Emerging Technologies That Can Benefit Your Company Now

As a global tech leader, Prolifics always works with and implements the latest solutions. We recently developed two new offerings within our advanced analytics practice area – “Enhanced Situational Awareness & Operational Intelligence” and “Industrial Metaverse and Connected Worker Experiences.”

To oversee these offerings, as well as our other advanced analytic technologies, Prolifics brought in Konrad Konarski as our Vice President of AI & Emerging Technologies. Konrad is a successful entrepreneur, engineer, business professional and thought leader with more than 20 years of experience in emerging technologies.

At Prolifics, Konrad provides hands-on collaboration in both practical business application and cutting-edge research using computer vision, natural language understanding, synthetic data creation, augmented reality and industrial robotics. We spoke with Konrad as we took a closer look at these new offerings.

Enhanced Situational Awareness & Operational Intelligence

“Situational awareness” is perceiving environmental elements and events, comprehending their meaning, and projecting the future status of those elements and events.

“Operational intelligence” is data analysis that enables business decisions and actions based on real-time data as it’s generated.

Now, as Konrad points out, companies have always needed situational awareness and operational intelligence and achieved it in different ways. He said, “A really rudimentary way was to send someone there and take notes. An advanced way is to use sensors. A more advanced way is to analyze the information with machine learning. For Prolifics, the key word in our offering is ‘enhanced.’ I’m excited about the unique things we’re creating that either don’t exist in the marketplace or are not readily available.”

Konrad notes that even with the best of today’s existing technical solutions, gaps exist, such as data that in and of itself doesn’t provide a completely comprehensive view; processes that are still human intensive, like having to watch raw video; and the limitations of traditional machine learning. What enhancements does Prolifics’ offering provide? They include:

• AI computer vision – With equipment or in manufacturing, it provides motion analytics that can uncover nuanced issues undetectable through traditional quantitative data, like simple usage hours. This can predict failure earlier, prescribe steps to extend the useful life, and thus save money.
• NLU (natural language understanding) – While today’s NLP (natural language processing) can process a text’s wording, NLU goes beyond that to make decisions and take actions based on the text and its meaning. This can take processes like automated customer service to a new level.
• Deep-learning and causal AI – These provide both more precise and accurate understanding of predicted outcomes and help in identifying root-causes, giving a better look into the future and how it will get there.

Industrial Metaverse and Connected Worker Experiences

The “Industrial Metaverse” is the deep integration of information, communication, and the real economy. The same is true for the “Connected Worker.” The ultimate goal is to build a new, efficient industrial system, both manufacturing and service, across the whole value chain.

• Internet of Things (IoT) – IoT represents physical devices connected globally through the internet, all modified with sensors, software, processing abilities, and other tech so they can exchange data among devices and systems.
• Digital twin – This is the digital representation of an actual physical product, system, or process. The “twin” serves as an exact digital counterpart to run simulations on integration, monitoring, and maintenance.
• Virtual and augmented reality (mixed reality) – Virtual reality (VR) provides near real experiences in a virtual way, while augmented reality (AR) enhances the real world by superimposing computer-generated information on top of it. Both use specialized headset equipment, though a less immersive experience is available over normal devices.
• AI computer vision – See above

Konrad said, “There are inherent business needs for the industrial metaverse and a connected worker, it could be better collaboration, being able to support some complex process using mixed reality. Because mixed reality, if you’re wearing something and it’s projecting new information while you’re doing something that, alternatively, you would have to pull out a manual (and that could be in an industrial space, in a medical space, any complex process), there’s a strong value proposition to be made for using mixed reality connected worker technology.”

About Prolifics

Prolifics is a global digital engineering and consulting firm helping clients navigate and accelerate their digital transformation journeys. We deliver relevant outcomes using our systematic approach to rapid, enterprise-grade continuous innovation. We treat our digital deliverables like a customized product – using agile practices to deliver immediate and ongoing increases in value.