Transformation & Innovation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning

UK's computer processor manufacturer Arm to list publicly on Nasdaq, offer IPO, following collapse of proposed US$40B sale to Nvidia in February; Arm could hold market valuation of at least US$60B, may be significant AI player, has about 6,000 employees
AFP World News (08/21)

Bryson Recycling, the UK's largest social enterprise, invests in four new Recycleye robots to enhance material sorting with AI technology at its Belfast-based plant; deal marks the UK and Ireland's first announced robot repurchase
Recycleye (08/21)

Unilever reports over 2.3 million people have tested Lakme’s new digital beauty innovations in the past year; innovations include Lakmé Foundation Finder for skin tone match, virtual makeup try-on, Skin Pro tool for personalized skin-care routines
Unilever PLC (08/21)

Virtusa announces new global Generative AI Center of Excellence in partnership with Google Cloud; CoE will provide thought leadership in AI and build industry-leading solutions to help enterprises adopt AI technologies and accelerate growth
PR Newswire (08/21)

Germany provides €3.2M for joint project, KIBAPap, which aims to develop AI-based operator assistance system in the recycling of paper; Leipa, Veolia will incorporate project into ongoing operation of paper mill to test research goals in practice
LEIPA Group GmbH (08/21)

Augmented / Virtual Reality / Visualization

Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Plastic Initiative is working with Danone, Unilever and PepsiCo to develop a vision for scaling returnable packaging systems; work uses future visualization and analytical modelling
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (08/21)

INTERNATIONAL PATENT: BASF SE FILES APPLICATION FOR "AN AUGMENTED REALITY-BASED AUTOMATION SYSTEM"
U.S. Fed News (08/21)

Patent Issued for Core holder for real-time measurement and visualization (USPTO 11714029)
Energy Business Daily (08/18)

US Patent Issued to Intel on Aug. 15 for "Last-level projection method and apparatus for virtual and augmented reality" (Texas Inventors)
U.S. Fed News (08/16)

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas, SIG to showcase its SIG Terra line of aseptic carton pack materials linked to forest-based renewables, SIG Vita carton pack with tethered lid, and its corner spouted pouch; SIG to also offer virtual tour of its filling equipment
Scholle IPN Corp. (08/15)

Remote / Virtual Experience

Bain: Metaverse could reach up to US$900B by 2030 but will take time to scale; virtual experiences could make up 65% of metaverse, with applications that include gaming, fitness, entertainment, digital marketing, employee training, education, healthcare
Bain & Co. Inc. (08/09)

Digitalization

Moodify launches (Re)formulation AI software to aid fragrance makers in formulating and reformulating scents; software uses algorithms to suggest fragrance replacements based on similarity to the original molecule, factors in regulatory requirements, cost
CosmeticsDesign.com (US) (08/17)

Sasol Chemicals in Germany to incorporate Sopheon's InnovationOps software to streamline, digitalize R&D and innovation processes; decision aligns with Sasol's long-term goal of improving product development and innovation performance
GlobeNewswire (08/16)

Blockchain / Distributed Ledger

Coca-Cola's 'Masterpiece' digital art collection brings in US$543,660 during Coinbase's 'Onchain Summer' event; Coca-Cola's senior director of generative AI says it curated the collection to celebrate artistic diversity, in line with company's history
ENP Newswire (08/21)

Parmigiano-Reggiano makers turn to edible microchips with blockchain technology in effort to stop counterfeiting; made by Chicago-based p-Chip, these chips have already been tested on over 100,000 blocks of cheese for over a year and outperform RFID chips
Techthelead (08/21)

Patent Issued for System and method of managing energy distribution using a distributed ledger (USPTO 11715952)
Network Business Daily (08/18)

Patent Issued for 5G network slicing with distributed ledger traceability and resource utilization inferencing (USPTO 11711267)
Network Business Daily (08/15)

US Patent Issued to Itron on Aug. 8 for "Secure blockchain data recovery" (South Carolina Inventor)
U.S. Fed News (08/09)

Cryptocurrency

Conifex debunks grounds on which British Columbia imposed moratorium on new cryptocurrency mining projects; in a white paper, company offers view on how ban impacts residents, stifles innovation, undermines regulatory integrity and independence
GlobeNewswire (Canada) (08/15)

Cloud Computing

Nornickel shifts development of mining, geological modelling and planning products onto Yandex Cloud platform, accelerating processes and reducing tasks completion timings; company to explore use of generative AI for deep data analysis in metallurgy
Russia Business News (08/17)

Gartner projects generative AI to reach peak potential in next two to five years; CIOs and CTOs should also focus on emerging technology trends Emergent AI, Developer experience, Pervasive cloud and Human-centric security
Businessworld (08/16)

US Steel and Google Cloud to jointly build MineMind, a generative AI application aimed at driving efficiencies and improving employee experiences at North America's largest iron ore mining firm; solution is set to launch in September
Business Wire (08/10)

Data Management / Analytics / Privacy

Shein says company does not use AI to predict trends; rather, company analyzes customers' session journey information, gathering data from each click and search query a customer inputs on the app or website
Business Insider (08/18)

RECOUP launches Litter Composition & Pathways Project to gather robust data on UK litter, underlining need for improved, reliable information for effective policy making, environmental strategies; charity is considering AI technology in litter analysis
Recoup - Recycling of Used Plastics (08/17)

In 2021, global supply chain disruptions surged to 11,642 incidents; CNBC's survey underscores importance of resilient supplier relationships, while tech utilization including AI analytics, IoT sensors proves pivotal in effective navigation
Robotics and Automation News (08/16)

Clorox takes some of its IT systems offline after identifying 'unauthorized activity' in its computer networks that disrupted some business operations; incident is expected to continue to affect some parts of operations
IT Pro Today (08/15)

Dow wins ICIS Innovation Award in Best Digital Innovation category for its DOW Paint Vision platform, which offers data-driven capabilities designed to simplify the paint formulation process and accelerate innovation; platform leverages AI, modeling
Dow Chemical Co. (08/11)

Cybersecurity & Cyberspace Operations

INTERNATIONAL PATENT: SAUDI ARABIAN OIL COMPANY, ARAMCO SERVICES COMPANY FILES APPLICATION FOR "CYBERSECURITY ASSURANCE USING 4D THREAT MAPPING OF CRITICAL CYBER ASSETS"
U.S. Fed News (08/21)

General Electric Awarded Patent for Virtual Sensor Supervised Learning for Cyber-Attack Neutralization
Electronics Patent News (08/19)

Owners of Ford vehicles made after 2015 should check to see if their infotainment systems use Sync 3 software; if so, they should deactivate Wi-Fi because of a severe vulnerability in firmware's Wi-Fi drivers that open it up to cyber attack
Indian Technology News (08/17)

US Patent Issued to GENERAL ELECTRIC on Aug. 15 for "Virtual sensor supervised learning for cyber-attack neutralization" (New York Inventors)
U.S. Fed News (08/16)

Ford to release a software patch to correct vulnerability in the Wi-Fi software driver in the SYNC 3 infotainment system; until patch is available, customers can turn off the Wi-Fi functionality through infotainment system’s settings menu
Contify Automotive News (08/11)

Process Improvement / Operational Design

McCoy’s Building Supply deploys in-store robots from Badger Technologies; robots will improve on-shelf availability, price integrity and free-up 50 hours/week of labor on intensive inventory inspections
Retail Customer Experience (08/18)

Efficiency

Packaging Snapshot: Berry Global announces closure of 20 facilities to boost its operational efficiency and address market difficulties; company also invests in new facilities in Bangalore, India, and Leamington Spa, UK, to bolster its growth trajectory
Industry Intelligence Inc. (08/21)

Mercer Rosenthal kraft pulp mill in Germany selects Valmet to deliver mill-wide optimization solution to help automate decision-making and optimize production across the fiber line, recovery line and pulp dryer; optimization to be delivered in fall 2023
Valmet Corp. (08/21)

INTERNATIONAL PATENT: A.P. MOLLER - MAERSK A/S FILES APPLICATION FOR "A METHOD FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN A GROUP OF VESSELS"
U.S. Fed News (08/21)

Patent Issued for Systems and methods for limiting a duty cycle of an internal combustion engine in a series hybrid powertrain for improved turbocharger efficiency (USPTO 11713035)
Transportation Daily News (08/21)

Saudi Arabian Oil Company Granted Patent for Rig Power System Efficiency Optimization Through Image Processing
Electrical Patent News (08/19)

Energy Efficiency / Energy Management

Patent Application Titled 'Method for Evaluating an Energy Efficiency of a Site' Published Online (USPTO 20230236563)
Technology Business Daily (08/14)

Supply Chain / Logistics Disruption

China says Biden ban on US investments in Chinese technology 'severely disrupts' global supply chains; Chinese foreign ministry calls move 'anti-globalisation and de-sinicisation,' warns China would 'resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests'
AFP World News (08/10)

Supply Chain Management

Gartner expects smart mobile robots' adoption to outpace drones in supply chains in next three years; by 2027, over 75% companies will have adopted cyber-physical automation in warehouses due to labor shortages, tech advances like AI and machine learning
ENP Newswire (08/18)

Walmart CEO says company's AI strategy consists of personalization, associate operations, supply chain optimization; however, Walmart first needs to get its data 'in better shape,' as the power of generative AI 'is only as good as the data that powers it'
CIO Dive (08/17)

Ryder System earns spot on Supply & Demand Chain Executive's 'Top Supply Chain Projects' for 2023 for designing customized solution for Midwest healthcare system; solution improved efficiency, inventory control, transformed traditional distribution model
ENP Newswire (08/15)

AutoScheduler.AI announces placement in Gartner Hype Cycle for Supply Chain Execution Technologies 2023 under Warehouse Resource Planning and Optimization for AI tech that optimizes warehouse, distribution operations; tech drives higher labor utilization
GlobeNewswire (08/08)

Logistics / Transportation Management

Global energy trading company, Element Alpha, partners with Windward to employ Maritime AI solutions for compliance screening and due diligence processes; move comes amid increasing complexity of regulatory environment as result of geopolitical tensions
PR Newswire (08/16)

Tai Software earns spot on Supply & Demand Chain Executive's Top Supply Chain Projects of 2023 list; company's automation tools helped improve Boost Transport's efficiency by 20%, doubling its profitability in LTL shipments
GlobeNewswire (08/16)

North American logistics provider Legacy Supply Chain standardizes operations on Manhattan SCALE platform to improve warehouse performance and customer onboarding efficiency; move consolidates warehouse management systems to increase market share
Business Wire (08/08)

Logistics, Shipping & Delivery

Delhivery introduces Delhivery One, a digital shipping platform for micro -, small enterprises and D2C e-commerce brands in India; future improvements include marketplace integration and an AI-powered return predictor
IT Var News (08/21)

Uber's encounter with employment tribunal highlights potential pitfalls of AI adoption, according to Cryptopolitan; events stress need for transparency, ethics and regulation in AI usage and implications for employment and fairness
Cryptopolitan (08/21)

UPS implements AI, machine learning tech to manage package volume capacity during Q2 2023; company was able to reduce labor hours by almost 10%, costs by US$889M in US sector and volume at non-automated buildings by 18%
Supply Chain Dive (08/14)

USPS reduces shipments by aircraft by 90% over two years to save US$1B in annual transportation costs, according to US postmaster general; agency has shifted packages, envelopes to ground transportation as part of strategy to improve financial health
Daily Southtown (Chicago, IL) (08/10)

Sustainability / ESG Goals & Targets

Tech vs. Trees: Paper exams could return to colleges to combat AI cheating, Nordstrom and Zappos among retailers embracing print catalogs, company that turns wood waste into textile pigments secures US$2.45M in funding
Industry Intelligence Inc. (08/18)

Environmental / Ecological / Carbon Footprint

Amazon says it will ramp up efforts to increasingly shed brown box packages and prod its sellers to ramp up the use of SIOC boxes, The Wall Street Journal reports; Amazon believes the move will help curb operating costs, help the environment
Marshall News Messenger (08/11)

Arauco orders 100 AI-powered autonomous electric forklifts from California-based Cyngn; purchase is expected to support Arauco's environmental goals, while maximizing operational productivity, efficiency, safety
PR Newswire (08/08)

Recycling Centers / Materials Recovery (MRF)

AI robotic arms from companies like AMP Robotics, Machinex, Recycleye, EverestLabs are improving efficiency in recycling plants, recovering up to 30% more material and potentially saving recyclers millions of dollars currently lost to landfills
Waste360 (08/11)