Technology
HBCU Students Fly in Partnership with Amazon Prime Air Program
HBCU students are flying due to a growing partnership with Amazon Prime Air. Capstone Fellows from Hampton and Howard University participated in the Drone Delivery Program’s Technology and Innovation Tour.
Amazon’s first industrial drone delivery facility launched in College Station, Texas, in late 2022. Four aerospace, mechanical engineering and computer science students witnessed the method firsthand, also speaking with diversity leaders and engineers leading its development. As the corporate hopes to alter the best way customers receive packages with emerging technology, its focus has expanded to partnerships with HBCUs.
We spoke with Amanda Rodriguez Smith, senior manager of university partnerships and DEI initiatives at Amazon BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP roots of partnership. She further highlighted their commitment to making sure accessibility for all young engineers.
“We are collaborating at the university level to develop a more comprehensive approach to teaching the fundamentals of mechanical engineering, computer science and aerospace,” explained Rodriguez Smith. “But that’s part of this educational exchange is giving students the opportunity to learn in real time and as we open up, you know, our offices as an extension of their labs. So there are no barriers.”
She added: “Ultimately, it’s up to the students to decide where they’re going to use their core skills and how they’re going to apply them, and whether we’re going to provide them with as many options as possible so they have a choice… It’s not just about flying drones, there are actually all sorts of career opportunities that can be available to a good engineer.”
Beginning in 2021 at Hampton University, a Cooperation with Amazon Robotics was the start of a multi-year modernization plan. Its goals of funding labs and flying drones on campus are to create a level program in the sector. Students from Hampton and Howard participated in the capstone program, and fellow HBCU Tuskegee led the work. Some also earned pilot licenses to fly the modern machines.
The success center will soon introduce a more recent drone model that may provide a sleeker look and quieter sound during operations. Currently, an autonomous drone whose flight paths are monitored by staff can deliver packages weighing as much as 5 kilos inside a 5-mile radius, all in 60 minutes or less. Observing this system’s technological capabilities also inspired students to visualise the longer term of drone aviation.
“It’s quite exciting because what I’m doing with drones now is more research and research-based missions. This is a much further step into commercial rights,” said Tyrique Moss, a mechanical engineering student at Hampton. “My own goal is to speak truthfully concerning the way forward for aviation, to do and see as much as possible. There are so many differing kinds of drones, different applications and tools. These may be prolonged to completely every thing, from search and rescue to delivery. I can attempt to do it. It’s all available to me.”
Amazon continues DEI and STEM skills initiatives including AI Ready Program and Amazon’s Future Engineers. These funds are designed to construct foundational skills for college students from all backgrounds so that they can proceed to pursue their dreams. As for drone delivery sites, plans are underway to launch a second location in Arizona.
Technology
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal is leaving PhonePe’s board
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has stepped down three-quarters from PhonePe’s board after making an identical move on the e-commerce giant.
Bengaluru-based PhonePe said it has appointed Manish Sabharwal, executive director at recruitment and human resources firm Teamlease, as an independent director and chairman of the audit committee.
Bansal played a key role in Flipkart’s acquisition of PhonePe in 2016 and has since served on the fintech’s board. The Walmart-backed startup, which operates India’s hottest mobile payment app, spun off from Flipkart in 2022 and was valued at $12 billion in funding rounds that raised about $850 million last 12 months.
Bansal still holds about 1% of PhonePe. Neither party explained why they were leaving the board.
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Binny Bansal for being one of the first and staunchest supporters of PhonePe,” Sameer Nigam, co-founder and CEO of PhonePe, said in a press release. His lively involvement, strategic advice and private mentoring have profoundly enriched our discussions. We will miss Binny!”
Technology
The company is currently developing washing machines for humans
Forget about cold baths. Washing machines for people may soon be a brand new solution.
According to at least one Japanese the oldest newspapersOsaka-based shower head maker Science has developed a cockpit-shaped device that fills with water when a bather sits on a seat in the center and measures an individual’s heart rate and other biological data using sensors to make sure the temperature is good. “It also projects images onto the inside of the transparent cover to make the person feel refreshed,” the power says.
The device, dubbed “Mirai Ningen Sentakuki” (the human washing machine of the longer term), may never go on sale. Indeed, for now the company’s plans are limited to the Osaka trade fair in April, where as much as eight people will have the option to experience a 15-minute “wash and dry” every day after first booking.
Apparently a version for home use is within the works.
Technology
Zepto raises another $350 million amid retail upheaval in India
Zepto has secured $350 million in latest financing, its third round of financing in six months, because the Indian high-speed trading startup strengthens its position against competitors ahead of a planned public offering next yr.
Indian family offices, high-net-worth individuals and asset manager Motilal Oswal invested in the round, maintaining Zepto’s $5 billion valuation. Motilal co-founder Raamdeo Agrawal, family offices Mankind Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka, Cello, Haldiram’s, Sekhsaria and Kalyan, in addition to stars Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar are amongst those backing the brand new enterprise, which is India’s largest fully national primary round.
The funding push comes as Zepto rushes so as to add Indian investors to its capitalization table, with foreign ownership now exceeding two-thirds. TechCrunch first reported on the brand new round’s deliberations last month. The Mumbai-based startup has raised over $1.35 billion since June.
Fast commerce sales – delivering groceries and other items to customers’ doors in 10 minutes – will exceed $6 billion this yr in India. Morgan Stanley predicts that this market shall be value $42 billion by 2030, accounting for 18.4% of total e-commerce and a pair of.5% of retail sales. These strong growth prospects have forced established players including Flipkart, Myntra and Nykaa to cut back delivery times as they lose touch with specialized delivery apps.
While high-speed commerce has not taken off in many of the world, the model seems to work particularly well in India, where unorganized retail stores are ever-present.
High-speed trading platforms are creating “parallel trading for consumers seeking convenience” in India, Morgan Stanley wrote in a note this month.
Zepto and its rivals – Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy-owned Instamart and Tata-owned BigBasket – currently operate on lower margins than traditional retail, and Morgan Stanley expects market leaders to realize contribution margins of 7-8% and adjusted EBITDA margins to greater than 5% by 2030. (Zepto currently spends about 35 million dollars monthly).
An investor presentation reviewed by TechCrunch shows that Zepto, which handles greater than 7 million total orders every day in greater than 17 cities, is heading in the right direction to realize annual sales of $2 billion. It anticipates 150% growth over the following 12 months, CEO Aadit Palicha told investors in August. The startup plans to go public in India next yr.
However, the rapid growth of high-speed trading has had a devastating impact on the mom-and-pop stores that dot hundreds of Indian cities, towns and villages.
According to the All India Federation of Consumer Products Distributors, about 200,000 local stores closed last yr, with 90,000 in major cities where high-speed trading is more prevalent.
The federation has warned that without regulatory intervention, more local shops shall be vulnerable to closure as fast trading platforms prioritize growth over sustainable practices.
Zepto said it has created job opportunities for tons of of hundreds of gig employees. “From day one, our vision has been to play a small role in nation building, create millions of jobs and offer better services to Indian consumers,” Palicha said in an announcement.
Regulatory challenges arise. Unless an e-commerce company is a majority shareholder of an Indian company or person, current regulations prevent it from operating on a listing model. Fast trading corporations don’t currently follow these rules.
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