IBM
overexposure to heat , injury from falls , overexertion , or other accidents .
“ Today ’ s workers receive a limited amount of protection through basic safety equipment like a hard hat , but not much more than that ,” observes Zodik . “ We realised that if we could equip workers ’ personal safety equipment with sensors , we could analyse their activities and surroundings and prevent many of the accidents that unfortunately happen today . Work-related accidents are a big financial issue for many companies , but even more important than the financial aspect are the hundreds and thousands of people who are injured or killed in workrelated accidents every year .”
Although wearable sensors exist to provide individual pieces of data , the IBM solution extends the power of cognitive computing to collect and analyse information from a group of many sensors . Watson then brings the information together , analyses it to understand what is happening in the environment , and detects hazardous combinations that might be overlooked if they were detected individually . For example , a combination of high skin temperature , raised heart rate , and no movement patterns for several minutes could mean a person is suffering from heat stress . Each of these signs individually would not be a cause for alert , but together they indicate a serious situation that warrants intervention .
IBM ’ s cognitive computing platform can be applied to a broad spectrum of industries , but it can also be harnessed to make simple , everyday life more enjoyable . To this end , IBM has invented a unique voice-enabled personal assistant platform called the Watson Assistant .
Unlike other voice-powered apps that respond to a standard set of commands or questions , the IBM platform is highly personalised , as it can recognise the user and continuously learns about them . It ’ s portable and can show up in mobile apps , connected devices , cars , conference and hotel rooms ; and it is proactive , as it can make suggestions or take actions on your behalf . Powered by IBM ’ s Watson , the general-purpose assistance goes
190 January 2018