As global air passenger traffic is forecast to hit 10.2 billion in 2026, a 3.9 percent year-on-year increase, investments have been pouring in to improve airport infrastructure and operational efficiency and use artificial intelligence to achieve it. Working with data released by Airport Council International, a irports are relying on the increasing use of AI to embrace the rise in demand. The use of AI-powered analytics to anticipate congestion at security, immigration and boarding points is also helping to prevent delays. Resources are being allocated to shift from reactive crowd management to predictive operations. AI-powered baggage optimisation tools and biometric processing - which would allow passengers to walk through immigration without the need to present a physical passport - are also gaining traction as airports seek to improve passenger experience while maintaining operational efficiency.

In the wake of rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), we stand on the brink of a transformative leap in data systems. The imminent fusion of AI and DB (AIxDB) promises a new generation of data systems, which will relieve the burden on end-users across all industry sectors by featuring AI-enhanced functionalities, such as personalized and automated in-database AI-powered analytics, self-driving capabilities for improved system performance, etc. In this paper, we explore the evolution of data systems with a focus on deepening the fusion of AI and DB. We present NeurDB, an AI-powered autonomous data system designed to fully embrace AI design in each major system component and provide in-database AI-powered analytics. We outline the conceptual and architectural overview of NeurDB, discuss its design choices and key components, and report its current development and future plan.

Business analytics give everyone from project managers to C-suite executives the ability to make better business decisions. Such tools turn otherwise unintelligible data – on customers, trends, products, and more – into valuable insights that facilitate astute decision-making and financial success. For all their popularity, traditional KPI dashboards and business intelligence (BI) tools have their limitations. Developing management reports or analytics dashboards is labor-intensive, and the subsequent information tends to be high-level summary data, pertaining to only a few key metrics. In fact, according to recent research, nearly half of enterprise decision-makers reported that the quality of data-based insights has decreased or plateaued over the past three years.

The term AI has been around for nearly 70 years, but it is only nowadays that AI is profoundly affecting and changing the way we live, work, interact and play. AI is on an unstoppable journey toward revolutionizing and disrupting diverse industries, and business leaders are embracing this trend with enthusiasm . So, why haven't we seen the rise of AI much earlier and is AI here to stay this time? Or is AI yet another new technology riding the hype wave? How can AI help us become better decision-makers? Many researchers agree with Larry Tesler (a computer scientist who invented copy-paste while working at Xerox and worked on human-machine interaction) that "AI is anything that hasn't been done yet!".

Neptune Lines PCTCs feature METIS Ship Connect – the automated data acquisition solution whose accuracy is approved by Lloyds Register. The METIS platform uses a network of Wireless Intelligent Collectors to harvest machinery, navigation and operational data regardless of equipment supplier. Its ship performance analysis also integrates AIS data, data fetched from vessels' daily / arrival / departure regular reporting and weather forecasts to provide services such as automated noon reporting, analysis of technical and operational domains and weather-related reporting. Outputs include live dashboards showing the condition of main engines, diesel generators, ballast water treatment systems and other machinery as well as power and fuel consumption. However, the METIS platform also allows Neptune Lines management to visualize KPIs such as power vs speed under the full ship speed range and in all weathers using machine learning models and run'what if' routing scenarios to weigh up consequences for fuel and arrival times.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being recognized as the future of customer service. This way of thinking has only been accelerated by the ongoing pandemic as needs for efficiency, agility and productivity continue to rise. But what about robotic process automation (RPA), which is conventionally thought of as a "human replacement"? I'm here to tell you that RPA is a burgeoning application that's leveraging AI, especially AI-driven analytics, to automate tasks. When combined, the two can be used as business and innovation accelerators that not only improve the employee experience, but the customer experience as well, leading to improved customer loyalty, brand reputation and overall bottom-line results.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 25, 2019 -- Guavus, a Thales company and pioneer in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based analytics, announced today that it has acquired SQLstream, a real-time streaming analytics company based in San Francisco, CA. The acquisition enables Guavus to expand its offering, providing communications service providers (CSPs) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) customers access – at the network edge – to real-time, cloud-enabled streaming analytics to address their growing big data needs. "With our integrated solutions, CSPs to IIoT customers will be able to take advantage of something that's radically different as we deliver AI-powered analytics from the network edge to the network core. With this solution, our customers can now analyze their operational, customer, and business data anywhere in the network in real time, without manual intervention, so they can make better decisions, provide smarter new services, and reduce their costs," said Guavus CEO, Faizel Lakhani. "In a world facing exponential growth in the volume of data coming from increasingly connected network devices and IIoT-based sensors, the inclusion of SQLstream's industry-leading technology opens up huge new opportunities for our customers and our partners. Their disruptive technology allows customers to interactively inspect and curate streaming data for analytics at the edge. We're excited to have the SQLstream team onboard," said Lakhani.

In my previous blog, I looked at how quickly Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a part of the retail experience. Industry analysts agree that 2018 will be the year that AI brings top and bottom line benefits to innovative companies. So, where can AI most help retailers? Here's four questions I think a combination of AI and analytics are perfectly suited to answer. What do you think about being served by a robot?

In the tech community, there's constant conversation about how dramatically AI will change not just businesses, but the way we live in general. When we think about all the data the Internet of Things will generate, the opportunities that are born from that data come in part from the idea that we will be able to make better predictive decisions about the future once we run that data through AI and machine learning systems. For instance, linked with AI, our fitness trackers could give us better insights into our health. Or data from our cars could help us to predict when we might face major maintenance issues. All of this is exciting.