Tech
NASA gears up to deflect asteroid, in key test of planetary defense
Bet the dinosaurs wish they'd thought of this. NASA on Monday will attempt a feat humanity has never before accomplished: deliberately smacking a spacecraft into an asteroid to slightly deflect its orbit, in a key test of our ability to stop cosmic objects from devastating life on Earth. The Double… Read
SoftBank to hold tie-up talks with Samsung over chip designer Arm
SoftBank Group Corp is set to enter talks with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co on a possible strategic tie-up over Arm Ltd, a British chip designer under the Japanese technology conglomerate, a corporate source familiar with the plan said. SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son will visit South Korea next month to… Read
ANA confirmed as launch customer for Boeing's Insight Accelerator
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has been confirmed as the launch customer for Boeing's Insight Accelerator (IA), a new cloud-based digital solution employing artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency and avoid high impact service disruptions. While the latest generation of commercial airplanes like the 787 generate a large amount of flight… Read
Revamped Detroit auto show now also features new flying tech
The Detroit auto show has returned after a three-year absence with a roar. And a soar. Visitors to the prestigious North American International Auto Show, which kicked off last week, can lay eyes on the latest offerings from some of the world's biggest automakers, as they've been able to in… Read
Facebook whistleblower launches nonprofit to take on big tech
Whistleblower Frances Haugen -- a former Facebook engineer who leaked documents suggesting the firm put profits before safety -- has launched an organization devoted to fighting harm caused by social media. The new Beyond the Screen nonprofit said that its first project will be to document ways big tech is… Read
Electric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could be running on batteries in a few years
Two-seater Velis Electros are already quietly buzzing around Europe, electric sea planes are being tested in British Columbia, and larger planes are coming. Air Canada announced on Sept 15 that it would buy 30 electric-hybrid regional aircraft from Sweden’s Heart Aerospace, which expects to have its 30-seat plane in service… Read
SoftBank launches used car subscriptions as telecom growth slows
SoftBank Corp has launched a subscription service that lets customers drive a used car at a fixed monthly rate, as it tries to diversify its business portfolio amid a slow growth in the flagship mobile phone business. The Japanese telecom company has set up Carro Japan Corp in Tokyo, a… Read
NEC to establish new green data centers in Kanagawa and Kobe
In response to the growing demand for data centers, NEC Corp will establish two new green data centers that utilize 100% renewable energy. The “NEC Kanagawa Data Center: Phase 2 Building" is scheduled to open in the second half of 2023, and the “NEC Kobe Data Center: Phase 3 Building" is… Read
Apple to raise app prices in Japan, eurozone, other markets
Apple Inc will raise prices for apps sold on its products in some countries including Japan as well as the eurozone next month, according to a notice by the IT giant, amid the U.S. dollar's solid rally against other major currencies. The notice dated Monday said that along with apps… Read
Restaurant robots can soon replace key jobs
As labor shortages and rising costs continue to cut into profit margins, restaurants are looking for ways to improve their business model—and automation is increasingly looking like a viable solution. From conversational AI drive-thrus to full-service fry cook robots, the possibilities are endless, but not all roles can be replaced.… Read
