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Emerging Tech Roundup — January 21
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Selfridges brings art into the metaverse, Deloitte facilitates metaverse learning for its customers, Switzerland uses AI to crack down on transportation violence, Spain adds regulation to crypto advertising, Ford steps into the e-commerce space, researchers may be able to predict COVID-19 survival rates, and Clockwise plans to reinvent the smart calendar.
Selfridges Steps Into Metaverse with Platform Offering High Fashion, NFTs, Theater and Art
(WWD, January 13)
Retailer Selfridges has launched its Universe project, a platform on which consumers can purchase pieces from Paco Rabanne’s collection. Some of the pieces will even include a pop-up experience. There will be both wearable items and nonwearable NFTs for sale, and consumers can expect “bold, geometric designs, ranging from £2,000–100,000.”
Deloitte Launches Dimension10 Studio to Guide its Customers Through the Metaverse
(Tech Republic, January 14)
Deloitte now offers its customers guidance into the metaverse via its Dimension10 Studio. Users can take a hands-on approach to learn the contents of the metaverse by creating AI, AR, VR, IoT and 5G-related experiences. The company hopes that Dimension10 Studio will influence business value creation through cost reduction, improved engagement, speed to execution and more.
Swiss Transit Authority Installs an AI-based Threat Detection System for Public Transportation
(Security Magazine, January 17)
After an influx of fatalities reported in Münchenstein, Switzerland, Baselland Transport AG has opted to incorporate an AI threat detection system into their transportation. Its machine learning technology can identify what is “normal or anomalous,” and is expected to improve over time. The new system also assists in minimizing delays and automating updates, saving the staff time.
Spain Moves to Rein in Crypto-asset Advertising
(Reuters, January 17)
Spain has rolled out new guidelines around cryptocurrency advertising. If companies or influencers are looking to promote the assets to over 100,000 people, they now must request permission from the CNMV watchdog at least 10 days prior. They are also required to disclose the risks tied to the investments.
Ford Signs Five-year Payments Deal with Stripe for E-commerce Drive
(CNBC, January 17)
As e-commerce grows in popularity, Ford Motor Company has strategized to work with Stripe to give their customers more access to the space. In the second half of 2022, Ford expects to open up online payments to their customers with the help of Stripe, which will handle the transactions then route payments to local dealers.
Researchers Develop ML Model to Predict Recovery of COVID-19 Patients
(PLOS, January 18)
German researchers have developed a model that uses proteins in a patient’s blood to judge how likely they are to recover from COVID-19. The researchers used machine learning to find that 14 specific proteins in the blood of survivors exhibited notable behaviors. After applying the findings in testing, the system was found to have high accuracy in its predictions.
Clockwise Smart Calendar Raises $45M to Help Remote Teams Avoid Burnout
(TechCrunch, January 18)
The creators of AI-powered smart calendar Clockwise explained that their mission is not only to optimize individual calendars, but to optimize an entire team’s calendar in various ways. With its new funding, Clockwise is aiming to master the facilitation of “Focus Time and power high-quality meetings,” specifically.
