Author: Connected World
#Factoftheweek What if hospital employees no longer had to manually count inventory? That may sound like a small operational change, but Gartner says AI (artificial intelligence) and computer vision could soon make manual hospital inventory counting obsolete. The technology is moving beyond simply helping employees count supplies faster. Instead, autonomous supply rooms could continuously monitor inventory, predict demand, and trigger replenishment with minimal human involvement. Gartner says autonomous supply rooms could provide: The potential impact is significant. Gartner notes healthcare organizations relying on labor-intensive inventory processes will face increasing difficulty scaling operations and achieving real-time visibility across thousands of inventory…
Technology continues to transform agriculture, as farmers and researchers look for new ways to protect crops, improve efficiency, and reduce losses. As a result, we are seeing the rise of sensors and other advanced technologies that can provide farmers with valuable information before problems become widespread. As one example, researchers at Virginia Tech are using sensors to help detect the early signs of Sclerotinia blight, a fungal disease that can severely damage peanut crops. In recent years, severe outbreaks have caused up to a 50% yield loss. By identifying changes in plants before the disease becomes more difficult to control,…
As AI (artificial intelligence) continues to transform how communities manage critical infrastructure, universities are investing in research and innovation that can help public agencies make smarter, faster, and more cost-effective decisions about road maintenance. As one example, PaveX, a Purdue University-related startup founded by Purdue civil engineering researcher Mohammad Jahanshahi, recently received a $305,000 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation to advance its AI-powered technology for automating road condition assessments. The technology is designed to help public works departments evaluate road conditions and plan repairs sooner and more efficiently. What makes this technology innovative…
Fact of the week: 63% Investment in technological infrastructure and data center construction in Texas is expected to grow by 63%, reaching $26 billion in direct spending this year. Texas is projected to become a large data center market, surpassing Virginia, and driven by the continued demand for AI infrastructure. There are currently more than 250 data center projects planned or under construction across the state, with 140 already actively being built. The rapid expansion is also driving record energy demand, with more than 6.5 GW of power capacity currently under construction. What are your thoughts? Does Texas seem well…
Technology is transforming transportation by helping researchers better understand why crashes happen and where safety improvements can have the greatest impact. A new research approach uses AI (artificial intelligence) to connect roadway condition data with crash reports, giving transportation agencies clearer insights into road safety risks. Researchers at the University of Houston have developed an AI-powered method that uses large language models to analyze thousands of police crash narratives alongside roadway data, including pavement conditions, road geometry, and surface characteristics. By combining information that has traditionally been evaluated separately, the approach helps identify roadway segments where pavement conditions may contribute…
#Factoftheweek Enterprise spending on generative AI (artificial intelligence) is expected to surpass $220 billion by 2030. That’s a growth rate of 28% during the forecast period. ABI Research forecasts enterprise spending on generative AI will accelerate rapidly through the end of the decade, driven by growing adoption across industries including manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, retail, and software development. The shift reflects how organizations are moving beyond AI experimentation and into large-scale business deployment. Rather than viewing generative AI as a standalone tool, enterprises are increasingly embedding it into everyday workflows to improve productivity, automate repetitive tasks, enhance customer experiences, and…
Road infrastructure is entering a new era as research and technology continue to improve the safety, sustainability, and performance of transportation networks. Through collaboration between industry leaders and academic researchers, innovative solutions are helping shape the future of road construction and maintenance. One example is the Roads Research Alliance, a partnership led by National Highways that is advancing breakthrough technologies for safer, greener, and smarter roads. Current research focuses on digital twins, AI (artificial intelligence), robotics, advanced materials, and non-destructive testing methods that can improve road maintenance while reducing disruptions for drivers. Here is how this can help: As transportation…
As researchers work to develop new cancer treatments, one of the biggest challenges is identifying promising drug candidates quickly and efficiently. Now, researchers at Purdue University have developed a next-generation technology platform designed to dramatically speed up the early stages of cancer drug discovery. By combining chemical synthesis, biological testing, and mass spectrometry into a single automated workflow, the platform can reduce processes that once took weeks down to just hours. The new system enables scientists to generate, evaluate, and refine potential drug candidates within the same platform. It also supports the growing use of AI (artificial intelligence) by producing…
Smart water metering is entering a new phase of growth. According to Berg Insight, the installed base of water AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) endpoints in Europe and North America reached 79.1 million units in 2025 and is projected to grow to 154.5 million by 2031. That’s nearly double in just six years. Who said the IoT was dead? Could water utilities become one of the next major drivers of IoT (Internet of Things) adoption? The momentum is being fueled by a combination of factors: aging infrastructure, increasing pressure to reduce water loss, regulatory requirements, and growing demand for realtime visibility…
#Fact of the Week: Data and analytics are entering a new era, one where governance, trust, and sovereignty are becoming just as important as AI (artificial intelligence) innovation itself. According to Gartner, the top data and analytics trends for 2026 include sovereign AI, decision governance for AI agents, and AI governance platforms. As organizations increasingly rely on autonomous AI systems, the focus is shifting from simply deploying AI to ensuring its decisions are transparent, auditable, and aligned with business objectives. Could this be the next phase of enterprise AI adoption? As AI agents take on more strategic and operational responsibilities,…