WCA May/July 2020

From the Americas

establishing point-to-point connections at distances of up to 700 km, and carrying data at speeds up to 1Gbps. In order to keep a stable connection, the antenna is designed to rotate as flight vehicles move. “On the Loon system, this technology has proven the ability to reliably maintain a stable connection to the ground and nearby flight vehicles. In recent testing, Loon established and maintained a connection among 20 balloons spanning over 4,000 km.” Virtual advances in workplace training Employee training can take place inside a VR headset, and the results are so good that a diverse range of companies that includes Walmart, Fidelity Investments and Accenture are taking it seriously. After all, “This is what pilots have been doing for 50 years. You fly the plane without flying the plane,” said Derek Belch, founder and chief executive of Strivr, a virtual-reality-based immersive-training provider based in California, and it can be applied to “any employee, of any type.” At Walmart, virtual reality is used to give employees the chance to see situations from different perspectives, and with VR headsets in 4,500 stores, 800,000 Walmart associates have already trained with them. To teach what are known as “soft skills” – qualities such as communication, teamwork and leadership – Walmart’s empathy module begins from the perspective of the cashier, with a busy checkout lane and a line of customers. Then the perspective shifts, and the cashier becomes the customer with the background of why these people may be upset/ anxious/argumentative. “Cashiers can get very robotic and autonomous,” said Andy Trainor, vice president of US learning for Walmart. “Every single customer has a story, and there’s a reason why they’re in the mood they are in.” So the message is: “You can help make the customer’s day better, instead of worse.” Scenarios are carefully developed to reflect the issues that individual companies face, often working with third-party content creators. Boston-based finance manager Fidelity Investments uses VR to help young call centre agents to understand their mostly older, retired clientele, said Adam Schouela, the company’s vice president of emerging technologies. After the agent has completed a trial call, the perspective switches so that the agent becomes the client. Farmers Insurance uses similar training for agents to practice difficult conversations. Its programme is expected to reach 500 representatives by April 2020. “It’s tied to confidence building,” said Jessica DeCanio, head of claims training for Farmers. “We want agents to be as confident as possible when they go into a home. The more opportunities to accelerate, the better.” Measuring soft skills is not easy, but most companies are finding VR produces employees who perform better, and that saves time. “You have the ability to do it wrong,” Mr Schouela explained. “It’s one of those extra elements that technology gives you. It almost feels real.” Gill Watson – Features Editor

the restrictions. The deputy-level meeting was to discuss proposed new restrictions on sales of chips, which had been manufactured abroad, to Huawei Technologies, and on sales of aeroplane components to a Chinese aircraft maker. Ahead of the meeting, policymakers were sharply divided, with some officials favouring a “tough line” on Huawei and China, while others focused on prioritising trade ties with Beijing. Doubts arose about the meeting after President Trump strenuously criticised a proposal to prevent companies from supplying jet engines and other components to China’s aviation industry, saying national security concerns, often cited as the reason for US curbs on Huawei, should not be used as an excuse to make it difficult for foreign countries to buy US products. The president’s comments came after reports by news media that the government was considering whether to stop General Electric from supplying engines for a new Chinese passenger jet. President Trump also opposed a proposal that would allow the US government to block shipments to Huawei of chips that originated from foreign suppliers who use US equipment. “Things have been put on my desk that have nothing to do with national security, including chipmakers,” he wrote. Due to security concerns Huawei has been on a trade blacklist since May 2019, forcing some companies to seek a special licence from the US government allowing them to sell to some of the major telecommunications manufacturers. Alphabet company Loon and SoftBank’s HAPSMobile Inc have developed a communications payload for their HAWK30, a solar-powered unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that can fly in the stratosphere at around 20 km above the Earth. Drone company HAPSMobile is a joint venture between SoftBank and California’s Aerovironment. HAPSMobile’s HAWK30 drone, 255-feet long and with ten propellers, uses solar power to stay airborne for months at a time. It is designed to operate a full telecommunications platform, capable of delivering connectivity to regions that cannot be given access by fibre or copper. Loon and HAPSMobile started working together in 2019, via a partnership that allowed HAPSMobile to use and adapt the technology Loon had developed for its stratospheric connectivity balloons. Loon built its first stratospheric payload in 2011, and the company is said to have connected over 300,000 people, using its complete stratospheric flight system, since that time. The process was detailed in a Loon company blog post: “Millimetre wave communication systems provide the backhaul links that connect the vehicle to a physical Internet access point on the ground, and allow multiple vehicles to connect with one another in the stratosphere. The payload houses highly accurate antennas that are capable of Telecommunications reach the stratosphere

63

www.read-wca.com

Wire & Cable ASIA – May/July 2020