Each day, more than 3,000 people visit the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek—the Bavarian State Library—based in Munich, Germany. The building, which has historical significance, is home to 9.81 million books, as well as a number of special-interest reading rooms containing tens of thousands of reference volumes, maps and images related to such topics as Eastern Europe, the Orient and Bavarian culture. It is a grand environment, but one that can be rather tricky to navigate. "Even I, who knows the building quite well, struggle from time to time to try to find, say, the Eastern Europe reading room. It is on the third …

Ericsson has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to expedite progress with its autonomous vehicle R&D efforts. Ericsson’s announcement relates primarily to the personalisation of the driver experience, incorporating more advanced analytical and security functionality to better understand context, driver profiles and network awareness in support of app delivery. According to Ericsson, one of the biggest tech challenges it faces is in securely capturing driver identity to help further improve upon preferences and behaviour. According to Ericsson’s VP of Technology, Business Unit Support Solution, Mika Kaul, MIT’s System Design & Management programme is a technology researching force which will only be …

From the beginning of the wearable conversation, horology experts surmised that the most logical approach would be a combination of analog function alongside technological touchpoints. This year at Baselworld 2016 March 2016, the industry’s most prestigious fair held annually in Basel, Switzerland, watchmakers across the sector introduced forward-looking pieces that took advantage of new tech without jeopardizing horological know-how. Overwhelmingly, these wearables pair functionality with design to ensure that a brand’s core consumers are not alienated, while also increasing attractiveness among those who do not typically sport a timepiece.

The conference has been forever changed since the rise of social media, and now a second-wave of low-cost, high-impact technology is disrupting the circuit once again. The three major trends that seem to be on the rise on the conference scene are beacon-based personalization, virtual experiences and gamified networking. Let’s have a deeper look into each. It’s not enough to have a conference app that displays all your event has to offer. Attendees expect a tailored experience, and that’s just what beacon technology has allowed conferences to do more successfully than ever before. A technology conference held in Melbourne called, Pause …

Peter Li, co-founder of Atlas Wearables Inc., liked the virtual wallet one of the company’s partners built into his fitness bands for a demo earlier this year. “You just walk up, wave your wristband,” said Li, who’s also chief executive officer of Austin-based Atlas. “There’s a huge application for what a wrist tracker can do for buying things within the gym, getting gym access.” Yet Atlas, which makes bands that monitor users’ workouts, is still debating whether to add the payment capability to its next-generation products -- partly due to security concerns. 

An executive with the nation's largest TV remote manufacturer that recently inked a six-year deal with cable giant Comcast Corp. says that touchscreen remotes like those on iPhones could be on the horizon. "It's not just a clicker anymore," Lou Hughes, an executive vice president at TV remote manufacturer and developer Universal Electronics Inc., said in an interview. Hughes also noted that the new deal with Comcast extends beyond just TV remotes. Last summer, the California-based  Universal Electronics acquired Ecolink Intelligent Technology Inc., also of California, that develops wireless security and automation product for homes.

Samsung is developing a new operating system for the Internet of Things, hoping to make a bigger role for itself in the millions of smart home appliances, wearables and industrial equipment that are coming online. The OS, which will be open source and hasn't yet been named, will help devices to execute simple tasks quickly without human intervention. For example, the software could instruct a door lock to open and the lights to come on as a person approaches their home. More details are due to be spilled next month during a technical session at the Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco.

Unless you shop carefully, you might end up with a smart garage door opener that can’t converse with your security camera, or a smart door lock that won’t talk to your alarm system. The set of connected light bulbs in your hallway might not be on speaking terms with the ones in the living room, and your basement flood detector probably couldn’t get a message through to your smart TV. Ideally, these devices would simply have a standard way to communicate, so users wouldn’t have to worry about making sure every product works together. Some companies, such as Microsoft, Qualcomm, …

With the Internet of Things now starting to become established in the home, this could represent a big addition to Facebook’s range of activities – and a change in direction. The social network is currently focussed on allowing people to interact with other people. This new patent would augment that, and allow people to interact with things. The patent includes examples of the kinds of ‘machines’ that might be controlled. These include a thermostat, an automobile, a drone, a toaster, a computer, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a robot, a vacuum, an actuator, and a heater.

Commissioner Julie Brill will resign her post on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at the end of this month. On April 1, she will join the Hogan Lovells law firm as a partner and co-director of its privacy and cybersecurity practice. “This is five months earlier than when my commission is actually up, so not much earlier than it would have been anyway,” Brill told AdExchanger. Brill began her post as FTC commissioner in 2010, but she’s been in public service for 26 years.