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Emerging Tech Roundup — August 12
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Saudi Arabia plans to develop The Line, Shopify furthers its relationship with Klaviyo, VR assists with self-transcendence, Amazon rolls out palm payments to more locations, Snap presents a new way to create 3D assets, VR is used to improve senior mental health and Gartner identifies 25 emerging technologies.
Saudi Arabia Plans to Develop a Sustainable and Futuristic City: The Line
(Haaretz, August 2)
Saudi Arabia is planning to develop a semi-autonomous city, dubbed The Line, which will be home to 9 million residents and take on an abnormal shape. The city will allegedly be 170 kilometers long and only 200 meters wide, with buildings reaching up to 500 meters. The Line residents will not use any cars, and the city is expected to result in zero carbon emissions.
Shopify Potentially Invests in Mailchimp Competitor Klaviyo
(Betakit, August 2)
Shopify has recently partnered with Klaviyo to better serve its users, and some believe that Shopify has also just invested “$100 million USD in Klaviyo as a part of the deal.” Klaviyo has confirmed the major investment, but the investor has not been confirmed to the public. With the partnership and potential investment in Klaviyo, Shopify hopes to help its merchants better understand and communicate with their customers, facilitating growth.
VR is as Good as Psychedelics at Helping People Reach Transcendence
(Technology Review, August 6)
Experimenter David Glowacki is designing VR experience Isness-D to help others reach ‘self-transcendence’. Following a traumatic accident, Glowacki found solitude in clarifying his boundaries of self and his goal is to bring the same experience to others. Isness-D VR offers a new method of transcending and has shown the same effects in participants as a medium dose of LSD or psilocybin.
Amazon Expands Palm Payments to 65+ Whole Foods Stores
(PCMag, August 10)
Amazon is expanding its new payment offering to over 65 new locations in California. The technology allows shoppers to link their handprint to a form of payment, and later scan their palms in-store in place of a card or cash. In the coming weeks, Amazon plans to roll out the new feature to even more locations across California.
Snap Presents New ‘‘NeRoic’’ Research Paper at SIGGRAPH on Digital Asset Creation from Multiple Images
(Auganix, August 9)
Snap is developing technology that offers a simplified way of creating AR assets. With the new technology, users will be able to take photographs from different angles of an object and bring them together, creating a 3D image to be used in AR.
Virtual Reality Could Completely Transform Mental Health — if We’re Ready
(The Daily Beast, August 11)
VR platform RendeverFit is being introduced into senior living communities to improve residents’ mental health in various ways. With the use of VR, seniors can spend time with their families, relive old experiences with new people and create new experiences within the virtual space. Part of the VR experience is known as ‘reminiscent therapy’, which researchers hope to leverage in making aging a ‘connected experience’.
Gartner Says NFTs, Metaverse, Web3 Will Expand Immersive Experiences
(ITP, August 11)
Gartner has identified 25 emerging technologies that it expects to rise over the next 10 years, many of which are a part of the growing metaverse space. Gartner points out that if adopted early, these technologies can turn into highly lucrative income streams for businesses. Some of the technologies named include NFTs, digital twins, cloud data ecosystems and cybersecurity mesh architecture.
