ThinC - Aloud

Volume II

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

3D
PRINTING
3D pr intin g o r a dditive m a n ufac tur i ng i s
a pro ces s o f m a k in g th ree dimensi onal
s o l id o bj ec ts fro m a digita l f i le. The
c reatio n o f a 3D pr inted objec t i s
a c h ieved us in g a dditive pro cesses. I n an
a dditive pro ces s a n o bj ec t is created by
l ay in g dow n s ucces s ive l ayer s of mater i al
until th e entire o bj ec t is c reated. Each
o f th es e l ayer s c a n be s een as a thi nly
s l iced h o r izo nta l c ro s s -s ec tion of the
eventua l o bj ec t. I t a l l s ta r ts w i th mak i ng
a v ir tua l des ign o f th e o bj ec t you want
to c reate. Th is v ir tua l des ign i s mad e
in a C A D (Co m puter Aided D esi gn) f i le
us in g a 3D m o del l in g pro gra m (for the
c reatio n o f a to ta l l y n ew o bj ec t) or wi th
th e us e o f a 3D s c a n n er (to copy an
exis tin g o bj ec t).

A 3D s c a n n er m a k es a 3D digit al copy of
a n o bj ec t. R ecentl y, m a ny IT compani es
l ik e M ic ro s o f t a n d G o o gl e en abled thei r
h a rdwa re to per fo r m 3d s canni ng, a
great exa m pl e is M ic ro s o f t s K i nec t.
Th is is a c l ea r s ign th at future hand h el d dev ices l ik e s m a r tph o n es wi ll have
integrated 3d s c a n n er s. Digiti z i ng real
o bj ec ts into 3d m o del s w il l b ecome as
ea s y a s ta k in g a pic ture.

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

Th e l ate s t 3D pr int ing innovat ion co ul d c h a n ge th e way yo u th in k about

your v i s i t to t h e dentist. That s b ec a us e D utc h res ea rc h er s at th e U n iversi t y
of Gron i n g e n a re wo r k ing o n th e c reatio n o f a 3D -pr inted to o th mad e of
an ant i mi cro b ia l pl a stic that k il l s th e ba c ter ia res po n s ibl e fo r to o th d ecay
on cont ac t. Whil e the tho u g ht o f h av in g a 3D -pr inted to o th in s ide your
mout h mi ght no t so u nd so great, is it rea l l y a ny wo r s e th a n dea l ing wi th
t h e con s t ant to o t ha c he f ro m a d ec ay in g to o th ?
Th e growt h i n u til isat io n o f 3 D pr intin g in th e a ero s pa ce a n d avi ati on
in dus t r i e s can, fo r a l a rg e pa r t, be der ived fro m th e devel o pm ents i n the
metal ad d i t i ve m a nu f a c t u r ing se c to r.
NASA for i n s t a nce pr ints co m b us tio n c h a m ber l in er s us in g s el ec tive laser
meltin g an d as o f m a rc h 2 0 1 5 t he FA A c l ea red G E Av iatio ns fir s t 3D pr i nted
j e t en gi n e p a r t to f l y : a l a ser s intered h o us in g fo r a co m pres s o r i nlet
te mp e rat u re senso r. Al tho u g h th e a uto m o tive in dus tr y wa s a m o ng the
ear li e s t ad o p ter s o f 3 D p r int ing it h a s fo r dec a des rel egated 3d pr i nti ng
te ch n ology to l ow vo l u m e pro to t y pin g a ppl ic atio n s.
Nowad ays t h e u se o f 3 D p r int ing in a uto m o tive is evo l v in g fro m rel ati vely
si mpl e co n ce p t m o del s fo r f it a n d fin is h c h ec k s a n d des ign ver ific ati on, to
f un c t i o n al p ar ts that a re u sed in tes t veh ic l es, en gin es, a n d pl atfo r ms. The
expec t at i o n s a re t hat 3 D pr intin g in th e a uto m o tive in dus tr y w il l generate
a comb i n e d $ 1 . 1 bil l io n d o l l a r s by 2019.

How 3D Printing Works ?

N o m atter w h ic h a ppro a c h a 3-D

pr inter us es, th e overa l l pr i nti ng
pro ces s is gen era l l y th e s ame. I t
produces a 3-D model using computera ided des ign (C A D) s o f t wa re. The
s o f t wa re m ay prov ide s o m e hi nt as
to th e s tr uc tura l integr it y you can
expec t in th e fin is h ed pro duc t, too,
us in g s c ientific data a bo ut cer tai n
m ater ia l s to c reate v ir tua l

s i mul at i o n s o f how t he o bj ec t wil l beh ave un der cer ta in co n ditio n s. Stereo

lith ograp hy ( S L ) is w id el y reco gn ized a s th e s eco n d 3D pr intin g p rocess;
i t was ce r t ai n l y t he f ir st to b e co m m erc ia l is ed. S L is a l a s er-ba s ed process
that wo r k s wi t h p ho to p o l y m er re s in s, w h ic h rea c t w ith th e l a s er a n d cure to
for m a s oli d i n a ver y prec ise way to pro duce ver y a cc urate pa r ts.
Th e b u i ld p rocess is m o stl y a u to m atic. E a c h l ayer is us ua l l y a bo ut 0.1 mm
thic k , t h ou gh it c a n be m u c h thi n n er o r th ic k er. D epen din g o n th e objec t s
s i ze, t h e machine a nd the m ater ia l s us ed, th is pro ces s co ul d ta k e hours or
e ve n d ays to co m p l ete. B e su re to c h ec k o n th e m a c h in e per io dically to
ma ke s u re t h e re a re no er ro r s.
ThinC Aloud - Volume II

Pros

of

3D Printing

Fast Protot yp ing a nd M a nu f a c t u r ing

A des i gn can b e c reated into a pro to t y pe in a rea l quic k tim e usi ng thi s
te ch n o l ogy. Sim il a r l y, the m a nufa c tur in g o f th e a c tua l pro duc ts is also f ast,
ir res pe c t i ve o f t he nu m b er o f pro duc ts bein g m a n ufa c tured.
De cre a se d Co s t s
Th e cos t o f i n itia l setu p m ig ht be h igh er, but in th ird wo r l d co unt r i es, thi s
te ch n o l ogy i s g etting c hea p er by th e day. Th e in c rea s in g ava il abi li t y of
hom e -b as e d 3 D p r inter s is a l so dec rea s in g th e co s ts o f 3D pr intin g. What s
even b e t te r i s t hat t he co st o f creatin g c us to m ized pro duc ts is th e same as
th at o f p ro d u c t s c reated t hro u g h m a s s pro duc tio n .
Advan ce d Hea l t hc a re
On e of t h e b i g g est a d va nta g es of 3D pr intin g is its us e in th e m edic al sec tor.
B y cre at i n g custo m iz a bl e hu m an o rga n s o r bo dy pa r ts, th is tec h n ology has
m ade h e alt h c a re m o re a dva nced th a n befo re. B y 3D pr intin g v ital organs
li ke li ve r, h e ar t, k idney etc. m a ny l ives c a n be s aved. Th ere w il l n o chance of
don or re je c t i o n a s they w il l be created us in g th e DN A a n d un ique c harac ters
of the p at i e nt.

Cons

of

3D Printing

Co pyr i g ht Is s u e s
As th i s te ch no l o g y beco m es m o re w ides prea d, it w il l be ea s ier for people
to pr i nt ou t d if ferent pro du c t s. I n fa c t pr intin g o ut co py r ighted p rod uc ts
to bu i ld f ake item s a nd m isu sing th em w il l be ea s ier. I t w il l be dif f i cult to
di s ting u i s h t he f a k e o nes f ro m th e co py r ighted o n es, th ereby c a us i ng huge
prob le m.
Limi te d Si ze
R ight n ow, on l y sm a l l sized items c a n be buil t w ith o ut a ny diffic ult y. O ver
ti me i t mi ght b e po ssibl e to 3 D pr int h o us es a n d l a rge buil din gs wi th ease
us i n g 3D p r i nter s.
De cre a se i n M a nu f a c t u r in g J o b s
3D pr i nt i n g w il l dec rea se the m an ufa c tur in g j o bs a s peo pl e c a n ea s ily create
th e i r own p ro d u c ts if t hey l ik e. Th is w il l im pa c t th e eco n o m ies o f the thi rd
wor ld cou nt r ies, w hic h depend o n l ow s k il l j o bs.

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

NEWS ARTICLES

The

crunch in food tech sector

seems to have breached Zomatos
front gate!

h e c h a o s in th e food -tech
s ec to r s eem s to h ave breached
th e fro nt gates o f the mi ght y
Zo m ato em pire. Af ter f i r i ng
s o m e 300 em pl oyees 10% of i ts
tea m Zomato seem s to b e f ig htin g a reven ue c r un c h , a s wel l. I n a mai l that
D e e pi n d e r G oya l, co f o u nder a nd CE O o f Zo m ato, s ent to a l l h is em p loyees, i t
wa s me nt i o n e d t hat t he c o m p a ny s reven ue h a s nt k ept up w ith th e growth of
i ts s ales te am. H e m entio ned t hat th e co m pa ny s s a l es tea m h a s been constantly
u nde r p e r fo r mi n g a nd no t m eetin g its ta rget. H e is a l s o deepl y wo r r i ed that
the comp any, fo r t he f ir st t im e in five yea r s, m ight n o t be a bl e to l ive up to i ts
i nve s to rs ex p e c tatio ns a nd m ay fa l l s h o r t o f its pro m is es. I n th is m a il, he asked
a l l h i s e mp l oye es to p u l l u p their s l eeves a n d do a bl o o dy go o d j o b f rom now
onwa rd s.

The Mobile Sharing Economy

ve r t h e sho r t sp a n o f its exis ten ce, th e

mo b i l e sha r ing eco no my o f a pps l ik e U ber,
Zo mato a nd Air B nB has a l rea dy c a us ed
d ras t i c c ha ng es to the s er v ice l a n ds c a pe.
With i n t h i s n e w m o bil e - d r iven f ra m ewo r k , a w h o l e
wor ld of o p p o r t u nit y is o pen to a ny in n ovative
bu s i n e s s e s t h at a re b rave eno ugh to ta k e o n th e
r is ks t h at t h i s new eco no my pres ents. Adva n ces in
mobile te ch n o l o g y have p ro pel l ed a n entirel y n ew
ma r ke t p l ace wi th p eo pl e sha r ing ever y th in g. M o re
i mpor t ant ly, i t h a s m a d e t he f u l f ilm ent o f im m ediate
or i mp u l s i ve n eeds p o ssibl e a nd co nven ient. I t h el ps
com ple te t ran sa c t io ns that st a r t o n l in e, co o rdin ate
multi p l e p ar t i es a nd m a k e the entire exper ien ce
fr ic tio n l e s s. The rea l iz at io n that idl e go o ds c a n
ge n e rate s i gn i f ic a nt inco m e, a nd m o bil e tec h n o l o gy
makes s h ar i n g tho se g o o ds ea sy, h a s tra n s fo r m ed th e s h a r in g eco nomy i nto
a multi - b i l l i o n d o l l a r ind u st r y. A recent inter n a l s tudy co m m is s io n ed by us at
S pi n liste r fo u nd that o nl y 4 p ercent o f Am er ic a n s h ave us ed Air BN B or Uber.
I ma gi n e h ow b ig the sha r ing eco n o my w il l be o n ce it h its 20, 30, 40, or 50
p e rce nt s at u rat io n.

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

TECHNOLOGICAL
TRENDS
T
h e D evice M esh - The dev ice
me s h refer s to a n ex p a n din g
s e t o f endpo ints p eo pl e us e
to a ccess a p pl ic at io ns a n d
info r mat i on o r intera c t w ith peo pl e, s o c ia l co m m un ities, gover n ments and
bus i n e s s e s. The dev ice m esh in c l udes m o bil e dev ices, wea ra bl e, consumer
a n d h ome e lec tro nic dev ices, a uto m o tive dev ices a n d env iro n m ental d evi ces
su ch as s e nso r s in t he I nter n et o f Th in gs (IoT ). A va r iet y o f o ther trend s
have le d to a n inc rea sed nu m b er o f s en s o r s em bedded in m a ny technologi es
a n d d e v i ce s t hat we u se per so na l l y a n d pro fes s io n a l l y. Th ey beco me smar ter
a s th e y g at h e r m o re d at a o n our da il y patter n s. G a r tn er predic ts that these
s enso rs, wh i c h tend to wo r k in s il o s to day, w il l in c rea s in gl y wo r k in concer t,
le ad i n g to e ven greater insig hts a bo ut o ur da il y patter n s.

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

In f or m a t ion o f Ev e r y th ing

cco rd ing to resea rc her s,

by 2020, 25 billion devices
wi l l b e g enerat ing data
ab o u t
a l m o st
ever y
top i c i magina b l e. This is equa l
pa r t s op p o r t u nit y a nd c ha l l enge.
Th e re wi ll b e a pl etho ra o f data ,
but mak i n g sense o f it w il l be
th e t r i ck . Tho se co m p a nies th at
ha r n e s s t h e power o f this t ida l
wave of i n fo r m at io n w il l l ea p fro g
co mp e t i to r s in the p ro cess.

A u t o n o mo u s
T hin g s

A ge n t s

a nd

h e po tentia l for robots

to co ntin ue to master
a n d s ur pa s s h umans i n
th eir a bil it y to und er take
h um a n ta s k s w il l in c rea s e rapi d ly.
Per h a ps th e m o s t promi nent
exa m pl e is th e a utonomous
dr iv in g c a r, w h ic h leverages
l ea r n in g
fro m
a utonomous
veh ic l es th at h ave be en used
w ith in co ntro l l ed env ironments
fo r
yea r s.
M ov in g
beyond
co ntro l l ed env iro n m ents i nto
n o n - co ntro l l ed
env ironments,
in c l udin g th e a ir s pa ce that
dro n es o cc upy w il l req ui re
fur th er a dva n ces.

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

M achin e L e arn in g

h e a bil it y to l ea r n a n d appear to
un der s ta n d is ul tim ately what
s ets s m a r t m a c h in es a p ar t f rom
th eir n o n -s m a r t co us ins. There
a re pl ent y o f co m petin g tec hnologi es
in th is s pa ce, but m o s t o f th em have the
s im pl e a im o f detec tin g a n d lear ni ng
fro m patter n s. A co ntem po ra r y example
o f th is is th e E k o Co re Steth o s cope. The
dev ice ta k es th e o rdin a r y s te thoscope
a n d, a dds in th e a bil it y to s ee, record,
a n d s h a re h ea r t s o un ds. Th at s incred i bly
us eful fo r G Ps bec a us e it a l l ows them
to prov ide prec is e data to s peci ali sts,
effec tivel y a l l ow in g th em to overcome
th eir l a c k o f exper ien ce in th e card i atr i c
s pa ce.

I nt er n et of T hi ngs

h e I nter net o f Thing s w il l co ntin ue its m eteo r ic r is e in 2015, f ur ther

b lu r r i n g t he l ines bet wee n o ur digita l a n d phys ic a l wo r l ds. Well star t
to s e e m o re p u b l ic sp a ces ta k in g c ues fro m pl a ces l ik e th e Lo nd on Ci t y
Ai r p o r t, w hic h ha s a l rea dy a do pted fa c ia l reco gn itio n a n d luggage track i n g s of t wa re to m a k e the travel exper ien ce fl ow m o re s m o othly and
s ea ml e s s ly.

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

TECHNOLOGY
DRIVEN SIGN
L ANGUAGE

Lo o k in g fo r a s o l utio n to the
co m m un ic atio n pro bl em s bet ween d eaf
people and those who do not understand
s ign l a n gua ge? H ere co m es a hi ghtec h s o l utio n in th e fo r m o f wearable
s en s o r s th at tra n s l ate s ign language
into E n gl is h by s en s in g the user s
m ovem ents. D evel o ped by engi neers
at Texa s A & M U n iver s it y, th e d evi ce
w h ic h is s til l in th e pro to t y pe stage can
reco gn ize s o m e 40 A S L (Am er i can Si gn
La n gua ge) s ign s w ith 96% a cc urac y.
Th e s ys tem us es t wo s en s o r s. O ne i s a
m o tio n s en s o r w ith a n a ccelerometer
a n d a gy ro s co pe, w h ic h m ea sures the
us er s h a n d a n d a r m s peed a nd angle.
B y s en s in g w h ere a us er s h and s and
a r m s a re, it c a n begin to gu ess what
wo rd th ey m ight be s ign ing. Then
th eres a n el ec tro myo gra ph ic sensor,
w h ic h m ea s ures th e el ec tr ic a l potenti al
o f m us c l e m ovem ent.

I t can te l l ex ac t l y w hat p a r t o f th e h a n ds a n d fin ger s a re m ov in g, whi ch i s

c r i tic al.
I n A SL , h an d movem ent s a re a cco m pa n ied by fin e - gra in ed fin ger m ovements
w hic h als o n e e d to b e detec ted in o rder to deco de th e l a n gua ge a cc urately. For
ex ampl e, t h e wo rd pl ea se in AS L invo l ves m a k in g c irc l es over yo ur c hest wi th
you r op e n h an d. The wo rd so r r y us es a n identic a l m ovem ent, but th e hand i s
c l o s e d i n a f i s t. The senso r s a re wo r n o n th e us er s r ight w r is t. Th e in for mati on
glea n e d i s s e nt via B l u eto o t h to a l a pto p. Th is l a pto p r un s a n a l gor i thm to
i nter pre t t h e s i gn a nd d ispl ays the wo rd in E n gl is h o n th e s c reen .
One drawb ack o f t he p ro to t y pe is t h at th e s ys tem h a s to be tra in ed to respond
to e ach i n d i v i du a l that wea r s t he dev ice, Ja fa r i s a id. Th is tra in in g process
i nvolve s as k i n g the u ser to essent i a l l y repeat o r do ea c h h a n d ges ture a couple
of ti mes, wh i ch c a n t a k e u p to 3 0 m in utes to co m pl ete.
Howe ve r, re s e arc h tea m ha s p l a ns o f reduc in g th e tra in in g tim e o f the d evi ce
a nd also i mp roving t he ef fec t ivene s s o f th e s ys tems s en s o r s s o th at the d evi ce
would b e mo re u sef u l in rea l t im e co nver s atio n s. Th ere h ave been ta lks goi ng
on to de ve lop a signa l p ro cessing tec h n ique th at co ul d identify a n d und erstand
a comp l e te s e ntence rat her tha n a wo rd at a tim e.

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

ENTERPRISE
WEARABLES

e ara b l e tec hno l o g y, wea ra bl es, fa s h io n a bl e tec h n o l o gy, wearable

devices, tech togs, or fashion elec tronics are clothing and accessor ies
i n co r po rating co m p u ter a n d a dva n ced el ec tro n ic tec h n o l ogi es. The
d e s igns o f ten inco r p o rate pra c tic a l fun c tio n s a n d feat ures, but
may als o h ave a pu rel y c r itic a l o r a es th etic a gen da . Wea ra bl e dev ice s such as
a c ti vi t y t rack e r s a re a g o o d ex a m pl e o f th e I nter n et o f Th in gs, s in ce they are
par t o f t h e n e t wo r k o f p hysic a l o b j ec ts o r th in gs em bedded w ith el ec troni cs,
so f t wa re, s e n s o r s a nd co nnec tiv it y to en a bl e o bj ec ts to exc h a n ge d ata wi th
a m an u f ac t u re r, o p erato r a nd/ o r o th er co n n ec ted dev ices, w ith o ut req ui r i ng
h u ma n i nte r ve ntio n. Wea ra b l es l ik e bo dy-m o unted dis pl ays, l a nya rd s, hapti c
fee dba ck d e v i ces, a nd w ired c l o th in g a re yet to m a k e in ro a ds, s til l wherever
they have b e e n u sed, t hey have dem o n s trated s tro n g va l ue. Th ey a re the new
dis ru p t i ve te chno l o g y- the o l d o nes bein g th e co l l a bo ratio n tec h n o l ogi es that
suc h a s e mai l, vo ice co nferenc ing o r v ideo co n feren c in g.

10

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

o ogle Gl a ss m ay no t have gen erated th e s a m e m a s s co n s um er ad opti on

t h at t r i g g ered co r po rate IT to a cco m m o date BYOD o r s o ci al med i a
u s e, b u t Ap pl es recent pa r tn er s h ip w ith IBM l ays th e fo un dati on for a
mas s i ve inf l u x o f new end us er dev ices th at o ffer exc itin g n e w ways of
pe r for mi n g wo r k day ta sk s. B o t h m a n ufa c turer s a re l o o k in g to a ccel erate wearable
a d optio n i n cor p o rate Am er ic a , p us h in g co m m un ic atio n a n d co l l a borati on to
n e w bou n d ar i e s.
A hea d s e t t h at t a k es bio m et r ic rea din gs co ul d a l er t a co nta c t centre super vi sor
to lis te n i n o n a c a l l w hen a c u sto m er s er v ice repres entatives bl o o d pressure
an d pu l s e s u d d enl y inc rea se, a w r is tba n d w ith a n R F ID c h ip m ight a utomati cally
l og an age nt o u t o f a wo r k statio n w h en h e o r s h e l eaves th eir des k for lunch,
avo i ding i n co ming c a l l s to a n a g ent s em pt y des k . An d fo r R eta il er s, wearables
l i ke watch e s o r b a dg es c a n tu r n ea c h em pl oyee into a s a l es ter m in a l a n d i ncrease
i n-s tore coll ab o ratio n.
Pro blem at i c s i t uat io ns c a n be m o re ea s il y identified a n d quic k l y res o l ved. These
applic at i on s can l ea d to rea l sav in gs, greater effic ien c y a n d a better exper i ence
fo r th e cu s to me r. Co m pa nies w il l al s o n eed to a ddres s th e co n s idera bl e secur i t y
an d pr ivac y ch a l l eng es that co m e w ith th e co l l ec tio n a n d us e o f s uc h sensi ti ve
i nfor m at i o n . Th e se tec hno l o gies required s o l id inves tm ent in o rder to make them
v i able b u s i n e s s to o l s. A f l ex ibl e, s ec ure in fra s tr uc ture prov ides th e freed om to
create ne w b u s i ness a nd a p pl ic at ion s th at m a n ifes t th ro ugh th e us er s wearable
de vice. A d i gi t al tra nsfo r m atio n is o n th e way.

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

11

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A

COMPUTER

CAN LEARN ON THE JOB?

Th e scien ce of doin g th in gs by the
compu ter th at people ca n d o is what
we k n ow a s Ar tif icia l intelligence
(AI). O ver th e yea rs AI h a s progressed
sign if ica ntly. Th e most common one is
of cou rse sma r tph on es sm ar tphones
recogn izin g voices a n d images are
becomin g common day by day.
Th e testin g of self - dr iv in g c ars and
a u tomated f lyin g dron es a re now in
progress a n d th e day is n ot far when
th ese wou ld be h av in g widespread
uses. We k n ow wh ere we h umans win
over ma ch in es but we a lso k now that
for cer ta in lea r n in g a n d memor y tasks,
ma ch in es n ow outper for m humans.
Watson , a n a r tif icia lly intelligent
com p u te r s ys te m , be at the be s t hu ma n ca n didates at th e quiz ga me Jeopardy!
Ar t i fi c i a l inte l l ig e nce, in co ntras t to n or ma l h a rdwa re a n d sof t wa re, enables
a m a c h in e to p erce ive and re s pon d to its ch a n gin g env iron ment. An example
is N E L L , t h e N e ve r-Ending Lang ua ge Lea r n in g projec t f rom Ca r n egie M ellon
U n i ve rs it y, a com pute r s ys te m that n ot on ly rea ds f a c ts by crawling through
h u ndred s o f m illio ns o f We b p ages but attempts to improve its reading and
u n d e rst a n d in g co m pe te nce in the process in order to per for m bet ter in the
fu t u re.
I m p roved A I w ill le ad to s ignifica nt produ c tiv it y a dva n ces a s ma chines take
ove r. Fo r ex a m ple, we have s igni f ica nt ev iden ce suggestin g th at self- dr iving
c ar s w il l re d u ce the fre que nc y o f collision s a n d aver t death s a n d in jur ies from
ro a d t ra n s p o r t. Since the inte lligent ma ch in es h ave f a ster a ccess to a muc h
larg e r s to re o f info r m atio n and possess th e a bilit y to respon d with out human
e mo t i o n a l b ia s es, the s e m ig ht als o per for m better th a n medica l professionals in
d i agn o s in g d is e as e s. As m achine s grow in h uma n intelligen ce, th is tec hnology
w i l l i n c re a s in gl y challe ng e o ur view of wh at it mea n s to be h uma n a s well as the
r i s ks an d b en ef its po s e d by the rapidly closin g ga p bet ween ma n a n d mac hine.
R ece ntl y, Pa n a s o nic Co r p. is j o in in g with a Tok yo -ba sed venture to help its
d r ive r-a s s is t a n ce co m p ute rs le ar n on th e job, pa r t of ef for ts in Ja pa n to join the

12

ThinC Aloud - Volume II

d e e p l ea r n in g vo g ue that has swept Silicon Va lley. D eep lea r n in g is a k ind

o f s e l f - s t u d y pro gram fo r m achines. I n stea d of bein g progra mmed solely with
fi xe d r u l es, co mpute rs wo uld le a r n by th emselves h ow to a ch ieve a tasksuc h
a s avo id in g o b s tacle s, in the case of ca rs. Eventu a lly, a ll ca r computers could
b e co n n e c te d to a s ing le b rain. Pa n a son ic h opes to levera ge th e ventures
de e p - l ea r n in g ex pe r tis e in o ther produ c ts a n d ser v ices, in cludin g consumer
e l e c t ro n ic s a nd s ur ve illance camera s, th e people f a milia r with th e deal said.

ThinC

thinc@mandevian.com

https://www.fbk.com/MDI.THINC

The Business Technology Club

@thinc_mdi
ThinC Aloud - Volume II

13