Open Innovation at Electrolux

Open Innovation at Electrolux. Appliance manufacturer we worked with for a while.  The how is always interesting, but also the kinds of application being addressed:  " ....   she presented several Electrolux open innovation success stories, including one of a company that approached the multinational offering a system to automatically calibrate assembly lines.  They didn’t want any money, but were looking for partners to help them test their solution and share risks.  Today, that company is a trusted supplier. ... " 

Creating Value with Advanced Analytics

Repeating this, it is well put,  Its about where decisions are needed: Bain Company brief:

It’s easy for tech-savvy executives to get excited about Big Data and advanced analytics these days. Newly available tools allow companies to do things they couldn’t do before, like recommending specific products to online buyers or mining workers’ compensation claims data to recommend better treatment options for injured employees. But whiz-bang capabilities don’t create real value unless an organization incorporates these new techniques into its day-to-day operations.

What does that mean in practice? The best way to understand any company’s operations is to view them as a series of decisions. People in organizations make thousands of decisions every day. The decisions range from big, one-off strategic choices (such as where to locate the next multibillion-dollar plant) to everyday frontline decisions that add up to a lot of value over time (such as whether to suggest another purchase to a customer). In between those extremes are all the decisions that marketers, finance people, operations specialists and so on must make as they carry out their jobs week in and week out. .... " 

Watson Analytics Short Demo

Short, good,  demonstration via Holly Nielsen of IBM:

2 Minute Dashboard With Watson Analytics
Watch Francis Hall take some typical sales pipeline data from a spreadsheet, and create a compelling, interactive dashboard in under 2 minutes: .... " 

Slack and Skype

Was just introduced to Slack and liked it.  Especially for better email focus.  Now what will its (still limited) integration with Skype look like?   More on the integration in CMSWire:

" .... According to the Skype blog, the integration mirrors much of the way other services work in Slack. All you have to do is type /Skype to begin a conversation with a member of your team. For example, Slack includes several other slash commands like /close, /away, and the always popular /giphy to perform a related commands.

Teams that want to integrate this into their own Slack can do so by adding the Skype button and selecting which channel you want it to work with first. You’ll then be able to launch a Skype conversation, or join an existing one, with any of your Skype contacts in that channel. .. " 

UL Standards for Wearables

In CWorld:  Particularly interesting that they will address privacy issues.

" ... UL, formerly called Underwriters Labs, soon expects to certify wearables for safety and security, including user privacy. ... Founded in 1894 and more commonly known for certifying appliances for electrical safety, UL is developing draft requirements for security and privacy for data associated with Internet of Things devices, including wearables. A pilot program is underway, and UL plans to launch the program early in 2016 ... " 

Simulating Human Behavior

From the CACM: 
" ... Researchers at the Charles III University of Madrid (UC3M) in Spain are working on the IBSEN project, which is investigating how to build a system that recreates human behavior.

The researchers say the technology could be used to anticipate behavior in a socioeconomic crisis, create more human-like robots, or develop avatars of artificial intelligence.

"We are going to lay the foundations to start a new way of doing social science for the problems that arise in a society that is very technologically connected," says IBSEN project leader Anxo Sanchez.

The researchers say they are preparing experiments that will simultaneously present certain problems of cooperation, social problems, and economic games to thousands of people in order to discover hidden patterns in their decisions. The researchers will use this information to create a simulator of human behavior. ... " 

Students and Cognitive Assistants

Via Jim Spohrer.  More broadly the concept and direction of COG assistants is covered here.

" .... CEOs need cognitive assistants, and on the other side of the spectrum - students do as well: CSIG is the Cognitive Systems Institute Group - we work to connect research faculty/students to IBMers to submit IBM align grant proposals with the mission of cognitive assistants for all occupations - doctors to chefs to student advisor.... "    

Additive Manufacturing at GE Aviation

 In GE Aviation's Bike Shop Blog:

" ... TIME magazine noted that GE Aviation is producing the interior of its fuel nozzles for the new CFM LEAP engine by using additive manufacturing.  It results in reduced component weight and better fuel efficiency while providing for a more durable part.

 With additive manufacturing, the LEAP fuel nozzle interior can be made as one part in a laser machine.   The same part produced conventionally would require brazing and welding together about 20 different parts.

 When you think of innovations that are changing our world, you tend to immediately think of Silicon Valley,” Luckerson said. “This GE innovation is happening in the heart of the United States, in Ohio.” .... "

Analyzing the Internet of Things

Teradata's Bill Franks on the IOT.   Nice concise thoughts.  Like Big Data, the IOT's engine is analytics and then translating that to decison.  Not sure we need another acronymn (AoT), but I accept it as a reminder of the fundamental need for value from data.

" .... To date, a lot of effort has been put into creating sensors, deploying them, and generating masses of data. However, lagging behind that effort is the analysis of the data. As with any data, no value is driven without analysis and action. It would have been better if more thought was given to how to utilize the data generated prior to creating sensors that stream it out. Given that we are where we are, the best path forward is to begin to aggressively analyze the data of the IoT. This is what I, and others, have begun to call the Analytics of Things (AoT). ... "

Alchemy API Language

Brought Back to my attention.

Build Smarter Apps With AlchemyLanguage
12 Semantic Text Analysis APIs Using Natural Language Processing

Pioneering Easy-to-build Smart Apps for 
Understanding Customer Needs and Predicting Their Behavior The AlchemyAPI cloud platform makes it easy to create smart apps that deeply understand the world's conversations, reports and photos so you can align your business with customer preferences and intent. We help you take action. Boost revenues. Cut costs. All by quickly transforming vast numbers of web pages, tweets, emails and images into facts and knowledge on how people feel about your product, campaign, offer or service. ... " 

The Future of Programming

Have become involved in looking how algorithmic knowledge is stored lately, and this has required looking at alternative coding methods.  Visualization of process is a key element to describe the related knowledge to decision makers.  The future of coding is important.  In Infoworld.

Rules for Tough Decisions

 3 Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions  In the HBR:  by Peter Bregman .... Some good simple thoughts.  Now might these also be systematized as part of a simulation.  As part of  different contexts?  And then crowdsourced in some way, since people are likely to interpret them in different ways?

Employee Engagement Formula

How do companies engage with their own employees?  In the HBR:

" .... IDEO’s origin story sometimes sounds like a myth or a fable, but it’s actually true. David Kelley founded the company with a simple goal: to create a workplace made up of his best friends. In the beginning he did, in fact, bring in some of his closest buddies to launch the Silicon Valley firm that would become IDEO. More than 30 years later, we’re a global design company that employs more than 650 people. Obviously, we didn’t get to that size by hiring only our friends. But David’s early intention still greatly informs the way we work. There are, in fact, four elements of our culture that came directly from his founding statement. We think they’re essential factors in keeping employees engaged — not just at our company, but at any company. ... " 

Data Science Studying Data Scientists

Nice piece by Bob Hayes.   I like the structural aspects included.    Classification of skills can be imprecise too.  How does that imprecision influence the results.  The factor analysis, eigenvalue based approach used is well worth the read.   " .... Empirically-Based Approach to Understanding the Structure of Data Science by Bob Hayes, PhD    ... Based on a study of 620+ data professionals, we found that data science skills fall into three broad areas: domain expertise (in our case, business), technology/programming and math/statistics. I discuss the implications of study findings for current data scientists, would-be data scientists and the recruiters who try to find them. ... " 

Challenges for Home Robotics

 In IEEE Spectrum:  A good look at the challenges still unmet for home robotics.   A topic I have looked at for a number of years.  And while the press has claimed broad success for a long time, it has not happened.  Why?  The article does a good job of exploring,  regarding hardware and software aspects.   There are still considerable challenges.  Largely non-technical.

Microsoft, P&G Supported Skip App in Test

Mentioned here previously, the Skip in aisle checkoutApp is now in test.   Note the connection to the Azure analytics platform which leverages data gathering from shopper behavior.  See also Krogers test in this area.   We tested  the concept for years.

" ...  A grocer in Scranton, Pennsylvania is about to dramatically change the way his customers shop.

By the end of the year, Gerrity's Supermarkets' nine stores will be using new checkout technology, technology that could someday replace its checkstands.

With an app called Skip – as in "skip the line" – shoppers will be able to scan items as they shop, placing them in their bag as they go. They can enter their payment information (like a card number) into the app and pay for their items before they leave, all on their phone. ... " 

For details see Goskip.com

Miss Piggy and Imperson Chatbots

Marketers see Chatbots as a means to engage with Virtual Assistants. Facebook's Messenger is an example mentioned here before. How does personality create engagement to deliver intelligence and services? Imperson from the Disney Accelerator is an example of how this is being done. We did this with Mr. Clean. Is this relevant beyond marketing? I think so. Miss Piggy is a sample chatbot you can explore. Link here.

Reputation in the Age of the Internet

In the Edge: The internet has changed the means and the metrics.  You could always sculpt your reputation, but not as easily as you can today.  Positive and negative. What are the correct measures?

Social Media Working for Customer Service

Seen evidence of this recently, but it is typically at the touch of our fingertips these days.

Social Media not Working for Customers Service?
Despite promises to eliminate long waits on hold and speed consumers to empowered associates, the use of social media to handle customer service issues remains stubbornly ineffective for most retailers. How optimistic are you that social media will ultimately develop into an effective customer service tool?  ... 

Light Bulb as Single Source for a Smart Home

Update: More out of CES.  New solutions for the smart home.
Edison would be impressed.  A Challenge to Amazon Echo?

In Business Insider: 
" ... It's a lightbulb that's also a Bluetooth wireless speaker. It can also search the web, read your calendar for appointments, and text or alert you if it detects noises like a smoke alarm or a baby crying. Oh, and of course, it will also light a dark room.  ...  "

The Sengled Voice bulb.   A technical look.

Update:  Very related, the Sony Multifunctional Light.  More AI will be everywhere,

Study: Brick and Mortar Appeals to Customers

Study: Brick-and-mortar still appeals to customers
According to the annual Global Shopper Study from mobile solutions provider Zebra Technologies Corp., more than three-quarters (76%) of shoppers feel positively about shopping in stores and nearly one-half think that technology solutions are helping retailers enable and improve their shopping experience..... " 

Data Mining and Reporting Blog

Brought to my attention,  The Data Mining Reporting Blog, by Rosaria Silipo, Principal Data Scientist at KNIME.com AG.  The blog covers data analytics in general and not only KNIME.  Have added it to my reading list, looks to have some excellent technology value.  See the latest post:  Anomaly Detection for Predictive Maintenance with Time Series Analysis  ... of particular interest.

Thinking Practical Analytics Culture

In CustomerThink: Some good thoughts on the topic.  It is also a culture thinking about data, both available and needed. Plus creating an interaction between production value and experimental tools. And reapplying the work you do as useful packaged, understandable  services.

Why Knowledge Representation Matters

In CACM:   By Yoav Shoham   via David Geddes.

There is a big difference between the attention artificial intelligence (AI) is currently receiving and that of the 1990s. Twenty years ago, the focus was on logic-based AI, usually under the heading of knowledge representation, or KR, whereas today's focus is on machine learning and statistical algorithms. This shift has served AI well, since machine learning and stats provide effective algorithmic solutions to certain kinds of problems (such as image recognition), in a way that KR never did. However, I contend the pendulum has swung too far, and something valuable has been lost.

Knowledge representation is not a single thing. While I think an argument could be made about KR as a whole, I will be focusing on the "applied philosophy" aspect of it—the logical representation of commonsense notions, with an emphasis on clear semantical underpinnings.
I will make the case for the most part through a personal story. The story starts with a paper I published in 2009 in the Journal of Philosophical Logic, continues with a research project at Stanford and Duke, later with a company called Timeful, and concludes with Timeful being acquired by Google in 2015. The point of the story is there is a direct link between the original journal paper and the ultimate success of the company.  ... " 

Link to a longer article.

Mobile Beacons

In Adage: More updates on beacons.   They continue to expand.   " .... Mobile Beacons to Explode, but They Aren't a Silver Bullet for Tracking ... Macy's, McDonalds and Target Have Lately Signed New Beacon Contracts ... " 

Slack as Company of the Year

Can Slack replace Email?   Just recently was introduced to the growing social network, for a specific, but broadly defined topic.  Will it work to drive focus?   Unlike other social spaces, will it get things done  (Twitter?) , without a lot of deadening overhead (EMail?).  I like it so far.  But how much different is it?  Its new, so it can be focused, but for how long?  I was intrigued by Slack's statement of  " ... "teachable principles" he wants his people to internalize. They include "Don't make me think," "More clicks is OK," and "Data won't settle any interesting question."  ... ".     Will report back with a full impression after a few months.   True ... Data alone won't answer any interesting questions.   More in Inc.com which said Slack was their company of the year.

Checkout in the Aisle

Mashable writes:   An old idea, back again.  Have followed it and related tests for years. How relevant will it be in an online world?  Now from Diebold.

How Well Does Personalized Marketing Work?

In K@W:  How well does personalized marketing work?    " ...   “People Who Liked This Study Also Liked”: An Empirical Investigation of the Impact of Recommender Systems on Sales Volume and Diversity,” and “When Do Recommender Systems Work The Best? The Moderating Effects Of Product Attributes And Consumer Reviews On Recommender Performance,” were co-authored by Hosanagar and Carnegie Mellon business analytics professor Dokyun Lee.

Hosanagar recently sat down with Knowledge@Wharton to discuss what his research reveals about when we’re most likely to be influenced by those clever algorithms and how these systems are changing the way we discover new products.  ... " 

Microsoft R Server

A bit surprising  But a great way to make a strong connection to modern anaytics.   Available free for experimentation.   What are its advantages over open source R?

Microsoft R: One Big Data Tool To Rule Them All?
Microsoft  wants a slice of the big data analytics pie. Truth be told, it has already baked and served itself up a portion by acquiring the R-language and data crunching specialist Revolution Analytics, a purchase it completed in spring of 2015.

In non-developer-speak then, R is a popular open-source statistical computing language well suited to the ‘new’ world of enterprise class big data analytics. For the record, we used to call this stuff ‘data mining’ back in the 1990s (some people still do), so don’t believe ALL the big data hype you read — regardless, times have changed and we’re better at it now.

In Microsoft’s own words, the pitch here is as follows, “Microsoft R Server is your flexible choice for analyzing data at scale, building intelligent apps and discovering valuable insights across your business.” .... " 

Choosing Empathy

In the Edge on choosing empathy.  " ..... If you believe that you can harness empathy and make choices about when to experience it versus when not to, it adds a layer of responsibility to how you engage with other people. If you feel like you're powerless to control your empathy, you might be satisfied with whatever biases and limits you have on it. You might be okay with not caring about someone just because they're different from you. I want people to not feel safe empathizing in the way that they always have. I want them to understand that they're doing something deliberate when they connect with someone, and I want them to own that responsibility. ... " 

Psych and Economics in Hindsight

In Knowledge@Wharton: 
" .... In the new book Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics, Richard Thaler, coauthor of Nudge and a behavioral science and economics professor at the University of Chicago, recounts his struggle to change the way traditional economists look at the impact of human psychology on economics. Wharton operations, information and decisions professor Katherine Milkman recently spoke with Thaler about why he wrote the book, where behavioral economics has had the most impact, and which decision-making bias he would remove if he had a magic wand. ... "  ... “The evidence for hindsight bias is overwhelming, and this has huge managerial implications.”

Shopping in the Virtual Aisle

Another example of virtual aisle interaction.  See my previous writing on this approach.   The laboratory approach is useful for easily setting up experiments, but it also needs the right kind of behavioral expert to drive the experiment and leverage the data.

Re-using Analytics Models in the Enterprise

Just revisited the Knime open source analytics visualization capability. In particular for the ability to   re-use templates for analytics in the enterprise.   Anyone out there doing this today?  The visual workflow method is appealing, though still technically less that easy for a non developer.  Could such a system help to automate the design of analytics based on a business process model?  Provide off the shelf models for given process model segments?

Changing Future Supply Chain

In Gartner.  Excellent piece on transitions that will shape the future supply chain.  " ... Six transitions that will shape the future of Supply Chain ... ".   Worked this space for years. Worth a close look.

GE to Move HQ to Boston

Surprising somewhat.  Historically from Schenectady to NYC to Fairfield CT.  Now GE moves global HQ to Boston MA.   And in the WSJ.   Innovation, technology and university connections are touted.

Digital Watermarks

A method we experimented with:

Tech Partnership Looks Beyond the Bar Code With Digital Watermarks
Backers say watermark technology on product packaging can speed up supply chains and retail transactions   ... " 

Conversational Sensemaking

Dear Professors, Students, IBMers and others, 

Just a reminder about our Cognitive Systems Institute Group Speaker Series call this week, on Thursday,  ... will be Alun Preece from Cardiff University and Dave Braines from IBM  who will be presenting:  "Conversational Sensemaking."        .... Slides here.
   
We encourage those who join the calls to add questions and comments to the https://www.linkedin.com/groups/Cognitive-Systems-Institute-6729452on LinkedIn and we ask that you ask questions at the end of the call. ... " 

Digital Value in Customer Journey

 In McKinsey,  on becoming digital.   Journeys and digital destinies. Scale and speed is good too.

Speed and scale: Unlocking digital value in customer journeys
Even as organizations assemble digital building blocks for the long term, they also need short-term, pragmatic moves that meet customer expectations and protect core businesses today.

Digitization is a profound transformation.1 When a global bank reinvented its onboarding process for commercial clients, the results included dramatically reduced costs, a market-beating customer experience—and an exhausted organization wondering how ambitious it should be. Could it repeat what it just went through for the rest of its business? How could it possibly do more than one of these at the same time? Would it take years?

Companies that are achieving digitization at scale have found a better way. They have developed a distinct structure that enables them to digitize their most important customer experiences at scale and at speed—in a consistent way, with consistent resources, to produce consistent results. In doing so they transform much of the rest of their organizations, from product and process design through to technology and culture, becoming truly digital businesses. .... "  

More on Project Tango

I remember hearing about Google Tango as a means for augmented reality overlays of product and purchasing decisions.  And also as a means of modeling 3D spaces.   But Google sees it further in Robots and Drones.

-----------------------------------------

(Update on 9/30/2019)

We recently published an article that explains What Happened to Google's Tango?. The article covers the birth and death of Tango, how it has influenced the AR Technology, and a lot more.Although Tango is replaced by ARCore now, I still think it's worth being remembered, and the story of it could be useful to your readers.

Here's the article if you want to take a look: https://www.dailywireless.org/mobile/what-happened-to-google-tango/
It’d be wonderful if you can consider swapping out the broken link for our article.
Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you for your time.
Regards,

Luke Pensworth
Manager
Email: luke.ps@dailywireless.org
Web  : https://www.dailywireless.org/

----------------------------------------------------------

Towards an AI Health Care Boom

In FastCompany:  Good overview of the nearby AI possibilities.   During the first AI boom, it was the biggest surge research area, but quickly faded, primarily because even a narrow focus would not be useful enough.   " ... More than six billion dollars: That’s how much health care providers and consumers will be spending every year on artificial intelligence tools by 2021—a tenfold increase from today—according to a new report from research firm Frost & Sullivan. (Specifically, it will be a growth from $633.8 million in 2014 to $6,662.2 million in 2021.) ... " 

Open Innovation in CPG

Interview with my colleague Wayne Fisher

" ... For more than 25 years, Wayne Fisher worked for Procter & Gamble in a variety of Corporate R&D and Business Unit roles. 

He was an Upstream Product Development Manager, an Innovation Guide and a Technology Entrepreneur for P&G’s widely lauded Connect and Develop program. Wayne also introduced TRIZ and other innovation methodologies into the multinational, training thousands of engineers and scientists around the globe. He led the early discovery work on water soluble pouches, including Ariel laundry detergent Liquitabs and Cascade dishwashing detergent Action Pacs. Today, he is President of Rockdale Innovation and continues to work with P&G on a consultancy basis, as well as helping other multinationals install innovation best practices to drive revenue and profit growth. 

In this interview with IdeaConnection, Wayne shares his thinking about open innovation, the importance of effective problem definition, and the power and potential of creative problem solving. ... " 

Strategy vs Execution

Short,  interesting piece in the HBR, by Roger L. Martin:  " .... In a recent article, Paul Leinwand, Cesare Mainardi, and Art Kleiner presented some survey findings underscoring the well-established fact that few leaders (only 8%, according to their study) are good at both creating good strategies and putting them into practice. But they seemed to almost completely ignore a really interesting finding from their research, which is that leaders who are good at strategy are nearly always also good at execution — to the extent that making a distinction between the two is futile. ... " 

January February Analytics Magazine

" ... The cover story of the January/February issue of Analytics focuses on the relatively new management method of big data, it is all about what’s driving all the excitement concerning data lakes. But dive and swim at your own risk. You can also read about investments in the human element of analytics, leveraging predictive analytics, and the power of smart technologies. .... 

Analytics Magazine Digital Copy
Features

Deep Dive into Data Lakes
The premise, the promise, the potential of a new method for managing big data.
By Sean Martin

Get Smart: Digital Business Innovation
Smart technologies, services, processes and people add up to smart systems for every sector.
By Haluk Demirkan and Bulent Dal

Customer Lifetime Value
Leveraging predictive analytics adds key new insights for estimating familiar marketing metric.
By Matthew Lulay

Corporate Profile: BNSF Railway
Operations research and advanced analytics team helps power rail giant’s success now and in the future.
By Amy Casas

Changing the Game
How analytics and village stability operations can help defeat violent extremism around the world.
By Doug Samuelson  ..... " 

Open Source GO Language in IBM Mainframes

IBM hopes that Google's language, already in use by Docker and Kubernates, will stretch the open source ecosystem for its mainframes ... 

Google's Go, considered an up-and-coming language with usage in projects like Docker and Kubernetes, has netted another feather in its cap: a port to IBM's z Systems mainframe platform.

The port was cited on a GitHub list of repositories from the Linux on IBM z Systems Open Source Team. While IBM's mainframes are often viewed as legacy technology from years past, IBM wants to expand the horizons of its big iron systems with Go. ....  "

More on Go.

Social Media Analysis Using Watson Analytics

Saw a presentation today of the use of Watson Analytics using Twitter data.  Using the recent Golden Globes presentation as an example.  This comes from the collaboration between Twitter and IBM .  This demonstrates the use of automated and directed visual analytics and storytelling using Watson Analytics.   Good example.  For now this capability is free as part of Watson analytics.  Presentation Slides here.

Big Brand Virtual Reality

In VentureBeat: 
Big brands such as Coca-Cola, Nissan and HBO have been dabbling with virtual reality experiences, with some calling it the final frontier. Virtual reality could solve some of advertising's biggest issues, such as viewability and making messages stand out, writes Virool's Alex Debelov ... " 

Future of Ethics of People and Machines

Cambridge University looks at AI ethics in the interaction of people and machines.

The future of intelligence: Cambridge University launches new centre to study AI and the future of humanity ... 

The University of Cambridge is launching a new research centre, thanks to a £10 million grant from the Leverhulme Trust, to explore the opportunities and challenges to humanity from the development of artificial intelligence. 

Machine intelligence will be one of the defining themes of our century, and the challenges of ensuring that we make good use of its opportunities are ones we all face together
Huw Price

Human-level intelligence is familiar in biological “hardware” – it happens inside our skulls. Technology and science are now converging on a possible future where similar intelligence can be created in computers. ... " 

Who Owns the Data?

In CIO Today:  Who owns the IOT data?  Key legal challenge, with likely considerable differences globally.  Also a big part of understanding data as an asset.

Darker Side of Chatbots

Good to see this evolving direction, and the comment below is interesting.    Having looked at and compared NL interfaces from a number of chatbot perspectives, while the measurement may be hard, you do know when you are not understood.  Derived performance measure can be used.

In CWorld:  " ... An A.I. chatbot makes sense for Google. Consumers are increasingly going mobile and searching (pun intended) for an alternative to search. Current alternatives, such as Google's own Google Now or its competitors -- Siri, Cortana, Alexa and others -- all suffer from imperfect voice recognition. And in their state of evolution, they can be unsatisfying to use.

John Underkoffler, the CEO of Oblong Industries (and creator of the Minority Report and Iron Man user interfaces), told me recently that "we haven't built a good feedback system yet" (for voice assistants) that keeps you informed in real time about how well the system is understanding you. Virtual assistants also require a conscious decision to stop doing the current task and actively seek out the virtual assistant, which is a reflex many users haven't developed. ... " 

Further  

Engineers to get the Data Ready

Astronomer.io   Brought to my attention

" ... With the explosion of big data, the data scientist has become a game-changer in big companies. And a new, crucial supporting role has emerged: the data engineer.

The data engineer's job is to get the data ready, into one place, and accessible for the data scientist.

We help them make that happen. ... " 

Marketing and Research Driven by Data

Overview of the concept and a discussion.  I would add, more real time oriented data linked to decisions.   Also seeking out not only the data, but patterns that can be derived from data.

What marketing and research must do differently in a data driven age 
Gartner defines data driven marketing as "acquiring, analyzing and applying information about customer and consumer wants, needs, context, behavior and motivations." However, the marketer and marketing researcher should ask: "But what should I actually do differently to be data driven?" How well equipped are CPG marketers today to use data driven marketing approaches? ... ' 

Law Enforcement Using Threat Scores

In the WaPo:  Surveillance and approach being directed by 'threat score'.  Crime Prediction?   A very simple and natural approach to sort out attention.  But the vast amount of data being gathered and how the data is being leveraged, has raised privacy concerns.

A Completely On-Demand Economy: Purple

In GigaOM:

" .... The “gig economy” is taking some knocks this month. But a new startup called Purple is showing us why on-demand labor is actually headed for a boom–no matter what employees or regulators say .... 

The inconvenient, infeasible parts of “work” that can’t be done by a robot are simply farmed out to people, mechanical turk-style, putting workers today in a second machine age where humans and automated systems work together to complete all sorts of isolated tasks.

Purple, a gas delivery startup, is one sign of where things are going. While the government and labor ponder the future, Purple is already selling a service that allows you to “order” gasoline for your car and have it fueled wherever the vehicle is currently parked. .... "   

And in BusinessInsider.

Creative Leadership

In the HBR: Examples of creative innovation leadership.  From IDEO and elsewhere.

IBM talks Watson at CES

From last weeks CES, some interesting details about projects and IBM background. Again, indications that quite an investment is being made.  I am struck by the fact that the companies involved are not the largest ... continuing to take a look at this.

Watson Projects.
IBM CEO on  the dawn of the cognitive era.

Healthcare Signage Displays

Brought to my attention, useful resource.

LG white Paper on healthcare digital displays ...
In healthcare, digital signage displays are changing the way patients receive customer service and information. Download this whitepaper to learn more about digital signage solutions that will improve the experience of your patients, visitors and staff.  .... "  

Smart Supply Chains

A long thought of idea.   Real time transparency.

Supply Chain Management
Companies use connected devices for smarter supply chains
Major companies including General Motors and Whirlpool are looking to the Internet of Things to improve supply chain efficiency and add smart features such as passive sensors, real-time trackers and networked readers to manage equipment, optimize systems and improve security, Drew Robb writes. Shaun Kirby writes that, similarly, Internet of Everything technologies will revolutionize the agrifood supply chain and help brands track the full life-cycle of their products. .. " 

Turning Data Visualization into a Science

Good piece on how data visualization was turned into a science by William S Cleveland and others. In particular making data visualization more concise, exact and paying attention to elements of human perception.  Article has a number of good example visuals.

See also William S. Cleveland's Site at Purdue.

Machine Learning and IOT: Sensors and Anaytics

Sensors and Analytics in the Internet of Things.
" ... Ajit Jaokar discusses data science and IoT: sensor data, real-time processing, cognitive computing, integration of IoT analytics with hardware, IoT’s impact on healthcare, automotive, wearables, etc. ... " 

A Podcast.

Smartphone with Augmented Reality

A concept we played with for some time.   Is it a better wat to engage, to buy?  How does it change the very nature of advertising?   Overlaying marketing with your mobile reality.  We primarily studied it on venues like cart mounted displays.    In Adage: " .... Lenovo Unveils First Smartphone With Google's Tango Augmented Reality .... Google's Tango overlays info and objects onto phone displays ... Lenovo has unveiled a smartphone that can see and map out its surroundings with help from an Alphabet 3D-scanning technology. ... "     More about project Tango.

Can Robots Wash the Dishes

What is going on at MIT's CSAIL?  Long after we visited during the AI explosion.   Moving towards  a better understanding of the real world, and using that to forward simulate a decision.  And knowing that the predictive forecast will sometimes be wrong.

Explaining Quantum Computing

I have been challenged several times recently to explain the how and why of quantum computing. Just discovered this video that is useful.  Also from a TEDX talk.  All from a broader piece in the Guardian.   But no mention of the D-Wave efforts, now being tested in the real world.

GE Predix for Big Data and Analytics

Starting to get an introduction to Predix.  Impressive so far.  Look forward to see its broad availability.  See my other posts this year on Predix development and how it relates to analytic methods.  Note the paper talks about its relationship to the Industrial Internet.

" ... Connect. Optimize. Win.
A Software Platform for the Next Industrial Era

Powered by Predix, the next generation of industrial applications will bring together IT and OT, big data and advanced analytics, social business technologies, cloud deployment, and mobile-centric user interfaces..... 

White Paper with registration. 

Snickers Data Mined for Impulse Targets

In Digiday:  Snickers mines behavioral data to find 'windows of impulsivity'.  .... Ad targeting is moving into a new area: moods. Snickers maker Mars is mining behavioral data to pinpoint people at their weakest moments for snacking: being happy, bored or even stressed. ... " 

Gershenfeld Discusses Fab Labs

  Via CACM:  Neil Gershenfeld talks about Fab Labs.   We met him in the early establishment of the idea of the Center for Bits and Atoms.

In MIT News

" ... Neil Gershenfeld, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA), launched the Fab Lab a decade ago. Since then, hundreds of Fab Labs have been installed in dozens of countries. In an interview, Gershenfeld discusses the growth and impact of this outreach project.

He notes the CBA runs a digital fabrication research facility, which contains tools worth millions of dollars, with a research roadmap leading up to a Star Trek-style replicator.

The facility was created with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation, and Fab Labs began as a modest project for the agency to expand access to these capabilities.

A Fab Lab today includes three-dimensional scanning and printing, large-format and precision machining, computer-controlled lasers and knives, surface-mount electronics production, embedded programming, and computing tools for design and collaboration. ... " 

Known Discoveries in Data

Was just informed of the below.  Exploring, will have further comments

Known Discoveries in Data, Powered by IBM Watson Analytics
This is a place for the curious. Where hidden data insights around some of today’s most provocative topics become known. Indulge your investigative nature and read what others have found in the data sets provided. Then challenge their findings through your own data exploration. Who knows what you’ll uncover?  ... ' 

Organizing for the Future

McKinsey writes about how organizations will change as talent market squeeze capabilities: " ... Platform-based talent markets help put the emphasis in human-capital management back where it belongs—on humans. ... " 

What Does the Physical Internet look Like?

Not what does it looks like schematically, fascinating as well, but what does the wiring look like?  An article in the Atlantic shows some pictures.  Having had access to some associated secure wiring cabinets in the early days and once having been shown a room near San Diego, where the wires and links assembled to patch into a cable that then led across the Pacific Ocean.  It all can look very messy, but it perhaps remarkably works.   In part by its very redundant packet switching design.

Wirearchy of the Future of Work

An interesting short e-Book was brought to my attention via the Watson Predictioneers group on Slack:

Wirearchy - The eBook - Wirearchy  (Sketches for the Future of Work) 
While the Internet, the Web and hyperlinks are having a dramatic impact on all aspects of human activities,  the late-stage industrial era hierarchical workplace has strenuously resisted this impact. But people and information are now connected, computerized and mobile and these conditions will continue to grow and spread. This eBook is an exploration of critical issues    .... "

Data Related Research in FlipBoard

Colleague Walter Riker has set up a flipboard site called 'Data Related Research'.  In part to test the reach of Flipboard.  My blog is also being mirrored on Flipboard.  Let me know if you want access or have other ideas about using the venue.

Crowdsourcing for Big Business

Interesting play for the enterprise.    Especially for consumer facing goods. " ... Crowdfunding platform Indiegogo has officially launched its Enterprise division to bring high-end products to market by allowing backers to "vote with their dollars." We talk to early clients such as Shock Top beer and GE's FirstBuild,  .... Crowdfunding campaigns not only fund R&D, they're a forum for new, consumer-based ideas  ... "  

A Mapping of Machine Intelligence

Thoughtful, visual, piece in O'Reilly:

The current state of machine intelligence 2.0
Autonomous systems and focused startups among major changes seen in past year.
by Shivon Zilis December 10, 2015

Cartographical representation of a self-organizing map based on Wikipedia featured article data. Distance is inversely proportional to similarity. The "mountains" are edges between clusters..
Cartographical representation of a self-organizing map based on Wikipedia featured article data. Distance is inversely proportional to similarity. The "mountains" are edges between clusters.. (source: By Denoir on Wikimedia Commons).

A year ago today, I published my original attempt at mapping the machine intelligence ecosystem. So much has happened since. I spent the last 12 months geeking out on every company and nibble of information I can find, chatting with hundreds of academics, entrepreneurs, and investors about machine intelligence. This year, given the explosion of activity, my focus is on highlighting areas of innovation, rather than on trying to be comprehensive. Figure 1 showcases the new landscape of machine intelligence as we enter 2016 ... " 

Induction and Data Science

All business uses this method, if they know it or not.  But rarely systematically.   Good presentation:

" .... Data science is about finding signals buried in the noise. It’s tough to do, but there is a certain way of thinking about it that I’ve found useful. Essentially, it comes down to finding practical methods of induction, where I can infer general principles from observations, and then reason about the credibility of those principles.

Induction is the go-to method of reasoning when you don’t have all of the information. It takes you from observations to hypotheses to the credibility of each hypothesis. In practice, you start with a hypothesis and collect data you think can give you answers. Then, you generate a model and use it to explain the data. Next, you evaluate the credibility of the model based on how well it explains the data observed so far. This method works ridiculously well.  ... " 

Seeking Data Wisdom in Neuroscience

From CACM and Berkely Research:  Seeking data wisdom.  Somewhat of a squishy term.  But it implies data in context, here neuroscience,.    
" .... 
“In computational neuroscience, it is important to gauge how much variation there is in the signals — in this case, how much of this variation is due to the movies and how much is due to “noise,” Yu says.  “This is absolutely essential to determine how well the frames of a movie clip are encoded in the brain.”

Yu is now leading a project in collaboration with the Gallant Lab to apply  statistical machine learning analysis to determine how a neuron in  a key visual area of the brain, called V4,  responds to contours, and to the ability of the brain’s visual system to differentiate foreground and background in an image. These capabilities add crucial detail to what we see. ... " 

Gartner Quadrant Reports for Business Intelligence

Just reread the 2015 Gartner reports on Business Intelligence for BI planning purposes, provided by a vendor, " ... Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms ... "   nicely done, largely concur.  I have been involved with a number of these packages, an interesting evolution in the space.

Malice vs Competence in Real Worlds

In Engadget:   Stephen Hawking: 'The real risk with AI isn't malice but competence'.  For now, but malice can quickly follow.   As a physical scientist, what he studies is usually not trying to fool him.
Not the case in the 'real' world.

Customer Experience and Knowledge Management

 Saw this recently interacting with cable company.  The answer I needed was embarrassingly simple and easy.   In fact they had all the data to predict I would have the problem.   Yet, it ended up in hours of delay and figuring it out ourselves.   The chat interaction failed several times,  on their infrastructure, and that also added delay.  When I reconnected,  the new consultant could not find the transcript of the last interaction. Poor UX.    Left a lasting bad view of their approach.

From Linkedin:
" ... What makes a great customer service experience? It may be easier to answer this question if we look at what makes a poor customer service experience. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, 82% of customers consider accuracy and quality of information to be the most important attribute of the customer experience. Whatever channel your customers use to engage you, they expect their questions to be understood and to receive answers that will resolve their issues. In many cases, they also expect this to happen with a certain level of immediacy. .... "  

Ford Thinking of Linking to Wink and Echo

Link your automobile to the Smart Home? A kind of increased reach that may include hub technology and voice control.  An interesting play here.
 
" .... Ford is exploring linking smart devices like Amazon Echo and Wink to its vehicles to allow consumers to control lights, thermostats, security systems and other features of their homes from their car, and to stop, start, lock, unlock and check their vehicle’s fuel range from the comforts of their couch.

Ford is working to link the home automation devices with its vehicles through industry-leading Ford SYNC®. This comes as half of consumers say they will buy at least one smart home product in the next year, according to Icontrol Networks. ... " 

Neuromarketing Papers from 2015

From Warc, survey of 'best papers' from 2015 on neuromarketing.  With claims taking neuromarketing mainstream.  I disagree, it is still experimental, worth testing especially for advertising analysis.  See no evidence of clear value.  Have seen some softening even in that application.  Still now always in conjunction with other methods.

Virtual Realty as Next Frontier of Retail

Is Virtual Reality really practical in retail?   A next frontier.  For engagement, or for exploring complicated product use  in context?

Gathering in Random Forests

Random Forests. A notable ensemble-style method for analytic classification.  Particularly interesting to me because it uses more easily understood decision trees.     Some relationship to other clustering methods like K Means.  As it is available in R  Note that ensemble methods use multiple kinds (or parameters) of analytical models and compare their value on a given problem.  The approach is becoming increasingly used for tough problems.

Twitter vs Facebook

In Knowledge@Wharton:

" ... Twitter’s effort to find a new CEO is the latest struggle in a long list of challenges that the micro-blogging site has faced over the years. When the company launched its IPO in late 2013, Wall Street held out expectations that Twitter would one day rival social networking behemoth Facebook, which went public just 18 months earlier. But Twitter has stumbled and has yet to come close to rivaling Facebook on a number of key metrics and, more importantly, it appears increasingly unlikely that it ever will. ... " 

Whirlpool Builds in the Dash Buy Button

The general idea has been around for more than a decade .  I have been testing the Amazon Dash button since last year.    Finally it is being integrated for replenishment directly in appliances:

In The Verge:
Whirlpool's new smart appliances have Amazon Dash built in
Washer and dryer will tell you to buy more detergent

Last October, Amazon partnered with a host of companies to incorporate its Dash order functionality directly into some of their products. Where previously you could only make Dash orders via dedicated Wi-Fi-enabled buttons, the integration with Amazon's Dash Replenishment Service meant you were able to buy printer ink, pet food, and detergent right from your appliances. Now Whirlpool — one of the first companies to commit to the service — has explained how its new connected appliances will work with Amazon's, integrating its Dash Replenishment Service directly into its mobile Smart Kitchen Suite app.    ..... " 

Robotics at Adidas

Addidas. An example of a company in transition to the use of robots to do manufacturing.  In Reuters: Adidas Robotics

The Value of Getting it Wrong

Being willing to get it wrong, and doing that a number of times to calibrate the inexactness of our methods and models, can be a useful means of both understanding the problem well, and figuring out how to improve its solution.   A broad look at the idea.

Business Optimization

Working at business process from the point of view of optimization.  Or, at least the improvement of  an understood system.   Understanding it can be hard, but we can start with a process model.  Some resources about the space from DSC.

The Cognitive Era

Recently at the Gartner Conference, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty explained the Cognitive Era in very simple language:

 " .... “It’s an era of technology and it’s an era of business,” she said. “As an era, think of this, these are systems that understand not just data, unstructured data, but are more differentiating. They reason and they learn. "

 This is a simple description of cognitive systems, and it’s easy to remember: they understand, reason, learn. Or URL, if you want a simple and familiar mnemonic to remember.

 That's the "how". But you might also ask: what does it mean to me and my industry, what does it mean to the markets where I live, etc? "Let's start today with how this affects me.”   ... ' 

Free Field Guide to Data Science

Very nicely done, 126 page, free and shareable introduction to Data Science by Booz Allen Hamilton.  Starts very simply, fine for an executive intro.  Takes you much further, but never gets very technical.   Lots of useful practical hints and advice.  Many visuals, a bit overdone, but those that are meant to be are very informative.   Attention is paid to the embedded business decision aspects of results.   Also covers the team aspects of doing data science.  Worth scanning or reading.

HBR on the Future of Cars

In the HBR:  How should we think about the future of cars?  Autonomous,   Intelligent.  As a service?  Regulatory?   Liability?   Beyond?

Building Virtual Reality Cities

An interesting example that reminds me of Second Life.   But of course now using headgear rather than on screen.  Is the difference in 3D quality important for this kind of experience?   " .... Imageen has launched a new virtual reality (VR) experience from Estudiofuture, Tarraco VR, now available for download on Gear VR for free. Tarraco VR allows users to travel to the 2nd Century, the ancient city of Tarraco, and view the many entertainment wonders the era offers. ... " 

Samsung Suggests Large Frig Touchscreens

We experimented with having 'smart screens' on the frig,  Samsung and LG made them, but was unclear how many they sold. With the advent of the tablet, you could just hang one on the door. and  Now Samsung has put a very large touchscreen on a frig, to be shown at CES.   The Family Hub Refrigerator.   Why?  Show whats inside without opening door.  Display refrigerator art. Commission frig art.  Sell Ad space and touch to buy.   Loyalty enticements.    Link to smart home configuration?  Show when inhabitants were coming home.  Display recipes and timing? Link to smoke and entry alarms.   Show who is at the front door.  And ... ?

Simulating Inexact Spreadsheet Numbers

A free, open source package called Guesstimate was just brought to my attention.  In Beta.  Overview article here.  Essentially a means for modeling uncertain values in your models.  We used a similar, commercial approach that I assume is still out there.   Nice idea, but does require considerable statistical assumptions about distributions that can be important.   This is a standalone 'spreadsheet', rather than a spreadsheet add-on, which can also be a problem for existing business use.   Try it here.  Similar things can be done with commercial packages like SPSS and SAS.

IBM Apple Deal gets to 100th App

IBM-Apple deal reaches key milestone with 100th enterprise app
Competitors may find it hard to match this pace, one analyst suggests
by Katherine Noyes   Via Simon Porter

When IBM and Apple forged their partnership last year to bring new mobile apps to the corporate world, their promise of bringing 100 such apps to market by the end of 2015 was widely considered an ambitious goal. Sure enough, though, it now looks like they've hit their target right on schedule.

IBM has delivered more than 100 IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps through the partnership, it announced Wednesday, each combining its big-data and analytics capabilities with Apple's user experience. ... "  

More AI in the Everyday World

In Wired:  Which starts by describing work that Chinese group Baidu is doing in this space, still in early prototype:   " ... one of the company’s latest prototypes. It’s called DuLight. The device contains a tiny camera that captures whatever is in front of you—a person’s face, a street sign, a package of food—and sends the images to an app on your smartphone. The app analyzes the images, determines what they depict, and generates an audio description that’s heard through to your earpiece. If you can’t see, you can at least get an idea of what’s in front of you. ... " 

Note its relationship to their personal assistant system Duer.

Sloan on the Emergence of the IOT

Sloan Review on the Internet of Things.   Many implications and risks:  " ... Yes, the potential insights from IoT are enticing. For example, it’s fun to think about the potential personal and even societal benefits from self-driving cars, such as fewer accidents, no problems with parking, more productivity while traveling, car sharing, greater infrastructure efficiency, etc. But perhaps a more profound implication is the data that they can collect. These cars will also be widely distributed “things,” gathering performance data that can help manufacturers diagnose problems, operational data that can help mechanics prevent failures, driver data that can help insurers understand risk, road data that can help cities improve infrastructure, etc. These kinds of insights, we’re ready for. ... " 

SmartThinQ Sensor from LG

How do you connect older home appliance devices to new networks?  I was pointed to LG's SmartThinQ sensor.  This was mentioned this past September in CNet:  

" ..... LG's new SmartThingQ sensor smartens up your old appliances ... Ever wanted a device that can notify you when your laundry load is done or when food in the fridge is about to spoil? LG's SmartThingQ claims to be able to do that and more. ... LG has already said it'll show off a new tablet at this week's IFA convention in Berlin. But that's far from the only gadget up the company's sleeve, as on Monday the South Korean electronics giant announced its new SmartThinQ Sensor. ... The sensor attaches to compatible home appliances to make them "smart-aware," feeding information to the user through a corresponding SmartThinQ app. ... " 

The Hacking of the Internet of Things

In Wired:   An overview of how the Internet of Things is being hacked.   Bottom line, it is being hacked in many places.

" ... And this year has made clearer than ever before that this Internet of Things introduces all the vulnerabilities of the digital world into our real world. .... Security researchers exposed holes in everything from Wi-Fi-enabled Barbie dolls to two-ton Jeep Cherokees. For now, those demonstrations have yet to manifest in real-world malicious hacks, says security entrepreneur Chris Rouland. But Rouland, who once ran the controversial government hacking contractor firm Endgame, has bet his next company, an Internet-of-Things-focused security startup called Bastille, on the risks of hackable digital objects. ... " 

A Look at last Years HPC Conference

In the CACM:   I used to cover High Performance Computing (HPC), topics for the enterprise.   Now the topic has seemed to be overtaken by volume rather than performance.  But no,  Torsten Hoefler overviews the recent conference.

Cognitive Systems for Manufacturing Supply Chains

 Enterra’s CEO, Stephen DeAngelis, Discusses Cognitive Computing in MD Magazine
In the Spring 2015 issue of Manufacturing and Distribution Executive (MD) magazine, Enterra’s President & CEO, Stephen DeAngelis, discusses how artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and advanced mathematics makes a powerful combination. It means that companies can reason and generate insights from data in ways that have never before been possible. Companies are beginning to transform from traditional organizations to digital enterprises. This transformation is less disruptive when an Enterprise Cognitive System™ (ECS) is used to augment ERP systems. To read the full article, click on this link. ... " 

Audi Telepresence Robotics

Maintenance was an area we looked at for tele presence and augmented reality.  Overlay blueprints and manuals over a machine for making update and repair more efficient.  Audi is doing this for repair.   In CWorld.