AI has the potential to generate meaningful returns for the enterprise. Responding to a 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, 54% of business executives say that their adoption of AI within the workplace has led to a boost in productivity. A separate 2019 McKinsey report found that 44% of firms using AI achieved a reduction in business costs in departments where AI is implemented. But barriers stand in the way of deployment, including a lack of production-grade data and expensive tools and development processes. Among the top challenges enterprises face in adopting AI is an absence of in-house talent.

Siemens and German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) revealed on Monday, October 11, the world's first driverless, fully automated train in the city of Hamburg. Richard Lutz, CEO of DB said, "with automated rail operations, we can offer our passengers a significantly expanded, more reliable and therefore improved service -- without having to lay a single kilometer of new track." Though several airports around the world have driverless monorail terminal shuttles and Paris has driverless metro trains, the new train by Siemens and Deutsche Bahn is the first fully automated train that can safely run on existing rail infrastructure alongside regular human-driven trains. In its statement, Siemens describes the new train as more efficient due to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which helps the train stick to schedule and meet increased travel demand more efficiently than a human driver. Four of the trains will go into operation in northern Hamburg's S-Bahn rapid urban rail network and they will start carrying passengers in December.

German engineers have unveiled an ultra-futuristic train with noise cancelling chairs, tablet stands, games consoles and even a gym as a rival to self-driving cars. The'Ideenzug' or'Idea Train' was presented by railway firm Deutsche Bahn at an exhibition in the city of Nuremberg as part of moves to revolutionise morning commutes. Features on board the double-decker train include chairs that swivel to face either direction, television screens and pods set aside for'power napping'. Rail firms hope the design will rival self-driving cars, which are expected to be popular among those who want to take their mind off their daily commute. Features on board the double-decker train include chairs that swivel to face either direction, television screens and pods set aside for'power napping' (pictured) Jörg Sandvoß, head of Deutsche Bahn Regio, told Süddeutsche Zeitung that car makers want to create'rolling living rooms' and train companies need to come up with even better options.

The impending era of driverless rides could prove disruptive for traditional modes of public transport. But, Germany's state-owned railway company thinks it has a solution, and it sounds like a lot of fun -- especially for gamers. It just unveiled plans for a new train complete with a digital coach that packs TVs and game consoles. Deutsche Bahn's "Ideenzug" ("Idea Train") will also boast gym equipment and a play area for kids. The railway firm envisions the project as a way to keep pace with, and even overtake, self-driving cars.

Deutsche Bahn is about to begin using a new data analytics service provided by T-Systemsto improve their existing real-time system for projecting arrival and departure times on their rail passenger services. The timetable data for more than two million stops per day for essentially the whole of Deutsche Bahn's scheduled passenger services will be compared minute-by-minute against the current real-world transport situation. This comparison is then used as the basis for forecasting probable arrival times and, at the same time, for predicting the impact of the real-time information on subsequent passenger transfer connections. From T-Systems' data centers, the system analyzes geo-positioning reports received for all trains currently running in a matter of seconds, and produces a projection of expected arrival times up to the trains' final destinations. The algorithm used in these calculations is based on machine learning (artificial intelligence).