As artificial intelligence infrastructure continues to scale, the physical networks connecting large GPU clusters are becoming increasingly complex. Training environments for large language models and advanced machine learning workloads require massive bandwidth between compute nodes, driving a rapid increase in fiber connectivity inside modern data centers.
Telescent’s latest system addresses these operational challenges with a new high-density robotic cross connect system designed for DR4 and DR8 parallel optics interconnects used in large-scale AI training clusters. The system extends the company’s G5 robotic platform to support the extremely high fiber counts now common in AI cluster architectures.
AI Infrastructure Is Driving Massive Fiber Growth
AI workloads are reshaping the internal design of data center networks. As GPU clusters grow larger and more interconnected, operators are increasingly deploying parallel optics technologies such as DR4 transceivers to support the bandwidth required between compute nodes. While these architectures enable faster data movement across GPU fabrics, they also significantly increase the number of fiber connections that must be installed and managed.
In some environments, a single AI training cluster can include an exceptionally high number of fiber links. Managing those connections manually can slow deployment timelines and increase the risk of configuration errors or service interruptions.
Automation at the Physical Layer
Telescent’s robotic cross connect system is designed to automate physical layer management in these high-density environments. By enabling automated fiber path configuration and reconfiguration, the system allows operators to turn up new cluster resources more quickly while minimizing the manual patching work that traditionally accompanies large-scale network changes.
“The bandwidth requirements of AI infrastructure are rewriting the rules of data center fiber management. A single AI cluster can require hundreds of thousands of fiber connections, and the move to parallel optics architectures like DR4 multiplies that count significantly,” said Anthony Kewitsch, CEO and Founder of Telescent. “Our new high density robotic cross connect system gives operators a powerful automated solution to manage this complexity to ensure maximum GPU utilization and operational efficiency while future proofing the physical layer for the next wave of AI innovation.”
Supporting the Next Phase of AI Infrastructure
As hyperscale operators and AI infrastructure providers deploy increasingly dense compute environments, the operational demands of managing fiber connectivity are growing alongside them. Automation platforms that bring intelligence and remote control to the physical network layer are becoming an important tool for maintaining reliability and flexibility.
Telescent’s robotic automation platform enables software-controlled fiber connectivity across large-scale deployments, helping operators reduce manual intervention while allowing network paths to be reconfigured quickly as infrastructure requirements evolve.
Demonstration at OFC 2026
Telescent will showcase a live demonstration of the new system at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2026 in Los Angeles from March 17 to 19 at Booth #607. The demonstration will highlight how robotic automation can simplify the management of fiber-dense AI clusters and help operators address the growing connectivity demands of next-generation AI infrastructure.
To learn more about Telescent’s optical automation solutions, visit www.telescent.com.
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Manufacturing and battery technology advisory firm XC Technology has signed a strategic collaboration with Photon Automation to support the latter’s new subsidiary, Photon Energy, focusing on offering turn-key energy storage system (ESS) contract manufacturing services.
Photon Energy will leverage the collaboration to provide a complete suite of services, from design support and prototyping to full-scale production and quality assurance for various energy storage applications. That includes providing manufacturing solutions for a range of portable, grid and industrial ESS products.
Precision laser welding applications will use Photon Automation’s specialized capabilities for critical welding processes in ESS components. Meanwhile, battery production and optimization will leverage XC Technology’s battery process experience for performance and safety optimization for next-generation energy systems.
“XC Technology’s experience in optimizing production for complex battery technologies and turnkey assemblies, combined with Photon Automation’s turnkey systems build and integration, creates a powerful offering for the market,” said Ben Wrightsman, founder of XC Technology.
Source: Photon Automation
The main goal in the industrial world is to prevent major disruptions in controlled processes, but protecting the information system and the data it contains is also an important concern. As a result, successful attacks can have catastrophic implications. Regardless... Read more
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The 2025 INCOMPAS Show, held November 2–4 at the JW Marriott and Tampa Marriott Water Street in Tampa, Florida, brought together more than 3,000 leaders across communications, broadband, fiber, and technology sectors to explore the evolving landscape of connectivity and competition. One of the most influential gatherings in the U.S. communications ecosystem, the event provided a platform for senior executives, policymakers, and innovators to align on strategies shaping the future of broadband deployment, infrastructure investment, and digital transformation.
This year’s theme of collaboration and convergence set the tone for a comprehensive agenda that highlighted how technology, policy, and innovation are coming together to expand connectivity and bridge the digital divide. Across three days of panels, workshops, and executive-level discussions, speakers addressed the accelerating impact of AI, automation, and public-private partnerships on both network operations and competitive strategy.
The Convergence Era: Policy, Infrastructure, and AI
The opening remarks emphasized the urgency of convergence in today’s communications landscape. Chip Pickering, CEO of INCOMPAS, framed the event with a focus on consolidation, critical infrastructure, and the growing interdependence of networks, power, and policy.
That theme carried into high-profile sessions featuring executives from Verizon, Lumen Technologies, and Bluebird Fiber, where speakers examined how fiber density, cloud connectivity, and edge infrastructure are reshaping both network design and M&A strategy. Panels such as Future-Proofing the Network and Strategic Convergence: How Wireline-Wireless Integration Is Impacting M&A highlighted how capacity planning and integration are now central drivers of transaction value.
AI-driven transformation emerged as a defining force throughout the agenda. In the session Powering Intelligence: The Convergence of Energy, Networks, and AI Infrastructure, leaders including Jeff Uphues, CEO, DC BLOX and Dan Davis, CEO and Co-Founder, Arcadian Infracom explored the mounting energy demands of AI workloads and the need for resilient, scalable infrastructure. Discussions emphasized that AI is no longer an overlay, but a foundational consideration in network architecture, power strategy, and long-term investment planning.
Cybersecurity also took center stage, with experts from Granite Telecommunications, UNITEL, Axcent Networks, and Verizon Partner Solutions outlining how AI is being deployed to detect threats, automate responses, and protect increasingly complex telecom environments.
Policy at the Center of Broadband Expansion
Policy reform remained a cornerstone of the INCOMPAS agenda. Sessions focused on the future of the Universal Service Fund, broadband permitting reform, and federal regulatory alignment drew strong engagement from both providers and policymakers. Led by INCOMPAS policy leadership and legal experts from firms including Morgan Lewis, Cooley, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, and JSI, these discussions reinforced the critical role of permitting, spectrum access, and funding mechanisms such as BEAD in accelerating equitable broadband deployment nationwide.
Modern Marketing and the Human Element
Beyond infrastructure and policy, the Marketing Workshop Series delivered some of the show’s most actionable insights. The opening session, Marketing’s New Blueprint: Balancing AI, Automation, and Authenticity, featured Laura Johns, Founder and CEO of The Business Growers, and Joy Milkowski, Partner at Access Marketing Company. Together, they explored how communications and technology companies can leverage automation and AI tools without losing the authenticity and strategic clarity required to build trust and drive revenue.
The discussion reinforced that AI should function as a strategic enabler rather than a replacement for human insight. Follow-on workshops expanded on this theme, with sessions focused on revenue-driven AI strategy, practical prompt frameworks, and marketing automation systems designed to align sales and marketing teams while supporting scalable growth.
Networking, Partnerships, and Industry Momentum
As always, the INCOMPAS Show excelled as a venue for relationship-building and deal-making. The Buyers Forum and Deal Center facilitated high-value, pre-scheduled meetings, while exhibit hall programming and networking events fostered collaboration across fiber providers, technology vendors, and service partners.
Workforce development, sustainability, and inclusion also emerged as shared priorities. Speakers stressed the need to build talent pipelines capable of supporting AI-driven networks while ensuring that digital transformation delivers measurable benefits across communities.
The Road Ahead
The 2025 INCOMPAS Show made one thing clear: the future of communications will be defined by integration, collaboration, and adaptability. From AI-powered networks and evolving policy frameworks to authentic marketing and workforce readiness, the conversations in Tampa reflected an industry actively shaping its next chapter.
As the ecosystem looks toward 2026, the momentum from INCOMPAS reinforces a collective commitment to closing connectivity gaps, modernizing infrastructure, and aligning innovation with opportunity.
To learn more about INCOMPAS and upcoming events, visit www.incompas.org and www.show.incompas.org.
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What keeps data center operators up at night? Among other things, worries about the safety and reliability of their assets. Staying competitive, maintaining 24/7 uptime, and meeting customer demand can all seem like overwhelming tasks – especially while operating on a lean budget.
The good news is that safety and reliability are very compatible goals, especially in the data center. An efficient, proactive maintenance strategy will deliver both greater reliability and increased security, so that your data center can support ever-growing demand while maintaining the trust of its customers.
In this article, I’ll talk about the best practices for maintenance teams tasked with increasing safety and uptime. I’ll explain how choosing the right tools can help your data center thrive and scale, without increasing costs.
Baking In Safety and Efficiency
Solid maintenance practices start at the commissioning stage.
There’s no getting around the fact that a data center build is labor-intensive and demanding. Every single connection, electrical point, and fiber optic cable needs to be tested and verified. If you’re not careful, the commissioning stage has enormous potential for error and wasted resources, especially in a hyperscale location. Here’s how to solve that problem.
Choose Your Tools Wisely
It’s important to use the right tools and build efficiencies into the commissioning stage. Think of this stage as an opportunity to design a process that makes sense for your crew and your resources.
If you’re working with a lean maintenance crew, make sure to use tools that are purpose-built for ease of use, so that everyone on your team can achieve high-quality results right away. Look for cable testers, Optical Time Domain Reflectometers, and Optical Loss Test Sets that are designed with intuitive interfaces and settings.
Select tools that comply with, or exceed, industry standards for accuracy. Precision results will make a huge difference when it comes to the long-term lifespan of your assets. Getting accurate readings the first time also eliminates the need for re-work.
Opt for Safety and Efficiency
As always, safety and efficiency go hand in hand. When you’re building a large or hyperscale data center, small gains in efficiency add up quickly. If your tools allow you to test each connection point just a few seconds more quickly, you’ll see significant savings by the end of the data center construction.
Once the commissioning stage is complete, it’s a question of consolidating your efficiency gains, and finding new ways to keep your data center resilient without raising costs. Let’s see what that looks like.
Using Non-Contact Tools for Safety and Efficiency
Once your data center is fully built, I recommend implementing non-contact tools as far as possible. Done right, this will drastically improve your uptime and performance, while reducing overall costs.
What does non-contact look like? For some equipment, like the pumps and motors that support your cooling equipment, wireless sensors can monitor asset health in real time, tracking vibration levels and temperature.
Using Digital and AI Tools
Tools like a CMMS, or an AI-powered diagnostic engine, sift through asset health data to pinpoint early indications of an emerging fault. Today’s AI tools are trained on billions of data points and can recognize faults in assets and component parts. They can even determine the fault severity level and issue detailed reports on the health of every critical asset in the facility.
Once the fault is identified, CMMS creates a work order and a technician examines the asset, making repairs as needed. For lean maintenance crews, digital tools free up valuable time and labor, so that experienced technicians can focus on carrying out repairs, instead of reading machine tests or generating work orders.
The bottom line: real-time wireless monitoring keeps your technicians safe, eliminating the need for route-based testing with a handheld device. No more sending workers to squeeze into tight spaces or behind machinery just to get a measurement. By extension, no more risk of human error or inaccurate readings. Digital tools don’t make careless mistakes, no matter how often they perform the same task.
Of course, wireless monitoring isn’t the only non-contact approach out there.
Bringing in the bots
It’s now increasingly common to send robots into the data center to perform basic tests. This accomplishes the crucial function of keeping people out of the data center, where they could potentially hurt themselves or damage something.
I often see robots used to perform thermal imaging tests. Thermal imaging is a key element in many maintenance processes, especially in the data center. It’s the best means of pinpointing electrical faults, wiring issues, faulty connections, and other early indicators of major issues.
Using a robot to conduct the testing (or a mounted, non-contact thermal imager) allows you to monitor frequently, for accurate and precise results. This also protects your team from potential dangers like arc flashes and electrical shocks.
Opening the (infrared) window
Infrared windows, installed directly into power cabinets, make power quality monitoring both safer and more efficient. This is by far the safest approach for operators and technicians. It also guarantees readings will be taken regularly and speeds up the measurement process, by eliminating the time-consuming permitting step. The more frequently your team takes readings, the more effectively they can identify emerging issues and get ahead of the serious faults that could impact your assets and your whole facility.
Successful scaling through automation
Standardizing and automating workflows can enable fast, effective scaling. These processes also extend the reach of lean maintenance teams, so that managers can oversee larger facilities while still delivering high performance.
Automated monitoring and testing – with wireless tools, robots, and non-contact technology—deliver data in near real-time. When you pair this with AI, or with data analytic software, you’ll be able to identify emerging asset faults long before they become serious enough to cause downtime. This predictive technology enables far greater uptime and productivity, while also extending the lifespan of your assets.
Automated AI diagnostic tools, condition monitoring, and robotic testing all enable data centers to scale and to continue to deliver the speed and performance that today’s digitalized economy relies on.
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About the Author
Mike Slevin is a General Manager (Networks, Routine Maintenance & Process Instrument) at Fluke, a company known worldwide for its electronic test and measurement tools. Mike works with data centers and industrial clients to improve energy efficiency, safety, and reliability through better monitoring and maintenance practices.
The post Ensuring Equipment Safety and Reliability in Data Centers appeared first on Data Center POST.
The hype around humanoid robots is outpacing the technology’s readiness for large-scale deployment, according to Gartner research released today.
The business and technology insights company said that over the next two years, less than 100 companies will progress humanoid robot proofs of concept beyond experimentation, with fewer than 20 companies going live in production for supply chain and manufacturing use cases. Most production deployments of humanoid robots during this time will remain limited to tightly controlled environments, rather than in dynamic and high-throughput supply chain operations, the research firm said.
Humanoid robots, which mimic the human body, are attracting attention from chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) seeking solutions to workforce challenges and rising labor costs. Such robots feature AI-enabled systems, advanced sensors, and machine learning algorithms intended to dynamically adapt to multiple tasks.
Although the technology holds promise, Gartner said humanoids aren’t ready for the rigors of manufacturing and supply chain work in the near term.
“The promise of humanoid robots is compelling, but the reality is that the technology remains immature and far from meeting expectations for versatility and cost-effectiveness,” Abdil Tunca, senior principal analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a statement about the research. “CSCOs must carefully evaluate readiness and avoid overcommitting resources to solutions that cannot yet deliver on their potential.”
Gartner said humanoids face key barriers to adoption in supply chain, logistics, and manufacturing, including:
The industry is likely to see more immediate gains from polyfunctional robots, which are optimized for flexibility and are not constrained by a human-like design, according to the report. The researchers cited an example: A polyfunctional robot with wheels and a telescopic arm can move boxes, pick cases, scan inventory, and perform inspections, usually with higher uptime and using less energy than a humanoid that is attempting the same tasks. Polyfunctional robots can integrate features that enhance efficiency and durability, making them better suited for dynamic supply chain environments.
“Companies with a high-risk appetite and focus on innovation are the best candidates for pursuing humanoid robots at present, given the unproven capabilities of these solutions, and related lack of clarity for return on investment,” said Caleb Thomson, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice. “For the majority of companies that will need to prioritize robots that maximize throughput-per-dollar invested, we expect polyfunctional robots to be the superior solution.”
To navigate investment decisions, Gartner advises CSCOs to:
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