February 7, 2017

People generally make decisions using two ways of thinking: They think consciously, deliberate for a while, and try to use logic to figure out what action to takereferred to as analytical cognition. Or people unconsciously recognize patterns in certain situations, get a "gut feeling," and take action based on that feeling; in other words, they use intuitive cognition. In his February Human Factors paper, "Intuitive Cognition and Models of Human-Automation Interaction," Robert Earl Patterson found that current taxonomies used to classify systems or teams of humans and computers include only conscious, deliberation-type thinking and neglect the role of intuitive cognition. Patterson suggests that automated systems of the futuresuch as smart cars, homes, and devicesmay be improved if they incorporated both intuitive and analytical cognition. In the paper, he presents a new dual-processing taxonomy based on the work of Raja Parasuraman and colleagues in 2000.

"Intuitive cognition," Patterson states, "should be encouraged whenever automation fosters a quick grasp of the meaningful gist of information based on experience or perceptual cues, without working memory or precise analysis." For example, an individual interacting with computers that display the status of a system in pictorial form would engage intuitive cognition via those perceptual cues.

Patterson notes an advantage: "Intuitive cognition is relatively immune to time pressure and workload, unlike analytical cognition, which is slow in responding." This could be seen, for example, in a scenario in which experienced firefighters quickly extinguish a difficult fire using intuitive cognition they've developed from dealing with fires in the past.

To bring intuitive cognition into future automated systems, Patterson speculates, "the human and machine may need to train together in some fashion so the interaction can be based on learned unconscious pattern recognition."

In the long run, Patterson believes that a human-automation taxonomy that incorporates intuitive cognition will promote novel human-machine system design in the future. He and coauthor Robert Eggleston delve more into intuitive cognition in a paper to be published in the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making in March 2017.

Explore further: Post-lunch napping tied to better cognition in elderly

More information: Robert Earl Patterson, Intuitive Cognition and Models of HumanAutomation Interaction, Human Factors (2017). DOI: 10.1177/0018720816659796

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Self-driving car prototypes appear to be getting better at negotiating California streets and highways without a human backup driver intervening, according to data made public Wednesday by California transportation regulators.

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Building a better model of human-automation interaction - Phys.org - Phys.Org

Creemore Springs Brewery Limited is an example of how manufacturers within the food and beverage industry are embracing automation to improve production quantity and quality.

In the video above, we take a look at how small to medium sized breweries like Creemore can maximize the impact of automation, turning a small footprint factory into a major production facility.

Our brewery had grown past the point where we were able to operate with just a limited group of people operating on tribal knowledge, said Geoff Davies, P. Eng, head of operations at Creemore Springs Brewery and National Supply Chain.

Through some process training and automation, we're able to more reliably operate the plant, with less chance of error and safety hazards. We worked with Trinamics, a local automation supplier, to install state of the art packaging equipment, Davies added.

Working together with Creemore Springs, Trinamics successfully designed and installed a uniquely customized case packer design, fitted for their smaller facility footprint.

We developed an intermittent motion case packer and tray packer system, which packages bottles at rates of up to 300 bottles a minute, with 98 to 99 percent efficiency, said Karan Sabherwal, senior mechanical project engineer at Trinamics.

The custom case packer design uses all servo drives, with more than 13 axes on each of the machines.

Electronic cams, designed to be similar to mechanical cams, are controlled through the servos and quarter feedback. This allows operators to control variables including velocity, acceleration and jerk, for smooth motion.

We're totally toolless and can do a changeover in five to 10 minutes, Sabherwal said. We use the greatest of Allen Bradley technology for our PLC controls and everything is Ethernet controlled now. Two machines in the Creemore plant talk to each other through PLCs and we have remote access modules, which in case of a break down, the customer will be alerted, they can give us a call and we can get online with the machine quickly to diagnose the problem and walk them through how to fix it.

Optical laser sensing and time of flight distance measuring are used due to the reflective surfaces of the bottles.

For more information, watch the video above and visit the Creemore Springs and Trinamics websites.

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VIDEO: Going Big on Automation in a Small Footprint Facility - ENGINEERING.com

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DFLabs, the leader in Security Automation and Orchestration Technology, announced today the launch of a landmark release of its flagship platform, IncMan 4.0. Based upon an innovative machine learning and incident correlation engine DFLabs offers a force multiplier solution that helps security operations and incident response teams quickly orchestrate the triage, containment, reporting, and remediation of data breaches and other cyber incidents while gradually guiding them on the maturity path to full automation.

The pace of cyber attacks combined with data breach and privacy regulations are making security operations platforms mandatory for organizations of all sizes. DFLabs has conducted months of discussions with dozens of Fortune 1000 CISOs showing that taking the human completely out of security automation may be dangerous. Significant concerns with making a sudden switch to fully unattended automation include complex issues such as Trust on Input, e.g. If the input data is incorrect, the output could cause even more damage to the business than the incident itself and Proof of Evidence, e.g. An unattended full automation response computer can not be a case for a compliance violation and can leave CISOs exposed to avoidable and excessive legal liability.

With IncMan 4.0, DFLabs delivers on its vision for Supervised Active Intelligence (SAI) driven by the industrys first Dual Mode Playbooks (Machine-to-Human and/or Machine-to-Machine). IncMan includes hundreds of playbooks - based on U.S. and UE international industry regulations (including GDPR), standards and best practices. These playbooks are automatically assigned and dynamically applied to an incident to provide the Security Operations Center (SOC) and Incident Response (IR) teams full control of the situation until they are ready for the next step, at which point the machine learning algorithm takes over the process and brings the organization to the next level of automation.

"Progress of enterprise security organizations towards orchestration spanning multiple functional teams is advanced in part by deep, console-based platforms, said Dan Cummins, Senior Analyst Security, 451 Research.SOC product buyers should focus not only on acquiring programmable, process-centric expertise of current practitioners, but also on establishing an agile foundation to meet future cyber security risks as well.

IncMan 4.0 is also the only solution available with an innovative Knowledge Base that reduces the amount of time spent on the lifecycle of an incident. The Knowledge Base is managed and updated by the DFlabs dedicated research team and includes threat catalogs, frameworks, standards, regulations and more. Incident response orchestration can be enhanced with actionable intelligence to provide effective direction in assisting the SOC and IR teams in creating and executing a response plan as well as for conducting risk analysis and demonstrating compliance with state, federal and international breach regulations.

A complete and thorough orchestrated incident response plan utilizing IncMan 4.0 has shown to save many organizations significant time in mitigating security issues, resulting in up to 80% reduction in reaction time.

CISOs are under heavy scrutiny and pressure to adopt the latest innovation in security automation, yet they are not ready to suddenly and irreversibly replace humans with technology. They must have the ability for their security teams to supervise the intelligent role of the machine - at least at the beginning of their journey, said Dario Forte, Founder and CEO, DFLabs and internationally recognized ISO standards expert. This is the basis behind the design and development of our Supervised Active Intelligence paradigm that we believe is the only effective path to full automation.

IncMan 4.0 offers a single, transparent pane of glass through which organizations can automate and orchestrate their entire security operations. It is an out-of-the-box platform featuring an intuitive interface and workflow combined with flexible use cases and reporting to meet the needs of any industry. Triage, Containment and Remediation operations can be navigated through the configurable, role-based dashboard. In addition to the Dual Mode Playbooks and Knowledge Base, other innovative features include:

"Automation and machine learning are in strong demand in InfoSec. On the other hand, we should not forget that Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are still relatively new to get applied in businesses. Model design is crucial to consider social factors, human judgment on values, and sensitivity for possible bias. That's why a guided path to full automation could be advisable, especially for critical applications such as security operations," said Dr. Anastassia Lauterbach, Advisory Board Member, DFLabs.

Demo and trial of IncMan 4.0 are available immediately. DFLabs Professional Services Team is also available for Breach Readiness and IR Plans to help organizations achieve the appropriate plan, whether its guiding security teams through the process or augmenting their internal team.

About DFLabs

DFLabs is a recognized global leader in cyber incident response automation and orchestration. The company is led by a management team recognized for its experience in and contributions to the information security field including co-edited many industry standards such as ISO 27043 and ISO 30121. IncMan Cyber Incidents Under Control is the flagship product, adopted by Fortune 500 and Global 2000 organizations worldwide. DFLabs has operations in North America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia with US headquarters in Boston, MA and World headquarters in Milano, Italy. For more information visit: http://www.dflabs.com or connect with us on Twitter @DFLabs.

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DFLabs Launches the First Security Automation and Orchestration Platform based Upon Supervised Active Intelligence - Business Wire (press release)

Forbes

The Perks Of Automation And The Risks: Why To Think Twice About Getting Into That Driverless Uber Forbes Automation has become an incredibly hot topic in the tech world lately. It was the theme of the most popular items featured at the annual tech gadget conference, CES 2017, held earlier this month in Las Vegas. The show featured self-driving cars (which ...

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The Perks Of Automation And The Risks: Why To Think Twice About Getting Into That Driverless Uber - Forbes

Digital disruption is making way for new entrants and new models in the banking and financial services arena, a.k.a. fintech. While fintech is revolutionizing banking and finance for the business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer markets, enterprise finance departments can get the fintech bug too to innovate and streamline their workflows and supply chains for better, faster outcomes and to empower both customers and suppliers.

One area ripe for enterprise fintech innovation is accounts payable. Considering that the current market approach to invoice automation and the associated digitization and OCR technologies have been around for over 30 years, its no wonder that AP operations are in dire need of a major overhaul to meet todays modern-day requirements.

Aberdeen Groups survey report, Reap the Benefits of Invoice Excellence with AP Automation, highlights this need. Forty percent of respondents said the need for real-time availability of data is a key AP challenge, and 29 percent said difficulty locating/managing paper-based documents was a struggle. Given this state of the AP nation, its not surprising that most organizations, even after investing significantly in legacy AP Automation solutions, are only realizing 20 percent automation in their invoice processing.

The quest for improved automation is only half the journey for finance however. As initiatives such as dynamic discounting continue to grow in adoption, the nature of the accounts payable function has fundamentally changed from mere overhead to profit center at least for progressive, forward-thinking organizations that are adopting a strategic approach to AP and finance operations.

The struggle is real In the current technology age, how is it possible that AP is still experiencing such poor results?

Part of the answer revolves around the fact that when it comes to invoice automation, the devil is in the details. Industry statistics show that 82 percent of all invoices will have at least one exception. Exceptions are the bane of invoice automation solutions which were originally conceptualized to eliminate paper and manual data entry. When an exception rears its ugly head, no amount of digital imaging or optical character recognition technology will save the day.

To this end, the ideal AP automation solution isnt simply focused on straight-through processing because the path to payment isnt always straight-through. Its over/under, in and around various check points and decision trees. Moreover, it isnt exclusively focused on optimizing exception processing in the classic business process improvement sense, but rather the goal is to make invoice processing as exception-free as possible.

Therein lies the ultimate question: How do we make invoice processing exception-free?

Invoice exceptions are the governor of AP automation you should be cruising over 65 miles per hour in the HOV lane, but instead youre crawling along in rush-hour traffic. Exceptions are caused by legacy invoice automation systems inherent lack of deep and real-time integration with the Enterprise Resource Processing (ERP) system. The prevailing approach is to simply pass the buck over to the ERP system to identify and later resolve exceptions. Many vendors call this integration, which is where data is simply thrown over the fence to the ERP system, forcing manual exception processing work streams in the ERP system that are costly, time-consuming and error-prone. Some vendors go as far as requiring the periodic replication of AP master file information within their system in an attempt to get around the ERP integration gaponly to still encounter exceptions due to batch processing delays and worse, introduce new data synchronization challenges. Net-net, these loose integrations fail to deliver the degree of automation necessary to deliver optimal results.

In pursuit of AP innovation In the pursuit of AP innovation, organizations must pursue the new i.e., the truly better way that challenges conventional business-as-usual thinking. Implementing incremental improvements in the imaging or ERP system to make accounting more efficient is not innovation. It may produce some productivity gains, but for real change and innovation to occur, organizations must take a fundamentally new approach to invoice automation that breaks away from legacy technology and solutions that merely image paper, collect data and upload information to the ERP system.

The goal: Real improvements and real change. Not just to business processes, but through a whole new transformative approach a reimagining of invoice automation and finance operations as a whole. Given the pressure organizations are under today, they must take make bolder moves. Theres an old saying: Electricity wasnt invented by making incremental improvements to the candle.

This new reimagined approach starts with real-time integration and interaction with the ERP system designed to eliminate exceptions as much as possible and early as possible in the process, as opposed to sending over bad data for the ERP system to address. Resolving exceptions before invoices are vouchered in the ERP system eliminates unnecessary manual intervention, process latency, cost and complexity delivering maximum automation for optimal results.

Cloud, mobile and advanced analytics are key technologies that make this transformation not only possible, but much more accessible as well. These technologies allow next-gen AP solutions to deliver quicker results and more meaningful business insights than ever before.

Another essential ingredient to this transformation is breaking away from conventional siloed solution-think by combining invoice automation with supplier enablement and dynamic discounting to power the business to absolute peak performance. This approach is also ushering in another paradigm shift moving AP away from a focus purely on operational efficiency to one of value creation for greater strategic impact. These next-generation capabilities provide the force multiplier necessary to make this sea change possible and transforming AP into a force majeure within the organization.

Bringing suppliers directly into the process allows invoices to be created, validated and made exception-free from the get-go, eliminating paper and accelerating operational efficiency. However, there are even greater gains to be realized: By providing valuable and frictionless self-service experiences for suppliers, companies will see a tremendous boost in early-pay discounts driven by an equally impressive increase in supplier adoption. This can literally translate into savings of millions of dollars (up to 2 percent of corporate annual spend), generating a new, fast and compelling revenue stream for the organization. Companies that fail to seize this opportunity are simply leaving big money on the table not to mention the potential loss in competitive advantage.

As Aberdeen vice president and principal analyst Bryan Ball noted, [I]n the modern business, the finance function is no longer looked at as simply the cost of doing business, with behind-the-scenes employees performing functions that, which necessary, are not the core components of organizational success.

Rather, success favors the bold in todays forward-thinking finance organizations, where incremental thinking is being left behind in pursuit of real AP innovation and value creation.

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Voices Reinventing enterprise finance by overhauling AP automation - Accounting Today

Dive Brief:

Insurance underwriters are the most likely to be replaced by automation in the near future, according to Carl Frey co-director of the Oxford Martin program on technology and employment at Oxford University, who published a study on the topic.

Real estate brokers, loan officers and credit analysts were not far behind. Each of the occupations had more than a 97% chance of becoming completely automated within 10 years, according to Frey.

Physicians and surgeons, sales engineers and dietitians and nutritionists were at the bottom of the list, indicating those positions would be harder to replace with automation.

It isnt a big surprise that the insurance industry is at the top of the list. There are many areas within the insurance industry ripe for automation, and businesses within the ultra-competitive industry are always on the lookout for ways to save money.

Last month, Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance in Japan said it was already replacing some human insurance claim workers with an artificial intelligence-based system from IBM. Fukoku said the system will replace 34 human insurance claim workers, saving it $1.1 million per year on employee salaries.

A recentForrester reportpredicted automation supported by intelligent software agents will be on the rise in the next five years, accounting for the elimination of a net 6% of U.S. jobs.

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Automation expected to displace insurance underwriters, real estate brokers - CIO Dive

The notion that telecom providers had to transform their business models is more than a decade old, and for most of that time, specific initiatives targeted the telecom transformation goal. Positions for chief transformation officers have even been created to get it done. Yet, here we are, watching telecom capital expenditure decline as, unfortunately, profit and cost per bit converge. Software-defined networking was supposed to fix this decline, as was network functions virtualization and even cloud computing. But declining Capex remains unfixed in 2017.

Gain best practices for optical network design including access, metro and core network issues affecting fiber deployment as well as 3-part overview of DWDM optical network transport.

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What will fix it now? Since everything old is new again, operators now think the answer is to go back to transformation.

The idea of fixing an old problem by returning to an old strategy may seem crazy, but there's method behind this choice. Telecommunications is a $2 billion global market, with the greatest financial depreciation inertia of any tech industry. While it's likely that every CFO in the industry looks back at the decades-old transformation strategy concepts taught in business schools, they now realize a strategy that approaches a telecom transformation by replacing legacy gear with something virtualized -- or gear that could be virtualized in the future -- is going to take a long time. They also realize that attacking a systemic problem like revenue or cost per bit with selective technology changes is probably not going to be effective. That's why only about 25% of operators that were confident about network functions virtualization (NFV) strategies at the end of 2015 were confident a year later.

The back-to-transformation movement isn't about repeating the past; it's about starting with the business-school approaches of the past and developing them with principles learned from cloud computing, software-defined networking (SDN) and NFV. It's about being goal-driven first and technology-centric second. If you want to stop the frightening convergence of operator revenue-per-bit and cost-per-bit curves, you have to either reduce costs or increase revenues. These goals were apparent in the beginning, but early transformation planners couldn't get past the abstract goals, and no technical path presented itself.

In the technology-driven SDN and NFV period of telecom transformation, the problem was the opposite. People worked out a new way of building networks using virtual functions and software-defined connectivity. Most everyone agreed this was a better and more flexible approach, but it was also totally different, complicated and didn't seem to have any accepted business-value propositions to drive it. The specific benefits were unclear, as was the path to them. Nobody had a good answer, so the technology-driven model didn't work, either.

The big lesson operators have learned is telecom transformation can't be about changing technology; it has to be about improving operational efficiency. The cost of deploying, selling and sustaining services accounts for almost one-third of every revenue dollar, and capital costs are about 19 cents per revenue dollar. The quickest change operators could make to improve their return on infrastructure would be to make this whole operational process cheaper through service automation. The same automation could also reduce service provisioning times and make it possible to introduce new services faster -- both of which would increase revenue. Lower cost, higher revenue: What's not to like?

The key to obtaining operations efficiency turns out to be one thing from NFV and another from SDN. NFV offers orchestration, while SDN provides the idea of device independence. Orchestration is the term now used to describe modeling of the entire service lifecycle and using software to drive all lifecycle processes, including responses to changes or failures in the service resources.

The quickest change operators could make to improve their return on infrastructure would be to make this whole operational process cheaper through service automation.

In NFV, orchestration is essential because virtual network functions replace traditional devices, and that deployment process has to be coordinated for every single function in a service if the service is to work. Automated software lifecycle management is possible with end-to-end orchestration, and it brings great efficiency and agility.

The big problem with NFV orchestration is that current infrastructure doesn't use virtual functions, so you can't apply the NFV model. SDN stepped in to help with a specific idea that came out of the project work on the OpenDaylight SDN controller -- the idea of device independence. Yes, an ODL controller can control SDN switches, but with the proper plug-ins, it can also control almost any legacy device or even a system of devices accessed through a common network management system.

Operators and vendors have also provided varying support for legacy devices by exposing the management systems of current network hardware directly to the orchestration layer. In some ways, this is a better approach because it doesn't need the intermediate SDN controller. But not all NFV implementations have this kind of capability. Even where a controller is present, it may require custom coding to interface with some network devices.

If you can use SDN ODL or a customized orchestration interface, then NFV orchestration can drive even legacy devices through software-orchestrated service lifecycles. You can then phase in SDN switches or NFV's virtual functions where they make sense, at a pace that makes sense, while getting the operations benefit right away. In fact, you could get enough benefit from doing model-driven software-orchestrated service lifecycle management to fix the problem of profit per bit, without changing out technology at all. If you then added in SDN and NFV in an optimal way, you could save as much as two-thirds of the Opex costs.

We're not quite to the point where this transformational goodness can be achieved, but we're closing in -- largely from the NFV side. The OPEN-Orchestrator NFV open source project is extending NFV automation concepts to operational support system/business support system elements to capture more operations savings. Network giant AT&T has defined its own open source implementation of SDN and NFV-centric infrastructure. Both its projects include the device-independence model from SDN and OpenDaylight.

SDN and NFV have so many different changes and additions that it's hard to make sense of them as a whole. But there's a single driver behind all of them -- the new-model transformation theme. We need benefits to match our challenges, and operators are realizing they have to look at everything through the service lifecycle -- from service design to operations and fault management. They also have to address both new virtualized elements and legacy devices. If they can do all of that, they stand to gain as much as 12 cents of each revenue dollar in overall transformation return. That's more than enough to interest everyone at the C level, and to drive new and exciting projects, even under the old transformation label.

Find out what's driving NFV to be better for the business

SDN and NFV could change telecom

Automating OSS/BSS can kick-start network changes

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New telecom transformation goals require service automation - TechTarget

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Whitehall could save 2.6 billion with automation.

250,000 public sector employees could be replaced by robots over the next 15 years, according to a report by Think Tank Reform.

The report, which addresses the creation of a public services workforce organised around the needs of its users, advocates the reduction of staff in favour of automation and digital technology.

Citing analysis by Oxford academics Frey and Osbourne, in which the academics said that admin roles have a 96% chance of being automated by current technology, the report applied their calculations to current public sector numbers. The report found that, over the next 10 to 15 years, central government departments could further reduce headcount by 131,962, saving 2.6 billion from the 2016-17 wage bill.

The report sells automation as the new approach which is needed, saying:

Public services should deliver outcomes that matter to users, and meet expectations of interacting via technology. This approach would see services designed around users and render at least 248,860 administrative roles redundant. The accuracy of decision-making can be further improved by using artificial intelligence to make complex decisions and by understanding why mistakes that, for example, cause 10 per cent of hospital patients to suffer from medical error, are made.

Further calculations found that the NHS could automate 91,208 of 112,726 administrator roles (outside of primary care), reducing the wage bill by approximately 1.7 billion. In primary care, a pioneering GP provider interviewed for the paper has a clinician-to-receptionist ratio of 5:1, suggesting a potential reduction of 24,000 roles across the NHS from the 2015 total. In total this would result in 248,860 administrative roles being replaced by technology.

These findings were further bolstered by the success HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has had in recent times in regrads to automation. Over the last decade, HMRC has reduced its admin staff from 96,000 to 60,000 through expanding its online services and providing real-time information.

Including all types of roles, not just admin, the report said that even the more complex roles in public services stand to be automated. The report said:

Even the most complex roles stand to be automated. Twenty per cent of public-sector workers hold strategic, cognitive roles. They will use data analytics to identify patterns improving decision making and allocating workers most efficiently.

The NHS, for example, can focus on the highest-risk patients, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions. UK police and other emergency services are already using data to predict areas of greatest risk from burglary and fire.

Some technology, will not replace humans, but enhance the work humans produce, with the report stating that some technology will improve public-service delivery. Artificial Intelligence, drones and facial recognition technology should be evaluated by various public services, specifically policing, as alternatives to current practices.

Experts were quick to criticize the report, with many saying that the stark figures overlooked the human cost of such automation. Other critics, like Redwood Softwares Neil Kinson, pointed out that the obsession of humans vs robots would actually hinder the development of robotics and AI.

The implementation of robotics across the public sector will ensure that efficiencies will be gained, simply by taking the robot out the human. That is, freeing staff up from repetitive manual tasks to allow them to focus their efforts on more value-add, strategic activities. However, as long as we remain fixated on the idea that robots replace humans, or narrowly define the sets of tasks to which we can apply robotics, the true potential of robotic process automation will be overlooked. Robotics brings the opportunity to completely re-imagine how the entire process is executed e.g. cash to billing, record to report, procure to pay as well as the interdependencies between these processes.

Its time for a shift in language on how the robotics revolution is defined and explained.

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Automation, robots could replace 250000 public sector workers in the next 15 years - Computer Business Review

Amazon Echo

Automation is no longer a technology only integrators and AV experts know about. With popular automation products like Amazon Echo and Google Home, customers already know many of the capabilities of this technology.

Despite consumers ability to install many automation solutions on their own, there are still opportunities for integrators to thrive in automation.

To provide a bit more informationabout the demand for automation and what it means for integrators,Steve Greenblatt of Control Concepts,an audiovisual control system solutions provider specializing in control programming, software development, and specialty services for audiovisual systems in boardrooms, conference rooms, and classrooms, shares his insight in the follow Q&A:

Last year, 2016, seemed like a significant year for automation. Emergence of no-programming solutions in the custom market and popularity of mainstream products like Amazon Echo and Google Home really have people thinking about automation. How would you summarize what we learned about automation in 2016?

The no-programming solutions are nothing new. These concepts were present before I started my company 20 years ago. The motivation is to simplify the process of getting a project done and tackle one of the biggest hurdles, which is defining the scope of work or more simply how the system should function.

Most of the programming cost goes into time spent understanding what the users need and defining functionality that supports the system design. Today, manufacturers are offering pre-developed, configured solutions or systems such as Crestrons AV Framework or AMXs Rapid Project Maker. These offerings accomplish the challenge of providing a functional system with low investment, effort, and risk.

Putting myself in the shoes of a consumer, user, or technology manager, I would seek a proven, easy to use system, with little effort and investment that accomplishes my goals.

This approach allows technology, control, and automation to be used in more places than previously possible. It also provides the ability to independently make basic functionality adjustments, system modifications, and device changes as the system evolves.

With the impact of mobile apps, Amazon Echo, and Google Home, the average person has much more exposure to the world of AV and automation than ever before. Ive been saying for a while that we are no longer pushing technology to our audience. Rather, our audience is now challenging us to keep up with their needs and expectations which have been shaped through todays technology environment.

Essentially, the professional AV industry will lose relevance if we cant offer better solutions than those they already get on their own. We must up our game on all levels to provide a more consistent, easy-to-use, reliable, and robust user experience. This stems from user interface design and operation to functionality and intelligence to the ability to address needs and solve problems that add value and improve productivity or quality of life.

Onto 2017, how do you hope and think automation will evolve?

I see the trend toward increased demand for automation continuing. We live in an impatient world where devices are expected to be smart and make our lives easier. This is apparent in the talk about driverless cars, touchless user interfaces and voice control, and the world of IoT (Internet of Things) where devices interact natively and everything is connected. Automation is a necessary part of our lives and society is now used to the benefits it provides.

I see opportunities for our industry to get involved in processing the data that our systems can collect and providing valuable reports, identifying trends, and starting to get involved in predictable behavior for our systems. The intelligence that we can get from analyzing and utilizing the data will be significant.

Do you want to be called a programmer, a software developer or something else and why?

I look at the title of programmer and software developer being two different roles. A programmer creates the user interface and functionality of a system by programming the components to communicate with each other.

A software developer creates software that has a specified application that is not dependent on a particular platform. It satisfies a need, solves a problem, or provides functionality that was not previously available.

In essence, we are a solutions provider. We help our clients clarify what they need and then we provide a solution that helps them work more effectively and efficiently.

How will automation adapt to the need for high-volume applications (a corporate campus with hundreds of meeting rooms needing automation across the campus)?

One of the solutions for high-volume applications is the no programming required approach where rooms can be delivered quickly, consistently, and in a standard way. Another approach is to develop a customized configurable model where different room variations become part of a master programmed solution.

This master solution can be configured to meet the needs of a large number of room types as long as they stay within the model. The custom configurable approach provides ease of support, maintenance, modifications, and upgradeability while also providing a solution that is specific the user and provides the customization aligns with the way their organization or enterprise conducts business and utilizes technology.

Do you see a future for automation-as-a-service? Why or why not?

I think there is a future for providing a service model that supports ongoing support, maintenance, and upgradeability as well as monitoring and diagnostics for a monthly fee versus an upfront cost. Systems would essentially lease their programming rather than buy it. This would also include ongoing support for Technology Managers who needing to support their users.

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The Evolution of Automation and What It Means for the Integration Industry - Commercial Integrator

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.NET Framework (current version)

Microsoft UI Automation is the new accessibility framework for Microsoft Windows, available on all operating systems that support Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).

UI Automation provides programmatic access to most user interface (UI) elements on the desktop, enabling assistive technology products such as screen readers to provide information about the UI to end users and to manipulate the UI by means other than standard input. UI Automation also allows automated test scripts to interact with the UI.

UI Automation does not enable communication between processes started by different users through the Run as command.

UI Automation client applications can be written with the assurance that they will work on multiple frameworks. The UI Automation core masks any differences in the frameworks that underlie various pieces of UI. For example, the Content property of a WPF button, the Caption property of a Win32 button, and the ALT property of an HTML image are all mapped to a single property, Name, in the UI Automation view.

UI Automation provides full functionality in Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003.

UI Automation providers offer some support for Microsoft Active Accessibility client applications, through a built-in bridging service.

UI Automation has four main components, as shown in the following table.

Component

Description

Provider API(UIAutomationProvider.dll and UIAutomationTypes.dll)

A set of interface definitions that are implemented by UI Automation providers, objects that provide information about UI elements and respond to programmatic input.

Client API (UIAutomationClient.dll and UIAutomationTypes.dll)

A set of types for managed code that enables UI Automation client applications to obtain information about the UI and to send input to controls.

UiAutomationCore.dll

The underlying code (sometimes called the UI Automation core) that handles communication between providers and clients.

UIAutomationClientsideProviders.dll

A set of UI Automation providers for standard legacy controls. (WPF controls have native support for UI Automation.) This support is automatically available to client applications.

From the software developer's perspective, there are two ways of using UI Automation: to create support for custom controls (using the provider API), and creating applications that use the UI Automation core to communicate with UI elements (using the client API). Depending on your focus, you should refer to different parts of the documentation. You can learn more about the concepts and gain practical how-to knowledge in the following sections.

The following table lists UI Automation namespaces, the DLLs that contain them, and the audience that uses them.

UI Automation exposes every piece of the UI to client applications as an AutomationElement. Elements are contained in a tree structure, with the desktop as the root element. Clients can filter the raw view of the tree as a control view or a content view.Applications can also create custom views.

AutomationElement objects expose common properties of the UI elements they represent. One of these properties is the control type, which defines its basic appearance and functionality as a single recognizable entity: for example, a button or check box.

In addition, elements expose control patterns that provide properties specific to their control types. Control patterns also expose methods that enable clients to get further information about the element and to provide input.

There is not a one-to-one correspondence between control types and control patterns. A control pattern may be supported by multiple control types, and a control may support multiple control patterns, each of which exposes different aspects of its behavior. For example, a combo box has at least two control patterns: one that represents its ability to expand and collapse, and another that represents the selection mechanism. For specifics, see UI Automation Control Types.

UI Automation also provides information to client applications through events. Unlike WinEvents, UI Automation events are not based on a broadcast mechanism. UI Automation clients register for specific event notifications and can request that specific UI Automation properties and control pattern information be passed into their event handlers. In addition, aUI Automation event contains a reference to the element that raised it.Providers can improve performance by raising events selectively, depending on whether any clients are listening.

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UI Automation Overview - msdn.microsoft.com

Gallop is a leader in providing test automation services and has built a dedicated Automation Center of Excellence (ACoE) backed by a decade of experience in executing test automation engagements for global clients & a large pool of test automation experts. Gallop Test Automation Accelerator Kit (GTAAK) comprises of pre-built test automation scripts, utilities, process assets and frameworks, and has helped many companies in implementing successful test automation initiatives.

Gallops test automation strategy enables organizations to increase release velocity, reduce time to market and reduce overall testing effort resulting in significant return on investment (ROI). Gallop has developed a tool and technology agnostic, plug-and-play test automation framework with pre-built interfaces to CI servers, application lifecycle management tools and defect management tools that fully support the majority of test automation tools adopted by organizations.

Gallop invests over a $1mn annually to develop intellectual property and has committed partnerships with industry leading automation tool vendors to complement innovation. Gallop is also an active contributor in open source platforms for test automation and is a silver sponsor of Selenium. Gallop has also developed a host of pre-built automated test suites for industry leading 3rd party products like SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Salesforce, SAP Hybris, MS Dynamics CRM, and Work Day.

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Test Automation Services for Development of Regression ...

Preventive & Predictive Maintenance

A computerized maintenance management system helps keep assets running and assists with meeting food safety audit requirements.

A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can help food and beverage facility owners plan and schedule assets and labor to optimize overall plant efficiency and minimize downtime.

Automation Series

Remember the early days of data acquisition/collection systems?

TECH FLASH

Industrial security specialists will monitor industrial facilities around the world.

The company has joint locations in Europe and the US.

Automation

Better safe than sorry since "sorry" could cost you downtime, product quality or safety and/or your brands reputation.

According to the ICS-CERT (Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team) fiscal year 2015 final incident response statistics, the food and agriculture segment reported only two cyberattacks last year.

TECH FLASH

Pumped production lines can prove difficult for traditional inspection systems.

Installing a robust, reliable pipeline X-ray system can help.

TECH FLASH

Attracting more than 80,000 high school students, the 2016 FIRST Robotics Competition began earlier this month.

As partners of FIRST, the Automation Federation and ISA are encouraging their members to support the range of FIRST education programs.

Smart Manufacturing

The technology connecting people, machines, suppliers and processors is rapidly changing the manufacturing industry.

The concepts and technologies encompassed by the term Internet of Things are rapidly changing the world.

Tech Update: Collaborative Robots

Some robots find new freedom as they become aware of their surroundings and act accordingly.

For good reasons, robots have been kept behind safety fences as they perform jobs that are potentially dangerous and back-breaking to humans.

Tracking Systems

Once your product leaves the shipping dock, what happens in the supply chain could negate all your efforts to make it food safe and the high-quality brand leader it is.

Its 3:00 a.m. Do you know where your trailer of strawberries is?

Butterballs Corporate Project Manager Matt Giroux discusses line efficiency, technological advancements of line design, automation of lines and robotics on packaging lines.

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Automation | Food Engineering

Automation can enhance your productivity through increased machine tool utilization. However, to reap the significant competitive advantages that coincide with automation, you must efficiently and effectively integrate it into your operations.

We are a single source provider for all your automation needs. And to ensure you have the right automation for your facility, we have developed 4 various levels of automation to fulfill your specific production needs.

Bar feeders offer immediate increases in productivity. However, while they are a basic form of automation, its important to select the right one to ensure you achieve increased material utilization as well as gain the highest levels of productivity, throughput and quality from your turning operations.

Gantry loaders provide fast, high-production loading and unloading. They bring more versatility, flexibility and productivity when managing chuck and shaft work by offering a variety of loading stations and robotic hands. Gantry loader systems are easy to install and operate, providing a quick, turnkey system that results in immediate increases in productivity.

Offering amazing production flexibility, our PALLETECH system brings high levels of efficiency to high-mix, low-volume production as well as high-volume operations. Compatible with our range of horizontal machining centers, Multi-Tasking machines and ORBITEC 20 machining center for large parts, the PALLETECH is available in single, double and triple level pallet stocker configurations. Because of its modular, pre-engineered construction, PALLETECH easily expands along with your growing business. In fact, it can accommodate up to 16 machines, 6 to 240 pallets and up to 8 loading stations.

A highly advanced alternative to traditional production, articulated robots provide automation for one or multiple machines as well as part transfers to peripheral operations. They also eliminate the challenges that come with handling large, heavy or cumbersome parts. Articulated robots use rotary joints to achieve an increased change of motion. From simple 2-joint robots to complex 10-joint robots, you have the power to choose just how much range of motion is necessary to gain the competitive advantage.

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Automation - Mazak Corporation

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Automationtechies | Automation Engineering Recruiting

Automation technology can make your work easier and company more productive. The Werner Electric Automation Team is staffed with experienced and highly-trained personnel that can assist you in achieving success with your automation needs, and deliver value to your manufacturing lifecycle. Rely on our team to provide a full scope of capabilities to deliver the solutions and services you need now and are anticipating in the future.

Werner Electric partners with the premier Suppliers of the industry and delivers products to support your business. See Product Lines to browse our product offerings.

Contact the Werner Automation Support Center at 1-800-POWER99 (800-769-3799) or TSC@WernerElec.com to experience our TSC team and get answers to all your questions quickly and accurately. One call to the TSC puts you in touch with technicians trained by the manufacturers to give you application support, help with technical troubleshooting, and provide onsite assistance if needed.

Updates, webinars, news, tips, videos, new products, case studies, etc.

Panduit now helps you eliminate poor cable management and insufficient cooling problems.

Hoffman now offers a fully-automated line for Wall-Mount Enclosures. The automated line provides rapid delivery, reliable technology, and repeatable results.

Hormel Foods Corporation has recently honored 26 suppliers with its prestigious Hormel No. 1 Award for their 2011 2015 performance.

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Werner Electric | Automation

Automation GT designs and manufactures custom machines for clients in need of reliable, efficient, and precise automated systems. Whether you have utilized automation machinery in your manufacturing processes for years or you are new to the concept of automation, we guarantee to help you at every stage of design and manufacture to ensure that you get the machine that will best meet your needs.

Since our founding in 2002, we have developed a reputation for design perfection and innovative practice, andin every facet of our business practice we live out our values of consistency, reliability, and exceptional customer service.

Our core competencies are in innovative automation and robotics design. In our company history, we have established ourselves as experienced manufacturers of machines used in a variety of industries including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical device production, aerospace and defense, automotive manufacturing and renewable energy. We are highly knowledgeable on production standards and requirements in each of these fields, but we do not limit ourselves to these industries, and we welcome your inquiries on machinery for other purposes.

We take pride in staying involved in our community and local Southern California automation industry, but we are global in scope and welcome new partnerships from clients all over the world.

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Custom Automation & Machine Design | Automation GT

BMC digital IT powers 82% of Fortune 500 companies

IT automationwhen it works, its barely visible; when it fails, its catastrophic. Even if your automation initiative can pay for itself with hard-dollar savings in operational costs, taking an ad-hoc approach in the era of the digital enterprise puts you at a serious competitive disadvantage.

Implemented strategically, automation can deliver far greater business value by dramatically improving time to market and quality of service, increasing your ability to respond quickly to changing business requirements, and radically reducing security and compliance risks. BMC Software provides the best-practices guidance, products, and services you need to achieve a lasting competitive advantage through automation.

BMC SecOps solutions enable organizations to prioritize and remediate critical vulnerabilities and compliance violations through visibility into data center assets and their relationships.

BMC BladeLogic Server Automation helps IT rapidly remediate known vulnerabilities, and automate compliance checks for regulatory requirements such as PCI-DSS or security standards like DISA.

BMC BladeLogic Threat Director enables IT operations and security teams to prioritize and remediate threats based on potential impact to the business.

BMC BladeLogic Network Automation enables IT with a policy-based approach to regulatory standards for network management with real-time compliance audit reporting and vulnerability detection and remediation.

BMC BladeLogic Database Automation automates routine administrative tasks and compliance processes, accelerates deployment and patching, and reduces security vulnerabilities by streamlining the database management process.

BMC Discovery (formerly ADDM) automatically discovers data center inventory, configuration, and relationship data, and maps business applications to the IT infrastructure.

BMC Atrium Orchestrator allows IT staff to automate tasks via workflows that span multiple applications, systems, or infrastructure to document change and close the loop on compliance.

BMC BladeLogic Middleware Automation easily deploys, configures, and troubleshoots Java EE applications without manual steps.

Manage data center automation complexity and reduce your IT costs by leveraging the expertise of our project managers, consultants, and architects.

BMC Digital Transformation Consulting Services help develop the initiatives, structures, and capabilities you need to get the most out of your IT investments.

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IT Automation - BMC

Robotic Systems for Advanced Performance

If you want to improve the quality or productivity of an existing manual manufacturing/assembly process or lower the operating cost, DESHAZO can provide you with an engineered solution to meet your requirements. Our engineers will visit your site, observe your manufacturing processes and prepare a 3-D conceptual design of the equipment or system to meet your requirements. We employ the latest technology in design and manufacturing processes including SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Catia, and Robot Simulation software as well as CNC manufacturing equipment in our plant.

In addition, DESHAZO has the ability to analyze the financial benefits of a prospective automation project in your facility. Working with your personnel, we can assist in calculations on the projected improvement in productivity, quality and operating cost, as well as the return on investment of an automation project.

DESHAZO has the engineering and manufacturing expertise to design, build and install one work cell or a complete automation system in your facility to meet your requirements. We have the capability to handle all aspects of your automation project to provide a complete solution for your needs. We have experience in many industrial segments including steel manufacturing, foundry operations, appliance manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, construction machinery, consumer products and material handling. We have extensive experience in the following manufacturing processes:

DESHAZOs team has designed, built and installed all kinds of manual, semi-automated and fully automated assembly systems.

DESHAZO has developed solutions for virtually every type of testing and inspection situation, including mechanical, functional, electrical, and leak detection/flow measurement testing.

Whether youre working with simple gravity conveyors or complex, fully programmable sorting/inspection lines, DESHAZO can provide integrated material handling systems to suit your needs.

DESHAZO has developed robotic solutions for welding applications including precise laser welding, plastics joining, resistance welding and automated wire feed welding applications.

With DESHAZOs integrated control systems, you will be able to know, control, and react to everything that occurs in your operation. DESHAZO is proficient in the application of many controls systems including Allen Bradley, Omron, Mitsubishi, GE, and Toyopuc PLCs, as well as other custom computer programs and database design.

DESHAZO can provide you with robotic vision systems to perform quality control inspections, parts picking and other applications to lower hard tooling costs.

DESHAZO can provide you with a robotic packaging system that will determine what product goes into a particular package and then box the product.

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Automation - DESHAZO

Automation Technologies is an engineering and software development firm that offers the highest level of experience in industrial automation and process control. Our reputation for quality, reliability and affordability has been built on superior products and services provided for various industries including pharmaceutical, chemical, polymer, plastic, textile, and pulp and paper.

When you choose Automation Technologies, you benefit from the technical experience of senior engineers and specialists who average more than 15 years in their fields of automation and process control. With our broad network of corporate partners, Automation Technologies can meet virtually any automation and controls need, providing our customers with "one-stop-shopping" for technically superior solutions backed by outstanding service and support.

Wherever you are in the automation process, from planning to implementation, Automation Technologies has the experience, knowledge and flexibility to keep your company on the leading edge of automation and process control.

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Automation | Technologies | Systems | Integrator ...

Z-Wave is a wireless technology that literally puts the power of controlling and monitoring your home in the palm of your hand. By installing Z-Wave technology, your regular household appliances such as lights, thermostats, sprinklers and more transform into smart appliances. Z-Wave products communicate wirelessly and securely and can be accessed and controlled remotely. Z-wave allows you to access and monitor most appliances inside your home regardless of where you are. Enerwave has a large selection of Z-Wave products that all work together to ensure that you find the best products for your home.

ZigBee is an open global wireless network which provides the basis for the Internet of Things (IoT), by allowing both smart, and simple products to work together. ZigBee is a low cost, low power, energy efficient wireless mesh network which gives you the power to connect and control almost all of the products in your home. By installing ZigBee technology, it will automatically improve your comfort, and safety. It not only allows you to remotely control your home, it also keeps you safe by alerting you of smoke levels, carbon monoxide and even water leaks. Enerwave offers a wide variety of ZigBee products to bring simplicity and relaxation into your life.

For more information, visit http://www.zigbee.org/ and http://www.z-wave.com/.

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