Harnessing the power of AI: Japanese delivery firms, restaurants look to tech to boost businesses

In the midst of a surge in demand as more people shop online, the parcel delivery sector is struggling to keep up due to a chronic shortage of drivers. Meanwhile, restaurants are struggling to find ways to reduce waste in an industry notorious for razor-thin profit margins. A viable solution to both industries' conundrums could be artificial intelligence. Japan Data Science Consortium Co. (JDSC), a startup incubated at the University of Tokyo, believes it can solve this growing issue using its own AI patent that analyses household electricity data to calculate whether anyone will be home to receive a package during a given time period. In other words, the AI comes up with a delivery route for truck drivers based on the electricity data.