory automation solution that offers value added IoT-based services and solutions for manufacturing and process industry sectors to achieve high productivity and quality improvements.

Established in 1977, Mitsubishi Electric Asia is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Group. The company has been offering high-performance products and services ranging from home electronics, industrial and factory automation, space systems, public utility systems and semiconductors to homes, businesses and industries in Asia Pacific.

According to Oshima, the company is expanding its foothold around the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) services by developing integrated solutions for manufacturing companies to accelerate digital transformation and scale up their adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in response to the Singapore’s Smart Industry Readiness Index.

Meanwhile, Dr. David Low, chief executive officer of ARTC, said the participation of Mitsubishi Electric Asia strengthen the ARTC membership ecosystem in co-innovating solutions to solve real industrial problems currently faced Singapore’s manufacturing sector.

“We look forward to working closely with Mitsubishi Electric to build novel solutions for manufacturing and robotic automation, to scale up capability development efforts in the manufacturing domain,” said Low.

ARTC provides a collaborative platform which brings together industry players, public sector research institutes and academia to bridge technological gaps in the adoption of advanced manufacturing and remanufacturing processes, from applied research to industrial applications.

Led by  A*STAR, in partnership with the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, ARTC has more than 90 members, ranging from global multinational corporations (MNCs) to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). ARTC focuses on advanced manufacturing and remanufacturing and serves to accelerate the transfer of innovation from applied research to industrial applications.

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Tontec International produces plastic injection molds and moldings across 11 factory plants worldwide. It serves customers across various verticals from aerospace, automotive, industrial appliances and equipment, office appliances to medical devices industries.

As an integral part of its transformation, the company will update its current SAP S/4HANA, SAP's next generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, to SAP S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition. This transformation will enable Tontec to manage business processes, including financial reporting and disaster recovery; and respond to evolving business conditions with speed and agility.

Furthermore, Tontec will deploy SAP Integration Suite to interconnect its multiple operational and manufacturing systems to power and streamline innovation.

“We are forging ahead on our journey to Industry 4.0. RISE with SAP and SAP S/4HANA Cloud empower us to move even more quickly to create an optimised, highly digitalised system that unlocks innovation and efficiency around the world," said Nelson Lam, president, Tontec.

The company is embracing automation and deploying networking solutions to enable increased product customisation, higher quality and shorter delivery time.

In Asia, it has already connected the manufacturing execution and quality management systems in its seven manufacturing sites with SAP S/4HANA to facilitate production planning and cost reporting. RISE with SAP's bundled services will enable Tontec to expand its digital landscapes globally to create one integrated and harmonised platform and drive Tontec's development as a future-proof digital-first manufacturing enterprise.

"Innovative companies such as Tontec are at the forefront of digital transformation. They have the vision and drive to reimagine their operations and expand the scope and depth of business through cloud-based intelligent technologies,” said Rajni Sharma, managing director, SAP Hong Kong.

He added that  RISE with SAP, powered by SAP S/4HANA at the core, is well-positioned to support the company, managing all key cloud solutions, services and infrastructure across all geographies under one roof.

“We look forward to supporting more enterprises to accelerate innovation, agility and responsiveness towards smart manufacturing,” said Sharman.

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In a memorandum of understanding signed recently the three companies will also develop low-carbon electricity, storage and intermittency management solutions

"With climate change a pressing issue impacting ASEAN's sustainable development, we see this strategic partnership with global leaders, such as Keppel Infrastructure and IES, crucial for the regions,” said George Wang, chief technology officer,  Envision Energy, said.

He added: “By combining Envision's systematic net-zero capabilities and the complementary strengths from our partners, this collaboration will make a significant impact to the regions' de-carbonisation and digitalisation transition."

Envision will leverage its expertise in green technology, together with KI's strong track record of developing and operating large-scale sustainable energy infrastructure end-to-end, and IES's renewable energy solutions in the Asia Pacific, to bring innovative, reliable and competitive renewable energy solutions to end-users in ASEAN.

The MOU seeks to support the goal set by ASEAN member nation of achieving 23% of renewable energy in total primary energy supply in 2025.

Working on joint projects

This MOU will see also all three companies leverage IES's exclusive development rights issued by the Government of Lao PDR to increase the capacity of the current 600MW Monsoon Wind Power Project, which IES is developing in the Sekong and Attapeu provinces in Laos, by an additional 1,000MW. Targeted to reach commercial operations by 2025, the iconic Monsoon project will be the largest wind farm in ASEAN. The project, including the expansion, could offset over 90 million tons of carbon dioxide throughout its lifetime.

This collaboration for wind energy projects, including other potential renewables, like solar and biomass, will diversify Laos' main source of renewable energy generation - hydropower, which is mainly generated during wet season. By building and integrating renewable sources with complementary generation profiles, coupled with energy and battery storage system, this collaboration seeks to supply stable and non-intermittent, yet flexible, low-carbon electricity to ASEAN nations evenly throughout the year.

"Riding on the recent signing of the exclusive framework agreement to study the feasibility of cross-border power trade from Laos to Singapore, which is part of the Laos PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP), an inter-government project, we are excited to work with Envision and IES on this collaboration,” said Cindy Lim, CEO of KI.

She added: “ Developing large-scale renewable energy for cross-borders power trade in the region will be a significant step towards promoting greater energy security by diversifying energy supply sources as well as contributing to ASEAN's plan for a low-carbon energy future.

Lim said that aligned with Keppel's Vision 2030, KI is intensifying our involvement in renewables and end-to-end decarbonisation solutions.

“Besides renewable electricity cross-border trading, and renewable energy certificates (RECs) and voluntary carbon credits to be utilised in ASEAN in the near future, KI is also exploring the development of low-carbon energy alternatives like hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS),” said Lim.

Pursuing advanced technology

Meanwhile, the collaboration will also aspire to use state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and internet of things technologies as well as "digital twin" technology - comprising advanced control systems, data analysis, active performance control, and reliability prediction capabilities, to enhance performance and delivery of services.

“The collaboration brings each party's unique and complementary skills together to tackle today's pressing challenges with real world solutions. We are excited to roll up our sleeves to meet the challenges head on,” said Peck Khamkanist, CEO of IES.

The partnership is expected to catalyse regional power interconnectivity between ASEAN countries and cross-border multilateral electricity trading so that countries with rich natural resources and access to renewable energy can offer renewable electricity supply to other countries that need such resources.

This will in turn accelerate ASEAN's low carbon energy transition and net zero carbon future as greater regional cooperation for renewable energy export and import can support more efficient allocation of resources, achieve economies of scale, increase the use of renewable energy, as well as allow nations to reduce their reliance on carbon-based energy.

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BI-FAST is developed to meet the public demand for fast and efficient money transfer services that operates around the clock. Currently, the National Clearing System (SKNBI) cannot fully meet the demand due to the finite window time, lack of real-time effective funds and limited payment channels – which defeats the goal to deliver the convenience of cashless transactions.

Indonesia is the latest in a series of Southeast Asian countries to upgrade its national payments infrastructure to drive digital economies and accelerate growth. As legacy payment systems continue to impede mature market innovation, the region’s countries are leapfrogging increasingly outdated technology and leveraging strong domestic central infrastructure as the foundation for real time digital and cross-border payments.

BI-FAST is an integral part of Indonesia’s ongoing digital modernization initiative and central to its Payment System Blueprint, IPS 2025. IPS 2025 aims to transform the country’s payment infrastructure, integrate its digital economy, and finance sector.

BI has developed BI-FAST with the help of  real-time payments provider ACI Worldwide, implementing the national infrastructure in less than nine months – one  of the fastest countrywide implementations on record. When complete, the vast undertaking will incorporate 135 banks, as well as merchants and payment service providers, making it one of the world’s largest real-time payments initiatives.

“ACI is proud to help drive BI-FAST and Indonesia’s bold payment transformation,” said Leslie Choo, managing director – APAC, ACI Worldwide. “Together, ACI and Bank Indonesia have created one of the most secure and future-proof real-time payment systems in the world, one that will help accelerate Indonesia’s digital economy and bring millions of unbanked citizens into the formal financial sector.”

Phase one of the national initiative is already live with more than twenty banks across the country, providing participating institutions with access to a series of key services including:

• 24/7 real-time credit transfers with real-time transaction settlement at bank & customer level
• Unique identifiers (proxy addresses) to simplify, secure and facilitate payments
• Integrated real-time fraud detection

According to Choo, ACI’s Low Value Real-Time Payments technology drives BI’s central infrastructure hub, which allows more than one hundred payment scheme players to connect. ACI also provides immediate access to the core real-time infrastructure, laying the foundation for future services such as Request to Pay (R2P), eMandates, direct debit, and cross-border payments

“Delivering a national central infrastructure of this size and complexity from scratch, while simultaneously supporting the go live of over 20 banks in less than nine months, is no easy undertaking. It is testament to the dedication and commitment of all involved to Indonesia and its digital future,” added Choo.

Digital payments have gained considerable traction in Indonesia and are in regular use by more than half (55%) of the country’s consumers. The rapid growth over the past year highlights Indonesia’s dramatic shift towards digital payments due to the pandemic. The government now anticipates even greater adoption with real-time payments, and a further boost to its digital economy ambitions.

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Besides, Singapore the company is also extending its Matterport Capture Services into France, Netherlands, Ireland and Canada.

Capture Services On-Demand delivers a 3D digital twin of any space, produced by trained and certified Capture Technicians within supported cities. Using Matterport’s Capture app and Pro2 3D camera, spaces are transformed into an immersive, precise 3D digital twin and delivered to the customer to access, manage, and share the space more effectively.

These digital twins are changing how buildings are designed, built, promoted, and managed online across a variety of industries, including allowing real estate teams to better optimise the workplace.

“As demand for Capture Services On-Demand continues to grow we are rapidly expanding our reach for customers all over the globe like Canoa that are putting their trust in the Matterport Capture Services’ ecosystem,” said Brendan Dowdle, vice president of Matterport Capture Services. “We constantly strive to surpass the expectations of our customers. We are thrilled to expand this exceptional service standard internationally to conveniently deliver a professionally scanned digital twin of any building or physical space at the touch of a button.”

Canoa, the first scaling platform for sustainable design and deployment of commercial real estate assets, uses Matterport in the retrofit process to survey and document the as-built conditions, traditionally a laborious and error-prone process.

With Matterport, Canoa can capture a space and convert it into a digital twin that has accurate spatial data and 3D imagery in 4K resolution. The company then generates accurate floor plans to help them redesign spaces and allocate assets for clients with ease and accuracy.  

“Using Matterport Capture Services On-Demand costs 30 percent less than if we send someone to do it,” said Lance Amato, head of compliance at Canoa, “and it costs 70 percent less than sending someone long distance. At the end of the day, it makes sense to delegate this to people who capture spaces for a living so we can focus on what we do best—designing and managing spaces and inventory so our customers can thrive.”

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In recent years, more and more countries have begun incorporating this technology into their infrastructures. So far, IoT has been used to elevate crucial systems that affect citizens’ daily lives, such as healthcare, public transportation, workplace, waste management, and energy distribution.

According to a market report from Grand View Research, the market size of smart cities is expected to reach US$676.01 billion by 2028. In the era of advanced IoT and LoRaWAN technology, the possibilities for improving the way we live and interact with each other in cities is endless

First, what is a smart city?

By definition, it's a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods, voice activation methods, and/or sensors to collect specific data. This data is then used within the framework put in place along with other technologies such as IoT to develop, deploy, and promote sustainable development practices and address the needs accompanied by urbanization.

What technology makes up a smart city?

This framework is made up of a network of connected objects and machines that help transmit data using wireless technology, such as LoRaWAN and the cloud. IoT comes in as the mediator between these objects and will help citizens engage with the systems created by using devices such as smartphones, tablets, cars, and even homes. Examples of this technology working within the city framework include:

1. Air Quality. A growing concern in most major cities, smart cities are now equipping new technologies to monitor pollution, dust, and air particles to better inform residents in real-time of the current levels of pollution in the air.
2. Waste Management. IoT systems are used to help optimise the efficiency of collection and reduce operational costs while also addressing environmental issues associated with inefficient waste management. Smart sensors are also used to send signals when trash containers are full will help ensure that collectors come only when it is essential.
3. Smart Infrastructure: These infrastructures often include automated lighting, smart elevators, and more, buildings and homes are able to learn from their environment to become more energy-efficient and reduce excessive power usage.
4. Traffic Management. IoT is making it much simpler to optimize traffic patterns. Using sensors to track and send real-time updates about traffic flow to a management platform, the system can analyse and adjust traffic lights and so on to the current situation in just seconds, with little to no human supervision.

Two successful smart city applications

A small number of smart cities around the world are already leagues ahead and exist already, two of which are in the APAC region. Both Hong Kong and Singapore are great examples of smart city adoption:

1. Hong Kong. In 2019, then Hong Kong’s Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang announced plans to push for smart city construction, in line with the Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint that was released in 2017. With over 70 initiatives included in the plan, one feature has become most pervasive in the city: smart lamp posts. Fitted with sensors, these multifunctional lampposts serve as bases for measuring traffic conditions, monitoring weather and air quality, and tracking illegal waste dumping, among others. In April 2020, Hong Kong also commercially launched 5G technology that enabled breakneck Internet speeds. And most recently in April 2021, China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK) became the first local operator to provide 5G services for the Hong Kong International Airport.

2. Singapore. Their Smart Nation program was launched back in 2014 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Through sensors and cameras deployed all throughout the island, Singapore has collected an unprecedented amount of data on daily life in the city. This has allowed them to monitor how the nation is functioning in real-time closely. Their transport networks, for example, make use of road sensors, smart parking, and phased traffic lights to improve traffic flow and solve congestion problems.

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“With a spectacular view of the Burj Khalifa and Dubai skyline, combined with an option to transact and make bookings in most cryptocurrencies and blue-chip NFTs, MetaTerrace has all the makings to become the centre of Dubai’s crypto scene, where enthusiasts and innovators can launch their projects, host meetups, and uphold the community spirit,” said Ciro Arianna, co-founder and CEO of ColossalBit and MetaTerrace.

ColossalBit is a Dubai-based consulting, advisory, design, and development company for cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFTs. The company’s portfolio includes the world’s first augmented reality NFT mural called “Future NFT Dubai”, the infamous S.T. Dupont pen that football legend Diego Armando Maradona used in 1984 when he signed for Italian side Napoli, and the world’s NFT-linked fine dining and art experience, among other inspiring collections and initiatives.

It now added MetaTerrace to its growing list of assets.

Located at the Central Park Towers, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the lounge restaurant gives a glimpse of what the digital future looks like. The MetaTerrace’s VR Room will facilitate the “metaverse experience". The VR glasses will enable patrons to visit alternative worlds, meet like-minded individuals, have drinks, engage in NFT and crypto discussions — all at the fingertips, on a futuristic MetaTerrace.

MetaTerrace VR room will be available later in 2022 so people will be able interact and enjoy a unique metaverse experience.

“If anything, NFTs and the Metaverse are just the tips of the iceberg; we haven’t still seen their full potential and the impact they’re going to have on our future,” said Christian Chalfoun, CTO of ColossalBit and Kaloscope.

ColossalBit is an early investor of Kaloscope, a social metaverse start-up, looking to consolidate a fast growing yet fragmented NFT sector.

“Kaloscope is innovating the NFT space by providing a platform to project, collect and interact with NFTs in mobile AR/VR/XR. Creating a new and easier way to share your NFT collection with friends while allowing users to own exclusive metaverse spaces. Kaloscope also offers exclusive passes where holders can unlock perkabilities in the real world like special surprises coming soon at the MetaTerrace,” said Kirck Allen, CEO and co-founder of Kaloscope.

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Japanese credit card provider JCB and Keychain GK have developed the first payment infrastructure for machine-to-machine transactions that supports offline payments using near-field communication (NFC).

This will enable offline payments, addressing the challenges related to the risks of operating through network outages and distributed attacks.

Under the collaboration, the two companies implemented the payment processing system using IoT devices, mobile phones, and smartwatches, and demonstrated the following:

1. Payments may be conditionally processed even during a double-offline scenario.

2. Payment processing consensus may be done over mixed networks simultaneously.

3. Upon network restoration, the offline transactions may be securely repatriated to online in batches.

Leveraging Keychain's blockchain and self-sovereign identity technology, the new infrastructure allows payments to be conditionally accepted by merchants, even in the event that both the payer and the merchant are disconnected from the network, a scenario known as double offline.

Notably, the shoppers' experience is as easy as swiping a smart watch at the store payment terminal with this system. The system uses NFC network protocol and leverages Keychain Core to support small IoT devices with, in principle, as little as 32 megabytes of memory.

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Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA)  and Cityneon recently entered a strategic partnership to develop the new facility at the Ras Bufontas Free Zone that targets the growing entertainment technology and experience markets in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

"We are delighted to welcome Cityneon, a leading entertainment technology company that designs and manufactures equipment and robotics for the sector,” said Lim Meng Hui, CEO of QFZA.

Lim added that the company’s decision to open its first such facility in the Middle East at Qatar Free Zones “is testament to the strength of our offering and the exciting trajectory of the entertainment technology industry and the tourism sector in Qatar and across the region, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030”.

“Qatar Free Zones provide an ideal environment for international and local companies with the skills and innovation to help build a better future,” Lim said.

The new venture is expected to bring varied benefits to Qatar. Cityneon will help develop the regional entertainment technology and Intellectual Property (IP) industry to generate new jobs in robotics and animatronics, costume design and fabrication, and sculpting and moulding, among others. It will expand the significant skilled labour pool in Qatar and support the ongoing digital transformation of the country.

Qatar Free Zones' technology and research ecosystem will enable Cityneon to enhance its IP business operations for the region and benefit from a growing community of like-minded organisations, dedicated research and innovation facilities, and partnership opportunities.

Cityneon partners with foreign governments, world-renowned museums, heritage organisations and major movie studios to hold exclusive IP exhibitions, creating iconic experiences for their visitors from all over the world. To date, the group has toured their IP experiences in excess of 50 cities worldwide.

With this latest partnership, the company will produce large-scale experiences in Qatar as they have done around the world, such as their Jurassic World: The Movie Exhibition in Chengdu, China, and their Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibition in Las Vegas and many more.

“We see immense potential for our IP business in the EMEA region and the strategic location of our new facility in Qatar will be pivotal in addressing the markets that we plan to serve, as well as for us to reach out to potential partners and collaborators for the group,” said Ron Tan, executive chairman and group CEO, Cityneon.

Singapore's ambassador to Qatar Jai S. Sohan, said of the QFZA and Cityneon partnership: "It is my delight to see Cityneon set up base in Qatar Free Zones, a leading hub for innovation in the region, as the latest of many Singaporean companies with operations in Qatar. The new facility will not only boost tourism across the region but also attract a new talent pool to the developing entertainment technology industry."

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“To have sustainable traction in intelligent and innovative technologies development, we need an integrated ecosystem approach and strong partnership with stakeholders in various sectors and industries,” said Denis Yip, CEO of ASTRI. “Our  continuing collaboration with CITIC Telecom CPC will lead to a meaningful exchange of innovative R&D, technologies, knowledge, and insights, which will ultimately increase operational efficiencies of the industries, uplift user experience, and create value to the community.”

“We are enthusiastic about advancing AI-AR technologies with ASTRI and leveraging collaborations and sound technological exchanges to pursue innovative and practical applications,” said Esmond Li, CEO, CITIC Telecom CPC.

The two organisations started their partnership in developing integrated AI and AR (augmented reality) solutions in June 2019, which led to launch of an AR Remote Hand Solution in September the following year.

Boosting field service productivity by up to 50%, the enhanced AR-based vision allowed field engineers to access vital information at data centres and enabled seamless collaboration between frontline and back-end teams to complete maintenance tasks. The solution also demonstrated how companies could facilitate remote work strategies during the pandemic using AR technologies.

Taking AR glasses to new heights

In Phase 2, ASTRI and CITIC Telecom CPC will be working to build innovative new features into the heads-up display of AR glasses.

ASTRI will provide the software platform and customisation, while CITIC Telecom CPC’s team will build an innovative Machine Learning (ML) model in order to integrate virtual, big data, AI, and physical data into the AR device.

The key features include:

• Data Visualisation – Computer vision techniques and machine-learning algorithms enhanced data integration will provide the remote workforce with 2D and 3D diagrams for better data visualisation. Users can use AR glasses to detect, identify, locate, and track objects positioning and project holograms of technical manuals, analytical figures, or even instructions onto the heads-up display to analyse trends or issues for quicker response.
• Cognitive Object Recognition – The AI-AR integrated service will use Cognitive Object Recognition System (CORS), which runs using CITIC Telecom CPC’s algorithm and solution to improve object mapping accuracy. Using AR glasses, users can easily define the correlation between different objects. The AR glasses can further improve workplace safety by projecting the physical (path) and logical relations onto the reality in the form of digital maps, 3D models and virtual information.
• Middleware Enhancement – Both organisations will develop middleware for AR glasses, empowering customers to work with different AR headsets such as HoloLens and Android-based headsets.

The two organisations expect the AR glasses with enhanced AI/AR capabilities will bring more business values in a range of industrial applications, such as:

• AI-AR Remote Hands for Seamless Collaboration From a Distance
• Streamlining maintenance and inspection for Utilities – The AI-AR integrated service will provide field workers with better computer vision capabilities. Field users can access manuals and analysed data or graphs for maintenance using the AR glasses while receiving immediate alerts of any wrong steps. The 5G-enabled cloud connectivity can enable supervisors to guide field users during installation and maintenance verbally.  
• Computer Vision and Cognitive Analytics Solutions for Better Decision Making
• Business Operations planning (e.g., Supply Chain Management) – The integrated service can provide workers with extra information during operations. The frontline staff can use data visualizations and object mapping to identify goods quickly and accurately for loading and unloading.
• Predictive Customer Experience for Maximising Customer Value
• Enhancing customer services experience in all industries – AI and AR allow companies to use predictive and prescriptive data to understand what customers want before they know themselves, delivering exceptional customer experiences.

“We are confident that this collaboration will result in a win-win outcome by creating viable commercial applications that benefit different industries,” said Yip.

Daniel Kwong, CIIO of CITIC Telecom CPC said: “We believe that our strong partnership with ASTRI, together with the development of new technologies, such as AI, AR, blockchain, 5G, IoT and cloud, will ensure that we will continue to find innovative and intelligent ways of helping enterprises to reap the benefits of digital transformation.”

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The company, established in 2016, has developed a range of hydroponic planting systems. Its aspara range of smart growers are based on the concept of an indoor greenhouse but incorporate smart technology to improve the planting environment with adjustable lighting, luminosity, temperature and humidity. The devices come with a smartphone app reminding users when to water, fertilise and harvest plants.

“No genetic modification is involved. We are merely using technology to create better growing conditions than outdoor ones,” said Growgreen CEO Dr. Humphrey Leung, an electronics expert with background in the semiconductor industry and integrated circuit development.

Leung combined his IT talent with agriculture and biotechnology to form Growgreen, venturing into his second career at age 60. The Growgreen team now numbers around 20 people, comprising of professionals from the agriculture, electronics and food science sectors.

Sustainable and healthy foods

Leung has always kept his eye out for opportunities to apply his expertise to sustainable lifestyles and healthy foods.

“The cost of growing your own vegetables may be about the same as buying premium vegetables imported from overseas, but the difference is that aspara users can see how their vegetables grow pesticide-free at home,” said Leung.

Apart from smart growers, the aspara range offers seed kits of different plants such different varieties of lettuce, pak choi and herb. They have seed kits to grow cherry tomatoes, sweet basil, blue curled kale and chilli mix to name a few.

Users can use the app to scan the QR code on the packaging of the seed kit for the species they want to grow, and the device will automatically adjust the lighting, photoperiod, watering cycle and nutrient level to give the plant the best growing environment.

These non-genetically modified seeds come in biodegradable capsules, similar to those used in coffee machines, and are to be put in the smart grower. Once the plants are harvested, users can grow a new batch by placing new seed capsules in the machine.

“Once you eliminate pollution, pesticides, pests and additives, it normally takes plants around 28 days to reach maturity. That’s a 50% increase in planting efficiency.”

Urban farming

Growgreen’s smart growers are a hit especially with local schools, allowing teachers to bring science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classes to life.

Leung wants to extend its reach to elderly care homes, believing the smart-plant growers can make care homes livelier, while creating a stronger bond between the residents and their families.

Indeed, the smart growers can be used for large-scale  indoor farming on premisses such as hotels, clubhouses, restaurants  and research institutes. The aspara app can also control multiple machines simultaneously.

Tapping the overseas market

To date with its e-commerce business  model, Growgreen has been able to penetrate the overseas markets such as Canada, the US and a number of European countries.

The company has joint trade fairs locally and abroad to create market buzz for its smart growers.

In addition, Growgreen was a winner and named “My Favourite Start-Up” in the pitching contest held as part of this year’s Start-up Express entrepreneur development programme organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

“With travel restrictions amid the pandemic, it’s hard to attend overseas shows and find business partners. Fortunately, the HKTDC is helping us promote our brand through its global network,” said Leung.

Building on its success, the company is set to enter the Mainland China later this year.

“We are now in talks with a high-end homeware home furnishing company on the mainland for B2B sales. That company has over 1,000 retail points,” Leung said. “We also wish to team up with international kitchenware brands and bring hydroponics into modern homes for a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle.”

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Under the agreement, Blue Prism will build software as a service (SaaS) offerings on AWS while working closely with the AWS Intelligent Automation team to increase the intelligence and accessibility of Blue Prism’s digital robots. This will allow the digital robots to benefit from the broad and deep capabilities available from the Amazon Machine Learning (Amazon ML) stack.

Blue Prism will speed up its digital robots’ integrations with AWS applications and services, including AWS’s omnichannel cloud contact centre, Amazon Connect; AWS productivity applications, such as Amazon Chime; and AWS artificial intelligence and Amazon ML services, such as Amazon Lex and Amazon Transcribe. Both organisations will align to create workloads supporting industry-specific use cases that drive proven customer business benefits.

“It’s time for businesses to recognise the potential of their workforce through intelligent automation, amid  tactical digital transformation efforts. Our combined offerings provide  a more holistic solution for productivity as businesses continue to transform and expand,” said Dan Ternes, chief technology officer, APAC, Blue Prism.

The increased availability of Blue Prism intelligent automation solutions on the cloud comes at an important time for customers across all sectors. Today, 92% of decision makers see robotic process automation (RPA) as important for driving digital transformation, and 83% agree that RPA and/or automation is essential for their business to remain competitive.

On demand intelligent automation solution

The Blue Prism On Demand offering, available in AWS Marketplace in 2022, will provide one of the industry’s first on-demand intelligent automation solutions portfolios available through a consumption-based pricing model. This new offering will enable companies to assess their intelligent automation needs, unlock value and ROI across business processes, and scale across the enterprise easier than ever before.

For example, Sysco, a global foodservice distribution company, is now able to automate the processing of inbound customer orders received by digital fax by using Amazon Textract, which helps automatically extract printed text, handwriting, and data from any document. It’s been so effective at removing order entry errors that Sysco’s staff no longer have to use overtime to correct them. Sysco’s automation program is realising benefits like this across the business, with 60 digital robots that collectively process 6.2 million transactions and return more than 250,000 work hours to the business.

“As an AWS and Blue Prism customer, our cloud strategy was a critical lynchpin to help scale our automation initiatives. Automation had become a critical need almost overnight and in every area of our enterprise. It was time for us to put what we had planned and theorised into action,” said Kim Meredith, business technology lead, CoE at Sysco.

Meanwhile, Terry Walby, chief executive for Blue Prism Ventures, said:  “The collaboration with AWS will allow us to further enhance our ability to deliver intelligent automation solutions to organisations around the world seamlessly, on demand and at large or international scale.”

“This relationship will give customers even greater access to intelligent automation solutions that can accelerate their business transformation goals,” said Madhu Raman, Worldwide Head of Intelligent Automation at AWS. “Joint customers will have an extensive portfolio of real-world automation capabilities at their fingertips, including business process improvements. Customers will also benefit from more agile and flexible cloud-based contact centre solutions that combine our technologies.”

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“We are helping cities pave their way to a more connected, resilient and sustainable future,” said Chew Men Leong, president of urban solutions at ST Engineering. “Securing these landmark projects provides further validation of the unique strengths, quality and reliability of our smart city solutions. We are delighted to help our customers address their challenges to improve quality of life for their communities.”

The company’s latest smart mobility business is part of a consortium with Hyundai Rotem to be awarded a US$445-million contract by the Kaohsiung City Mass Rapid Transit Bureau to provide turnkey rail services comprising smart metro solutions, trains and a power supply system for the Kaohsiung MRT Red Line Extension, over a seven-year period. The 13km extension line, which is a key rail infrastructure programme in Kaohsiung City, consists of six elevated stations with an option for two additional stations.

Working with its partners, ST Engineering will be responsible for providing the communications and SCADA systems, automatic fare collection system, platform screen doors, and signalling system. This project adds to the group’s smart mobility track record of over 200 smart metro projects in more than 50 global cities.

On the other hand, the company’s latest IoT project in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is considered as one of the world’s largest single deployments of a city-wide public smart street light control system. ST Engineering will be serving as a technology partner to the Smart Luz consortium for the city’s public lighting PPP project.

The Smart Luz consortium was awarded the Rio de Janeiro Public Lighting PPP concession to operate, maintain, expand and modernise the city’s public lighting infrastructure for a period of 20 years.

Under this project, ST Engineering  will deploy its Telematics Wireless T-Light Galaxy Smart Street Lighting solution with AGIL IoT platform to connect more than 300,000 LED street lights across the city. The IoT platform also has the capability to manage more than 25,000 devices and sensors to enable Wi-Fi hotspots, waste management and traffic junction sensing for future smart city applications.

Work will start in fourth quarter of 2021 for a period of two years, with a 10-year operation and maintenance (O&M) portion that comes with an option to extend for another eight years. This project builds on the group’s strong record of growth for wireless nodes and IoT solutions worldwide.

According to Yan Herreras Yambanis, principal of High-Trend Brazil and vice president of finance at Smart Luz, the Rio de Janeiro Public Lighting project  will be the largest integrated Smart City deployment in Latin America.

“It will have a transformational impact as well as long-lasting and continuous benefits for the sustainable development of the city of Rio de Janeiro and its population. Smart Luz is excited to be working with ST Engineering as technology partner for its proven technology, reliability and depth of knowledge in the realm of Smart Cities. We see ST Engineering with its local set-up in Brazil as a strategic partner, given the long-term nature and potential of Smart Lighting PPPs in Brazil and the region,” he said.

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The new company  will leverage Johnson Electric's vast knowledge and experience in manufacturing processes and Cortica's unique Autonomous AI Technology to revolutionise the visual inspection market.

Automating quality assurance in manufacturing through Autonomous AI will drive flawless quality and production while enabling simple and fast setup on the production line

"With the power of Cortica's Autonomous AI technology, and JE's vast knowledge of the market, Lean AI will deliver a product that reduces the cost of human error when it comes to quality inspection in manufacturing and address the vulnerabilities in the current market," said Karina Odinaev, CEO of Lean AI.

Austin Wang, senior vice president of Johnson Electric, said they are fully aware of the fundamental challenges in deploying an AI-based quality assurance software in the production environment – especially in terms of speed of deployment and reliability over time.

“However, Cortica’s autonomous AI technology can address a lot of these major headaches and allow for much faster and broader adoption.”

The Israel-based Cortica Group has developed Autonomous AI that simulates the natural processes of the mammal cortex. Its unsupervised approach to learning mimics the way the brain processes information: enabling machines to learn, collaborate and interact with the world without human input.

Wang also pointed out that Johnson Electric's deep experience in a wide range of manufacturing processes offers a unique platform for developing an AI-based quality assurance software for commercial use.

“The joint venture is also opening a new avenue for Johnson Electric to develop and market software offerings. It is therefore both a technological as well as business model innovation for us. There are also opportunities to apply the technology in predictive quality and expert systems as well. This is the second investment of Johnson Electric in Israeli technology, and we will continue to assess such relevant opportunities,” Wang said.

Seizing the opportunity in the global machine market

The newly-formed Lean AI hopes to tap into the growing global machine vision market, currently valued at US$11 billion, but is predicted to reach US$15.5 billion by 2026.

As these numbers continue to grow and AI technology advances, the opportunity for machine vision solutions to positively aid in manufacturers' earning potential with a reduction in defects gives way for a new system that will fundamentally change the industry's approach to quality assurance.

Today, supervised Deep Learning-Based Quality Assurance Systems can take weeks, up to months, to deploy. The existing systems are reliant on a data scientist or AI experts and require large manually tagged training sets with thousands of defect image examples. Requiring constant maintenance and re-training for the slightest variations, the system is unable to adapt to defects, new products, and new cameras.

Lean AI touts its technology surpasses existing challenges of prevalent supervised Deep Learning-Based Quality Assurance Systems with the power of unsupervised learning to process information within a fraction of a second, using unlabelled data, applies predictive quality assurance, and compiles data that increases the speed of deployment and scaling. As an open platform agnostic to camera, defect type and product, Lean AI can collaborate with any integrators, OEMs, and manufacturers of automation solutions.

"Cortica has developed self-learning AI that is fundamentally different from traditional deep learning systems. Autonomous AI Technology operates like a human brain - it's not a fixed system; instead, it continuously adapts itself to various scenarios and learns online in real-time. Its technology requires far less computing power, can be deployed at a fraction of the cost, and provides far superior performance outcomes," said Igal Raichelgauz, founder and chairman of Cortica. "Our technology is robust and generic and applicable within a multitude of signal domains such as visual, audio, time series and other domains; visual inspection is only the beginning. Autonomous AI technology is quickly becoming the benchmark for the industry."

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“While we seek to expand our maritime industry, we have not forgotten our commitment to sustainable development,” said Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. “We have already announced the target for Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050. As part of our decarbonisation effort, we encourage industry players to adopt more sustainable shipping initiatives. As you all know, Hong Kong was the first city in Asia to mandate a fuel switching requirement for ocean-going vessels.”

In her speech at the 11th edition of the Asian Logistics, Maritime & Aviation Conference (ALMAC) held in Hong Kong last week, Lam also reiterated the need to use innovative technologies, even as the city continues to enhance maritime services – including  ship finance, marine insurance, maritime legal and arbitration services, ship agency and management and shipbroking – through the provision of economic incentives such as tax concessions and manpower training.

With over 150 years of maritime heritage and robust international connectivity, Hong Kong has one of the top 10 container ports in the world, as well as a transhipment hub in the region. There are some 280 weekly container vessel sailings, connecting to over 600 destinations worldwide.

At the same ALMAC event, Frank Chan, Hong Kong’s secretary for transport and housing, echoed the importance adapting innovative technologies to sustain the city’s leading position as a global logistics, maritime and aviation hub.

 "The future of modern logistics is going to be smart and technology-driven. Automation, AI, big data and digitalisation are instrumental," said Chan, adding that to  help achieve this strategic goal, the Hong Kong government has up a HK$300 million funding scheme to encourage logistics service providers in applying technological solutions to enhance productivity.

COVID-19 and hitting the reset button

Panellists at the “New trade order and evolving intermodal networks in the Asia-Pacific” conference session noted that  current pandemic has amplified seismic shifts in the supply chain where it is becoming more regional than global, a trend particularly noticeable in the Asia Pacific.

Kelvin Leung, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, said that a lot of issues, such as port congestion and traffic congestion, were happening even before the pandemic. Even before COVID-19, many industries and companies had been rethinking how to position their supply chain, sourcing models, manufacturing models, and so forth, focusing on enhancing the transparency of their supply chain and the resilience of the supply chain model.

“Digitalisation is going to change the way we operate going forward, and ESG is becoming more important because our industry creates a lot of emissions, and we have to address that,” said Leung.

Raymond Fung, director of trades at Orient Overseas Container Line, said businesses have needed to increase dialogue with each and every customer and have also had to cater for certain SMEs they previously wouldn’t have dealt with over the past couple of years. As service providers, he said shipping lines must live with what the customer wants and adjust accordingly.

“For example, we have been using big-bulk vessels, as long as they are seaworthy, to run short-distance trips for certain customers,” he said. With the growth of e-commerce and the use of artificial intelligence by some carriers and customers, he hoped it would be easier to forecast demand, with shipping lines able to come up with different sizes of vessels and different routings to better cater for customers’ requirements.

According to Joseph Phi, group CEO Li & Fung, supply chain has seized to be “invisible” to shippers, but now stands front and centre.

“We have surging demand, rising transportation costs, manufacturing delays, port congestion, labour shortages, trade disputes, trade policies, inflation, and so on, so the whole supply chain is facing the perfect storm,” he said at the conference’s

“The more progressive companies are doing things to create value in their supply chains. The overarching theme they have adopted is they have hit the reset button, concluding that the pandemic is a perfect occasion to reset their strategies and refresh the way they execute their strategies, so they are trying their very best to make their supply chains more resilient and agile,” Phi added.

The future of smart air cargo

Meanwhile, the same supply chain disruptions are plaguing air cargo segment of the logistics industry amid the pandemic, even while air cargo volume has been significantly up and expected to comprise  nearly a third of the airline operating revenues.

To get transparency across their operations, industry players have been deploying technologies to find their way across their supply chain years before the pandemic hit.

According to Victor Mok, chairman and CEO - Asset Service Platform at GLP China, Chinese logistics providers have implemented digital solutions five to 10 years ago to enhance the digital transparency and safety of cargo movements.

Cross-border e-commerce has greatly accelerated progress in this area, he said.

“Digitalisation is a big word, but it doesn't mean just moving things like processes from paper to online platforms. That is only the first small step,” Mok added. “The key is how you optimise the processes, using technology and data to improve the processes and therefore efficiency and transparency, to make better decisions than in the past.”

Mark Slade, managing director of DHL Global Forwarding Hong Kong & Macau noted that up to 60% of supply chain disruptions come not from direct suppliers, but further upstream from second- and third-tier suppliers.

“We at DHL use an analytical tool to allow companies to get deeper into the supply chain and identify risks with suppliers that are actually two or three layers removed from their operations,” said Slade.

The annual ALMAC is jointly organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. It is a is a flagship event of Hong Kong Maritime Week. This year’s conference had more than 11,200 viewers from some 60 countries and regions. They included participants from Hong Kong, Mainland China, newcomers from Mexico, Nigeria, Romania and more, highlighting how the event offered networking opportunities spanning the globe.

A newly added physical and virtual exhibition showcased different logistics technologies, including 5G technology for warehouse management, smart logistics solutions, international payment solutions and the latest smart port developments, connecting participants with the best business solutions

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The application period is open until January  9, 2022. The program seeks to help local startups to identify commercial opportunities where they can collaborate with Visa and its extensive network of bank, merchants and government partners in the region.

"As the world transitions from a pandemic to an endemic state, there is great demand for digital-first experiences that shape new thinking around digital currencies and open data. And many startups have developed new innovations to tap these opportunities," said Chris Clark, regional president, Asia Pacific, Visa. "We want to support these startups by helping them go from a local success story to a regional player, providing guidance and connections to navigate the complexities of entering new markets."

Now on its second year, the accelerator program in Asia Pacific was launched in December 2020. Visa introduced the Accelerator Program in Asia Pacific in December 2020. Its first batch of startups called “cohort” included the following: Brankas, a fintech that provides financial software and solutions; Curlec, a subscription management platform that facilitates recurring payments and disbursements; DigitSecure, an omnichannel acceptance platform; ModusBox, an open-source platform for real-time payments; and, Open, a neo-banking platform for small businesses

Startups from the first cohort include Brankas, a fintech that provides financial software and solutions; Curlec, a subscription management platform that facilitates recurring payments and disbursements; DigitSecure, an omnichannel acceptance platform; ModusBox, an open-source platform for real-time payments and Open, a neo-banking platform for small businesses. The startups concluded their activities with a product pitch to hundreds of Visa's clients and partners across the region.

Breaking into new markets

The Visa Accelerator Program is designed for startups that have launched successful solutions in their home markets but are looking towards the next stage of growth. As a network working for everyone, Visa is uniquely positioned to help startups break into new geographies and reach new customer groups.

“It would have taken us two to three years to enter Southeast Asia and we were able to do this within six months  thanks to Visa's dedicated go-to-market support and structured approach to solutioning and product positioning with clients,” Anish Achuthan, Co-founder and CEO, Open.

Seshu Kulkarni, CEO of  DigitSecure, said: "Visa's product and market insights, executive mentorship, and technical expertise, have helped DigitSecure further strengthen our capabilities, enhance our go-to-market strategy, increase brand visibility and also open doors to new clients."

Under the program, a cohort can quickly test and validate partnership opportunities through an accelerated Proof of Concept (POC) over the course of 4-6 months.

Unlike traditional POCs that take valuable time and resources away from the startups, the Visa Accelerator Program is designed to quickly test and validate partnership opportunities with Visa and its extensive network of partners, assess market demand, and move forward with a fast-tracked path to pilots, partnerships and commercialisation post-program.

"The sheer magnitude of the contribution from the Visa team was incredible. They were able to mobilise resources from tech to development across the Asia Pacific region for us,” said Steve Haley, director of economic development at ModusBox.

Todd Schweitzer, co-founder and CEO of Brankas, echoed the same sentiment: "The program highlight was seeing our product live in the market with our banking partners – Visa took an action-oriented approach in joining forces with Brankas and launching new products with us."

"Our experience with Visa has been unparalleled – to be able to work at this speed with us, considering their scale, has exceeded all expectations,” said Zac Liew, co-founder and CEO of Curlec.

Key technology focus areas

With increased expectations for digital-first experiences from consumers and businesses, startups in the 2022 cohort will tackle some of the most pressing financial and technological opportunities in Asia Pacific.

For its latest edition, the program is focused on the following  technology areas:

• New Flows: How to simplify connectivity between consumers, businesses, and governments to support new flows across domestic and international networks.

Examples of this include:

• Bridging network connectivity across schemes, wallets, RTP systems, etc.
  • Facilitating new use cases or reaching new users in gaming, social commerce, government flows, bill payments, etc.
  • Payments-as-a-Service
  • Payment infrastructure enablers
• Digital Currencies & Blockchain:  How to shape the development and adoption of blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies to power transformative new commerce applications.

Examples of this includes:

• Digital asset custody
  • Crypto rewards
  • Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
  • Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)
  • DeFi applications
  • Oracles and cross chain interoperability
• Open Data Solutions: How to enable new data partnership models, and build advanced decision-making and scoring capabilities.

Examples of this include:

• Digital identity
  • Consent management
  • Decision modelling to support credit scoring, sustainability use cases, etc.
  • Fair and equitable AI & ML modelling
  • Financial management
  • Risk, fraud and security
  • Growth marketing
• Buy Now Pay Later & Loyalty: How to drive deeper engagement across the payments value chain through differentiated offerings such as new credit models and loyalty solutions.

Examples of this include:

• Value chain enablers for buy now pay later, instalments and new credit models
  • Consumer and merchant loyalty and engagement solutions
  • New retail and checkout experiences, including alternative payment methods and new form factors

Interviews with potential participants of the Visa Accelerator Program will be conducted on a rolling basis, with selected startups being notified in March 2022. The program is set to run between April and September next year.

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Called Digital Health Passport for Travel, the solution enables travellers to locate COVID-19 testing providers, schedule tests and make sure that test results meet their destination's criteria. It also facilitates swifter approvals by allowing travellers to digitally store, manage, validate and share test results, vaccine certifications, self-attestations, travel authorisation forms and other travel documents.

The  solution is built using Hyperledger Fabric blockchain technology and is presented a white-label offering can work in tandem with the existing apps of travel suppliers, saving them the time, cost and effort required to engage with new partners for every change. The plug-and-play solution is designed to easily integrates with airlines’ mobile application while securing their passengers’ privacy. It is platform-agnostic, cloud-scalable and compliant with GDPR/CCPA and other regulations.

Furthermore, it adapts in real-time to changes in entry restrictions and COVID requirements. It can also be readily integrated with boarding gates readers, check-in kiosks, border management systems, e-gates and standalone identity desktops. It can also be easily plugged into Evernym's verifiable credentials platform, Sherpa's visa and travel rules API, International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Timatic passenger verification database, and Smartvel's AI-powered travel solutions.

"Amid a wide range of rapidly evolving travel health standards because of the pandemic with no single authority to harmonize them, travellers worldwide are dealing with a high degree of confusion and ambiguity," said Venu Lambu, executive director and president for global markets at Mindtree. "The digital health passport for travel is a comprehensive and long-term solution that addresses multiple aspects of travel-readiness and drives seamless, contactless and paperless travel health workflows. This makes it easier for travellers as well as authorities to make informed decisions, speed up processes and minimize health risks."

In addition to airlines, hotels, cruise lines, airports, government agencies and car rental firms, the solution can also be used by companies to monitor and manage workplace safety when offices reopen.

"Mindtree's Digital Health Passport for Travel has enormous potential to boost travel safety as well as traveller confidence in the new normal," said Daniela Barbosa, executive director at Hyperledger Foundation, and general manager, Blockchain, Healthcare and Identity for the Linux Foundation. "We are pleased that Mindtree has chosen Hyperledger Fabric's modular, plug-and-play and versatile design for the solution to deliver speed, efficiency and performance at scale.”

She added: “As an industry-wide open-source initiative, Hyperledger Fabric also enables the solution to harness the latest innovation in blockchain technology. It is great to see Hyperledger technology being put to work to provide travellers with easy movements and uninterrupted flows, and help airlines, airports and authorities better meet regulatory safety requirements."

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This announcement by the Taiwan-based company coincided with the unveiling of its three electric vehicle (EV) prototypes - a sedan, an SUV and a bus -in a move to diversify into the automotive industry and a goal to become a major player in the global EV market.

The planned R&D centre will work on software innovations around smart gateway, smart cockpit, smart autonomous driving and other software applications.

“As the electric vehicle business develops and matures, Hon Hai will look to launch its open platform and other software. The group will also introduce enhancements on the software platform over time,” said Foxconn chairman Young Liu. Foxconn is formally known as Hon Hai Technology Group.

Foxconn unveiled first three EV prototypes  and the planned R&D centre to support software development for its smart electric car ecosystem  early this week during an event that marked the birthday of company founder Terry Gou.

The prototype vehicles were made by Foxtron,  a joint venture established last year between Foxconn and Taiwanese car manufacturer Yulon Motor.

“With the determination and support from Hon Hai, Foxtron will play a key role in the transformation of the automobile industry, leading the advancement of the automobile production value chain in Taiwan,” said Lilian Yen Chen, CEO, Yulon Motor.

The SUV is set to hit the Taiwan market in 2023 and is expected to be  sold under one of Yulon's brands. The sedan, which was jointly developed with Italian design firm Pininfarina, are planned to be sold outside the island nation by a yet-to be-named carmaker in the coming years.

The bus will carry a Foxtron badge and is scheduled to start running in several cities in southern Taiwan next year in a partnership with a local transportation service provider.

“Hon Hai is ready and no longer the new kid in town,” said Foxconn’s Liu.

Meanwhile, Chi-Sen Tso, vice chairman of Foxtron, expressed hope that the Foxconn’s EV business will worth one trillion Taiwanese dollar (US$35 billion) in five years’ time.

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Furthermore, the deployment of the nationwide next-generation wireless cellular technology in Malaysia is expected to increase the number of IoT use cases in the country.

"DNB is committed to delivering the best technology and innovation opportunities for Malaysians, businesses and government to ensure that Malaysia takes its place at the forefront of the global digital economy. We identified Ericsson to offer the best next generation 5G technology and professional services available to suit DNB's specific and unique requirements,” said Ralph Marshall, chief executive officer of  DNB.

DNB is tasked by the Malaysian government to deploy 5G infrastructure across the country to accelerate its digital transportation. Under this mandate, DNB will provide access and services to mobile service providers and others licensed by the regulators to enable a world-class 5G experience and make Industry 4.0 a reality in Malaysia.

DNB aims to launch Malaysia's first 5G network in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya in the initial phase. Ericsson's local presence and deployment expertise are key to meeting DNB's target of 80%  5G nationwide population coverage by 2024.

An end-to-end 5G network

Under its  exclusive partnership with DNB, Ericsson will provide an end-to-end 5G network, spanning the delivery of energy-efficient Ericsson Radio System products and solutions, including Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, a software for wide-area 5G coverage.

The scope also includes cloud-native 5G Core and 5G Radio Access (RAN) nationwide. Ericsson will also manage the unique requirements of a single wholesale network with its leading Managed Services offering, Ericsson Operations Engine. The solution will enhance the performance of DNB's network using AI , automation and cognitive software to predict and prevent issues.

Ericsson's end-to-end scope also includes operational support systems (OSS) and business support systems (BSS) solutions.

 "With a 56-year legacy of contributing to Malaysia's development, we are excited to be extending our commitment to the nation. Ericsson is confident that with our global 5G leadership and strong deployment capabilities, we will meet the deployment targets set by DNB,” said David Hägerbro, head of Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

He pointed out that Ericsson’s  participation in the national 5G project will see direct and indirect socio-economic contributions in areas such as job creation, partnership with Bumiputera and other local contractors and ecosystem players, and knowledge and capacity building in Malaysia.

"5G is a platform for open innovation and is becoming the cornerstone upon which a country's competitiveness is built. Malaysia's and DNB's commitment to accelerating the deployment of 5G is to be congratulated, as it will speed up the adoption of 5G nationally, bridge the digital divide and transform the nation. 5G will help to facilitate the government's ambition to promote Malaysians to become technology creators through development of 5G applications and use cases,” said Hägerbro.

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The  real estate services firm is using a 3D virtualisation tool  from Matterport, which  develops a ground-breaking spatial data platform  that turns buildings into data – and turns them into digital assets. The use of this virtualisation tool comes on the heels of a global agreement that Cushman & Wakefield signed with Matterport last year.

"We were first acquainted with the Matterport platform when we were exploring the best way of introducing properties for rent during the pandemic,” said Keiji Kato, senior director and head of Leasing Advisory Group, Japan at Cushman & Wakefield.

“Matterport allows us to conduct high quality virtual tours for our clients with its ability to produce a highly photorealistic digital replica of the actual physical space. We have now introduced this service across all the properties that we lease and manage, and it has proven to be very effective in differentiating us from our competition. We believe that virtual tours will remain necessary even after the pandemic, and we will continue to use this platform as one of our key property marketing tools,” Kato added.

Matterport's AI-driven visualisation technology scans an existing space and reproduces it in digital form. This "digital twin" is a versatile asset within the commercial real estate industry, including in providing virtual tours of properties with detailed floor plans and a "dollhouse view", which provides prospective buyers and tenants with a dimensionally accurate and immersive view into a space.

Matterport enables Cushman & Wakefield to provide property inspections that keep clients and professionals safe during this COVID-19  pandemic, eliminating the need to be present in the space physically. Because of this, Cushman & Wakefield is also able to deliver additional benefits to clients such as reduced travel and fewer visits to a property, producing overall time and cost savings which will remain relevant beyond the pandemic.

According to Matterport, 3D virtual tours increase audience engagement by over 300% in comparison to 2D imagery. The technology helps in making better informed decisions by providing a multi-dimensional view of the venue, enabling more effective property inspection and marketing of assets.

"Japan's commercial real estate sector is one of the most competitive, so firms must constantly differentiate to win clients. Matterport's technology enables agents to achieve an edge through authentic, immersive and navigable 3D experiences,” said Howard Xiao, Japan country manager at Matterport.

He added: “By leveraging Matterport's powerful technology and insights, Cushman & Wakefield is positioning itself at the forefront of the sector's ongoing transformation, which harnesses technology to drive deeper engagement, analysis and understanding of listings. Increasingly, clients are turning to Matterport to capture their real estate portfolios due to the significant add-on benefits realised. We are delighted to be selected by Cushman & Wakefield Japan for all of their Leasing Management mandates."

In addition to remote site inspections,  Cushman & Wakefield is using Matterport technology in project management to enable clients to  monitor the progress of their projects and access the digital twin online from anywhere, and at any time regardless of property or audience location.

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To better align with smart factory capabilities, FEFC implemented IoT sensors on all its production equipment. It is planning to use Spotfire and TIBCO Streaming software to monitor the data and provide alerts when measurements exceed predetermined thresholds, allowing operators to investigate and attend to matters before they turn into problems.

Click on the link to learn more about how FEFC is innovating its operations end-to-end and achieve improvements across finance, cross-department workflow, power distribution and manufacturing.

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“We have seen the demand for remote services increase steadily, and the value of asset management through our remote services is proven more and more every day,” said Boufarah as the company recently announced plans to open a new remote monitoring centre (RMC) in Singapore.

The new RMC, the first for Bently Nevada in Asia Pacific, aims to provide remote monitoring and diagnostic services for industrial customers in the region. The company targets to offer continuous monitoring of key assets across offshore oil and gas platforms, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, refineries, petrochemical plants and industrial manufacturing sites.

Leveraging its System 1 Software platform, Bently Nevada’s RMCs bring the expert machinery condition monitoring support that drives condition based maintenance planning.  The centres also provide reactive diagnostic support in near real time when a machine or process trip event arises – all  without any of the complex logistics delays and costs associated with getting expertise physically on site.

“The journey to enable remote operations relies heavily on a proper IIoT ecosystem that provides the contextualised data necessary to run day to day operations, while still maintaining an optimal asset health management strategy. This is Bently Nevada’s forte,” said Boufarah.

Bently Nevada, a Baker Hughes business, has over 60 years of condition monitoring experience and over 20 years of delivering safe and secure remote machinery monitoring and diagnostic services around the world.

Its global network of RMCs has over 1,500 customer assets at 50 unique customer sites. The company also has over 160 certified machinery diagnostic engineers globally ready to support customers remotely or on-site.

The Singapore RMC expands on Bently Nevada’s significant footprint in the Asia-Pacific region. Bently Nevada has more than 150 employees in Asia-Pacific, supporting 200 key customers with an 80% market share in power and oil and gas facilities.

“We can monitor assets and provide insights to our customers near real-time and in a cost-effective way, while mitigating safety risks associated with physical travel to customer sites,” said KH Hor, Asia-Pacific sales director of Bently Nevada at Baker Hughes.

Specifically, the RMC’s in-house machinery diagnostic engineers will analyse early warning signals for predictive maintenance and provide customers near real-time insights on potential issues and recommended actions. The new centre in Singapore will support services in English, Mandarin and Malay.

“Given the increased demand for remote monitoring and diagnostics for key assets across the energy and industrial sectors, we are excited to launch this centre to better service our customers in the region,” Hor said.

According to Boufarah, remote operations has presented “a step change opportunity in the way our customers manage and operate their critical processes” that both increases productivity and reduces HSE risks simultaneously.

“The new RMC represents our commitment to Singapore and Asia-Pacific,” said Boufarah. “We are investing for growth to support our customers’ digital transformation journeys, to continuously monitor equipment health and provide machinery insights for optimal industrial asset management.”

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Nokia will supply equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio to meet a variety of deployment scenarios. This includes its enhanced, next-generation AirScale Indoor (ASiR) system for retail and office environments. The compact, flexible indoor system is designed to seamlessly upgrade to 5G NR via plug-and-play with minimal on-site work.

TST will also use the EN-DC functionality available on Nokia’s AirScale radios. EN-DC allows devices to connect simultaneously to 5G and LTE networks, transmitting and receiving data across both air-interface technologies.

This means devices can achieve a higher throughput than when connecting to 5G or LTE alone. TST’s 5G SA network enables the full potential of 5G unlocking new services such as Voice over 5G New Radio (VoNR) for enhanced call services. Nokia’s 5G portfolio ensures a simple migration path and a fast deployment for TST to support its requirements.

“It is imperative that our customers receive the best possible 5G services in terms of performance and coverage. Our continuing partnership with Nokia will see us expand and enhance our 5G offering ensuring they receive best-in-class experiences,” said Cliff Lai, president, TST.

TST is a growing brand in a competitive market. The network expansion is crucial to providing better coverage and performance to their 5G subscribers and increase market share.

TST launched 5G services last summer using the 40 MHz of bandwidth in the 3.5GHz band it had previously secured. Early deployment saw 80%  covered in densely populated areas last year with 100 % in Taiwan expected to be covered by 2023.

TST’s 5G subscriptions reached 5%of its total mobile users last year with a target of reaching 20% by the end of this year.

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Several of these projects involved the adoption of Internet of Things in the development of new applications both for business and for leisure.

"We are glad to see that many Cyberport start-ups grasped the opportunities presented by 5G technology to develop cutting-edge applications. We support start-ups in the development, testing and launch of their 5G solutions by utilising our infrastructure, as well as the Cyberport's Partner Networks,” said Eric Chan, chief public mission officer at Cyberport.

Early this month, the Hong Kong government doubled the funding for the Subsidy Scheme for Encouraging  Early Deployment of 5G from HK$50 million to HK$100 million, as well as extended the application deadline for the scheme to July 30, 2021.

Chan said Cyberport welcomes this move and “will continue to encourage the application of the startup community and build a smarter city together”.

Following the widespread coverage of 5G networks, Cyberport has been playing an active role in supporting community start-ups to develop innovative solutions using 5G technologies.

To enhance the lifestyle experience and business applications in the city, Cyberport is also coordinating with a number of telecom operators and enterprises to provide opportunities for the commercialisation of the 5G solutions .

To date, many projects from the Cyberport startup community that applied for the scheme involves the coupling of 5G and IoT technology.

Some of them are:

• Formula Square, a digital entertainment start-up, has leveraged the ultra-high-speed and low latency of 5G to take virtual car racing to the next level. 5G network allows players to watch high-resolution visuals captured by the camera of 1/10 RC vehicle on a real-time basis, which allows them to control the vehicles remotely in driving simulators with realistic racing experience. This also enables racers from different locations to compete in the same racetrack.
• Wada Bento, another Cyberport start-up, focusing on the development and operation of bento vending machines, has used 5G technologies to adopt remote management of the machines, which makes early alert of malfunctioning and fast repairing possible, and reduces maintenance costs while enhancing customer experience.
• Carbon World, a green technology company, to upgrade its self-developed PET bottle recycling machines which can now identify different bottles within 5 seconds instead of 20. The new technology has also made real-time machine inspections possible. Such advancements have made recycling more efficient and encouraged citizens to "go green" in everyday life.
• Cyberport start-up Ark Space has developed a unique 5G-based smart glasses software system. High-resolution visuals captured by the built-in camera of the glasses will be transmitted to backstage engineers and maintenance staff in real time for more accurate instructions from a perspective of frontline personnel.
• Another start-up SyZyGy has developed a movable video display box that adopts 5G technologies to conduct live streaming of 1:1 holographic videos under different settings. This not only extends the mixed reality experience of the event industry to outdoor venues, but also paves way for brand displays in shopping malls and shops.
• In addition, Unissoft has leveraged 5G's edge computing feature to transmit 4K camera videos with 5G signals. The videos are not only uploaded for cloud-based storage, but also sent to nEdge, its locally-deployed edge equipment product, for real-time analysis and alert onsite management staff earlier to prevent accidents.
• MAD Gaze, a local supplier of smart glasses, adopted the maturing 5G technologies to develop innovative applications in different industries, including interactive learning. Using specially designed applications, teachers can prepare dynamic course content for students equipped with smart glasses to learn from AR teaching materials. Coupled with classroom teaching, the interaction between teachers and students will be significantly enhanced to deepen learning experience and efficiency. 5G supports high speed transmission and fast processing of large amount of data and low latency. The combination of 5G and AR computing can strengthen the interaction offered by AR teaching materials to improve the quality of presentations.

With an aim to help start-ups save development costs, Cyberport offers a testing environment with 5G network in its campus area. 5G development kits, including 5G SIM cards, receivers and other necessary equipment, are available for rent to enable new technology applications in different areas.

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Conducted with the support from Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and a meat importer, the trials were done in February and March this year on the routes between a meat processing plant on the Mainland and the Man Kam To Control Point.

ASTRI will optimise the platform, and share the trial results with the relevant departments on the Mainland and in Hong Kong, anticipating further discussions on the development of the platform.

"Our goal is to deploy blockchain and IoT technologies to ensure that the entire process of transporting and storing chilled and frozen food is efficient and hygienic, and to facilitate food traceability. If a food safety incident occurs, we will be able to trace where the problem food comes from and where it goes,” said  project coordinator Ricky Leung. Leung is also senior manager of cybersecurity, cryptography and trusted technologies at ASTRI.

Technology-assisted food safety measure

The next generation cold food import safety management platform stores all import documents and container temperature data on the blockchain. Those who have been granted access rights, including farms, processing plants, importers and exporters, and approval units, will share the same documents and data to ensure consistency.

Trucks will use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to record their driving routes and use an advanced electronic lock and thermometer to monitor the status of the container door and the temperature inside, uploading it to the system platform and storing on the blockchain in real time.

Established in 2000 with the mission to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness through applied research, ASTRI's core R&D competence in various areas is grouped under five technology divisions: AI and big data analytics; communications; cybersecurity, cryptography and trusted technologies; integrated circuits and systems; and IoT and sensors. They are applied across five core areas, including smart city, financial technologies, intelligent manufacturing, digital health, and application specific integrated circuits.

To date, ASTRI has transferred over 750 technologies to the industries and been granted more than 900 patents in the Mainland, the US, and other countries.

“We have always been committed to using advanced scientific research to assist the government and the industrial and commercial sector in addressing problems and optimising operations, thereby improving the quality of life for our citizens,” said Dr Lucas Hui, ASTRI's acting co-CEO and chief technology officer, said.

He added: “With the next generation cold food import safety management platform, we can assist importers and relevant government departments in more efficiently processing food import applications."

The post ASTRI trialled cold food safety management platform appeared first on FutureIoT.

Catherine Chong, director for the SMEs Go Digital programme at IMDA, urged the industry players to seize the opportunity to kickstart their digitisation journey by tapping on the IDP, which served as a roadmap through the whole process.

“With increasing shortage in skilled manpower and rising global competition, it is vital for SMEs in the M&OE industry to build greater resilience to adapt and thrive in the digital future,” Chong said.

“SMEs can seize new growth opportunities by integrating and investing in relevant digital technologies to enhance their productivity and business performance, such as Project Scheduling and Workforce Management systems, and Predictive Monitoring & Maintenance using AI and IoT technologies. Ultimately, we hope to see these digitalisation efforts boost the industry as a whole,” she added.

Jointly developed by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the IMDA, the IDP was developed based on consultations and feedback from industry players in 2020 which showed that SMEs were keen to streamline operations and maximise productivity through digital tools. In line with the needs of the industry, the IDP comprises two roadmaps – the Digital Roadmap charts out different digital solutions SMEs can adopt at each stage of their business growth and digital maturity; while the Digital Training Roadmap offers a corresponding training roadmap for employees, to equip them with the right skill sets.

This latest digital roadmap, follow two similar IDP launched by ESG and IMDA last month targeted food manufacturing and environmental services industry respectively.

The M&OE IDP includes specially curated solutions such as Workforce Optimiser, Project and Scheduling Management, and Asset Monitoring and Management System. Companies who have adopted such solutions have seen productivity improvements and better time management by employees.

Esther Xu, M&OE Services director at ESG  noted that apart from the impact of COVID-19, the industry is facing major shifts, such as the accelerated global transition towards cleaner energy and rapid advancements in technology such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), cloud computing, robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“As an export-oriented sector, SMEs will need to leverage digital technology and solutions to manage current challenges and in the longer run, stay ahead of global competition. This is not just about knowing which digital solutions are available, but understanding how different technologies can be applied to deliver business value and impact. However, the use of technology must be complemented by a workforce that is equipped with the necessary digital skillsets. This IDP provides a framework for M&OE SMEs to start their digital journey,” Xu said.

Already, several local MO&E companies have started digitising their operations. For one, Masterscan Engineering recently adopted a Workforce Management solution. Together with their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, this has enabled them to reduce the time needed for invoicing and payroll by about 50% and 30% respectively.

Another SME, Completion Products, implemented an ERP solution to streamline their corporate functions. In addition, the company adopted new software and machinery such as Quality Management System (QMS) and semi-automated Screen Wrapping Machine to reduce material waste and project lead time. This helped lower their operating expenditure by 10%.

The post Singapore launches digital roadmap for M&OE industry appeared first on FutureIoT.

This figure represents a growth rate of over 80% in the next four years, rising from the expected US11 billion this year.

The new study entitled “The Doctor is Always In: How Teleconsultations Improve Patient Care” identified teleconsultations, a service that enables patients and physicians to interact remotely, as a key service that will enable these significant savings.

However, it cautioned that savings would be restricted to developed nations where access to required devices and Internet connectivity is prevalent. As a result, the study predicts that over 80% of savings will be attributable to North America and Europe by 2025.

Deregulation of telemedicine needed to maximise growth

With the onset of the COVID  19 pandemic,  the number to teleconsultations have reached more than 348 million last year – nearly a 25% increase – over the 280 million recorded in 2021.

In another report entitled “Telemedicine: Emerging Technologies, Regional Readiness & Market Forecasts 2021 2025”, Juniper Research ” predicts that the activities of third party healthcare service developers will be crucial in accelerating the deployment of emerging telemedicine services and increasing the uptake among healthcare providers.

However, the report predicts that the significant investment into integrating telemedicine services and the requirement of data protection, such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) in the US, will discourage adoption among smaller healthcare providers.

To foster the adoption of telemedicine services, it recommended that healthcare regulatory bodies continue to deregulate telemedicine services to minimise any remaining barriers to entry for smaller healthcare providers.

“Any deregulation must ensure that patient confidentiality is not undermined. Additionally, we recommend that innovative and emerging teleconsultation services are integrated into existing healthcare technologies, such as electronic health records, to maximise their benefits to healthcare providers,” said research author Adam Wears.

The post Telemedicine to save global healthcare US$21 billion by 2025 appeared first on FutureIoT.

Through its latest collaboration with global mobile satellite communications operator Inmarsat, Honeywell’s new SAT-IDP portable satellite terminal can track, monitor and control high-value assets in virtually any environment anywhere in the world, using the Inmarsat network.

Once an asset has been equipped with a SAT-IDP terminal and deployed in the field, the terminal can be programmed to send and receive customised data from internal and external sensors including temperature, humidity, vibration and shock.

“With high-value assets moving throughout the world, our portable next-generation satellite terminal gives shippers, fleet companies and their customers valuable data to help make sure their goods will make it to their destination safely,” said Kenneth Deville, general manager of Honeywell’s Global Tracking business. “The terminal’s new features provide greater insights into the quality of shipped goods, location of critical assets and the status and control of remote industrial systems.”

The SAT-IDP also introduces several new features including multiple input/output ports for third-party digital support, and Bluetooth connectivity to enable wireless terminal management for local scripting and configuration in addition to wireless sensors and messaging applications. The SAT-IDP features a compact design allowing inconspicuous deployments with several options for tailored installation.

The terminal operates globally on the highly reliable L-band satellite network from Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, using the IsatData Pro (IDP) service. IDP is often used where no other communications networks exist, but also complements other networks such as 4G as a reliable fallback for mission-critical data.

“Inmarsat is pleased to support Honeywell and its customers with an evolution path for existing applications and an opportunity to further innovate in the digital transformation of remote industries,” said Mike Carter, president of Enterprise at Inmarsat. “Inmarsat and Honeywell partner on various initiatives and share a common mission to improve safety, sustainability and efficiency for our customers.”

Inmarsat owns and operates the world’s most diverse global portfolio of mobile telecommunications satellite networks. Inmarsat operates across a diversified portfolio of sectors with the financial resources to fund its business strategy and holds leading positions in the Maritime, Government, Aviation and Enterprise satcoms markets, operating consistently as a trusted, responsive and high-quality partner to its customers across the globe.

For existing Honeywell customers using previous SAT-series terminals, the rugged, high reliability SAT-IDP offers a drop-in upgrade path from legacy satellite IoT services to IDP, which will extend application lifecycle and customer investments by ten years or more.

Honeywell and Inmarsat have worked together for nearly two decades to deliver solutions for several industries, including personal tracking, global GPS and aerospace.

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ENGIE, which specialises on sustainable energy innovation, will develop and construct the DCS plant, which will have a cooling capacity of close to 30,000 refrigeration-tons[1], equivalent to cooling 8,000 4-room HDB flats.

With a 4km centralised piping network connected to customers in the district, the plant is expected to reduce 3,700 tons of CO2 emissions per year at full development and achieve up to 30% reduction of energy consumption compared to standard commercial buildings. The design phase contract, awarded to ENGIE in 2019, has also achieved the Building & Construction Authority’s (BCA) Green Mark Platinum award.

Beyond a reduction in carbon emission, the DCS contributes to PDD’s vision of not just being a sustainable mixed-use district, but a smart one. The system will be integrated into PDD’s Open Digital Platform where monitoring and machine learning of building usage patterns will be carried out.

“Technology is a key driver in advancing sustainability at Singapore’s first smart business District. The Open Digital Platform at PDD integrates various systems across the district, including the district cooling system. This will allow us to track energy consumption patterns, as well as optimise energy distribution and cost efficiencies across the entire District. This is an exciting partnership with ENGIE, and we welcome more players to join us," said David Tan, assistant CEO  of Development Group, JTC.

Part of urban transformation master plan

In line with Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) urban transformation master plan to optimise land use, key infrastructure for the district cooling system will be laid below ground. By implementing district cooling, more spaces can be used for green parks and social amenities, development of renewable energy such as rooftop solar panels.

Moreover, ENGIE will leverage construction innovations such as mechanical pipe couplings for a more efficient and environmentally friendly installation, which aligns with the nation's push to promote the adoption of sustainable construction materials and practices.

“We are proud to partner with JTC to build a world-class smart district cooling system that contributes to Singapore’s sustainability agenda. Increasingly, district cooling solutions will play a critical and essential role to help Southeast Asia meet its cooling needs while achieving its sustainability goals towards climate action,” said Thomas Baudlot, CEO, ENGIE South East Asia.

The selection of ENGIE to design, build, own and operate the district cooling system for PDD marks another significant step for the company, as it continues to make headway in strengthening South East Asia’s energy efficiency through innovations in district cooling and other smart and sustainable technologies.

“The development and construction of the plant is right at the heart of ENGIE’s vision to enable businesses, partners and governments to make the shift towards carbon neutrality,”  Baudlot added.

Expected to be completed in 2024, the underground plant will be operated by ENGIE for a period of 30 years. The district cooling facility will provide air conditioning in a reliable, sustainable and cost effective way to the business park, community, retail outlets, and transportation nodes within the district. It optimises resources, land use and operational efficiency by allowing individual buildings to avoid operating and maintaining their own air conditioning systems.

The post ENGIE to build district cooling system in Punggol Digital District appeared first on FutureIoT.

The property’s unique ARgo AR navigation application delivers an all-scenario navigation across all of Chengdu IFS’ multiple venues. The mixed-used complex consists a flagship 210,000sqm shopping mall, premium Grade-A office buildings, the 230-room Niccolo Hotel and the 76,000sqm IFS Residences.

The property management partnered with AI-specialist SenseTime to develop the ARgo AR navigation feature using the latter’s SenseMARs AR platform.  The platform is capable of processing large-scale 3D mapping reconstructions of the 460,000 sqm mega complex. Combined with real-time localisation and Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) technologies, it achieves centimetre-level precise positioning accuracy of over 99%.

To make the AR features more accessible and convenient, ARgo can be launched via the menu of Chengdu IFS’ WeChat Service account or the kiosks inside the mall without downloading any Apps, compatible with multiple operating systems including Androids and iOS.

By leveraging AI and AR technologies and exploring the innovative application of all-scenario AR navigation at an urban complex, Chengdu IFS include  innovative as an essential part of the premium shopping environment for customers.

With the AR directions on ARgo, Chengdu IFS  allows customers to easily explore and navigate around its 300 plus stores, while enabling brands to use a more interactive marketing approach.

To create an interesting AI-powered navigation journey, the smart service first helps customers identify their locations through AI vision technology, then presents “AR arrows” on the mobile phone screen to guide them to their destinations easily and quickly. The application even integrates the country’s first car parking navigation system for urban complexes – customers who drive to the mall can locate their cars with one click by entering the parking floor and location numbers, as well as paying for the parking tickets online.

New level of intelligence to offline retail

In addition to the Chengdu IFS’s new navigation features, the SenseMARS platform brings a new level of intelligence to offline retail by offering fun games for different marketing campaigns or themes to boost customer interaction.

Along with the launch of ARgo, Chengdu IFS also introduced the “Ready GO!“ interactive mini-game. Users who catch over five falling balls within 30 seconds will be able to attend a lucky draw of gift cards, e-vouchers and other gifts. As users navigate themselves around the mall, the “Promotions” section on the screen displays the latest promotion information, with AR vouchers of nearby stores popping out randomly.

For customers seeking a nice place to dine in, a Dianping (China’s largest platform for locally found consumer products and retail services) page appears on the navigation interface with ratings, reviews and popular dishes when they stand in front of a restaurant, revolutionising their dining experience in a brand-new and immersive way.

Furthermore, SenseTime has deployed AR to enhance the complex’s main attraction, the giant panda sculpture called “I AM HERE” that is mounted on the roof. By clicking the panda icon on the ARgo interface, customers can follow the AR paw-prints of the panda to approach the sculpture. This user-friendly feature not only helps customers avoid getting lost in this large commercial complex, but also connects brands with their customers through various scenarios for targeted marketing.

According to SenseTime, the application of SenseMARS AR technology in an urban complex like Chengdu IFS is a major step in their goal to empower city-level smart cultural tourism, while significantly enhancing the venue service and management quality.

Moving forward, SenseTime will continue to explore the wider potential benefits of AI in off-line commercial scenarios, contributing to a smart and human-centric urban living space with innovative AI applications.

The post Chengdu IFS, SenseTime deploy AR in smart retail bid appeared first on FutureIoT.

“Our study finds that people in the region haven’t just adopted new payment  technologies—they’ve made deliberate shifts based partly on necessity, but also on considerations around personal safety, security and convenience, at a time when these concerns were paramount,” said Sandeep Malhotra, executive vice president for products & innovation, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.

Pandemic spurs shift in payment habits

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been a major driver towards broader enthusiasm for a range of payment technologies in Asia Pacific, according to the latest Mastercard New Payment Index, which polled consumers across 18 markets, including India, Australia and Thailand.

The index shows that a new shopping reality and payment habits have emerged in the region. About 84% of consumers in APAC have seen their access to emerging forms of payments increase in the past year alone.

While 88% used at least one emerging payment type in the last year, two-thirds (64%) of all respondents (including 75% of millennials) have tried new payment methods that otherwise they would not have tried were it not for the pandemic.

Furthermore, the index points out that as consumer demand increases, businesses of all sizes will face greater expectations to provide multiple ways to purchase and pay. Its findings show 80% of respondents prefer to shop at stores that have both an in-person and online presence, and 69% are more excited to shop at retailers who offer the latest payment methods. In fact, 60% of  consumers polled say they would avoid merchants that do not accept electronic payments of any kind.

“This behaviour shift is reinforced by people’s desire for choice – with 85% of consumers in APAC saying that they expect to make purchases when they want and how they want,” said Malhotra. “Businesses that can provide multiple ways to shop and pay will be best positioned to meet the unique needs of this moment that are shaping the future of commerce for years to come.”

Use of QR codes, cryptocurrencies and biometrics on the rise

Looking ahead, the index said the use of a range of payment technologies is trending upwards as people’s comfort with and understanding of them increases – while the use of cash steadily decreases.

Indeed, 69% of respondents in APAC plan to use cash less frequently in the coming year, as digital or mobile wallets have gained significant popularity amongst consumers in the region. In fact,  68% of respondents anticipate using this type of payment in the next year – higher than the global average of 62%.

Among the various emerging payment methods are:

• QR codes especially popular in APAC – QR codes have gained particularly strong traction in APAC compared to the rest of the world. Of those who used QR codes for payment, 63% said they used them more frequently in the last year than they had in the past. In both Thailand and India, the number is 64%, above the global average of 56%. In APAC, majorities of respondents perceive new payment methods like QR codes to be cleaner (76%) and more convenient (71%) for in-person payments as it is likely consumers are using their own mobile device. In Thailand and India, 77% and 71% of consumers respectively perceive QR codes to be secure while only 67% and 64% respectively perceive cash as a secure form of payment, demonstrating people’s greater trust in QR codes and other forms of digital payments.
• Cryptocurrency gains ground, millennials primed to jump In – Today consumers can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency as a commodity or investment. Consumers are also increasingly showing interest in being able to spend crypto assets for everyday purchases. 45% of those surveyed in APAC say they are likely to consider using cryptocurrency in the next year – a huge jump over the 12% that already used it in the last year, and higher than the global average of 40%. Millennials and centennials are relatively more comfortable using cryptocurrency (41%) compared to Gen X and Boomers (26%), with 71% of millennials saying they are more open to using it than they were a year ago. Geographically speaking, more consumers in Thailand (46%) and India (44%) are comfortable using cryptocurrency as compared to consumers in Australia (17%). Finally, while consumer interest in cryptocurrency - especially floating digital currencies such as Bitcoin - is high, work is still required to ensure consumer choice, protection, and their regulatory compliance as a payment instrument.
• Consumers increasingly comfortable with biometrics – Perceptions of safety and convenience have been front and centre for people over the past year. 64% of consumers in APAC say they are excited about the potential of biometric verification methods like gait or walk assessments and fingerprint authorization. In fact, 62% feel safer using biometrics to verify a purchase than entering a pin.

“These findings confirm that consumers in the region are more open to new technologies compared with the rest of the world, and this trend is only set to continue as more digital payment options rapidly become mainstream,” Malhotra said.

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The hospital, costing approximately US$4 million, is a one-storey building with a capacity of 300 beds, 35 intensive care unit rooms, and 10 emergency rooms. It occupies a 22,700sqm former football field in South Jakarta.

It is a modern facility equipped with a negative pressure isolation system to prevent the flow of virus-contaminated air, eliminating the spread of infectious pathogens to the surrounding environment, and includes a robotic nurse and an integrated command centre to connect it to 65 other hospitals.

In an article published trade publication Southeast Asia Construction, Wika shared how innovative solutions using drone and BIM technology help in building the hospital on time and within budget amidst the challenging COVID-19 situation.

Construction under time pressure

The Indonesia government instructed Wika to complete design and construction works, as well as have the hospital fully operating, in less than a month. Delivery also needed to be cost-effective and environmentally sustainable.

To meet these project requirements on a very tight timeline is no easy task with current social distancing measures. The company needed digital solutions that could fast-track construction by coordinating and accelerating engineering workflows, while at the same time addressing the various planning, collaboration and management challenges of the project.

By using BIM technology to digitally collaborate, Wika was able to rapidly progress through the design review process, manage complexity of design changes during construction, and achieve efficiency in time, cost, and quality.

“BIM facilitates the creation of designs that are complex to the construction process, starting from initial digital design to manufacturing workflows in all lines of construction disciplines,” Romi Ramadhan, BIM manager at Wika told trade publication Southeast Asia Construction.

BIM stands for Building Information Modelling, the process of generating and managing building data during its design, construction and during the building or assets life cycle. Typically, the process uses three-dimensional building modelling software to increase productivity of consultants and contractors during the whole asset life cycle.

The process produces the Building Information Model database, which encompasses building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, quantities and properties of building elements. It is a new way of working using new technology to facilitate project management, better construction process control, cross-disciplinary collaboration, communication with external stakeholders, decision support and risk management.

Establishing a connected data environment

To implement its BIM strategy, Wika needed interoperable modelling applications and a unified digital platform. To do this,  the company established a connected data environment using ProjectWise, and adopted Bentley’s reality modelling and BIM methodology to carry out its modular approach.

Wika used a quadcopter drone and ContextCapture to capture and process images of the 2-ha project site, creating a reality model of the topographic area. With OpenBuildings Designer, Wika generated a model of the entire hospital building, including structural, architectural, and MEP elements, as well as incorporated landscape and roadway design with OpenRoads.

To optimise design of the indoor airflow system to support patient recovery and prevent viral transmission, Wika used Hevacomp to perform airflow analysis and simulation within the building model, designing an HVAC system that complies with proper standards. The company integrated the 3D models with the construction schedule and costs using Synchro 4D while using LumenRT for visual animation, improving construction visualisation for better design verification.

Leveraging Bentley’s interoperable applications, Wika implemented a collaborative BIM methodology, enabling immediate access to real-time data and 3D models without needing to be in the same room. The integrated digital modelling solution facilitated survey, design, simulation, and visualisation, allowing design and construction to occur simultaneously, identifying and resolving design clashes, and making virtual changes to avoid errors and costly rework on site.

ProjectWise and Navigator especially helped coordinate the various, geographically dispersed engineering disciplines resulting in faster decisions throughout the project lifecycle. “The end result is that Bentley Systems can cover the end-to-end processes both in terms of engineering and management,” said Ramadhan.

Working in a connected data environment, 13 multidiscipline BIM engineers collaborated from home, streamlining workflows and increasing productivity to keep the tight project schedule on track.

The connective data environment also improved visualisation and decision-making without everyone needing to be in the same room, important during the global pandemic. Bentley’s BIM technology played a vital role in modular design and construction, which can slowly shift the world of construction from conventional to digital and industrialise construction project delivery.

Getting the job done

Wika completed 95 design revisions and resolved 62 clashes in three days to deliver the modular design in only 10 days, saving US$400,000. The company used synchro 4D to perform construction simulation and manage the construction process, which reduced construction time by four days to complete construction within 16 days, 20% faster than targeted.

Working in a unified BIM platform provided complete insight into planning, costs, scheduling, and construction, improving cost efficiency by 18% while optimising quality. Integrating its modular approach with Bentley’s BIM technology, Wika increased its return on investment by 24% and accelerated hospital operations by two months. The ability to extract accurate material quantities from the 3D models - combined with the sustainability of the modular construction process - contributed to saving up to 3,000 cu m of material waste and 10% of project costs.

“Bentley technology has the capabilities and tools to make effective and efficient modular workflows, so we can optimise project costs and improve efficiency of the design process,” said Rizky Yusuf Ramadhan, BIM coordinator at Wika. “We continue to build more and more modular hospitals using Bentley technology as quickly as possible to save more lives.”

Moving forward, Wika plans to expand BIM application and develop a digital twin for lifecycle management of the modular facility, serving as a benchmark for future developments within the industry.

The post Wika deploys BIM to speed up Jakarta hospital construction appeared first on FutureIoT.

The company presented its latest elevator series at the recent Customer Experience Event held at the National Gallery of Singapore. The KONE DX Class will replace the current KONE elevator range.

"We are excited to introduce the world’s first digitally-connected elevators -- enhancing building value along with our larger ecosystem of partners in the region," says Mikko Björk, managing director at KONE Singapore.

"Not only does the DX Class elevator series bring convenience to customers and users, it also offers a chance for us to secure a green, liveable, and sustainable city for future generations to live in,” Björk said.

For elevator passengers this brings a host of new, multisensory experiences inside the elevator, combining physical hardware and digital services. These can be customised according to individual needs and preferences, bringing new levels of ease and convenience.

By using open application programming interfaces (APIs), KONE makes it easy to manage and integrate different devices, apps and services with new and existing systems.

The new digitally connected elevators revolutionises the role of elevators in future smart buildings. The elevator is no longer merely a way to travel between floors, but an integral and integrated platform that offers intuitive, ambient and connected experiences that extend from the lobby throughout the building. For infrastructure developers and building owners, a key advantage is the ability to have access to future proof solutions, where elevator experiences are adapted and upgraded for different needs.

The Customer Experience Event was supported by KONE’s key innovative partners such as Gaussian Robotics, Habitap, G Element and Blindsquare, all of whom help bring the DX Class elevators  to live through the combination of design, technology, new materials, apps and services.

“We have been working with KONE on distinct, cutting-edge lift integration capabilities that use autonomous cleaning robots to navigate and clean multiple floors in a building by itself,” said Kevin Lee, business development director at Gaussian Robotics. “The goal is to always provide a safe and clean work environment for tenants and employees in the building.”

Every KONE DX Class elevator provides:

• The option for customers to easily and remotely activate digital services when they need to, including KONE 24/7 Connected Services and KONE Residential Flow.
• Secure APIs for third-party solutions, which create new and exciting services. KONE has agreements with Blindsquare, Gaussian Robotics, Habitap, G Element and more to bring new levels of sophistication to the people flow experience.
• A whole new variety of design options and innovations, including anti-stain, anti-scratch, and anti-bacterial surfaces.
• Advanced dynamic display, sound and lighting options to transform the ambience and interior.
• A range of sustainable materials to meet green building criteria like BREEAM and LEED.

"KONE is merging technologies of today with existing infrastructure to create smarter and more intelligent buildings -- supporting the growth of sustainable cities with a purpose," said Samer Halabi, executive vice president of KONE APAC. "Combining new products and services over the lifetime of a building can be very powerful, and the KONE DX Class makes elevator journeys more enjoyable and sustainable.”

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This latest move follows closely on the heels of the new IDP that charts the digital roadmap for food manufacturers in the city.

The ES IDP, however, has been in place since 2018 – forming part of IMDA’s SMEs Go Digital programme that aims to make going digital simple for SMEs. It includes a three-stage digital roadmap, which charts out the digital solutions that SMEs can adopt at each stage of their growth. Larger enterprises can also use the digital Roadmap to guide their digital journey

Pandemic exacerbates manpower shortage amid demand surge

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly increased the demand for and expectations of environmental services. With manpower challenges across the cleaning, waste management and pest management sub-sectors, Transforming the industry to be more productive is therefore critical to ensure continued delivery of environmental services to provide a clean, liveable and sustainable environment in Singapore.

“The COVID-19 situation has underscored the critical role of the Environmental Services industry in safeguarding public health, and provided an impetus for companies to improve their operations to become more efficient and productive as they experience an increase in demand for their services while facing manpower constraints,” said Dr Amy Khor, senior minister of state for sustainability and the environment.

She pointed out that  adoption of technologies and digital solutions such as cleaning robots and smart toilet systems has not only led to higher productivity, but also enabled companies to upskill their workforce and enhance jobs.

“The refreshed ES IDP, which now includes the pest management sub-sector, is yet another milestone in our efforts to transform the Industry. We encourage companies to tap into the refreshed plan build a future-ready workforce,” she said.

Pest management subsector added to expanded scope

The IDP now covers the pest management sub-sector as well, in addition to cleaning and waste management. New digital solutions for the environmental services (ES) industry have also been added. These enable the  whole industry to look forward to a more employable workforce, such as preparing multi-skilled professionals who can move across various sub-sectors. Businesses can also synergise cleaning, waste management and pest management services to reap greater efficiency and productivity.

Furthermore, the refreshed ES IDP have incorporated into its list newer and more advanced technologies such as robotics, augmented and virtual reality as well as blockchain, as their commercial applications are now more mature and readily accessible.

Some of these solutions are now relevant even for SMEs at an earlier stage of their growth. SMEs can tap on the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) for the ES industry to adopt pre-approved digital solutions recommended in the ES IDP.

Using the PSG, eligible companies can be supported with up to 80% of the qualifying cost, capped at S$350,000, until September 30, 2021. Latest statistics shows 1,500 PSG applications have approved for 518 companies, with about S$36 million of the PSG being  committed as of early April.

Continuous upskilling of ES workforce

Since 2019, the NEA has worked with partners to develop short courses for members of the ES workforce to learn more about the use of digital technology in environmental services.

For one, the  “Introduction to Digital Technology in Environment Services” course offered by the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) includes robotics and automation, as well as software and management systems[. Ngee Ann Polytechnic also offers a course on Digitalising Environmental Services. To date, about 200 people have attended both courses.

To ensure that the ES workforce is adequately equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to adopt digital solutions, companies can refer to the Digital Roadmap on Training in the ES IDP, which includes the type of courses available to equip their employees with the relevant skills and knowledge.

Meanwhile, the Digital Roadmap on Training will also be continuously updated to ensure that the industry’s workforce is adequately prepared with the necessary skills and knowledge to adopt digital solutions, so that they are ready for changes that come with digital transformation

The IDP will be updated over time as the industry progresses and new, more relevant technologies are introduced. NEA will continue to work with partner agencies to champion initiatives to attract and retain local talent, upskill the workforce and accelerate technology adoption. Together with the support of the trade associations, we can build stronger businesses and enhance jobs in the ES industry.

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“The concept received strong cross-member support when first discussed and reflects the priority that corporations are putting on this issue. By launching this initiative, we want to help businesses build sustainability using IoT systems. We also want to show them how to choose sustainable technologies and prepare for the new innovation possibilities that these technologies enable,” said Dale Seed, convenor of oneM2M’s sustainability initiative from Interdigital and Convida Wireless.

According to the World Economic Forum’s “Guideline to Sustainability”, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) can add US$14 trillion of economic value to the global economy by 2030. However, while technology driven change can be a tremendous driver for value creation, some of its side effects, including wasteful usage patterns and throwaway technology, can undermine total gains. This highlights why organisations need to factor first- and second-order sustainability principles in their technology and design choices.

Since its establishment in 2012, oneM2M has been leading a multinational, open, and collaborative approach to create an extensible standard for IoT systems. From the outset, oneM2M participants recognised the importance of defining a general-purpose architecture applicable to a wide range of application domains. The intention was to avoid competing standardisation efforts, at the technical and national levels.

The organisation also encourages interoperability by helping developers to re-use existing and established technologies, some of which are specific to individual industry domains. oneM2M’s principles align with well-accepted sustainability objectives that seek to minimise duplicative efforts while prolonging the usefulness of legacy investments and fostering economies of scale.

Currently, oneM2M consists of eight of the world's preeminent standards development organisations: ARIB (Japan), ATIS (U.S.), CCSA (China), ETSI (Europe), TIA (U.S.), TSDSI (India), TTA (South Korea), and TTC (Japan), together with industry fora or consortia (GlobalPlatform) and over 200 member organisations.

But on top of its member base, participation in oneM2M’s new sustainability initiative is open to the wider technology and software services communities as most IoT systems rely on partnerships among suppliers along business and operational value chains. Since the IoT and associated technologies such as AI, cloud computing and mobile internet are enablers of digital transformation, the oneM2M initiative also aims to work across industry domains.

“Mobile networks and IoT technologies are among the topmost candidates for enabling sustainability in the way that organisations manage their environmental footprint. This new initiative offers a way to help organisations build IoT systems based on an open standards framework that is scalable and minimises waste by re-using established technologies and legacy systems”, said Enrico Scarrone, steering committee chair at oneM2M.

Building on the contributions of more than 250 members organisations, oneM2M specifications provide a framework to support end-to-end IoT systems, applications, and services. The horizontal architecture and framework for oneM2M technical specifications has been developed in an open and collaborative environment, with a clear governance framework. These factors facilitate trust in its specifications, cross-vendor interoperability tests and certification efforts.

The post Global initiative pushes for sustainability in IoT deployments appeared first on FutureIoT.

approving plan applications using its self-developed Housing Electronic Submission System (HePlan).

The HePlan system  handled a total of about 4,400 electronic plan submission in 2020, nearly doubling the estimated 3,500 electronic plan submissions processed by the ICU the year before.

Available online around the clock, people can submit their applications any time at their convenience. What’s more, the submission process is not affected by special work arrangements that have been put in place amid COVID-19.

“Applicants for the Housing Authority’s (HA) new development projects as well as for alteration and addition works at HA buildings may submit electronic plans and related documents to the ICU via an electronic format,” said Martin Tso, head of the ICU. The ICU exercises building control of properties under the HA – which also include sold  or diverted properties

He added: "We communicate with the applicants through the HePlan directly. The use of the system has effectively reduced social contacts between the applicants and approving officers, enabling the ICU to maintain a high quality of services in approving building control submissions in a timely manner during the pandemic and to fulfil our performance pledge.”

Furthermore, the system embraces a completely paperless processing procedure,  saving applicants much time and effort in carrying bulky plans to the ICU, which in turn also saves a lot of storage space previously required for keeping submitted plans and documents.

The ICU has been very proactive in adapting technology to improve and streamline its processes. For one, the HePlan is linked with the Independent Checking Unit Site Mobile System (ICUSMS), another electronic system of the unit.

Launched in May last year, the ICUSMS adopts mobile technology to facilitate site inspections. By linking the two systems, relevant electronic plans and documents can be downloaded directly from the HePlan system to mobile devices before site inspections, thus further enhancing digitisation and operational efficiency of site-monitoring inspections.

Currently, the ICU is developing another IT system to automate the checking of test reports of construction materials, which is targeted to be rolled out by the end of this year. The system will help with checking the compliance of the test results for 80,000 reports of steel reinforcement and concrete tests received annually through the HePlan so that the efficiency of vetting electronic submissions will further be enhanced.

The post Tech keeps HK’s housing-related services open amid pandemic appeared first on FutureIoT.

The deal is expected to accommodate future network expansion and will further deepen the partnership between the two companies, which have already collaborated on LTE, 5G and digital projects.

Indeed, this latest partnership between the two companies further cements their intention to empower enterprises in South Korea to use 5G to deliver new smart digital services and to further advance industry 4.0 across the country.

“Nokia’s AirScale system will help provide seamless 5G connectivity in indoor locations and environments. Its cost-effective, flexibility and compact design enables us to enhance our 5G offering,” said DaeHee Kim, senior vice president and head of Network Infra Technology Group at LG Uplus.

Being the first deployment of its kind in South Korea, Nokia will install its cost-effective, next-generation small cell AirScale Indoor (ASiR) systems in a range of indoor locations including shopping malls and office buildings. Composed of Nokia’s Digital Baseband unit and ASiR-pRRH solution (pico Remote Radio Head), the system features multi-operator and multi-band support and will enable LG Uplus to provide 5G connectivity.

The compact and flexible nature of the ASiR indoor system means it can be deployed quickly in strategic locations when additional capacity is required and is ideal for both consumers and enterprise customers. ASiR facilitates a simple service upgrade to 5G New Radio with minimal on-site working if required, and features a web-based manager, enabling remote configuration without need for a separate application - making it an ideal replacement for traditional, complex and expensive distributed antenna system (DAS) systems - with flexibility further enhanced by cell combination and splitting.

“We are delighted to have been chosen by LG Uplus to provide infrastructure that will be critical to a seamless 5G experience. Having worked with LG Uplus on a number of other recent projects, we believe the AirScale system is the right Tommi Uitto, president - mobile networks  at Nokia.

Enabling smart digital services with 5G

The latest equipment deal between the two companies follows on the heels of another agreement announced last month that Nokia will conduct a 5G Business-to-Business (B2B) digital platform trial for LG Uplus.

Once deployed, the platform will allow LG Uplus to reduce time-to-market for launching 5G-powered services to its enterprise and business vertical customers. The platform will also enable LG Uplus to address new business segments, including Industry 4.0, and smart factory.

After deployment, the solution will promote the use of 5G by enterprises and verticals to grow their business, aligning with the South Korean government's Digital New Deal initiative.

The proof-of-concept test of the 5G B2B digital platform will be completed in two phases starting in February. While the first phase involves a demonstration in the Nokia Lab, the second phase with a field trial is planned in the LG Uplus Regional Operation Center in KyungNam.

"We are committed to providing best-in-class and innovative services to our customers and this trial is a crucial step in this direction. Once deployed, Nokia’s 5G B2B digital platform will help us expand our enterprise business by allowing us to provide new use cases rapidly. Nokia is our trusted partner and we look forward to working with them on this important trial,” said Jaeyong Seo, vice president of Smart Infrastructure Business Unit at LG Uplus.

Nokia's 5G B2B digital platform is based on multi-domain technology and ensures full automation and near real-time delivery of services. The solution includes a service platform powered by Nokia’s Digital Operations software, Cloud Operations Manager, Network Exposure Function, Registers, Cloud Packet Core, Software Defined Networking, and gNB (5G version of eNodeB), across Nokia’s cloud platform.

LG Uplus will use the platform to cost-efficiently automate the design and deployment of 5G network slices for the delivery of new services. In addition, LG Uplus' enterprise customers will be able to leverage 5G capabilities to enhance their business and operational efficiency leading to overall economic gain.

The service will give LG Uplus customers the flexibility to directly control and manage the platform to meet their needs. Further, it will help LG Uplus offer newer use cases such as smart factory and smart harbour with 5G wireless connectivity and associated services like network slicing.

We are excited to conduct this pathbreaking trial for LG Uplus to enable its enterprise customers to improve business processes with 5G,” said Kevin Ahn, head of Korea, at Nokia. “Nokia’s 5G B2B digital platform will allow LG Uplus to transform its B2B service creation with agility and automation and delight its enterprise customers with new use cases and operational excellence.”

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With an eye on this rapidly growing market, Sierra Wireless today launched Acculink Cargo, a new managed IoT solution that companies can quickly deploy to track the location and condition of high-value and sensitive assets.

Delivered as a service for a single monthly fee, the company said the new solution is designed to deliver a single solution companies can use to monitor the near real-time status of assets anywhere in the world, as they move through their supply chains.

Acculink Cargo enables electronics manufacturers, cold-chain carriers, general freight carriers, food and produce shippers and third-party logistics firms to gain the supply-chain visibility they require to avoid shipping delays, minimise dwell time, prevent theft and remediate environmental conditions that can lead to asset damage.

In addition to tracking the location of these assets, it can also alert customers if an asset is exposed to light, changes in temperature, humidity, shock, or other conditions that might spoil or otherwise damage it.

“When it comes to high-value and sensitive assets, companies no longer want to just track their location as they travel through their supply chains. Today, they expect to be able to monitor the condition of these assets in near real-time as well,” said Rupal Nanavati, vice president and general manager for IoT applications at Sierra Wireless. “Acculink Cargo addresses these needs, with an easy-to-deploy, fully integrated managed solution from the global leader in IoT”.

Sierra Wireless listed Acculink Cargo key features. Among them are:

• Quick Deployment: The manged IoT solution fully integrates edge devices, global network connectivity and a cloud-based application, supporting quick deployment in as little as 30 days, with minimal startup costs.
• Highly Accurate Tracking: Use of LTE cellular wireless networks in combination with GPS data enables customers to pinpoint the location of their assets.
• Flexibility/Ease of Use: The cloud-based application features a simple, intuitive user interface with customizable dashboards and configurable alerts.
• Configurable Location and Status Reporting: Users can set up specific geolocation, light, temperature, humidity, and shock conditions they want to monitor for each shipment. Users can also adjust when data on these conditions is updated, allowing them to extend the battery life of their edge devices.
• Valuable Insights: Users can analyse real-time and historical shipping data to uncover trends and other information that can help them make better business decisions.

By offering the solution as a service, Sierra Wireless is lowering customers’ initial upfront investment, while also allowing them to easily scale the solution up or down as their business needs change. Customers have the option to purchase devices upfront, and only pay for connectivity and the application on a subscription basis. Alternatively, they can sign up for a complete managed IoT service, with a single monthly fee that covers devices, network and application access.

Currently, Acculink Cargo is available to customers throughout North America. Sierra Wireless plans to expand availability of the solution to other regions in the future.

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This is based on a new study from Juniper Research which shows how widespread facial recognition has become; fuelled by its low barriers to entry, a front-facing camera and appropriate software. The research identified the implementation of FaceID by Apple as accelerating the growth of the wider facial recognition market, despite the challenges to facial recognition during the pandemic with the use of face masks.

The research recommends that facial recognition vendors implement robust and rapidly evolving AI based verification checks to ensure the validity of user identity, or risk losing user trust in the authentication method as spoofing attempts increase.

Fingerprint Sensors Dominant, Hardware-based Facial Recognition Growing

Entitled Mobile Payment Authentication: Biometrics, Regulation & Market Forecasts 2021-2025, the study found that fingerprint sensors are expected to be on 93% of biometrically-equipped smartphones in 2025. This compares favourably to hardware-based facial recognition, with just 17% of biometrically equipped smartphones featuring these capabilities in 2025.

“Hardware-based facial recognition is growing, but the ability to carry out facial recognition via software is limiting its adoption rate. As the need for a secure mobile authentication environment grows, smartphone vendors will need to increasingly turn to more robust hardware-based systems to keep pace with fraudsters’ evolving tactics,” said research co-author Susan Morrow.

The research also found that the use of voice recognition for payments is increasing, from 111 million users in 2020, to over 704 million in 2025. The study identified that, at present, voice recognition is mostly used in banking, and will struggle to grow beyond this, due to concerns around robustness. Juniper Research recommends that vendors adopt a multi-method biometric strategy, which encompasses facial recognition, fingerprints, voice and behavioural indicators to ensure a secure payment environment.

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FaceMe is optimised for IoT devices, being uniquely positioned to integrate edge-based AI facial recognition into a wide range of IoT and AIoT solutions. FaceMe is optimised to run on most hardware configurations, from high-end workstations to low-power chipsets typically used in IoT devices. It is compatible with Windows, Linux, Android and iOS systems.

The solution latest updates include the ability to identify people with a high degree of precision even when wearing a mask, as well as mask detection and temperature measurement for health control. The solution now offers enhanced compatibility to a number of mainstream video management systems (VMS) and further optimisation to chipset support, including the cost-effective NVIDIA Jetson platform.

“Biometric and vision technologies are setting new standards for IP surveillance deployments. Not only can solutions using top-tier facial recognition accurately verify identity, even for faces partially covered by a mask, but they can also detect if the mask is worn properly,” said Dr. Jau Huang, CEO of CyberLink.

The solution comes with all the features needed to enable automated and contactless security monitoring, access control and health checks, each of which are relevant to organisations of all types and sizes, in all sectors of the economy.

Small business owners can literally setup affordable single-computer, single-camera systems on their own. The solution’s robust and scalable architecture enables a rapid and easy deployment by system integrators anywhere, from single-location businesses to very large organisations, addressing use cases relevant across a wide range of industries and sectors, including retail, manufacturing, warehousing, office management, hospitality and many others.

Its flexibility, such as the ability to connect into existing IP cameras and run on multiple types of computers and workstations, often allows integrators to implement FaceMe Security across entire organisations, all from the server room. The versatility of its features and a collection of APIs ensure a seamless integration into systems such as visitor management, employee time and attendance, access control and automated door operation, in addition to connecting easily into existing surveillance and monitoring systems.

All-inclusive solution

The newest edition of FaceMe Security Workstation allows for real-time face detection and facial template extraction at the edge. Optimised to run across a wide range of edge-based hardware, FaceMe Security Workstation can be deployed on high-end Windows workstations equipped with single or multiple NVIDIA Quadro GPUs for heavily trafficked areas of up to 80,000 people per hour. For mid-sized sites with traffic ranging from 2,000 – 6,000 people per hour, such as a warehouse, FaceMe Security Workstation can be deployed on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier or Xavier NX, providing modest levels of performance with a significantly lower financial and energy costs.

“FaceMe Security is an all-inclusive solution that can completely overhaul existing IP surveillance infrastructures to deliver the latest security, access control and health screening capabilities, for organisations of all sizes, across all industries,” Huang said.

Furthermore, FaceMe Security’s notification API supports mainstream VMS (video management systems), including Milestone, Network Optix Nx Witness and VIVOTEK VAST2. It enables real-time detection of VIP, block-listed and tagged personnel entering surveillance zones and triggers a notification to the VMS, informing security personnel of real-time events.

In addition to its built-in features, FaceMe Security offers two add-ons that expand its capabilities to provide complete time and attendance as well as integrated health screening. The FaceMe Security Check-In add-on can be deployed on light-weight PCs at building entrances for real-time, on-screen identity verification along with check-in information. The FaceMe Security Health add-on provides an inconspicuous health-monitoring solution for any facility. The AI engine detects if a person is wearing a mask properly over the nose and mouth, verifies their identity, and measures their body temperature. When detecting a person with elevated body temperature or someone not wearing a mask, a notification including the person’s picture and location is sent instantly to security personnel for further actions.

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Land access to rural areas has been the most critical issues in the mining sector. Connectivity issues as well as mining maps that are not up-to-date hinder effectiveness in operations. Lacak.io's Fleet Management System helps map optimal routes for deliveries with the aid of GPS-enabled sensors and geofencing. Fuel usage and loads are optimised with Lacak.io's fuel and axle load sensors that immediately send fleet information to headquarters.

"IoT and other Industry 4.0 technologies must augment human work that is the lifeblood of cities, such as responsive emergency services and up-to-date communication with communities and businesses,” said Fariz Iskandar, founder and CEO of Lacak.io.

The startup is supporting the government's "100 Smart Cities Movement" by making it easy and cost-effective for Indonesian cities to adopt IoT across various sectors.

According to Iskandar, his company’s fleet and field service management solutions are easily translatable to industries where transportation and worker resource allocations are key, such as mining, plantations, and the public sector.

"Data collected is automatically managed using Big Data, blockchain and cloud technologies towards improving scheduling and loading. Soon, we will no longer see long queues of overloaded mining trucks at ports or plants," Fariz said.

Field service management solution to enhance public service processes

Meaningful digitisation initiatives are also applied to the government officials and public sector, such as using Lacak.io's smart technology to help schedule public transport resources, while maximising fuel usage.

"We apply Field Service Management (FSM) solution to encourage accountability and transparency in government, ensuring local government workers respond efficiently to citizen complaints, complete needful repairs or escalate issues to relevant agencies in line with client charters," added Fariz.

With FSM solution, Lacak.io also validates data using blockchain in multi finance sectors, while offering companies an on-premise solution that keeps customer data onsite. Besides protecting data, it also reduces the risk of human error in inputting data, while freeing up workers to do more productive efforts such as case management.

Digitising agriculture to help accelerate smart farming

The second largest contributor to Indonesia's economy is the agriculture, yet its labour-intensive nature and dependence on millions of smallholder farmers require IoT that improve farming and harvesting efficiency.

Backed by Big Data, Lacak.io's smart farming technology improves productivity by digitizing the plantation process from fertilisation to harvest time while monitoring crop and yields using dedicated sensors that measure light, humidity, temperature, and soil moisture.

For deliveries, Lacak.io's GPS vehicle tracking helps farmers manage fleets and monitor cold storage trucks to ensure that their produce remains fresh at all times.

"Lacak.io is ready to aid these transformations, backed by our fleet and field service management solutions that make IoT onboarding a breeze while saving costs and gleaning meaningful data that influence organisational decision-making," Fariz said.

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) yesterday announced their ground-breaking spectrum designation of the entire 6 GHz band (5.925-7.125 GHz) for license-exempt use.  Paving the way for Wi-Fi 6E & Wi-Fi 7, Saudi Arabia becomes the first country in the Middle East, Europe, or Africa to assign all 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use. The Kingdom now has more than 2 GHz of spectrum for Wi-Fi operations – the most mid-band spectrum designated by any country globally.

The was decision after a comprehensive consultation, significant engagement with various global stakeholders, and trials with Wi-Fi 6E equipment furnished by Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) members Broadcom and Intel. The trials demonstrated that Saudi Arabia could advance its digital ambitions, achieving 2 Gigabits per second speed in laptop computers, while enabling continued operations with existing users of the 6 GHz band.

Well-positioned for Wi-Fi 7 deployments

WBA lauded the CITC’s latest move saying it hasten the country’s digitalisation by enabling next-generation services.

“The CITC ruling underlines how important 6 GHz spectrum is in achieving the Kingdom’s vision to transform Saudi Arabia into a digital society. Overnight, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become a model for how the rest of the world can use spectrum policy to ensure that their schools, health care providers, businesses, citizens and visitors can provide affordable, reliable, multi-gigabit connectivity and take full advantage of Wi-Fi and 5G,” said Tiago Rodrigues, WBA CEO.

With Saudi Arabia joining the ranks of the US, South Korea, Brazil, and others, in designating all 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz band for license-exempt use, the WBA hopes that other regulators in the region will take note and make a similar commitment to advancing their own wireless broadband capabilities. This will lead to global harmonisation, which is key to scale, accelerating technology development, and reducing costs for end-users.

Rodrigues added: “The CITC’s decision is a clear global milestone. Saudi Arabia has set out a leading position for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and raised the bar for the rest of the world. The WBA strongly recommends that regulators in other countries pay close attention to Saudi Arabia’s example of allocating the entire 6GHz band for license-exempt use.

“The release of the full 1200 MHz provides enhanced flexibility for both indoor and outdoor deployments and lays the foundation for the Kingdom’s citizens and businesses to set a path for the adoption of Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 when that technology debuts.  It has been a pleasure to collaborate with CITC, and I look forward to further collaboration by enabling OpenRoaming trials, which will enable secure and seamless roaming.”

By making all 1200 MHz of the band available, the Saudi’s have created a wireless superhighway with seven non-overlapping 160 MHz channels of green field spectrum for Wi-Fi 6E devices to use. Saudis will enjoy high reliability Wi-Fi that doubles the speeds and halves the latency compared to the capacity-constrained 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

The country will also be well positioned to lead in Wi-Fi 7 deployments when it becomes available. With this broad-based designation, Wi-Fi 7 deployments using 320 MHz wide channels will get up to 5 gigabits per second in mobile devices at very low latencies. This sets the stage for the Kingdom to further reap the benefits of contextual Internet, integrated communications services, and immersive AR/VR for telemedicine, education and worker training.

Industry players optimistic response

The WBA annual report states that  members of the Wi-Fi industry said that the 6 GHz band is a critical component of their network strategy, with 78% of network operators seeking to take advantage of this spectrum to deliver high speed wireless broadband.

It is unsurprising therefore that WBA members are enthusiastic in welcoming the CITC ruling.

“We commend CITC for its visionary designation of 1200 MHz of the 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi. This truly brings the best out of Wi-Fi 6E for gigabit broadband. Equally important are the exemplary rules crafted for portable Wi-Fi devices to disrupt fields like telemedicine and education. We are pleased that the Saudi Arabia Wi-Fi 6E trials that we enabled jointly with Intel catalysed this momentous designation by the CITC. We are also happy to note that Saudi Arabians can instantly benefit from the Broadcom powered Wi-Fi 6E ecosystem of devices available in the market today,” said Vijay Nagarajan, vice president of Marketing, Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division, ‎Broadcom .

Eric McLaughlin, vice president, Client Computing Group, and General Manager, Wireless Solutions Group, Intel, echoed the same sentiment.

“We would like to congratulate the CITC on its transformative direction to approve the entire 6 GHz band for unlicensed use. With this new spectrum allocation Saudi Arabia is well positioned to lead the regional transition to Wi-Fi 6E and future Wi-Fi 7 technologies that will broadly enable ultra-low latency and gigabit-speed Wi-Fi capabilities to meet the growing needs across all market segments,” he said. “We are honoured to have been able to contribute to the Wi-Fi 6E trials which helped support CITC’s historic decision alongside our industry colleagues at Broadcom and the WBA.”

Matt MacPherson, Wireless CTO at Cisco, said: “We commend this pioneering move to create a more connected future. Wi-Fi 6E unleashes the full potential of Wi-Fi allowing a host of new devices and services to emerge. It means more speed, higher-data rates, and better security for a multitude of new capabilities and applications including VR, robotics, and IoT. “

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For decades IT has been the brunt of blame for the inability if business to adapt quickly to changing business environments. Things are changing and the old ways are simply not acceptable. Disruption is the status quo, with the “new normal” yet to be defined.

Are you prepared for what’s next? What are IT organizations saying about it all?

One of the mandates of digital transformation is to accelerate IT’s ability to respond by introducing concepts like Agile and microservices.

An OutSystems survey of 2,200 IT professionals and senior IT leaders revealed that only 21% of people feel like they can beat their peers and competitors at the change game.

These and other answers to the survey became a report that offers insights into which organizations are leading the race in speed and adaptability in this era of digital urgency.

Click here to download “The Speed of Change: How Fast Are You?” to learn more about those who lead and those who don’t.

It includes tips on what to do to become the IT leader you are meant to be.

The post Accelerating IT for the new normal: How Fast Are You? appeared first on FutureIoT.

However, a willingness to collaborate is not enough. CX and IT must break decisively with the past – and with traditional approaches to application development – if they are to create an environment in which a customer-first culture can flourish.

This eBook titled, A modern application platform for a customer-first culture, will explore:

• The key barriers to implementing a customer-first culture
• The limitations of existing approaches to creating digital experiences
• The importance of CX/IT collaboration in the post COVID world
• The unique value of a modern, high-speed application development platform

Click on the link to download your complementary eBook to find out how to make a customer-first culture a reality rather than an unrealisable aspiration.

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Deloitte research indicates that to be a leader in this industry, manufacturers need to rethink strategies and operations to overcome the disruption and become more resilient.  A key step forward is to develop a holistic digital strategy.  Now is the time to make bold decisions regarding digitization, so as not to get left behind.

OutSystems conducted a survey of 2,200 IT professionals asking them how fast their organizations can respond to change, what app dev challenges are holding them back, and what makes them more (or less) ready for change.

Data culled from manufacturers were compiled into the report, The Speed of Change: App Dev Priorities in an Era of Crisis and Recovery, Manufacturing 2020, with additional insights from Deloitte.

Click on the link to download the report your copy of the ebook and discover how manufacturers have shifted their digital priorities and are responding to the continuous high demand for applications, while grappling with difficulty finding new development talent.

Read how manufacturers are delivering applications fast and learn the approaches and technologies manufacturers should adopt to become leaders in the race for speed and adaptability.

The post App Dev priorities in an era of crisis and recovery in manufacturing 2020 appeared first on FutureIoT.

Edge computing is defined loosely as a model that brings computational, data storage and connectivity resources closer to the locations where they’re needed, saving bandwidth and accelerating response times. Edge technologies power millions of IoT applications in industrial, retail, healthcare and smart cities environments, and, prior to 2020, analysts expected an additional bump from virtual reality and 5G in the coming years.

Then the pandemic hit, and the need for edge technologies suddenly accelerated. As millions of workers shifted out of enterprise hubs into more remote locations, they put a strain on networks, creating increased latency and a greater need for computer power, capacity, and storage closer to the new network edge.

Changing roles

It’s not just workers connecting on Zoom occupying this new edge. Across the Asia region, industries and businesses are rethinking the way they operate. Video editors working from home are transmitting huge files, schools are engaging thousands of students in online classes, and physicians are conducting remote health visits where high-res images are posted and circulated. Investing in edge solutions that process data locally and enable more seamless connections avoids having to slog through increasingly overburdened public networks.

Asia will see a strong uptake of edge computing and IoT applications coming into 2021 as a lot of organisations face the pressure to create new ways of working, new ways for customer engagement and new ways of business. This will spark exponential growth in hyper-scale cloud adoption for organisations and increased effort on completing the edge computing and IoT journey. This casts a spotlight on the availability of your services and data which becomes critical in ensuring sustained success.

The proliferation of Big Data and IoT, edge computing will be a key architecture design challenge to solve respect to volume, velocity and variety of data from multiple sources. The end goal is to achieve the highly desirable outcome of data availability, data agility and business acceleration.

The prediction is for a boom in edge-related hardware, software and applications. Analysts are predicting a major growth spurt at the edge, rocketing up 30% a year to US$44.0 billion by 2030.

As enterprises accelerate investments in digital transformation projects, edge technologies will open up new opportunities to succeed in the marketplace. Here are a few areas where they’ll play prominent roles.

Customer service

Customers, of course, can be demanding. They want choices, information, intuitive purchasing options, respect for their privacy and, at times, a little coddling. Businesses can respond better in transactional situations if they can have information and insights available in the moment. This plays right to the strengths of edge applications.

Retailers, for instance, can use edge devices with web caching functions to replicate online customer experiences in the physical world. They can capture customer information, apply insights from shopping patterns, process connections in real time and be ready to serve the customer better at key points of the buying journey.

Outside the store, changeable digital displays can broadcast pop-up sales to attract customers inside. As customers enter, the network connects to their personal devices and access their purchase history. Customers then can request customised coupons or connect to personalised shopper assistance. Inside the store, strategically positioned kiosks and screens display customised promotional offers based on each shopper’s buying patterns.

Sales associates can use digital assistant devices to check updated inventory levels or gather insider product information. Easy-to-use product finder displays can steer customers to the right products based on individual, self-selected preferences.

Security

The proliferation of edge computing applications has significant – and seemingly contradictory – ramifications for security.

On one hand, adding more nodes opens up more places vulnerable to attack. This will force IT security leaders to bolster their defences to ensure that information and applications stored at the edge match the strength their applying inside the data centre itself.

At the same time, edge computing’s decentralised nature brings some security benefits. If an edge device is breached, security teams can easily wall off the endpoint, so the attack doesn’t spread to the whole network. They can also configure their edge models to keep more data at the endpoints and limit the amount of information that gets sent back to home office. That adds an extra layer of security, keeping threats away from the data centre, where more mission-critical resources are stored.

To optimise the security of an edge-enabled system, organisations will need to establish strong governance programs to control the data that’s being generated, processed and transferred from individual sites.

Plus, since IoT devices are tough to secure, it’s important that the edge computing deployment emphasises proper management of the devices themselves. They’ll need to establish policy-driven configuration enforcement and security for computing and storage, paying special attention to encryption of data at rest and in flight.

While edge security isn’t a new concept, the scale of the challenge has grown with the expansion of remote work and on-site IoT-related applications. Solving these edge security issues will be a top priority in 2021 and beyond.

This article was co-authored with Dave Russell, Vice President of Enterprise Strategy and Raymond Goh, Technical Director for Asia & Japan, Veeam Software

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The IP/MPLS-based network will provide K Line with a FAN environment that delivers high-speed, secure, encrypted wireless communications between ship and shore.

According to K Line, satellite communication normally used between ship and shore is estimated to be 10 years behind land communication; and this is one of the causes of delay for ships digitalisation.

And its management plan released last August, the 102-year-old shipping firm  puts ships digitalisation as one of its priorities in its commitment to expand and accelerate safety, environment and quality initiatives.

The Nokia solution installed onboard the company’s new environmentally friendly car carrier is positioned as an DX infrastructure for ship to introduce new advanced digital technologies near future. Through this and other efforts, K Line continue our safe and environment-friendly operation on all its fleets.

“We plan to accelerate the development and utilisation of advanced digital technologies that enable safer, world-class shipping services,” Hiroshi Uchida, head of AI Digitalisation Strategy Group at K Line said. “With the Nokia 4G/LTE network, we will be able to communicate more effectively during berthing, using the same sophisticated technology as available on land. This creates the capability to deliver improved operational performance, skills transfer and safety management.”

The solution comprises the Nokia 7705 SAR-Hm LTE router for on-board installation, as well as the Nokia 7705 SAR-8 for use onshore. This router pairing supports video and data transfer from the ship’s onboard CCTV and IT systems over LTE connections when in port. This FAN solution will enable K Line to closely monitor loading and unloading in real time, and to significantly reduce time needed for large file exchange during port calls.

All data is protected by Nokia’s Network Group Encryption (NGE). This encrypted communication technology protects MPLS services with minimal overhead and ensures a high level of security and quality of service without any degradation of LTE link performance.

The domestic communication lines will be provided by KDDI Corporation and the system integration will be provided by KCCS Mobile Engineering.

Donny Janssens, head of Customer Team, Nokia Enterprise Japan, said: “Through deployment of the field area network, we’re helping ‘K’ LINE not only to enhance operational efficiency and industrial safety but also to advance its digital transformation. This is the first Nokia 4G/LTE FAN deployment in Japan, bringing it to a new market following its successful deployment in mining sites, electric grids and ports worldwide.”

Nokia has deployed mission-critical networks to over 1,500 leading customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, web-scale, and public sector segments around the globe. It has pioneered the private wireless space with many verticals and now has over 260 large enterprise customers deploying it around the world, of which over 40 incorporate 5G.

Pushing boundaries of DX on maritime fleet

The newly-built Century Highway Green, which was delivered to K Line last week,  is a next-generation environmentally friendly vessel. It is the company’s  first LNG-fuelled car carrier designed for a low environmental impact – an important milestone for achieving the targets set by K LINE Environmental Vision 2050.

The new vessel is expected to reduce:

• emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas (GHG) by 25% to 30%
• emissions of sulfuroxides (SOx), which cause air pollution, by almost 100%
• emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 80% to 90% with the use of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) in addition to the use of LNG fuel, compared to conventional vessels using heavy fuel oil.

The vessel is also fitted with advanced digital technologies that is hoped to be installed to the rest of K Line’s fleet in the future. Besides Nokia’s FAN solution onboard to enhance ship-to-shore communications, the vessel has:

• expansion of on-board Wi-Fi: In addition to living quarters, efficiency of vessel operations has been improved by installing Wi-Fi on the cargo deck and in the engine room and LNG fuel-related equipment compartment.
• introduction of wireless communication equipment supporting explosion-proof areas: Explosion-proof LCX wireless communications equipment has been introduced in explosionproof areas to ensure communications.

Furthermore, Century Highway Green is the world’s first newly-built vessel to obtain Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) notation certifying that the ship is adapted for remote surveys.

In February 2021, ClassNK published guidelines for appropriate operation of remote surveys using ICT. The “Guidelines for Remote Surveys” summarises the judgment standards for ensuring reliability equivalent to conventional, witness surveys with transparency in the application of remote surveys. The guidelines also include class notation requirements for the vessel with reliable telecommunications equipment and is adapted for remote surveys.

A remote survey uses digital technology on vessel to remotely perform the inspection surveys of facilities within a vessel that has previously been performed by a class inspector on site. Use of the remote surveys will enable  K LINE to perform inspections without being constrained by location, and also enables surveys to be conducted while lowering the risk of infection of the crew during the COVID-19 pandemic because it is not necessary to visit the vessel.

It is expected that safe operation will be enhanced through the appropriate and timely implementation of surveys.

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“Edge networking and IoT have had a profoundly positive impact on businesses, however, their recent convergence has surfaced interoperability challenges across platforms, applications, and systems,” said Michael Tennefoss, vice president of IoT and strategic partnerships at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

He added that simplifying the integration of edge IoT and cloud services using the advanced cloud capabilities of Aruba ESP with the extensibility and power of Microsoft Azure overcomes these challenges.

“It does so without sacrificing security, manageability, or reliability. The ubiquity of Azure, and its 99.99% regional availability, makes the solution attractive to customers worldwide that want better informed decisions and continuous process improvements,” Tennefoss said.

The IoT integration between Aruba ESP and Microsoft Azure was announced at last week Microsoft Ignite 2021.

Expressway for IoT Data

To simplify the connection of wireless IoT devices, Aruba has transformed its access points into full-fledged IoT platforms.

According to Tennefoss, multiple access point IoT radios can support all manner of IoT devices without the need for external gateways, a design approach that is extensible, highly economical, and consistent with Aruba’s zero trust framework.

“Where the IoT data go next is where the Aruba IoT Transport for Microsoft Azure comes into play,” he said in a blogpost. “How IoT data are processed and integrated with business processes or digital twin applications is typically left as an exercise for end customers.”

“Problem is this isn’t a task for the uninitiated – it requires deep knowledge of IoT, data transport, data security, and business applications. The complexity of this process is often farmed out to third party integrators, a costly proposition that leaves the customer at risk of a dependency on a third party for business-critical functions. Costs multiply every time there is an add, move, or change,” he added.

Touted as the first-of-its-kind for general purpose application, the Aruba IoT Transport for Azure service addresses this issue by enabling IoT devices connected to Aruba access points (APs) and controllers to bi-directionally communicate with the Azure IoT Hub.

According to Tennefoss, the solution securely connects IoT devices with the Azure IoT Hub where customers can begin monitoring, controlling, and analysing IoT systems, digital twin enablement or utilise other applications or services available from or for the Azure IoT platform.

“Aruba access points –Instant and controller-based – act as virtual IoT gateways, wirelessly connecting to IoT devices, establishing secure connections with the Azure IoT Hub, and bidirectionally streaming IoT data through the secure tunnels. For convenience data are automatically converted to JSON for consumption by Azure services and applications,” he said.

“This design significantly simplifies the secure, bidirectional transfer of data between edge IoT devices and Azure IoT using existing Aruba IT infrastructure as the linkage between the two. Customers are freed from the expense of hiring integrators to create a useable network connection for them or crafting their own edge-to-cloud solution,” Tennefoss explained.

Aruba Wi-Fi 6 access points support Wi-Fi, BLE, 802.15.4/Zigbee, and through plug-in adapters a wide range of 800/900MHz IoT and OT devices. To start, certified BLE and 800/900MHz IoT and OT devices will be able to use IoT Transport for Azure, making those access points gateways to the Azure IoT Hub. The access points currently support thousands of different certified IoT and OT devices from a growing number of prominent vendors.

New IoT use cases without ripping existing infrastructure

Indeed, Aruba IoT Transport for Azure eliminates the need for an intermediate gateway, server, or application, thus reducing processing latency. Additionally, the solution allows customers to run IoT systems and services over their existing Aruba infrastructure, thus reducing the time, cost and risk of developing homegrown or customised solutions.

This frees customers to focus on instrumenting facilities, achieving hyperawareness, and deriving deeper insights from their business processes.

“New IoT use cases can be easily handled without the need to rip-and-replace edge infrastructure. Simply on-board the new IoT devices and proceed to the Azure IoT Hub where your data will be deposited,” Tennefoss said.

Without the need for additional hardware gateway, companies can:  lower latency between IoT devices and the Azure IoT Hub;  eliminate a major security vulnerability and attack targets; and avoid CISO issues with attaching an IoT device directly to a corporate network.

“Furthermore, the new IoT solution lowers lifecycle costs by eliminating hardware, licensing and maintenance fees, Ethernet cabling and switch port, and installation labour. It simplifies system management by reducing the number of devices that need to be monitored and updated,” Tennefoss said.

Enterprise-grade cloud networking for Azure

Meanwhile, a critical element of Aruba ESP is the new Aruba Central, which bring the technology vendor’s enterprise-grade cloud networking solution – with more than 1 million devices already under management – to Azure.

Aruba Central is a cloud-native service designed to unify management of campus, branch, remote and datacentre networks. Aruba Central on Azure will allow IT administrators to manage and optimise the network from a single point of control.

"IoT helps organisations make more intelligent decisions—so they can be more efficient, more resilient, and provide better experiences to customers and employees,” said Sam George, corporate vice president of Azure IoT at Microsoft. “Our collaboration with Aruba simplifies the process for IT Administrators who are adding IoT devices to their traditional enterprise environments, allowing them to use their existing Aruba network to connect devices to Microsoft Azure IoT Hub. It’s a cost-effective, seamless path to powerful transformation.”

The post Aruba forges IoT integration with Microsoft Azure appeared first on FutureIoT.

In an exclusive interview, FutureIoT spoke with Philippe Chiu, co-founder and chief technology officer of UnaBiz, about the smart meter project in an in-depth interview that covers the impact of COVID-19, the importance of supply chain, challenges around customisation and integration and more.

Singapore-based UnaBiz is the product design and hardware device manufacturer, who together with SORACOM, developed the Space Hotaru from NICIGAS’ original concept.

(Second of three parts)

UnaBiz is nearly done with the phase 1 of the NICIGAS smart metre project, with the installation of 850,000 units of Space Hotaru in Japanese household within the month, overcoming the unavoidable delay caused the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Once a device is deployed, it goes live immediately and starts producing data that are fed into NICIGAS systems.

“The first layer is a hardware layer that is connected to the gas meter and enables access in and out, which means that you can read from the meter and you can send instructions to the meter, which means that it is a network access,” said Philippe Chiu, co-founder and chief technology officer of UnaBiz.

KDDI subsidiary SORACOM, a mobile operator that specialises in IoT, has been enlisted to deliver the software and the network connectivity between the devices and NICIGAS systems.

Integration is crucial to massive IoT projects

Chiu pointed out that the close-knit “triangle of collaboration and partnership” between NICIGAS, SORACOM and UnaBiz was the glue that has kept the smart metre project on a steady course, which was particularly crucial to manage the chaos that ensued with the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“To pipe to proper data onto the traditional systems, it's not a complete new solution. It's integrating with what the existing platforms. And this is done commonly between UnaBiz and SORACOM, which has the field knowledge and proper communication to facilitate efficiency between the teams,” said Chiu.

Initially, there were 700,000 units that have to be deployed, and that would mean a very large number per day of installed meters of Space Hotaru. To do that, Chiu emphasised the need for  constant synchronisation of and management of operations.

“It is often a point that people fail to consider. We are talking about an actual device being deployed all across hundreds or even thousands of square kilometres, and you need actual people, and not robots to do this,” he said.

Chiu added that Integration is not just about software side of things – to which people are very used which involves data and others.

“It starts with real life, pure hardware and the actual field integration of that. This has been the heavy work. And it is not just the physical installation, there is a lot of testing tools on the field. Not every field installator has a PhD. So, you have to have extremely optimised, simplified field application and deployment,” he said, adding that a deployment mobile application has been created that is very specialised and dedicated to roll out.

This mobile deployment application is enabling the project team to move fast with installation and to sustain the speed of implementation.

“If we take the pace at which this project has been rolled out and how efficient it was, it would not be fair, not to mention the integration at the hardware layer. Data will come back, but it would probably be the second or third layer after that. But we need to first have the connection. The integration work starts at this point, the whole logistic, operation, synchronisation and management with the field teams of NICIGAS and even their contractors,” Chiu said.

“Deployment operations, which involves hardware, mobile apps, cloud services and others, are extremely important. I believe that in the post-COVID era, the whole logistic industry will have a whole new set of ecosystem and partners managing that chaos,” he added.

Furthermore, Chiu said the integration involves a lot of supply chain work, having all of these devices, reaching the right locations, direct check points, having them connected to the right meters.

“This is a tremendous work, and we can never do that by ourselves, and that is where local presence is absolutely necessary. That is why UnaBiz is very close to SORACOM, and NICIGAS is extremely happy about that,” he said.

No wasted network signal

According to Chiu, the project team deploys a mixed technology solution network-wise, citing that Space Hotaru is actually a family of products – the initial device supports Sigfox 0G low-power network and a new version that supports 4G.

“It is a solution with different types of hardware for different radio protocols. In remote area, we use the LTE-M version which is a lighter version of 4G, or we have Sigfox and 4G combined, depending on the situation,” he said. “We have to optimise how the device communicates, and in simpler words, it means we are not wasting any single bit of the signal.”

Indeed, UnaBiz has completely design from ground up the  network protocols, the way the device dialogues with Sigfox or the 4G. “This know-how is our competitive edge,” Chiu said.

Almost 100% device customisation

UnaBiz designed and developed the Space Hotaru specifically to work and integrate with NICIGAS gas meters.

“ We have customised 98% of the smart reader – the remaining 2%t is the standardisation of the gas metre as established by the Japanese authorities,” Chiu said. “Luckily, the Space Hotaru is not by itself supporting 80 different meters, that has 80 different standards as that would have taken a lot more time. Space Hotaru is matching the gas meter standard, established in Japan.”

Furthermore, UnaBiz optimised the casing and firmware inside Space Hotaru.

“The initial version NICIGAS had had three times more battery capacity compared to the final version. We had to optimise the whole behaviour of the device such that you do not having to purchase such huge batteries to be placed in the device, which is saving cost,” Chiu said.

Also, the company designed the Space Hotaru in a way that would enable NICIGAS to take the data from the device the way it does from any other IT systems.

“If we go deeper and it ends up in the JSON format. In this way, it is easier for them to ingest the data to integrate with the existing system. It would have been a very big difficulty if they had to customise something specific to accept Space Hotaru,” Chiu explained.

He added: “The customisation happens between as close to the meter, all the way to the middleware and then it's standardised and sent properly to NICIGAS. It is similar to the petroleum industry. When you get the crude oil, you can't just put that in your car. You have to transform that oil, optimise it and make it arrive at the right gas station and then it's edible by the cars. That’s why it's customised because all that route did not exist before. The different layers of the hardware, networking and application are completely customised and designed for that.”

Unabiz believes massive IoT projects work best when the IoT hardware is purpose-built.

“Most of the time, the behaviour of the device, the way it's attached, etc. is almost always customised 100%. It is very different from the vision of IoT, where I buy a device, put it on my set, and I can do it by myself.

“We don't believe that massive IoT can happen by off-the-shelf solutions. This might sound cheap and low-cost to do but it is not sustainable. Most of the time, it will face multiple issues and it’s not helping, because – in the end - the top management would see IoT as a failure rather than an opportunity.”

Next: All about data and the future of IoT projects

Related story: Under the hood: Supply chain essential to massive IoT projects

The post Under the hood: Integration and device customisation in IoT projects appeared first on FutureIoT.

In an exclusive interview, FutureIoT spoke with Philippe Chiu, co-founder and chief technology officer of UnaBiz, about the smart meter project in an in-depth interview that covers the impact of COVID-19, the importance of supply chain, challenges around customisation and integration and more.

Singapore-based UnaBiz is the product design and hardware device manufacturer, who together with SORACOM, developed the Space Hotaru from NICIGAS’ original concept.

(First of three parts)

UnaBiz aims to complete the installation of the first batch of 850,000 units of NICIGAS’ Space Hotaru by March this year.

Checking the real-time dashboard that tracks the deployment process in late January, Philippe Chiu, company co-founder and CTO, said approximately 720,00 units have been connected and even now are already transmitting data back to NICIGAS.

“The actual figure is just a figure, but what matters in the end is that it's progressing as planned, which is by itself an achievement. We’re only a hundred thousand units away from our first milestone,” Chiu said.

The NICIGAS project was spurred by the Japanese government’s push for the standardisation and “smartification” of gas meters across the island nation.  In fact, gas meters in the country are designed to automatically switch off when triggered by external events such as earthquakes.

“The issue is that these smart features are in tech, we say local, which means that there is no remote or wireless activation or deactivation of those meters. Thus, you could have meters that have been switched off and without NICIGAS knowing about it,” Chiu said.

In the past, the utility company would heavily rely on manpower to check deactivated meters; and delays would be inevitable as company staff had to  physically go onsite to thoroughly inspect each unit. However, this typical task could be optimised and enhanced using remote access that Space Hotaru seeks to deliver.

A year of  development

It took UnaBiz a full 12 months to finetune the Space Hotaru and get it ready for deployment. According to Chiu, to getting the shape of the device right is only part of the process.

“Just having a device that shape doesn't take a year, but it's all the different phases of testing, validation, reliability testing. The full development started Q1 2019, and production line was ready on Jan 2020,” Chiu said.

He recalled:  “Our prototype was out after two months, from nothing to a lot of ideation and how it would look like etc. The whole project had at least ten different types of shapes and you have 10 different proposals justifying each design. We compress that time and  made a decision in just a little over two months.”

After the design of the device was approved, the team proceeded in the next eight to 10 months  to conduct testings, reliability certifications that includes the factory set up, all the different quality checks involving different aspects of the device.

Grappling supply chain challenge caused by COVID 19

UnaBiz started production of the Space Hotaru in early 2020 with the first trial run conducted before Chinese New Year. Everything was running smoothly with the rate of production and shipping was planned for the rest of 2020.

In early February, the initial impact of the COVID-19 hit on the global scales. Factories closed as governments imposed citywide lockdowns.

“Everything planned perfectly became a huge question mark. It is uncertain when everything is going to resume, everything is under lockdown and we're not pushing because it's a health and safety issue. It's dangerous, we're talking about people's lives and that was a huge question mark, which created quite some delay and uncertainty. We have been spending a whole year on R&D, and finally seeing it happening and then you take one of the largest crises worldwide,” Chiu said.

Like most technology companies, UnaBiz has multinational operations that require a highly synchronised supply chain.

While the company is headquartered in Singapore, its R&D and manufacturing partners are located in Taiwan, the port is in Hong Kong, the manufacturing is being done in China and the customer is based in Japan.

“Never underestimate the deployment. Having such volume in tens of thousands at international level, you realise very realistically and concretely the importance of physical logistics and supply chain.

“IoT is really much more than just a bunch of youngsters having great ideas and saying, I'm going to do a lot of things with your data. The fact is so many things can go wrong, with that international way of doing things. You could just ask DHL to do that, but it would be way too expensive for you to manage. The customer won’t pay, so there's no deal. The rollout plan and the supply chain is key in such projects, without that no project for everyone,” Chiu said.

UnaBiz has a fully dedicated supply chain team of roughly 15 people – comprising one quarter of the company headcount – doing the supply chain, buying components and making sure they reach the right points at the right time to avoid delays.

"We do have a second and third layer of factories, some being not in China. Post-COVID and given that we have much more to produce, we definitely need to have alternative locations. I cannot explicitly mention where it is, but it is still in Asia, and it's definitely not in the same country as the main factory, where we did the first batch. It's a very common practice in the industry, which is called multi-sourcing. So, that is in place even for factory," Chiu said.

Getting deployment back on track

The lockdowns of COVID-19 was a huge setback for the deployment schedule, but Unabiz learned how to roll with the punches.

“We gained a lot of maturity from that managing the chaos. We had to know how to deal with that new situation of uncertainty, which is much more complex than Amazon or Lazada, where you click order and you have it the next day,” Chiu said.

UnaBiz experienced a few weeks of delays and it had to recover this lost time to keep deployment on schedule.

“The challenge happened on the production side of things. This is where we are kind of proud of having put the right resources on the right places years ago to have that know-how. This is where the team was challenged. Years ago, people were asking us why we put so much efforts on supply chain, you just call a factory, tell them to manufacture the thing. It can work on other years, but last year was a no go. And this is where we were really happy, as it confirmed the right investment of having that very experienced and agile supply chain team,” Chiu said.

He added: “Obviously, we had some hit and miss and convicted almost two months delay in the whole schedule, which is not so bad given now that we know it was a crazy situation. But in the industry, two months delay is huge.”

UnaBiz credits its strong relationship with NICIGAS for being able to weather this supply chain storm.

“This is why we are not calling NICIGAS a customer, but rather a partner as we're in this together. The challenge was strong, but thankfully our partnership or internal structure was strong enough to recover from that. It took us eight months to catch up on these two missing months. It was definitely not easily, and frankly, if you ask me would we expected to have so much strain on the supply chain, it is clearly no. However, it was a good test. UnaBiz tends to specialise on massive, high volume of connected products, which is why we are facing such kind of issues. A low volume is still fine, but when you order tens or hundreds of thousands, then it's a completely different ballgame,” Chiu said.

To be continued: Value of customisation and integration in massive IoT projects

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Singapore-based AIoT-solutions provider Envision Digital and IBM has partnered to develop renewable energy management solutions.

The current pandemic has forced organisations and governments to confront the risks from inaction on climate change. While a slowdown in economic activity due to shelter-in-place restrictions has temporarily reduced carbon emissions by 17%, businesses are increasingly acknowledging the need to reinvent themselves if they are to simultaneously pursue business recovery and growth. Depending on the actions businesses take, the result could be a rise in energy consumption or environmental sustainability.

The collaboration will leverage Envision Digital’s AIoT technology and IBM’s sustainability management offerings and solutions to allow organisations to decarbonise their business and operating models more efficiently and seamlessly.

The two companies  will bring in complementary solutions under this collaboration to go-to market. “We would be leveraging the solutions on a case by case basis. We have a range of options available for businesses to manage energy consumption for environmental sustainability,” a Envision Digital spokesperson told FutureIoT.

According to Envision Digital, some of options for managing energy consumption include:

1. Energy Efficiency: Optimise energy efficiency of equipment, assets and operations in order to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions
2. Integrated Facilities Management Solution: Improve real estate portfolio planning, improve quality of facilities, increase efficiency in operations / maintenance, leveraging automation and analytics
3. Circular economy: Provide a digital backbone to eliminate waste and support re-use and recycle of natural resources and materials
4. Predictive maintenance: Leverage analytics to improve reliability, availability and extend life of critical assets

Working together, both companies aim to help organisations facilitate strategic planning and day-to-day operations and maintenance – all the way down to product or facility lifecycle management.

According to Envision Digital, they are eyeing a wide swathe of different sectors given sustainability is now a major concern among businesses. Initial targets will be focused on are government, real Estate, Oil & Gas, Energy & utilities and Infrastructure (for example Port) industries.

Putting complementary strengths to work

“Envision Digital is the technology net-zero partner for companies and governments, reconciling green and growth, efficiency and environment. We are focused on leveraging today’s capabilities of advanced AI and IoT technologies to ensure a sustainable tomorrow, together with key players across economies and societies who share the same sense of urgency for change,” said Sylvie Ouziel, international president, Envision Digital in a media statement. “Our collaboration with IBM will help accelerate this process.”

Envision Digital owns the AIoT operating platform EnOS that currently manages more than 200 gigawatts of energy assets globally. Driven by machine learning, Envision Digital’s proprietary monitoring, advanced analytics, forecasting, and optimising applications provide actionable insights and reliable controls to better manage assets’ energy performance. This includes proactively detecting and diagnosing emerging system underperformance or component health issues, as well as providing recommendations or interventions for pre-emptive or corrective action.

IBM’s sustainability management offerings and solutions helps organisations manage their environmental responsibilities, reduce emissions, and meet their goals. By applying a hybrid cloud approach to combining relevant data and applying artificial intelligence to glean insights from that data, organisations can define, measure, and take action toward more sustainable business practices.

“For us, this collaboration is about applying our deep industry, hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence expertise to help clients make a difference with their sustainability efforts. Combining our focused industry solutions, we aim to help clients achieve their net-zero goals over multi-phase journeys while helping the larger environment,” said Praveen Hariharan, partner, Global Business Services, IBM Services. "By combining IBM’s suite of solutions with Envision Digital’s AIoT expertise, clients will have efficient and sustainable energy management solutions."

Krishnakumar Nagarajan, CTO, Global Business Services, IBM Services said: “Singapore is focused on driving sustainability with innovative approaches. The significance of this collaboration with Envision Digital today is even more relevant and important, to support Singapore’s vision to become a model city in sustainability.”

The post Envision Digital and IBM forge renewal energy management pact in SG appeared first on FutureIoT.

More than a faster version of mobile connectivity on 4G, 5G's speed, reliability, reduced energy usage and massive connectivity will be transformative for businesses and wider society, enabling ubiquitous access to super-fast broadband.

This is one of the key take-aways in the latest analysis by PwC on the economic impact of new and existing uses of 5G in utilities, health and social care, consumer, media and financial services. The analysis predicts that productivity and efficiency gains enabled by 5G’s application will drive business and service change worth US$1.3 trillion to global GDP by 2030.

Entitled “Powering Your Tomorrow”, the analysis covers eight markets, including Australia, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, the US and the UK.

Based on the study, the US (US$484bn), China (US$220bn) and Japan (US$76bn) will experience the largest uplift as a result of 5G technology applications, due to the size of their economies and strong modern industrial production sectors.

At a regional level Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) is expected to benefit the most from manufacturing applications of 5G, due to the size of the manufacturing sectors. It demonstrates the potential for regional competitive advantage through approaches to the adoption and regulation of the technology.

"These numbers quantify impact, but perhaps more important, our study reflects the value of 5G - new levels of connectivity and collaboration mean companies will be able to see, do and achieve more. It will open up new opportunities for growth and change as organisations rethink and reconfigure the way they operate in the post-pandemic world,” said Wilson Chow, Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Industry Leader, PwC China.

He added: "With the pandemic accelerating digitalisation across all sectors, 5G will act as a further catalyst. It will emerge in this decade as a fundamental piece of our societal infrastructure and as a platform for driving the competitiveness of national economies, new business models, skills and industries."

Indeed,  economic gains are projected across all economies assessed in the study, as 5G offers the potential to rethink business models, skills, products and services, with the gains accelerating beginning in 2025 as 5G-enabled applications become more widespread

Expect transformation of health and social care

According to the PwC study, more than 50% the global economic impact – estimated at US$530bn – will be driven by the transformation of health and social care experience for patients, providers and medical staff within the next 10 years.

While the acceleration of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic provided a glimpse of the future of healthcare, remote care is just one area in which 5G can enable both better health outcomes and cost savings.

5G's applications include remote monitoring and consultations, real time in-hospital data sharing, improved doctor-patient communications and automation in hospitals to reduce healthcare costs.

Regional and sector impact 

The study  also shows that at a sector level, impacts of 5G deployment vary for individual economies.

The US and Australia are projected to gain the most from financial services applications: India from smart utilities; China and Germany in manufacturing.  Other industries analysed in the study show the significant potential of new and existing applications over the next decade, driving changes in skills, jobs, consumer products and regulation:

• SMART utilities management applications will support environmental targets to reduce carbon and waste through enabling combined smart meters and grids to deliver energy savings, and improving waste and water management through tracking of waste and water leakage (US$330bn).
• Consumer and media applications include: over the top (OTT) gaming, real time advertising and customer services (US$254bn)
• Manufacturing and heavy industry applications include: monitoring and reducing defects, increased autonomous vehicle use (US$134bn)
• Financial services applications including reducing fraud and improving customer experiences (US$86bn)

Chow pointed out that 5G is more than mobile connectivity as it puts a new lens on advancing productivity and rethinking entire business models for the future.

“Given the scale of potential and its impacts, every organisation will need a plan for 5G's implementation within five years across technology and business strategies to maximise opportunities and prepare for how they integrate their technology and business strategies, and engage with customers, supply chain and regulators,” he said.

Policy and trust

Meanwhile, the study highlights that the reach of 5G's technology potential will require businesses and government to consider new approaches to regulatory and consumer engagement - focusing on how the technology is used.

Chow said as with any technology, policy engagement, transparency and public trust are critical factors.

“Whether it's considering the use of self-driving vehicles or telemedicine, how data is managed, infrastructure deployed, or how different sectors collaborate, business and government need to shit from focusing on regulating a technology, to promoting transparency in 5G's application, building and sustaining public trust in its use and potential."

The post PwC quantifies economic impact of 5G-based services appeared first on FutureIoT.

“Our mirror and content library are fitness industry gamechangers, we’ve got a huge range of different workout types on our platform, and we have new Cantonese-speaking celebrity-led content on the way. We’re really excited to be part of the Hong Kong health and fitness revolution,” said Keith Rumjahn, CEO of OliveX.

Known as the KARA, the device is a full-length wall mirror that is designed specifically for the city’s compact apartments that cannot accommodate full-size workout gear such as spin bikes or treadmills. It comes with a built-in camera and proprietary AI algorithms track user motions and offer suggestions in real time, ensuring proper posture for the best workout possible.

The device has access to OliveX’s existing library of over 100 fitness classes (each 3 to 60 minutes) for cardio, core barre, boxing, yoga, Pilates, stretching, dance, meditation classes – plus far more to come including classes by local Cantonese speaking celebrity coaches, users can easily customise the class and intensity best suited to their level of fitness.

With the smart mirror and virtual coach application, people can register for online fitness training without going to the gym.

Indeed, the company recently partnered Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) to bring its service to the latter's telecom and internet subscribers by offering a bundle deal that includes the KARA smart mirror and a 24-month fitness programme subscription - together with a 1Gbps home broadband service for the same time period.

“Our collaboration with OliveX to launch the KARA Smart Fitness Mirror with home broadband marks yet another milestone in delivering ‘Infinite Play’ value options for our residential customers. We have a number of innovative partnerships in the pipeline to bring even more attractive service bundles to our over 1 million residential household customers in Hong Kong,” said Elinor Shiu, HKBN co-owner and CEO – Residential Solutions.

The post OliveX couples smart mirror with online fitness classes in HK appeared first on FutureIoT.

With the goal of being everywhere the customer is, the virtual store adds another dimension to TUMI's evolving omnichannel retailing approach.

Deploying 360-degree 3D and augmented reality, the TUMI Virtual Store encourages customers to explore interactive  touchpoints, and they can engage with shareable social photo moments at TUMI’s Magic Mirror and play mini-games on Instagram and WeChat.

"The TUMI Virtual Store is an incredible milestone for the brand. For the last few years, we have been pioneering new digital experiences and looking to enhance and elevate the customer journey. Our new Virtual Store is part of this holistic approach to connect with customers wherever they are,” said Adam Hershman, vice president of TUMI, Asia Pacific and Middle East.

“Accelerated digitization and shifting customer habits brought on by 2020 have reinforced this direction and shown that we must continue to create exciting, meaningful interactions both in the physical and digital worlds,” he added.

Further enhancing the overall TUMI O2O ("Online to Offline" also "Offline to Online") shopping experience, the virtual store is connected to other TUMI shopping channels via its Chat & Shop function allowing for seamless customer movement to the point of purchase.

Customers exploring the Virtual Store can easily connect with sales associates to ask questions and place orders, or via the connected local e-commerce websites. Furthermore, those visiting the TUMI physical stores in the region can explore the TUMI digital landscape via in-store kiosks, for an enhanced offline experience.

The post TUMI steps further into digital retail with virtual store launch appeared first on FutureIoT.

This new development comes six month after the two companies launched the first non-standalone 5G services in Singapore.

Already, the 5G SA network rollout is well underway, spanning core, radio, software, security and professional services. StarHub expects market launch of  its 5G SA data service later this year.

According to Chong Siew Loong, chief technology officer at StarHub, the strong demand for 5G phones and good take-up of the company’s Mobile+ and Biz+ 5G capable plans launched last August. He sees these as encouraging signs of the market’s appetite for 5G services, which are going mainstream in terms of deployment and adoption this year.

“Nokia fuelled an important  transition for our networks, bringing us into the 5G era, enabling new use cases and services, such as network slicing,” said Chong. “Together we are committed to supporting the government’s national strategic Smart Nation initiatives, to drive growth and competitiveness globally, and nationwide 5G is a crucial step as Singapore strives for economic and technological growth.”

With the 5G SA upgrade,  StarHub will be able to run 5G independent of existing 4G network technology. With 5G SA technology, it can simultaneously connect a vast number of devices and offer innovative mobility solutions that thrive on ultra-high speed, low-latency, secure campus networking capabilities for the benefit of consumers, businesses and government agencies in Singapore.

With 5G services delivered via SA architecture using the 3.5GHz spectrum,  StarHub said customers can enjoy new digital services such as AR for entertainment, education and healthcare, and the industry will have the opportunity to deliver the promised massive Internet of Things, allowing interconnection of many devices and applications for a smarter society.

In turn, businesses can use 5G enhanced mobile broadband service to enable e-sports and augmented reality/virtual reality live feeds anywhere. StarHub can create several secure mobile campus networks for localised functions through network slicing capability. The operator can also leverage mobile edge computing services to host AI-based solutions such as facial recognition services and to deploy advanced IoT solutions.

Daniel Jaeger, head of South East Asia Market Unit at Nokia, said: “The Singapore market is highly competitive, with end users demanding new, innovative 5G services. Leveraging our market-leading 5G solutions, We are committed to continue working with StarHub to bring advance 5G services that will deliver a consistent and enhanced user experience, as well as new revenue opportunities for its enterprise customers.”

Meanwhile, StarHub has been playing an active role as a forerunner in Singapore’s 5G space.

Together with Nokia, the telco operator has deployed a 5G SA trial network at IMDA’s 5G testing facility Living Lab@PIXEL in one-north. The facility is dedicated to helping industry players develop new 5G solutions and develop technical capabilities.

StarHub is also working with industry players, including Nanyang Polytechnic and National University of Singapore to explore innovative 5G solutions that can enhance higher education experiences, address industry needs and test use cases.

Also, StarHub and Malaysia’s U Mobile have successfully completed a multi-party roaming video conference call over 5G SA technology. More extensive 5G solution trials,  including emergency sea rescue operations are in progress.

The post StarHub and Nokia expedite 5G SA rollout in SG appeared first on FutureIoT.

The oil and gas company has tapped D’Crypt to deploy specially modified BluePass devices that will be safe to use in an environment where flammable gases maybe present. This is the first time a modified version will be tested in a live process plant environment.

If successful, this pilot could pave the way for the modified devices’ use across the process industry in Singapore and abroad. According to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, there are 60,300 workers involved in the petroleum, chemical & pharmaceutical products sector in the city.

“Currently, the contact tracing of individuals within the process areas can take hours, which slows down the process of identifying and isolating close contacts. The enablement of prompt contact tracing for process industry workers in Singapore will substantially mitigate the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak in the community,” said Hugues Bourgogne, Shell’s vice president for manufacturing in Singapore & Philippines and General Manager of Bukom.

“Through this pilot of the modified BluePass devices, we are glad that Shell Singapore can play a role in enabling Singapore’s economic activities to ramp up while keeping our workers safe from COVID-19,” he added.

Thorough evaluation

Shell has evaluated the modified BluePass devices for their safe use at the process areas in the manufacturing site at Pulau Bukom using IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standards commonly referenced by process industry companies worldwide, as well as guidance from EEMUA (Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association) and EI (Energy Institute).

Shell applies these standards for any equipment used in their facilities since there may potentially be flammable gases present. The evaluations included the ruggedness of the body of the modified BluePass device, protection from user tampering or maltreatment, the power source and size of the battery, as well as the energy level transmitted during use.

The pilot of the modified BluePass devices will run until March.

“Shell’s evaluation of BluePass gives us confidence to conduct further pilots of the device for use in real-world production environments. We have full confidence that process industry players will be able to successfully put the BluePass through a similar evaluation for effective contact tracing without endangering lives or compromising operations at their facilities,” said Dr. Antony Ng, CEO of D’Crypt.

D’Crypt is a security engineering company owned by Temasek Holdings. The company developed BluePass, a small, battery-powered, wearable device last year for distribution to the public. It exchanges proximity information with other BluePasses or interoperable devices via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, and stores that information for a stipulated period for contact tracing purposes. BluePass safeguards user privacy by not tracking location information.

Once the pilot at Shell Pulau Bukom is completed, both companies will proactively share results – both in terms of effective contact tracing and BluePass’ suitability for use in live process plant environments − with the process industry in Singapore.

“We hope this will contribute to a broad adoption of contact tracing devices in the process sector, dramatically improving Singapore and the world’s COVID-19 security.” said Dr Ng.

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Developed in response to traffic congestions typically found in cities, UAM refers to urban transportation systems that move people by air.  UAM is achieved through the use of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts.

In an MOU announced today, SKT – under the partnership – will test and build communication network models for UAM. The company plans to create an ideal communications environment for UAM, where stable and reliable connectivity between aircrafts and ground infrastructure is essential.

SKT will also develop a UAM service platform to provide all related services - e.g. booking, transit, etc. - in an integrated manner to provide seamless mobility to customers, allowing them to efficiently travel to a destination by using diverse modes of transportation including UAM, bus, train and personal mobility vehicles.

The Korea Airports Corporation will build and operate UAM infrastructure including vertiports, and manage UAM Traffic, while Hanwha Systems develop UAM aircrafts as well as solutions for UAM traffic control and navigation. The Korea Transport Institute will conduct studies to forecast  the demand and receptivity for UAM.

As members of “UAM Team Korea”, an industry-academia-research council and policy community launched by the Korean Government, the four parties will  hasten the realisation of the government’s UAM roadmap (locally known as the K-UAM Roadmap) through collaborative research and development in all related areas including UAM infrastructure, aircrafts, air traffic, demand and receptivity.

“Through close partnership with the Korea Airports Corporation, Hanwha Systems, and the Korea Transport Institute, we will accelerate the commercialization of urban air mobility in Korea and gain industry leadership by introducing a new and innovative mobility infrastructure,” said Ryu Young-sang, president of MNO at SKT.

Going forward, the four members of the UAM Team Korea expect their efforts to contribute to reducing social costs caused by traffic congestion in large cities including the metropolitan area and help GHG-free, environmentally-friendly transportation take root in Korea.

The post SKT joins partnership to develop UAM in South Korea appeared first on FutureIoT.

Indeed, the research firm cited that for the first time in 2020  In 2020, for the first time, there are more IoT connections (e.g., connected cars, smart home devices, connected industrial equipment) than there are non-IoT connections (smartphones, laptops, and computers). Of the 21.7 billion active connected devices worldwide, 11.7 billion (or 54%) will be IoT device connections at the end of 2020. By 2025, it is expected that there will be more than 30 billion IoT connections, almost 4 IoT devices per person on average.

It is not surprising, therefore, that IoT security has gained a lot of traction in the last 12 months, as inconspicuous devices such as webcams have been identified as the easiest point of entry for hackers. And with the increased popularity of video conferencing apps, the risks of a user’s device camera being switched on without their knowledge are greater than ever.

User privacy can be violated without malicious intent

Technology experts at UK-based Reincubate noted that user privacy can be violated by a simple accident, and without malicious intent.

Plenty of  Zoom users haven’t realised that their cameras were on, or that when joining a Zoom call that the call host might have configured the call to start with user cameras on. Additionally, it’s possible to join a Zoom call with one’s camera off, be placed in a waiting room before the call begins, and then have the camera turn on once the host admits the user to the call.

It is  worth considering not connecting your devices to Wi-Fi unless it’s necessary for their function and to disable any microphones and cameras that aren’t in use, as this too will lower the risk of others accessing your devices’ microphone and camera,” said Aidan Fitzpatrick, CEO and co-founder of Reincubate told FutureIoT.

“Familiarise yourself with exactly what your device does, so you also can turn off any functions you don’t use regularly, such as a camera on your smart TV,” he added.

Fitzpatrick pointed out that using an external webcam or mobile device as a webcam is not only smart solution to the often poor webcam video quality of built-in webcams in laptops and PCs, they can also better protect users from risk of hacking than their devices’ built-in webcam that many fear could be spying on them constantly.

“However, these are not completely protected against potential hackers, and connected devices (IoT) will face even further vulnerability to hackers as most of them lack encryption. To make your devices harder to access for others, ensuring the software is all up to date and using two-factor authentication and unique passwords for every device is a great rule to follow,” he said.

Tips for securing web cameras

Fitzpatrick shared some tips to secure web cameras:

1. Covering your webcam is important on a PC, but it’s arguably helpful for all users, in that it will serve as a reminder to think about security whilst using the computer.Realistically, you’re more likely to inadvertently broadcast yourself without knowing than you are to be remotely monitored by anyone else, and a cover helps make that risk obvious. Anything that makes you more security-conscious is likely a good idea. You’ll see no end of ads online trying to sell plastic webcam covers: these are junk, and you don’t need them.A piece of tape or a sticky note is good enough for Mark Zuckerberg, and it’ll work well enough for you. Any residue left behind will be easy to remove. And besides, well-designed laptops won’t leave enough room to be closed without damaging themselves when an additional plastic cover is stuck on.
2. Use external, physically connected cameras and audio devices. Relying on an external mic and camera makes it crystal clear whether they are physically connected to your computer or not. This has the advantage that you can then permanently block your device’s internal camera and mic. Camo is a good example of a product like this and has the additional benefit of greatly increasing the quality that a user will get when they join calls. Beware of products that require installation of drivers, or which are from unknown or untrusted sources.
3. Close your laptop or power off your computer when not using it will make it harder or impossible for people to access it remotely.
4. If you step away from your Zoom call whilst muted to make a coffee, beware that a host might remotely unmute you without you knowing. If your mic has a physical mute button, you’ll be OK. But if you’re using AirPods, or an internal mic, there’s no mute that can override Zoom’s settings. If you’re on a call, always assume you might be overheard.
5. Keep your software up to date, especially the main software on your phone and computer, and any browsers you use.
6. Don’t disable your computer’s firewall or malware. Nowadays these are enabled by default on just about every type of computer and phone, and there’s little need to install additional software, beyond specific products for monitoring webcam use (see above).
7. Be aware of general security best practices and be sure to securely store any video, audio, or photos that you’ve already taken.
8. Don’t let anyone untrusted use – or repair – any of your devices. Who knows what they might install or change in them?

The post Beware of risks of unsecured webcams and video calls appeared first on FutureIoT.

SIC, launched last Monday, will also develop blockchain technologies as well as it seeks to help enterprises ramp up their digital transformation.

The new innovation centre is latest foray of Singapore-based ICT service provider NCS, as part of its growth strategy into the Greater China market.

Located at Tian’an Cloud Park in Shenzhen, NCS’ first innovation centre in China houses a demonstration area, design thinking studio and digital factory in a 1,400 square metre space, where clients can work closely with NCS’ team of resident experts to jointly develop digital projects to improve business performance and unlock new growth opportunities. The centre will serve as a hub to fuel the growth of a cross-border innovation ecosystem for NCS’ clients, partners and tech start-ups.

According to  Ng Kuo Pin, NCS CEO,  said, the new centre aims to help enterprises in Asia Pacific transform by “harnessing the best of digital innovation”.

“The SIC forms part of NCS NEXT Innovation Triangle, through which our clients can tap NCS’ innovation capabilities in Singapore, Melbourne and Shenzhen to get access to best-of-breed technologies, digital capabilities and deep-tech talent across the region.”

He added: “We are pleased to partner our clients and partners to build a cross-border innovation ecosystem to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences. The establishment of SIC also provides a growth platform for Singaporeans to gain wider exposure to the innovation landscape in China, providing opportunities for ICT students and professionals to collaborate on innovative projects in Shenzhen.”

The SIC will drive talent development through job attachments and rotations. NCS will offer talent exchange opportunities for its employees to be deployed at the centre to promote cross-pollination of ideas and to develop cross-cultural skills. In addition, NCS will also offer internships for Singapore and Shenzhen students under the Singapore-China Youth Interns Exchange Scheme.

Kiren Kumar, deputy chief Executive, IMDA said the new centre to  boost the development of innovation and talent initiatives in the region, promoting cross-border innovation and talent exchange.

“We hope that the centre will create new exciting opportunities for businesses and communities to drive trade and connectivity in a digital economy,” Kumar said.

Since its establishment as China’s first economic zone, Shenzhen has become a hub for innovation and investments. NCS will be collaborating with ecosystem partners and clients in Singapore and China to drive initiatives with a focus on digital innovation.

DBS, one of the SIC’s anchor tenants, plans to leverage the innovation centre to testbed innovations using emerging technologies such as 5G, IoT and blockchain to enable greater cross-border collaboration, increased trade flows and better workforce engagement.

“With innovation being a key driver of economic growth and recovery in the post-COVID-19 next normal, it is crucial for companies to tap on the strengths of ecosystem partners and networks to augment technology resources and grow supply chains,” said Jimmy Ng, group CIO and head of group technology & operation at DBS.

He added: “We are pleased to partner IMDA and NCS in establishing the NEXT Shenzhen Innovation Centre, which will be an important digital springboard for businesses looking to expand their presence in China.”

Ng said DBS is uniquely positioned to avail its deep digital and financial capabilities as well as regional insights to support companies on both sides of the border to grow their business as trade activity between Singapore and Shenzhen ramps up.

“This partnership will also enable us to access technology resources to complement our twin technology hubs in Singapore and Hyderabad,” he said.

The post NCS's new Shenzhen centre eyes 5G-enabled IoT apps appeared first on FutureIoT.

The smart parking meters are part of the department’s smart mobility initiatives.

The smart parking meters are fitted with sensors that use  millimetre wave radar to detect whether roadside parking spaces are occupied. The sensors are only capable of detecting the occupancy of parking spaces, and will not collect any personal information, details of vehicle types or vehicle registration numbers.

Real-time information from the smart parking meters will be disseminated through  three channels: the new mobile app called "HKeMeter"; the mobile and web versions of "HKeMobility";  and, the Public Sector Information Portal (data.gov.hk) to assist motorists in finding vacant parking spaces. Providing real-time information to assist motorists in finding vacant parking spaces, these new parking meters reduce the time required locating parking spaces as well as the amount of circulating traffic.

Features of the new parking meters include:

• Support for multiple payment systems, including the smart card Octopus and contactless credit cards such as Visa payWave, MasterCard Contactless and UnionPay QuickPass; as well as the Faster Payment System; AlipayHK; WeChat Pay; and Union QR
• Support on-site and remote payment of parking fees through, HKeMeter. The mobile app supports iOS and Android mobile devices, and is available free for download

To date,  44 new parking meters at three locations in Central, Tuen Mun and Clear Water Bay last month as part of the final on-site tests. These meters will be put in service tomorrow.

At present, there are about 18,000 metered parking spaces in Hong Kong with about 9,800 parking meters installed. The Transport Department said these parking meters will be replaced in phases and are expected to be replaced with the smart meter by the first half of 2022. In total, the Transportation Department expects to install about 12,000 smart parking meters.

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In 2020, China has experienced an unprecedented pandemic, and the pandemic has impacted many aspects of development in the China smart device market. In this context, Antonio Wang, assistant vice president of IDC China, summarised the top 10 predictions for China's smart devices market in 2021, specifically:

• Prediction #1: More enterprises and consumers will be willing to pay for cloud-based smart device solutions. In 2021, more than 15% of consumers will consider paying for services on cloud-based devices, and more than 30% of business users will also consider payments for cloud-based smart device services.
• Prediction #2: Scenario-based definition will create a new ecosystem for smart devices. With the wide range of consumer smart device use case scenarios, an intrinsic scenario-based ecosystem is emerging, such as in the entertainment, health, education, and Smart Home smart ecosystems, as well as other scenario-based ecosystems. IDC predicts that around 8% of smart device products in 2021 will be related to education, more than 20% of smart device offerings will be related to Smart Home, and about 30% of smart devices will be related to healthcare.
• Prediction #3: Contactless connections will trigger diversified forms of smart devices, As traditional physical interactions have become outdated, 60% of organisations in China will deliver user experiences through automated operations and contactless ways to achieve large-scale customer engagement. The pandemic has further shifted more scenarios from in-person to contactless, for example, various vending machines on counters; virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) real-estate viewing; and large, smart video conference systems. These are all promoting the diversified developments of smart devices and smart solutions.
• Prediction #4: The integration of emerging technologies and smart devices will accelerate. Smart devices will become more intelligent. A range of emerging technologies such as connectivity, interaction and display screens are gradually being applied to smart devices. In 2021, more than 50% of devices will be integrated with multimode interaction technology; more than 80% of devices will support 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, and other new connectivity modes; and more than 40% of devices will support artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
• Prediction #5:The improvement in population quality will drive new consumer demand. Over the past 10 years, the number of college graduates in China has increased by 70 million, and as the populace's cultivation improves, consumer demand also changes from simple consumption to a multilevel demand for new quality, new prices, new wealth creation, and new connotations.
• Prediction #6: There will be universal coverage of smart devices. In the digital age, children's studies and the daily life of the elderly have become more and more inseparable from smart devices. As children's watches, study tablets, and K12 computers gradually became popular in the preschool and primary schools, a good number of the population covered by smart devices are also becoming more and more younger. Despite the increasingly younger population being covered by smart devices, seniors have also begun to meet their health and entertainment needs through wearable devices, tablets, and other products. In 2021, more than 10% of children under the age of 14 will have at least one smart device, and more than 30% of 60+ year-old adults will have at least one smart device.
• Prediction #7: Second-hand smart devices will lead to the extension of these devices’ life cycle. Today, more and more consumers are accepting second-hand smart devices, especially the users with less purchasing capability. A good example are the elderly and children who often have second-hand smart devices received from the other members of the household. Some low-income groups may also purchase secondary smart device offerings. While this certainly promotes the coverage of smart devices in the market, smart device manufacturers are also extending the life cycle of smart devices.
• Prediction #8: Smart education will drive comprehensive development. 2021 will see a comprehensive implementation of smart education in and out of schools. It is expected that by 2021, more than 80% of classrooms will become smart classrooms. Smart interactive products such as electronic whiteboards will be equipped in the classroom. More than 30% of students use PCs or tablets for assisted learning, and more than 5% will even pair themselves with other smart device products such as smart printers and smart cameras for study.
• Prediction #9: Future enterprises will transform and upgrade, which will be focused on the future space, future culture, and future workforce. The pandemic has enabled enterprises to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the future space, future culture, and future workforce, in which smart devices have become a key driver. In 2021, more than 40% of enterprises will consider building their own smart office system, of which more than 50% of small and medium-sized enterprises believe that multiscreen interaction between smart devices is a means to improve enterprise efficiency, and 80% of enterprises will be equipped with mobile office solutions.
• Prediction #10: Uncertainty will continue, and there will still be significant uncertainty and risk in the smart device market in 2021. In 2021, there will still be many uncertain factors at the political, economic, social, and technological levels in China, and these potentially uncertain factors may lead to some unexpected events in the market in 2021. Possible health concerns, diseases, and supply shortages will be the new uncertain factors. Over 20% of enterprises plan to adopt flexible sourcing methods to reduce the impact of these uncertainties.

The post IDC: 10 predictions for China's smart device market in 2021 appeared first on FutureIoT.

The 13,000sqkm EEC stretches south and east of Bangkok and covers three provinces with a total population of three million. It aims to be the gateway to Southeast Asia (SEA) and a global digital innovation hub.

Already, the special economic zone is home to the world's 11th largest auto exporting industry, leading global suppliers of hard disc drives and home appliances, a major petrochemical industry and the international tourist resort of Pattaya.

Under the Thailand 4.0 plan, automakers and their supply chains are transitioning to electric vehicle production, the electronics sector is upscaling and petrochemical manufacturers are increasingly adopting less polluting renewable biotechnologies as Thailand embraces the so-called bio-circular-green economy.

Now they are being joined in the EEC by companies specialising in artificial intelligence, robotics, medical devices and biosciences including technologies such as genomics sequencing.

To support the economic activities emerging the EEC, housing will increasingly be available in environmentally and connectivity-friendly smart cities located around scenic Pattaya.

U-Tapao: a smart city “aerotropolis”

In a wide-ranging interview released in the media yesterday to mark its upcoming third anniversary in May, EEC confirmed the THB100 billion (US$3.3 billion) investment to be spent this year on the next phase of construction of the 220km high-speed train connecting Bangkok’s two airports in Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang with EEC’s own airport at U-Tapao.

“5G connectivity combined with the high-speed train would help transform U-Tapao and its surrounding area into Thailand's equivalent of Japan's Narita or South Korea's Incheon – a smart city "aerotropolis" twinned with the nation's capital one hour away at the other end of the train line,” said EEC secretary general Kanit Sangsubhan.

Dr. Sangsubhan revealed that 50% of the EEC will be covered by 5G by next month,  adding that EEC will become the first part of  first part of SEA to offer 5G connectivity.

"The signal is already there, and we are now working with companies and local residents to help offer them the best solution for their individual needs,” he said.

An eye beyond the ASEAN market

Dr. Sangsubhan  pointed out the EEC vision extends far beyond the immediate region. It aims to become a logistics hub and gateway linking the world's two most populous countries, China and India, and the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) trading bloc of which Thailand is the second largest economy.

Between them, China, India and the 10 ASEAN states account for some 3.5 billion consumers or almost half the world's population, with the EEC geographically at the crossroads to connect them. The ASEAN countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have a combined population of some 650 million.

“The  EEC already had a close relationship with China's Greater Bay area which includes Hong Kong, the booming technology hub of Shenzhen and other major cities in the economic powerhouse of Guangdong province,” Dr. Sangsubhan said.

He described the EEC's role as a "dry port" for goods and commodities passing through the region.

He estimates that – with the help of a planned "land bridge" to connect the Kingdom's Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean, containers shipped through the EEC to India would be able to reach their destination four or five days quicker than using the existing route via Singapore and the heavily congested Malacca Strait. In turn, Thailand's connection with China provides an onward overland link to Europe.

Building infrastructure is key

The total cost of developing the EEC is THB1.7 trillion (about US$60 billion), 80% of which will be funded by the private sector and 20% by the government. About one-third of that will be spent in the next four or five years on completing the high-speed train, the airport and expansion of two sea ports at Laem Chabang and Map Ta Phut.

Following EEC’s public-private partnership model, the high-speed rail is half funded by the government and half by a consortium led by Thailand's CP Group and backed by international investors.

“CP group mobilised a team," Dr Sangsubhan said.  "Construction is from China, technology from Italy and funding from both Japan and China. That is the power of the private sector. What we have achieved is to mobilise the government, the private sector and the local people. This has never happened before, and it is what excites me so."

Stanley Kang, chairman of the Joint Chambers of Commerce in Thailand said it is about location.

“EEC is definitely the right place to be,” he said.  "In the past, the attraction for investors was cheap land and labour. But our future is creativity and innovation and Thailand's advantage is the EEC. There is a big opportunity now and a lot of investment is moving in."

Kang lauded the success of the high-tech corridor to a visionary long-term focus by the Thai government on quality hard and soft infrastructure.

Long before it was rebranded as the EEC, the region was known as the Eastern Seaboard. When the company Kang heads, TIC Group, first opened a factory there in the 1980s, the land was occupied by "cobras and cows" and the road from Bangkok only had two lanes.

"It took you four hours to drive there and overtaking was as dangerous as being on a race track," Kang recalled. "Then, the highway became four lanes, then six lanes and now in parts it is eight-lane. Thailand realised that without good infrastructure you can't get foreign direct investment. You didn't just need a port, you needed an efficient port. You also needed ease of doing business and the government provided that with a one-stop shop for the necessary permits."

The post Thailand’s EEC on track with digital innovation hub goal appeared first on FutureIoT.

"At Baidu, we have long believed in the future of intelligent driving and have over the past decade invested heavily in AI to build a portfolio of world-class self-driving services. China has become the world's largest market for EVs, and we are seeing EV consumers demanding next generation vehicles to be more intelligent." said Robin Li, co-founder and CEO of Baidu.

As  part of the strategic partnership between the two Chinese companies, Baidu will provide intelligent driving capabilities to power the passenger vehicles for the new venture, while Geely will deliver its expertise in automobile design and manufacturing.

Geely is a leading multinational car manufacturers with brands,  including Volvo Cars, Lynk & Co and LEVC. For several years now, it has also been making the transition for being a traditional carmaker to a transport-technology company focusing on intelligent mobility. It has invested in technologies around “Internet of Vehicles”, intelligent driving, mobility services, vehicle processors and low orbit satellites whilst collaborating with global partners on next-generation mobility ecosystems.

The new company announcement comes on the heels of Geely’s  newly launched pure electric architecture – Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) – touted as the world’s first open-sourced electric vehicle architecture.

The partners will integrate SEA, unveiled in September 2020,  in next-generation EV models; while Baidu will bring its full portfolio of technologies, including Apollo autonomous driving, DuerOS for Apollo, and Baidu Maps, to help drive the new company’s growth.

"As a top Chinese automaker with global reach, Geely has the unique experience and resources to design, produce and market energy-efficient, reliable and safe automobiles in large scale. We believe that by combining Baidu's expertise in smart transportation, connected vehicles and autonomous driving with Geely's expertise as a leading automobile and EV manufacturer, the new partnership will pave the way for future passenger vehicles,” Li said.

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Called SKT 5GX Edge, the new service uses AWS Wavelength at the edge of the 5G multi-access edge computing (MEC) networks. SKT 5GX Edge with AWS Wavelength will enable SKT’s enterprise customers and developers to build innovative services in areas including machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), video games and streaming using the familiar AWS services, APIs, and tools they already use today.

“In collaboration with AWS, we have successfully integrated private 5G and edge cloud. By leveraging this new technology, we will lead the efforts to create and expand innovative business models in game, media services, logistics, and manufacturing industries,” said Ryu Young-sang, president of MNO at SKT.

With SKT 5GX Edge, applications are connected to AWS Wavelength Zones, which are located at the edge of SKT’s 5G network, making it unnecessary for application traffic to hop through regional aggregation sites and the Internet. This reduces the network latency and thus maximizes the benefits of the 5G network.

Since February this year, the two companies have collaborated to deploy AWS Wavelength Zones on SKT’s 5G network and worked with 20 enterprise customers to test the service for technological perfection.

The first AWS Wavelength Zone in the country started operating in Daejeon, and SKT and AWS plan to expand the infrastructure to other areas including Seoul in 2021.

“With AWS Wavelength on SKT’s 5G network, customers in South Korea can develop applications that take advantage of ultra-low latencies to address use cases like machine learning inference at the edge, smart cities and smart factories, and autonomous vehicles – all while using the same familiar AWS services, API, and tools to deploy them to 5G networks worldwide,” said Matt Garman, vice president of sales and marketing, AWS.

Building 5G-based services in South Korea

The two companies have been making efforts to improve operational stability of autonomous robots and efficiency in remote monitoring and control in South Korea.

Together with Woowa Brothers, the operator of food delivery app Baedal Minjok, SKT and AWS have completed tests of applying the 5G MEC service to outdoor food delivery robot Dilly Drive. Meanwhile, work continues with local robotics company Robotis to test run autonomous robots in the 5G cloud environment.

The two companies have also signed an agreement with Shinsegae I&C and Maxst to build an Augmented Reality (AR) navigation and guidance system in Coex Starfield, a large-scale shopping mall in Seoul.

They are also working on potential use of the 5G cloud service with Deep Fine, an AR glass solution developer, and Dabeeo, a spatial recognition service provider. With the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), SKT has launched an open lab to develop realistic contents optimised for the 5G network and to promote the growth of the related ecosystem.

Collaboration is also ongoing with Looxid Labs, a provider of real-time analysis for eye-gaze tracking and brain wave data, to develop services on the 5G MEC for a senior citizen centre in Busan.

As part of efforts to unlock new values of 5G ultra-low latency, SKT and AWS have worked with diverse companies across various industries. To explore the possibility of using the 5G cloud service for real-time communication between autonomous vehicles and their peripheral environments, they worked with Seadronix, a company that delivers monitoring systems for ship loading, and Gint, an agricultural tech startup.

Furthermore, SKT and AWS are actively cooperating in the area of non-face-to-face services as demand grows due to the pandemic. The two companies have been working with video conferencing solution provider Gooroomee to build an environment where two-way video conferencing and remote education services are provided without delay, and have realized a service with a latency of less than 100 milliseconds for multiple simultaneous sessions.

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As health and safety are paramount concerns for today's businesses and employees, Proxy's contactless mobile access applications improve the hygiene of workplaces while providing a foundation for future smart workplace initiatives.

Contactless smart access solutions potentially eliminating the spread of viruses and bacteria that originate from the touching of access points. This will provide all employees with a better office experience.

"The pandemic has prompted employers to seek more innovative security requirements in the workspace. At Proxy, we hope to lead technology innovations with contactless, smart mobile access products and solutions that empower businesses to enhance their office experiences in the post-pandemic era. By so doing, we not only create business value, but also drive people to focus on smart workplaces,” said Sean Pan, head of Proxy China, said,

In the wake of the new normal, Proxy envisions smart workplaces where employees move around safely, hygienically and seamlessly, using contactless technology:

• entrance doors will be opened via a user's mobile device rather than keycards
• tablets installed with visitor management application software will seamlessly register body temperature readings for each person entering the workplace
• meeting rooms will be equipped with endpoint sensors using Bluetooth technology to detect employees or visitors entering the workspace and greet them with a personalised message.

Sensors will monitor room capacity to allow enforcement of social distancing requirements; and intelligent sensing devices will automatically adjust ambient temperature, lighting, and other conditions based on the detected density and distribution of people, with all data transmitted to a cloud-based management platform.

Online design platform provider Canva is one of the company’s early adopter is China, deploying Proxy’s mobile access solution at its offices at Beijing Vanke Times Center.

"Proxy offers a unique, light mobile access solution that fits our needs perfectly. With this cloud-based solution in place, our staff can now use their mobile devices to provide streamlined, secure access to the building and their offices. Not only is this a convenient, contactless solution, but it also aligns with our company culture and flexible working hours," said Chris Wang, senior internal architecture engineer at Canva.

Value of localisation

Combining global standards and local support, Proxy provides solutions that are customised to address customers' different needs in various scenarios, providing purpose-designed solutions for multinational companies, as well as organizations with multiple office sites.

Realising the value of localisation to cater to the needs of the local market, Proxy has developed in China a dedicated local product service team, and also launched a domestically hosted cloud platform, as well as local support for the Android system and WeChat mini-programs. All of these capabilities have been developed to ensure the requirements of local customers are fully satisfied when using Proxy solutions.

“We're creating a unique identity signal for everyone on the earth that's universally accessible, secure, and private,” said Denis Mars, co-founder and CEO of Proxy. "We want to live in a world where every object around us can securely recognise our physical presence with our permission to provide us with a frictionless experience, personalized to our individual needs and preferences.”

Unlike traditional access systems, Proxy's mobile access solutions taps Bluetooth built into every smartphone, with access granted and managed via the cloud. This method makes access easier, as well as more efficient, secure and reliable. In addition to smart mobile access products, Proxy also provides solutions for smart visitor and space management, based on contactless technology.

Proxy has passed a number of globally recognised data security and privacy certifications, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and SOC 2 security audit. Proxy's cloud service is currently deployed across the world, with servers based in numerous regions to guarantee the security and access of customer data.

Founded in 2016 in San Francisco , Proxy counts many companies as customers, including Uber, Accenture, Harmay, Shui On Land and WeWork that have deployed the frictionless smartphone-based access.

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GMDSS, also known as Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems, is an automated ship to shore system using satellites and digital selective calling technology, which replaced the previous ship to ship safety system, which relied on a manual Morse code system.

An internationally recognised distress and radio communication safety system, GMDSS is mandated for ships by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), 1974, as amended in 1988, and carries the force of an international treaty.

GMDSS provides life-saving assistance to seafarers in distress and has required equipment on board more than 60,000 ships today, with many ships carrying multiple terminals.

A historic milestone

Iridium started GMDSS operation last Friday after a seven-year journey to becoming a GMDSS provider, and a year after receiving a Letter of Compliance from IMSO in December 2019 that the company is authorised to begin the service when ready.

Built on the company's upgraded US$3 billion satellite network,  Iridium’s GMDSS service uses the company’s L-band satellite spectrum. This spectrum serves as a weather-resilient complement to other satellite broadband capabilities on ships, aircraft and vehicles and is also a requirement for GMDSS terminals on SOLAS-class vessels.

With over 1.4 million subscribers around the world, including communications systems on tens of thousands of ships and aircraft today, Iridium said its GMDSS service launch epitomises its commitment to creating a safer environment for the approximately 85% of the world that lacks any or reliable cell phone coverage.

"This is a historic moment in both the satellite and maritime industries," said Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium.  "It is not every day that you get to announce the launch of a service that will most certainly save lives and is bringing innovation to this important maritime service."

Iridium's service functions much like an international SOS button. However, unlike other options, the company claims it includes as standard real-time emergency voice calling service, distress alert (SOS button) and maritime safety information with Iridium's global coverage.

The company’s upgraded satellite network – completed last year – is made up of a constellation of 66 cross-linked satellites in Low-Earth Orbit, which provides reliable coverage, even in adverse weather, around the entire globe, including over the Arctic and Antarctic waters.

Once a vessel holds down the red 'distress' button, indicating that it needs assistance, a signal is immediately routed through the Iridium satellite network and delivered in moments to a designated Rescue Coordination Center (RCC).  Unique to the Iridium system, this is then followed automatically by a distress phone call, allowing the vessel to immediately speak with the RCC. The RCC then can quickly understand the nature of the emergency, while also alerting nearby vessels and local search and rescue authorities to provide the required immediate assistance.

Passing evaluations with flying colours

Captain Moin Ahmed, Director General of IMSO, regulator of the GMDSS system, provided some additional context regarding the qualification process for Iridium.

“Overall, our formal evaluation of Iridium took more than four years, and at each step Iridium successfully demonstrated that its Safety Voice, Distress Alert and Iridium SafetyCast maritime environment broadcasts not only met all IMO requirements, but in many cases, exceeded them. I am proud to be a part of this event and this historic moment,” he said.

Captain Brian Soberg Petersen, master mariner and senior marine specialist for MAERSK also shared his experience as part of the testing process.

“At Maersk, we have been very satisfied with the capabilities of the Iridium system and are presently analysing our future communications plans, where we believe Iridium GMDSS could serve an additional function as a backup data connection as well, in lieu of our existing system,” he said.

Speaking from the Rescue Coordination Center perspective, Dave Wilson said the new system is the type of technological advancement that will enhance GMDSS.

“Our team at the Rescue Coordination Center of New Zealand, and the crew of the New Zealand research vessel that has been assisting with the testing, have been very impressed with the Iridium GMDSS system,” said Wilson, who is a watch leader and senior search and rescue officer for RCC New Zealand

A new pinnacle for GMDSS

Iridium said the technological capabilities of the GMDSS have now reached a new pinnacle with voice, data, and maritime safety information (MSI) all available through one affordable terminal.

The first terminal available is the Lars Thrane LT-3100S, which combines the three key GMDSS services – distress alert, distress voice and MSI. It can be used for both primary and emergency ship communications.  The combination of all three services in one cost-effective terminal is a first for the industry and one that makes the GMDSS even more accessible to smaller vessels that may not otherwise be able to afford the equipment.

"When we started this process, there was no process. No company had ever tried to do what we have now achieved.  In partnership with the IMO, U.S. Coast Guard and IMSO, a system to allow for Iridium to provide GMDSS service had to be invented,” Desch recalled.

"Developing and qualifying a GMDSS system was extremely challenging, so we didn't want to just do the minimum or what has been done before.  We wanted to make our system more accessible, affordable and feature-rich," he added.

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The newly released AVT9152 module uses technology from Nordic Semiconductor to provide engineers and developers with NB-IoT/LTE-M, GPS and Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) wireless connectivity in one of the smallest packages on the market.

"To tap the true potential of IoT, engineers must be able to minimize the size and power usage of their devices without compromising on functionality," said Andy Wong, senior vice president, Design and Solutions Services, Avnet Asia. "Our new module takes advantage of some of the industry's best SiP and SoC technology from Nordic Semiconductor to strike that balance for engineers. The AVT9152 is ideal for IoT applications when low power and small size are at a premium and is the latest addition to Avnet's robust technology ecosystem."

The module has been developed to support a variety of applications, including beacons for COVID-19 contact tracing, logistics and asset tracking, vending machines, kiosk terminals, medical devices and smart building automation. These applications demand wireless connectivity and power efficiency without sacrificing a device's scale.

Avnet delivers this complete package by leveraging Nordic Semiconductor's nRF9160 low power System-in-Package (SiP) and nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.2/Bluetooth LE advanced multiprotocol System-on-Chip (SoC).

The nRF52840 Bluetooth 5.2/Bluetooth LE advanced multiprotocol SoC features a 64MHz, 32-bit Arm Cortex M4 processor with floating point unit (FPU) which, alongside the nRF9160 SiP's ArmCortex-M33 processor, ensures the module can offer ample computational power to support a range of complex and processor-intensive IoT applications.

The module offers a high degree of flexibility and scalability for IoT product development while shortening time-to-market. Completing an IoT design can be as straightforward as connecting a power source, sensors, and an antenna to the module.

The AVT9152 Evaluation Kit provides simplified IoT application development with an end-to-end Cloud connection platform via Avnet's enterprise ready IoTConnect Platform. It also includes Avnet's global eUICC SIM with 50MB/3-month trial service. The evaluation kit is available globally and features a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, as well as pressure, temperature, relative humidity, ambient light, and motion (PIR) sensors.

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Called IVY, the scalable and cloud-connected software platform,  will allow automakers to provide a consistent and secure way to read vehicle sensor data, normalise it, and create actionable insights from that data both locally in the vehicle and in the cloud.

“AWS and BlackBerry are making it possible for any automaker to continuously reinvent the customer experience and transform vehicles from fixed pieces of technology into systems that can grow and adapt with a user’s needs and preferences,” said Andy Jassy, CEO, AWS. “Through this joint effort with BlackBerry, we will provide automakers with the insights, capabilities, agility, and speed they need to thrive in an increasingly connected world. As automakers seek to race ahead in their digital transformations, BlackBerry IVY empowers them to build their brands and set the standard for connected vehicle services across the automotive industry.”

BlackBerry IVY addresses a critical data access, collection, and management problem in the automotive industry.

Modern cars and trucks are built with thousands of parts from many different suppliers, with each vehicle model comprising a unique set of proprietary hardware and software components. These components, which include an increasing variety of vehicle sensors, produce data in unique and specialised formats.

The highly specific skills required to interact with this data, as well as the challenges of accessing it from within contained vehicle subsystems, limit developers’ abilities to innovate quickly and bring new solutions to market. BlackBerry IVY is aimed at solving for these challenges by applying machine learning to that data to generate predictive insights and inferences, making it possible for automakers to offer in-vehicle experiences that are highly personalised and able to act based on those insights.

In a joint statement both companies said BlackBerry IVY will support multiple vehicle operating systems and multi-cloud deployments to ensure compatibility across vehicle models and brands. The platform will build upon BlackBerry QNX’s capabilities for surfacing and normalising data from automobiles and AWS’s broad portfolio of services, including capabilities for IoT and machine learning.

BlackBerry IVY will run inside a vehicle’s embedded systems, but will be managed and configured remotely from the cloud. As a result, automakers will gain greater visibility into vehicle data, control over who can access it, and edge computing capabilities to optimise how quickly and efficiently the data is processed. With BlackBerry IVY’s integrated capabilities, automakers will be able to deliver new features, functionality, and performance to customers over the lifetime of their cloud-connected vehicles, as well as unlock new revenue streams and business models built on vehicle data.

Mining vehicle data

Both company gave a glimpse of how the platform works to continuously provide useful feedback to automakers by tapping into in-vehicle data gathered by the various sensors.

Using vehicle data, BlackBerry Ivy can recognise driver behaviour and hazardous conditions such as icy roads or heavy traffic and then recommend that a driver enables relevant vehicle safety features such as traction control, lane-keeping assist, or adaptive cruise control. IVY could then provide automakers with feedback on how and when those safety features are used, allowing them to make targeted investments to improve vehicle performance.

Additionally, drivers of electric vehicles could choose to share their car’s battery information with third-party charging networks to proactively reserve a charging connector and tailor charging time according to the driver’s current location and travel plans.

Furthermore, BlackBerry IVY could also provide insights to parents of teenage drivers who may choose to receive customised notifications based on insights from vehicle sensors when the number of passengers in the vehicle changes, when the driver appears to be texting, distracted, or not observing speed limits, or when the vehicle occupancy level rises above the parents’ desired safety threshold. Similarly, parents of infants could receive a reminder to engage the child safety lock when the vehicle detects a child in the rear seat.

Reduce time-to-market new online services

AWS and BlackBerry anticipate  that with their joint efforts to develop the platform, automakers will be able to compress the timeline to build, deploy, and monetise new in-vehicle applications and connected services across multiple vehicle brands and models.

Instead of investing in one-off solutions that conform to the unique engineering of different vehicle models (as they do today), automakers using BlackBerry IVY will be able to leverage different types of data as common building blocks for new services that could work across a range of models.

Automakers will be able to use the platform’s application programming interfaces (APIs) to share data and outputs with their software development teams, giving them the ability to innovate, while also protecting customer privacy and security by controlling whom can access vehicle and app data and at what level of detail.

“Data and connectivity are opening new avenues for innovation in the automotive industry, and BlackBerry and AWS share a common vision to provide automakers and developers with better insights so that they can deliver new services to consumers,” said John Chen, executive chairman and CEO, BlackBerry.

Indeed, BlackBerry IVY will make it easier for automakers to collaborate with a wider pool of developers to accelerate creation of new offerings that deliver improved vehicle performance, reduced costs for maintenance and repairs, and added convenience.

For instance, by analysing real-time performance data, automakers could recognise the first signs of potentially faulty parts, deploy code to identify affected vehicles, notify impacted drivers, and perform targeted recalls. Automakers will be able to remotely deploy and update the software from the platform’s Cloud Console (a web interface for managing BlackBerry IVY) to continuously improve the functionality of the system.

“This software platform promises to bring an era of invention to the in-vehicle experience and help create new applications, services, and opportunities without compromising safety, security, or customer privacy.  We are pleased to expand our relationship with AWS to execute this vision and deliver BlackBerry IVY,” Chen added.

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The two companies signed the agreement at the recently-concluded China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai. The cooperation aims to build a smart energy empowerment centre that can serve domestic and global energy industries.

With the goal to continuously innovate on industrial digital technologies, the new smart energy empowerment centre will comprise of a virtual-real digital experience centre and an industrial incubator cooperation platform.

“It will provide high quality industrial internet digital service for energy customers on the basis of the core high-end energy equipment industry of the parent company,” said Shanghai Electric in a statement.

Shanghai Electric and Siemens Energy collaboration marks another step forward for the overall upgrade of China's energy industry. According to the Chinese power company, the latest partnership with Siemens Energy is part of a bid to further expand its business scope and advance the ecosystem of its smart energy business.

Shanghai Electric is one of the largest manufacturers in China and operates businesses across various sectors. A leader in the fields of traditional thermal and renewable energy equipment manufacturing, it has long focused in the fields of energy and industrial equipment, and integration services. It also stands out in the wind power sector with its offshore wind power equipment taking up the majority of market shares.

On the other hand, Siemens Energy is a leading energy technology company, which covers almost the entire energy value chain – from power generation and transmission to storage. Its solutions portfolio includes conventional and renewable energy technology, such as gas and steam turbines, hybrid power plants operated with hydrogen, and power generators and transformers.

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The city recently unveiled plans to pilot a common data infrastructure designed to encourage a more robust supply chain for international trade flows. Companies from both private and public sectors will join the trials that aims to improve data efficiencies in financial processes and container flow.

The initiative is spearheaded by the Alliance for Action (AFA) on Supply Chain Digitalisation, one of the seven industry groups formed in June to seize opportunities amid the global health crisis. The other alliances look after key areas such as robotics, e-commerce, education, construction and real estate, and environmental sustainability.

“A common data infrastructure is part of our drive to put in place digital utilities as baseline infrastructure for the digital economy. Similar to their physical counterparts, digital utilities provide common standards and functionalities to enable data to flow and transactions to be made. Companies and platforms will also be able to build additional services and offerings on top of these open digital utilities. This brings about more value and enhances capability for all industry participants,” Lew Chuen Hong, chief executive, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), said in a media statement

The AFA on Supply Chain Digitalisation, jointly led by PSA International and Trafigura, engaged with more than 50 supply chain players in the last three month to identify pain points, opportunities and solutions across the entire ecosystem.

It emerged that a reconfiguration of trade flows  has occurred in the wake of COVID-19, exposing vulnerabilities and opportunities for Singapore. Specifically, significant inefficiencies have been identified in physical event, documentation and financial information flows across the value chain. These inefficiencies caused considerable cost and asset underutilisation that all enterprises.

As a result of its consultations, the alliance concluded a common data infrastructure was necessary to resolve pain points in the ecosystem. It added that the common data platform will facilitate data sharing and will enable all businesses l to “plug and play” into the infrastructure easily.

“For Singapore to remain relevant in the growing digital economy, it is laying a common foundational layer with digital utilities that enable businesses to move into the digital domain, build a stronger and more robust supply chain ecosystem for international trade flows, thereby advancing our position as a global supply chain and trading hub,” the AFA said.

According to the alliance, the common data infrastructure will augment existing data sharing systems and platforms by connecting the supply chain end-to-end, creating visibility and transparency, linking importers/exporters, shipping companies and financial institutions. It will provide all companies with access to exchange data in an efficient, trusted and secured way.

Besides  providing timely accessibility to all players across the value chain, the platform will be scalable and will be able to interoperate with local and global data platforms.

Two pilot applications unveiled

The IMDA and other government agencies will work with the AFA on a pilot to develop this common data infrastructure.

Kicking off the initiative, the AFA revealed two pilot applications will be developed to enhance trade finance and container flow.

Financial institutions (FIs) currently have limited visibility over the physical movement of goods in the supply chain, which reduces their ability to address demand from shippers. The common data infrastructure will allow them to provide and access data directly from trusted parties, in order to reconcile trade details with the physical movement of goods. For sellers, digitally tracking the physical movement of their goods throughout the supply chain will improve visibility and traceability across the trade process, allowing them to make better decisions.

On the other hand, logistics players face frequent congestion at container flow nodes, such as depots and warehouses, due to limited end-to-end visibility of container flows. This results in long waiting times and therefore sub-optimal asset utilisation and additional cost.

Through the common data infrastructure, major shipping lines, depot operators, warehouse operators and hauliers can share (with consent) key operational and event data such as container bookings, time slot bookings, job management and other data to enhance end-to-end logistics operations visibility. This will improve planning and asset utilisation, efficiency and productivity, reinforcing Singapore's place as a logistics hub.

Furthermore, the common data infrastructure will reduce dependency on physical documents, improve data flow and builds greater trust across the trading and financial communities.

“During this pilot we are working alongside Singapore banks to access data directly from reliable sources and parties to reconcile trade details with ease and potentially to detect and mitigate trade related fraud,” said Tan Chin Hwee, CEO-Asia Pacific, Trafigura Group.

He added that building a “digital twin” of the physical movement of goods will improve visibility across the trade process, and help stakeholders reduce dependency on physical documents in the long term.

According to Tan Chong Meng, Group CEO, PSA International, Singapore’s ability to rally together multiple stakeholders to bring a common vision of supply chain end-to-end visibility to fruition will set the city apart as a trusted global trade and logistics hub.

“The development of a common data infrastructure is our opportunity to enable large and small businesses to optimise their supply chain flows through Singapore, promote long-term sustainability as a key nodal hub in the global supply chain, and at the same time, support Singapore businesses in expanding their export markets,” he said.

Other companies that are participating in the initiative include DBS, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific and Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore).

“Establishing a common set of digital standards and guidelines around data sharing across trade platforms will be key to achieving enhanced interoperability, secured data flows, and a seamless e-invoicing experience for trade participants,” said  Patrick Lee, CEO, Standard Chartered (Singapore).

Tan Su Shan, group head of institutional banking, DBS, noted that close collaboration among all partners in the trade ecosystem is needed to pave the way to digitalisation of the supply chain. To achieve this, he underscored the need for all industry players “to accept digital data as a trusted medium of exchange and communication”.

“This makes it even more critical today for financial institutions and trading partners to work together in the development of a common data infrastructure to enhance efficiencies and remain competitive in the new normal.”

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The court also ruled that the park should pay the plaintiff 1,038 yuan (US$160) for a partial membership fee refund and compensation for travel expenses.

The verdict was handed down last Friday, a little more than a year after  associate law professor Guo Bing from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University and his wife sued  the park for violating China’s consumer rights protection law by collecting sensitive personal information without permission of its patrons.

The disagreement between the two parties started when the wildlife park upgraded its admission system from fingerprint to face recognition technology to activate visitors’ annual pass. Guo had his fingerprints and photo taken by the park in April 2019  for the previous fingerprint admission system, when 1 ,360 yuan (US$207).

The park then twice notified Guo last July and October about an upgrade of its admission system and required his facial recognition information for activation of the admission card.

He refused, saying he was willing to have his fingerprint scanned instead. When told that option was not available, Guo asked to cancel his annual card with full refund. He took the park operator to court last October after it rejected his request citing infringement of his privacy and breach of service contract.

In an interview with domestic media, Guo said at the time that he was taking a stand not for financial gain, but to “fight the abuse of facial recognition technology” in China.

The lawsuit sparked a heated debate over the widespread use of face recognition technology, which can now be found in shopping malls, residential complexes, schools, public transport, concerts and even beer festivals. It has become so ubiquitous that it has raised technical and ethical concerns among experts and the wider public.

In issuing a ruling in favour of  the plaintiff, the court said the change in the park’s admission policies from fingerprint to face recognition during the contract period is a breach of contract, and added that text messages that the park sent to Guo could not be regarded as contract content agreed by both parties – hence, it had no legal effect on Guo, who has the right to require the park to shoulder related legal responsibilities.

Both sides eyeing an appeal

Guo and the safari park operation both decided to appeal the court ruling.

In an interview to publication SixthTone, Guo’s lawyer Ma Ce  said that they were pleased with the verdict “to a certain degree” with the court confirming that it was illegal for the park to facial information without visitors’ consent,  they had hoped the court would provide a guiding opinion on the use of face recognition technology.

“Personally, I think the court’s statements are mostly just discussing the case on its own merits without elaboration,” said Ma. Guo and his lawyer also disagree with other aspects of the court’s verdict, including that the park’s policy did not constitute fraud because it did not result in adverse consequences.

Ma said Guo will appeal the verdict, as the court had not supported some of his other litigation requests.

“We hope this case will push our whole society to come up with a more refined definition of the boundaries of collecting information as sensitive as fingerprints and facial features,” said Ma.

In an interview with Global Times last Saturday, Guo said "The most meaningful claim in my litigation was to confirm the invalidation of the park's notice to visitors about collecting their facial recognition information due to the new admissions system, which was overruled by the court."

However, Guo noted the court's ruling did not support his most important claim, which was to delete the facial recognition information, although his litigation also included requests to delete other biometric data such as fingerprints.

"It is a common phenomenon that the public have no incentive to defend their rights although the infringement of privacy is an illegal behaviour," said Guo, who noted that the verdict of breach of contract has almost no deterrence value for the park’s illegal action.

Meanwhile, the lawyer for Hangzhou Safari Park said the park is not satisfied with the court's verdict, and it will appeal to the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court, according to a CCTV reported last Sunday.

Draft law seeks ban on the use of face recognition technology

Facial recognition technology has been in China for several years now. Initially adopted for security purposes in residential  buildings, it is  now being deployed in consumer applications such as paying bills, accessing cell phones and more.

To date, there is no law in China that regulates the use of biometric data such as facial images or fingerprints.

Hangzhou published a draft plan to ban facial recognition technology in residential areas last month. The draft law has now been submitted to the local legislative department, and a public opinion solicitation has begun.

The revised draft of municipal property management regulations stipulates that property management companies are not allowed to demand that residents submit to facial and other biometric scans when entering residential compounds.

If the draft is passed, it will be the first local law in China to ban the use of facial recognition technology in residential areas.

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V2X technologies, such as dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) and cellular-V2X (C-V2X), are designed to unleash the potential of smart mobility. However, a single unified V2X test solution does not currently exist.

To address this challenge, NTU Singapore is currently conducting research on a reconfigurable transceiver system specifically for hybrid (DSRC+C-V2X) communication at 5.9 GHz ISM band. This also includes possible extension to the millimetre-wave (mmWave) frequency range using cost-effective complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology.

Keysight provided NTU Singapore with test solutions and capabilities for generating and analysing both DSRC and C-V2X signals. This included testing and validation requirements for multi-components and system-level specifications in V2X communication standards, as well as 5G signal generation and analysis in the mmWave frequency range and multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) mode. As a result, NTU Singapore could generate accurate and full characterisation of the newly developed transceiver.

“Keysight's mmWave expertise and advanced solutions – coupled with NTU’s deep expertise in vehicular communications and integrated circuit designs – yielded valuable insights that helped hasten the development of hybrid V2X communications being tested on the NTU Smart Campus,” said  associate professor Boon Chirn Chye from NTU’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, who is the lead investigator for the project.

Keysight Technologies helps enterprises, service providers and governments accelerate innovation by optimising networks and bringing electronic products to market faster and at a lower cost with offerings from design simulation, to prototype validation, to manufacturing test, to optimisation in networks and cloud environments.

Its customers span the global communications ecosystem, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics end markets.

"We are delighted to provide NTU with a wide range of our test and measurement solutions that enable their cutting-edge research," said Ee Huei Sin, senior vice president and president of the Electronic Industrial Solutions Group at Keysight Technologies. "It's another example of Keysight’s ongoing partnerships with universities to discover the next breakthrough in technology."

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He noted that while the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of hardship and disruption, it also presents opportunities to identify gaps that require new solutions.
“As the world’s largest transhipment port, Singapore is a good location for solution-providers to test bed new ideas. Solutions that work well in a busy hub port like Singapore could be adapted for other ports globally,” he said.

He further stressed: “We need to support first-movers – individuals and companies who are willing to take risks and pioneer innovative solutions. And help those who fail initially to try again, when they come up with new proposals.”

SPC 2020 was the 4^th edition of the annual technology challenge organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The  SPC a key initiative by the Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined @ BLOCK71 (PIER71) to bridge opportunities in the maritime sector with innovative solutions that can be reimagined to accelerate digital transformation within the industry.

Preparing for a post-COVID world

This year, COVID-19 has been a major disruption to the world, whose impact on global supply chains will likely extend beyond the pandemic. Throughout the crisis, Singapore has kept its port open to allow the flow of essential goods to continue.

“We are now preparing ourselves for changes in global supply chains in a post-COVID world, and how the Port of Singapore can retain our connectivity and remain relevant in such an environment,”  Chee said.

This year’s SPC specifically sought to bring forth innovative solutions aimed at helping Singapore’s maritime industry cope  with the new dynamics in the recovery post-COVID.

The SPC  2020 received 187 applications from start-ups around the world and was conducted online for the first time. Many of these applications seek to automate processes and reduce reliance on manpower through solutions such as robots for hull cleaning, and virtual walkthrough of vessels for ship inspections, which is particularly beneficial in light of COVID-19. From the pool of highly qualified proposals received, 16 were selected, putting their teams into PIER71 Accelerate, a six-week market validation and customer discovery programme.

Focusing on areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, Internet of Things and robotics, all 16 finalists will be eligible to apply to MPA for a grant of up to S$50,000 to embark on pilot projects with maritime companies.

The grand final last Tuesday saw eight shortlisted start-ups pitching their proposal to a panel of judges.

The first, second and third place winners were BeeX, FUELSAVE and Vulcan AI. Judged on their proposed solution, business model, market opportunity, impact to the maritime industry and overall team capability, they each walked away with cash prizes of S$10,000 S$5,000 and S$3,000 respectively.

Grace Chia, CEO of BeeX , which bagged the top prize said:  “PIER71 has been an extremely comprehensive acceleration programme, helping us refine our value propositions to maritime corporates. We are thankful for the mentorship, networking opportunities and guidance. The win is a great encouragement to our team, and we look forward to working with the ecosystem to improve underwater inspections.”

New ways to unlock value from businesses

Meanwhile, Chee pointed out that what gives Singapore the competitive edge is not capital but new ways to unlock value from our businesses.

“We must ensure that innovation thrives and flourish in Maritime Singapore. This calls for a collaborative approach. Government agencies such as MPA, academia, industry, and solution-providers must come together to translate innovative ideas into real-world solutions,” he said. “Through SPC, we support technology start-ups to co-create solutions with the industry, which can be exported world-wide.”

Professor Freddy Boey, NUS deputy president for innovation and enterprise echoed the same sentiment “Our vision for this partnership with MPA is to raise the competitive edge of start-ups by injecting deep tech developed in Singapore, starting with those from NUS, to strengthen their offering to the industry, and to broaden their reach beyond Singapore.”

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The notification app called “LeaveHomeSafe” will be available for public download from November 16. The mobile app supports iOS, Android and Huawei devices.

Hong Kong’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) headed the development of the app, it allows users to record the accurate date and time of their visits to various places by simply scanning the venue QR code at the entrance upon their arrival and departure.

Participating public venues include government office buildings, sports centres, swimming pools, libraries, markets, cooked food markets, community halls/centres, building lobbies and shopping centres of public housing estates, hospitals, clinics, post offices, public works and construction sites. Other participating venues from various sectors and businesses include restaurants, bars or pubs, karaoke establishments, clubs, fitness centres and banks. Venue QR codes will be posted at the participating locations for the public to scan via the app.

“There are currently over 6 000 public and private venues that have pledged support for the scheme. The mobile app can also be used directly in over 18 000 taxis. The government has been actively engaging with trades and businesses, and would welcome more sectors to participate in the scheme and contribute to the epidemic prevention and control work in Hong Kong,” the OGCIO said in a media statement.

The mobile app can also be used to record taxi rides by simply scanning the registration mark printed on a yellow plate shown on the inside of the taxi door upon the start and at the end of their journey. It can be used directly in over 18 000 taxis plying across the city.

If a confirmed case is later discovered at a participating venue, the app will notify users who have visited the same venue as the COVID-19 confirmed case at around the same time together with health advice to enhance their vigilance.

Privacy assurance

The OGCIO allayed concerns over personal data privacy, saying that user registration is not required and that the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app will not use positioning services or any other data of the users’ mobile phones. Furthermore, relevant data in the app will be kept in the app inside users’ devices.

“The "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile app upholds the principle of protecting personal data privacy,” said the OGCIO. “Venue check-in data will be encrypted and saved on users' devices only. Such data will not be uploaded to the government or any other systems. Check-in data will be kept in users' mobile phones for 31 days and will then be erased automatically.”

The Centre for Health Protection will also release information on premises visited by COVID-19 confirmed cases in the form of open data, regardless of whether those confirmed cases are users of the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile app or not. The app will send notifications to users who visited the same venues at around the same time as the confirmed cases.

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To date, a total of 20 applications have been approved. The scheme provides government subsidy of up to 50% of the costs – subject to a cap of HK$500,00 – of the projects that are directly relevant to the deployment of 5G in the city.

5G is expected to transform the way people live and work with its the ability to provide up to 20 times faster download and upload speeds than 4G, drastically reducing the delay in connection times between devices and wireless networks.

Two local companies that were among the first to be given subsidy under the scheme this week shared the benefits of deploying 5G in their organisations.

Faster streaming videos

Keith Rumjahn, the CEO of a smart fitness product company, said the faster and more stable internet connection of a 5G network is vital to their online fitness classes,  where a customer’s online streaming experience could be affected by the video’s slow buffering.

“As long as you have a 5G SIM card and router, it's guaranteed to have a really fast speed that's stable and low latency, which is very important for our product. Imagine doing a live stream and, all of a sudden, it's buffering. It is not a good experience,” he said.

The online classes are delivered through 4K videos, featuring fitness trainers from around the world who teach people workout routines and exercises. With 5G, customers can see every bit of sweat on the coach's body and that's what makes the experience better.

“If you have experienced high-definition television, once you have watched it, you cannot go back to analogue and I think consumers expect higher quality,” Rumjahn added.

Rumjahn also  pointed out that with 5G, his company now features better artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “In a live class it is not a one-way interaction, but a two-way interaction. We have an AI technology that measures the body's activity and that allows the coach to teach many people at the same time and highlight the people who are doing it wrong.”

He added: “The coach can just give feedback to the people who are doing it wrong. With 5G we can send more data faster and in real time so the coach can give more feedback faster.”

Increased operational efficiency

Jeffrey Chan, an assistant technical engineer for a lift company is also benefitting from the scheme. It uses 5G to carry out real time monitoring by installing sensors in different parts of its lifts to collect data. Once a malfunction is detected, technicians can swiftly be deployed to the site.

Traditionally, the approach to  elevator maintenance is relatively passive. When breakdowns or accidents are reported, technicians visit the site to check and fix the problem .

“The biggest difference with 5G is that it allows us to do predictive maintenance. It has helped out technicians to increase operational efficiency and reduce unplanned down-time. 5G  enables technicians to identify and solve problems before they occurred,” he said.

The company’s  system processes the data in the cloud, which involves artificial intelligence and machine learning. Trend analyses are reported in the mobile app, which issues alerts to technicians of potential breakdowns in the coming days. Subsequently, the company’s technicians are able technicians can prepare the parts before going onsite, thus reducing maintenance time.

“The second part is the remote collaboration between frontline technicians and the technical help desk. When technicians encounter difficulties during maintenance, they will have virtual meetings with our engineers. With the 5G network, minimised latency, real-time sound and video quality are ensured to provide efficient and safe service,” Chan said.

Furthermore, the company managing director Henry Cheung added: “I believe the 5G -pilot programme provides an opportunity that (allows us to) use our existing data, the data on elevator failures that our normal technicians are gathering and apply it to the new system. This 5G system would then use the data with AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) technology to improve accuracy rate of predicting elevator failures.”

Meanwhile, the application deadline for Hong Kong’s Subsidy Scheme for Encouraging Early Deployment of 5G  has been extended until May 31, 2021.

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“By connecting factories around the world in the cloud, it strengthens DENSO's global production system, enables factories to respond immediately to production changes based on local demand, and allows production teams to conduct real-time analysis of the movement of workers and operation statuses of different facilities,” the Japan-based company said in a statement.

The US$48.3 billion global mobility supplier develops advanced technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model on the road today. With manufacturing at its core, Denso invests in its 221 facilities in 35 countries to produce thermal, powertrain, mobility, electrification, & electronic systems, to create jobs that directly change how the world moves. The company has over 170,000 employees across the world.

The new factory-IoT platform is touted to be the first in-house development of a cloud-native platform using open-source-software in the automotive supplier industry. It stores data collected from a variety of equipment at various production sites in a single cloud that can be used freely across Denso’s organisation.

Denso spent roughly two years to develop the platform, focusing on three points:

• Giving in-house software engineers the ability to keep improving and evolving the platform even after it has been put into operation;
• Enhancing the company's ability to leverage agile development techniques, which consists of short cycles of development;
• And, allowing DENSO to share data with internal and external partners as an open platform so that they can work together to improve and develop applications. As a result, DENSO is the first in the automotive supplier industry to develop its own cloud-native Factory-IoT platform instead of using existing services.

The factory-IoT platform was implemented in October last year. Today, it links 130 Denso factories around the world.

“We will promote education to make full use of the platform and develop application developers. DENSO aims to be a manufacturer where employees can work swiftly and collaboratively by accelerating improvements in IT and IoT technologies,” the company said.

In addition, technical engineers in the field can incorporate digital power using their own software into the physical improvement activities accumulated over many years, which will further accelerate gains in efficiency, quality and cost savings. For example, by linking various devices, it is possible to notify the operator of equipment abnormalities and more.

“At the same time, by delivering high-quality products to as many people as possible. Denso is contributing to the realisation of a safe and secure automotive society around the world,” the company said.

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“As one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups with a global portfolio and network of partners, we are in a strong position to bring together key industry players to support Singapore’s drive towards building a smart city,” said Manohar Khiatani, senior executive director at CapitaLand Group.

“This living lab at our Singapore Science Park provides unique opportunities for collaboration and co-innovation with access to an ecosystem of innovators and thinkers, and the community of people working at the park and beyond.  Our partners can potentially leverage CapitaLand’s significant scale by piloting their projects at our properties in Singapore and overseas.  The Smart Urban Co-Innovation Lab is also part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that CapitaLand remains at the forefront of technology developments so as to bring innovative and sustainable real estate products and services to our customers,” he added.

Touted as Southeast Asia’s first industry-led lab for smart cities solutions development, the lab is launched with the support of Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG).

Located at The Galen at Singapore Science Park, the Smart Urban Co-Innovation Lab is envisioned to be a key nexus of business partnerships and opportunities. Some 200 companies in the city is set to benefit over the next three years, with the lab serving as a resource integrator of various ecosystem players - local technology startups, system integrators and global corporate enterprises - to co-create solutions for smart cities, from ideation to testing to commercialisation.  This collaborative model provides a platform for local and overseas companies to exchange ideas, identify opportunities for new business models and innovations, as well as facilitate deployment of smart cities solutions.

To date, 30 industry players such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco Systems, Johnson Controls, Microsoft, MooVita, NavInfo DataTech, Schneider Electric, SPTel, TPG Telecom and Vizzio.AI have committed to work with local firms to co-innovate, test ideas in the lab or pilot trials at the 55-hectare Singapore Science Park.

Smart city projects will be around six key industry verticals of advanced manufacturing, digital wellness, intelligent estates, smart mobility, sustainability, and urban agriculture.

“The lab is starting strong with 30 partners including major industry players and promising local enterprises coming onboard along with CapitaLand. These are the new opportunities we are seizing  in a digital economy, that will enable us to emerge stronger,” said Jane Lim, assistant chief executive, IMDA, said: “The Smart Urban Co-Innovation Lab reinforces Singapore's strengths as a deep innovation ecosystem where tech, industry and government work together to co-create and accelerate solutions for smart cities solutions.”

According to Eunice Koh, assistant chief executive officer at ESG,  the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for sustainable urban solutions that contribute to the building of resilient and safe cities of tomorrow.

“Through the Smart Urban Co-Innovation Lab, smart tech providers can work on innovative solutions that have the potential to change people’s lives for the better. For instance, Smarten Spaces, a Singapore SME tech provider introduced by Enterprise Singapore, has been working with KONE on unique innovations that use contactless and other technologies to help building owners and managers provide a safe work environment for their tenants and employees. We will continue to work with our SMEs to tap on such opportunities and find the right partners to scale their solutions,” she said.

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The company is the North American arm of ULMA, a $1B industry leader in complete packaging line solutions for Food, Medical, Bakery, and Industrial products. Harpak-ULMA provides smart, connected packaging systems using Rockwell Automation’s controls and information platforms to deliver greater efficiency, uptime, and throughput, as well as better package quality and reduced waste.

AR represents a leap forward for staff knowledge transfer – employing digital visual overlays through a combination of both handheld and hands-free devices. It supersedes traditional approaches to operator training and maintenance of industrial assets. AR presents a powerful solution for producers seeking to alleviate the well-known upskilling issues associated with high labour turnover, productivity, and error proofing.

According to a study by the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, by 2025, almost 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will become available, of which 2 million will remain unfilled. AR can help producers bridge the skills gap at the root of this major disconnect. By 2025, three out of every four workers will be millennials who will be driving new workplace expectations. The Journal of Organizational Learning and Leadership reveals that millennials’ innovation and exploration traits are best enhanced through active learning.

While AR has not yet been widely employed in packaging markets, other industrial experiences indicate that real-time “active-learning” dramatically accelerates front-line staff learning curves and reduces error.

For example, Boeing workers completed intricate wire harnesses assemblies using AR-based work instructions, cutting assembly time by 25%, and reducing error rates to nearly zero. Staff with little or no formal training can be rapidly up-skilled to perform nonrepetitive complex activities — the kind of work inherent in many unfilled manufacturing positions today. When a machine malfunctions or a tool change is required, AR guides the operator or maintenance worker visually step by step through task execution.

“AR requires new roles such as UX or UI designers, graphic designers to create assets, and 3D modelers who understand how to turn an engineering data set into production-ready, user-facing graphics. You also need IoT software architects to define AR experience data flows to ensure experience scalability. We quickly understood that it wasn’t enough to simply enable AR on our platforms – our customers want more than a toolkit,” said Alexander Ouellet, innovation engineer at Harpak-ULMA, who leads the company’s AR development effort.

“That’s why we are building out fully contextualised, solution-specific AR content. When our customers opt for AR as part of their purchase, we intend to provide a library of experiences for tool changes, maintenance, expert capture of training processes, and related device recommendations. We do the heavy lifting so customers can deploy a complete AR experience along with asset commissioning. We also anticipate that customers may request custom AR content, which will be accommodated as well,” he added.

Well-designed, reliable solutions reduce customers’ total cost of ownership, help them overcome the challenges of an aging and evolving workforce, and improve control of maintenance expenses with competitive parts sourcing.

In addition to offering ULMA primary packaging system and comprehensive automation solutions, Harpak-ULMA is the exclusive North American distributor of G. Mondini tray sealers, RAMA secondary packaging machinery, and DIGI weigh/price/labelling equipment.

Building connected packaging solutions

In 2018 – the same year it joined the Rockwell Automation Partner Network, Harpak-ULMA launched its strategy to produce smart, connected platforms that deliver packaging as an integral part of the manufacturing digital thread.

These platforms enable emerging Internet of Things (IoT) software applications (such as AR) that leverage production data to digitally transform traditional plant asset maintenance and operational processes.

However, simply enabling the use of such applications is insufficient to help producers realise value. The combination of skill sets required to develop AR content is not only atypical of producer staffing models – they’re in short supply altogether.

Harpak-ULMA uses applications such as FactoryTalk Innovation Suite, powered by PTC and PTC’s popular ThingWorx IoT solution platform and Vuforia AR platform. All leverage a Rockwell Automation controls platform to optimise IoT data availability and scalability. Vuforia enables the rich, contextual digital overlay users demand for a true AR experience.

Kevin Roach, CEO of Harpak-ULMA, said that while their vision and role is critical to accelerating digital transformation of producer packaging processes, “it takes a village” to bring these disruptive technologies to market today.

“Rockwell Automation and PTC are both major, well-known vendors in our markets. Together we will continue to build out compelling value that’s easy for our customers to implement and use,” he said.

Jim Heppelmann, PTC’s president and CEO, offered additional insight.  “Succeeding in our new normal demands that we bring digital to the 75% of workers – 2.7 billion globally – who are part of the front-line workforce.”

He added: “Knowledge workers have tools like Microsoft Office, Zoom, and others that work great on a computer screen – but not on the plant floor. Front-line workers need a way to collaborate, publish, and share ‘how-to’ digital data and content mapped onto the real world rather than a computer screen – and that’s the very definition of augmented reality. AR is essentially the front-line equivalent of those tools on which knowledge workers rely so heavily.”

Meanwhile Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation, noted that manufacturers around the world are seeking integrated approaches to digital connectivity and automation controls to unlock unprecedented operational productivity, bring their products to market faster, and increase asset utilisation while lowering risk.

“Our connected enterprise vision embraces practical approaches that make these concepts real. Including working collaboratively, as we have in this case with Harpak-ULMA and PTC, helps more producers leverage innovative technologies to deliver tangible improvements in production operations. Together, we’re combining our strengths to bring a more connected enterprise to life.”

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Their partnership will continue to focus on research and development projects with practical application benefits for the Dachser network. These include digital technologies such as data science and artificial intelligence (AI), real-time locating systems (RTLS), 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, and adaptive warehouse systems.

"The first step in our joint research work in the Dachser Enterprise Lab is to gain a detailed understanding of new technologies and their potential for logistics. Then we build on that to develop prototypes and concepts that add tangible value for Dachser and our customers, turning them into innovations," said Stefan Hohm, corporate director for corporate solutions, research & development at Dachser, who will head the new IT & Development executive unit as of January 1, 2021.

"So far, the work we've done together has proven that we can transform research results from the Dachser Enterprise Lab into new processes and services throughout the entire logistics network," he added.

In the DACHSER Enterprise Lab, Dachser logistics experts and scientists from Fraunhofer IML work in mixed lab teams on various research and development assignments. The partnership between the logistics service provider and the research institute was launched in October 2017 and will now run until October 2023.

“Our research results up to now and our new research contracts show just how important applied research is for logistics and supply chain management," says Prof. Michael ten Hompel, managing director of Fraunhofer IML. "We're particularly proud that the lab teams have continued to work effectively despite the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, technical aids such as video conferences and collaboration tools have been a great help. But above all, it's the extraordinary commitment and motivation of everyone working at the Dachser Enterprise Lab that is key to successful research in challenging times.”

Fraunhofer IML is a logistics-focused research firm, composed of 315 scientists as well as 250 doctoral candidates and students and supported by colleagues in workshops, laboratories and service departments. Teams assembled according to project and customer requirements create cross-industry and customer-specific solutions, among other things in the field of materials handling, business process modelling, transportation systems and resource logistics. AI, smart finance and IoT are also among the current research focal points.

German-based Dachser is an integrated logistics company that incorporates transport, warehousing, and value-added services to provide comprehensive supply chain solutions. In Asia, Dachser employs more than 1,696 people in 48 locations in 12 Business Areas. Its Asia Pacific Regional Head Office is located in Hong Kong. The company uses its own in-house developed IT-systems.

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Opened six-month ago last April, Jump Studio – touted to be the first in Asia – delivers advanced immersive media technologies using Microsoft’s volumetric video capture technology to create holographic videos by shooting  a person’s dynamic movement through 106 cameras.

By combining these with SKT’s ‘T Real Platform,’ which is built with spatial recognition and rendering technologies, the result is highly immersive mixed reality content that can be played on most devices including Android/iOS smartphones, head mounted displays and AR glasses.

Armed with Jump Studio, SKT plans to promote its 5G content business in two different directions at the same time. It will focus on producing truly immersive contents at reasonable costs for the entertainment, advertising, sports and education companies, while also actively distributing content through Jump AR and Jump VR apps in Korea and international markets.

“We will make utmost efforts to shape Jump Studio into the leading content creator hub in Asia,” said Ryu Young-sang, president of mobile network operations division at SK Telecom. “We will introduce a wide variety of realistic media contents fit for the age of non-face-to-face communications brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The core competitiveness of Jump Studio lies in the fact that it can significantly reduce both time and cost needed for content production. The production process, which used to take months, can now be completed within just one to two weeks and at less than half the cost.

Indeed, the latest video performance of South Korean choreographer Lia Kim, which was released this month, was completed within a week at Jump Studio. Lia Kim’s highly immersive video is realised through advanced mixed reality technologies, where she dances with multiple 3D holograms of herself and appears as gigantic holograms.

Creating innovative visual contents

As AR and VR services are emerging as one of the most attractive 5G services, SKT will also focus on distributing high-quality contents in both Korean and overseas markets by dramatically increasing the content libraries of Jump AR and Jump VR apps.

The company is currently in close talks with a number of major mobile carriers and media companies in Europe, North America and Asia for collaboration in Jump AR and Jump VR services as well as joint investment or production of AR and VR contents.

It already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PCCW Group (Hong Kong Telecom, PCCW Media) to launch Jump AR and Jump VR services in Hong Kong and Macau.

Under the MOU, the two companies will cooperate in the marketing of Jump AR and Jump VR; jointly produce and invest in 5G contents; and develop new AR and VR business opportunities.

PCCW will hold exclusive marketing rights for Jump AR and Jump VR services in Hong Kong and Macau, and provide promotional benefits for 5G subscribers along with Chinese language support.

Meanwhile with the growing importance of non-face-to-face services driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, an increasing number of companies are seeking new and differentiated ways to enhance their customer experience.

SKT has been actively leveraging Jump Studio to create innovative visual contents that meet the needs of diverse companies.

For instance, in May 2020, SKT and SM Entertainment successfully presented a 3D mixed reality performance at Super Junior's online-only paid concert titled “Beyond Live.” During the show, a 12-meter-high hologram of Choi Si-won, a member of the boy band, popped out from the back of the stage to impress the 123,000 global audience.

Steve Sullivan, general manager of the Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Studios, said, “We're proud to have Jump Studio as our licensed partner in Korea. In a short time, they've already delivered several amazing high-quality volumetric experiences, leveraging the power of 5G to create innovative new entertainment experiences across K-pop, dance, movies, music, and sports. We are looking forward to partnering with you in the years ahead.”

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The partnership will use Nokia’s Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) managed service and deliver a fully virtualised and future-proofed end-to-end solution to meet the critical requirements of Smart’s enterprise customers.

“The Nokia WING IoT Platform solution bolsters our capability in solving our customers IoT-related requirements quickly and helping them get to market faster and with greater scale. Nokia’s technology helps us to maintain PLDT’s leadership position and assist our customers in maximizing the potential of IoT services,” said Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT president & CEO and SVP & head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups.

Nokia’s WING managed service helps operators to capture IoT market share without having to make investments in infrastructure. With Nokia’s flexible, invest-as-you-grow business model, operators can go-to-market quickly and scale IoT services cost-effectively.

This latest partnership sees WING provide Smart with its software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, offering the necessary tools to eliminate the complexity associated with profitably connecting and managing new devices.

Collaborating with Nokia WING enables Smart to offer advanced automation, real-time control features across IoT. This will enable enterprises running more automated, productive, sustainable and safer businesses with harmonised service level agreements, while providing real-time insights. Beyond connectivity, WING Vertical-as-a-Service opens up opportunities for Smart to address their enterprise customers with end-to-end IoT solutions.

“We are excited to work with Smart on this deal that will deliver superior experiences to their customers. IoT services are increasingly becoming a necessity as part of any operators’ digital transformation strategy. Nokia’s WING solution is at the forefront of enabling new IoT use cases through a range of connectivity options, including 5G,” said  Ankur Bhan, head of WING Business at Nokia.

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By using blockchain, the company will guarantee the confidentiality and security of the personal, commercial and sanitary information of the produce technology

Blockchain is the foundational technology of the JBS Green Platform, which is designed to anchor the “development of the value chain” – one of the key pillars of  JBS’ new “Together for the Amazon” programme.

The new sustainability program is a set of initiatives that seeks to enhance conservation and development of the Amazon Biome, engaging the livestock industry and proposing actions that go beyond its value chain.  The program encompasses climate change, which was allocated priority within the JBS global sustainability targets presented in 2019.

The other three pillars of Together for the Amazon are: forest conservation and restoration; support for the communities; and, scientific and technological development.

"We are publicly reiterating our commitment to the sustainability of the Amazon. We hope to scale up, not only in combatting deforestation, but also in fostering the bio-economy, sustainable agriculture and social development,” said Gilberto Tomazoni, global CEO of JBS.

Based in Sao Paulo, JBS is a multinational food company with presence in 15 countries. It has a diversified product portfolio, ranging from fresh and frozen meats to prepared meals – commercialised through brands, such as Friboi, Swift, Seara, Pilgrim’s Pride, Plumrose, Primo, among others.

JBS also operates with correlated businesses, such as leather, biodiesel, collagen, natural casings for cold cuts, hygiene & cleaning, metal packaging, transportation, and solid waste management solutions, innovative operations that also promote the sustainability of the entire business value chain.

In all locations where JBS operates, more than 230,000 team members follow the same guidelines concerning economic, social and environmental sustainability aspects, innovation, quality and food safety.

Four-phase implementation of the JBS Green platform

JBS plans to roll out is blockchain-based Green Platform  in four-phases. By December 2020 hopes to complete the development of the platform and rounds out its strategy of communication and engagement with the supply chain

The second phase will see the JBS Green platform in operation, which  will be marked by the beginning of the analyses of the suppliers of the direct suppliers of JBS in the state of Mato Grosso. This will also be the period when the entire livestock farming sector will be notified of the project.

The third phase will involve the expansion of the platform to the other states in the Amazon Biome. And finally, the fourth phase  by direct suppliers to the Green Platform becomes a condition for selling cattle to JBS

By the end of 2025, JBS aims all its direct suppliers in the Amazon Biome on the JBS Green platform. JBS will provide legal, environmental and animal husbandry advisory to assist producers with improvements in stewardship and the environmental regularisation of their properties, while also expanding its educational actions in sustainability to its supply chain.

The Green Platform will be linked with the company’s monitoring system in a two-way link to share information.

JBS has been using this monitoring system for over a decade to cover 100% of its cattle supplying farms using strict sustainability criteria, including zero tolerance of deforestation, encroachment on protected areas like indigenous lands or environmental conservation units, hard labour, or the use of areas embargoed by Ibama. The system delivers daily analysis covers more than 50,000 properties in the Amazon region, an area greater than the size of Germany.

Already, monitoring by JBS in the Amazon has already enabled commercial embargoes on 9,000 ranches whose status is non-compliance with the company’s procurement policies.

JBS Fund for the Amazon

Meanwhile, the other three pillars of the Together for the Amazon programme will be achieved through a new fund created to finance initiatives for expanding forest conservation, promoting sustainable development of the local communities, as well as scientific and technological development,

JBS has agreed to a minimum donation of R$250 million to this fund in the first five years to ensure that start fund’s activities and the implementation of its initiatives.  With the participation of other stakeholders, the target is to reach R$1 billion by 2030.

The fund will be headed up by Joanita Maestri Karoleski, former CEO of Seara, with the support of a board of directors, a fiscal council, a consultative council and a technical committee. The latter two will assist in choosing the projects that will receive contributions, audited by KPMG. The entire process will be reported, and the results published on the programme site.

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With the increasing congestion on urban roadways, safe, efficient, and accessible public transportation has become a priority. Intelligent public transportation solutions provide application-enabling network services to connect public transit operations securely.

Intelligent transportation systems enable operators to safely gather, analyse, and distribute networked resources in real-time. For instance, Lyft, a ride-sharing service, has been supported by General Motors to collaborate on the internet of things (IoT) projects and provide efficient public commuting services. Also, the rising rate of development of smart cities and the availability of 4G networks will augment the growth of the smart parking market size

One key insight from the report is that major smart parking market growth came from off-street parking segment. The rising need to have obstacle-free and safe walking spaces for pedestrians is driving the demand for off-street parking facilities. The expansion of off-street parking solutions will be seen in public as well as private sectors in the coming years, and it will involve the construction of parking garages and slots.Also, the global smart parking market is fragmented. 3M Co., Conduent Inc., Flowbird SAS, International Business Machines Corp., IPS Group Inc., Kapsch Aktiengesellschaft, Libelium Comunicaciones Distribuidas SL, Nedap NV, Siemens AG, and SKIDATA AG. are some of the major market participants.

Furthermore, the report cited North America - the largest smart parking market in 2019 – will offer several growth opportunities to market vendors during the forecast period. The increasing need for traffic management and the growing number of vehicles in Canada and the US will significantly influence the smart parking market growth in this region over the forecast period.

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Entitled “The State of Industrial Cybersecurity in the Era of Digitalization”,  the report however found only 20% of organisations have already prioritised IoT-related incidents but solutions effective against IoT threats are yet to become widespread.

“While industrial enterprises will only increase the implementation of connected devices and smart systems, they should strive for the same efficiency level when it comes to protection,” said Grigory Sizov, head of KasperskyOS business unit, Kaspersky. “To achieve this, protection should be built-in when a project is initiated, and for some companies, it should be done today. IIoT components must be secure at their core to eliminate the possibility of an attack on them. “

“Along with traffic protection and other technologies, this makes the entire system secure by design and this means it becomes immune to cyber-risks,” he added.

Indeed, industrial organisations continue to implement digitalisation and Industry 4.0 standards despite the market slowdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

For instance, McKinsey & Company’s recent research revealed that 90% of manufacturing and supply chain professionals plan to invest in talent for digitisation. It also showed that companies, where such projects had already been introduced, feel more confident during crises.

Kaspersky pointed out that the growing number of digitalisation projects, such as industrial IoT, raises awareness of the associated risks. For one-in-five companies (20%), attacks on IIoT have already become one of their main cybersecurity concerns, bypassing such serious threats as data breaches (15%) or attacks on the supply chain (15%). The cybersecurity vendor said addressing these threats increasingly requires security professionals’ involvement, not just IT teams. In 2020, in almost half of the enterprises surveyed, IT security personnel are working on initiatives to protect digitalized OT systems (44%).

The report showed that today, however, not all organisations may feel ready to face threats to IoT. Thus, only 19% of companies have implemented active network and traffic monitoring, and 14% have introduced network anomaly detection – these solutions allow security teams to track anomalies or malicious activity in IoT systems.

To ensure IIoT systems are used effectively and safely, Kaspersky experts provide organisations with the following advice:

• Consider protection at the very beginning of IIoT implementation by using dedicated security solutions. For example, Kaspersky IoT Infrastructure Security solution is designed to safeguard industrial and business networks for IoT devices – including smart meters, controllers and others. Its key element is Kaspersky IoT Secure Gateway, based on KasperskyOS.
• Assess the status of a device’s security before its implementation. Preferences should be given to devices that have cybersecurity certificates and products from those manufacturers that pay more attention to information security.
• Conduct regular security audits and provide the security team responsible for protecting IoT systems with up-to-date threat intelligence.
• Establish procedures for obtaining information on relevant vulnerabilities in software and applications, and available updates to ensure proper and timely responses to any incidents. ICS Threat Intelligence Reporting service provides insights into current threats and attack vectors, as well as the most vulnerable elements in OT and industrial control systems and how to mitigate them.
• Implement cybersecurity solutions designed to analyse network traffic and detect anomalies and prevent IoT network attacks, then integrate the analysis into the enterprise network security system. Kaspersky Machine Learning for Anomaly Detection analyses telemetry and identifies any suspicious actions in the network before it causes any damage.

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The agreement allows  mutual access across both carriers’ respective LoRaWAN IoT (Long-Range Wide Area Internet of Things) networks, making it possible for businesses on both sides of the Tasman to deploy LoRaWAN devices for any IoT application without needing to set up operations in the other country.

“As the economy continues to be shaped by COVID-19, we could expect to see more partnerships like this, where carriers and partners work together to enable the deployment and scaling of IoT solutions across markets,” said Spark IoT lead Tony Agar. “If we have a customer who wants to deliver services in Australia, they can now do so from the comfort of their offices in Aotearoa, without the need to set up operations across the Tasman. It also means that they can keep visibility and monitor their machinery, assets or infrastructure using their already well-established dashboards and diagnostic tools.”

The new wholesale arrangement has been enabled with the integration of NNNCo’s enterprise data platform N2N-DL into Spark NZ’s network core.

Data from devices on the Spark NZ network will feed into N2N-DL giving customers access to data on a single platform from devices enrolled in either country. Spark can also do the same for customers with devices enrolled on the NNNCo network in Australia.

Australasia’s fastest-growing parking app Parkable – a Spark NZ customer – said the agreement would help to expand their business in Australia.

“Due to customer demand we want to push harder into the Australian market so this agreement will allow us to scale our Parkable offering across the Tasman and simplify our backend processes. Using the one platform and having a single place to view and analyse data will mean our customers will get even better parking experiences in the future,” said Parkable co-founder and CEO, Toby Littin.

“It’s exciting to know that we now have access to growing network coverage in Sydney, Canberra, Gold Coast, Tasmania, Melbourne and regional areas in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Those markets have just been unlocked for us, so we are eager to grow and scale,” he added.

NNNCo CEO Rob Zagarella said: “We’re seeing increasing demand from enterprise customers requiring cross-Tasman roaming capabilities as they deploy IoT devices and applications beyond Australia. We’re very happy to now be able to provide a seamless and consistent service with N2N-DLas a customer’s single source of aggregation for IoT devices in either country or on either network.”

NNNCo plans to strike similar arrangements with other international LoRaWAN carriers.

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Called DataHouse AR Remote Hand Service (AR Remote Hand), it uses AR glasses to stream real-time intelligence, troubleshooting logs graphics and encrypted data from backend systems to onsite engineers and maintenance staff.  By wearing the glasses, they do not have to stop working to communicate with backend support teams via a laptop or a phone, nor to refer to a paper manual.

The new solution is a product of the partnership between CITIC Telecom CPC and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI). It meets growing demand for a sophisticated solution to support in managing the increasing complexity and diversity of equipment used in data centres today.

AR Remote Hand enables field engineers across multiple locations to overcome the challenges of multiple languages and skillsets in multi-technology environments; as well as to manage installation and maintenance issues more efficiently and cost effectively, resulting in improved customer satisfaction.

“We are delighted to see the results of our strategic partnership with ASTRI in the launch of AR Remote Hand Service,” said Esmond Li, CEO of CITIC Telecom CPC. “The partnership has provided us with a solution that significantly strengthens our managed services offerings, greatly enhances the customer experience and is revolutionising the industry’s operations and maintenance capabilities.”

He pointed out that the new remote maintenance service adopted in data centre scenarios, which leverages AR intelligent operations and maintenance technologies.“

"This is only the first step and we will not stop here. Through collaborating more innovative thinking, we expect to enhance the service to cope with more scenarios and bring more value and better customer experience to enterprises,” Li said.

This ability to work effectively from remote locations is also helping CITIC Telecom CPC’s customers and staff stay safe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote support teams share the same view as on-site engineers which reduces the need for and expense of travel time. The AR Remote Hand provides field engineers with a heads-up display for remote visualisation in real time as they install, maintain or troubleshoot equipment, thus speeding up the whole process.

To ensure safe operations and maintain service infrastructure availability by the global remote service support teams, CITIC Telecom CPC is using DataHOUSE AR Remote Hand Service in its China Data Center operations to assure regional customers’ business operations continuity.

Intelligent service provisioning without boundaries

Managing complex equipment and procedures for on-site service previously required significant time and effort,  which reduced efficiency of CITIC Telecom CPC’s field engineers.

Now, the AR Remote Hand service ‘s wearable technology substantially reduces the time and cost for field service provisioning while boosting capabilities. Enterprise customers can solve problems faster while minimising downtime and expense.

The service has three key features:

1.) Intuitive AR-Guided Installation, Troubleshooting and Maintenance: With AR Remote Hand, field engineers recognise any device with a designated QR code and access real-time intelligence, graphics, and encrypted data from back-end systems streamed on-site. Field staff can access virtual step-by-step guides or even 3D manuals via AR glasses, without the need to interrupt work to check information on a laptop or in a manual.

2.) Historical Records Analysis: Using a pre-set routine (e.g. gestures), on-site engineers can review a device’s historical record (e.g. customers’ network traffic or cloud CPU history), to speed up data analysis and troubleshooting, while cutting downtime and cost.

3.) Seamless Communication and Collaboration with Back-end Support: Field engineers previously communicated with back-end support via email or phone, making it difficult to describe a troubleshooting situation. Removing distance and language barriers, back-end engineers now view real-time images streamed via AR glasses through an AR operations console, improving operational speed and quality. Its powerful video conferencing feature also offers engineers instant support and fosters off-site collaboration between global operations and maintenance teams. In addition, back-end engineers can give field engineers clear instructions via 3D AR labelling.

In developing the solution, ASTRI focused on developing the software platform and customisation, while CITIC Telecom CPC provided related information and opinions based on its experience with business cases in various scenarios and applications. Both companies hope to bring the benefits of their latest collaboration to a wide range of industries.

“Our strategic collaboration with CITIC Telecom CPC has demonstrated the success in leveraging next generation technology in real-life applications that benefit our people and society, in this case smart industrial applications and field service management solutions for Hong Kong enterprises,” said Hugh Chow, CEO of ASTRI. “We are delighted that our applied research has proven effective in enhancing CITIC Telecom CPC’s customer experience, improving operational efficiency and boosting business resilience, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. ASTRI, as a bridge of innovation and technology, will continue to strive to create economic value and societal impact via technology transfer and commercialisation in building a smarter and safer Hong Kong.”

AR-enabler acts as customers’ remote hands

Equipped with the latest AR glasses development, AR Remote Hand serves as customers’ remote hands. It not only shows the status of on-site equipment as customers watch in real time from offices or other locations, but also lets customers to provide live instructions to CITIC Telecom CPC’s onsite engineers as they troubleshoot equipment issues without physically being in the data centre.

In the past, maintenance of IT equipment was done by onsite professionals who would need to investigate and analyse the issues on-site in order to identify the solutions.

However, the experience and capability of IT staff can vary. When an enterprise’s IT and maintenance staff face situations they cannot fix or when its professional engineers are not able to go for onsite support, urgent maintenance can be delayed, compromising the enterprise’s efficiency and putting it at risk.

In exceptional circumstances, such as the current pandemic, it’s difficult for enterprises’ IT staff to travel to data centres and manage their equipment.

“We are constantly innovating to improve the customer experience,” said Daniel Kwong, chief information and innovation officer, CITIC Telecom CPC.  “We plan to extend the AR Remote Hand service for further customer use and will enlarge the list of equipment support. Adding AI applications for the AR glasses will be the next milestone as we work to deliver even more intelligent diagnoses. For example, when a field engineer sees the status of the target-fixing equipment through the AR glasses, they will be shown a number of possible causes for the problem, with each cause ranked with a percentage according to how likely it is to be the source of the problem.”

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Cultural tourism has become a growing trend in recent years, creating a huge demand for innovation and new experiences in the industry. Emerging technologies such as AR and AI are taking the tourist experience to new levels.

By introducing interactive elements into the tourism industry, SenseTime wants to create immersive experiences for the tourists with its AI+AR/MR application offerings. Through the use of these technologies, SenseTime hopes to reshape the arts and cultural experience and create a more accessible and engaging environment for all.

SenseTime, which has earned the distinction as the first unicorn to emerge from Hong Kong tech startup community, is a strong AI advocate with 1,100 customers and partners worldwide. It has presence in markets including Mainland China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Macau.

Bringing Hangzhou WestLake to life

Last weekend, China’s AI pioneer released an AR navigation feature that brings to life a series of arresting scenes for tourists as they navigate around the world-famous Hangzhou West Lake.

The AR powered feature is integrated with the app named “Hangzhou West Lake” (掌上西湖),  which provides extensive information and detailed tourist activities at the popular destination.

The 1.4 km-long AR-enhanced scenic route starts from Ping Hu Qiu Yue, also known as the “Autumn Moon Over the Calm Lake” and ends at the “Yue Fei Temple”, taking visitors through the “Gushan Houshan Road”.

Visitors can scan each scenic spot with the app, which fires up the AR navigation journey – from there, virtual signs emerge to guide visitors through the attractions along the route in real-time, accompanied by ambient background music. Visitors can also tap on the virtual signs on their mobile phone for each scenic spot to access the related audio guide.

In addition to navigation, another AR feature in the app creates rendered images of specific scenic spots derived from the back stories of each historical site. For example, it is recommended to visit the “Autumn Moon Over the Calm Lake” during a full moon, and especially during mid-Autumn in order to experience its charm. With the new AR feature, users can at any time of their visit, transform the lake into a mid-autumn evening scene and even add further special effects such as fireworks under a full moon or fireflies over the lake, to recreate their own unique visual experience.

The AR features within the app are powered by SenseTime’s self-developed SenseMARS, a mixed augmented reality platform. The platform boasts high-precision positioning and content enhancement technologies to realise 3D reconstructions of the key tourist spots at West Lake. By incorporating cross-platform and terminal spatial sensing algorithm and end-cloud collaborative positioning abilities, the solution provides even greater positioning accuracy than existing GPS or digital model rendering technologies. The program can also be easily customised and applied on a large scale to a variety needs and scenarios for the cultural tourism industry.

Xiang Lake Running Trail

On the tail of this latest tourism innovation at West Lake, AR was also introduced in another tourist attraction in Hangzhou at Xiang Lake Running Trail.

SenseTime  last Monday launched new AI+AR features which bring a series of smart and interactive applications to visitors and runners at the what is known as “Hangzhou’s best greenway” for its mesmerising views surrounded by flowers and greens.

Xiang Lake is a gorgeous place to relax and exercise, it is also known as the sister lake to the West Lake in Hangzhou. To bring a brand-new experience to both sports lovers and visitors, new elements of culture and technology were introduced recently. Visitors can now enjoy personalized fitness assistant features as well as fun, interactive AR applications after registering on the “Xiang Lake Tourism” (爱游湘湖) mobile app with facial recognition.

Using AI technology, the smart analysis system along the trail can track a user’s statistics including pace, stride, distance and calorie burn for runners using the app to keep track of their personal fitness. In addition to features designed for runners, the app also brings the culture and history of Xiang Lake to life through AR technology. Visitors arriving at the designated location along the trail can unlock AR treasures with the app as if going on a treasure hunt.

Furthermore, SenseTime created engaging virtual bullet screens at the Dingshan Square and Shandao Beach, where visitors can leave virtual messages using their phones, read ones left by others, and experience the marvel of technology which breaks the boundaries of time and space.

To elevate the overall running experience, visitors arriving at the trail are able to securely deposit their belongings at the smart lockers with a simple face scan, or seek running guidance and customize personalised routes from SenseTime’s AI Digital Human, emulating a human personal trainer before their run. Visitors can also pose in front of the AR photo booth which supports fun special effects for a photo to mark this trip.

As people become more conscious about their health and fitness in today’s society, SenseTime plans to introduce fun, interactive features with its AI+AR/MR application offerings to transform people’s exercise experience.

AR game at Water Cube

In Beijing, SenseTime has deployed its proprietary mixed AR platform SenseMARS at the iconic Water Cube in Beijing for visitors to enjoy an interactive online game while they explore the sports venue built for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Running the whole month of October, the AR game called “WaterCube GO” engages visitors to use their mobile devices to save a range animals from polar bears, seagulls and penguins while touring the stadium – giving an immersive experience which integrates virtual characters with the environment in real time.

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Nokia’s IoT Device Management Platform (DMP) will enable Optus to provide its customers with simple access to Narrow Band-IoT device data, from low power devices, and remote device management at scale. This can be done regardless of device type.

The two companies will work together to help create smart cities and support enterprise customers across industries, including mining, utilities and transportation.

“Our strategic alliance with Nokia will standardise and streamline IoT devices under one platform and unlock powerful productivity capabilities to fuel Australia’s digital transformation and its smart cities and smart spaces of the future,” said Deon Liebenberg, vice president of product innovation, Optus Business.

“By collaborating with global technology leaders like Nokia, we’re able to offer Optus customers more value and choice on how they manage their devices and networks. The combined power of Optus’ premium IoT network with Nokia’s state-of-the-art IoT platform, will deliver customers the flexibility to consume this innovative, carrier-agnostic solution as software as a service, platform as a service, or connectivity as a service,” he added.

Australia's IoT market is estimated to grow to USD 25 billion by 2024, up from USD 7.9 billion in 2018, indicating the potential opportunity for Optus and Nokia.  Anticipated industry applications include cost effective waste management, supply chain optimisation, logistics management and scene analytics for improved safety and security.

The alliance builds on Nokia’s longstanding relationship with Optus. Nokia is working collaboratively with the operator to manage and maintain its network infrastructure. The two companies launched Australia’s first 5G commercial services in early 2019, making Optus the first operator globally to deploy Nokia’s FastMile 5G indoor gateway in a live network. Nokia and Optus also successfully launched a 5G Fixed Wireless Access service using the 5G New Radio standard.

“By working with Optus, Nokia can bring to bear its pan-industry experience across these asset-intensive industries. We will enable Optus to expand its offering in these markets, helping its customers to leverage the efficiency and productivity potential of IoT. We believe this agreement with Optus will help more companies build greater resilience into their operations,” said Anna Wills, head of Oceania at Nokia.

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“The Johnson Controls OpenBlue Innovation Center embodies our approach towards building dynamic and resilient spaces, injecting new lease of life into the built environment sector,” said Visal Leng, president, building solutions, Asia Pacific, Johnson Controls, said. “Taking an unprecedented holistic and human-centric methodology, we are incorporating people and design perspectives, thus sparking greater innovation within industries and outside traditional boundaries.”

OpenBlue is a suite of connected platform, solutions and services that combines the company’s 135 years of building expertise with cutting-edge digital technology. This open digital platform, when integrated with Johnson Controls core building systems and enhanced by ecosystem partners, connects traditionally separate systems to create new capabilities for safer, more agile, and sustainable space usages.

For this OpenBlue Innovation Center initiative, the smart building specialist has teamed up with NUS and Microsoft as ecosystem partners. They aim to pioneer the use of a common configuration language that bridges core building technology with behavioural, wellness, and spatial data to develop solutions that meet new demands for safety and sustainability in connected spaces.

A net-zero energy building

The 240sqm centre is housed in SDE4, which is Singapore’s first new-build net-zero energy building.  The indoor space is fitted with sensors — including overhead ventilation to measure air flow, and on furniture that provides insights on occupants’ alertness level.

The facility, located within the School of Design and Environment (SDE), at the NUS will be the home for a new breed of customisable, contact-free applications built on Johnson Controls’ unifying technology suite, OpenBlue.

Engineers from the centre and collaborating NUS researchers will collect and analyse data using OpenBlue, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)  and analytics to obtain a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the interactions between technology, indoor environments, and occupant well-being.

The ecosystem of partners will tap on the intelligence generated from the centre to create evidence-backed solutions for healthier, safer, and connected indoor spaces.

“SDE is thrilled to host the Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue Innovation Center in SDE4 and to facilitate cross-disciplinary research and development initiatives across the entire NUS community,” said Professor Lam Khee Poh, dean of NUS School of Design and Environment. “This partnership strengthens the School’s ‘Well & Green’ vision that emphasises a people-centric integrated design approach that generates sustainable and resilient value propositions in its endeavours.”

By serving as a living laboratory for the OpenBlue Innovation Center’s pioneering solutions, NUS is advancing ongoing efforts to develop a smart, sustainable and safe campus for its staff and students.

This latest collaboration with Johnson Controls also includes joint research and innovation in the areas on built and urban environment, particularly in data analytics, sustainability and operations, as well as people and wellness. There will also be opportunities for collaboration on teaching and internship programmes.

The facility is expected to have more than 100 employees within four years, with strong focus on talent development with NUS at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels

Regional ambition for a future-ready built environment

Johnson Controls established the centre with the blessing from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). The ultimate goal is to create smart building technologies for the future not only for Singapore but for adoption across Asia Pacific.

This S$50million initiative is a product of long partnership history between the company and university.

In 2008, Johnson Controls was the appointed partner to implement a converged campus building management solution for NUS UTown. The UTown achieved the Green Mark District Award, the first for NUS, in 2010.

Throughout the last 10 years, Johnson Controls had introduced different technologies to enable the precinct to achieve energy savings of 20%. The latest remote maintenance capability introduced at UTown has also proven to be practical and crucial during the current pandemic conditions.

“NUS and Johnson Controls have collaborated on several campus projects and we are therefore very excited to extend our partnership through these new initiatives which are part of our Smart, Safe and Sustainable Campus strategies,” said Professor Yong Kwet Yew, NUS senior vice president (Campus Infrastructure).

He added: “The opportunity to test Johnson Controls’ novel solutions on our campus and conduct joint research will help advance our ongoing efforts to build smarter, healthier and sustainable work, teaching and learning spaces for our staff, faculty and students.”

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This mobile infrastructure will enable companies in the city to monitor and control real-time Internet of Things (IoT) applications. By integrating 5G with mobile edge computing in a private campus network, enterprises can also deploy IoT applications and enable data sharing through 5G connectivity.

The initiative was formed through the partnership of Dell Technologies, HGC Global Communications (HGC), SmarTone and VMWare. The four companies are also planning to launch a 5G technology lab in the second half of this year to further navigate and accelerate Hong Kong’s 5G journey.

“5G opens a broad new frontier for businesses and consumers with the power and connectivity of rich mobile services and various broadband options, bringing positive impacts to industries and enterprises, expanding and improving economic activities and enriching our daily lives,” said Danny Tam, vice president, Hong Kong Sales and China Global Account Sales, Dell Technologies.

“With the strong expertise and technological know-how of industry-leading telecom and technology companies – HGC, SmarTone and VMware – we are well positioned to offer enterprise-grade 5G solutions that are the best fit for customers in Hong Kong. Our collaborative efforts and synergy will enhance and stimulate the development of 5G in Hong Kong,” he added.

An ecosystem driving 5G development and innovative applications

With this newly announced 5G initiative, the four companies hopes to nurture a rich ecosystem to support industries and businesses in the deployment and development of 5G technologies with reference use cases across retail, construction, education and healthcare.

5G can help industries transform by leveraging on many other technologies including computing, artificial intelligence, computer vision, IoT devices, machine learning and domain knowledge in vertical sectors ,among others.

In view of the importance of cross-sector collaboration in facilitating creative, successful and commercially valuable 5G applications, the alliance aims to foster cross-industry collaboration on 5G applications for all enterprise sectors.

Combining the expertise of the four companies with solid fibre-based network infrastructure will assist organisations in Hong Kong to simplify IT operations. The combined set of solutions from the respective companies will enable local application developers, technology startups and enterprises with an application development environment that supports edge computing platforms, AI APIs, IoT hardware and software.

This will not only foster the ecosystem but also nurture a wide range of innovative applications. With those applications and the experience gained, a huge data lake in Hong Kong from different sectors will be established and maintained, which can be further utilised by different industries for the next step of innovation including big data analytics, business insight creation, machine learning for better performance of newly-developed AI algorithms, and more.

Joe Cheong, COO, Corporate Business & Enterprise Market at HGC, expressed excitement about playing a significant role in helping Hong Kong’s public and private sectors to meet business challenges with comprehensive 5G solutions.

“Leveraging on HGC’s solid and sizeable local network infrastructure and rich base of local corporate, enterprise and consumer customers, as well as a comprehensive suite of ICT solutions supported by Macroview Telecom, our subsidiary company, we are confident in delivering one-stop, customer centric and sophisticated digital and 5G solutions to customers and assisting them to harness the power of 5G in the new era of digital transformation,” he said.

Stephen Chau, CTO of SmarTone, echoed the same sentiment: “5G unleashes limitless opportunities for enterprises with its ultra-high speed, low latency and massive connectivity. 5G private networks can act as a springboard for organisations to capitalise on 5G for digital transformation with security and privacy, control and flexibility, backed by SmarTone’s powerful 5G network. It can also be tailored for business or industry needs, creating new opportunities that improve operational efficiency and experiences for organizations.”

In May this year, SmarTone successfully launched its widest coverage 5G network with Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology.

“Companies in Hong Kong need to transform their IT systems rapidly to be 5G-ready and create new opportunities in the cloud economy. VMware has over twenty years’ experience in helping companies achieve success with digital transformation, and we are ready to help in the 5G era,” said Franco Lan, general manager of VMware Hong Kong and Macau.

He added: “The VMware Ready for Telco Cloud program has been relied upon by more than 100 telecom operators worldwide to deliver premier services to 800 million subscribers daily. VMware is happy to work together with other industry leaders in Hong Kong, to empower companies to maximise the benefits of 5G.”

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The three-week  race, which will run through September 20,  features a total of 176 riders spread across 22 teams with 8 riders per team, traversing a distance of nearly 3,500km in various terrains all over the country.

Like many contemporary sporting events, TDF  has embraced digital transformation, delivering real-time live action from the field to technology-savvy cycling fans on the internet, who long abandoned the traditional television to watch the race on their desktops, laptops, phone and  tablets. TDF organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) has been working with technology partner NTT to deepen fan engagement on the new channels through interactive and immersive experiences that add value to the live broadcast.

NTT has worked with TDF since 2015, initially under its Dimension Data branding. This is second year the company is  appearing as NTT, following a global rebranding.

Five years ago, NTT installed sensors installed under the saddle of every bike in the race, capturing real-time data on speed and GPS location through a moving mesh network to the NTT Cloud.

From the two pieces of information (speed and location) obtained from the tracking device on a bike, NTT generates 60 data points per rider, per second . The company then has just a few minutes to generate engaging data visualisations and animations for the live broadcast and other channels.

Then, NTT pushes 10 to 12 data-driven stories to the live broadcast at every stage, and over stories every day on social media.

With live tracking of riders and providing real-time data for broadcasters, the set of services has grown each year. Highlights include enhanced data analytics, a full Race Center website, the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide greater insight into the race, the use of augmented reality, and the creation of fantasy leagues linked to the race.

Updating the technology platform

Even before the pandemic reared its head, NTT was hard at work upgrading a couple of key elements of the technology platform behind the digital innovations in the annual cycling event, according to Rob Webster, vice president of the Advanced Technology Group for Sport at NTT.

First to get the makeover is the real-time  analytics platform, which processes the data from the bike and makes them sensible.

“Why do we need a real time analytics platform? The dirty secret of the IoT world is that the data is not clean,” Webster said during a recent webcast. “As an example of what we face, we get GPS data from those sensors. GPS data has a margin of error of about 10 to 20 metres around where the sensor really is.  Imagine a bike moving up the Alps and we get a reading for a particular rider in that area between all of the group. Where exactly is that rider?  So, we actually have to constantly monitor where the riders are, who are they riding with and how fast they are going so that we can correct the GPS errors and snap them into the route in the most likely location that they really are. That is why we need to run real-time data processing.”

NTT has built the TDF data analytics platform from the ground up.  This year, it has migrated to an open-source platform, building a containerised solution that can be deployed on a modular basis. Websters gave two reasons for the move.

“Five years ago, open-source was not sufficiently robust to deal with the extremely low latency that we have to deal with. That has changed and we are now able to take advantage of the incredible technology changes that have happened in the open source world.

“The second reason is that we have learned a whole lot in the last five years, and we understood that we don’t only support the tour, but within the tour, different stages are different. Time trials are different to a normal stage. Therefore, it is easier to build the platform in a much more modular basis – reusable functions that can be rearranged in different ways or used in different sequences. How long the riders have been riding for on the normal stage is different to  how long riders have been riding for on a time trial where they work on different start times.”

The next key element of the TDF technology platform to be rejigged is the API layer, which makes the GPS, speed and other reference data available. NTT retired its own inhouse API solution in favour of using a set of PaaS services from Microsoft Azure.

“While the API layer has to be robust, there isn’t anything that we are doing with the API that is truly unique to us. So, rather than build our own API, we shifted to using a set of PaaS services from Azure. It is a matter of configuring the API technologies that Microsoft has  built on the Azure platform, but we do not need to invest a whole lot of time in building our own unique API. There is no value there,” Webster explained.

The API layer was initially built to support the Race Center website and app, which provides live tracking of the race. It grew over the years to support new applications such as the commentators app.

“It was designed to support specific applications.  This year, we have shifted - coming  at it from an information architecture point of view. It radically simplify the number and complexity of the endpoints. And that has paid huge dividends in terms of supporting all the consumers from the website and applications and things. We’ve got far fewer endpoints that we need to manage, and they are far easier for the third-party developers or even internal developers, other organisations that are using these APIs. It is a much cleaner model for us to use,” Webster said.

The Race Center website is another area that has a significant technology change this year. It was originally intended as a desktop app albeit it’s mobile enabled. However, noting that usage statics over the last five years showed a strong growth towards mobile, NTT has revamped the website into a mobile-first solution.

“This year we focused on delivering a mobile first solution, but also aligning it more tightly with ASO’s digital strategy.  So now the Race Center is much closer in terms of look and feel, and in how it is embedded, its architecture and its functions with the other ASO race websites that they run. I am really hoping the ASO provides a more seamless and consistent experience for fans,” Webster said.

Meanwhile, one the new digital enhancements introduced to the TDF this years is the Augmented Reality Data (AR) app.

In addition to the live race footage, the app will provide selected users with a unique way of viewing and interacting with live race data and the amazing landscapes of the Tour de France. For the first time this will allow fans to appreciate the scale of the event in 3D from their home. With an unprecedented view from the sky, they will see the riders among the mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes, and have access to interactive live data on the race while feeling like they’re actually viewing the race from a helicopter.

Creating the Virtual Zone Technique

NTT decided not to send a team to France to man the NTT control centre, which is basically  a large truck positioned at the finish line of each stage  and keeps an eye on all technology operations.

Instead, the company developed the Virtual Zone Technique that brings together different technologies to deliver its Tour de France services remotely for the first time.

A total of 70 NTT employees across five continents are manning this virtual control centre with the help of a global team of experts and partners. This will keep staff safe while supporting the running of the race and providing an enhanced experience for fans.

“We came up the idea of using all our digital and collaboration platforms to create a Virtual Zone Technique, so people sitting in Melbourne or Johannesburg would have the same level of access to the data, videos and conversations they were used to in the physical Zone Technique,” said Peter Gray, SVP Advanced Technology Group – Sports at NTT.

The Zone Technique is the technology environment that supports everything NTT  does at the Tour de France, from gathering and analysing live-tracking data to creating data visualizations and stories that are published on various platforms and as part of the live broadcast.

“Remote execution has given us the opportunity to bring together a lot of services that weren’t together before – video streams from the end of the race, data monitoring, and an observability platform that allows the team to view everything through one portal, for example,” Gray said.

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“Our Amazfit smartwatch is among the top five for global watch shipments and market shares in the first quarter of 2020, and we look forward to partnering with Prudential to develop exciting new products that will expand our global reach," said Mike Yeung, chief operating officer of Huami.

Established in 2013, Huami is a cloud-based healthcare services provider with world-leading smart wearable technology. In 2019, Huami shipped 42.3 million smart wearable devices. Leveraging its powerful AI algorithm capabilities along with the massive data analysis, Huami provides 24x7 health monitoring services to millions of its product users.

The company seamlessly integrates smart wearable technology into the extensive application scenarios of the IoT ecosystem worldwide, creating a smarter and more convenient lifestyle for its users.

With their extended partnership, Huami and Prudential will explore the integration of digital capabilities, including features from Pulse in Huami's smartwatches and wristbands to help Pulse users access the information they need to lead healthier lives.

Pulse by Prudential is a mobile health app launched by Prudential Corporation Asia last month and is now available in 11 countries across Asia. To date, it has been downloaded more than 8 million times in Asia. It is currently available on the Apple App Store and Google Play in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Pulse app will also include PAI Health's science-backed activity metric for heart health, known as Personal Activity Intelligence.

"We designed Pulse to make our users healthier and wealthier. We have observed how our users are increasingly interested in tracking their health metrics for a better quality of life. Both our partnership with Huami and growing health ecosystem harness the power of technology, empowering Pulse users to personalise their health and wealth journeys,” said Al-Noor Ramji, group chief digital officer at Prudential.

Meanwhile, Huami and Prudential will also seek to grow their partnership by seeking opportunities to leverage each other's expertise to co-create complementary products and solutions with the shared purpose of helping people lead healthier lives. Through this partnership, more than 16 million Prudential customers across Asia and Africa will have the potential to access Huami health products and services.

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Having completed numerous trials on the left-hand side of the road in the UK, including on the complex streets of London, autonomous vehicles (AV) software provider Oxbotica has mastered driving on the right-hand side of the road on public roads after being granted  AV permit recommendation by TÜV SÜD to conduct live trials in Germany.

It is the first time a UK-based automated vehicle company has gained an AV permit recommendation from the independent inspection body TÜV SÜD to begin trials on public roads in urban and rural areas in southern Germany.

“Our AV-permit provides a neutral and independent third-party assessment process for the development of safe and secure automated mobility,” said Christian Pahlke, head of software & system at TÜV SÜD Highly Automated Driving. “Oxbotica’s automated driving software has proven itself capable of passing our demanding safety assessment framework, successfully completing physical real-world tests and scenario-based simulations.”

The German AV permit means Oxbotica’s automated vehicle software has now proved itself capable of following the rules of the road and driving on the right in real-world conditions.

The official trials started last month on public roads near Friedrichshafen, with a fleet of vehicles successfully navigating a complex urban environment. To gain the AV permit recommendation, Oxbotica had to meet a rigorous assessment framework including detailed hazard analysis and the combination of physical real-world tests and scenario-based simulations.

Ozgur Tohumcu, CEO at Oxbotica, noted that the landmark TÜV SÜD AV permit recommendation in Germany allows the company to test in one of the world’s leading automotive markets, helping accelerate future deployments both in the region and globally.

“Our ability to understand and adapt to the rules of the road for driving both on the left and right-hand side of the road provides a fast route to market for our autonomous vehicle software. It also paves the way to take our autonomous driving software internationally through the ongoing commercial engagements with our partners,” he said.

The validation testing brings Oxbotica another step closer towards the international commercial deployment of its autonomous software stack on urban and rural roads. The trials are helping the company to accelerate the development of its leading autonomous driving software.

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According to the technology research firm, the growth of contactless payment is a result of growing usage of contactless cards and Near-Field Communication (NFC)-enabled mobile payments. In large part, this usage reflects a growing trend in changing consumer behaviour regarding payment habits and trends, driven by maturing smartwatch technologies, evolving tokenisation platforms, and the convergence with other end verticals such as ticketing and transport, and fitness and health applications.

A combination of technology maturity, consumer popularity, familiarity with contactless payments, and the unique external phenomena (and notably COVID-19, whereby contactless is being pushed as a safe and hygienic alternative to cash by the payment networks, merchants, government, and the World Health Organization) is accelerating today's market adoption of contactless technologies. Wearable devices are primed to take advantage of this trend, with increasing choice and flexibility in terms of form-factors and available payment methods.

Ecosystem players such as wearable OEMs, silicon and IP providers, payment enablers, and financial application developers are all working to develop wearable payment experiences that are EMV-compliant, lightweight, interoperable, and intuitive UI. But most importantly, wearable payment technology can easily converge with other applications, such as loyalty and rewards, fitness and health, ticketing and transport, access control, etc., offering up new revenue streams and business opportunities for the various stakeholders.

This can be seen primarily by the growing adoption of open-loop payment systems in active devices such as smartwatches, which are outstripping closed-loop passive devices (such as silicon wristbands) in terms of shipment numbers over the forecast period. Regardless of device type however, increased merchant acceptance and growing consumer adoption serve to highlight the ease and convenience of wearable-enabled payments.

Some of the top players in the market include Apple, CPI Card Group, G+D, Idemia, Infineon, MasterCard, NXP, Qualcomm, and Thales Gemalto, all of which are pushing through innovative solutions in the space. While wearable payments is a small market today, it is not niche. There are increasing and lucrative opportunities that will continue to push adoption and usage, and showcase new applications, including M2M payments, pay on demand, micropayments, 5G for instant B2B payments, and beyond, such as access control and transit.

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The strategic collaboration enables the two companies to address complex IoT implementations for organisations in UAE. These businesses will benefit from rapid application development features, reduced time to deployment and out-of the-box IoT analytics and dashboards to see the complete picture of their IoT data.

Furthermore, in line with new collaboration, du and Software AG will launch a new IoT academy and an experience centre in the coming months. The opening is part of the drive to accelerate the adoption of IoT in the country while also staying abreast on IoT innovation methodologies, best practices and applications as the ecosystem continues to evolve.

“As du steadfastly drives its transformation agenda, this is a significant move to scale du’s offering, drive innovation across UAE and seize opportunities in new growth areas. Software AG’s global expertise to build new functionalities for telcos through IoT adoption fits perfectly with our strategy to deliver comprehensive IoT solutions for the UAE market,” said  Farid Faraidooni, deputy CEO – Enterprise Solutions, EITC

He added that the move will bolster UAE’s IoT adoption across SMEs, large organisations and the government, which will enhance UAE’s position as a regional innovation hub.

The partnership establishes du as the leading IoT provider for the UAE market, powered by Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT.

The partnership will empower customers to freely design, build, deploy and upgrade IoT applications with agility and flexibility, combining cloud, on-premise and edge deployment models. A scalable architecture offers quick time to market for IoT applications.  The platform will drive IoT across key industries of government, healthcare, utilities, manufacturing, transport and automotive.

Companies  will be able to track assets and improve logistics or gather data from smart city applications to make peoples’ lives easier. They can also improve service for their customers by automating manual functions, from meter readings to security measures.

“IoT services can help organisations to not only achieve greater insights into their business, but also to build their digital resilience. Data is the heartbeat of a business today, so the task of gathering, analysing and acting upon it should be a top priority,” said Philippe La Fornara, President EMEA, Software AG.

He added: “Our collaboration with du is a manifestation of the new approach of telcos as providers of IoT services for a fully connected future; a model gaining prominence globally. With du as our strategic telco partner, we aim to play a role in UAE’s 2021 vision through a range of competitive IoT solutions. We welcome du to Software AG’s IoT ecosystem.”

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As such, Starhub has introduced the first 5G services across the city state to both consumers and corporate customers, with new mobile plans using compatible mobile devices currently available in the market.

StarHub 5G signals currently cover 53% of Singapore’s populated areas, including busy locations and major residential hubs, such as Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Central Business District, Clementi, Jurong, Orchard, Tampines, Woodlands and Yishun, among others

By leveraging existing 4G infrastructure, the trial 5G network will allow StarHub to provide higher data bandwidth and reliable connectivity to its subscribers without a major infrastructure overhaul. The network utilises Nokia’s end-to-end core and radio solutions, enabling the efficient use of spectrum to deliver 5G services.

Chong Siew Loong, chief technology officer of StarHub, said: “At StarHub, we are excited to be the first to offer customers in Singapore the 5G experience. We continue to develop and advance our Network towards SA 5G through close collaboration with our trusted partners. To help us evolve quickly and easily towards 5G NSA, we chose Nokia’s Single RAN portfolio as it brings new capabilities, improved network efficiency and end user experience. We look forward to harness the full potential of 5G for Singapore.”

StarHub 5G is currently ‘live’ on 2100MHz spectrum on a non-standalone architecture, similar to other overseas 5G networks. By mid-2021 StarHub will operate 5G services on 3.5GHz spectrum on a standalone architecture to underpin next-generation ICT and digital innovation for Singapore, from secure private networking to advanced manufacturing, fully autonomous drones, robots and vehicles, pioneering remote health treatments, immersive AR/VR entertainment, cloud gaming, enhanced remote working capabilities and plug-and-play fixed wireless access.

The 5G NSA network will enable StarHub customers to enjoy early benefits of 5G, with enhanced coverage and performance to improve user experience at major residential and commercial hubs of Singapore. StarHub will progressively expand the 5G NSA network coverage and expects it to reach 70% by September 2020.

“This project marks the beginning of a new chapter in the long-established partnership between Nokia and StarHub. It will allow us to align with Singapore's Smart Nation vision to create a world-class 5G infrastructure. We are excited to continue supporting StarHub in its mission to make 5G services a reality and a success in Singapore,” said Ngiam Ming Kin, head of Singapore at Nokia.

As the mobile operator’s  preferred 5G technology partner, Nokia has been recently tapped to deploy its mmWave solution and 5G Standalone (SA) Core network.

The 5G network project, which spans core and software, include:

• Spectrum re-farming was implemented in 900MHz and 2100MHz for LTE anchor layer and 5G operation, respectively.
• Nokia NetAct is a central network management system with a proven track record covering StarHub’s multiple networks and technologies, such as 3G, 4G/LTE and now 5G, to reduce manual processes and enhance network quality.
• Nokia AirScale baseband was modernized to evolve StarHub’s network, deliver high-quality connectivity and coverage.

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One ID uses facial recognition technology, essentially correlating passengers’ facial data with their boarding pass and passport which traditionally have to be presented at various stages of the check-in and boarding process.  By taking passengers’ facial data, they will no longer be asked for these two documents as presently required across the end-to-end passenger experience.

The initiative will relieve departing passengers from repetitive processes to board a flight and Narita Airport anticipates benefits in less queuing. Moreover, the advanced facial recognition system, it is expected to improve the passenger authentication accuracy and enable improvements in aviation and airport infrastructure security. One ID will also improve staff productivity by reducing time spent on manual ID checks.

The system requires a facial photo of a passenger to be registered when they initially check-in at an airport service desk or self-service kiosk at Narita Airport. From there, the passenger is able to move more rapidly through the airport, including screening, baggage storage and the boarding gate without having to show a boarding pass or passport. Biometric scanners at each phase of the travel process are able to confirm the individual’s identity, helping to improve traffic flow through the airport and the overall travel experience.

NEC Corporation has been tapped to help Narita Airport in the One ID project, which extends biometric technology to provide a solution tailored to the growing need for “fast travel” in the airline industry.

Analysing the types of data collected by solutions such as One ID requires extensive computing power backed by a flexible, scalable infrastructure that can support usage spikes at peak travel times. As such, NEC has chosen Red Hat OpenShift as the foundation for the project. Red Hat OpenShift will provide the massive scale and flexibility required to handle peak passenger volume at Narita.

“Next-generation technologies must be built on a platform that can deliver stable, production-ready innovation. With Red Hat OpenShift, NEC has the enterprise-grade backbone for One ID which can scale as needed to support high traveller traffic and provide tools, services and flexibility to fuel advances in the traveller experience,” said Ashesh Badani, senior vice president, Cloud Platforms, Red Hat.

The industry’s most comprehensive enterprise Kubernetes platform, Red Hat OpenShift, provides NEC with cloud-native architecture as well as operational agility, future-ready developer services and integration with extended hardware and software systems.

“By combining NEC's biometric scanning technology with Red Hat’s OpenShift, we have built an agile and highly scalable platform for the future utilising open, robust and flexible container services. As a result, travellers will be able to proceed quickly at the airport. In the future, we will promote the deployment of this solution at airports in Japan, internationally and throughout a wide variety of industries,” said Toshifumi Yoshizaki, senior vice president, NEC Corporation.

One ID is expected to go live at Narita International Airport's 1st and 2nd passenger terminals in the near future. Following the introduction of One ID at Narita Airport, NEC aims to continue rolling out advanced solutions in cooperation with domestic and international airports throughout the world.

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In a recent analysis entitled “Growth Opportunities in Test and Measurement in the IoT Market, Forecast to 2025”, Frost and Sullivan pointed out the demand for IoT test and measurement on M2M devices, except those used in connected health applications, will take a hit in 2020 in the wake of the global health crisis.

However, Frost & Sullivan predicts a rebound by 2021 with the corresponding growth in M2M solutions market, which is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (of 5.1% to reach US$3.25 billion by 2025, up from US$2.40 billion in 2019.

“5G development for IoT use cases will continue to be important during the pandemic. Given the complex nature of its deployment, there would be a requirement for software-based testing solutions that can test virtualised 5G network slices as well as test broad frequency spectrums,” said Rohan Joy Thomas, Measurement & Instrumentation industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Going forward, understanding the performance of proprietary applications on connected devices outside the enterprise secure network infrastructure is a key challenge that test and measurement companies need to resolve.”

He added that of all the IoT applications, test and measurement solutions that are used to test M2M applications in the connected home environment are the most dominant, representing 45.7% of all IoT test applications.

“As the healthcare sector plays a crucial role in combating COVID-19, test and measurement solutions used for connected health applications will experience the highest CAGR of all applications over the forecast period.”

The proliferation of IoT across industries has presented immense growth opportunities for market participants involved in the IoT test and measurement space. Frost & Sullivan recommends that they:

• Develop solutions that can test high-speed Ethernet interfaces as well as physical entities.
• Provide over-the-air testing solutions that can test sub-6 gigahertz as well as higher millimetre wave applications.
• Introduce enhanced software testing capabilities along with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity to enhance the portfolio
• Provide solutions that can regulate the consumption of energy from connected devices operating at narrowband frequencies and low energy levels, thereby increasing the device’s longevity.

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"We are thrilled to announce world-class ideas that represent the data-driven future of sustainable and efficient city planning and mobility. We look forward to working with these semi-finalists to advance their ideas towards realistic and beneficial proofs of concept,” said Pras Ganesh, program director of TMF.

The TMF was established in August 2014 to support the development of a more mobile society. The foundation aims to support strong and equitable mobility systems, using Toyota's expertise in technology, safety, and the environment. It works in partnership with universities, government, non-profit organisations, research institutions and other organisations to address mobility issues around the world.

Solutions to date have aimed at resolving urban transportation problems, expanding the deployment of multi-modal mobility, and developing solutions for future generations.

The 16 semi-finalists in the inaugural CATCH competition come from different countries, including Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK and the US.  They are as follows:

During the application period for CATCH, which ended 30th June 2020, more than 90 global teams submitted their innovative, deep tech ideas to reimagine city planning through the effective usage of data. After careful consideration, TMF has identified 16 teams as semi-finalists,  that best suited to CATCH's problem statement and the five assessment criteria of creativity, desirability, feasibility, sustainability and technicality.

These teams will be asked to further develop their ideas into proofs of concept (POC) and at this stage will each receive a grant of up to US$5,000 for financial support. Furthermore, they will have access to datasets from public and private agency partners to CATCH which will help them identify daily mobility challenges in Kuala Lumpur.

TMF will continue to work together with strategic partners including Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and its data partners to support the semi-finalists to enhance their ideas until the selection of finalists in October, through financial grant support, mobility data, and mentorship provided by experts and judges supporting this program.

Through CATCH, TMF hopes to unlock human-centric, data-driven innovations to further 'Mobility for All' for residents of Kuala Lumpur.

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Derived from one of the most comprehensive health studies (the HUNT Study), and recently validated with a large US population of over 56,000 participants, maintaining a PAI score of 100 or more has been associated with a reduction of mortality risk from cardiovascular disease and other lifestyle diseases by an average of 25%, with the potential to extend people's lives by an average of five years.

Users require a compatible heart monitor wearable to enable the PAI feature in the Pulse app. The PAI feature is device-agnostic, meaning it can be used with any leading wearable brands including Apple, Garmin and Fitbit devices.

Users can set and achieve health goals, track physical and nutrition activities, receive feedback, coaching and guidance on their health and fitness, as well as access useful content and insights. For those without an existing device, Huami, a healthcare services technology company and world-leading maker of smart wearables, will be a featured partner enabling customers to purchase their affordable Amazfit devices directly via the Pulse app.

"It has never been a more important time than now to help people build health resilience and boost immunity by adopting a more active lifestyle. Through Pulse, we are committed to providing leading technology, content and services to help people live healthier lives,” said Nic Nicandrou, chief executive of Prudential Corporation Asia. “We are excited to add PAI Health's programme to our platform and provide new actionable heart health insights to users, so we can help them live healthy and well, for longer."

Pulse is part of the insurance firm’s strategy to provide affordable and accessible healthcare across Asia Pacific by leveraging digital technologies and best-in-class partnerships.  Equipped with Us AI-powered self-help tools and real-time information, the app serves as a 24/7 health and wellness partner to users, helping them prevent, postpone, and protect against the onset of diseases.

Since its launch in August 2019, Pulse has been downloaded more than 6 million times in Asia to date. It is currently available on the Apple App Store and Google Play in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The new PAI  feature joins a growing suite of value-add services on the Pulse app, which includes a symptom checker and health assessment, personal wellness services, and video consultations with certified doctors and specialists.

"PAI is becoming the new health standard for physical activity, addressing the global health problem of inactivity that has reached concerning proportions," said Sally Powell, general manager of PAI Health. "Given that PAI is so inclusive, being suited to all fitness levels and recognising all forms of physical activity, we are delighted that Prudential will be introducing PAI in the Pulse app. This will motivate millions of users to become more active with a potential to make profound improvements in public health."

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In the recently released 12^th Annual APAC Shopper Study, results showed that 81% of polled retailers in plan to provide mobile ordering as a fulfilment option by 2021. In line with their shifting priorities toward the online storefront,  83% and 89% of polled retailers in the region said robot assistance and real-time store IoT platforms will be extremely important to their operations in the next five years.

Indeed, the study commissioned by Zebra Technologies showed that the region’s retailers are looking to harness technologies like intelligent automation, cloud computing and mobility to drive economic growth.

The study also revealed that one monumental shift relates to the concept of “Economy at Home”, which addresses the way consumers have completely changed their shopping habits.

Most notably, the frequency and of online spending on food has increased across the region, with consumers expressing a preference for self-checkout rather than assistance from cashiers for safe distancing.

To meet rising customer expectations, retailers need to rethink the safety of the customer journey, whether it is in store or via delivery. Click-and-collect, or buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS), are becoming preferred methods of shopping, with 55% of consumers requesting more retailers to offer volume mobile ordering options.

This is forcing businesses to rethink their fulfilment strategies given that only 36% of respondents agreed that their stores are equipped to fulfil web orders. The study expects this trend to continue, while retailers implement additional solutions that minimize in-store contact and improve customer convenience at the same time.

According to Fang-How Lim, regional director for Southeast Asia, Zebra Technologies, the current pandemic is driving both essential and non-essential retailers to reassess their omnichannel fulfilment capabilities – quickly adapting their operation models in a span of a few days.

“Retailers are now transforming ‘dark stores’ into temporary distribution facilities inside their establishments. As demands continue to increase, retailers should prioritise the expansion of click-and-collect service offerings and invest in technologies which increases shopping capacity and speed. Not only does this reduce in-store traffic and help with social distancing efforts, this can provide retailers inventory visibility across their retail floor,” Lim said.

A shift towards more mobile devices

Putting a mobile device into the hands of a retail associate simplifies tasks like inventory management, yet an estimated 64% of retail associates are not equipped to maximize the benefits of technology, according to Zebra Technologies.

In response, retailers are moving away from dated green-screen technology to enterprise-class devices with intuitive, user-friendly interfaces with smartphone-like operating systems.

“The pandemic has proven this true as click-and-collect orders have surged, creating the need for store associates to enable contactless transactions via curbside pickup with handheld mobile computers and tablets. Mobile Point-of-Sale (mPOS) solutions like the ET51 enterprise tablet, TC52 touch computer, TC21 touch computer and ZQ310 mobile printer are driving contactless fulfilment by alerting associates of new online orders, enabling them to pack merchandise, label products and print receipts prior to the customer’s arrival,” Lim said.

Meanwhile, the adoption of mPOS solutions is expected to hit 98% by 2026, up from 76% today. The same trend is also observed for handheld mobile computers with scanners as retail associate device usage is expected to reach 96% by 2026, up from the current 75%.

Returns are another pain point for shoppers and poses a significant challenge for retailers. Up to 51% of retail executives report that they have started or are planning to start upgrading their returns management technologies in the next five years. Meanwhile, 83% of retailers currently have or plan to implement automated inventory verification systems within the year to advance real-time inventory accuracy.

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Japan’s retail sector has been facing expansion difficulties caused by  the significant decline of the labour force. This challenge is exacerbated by the restrictions on physical interaction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unmanned concept store collected live customer data to demonstrate how retail stores that are both employee-less and touchless can thrive.

The smart retail project  was tested for real-word application from June 1 to June 15, 2020. The integrated solution combines remote serving services, digital information monitors and the use of anonymised AI data analytics to drive a stronger self-service customer experience.

Cyberlink’s FaceMe facial recognition engine  supported the pilot programme by identifying the age, gender and facial emotion data of customers inside the retail environment to assist in measuring the effectiveness of  the project.

Integrated and interactive customer experience