True Religion Apparel Inc. is enabling store associates to provide a highly personalized customer experience with a glance at their watch. The specialty apparel retailer is partnering with Aptos Inc. (formerly Epicor Retail) and Formula 3 Group to enhance and extend the functionality of its associate-facing Apple Watch “Band” app. Originally released in December 2015, Band offers real-time access to the retailer’s full inventory selection from the store, along with intuitive search capability. Now, Band is also integrated with Aptos CRM and clienteling solutions to provide a holistic view of shopper history and loyalty program data. As a result, the latest release …

London’s Westminster City will soon be wired with the Silver Springs Networks’ Starfish Internet of Things (IoT) mesh network, transforming the venerable neighborhood of palaces and cathedrals into a modern smart city. The firm announced its latest deployment in a media announcement against the backdrop of the Internet of Things World Conference and Exposition, in Santa Clara, Calif. Silicon Valley-headquartered Silver Spring will expand its Starfish IoT network in collaboration with go-to-market partner urbancontrol. The project will activate a wireless IPv6 mesh canopy across London’s Westminster City that includes such tourist attractions as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey.

Voice-controlled assistance is seeing another evolution as it looks to prove its worth as the next shift in human-computer interaction. Today, onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt NY, Siri creator Dag Kittlaus showed off the first public demo of Viv, an AI virtual system that aims to be “the intelligent interface for everything.” In a live presentation that mentioned the word “paradigm” at least a dozen times, Kittlaus talked a bit about the next wave of computer interaction methods and how Viv would come to “breathe life into the inanimate objects of our life through conversation.”

The Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled retail landscape continues evolving with the launch of what could be called a “fridge commerce” (or “f-commerce”) solution by Samsung. After months of hype, the Samsung Family Hub connected fridge is officially available. The interactive device includes a number of features that streamline the digital grocery process. A 21.5-inch LCD touchscreen on the front of the fridge seamlessly connects to a consumer’s smartphone, allowing direct Web access. Three internal cameras positioned inside the fridge can send photos of what’s inside to a smartphone app. Of particular interest to retailers, Family Hub also directly connects to the Instacart …

A group of small merchants in New Jersey is leveraging beacons and a mobile application to deliver relevant offers to customers at nearby businesses, driving cross-selling opportunities. The pilot program for Close.by recently launched in Summit, NJ, and has already delivered more than 1,000 offers. For example, users entering a daycare center will receive an offer for a discount at a nearby toy store.

Kansas City, MO is teaming up with Sprint to establish deeper relationships with visitors and residents through free Wi-Fi, smart streetlights and interactive kiosks, a push that could provide local businesses with new marketing opportunities. In an effort to become a more efficiently run municipality, Kansas City is launching a series of mobile innovations in the hopes of tapping data and connectivity to help solve and prevent problems. The first launch of the initiative will be present along a two-mile Streetcar starter line, including free Wi-Fi provided by Sprint, smart street lighting and kiosks with real-time data updates, while team …

A top Thai medical college has caught students using spy cameras linked to smartwatches to cheat during exams in what some social media users on Monday compared to a plot straight out of a Mission Impossible movie. Arthit Ourairat, the rector of Rangsit University, posted pictures of the hi-tech cheating equipment on his Facebook page on Sunday evening, announcing that the entrance exam in question had been cancelled after the plot was discovered. Three students used glasses with wireless cameras embedded in their frames to transmit images to a group of as yet unnamed people, who then sent the answers …

A lot of people like the idea of a smart watch but don't like having to use a tiny touch screen. Big fingers and a tiny screen can lead to frustration and errant screen commands. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a wearable technology that enables users to turn the skin on their lower arm into a touchpad, giving them a bigger surface to input information or commands to their smart watch. Unlike other solutions that have used flexible overlays or a combination of a projector and camera, the researchers' new technology, called SkinTrack, only requires the user to …

United Parcel Service Inc. has for decades been the company that delivers packages to your doorstep with its signature brown trucks, but the company has quietly begun expanding into drone delivery. The UPS Foundation announced Monday it has entered into a partnership with drone startup Zipline and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to deliver blood for transfusions by drone throughout Rwanda. UPS offered an $800,000 grant to kick off the deliveries. While major corporations like Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, +0.71%  and Domino’s Pizza Inc. DPZ, +1.86%  have theorized about drones delivering shoes and pizza to your doorstep, …

GE Appliances is cementing its status as a mobile-first appliance manufacturer by rolling out three new channels on the IFTTT application, suggesting its IoT-focused ploy will fuel more consumers to adopt smart home technology. GE is broadening its presence on the If This Then That app, which enables users to create “recipes,” or connections, between a slew of different apps. The appliance brand’s new channels offer additional functionality for its washer, dryer and dishwasher units, allowing consumers to set up cause-and-effect reactions for their appliances while away from their homes.