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Tag: R&D

  • TCS releases global e-mobility 2025 study; preference shifting toward electric vehicles

    TCS releases global e-mobility 2025 study; preference shifting toward electric vehicles

    MUMBAI:  It’s an electrifying report which tells us so much about consumer  attitudes towards electric vehicles (EVs).  Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Future-Ready eMobility Study 2025 is filled with info nuggets to help those in the EV ecosystem to take some tips from it. 

    The study, conducted across 18 countries and 1,300 respondents, explores consumer preferences, industry challenges, and the roadmap to sustainable mobility.

    Key Findings:
    * Consumer adoption: 64 per cent of global respondents are likely or very likely to choose an EV for their next vehicle. Younger demographics (18–35 years) show the strongest interest.
    * Barriers to rowth: Charging infrastructure, cost, and range anxiety remain significant hurdles, with 74 per cent of manufacturers citing infrastructure as the biggest obstacle.
    * Budget constraints: Most consumers are willing to spend up to $40,000 on an EV, reflecting concerns about affordability. Only five per cent are open to paying a premium compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
    * Sustainability and costs: 63 per cent of EV influencers cite environmental sustainability as the primary motivation for adoption, while fleet adopters prioritise operational cost reductions.
    * Technological advances: Battery technology improvements are identified by 90 per cent of manufacturers as critical for enhancing range and charging speed. However, 70 per cent anticipate breakthroughs to take two to three  years or more.

    Regional Insights:
    * U.S. consumers lead in EV interest, with 72 per cent likely to consider an EV, compared to 31 per cent in Japan.
    * Hybrid EVs (HEVs) are emerging as a transitional preference, especially among older demographics.
    Industry 

    Challenges and Strategies:
    * Collaboration needs: Significant consolidation is expected among EV charging infrastructure companies, driven by scaling challenges. Partnerships with retail, government, and energy sectors are critical.
    * Environmental concerns: While EVs are seen as pivotal for sustainability, nearly 48 per cent of influencers believe their environmental impact is neutral, citing concerns over battery production and disposal.
    * R&D investments: Manufacturers are heavily investing in affordability and battery technology, with a focus on reducing costs and enhancing vehicle performance.

    TCS  president of manufacturing Anupam Singh said:“The EV industry is at a crossroads, navigating complexities while maintaining momentum. TCS is committed to leveraging AI and generative AI to drive smarter decision-making and sustainable transportation.”

    The report underscores that while EV adoption is accelerating, overcoming infrastructure and technological barriers will require collaborative innovation and systemic changes.

    (Picture courtesy: TCS Future-Ready eMobility Study 2025 )

  • Candlelight Concerts-PVR Inox partner for intimate musical experiences

    Candlelight Concerts-PVR Inox partner for intimate musical experiences

    MUMBAI: Imagine walking into a cinema, not to watch the latest blockbuster, but to be enveloped by the soft glow of candles and the stirring melodies of live music. In a country where concerts often feel more like chaotic marathons than artistic escapades, a revolutionary partnership is set to redefine the live music experience. Candlelight Concerts by Live Your City, in collaboration with PVR Inox, is turning the idea of traditional concerts on its head.

    This innovative alliance transforms India’s premier cinemas into intimate, candlelit sanctuaries, blending the charm of live performances with the luxury of theatre spaces. Launching in Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Mumbai, it promises an enchanting escape from the hustle, offering audiences a harmonious blend of elegance, creativity, and unforgettable moments.

    These concerts will feature live performances of iconic movie soundtracks and tributes to legendary artists such as Kishore Kumar, RD Burman, Queen, and ABBA. With thoughtful curation, the collaboration aims to create a unique ambiance where timeless melodies and contemporary luxury converge.

    “We are thrilled to bring Candlelight Concerts to PVR Inox theatres, creating unparalleled live arts experiences in cherished entertainment spaces,” said Live Your City India, country manager, Deepa Bajaj. “By merging the charm of live music with the luxury of PVR, we aim to redefine audience engagement and set new standards for immersive cultural entertainment.”

    PVR Inox, content acquisition director, Nayana Bijli remarked,  “This partnership with Candlelight Concerts reimagines how our theaters can be experienced, turning them into unique venues for intimate, live performances. It’s an opportunity for us to offer audiences something extraordinary—an experience that combines the elegance of our spaces with the magic of live music.”

    PVR Inox’s premium venues will host Candlelight Concerts with acoustics and comfort carefully curated to enhance the audience’s experience. The inaugural performances are scheduled for 31 January 2025 to 2 February 2025, promising a blend of cultural sophistication and entertainment.

    Details of upcoming performances:

    ●    Bengaluru

           31 January 2025: PVR Superplex, Forum Mall, Kanakapura Road

               Queen vs ABBA (Program Premiere) – two performances

    ●    Gurugram

           1 February 2025: PVR Ambience, Gurugram

               Best Movie Soundtracks (Bestseller) – two performances

               Tribute to Kishore Kumar (Program Premiere) – one performance

    ●    Mumbai

           2 February 2025: PVR Le Reve-Globus Mall, Bandra West

               Best Movie Soundtracks (Bestseller) – two performances

               Tribute to RD Burman (Local Hit) – one performance

    With plans to expand offerings across India, this collaboration between Candlelight Concerts and PVR Inox promises to revolutionise how audiences experience live music and redefine India’s entertainment landscape.

  • Indus Valley Cosmetics to invest ₹40 crores in marketing & research initiatives

    Indus Valley Cosmetics to invest ₹40 crores in marketing & research initiatives

    Mumbai: Indus Valley, a leader in ‘Organic and Natural beauty products’ for over five decades, aims to invest ₹40 crores towards marketing, and research. This investment underscores the company’s ambitious roadmap in India and signals a robust commitment to enhancing research and development (R&D) efforts, aligning with the esteemed ‘Made in India’ initiative. With a strong presence across major eCommerce platforms in India and a global reach spanning over 25 countries, this marks a pivotal moment in Indus Valley’s growth journey, with a focus on captivating GenZs and millennials.

    Indus Valley has risen prominently, selling over 50 million products to date and gaining significant traction in Europe. Today, it proudly stands as a market leader in its category within the US market, particularly on Amazon. With a customer retention rate exceeding 45 per cent and continuing to rise, Indus Valley remains steadfast in its commitment to quality, efficacy, and customer satisfaction. Currently, the brand is shipping over 300,000 units monthly, averaging 10,000 units per day.

    The investment strategy is twofold – the first would be to increase the brand equity and visibility through nationwide advertising and awareness campaigns, spotlighting its flagship product ‘Organic Gel Hair Colour’. The ground-breaking, organic gel hair colour is hydrogen-per-oxide free, PPD free and ammonia free and the brand wants to increase awareness about the effect of these chemicals on the scalp and skin. Already proving to be tough competition for industry giants, this product is set to revolutionize the market. The company will also emphasize its presence in South India through collaborations with influencers and vernacular advertising. It also aims to launch a tailored packaging for South Indian consumers that will further enhance brand resonance.

    Secondly, a portion of the investment aims to fuel research and development (R&D) initiatives, in personal care & beauty products tailored to Indian needs and leveraging scientific insights. With a focus on customized formulations informed by age-old herbal formulations and preferences, Indus Valley will cater to the needs and preferences exclusively of Indian consumers. The investment in marketing and R&D synergizes perfectly to amplify the brand’s presence and drive innovation, ensuring that the products meet and exceed the evolving needs of the customers.

    In response to the development, Indus Valley founder & CEO Shyam S Arya expressed, “We have an ambitious roadmap tailored for the Indian markets, especially focusing on our flagship products, which have garnered immense success globally. We’re deeply committed to formulating hair care and skincare solutions tailored to Indian conditions, enriching the experience of our Indian customers. Our vision is to craft products that genuinely address concerns and promote awareness about the benefits of adopting organic hair and skincare routines. To expedite this process, we’re expanding our R&D facility. Additionally, we’re allocating additional resources to develop safe and effective formulations and educate people about their advantages. Enhancing our supply chain efficiency is also a priority, ensuring our products reach customers within a mere two working days.”

    With production units in Himachal Pradesh and Faridabad, Indus Valley offers a diverse product range including hair care, skin care, and more, featuring 280 plus SKUs across several categories.

  • Synamedia boosts investment in compression R&D

    Synamedia boosts investment in compression R&D

    MUMBAI: Synamedia, the world’s largest independent video software provider, today announced a boost to R&D investment in its groundbreaking compression technologies alongside a trio of senior appointments. With the adoption of 4K-ready devices and new broadcasting standards such as ATSC 3.0 supporting 4K and ultimately 8K streams over-the-air, Synamedia’s investment in compression will meet the growing need for advanced encoding technologies to deliver stunning low latency live experiences while optimizing bandwidth.

    Synamedia will focus on driving innovation in content-adaptive encoding including the use of neural networks. First previewed at IBC 2019, content-adaptive encoding uses automation and machine learning techniques and builds on Synamedia Digital Content Manager (DCM) with the award-winning Smart Rate Control for live ABR. Other initiatives will include new core video and audio algorithms, filtering noisy source content, and encoding optimization. With the goal of fully autonomous deployments in Synamedia’s sights, the analytics team will play a vital role in accelerating video network development by advancing the automation of video quality assessment and performance benchmarking.

    Synamedia’s compression team is now led by one of the industry’s foremost encoding experts, Jan De Cock, who has joined as Director of Codec Development. Jan’s entire career has been in the compression space, most recently at Netflix where he was Manager of Video and Image Encoding for four years. Prior to this, Jan was Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronics and Information Systems at Ghent University in Belgium. He holds a PhD in Engineering, has authored dozens of academic papers on video compression, and holds patents in signal, image and video processing.

    Also joining the video network business as VP of services is John Hargrave, (pictured above), who was most recently CTO and COO at Zone·tv. With a specialism in software-as-a service, John spent four years at Ericsson as Vice President of Mediaroom Field Engineering then Vice President of Global Media Services. John also worked at Microsoft as General Manager for Mediaroom and at Telus as National Director of Professional Services.

    Rounding out the new hires, David Baranski joins as Vice President of Sales for Video Network, the Americas. Before his 18 months at Mediakind as VP of Sales for US Cable Operators, David spent six years with encoding specialist Envivio and then Ericsson, following its acquisition of Envivio in 2016. As VP of Sales for US cable operators at Ericsson, David headed up software compression and media delivery sales for the Americas.

    As well as supporting established codecs including MPEG-2, AVC and HEVC, Synamedia’s compression team is adding newer codecs such as AV1 and MPEG’s Versatile Video Coding codec (VVC). Last month Synamedia joined the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) to advance open standards for media compression and delivery over the web using AV1, furthering Synamedia’s goal of enhancing OTT video streaming experiences at scale.

    “These new hires are part of an initiative to accelerate customers’ journey to virtualized, software-based encoding for broadcast and OTT using DCM. Boosting our world-class team with such an experienced trio of video and compression experts will help us supercharge our ambitions and deliver top-notch solutions to customers faster,” said Julien Signes, senior VP and GM, Video Network at Synamedia.

    Synamedia’s video network portfolio powers premium quality broadcast and broadband video for more than 1,000 operators worldwide and 100 million daily viewers. Its video distribution, processing and delivery services and solutions create compelling live multi-screen experiences, enable software-defined video processing and unify operations. The award-winning portfolio also touts a cloud-ready, converged broadcast and broadband end-to-end ATSC 3.0 offering and low latency solutions for live video. Its virtualized Digital Content Manager (DCM) features live transcoding to multiple bit rates and formats, scalable video functions and best-in-class video quality all aimed to deliver infinite entertainment.

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  • Synamedia sets out corporate vision, strategy and investment focus

    Synamedia sets out corporate vision, strategy and investment focus

    LONDON: Synamedia, the new company that will be formed from the sale of Cisco’s video processing and video solutions business to private equity firm Permira funds today revealed its vision and investment focus as an independent entity.

    Building on a market leadership position and the executive team’s industry track record, Synamedia is putting innovation at the heart of its strategy. The firm’s investment strategy will help customers: optimize their current infrastructure while adopting broadcast-grade IP distribution to boost consumer choice and convenience; secure revenue streams; and develop new offerings.

    A priority will be research and development into new approaches to combat illegal streaming and protect revenue streams that will transform the way the industry tackles this growing problem. Although viewers are consuming more TV and video content than ever before, piracy can decimate operators’ revenues. Drawing on a 30-year heritage in content protection and relationships with other cybersecurity firms, Synamedia will bring to market products and services that go beyond watermarking to help customers with piracy prevention, rapid detection and response.

    For example, Parks Associates estimates that losses from credentials sharing will cost the pay-TV industry $9.9 billion by 2021. At this year’s IBC, visitors can see a demo of a solution for the prevention of credentials sharing, one element in its upcoming data analytics services portfolio.

    With the goal of helping customers build new revenue streams with ad agencies and brands, Synamedia will also be investing R&D effort on the technology underpinning targeted advertising, including both live and on demand services such as cloud DVRs. While the technology brings new opportunities for customers across all sectors, Synamedia believes this will be particularly attractive to free-to-air TV broadcasters and channels aiming to increase their revenue by offering OTT services including live streaming, catch-up TV and cloud DVR.

    Synamedia’s upcoming boost to Evo middleware investment, combined with support for Android TV and RDK within its Infinite Video Platform, will allow customers to select the option best suited to their strategy.

    As an independent company, Synamedia will forge partnerships with best-of-breed data analytics firms, network equipment providers and application developers supporting Synamedia Infinite Video Platform. It also plans to expand its professional services offerings to meet demand from existing clients looking to enhance their platform with features that meet their local needs. Synamedia believes these initiatives will result in the richest and most flexible hybrid broadcast OTT platform in the market.

    The company believes Cloud DVR and the Infinite Video Platform will help grow its customer base. While Infinite Video Platform is being deployed on DTH, cable and IPTV, Synamedia plans to ensure it supports Android TV and RDK as well as any type of companion device including games consoles and connected TVs. It will focus on new ways of enhancing the user experience as well as improving the quality of experience with multicast ABR streaming and broadcast-equivalent streaming latency.

    While Cloud DVR already supports 10 millions subscribers each week, Synamedia will be expanding its cost-effective cloud DVR solution with support for hybrid and multi-cloud environments and will work on developing a fully-managed service.

    “We are looking forward to helping our DTH and cable customers embrace IP distribution to complement and expand consumer choice and convenience, as well as helping telco customers and new entrants to pay-TV take advantage of our end-to-end platform offering. At this pivotal time in the industry when the market faces a number of challenges, we will work with our customers and partners to reinvent the way people are entertained and informed,” said Yves Padrines, incoming CEO for Synamedia and currently vice president of Global Service Provider for Europe, Middle East, Africa at Cisco.

    “I’m particularly excited about our plans to help customers secure their revenues and enhance the consumer experience by taking advantage of the convenience of OTT technologies. We will be starting with a robust and secure platform and will further develop our security offerings to tackle illegal streaming. In addition, we will leverage our expertise in targeted advertising to enable our clients to create new revenue streams,” said Dr. Abe Peled, Chairman of Synamedia.

  • Govt’s algorithm-monitored ICPS will foster data R&D

    MUMBAI: Minister of state for science & technology Y. S. Chowdary on Thursday inaugurated Aegis Data Science Congress 2017 at CIDCO Convention Center, New Mumbai. Hosted by Aegis School of Data Science, it is a one of its kind three-day conference on Big Data and Analytics.

    Chowdary spoke about the recent initiatives by the Govt. of India in the field of Data Science. “Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India recently launched a new programme called Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (ICPS) to foster, and promote R&D in the emerging field of research. CPS is a mechanism controlled or monitored by computer-based algorithms, tightly integrated with internet and its users.”

    The minister added: “Realising its importance, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India is offering financial support to research projects under Big Data Initiative (BDI). The government’s Skill India Initiative is aimed at increasing the competencies and average productivity. The flagship programmes of Govt. of India such as Digital India, Digital Village, and Smart Cities are data intensive, and use data and they generate data that has commercial value. Such data opens opportunities for start-ups and entrepreneurial development.”

    Aegis School CEO Bhupesh Daheria explained, “Data Science Congress is aimed to bring India at the center of hub for skills and research in the fields of Data Science, Analytics, Big Data, AI, Machine Learning, Cyber Security and IOT. We have the largest talent pool of mathematicians and coders which can be groomed for these disruptive high growth fields, and we must showcase them at international forums like the Data Science Congress.”

  • Huawei & Apple manufacturing tussle predicted, former may overtake Samsung

    MUMBAI: American analyst firm Drexel Hamilton has stated that current mobile trends point to Huawei, presently the world’s second largest android smartphone manufacturer, dethroning Samsung to become Apple’s main challenger in years to come.

    With a wide pipeline of products to cater to various market segments, both Huawei and Honor have put the needs of the Indian consumer first and have focused on channel, retail, brand, marketing and services, to strengthen the business base and streamline operations and customer service.

    Keeping in line with the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy, Huawei recently opened a manufacturing facility in Chennai. After China, India has the most localized facilities with a pan-India presence having 14 circle offices, over 200 service centers across India, two customer experience centers in India, one R&D center and Innovation Solution & Demo Center each. Huawei also has 8000 employees across India (92% Indian) with 3000 working in R&D.

    Huawei/Honor EMUI presently supports 14 local Indian languages and was the first brand to introduce the SOS feature in all smartphones, as per the government’s directive. Huawei/Honor are presently looking at expanding offline distribution in a bid to help increase accessibility of their smartphones in all markets.

  • Brandttitude analytics will help understand customer behaviour & identify buying pattern

    MUMBAI: WNS Limited, a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, has announced the launch of WNS BrandttitudeTM – a cloud-based business intelligence analytics platform designed to track brand performance, understand customer behavior and perceptions, and identify buying patterns. This state-of-the art platform provides multi-dimensional insights across complex and disparate data sources. BrandttitudeTM enables clients to carry out exploratory data analysis, perform predictive modeling and generate self-service analytics.

    “For clients to propel their businesses forward, they must be able to translate massive amounts of data into meaningful and useful business intelligence. Consolidating, managing and analyzing available information is an increasingly complex process,” said WNS’ CEO Keshav Murugesh. “Organisations today need a real-time solution that leverages technology, analytics and deep domain expertise to generate actionable and reliable business insights. The WNS BrandttitudeTM platform enables clients to better understand their end-customers, compare themselves to key competitors, and take smart, data-driven actions to transform their brand performance.”

    BrandttitudeTM is powered by an advanced, scalable analytics platform that integrates data from disparate sources and compares information against a comprehensive library of KPIs configurable to different industries. For example, for the retail and CPG industries, the platform unifies data from market research and surveys, retail store audits, channel data, shipment data and many other sources.

    WNS’ analytics practice currently has over 2,200 data scientists, researchers and domain experts, providing analytics work for more than 75 global businesses spread across verticals. WNS provides a broad spectrum of analytics products and services including big data, business intelligence and reporting, machine learning, research, marketing, social media, risk, fraud, claims, and customer relationship management. WNS has been recently recognized with two Stevie awards for its social media analytics platform (SocioSEER), and Interactive Data Enabled Analytics (IDEA) suite of solutions. The WNS Analytics practice is complemented by a robust R&D center, focused on innovation and emerging technologies.

  • iVOOMi to launch four economy smartphones

    MUMBAI: iVOOMi, a Chinese electronic major OEM/ODM is set to enter the fast-growing smartphone market in India with the launch of series of High-End Smartphones. The brand plans to launch 4 models in India ranging from Rs. 4000–Rs. 10,000.

    iVOOMi will unveil iV505 as their first smartphone in Indian Market in the month of March, priced at Rs. 3,999. iV505 provides high-end features – Jio ready 4G VoLTE SIM cards on both the slots, flash charge technology, and Android Marshmallow 6.0 which is unique to smartphones in this price range.

    iVoomi global business head Bradley Yan said, “We are committed to establishing iVOOMi in the Indian market with our innovative products loaded with highly valued SmartMe OS (Customized OS) & features at an affordable price.”

    iVOOMi currently has its focus on “Online-only” strategy and therefore, has tied up with Shopclues, India’s first and largest managed marketplace. The partnership will focus on a successful launch and entry into the Indian market.

    The company has a broader plan for Indian market and intent to establish its R&D and Manufacturing unit in India by 2019. iVOOMi is currently working with key brands from Europe , Russia, South East Asia and Asian countries.

  • LeTV to launch in India in 2016; eyes local content partnerships

    LeTV to launch in India in 2016; eyes local content partnerships

    MUMBAI: Chinese cross-platform internet video service LeTV has set its sight on the Indian market and plans to launch here by early 2016.

     

    Apart from introducing its mobile devices to the Indian market, the company is also looking at replicating its content-device ecosystem in India and offer a new entertainment based experience. The company is keen to provide Indian consumers with local entertainment-based content. To this effect, LeTV is in search for local partners in India, who are active in the content creation business. 

     

    This was announced by LeTV founder Jia Yueting in Beijing at the launch of the company’s new smartphone – Le 1S.

     

    LeTV said it is also mulling setting up production lines and R&D centres in India as a long-term vision. This could be seen as a welcome move by the Narendra Modi led Indian government, which has been pushing the ‘Make In India’ premise to international companies. 

     

    Earlier in April, Letv had launched three smartphones, which will soon see its release in the US. The company is also in talks to start shop in the US this financial year. The company, which has interest in varied businesses, is alsomaking a huge 120-inch 3D 4K TV as well as a smart car in partnership with Aston Martin.