Business

How AI will transform manufacturing

-Robert Le Busque, Regional Vice-President, Asia Pacific, Verizon Business In Australia, the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has coincided with the Government’s announcement of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), $1 billion of which will be dedicated to reinvigorating, accelerating, and building up advanced manufacturing capabilities. As businesses have already started adopting AI for various use cases, the Government has also recently launched a public consultation to seek advice on how to mitigate any potential risks and ensure it is applied responsibly. One of these uses cases is advanced manufacturing, which is a broad term that encompasses technologies applied to any manufacturing facility, including application software and AI tools to augment and generate higher value manufacturing output. Advanced manufacturing is also likely to use AI to embed faster and safer means of production and better operations management for industrial processes. Generating speed, safety and enhanced production Part of removing human error to make manufacturing safer and faster means reducing reliance on human observation. As machinery drivers and operators are among the top three occupation groups with the highest rate of work-related injuries in Australia at 6.5 percent in the 2021-2022 financial year, this makes a use case for AI analytics in augmenting workplace health and safety. High precision tracking, for example, detects faults in machinery micro-components at a scale previously unachievable – this improves productivity, output, and profitability for manufacturing companies. AI analytics can match workers’ physical position in relation to how they interact with machines, particularly heavy industrial machinery, facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of safety in workplace operations and injury. AI software can also manage workflows more effectively by identifying and allocating tasks. This can be taken one step further, with large site and heavy industrial manufacturing operations using digital twins to optimise these workflows – […]

Chip industry’s complicated contours decades in the making

The mixture of happenstance and geostrategy that helped make a small European country key to the global semiconductor market is depicted in delicious detail in Chris Miller’s “Chip War.” The book couldn’t have been timed better. Miller, an associate professor of international history at the Fletcher School, uses a colorful cast of characters to tell the story of a truly pivotal industry’s formation, and explain why altering it in a meaningful way seems unlikely any time soon – regardless of mounting geopolitical pressure. Chips are coveted not least for the role they play in artificial intelligence tools seemingly poised to shake things up for just about everyone. The more we want them, though, the more expensive and difficult they are to make. It’s all gotten very complicated. Take the Dutch niche in the supply chain, for example – it’s based on one company’s machine “that took tens of billions of dollars and several decades to develop,” Miller writes, and uses light to print patterns on silicon by deploying lasers that can hit 50 million tin drops per second. It’s an industry full of such mind-bending extremes. In an interview with the Forum’s Radio Davos podcast, Miller marvelled at having recently visited a facility in the US being built with “seventh-biggest crane that exists in the world,” which will eventually assemble chips mounted with transistors “roughly the size of a coronavirus.” Nvidia, the company now most closely identified with chips powering artificial intelligence, features prominently in Miller’s book. The company traces its roots to a meeting at a 24-hour diner on the fringes of Silicon Valley, he writes. At a certain point it realised that its semiconductors used for video-game graphics could do a good job of training AI systems. Earlier this year, its market value increased by $184 billion in a single day. Nvidia’s chips aren’t made anywhere near […]

Have your business story read by the decisionmakers in 2024

Planning your media exposure for 2024? JEZ Media and Media Hawkes Bay Limited have some great publications and media platforms where your business and technology stories can be read. Whether your company is developing new products, has a team member to be interviewed, or observations about business going forward in challenging times, we want to know about it. In the first instance, email Doug Green publisher@xtra.co.nz to get the ball rolling. www.smartmanufacturingtoday.com www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz www.foodinnovationist.com www.australianmanufacturingnews.com www.asiamanufacturingnewstoday.com

The Interview: Marcelo Tarkieltaub, Regional Director, Southeast Asia, Rockwell Automation

Focusing on Rockwell Automation’s Industry Outlook, the growth of industrial automation & smart manufacturing in Asia Pacific, highlighting both the benefits and gaps that businesses must navigate in this growing market. Tell me about Rockwell Automation’s Industry Outlook for the manufacturing sector in Asia Pacific Rockwell Automation’s Industry Outlook for the manufacturing sector in Asia Pacific showcases a promising landscape. Manufacturing is one of the most significant contributors to the Asia-Pacific economy and is undergoing rapid transformation. Some key factors that are influencing the manufacturing sector include: Technological Advancements: The integration of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, including automation and IoT, is transforming the manufacturing sector, leading to enhanced efficiency. According to our State of Smart Manufacturing Report, close to half (44%) of APAC manufacturers plan to adopt smart manufacturing within the next year; out of this, China (80%), Australia (60%) and India (59%) are already using some components of smart manufacturing. Sustainability and Environmental Regulations: An increasing emphasis on sustainability and environmental regulations is driving changes in manufacturing practices and product requirements. Again, our State of Smart Manufacturing report cites that for the 94% of APAC manufacturers who have formal or informal environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in place, close to half (48%) cite “a competitive differentiator” as the top driving factor for pursuing ESG initiatives. Economic Growth: The overall economic growth and stability of countries in the Asia Pacific region can have a significant impact on manufacturing. Rapidly growing economies drive increased demand for manufactured goods. How is smart manufacturing growing in Asia Pacific? Smart manufacturing is growing in the region driven by a combination of factors including technological advancements, government support, and the region’s strong manufacturing base. APAC is home to some of the world’s leading technology companies and has a strong presence in industries such as electronics, […]

Who is Sam Altman?

On Friday, OpenAI’s high-flying chief executive Sam Altman was unexpectedly fired by the company’s board. Co-founder and chief technology officer Greg Brockman was also removed as the board president, after which he promptly resigned. Now it looks like Sam Altman has ended up at Microsoft. In an unexpected twist, talks began about potentially reinstating Altman in some capacity following an outpouring of industry and investor support for him and several OpenAI researchers who quit their jobs in solidarity. OpenAI’s board found a new CEO –Emmett Shear – in record time. Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, will now take over from Murati as interim CEO. It has been an epic backstabbing scene worthy of the HBO drama Succession. While many have speculated about why the board may have forced Altman out, details remain scarce. What we can say is the decision to fire Altman will likely put a dent in OpenAI’s commercial progress. An unusual company structure OpenAI is the hottest company in tech today, having released the ChatGPT chatbot and DALL-E image generator onto a largely unsuspecting public. The company’s mission is simple: to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) – that is, an AI which is as smart or smarter than a human – and to do so for the public good. Many were starting to believe OpenAI could succeed at this goal. But developing AGI isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s a major management and economic nightmare. How can you ensure the vast power and wealth generated by AGI doesn’t subvert the company’s goal to seek the public good? Many individuals within OpenAI and the wider tech community worry AI is progressing too fast. A global race in AI development is underway and the commercial pressure to succeed is immense. Following its launch, ChatGPT quickly became the fastest-growing app […]

Downstream preparation and local ancillary needed for Malaysia’s expanding automotive and electronic vehicle ecosystem

Amid significant injections into the Malaysian Automotive market, the helping hand of collaborative robots can help sub-sector players deal with newly accelerated peaks in manufacturing By Marvin Ming, Country Manager Malaysia, Universal Robots Malaysia has taken a major leap forward in its quest in becoming the region’s automotive and EV hub, with industry leaders Tesla choosing the nation to be its regional headquarters. This deal comes amid an injection of Electric Vehicle (EV) related investments stemming from 2018, with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) approving 58 EV investment projects totaling RM 26.2 billion. Currently, the country has nearly 1,000 EV charging stations and plans to build a further 10,000 across the country by 2025, with this investment aimed at covering vehicle assembly along with the manufacturing of EV parts and charging components. Malaysia does seem to be shaping into the region’s automotive hub and EV hub, but is the nation ready for the increased demands this entails? It is paramount that sub-sector players in Malaysia have to make downstream preparation for the strain on the industry this impending transformation is going to bring about. Becoming the Region’s Automotive Hub According to reports, the Asia-Pacific EV market was valued at US$230 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach US$778 billion come 2027. The recent Tesla announcement is not the only factor in the sector’s increased value, as three major Chinese automotive players – BYD, Great Wall Motor, and Cherry, have also launched in Malaysia this year. Additionally, Malaysia is also home to other international automotive companies and assembly plants, with the likes of Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz all manufacturing within the country. Equipped with the existing expertise in manufacturing, Malaysia’s components sub sector could potentially be used to double up in servicing the projected automotive exploits, covering a […]

What is the future of work?

Just like the world at large, the world of work shifts and changes over time. The future of work refers to an informed perspective on what businesses and other organisations need to know about how work could shift (given digitisation and other trends), plus how workforces and workplaces can prepare for those changes, big and small. When you think of the future of work, what do you picture? Offices that look more or less like today’s? Factories full of robots? Or something else entirely? While no one can predict the future with absolute certainty, the world of work is changing, just as the world itself is. Looking ahead at how work will shift, along with trends affecting the workforce and workplaces, can help you prepare for what is next: One in sixteen workers may have to switch occupations by 2030. That is more than 100 million workers across the eight economies studied—and the pandemic accelerated expected workforce transitions. Job growth will be more concentrated in high-skill jobs (for example, in healthcare or science, technology, engineering, and math [STEM] fields), while middle- and low-skill jobs (such as food service, production work, or office support roles) will decline. A few job categories could see more growth than others. The rise of e-commerce created demand for warehouse workers; investments in the green economy could increase the need for wind turbine technicians; aging populations in many advanced economies will increase demand for nurses, home health aides, and hearing-aid technicians; and teachers and training instructors will also continue to find work over the coming decade. But other types of jobs may be at risk: for example, as grocery stores increasingly install self-checkout counters, there may be a need for fewer clerks, and robotics used to process routine paperwork may lessen demand for some office workers. The future of work was shifting […]

Working with AI: Real Stories of Human-Machine Collaboration

Two management and technology experts show that AI is not a job destroyer, exploring worker-AI collaboration in real-world work settings. This book breaks through both the hype and the doom-and-gloom surrounding automation and the deployment of artificial intelligence-enabled—“smart”—systems at work. Management and technology experts Thomas Davenport and Steven Miller show that, contrary to widespread predictions, prescriptions, and denunciations, AI is not primarily a job destroyer. Rather, AI changes the way we work—by taking over some tasks but not entire jobs, freeing people to do other, more important and more challenging work. By offering detailed, real-world case studies of AI-augmented jobs in settings that range from finance to the factory floor, Davenport and Miller also show that AI in the workplace is not the stuff of futuristic speculation. It is happening now to many companies and workers. These cases include a digital system for life insurance underwriting that analyzes applications and third-party data in real time, allowing human underwriters to focus on more complex cases; an intelligent telemedicine platform with a chat-based interface; a machine learning-system that identifies impending train maintenance issues by analyzing diesel fuel samples; and Flippy, a robotic assistant for fast food preparation. For each one, Davenport and Miller describe in detail the work context for the system, interviewing job incumbents, managers, and technology vendors. Short “insight” chapters draw out common themes and consider the implications of human collaboration with smart systems.

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