Peggy Smedley Show

Rafi Zauer, head of marketing, Essence, says since people are living longer and staying healthy longer, the elderly are being looked after by older children, and they aren't in a position to have kids help them on a day-to-day basis. He explains the connected devices available now are able to assist for a long time and the intelligence is in the cloud.

Eli Berman, director of IoT, Starhome Mach, says enterprises want their devices to be always on, and they don't care what is going on underneath. He explains how it helps deliver the service and connectivity that enterprises need, and enterprises should expect mobile network operators to streamline their activities to accommodate only the best services.

Peggy says smart shelves can detect when a product is running low, which means a customer can identify what they are looking seeking. She says beyond the customer experience, the IoT (Internet of Things) can help as retailers optimize business, with one example being RFID (radio-frequency identification) to track items throughout the supply chain.

Peggy says both Republicans and Democrats need to work together to save manufacturing jobs and increase innovation. She explains what is really needed is an action plan, and the government needs to create the necessary incentives to encourage manufacturers to reinvest in building America's manufacturing. She says, a cooperative effort that includes our infrastructure is required.

Mark Skilton, professor of practice information systems management, Warwick Business School, says technology is changing the way we communicate, productivity and automation, and the use of energy. The convergence of all of these things is the fourth industrial revolution, he explains, and this is where all things are going to begin to connect.

Mohan Sawhney, professor of technology, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, says when we talk about digital disruption, we get carried away with the technology. He says he takes a different view, and focuses on what it means for customers, saying it has to mean something for the customer experience.

Peggy asks the question: Is biometrics really ready for primetime? She says given the cybersecurity landscape, it is tempting to fall in love with the concept of biometrics. However, she explains while Google is investing in biometrics, there are a lot of complications to think about and a lot of naysayers out there.

Henry Purdy, CMO, ConstructConnect, talks about the importance of product integration and how the company prioritizes integration efforts. He addresses how the company works with various integration partners.

Don Henrich, COO, Assemble Systems, addresses the changes in BIM (building information modeling) and VDC (virtual design and construction). He talks about how contractors are leveraging the technology in new and different ways.

Bassem Hamdy, executive vice president of marketing and enterprise strategy, Procore, talks about how the market is changing, the role of apps and integration, and how contractors need to take advantage of all of this innovation that is emerging.

Peggy identifies trends related to project management, integration, and mobility. She says effective project management has always been key on construction projects, but what is changing is how technology is leveraged by field staff. She says integration is key in construction, and Procore is addressing this.

Peggy says the trend toward more technology in the home began more than 10 years ago when AHT (automated home technology) was first being installed in homes. She says what followed was the emergence of devices that offered opportunities to create that smarter home. Looking to the future, she predicts voice assistance will become more common, as artificial intelligence grows, and security will beco...

Jeremy Gilbert, cofounder and CEO, Autobrain, says with technology converging, it saw an opportunity to bring connected-car technology to the masses. He explains the device plugs into a standard diagnostic port of any vehicle, and it communicates to anybody that is connected to that car. For example, a parent of a teen driver can get an alert about driving or gas.

Terence Mauri, author, The Leader's Mindset: How to Win in the Age of Disruption, says it has never been easier to waste time on the wrong relationships and social media. He explains every day you have to focus on the MIT (most important task), and that is the key takeaway. In a 24/7 connected world, there is an unrealistic expectation that we should always be at the disposal of other people, he s...

Peggy starts the show by talking about biometrics, and says the need for accurate and secure identification of a user's identity extends far beyond just mobile devices. She says authentication in smartphones will pave the way for other applications in homes and cars. She talks about research on brainprints, which uses brain wave responses to different stimuli.

Peggy takes listeners to the future, predicting a time when voters won't have to go to a polling place at all, and instead this will all be able to be done securely from devices. However, she says first it starts with ensuring we can keep the data secure, and this is what the industry needs to work on in the next four years.

Merle King, executive director, Center for Election Systems, Kennesaw State University, continues the discussion, and talks about voting online. He says voting is different is different from other forms of transactions, and the issue is there isn't anything that is analogous to it in terms of the transaction, and it has to do with the secrecy of the ballot. He explains we are in the infancy of Int...

Merle King, executive director, Center for Election Systems, Kennesaw State University, says the mechanics of collecting votes has been different in the terms of the sheer volume and velocity of discussion than it has in the past. He explains a voting system is a very specifically designed collection of components that does a simple set of tasks including capture voter intent, tabulate results of...

Peggy starts the show by talking about the widespread wearing out of voting machines as a major concern among American voters. She explains voting technology is the next big issue in election administration in the U.S., and elections seem stuck in the past.

Peggy continues her forward-looking discussion, focusing this week on connected cars and how we can keep hackers out of our automobiles. She says we need to identify how to create a culture that is prepared to handle the vulnerabilities that exist within vehicles

Alex Schwarzkopf, CEO, Pillar Technologies, says the construction industry is very reactive, and how do we adjust to strategize? He says since this behavioral shift is new, Pillar is very approachable, and the company has taken a lot of time and energy to make the sensors easy to move and the dashboard really intuitive.

Alex Schwarzkopf, CEO, Pillar Technologies, says the problem the company is attacking is a very small piece of the connected jobsite by deploying a network of smart sensors that are monitoring the changing conditions of the building. He says it can provide insight into early warnings like fire and water. He explains that contractors have a lot of responsibility already, and putting another dataset...

Peggy says, as an industry, we need to jump ahead of the curve and be proactive around cybersecurity. She explains a new study suggests end users are leery when it comes to connected-device security, and there is a need for more education around cybersecurity.

Peggy talks about the future of agriculture, and says a wearable device can detect fatigue and stress of farmers to recognize when they are overworked. She says this is just the beginning, and in the future, everything will become connected, with a data point harvested on a crop being leveraged much later, but the industry needs to come together to make this vision a reality and to help to leverag...

Padraig Stapleton, vice president of engineering, Argyle Data, says the telecom and mobile industry creates vast amounts of data on a daily basis. Enter machine learning, he says it steps in and looks at the data in any form you want to deploy it in. He explains the work it is doing with Carnegie Mellon University is to detect fraud in the mobile industry.