Monthly Archives: June 2021

IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is designed to help communications service providers improve networking and deliver new services in days, rather than months

ARMONK, N.Y., June 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --At Mobile World Congress 2021, IBM (NYSE:IBM) announced new hybrid cloud AI-powered automation software for communications service providers (CSPs) to help deliver on the promise of 5G, including zero-touch operations, reduced costs and the rapid delivery of innovative services to customers. Using IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation,CSPs can use AI-powered automation to stand up and manage networks quickly, in a wide range of environments, and is engineered to scale new services in days, rather than months.

CSPs provide a vital lifeline for citizens and enterprises globally, and even more so today, as unpredictable events can drive massive changes in network needs and traffic patterns. In fact, according to an IBM Institute for Business Value study, 82% of leading CSPs surveyed identified faster time-to-market of new services as the most important element for successful automation initiatives1.

"As the telco industry races to capture new value from 5G and Edge computing, many are transforming their networks to software-defined platforms that can deliver on this promise. Yet our customers have identified that limited automation and the lack of real- time visibility across networks have hindered their ability to deliver innovative services to customers fast enough," said Andrew Coward, General Manager, Software Defined Networking, IBM. "To help address these growing demands, IBM's new Cloud Pak for Network Automation software uses AI-powered automation to enable zero-touch provisioning of new services which can facilitate the simplification of the management of network functions from the core to the edge."

IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, which is engineered to run in a wide range of environments on Red Hat OpenShift, provides a full suite of AI-powered automation capabilities to implement 5G and edge services by managing multi-vendor software-based network functions, which supports the evolution to autonomous operations. The software brings together advanced analytics, machine learning and AIOps to help CSPs discover hidden patterns and trends in networking data, so they can continually optimize network operations and performance with minimal human intervention. With the integration of IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps and edge solutions including IBM Edge Application Manager, CSPs can automate the delivery of resources where they are needed dynamically.

With the addition of IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation to the IBM Cloud Pak portfolio, CSPs can benefit in the following ways:

IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is designed so that a network engineer could use it to turn up a site in a matter of 4-5 days. The solution enables hundreds of thousands of network functions, including hostname details, server ports, network architecture, tenants, IP address plans and more, to be organized and brought together (i.e.: "orchestrated") in real-time to deliver a holistic network service.

With the recent close of the acquisition of Turbonomic, IBM plans to deliver the needed analytics and monitoring capabilities required of virtualized, automated networks. IBM plans to offer IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation with Turbonomic network performance management and assurance. Turbonomic provides the ability to ingest large amounts of telemetry information and provide insight into performance and services to manage day-to-day operations. Through this planned integration, customers will have access to network recommendations from analytics, which will become dynamic actions within the network.

IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is one of the IBM Automation Cloud Paks that include a set of shared automation services supported by more than 30 ecosystem partners that helps professionals self-automate routine tasks so they can focus on high-value work. Today's announcement follows IBM's recent launch of IBM Watson Orchestrate to provide AI-powered automation to business professionals, and the acquisitions of Turbonomic, myInvenio, Instana and WDG Automation to build out a complete end-to-end AI-powered automation portfolio of software for transforming business processes and IT operations.

IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is built on Red Hat OpenShift, can run in a wide range of environments including hybrid multi-cloud and multi-vendor, and can manage divergent networking vendor infrastructures, including edge networks. IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation is available now. For more information, please visit https://www.ibm.com/cloud/cloud-pak-for-network-automation

Media Contact

Tyler Allen

IBM Media Relations

tballen@us.ibm.com

1 IBM Institute for Business Value "Re-envisioning the CSP network" report

https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/73NVRNRY

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IBM Brings AI-Powered Automation Software to Networking to Help Simplify Broad Adoption of 5G - KPVI News 6

The explosive growth of online and mobile shopping has seen supply chains being squeezed under the mounting strains, explaining why automation is experiencing record amounts of demand in recent months.

The intention to automate supply chain links in the warehousing, logistics and e-commerce sectors has been present even before the pandemic took hold last year, but the subsequent challenges the fulfillment space faced were extremely high profile.

More than ever post-COVID-19, consumers turned to e-commerce and mobile channels to procure goods, placing tremendous pressure on warehouses to deliver which automation can help ease a reality that supply chain managers are all too aware of, with the 2021 MHI Annual Industry Report making clear that almost half of logistics decision-makers have sped up their spending outlook on automation technologies like autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) as a result of factors like the pandemic.

Mobile automation solutions like AMRs represent a handful of productivity and efficiency benefits that can safeguard the competitive posture of suppliers and warehousers beyond the major supply chain disruptions that had been felt in the market since last year.

Lawnmower-sized robots move around shelving units in Amazons Fulfillment Center. (Photo by Grant HINDSLEY / AFP)

For instance, the coronavirus greatly highlighted the need for regular and stringent health and safety precautions, from the front office to the warehouse to the fulfillment hub. Businesses can avoid questions of safety concerns if they integrate automated methods like robotic conveyor systems which can ensure contactless handling and distribution of materials.

In the same vein of productivity and safety, mobile automation will not tire, feel overworked, or fall ill if they are required to work overtime to meet production or fulfillment deadlines. Not only can tools like AMRs perform the oft-repetitive and mundane tasks at a distribution hub, but they could do it round the clock if needed complementing human labor whenever needed, and freeing human workers to be performing more attention-intensive tasks, better.

And its not just mundane tasks, more and more AMRs are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the power of

data insights to optimize key business decisions, such as fleet management. By relying on data analytics firms can study patterns and past distribution schedules to optimize things like delivery routes, distribution mechanisms, and learn from the performance of past business flow techniques.

With better decision-making, supply chain operators can improve existing processes, while using data to help reduce costs, manage risks, and drive new efficiencies. And with the prevalence of reliable mobile automation tech within the warehousing sector of late, there is bound to be a versatile solution that can help smaller distribution hubs and micro e-commerce operators deliver on their fulfillment needs.

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Mobile automation tasked to alleviate supply chain pressures - TechHQ

If Defense Department IT managers had their wish, they would want their networks to be better in four ways:

Network automation is designed to accomplish all that, and give analysts more control over and visibility into network resources. In this Q&A with Rich Lucente, principal DoD architect for Red Hat, we discuss how automation improves infrastructure availability, staff productivity, network security, and configuration compliance.

Breaking Defense: Why do organizations need to adopt automation?

Rich Lucente, Principal DoD Architect for Red Hat.

Lucente: The DoD and industry are under massive pressure to deliver services more quickly and securely. At the same time, IT is often viewed as both a roadblock and cost center. I would argue that it is neither when automation is adopted as a key supporting technology in digital transformation. It removes common roadblocks and reduces costs by: improving worker job satisfaction by automating mundane, repetitive tasks; improving efficiency; and reducing error rate by automating tasks and workflows.

And instead of IT being a cost center, resources are freed to implement impactful change. Automation enables organizations to digitally transform network operations and security while empowering them to develop better services and capabilities for end users.

Breaking Defense: What prevents organizations from adopting transformative automation?

Lucente: I would name five. First is misalignment between leadership and implementers. Managers must succinctly describe the reasons behind their path to automation, explain how it directly relates to each person, and set clearly defined and measurable tasks and goals. Leaders must also dedicate an appropriate amount of resources, both people and finances, so implementers can see that leadership fully supports the initiative.

Second is mismatched automation priorities. One-quarter of all implementers say they experience misalignment with leadership when it comes to setting automation priorities, determining which open source automation to use, or deciding the level to which infrastructure automation tasks are automated. This was highlighted in a Forrester Consulting thought leadership paper commissioned by Red Hat entitled, Enterprise open source automation drives innovation, July 2020.

Given the critical benefits that automation can bring to an organization, there is an urgent need to close this gap between the C-suite and implementers.

Third is indecision on choice of tool. Organizations can pare down the number of vendors to choose from by considering only those that provide complete support for their solution, offer vendor interoperability, provide simple adoption while offering massive scalability, feature agentless deployment to avoid use of proprietary systems, and support a vibrant ecosystem of partner content.

Uncertainty in the level of automation required is fourth.

Prior failed or unsatisfactory vendor proprietary automation implementations is the fifth factor. Too many vendors offer proprietary automation products that are limited in scope and only automate the product that vendor produces. Vendor proprietary automation forces administrators to become experts on myriad different automation tools, one per product, with different languages, syntax, and execution behaviors for each.

Alternatively, general-use automation like that provided by Ansible Automation Platform permits automation of anything, starting with a command line interface. Ansible also provides an enterprise framework for building and operating IT automation at scale. Users can centralize and control their infrastructure with a visual dashboard, role-based access control, and automation tools including analytics and certified, reusable content.

Ansible Automation Platform allows flexibility with your resources by automating provisioning for cloud providers, storage solutions, and infrastructure components. It helps make network management more consistent and expedites security patching and remediation.

Breaking Defense: What defines successful automation?

Lucente: Improved efficiency, lower costs, and faster delivery of services to begin with. That means a stronger security posture with repeatable processes and lower error rate. Successful projects always standardize the automation solution rather than attempt the job with a siloed, piecemeal approach.They also gain the ability to apply human resources across the organization as needed.

Easier acquisition of talent for popular well-known products is another way to define successful automation.

Breaking Defense: What are best practices for successful automation rollout?

Lucente: For leaders, be a champion! Set the vision with a mindset to support the team and push through roadblocks. Empower teams to embrace and own the solution.

Make sure to align to a business objective and measure success. If you dont measure it, you dont really care about it. Prioritize implementation within the organization and focus on outcomes rather than outputs. The DoD and other organizations dont care about the technology, per se, they care about the outcomes that improve mission execution.

Attach KPIs to your automation project, showing that this isnt just a new technology but one that is prioritized. If the metrics you outline are meaningful and realistic, youll prove your projects success beyond implementation.

Ive mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Support change and collaboration. Automation doesnt eliminate employees, it frees them from repetitive, mundane tasks and enables them to focus on strategic initiatives that add value.

However, this reality might not be immediately apparent. Recognize and address employee anxiety and concerns. Focus on the benefits theyll experience, including improved cross- enterprise collaboration to move projects forward faster.

Encourage adoption by investing in people; required skill sets, via training and temporary consultancy, enable early success and long-term change. As with the implementation of any technology, if people dont know how to use automation, it wont work. Making sure your workforce is trained and using the technology in the right way is critical to successful adoption.

Lastly, find a middle ground by aligning priorities between implementers and leadership. Then choose an automation platform that is neither proprietary nor domain-specific so that you can automate across all levels of your infrastructure.

Breaking Defense: What should organizations look for in an automation solution?

Lucente: I suggest these three things. Number One, invest in a platform, not a domain-specific tool. Avoid a solution that locks you in to specific IT infrastructure. Platforms are easier to adopt, support portable workloads, and can scale. The platform should provide a broad ecosystem of IT vendor support so that many common tasks are already defined and readily reusable.

Number Two, make sure the platform has management tooling that gives you visibility into workflows, credential and access management, reporting, and other important areas of situational awareness.

Number Three, select a vendor with comprehensive training, support, and consulting services.

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Best Practices For Network Automation - Breaking Defense Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary - Breaking Defense

By Vijay Ramnathan.

Last year was a wake-up call for businesses trying to run back-office operations. While in the past many were able to do this manually, when the pandemic hit, it quickly became apparent that approach was untenable. Nowhere was the pain felt as strongly as in Accounts Payable (AP). Conducting business, paying suppliers and managing cash flow suddenly hinged upon having someone in accounting or finance available to go into the office to retrieve invoices, physically route them for approvals, pick up checks, prepare check runs, and get them to the CFO for a signature before mailing.

Accounting and finance professionals know firsthand that manual AP operations are problematic even in the best of times. In addition to the tasks above, there is a lot of manual data entry and workflow management required. The amount of time and cost inefficiencies, plus the errors associated simply dont add up to good business practices.

Unfortunately, until now, organizations havent given AP automation the attention it deserves. Only 10% of businesses have fully automated their AP process, and only 38% of SMBs have even partially automated it. Instead, businesses have prioritized automation initiatives for revenue-generating processes and workflows in areas such as sales, marketing, and product development. And even for those organizations that have pursued automation in areas such as AP, integration with financial systems and supplier acceptance have slowed adoption. With some accounting software, it can take a lot of time, effort and expense for companies to integrate their ERPs with multiple ePayment types. On top of that, many companies lack the time and resources to contact their suppliers to arrange different ePayment methods.

A business process ripe for automation

Despite some of these challenges, the business opportunity for AP automation is tremendous. North American B2B payments add up to $27 trillion a year. And, those payments cost businesses a lot of money; its estimated that companies spend $510 billion each year on direct/indirect manual AP costs for payments.

Consider whats involved: staff manually inputting data from hundreds of invoices each month especially in industries like healthcare where there can be lines and lines of medical devices, equipment and other supplies. Add in the time it takes to manually match invoices to POs, correct errors, and track people down for approvals. When you add it all up, the average cost for processing each invoice is nearly $11, and it can be as high as $25 or more. That adds up pretty quickly for a company processing tens or hundreds of thousands of invoices annually. But its not just invoices the same problem occurs on the payment sidemanual checking writing, payment processing, paper check costs, postage and more can cost an estimated $6 each. There are additional costs to consider as well as a result of late payment penalties and lost discounts.

On top of the cost, manual processes obscure visibility. Its more important than ever for companies to be able to see where their invoices and payments are in the process, as well as outstanding liabilities and available cash flow. Without this, companies wont have the agility to manage payment, cash flow and spend effectively all which are critical in todays business environment.

AP Automation is heating up as a key business benefit

There is a fundamental shift underway. Now that client-facing and front-office technologies have become well entrenched, CFOs are turning their focus to back-office automation, especially in AP, to gain efficiencies and reduce costs.

The good news is that technology is available today to enable companies to achieve these goals. Modern AP automation solutions make it easy for accounting firms and their clients to take advantage of automation, without the obstacles of the past. These solutions eliminate the traditional roadblocks by providing easy integrations and simplified workflow along with key services such as supplier network engagement, and comprehensive managed services.

At the same time, accountants, CFOs and other business leaders are recognizing the value AP automation can deliver for companies of all sizes. It has enabled them to reduce AP-related costs by more than 75% and achieve ROI within 3-4 months. Companies can also make money by using virtual cards that offer cash rebates.

By having greater control over payments and paying on time, companies also have been able to improve supplier relations. The enhanced visibility and control that AP automation delivers also reduces the threat of financial fraud, and enables accountants and finance teams to make more informed business decisions based on timely, accurate information on outstanding liabilities, spend and cash flow. Adoption of AP automation is poised for rapid growth over the next two years, as it enables companies to create financially savvy, agile finance departments ready to move their businesses forward and take advantage of new opportunities.

Vijay Ramnathan is the president of MineralTree, a company specializing in AP and payment automation for middle-market and enterprise-level companies. A self-professed fintech and payments geek, Vijay has spent over 20 years in the space including strategic leadership and operational roles at companies including US Bank, Fifth Third Bank, and COMDATA/Fleetcor.

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AP Automation is Taking Off in Small and Mid-Sized Businesses - CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has created a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Strategy Board of leading AI experts, part of a major initiative to promote education and adoption of the applications of artificial intelligence in automation industries.

This new board places AI leadership at the same level as A3s existing technology groups: robotics, vision & imaging, and motion control & motors. The AI Technology Strategy Board will be comprised of senior executives from leading AI and technology companies. This is the first time the global trade association has added a technology group to its leadership since adding motion control in 2006. A3 represents 1,100 companies from across the automation industry.

Artificial intelligence is layering atop robotics, vision, motion control, and other automation technologies to create new solutions, great flexibility, and expanding opportunities. Big tech companiesonce focused more on phones than factory floorsnow view manufacturing, robotics and industrial automation as key segments of their business.

Artificial intelligencein many shapes and formswill be the stitching that weaves together a new age of industry, said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. As the global trade group of the automation industry, we need to help prepare our members to seize this potential.

The creation of the technology strategy board is the culmination of a three-year effort to educate and inform automation leaders about the growing importance of artificial intelligence. The boards chairman is John Lizzi, Executive Leader-Robotics at GE Research, who has chaired and played a leading role in the A3s AI efforts to date. Companies such as Amazon, GE, Google, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Siemens and others have helped guide A3s initiatives. Robert Huschka, A3s vice president of education strategies, will serve as the associations liaison to the new board.

Last fall, A3 hosted its first virtual AI conference, the AI & Smart Automation Conference, with more than 1,600 virtual registrants. Last year, A3 released the whitepaper, Intelligent Automation: 6 AI Applications That Are Changing Industry. Focused on real-world use cases for AI, the 20-page paper has become the most-read whitepaper in the history of the association. The associations new website, AUTOMATE.ORG, has devoted an entire section to artificial intelligence. A3 is also set to begin work on new industry-recognized certification programs on AI and autonomous systems.

AI technologies will play a central role at A3s two major trade shows in 2022, The Automate Show & Conference, June 6-9, in Detroit, Michigan, and The Vision Show, October 11-13, in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)

The Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. For more information, visit https://www.automate.org/.

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New Artificial Intelligence Strategy Board to Lead AI Initiatives for the Association for Advancing Automation - Business Wire

Iris Automation has been in our peripheral vision for a few years now. So we thought it would make sense to take a look at what the company does, as its products offer the ability for a drone to detect (and avoid) other crewed aircraft.

Iris Automation is all about air safety. Specifically, ensuring that a drone you might be operating can detect and avoid crewed aircraft. In a nutshell, thats what Iris Automation does, which is a very important thing as the industry evolves toward a future where Beyond Visual Line of Sight flights are the norm, rather than the exception.

Lets look at how the company does it.

Drones are often referred to as an eye in the sky. But drones are generally built to use those eyes (regardless of what type of sensor were talking about), to capture data on a mission. The eyes of a drone, with rare exceptions, are generally focussed on ground-based objects or assets. Theyre not looking around for other things in the sky.

Thats where Iris Automation comes in. It will do the looking around on your behalf. And, if it detects an aircraft that could pose a problem, take evasive action.

The company name is the first clue: Its Iris (as in your eye) Automation. The drone field is heading inexorably in the direction of automated, smart flights. And a fundamental component of the Iris system called Casia is intended to be part of the solution. Why? Because, as CEO Jon Damush puts it (and we agree), humans can be a weak link in the system.

In our briefing with Jon, he pointed out there are lots of pieces of the puzzle already out there, each making contributions toward Unmanned Traffic Management. For example, pilots file flight plans. There are flight path altitude separations depending on the direction the crewed aircraft is flying. There are tools like Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast, or ADS-B (this is a transponder carried by many crewed aircraft that pings out ID and location information on a regular basis). Radar, too, can be part of the equation. But the weak link? Thats the human being.

The reason Im terrible (as a pilot), explains Damush, is because Ive got to do a lot of other things. My view of the sky is occluded. My efficacy as a human to be the primary detect and avoid (mechanism) is really poor.

But think what might happen if you could integrate an onboard camera and detection system, and connect it with the other pieces of the puzzle. You now have the capacity for completely automated aircraft control, says Damush.

A more appropriate term, given that the system involves cameras, machine vision and more, might be A-Eye. Thats because the system uses a camera (or multiple cameras in the 360 configuration) to watch the sky. CEO Damush says cameras were chosen because theyre light, relatively inexpensive, and are constantly sampling data.

An optical system is high rate 15 fps. Thats 15 samples per second, and thats a hard rate to match with other modalities, he says.

The Iris Automation home page outlines some of the key value propositions. Were going to borrow this straight from there:

Proven Detect and Avoid: Extensively tested with more than 16,000 real-world encounters and 50,000 encounters in simulation. Over 600 terabytes of flight data recorded.

Comprehensive Compatibility: Works with nearly all industrial drones and integrates with the most popular commercially available autopilot software.

Completely Onboard: Install once, fly forever with no ground-based infrastructure or visual observers required.

Well, there are two varieties. One involves a single camera connected with the Casia unit:

Or, if youre flying something bigger and are after 360 detection, youll be looking at a five- or six-camera system weighing about 2.2 kilograms (nearly five pounds). The lowest weight of the system, with a single camera, is 400 grams.

And what does that look like, mounted on a drone? Well, something like this, seen here integrated on a Saxon M14. Obviously, this is a system designed for larger drones and not units the recreational user or hobbyist is likely to be flying (unless youre a really serious hobbyist).

Youre probably starting to get the picture. The Casia system is constantly scanning the skies and trying to detect whats out there and if theres a potential conflict. Because it has AI and machine vision baked in, it can even identify whats out there. Is it a Piper? A Cessna? A helicopter?

As you can likely imagine, theres a lot of computing going on behind the scenes. The system has to know precisely where its cameras are in time and space, along with the speed and trajectory of the drone. Plus it has to identify whats out there, what it is, and where its headed.

And heres the real secret sauce: Because the system knows, for example, how big a Cessna is, it can also quickly calculate how far away it must be (given its known dimensions). Heres Jon Damush:

Once we have a candidate we run it through AI those classifiers determine if its a helicopter, a small plane, a large plane, a hot-air balloon, etc. Once we have that, we know the real-world size. And we can determine range.

Thats a lot of information to capture and process on the fly. And then what? Well, if it detects there is a potential conflict, it will automatically perform an evasive manoeuvre to get the drone in question out of harms way.

The default would be simply to send a command to descend. But thats not always the case; Damush explains that drone manufacturers sometimes have their own preferred avoidance moves:

The avoidance thing is a tricky one. Most of the manufacturers and operators want to take charge of the avoidance manoeuvre (such as) vertical vs horizontal. For this category, typically the descent manoeuvre is the best manoeuvre.

Obviously, a larger drone equipped with 360 vision is going to be far safer to deploy on a BVLOS flight than an operator relying solely on ADS-B signals or other pieces of the detection puzzle. But when you can start integrating this additional layer of safety, regulators are more likely to feel satisfied that theres significant risk mitigation. That means BVLOS approval is likely to come more easily for a UAS with the Casia system on-board (though the operator, of course, still has to prove they know what theyre doing).

In fact, Casia-equipped aircraft have received BVLOS approvals in five countries and counting, and the company has collaborated with regulators on 14 different BVLOS test programs.

The results?

We seek to achieve 100 per cent probability of detection, says Damush. Today were at 95 per cent probability of detection. You have a very good chance of detecting a collision threat from 1.2 kilometres away.

Well, these arent exact figures but a basic system with a single camera will set you back about $9,000. Theres an additional licensing fee per aircraft per month. And yes, there are customers who are flying these systems right now it hasnt all been testing.

One intriguing thing that popped up in the conversation: Could this system be ground-based, looking up in the sky for potential conflicts if your mission(s) dont involve flying far afield? This could be particularly useful if youre operating smaller drones that couldnt handle the weight of the Casia, or you had a fleet of different craft operating within a limited mission zone.

The answer is yes; Damush says Iris been running some tests for this use-case.

CEO Jon Damush points out the company is but five years old, and that these are still early days. But there are already 25 customers, and regulators appear to like what they see. As more regulators see the system in action, more BVLOS approvals will come. As for the weight, Iris Automation is already looking at ways to produce the same results, or better, in a lighter package.

And the bottom line? The system, says Damush, works.

Everybodys looking for a silver bullet. And for us? Were going to keep you from crashing into another airplane.

And you cant put a price on that.

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Iris Automation: A closer look at detect and avoid - DroneDJ

Thatcham Researchs Matthew Avery considers the role independent testers will play in fostering trust around automated vehicles

The evolution of automated vehicle technology is radically changing the game for independent safety testers, so too the rules of engagement. Testing organisations, working in close collaboration with carmakers, provide a crucial check and balance, and the safety assurance required to win consumer trust and drive the uptake of potentially life-saving systems.

Current testing is focused on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and assumes the driver is always alert and ready to take back control of the wheel when required. As soon as the driver is removed from the equation, testing needs to be much more scientific and evaluate potentially millions more real-world scenarios in which the vehicle will be entirely responsible.

It is imperative the testing community is ready for automated vehicles imminent arrival. At stake is the one thing that automakers need more than anything else: the trust of the motoring public. Trust that manufacturers have rigorously tested their safety systems. Trust in the data they make available. Trust that testing standards will drive systems that are robust and prevent crashes. And ultimately trust that the automated systems on their car will not put them in danger.

Virtual modelling is becoming increasingly sophisticated. This gives huge advantages in terms of car design, stress and safety testing, and huge cost-reductions in respect of the ability to test software and hardware virtually before production and fitment. It is also a useful tool from a research perspective. For example, during physical testing, Thatcham Researchs passive safety crash tests utilise ubiquitous crash-test dummies. They may look sophisticated but are in fact relatively crude.

They use generic rules about bio fidelity and injury tolerance levels and they are basic in terms of assessing the impact of crashes on different morphologiesold and young, male and female and so on. They have served the industry well over the past 50 years and have helped significantly reduce serious injuries and fatalities. However, their simplicity means automotive risks missing injuries and not protecting people that do not look and behave like crash dummies.

The solution to overcoming this challenge lies in virtual testing and has been enabled by huge developments in computing power. The virtual-test world replaces crash dummies with virtual models. These full-body models test the impact of forces on the human body, bones, muscles and organs, and accurately model how a human will interact and behave in the event of a crash.

Virtual tools are already proving their value to vehicle manufacturers for the design of new vehicles. But what about regulators and consumer testing bodies?

In the consumer testing arena, trust and independence are everything. Virtual safety tests need to be independently verified and assessed. Otherwise, how can motorists trust manufacturer models and their safety claims? Crash tests where safety is assessed during physical crashes accompanied by video evidenceare generally understood and trusted by the motoring public. This is not the case with virtual simulation, where consumers are effectively asked to put their trust in a computer.

Cultivating the trust of motorists in AV testing is crucial, both for testers and automakers

Then comes the problem of interpreting the data submitted by automakers. Consumer testing requires independent assessments using virtual machine (VM) data where the virtual vehicle models and coding are proprietary. Most VMs use dedicated computer networks for their virtual testing, and all are rightly concerned with protecting their valuable intellectual property. Manufacturers do not currently share these data models and if they did, they would be unreadable to the outside world.

Type Approval regulations do not currently compel manufacturers to share this modelling data or to supply it in a standardised format. With the complexities of active safety testing and especially automation, virtual testing is a prerequisite for measuring the performance of vehicles in myriad scenarios. This is something the UN is exploring through its VMAD framework, which addresses the use of virtual modelling to validate automated driving.

Thatcham Research sees potential in some form of technology interface, whereby manufacturers can upload the data needed to validate safety claims without revealing secrets about their intellectual property (IP). An agreed framework for input parameters and access to IP-free vehicle data would allow for more rigorous stress testing, engendering greater consumer confidence.

The eternal challenge for operators of vehicle safety test tracks is to recreate real-road authenticity in an artificial environment. This challenge becomes more complicated with the introduction of autonomous technology. Yet the current climate is one of uncertainty. In the absence of greater clarity from lawmakersand more first-hand experience with a broader range of autonomous systems as they begin to trickle into the marketplacetesters do not necessarily have the all the information needed to define clear strategies.

For example, testing organisations will increasingly need to give thought to how they accurately recreate motorway driving conditions. Do they construct replica motorways at their facilities? For urban tests, do they make a substantial investment in the construction of a realistic city-centre track? Or in both cases, can virtual simulation be employed to recreate these environments authentically? And if they go the virtual route, what will be the agreed testing parameters?

There certainly needs to be greater guidance on testing parameters to ensure a degree of uniformity the public can trust. For example, if we disable certain functionality to focus testing on individual systems, is this test holistically fair? How well can we simulate the presence of other traffic and the random factor this introduces without endangering lives on real roads? Above all, without a framework in place, how can we be sure all manufacturers and independent testers are working towards the same goals?

Automaker testing facilities are impressive, yet they too are wrestling with the technical challenges posed by autonomous vehicles (AVs). Moreover, it would be unhealthy for the industry to find itself in a position where manufacturers mark their own homework, essentially underwriting the safety of their AV tech.

The Thatcham Research view is that we already enjoy many of the safety benefits of automation through current assisted driving technology and motorists are relatively familiar with these driving systems. In the meantime, more collective work is needed on the virtual and physical testing environments to prepare them for AVs.

Cultivating the trust of motorists in AV testing is crucial, both for testers and automakers. In the same way that drivers trust consumer safety ratings from EuroNCAP and Thatcham Research today, we must put in place the building blocks of a trusted programme that meets the demands of automation tomorrow.

It would be unhealthy for the industry to find itself in a position where manufacturers mark their own homework, essentially underwriting the safety of their AV tech

If motorists do not see the benefits of AV technology in terms of road safety or read reports of AV-related accidents in the media, consumer trust and confidence will inevitably be eroded. Motorists may then turn their backs on the technology altogether. This way nobody gets to benefit from the safety advantages of an AV. The stakes are high and so we must get this right.

There are multiple stakeholders in the mix. Governments are keen to encourage AV rollout and the technology, alongside electrification, sits at the heart of all carmaker strategies. Yet this must be balanced against the interests of testing organisations, regulators and ultimately motorists. We must ensure that all those with a role to play are pulling in the same direction.

About the author: Matthew Avery is Director of Insurance Research at Thatcham Research

Read more here:

Trust in AV: are motorists ready to put their faith in automation? - Automotive World

A remote-first approach triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic didnt stop most DevOps teams in their tracks, but instead drew attention to one of their biggest strengths: their ability to collaborate effectively to get quality work delivered safely and quickly. However, for teams that had largely been operating in face-to-face environments, the challenges were significant and some still remain today.

As we entered a global state of lockdown in early 2020, organizations across the world found that they needed to respond to the situation by changing their ways of working and upgrading their online collaboration tools. As a consequence, teams not already remote-friendly were at a disadvantage when compared to early adopters that had mastered remote working practices prior to the pandemic and were forced to change quickly. Fast forward to today, and it seems like enabling effective collaboration without being in the same office space is somewhat a solved problem - at least for now.

As we gradually transition into a hybrid working world, it will become an active choice for organizations whether to maintain a culture of remote work or go back to business as usual. In this context, what should DevOps teams be focusing on in order to thrive when reaching this end post-pandemic destination?

In a remote world, most interactions take place over video conferencing and messaging platforms, and often in smaller groups than perhaps would have been assembled in a purely office-based environment.

This means that teams need to make a conscious effort to keep everyone in the team on the same page, as its easy for decisions to be lost in the ether. Teams must ensure not only that workflows transparently, but that direction and decisions are effectively communicated to everyone involved. DevOps is about joining these invisible dots and making them work together in a visible way with a little help from advanced toolings such as source code management, continuous integration, artifact storage, cloud orchestration or deployment.

However, the right tools and techniques must be supported by the right attitude, and trust in each team member. In this respect, in emerging from the pandemic it will be important for the C-suite and management to not only trust DevOps teams to make the right decisions, but to encourage a culture of open communication across the entire organization. Modern, agile and collaborative ways of working that extend individual teams and cut across the business need to be championed from the top, as well as from DevOps teams themselves. In turn, this empowers everyone with the autonomy to collaborate and get things done.

As DevOps teams expand in the post-Covid era, its important for organizations to make sure that theres structure behind bringing new staff on board, as sitting next to an incumbent and absorbing everything there is to know wont just happen naturally. Those joining DevOps teams will need to identify and build a full picture based on all the small pieces of knowledge across the organization, and be open, honest, and trustworthy in these interactions. More importantly, everyone new and old must keep communications channels open and actively share information that is critical for the team to know. Those who rise to this challenge and bring skills around communication will most certainly thrive.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can help us to automate some of the tasks that traditionally kept us busy, by giving us intelligent automated insights where previously we relied on human judgment. Spotting trends in operational data and adjusting course be it through server availability monitoring, or monitoring of user patterns in a web application, or anything in between takes time to get right. Similarly, to how successful DevOps processes tighten feedback loops, deploying AI and ML technology can facilitate better and faster decisions as a result of better judgments based on less human subjectivity. For collaboration, this also means an improved shared understanding of the numbers, all of which springboards DevOps teams into being able to act and collaborate even quicker.

These technologies enable better decision-making by teams through better data. By being able to predict performance and outcomes in a more precise way, based on scientific analysis of past performance, teams can make better-informed decisions on what to deploy.

Coming out of the pandemic we will see more teams using AI and ML to automate more business as usual work, freeing them up to add value.

One thing that will remain true in the post-pandemic era is that security cant be taken for granted. In todays digital and remote-first world everything is up for grabs, and the only way we can truly respond to it is by being proactive and assuming bad intent at every step if theres even a miniscule chance of a breach happening, it probably will.

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen a sharp rise in cyberattacks, and the smart approach is to fight them on multiple fronts. Its vital that we prevent a cascade of attacks resulting from a single component being breached this is where zero trust security becomes essential to daily operations. In this context, the main thing to remember is that nothing and nobody can be trusted which is an odd dichotomy considering the big tenant of agile DevOps being about increasing trust.

Shifting left with a DevSecOps approach, which involves building security into software and systems from the get-go, also ensures that teams make the best use of the people who know security best. Some of these threats will be imagined, but many will be very real and better processes must be put in place regardless of the organizations location whether it continues in a remote work environment or involves returning to a physical office space.

Effective DevOps teams know how to make sure everyone is on the same page and have historically excelled in situations that require filling in the communications gaps formed when groups of people make decisions without informing those who arent present. While many industry reports indicate high performance and successful approaches within the industry, many challenges have emerged that will become increasingly complex as we move into a hybrid working world.

In a world that is on the cusp of coming out the Covid-19 pandemic, DevOps teams can help resist a bounce-back to older and ineffective ways of working by re-emphasizing the drawbacks of the traditional 9 to 5 office work namely those of focus, energy, active meaningful collaboration, and delivering value rather than encouraging a culture of presenteeism. High-performing teams will need a wide degree of collaboration to be efficient, and DevOps teams are already at the center of this world.

In the months and years ahead, it will be highly unlikely that we see a wholesale return to a world where DevOps teams are gathered in the same physical space and decisions are made in the same room nor one where fully synchronous communication takes place. Despite this, those organizations that allow cross-functional teams to form unencumbered by traditional boundaries and time zones will be at an advantage. Theyll be able to quickly get the correct people together, communicate using modern tools, and get the job done. We must aim for a highly agile way of working, and those organizations and DevOps teams who are on board with this will thrive.

Matt Saunders, Head of DevOps, Adaptavist

Read this article:

Communication, automation and security how DevOps teams can thrive in the post-Covid era - ITProPortal

The combination of robotics and conveyors are making great strides when it comes to adding productivity and efficiencies to the packaging industry. The advent of smaller, agile collaborative robots, or cobots, which are designed to safely share a workspace with people, is opening up new applications within packaging, assembly, and other industries that previously didnt have any robotic interaction.

However, the equipment is just part of the equation people and the creativity to make those visions a reality is the other. As the packaging industry continues to evolve and embrace automation, it needs to be cognizant to invest in both technology and people to be successful moving forward.

Conveyors have become integral components within the packaging industry, thanks in large part to the successful integration of robotics. Thats because robotic manufacturers have gone to great lengths to remove a lot of the guess work, as well as the fear and unknown often associated with programing these systems. But the integration between robot and conveyor system is a much easier endeavor, too. This is helping to drive many traditional conveyor applications to consider adding robotics.

The process to streamline the conveyor/cobot integration begins with robotic manufacturers, some of whom have created their own software to make installation and programming fast and easy. For example, conveyors and related accessories can be controlled with robotic software plug-ins to aide in setup, configuration, and control. Once the program is installed, the conveyors can be added to the cobot control program, and the user is able to set the inputs and outputs needed for starting, stopping, speed preference, and monitor status information. This integration acts as a handshake between the conveyor and cobot, where an operator can run multiple conveyors off the controller at one time; as well as observe overall line performance.

This is a great example of how robotics and conveyors are working together to help change packaging. But robotics cannot do it alone it takes people to make it happen.

The packaging industry has done a good job in recent years of promoting itself to younger people as a strong, vibrant career field to enter. Packaging majors based on STEM curriculum are now offered in more than 20 colleges and university across the country. Many companies have established direct pipelines to these schools as a way to fill open positions for graduates. The promise of a good-paying job in a dynamic industry that allows people to flex their creative engineering strengths is a great recruiting tool. The industry as a whole has made terrific strides, but its imperative we dont let off the gas now.

We need to continue building interest in packaging and raise more awareness to the career opportunities this high-tech industry has to offer. People who work in packaging know firsthand that this industry is a destination career with great prospects for advancement, but do young people know that?

We need to shout this with a megaphone and attract the best and brightest because they will be rewarded. By investing in both technology and people, the industry will be in good hands.

More:

Packaging Productivity Depends on Automation and | packagingdigest.com - Packaging Digest

The U.S. has traditionally been a nation of optimists about technology. But just when the world seems poised for a technologically-driven productivity boom, Americans have acquired a dour outlook about the march of progress. Growing fears that not everyone will share in the benefits is leading to resistance that threatens to hold the nation back. Recapturing the bold attitudes of yesteryear will require more than rhetoric itll require sweeping policy changes.

Youd think now would be the time for Americans to come together in shared adulation of technology. After all, innovative mRNA vaccines arein the process of saving the nation from the greatest pandemic in a century and freeing people to resume normal lives. In the future, the same techniques may be used to defeat cancer. Meanwhile, an explosion of innovation in solar power and batteries is promising to drastically reduce the costs of averting climate change; 10 years down the line, itll be furnishing the country with energy so cheap that it could spark a new productivity boom. And remote work technologies are allowing many people to live far more flexible lives. Other emerging technologies like lab-grown meat, artificial intelligence, Crispr and synthetic biology hold out promises of even greater wonders in the near future.

Many Americans are still techno-optimists in some ways. Technology is the factor cited most as having improved life over the last half century. But in recent years, it seems like this optimism has been gradually eroded, replaced in part by skepticism and fear.

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Instead of the nation celebrating the conquest of Covid-19, as we did with the polio vaccine decades ago, Americans turned the vaccine into a culture war and many people refused to get inoculated. Amazon.com and Google are still generally liked, but their approval rating has taken a huge divedespite the fact that they helped most Americans make it through the pandemic. The pessimism is even evident in the art world: few artists bother to spin positive futuristic visions the way they did in the 1950s.

But the technology Americans fear above all others is A.I. Most perceive automation not as a way to increase efficiency or create higher-paying jobs, but rather as accelerating inequality. Prominent politicians like former New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio have called for taxes on robots, and even Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates joined in.

This techno-pessimism is actively threatening the American economy. The country has rapidly been losing market share in high-tech manufactured exports:

Value of high-technology exports

Source: World Bank

To keep up, the U.S. cant rely on a cheap labor advantage; it will have to automate. Other rich countries business and political elites understand this. Even though their populaces are also afraid of job displacement, a number have installed far more manufacturing robots than the U.S. has:

The U.S. is falling behind in automating its workforce.

Source: International Federation of Robotics

China hasnt caught up in robots yet, but its trying. Meanwhile, some of its ports are fully automated, allowing them to rapidly outpace Americas antiquated ports. Longshore labor unions, fearful for their jobs, resist the new technology.

Automation is a race the U.S. cant afford to lose. But its not the only race where were running behind. In San Francisco, epicenter of the nations housing crisis, unions have opposed the use of modular housing construction a technology that promises to help bring down ruinously high construction costs.

Fear of vaccines, fear of automation, fear of modern housing construction these fears are holding back progress, threatening to erode the countrys competitiveness and create shortages of crucial goods. If the U.S. is going to take advantage of the incipient technology boom of the 2020s, it will have to shed this fear and recapture the techno-optimist attitude of the mid 20th century.

But how to do that? Americans need at least two big things to feel confident about technologys ability to improve their lives.

The first is security. With national health insurance and job-finding assistance, Americans would be far less worried about switching jobs. That would let them view automation as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Second, Americans need wealth to be more broadly distributed across the populace. The explosion of information technology since the 1980s coincided with a vast increase in economic inequality. The technology probably wasnt the cause of much of the disparities, but people cant help mistaking correlation for causation. Also, inequality means many people dont feel like theyll be able to share in the benefits technology brings. So to make average Americans embrace the future, we need to give them a greater stake in that future.

Spinning beautiful futuristic visions and crowing publicly about the very real accomplishments of scientists and engineers is all well and good. We should do more of that. But without social systems that spread around the prosperity that technology creates, well continue to fight an uphill battle to get regular people to love technology.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story:Noah Smith at nsmith150@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net

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Automation Is a Race the U.S. Can't Afford to Lose - Bloomberg