5 Benefits of Asset Tracking for Facility Management

Asset tracking is a flexible management strategy that should be implemented by business for effective facility management and outcomes. Enterprises that invest in asset tracking of their portable and fixed asset record higher returns compared to enterprises that don’t. Apart from improved asset management, asset tracking simplifies the tedious monitoring process and ensures proper and timely allocation of assets during the firm operations

Here are 5 benefits a firm enjoys through asset tracking for improved and effective facility management.

1. Asset Location

Developments in asset tracking software have enabled accessing of real-time information on the location of the specific assets. These assets could be in the firm premises or in transits. A delivery company access to the location of a certain asset can note if it arrived at the required destination and enables record keeping for future reference. Asset location has been a major factor to the growth of freight investments. One can order cargo, delivery services, and shipment services online and track the movement of the freight.

One should consider the best tracking software that provides a wide range tracking coverage for different assets. A good example is when you Track your assets with TrackAbout Software, you are able to select from their wide tracking services on different assets. These assets range from delicate gas cylinders and medical equipment to containers and tools.

2. Timely Replacement/Fix Decisions

Asset tracking enables setting of specific performance limits in different used assets in the farm. It tracks and gives warning signals to the operators when facility operational limits are exceeded. The warning signals enable timely replacement of assets or fixing the assets to their normal operational status. These prevent asset destruction hence continuity in performance. A good example is monitoring oil leakage in transits vehicles. A warning signal will be generated and the driver will respond by the timely fixing of the problem to prevent later severe repercussions. Through early warning services, one will never be surprised by machinery breakdown. It gives the manager the advantage of being a step ahead.

3. Detailed report on equipment performance

Equipment performance information is simply acquired through effective equipment tracking. Equipment performance is a major factor in why facility management is important. Through the easily accessible history records available on the website, the management of a business can easily identify incidents where equipment faced downtime, determine the root cause, and apply the necessary resolutions. This ensures improved future performance hence saves money and time.

4. Improved Purchasing Decisions

Through proper evaluation of asset tracking reports, a firm will be well informed on their immediate and future purchases. When the tracking report reveals worn out parts of equipment, the management will carry out an early purchase of relevant spare parts. This will give the management ample time to get the best spare parts instead of panic purchases and impulse buying.

5. Accuracy in Repair

Asset tracking reviles the specific part of a building or a machine that requires repair for continual in functionality. It enables the management to get the right equipment and the right contractors to repair the issue. These save time as the contractors know the specific focal area.

In conclusion, asset tracking plays a major role in ensuring proper facility management. The 5 major benefits derived from asset tracking include; asset location, timely decision making in fixing and replacement of facilities, a detailed report on equipment performance record, improved purchasing decisions, and accuracy in repair.

Nintendo Switch Version 4.0 Update

Nintendo Switch Update:

Users keen on purchasing the Nintendo Switch would find this update useful. Recently the Version 4.0 of the operating system of the console had gone live and along with it included surplus of important new features, fan have been coming since the release of Nintendo.

1. Record Clips of Games

Earlier there was a possibility of capturing in-game screenshots though the latest update would permit users to record video clips from their experience. On holding the button beneath the directional pad of the Switch, the device is capable of capturing the last 30 seconds of the play in an editable video.

2. Transfer Data Between Consoles

If the user has been sharing a Nintendo Switch with someone and tends to have their own console, there is a possibility of transferring and save data to the new device. Nintendo explained that transferring user information and save data, enables one to move the user profile together with its associated save data as well as Nintendo eShop purchased from one Nintendo Switch console to another. Data can be moved one user at a time which means that one can pick and opt which user’s data one would prefer to move and which one needs to be retained on the source console. The overall procedure can be accomplished with 10 easy guidelines which have been provided at the site of Nintendo.

3. Pre-Order/Pre-Load Games

The waiting period for a video game to come out and over it the longer waiting period for it to load on to your system before one could get to play can be very daunting. Taking into consideration the frustration due to it, Nintendo has made it possible to prepay and pre-load games much ahead of its release. Take for instance the game of Super Mario odyssey. The game was scheduled for release on October 27 but if one intends purchasing it from the online eShop of Nintendo before its release it can be downloaded and ready to play the minute it tends to go on sale to the public.

4. Amazing New User Icons

Every user would desire the skill to further modify their profile and the latest update has been providing several more opportunities. Users now have the option of selecting from 12 new Super Mario odyssey as well as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild icons for their user profile. Though it is only a small change, additional options would always be welcome.

5. Provision for Wireless USB Headsets

Some of the Reddit users have observed that the update tends to come with a provision for USB devices though it might not be a feature which has not been listed on the official list of alterations. All that one needs to do is to just plug the dongle of the device in the Switch dock and one would observe a new volume slider which will only function when the console is docked. There is a possibility of utilising the feature when the Switch is handheld by plugging the receiver in a USB-C adaptor.

Watch YouTube TV with a New App for Your Big Screen

YouTube TV: New App for Big Screen

In the next few days Youtube TV will come to Xbox One, a new television service with which Google has been trying for a few months to compete against others such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. At the moment the bet of Youtube TV had focused on mobile devices and the use of Chromecast, however now the service will expand to more platforms through their corresponding applications, such as smart TV or Xbox One.

At the beginning of this year we echoed the arrival of YouTube TV, a bet of the internet giant for television programs. But for a bet for and for television to prosper, the logical thing is that it does not focus on mobile devices.

Finally, YouTube TV has presented an application for smart televisions, specifically for Android TV, with what you can use it in TV Boxes and televisions that have such a system. And within a few weeks you can enjoy it on more sites, such as Xbox One, Apple TV, Roku devices and Samsung, Sony and LG TVs.

The Youtube TV offer is focused on cable television channels such as ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, AMC, ESPN, Disney Channel, Fox News or Bravo. To this must be added the inclusion of musical and sports events, or the possibility of accessing movies and television series. Its price is $ 35 per month, and allows access to up to 6 devices at a time. The negative note for now is that it seems that the service will not be available in some European companies, but hopefully it will arrive soon, as little by little other similar ones are doing, such as Netflix, HBO (from which we continue to wait for the Xbox application One, by the way) or Amazon Prime.

When you reboot the application you will go back to the place where you left it. In case you want to see new things, there is a menu with three categories: Home, library and "live" in three tabs within the new application.

The YouTube Home page focuses on five content shelves, customized for each user taking into account their playback history and the programs they have recorded to their DVR in the cloud. Regarding sporting events, YouTube TV allows the selection of certain teams, which will make sports events of your favorite colors prioritized.

In the YouTube Home tab we will also have recommendations on all the contents and summaries of those programs that we have begun to visualize but that for some reason we have not finished seeing them.

The YouTube"live" tab shows a traditional list of channels that are currently broadcasting and the content they offer. You can scroll to the right to see what will be broadcast next and record the programs you want.

The YouTube library tab will save those broadcasts that you have recorded as programs, movies, sports, etc. You can also search for films by specific actors, shows similar to those you usually attend, etc.

Finally, next to the launch of the YouTube TV application, its interface and some features will be renewed to offer an experience more akin to the new platforms for which it will be oriented. And the truth is that it seems a very complete platform in terms of multimedia content and features. It remains to be seen when the service is also available in our region and if its price can compete with others.
If you have never tried YouTube TV (I have not done it yet), the company offers seven free trial days.

Can We Teach Robots Ethics?

Artificial Intelligence – Outperforming Humans

 
Artificial intelligence is outperforming human in various fields from driverless car to `carebots’ machine which are entering the dominion of right and wrong. Would an autonomous vehicle select the lives of its passenger over pedestrians? The challenges of artificial intelligence are not only technical but moral and tend to raise queries on what it could mean to be human. As we progress ahead with time with strong network of Internet of Things where several things will have the capabilities of supporting us in our everyday undertakings, there would be instances where these very things would begin to select for us. We are not used to the notion of machines indulging in ethical decision, however the day they will do this by themselves, is not very long. David Edmonds, of BBC asks how they would be taught to do the right thing. Here the example of driverless car is utilised which are projects to be integrated on the highways towards the next years with the potential of resolving trolley problem. Two kids tend to run across the street and there is no time to stop and brake it to a halt. The car is faced with the option of swerving left which could cause it to collide into the oncoming traffic from the opposite end.
 

Robots …. Could Cause Destruction

 
What options would the car tend to make and considering the element the car would opt for gives us thought for speculation on what type of ethics should be programmed in the car? How should the value of the life of the driver be compared to the passenger in the other cars? Or would the buyer make a choice on a car which is prepared to sacrifice its driver to spare the lives of the pedestrians? With every choice is the consequence that tends to raise the query on where does the error lie, could it be on the technology, manufacturer, firm or the driver in the car. Another example is the utilisation of autonomous weapons wherein this brings up the pros and cons on the topic. The obvious con with regards to cons is that robots should not be permitted, since they could cause destruction. We are not used to the notion of machine making ethical decision though it is said that when they tend to do the same by themselves is not far off. In the present scenario, this seems to be an urgent query.
 

Robots – Care for Elderly/Disabled

 
Self-driving cars have covered up millions of miles on road by indulging in autonomous decision which could affect the safety of others using the road. Serving robots for the purpose of providing care for the elderly as well as disabled have been developed by roboticist in Japan, Europe and the United States. A robot caretaker launched in 2015 dubbed as `Robear’ tends to be adequately strong to lift frail patients from their beds and if they can do that they could also be capable of crushing them. The US Army since 2000 had deployed thousands of robots with machine guns each of which had the potential of locating targets and focusing on them without the support of human contribution. Autonomous weapons, like driverless cars, are not science fiction and are weapons which tend to operate without the support of humans.

Material Could Bring Optical Communication Onto Silicon Chips

Soon silicon chips will feature optical communication with the discovery of a new material

With each passing year computing performance has advanced significantly and if we take decades into the equation then you will be astonished at the rate of advancement. Computing performance boost has been achieved through squeezing more number of transistors within a relatively tighter space on the microchips. Now scientists have been able to develop such ultrathin films placed on the semiconductor making optical communication possible on the microchips.
 

The ‘interconnect bottleneck’ in optical communication

 
The downsizing of the microchips over the years had led to signal leakage between the different components which eventually results in slower communication between them. This delay in communication has been termed as ‘interconnect bottleneck’ which has emerged as a major issue in the high-speed computing systems.

One of the best ways to eliminate the interconnect bottleneck in microchip is to make use of light to allow communication between different parts. Using wires for communication is simply out of the question but even using light isn’t a simple or easy way as silicon used to make chip doesn’t’ happen to emit light easily.
 

Finding a new material to emit light

 
Researchers have found a light emitter as well as detector which can help in bringing optical communication by integrating it in the silicon CMOS chips. A new device has been built from a common semiconductor material, molybdenum ditelluride, which belongs to a new revolution group of materials called two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides.

The best thing about this material is that it can be stacked right top of the silicon wafers which wasn’t the case earlier. This 2D molybdenum ditelluride is such a remarkable ultra-thin material that it can be easily attached with any material without much hassle. A major difficulty faced by the scientists while looking for materials to integrate with the silicon semiconductors is that most of materials happen to emit light in the visible range. And silicon is notorious for absorbing the light emitted at such wavelengths. While molybdenum ditelluride happens to emit light in the infrared range which can’t be absorbed by the silicon and thereby it helps in enabling the optical communication on the microchip.

 

Future prospects of this new discovery in optical communication

 
Researchers have stepped their efforts towards finding other materials which can also be used for the chip based optical communication in future. Currently most of the telecommunication system operates mainly using the light having the wavelength of 1.3 or 1.5 micrometers. The good thing here is that molybdenum ditelluride happens to emit light at 1.1 micrometer which is suitable for usage in the silicon chips found specifically in the computers but unsuitable when it comes to usage in the telecommunications systems.

Therefore researchers are again looking for a new material which can help initiating the optical communication the telecommunication systems. Currently they are exploring another ultra-thin material known as black phosphorus which has the potential to emit light through altering the different layers used in the process. This research has been published in the science journal called Nature Nanotechnology.