Lamb-succory (arnoseris minima), davall's sedge (carex davalliana) and red helleborine (cephalanthera rubra) are plants, native to the United Kingdom, that are endangered or already extinct1. The disappearances of these species might seem inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but they're part of a global trend: A decrease in plant (and animal) biodiversity. Biodiversity is a critical component of the survival of any ecosystem. The variety of traits found in each plant (like a resistance to a certain type of insect, or prone to wilting) are critical to resilience of all species against shocks and stresses -- whether it be the arrival of invasive species, a natural disaster event or even climate change. Luckily, the growing availability of data storage and increasingly sophisticated machine learning techniques might be able to help.

Frost & Sullivan's unique thought leadership paper, Yokogawa's Synaptic Business Automation --Converging Intelligent Sensing with Plant AI, will assist you in unpacking the value levers of digital transformation, understanding the power of melding sensing with plant artificial intelligence (AI), and evaluating high-potential application areas. "The blurring of traditional automation boundaries is steering the development of innovative business models. Edge computing platforms are resulting in democratization of analytics and near-real-time interfaces with sensing systems," said Muthuraman "Ram" Ramasamy, Automation & IIoT Industry Director at Frost & Sullivan. "The industry understands the imperatives of digital, but the challenge resides in the'how' of digital. This will require customers to partner with accomplished domain experts who can not only help structure a digital roadmap but also have strong AI application capabilities over plant data and comprehensive expertise over a manufacturing value chain."