Developments

IoT to shake up manufacturing sector

The impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) will be on display at SEMICON Southeast Asia, 25-27 April at SPICE in Penang. The global exhibition and conference is organised by SEMI, the global non-profit association connecting the worldwide electronics manufacturing supply chain. More than 70 industry speakers and 200 companies and 7,500 attendees will participate in SEMICON Southeast Asia. Creating new business opportunities and fostering stronger cross-regional engagement, SEMICON Southeast Asia features a tradeshow exhibition, networking events, market and technology seminars, and conferences. With tens of billions of IoT devices forecasted to be connected to the internet by 2020, the IoT is changing how people work, play, and live. The IoT connects devices to the internet and to each other – from mobile phones, washing machines, lamps, wearable devices through industrial applications on airplanes and oil rigs. Alongside IoT ubiquity, the borders between real and digital worlds are blurring with technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) becoming part of our everyday lives. The enabler for IoT and the new digital world is the vital electronic manufacturing supply chain. SEMICON Southeast Asia will gather over 300 exhibitors, the leaders in manufacturing equipment and materials for semiconductors, MEMS, sensors, LEDs, and flexible hybrid electronics. A special “World of IoT” Futura-X Showcase will highlight system innovations made from the devices of the exhibitors. System innovation exhibitors include: HTC VIVE(TM) virtual reality gaming device; ADAWARP Teleporter for controlling a real-life robotic avatar; and the first Malaysia autonomous vehicle from REKA, an indigenous innovation on converting a traditional automotive to an autonomous vehicle. According to Ng Kai Fai, president of SEMI Southeast Asia, the IoT has already seen a big shift in the interaction between humans and machines, and has brought about significant transformations in manufacturing. “At this year’s SEMICON Southeast […]

Universal Robots and Nissan Motor Company enhance productivity through collaborative robots

Universal Robots, the leading collaborative robotics company, has announced that Nissan Motor Company has successfully deployed Universal Robots’ UR10 robot arms at its Yokohama factory; joining other global automotive manufacturers including BMW and Volkswagen who are using Universal Robots’ collaborative robots (cobots) to automate their processes. Through the deployment of Universal Robots’ cobots, Nissan has enhanced its production processes, resulting in a higher level of output and stability as well as time and cost efficiencies. Nissan’s aging workforce also enjoy a reduced workload, and were redeployed to less strenuous tasks. Shermine Gotfredsen, General Manager, SEA and Oceania, said, “We are excited to be working with Nissan in their automation journey. The global automotive industry plays a key role in driving the adoption of collaborative robots (cobots) to produce better manufacturing output, and this is critical for industry players to stay competitive. “Universal Robots is at the forefront of this trend; our cobots effectively support process automation, resulting in improved safety standards and less strain on human employees. This can be applied not only in the automotive industry, but also in the manufacturing of electronics and electrical, pharma and chemistry, and food and agriculture.” Cobots are an offshoot of traditional industrial robots. They are lightweight and mobile in terms of deployment, and are flexible enough to be modified for different applications. The automotive industry uses cobots in a wide variety of processes including handling, assembling, packaging, palletizing, labelling, painting, quality control and machine tending. The market value for collaborative industrial robots in the automotive industry was US$23.56 million in 2015 and is projected to reach US$469.82 million by 2021, at a CAGR of 64.67% between 2015 and 2021. Rise of Collaborative Industrial Robots in Southeast Asia’s Automotive Industry The automotive industry in SEA is poised for great growth with large markets […]

Book Review: China and Sustainable Development in Latin America

China and Sustainable Development in Latin America – The Social and Environmental Dimension Rebecca Ray, Kevin P. Gallagher, Andrés López and Cinthya Sanborn Over the last decade, Latin American countries have enacted some of the most ambitious environmental and social protections in the world. But these hard-won protections faced their first serious test in the recent China-led commodities boom, as growth exploded in intrinsically-risky sectors like mining and oil. China and Sustainable Development in Latin America documents the social and environmental impact of the China-led commodity boom in the region. It finds that overall, Latin American governments and Chinese investors largely fell short of mitigating the social and environmental impact of commodity-led growth. The recent commodity boom exacerbated pressure on the region’s waterways and forests and accentuated threats to human health, biodiversity, global climate change and local livelihoods. China and Sustainable Development in Latin America also highlights important areas of innovation, like Chile’s solar energy sector, in which governments, communities and investors have worked together to harness the commodity boom for the benefit of the people and the planet. If the region hopes to regain its momentum toward sustainable development, Latin American governments will have to put in place – and enforce – the necessary policies to ensure that economic activity in natural resource sectors is managed in an environmentally responsible and socially inclusive manner. China and Sustainable Development in Latin America aims to highlight the efforts that have borne fruit as well as the areas that still need attention. Without proper policies in place to make sustainable development part and parcel of economic decision-making, Latin America will continue to be plagued by commodity boom and bust cycles that accentuate social and environmental conflicts and are ultimately detrimental to long-term prosperity.

Vitafoods Asia, Singapore 5-6 September 2017

Vitafoods Asia 5 – 6 September 2017 Sands Expo & Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore www.vitafoodsasia.com Vitafoods Asia, now in its seventh year moves to Singapore to further broaden its appeal within the Asia Pacific region and worldwide. Singapore is actively positioning itself as the food hub of Asia and it has increasingly becoming the regional hub of R&D centres. 80% of the world’s top food manufacturers have a presence in Singapore. This global exhibition and conference is the platform for the nutraceutical industry to meet and do business in Asia. It is the only dedicated event for the growing nutraceutical, functional food & beverages, and dietary supplement market in Asia and brings together the entire nutraceutical supply chain: Ingredients & Raw Materials, Finished Products, Contract Manufacturing & Private Label and Services & Equipment. Vitafoods Asia attracts 3000+ industry professionals and 200+ global suppliers from 40+ countries to build profitable relationships in the region; plus a wide range of free visitor attractions to enrich your experience by seeing the latest innovations; gaining knowledge and meeting new and existing business partners representing all sectors of the nutraceutical industry in the region. Vitafoods Asia has been rated the ideal platform to explore new product ideas and develop new business. If you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact us: Lisa Tan Marketing Manager – Vitafoods Asia T: +65 6411 7723 | E: lisa.tan@informa.com LinkedIn Vitafoods Asia, Facebook @vitafoodsasia, Twitter @VitafoodsAsia

Innovative zero-gravity arms recognised by leading SE Asia construction company

Headquartered in Hong Kong, Gammon Construction is one of SE Asia’s leading construction companies, with an annual turnover of US$2.5bn, and is a keen adopter of new technology with a focus on adding value for its customers through innovative and sustainable solutions. With over 8000 employees, the engineering and construction company, like others in the Hong Kong construction industry, has long faced manpower shortages, together with an aging workforce. Consequently, in an effort to lure talented new workers and to reduce the workload of its employees, the company recently invested in two sets of “zero-gravity arms” (Zero G Tool Arms) from Sigma Ergonomics, one of Australia’s leading providers of ergonomic systems to a wide range of industries. Manufactured by US company Ekso Bionics, the innovative mounted exoskeletal system functions without the need for power, allowing workers to comfortably operate heavy tools including impact drills, chipping hammers and grinders for extended periods. With the zero-gravity arms shouldering the weight of the equipment, workers are not affected by the strain and fatigue caused by repetitive tasks such as drilling, tiling, chipping and grinding. The Ekso Bionics Aerial System, to which the Zero G system is mounted, is designed to increase safety and productivity while working from an elevated work platform (EWP). As well as eliminating the risk of dropping heavy tools from heights, the system significantly reduces the risk of injury from heavy tool usage and awkward body position. In a recent direct comparison with an Access Work Platform (AWP) at a height services installation, the Zero G system improved the productivity of the drilling work task by over 50% while reducing worker fatigue and improving safety and efficiency. Thomas Ho, Chief Executive of Gammon Construction, is a passionate supporter of innovation and highlights the Zero G system as one of the […]

Disruptive technologies driving sustainability

Disruptive technologies and digital infrastructure have the potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing risks and to transform industries. These include safeguarding the planet’s soil and water, and improving inequality and education. This is the main conclusions of the 2017 Global Opportunity Report, released by DNV GL, Sustainia and the United Nations Global Compact. The Global Opportunity Report is an opportunity and solution based response to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report. It enables leaders to navigate new markets, new business opportunities and solutions. For the 2017 edition, 5 500 leaders from within business, government and civil society across five continents provide their insights. They identify and rank 15 sustainability opportunities and in addition showcase 120 practical projects and solutions that already exist around the globe. These range from micro grids that make cities more resilient to climate change, to bacteria that bring depleted soil back to life, to peer-to-peer trading, and inviting ethical hackers to test cyber security. The 2017 report’s top findings are: Smart water technology is perceived as the biggest market opportunity. Providing e-learning to conflict-affected areas is the second-biggest opportunity, giving business the potential to contribute to creating more peaceful societies. Rising trust in digital technologies such as blockchain[1] technology and artificial intelligence can help combat many of the global risks such as cybercrime and rising inequality. Leaders agree that rising inequality is the biggest of the five risks in the report. Smart water tech uncovers new market opportunities Smart water technology took first place in this year’s rankings, being deemed the most impactful and applicable of all 15 opportunities. Technology that automatically saves and reuses water protects this scarce resource while creating sustainable options for citizens. This finding reaffirms a tendency that is present in all Global Opportunity Reports to date — […]

Xi Jinping defends globalisation

China’s President Xi Jinping defended economic globalisation in his first speech to the World Economic Forum at Davos. “It is true that economic globalisation has created new problems. But this is no justification to write off economic globalisation altogether. Rather we should adapt to and guide globalisation, cushion its negative impact, and deliver its benefits to all countries and all nations,” he said. At a time when protectionist and nationalist forces are on the rise in the West, President Xi warned against making globalisation a scapegoat. “Some people blame economic globalisation for the chaos in our world. Economic globalisation was once viewed as the treasure cave found by Ali Baba in the Arabian nights, but now it has become the Pandora’s Box.” However, the world’s problems could not simply be laid at globalisation’s door, from the “heart-breaking” refugee crisis to the financial crisis. “The international financial crisis is another example, it is not an inevitable outcome of economic globalisation, rather it is the consequence of the excessive chase of profit by financial capital and a great failure of financial regulation,” he said. President Xi said that “the global economy is the big ocean you cannot escape from” and that China had “learned how to swim.” After 38 years of reform and opening up, China has become the world’s second-largest economy. “China’s development is an opportunity for the world. China has not only benefited from economic globalisation but also contributed to it,” he said. Looking ahead, President Xi warned against protectionism.“We should commit ourselves to growing an open global economy,” he said. “No one will emerge as the winner in a trade war.” He added:”China has no intention to boost its trade development by devaluing the Renminbi still less by launching a currency war” The speech ended with a plea for […]

When it comes to ‘saving globalisation’ world leaders are still missing the point

–Shuaihua Cheng Managing Director for China, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) As trade liberalisation and globalisation more broadly are called into question, G20 leaders could do with both interpreting the situation and changing it. It is not an easy task for the G20, which is a diverse group of developed and emerging economies, accounting for around 80% of GDP. In spite of their great success in launching a trade and investment working group and agreeing on guiding principles of investment policy-making, G20 leaders failed to address the emergence of anti-globalisation voices. Here are four things they got wrong – and three ways they can turn the situation around in 2017. When protectionism makes sense Here’s the first thing they got wrong when they met in China: their statement reaffirming their “opposition to protectionism on trade and investment in all its forms”. In fact, this is not only legally inaccurate, but it’s beyond their political mandate. In the World Trade Organisation’s current rule book, certain defensive trade measures are totally legitimate. That includes anti-dumping and countervailing duties, safeguard measures, and other restrictive policy instruments to protect public interest. The only caveat is these measures must be applied in a way that is consistent with the conditions and methodologies agreed by all members. Opposing all forms of protection unnecessarily raises public fears and is politically hazardous. Some protectionist measures are designed to function as indispensable safety valves, to ensure that nations have the right to restrict trade and investment in certain, clearly defined conditions, while still benefiting from progressively liberalised trade and investment. Far from being condemned, this type of protective trade measure should be guaranteed. In 2017, G20 leaders may wish to take a more legally sensible and politically nuanced approach. They could instead, for example, call on all members […]

FARO: Outlook 2017

QUAH Beng Chieh, Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific, FARO Technologies How does FARO see the current business climate? The global business climate is expected to remain bearish in the months ahead, but we are optimistic about growth across Asia. In the past year, FARO has been expanding its capabilities and enhancing its product solutions through acquisitions of new companies and technologies – like BuildIT Software & Solutions Ltd. and Laser Projection Technologies. Inc. This growth strategy has worked for us and we will continue to explore relevant industries to expand into, such as Public Safety Forensics, Factory Automation, and more. What have been the highlights of 2016 for FARO? Is business strong for the company? 2016 has been a good year for FARO all round. Earlier in March, FARO restructured its business into 5 vertically focused teams – namely, factory metrology, product design, construction BIM-CIM, public safety forensics, and 3D solutions and services applications. This restructuring exercise was motivated by our desire to develop and deliver industry and application specific solutions to our customers. In line with the restructure, the company launched a record number of new solutions for users from the 5 industry verticals, including the FARO BIM Scan Localizer, FARO Design ScanArm, FARO Laser Scanner Focus S, FARO Cobalt Multi-Array Imager, FARO Vector RI, FARO Tracer M Laser Projector, and the FARO Laser Tracker Vantage E. With this new direction, our customers now have access to different solutions that cater to their specific needs, rather than generic ones. We have received very positive feedback from the market and the sales of our new products have been steadily growing since their launch. How does FARO see the market changing? In the last decade, we have observed a shift in demand among our customers – from contact to non-contact measurement methods. […]

Asian Manufacturing Expansion Marred By Rising Prices

After seeing only marginal growth in the third quarter, business conditions at Asian manufacturers have continued to improve at a modest pace in the fourth quarter. However, there are significant variations in performance across the continent as well as sharply higher input prices. At 50.8 in November, the Asia Manufacturing PMI (an aggregate based on national Nikkei and Caixin PMI results compiled by Markit) was slightly down from 51.0 in October. However this was still the second-strongest growth seen since manufacturing initially moved back into expansion five months ago. As a whole, the region has shown signs of stronger demand in the first two months of Q4. New orders in Asia’s manufacturing economy continued to rise at a quicker rate than the Q3 average. Greater inflows of new business in China and Japan contributed to the latest improvement. Encouragingly, an upturn in export demand was sustained in the middle of the fourth quarter as sales from abroad increased for the third straight month in November. Rising material prices Meanwhile, there were signs of inflationary pressures intensifying over the month. There were concerns over higher costs for raw materials, especially for items such as metals, plus there was a surge in futures prices during the month. While the Asia Manufacturing PMI Input Prices Index hit a five-and-half-year high, reflecting sharply higher prices for pre-production materials, suppliers were far from overwhelmed, as they can be if demand increases. This suggests that price pressures are being constrained to some extent by a lack of fundamental supply-side drivers. China accounts for half of Asian manufacturing and its recent improvements have helped lift business activity in the region. The Caixin PMI showed that Chinese manufacturing expanded for the third successive month in November, albeit modestly. With the economic restructuring still underway, large layoffs at traditional […]

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