TREND REPORTS
2019 MIT Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts
[Design]
2019/05/08 09:04
Winners of the 2019 Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize in the Visual Arts represent four outstanding student portfolios. Each of these artists contributes to a vital art ecosystem that animates MIT’s culture.Established in 1996, the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize is awarded each year to current MIT undergraduate and graduate students for excellence in a body of work. Students submit their ar...
(Infographic) Consumers Prefer High-Quality Imagery to Cutting-Edge Tech From Brands
[Consumer]
2019/05/08 09:03
58.7% say visuals are most impactful kind of brand engagement. Just 16.7% preferred interactive tech like VR and AR, and 12.1% cited conversational tech like chatbots.There are so many brands online, but the majority of consumers follow fewer than 10 of them, according to new research from digital asset management platform Bynder. Maybe that’s because brands have been laying it on a little too...
(PDF) WIPO Technology Trends 2019 - Artificial Intelligence
[Business]
2019/05/07 09:10
MatAn analysis by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) shows many sectors and industries are exploring the commercial exploitation of artificial intelligence. In addition to specific techniques and applications, the WIPO analysis identified 20 application fields that were mentioned in 62 per cent of all its AI patents. In all, 209,910 AI patents refer to one or several applicatio...
This Airplane Seat 'Skycouch' Makes Flying with a Baby Less Miserable
[Product]
2019/05/07 09:09
Imagine putting your newborn to bed, in an actual crib, at 30,000 feet.No parent looks forward to flying with a baby. These little bundles of joy get squirmy in your arms over the course of an hours-long flight. They don’t know how to swallow to clear their ears as cabin pressure changes with altitude. At any moment, they’re likely to start screaming in moderate discomfort, to the chagrin of...
“Avengers: Endgame” is Already the Year’s Highest-Grossing Film
[Business]
2019/05/07 09:08
The 22nd film in the franchise benefits from a pre-existing universe of fans.DISNEY’S EXECUTIVE boardroom may be the happiest place on Earth right now. Three days after its release, “Avengers: Endgame” was already the highest-grossing film of 2019. It has broken the record for best-ever opening weekend, thanks in no small part to its phenomenal box-office takings in China. But the latest Ave...
(Paper) Self-Powered 'Pacemaker for Life' in Pigs Unveiled
[Tech]
2019/05/07 09:07
Scientists on Tuesday unveiled a battery-free pacemaker that generates its energy from the heartbeats of pigs in what could pave the way for an "implant for life" in humans suffering from heart defects.Millions of patients rely on pacemakers —small electrical implants in the chest of abdomen—to help regulate their heartbeats after chronic or acute illness.Even with recent technological advanc...
SoftBank’s Cash has Poured Out - It’s Starting to Come Back
[Investing]
2019/05/07 09:06
Shares up 41% since December as ‘conglomerate discount’ finally begins to narrow.Since SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son launched his $100bn Vision Fund in 2017, the business world has been fixated on the outflows: billions have gone to companies that range from Grab, the Singaporean car-hailing service, to WeWork, the US shared office provider.The critical view of Mr Son as an opportunistic and...
Hover Raises $25M to Turn Pictures of Homes Into 3D Models
[Investing]
2019/05/07 09:06
Hover, a startup developing AI-imbued apps that create customizable 3D models of homes from smartphone photos, today announced that it has raised $25 million in series C funding from Menlo Ventures, with participation from previous investors, including GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Standard Industries. This brings the company’s total venture capital raised to $87 million and will be used t...
An Autonomous Smart Scooter to Drive You Home - Pal
[Design]
2019/05/07 09:04
The concept aims to provide an alternative form of "last-mile" travel to home or other destinations.UK design studio Layer is designing a smart autonomous scooter with Chinese electric vehicle company NIO. The scooter, called Pal, will use machine learning to remember a passenger’s regular routes. It will learn the route over time, eventually becoming autonomous, the company said. It will resp...
