Joseph Zulick

Joseph Zulick is a writer and manager at MRO Electric and Supply.

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Articles by Joseph Zulick

• How AI is transforming the agricultural sector

  Wednesday, December 02, 2020

  There are many executives, experts, and analysts that fully believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will forever change that human beings interact with each other, and how businesses operate. Agriculture is extremely important to the global economy. For those that are unaware, it is estimated that the food and agriculture sector is worth about $5 trillion globally, and it’s hard to downplay those kinds of numbers. The agricultural sector is also utilizing and implementing AI in many different ways. Here are some examples of how AI is already transforming the agricultural sector.

• 4 AI startups that you should know about

  Thursday, November 19, 2020

  There’s a good chance that you’ve heard about how artificial intelligence (AI) will transform the world forever, but you might not be aware that AI startups are already gaining traction. Artificial intelligence will eventually change every aspect of our daily lives, even if some might downplay it as another technological trend that they don’t know much about. Some of these AI startups are focused on improving the healthcare sector, while others might help companies communicate and engage with customers better than ever before. Here are some AI startups that you should know about.

• How machine learning helps important industries

  Friday, September 06, 2019

  In 1952, IBM's Arthur Samuel created a program to play checkers. Samuel played with the program so often that it was able to improve with each consecutive game. It was Samuel who first coined the term "machine learning." Today, machine learning has become embedded technology many of us take for granted in our daily lives. There are many industries that currently use machine learning to help improve their daily processes. Through machine learning, businesses can move ahead of descriptive and predictive analytics to prescriptive analytics without a hitch. Keep reading to learn more.

• Which industries will benefit most from the industrial internet of things?

  Wednesday, August 21, 2019

  A common statement among historians of the 1849 gold rush was that the people who were most likely to make the most money were the ones who made tools for the miners and not the actual miners themselves. As industries like transportation, manufacturing, technology, energy and healthcare pursue success with the industrial internet of things (IIoT), this colloquial wisdom stands true. IIoT equips these sectors with the information and data to operate their businesses more effectively.

• The frightening security risks and potential dangers of IoT

  Wednesday, August 07, 2019

  Imagine you are running late one morning, speeding to the airport to catch a flight. You suddenly realize that you forgot to turn off the heat back at home. If your thermostat is networked, then you can remotely shut down the heater using your smartphone. Sounds great, right? What could possibly go wrong? A lot, it turns out. To better illustrate the security issues that "internet of things" devices have and continue to suffer, l will share some of my personal experiences with IoT operational security.

• AI, IoT converge to create a new technology superpower: AIoT

  Wednesday, July 24, 2019

  When people hear the terms artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT), most think of modern advances in a futuristic world like those that have been depicted in science-fiction franchises. Many of those predictions are now coming to fruition in this Fourth Industrial Revolution that is currently transforming the way the world works. Even though the full capabilities of AI and IoT are still in their relative infancies, these two technology superpowers are now being combined across every industry to provide scenarios where information and problem-solving can improve outcomes for all stakeholders.

• 3 ways AR and VR are reshaping efficient work

  Friday, July 12, 2019

  Some people believe that the entire concept of "work" will be reimagined and reexamined in the near future. In fact, "work" is already changing, and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are playing a significant role in that change. There are already large corporations and small businesses that are preparing for this shift, too. Here are some of the ways in which AR/VR will change the way work gets done in the near future.

• Advancements in AI that are disrupting, reshaping the oil and gas industry

  Friday, June 28, 2019

  The oil and gas industry has a reputation of being relatively slow to adopt new technologies. Within the past few years, though, it has moved beyond reliance on paper and pencil, physical labor, and machines. Volatility in world commodities markets has pushed companies to optimize efficiency and reduce costs. And because of the Fourth Industrial Revolution industry players are finding attractive solutions. This article examines the ways in which oil and gas companies are looking at AI as a tool to optimize performance.

• PLC security for control engineers: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

  Friday, March 29, 2019

  No one understood or more succinctly described strategies and philosophies of war than the great Chinese general Sun Tzu. Despite living and penning these words of wisdom almost 2,700 years ago, leaders of today still apply the tactics described in "The Art of War" to the technology-driven world we live in today. Sun Tzu also said, "To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy." As a control engineer working for a reputable organization, no one is advocating that you become a dark web hacker to understand the challenges you are facing when creating security for programmable logic controllers (PLCs), but there is value at understanding who the enemy is and what their motivation and techniques may be.

• How cutting-edge robotics bring manufacturing into a new age

  Friday, March 22, 2019

  The age of new tech is here for manufacturing thanks to increased value and efficiency provided by robotics, drones and automation. In the case of Attl A Spol, a company producing stainless steel tubes for a Volkswagen supplier, automated robots allowed the firm to perform monotonous manual labor with heightened precision for 20 hours a day and six days a week without any required downtime or service outages. By improving the efficiency of its manufacturing line and supply chain, the addition of robotic arms freed up time for three workers to be assigned to other areas and retrained.

• How the IoT powers predictive maintenance in manufacturing

  Thursday, February 21, 2019

  For far too often maintenance has been treated as expendable. Now, however, the internet of things (IoT) has brought along technology in a useful package to help maintain factories. New sensor technology can measure pressure, distance, temperature, and much more in a smaller package and from greater distances. No longer are you required to modify a machine or tool. You can now use external laser technology to measure quality and keep track of machine maintenance. If you want to know if the machine is deviating outside of its temperature range, you’ll know. If you need to track power usage, you can even see the readout from a beach in Florida.

• What devices are utilized when integrating IoT and smart manufacturing?

  Friday, February 08, 2019

  A question that has come up quite a bit in the "Factory 4.0" world is: What do we need to get on the internet of things (IoT) train? When you break them down to their simplest components, you only need a small amount of things to yield benefits from implementing IoT. The first part is real-world connections. These are inputs and outputs.

• The difference between the internet of things and the industrial internet of things

  Friday, January 25, 2019

  The internet of things is one of the most controversial topics of the current generation. People on one side of the debate think that it will bring forward a more ecofriendly and connected society, whereas people on the other side of the debate insist that it will mean data security will go lacking. While the internet of things will forever create a divide between security and connectivity, one of its branches is becoming the new talk of the town. The industrial internet of things is an equally controversial, yet interesting topic. For those who don’t know the difference between the two, here is a guide.

• How can controls, automation, and instrumentation help with integration of IIoT?

  Friday, October 26, 2018

  As advances in technology make it more cost-effective to deploy the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), industries will need to acquire a strategic approach to integrating new sensor data with pre-existing data environments. Now more than ever, industries are seeking simple integrations with controls, automation, and data analytics visualization software to harness the power of IIoT and realize attractive operational and competitive benefits for their business. IIoT can unite people and systems on the plant floor with those at the enterprise level and enable users to get the most value from their automated systems while reducing technological and economic limitations.

• Heating industry turns up the temperature on PLC cybersecurity

  Tuesday, October 16, 2018

  How important is cybersecurity for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in today's industrial settings? Merely a matter of national security. Consider this: in 2016, the NATO nations officially recognized cyberspace as a domain of warfare. In geopolitical terms, a cyberattack is now as actionable as a naval attack. Within industrial and commercial settings, cyber malice is a frequently seen as a leading threat, and likely a permanent one. As first brought to global attention by the Stuxnet attack in 2010, PLCs are a tempting target for malice.

• Designing human-machine interfaces for mobile devices

  Tuesday, September 18, 2018

  Well-designed human-machine interfaces (HMI) reduce operator error, saving companies millions of dollars by reducing down-time and increasing worker safety. HTML5 programming enables the transfer of HMI designs to mobile devices, but programming is just the enabler. Let's learn some best practices for HMI design elements that are specific to mobile devices due to size and interface considerations.

• The benefits of VR are so broad, they’re beyond tangible

  Wednesday, September 12, 2018

  Amidst all the hype and wide-eyed growth predicted for virtual reality, it's often difficult for stakeholders to decide which of its two words to focus on. Will VR deliver only indirect, "virtual" benefits to businesses or direct, tangible benefits that become bottom-line reality? On this topic, today's hype will definitely become tomorrow's given. Even in these earliest days, VR is already a game-changer, and the future holds immense promise for almost every business vertical.

• IoT implementation sails into wind power

  Wednesday, August 29, 2018

  A wind energy structure in the North Sea lost its main turbine housing earlier this year, prompting engineers to determine that all 206 units of this size in the sea might need to be examined and refitted. The North Sea is the most violent wind and current area to have giant turbine farms in trouble like this, but other regions are having maintenance problems as well. The role of predictive maintenance in design engineering for these giant pieces of infrastructure jumps up the importance ladder every time a customer adds megawatts to the overall scheme.

• How the Internet of Things is expected to influence engineering and manufacturing

  Thursday, August 23, 2018

  The Internet of Things is creating a 3-D map of your workplace, and it knows you have been taking too many coffee breaks. Every 15 minutes? Seriously, stop. In this connected map, devices, machines and business processes are linked. The potential of sensors embedded in new and legacy production equipment to deliver actionable indicators to decision-makers is at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution. Engineers and designers today are now challenged with a new task: how to perceive value and communicate the benefits of tech adoption for consumers and companies alike.