As much as the term “customer experience” has become somewhat of a buzzword, it has also become a serious consideration for businesses across almost every sector in today’s post-pandemic world.

Consumer behavior has shifted drastically over the past five years and continues to change based on a number of external factors, including economic uncertainty, climate change and a volatile political climate. Companies are now tasked with meeting the customer where they’re at – wherever that may be – and creating an overall experience that almost transcends the product or service being sold.

In consumer-facing industries, such as entertainment and hospitality, technology can be used to make customer interactions more efficient, personalized and engaging. BizTimes spoke to a few consumer-facing businesses in the region about how they’re using new and innovative technology to improve the consumer experience.

Smarter, faster drive-thrus

The COVID-19 pandemic created growth opportunities for quick-service restaurants, thanks to drive-thru, carryout and online ordering systems that were already established and equipped to handle an increase in demand for off-premise dining. Some brands used the shift as an opportunity to invest in upgrading their e-commerce sites and mobile ordering platforms.

Five years post-pandemic, a lasting trend in the QSR category has been the use of drive-thrus as a preferred ordering method, and many fast-food restaurants have made efforts to improve their drive-thru systems with the latest technology, including digital screens, order confirmation and, most recently, voice AI.

The Howard Company is currently working with several large-sized, national QSR clients to test voice AI tech in their drive-thrus, said president and CEO Sara Sina. The Brookfield-based company provides branding signage and technology, including drive-thru equipment, digital displays and indoor menu boards, primarily for the restaurant industry but also for banks, convenience stores and grocers.

The company is now pairing its order confirmation system with third-party voice AI technology for a better customer experience in the drive-thru line, said Sina. Digital order confirmation allows the customer to see their order as they’re placing it, speeding up service and reducing errors. With the integration of voice AI, an AI agent – instead of a human being – takes the order using voice recognition.

Sina said the voice AI technology is currently about 90% accurate and is quickly approaching human-level accuracy, while also sounding more and more conversational and human-like. The agent is receptive to order customizations and corrections, but if there are communication challenges, The Howard Company’s software allows a human operator to seamlessly intervene anywhere in the ordering process.

“Speed, convenience, and accuracy are the biggest things that people are looking for – besides good food – when they go through the drive-thru, and all of these technologies are meant to help with that,” said Sina.

Voice AI eliminates the need for a person to be manning the drive-thru all day, enabling the restaurants to save on labor costs.

Self-order kiosks have also been a popular tech addition at many fast-casual restaurants, said Sina. The kiosks help with “handling peak surge,” keeping lines at the counter at bay, but they also allow customers to feel more control of the order process with customization options at their fingertips and more time to peruse the menu. A kiosk screen also has more space than an overhead menu board to display detailed descriptions of each item.

A baseball fan walks into American Family Field using the new hands-free MLB Go-Ahead Entry option. Credit: Milwaukee Brewers

Getting into the ballgame – faster

Over the past year, the Milwaukee Brewers have implemented new technology at American Family Field to make arrival and entry more efficient for fans.

This season, a new facial authentication ticketing system, called MLB Go-Ahead Entry, was installed at two of the stadium’s seven gates, with plans to expand the option to more gates next year. Last season, the Brewers introduced a new automated parking payment system that allows fans to pay in advance or day-of using QR codes posted in the parking lots. Both systems are integrated into the MLB Ballpark app.

“One of the things we’re trying to do with parking and ingress is to make it a much more seamless experience,” said Rick Schlesinger, president of baseball operations, at a March press conference previewing the 2025 season. “People want to get here, they don’t want to wait in lines, they want to come to the ballpark … If you can get here faster, that’s a good thing.”

The Brewers are now one of 10 MLB teams to implement the voluntary MLB Go-Ahead Entry system. To use it, fans who are 18 or older can register and enroll by capturing a live selfie in the MLB Ballpark app. Upon entry at one of the designated gates, fans proceed through security and then – instead of taking out their phone to show their ticket – they simply walk past a facial recognition camera and straight into the ballpark. For groups, only the ticket holder needs to be enrolled in the system for everyone to enter using MLB Go-Ahead.

Schlesinger told BizTimes in June that MLB Go-Ahead has “dramatically” increased the speed of entry into the ballpark and the number of fans using the technology has increased from game to game as well, averaging about 1,800 scans per game. The positive reception from fans was expected based on the successful rollout of the technology at other ballparks, and it’s why the Brewers are “seriously considering” having it available at all gates next season.

“I think fans appreciate the fact that we’re using this technology to help them get into the ballpark faster,” said Schlesinger, adding that quicker entry is also good for business. The sooner fans step into the stadium, the sooner they can purchase concessions, merchandise and the like.

Schlesinger says he’s “bullish” on what technology can bring to the fan experience but acknowledged the varying levels of comfortability around its use. For example, some people may not be comfortable giving out their personal information or an image of their face.

“We want to make sure that there’s alternatives for them because not everybody’s going to embrace technology at the same level or have the same level of comfort, and we want to make sure that we don’t alienate any one or portion of our fan base,” he said.

As the Brewers continue to realize the benefits of technology, Schlesinger said it’s important to keep an open mind and continue to try new things, “even if they don’t work the first time.”

When the Brewers debuted their new QR code-based parking payment system on Opening Day last year, many users experienced connectivity issues, forcing the system to be temporarily suspended. It relaunched in August after additional testing and has worked “extremely well” since then, according to Schlesinger.

Developed by Milwaukee-based Interstate Parking Co., the system uses license plate recognition technology and eliminates the need to wait in line at the entrance to pay for parking or scan a pass. Instead, fans drive straight into the lot, still directed into spots by parking attendants onsite. QR codes posted visibly on light poles throughout the parking lots allow fans to activate a pre-paid parking pass or purchase a pass upon arrival. As an alternative to scanning a QR code, fans can find a parking ambassador or pay station to complete the transaction.

“We’re seeing a tremendous increase in how quickly cars can come in and park,” said Schlesinger. “And the beauty of the system is no longer is there a transaction at the parking entrances that can require a credit card or cash … it takes time to have a transaction.”

Reflecting on the issues with the initial rollout, Schlesinger said launching the new tech on Opening Day, one of the busiest days of the year, was probably not the best idea. The Brewers and Interstate purposefully delayed the relaunch until August to be sure all the kinks had been worked out. While fans have largely adopted the new system, there is still – like with most things – a learning curve.

“Innovation and technology, they come with challenges and pitfalls and sometimes things don’t work, but that’s not a reason not to pursue it,” he said.

Moviegoers can order food and beverages ahead of time or from their seats through the Marcus Theatres mobile app. Credit: Marcus Theatres

High-tech cinema

Marcus Corp. is another Milwaukee-based company that has invested heavily in technology in recent years to improve the on-premise customer experience. Its theatres division today sells 70% of its tickets through online channels, including its mobile app, its website or partner ticketing sites, according to Marcus Corp. chief financial officer Chad Paris.

The Marcus Theatres mobile app was first rolled out in 2020 and has since evolved to allow customers to not only purchase tickets but also pre-order concessions, sign up for the chain’s loyalty program, redeem gift cards and more.

Concession ordering was added to the app soon after its debut. At the time, the function was based out of necessity due to the pandemic, but it continues to add value to the theater experience – and to business.

“When we get customers to use online ordering, they tend to buy more,” said Paris. “They’re buying more items, and more customers are buying food and beverages that way.”

He said there’s a tendency for customers to bypass the concession stand if the line is too long, so “we’d like to shift as much of the purchasing process to the app just to help alleviate the lines at the concession stands.”

Beyond its mobile app, Marcus Theatres has installed new digital projection technology for enhanced viewing and the opportunity to expand programming into live and pre-recorded musical performances, sporting events and other alternative content. It has also made investments in its loyalty system to better understand and analyze customer data around genre preferences and purchase behavior.

“I would say the technology right now is allowing us to provide a higher level of customer service and a better experience for customers,” said Paris. “It’s giving us insights into what customers expect and what they want. And it’s helping our associates more efficiently serve the guests and allowing us to allocate resources and labor more efficiently.”

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Quick Summary

A new feature could be coming to the Android Fitbit app that will make life much easier.

An AAPK teardown suggests a future version of the Android Fitbit app will send you a notification when your fitness tracker is fully charged. This is something that’s been available on iPhone for years.

We haven’t seen a new Fitbit fitness tracker for quite some time now. The Fitbit Charge 6 arrived back in September 2023 and while there are rumours of a Fitbit Charge 7 in the works, nothing has officially materialised as yet.

It’s possible Google – which acquired Fitbit back in 2021 – will release a new device in September, as this has traditionally been one of the months new Fitbit devices have launched (to coincide with trade show IFA), but that might not be all we hear before the year is out.

There is a report on Android Authority that suggests Google is also working on bringing a feature to the Fitbit app on Android, which iPhone users have had for a long time.

What feature can Android Fitbit users look forward to?

According to the APK teardown of the Fitbit app (version 4.46.fitbit-mobile-110330687-770369387), your Android phone may soon send you a notification when your Fitbit has fully charged.

Sounds like a pretty simple feature to offer doesn’t it? Well, despite Google owning Fitbit and Android, iPhone users have benefitted from getting a notification when their Fitbit has charged for years, while Android users have to constantly check their tracker instead.

We still don’t have official confirmation on the addition or when it might arrive, but it’s fair to say it has been a long time coming.

The Fitbit app was recently updated to introduce a redesigned Device Settings page that is similar to the Pixel Watch app, while Android users will also get a notification if their Fitbit device is running low on battery.

Software updates often come around much more regularly than new devices, so we’re hoping for the sake of the Android Fitbit users out there that this discovery will be pushed sooner than later. For now, you’ll have to sit tight and keep those Android fingers crossed.

After launching at the X Games last January, The Owl AI has raised an $11 million seed round as it seeks new sports and settings where it can update human-based functions like officiating and judging.

Championed by Jeremy Bloom, a tech entrepreneur and former Olympic skier who was also a onetime NFL draft pick, the company has drawn significant backing. Its seed round was led by S32, which was founded by Google Ventures creator Bill Maris, and participants also include Menlo Ventures and Susa Ventures. Bloom, who is CEO of the X Games, has installed former Google Cloud AI chief Josh Gwyther as CEO. 

“When we launched The Owl in Aspen, the mission was clear: to modernize and elevate how sports are judged, experienced, and understood, using the power of AI,” Bloom said. “What I didn’t anticipate was the immediate surge of excitement among all the stakeholders including athletes and also other leagues. It was obvious that we were on to something big and necessary.”

Gwyther’s hiring, he added, is a “major moment, not just for The Owl, but for the entire world of sports technology.”

The goal of The Owl is to bring about fairness through technology. The company says it is in active discussions with a range of leagues and rightsholders in multiple sports. Although instant replay is now commonplace, more embeddable tech solutions like the Cyclops system in tennis for automated line calls, are more in line with where the company is heading. For TV and streaming viewers, the flaws and delays of the current landscape are also a pain point (just scroll social media on the morning after the big game). Plus, the explosion of sports betting and the financial payoffs hanging in the balance offer another reason to improve officiating and judging.

The Owl also says its tools help with viewer engagement by providing localized commentary in dozens of languages.

“At S32, we invest in bold ideas led by visionary teams and Owl AI is exactly that,” said Andy Harrison, CEO & General Partner, S32. “By fusing elite athletic insight with cutting-edge AI, Jeremy and Josh are building more than just a new layer of fairness in sports – they’re reshaping how the world experiences competition.”

In 2022, MSP Sports Capital purchased a majority stake in the X Games from ESPN, which launched the event in 1995 as a way to entice younger viewers. The organization also set a deal with Roku for live streaming.

Key Takeaways

• Fitness trackers aren’t accurately reflecting the effort of people with obesity

• Differences in gait, speed and energy burn throw the trackers off

• A new algorithm achieves more than 95% accuracy

WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Fitness trackers aren’t accurately assessing the physical activity of people with obesity, a new study argues.

Differences in walking gait, speed, energy burn and other factors mean that folks with excess weight aren’t getting an accurate read from their devices, researchers wrote in the journal Scientific Reports.

“People with obesity could gain major health insights from activity trackers, but most current devices miss the mark,” senior researcher Nabil Alshurafa, an associate professor of behavioral medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a news release.

Alshurafa’s team has developed a new algorithm that enables smartwatches to more accurately monitor the calories burned by people with obesity, researchers said.

Lab tests show that the new algorithm achieves over 95% accuracy in real-world situations, the study says.

“Without a validated algorithm for wrist devices, we’re still in the dark about exactly how much activity and energy people with obesity really get each day — slowing our ability to tailor interventions and improve health outcomes,” Alshurafa said.

Alshurafa said he was motivated to create the algorithm after going to an exercise class with his mother-in-law, who has obesity.

“She worked harder than anyone else, yet when we glanced at the leaderboard, her numbers barely registered,” Alshurafa said. “That moment hit me: fitness shouldn’t feel like a trap for the people who need it most.”

Current algorithms used by fitness trackers were built for people without obesity, Alsurafa explains.

Hip-held trackers often misread energy burn because people with excess weight walk with a different gait and wear the devices at a tilt, researchers said. Wrist-worn devices offer better accuracy, but haven’t been rigorously tested and calibrated for people with obesity.

The team tested their new algorithm against 11 other state-of-the-art methods for estimating exertion, using research-grade fitness trackers and wearable cameras to catch every moment when wrist sensors misread calorie burn.

In one group, 27 people wore a fitness tracker and a mask that calculates energy burn based on the amount of oxygen inhaled and carbon dioxide exhaled.

In another group, 25 people wore a fitness tracker and body camera during their daily activities, the study says.

Alshurafa also had people perform standard exercises modified to take their weight into account — for example, wall pushups as opposed to floor pushups.

“Many couldn’t drop to the floor, but each one crushed wall-pushups, their arms shaking with effort,” Alshurafa said, “We celebrate ‘standard’ workouts as the ultimate test, but those standards leave out so many people. These experiences showed me we must rethink how gyms, trackers and exercise programs measure success — so no one’s hard work goes unseen.”

The next step is to deploy an activity-monitoring app that uses the new algorithm for Apple- and Android-powered smartwatches, researchers said.

The algorithm is open-source, and other researchers are encouraged to test it and build upon it.

“To date, many works have examined the validity of proprietary algorithms from commercial activity monitors,” the research team wrote in their paper. “However, to the best of our knowledge, none of them have published an open-source algorithm that others can replicate using raw data obtained from commercially available wrist-worn sensing devices.”

More information

Harvard Medical School has more on the usefulness of fitness trackers.

SOURCES: Northwestern University, news release, June 19, 2025; Scientific Reports, June 19, 2025

What This Means For You

People with obesity might soon have more accurate fitness trackers to help them lose weight and improve their health.

Yokneam Illit, Israel, June 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wearable Devices Ltd. (the “Company” or “Wearable Devices”) (Nasdaq: WLDS, WLDSW), a technology growth company specializing in artificial intelligence (“AI”)-powered touchless sensing wearables, recently announced the expansion of its Large Motor Unit Action Potential Model (“LMM”) into new potential markets, such as predictive health monitoring and cognitive state analytics. This development will enable the broadening of bio-signal intelligence applications beyond wearables and will offer businesses and healthcare providers access to real-time physiological insights for monitoring health and wellness conditions.

This strategic expansion into predictive health monitoring aligns with the rising interest in personalized wellness devices. This interest is now demonstrated at the federal level. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has recently advocated for wearable devices to enhance health monitoring and cognitive well-being, underscoring the public and institutional momentum toward real-time data-driven care.

This announcement follows Wearable Devices’ recent introduction of LMM as a groundbreaking AI-driven bio-signal platform focused on gesture-based control in extended reality (“XR”) and neural interaction with digital devices. The Company’s LMM approach to analyzing muscle activity signals will support the expansion into the field of health monitoring, enabling users to enhance their performance across various domains.

From Passive Monitoring to Proactive Intelligence

Unlike traditional bio-sensors that collect data passively, LMM continuously learns and adapts, turning muscle activity signals from the wrist into actionable insights. The technology is now being evaluated in controlled environments for real-world applications, including:

A Platform for Innovation: Opening LMM to Business Partners

Recognizing the transformative potential of bio-signal intelligence, Wearable Devices is intending to make LMM available to enterprises, researchers, and developers. The Company’s AI-powered bio-signal data platform is expected to enable businesses to:

Following the initial evaluation phase, Wearable Devices aims to accelerate commercialization and strategic partnerships across the health sector, reinforcing its position as a pioneer in bio-signal intelligence and neural interface technology.

About Wearable Devices Ltd.

Wearable Devices Ltd. is a pioneering growth company revolutionizing human-computer interaction through its AI-powered neural input technology for both consumer and business markets. Leveraging proprietary sensors, software, and advanced AI algorithms, the Company’s innovative products, including the Mudra Band for iOS and Mudra Link for Android, enable seamless, touch-free interaction by transforming subtle finger and wrist movements into intuitive controls. These groundbreaking solutions enhance gaming, and the rapidly expanding AR/VR/XR landscapes. The Company offers a dual-channel business model: direct-to-consumer sales and enterprise licensing. Its flagship Mudra Band integrates functional and stylish design with cutting-edge AI to empower consumers, while its enterprise solutions provide businesses with the tools to deliver immersive and interactive experiences. By setting the input standard for the XR market, Wearable Devices is redefining user experiences and driving innovation in one of the fastest-growing tech sectors. Wearable Devices’ ordinary shares and warrants trade on the Nasdaq under the symbols “WLDS” and “WLDSW,” respectively.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. For example, we are using forward-looking statements when we discuss the benefits and advantages of our devices and technology, including the potential of LMMs, the potential to accelerate commercialization and strategic partnerships across the health sector, the rising interest in personalized wellness devices and entering markets that need real-time physiological insights. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: the trading of our ordinary shares or warrants and the development of a liquid trading market; our ability to successfully market our products and services; the acceptance of our products and services by customers; our continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for our products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; our ability to successfully develop new products and services; our success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; our ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed on March 20, 2025 and our other filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact
Michal Efraty
IR@wearabledevices.co.il

Recognized for revolutionizing large file transfer and management workflows in sports, news, and high-volume media production

OTTAWA, ON / ACCESS Newswire / June 25, 2025 / MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform for media professionals, has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: Media and Entertainment, 2025 report (doc #US52275525, May 2025).

“In today’s market, delivering high-value workflow efficiencies and measurable ROI is essential,” said Alex Holtz, Research Director, Worldwide Media & Entertainment Digital Strategies at IDC. “MASV offers a unique combination of deep cloud and tool integrations, exceptional ease of use, and faster implementation with minimal setup complexity. Their flexible pricing model and ability to work within existing infrastructures further reduce customer risk-making MASV an IDC Innovator in the space.“

According to the report, “MASV serves modern media and entertainment companies with data-intensive applications such as sports and news. Sports demands quick and reliable delivery of high-quality video content from live event footage to highlight reels. Benefits include real-time delivery, efficient remote uploads, and reliability. News agencies constantly operate under immense time constraints, needing to gather and organize breaking stories at lightning speed. Journalists can efficiently upload footage from the field, which MASV automatically categorizes for streamlined newsroom workflows. Reporters with minimal technical expertise can transfer files quickly using drag-and-drop functionality, avoiding technical delays. Automated workflows, such as integrations with Amazon S3 and Slack notifications, ensure that producers and editors access content instantly, accelerating broadcast readiness for time-sensitive stories. MASV simplifies, manages, and supports the transfer of entire archives, individual files up to 15TB, or multi-petabyte data sets such as historical footage or production backups. MASV offers cloud-based scalability with platforms that enable seamless ingestion and distribution of petabyte-scale data directly into storage systems and provides secure, reliable transfers.”

“We’re honored to be recognized as an IDC Innovator in media and entertainment,” said MASV CTO and interim CEO Majed Alhajry. “We’ve built MASV to solve the real problems media teams face today, from shrinking timelines to distributed production teams, and this recognition validates the mission we’re on.”

Download the IDC Innovators Excerpt
To view the MASV excerpt from the IDC Innovators: Media and Entertainment, 2025 report, visit https://massive.io/masv-idc-innovator.

About IDC Innovators:

An IDC Innovators report presents a set of vendors – under $100M in annual revenue at the time of selection – chosen by an IDC analyst within a specific market that offer a new technology, a groundbreaking solution to an existing issue, and/or an innovative business model. It is not an exhaustive evaluation or a comparative ranking of all companies, but rather a document that highlights innovative companies in a specific market segment. IDC INNOVATOR and IDC INNOVATORS are trademarks of International Data Group, Inc.

About MASV

MASV is a cloud-based large file transfer platform designed to orchestrate and secure file movement worldwide to meet fast-paced and nimble workflows. Global media organizations rely on MASV to automatically deliver their large files without any restrictions, allowing them to concentrate on their next big deliverable. To learn more and try MASV for free, visit massive.io or contact team@masv.io.

MASV Press Contact:

Melissa Harding
Grithaus Agency
(e) melissa@grithaus.agency

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SOURCE: MASV

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire