AREA Research Project on Best Practices of Merging IOT +AI+AR

The AREA is issuing a request for proposals for a funded research project that will produce tools to increase dialog between stakeholders in enterprises and suppliers of IoT, AI and AR technologies, and a report which describes the state of the art and proposes potential courses of action to address challenges facing enterprises who seek to combine IoT, AI and AR in the workplace.

Organizations with relevant expertise in the research topic should respond to the invitation on or before 12 PM Eastern Daylight Time on March 25th.

The goals of the AREA-directed research project are:

• To educate AREA members on the current state of the art and best practices when using connected devices (IoT) as data sources, Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze/treat data and Augmented Reality (AR) to present the data to professionals in a workplace context.
  The AREA members need to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics in an enterprise or in a particular block of technologies which make IoT, AI and AR integration more or less viable. The final deliverable will also list key enablers needed to integrate technologies to maximize the value proposition of AR and provide recommended guidance, requirements and best practices for choosing and deploying IoT and Artificial Intelligence-based solutions to be used in conjunction with AR devices and platforms for delivery of data.
• To increase understanding of and dialog between enterprises customers with use cases ideally suited for the use of AR for presentation of real time data and suppliers of IoT, AI and AR technologies.

The research project will produce:

• An AREA-member exclusive report that describes the current state of the art and best practices for merging or integrating connected devices (IoT) as data sources, Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze/treat data and Augmented Reality (AR) to present the data to professionals in a workplace context
• A decision making tool or framework implemented in the form of an annotated spreadsheet with instructions on how to fill in fields and with which the user organization can specify the types of connected devices and conditions of use, the target use cases and the desired outcomes. This tool will become the basis for qualifying potential technologies and suppliers and discussions with suppliers.
• A case study (suitable for public release) summarizing the study’s principle findings and illustrating the use of the decision making support tool.

A detailed description of the background for and the proposed scope of the research can be found here below:

Best Practices of Merging IoT+AI+AR – AREA Research Project Brief_Feb19

The research methodology should include primary research (i.e., interviews with the owners/managers of connected devices and spaces using AI and AR in their companies, the best of breed suppliers of IoT, AI and AR solutions for use in enterprise workplaces) as well as secondary research (i.e. review of peer-reviewed literature and web-based information) and a broad, system-level view of IoT, AI and AR in order to clearly describe the state of the art and best practices to date.

All proposals will be evaluated by the AREA research committee chair and research manager on the following criteria:

• Demonstrated knowledge of use of IoT, AI and AR in enterprise environments and organizations for the purpose of improving operational performance of systems and organizations.
• Clear qualifications of the proposing research organization and any partners in the domains of IoT, AI and AR in enterprise environments and/or adjacent technologies.
• Review of prior research reports and process management tools.
• Feedback of references.

The AREA will provide detailed replies to submitters on or before April 1st. Unless otherwise negotiated in advance, the research project is expected to be completed with finished deliverables produced by May 24th. 

Any questions concerning this project and the AREA Research Committee, please send an email to the Research Committee.

The AREA Research Committee budget for this project is $15,000. Organizations interested in conducting this research for the fixed fee are invited to submit proposals. Full information on the project needs and desired outcomes, including a submission form, can be found here.