Aptiv/Audi Receives Innovation Partnership Award for Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform

Dublin, April 9, 2019 - Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV), a global technology company enabling the future of mobility, announced it was recognized by Automotive News as a 2019 Innovation Partnership Award winner for its work with Audi on the Aptiv Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform.

Aptiv is democratizing active safety through the efficient and scalable Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform. Most systems have the computing power integrated into the sensors, processing the information at the source, which makes each sensor expensive to build and to replace when damaged. Aptiv's Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform takes processing and electronics out of individual sensors, instead sending the information to the central platform, allowing the sensors to be smaller, more cost efficient, lighter and easier to package in a vehicle. The reduced mass and volume also eliminates sensor heat dissipation concerns. In one application Aptiv's innovative technology reduced the camera footprint from the size of a deck of playing cards to the size of a pack of chewing gum.

"As a global technology company with a rich history of developing safer, greener and more connected solutions, we are honored to be recognized for our collaboration with Audi in development of the Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform," said David Paja, Aptiv's senior vice president and president of Advanced Safety & User Experience. "This industry-first platform, developed with our strong Audi partnership, enables our customers to apply a simplified sensor footprint to scale features for advanced levels of safety automation. It truly is a game changer in the industry."  

From basic ADAS to Level 4 autonomous vehicles, this compute platform is scalable for increasing automated driving levels and complexity demands. The concept has had a revolutionary impact on Aptiv's customer's vehicle architecture.

The Automotive News PACE panel of judges recognized the Aptiv-Audi team working on the Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform with an Innovation Partnership Award, for their "special levels" of supplier and OEM collaboration.

The judges found that Aptiv's systems integration capabilities and strong collaboration with Audi led to the development of a platform that  incorporates several different components into a single, affordable ECU controlling the advanced safety features. The judges cited Aptiv's Automated Driving Satellite Compute Platform as a great example of the new level of collaboration needed as the industry moves toward more autonomy.

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MassRobotics Builds Strategic Partnerships with Analog Devices, Honda, Husqvarna, FedEx, Lockheed Martin and More

Boston, April 9,2019 - Robotics is emerging as a key technology among companies large and small, and across myriad industries. As a result, MassRobotics, the global hub of robotics, has increased its strategic partnership relationships, bringing significant companies and organizations into the MassRobotics community. These corporate partners provide strategic guidance, help fund MassRobotics' programming, and fuel the organization's expansion, both for its upcoming expanded Boston co-working space and its growing international presence within the robotics industry.

"Corporate partnerships have been a core part of MassRobotics' unique startup escalation model and have helped attract and scale successful startups over the last few years," said Fady Saad, MassRobotics Co-founder and Director of Partnerships.

New partners represent a range of companies and industries pursuing innovative robotics solutions, and include:

• Analog Devices: This significant partnership includes the planning and execution of a major robotics technology challenge focused on Sensor Fusion and Context Awareness, where robotic systems combine multiple sensing technologies to gather information about the environment as it happens. The technology challenge is intended to encourage system solutions innovation with advanced automation, energy, sensing, communications, and power management technologies. The partnership also gives Analog Devices exclusive naming rights to MassRobotics' new electronics lab in its planned expansion facility.
• Lockheed Martin: MassRobotics' first strategic partner from the defense community will further support robotics innovation for challenging defense applications. In collaboration with LM's venture investment arm, MassRobotics will continue to build strong links between the robotics and AI startup community and the defense community. Lockheed Martin is especially interested in the pipeline of MassRobotics' cluster startups and excited to introduce companies to LM engineers for a variety of strategic and investment opportunities in aerospace and defense.
• FedEx: This key strategic relationship in the supply chain and logistics industry, coupled with the unparalleled concentration of logistics robotics companies in the region – Locus, 6Rivers, Vecna Robotics, XYZ and others – will introduce FedEx technologists to the cutting-edge technology in the MassRobotics ecosystem and open the doors to future strategic opportunities.
• Husqvarna Group: A key international partnership with this major Swedish outdoor power products manufacturer for green spaces and construction, Husqvarna Group is the world's largest outdoor robotics company with close to two million robotic lawn mowers sold. Their offering also includes chainsaws, trimmers, garden tractors, power cutters, floor grinders and demolition robots. Through MassRobotics, Husqvarna Group expands their exploration in robotics and creates opportunities for ecosystem startups active in this space. Husqvarna Group is already vested in the Boston'srobotics ecosystem through their participation in Franklin Robotics.
• Honda Xcelerator: This is MassRobotics' first strategic partnership with a large automotive player. Working with Honda Xcelerator, a program that offers funding for rapid prototyping, collaborative workspace and pairing with Honda mentors for innovators across all funding stages, MassRobotics and Honda will explore emerging technologies in manufacturing, robotics, and autonomous driving. The growing startup cluster in the region is a key magnet for many automotive companies to get engaged through MassRobotics.
• Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC): This is the first-of-its-kind collaboration between a leading clean energy organization and a robotics organization, and will motivate robotics startups with specific applications for the clean energy space (e.g. drones for inspecting solar panels and wind turbines, ground robotics to perform energy and leakage inspection in tight spaces). It will also help fuel studies about the impact of massive robot deployments like self-driving cars, drones, home robots and logistic robots on the current energy grid and the use of batteries. This collaboration will host startups at MassRobotics, provide non-diluting grants for high-performing startups, and engage large, clean energy corporates with MassRobotics' ecosystem.
• Additionally, longtime and/or founding partners, including Harmonic Drive, Panasonic, Locus, Autodesk, SMC, Solidworks and iRobot, have renewed or extended their partnerships.

MassRobotics' new, larger facility now being designed will be able to support close to 70 startups in the robotics space. The organization's unique "escalator" model allows entrepreneurs and startups to get established, grow and provide meaningful employment for the future workforce, and to provide ongoing value for partner organizations. MassRobotics is shaping the future of robotics and growing its global influence to expand its community to the world.

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Dhanbad and Ranchi only cities with over 95% 4G coverage in India, other cities pass 87% mark: OpenSignal Survey

The city of Dhanbad is known as the coal capital of India, and is headquarters of some of the country's biggest coking companies in the mineral-rich Jharkhand state. And now Dhanbad is on fire as Opensignal's hottest city for 4G Availability.

We looked at 50 of India's largest cities and analyzed them by their 4G Availability, based on a combined score for all operators that operate a 4G network in those metros. Dhanbad scored 95.3% in Opensignal’s measurements — one of only two cities to pass the 95% mark. The other was Ranchi, Dhanbad's neighbor and state capital of Jharkhand, which scored 95.0% in 4G Availability.

Opensignal’s 4G Availability metric is not a measure of coverage or the geographic extent of a network. It measures what proportion of time our users with a 4G device and subscription can get a network connection, in the places they most commonly visit. So when we say an operator has a 4G Availability score of 95%, that means our LTE users on that network were connected to 4G services 95% of the time. This important distinction is often missed by traditional coverage metrics. 4G Availability represents when users have an LTE connection, rather than where, providing a far more accurate reflection of the true mobile user experience. For more on Opensignal's metrics, please read about our methodology and Experience Charter.

In India 4G Availability, in a slightly unlikely third place we saw Srinagar, one of India's remotest cities, located in the mountain passes of Jammu and Kashmir. Srinagar was just shy of the 95% mark with a 4G Availability score of 94.9%. In fourth place we saw the much-larger metropolis of Raipur, which scored 94.8% in our measurements, followed by Patna with 94.5%. Patna won our comparison of 20 of India's largest cities by 4G Availability nearly a year ago, and has increased its score by close to 2 percentage points in that time.

Of India's largest cities, none were really stoking the fires in Opensignal's 4G Availability analysis. Delhi and Mumbai were in the lower half of the table, neck-and-neck with scores just shy of 90%, behind Hyderabad's 90.5%. Bangalore was mid-table on 92.3%, while Ahmedabad scored 92.7%. Nonetheless, all of the 50 Indian cities we measured scored over 87% 4G Availability — a feat that many much more developed mobile markets would be proud of.

Fanned by the flames of competition, India is really smoldering in 4G Availability. In Opensignal’s most recent India Mobile Network Experience report, we found Jio's national 4G Availability score was a remarkable 96.7% — over 20 percentage points ahead of its main rivals. The world's first "super-disruptor", Jio stunned the mobile world with its revolutionary free data offerings, amassing over 100 million subscribers in just 6 months. But its rivals have reacted. All of India's key operators continue to aggressively invest, while the merger of Vodafone and Idea is set to create India's largest operator, further disrupting the market.

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vivo Announces Partnership with PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019

vivo recentlry announced a partnership with the top grossing mobile game - PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDSMobile (PUBG MOBILE) by Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation as the title sponsor of the upcoming PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019, one of the biggest mobile gaming tournaments in the world.  vivo will provide the official smartphones for the PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019, which players from ten regions across the globe will be leveraging to battle their way through the Spring & Fall Split, for the total prize pool of $2.5M USD. This global partnership reinforces vivo’s commitment to bringing an ultra-smooth gaming experience to connect with consumers through meaningful partnerships. 

vivo Title sponsor of PUBG Mobile Club Open 2019

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Sharing his thoughts on the partnership, Mr. Nipun Marya, Director-Brand Strategy, vivo India said, “vivo thrives to be at the forefront of the eSports industry to best serve its consumers. The partnership with PUBG MOBILE is a key milestone especially given that it is a leading mobile game developed by Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation that has millions of fans globally. PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019 is a strong opportunity to showcase vivo’s vision of ‘enjoying the extraordinary’ by bringing global players a true gaming experience like no other. This global partnership will unfold and strengthen vivo’s position in being an innovative and stylish brand that always puts our consumer experience first”.

“We are excited to partner with vivo, as they have a strong reputation in being innovative and putting the consumer’s needs first. As an innovative brand ourselves, this partnership highlights our dedication to bring the best experience possible to our players and fans around the world. This partnership is just the beginning, we want to continue building a strong portfolio of partnerships with industry-leading companies, such as vivo, to provide the best mobile gaming experience possible,” said Vincent Wang, General Manager of Global Publishing Department, Tencent Games.

The PUBG MOBILE STAR CHALLENGE 2018 was watched by over 230 million viewers and drew in over 5,000 live attendees at the global finals in Dubai. The qualifying round of PUBG MOBILE Club Open 2019 will begin on March 22, 2019. The Spring Split Global Finals will be hosted in July this year, with the Fall Split Global Finals following in December.

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How AI and Machine learning helps in up skilling to better career opportunities

There are at least two clear trends that show a demand-supply mismatch in tech jobs in cutting-edge IT fields such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. One is via industry predictions that estimate growth in the AI market from USD 21.46 billion to USD 190.61 billion between 2018 and 2025. Year on year growth is projected to be an impressive 36.62% during the same period. The second trend is more subtle. Big Indian IT firms in the US are reportedly ‘hoarding’ employees in these 2 fields as they foresee a shortage in skilled experts. They also fear a corresponding rise in the cost of hiring employees for tech contracts they have bagged for the future.

How are AI & Machine Learning being used in Industry?

Unlike the exaggerated robots of the 2001 Steven Spielberg movie of the same name, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in reality is tamer. AI is understood to mean ways of making computers, computer-controlled robots or program think intelligently mimicking the manner in which humans think intelligently. A computer program with AI can use can solve generic problems it is programmed to instead of just specific ones. They can accommodate new modifications to input without breaking structure. Traditional programmers would have to sort, sift and debug thousands of lines of code to make modifications.

AI finds applications in strategy games such as chess or poker where advance moves are determined by heuristic logic, natural language processing, virtual assistant technology, image and speech recognition and automated robotics. General AI systems which can solve any given problem are rare. Insurance and banking organizations regularly use AI to monitor fraud. Marketers use AI every time you shop online to gather your browsing habits and predict what you are most likely to buy. They will then advertise those products through pop-ups and logos. Self-driving cars, auto-pilot modes and smart homes using sensors all rely on AI and affect daily lives of consumers.

There is also a difference between AI and Machine Learning (ML) although a number of articles on the web club them together or use them interchangeably. “ML is the study of computer algorithms that improve automatically through experience” according to Tom Mitchell of Carnegie Mellon University. It is simply one of the ways we use to achieve AI or something closer.

How can you acquire AI & ML skills?

By some estimates, AI will create nearly 2.3 million jobs by next year. It might also make 1.7 million jobs obsolete but those would need to be replaced by 0.5 million new jobs. Nearly all forms of enterprise software, factory automation, transport and other industries are increasingly using AI-based interfaces in their daily operation. In fact, by 2030, AI may end up offering USD 15.7 trillion to the global economy.

Mathematical and programming skills are central to acquiring competency in this field. However, for seasoned tech professionals, it is also quite important to develop excellent communication skills. An understanding of how business works and the common processes used in day-to-day operations will help you better utilize your core competencies to improve organizational workflows.

Core Competencies required in AI & ML

For complete beginners, programming using C++ is a mandatory requirement. Also necessary is an understanding of how algorithms are created and executed.

Typically, knowledge and expertise in Bayesian networks, neural networks, cognitive science theory, engineering, physics, robotics, undergraduate algebra, calculus, statistics and probability are very essential to hone your talents in ML.

Graduates in Computer Science need only supplement their knowledge of math and computing with a specialized course in AI & ML.

India Best Placed to exploit AI opportunities

Analysis of professional networking site Linkedin.com has shown that India is the third best-placed economy after the US and China to crack AI jobs and careers with high penetration of AI awareness. AI is a big part of investments into start-ups at an estimated by private players alone in 2016.

Among the more exciting opportunities one can expect in 2019 is the rising application of AI in healthcare to detect and diagnose health issues in individuals. Smart infrastructure to help balance rapid growth in urban centers in India is also an option being explored by the government. B. Tech programs now mandatorily have AI, IoT, Machine Learning and some other essential components of emerging technologies. However, constant changes in this dynamic field have made it mandatory for professionals to keep up skilling via a noted institution to remain relevant and job-worthy.

Authored by

Mr.Diwakar Chittora

CEO & Founder, Intellipaat 

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