Category Archives: Evolution

Roger Federer wearing prototype of THE ROGER Pro during Wimbledon 2021 (Getty Images)

Every once in a while a tennis shoe comes along and becomes an instant, timeless classic.

It resonates with tennis players and fans alike capturing the true essence of style, culture and that moment of sport history in the making.

This year, we have seen the launch of one the Greatest of All Times very own signature shoe hitting the streets (or tennis courts). Roger Federer has got it on with On and created THE ROGER Pro. The labels first ever high-performance tennis-specific footwear.

So, whats so special about this? And why does it deserve a place in the tennis shoe Hall of Fame?

Prototyoe of THE ROGER Pro which took two years in the making and appeared at Wimbledon in 2021 (On)

Well, they have been developed by the man himself with the brand who, until now, have specialised in running.

On the technology front, a 100 per cent carbon fibre speedboard is engineered into the midsole to absorb shock upon ground impact and give a boost of energy return to prepare you quickly for your next move and shot.

(On)

The thin channelled cross hatch grip on the outsole has been designed to limit squeaking on hard courts.

Aesthetically, in true Federer style the finished product has super smart no nonsense clean lines (as you would expect) to complete the whole package and make this hotshot a sure fire winner.

Even though Roger Federer will unfortunately be absent from Wimbledon this summer, we see no reason why these ground breaking tennis shoes will not become a sought after and beloved collectors item, earning themselves a place in the history books.

Ive snapped up two pairs. One to enjoy a game or two and the others to store away somewhere safe and well protected for 30 years.

(Evening Standard)

Starting with the humble canvas clad Dunlop Green Flash plimsole in the mid 1930s, these shoes were worn by Great Britains Grand Slam Champion Fred Perry who won Wimbledon three times in the iconic footwear. This original trailblazer has since snowballed and can now been seen as part of todays Gen Z street style.

Story continues

Fred Perry on the prestine grass courts during The Chanpionships in 1936 (Getty Images)

Skipping forward a good few decades Adidas signed up Stan Smith in 1978 to endorse its first ever leather tennis trainers (which were original created in the mid 60s and named after Robert Haillet, a French tennis player who retired from the sport). The shoes have remained a stalwart in the brands collection and evolved into the fashion footwear they are today.

Bjorn Borg winning Wimbledon in 1980 (Getty Images)

On the cusp on the late 70s and early 80s, Nike entered the arena with its Wimbledon shoe sporting the labels iconic Swoosh sign. John McEnroe wore these in the famous 1980 final on the hallowed turf of SW19. You may remember that famous tie-breaker against Bjorn Borg, who incidentally had his signature Diadora Elite sneakers on show. In turn, these quickly become casual classics.

Andre Agassi in 1990 (Getty Images)

Then the game changer arrived. Andre Agassi stole the headlines in the 90s with his colourful hot pink lava kit, long flowing highlights locks and neon blitzing Air Tech Challenge II pumps from Nike - duly setting a trend for years to come. Technological advances in the marketplace and competition was hot on its heels, which included Reebok and Michael Changs Victory Court Pumps.

When Pistol Pete Sampras smashed onto the centre court scene (circa 2000), nobody could stop him and Nikes Air Ocillate sneakers which he wore for the best part of his career - adding several grand slams to his CV.

This paved the way for Adidas to muscle its way back into the action in 2004 with arguably its most iconic and indestructible Barricade pair to kick of the modern era. Champions including Ana Ivanovic, Justine Henin, Marat Safin, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray contributed to their popularity and success.

Ana Ivanovic winning the Roland Garros in 2008 (Getty Images)

In 2010, during Rafa Nadals fifth Roland Garros title campaign of clay court dominance (as well as sweeping up all three Masters 1000 tournaments in the same year) and following on from his pirate gear phase, we could only marvel at his Nike Air Max Court Ballistec 2.3s, which catapulted these tennis shoes into the limelight.

Rafael Nadals Nike Air Max Court Ballistec 2.3 at Roland Garros in 2010 (AFP via Getty Images)

Roger Federer then turned up the heat during the opening round of Wimbledon in 2013 with his orange sole Nike Vapor 9s. Officials told him to stop wearing them, as they did not adhere to their strict all white dress code. The following year Nike Air Jordan landed as well as Serena Williamss NikeCourt Flare. Williamss shoe included a unique ankle support collar and the inspiration for this came from Kobe Bryants basketball sneakers.

Serena Williams wearing NikeCourt Flare at the 2014 US Open (Getty Images)

Nowdays, top level professionals such as Dimitrov, Nadal and Murray have had their footwear specially tailored and customised for their own specific needs. Some sneakers you currently see being worn by your fav player on tour are actually from a good few seasons back and cosmetically updated to look like a new incarnation. Others, might be a hybrid or even bespoke made and not for sale.

Andy Murray wearing bespoke Under Armour shoes a the Madrid Open in 2022 (Getty Images)

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Evolution of the tennis shoe: Is Federers THE Roger Pro the greatest of all-time? - Yahoo News UK

Rental industry digital marketing solutions provider, RentPath announced Tuesday it has rebranded to Rent. thats Rent, period.

Rent. was acquired by Redfin in April 2021. Its network of rental listing services include Rent.com, Rentals.com, ApartmentGuide.com and Redfins newly launched rental service. According to Rent. CEO Jon Ziglar, the rebrand will not affect any of Rent.s listing partners.

This is the companys most significant evolution in a nearly 50-year history of serving the rental industry, Ziglar said. This is much more than a name change. It is the outward signal of our evolution from an advertising company to a technology and software driven company.

Along with the rebrand, Rent. also announced the launch of a variety of new features in its listing service, RentMarketplace, including automated profile sync to help manage Google business profiles, 3D floor plans, and request-a-tour functionality on all listings. In addition, the company announced the expansion of its RentSocial marketing through the launch of its Snapchat advertising service, and the launch of RentEngage, an engagement solutions platform that helps with lead nurturing and renter assistance through 24/7 and call center support and email functionality.

Ziglar said the rebrand and the enhanced product suite will help clients, such as property managers, expand their reach and improve their efficiency.

The launch of Rent. is a continuation of the growth and momentum the company has experienced over the last year, beginning with the Redfin acquisition in April 2021, and the restructuring of the business around this new vision, Ziglar said.

Redfin, which acquired Rent. in 2021, announced that it is laying off 6% of its work force or roughly 470 employees. The layoffs come as the Fed implements the largest mortgage rate hike since 1994 and housing market conditions remain uncertain.

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RentPath announces rebrand to Rent., calls move its "most significant evolution" - RealTrends

Lynn Clark has been reappointed interim chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, which is co-administered by Iowa State UniversitysCollege of Liberal Arts and Sciencesand theCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Clark, a professor of botany, has served as interim chair since June 2021. Her renewed appointment will begin July 1, 2022, and extend through June 30, 2024.

Dr. Clark has a proven track record of outstanding leadership and dedicated service to the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, which plays a critical role in many well-established and important undergraduate majors at Iowa State, said Daniel J. Robison, holder of the endowed deans chair in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her institutional knowledge of the university and strong commitment to student success have allowed the department to thrive and remain innovative, while attracting and retaining undergraduate and graduate students.

Clark joined Iowa State in 1987 as temporary assistant professor in the Department of Botany, one year after she earned her doctoral degree in botany at Iowa State. In 2003, she advanced to full professor. Most recently, she earned a 2021 Regents Award for Faculty Excellence. From 2008-2021 Clark was the director of theBiological/Pre-Medical Illustration program, a shared program of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Design.

Its a distinct honor to continue serving our EEOB faculty, staff and students as interim chair, Clark said. I look forward to building on the progress weve made to our undergraduate programs in biology, environmental science and genetics in collaboration with EEOBs partners in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Clarks research is focused on studying bamboos and grasses. A prolific researcher with 200 publications, Clark is the worlds foremost expert on bamboo and its evolution. She has identified more than 130 species of bamboo and is the author of several books on grasses, bamboos and native Iowa plants.

Dr. Clark has been an engaged, thoughtful and productive leader during her first year as EEOB interim chair. She spearheaded the acquisition of faculty talent and oversaw the implementation of department projects that support student research in the biology, genetics and environmental programs, said Beate Schmittmann, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I am confident the department is in capable hands and I look forward to supporting Dr. Clark and celebrating her continued success in this key leadership role.

Clarks vision includes building on the achievements of the departments research and graduate programs.

The strength of the EEOB department lies in the breadth of expertise in our faculty members who look at many different kinds of organisms and ask many different kinds of questions, Clark said. This certainly makes the department successful and unique, and I look forward to maintaining this excellence.

Clark has earned numerous awards including the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences International Service Award and an Iowa State University Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research. She was selected as a Deans Lecturer in spring 2007.

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Clark reappointed as interim chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

What if your companys sales growth was based on a strategy that you can create a revolutionary team that progresses the evolution of your firm?

There are usually two strategies when it comes to growing a sales team: hire experienced talent or grow new talent.

But theres another way of thinking about your sales team: It should really be a revolutionary or evolutionary strategy.

Youre captivated, right?

Well, hold on to your seat! We are going to shatter some perceptions together!

Some people are uncomfortable with the word revolutionary. It evokes images of hardship or, in the extreme, maybe even violence.

The word evolutionary, on the other hand, tends to imply passivity, a strategy of allowing things to progress somewhat organically.

I tend to lean more toward the go big or go home side of things, the reach for the stars mentality that sometimes requires boss moves. Can you see your company at the top of the leader board? Do you believe so deeply in magic that its impossible not to see it as reality?

Whether you are going against the grain or dealing with the uncertainty of whether an idea or strategy will take your firm in the right direction, you will be driven by your experience. Youll also likely be driven by emotion (positive or negative).

In a recent Business Unusual podcast with Barbara Corcoran, her guest Ed Mylett said something that resonated with me: You gravitate toward your most common emotion, even if its not positive. Getting your confidence is a matter of shifting that. I couldnt agree more! What if a sales growth strategy was based on the confidence that you could create a revolutionary team that progressed the evolution of your firm? I will wait while you read that againrevolutionary sales strategy creating evoluti-onary growth. But how?

Sales growth itself can be like your favorite roller coaster or the dreaded spinning teacups! Navigate the ups and downs by keeping your group moving forward versus the never-ending spinning of building momentum that ends with nothing but whiplash and an upset stomach. If you have been fortunate like me to build high-performing sales teams, you know there is probably more magic than science in doing so. I lean into the magic, the feeling, the artistry of leadership that makes people not only want to work for you but stay working for you. There are any number of highly rated books that all kinds of industries have used to advance their sales organizations, but I would hesitate to tell you there is one tell-all that will be the one for you. Through the years, I have read many of these and applied pieces from each of them. Here are my five magical levers (the order of importance is negotiable):

Anyone on my current team or past sales team has heard me say, As long as you are doing all the things you need to do to accelerate your business, you work for yourself. When you stop doing those, you work for me, and nobody wants to work for me! Its a funny way of saying, Do all the right things and you have my support to take it to any level of success you want!

Revolutionary teams start with a leader who is willing to trust and create accountabilityand be held to those standards as well. You will make mistakes (I make them every day), and sometimes you will even repeat those mistakes. Thats OK. But let me encourage you to own those mistakes up and down the food chain. You will win the respect of your team, you are less likely to make that mistake again because you have acknowledged it as one, and if youre reporting to someone else, you show a willingness to learn and grow.

You may have inferred by now that the evolutionary strategy is less appealing in the fast-paced world of private lending (humbly stated). But it doesnt mean you should altogether avoid a gradual development. It can be an extremely helpful process for things like the pace of hiring, ensuring a balance between sales and ops to create exceptional customer experience, and for measuring twice and cutting once.

Plainly stated, I subscribe to the more magic than science approach in any sales strategy, and I firmly believe when you hire and train the right talent, commit to them in a professional and even personal way, you will build a team that will have others clamoring for your talent.

What is more magical than that?

Dana Georgiou is a seasoned mortgage professional with nearly 30 years of mortgage lending experience, including 15 years of executive management experience in production and operations. Her expertise includes the development of corporate sales growth and strategy, perfecting and implementing solutions to streamline new loan production, and asset management as well as managing large-scale mortgage operation centers.

Georgiou has a deep background in mortgage compliance, including CFPB mock audit efforts. She has worked in all channels of the mortgage business, with the last few years focused on the private lending/business purpose entity lending space. Her proven track record covers operations, credit/risk, and sales and marketing. She is an avid speaker/presenter at numerous mortgage industry events and believes in deep advocacy for education in the private lending space.

Georgiou is a published author, with some of her most recent articles appearing in Mortgage Women Magazine. She sits on the advisory council for the National Alliance of Commercial Lending Brokers and is actively involved with Habitat for Humanity in her local area as a financial counselor helping families achieve their dream of homeownership.

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Revolutionary or Evolutionary? - Think Realty

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) announces partnership with Minti Labs to drive new fan engagement opportunities through its digital platform.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.(BUSINESS WIRE)The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) has partnered with Minti Labs to launch IMSA Fastlane, a digital fan engagement platform. The platform is designed to connect fans with their favorite teams, racecars, and drivers in an entirely new way. IMSA Fastlane will offer community members the opportunity to own digital assets, showcase collections, unlock VIP experiences, and engage in social events. It will also host the only officially licensed marketplace for members to collect and trade video NFT highlights from IMSAs iconic history.

Hero cards, die-cast replicas, and driver autographs have historically been considered high-value items treasured by race fans and memorabilia collectors. However, as everything in the world has evolved, so have collectibles. Digital assets such as NFTs have recently become popular, and incredibly valuable. The IMSA Fastlane Marketplace will allow users to buy, sell, and trade the digital collectibles produced by Minti Labs. Leaderboards will track collector stats and rank collections based on points. Future plans also include digital games, challenges, and community events.

The popularity of motorsport has seen incredible growth over the last several years due, in part, to digital initiatives like eSports. We see collectibles as another digital initiative that can be paired with real-world experiences and provide exciting opportunities for our fans, commented John Doonan, President of IMSA. Our partnership with Minti Labs also provides us with the technical foundation to deliver additional value and benefits to our OEMs and partners as well.

Motorsport has always been a showcase for cutting edge technology. IMSA Fastlane takes the same approach and is applying it to the fan experience, said Paul Dube, co-founder and CEO at Minti Labs. Digital platforms are reshaping how we think about fan and consumer engagement. It presents a powerful shift whereby the fan has a seat at the table simply by leveraging the limitless meta-utility associated with digital collecting and gaming. By doing so, the fan and league experience evolves into a mutually benefiting and dynamic relationship.

Joining the IMSA Fastlane community is easy. First, sign up for the waitlist to reserve your place in line at http://www.imsafastlane.com. As we approach the launch date, waitlist subscribers will be invited to join the platform in the order they sign up. This means the sooner you apply to join, the sooner you can access the platform. The platform is expected to go live in the upcoming weeks. The first series of digital assets and experiences will be released mid-season. Early community members will gain exclusive access, receive special promotions, and qualify to win unique track-side experiences.

Visit http://www.imsafastlane.com to receive updates, news, and product info.

About the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA):

International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA Prototype Challenge, as well as four one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA a company within the NASCAR family is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de lOuest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. For more information please visit http://www.IMSA.com , http://www.twitter.com/IMSA , http://www.facebook.com/IMSA , http://www.instagram.com/imsa_racing .

About Minti Labs:

Minti Labs Inc. is a full service Web3 company building products that offer boundless experiences. From digital collectibles to gaming to the metaverse, Minti Labs is a gateway to possibility limited only by a brands creativity. The 100+ person team of developers, designers, strategists, and more provide innovators with the capability and experience required for Web3 initiatives.

Contacts

Media: Jeff Neasmith jeff@mintilabs.io

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Minti Labs and IMSA Fastlane - the Evolution of Motorsport Collectibles - - Portada-online.com

Camp Cretaceous is an original Netflix series. With a runtime of 25 minutes, it has been rated at 7.5/10 on IMDB. It is a universal dream-works production.

An animated film designed especially for children, it falls in the genre of action and adventure.

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Produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Lane Lueras, and written by Zack Stentz, it is a remake of the original films Jurassic Park and The Lost World.

Jurassic World: Dominion, was released on June 10, 2022. It is an American sci-fi film, and a sequel to Jurassic Park: The Fallen Kingdom. It is the final film of The Jurassic Park trilogy. Steven Spielberg once again has outdone the film. All the versions of Jurassic Park deserve applause. Not only does it charm children, but even adults enjoy the movie.

The enduring, collective love for Jurassic Park is immensely hard to explain. The first film was made in 1993. It has been described by reviewers as a platonic ideal of a blockbuster perfectly preserved in amber.

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Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous takes us through a motorcycle chase in the streets of Taos. The protagonists are Sam Veil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and a new hotshot pilot De Wand Wise. It has a runtime of 2.5 hours.

Set 30 years into post-dino dystopia, the term refers to the era after the dinosaurs. The new era was riddled with chaos and destruction spread by locusts and tech giants. Biosin, a company run by Dodgson (Campbell Scott), caters to these tech giants.

Darius Bowman (Paul Mikel Williams), Kausar Mohammad (Yasmina or Yas) and Jenna Ortega (Brooklyn), Riani Ridguerz (Sammy), Ryan Potter (Kenji Kon) are the lead characters.

The play is set in Isla Nabur, where six teens join an adventure camp to visit dinosaurs.

The film uses fiction and imagination beautifully to put forward the idea of humans mingling with dinosaurs. It breaks the stereotype of dinosaurs being only savage. Dinosaurs, if dealt with kindness will not harm the human race.

The plot opens with Darius playing a game about dinosaurs on the computer.

Just as he is about to win, he loses and the game is set to be over.

His brother comes in telling him theres more to life than just dinosaurs. But watching how keen his interest was, he decided to hide it from their Mom. Mom did not approve! So Darius had to be secretive.

However, Darius is determined to meet the dinosaurs.

Through the computer game, he is transported into Dino World. In Harry Potter, floo powder is used to transcend physical boundaries. How is that possible? Magic is at play here. That is how its made possible.

The costume design is vibrant. The colour palette of red, green, and yellow, brings life to the story. They are colours of fierceness, passion, freedom, nature, rebirth and renewal, warmth.

The scene shifts to Company Pen, the abode of the dinosaurs.

The teenagers are warned not to leave the premises after 9. However, Darius is all too excited and isnt afraid of taking the risk.

Darius, Sammy and Kenji all sneak out in the middle of the night.

They are walking cautiously, when all of a sudden Kenji drops Sammys phone below the fence.

Overconfident, he jumps down to retrieve the phone not realizing the danger he is in!

Will Kenji encounter dinosaurs? If yes, will he be eaten alive or saved?

Who will help him?

Will the myth about dinosaurs be broken or is it not a myth? Did dinosaurs exist?

The series is a must-watch, especially for children. Not only will it develop their vocabulary, but it will also enhance their creativity and expression.

Jurassic World is no mystery. The Fallen Kingdom, the next in line is set in an era of 65 million years later after the dinosaurs became extinct.

Dominion, the title is self-explanatory. When man tries to establish control over nature. It results in devastation that is irrevocable.

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'Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous' is the best evolution of Jurassic Park - Daily Minute Mirror

The recent ODSC conference highlighted changes in data science in the last few years including the move to cloud, the need to support increasingly sophisticated workflows, and more attention on security.

RTInsights recently had the opportunity to speak with Sheamus McGovern, Founder and CEO of the Open Data Science Conference (ODSC). ODSC is one of the leading, most comprehensive conference and training organizations dedicated to data science. It brings together experts from the tech industry, academia, and government organizations and a cross-section of data scientists with the various professionals that support AI and big data solutions.

How have you seen the field of data science evolve in the years since you founded ODSC in 2015?

McGovern: I would say definitely the biggest shift since 2015 has been the move off the laptop and onto the cloud. What that really meant was the scale of data science and machine learning could really expand over the last five years. Before, people were working on what we would call small to medium-sized data sets with smaller feature sets. Back then, if you were dealing with 10,000 features, you would think that is a massive data set. Just working with ten features was a challenge.

Data science took a different path to cloud than software development because software development went to the cloud for the purposes of productivity and certainly scalability, but machine learning went there because it was imperative in order to scale within the machine learning workflow.

Now that data science is firmly linked to cloud capabilities and has crossed new scale boundaries. Where are you seeing the most change now?

McGovern: Over the last three years, weve seen a practice evolve that was searching for a label. We were calling it data ops, AI ops, and dev data ops. And then finally, in the last two years, it became known asMLOps.

Related: 6Q4: Demetrios Brinkmann, on the role of community in solving MLOps greatest challenges

Once data science moved to the cloud, the workflows got more sophisticated. So, your workflow had to cover feature engineering, feature modeling, feature deprecation, monitoring, etc. In addition, because youve gone to the cloud now, machine learning and data science were catching up with software architecture and what the software field was doing in terms of DevOps.

And now, were starting to pay attention to continuous integration, continuous monitoring, and real-time monitoring of models and applications. The workflow now encompasses the whole range of real-time event-processing, data analytics, data science, and machine learning. These were emerging on different paths, but now you see software engineering, data engineering, and data science machine learning starting to convergeprimarily because they moved to the cloud.

Would you say that data science is becoming a truly interdisciplinary endeavor?

McGovern: Right. When data scientists were working away on their laptops, they could forget about a lot of the dependencies. Now everything is converging because of the cloud.

How does that affect the traditional role of a data scientist, if there ever was such a thing as a traditional role?

McGovern: When we hear that someone is hiring a data scientist, we ask ourselves, what does that really mean? Theres even a big difference between the related roles of a data scientist and a machine learning engineer. It always seemed to be too narrow a focus. Maybe data science will follow the same trend as software engineering.

Ten or fifteen years ago, we were all programmers. Now there are so many more defined roles. Are you a backend engineer, data engineer, or full-stack engineer? The machine learning and data science field is waking up to the disambiguation because, for example, when you go look for an NLP engineer, you dont see many jobs for that, right?

You do see specialization skills around NLP or computer vision. So, I think theres still a way to go in the specialization of the field as well, but there is still a long way to go before that level of specialization is needed.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are serious gaps, for example, the QA engineer. I have yet to see a role for the AI test engineer. That responsibility is either being put on the software QA side in the IT department or software development team, but you actually need very special skills to test models.

Are there any other gaps that youre aware of in the AI/ML workflow?

McGovern: The project management side of it is becoming very important. We see a lot of companies struggling with the whole concept of machine learning and data science projects. ODSC has developed a co-located event called AIX that looks at AI from the business and industries perspective. There have been many sessions on the need for project management.

Project management, the PMP designation, came out of the construction industry and then very successfully moved to the software industry. Once that discipline was coupled with agile development, it became hugely successful for the software field.

However, machine learning and data science projects start like research projects that, if theyre going to be successful, have to be managed from the get-go as real projects. Having a vague target of porting AI to the cloud is not enough. Adding storyboarding and time/resource estimates is better but still doesnt cover all the aspects.

For example, questions even as basic as where am I going to get the data have to be considered. Is the data already available, or do I have to collect it? Once we get the data, how is our model going to work out? There are more sophisticated questions around loss functions and error rates. Or back to basics againwill it actually work, and how do we prove that out? Thats just the tip of the iceberg.

Thats often what is meant by the phrase operationalizing AI. Can you shed more light on whats involved in bringing projects from the research and sandboxing phase through to production?

McGovern: Companies are coming to their project managers and saying they want a new business solution, for example, a new credit risk scoring mechanism that doesnt rely on static and inflexible algorithms but instead uses machine learning. Great. Where do we get the data? Where do we get the team? How do you put a framework around the complexities of machine learning and data science?

Presently, because we dont have that framework, its difficult to estimate the size of these projects. That leads to problems because then how do you start to measure failure rates? How do you determine how close the end product is to the feature specs? How do you measure the success of outcomes since you are often not sure of the outcomes until you are past the research stage? Research stages lend themselves well to masking failure rates because their goal is to discover a good approach or method, which can then be built into a solution.

Would you say that thats one of the next frontiers people are seeking to cross?

McGovern: That was an important focus for our community last year. This year, we are focused on security and cybersecurity. I was especially interested to see that more is being done in the field of machine learning safety, which is not the same thing as responsible AI, which we are also seeing a lot of interest in. Responsible AI centers on the processes of the data scientists and engineers creating AI systems. Machine learning safety or reliable machine learning centers on the hardening of AI systems against a malevolent actor.

There is a connection to the topic of project management in both of these areas. So, when youre looking at starting new projects, you shouldnt be waiting until the end and asking whether it was an ethical project. Having a responsible AI checklist is the wrong approach. The questions of responsibility and ethics must be asked at the outset and at every step along the way. Some of these questions impact whether the outcomes are even accurate. You can say that a model is not being trained on a wide enough feature set, or the model is being trained on a certain persona with all the assumptions and biases baked into it. One example of this is looking at gender-blind income levels and credit profiles but then assuming the persona is male.

We have to think about responsible AI at the data generation phase, the data capture phase, the feature engineering phase, and the model deployment phase. What happens if your models deprecate? They were ethical at the start, but how are you measuring that they remain ethical?

Ive always thought responsible AI was the result of unintended consequences. No one set out to create a biased model. It is more of an educational, leadership, and awareness kind of issue.

If responsible AI seeks to prevent unintended negative consequences, does reliable AI mitigate intended negative consequences?

McGovern: Exactly. AI safety is slightly different because now youre dealing with malicious actors. Just like with cybersecurity, you are protecting your AI environment and systems from being tampered with. But there might be many more ways to hack AI than a network.

For example, a lot of data training is done with data captured from the web, right? You are mining social media for sentiment analysis on companies, their stock, or their products. This data is, at best poor, but imagine that someone has deployed bots to generate a lot of negative reviews to poison the data. That data is then fed into an AI system and worked into your model with disastrous results. You can sink a companys reputation and even lower its stock value. Digital images are also especially vulnerable. Changing a few pixels on an image can make it look like something entirely different to computer vision software.

Another problem is that reverse engineering an algorithm is not impossible, and its not illegal. There are people with enough time on their hands that will try to reverse engineer your model. You can only guess how they can profit from that. Its the new proving ground for hackers, data science hackers.

So, I predict that just like bad trading caused the crash of a lot of financial houses, in the future, bad AI algorithms will bring down companies through monetary losses or reputational losses. Companies need to be more aware of the risks and take action. Responsible people think responsibly. But AI safety is about robustness, engineering robust machine learning systems that can deal with adversarial attacks.

Well, we took an unexpected dark turn. Tell us about the bright spots and opportunities you see in the world of AI.

McGovern: Yes, lets talk about something much cooler. ODSC now includes a startup showcase. Seeing all the new ideas come into the industry is very exciting. Ive been noticing a really exciting trend with these startups. One of the reasons I started ODSC, an open data science conference, was that from my perspective coming from finance, which is a bit of a closed industry, I loved the whole idea of open source.

People were out there building these unbelievable systems that were better than paid products. I was using both kinds of products as a programmer and found the open-source ones were just better. I couldnt believe these people were spending all their time and effort creating these programs, and I wanted to basically give them a soapbox.

Back in the day, hedge funds were the place to be if you had a Ph.D. Now its AI. I see a lot of the smartest people joining open-source-focused startups. They are actually using their startup funding to build great open-source communities that will build great platforms and tools.

Discover for yourself what is trending in open data science at opendatascience.com and AI Startup Showcase.

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The Evolution of Data Science and Its Changing Role Evident at ODSC - RTInsights

The era of electronic logging devices and the rise of telematics have given fleets a more competitive edge. Telematics and connectivity for transportation have changed vastly over the years, offering more benefits today than ever to solve some of the most crucial challenges that commercial fleets face.

Technologies are evolving rapidly, allowing fleet managers to track vehicle locations and leverage various data points to make more informed business decisions, Azuga CEO Ananth Rani told FleetOwner. The data, he added, is increasingly complex and involves data analytics of vehicle health, driver behavior, and predictive risk models.

Geospatial data isn't going away, but the power of telematics has become a must-have solution for any business that runs on wheels, Rani said. Optimizing efficiencies within the fleets is one of the biggest challenges we hear our customers talk about today. They are experiencing increased workloads with high expectations, and they are looking to their fleet telematics provider to help optimize their routes and ensure driver productivity.

See also: Growing pains for growing fleets

Thirty years ago, Schneider, which ranks No. 11 on the 2022 FleetOwner 500: For-Hire list, implemented the first generation of vehicle telematics and connectivity with in-cab satellite communications. Now, the national provider of truckload, intermodal, and logistics services uses the Platform Science Internet of Things (IoT) telematics platform to put more innovations at drivers fingertips.

Schneider has always been committed to operational excellence and identifying opportunities to use and create new technology, said Mark Rourke, Schneider CEO, back when the company implemented Platform Science. Our work with Platform Science allows us to immediately improve the driver experience, enhance efficiency and productivity, and provide the tools to futureproof our telematics capability in an industry that needs speed to market more than ever.

The Platform Science solution replaces legacy telematics solutions with its IoT ecosystem designed to unlock the value of disconnected data streams throughout the transportation and logistics industry.

Schneider's chief information officer, Shaleen Devgun, told FleetOwner that even the rate and pace of change in the telematics space has picked up and now mirrors what has happened over the years with the evolution of technology.

It's a hockey stick, Devgun explained. So, you take 10 years of change, and that 10 or 15 years of change prior to that is now happening every two or three years. That's the rate and paceits just accelerated.

He indicated that, historically, telematics was an appliance-based solution that was very hardware-centric with limited capabilities outside of location-based tracking. That hardware-based ecosystem has transitioned into more of a software-based ecosystem that is driving not just tracking but productivity across all areas within transportation.

That operational productivity has expanded to carrier maintenance departments, where software solutions are giving fleets the necessary tools to manage transparency across the shop. In addition, data emitted from these connected vehicle devices can help fleets increase uptime and enhance predictive maintenance capabilities.

Collecting this data allows fleets to understand how vehicles are operating in the real world versus through more abstract maintenance windows, explained Chris Orban, Trimbles VP of business and area manager of supply chain insights.

With the additional information emitted from tractors, fleets could extend their preventive maintenance schedules based on actual usage and driver conditions, thus reducing the overall cost of scheduled maintenanceand ultimately reducing the total cost of ownership.

Willie Reeves, director of maintenance at PacLease, recalled the humble beginnings when telematics was used to track only the location of a specific unit compared to how the technology has evolved today.

This was one of the first benefits of telematics, and it helped pave the way for the advances that we see today, Reeves said. In todays ever-changing and expanding environment, we are not only able to simply track the location of a specific unit; we are able to see diagnostic information, fault codes, engine mileage, idle time, and even perform over-the-air software updates.

See also: How to unlock fleet uptime with data-powered tools

Telematics and connectivity also provide an easy-to-use solution for most fleets, Reeves said.

Fleet managers can now better understand maintenance requirements, truck conditions, and even predict potential areas to address, he noted. The days of simple telematicsthat only provide asset locationare long behind us.

Fleets with thousands of assets know about these abilities, how they provide transparency, and more importantly, how they help plan scheduled downtime and decrease unplanned maintenance. But with this evolution of connectivity and telematics solutions, changes are happening so rapidly, there are now several strategies and options for all fleets.

NavistarsMeena Narahari,director of total cost of ownership and uptime, pointed out that data-driven maintenance is the path forward to managing planned maintenance and proactively addressing unexpected issues before they become catastrophic failures.

When fleets take a data-driven approach to monitoring vehicle health, they optimize their uptime, Narahari said. This means less unplanned service events and visits. It also helps to combine service activities efficiently to address any pending fault codes, campaigns, previously deferred service work, and any required regulatory inspections altogether.

Srinivas Mallela,Navistars director of customer aftersales experience, added that vehicle utilization, operational characteristics, and manufacturer-recommended service intervals are critical factors for optimizing service events and contribute to a lower total cost of ownership. Monitoring idling, cruise, braking, and acceleration events can help improve fuel efficiency resulting in a lower cost per mile.

Improved fuel economy can help customers extend the maintenance intervals, resulting in lower maintenance costs, Mallela said. When fleets understand how their vehicles are performing on the road, they can make small adjustments to vehicle management that can greatly reduce the cost of maintenance.

Many new trucks today are pre-wired for ELDs and connectivity. For example, Paccar, the corporate parent of Peterbilt Motors Co. and Kenworth, gives new trucks access to Paccar Solutions, a website that provides users with live information on their equipment.

Peterbilt trucks are equipped with Paccar Solutions Service Management, which runs alongside the company's ARTech augmented reality tool.

Our goal is to drive uptime for our customers using a wide variety of technologies, and we can do that with ARTech by empowering technicians who are working on our equipment, said Jason Skoog, Peterbilt's general manager and Paccars VP. This technology spans the gap between 2D technical data trapped on paper or on screens and the real vehicle in the service bay. Our ARTech augmented reality tool is giving technicians quick access to the information they need when they need it the mostright next to the truck in the service bay.

More and more, technology is being utilized to improve driver satisfaction. Schneider, for example, has been leveraging the Platform Science IoT solution to boost the quality of its drivers experience.

In the past, fleets needed the driver to interact with the technology a lot more, Schneiders Devgun explained. Over time, however, Schneider has shifted its philosophy, allowing professional truck drivers to stay focused on what's most important: the safe and efficient operation of the commercial vehicle.

Technology has helped eliminate some of the burdens of constantly having to ask drivers a lot of questions. Now, a software-based ecosystem can deduce the information automatically without fleet managers or dispatchers having to constantly interrupt the driver.

See also: Orbcomm launches next-gen IoT solution for reefer container operations

The multiple terabytes of data that Schneider constantly derives from its assets every day has become priceless, Devgun added.

Whether it's information about how the equipment is functioning or how the driver is driving the truck, there's a lot of that information that we're now able to derive from these telematics platforms, Devgun said. We can use it to make decisions across the enterprise. We can use it to make decisions around optimizing our network. We can use that information derived through or collected through telematics to make safety decisions.

He also mentioned that thanks to 5G networks, massive amounts of data can be moved back and forth easier, which also creates huge opportunities for fleets.

In addition to eliminating some of the burden from the driver, fleet managers can use telematics to provide operational intelligence for route planning and real-time visibility to dispatch.

By providing real-time visibility into lighting, brakes, tires, and other components that are known to be usual suspects during roadside stops, telematics identifies many issues that are easily preventable with proactive trailer maintenance programs in place, saidChris MacDonald,Orbcomm SVP of global transportation sales.

He also pointed out that more than 70% of federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability violations are from maintenance or service problems.

Knowing the location of each asset along with its current load capacity can help plan future trips and ensure the right driverone with available hours and trailer spaceis heading to the right job, MacDonald said. Strategic route planning leveraging trailer telematics limits deadhead miles while improving detention billing accuracy for excessive detention time, which can help mitigate losses.

In March, Orbcomm revealed its newest feature enhancements to its data-driven truck telematics solution. The truck management solution provides nose-to-tail intelligence that delivers data insights to fleets, streamlining their operations and helping them achieve business goals. The solution includes cargo camera sensors, tractor ID sensors for refrigerated trailers, and safety and maintenance integrations.

Current trends around data reliance will continue and only get more complex, Azugas Rani said. He expects the utilization of AI and machine learning to continue to grow and help in a number of areas, especially in terms of safety and route optimization.

The business decisions will also expand further into tire analytics, insurance claims, and more, Rani explained. Essentially, telematics will enable predictive models that prevent accidents, automate the maintenance schedules of vehicles, improve routing optimization further, and so much more.

The next evolution is in trailers, Trimbles Orban said. Most trailer tracking today is great for asset location tracking, he said, but trailer telematics and connectivity are still catching up to the level of detail seen in over-the-road trucks today. Orban believes there needs to be a unified portal that brings in trailer and truck data from these disparate sources.

See also: Smarter trailers are making trucking more efficient

Before coming to Trimble, I worked at a carrier that used several different telematics providers and several different trailer tracking providers across its fleet, Orban said. Each had their own method of communication, and there was not one portal to access them all in one place, meaning back-office staff had to go check several different systems to find answers to the questions they had. We eventually developed our own web portal for the data, but not all fleets have that kind of IT resource.

For Ross Froat, executive director of FleetPulse at Great Dane, trailer connectivity has become the most interesting topic in the trucking industry, with a long-term focus on automation. But before that can be deployed (or even considered) at scale, trailers will need to be more recognized as a critical part of that equation, Froat noted.

"Telematics have evolved from location-based services to being able to receive data from many different sensors on critical components, enabling true smart trailers," Froat explained. "The strong relationships between suppliers building new smart components, trailer OEMs, and fleets are extremely strong and will help accelerate future trailer technology advancements."

"Trailers and trailer equipment take up the most volume on roadways and are the heaviest-weighing vehicles," Froat added. "Because of this there is true value in continuing to advance trailer technology and also in establishing connectivity between the tractor and trailer. In this way, fleets can gain more insight into asset utilization, cargo security, transportation safety, and predictive maintenance across all their equipment. This will eventually lead to the advancements required for long-haul electrification and autonomy."

The ultimate goal,according toJessica Smith,Phillips VP of customer and data insight,is to provide enough data to satisfy the U.S. Department of Transportation and the asset owner, ensure the trailers are meeting all guidelines, and find out if they can be used with autonomous trucks.

Autonomous trucks dont work without a smart trailer, CEO Rob Phillips has said. If youve got an autonomous truck going down the highway with a fireball behind it, thats a problem.

Smith pointed out that Phillips Connects CargoVision shows the fleet a real-time internal view of what is inside the trailer and if there are any claims so the driver can get on the road much faster.

She explained the company has released multiple sensors and gateways that can monitor both the health and status of a fleet's assets. It helps the fleets deliver decoded ABS updates with instructions on why the fault code is present and what to do, shows tire pressure, and sets constraints that are customizable at the customer level.

Our customers are seeing that their regulators are not set at optimal levels and their ATIS systems are not engaging, she said. This not only affects tire health but also decreases fuel efficiency.

In a short time, commercial vehicle connectivity has experienced swift-evolution, and industry stakeholders believe that further advancement in technology will continue to empower fleets with vast new abilities.

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The evolution of truck telematics, connectivity | FleetOwner - FleetOwner

Evolution and pivoting are integral as companies scale, allowing them to incorporate more features and capabilities in a bid to serve a wider audience, drive expanded business objectives and deliver solutions to more use cases.

Snowflake Inc. started its journey by providing a combined big data and data warehouse solution, infused with an elasticity and simplicity that struck a chord with customers.

Then we realized that there is one other unique attribute in the cloud thatdoesnt exist on-premises, which is collaboration,how you can connect different tenants of the platform together, saidBenoit Dageville (pictured), co-founder and president of products at Snowflake Inc.

Now the next frontier of innovation is data sharing within applications, he added.

Dageville spoke with theCUBE industry analyst Dave VellanteandLisa Martin at Snowflake Summit, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Medias livestreaming studio. They discussed how Snowflake is evolving its Data Cloud platform to provide more value in collaboration.(* Disclosure below.)

Snowflake notches a decade of availability in just a couple of months. So, its only logical for the company to shape the next 10 years proactively. Its partner ecosystem will be invaluable to the companys next decade, according to Dageville.

I really believe that most of Snowflake will not be built by Snowflake, he said. And thatsthe power of the partners and these applications. When you are going to say, Imusing Snowflake, actually, probably you are not going to use something directly co-developed bySnowflake. That code will leverage our platform and you will use a solution thathas been built on top of Snowflake.

A strong example of that strategy in motion is the Apache Iceberg integration, where Snowflake even announced support for hybrid table formats.

Everything that you can do with our internalformats, you can do it with Apache iceberg, including security, defining masking data,masking all the governance that we have, and the finer-grained security aspects,the reputations you can define and the social optimizations you can place on top,Dageville said.

On the data programmability front, Snowflake is working to become the unified platform upon which users build data-based applications with robust coverage of the data science and engineering all the way to interactive, value-added user interfaces, according to Dageville. Its acquisition of Streamlit is a prominent pointer to this commitment.

The data generated around a companys own data is crucial to create context during analysis, and thats what makes data collaboration so important, Dageville added.Thedata collaboration is critical,and now we expanded it to application and expertisesharing models, for example, and thats going to have a huge impact, he said.

Transactional data, thanks to its dynamic nature, is delicate to manage. Unistore, a new Snowflake workload, allows users to combine transactional data sets and directly overlay analytics on them.

We announced native applicationswhich are fully executed and run inside the datacloud. They need all the services that the application needs and, in particular, managing their states, Dageville said.

Heres the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLEs and theCUBEs coverage of the Snowflake Summit event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Snowflake Summit event. Neither Snowflake, the sponsor for theCUBEs event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

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The evolution of collaboration in the Data Cloud: Snowflake co-founder weighs in - SiliconANGLE News

If you think giant pandas had it bad, spare a thought for the tiny parasitic mites that live in the pores of the skin on our faces which may be destined for an evolutionary dead-end, according to a new analysis of their DNA.

More than 90% of us host the 0.3mm long-mites in the oily folds on our faces, most living in the pores near our noses and eyelashes.

It is probably the closest relationship to another animal most of us never knew we had.

The mite, Demodex follicularum, spends its entire lifetime living in our skin follicles. In the daytime they feed on our oily skin secretions, at night they leave the pore to find mates, and find new follicles in which to have sex and lay their eggs.

If the thought makes you want to wash your face, forget it. You've been carrying the mites since you were born - they're passed from mother to baby during breast feeding - and live too deep in the pores to be washed out. And besides, we need them, says Dr Alejandra Perotti of the University of Reading, who co-authored the study.

"We should love them because they're the only animals that live on our bodies our entire life and we should appreciate them because they clean our pores."

"Besides, they're cute," says Dr Perotti.

Perhaps not everyone would agree. The mites have four pairs of stubby legs each with a pair of claws. Beyond that a long worm like body which, under the microscope, can sometimes be seen protruding from our hair follicles.

But this latest study, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, has shown just how incredibly intimate their relationship with humans has become.

The researchers analysed the genome of the mites and found it has the smallest number of functional genes of any arthropod (insects, arachnids and crustaceans).

The animals have become so dependent on their human host that their genome is "eroding" -- stripped down to the bare minimum of genes needed to survive, the researchers conclude.

They found that the gene which normally regulates waking and sleeping in arthropods has been lost. Instead, the organism detects changes in levels of the hormone melatonin in our skin secretions. It goes up when we sleep, telling Demodex to get up, and goes down when we wake up - their cue to head back down our oily pores for dinner.

They've also lost the gene that protects their bodies from UV light - what's the point when you only come out at night? Even their body plan is minimalist - each leg is powered by just a single muscle cell.

Their ecology becoming so closely synchronised with humans shows the species is on its way from being an external parasite to an internal symbiont - an organism entirely dependent on us for its existence.

As their genetic diversity shrinks, and with it their ability to leave their host and find new mates, they are also at possible risk of eventually going extinct - either when humans do or as a result of some significant change to their environment.

It was once believed Demodex were a cause of common skin conditions, but in healthy people the evidence is Demodex actually help prevent problems like acne by unblocking pores.

But that's not the only reason we should care about them, says Dr Perotti:

"We are living in a world where we should be protecting biodiversity -- and these are our very own animal."

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Microscopic mites that have sex on our faces at night could face evolutionary oblivion, say scientists - Sky News