Uber to stop developing self-driving trucks
Justice OkamgbaJuly 31, 2018
The ride-hailing company, Uber said it will stop developing self-driving trucks that have been hauling cargo on U.S. highways, seeking to focus its autonomous vehicle technology solely on cars, according to Reuters. Through its acquisition of Otto in 2016, Uber had sought to disrupt freight hauling with self-driving trucks and Uber Freight, its smartphone app that connects truck drivers and shippers. The company said Uber Freight, which has seen “rapid” growth, is unaffected by the decision. Trucking has been viewed by transportation experts as a natural application for self-driving technology because of the relative predictability of highways compared with busy city streets. “We believe having our entire team’s energy and expertise focused on (self-driving cars) is the best path forward,” Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, said in an emailed statement. Uber had unveiled plans earlier this year to integrate manual trucking with self-driving trucks by deploying the former for short hauls and the latter for longer distances. San Francisco-based Uber faces competition from Silicon Valley companies including Tesla Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Waymo as well as traditional automakers such as Ford and General Motors in the race to bring self-driving cars to the market. Uber said it will move employees working on self-driving trucks to other internal roles within autonomous vehicle development.
Electric vehicle sales around the world up over 50% in 2017
Businessam StaffMay 31, 2018
Electric car sales around the world rose by 54 percent in 2017 to a three-million threshold, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report Wednesday. The IEA said as many as 220 million electric vehicles (EVs) could be on the road in 2030 — if governments adopt more ambitious environmental standards. The report indicated […]
InSight, NASA’s solar-powered lander, set for launch to mars
Businessam StaffMay 5, 2018
American space agency NASA is about to launch a mission to Mars with its new solar-powered lander. The NASA inspection kit is named InSight, and it’s a 794-pound Martian lander. InSight, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is set to blast off for Mars from California’s Vandenberg Air Force […]
Fingerprint, face scanners taking over passwords on web browsers
Goddey OdinApril 15, 2018
Some promising technologies are underway to enable web users to do away with passwords, especially when accessing web browsers Internet standards organizations the FIDO Alliance and W3C have launched a new specification WebAuthn that allows web browsers and websites to support biometric encryption methods in place of passwords. The specification is an application programming interface […]
World’s tiniest computer smaller than grain of salt
Businessam StaffMarch 20, 2018
IBM is working on what it has called the ‘world’s smallest computer’ and as you can see from this picture they’re not fooling around. The finished computer is smaller than a grain of salt, and yet has the same computing power as Intel’s X86 chip from the 90s. IBM is reportedly working on the chip […]
Facebook introduces WiFi hotspot app, Express Wi-Fi
Businessam StaffMarch 19, 2018
Facebook launched an Android app, Express Wi-Fi, which lets users buy data packs and find hotspots. According to TechCrunch, Express Wi-Fi gives “people another simple and secure way to access fast, affordable internet through their local Express Wi-Fi hotspots,” the company confirmed. The app is part of a programme, currently in five developing countries, where […]
Mobile operators need radical change for 4th industrial revolution
Businessam StaffMarch 1, 2018
Glenn Lurie, CEO, and president of Synchronoss said it is imperative that mobile operators undergo significant and radical change to take advantage of the prospects presented by the 4th industrial revolution The CEO, during the Fourth Industrial Revolution keynote at the ongoing MWC2018 in Barcelonia, stated that “Operators must expand, innovate, federate and experience in […]
Africa leaders back youths for future’s society through innovation
Goddey OdinFebruary 19, 2018
Africa leaders have shown commitment in supporting the continent’s youth to build tomorrow’s society through innovation. This was done at the just concluded third edition of the Africa Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation, held in Cairo, Egypt, on February 10-12, where ministers and heads of delegations were in attendance. The edition themed “Enhancing the […]
Chinese researchers make progress on graphene batteries for iPhone instant charging
Businessam StaffFebruary 19, 2018
Instant charging of an iPhone became one step closer to reality after researchers at China’s Zhejiang University recharged a battery for just 1.1 second and used that to power a light bulb for an hour. The graphene-based battery retained 91 per cent of its capacity after charging more than 250,000 times and performed stably under […]
Uber, Bell Helicopter to bring first air taxis by 2025
Businessam StaffFebruary 6, 2018
Bell Helicopter, which has tied up with Uber Technologies Inc. to revolutionize mass transportation, expects to bring the first air-taxis under the partnership by the middle of next decade, according to an executive at the Textron Inc. unit. “Air taxi is the next way for our industry, and it’s very important for us to make […]