Digital Transformation - IoT is a Metaphor

Digital Transformation is a convergence of multiple tools, technologies and ideas. A few of these elements are discussed in "IoT is a Metaphor" (PDF).Digital Economics is approaching and the "new economy" will need new rules, new changes and new thinking. Digital Transformation is a step toward Digital Economy. In this article, we haven't even scratched the surface of the imminent digital tsunami. Infrastructure and innovation must converge with tools and technologies, where systems must connect and communicate to meet the customer at the point of consumption. This will be an immense change which will turn paradoxes to paradigms. Please scroll down to download the pdf "IoT is a Metaphor

Intelligence ? in AI ?

In about a quarter century, we have witnessed the winter of AI (1990) being transformed and transported to the zenith of tabloid fodder about AI (2015). The discussion at hand is about the elements that constitute the canonical idea of intelligence.The elusive quest for intelligence in artificial intelligence

Digital Twins

Progression of the field depends on convergence of information technology, operational technology and protocol-agnostic telecommunications. Making sense of the data, ability to curate data and perform data analytics at the edge (or mist rather than in the fog or cloud) is key to value. Delivering engines to the edge are crucial for analytics at the edge when latency is critical. The confluence of these and other factors may chart the future path for Digital Twins. The number of unknown unknowns and the known unknowns in this process makes it imperative to create global infrastructures and organize groups to pursue the development of fundamental building blocks and new ideas through research.Multiple forms of digital transformation are imminent. Digital Twins represent one concept. It is gaining momentum because it may offer real-time transparency. Rapid diffusion of digital duplicates faces hurdles due to lack of semantic interoperability between architectures, standards and ontologies. The technologies necessary for automated discovery are in short supply

Unified Theory of Relativistic Identification of Information in a Systems Age: Proposed Convergence of Unique Identification with Syntax and Semantics through Internet Protocol version 6

Unique identification of objects are helpful to the decision making process in many domains. Decisions, however, are often based on information that takes into account multiple factors. Physical objects and their unique identification may be one of many factors. In real-world scenarios, increasingly decisions are based on collective information gathered from multiple sources (or systems) and then combined to a higher level domain that may trigger a decision or action. Currently, we do not have a globally unique mechanism to identify information derived from data originating from objects and processes. Unique identification of information, hence, is an open question. In addition, information, to be of value, must be related to the context of the process. In general, contextual information is of greater relevance in the decision making process or in decision support systems. In this working paper, I shall refer to such information as decisionable information. The suggestion here is to utilize the vast potential of internet protocol version six (IPv6) to uniquely identify not only objects and processes but also relationships (semantics) and interfaces (sensors). Convergence of identification of diverse entities using the globally agreed structure of IPv6 offers the potential to identify 3.4x10[subscript 38] instances based on the fact that the 128-bit IPv6 structure can support 3.4x10[subscript 38] unique addresses. It is not necessary that all instances must be connected to the internet or routed or transmitted simply because an IP addressing scheme is suggested. This is a means for identification that will be globally unique and offers the potential to be connected or routed via the internet. In this working paper, scenarios offer [1] new revenue potential from data routing (P2P traffic track and trace) for telecommunication industries, [2] potential for use in healthcare and biomedical community, [3] scope of use in the semantic web structure by transitioning URIs used in RDF, [4] applications involving thousands of mobile ad hoc sensors (MANET) that demand dynamic adaptive auto-reconfiguration. This paper presents a confluence of ideas

Auto ID Paradigm Shifts from Internet of Things to Unique Identification of Individual Decisions in System of Systems

Return on investment (ROI) from radio frequency (RF) based tools of identification may increase with the diffusion of frequency agnostic modes of radio frequency identification (RFID), such as, ultrawideband (UWB). Similarly, fixed frequency readers may be replaced with interrogators that can operate in any frequency, such as software defined radio (SDR). However, mere identification of objects provides data that may not be useful unless the process of data acquisition is further linked to systems where the data can be analysed and useful information extracted. This evolution remains incomplete because data about objects is only a small segment of necessary information. Global businesses and systems, such as healthcare, demand much more than object data. Often processes and plans as well as prior decisions are taken into account when deciding on a future course of action or may be the next step in a transaction. Current practice of auto id, although useful in some instances, remains only a small part of what is necessary for identification of information in complex system of systems. Identification, therefore, must encompass the ability both tangible and intangible elements that contribute to decisions. The unique “address” must be preserved during information exchange and decision support between system of systems

Can Convergence of Innovation Catalyse Economic Growth?

Big ideas offer big dividends but have stormy beginnings. Even worse is when people cannot visualise the future because their imagination is bent out of focus by short-term ROI or resistance to change status quo! Systemic vision requires individuals who can visualize future issues with dynamic and analytical convergence which balances the odds of probabilistic decision making in a generally uncertain world. It is such ‘inclusive' and out-of-the-box thinking that is uncommon because institutions still offer prizes for depth of expertise, almost exclusively. Erudite scholars such as Murray Gell-Mann and Nicholas Negroponte, continue to comment on the need for individuals with ‘horizontal’ understanding. But, academic status quo and paucity of such enlightened views are discouraging individuals to pursue a broad spectrum of ‘horizontal’ understanding. In "Darwin's Middle Road" that Stephen Jay Gould wrote for his monthly column in the Natural History magazine, Gould once said, "if genius has any common denominator, I would propose breadth of interest and the ability to construct fruitful analogies between fields."This article is about convergence and why not. How about a ride to space in an elevator? Why not? A single nanotube could stretch from earth to the stratosphere and be able to support its own weight. This fact spurred NASA to review ideas proposed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1895) a Russian visionary and Arthur C. Clarke in The Fountains of Paradise (1978). The idea is to build an elevator (lift) that will travel 60,000 miles from the earth’s surface into space carrying cargo and humans. It is predicted that the ‘space elevator’ will lower the cost of positioning a satellite in space from $10,000 to$100 per pound. NASA provided $570,000 to Bradley Edwards to provide details. Bradley Edwards’ proposal calls for a single nanotube about 75 cm wide and thinner than a piece of paper that will stretch 60,000 miles from the surface of the earth or the ocean floor (The Space Elevator by Bradley Edwards, 2002). A 3-day NASA conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico (September 2003) drew 60 scientists and engineers working on the concept. The outcome of the meeting: “it is plausible.” (Gentry Lee, Chief Engineer, JPL, Cal Tech). The ‘space elevator’ apparatus would lift up to 13 tons of cargo in a week to reach the geosynchronous orbit (22,300 miles). The necessary underlying technologies exist except the carbon nanotube material (ribbon). The estimated cost to build the first space elevator may be$6 to $12 billion. Subsequent elevators may cost$2 billion. The estimated cost of building and operating the international Space Station is expected to exceed $100 billion. Those who are teenagers today, may wish to book a suite in that elevator to space, to celebrate their 50th marriage anniversary!MIT Forum for Supply Chain Innovation http://supplychain.mit.edu/shoume

Advances in Supply Chain Management: Potential to Improve Forecasting Accuracy

Forecasting is a necessity almost in any operation. However, the tools of forecasting are still primitive in view of the great strides made by research and the increasing abundance of data made possible by automatic identification technologies, such as, radio frequency identification (RFID). The relationship of various parameters that may change and impact decisions are so abundant that any credible attempt to drive meaningful associations are in demand to deliver the value from acquired data. This paper proposes some modifications to adapt an advanced forecasting technique (GARCH) with the aim to develop it as a decision support tool applicable to a wide variety of operations including supply chain management. We have made an attempt to coalesce a few different ideas toward a “solutions” approach aimed to model volatility and in the process, perhaps, better manage risk. It is possible that industry, governments, corporations, businesses, security organizations, consulting firms and academics with deep knowledge in one or more fields, may spend the next few decades striving to synthesize one or more models of effective modus operandi to combine these ideas with other emerging concepts, tools, technologies and standards to collectively better understand, analyze and respond to uncertainty. However, the inclination to reject deep rooted ideas based on inconclusive results from pilot projects is a detrimental trend and begs to ask the question whether one can aspire to build an elephant using mouse as a model

Decision Support and Systems Interoperability in Global Business Management

Globalization of business and volatility of financial markets has catapulted ‘cycle-time’ as a key indicator of operational efficiency in business processes. Systems automation holds the promise to augment the ability of business and healthcare networks to rapidly adapt to changes or respond, with minimal human intervention, under ideal conditions. Currently, system of systems (SOS) or organization of networks contribute minimally in making decisions because collaboration remains elusive due the challenges of complexity. Convergence and maturity of research offers the potential for a paradigm shift in interoperability. This paper explores some of these trends and related technologies. Irrespective of the characteristics of information systems, the development of various industry-contributed ontologies for knowledge and decision layers, may spur self-organizing SOS to increase the ability to sense and respond. Profitability from pervasive use of ontological frameworks and agent-based modeling may depend on the ability to use them through better enterprise and extraprise exchange

Advances in Supply Chain Management Decision Support Systems: Potential for Improving Decision Support Catalysed by Semantic Interoperability between Systems

Globalization has catapulted ‘cycle time’ as a key indicator of operational efficiency [1] in processes such as supply chain management (SCM). Systems automation holds the promise to augment the ability of supply chain operations or supply networks to rapidly adapt to changes, with minimal human intervention, under ideal conditions. Business communities are emerging as loose federations or organization of networks that may evolve to act as infomediaries in global SCM. These changes, although sluggish, are likely to impact process knowledge and in turn may be stimulated or inhibited by the availability or lack of process interoperability, respectively. The latter will determine operational efficiencies of supply chains. Currently “community of systems” or organization of networks (aligned by industry or business focus) contribute minimally in SCM decisions because true collaboration remains elusive. Convergence and maturity of multiple advances offers the potential for a paradigm shift in interoperability. It may evolve hand-in-hand with [a] the gradual adoption of the semantic web [2] with concomitant development of ontological frameworks, [b] increase in use of multi-agent systems and [c] advent of ubiquitous computing enabling near real-time access to identification of objects and analytics [4]. This paper examines some of these complex trends and related technologies. Irrespective of the characteristics of information systems, the development of various industry-contributed ontologies for knowledge and decision layers, may spur self-organizing networks of business communities and systems to increase their ability to sense and respond, more profitably, through better enterprise and extraprise exchange. In order to transform this vision into reality, systems automation must be weaned from the syntactic web and integrated with the organic growth of the semantic web. Understanding of process semantics and incorporation of intelligent agents with access to ubiquitous near real-time data “bus” are pillars for “intelligent” evolution of decision support systems. Software as infrastructure may integrate plethora of agent colonies through improved architectures (such as, service oriented architecture or SOA) and business communities aligned by industry or service focus may emerge as hubs of such agent empires. However, the feasibility of the path from exciting “pilots” in specific areas toward an informed convergence of systemic real-world implementation remains unclear and fraught with hurdles related to gaps in knowledge transfer from experts in academia to real-world practitioners. The value of interoperability between systems that may catalyse real-time intelligent decision support is further compromised by the lack of clarity of approach and tools. The latter offers significant opportunities for development of tools that may segue to innovative solutions approach. A critical mass of such solutions may spawn the necessary systems architecture for intelligent interoperability, essential for sustainable profitability and productivity in an intensely competitive global economy. This paper addresses some of these issues, tools and solutions that may have broad applicability in several operations including the management of adaptive supply-demand networks [7]