Tech
ANA among newcomers at CEATEC annual high-tech show
Airline ANA Holdings Inc is among the newcomers this year at a major electronics show that kicked off near Tokyo on Tuesday aiming to encourage cross-industry collaboration in efforts to tackle common social challenges such as Japan's labor shortage and aging population. Organizers of the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies,… Read
NASA unveils flexible, one-size-fits-all space suits
Bye bye to bunny hops: when U.S. astronauts next touch down on the moon, expect them to walk almost as they do on Earth, thanks to a new generation of spacesuits offering key advantages over those of the Apollo-era. Prototypes of the Orion Crew Survival Suit that will be worn… Read
Hyundai Motor Group to invest $35 billion in future automotive tech
Hyundai Motor Group said on Tuesday that it plans to invest 41 trillion won ($34.65 billion) in mobility technology and strategic investments by 2025, as South Korea's top automaker accelerates its attempts to catch up in the self-driving car race. The plan, which Hyundai said encompassed autonomous, connected and electric… Read
Google debuts Pixel 4 phone, wireless earbuds with AI
Google unveiled a new Pixel smartphone and other hardware devices Tuesday, all aimed at getting people even more dependent on its artificial-intelligence services. The Pixel 4 phone promises to respond to AI queries even faster than before, while a home Wi-Fi system is getting the AI features for the first… Read
Social plague of 'AirDrop chikan' wiped out with simple change in iOS 13 update
For the past few months in Japan, the media has been covering a growing social problem of “AirDrop Chikan.” They are a revolutionary breed of chikan who utilize Apple’s AirDrop function to remotely send dirty pictures to any other Apple user within a several-meter radius in busy locations such as trains. With… Read
Trade war rejuvenates 'Silicon Valley' firms in Malaysia
Years after resisting pressure to move to China, Lee Hung Lung says his bet has paid off. Sales at his Malaysia-based Hotayi Electronic are surging, it's hiring more workers, considering an expansion, and picking and choosing orders. Lee is the founder and CEO of Hotayi, whose two factories manufacture and… Read
Despite defections, Facebook officially launches Libra
Facebook is officially moving forward with its digital currency project Libra, despite several high-profile defections from the project and intense criticism from U.S. regulators and politicians. The Libra Association, the nonprofit that will govern the currency, officially signed on 21 charter members on Monday at the organization's inaugural meeting in… Read
Facebook researchers use maths for better translations
Designers of machine translation tools still mostly rely on dictionaries to make a foreign language understandable. But now there is a new way: numbers. Facebook researchers say rendering words into figures and exploiting mathematical similarities between languages is a promising avenue -- even if a universal communicator a la "Star… Read
Facebook's Libra currency battered by defections, pushback
Facebook faces a rough road ahead with Libra, but defections by high-profile partners are still unlikely to spell the end for the digital currency. On Friday, Visa and MasterCard announced their departures from the Libra project, as did e-commerce giant eBay and payments startup Stripe. Last week, PayPal became the… Read
Using electric buses in climate fight faces hurdles, report finds
Electric buses could play a key role in combating climate change, but U.S. cities testing them have met hurdles that need fixing before the technology is widely employed to slow global warming, a report shows. Buses tested in a handful of U.S. locales had trouble with battery life, inadequate range… Read
