HP Robotic Layout Tool

 Coul have used this in a number of complex re-design efforts.

HP's SitePrint robotic solution could revolutionize construction layout process

The company claims it will print layouts autonomously without an error.

By Nergis Firtina,  In Interesting Engineering, Created: Sep 16, 2022 9:04 A

HP has introduced us to a small robot that can significantly speed up construction work by autonomously printing guidelines directly from blueprints onto the floor.

The robot SitePrint is a super-fast layout tool that is rugged, roadworthy, and extremely accurate, HP says.

The robot will be available to customers in North America thanks to an Early Access Program, starting September 2022.

"Technology adoption and increased digitization can help construction firms realize productivity gains," said Daniel Martínez, VP and General Manager, HP Large Format Printing. "

"HP has played a key role in bridging digital and physical worlds with print solutions for architects and engineers over the last thirty years. With HP SitePrint, we're making it faster and easier than ever for construction professionals to bring an idea to life on-site while also providing layout accuracy and reducing costs derived from reworks."

The construction industry continues to gain momentum every year. Although job opportunities are provided, the demands can sometimes not be met. Therefore, it would not be difficult to say that this new autonomous robot will come to the rescue.

It's mini yet mighty

The robot was created for autonomous operation, including obstacle avoidance, and can boost site layout productivity. Its text printing capabilities provide more data from the digital model to the construction site, facilitating communication amongst construction experts. It can print lines and complicated objects with pinpoint accuracy and reliable repetition.

"The existing manual layout process can be slow and labor intensive. Despite being done by specialists, there is always the risk of human error, which can result in costly reworks," said Albert Zulps, Director of Emerging Technology at Skanska - a global construction and development company currently utilizing HP SitePrint on two prominent US projects.  ... ' 

Ticketing with a Blockchain

Interesting example of a kind of smart contract embedded in the blockchain to enforce agreements regards how tickets can be used.    So this means when a ticket is sold, if you can examine the context of the sale.    The ticket as redeemed it can be checked as to that context.

From the Hewlett Packard Enterprise:

Rock and roll and blockchain
Musicians get a lot of revenue from their live performances, but they lose income due to things like scalpers and ticket scams. So musician Jason Robert is creating a blockchain-based event ticketing platform to cut down on fraud, reduce price gouging, and help maintain the health of the live entertainment industry.

As a professional musician, Jason Robert has played in venues around the world, including Bonnaroo and the Newport Folk Festival. He opened for The Roots, and wrote songs for shows on NBC, ABC, Fox, Showtime, and Netflix. .... 

Q: What problems are there with live-event ticketing?
A: A lot of people are taking money, almost literally, out of the pockets of musicians. These days, artists get a lot of their revenue from live performances, but scalpers and tickets scams are getting money that should go to them. And that's a major, major problem.
The problems have to do with the primary and secondary ticket markets. If fans are lucky, they can buy tickets in the primary market. But that doesn't happen very often. Something like 50 percent of the primary market tickets are withheld from the general public. Brokers, scalpers, and bots buy up a large percentage of these tickets in the primary market. That creates the illusion of a sellout, which artificially pumps up the price on the secondary market. So a scalper may have purchased a ticket for $50, but it ends up on third-party websites for some crazy mark-up, like $150. Fans are forced to pay that because there's no more inventory left. And none of the markup for those tickets goes to the musicians or the music industry. It mostly goes to brokers and scalpers.
Not only that, but upwards of 20 percent of tickets sold on secondary market platforms are fraudulent. A broker, scalper, or nefarious reseller will buy a ticket, then create a fake PDF version of it. They’ll list that PDF on several secondary market platforms that don't talk to one another, whose databases don't know the inventory. Maybe one of those tickets is legit, but the others are frauds.
Q: How do you hope to solve the problem?

A: We’re working on a blockchain-based event ticketing platform which will enable event organizers and musicians to program the rules that govern the behavior of the ticket. For example, they can set a cap on how much the ticket can be sold for on the secondary market. In fact, they could restrict secondary market sale all together. So, if an artist wants to sell a ticket for $10 and have zero secondary market, they can do that. Also, by setting the terms of engagement, artists could get additional revenue if they allow a percentage markup on the secondary market and require that they get some of that money.

On the platform, everyone can see the transactions that happen on the blockchain. So, as a fan, I can go online and could see how many hands it's passed through. I can see the original face value of the ticket. And I know the ticket is verified and authentic, because it can’t be digitally reproduced. That solves the problem I described earlier about fake PDFs. Also, because the ticket money circulates in the music industry instead of going to scalpers, the industry becomes more sustainable.

Another possible use for blockchain is rights attributions for creative works. If I'm an artist and I release a song and get it on some TV show, I can define the rules of how much the music supervisor pays for that song. I also can see in real time who is using that creative work, and I get paid instantly, as opposed to having to wait six months or sometimes a year.  .... "

Stroke Treatment by AI and Blockchain

An example of the integration of two technologies in health care.

From HPE:

Creating better stroke treatment using AI and blockchain technology

Every year, 10,000 people die due to a stroke in the Netherlands alone. AI and blockchain are part of the innovative technologies being used to improve the outcome.... " 

On the rise of the Chatbots

HPE provides an a good, non technical view.  Conversational intelligence and its increasing acceptance.  Obstacles will be maintaining the underlying knowledge.

Conversational AI and the rise of the chatbots

It’s important to understand what conversational AI is, why it’s become so popular, the obstacles, and its likely future.

You can hardly turn on the television news, pull a magazine off a rack in a doctor’s office, or check out your social media without being confronted by a discussion about artificial intelligence. Whether the writer or talking head is decrying the imminent robot apocalypse or celebrating our deep-learning-based salvation, most of the coverage has one thing in common: an imprecise definition of AI. AI is, at its base, nothing more than software that simulates intelligence.

One specific type of AI is cropping up all around the Internet: conversational AI, mostly in the form of chatbots. The most recent and high-profile news about AI was Google’s announcement that its AI, called Google Assistant, beat the Turing test—150 times. The Turing test evaluates a machine’s ability to successfully mimic human intelligence by presenting as indistinguishable from human communication. .... " 

Building Assistants into Laptops

Seems to compete with Cortana, which I have with Windows on my laptop.   Builtin capabilities making popular assistants even more common.   Is the increasing number of skills driving the interest?

HP's new Envy PC is the first all-in-one with Alexa built-in
Turn on the lights by talking to your desktop.

By Jon Fingas, @jonfingas in Engadget.... 

HP Doubles down on AI

Another player enters the fray, had worked with them much in the past, without hearing much of them in this space.  But being much in the services space, makes lots of sense.

HPE Doubles Down on AI    By James Kobielus

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) continues to impress as it repositions its broad portfolio of hardware, software, and professional services for opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI).

Last fall, HPE announced new purpose-built hardware/software solutions, configuration guides, reference designs, and centers of excellence to accelerate enterprise customers in their AI adoption. Around that same time, it also brought AI directly into the data center with its launch of InfoSight, an AI-powered recommendation engine that helps IT administrators predictively manage infrastructure, nip technical issues in the bud, and improve application reliability.

This veteran IT solution provider isn’t slowing down in its comprehensive approach to the AI market. Yesterday, HPE announced new solutions, a new professional service offering, and a new partnership to help customers advance in their AI journeys:  .... "

HPe Sponsors a Science Fiction Writers Look at Robotics, Assistants

Eminds me of an era past.   Yes, the predictions look similar some are starting to work out.

My friend, the robot, 

Hugo- and Nebula-winning science fiction author David Gerrold was spot-on in his 1999 predictions about smartphones. Now he predicts computing’s future…again.

Back in 1999, I was asked to write a short article for Sm@rt Reseller magazine about the future of computing, because (allegedly) science fiction authors are in the business of contemplating the future..... "  

HP Splits in Two

Worked with them for a long time, since they ran our plant systems:
Afterwards with HP Labs.

" ... When HP splits in two on Sunday after a year of planning, what is left will bear little resemblance to the engineering-driven company founded more than 75 years ago in a garage not far from Stanford University. 

On one side will be HP Inc., which will largely consist of personal computers and printers. On the other, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, or HPE, which will sell the computer servers, data storage, networking, software and consulting services that run a modern company. Each company is expected to have annual revenue of about $50 billion and will be among America’s 500 largest public companies.  ... " 

HP Embraces 3D Printing, Immersion

In CWorld:  Will this change manufacturing?  The move is good to watch.  It is blended reality, they say. New term to me, I  prefer 'remote manufacturing' as more descriptive

" .... HP today announced a new 3D printing technology called Multi Jet Fusion that it said will enable mass production of parts with a technology traditionally reserved for rapid prototyping.

The new industrial 3D printer,  about the size of a washing machine, is 10 times faster and 50% less expensive than current systems on the market, HP said. The printer can also use a myriad of colors and materials. .... " 

A further good idea, they announce the supporting  " ... Sprout  ... a new immersive computing platform that combines a 23-in touch screen monitor and horizontal capacitive touch mat with a scanner, depth sensor, hi-res camera, and projector in a single desktop device. .... "

HP Claims New Computer Architecture

In BusWeek:  The Machine, they call it.    Admit had not seen this, but intriguing. But sounds like its different implementations of the parts, rather than a new design.  Have spent some time with HP Labs.

" ... That’s what they’re calling it at HP Labs: “the Machine.” It’s basically a brand-new type of computer architecture that HP’s engineers say will serve as a replacement for today’s designs, with a new operating system, a different type of memory, and superfast data transfer. The company says it will bring the Machine to market within the next few years or fall on its face trying. “We think we have no choice,” says Martin Fink, the chief technology officer and head of HP Labs, who is expected to unveil HP’s plans at a conference Wednesday. .. "  

Dell Labs comments.

HP Tablets

In an interesting development HP plans to be planning to deliver a family of tablet style devices.  Recall the fiasco that HP had when they acquired the Palm OS.  Lots of catching up to do here.

HP's Big Data Analytics

Attending this on Wednesday at 9 AM in Cincinnati.    More information.  Lets meet there. " ... Are you interested in gaining insight into your business faster than ever before? Learn how AdvizeX, HP-Vertica and Cloudera are addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with Big Data Analytics.  This exclusive event will bring together industry experts to discuss best practices for innovating and monetizing Big Data Analytics. Please join us for breakfast on Wednesday, January 16th at Paul Brown Stadium to learn how you can apply these concepts to your organization.... "  

What is Your Data Telling You?

HP's Saum Mathur:
"... For many data scientists, innovation is just out of reach. They might have massive data stores, rich with potential business insights, but their reporting system can’t unlock them. “Traditional reporting systems are good at giving information about what happened in my business yesterday, but they’re not good at nearly real-time or predictive analytics,” says Saum Mathur, CIO of HP Software. “They can’t really tell me what customers are thinking today or how I can improve my business tomorrow. To innovate and keep an organization moving in the right direction, that’s just not enough.” This waste of a big data opportunity is a crossroads for information management executives, who must rally their organizations around the pressing need for business intelligence agility. Those who use next-generation analytics tools to transform the business and improve the bottom line will succeed.. .. " 

IBM DemandTec for Marketers

From IBM DemandTec, a good view of the need to construct valid shopper segmentation.  Why?  So we can use targeting to make sure the right consumer gets the most influential message.  The link goes to an infographic and further  information on this concept.

New techniques are now available to make it easier to do.  Relationship and social marketing allow the integration of new and precise marketing methods.  Linking this further to marketing mix methods, minimizes   cost to achieve a particular return.  To take this further.   And more at the link:

1. Use advanced science and shopper segmentation to better understand shifts in consumer demand and connect with individuals and segments rather than broad markets. Merchants can now surface those insights right at the point of decision of pricing, promotion and assortment activities. By recognizing that each shopper is unique and responds differently, revolutionary merchandisers can tailor strategies to focus on their most valuable shopper segments – providing differentiation at the shelf and a real path to category growth.

2. Stay relevant with intelligent targeting
Invest in capabilities designed to manage the entire promotion lifecycle – from analytics to deployment. Target promotions not with a broad brush, but by shopper segment through localized and automated ad versioning across virtually all customer touchpoints. An integrated planning environment can keep your marketing counterparts on the same page as your team throughout the planning cycle, translating into greater visibility, improved quality, and ultimately more time to focus on strategic issues.

3. Capture value, measure results
Increase marketing ROI by aligning assortment, price, promotion and marketing decisions in a unified planning environment. A common platform also allows you to work more effectively with your merchandising team counterparts – helping teams to plan for category growth, new shopper attraction and behavioral impact on key shopper segments while allowing you to tailor your marketing investment to achieve financial goals..... "

Mobile Marketing Toothpaste

Good overview of the use of mobile marketing for something as common as toothpaste.  " ... Marketing toothpaste can be a challenge for brands because even though consumers may use their product every day, few get excited about brushing their teeth. Mobile marketing, when done correctly, can provide these brands with some unique opportunities to build excitement and engage customers. ... " 

Strategic Marketing Mix Decisions

I have been recently been taking a look at the broad concept of marketing mix decisions.  The problem is old:  how do we decide how much promotional dollars to allocate to what marketing medium?  How much are we wasting?   And how do we time the allocation to make sure it optimizes the results achieved?   It links to the general problem of forecasting demand.   Forecasting depends upon both specific company decisions and external uncontrollable contexts we need to consider.  When I taught forecasting I always included the   phrase 'The forecast will be wrong, but how will it be wrong is the more important question'.  

In recent years too the number of possibilities for forcasting methods has expanded.   Online and social methods, still in their relative infancy, also need to be allocated funds to make them work.   How do you react to rapid changes by competitors?  And the question of how much and when immediately emerges.

I have been taking a look at IBM DemandTec's approach recently to understand how it it integrates with other methods on the market.   My enterprise tested their approaches early on. Their holistic approach based on optimization methods bears a close look. They write:

" ... Holistic marketing mix decisions.  One continuous, actionable plan..... Simply using average marketing investment returns doesn't tell you much about what's driving volume, share, or profit.  If your assumptions are stale, you can't truly optimize your marketing mix in a rapidly changing marketplace. Now you can use the most dynamic predictive tools available to optimize marketing investment decisions throughout the year.  It's all delivered through one comprehensive system.

IBM DemandTec Strategic Marketing Planning transforms traditional marketing mix insights into one continuous analytic system that spans all of today's consumer touchpoints – media, trade, social, and more.  Empower CMOs with sophisticated tools for allocating portfolios.  Give brand managers precise up-to-date data to optimize decisions. .... 

Quickly adapt to marketplace shifts

Optimize marketing spend

Efficiently allocate marketing funds

Fully leverage your existing marketing mix analysis investment   .... " 

High Performance Computing in the Cloud

Featured in CN Computing Now:    " ... High performance computing is no longer limited to those who own supercomputers. HPC's democratization has been driven particularly by cloud computing, which has given scientists access to supercomputing-like features at the cost of a few dollars per hour. The four articles I've selected for this month's Computing Now theme highlight some current work in academia and industry, examining key benefits, challenges, and enablers of HPC in the cloud.... " 

PC Sales Slump

PC Sales are decreasing.  Good statistics.  Traditional sales leaders like HP and Dell are getting hit with the expectation of the company and worker that software solutions will be available on convenient mobile devices.  .   Workers expect the access.  The Cloud will provide the data.   Solutions have been broken up into bite sized pieces that are increasingly interchangeable.  The office is virtual. The direction is inevitable.

High Performance Computing Clusters

Was just introduced to HPCC Systems.  As an open source solution to a 'Big Data' problem to support a large scale enterprise simulation.  Well worth a look for those interested in the topic.  More to follow.

Global Leadership Lessons from Unilever

Global leadership lessons from Unilever:

" ... Kruythoff was appointed president of Unilever's North American cluster in September 2011. Based in the United States, the job gives him responsibility for what he believes is his company's most important market and the challenges that come with it. "People like to talk about China or India or Brazil," said Kruythoff, a native of the Netherlands, the birthplace of Unilever's foods divisions. "But when you grow up in Europe, you always hear of the American Dream and what that represents.
"This is America, a place where we need to push the boundaries," he added. "The intellectual capital in this country is like no other. The Googles and the Amazons and the Apples, they are all here. So that is where I want to be for my company." ...  "