| | | | | | | | | | | Axios What's Next | | By Jennifer A. Kingson, Joann Muller and Erica Pandey ·Mar 01, 2022 | | Good morning! Here's Axios' dashboard on the invasion of Ukraine, if you want to catch up quick. - Bored with Zoom? Now there's a 3D solution that lets you beam a miniature version of yourself into meetings and living rooms.
💡 Join Axios virtually at our inaugural What's Next Summit on April 5. Register here to attend livestream sessions with discussions on trends that will revolutionize our future. Today's Smart Brevity count: 968 words ... 3.5 minutes. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Holoportation for the masses |  | | | Jennifer gives the PORTL holoportation device a try. Photo: Clifford A. Sobel | | | | A company called PORTL that lets you beam a lifelike, real-time image of yourself into its vending-machine-size box has introduced a lower-budget, miniature version, potentially bringing 3D video calls to American living rooms, Jennifer A. Kingson writes. Why it matters: For consumers seeking better alternatives to Zoom and FaceTime, there's the PORTL M — or mini — a 2-foot-tall rectangular device that can receive a curiously intimate (if tiny) walking, talking image of a faraway loved one. - It'll also be good for gaming, fitness classes, telemedicine and displaying NFTs, its makers say.
- The larger version, which is about 7 feet tall, won an innovation award at CES this year and has been "doing tons of rentals for trade shows and conventions, experiential events," says David Nussbaum, PORTL's CEO.
- High-profile engagements could include "holoporting" Super Bowl players into CBS Sports studios for live interviews.
Driving the news: The household-size PORTL M, available for presale at about $2,000, can be seen in action this month for the first time at SXSW, where people will be able to try it out. - "It's everything that the big one is, squeezed down into little Mike-Teavee-Willy-Wonka-sized, bite-sized, fun-sized," says Nussbaum.
- Children are "going to love playing games on it," he said. "And it comes off the stand and hangs on the wall, so it is a beautiful display for your artwork."
- Anyone shown on it "will have all of the shadows and reflections and all the volumetric effects needed to make it look like they're kind of floating inside of the device."
What's next: PORTL has introduced a mobile app that will eventually let TikTok users, YouTubers, Instagrammers and others create content for the unit. Erica's thought bubble: Sure, video calls get the job done, but they're far from ideal. They do a poor job of recreating what it's really like to be in a meeting: It's easy to tune out, there are awkward silences, and there's no way to read body language. - For remote and hybrid work, creating more lifelike ways for people to virtually "be" somewhere will be hugely important.
Imagine how much more attention your manager would command as a hologram than as a Zoom square. Read the full story David Nussbaum, CEO of PORTL, being beamed into his larger product — the PORTL Epic 2 — and showing off his newer, smaller version, the PORTL M. Photo: Jennifer A. Kingson/Axios |     | | | | | | 2. "Pawternity" leave |  | | | Dog out for a walk in Brooklyn, NY. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images | | | | Employers are debuting workplace perks to recruit new workers and get existing workers to come back to the office. The latest frontier is pet-friendly benefits, Erica Pandey reports. The big picture: One in five American households adopted a pet during the pandemic, HR Brew reports, citing ASPCA data. - Surveys show that pet owners — particularly dog owners — like working from home to care for their pets.
But, but, but: As of 2020, just 4% of employers allowed workers to bring pets to work, and less than 1% offered "pawternity" leave, which is paid time off to take care of a new pet, HR Brew's Kristen Parisi writes. What to watch: More companies could follow the lead of tech companies like Amazon and WeWork and allow pets in offices for all the workers who don't want to leave their furry friends at home all day. - And we could even see more robust benefits like pet insurance or paid leave to care for pets as workers continue to hold the power in the labor market.
| | | | | | | | 3. Elon Musk's solution for Miami gridlock |  | | | The Boring Co.'s tunnel under the Las Vegas Convention Center. Photo: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images | | | | Elon Musk's Boring Co. wants to build an underground tunnel around North Miami Beach to help alleviate traffic congestion in the region, Joann Muller writes. Why it matters: South Florida is a rapidly growing region with nightmarish traffic, yet there is only limited public transportation available. Without a solution, the region could be stymied in its effort to lure more high-paying jobs. Driving the news: The Boring Co.'s proposal calls for a 6.2-mile tunnel, with seven stations, between the Golden Glades Transit Center and Sunny Isles Beach, according to a Business Insider scoop. - A fleet of Tesla electric vehicles is initially slated to carry more than 7,500 passengers per hour through the tunnel, and eventually double that capacity.
- The cost: $185 million to $220 million.
The big picture: Musk in 2013 first shared his vision for a vast network of gridlock-fighting underground loops accompanied by autonomous electric vehicles traveling at speeds of up to 125 mph. Reality check: The Boring Co. is apparently very good at cost-effectively digging tunnels, but as transportation technology goes, it's not earth-shattering. - The first project open to the public, a 1.7-mile loop under the Las Vegas Convention Center, is... well... just a tunnel.
- Passengers take escalators underground, where a driver in a Tesla car shuttles them to one of three stops at about 35 mph. No one would mistake it for a high-speed mass transit system.
- A more extensive, 29-mile tunnel network under Las Vegas was approved by local officials last October.
Get a firsthand look at the Las Vegas loop in action. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Win the race for (remote) talent | | |  | | | | Reach over 750,000 smart professionals in the fastest growing cities in America. Axios Local now has job boards to get your openings in front of qualified candidates. Post your job opportunities on Axios Local. | | | | | | 4. The EV revolution has begun |  Reproduced from DOE; Chart: Axios Visuals Sales of plug-in vehicles — including battery-electric and plug-in hybrids — nearly doubled last year, even as the auto industry grappled with widespread supply chain disruptions. Details: The industry sold 608,000 plug-in vehicles in 2021, up from 308,000 a year ago. - EVs rose 85% and accounted for three out of four plug-ins sold (the vast majority of them Teslas).
- Plug-in hybrid sales grew 138%.
- The growth was remarkable, considering that overall vehicle sales were up just 3% in 2021.
The big picture: The biggest transportation shift in more than a century has begun. | | | | | | | | 5. The bartender knows your face |  | | | Photo: Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images | | | | Kime, a humanoid bartender who lives in a customizable kiosk, has 5G tech that enables it to recognize the faces of regular customers. Here it is serving drinks at the Mobile World Congress mobile phone fair in Barcelona, which opened on Monday. - Its manufacturer, Macco, a Spanish company, says it knows 10 languages, has "realistic expressions and movements," and can serve everything from coffee and juice to beer and wine, salads, snacks and pastries. (See video.)
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Win the race for (remote) talent | | | | | | | | Reach over 750,000 smart professionals in the fastest growing cities in America. Axios Local now has job boards to get your openings in front of qualified candidates. Post your job opportunities on Axios Local. | | | | Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next magic by signing up for our free newsletter here. |  | Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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