Category Archives: Technology

SaveIN expands beyond healthcare, aims to hit Rs 2000 cr loan run rate in FY 27

Mar 31: SaveIN, a fintech platform that helps people pay for services through easy EMIs, has announced its expansion beyond healthcare into new categories such as travel, furniture, lifestyle, home improvement, insurance premium financing, and consumer durables. The move aims to make premium products and services more affordable for aspirational Indians.

Since its launch in 2022, SaveIN has focused on making private healthcare accessible by offering simple financing options. Over the last four years, the company has built a strong network of over 7,500 healthcare locations and has served more than 8 lakh customers across India. The platform currently operates at an annual loan run rate of ₹600 crore and is expected to grow three times over the next 12–18 months.

SaveIN works closely with leading banks, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and IDFC First Bank, multiple NBFCs, and also accepts over 15 credit cards on its platform, to provide 3-in-1, fast, paperless and transparent financing options at the point of purchase.

Jitin Bhasin, Founder & CEO, SaveIN, said, “We started in the year 2022 and have developed an ecosystem to make private healthcare accessible and affordable. While building and interacting with over 8 lakh customers and merchants, we realised that there is a tremendous need for a solution like SaveIN in other segments like travel, furniture, lifestyle, home improvement, insurance premium financing, and consumer durables as well. Together, these domains present over $50 bn in market size; we aim to simplify how Indians can avail premium products and services, without large down payments, while paying in easy EMIs, driven by our unique 3-in-1 financing model.”

Having raised over $12 million so far, SaveIN has launched an online checkout module, aimed at integrating with major brands and payment gateways and is also developing a consumer-facing mobile app and marketplace to help customers easily discover and finance premium services across categories.

At the heart of SaveIN’s model is its unique 3-in-1 financing architecture, which connects three distinct customer segments: crores of pre-approved bank customers, existing credit card holders, and those seeking fresh credit limits from SaveIN’s bouquet of lending partners. SaveIN is anchoring itself in the premium segment, where the average ticket size ranges from ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 and the maximum transaction amount goes up to ₹10 lakh. This delivers a much higher conversion rate for merchants as against existing BNPL options.

“Unlike other ‘buy now-pay later’ players, we are focusing on the premium ‘pay later’ space with an average transaction size of ₹50,000. We believe that as India grows, the average middle-class person would want to move upward, while upper-class customers thoroughly enjoy no-cost/low-cost EMIs. SaveIN wants to be the platform of choice, driving responsible consumption across quality customers, making informed purchase decisions, simplified with EMIs,” added Bhasin.

With this expansion, SaveIN aims to simplify how Indians pay for important life purchases while continuing to grow its presence in healthcare. The company has already onboarded leading brands like SOTC, Cashify, Royal Oak, EMotorad, and Duroflex among others in new categories and is aiming to triple its topline in the coming year.

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ECMS Scheme Crosses Investment Target as Government Approves 75 Proposals

New Delhi: The Government of India has approved 75 applications under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), marking a major boost to the country’s electronics manufacturing sector.

Originally, the scheme aimed to attract investments worth ₹59,350 crore. However, approvals have already surpassed this target, reaching ₹61,671 crore, reflecting strong interest from both domestic and international companies.

The ECMS is designed to strengthen India’s capabilities in manufacturing key electronic components and reduce dependence on imports. It also seeks to position the country as a global hub for electronics production by encouraging large-scale investments and building a robust supply chain.

In terms of output, the scheme had set a production target of ₹4.56 lakh crore. Current approvals are expected to generate production close to ₹4.51 lakh crore, indicating that the initiative is on track to meet its goals.

Several leading companies have committed significant investments under the scheme. Dixon Display plans to invest ₹1,100 crore in display module sub-assemblies, while Syrma Strategic Electronics will invest ₹588 crore in laminates and flexible PCBs. Munoth Lithium Battery Pvt. Ltd. is set to invest ₹500 crore in Andhra Pradesh.

Other firms such as Vikas Components India, Wangda, O/E/N India Ltd., BG Electricals and Electronics, and Terminal Technologies have also announced investments across various electronic components. Additionally, companies like Lohum Cleantech, ASM Technologies, Indo-MIM Ltd., and Bharat FIH are contributing substantial capital to expand manufacturing capacity.

According to the Ministry of Electronics and IT, these investments are expected to enhance domestic production, create employment opportunities, and strengthen India’s position in the global electronics value chain.

The ECMS initiative highlights the government’s continued focus on building a self-reliant and globally competitive electronics industry.

SK Telecom and DOCOMO Publish White Paper on Requirements for Advancing vRAN and AI‑RAN in Mobile Networks

Seoul, Korea, Mar 31 – SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, hereinafter referred to as “SKT”) and Japan’s leading mobile operator NTT DOCOMO, INC. today announced the release of a white paper on the key enabling features for vRAN1 evolution and the path to AI-RAN2 (the white paper), as the latest outcome of their ongoing technical cooperation.

The white paper reviews the prospects for further enhancement and advancement of vRAN and AI-RAN – which means intelligent RAN utilizing AI capability – for mobile operators, as well as the associated technical requirements and enabling technologies based on the two companies’ combined experience in mobile network construction and operation. It aims to promote the evolution of vRAN and AI-RAN by encouraging closer collaboration between mobile network operators and equipment vendors in the development of vRAN software.

The white paper analyzes three key technical requirements that are essential to maximizing the benefits of advanced vRAN and AI-RAN.

1.Strict separation of hardware and software to accelerate new feature introduction

By functionally separating RAN software from specific hardware and virtualization platforms, vRAN allows software to be deployed independently from underlying infrastructure, thereby accelerating software‑driven innovation. Such strict separation of hardware and software is identified as a critical factor in the advancement of vRAN and AI‑RAN.

2.Resource pooling for flexible infrastructure and improved resource utilization

In addition to strict hardware-software separation, resource pooling technologies can enable capacity improvements and reductions in power consumption, without compromising service quality, by realizing flexible infrastructure and improving resource utilization. The further development and adoption of this feature could help mobile operators strengthen their competitiveness by supporting more efficient and adaptable network operations.

3.Realization of AI computing capabilities (AI-RAN) by leveraging vRAN systems

Leveraging resource orchestration technologies and an xPU3‑based architecture enables base stations to provide AI computing capabilities without compromising the quality of mobile communication services. This approach aims to evolve vRAN from a mobile communication platform into an integrated AI platform capable of delivering both mobile communication connectivity and AI services.

“This white paper is a meaningful achievement as it presents, from a mobile operator’s perspective, the key features essential for maximizing the benefits of vRAN adoption and for the future evolution toward AI-native networks. We are pleased to have delivered this outcome through our close collaboration with DOCOMO, and we hope it will serve as a catalyst for fostering the broader ecosystem and contribute to the global advancement of next‑generation mobile networks,” said Yu Takki, Head of Network Technology Office at SK Telecom.

“We are pleased that as a result of the technical collaboration with SKT, which began in November 2022, we have jointly published the white paper on the key enabling features for vRAN evolution and the path to AI-RAN. We hope to further strengthen cooperation between the two major mobile operators in East Asia and to share advanced concepts and innovative technologies with the world to realize the 6G era,” said Masafumi Masuda, General Manager of Radio Access Design Department, Senior Vice President, NTT DOCOMO, INC.

DOCOMO and SKT signed a cooperation agreement in November 20224 to advance technology studies of next-generation telecommunications infrastructure for 5G Evolution and 6G. In February 20235, they jointly released two white papers on power-saving technologies for mobile networks and related technologies, as well as 6G requirements. Furthermore, in February 20246, they published a white paper on key considerations for vRAN deployment and operation, focusing on L1 accelerator selection aligned with network design and requirements.

Going forward, DOCOMO and SKT will continue their technical cooperation in various fields, including enhancing the competitiveness and operational efficiency of 5G, as well as international standardization and technology verification towards 6G. Through these efforts, they aim to share their knowledge and innovative technologies with the world and contribute to the further advancement of 5G Evolution and 6G mobile communications.

Read the white paper, “Key Enabling Features for the Evolution of vRAN and the Path to AI-RAN”:https://bit.ly/4sunsGB

1 Technologies that operate mobile base stations as software using general-purpose servers, hardware accelerators, and virtualization platforms.

2 Technologies that integrate AI into the RAN (Radio Access Network) by running AI applications on the RAN infrastructure.

3 A general term for information processing units such as CPU and GPU.

4 SKT Joins Hands with NTT DOCOMO for Comprehensive Cooperation in ICT (November 21, 2022) https://www.sktelecom.com/en/press/pressdetail.do?idx=1549, NTT DOCOMO and SK Telecom to Collaborate on Technological Advancement of Metaverse, Digital Media and 5G/6G (November 22, 2022) https://www.docomo.ne.jp/info/newsrelease/2022/11/2100.html (in Japanese only)

5 SK Telecom and DOCOMO Release White Papers on Green Mobile Networks and 6G Requirements (February 22, 2023) https://www.sktelecom.com/en/press/pressdetail.do?idx=1557&, NTT DOCOMO and SK Telecom Release White Papers on Green Mobile Networks and 6G Requirements (February 22, 2023) https://www.docomo.ne.jp/english/info/mediacenter/pr/2023/022200.html

6 SK Telecom and NTT DOCOMO Release White Paper on Key Considerations for vRAN (February 20, 2024) https://news.sktelecom.com/en/559, NTT DOCOMO and SK Telecom Release White Papers on Base Station Equipment Utilizing Virtualization Technology (February 20, 2024) https://www.docomo.ne.jp/english/info/mediacenter/pr/2024/022000.html

Tezos RWA Ecosystem Expands with Launch of Metals.io

London, UK—30th March, 2026— Metals.io, a new application for investing in and trading tokenized commodities, is live in the Tezos ecosystem. Developed by a team at Trilitech, a London-based Tezos R&D hub, the web app unlocks access to a selection of rare-earth metals, as well as base metals and minerals that are critical to the technology sector and the AI boom. Designed from the ground up as a single entry-point to a range of tokenized assets, metals.io launches with a dedicated and user-centric web app, which enables users to search for and add a range of tokenized commodities to their portfolios. Metals.io benefits from Tezos’ smart-rollup technology, which boasts sub-50ms latency, meaning that traders on the platform enjoy near-instant transaction confirmations, giving them the critical advantage they need in this dynamic market. 

Metals.io is launching at a pivotal moment, as demand for critical minerals and precious metals has intensified recently, driven on one hand by industrial applications and on the other by investors seeking portfolio diversification options in the face of economic uncertainty. The U.S. government’s establishment of a U.S. critical mineral reserve has led to further attention on these assets, which are essential to modern manufacturing and used in everything from smartphones to wind turbines and fighter jets. Metals.io launches with a number of these tokenized assets already live, with more to be added in the coming months. From today, visitors to the site can access xU3O8 tokenized uranium; VNX Gold (VNXAU), digital proof of ownership of allocated gold which is physically held in a high-security vault in Liechtenstein; and the RARE token from Noemon Tech, which provides transparent exposure to a diversified basket of five strategic metals selected for their critical industrial and technological value. 

“The current rapid pace of innovation in the AI sector and several other related fields is having a knock-on effect on demand for metals and materials that are critical to these endeavors. RARE enables users to gain digital ownership of a diversified basket of strategic metals – including elements such as hafnium, rhenium, indium, neodymium oxide, and praseodymium oxide – all of which are key to modern technologies and industrial applications. The team at Trilitech has developed an incredible gateway for accessing these assets, and Metals.io is a great showcase of how the future of RWA investing is taking place on Tezos,” said Dimitrios Kavvathas, Founder of Noemon Tech Ltd.

Metals.io uses the same underpinning technology as the uranium.io platform that launched on Etherlink, the EVM interface for Tezos, in December 2024. Uranium.io was purpose-built to minimise barriers to investing in uranium ore concentrate (U3O8), the asset that is used in nuclear reactors and could be key to powering the AI revolution. Since launching, uranium.io has played a pivotal role in bridging the multi-billion-dollar traditional commodity market with the speed and transparency of decentralized finance (DeFi), welcoming new investors who would not previously have had the opportunity to own and trade the commodity. The platform has received widespread industry recognition for these innovations, including winning the Best New Product award in the Innovation in Crypto & Web3 category at the latest Benzinga Global Fintech Awards. Now, metals.io is leveraging this successful model to facilitate access to other in-demand assets such as gold and other critical base metals.

“Throughout the 21st century, gold has consistently proven itself as one of the world’s premier assets, delivering stability and preserving wealth when traditional markets waver. VNX Gold (VNXAU) brings this enduring value into the modern era by offering digital tokens that represent verifiable proof of ownership of allocated gold, held in high-security vaults. By combining the strength of industry-leading custodians with the transparency and immutability of blockchain technology, we provide investors with all the security of physical gold, elevated with the efficiency, divisibility, and flexibility of a digital asset, allowing gold to become a fractional and programmable asset that can participate in modern on-chain financial services. Built on the robust and energy-efficient Tezos blockchain, VNX Gold (VNXAU) is making verifiable gold ownership accessible to a new generation of investors,” said Alexander Tkachenko, CEO and Founder, VNX.

Commenting on the launch of Metals.io, Arthur Breitman, co-founder of Tezos, said, “Commodity markets are global and indispensable, yet access to them remains fragmented and layered with intermediaries. As the AI revolution accelerates, energy and critical materials are becoming core economic constraints. Tokenization streamlines ownership and transfer of these assets at a global scale. Metals.io represents the maturation of that model, bringing essential commodities directly onto modern digital rails.”

Udaan Gears Up for IPO; SoftBank Bets Big on OpenAI

Bengaluru-based e-commerce unicorn Udaan has raised $114 million in its latest funding round, bringing its total capital to over $2 billion as it prepares for a planned IPO in 2026. The B2B platform, which connects small retailers with suppliers across India, plans to use the new funds to expand into fast-moving consumer goods and the HoReCa sector, while strengthening its core operations ahead of going public.

Meanwhile, Japanese tech giant SoftBank has secured a $40 billion loan to fuel its ambitious investments in OpenAI. The massive facility underscores SoftBank’s commitment to artificial intelligence and positions the company to make further strategic bets in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Together, these moves show how startups and global investors are actively shaping the next wave of growth in e-commerce and artificial intelligence, blending ambition with strategic foresight.

Vodia Networks Announces the Official Release of Version 70 of the Vodia PBX

BOSTON – 29 March 2026: Vodia Networks, Inc., a provider of unified cloud communications solutions to enterprises, contact centers, and service providers, is pleased to announce the official release of Vodia PBX V70, the next major version of its cloud phone system. V70 has been engineered for operational scale, administrative clarity, and production readiness; it introduces architectural and usability improvements designed for real-world, multi-tenant deployments. 

As organizations consolidate communication tools and look to automate customer interactions, V70 brings voice, messaging, and AI into a single PBX platform. 

The V70 interface has been designed for efficiency and speed. Whether managing a single system or hundreds of tenants, V70 delivers faster navigation, smarter workflows, and powerful new capabilities to make administration more intuitive. V70 also introduces improvements in scalability, flexibility, and operational safety, including higher call capacity per server, cross-tenant presence and BLF sharing, snapshots, and centralized remote provisioning. 

“V70 reflects how our partners deploy and manage PBX systems at scale,” said Christian Stredicke, founder and CEO of Vodia. “We focused on improving visibility, simplifying administration, and enabling automation without adding complexity.”

V70 also gives users enhanced emergency alerts, robust scheduling, and greater control. With V70, administrators can configure emergency and notification alerts triggered by users – once activated, alerts can send notifications via multiple channels and automatically initiate calls to designated numbers. Service flags in V70 can now be configured with multiple events and integrated with external calendars.

AI, automation, and real-time visibility

V70 introduces integrated AI capabilities and real-time monitoring tools to improve operational control, including fully-automated outbound AI Voice Agents for automated customer outreach, powered by OpenAI’s Realtime API. The same framework can handle both inbound and outbound calls, creating consistent conversational experiences. V70 also introduces a powerful custom dashboard framework, allowing administrators complete control to build and tailor dashboards based on their specific monitoring needs, eliminating the need for third-party tools. 

WhatsApp business messaging

V70 enables integration with the WhatsApp Business Platform for calling and messaging, allowing WhatsApp users to call your business number and have those calls routed directly into the PBX, without any middleware or gateway. Messaging capabilities are also included to support incoming and outgoing text and image messages. 

External presence sharing and skills-based routing

External presence sharing enables two tenants on the same PBX to share presence information, or across different PBX servers in separate locations (the PBX systems must be able to reach each other via the internet). V70 provides users with skills-based routing, so organizations can assign skills to numbers, enabling incoming calls to be routed to agents based on expertise, language, or role.

Supported operating systems and platforms

●      Ubuntu 24 and above

●      Debian 12 and above

●      CentOS Stream 10 and above

●      AlmaLinux 10 and above

●      Rocky Linux 10 and above

●      Amazon Linux 2023 (AL2023)

●      Support continues for the embedded Vodia IOP (Raspberry Pi) solution

●      Support for AArch64 (ARM64) architecture (to run the PBX on AWS Graviton processors)

Documentation

Detailed release notes for V70 are available for further information. 

Vodia welcomes feedback from partners and customers deploying V70, v70feedback@vodia.com, +1 (617) 861-3490.

Digital Science Announces Altmetric Attention Digest to Transform Research Impact Communication

Digital Science, a leading technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, is pleased to announce a new AI-powered feature for Altmetric that makes it easier to understand and communicate research impact.

The new Altmetric Attention Digest streamlines the process of demonstrating research value by automatically generating concise, narrative summaries of a research output’s attention and influence.

This capability moves beyond simply quantifying mentions – it provides a deeper understanding of who’s engaging with the research, how it’s being received, and the nature of its real-world impact across diverse channels.

Available to users of Altmetric Explorer, this innovative feature is designed to address the growing challenge of translating complex research attention metrics into clear, credible, and actionable narratives.

Altmetric Attention Digest is ideal for researchers or research admin teams, medical affairs teams, pharma professionals, publishers assessing article performance and editorial strategy, and governments and funders who need to track the reach and influence of funded research.

The new tool enables users to:

• Save time and maximize efficiency
• Demonstrate impact effectively
• Enhance reporting
• Assess content performance
• Make smarter, data-driven decisions

Miguel Garcia, VP of Product, Digital Science, said:

“We’re all interested in understanding how research impacts society, and although we already have solid ways of assessing academic impact, societal impact analyses could be improved.

“Altmetric has been counting mentions from multiple sources but it has been hard to explain how the research conversation proliferated, what were the main triggers and what real impact happened, especially at scale. Our dream at Altmetric has always been to provide a clean narrative for this.

“The new Altmetric Attention Digest leverages artificial intelligence to cut through data complexity, offering instant, comprehensive insights that empower users to understand the impact of research at a glance, gain strategic insights and make smarter decisions. It gets us much closer to that dream.”

SHARP Launches India’s First Window AC with Active Air Purification

New Delhi, Mar 26 – SHARP Business Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of SHARP Corporation, Japan, has announced the launch of a new range of window air conditioners in India, including the country’s first window AC with active air purification powered by its patented Plasmacluster technology. By releasing positive and negative ions into the air, the technology helps reduce bacteria, allergens, and odours while maintaining effective cooling. The new lineup includes the Ryohu (inverter) and Ryohu-FS (fixed-speed) models, available across multiple capacities and star ratings, aimed at addressing the cooling needs of Indian households. All newly launched Window AC models come with 5 years’ comprehensive warranty, reinforcing SHARP’s commitment to quality, durability, and customer peace of mind.

The new range has been built to handle Indian summer conditions, offering cooling performance even at temperatures up to 52°C. Features such as a twin rotary inverter compressor, turbo mode, and Coanda airflow are designed to deliver faster and more uniform cooling across the room. The inclusion of a 4-in-1 convertible mode allows users to adjust cooling capacity based on requirements, helping optimise energy consumption. Across both inverter and fixed-speed models, SHARP has also focused on durability and ease of use, with features such as 100% copper condensers, anti-corrosion coating, multiple operating modes, and auto-restart functionality.Commenting on the launch, Mr Osamu Narita, Managing Director of SHARP Business Systems (India), said, “India is an important market in SHARP’s global growth journey, and we are committed to expanding our footprint with technology that anticipates future consumer needs. SHARP’s legacy is built on original innovation and uncompromising quality, and we aim to bring solutions that seamlessly integrate into modern lifestyles. Through continuous innovation, we strive to enrich lives and contribute to a smarter, more comfortable future.”

“This launch reflects SHARP’s continued commitment to bringing advanced and future-ready air conditioning solutions to Indian homes,” said Mr Mimoh Jain, Chief Business Officer – SHARP Appliances Division. “This launch reflects SHARP’s vision to redefine home comfort by combining advanced cooling technology with intelligent and health-focused innovations. With decades of expertise shaping the art of cooling, SHARP continues to evolve climate solutions that enhance everyday living and deliver a differentiated, future-ready experience for Indian consumers.” 

Product features

Ryohu Inverter Window AC Series (Top Throw): 

The Ryohu inverter window AC series (top throw) is offered in a 1.45-ton configuration with a cooling capacity of 5100W and is available in both 3-star and 5-star energy ratings, catering to consumers looking for efficient and flexible cooling solutions. Designed to perform in Indian summer conditions, the range supports cooling in ambient temperatures of up to 52°C.

It incorporates twin motor technology along with turbo mode to enable faster cooling, while Coanda airflow and 4-way auto swing help ensure more uniform air distribution across the room. Multiple operating modes, including auto, cool, dry, and fan, allow users to customise performance based on their requirements.

The range also includes a 4-in-1 convertible mode that enables users to adjust cooling capacity across different levels, helping optimise energy consumption. From a usability standpoint, the air conditioners are equipped with a touch panel acrylic display and LED indicators for ease of operation, along with features such as auto-restart and an energy-saving mode to support convenient day-to-day use. Select models are also equipped with SHARP’s Plasmacluster technology, which helps reduce bacteria, viruses, allergens, and odours, thereby improving indoor air quality while cooling.

Ryohu Fixed-Speed Window AC Series:The Ryohu-FS fixed-speed window AC series is available in capacities ranging from 1.41 ton to 1.70 ton, with cooling capacities between 4950W and 5975W, and is offered in 2-star and 3-star energy ratings. The range is designed to deliver dependable and heavy-duty cooling performance suited for everyday use.

Built to operate in high ambient temperatures of up to 52°C, the series combines turbo cooling with long air throw of up to 18 metres, enabling effective cooling across larger spaces. Multiple operating modes such as auto, cool, dry, and fan provide flexibility in usage across different conditions.

The range is designed with a focus on durability and long-term performance, incorporating 100% copper condensers, anti-corrosion blue fin coating, and dust filters. It also uses eco-friendly R32 refrigerant and is built in line with SHARP’s Japan 7 Shield framework, which ensures reliability and safety under demanding conditions. All models come with a 5-year comprehensive warranty.

Japan 7 Shields – Built for India’s Harsh Conditions

SHARP Window ACs are engineered with Japan 7 Shields, SHARP’s comprehensive quality and durability framework ensuring superior reliability and safety.

Pricing and AvailabilityRyohu FS (Fixed Speed) starts from ₹34,490/- and Ryohu (Inverter) top throw starts from ₹39,990/-. Both the range have a comprehensive 5-year warranty and Ryohu (Inverter) also has 10-year compressor warranty. These models are available at leading retail outlets and online platforms across India. The pricing reflects SHARP’s aim to make advanced technology accessible to a wide range of consumers while maintaining high standards of quality and performance.

Wearable Tech Is Rewriting the Rules of Travel, and Helping Tourists Stay Off Their Phones

Mar 26: You can tell the future of travel is arriving not by what people are holding, but by what they’re wearing. Glasses that whisper cultural cues, watches that navigate through haptics, earbuds that quietly translate conversations: the screen is disappearing, but the tech is more present than ever.

Wearables are changing the rules of travel, allowing tourists to translate foreign languages and navigate foreign cities, all without touching their phone. The building blocks are already here: smart glasses that recognize landmarks, earbuds that translate conversations in real time and digital wallets that handle everything from boarding passes to shopping. But these tools don’t yet work together as one system.

“The ‘silos’ between services remain the biggest hurdle,” said IEEE Member Man Zhang. 

Breaking those silos, Zhang said, requires breakthroughs in application programming interfaces integration, user data privacy protocols and, most importantly, creating AI agents that are 100% reliable. 

“We are probably five to 10 years away from this being a mainstream, trustworthy reality,” she noted.

The Missing Pieces: Power, Integration, Trust

 Tourists have relied on digital technology to ease the burdens of travel for years. Map apps in your smartphone can help you navigate a city and use public transportation. Translation apps can handle menus and basic conversations. Contactless payments now work in most major cities.  

As IEEE Member Ning Hu points out, the experience is still fragmented. Wearables do some of these things, but they all require connection to a smartphone, and most of them still require specific apps to run the device.

Real-time translation suffers from noticeable latency and struggles with accents and contextual nuances. Contactless payment systems are widely adopted but remain fragmented across regions. GPS is strong outdoors, but indoor navigation and contextual guidance still lag significantly. Safety tools exist, but they are not well integrated or predictive.

“The missing pieces extend beyond technology itself,” Hu said. “We need interoperability and trust. Universal standards are essential, and travelers must have confidence that these systems won’t fail at critical moments. This requires addressing cross-regional compliance and data privacy concerns.”

For wearables to become as dependable as a passport or wallet, Hu argues that five breakthroughs are key: week-long battery life, robust offline capability, contextual AI that understands when and how to interrupt, an international privacy and identity framework and devices durable enough to survive water, drops and temperature extremes.

Zhang sets an even higher standard for reliability. 

“We trust our passports and wallets because they are simple and don’t fail,” she said. “If your digital passport app has a bug at border control, or your payment system fails in a taxi, the technology becomes a liability, not a help. This level of trust requires AI that is not just ‘mostly right’ but ‘never wrong’ in critical situations.”

While it may not always be seamless, wearables are already on the market and are being used by travelers. 

 “We are already there. The technology is available to anyone, but it is not yet widely adopted,” said IEEE Life Fellow Stu Lipoff, who uses smart glasses connected to his phone when he travels. 

He already relies on voice commands to get directions and translate foreign text. He can ask, “What am I looking at?” through the camera and call for emergency help. The catch, he says, is that “the applications are not seamless and you need to learn to use them.”

Augmented Reality and Haptics: Information Without the Screen

 Where many experts see the biggest change is in how information reaches travelers’ senses.

“Haptics enables sensory substitution and liberation, freeing individual senses from dedicated tasks so they can be redirected to richer experiences,” said Hu. Instead of staring at a map, a traveler could feel a vibration pattern that signals a left or right turn. Eyes stay on the street, ears stay with companions and devices will tell people how to navigate through discreet signals they can feel.

Zhang imagines systems that help blind travelers with a combination of camera, AI and haptics, maybe in a wrist band, to signal turns or obstacles. For deaf travelers, AR glasses could provide real-time, live captioning of a tour guide’s speech.

In Brazil, lEEE Senior Member Cristiane Pimentel points to immersive projects that let blind visitors feel and hear the Iguazu Falls through sound and vibration. She expects wearables to become more aesthetically pleasing, more resilient to heat and humidity and eventually replace printed guides and even some physical information displays at tourist sites.

What Should Never Be Automated Away

 Despite their optimism, the experts draw a line on what travel tech should not replace.

“Technology should never replace the unfiltered, spontaneous sensory experience of tasting local food,” said Zhang, describing the experience of sitting in a Hanoi market with a bowl of phở as irreplaceable. 

The future these experts describe is not one of flashy gadgets for their own sake, but of quieter, more ambient tools. If they’re right, the most advanced travel tech will be the gear you barely notice, because you’re too busy paying attention to the place you came to see.

Geneva becomes world’s capital of AI in July for ITU’s AI for Good Global Summit

Flagship summit to showcase AI breakthroughs back-to-back with inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance

Geneva, 25 March 2026 – As governments accelerate strategies on artificial intelligence, sovereign AI and AI diffusion across economies and societies, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will host the seventh AI for Good Global Summit from 7 to 10 July 2026 at Geneva’s Palexpo convention centre.

Over four days, leaders from government, industry, academia, civil society and the technical community will work together at AI for Good to guide the future of AI.

Live demos of tech innovations in agentic AI, edge AI, brain-computer interfaces, space computing and robotics will share the stage with discussions on national AI strategies to address the global challenge of unlocking AI’s potential to serve humanity.

AI for Good will be held back-to-back with the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, convened by the United Nations General Assembly and facilitated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Taking place at Palexpo from 6 to 7 July, the Global Dialogue is supported by a joint secretariat that includes the Executive Office of the Secretary General, ITU, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (ODET), with ITU and UNESCO leading the coordination.

“As artificial intelligence moves from strategy to real-world deployment, countries need the skills, solutions, and international standards for AI to work for everyone,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “Through AI for Good, ITU helps turn AI breakthroughs into practical ways to improve lives. We are also pleased to work with our partners on the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance where Member States and stakeholders will exchange perspectives on the policies shaping AI’s future.”

Global summit with a Swiss twist

The AI for Good Global Summit is organized by ITU – the United Nations agency for digital technologies – with over 50 UN partners and co-convened by Switzerland.

The Summit is the flagship platform for showcasing and helping scale up AI applications in areas from healthcare and education to food security, disaster risk reduction and misinformation, particularly in developing countries.

World-class keynotes, global technology premieres and an expo floor filled with innovators, UN partners and national pavilions will present local AI solutions and strategies from around the world, including special exhibits featuring home-grown innovations from Switzerland.

“We are delighted to once again co-convene with ITU the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, a central location for discussing and showcasing advances in artificial intelligence,” said Albert Rösti, Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication.

Uniting leaders to scale AI impact

Over 11,000 participants from 169 countries attended last year’s AI for Good Global Summit and World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) events. Participation included ministers from 100 countries, more than half representing developing countries.

The 2026 edition aims to further strengthen AI for Good as a globally representative platform for dialogue, collaboration, and action on AI and how to best harness the innovative power of technology.

Early speakers and programme details are now available, offering a first look at the global leaders shaping this year’s Summit, with further announcements to follow.

Solutions, skills, standards, and policy

“Day Zero” of the AI for Good Global Summit on 7 July will feature live demos, interactive exhibits, startup competitions and hands-on workshops. The summit’s Centre Stage officially opens on 8 July. Programme highlights include:

• Multistakeholder dialogue on AI standards and policy – exploring frontier challenges including agentic AI security, AI testing and benchmarking, misinformation and deepfakes, quantum technology applications and use cases, and AI infrastructure and energy demands.
• Global innovation competitions and awards – including the AI for Good Innovation Factory Grand Finale and machine-learning challenges on edge AI, TinyML, and space AI computing as well as the AI for Good Impact Awards and Robotics Youth Challenge Grand Finale.
• Technology demos and interactive expo – featuring cutting-edge systems in AI, robotics, embodied AI, brain-computer interfaces, autonomous vehicles and quantum technologies.
• AI skills and capacity-building programmes – with training sessions delivered by AI Skills Coalition partners, hands-on workshops and a dynamic Youth Zone supporting the next generation of innovators.
• Creative and cultural programmes – highlighting the intersection of AI and creativity with the AI for Good Film Festival, the Canvas of the Future AI Art Competition, and AI-enabled artistic performances. The summit will feature the premiere of RAISE, a documentary series executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio exploring how AI is already being used to address humanity’s most urgent challenges.
• The Quantum for Good track – offering a look at quantum information technologies and their potential to transform industries and societies.

The AI for Good Global Summit 2026 is supported by its partners and sponsors:

• Co-Convener: Swiss Confederation
• Diamond Sponsors: Microsoft Corporation, Technology Innovation Institute
• Gold Sponsors: Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) of the Republic of Korea, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan
• Silver Sponsors: EY, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Networking Partners: d-teach, Giga, HP Inc. UK Limited, Google, Lenovo, TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited
• Session Partners: Access Partnership, Cisco Systems, Inc., EY, FSAB Consulting, GTI, Microsoft
• Innovation Factory Local Chapters: Akbank, Government of Catalonia – Spain