The evolutionary change that AR is capable of bringing the industry can impact every stage of a car's path from the production line to the driveway of a new owner.

In utilizing augmented reality, it's possible to not only design more efficient cars but to also assist prospective buyers and help maintain motors, helping to promote better safety in vehicles.

Let's take a deeper look at some of the leading examples of the transformative change that AR is capable of providing the automotive industry:

Optimizing Automotive Design

Augmented reality has the potential to revolutionize automotive design. Through the power of AR, it's possible for designers to craft richly detailed virtual models of vehicles and make essential adjustments in real time.

This process enables quick and seamless modifications that can help save time and money. Not only can these models provide a fully functional overview of a vehicle during the design process, but it can also pave the way for more immersive prototyping of cars to better uphold safety standards.

We're already seeing augmented reality prototyping enter the automotive landscape to improve the design of vehicles. For instance, in 2019, Ford became the first vehicle manufacturer to utilize Gravity Sketch, which is a 3D tool utilizing reality technology to help the company's designers to craft more human-centric vehicle designs.

Delivering Assembly Line Efficiency

Because AR has the ability to join forces with smart glasses to offer hands-free access to data in real-time, car manufacturing employees have the ability to gather masses of information without having to individually test component parts or take any extra steps.

This can help to improve workplace safety while also paving the way for intelligent 3D visualizations that can help not only improve diagnostics but can also be used to improve the quality of training delivered to warehouse employees.

According to a recent study at the University of Maryland, subjects saw a recall improvement by as much as 8.8% when using a virtual learning environment. This can help to bring vast improvements to assembly line efficiency in comparison to more traditional training approaches.

Augmented reality can even provide more step-by-step instructions during the manufacturing process for staff, while Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can help firms to quickly identify skill gaps that can be quickly addressed among employees.

Changing the Game in Car Retail

We may also see augmented reality transform the car purchasing experience in a new car industry that's in need of a boost.

Although new car registrations soared 18% in 2023 in comparison to the year prior, it's believed that much of these sales were driven by fleets, as opposed to consumers who are becoming more wary of how they spend their money.

However, AR could help to make the car purchasing process altogether more seamless by helping prospective buyers get up to grips with the models they're most interested in.

Imagine being able to position a full-scale 3D rendering of a car on your driveway, and to physically explore the vehicle by walking around the digital structure and looking inside.

Virtual car tours are becoming more commonplace among car dealerships around the world, where AR experiences help buyers to get to grips with motors while shopping online.

Jaguar Land Rover has also utilized a similar technology to allow customers to test drive its Velar vehicle. These 360-degree experiences of the car's interior take place when a user clicks on a banner ad, and different areas of their screen can reveal more about certain in-car features.

The Next Generation of Car Maintenance

Augmented reality can also improve the longevity of a vehicle through better-assisted maintenance programs for drivers.

If you're unfamiliar with mechanics, it's possible to undertake maintenance tasks through a fully immersive and engaging AR tutorial. Whether you're uncertain of how to change your windscreen wiper fluid or need to top up your engine oil, augmented reality can help you to perform these tasks confidently and efficiently.

In the future, we may even see augmented reality become more adept at highlighting these problems before they become costly repair work. For instance, it may be able to use onboard data to pinpoint a windshield crack and its rate of growth, helping to alert the owner to find an auto glass shop service in time before it gets worse.

The beauty of augmented reality is that it's already busy improving the automotive industry for all players, from manufacturers to car owners. In offering more intuitive prototyping, manufacturing, and purchasing procedure, the benefits of AR can help to make the world of motoring more efficient, from the production line to the driveway.

With the technology still emerging it seems that AR in the automotive industry has plenty more miles in the tank.

The post From Production Line to the Driveway: How Augmented Reality is Reinventing the Car appeared first on Datafloq.

Today, big data stands as a key driver of digital transformation for car manufacturers, and many factories already actively adopting sensors and connected devices that pave the way for M2M (machine-to-machine) communication, we're likely to see greater efficiency encapsulated within our vehicles and vast improvements to the user experience they provide.

Statista data suggests that there will be over 400 million connected cars in operation by 2025, which can remain connected to other devices, manufacturers, and even roads in the future, to deliver greater levels of convenience, safety, and performance for motorists around the world.

But how exactly will the big data boom change the car as we know it today? Let's take a deeper look under the hood of an IoT revolution that's building pace:

Over-The-Air Updates

Big data can carry a far-reaching impact on different areas of the automotive industry. One particularly key aspect can be found in the detection and prevention of errors to continually update vehicles and uphold a higher standard of quality.

For connected cars, over-the-air (OTA) software and firmware upgrades can be a significant asset to improve the driving experience and deliver more functionality and security.

Big data can help to improve the performance of motors on an ongoing basis, with a connected feedback loop continually providing manufacturers insights into possible pain points for users and shining a spotlight on regularly used features.

When it comes to matters of security, big data can quickly identify vulnerabilities and provide manufacturers with insights into how to update their vehicles to prevent instances of theft or other vulnerabilities.

We've already seen this in action in recent months after videos went viral on TikTok displaying how thieves can break into KIA and Hyundai vehicles without the use of a key. The manufacturers quickly rolled out a software update to help offer more safety for owners, including an upgrade to theft alarm software and a modification in how long the car alarm sounds.

As IoT technology makes more vehicle components increasingly intelligent, we may see software updates aiding customers with issues involving key fobs, and other accessibility components.

Big data can also be shared with external garages and locksmiths to help improve the accuracy of essential maintenance and can improve diagnostics on matters like car door lock repair, and other malfunctions related directly to the vehicle. For instance, you get locked out of your car and don't have any documents on you to prove ownership of the vehicle, hence when you're searching for a locksmith, theoretically, big data can help your chosen locksmith to identify you (the owner) and your car, and more importantly, confirm the ownership.

Prioritizing Safety

Manufacturers are also utilizing big data analytics as a means of delving deeper into understanding the mechanics of vehicle safety.

With the ability to collect vast data points from both test crashes, simulated scenarios, and real-world diagnostics, manufacturers are capable of setting up countless improvements for future models in terms of hardware, and even on-the-fly updates to in-car electronics that have room for further optimization.

This can be a great way to ensure that connected cars are more durable in the face of wear and tear over time and have the capacity to cope well in emergency situations.

Developments in this area can be a great asset to both manufacturers and consumers, who can enjoy a safer vehicle with peace of mind, while greater satisfaction rates and lower insurance costs can help to drive more purchases of connected models.

Over the coming years, as the big data revolution begins to take hold, we're likely to see cars begin to communicate with one another when driving to ensure that potential emergency situations can be avoided by adopting systems that can step in if immediate action is required to prevent a collision.

The Path to Autonomy

It's difficult to cover the future of big data and motoring without acknowledging the role that it will play in the eventual introduction of autonomous vehicles.

Today, testing on fully connected, autonomous motors is already being taken out by leading manufacturers like Tesla, Ford, UK firm Arrival, and German firm Vay. While the sheer level of safety standards and complexity of driving with no human input means that fully autonomous vehicles may not be on our roads in great numbers for decades to come, the prevalence of big data will invariably form the foundation of this innovation.

Despite this, the technology can help to revolutionize lower levels of autonomous driving already, and data-driven features like lane assist, self-parking, and the autopilot feature utilized by Tesla are already active and effective thanks to IoT technology and big data.

This is likely to only be the beginning of what's to come for big data and the automotive industry. Although many of the more ambitious innovations set to arrive will hinge on regulatory clearance, we're set to see great strides made in terms of driver safety and convenience today. As the big data revolution continues to gather momentum, we can be assured that this is just the beginning.

The post Why Big Data Will Place Cars at the Center of the Internet of Things Revolution appeared first on Datafloq.

As worries increase about the impact of AI technology, such as ChatGPT, on the potential for humans to continue to earn a living, we assess whether or not ChatGPT and AI tech is something we have to worry about or whether we can harness the power of AI to help us in our everyday lives.

What is AI?

AI stands for Artificial Intelligence and is a concept that has been around since the 1950s. In short, AI is defined as a machine's ability to perform a task that would previously have required human intelligence. Nowadays, the term “AI” is applied to futuristic automated technologies such as self-driving cars, robots, ChatGPT-style chatbots, and AI-created artworks or visuals.

The truth is that AI has been around for decades, with the rise of the computer age ushering in the era of artificial intelligence, where a computer's processing power acts as its brain. Virtual personal assistants such as Alexa and Siri are high-performing examples of this. Today, AI systems increasingly seek to demonstrate certain traits of human brain function, such as learning, problem-solving, creativity, and perception.

(Image Source: IntelliPaat)

How does ChatGPT work?

ChatGPT is a significant language model (LLM) programme that uses learning techniques to respond to human-led queries with human-like text responses. The AI-powered site uses Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) architecture that accesses a vast dataset of text, such as books, websites, and articles, and uses them to understand and learn linguistic structures.

The bot can then respond to a query using this trained knowledge to provide a text that reads coherently, mimicking how humans write. So, rather than instructing users to click a website link, as Google does, Chat GPT provides a fully-written response based on real-life text resources.

ChatGPT has been tested by several people asking it to translate, write songs in the style of specific artists, create comedy, answer research questions, write articles, and generate computer code. The outputs are often extraordinary, allowing users to use them directly or adjust them to meet their needs as required.

(Image Source: Ultimate.ai)

How ChatGPT can be Helpful

The use cases for ChatGPT are numerous and could quickly revolutionise how we work. Here are some of the most compelling ways ChatGPT can assist us.

Writing CVs and cover letters

One of the hardest things when searching for a new job is adapting cover letters and resumes for each job. ChatGPT can help you produce personalised and high-quality CVs and tailored cover letters for any role.

Research and explain new topics

One of the best uses of ChatGPT is to use it as an extension of Google. Sometimes, Google doesn't provide the level of depth or context to a user query, instead directing users to websites that may or may not provide the answer. With ChatGPT, users can ask for an explanation of a topic in laypeople's terms. For example, a query such as “Explain nuclear fusion to me as if I'm 8” allows ChatGPT to adapt its outputs to ensure you understand the response. This makes ChatGPT an ideal research tool.

Help with homework

Sometimes, homework is just too difficult. Rather than using the internet as a shortcut to answering a complex Maths problem, you can ask ChatGPT to take you through a sum or equation step by step to answer the question, help you understand the methodology, and apply it to other problems.

Limitations of ChatGPT

As with all AI technologies, ChatGPT isn't a silver bullet solution. There are several weaknesses and challenges that impact ChatGPT's accuracy. These include:

Lack of common sense

ChatGPT is lauded for its ability to generate human-like answers to queries on almost any question, thanks to the vast amount of information the bot can access. However, ChatGPT cannot apply human levels of common sense and needs help to use background knowledge or context to its answers. This can lead to inaccurate or sometimes nonsensical responses to some queries.

Lack of emotional intelligence

ChatGPT cannot apply genuine emotional intelligence to its responses. Although some replies may appear to include empathy, the programme cannot pick up on emotional cues in queries or respond appropriately when given an emotive subject to reply to. This could lead to unintentional discrimination. We already see this with technology that's being used by law enforcement, for example.

Cannot understand context or subtext

Many of us will have been in a situation where the recipient has misunderstood a text message we've written due to our inability to convey tones such as sarcasm or humour. ChatGPT is outstanding at understanding and natural processing language but struggles to grasp and understand specific nuances that portray context.

ChatGPT: Is it a Force For Good?

ChatGPT is a rich resource with undoubtedly positive use cases and benefits. Understanding the tool's limitations and using the outputs to inform our work will be a crucial facet of helping us make the most of the vast power of this AI tool rather than simply regurgitating its responses verbatim.

As a tool to assist us with tricky tasks, understanding new subjects, and providing prompts to get us started with work, there's no question that ChatGPT is a force for good.

The post Are we too Dependent on AI? Assessing the Effects of ChatGPT appeared first on Datafloq.

When it comes to enhancing motoring safety, big data can not only work to make cars more intelligent when it comes to anticipating danger, but it can also bring great benefits in the world of city planning.

With statistics suggesting that the big data market could grow to a value of $473.6 billion by 2030, the industry seems set for exponential growth over the coming years, with much of the transformative change helping improve road user safety standards.

But how exactly can motorists expect to see their safety enhanced by big data? Let's take a deeper look at how the technology can help to bring unprecedented safety while driving:

Anticipating Accidents

The beauty of big data is that it can be used to generate predictive analyses. This is done by studying masses of data to better understand historical trends and identify possible areas and locations that are more prone to accidents.

In the US, we're already seeing these mechanisms put in place within states like Tennessee and Indiana. In Tennessee, for instance, a program was created where algorithms would predict areas prone to fatal crashes by looking at data from historic crash reports and traffic citations.

Through utilizing this data, a 33% decrease in highway patrol response time was put in place with a 3% decrease in fatalities as a result.

This form of predictive data can help cities to better understand their accident black spots and to implement the appropriate measures to ensure that the problem is dealt with in an accurate and sustainable manner.

Improving Traffic Planning

Big data can also be a great asset when it comes to city planning and the management of road traffic.

With more cars on the road than ever before, factors like the synchronization of traffic, management of construction work, and durability amid worsening weather conditions are all important factors to consider. Big data, however, can study subtle trends to help ensure continuous traffic flow.

When it comes to long-term traffic planning, big data can generate rich simulations that analyze the impact of construction work that may cause more congestion. By applying possible scenarios like lane narrowing, road closures, and diversions, big data can work with AI programs to offer improved traffic flow.

Impressively, this technology is already prevalent in some areas. In 2021, when a major construction project was set to cause disruption in a district in Hamburg, Germany, local authorities ran simulation software to plan where traffic could be shifted to cause minimal disruption.

Anticipating Danger in Real-Time

The sheer masses of data that modern cars can produce can be a great asset in improving safety. This is particularly true for right hook accidents, where vehicles undergo right-hand turns while a vehicle is travelling in their blind spot. This can lead to dangerous accidents, but big data paves the way for interconnected vehicles that can better understand each other.

This technology can help to assist drivers by considering how they and the other drivers around them are using their vehicles. By actively monitoring acceleration and braking habits, artificial intelligence can anticipate whether two cars have an increased chance of being involved in a collision when close to each other.

Although this would require masses of IoT interconnectivity and data, it's certainly possible that big data can pave the way for the anticipation of danger in the future. It can also be used to help keep drivers safe in other ways, such as monitoring whether areas like a car door lock needs professional repair.

Paving The Way for Autonomy

Just a little further in the future, we're likely to see big data become a pivotal facet in the transition into fully autonomous vehicles.

Manufacturers like Tesla are already helping to show us what a future of data-driven autonomy may look like, and the use of cameras, ultrasonic sensors, radar, and GPS to determine the precise location and environment that a car is in will pave the way for AI algorithms to make intelligent decisions while controlling a car.

Of course, this won't be where the use of big data stops, and Tesla's use of analytics will actively allow the manufacturer to continually make improvements based on the performance of its self-driving cars through the collection and analysis of data.

While there's still a long way to go before big data is capable of informing artificial intelligence algorithms of how to drive vehicles in different environments, the future certainly looks promising for road safety. By tapping into the masses of data surrounding driver safety, we can help to safeguard roads and prevent instances of accidents in a more efficient way.

The post How Big Data is Evolving to Create a New Standard in Road Safety appeared first on Datafloq.

From stepping inside the heart of a patient in medical school to embarking on field trips from the comfort of the school gates, AR, VR, and MR have become revolutionary teaching tools for educators in 2023.

Standing as one of the most invested in sectors of virtual technology development, the education industry is set to see a future that breaks down learning barriers. Introducing immersive aids could boost student engagement and breathe life back into the classroom.

The question is, which mixed reality tools should educators get their hands on in 2023? We've delved into the benefits of virtual learning and listed the best MR-powered platforms currently dominating the education sector.

Could Virtual Learning Boost Educational Success?

Mixed reality technology has become a key player in classroom learning in 2023. Sitting somewhere between augmented and virtual reality tech, MR enhances a user's physical surroundings in the same way as AR but utilises a headset for maximum immersion.

As we step into a post-covid classroom, students are craving more digital immersion than ever before. As a smartphone-fueled generation, most students from the age of 5+ are confident with some form of immersive technology. Whether that is an AR-powered mobile game or a VR-powered headset console, studies have found that bringing enjoyable digital aids into the classroom could stimulate learning experiences in the same way as gameplay.

In fact, experts suggest that virtual technology can actually increase student engagement by 35% in the classroom, making it a key tool to utilise for all ages. Better still, studies using the Microsoft HoloLens in just 3 diverse classrooms saw students perform 22% better in module exams.

The question is, where could immersive learning go next? This is where mixed reality steps in. While full immersion is preferred by digital natives across the globe, finding a technological middle ground between app-based immersion and expensive VR headsets is the key to pioneering a much more inclusive learning environment for all institutions.

With the ability to be multi-functional and compatible with a number of VR and AR-powered platforms, mixed reality headsets are not only cheaper than traditional VR alternatives but can be used in a wide range of subjects and use cases.

From an interactive science lesson, strolling through a neuron, to a virtual trip to the Great Wall Of China, Mixed reality aids offer teachers endless opportunities to make learning engaging for visual and practical learners.

4 MR Powered Platforms Transforming The Classroom

If you're ready to introduce immersive learning to your students, it's only fair that we tell you about the best mixed reality aids on the market.

Whether you're in a high-functioning medical school or a KS1 classroom, it's time to enter a new era of immersive education.

Here are four of the leading mixed reality platforms that are currently dominating the education sector in 2023.

Meta's Mixed Reality Classroom

(Image Source: APACK News)

When we think about VR, we think of Meta. As a pioneer in the extended reality sector, Meta is one of the largest tech firms to embark on a metaverse journey and one of the first companies to create live virtual workrooms for virtual users across the globe.

On their Horizon Worlds platform, Meta‘s introduction of their ‘immersive workrooms' has changed the game for remote teaching. With their newest Meta Quest Pro MR device, Meta aims to bring the classroom to the students in the most realistic way.

From hypersensitive eye-tracking to virtual whiteboards, students and their teachers can tap into their virtual workspace and connect with their peers as if they were there in real life. Not only does this rescue the need for in-person learning, but with the ability to emote using a headset, meta breaks social barriers that are prominent on video platforms like Zoom, making for a much more personalised, interactive learning experience.

Immersive Field Trips with Google Expeditions

Google is also dipping its toes in the mixed reality sector and is a great tool to utilise for classrooms on a budget.

Take Google Expeditions, for example. Using any mixed-reality headset, students can be quickly transported to famous global galleries, London's science museum or even the middle of a rainforest.

(Image Source: Eduporium)

Using immersion to bring educational field trips to the classroom enables students to enjoy culture in an inclusive environment while dramatically cutting costs and breaking barriers of physical distance.

Microsoft's Holo Lens Training

It's not just primary and secondary schools benefitting from immersive tech, but also universities thanks to Microsoft.

After realising their mixed reality HoloLens 2 headset and their Dynamics 365 Guides, students can now immersive themselves within their learning on the go.

Take medical students, for example. While traditional medical training requires them to physically shadow professionals and rarely witness real-life procedures, MR-powered training programs allow students to complete virtual, hyper-realistic surgeries and treatments over and over again, boosting confidence before they enter a realistic scenario.

(Image Source: Microsoft)

“The HoloLens really emphasized the power of visual learning in a specific space, but not actually having to be there,” claims Jared Auclai, PhD, Director of Executive Training and Biotechnology Programs at Northeastern University.

This opens up greater possibilities for universities to take on more students, especially after experts at Northeastern University saw training times cut by a whopping 83%.

VIVE Sync's Career Tasting

VIVE Sync is an MR platform best known for its work conferencing features, however, it has recently been praised for its remote learning potential.

(Image Source: VIVE)

As a remote meeting app that can be accessed from any device, developers have now taken their platform one step further by offering users the ability to connect with people in real-life job environments.

From a bustling newsroom to a science lab, students can connect with industry professionals in a hands-on learning experience.

A Mixed-Reality-Led Future?

As we step into a new era of education, could virtual technology sit at the heart of innovation?

From increasing productivity to opening up new doors for interactive, on the go learning, mixed reality is just the beginning of a digitally charged education sector.

The post Introducing the Immersive Classroom: 4 Mixed Reality Tools Teachers Should Get Their Hands On appeared first on Datafloq.

If the gaming industry is anything to go by, there's certainly a major market to be explored when it comes to metaverse fashion. In the world of video games, $100 billion is spent annually on virtual goods. With more than three billion video game players around the world-of which 46% are women, there's certainly an audience ready for digital goods.

Video games make for a great starting point when exploring the viability of metaverse fashion. We've even seen metaverse-facing games like Roblox and Fortnite partner with leading fashion houses to deliver ‘skins' for users to decorate their characters in stylish clothes.

One leading example of high fashion's relationship with video games came from Balenciaga partnering with Fortnite to offer players premium add-ons to decorate their in-game avatars.

“The next generation of designers are dressing avatars, and they are doing it on Roblox where anyone can be a creator, starting with their own online identity,” said Christina Wootton, vice president of Brand Partnerships at Roblox. “Fashion is about what's next and finding new voices with clear visions, and this talent is emerging in the metaverse.”

“It is the global creative space for the next generation of designers who are bringing limitless self-expression opportunities to people around the world, setting new trends that are starting to move into real life, and sharing their expertise with top brands. This recognition from a powerful fashion institution declares loud and clear that this is the space to watch for future fashion trends and talent.”

By taking a similar concept to downloadable in-game content today and optimizing it with burgeoning technology like NFTs, it's possible to create digital fashion that can actually belong to the user and be traded and sold on like real clothing items. But is metaverse fashion really here to stay, or does it simply represent another trend in the world of fashion?

Exploring Fashion's Passion for the Metaverse

Statistically speaking, it's clear why leading fashion brands are passionate about growing into the metaverse. Data from McKinsey's State of Fashion 2022 findings notes that ‘personal expression is important to Gen Z', and it's through partnering with technology that brands can seek to appeal more effectively to younger fashionistas.

When fashion house Gucci launched its own metaverse project, The Gucci Garden in 2021, the virtual space received 19 million visits. The brand even sold a virtual handbag in the same year for $4,115, a price that weighs in far higher than its physical handbags.

To be capable of multiplying your market to accommodate digital goods as well as physical goods seems like a no-brainer for brands. In the metaverse, all products can forever be in pristine condition and unweathered, and any avatar wearing a Balenciaga t-shirt offers free promotion to the brand wherever they virtually go.

Social media has often shown through Instagram and TikTok filters that users are happy to transform their faces to look more like an animal, robot, alien, or any historical figure, and this can indicate that fashion designers can go as creative as possible in offering new clothing and accessories for users.

In McKinsey's latest State of Fashion 2023 report, it was suggested that fashion brands should seek to “embrace creative campaigns and new channels to achieve greater marketing ROI and to gather valuable first-party data that can be leveraged to deepen customer relationships.”

This means that the metaverse must be focused on as a space for brands to deliver virtual lines to not only expand revenue streams but also build customer loyalty. This doesn't have to be limited to clothes, and should somebody want a pair of Vera Wang glasses for their avatar, it's possible to tap into a range of real-world high fashion spectacles to get the right pair to wear in the metaverse.

Metaverse Fashion Won't Mimic IRL

Despite the fashion industry identifying the metaverse as a key market opportunity, it's unlikely that virtual trends can truly mimic the patterns followed by their in-real-life counterparts.

Trends in the metaverse wouldn't have any need to adapt to seasons. There's little use in users buying a bulky coat in winter and a t-shirt in summer when their avatars are simply an extension of their personality in a controlled digital environment.

It's also unlikely that shoppers will buy a range of digital clothes as substitutes in their wardrobe, making it difficult to see consumer spending reach the levels that we see in traditional fashion today. Furthermore, even if an uptick in virtual fashion spending took place, it's more likely that this would replace traditional fashion spending, rather than combine forces with alternative approaches.

There's also the matter of the carbon footprint attached to the minting of NFTs. While the fashion industry has long had a difficult time in managing its own carbon emissions, creating NFTs that act as proof of ownership of digital goods can be damaging to the environment in their own way.

Despite this, there's still plenty of potential that can be explored when it comes to metaverse fashion. As the technology continues to develop, we're likely to see fashion fall into a more natural rhythm to complement virtual spaces. Whether we're all going to be donning our Gucci handbags to go to work in the metaverse by the end of the decade or not, we're likely to see more high fashion brands seek to build into this new technological frontier in innovative ways over the coming years.

The post Can Metaverse Fashion Ever Emulate Traditional Fashion? appeared first on Datafloq.

For the 2023 edition of Metaverse Fashion Week, we're set to see leading brands like Vogue Singapore, Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Adidas, DUNDAS, and Ben Bridge among many other household names.

The week will also bring plenty of community interaction, with cross-metaverse wearable design competitions and a new emphasis on encouraging more widespread participation.

“This year, we are incredibly honored to continue the legacy of Metaverse Fashion Week. We are seeing the return of many luxury fashion houses and the emergence and elevation of digitally native fashion,” said Dr. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, Head of Metaverse Fashion Week.

“We are excited to see the world's greatest fashion minds engaging in digital fashion and exploring what it can mean for their brands, and for their communities.”

Building into the Next Frontier of Fashion

Although the metaverse is still in its infancy, fashion brands have been among the fastest to take advantage of this new digital frontier.

There have already been a large range of brands that have released digital clothing collections ranging from high fashion to sports brands, with more looking into focusing their attention towards building into this brand new market to explore.

In the world of sports, brands like Nike, Adidas, and Mizuno have been quick to release NFT clothing items that users can unlock through the use of blockchain tokens. This has long been an aspiration for Nike, which acquired NFT sneaker firm RTFKT in 2021-at the time, one of the company's biggest collections drew in $3.1 million.

The appeal of metaverse fashion stems from the vast potential of customizable clothing for avatars to digitally wear the styles of their favorite brands and offer the rest of the metaverse a virtual social proof for their products.

Although VR fashion still needs to find its feet within a Web 3.0 ecosystem that's still liable to change direction as new technologies emerge, Decentraland's Metaverse Fashion Week appears to be focused on showing that digital trends can be just as pervasive as their ‘IRL' counterparts.

Infiltrating Traditional Fashion

Fashion and the metaverse have formed a symbiotic relationship in recent years. At the 2023 New York Fashion week, we saw fashion designer Vivienne Tam run a metaverse show that saw guests enter a virtual world to walk down the red carpet, speak with special guests, and watch the show in virtual reality.

Working in partnership with Swan Sit, who was previously head of marketing at Nike and Revlon, Tam set up a high-quality show that closely mimicked the real-world fashion shows going on in New York that week-all with far greater levels of accessibility for viewers.

“I had been toying with the idea of a mirrored metaverse fashion show for a year, and when I met Vivienne, I knew I'd found the perfect partner,” said Sit in a recent interview. “I wanted to integrate both worlds seamlessly and equally, so we had to replicate every detail – from room layouts and the New York City skyline to even paparazzi photos and lighting. My hope for the future is that you are an equal, wherever and however you choose to show up.”

We've also seen technologies that are set to take center stage in fashion as Web 3.0 continues to grow, like artificial intelligence, and ChatGPT.

“Through tools like AI and machine learning, brands will increasingly be able to understand their customers' preferences and create new operational changes to increase efficiencies and productivities,” said Maruschka Loubser, director of global partnerships at Microsoft.

Today, Microsoft works closely with many leading fashion designers around the world, including Emily Bode, to help bring more technological insights into their production process.

Bringing Virtual Fashion to Mainstream Audiences

Despite leading fashion houses all moving quickly to get in on the metaverse action, there are still many barriers to entry that can hinder the space's development into the mainstream.

“You have this big bubble of Web3-native crypto users, but it's a bubble, sometimes an echo chamber, and I'm encouraging the community to corral all the Web2 influencers, creators and consumers,” said Megan Kaspar, founder of digital fashion house Red DAO. “That's where the adoption is gonna occur, and it can only occur when those people know how to use a wallet.”

Kasper voiced her fears that metaverse fashion exists within an echo chamber, and that increasing wallet adoptions among target groups that can help to define fashion and culture trends will see the space grow exponentially.

This would require instances like Nike's acquisition of RTFKT more commonplace and can pave the way for fresh NFT marketplaces and digital fashion houses to emerge.

Although the relationship between fashion and Web 3.0 is still in its early stages, it seems that there's a bright future ahead for democratizing high fashion and making it more accessible to wider audiences within virtual reality worlds like the metaverse.

The post Metaverse Fashion Week 2023 Shows how the Latest Trends are Going Digital appeared first on Datafloq.

There are many areas of a business that can be aided with the right technology, and different forms of advancements in recent years have been strong enough to single-handedly drive scaling operations in certain areas.

At the core of emerging technology is the pursuit of making startup processes more straightforward, while another is to make the lives of employees easier. With many menial responsibilities being taken care of in a quick and efficient manner, the startups that embrace technology can reap the benefits ahead of their competitors. With this in mind, let's take a look at which emerging tech is driving the scaling process for startups:

Accommodating Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is transforming the world of business and consumer markets, and is already relied upon heavily throughout our daily lives. The influence of AI has been felt across virtually every industry, and it's unimaginable for an ambitious company to ignore the potential of machine learning as a tool for growth.

Applications of AI can involve matters of machine learning, analyzing large volumes of data for intelligent insights, cybersecurity, CRM, and calculating financial performance far into the future.

For customer-facing businesses, artificial intelligence can be used to track buyers and assess their levels of intent through studying search patterns, browsing habits, and various other metrics.

Artificial intelligence can be a key component of the scaling process because it helps small businesses with little margin for error to make intelligent decisions when it comes to their strategies for growth. Without AI, business decisions can be taken without sufficient research and analysis and can be at greater risk of being misguided.

Accelerated Connectivity with 5G

The arrival of 5G connectivity will also play a significant role in improving business operations. With data transfer speeds estimated to be around ten times faster with 5G, it's possible for high definition files to be downloaded at speeds of up to 10 Gb per second.

This, along with lower latency working as a force for maintaining more consistent uptime and fewer delays in the sending and receiving of data.

Startups in creative industries, such as the media sector will benefit significantly from these advancements, with greater speeds also supporting more IoT functionality to improve an even greater range of enterprises.

5G has the power to supercharge a broad range of core processes for businesses, and with 5G-ready devices already entering the market at competitive rates, we're likely to see the entry costs associated with this technology fall away over time.

With this in mind, investing in a 5G infrastructure can be of great benefit to startups that are capable of ramping up their network accordingly, and those that possess the agility to modernize their processes can reap the rewards ahead of their rivals.

Embracing the Rise of Big Data

Adopting artificial intelligence won't be capable of propelling your startup to superstardom without a sufficient level of data and analytics to help generate cutting edge insights.

With so much information widely available online, big data analytics can really help small businesses to access cutting edge insights from which they can build their endeavor.

For businesses that are required to monitor changing market conditions and consumer sentiment, utilizing analytics and exploring the big data produced for social listening tools to better plot their next moves can be a significant asset when the margin for error can be wide enough to become costly.

Letting Virtual Assistants Pick up the Slack

Virtual assistants can be excellent assets for businesses that are seeking to scale whilst maintaining a human touch to their customer-facing operations. Available via a wide range of freelance sites, virtual assistants can be an affordable extra pair of hands that can take on time-intensive tasks from a remote location to help business leaders to save time in scaling up operations.

There's little doubt that technology holds the key to growing businesses and taking startups to the next level in a cost-effective and well-researched way. Whether you're a CEO or decision maker within your business, it's worth looking into embracing these technologies sooner in order to outmaneuver your rivals and to form stronger relationships with your customers or clients.

If you feel that it's time to renew your strategy, look at how these technologies can help to take your startup to the next level. Through artificial intelligence, analytics, greater connectivity, and taking on remote talent, you can ensure that you'll be visible to your customers and capable of growing in a more sustainable way.

The post How Emerging Technology is Helping Startups to Scale More Efficiently appeared first on Datafloq.

From game developers to high fashion brands, the metaverse market is set to be worth a whopping $679 billion by 2030. As more ecommerce giants move their stores onto a virtual platform, AR-generated fitting rooms and Gucci-designed customisable clothing will lead the digital world forward.

(Image Source: 24-7 Crypto)

As over 500 brands invest in platforms like Fortnite and Decntraland in 2023, eyewear could be the metaverse's next biggest thing. We've had Gucci handbags and Balenciaga hoodies, but how about a pair of Ray Ban's to finish off the look?

Let's have a closer look at some of the eyewear brands entering the metaverse.

Brand New Vision

One eyewear brand entering the metaverse in 2023 is Brand New Vision. After raising $4 million in their newest funding round from Animoca Brands, the specs retailer is ready for a new digital adventure.

Releasing their newest NFT collection, called ‘The Family of Gs', the product drop aims to target the fashion industry in a Web3 space.

(Image Souce: BNV)

BNV believe that their NFT wearables will open doors for consumers. Following in the footsteps of the Gucci 10KTF wearables, the brand hopes their NFT collection will be bought and displayed within a number of metaverse-powered platforms.

After already entering Decentraland and a number of other gameplay-based platforms, consumers can customise their avatars with BNV glasses, which aid them in earning tokens while attending events!

Woodys

Eyeglasses brand Woodys has become the first specs manufacturer to release sunglasses into the metaverse.

Diving into Web3 with their newest NEON-G NFT wearables, their digital sunglasses collection is made up of three boldly coloured, futuristic designs.

“NEON-G is our first NFT collection designed for the metaverse, only available through OpenSea”, Woodys revealed. “We started our dive into the WEB3 with the Neon-G NFTs launch, venturing into a new digital world. And this is only the beginning. An innovative brand experience halfway between the physical and the digital worlds.”

Woodys has also released three digital artworks, available for purchase on the Open Space platform, alongside their limited edition sunglasses designs.

(Image Source: Woodys)

The campaign aims to blend retro and futuristic styles while still remaining trendy within a Gen Z market. The brand's aim is to get its name noticed within the digital arena before moving further into creating more platform-based virtual accessories for online consumers.

NEON-G frames have since been recognised and nominated for the SILMO D'OR awards, which crowns the most cutting-edge optical brand on an international level.

Ray-Ban

One of the most well-known eyeglasses brands has also dipped its toe into the digital world. After partnering with tech experts at Meta, Ray-Ban has released its first AR-powered glasses, called Ray-Ban Stories.

While these specs may not be in the metaverse, they are the closest fashion brand yet to create a physical product that could one day blend the virtual and real world.

So what are Ray-Ban Stories all about? Manufactured with the traditional sunglasses style in mind, Ray-Ban Stories can capture real-life moments using a 5MP camera, take shots using Facebook Assistant voice commands and transmit sound to connect a user to a call in seconds.

(Image Source: Ray-Ban)

“At Facebook Reality Labs, our mission is to build tools that help people feel connected anytime, anywhere. We see virtual and augmented reality as the next computing platform – with humans placed squarely at the centre,” says Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. “Like today's computers and smartphones, AR will be useful while also enabling us to transcend the physical distance between people and connect through social presence – the feeling that you're right there with another person, no matter where in the world they happen to be.”

These physical wearables will continue to transform the way we connect in the real world, bridging a path to the metaverse. Ray-Ban stories may only be the first AR-infused model, but with time the tech behind fashion wearables will get smarter.

“Ultimately, the most common form factor for consuming three-dimensional and spatial content will be some sort of a single wearable that combines augmented reality and virtual reality,” states Amy LaMeyer, WXR Fund partner, “Meta knows that we're all going to shift to this combination space, and this is the next step on how we're going to interact with technology. We're going to get to this point where it ends up hands-free more and more.”

What's next for eyewear in the metaverse?

“This is an exciting time to be working on the metaverse,” Claims Zuckerberg “We are investing in this because we believe in the future.”

As more eyewear brands make their journey onto popular platforms such as Sandbox and Roblox, the opportunities are endless for NFT wearables, as well as physical AR/VR-infused glasses that blend fashion with technology.

The post Meet the Eyewear Brands Entering the Metaverse appeared first on Datafloq.

But how can these modernization efforts be used for startups with smaller budgets? It pays to prepare for tomorrow today, and there are a number of measures that can help small businesses to embrace the future of winning and retaining customers.

Many of the approaches that can be taken today can help businesses to become more focused in their acquisition efforts and to gain greater insights from the data of their conversions.

(Image: Smart Insights)

The six pillars of effective digital marketing devised by Smart Insights offers an indication of how comprehensive digital transformation can be for the marketing efforts of businesses of all sizes, but they won't necessarily require wholesale changes.

In terms of conversational messaging content, media, and customer experience for instance, the emergence of big data can leverage powerful insights into who your target audience really is, the level of personalization they expect, and the type of content they want to digest.

But what measures can be taken today in order to modernize a startup's digital marketing efforts for tomorrow? Let's take a look at five key ways that lead acquisition can be enhanced with the future in mind:

Leverage Big Data

The voracity of big data means that it's become an essential and powerful marketing tool that can significantly enhance the customer experience. For instance, you could want to improve your customer onboarding measures through insights. Utilizing AI programs to interpret masses of visitor data, how they behave on your pages, and what key pain points are can help to illuminate where your website excels and struggles.

By adopting big data analytics, your startup will be capable of adding better personalization to customer-facing services-vastly improving their experience in the process.

These insights can also be adapted for future marketing campaigns by gathering emails through your website's lead magnet. This information can also be used for a greater understanding of what can inspire customers to enter your sales funnel. This insight into ‘why' as well as ‘how' can be invaluable for shaping self-perception.

The quality of insight that big data can provide can't be underestimated. It stands as a powerful marketing tool that can bring numerous advantages. It forms the foundation for reliable information built on research, automation, targeting, and personalization. Platforms like Google Analytics stand as strong low-cost services that can offer startups a great wealth on insight into the interactions between their website and its visitors.

Prepare for Zero-Party Data

Businesses with an eye on the future need to look beyond third-party cookies. In the age of GDPR, we're seeing more users become suspicious of sharing their data with businesses-and rightly so. However, this poses new challenges for the future of data acquisition.

Zero-party data is self-reported information, and is voluntarily shared with companies that are trusted by their audience.

To build impactful customer experiences, forward-thinking businesses are dependent on understanding what motivates their leads, and work to gain insights into these motivations first-hand.

The beauty of zero-party, self-reported data is that it's reliable, and the actionable insights that it provides can pave the way for revolutionizing the experience you can deliver for your customers.

Preparing for zero-party data today by incorporating subtle surveys and questionnaires on your pages and marketing materials can help to generate a larger bank of data should the negative sentiment towards third-party cookies continue to grow.

Work Now to Embrace a 5G Future

You need to incorporate 5G planning into your marketing strategy today. We're already accustomed to seeing digital ads appear on our smartphones, screens in shopping malls and airports, and online, but the arrival of 5G has the potential to supercharge digital marketing.

With connectivity becoming increasingly available from anywhere in the world-even in rural areas-businesses have more freedom to consider their digital advertising. Today, 5G ready smartphones are dominating marketplaces, making consumers more accessible through 5G advertising.

This means that small and ambitious businesses have more freedom to incorporate creativity into their marketing strategies. With some brands already working to develop advertising in the metaverse and via augmented reality cameras, the sky seems to be the limit with what marketing can achieve in the coming years.

With this in mind, it's essential that you incorporate 5G preparedness into your strategies, and look to the opportunities that more high-quality campaigns can bring in terms of lead engagement and acquisition.

Furthermore, faster data means that its collection is likely to improve significantly in the 5G era. Finding out more about your customers will pave the way for more responsive personalization, with experiences capable of being seamlessly tailored to the needs of customers.

Embrace Video

According to a report from Technology Advice, fewer than a quarter of businesses surveyed claimed to use video in their marketing efforts. However, this is a faux pas when considering the popularity of video for consumers-particularly those who are prevalent on social media platforms.

In fact, an Animoto survey found that four-times as many consumers prefer video as opposed to reading about a product. Today, technology is making video-oriented campaigns more advanced and high-quality-without the need to turn to professional editing teams and choreographers.

Given how easy it is to create video content, small businesses have the power to create impactful marketing campaigns that are far more likely to get noticed by customers and acted upon.

Use Advanced Tools to Your Advantage

When you've strategized your modernized marketing goals, it's essential that you utilize the right tools to help you to achieve them. Luckily, there are plenty of great options that are low-cost for startups to get started with their strategy.

Online software like social media schedulers, for instance, can help to provide analytics to keep track of what your audience is engaging in and what they're largely ignoring. The aforementioned Google Analytics is a highly advanced tool that presents wide ranges of data that's open for interpretation.

For more specialist marketing tools, there's HubSpot Marketing Hub, which helps users to consolidate all their marketing tools into one single platform, while the likes of Trello and TrueNorth all work wonders in providing campaign management.

Although the digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving, recent advances in technology promise to be a watershed moment for an industry that's always ripe for further innovation.

As the potential of 5G and big data are further realized, we're likely to see a new flurry of ambitious and advanced campaigns designed to personalize experiences, engage, and entertain audiences.

By planning to accommodate these technologies today, your startup will be capable of reaping the benefits faster tomorrow.

The post Scaling the Marketing Efforts of Startups: 5 Essential Ways to Modernize Your Lead Acquisition appeared first on Datafloq.