Mouser Electronics Named Global High Service Distributor of the Year by TE Connectivity
Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific Extends Partnership with Esker, Launches Digital Accounts Receivable Solution
HUBER+SUHNER Creates Ground-Breaking POLATIS Optical Switch Platform With Industry-Leading Capacity
Mouser Sponsors 2020 Global Create the Future Design Contest
Interview: Mellanox to Acquire World Leading Network Intelligence Technology Developer Titan IC to Strengthen Leadership in Security and Data Analytic
Neural Technologies, “Flexible Charging Is Critical to Leverage Profits With Increasing Complex Customer Services”
Genesis Launches Next-Generation G.fast-Based Products
Schneider Electric named one of the Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies for the third year in a row
Schneider Electric included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the third year in a row
QNAP Launches KoiMeeter Smart Video Conferencing Solution that Features Wireless Presentation, Real-time Transcription and Translation, and On-Premise
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Dynamic Spectrum Alliance to lead worldwide dynamic spectrum sharing collaboration at 2020 Global Summit
The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) has today released the agenda for its eighth annual DSA Global Summit. Offering a platform for industry professionals to collaborate with regulators and authorities on progressing dynamic spectrum sharing worldwide, the event is being held from 2 – 4 June 2020 in Paris, France. “Last year was very active for the success of spectrum sharing and regulation development, with many milestones reached. However, we are expecting an even more progressive year in 2020 with decisions about crucial new regulations being finalized worldwide,” said Martha Suarez, DSA President. “In our upcoming Global DSA Summit, we will condense the industry’s progress throughout the year into a three-day cooperative opportunity to develop the leading dynamic spectrum sharing solutions.” With global contributions from a variety of professional standpoints, the event promises rich and diverse insight into industry advancement. The event is set to start with a regulators workshop closed session, where open discussions with spectrum authorities will be held to highlight the challenges they face and how innovation in spectrum management can help to address them. The summit will host several technical sessions, each structured with effective collaboration in mind. In these, regulators, industry speakers, not-for-profit organizations and academics will exchange and discuss the latest dynamic spectrum access technologies. Most prominent on the agenda are the discussions into next generation Wi-Fi, TV White Space, millimeter Wave, Internet of Things (IoT) technology and Mid-Band Spectrum Sharing, focusing on Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and C-Band. All such topics have become increasingly salient over the past year and are projected to overhaul the current spectrum structure over the next 12 months. “We are committed to connecting the unconnected and underserved via affordable dynamic spectrum sharing techniques, and collaboration is key to driving spectrum sharing progress,” Martha continued. “For our 8th annual event, we would like to thank ARCEP and ANFR sincerely for contributing to our cause by kindly hosting us in Paris.” With significant developments taking place in spectrum sharing this year, the DSA 2020 Global Summit will be a key opportunity for all industry sectors to continue pushing forward the momentum of spectrum access that has been witnessed so far. Outcomes of the event can be followed on the DSA’s social media and on their website, with summaries being published after the summit is concluded.
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Toray Creates PICASUS VT, the World’s First Film Able to Transmit Vertically Incident Light and Reflect Obliquely Incident Light
Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has created PICASUS® VT, the world’s first film incorporating an optical function to allow light to pass through the front like glass and reflect obliquely incident light like a mirror. This revolutionary material opens new doors to applications in such areas as augmented and mixed reality for Head-Mounted Display (HMD) and Head-Up Display (HUD), and privacy filter and display films. The company is pushing ahead with research and development with this new film with a view to commercialization during the next three years. Conventional optical materials include transparent glass and plastic that transmit both vertically incident light and obliquely incident light, as well as materials that perform like metal films in reflecting light from those directions. To date, no optical materials have been able to control the directivity of light, notably by transmitting vertically incident light while maintaining high reflectance in reflecting light from oblique directions. PICASUS® VT employs Toray’s proprietary nano-lamination technology and provides high-precision control of the resin refractive index based on a new optical design. This thereby delivers completely new functionality by offering frontal light transparency while reflecting oblique light. Predecessor PICASUS® nano-laminated film reflects light of a specific wavelength with several hundred to 1,000 nanometer-thick layers. PICASUS® VT additionally controls the direction of light reflection and transmission. Used in HMD and HUD for Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR), PICASUS® VT could maintain the visibility of scenery as with transparent glass and plastic while displaying projection information more clearly than with regular transparent glass and plastic. Employed in privacy filter films for PCs and smartphones and in optical components for advanced displays, PICASUS® VT would help enhance display functions, notably by improving transparency and multi-angle showing to concentrate light and safeguard information from wandering eyes. Toray will continue leveraging its core technologies of synthetic organic and polymer chemistry, biotechnology, and nanotechnology to research and develop advanced materials that transform societies in keeping with its commitment to innovating ideas, technologies, and products that deliver new value.
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Mouser Electronics’ New Engineering Big Ideas eBook Explores Challenges in Design for Manufacturing
Mouser Electronics, Inc. announces Designing for Manufacturability , the third eBook in the Engineering Big Ideas series, part of Mouser’s award-winning Empowering Innovation Together™ program. In the new eBook, technical experts from Mouser and the electronics industry highlight the challenges facing the design for manufacture (DFM) phase, where engineers begin refining a prototype to be suitable for mass replication. “The Design for Manufacture phase can often be the most challenging point in product development, requiring designers to meet the physical, functional, and budgetary demands for mass production,” said Kevin Hess, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Mouser Electronics. “This latest Engineering Big Ideas eBook provides useful information on the steps necessary to prepare prototypes for replication.” The new Designing for Manufacturability eBook features in-depth articles from industry experts including John Teel, founder of Predictable Designs, a company dedicated to helping companies and inventors develop and launch new electronic products. Teel’s article offers valuable advice on preparing products for regulatory requirements and certifications, while other articles provide information on choosing a manufacturing partner, selecting the best components, and refining designs through continuous innovation. The Engineering Big Ideas series is supported by Mouser's valued suppliers Analog Devices, Intel®, Microchip Technology and Molex. The Empowering Innovation Together program has been one of the most recognized and notable electronic component marketing programs since 2015, highlighting a range of innovative developments from IoT and smart cities of the future to robotics technologies.
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QNAP Releases Intel Dual-Core TS-251D—A Multimedia NAS with PCIe Expandability
QNAP® Systems, Inc. today launched the 2-bay TS-251D NAS. Powered by an Intel J4005 dual-core processor, the TS-251D can be used with QNAP’s smart AI photo management application, QuMagie, which integrates AI image recognition to group similar photos together in album “People”, “Things” and “Places”. The 4K media transcoding and streaming capabilities of the TS-251D brings users an excellent and satisfying cross-device multimedia experience. The TS-251D also provides a PCIe slot for expanding its core functionality. Powered by an Intel® Celeron® J4005 dual-core 2.0GHz processor (burst up to 2.7 GHz), DDR4 RAM (up to 8GB), one Gigabit LAN port, and supports SATA 6Gbps drives. The TS-251D provides dependable read/write speeds and Intel® AES-NI 256 hardware-accelerated encryption to secure sensitive and confidential data on the NAS. The TS-251D also supports snapshots, allowing users to quickly recover data in the event of accidental deletion/modification or ransomware attack. "The TS-251D provides multiple possibilities for users to expand NAS capacity and integrates AI image recognition for home users to store large photo collections,” said Jason Hsu, Project Manager at QNAP. “Additionally, the TS-251D also features 4K transcoding and 4K-capable HDMI output for users to enjoy a comprehensive home multimedia experience.” Hsu added. Users can easily expand the TS-251D functionality through the PCIe slot. A QNAP QXG – 10GbE/5GbE network expansion card can be configured with an existing CAT 5e cable for upgrading NAS connectivity to a high-speed network environment. A QM2 card can be installed for adding M.2 SSD caching and 10GbE connectivity, a compatible wireless adapter—QNAP QWA-AC2600 to create a wireless storage and streaming environment, and a USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) card for increasing the number of USB ports. The TS-251D’s App Center provides a wide range of productivity tools including the following: QmailAgent for centrally managing multiple email accounts, Notes Station 3 provides higher efficiency for collaborative note-taking and workgroups, Qfiling automates user workflows for improved efficiency and productivity, Qsirch for quick file searches. A variety of streaming applications, including Cinema28 and Qmedia allow users to enjoy a smooth multimedia experience using different streaming protocols, and Multimedia Console consolidates all QTS multimedia applications into one app for users to centrally manage all multimedia apps. Users can also use QNAP’s remote control RM-IR004 (sold separately) with the QButton app to customize button functions for easy navigation. Key specifications of new models: • TS-251D-2G: Intel® Celeron® J4005 dual-core 2.0 GHz processor (burst up to 2.7 GHz) with 2GB RAM (1 x 2GB) • TS-251D-4G: Intel® Celeron® J4005 dual-core 2.0 GHz processor (burst up to 2.7 GHz) with 4GB RAM (1 x 4GB) Tower model; dual-channel DDR4 SODIMM RAM slots (user upgradable to 8GB); hot-swappable 2.5/3.5-inch SATA 6Gbps HDD/SSD; 1 x PCIe Gen 2.0 x4 slot; 1 x Gigabit LAN ports; 1 x HDMI version 2.0, up to 4K UHD; 2 x USB 3.0 Type-A ports, 3 x USB 2.0 Type-A ports; 1 x USB-copy button; IR sensor
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QNAP Delivers Smooth and Secure User Experience for Remote Virtual Machines with Teradici PCoIP(R) Technology
QNAP® Systems, Inc. (QNAP), a leading computing, networking and storage solution innovator, has added support for Teradici PCoIP (PC-over-IP) technology and Teradici Cloud Access Software to provide a secure, smooth and flexible end-to-end hybrid cloud solution. PCoIP is an advanced remote display protocol developed by Teradici to provide end users with on-premises or cloud-based virtual desktops or virtual workstations. Designed to deliver a secure, high-definition and highly responsive computing experience, this virtual workspace architecture compresses, encrypts and transmits only pixels to a broad range of software clients, thin clients and mobile clients, providing the most optimized experience with applications, images, audio and video all delivered remotely. “Network latency can be a severe issue when connecting remotely to virtual machines, and Teradici’s PCoIP technology resolves it completely, while offering several additional benefits for both IT teams and end users” said Alfred Li, Product Manager of QNAP, adding “Installing Teradici Cloud Access Software on multiple remote NAS VMs offers users a desktop experience comparable to connecting with a local computer, while also securing their data inside central systems. With its pixel transmission feature and encryption technology, the PCoIP protocol ensures that no one can tamper with the data or infiltrate the applications by compromising the local devices.” In addition, QNAP Virtualization Station supports GPU pass-through, which leverages GPU acceleration and offloads CPU utilization to provide better performance for image processing and computer graphics. PCoIP technology supports this scenario, providing the capability to even play 4K Ultra HD video smoothly via remote VM. To use PCoIP technology on QNAP NAS, purchase the appropriate Teradici Cloud Access Software licenses and install the PCoIP Client on your PC and PCoIP Agent on your VM. Then, install Cloud Access Connector in your cloud or on-premises environment and specify a Domain Controller as required. Finally, with the Teradici Cloud Access Manager service, an administrator can centrally and securely deploy, manage, and scale virtual desktops and virtual workstations.
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Mouser and Grant Imahara Showcase Contract Manufacturing in “Engineering Big Ideas” Video Finale
Mouser Electronics, Inc. and celebrity engineer Grant Imahara today released the final Engineering Big Ideas video, the latest series in Mouser’s award-winning Empowering Innovation Together™ program. The series’ final installment takes viewers to Silicon Valley, where Imahara meets with Beth Kendrick, President of Valley Services Electronics (VSE) — a full-service manufacturer that assembles custom printed circuit boards (PCB), specializing in low-volume and prototype electronics services. The Engineering Big Ideas series is supported by Mouser’s valued suppliers Analog Devices, Intel®, Microchip Technology and Molex. “Manufacturing is often one of the last and most important stops on the electronic design engineer’s journey to product creation,” said Glenn Smith, President and CEO of Mouser Electronics, an authorized global distributor of the newest semiconductors and electronic components. “In order to push products through to the finish line, it is essential for product engineers to be on the lookout for any red flags when selecting components for their products and then when choosing the right manufacturing partner.” The new video goes behind the scenes with Kendrick and the VSE team, who share first-hand advice for new product innovators and highlight what creators should look for in a PCB assembly (PCBA) manufacturer to ensure a smooth go-to-market process. The team describes how they broke through the confines of offshore manufacturing norms and what that means for today’s innovators. “Asking all of the key questions, the right how, why and what, to potential manufacturing partners is critical to ensuring your vision and product come to fruition. We are excited to showcase this last step,” Imahara added. The global distributor’s Empowering Innovation Together program has been one of the most recognized and notable electronic component marketing programs since 2015, highlighting a range of innovative developments from IoT and smart cities of the future to robotics technologies.
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QNAP Integrates Wasabi Cloud Object Storage for High Cost Efficiency and Exceptional Performance
QNAP® Systems, Inc. (QNAP), a leading computing, networking and storage solution innovator, today announced its collaboration with Wasabi Technologies, Inc. (Wasabi), a US-based cloud object storage company, for the integration of Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage into several QNAP solutions, including HybridMount, VJBOD Cloud, and Hybrid Backup Sync 3 (HBS 3). QNAP NAS users can now enjoy a cloud object storage service that offers simple pricing, great cost efficiency and uncompromising high performance. "By supporting the popular Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage service, we're giving QNAP NAS users more choices to freely build a hybrid cloud solution that is fast in response, high in cost efficiency, and flexible in expansion," said Josh Chen, product manager of QNAP. HybridMount is QNAP's file-based cloud storage gateway solution for accelerating access to major cloud storage services, such as Wasabi. The VJBOD Cloud block-based cloud storage gateway allows QNAP NAS users to accelerate cloud object storage access with additional local data store, further enhancing availability and reliability. HBS 3 is the latest version of QNAP's data backup/restore/synchronization solution to assist users with disaster recovery plans. HBS 3 can back up and synchronize data to supported cloud storage services. For these solutions, users can now select Wasabi as their cloud storage and enjoy versatile benefits including low cost and high performance. Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage is an enterprise class, tier-free, instantly available cloud storage solution that allows storing infinite amounts of data affordably. Wasabi provides an S3-compliant interface to use with storage applications, gateways, and other platforms. Wasabi brings all cloud storage services under one tier to reduce complexity and increase cost predictability for companies and enterprises. "The integration of QNAP's backup and cloud storage gateway software with Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage creates an affordable pathway for businesses to create a highly efficient hybrid cloud solution with easy and affordable pricing," said David Friend, co-founder and CEO of Wasabi.
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RoboSense Announces World’s First Public Road Test of Vehicle Equipped with Smart LiDAR Sensor at CES 2020
RoboSense, the leading autonomous driving LiDAR perception solution provider, announced today the world’s first public road test of a vehicle equipped with a Smart LiDAR Sensor at CES 2020. The RoboSense Smart LiDAR car, featuring the award-winning RS-LiDAR-M1 Smart LiDAR, will be running outside the Las Vegas Convention Center daily during CES 2020, showing the latest technological progress in autonomous vehicle LiDAR. Simultaneous exhibitions will be held at RoboSense’s CES Booth #6138 at the LVCC, North Hall showcasing the real-time 3D point cloud data on a vehicle equipped with the multi-LiDAR fusion system. First MEMS Smart LiDAR Sensor to Incorporate Sensor Hardware, AI Perception Algorithms, & IC Chipsets The RoboSense RS-LiDAR-M1 Smart LiDAR is the world’s first MEMS Smart LiDAR Sensor to incorporate sensor hardware, AI perception algorithms, and IC chipsets, transforming conventional LiDAR sensors from an information collector to a complete data analysis and comprehension system, providing essential information for autonomous vehicle decision-making faster than ever before. The RS-LiDAR-M1 is the winner of the CES Innovation Award for two consecutive years in a row, 2019 and 2020. RoboSense Co-Partner and Vice President Dr. Leilei Shinohara, said, “Based on extensive data optimization, RoboSense’s algorithm performance and software stability and reliability have proven to have many key advantages. Developed by RoboSense after more than a decade of exhaustive research in perception technology, it has combined the deep learning-based AI algorithm performance advantages with traditional algorithms to provide functional safety. Since 2017, RoboSense’s algorithms have gained more than 100 global partners for various types of autonomous driving scenario certifications.” World’s First & Only Smart LiDAR Capable of Real Road Tests on Open Roads At CES and on the streets of Las Vegas, the RoboSense RS-LiDAR-M1 is demonstrating that it is the world’s first and only smart LiDAR capable of real road tests on open roads. The road tests showcase the advantages of RoboSense’s RS-LiDAR-M1 smart LiDAR as compared to other LiDAR, including: RS-LiDAR-M1 Features: • Provides high-resolution 3D point cloud data faster than traditional LiDAR. • Outputs structured semantic-level comprehensive environment information in real-time, including RoboSense’s own high-precision positioning, free space detection, dynamic object tracking, and obstacle detection, identification, and classification for autonomous vehicle decision-making, improving autonomous driving safety. • Helps OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers quickly deploy LiDAR into mass-produced autonomous vehicles and ADAS systems, saving research time and cost. • The final serial production version of the RS-LiDAR-M1 Smart will include additional functions, such as automatic calibration, window fog detection, sleep mode, and automatic wake-up to further improve autonomous driving feasibility and safety, saving time on maintenance. • Multi- LiDAR fusion system synchronous display. 128 Laser Beam System & Fastest Mass-produced Short-range LiDAR for Blind Spot Detection During CES 2020, the RoboSense 128-beam LiDAR RS-Ruby and the short-range blind spot LiDAR RS-BPearl will also be showcased at CES with a public road demo and simultaneous demonstration at the RoboSense Booth. This super high-performance 128-beam LiDAR RS-Ruby possesses an ultra-high resolution of 0.1°, capable of object image detail with near pixel-level scanning. Combined with the range performance of 200m for a 10% reflectivity target, the RS-Ruby is capable of obstacle perception from a long distance of 200 meters. Meanwhile, the sensor has achieved a perfect balance between the consistency and distinction of reflectivity, further facilitating accurate road sign extraction and localization. The RS-BPearl, the first mass-produced short-range LiDAR for blind-spot detection, reaches the minimum detection range of less than several centimeters, with hemispheric FOV coverage of 90 ° * 360 °, which not only precisely identifies objects around the vehicle’s body, but can also detect the actual height information in particular scenarios, such as with bridge tunnels and culverts, further improving autonomous driving decisions and greatly improving car safety. RS-Fusion-P5 has included 4 embedded RS-BPearl around the vehicle and one RS-Ruby on the top, making it the perfect multi-LiDAR fusion solution for Robo-Taxi. It is able to achieve full coverage of the sensing area with zero blind spots in the vehicle's driving space. RoboSense Partner Demonstrations at CES 2020 RoboSense has established partnerships with many companies throughout the entire industry chain, including manufacturers of semiconductors and chipsets, global automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and autonomous driving solution providers. RoboSense has partnerships with numerous industry leaders who will be announcing partnerships and co-demonstrating with RoboSense at CES, including ON Semiconductor, Xilinx, Horizon, AutoX, and Freetech. Wade Appelman, Vice President of ISG, SensL Division, ON Semiconductor, said, “The combo of RoboSense LiDAR with the ON Semiconductor RD Series SiPM family of products will perform much better than the older APD technology employed by legacy LiDAR manufacturers using mechanical scanning architectures, further enhancing the performance of the RS-LiDAR-M1 to be one of the best in the automotive LiDAR market.”
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AddOn Networks named in Top 10 Tech Solution Providers for DataCenters
AddOn Networks, the largest independent global supplier of compatible transceivers and optical connectivity solutions, has been recognised in the Top 10 Tech Solution Providers for Data Centers 2019 by CIO Applications Magazine. The accolade recognises AddOn Networks innovative data center technologies which enables data centers to support rising application demands. “We are delighted to be named among the Top 10 Tech Solutions Providers for Data Centers alongside key industry leaders in data center technologies,” said Matt McCormick, CEO of AddOn Networks. “This award recognises our commitment to providing low-cost, high-performing optical connectivity products which address emerging market needs.” The Top 10 list is selected by a panel of CEOs, CIOs, VCs and analysts, along with CIP applications’ editorial board. The selected winners in the top 10 were chosen for their technologies which enable data centers to progress performance capabilities to match rising demand. McCormick added, “As the data center market is becoming increasingly saturated with the increase in application demands, there is more pressure on data centers to adapt and evolve with the latest technologies. Our optical connectivity solutions enable data centers to deliver high-performance connectivity at a cost-effective price that meets OEM standards and features.” AddOn Networks has been innovating optical connectivity solutions for nearly 20 years and is now the world’s largest independent supplier of optical transceivers. Its cost-effective optical solutions and transceivers are leading the market by enabling data centers to take full advantage of leading-edge optical solutions. McCormick added, “In the future, we expect data centers to gear up to move towards 400G to manage evolving demands with faster speeds and higher bandwidth. We are looking forward to providing the data center market with new technologies as the landscape evolves and market needs increase.”
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Microsoft held Media Briefing to introduce its IoT Strategy and Prime Cases
▲ Microsoft held a media briefing on its IoT strategy and prime cases. In the morning of the 16th, Microsoft Korea introduced the strategy of activating the IoT (Internet of Things) ecosystem at its headquarters in Gwanghwamun, Seoul and introduced prime examples of domestic and foreign companies that are realizing digital transformation using Microsoft’s IoT and AI technologies. “Microsoft has more than 10,000 IoT partners, from the intelligent edge to the cloud, with a wealth of industry-wide expertise. Based on this, the company plans to introduce IoT solutions that are flexible and scalable to meet clients’ needs or internal processes, and helps them achieve business innovation.” Lee Keon-Bok, IoT Solution Architect at Microsoft Korea, said. ▲ Lee Keon-Bok, IoT Solution Architect at Microsoft Korea ▲ It has been surveyed that enterprises know the importance of IoT but are hesitant to adopt due to security issues and lack of manpower. ▲ Portfolio of Microsoft IoT Solutions First, Lee Keon-Bok announced the results of the IoT-related market trends and the survey results. The IoT market is expected to create tremendous innovations, including $130 billion in operating profit from IoT-related services and a 94% increase in IoT-related businesses by 2021. According to Microsoft’s ‘IoT Signals’ survey, 88% of companies said that IoT is very important for business success. Still, 48% of companies said that they lack the 'experienced engineers in developing IoT solutions' and 97% said they have security concerns. Here, Lee Keon-Bok said, “IoT engineers have to know all about devices, operating systems, services, etc., so it is natural that the number of engineers is insufficient.” To improve this, he introduced Microsoft’s IoT strategy, “IoT to be a little easier and simpler”. The IoT solution is composed of 70% mechanically simplified "architecture factors" and the remaining 30% of “differentiable factors and functions." However, Lee Keon-Bok explained that companies are spending too much time on “architecture factors” that are less differentiated. Hence, Microsoft provides industry-specific “architecture factors” so that companies can focus on “differentiable factors and functions”. In particular, Microsoft provides a solution characterized by productivity, hybrid, intelligence, and reliability for the section of “architecture factors” to make it easier and simpler for companies to implement IoT. In addition, the solution is an end-to-end solution based on the Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge, which has the intelligence to the edge and have the ability to handle the data generated near the end user. On top of that, it will also support business advancement. ▲ Microsoft Azure IoT Hub ▲ Hyundai Heavy Industries has improved employee skills by applying Microsoft IoT solutions. ▲ ULikeKorea was able to manage livestock through a bio capsule with Microsoft IoT solutions. Lee Keon-Bok introduced that Microsoft has a broad range of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge-based IoT solutions, including device-specific solutions. There are also solutions available in the form of SaaS and PaaS, as well as solutions applicable to the cloud and specific industries. Among them, ‘Azure IoT Hub’, available in the form of PaaS, supports two-way communication with millions of devices, device authentication with advanced security technology, fast device connectivity through provisioning service, and multiple device management. Moreover, he added that while ‘Azure IoT Hub’ processes 6 million messages a day, it costs only about $48 a month. Lee Keon-Bok then introduced five prime cases, including three Korean cases. First, Maersk, a shipping company that successfully tracks and monitors more than 30,000 refrigerated container shipments and enhances both stability and reliability through Microsoft IoT solution was explained. A mining business company, Newcrest also manages machines in real time at the mining site and consequently minimized downtime. To be specific, Newcrest applies Microsoft IoT solution to stop the mineral shredder when minerals of improper size enter the grinder. As for Korean companies, the case of Hyundai Heavy Industries, which improved the employees' ability by applying ‘Smart Welding Machine with Two-Way Monitoring IoT Technology’, was introduced. SK Telecom also adopted Microsoft’s IoT solutions at ‘Big Data Analytics Metatron Solution for Manufacturing’ and a new IoT platform service that will be soon released. Furthermore, the case of ULikeKorea was mentioned. The company is creating new business through disease prevention and health management of livestock based on big data and AI with IoT bio capsule.
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Replica Studios Leverages $2.5 Million Seed Round to Grow Private Beta and Expand Voice-Enabled AI Technology Solutions
Replica Studios, an artificial intelligence (AI) voice technology company, today announced it secured $2.5 million seed funding in a round led by The Venture Reality Fund with participation from Carthona Capital, Techstars, Mawson Ventures, and other select US-based private investors. The company will continue expanding its strategic partnerships as well as investing in its proprietary technology development into 2020. Replica is a leading AI voice replication and speech synthesis company building a suite of solutions across a wide array of verticals and use cases. For instance, the company is building video game solutions with leading game companies that use its voice-enabled AI technology to develop immersive and adaptive games where dialog with unique voice characters is created dynamically and evolves with a user’s play style. Replica’s Creator Tool, currently in private beta, enables users to quickly produce speech from scripts and dialog, with easy to use “style filters” that control the mood or emotion of the voice, and more advanced controls to fine tune performance characteristics like pacing and intonation. For artists looking to extend their relationships with fans, Replica offers a unique platform to produce personalised content in their own ‘Replica Voices’ for entertainment and promotional purposes. Voice actors, podcasters and streamers can commercialise their Replica Voices in a game, animation, or for use in advertising. While these use cases offer new revenue streams for IP holders, Replica is also developing advanced watermarking and voice identification solutions to help enforce Digital Rights and protect voice IP, which is essential to its core business. Shreyas Nivas, Co-Founder and CEO of Replica Studios, said: “In the past year, we’ve developed our proprietary AI and text-to-speech software, and launched our first beta product for creatives. We’re eager to launch these solutions and explore additional opportunities in media and content production, where we can offer dynamic and contextual personalisation in audio as a medium.” Bob Moczydlowsky, Managing Director of Techstars Music: “We invited Replica to join the 2019 Techstars Music program because we believe AI-generated voice assets will become a new form of digital IP from which music and entertainment companies will create new products. These voices will grow with -- and help expand -- the market for voice and audio. And a growing voice and audio market creates new revenue streams and new fan engagement opportunities.” Marco DeMiroz, Co-founder & General Partner of The Venture Reality Fund, said: “Replica offers the best platform and leadership to become the category leader in the rapidly growing voice-enabled AI technology market. The company has the ability to leverage its unique and scalable platform for a wide array of industries from advertising to gaming and entertainment and beyond.” Jennifer Powell, Owner of Jennifer Powell Agency, representing TheDiigitals, a digital modeling agency with virtual influencers such as Shudu, said: “Replica is not only creating an opportunity in the development of a new, scalable revenue stream for talent, but they are coupling that with what is most important to us - the capability to protect, manage and control a talent's voice IP.”
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DENT Launches To Simplify Enterprise Edge Networking Software
The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the launch of DENT, a project to enable the creation of Network OS for Disaggregated Network Switches in campus and remote enterprise locations. Under the Linux Foundation, DENT hopes to unify and grow the community of Silicon Vendors, Original Design Manufacturers (ODM), System Integrators (SI), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and end users to create an ecosystem of contributors around a full-featured network operating system. The initial use case will focus on the retail industry with premier members including Amazon, Cumulus Networks, Delta Electronics Inc, Marvell, Mellanox, Wistron NeWeb (WNC). Networking solutions today are customized for each market and each use case, whether telecom, cloud or enterprise data center markets. They use proprietary silicon (ASIC) for packet processing and closed operating systems to enable workloads and applications on a network switch. Disaggregation is the new way for Open Networking and has been well accepted in data centers and telecom infrastructures. However, in enterprise networking-- especially with distributed locations-- nothing currently exists for Enterprise Edge properties that fall outside the traditional public cloud as they have very specific requirements to take advantage of disaggregation and the networking stack. Remote campus locations and retail stores require a simple networking OS stack that is low cost and Linux-based. DENT is an Open Source project that will enable the community to build this solution without complicated abstractions. It uses the Linux Kernel, Switchdev and other Linux based projects to allow developers to treat networking ASICs and silicon like any other hardware. It simplifies abstractions, APIs, drivers and overheads that currently exist in these switches and on other open software. With new technologies like 5G, Edge, IOT, AI, the next generation of remote buildings, retail stores and enterprises will have a lot of innovative workloads and services close to the applications and users. Having a simple disaggregated Linux/SwitchDev-based switch to power the remote offices will enable an ecosystem of apps that simplifies and standardizes integration across the ecosystem. “The Linux Foundation will establish a neutral home from the start for DENT - vital for community infrastructure, meetings, events and collaborative discussions,” said Arpit Joshipura, GM of Networking at The Linux Foundation. ”Our goal is to create an open source, open participation technical community to benefit the ecosystem of solution providers and users focused on network operating system, control plane and management plane use cases across a variety of industry solutions.”
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Toray Opens R&D Innovation Center for the Future
Toray Industries, Inc., today held an opening ceremony at the R&D Innovation Center for the Future on the premises of the Shiga Plant, where the company started out in 1926. The approximately 70 attendees included academic and local government representatives. The new facility will spearhead Toray’s global research as its functional materials headquarters in pursuing research and developing technologies through collaboration between its domestic and overseas production and sales units so it can expand in growth fields and regions. Toray President Akihiro Nikkaku said in his speech at the ceremony that the center “will play a vital role in helping resolve such global issues as climate change, water shortages, and resource depletion. I also look for the facility to serve as a vehicle for joint research and development collaborations with universities and public research institutions around the world, innovating world-class technologies.” The center comprises two buildings. One will undertake integrated research to generate ideas for the revolutionary materials, ideas, and systems of tomorrow. The other will engage in empirical research through prototyping, assessments, and demonstrations based on those ideas. The facility will serve as an innovation hub, notably through its international conference hall, exhibition and demonstration areas, and open laboratories. It will thereby propel strategic open innovation by engaging and collaborating with academia and key partners in diverse fields, integrating technologies with them. The center will uphold Toray’s research underpinnings, which are to ultimate pursuit and to commit to long-term continuity and to technological integration. It will fuse fine polymers and nanofabrication from its proprietary polymer technology with materials informatics and artificial intelligence. It will thereby reinforce research and technological development by creating advanced materials, devices, and systems in advanced medical, renewable energy, filtration and separation systems, and other eco and lifestyle innovation areas. The company has remained committed since its inception to the notion that research and technology development are the keys to its future, exploring advanced materials accordingly. In keeping with Toray’s corporate philosophy of contributing to society by creating new value with innovative ideas, technologies, and products, the new center will conceive solutions that contribute to social sustainability 50 years down the track. Snapshot of R&D Innovation Center for the Future １． Facilities （１） Integrated Research Building: Three levels with a total floor space of 8,400 square meters （２） Demonstration Research Building: Five levels with a total floor space of 9,200 square meters ２． Location: Within Toray’s Shiga Plant premises in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture ３． Key roles and facilities （１） Innovation ・ International Convention Hall: Seating for 200 people, with simultaneous interpreting booth ・ Open Laboratory ・ Computer Laboratory ・ Digital Prototyping Laboratory ・ Exhibition and demonstration area ・ Library and meeting area （２） Framework for daily face-to-face discussions between researchers ・ 250-seat office area ・ Open meeting spaces (including communication bridge and meeting booths （３） Energy-saving facilities （４） Clean room, flexible use areas, and other experimental areas that are conducive to integrating technologies and pursuing limits
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Lattice Technology Announces XVL Content Manager for Enabling Fast and Easy Access to Gigabyte-size 3D Models
Lattice Technology, Inc., a software solution provider in the PLM space, announces the release of XVL Content Manager. This new product enables complete product data access (3D and metadata), with control, to enterprise stakeholders downstream from product development with high-performance regardless of model sizes. Lattice Technology delivers XVL-based software solutions that enable manufacturing companies to repurpose 3D CAD data to be used by functions downstream from product development. XVL can be the single source of truth and can serve as a company’s product data backbone for 3D data consumers. Common use cases include design reviews, assembly validation, assembly work instructions, technical documentation, and procedural service instructions. With XVL, multiple CAD files can be converted into a single XVL file, even those from different CAD vendors. Coupled with XVL being ultra-lightweight, all parts and subassemblies from virtually any 3D CAD supplier can be brought together in a single file for complete product access/ XVL Content Manager provides complete management for XVL data files. Management includes versioning; check-in/check-out; storage of related files, such as 2D drawings and work instructions in industry standard formats like PDF and Microsoft® Excel®; integrations with internal systems; controlled sharing to any stakeholder using a modern web browser without add-ons; and seamless integration with XVL Studio (authoring tool) for updates. XVL Content Manager provides the ability to integrate with other company systems, such as EPR/MES/PDM/PLM. XVL Content Manager extends the value offered by PDM/PLM systems by simplifying distribution and access to 3D model data to data consumers. For sharing 3D data, XVL Content Manager is used to control user authentication and access rights to the part level. XVL Content Manager can also integrate XVL Web3D Manager to stream 3D data to data consumers using any modern web browser that supports HMTL 5. XVL Web3D Manager is a server product, which streams 3D and associated metadata, delivering a high-performance user experience, even when viewing extremely large models with thousands of parts. “Most of our customers use PDM/PLM systems. XVL supplements these systems to facilitate improved workflows for leveraging their 3D CAD models to functions downstream from product development,” said Hiroshi Toriya, CEO, Lattice Technology. “We have optimized XVL for the data consumer; for instance, for manufacturing, tech pubs, and service. XVL can consolidate multiple CAD files from virtually any CAD format, and because it is extremely lightweight, it can handle even gigabyte-size CAD files. XVL Content Manager, our latest product, manages XVL files and integrations to other systems like PDM/PLM,” Toriya said. For most customers, their designs for a single product are comprised of multiple CAD files. These CAD files may be created from different versions of the same CAD system or they may be from different CAD systems entirely; for example, SOLIDWORKS® and Catia®. For complex products, these files can be gigabytes in size, making it impossible to examine the entire product at once, and the data may be managed in multiple PDM/PLM systems. XVL solves all of these problems by allowing all CAD files to be converted into a single XVL file, which is accessible by any authenticated stakeholder using only a web browser. Since XVL is an ultra-lightweight format, a complete product can be accessed in its entirety. Integration with the PDM/PLM systems is managed with XVL Content Manager. Convert – Author – Publish is the process for using XVL. Convert from virtually any CAD format. Author use case specific information leveraging the 3D CAD and meta data. Publish 2D or interactive 3D documents for consumption by free viewers and players, including modern web browsers and Microsoft® Excel®. XVL Content Manager is a management system for XVL in the publishing family and is the latest in the suite of XVL products. To learn more about XVL, download our XVL whitepaper or contact us. All trademarks are the property of their respective owner ™ and ® denote registered trademarks in the United States and other countries.
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New Industrial Internet Consortium and oneM2M Joint Whitepaper Enables Digital Transformation
A new joint whitepaper released by The Industrial Internet Consortium® (IIC™) and oneM2M, reveals how developers seeking to reduce complexity when designing Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems, can leverage different architectural approaches side-by-side to enable faster-time-to-market of new Industrial services and use cases. The joint whitepaper, “Advancing the Industrial Internet of Things,” written by the IIC, the world’s leading organization transforming business and society by accelerating the IIoT, and oneM2M, the global IoT standards body, demonstrates how these two leading IoT organizations are working together to advance the IIoT and digital transformation, through the creation of a robust, interoperable, flexible and efficient IIoT ecosystem. Through their work, the IIC and oneM2M aim to help vertical markets achieve interoperability and reusability, by minimizing complexity and the cost of designing, developing and deploying IoT and IIoT systems to shorten time-to-market and value-creation cycles. With a focus on practical deployment tools, the white paper describes how the IIC’s and oneM2M’s architectural approaches can be aligned to provide a toolkit of best practices and technical standards for organizations involved in the design and deployment of IIoT systems. “Through its liaison program, the IIC is building out the Industrial IoT ecosystem to accelerate adoption and enable the digital transformation,” said Wael William Diab, Chair of the IIC Liaison Working Group and Secretary of the IIC Steering Committee. “The joint whitepaper with oneM2M exemplifies this collaboration.” The Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (IIRA) provides a high-level architectural framework and methodology that enables rapid realization of interoperable IIoT systems. It provides guidance for development by identifying and highlighting important architectural concerns, concepts and patterns that can be applied within and across industrial sectors. oneM2M’s common service layer is designed to enable Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and IoT applications across different vertical domains, via a horizontal platform architecture. Its three-layer architecture standardizes the interfaces between these layers, providing a secure means for connecting data ‘producers’ and data ‘consumers’. “The IIC Industrial Internet Reference Architecture and the oneM2M technical specification both seek to address key architectural and technical issues common across industries, each with a different approach and emphasis,” said Shi-Wan Lin, Co-chair, IIC Technology Working Group and Architecture Task Group and a co-editor of the whitepaper. “This joint whitepaper by technical experts from these two communities provides an initial mapping and alignment of these two complementary reference architectures and offers guidance on how to benefit from them when implementing IIoT systems.” “This liaison initiative highlights the strategic importance of architecture models and the need for a standardization roadmap for industrial IoT solutions. It provides a foundation for future collaboration on security and semantic interoperability topics,” said Ken Figueredo of InterDigital Inc, a member of the oneM2M Partnership Project, and co-editor of the report. “oneM2M and the IIC are also expecting more standardization requirements to arise from new industrial use-cases across the manufacturing, transportation, energy, agriculture, healthcare and public infrastructure sectors.”
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Toray to supply RO and UF membranes to Brazil’s largest SWRO plant
Toray’s ROMEMBRA™ RO and TORAYFIL™ UF membrane technologies (toraywater.com) have been selected for a new seawater desalination facility in Brazil, which is set to become the largest in the country. ArcelorMittal (arcelormitall.com), currently the largest producer of steel in the world, contracted Fluence Corporation (fluencecorp.com) for the design, engineering, and construction contract through an international tender process, and TMUS (Toray Membrane USA, Inc.) had received an order for membranes. Expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2020, the plant will have an initial capacity to treat 12,000 cubic meters per day, expandable to 24,000 and 36,000 cubic meters per day, and with an estimated value of US$10 million dollars. TORAYFIL™ pressurized PVDF hollow-fiber UF membrane modules will pretreat the seawater before feeding the ROMEMBRA™ seawater desalination membrane elements for removal of salts. The desalinated seawater will also pass through ROMEMBRA™ RO membrane elements for additional polishing before it is stored for distribution. The combination of UF and RO membranes ensure constant production of high-quality water. The customer evaluated that Toray's membranes have operational stability and high quality. According to ArcelorMittal, the desalination plant will be the first in Brazil to operate exclusively with seawater, placing the facility at the forefront of sustainable water management for the company. Furthermore, the energy required for the desalination process will be produced by a thermoelectric power station located within the power, further contributing to the sustainability factor. Overall, Toray’s water-purification membranes are used in approx. 100 countries, delivering more than 70 million cubic meters on a cumulative basis – the equivalent of the daily freshwater needs of 490 million people. Toray will continuously provide solutions to the world’s water resource-related issues.
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QNAP Supports Archiware P5 and Pure to Offer Feature-rich Cloud,Tape, and Free VMware VM Backup
QNAP® Systems, Inc. and Archiware®, an expert in data management software, have jointly announced that QNAP NAS operating system QTS 4.4.1 now supports the latest Archiware P5 and Pure software. This continuous integration will assist media and entertainment (M&E) and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to secure their digital assets and VMware® virtual machines (VMs) intelligently and easily. The latest QTS 4.4.1 enhances QNAP NAS usability by incorporating highly-anticipated services, including cloud storage gateways for easy hybrid cloud storage applications, source-based deduplication for optimizing backup and recovery efficiency, a Fibre Channel SAN solution, and much more. Archiware’s P5 software suite offers platform agnostic data management for backup, archiving, and cloning. The browser-based software is now optimized to run on QTS 4.4.1, and comprises four distinctive modules for securing and restoring data: P5 Synchronize, P5 Backup, P5 Backup2Go, and P5 Archive. For long-term and offsite data protection, P5 Backup and P5 Archive also support QNAP NAS data backup to LTO tape and public cloud as storage target options. The mini-MAM features of P5 Archive make finding and re-using assets extremely easy. Virtualization is an essential component to modern IT infrastructures. Integrated with Archiware Pure 2.0, QNAP NAS can provide a perfect backup solution for ensuring VMware virtual machines are maintained and have a safe backup. Archiware Pure is free software with optional paid technical support, which can help SMB customers secure VMware environment for free and simplify backup and restore of virtual machines. “The data management solution that integrates Archiware P5, Archiware Pure, and QNAP extend customer’s data management capabilities while providing them secure data protection and long-term storage previously only available to enterprises,” said Josef Doods, CEO of Archiware. “Long-term preservation of media assets on LTO tape offers the most professional and durable solution at the lowest price point per terabyte (TB). Archiware and QNAP are now making this accessible for more customers to make preserving, tagging and finding assets for re-use, reference and monetization as easy as creating media.” “We are very excited to team up with Archiware to bring enterprise-grade backup and disaster recovery capabilities to organizations of all sizes,” said Meiji Chang, General Manager of QNAP. “As file sizes become larger and video resolution continues to improve, and companies are placing important production and operations data into VMs, our partnership with Archiware eliminates the challenges of backup and recovery of media files and VMware VMs.”
