Consumer & Retail Industry News & Analysis

3D-printing System Can Print More Than One Material at a Time

The new technology is a one-step process that can print new structures that are made of two different materials.

Amazon and Home Depot Add More Rooftop Solar

Companies like Target, Kohl's, Amazon, Home Depot and Costco are investing in solar in record amounts.

Robot Dogs Laid to Rest with Proper Funerals

Giving robot dogs a burial befitting that of a beloved pet, electronics and vintage repair company A-Fun Co. has orchestrated the funerals of roughly 800 Aibos dogs.

Bechtel Climbs Aboard Texas Rail Project

The engineering firm will support Texas Central in managing a bullet train project as it moves from development to implementation, perhaps in as little as a year.

NIST Roadmap for Reducing Fire Hazards from Materials

The roadmap provides guidelines for developing science-based approaches to solving numerous fire problems for multiple materials and prioritizes the most urgent fire hazards to which they can be applied.

NTSB Report Calls for School Bus Safety Upgrades

The report also addressed safety enhancements for school buses, ranging from lap/shoulder belts to technologies such as electronic stability control, automatic emergency braking and event data recorders.

Consumers Feel Ownership of Physical Books, Not E-books

Although it seems that tech-savvy millennials would prefer getting their literature from convenient e-books, it turns out that this generation of readers would prefer actual books over e-readers — maybe even more than older readers — according to a study from the University of Arizona.

Researchers Develop App to Determine Why Baby is Crying

Designed by a team led by Ariana Anderson, assistant professor in residence of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the app is called Chatterbaby, and it uses artificial intelligence to determine why the baby is crying.

Car Dealerships in Some Countries Refuse to Recommend Electric Vehicles to Customers

Despite the promise that electric vehicles will play a significant role in lowering CO2 emissions, researchers found that car dealerships — particularly those located in Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Norway — are discouraging consumers from purchasing them, according to new research.

A Commercial Floor-cleaning Robot

One job most of us would only be happy to have robots take off of our plates would be cleaning. As such, robotics company Avidbots has developed Neo, a robot capable of taking over commercial floor cleaning duties.

Vending Machine that Dispenses Stories Instead of Snacks

When craving a snack, we can usually just hit up a nearby vending machine. But what is a person to do when they are craving a short story?

German Engineering Company to Encourage Employees to Bike to Work

With an eye toward cutting emissions, international engineering and electronics company Bosch is encouraging all 100,000 workers at its German headquarters to consider biking it to work instead of contributing to the number of those traveling short distances via car each day.

Facial Recognition Technology Moves into the Classroom

China’s use of facial recognition technology is going beyond the search for wanted criminals and is now making an appearance in the classroom, ensuring that students are paying attention to their lessons.

Women Expected to Weather Workforce Automation Better than Men

Amid fears that emerging technologies will render human workers unnecessary, research suggests that not only will women survive the automation of work but that they may also benefit from it.

Study Determines that Some Water-filter Pitchers Work Better than Others

Without naming the brands used in their testing, scientists from Ohio State University discovered that some of the water-filter pitchers created to remove harmful contaminants from drinking water don’t necessarily accomplish what they were designed for.

13 Reasons Graphene Is a 'Wonder Material'

Graphene has been called a “wonder material” thanks to its many unique properties. Here’s a list of 13 areas where this wonder material is being put to wondrous use.

Automotive Interiors are Driving Upholstery Growth

When purchasing a car, truck or SUV, an increasingly important feature for buyers is the car’s interior. The automotive upholstery market was estimated to be $4.65 billion in 2017. That market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 percent over the next eight years, reaching $7.75 billion by 2025.

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