By Raj Parameswaran
Feb 26, 2021
As we look down the road, many promising technologies are finding greater use across the federal government. In my opinion, no technology holds more promise in the immediate future than intelligent automation using robotic process automation (RPA).
RPA will continue to grow as a valuable tool for government IT leaders because it allows the immediate expansion and scaling of human labor without impacting existing systems. Whenever agencies try to automate tasks, there is often a significant development effort. With RPA, an agency can implement and test on a small scale and then quickly expand to automate additional manual tasks.
By GCN Staff
Feb 25, 2021
The Defense Logistics Agency has ordered up a 3D printing factory housed in a shipping container.
Now under development, the rugged 3D printing pod would be up to 40-feet long and be set up in a standard 40-foot container so it could be deployed directly to the field to manufacture parts in support of battlefield operations, disaster relief or other remote missions.
With a $1.6 million contract to ExOne, DLA plans to use the company’s military-edition 3D printer for manufacturing products or tooling from over 20 metal, ceramic and other powder materials.
ExOne’s binder jet 3D printing is an additive manufacturing (AM) process that transforms powdered materials transforms into precision parts by using an industrial printhead to selectively deposit alternating layers of a liquid binder and powder particles.
By Natalie Alms
Feb 25, 2021
Of the $400 billion in CARES Act unemployment benefits distributed last year, states paid over $5.4 billion in potentially fraudulent unemployment claims between March and October of 2020, according to the Department of Labor’s inspector general. The actual number may reach tens of billions of dollars, the watchdog said.
In California alone, at least 10% of the benefits paid since the start of the pandemic have been to fraudulent claims, and that number could be as high as 27%, or $29 billion, the IG said in a Feb. 23 memo. Other states have also reported fraudulent claims. New York stated it paid $1 billion in fraudulent claims, and Maryland claimed $501 million, according to the IG.
By GCN Staff
Feb 24, 2021
FirstNet added nearly 100,000 square miles of coverage in 2020, bringing the nationwide wireless broadband public-safety network’s communications capabilities to a total of 15,000 subscribing agencies and organizations via 1.9 million LTE connections across more than 2.71 million square miles.
The network, which AT&T started to build out in 2017, is ahead of schedule deploying Band 14 coverage, company officials said in a statement. The company also plans to install Band 14 capabilities on new and existing AT&T cell sites, to reach several hundred thousand additional square miles. Over 1,000 new purpose-built sites are also part of the initial FirstNet expansion to connect rural, remote and tribal areas.
Data from mobile ticketing, contactless fare collection systems and ride-share services can help small cities and transit authorities gain real-time insights into their transit routes and schedules to help optimize operations.