New Florence. New Renaissance.

Robotic Groundskeeper

Meet the RT-1000. It’s different not just because it’s designed to cut grass by the acre. The RT-1000 is also a multi-talented robot that handles groundskeeping chores all-year round. Once the air turns cool and the snow starts falling, the RT-1000 can shed its mowing deck and turn into a snow blower.

Geek.com

Here is how the snow blower sees and works

CB Insights: Trends shaping Tech

CB Insights is not your old analyst firm. It says "We aggregate and analyze massive amounts of data and use machine learning, algorithms and data visualization to help corporations replace the three Gs (Google searches, gut instinct and guys with MBAs) so they can answer massive strategic questions using probability not punditry."

They have identified 14 trends (summarized below). Sign up here to  get the detailed report.

 

All-electric "gas" station

The refueling station hosts a state-of-the-art, high-powered (HP), 200 kilowatt (kw), four dispenser system, delivering 50 kws and higher for EV charging. This refueling station allows four EVs to charge simultaneously within 20 to 30 minutes under an illuminated canopy. A new 200 kw/HP charging system with DC fast charging capability is in place to support the EV station along with a certified repair facility that can handle all aspects of servicing, including battery pack replacement and disposal, plus a fully stocked and automated convenience store.

Maryland.gov

 

The Tide Drycleaning chain

The business isn’t earning money yet, P&G says, but the company is betting attractive stores, modern equipment, a focus on strong service and the use of Tide detergent on laundry orders will draw in customers. Expanding operations, as P&G first did in Chicago to include wash-and-fold laundry, on-campus delivery and lockers for pickup or drop-off, will make for a profitable business model, the company said.

WSJ

 

VR Meals

A limited string of meals in November and December will showcase how food and virtual reality can intersect. Chintan Pandya and Roni Mazumdar of acclaimed Indian restaurants Adda and Rahi have teamed up with filmmaker Mattia Casalegno to create a virtual reality dining experience called Aerobanquets RMX at the James Beard house. Top Chef’s Gail Simmons narrates the seven-bite experience, which is $125 per person including tax and gratuity. Tickets here

NY Eater

 

 

 

 

The Saudi oil bounceback

From Fortune

In the wee hours of a sweltering Saturday in September, a volley of missiles and aerial explosives pierced the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry. The attacks knocked out about 5% of global oil production almost immediately, yet one month later, they might as well never have happened.

Saudi Aramco says it’s currently pumping 9.9 million barrels a day, the same as before the Sept. 14 surprise attacks at Abqaiq, the world’s biggest oil-processing facility, and the field at Khurais. While the attacks laid bare Saudi Arabia’s vulnerability to major disruptions, Brent crude has slid below where it was beforehand, trading Monday at less than $60 a barrel."

Here's how:

* Using crude in storage to meet customer contracts

* Swapping some cargoes of light grades with medium or heavy barrels

* Cutting domestic refinery runs and buying fuel abroad

* Contractors worked non-stop to repair units

* Spare and redundant capacity allowed Aramco to rely on processing units that weren’t running at the time of the attacks

 

 

 

Google's growing renewables footprint

"Today we’re taking another big step by making the biggest corporate purchase of renewable energy in history. This purchase is made up of a 1,600-megawatt (MW) package of agreements and includes 18 new energy deals. Together, these deals will increase our worldwide portfolio of wind and solar agreements by more than 40 percent, to 5,500 MW—equivalent to the capacity of a million solar rooftops. Once all these projects come online, our carbon-free energy portfolio will produce more electricity than places like Washington D.C. or entire countries like Lithuania or Uruguay use each year.

Our latest agreements will also spur the construction of more than $2 billion in new energy infrastructure, including millions of solar panels and hundreds of wind turbines spread across three continents. In all, our renewable energy fleet now stands at 52 projects, driving more than $7 billion in new construction and thousands of related jobs.  

To ensure maximum impact, all of our latest deals meet the rigorous “additionality” criteria we set out long ago for our energy purchases. This means we’re not buying power from existing wind and solar farms but instead are making long-term purchase commitments that result in the development of new projects."

Google Blog

Clockwise from top left: Wind and solar projects that currently serve Google in Sweden; North Carolina; the Netherlands; Oklahoma; and Chile.

Jet Lag redefined

Welcome to the age of the ultra-marathon flight. Qantas just ran a test flight nonstop from New York to Sydney. As Time describes

"The research on the passengers and crew will feed into Project Sunrise, Qantas’s plan to start direct commercial services connecting Sydney with New York and London. Other super-long flights from Australia’s eastern seaboard to South America and Africa might follow, Qantas says.

On board, Joyce tells me he’ll “absolutely” roll out this flight’s regime on his other long routes — if the science shows it helps. The trick is accommodating those who want to drink and snooze at will, Joyce says.

But don’t go booking your round-the-world flights just yet. Qantas needs new planes from Boeing or Airbus SE that can do the job with a full load of passengers, and a new deal with crew to work longer than 20 hours."

Of course, no airline can help you with jet lag after you land, and even less when you turn around a few days later.

So, it is good to see a new generation of apps to fight jet lag. From Wired

"Every frequent flier has a trick to outrace jet lag, but Beyer-Clausen’s come-to-Jesus moment came when he met Steven Lockley, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School and an expert in circadian rhythm studies. Lockley has worked with astronauts and Formula 1 race car drivers to improve sleep quality through light exposure.

Together, he and Beyer-Clausen designed the Timeshifter app. It joins several others in the App Store that promise to beat jet lag: Entrain, a free app, similarly leverages light exposure to reset circadian rhythms. Uplift, for $10, offers a few physical exercises based on “biorhythmic acupressure.”"

Skin based sensors

A new breakthrough out of Tufts University, just published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, could fast-forward us into a new era of wearable electronics that are woven like clothing, and even might be sewn into our skin and organs to track our health.

The scientists developed a transistor out of linen thread. That means the thread can transfer electricity like an insulated wire, be turned on and off instantaneously like a processor, and connect a network of sensors on or inside your body.

Fast Company

Image credit

 

 

Amazon's shipping empire

The 2013 holiday season was a turning point for Amazon, after orders overwhelmed carriers in the U.S. and led to late packages and upset customers. Since then, Amazon has multiplied the number of fulfillment, sorting and other delivery facilities from about 65 to roughly 400, according to an analysis of data from logistics consultant MWPVL International; before 2005, it just had three fulfillment centers for the entire country, MWPVL said.

Amazon now delivers nearly half of its orders, compared with less than 15% in 2017, according to estimates from research firm Rakuten Intelligence. It is now handling an estimated 4.8 million packages every day in the U.S., according to MWPVL International. The U.S. Postal Service, once the primary carrier of Amazon parcels, delivers about half the share of packages than it did two years ago.

WSJ