Author: Medina

Research Project “Age-Appropriate Behavior”

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We are collaborating with Continental to explore the concept of “level-appropriate behavior.” Identifying and monitoring safety-critical situations poses challenges for drivers, especially when there are frequent transitions between fully automated, partially automated, and manual driving.

The goal is to clearly show drivers which level of automation they are currently in and how they should respond. To this end, we are developing a virtual co-pilot that explains the test scenario, answers questions, and is available throughout the drive. Our AI provides support, particularly when switching between autonomous driving levels. 

KARLI Research Project: "Motion Sickness" Subproject

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Together with the Ford Motor Company, we are investigating the topic of “motion sickness.” This term refers to a condition that most people have experienced firsthand: nausea, dizziness, or headaches. The effect is particularly pronounced when reading in a car, as this causes a significant discrepancy between the sense of balance and visual perception. Motion sickness is more likely to occur in an automated vehicle. The goal is therefore to develop AI algorithms and HMI (human-machine interface) systems capable of recognizing motion sickness in specific situations and reducing or even preventing its occurrence.

For research purposes, we developed both the voice prompts and several visual elements. Here, test drivers are encouraged to perform various driving maneuvers or respond to different situations—for example, by looking out the window, reading something, and reporting how they feel. Our voice assistant SUSI interacts with the test drivers at regular intervals to determine their motion sickness level. The test results are then analyzed and provide insights into factors such as the effects of the surrounding environment.

KARLI Mid-Year Presentation 2023

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Experience research firsthand! SUSI&James attended the KARLI Project midterm presentation at Continental’s Zukunftswerkstatt in Frankfurt. Our voice-based applications were also on display there as part of the AI solutions developed by our partners Ford Motor Company, Continental, and the University of Stuttgart.

The KARLI project consists of eight subprojects, three of which are supported by our technology in the research phase. The latest interim results on the topics of “level-compliant behavior,” “AI interaction,” and “motion sickness” were presented in technical talks and could also be experienced firsthand in the test vehicles.

Intelligent driving of the future requires the development of AI systems capable of triggering in-vehicle interactions that are tailored to the individual and the context, thereby helping to ensure a safe and comfortable ride. 

It was exciting to experience the systems and voice interactions firsthand in test vehicles and try them out for ourselves. We also had the opportunity to meet familiar faces and discuss their projects, visions, and goals with stakeholders and decision-makers. Networking with others is very valuable to us.

We are excited to be working with KARLI to help shape the future of driving.

Three months after the official end of the pandemic: Marcel Martini looks back on the time of masks, social distancing, and hygiene guidelines

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[Question] Marcel, you joined SUSI&James as managing director in early 2021. What was your daily routine like back then?

Marcel: I know that there was short-time work in 2020. The slump in orders was clearly noticeable, ultimately, of course, due to the extremely difficult situation our customers were facing—for example, because of production stoppages or the breakdown of supply chains. Today, however, it’s clear that the pandemic has very clearly demonstrated the need for a digital transformation of business processes, which has naturally helped us.

In addition, the pandemic has led companies to become more cost-conscious. While this naturally makes investing more challenging in general, when a quick return on investment is expected—as is the case with our solutions—I find our customers to be very receptive. Furthermore, flexible licensing models tailored to specific use cases provide additional flexibility.

[Question] Has the pandemic changed the business model?

Marcel: Generally speaking, no. I believe that customers have become much more receptive and open to topics related to digitalization, process acceleration, efficiency improvements, and so on. And that is exactly what we Leistungsversprechen.

However, as awareness has grown, a certain degree of willingness to take risks has been lost. These days, before actual development can begin, we must at least demonstrate the immediate value of a project through a “proof of concept.” This is understandable, of course, but it can sometimes slow down the process.

[Question] How has the way we interact with companies, prospective clients, and customers changed?

Marcel: Most people are working from home these days. That makes it a bit harder to reach them than before. But a bigger challenge for us is that it’s difficult to build a personal relationship of trust without face-to-face contact. After all, we’re deeply involved in business processes, which requires a high level of trust.

Building trust used to be much easier, since we would often talk face-to-face, have coffee together, or drop by a client’s office on the spur of the moment. These days, meetings tend to take place via Teams, Zoom, or the phone, or we exchange brief messages via email. While this certainly has major advantages, it poses a certain obstacle when it comes to building relationships and networking. This makes networking events, trade shows, and similar formats all the more important.

[Question] Our Smart Office product was developed not too long ago. To what extent did the pandemic and the need for digitalization contribute to its development?

Marcel: While the pandemic and the resulting pressure to digitize have accelerated the development of the smart office, our solution is ultimately the logical answer to common market challenges: poor telephone accessibility, a shortage of skilled workers, inefficient processes, and so on. I can’t say for certain whether the pandemic was the decisive factor, but it certainly played a part.

[Question] Is it harder to sell the product these days?

Marcel: Not necessarily harder, but different. The sales channels have simply changed. The challenge lies in identifying the target audience’s needs and determining the best way to address them. The initial contact is often made via email, LinkedIn, or even cold calling. Before the pandemic, in-person networking played a bigger role.

That makes it all the more enjoyable to meet people at events, get to know one another, and exchange ideas. The last such event we attended was the Partner Networking Event  the Future Workshop 4.0.

[Question] Has end-user acceptance of AI solutions changed?

Marcel: Es gibt Studien, die zeigen, dass immer mehr Menschen offener gegenüber neuen Technologien sind. Ob das der Pandemie zuzuschreiben ist, wage ich zu bezweifeln. Generell steigt die Akzeptanz gegenüber neuen Technologien stetig, auch durch die derzeitige starke mediale Präsenz. Gleichzeitig gibt es natürlich auch eine gewisse Skepsis bzgl. Kundenzufriedenheit, Nutzerfreudlichkeit, Datensicherheit, etc.  Wir legen jedoch extrem viel Wert auf diese Themen, eine positive User-Experience zu erzeugen ist Kern unserer DNA. Das spiegeln uns auch unsere Kunden wider, was uns sehr freut. Die Endkunden kommen mit der Geschwindigkeit, in der SUSI speaks , they get along very well. This is especially important when older people call.

[Question] What is the current pace of project and product implementation?

Marcel: My impression is that decision-making processes on certain issues have slowed down again, which is understandable, however, because the pressure to implement changes has eased. During the pandemic, for example, companies had no choice but to offer their employees the option to work remotely and to put the necessary infrastructure in place.

There is a fundamental need for and understanding of the necessity of ongoing digital transformation, though not at the same pace as three years ago. At the same time, this gives us the opportunity to work with our customers to identify their requirements in detail and tailor our products and solutions accordingly.

Partner Networking Event: Future Workshop 4.0

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On June 28, 2023, Marcel and Patrick The Partner Networking Event of Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0. A very interesting event with a well-designed format, featuring open discussion and, above all, free from any individual “factions” or short-term interests. Mutual learning and the generation of new ideas were the clear and successfully achieved goals of the event.

Twelve topics were discussed during 20-minute speed-dating sessions. This allowed participants to quickly get to know innovators in each field and provided an opportunity for discussion. Topics included “Artificial Intelligence,” “Driver Assistance Systems,” and “Digital Applications in Customer Interaction.”

This was followed by “fishbowl focus sessions,” in which participants discussed various topics in larger groups. The pressing issue of the skills shortage was addressed by connecting students with industry representatives and service providers. Speakers such as Jens Nietzschmann from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH, Imelda Labbé from Volkswagen AG, and a barbecue afterward rounded out the event.

Wir möchten uns herzlich bei dem Team der Zukunftswerkstatt 4.0 für die Organisation des Partner Networking Events bedanken! Es war ein eindrucksvolles und interaktives Event, das uns die Möglichkeit gab, großartige Kontakte zu knüpfen und gemeinsam innovative Lösungsansätze zu diskutieren. Die Plattform des Netzwerktreffens war ideal, um sich mit anderen Teilnehmern auszutauschen und sich gegenseitig zu inspirieren.

Smart Office 2.0

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On May 31, 2023, the project manager Florian introduced Smart Office 2.0, along with its enhancements, new features, and more intuitive user interface. Florian kicked off the presentation by making an outgoing call from Teams. The digital assistant SUSI immediately answered the phone and warmly greeted us. In a sample dialogue that new team member Emma and Florian had prepared beforehand, the first question asked was what the matter was.

SUSI realized that Florian wanted to make a table reservation and then asked for his name, the number of people, and other relevant information. She then forwarded this information in an email to the appropriate staff member, since we had called “outside of business hours.”

But behind this seemingly simple dialogue, which lasts only a few minutes, lies a powerful system: Smart Office 2.0. Even the previous version was quite impressive. It featured decision trees that could be customized to meet individual customer needs, personalized greetings, questions, and much more.

In Smart Office 2.0, internal phone numbers can be assigned names. Any number of phone numbers can be entered into the system, and each can be assigned a custom dialog. Phrases and actions are intuitively integrated into the dialog builder, allowing users to specify when a statement is made, an email is sent, an API call is executed, or a question is asked.

As soon as a question is created in the dialog tree, a field for user input appears automatically, which greatly simplifies the dialog creation process. Such automations help fill in logical gaps without hindering the user’s ability to customize the dialog.

Furthermore, Smart Office 2.0 now allows you to set custom endings for all possible call routes. This enables SUSI to say goodbye to the caller in different ways depending on the dialogue branch. These new features improve the organization of multi-number capabilities in Smart Office 2.0 and increase the level of customization for dialogue branches.

Leipzig Energy Forums 2022

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Customer Care Center management is where the decision is made whether a customer stays or leaves. This is where the key touchpoints occur. The Energy Forums in Leipzig established a platform for energy suppliers where executives from customer service, customer management, and customer care centers can discuss current industry issues and challenges on an equal footing.

In 2022, Project Manager Florian, along with Christian Demmer from Stadtwerke Saarlouis and Dieter Hoffmann from ENCOMlab, attended the Energy Forums in Leipzig and presented the exciting use case of our Smart Office at Stadtwerke Saarlouis.

The energy supply business is heavily influenced by seasonal events. Price increases, bill mailings, or new energy rate plans cause many customers to contact the energy supplier within a very short period of time. With a shortage of skilled workers and an already enormous workload, it is not always possible to handle the volume of incoming calls.

Our AI solution, the digital assistant SUSI, brings the necessary skills and experience to the Smart Office environment to directly support energy utilities and other public utilities. She handles the entire call overflow and ensures that calls are routed based on the nature of the inquiry. For critical issues, such as a gas outage, our AI solution forwards the call directly to the emergency response center.

The Smart Office is known as E-Louisa at the municipal utility company. In a pilot project for meter reading, SUSI&James demonstrated the solution’s effectiveness: the processing time for customer inquiries dropped from 2–3 weeks to one day, service quality improved noticeably, and the workload on employees was reduced. E-Louisa was well-received by callers, leading to the solution being expanded to include additional services.

By automating the processing of meter readings, advance payment adjustments, and invoice changes, employees free up time that they can devote to more client-focused conversations with customers.

Risk and Resilience: SUSI&James at the 2023 VDA Congress

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The VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry) is the umbrella organization for German automotive manufacturers and suppliers. Every year, the VDA organizes a SME Day, where executives and board members from medium-sized member companies in the supplier industry, as well as manufacturers of trailers and bodywork, come together to network and exchange experiences.

The event will feature panel discussions and presentations on current topics in the automotive industry. Among those invited to speak this year are Christian Lindner, Federal Minister of Finance; Timotheus Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG; and Dirk Große-Loheide, Member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management.

The main theme of this year’s SME Day was “Risk and Resilience.” The focus was on how the entire industry can identify and minimize risks and implement appropriate measures. These risks include, for example, natural disasters and political issues, as well as cyberattacks and IT outages.

There were also breakout sessions—small working groups that explored various topics. Managing Director Marcel Martini led a working group that focused on the topic “Successful Onboarding of Foreign Employees.”

Due to the shortage of skilled workers in some industries, German companies are relying on foreign workers to fill vacant positions. For most of them, however, starting a career in Germany is not easy: they face difficulties finding housing, opening necessary bank accounts, or even registering their change of address. This working group focused on developing strategies to make the transition to life in Germany as smooth as possible.

The event was rounded out by engaging presentations—such as those on the importance of digitalization in business and the call to embrace healthy entrepreneurial risk—by Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges and a video message from Finance Minister Christian Lindner, as well as a get-together and a morning run on the second day.

Natural Language Understanding (NLU)

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With NLU, data can be analyzed and its meaning determined by algorithms by reducing human language to a structured ontology—a data model consisting of semantic and pragmatic definitions. The two fundamental concepts of NLU are intent recognition and entity recognition.

Editor War: Everything You Need to Know!

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Editor War: Everything You Need to Know!

The Editor War has a long history. Like most religious wars, this one is partly based on a story that may no longer be as relevant as it once was. We’ve taken a closer look at the religious Editor War and summarized the key points in this post.

Editor War

What is a (text) editor?

A text editor is a computer program that allows users to create, modify, or edit plain text files. Such programs are also known as “Notepad software,” a term derived from the name of Microsoft Notepad. It can be used to write computer programs, edit the source code of programming languages or HTML, and create website or web design templates. A text editor is now most commonly used for programming purposes...

Some text editors can read, edit, and quickly open unusually large files—such as log files or an entire database—in a single file. This is necessary for many professional computer applications, as they contain files that may be too large to fit in the computer’s main memory.

What is the Editor War?

Most users don’t give text editors much thought. However, not all text editors are created equal, and over time, users may come to realize that a particular editor is best suited to their needs. Within the unique world of hacker culture and the free software community, a rivalry has emerged between users of two different text editors: Emacs and vi (also known as Vim or Neovim). The rivalry has become a permanent fixture of both cultures...

Throughout human history, there have been numerous topics on which users and fans have shared their views and debated with one another. These "holy wars" have taken various forms: iOS vs. Android, Apple vs. Samsung, Marvel vs. DC, and so on. A similar discussion that sparks heated debate among users—particularly those in the Linux community—is the Emacs vs. Vim debate, which has been raging for decades. The debate between Emacs and vi was one of the original “holy wars...

Vim is a modal editor and one of the oldest UNIX-based text editors available. This text editor is an evolution of vi, a text editor from the early days of UNIX. “Vim” stands for “vi Improved.” After its release, Vim quickly gained popularity because it not only incorporated nearly all of vi’s features but also added several additional features that made it much more powerful than its predecessors.

The first version of Vim was released to the public by Bram Moolenaar in 1991. Since then, it has become one of the most popular and feature-rich text editors. In 1998, the fifth generation of Vim was released, introducing one of the editor’s most widely used features: scripting. Now users can write their own scripts for Vim and ultimately extend its functionality.

Vim's appeal lies in the fact that it is extremely lightweight and features a multi-mode interface, each mode serving a different but useful purpose. With features such as a multi-level undo tree, a vast collection of plugins, and powerful text-editing tools, Vim is a rock-solid text editor that truly stands out.

Emacs, on the other hand, is a family of highly customizable, self-documenting real-time text editors designed for POSIX operating systems and available on Linux, macOS, BSD, Windows, and more. It is a cross-platform editor with a non-modal interface. Emacs is very similar to Vim, a long-standing text editor that has been popular for years. However, rather than simply calling it a text editor, Emacs is so much more. Emacs is known for its high extensibility, allowing ...

Emacs supports a wide range of packages and extensions that users can use to further customize it, making it even more powerful than before. It includes several useful features, such as autocompletion. This allows you to start typing a command, which the editor then automatically completes.

Vim vs. Emacs – The Key Differences

Storage usage

An editor’s memory usage is an important factor to consider, especially during startup. The memory usage of Vim and Emacs varies, with pros and cons for each approach. Vim uses little memory during startup, so it launches quickly but offers limited customization. Emacs, on the other hand, offers customizable settings but starts up more slowly.

Efficient and effective memory usage is of critical importance for a text editor, as any error in memory management slows it down. Consequently, Vim and Emacs offer advantages to some users and disadvantages to others. However, one thing should be kept in mind: the importance of memory usage varies depending on the programming language.

Keyboard functionality

How do the keyboard functionalities of Vim and Emacs compare? Vim suffers from an awkward keyboard layout and lacks some optimized shortcuts. In contrast, Emacs uses Meta-key combinations to activate additional functions, enabling customized and mode-specific operations. When it comes to keyboard functionality, Emacs has the advantage.

Vim lacks these features because it is based on the older text editor Vi. Like its predecessor, Vim’s keyboard functionality seems somewhat outdated. However, Vim still allows users to customize the key bindings to make it more convenient. But it takes some time for users to set up the key bindings to their liking. Keyboard functionality is a helpful tool, regardless of which programming language is used.

Adaptability

Both Emacs and Vim are known for being highly customizable and versatile, and for offering a wide range of plugins and extensions that allow users to configure the programs by adding additional features.

Emacs takes it a step further by using the Lisp programming language. With Lisp, users can implement and redefine almost anything in Emacs. For users accustomed to using Vim, Emacs offers packages that allow for Vim-like behavior within Emacs. The best-known package is Evil mode, an extremely powerful Emacs mode that fully emulates Vi and attempts to enhance it by adding compatible and powerful features...

Languages

Vim and Emacs handle programming languages differently. Vim has its roots in the old-school Unix environment and therefore works well with Linux, DOS, BSD, HP-UX, Mac, and other operating systems. Emacs also works with Unix systems and uses special main modes for Scheme, Lisp, Perl, Java, Ruby, and more.

Overall, Vim offers slightly faster performance. However, both Vim and Emacs provide good system support and a wide range of language package options, allowing users to add additional languages or operating systems as needed.

User interface

The user interfaces of Vim and Emacs are well-designed and functional. Vim offers more features than its predecessor but retains a text-based interface. Emacs started out as a text-based program, but newer versions include a modern GUI. If the user prefers a classic layout, Vim is ideal. However, the Emacs GUI still has its advantages.

Experienced programmers benefit from the straightforward approach of a text-based editor like Vim. It feels familiar and lacks “distracting” bells and whistles, even though it has more features than its predecessor. Vim users who prefer a GUI can use gVim or other derivatives. Alternatively, the Emacs GUI approach offers an attractive and easy-to-navigate interface, which is advantageous in many situations. Beginners and professionals alike prefer GUIs, especially when it comes to complex projects...

Religious Aspects of the Editor Wars

The Church of Emacs was founded by Emacs and Richard Stallman, the creator of the GNU Project. This religion is a parody religion and refers to Vi as the “beast” (vi-vi-vi is 6-6-6 in Roman numerals). It does not oppose the use of Vi; rather, it condemns Vi as proprietary software.

“Using a free version of Vi is not a sin, but a penance.” – Richard Stallman for ourTV.net.au (A community TV channel in Canberra recorded a talk by Stallman on video but was unable to launch its project due to a lack of funds)

The Church of Emacs has its own newsgroup, alt.religion.emacs, featuring posts that claim to support this belief system. Stallman refers to himself as St. I. GNU-cius, a saint in the Church of Emacs.

In response, the "Vi cult" was created by Vi supporters, which some Emacs users describe as an attempt to "imitate their superiors." Referring to Vi's modal nature (which is often a source of frustration for new users), some Emacs users joke that Vi has two modes: "repeated beeping" and "breaking everything."

Vi users like to joke that Emacs's keystrokes cause carpal tunnel syndrome, or they mention one of the many satirical variations on the acronym EMACS:

  • Escape Meta Alt Control Shift – a dig at Emacs' reliance on modifier keys
  • EMACS Makes Any Computer Slow
  • Eventually Munches All Computer Storage – in Bezug auf die hohen Systemressourcenanforderungen von Emacs
  • GNU Emacs has come to stand for "Generally Not Used, Except by Middle-Aged Computer Scientists"—a reference to its most passionate fans and its declining popularity among younger programmers.

In a nod to Emacs’s creeping, excessive, and continuous expansion—or the addition of new features—Vi advocates are known to describe Emacs as “a great operating system that’s just missing a decent editor.” It is well known that Emacs advocates counter that the editor is actually very good, but the operating system could use some improvements (referring to Emacs’s famous lack of parallelism, which has now been added).

The Google search engine also got in on the joke by returning "Did you mean: emacs" for searches for "vi" and "Did you mean: Vi" for searches for "Emacs."

Summary

Like Vim, Emacs is a text editor that can be run with a GUI. But Emacs is much more than just a text editor. In fact, Emacs also functions as an email client, an integrated development environment, a document browser, and more. Unlike Vim, Emacs allows its users to use the Lisp programming language to write new commands or override existing ones.

This feature is known as online extensibility. Emacs is also highly customizable, meaning that every single detail can be adjusted down to a very granular level, making its capabilities virtually limitless. Vim, however, remains one of the most popular and widely used text editors, found on nearly every Unix-based system.

At this point, we would like to note that the editor war has a long history, and as is so often the case in the software industry, rapid change is taking place here as well. Today, text editors certainly still play an important role in development, but the landscape has changed significantly. Especially in the last 10 years, it is no longer particularly significant that VIM comes pre-installed on many systems. Nor is it significant that Emacs is memory-intensive or has a slow startup time...

Until around 2010, the only options were essentially IDEs—programs like Eclipse, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, and so on. Before them came VIM and Emacs. After 2010, the software landscape began to change, and new editors emerged, such as Sublime, VSCode, Atom, and others, which gained widespread popularity, causing VIM and Emacs to play an increasingly less significant role.

In 2015, Microsoft released a disruptive technology known as the LSP protocol. This led to VSCode becoming by far the most widely used editor, one that could be equipped with a wide range of features just like an IDE or Emacs. However, VSCode offers many advantages over VIM and Emacs, such as a modern UI, numerous plugins, a plugin marketplace, an easier learning curve for beginners, etc. At the same time, the LSP protocol...

Source: http://blog.davidecoppola.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/market_share_cpp_ides_pie.png

Until around 2010, the only options were essentially IDEs—programs like Eclipse, Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, and so on. Before them came VIM and Emacs. After 2010, the software landscape began to change, and new editors emerged, such as Sublime, VSCode, Atom, and others, which gained widespread popularity, causing VIM and Emacs to play an increasingly less significant role.

In 2015, Microsoft released a disruptive technology known as the LSP protocol. This led to VSCode becoming by far the most widely used editor, one that could be equipped with a wide range of features just like an IDE or Emacs. However, VSCode offers many advantages over VIM and Emacs, such as a modern UI, numerous plugins, a plugin marketplace, an easier learning curve for beginners, etc. At the same time, the LSP protocol...

Over time, the market share and user numbers for Vim and Emacs have dropped dramatically. In 2018, Vim’s market share stood at 16.5%, while Emacs had a share of just 7.4%. For a younger generation of editor users, such a historic rivalry between two editors is questionable, as they likely use a GUI editor like Sublime or Eclipse.

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