Why Innovation Is a Necessity—Not a Luxury
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Why Innovation Is a Necessity—Not a Luxury
Business leaders believe two out of five of the top-ranked companies in their industries won't exist in the next five years, making innovation a matter of survival. -
SoftBank Robotics
In June, SoftBank unveiled "Pepper," a 121-cm tall robot that recognizes human voices, reads facial expressions and conducts basic conversations. The company sold out its entire stock of 1,000 robots within the first minute of sales. -
Huis Ten Bosch
In Nagasaki, Japan, Huis Ten Bosch's Henn-na is the first hotel to be staffed by robots, which cart luggage to the property's 72 rooms and chat with guests. Oh, they do the cleaning too. -
SmartThings
Acquired by Samsung for $200 million, the SmartThings "Hub" enables customers to use IoT tech to control appliances, door locks, light switches, entertainment systems and more in a centralized manner. -
Pembient
Combining biotech with 3D printing solutions, Pembient creates synthetic rhino horns and elephant ivories—pricing them below the market levels of the real wildlife parts—in hopes of replacing the illegal poaching trade. -
Clothing+
Starting with the creation of the first heart rate-monitoring shirt in 1998, Clothing+ now partners with companies such as Adidas to transform one's wardrobe into a vast data repository. -
iRobot
iRobot's RP-VITA is a roving communications protocol that allows doctors to visit patients without leaving their offices. -
AeroMobil
AeroMobil indicates it will start delivering its much-anticipated flying car—with a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour with a range of 700 kilometers—within two to three years. -
ToyTalk
Led by former Pixar CTO Oren Jacob, ToyTalk will soon unveil Hello Barbie, an Internet-connected version of the classic Barbie doll that will use a speech-recognition platform to exchange in actual dialogue with kids. -
MemoMi
In partnership with Neiman Marcus, MemoMi has developed the Memory Mirror, a giant video screen/camera that allows shoppers to view themselves in outfits with a 360-degree perspective while comparing clothing options side-by-side.
Through the cloud, mobility, wearable tech and the Internet of things (IoT), companies are discovering that their potential to revolutionize the customer experience is limited only by their collective imaginations. To illustrate, we're presenting the following nine innovations from nine different companies, as compiled by Kinetic in a recent report titled "Technology Tsunami to Change CX." The report highlights pending or current breakthroughs from the top brands, such as Google's self-driving car and Microsoft's HoloLens. But it also sheds light on the wealth of tech advancements that lower-profile players are developing. They include robots that can recognize emotions and take part in meaningful dialogues; the merger of biotech and 3D printing; and a digital "mirror" which may change forever the way people purchase their clothes. In the end, the customer benefits through a more enriched, personalized relationship with companies. Since industry research reveals that business leaders believe that two out of five of the top-ranked companies in their industries worldwide won't survive the next five years, such advancements will serve not as a luxury—but a necessity.
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