Gen Z Is Influencing Hotels to Rethink Strategies: A Skift Deep Dive

Marking High-Tech Gründerfonds’ 700th investment, the start-up oculai is revolutionising the construction industry with its innovative AI technology. Four of Germany’s five largest construction companies are already working with the construction tech start-up. We sat down for a chat with oculai founder Constantin Kauffmann and HTGF Senior Investment Management Dominik Lohle. Constantin, congratulations on the successful financing round. Can you explain what oculai does exactly? Constantin Kauffmann: Sure. Our technology gives users the ability to track progress and work processes on construction sites in a fully automated manner. We film the construction site, while our AI and computer vision models analyse the data. This helps ensure that construction processes are documented seamlessly with great precision. Constantin Kauffmann, CEO & Co-Founder | Source: oculai
How can this data be used? Constantin Kauffmann: On construction sites you don’t really see the sort of data feedback you might expect from the production systems in other industries. It is really important to document construction processes as there are many things that can cause a problem, but it’s incredibly complex. We overcome this challenge with the aid of an automated target/actual schedule, or daily construction reports that are generated automatically, for example. And on top of that, construction companies gain the ability to track and improve their core processes. What do you mean exactly? Constantin Kauffmann: Let me give you an example: We can analyse how many hours of work are needed to process one tonne of steel in a structure. Construction firms can then use this information on the amount of effort involved to make calculations and optimise their processes. We give them access to this data via our platform. Then they can more accurately calculate their benchmarks and the expense involved. Dominik, what was it about oculai that impressed you? Aside from the technology, presumably the fact that oculai had already built up a customer base? Dominik Lohle: That was a very important aspect. I find it quite remarkable that oculai has already been able to gain customers such as Zech and Köster at such an early stage. And on top of that, we kept hearing from discussions and business analyses that the technology has the potential to become a game changer for the industry. The feedback from real-world applications was very positive. Dominik Lohle, Senior Investment Manager
What did people have to say? Dominik Lohle: Thanks to the oculai technology, many site managers report being able to spot any hiccups on the construction site from their office. I’ve heard about how a young site manager was able to handle a major construction project all on her own with the aid of oculai. The project would normally have required a team of two or three experienced site managers. How is the construction industry doing in general when it comes to digitalisation? Constantin Kauffmann: It’s facing major challenges with digitalisation. After all, the work itself is highly manual. It requires a lot of effort, with ever-changing tasks and challenges. Many project management tools work really well in the office, but not in the harsh environment of a construction site. That’s why 80 percent of site supervisors – the people who monitor construction progress – still walk around the site with a pen and paper. That’s something we can change. Dominik Lohle: We’re currently experiencing a radical change in the construction industry: The market is unsettled. The boom phase of the past few years seems to be over. And the mood is subdued. For many companies, efficiency and effectiveness are key in this situation. And that’s exactly what the oculai technology can deliver. Constantin, how does your technology work exactly? Constantin Kauffmann: We install cameras and mobile communication modules on the cranes in operation on site. That provides us with video streams from a bird’s eye view of the entire construction site. These images are then sent directly to our cloud. We then apply various computer vision models in the cloud, enabling us to detect what type of work is being performed at each part of the construction site at a given time. How detailed is the data? Constantin Kauffmann: We can determine the construction stage of the work being performed, and the floor of the building. We can currently differentiate between 36 different processes, such as the pouring of concrete for use in ceilings. The image quality is good enough for the AI but is not clear enough for people to be identified, meaning that no direct personal data is collected. We then also incorporate external information into the analysis, such as the weather and quantity data. This gives us a complete picture, and we can share the information with the construction company to support their monitoring processes. Dominik, you’re very active in the field of AI and computer vision. What are the challenges that young companies encounter in this field? Dominik Lohle: The challenges that companies face in this area are often very similar: You start off with only a small amount of data to train the technology. In moments like this, computer vision can also become a manual process. When, in the case of oculai, you have to mark and tag construction site zones and structures in pictures, and manually track processes. The young company navigated this stage quite well, and was quickly able to achieve success and make strides. What progress are you planning to achieve next, Constantin? Constantin Kauffmann: The financing round not only provided us with capital, as we were also actively seeking loyal partners and a good network. And we found them. Now, we intend to capitalise on these new capabilities and turn our full attention to further developing the product and the company. And to distributing the solution more widely on the market. We’ve come a long way. And we’ve still got a long way to go, but I’m looking forward to the journey. Thanks for your time, Constantin and Dominik! Investment manager

<strong>HTGF’s 700<sup>th</sup> investment: How oculai is revolutionising the construction industry</strong>

March 20, 2023
Vacheron Constantin has occupied a four-story mansion in Zhangyuan heritage precinct to create its largest immersive experiential space in China. Photo: Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin – the world’s oldest watch brand in continuous production – has unveiled Maison 1755, its new immersive experiential space, in Shanghai, with the aim of sharing its 267-year history and the intricacies of haute horlogerie with Chinese consumers. The Richemont -owned luxury watchmaker tookover a four-story mansion in Zhangyuan heritage precinct to create its largest immersive experiential space in China, which blends museum-worthy curation with the latest technology and localized touchpoints. The Swiss watch industry in 2022 recorded all-time high exports, which grew 11.4% year-on-year. Buoyed by the prospects of a strong recovery in the Chinese luxury market this year, Vacheron Constantin is looking to forge deeper connections across generational demographics in the world’s second-largest watch market. Immersing Vacheron Constantin in local culture
The high-profile Zhangyuan urban renewal project in central Shanghai was carefully chosen as the location for Maison 1755. The area was a cultural and entertainment hub in the late 19th Century and its diverse shikumen alleys are re-emerging as a luxury brand epicenter, home to the likes of Dior and Louis Vuitton, among others. Maison 1755 occupies the tallest mansion located at the entrance to the precinct. A giant Maltese cross emblem and watchmaker’s loupe greet visitors in the public courtyard. Scanning a QR code on the Discovery Loupe unlocks a virtual reality experience that juxtaposes visions from the Maison’s interior with the real-time scene outdoors – particularly enchanting at night when Maison 1755 becomes the backdrop for a light and sound show projected across the façade. Maison 1755 is located in Zhangyuan in central Shanghai. (Swipe left) Photo: Vacheron Constantin
By intertwining elements of the brand and Chinese heritage, Vacheron Constantin hopes to spark emotional engagement with the China market. Vacheron Constantin ’s commitment to preserving and promoting culture, heritage and art in innovative ways also aligns with the values of its target audience in the guochao era. A journey through Maison 1755
Zhangyuan’s architectural details are a neat fit with Vacheron Constantin’s annual exhibition theme, The Anatomy of Beauty. Intended to shine a light on the layered and minute details that create beauty, this can also demystify the complex world of fine watchmaking making it more accessible. Visitors to Maison 1755 move through a series of multi-sensory experiences, designed to connect time, art and culture, spread across four floors. The building’s original heritage features and classic Chinese aesthetics have been elegantly interwoven throughout, firmly rooting the experience in local culture. These elements extend from design motifs that blend the brand’s Maltese cross with the traditional Chinese knot, to a contemporary art exhibition curated by artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, inspired by The Anatomy of Beauty theme, and later on to a visual feast presented by one of the maison’s One of Not Many talents, Cory Richards, renowned photographer and explorer. The contemporary art exhibition curated by artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts is presented in Maison 1755. Photo: Vacheron Constantin. The brand’s cultural partnerships are explored in themed rooms, such as a mini-Louvre Museum showcasing rare Metiers d’Art timepieces, and a working re-creation of an Abbey Road recording studio. Artistic collaborations, being held as part of the One of Not Many campaign, with the Chinese descent French haute couture designer Yiqing Yin and Chinese ballet dancer Chun Wai Chan further connect with local audiences. Meanwhile, the maison’s client-centric services are highlighted via The Watchmaker Workshop, connoisseur event lounges, and a live-streaming studio that provides a digital VIP salon service. Enriching experience through immersive digital touchpoints
Much of Maison 1755 is dedicated to history. However, the innovative spirit that has defined the Swiss marque for centuries continues to be evident through digital initiatives designed to connect with Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers, whom Bain & Company forecasts will make up a third of the global luxury market by 2030. To enter Maison 1755, visitors are required to book their time slot via a WeChat mini-program, through which they can also access an audio tour guide and link directly to an online sales platform should a particular timepiece take their fancy. Playful interactive experiences invite visitors to use body movements to create an on-screen art piece or have their personal watch sketches animated in The Apprentice’s Lab. Creations can be downloaded through the maison’s WeChat mini-program and easily shared on social media. This embrace of digitalization extends across Vacheron Constantin’s consumer experience at a time when e-commerce luxury sales have risen 150 percent in China with online penetration almost doubling to 23 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a joint report by Bain & Company and Tmall Luxury. Having introduced one-on-one video appointments via livestream on its Tmall Luxury Pavilion flagship store, the brand became the only luxury watch brand to create a 3D product viewing experience through Tmall Luxury Pavilion’s 3D Luxury Goods Museum in 2022. China limited-edition livestreaming collaborations with influencers such as Austin Li have also helped boost e-commerce sales, particularly in the growing women’s watch market. The exclusive livestream room on the 4th floor of Maison 1755. Photo: Vacheron Constantin
Ranked second for “best watch brand with high complications” in the Hurun Best of the Best Awards 2023, Vacheron Constantin is looking to improve its standing in a competitive marketplace. By delivering engaging customer experiences that connect with Chinese consumers through culture, art and values, as well as leveraging novel digital technologies, Vacheron Constantin hopes to capitalize on its preeminent history, attention to detail and client-centric services to drive future growth in China. Categories

How Vacheron Constantin Honors Time And Culture To Connect With Chinese Consumers

Artist of the Year 2023: Dance nominees

March 13, 2023
In this space, you can read excerpts from Gheorghe Schwartz’s work – THE ONE HUNDRED – AGNUS DEI (Lamb of God) published by Curtea Veche Publishing House in 2013
“These people do not live in the surrounding time! They cannot be removed from their lives!”  were thoughts that came to Constantin’s mind more and more and after he arrived – finally! – behind the front liberated by the allies. Where he found out that the repressive machine worked more and more intensely and mercilessly as his end approached. When you lose all sense of self-preservation – like these murderers, who could not help but expect punishment commensurate with the crimes and horrors they continued to commit, regardless of the multitude of potential prosecution witnesses at their virtual processes – when you act only like a spring-operated toy, it means that you have remained at the stage of development of a child who, standing on two legs, starts determinedly forward in the direction in front of him, whatever that may be ;  and when the child is turned aside by an adult, it will go just as determinedly on the new route. (Constantin often used this comparison in different contexts.) And all without feelings, without self-censorship, without the perspective of the future and the memory of the past. This is also a kind of lonely moment… See, even the lonely moment has extremes: one towards divinity, the other towards regression to animality. Constantin stood in the crowd gathered on the side of the road when, finally, he saw the first Soviet troops passing through the town. Finally, he could come out of the den without worry! A single soldier came forward, an unshaven man, rather an elderly man. He came on foot, alone, barely dragging his rifle and knapsack. The world gathered to cheer the liberators—as many of them cheered them not long ago, as loudly and sincerely convinced the military convoys moving from the other side -, the world was a little disappointed: people expected something much more imposing. Only after less than an hour, seemingly endless lines of Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Romanians began to flow..  Unchained, the population danced in the streets. The people stayed as long as they could to cheer the liberators, but as it was cold outside and the columns of cars, tanks, armored vehicles and wagons and among them infantrymen sleeping from exhaustion on the march, the people started to return to their homes. Those troops crossed the township without even stopping. The roar of the tracks was then heard day and night. The world had to get used to living a new life. Only after a few more days, a group of Russian officers broke into the headquarters of the new local administration, established on the eve of the arrival of that old scout. It is hard to say who appointed the new bosses, rather it can be believed that they, taking discretionary powers, appointed themselves. The Russians also imposed three officers, two men and a woman, after which the hunt for the former Sálasist authorities began. Many of them disappeared only at the last moment. Others not even then. Several gendarmes with cock feathers in their hats were shot in the exact place where, just a few days ago, they shot the circumcised bastards found in the restaurant and cinema urinals. Other people were arrested and detained for the performance of public trials. (Several of them were killed before the “people’s tribunal” was established.) Later, the Russians also arrested two members of the new administration. And those people – omnipotent for a few days – disappeared forever. And other arrests followed. Then everything that could be requisitioned was requisitioned. The town became a garrison for the occupation troops and many officers of the Red Army were quartered in the homes of the locals. Locals who learned to speak in whispers. (Under the other regime, they told themselves, if you were not a Jew or a Gypsy and if you avoided entering into a dispute with the elders of the day, you had nothing to fear. With the new situation, other rules appeared. On which you had to learn. If you were lucky enough to get to do it again…)
The day after the establishment of the new authorities, Constantine appeared before them, but no one had time for him there. The Ninety-Ninth had to accept the situation: those people no longer administered a community, they were completely occupied with current affairs and analyzing the most alarming rumors, which never stopped bombarding the population: well, the Nazis, in retreat, they poisoned all the water sources, because in the nearby hamlet there was a nest of resistance of the most hardened slaches, and because a German commando entered a street in the outskirts from the north and killed the householders found in their houses . Constantine did not manage to get along with the Russians either. But he was taken into account precisely on the day when he decided to leave for Budapest: someone remembered the stranger – a German spy of course! -, which appeared out of nowhere among the old inhabitants of the honest locality. No one knew who he was! Especially the fact that he seemed to be hiding – WHY? – proved that it was not okay. Just before heading to the station, hoping to catch a train, the Ninety-Ninth was arrested. – For what? Instead of an answer, you get a gun bed in the stomach. The young man rolled up his sleeve to show them the numbers printed forever there, but those who arrested him had no time for trifles. – Are you German? – No, I mean…
– German spy, concluded the Hungarian who delivered him to the Russians, after which he showed them the place where it would be most appropriate to shoot him. Constantin remembered Mrs. Wolf’s diamond earrings and showed them to the soldiers. They looked at them for a long time and, after tasting the gold with their teeth, decided that the prisoner should not be shot on the spot. – Did you want to run away? Go by train? Look, we let you ride the train even without paying a penny! Ha, ha! Constantin did not understand a single word of this short speech, but he found himself locked in a cattle wagon, along with three or four other prisoners. Constantin breathed a sigh of relief: there was plenty of straw on the floor, the space was wide, he also lived in much more miserable conditions. For a whole night, during a terrible storm, he even slept in a toilet found in the middle of the field. The troubles came later: the train did not start moving until two days later, during which time they did not receive a single crumb of bread or a drop of water. Instead, other people were also boarded in the carriage. Which didn’t seem so wide anymore. In the huts of Special Camp 02 at least they received food regularly. With a typical German regularity. Arriving among the first, the Ninety-Ninth was still able to choose his place in a corner of the wagon, next to the wall. The board was cracked there, so he had access to the outside air. And when the train finally started moving and a strong current hit him, he was able to cover the opening with a sack left among the straw. At first, some of the arrested men stalked the guards to maintain their innocence, although it was clear that they neither understood them, nor cared, nor had any competence to change their fate. But the people, especially the new arrivals, did not give in so easily and insisted. A well-dressed man with a goatee and gold-rimmed glasses, obviously a leader of the locality, threw a real fit of rage. It was clear that he was not used to being treated like this. In the end, the sentry called a superior and, to the man’s relief, he was taken off the wagon… after which he was shot near the station wall. The protests of the other detainees stopped. Instead, the sentries were called for another purpose. A check was made and a soldier was given an appreciable sum to bring them water, food and cigarettes. The soldier took the money, counted it for a long time, it was obvious that he had never held such banknotes in his hands. After that he put the papers in his pocket and continued his vigil. People waited anxiously to see when the Russian would find the right moment to bring them what they wanted. Time passed and the man did not move. Well, at one point, he handed a cigarette to someone at the door of the wagon. The soldier did his duty. That cigarette cost as much money, the prisoners reckoned, as you could have bought outside ten bushels of earth. And the land in the desert was a loamy soil. Constantin fell asleep from thirst, hunger, cold and fatigue. He woke up only twice: once when there was a commotion in the wagon: a man of about forty years old fell on the straw and was sick and needed proper food and medicine. Otherwise he dies, the others tried to explain to the sentry at their wagon. The sentry listens to them as long as they listen to them, then turns his back on them, continuing his vigil. The man died. The second time he wakes up when, after about two days – who knows how time passes in such conditions? -, several open cans were brought to them, as dishes, in which there was a warm liquid, as well as a few slices of bread. “Go on, the one who brought the goodies told them in Hungarian. It must last you for… I don’t know how long”. The man who spoke Hungarian had a banderola with the colors red white green on his arm. When they didn’t receive any more cans and other pieces of bread, the people complained that there were eighty-three of them, and those rations were only enough for exactly seventy people. (That is, for sixty-nine, since one was dropped from the hand and spilled all over.) “Share more among yourselves!”  and “You are very lucky! Other wagons are incomparably more full! Where does so much food come from in wartime?”  The climax! Those in the back of the wagon, like Constantine, were the ones who were lucky: when the boxes and slices of bread were passed from hand to hand, not knowing that they would not reach everyone, they were passed on to the last prisoner. Who started to get drunk. So it was precisely those who ate every portion that were left grumpy. The man with the armband was a local and many prisoners flocked to complain to him, to beg him, to beg him to take messages to their families or to people who reached decision-making positions in the new conjuncture. A scuffle ensued and the sentry pushed open the heavy metal door of the wagon. Constantin also heard how one of the arrested shouted to Karci – as he called the one outside – to run and tell Janos what was happening. “Janos is now right in the new management! You don’t understand, Karci, I’m Janos’ brother!”  And Karci answered him from outside: “Shut up, fool, if they find out that Janos has an arrested brother, I’ll bring him here too!”. And the sentry closed the heavy metal door of the wagon. “At least it doesn’t get so cold anymore,” thought the Ninety-Ninth. The food, that was all, no one listened to the advice to keep a side and for… for who knows how long, especially since some did not reach anything and it would have been humane to give them something more, so that you had better swallow everything and apologize that you didn’t know, that there was nothing left, there was so much food, but it stilled the howling of Constantin’s mothers. The Ninety-Ninth fell asleep on the spot. When he woke up again, the train was moving. “How long have we been going?”  he asked the scrawny man next to him. He received no response. Forty-seven! Really, what’s the point of knowing when you’ve left, when you have no idea where you’re going, much less how long that road might be? Afterwards, he told himself that it makes sense, because a man must be aware of what is happening to him. That’s the only way to defend yourself! Constantin fell asleep on the spot. “Am I already in the Soviet Union?”  he heard one ask. Someone was whining that he didn’t have the slightest chance to live if he couldn’t take his daily doctor’s. “Without them I am dead”, the man simply cried. And indeed, after only two days, that man also died. Two days? In that train, time could no longer be measured by the usual units. “These drug addicts crack first!”. In that train, even words could no longer be measured according to the usual units. Then, when he woke up again, the train was standing still, and it was pitch black in the carriage. He asked the neighbor next to him again how long they had been going and again he didn’t get an answer. All around, there was a constant muffled murmur of groans, words in Hungarian, swearing. He asked the man again who was stubborn not to answer him. He touched him with his hand: the man was dead. Then he noticed that the man next to him was still passing gas. He touched it again. In the dark. The man was dead. He was dead and still belching gas. Forty-seven!

THE HUNDRED – AGNUS DEI (72)

Constantin is an accounting company based out of Paris, France.

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