Sears Holdings has introduced the first wave of what will be a wider assortment of connected-home products marketed under its private-label Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands. The effort, orchestrated by Tom Park, president of the brand trio, leverages the badges’ heritage and dependability, and further positions the retail chain for a connected-home future, he told TWICE. The first five products include an 8,000 Btu Kenmore Elite smart AC ($300 retail), a Kenmore smart water heater module, compatible with current Kenmore and Kenmore Elite electric water heaters ($70 retail).

After playing the role of personal companion, salesbot, as well as a student and English teacher, Pepper, the humanoid robot, can officially add “seafaring concierge” to its resume. Joining two Carnival Corporation-owned ships, Costa Cruises and AIDA, at the end of April, the 4-foot android will engage the ships’ guests using its skill at reading human emotion. Pepper will start its adventure programmed to speak English, German, and Italian, and has the capability of being upgraded with additional languages at any time. Costa’s Chief Digital Officer Rahul Chakkara believes this opportunity has introduced a new level of guest-crew interaction.

Virtual reality, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies can help brands future proof the luxury industry. The digital dynamic is not a projection for the future, but right now, and just as the Internet fundamentally changed business practices in the 1990s, all industries, luxury included, are on the cusp of technological transformation. During the “Future Luxury” talk, the eponymous session of Conde Nast International’s second Luxury Conference April 20, Wired Consulting’s Sophie Hackford explained how technology is accelerating at a fast rate to meld the physical with the digital.

Famed “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson believes that the mobile phone has found its match: Jackson recently told Wired Magazine that augmented reality technologies like the ones developed by Florida-based Magic Leap will be used “as much as, if not more ” than smart phones in ten years. Magic Leap is one of a number of companies working on augmented reality technology capable of combining images of the real world with virtual objects. The startup has been highly secretive about its technology, but that hasn’t stopped high-profile investors like Google, Alibaba and Warner Bros. from pouring more than $1.4 billion in financing in the company. Magic Leap did …

A wave of virtual reality content is hitting the market this year and consumer adoption could quickly follow, bringing with it growing demand for shopping experiences using the technology, according to a new report from the Center for Advancing Retail & Technology. The report, Retail Innovation: U.S. Retail Technology Insights and Analysis, insists that many retailers are still struggling with integrating mobile into their strategies even as the pace of technological innovation speeds up. As a result, many retailers will be unprepared for the shift to virtual reality.

Verizon details in a patent application obtained by The Donohue Report how it could use facial recognition and Apple’s iBeacon micro-location technology to deliver targeted advertising and video programming to consumers. Cupertino, Calif.-based Verizon Product Strategist Seth Cohen is named as inventor on the patent application, titled, “Method and system for evaluating a user response to a presence based action.” An approach and system for determining a level of effectiveness of a device action performed in response to the presence of a user is described. The system identifies a user associated with a presence signal transmitted by a transmitting object in …

Adelaide Zoo claims it will become Australia’s first zoo to introduce enhanced visitor content and experiences through beacon technology. The zoo has partnered with Specialist Apps Company to bring content straight to Bluetooth-enabled devices through iBeacon and eLocker technologies in order to offer visitors access to location-specific information about its animals and conservation work. The iBeacons will be used to trigger messages on visitor devices, alerting them to points of interest around the zoo and providing interesting and practical information such as species facts, the location of the closest facilities and educational tools. Visitors will be able to download an …

Melbourne leaders revealed plans to become a smart city, in preparation for a population boom over the next 35 years and climate change-related issues affecting the Australia city. The city will use initiatives adopted by other smart cities and host a public forum, called Melbourne Conversations, where representatives from cities like San Francisco, Tel Aviv, and Amsterdam can give advice and share experiences, according to IoT Hub AU. “Melbourne’s population is expected to double over the next 35 years, and we expect to be bigger than Sydney by 2053,” said chief technology officer and smart city manager, Michelle Fitzgerald.

Intel said it is cutting 11 percent of its workforce, or 12,000 jobs, as it revamps to focus on areas such as data center and the Internet of things. The chip giant said that the restructuring will be completed in mid-2017 and result in a $1.2 billion charge in the second quarter. Intel expects to save $750 million this year and $1.4 billion a year by mid-2017. With the move, it's clear Intel is trying to become less dependent on PCs and focus more on enterprise infrastructure. Intel ended the first quarter with 112,000 employees.

Apple has confirmed what Siri told us earlier today. The company has now issued a press release in which it says that WWDC will be held from June 13th through June 17th in San Francisco. The same lottery process applies to getting tickets this year as in previous years. Developers can apply for tickets via the WWDC website now through Friday, April 22 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. In a change from traditional years, the Monday keynote will be held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, not Moscone West. All other conference sessions will take place at Moscone, though. The annual Bash will also …