Sensors - Publications - Faculty & Research

21 Aug 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

Companies Love Big Data But Lack the Strategy To Use It Effectively

brands goes to digital media. What happens when products with sensors generate such volumes of customer experience data that advertising may be a less significant factor?” Jeff Polzer, of the Organizational Behavior faculty, introduced... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

29 Feb 2016
HBS Case

Bigbelly's Big Bet on the Digital Trash Can

sensors in the units report when the cans are full, enabling cities to optimize pickup routes and save money. Even with initial growth, however, the company wondered why it wasn’t selling even more trash products to more customers. It... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

06 May 2015
What Do You Think?

Are You Ready for Personalized Predictive Analytics?

Summing Up Personal Predictive Analytics: Should We Be Careful What We Wish For? The world of continuous monitoring of numerous sensors for machines and humans, limitless information storage capacity, and big data combined with rapid... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

17 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 17, 2008

supplement: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=508111 Sensors Unlimited: Bringing InGaAs Technology to the Market Harvard Business School Case 608-138 Sensors Unlimited was a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

08 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The Civic Benefits of Google Street View and Yelp

expanding their own data-gathering and crunching capabilities through advancements like sensor networks and sophisticated modeling software. What if cities could make use of all that data to better give residents what they need—for... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

08 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

Unplugged: What Happened to the Smart Grid?

appliances to turn on when rates were at their lowest. Plus smart meters, monitors, and sensors capable of two-way communication would allow for a more efficient reaction time if an outage was detected, rather than relying on field... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Energy; Utilities

07 Jun 2010
Research & Ideas

Improving Brand Recognition in TV Ads

setup is as unobtrusive as sitting in front of a computer monitor. Eye movements are captured by an optical sensor using infrared light reflected off the cornea. When his advisor at Michigan showed him a huge dataset collected from... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Media & Broadcasting; Entertainment & Recreation

20 Oct 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Workshop Encourages Corporate Reporting on Environmental and Social Sustainability

accounting firms to deliver a truly integrated audit? One of the key new themes that emerged at the workshop was the role technology could play in gathering, organizing, and analyzing IR data. "Technologies not traditionally associated with corporate reporting,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Accounting

22 May 2020
In Practice

Post-COVID Health Care: More Screens, Less Red Tape?

normal. Robert S. Huckman (@robert_huckman) is the Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the faculty chair of the HBS Health Care Initiative. Virtual medicine will become a standard option Peter Barrett: Remote... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

25 Apr 2012
What Do You Think?

How Will the “Age of Big Data” Affect Management?

organized. Other facts are generated by so-called digital sensors operating worldwide in industrial equipment, autos, and the like. By linking the sensors, an "industrial Internet" can be created. These trends appear to have "opportunity"... View Details

Keywords: Re: James L. Heskett

23 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

The Open Office Revolution Has Gone Too Far

use people analytics to improve how people work. These badges, and the multiple sensors inside of them, allow careful tracking of interactions in the workplace. Ben was kind enough to partner with us to help us measure, carefully and... View Details

Keywords: Re: Ethan S. Bernstein

03 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, October 3, 2017

which a time-stamped sensor is embedded. We randomize distribution of these soap dispensers as well as provision of monitoring (feedback reports) or monitoring and incentives for daily handwashing. Relative to a control arm in which... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

15 Feb 2017
Op-Ed

What Africa Can Teach the United States About Funding Infrastructure Projects

and unreliable power grids in nations like Liberia and Tanzania. They don’t wait for government to connect the dots. The second and likely more powerful new capability arises from the combined arrival of three technologies all enabled by feature phones and smart... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Construction

19 May 2016
Research Event

Crowdsourcing, Patent Trolls, and Other Research Insights Highlighted at Harvard Business School Symposium

designing soft robotic gloves that aid with upper extremity issues. A patient with a spinal cord injury may use the glove to pinch fingers together, making lifting a glass easier. Future work will focus on using sensors that respond to a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman & Carmen Nobel

11 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 11

Internet: adding digital sensors to its machines; connecting them to a common, cloud-based software platform; investing in software development capabilities; building advanced analytics capabilities; and embracing crowd-based product... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Comment on Environmental Issues for Earth Day

for reducing waste, requires a modular approach to construction with extensive prefabrication. This also makes it possible to embed technology, such as sensors and actuators, into the very fabric of the building. But the greatest... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Energy; Utilities

05 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

The Vanguard Corporation

Can we use our capabilities in the electronic sensor business to deal with these problems and issues? For example, one of the things they are working on is biosensors that can be attached to the food chain, so that the freshness of food... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

The ABCs of Addressing Climate Change (From a Business Perspective)

It's Climate Week in New York City. The schedule features a UN Climate Summit, a People's Climate March, the Clinton Global Initiative, substantial criticism of the whole endeavor, and plenty of agitated interaction. There is a lot of noise here. How can businesses cut... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Energy; Utilities

20 Apr 2020
Book

Why COVID-19 Raises the Stakes for Healthy Buildings

going to the doctor for an annual checkup. It helps you catch things early, before your building ends up in the emergency room, where you’ll spend 10 times as much fixing the problem. With the advent of new sensor technologies, it’s also... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Real Estate; Health

20 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 20

Components Organization (ICO) was an internal venture that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought to initially develop and sell a high performance integrated CMOS image sensor module for cellular phones. ICO's opening... View Details