Vietnam’s homegrown carmaker VinFast will deliver its first cars on June 17, the company said Friday as it showcased a factory in one of Asia’s fastest growing economies. VinFast said it will supply a domestic market that is rapidly expanding thanks to a mushrooming middle class with a growing appetite for cars—though it will face […]
Volvo Unveils Driverless Electric Bus In Singapore
Volvo and a Singapore university unveiled a driverless electric bus Tuesday that will soon undergo tests in the city-state, the latest move towards rolling out autonomous vehicles for public transport. High-tech Singapore has become a testbed for self-driving technology and the world’s first driverless taxis went into operation in a limited public trial in the […]
Cameras, Drones: Rio De Janeiro to Put Electronic Eyes on Crime
Rio de Janeiro state is moving ahead with plans to deploy security cameras and drones to help fight crime, according to its next governor, a far-right politician loyal to president-elect Jair Bolsonaro. A tender to install 30,000 cameras will be launched soon, Wilson Witzel, who takes up the governorship of the southeast Brazilian state in […]
Samsung Folding Screen Lets Smartphone Open into Tablet
Samsung on Wednesday showed off a folding screen that lets a smartphone open into a tablet, heralding it as the future for portable devices. Senior vice president of mobile product marketing Justin Denison pulled a prototype foldable smartphone from a suit jacket inner pocket at a Samsung developer conference in San Francisco, saying the company will be […]
Musk Says LA Hyperloop Tunnel to Be Unveiled December 10
Elon Musk’s Hyperloop ultra high-speed transport system will be unveiled in Los Angeles in early December with free test rides to the public, the entrepreneur announced. “The first tunnel is almost done,” Musk said on Twitter late Sunday night. “Opens Dec 10.” Responding to comments on Twitter, Musk said there would be an opening event […]
EU Leaders Vow Tough Action on Cyber Attacks
EU leaders on Thursday condemned the attempted hack on the global chemical weapons watchdog and vowed to step up the bloc’s efforts to tackle cyber attacks. With concerns growing about the malign cyber activities of several countries around the world, notably Russia, the bloc’s leaders called for work to begin to set up sanctions to […]
MIT Unveils New $1 Bn College for Artificial Intelligence
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced plans Monday to create a new college of artificial intelligence with an initial $1 billion commitment for the program focusing on “responsible and ethical” uses of the technology. The prestigious university said it would add 50 new faculty members and create an interdisciplinary hub for work in computer science, […]
India Plans Facial Recognition Technology at Airports
Indian flyers will soon be able to leave their identification cards and boarding passes at home after the government announced plans Thursday to introduce facial recognition technology at airports. The scheme will be rolled out early next year in a bid to help congested airports deal with rapidly rising passenger numbers, the ministry of civil […]
GM, Honda Team up to Produce Self-Driving Vehicles
General Motors and Honda are teaming up on self-driving vehicle technology as big automakers and tech giants race to be first in their development. Honda Motor Co. will invest $2.75 billion in the autonomous vehicle unit run by General Motors Co., called GM Cruise. The goal, the companies said Wednesday, is to develop an autonomous […]
World Bank Bets Big on Batteries for Solar Energy Boost
Solar energy could be a huge source of power in Africa, but its potential has been stymied by storage batteries that are too expensive and inadequate for use in poor countries. The World Bank aims to break through that bottleneck, announcing plans Wednesday to invest $1 billion—and leverage it by another $4 billion—to boost developing countries‘ […]