New Florence. New Renaissance.

Sweetgreen Infinite Kitchen

The $450,000 to $500,000 per-unit incremental cost of the Infinite Kitchen system is equivalent to the yearly starting wage of approximately 14 full-time kitchen workers at one Washington, D.C. Sweetgreen, based on current job posting listing the hourly rate for back-of-house workers as $16.63. That cost is also equivalent to about 23 employees working the average weekly hours for a restaurant production worker based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. 

Neman said the robotic makeline has the capacity to make 500 bowls an hour, and that it hasn’t reached that level of demand in the current test markets. But Neman believes “some of the places that we’re going to be testing this year are going to be those heavy urban environments where it does have that [level of demand]. So we do expect a sales lift in those restaurants.”

Restaurant Dive

 

The Apple Observatory

The Observatory is the most significant building to be completed on the campus since the Steve Jobs Theater opened in 2017.

Designed "as a contemplative space", the subterranean building will be used for launch events and to showcase the brand's latest technology.

"When we built Apple Park, we wanted the entire campus to be seamlessly integrated into the landscape, and this building follows that same approach," Apple global head of design (real estate and development) John De Maio told Dezeen.

"With its stunning views of the campus greenery and the mountains ringing the horizon, The Observatory truly is an extension of Apple Park, showcasing the best of California and the best of the natural environment around us," he added.

"The building brings in the natural stone, terrazzo and wood elements that are featured in The Steve Jobs Theater and across Apple Park. It's a design that complements both the landscape and its neighboring buildings on campus."

DeZeen

Photo credit

 

The TIME AI 100

If the world of AI was dominated by the emergence of startup labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and their competitors in 2023, this year, as critics and champions alike have noted, we’ve seen the outsize influence of a small number of tech giants. Without them, upstart AI companies would not have the funding and computing power—known as compute—they need to propel their rapid acceleration.

This year’s list offers examples of the possibilities for AI when it moves out of the lab and into the world. Innovators including Zack Dvey-Aharon at AEYE Health and Figure’s Brett Adcock are showing the real-world potential for AI to improve how we live and work. Many industries, including media companies like TIME, are now partnering with leading AI companies to explore new business models and opportunities. The consequences of those moves will likely determine who appears on next year’s list.

TIME

 

 

The 24x7 Costco store

You may only be able to shop at your local Costco for 10 hours a day, or pump gas a few hours longer but the store is a beehive of activity 24x7

From Costco Connection

“Keeping the warehouse stocked for members is a complicated, never-ending game of Tetris. At the same time, the Food Court, Bakery, Service Deli and Meat Department prepare and stock items daily. And it all must be managed with incredible attention to detail, and with regard for safety, cleanliness and timeliness. There’s a rhythm to this constantly changing flow of activity: Mornings (4 a.m. to 11 a.m.); days (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and nights (3 p.m. to 11 p.m.). The warehouse employees who work these shifts depend on one another to maintain the immaculate shopping experience members have come to expect from Costco.”

The article details activities in many parts of a typical store

The Polaris Dawn and the first private space walk

“Despite the U.S. space agency playing host, none of the crew are from its astronaut corps. And the private aerospace company SpaceX is providing the mission’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft—as well as new spacesuits, operational protocols and upgraded life-support systems. All of these innovations will be put to the test in a daring bout of extravehicular activity (EVA), more commonly called a space walk, that will be the first ever for a commercial mission. During the five-day flight, the spacecraft will reach altitudes as high as 1,400 kilometers—surpassed only by moon-bound Apollo astronauts in the 1960s and 1970s—and the crew will conduct nearly 40 science experiments, as well as laser communications tests with SpaceX Starlink satellites.”

Scientific American

This long video goes through many of the features of the spacecraft, spacesuits, space walk and more

ExxonMobil view of energy in 2050

This forward-looking analysis from ExxonMobil is thought provoking and a reality check, especially the expectation that 50% of energy demand in 2050 will still be met by oil and natural gas.  

I like the fact that they look at hydrogen as an industrial fuel, and that we will need to invest considerably in carbon capture and storage. I would have liked more analysis of next-gen nuclear in particular, but also next-gen geothermal and hydroelectric. However, it it tough to argue against "all energy types will remain in the mix.

“There has been enormous progress, yet more work is needed.

When considering the world’s energy future, keep these truths in mind:

1. All energy types will remain in the mix.
2. Renewables will grow the fastest.
3. Coal will decline the most.
4. Under any credible scenario, oil and natural gas remain essential.
5. Lower-carbon technology needs policy support to grow rapidly but ultimately must be supported by market forces.”

Apple Glowtime event

There was a lot to unpack – four new iPhones, one new Apple Watch, two new AirPods models, and a bunch of clever Apple Intelligence features. But there were also several notable absentees that had been heavily rumored before the event, and some notable updates to existing devices.

More at TechRadar

Here is the full launch video

 

Heat stress sensors

Dressed in head-to-toe coveralls and fitted with respirators, the crew members toiling in a building without power had no obvious respite from the heat. Instead, they wore armbands that recorded their heart rates, movements, and exertion levels for signs of heat stress.

Stephanie Miller, a safety and health manager for a U.S. government contractor doing cleanup work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, watched a computer screen nearby. A color-coding system with little bubbles showing each worker’s physiological data alerted her if anyone was in danger of overheating.

Fast Company

Biometric sensors from SlateSafety

Automation at an Airbus assembly line

More than half of the A320s produced by Airbus are assembled here in Hamburg, which produces more than 30 aircraft per month. There are several assembly lines working in parallel on different planes, but the most innovative part of the operation here is in Hall 245. Since it began operations in 2018, this hall has been one of the most advanced manufacturing environments in the global aircraft industry. Two gigantic robots that move on seven axes drill holes in the fuselage, while a series of mobile tooling platforms move around the aircraft to complete other elements of the assembly, their positions controlled by a laser-guided automated positioning system.

Wired

 

Emphasizing the M in STEM

Shalinee Sharma, CEO of Zearn,  a math learning platform writes in Fast Company

When I shared some statistics with a business executive about the poor job we are doing teaching math to kids, he responded, “This is why people are getting cheated out of their money.” He was referring to people being scammed by investment fraud and other schemers, and he was right. With broad-based numeracy, we can build a society of people who are capable of protecting one another. Financial literacy lessons are shown to help as well, when they are additive to widespread numeracy, not a substitute for it. For example, lessons on how insurance or a mortgage works requires a strong working knowledge of rates and percentages—ideas that should be mastered in seventh and eighth grade.

A range of problems that might seem disconnected are the result of undereducating our kids, specifically in  the world of mathematics. Conversely, a lot of problems will be solved when we build a numerate generation. The greater the numeracy, the more likely that we’ll produce a population capable of solving environmental, technological, health, and other societal problems. Unlocking everyone’s potential wouldn’t just increase the proportion of engineers coming up with answers to our most pressing problems—it would break down the wall between STEM and other fields of expertise, and produce a society where everyone has the ability and power to engage with the technological and quantitative questions around them, so that different domains of knowledge can work together.

Here she is discussing her book Math Mind