- Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology, is collaborating with HERE Mobility (the mobility unit of HERE Technologies), to jointly develop integrated B2B2C payment and mobility services. Wirecard and HERE Mobility will collaborate on a variety of projects aimed at capitalizing on the payment and geolocation services both companies already offer, including innovation cases in the area of predictive mobility services. (Read more)
- Amsterdam – HERE Technologies, a global leader in mapping and location platform services, announced its membership of the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), a global, cross-industry organization of automotive, technology and telecommunications companies working together to develop end-to-end solutions for future mobility and transportation services. (Read more)
- BENGALURU: Bajaj Auto, the world’s third- largest motorcycle company, has invested $8 million in bicycle and electric rental startup Yulu. As a part of the deal, Bajaj is also going to manufacture customized electric scooters for the Bengaluru based startup. Moreover, the Rajiv Bajaj– led company will consider facilitating the vehicle finance needs of Yulu, through its financial services arm Bajaj Finserv. (Read more)
- Hyundai Motor Group established MoceanLab, a mobility service venture, as part of the Group’s largest initiative to create a sustainable, connected future. MoceanLab will provide mobility services in the City of Los Angeles, and expand its services to autonomous ridesharing, shuttling, multimodal transportation, and personal mobility. (Read more)
- VOI Technology raises $85m to put e-scooters at the heart of urban transportation in Europe. Voi has over 4 million users who have taken more than 14 million rides. Plans for the latest funding include increased focus on unit economics, sustainability and profitability which will be achieved alongside increased R&D to improve VOI’s technology platform and the launch of a next generation of vehicles. (Read more)
- Could ‘staff-less’ shops become a reality? BetXS introduced “radical measures” for three shops in Ireland. All of the shop systems are controlled remotely, from doors and lights to security, CCTV and TV, while bets are placed and settled through self-service betting terminals (SSBTs) complete with a customer service terminal set up to deal with any problems. (Read more)
- Woolworths opens cashless store in Sydney. The trial MetroGo store is aimed at city workers ducking in to grab breakfast, lunch or snacks. Woolworths has become the latest retailer to open a retail store in Australia that doesn’t take cash. The cashless MetroGo trial store opens in Sydney’s Surry Hills and is designed to make shopping “seamless” for busy inner-city workers. (Read more)
- In retail, artificial intelligence is being adopted rapidly – between 2016 and 2018 there was a 600% increase in adoption. Currently, only 15% of companies are saying they are spearheading AI adoption. Only 25% of large retailers are investing up to 10% of their capital in artificial intelligence systems. Customer service is one of the most successful use- case for AI. Chatbots and virtual assistants are an extension of this technology. (Read more)
- U.S. retail sales rebounded in October, but consumers cut back on purchases of big-ticket household items and clothing, which could temper expectations for a strong holiday shopping season. The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales increased 0.3% last month, lifted by motor vehicle purchases and higher gasoline prices, reversing September’s unrevised 0.3% drop, which was the first decline in seven months. (Read more)
- British luxury brand Burberry entered into a partnership with Chinese internet giant Tencent to open a social retail store in Shenzhen. The store is expected to open in the first half of 2020. It is the first step in Burberry’s strategy of blending social media and retailing to create digital and physical spaces for local consumers, according to an interim earnings report Burberry published. (Read more)
- Adidas is closing hi-tech sneaker factories in Germany and the US. The German sportswear maker announced the closing of “Speedfactories”, the facilities that use automated tech to produce sneakers. They said that it makes more sense to concentrate the production where the know how and the suppliers are located, as more than 90% of their products are manufactured in Asia. (Read more)
- Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City will develop a blockchain infrastructure to aid its smart city transformation. The technology will be used to mitigate risk and streamline processes. The Vietnam government will promote and encourage blockchain. The city will give top priorities to projects that apply science and technology, especially the use of AI in solving the city’s problems and for smart urban development. (Read more)
- Huawei seals smart city deal with Barcelona. They will collaborate on projects relating to 5G, smart city applications and digital transformation. Barcelona City Council has signed a Letter of Intention (LoI) to collaborate with Huawei on new technology projects in the city. (Read more)
- China has launched a blockchain- based identification system for smart cities, aimed at better connectivity and data sharing between these cities. The system has been developed by three institutes in the city of Shijiazhuang and will assign a unique, global digital ID to nationwide smart cities. (Read more)
- Nokia is creating a digital smart city of the future through LUXTURRIM5G project. The main goal of the project is to create the digital backbone of the smart city and new services based on the collected data. The project is in the second phase, and now the group of 26 partners will try to utilize the 5G smart pole concept that was developed in the first phase of the concept. (Read more)
- $7.5 billion Bleutech Park high- tech ‘mini- city’ secures Las Vegas land. The project is set to showcase renewable energy, autonomous vehicles, AI, augmented reality, robotics, ’super-trees’ and self-healing concrete structures. The planned development will also feature net-zero buildings with automated multi- functional designs and Internet of Things (IoT). (Read more)
- Airbus has signed a fresh agreement with China, designed to extend and increase both the number and type of jet planes built in the country. Airbus wants to build 63 single-aisle aircraft from its A320 series in 2021. Meanwhile, rival Boeing has been noting the potential of the other Asian superpower- India, upping its own forecast, saying that the country will need 2380 airplanes in the next 20 years. (Read More)
- UK auto production is already plummeting and Brexit could make things even worse, limiting annual output to just 1 million cars. According to the SMMT, leaving the European Union without a trade deal in place would mean new tariffs and an even more dramatic decline in production and it will make it much harder to trade with a market that makes 57% of the country’s car export. (Read More)
- The Volkswagen Group officially started series production of its ID.3 electric car, with the German auto giant aiming to become a world leader in the growing field of e-mobility. The company is planning to launch “almost 70 new electric models” by 2028 and it would spend over 30 billion euros on the electrification of its vehicle portfolio by 2023. (Read More)
- 3D printing company Carbon is trying to shape the future of manufacturing. The company has the world’s first piece of manufacturing hardware ever to go out via subscription model so it’s infinitely upgradeable. From a subscription model to 3D-printed parts on cars. (Read More)
- Nanotechnology could be the answer for condition which affects 10 million women. University of South Australia biomedical engineer Dr Marnie Winter has been awarded US$100,000 from the world’s largest private foundation to help better understand and tackle a condition which kills 76,000 women and 500,000 babies each year. The funding will explore cutting-edge nanotechnology and bioengineering approaches to address pre-eclampsia, one of the most common complications in pregnancy. (Read More)
- The care sector has adopted the use of current technology, such as smart home systems, patient monitoring equipment, artificial intelligence, and software solutions, in a bid to become more efficient. The whole sector needs to be aware of the opportunities available and be on-board with and implement these new technologies, as they could be the key to solving the challenges that the industry faces. (Read More)
- China just launched the world’s largest 5G network. The country’s three state- run operators launched services for the next generation wireless technology. 5G commercial services are now available in 50 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In Shanghai, nearly 12,000 5G base stations have been activated to support 5G coverage across the city’s key outdoor areas. (Read More)
- As the technology continues to advance, individuals and organizations are using more and more IoT devices to increase productivity and profitability. There are 5 IoT trends that can be expected to be seen in 2020, such as: Smart home devices move to the office; major growth in IoT in healthcare; the marriage of AI and IoT will strengthen; few federal security reforms; and voice activation takes off. (Read More)
- 3D printed beef steaks and chicken could be on the menu in European restaurants as soon as next year, and meat printers could be available for the consumers to buy, possible within the next few years. Israeli and Spanish operations are printing beef and chicken products with the same (fibrous) texture, appearance and flavor as real meat, but with no harm to animals involved (made from plant proteins only). (Read More)
