TREND REPORTS
Spurred by Amazon, Supermarkets Try Swapping Cashiers for Cameras
[Business]
2019/07/08 12:07
More retailers are embracing product-recognition technology pioneered by Amazon. A man strolled down the candy aisle of a grocery store in England last month, picked up a bar of chocolate and stashed it in his back pocket. He wasn’t stealing. Specially equipped surveillance cameras were tracking both his body and the products he was taking off the shelves, to help him pay for them.Tesco PLC, o...
Used Cars and AI Come Out on Top as China's Startup Funding Slumps
[Investing]
2019/07/08 12:06
36Kr shows 1H funding on track to fall 33% as sharing-economy darlings lose their shine.Chinese startups face increasing difficulty in raising money to fuel their businesses as various headwinds including the country's slower economic growth shrink the availability of venture capital.Fundraising slowed to 362.9 billion yuan ($52.6 billion) in the first half of 2019. At this rate, the full-year...
Baldness Breakthrough Uses 3D-Printed "Hair Farms" to Grow New Hair Follicles
[Tech]
2019/07/08 12:06
An exciting breakthrough from Columbia University researchers demonstrates a new way to grow human hair follicles using 3D printed molds. This is the first time human hair follicle cells have been grown completely in lab conditions, opening up a potentially unlimited source of hair follicles for future hair restoration surgical procedures.Over the last few decades hair transplantation surgery h...
IBM’s Hypertaste is an Artificial Tongue That can Classify Liquids
[Tech]
2019/07/08 12:06
AI that can generate new flavor combinations from scratch is nothing novel, but what about models that can taste those flavors like a human? In a recently published paper (“A portable potentiometric electronic tongue leveraging smartphone and cloud platforms“) and an accompanying blog post, researchers at IBM’s Zurich-based R&D division detailed Hypertaste, an artificial tongue designed...
Generation Z Does Not Plan to Buy Cryptocurrency
[Consumer]
2019/07/08 09:04
Business Insider surveyed 1,884 people ages 13 to 21. Of those, more than 52% said they were not at all likely to purchase cryptocurrency in the next six months. Nearly 17% said they were not so likely.More than 26% said they were somewhat likely, very likely, or extremely likely to purchase cryptocurrency over that time period.Since the survey was conducted, however, popular cryptocurrencies l...
Ambular Uses the Sky to Provide Swift Medical Emergency Response in Crowded Cities
[Design]
2019/07/08 09:03
Obviously executing an airlift in cities isn’t particularly feasible. You’ve got buildings, cars, pedestrians, telephone wires, traffic lights, along with a dozen other complications. Helicopters, no matter how small, can’t do the job in crowded cities, and regular ambulances end up bearing the brunt of congested roads and traffic. In swoops (quite literally) the Ambular, an eVTOL designed t...
(PDF) Mckinsey - China and the World : Inside the Dynamics of a Changing Relationship
[Business]
2019/07/07 10:10
The relationship between China and the world now is changing. The McKinsey Global Institute’s (MGI) new China-World Exposure Index shows that the world’s relative exposure to China has increased, while China’s to the world has fallen. Accompanying this shifting exposure are the signs of stresses in the relationship. Trade disputes are making daily headlines, new rules are emerging to evaluat...
(Patent) Google Patents Book-Like Foldable Phone with Actual Pages
[Tech]
2019/07/07 10:09
The concept shows multiple flexible screens surrounded by a fixed body containing the components. Smartphone manufacturers are continuing to patent and tinker with unique ideas for foldable phone designs. And a newly published patent application made by Google is particularly wild.Found in the database of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) by LetsGoDigital, this 2018 patent depicts...
Esqapes Massage Center Uses VR to Offer ‘Immersive Relaxation’
[Business]
2019/07/07 10:08
Called Esqapes, the center will combine automated massaging technology with virtual reality to transport customers into a different, more relaxing environment. The company calls this an ‘immersive relaxation experience,’ one that is like ‘a mini vacation’ without the high cost.Virtual reality has largely been limited to entertainment and games, but the technology holds promise for transport...
