LOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTION
prevalence and popularity of technologies such as artificial intelligence and the application of machine learning can also help to supplement and accelerate drone usage within the supply chain . “ With procurement at the forefront of ordering or supplying , I think it would be a very good idea for drone manufacturers to look at how they can co-innovate with procurement , and build joint solutions that in the end benefit the enterprise as a whole and accelerate adoption ,” Govil asserts .
“ I actually think that AI and machine learning can help accelerate the adoption of drones . If you think about it , one of the big things drones do is collect lots of data . There is so much data being collected , and for any good AI or machine learning solution to work effectively , you need access to the data .
“ I think the AI technologies really help support the value that the data you collect from the drones can deliver . For example , you have your oil and gas pipeline , the drones can be used to monitor the health of the pipeline and they ’ re collecting data based on visual images on what that pipeline looks like at different stages .
Drones could play a vital role in monitoring the health of remote oil and gas pipelines or railroad tracks
“ As you now have the data , you can apply advanced analytics and AI machine learning type technologies to predict when a failure might happen even before it happens . Then , in turn , trigger a return to repair it so you ’ ve prevented it before the downtime actually happens . That way you eliminate the downtime , which results in cost savings for the business . That ’ s one example .
48 April 2018