Peggy Smedley Show

DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) has always been important in many companies and in society, but now the three-letter acronym is getting a lot more attention lately. Peggy talks all about it, explaining where we are at now and some ways we can increase this in this our own communities and in our businesses. She also: Breaks down the definitions of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Discusses...

Rabindra Ratan, associate professor of media and information and director of the SPARTIE Lab, Michigan State University, returns to The Peggy Smedley Show to talk with Peggy about listener questions about the Proteus effect. He says technology can be used for both pro-social and anti-social purposes, but he tends toward positive media effects. They also discuss: The layoffs at technology companies...

Peggy Smedley and Yu-Han Chang, senior technology analyst, IDTechEx, talk about 6G. She says 6G research started long ago and we expect to see at least 50 times higher peak data rates, much faster latency, compared to 5G millimeter wave, better energy efficiency, and higher reliability. They also discuss: Where exactly are we with 6G right now. The biggest obstacles we face with 6G currently. Some...

Peggy Smedley talks about where we are headed with food innovation—both in the products offered and, in the distribution, and logistics of food production. She talks about new announcements from CES earlier this month and what is coming next in the months ahead. She also discusses: New almond milk American slices—and how they are different from other options. How supply chain disruptions are impac...

Peggy Smedley and Rabindra Ratan, associate professor of media and information and director of the SPARTIE Lab, Michigan State University, talk about VR (virtual reality), immersive technologies, and the metaverse. He says the proteus effect is a phenomenon that was discovered in 2007 in early VR research where participants who come into the lab are given an avatar and they interact in the virtual...

Peggy Smedley and Sebastiaan Laurijsse, global head of industry high tech, ServiceNow, and Jamie Wilkie, senior director for industrial security offerings, Fujitsu, talk about how and why manufacturing is changing today and into the future. Laurijsse asks, what is not changing, saying everything is getting connected and generating a set of data. Wilkie says the way manufacturing is moving, it has...

Peggy Smedley digs into the workforce trends in the transportation industry, looking at recent numbers and giving thoughts on where we are headed next on the road to transformation. She says we need to address the worker shortage and we need young minds to enter the space. She also discusses: The unemployment numbers in the U.S. transportation sector. How many people are over the age of 55 in tran...

Peggy Smedley and Sabur Baidya, assistant professor, computer science and engineering, University of Louisville, talk about what brought him to the University of Louisville. He says he got a great opportunity to join as a faculty and participate in a research project on advanced manufacturing and robotics called KAMPERS (Kentucky Advanced Manufacturing Partnership for Enhanced Robotics and Structu...

Peggy Smedley and Danielle Baughman, president, ProShare Services, talk about making a change from working for a large corporation to starting your own business. She says one of the biggest pieces of advice she can give to somebody is to just dive in. They also discuss: The biggest challenges women face in energy and oil and gas industry. The best piece of advice she has received from one of her m...

Peggy Smedley talks all about transportation, sharing the transportation statistics from the 2022 annual report from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. She says the pandemic has produced fast changes in transportation supply, demand, and performance. She also discusses: The supply chain and its role in keeping industries moving. If total passenger enplanements were up or down during the pandemic. I...

Peggy Smedley and Jonathan Shroyer, chief customer experience innovation officer, Arise Virtual Solutions, talk about the trends in immersive technologies and the metaverse. He says he thinks of the metaverse as anything that is not in your own reality and any experience around that. In 2022, $48 billion was the value of the metaverse. By 2030, it is valued to be $680 billion. They also discuss: T...

Peggy Smedley and Joshua Peschel, assistant professor and Black & Veach Faculty Fellow, Iowa State University, talk about how 2022 turned out—and what is in store for 2023 with science and technology. He sums up 2022 by saying it is the year nothing went right in terms of science and technology, explaining there were a lot of predictions and trends that didn't come to fruition. They also discuss:...

Peggy Smedley gives a primer on clean energy and how it will impact businesses in the year ahead. She talks about how clean energy works, why we need clean energy storage, and how we are going to get there. She also discusses: The differences between green, clean energy, and renewable energy sources. An example of advanced clean energy storage. If clean energy will power our future—and the driving...

Peggy Smedley and Will Zhang, assistant professor, Rochester Institute of Technology, talk about immersive technology. He says immersive technologies include several technologies such as AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), XR (extended reality), and the metaverse—and discusses the connections between each and how they are different. They also discuss: How the development of manufacturing...

Peggy Smedley and Mike Geyer, omniverse product management for manufacturing and digital twins, NVIDIA, talks about the industrial metaverse. He says the idea of the metaverse is a concept from a '90s science fiction novel, which was a populous take on a multiple universe theory of quantum mechanics that was put forward by Hugh Everett in the '50s. We think of it as connected virtual worlds that a...

Peggy Smedley talks about our workforce and how all the generations need to come together to build and manufacture our future. She digs into how we need to communicate in a way that works for everyone. She also: Sets the stage with some big trends and how that will impact companies in the year ahead. A breakdown of the five generations that have an active role in the marketplace and in the workfor...

Peggy Smedley and Smith Codio, director of customer experience, automotive, mobility, and transportation industry, Microsoft, talk about the metaverse in automotive and his time leading multiple engineering teams. He says the process of buying a car is not the most user friendly or customer centric—and Microsoft wants to help change that process. They also discuss: An example of an automotive comp...

Peggy Smedley and Tim Lindner, senior business consultant, Voxware Inc., talk about technology predictions for 2023. With regards to ecommerce and omnichannel fulfillment, he says he is seeing more robotics being brought into distribution centers as a response to the severe labor issues—and he sees these things continuing well into 2023. They also discuss: An example of synergy between a human and...

For many, it is the middle of gift buying and giving season. Peggy asks the question: When we venture into stores, will we soon be met with avatars? She points to examples of how the metaverse is impacting retail today. She also discusses: How the metaverse and avatars have evolved in retail and fashion in the past few years. Examples of how avatars can be used to shop and sell. A case study of a...

Peggy Smedley and Tim Ryder, general manager, U.S. Manufacturing Sector, Microsoft, talk about the state of the semiconductor sector. He says the industry is always evolving and it is always working to power the continuous connectivity that we demand to make our lives more productive and to achieve our goals. They also discuss: Trends in the supply chain such as production moving closer to the cus...

Peggy Smedley and Lori Ziolkowski, associate professor, University of South Carolina, talk about how American cities are doing right now as it relates to climate change. She says we have made lots of pledges throughout the decades and the amount of carbon keeps on going up, regardless of all of our pledges. They also discuss: How cities have tried to step up to the task and try being part of the s...

Peggy Smedley celebrates 800 episodes of the show being on the air, giving an in-depth look at how technology has evolved since the show's inception and insights on what's to come. She says digital transformation has the potential to reinvent our processes, culture, and our business models—but we need the right workers to lead. She also: Journeys back to the year 2008 and talks about the economic...

Peggy Smedley and Mark Kroese, general manager, sustainability solutions, Microsoft, and Eugenio Longo, sustainability director, TCS Europe, talk about Scope 1, 2, 3, and 4. They also converse about how Scope 3 becomes very complicated very quickly. They also discuss: The definitions for each one of the Scopes. How to do estimates and probabilistic studies for Scope 3. The need to develop a standa...

Peggy Smedley and Scott Schober, president & CEO, Berkeley Varitronics Systems, talk about ransomware and some of the statements made on a previous episode of The Peggy Smedley Show. He explains that he disagrees with some of the statements made, saying that he hears about ransomware attacks all the time and that it is real and happening all the time—and at the same time there is a lot of fear mon...

Peggy says we know Baby Boomers are exiting the workforce and we need to fill these roles. She talks about the life of a Millennial and how they are one of the most educated generations, yet they are one of the least employed. She also discusses: The type of world a Millennial was born into and the education they received. How many jobs there were when they graduated from college. How they can hel...