New forms of technology are changing the way businesses work as few, if any, sectors remain immune from the impact of advanced technology.
The use of new technologies will reshape systems, operations and employment prospects as technology eliminates the need for manpower in repetitive jobs, dangerous tasks or even to heighten productivity.
And with Sarawak looking to boost itself with digital economy – featured in last week’s edition of BizHive Weekly – it highlights the pertinence of keeping up with the times as technological needs of companies adapt and change based on demands and advancements made today.
Technological advancements are quickly revolutionising areas with high need for accuracy, such as automotive and healthcare services,
Certain kinds of technology aims to aid with one’s senses, such as virtual reality. Using headsets, VR is often used to generate realistic images and sounds to stimulate the sensation of being in another environment.
Broader forms of advancements include artificial intelligence – a field with exponential growth potential pegged to revolutionise industries such as automotive and healthcare. It has great diagnostic abilities thanks to this flexibility.
In fact, Malaysian enterprises are urged to educate themselves and get on the Industry 4.0 train to remain competitive in the digital world.
Communications and Multimedia Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Dr Sharifah Zarah Syed Ahmad said Malaysians, especially the business community, must fully embrace digitalisation and enhance industry skills in order to stay abreast of the new revolution.
The government has placed much emphasis on Industry 4.0 as it was critical to boost industrial and economic growth.
“I hope the skills set in all sectors including the property sector could be expanded further,” she told reporters after launching TheEdgeProperty.com Malaysia’s Virtual Property Expo, dubbed as the first virtual property expo in Malaysia on Friday.
With this in mind, BizHive Weekly looks at three types of tech – drones, virtual reality and artificial intelligence – and how they are disrupting the worlds of auditing, property and automotive respectively:
Taking audit to the skies with drones
It comes as no surprise that drones are one of the pioneering gadgets disrupting business — specifically the auditing industry.
“It’s now time to scale our testing globally across multiple sectors, as we know that many audits can benefit from the use of this innovative technology.”
Hermann Sidhu, EY Global Assurance Digital Leader
As a tool to scan large plots of land, sky and sea with ease, drones are set to change the way certified professional accountants (CPAs) audit, particularly for calculatively intense industries such as mining, oil and gas, lumber and palm oil.
Drones came about some 15 years ago as sources cite the US’ Central Intelligence Agency utilising drones for military purposes. Since then, it quickly gained traction worldwide as a tool for gathering data or even as a mode of transporting lightweight goods.
Following this, EY has launched a global proof of concept (POC) to expand the use of drones in inventory observations, as part of its digital audit capabilities.
In order to enhance audit quality, this extensive pilot project will use pioneering industry technology to improve the accuracy and frequency of inventory count data collection.
The cloud-based asset tracking platform, powered by an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor network, will analyze inventory quantities in real-time by reading Quick Response (QR)/barcode/rack labels and feeding this information directly into EY Canvas — the EY Assurance global audit digital platform that seamlessly connects more than 80,000 auditors.
The POC will initially be used in both the manufacturing and retail sectors.
Audits for automotive manufacturers, for example, can use drones to conduct an automated count of vehicles at manufacturing plants.
In the retail sector, auditing a warehouse stock count will see drones working autonomously while using variable image and object recognition tools such as optical character recognition and labels to collect inventory information to improve efficiency. Drones can also be used day or night, thus eliminating the
Testing drones’ extent of abilities
Hermann Sidhu, EY Global Assurance Digital Leader said EY has been testing the use of drones in the audit process for several months and the findings have been compelling.
“It’s now time to scale our testing globally across multiple sectors, as we know that many audits can benefit from the use of this innovative technology,” he said in a statement last month.
“It’s just one of many ways that we are working to embed the very latest technologies into our audit processes to further improve audit quality.”
The use of drones in the inventory count allows for more data to be captured, and for audit teams to focus on identifying areas of risk, rather than manually capturing stock counts.
Innovating the stock count process using ground breaking drone technology, AI and machine learning, will create a capability that can further benefit EY audit stakeholders.
Meanwhile, Felice Persico, EY Global vice chair for Assurance said the firm globally is investing heavily in the development of new technologies that can enhance the quality of its audit process.
“Our primary function is to build trust and confidence in the capital markets, and digitalising these types of tasks in our audits means that we can improve not only audit quality, but also provide deeper business insights that further benefit our stakeholders.”
Progress in US legislation
In the US, drones are emerging as a new issue for CPA firms, according to the American Institute of CPAs’ (AICPA) State Regulation and Legislation Team which is collaborating with state CPA societies to monitor trends in legislating drones.
Unmanned aircraft systems, commonly referred to as drones, have a wide range of commercial applications, including law enforcement and rescue operations.
“However, for the past several years, commercial drone usage for CPAs has been mostly limited to larger firms due to the strict regulatory structure surrounding drone operations in the United States,” added EY’s Felice.
“But on August 29, 2016, a new FAA rule took effect that broadly authorizes commercial drone operations in the United States, vastly opening up the potential for drone operations and lowering the cost of entry for CPA firms looking to adapt their audit and inspection processes.
“For example, it is now easier for firms to use drones to aid in monitoring infrastructure for defects and assessing large geographical areas.
“There are many commercial applications for drones, but inspections of large scale physical assets are one of the biggest market opportunities.
“PwC, for example, estimates the global market for infrastructure inspection and agricultural surveys alone to exceed US$77 billion, and the firm has already set up a global drone headquarters in Poland with the intention to bring the services around the world.
The commercial drone industry continues to grow, and CPA firms will likely see expanded use of drones in commercial operations, as well as state-level legislation, in 2017.
Virtual reality enhances property-buying experience
Imagine not needing to leave the confines of an office space to view several properties for purchase.
Such is the possibility emerging in the world of property, specifically in Malaysia will soon be able to view prospective properties via virtual reality (VR) technology, which provides a 360-degree realistic viewing experience.
REA Group Ltd Chief Executive Officer, Tracey Fellows, revealed that the group was currently conducting a series of pilot tests in order to enhance the customer’s experience when buying a property.
REA Group is an Australian-based multinational digital advertising company specialising in properties.
“We are Google’s worldwide partner for the Google Daydream Virtual Reality Apps, and we have the first VR real-estate app which enables customers to view prospective properties through the VR goggles.
“We use digital technology to change the way people experience and search for property,” she said in an interview with Bernama.
Fellows said the group has always looked into innovation and technology in the property market.
“We really believe that technology and innovation can make property search a much better experience for the consumers, but I think it would take some time before VR goes mainstream.
“Currently, we have VR services in Australia, but it is not yet mainstream due to the difficulty in obtaining equipment such as goggles and others,” she added.
However, she hinted at the technology would soon be available in the local market, saying that it would be introduced within the next two years.
Experiencing property the new way
Meanwhile, iProperty General Manager for Malaysia and Singapore, Haresh Khoobchandani, said REA has been continuously innovating its technology and services to help the world experience property in different ways.
“What you see there (the 3D technology in Australia) is currently being developed here in Malaysia.
“We are creating the second version of our VR goggle here in Malaysia, and we are engaging with the property developers on its deployment in the local market.
“There will also be other visualisation products. People are spending more time on the internet and I believe they are ready for this kind of innovation in the property market,” he said.
Recently, iProperty introduced a new mobile app, where the company redefined the property search experience for consumers, making it simpler, faster and more integrated.
“The app is useful for consumers, developers and property owners, as buyers can now view more properties from a wider pool of developers and property owners.
“Within one week, the developers which had registered with the app saw a 40 per cent increase in enquiries from the potential buyers, and we expect that it will continue to grow,” he said.
3D property showroom
This was not the property sector’s first venture with this technology. Back in 2015, iProperty unveiled at the time to be the industry’s first virtual 3D property showroom.
iProperty Goggles provides property buyers and investors with an immersive experience while offering developers a new platform to showcase their latest property developments.
The iProperty Goggles provides a virtual reality experience through specially created goggles worn by prospective buyers. When worn, the device – equipped with a mobile phone – will display visuals replicating the showroom, enabling consumers to virtually walk through the showroom.
The iProperty Goggles app was created by the team internally and is only available for download by developers that purchase the product.
The portable device also makes it easier for developers to showcase their developments to prospective international and local property buyers and investors anytime, anywhere.
Besides painting a visually-rich world to woo investors and property buyers, developers are also able to walk these prospective buyers and investors through the show house via 3D floor plans, produce 3D flythrough videos or a virtual room-to-room site visit.
Property developers can now take advantage of this powerful platform to deliver a rich experience to their target audiences and save costs on their marketing activities and showroom renovations. They are also able to use the app as a platform to not just lure local investors but also international investors.
To note, the REA Group bought over iProperty in February 26, 2016.
Race to the top for artificially intelligent vehicles
No industry has further developed the use of AI than the automotive industry
The automobile is quickly shaping up to be the next significant gamechanger of technologies as global vehicle moguls are racing towards developing the perfect ‘driverless car’ – hailed by Apple CEO Tim Cook to be ‘the mother of all AI projects’.
But why is this industry huge? As the automotive business grows and changes dramatically within the next five to 15 years, global research house Gartner forecasts a market of 250 million connected cars on the road by 2020.
Much of that growth will be in the form of new data services and new offerings, rather than the traditional “bended metal and rubber” of the car itself, it added.
Meanwhile, consulting firm McKinsey estimated that connected car data, and the new business models that emerge out of it, could be worth US$1.5 trillion a year by 2030.
“The automobile of 2025 will look quite different than it does today. Cars will essentially become computers on wheels that generate vast amounts of valuable data — data that is only useful if the infrastructure is in place to process, analyse, and learn from it.
“AI plays the pivotal role in this connected car concept.”
Meanwhile, according to another report from IHS Technology, the number of AI systems used in infotainment and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) systems will likely spike from seven million in 2015 to 122 million by 2025.
Growing rate of adoption
IHS’s Automotive Electronics Roadmap Report found the install rate of AI-based systems in new vehicles was just seven per cent in 2015, and the vast majority were focused on speech recognitionS.
However, that number is forecast to rise to 109 per cent in 2025, as multiple AI systems of various types come to cars.
“An artificial-intelligence system continuously learns from experience and by its ability to discern and recognisze its surroundings,” Luca De Ambroggi, IHS Technology’s principal analyst for automotive semiconductors, said in a statement.
“It learns, as human beings do, from real sounds, images and other sensory inputs. The system recognizes the car’s environment and evaluates the contextual implications for the moving car.”
Infotainment human-machine interface, including speech recognition, gesture recognition (such as handwriting recognition), eye tracking and driver monitoring, virtual assistance and natural language interfaces.
ADAS and autonomous vehicles, including camera-based machine vision systems, radar-based detection units, driver condition evaluation and sensor fusion engine control units (ECU).
As in-vehicle infotainment systems and ADAS increase in complexity, Ambroggi said, there is a growing need for hardware and software that support artificial intelligence and can emulate the functions of the human brain.
In ADAS, deep learning – which mimics human neural networks – presents several advantages over traditional algorithms; it is also a key milestone on the road to fully autonomous vehicles, IHS stated in its report.
“For example, deep learning allows detection and recognition of multiple objects, improves perception, reduces power consumption, supports object classification, enables recognition and prediction of actions, and will reduce development time of ADAS systems,” IHS’s report stated.
Players ahead of the pack
Nvidia and Volkswagen on June 27 announced a collaboration in developing a viable AI and deep learning software offering for cars, traffic systems, and other applications. This intensifies the cooperation of the two companies, which revealed their first strategic partnership earlier this year.
The first collaboration framework included integrating Nvidia’s digital cockpits in the cars of the entire VW group, while also developing autopilot technology with Audi, owned by Volkswagen.
The first autonomous prototype based on the Audi Q7 model was revealed during CES 2017. The technology was claimed to be built on the basis of Nvidia’s Drive PX2 processing unit.
This initial agreement was already considered to be very beneficial for both corporations. Thus, Nvidia gained a large customer (the largest automaker in 2016), which among other benefits would allow Nvidia generate consistent and recurring revenue over time from the automotive industry.
In turn, VW got a possibility to enhance its vehicles in terms of technology, thus regaining customers’ attention after the “dieselgate” scandal hit VW’s reputation.
The new cooperation goes beyond just the auto industry. The two corporations said they will work together in their own data lab, while also attracting start-up companies to collaborate.
Notably, it is stated by Techcrunch the first data lab of VW was established in 2014 to develop AI for such areas as “robotic enterprise.”
The technologies by Nvidia will provide a sound basis for further development.The words of Volkswagen Chief Information Officer Martin Hofmann are provided by Reuters:
“Artificial intelligence is the key to the digital future of the Volkswagen Group…We want to develop and deploy high-performance AI systems ourselves. This is why we are expanding our expert knowledge required. Cooperation with Nvidia will be a major step in this direction.”
Global tech leader Apple Inc (Apple) is not one to be left out of the game. Chief executive Tim Cook said Apple was ploughing resources into developing technology to control driverless vehicles.
Cook highlighted Apple’s ability to strike out into new territory by giving detailed comments about a car venture that has so far been enveloped in secrecy.
“We’re focusing on autonomous systems,” said Cook in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “Clearly one purpose of autonomous systems is self-driving cars. There are others. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects.”
He added: “It’s probably one of the most difficult AI projects actually to work on.”
Meanwhile, Daimler unveiled its autonomous 18-wheeler last year during a ceremony at the Hoover Dam. The Freightliner Inspiration Truck, a concept truck, underwent extensive testing before the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles granted it a license to operate on public roads in the state.
Gil Pratt, CEO of Toyota Research Institute, said the vast majority of mainstream vehicles adopting autonomous driving features will be controlled by ADAS or “guardian angels” that learn your driving behaviors and new road conditions and how to react to them over time.
Auto makers will continue to place focus on assisting drivers for years to come instead of producing fully autonomous vehicles that take the steering wheel from drivers.