By Dijam Panigrahi

 Dijam Panigrahi is Co-founder and COO of GridRaster Inc., a California-based provider of cloud-based augmented reality/virtual reality platforms that power high-quality AR/VR experiences on mobile devices for enterprises.

An increasing number of Canadian professionals, such as designers, engineers and manufacturers, are looking at ways to incorporate various artificial intelligence-driven technologies into their workflows. My personal love of technology comes from the fascination of what people are capable of when we interact with highly sophisticated machines.

Today’s automation technology uses AI that can be programmed to complete logical processes for a particular business. With the already large array of technological applications and programs that businesses use, what makes AI technology the next best thing?

First, AI technology is flexible. It can be used by many Canadian industries in their own unique way, such as aiding them in data mining, targeted marketing, or constructing precision-based financial models.

AI today can be found in Canadian markets such as medical equipment manufacturers, construction equipment producers, tech and engineering firms for aerospace and automotive, mining precincts, utilities, and oil and gas.

Not only is the technology flexible in its implementation, it can work with diverse business applications, and with structured or unstructured data. We are continuously amazed at the technological capabilities of the Canadarm. There are many data-sensitive algorithms and sophisticated modelling technologies working behind the scenes whenever it is deployed.

ChatGPT is the latest technology driven by AI that uses natural language processing. It leverages deep-learning algorithms to enable users to converse with chatbots.

Because it was developed with conversational AI capabilities, ChatGPT can immediately comprehend user queries and generate natural-sounding responses tailored to the conversation context. It also has built-in memory capability that stores information from past conversations to better respond to subsequent messages.

However, engineers and designers are also realizing that many projects throughout vertical Canadian industries require more than just the development of text and responding to prompts. That is why these professionals are combining the powers of AI tools along with other progressive technologies like mixed immersive reality (augmented reality and virtual reality, or AR/VR).

They are building AI-models like ChatGPT to help create virtual worlds in the metaverse to run simulations and increase productivity and efficiency metrics. More specifically, AI tools like ChatGPT and the metaverse can help create a 3D environment that replicates the real world, and the data used can be harnessed for analysis, running simulations and interacting with data more efficiently. 

However, there are still some limitations with ChatGPT. For example, AI technologies cannot recognize when a physical item moves, and they must be manually told that it is in a different location.

Ensuring AI is used to benefit people and businesses

It is important to more clearly understand all aspects of AI and ensure that it is being used for the benefit of people and enterprises today.

Technologies such as ChatGPT are important and can significantly assist with coding the virtual 3D world and running simulations. Historically this coding has been done manually, but with AI tools the developer time can be increased ten-fold.

ChatGPT can create the vast majority of the code, while developers are then left to use resources to debug much less of the code. They can actually spend more time on innovation.

Workers on the manufacturing floor will better understand the code and language produced by ChatGPT through its natural language ability. As an example, the tools can provide alerts that increase safety standards when entering a hazardous section of the plant floor or when operating heavy equipment. Training and test simulations conducted within metaverse environments will also benefit from increased safety practices.

AI tools such as ChatGPT will also play a leading role in helping to create code and language used in the development of digital twins — the virtual world where people, consumers, and workers all gather to communicate, collaborate, and share through a virtual presence on any device. Companies will build immersive virtual spaces that will allow employees to virtually collaborate using their digital twin through chats, emails, video calls and even face-to-face meetings.

The power of simulation will be a game-changer for enterprises and businesses throughout the metaverse, including: optimizing production planning in the automotive sector; accelerating design in the aerospace industry; improving overall production efficiency for manufacturers; and increasing accuracy for consumer packaged goods companies.

Other examples of how AI tools such as ChatGPT will benefit designers, engineers and manufacturers include:

• Automation Support — Engineers will have proximity to leading technology that supports automation processes and reduces time spent on manual tasks, like collecting data, preparing reports, and monitoring trends in their industry.
• Task Planning and Management — This is particularly critical for engineers since it requires a vast amount of organization, discipline, and time management when completing tasks effectively. Technology like ChatGPT can improve the process, by enabling an intuitive platform for task planning and management.
• Knowledge Sharing — Engineers and their teams will be able to increase collaboration and efficiency in the workplace. Tools like ChatGPT allow for streamlined knowledge-sharing between engineers and other employees at work.
• Error Detection — This is an area that has always been a large issue for engineers as they continue to seek the most efficient ways to identify errors, which lead to time and cost savings. The use of natural language processing will now be leveraged to visualize errors in text-based data faster than ever before, which is critical in code review, error analysis, or debugging.
• Security and Privacy — Security and privacy comprise one of the biggest issues facing today’s world. Since metaverse environments have the digital twin as an integral part, the metaverse will have much richer data. The security and privacy in metaverse environments cannot be solved by traditional security tools. However, technologies like AR/VR leveraging leading AI tools are better equipped to handle security and privacy related to digital twins. 

Today, with the help of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Canadian businesses will see an increase in productivity like never before.

R$