Connect with us

Technology

Mars Puts Pet Health in Pet Parents’ Hands with new Artificial Intelligence Powered Tools

Published

on

Mars introduces a global portfolio of artificial intelligence (AI) powered digital health tools to help pet parents monitor their pets’ wellbeing.  Available now, GREENIES™ Canine Dental Check – the first AI-powered tool that helps pet parents monitor their dog’s dental health with just a smartphone photo. This portfolio of tools is part of Mars’ $1 billion digital investment, driving innovation to transform the pet parent experience and create A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

LONDON, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Mars, Incorporated, a global leader in pet care products and services, announces the launch of AI- powered tools, enabling pet parents to easily monitor their pets’ health. This launch is part of Mars’ $1 billion investment in its Pet Nutrition business driving digital innovation, aimed at transforming the pet parent experience.

GREENIES™ Canine Dental Check, the first of the suite of tools, is available now in the US. This new digital AI tool makes monitoring the appearance of dog’s teeth and gums simple – all from a smartphone photo.  The tools brings together Mars’ iconic and trusted brands and 90 years of science-backed innovation to give pet parents more insights into their pets’ health.  

Digital-first dental health 

80% of dogs suffer from gum disease but most pet parents remain unaware. With 38% of dog parents considering their pets the most important part of their lives and 32% identifying their dog’s illness as their greatest source of stress1, empowering pet parents to manage their dog’s dental health becomes even more critical. GREENIES™ Canine Dental Check bridges this gap, making it easy to detect signs of tartar buildup and gum irritation early, helping dogs stay happy and healthy.

Snap a Photo – Take a quick picture of your dog’s teeth and gums using your phone.AI Analysis – The tool scans for signs of tartar buildup and gum irritation in seconds, using an AI model trained on over 53,000 images of dog mouths.Instant Insights – Pet parents receive easy-to-understand results, along with recommendations on next steps.Vet-Connected Support – For further guidance, users can consult a Licensed Veterinary Technician via Mars’ PETconnect by GREENIES™ service. 

Ikdeep Singh, Global President of Mars Pet Nutrition, comments: “For 90 years and counting, Mars has been making pet parenting better and now we’re making it easier than ever to monitor and support their pet’s health. GREENIES™Canine Dental Check is just the beginning. By bringing together our iconic brands, and expertise across our science, diagnostics, veterinary and digital teams, we’re providing pet parents with the tools they need to better understand and care for their pets every day.

With the pet care market anticipated to expand by 45% through to 20301 and pet parents expecting more digital experiences, today’s launch signals an important step to ensuring Mars is not only meeting the current expectations of pet parents but also anticipating future needs. Mars plans to expand its digital health portfolio throughout 2025 to offer tools that provide real time insights into overall wellbeing, all at the click of a button including IAMS® Poopscan, an AI-powered tool designed to analyze a dog’s feces and monitor stool consistency, which may provide insights into their digestion and health.

Mars is a global leader in pet care, spanning comprehensive veterinary care (including: AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™), nutrition (including PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®), breakthrough programs in veterinary diagnostics (ANTECH®), wearable health monitoring and pet parent platforms. With over 100,000 Associates helping pets, their owners and pet professionals in more than 130 countries. 

ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED  

Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $50bn+ family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, CESAR®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS® and BEN’S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles—Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom—inspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.  

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2678611/GREENIES_Image.jpg
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2678610/Dog_Image.jpg

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/mars-puts-pet-health-in-pet-parents-hands-with-new-artificial-intelligence-powered-tools-302445084.html

Continue Reading

Technology

HKAGE Showcases Gifted Students’ Learning Journeys at InnoCarnival 2026

Published

on

By

Promoting “Technology for Good” Through Innovation and Creativity 

HONG KONG, Oct. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) has been invited to participate in InnoCarnival 2026, organised by the Innovation and Technology Commission. Under the theme “Technology for Good, Innovation for All”, HKAGE will showcase the learning journeys of gifted students who have completed programmes on AI robotic arms, underwater archaeology, etc., demonstrating how technology can be harnessed to address societal needs.

Having proactively aligned its work with the education development strategies of the Education Bureau (EDB), HKAGE fully supports the EDB’s Blueprint for Digital Education in Primary and Secondary Schools, which seeks to advance the digital transformation of school education in Hong Kong. Building on its Talent Development Model, HKAGE systematically develops programmes, provides diversified learning experiences and engages in cross-sector collaborations to nurture gifted talents equipped with innovative capabilities, technological literacy, and a strong sense of social responsibility. At the exhibition this year, HKAGE will present how students applied knowledge gained through gifted education programmes and learning experiences in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, environmental science, underwater archaeology and sustainable development to design socially conscious solutions. These experiences reflect the students’ ability to serve society with knowledge and respond creatively to diverse challenges.

Among the highlights is the learning journey of students in the “Artificial Intelligence Course: Creative AI Robotic Arm for Inclusion”. After acquiring foundational knowledge in artificial intelligence, robotics and sensor applications, students designed, tested and refined intelligent robotic arm prototypes through real-time data analysis and algorithms. With the aim of improving the quality of life for the elderly and caregivers, students explored various application scenarios for intelligent robotic arms. Another showcase features the “Environmental Science Course: Bat Echoes – Voices of the Night”. Through acoustic monitoring, the exhibition demonstrates how students recorded bat voices and analysed related activity data and characteristics. The programme enabled students to gain a deeper understanding of local biodiversity and explore practical approaches to ecological conservation.

The HKAGE exhibition booth also features an interactive photo-taking device, allowing visitors to take photos with different gifted programme themes and share the joy of learning.

On the first day of the exhibition, a “Build Your Own Glider Parent-Child Workshop” is specially organised by HKAGE for the visitors. Under the guidance of instructors and assisted by HKAGE students, participants will learn the basic principles of aerodynamics, including lift, gravity, thrust and drag. They will also learn to design, assemble and decorate their own gliders by using lightweight and durable materials, experiencing the joy of science and engineering.

Mr WONG Chung Po, Acting Executive Director of HKAGE, said: “The Academy is committed to providing gifted students with diversified learning platforms and encouraging them to transform knowledge into innovative practices that generate positive social impact. Participation in this exhibition not only provides students with a valuable learning experience that helps consolidate the knowledge acquired in gifted programmes, but also enables the public to better understand how gifted education nurtures a new generation of creative and socially responsible talents to jointly advance the philosophy of ‘Technology for Good’.”

InnoCarnival 2026 – The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education

Date:

24 Oct – 1 Nov

Venue:

The Hong Kong Science Park

Booth:

C08-09

Time:

10:00 – 17:00 (Mon to Fri)

10:00 – 18:00 (Sat & Sun)

 

About the HKAGE

Established in 2008 and subvented by the Education Bureau, the HKAGE offers gifted education services actively to local primary and secondary school students to unleash their potential. It also provides gifted education-related information and support for teachers, parents, and other relevant stakeholders.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/hkage-showcases-gifted-students-learning-journeys-at-innocarnival-2026-302918606.html

SOURCE Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education

Continue Reading

Technology

LEAP Group Relaunches HumanView, a Growth Intelligence System Built to Explain Why Customers Behave the Way They Do

Published

on

By

Reimagined from the ground up, HumanView pairs statistical modeling with expert analysts to turn millions of real-world customer signals into business decisions

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LEAP Group today announced the relaunch of HumanView, its growth intelligence service. The new version has been rebuilt from the ground up and now has a dedicated home at leapgroupnetwork.com/humanview.

HumanView analyzes what customers say and do across social platforms, e-commerce sites, review platforms, search behavior and user-generated content, including signals from Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, Meta, Amazon and Walmart+ that general AI tools cannot always access. Because the data reflects unprompted, real-world behavior, it avoids the response bias built into surveys and focus groups.

The service works in three layers. HumanView captures signals at scale, decodes millions of records through validated statistical models such as regression, correlation and clustering, and then relies on experienced analysts to interpret the patterns. Clients receive clear, human-validated insights instead of another dashboard.

“Machines find the patterns. Humans find the point,” said Alan Gilleo, CEO at LEAP Group. “The first version of HumanView showed us how much customers reveal when nobody is asking them questions. This version is built to explain why they act the way they do, and to put those answers in front of everyone making decisions, from product to service to marketing.”

HumanView focuses on three areas:

Growth Intelligence: customer motivations and how people perceive a brand and its competitors

Market and Category Intelligence: product pain points, service friction, unmet needs and competitive gaps

Audience Intelligence: new segments, positioning opportunities and gaps in the market

Every model is designed and validated by data scientists and benchmarked before it informs a recommendation.

To learn more about HumanView, visit leapgroupnetwork.com/humanview.

About LEAP Group
LEAP Group is a boutique marketing agency holding company with offices in Louisville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Chicago. Guided by the belief that brands should “Market Less. Matter More.,” LEAP gives clients access to specialized experts across its entire network. Learn more at leapgroupnetwork.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leap-group-relaunches-humanview-a-growth-intelligence-system-built-to-explain-why-customers-behave-the-way-they-do-302918557.html

SOURCE LEAP Group

Continue Reading

Technology

STEPHEN A. SMITH ADDRESSES WHITE HOUSE DINNER ATTENDANCE, REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO HBCUs AND PROTECTING CORPORATE INVESTMENT IN BLACK EDUCATION

Published

on

By

NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Stephen A. Smith, media mogul, New York Times bestselling author, and proud 1991 graduate of Winston-Salem State University, is addressing the public discussion surrounding his decision to attend a White House dinner with President Donald Trump, emphasizing his commitment to the long-term financial stability of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

For Smith, the decision was rooted in a commitment to institutions that have educated generations of Black leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, and public servants.

“I will always advocate for HBCUs and the students whose futures depend on them,” Smith said. “My reason for attending the White House dinner was to discuss the challenges these institutions face in securing long-term funding and to make the case that corporate America must continue to invest in them.”

Smith acknowledged federal support through the FUTURE Act while expressing concern that political tensions surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) could discourage private companies from supporting HBCUs. He maintains that these institutions deserve sustained corporate partnerships, philanthropic contributions, and public investment.

“If we truly believe in free-market capitalism, businesses should be able to support educational institutions and charitable causes without fear of criticism or repercussions,” Smith said. “HBCUs have made extraordinary contributions to this country. They deserve sustained public and private investment.”

Ashley Christopher, Esq., Founder and CEO of the HBCU Week Foundation, recognized Smith’s advocacy and decision to engage with the administration.

“Stephen A. Smith has been a powerful advocate for HBCUs, using his platform and influence to shine a national spotlight on our institutions,” expressed Christopher, “His continued support of HBCU Week helps advance our mission of connecting students with life-changing educational opportunities, and we are proud to have him as our ambassador.”

Since Smith became an HBCU Week Ambassador in 2019, the initiative has facilitated more than 15,000 on-the-spot college acceptances and raised and awarded more than $150 million in scholarships, according to the HBCU Week Foundation.

As public discussion continues, Smith is emphasizing the importance of ensuring HBCUs have the resources and partnerships needed to educate future generations and expand opportunities for students.

CLICK HERE to watch Smith’s full response to his White House visit.

MEDIA CONTACT:

media@mrsasinc.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stephen-a-smith-addresses-white-house-dinner-attendance-reaffirms-commitment-to-hbcus-and-protecting-corporate-investment-in-black-education-302918547.html

SOURCE Straight Shooter Media

Continue Reading

Trending