Author: Connected World
With football season in full swing, digital identification, AI (artificial intelligence), and connected-product technologies can deepen bonds between brands (or teams) and their audiences. Consider this case: Avery Dennison’s extended partnership with the San Francisco 49ers, bringing enhanced fan personalization and engagement to Levi’s Stadium—from customizable jerseys to digitally-enabled gameday experiences. The challenge? Fans increasingly expect unique, immersive experiences—not just off-the-shelf merchandise—and teams want to build meaningful, data-driven relationships with their audience. Enter Avery Dennison, leveraging its Embelex (on-garment branding) and atma.io connected product cloud platforms to elevate how fans connect with 49ers gear. Here is how this can help:…
Cybersecurity and protecting our data are perhaps the most pressing topics in today’s era of work. The reality is no business is immune and we each have a role to play in protecting our business and our work. The hard truth is each business is only as strong as its weakest link—and we all must become vigilant to protect and secure our businesses. We all have a part to play if we want to keep our personal and business data safe. We all also know each year there are millions of dollars lost to ransomware attacks from hackers. The cost…
If you are like me, reading broadly about how things get done, the people who get it done, and the things that impact work, especially the future of work, then you pick up on the emergence of new words, phrases and terminology that peak our interest in learning more about them. “Culture tax” is a term I have seen growing in usage in the past year. My job takes me into a wide range of warehouses and distribution centers that are part of the “food chain” that makes what you eat available in your supermarket of choice. The cost of…
Can humans achieve the same sniffing power as dogs? Dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptor neurons in their nose, more than 60 times than a human being, which means they can smell changes in blood pressure and glucose levels, detect oncoming seizures or migraines, and even identify potential cancer. Now, Masoud Agah, executive director for the Virginia Alliance for Semiconductor Technology, is doing research for a new breathalyzer with dog’s ability to smell as inspiration. The conceptual patent for the PIMED (Personalized Integrated Mobile Exhalation Decoder) will ultimately change the way we detect and diagnose disease. The patent…
#Factoftheweek 277 billion to 440 billion in five years. What market will see this substantial 60% growth between 2025 and 2030? eCommerce payment transactions, according to Juniper Research. The three fastest growing regions for eCommerce transactions will be: Latin America: 258% Africa & Middle East: 155% Central & East Europe: 114% One key trend to keep in mind is agentic commerce, which is when agents discover products for shoppers and handle the payments. Will this replace traditional checkout? Maybe. We are still in the early stages and development is still going into building out the payment infrastructure, but the trend…
We all know AI (artificial intelligence) is advancing—but right alongside it we will also see the infrastructure advance as well. We will need to build data centers fast and furious if we want to keep up with all the advancing technology—and we will need energy to power everything. Enter SMRs (small modular reactors), which offer cleaner, more reliable power that can support industries, data centers, remote grids, and more. The Nuclear Industry Assn., suggests nuclear is the only source of clean energy that is available all the time and it has saved the United Kingdom more carbon emissions than any…
Can AI (artificial intelligence) help develop composite materials and structures without requiring in-depth technical jargon or knowledge? New research suggests the answer is yes. Purdue University and AnalySwift are working together to create CompositesAI, which will help create composite products. The initial focus is on the air mobility industry to design rotor blades and propellers. As an example, an engineer could describe a helicopter or air mobility blade in natural language through the platform. The CompositesAI project focused on four objectives: Train CompositesAI to be an AI-powered tech support system for AnalySwift products. Develop a feedback mechanism so users can…
#Factoftheweek 190 million smart homes in 2029. Our homes are getting smarter, but how and where? Let’s answer the “where” part of the equation first. In 2024, we saw: 66.7 million smart homes in North America, a 45% penetration 72.7 million smart homes in Europe, a 31% penetration In 2029, we can anticipate: 90.9 million smart homes in North America, a 59% penetration 102.8 million smart homes in Europe, a 42% penetration These numbers are all according to Berg Insight. Next, let’s answer the “how” part of the equation? How are homes becoming smart? Smart thermostats Smart light bulbs Smart…
Everyone is talking about AI (artificial intelligence) these days and perhaps one of the more interesting conversations being had is around how do we establish a framework and guidelines for the responsible and ethical use of the technology. Well, now, Virginia Tech has an answer. The university has released a report that provides a framework for governance structures for AI decision-making, comprehensive training and professional development recommendations, and policy reviews for responsible adoption. The working group that developed the report spent nearly 18 months conducting environmental scans, peer institution analyses, stakeholder interviews, and community input sessions to develop the framework.…
#Factoftheweek There were an estimated 3.8 million home-energy management systems installed in European homes at the end of 2024. An estimated 1.2 million systems were added to the installed base in 2024. There were at the same time an estimated 700,000 home energy management systems installed in North American homes at the end of 2024. Shipments including both new installations and retrofits reached 200,000 systems in 2024. What exactly is a home energy management system? The study defines it as a system that at a minimum consists of a solar PV system, battery storage system, and a web-based management portal…