INVISIBLE ROBOTS - Delleducation.dellemc.com/content/dam/dell-emc/...the world and the content is streamed over the Internet. That central intelligence is referred as “Invisible

Azhagarasu ASystems Engineer Analyst EMC [email protected]

INVISIBLE ROBOTS

2016 EMC Proven Professional Knowledge Sharing 2

Table of Contents

Preface ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4

Role of computers ........................................................................................................................... 5

Hardware vs Software ..................................................................................................................... 7

Software Revolution and emergence of Artificial Intelligence ....................................................... 7

Invisible Robots ............................................................................................................................... 8

Healthcare ....................................................................................................................................... 9

IBM Watson .............................................................................................................................................. 9

SOTA home robot.................................................................................................................................... 10

Other developments in Healthcare ........................................................................................................ 10

Transportation .............................................................................................................................. 11

Driverless car ........................................................................................................................................... 11

Uber & OLA ............................................................................................................................................. 12

Internet of Things .......................................................................................................................... 13

Why are we not talking about “Big Data”? ................................................................................... 14

Future of Data Centers .................................................................................................................. 14

The advantage ......................................................................................................................................... 15

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 15

Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 16

Disclaimer: The views, processes or methodologies published in this article are those of the author. They

do not necessarily reflect EMC Corporation’s views, processes, or methodologies.


Preface

What will the future be like? Will personal robots become a member of a family? How is Artificial

Intelligence (AI) going to help human beings? These are some of the questions which cannot be

answered until it happens. But for sure we can say that AI is going to play a major role in the years to

come.

Automation was first used widely in heavy industries where a robotic arm can do a lot more than a

number of factory workers could. These robots are programmed to do a very specific task in a

production line. To solve a real world problem software programmers build intelligent software; so that

it could function on its own without any human intervention. Smartphones once were a tool to receive

calls, read emails, check calendar, navigate, and surf the web. Due to the growth of the Internet and

Internet-enabled services, smartphone use exploded. With latest mobile operating systems such as iOS

and Android, every day we use many services packaged as apps or applications.

Each service that we consume has central intelligence, which is built and maintained somewhere else in

the world and the content is streamed over the Internet. That central intelligence is referred as

“Invisible Robot” in this article. The software functions as it is designed to. It can reject a user request

depending on certain factors. But it cannot make a decision on its own to create a new action. The

program can only act according to the logic that is built into it by a programmer. We may think of it as

simple software program processing requests. But I contend that we are witnessing the future in tiny

little forms of intelligence because using software to change the manual process is becoming a common

thing. Gradually, people are teaching themselves to make better use of new services. The day is not very

far off where we may see a device with extraordinary artificial intelligence being used in everyday life.

Recently, scientists and inventors signed an open letter seeking ban on weapons using AI. This implies

that systems with Artificial Intelligence will one day become common. On Dec 11th 2015 an interesting

announcement was made; OpenAI, a nonprofit artificial intelligence research company, plans to create a

platform for other researchers to share their work with the world and plans to establish itself as a

platform for researchers to collaborate with each other. Presently, artificial intelligence exists in many

domains but with limited capabilities. Google Voice search uses an artificial intelligence engine to

provide very accurate results and to be able to understand the human using his/her spoken language is

simply outstanding.

Datacenters today provide all possible resources to build such services. And the datacenter too is

evolving to offer other new services for the future. Over the recent times, EMC has developed new

products and solutions which help developers and entrepreneurs get past their infrastructure challenge

and focus on their product development. This article will provide insights on how software is changing

the world, the type of infrastructure that is needed for such services, and how the future may look.


Introduction

Our ancestors, ancient Hominid started to hunt over 2 million years ago. Ape-men developed tools that

were used to hunt and butcher animals. The tools were also used for self-defense. Scientists claim that

the meat in diet fueled evolution of larger brains and bodies. Larger brains gave us the ability to develop

hunting weapons and tools, language, and skills to create and maintain complex societies. Only 20,000

years ago humans used animals to aid them in hunting. Studies claim that they used wolves to aid them

in hunting initially and over time due to evolution, those breeds of wolves evolved to dogs. Ancient

humans faced a very uncertain future due to unpredictable climate, predators, and a number of other

factors. Two obvious problems are food and protection from predators. To solve this problem, they

developed a number of techniques. Using animals to hunt is a good example to illustrate how humans

solved the problem of gathering meat for a group of people. In the 21st century, humanity is faced with

problems of different kind, as technology develops we continue to enhance life with the help of it.

“Evolution is not only biological it is also sociological”

Along with humans, the society which we live in also has evolved. The Industrial Revolution during 18th

and 19th century is the starting point of today’s modern world. It fundamentally changed everyday life,

introducing new manufacturing techniques which led to the development of factories where goods are

manufactured. Prior to that, people manufactured items in their house by hand with the help of small

tools. With new factories, goods were mass-produced. Merchants then needed new marketplaces to sell

these goods and they made use of rail, road, and sea. which was also being developed due to the need

of increased transport. Before Industrial developments the merchants provided raw materials and tools

to workers at their house. They then used these to produce a product. The merchants found it quite

difficult to get back the finished product on time. To eradicate this inefficient system, engineers and

innovators invented new machines using steam power or some other source of energy to increase

productivity. The

newly developed

machines were then

used in factories to

mass produce goods.

Production hall of a factory in Germany (1868)

1

1 Image source: commons.wikimedia.org


Use of modern machines introduced fear among people as they thought their jobs were at stake due to

the increasing number of factories. Riots were common during this time. The Industrial Revolution made

it tough for the poor and working class. But as time progressed people started to embrace the change

without which today’s modern world may not exist. Just like our ancient ancestors, we solved the

problem of inefficiency in manufacturing by inventing new manufacturing process with the help of

machines or simply, “New Technology”.

Role of computers

Why did we create computers? What pushed us to create something so new? The answer is simple. If

you look back in time, computing machines were created and widely used to replace computors. The

word Computor is categorized as obsolete; it means a

person who performs calculations or simply “human clerks”.

During late 19th and early 20th century thousands of human

clerks were used in various industries such as research,

astronomy, government, commerce etc. In the research

field, usually they were under a scientist and performed

computations. In 1936, Alan Turing (in Picture2) published a

paper titled On Computable Numbers, with an Application

to the Entscheidungsproblem which defines a computer can

be made to calculate different problems by altering its

algorithm. He also defined the limit of an algorithm is the

limit of a computer. The following is what Alan Turing said

about the computing machine:

We may compare a man in the process of computing a real

number to a machine which is only capable of a finite

number of conditions q1; q2; .... qR which will be called “ m-

configurations ”. The machine is supplied with a “tape” (the analogue of paper) running through it, and

divided into sections (called “squares”) each capable of bearing a “symbol”. At any moment there is just

one square, say the r-th, bearing the symbol ∫ which is “in the machine”. We may call this square the

“scanned square”. The symbol on the scanned square may be called the “scanned symbol”. The “scanned

symbol” is the only one of which the machine is, so to speak, “directly aware”. However, by altering its

m-configuration the machine can effectively remember some of the symbols which it has “seen”

(scanned) previously. The possible behavior of the machine at any moment is determined by the m-

configuration qn and the scanned symbol ∫. This pair qn, ∫ will be called the “configuration”: thus the

configuration determines the possible behavior of the machine.3


3 A. M. Turing, “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem”, p231.

Image of A. M. Turing


Not all modern computers act on the above principle. But this is the very first instance of a

programmable computer. Therefore, Alan Turing was named the father of computer science. A number

of other important inventions fueled further growth of computers. Computers really started to expand

its presence only after wide use of the semiconductor; to be very specific its transistors. Earlier

computers were bulky, used large vacuum tubes, and drew a great deal of power. The first commercial

use of a transistor was in hearing aids and portable radios. The price was at a premium but people were

ready to pay for its portability and low power consumption. Slowly, transistor found its way into

computers and replaced vacuum tubes. But they were not powerful yet. William Shockley transistors

made headlines due to its unique capabilities and his company laid the foundation to multi-billion dollar

semiconductor industry. Transistors evolved to Integrated Circuits (IC), thus giving birth to

Microprocessors. The evolution of Microprocessor is a very interesting occurrence in the history of

computer science and it cannot be summarized in a paragraph. I have tried my best to explain in brief:

William Shockley formed a team to work on transistor technology which included famous people like

Gordon Moore, Bob Noyce, Jean Hoerni, and others. Back then they were not famous. They were simply

bright engineers. Eight of them from the team resigned their job at Shockley Semiconductor laboratory

due to increased pressure and micro-management of William Shockley. These eight people were often

referred to as the “Traitorous Eight” (In picture). These eight people then formed a new semiconductor

company called “Fairchild Semiconductor”. The newly formed company grew into a leader in the

semiconductor industry sooner than thought and it all happened because of Bob Noyce and Gordon

Moore’s technical and leadership qualities. Fairchild Semiconductors was able to mass produce chips at a

faster rate compared to other competitors due to a manufacturing technique called “Planar Process”.

Jean Hoerni is the inventor of Planar Process. Bob Noyce was a physicist and Gordon Moore a chemist,

their interest focused on semiconductor technology. Later, Noyce and Moore left Fairchild Semiconductor

to found Intel. Only at Intel, they created first commercially successful Microprocessor.

“Traitorous Eight” from left to right: Gordon Moore, C. Sheldon Roberts, Eugene Kleiner, Robert Noyce, Victor Grinich, Julius Blank, Jean Hoerni and Jay Last.

4



The introduction of microprocessors opened new segments in the market. Microprocessors soon started

to replace IC’s and transistors in electronic gadgets, military and scientific equipment and other devices.

It fundamentally changed the design of computer systems making way for personal computers and

other computing systems. At this stage, people started to look into the future of computers and its

intelligence and believed one-day technological singularity will be reached after which the future of

humanity would be uncertain. Even today people still believe that systems with advanced artificial

intelligence will take over humanity. This is why investors, engineers, and scientists in Silicon Valley

pledged to regulate artificial intelligence and formed an organization called “Open AI”. Computers

continue to play a significant role in automation and we continue to automate everything which is

possible just like how they did in olden days.

Hardware vs Software

For a while hardware enthusiasts argued that the software running on their systems were not very

efficient and did not fully utilize the hardware resources which they had. This was true until the late 80’s

and 90’s. From the beginning of the 21st century, software is outpacing hardware. Of course the

hardware is also growing simultaneously. It is also true that comparing hardware and software growth is

not valid because they are closely related to each other. The point I am trying to convey is the notion of

people. Earlier people thought that more powerful systems provide more efficiency. This is not true

because the software must be designed in such a way to fully utilize the hardware it is provided with. It

did not happen and to solve this problem engineers started to virtualize resources.

Companies like GE, IBM, and Bell Labs started working on virtualization during 60’s and 70’s. Earlier

attempts were made to access the operating system by more than one user at the same time concept

called time sharing. IBM did succeed in creating a system which allowed more than one user to access it.

Initially, IBM was skeptical about it but jumped into the development after an educational institution

awarded this project to GE. IBM saw the need and developed this system. This level of virtualization was

only available in Mainframes and other purpose built systems. With the introduction of Java,

applications were virtualized. JRE running in any computer lets the application written in some other

computer to run. Only after 2000, the entire server hardware was virtualized using a specialized

operating system called Hypervisor. VMware pioneered server virtualization with its ESXi hypervisor.

There are also open source alternatives. Hypervisors enabled hardware to be utilized to its full extent.

Application virtualization is also widely implemented technology. At present, we have software to

virtualize the entire data center including network and storage. Without debate, most people will agree

software development has surpassed hardware development.

Software Revolution and emergence of Artificial Intelligence

Digital communication became the norm after the development of computers and its associated

services like email, social networking websites, instant messengers, online forums, etc. Earlier, people

used personal device assistants (PDA) to keep track of meetings and other events. Later, mobile phones

carrying the functionality of a PDA became very popular. The services offered in those mobile phones

were ample at that time. Due to its higher cost and subscription charges it remained accessible to only a

certain group of people. While low-cost handsets were also available, they only offered basic


functionalities such as voice call and SMS. The mobile revolution started with two revolutionary mobile

operating systems; iOS and Android. With the introduction of iPhone in 2007 and Android in 2008, most

people started to believe iPhone and Android-like devices would dominate the future. The phenomenal

success of smart phones is due to its ecosystem. A user is exposed to this ecosystem learns how to use

the device. Soon the user will learn that the default apps present in the phone are enough to perform

general tasks such as voice calls, emails, reminders, SMS, and others. However, the real deal comes with

other apps offered by developers and businesses which are usually downloaded from the app

marketplace. We all know mobile phones need an operating system. The real intelligence is built into

the apps and services. Artificial Intelligence is slowly making its way into our everyday life without us

knowing it is happening. Although there is no standard definition to describe what an AI is, there are

many such definitions available on The Internet.

rtificial Intelligence is not always a human-like robot. We use the term Artificial to denote

something which is not natural. Therefore, Artificial Intelligence is something which is not natural

and an intelligent machine or software created by humans or by an intelligent computer itself.

When a computer makes or creates a system more intelligent than itself we enter into Singularity. A

group of people believes Singularity is yet to come, and it will happen one day. Discussing Singularity will

turn this paper into a science fiction story. It is not necessary to discuss how AI evolved over the years;

rather we can focus on how AI is transforming the world. Not all software can be categorized as AI. In

fact there is no chart or pre-defined method to categorize. Purpose-built software like MS Office cannot

be called intelligent. Think about the software in a driverless car. It navigates itself to a destination or to

any other preprogrammed place without the need for a driver. Partially self-driving cars already exist

but they need a driver to be present at the wheel while it is self-driving. A true example of Artificial

Intelligence is a completely autonomous driverless car.

Invisible Robots

In many science fiction movies the directors use robots as a character (a Humanoid). Will this ever

happen? To get an answer to that question let us understand what are categorized as Robots,

Robots are electro-mechanical devices programmed to execute a specific task. A capability of a Robot is

directly proportional to the design of software. Researchers in various parts of the world are trying to

develop a humanoid which can mimic the functionalities of a human. Similar efforts are also happening

in the software world to mimic the functionality of a human brain in software. So far no one has

succeeded in either of the fields. But efforts are being made and one day we will get there. Mimicking

the physical capabilities of a human body such as walking, lifting, act of balancing, etc. is very complex.

We know how to use our hand to hold a coffee cup while typing on a keyboard and periodically sipping

the coffee. Every task that we perform is due to a result of accurately coordinated action of many body

parts. Replicating this in software is very complex and is one of the reasons why we don’t see a

humanoid sitting in our homes yet. Otherwise, a humanoid would be the most sought after gadget in

the history of mankind.

A


We know that building such system is complex so why not ask the question; do we really need

humanoids right now? The answer is “No”. Here’s why,

are not trying to automate what humans are already capable of doing. Emotions, pain and

other humanly things are unique capabilities of human beings. Instead, we are focusing on

building Artificially Intelligent software which can enhance our life in many ways.

Therefore, Invisible Robots are powerful and intelligent software which touches lives. Earlier in this

paper, we discussed the emergence of software and arrived at a conclusion that software development

has surpassed hardware development. There are intelligent software services which are functioning and

we use them almost every day without knowing how intelligent they are. It is also not necessary for a

user to know such things. We must have experienced the development of the web from the time each

of us started to use The Internet. The quality of Internet increases as the surrounding technology which

makes the Internet possible also improves. For example, accessing music or a video streaming service

over a dial-up modem will not even load the embedded player. As the technology develops, user

experience also develops. Everybody’s choice is different. The success of a new technology or product

depends on the acceptance of it by the people at whom it is targeted. As we already identified, only the

need for something drives most innovations. It is not true in the case of an Invisible Robot. Without us

identifying, software systems are already making their way into our life. It is not happening without our

acceptance. But when a humanoid is made that can walk on the street, some of us may feel insecure

and hostile due to its human-like appearance.

Healthcare

In recent times, there has been a substantial improvement in the healthcare industry. It’s mostly due to

improved drugs, redefined surgical procedures, and access to historical medical cases. The history of

medical papers is a vital source of information for doctors to quickly understand the outcomes of a

surgical procedure or a treatment. By doing such research, doctors spend significant time of their

already busy schedule. Most doctors are also overworked therefore chances of error are greater

because they have to remember too many things. AI in healthcare aims to eliminate this very problem.

Efforts are underway to develop systems that can access historical patient data and genetic information

to access their condition. The AI will be able to use the images taken of a patient, i.e. image of a wound

due to a fatal accident or a CT scan of a patient who suffered a stroke after an Intracerebral

Hemorrhage. It will then be able to immediately assist doctors in what treatments are required for that

particular patient. Also, the system may be able to show additional references for the doctor to consider

reading. A similar system is already assisting doctors in the hospital; IBM’s Watson. There are other

software solutions available for the general public and targeted at health care institutions.

IBM Watson

IBM started Watson as a research project in 2006 and first commercialization of the product was in

2011. In 2012, IBM Watson expanded to financial applications. IBM Watson is based on cognitive

computing. Cognitive systems understand natural language, it adapts and learns from user selections

and responses and then generates and evaluates evidence based hypothesis. IBM Watson is powered by

We


infrastructure built using IBM POWER7 (in picture). Watson receives the data (only text) and converts

the data to numeric form. Then, the data is analyzed by the program to predict the next outcome. The

system then continues to predict many different possibilities and finally provides the best possible

answer. IBM Watson for Oncology treatment analyzes the patient record (plain text in English) to create

a treatment plan. The nurses or doctors in the institution can readily use the treatment plan suggested

by the system, saving not only time but also eliminating human error that may occur. IBM opened

access to Watson by making an API and there are apps and solutions available today which use IBM

Watson.

IBM Watson5

SOTA home robot

This robot is developed by NTT Data, a Japanese company. Designed to be a personal health assistant for

elderly people, it can communicate in Japanese with the user and can also connect to other devices at

home such as smart TV, lighting system, health trackers, etc. The robot can fetch the data from personal

health trackers to monitor the health of the users. It also has a speech engine which it uses to

communicate and understand the user.

Other developments in Healthcare

In the not too distant future robots can replace nurses. Generally referred to as service robots, they can

be used for very basic tasks such as carrying medical tools, food, and other supplies. I believe that

healthcare is the first industry that will benefit from advanced artificial intelligence because the need is

greater. Everybody wants to live longer and stay younger at the same time. Researchers are continuing



to enhance human lives and certainly Artificial Intelligence will play a pivotal role in shaping the

healthcare industry in the near future.

Transportation

During the industrial revolution, horses and other animals used by humans to travel from one place to

another were replaced by the automobiles. In the 21st century efforts are underway to remove human

drivers. Google self-driving cars is a good example of autonomous vehicles which do not require a

human driver at all. In fact, at present the most advanced self-driving car is from Google. It’s not only

self-driving cars that are changing the transportation industry; services offered by Uber and OLA are also

transforming the industry. Not that long ago, we used to make a phone call to book a taxi ride, now we

can do the same with a few taps on a mobile device. Of course there is no AI behind Uber and OLA but

the software which they developed is worth noting. This is an example of how software can be used to

transform a business and substantially increase its efficiency.

Driverless car

Driverless cars are the most futuristic thing that we may get our hands on in next 4 to 5 years. Driverless

cars aim to replace the human driver and will not have a steering wheel and pedals. It is completely

autonomous and can arrive at a specified location. Almost all major car manufactures are working on

having a driverless car on the road. But the fact is, the most advanced driverless car is not from a leading

automobile manufacturer as most of us would think. Rather, it is being developed by Google. If you look

deeper the ambition of Google becomes more visible. They intend to replace human drivers. Not at

large scale but gradually. It is not just Google’s vision, but most automobile vendors are also working to

get a fully functional driverless car on road at the earliest. If the product does not bring commercial

value, no company will develop it. In the case of driverless car, commercialization of such a car is

expected to happen in the public transport segment. Imagine a cab company operating only with

driverless cars; the company can save money due to reduced human resource. On a wide scale if many

driverless cars run on the street the number of fatal accidents may decrease.

Google self-driving car6



The secret behind Google’s leading position is the infrastructure which they built for the driverless cars

to navigate. The car is already equipped with high-end sensors and other hardware. The car does not

navigate on its own with just what it sees using its onboard sensors. Instead, Google literally mapped the

region where it is being test driven and saved that map in its centralized servers. The map is very

sophisticated and is said to even have details such as the height of traffic poles and other objects in the

map. The map which is on the server does not contain any moving objects; onboard sensors in the car

creates a 3D environment around it and compares that with the map accessed from their servers. Now

the car can easily identify the moving object and what to expect from the environment. Google uses its

massive compute power for driverless car research. Therefore, the car cannot navigate anywhere in a

non-mapped region because the database simply does not exist yet.

Uber & OLA

Uber and OLA are two well-known cab aggregators. Uber is known worldwide while OLA has its services

available only in India. They both provide taxi service to the general public via a mobile app. The only

way to book a taxi ride is via the mobile app. The specially built software is not AI but it is an example to

illustrate how software can be used to change a manual process.

“Technology can save lives”

Without a doubt, the modern world in which we live is due to the development of technology.

Sometimes technology which is used for general use can be lifesaving as well. One such event happened

in Chennai, a metropolitan city located in the state of Tamil Nadu in the southern part of India. In

December 2015, Chennai was stuck by an historic flood. Most people were stuck inside their home,

helpless. Most streets in the suburban area were submerged in water that was almost deeper than a

man’s height. In most parts of city, the steady flow of water delayed rescue attempts. Though the

governments (both state and central) tried their best, the number of people to be rescued was more

than the capacity of what government could do. Realizing the severity of the flood, residents of Chennai

themselves jumped into rescuing people.


OLA lifesaving boat drops off survivors ferried from waterlogged areas7

Chennai is a coastal city with a beautiful seashore. Fishermen living on the costal side used their small

fishing boats to ferry people from waterlogged streets to a safer place. Seeing this, cab service provider

OLA jumped into offering OLA Boat service to people in distress. OLA tied up with local fishermen to use

their boats to offer help to people. There were reports in the media that many people used this service

to reach higher ground. The image above shows people being dropped off by an OLA boat.

Internet of Things

The term “Internet of Things” (IoT) means connecting everything to the Internet and having the ability

to control it. For instance, it can be household electronic devices such as a washing machine,

refrigerator, lighting system, music player, television, etc. If all are connected, it can be controlled from

a single place. The system can be designed to automate certain processes such as ordering groceries if it

detects them to be running out. Doing so enables the system to learn more about its user and optimizes

itself. Smart homes contain such systems which do a lot of automation in household tasks. Though we

are in the early stage of this development, we may see more of these in every house in the future.

“IoT aims to connect individually functioning appliances, gadgets and other internet enabled devices

with each other to create a positive living experience.”

World Economic Forum identified 21 tipping points and asked its respondents on when they think a

certain tipping point would happen. (“Tipping Points” - moments when specific technological shifts hit

mainstream society8). When asked “When will the first Implantable mobile phone will be commercially

7 Image originally appeared on forbes.com

8 WEF GAC15 Deep Shift Software Transform Society. Page 4. (Refer appendix for URL)


available”, 82% of respondents expected the tipping point to occur on 2023. There are many other

interesting survey results available in the report. A link to the research can be found in the Appendix.

Why are we not talking about “Big Data”?

With more IoT comes more data. Data is the most important component of an AI engine. Just as fuel is

the most fundamental thing for starting an automobile, “data” is the most fundamental thing for any AI

system to function. People using data from various sources to make something meaningful is called Big

Data Analytics. Similarly an AI engine will use data collected from many sources (depending on its

design) to make a decision, to provide an answer, or to evolve itself.

“Big Data is the fundamental ingredient for Artificial Intelligence"

Traditional IT systems are not a good choice for software which generates different content at

unpredictable rates. Protocols and systems used in a traditional data center do not work well for big

data systems and artificial intelligence. New systems require new type of computing systems. An

Artificial Intelligence engine like IBM Watson requires a massive parallel computing system. Such

systems can be designed with cloud solutions like OpenStack. The technology stack behind an AI engine

needs to be designed well for it to function. Also, developers of such systems must consider giving

access to other systems using an API. This enables others to make better use of the developed system.

Future of Data Centers

We have shown in his paper with many examples that innovation is driven by the need which arises at

that time. Intelligent systems demand new type of Infrastructure because developers often believe that

using the old technology will restrict them to scale their systems in future. New technologies like 3D

XPoint (pronounced as 3D Cross Point) will change the way computing systems are designed. There are

several new protocols in development, the brightest one emerging out of all is NVMe (Non-Volatile

Memory Express). NVMe is a new storage protocol and it is better than SCSI. It uses PCIe as

interconnect. NVMe over Fibre Channel and Ethernet is also being developed so that the existing data

center infrastructure can be used. This presents a new challenge to IT administrators; how to make this

new technology work with existing systems?

The answer is to invest in software-defined data center. Let me explain why through an example of new

technology introduced by Intel and Micron.

Intel and Micron made headlines with the announcement of a new technology called 3D XPoint. It brings

two things to the table; non-volatile memory and an SSD (Solid State Drive) called Optane. Both these

products are fabricated using new 3D XPoint architecture. The new memory is 1000 times faster than

NAND and it is 1000 times denser than conventional memory. Initially during the announcement the

type of interconnect supported by the drive was not known. It was later revealed that it uses PCIe

interconnect and the protocol used to access data is NVMe. Neither PCIe or NVMe are widely used in

the storage industry and NVMe is fairly new. If a server manufacturer announces support of Optane

drives using PCIe interface, how can we get an enterprise to use this new tech for their application?


The solution is very simple, if a server or node (custom built) is available with Optane drives (once they

are generally available), the nodes can be abstracted by software defined storage solutions like EMC

ScaleIO® and VMware’s VSAN. Software-defined storage solutions do not demand the type of SSD used.

If the drive is detected by the operating system, SDS software can make use of the drives.

The advantage

We proved how software-based block storage solutions can use the new technology immediately after

they are available. Usually, it takes longer for enterprise storage vendors to support new drives that the

drive manufacturer announces. But it is not the same with software. The software is already designed to

make use of any drive that is seen by the operating system. Further tweaks can be made to the software

in relatively faster code release cycles. The Appendix contains links to interesting articles on 3D XPoint.

Investing more in software-based storage solutions and software defining the entire data center will

let customers use new technology and enables them to develop more exciting products faster.

Conclusion

we step into the fourth industrial revolution, the emergence of artificially intelligent systems is

imminent. Only after the year 2020, we will see wide adoption of “Internet of Things” followed

by Artificial Intelligence. Fully functional mechanical Android (Robot with an appearance similar to

human) may be developed after that. As emphasized earlier, technology develops as the need increases.

People will get used to a new way of life which is heavily assisted by things which are connected to the

Internet. Even today we already have enough gadgets to assist us in everyday tasks and to make sure we

are staying fit; there are health trackers and smart watches. The wearables industry will continue to

grow. After 2020, Virtual Reality will have a great impact in electronics and even have the potential to

replace mobile phones. By then, companies would have figured out what content can be delivered in

VR. Overall, the future is going to be filled with various new technologies. A World Economic Forum

report9 suggests that by the year 2023, a super computer can be made in the size of a handheld device.

Some jobs will be replaced with specially designed software systems and robots (where applicable).

Simultaneously, new jobs will be created. People may find it difficult to accept in the beginning but it will

eventually change. Hopefully, efforts will be made to prevent AI from surpassing capabilities of a human.

9 WEF GAC15 Deep Shift Software Transform Society – page 6 (Refer appendix for URL)

As


Appendix

1. Turing Paper 1936 - https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/Turing_Paper_1936.pdf

2. WEF GAC15 Deep Shift Software Transform Society -

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC15_Deep_Shift_Software_Transform_Society.pdf

3. A brief look into 3D XPoint – A new technology developed by Intel and Micron -

http://sanenthusiast.com/a-brief-look-into-3d-xpoint-a-new-technology-developed-by-intel-

and-micron/

4. Everything known so far about Intel Optane - http://sanenthusiast.com/everything-known-so-

far-about-intel-optane/

5. Will Intel/Micron 3D XPoint change the game? - http://sanenthusiast.com/will-intel-micron-3d-

xpoint-change-the-game/

6. Why People Think Computers Can’t -

https://www.aaai.org/ojs/index.php/aimagazine/article/viewFile/376/312

7. Inside Google's Quest To Popularize Self-Driving Cars -

http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2013-09/google-self-driving-car

8. The Trick That Makes Google's Self-Driving Cars Work -

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/all-the-world-a-track-the-trick-that-

makes-googles-self-driving-cars-work/370871/

9. The Real Software Revolution? It’s in the Data Center. - http://recode.net/2015/09/03/the-real-

software-revolution-its-in-the-data-center/

10. History Of The Domestication Of Animals -

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab57

11. OpenAI - https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai/

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information is subject to change without notice.

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Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an

applicable software license.

https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/Turing_Paper_1936.pdf

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GAC15_Deep_Shift_Software_Transform_Society.pdf

http://sanenthusiast.com/a-brief-look-into-3d-xpoint-a-new-technology-developed-by-intel-and-micron/

http://sanenthusiast.com/a-brief-look-into-3d-xpoint-a-new-technology-developed-by-intel-and-micron/

http://sanenthusiast.com/everything-known-so-far-about-intel-optane/

http://sanenthusiast.com/everything-known-so-far-about-intel-optane/

http://sanenthusiast.com/will-intel-micron-3d-xpoint-change-the-game/

http://sanenthusiast.com/will-intel-micron-3d-xpoint-change-the-game/

https://www.aaai.org/ojs/index.php/aimagazine/article/viewFile/376/312

http://www.popsci.com/cars/article/2013-09/google-self-driving-car

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/all-the-world-a-track-the-trick-that-makes-googles-self-driving-cars-work/370871/

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/all-the-world-a-track-the-trick-that-makes-googles-self-driving-cars-work/370871/

http://recode.net/2015/09/03/the-real-software-revolution-its-in-the-data-center/

http://recode.net/2015/09/03/the-real-software-revolution-its-in-the-data-center/

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab57

https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai/

Documents

INVISIBLE ROBOTS - Delleducation.dellemc.com/content/dam/dell-emc/...the world and the content is streamed over the Internet. That central intelligence is referred as “Invisible