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Singapore International Robo Expo 2018 returns against Exponential Change in Industry

The Singapore International Robo Expo (SIRE) 2018 will return on 1-2 November to the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The 3rd edition of SIRE will focus on next generation robotics in both its conference as well as exhibition showcase, addressing the entire value chain – from technology research and development to test bedding, to final commercialisation and go to market. “The strong growth in the Asia Pacific region has reinforced SIRE as a key platform for the robotics and automation sector to respond to rising demand,” said Mr Leck Chet Lam, Managing Director, Experia Events. “Set against the dynamic backdrop of fast-paced innovation and technology changes, our theme this year spotlights ‘Riding Opportunities in Exponential Change’. SIRE provides a strategic gateway for industry leaders, government officials, research and academia to exchange insights, participate in solutions-based discourse, forge partnerships and explore business opportunities.” SIRE 2018 offers a holistic and integrated programme for all the stakeholders in the robotics community -from thought leadership insights for decision makers to investment opportunities for venture capitalists and companies, from the latest innovative solutions for industry buyers to expert huddle sessions open to all trade visitors. A key showcase will be the series of seven transformative robotic solutions developed by Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) with support from the National Robotics Research & Development Programme Office (NR2PO). These solutions, together with the commercial launches to be announced at SIRE 2018, underpin the full value chain approach of the National Robotics Programme, which not only nurtures the development of advanced robotics technology but also sees it through to test-bedding and finally to licensing and commercialization. These robots work on the principle of intelligent and automated reconfiguration by replicating the human elements of adaptability and reactivity. They are able reconfigure or reshape themselves to adapt to […]

JEC Asia gathers the composites industry in Korea for its 11th edition

JEC Asia will be held November 14-16, 2018 at COEX Centre, Seoul, South Korea After the record-breaking figures of the 2017 edition, that marked the move of JEC Asia from Singapore to Seoul, the event is returning to the capital city of the Republic of Korea with a strong program, not only on the exhibition floor, but also in the conference sessions and all services at the disposal of every attendee. “We are very grateful for the support of the industry, government bodies, and academics, regarding the evolution of JEC Asia, that has led to the success of the platform. Indeed, 90% of the show floor is already booked boding well for the preparation of the event.” Commented Christian Strassburger, Events Director Asia for JEC Group. “On top of that, the event is truly international, as 45% of the exhibitors are coming from outside Asia. JEC Asia will welcome pavilions from Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China and Singapore, as well as the major composite clusters in Korea.” He added. Focus on the automotive industry The future of mobility is a hot topic for composite materials and JEC Asia will represent, promote and provide information about the increasing integration of composites in automotive developments. Numerous programs will be offered, such as a whole day conference on Composites in Automotive, a Leadership Composites Circle, an Auto Planet, showcasing parts, a B2B meetings program, a JEC Innovation Award category and Composites tours (site visits of composite related facilities). Finally, for the second time, JEC Asia will host the International Carbon Festival, organised by KCTECH and the Jeonju region, with top-notch conferences and international speakers.

AI can’t solve everything

One of the most promising varieties of AI technologies are neural networks. The hysteria about the future of artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. There seems to be no shortage of sensationalist news about how AI could cure diseases, accelerate human innovation and improve human creativity. Just looking at the media headlines, you might think that we are already living in a future where AI has infiltrated every aspect of society. While it is undeniable that AI has opened up a wealth of promising opportunities, it has also led to the emergence of a mindset that can be best described as “AI solutionism”. This is the philosophy that, given enough data, machine learning algorithms can solve all of humanity’s problems. But there’s a big problem with this idea. Instead of supporting AI progress, it jeopardises the value of machine intelligence by disregarding important AI safety principles and setting unrealistic expectations about what AI can really do for humanity. AI solutionism In only a few years, AI solutionism has made its way from the technology evangelists’ mouths in Silicon Valley to the minds of government officials and policymakers around the world. The pendulum has swung from the dystopian notion that AI will destroy humanity to the utopian belief that our algorithmic saviour is here. We are now seeing governments pledge support to national AI initiatives and compete in a technological and rhetorical arms race to dominate the burgeoning machine learning sector. For example, the UK government has vowed to invest £300m in AI research to position itself as a leader in the field. Enamoured with the transformative potential of AI, the French president Emmanuel Macron committed to turn France into a global AI hub. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is increasing its AI prowess with a national plan to create a Chinese AI […]

FILE PHOTO: Vendors sit under umbrellas inside a wholesale flower market in Bengaluru

Asian firms’ confidence sinks to near 3-year low on trade war fears

Reuters By Gayatri Suroyo Confidence among Asian companies slumped to the weakest in almost three years in the third quarter as businesses feared blowback from a worsening global trade war, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed. In the picture: Vendors sit under umbrellas inside a wholesale flower market in Bengaluru, India, April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa Representing the six-month outlook of 104 firms, the Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index fell to 58 for the July-September quarter, its lowest since the fourth quarter of 2015, from 74 three months before. It was a second straight quarter-on-quarter decline for the index and the pace of the fall was the steepest recorded since the survey began in 2009. A reading above 50 indicates a positive outlook. “The fall in the index could be a strong signal of an economic slowdown,” said Antonio Fatas, a Singapore-based economics professor at global business school INSEAD, adding that the survey results had historically correlated well with changes in economic growth in Asia Pacific. “We have witnessed a cyclical upturn in the world economy that had to come to an end. We see the end of the cycle in advanced economies as well as emerging markets. This survey confirms that these fears are real,” he said. A global trade war was cited as the chief business risk by respondents, while the second most identified risks were a China economic slowdown and currency fluctuations. The survey was conducted from Aug. 31 through Sept. 14. U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China on Monday, imposing 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of Chinese imports and warning of further tariffs if China takes retaliatory action. China responded by saying it will retaliate. Analysts say a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies may only modestly […]

SolarWinds appoints Ingram Micro as Singapore and Hong Kong distributor

SolarWinds, a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, has appointment Ingram Micro as a distributor for Singapore and Hong Kong. The new relationship will help increase awareness of the SolarWinds IT management software portfolio and strengthen Ingram Micro’s existing network management, monitoring, performance, and security solutions offerings, ultimately helping technology professionals solve today’s IT challenges. Ingram Micro is the world’s largest technology distributor, with deep expertise in technology solutions, mobility, cloud, and supply chain solutions, enabling its business partners to operate efficiently and successfully in the markets they serve. Ingram Micro operates in 160 countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and across Southeast Asia. “Ingram Micro holds extensive experience in the region, and we believe they will enhance our coverage across the market and assist us in reaching a broader audience of potential resellers who can promote and deliver SolarWinds® products to their customers,” said David Cronk, senior vice president of international sales, SolarWinds. “We’re excited about Ingram Micro’s ‘Advanced Solutions’ team and feel that this value-add will be key in helping resellers position SolarWinds.” Francis Choo, vice president and chief country executive, ASEAN and HK, at Ingram Micro, added, “SolarWinds is an important addition to our existing vast portfolio and we believe has high potential in the Singapore and Hong Kong markets. “With the current virtualisation trend, network and systems management software is crucial for businesses of all sizes and SolarWinds will help enable our partners to easily pinpoint and identify issues via their user-friendly interface.”

JEC Asia gathers the composites industry in Korea for its 11th edition

JEC Asia will be held November 14-16, 2018 at COEX Centre, Seoul, South Korea. After the record-breaking figures of the 2017 edition, that marked the move of JEC Asia from Singapore to Seoul, the event is returning to the capital city of the Republic of Korea with a strong program, not only on the exhibition floor, but also in the conference sessions and all services at the disposal of every attendee. “We are very grateful for the support of the industry, government bodies, and academics, regarding the evolution of JEC Asia, that has led to the success of the platform. Indeed, 90% of the show floor is already booked boding well for the preparation of the event.” Commented Christian Strassburger, Events Director Asia for JEC Group. “On top of that, the event is truly international, as 45% of the exhibitors are coming from outside Asia. JEC Asia will welcome pavilions from Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China and Singapore, as well as the major composite clusters in Korea.” He added. Focus on the automotive industry The future of mobility is a hot topic for composite materials and JEC Asia will represent, promote and provide information about the increasing integration of composites in automotive developments. Numerous programs will be offered, such as a whole day conference on Composites in Automotive, a Leadership Composites Circle, an Auto Planet, showcasing parts, a B2B meetings program, a JEC Innovation Award category and Composites tours (site visits of composite related facilities). Finally, for the second time, JEC Asia will host the International Carbon Festival, organised by KCTECH and the Jeonju region, with top-notch conferences and international speakers.

The fourth industrial revolution and the factories of the future

After a decade of flat productivity, the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is expected to create up to $3.7 trillion in value to global manufacturing. A few years back, experts noted that the changes associated with the 4IR would come at an unprecedented rate yielding incredible results for those who truly embraced them. Still, the hockey stick of benefits has not kicked in yet – while all companies are making efforts to adopt technology, most of the production industry (~70%) remains in pilot purgatory (where technology pilots last for extended periods of time, and companies do not take the final step of scaling up viable technologies). Less than 30% of manufacturing companies are actively rolling out Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies at scale. The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with McKinsey, has undertaken a global search and assessment for “4IR production lighthouses” – sites representing the most advanced sub-section of the companies who are actively deploying 4IR technologies at scale. Leveraging these lighthouse sites, we will create an inclusive learning platform with aims on becoming the next “go-to” system for advanced manufacturing and bring the world closer to capturing the lion’s share of the benefits. The Fourth Industrial Revolution fundamentally transforms production Most manufacturing lines still look a lot the same way they did 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. Operators clock in, have a brief conversation with their crew and shift supervisor, and then operate a machine or tool for 8-12 hours before heading home. Depending on the day, the machine may break and need maintenance or an adjustment, the line settings may need to be modified for a specific product or run, or the operator may need to step away to resupply the line or be trained on a new procedure. In 4IR transformed manufacturing sites – production lighthouses – this […]

Seequent opens up 3D modelling world to improve geological risk management

Central ‘single source’ management of complex geological data unlocks higher value for mining and minerals, civil engineering, environmental and geothermal energy industries. Seequent, a developer of revolutionary visual data science software, has released Central 2.0 an advanced central management platform for an organisation’s entire geological modelling activity that connects geology teams and company executives to insights and data not previously available to improve geological risk management. Central was developed for use with Seequent’s Leapfrog 3D geological modelling software.as part of the company’s collaborative industry development process to better meet future needs in the mining and minerals, civil engineering, environmental and geothermal energy industries. Shaun Maloney, CEO of Seequent, says: “The critical importance of managing geological risk has been demonstrated by many recent high profile project failures. We’re laser focussed on helping companies to get on the front foot to manage their geological risks – by effectively communicating this to project stakeholders, and enabling robust risk management plans to be developed.” Seequent has worked with dozens of organisations in each of its core sectors over the past six years to better understand how to help shift each industry to where it needs to be. It has backed this with multi-million-dollar investments in product R&D to extend the company’s overall capability. Maloney says in today’s increasingly complex business environment, organisations are often running multiple projects at the same time and often from different locations, creating a huge amount of geological data that they need to rely on for important investment and environmental decisions. “Ultimately it’s about providing the insight and confidence organisations need to make time critical business decisions about their earth, environment and energy challenges. By enabling people to see stories within the most up to date data – it builds up a whole picture for projects – for example, allowing […]

ThingWorx enables smart manufacturing

China International Marine Containers (Group) Ltd. a world leading supplier of logistics and energy equipment, has successfully launched its smart manufacturing pilot project, ‘IoT + MES,’ built on PTC’s ThingWorx Industrial Innovation Platform. Echoing the concept of ‘Made in China 2025’ and efforts to promote the deep integration of the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and the real economy, CIMC has been committed to innovation and promoting the development of smart manufacturing. Its subsidiary, Qingdao CIMC Reefer Container Manufacture Co., Ltd, took the lead in piloting the integration of IoT and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). As the overall platform for the QCRC pilot project, ThingWorx will connect to the company’s MES to form an integrated factory information platform and data application consumption platform to achieve full-course visual operations, conduct big data analysis of major technologies, and ultimately help reduce operating costs and increase production efficiency. ThingWorx is the industry leading, award-winning Industrial Innovation Platform from PTC that includes technologies and tools that enable users to rapidly develop, deploy, and extend apps and augmented reality experiences. ThingWorx contains a broad set of features, including a variety of connectivity options, application development tools, and analytics all built around a single, real-time view of a physical object in the digital world. Thus, ThingWorx supports remote data collection of connected devices, enables independent and secure connection between devices, manages devices/sensors, and integrates with multiple enterprise-level systems. The big data learning and analysis function in ThingWorx will also enable predictive maintenance and reduce energy consumption and unplanned downtime of those devices. QCRC project leaders will be able to understand the factory’s operations, abnormalities, and warnings in real-time, as well as future production trends. The QCRC pilot project, ‘IoT + MES,’ is a case where information technology is used to solve the problem in business management. […]

Eight myths about AI’s effect on the workplace

The interplay between technology and work has always been a hot topic. While technology has typically created more jobs than it has destroyed on a historical basis, this context rarely stops people from believing that things are “different” this time around. In this case, it’s the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) that is being hotly debated by the media and expert commentators. Although there is no doubt that AI will be a transformative force in business, the recent attention on the subject has also led to many common misconceptions about the technology and its anticipated effects. AI is going to be a seismic shift in business – and it’s expected to create a $15.7 trillion economic impact globally by 2030. But understandably, monumental shifts like this tend to make people nervous, resulting in many unanswered questions and misconceptions about the technology and what it will do in the workplace. Demystifying myths Here are the eight debunked myths about AI: Automation will completely displace employees Truth: 70% of employers see AI in supporting humans in completing business processes. Meanwhile, only 11% of employers believe that automation will take over the work found in jobs and business processes to a “great extent”. Companies are primarily interested in cutting costs with AI Truth: 84% of employers see AI as obtaining or sustaining a competitive advantage, and 75% see AI as a way to enter into new business areas. 63% see pressure to reduce costs as a reason to use AI. AI, machine learning, and deep learning are the same thing Truth: AI is a broader term, while machine learning is a subset of AI that enables “intelligence” by using training algorithms and data. Deep learning is an even narrower subset of machine learning inspired by the interconnected neurons of the brain. Automation will eradicate more jobs […]

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