Author: Peggy Smedley
AVs (autonomous vehicles) will unlock opportunities for businesses, consumers, and society, but the road to reaching true autonomous driving is a long one—with bumps, pivots, and potholes—and with many challenges and opportunities. So, the question at hand is: what comes next? To answer these questions, we must first unpack where we are right now. We know different levels of autonomy include semi-autonomous that require driver assistance to fully autonomous. And of course, the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) has the 6 levels of driving automation, which ranges from fully manual (0) to fully autonomous (5). The reality is right now…
Here in the state of South Carolina, we have significant interest in recognizing and advancing innovative strategies to support EVs (electric vehicles). The hope here is that it will facilitate and encourage investment and economic development in this sector. The opportunities are vast. Roughly one year ago, in an executive order from the office of the Governor, we see South Carolina has experienced and cultivated tremendous growth, which has an annual economic impact of more than $27 billion and includes more than 500 companies and more than 74,000 professionals in the state across all automotive. At the time, the SC…
Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities the construction industry has at its proverbial fingertips today is to bring together sustainability and infrastructure to create a world of tomorrow that just might stand the test of time. Many recognize this, yet there are still many challenges that stand in the way. ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) acknowledges this as well and has developed a new standard that provides guidance to infrastructure owners on their journey to build a more sustainable infrastructure. The objective here is to help develop and implement sustainable solutions throughout a project’s entire lifecycle. The ASCE 73-23…
What happens when the robots don’t rise up? There are those who fear robots will displace humans, but have you taken a moment to consider when robots are just not up to the task at all—simply, they are not the right fit. What about when robots require more attention and care than hiring a human to do the job? One new survey looks into this conundrum that many manufacturers face with legacy systems. The Challenge This research from Visual Components suggests more than half of manufacturers in the U.K. say time-consuming manual programming is required for robots to complete welding,…
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to go to Singapore to attend the annual Year in Infrastructure conference. Here Bentley Systems addressed key industry challenges—namely the engineering resource capacity gap—and highlighted solutions. “There is already an average of one unfilled position for every 10 infrastructure engineers at work,” says Greg Bentley, CEO, Bentley Systems. “In fact, presumably as a result of this engineering resource capacity gap, it seems that our application users are working days that are longer by an average of 23 minutes since pre-pandemic 2019. So, all of us who contribute to infrastructure engineering are ever more…
I have written many times about the manufacturing industry here in South Carolina—and the success stories continue to ring across the state, so much so that on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, Governor Henry McMaster even issued a proclamation recognizing National Manufacturing Day and October as the official Manufacturing Month in South Carolina. What types of progress are we making here in South Carolina? Today, the manufacturing industry has a presence across all 46 counties with an annual economic impact of $206 billion, accounting for tens of thousands of jobs statewide, according to the Economic Impact of Manufacturing in South Carolina,…
Many industries are facing new challenges amid a worker shortage, changing economic conditions, rising fuel costs, and the need for sustainability. Perhaps there is no greater place for this than the aviation and airline industry. These industries have also been grappling to meet increased customer demand with the emergence of innovation. This is a recent conversation I had Julie Shainock, global managing director for travel, transport logistics, and hospitality, Microsoft. Let’s take a moment to explore a few of the hurdles and opportunities that this industry faces. (I would also be remiss if we did not note the Israel-Hamas war…
Huw Roberts, CEO, Graphisoft, began his career more than three decades ago as an architect working on projects including private homes, restaurants, healthcare, and sports facilities. He knows firsthand what it means to learn and train on the job with other great architects—and he provides some great insights about what it will mean to train and inspire today’s next generation of young workers, all while leveraging the latest technologies and BIM (building information modeling). “I think back to when I was an intern to become an architect. I learned by osmosis and by working with the old guy who smoked…
Sustainability is top of mind for many these days, but what about resiliency? How does it factor into what we are doing in our own homes and even in our own communities? A new framework just might change how we move forward in the days ahead. In late September, the White House Climate Policy Office hosted the Summit on Building Climate Resilient Communities and as a result the unveiling of the new National Climate Resilience Framework, which aims to build more resilient communities—particularly as severe weather events are on the rise. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information with…
Edge computing is still emerging in manufacturing—but where are we right now, as I write this, and where are we headed? A new report looks to answer these very questions, explaining how edge computing is changing manufacturing to solve operational issues and reduce costs. Now that’s the tricky part when you consider manufacturing is changing faster than we can even say smart manufacturing. AT&T recently released its 2023 AT&T Cybersecurity Insights Report: Focus on Manufacturing. One of the key takeaways reveals that there are critical elements needed to deliver both secure and effective edge solutions. After covering this space for…