Category: Technology

Monitoring Desk

SEOUL: LG Electronics will co-develop a smart cart for use in South Korean supermarket chain E-mart, the company has announced.

The goal is to offer a new shopping experience for customers that is accessible, the companies said. Customers won’t have to push the cart, as it will instead follow them around the store.

Proof-of-concept testing will begin in the first half of next year.

Separately, E-Mart has been trialling its own automated smart car, called eli, since April.

Last year, LG unveiled its Hub Robot at CES. The company deployed the robots at Incheon International Airport in South Korea the following July, with the guide and cleaning robots since being in use there.

In June, LG was among the companies investing in Nova Robotics, which makes the shelf-scanning robots being used at Walmart.

 

 

 

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has witnessed exponential growth in e-commerce activities over the past few years as sale value of industry has so far touched Rs100 billion mark.

Lured by lower transaction costs, convenience and expanding internet penetration, both enterprises and consumers have started shifting their transactions online but country still lags behind regional and comparable economies in terms of digitization of its payment systems and efficiency of its logistics environment.

The issues related to e-commerce have been persistent despite increase in its adoptability among the masses and consistent penetration in coverage areas.

The industry could move at much faster peace if these issues are fixed on long-term basis by industry players and other stakeholders.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its report has identified some weak areas of e-commerce industry and it highlighted how accelerated growth could be achieved while addressing issues related to the industry, which will also benefit economy at a large scale. The sales of local and international e-commerce merchants reached Rs20.7 billion in 2017 and Rs 40.1 billion in 2018 – an encouraging growth of 93.7 per cent.

However, the data only covers transactions made via digital channels (credit/debit cards, interbank funds transfer (IBFT), prepaid cards, and mobile wallets).

The issues that Pakistani e-commerce industry needs to focus on include: longer delivery times which are often cited as a major deterrent to wider adoptability of e-commerce channel.

Delivery times are usually affected when either third party logistics partners fail to deliver on time, and/or inventory management systems of sellers prove inadequate to fulfill flexible needs of electronic channel.

The other issue is online payments. The absence of trust in online platforms and inadequate implementation of consumer protection laws pertaining to e-commerce, amid an already low digital literacy environment, become a deterrent to rapid digitization envisioned by policy-makers and industry players.

In particular, consumers tend to be hesitant when transacting using online channels, as they worry that their personal information (such as credit card number, bank account number, address, etc.) may be leaked or misused by unauthorized persons. Lack of awareness is another issue and still, approximately 90 per cent of e-commerce transactions in Pakistan are Cash on Delivery (COD) due to multiple reasons. From consumer side, a preference for cash may be attributed to low financial and digital literacy, security of online payment channels and instruments, and availability of dispute resolution mechanism in case a wrong or substandard product is delivered to customers.

Moreover, Lack of options is another issue. The efficacy of online payment system gets diminished as many banks do not by default allow debit cards to be used for online transactions. Either the customers have to contact bank’s helpline to activate debit cards for e-commerce for a set timeframe, or debit cards simply cannot be used to transact online.

In this regard, commercial banks should allow their consumers the option to pre-select at time of issuance of debit cards the right of e-commerce application, alongside providing them due security and a Transaction Monitoring Systems protocol, which is already in place for credit cards.

The other issues are high cost of doing business and stock management. On stock management front, a section of e-commerce companies and vendors sell their products through logistic service are in process of digitizing their inventory systems.

This enables sellers to operate on a Just in Time (JIT) rather than on a Just in Case (JIC) basis, thereby reducing storage and processing costs and quickening purchasing process.

With entrance of Chinese digital giants such as Alibaba (through acquisition of Daraz.pk) and Ant Financial (via a 45 percent stake investment in Telenor Microfinance Bank), the e-commerce landscape of Pakistan can be expected to evolve rapidly.

Following success of their technological products and services in China, these players are likely to introduce and inspire variants of the same in the digital landscape of Pakistan. On payments front, the market players would tap into exponentially growing usage of e-commerce platforms on mobile phones (the phenomenon often referred to as m-commerce) and offer new modes of transaction settlements.

The next step would be to use consumers’ purchasing history to devise a credit scoring mechanism to offer micro-loans for transactions and, eventually, savings.

 

 

Monitoring Desk

BEIJING: It’s not just Ford that’s working with Baidu to develop self-driving cars for the Chinese market — Volvo has also revealed its team-up with the tech giant. While Ford announced the partnership earlier, the Swedish luxury automaker says it’s the “first foreign car maker to collaborate this closely with Baidu” when it comes to autonomous vehicles. The two companies will pool their resources to create and mass produce electric and fully autonomous vehicles when the time comes: Volvo will be in charge of developing the cars themselves, which will be powered by Baidu’s Apollo autonomous driving platform.

Their ultimate goal is to create and sell Level 4 autonomous vehicles — those that don’t need a human driver at all — but it’s unclear if they’re also releasing semi-autonomous models before they achieve that. At this point in time, Baidu’s Apollo is already capable of driving in basic urban environments, even at night.

By investing time and money in autonomous vehicles, the partners are making sure that they’re getting a piece of what could become a massive market in the Asian country. London-based analyst IHS Marking believes that around 14.5 million autonomous cars will be sold in China by 2040.

Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars, said in a statement:

“With Baidu we take a big step forward in commercialising our autonomous compatible cars, built on Volvo’s industry-leading safety technology. There is a strong development in autonomous drive in China, where Baidu is a leading player, and the market there offers huge opportunities for us as the supplier of choice for autonomous fleets.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Friday that it is developing plans to start producing about 3,000 Model 3 vehicles per week in Shanghai in the initial phase of its Gigafactory 3 to reduce the impact of tariffs.

The company also said here in a filing that Model S and Model X sales in China have been, and will likely continue to be, hurt by recently increased tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on U.S.-manufactured vehicles.

The electric carmaker said it continues to push to increase Model 3 production to about 10,000 units per week.

Tesla also expects to continue to increase its Model 3 production rate to about 7,000 units per week at its Fremont, California factory.

China is the largest market for electric vehicles, and most forecasters predict that electric vehicle sales in the country will accelerate rapidly as government regulation drives toward a goal of 100-percent electric vehicles by 2030.

 

SEOUL (CNBC): Solar panels on cars aren’t just reserved for luxury brands or experimental vehicles. Hyundai and Kia have laid out plans to equip “selected” cars with solar panels on their roofs or hoods. They’ll help charge batteries for electric vehicles and hybrids, but they’ll also be useful for combustion-only vehicles. You won’t have to settle for solar panels blocking your view of the sky above, either.

While the first-gen solar roof will be limited to hybrids with conventional roofs, a second-wave semi-transparent roof will be available on cars (including combustion-only models) as part of a panoramic sunroof system. There’s also a third-gen system in a pilot phase that will provide power from the roof and hood at the same time.

It promises to be effective. Tthe first-gen model can charge 30 to 60 percent of a hybrid’s battery per day depending on both the weather and the overall environment. While that’s not spectacular, it could significantly reduce charging times and keep you from using gas on those days when you don’t have chances to plug in.

You won’t see the first-gen solar tech until “after 2019.” With that said, it could become commonplace among automakers if it proves successful. It’s a good selling point for cost-conscious and eco-friendly drivers, but it could also be alluring to companies struggling to meet fuel efficiency and emissions standards. They could put solar panels on enough vehicles to raise fuel economy figures without having to make dramatic changes to engines or the overall designs.