Satellite-based positioning systems are the bedrock upon which an enormous array of location services is built - everything from smartphone games to emergency notification systems makes use of location data. These systems also enable aircraft and ships to navigate and enable remote operation of huge agricultural and mining machines with pinpoint precision. The European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency estimates the market for devices and location data services will reach 180 billion euros ($199 billion) by 2020, with 8 billion receivers in operation, getting satellites an important part of a country's industrial competitiveness.

 

A Nikkei analysis of satellite orbit data from leading U.S. receiver maker Trimble highlighted BeiDou's rapid growth. China launched 18 satellites for the system in 2018 only. As of the end of June, there were 35 BeiDou satellites in operation, compared with 31 for GPS. The EU, meanwhile, has 22 positioning satellites and Russia 24. Japan operates four 'quasi-zenith' satellites, which are limited to regional use, while India has six.

 

As of June 28, Chinese satellites were observed more continually than GPS satellites in 130 of 195 countries (U.N. member states plus the Vatican and Palestine). More than 20 BeiDou satellites were observed over mainland China. China is using its Belt and Road Initiative to promote the BeiDou navigation system. BeiDou satellites were the most frequently observed in more than 100 of the 137 countries that have signed on to the massive infrastructure project. Most were in Southeast Asia and Africa.

 

The Pakistani military depends on BeiDou for positioning data, and in April there was a test run of self-driving tractors in Tunisia using the system. More than 30 countries in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere use the Chinese navigation system. If it becomes the standard in these countries, China will have an advantage in introducing new technologies and products.

 

BeiDou is also making inroads in Japan, the U.S. and Europe. About 10 Chinese satellites were seen over New York and London, fewer than in Asia. However there were almost as many Chinese satellites overhead in the two cities as American and European ones during certain hours. Japan's four quasi-zenith satellites frequently operate in conjunction with around 10 GPS satellites. But more than 20 BeiDou satellites could be observed daily over Japan.

 

A report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a U.S. congressional panel, guesses that Beijing will invest up to $10.6 billion on its satellite positioning system between 1994 and 2020. The country plans to launch about 10 satellites by 2020. The bigger the constellation of satellites, the more accurate the positioning. Nobuaki Kubo, a professor at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, believes BeiDou will be as precise as the satellite systems of advanced economies within a few years.

 

The growth of China's satellite data positioning industry has deep implications. Chinese smartphones and car navigation systems are BeiDou-compatible by default; foreign manufacturers are following suit because products and services that use BeiDou are available in many other countries. U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm was the first to supply chips for BeiDou-capable smartphones. Leading American smartphone makers other than Apple use the chips in their devices. STMicroelectronics of Switzerland obtained the BeiDou system for its automotive semiconductors in 2015.

 

'We need to be compatible with positioning satellites around the world with a single type of semiconductor,' said Yuji Motohashi, who heads the automotive digital product division at STMicroelectronics Japan unit. For companies with global ambitions, making BeiDou-compatible products is a must. Chinese tech companies are using BeiDou to sharpen their edge. Lenovo Group Vice President Chang Cheng revealed in May that the location function of its new Z6 smartphone is accurate to within 1 meter. The handset has a chip that receives signals of varying frequencies from BeiDou satellites to enhance accuracy, which for most smartphones is about 3 to 5 meters.

 

Qianxun SI, a location services provider funded by Alibaba Group Holding and others, is using BeiDou signals and data from more than 2,000 ground stations to create a positioning service for self-driving vehicles with an accuracy in the centimeter range. Just as the U.S. became the leader in positioning services with GPS, China is working to develop new satellite-based technology and promote it around the world using BeiDou. The rise of BeiDou has raised alerts in the U.S. national security establishment. Compared with GPS, which only sends signals, and cannot identify the location of receivers, BeiDou's communications with the ground are two-way. When using BeiDou for car navigation, the receiver could theoretically transmit the car's location to a satellite in orbit, said Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. He also believes Chinese satellites can jam signals in specific areas. The U.S. government is worried that such capabilities could be used in cyberattacks.

 

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Dealing with the upcoming electric vehicle, Chandra said, “We will come out with a very private focused product within this financial year, and we are doing a host of activities around it. That is the reason why we have started the charging infrastructure work now so that when we have to launch that product, in a certain number of cities that we have targeting, charging infrastructure should be visible.” Chandra further added, “We are also planning to come with a higher range version for Tigor which we will be bringing out in the market very shortly. That is the time when we intend to open it to the private buyers also.”

 

Newly at the company Annual General Meeting, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman Tata Motors announced that the company purposes to launch four electric models in India in the next 18 months. Chandrasekaran also confirmed that the electric version of the Tata Nexon will be one of the four new electric models. The other three will be – the Tata Altroz EV showcased at the Geneva Motor Show, the more powerful Tigor EV for private buyers, and a fourth undisclosed model.

 

Speaking about these upcoming electric cars, Shailesh Chandra said, “These are the products which are focused towards the private segment and there might be some more products which might come, but we are gearing up towards their development and we’ll see what the right time to launch them is. So, these two (Nexon EV and Altroz EV) special products are definitely the private buyer-focused products,” When requested whether the upcoming EV could either be the Nexon EV or the Altroz EV, he said, “Hopefully, yes”.

 

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Hyundai Mobis developed the key hardware and algorithms for those radar and camera sensors with its proprietary technologies. These sensors constitute the Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) system to identify and compute a safe distance from a preceding vehicle and artificially decrease car speed in a high-risk situation.

 

Hyundai Mobis is ramping up attempts to bolster of its pipeline for safety and convenience-related components applicable to both passenger and commercial vehicles according to the commercial reality of self-driving cars. Another focus is technology enablers for unmanned cargo trucks in the logistics sector to be aligned with a 5G-based vehicle control system. The company said its R&D projects seek excellence in quality, reliability and price to raise its competitive edge in the global commercial vehicle market.

 

Hyundai Mobis lately added a driver state warning (DSW) system to its lineup of product offerings. The system uses an infrared camera to detect drowsy driving, lack of attention behind the wheel and increased fatigue of the driver, helping to refrain a frontal collision.

 

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Over the last year, a growing number of retailers have started to adopt the technology. Uniqlo, for one, uses machine learning to power a digital assistant on its app, which is able to give tremendously personalised recommendations. In Hong Kong, convenience-store operator Circle K unveiled an AI-driven checkout solution last year that uses image-recognition technology in the self-checkout process.

 

While there are clear benefits to implementing artificial intelligence – improving operational efficiencies and gaining a better understanding of the customer are just two – it can also be a difficult task to embark on. Here we figure out three key considerations for retailers that are looking to unleash the power of AI:

 

Quality of data

 

Through machine learning, retailers are able to take data from a number of channels and turn that into actionable predictions and recommendations. But the biggest success factor is not the algorithm behind these insights, but relatively the quality of the data that feeds into it. Retailers that do not have their data estates in order risk having underwhelming outcomes from their AI investment. This is something that must be regarded beforehand.

 

Choosing which areas to focus on

 

There is a number of areas in which artificial intelligence can be deployed in a retail setting. Except for the different applications of AI technology – as an example, machine learning, natural language processing and robotics – there is also a choice to be made with respect to the operational area, be that the customer-facing side of the business or processes that run behind the scenes. AI initiatives that help to improve the customer experience can be an ideal starting point as this is an area that benefits from a wealth of data and can provide a quick win for a retailer.

 

Bringing in external expertise

 

Numerous retailers will lack the skills and expertise to confidently start leveraging AI technology. The solution is often a mix of recruiting talent to bridge the skills gap and working with credible technology partners. The advantage of both these approaches is that retailers can hit the ground running and be able to accelerate their first move. Speed is critical if a retailer wants to be a disruptor rather than disrupted.

 

Digital Transformation Survey

 

Is your organization looking at emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and automated deliveries? And how do technology partnerships form part of your digital strategy? Tofugear is executing its annual digital transformation survey and is asking C-level executives and senior managers across Asia about their approach to innovation.

 

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“Honor Vision is not just television as we know it,” said the company’s president George Zhao. “It defines the future of television with Honor’s ‘Sharp Tech’ innovations.” Zhao says the Honor TVs will perform a progressively crucial role in the future of smart family life. “It is not only a home entertainment centre, but also an information-sharing centre, a control-management centre and a multi-device interaction centre,” he said.

 

Huawei launched Harmony to deliver what it describes as a “cohesive user experience across all devices and user scenarios”. Some industry analysts have already commented that the development of the OS mis linked to US tech giant Google discontinuing upgrades for Huawei devices running Android due to security concerns in the west. But Huawei says HarmonyOS will be optimised and gradually adopted across the brand’s smart watches, smart screens, in-vehicle systems and smart speakers. It will be launched as an open-source platform worldwide to encourage adoption by other tech companies.

 

On the other hand, the new Honor TVs come with a ‘Family Note Function’, allowing users to transfer 600M images between their smartphone and display via Huawei Share software in just 20 seconds – that’s 100 times faster than transferring via Bluetooth.

 

The Honor Vision sets will also perform as an in-home control and management center, using software called HiLink, an open ecosystem for the smart home. “The platform as well as the technology will be accessible to other smart home providers in the industry, enabling users to connect their preferred smart home products together,” the company said in a statement. The Honor Vision range of 55” 4K TVs includes 2GB+16GB standard versions and 2GB+32GB Pro versions, priced at RMB3799 (US$538) and RMB4799 (US$680) respectively.

 

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Kim was a trade minister before transferring to the Blue House in February. 'Japan also relies on us for many parts. For example, we have 72.4% of market share for DRAM,' said Kim in a TBS radio program. 'If the supply of DRAM is halted for two months, the world will have problems producing 230 million smartphones. So we may use our dominance as an option.'

 

Kim's comments reflect Seoul's increasingly hard-line stance amid the increasing diplomatic tiff, which has spilled into the trade sphere. As recently as Monday, observers had thought the trade ministry would exempt DRAM from its list of export controls. South Korea is home to the world's two largest DRAM chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Samsung held 42.7% of market share in the first quarter, followed by SK Hynix with 29.9%, according to market research company Statista. Micron Group of the U.S. was third with 23%.

 

The deputy director's comments came shortly after the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy decided on Monday to downgrade Japan to A-2 in its export control system next month. This means that South Korean companies have to obtain special governmental approval before exporting more than 1,700 strategic materials and products to Japan. Analysts say Japanese companies will try to increase stocks of DRAM chips before they are subject to the tougher regulations.

 

'Companies will stock up on DRAM to hedge against uncertainty, which will help boost the global DRAM market,' said Lee Jae-yoon, an analyst at Yuanta Securities. 'Many Japanese companies import DRAM chips from South Korea for smartphones, PCs and servers.' Lee said that Japanese companies will likely try to source DRAM from Micron, which will lead to rising DRAM prices.

 

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'We can start using our Harmony OS anytime for smartphone and the migration from Google's Android to our own Harmony OS is not that difficult... We can do it in one to two days,' Yu said.

 

Harmony OS is an essential weapon in Huawei's fightback against the campaign by the U.S. government to restrict the technological development of the world's second biggest smartphone maker. It will allow the group to offer a common ecosystem of services and applications across all of its consumer devices. Nevertheless, in an implicit admission that Harmony OS could struggle in a consumer segment where 80% of all smartphones carry the Google system, Yu said Huawei would continue to prioritize using Android for its smartphones if allowed.

 

Huawei expidited development of Harmony OS after the U.S. government blacklisted China's biggest tech company to restrict its access to American technologies in May. Several Japanese carriers had postponed selling the new Huawei models amid worries about whether the Android system and popular apps like Gmail and Youtube would have access to Google upgrades. Most have since pressed ahead with sales, although it is still not clear whether the upgrades will be available.

 

Huawei intended to make Harmony open source to encourage wider use. 'We want it [HarmonyOS] to be global so we want to invite developers to join us as we build out this new ecosystem. We could together build a leading OS in the world.' To realize the goal, the company reported Friday it would spend $1 billion to support developers building a bigger ecosystem with Huawei.

 

Huawei established developing the system two years ago and now has 4,000 to 5,000 engineers working on Harmony OS, according to Yu. With a more unified ecosystem across various devices, it could offer better security against hacks than Android, Yu said. However, analysts said big challenges remained. 'Harmony OS's biggest weakness is that it has not yet grown into an ecosystem. It does not yet have apps developed for the OS. That's why Huawei said the OS will be first available on smart screens under its sub-brand, instead of on smartphones,' said Chiu Shih-fang, a veteran smartphone and supply chain analyst at Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.

 

If the Chinese company is unable to secure access to Google's service later this year, it is possible that sales of its upcoming smartphone lineups will take a hit in overseas markets as a result of a lack of confidence among telecom operators and consumers, the analyst said. 'However, it is still the right thing to do for Huawei in the longer term, to build its own operating system and take down its reliance on American companies, given the fast-changing geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing,' Chiu said.

 

Huawei has up until now shown some resilience in the face of the U.S. restrictions but the Washington ban is still weighing on its smartphone business. Yu acknowledged that his company could not overtake Samsung Electronics as the world's biggest smartphone maker this year as it had hoped due to the trade tension and uncertainties in the market. Huawei's extremely expected foldable smartphone, Mate X, a rival to Samsung's Galaxy Fold, will be available for customers as soon as next month but it could still be delayed as the device required additional tests on a 5G network, Yu told a small group of reporters in Dongguan on Friday. Samsung also delayed the launch of the Galaxy Fold to September due to quality issues. Both devices were revealed in February.

 

'We hope to still stay at the current position of the second-largest smartphone maker for 2019 but we could not achieve our previous goal to become world's No. 1 by the end of this year,' Yu said.

 

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Their analysis followed technology undercurrents to determine the geography and topology of innovation, which is the term the organization uses to refer to how the future workforce will deal with automation and other trends. They also looked at the different skill demands of employers embedded in job-postings data to understand their emerging workforce needs.

 

They then provide a review of the gaps between employers’ skill demand and worker skillsets to distinguish occupations that represent promising inclusion points for underrepresented categories. Highlights of the report include discussion of:

 

New innovation cities:

New innovation cities are making a grand entrance on the innovation hub scene and offer promising opportunities for startup pipelines and new job creation.

 

Skill combinations and transferability:

Innovation jobs and the skills required of an innovation workforce will be markedly different from those of the past. Employers are in the market for a combination of foundational STEM and tech-specific skills along with non-STEM skills, the portability of which offers workers opportunities to enrich their skill portfolios without starting over.

 

New policy lenses:

Increasing visibility into skill portability opens new policy lenses for identifying skill-based entry points and meaningful pathway progressions to quality jobs.

 

Targeted interventions:

Solving the STEM pipeline problem requires a multi-pronged approach to level the playing field, including shifting from generic STEM policies toward targeted interventions.

 

The organization offers their data as the ground for educators, policymakers and workforce planners to both perceive the current landscape and better prepare for the future. A skills-based topological examination of the job market provides a nuanced way for policy planners to assess the scale and breadth of emerging trends within local job markets and formulate policy responses that support workers and their innovation ecosystems.

 

Projecting labor market data onto a network uncovers specific pipeline junctures well-suited to high-impact, inclusionary policy strategies. Skill–occupation networks and skill gaps make clear that solving the STEM pipeline problem takes a multi-pronged approach to level the playing field. Including minorities in the innovation economy requires that Black, Hispanic, and Native American students have equitable access to core math and science training that, at a minimum, puts them on par with their Asian American peers.

 

Raising the absolute numbers of minority STEM graduates and employees will maximize their representation in core STEM occupations, but these policies alone are inadequate to address pipeline flows. Alternatively, policymakers need to expand their toolset to include holistic policies that strategically improve minorities’ skill competitiveness and close crucial STEM education gaps.

 

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