Technology Magazine January 2018 | Page 189

MIDDLE EAST is just the beginning of the journey .
“ People no longer want to interact only by touch-screen because , really , the most natural thing is to speak to each other ,” says Zodik . “ That ’ s what ’ s different about what we ’ re doing at IBM . We are heading towards what we call cognitive IoT , which is much more people-centric . It ’ s driven by analytics , AI and machine learning , and it offers real-time insight and reasoning capabilities that can ’ t be done in any other way .”
The ability to understand natural language and its nuances has made IBM ’ s Watson a gamechanger for diverse areas , such as health , hospitality and transport .
The ability to understand natural language and its nuances has made IBM ’ s Watson a gamechanger for diverse areas , such as health , hospitality and transport . For example , the Watson Assistant is being used in hospital rooms to allow voice control that can activate the room ’ s air conditioning or lights , answer questions about upcoming treatment procedures , or even provide general information about the hospital , such as dinner menus , visiting hours , or stores .
“ The solution uses the Watson platform to continuously gain data about factors like upcoming treatments , physician rounds , or physical changes in the room ,” explains Zodik . “ It gives the patients insight about their surroundings and procedures , which is something that can go a long way towards keeping the person calmer and better informed , in addition to saving the time of hospital staff .”
On a mission to help people in everyday life , IBM ’ s Watson is also helping to revolutionise workplace safety through wearable technology . According to the International Labour Organisation , every 15 seconds , 151 workers will have a work-related accident . By tapping into IBM ’ s Watson IoT technology , the tech giant has produced the IBM IoT Safer Workplace solution that helps employees stay safer in dangerous environments . The solution uses embedded sensors to gather and analyse data on workers ’ activities and surroundings to help prevent
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