Data Analytics
The Race for Gold: Powering USA Cycling Through the Cloud
USA Cycling recently took home the gold medal for Women’s Team Pursuit at the World Championships in London – earning Team USA’s first world championship title in the event. Our team of four elite cyclists – Sarah Hammer, Kelly Catlin, Chloe Dygert and Jennifer Valente – clearly defeated Canada by nearly three seconds after twice […]
How Cognitive Computing Can Get Businesses Up & Running After Disasters
Devastation caused by natural disasters is both personal and economic. Anyone who lives in the Northeastern United States won’t easily forget the destruction caused by back-to-back hurricanes five years ago. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused more than $67 billion in damage, according to the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, while the year-earlier Hurricane Irene […]
Extending Game-Based AI Research into the Wild
A few days from now, Google’s AlphaGo artificial intelligence (AI) program will take on one of the world’s greatest Go players, South Korea’s Lee Se-Dol, in a live-streamed, five-day match in what’s considered to be the most difficult board game for computers. As researchers who have worked extensively with games, we are excited to see […]
A Data Revolution for Healthcare is Here
For many people today, health is something you think about when you go in for check-ups or treatments. Your doctor has your clinical history and runs tests, but her understanding of your health is basically limited to what happens and what you discuss while you are there. And somewhere you know that researchers are making […]
Night Terror: Let’s Put the Spotlight on Sleep Health
It’s often said that sleep apnea is a silent killer, and, for my family, the side effects have been devastating. My father had triple-bypass surgery at age 38, later got vascular dementia, and died at age 62. His father died of heart disease in his 60s. My other grandfather died of a heart attack at […]
A Critical Role for Hardware in the Era of Cognitive Business
In the last few months, I’ve witnessed the beginning of a sea change in the way people at the forefront of computer science think about the future of our field. Faculty members at universities are showing a keen interest in cognitive systems. And I’m not talking just about algorithms and software. They want to discuss […]
How Predictive Analytics Helps Santos in Australia’s Outback
Santos is one of the largest natural gas and oil producers in the Asia-Pacific. It’s East Australian Business Unit operates more than 1000 wells and associated infrastructure scattered over thousands of square miles in Australia’s Cooper Basin, in Southern Australia. Faced with summer temperatures that can exceed 45 degrees Celsius, seasonal flooding events and long […]
How Technology Levels the Playing Field for the Blind
Ever since Thomas Panek learned at age 20 that he would lose his eyesight due to a condition called retinal degeneration, he vowed that his disability would not prevent him from living a full life. “I wanted to do everything that sighted people do,” he says. He has not let himself down: In addition to […]
Embedding Intelligence in the Internet of Things
Three years ago when my wife and I were visiting Paris, we happened upon the finish of the Tour de France bicycle race. We were swept up in a huge crowd, and we were thrilled to watch bunches of riders zip around the Champs-Elysees at blazing speed. Amazing! The only problem was, we had no […]
Reinventing Securities Trading with Blockchain
Unlike some of my colleagues in our banking and financial markets teams, I’m no securities expert, but I’ve learned more about securities trading in the past six months than I ever would have thought possible. That’s because I spend many hours on the phone each week with leaders from securities exchanges and financial services companies […]
IBM’s Watson: Helping Sports Teams Make Talent Decisions
It is June and the the NBA’s draft looms large. The management and coaching staff of the Toronto Raptors gathers to consider potential draft picks and possible trade scenarios. Their strategy is to select players who will form a cohesive unit. No prima donnas. In the past, the staff would have gathered in a room […]
How Analytics is Helping Utilities Weather Storms
While an aging infrastructure and growing populations makes the electrical grid susceptible to failure, the majority (70 percent) of power outages are caused by the strains of wind, rain, sleet, snow and ice. The negative impact of storm-related outages to the U.S. economy is estimated between $20 billion and $55 billion annually. In a world […]