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Japan Airlines is using HoloLens to allow trainee engineers to view working holograms of jet engines without having to visit a hangar or take an expensive working component out of service.

Lauren Bissett from the HoloLens team starts her demo by saying "employees can experience realistic 3D training at scale. Learning to work on complex machinery that is hard to access, like a jet engine". Trainees can collaborate on the hologram either in the classroom or via Skype.

Verdict: This is pretty useful, and the point about training on components that aren't easy to get your hands on is very valid. A global company that uses Skype for training and teacher/student communications could definitely benefit from this sort of set up.

NASA's jet propulsion laboratory collaborated with Microsoft to create a piece of software called OnSight. As detailed by Jeff Norris, the OnSight project lead, they use HoloLens "to connect scientists and engineers with the environment of the Curiosity Mars Rover. Because we can't put our scientists physically on Mars, technology like this allows us to investigate what is possible if we can make them virtually present".

What this means is allowing staff to view a 3D image of the mapped surface of Mars and, "the plan is to deploy on site to mission operations this summer to be controlling Rovers on Mars in July", says Norris.

Verdict: This is the peak use case Microsoft will want to roll out, because it is so unashamedly nerdy. It's difficult to know how immersive the Mars environment is in HoloLens without trying it but my concern would be the limitations imposed by the small viewing window, as opposed to a fully immersive VR experience.

What is interesting here is NASA saying that it will use the tool to actually control the Rover, which would require some pretty comprehensive retooling but would provide one of the more practical use cases the HoloLens has so far in its limited lifetime.

Swedish car makers Volvo are using HoloLens in a couple of ways, allowing customers to view modifications on a 3D model of the car as well as for internal training purposes.

Verdict: Having a HoloLens at the dealership sounds like a perfect use case for the technology. You only need one unit and you can show customers all of their modifications on a scale model, which might drive purchases or at least will drive the perception that Volvo is an innovative car brand.

The video didn't go into detail about the training, design or maintenance use cases in much detail but there is certainly some scope for the technology in all of those areas.

Aviad Almagor, MR program manager at GPS technology specialists Trimble opens the video by saying: "Architects are dealing with shapes, and spaces and light and they dream in 3D and need to translate that into 2D documents. HoloLens presents a whole new paradigm."

The core to this use case is human's apparent inability to visualise in 3D. What Trimble does with HoloLens is allow architects and structural engineers to view holographic models of structures, be it layered on top of a physical model or actually on site to aid decision making.

Almagor says on the video that HoloLens is a "much better way to make sure the design is implemented correctly on site".

Verdict: This is a pretty solid use case and I see it being more popular in the setting of an architect office, stood around a 3D model, than I do on the site itself.

Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio is trialling lectures using HoloLens so that students can "stand around a model like a tour group in a museum", according to Mark Griswold, a professor of radiology at the university.

The application allows students to view a 3D hologram of the human body and cycle through different layers of anatomical structures, from muscular to circulatory systems and bone structure.

Verdict: It definitely sounds good, but in practice (I have tried it) the 3D model is pretty underwhelming. The detail isn't quite there yet and feels more appropriate for a GCSE biology classroom than a medical training university. My guess is that students using HoloLens will need to get their hands on a cadaver at some point also, making the whole exercise an expensive extra step.

Design software maker Autodesk is a natural fit for the HoloLens. On the video it says: "The number one challenge for designers and engineers is just being on the same page which is key to making better decisions."

It goes on to show two designers drag a 3D model of a game console into a space between their desk to collaborate on the design. It has also developed an application called ModBot to visualise industrial scale robots to make better decisions pre-build and deployment.

Verdict: The part where two designers drag a 3D model of a game controller into a space between their desks is pretty cool. My question is, why can't they just collaborate on a real piece of kit? Wouldn't that be a better use of time and resources?

Microsoft presented a sporting use case at its Worldwide Partner Conference earlier this year with the PGA Tour.

In partnership with digital studio TaqTile they created an app for fans and players to view a 3D rendering of golf courses. In the video the presenter shows a 16ft hologram of TPC Sawgrass rendered from 3D Bing maps. It could be navigated by the air pinch or by voice, "go to the 17th hole" and individual player shot arcs and locations could be layered on top.

Scott Gutterman, VP of digital operations at the PGA Tour said they are looking at using the HoloLens for golf course design and tournament set up, so visualising grandstand locations and traffic flows to traverse the course. Players and caddies could also use the technology to strategise how they will attack the course.

Verdict: As a golfer this looks really fun to play with but it is essentially an advanced sports analytics application which would require me to put a HoloLens on while at a major golf event, so it is pretty restrictive.

The makers of such masterpieces as the Warcraft movie, media company Legendary Entertainment has designed a slick HoloLens use case video which shows employees sat at desks interacting with World of Warcraft character holograms.

"Legendary, although primarily known as a film and television company we really see ourselves as world builders in the experience business," Barnaby Legg, VP of theatrical strategy says in the video.

The video also shows pre-visualisations of sets and characters and some cool social media ready 'content' for fans.

Verdict: The stuff about artists pre-visualising sets and characters is pretty cool, and potentially useful for people in the creative industries.

What this use case boils down to though is having attendees of red carpet events put a HoloLens on to 'meet' characters from the movie, which Legg calls a "magic trick" during the video.

In October 2016, IBM and General Motors (GM) joined forces to add artificial intelligence to GM's cars. The partnership aims to offer location-based products and services to you while you're in your car.

GM's OnStar Go, is the industry's first cognitive mobility service and will use machine learning to understand user preferences, and recognise patterns found in your decision data. From that, customers will receive personalised marketing services from numerous partners such as Glympse, iHeartRadio, Mastercard and Parkopedia.

In September 2016, IBM Watson signed a 10-year contract with Harrow Council to bring Watson Care Manager to support individuals in the UK.

IBM's Watson Care Manager can control scheduling, develop personalised care plans, manage budgets, select providers and enable care. This will allow individuals and caregivers to quickly choose the most appropriate healthcare provider, determined by their allocated personal budget.

According to IBM, this is the first implementation of Watson Care Manager outside of the US.

In September 2016, Condé Nast partnered with IBM Watson to help build informed social media campaigns for its brands. The software built by IBM and Influential, a 'data-first influencer platform' offers Condé Nast customers (such as the New Yorker and Vogue) insight into who to target their campaigns towards and what celebrities would make good brand ambassadors. 

For example, if a brand wants to find somebody who is compassionate, Watson will analyse the last 20,000 words and emojis potential 'influencers' have published looking for the perfect person fitting the breif. 

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is teaming up with IBM Watson to better connect with its customers, enabling people to ask questions by voice and text right via GSK's online ads.

"Watson provides a very personalised experience" senior brand manager of the Cough and Cold division at GSK, Jason Andree told Computerworld earlier this year. "If you're sick, through Watson, you can ask a question and it will provide a personalized response."

In July 2016, US retailer Macy's announced it's testing 'Macy's On-Call', a new mobile service in which shoppers can ask (in natural language) Watson questions about a store's products, services and facilities. 

This technology is delivered by Satisfi, a  location-based engagement software which accesses Watson from the cloud, providing shop assistance in both English and Spanish.

Macy’s chief growth officer, Peter Sachse said: "This program, in partnership with Satisfi and leveraging the power of IBM Watson, will help us explore new ways to engage one-on-one with customers in-store, providing them another level of service right at their fingertips."

In April 2016, IBM Watson partnered with the American Cancer Society to create a virtual adviser that uses machine learning to offer patients personalised information and advice.

To help determine the relevant advice to give, the advisor will look at the patient's type of cancer, its stage and their previous treatments enabling patients to ask questions in natural language and receive audio responses. 

IBM Watson will use data from Cancer.org and the cancer society's National Cancer Information centre to provide meaningful answers to patient's questions. The advisors will also take data from IBM's Watson Health Cloud.

American Cancer Society CEO, Gary M. Reedy said: "This partnership can take these efforts to next level by combining the depth and breadth of cancer information from the world's most trusted cancer source with the power of cognitive technology from IBM Watson."

IBM Watson and Sesame Workshop announced a partnership to improve early childhood education around the globe. As part of a three-year agreement, this collaboration will see IBM and Sesame Workshop create new educational products and systems that can adapt to the learning styles or children and change according to each individual child's aptitude level. 

IBM’s general manager for Watson IoT, Harriet Green said: "The potential for Watson to absorb, correlate, and learn from huge amounts of unstructured data and then deliver very personalized educational experiences is unprecedented. Working together with Sesame Workshop, we aim to transform the way in which children learn and teachers teach, and envision having an impact on the lives and education of millions of children."

More information here.

Back in 2014 University students at Imperial College London were able to use supercomputer Watson to analyse and predict crime.

Computing students in Imperial College London can work with IBM and team Watson to develop a cognitive __computer application to solve challenging problems within the university’s crime department.

UK housing and social care provider, Mears Group has over 700,000 social homes to maintain across the UK and 20,000 employees. The Mears Group also has over 600 million health and safety/accident reports on their database.

Last year Mears Group integrated with IBM Watson to gain faster reporting turnaround and new insights and revenue opportunity suggestions.

The University of Southampton is one of the first European university to collaborate with IBM Watson to offer research modules for students from all disciplines like medicine, chemistry, marine studies and the arts, rather than the typical computing subjects.

Southampton students get to use Watson in a new Cognitive Computing module as part of its Curriculum Innovation programme which will initially be available to over 150 undergraduate and Master’s students across all disciplines. 

In 2012 the US based multinational banking company Citigroup explored Watson's analytics with the aim to improve customer relationships and interactions in the bank. 

Citigroup aimed to use Watson to gather vast information from customers and provide suggestions to improve customer interactions, evaluated risk and identify opportunities and data patterns.

IBM launched its global entrepreneur program for cloud startups in 2014. It offers startups $120,000 worth of free cloud credits, as well as connections into IBM’s vast global network of enterprise clients, consultants, innovation centres and more.

IBM unleashed its Watson APIs on Bluemix, IBM's open, public cloud development platform - giving any developer with an internet connection the power to build with the latest cognitive computing technology, spurring them to develop apps which can think, learn and solve problems. 

Science & Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Hartree Centre has created a big data innovation hub using IBM Big Data and Analytics technology to help organisations solve complex business problems and achieve competitive advantage.

Hartree Centre provides advanced computational and data analytics facilities as well as access to data scientists for customers looking to tackle masses of unstructured data.

Democrata, a UK construction company – is using the powerful analytics at Hartree Centre to automate environmental impact assessments and better predict risk. Surveys are required to analyse a multitude of data sets to understand the impact of a high speed rail link or a new road. In the past this has been a slow and cumbersome task. But now, using big data analytics automated searches and queries on disparate data sets means faster and cheaper decision making for large engineering and construction firms. 
  
KnowNow Information, an IBM Business partner is helping local government emergency service providers improve their decision making and resources planning. Using the Hartree Centre big data analytics technology and data scientists, the emergency services provider can now see patterns of incidents across their territory and the system can begin to predict where and when to allocate resources. This has the potential to save time and money for all emergency response teams.   
  
Global healthcare company GSK is working with the Hartree Centre to develop clustering techniques similar to that used on social networking sites to enhance the understanding of these relationships. ‘Disease mapping’ looks at a wide array of source data from various journals and other records to identify correlations between genes, biological processes and known diseases. 

US-based not-for-profit the Cleveland Clinic has begun a pilot program using IBM's Watson cognitive computing technology (through the cloud) to research new cancer treatments.

Typically, doctors do not have the time or resources to research specific treatments based on a patients cancer type along with their DNA. The Cleveland Clinic hopes to change this, and IBM's Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty said researchers at the clinic are using IBM's Watson Genomics Analytics to track patient's genes.

Standard Bank uses IBM Watson to speed handling of customer queries, allowing it to identify customers quickly so they can respond in faster time. 

"The ultimate beneficiaries of the project will be our customers for whom the process-known as 'cognitive computing' will undoubtedly bring many benefits as we continue to identify innovative ways of doing business and build a bank for the future,” said Vuyo Mpako, head, innovation and channel design, Standard Bank.

Sportswear brand Under Armour has partnered with IBM to produce in-depth health and fitness insights though digital health and fitness applications and powered by Watson. 

Under Armour has created an app using Watson's analytics to pool personal, physiological, behavioural and nutritional data. The app will act as a personal trainer, providing users with suggestions for optimal health and fitness based on Watson's analytic insights.

Chief information officer:  Salary growth 1.8%

2016 salary expectations: £126,500 - £243,250   2017 salary expectations: £128,250 - £248,000

Chief technology officer: Salary growth 1.9%

2016: £83,500 - £158,750  2017: £85,250 - £161,500

IT director: Salary growth 0.5%

2016: £93,750 - £126,750  2017 £94,000 - £120,750

IT manager/head of IT: Salary growth 3.3%

2016: £80,250 - £115,500   2017: £81,500 £120,750

Chief Information Security Officer: Salary growth 4%

2016: £98,250 - £149,500  2017: 104,250 - £153,500

Chief architect: Salary growth 1.6%

2016: £120,000 - £155,000   2017: £121,500 - £158,000

Enterprise architect: Salary growth 1.4%

2016: £62,750 - £93,750  2017: £63,000 - £95,750

Technical architect:  Salary growth 2.4%

2016: £82,250 - £103,250  2017: ££85,400 - £104,500

Infrastructure architect: Salary growth 3.5%

2016: £57,500 - £76,750   2017: £60,500 - £78,500

Data Architect: Salary growth 1.1%

2016: £59,750 - £79,250   2017: £61,000 - £79,500

Solution Architect: Salary growth 0.9%

2016: £58,250 - £81,500   2017: £58,250 - £82,750

Senior developer: Salary growth 0.9%

2016: £53,750 - £88,750   2017: £54,000 - £89,750

Developer: Salary growth 4.5%

2016: £26,750 - £45,500   2017: £27,500 - £48,000

Junior developer: Salary growth 4.2%

2016: £19,000 - £28,500  2017: £19,500 - £30,000

Database/business intelligence developer: Salary growth 2.9%

2016: £41,500 - £69,250  2017: £44,500 - £69,500

Test programme manager: Salary growth 2.7%

2016: £62,250 - £72,750   2017: £65,750 - £76,000

QA/testing manager: Salary growth 1.4%

2016: £50,750 - £70,250   2017: £51,000 - £75,000

QA/testing analyst: Salary growth 2.5%

2016: £23,500 - £45,250   2017: £24,500 - £46,000

Programme manager:  Salary growth 2.6%

2016: £62,250 - £99,750   2017:  £65,750 - £100,500

Project manager: Salary growth 1.2%

2016: £39,250 - £68,250    2017: £39,750 - £69,000

Senior business analyst: Salary growth 1.9%

2016: £45,250 - £58,750  2017: £46,500 - £59,500

Business analyst: Salary growth 1.2%

2016: £34,250 - £49,250  2017: £35,000 - £49,500

Data analyst: Salary growth 2.2%

2016: £32,500 - £46,250   2017: £32,750 - £47,750

Business intelligence analyst: Salary growth 3.1%

2016: £42,750 - £54,250   2017: £44,000 - £56,000

Infrastructure manager: Salary growth 1.6%

2016:  £48,500 - £75,250  2017: £50,250 - £75,500

Database administrator: Salary growth 0.5%

2016: £37,500 - £66,750  2017: £36,000 - £67,000

Network manager: 2.8%

2016: £38,250 - £58,750   2017: £39,250 - £59,500

Network engineer: Salary growth 2.8%

2016: £35,750 - £53,750   2017: £38,000 - £54,000

Support manager: Salary growth 3.0%

2016: £39,500 - £51,250  2017: £40,000 - £53,500

Systems/virtualisation engineer: Salary growth 0.8%

2016 £38,750 - £50,750  2017: £39,000 - £51,250

Systems administrator: Salary growth 1.7%

2016: £21,250 - £37,750   2017: £21,500 - £38,500

Desktop, first/second line support: Salary growth 1.5%

2016: £21,250 - £28,500 2017: £21,750 - £28,750

Applications/production support manager: Salary growth 0.7%

2016 £62,500 - £77,250   2017: £63,000 - £77,750

Senior applications/production support: Salary growth 2.6%

2016: £39,500 - £58,500  2017: £42,000 - £59,500

Applications/production support analyst: Salary growth 2.4%

2016: £31,250 - £41,500   2017: £32,500 - £42,000

Information security manager - Salary growth 1.9%

2016: £63,250 - £97,500   2017: £65,000 - £98,750

Information security officer -  Salary growth 2.2%

2016: £45,750 - £ 68,250 2017: £46,250 - £70,250

Security network engineer - Salary growth 2.9%

2016: £33,500 - £ 52,500 2017: £34,750 - £53,750

Mobile Applications Developer:  Salary growth 4.3%

2016: £32,500 - £ 61,500  2017: £36,000 - £62,000

Senior Web Developer: Salary growth 3.4%

2016: £51,750 - £66,750   2017: £55,500 - £67,000

Web Developer:  Salary growth 2.2%

2016: £36,500 - £55,000   2017: £36,750 - £56,750

Web Administrator:  Salary growth 1.5%

2016: £25,750 - £42,750  - 2017: £26,000 - £43,500

Web designer: Salary growth 1.3%

2016: £27,500 - £47,250   2017: £28,250 - £47,500

In February Google launched DeepMind Health, with the goal of using its machine learning systems to improve healthcare treatment and digitise processes.

The first project announced is a partnership with the Royal Free NHS Trust in north London, involving the creation of a mobile app that provides clinicians with cutting-edge analytics. Known as Streams, the app was designed to improve the detection of acute kidney injury by instantly reviewing blood test results before sending an alert to the most appropriate clinician via a handheld device.

The data-sharing agreement gives access to encrypted healthcare data from an estimated 1.6 million patients who use the three hospitals run by the trust annually: the Royal Free, Barnet, and Chase Farm. The project attracted controversy for providing Google with confidential patient information, despite assurances from the tech giant that the information would only be used to inform diagnosis and treatment.

Read next: Google’s DeepMind promises openness as it begins public consultation over healthcare plans

The second NHS collaboration announced by Google was a partnership with Moorfields Eye Hospital. The project was set up to develop a machine learning–based system that can recognise sight-threatening eye diseases from a digital scan of the eye. While its initial collaboration with the NHS at the Royal Free focused on patient care, this is the first that is entirely dedicated to medical research.

The programme involves the analysis of more than one million anonymous eye scans to produce an algorithm that detects early signs of emerging eye conditions and increases the speed of diagnosis.

A Moorfields ophthalmologist called Pearse Keane was credited with first introducing the idea. He contacted the company after seeing their technology help computers learn how to play video games and believed it could be applied to images of the eye.

DeepMind's latest research partnership with the NHS aims to tackle head and neck cancers. Before radiotherapy can begin, clinicians currently spend around four hours preparing a detailed map of each patient's body to avoid targeting the delicate surrounding tissue that can be damaged in treatment. The information is then fed into a radiotherapy machine to target the cancer without harming the healthy tissue.

Researchers at DeepMind believe machine learning can cut this time down to an hour. The team will analyse anonymised scans from UCLH patients to develop a radiotherapy segmentation algorithm that can automate parts of the process. They hope to eventually apply the algorithm to other parts of the body.

While healthcare technology dominates the current DeepMind developments, its machine learning systems have also been extended to audio. Talking machines have a long history in science fiction and have already entered mainstream usage through commercial products such as Apple's personal voice assistant Siri. But the gap between __computer and human speech remains substantial.

DeepMind has developed a text-to-speech system that can close that gap by more than 50 per cent. Known as WaveNet, it uses a neural network to replicate the soundwaves produced by human speakers rather than the copying the language they use. The computing power required to power Wavenet limits its practical applicability for now, but Google has already presented samples of its automatically generated piano pieces.

Google already uses machine learning algorithms in a range of its own products, including Maps, Gmail, YouTube and Android. It believes that DeepMind’s technology could also be extended to search, robots and the internet of things in future. A DeepMind agent has already matched human performance at 49 Atari games including Pac-Man and Space Invaders, and developed the aforementioned AlphaGo, the first __computer programme to ever beat a professional player at Go.

Google has even used DeepMind to cut its electricity bills at its huge data centres. DeepMind algorithms were used to predict the air conditioning required to cool the vast number of servers powering its services, which can vary depending on the user demand. The results were efficiency savings of 40 percent in the cooling systems along, and a reduction to the overall energy used in the data centres of 15 percent.