BMW plans major internal overhaul to further self-driving/smart car initiatives

BMW doesn’t want outsiders coming in, or rather, they don’t want to be the “Foxconn for a company like Apple, delivering only the metal bodies for them.” According to Klaus Froehlich, a BMW board member who oversees research and development, told Reuters at the Geneva auto show that the German automaker is planning major corporate changes to build its “most intelligent car.” The company doesn’t want to rely on the Internet players like Google and Apple out of fear that they might just become another supplier. Even though, it might be beneficial for them to tap the tech players who are more familiar with software.

BMW supposedly plans to have half of its R&D team become computer programmers within the next five years. At the moment, just about 20 percent of its 30,000 R&D team work in software. Not all of these would come in-house, though. Froehlich believes they would need to partner with others and outsource some of the work. BMW has supposedly held talks with Apple before but haven’t reportedly come close to an agreement.

Source: Apple Insider

Dx3 features interactive experience for the future of retailing

 

Text and photos by Sonya Davidson

At this year's Dx3 Conference and Trade Show in Toronto, a number of interactive companies featured in the Retail Collective Lab. Curated by Doug Stephens (aka The Retai Prophet) the space offered us a glimpse into the future of how we do business. Actually, not even in the far future...but for some of the companies featured, the future is now.

Eyeris is a deep learning based emotion recognition software that reads micro-expressions. In stores, this can help managers and sales people determine when people are most likely to make a purchase as well as understanding emotional response from customers in real time. Reading the response is quite straight foward with a variety of emotions measured inlcuding joy, surprise, disgust, anger, fear..yes, sounding a bit like the Inside Out Movie. 

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Foodora app and service disrupts food delivery

Foodora is one of the most disruptive and innovative services to come to Canada since Uber. Similar to what Uber has done for personal transportation, Foodora has breached a wide gap between people wanting to order food and restaurants who don't offer take out or delivery services. Formerly branded as Hurrier, Foodora's app, website and service quickly gives Canadians in Toronto and Montreal (as well as in 30 countries) access to thousands of restaurant menus, the ability to order food and have it quickly delivered by bike courier within minutes. The selection of restaurants and available cuisines is extensive.

The app is simple to use and super transparent, users can quickly order, get a summary of their expenses plus select an amount to tip the delivery person. The app is available on Android and iOS.

Canadian-made PandaHAUS app is your window to the snowsports world

Canadian Olympic medallist for Skiing Jan Hudec – nicknamed Panda – worked with software company Core Platform Canada to develop the "more than just skiing" app, which is a powerful photo and content sharing community for skiers, riders and fans.

Hudec says the app – which you can download for free from pandahaus.com – will help bring the entire snowsports community together, while also raising money for young athletes chasing their dreams. It features a host of stars from the ski and snowboard sports world, including the USA's Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.

"The pandaHAUS app is a revolutionary way for the snowsports world, from the youngest fan to the oldest die-hard, to share, communicate, collaborate and educate," said Hudec, whose ski racing season was cut short by knee surgery. "I've always been passionate about supporting young athletes and using mentors and role models to help inspire the next generation. Lack of funding has been a longstanding issue and this app will provide a solution by harnessing the passion of the ski and snowboard communities in a meaningful way."

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