Aboard the Japanese spacecraft “Moon Sniper” is a small robot with a big mission: to open up like a Transformer toy, writhe on the lunar surface and send photographs back to Earth.
The SORA-Q probe, co-developed through a major toy company, has resembled a cute “Star Wars” droid and sea turtle because of the way its metallic shape can navigate the dusty landscape of the moon.
But the gadget’s chance to boldly go depends on the success of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission, with a spacecraft dubbed the “Moon Sniper” by space agency JAXA for its precision landing capabilities.
The smooth spacecraft is expected to begin its descent from lunar orbit on Saturday morning (15:00 GMT Friday), with a landing expected about 20 minutes later.
But success, which would make Japan the fifth country to set foot on the moon, after the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India, is guaranteed.
Slightly larger than a tennis ball and weighing as much as a giant potato (8 centimeters (three inches) in diameter and 250 grams (half a pound), SORA-Q was designed through JAXA with Takara Tomy, the original toy company. 1984 Transformers.
Sony Group and Doshisha University in Kyoto also helped develop the device, which has a front camera on an orange panel that emerges when its metal frame snaps open, and another on its back.
Rather than rolling on wheels, the two halves of the sphere are designed to open and move in tandem to propel SORA-Q along the rock’s surface, a design that reduces weight.
“The shape-shifting mechanism and the ultra-compact, ultra-light design were the result of the technical know-how of toy development,” reads the survey’s online page.
It can move in two ways, allowing it to drive on inclines: “‘Butterfly’ driving, where both the left and right wheels move together, and ‘crawl’ driving, where they move separately,” the site explains.
Sora means “universe” in Japanese, while “Q” refers to the words “question” and “quest”, its makers say.
If the project is successful, the spacecraft’s cameras will take valuable pictures of a crater where portions of the lunar mantle, hidden deep beneath its crust, would be exposed.
Back on Earth, a toy edition of the probe costs 21,190 yen ($140) and can roll around a living room to take pictures of cats and babies, according to its promotional video.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, P. Ing. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha, held several meetings in Davos with leaders of major foreign generation corporations to discuss the expansion of their projects and cutting-edge responses in the Kingdom.
Al-Swaha also held talks with Japanese Minister of Digital Transformation Taro Kano.
The ministers discussed strengthening the strategic partnership between the two friendly countries, joint projects and tactics to deepen cooperation in the spaces of support for the expansion of the virtual economy, innovation, virtual entrepreneurship and the stimulation of technical investments.
They also discussed the possibility of establishing joint programs to exchange expertise, support government digital transformation, and harness emerging technologies to support the digital economy.
By: Kashmir Hill
Apps that track and control cars remotely are being weaponized by abusive partners. Automakers have been slow to respond, according to victims and experts.
After nearly 10 years of marriage, Christine Dowdall wanted to retire. In September 2022, Dowdall, a bona fide real estate agent, fled her home in Covington, Louisiana, and drove her Mercedes-Benz C300 sedan to her daughter’s home near Shreveport. Her husband, a DEA agent, wouldn’t let her go.
Ms Dowdall, 59, started seeing a strange new message on the screen of her Mercedes, about a location service called “mbrace”. The moment this happened, she took a picture and looked up the call online.
“I realized, oh my God, that’s him tracking me,” Ms. Dowdall said.
‘Mbrace’ was part of ‘Mercedes me’, a suite of car accessories, available through a smartphone app. Dowdall had only used the Mercedes Me app to make auto loan payments. He didn’t realize that the service could also be used to locate the car.
One night, while visiting a friend, her husband messaged her with an approving emoji. A nearby camera captured his car driving through the neighborhood, according to the detective who worked on his case.
Ms. Dowdall continually called Mercedes visitor service in an attempt to remove her husband’s virtual access to the car, but the loan and name were in his name. Even though she was making the payments, she had a restraining order against her husband, and she had been granted exclusive use of the car during the divorce proceedings, Mercedes’ representatives told her that her husband was the visitor and therefore could retain his access. There was no button you could press to remove the app’s connection to the vehicle.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard anything like this,” one of the representatives told Mrs. Dowdall.
A spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz said the company did not comment on “individual customer matters.”
A car, to its driver, can feel like a sanctuary. A place to sing favorite songs off key, to cry, to vent or to drive somewhere no one knows you’re going.
Modern cars are called “smartphones on wheels” because they are connected to the system and have a myriad of knowledge-gathering methods, from cameras and seat weight sensors to recordings of how hard you brake and corner.
Most drivers don’t realize how much data their cars collect and who has to do it, said Jen Caltrider, a privacy researcher at Mozilla who reviewed the privacy policies of more than 25 car brands and uncovered some unexpected revelations, such as the one from Nissan. data on “sexual activity. “
“People think their car is private,” Ms. Caltrider said. “With a computer, you know where the camera is and you can tape it down. Once you buy a car and realize it doesn’t respect privacy, what are you doing?intended to do? »
Privacy advocates are concerned by how car companies are using and sharing consumers’ data — with insurance companies, for example — and drivers’ inability to turn the data collection off.
For car owners, the upside of this data-palooza has come in the form of smartphone apps that allow them to check a car’s location when, say, they forget where it is parked; to lock and unlock the vehicle remotely; and to turn it on or off. Some apps can even remotely set the car’s climate controls, make the horn honk or turn on its lights. After setting up the app, the car’s owner can grant access to a limited number of other drivers.
– Control Partners
Monitoring partners have already tracked the GPS devices and Apple AirTags of their victims’ cars.
A San Francisco man used the remote control of the Tesla Model X gaming app vehicle he owned along with his wife to harass her after they separated, according to a lawsuit she filed anonymously in San Francisco Superior Court in 2020.
According to a legal complaint against her husband and Tesla, the car’s lights and horns were activated in a parking garage. On hot days, she would arrive at her car and discover the heat was running so that it was uncomfortably hot, while on cold days, she would find that the air-conditioner had been activated from afar. Her husband, she said in court documents, used the location-finding feature on the Tesla to identify her new residence, which she had hoped to keep secret from him.
The New York Times
Google announced Tuesday that it is cutting “a few hundred” jobs on its global advertising team, as part of an initiative to use artificial intelligence to power and create.
The task cuts in its “large customers” sales team are aimed at better supporting small and medium-sized businesses that advertise on Google’s platform, according to the giant.
The company expected Google’s growth in small business advertising to translate into more hiring this year.
Google made no mention of generative AI, which is disrupting many sectors including advertising.
Last week, Google’s cloud computing unit announced new AI equipment to help stores “personalize online shopping, modernize operations, and in-store generation deployments. “
Google cited studies indicating that about 80% of U. S. stores have an urgent need to adopt generative AI in their operations.
“In just one year, generative AI has gone from being a loosely identified concept to one of the most dynamic technology functions and a component of many retailers’ programs,” Carrie Tharp, vice president of strategic industries at Google Cloud, said in a statement.
Google’s new AI equipment in particular allows stores to seamlessly integrate virtual agents into websites or mobile systems to deliver personalized recommendations to consumers, according to a press release.
Google’s AI is also being leveraged to analyze product photographs and generate tailored product descriptions or terms to optimize discovery in online searches, the company said.
Google laid off about 12,000 more people around this time last year, or about 6% of its workforce, in the face of inflation and emerging interest rates.
The Silicon Valley company has since invested heavily in generative AI.
Applied Digital lowered its full-year expectations on Tuesday, blaming a tight supply of sought-after networking components made by chipmaker Nvidia, sending shares of the data center service provider plunging nearly 23%.
The company is experiencing delays in deliveries of some parts, Nvidia’s InfiniBand, which works like an Ethernet cable and connects groups of chips between servers.
InfiniBand enables computing with IA. La demand for Nvidia’s AI chips and the accompanying generation has outpaced the source as corporations rush to adopt generative AI.
While Applied Digital did not report any issues with the AI chip’s origin in its earnings report, the company said it has delayed shipments of Nvidia graphics processing suites (GPUs) due to InfiniBand bottlenecks.
“We may have purchased a significant number of GPUs in December, but there is no explanation as to why we did so,” the company said, adding that it would be “disruptive” to accept the shipments.
But Applied Digital said it has noticed an improvement in shipments of network devices in recent weeks, a sign that the challenge is possibly easing.
The company now expects overall earnings for 2024 to be below its previous diversity of between $385 million and $405 million.
It also expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to be below its previous management diversity of between $195 million and $205 million.
Applied Digital revealed its revised full-year metrics projections.
The company also missed estimates for second-quarter revenue. It reported revenue of $42.2 million for the quarter ended Nov. 30, which was below analysts’ average estimate of $57.3 million, according to LSEG data.
Aramco Digital and Intel have announced plans to develop the first Open RAN (Radio Access Network) development center in Saudi Arabia.
The facility is expected to drive innovation, foster technological advancements and contribute to the digital transformation landscape in the Kingdom.
The collaborative effort aims to accelerate the development and deployment of Open RAN technologies, to enable the Kingdom to build robust and agile telecommunication infrastructure focused on accelerating digitization across industries.
This collaboration aims to align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which focuses on technological advancements and economic diversification.
Open RAN, an evolving paradigm in wireless network architecture, greater flexibility, interoperability, and innovation.
Aramco Digital provides an in-depth understanding of the Kingdom’s desires, ambitions and progression opportunities to implement Open RAN technology, as well as an exclusive on the Kingdom’s economic landscape.
“This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to driving innovation in the Kingdom,” said Tareq Amin, CEO of Aramco Digital.
“The Open RAN Development Center is expected to be a catalyst for virtual evolution, offering a platform for collaboration, development and the creation of a colorful generation ecosystem. “
“We are pleased to collaborate on Open RAN with Aramco Digital and to combine Intel’s technological prowess in network and edge computing and software with the local insights and industry leadership of Aramco Digital. Together, we aim to accelerate the deployment of edge-native Open RAN solutions in Saudi Arabia and beyond,” said Sachin Katti, Intel Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Network and Edge Group.
The Open RAN Development Center is expected to begin operations in 2024, marking a milestone in Saudi Arabia’s adventure to a technology-driven future.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, P. Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha discussed with the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Doreen Bogdan-Martin, tactics for cooperation and virtual inclusion.
Apple is offering infrequent discounts on its iPhones in China, slashing the retail price by as much as 500 yuan ($70) amid growing competitive tension in the world’s largest smartphone market.
The U. S. tech giant has slashed the costs of some iPhones by 5%, its Chinese announced on Monday. The limited-time promotion, billed as a Lunar New Year event, will run from Jan. 18 to Jan. 21, as the mid-February holiday. Approaches.
Sales of Apple’s iPhone 15 series of phones have been far worse than previous models in China.
Local competitors such as Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi are providing competitive models, while sources said that some corporations and government departments are restricting the use of Apple devices through their devices, reflecting U. S. government restrictions. The U. S. government has issued a ban on Chinese apps for security reasons.
iPhone sales in China fell 30% in the first week of 2024 compared to the same time a year earlier, analysts at Jefferies said in a note to the consumer, after falling 3% for all of 2023. Analysts expect the competitive landscape to be more challenging this year. year.
Apple hasn’t cut the costs of its newest iPhones in years. The discounts come after the market unexpectedly increased the costs of the iPhone 15 series when it was introduced in September.
Online grocery shopping platforms, along with Pinduoduo, have slashed iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro prices by as much as 16% since the beginning of the year.
Apple responded to a request for comment.