Monthly Archives: February 2019

VIA

VIA at Embedded World 2019: new VPai smart lock

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One of the most exciting new products we will be launching at at Embedded World 2019 is the VPai Smart Lock Turnkey Platform aimed at the rapidly-growing smart security device market. Germany. This versatile system features a connected wide-angle camera and offers multiple levels of access authentication in a single, securely-designed device that can be connected to Cloud management services. It can be used in either residential or commercial buildings, and provides multiple customization options to meet specific installation requirements.

VPai Smart Lock features a durable aluminum enclosure that houses a high-quality wide-angle HD camera with night vision capabilities and PIR motion detection, two-way audio for remote calling, a fingerprint recognition module, an NFC card reader, a 12-key touch pad, a 2.7” TFT display, and a tamper switch that triggers an automated alarm when it detects an attemp to dismantle it.  Other features include Wi-Fi connectivity, two Li-Ion batteries, and the lock motor. Continue reading VIA at Embedded World 2019: new VPai smart lock →

Confucius

Analects of Confucius Book 3: overview

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The Analects of Confucius Book 3 features some quite astonishing tirades from Confucius against the Three Families, the real power behind the throne of his home state of Lu, for what he saw as their shameless violations of the ancient ritual ceremonies and proprieties that he believed were essential for a civilized society. Continue reading Analects of Confucius Book 3: overview →

Confucius

Leadership Lessons from Confucius: the golden rule

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golden rule

子曰：「參乎！吾道一以貫之。」曾子曰：「唯。」子出。門人問曰：「何謂也？」曾子曰：「夫子之道，忠恕而已矣。」
Confucius said: “Shen, my way is woven into a single thread.” Zengzi replied: “Indeed.” After Confucius had left, the other followers asked: “What did he mean?” Zengzi said: “The way of the Master is based on loyalty and reciprocity; that and nothing more.” (1) (2)

Do you have a Golden Rule that you follow: a core ethical principle that guides all your actions? For Confucius, this could be boiled down to reciprocity. As he explains in Chapter 14 of Book 15 of the Analects, this means: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.” In other words, put yourself in other people’s shoes before you say or do something to them.

Continue reading Leadership Lessons from Confucius: the golden rule →

Confucius

Duke Ding of Lu

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Duke Ding (魯定公) was the predecessor of Duke Ai (哀公) as the ruler of Lu, and reigned from around 509 to 495 BCE. Although responsible for elevating Confucius to his highest official position as Minister of Justice (大司寇) of Lu, the duke was ultimately at least indirectly responsible for Confucius’s decision to go into exile because of his inability to control the Three Families, who were the de facto rulers of the state. Indeed, Duke Ding was said to be so weak that he was the kind of ruler who “held the blade of the sword and offered the handle to his enemies.” Continue reading Duke Ding of Lu →

VIA

Taking buildings into the 21st century

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Taking buildings into the 21st century

Taking buildings into the 21st century is  easier than ever before as a result of a new generation of IoT and Edge AI systems that bring sensors, cameras and control mechanisms together in a truly intelligent management ecosystem. This technology is not exclusive to the latest hyper-modern new builds; it’s just as applicable to any commercial, industrial or residential building because of the many advantages it affords, including reduced energy consumption, predictive maintenance alerts, increased security, greater occupant comfort and safety, and the more efficient utilization of building assets and services. All these drive costs done and less systems downtime (fewer complaints from building residents), thus an excellent ROI.

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VIA

VIA at Embedded World 2019: enabling smart buildings with the VIA ARTiGO A820

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enabling smart buildings

Smart buildings that are aware of and react to their environment can bring considerable benefits to both owners and users, including lower energy consumption, predictive maintenance alerts for HVAC equipment, greater security, improved occupant comfort and safety, and increased utilization of assets and services. This not only improves the immediate environment as the building actively and intelligently reacts to the ebb and flow of everyday life, but also acts to reduce energy consumption and positively contribute to the fight against climate change.

VIA offers a growing family of smart building solutions that enable hybrid processing between edge device and cloud and provide the flexibility required for addressing key issues, such as centralized management and data collection balanced against available bandwidth, time-to-action latency, connection reliability, security, and cost.

Continue reading VIA at Embedded World 2019: enabling smart buildings with the VIA ARTiGO A820 →

Confucius

Leadership Lessons from Confucius: pursue your passion

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pursue your passion

子曰：「不患無位，患所以立；不患莫己知，求為可知也。」
Confucius said: “Don’t care about not having an official position; care about making sure you have what it takes secure one. Don’t care about not being acknowledged; focus on what can make you acknowledged.”

It’s never been easier to gain the paper qualifications required for a prestigious, well-paid position in government or business thanks to the massive expansion of higher education that has taken place over the past few decades. But that also means competition for the plummest posts has never been fiercer.

Continue reading Leadership Lessons from Confucius: pursue your passion →

Confucius

Leadership Lessons from Confucius: observing ritual and showing deference

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ritual and deference

子曰：「能以禮讓為國乎，何有！不能以禮讓為國，如禮何！」
Confucius said: “If a ruler is able to govern a state by observing ritual and showing deference, what more does he need to do? If a ruler fails to to accomplish this, what use is ritual to him?”

A while ago, we signed an agreement to participate in an industry event in the US. This was the first time we had done business with this company, and I was impressed with the efficiency of the rep that was dealing with. That is until the rep suggested almost immediately after we’d signed the document that we sign up for another event half-way across the world in a location that was not a strategic priority for us.

Continue reading Leadership Lessons from Confucius: observing ritual and showing deference →

Confucius

Wangsun Jia

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Wangsun Jia (王孫賈) was the chief minister of Duke Ling of Wei (魏), the ruler of one of the states that Confucius visited in his fruitless quest for engagement as an adviser. No doubt feeling threatened by the arrival of the sage, he obliquely warned Confucius to go through him rather than directly to his ruler by quoting an old proverb about praying to the kitchen god.  Continue reading Wangsun Jia →