The Reading Room – What’s The SCOOP?

Now in a regular Friday spot, this is the Reading Room, a weekly roundup of what we’ve been reading, watching and listening to. You can see these updates even more regularly if you follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Make that Thursday this week. With Productronica right around the corner our illustrious editor, Jennifer, has commandeered the Friday lead for a preview, and rightly so! If you’re headed to Munich next week to visit the world’s largest electronics manufacturing show, stop buy the SCOOPstudio (B3.136) for a coffee. I’ll be there every day but Friday, when I’ll be roaming the show floor. EMSNOW Publisher, Eric Miscoll, will be on the studio interviewing and chatting on Tuesday and Wednesday, and if we haven’t invited you to take part in a video and you’ve got something exciting to share, drop me a message on LinkedIn.

So, what’s the SCOOP this week?

• Google are betting big ion wearable with the news that they will Acquire Fitbit in $2.1 Billion Deal. Reade the full story on Thomas Net. The deal would combine a wearable technology pioneer with a leading tech giant as both companies, reports noted, struggle in the wearables segment amid competition from Apple, Samsung, and others.
• And in the ongoing trade war, China Wants US to Drop Tariffs on $360 Billion of Imports for Trade Deal, according to a report in Industry Week from Bloomberg. China is seeking the roll back of U.S. tariffs on as much as $360 Billion of Chinese imports before President Xi Jinping agrees to go to the U.S. to sign a partial trade deal with President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.
• According to The Economic Times of India, Tech’s still a strange word for manufacturers here. Over 62% of Indian manufacturers, including those in labor-intensive sectors like automotive, industrial goods and heavy manufacturing, are still at the third industrial revolution in terms of technology and want to exhaust low-cost options rather than implementing high-cost technology that automates functions, a study by management consulting firm, Russell Reynolds Associates found.
• Apparently space scientists are abandoning the heavens to help you decide what to wear and watch and listen to. Whether it’s stars or Stitch Fix, it’s all about machine learning. Read about “The Style-Quantifying Astrophysicists of Silicon Valley” in WIRED.
• Demand for Collaborative Robots Continues to Grow, says Forbes contributor, Michael Mandel. Adding, the trade war between China and the U.S. has hit hard at robot sales and orders, at least for the moment. The Robot division of the Fanuc Group showed revenues down 11.5% for the six months ending September 2019, compared to the previous year. At ABB, orders at the Robotics & Discrete Automation division were down 18% in the third quarter, while revenues were down 6% in revenues. At the Yaskawa Group, robotics sales were down 9% for the six months ending August 2019.

FROM SMTAi: We’ve edited and posted a few more videos from SMTAi, take a look on our YouTube channel. More next week from Productronica as well, we’ll keep you posted.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Check out Productronica’s 2019 promotional video and keep an eye on their channel throughout the show next week.

 

That’s it until next week! For more regular musing connect or follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Read more, watch more, hear more, know more – that’s the SCOOP!