Bosch Deploys AI to Prevent Attacks on Car Electronics

Shielding car electronics attacks. Note the application to data coming from car systems.

Bosch Deploys AI to Prevent Attacks on Car Electronics
By The Wall Street Journal
January 13, 2020

German engineering company Robert Bosch GmbH is using artificial intelligence to reduce the risk of hackers tricking cars electronic systems into misinterpreting road signs.

Engineering company Robert Bosch is deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to fortify cars' electronic systems against hackers who attempt to feed the systems intentionally incorrect road-sign information.

Road-sign standardization makes traffic-sign recognition technology well-suited to machine learning and deep learning image-identification algorithms, but malefactors can deceive the algorithms by defacing the signs.

Bosch’s Michael Bolle said the company has unveiled a computer-vision-based AI process designed to analyze and compare an object from two different perspectives.

The findings of deep learning algorithms that identify road signs are checked by computer-vision algorithms, and discrepancies between the readings could indicate spoofing.

Said Bolle, "In the area of machine learning and AI, products and machines learn from data, and so the data itself can be part of the attack surface."

From "Bosch Deploys AI to Prevent Attacks on Car Electronics"

The Wall Street Journal via CACM
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription

Bosch Face Reco Keeps Drivers Attention and Entertained

Clever general idea.  A demonstration for now.  How broadly might it be deployed?  Something as simple as detecting when you a start looking 'down', and providing a beep of the kind now used for lane encroachment would be a good start.

Bosch’s facial recognition tech keeps you safe, entertained behind the wheel   By Ronan Glon in DigitalTrends

This story is part of our continuing coverage of CES 2020, including tech and gadgets from the showroom floor.

German supplier Bosch is working on bringing facial recognition technology to the world of cars. Similar to what’s available on many smartphones, the feature is a way to keep the passengers safe, entertained, and comfortable.

Digital Trends checked out the tech at CES 2020, where Bosch packed it into a #vanlife-spec Volkswagen Touran for demonstration purposes. In this application, it consisted of a driver-facing camera positioned between the steering wheel and the instrument cluster, and a passenger-monitoring camera located where the map lights are. Thomas Lenzen, one of the product managers responsible for the technology, explained that it’s possible to move the cameras around, and add or remove them as needed. Users may want a third camera to watch their kids in the back.  ... " 

Bosch SoundSee Sensor Predicts Future

Another example of the linking of sensors to predictive decision making.

Bosch SoundSee combines deep learning with mobile microphone arrays to identify problems on the ISS before they happen in IEEE Spectrum By Evan Ackerman

We’ve all seen this moment in the movies—on board, say, a submarine or a spaceship, the chief engineer will suddenly cock their ear to listen to the background hum and say “something’s wrong.” Bosch is hoping to teach a computer how to do that trick in real life, and is going all the way to the International Space Station to test its technology.

Considering the amount of data that’s communicated through non-speech sound, humans do a remarkably poor job of leveraging sound information. We’re very good at reacting to sounds (especially new or loud sounds) over relatively short timescales, but beyond that, our brains are great at just classifying most ongoing sounds as “background” and ignoring them. Computers, which have the patience we generally lack, seem like they’d be much better at this, but the focus of most developers has been on discrete sound events (like smart home devices detecting smoke alarms or breaking glass) rather than longer term sound patterns.

Why should those of us who aren’t movie characters care about how patterns of sound change over time? The simple reason is because our everyday lives are full of machines that both make a lot of noise and tend to break expensively from time to time. Right now, I’m listening to my washing machine, which makes some weird noises. I don’t have a very good idea of whether those weird noises are normal weird noises, and more to the point, I have an even worse idea whether it was making the same weird noises the last time I ran it. Knowing whether a machine is making weirder noises than it used to be, could potentially clue me in to an emerging problem, one that I could solve through cheap preventative maintenance rather than an expensive repair later on.

Bosch, the German company that almost certainly makes a significant percentage of the parts in your car as well as appliances, power tools, industrial systems, and a whole bunch of other stuff, is trying to figure out how they can use deep learning to identify and track the noises that machines make over time. The idea is to be able to identify subtle changes in sound to warn of pending problems before they happen. And one group of people very interesting in getting advanced warning of problems are the astronauts floating around in the orbiting bubble of life that is the ISS. .... "

Bosch is Thinking IOT Smart Contracts

An example of SC use by big players, here with IOT transactions.  No what happens when the code goes beyond counting coins?

Why Bosch is jumping on the Ethereum blockchain  From deCryptmedia

German engineering giant Bosch wants to connect millions of cars, machines, buildings and things—and get them to pay each other. Smart contracts may be the answer. .....     "    By Adriana Hamacher

-> Also see Bosch's well done page on the working of Blockchains and Smart Contracts.   Which gives some indications of what they are doing there.

Kuri Rolling Assistant Stops Manufacturing

The family friendly rolling assistant Kuri has stopped manufacturing and is refunding new orders.    Was called 'adorable' by some.   Have followed it here since its inception.   The supporting  company Bosch,  apparently has pulled the plug of support.  Their site says its a pause.  The Mayfield Robotics site now makes minimal mention of Kuri.   Are they looking for a buyer?   Seemed a nice idea, but was too expensive.  More in TheVerge.

Kuri Update and Future

The updated newsletter for the Kuri home robot includes extensive new information.  Very nicely presented. The system is now scheduled for shipment this month.  It costs $799 plus shipping and handling.   Expensive.  Still have not seen any extensive operational tests written about. 

The idea of having an attentive,  crawling device with camera and a voice of sorts,  that can learn your home and play with the kids and pets, is fascinating.  Emphasizes the mobile picture-seeking and taking capability.   Assume it would have at least the minimal conversational intelligence of assistant devices.     It uses a 'beep' language code to signal.  Will it ultimately allow skill apps to be written for it?   Not now.

Can it replace the far less expensive and now common stationary devices like the Echo or Home?  Is the movement very useful, or will it just get in the way?  It does not seem to be able to fetch or carry things.  Is voice + movement  enough to engage?  What do we expect from a home robot?  Is movement without robot hands or skills useful?    Is friendliness, which they push in their newsletter,  worth the high price?  Revealed that it uses an IOS 10+ App only to run, which is still not yet available. Newsletter includes a more extensive FAQ.  Look forward to seeing more operational tests.

Bosch and Self Driving Cars

Had already looked at how Bosch was examining technology behind the smart home.  Now in the space of Automotive advances like self driving cars.

Bosch details its work on present and future self-driving cars
Like many companies, Bosch will play a part in our autonomous future.... 

By Jamie Rigg, @jmerigg in Engadget

" ... Bosch has already partnered with NVIDIA to develop an AI brain for self-driving cars, with TomTom on mapping systems that'll help vehicles see the road ahead, and with Mercedes on automated valet and taxi concepts. The showcase in London featured a few more tangible developments. These included various EVs powered by Bosch drivetrains, from e-bikes to existing and pre-market electric scooters and city cars.  ...  "

Bosch Develops Stain Scanner

We developed something called the 'Stain Detective', later called the 'Stain Brain',  the intelligence there could be connected to something like Bosch's scanner.   The sensor plus intelligence construction is instructive.  Note also Bosch's work with Mayfield Robotics and the Kuri Robot.

Bosch's stain scanner knows what you spilled on your shirt last night   By Edgar Alvarez,  @abcdedgar

German technology giant Bosch is mostly known for making home appliances. And at IFA 2017, the company is showing off a concept that it hopes can add a new dimension to those products. The X-Spect is a portable device that detects fabric composition, scans stains and figures out what your food is composed of. As pictured above, it looks a lot like a TV remote, and it features a tiny screen and capacitive touch buttons that let you browse through menus. Right now, Bosch is demoing the X-Spect, which weighs a mere 200 grams (less than half a pound) alongside one of its WiFi washers to deliver "optimal" cycle recommendations.

For instance, if you scan a wool sweater, it takes the scanner only a couple of seconds to identify the item. All you have to do next is click "OK" to send that information to your nearby washer, which will automatically suggest that you wash your garment at a certain temperature and with a specific number of spins. The idea, of course, is that the X-Spect is able to make your washing smarter, helping you take better care of your clothes. With stains, on the other hand, the scanner analyzes whatever you may have gotten on your shirt or pants, like whether it's cosmetics or something entirely gross.  ... " 

Apples Talking in the IOT

Uday Prabhu, General Manager, Internet of Things
Robert Bosch Engineering & Business Solutions Pvt Ltd writes: 

Talking Apples! The Conversation with Things  in Linkedin. 

Here he talks an internet of vegetable things in the grocery store.   We will likely see many mundane products added to the IoT,  but the mechanics of plugging in an apple will make this later rather than sooner.  But this a story of how Bosch and others are thinking.   Expect much more.  Liked it.

Mayfield Robotics

Now known for Bosch's effort with the beta Kuri home robot.

We Make Helpful Home Robots
Our robots bring joy to your house. Our small team of engineers, roboticists, and designers is growing quickly and we are having a great time creating our first products ... " 

IEEE on the Kuri Robot

Previously mentioned.  The Kuri Robot, by Bosch and Mayfield,  scheduled to be out later this year.  ... Mayfield Robotics Announces Kuri, a $700 Home Robot   By Evan Ackerman.   Appears to be a solution that attempts to create emotional interaction with the household.   That part remains to be seen.  The concrete information supplied makes it appear more like a mobile security camera.

The Kuri Home Robot

I attended an introductory presentation on Bosch's Kuri home robotic system today.  This is a two foot high moving robot with eyes.   The eyes it have an embedded video camera,  so can transfer HD images it sees to a smartphone App.

The use of eyes immediately reminded me of the studies that have been done that showed that the anthropomorphic addition of eyes can increase our engagement with a system.  (See Media Equation Tag Below)  So this can be interpreted as having a personality.  Perhaps most useful in a household with children.

The device can roll around, can interpret and obey commands, can do voice and face recognition.  It has no voice itself,  but can act as a speaker delivering music.  It can't talk, but can communicate via a simple code of chirps for Yes, No or Hello.  Works with the IFTTT rule engine.

Also very interesting, it claims to be able to learn a home space, and how the inhabitants use the space.  That's all I know now, you can learn much more here.  Its expensive at US $699, not yet available, but you can pre-order at the link and then buy at a discount..   More technical details.    And a blog.   Lots of videos at the links.

Some things that come up immediately.   Charging, how does it deal with stairs and carpets,  it is shown with children,  what are the COPPA implications in the US ....  ?

Pitfalls in the Internet of Things

Video and Transcipt from Bain.

Ann Bosche: Avoiding Common Pitfalls in the Internet of Things

Enthusiasm for the Internet of Things continues to grow—already, leading vendors have made $75 billion in M&A investments. While many customers are excited by the opportunities the IoT presents, they still struggle with early solutions from vendors. Ann Bosche, a partner with Bain's Technology practice, discusses the most common mistakes made by vendors and the critical opportunities that will position them to win.   ... " 

Digital Investment Portfolios

Makes sense to think of this as a portfolio analysis.   Which leads to thinking about how their business value can be measured.   ROI is notoriously difficult to estimate for emerging technology. Risk analysis, too, should be folded into this kind of analysis.  Good piece.

A Tool for Balancing Your Company’s Digital Investments  by Joe Peppard.  In the HBR: 

How does your organization manage the money it spends on digital? One surprising finding of my research is that most do not distinguish between different types of digital investments, treating all in a similar way. This situation exists because, believe it or not, a lot of organizations lack any mechanisms to help them actively manage the evaluation, selection, monitoring, and adjustment of digital investments to achieve clearly defined business results while meeting clear risk and return expectations.

In essence, digital investments should be planned and managed according to their current and future contribution to business performance. Just think about it: Not all digital investments make a similar contribution to achieving business results. For example, some may provide a source of competitive differentiation like the investment that German manufacturer Bosch is making in its internet of things (IoT) data platform. Others are essential to running the existing business but don’t necessarily provide a competitive advantage. A retailer’s point of sale (POS) system falls into that category.  .. " 

Intelligent Personal Assistants

At today's CSIG meeting Jim Spohrer pointed us to the growth of the intelligent personal assistant,  aka VDA,  and that the Wikipedia article on the topic had a good list and links to work under underway.   The article contains much more.   The idea continues to grow.   Items marked with a * have been covered here.  Here is the list:

(This post is NOW continually updated with new links, hundreds of posts)

*Accenture's MyWizard'
*Accenture's Amelia
*Alibaba Tmall Genie
*Alibaba using AliGenie 
Braina
*Microsoft's 'Cortana'
*Microsoft's 'Invoke'  With Harman-Kardon Using Cortana
*Microsoft Home Hub
*Enterra Aila
*Amazon Echo
*Amazon Show   Amazon Echo with screen
*Google's 'Google Now'
HTC's 'Hidi'
Maluuba Inc's 'Maluuba'
*Cognitive Code's 'SILVIA'
*Cisco's Spark Conferencing Assistant
*Apple's 'Siri'
*Apple's HomePod
*IBM Watson Analytics
*IBM Watson Assistant
*Wolfram Finance
*Wolfram Alpha
Nuance's 'Vlingo'
*Samsung's 'S Voice'
*Samsung's Otto
*Samsung's Bixby  (S8 Phone Assistant)
*BlackBerry's 'BlackBerry Assistant'
*LG's 'Voice Mate'
*LG's Hub Robot
*Baidu's Duer.
*Baidu's Little Fish
*Pepper Retail Robot by Softbank
* Facebook M
*Mattel Aristotle by Nabi  (Baby Monitor)
*Jill Watson  - TA at Ga Tech
*Mycroft
*Kasisto Financial Assistant
*Kuri by Bosch
*Ginger by Intel  (unknown since its acquisition)
*Otto by Samsung
*Viv by Viv Labs
*Google Home   by Google
*Google Assistant by Google
*DingDong by LingLong
*Einstein by Salesforce (links to current collaboration with Oracle?)
*Project Evo by Microsoft
*Connie by Hilton/IBM
*Smart Assistant by Lenovo
*SoundHound for Hyundai
*Essential Home


See also Virtual Personal Assistants.  In Wikipedia.

Japanese Hotel to Be Staffed by Robots

New robotic service application.  Here in Japan.  " ... This summer, a hotel will open in the Netherlands-themed Huis Ten Bosch amusement park in Nagasaki, Japan. It will have 72 rooms. Room fees will start at $60 per night. And it will be staffed by 10 humanoid robots. ... "   The humanoid aspect is interesting

Bosch and the Integration of Things

In the Forrester Blog:  About Bosch making acquisitions to set themselves up for this integration. Worth thinking.  Not sure there is enough difference between integration/Internet.  The latter only being a means, and we will certainly accept other means that make sense.  In the end they will all be called the Internet, if only for understanding.  Note the connection to the recent construction of the smart home consortium.

Bosch and the Internet of Things

In CWorld:  With a special emphasis on Sensors and MEMs.     We experimented with several early developers in the smart appliance space.

" ... Bosch says the future is the Internet of Things  By Patrick Thibodeau

German appliance maker creates separate firm to design sensors for its own products and for the market as a whole ...

 Bosch, a company best known as a maker of appliances, including stoves, dishwashers, washing machines and coffee makers, is increasing its focus on the Internet of Things.
Germany-based Bosch has created a new firm, Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions, "for the Internet of things and services. ...

The Internet of Things will deliver its benefits gradually, one appliance upgrade at a time.
Sensor rich devices monitoring Web-enabled apps can put the worried homeowner at ease. 'Did I remember to turn the stove off before leaving the house? Is the refrigerator door open?' The Internet of Things will provide the answer.Bosch says the future is the Internet of Things
German appliance maker creates separate firm to design sensors for its own products and for the market as a whole ... " 

Augmented Reality as Maintenance Tool

Via Junaio.  Work on using augmented reality as an after service maintenance delivery tool for Bosch.   Maintenance enhancement in manufacturing was also an area we examined.   Consider also the interaction of compliance and maintenance activities as another value area.