Microsoft AI Making the Digital World a More Accessible Place

WEF report states that more than 1 billion people worldwide experience some form of disability stopping them from completing their education or, getting them employed. We at Microsoft, strongly believe that technology has the potential to empower people to achieve more, help strengthen education opportunities, and make the workplace more inviting and inclusive for people with disabilities. Accessible technologies, enabled by AI, help people with disabilities unlock their full potential at school, work, and home.

In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Microsoft is underscoring its commitment to make technology more accessible for everyone. In her most recent Microsoft on the Issues blog post, Chief Accessibility Officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie explains how “making accessibility part of how we do business around the world is essential. Thinking about it as a cultural shift, and how we manage a business is core to achieving this goal.”

At Microsoft, accessibility and inclusion are essential to deliver our mission of empowering every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. We put accessibility at the heart of design to make products and services that adapts to each user’s unique situation, device capabilities and human abilities to learn, use, build and master. Microsoft 365 is an example that helps make people accessible with disabilities to make them more productive. Similarly, using AI enabled technologies, we are creating robust solutions such as real-time speech-to-text transcription, visual recognition services and predictive text functionality.

Leveraging technology, at Microsoft, we are building accessible and inclusive solutions to empower people with disabilities through the following:

·         Empowering through Windows 10:

* Eye control enables you to type with an on-screen keyboard, communicate with people, and control the mouse with just your eyes.

*  Magnifier makes part or all of your screen bigger so you can see words and images better.

*  Narrator reads text on your screen aloud and describes events, such as notifications or calendar appointments, so you can use your computer without a display.

·         Learning Tools improves reading and writing for learners regardless of their age and ability. The tool is offered in Word, OneNote, Edge and Outlook.

·         Xbox Adaptive Controller was designed to empower gamers with limited mobility. Every aspect of the controller, including the packaging, was designed in close partnership with the accessibility community.

·         Seeing AI - an app that narrates the world for people who are blind or have low vision. What began as a hackathon project has evolved into an app that has helped people with more than 10 million tasks.

·         Soundscape reimagines how technology can enhance independence and mobility to empower people who are blind or have low vision

JLL Rose 167 Spots to #189 on Fortune 500 Distinguished 2019 List

JLL announced that it rose 167 spots to #189 on the prestigious Fortune 500 list, which ranks the largest U.S.-based companies by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The jump makes JLL the second biggest mover on the list. JLL’s annual total revenue reached a record high of $16.3 billion in 2018.

“Our significant movement up this year’s Fortune 500 list is a tremendous honour and pays testament to our unwavering commitment to teamwork, ethics and excellence,” said Christian Ulbrich, JLL CEO. “Our focus on delivering outstanding value to our clients drives our own business performance. The combination of our fantastic colleagues and clients create this rewarding sense of achieving goals together.”

JLL continues to be recognized for its performance, ethics and commitment to being an employer of choice. It was named one of Fortune’s 2019 Most Admired Companies, a World’s Most Ethical Company by Ethisphere for the 12th consecutive year and one of Forbes’ America’s Best Employers.

Atos Delivers World’s Highest-Performing Quantum Simulator to Energy Company Total

Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, today announced it has delivered its Atos Quantum Learning Machine, the world's highest-performing commercially available quantum simulator, to French multinational energy company Total. As part of an ambitious cross-functional research project, the Total group intends to use the Atos QLM to support all of its businesses.

Combining a high-powered, ultra-compact machine with a universal programming language, the Atos Quantum Learning Machine enables researchers and engineers to develop and experiment with quantum software.

It simulates the laws of physics, which are at the very heart of quantum computing, to compute the exact execution of a quantum program with double-digit precision.

Quantum simulation will find concrete applications within the Total group such as molecular and materials chemistry, the optimization of energy networks, vehicle fleets or industrial tools and, in the longer term, seismic imaging and fluid mechanics.

“By gaining expertise in quantum computing with this solution from Atos - a recognized industry leader - we are once again demonstrating our pioneering spirit. We will develop a quantum approach to different research issues covering all our businesses to explore new ways of solving problems and improve performance and efficiency," said Marie-Noëlle Semeria, R&D Director at Total.

“Through our program focused on the future of quantum computing, Atos is working closely with researchers and engineers around the globe, such as Total, to support them with tools to drive significant technological advances,” said Sophie Proust, Atos CTO. “The Atos Quantum Learning Machine enables businesses such as Total to develop and experiment with quantum processes and delivers superior simulation capabilities to speed innovation.”

In November 2016, Atos launched an ambitious program to anticipate the future of quantum computing and to be prepared for the opportunities as well as the risks that come with it. As a result of this initiative, Atos was the first to successfully model quantum noise. To date, the company has installed Quantum Learning Machines in numerous countries including Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States empowering major research programs in various sectors.

Tata Motors, J&K Bank Enters into MoU for Commercial Vehicle Customers in India

Tata Motors, the market leader in Commercial Vehicles industry, has joined hands with J&K bank to offer superior products and services to their customers. Both the entities will be working together to offer innovative retail finance solutions for the entire range of cargo and passenger carriers to facilitate the purchase of commercial vehicles while ensuring superior operating economics for the end customers.

J&K Bank Limited, founded in 1938 has an extremely large presence with 1000+ branches, spread across the country. It functions as a universal bank in Jammu and Kashmir. With the launch of “Digital India” campaign J&K Bank has moved most of its products on customer centric technology platforms and has developed a leading edge in playing a significant role in the retail banking space. 

On the occasion of MOU signing, Mr. R.T. Wasan Vice President- Sales & Marketing, CVBU, Tata Motors said, “This is a welcome partnership between two esteemed organizations who have a similar culture of contributing to society which will hugely benefit the customers particularly in J&K. We are absolutely confident that this will help us increase our reach in the state of J&K and help us serve our customers in an efficient and delightful manner”

Mr. Parvez Ahmed, Chairman and CEO of J&K Bank said, “We are delighted to join hands with Tata Motors and have aligned our organization structure, processes and systems to bring about an accelerated growth in the retail banking space. This MoU will help us to generate wonderful employment opportunities in J&K and other parts of the country.”

Tata Motors offers end-to-end smart transport solutions starting from sub 1 ton, going upto above 55T vehicles in cargo and construct range. The Company also offers the passenger transport range in the country and has the widest sales and service distribution network of 3798 touchpoints. In J&K, Tata Motors enjoys an 81% market share in trucks plans to further extend its share through this important association. 

Global Luxury Residential Prices Register Lowest Growth Since Q4 2009: Knight Frank

International Property Consultant Knight Frank releases its Prime Global Cities Index that tracks the movement in luxury residential prices (top 5% of the housing market) across 45 cities globally. The index highlights that luxury residential prices have registered its lowest rate of annual growth since the final quarter of 2009. Two years ago, prime property prices were rising at an average rate of 4.3% per annum, which has now slowed to 1.3%.

The dip in the growth during the first quarter of 2019 is said to be attributed to the looming threat of a global trade war, uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the International Monetary Fund’s projection that 70% of world’s economies would see a slowdown in growth in 2019.

Key findings

·         The index increased by 1.3% in the year to Q1 2019, its lowest annual rate of growth since Q4 2009.
·         Delhi secures a spot in top 10. Ranked at the 7th position, prime property price grows by 5.8% on 12-month and 4.4 % on 3-month basis
·         City of Bengaluru witnesses a growth of 2% on 12-month and 0.8% on 3-month basis, stands at the 20th position on the Index
·         Standing at the 31st rank, Mumbai registers a dismal growth by 0.6% on 12 month and 0.3% on 3-month basis, indicating a momentum in the affordable & mid-segment housing category.

Ather Energy Begins Setting-Up 50-55 Charging Points Across Chennai by End of 2019

Ather Energy today announced the installation of their fast charging network, Ather Grid in Chennai. The city will see 50 - 55 Ather Grid points up and running by the end of the year. The fast charging network can be used by all electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers and this facility is being offered free of charge till the end of the year.

Chennai has 7 active fast charging Ather Points installed and is the second city in India to have Ather’s charging network. The company has partnered with progressive hosts including cafés, restaurants, tech parks, malls and gyms to reduce range anxiety and ease the adoption of electric vehicles in Chennai. The charging stations can today be found at Forum Vijaya mall, AtWorks and Bikes and Burgers, and other restaurants. The company continues to partner with more hosts which can offer EV owners easy accessibility and fit into their lifestyle.

With the installation of the charging network, Ather Energy officially makes its foray into the Chennai market. Following Ather Grid, the city will have its own experience centre - Ather Space - and pre-orders for Chennai will open in June. In the meantime, consumers can express pre-order interest on the company’s website to get early access to test rides and priority deliveries.

The charging network is supported by the Ather Grid app which allows all EV owners to locate and check the availability of the nearest charging stations in real-time. Ather Energy in its accelerated expansion phase targets to set-up 6500 charging points across the country by 2022.

Quote by Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer: “Ather Grid has seen steady adoption in Bengaluru and we believe that accessible charging infrastructure is critical before launching our products in any market we enter. We have already signed up with multiple partners and will add 50 charging points by the end of the year. Chennai was a natural choice for our expansion as the auto hub of the country and as the birthplace of Ather in IIT Madras. We are working on setting-up the charging network and our experience centre - Ather Space - in time for the launch of the Ather 450 in the coming weeks.”

About Ather Grid: Ather Grid, solves the critical need of public charging of electric vehicles. As of May 2019, the Ather Grid network spans across 31 charging points across 24 locations in Bengaluru and 7 locations in Chennai. The company has plans to expand the network and set-up charging Points at 6500 EV charging Points in 30 cities by 2023.

The charging Point locations have been selected to reduce the hassle of public charging can be found in key locations in both the cities e.g. the malls, cafes, restaurants, gyms and tech parks.

The charging network can be used by all electric four wheelers and electric two wheelers through the Ather Grid App, which can locate and check the availability of the Points in real time. The company aims to have an Ather Grid Point no more than 2 km driving distance from the next one.

Chennai locations as of May 2019: Forum Vijaya Mall, AtWorks (@works), Bikes & Burgers, Soul Garden Bistro, CocoJaunt 1728 & Kriyates

Bengaluru locations as of May 2019: Phoenix Market City, Godrej Nature’s Basket Sadashivnagar, Forum Shantiniketan, The Only Place, ELCITA, ITPB Park Square Mall + 17 more.

About Ather 450: The Ather 450 is designed for city riding conditions, it comes with a top speed of 80 km/hr, a range of 75 km and one of the quickest accelerations for the scooter category of 0-40 km/hr in 3.9 seconds. Also, for the first time in the category, Ather 450 comes with parking assist, which allows riders to reverse into tight parking spots. The key differentiators of the Ather 450 are its intelligent features, seamless charging and ownership experience. The Ather 450 has a 7” touchscreen dashboard that allows onboard navigation with options of alternate routes and saved locations. It comes with the Ather app that enables push navigation from the phone to the vehicle dashboard, remote monitoring of the vehicle’s health and charge status. Finally, with the over-the-air (OTA) updates functionality, the vehicle is capable of improving over time with continuous upgrades and the addition of new features and functionalities.

About Ather Energy: Ather Energy, India’s premium, smart electric vehicle company was founded in 2013 by IIT Madras alumni, Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. Backed by founders of Flipkart, Tiger Global and Hero Motocorp, Ather Energy has designed India’s first truly intelligent electric scooters - Ather 450 & Ather 340 - powered by a comprehensive public charging network, Ather Grid, built and designed in India.  With 31 charging Points in Bengaluru, Ather Grid is the largest fast charging network for two wheelers in the country. With over 42 patent applications, 127 trademarks and 122 design registrations to its name, Ather Energy aims to provide consumers with the best possible ownership experience. The company currently operates in Bengaluru and will be entering the Chennai market in June 2019, followed by other major cities across the country.  

Rapid Adoption of Extended Reality Creates Urgent Need for Responsible Design and Deployment of Immersive Tech

Despite its potential to provide tremendous economic and social benefits, extended reality (XR) carries new physical, mental and social risks that require business leaders to proactively design, build and deploy XR tools and business models responsibly from the start, according to a new report from Accenture (NYSE: ACN).

Waking Up to a New Reality: Building a Responsible Future for Immersive Technologies,” published in collaboration with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance (G20 YEA), examines how extended reality (XR) — which includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and a growing range of other immersive tools — is already creating new value well beyond the worlds of gaming and entertainment. In addition to delivering enhanced customer experiences, immersive tools are being used to augment workforce productivity, provide training and deliver mental health treatments.

In fact, industry expenditure on XR is overtaking consumer spending and is set to reach triple the level of consumer usage by 2023, reaching US$121billon, according to IDC. Accenture analysis shows that the number of patent applications for AR and VR rose almost five-fold between 2014 and 2016, to more than 6,000, and start-up funding grew 237% in the same period.

Despite the opportunities, the report notes that the power and intimacy of XR tools pose new dangers to the wellbeing of individuals and society that are far greater than those experienced as a result of today’s technologies. These new dangers include:

Misuse of personal data: Going beyond people’s personal information, or social media activity, XR could expose their feelings, behaviors and judgments to cyber-theft and manipulation.
Fake experiences: When consuming news and information through immersive experiences, it will be harder to separate reality from fiction, making it easier to profoundly influence behaviors, opinions and decisions.
Cybersecurity: Not only could avatars be used to create new forms of identity-related crime, but critical tasks, like surgery, that become dependent on immersive technologies, could be at risk of extortion.
Anti-social behavior: Trolls could go from intimidating with words on social media to physically intimidating people in a virtual world with avatars.  And antisocial behavior that is normalized in a virtual environment can creep into real-world behaviors.

“We believe the best experiences are those that sit at the intersection of purpose and innovation to improve lives,” said Rori Duboff, head of content innovation, Accenture Interactive. “There is a tremendous opportunity with XR to learn from past mistakes and design more inclusive and accountable worlds and experiences. Ultimately, for XR to succeed, strategy and creative teams must have diverse mindsets, and experiences need to be accessible to everyone.”

The report also points to the greater risks of tech addiction and the disengagement of people from real-world societal problems and shows how unequal access to XR could amplify social divisions through exclusion from consumer and working opportunities.

“We are entering a post-digital era where emerging technologies such as XR are driving the next waves of innovation and growth,” said Marc Carrel-Billiard, senior managing director of Accenture Labs and global lead of Accenture’s Extended Reality group. “XR will be core to enabling these opportunities, but we must address the risks posed by today’s technologies and design XR tools and immersive experiences responsibly.”

Priority actions for businesses include:

Build your early-warning system: Rather than creating rules that cannot keep up with rapid innovation, business leaders must instil a culture of responsibility that integrates ethical questions into the habitual behaviours of everyday work and key decisions.
Draw on diverse experts for responsible design: Businesses must extend their ecosystem of partners to include neuroscientists, mental health experts, sociologists and behavioural theorists to aid the responsible design and use of XR tools.
Supercharge your workers: Target XR investments to improve worker productivity, training and creativity. The very roles that are most exposed to automation are often those that will be augmented by immersive technologies, helping to turn jobs at risk into jobs of the future.

“XR is rapidly moving beyond virtual reality and augmented reality to include a wide range of tools that use and enhance our human senses, including touch, smell, taste and even our thoughts. Used correctly, these promise incredible improvements to the way we live and work,” said Armen Ovanessoff, principal director, Accenture Research. “We have a duty to ensure that safeguards keep up with technological innovation. We’re calling on business leaders, policymakers and civil society to act now, together, to proactively design a responsible future for XR.”

The report also recommends actions for policy makers:

Ensure inclusive and affordable access: extend powerful new infrastructure (like 5G networks) to make XR experiences widely available, at appropriate prices, especially for the provision of health, education and social services.
Incentivize local innovators and entrepreneurs: enable small businesses to not only use XR tools and experiences, but also participate in their development, ensuring locally-relevant solutions.

Stimulate research and discussion: convene relevant experts from across sectors and disciplines to build the necessary understanding and principles that allow XR innovation to flourish amid appropriate safeguards.