Notes on data, AI, IT
and security
No marketing fog. The way I think about real problems with founders and managers.
Cobots in manufacturing: economics before automation
How collaborative robots change the calculation for small and mid-sized manufacturers, and why the return-on-investment question matters more than the technology question.
Robots now compete on software, data and simulation - not mechanics
Competitive advantage in robotics is shifting from hardware to software, data, and development environments.
Collaborative robots: the economics of a cobot for managers
Cobots are not new, but in 2016 their cost and ease of deployment have reached the point where the economics conversation has become practical.
Industrial robots: ROI depends on the process, not the robot
Why most mistakes in manufacturing automation happen before the robot is purchased - and how a manager can evaluate real returns.
Collaborative robots: safety before productivity
What a manufacturing manager needs to understand before cobots start working alongside people on the line.
Robot safety standards: what ISO 10218 means in practice
A look at the practical obligations the industrial robot safety standard creates for manufacturers and integrators, beyond the paperwork.
Industrial robots and telemetry: what the data actually shows
Why collecting data from industrial equipment matters and how a manager should think about the value of that telemetry.
Industrial robots are getting cheaper: what it means for manufacturers
The cost of industrial robots has been falling for several years. A look at which manufacturing operations this is now a practical question for.
Atlas and DARPA: what advanced robotics tells us about everyday automation
Robots far removed from your business are still useful as an indicator - they show how mature sensors, balance algorithms, and human-machine interaction have become.
Edge before it was called edge: what to compute at the machine, what to send to the center
Reaction time, latency, and network reliability demand different places for computation. How to think about distributing logic between a device and a central system.
Robotic picking: the economics only work with a solid data foundation
A robot without accurate master data and reliable telemetry quickly runs into operational chaos.
Industrial Internet: when manufacturing starts speaking like a platform
Not about the buzzword - about telemetry, failure predictability and process integration, and what actually changes when industrial equipment starts transmitting data.