Even a small amount of virtual assistance can improve our quality of life.

It may seem surprising that the automotive heads-up display (HUD), an aerospace-inspired innovation, was proposed by designers as far back as the 1960s. It took until the late 1980s to reach production. Interest among OEMs and electronics brands has surged recently. As an increasing quantity of information is pushed at drivers from autonomous functions, driver-assistance features and connected services, today’s HUDs provide graphical and text overlays on top of the view through the windshield to aid concentration and improve safety.

Augmenting reality by overlaying computer-generated images and information on our view of the world can help us in many other important contexts as well. AR is increasing productivity in the workplace and is entering the medical arena. Surgeons are beginning to appreciate the benefits of AR, like a graphical overlay from a scan or x-ray image taken previously, which can show important information about the patient during an operation, alleviate distractions and improve outcomes.

Leveraging the IT department to reduce operation-caused variation.

One continuing trend in electronics manufacturing services is the increasing role IT-related solutions have in supporting a Lean manufacturing-driven organizational culture. This is particularly true of proprietary solutions that automate processes in ways that minimize normally occurring variation or help eliminate non-value-added activity.

One example of this is SigmaTron International’s proprietary Manufacturing Execution System (MES) system known as Tango, whose Phase III system went live at the EMS company’s Elk Grove Village (IL) facility in June. The overarching goal of Tango is to centralize tools used throughout the company for production management, while adding enough flexibility via customization to address facility-specific or customer-specific situations.

Humans love modifications, but over time they can add up to false comparisons.

“To gild refined gold, to paint the lily ... is wasteful and ridiculous excess.” – William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King John”

We are used to editing, cropping and modifying cellphone photos to improve and enhance the original images. This is often achieved by adjusting their contrast and brightness, and applying software filters that could, for example, sharpen or otherwise change the look and details. Why should images taken for x-ray inspection be any different? They are not, of course. The images you see in my columns, as well as in probably every other piece of technical literature, together with virtually every other image seen in today’s media, are likely modified on some level. While we may accept this situation intellectually, I would suggest we often too implicitly trust what our eyes see, and therefore any inherent image manipulation is often taken as fact. This can cause the details we see and accept to possibly mislead us as to the reality of the original. As we use such images to make value judgments on the quality and possible faults in electronics manufacture, is this an issue we should be concerned with, or is it a manipulation we need, but also need to understand why we do it, so we can make the best analysis?

If only defects were in as short supply as logic and wisdom.

This is what happens when the pyramid inverts and falls on little old unsuspecting you. Just what you deserve for minding your own business.

“We need to audit your quality system. You’re a new vendor with contingent qualification. We can’t make it permanent without an audit.”

What do you mean we’re a new vendor? We’ve been doing business with you for 11 years.

“Doesn’t matter. New regime in place. Since you’re a great big unknown to us, who are new, consider yourself, as we do, a new vendor. Clean slate. Get used to it. Plus, you had a recent test escape, and we need to determine the root cause. Might as well do the full workup.”