Facing a violently changing world, todays executives will soon have to deal with challenges that were non-existent seven months ago. In a word, we now live in a culture of extremes. The current work climate has forcefully pushed office time into a great level of uncertainty, building for the unknown might just be the right path on the new journey into un-chartered territory.

When it comes to the newest accessories (in womenswear) for pre-fall 2020, advancements in technology are of great interest to consumers. This season, offerings of entirely fresh styles and hybrid materials along with new production methods that have never been seen before, are catching the customers eye.

On a separate note, dressing in proper business attire (at home) during office hours has been proven to increase productivity. Now, more than ever, the American workforce needs to operate the very best way possible to keep the economic engine running smoothly until we reach safe ground.

Made from highly responsive material that performs amazingly well in the real world, the luxury womens accessories lineup for late summer-pre-fall is built from advanced high-performance materials that breathe with ease and race into the future. And while this is the kind of tech that would normally end up in apparel, new product offerings are taking accessories to the next level.

The accessory market segmentation is discovering what happens when you turn up the fire on the lateral nature of the impactful tech experiments. In fact, I am convinced that launching new concepts not only represents the apex of human ingenuity, but in turn convinces consumers that science, imagination and style will be part of our new world that no one thought possible.

Giorgio Armani

Canvas shopper with logo

The understated and sophisticated elegance of Giorgio Armani is expressed with contemporary style. Essential lines, quality materials and contemporary details: this shopper is designed for women with busy schedules who never lose sight of their own style. This canvas item features two handles, a flap closure and contrasting iconic logo. $695

Lanvin:

Pencil Cat Bag

Pencil Cat bagCrafted in calf box leather, the signature of the season, the pencil line is inspired by Jeanne Lanvins pencil cases and its echoing to Swan ladies in the 60s. Price: $3,850

GUCCI

GG flower fil coup short kaftan dress

Imbued with a summer feel, the short kaftan dress has a relaxed silhouette with wide sleeves and a drawstring subtly emphasizing the waistline. In a romantic pattern, white and red fil coup flowers decorate the light blue cotton-blend base, accented by aged gold-toned metal buttons. First introduced as part of Guccis 1996 collection, the kaftan continues to be an integral part of the House aesthetic while evolving in new materials and modern details. $3,200

Bottega Veneta

The Fringe Pouch in Fondente

Bold, confident and luxurious, the iconic Pouch is further evolved for Pre Fall 2020. Elevated with a flat square silhouette and cascading leather fringe, this distinctive update is crafted in ultra-supple Nappa and can be folded over itself or worn over the shoulder with an adjustable strap. $2,800 USD

GUCCI

Women's slide sandal with Gucci logo

A playful twist on an essential style, the slide sandal is presented in a delicate shade of blue rubber for the Pre-Fall 2020 collection. Recalling '90s styles, a chunky heel and embossed logo detail add a retro appeal. $320

Salvatore Ferragamo

Bone Goatskin and Calf Leather Reversible and Adjustable Gancini Belt

This Ferragamo belt is the best womens product for the summer/pre-fall season because it is both elegant and functional in equal parts. It is reversible, crafted from smooth goatskin leather on one side and natural grained calfskin on the other, and with an adjustable length, it is easy to find the perfect fit. $650 USDAvailable at Salvatore Ferragamo boutiques nationwide

Tory Burch

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THE TORY SNEAKER Inspired by 70s track shoes:We have been refining our vision of what an ideal sneaker would be and it had to combine retro details and ultimate comfort. I love 70s sneakers, they are always chic and look great dressed up or down. Tory Burch. (calfskin and nylon upper) - $198 (suede & calfskin upper) - $228

Aranyani

Aranyanis Mini Top Handle Bag in Dusty Pink Black Combo with Hematite Stones

Refresh your wardrobe this summer with Aranyanis mini top handle from its Stone Drops line. This is the standoutbag of the summer because of its effortlesselegance.In dusty pink (Aranyanis signature color) and black, this two-tone, soft leather,is accentedwith aHematite speckled rim.Hematite is the stone whichevokesself-empowerment and positivitysomething that we can all use a bit more ofthese days. AddingAranyanis mini-top handle to your look this summer will not only make you look good, but it may just put a positive spin on things. Were calling it a bag with benefits.-$1,450

Maison Margiela

Maison Margiela: The Snatched bag

For Spring-Summer 2020, Maison Margiela releases theSnatchedbag to stores worldwide. The genderless handbag comes in two multi-functional sizes and was named by creative director John Galliano in homage to the slang of a defiant new generation epitomized by individuality and diversity. In contemporary lingo, looking snatched is the ultimate accolade: an outfit impeccably styled. Reflected in its design, the Snatched carries double meaning. With its sharp folded edges, flap closure and clutch-able handle, the bag hints at the British understanding of snatched: the swift grasp of an object, a gesture entrenched in the notion ofdressing in hastekey to the vocabulary developed in the Artisanal ateliers of Maison Margiela. Imbued with the codes of its homonym name, the bag takes the shape of a pochette. The large bag doubles as a clutch and shoulder bag, while the small bag serves as a clutch, shoulder or belt bag. With its asymmetric angles, the Snatched hints at the glamour of classic evening bags, while its foldable flap conjures memories of origami paper bags.

Special Thanks: Lacy Barnes

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Quantum Leaps In Technology Further Evolve Accessories For Pre Fall 2020 - Forbes

This summer, a group of scientists at CSIRO in Canberra have developed a method to grow cotton that has the potential to wipe out the need to dye the fabric by genetically modifying the fibre. Their experiments have cracked cottons molecular colour code in order to diversify the crop from its natural off-white or the earthy green and brown hues of naturally coloured cotton, into potentially every shade of the rainbow. In just a few months time, theyre hoping for their first harvest of brightly coloured cotton fibre, revolutionising Australias $2 billion cotton industry by eliminating toxic dyes from the production process.

The innovation comes at a moment when the environmental impact of textile dyes is reaching a breaking point. Mainstream dyeing techniques used extensively across the industry still use carcinogenic chemicals that threaten the health of factory workers. Whats more, the irresponsible disposal of toxic waste from processing plants pollutes waterways that millions of people and animals rely on as their lifeblood, with nearly 20% of all water pollution originating from textile dyeing treatments. Its said that in some parts of China and India, local communities can predict the next big colour trend in fashion by simply looking at the colour of the river, which 2016 sustainable fashion documentary RiverBlue showcases in graphic and heartbreaking detail.

But these colourful chemicals are just the tip of the iceberg. The true cost of colour is arguably its water footprint. Unless waterless dye technology is used, approximately 200 tonnes of water is required to make just one tonne of fabric. Cotton is also already an incredibly thirsty fabric before it even reaches the dyeing stage, with around 10,000 litres used for every one kilogram of cotton. When used in denim production, intense dark shades like indigo and black are often regarded as the most polluting and resource-intensive colourants, so if cotton growth in fashion-friendly colours takes off, the industrys water consumption could take a much-needed nosedive.

Related Post: 5 Films That Delve into the Social and Environmental Impacts of Fashion

Ethical fashion writer Elizabeth L. Cline has challenged the scientific discovery, reminding us that the concept of coloured cotton plants is in fact an ancient technology developed by indigenous cultures in the Andes region over four thousand years ago. More recently, coloured cotton has slipped under the radar as one of the biggest eco-trends of the 1990s, used extensively by California cotton breeder Sally Fox.

Another criticism of this new cotton technology is that it is essentially yet another GMO (genetically modified organism) seed ripe for monopolisation by the likes of Monsanto, a vast multinational corporation which holds unthinkable power over cotton farmers around the world. Monsanto controls about 95% of the cotton market through its privatisation of GMOs, which has colossal consequences for agricultural workers. This includes a shocking 300,000 suicides in India alone as a direct result of crippling debt, yield instability and even threats of jail time and violence incurred from the trap of Monsantos empire.

It is also important to mention that while it can be seen as more sustainable than synthetics, cotton is not necessarily any kinder than fashions other favourite fabric, polyester. Just because cotton is biodegradable and renewable rather than a microfibre-releasing plastic made from crude oil doesnt mean the industrys focus should be on improving such a problematic plant in the first place. More low-impact fabric alternatives include other plant-based materials such as hemp, bamboo, nettle and linen as well as man-made cellulosic fibres like viscose, modal and tencel. However, cotton still makes up over a fifth of all new garment production (although only about one percent of this cotton is organic), therefore any innovation that aims to make the natural fabric more sustainable is welcome in a sector that is still so reliant on such excessive water and pesticide consumption.

Related Post: Wrangler Indigood Collection: Iconic Denim Takes First Sustainable Steps with New Dye TechnologyLooking forward, the same group of CSIRO scientists behind this colourful cotton project are also still in the process of developing cotton plants which could eventually generate wrinkle-free fabric. Hoping to eradicate the environmental impact of ironing clothes and the intense chemical treatments such as formaldehyde used to create non-iron shirts, the team have spent the last few years testing thousands of cotton plants to develop new varieties with greater elasticity than their synthetic counterparts.

Other researchers are turning to natural dyes and regenerative agriculture to transform fashions footprint from its desire for an ever-growing spectrum of colours on the catwalk. Fibershed is a non-profit enterprise driven by regional communities which, as founder Rebecca Burgess recently told Atmos, was born from a dream to decouple the color from the toxicity through ancient forms of ecological technology. Perhaps the secret to dye-free textiles is not in the laboratory, but in the soil after all.

Recommending reading:

Cover image of garment fabric being hung out to dry taken in Narayanganj, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo by Sk Hasan Ali.

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Could This 'New' Coloured Cotton Technology Eliminate Toxic Dyes? - Eco Warrior Princess

HANSEN After spreading dry fertilizer on potato fields near Murtaugh Lake, Keith Johnson flew his Thrush aircraft west over the Hansen Butte, then disappeared as he circled back to the extinct shield volcano.

Minutes later Johnsons airplane touched down on an old landing field, then climbed over bumpy terrain to the top of the butte where fellow pilot Marty Brill waited with his plane.

Workers poured dry fertilizer from a truck into the hopper of Brills aircraft as Johnson taxied his plane to the remote makeshift filling station surrounded by communication towers.

The two pilots, employed by Crop Jet Aviation, put their heads together to discuss their next flights. After consulting an aerial photo of the area, Johnson would continue to fertilize potatoes near the lake and Brill would move on to fields west of the butte.

Both are experienced pilots. They used to be crop dusters; now theyre called ag aviators.

Gone are the days of the ancient biplanes that swept the tops of crops, gushing fertilizer and pesticides from their wings. Technology has transformed the agricultural aviation industry, Crop Jet owner George Parker told the Times-News.

The industry has changed even in my time, Parker said, referring to the technological advances made to equipment. Turbine engines. GPS systems. Flow control systems to put out an even and specific rate.

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With these advances, the role of the ag aviator has also changed.

Pilots are no longer limited to spraying wet applications such as liquid fertilizer and herbicides. By swapping out spray nozzles with a dry disbursement system, the pilots can now spread materials such as dry chemicals, rodenticides and seeds.

A good portion of Crop Jets work for reseeding of wildfire rehabilitation projects with the National Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, Parker said.

Aerial application is used for jobs nothing else can do where they cant get the ground rigs on the job site, he said. Spreading (crop) diseases is also a problem for ground rigs.

Parker, a second-generation ag pilot, owns four Thrush aircraft and one helicopter.

These days I mostly push a pencil, he said, but I still fly planes and helicopters.

Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free.Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution today.

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FLYING WITH SAVVY: Technology takes crop dusting to a new level - News-Daily.com

When government restrictions came in earlier this year as a result of COVID-19, the real estate industry adapted quickly to the new measures with technology-led experiences.

For REA Group Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee, the use of technology was integral, particularly in the case of home inspections and auctions, which largely went online.

Since mid-March, when initial COVID-19 restrictions came into force, Ms Conisbee said realestate.com.au had experienced 13.8 million video views and 14 million 3D tour views.

It does appear virtual property tours will be one change to the way people view property, even when there are very few COVID-19 restrictions, she said.

Online auctions have tapered off slightly since restrictions to live auctions reduced, however, many agents are now using them in conjunction with live auctions for people that are unable to attend in person.

While listings on realestate.com.au have increased since last year, Ms Conisbee said they did dip early on in the pandemic, which was most likely caused by the uncertain times.

However, despite the doom and gloom predicted for the residential property market because of the pandemic, Ms Conisbee said Australias property market was looking surprisingly strong given we were in recession and seeing rising unemployment.

Prices have not dropped as much as we would have expected in such conditions, she said. It is likely that stability in the banking system and record levels of government assistance have been a key factor in the stability of the property market.

While restrictions have started to ease across most of the country, except in Melbourne, Ms Conisbee said she believed digital inspections were here to stay, with online auctions expected to feature alongside traditional in-person events.

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Technology paving the way - The West Australian

By Chris Wetterich Staff reporter and columnist, Cincinnati Business Courier

Aug 7, 2020, 12:35pm EDT

The Cincinnati Reds and the city of Cincinnati are deploying a covert threat detection solution that will be able to identify people carrying guns and knives without them knowing it, according to Patriot One Technologies.

The city plans to use Patriot Ones Patscan platform in certain city facilities that will not be disclosed. Patriot One is selling the technology to the city through Ginter Electrical.

"Were excited to deliver our covert threat detection solution that is not only focused on saving lives but saving a way of life that the citys employees, residents and visitors have come to expect," Patriot Ones CEO Martin Cronin said.

The artificial-intelligence technology platform is already deployed by the Reds at Great American Ball Park, according to the company.

The system could allow people to pass through invisible checkpoints with everyday objects without being scanned or going through a metal detector. The sensors use biomagnetic resonance, cognitive microwave radar and video object recognition to detect weapons, including abnormal amounts of meal, which could detect an improvised explosive device.

The scanners do not gather personal information or produce body images in a way that an airport scanner does.

Our philosophy of detection is that people should be able to go about their business unimpeded and not have to go through thick security checkpoints to be wanded, padded down, every time they go into a hotel or a shopping mall or anywhere where the public may be at risk of acts of violence, Cronin told TechRepublic earlier this year.

We know that people in Western societies don't want to live in a mass surveillance state. What our sensors are looking for is the presence of a weapon.

Casey Weldon, a spokesman for the city, said the system the city uses will detect guns and knives but the city wont be disclosing which facilities it will be deployed in for security reasons.

We pride ourselves on being a forward thinking, innovative Midwest city; always looking for ways to enrich our residents and visitors lives, while keeping them safe," Interim City Manager Paula Boggs Muething said in a news release. "I am proud to be part of a nationwide group against gun violence, as we continue our own efforts to develop Cincinnati as a smart, safe city with safer, healthy communities. Bringing solutions like the Patscan Threat Detection Platform will help us achieve this goal.

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New security technology deployed by Reds, city will secretly detect knives and guns - Cincinnati Business Courier

Picture the scene: you are in your front room listening to the Proms. The string section begins to play from your radio. Seconds later the brass starts playing from your laptop on the sofa across the room, joined by booming drums from your phone in your pocket.

This could be the future of music and drama from the BBC as Radio 3 unveiled its new immersive sound technology called Audio Orchestrator.

First piloted tomorrowwith a new radio series, Decameron Nights, the technology allows for parts of a play or music to be spread over multiple devices such as your phone, wallet, tablet or TV anywhere in the house.

The series debuting on Radio 3 is written by theatre company 1927, after its stage show of raw folk tales was cancelled due to coronavirus.

The re-imagined production for radio sees the new technology in full flow with sounds such as pianos, rivers and cawing crows able to be played from any device anywhere in home, creating your own lockdown theatre.

Radio 3 controller Alan Davey told the Telegraph: We've been experimenting with sound for many years even when we were in the early days with stereo and FM.

Playing around with sound is really important with us, so this new audio orchestration that we're experimenting with takes that a stage further where you can have lots of different sound sources that will really bring the play to life in a really discombobulating way - you can have things coming out of cushions.

"Most recently what we've been doing a lot of is binaural sound. A lot of the Proms that you can hear at the moment are available in that, so when you listen through headphones it's like it's three dimensional like you're in the Albert Hall."

When asked if we could see the Proms presented in a similar way in the future, Mr Davey said: "Yeah. You could do it for music, you could do it for string quartets, you could position the instruments how you want. Doing it like that might be quite complicated with one hundred different sound sources but theory is there.

We'll evaluate it and see how people get on with it, it is easy to use and I think the possibilities are endless - it really gives a different and added dimension to how we tell stories dramatically.

Available to listen using the new technology after its broadcast at 10:45 this evening, the writers of the production said that it helps bring the story to life in a way they would have done with their theatre shows.

It is a bit more playful, you can be more creative with it so it's not like this 'mega-tech' experience, it's quite mischievous and that's what appealed to us, director and performer Suzanne Andrade told the Telegraph.

If you have a cat purring in the story you can have that cat purring from one particular phone.

This is a funny piece as its constantly evolving and adapting. It came from a theatre show which is made up of folk tales, all pre-industrial passed down by word of mouth.

We know them to be sanitised and cleaned up but we've kept them as we'd imagined them in their original forms from the imaginations of ordinary men and women.

It's a bit of an experiment and we took sound effects, music, characters, voices and just played around with them being on different devices with the audience in the centre of the story.

The stories themselves are quite uncanny and what appealed to us is that it's also uncanny having all your phones and devices telling you a little creepy bedtime story.

It's quite subtle but it really places you somewhere. If you add in a few birds - we do like a crow - it's a giddy little thrill.

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BBC technology that turns your gadgets into speakers could be used for the Proms, says Radio 3 controller - Telegraph.co.uk

Pioneering technology expert tells ADIPEC Energy Dialogue up to 80 per cent of plant shutdowns could be mitigated through combination of advanced electrification, automation and digitalisation technologies

Greater use of renewables in power management processes offers oil and gas companies opportunities to create efficiencies, sustainability and affordability when modernising equipment, or planning new CAPEX projects

ABU DHABI, UAE, Aug. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Leveraging the synergies created by the convergence of electrification, automation and digitalisation, can create significant cost savings for oil and gas companies when making both operational and capital investment decisions, according to Dr Peter Terwiesch, President of Industrial Automation at ABB, a Swiss-Swedish multinational company, operating mainly in robotics, power, heavy electrical equipment, and automation technology areas.

Leveraging Synergies Created by the Convergence of Operational and Engineering Technologies and Digitalisation, Can Deliver Significant Savings for Energy Companies, revealed at ADIPEC Energy Dialogues

Participating in the latest ADIPEC Energy Dialogue, Dr Terwiesch said up to 80 per cent of energy industry plant shutdowns, caused by human error, or rotating machinery or power outages, could be mitigated through a combination of electrification, automation and digitalisation.

"Savings are clearly possible not only on the operation side but also, using the same synergies between dimensions, you can bring down the cost schedule and risk of capital investment, especially in a time when making projects work economically is harder," explained Dr Terwiesch.

A pioneering technology leader, who works closely with utility, industry, transportation and infrastructure customers, Dr Terwiesch said despite the increasing investment by oil and gas companies in renewables and the growing use of renewables to generate electricity, both for individual and industrial uses, hydrocarbons will continue to have an important role in creating energy, in the short to medium term.

"If you look at the energy density constraints, clearly electricity is gaining share but electricity is not the source of energy; it is a conduit of energy. The energy has to come from somewhere and that can be hydrocarbons, or nuclear, or renewables," he said.

Nevertheless, he added, the greater use of renewables to generate electricity offers oil and gas companies the option of integrating a higher share of renewables into power management processes to create efficiencies, sustainability and affordability when modernising equipment, or planning new CAPEX projects.

The ADIPEC Energy Dialogue is a series of online thought leadership events created by dmg events, organisers of the annual Abu Dhabi International Exhibition and Conference. Featuring key stakeholders and decision-makers in the oil and gas industry, the dialogues focus on how the industry is evolving and transforming in response to the rapidly changing energy market.

With this year's in person ADIPEC exhibition and conference postponed to November 2021, the ADIPEC Energy Dialogue, along with insightful webinars, podcasts and on line panels continue to connect the oil and gas industry, with the challenges and opportunities shaping energy markets in the run up to, and following, a planned three-day live stream virtual ADIPEC conference taking place from November 9-11.

An industry first of its kind, the online conference will bring together energy leaders, ministers and global oil and gas CEOs to assess the collective measures the industry needs to put in place to fast-track recovery, post COVID-19.

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Leveraging Synergies Created by the Convergence of Operational and Engineering Technologies and Digitalisation, Can Deliver Significant Savings for...

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Wolf to distribute $10.5 million in grants to career and technology centers - TribLIVE

A 4 million ($5.23 million) project in southwest England has secured funding to help pilot the extraction of lithium for use in technologies such as electric vehicles and batteries.

In a statement earlier this week, Cornish Lithium said the new funding would be used to support the construction of "Europe's first geothermal lithium recovery pilot plant." The amount of investment has not been disclosed.

Over the years, lithium has become an increasingly important cog in modern life: lithium-ion batteries, for example, are used in everything from laptops and cellphones to electric cars.

According to the British Geological Survey's Centre for Sustainable Mineral Development, MineralsUK, it can be extracted from two key types of deposits: minerals and brines. The methods used to extract lithium can range from the mining of hard rock deposits to, in the case of brines, pumping from wells.

Cornish Lithium's work is centered around the extraction of lithium from geothermal brines. It said its project would be trialing Direct Lithium Extraction, or DLE, technology and "its suitability to extract lithium from Cornish geothermal waters."

The company added that the "optimal DLE technology for Cornish waters" was still being selected, but said that "the processes being considered utilise technologies, such as nanofiltration, to selectively remove lithium compounds from the water, rather than relying on evaporation and other less environmentally friendly methods."

The scheme is a collaboration with Geothermal Engineering, a company developing geothermal facilities in the county of Cornwall. It will be located at the United Downs Deep Geothermal Project near the town of Redruth.

Described by the U.S. Department of Energy as a "vital, clean energy resource," geothermal energy refers to underground heat which can be used to produce renewable energy. The DOE adds that geothermal energy "supplies renewable power around the clock and emits little or no greenhouse gases."

The funding for the Cornish project comes from a larger 14.3 million pot of cash provided to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership from the U.K. government's Getting Building Fund, a 900 million initiative focused on job creation and the development of infrastructure and skills.

Famed for its beautiful coastline and picturesque scenery, Cornwall was once home to a large number of mines extracting materials such as tin and copper. The county's last mine shut in 1998.

Cornish Lithium is not the only company looking to extract lithium in Cornwall. Another firm, British Lithium, drilled six "exploration holes" in the area around St Austell last year. The CEO of Cornish Lithium, Jeremy Wrathall, said the newly announced funding would "significantly accelerate our work to demonstrate that lithium can be produced in a sustainable, zero-carbon manner and will enable us to fast-track similar projects in other locations across Cornwall once the plant has been completed."

"We believe that Cornwall has the potential to become the 'battery metals hub' for the U.K., thus continuing a 4,000-year history of metal production and industrial innovation."

Excerpt from:

Geothermal project in England secures funding to help pilot lithium-extraction technology - CNBC

World Bowling is set to launch an official application after signing a three-year partnership with Belgian technology company StriveCloud.

The worldwide governing body claim the app will "unite millions of elite athletes, participants and fans with vibrant competitions and immersive viewing experiences."

"This is a giant step for us as we start to break from traditional methodology to partner with experts in the esports community to bring together our sport, our athletes and our federations," said World Bowlings innovation and business development director Chris Neilson.

"Strivecloud will provide the core of our digital environment that allows us to build the platform and community along with QubicaAMF, Stack Sports, YBVR and future partners."

StriveClouds co-founder and head of customer development Freek Borghgraef said the organisation would help World Bowling with its ambition to become a more integrated and digitally connected sport.

"I was staggered to find out how data-driven the world of bowling is," said Borghgraef.

"Being able to track a broad set of statistics of almost any game of bowling played globally opens up a brave new world of possibilities to change the way the world consumes bowling.

"And that's exactly the ambition."

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World Bowling sign three-year deal with Belgian technology company to develop application - Insidethegames.biz

The following is the Aug. 4, 2020, Congressional Research Service report, Emerging Military Technologies: Background and Issues for Congress.

Members of Congress and Pentagon officials are increasingly focused on developing emerging military technologies to enhance U.S. national security and keep pace with U.S. competitors. The U.S. military has long relied upon technological superiority to ensure its dominance in conflict and to underwrite U.S. national security. In recent years, however, technology has both rapidly evolved and rapidly proliferatedlargely as a result of advances in the commercial sector. As former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel observed, this development has threatened to erode the United States traditional sources of military advantage. The Department of Defense (DOD) has undertaken a number of initiatives to arrest this trend. For example, in 2014, DOD announced the Third Offset Strategy, an effort to exploit emerging technologies for military and security purposes as well as associated strategies, tactics, and concepts of operation. In support of this strategy, DOD established a number of organizations focused on defense innovation, including the Defense Innovation Unit and the Defense Wargaming Alignment Group.

More recently, the 2018 National Defense Strategy echoed the underpinnings of the Third Offset Strategy, noting that U.S. national security will likely be

affected by rapid technological advancements and the changing character of war. New technologies include advanced computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, autonomy, robotics, directed energy, hypersonics, and biotechnologythe very technologies that ensure we will be able to fight and win the wars of the future.

The United States is the leader in developing many of these technologies. However, China and Russiakey strategic competitorsare making steady progress in developing advanced military technologies. As these technologies are integrated into foreign and domestic military forces and deployed, they could hold significant implications for the future of international security writ large, and will have to be a significant focus for Congress, both in terms of funding and program oversight.

This report provides an overview of selected emerging military technologies in the United States, China, and Russia:

It also discusses relevant initiatives within international institutions to monitor or regulate these technologies, considers the potential implications of emerging military technologies for warfighting, and outlines associated issues for Congress. These issues include the level and stability of funding for emerging technologies, the management structure for emerging technologies, the challenges associated with recruiting and retaining technology workers, the acquisitions process for rapidly evolving and dual-use technologies, the protection of emerging technologies from theft and expropriation, and the governance and regulation of emerging technologies. Such issues could hold implications for congressional authorization, appropriation, oversight, and treaty-making.

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Report to Congress on Emerging Military Technologies - USNI News - USNI News

The COVID-19 pandemic is not just a health crisis, but a socio-economic crisis as well. The global economy is projected to decline sharply this year, owing to the disruptions in global markets and value chains. The pandemic-triggered global economic recession will likely be the deepest one in advanced economies since World War II and the first output contraction in emerging and developing economies in at least the past six decades, according to the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects report.

COVID-19-related confinement measures such as nationwide lockdowns, travel bans, border closures, and social distancing have impacted every individual and organization, regardless of its size, in one way or the other. Overall, the crisis has changed the way we socialize, work, learn, and perform basic day-to-day activities.

Amidst all this chaos, Information and Communication Technology has emerged as the lifeline for the global community and has become more vital than it was before the pandemic. Today more than ever, we are dependent on a plethora of new and emerging digital technologies for the continuity of essential day-to-day tasks and they will play an equally important role in the aftermath of the crisis. Here are the technologies that will define the new normal in the post-COVID-19 world:

Recent developments have highlighted the importance of ubiquitous connectivity to keep things running smoothly during times of crisis. Telecom advancements have helped several countries in effectively responding to the pandemic and managing its socio-economic impacts. For instance, In China, high-speed 5G mobile connectivity, the fifth-generation successor to 4G network technology that promises to offer large bandwidth, lower latency, and 10 to 100 times higher speeds as compared to what the existing 4G LTE networks deliver, served as a critical enabler of services such as telemedicine, teleconferencing, and other information-based responses during the pandemic. 5G connectivity helped frontline hospitals in the Hubei and Zhejiang Provinces of China accomplish their critical mission of serving as fixed-point diagnosis and treatment institutions for coronavirus patients. In the Zhejiang Province, doctors used a 5G-powered robot to perform a remote ultrasound scan for cardiopulmonary assessment of a COVID-19 patient 700 km away in a makeshift hospital Wuhan, the early epicenter of coronavirus pandemic in China. Earlier generation networks would have difficulty performing such operations because of speed and bandwidth limitations. 5G connectivity has played an important role in China's response to the crisis and this is one of the reasons why China, despite the economic turmoil, is accelerating the development of new infrastructure, including the rollout of 5G. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China has over 200,000 operational 5G base stations as of mid-May and the country is expected to build another 600,000 5G base stations by the end of this year.

From connected healthcare to smart mobility and remote working to industrial automation, this emerging technology will drastically change the nature of connectivity and service delivery in the post-pandemic world by unlocking new possibilities. It will be a critical tool to drive the next wave of digital transformation triggered by COVID-19 and could also help bridge the urban-rural digital divide exacerbated by the current crisis.

After the pandemic subsides, the world will become accustomed to the virtualization of essential services such as online learning, remote working, telehealth, to name a few. As the number of connected devices and services grows, a reliable and high-speed connection with minimal lag times will be central to meet the data demand. When it comes to providing ultra-reliable and higher-bandwidth networks, 5G is more capable than any other network generation.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a collection of smart interconnected devices. In simple terms, it is an ecosystem of internet-connected physical devices that interact and exchange information over the network. IoT can also play a major role in the fight against a global crisis like COVID-19. Smart connected devices in the IoT network generate a huge amount of data which helps in damage assessment and decision-making for an effective and inclusive response. For example, government and policymakers can use the transportation and mobility data collected from IoT networks and sensors to analyze pedestrian traffic, commercial fleets activity and to gain relevant insights into how the sector is rebounding post-crisis and accordingly implement more targeted recovery measures. Ontario-based Geotab provides datasets based on aggregated and anonymized insights from a base of over 2 million commercial vehicles worldwide to help governments and businesses make informed decisions.

Ranging from healthcare to mobility, IoT can catalyze growth and innovation across different verticals. Utilizing IoT technologies, authorities around the world are effectively dealing with the pandemic and the challenges linked to it. For example, for real-time tracking and identification of COVID-19 clusters, authorities are using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the most commonly used wireless protocol in IoT devices for connectivity. Drones and robots are being used to deliver essential supplies including medicines and food. The use of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) to address various challenges facing the manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare sectors during COVID-19 lockdowns have proved the capabilities of IoT in providing uninterrupted services.

In the post-pandemic world, the IoT market will witness a boom as all major verticals will look up to the smart connected services to recover from COVID-19 disruptions and futureproofing, with transport and healthcare sector being the most promising sectors for the growth of IoT tech.

Cloud computing, the on-demand delivery of computing services over the internet, has become an absolute necessity to sustain operations in times of this crisis and is likely to be the key to business resilience in the aftermath of the pandemic. Cloud-based solutions are experiencing unprecedented demand due to the rapid adoption of work from home (WFH), online learning models, digital finance, and remote medical consultations during this unparalleled time. One of the major advantages of cloud services is that they serve as a central hub for people to virtually meet and exchange resources and the ability to scale dynamically, both up and down, as needed.

Major cloud service providers including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, among others saw demand spikes during the crisis. For instance, at the end of March 2020, Microsoft Teams, a cloud-based collaboration software, witnessed a dramatic upsurge in demand as the world moved to remote work and learning models. Teams set a new daily record of 2.7 billion meeting minutes in a single day, while the number climbed to 4.1 billion meeting minutes in April. Similarly, AWS and other major cloud service providers experienced healthy growth during global lockdowns.

The pandemic has accelerated cloud migration in government organizations too. For instance, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is leveraging digital technologies, particularly cloud computing to enable teleworking and increase productivity during the pandemic. To support DOD personnel's transition towards remote working, the department has created a Commercial Virtual Remote (CVR) Environment based on the Microsoft Teams' cloud-enabled collaboration tool that facilitates collaboration from any location.

Cloud computing will likely become a must-have technology as remote work transition is accelerating across the board and organizations are struggling to adapt to the changing customer needs (e.g. people increasingly moving to online services including shopping, gaming) and market landscape. From reducing infrastructure costs to increasing operational efficiencies, cloud technology will help every enterprise sustain into the future.

Prior to the pandemic, the debate was raging over the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation - a major use case of AI, on humans, but during this difficult time, the technologies are supporting humanity in conquering the deadly virus. From identifying infection hotspots to facilitating diagnosis and research, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a central role in tackling the pandemic. A host of industries including healthcare, automotive are deploying artificial intelligence systems to automate essential services.

In the long run, organizations will need to incorporate digital technologies like AI and machine learning into their business processes to adapt to the changing business landscape and improve their resiliency for future crises.

COVID-19 is expected to push a majority of industries into more automation in the post-COVID-19 world. In the foreseeable future, we will see large parts of our lives influenced by this revolutionary technology.

Read more: Automation Post-COVID 19: Narrative to change, adoption to increase

The immersive technology industry is one of the many industries witnessing a significant uptick in demand during the pandemic and as we navigate the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, the AR/VR technology is poised to gain momentum. The rapid shift to remote work, virtual learning, and online shopping in times of social distancing and lockdowns have given a significant impetus to the adoption and development of immersive technologies namely augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR), subsequently stoking the interest of both consumers and investors.

The education sector, one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, is harnessing immersive technology in several ways to deliver more interactive content and drive learner engagement. One such example is of the Case Western Reserve University where all the first-year medical students attended an all-online anatomy class via HoloAnatomy, a mixed-reality app that uses Microsoft's HoloLens to enhance teaching and research. Similarly in the healthcare sector, researchers and health experts are leveraging immersive real-time collaboration tools to better understand viruses or diseases like COVID-19 while hospitals and healthcare workers are using them to monitor coronavirus patients remotely.

The tech-driven future will see higher adoption of immersive technologies by businesses and organizations to enhance remote collaboration and workplace productivity, thereby accelerating the growth of the AR and VR markets globally. Virtual tourism and gaming segments will likely be the major adopter of immersive technologies once the pandemic subsides.

For more details, read- Immersive technologies during and after COVID-19

COVID-19 has created a lucrative environment for opportunistic cybercriminals who seek to capitalize on the mass anxiety, social and economic circumstances created by the pandemic. As more and more organizations are leveraging digital channels or services or adopting the work-from-home model to ensure business continuity, they have also become targets of cybercriminals. Malware, scams, ransomware, and phishing attacks have dramatically increased since the onset of COVID-19. According to the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), a 350 percent increase in phishing websites was reported globally in the first quarter of 2020, with hospitals and health care systems being the main targets.

The new normal of remote working and the alarming rise in the number of cyberattacks has prompted individuals and organizations to rethink their cyber defense strategies and ramp up cybersecurity spending to adapt to the new circumstances created by the pandemic. Adoption of sound information security strategy and policies based on the evolving nature of attacks will help organizations stand vigilant against future attacks. In the post-pandemic world, cybersecurity will remain a top priority for organizations embarking on a digital transformation and automation journey. A holistic risk-based approach to cybersecurity will be vital for them to address security gaps and maintain business continuity in the event of a similar crisis in the future.

Read more: Tracking Cybersecurity: Laying the groundwork for tougher regulations post-COVID 19

With the pandemic disrupting global supply chains and creating a shortage of essential products, 3D printing, aka additive manufacturing, has joined the medical community and the general public in their fight against COVID-19. By quickly scaling up the prototyping and production, the transformative technology is supporting the manufacturing of critical medical devices or equipment like face shields, test swabs, and ventilator components that are in short supply due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

For instance, 3D printing came to the rescue of a hospital in Italy, one of the worst-affected countries by COVID-19, when the original supplier for respiratory valves failed to handle the sudden upsurge in demand. In March 2020, Isinnova, an Italian engineering firm teamed up with another local 3D-printer company to produce 100 respirator valves in just 24 hours. Similarly, HP, an industry leader in 3D printing technology, said that it along with its global partners and customers has produced more than 3.3 million 3D printed parts for face shields, respirators, nasal swabs, and other medical items for hospitals.

The demand for advanced manufacturing technologies including 3D printing has increased exponentially across many sectors ranging from automotive to medical. As economies are opening up, the technology will help businesses bolster their manufacturing capabilities and reduce over-dependence on selected suppliers for critical situations like the present crisis. Overall, 3D printing has the potential to transform manufacturing and catalyze efforts to build resilient supply chains. To reap the true opportunities that this digital manufacturing technology can bring, policymakers and regulators will have to resolve some challenges including enabling regulatory environments.

To see more detailed insights on the 3D printing technology, read- 3D printing and the future of manufacturing post COVID-19

COVID-19 has underscored the importance of advanced digital technologies to improve connectivity and strengthen resilience to effectively deal with the current and the next crisis down the road. Be it education, healthcare, entertainment, or finance, the pandemic has triggered an unprecedented demand for digital technologies in every industry and the trend will continue in the future as well. As the world eases lockdowns, technology will continue to play a critically important role in the socio-economic recovery process.

While technological innovation has the potential to amplify human potential and ease lives, it can also increase inequality and pose risks to individual privacy if not used safely and responsibly. To harness the true potential of technology, it's extremely important to ensure that it safeguards digital rights including the right to accessibility. Governments, policymakers, international organizations, and all stakeholders will need to collaborate to put forth proactive measures and standards covering both ethical and legal aspects to ensure inclusive, transparent, and accountable use of digital technologies during and after the crisis.

Technology can be a lifeline for everyone, it just needs proper regulation and responsible usage.

VisionRI's Centre of Excellence on Emerging Development Perspectives (COE-EDP) aims to keep track of the transition trajectory of global development and works towards conceptualization, development, and mainstreaming of innovative developmental approaches, frameworks, and practices.

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Technologies that will drive the 'new normal' post-COVID 19 - Devdiscourse

Communication is about sharing information with others. The evolutions of communications technology has enabled us to be more connected than ever before, meaning that information can be shared anytime and anywhere.

In mobile communication, a business with a well-established global ecosystem, from equipment manufacturers to telecommunications operators, common rule is essential to keeping the ecosystem moving forward collaboratively. This is where the process of standardization comes in, which sets internationally agreed-upon standards to give users access to better products and services at lower prices. A representative example demonstrating the benefits of international standardization is the global roaming service, which allows users travelling to foreign countries to use their mobile devices as they are.

Standardization is one of main driving forces behind the growth of the mobile communication industry since a new generation has been introduced once every decade. Large-scale investments into mobile communication have been triggered when each new generation of communications is commercialized, explained Dr. Han. When certain countries or companies run their businesses with proprietary solutions, the risk of failure increases. This means that the chance of success can increase only when the stakeholders of the mobile communication ecosystem come together to define the most relevant technologies and discuss aspects like implementation early enough. Determining communications standards and developing products following these standards is an equitable process, noted Dr. Han. These standards are crucial.

Standardization is two-fold: the de jure standards obligated by regulators and the de facto standards established by the global communications industry which, while not compulsory, specify unified ways of operation for stakeholders around the world to follow. The Standards Research team of Samsungs Advanced Communications Research Center oversees both standards.

For example, in order to utilize the extremely high frequency band (mmWave) for 5G, de jure standardization is a prerequisite for the commercialization of any device using the band, which includes assigning a set of frequency bands to mobile communication, setting regulated conditions such as maximum transmission power and out-of-band emission, and ensuring its safety for the human body and existing devices, explained Dr. Han. We are also simultaneously developing protocol technologies and working on de facto standardization to include these technologies into the standards by participating in standards developing organizations such as 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). Dr. Han emphasized that both de jure and de facto standards are equally important.

Frequency bands are a limited resource. It is inevitable that different parties will clash over acquiring such an in-demand resource, which is why each frequency band is already allocated to a specific purpose, e.g. fixed communications, mobile communication, broadcasting, satellite, or other uses. The extremely high frequency band adopted for 5G was an unexplored territory from the perspective of mobile communication. When Samsung initially proposed it, there was pushback at first.

Standards experts are supposed to take the initiative of reserving such new spectrums for the mobile communication industry. By stressing mobile communications contribution to the economy, we managed to persuade the governments of each country, and attracted more supporters by showing them the feasibility of applying this extremely high frequency band to mobile communication, recalled Dr. Han. We actively presented many details to justify our claim, including the simulation results of a coexistence study. As a result, we were able to have this extremely high frequency band assigned to 5G.

There is no almighty judge when it comes to fairly determining which technology among many candidates should be selected as a part of the standard. Moreover, any technology has its own pros and cons, said Dr. Han. There is a decision-making process inherent to standardization. Proposals are first made by companies, intensive and technical debate on each proposal then follows, and participants finally build a consensus to reach a conclusion. We have to avoid sticking to our own interests. Instead, we are trying to communicate with other stakeholders to find the best way forward based on an understanding of the industry as a whole. When we take care of the ecosystem, proposals that we develop to make it healthy and sustainable will be supported by the majority as a result.

Similar to the role of the diplomat, standardization experts participate in global standardization conferences and will there represent their company or their country. They are expected to be the best in their own field. As we are contending at the forefront of these international discussions, technical competitiveness is the key requirement for Samsung delegates, explained Dr. Han. Therefore, in our projects, anyone who is most competitive in a certain area is designated as the champion of the area, regardless which team he or she belongs to.

4G is a communications technology designed to enable the wireless broadband service for smartphones. In particular, 4G as a universal communications platform aggressively adopted the Internet protocol that was popularly used in past wired packet communications. Therefore, many Internet-based services could easily migrate to cellular systems. 5G, then, is designed to expand its territory from the broadband service for smartphone users to vertical markets including the smart factory, automobile, healthcare, private network, smart city, and more. 4G as a universal solution led to a huge growth of the communications market. On the other hand, 5G aims to create new markets based on its new design principle of customizable networks to fulfill the specific requirements of a particular industry sector.

To realize the innovations that 5G has promised, Dr. Han and his team have been working on Rel-16, the second version of 5G. Rel-15, the first version of 5G, laid a new framework for the technology and focused on how to provide differentiated experiences to conventional customers, i.e. smartphone users, noted Dr. Han. We joined the global collaboration to develop Rel-16 in order to realize the 5G vision. Rel-16 introduces and enhances 5Gs features for vertical markets. For example, V2X1 is for connected cars, industrial IoT communications is for smart factories and the data analytics function has been improved for network AI.

Even though 5G has been commercialized, the standardization of 5G for further enhancements will never stop. Until the launch of 6G, the 5G standard will continuously evolve in order to improve and expand 5G. As soon as we concluded the development of 5Gs second version, we immediately began work on the third version, Rel-17, commented Dr. Han. We have discovered some areas to improve commercial 5G networks with, including coverage expansion and NR-MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). These will be amended and enhanced in the upcoming versions. Furthermore, we will continue to discover new features to add in order to enable new 5G applications. Innovations we are looking at include media delivery for AR glasses-type devices and edge computing enablers for low latency services from cloud servers close to users.

Samsung is constantly pushing the boundaries of 5G in order to bring its unique experiences to users. One key characteristic of 5G is its ultra-low latency, brought about by its nine-tenths latency reduction in the radio access link between terminal and base station as compared to the previous generation. In order for users to experience the quality of ultra-low latency services, the end-to-end latency between the user terminal and the cloud server should be reduced. Samsung believes that edge computing will solve the rest of this puzzle, this being latency reduction in the backbone network, by placing the server closer to users. Thanks to 5G and edge computing, users will finally be able to enjoy 5Gs signature service on their devices.

The link between a device and its server was out of 3GPPs scope, said Dr. Han. But it is also hard for other standards organizations who are not experts in 5G to develop the standard for edge computing without a complete understanding of 5G systems. Due to this difficulty, attempts were made to develop edge computing-enabled communication using proprietary solutions which would lead to serious market fragmentation. Samsung initiated discussions on edge computing inside 3GPP and persuaded other participating companies. We are now leading the standardization effort for enabling edge computing in 5G systems as one of the key items of Rel-17.

In 2009, Samsung began the early stages of 5G research with the question of how can we improve cellular networks to be 10 times better than 4G LTE? Samsung will continue to develop further enhanced technologies for the future of 5G. Samsung plays various key roles in the influential standardization organization for mobile communications and leads those standards and related technologies, explained Dr. Han. Based on our perseverance for over 10 years in this field, we will overcome whatever obstacles we encounter and will make 5G a big success.

Dr. Han began working in this field because when he was a student, he was extremely curious about who made standard specifications, the ground rules that were akin to a communications bible. And today, he is leading the team shaping the future of communications with standards. What resolution has he set?

When we worked on LTE standards, we did not even expect that the term LTE, back then only used by selective standard engineers, would become a common and popular term, noted Dr. Han. This experience reminded me that the technologies we create can change the world and the daily lives of people. We are also aware of high expectation from 5G that we have developed. I firmly believe that our work will benefit the world.

Dr. Han is also working on promoting Samsungs 6G vision to inspire people in this field. In the future, the main customers in the communications market wont just be human, but will include robots and other machines, too, explained Dr. Han. People will start to enjoy hyper-connected experiences and be able to explore reality in a virtual world without temporal or spatial constraints. 6G will present fundamental technologies for such innovations. We will begin communicating with stakeholders as per Samsungs 6G White Paper, published on July 14. Our 5G experience and the insights captured in our 6G vision will help us prepare for the long journey toward another success story with 6G.

Moreover, the sustainable growth of society and the communications industry will be key considerations for shaping 6G.

1 V2X is a technology that supports vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications.

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[What's Next in Communications Technology?] Defining the Boundaries of Communications - Samsung Global Newsroom