Aug 30
Sword of Damocles

Accelerating the Adoption of Augmented Reality Technology

By Augmented / Virtual Reality, Field Service No Comments

As described in a new report conducted by PTC and BCG titled Unleashing the Power of Data with IoT and Augmented Reality, augmented reality (AR) is still emerging as a key technology to leverage and amplify the full potential of the Internet of Things (IoT). I say “still emerging,” because, despite its well-recognized potential,  industry has been slow to adopt AR in a meaningful way. While early AR systems were ill-suited for mass adoption, fast technology innovation in both IoT and AR over the past half-decade opens new possibilities. PTC saw this opportunity back in 2015 and acquired AR vendor Vuforia, and has been at the forefront of developing these technologies and promoting their strategic value.

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May 29
Sheba Medical Center

Closing the Coronavirus Knowledge Gap with Augmented Reality

By Augmented / Virtual Reality No Comments

As I continue to meet and read about companies that explore the use of augmented reality (AR) technology, I come across many that struggle to identify meaningful use cases and, subsequently, realize the promise of AR. The fast improvement in the utility and cost of AR technology has not been matched yet by broad adoption of the technology. Most of the time, the culprit is focusing too much on the visual appeal of the technology and failing to deliver meaningful user value.

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May 27
Rusakovsky Tram Park (Samuil Adlivankin, 1928)

Questioning Ethical Standards for Autonomous Cars

By Automotive, Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared Vehicles No Comments

We expect much from the autonomous cars of the future.

We want them to be better drivers than us humans. We want them to handle driving tasks effectively and safely, avoiding fatalities, injuries, and property damage. And we expect these them to be a significant factor in reducing car crashes that kill 1.35 million people every year, more than half of whom are pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists.

And when faced with complex driving situations, we want the autonomous car of the future to maneuver them gracefully and in a manner accepted by society. We continue to debate the intricacies and myriad variations of the Trolley Problem and the details of the technology we expect will one day deliver the appropriate behavior.

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May 22
Hope (George Frederic Watts, 1886)

A Dictionary of Business Clichés

By Business Strategy No Comments

We are drawing in business jargon, clichés and buzzwords. In marketing materials, PowerPoint presentations and in day to day conversations, they are so pervasive that we no longer notice them. We have become so numb that we don’t care about their meaning and what impression they create.

We are so used to some clichés and meaningless phrases that we use them as obligatory business terms and as pseudo-technical specifications. I find this phenomenon most common among small early-stage companies whose marketing materials is often a great example of keyword stuffing.

Here are a few examples.

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May 05
Moovit

Intel’s Mobility-as-a-Service Strategy

By Automotive, Business Strategy No Comments

Intel Corporation announced it has acquired Israeli mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) company Moovit for approximately $900 million. Moovit’s product is an urban mobility app with particular focus on public transit that helps travelers planning their daily commute by combining public transportation, bicycle and scooter services, ride-hailing, and car-sharing. 

According to Intel, the app is used by 800 million customers and transit services in 3,100 cities across 102 countries.

This is the second highly visible acquisition of an Israeli company by Intel. In 2017, Intel acquired  Mobileye, a provider of computer vision for autonomous driving technology, for $15.3 billion — the biggest-ever acquisition of an Israeli tech company. Moovit will join the Mobileye business unit and will retain its brand and existing partnerships.

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