by Gary Mintchell | Jun 29, 2023 | Personal Development
Can You Think?
OK, I never thought I’d ever quote that famous behaviorist psychologist B.F. Skinner, but this thought was too good to pass over without, well, thinking about.
The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do.
If I took Facebook as an example of the level of thinking in the world right now, I’d be forced into skepticism about the ability of humans to think. Perhaps other forms of communication, as well.
Some people are worried about artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT taking away our ability to think. On the one hand, I wonder about our ability to begin with. On the other hand, I have heard teachers explain that ChatGPT can be used along with thinking.
How, you may ask. Have the student (or you can try it) think and devise a topic sentence. The big question. Then write three or four supporting statements. Then turn ChatGPT loose to research and write some paragraphs. Then go back and rewrite that prose into English (or whatever).
My first geometry teacher told us that we’d learn about shapes and angles, but also that mostly what we would learn was how to think. Solving proofs of theorems is a great model. I use it to this day.
Try thinking sometime today. Read something. Think of possibilities. Not just one interpretation. What if the writer meant this? Or that?How did the original readers take this? Go sit in a park or by a pond or river and just think.
This reminds me of a story I heard many years ago. This could have been about me at 10 years old. It seems a little boy was sitting in class in school. He was staring out the window totally oblivious to the class. The teacher noticed and stopped talking. Soon, all the kids were staring. He realized something was up and his attention returned to the classroom. “What were you doing?” asked the teacher. “I was thinking,” was the reply. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to think in school?” she said. When the entire class burst out in laughter, she realized what she said.
But, too often it’s true in school and at work—we’re not supposed to think.
Be that little boy.
Think.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 28, 2023 | Automation, Internet of Things, Process Control, Robots
I’ve accumulated a few interesting project news items from ABB.
- Robot automates Amazon Reforestation
- All-electric mine study in Australia
- China Telecom digitization project
World’s most remote robot automates Amazon reforestation project
A pilot project between ABB Robotics and US non-profit organization Junglekeepers is demonstrating the role Cloud technology can play in making reforestation faster, more efficient and scalable.
ABB Robotics is supporting Junglekeepers in their mission to protect 55,000 acres of Amazon rainforest and reverse deforestation. In a first-of-its-kind demonstration, ABB’s cobot YuMi is automating planting tasks in a jungle laboratory, speeding the process and allowing Junglekeepers’ volunteers to focus their valuable time and resources on more impactful work.
Through ABB RobotStudio Cloud technology, ABB experts simulate, refine and deploy the programming required for YuMi’s tasks in the jungle from 12,000 kms (7,460 miles) away Västerås, Sweden – enabling the world’s most remote robot.
“ABB’s collaboration with Junglekeepers demonstrates how robotics and Cloud technology can play a central role in fighting deforestation as one of the major contributors to climate change”, said Sami Atiya, President of ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation. “Our pilot program with the world’s most remote robot is helping automate highly repetitive tasks, freeing up rangers to undertake more important work out in the rainforest and helping them to conserve the land they live on.”
In a jungle lab, located in a remote region of the Peruvian Amazon, a YuMi cobot has been installed to automate essential tasks in the seed planting process, usually an entirely manual effort. The cobot digs a hole in the soil, drops the seed in, compacts the soil on top and marks it with a color-coded tag. YuMi enables Junglekeepers to replant an area the size of two soccer fields every day in zones requiring reforestation.
At the same time, by automating this task, Junglekeepers’ volunteers are able to focus their valuable time and resources on more impactful work, such as patrolling the area to deter illegal loggers, educating locals on the preservation of the rainforest and planting mature saplings.
Creating a fully remote and autonomous cobot installation also overcomes the difficulty of finding people willing to stay and work in the distant jungle location. After its initial installation, YuMi can carry out its tasks autonomously, with only trouble shooting as needed.
“As of right now, we have lost 20 percent of the total area of Amazon rainforest; without using technology today, conservation will be at a standstill,” said Moshin Kazmi, Co-Founder of Junglekeepers. “Having Yumi at our base is a great way to expose our rangers to new ways of doing things. It accelerates and expands our operations and advances our mission.”
The destruction of the Amazon rainforest through human activities such as logging and burning to clear land for agriculture are contributing to the devastating effects of climate change. It is estimated that more than 870,000 km² of the Amazon rainforest have been cleared since 1985, an area larger than France, United Kingdom and Belgium combined.[1] With tens of billions of trees already being gone, the region is warming fast.
“The Amazon is in danger. That’s why we need technology, science and local knowledge to work together in order to save it. Otherwise, we will be too late. The rainforest can be saved, but we must bring together all these elements to make a difference,” said Dennis del Castillo Torres, Director of Forest Management Research at the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute. “It is very important to have a combination of high technology and conservation. There are many technologies that we can use to preserve the forest, and this robot can help a lot to reforest faster, but we have to be very selective. We have to use it in areas of high deforestation to speed up the process of replanting.”
The pilot project is supported by ABB’s RobotStudio Cloud technology, enabling teams all over the world to collaborate in real time. This remote new way of programming enables new levels of flexibility and instant refinement, resulting in greater efficiency and resilience, and no loss of planting time. With more than 25 years of offline programming experience, RobotStudio offers best-in-class digital technology, enabling 99 percent accuracy between simulation and reality. This allows users to reduce time for testing robotic solutions by 50 percent and takes production downtimes to zero.
ABB Robotics’ pilot project in the Amazon furthers its objective to contribute to sustainable transformation through intelligent robotics and automation solutions, supporting businesses to increase productivity, reduce waste and maximize efficiency. In 2022, ABB Robotics collaborated with the Parley Global Cleanup network, a non-profit organization collecting marine plastic waste, to create personalized designer items such as recycled furniture, using 3D additive printing. In accordance with the wishes of Junglekeepers, the pilot scheme in the rainforest with RobotStudio Cloud and YuMi will last for approximately six weeks (across May and June 2023). Following the conclusion of the pilot program, ABB will explore opportunities to assist Junglekeepers on a more extended basis as well as exploring further opportunities for its robotic solutions and cloud technologies to play a central role in driving sustainable transformation.
All-electric mine study from Australian operator IGO
- A team of experts from the three companies will work together to design electrification for the Cosmos Nickel Project
- Study will consider mine hauling operations, power distribution, energy efficiency and power management, with decarbonization and electrification crucial to the future of this industry
- Perenti’s expertise and technical capabilities are combined with ABB’s eMine framework for electrification and automation
- The collaboration setup by ABB and mining services group Perenti has been awarded its first contract by Australian mine operator IGO Ltd. to provide an all-electric mine study for the full underground electrification of IGO’s Cosmos Nickel Project in Western Australia.
Experts from the three companies will work together to provide a pathway for the optimum design of mine electrification at the IGO-owned Cosmos Project. This will include mine design optimization for electric operations, production and operating philosophy, fleet selection, power distribution and electrical infrastructure design, electrification system and battery management, ESG and safety impact analysis, and cost modelling of both Capex and Opex.
The study is a significant step in IGO’s commitment to continuously improving its sustainability performance by trialing new technologies and decarbonizing its operations, helping to create a cleaner energy future. The mine operator’s aspiration is to implement a complete mine electrification solution at Cosmos by mid-2025.
ABB and China Telecom unveil joint digitalization and industrial IoT lab
- The laboratory is a collaboration between ABB Measurement & Analytics China Technology Center and E Surfing IoT, China Telecom’s Internet of Things subsidiary
- The collaboration will explore the extensive integration of process automation solutions and empower multiple industries in China with digital transformation tools
- The lab will support manufacturing industries with end-to-end industrial IoT solutions that help with real-time, data-driven decisions for safer, smarter and more sustainable operations
ABB and China Telecom unveil a joint digitalization and industrial IoT laboratory in Hangzhou, China. The collaboration between ABB Measurement & Analytics China Technology Center and China Telecom’s Internet of Things subsidiary E Surfing IoT will focus on developing end-to-end industrial IoT solutions for industrial companies based in China.
As China transforms its manufacturing industries, the industrial IoT field is developing fast. Currently, China is promoting the green and sustained growth agenda, bringing many new opportunities to areas such as smart manufacturing, digitalization, energy efficiency, and smart cities.
As part of the collaboration, ABB and E Surfing IoT will explore avenues for technology integration and industrial application of new technologies as well as new directions for next-generation industrial IoT solutions. The two teams will focus on comprehensive digital solutions that incorporate ABB sensor technology, China Telecom’s 5G network, industrial IoT and connectivity technology, as well as cloud computing.
Recently, ABB collaborated with E Surfing IoT in the field of smart water networks. As part of the collaboration, Chinese water companies were able to increase the quality of data from their water networks and hence the operational efficiency by an average of more than 20 percent through implementing IoT solutions, achieving energy savings and cost reduction.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 27, 2023 | News, Productivity, Software
I’ve discussed digital thread technology and use a couple of times this month. Here is a company called Authentise for whom this is a specialty. They say that its new Authentise Threads product provides unique work thread collaboration that empowers R&D and industrial engineering teams to flexibly speed up, track and integrate product development. I named my new website 10 years ago The Manufacturing Connection because I saw that the future was not simply automation but connections of many types. Here is an example.
Andre Wegner, CEO Authentise, outlines that “despite the noise about the need to be more agile, it’s clear there’s a relative lack of software solutions available today to support R&D, industrial engineering and manufacturing to actually accomplish this. If the definition and simulation of product and process is digital, then there’s no reason we cannot adopt similar processes to those pioneered in software and move at digital development speeds.”
Authentise Threads sits alongside existing engineering and project management systems to provide key features such as:
- Cross Functional Work Thread Collaboration. Create, search, follow & link shared work threads across engineering teams and partners with real time structured communication, chat & notifications.
- Shared information, knowledge, experience, resources and context. A shared repository of all the key data, resources, goals, metrics needed for work thread execution
- Collaborative Digital Decision Making. Formally track and manage workthread efforts, insights, actions, decisions, resolutions, and more.
- Continuous learning & improvement. Share full history & traceability of work, discussions, issues, decisions, actions, metrics, all with full context.
Authentise Threads delivers value immediately. The R&D organisation of a leading surgical robotics company was up to speed in less than 30 minutes. Within 2 weeks they were seeing a 1.5x ROI on their investment, tracking 100% of their R&D decisions digitally, while saving 150 hours and 20 meetings across a distributed team including external partners. They doubled the effective size of their team.
Since starting at Singularity University in 2012, Authentise has focused on providing flexible, data-driven workflows in the most agile manufacturing and engineering settings. Its tools help manage the order to part process by connecting to machines and providing operators with digital tools to enable traceability, repeatability and efficiency on the shop floor. Initially focused on the additive manufacturing sector, it now has clients such as Boeing, 3M, and Danfoss, who have seen savings of up to 95% with 6x ROI in the first year.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 26, 2023 | Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Wireless
Communications companies hit me up a few years ago about what they saw as their next breakthrough market—private 5G networks. These seemed to have a natural fit within industrial and manufacturing companies with a large footprint. There have been a few installations. I’m not hearing about a true breakthrough—yet.
Yet, tech companies continue to build out their technologies and partnerships. This news concerns Nokia and DXC Technology announcing the availability of DXC Signal Private LTE and 5G, a managed secure private wireless network and digitalization platform solution that helps industrial enterprises digitally transform their operations.
- Companies to provide world-class private wireless networking solutions to propel organizations into the future
- New solution designed for key market segments including manufacturing, energy, healthcare, supply chain and logistics, transportation, and education
This partnership offers high-bandwidth, low-latency wireless networks to support increased automation, enhanced flexibility, operational technology (OT) data processing, and privacy needs.
This advanced solution integrates Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) and Nokia MX Industrial Edge (MXIE) with DXC Platform X.
by Gary Mintchell | Jun 23, 2023 | Personal Development
I heard an interview with a former US Navy SEAL. He left me with a phrase that repeats in my mind.
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast.
This relates to other advice I’ve received and to my life experiences.
Once I rushed through everything trying to do three or four things at once. I was frustrated with progress as well as tired. Driving in traffic, I’d speed up only to be stopped at the next traffic light in the slow lane passed by the cars I’d just passed.
Rushing didn’t get me anywhere faster. Maybe just a speeding ticket.
I’ve not only learned that phrase, I have also learned to embody it.
I concentrate on one thing at a time. That doesn’t mean that a hundred thoughts don’t pop up. They do. But I’ve learned to move past and come back to task.
Don’t rush the conversation.
Allow time to get where I’m going. If circumstances make me late, well, then I’m late. That’s life.
Even eating. Chew more. Swallow less. Slow and smooth.
Even working out. Some things require intensity, but don’t rush through (well, unless you’re doing sprints!). I look at the dumbbells. Select the weights. Raise slowly to extension. Lower slowly and smoothly. Do my sets. Amazingly the workout is done before I know it.
In your spiritual life, it’s the same. When you read–read. When you meditate–meditate. Allow the time. Savor it even.
