Important Innovations

Growing Demand for Service Robots Accelerating Use of Robots in Hospitality Industry Labor shortages and rapidly rising costs are accelerating the use of robots in the hospitality industry.  It's an important megatrend in Hong Kong and Japan and a phenomenon that's sweeping worldwide.  A big and growing player is Hong Kong-based Rice Robots. It's cute, stocky cuboid robots serve as bellhops at Hong Kong hotels, deliver snacks to office workers in Japan and deliver coffee and drinks to customers at the Hong Kong Cyberport Innovation Hub. For customers of the Hub's Cafe, the drinks come stored in the cute, compact robot's head.  Customers use a pin sent to their cellphone to access their order.  In the age of Covid, the Rice robots are providing clean and efficient service without an extra layer of human contact, potentially spreading Covid.  That's a key reason that demand for robotic service is accelerating. New Armies of Service Robots There are growing numbers

  Cute, Friendly Robots Are in High, Service Demand                                                                 Source:  Rice Robots Accelerating Use of Robots in Hospitality Industry Labor shortages and rapidly rising costs are accelerating the use of robots in the hospitality industry.  It's an important megatrend in Hong Kong and Japan and a phenomenon that's sweeping worldwide.  A big and growing player is Hong Kong-based Rice Robots. It's cute, stocky cuboid robots, named Rice, serve as bellhops at Hong Kong hotels, deliver snacks to office workers in Japan and deliver coffee and drinks to customers at the Hong Kong Cyberport Innovation Hub. For customers of the Hub's Cafe, the drinks come stored in the cute, compact robot's head.  Customers use a pin sent to their cellphone to access their order.  In the age of Covid, the Rice robots are providing clean and efficient service without an extra layer of human contact, potentially spreading Covid.  That's

  Mini-Pupper Robotic Dog For Under $300                                         Source:  MangDang Robo Companion for Kids, Pets and Adults If you're looking for a companion for your pet, your child or yourself, or something highly educational for your school that's the size of a chihauhau, a Hong Kong company may have just the thing - Mini-Pupper, a small robotic dog at a very affordable price of under $300.  MangDang, in conjunction with Stanford Puppy, has designed the Mini-Pupper, a small dog sized automaton.  It's a four legged, educational robot that can be configured to your liking.  The company calls it an "educational, quadruped robot at a reasonable price".  It is designed to enable anyone, including kids at school or being home-schooled, to do fun robotic research and experiments.  The company and Mini-Pupper are currently on Kickstarter to sell the product and raise investor money. They are exceeding their initial goals. Small But Advanced Robotic Tech

  Mini-Pupper Robotic Dog For Under $300                                         Source:  MangDang Robo Companion for Kids, Pets and Adults If you're looking for a companion for your pet, your child or yourself, or something highly educational for your school that's the size of a chihauhau, a Hong Kong company may have just the thing - Mini-Pupper, a small robotic dog at a very affordable price of under $300.  MangDang, in conjunction with Stanford Puppy, has designed the Mini-Pupper, a small dog sized automaton.  It's a four legged, educational robot that can be configured to your liking.  The company calls it an "educational, quadruped robot at a reasonable price".  It is designed to enable anyone, including kids at school or being home-schooled, to do fun robotic research and experiments.  The company and Mini-Pupper are currently on Kickstarter to sell the product and raise investor money. They are exceeding their initial goals. Small But Advanced Robotic Tech

  Going for Global Investor Gold Source:  Ant Group $34.4 Billion IPO  Chinese financial technology giant Ant Financial Services Group is launching a dual listed IPO on the Shanghai and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.  The IPO is aiming to raise nearly $35 billion. That would be the world's largest share price offering in history. Investors are racing for a piece of the fast growing company.  Ant is Alibaba's financial affiliate. Alibaba is a giant China-based technology and e-commerce multinational company. Ant offers a suite of financial services, including the widely popular Alipay digital payment system, known as China's wallet. The IPO deal would value Ant at more than $313 billion.  That is more than the world's biggest bank by assets, The Industrial and  Commercial Bank of China. Regulatory and Trade Concerns Overshadowing the market debut is a threat by the US State Department to add the company to its trade blacklist.  There is also some concern over growing regulat

Watch, Fitness/Health Tracker & Phone Source:  Oshen Watch New, Connected Smart Device OshenWatch Gen 2 is a top smartwatch that can help you meet your fitness and health goals while staying connected.  The watch is equipped with biosensors that automatically measure your blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen level and even the quality of your sleep.  The smartwatch is the invention of Oshen Watch, a company headquartered in Hong Kong. Exercise App and Advanced Bluetooth The watch helps the wearer calibrate their exercise.  For instance, during a run, apps calculate distance, number of steps and the  amount of calories burned.  The watch also keeps the wearer constantly connected.  It uses advanced Bluetooth 4.0 technology to wirelessly connect with any Android or iOS device.  It provides phone calls and text messages.  The battery provides 96 hours of use and there are 15 days of standby time.  And, it's priced starting at $49.95