Category Archives: Automation

Investors are always looking for outperforming sectors but such industries are just a handful rather than many, as winners are typically the minority.

In the era of fourth industrial revolution, automation is likely one of those rare outperformers.

Lets take a look at some data. The labor share of income in the United States has fallen, declining from an average of 62 percent in the 1980s and 1990s to roughly 55 percent in the 2010s thanks to automation.

A simulation presented in the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter shows that without automation, the labor share could have been higher at 57-58 percent.

Do not dismiss the 2-3 percent difference, given that policymakers are chasing unemployment rate even at the 0.2-0.3 percent order, as labor input is one of the key factors of production that counts straight into GDP.

With a labor share standing over 50 percent, there is still lot of room for reduction, to free up workers for other activities.

The impact of automation has been obvious since the financial tsunami more than a decade ago.

In fact the drivers of Nasdaqs strong gains, including FAANG are all of this kind. Automation does not belong to AI firms. Often it is those who apply automation to the market or to their clients, making the most money.

It follows that firms which might adopt these technologies would have much upside potential. What exactly are these then?

Well, firms having large labor share would have the most potential as they have lot more scope for automation.

Which firms have high staff-to-profits ratios? One should be able to find those numbers from their financial reports.

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Why automation is a compelling investment theme - EJ Insight

Eckhart, an Industry 4.0 solutions provider, today announced participation in the 3M (NYSE:MMM) Robotics Network with a focus on the automation of metal finishing processes using KUKA's innovative ready2_grind pre-configured and coordinated application package. All three companies seek to grow the role of robots as an alternative to the manual deburring, polishing, and grinding of components that dominate the factory floors of agricultural & mining equipment manufacturers, medical device makers, and defense companies. The 3M Robotics Network centralizes best practices and increases awareness in the industrial market for what has historically been considered a niche robotic application.

Eckhart's participation in the 3M Robotics Network builds upon their existing relationship with 3M which includes the successful co-development of the 3M Automated Taping System (ATS), a collaborative robot-based solution for tape application.

"At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve life. Transforming metal by grinding, sanding, and deburring is a harsh process traditionally done by humans, but one that's increasingly suited for off-the-shelf automation. We see a significant opportunity to define and grow the ecosystem of abrasive process experts and automation providers in order to ultimately deliver real value to 3M customers," said Matthew Purdin, 3M Global Robotics Marketing Manager. "The Robotics Network contains a small number of preferred integrators, like Eckhart, that have demonstrated a high capability in the space and see the opportunity in the marketplace like we do."

Daniel Burseth, Eckhart's Vice President of Business Development, adds, "Eckhart is excited to grow our relationship with 3M and KUKA in a new way. The market reaction to the 3M Automated Taping System has been fantastic, and we see similar potential to grow the role of abrasive process automation within our Fortune 500 customer base."

Eckhart designs, builds, and sustains custom automation systems for the world's largest manufacturers and expects the chronic labor shortage in the manufacturing sector to accelerate. "When factory leaders evaluate which positions are hardest to fill, they find few applicants interested in pushing a grinder around a weldment for 10 hours a day," Burseth continues. "This quality of life consideration, coupled with the ease of a pre-configured solution like ready2_grind, make this collaboration a very exciting opportunity for Eckhart and our customers."

Ready2_grind is the latest offering in KUKA's ready2_use collection of pre-configured and coordinated application packages. Alongside offerings like ready2_spray and ready2_spot, ready2_grind bundles years of best practices into an integrated solution consisting of a KUKA robot & 3M grinding tool, abrasive, and process expertise. "We believe that ready2_grind drastically simplifies the effort to automate. Component selection and integration, as well as the method for process development, have all been optimized," said KUKA Senior VP of Sales & Marketing, North America, Simon Whitton. "Manufacturers in the welding industry are looking to improve production rates, and ready2_grind's accuracy and precision enable consistent production and maximum efficiency."

Integration of ready2_grind through the 3M Robotics Network is generally available for any manufacturing environment. Learn more at http://www.eckhartusa.com

About 3M

3M applies science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $33 billion in sales, our 93,000 employees connect with customers all around the world. Learn more about 3M's creative solutions to the world's problems at http://www.3M.com or on Twitter @3M or @3MNews.

3M is a trademark of 3M Company.

About Eckhart

For over 60 years and based in Warren, Michigan, Eckhart designs, builds, and sustains advanced industrial solutions that enhance the quality of life. Eckhart's proven portfolio of Industry 4.0 technology includes AUTOCRAFT autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs), collaborative robotic systems, traditional robotics, assembly line design & simulation, 3D printing tool development & production, and Factory of the Future consulting for the world's largest manufacturers. Eckhart serves an established and loyal blue-chip customer base of leading automotive and industrial original equipment manufacturers. Learn more at http://www.eckhartusa.com.

About KUKA

KUKA is a global automation corporation with sales of around EUR 3.2 billion and around 14,200 employees. As a leading global supplier of intelligent automation solutions KUKA offers its customers everything from a single source: from robots and cells to fully automated systems and their networking in markets such as automotive, electronics, general industry, consumer goods, e-commerce/retail and healthcare. The KUKA Group is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200218005371/en/

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Eckhart Grows Specialty Automation Capability With 3M and KUKA - Benzinga

The market for robotic process automation is one of the hottest in tech right now, rapidly gaining traction as larger enterprises look to speed up their business processes by automating mundane office tasks.

A lot of the buzz around RPA comes from the massive amounts of money being injected into the market. The two biggest players in RPA right now, Automation Anywhere Inc. and UiPath Inc., are both startups that have raised almost $1 billion between them, sharing a combined market value of nearly $14 billion. Meanwhile, the market generated revenue of around $1 billion in 2019, almost double a year ago.

With so much money being thrown around, Dave Vellante, chief analyst at SiliconANGLE sister market research firm Wikibon and co-host of SiliconANGLEs video studio theCUBE, took a deeper look at the RPA space in his latest breaking analysis video in order to ascertain just how big it could grow.

One of the most important questions to address is whether the RPA market is overvalued, and at first glance that does appear to be the case. Wikibons data shows the RPA market is trading at around 15 to 17 times revenue, which is a very high multiple. But Wikibons forecasts show that growth in the RPA market is expected to slow to 20% a year by 2025, by which time it will also start throwing off some profits, at least for the leading players.

What we show here is a sensitivity analysis assuming 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% earnings before interest and taxes for the market, Vellante said. And we show a 20-times EBIT multiple, which for a market growing this fast is reasonable, considering that tech overall will typically have a multiple of 10% to 15%.

Wikibons forecasts assume a market valuation of around $75 billion a year by 2025, which suggests the RPA market is actually more likely to be undervalued at this time. As for RPAs total available market, it could easily end up exceeding $30 billion globally, supporting a higher implied valuation multiple.

Of course that means theres a lot at stake for those trying to carve out a piece of that pie, but who is currently sitting at the table?

To answer that question, we looked at the latest spending data from Enterprise Technology Research, which shows that RPA is one of the fastest-growing segments in technology right now, especially when it comes to larger enterprises. The sector has a very strong net score compared with other technology segments.ETRs net score is a measure of spending velocity that takes into account whether a customer is planning to spend more or less on a particular provider, based on surveys dating back to January 2017.

ETRs data shows that RPA is truly on the enterprise agenda, and that UiPath and Automation Anywhere not only have the largest market share of the market, but are also putting some distance between themselves and their rivals.

Thats not to say there isnt room for any other players. ETRs data shows the likes of Blue Prism Ltd., Pegasystems Inc. and WorkFusion Inc. are also enjoying some good traction in the space with some strong net scores of their own.

The picture changes when we narrow things down to the biggest enterprises in ETRs surveys, though. Suddenly, UiPaths net score jumps to 80% while Pegasystems also has more of a presence. But Automation Anywhere records a slight dip, and Blue Prism also declines.

The other key point on this chart is that 85% of UiPath customers and 70% of Automation Anywhere customers plan to spend more this year than last year, and that is pretty impressive, Vellante said.

The future of the RPA market will be defined by its ability to break into more use cases with deeper business integration. Theres a real opportunity to cross the chasm and deliver useful, low-code systems to subject matter experts in business areas that have strong potential to drive change.

This idea of hyper-automation is buzz wordy but it has meaning, Vellante said. Companies that bring RPA together with process mining and machine intelligence that drives process analytics have great potential, so long as organizational stove pipes can be broken down. Put process data and analytics at the core to drive decision-making and change.

In other words, whoever can break out and hit escape velocity in the RPA market is likely to have a very bright future. But theres unlikely to be room for everyone at the table, since the market is still fairly small compared with larger markets such as cloud computing.

This is more of a winner-take-all market, its not a trillion-dollar TAM, Vellante said. Its tens of billions of dollars and maybe north of $30 billion, but its somewhat of a zero-sum game market, in my opinion.

And the winners are most likely to be those companies that have already carved out an early lead. Indeed, theres not even much room for big software players such as Microsoft Corp. and SAP SE, which have both made moves into the market. The problem is that Microsoft and SAP both have an incremental view of the market, and bundle RPA as a checkoff item rather than give it a higher priority.

Organizations that really want to benefit from so-called hyper-automation will be leaning heavily on software from specialists who have the vision, resources, culture and focus to drive digital process transformation, Vellante said. No. 1 will make a lot of money. No. 2 will do OK, and everyone else will struggle for profits.

Heres the full video analysis:

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Robotic process automation is a big market, but there will be only one big winner - SiliconANGLE

A consortium of thirteen partners led by the University of Glasgow recently organised the event Towards a fully automated housing system in 2030? James Tickell, a partner at Campbell Tickell, attended the event and shares a number of key takeaways below.

An automated housing system within ten years? Exciting? Alarming? Another pipedream? Lets imagine how such a system might look; and then speculate on the opportunities and pitfalls it could bring. And finally, some reflections on what may come about, given current harsh realities, and on how automation can be compatible with human values and social purpose.

For buildings, its easy enough to envisage; weve all heard about the internet of things. Embed smart chips and sensors in major building components, and hey presto, maintenance becomes so efficient. Thats easier for newbuilds of course, but existing stock can be retrofitted. Add regular drone surveys, and a landlord can know pretty much everything about its property assets, in real time.

When a tenant or a sensor actually has to call in an unpredicted repair, nine times out of ten it will be clear whats needed. No more going back to the depot for the missing boiler or lift parts, or having to order them from Germany or Peterborough. Lets assume that 2030 operatives will still be human, even if vans are self-driving. Robots surely wont be ready to get down and dirty under a sink, even by then.

Artificial intelligence then applied to data allows pattern recognition and an uncanny ability to fix problems before they arise. A just in time approach enables a reduction in stockholding, while careful journey planning saves on mileage and time. No shows by the tenants are largely avoided, as sensors will be able to indicate whether anyone is there to answer the door. Once an operative is on site, they will be able to carry out any other scheduled tasks before moving on.

Blockchain technology creates self-verifying and tamper-proof databases; eventually it will have profound effects on contracts, asset registers, land title and more besides. Compliance and safety become a doddle, while the savings are massive in terms of staffing, materials and time. As blockchain becomes a reality, we can speculate that internal auditors, complex assurance systems and middle managers more generally will largely become a thing of the past. Organisations will de-layer, with more horizontal structures.

So far so good? Or were you uneasy about the privacy implications of sensors revealing who was there to answer the door? Theres a lot more to think about. Examples already exist you can easily buy an airline ticket without speaking to a human. Of course, if things go wrong and you do need to speak to someone, then its a different story. It can take hours, listening to music, pressing buttons, going in automated loops, and spending a small fortune on premium phone lines.

Maybe lettings and routine tenancy work could be done a bit like that, although without the waiting and the music? Not sure? We can hope that 2030 artificial intelligence, unlike todays artificial imbecility, will be better at sorting out the odd anomaly. It could also be brilliant at collecting and organising tenant feedback, giving volume to the tenant voice.

Arrears could be dealt with similarly. Even better, AI will predict well in advance which households will be vulnerable to financial hardship, allowing support to be directed appropriately. In the same way, it would be possible to predict which households would make greater demands on maintenance services, or end their tenancies in an untoward manner. Some landlords might be tempted not to let to such households in the first instance, but the value of the business intelligence accrued would surely outweigh such concerns?

It goes on. Face recognition technology could be just the ticket for preventing illegal subletting, and for dealing with anti-social behaviour. In fact, you could do away with keys altogether, with entry systems recognising and admitting only tenants and their families. By 2030, systems should be able to recognise people from all different ethnic backgrounds, a distinct glitch in todays matrix, which will be familiar to many of us with e-passports.

The possibilities for automation are already considerable. but with technology comes a heady cocktail of ethical and practical issues. James Tickell, Partner at Campbell Tickell

As regards more vulnerable residents, the possibilities for automation are already considerable. Call systems, with fridge and floor sensors, can detect whether someone may be unable to get out of bed, have fallen or not be eating. In Japan, robot nurses, medicine dispensers and pets play an increasing role, so that care can be given with little or no human contact. As for company theres always the possibility of a chat with Alexa.

A heady cocktail of ethical and practical issues begins to emerge. Clearly, new technologies are already with us, and will become more effective in time. The possibilities are endless, and things can go either way in terms of utopian or dystopian futures. Financial savings are there to be made for landlords, and these can be reinvested into better customer experience, care, support and empowerment. Or they can become more generous dividends for investors.

On the dark side, things could trend towards the surveillance capitalism explained by Shoshana Zuboff, under which landlords would amass data about tenants, and exploit it to control behaviour, sell additional services and increase efficiency. You only need to look at Google, let alone Chinas ruthless and internet enabled control of Uighurs to see how things could move that way.

Where does that leave us? Looking at the glacial pace of sector IT investment, the possible retrofitting to millions of properties and prevailing austerity, 2030 seems optimistic for any widespread automation of mainstream housing, especially given the fragmented nature of the sector. The gains could be huge, but so too would be the investment needed. Care of the elderly may turn out to be different matter, given labour shortages and demography once the Japanese robot nurses are perfected, stand by for their introduction here.

The technologies needed for housings automation will exist by 2030, for sure, and will be widely used by the Ubers and Easyjets of the day. But a safe prediction is that many landlords will still be using the same IT systems as now, with a few fancy add-on bells and whistles, and some smarter backroom trend analysis.

The overall direction though is certain, and should not be ignored, even if 2040 may be a safer bet than 2030. The technology itself is morally neutral and all will depend on how we choose to use it. Things will play out according to the balance of power between providers and consumers governed by market conditions, demographics, economics and the legislative framework of safeguards.

But equally important, for social landlords, as they grapple with new ways of working, it will be vital to remember and reinterpret their social purpose for the new context. Mission statements are all big on customer focus, and on how our people are our greatest asset. Lets all try and keep it so as 2030 draws nearer and keep up Zuboffs Fight for a Human Future.

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When will automation in the housing system become reality? - Consultancy.uk

NTT Data is a Business Reporter client.

In an interview withBusiness Reporters Alastair Greener, NTT DATA Services Chief Technology Officer Kris Fitzgerald discusses automation and technology within the workplace, focusing on topics such as workplace automation, artificial intelligence (AI) bias, and machine learning.

Fitzgerald notes that companies are attempting to bridge the gap to customers with faster and more effective approaches. His solution includes smarter artificial intelligence and automation that create new forms of value for enterprises and deliver smarter digital solutions. Technology has grown drastically within a short period of time, explains Fitzgerald, and its ability to understand human speech has surpassed that of humans itself. This accuracy in machines creates faster channels between companies and customers.

Now that technology has advanced to a more powerful state, companies are able to change their business models and through harnessing the value of data intelligence to better serve the needs of both their customers and employees. Fitzgerald emphasises that automation has allowed organisations to better train and upskill their employees to fit the industrys new model. When asked about the role that automation plays in making human roles obsolete and employees redundant, Fitzgerald acknowledged that organisations who continue to develop and teach their employees could avoid cuts.

iStock

The interview concludes with a discussion about artificial intelligence bias. This idea derives from search engines feeding visitors information. Once, search engines listened to consumers and regurgitated what they thought. Now, they offer a less biased landscape but according to Fitzgerald, it may be impossible to make automated system entirely free from bias. He used the example of a conversation he had with an employee at the United Nations, where they discussed individual countries having their own forms of bias that are hard to escape from. He said, If you are talking about a country, [bias] is possible because the cultural norms of that country are common.

Kris Fitzgerald sat down with Business Reporter to discuss the changing world of automation

This article originally appeared on Business Reporter.

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Getting To The Bottom Of Workplace Automation [Video] - Forbes

NORTH CANTON, Ohio DieboldNixdorf (NYSE: DBD), a global leader in driving connected commerce for thebanking and retail industries, was recently recognized as the global leader inthe automated deposit terminal (ADT) market by strategic research andconsulting firm RBR in its 2019 Deposit Automation and Recyclingstudy.

Automated deposit transactions havebeen growing rapidly over recent years as consumer demand has increased forsecure, real-time deposit transactions. According to RBR, in 2018 the number ofADTs installed globally grew by 4% to reach 1.4 million, and theres a strongpotential for further growth in both emerging and developed markets.

Dominic Hirsch, managing directorat RBR, said: The number of ATMs with automated deposit continues togrow with banks increasingly replacing cash dispensers with higherfunctionality deposit machines. Combined with a growing trend for recyclers,these terminals provide greater convenience for customers by allowing them tomake a deposit any time of the day and are more strategic and efficient forbanks, providing tellers more time for personalized interactions withcustomers. RBR is forecasting that by 2024 more than half of ATMs worldwidewill offer automated deposit functionality.

Cash-recycling technology is a keypiece of the automation puzzle is now taking off in markets where it hadpreviously been overlooked. According to RBRs latest research, many banks nowrank recycling as a basic functional requirement when selecting new depositterminals.

Ulrich Naeher, senior vicepresident, Systems, at Diebold Nixdorf, said: Our banking customers arerealizing the benefits of our automated deposit solutions, including theability to recycle banknotes, which is an integral part of the design of our DNSeries ATMs. The self-service units can securely and accurately accept,validate, store and recirculate cash, which can dramatically reducecash-in-transit visits and reduce costs. The flexible design of the DN Seriesallows our customers to enable recycling with a software update eliminating anydowntime.

About RBR

RBR is a strategic research andconsulting firm with three decades of experience in banking and retailautomation, cards and payments. It assists its clients by providing independentadvice and intelligence through published reports, consulting, newsletters andevents.

About Diebold Nixdorf

Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated(NYSE: DBD) is a world leader in enabling connected commerce. We automate,digitize and transform the way people bank and shop. As a partner to themajority of the worlds top 100 financial institutions and top 25 globalretailers, our integrated solutions connect digital and physical channelsconveniently, securely and efficiently for millions of consumers eachday.The company has a presence in more than 100 countries withapproximately 23,000 employees worldwide. Visit http://www.DieboldNixdorf.com for more information.

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Diebold Nixdorf Recognized by RBR as the Global Leader in Automated Deposit Solutions

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Diebold Nixdorf (NYSE: DBD), a global leader in driving connected commerce for the banking and retail industries, was recently recognized as the global leader in the automated deposit terminal (ADT) market by strategic research and consulting firm RBR in its 2019 Deposit Automation and Recycling study.

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Diebold Nixdorf Recognized by RBR as the Global Leader in Automated Deposit Solutions - PaymentsJournal

Many organizations are starting to realize the benefits of increased scale and velocity of application deployment in their businesses, according to F5 Networks.

This value, however, can bring significant complexity as organizations maintain legacy infrastructure while increasingly relying on multiple public and private clouds, implement modern application architectures, and face an evolving and sophisticated threat landscape.

At the same time, organizations are adopting more application services designed to accelerate deployment in public cloud and container-native environments, like service mesh and ingress control.

Survey data indicates this trend will accelerate as organizations become proficient in harnessing the data their application ecosystem deliverscreating advanced analytics capabilities and better business outcomes.

The survey shows that as companies manage legacy, multi-cloud, hybrid-cloud, and modern architectures to deliver applications, their requirements for app services are also evolving.

To address limited skill sets and integration challenges, organizations are choosing open ecosystems that offer standardization. Respondents prize application services that are both secure and easy to use.

80% of organizations are executing on digital transformation with increasing emphasis on accelerating speed to market. As organizations progress through digital transformation initiatives, IT and business process optimization initiatives mature.

Many organizations have moved beyond the basics of business process automation and are now scaling their digital footprint with cloud, containers, and orchestration. This in turn is driving the creation of new ecosystems and massive growth in API call volumes.

Organizations are leveraging the public cloud to participate in industry ecosystems, take advantage of cloud-native architectures, and deliver applications at the speed of the business.

However, organizations are much less confident in their ability to withstand an application-layer attack in the public cloud versus an on-premises data center. This discrepancy illustrates a growing need for easy-to-deploy solutions that can ensure consistent security across multiple environments.

Unsurprisingly, given the primary drivers of digital transformation IT and business process optimizationthe majority of organizations are automating the network.

Despite challenges, organizations are gaining proficiency and moving toward continuous deployment with more consistent automation across all key pipeline components: app infrastructure, app services, network, and security.

As newer cloud-native application architectures mature and scale, a higher percentage of organizations are deploying related app services such as ingress control and service discovery both on premises and in the public cloud. A modern application landscape requires modern app services to support scale, security, and availability requirements.

63% of organizations still place primary responsibility for app services with IT operations, yet more than half of those surveyed are also moving to DevOps-inspired teams.

Operations and infrastructure teams continue to shoulder primary responsibility for selecting and deploying application services. However, as organizations expand their cloud- and container-native app portfolios, DevOps groups are taking more responsibility for app services.

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IT and business process automation growing with cloud architectures - Help Net Security

Drishti cofounder and CEO Prasad Akella

Picture a factory. Employees toil at lines, doing the same task, repeatedly, in order to assemble a final product. A line stoppage or bottleneck can cost a fortune. So too can even the smallest of errors by any of the people tasked with detailed assembly work. What if the manufacturer could see what was going on, in real time, and fix any issues before they become real problems? Or come up with ways to make the process run smoother and more efficiently?

Thats the basic idea behind Drishti Technologies, a four-year-old startup cofounded by Prasad Akella, a 57-year-old Indian entrepreneur whos best known for leading the General Motors team that developed collaborative robots in the 1990s. With Palo Alto, California-based Drishti (the name is Sanskrit for vision), Akella uses computer vision, machine learning and real-time videos and analytics to make production lines run better. The goal: Use technology to help people improve their work increasing productivity and improving quality rather than replacing humans with machines. I realized that most manufacturing is still manual, and nothing has changed dramatically since Henry Ford, Akella says. Nobody had a handle on the processes. Other companies were focused on machines, but those are easy problems because a machine is a machine.

Manufacturing is a $13 trillion global industry, but coming up with solutions to its problems are hard. Akella and his cofoundersAshish Gupta, a serial entrepreneur, and Krishnendu Chaudhury, a computer-vision and deep-learning expert who is the companys chief technology officerhave toiled away, largely under the radar, for the past four years, with just $12 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Emergence Capital at a valuation of $29 million, according to PitchBook. Today, Drishti hit a milestone, disclosing that it had signed on Denso, one of the worlds largest auto parts suppliers with $48 billion in revenue, as a client.

All told, Drishti has now signed on clients in the automotive, electronics and medical-device markets in the double-digits, according to Akella. Though he declined to identify any of the others, he noted that those customers have combined revenue of more than $600 billion. Building a product like this is an effort, Akella says. Customers like this are extremely demanding, and you only get one shot at them.

A Denso employee inspects parts for a bus acceleration sensor at the company's Daian plant in Inabe, ... [+] Japan.

Akella received a bachelors degree in aerospace engineering from the elite Indian Institute of Technology, before moving to the United States where he earned a Ph.D. in robotics from Stanford. He first immersed in manufacturing at General Motors, where he led the team working on collaborative robots in the 1990s. After leaving GM, he cofounded a networking startup and then spent time at big companies, SAP and Thomson Reuters, where his focus was data and analytics. By winter 2016, he was ready for a change. I was rethinking my life, and I said, You know what, I love trying to change things, given my age at that point in time, do I have the stomach to do it once more? Akella recalls. On vacation in Tahoe, I came to the conclusion I wanted to do it.

He knew he wanted to do something in manufacturing again, and realized that computer vision could help companies get a handle on their processes. He joined research center SRI International as an entrepreneur in residence to think more clearly about the problem and possible solutionsand get advice from computer-vision experts there. I might have a Ph.D. in robotics, but I dont know enough about computer vision, he says. While there, Akella lined up his cofounders: Gupta, whod previously worked on unstructured data aggregation at Junglee (acquired by Amazon) and business process automation at Daksh (bought by IBM), and Chaudhury, a computer vision and deep learning expert who previously worked at Google, Flipkart and Adobe. He also started quietly working with Denso and another large customer in the electronics space that he declines to name.

Denso started testing the Drishti technology on a demo line that makes engine-cooling modules at its Battle Creek, Michigan, plant a year and a half ago, and is looking to expand it on a trial basis to its Tennessee plant, likely in the first quarter of this year. Until Drishti came up with this technology, the only way to improve the productivity or efficiency of these manual operations was for an industrial engineer to go on the floor and make notes about bottlenecks and cycle time and do an analysis, Raja Shembekar, vice president of Densos North American production innovation center, says. That was a slow, laborious process, and for a manufacturer steeped in the Toyota lean manufacturing system of kaizen for decades it was also a tough way to get that last little bit of inefficiency to improve. This was a struggle for us, he says.

With Drishti, he says, Denso has seen double-digit improvements in some of its key performance indicators, though he declines to be more specific about those metrics. Key things that Toyota-affiliated Denso tracks are cycle-time variance (even a few seconds can add up), bottlenecks and standardized processes (the more standardized, the fewer errors). In one case on the test line, managers were able to confirm that a workers idea to rebalance a line to rid it of bottlenecks was smart before they made a costly change to operations based on someones gut. When a line launches, one station will have trouble today and create a bottleneck. Then you fix it, and the bottleneck moves somewhere else. Its a balloon, Shembekar explains.

While Denso is currently testing Drishti in its U.S. plants, Shembekar says that he believes it could be especially helpful for its factories in lower-cost locations like Mexico and Thailand, where turnover among employees is high. This tool will preserve jobs because performance in every category will improve and theres less reason for Denso to consider expensive automation, he says. He declines to say how much Denso is paying for Drishti.

Andreessen partner Frank Chen, who led the firms investment in Drishti, believes the startup can ultimately become the leader in a field that it is creating. They are trying to invent a new category, he says. We arent investing to make a small company, and hope they get bought by Black & Decker.

Drishti's technology offers a continuous view of what's happening on the factory line.

Getting there hasnt been easy for Drishti. Applying computer vision and machine learning to humans at work, who may be different shapes and sizes, holding their screwdrivers at different angles, or facing away from the camera, turned out to be an enormous technological hurdle. You need the neural networks so you can analyze gobs and gobs of videos, Akella says. Theres deep, deep, deep technology behind it. Thats part of what has taken us time.

But his background of designing machines to work with humans led him to persevere. Joint research by Drishti and A.T. Kearney found that humans on the factory line perform 72% of all tasks, suggesting that even as industry focuses on robotics and automation the future will be one of human-machine collaboration rather than robotic takeover. My perspective, as an entrepreneur in my 50s is different, Akella says. Im not doing this because of fame, but because I believe manufacturing needs transformation and I believe I can change the lives of people on the floor.

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How This Manufacturing-Automation Startup Signed Up Auto-Parts Giant Denso For Tech That Helps Humans Work Smarter - Forbes

February 18, 2020 Cimcorp, a manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic order fulfillment and tire-handling solutions, announced the appointment of Joel Kuusman to Manager of U.S. Operation and Technology Services. Kuusman originally joined Cimcorp in April 2014 as a site manager, overseeing on-site installations of Cimcorps automated solutions. Through his experience on numerous projects, Kuusman has acquired a breadth of knowledge in the companys systems and site work management, which he now brings to this new role. Namely, he will be responsible for leading the Cimcorp U.S. office in Norcross, Georgia, guiding its strategic growth and quality of customer service and after-sales support.

With a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from LUT University in Finland, Kuusman is an expert in technical equipment and industrial automation. For the past 17 years, he has helmed many on-site projects in various supervisory roles, including in mechanical maintenance, purchasing, quality control, process engineering and project management. Having spent considerable time living and working in the United States and Finland, Kuusman has a unique understanding of the two marketplaces and cross-cultural communication. This has enabled him to oversee Cimcorp automation projects in both countries.

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Cimcorp announces Joel Kuusman as Manager of US Operations - Automation.com

Power over Ethernet technology is highly viable for applications such as lighting, sensors, smart locks, thermostats, digital signage, and other building controls

A new report from Navigant Research examines the use of Power over Ethernet (PoE) in building automation and digital building applications, providing global market forecasts through 2028.

Market for Power over Ethernet Technology in Building Applications Is Expected to Grow Nearly 15% from 2019-2028 @NavigantRSRCH https://bit.ly/37JDB1l

PoE, an established technology for multiple IT applications such as internet protocol (IP) phones and Wi-Fi access points, has been gaining attention as a potential connectivity solution for building automation and intelligent building technologies. By supplying both low voltage power and a data connection to an end-use device, PoE is highly viable for applications such as lighting, sensors, smart locks, thermostats, digital signage, and other building controls.

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PoE-based solutions for buildings are generating excitement in the market due to their reliability, flexibility, and scalability, as well as the potential cost savings associated with reductions in cabling infrastructure and labor costs, says Sasha Wedekind, research analyst at Navigant Research. The primary market focus has been on PoE enabling a data network for lighting applications coupled with advanced sensing technologies ranging from people-counting sensors to air quality controls.

According to the report, the market for these types of PoE applications is young, and vendors are still developing and testing solutions. To overcome barriers such as lack of a clearly articulated value proposition, market players need to identify and grow appropriate market channels while working to increase consumer awareness.

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The report, Power over Ethernet for Digital Buildings, discusses these and other market issues. The 10-year market revenue forecast (2019-2028) is segmented by three categories: lighting applications coupled with advanced sensor technologies, lighting-only applications, and other building functionality applications such as HVAC controls, building access, and digital signage. The study is also segmented by new construction and retrofit projects, global regions, and commercial building types. This report does not cover PoE markets for IP phones, Wi-Fi routers, and IP cameras.

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Latest Automation Trends Show Power Over Ethernet Technology in Digital Building Applications - AiThority