Kozminski Techblog

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How many of us are scared to travel now? I’m convinced almost 70% of us globally are! Now more than ever because of this pandemic many people aren’t travelling much all in the hopes to curb COVID-19 and to avoid getting ill as well.

However, this has affected the travel sector, many airlines and economies are in a serious turmoil as the Travel and Tourism sectors have been largely affected. To our surprise, or maybe not to everyone’s surprise, but there are robots to combat the spread of these viruses on flights.

A start-up Swiss company known as UVeya has created a robot armed with virus-killing ultraviolet (UV) light. This is done in the hopes of trying to restore passenger confidence in the travel industry especially because of the new COVID-19 variants that keep emerging. These robots are being tested on Swiss airplanes and these tests are being carried out in Dubai-based airport services company Dnata inside Embraer jets from Helvetic Airways, a charter airline owned by the famous billionaire Martin Ebner.

How they work ?

Radiation is key player behind the technology of these robots. UV radiation for a very long time has been know as a disinfectant for water, air, and nonporous surfaces. During the cleaning process, an autonomous sterilization robot emits concentrated UV-C light. UV radiation destroys the outer protein coating of the coronavirus, destroying it ultimately means that the virus is no longer inactive so the spread of it becomes minimal. With this robot, it is assembled before and after a journey, it’s put onto the plane and for a standard single aisled airplane the standard cleaning time is 13minutes.

 This radiation is something that has been used worldwide to fight the spread of bacteria such as Tuberculosis, the idea of UV has been used for more than 5 decades in hospitals and labs and it’s reliability and efficiency have been thoroughly proven. UVeya is now working with larger airlines and train companies on the use case and looking for investors to deploy the solution at large scale.

In my opinion, it is a great idea however I don’t see the long-term success of these robots. If the plan was as feasible and reliable as many may say, this would’ve been implemented in hospitals where coronavirus patients are being taken off. Another factor that I feel ruins this is the fact that this is done before and after a flight, someone may come onto the flight as any virus carrier and still spread the virus once again. It may clean out these public areas but the idea of killing the virus needs way more ideas and cures that cannot be placed in robot focusing on cleaning an area

Sources:

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/uv-lights-and-lamps-ultraviolet-c-radiation-disinfection-and-coronavirus

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/swiss-uv-light-robots-disinfect-planes-travel-tourism/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/airlines-step-up-plane-hygiene-and-safety-measures-to-keep-covid-out

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A bit of background, the famous alcohol brand Hennessy has been making a new blend for the past 5 years, this one known as Hennessy 8 and as you may have guessed, another limited edition.

The famous cognac brand has moved over and is now making its way into crypto; the high-end brand has partnered with blockchain platform known as BlockBar for the sale of this limited cognac. This luxury brand released its first NFT’s on 12 January 2022 which were priced at $226,450.

Only 250 copies are available however only 2 of those are being sold. The first one and the last one, these bottles are being held at the price of 70.47 ET (Ethereum’s) on BlockBar and this amounts to approximately $22 7141.02 USD according to the market on 14 January 2022.

How it is done

If one has got the funds for this cognac, one can look forward to either collecting it, trading it later or consuming it wholeheartedly. To go forward with the process, a buyer purchases the NFT (non-fungible token), this shows ownership. The buyer goes ahead and receives a cryptographic version of the bottle which is “held” by BlockBar. From there the buyer has two options, either to redeem it physically or one may opt to go ahead and trade it on the marketplace for a higher price, believe it or not many people will be waiting for it. This was seen in October 2021, when BlockBar launched and released the 15 bottles of the limited version of Glenfiddich, these sold out in literal 4 seconds!

Another perk of owning these limited editions is that these buyers will be invited to visit Hennessy’s estate in France, something many collectors would die for.

Other than the marvelous design of the bottle, the liquid itself honors the legacy of the 7 of the house’s master blenders, combining one eau-de-vie (this is a brandy) from each generation of blenders and presenting it in a limited-edition, ultra-luxury formatting. The design of the bottle itself includes a commemorative sculpture and a Baccarat-blown and engraved carafe, along with a pipette, cork holder and chest designed by Arik Levy and made with oak staves from La Sarrazine, the Hennessy cooperage.

Why NFTs in the alcohol industry?

Other than the fact that this helps maintain the prestigious name LVMH group these back up, this is also a way to protect a liquor collection because these are asset backed NFTs and the Co-Founder of BlockBar, Falic did mention that “At BlockBar we only partner directly with brand owners, such as Hennessy, and therefore the NFTs serve as a digital certificate of authenticity, eliminating any concern for counterfeits.”. It helps maintain authenticity and it helps avoid frauds and copies of this alcohol which is something that a whole new demographic of collectors is interested in. This is something that many alcohol collectors look forward to. Once again this is a promotional tool for BlockBar itself seeing that this is a highly valued brand.

In my opinion I find this very prestigious, and it is a way to protect the brand as well as to inject a large amount of revenue from the few sales of the limited edition. However already there are talks on social media where many claims are being thrown saying they are limiting those who can’t afford, and everyone should get a fair chance at consuming this alcohol and this may later cause problems in the future. In many cases, many duplicates may spring up from this.

Source

https://www.bevnet.com/spirits/2022/hennessy-launches-first-ever-226k-nft-collection-via-blockbar/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/katedingwall/2022/01/10/hennessy-enters-the-nft-space-with-226000-release/?sh=4811185835a0

https://www.ledgerinsights.com/hennessy-to-sell-exclusive-cognac-through-nfts/

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Something not many people are aware of, but this is a tabletop ordering system that allows guests and customers in restaurants to order food and drinks from their table on a device given to them by the restaurant or a smartphone. This is sometimes called virtual ordering or contactless table ordering. It works almost like online food ordering from your home and then once receives the delivery, however this works in store as well. The reason behind this was because the traffic in restaurants was starting to increase.  If the in-store point of sale/POS system is slow and inefficient, an online ordering platform is a great alternative.

This system is widely implemented in Japan and the USA .

Why tabletop ordering?

Tabletop ordering has many obvious benefits. As guests and customers, we spend less time waiting for waiters to take our orders. At the same time, the existing serving staff can provide the over-the-top assistance to customers and guest that require the services and maybe new guests as well that need guidance on what to order.

Tabletop ordering gives control to the guests, these systems allow guests to pick and choose what products they would like. It allows them to customise their orders and cancel certain things without the embarrassment of “bothering” any staff member.

Restaurant, bar, cafe owners on the other side gain better insight into their customers and their business, it shows a more precise number and statistical view of what customers are ordering and what they are neglecting on the menu. This allows owners to pick a different strategy all in the hopes of maintaining customer loyalty and revenue.

This method also focuses on increasing revenue. How you may say since it’s becoming less humanized? Well with these systems there is less being spent on paper menus, less wages to pay out since many restaurants then decrease the number of staff members and more focus on digital systems and sales. At the same time because these systems are new and handy, many guests will spread the word to friends and the recommendations result in more visits and sometimes just for the experience.

This also improves customer experience. There are less mistakes made when ordering, so 100% accuracy, it is very efficient as customers don’t need to wait for staff members to be free for them to be attended to. While adding new technology to a restaurant takes some getting used to, the learning curve with a table ordering system should be easy. A good manager will put measures in place to ensure a smooth transition for both the wait staff and kitchen staff. And chances are, the customers are already familiar with iPads (or other handheld devices) and smartphones. Simple and intuitive system result in easy navigation by customer.

Sources:

www.visionect.com

https://restauranttechnologyguys.com/

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You may be wondering what is a HiMirror, does it greet me ? Well , no – it doesn’t greet you in that sense, but it greets you in a different way, by pointing out your flaws.

So what exactly is it?

This is a Smart Beauty Mirror that was created in 2014 Simon Shen who is based in Thailand alongside many scientists and dermatologists. This mirror will scan your face and tell you what’s wrong with it. It’s not as harsh as it sounds, what the HiMirror does is it looks  for creases in the skin, wrinkles to be exact, red spots, blemishes, any signs of acne , pores, fine lines, and brightness levels. The idea is that you’ll track your skin as you change beauty products, so you’ll know what’s working and what’s not. The best part of it all is that through the internet connection after picking out the problems it will search the web and recommend products that will help you.

Fun part of it all, with the mirror you can slowly watch yourself age. It works in a way where it stores an image of you from the beginning of your mirror usage, and every time you look at it, you’ll receive feedback from the mirror itself on your facial progress during the time of usage.

HiMirror Plus

There is a HiMirror Plus and a HiMirror Basic, and the main difference between the two is the Plus’s light simulation. It can re-create five different lighting scenarios such as a sunset view, outdoors on sunny days, brightly lit office, shopping mall or supermarket, and restaurant or party venue. These settings help you apply your makeup appropriately for the occasion and it avoids clown looking features.

Its expanded memory not only allows for more users, but it can also store your skins results for a longer period, meaning you will always something to reference to and it allows you to better track your improvement. Because the HiMirror is basically your own device it allows you to log in to it and create your own profile, the HiMirror plus however can be used by a whole family, you can create 6 different profiles for people to login to their own. Each user’s personal data is stored separately in a safe and private environment. HiMirror Plus even has two transmitting antennas and two receiving antennas, allowing it to move data at twice the speed with more effective connection over longer distance.

HiMirror allows you to download applications on it, you can upload Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and use them when using the mirror itself.

All in all many people have argued that the mirror is a harsh critic but in my point of view, I do not think so. If you are ordering the mirror you know what you are getting yourself into. It is a helpful mirror in the sense that instead of relying on the naked eye. It helps you when purchasing facial products all in all.

Sources:

https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/4/14166064/himirror-plus-scan-smart-mirror-ces-2017

https://www.himirror.com/en-US/user-story

https://www.touchofmodern.com/sales/himirror/himirror-plus?open=1&share_invite_token=JFWHSXUM