DC Velocity - March 2017

inbound

Most transportation professionals agree that the nation’s roads and bridges need a general overhaul. The Trump administration has said it supports that goal and plans to request hundreds of billions of dollars from Congress to repair the nation’s infrastructure.

The financial and engineering details are still in flux, but one group is calling for an unusual addition to the materials mix. Instead of simply pouring concrete to build new roads and bridges, contractors should also install chips and sensors, says the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a Washington, D.C.-based science and tech policy think tank.

U.S. infrastructure systems could be safer, more efficient, and more adaptable if planners mixed IT components with basic pavement, the group argues. “By taking advantage of next-generation information technologies, we can upgrade roads and bridges so they actually help prevent accidents and speed the flow of traffic,” ITIF President Robert D. Atkinson said in a release.

To read more about the economic and societal benefits of digital infrastructure (and the obstacles that stand in its way), check out the group’s May 2016 report, “A Policymaker’s Guide to Digital Infrastructure.” You can find it at https://itif.org/publications.

Building smarter roads and bridges

Few things stay constant in the
ever-changing world of logistics. But
for over 50 years, there was one thing
shippers (and receivers) could take for
granted: The ubiquitous Bubble Wrap
was a clear cushioning material with
pearl-shaped air pockets, or “cells.”
That changed with a loud “pop” in 2016 when parent company Sealed
Air Corp. launched Bubble Wrap IB Expressions, an inflate-on-demand
line that offered bubbles in the shape of hearts, smiley faces, and smiling
stars. The company soon added colors and text-based options, such as
“Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas.” And plans are now under way
to expand the line.

In January, Sealed Air invited consumers to cast their ballots in its “Pop the Vote” contest to pick the next design for its tiny bubbles. Ballot options included greetings (thank you, congrats, or hugs & kisses XOXO), shapes (ice cream cone, sun, flower, dog bone, or musical notes), and patterns (basket weave, cable knit, or chevron). Following the contest, which was held to mark this year’s Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, the company will add the winning pattern to its IB Expressions line.

Last month, the company announced the winner was … the dog bone pattern. That might sound like a dark horse candidate until you check out the company’s Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day Web page and see how many fans love to snap photos of their cats and dogs frolicking under, over, and all around the material.

If you want to see the future of robotics and automation, you’ll have your chance on April 3. That’s when some of the industry’s most innovative young companies will introduce their transformative technologies to the world (and vie for a

$10,000 cash prize).

Their presentations will be the capstone of this year’s Automate Launch Pad Competition, a contest that’s open to startups from the robotics, machine vision, and motion control fields. The competition is designed to help launch some of the most promising young enterprises by offering them a chance to gain exposure for their technology and find new sources of funding, according to the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Association for Advancing Automation (A3), which organizes the event. In all, eight semifinalists will be invited to the competition, where they will have three minutes to pitch their technology to a panel of investors and automation experts.

This year’s competition will be held at Chicago’s McCormick Place during the Automate 2017 Exhibition and Conference, which is scheduled for April 3–6. (The show is co-located with the 2017 ProMat conference and trade show.) To sweeten the pot, A3 will provide the semifinalists with booth space on the Automate show floor, putting them in front of an expected audience of some 20,000.

The competition, which is free and open to Automate show attendees, is sponsored by industrial giant GE and co-produced with Silicon Valley Robotics.

“Investment in the automation and robotics market is rising sharply,” A3 President Jeff Burnstein said in a release. “The Automate Launch Pad Competition is a great opportunity for innovative young companies to gain some funding and garner the attention of key players in the automation industry.”