Reading Time: 9 minutes In marketing, data isn’t a buzzword. It’s the lifeblood of all successful campaigns. But are you truly harnessing its power, or are you drowning in a sea of information? To answer this question, we sat down with Ankur Kothari, a seasoned Martech expert, to dive deep into this crucial topic. This interview, originally conducted for Chapter 6 of “The Customer Engagement Book: Adapt or Die” explores how businesses can translate raw data into actionable insights that drive real results. Ankur shares his wealth of knowledge on identifying valuable customer engagement data, distinguishing between signal and noise, and ultimately, shaping real-time strategies that keep companies ahead of the curve.   Ankur Kothari Q&A Interview 1. What types of customer engagement data are most valuable for making strategic business decisions? Primarily, there are four different buckets of customer engagement data. I would begin with behavioral data, encompassing website interaction, purchase history, and other app usage patterns. Second would be demographic information: age, location, income, and other relevant personal characteristics. Third would be sentiment analysis, where we derive information from social media interaction, customer feedback, or other customer reviews. Fourth would be the customer journey data. We track touchpoints across various channels of the customers to understand the customer journey path and conversion. Combining these four primary sources helps us understand the engagement data. 2. How do you distinguish between data that is actionable versus data that is just noise? First is keeping relevant to your business objectives, making actionable data that directly relates to your specific goals or KPIs, and then taking help from statistical significance. Actionable data shows clear patterns or trends that are statistically valid, whereas other data consists of random fluctuations or outliers, which may not be what you are interested in. You also want to make sure that there is consistency across sources. Actionable insights are typically corroborated by multiple data points or channels, while other data or noise can be more isolated and contradictory. Actionable data suggests clear opportunities for improvement or decision making, whereas noise does not lead to meaningful actions or changes in strategy. By applying these criteria, I can effectively filter out the noise and focus on data that delivers or drives valuable business decisions. 3. How can customer engagement data be used to identify and prioritize new business opportunities? First, it helps us to uncover unmet needs. By analyzing the customer feedback, touch points, support interactions, or usage patterns, we can identify the gaps in our current offerings or areas where customers are experiencing pain points. Second would be identifying emerging needs. Monitoring changes in customer behavior or preferences over time can reveal new market trends or shifts in demand, allowing my company to adapt their products or services accordingly. Third would be segmentation analysis. Detailed customer data analysis enables us to identify unserved or underserved segments or niche markets that may represent untapped opportunities for growth or expansion into newer areas and new geographies. Last is to build competitive differentiation. Engagement data can highlight where our companies outperform competitors, helping us to prioritize opportunities that leverage existing strengths and unique selling propositions. 4. Can you share an example of where data insights directly influenced a critical decision? I will share an example from my previous organization at one of the financial services where we were very data-driven, which made a major impact on our critical decision regarding our credit card offerings. We analyzed the customer engagement data, and we discovered that a large segment of our millennial customers were underutilizing our traditional credit cards but showed high engagement with mobile payment platforms. That insight led us to develop and launch our first digital credit card product with enhanced mobile features and rewards tailored to the millennial spending habits. Since we had access to a lot of transactional data as well, we were able to build a financial product which met that specific segment’s needs. That data-driven decision resulted in a 40% increase in our new credit card applications from this demographic within the first quarter of the launch. Subsequently, our market share improved in that specific segment, which was very crucial. 5. Are there any other examples of ways that you see customer engagement data being able to shape marketing strategy in real time? When it comes to using the engagement data in real-time, we do quite a few things. In the recent past two, three years, we are using that for dynamic content personalization, adjusting the website content, email messaging, or ad creative based on real-time user behavior and preferences. We automate campaign optimization using specific AI-driven tools to continuously analyze performance metrics and automatically reallocate the budget to top-performing channels or ad segments. Then we also build responsive social media engagement platforms like monitoring social media sentiments and trending topics to quickly adapt the messaging and create timely and relevant content. With one-on-one personalization, we do a lot of A/B testing as part of the overall rapid testing and market elements like subject lines, CTAs, and building various successful variants of the campaigns. 6. How are you doing the 1:1 personalization? We have advanced CDP systems, and we are tracking each customer’s behavior in real-time. So the moment they move to different channels, we know what the context is, what the relevance is, and the recent interaction points, so we can cater the right offer. So for example, if you looked at a certain offer on the website and you came from Google, and then the next day you walk into an in-person interaction, our agent will already know that you were looking at that offer. That gives our customer or potential customer more one-to-one personalization instead of just segment-based or bulk interaction kind of experience. We have a huge team of data scientists, data analysts, and AI model creators who help us to analyze big volumes of data and bring the right insights to our marketing and sales team so that they can provide the right experience to our customers. 7. What role does customer engagement data play in influencing cross-functional decisions, such as with product development, sales, and customer service? Primarily with product development — we have different products, not just the financial products or products whichever organizations sell, but also various products like mobile apps or websites they use for transactions. So that kind of product development gets improved. The engagement data helps our sales and marketing teams create more targeted campaigns, optimize channel selection, and refine messaging to resonate with specific customer segments. Customer service also gets helped by anticipating common issues, personalizing support interactions over the phone or email or chat, and proactively addressing potential problems, leading to improved customer satisfaction and retention. So in general, cross-functional application of engagement improves the customer-centric approach throughout the organization. 8. What do you think some of the main challenges marketers face when trying to translate customer engagement data into actionable business insights? I think the huge amount of data we are dealing with. As we are getting more digitally savvy and most of the customers are moving to digital channels, we are getting a lot of data, and that sheer volume of data can be overwhelming, making it very difficult to identify truly meaningful patterns and insights. Because of the huge data overload, we create data silos in this process, so information often exists in separate systems across different departments. We are not able to build a holistic view of customer engagement. Because of data silos and overload of data, data quality issues appear. There is inconsistency, and inaccurate data can lead to incorrect insights or poor decision-making. Quality issues could also be due to the wrong format of the data, or the data is stale and no longer relevant. As we are growing and adding more people to help us understand customer engagement, I’ve also noticed that technical folks, especially data scientists and data analysts, lack skills to properly interpret the data or apply data insights effectively. So there’s a lack of understanding of marketing and sales as domains. It’s a huge effort and can take a lot of investment. Not being able to calculate the ROI of your overall investment is a big challenge that many organizations are facing. 9. Why do you think the analysts don’t have the business acumen to properly do more than analyze the data? If people do not have the right idea of why we are collecting this data, we collect a lot of noise, and that brings in huge volumes of data. If you cannot stop that from step one—not bringing noise into the data system—that cannot be done by just technical folks or people who do not have business knowledge. Business people do not know everything about what data is being collected from which source and what data they need. It’s a gap between business domain knowledge, specifically marketing and sales needs, and technical folks who don’t have a lot of exposure to that side. Similarly, marketing business people do not have much exposure to the technical side — what’s possible to do with data, how much effort it takes, what’s relevant versus not relevant, and how to prioritize which data sources will be most important. 10. Do you have any suggestions for how this can be overcome, or have you seen it in action where it has been solved before? First, cross-functional training: training different roles to help them understand why we’re doing this and what the business goals are, giving technical people exposure to what marketing and sales teams do. And giving business folks exposure to the technology side through training on different tools, strategies, and the roadmap of data integrations. The second is helping teams work more collaboratively. So it’s not like the technology team works in a silo and comes back when their work is done, and then marketing and sales teams act upon it. Now we’re making it more like one team. You work together so that you can complement each other, and we have a better strategy from day one. 11. How do you address skepticism or resistance from stakeholders when presenting data-driven recommendations? We present clear business cases where we demonstrate how data-driven recommendations can directly align with business objectives and potential ROI. We build compelling visualizations, easy-to-understand charts and graphs that clearly illustrate the insights and the implications for business goals. We also do a lot of POCs and pilot projects with small-scale implementations to showcase tangible results and build confidence in the data-driven approach throughout the organization. 12. What technologies or tools have you found most effective for gathering and analyzing customer engagement data? I’ve found that Customer Data Platforms help us unify customer data from various sources, providing a comprehensive view of customer interactions across touch points. Having advanced analytics platforms — tools with AI and machine learning capabilities that can process large volumes of data and uncover complex patterns and insights — is a great value to us. We always use, or many organizations use, marketing automation systems to improve marketing team productivity, helping us track and analyze customer interactions across multiple channels. Another thing is social media listening tools, wherever your brand is mentioned or you want to measure customer sentiment over social media, or track the engagement of your campaigns across social media platforms. Last is web analytical tools, which provide detailed insights into your website visitors’ behaviors and engagement metrics, for browser apps, small browser apps, various devices, and mobile apps. 13. How do you ensure data quality and consistency across multiple channels to make these informed decisions? We established clear guidelines for data collection, storage, and usage across all channels to maintain consistency. Then we use data integration platforms — tools that consolidate data from various sources into a single unified view, reducing discrepancies and inconsistencies. While we collect data from different sources, we clean the data so it becomes cleaner with every stage of processing. We also conduct regular data audits — performing periodic checks to identify and rectify data quality issues, ensuring accuracy and reliability of information. We also deploy standardized data formats. On top of that, we have various automated data cleansing tools, specific software to detect and correct data errors, redundancies, duplicates, and inconsistencies in data sets automatically. 14. How do you see the role of customer engagement data evolving in shaping business strategies over the next five years? The first thing that’s been the biggest trend from the past two years is AI-driven decision making, which I think will become more prevalent, with advanced algorithms processing vast amounts of engagement data in real-time to inform strategic choices. Somewhat related to this is predictive analytics, which will play an even larger role, enabling businesses to anticipate customer needs and market trends with more accuracy and better predictive capabilities. We also touched upon hyper-personalization. We are all trying to strive toward more hyper-personalization at scale, which is more one-on-one personalization, as we are increasingly capturing more engagement data and have bigger systems and infrastructure to support processing those large volumes of data so we can achieve those hyper-personalization use cases. As the world is collecting more data, privacy concerns and regulations come into play. I believe in the next few years there will be more innovation toward how businesses can collect data ethically and what the usage practices are, leading to more transparent and consent-based engagement data strategies. And lastly, I think about the integration of engagement data, which is always a big challenge. I believe as we’re solving those integration challenges, we are adding more and more complex data sources to the picture. So I think there will need to be more innovation or sophistication brought into data integration strategies, which will help us take a truly customer-centric approach to strategy formulation.   This interview Q&A was hosted with Ankur Kothari, a previous Martech Executive, for Chapter 6 of The Customer Engagement Book: Adapt or Die. Download the PDF or request a physical copy of the book here. The post Ankur Kothari Q&A: Customer Engagement Book Interview appeared first on MoEngage. #ankur #kothari #qampampa #customer #engagement

Daniel Pearson , CEO, KnownHostJune 12, 20253 Min ReadBusiness success concept. Cubes with arrows and target on the top.Cyber incidents are expected to cost the US billion in 2025. According to the latest estimates, this dynamic will continue to rise, reaching approximately 1.82 trillion US dollars in cybercrime costs by 2028. These figures highlight the crucial importance of strong cybersecurity strategies, which businesses must build to reduce the likelihood of risks. As technology evolves at a dramatic pace, businesses are increasingly dependent on utilizing digital infrastructure, exposing themselves to threats such as ransomware, accidental data loss, and corruption.  Despite the 3-2-1 backup rule being invented in 2009, this strategy has stayed relevant for businesses over the years, ensuring that the loss of data is minimized under threat, and will be a crucial method in the upcoming years to prevent major data loss.   What Is the 3-2-1 Backup Rule? The 3-2-1 backup rule is a popular backup strategy that ensures resilience against data loss. The setup consists of keeping your original data and two backups.  The data also needs to be stored in two different locations, such as the cloud or a local drive.  The one in the 3-2-1 backup rule represents storing a copy of your data off site, and this completes the setup.  This setup has been considered a gold standard in IT security, as it minimizes points of failure and increases the chance of successful data recovery in the event of a cyber-attack.  Related:Why Is This Rule Relevant in the Modern Cyber Threat Landscape? Statistics show that in 2024, 80% of companies have seen an increase in the frequency of cloud attacks.  Although many businesses assume that storing data in the cloud is enough, it is certainly not failsafe, and businesses are in bigger danger than ever due to the vast development of technology and AI capabilities attackers can manipulate and use.  As the cloud infrastructure has seen a similar speed of growth, cyber criminals are actively targeting these, leaving businesses with no clear recovery option. Therefore, more than ever, businesses need to invest in immutable backup solutions.  Common Backup Mistakes Businesses Make A common misstep is keeping all backups on the same physical network. If malware gets in, it can quickly spread and encrypt both the primary data and the backups, wiping out everything in one go. Another issue is the lack of offline or air-gapped backups. Many businesses rely entirely on cloud-based or on-premises storage that's always connected, which means their recovery options could be compromised during an attack. Related:Finally, one of the most overlooked yet crucial steps is testing backup restoration. A backup is only useful if it can actually be restored. Too often, companies skip regular testing. This can lead to a harsh reality check when they discover, too late, that their backup data is either corrupted or completely inaccessible after a breach. How to Implement the 3-2-1 Backup Rule? To successfully implement the 3-2-1 backup strategy as part of a robust cybersecurity framework, organizations should start by diversifying their storage methods. A resilient approach typically includes a mix of local storage, cloud-based solutions, and physical media such as external hard drives.  From there, it's essential to incorporate technologies that support write-once, read-many functionalities. This means backups cannot be modified or deleted, even by administrators, providing an extra layer of protection against threats. To further enhance resilience, organizations should make use of automation and AI-driven tools. These technologies can offer real-time monitoring, detect anomalies, and apply predictive analytics to maintain the integrity of backup data and flag any unusual activity or failures in the process. Lastly, it's crucial to ensure your backup strategy aligns with relevant regulatory requirements, such as GDPR in the UK or CCPA in the US. Compliance not only mitigates legal risk but also reinforces your commitment to data protection and operational continuity. Related:By blending the time-tested 3-2-1 rule with modern advances like immutable storage and intelligent monitoring, organizations can build a highly resilient backup architecture that strengthens their overall cybersecurity posture. About the AuthorDaniel Pearson CEO, KnownHostDaniel Pearson is the CEO of KnownHost, a managed web hosting service provider. Pearson also serves as a dedicated board member and supporter of the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on advancing the AlmaLinux OS -- an open-source operating system derived from RHEL. His passion for technology extends beyond his professional endeavors, as he actively promotes digital literacy and empowerment. Pearson's entrepreneurial drive and extensive industry knowledge have solidified his reputation as a respected figure in the tech community. See more from Daniel Pearson ReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like #role #backup #rule #cybersecurity

While we’ve had plenty of superhero games come out over the past decade and a half, most have either been open-world adventures or fighting games. I’m as excited as anyone for the upcoming Marvel Tōkon and Invincible VS, but I’m also ready for a little something different. That’s where Dispatch from AdHoc Studio comes in. Dispatch is a game made for people who enjoy watching a rerun of The Office as a palate cleanser after the bloody battles of Invincible. So, me. You’re cast as Robert Robertson, the former superhero known as Mecha Man. He has to step away from frontline superheroics as the mech suit he relied on was destroyed in battle. Needing a job, he starts work at a dispatch center for superheroes, and the demo takes you through a small, 30-minute chunk of his first day. You’ll notice Dispatch’s crude humor early on. The first thing you can do in Dispatch is give a colleague a “bro fist” at a urinal, and the juvenile jokes don’t stop there. Middle school boys are going to love it, though I’d be lying if I said a few of the jokes didn’t get chuckles from me. Another of Robertson’s co-workers, who also used to be a superhero until his powers caused him to rapidly age, introduces Robertson’s team of misfit heroes, though that term should be used loosely. He notes they’re a “motley crew of dangerous fuck-ups” as Robertson examines their files, each with a mugshot and rapsheet. Robertson isn’t in charge of the Avengers — he’s leading a D-List Suicide Squad. The cast, however, is full of A-listers: Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer, Aaron Paul, and Jeffrey Wright are among those lending their voices to Dispatch. Much like The Boys, Dispatch plays with the idea of the corporatization of superheroes. These heroes aren’t a lone Spider-Man swinging through Manhattan on patrol — they’re employees waiting for an assignment. Gameplay consists of matching the righthero to the job. Some assignments I saw in the demo included breaking up a robbery, catching a 12-year-old thief, and grabbing a kid’s balloon from a tree while also making sure the kid didn’t cry. Seeing as how one of your misfits is a literal bat man and another looks like a tiefling, you have to choose wisely. The real draw of Dispatch for me isn’t the point-and-click assignment gameplay, but rather the choice-based dialogue. It’s developed by AdHoc Studio, which was formed in 2018 by former developers who had worked on Telltale titles like The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead, and Tales from the Borderlands, and you can easily see the throughline from those titles to Dispatch. At various points, you have a limited time to select Robertson’s dialogue, and occasionally a pop-up saying a character “will remember that” appears. How much Robertson’s choices actually have consequences or influence his relationships with others remains to be seen, though I have no doubt those choices will be fun to make. After its reveal at The Game Awards six months ago, Dispatch will be coming to Windows PC and unspecified consoles sometime this year. You can check out its demo now on Steam. #dispatch #offers #something #new #superhero

Mario Kart World is one of the year's hottest games, but its pivot to an open world setting, while peeling back kart customization options, opened a massive rift for Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds to drift into. And Sega is determined to do everything possible to make its kart racer the one to beat by including numerous guest characters and cross-platform, multiplayer contests. I took Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds for a test drive at the Summer Game Fest, and it's a strong contender racing game of the year.Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds' Deep Kart CustomizationThe biggest difference between Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and Mario Kart World is that Sega's title focuses on kart customization. I'm not just talking about colors and tires; CrossWorlds introduces Gadgets, add-ons that augment your car, giving your whip helpful abilities to bring into the race. Each ride has a license plate with six slots where you can slot your chosen Gadgets. A Gadget can take up one, two, or three slots, so the idea is to find a mix that pairs well with character traits. There's a surprising amount of depth for people who want to min/max their favorite anthropomorphic animal.I chose Sonic, a speed character, and added a Gadget that started him with two boosts, a Gadget that improved his speed while trailing an opponent, and a Gadget that improved acceleration. There were so many Gadgets that I could have easily spent my entire demo session building a car to match my playstyle. I envision people happily getting lost in the weeds before participating in their first race.Gameplay: This Ain't Mario Kart WorldAlthough it's not an open world like Mario Kart World, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds injects a unique spin on traditional kart racing. The familiar trappings are all here, such as rings to boost your top speed. Each Grand Prix consists of three maps, but the gimmick at play is stage transitions. Recommended by Our EditorsAbout a third of the way down a course, a giant ring-portal opens, presenting a new world and track. The shift in tone and terrain keeps the races fast-paced and unpredictable. I particularly liked how whoever is in first place can sometimes choose which CrossWorlds track to go down, controlling the tempo. With every race completion, you earn credits based on your performance that you can cash in for new car parts.In a stark contrast to Mario Kart World, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is far more aggressive, even on lower difficulties. At the start of each grand prix, the game assigns you a rival—this is the character to beat, and the one who taunts you all match. Beat them all, and you can race high-powered Super variants.Just about everything caused you to lose rings: bumping into other players, the walls, and, of course, getting hit by items. The series' trademark rubberband AI is still in place, too. Even in the press demo, I wasn't safe from taking four items back to back and being knocked off the stage mere feet away from the finish line.The demo didn't include the new characters that debuted at the Summer Game Fest, but I studied the character screen to see who else could be coming to the game. Including the 12 Sonic characters available in the demo, I counted a whopping 64 character slots. They include Hatsune Miku, Joker, Ichiban Kasuga, and Steve. However, I hope to see other classic Sega IPs like in previous Sonic Racing titles.Platforms and Release DateWill Sega do what Nintendon't? I had an exhilarating time playing Sonic Racing: CrossWorld, and I can't wait to see more wild track compositions. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will be available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on Sept. 25, 2025. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is planned for later in the year. #can #sonic #racing #crossworlds #outrun

We are pleased to announce the release of Matali Physics 6.9, the next significant step on the way to the seventh major version of the environment. Matali Physics 6.9 introduces a number of improvements and fixes to Matali Physics Core, Matali Render and Matali Games modules, presents physics-driven, completely dynamic light sources, real-time object scaling with destruction, lighting model simulating global illuminationin some aspects, comprehensive support for Wayland on Linux, and more. Posted by komires on Jun 3rd, 2025 What is Matali Physics? Matali Physics is an advanced, modern, multi-platform, high-performance 3d physics environment intended for games, VR, AR, physics-based simulations and robotics. Matali Physics consists of the advanced 3d physics engine Matali Physics Core and other physics-driven modules that all together provide comprehensive simulation of physical phenomena and physics-based modeling of both real and imaginary objects. What's new in version 6.9? Physics-driven, completely dynamic light sources. The introduced solution allows for processing hundreds of movable, long-range and shadow-casting light sources, where with each source can be assigned logic that controls its behavior, changes light parameters, volumetric effects parameters and others; Real-time object scaling with destruction. All groups of physics objects and groups of physics objects with constraints may be subject to destruction process during real-time scaling, allowing group members to break off at different sizes; Lighting model simulating global illuminationin some aspects. Based on own research and development work, processed in real time, ready for dynamic scenes, fast on mobile devices, not based on lightmaps, light probes, baked lights, etc.; Comprehensive support for Wayland on Linux. The latest version allows Matali Physics SDK users to create advanced, high-performance, physics-based, Vulkan-based games for modern Linux distributions where Wayland is the main display server protocol; Other improvements and fixes which complete list is available on the History webpage. What platforms does Matali Physics support? Android Android TV *BSD iOS iPadOS LinuxmacOS Steam Deck tvOS UWPWindowsWhat are the benefits of using Matali Physics? Physics simulation, graphics, sound and music integrated into one total multimedia solution where creating complex interactions and behaviors is common and relatively easy Composed of dedicated modules that do not require additional licences and fees Supports fully dynamic and destructible scenes Supports physics-based behavioral animations Supports physical AI, object motion and state change control Supports physics-based GUI Supports physics-based particle effects Supports multi-scene physics simulation and scene combining Supports physics-based photo mode Supports physics-driven sound Supports physics-driven music Supports debug visualization Fully serializable and deserializable Available for all major mobile, desktop and TV platforms New features on request Dedicated technical support Regular updates and fixes If you have questions related to the latest version and the use of Matali Physics environment as a game creation solution, please do not hesitate to contact us. #komires #matali #physics #released

Researchers from the US-based University of Massachusetts Amherst, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, have applied cold spray to repair the deteriorating “Brown Bridge” in Great Barrington, built in 1949. The project marks the first known use of this method on bridge infrastructure and aims to evaluate its effectiveness as a faster, more cost-effective, and less disruptive alternative to conventional repair techniques. “Now that we’ve completed this proof-of-concept repair, we see a clear path to a solution that is much faster, less costly, easier, and less invasive,” said Simos Gerasimidis, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “To our knowledge, this is a first. Of course, there is some R&D that needs to be developed, but this is a huge milestone to that,” he added. The pilot project is also a collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration. It was supported by the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative, which provided essential equipment for the demonstration. Members of the UMass Amherst and MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering research team, led by Simos Gerasimidis. Photo via UMass Amherst. Tackling America’s Bridge Crisis with Cold Spray Technology Nearly half of the bridges across the United States are in “fair” condition, while 6.8% are classified as “poor,” according to the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. In Massachusetts, about 9% of the state’s 5,295 bridges are considered structurally deficient. The costs of restoring this infrastructure are projected to exceed billion—well beyond current funding levels.  The cold spray method consists of propelling metal powder particles at high velocity onto the beam’s surface. Successive applications build up additional layers, helping restore its thickness and structural integrity. This method has successfully been used to repair large structures such as submarines, airplanes, and ships, but this marks the first instance of its application to a bridge. One of cold spray’s key advantages is its ability to be deployed with minimal traffic disruption.  “Every time you do repairs on a bridge you have to block traffic, you have to make traffic controls for substantial amounts of time,” explained Gerasimidis. “This will allow us toon this actual bridge while cars are going.” To enhance precision, the research team integrated 3D LiDAR scanning technology into the process. Unlike visual inspections, which can be subjective and time-consuming, LiDAR creates high-resolution digital models that pinpoint areas of corrosion. This allows teams to develop targeted repair plans and deposit materials only where needed—reducing waste and potentially extending a bridge’s lifespan. Next steps: Testing Cold-Sprayed Repairs The bridge is scheduled for demolition in the coming years. When that happens, researchers will retrieve the repaired sections for further analysis. They plan to assess the durability, corrosion resistance, and mechanical performance of the cold-sprayed steel in real-world conditions, comparing it to results from laboratory tests. “This is a tremendous collaboration where cutting-edge technology is brought to address a critical need for infrastructure in the commonwealth and across the United States,” said John Hart, Class of 1922 Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. “I think we’re just at the beginning of a digital transformation of bridge inspection, repair and maintenance, among many other important use cases.” 3D Printing for Infrastructure Repairs Beyond cold spray techniques, other innovative 3D printing methods are emerging to address construction repair challenges. For example, researchers at University College Londonhave developed an asphalt 3D printer specifically designed to repair road cracks and potholes. “The material properties of 3D printed asphalt are tunable, and combined with the flexibility and efficiency of the printing platform, this technique offers a compelling new design approach to the maintenance of infrastructure,” the UCL team explained. Similarly, in 2018, Cintec, a Wales-based international structural engineering firm, contributed to restoring the historic Government building known as the Red House in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. This project, managed by Cintec’s North American branch, marked the first use of additive manufacturing within sacrificial structures. It also featured the installation of what are claimed to be the longest reinforcement anchors ever inserted into a structure—measuring an impressive 36.52 meters. Join our Additive Manufacturing Advantageevent on July 10th, where AM leaders from Aerospace, Space, and Defense come together to share mission-critical insights. Online and free to attend.Secure your spot now. Who won the2024 3D Printing Industry Awards? Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletterto keep up with the latest 3D printing news. You can also follow us onLinkedIn, and subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry Youtube channel to access more exclusive content. Featured image shows members of the UMass Amherst and MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering research team, led by Simos Gerasimidis. Photo via UMass Amherst. #umass #mit #test #cold #spray

Intergalactic Big Rigs Chart Their Course to a New Platform STOCKHOLM – June 4, 2025 – Today, Swedish indie publisher Raw Fury and developer Monster & Monster announced that their interstellar trucking simulator, Star Trucker, is coming to PlayStation 5 on June 10, joining its current availability on PC via Steam and GOG, and Xbox Series X|S.  In addition to the PlayStation 5 launch, a new game update will also deliver several quality of life upgrades and new features to further enhance players’ galaxy-hopping trucking experience. Star Trucker puts an intergalactic twist on the trucking simulation genre by bringing authentic and grounded trucking gameplay to an out-of-this-world setting. Star Trucker invites players to take to the ultimate open road and search for fame and fortune among the stars. Watch the PlayStation announcement trailer here. Press Kit can be found here. In Star Trucker, players tame the most open road of them all – space – in a true Americana-inspired retro sci-fi fashion. Players will be able to explore expansive worlds, overcome the challenges and opportunities with zero-g truck physics, skill up their mastery over hauling different types of goods and upgrade their truck to complete their jobs faster and more efficiently.  Key Features in Star Trucker include: Cruise the hyper highways, taking on a variety of jobs such as fuel-hungry long hauls and hazardous drop-offs to earn cash and unlock new content. Use the galactic map to plan your journey and warp jumps, while keeping an eye on your fuel reserves and power levels. Utilize the fully voiced, interactive CB radio to get the latest gossip from fellow truckers, request docking permissions or send out an SOS, and swing by auto shops to upgrade and improve your truck systems to gain access to new areas. Kick back, crank up the cab hi-fi and cruise to a range of starburst blues, galactic rock and asteroid-influenced Americana, spotlighting unique tracks by acclaimed musicians like Tom Bromley from Los Campesinos!, composer Randall Breneman and more. ABOUT MONSTER & MONSTER Monster and Monster consists of Co-Directors Dan Griffiths and David Fullick. Established in 2011, the studio has developed multiple games, including the star-hopping haulage sim Star Trucker and the award-winning DEEP LOOT, an underwater exploration game that surpassed three million downloads across iOS and Android platforms. Studio: www.monsterandmonster.com  Twitter: @BaronVonMonster ABOUT RAW FURY Raw Fury is an indiepublisher dedicated to connecting games with players by creating unforgettable experiences. With over 50 games published, including the Kingdom series, Blue Prince, Cassette Beasts, Norco, and Sable, Raw Fury has been consistently recognised as a top 10 publisher in Metacritic’s annual rankings. With an unwavering commitment to being the best partner for indie developers, Raw Fury continues to champion unique games and bring exceptional experiences to players worldwide. Web: rawfury.com X: x.com/rawfury Discord: discord.gg/rawfury BlueSky: rawfury.bsky.social MEDIA CONTACT fortyseven communications on behalf of Raw Fury rawfury@fortyseven.com The post Star Trucker Coming to PlayStation 5 on June 10 appeared first on Raw Fury. #star #trucker #coming #playstation #june

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "; The 2025 Serpentine Pavilion has opened to the public today, on 6 June, in London's Kensington Gardens. Named A Capsule in Time, the pavilion, designed by Bangladeshi architect and educator Marina Tabassum and her firm, Marina Tabassum Architects, the design discusses the permanent and ephemeral aspects of the commission. The Serpentine Pavilion will be on view in London's Kensington Gardens from June 6th to October 26th, 2025.The pavilion, which runs along the park's north-south axis, has a center court that lines up with Serpentine South's bell tower and an elongated capsule-like shape. The building, which consists of four wooden sculptures with a translucent façade that diffuses and dapples light as it enters the room, was inspired by summer park visitors and arched garden canopies that filter warm daylight through verdant greenery. A kinetic component that allows one of the capsule forms to move, link, and change the Pavilion into a new area is essential to Tabassum's design.Drawing inspiration from the history and architectural heritage of South Asian Shamiyana tents or awnings, Tabassum's design emphasizes the sensory and spiritual possibilities of architecture through scale and the interaction of light and shadow. Made of cloth and held up by bamboo poles, these structures serve a similar dynamic purpose and are frequently set up for outdoor events and festivities. The potential to bring people together through dialogue, networking, live events, and public gatherings is welcomed by Tabassum's Pavilion's openness.In keeping with Dame Zaha Hadid's philosophy of pushing the limits of architecture, Tabassum's Pavilion will commemorate the 25th anniversary of this groundbreaking project.Like many of Tabassum's earlier projects, the Pavilion is built around a semi-mature Ginkgo tree, a climate-resilient tree species that dates back to the early Jurassic Period. It takes into account the threshold between inside and outside, the tactility of material, lightness and darkness, height and volume. The leaves of the Gingko tree will gradually change from green to a brilliant gold-yellow color during the summer and into the fall. The choice of a gingko was motivated by the species' demonstrated climate change resistance and its contribution to Kensington Gardens' varied treescape. After the Pavilion closes in October, the species—which is immune to many modern pests and diseases—will be transplanted in the park.Tabassum elaborates on her idea for the Pavilion to serve as a multipurpose area where guests can congregate and bond via dialogue and information exchange in an age of growing censorship. The books that Tabassum and her colleagues at MTA have put together honor the diversity of Bangladesh, Bengali literature, poetry, ecology, and culture. It is housed on shelves that are integrated into the building and references the Pavilion's afterlife, which is a library that is accessible to everyone and is no longer located on Serpentine's lawn.“The Serpentine Pavilion celebrates the London summer—a time to be outdoors, connecting with friends and family in Kensington Gardens. We want to celebrate the tradition of park-going. "On a sunny day, the play of filtered daylight through the translucent facade draws on the memory of being under a Shamiyana at a Bengali wedding. Built from bamboo and decorated cloth, Shamiyanas convene hundreds of guests on any occasion," said Marina Tabassum, Architect, Marina Tabassum Architects. The Serpentine Pavilion offers a unique platform under the summer sun to unite as people rich in diversity. How can we transcend our differences and connect as humans?.""The Serpentine Pavilion offers a place where people of diverse backgrounds, ages and cultures can come together under one roof and call for action, facilitating dialogues that expand our boundaries of tolerance and respect," Tabassum added."We are thrilled to be working with Marina and her team on this year's Pavilion. The project, with its tight timescales and unique engineering challenges, is always particularly rewarding for our team of engineers and project managers," said Jon Leach, Director of AECOM. "Celebrating our thirteenth year on the Pavilion, it is fantastic to work with the Serpentine and the entire team once again to bring this year's design to life," Leach added.In 2024, architect, researcher and educator Marina Tabassum was named as the world's most influential architects in the 2024 TIME100 Next List by TIME Magazine. In 20216, Tabassum was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture with Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, Dhaka, Bangladesh.Founded in 2005 after Tabassum's ten-year partnership with URBANA, Marina Tabassum Architects has created environmentally, politically, and socially concerned architectural designs. MTA carries out research on environmental deterioration in Bangladesh, a country particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change, in addition to buildings situated in Dhaka, the surrounding areas, and other regions of the country.All images © Iwan Baan, courtesy of Serpentine.> via Serpentine Galleries  #marina #tabassum #opens #serpentine #pavilion

Mount Rundle is a mountain in Banff National Park that overlooks the towns of Banff and Canmore in the Canadian province of Alberta. Geologically, it consists of limestones, dolomitic limestones, dolomites and shales of Paleozoic age. In ascending order, they belong to the Palliser, Exshaw and Banff Formations, topped by the Rundle Group, which was named after the mountain. Mount Rundle could be considered a small mountain range as the mountain extends for more than 12 kilometreson the south side of the Trans-Canada Highway eastward from Banff to Canmore, and has seven distinct peaks. The southeasternmost of these peaks is the East End of Rundle, pictured here from the trail to Ha Ling Peak, with Whitemans Pond in the foreground. Photograph credit: The Cosmonaut Recently featured: Bearded vulture London King's Cross railway station Daft Punk Archive More featured pictures #wikipedia #picture #day #june

Events Letterheads Per L'Horta: An Intimate International Meet The masses amass in Almàssera for an inspiring four days painting in the Valencian sun. Better Letters Jun 5, 2025 • 8 min read Letterheads Per L'Horta in Almàssera, Valencia, 1–4 May 2025. This time last month, over 45 guests from 11 countries were feeling the post-Letterheads blues after four days in the small town of Almàssera, just outside Valencia, Spain. Letterheads Per L'Horta was organised by Nico Barrios, and it was a wonderfully intimate experience, with a host of activities to enjoy and learn from.Something that made the event feel extra special was the involvement of people from the local community, who were just as much a part of it as those that had travelled from as far afield as Australia and Mexico to attend. This included bidding in the auction for a souvenir of the long weekend in May spent with friends, new and old.Almàssera and L'HortaAlmàssera is a small town set within a vast expanse of small-scale agricultural production. While each plot of land is known as a huerto, they are collectively referred to as horta, which doesn't really have a direct translation. The Horta Nordthat surrounds Almàssera is the largest and best surviving example of this type of terrain.We were based in the town's Museu de l'Horta, which consists of an old and a modern building with a yard between them that housed the panel jam area.A traditional alqueríain l'horta, a view down on the meet, and the tents protecting the panel jam area.Inside the modern building there was a selection of pieces from Juan Nava's 2022 Gráfica Urbana de Valenciaexhibition. There was also a trip down memory lane for Valencian locals in the form of another exhibition, L'ombra de les lletres, with photos of signs spanning the period 1880–2000.L'ombra de les lletres was originally curated by Tomàs Gorria in 2024. Pedal PowerAlmàssera, and the city of Valencia, are easily navigated by bicycle, which Nico used to facilitate a cycling tour of the old signs of l'horta. In addition to the stories of the individual companies advertised, he was also able to identify the painters responsible for some of the signs.The tour took guests into the heart of l'horta, which, as a largely agricultural area, boasts a surprising number of old and hand-painted signs.Panel JammingAfter a windy first day or so, the event was bathed in beautiful Mediterranean sunshine. The protective tents were essential, although those in the middle had to carefully manage their colour schemes in light of the red hue they cast across the easels.Getting painty in l'horta: Nathan Collis, Xis Gomes, Maria Cano, Mike Meyer, and Loughlin Brady Smith.Panels set to dry in the early evening sun.WorkshopsAcross the first three days, Thursday to Saturday, there was a series of lettering and calligraphy workshops that were also open to those outside of the Letterheads event proper.Pictured are workshops being led by Ester Gradolí, Juanjo López, and Joan Quiros.TV TimeThe meet was profiled in the local newspaper on the day before it opened, and then a TV crew turned up to cover proceedings.Local press coverage and Letterheads Per L'Horta host Nico Barrios being interviewed for the TV report. 0:00 /1:34 Letterheads Per L'Horta makes the news! If you look closely at the top of the paper that Daniel Esteve Carbonell is working on it says "Collons de rètol"which clearly escaped the attention of the censors. Talks & DemosIn addition to workshops, the museum building also hosted a busy programme of talks. These were delivered by the Asociación de Diseñadores de la Comunidad Valenciana, the errorerror.studio creative typography studio, graphic designer Juan Nava, and type designer Juanjo López.Juan Nava talking about the evolution of his Letras Recuperadasproject, previously featured here at bl.ag online.One of the highlights was hearing from veteran local sign painters Ricardo Moreno and Paco Vivó, both of whom appear in the Tipos Que Importan film that was screened. They were interviewed by Nico and brought a host of goods with them, including their sign kits, photographic portfolios, work samples, books, and other reference materials.Ricardoand Pacowere mobbed after talking about their lives on the brush in Valencia.Following the session, everyone moved outside to watch Paco Vivó paint one of the motifs that he produced many times in his career: the Pepsi-Cola bottle top.Paco Vivó painted his demonstration piece on a canvas which was subsequently sold in the auction.Meanwhile, over in the town square, David Vanderh had set up his screenprinting station to apply Nico's event design in a single colour to any material that the public brought to him.The live screenprinting was in just blue, while the official event t-shirt combined this with a striking orange.Panels on Show and on SaleOn the Sunday, a small exhibition was mounted with the panels that folks could bid on in the auction. This was an open invitation, with those from the neighbourhood stopping by to inspect and snag some goods.Panels getting ready for new owners in the charity auction.Panels by Veronika Skilte, Joe Coleman, Rachel E Millar, and Victor Calligraphy.This panelby Joe Coleman was inspired by the truck lettering that was a lucky incidental on the earlier cycling tour.The auction raised over 2,000€ in support of those affected by the devastating DANA floods in 2024.The assembled crowd were ready with open wallets as the auction got underway.The auction was expertly hosted by Mike Meyer and Nico Barrios, with Nil Muge logging all the winning bids and accounting for the cash payments.Thank YouAs with any event, the photos never show the challenges that must be overcome behind the scenes. Some of these were substantial but Nico took each one in his stride, maintaining a smile throughout. Thank you, Nico, for facilitating these special days that will live long in the collective memory.Letterheads Per L'Horta host Nico Barrios.Letterheads Per L'Horta was hosted by Nico Barrios with the support of the following organisations: AVV Carraixet d'Almàssera; Ajuntament d'Almàssera; BLAG; A.S. Handover; 1 Shot; ADCV; gráffica. Also check out the event's dedicated Instagram account, @letterheadsperlhorta, for even more photos and videos. More LetterheadsFuture Meets #letterheads #per #l039horta #intimate #international