Continuous Charging Cars, NLP, Lingerie, and Whiskey in a Jar

Pete Weishaupt
5 min readMay 16, 2021

Wireless, continuous charging of Electric Vehicles while driving? Science fiction, or eventual reality? Khurram Afridi and his team of researchers at Cornell University have been developing the tech to do just this.

Over the past seven years, Afridi has been developing tech to wirelessly charge vehicles without them ever having to stop. Theidea is to build the tech right into the highway.

“Highways would have a charging lane, sort of like a high occupancy lane,” Afridi told Business Insider. “If you were running out of battery you would move into the charging lane. It would be able to identify which car went into the lane and it would later send you a bill.”

Afridi’s team is using the tech to recharge autonomous forklifts right now. With the kinks worked out, the tech could be road-ready in a couple of years.

ARTIFCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Market research commissioned by IBM (NYSE: IBM) shows nearly a third of companies are now using artificial intelligence (AI). While adoption was flat over the last year, momentum is shifting as the need for AI accelerates.

“A large majority of those investments continue to be focused on the three capabilities that define AI for business — automating IT and processes, building trust in AI outcomes, and understanding the language of business.” says Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President, IBM Cloud and Data Platform.

Those deploying or exploring AI report the trend is driven by multiple pressures, including the COVID-19 pandemic; and advances in AI are making it more accessible. As advances in technology continue, companies cite a lack of AI skills and increasing data complexity as top challenges.

Of note, natural language processing (NLP) is the frontrunner — almost half the businesses surveyed are using NLP, primarily to improve the customer experience.

BUSINESS & INVESTING

L Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LB) announced plans to separate into two independent, public companies: Bath & Body Works, and Victoria’s Secret.

“…Victoria’s Secret is now well-positioned to operate as a standalone, public company. Further, both Bath & Body Works and

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