Daily Archives: July 7, 2017

Is Artificial Intelligence Over-Hyped? – MediaPost Communications

Posted: July 7, 2017 at 2:12 am

Worldwide spending on cognitive and artificial intelligence (AI) systems is predicted to increase 59.3% year-over-year to reach $12.5 billion by the end of 2017, according to an International Data Corporation (IDC) spending guide. That number is forecast to almost quadruple by 2020, when spending on AI is predicted to reach more than $46 billion.

If personalization was the marketing buzzword of 2016, then 2017 is the year of artificial intelligence. As more cloud vendors tout their own AI systems, however, could AI be over-hyped?

Joe Stanhope, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, says a cultural dissonance exists with AI, thanks to science fiction, and that many people have a preconceived notion about what artificial intelligence really is.

A lot of people are talking a big game about AI and how it will change the world, but today its only applied in extremely discrete ways, says Stanhope. Theres a lot of hype around it.

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Stanhope says this overexposure creates a dissonance, compounded by marketers trust issues with AI.

Marketers have a right to be skeptical about artificial intelligence, says Stanhope, adding that it is imperative that they begin to educate themselves about AI, since it is highly complex and difficult to understand without a doctoral degree in statistics, math or engineering.

Stanhope recommends that marketers become "educated about AI techniques and algorithms to develop a functional understanding of how it works. By educating themselves, marketers can be more critical of vendors AI-driven applications.

AI gets thrown out quite a bit, but marketers need to get to the point where they can ask, 'what can your AI do for me now'?" says Stanhope. You need to be able to ask, and they [vendors] need to be able to define and validate that question.

Although it may not be as exciting as changing the world, Stanhope says there are very realistic applications for AI today. Humans have become the bottleneck in marketing, he says, and AI has the potential to make marketers and marketing better.

AI is an efficiency play, says Stanhope, describing how it helps marketers manage data, experiment with segmentation, and takes out the human drudgery of menial tasks. He recommends that marketers dip their toes in AI by applying it to one existing use case first, and then broadening the scope when new use cases become available and trust is built.

Youre not turning over the whole marketing team to a computer, says Stanhope.

Stanhope also recommends that AI marketers investigate whether their ESP offers some sort of AI function, as it is easier to evaluate an add-on solution than find a completely new product.

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Is Artificial Intelligence Over-Hyped? - MediaPost Communications

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A Look At The Artificial Intelligence Companies And My Top 5 – Seeking Alpha

Posted: at 2:12 am

Note: This article first appeared on my Trend Investing Marketplace service on June 8. All data is therefore as of that date.

I wrote previously about the relatively new trend of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in my article. This time I plan to take a look at the main companies to consider for investing in AI, and select my top 5.

AI - "machines with brains"

Source

Many AI companies are unlisted and acquired before IPO

According to CB Insights, "over 200 private companies using AI algorithms across different verticals have been acquired since 2012, with over 30 acquisitions taking place in Q1'17 alone." Perhaps CB Insights will be next. The graph below gives further details. The left side list also gives an idea of the current AI leaders and acquirers.

Source: CB Insights

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL)

Wikipedia quotes: "According to Bloomberg's Jack Clark, 2015 was a landmark year for artificial intelligence, with the number of software projects that use AI within Google increased from a "sporadic usage" in 2012 to more than 2,700 projects."

Google's research projects often have the idea of automating everything, and connecting everything and everyone online (such as "Project Loon").

Google search is already using complex algorithms (e.g. RankBrain) and deep learning techniques.

Google's Home is a recent example of Google's move into AI with their inbuilt "Google Assistant" (similar to Siri, Alexa, Bixby, M, Cortana and Watson). The assistant responds to any sentence beginning "Hey Google". A key is the voice recognition technology and microphones, so that the assistant can correctly understand you and make appropriate responses.

Google announced its first chip, called the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), in 2016. That chip worked in Google's data centers to power search results and image-recognition. A new version will be available to clients of its cloud business.

Google is a leader in autonomous car systems, which uses plenty of AI. It helps they already have Google maps. Google also have android auto car entertainment and internet capability.

Some AI acquisitions include: DNNresearch (voice and image recognition), DeepMind Technologies (deep learning, memory), Moodstock (visual search), Api.ai. (bot platform), Kaggle (predictive analytics platform).

Amazon Echo Dot has Alexa, Google Home has Hey Google, and Apple smartphone has Siri

Source

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Amazon's home speaker Echo (and Echo Dot) and personal assistant "Alexa" is an example of Amazon's move into AI. Alexa is perhaps the most successful AI powered personal assistant thus far, especially as it is able to do over 10,000 online and offline functions.

Amazon Web Services ("cloud") offers deep-learning capabilities, allowing users to use up to 16 of Nvidia's Tesla K80 GPUs.

Amazon's AI acquisitions include Orbeus (automated facial, object and scene recognition), Angel ai (Chatbots), and Harvest.ai (cyber security).

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD)

AMD are a semiconductor manufacturer. The company's new AI chips are the Radeon Instinct series. AMD are also racing to put its chips into AI applications. AMD will release its ROCm deep-learning framework, as well as an open-source GPU-accelerated library called MIOpen. The company plans to launch three products under the new brand in 2017.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Apple has been an AI leader with their voice (and face) recognition software used by their personal assistant Siri (on your smartphone), introduced in 2011. In October 2016, Apple hired Russ Salakhutdinov from Carnegie Mellon University as its director of AI research.

Apple is working on a processor devoted specifically to AI-related tasks. The chip is known internally as the "Apple Neural Engine". Apple have an autonomous vehicle development team that uses AI, and they are also said to be working on augmented reality using AI chips. Apple is reportedly developing a specific AI chip for mobile devices.

Apple is also a leader in the areas of Virtual Reality ((VR)) and Augmented Reality ((AR)) headsets. Apple's ARKit will available soon and may one day may replace the smartphone. Apple iPhone users could get their first taste of AR technology later this year. The 10-year anniversary Apple iPhone will be enhanced with AR features.

Apple has made several AI acquisitions including Perceptio (deep learning technology for smartphones, that allows phones to independently identify images without relying on external data libraries), Emotient (can assess emotions by reading facial expressions), and RealFace (facial recognition).

VR and AR headsets are the next potential big thing

Source

Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU)

Baidu are the Google of China, so not surprisingly they have followed in Google's footsteps developing deep learning search functionality, as well as autonomous driving.

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB)

Mark Zuckerberg has become very interested in AI, since initially using it for simple tasks. Facebook has chatbots and Zuckerberg has developed his own personal assistant "M". The Facebook site uses AI to then direct targeted advertising to match your likes.

Facebook holds more than $32 billion in cash on its balance sheet and produced more than $13 billion in free cash flow over the last year. The company does not pay any dividends and has no debt. This means Facebook can pretty much buy up any rivals or promising new AI or tech companies. Some acquisitions include Face.com (facial recognition), Masquerade (a selfie app that lets you do face-swaps), Occulus (virtual reality), Eye Tribe (eye tracking software) and Zurich Eye (enables machines to see).

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has recently said that "the next big thing is augmented reality." He sees a world where we use AR glasses to project an image like a computer screen. The tricky part is the mouse, and so Facebook's team are looking at using direct brain to glasses technology, or something like eye movements to control your screen.

International Business Machine's (NYSE: IBM)

IBM should not be underestimated in AI, as they have previously led the AI industry. They became famous in this area when their supercomputer/personal assistant Watson was able to beat two quiz champions live on television. Apparently Watson can read 40 million documents in 15 seconds.

IBM have acquired Cognea (virtual assistants with a depth of personality), Alchemy deep learning, natural language processing (specifically, semantic text analysis, including sentiment analysis) and computer vision (specifically, face detection and recognition), and Explorys (a healthcare intelligence cloud company that has built one of the largest clinical data sets in the world, representing more than 50 million lives).

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC)

Intel are the global leading semiconductor manufacturer, with a dominant position in the desktop/PC market.

Intel also acquired Indisys (intelligent dialogue systems), Saffron (cognitive computing), Itseez (vision systems), and recently paid $15.3b for Mobileye (used in autonomous driving). Intel also recently spent $400 million to buy deep-learning startup Nervana. The company intends to integrate Nervana technology into Xeon and Xeon Phi processor lineups. Intel claims Nervana will deliver up to a 100-fold reduction in the time it takes to train a deep learning model within the next three years.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

Microsoft's background is in PC/desktop software (Office etc), and in gaming (XBox).

AI was first adopted by hyperscale data centers such as Microsoft, Facebook, and Google, which used AI for image recognition and voice processing. Microsoft's Azure offers deep-learning capabilities support for up to four of Nvidia's slightly older GPUs.

Microsoft also have a personal assistant name "Cortana".

Microsoft AI acquisitions include : Netbreeze (social media monitoring and analytics), Equivio (machine learning), SwiftKey (analyzes data to predict what a user is typing and what they'll type next), Genee (an AI app that acts as a digital personal assistant to schedule meetings), and Maluuba (deep learning, natural language processing).

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)

Nvidia design and sell industry leading AI chips, which puts them at the top of the AI pyramid. They collaborate, design and sell their various types of chips to almost all the top tech companies.

Nvidia's background is as a designer and seller of graphic processing units ((GPUs)) to dominate the gaming industry.

The company has expanded their products to include AI chips such as the Tesla P100 GPU, making them a leader in AI. Those chips are popular with data centers, and autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. Tesla recently decided to drop Mobileye and go for Nvidia technology for their autonomous vehicles.

Bloomberg summarizes well; "Nvidia has become one of the chipmakers leading the charge to provide the underpinnings of machine intelligence in everything from data centers to automobiles. As the biggest maker of graphics chips, Nvidia has proved that type of processor's ability to perform multiple tasks in parallel has value in new markets, where artificial intelligence is increasingly important."

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM)

Qualcomm's revenue has mostly come from wireless modem licensing fees, especially as a key supplier to Apple. However the company are currently facing legal (U.S. FTC and Apple litigation) and other issues such as pressure on declining smartphone related revenues. Qualcomm are also operate in the areas of IoT, security and networking industries. Given the coming boom in autonomous vehicles, Qualcomm are in the process of buying NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) (for $47b), the leader in high-performance, mixed-signal semiconductor electronics - and a leading solutions supplier to the automotive industry.

Qualcomm Inc.'s latest Snapdragon chip for smartphones has a module for handling artificial intelligence tasks.

Samsung (OTC: SSNLF)

Samsung are the global number 2 semiconductor manufacturer, and the global number 1 smartphone seller. The rise of AI will lead to a huge increase in demand for both computer processing chips and memory chips - which Samsung can supply.

Samsung's "Bixby" is similar to Apple's personal assistant Siri.

In virtual reality (VR) headsets, as of Q1 2017, Samsung is the current market leader with 21.5% market share. Sony is second with 18.8%, followed by HTC with 8.4%, Facebook with 4.4%, and TCL 4%. Total worldwide shipments of augmented reality and virtual reality headsets reached 2.3M in the first quarter, according to IDC. The VR headsets represented over 98% of the sales. An IDC report from March predicts the amount of shipped AR and VR headsets will reach 99.4M units by 2021.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)

Tesla are the global leader in Autonomous Vehicles ((AVs)). As AVs progress from stage 1 to stage 5 (full autonomy) Tesla can be a large beneficiary in terms of electric car sales and transport as a service (taxi company). Tesla may also benefit from selling their AV technology to other car manufacturers, or if they expand into using AI in the home as they already have the power wall and solar roof. Meaning Tesla may end up being your taxi company, your energy supplier, and your content provider both in your car and home. All of these can be run using AI programs from your smartphone. Elon's latest venture is neural networks - wherein he is looking at how we can connect the brain directly to a device.

Others to consider

Ebay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Nice Ltd (NASDAQ:NICE), Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM), Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS), Softbank (OTC:SFBTF)(they bought out chip designer ARM, and own 4.95% of Nvidia), Sophos Group (LN:SOPH) (IT security), and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR).

The companies that make the hardware behind the AI boom - especially the optics (transceivers, transponders, amplifiers, lasers and sensors)

With all booms often it is wisest to buy those that make the picks and shovels. In this case it is the optics (transceivers, transponders, amplifiers, lasers and sensors), cameras, semiconductors and so on. I have already discussed Samsung, Nvidia, Intel, Qualcomm, and AMD above, as they will do well from semiconductor design and sales.

Some of the major optics providers that can do very well include:

Note: I will most likely write a separate article on how to benefit from the AI boom by buying the picks and shovels stocks behind the boom.

Conclusion

AI will be invisible, yet it will be everywhere. AI appears on our smartphones, with virtual assistants, augmented and virtual reality headsets, robots, in data centers, and in semi and fully autonomous vehicles.

My top 5 AI stocks to play the coming AI boom are Apple, Samsung, Alphabet Google, Facebook, and Nvidia. If I could find the next Nvidia or listed small cap AI company with potential I would include them in a top 6. For now I have not yet found, as mostly they get bought out by the tech giants before going public.

Apple and Samsung are chosen as they are the global top two smartphone sellers (the smartphone and AR/VR devices will mostly be the operating systems for mass market retail AI), they have very loyal customer bases to cross-sell new AI products to, and also control what chips they use in their devices. Apple may move towards their own AI chip, and Samsung are the global number 2 chip maker already.

Alphabet Google and Facebook dominate the internet, and therefore have a large influence on the retail and business market. They are both already leaders in AI, with the financial backing to buy out any competitive threats. We could perhaps add Amazon to this group also.

Nvidia are the clear chip design leader in the AI space, and have an excellent track record. They are a must have in any AI portfolio. AMD would be a cheaper alternative for those worried about Nvidia's valuation.

Finally an equally wise move would be to buy the "pick and shovel" makers behind the boom such as Applied Optoelectronics and Fabrinet.

I am interested to hear your favorite AI stock and why. As usual all comments are welcome.

Disclosure: I am/we are long GOOG, FB, SSNLF, FN, AAOI.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Additional disclosure: The information in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as personal financial advice.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

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A Look At The Artificial Intelligence Companies And My Top 5 - Seeking Alpha

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What Does Baidu Have In Its Artificial Intelligence Pipeline? – Barron’s

Posted: at 2:12 am


Barron's
What Does Baidu Have In Its Artificial Intelligence Pipeline?
Barron's
As COO of Baidu Mr. Qi Lu said, Baidu will all in AI and continues to emphasize AI (artificial intelligence) as the key strategic focus given the window of opportunity for Baidu. Its AI strategy will be empowered by DuerOS (conversational AI ...
China can seize opportunity to lead global AI development, Baidu executives sayCNBC
Baidu embraces artificial intelligence, set to build an open ecosystemGlobal Times

all 93 news articles »

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The Meme-ing of Life – Aitkin Independent Age

Posted: at 2:12 am

More and more often now, I hear the word meme working its way into casual conversation. I saw this meme on Facebook, a relative tells me. Let me show you this meme on my phone, says a co-worker. Our friend group needs better memes, bemoans a friend. On more than one occasion, I have been shown memes that havent quite been memes. Now, Im not a prescriptivist (that is, I dont elevate one ideal use of language over other uses). I am fascinated with weird and wild ways language and culture evolve, and Im not foolish enough to presume that evolution can be successful policed. When strange, alien noises like meme start entering the everyday lexicon, however, I think theres little harm in trying to figure out where they came from, and why. With the word meme in particular, its a rather interesting history.

The word meme was first coined by scientist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. The word was originally modeled after gene, drawing on the Greek mimeme, or that which is imitated. The word described practices, traditions and ideas that spread through culture, much like genes are capable of replicating and spreading. Dawkins aimed to explain how evolutionary principles, looked at through the lens of memes, could be applied to cultural development, an idea that would go to be developed into the field of memetics. Memetics as a field of studies has been met with contention; some feel the ambiguity of what qualifies as a meme and the chaotic nature of their spread makes studying them pseudoscientific.

Of course, in day-to-day parlance, meme doesnt seem to refer to anything so broad or theoretical. I almost exclusively hear the word in the context of internet memes. The internet is by its very nature a means for sharing ideas, which lends itself to the replication and repetition of ideas. Going viral is common online terminology, and anything that has gone viral that is, spread like a disease is by definition a meme.

I imagine its hard to use or interact with the internet at large and not encounter some form of meme, though also incredibly easy to be blissfully unaware that you have. New memes spawn on a daily basis and can be specific to any of a thousand online subcultures. I initially mentioned the dilution of the words meaning. Ive seen the word used to describe any weird or funny online image. Its understandable why such images would be called memes, as memes are often weird and funny images. However, such usage strips the word of some intrigue and nuance the replication, repetition and modification of a pre-existing idea or form.

Memes are not always funny images. In fact, given the repetition en masse, most memes quickly become unfunny. Ive occasionally seen complaints that present day internet meme culture develops too quickly. A new meme can suddenly become overplayed in the course of a single day, if not hours. In part, this comes about because memes themselves have developed their own online culture. An expectation exists that any funny or mildly unclever thing will become a meme, which leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy and a short meme lifespan.

If memes so quickly become unfunny, one might ask, Why all this hubbub about memes and internet and subculture? It wouldnt be too difficult to hammer out a think piece about internet memes as an apocalyptic harbinger of a conformist youth culture. But memes arent some wholly new concept. The Kilroy was here graffiti is a meme dating back to before World War II. Knock-knock and numerous other well-known jokes are memes. Urban legends, aphorisms and fairy tales are all concepts that spread memetically. Rather than just a current fad, meme is a relatively new word for something ancient. The language and words we use to communicate are constantly developing, and memes are just another form of language or perhaps language is a form of meme.

Evan Orbeck is a Messenger staff writer.

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The Meme-ing of Life - Aitkin Independent Age

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Lions have what it takes to claim immortality against All Blacks – Irish Times

Posted: at 2:12 am

How to quantify this one? Rugbys greatest series, to quote Sky Sport NZs advertising campaign and that hyperbole doesnt seem excessive has reached its first series-deciding showdown since 1993. Viewed in that light, its possibly the biggest game of the professional era outside of World Cups.

For the back-to-back world champions, its an opportunity for a somewhat remodelled, younger team, captained by Kieran Read in his 100th test, and marshalled by the world player of the year, Beauden Barrett, and his brothers, to emulate illustrious names of the All Blacks past in the post-Richie McCaw and Dan Carter era and cement their own status.

For the Lions its an even rarer chance to grasp a slice of rugby-playing immortality, and emulate something only one Lions squad has ever achieved before. Then it was the sepia-tinged class of Willie John, Gibson, an array of Welsh legends and others, back in 1971.

Thats all then. Truly, its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, never to be experienced again.

The very nature of the tour and the series so far has set up the climax perfectly. The Lions were largely written off before this suicidal tour and from the outset. Gradually the quality of their players was honed into two strong teams, albeit one stronger than the other.

Even then, in the first test, they left opportunities behind, whereas the All Blacks clinically took theirs, whereupon the Lions defied expectations as 5/1 outsiders a week ago with a drama-filled comeback, admittedly against 14 men for 45 of the last 55 minutes on a raucous night in a rain-sodden Westpac Stadium. They were the clinical ones, with two nicely created and strongly finished tries. The Red Army were in raptures and are liable to be buttressed by further re-enforcements here. The All Blacks fans have been provoked into finding their voice. Another filthy forecast will only add to the drama.

Whod have thought, at the outset, that coming into this climactic third test, the Lions would not only have the momentum, but would have an unchanged side in a test for the first time since 1993? And meanwhile, that the All Blacks would be making three changes in personnel, including a 20-year-old (Jordan Barrett) and 24-year-old (Ngani Laumpape) making their first test starts in an untried back three and new midfield?

Revenge is a powerful spur in rugby, not least when the matches come close together. Wounded pride, and a whiff of cordite and all that, and therell plenty in the Auckland air. The Lions had it last week, the All Blacks this, and Ireland felt the full, brutal force of this blacklash in November.

Yet Warren Gatland is adamant, as is Johnny Sexton, that this Lions team can be even better again.

We also still dont think were at our best, we still think we can improve. Obviously theres going to be an improvement in the All Blacks but its something we dont think is going to be a shock to us. Rory Best spoke earlier in the week about how the Irish felt they didnt handle the physicality that the All Blacks brought in the game two weeks after the Chicago game, even though theyd spoken about it. Were ready for it.

I think theyre going to try to dominate us up front, particularly in the tight five, and try and give some of their inexperienced backs some go-forward. If they dont get that advantage up front and were aware of making sure we try and negate the threat of their tight five it should make the game interesting.

Despite their Queenstown time-out, and satisfaction from last week, theres no sense that the Lions players are content with their lot, according to Gatland.

I havent witnessed that. I hope I dont see it on Saturday night because that would be pretty disappointing. Theres a group of players there who are incredibly competitive and realise this is a massive opportunity to win a series in NZ. It doesnt come round very often. These Irish players who played in Chicago know what it was like two weeks later; theyve another chance to make sure they dont get caught with their pants down.

As in the previous two tests, the lines in the sand are liable to again be drawn close in along the gain line. The All Blacks won the collisions in round one, the Lions with some tampering in personnel in round two. The personnel now largely remains the same, with Laumape on from the start after being the All Blacks most potent runner, but also their weakest defender, a week ago.

Sean OBriens availability is a game changer, or at any rate his nonavailability would have been. If the Lions can reproduce the same strength and accuracy in the tackle close in, and if OBrien, Sam Warburton and co can slow down the All Blacks customary high-tempo game in other words, if they can stifle Beauden Barrett, they have every chance.

With yet more biblical rain forecast, the scrums could be a significant factor, as again will the referee, in this instance Romain Poite. He showed in the series decider four years ago that, as ever, he is both a strong, thick-skinned personality and favours the scrum going forward, whatever the means. The All Blacks will assuredly go after the Lions at scrum time.

The Lions have lost the penalty count by a combined 24-15 in the tests to date, and Gatland clearly feels the Lions havent been given a fair deal yet, and particularly in this series. He will meet with Poite, his assistants Jerome Garces and the hitherto unsatisfactory Jaco Peyper, a description that could also apply to the TMO George Ayoub.

All Gatland wants is that they have an open mind.

Thats the message I will hopefully give to the officials tomorrow night when I meet them. Weve got the confidence and self-belief to win this Saturday and win the series, so all we ask of them is to be open-minded, not to be surprised by us being in front and good enough to win. Thats an important message I am trying to deliver. I am not questioning their integrity or anything. Its just that sometimes its a mindset. The message is just, if there are some 50-50 calls, to be open-minded.

To support Gatlands theory that there is more in this team, the Sexton-Farrell combo was at the heartbeat of the two tries that turned the game on its head and has given the lie to Warrenball while giving them a cutting edge, which has been sharpened by a brand-new back three who have only played two games together. They also have a core of proven Lions. They wont be fazed.

The All Blacks havent lost at Eden Park since France won 23-20 in 1994, and have won 37 tests in a row there. They are hot favourites, and could win well, but if opportunity knocks, these Lions have tries in them.

After all the verbal sparring up until this point a week ago, both Gatland and Steve Hansen assumed a more restrained, balanced mindset, culminating in them both being quite philosophical on Thursday. Indeed, both had the exact same choice of wordswhen maintaining this game will not define these players.

Nor should it. They all have or will achieve plenty more.

Nevertheless, immortality beckons, and all that.

NEW ZEALAND: Jordan Barrett (Hurricanes); Israel Dagg (Crusaders), Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs), Ngane Laumape (Hurricanes), Julien Savea (Hurricanes); Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes), Aaron Smith (Highlanders); Joe Moody (Crusaders), Codie Taylor (Crusaders), Owen Franks (Crusaders), Brodie Retallick (Chiefs) Samuel Whitelock (Crusaders), Jerome Kaino (Blues), Sam Cane (Chiefs), Kieran Read (Crusaders, captain).

Replacements: Nathan Harris (Chiefs), Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders),

Charlie Faumuina (Blues), Scott Barrett (Crusaders), Ardie Savea (Hurricanes), TJ Perenara (Hurricanes), Aaron Cruden (Chiefs) or Lima Sopoaga (Highalnders), Malakai Fekitoa (Highlanders).

BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS: Liam Williams (Scarlets, Wales); Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets, Wales), Owen Farrell (Saracens, England), Elliot Daly (Wasps, England); Johnny Sexton (Leinster, Ireland), Conor Murray (Munster, Ireland); Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England,) Jamie George (Saracens, England), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster, Ireland), Maro Itoje (Saracens, England), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, Wales), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, Wales, capt), Sean OBrien (Leinster, Ireland), Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales).

Replacements: Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales), Jack McGrath (Leinster, Ireland), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, England), Courtney Lawes (Northampton, England), CJ Stander (Munster, Ireland), Rhys Webb (Ospreys, Wales), Ben Teo (Worcester Warriors, England), Jack Nowell (Exeter, England).

Referee: Romain Poite (France).

Previous meetings: Played 40. New Zealand 30 wins, 3 draws, Lions 7 wins.

Betting (Paddy Powers): 2/7 New Zealand, 22/1 Draw, 7/2 Lions. Handicap betting (Lions +11 pts): evens New Zealand, 19/1 draw, evens Lions.

Forecast: The Lions to win.

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Lions have what it takes to claim immortality against All Blacks - Irish Times

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Holistic therapy for pets? Traditional vet care being blended with reiki, acupuncture – Georgia Voice

Posted: at 2:11 am

In 2012, Americans spent about $30.2 billion on alternative veterinary practices for their pets. (Photo via iStock)

Its a situation many pet parents have faced: Your beloved fur kid just isnt itself and youre at the end of your rope. Youve maxed out on vet visits and overloaded on pet painkillers. Still, your pup is struggling with arthritis, diabetes or some other painful condition that conventional methods arent helping.

You can cross your fingers and turn to another traditional vet. Or you can join the growing number of pet owners looking to aromatherapy, chiropractic and even energy work to sooth their struggling animals.

Its called holistic medicine, and while the discipline which combines Eastern and metaphysical theories to treat mostly chronic conditions has long been common among human patients, animal specialists say its use is exploding among pet owners. They point to younger pet parents and more animal owners who live a holistic lifestyle and increasingly want their dogs, cats and even lizards to do the same.

These pet parents arent replacing stethoscopes and scalpels with pendulums and sage. Rather, experts say they are increasingly blending traditional vet care with things like reiki, color therapy and acupuncture to treat their animals inside and out.

Healing mind, body and spirit

Sometimes referred to as alternative medicine, holistic medical care is best described as treatment focused on healing mind, body and spirit. Where conventional Western medicine focuses on tests and X-rays, holistic treatment is often intuitive, with heavy focus on emotional blockages, energetic imbalances and other less tangible concepts.

The field encompasses a diverse number of specializations, including hypnotherapy, sound therapy, herbal treatments and reiki, a technique in which a practitioner uses touch to channel energy and restore balance in patients.

It may sound a little hokey to newcomers, but lots of Americans have bought into the faith-based healing modalities: An estimated 59 million Americans spent some $30.2 billion on alternative treatments in 2012, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Four-legged patients are increasingly included in those expenditures, said Tricia Stimac, president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association and an active veterinarian.

While treatments can be used on exotics think lizards and snakes Stimac said the most common pets are cats, dogs and surprisingly, horses.

Acupuncture and chiropractic have been amazing modules of therapy for that species, she said, explaining horses in particular often suffer chronic pain from wearing saddles.

Years ago, she said holistic medicine was more of a fringe thing, practiced by a select few vets who had personal experience with it. Nowadays, however, its patients demanding botanicals and more for things like chronic ear infections, she said.

You realize as youve been in practice for a long period of time, that there are other options, she said. And the younger generation, they are hearing of these modalities and they are being requested.

Stimac said many pet parents belong to the Whole Foods set practicing clean eating and other holistic lifestyle choices that they extend to their pets. But, others are simply ready for something new.

We see clients that start because theyve been to 15 other regular vets and they havent had any help with their animals problems, she said. We help them and they see the success.

That doesnt mean, however, that alternative medicine is a replacement for traditional medicine entirely, she said. Rather, Stimac said alternative medicine should complement traditional methods in certain cases. Alternative medicine should not be used to replace emergency care if a pet is hit by a car or having acute heart troubles, for instance.

But the beauty is that we can not only utilize the surgeon to fix that bone or that cardiologist to add on pharmaceutical medications, but we can also use our alternative therapies to support that, she said. You can use a homeopathic to help heal the bone post surgery. You can use supplements in conjunction with heart medicines.

Soothing music, crystals used for joint pain, anxiety

It all sounded like hocus pocus to pet lover and mobile dog groomer Mary Oquendo. Then, a decade ago, her miniature pinscher, Marcus, fell sick.

He had Cushings (Syndrome), he was diabetic, every month his medications were increasing, she said. His prognosis was not good.

When she saw some crystals in a local alternative store, Oquendo impulsively grabbed a few she thought were pretty. Weeks later, when she felt her mood lift, Oquendo said she started researching the crystals properties and how they could also help her pooch.

It ultimately lead to a longer, healthier life for Marcus and a new specialty for Oquendo. who now offers crystal and reiki pet therapy, in addition to running her mobile business Pawsitively Pretty, and teaching at events like the Atlanta Pet Fair and Conference, in March.

By the time he passed away, he was off Cushings medication and we had reduced his diabetes medicine by about 25 percent, said Oquendo, who is based in Danbury, Connecticut.

These days, she is sharing what worked for her Marcus with cats and dogs suffering everything from joint pain to chronic anxiety. Sessions typically involve soothing music, placing the pet in a circle of crystals and using a pendulum placed over the animals body to guide her to where healing is most needed.

While her pet patients dont have the words to say thanks, Oquendo said they show their appreciation in their own way.

You can see it in their faces, she said.

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Sudbury woman chooses alternative treatments for stage 4 cancer – CBC.ca

Posted: at 2:11 am

A Sudbury woman is choosing to go the all-natural routein hopes ofhealing her stage 4 cancer.

Thousands of dollars in donations have already poured in to help her achievethat.

Jazmin Ayotte,20, is aLaurentian University student, who was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma when she was 16. Thisisa rare type of cancer which ended up spreading to Ayotte's lungs and one of her kidneys.

Ayotte says she was adamant from the beginning that she wanted to take a natural approach to deal with her cancer.

"Up until this day, I've never tried chemotherapy," she says.

Ayotte says she's tried "western medicine,"but all of those made her feel worse. Instead, she tried changing her diet andintravenous vitamins. Sheeven travelledto Mexico and the Bahamas for naturopathic treatments.

"I go to school, but it's on and off, or I'll take a semester off depending on how I'm feeling. Day to day, I deal with pain quite a bit."

The natural treatments seemed to help manage thepainuntil recently.

"I was in the hospital for a week. I was rushed in with extreme pain, and nothing could manage it," Ayottesays.

"That sparked us to research new treatments and get in touch with new doctors."

Jazmin Ayotte was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma when she was 16. (Jazmin Ayotte)

Ayotte says her family found a naturopathic treatment centre in Scottsdale, Arizona that seemspromising.

Initial genetic testingwill cost more than $30,000. After that,continued treatment and supplements will costapproximately $1,000 per month.

Treatment prices weren't immediately available on the facility'swebsite, but an initial office visit costs between $350 and$700.

Although she says she isn't exactly sure what the therapies entail, Ayotteis under the impression they include heat, laser and magnetic therapies whichfocus on improving the patient's immune system.

Ayotte says she doesn't advocate against chemotherapy. She just doesn't believe it would work for her.

"[My doctors] have given me options for palliative radiation, but that's not killing the cancer, that's dealing with the pain and other things," Ayotte says.

"I don't feel comfortable going through with that when I already have in mind that it would kill my immune system, make me feel horrible, not let me have a life at all, andnot really treat it the way I hope to be treated."

Because alternativetreatments in the United States aren't covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan,Ayotteand her family have started reaching out to others with fundraising initiatives.

Ayotte's fianc Eythan Henson started a social media trend called 'Burpees for Jaz.'The idea is to post a video of yourself doing theexercise,then tag the family's GoFundMe page.Thepage has already raised $15,000.

Superior Maple Syrup, owned by Henson'sfamily, is raising money from the sale of some of theproducts.

A stag and doe is being held in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.,later this month, with all proceeds going toward Ayotte's treatment.

Lauren Nykilchuk is selling these T-shirts in support of Jazmin Ayotte's trip to the United States for alternative treatments. (Supplied/Facebook)

A friend from high school wanted to help outtoo. LaurenNykilchuk had T-shirts left over from a school project, and isselling themwith some of the profits going to Ayotte'strip.

There's already been a widespread response to the shirts.

"It's definitely not just sticking to Sudbury,"Nykilchuksays.

"I can't put down my phone for fiveminutes without getting multiple messages about people wanting to buy shirts, asking questions about the shirts and about Jazmin. It's probably the greatest problem inthe world to have, seeing howmany people have come together and want to support this cause."

Ayotte and her mother leave for Arizona next week. She says her doctors in Canada have been skeptical of her choices, but she feels they support her in this next trip.

"Ideally, I want to be cancer free," she says.

"But I hope it gets me tobe at a point where I don't have to be on painkillers all the time, and be where Ican go to school and commit to other things where I don't have to be held back because of pain."

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Best food supplements for your gun dog – Gun Dog Magazine

Posted: at 2:10 am

Getting the most out of training and hunting with your gun dog starts with choosing the right exercise program then adding the best nutritional supplements,like krill oil, to their diet to help hard-working hunting dogs to recover faster. Getting your dog in shape is also the best way to ensure your hunting partner stays healthy and injury free. But diet, and the right supplements to help your dog bounce back after a long day in the field, is also essential. Without this two-pronged strategy of proper training and nutritional supplements, your dog will simply not hunt as efficiently or as long. And this may have a big impact on your enjoyment afield as well. A hunt I took with a friend last fall is a perfect example.

My hunting partner and I were two full days into a four-day hunt last November when his dog gave up. She wouldnt even stand when we parked the truck, and while my dog was like bottled lightning, his chocolate Lab was more like bottled mud. It seemed that two days was enough for the one-year-old pup, and after that she wasnt physically capable of hunting anymore. She needed recovery.

My black Lab, a four-year old named Luna, was like a different species. She hunted sunrise to sunset as we coursed through multiple tracts of public land throughout Nebraska. We targeted four species of upland birds in varied terrain, and without her ability to go all day and then do it again, it would have been a miserable trip.

The differences between his dog and mine are many, and something can certainly be said about drive. His dog doesnt have that magical need to go quite like mine does, but there is far more to the difference than that. His dog started out in poor shape, which is always bad.

We ask a lot of our bird dogs throughout the hunting season, especially on extended trips where they go for days on end. Its imperative we address their recovery needs correctly. Quality nutritional supplements can help.

Making An Athlete

Its really not that hard to keep a hunting dog in shape. Theyll run, swim, and engage in training drills all day long if they sport a decent pedigree and their handlers show some initiative when it comes to getting them out and moving. This should be a year-round commitment and is a much better route to take when building a great bird dogs fitness than the ill-advised method of hunting them into shape. Going that route with your dog is like one of us deciding to run marathons after a sedentary lifestyle and zero training. The odds of crossing that finish line after 26.2 miles are slim, but the odds of experiencing an injury and an embarrassing dose of humility are very high.

Not only is keeping a dog in shape the responsible thing to do, its also self-serving. Our bird dogs are expected to perform under a variety of conditions. For example, my Lab will start the season hunting doves, which is a simple pass shooting affair, although it can be hot. From there, she becomes a woodcock and grouse hunter, which involves a lot more physical activity. Not long after, the first duck hunts occur and then its on to pheasants, quail, and just about anything we can get after. She might need to retrieve mallards in a cold river for hours during the morning, and then range throughout a vast series of broken hills to flush sharptails in antelope country the rest of the day. The physical demands are serious, and without a great base with which to start, things can go wrong quickly.

Its not just what you do during the pre-hunt months that matters either. During the actual hunt, a dog needs proper energy and hydration. Ignore both, and youll put your four-legged compadre in unnecessary danger.

And then there is the need to address recovery after a hunt or rigorous training session.

While proper exercise is the key to building a bird dog that can hunt all day, its also necessary to address their ability to recover after their day-long efforts.

Heal Up, Move On

Four years ago, I embarked on a personal journey to get into much better shape. This involved making a commitment to running, lifting weights and eating healthier. It took months, but I started to feel comfortable with all three. The one hole in my new game, however, was that I felt like I never fully recovered from anything.

During a conversation with a buddy of mine who runs 100-mile ultra-marathons in the Rocky Mountains, I mentioned that I was slow to recover, especially after long runs. He asked me what I was using for supplements and I told him that I wasnt using anything. He was floored.

After the conversation ended, I ordered several products he recommended for pre- and post-workout health. As you can guess, he was spot-on in his advice. And it doesnt apply to just humans. Dogs need recovery help as well.

Their muscles, joints, and bones all take a beating during a hard day of hunting, and while the body is amazingly efficient at rebuilding, it takes time with dogs of all ages. This is why, especially on a multi-day hunt, its necessary to supplement your dogs nutrition to offer them the best chance of a quick, proper recovery.

From training to dawn-to-dark hunting days, our bird dogs put in serious effort to please us. The least we can do is offer them the right supplements to aid in their post-activity recoveries.

For years, an essential step in this process was to offer dogs a fish-oil pill. After all, thats what humans take so it must be good for dogs, right? Not necessarily. Fish oil can benefit a dogs health (or ours), but it can also contain unwanted toxins and doesnt address everything necessary for overall health and joint issues.

A far superior option is krill oil, which is found in Alpha Dog Nutritions Vitality supplement. Like fish oil, krill oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, but unlike fish oil, krill oil contains phospholipids, carotenoid and astaxanthin. In laymens terms, these compounds benefit a dogs mental state, promote heart health, and address joint issues.

Krill oils benefitsdont end there, however. It can also reduce allergies, slow the development of certain cancers, help regulate blood clots, and improve your dogs skin and coat while also benefitting eye function. To truly break it down, krill oil works on a level that benefits cellular membranes and supports overall cell survival, which is the cornerstone of not only staying healthy, but recovering after serious bouts of physical strain and activity. As an added bonus, Vitality also contains the wonder food turmeric. While its benefits are many, turmerics most important role is to combat inflammation, a task it does naturally to the same level of effectiveness that many anti-inflammatory drugs do. Inflammation is linked to a host of issues in dogs and is a road-block to post-hunt recovery, which makes this ingredient essential for hard working sporting dogs.

Unlike fish oil supplements, a krill-oil-based nutritional supplement, like Alpha Dogs Vitality, contains phospholipids, carotenoid and astaxanthin that benefit a dogs mental state, promote heart health, and address joint issues.

More Krill Oil Benefits

Suppose youre still on the fence about whether krill oil is better than fish oil, or if they are basically the same thing. After all, both contain omega-3 fatty acids, so there is no clear winner there, right? Wrong. The omega-3s in krill oil are bound to phospholipids, not triglycerides like those found in fish oil. Research strongly suggests that phospholipids may be more readily absorbed by brain tissues than triglycerides, which means your dog will reap far greater benefits from them.

Alpha Dog sources their krill from Alaskan waters, meaning they are far less likely to be exposed to toxins like mercury, pesticides and PCBs, than fish are. Also, unlike fish, krill are in no danger of being overharvested. In fact, krill fishing could increase 50-fold and still be at safe levels of harvest, which is not the case with most marine life. So, not only is a krill-oil-based supplement, like Vitality, a better choice for your dogs health, its environmentally responsible.

When it comes to helping a worn-out pheasant or duck dog at the end of a day, or even after a mid-summer training session at your local lake, there really is only one choice for offering the best recovery possible Alpha Dogs Vitality.

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Open to changes in new standards for food supplements: FSSAI … – Times of India

Posted: at 2:10 am

New Delhi, Jul 6 () Food regulator FSSAI today assured the food supplements and nutraceuticals industry that it is open to making changes in the new standards to support growth of the sector, but without compromising on consumers interest.

The Food Safety and Standards (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations was issued last December.

Food Business Operators (FBOs) need to comply with these standards by January 1, 2018.

Addressing a Assocham conference on nutraceuticals, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal expressed concern over the increasing number of spurious food supplement products in the market.

"We released standards on food supplements and nutraceuticals few months ago. There were some concerns from the industry but we went ahead and released the standards. But our effort is not to cast them in stone as these are evolving standards," Agarwal said.

"I want to assure the industry that if there are concerns, we are still open to change that. We have 5-6 months time before this regulations come in force. So, hopefully, we will iron out differences," he said.

On the sidelines, the FSSAI CEO said that it has got many representation from the industry seeking some changes in the regulations related to inclusion of ingredients.

"Food supplements is a difficult sector to regulate. But for us consumers interest is paramount and non-negotiable," he said, asking manufacturers to be cautious in declaring any claims about the products.

Stating that a large number of spurious products are available in the market, he said there is no "robust framework" for testing of food supplement products.

FSSAI has set up a technical panel, which includes representation from industry as well, to prepare a framework for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).

"We do hope that it will bring greater clarity to have a more robust ecosystem for manufacturing, processing and distribution of food supplements in the country," he said.

Agarwal said there is immense opportunity in this industry, but cautioned that "bad name to food supplements sector by few dubious players can hamper the growth of this sunrise industry".

Speaking at the event, Food Processing Secretary JP Meena said the size of this industry is currently USD 3-4 billion and is growing at 20 per cent.

He said there is a great potential for this sector as the market is huge for these products in India as well as overseas.

However, Meena said there is a need to keep the price of food supplements and nutraceuticals at an "affordable" level.

He also spoke about challenges before the sector and said that consumer confidence about these products is "still to be gained".

The industry should be in a position to verify claims made about these products through evidence, he said, adding that "traceability is important".

He emphasised on industry focus on backward linkages to ensure traceability and also on organised cultivation of plants required for nutraceuticals production.

Meena highlighted that the government has recently launched Rs 6,000 crore Sampada scheme to boost food processing and asked industry to avail benefit of this scheme.

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Short gearbox life now steadily lengthening as technology matures – Windpower Engineering (press release)

Posted: at 2:10 am

Wind turbine gearboxes once had a well deserved bad reputation for their short working lives. Not long ago, a two or three-year life was about normal.

Moventas ExtraLife gearbox will provide a four-fold overall life improvement according to computational testing by Sentient Science.

Things are looking up, however. Two companies recently announced improvements to gearboxes that stretch their working life to much longer periods. First, Moventas took the wraps off its Extra Life 1.5-MW gearbox last year and more recently, produced simulations by Sentient Science that point to a four-fold improvement in life. Then at the Wind Energy Update O&M Dallas conference, Gearbox Express unveiled an upgraded version of its proprietary gearbox, Revolution 2.0.

Moventas says that premature failures in the GE 1.5-MW gearboxes have led to unexpected downtime and increased costs. Moventas developed upgrades for the gearboxes, now called Extra Life, that can reduce premature failures on all types of gearboxes. To qualify its modifications, the company enlisted Sentient Science to validate the technology and life-extension claims and quantify the improvements in performance, durability, and reliability.

Computational testing shows a four-fold overall gearbox life improvement because of improvements made to the case-carburized ring gear, integrated planet-gear bearings, high-speed-stage bearings, tooth surface roughness, and material upgrades in bearings and gears. Sentient Science used its DigitalClone, a material science-based program that predicts the earliest time when cracks initiate in the microstructure of rotating gearbox components. The key analysis factors used in DigitalClone computational modeling included material quality, surface roughness, and stresses based on a full gearbox model subjected to real turbine operating conditions. These are not explicitly accounted in industry standards.

Simulation by Sentient Science shows that the planet bearing will have better load carrying capacity versus conventional bearings due to lower contact stress The results also showed an 8% reduction in contact stresses.

Take the case-carburized ring gear, for instance. The method is used instead of another, such as case hardening. To demonstrate improved durability, simulations considered case-carburized microstructure, geometry, operating conditions, lubricant properties, surface finish, and residual stresses. More than 1,000 contact and bending simulations were conducted in DigitalClone software. The results demonstrated an improved L10 life from seven to 20 years, mainly due to better surface finish and material quality without detrimental defects or inclusions.

Also, a two-row arrangement of cylindrical roller bearings is used in each planet of the new gearbox, instead of a four-row arrangement typical of conventional designs. About 2,000 fatigue-life simulations were conducted in DigitalClone to compare the two-bearing arrangement. The planet bearing showed better load-carrying capacity compared to conventional bearings, thanks in part to an 8% reduction in contact stresses. Moventas says its planet bearings now offer superior fatigue life and attribute it to cleaner material quality and relatively lower contact stress.

Gearbox Express says its Revolution 2.0 is available 1.0 to 2.3 MW across several platforms that the company supports, such as MHI 1000A, GE 1.5 S, Sle, Xle, 1.X, Vesta V80 and V82, and the Siemens 2.3. About 20 so far are in the field.

And speaking of cleaner material, a white-etching-resistance steel is used in the Extra Life gearbox instead of a black-oxide or a conventional bearing material. DigitalClone also validated that the white-etching resistance bearing material was superior to the black-oxide coating against white etch cracking due to heat treatment and improved microstructure. The black-oxide coating showed a 3% probability of failure in less than 20 years at the high-speed shaft and high-speed intermediate shaft positions due to non-metallic inclusions. DigitalClone verified the white-etching resistant bearing is superior to other bearing materials in these positions. Furthermore, Moventas can replace these bearings up-tower, which lowers O&M costs and downtime.

Moventas add that its Clean Steel tech has also been showing good result against IMS tooth fractures. The company reports no IMS tooth fractures with the upgraded material spec. In conventional steels, non-metallic inclusions can be as large as 100m on the intermediate-speed pinion. Contact fatigue life simulations in DigitalClone showed that the enhanced material doubles the life over the original design. Rolling contact fatigue simulations demonstrated that the sun pinion used in the new gearbox with an Ra (surface roughness) of 0.3 m increases L10 fatigue life by a factor of 2.2, compared to the original Ra of 0.6 m.

The Revolution 2.0 uses integral tapered rollers instead of cylindrical rollers. The tapers permit preloading, which increases system stiffness and improves load sharing.

The company adds that the Extra Life gearbox showed a lower cost of ownership compared to the legacy platform. Also, the units come with five-year warranties. ExtraLife features can be applied to larger gearboxes as well says the company. One example is Siemens 2.3 MW platform where Moventas has upgraded the design by using own core tech such as case carburized ring gear and combined two row bearing on the planet gears.

The more recent introduction comes from Gearbox Express. The wind industry has wrestled with gearbox failures since its inception, said Gearbox Express CEO Bruce Neumiller at the conference. That led us to create our company and meet these challenges head-on. We are succeeding. The company unveiled its initial Revolution gearbox in 2013 to address frequently seen failure characteristics. Since then, the company has successfully installed more than 200 of the designs across the United States. Neumiller says all are running well with the oldest about five years old.

For more than three years, we have has been researching why the planetary configurations in some gearboxes were not reaching half of their designed lifespan, said Neumiller. Those development efforts are now in the Revolution 2.0.

All planet gears in the Revolution 2.0 gearbox will have super finished gear teeth.

He says the top features of the new gearbox include:

A redesigned planetary gear and bearing interface in which the bearing outer races are machined into the gear. This reduces the number of components and opportunity for failure.

Integral tapered rollers are used in lieu of cylindrical rollers. The tapers permit preloading, which increases system stiffness and improves load sharing. The bearings also reduce internal bearing stresses, improve life 170%, and reduce rim deflection by 460%, which reduces bending stress and the propensity to crack planet gears.

The use of steel that is cleaner than ISO 6336-5 ME. Cleaner steel improves contact and bending-gear ratings, letting planet gears run with a higher safety factor and significantly reducing the risk of failing from material inclusions.

In-house super finishing improves as-ground surface finishes by 50%, ensuring bearing life while improving the gear rating.

Gearboxes are now outfitted with a metallic wear debris monitor from Poseidon Systems, letting GBX remotely monitor and proactively address oil cleanliness issues. In addition, the gearbox is backed by a five-year warranty, which includes crane and labor expenses.

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