Global Scans · Design · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Design thinking will increasingly play a key role in improving systems and customer experiences. Companies will re-learn their approach to innovation and embrace human-centred design principles. Designers will begin to apply knowledge of human interaction, specifically in the area of how we earn trust and respect, to AI systems.

• [New] Experience gained from Vanguard's deployment and operation will feed directly into the design of Sentinel, helping engineers refine everything from life-support systems and logistics to underwater servicing procedures before scaling up to larger habitats. New Atlas
• [New] The European Commission's Renovation Wave Strategy aims to double the annual rate of building energy renovation by 2030, targeting 35 million buildings for deep retrofit across EU member states. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Interact Analysis expects only around 26% of warehouse sites to have meaningful automation by 2027, while Gartner predicts half of new warehouses in developed markets will be designed as robot-centric by 2030, a statement about future new builds rather than the existing estate. nshift
• [New] A 2023 Interact Analysis forecast expected only around 26% of warehouse sites to have meaningful automation by 2027, and Gartner's prediction that half of new warehouses in developed markets will be designed as robot-centric facilities by 2030 is about future new builds, not the existing estate. nshift
• [New] CCROs, announced by the UK government as part of planned reforms to the Computer Misuse Act, are designed to let police and courts place restrictions on people considered high risk before they carry out further serious breaches. BBC News
• [New] Several shifts will shape enterprise identity over the next few years. kkrfgroup.com
• [New] In 2026, the leading platforms combine process design with workflow automation, process mining, AI assistants, and in some cases governance, risk and compliance in a single product, which makes the buying decision broader and the vendor landscape harder to read. Viewpoint Analysis
• [New] GBTEC is a German vendor whose BIC Platform combines business process management with workflow automation, process mining, enterprise architecture, and governance, risk and compliance in one integrated product. Viewpoint Analysis
• [New] Colorado's Regulation 28 applies statewide to buildings of 50,000 square feet and larger, requiring benchmarking plus greenhouse gas reductions against a 2021 baseline - an interim target in 2026 and a steeper one in 2030. Environment+Energy Leader
• [New] On new construction, NYC's Local Law 154 has required all-electric systems in new buildings under seven stories since 2024, extending to taller buildings in 2027. Environment+Energy Leader
• [New] Local Law 154 prohibits the use of fossil fuels in most new construction and will start applying to high-rise buildings in 2027. Yahoo News
• [New] Intel's Xe architecture data center GPU will provide the efficient headroom customers need - and more value - as token volumes surge. semiwiki
• [New] MIT engineers' design could lead to a new class of aerial-aquatic vehicles for ocean exploration. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• [New] Microsoft is urging organizations to begin with strategy, ownership, and inventory, while also modernizing protocols and designing new systems with crypto-agility in mind, adding that starting earlier can reduce risk while helping avoid disruptive, rushed migrations later. Campus Technology
• [New] Microsoft said its near-term work will focus on three areas: upgrading network cryptography, building crypto-agility for stored data and modernizing cryptographic trust chains used for identity, signing and certificates. Campus Technology
• [New] Beginning in 2030, the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover is expected to join the search with specialized instruments designed to look for stronger chemical evidence. ScienceDaily
• [New] Tetra Pak Bioreactor RF is designed to reduce operational risk and remove complexity, helping operators stay in control. CNS Media
• [New] Design and IP risks are rising as 3D assets move across contractors, suppliers, and global teams. Mean CEO's BLOG
• [New] The US Space Force has proven it has battlefield teeth like the other armed forces by adding Meadowlands to its arsenal - a ground-based space weapon designed to blind, bamboozle, and blast orbital threats with electromagnetic beams. New Atlas
• [New] By 2030, all new infrastructure projects are to use AI, IoT, GIS and BIM from design to supervision, QC and operation with full transformation occurring by 2035. Last Week in ConTech
• [New] Spike Aerospace is developing the Spike S-512 Diplomat, a next-generation quiet supersonic business jet designed to dramatically reduce travel times while addressing the environmental, safety, and community considerations that will define the future of high-speed flight. Spike Aerospace

Last updated: 20 July 2026