- This year – 2020 – can become the year of inclusive mobility. Societies are looking more and more into making the move to more sustainable mobility and addressing some rising issues, such as congestion. Three major trends are recognizable for the upcoming year: The cost of owning private vehicles will rise; Citizens’ demands for inclusive mobility are growing in volume; and More public-private partnerships will form to address mobility issues (Read more)
- At the begging of this year, the biggest show in consumer tech happened in Las Vegas- CES 2020. Mobility is among the main topics, making it one of the biggest events of the year for the automotive world, as tech and cars become more closely intertwined with each other. Many automakers presented their vision and plans on e-vehicles. Some of the announcements are: Mercedes showed a new concept car- Vision AVTR; Hyundai is building flying air taxis for Uber; Sony unveiled an electric car; Bosch reveals the Smart Sun Visor of the future; and many more (Read more)
- Hyundai Motor Co. showed off its vision of “human-centered future cities” with three products at CES 2020. The car company’s three mobility offerings, Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Purpose Built Vehicle (PBV) and Hub, will be installed across future cities to form a mobility ecosystem for transfers and community activities, Hyundai said. With these mobility offerings, Hyundai “aims to free future cities and people from constraints of time and space and allow them to create more value in their lives,” the company said (Read more)
- At CES 2020, Hyundai and Uber announced a partnership that could make drone taxis and urban air mobility a reality. With Uber’s leadership position in ridesharing and urban mobility, and Hyundai’s expertise in vehicle manufacturing, the pair could have what it takes to get the market in urban air mobility moving (Read more)
- Toyota is in collaboration with Joby Aviation. Joby is an aerospace company developing and commercializing all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The partnership represents Toyota’s recognition of the urban air mobility market’s long-term potential for meeting society’s changing needs and another step towards company’s long-term goal- air transportation. The investment is $394 million (Read more)
- Retail sales in UK in 2019 fell for the first time in 25 years, according to the leading UK retail industry body. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said total sales fell 0.1%, marking the first annual sales decline since 1995. There are few reasons why the shops are struggling: rising costs, with business rates, rents and wages taking a bigger chunk of retailers’ expenditure. And with footfall in decline, many shops are simply too big and frequently in the wrong locations. Also, High Street retailers are under pressure from changing shopping habits, with customers spending one in every £5 online (Read more)
- Preventing 100% of theft, fraud, and other crimes is a daunting task, and although retailers do the best they can to limit their losses, the numbers remain big. According to a recent National Retail Federation (NRF) report, inventory shrink cost the retail industry an estimated $46.8 billion in 2018, robbing retailers of an average of 1.33% of sales. When implementing technology, retailers and security companies alike cannot afford to stay in their own silos. The ability to integrate technology across all business units, providing everyone the opportunity to leverage and benefit from new economies of scale, will be essential far into the future (Read more)
- Bose plans to close its entire retail store footprint in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. The company announced the decision and pointed to the fact that its headphones, speakers, and other products “are increasingly purchased through e-commerce” as the reasoning. That adds up to a total of 119 stores (Read more)
- After investing in over 800 firms, Chinese tech company Tencent Holdings said it would bolster its international investments and in industries like “smart retail.” According to a speech Tencent President Martin Lau made at a conference, those companies include 70 listed firms, and more than 160 have a value exceeding $1 billion, Reuters reported (Read more)
- Swedish startup Formulate, which delivers AI-driven solutions for retail promotions, announces they have closed a late-seed round of €3.7 million, led by henQ and with the participation of Industrifonden and J12 Ventures. The funds raised will be invested in international expansion and growing the team (Read more)
- Smart Cities Dive has identified the top trends expected to influence the smart city space in 2020, thanks to industry leaders’ insights: 1. Investors will pump more money into flying cars; 2. Cities will see fewer scooter operators on streets as companies consolidate; 3. More cities will turn to building electrification; 4. City dwellers will demand stronger data privacy; 5. Cities will crack down on cyberattacks; 6. Mobility hubs and car-free zones will be more widely considered; and 7. The climate wakeup call for greener (and bigger) investments will grow (Read more)
- Smart cities ideas are taking over faster and faster, constructed around the latest cutting-edge technologies. There are 5 smart cities to keep an eye in 2020. During CES 2020, Toyota announced that they are building their own smart city in its own country- Japan, at the base of Mount Fuji- Woven City. Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates has the plans of building a city of the future– Belmont at the metropolitan area of Arizona, as continuation of his dedication of eradicating the world’s problems. Neom– the so long waited, $500 billion city that everyone is so excited about, located in Saudi Arabia. Robot maids, glow-in-the-dark beaches, man-made rain, a giant artificial moon, robot dinosaur and many more. Forest City, Malaysia– the self-proclaimed $100 billion development- “Role Model of Future Cities”. Google parent company- Alphabet is transforming a neighborhood of Toronto waterfront into a smart city development- Sidewalk Labs (Read more)
- Toyota unveiled the audacious plan for what it plans to call “Woven City,” at CES 2020. Toyota Motor Corp. plans to build a prototype “city of the future” at the base of Mount Fuji, powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The 175-acre site will serve as a “living laboratory”, expecting to find not just the latest autonomous cars and other automotive breakthroughs, but also connected sensor tech related to smart homes, robots, and AI (Read more)
- MVRDV has just released images of the firm’s competition entry for the next headquarter of the Chinese tech giant- Tencent, situated in Qianhai Bay, Shenzhen. Highlighting Smart City Technology’s green potential, the project imagines a whole urban district containing offices, residences for Tencent workers, business units, public amenities, schools and a conference center (Read more)
- The manufacturing industry will be defined by several trends and technologies that will have a major impact in 2020 and beyond and it is from a great importance for manufacturers to have an understanding of what they are and already start implementing them. Wearable Technology– manufacturers are increasingly looking at wearable devices with different sensors that can be used by their employees. Predictive Maintenance– an incredibly valuable ability to anticipate potential failures and reduce downtime. 5G/ Smart Manufacturing– smart factories, relying on connected devices to leverage technologies. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality– increasing efficiency, improving products and quality. Cybersecurity– with the increasing number of connected devices, the cybersecurity plays a crucial role (Read More)
- Manufacturing companies adapting to the fast-changing climate within the industry are embracing advanced manufacturing technologies and solutions across the factories and supply chain. Responding to the Fourth Industrial Revolution stuck by creating value, improving operations and increasing sustainability. A report outlines several key lessons: Ensure technology solutions can scale and evolve; Optimize efficiency to drive sustainability; Focus on reskilling and enabling workers; and Create a shared learning journey (Read More)
- Cellular agriculture is the production of agricultural products from cell cultures. These foods are exactly the same produced from animals and plants, the only difference is the way they are made. This new method may help with the starvation of many people, especially those living in regions that are most affected by the climate change. One of the biggest benefits of growing food in a lab is the cutting of costs (Read More)
- According to the Manufacturing Institute, manufacturers are set to spend $26.2 billion on internal and external trainings for new and existing employees in 2020 to fight the shortage of available workers. Nearly 80% of the manufacturers said that they are struggling to fill open positions (Read More)
- Andrew Keys– the managing partner as Digital Asset Risk Management Advisors (DARMA Capital), and former Head of Global Business Development at blockchain powerhouse ConsenSys gives 20 predictions for blockchain in 2020, saying that this year is pivotal for the technology. Among the predictions are: Bitcoin and blockchain will finally break up; Trillion-dollar companies signal the climax and end of the 3rd industrial revolution; The sleeping giant of blockchain awakens- supply chain; etc (Read More)
- According to Statista, there will be more than 30.73 billion IoT devices worldwide by the end of 2020. It is expected to rise across all industries, platforms, and devices. In order to identify all business opportunities, there are 5 key IoT trends that organizations should keep an eye on: 1. 5G mobile network; 2. Edge computing; 3. Augmented reality (AR) and MR; 4. Global connectivity; and 5. Digital Twin technology (Read More)
- At CES 2020, the president of Qualcomm– Cristiano Amon said that the next generation wireless network– 5G will enable more than just functionalities for smartphones. Among the functions that will enable are mixed reality, enhanced video streaming, and automotive digital transformations (Read More)
- In the last few years, 3D printing is revolutionizing the medicine. Engineers together with medical professionals are printing prosthetic hands and surgical tools. Now, the move is from 3D printing to bioprinting. Bioprinting uses 3D printers and techniques to produce the three-dimensional structures of biological materials by precise layer-by-layer placement, from cells to biochemicals. The ultimate goal is to reproduce functional material and tissue, such as organs, which can then be transplanted into humans (Read More)
- Ford intends to use 3D printing to fight against thieves that targets alloy wheels. The car manufacturers developed locking nuts for the wheel that require a special adapter to loosen, but even they can be cracked. Ford has the idea of making the locking nut and key with a unique for each vehicle design, using 3D printer, to make sure cloning and copying are impossible. That unique pattern can be created by the driver’s voice, by recording a short sentence and then by using a software, the sound wave will be converted into a printable circular pattern, used for indentation of the locking nut and matching key (Read More)
