Tag: Technology

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Can Walmart beat Instacart?

It’s been fascinating to see Walmart level up from bargain bin to bleeding edge, as they entered the e-commerce race against Amazon. Their acquisition of Jet.com and expansion into e-grocery delivery were only the start. Their latest announcement left me beaming with hope for the future of online grocery shopping, as they step up as that someone to save me from my Instacart woes. This is Star Trek level next horizon tech, deployed for our shopping delight. Drum roll please….select your own produce via 3D imaging!

Okay okay, this may not sound as thrilling to you who have no trouble getting to a supermarket any given day. But if you’ve lived in an urban supermarket desert before, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’ve tried FreshDirect and gotten a bruised $2 tomato. You’ve tried the Instacart route, where they had 90%+ accuracy on your first order, but your second order was half missing or substituted with “equivalent foods”. SPAM IS NOT HAM! GRADE A EXTRA LARGE EGGS ARE NOT THE SAME AS ORGANIC FREE RANGE VEGETARIAN GRASS FINISHED EGGS! AND DRIED CRANBERRIES…well, actually, those are all the same.

I think we all want food to taste good and not be wilted and on its way out when it arrives to our kitchen. When the patent clears and the tech is rolled out, I will be there to test it out, in the hopes that it is the harbinger of a brave new grocery world.

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Five favorite robots of 2017

We all know that the robots are coming – in fact, they’re here! From self-driving cars to Alexa, they both take our jobs and improve our lives. Right now we’re in the honeymoon phase where the former situation has not upended New York, so I will share my favorite robots for their success in the latter – incremental conveniences to our busy modern lives. I use the term robot loosely to include technologies that reduce labor.

Most stress-relieving robot: Dyson 360 Eye Robot Vacuum

Dyson has far outdone the Roomba with its 360 Eye Robot Vacuum, with its efficient floor coverage and app controlled system. I come home to a spick and span house every day, even when I was dog sitting a cute but sheddy dog. And you get to name it in the app 🙂


DYSON 360 EYE RB01NB Vacuum Cleaner – International Version (Japan)

Most predicted robot: Amazon drone delivery

In their continue quest to own all things logistics, Amazon has already got the downstream operations nailed with their patented drone friendly shipping labels. While drone delivery may sound over the top, it is undeniably uneconomical and slow to ship to a number of rural parts of the U.S. – so this will be a step towards better connecting all parts of the world to modern convenience.

Most user-centric designed ‘robot’: Google/Levi’s ‘smart’ jean jacket

Google and Levi’s have developed a new commuter jacket that integrates with your phone. While you might initially question the utility of talking to your jacket, if you’ve ever been a Citibike commuter trapped listening to a boring podcast, the swipe functionality on this could be a real boost to your West Side Highway bike path experience. Kudos to Google and Levis for rising above the fray (see what I did there 😉

Most societally enhancing ‘robot’: driver’s ed VR

Imagine if teens could log 50 or 100 hours of challenging driving experiences before ever hitting the road. Aceable’s got our budding teen drivers covered with their VR drivers education platform. I’m not sure if that will help their insurance premiums, but it will definitely help the rest of the drivers on the road!

Cutest robot: TeleRetail driverless delivery

If my driverless delivery vehicles look like the unimposing TeleRetail, then please do send! Only in Switzerland now, and perhaps no match for SUV owning Americans sharing the road, but we can hope.