Peggy Smedley Show

Peggy Smedley and Harald Haas, professor, University of Strathclyde, talk all about what LiFi is and why it is important. He says it is wireless communications like we have with Wi-Fi and with cellular, but we don't use the radio spectrum, we use the ordinary light bulb in your home for high-speed data connection. They also discuss: The spectrum crunch and why we need enormous amounts of data. Vul...

Peggy and Guillaume Le Gouic, senior vice president of power systems, Schneider Electric, talk about the recipe for a more sustainable and resilient world. He says we are trying to solve two challenges: availability of energy and sustainability of this energy that is being purchased and consumed. The solution is two-fold: electric and digital. They also discuss: How digital makes what is not visib...

Technology continues to advance—and new innovations continue to become available to help both businesses and consumers do better at both work and life. Peggy looks at one specific example of innovation—hand tracking and gesture recognition. She also discusses: How the technology works alongside AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality). Potential use cases at the enterprise. How to avoid shi...

Peggy Smedley and Glenn Daehn, Mars G. Fontana professor of Metallurgical Engineering, Ohio State University, discuss HAMMER (hybrid autonomous manufacturing moving from evolution to revolution). He says hybrid uses multiple processes and explains how this will help create a new future. They also discuss: The supply chain, sustainability, and the bottomline. The importance of local production and...

Peggy Smedley and Marysue Couturier, research director, GCP Applied Technologies, talk about VYCOR enV-S and how it can help in homes. She says it is an air barrier that is designed for residential construction and provides energy savings and improves durability and air quality in a residential house. They also discuss: What VYCOR enV-S actually does in a residential house. How to stop outside air...

To kick off the beginning of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Peggy talks all about how to secure data in a business. She shares the history of the month and how we can raise awareness about digital security. She also discusses: The importance of empowering everyone to protect their personal data from cybercrime. A research report of historic security control failures and how to improve security pro...

Peggy and Denis Cormier, Earl W. Brinkman professor of industrial and systems engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, discuss 3D printing, what it is, how it works, how it is used, and how it should be used. He says everyone is familiar with printing—3D printing builds up thickness, which is the third dimension. They also discuss: How 3D printing is used to make prototypes and the differen...

Peggy and Rich Humphrey, vice president of construction product management, Bentley Systems, talk about some of the biggest project challenges in the infrastructure space today, including increased demand, complexity of projects, safety, supply chain problems, and resource scarcity, among others. They also discuss: How technology can help manage all the data and keep project costs in control. Exam...

Peggy discusses some big trends to consider with digital transformation in the transportation sector. She says technology can make a job easier, improve a worker's quality of life, and make a job safer. She also discusses: Two big ways technology can help in transportation. How technology can help entice workers to jobs. Why it is important to keep the worker top of mind. peggysmedleyshow.com   (9...

Peggy and Evangeline Marzec, sustainability CTO, Microsoft, and Katie McGinty, vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer, Johnson Controls, discuss the reasons they are working on smart campuses. They explain how data can help create a revolution for both buildings and the climate. They also discuss: A Beijing campus retrofit and how much savings was achieved. What hap...

Peggy and Loren McDonald, CEO, EVAdoption, discuss the future of EVs (electric vehicles) and if we are going to reach some pretty lofty goals. He says we might achieve 50% of new vehicle sales being electric and plug-in hybrids by 2030. They also discuss: The driving factors behind EV sales today. How to educate the average consumer on electric vehicles and the refueling process. The billions of d...

Peggy Smedley talks about the good, the bad, and the ugly of acquisitions, saying they can cause disruption in the marketplace—and monopolies cause a whole lot more. She talks about the recent Amazon news of its intent to acquire iRobot. She also discusses: This history of antitrust and antimonopoly laws in the United States. Key advocates who are challenging the Amazon acquisition. Two big concer...

Peggy Smedley and Henry Bzeih, CTO/CSO, automotive & transportation, Microsoft, talk about one of the biggest trends in mobility today: the metaverse. He says he is hearing about it constantly from various industry sources—not just from an automotive perspective—but overarching. They also: Define the metaverse at the intersection of three distinct technologies and give examples. Talk about the fiv...

Peggy Smedley and Henry Bzeih, CTO/CSO, automotive & transportation, Microsoft, talk about what Microsoft is doing to enable the metaverse. He says its approach to technology has always been an enabling and nurturing approach and that Microsoft is a partner first company. They also discuss: An example of a metaverse solution for configuring the vehicle. Security and the whole notion of zero trust....

Peggy talks all about digital transformation, software, and automation. She says when times are lean, implement technology to shore up businesses' processes. But are businesses following through? She cites new research about technology implementation trends in one vertical. She also discusses: How the current economic climate has changed approaches to adopted software. The official definition of a...

Peggy and Ian Riches, VP, global automotive practice, Strategy Analytics, discuss what is driving electrified vehicles. He says in the last few years this electrified vehicle sector has become the defining growth factor, and there will be factory electric vehicle growth rates of more than 25% a year for the next few years on average. They also discuss: The biggest growth regions for these vehicles...

Where are utilities headed? Peggy and Andy Zetlan, director, center of excellence, Hitachi Energy, discuss. He says the three things utilities worry about all the time are the reliability of their service, the cost of their service, and resiliency, meaning how well they can adapt to problems and resolve them quickly. They also talk about: New technologies that aren't going to look like the old pow...

Peggy talks all about clean energy and new programs and projects that can reduce carbon emissions. She says if we do it right, it will likely create jobs, cut energy costs, and improve the environment all at the same time. She also discusses: What is currently happening with clean energy planning and deployment. A new announcement from the U.S. Dept. of Energy. How technology will come into play o...

Peggy Smedley and John Helveston, assistant professor, George Washington University, talk about what needs to happen to reach decarbonization goals by 2030. He says how do you eat an elephant—one bite at a time. Decarbonization is a giant elephant, and we have to find ways to reduce it. They also discuss: Three things that will help in the near-term future. Changes that are happening that will add...

Peggy Smedley and Peter Martin, industrial performance consultant, talk about how to progress with industrial automation going forward. He says if you look at the history of the industry, the answer lies there. Manufacturers understood that the best way to make their facilities run better was to measure them better and then control what you are measuring. They also discuss: Control theory and if i...

Peggy talks about our broken supply chains and how the COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on just how broken they are—but that they were broken long before quarantine and toilet paper shortages became common household phrases. She says if manufacturers want to be resilient in the face of pandemics, natural disasters, and labor shortages, then they need a strategy for how to approach all this. She al...

Peggy and John Dyck, CEO, CESMII, and Bob Willig, executive director and CEO, SME, talk about each company and why they are working together to create a more effective way of bringing insight, innovation, and workforce development to the manufacturing industry. They express the opportunities that exist to help small- to mid-sized manufacturers. They also discuss: The challenges coming out of the C...

Peggy and Heidi Roop, assistant professor, University of Minnesota, talk about climate change and how there is more excitement in this landscape than there was a couple of weeks ago. She says broadly nothing in the climate space is static and there is so much opportunity. They also discuss: Individual vs. collective action and why we need individual champions of change to influence systems. The ne...

Peggy talks about connectivity and mobile trends, citing research from one new report. She says what happens among consumers with connected devices and technology almost always ends up impacting the enterprise in some way. She also discusses: Why consumers are now looking to master their digital world and what this means. If remote work has increased or decreased—and what comes next. The future of...

Peggy and Nick McQuire, director of product management, growth innovation, and strategy, Microsoft, talk about the cloud and its direction. He says we are going to see the cloud increasingly be connected and distributed in new areas that we haven't seen. They also discuss: Four key areas that are collectively shaping the future of cloud. Three major technology shifts. How we are going to see techn...