Author: Connected World
My work takes me into warehouses and DCs (distribution centers) throughout North America, observing the various processes needed to receive, process, and ship products to businesses and consumers every day, and recommending automation solutions to improve process efficiency and accuracy. In the past few years, especially up through 2025 to date, the deployment of software and automation solutions in warehouses and DCs that are based on AI (artificial intelligence) algorithms has grown significantly. If you have read my earlier articles here in Connected World, you can see both my interest–and concerns–about this trend. These deployments have been made to remedy…
Digital health and home-based medical technologies are transforming long-term care—especially in mental health, where relapse after treatment remains a significant challenge. A new international study shows just how effective this shift can be. A major global research effort, the PSYLECT study, has demonstrated remotely supervised, at-home brain stimulation therapy can prevent relapses of major depressive disorder in 75% of patients. Published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, this study offers strong evidence that accessible, non-drug treatments can help people maintain recovery in the months after initial therapy, which is a period where relapse rates have historically reached 85%. The study…
#Factoftheweek South Korea’s cellular M2M and IoT (Internet of Things) services market is projected to grow from $578 million in 2024 to about $900 million by 2029, which represents an 8.6% growth rate. GlobalData suggests major factors fueling this growth include: Telcos are bundling device management platforms and industry-specific IoT solutions to retain and monetize enterprise customers. What do you think? Will South Korea’s telcos become major IoT ecosystem architects?
#Factoftheweek 19.2 million to 33.2 million fleet management systems in just five years? What’s fueling this more than 70% growth by 2029. According to Berg Insight, it’s a boom in North American commercial-vehicle telematics. Here’s a few key drivers: What does this mean? Fleets are doubling down on connectivity and data. And we can expect the digitalization of commercial transport to continue to accelerate in the next few years. With all this in mind, will the top telematics players maintain their dominance? Will niche providers come to market? How will all this impact costs, insurance, and regulations? What new services…
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: 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 is beginning to gain momentum. What are your thoughts? Could agentic commerce replace…
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…