Fiber as a Fundamental Ingredient of the Modern World
The question that entities with older fiber have to ask, is will it support the higher bit rates that are increasingly demanded? Speaking at the SmartGig Bay Area conference, the Fiber Optic Association’s president, Jim Hayes, made a strong argument for testing and characterizing fiber cable to understand its performance at higher bit rates. As he points out in the above interview, factors such as wind can effectively change the waveguide characteristics of the lightguide, causing bit errors at higher rates.
Sean Albertson on the Customer Journey
Looking at the customer experience as a complete life cycle experience is how Sean Albertson of WOW! defines the customer journey. Albertson, WOW!’s Director of Customer Retention, describes a data-driven approach to create a connection with customers. He points out that, properly done, customers will feel like they are more than a number when contacted by their service provider.
View here (TIS Site)
Voice Enabling the Connected Home
Voice as a key enabler of smart home success was a common theme of CONNECTIONS™ 16. Brett Sappington, Senior Director of Research for Parks Associates, cites presentations from companies, such as Amazon and Rovi, that focused on how the voice-machine interface is becoming an important way of communicating with smart home devices.
Is VR at Peak Expectations?
“2017 is going to be the year where VR and AR is really expected to start show some sales and some real meaningful value to businesses and customers,” said Eric Mizufuka of Epson America, Inc. Speaking at Augmented World Expo 2016, Mizufuka emphasizes his concern that the AR/VR market may be at peak expectations and that, in 2017, investors will want to see a return on the promises that have been made for years.
Putting People First in Mobility Automation
“They don’t want to have to make false choices,” said Gabe Klein, Special Venture Partner at Fontinalis Partners. Speaking at the 2016 Automated Vehicles Symposium, Klein was referring to the idea that, with the correct implementation, automation and connectivity will help cities create better places, while improving mobility for its citizens. To get to this nirvana, it will require close partnerships with industry and, in many instances, will call for a regulatory touch that is adaptable and matches the tempo of the ever-changing technology.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- Interesting tidbit about the advantage of having fiber optic cable next to the turnpike to allow for testing of self-driving cars in Ohio.
If the cameras on the Domino’s Autonomous Pizza Delivery Vehicle (DAPVD) also provide a feed to the local police station, it could augment the local gendarmes.
- As ridiculous and far-fetched as DAPDV sounds, Starship Technologies is soon going to be using its autonomous delivery robots to walk (roll) the sidewalks of Washington DC to solve the last-mile delivery problem.
- Quite an honor to be in a ridecast with Silicon Valley tech guru @GoFarley, where we touch upon Ford’s autonomous mobility play, Uber’s free rides in Pittsburgh that are almost driverless and the dystopia/utopia potential from the technologies underlying these developments.
- All this talk about autonomous vehicles and fiber and no mention of Google. Of course with Urmson leaving and their retrenchment on their fiber product, much already has been written. These developments remind me of what Google did to so many rural and medium-size ISPs. a couple of years ago.
The Korner – Keeping Humans in the Loop in Autonomous Vehicles
A couple of years ago I let my imagination run wild when trying to piece together what Google’s end-game would be with the autonomous car. The resulting article led to an introduction with many experts in the field, including one of the early pioneers in bringing automony and mobility together. Award winning car designer, Michael Vernon Robinson has not only been thinking about the impact of autonomous vehicles since before the turn of the century, he has been working on various forms of autonomy since the 1990s with his work on the Lancia Nea concept car.
As with other innovations, it takes decades for technology to become an “overnight success”. With each passing day, the elements for a technological revolution in mobility are solidifying. It is an honor, then, to be able to publish the English-language version of Michael Robinson’s vision for how the impending changes will impact the way we get around and even interact with one another.
So, stay tuned for Michael Vernon Robinson’s monthly series, The Road to Revolution.
In the meantime, read Robinson’s view on the autonomous future here.