The Internet of Things, or IoT, refers to the billions of physical devices around the world that are now connected to the internet, all collecting data, sharing data, and using data to communicate and perform functions for us. This is all made possibly by the ubiquity of high-speed wireless networks (think 5G) and super-cheap computer chips.

IoT can turn something as small as a car or something as big as an school bus, into a part of the IoT. Connecting these different objects adds a level of digital intelligence to devices that would otherwise be un-intelligent, enabling them to communicate real-time data without involving a human being.

IoT is weaving its way into the automotive world at a rapid pace. Most visibly, self-driving are already taking hold, but there are many smaller ways in which IoT will affect service and parts in your dealership

Reaching Customers

Advertising is one of the most actionable aspects for the connectivity through IoT. With connected mobile devices and connected vehicles, it has become easier to identify vehicles that need service and the physical location of those vehicles in relationship to your dealership.

For example, when a customer’s vehicle shows that it has 10,000 miles, ads could be shown to encourage routine maintenance. When a customer’s check engine light comes on, ads can be shown promoting a service appointment. 

Scheduled Maintenance and Predictive Repairs

Every sensor and module in cars today are connected to an in-vehicle network. The future of IoT will also connect these components to external networks. With this kind of connectivity, not only can the driver be aware of potential problems and upcoming maintenance, but this data can also be transmitted to a dealer or service center.

This information can be used to schedule appointments and diagnose vehicle repairs without the driver doing a thing. Thanks to IoT, carmakers have already been developing apps that serve this purpose with features such as in-app vehicle health reports.

As IoT continues to evolve, vehicle service and maintenance will become streamlined and we will start to enjoy the ability to automatically schedule and service vehicles without the risk of human error or human delays along the way. 

Optimized Parts Inventory Management

Cost-effective inventory management stands on two pillars: sound inventory tracking and reliable inventory forecasting. Traditional inventory management is labor-intensive with a high probability of error.

With IoT, radio frequency identification becomes the source of data about the locations and properties of inventory items, while IoT provides scalable storage for the data fetched from radio frequency identification tags and turns this data into informative insights about the locations and properties of inventory items.

This can lead to vast improvements in inventory turn, decreases in emergency purchases and drastic reductions in parts obsolescence. 

More Efficient Equipment Maintenance

Dealerships typically maintain their equipment using predefined schedules. Usually, the older the machinery, the more frequent checkups it gets. However, 68 percent of industrial machinery shows random failure patterns and breakdown irrespective of age.

IoT and data science help address the problem of inefficient maintenance with technology that allows monitoring  of equipment conditions to detect problems as early as possible and identify the right time for a checkup.

IoT, in this case, becomes the source of data about the health of machines and their components, as well as their operational and ambient parameters.

The analysis of IoT data helps predict whether a machine shows emerging changes that can develop into serious issues, whether a piece of equipment is likely to fail within a certain time frame, as well as estimate how many days/cycles remain until a machine fails if it continues to operate under current settings.

The post How Will the Internet of Things (IoT) Reshape Fixed Op appeared first on Artificial Intelligence.

The Robot Report spoke with the following executives at robotics and artificial intelligence companies about their observations of 2019’s trends, as well as their expectations for the new year:

Sudhir Jha, senior vice president and head of Brighterion Inc., a Mastercard company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide mission-critical business intelligence in real time, regardless of type, complexity, or volume
Max Versace, co-founder and CEO of Neurala Inc., whose Brain Builder software platform applies AI to visual inspections
Thomas Visti, CEO of Mobile Industrial Robots ApS, which makes collaborative autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)
Which technologies do you expect to mature the most in 2020, such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), edge computing, 5G wireless networks, or autonomous vehicles?

Visti: In 2020, Industry 4.0 will become more of a reality than a vision. Smart machines keep getting smarter as they get access to more data, and they keep getting better at connecting to other machines and systems, and therefore they become truly useful for manufacturers.

While many companies have been hesitant and seen Industry 4.0 as merely a buzzword, we’re starting to see connected supply chains where MES [manufacturing execution systems], robots, and picking systems are connected.

We also see the connectivity between robots and ERP [enterprise resource planning] systems within production environments.

The entire process — from ordering to producing and then transporting goods — can now be fully automated. Industry 4.0 is still evolving, and it will not reach its full potential in 2020, but we will see more companies adopting the enabling technologies. This will also influence the workforce, as we will see the same companies wanting to upskill their current workforce and recruit new employees with Industry 4.0 skills.

Versace: We’ll see more demand for AI that can be trained, deployed, and refined at the edge. 2019 has shown us that many organizations, robotics companies included, are saying “No” to giving up their data and having to ping the cloud.

I believe that in 2020, AI will need to live and learn at the edge, so that processing occurs where the data is being generated. As a result, robotics companies will see reduced latency problems while mitigating privacy issues and massive cloud fees for manufacturers.

Jha: Enterprises will transition into deploying complex AI models in production at scale. So far, most AI applications are experiments but not in production, simple recommendation/prediction/regression models, or applied to smaller problems.

In 2020, we will see more enterprises getting bolder with their AI ambitions and requiring their vendors to support large deployments.

There will be be an acceleration from automation to autonomy, and AI will play the most crucial role in this. Also, robotics will move further from industrial arena to consumer arena, where they will act as personal coaches, instructors for children, conversational buddies for elders, and guides for the disabled.

Which market or application represents the biggest area of growth potential in 2020?

Visti: We expect to see an increase in the use of robotics in all our existing markets such as automotive, electronics, FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods], pharmaceuticals, and more.

There is still a huge focus on optimization, and with the lack of qualified workers, the need for automation across industries has never been higher.

We expect big growth in the use of AMRs by the 3PL [third-party logistics] segment, which has not been an early adopter of AMRs. In fact, our recent survey showed that only around 50% of 3PLs are currently considering automating internal logistics with AMRs. We expect to see this figure increase significantly in 2020 and the years ahead.

The hospital sector is also looking to automate internal transportation worldwide. For MiR, we have many customers within this segment in Scandinavia and China, but we expect it to grow even more.

Jha: Verticals like healthcare will see expanded AI-based applications, not only in the areas of diagnosis and personalized medicine, but also on the operational side like customer service, payment processing, and FWA (fraud, waste, and abuse).

How will trade conflicts or the slowdown in automotive manufacturing affect robotics in 2020?

Visti: While the automotive manufacturing market may have slowed, the latest statistics from the Robotic Industries Association actually shows what looks like an uptick in ordering of industrial robots by automotive OEMs, up 47% for 2019 over 2018.

We’re also experiencing increased growth in that market and overall, with companies like Toyota and Ford purchasing fleets of our AMRs.

We expect this is due to these manufacturers realizing how automation can help fill difficult-to-fill jobs; increase overall productivity; and enable humans to focus on higher-skilled, higher-quality, and higher-paid tasks. These are all benefits that can lead to growth and new job opportunities, which could help turn the automotive industry back around.

Versace: We will always be faced with some degree of socioeconomic uncertainty around the world. In terms of manufacturing, possible decoupling of Chinese and Western economies may actually bolster manufacturing in the U.S. and make it less reliant on overseas production in the long run. This may indirectly boost robotic deployments in the U.S. and Europe.

But at Neurala, we’re focused on what we can control, which is first and foremost to provide robotics and other companies with an AI platform that they can apply to solve real-world challenges. Our Brain Builder platform is helping organizations accelerate the process of building, deploying, and analyzing AI so they can focus on improving visual inspections.

What challenges and opportunities do you expect for AI in 2020?

Jha: As AI-based solutions become more mainstream across industries, we need to carve out a handful domain where our technology provides sustainable differentiation and allows us to be a leader.

We have focused on risk and compliance areas in financial services and are looking to diversify in other verticals. Also our strength in building mission-critical applications in highly regulated industries will serve us well to ensure data privacy and ethical use of AI which is a growing trend globally.

Versace: I’m thinking of 2020 as the “Year of Productization and the Customer.”

At Neurala, we’ll continue to work with customers so that they can independently build and deploy custom AI applications for the real world.

Furthermore, AI products such as Brain Builder will enable customers with little or no expertise in AI to build an end-to-end application from scratch, on their proprietary data. This means that enterprises will no longer be restricted by their size or resources when it comes to implementing AI as a part of their business strategies.

The post In 2020, AI to enable acceleration from automation to autonomy, say experts appeared first on Artificial Intelligence.