The LBR-Stack is a collection of packages that simplify the usage and extend the capabilities of KUKA's Fast Robot Interface (FRI) (Schreiber et al., 2010). It is designed for mission critical hard real-time applications. Supported are the KUKA LBR Med7/14 and KUKA LBR IIWA7/14 robots in the Gazebo simulation (Koenig & Howard, 2004) and for communication with real hardware. A demo video can be found here. An overview of the software architecture is shown in Figure 2. At the LBR-Stack's core are two packages: fri: Integration of KUKA's original FRI client library into CMake.

Dialpad, a leading provider of AI-powered solutions for collaboration and communication, recently announced the arrival of two new communications solutions. Dialpad Meetings, previously known as UberConference, is the state-of-the-art solution designed to bring new capabilities for meetings and collaborative conversations into the UCaaS experience. Dialpad Channels, on the other hand, aims to provide a natural and smooth messaging experience to keep the conversation moving in the virtual work environment. The Channels offering delivers a watercooler chat alternative to the modern workforce, to improve employee engagement and strengthen bonds between team members. Dialpad Meetings is a tool giving companies a single and unified view of communications in one environment.

Automation and digitalization are increasingly used in almost every major industry to improve efficiency. Thanks to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, and innovations like X-ray diffraction and electric vehicles, the mining sector is also catching up with the technological revolution. According to a White Paper by the World Economic Forum and Accenture, digitalization could bring about over USD $425 billion of value for the mining industry, customers, society and environment by 2025. It could also lead to a reduction of 610 million t of CO2 emissions, as well as a significant improvement in safety, saving lives and preventing injuries. With the vision to create a sustainable and smart mining system, a team of experts have developed a 5G radio network under the EU-funded SIMS project.

One of the biggest problems faced by senior executives today is around data crunching. Every day, massive amounts of data is generated by back-end executives. These are analyzed to obtain meaningful observations. On most occasions, the time taken to analyze the data renders it useless. From the customer, each time he or she endures the barrage of endless IVR messages to reach an agent only to be transferred multiple times, beyond other hurdles, only makes matters worse.

Today on PowerChat, your leading converged telecommunications operator will focus on demystifying what is known as artificial intelligence. The company has found it imperative to share this knowledge with customers, readers and the entirety of the telecommunications fraternity against the background that the world is moving in the realm of interacting and experiencing the power of artificial intelligence (AI). Artificial Intelligence is real – whether in the home, car, business, when travelling around the globe and also on individuals' smartphones, tablets, computer and other smart devices that are digital and/or can connect onto the internet. Defined simply, artificial intelligence (AI) is the development of computers or technology capable of performing tasks that typically would require human intelligence. Global technology companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung to name but a few, are making huge investments in AI that are already changing lives and gadgets, and laying the groundwork for a more AI-centric future.

Recently, Spotify, a global music content platform, introduced a new feature, Discover Weekly, as an intelligent playlist developer for its users. Based on a listener's past history, preferences and the trends reflected by analysing data from music aficionados with similar tastes, the company implemented machine learning'best fit' algorithms to provide its users with a delectable list of latest music that kept them glued to their headphones for hours. This is one of the many instances where AI has transformed customer experience as we know it. The two most popular vowels on the internet, AI or Artificial Intelligence, are being implemented by various industries to learn from data, identify the most efficient operational processes and go beyond passive advertisements to enhance the customer engagement quotient. In fact, a report by Servion predicts that AI will power 95 per cent of all customer interactions by 2025.