Monthly Archives: July 2022

AvidXchange

Technology Investment is the Key to Solving Larger Business Challenges

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AvidXchange Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVDX), a leading provider of accounts payable (AP) automation software and payment solutions for middle market businesses and their suppliers, today released the next report in its Middle Market Spending Trends series based on statistically significant data captured from the transactions processed in Q1 2021 by AvidXchange through its AvidPay Network. Additionally, to garner insights on sentiment around spending, AvidXchange surveyed ~500 middle market finance professionals to understand how they feel about their business and where, and why, they are spending in response to the current economic challenges, especially when it comes to their finance department.

The report shows that, middle market companies are investing in digital transformation, spending more on information technology (IT) and technology (22%) than they are on hiring, marketing and sales and operations. The AvidPay Network data reflects this trend; the average yearly technology spend increase since 2020 has been 7.4 percent, which is more than triple what it was prior to that (2.4 percent from 2017-2020).

Furthermore, the research shows that digital adoption is helping the middle market offset the costs of larger economic challenges by boosting efficiency and streamlining time and labor-intensive processes like routing and approving invoices and issuing payments. Specifically, it is allowing the back-office to do more with less.And finance professionals are feeling good about the commitment to modernization. In fact, 78 percent of survey respondents reported they feel the technology their organizations have adopted in the last two years will have a positive impact on business continuity.

Investments in digital transformation and technology are allowing middle market companies to continue to grow and drive their businesses forward, despite the tight labor market, said Angelic Gibson, Chief Information Officer of AvidXchange. The pandemic may have accelerated the rate of technology adoption, but the efficiencies it provides are unmatched, so its no surprise that nearly three quarters of survey respondents say they plan to invest in more tools within the next three years.

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Middle market companies are proving their resilience with a positive outlook despite economic challenges plaguing business, including inflation, ongoing supply chain disruptions and a looming recession, said Dan Drees, Chief Growth Officer of AvidXchange. Shifts in spending show strategic planning in order to stay ahead of economic uncertainty.

To learn more and view the report, read Middle Market Spending Trends.

About AvidXchangeAvidXchange is a leading provider of accounts payable (AP) automation software and payment solutions for middle market businesses and their suppliers. AvidXchanges software-as-a-service-based, end-to-end software and payment platform digitizes and automates the AP workflows for more than 8,000 businesses and it has made payments to more than 825,000 supplier customers of its buyers over the past five years. To learn more about how AvidXchange is transforming the way companies pay their bills, visitwww.AvidXchange.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance and often contain words such as: anticipate, intend, plan, goal, seek, believe, project, estimate, expect, future, likely, may, should, will and similar words and phrases indicating future results. The information presented in this press release related to our expectations of future performance, as well as other statements that are not purely statements of historical fact, are forward-looking in nature. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of managements current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. We therefore cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements.

Factors which could cause actual results or effects to differ materially from those reflected in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the risk factors and other cautionary statements described, from time to time, in AvidXchanges filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including, without limitation, AvidXchanges Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with the SEC, which may be obtained on the investor relations section of our website (https://ir.avidxchange.com/) and on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statements made by us in this press release are based only on information currently available to us and speak only as of the date they are made, and we assume no obligation to update any of these statements in light of new information, future events or otherwise unless required under the federal securities laws.

ContactOlivia Sorrellsosorrells@avidxchange.com 980-643-7889

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The Rate of Spending on Technology has more than Tripled in the Past Two Years, AvidXchange Research Shows - Yahoo Finance

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ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs out there, largely because of how fast it is. This is due to several factors, not the least of which is the server technology the company employs. Called TrustedServer, it promises not just greater speeds than the competition, but also superior privacy. Lets take a look at how it works.

The full workings of TrustedServer are laid out in this post on the ExpressVPN blog by Shaun S., an engineering fellow at the company and the creator of the technology. The full post goes into remarkable detailwe wish more companies were this transparentso well just quickly recap it here for the less tech-savvy among you.

At the core of every VPN provider are its servers, computers that reroute your connection. Weve explained VPN servers in detail, but in short, they have their own type of hardware and software, including their own type of operating system.

In the case of TrustedServer, this operating system is a custom version of Linux, which is updated weekly. Each time a new version of the OS is created, the code is checked by a second engineerand, for more in-depth changes, even a third.

Each engineer also has to access their work using a special cryptographic key used to identify them. This ensures that nobody can add anything that might compromise the integrity of the OS, either through malice or by accident.

After the update has been put together, the new build of the OS is tested on internal servers by the team before deployment. Assuming all is well, the update is then rolled out, again with a number of failsafes to ensure safety.

Its a highly involved process with lots of double-checks, which, together with the transparency of the process, gives us a lot of faith in the security of ExpressVPNs servers. However, this isnt even what makes Trusted Server particularly unique.

The point to these regular weekly updatesbesides making sure any new threats can be dealt withis that resetting a server also deletes any data on it. This is because ExpressVPNs servers dont use regular hard disk memory to run, but instead run entirely on RAM, or random access memory.

The difference is that once you write something to regular memory, it stays there until somebody deletes it, while RAM wipes everything stored on it when the system reboots. This means that even if the system were to be breached, none of your logs (records that show when you connected and where you connected to) can be found. This is at the core of what VPNs areand thus is very important.

Naturally, the issue here is that if somebody were to breach the system (or get a warrant) on the day before the update is slated to go, theyd get a weeks worth of logs off of it. As such, ExpressVPN has implemented a system that it claims guarantees no logs are created, let alone kept.

Again, this system is layered, with failsafes built on top of failsafes. The first step is how ExpressVPN engineers its VPN protocolsthe rules that govern how the VPN server talks to other computers on the network. ExpressVPNs proprietary Lightway protocol allegedly keeps no logs whatsoever, but ExpressVPN has customized all the protocols it uses, like OpenVPN, so they dont do so, either.

However, you cant always predict what will happen: maybe a protocol will reconfigure itself by accident, or some other mishap makes it so that a log is accidentally created. To prevent this, ExpressVPN sets things up in such a way that any output by any VPN-related software is sent directly to a black hole inside the operating system.

Known as /dev/null, this is a special file that destroys anything sent there without a trace. Its a pretty cool little gimmick, and one we suspect is used by many VPNs to destroy logs.

All the above sounds great, but as is often the case with claims of no-log VPNs, youre taking all the companys promises at face value. After all, its not likely you can just go in and check whether TrustedServer works as advertised. To solve this issue, more and more VPNs are relying on independent audits performed by third parties.

ExpressVPN engaged PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a massive accounting and security firm better known as PwC, to conduct its audit of TrustedServer technology, and it passed with flying colors. This indicates that the technology works as advertised.

That said, there are a few notes we should make. For one, ExpressVPN doesnt allow you to sign up anonymously, so your personal data, like name and address are still in a database somewhere and could be vulnerable to attack.

The other is that, audit or not, youre still taking any no-log promises at face value. While ExpressVPN hasnt given us too much reason to doubt its word, PwC has: The companys recent history is rife with accusations of malfeasance: for example, one whistleblower claims that financial auditors pulled their punches to make sure that they would retain the business of Silicon Valley companies they were auditing. This 2020 article by accounting site Going Concern has a recap of some of the biggest lawsuits PwC was involved in.

That said, ExpressVPN also has undergone audits of other parts of its tech (like this one by Code53 for its browser extension,) so we feel confident in saying that TrustedServer works as advertised. Overall, ExpressVPNs transparency is a good indicator that you can trust its technology to keep your data safe.

Continue reading here:

How ExpressVPNs TrustedServer Technology Keeps You Safe - How-To Geek

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Authvia, the leader in conversational commerce technology and the premiere provider of text to pay solutions, announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 11,144,895 by the USPTO, entitled Methods and Systems for Message-Based Bill Payment. Authvias patented technology, TXT2PAY, allows customers to quickly and easily pay any business with a simple text response. TXT2PAY is the fastest, most convenient way for customers to pay, while providing businesses with accelerated cash-flow, secured customer data, and streamlined operations.

TXT2PAY is available for businesses, software developers and ISV partners via a web-based portal, a Saleforce.com application, and modern APIs; enabling businesses to securely request and receive payments from their customers over any messaging, text, or chat service. The patented technology allows customers to pay anytime, anywhere with a simple response such as a four-digit code, a yes, pay, or confirm, rather than needing to link to a payment page, or log into a portal or application. This authorization can be tied to a credit card, debit card or ACH account stored with the business or within Authvia's cloud-based wallet. In addition to facilitating the payment process, TXT2PAY automatically delivers receipts, allows the customer to add or change payment methods and remembers which payment method to use with each business.

The ability for customers to pay with a simple reply allows our merchants to get paid faster while providing their customers with a fast, simple, and secure payment experience, said Ben Weiner, Chief Strategy Officer at Paya. This IP protection provides Paya and our partners and merchants with peace-of-mind and extended capabilities in a world where contactless payments have become the standard.

Highly configurable and easily accessible, TXT2PAY is available to businesses directly or through more than two dozen certified payment processors, including Authorize.net, Chase Merchant Services, Elavon, FIS, FISERV, Fortis, NMI, Paya, PaySafe, numerous software vendors (ISVs), and leading messaging platform providers (CPaaS). Regardless of how businesses use Authvias technology, the companys success team ensures a smooth process from onboarding through implementation, producing a win-win for all.

Authvia is the most comprehensive and ubiquitous solution in the market today and hands down the best user experience for the consumer, said Christopher Brunner, Founder & CEO of Authvia. This patent provides our ISV, CPaaS and payment industry partners an easy button for delivering integrated conversational commerce solutions.

About Authvia

Authvia is an innovative, Los Angeles-based SaaS company at the forefront of Conversational Commerce with patented text-to-pay technology. That technology includes the flagship software application TXT2PAY, which delivers a highly secure, fast, and contactless payment option via text messaging and other message-based communication channels, such as web chat and WhatsApp. Authvia connects a business, consumer, and payment processor quickly and easily, expediting cash flow and streamlining payment processes. For more visit authvia.com.

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Authvia Awarded Patent for Text to Pay Bill Payment Technology - Business Wire

MELBOURNE, July 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The comprehensive industry research on Global Smart Waste Collection Technology Market published by Data Bridge Market Research includes growth analysis, regional marketing, challenges, opportunities, revenue analysis, and key driver analysis. Key elements of this report range from industry outlook along with critical success factors, industry dynamics or market definition in terms of drivers and restraints, market segmentation and value chain analysis, key opportunities or developments, application outlook, regional or country-level analysis to the competitive landscape. What is more, the Smart Waste Collection Technology Market report provides the data and information for actionable, most recent, and real-time market insights which makes it straightforward to even take critical business decisions

The rapidly revolutionizing marketplace demands the best market and business solutions to thrive in the market. This Smart Waste Collection Technology Market report contains comprehensive data on market definition, classifications, applications, engagements, market drivers, and market restraints of this industry all of which is derived from Porters Five Forces analysis. The market definition covered in this Smart Waste Collection Technology Market report gives the scope of a particular product with respect to the driving factors and restraints in the market. The sources of data and information mentioned in the Smart Waste Collection Technology Market report are very reliable and include websites, annual reports of the companies, journals, and mergers which are checked and validated by the market experts.

Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the Smart Waste Collection Technology Market was valued at USD 1.75 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach the value of USD 3.83 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 10.30% during the forecast period of 2022 to 2029.

Get Sample PDF Brochure (Including Graphs, Charts & Figures) @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-smart-waste-collection-technology-market

Market Overview:

The increasing complexity of waste collection logistics, as well as the need to comply with waste processing regulations necessitates better waste management solutions, which are made possible by the use of technologies such as IoT sensors, RFID, GPS, and so on. Although the smart waste management market is in its early stages, it is expected to grow rapidly due to the availability of commercially viable technologies and operational benefits.

Smart waste management is a combination of advanced technologies and innovative strategies that aid in the efficient sorting, recycling, and disposal of massive amounts of waste in a smooth and orderly manner.

Some of the major players operating in the Smart Waste Collection Technology Market are:

Recent Development

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has launched a new portfolio of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions that combine advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to help companies like MARTA improve their maintenance plans. Companies in asset-intensive industries such as chemicals, oil and gas, energy and utilities, manufacturing, and transportation will benefit greatly from these solutions.

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How will this Market Intelligence Report Benefit You?

Smart Waste Collection Technology Market Dynamics

Drivers

One of the encouraging factors driving growth in the smart waste collection technology market is the increasing investment in smart city designs. Certain plans are leading the way in developing countries, where governments are investing billions of dollars in smart city designs because everything will be combined in these smart cities, garbage collection with the use of smart waste collection technology will benefit certain regions.

The benefit of smart waste collection technology is that it uses sustainable waste management and waste handling systems that enable the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, and data analytics. Rapid urbanisation and industrialization which are expected to generate massive amounts of waste, and intelligence waste management systems are required to manage this waste, which is expected to drive market growth.

Opportunity

Smart disposal is a critical strategic cost-effective method for optimising utilities through the use of advanced waste management technologies. It is a critical component of sustainable waste management practises, assisting societies in reducing waste's environmental impact.

Radical conclusions of the report:

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Highlights of Following Key Factors of Global Smart Waste Collection Technology Market

A detailed description of the companys operations and business divisions

Analysts summarization of the companys business strategy

Progression of key events associated with the company

A list of major products, services and brands of the company

A list of key competitors to the company

A list and contact details of key locations and subsidiaries of the company

The latest financial ratios derived from the annual financial statements published by the company with 5 years history.

Global Smart Waste Collection Technology Market Scope

Services

Solution

End users

The countries covered in the smart waste collection technology market report are U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia & New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, South Africa, Israel, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Rest of Middle East and Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America.

Highlights of TOC:

Chapter 1: Market overview

Chapter 2: Global Smart Waste Collection Technology Market

Chapter 3: Regional analysis of the Global Smart Waste Collection Technology Market industry

Chapter 4: Smart Waste Collection Technology Market segmentation based on types and applications

Chapter 5: Revenue analysis based on types and applications

Chapter 6: Market share

Chapter 7: Competitive Landscape

Chapter 8: Drivers, Restraints, Challenges, and Opportunities

Chapter 9: Gross Margin and Price Analysis

View Detailed Table of Content @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-smart-waste-collection-technology-market

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Smart Waste Collection Technology Market is anticipated to Touch USD 3.83 Billion, Segmented by Product Type, Components, End-User, Top Players and...

The ever-growing prevalence and consciousness of sustaining an active lifestyle has caused a shift in individuals taking a more independent approach to their fitness regimes. As a consequence, more fitness technology tools and products continue to flood the market, building a strong affinity amongst fitness professionals and enthusiasts alike. Thus, enabling the prospect intended for consumers to focus on the health and wellness journey more precisely.

There is no doubt that technology and artificial intelligence have revolutionised our lives, not only shaping how we do business, but more importantly how we care for our health, fitness, and physical wellbeing. As technological headway continues to evolve in the fitness industry, enhancing the user experience by combining both traditional and new-age methods is more important to keep people motivated and on track throughout their fitness journeys. In addition to this, as health and fitness increasingly become a priority for people following the Covid-19 pandemic, fitness-industry providers, in turn, must keep up with the times by ramping up their value propositions through technology, apps and immersive fitness experiences.

Todays most-used fitness tech range from apps and wearable technology, to digital fitness platforms and equipment. Each gadget in its own right provides valuable data about the progress and help users track their fitness goals more efficiently. In addition to helping drive the motivation of users, pushing them to live a more active lifestyle, wearable fitness tech gadgets help automate tasks like rep counting, as well as progress tracking, macro tracking, heart rate, blood pressure and other variables that affect active energy.

We see the expansion of tech gadgets from smartwatches, monitoring devices, headphones, as well as applications using augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality. These have been vital in providing solutions throughout all niches in the fitness industry. The uprise and demand for immersive fitness experiences converged with technology has pushed gyms across the globe to improve and modify their facilities to provide their members with a 360degree approach to health and fitness through connected devices.

As fitness providers, we see technology as a way to empower our members to take an active role in their health and wellbeing. Major fitness brands across the region are creating all-encompassing facilities that not only test the traditional fitness business model but also leverage technologies to offer integrated fitness experiences for their members. Some of these technologies include apps which are integrated with gym equipment and connected by sensors. This provides gym-goers access to data-backed performance information to push them towards achieving their fitness goals.

In addition, immersive fitness experiences, such as indoor cycling now offer data-backed apps that analyses various performance attributes such as heart rate, power, cadence, speed, distance and energy burned. Another pre-requisite that gym-goers now frequently request from their facilities is ways to measure their body composition, to achieve their fitness goals in the most efficient way. Due to these high demands, any gym that is considered to be state-of-the-art will be equipped with 3D health and fitness scanning technologies.

It is undeniable that the health and fitness industry has seen an immense transformation through the widespread use of technology. The business model for the future will converge into a hybrid of traditional and new-age elements, with a focus on incorporating an extensive range of advanced technologies to empower members to track their efforts.

Dr Dimitri Koutsoubakis is the CEO at Wellfit

Read: Pandemic sparks surge of female entrepreneurship in the UAE report

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How technology is transforming the fitness industry - Gulf Business

Forests are not necessarily top of the mind when people think of Indiana. Forested area covers only about 20% of Indiana. But Purdue University researchers are working to ensure the states forests are prepared to withstand the challenges of climate change.

Supported by funding from USDAs National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Purdue launched the Integrated Digital Forestry Initiative (iDiF). The initiatives goal is to develop digital forestry tools to save time, money and achieve a deeper understanding of a vital natural resource.

Daniel Cassidy, a national program leader in NIFAs Institute of Bioenergy, Climate and Environment, said that Purdues research efforts have potential to transform conventional forest management methods.

Purdues work is truly an innovative approach to forestry, Cassidy said. This team is leading a transition to data-driven, AI-supported precision forest management, and their multi-disciplinary approach will contribute to their success.

Through iDiF, Purdue is bringing together experts from a variety of disciplines including forestry, entomology, ecology, engineering, aviation technology, remote sensing, machine learning, data analysis and visualization, robotics and geospatial information retrieval.

"We must improve the sustainability and resilience of our forests, which are critical to the environment, our economy and our quality of life," saidSdonglin Fei, who leads the initiative. "We're bringing together expertise in agriculture, engineering and science to create tools to better measure, monitor and manage forests of all sizes throughout the United States."

NIFA is providing support to iDiF through both McIntire-Stennis Act capacity funding and an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grant.

Current NIFA Supported Projects

Learn more about these projects at the iDiF website.

Photo:Left image of individual exploring a forest. Right image of sunlight breaking through forest trees. Images courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Link:

Technology Transforming Forest Management | National Institute of Food and Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Learn about the benefits of moving to a secure cloud-native environment at Contrast's Booth #405

LOS ALTOS, Calif., July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Contrast Security (Contrast), the leader in code security that empowers developers to secure-as-they code, today announced its lineup of events at AWS re:Inforce Conference 2022, taking place July 26-27 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

"We look forward to showcasing our breakthrough code security technology for serverless environments at re:Inforce. It gives us an opportunity to connect in-person with developers and security teams to show just how easy and seamless our serverless technology is to use," said Blake Connell, Director of Product Marketing at Contrast Security. "Serverless computing is one of the biggest shifts in application development since enterprise Java and the application server. With Contrast, users are able to connect to their AWS account and get full results in about 3 clicks and less than five minutes."

Contrast will also showcase its recently launched CodeSec - Serverless, an easy-to-use, self-service, solution available to all developers at no cost. Organizations are turning to serverless technology to allow developers to outsource the server and database management to a third-party cloud platform, nearly eliminating the need to set up, maintain, and secure underlying infrastructure and environments. CodeSec - Serverless allows developers to take advantage of serverless environments in AWS Lambda Functions (Java + Python) that detects cloud-native vulnerabilities quickly and accurately while providing actionable remediation guidance in a simple command-line interface. Learn more about CodeSec, which is now available on the AWS Marketplace, here.

Contrast Events at AWS Re: Inforce Conference 2022:

Contrast Onsite: During expo hours, attendees can stop by Booth #405 or registerfor a demo on Codesec - Serverless.

Expert Session:Blake Connell, Contrast's Director of Product Marketing, will educate attendees on how the business and technical benefits of AWS Lambda have driven rapid, broad adoption of leveraging cloud-native applications and why traditionally built application security tools do not work. Attendees will also learn more about the unique security challenges that come from shifting to a serverless environment.

Dine with Contrast: Register herefor an intimate, networking dinner with our co-founder and CTO Jeff Williams, and Director of Product Marketing, Blake Connellon the evening of July 26.

About Contrast Security:

Contrast Security secures the code that global business relies on. It is the industry's most modern and comprehensive Code Security Platform, removing security roadblock inefficiencies and empowering enterprise developers to write and release secure application code faster. Embedding code analysis and attack prevention directly into software with instrumentation, the Contrast platform automatically detects vulnerabilities while developers write code, eliminates false positives, and provides context-specific how-to-fix guidance for easy and fast vulnerability remediation. Doing so enables application and development teams to collaborate more effectively and to innovate faster while accelerating digital transformation initiatives. This is why a growing number of the world's largest private and public sector organizations rely on Contrast to secure their applications in development and extend protection to cloud and on-premise applications in production.

Media Contact:Laura AsendioPublic Relations ManagerContrast Security[emailprotected]

SOURCE Contrast Security

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Contrast Security Unlocks the Power of Serverless Technology at AWS re:Inforce Conference - PR Newswire

Shared micromobility giant Lime is finally bringing on some of its own city-appeasing advanced rider assistance system (ARAS) technology. At a Lime event in Paris, the startup shared plans to pilot an in-house built computer vision platform that will leverage cameras to detect when users are riding on the sidewalk. While it will be at the discretion of the cities whether to both audibly alert the riders to their transgressions and actually slow them down, both functions are available.

Lime will be piloting the tech on close to 400 scooters in San Francisco and Chicago starting early to mid-August. By the end of the year, Lime hopes to expand its pilot to six cities in total, including Paris, where the company held a demo of the new tech on Wednesday.

Because its easier for cities to blame micromobility companies and scooter riders for sidewalk riding, rather than invest the proper time and money in building protected bike lanes, almost every major operator has been implementing some form of scooter ARAS over the past year.

Bird,Superpedestrian and Neuron rely on a location-based systems to determine where scooters are riding and parking. And Voi, Spin and Zipp have all piloted the computer vision tech of third-party providers, Drover AI and Luna. Lime said it, too, has tested third-party computer vision systems to test the viability of the business model before investing in its own system, which will be the first operator-built camera-based platform to detect sidewalk riding. That said, its not the first company to integrate such a system into a scooter. Segway, which supplies many micromobility companies, recently announced its own AI-powered scooter.

Both scooter ARAS camps localization and computer vision have their champions. Localization advocates say their tech is cheaper and easier to implement today, whereas computer vision tech is just not there yet in order to be effective. Not to mention its expensive and adds yet another hardware element that may break or be vandalized on the streets.

Joe Kraus, president at Lime, says the company is taking a long-term bet by investing in computer vision, which he reckons will actually be cheaper than augmented GPS in the long run, while also providing more applicable use cases.

I think about where is massive money being invested in order to bring things down the cost curve and to bring capability up the innovation curve, Kraus told TechCrunch. The amount of investment that is going into making camera-based systems do more incredible things, like the accuracy of image classification and detection, is huge. Theres a huge amount of investment going onto the open source software side, and as well as on the chipset side to make AI chips on the edge dramatically cheaper and more power efficient.

To improve localization-based scooter ARAS, getting hyper-accurate maps is crucial to pinpointing where the sidewalks actually are. Kraus doesnt believe the same level of demand, investment and performance curve is happening for GPS signaling.

The cost of GPS augmentation inside of a city with more accurate timing signals is not cheap, said Kraus.

GPS also doesnt open up as many potential doors for new features, the executive argued. Lime is starting off by detecting sidewalk riding, but it has plans to implement other use cases, like parking detection. Currently, Lime and Bird are both piloting Googles ARCore Geospatial API, which uses a riders smartphone camera to geo-locate parked scooters and e-bikes accurately to determine if theyre parked correctly.

Lime might also choose to use its computer vision tech for broader localization efforts or non-repudiation in the case of accidents, according to Kraus. Lime Vision, as the feature is called, can also help Lime win brownie points with cities by sharing data on things like hotspots for sidewalk riding to help inform where to actually build bike lanes, or the number of potholes on certain streets.

The first version of Lime Vision which will be tested with the initial pilot is a retrofittable, waterproof unit that affixes to the neck of the scooter below the handlebars and contains the camera, an AI chip and a CPU, or a processor. Its here where Limes computer vision model does its computations in real time, allowing for detections in less than a second, according to Kraus. The unit is connected via a wire to the scooters brain so it can communicate commands based on what it analyzes.

Lime is already working on the second version of its computer vision system that would be fully integrated into the body of the vehicle, rather than a separate attachment, said Kraus.

In addition to its computer vision launch, Lime said on Wednesday it plans to pilot a new reaction test to inhibit drunk riding in 30 cities globally. The test, which will pop up on the Lime app when a rider tries to book a ride after a designated time of night, appears as a sort of game: The user controls a scooter as it rides along a street and is asked to hit the stop sign when it appears. Riders who dont hit that stop sign within a certain amount of time will not be able to start a ride.

Previously, Lime had tried out a similar feature that activated after 10 p.m. in most markets. It would ask riders to type in a Y-E-S in response to the question, Do you affirm you are not drunk and fit to ride? Last year, Bird launched Safe Start, an in-app checkpoint that asked riders to enter a keyword into the app that it hoped would deter drunk people from riding.

A clarification was issued to the fourth paragraph of this article.

Continue reading here:

Lime has built its own camera-based sidewalk detection technology - TechCrunch

According to the company, that tiny edit should be enough to permanently lower a persons levels of bad LDL cholesterol, the fatty molecule that causes arteries to clog and harden with time.

The patient in New Zealand had an inherited risk for extra-high cholesterol and was already suffering from heart disease. However, the company believes the same technique could eventually be used on millions of people in order to prevent cardiovascular disease.

If this works and is safe, this is the answer to heart attackthis is the cure, says Sekar Kathiresan, a gene researcher who started Verve three years ago and is the companys CEO.

Its been 10 years since scientists developed CRISPR, a technology for making targeted changes to the DNA in cells, but until now the method has been tried only on people suffering from rare diseases like sickle-cell anemia, and only as part of exploratory trials.

COURTESY OF VERVE

If Verves experiment works, it could signal far wider use of gene editing to prevent common conditions. Large swaths of the worlds population have LDL that is too high, but many people cant get it under control. Worldwide, more people die of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease than from anything else.

Of all the different genome editing ongoing on the clinic, this one could have the most profound impact because of the number of people who could benefit, says Eric Topol, a cardiologist and researcher at Scripps Research.

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Edits to a cholesterol gene could stop the biggest killer on earth - MIT Technology Review

Great Lakes officials are using tech to scan the web for businesses selling invasive species. The Great Lakes Commission is testing a web-crawler that scans for websites selling invasive species that could harm the Great Lakes.

Some of the species are restricted in parts of the Great Lakes.

Whats legal in Texas may not be legal in Michigan, said Erika Jensen, Executive Director of the Great Lakes Commission.

Once the Great Lakes Detector of Invasive Aquatics in Trade or GLDIATR finds harmful species for sale on the web, a letter is sent to the merchant, asking the business not to ship that plant or animal to people living in a Great Lakes state.

Many times they maybe arent aware that theyre selling something that poses a risk to the Great Lakes region, Jensen said, adding that most agree to restrict sales of the invasive species to places in the Great Lakes region.

The only option before this was to have staff do manual Google searches for specific invasive species for sale on the web.

Using this sort of web crawling technology, we can simultaneously search for multiple species in a much shorter period of time, Jensen said.

In a 30 day trial of the GLDIATR software, it scanned 300,000 webpages and found 200 websites with invasive species for sale.

More than 185 non-native aquatic species are already established in the Great Lakes. More are threatening to enter through many means, including as a package left at your doorstep.

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New web scanning technology helps protect the Great Lakes from invasive species - Michigan Radio