
Daily roundup: FairPrice trials smart trolleys in pilot plan to integrate AI — and other top stories today, World News
1. In-store navigation and personalised recommendations: FairPrice trials smart trolleys in pilot plan to integrate AI
FairPrice Group (FPG) has revealed plans for a large-scale technology overhaul with its Store of Tomorrow programme that aims to revolutionise the retail experience for customers at their supermarket outlets.
According to a press release on Tuesday (June 3), FPG has already begun piloting various digital solutions, such as Smart Carts and digital price cards at one of its FairPrice Finest outlets... » READ MORE
2. Man, 44, charged with murder of 79-year-old woman in Sengkang
A 44-year-old man was on Tuesday (June 3) charged with the murder of a 79-year-old woman at a residential unit along Fernvale Road in Sengkang.
Lim Yuen Li, who was arrested on Sunday (June 1), was handed one count of murder at the State Court... » READ MORE
3. Kyoto's viral Kichi Kichi Omurice chef is coming to Singapore, here's how you can meet him
Fans of Japanese food would probably be familiar with Kichi Kichi Omurice, a popular restaurant in Kyoto that is hard to get a seat at.
It's helmed by the charismatic Chef Motokichi Yukimura, who is known for his theatrical meal services and delicious omurice... » READ MORE
4. TXT pop-up store at Plaza Singapura opens in June
K-pop boy group Tomorrow X Together (TXT) isn't returning to Singapore just yet but they're bringing something else to the table.
Their Ppulbatu Pop-up store opens this Friday (June 6) at Plaza Singapura and will run until June 29... » READ MORE
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New Paper
an hour ago
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GrabFood rider delivers stunning piano performance at Tanjong Pagar MRT
A video of a GrabFood delivery rider who stopped to deliver a showstopping performance on a piano at Tanjong Pagar MRT Station has warmed the cockles of netizens' hearts. The rider's rendition of From The Beginning Until Now from the soundtrack of popular 2002 K-drama Winter Sonata was shared in a reel by TikTokker binbin6364 on July 25 and has been viewed almost 360,000 times. It has also received 22,000 reactions and 1,960 comments at press time, and was subsequently shared on Reddit. In the first two minutes and 43 seconds of the clip, he misses a few notes, falters at one stage and repeats a phrase However, the blunders were more indicative of a lack of practice than proficiency, and the performance clearly touched the small crowd which had gathered. Most netizens seemed impressed and many commented that they loved the piece. TGIFTGIFTGIFTGIFTGIF said on TikTok: "There are lots of degree holder(s) and talented guys in Singapore do grab." Tianmingren82 suggested he could play in a hotel lounge: "Actually this guy if he tries to apply to work in a hotel as a live pianist, he might get accepted, better income, better working environment. His talent will be fully appreciated. I wish him all the best." Others recognised the plight of the struggling artist or felt he was wasting his talent delivering food instead of playing music. "This proves that delivering food is more profitable than being a musician," said superboss2727, also on TikTok. chimed in: "Whoever You Are Thank You For The Wonderful Piece. It's Sooo Beautiful." There were humorous comments as well. Redditor sphqxe, in reference to the GrabFood pianist's crash helmet, mask and gloves, remarked: "Good to see that he was wearing the appropriate protective gear for playing piano." Or this one from resilent83: "No wonder my order always delay." And a variation on the same theme from Mohamed Fauzan: "Bro where is my order?" Commenter nurazmeonly4 provided the counterpoint: "I think he have stack orders so while waiting for another order to process and ready for pick up... he just went next door to play piano first lah.. don't criticise him for his talent." There were words of encouragement too. Kelvin Duke offered: "While working in GrabFood. Please pursue your dream and go for your passion. Don't lose your dreams! I believe you have hidden talents! Keep it going! All my best wishes for you Bruh." And user4431348358166 said: "His parents must have invested in his piano learning sessions for him to play so well…. THANKS FOR THE LOVELY N BEAUTIFUL MAN."
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Toyota's internal inertia stifles digital transformation effort
[TOKYO] Inside Toyota Motor, a group of employees are worried about the company's future in an era when a car's software matters just as much as its sheet metal. The world's biggest automaker is known for churning out reliable cars such as clockwork, but it's been struggling to keep up with Elon Musk's Tesla, China's BYD and other frontrunners in the industry's shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) with sophisticated software. A somewhat obscure Toyota business unit called the Digital Transformation Promotion Department aims to change that. Established four years ago at the behest of then-chief executive officer and now chairman Akio Toyoda, the little-known group's mandate is to bring the carmaker up to speed by modernising it from within. The division's rank-and-file members are drawn from a wide cross-section of the corporate flow chart, everyone from R&D technicians to blue collar mechanics on factory floors. They all share a broad vision to introduce a more digitised future to a company with a stubbornly analogue culture. While they have managed to foster some changes, Toyota's core competency remains very much in hardware, with one foot in the world of EVs and its other planted in petrol-powered cars. That cautious approach has been key to the Japanese automaker's success so far. Yet it's also a source of frustration for some inside and outside the company who are pushing for quicker progress. 'Toyota sees the importance of software, but it's still slow,' said Kani Munidasa, chief executive officer of Code Crysalis, a Tokyo-based startup that's working with Toyota to put workers through Silicon Valley-style coding boot camps. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Lukewarm commitment Some advocates for a software-led rethink at Toyota have grown disillusioned by what they see as a lukewarm commitment to reform from within, according to sources familiar with the matter. They point to a recent decision to fold the Digital Transformation Promotion Department into a larger business unit, threatening to short-circuit its mission as a change agent. The division, which previously reported directly to chief executive officer Koji Sato, was absorbed by the Digital Information and Communication Group 'to accelerate the internal promotion of digital transformation', Toyota said. 'We aim to create new value and transform business by accelerating collaboration among the various infrastructures and the use of artificial intelligence,' it said. In some ways, a similar fate befell Toyota's effort to create a digitally-focused, quasi-independent subsidiary called Woven. Despite bold ambitions to usher in a 'software-first' approach to car manufacturing, in the end, Woven was quietly folded back into the corporate mothership in September 2023 after its American executive departed and its portfolio was downsized. While Toyota's software team is not directly involved in the development of the cars it sells, they have undertaken a number of projects focused on the company itself. That includes creating a database to keep track of the company's fleet of test cars, overhauling a system employees use to apply for time off, replacing whiteboards with touch screens on factory floors and deploying robots to deliver medicine inside Toyota's 527-bed company hospital in Aichi prefecture, according to sources familiar with the matter. Another project involved extending access for remote workers to computer assisted design software using a virtual desktop infrastructure in partnership with Nvidia Corp. 'Moving forward, our plan is to roll out similar systems not only to Toyota Motor but also to Toyota group companies,' Masanobu Takahisa, a Digital Transformation project general manager, was quoted as saying in a 2021 press release about the campaign. Those efforts might not be transformative, but they are notable in a company where scissors are banned in the office out of an abundance of safety-minded precaution, and erasable billboards are still used to keep employees informed at factories. Looming 'digital cliff' Toyota is not unique among Japanese companies. While the country dominates in some high-tech fields such as industrial robots, its business culture is known for clinging to fax machines and other bygone technologies. The government in Tokyo has warned about failing to surmount what it terms a 'digital cliff' separating Japan from other advanced economies. In March 2021, sitting across from union members during the final round of annual wage negotiations, Toyoda, scion of the founding family and then CEO, said he wanted to break down internal information silos and put the automaker's digital innovation on par with top global companies within three years. 'Inside Toyota, it's still the case that only people 'in the know' are considered valuable, and that knowledge only belongs to a small group,' he said. 'By moving forward with our digital transformation, we can rid ourselves of that inequity and build an environment where its easier for everyone to focus on their work.' The Toyota City-based carmaker hatched the Digital Transformation division to heed that call with a team of innovative minds looking to break down antiquated systems and practices. The idea was that, if all went well, that reform agenda would rub off on other parts of the company, boosting resiliency and productivity. But the progress has been piecemeal and the division is far from achieving its long-term goals, the sources familiar said. Former employees who spoke anonymously with Bloomberg described a workplace bound by conformity, with a paternalistic bureaucracy that values harmony over new ideas. One ex-employee joined Toyota because they were interested in autonomous driving, but instead felt trapped for several years doing quality control on mundane electronic parts. Toyota's global success, its record as the world's biggest automaker for five consecutive years and its status as Japan's biggest and most important company, has arguably created a self-enforcing inertia. Talk among employees of transferring or quitting usually triggered the same reaction: Why would anyone want to leave? It's not the only legacy carmaker struggling to adapt to modern technology. Volkswagen's Cariad software unit has been downsized following glitches and delays, while Ford Motor recently downgraded its next-generation advanced software project known as FNV4 by merging it with an existing architecture platform. That speaks to a larger issue involving the industry's ability to innovate fast enough to compete with the likes of Tesla and China's Xiaomi as well as Big Tech, which has moved aggressively into automotive dashboards with popular features such as Apple's CarPlay and Alphabet's Google Android operating system. Reinvention will not come easy for established automakers, said John Murphy, a senior automotive analyst at Bank of America. 'It goes into structures, platforms, technology, sort of the whole integrated operating system of a vehicle, I think, needs to be done differently,' he said. 'It's an uphill battle.' BLOOMBERG

Straits Times
16 hours ago
- Straits Times
K-pop girl group I-dle, Chinese singer Cai Xukun headline S'pore debut of Chinese music festival
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