Artificial intelligence, 3D printing, IoT, and blockchain are new technologies that shake financial and logistics systems around the world. As companies accelerate the ever-expanding global marketplace, they are looking for new opportunities to improve their internal systems and create billions of dollars in value for their customers and shareholders.
The world is experiencing the Renaissance of technological innovation, but in reality, it only takes advantage of some of the potential of technology.
If AI, 3D printing, IoT, and blockchain shake up existing systems, on the other hand, these technologies have begun to accelerate new hybrid solutions. Industries such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and energy are benefiting from this technology convergence through hybrid solutions that transform the way items are designed, produced, tracked, and distributed. Let’s take a look at the convergence of technology in the industry with the Fr8 network.
Constraints
Traditionally, drug supply chains ensure that drug producers deliver medicines to consumers quickly and efficiently. However, our economy is becoming increasingly global and patient feedback is more tightly integrated during the testing and manufacturing of interventions.
Medical products also have a shorter life cycle and often require different supply chains for each product. A more open and fully integrated supply chain system enables efficient production and safe distribution of medicines. In addition, in order to provide a productive feedback loop, the patient may also provide an appropriate direction for the supply chain process.
Companies are now leveraging the convergence of artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and blockchain technologies to handle the design, production, and distribution processes of pharmaceutical products in a more open and integrated supply chain.
Art Narrow Intelligence (ANI) technology will fundamentally change the way drugs are designed. Traditionally, the “trial and error” process of designing a single new drug took 12 years and cost $2.9 billion. Thanks to ANI, algorithms can absorb highly complex datasets and apply biomechanical principles to accurately predict drug success prior to development, saving enormous time and money in clinical trials.
Companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Google have focused on solving healthcare problems using ANI technology.
Once a personalized, predictably effective drug has been devised through ANI, it must be produced quickly and economically on time. And that’s where 3D printing starts.
3D printing technology represents the next step in automated manufacturing. Traditionally, the process of drug manufacturing has often been fragmented, usually resulting in overproduction or lack of accurate medication.
But now, thanks to 3D printers, pharmaceutical companies can develop customized drugs that increase accuracy, and efficiency, and save time and money. Designed at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 3D printers can use chemical building blocks to classify 14 types of molecules.
In addition, the FDA-approved drug Spirtam was produced layer by layer using a 3D printer to help patients absorb it faster. In addition, healthcare providers are printing ordered implants in the operating room for patients. Patient-specific matches are now achieved as a result of transformative technology convergence.
Drug design and production process innovation can save thousands of hours and dollars. However, blockchain technology is the final component needed to provide forgery detection and secure distribution.
Blockchain provides access to an open distributed ledger so that manufacturers, carriers, hospitals, pharmacies, and patients can always track their drug locations. Blockchain is also irreversible and can prevent malicious users from concealing and changing records. In addition, blockchain provides transparency that enables patients and hospitals to instantly identify counterfeit drugs with blockchain records (or lack of records).
The World Health Organization says sales of counterfeit medicines rose 90 percent over five years to $75 billion in 2010. The WHO also noted that in many developing countries in Asia, Africa, and South America, counterfeit medicines account for 10–30% of all medicines in the market.
The black market for counterfeit medicines poses a great threat to people who don’t know their patients. Therefore, distributed databases, or blockchain technology, are needed to identify medicines that have been proven safe.
aerospace
Moog, a precision-operated company with robust additive manufacturing capabilities, is a leader in technology convergence in aerospace manufacturing.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) uses computerized design (CAD) and 3D printing techniques to produce aircraft parts by attaching new materials onto layers in precise geometric shapes.
This approach helps reduce overhead costs and increases the efficiency of traditional manufacturing processes. The fusion of 3D printing and blockchain allows atoms to be used at the time of use and at the time of need. Create a distributed digital supply chain. The convergence of these technologies drives worthless additional processes in supply changes such as packaging, shipping, warehouse storage, inventory management, and customs brokerage fees.
Despite these improvements, AM manufacturing faces the following challenges:
Technology: Different design principles and stress data for different AM technologies
Data Management: Approved design data (i.e. build files, material specifications) must be securely transmitted for future geographic and/or organizational separation of design and production organizations.
Business: Intellectual property protection for design and print data
Moog developed “VeriPart,” a technology solution that integrates Blockchain technology with 3D printing and is manufacturing to address these challenges.
This hybrid solution is a blockchain-enabled supply chain that stores the history of design manufacturing usage cycles, protects data transfer, supports digital rights management and licensed transactions, and provides reliability for printed products and combinations.
Like the pharmaceutical industry, technology aggregation is used to improve design, production, and distribution processes, increase efficiency, and reduce costs in multiple stages.
Clean energy
While controversial, the most critical example of technology convergence between blockchain, AI and IoT lies in the clean energy industry. The clean energy industry considers ways to encourage institutions and individuals to engage in environmentally friendly practices of producing and consuming renewable energy to prevent greenhouse gases and CO2 emissions.
Current solutions to climate change are inefficient and incentive models are difficult to track and compensate effectively.
Fortunately, a company called LO3 Energy is developing a blockchain-based platform that enables peer-to-peer ‘Exergy’ marketplaces to generate and distribute renewable energy.
The company combines Blockchain technology with IoT to enable smart devices to effectively track energy use and record it in distributed public books.
Users participate in the ecosystem by registering IoT devices that collect data on renewable and sustainable energy produced. And the device can be connected to distributed solar roof systems, wind farms, microgrids, and so on.
Smart devices are IoT technologies that provide accurate readings of the amount of energy produced. This data is stored in the blockchain for validation by all parties. As data from IoT devices flows in, energy producers receive automatic and fair rewards with XRG tokens sent through smart contracts.
conclusion
Technology convergence is a way to enhance the potential of various technologies such as blockchain technology, AI, 3D printing, and IoT. The commonalities between these technologies today can shake the traditional form of many industries. Of course, new technologies can be effective, but scalability issues can also arise.