Providence Technology Group

In 2018, a member of the California Rice Research Board reached out to Zhongli Pan about an insect problem. Pests had been infiltrating rice storage silos and damaging rice quality. “They asked me, ‘Is there any way to do something better and easier?’” recalls Pan, an adjunct professor in the department of biological and agricultural engineering at UC Davis. Insect infestation affects crops worldwide, a common problem with processing and storage facilities. Pan is familiar with the issue. He grew up on a farm in northeast China and has studied post-harvest processing of agricultural products since coming to California in 1995, including time spent working at the USDA Agricultural Research Service. With his Davis-based startup, AIVision Food, Pan believes smart technology is key to protecti...[Read More]

UC San Diego is launching a new public safety program that utilizes over 1000 camera sensors across the Golden State. UCSD said ALERTCalifornia, which was rolled out Wednesday, will provide tools to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters like wildfires, landslides, floods and more. Officials explained that this program manages “pan-tilt-zoom wildfire monitoring cameras” and sensor arrays that will collect data and real-time information to help advise public safety. Scientists will analyze the data to gain a better understanding of the long-term impacts natural disasters have on air quality, water quality, soil quality and human health in California, UCSD said. Keep Reading This Article at MSN

The acquisition is part of Bosch’s strategy to tap into the rising demand for chips globally, especially in the automotive and electronics sector. German engineering and technology firm Bosch has announced its intent to acquire US-based chipmaker TSI Semiconductors and invest $1.5 billion over the next few years to tap the rising demand for chips globally, especially in the automotive and electronics sector. “With the acquisition of TSI Semiconductors, we are establishing manufacturing capacity for silicon carbide (SiC) chips in an important sales market while also increasing our semiconductor manufacturing, globally,” Stefan Hartung, chairman of the Bosch board of management, said in a statement. Neither of the companies disclosed the cost of acquisition or the terms. Silicon carbide semi...[Read More]

California lawmakers are seeking to lead on the oversight of artificial intelligence with a sweeping bill that would monitor how employers and industries use automated decision tools, from algorithms that filter out job applicants to programs that detect academic cheating. Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D) has sponsored legislation (A.B. 331) that is the lone AI-related proposal in the California state legislature and one of the few measure across the nation that would impose assessment requirements on the private sector’s use of such software. Keep Reading This Article at bloomberglaw.com

When local governments plan to acquire technology, they need to follow a few key steps says Micheal Maurer, a partner at the Best Best & Krieger (BB&K) law firm and a member of the firm’s Municipal Law team. He also serves as city attorney for La Habra Heights and San Jacinto, Calif. Maurer says one best practice cities and counties should follow is to truly identify what the local agency’s current and future tech needs are. “Have a strategic plan and use procurement to implement that plan. Too often it is the other way around, with an inflexible procurement process dictating what’s possible for your agency. This leads to 21st century cities using 1990s technology.” Maurer thinks buying technology should be a group effort. “A tech-buying team should be a collaboration between the u...[Read More]

When Dereck Paul was training as a doctor at the University of California San Francisco, he couldn’t believe how outdated the hospital’s records-keeping was. The computer systems looked like they’d time-traveled from the 1990s, and many of the medical records were still kept on paper. “I was just totally shocked by how analog things were,” Paul recalls. The experience inspired Paul to found a small San Francisco-based startup called Glass Health. Glass Health is now among a handful of companies who are hoping to use artificial intelligence chatbots to offer services to doctors. These firms maintain that their programs could dramatically reduce the paperwork burden physicians face in their daily lives, and dramatically improve the patient-doctor relationship. K...[Read More]

The NBA hasn’t put a mic inside the basketball, but it may feel that way. Embodied audio software from tech startup Edge Sound Research was installed at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center this month in an NBA Launchpad trial that could fundamentally change how fans watch and listen to a pro basketball game in person. Through transducers embedded in the back of five arena seats, select Sacramento fans are experiencing high-fidelity tones and vibrations from dribbles, dunks or swishes that, according to Edge Sound Research co-founder Valtteri Salomaki, give a spectator the “POV” of the basketball. Keep Reading This Article at sportsbusinessjournal.com.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. & SEOUL, South Korea, March 22, 2023 Origin Materials (“Origin”) (NASDAQ: ORGN ORGNW), the world’s leading carbon negative materials company with a mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials, and Hyosung Advanced Materials Corp. (“Hyosung Advanced Materials”) (KRX: 298050), a Korea-based industrial materials company, today announced a partnership to industrialize sustainable high-value specialty materials. As part of the partnership, Hyosung Advanced Materials signed a multi-year capacity reservation agreement to purchase sustainable carbon-negative materials from Origin Materials, including PET and a hybrid polymer PET/F (a blend of PET and FDCA) for use in tire cord applications, HTC for use in battery materials, ...[Read More]

Berkeley has them. So does Elk Grove. And now the City of Sacramento is exploring allowing digital kiosks on its streets. Digital kiosks, also known as interactive kiosks, refer to public outdoor computer terminals that offer pedestrian and tourism information, transportation information, public safety announcements, social-services resources and Wi-Fi access. The City’s Planning Division is working with Third Plateau, a social impact consulting firm, to develop information regarding digital kiosks and if they would be appropriate for Sacramento. As a part of research, the City is looking to better understand the community’s needs and priorities related to digital kiosks. Keep Reading This Article at sacramentocityexpress.com.

The Greater Sacramento Economic Council (GSEC) announced that the city of Sacramento has been ranked second in the nation for diversity in its tech workforce. The findings come from a 2022 report on tech diversity from technology firm BeyondHQ, which previously ranked Sacramento third. “Sacramento has long been one of the most diverse cities in the country, and we are pleased to see that representation reflected in the tech workforce,” said Dr. Jenni Murphy, Dean of Continuing Education at Sacramento State and founder of ProjectAttain. “This progress is important, and we’ll continue to work diligently to boost inclusion through programs and education.” Keep reading this article at yahoo.com.

The city of Modesto revealed new details regarding a ransomware attack that targeted victims through the city’s digital network. On Thursday, the city said that it has been responding to a ransomware attack since last month and that a “limited amount” of the personal information of some people was compromised. That information included social security numbers, state-issued identification numbers, phone numbers, and driver’s license information. The city said it would begin notifying by mail next week those who may have been impacted by the attack and will provide them with free credit monitoring services. City Spokesperson Andrew Gonzales said the attack was limited to the police department and that no other residents, agencies or members of the public were threatened. Keep Reading This Ar...[Read More]

Austin-based electric carmaker Tesla will be opening up an engineering headquarters in California, a little more than a year after the company first announced plans to move its headquarters to central Texas. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the new engineering and artificial intelligence headquarters at an event  Wednesday at the new office space, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The roughly five-minute event was livestreamed on Twitter, and Newsom’s office later confirmed the announcement. Tesla also livestreamed further comments from Musk as the chief executive took the stage at a party for the new engineering headquarters. Keep reading This Article at msn.com.