WELCOME TO THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF SALIENCE
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Salience. This week includes a look at the secrets behind the world’s 50 most innovative companies, how the fly could replace the bee, robots delivering groceries, space tourism, and the new electric vehicle charging stations at McDonald’s.
As always, you can let us know your thoughts on other topics you would like covered by emailing rmorganevans@sapiencecomms.co.uk.
What can we learn from the world’s 50 most innovative companies?
These 50 innovation giants must have something in common with their methods of success. Thankfully, Sifted has produced the following article looking at what a company needs to have to achieve true innovation (clue: it isn’t about size or culture). Read the piece here.
Flight of the… hoverfly?
There’s a new type of bee in town… and it’s not a bee. Sadly, whilst the honeybee is responsible for up to 80% of pollination worldwide, their numbers are in steep decline. But the common hoverfly could be the answer to this issue. A UK tech designer has created an AI-based technology which encourages hoverflies to increase their pollination to match that of bees. Find out what all the buzz is about in this article from Wired.
Robots deliver groceries
In what increasingly looks like it may be the new normal post-COVID, a developer of semi-autonomous delivery robots, Refraction AI, has begun handling customers’ orders from Ann Arbour, Michigan’s Produce Station. These robots travel to your front door and all the consumer is required to do is input a code to unlock the robot’s storage bay and remove their items. VentureBeat has this interesting piece on how these bots work. Read the piece here.
Why go to the south of France when you can go to space?
Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, is back in the business of space tourism and plans to send two paying tourists to the International Space Station in 2023. Interested in joining them? Read this article from The Verge to find out more, along with just what Russia hopes to achieve and what this feat will mean for the future of space tourism.
And finally… ‘I’m charging it…?’
Yes, it’s what we’ve all been waiting for. Or have we? In any case, McDonald’s branches in the UK will now be installing electric vehicle charging stations for customers with electric vehicles. Gizmodo takes a look at this development, which could reinvent the drive-through. Read the piece here.
