Jag you are…..

If you’re reading this I guess your one of the 300 million who have seen this Ad & are aware of the absolute furore it has created amongst the Automotive community & beyond, particularly those who consider themselves loyal Jaguar customers & lovers of the brand.

Indeed Jaguar has a long proud history of auto design & manufacture producing such icons such as the e-type & xj series amongst others.

Many have reacted quite strongly with accusations of ‘wokeness’, one even accused the ad of being ‘feminine’ as if that was the greatest slur.

Most of this vitriol seems to come from middle aged men who are, as many studies show, the main demographic of Jaguar owners.

Indeed Jaguar’s sales figures reflect this with steadily declining sales mirroring the demise of said demographic.

Now before you hurl abuse at me I admit I am part of that demographic & I have some stake in Jaguar, I have done much work with JLR over the years & am proud of that. I have also owned 2 jags & loved those cars.

However with the advent of electric vehicles they face a huge dilemma- reinvent themselves or die.

In order to do this they need a radical redesign & a new market.

The guy in charge of the design (who has barely got a mention in all of this ) is Gerry McGovern – if you’re not familiar with his work do your own research.

Copy Nothing

chris@amberhill.biz

Digital data transforms #carbon reduction strategies

The implementation of IIOT (Industrial Internet of Things) is transforming industry in many ways & one of the most interesting is in enabling companies to manage carbon reduction strategies & in doing so to make processes more efficient in terms of cost,  quality & most importantly energy usage.

By utilising sensors, connecting them to networks & analysing the data produced using artificial intelligence it is possible to control processes to minimise energy use & to drive down carbon emissions.

Post COP26 only businesses which embrace carbon reduction & have a defined process & strategy to achieve this will survive – ultimately. That really is the bottom line.

If you need help with this feel free to contact us at www.amberhill-asociates.com

chris@amberhill.biz

Digital Revolution

We have discussed many times about the Internet of Things & the potential impact on society. The Digital Revolution is happening now in the UK Aerospace Industry where major players are collaborating on Digital Transformation projects. These involve connecting manufacturing equipment & robots via digital networks to revolutionise the manufacturing process by enabling real time data analysis & process control. This is not easy & requires intensive effort to create a robust network capable of handling terabytes of data.

Collaboration is enabling rapid product development & the sharing of information is creating uniformity in processes & standards.

As the revolution continues these developing technologies will flow into other sectors bringing with them new ways of doing things we can only imagine.

chris@amberhill.biz

www.amberhill.biz

Where we’re headed in #2021

Wow!! – 2020 – you couldn’t make it up; so where are we headed in 2021?

  • Working from home is now a cultural norm; whatever happens to Coronavirus this is one trend which will not be reversed. Workers who are savvy enough & technologically enabled to work remotely will continue to seek out opportunities which offer this option making its reversal impossible. Declining revenue from City Real Estate will instigate a decline in Inner City Property prices & a mass migration to the suburbs. The London property bubble is well and truly ‘popped’
  • eCommerce market share will continue to increase; if the High Street is not dead it’s on its last legs & is wobbling badly. This will drive eCommerce logistics where same day delivery becomes the norm.
  • ReCommerce sustainability will drive a mass market of re-use & hiring of products for the short term rather than as a one off purchase.This will also impact the automotive market.
  • Cloud storage of data will continue & there will be an even greater emphasis on the customer.
  • In Automotive, the current trends of increasing electrification & automation will drive a decrease in car ownership in the Western  world of around 25%. As new Generation-Z drivers familiar with the cultural trends of shared ownership & reduced carbon footprint migrate away from individual ownership where cars currently spend 95% of their time sat in a parking lot. China will continue to grow driving local manufacturing capacity.
  • Brexit will give UK Auto companies the excuse they are looking for to slash car lines, reduce factory real estate & reduce headcount.

Chris Robinson BSc

www.amberhillassociates.com

 

6 million dollar man………………………..#computerbrain #innovation #technology

A tetraplegic man has demonstrated direct mind control of a supporting exoskeleton as a direct result of a fascinating project by biomedical research centre Clinatec & the University of Grenoble.

The technology was designed by lead researcher Prof Alim-Lois Benabid who was previously involved in research to develop deep brain stimulation techniques to treat the rigidity & tremors caused by Parkinsons disease. Bernabid & colleagues published their research in the Lancet Neurology.

It involved the direct implant of implants onto the surface of the brain in the area which controls movement. The brain activity was then read & transmitted to a computer which turned the brainwaves into instructions for controlling the exoskeleton.

As technology continues to accelerate, hardware shrinks & software becomes more sophisticated we head towards a future where physical disability will be a thing of the past.

chris@amberhill.biz

www.amberhill-associates.com

CAR WRECK AHEAD………#automotive

There is no doubt about it; the UK car industry is running headlong into a perfect storm, Emissions Scandal, Dirty Diesel & bonkers #Brexit.

Jaguar Land Rover which has seen continuous expansion for the last decade has laid off 1000 contractors at its Solihull plant & has been cutting back on production volumes. Nissan in Sunderland has announced redundancies although these aren’t compulsory (yet!).

Politicians have a huge responsibility for this by confusing the public about ‘dirty diesels’ after having encouraged their adoption to combat global warming. European sales of diesel cars are down a whopping 35% in one year. Of course the industry itself has shot itself in the foot by massaging, if not flagrantly violating, its own emission standards.

So what’s to be done:-

  • Innovation, Innovation & more innovation. The industry has historically been slow to react to environmental pressures & must now accelerate the switch to hybrid & electric vehicles.
  • A customs union with the EEC as a minimum is essential – it is now time for the industry to get off the fence & start lobbying hard. Las year inward investment was down 181 billion & outward investment up 150 billion. This is a direct result of #Brexit & action is needed now!

chris@amberhill-associates.com

www.amberhill-associates.com

Dyson Car to ‘hoover up’ competition……#innovation

Dyson-carSir James Dyson has revealed what many automotive industry insiders already knew by rumour – his company is developing an Electric car ! The fact that Dyson have no automotive precedence or manufacturing facility should not be seen as a show stopper – there is plenty of subcontract capacity available (at a price) although his timescale of 2 years to volume manufacture is probably over ambitious.

Many current Automotive specialists will laugh at the idea of Dyson moving into this arena with its complex & demanding legislative requirements but perhaps that is missing the point.

Dyson recently bought innovative Solid State battery development company Sakti3 for $90 million & half of Dysons $2.7 billion will be spent on battery development.

The batteries developed by Sakti3 are Solid State which offer much higher energy densities & battery life than current Lithium Ion batteries.

Perhaps the likely scenario is that Dyson will use his Electric car to showcase the real diamond in the rough – a vastly superior battery technology which will then be licensed to the main automotive players enabling the Wiltshire Innovator to truly ‘clean up’

chris@amberhill.biz

www.amberhillassociates.com

Gnomes predict AI to cause 7 million job losses……….#technology

artificial-intelligenceIn the U.K today salaries have barely risen in real terms in the last decade & despite decreasing unemployment many find themselves in the precarious position of holding short term contracts with minimal security.

It is hardly surprising that the introduction of Artificial Intelligence & automated technology fills many with dread.

The subject was recently discussed in Davos at the annual WEF meeting & the World Economics Forum predict a total loss of 7.1 million jobs, offset by a gain of 2 million new positions. (in 15 leading countries)

Like all new technologies there will be gainers & losers, most of the job losses will be in customer service industries & healthcare whereas the 2 million jobs will be mainly highly paid engineering & scientific roles to deliver these new technologies.

Of course none of this is inevitable. ‘The Future’ is not a destination which already exists & to which we travel inexorably. We all create the future & it is largely a result of the political & ideological choices we make on the journey.

Happy 2017.

chris@amberhill.biz

www.amberhill-associates.com

 

Throw away your Television……..#technology #innovation

john_logie_baird_1st_image80 years ago this week was the first continuous TV transmission by the infant BBC using Technology developed by the Scottish innovator John Logie Baird. Back then the nascent industry was thriving with many competing pioneers much like the denizens of the World Wide Web decades later.

Like most Technologies only the rich could afford to participate as TV sets cost many multiples of the average wage but as the receivers became mass produced  more & more of us joined the TV owners club.

Today it is estimated that 80% of the world’s households own at least one TV so it doesn’t matter if you live in a Palace or the poorest slum you can still be dreaming of Californication.

As the technology developed from black & white to colour in the 1960’s & then digital110-samsung in the 1990’s the image quality improved dramatically. Screens became larger as the image density increased. Samsung have just announced the first commercially available 110 inch screen !

In parallel the content has expanded exponentially as has the proportion using pay per view services so we have an almost infinite choice of programmes to watch from all over the Globe.

The most watched event in the history of TV was the 1969 Moon Landings with an estimated 503 million viewers word wide. Friends crowded round their more affluent neighbours sets to watch a grainy black & white image as Neil Armstrong took a ‘Giant leap for mankind’ his famous words distorted across the void.

Despite all this ‘progress’ its ironic how many of us still complain that there is ‘nothing on TV tonight’

chris@amberhill.biz

www.amberhill-associates.com

Dragons dead…?…#innovation

Do you, like me, tune in to ‘Dragons Den’ every week to see wannabees compete for investment from ‘successful multi-millionaire entrepreneurs’ to make their dream a reality.

new-dragons-denDo you cringe when you see the hopeful saps flounder because they don’t know the difference between Gross & Net profit or snigger when they hopelessly overvalue their nascent company.

All great fun but, I don’t know about you, I think there has been a real dearth of Innovation on the show recently, and it all seems very very dated.

Nowadays there are some much better sources for funding innovation which don’t depend on the whim of the multi-millionaire but instead are based on crowd funding – investment from ordinary individuals like you & I attracted by the innovation process & the chance to partake in the creative process.

Here are some examples of these alternative sources of finance for the budding entrepreneur:-

Check them out for yourself:-

www.kickstarter.com

www.indiegogo.com

www.crowdfunder.com

www.rockethub.com

www.angellist.com

There are many more & they all represent a growing trend – a great idea, probably promoted via social media,  attracts a crowd of interested backers, the project develops momentum & its ultimate success rewards everyone involved to one degree or another.

Perhaps this is indicative of the way society is evolving – from Capitalism to Collaboration – where innovation is no longer dependent upon the whims of a small minority of wealthy individuals but is propelled by the shared interest & active participation of the many.
chris@amberhill.biz

www.amberhill.biz

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