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Chinese search engine giant and AI leader Baidu has unveiled its sixth-generation fully autonomous vehicle. The Apollo RT6 is an all-electric vehicle that comes with a detachable steering wheel. The new interior design allows for the installation of extra seating, vending machines, desks or gaming consoles. Baidu sa…
A tech company in Hong Kong says it has developed the world’s first artificially intelligent laser skin treatment, which scans and detects the heat, sensitivity and shape of a customer’s face. Rods Technology spent over five years developing the technology to help reduce the number of injuries caused by manual treat…
China’s Shilongba hydropower plant has been operating in Yunnan province for 110 years. It began operations on May 28, 1912, and was the country’s first hydropower plant, marking a nationwide transition to clean energy. Following seven expansions over the past century, the plant now has four workshops, with a total …
A French biotechnology firm has discovered and developed a product that is currently being tested for use in human transplants. The product, called “Hemo to Life”, is created from a sea worm, scientifically known as Arenicola marina. The organism is some 450 million years old and can survive for several hours withou…
China’s southern tech manufacturing powerhouse Shenzhen closed wholesale markets, cinemas and gyms for three days starting on June 25, 2022, after Covid-19 cases were found in the city. Nearly a dozen local cases were found on June 24 and 25 in a central district of the city near Hong Kong. The Shenzhen municipal he…
With the launch of the Fujian on June 17, 2022, China unveiled its first home-designed aircraft carrier – a hi-tech vessel meant to counter the new Gerald R Ford-class of American aircraft carriers currently in operations. Much of this new Chinese ship’s combat systems remain a state secret, but analysts have uncove…
The electric vehicle arm of Chinese tech company Baidu has introduced the first model of its first self-driving concept car, Robo-1. Jidu Automotive unveiled the vehicle on June 8, 2022, reflecting the search giant’s plan to join other tech companies around the world in a race to develop smart cars, building on the …
Scientists have been tracking the health of coral reefs off Indonesia by using what is known as Passive Acoustic Monitoring, where underwater microphones called hydrophones record underwater sounds. The team of researchers from the United Kingdom use a computer algorithm to read the audio clips that helps them deter…
China’s pig breeders are going hi-tech to develop pigs that grow faster, need less feed and produce bigger litters. China is the world’s leading pork producer, but relies heavily on imports for breeding material. Around 100 farms have enrolled in a state-led bid to improve the genetics of their pigs and aim for self…
Vietnamese Ngo Minh Hieu is a convicted hacker who once stole the personal information of some 200 million Americans. After serving seven years in a US jail, he was released in 2019 and was recruited by the Vietnamese government in 2020. His new job at Vietnam’s National Cyber Security Centre involves educating the …
An autonomous drone is being developed at the California Institute of Technology – also known as Caltech – to fly against tornado-strength winds.
Malaysian durian producer Top Fruits Plantation has introduced sensors, automatic sprinklers and drones to maximise production and boost its profits. The company based in the southern region of Batu Pahat says it increased its yield by 40 per cent while shrinking its labour force by 30 per cent from 2019 to 2022. Su…
In Taichung, Taiwan, Jerry Huang can be seen walking his pet goldfish in the park. After seeing people take snakes, lizards, and even spiders for walks, Huang wondered if aquatic creatures could “explore other worlds” as well. That’s why he invented a goldfish stroller: a goldfish tank with wheels, which consists of…
US President Joe Biden began his widely anticipated Asia trip on May 19, 2022, his first presidential trip to the region. Arriving in Seoul before travelling onwards to Tokyo, Biden began the trip with an emphasis on trade. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on May 18 that apart from addressing…
Mastercard is piloting technology that lets customers pay with their face, a smile or a wave. The company has outlined a set of standards that apps must comply with to ensure the security and privacy of personal data. But a Human Rights Watch researcher warns about the high risks of sharing unique and irreplaceable …
A rare intact dinosaur embryo fossil has been uncovered in China’s southern Jiangxi province. Based on the characteristics of the skeleton, scientists from the Fujian Science and Technology Museum and China University of Geosciences, who announced the discovery on May 11, 2022, believe it belongs to the hadrosaurus …
A team at City University of Hong Kong says it has developed a lightweight winged drone that has double the flight time of other drones and weighs less than 100 grams. Researchers say the 35-gram drone can carry a small air-quality sensor or camera for mapping and surveillance tasks and hover for 15 to 24 minutes, d…
Meta opened its first bricks-and-mortar store on May 9, 2022, in the Silicon Valley town of Burlingame, California. It gives customers an opportunity to experience virtual reality devices, including Ray-Ban smart glasses, Portal video-calling devices and Oculus VR headsets. Meta was recently rebranded from Facebook,…
Born with just one arm, Shanghai artist Zhang Yuecheng struggled to overcome prejudice. But with the help of a local robotics company, he acquired an artificial arm that has allowed him to transform into a cyborg artist. Zhang says the arm implant has given him confidence and “shortens the distance between me and th…
The Pearl River estuary is home to the world’s largest population of the endangered Chinese white dolphin, with more than 2,500 individuals found in the region. Under first-class state protection in China, the number of Chinese white dolphins has been falling caused by several overlapping human activities, including…
In a study published on April 27, 2022, an international team of researchers has challenged the mainstream theory on when and how the giant planets in our solar system migrated into their present-day orbits. They have proposed a new scenario which could dramatically move the timeline to as early as five million year…
The Pedia_Roid simulates the jittery movements that children often make in the dentist chair, helping to train paediatric dentists. Co-developed by a Japanese robotics startup, Tmsuk, and a local dental school, the robot is designed to address the lack of clinical training for paediatric dentists and doctors.
Researchers in Beijing said they have developed a robot rat that they hope can be used in post-disaster rescue missions. The team behind the invention, from Beijing Institute of Technology and Tsinghua University, said the rat can squeeze through narrow spaces, climb slopes, get past obstacles and walk on snow. It c…
A dental clinic in Beijing has started offering implant services carried out by robots. Inventors say this “robot surgeon” can operate more precisely than human dentists. Robots are already widely used in the manufacturing industry because they can work 24 hours a day. China is seeing more opportunities for robots a…
Michelin-starred chef Thitid "Ton" Tassanakajohn is adding an affordable Thailand-made delicacy to the menu at his high-end Bangkok restaurant. The black caviar, mostly associated with sub-Arctic nations, is breaking into the Thai fine-dining scene, thanks to an innovative farm outside the capital. The Thai Sturgeon…
A magnetic slime robot has been developed by researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the hope of using it in surgery. The slime contains magnetic particles which can be manipulated when external magnets are applied to it. Although the magnetic particles are toxic, a protective coating is being develope…
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Candidates hoping to become South Korea’s next president started campaigning on February 15, 2022. Already locked in a tight race are Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea and conservative People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. Weighed down by high disapproval ratings and smear campaigns, they …
India launched a new Earth observation satellite, the EOS-04, on February 14, 2022. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sent two other satellites on the same mission, including the student satellite INSPIREsat and a technology demonstrator satellite INS-2TD. Lift-off took place from the Satish Dhawan Space…
Many tech analysts believe the metaverse will be the next big thing for the internet. Global tech companies have been hiring thousands of engineers to develop an immersive virtual world where online users can interact with each other in various ways such as games or even trading. China’s tech companies are among tho…
Some Hong Kong residents have found ways to bypass the government’s “Leave Home Safe” Covid-19 contact-tracing app.Two Hongkongers going by the names Birdy and Bu have set up a private social media picnic group called ‘Leave Home Wild’, where members order takeaway and go on a picnic with friends to avoid using the …
LodeStar Works unveiled its 9mm smart handgun for shareholders and investors in Idaho on January 7, 2022. The LS9 is personalised and can only be fired by verified users. In addition to a fingerprint reader, the gun features a fingerprint reader as well as a PIN pad and mobile app connection.
Late Taiwanese singing legend Teng Li-chun, commonly known as Teresa Teng, has been brought back to life by a Beijing firm. The digital production and visual effects company Digital Domain has made use of technology to create a virtual-reality hologram of the famous singer. The virtual character is able to converse …
These cows enjoy green pastures all year round thanks to virtual reality goggles. Turkish rancher/dairy farmer Izzet Kocak says the headsets, accompanied with classical music, soothe the cows and help them produce more and better quality milk.
Terminally ill David Bennett is recovering after receiving a heart transplant from a pig on January 7, 2022. The organ used on the 57-year-old had been genetically modified to prevent immediate rejection, a groundbreaking procedure that could transform the prospects of the tens of thousands of transplant patients aw…
These goldfish can navigate on land. Researchers in Israel gave each animal about 10 driving lessons, teaching them to steer the fish tank on wheels to a target location. Luckily, the goldfish have no need for speed.
BMW unveiled a new colour-changing concept car during the CES gadget exhibition in Las Vegas on January 5-7, 2022. The BMW iX Flow car uses “E Ink” technology to allow the car’s exterior to be transformed into a variety of colours and patterns. CES, formerly known as The International Consumer Electronics Show, is a…
A Chinese lab said it has achieved a breakthrough in sixth-generation (6G) mobile technology. The government-backed Purple Mountain Laboratories said in a statement on January 5, 2022, that a research team had achieved a wireless transmission speed of 206.25 gigabits per second, a world record for real-time wireless…
US retail giant Walmart Inc arm Sam’s Club has denied claims in China that it deliberately removed Xinjiang-sourced products from its app. The controversy started in late December 2021 when some Chinese users posted on social media that they could not find Xinjiang-sourced products on the store’s online app. China’s…
China’s main space contractor, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, announced plans for more than 40 space launches in 2022. This comes as the China-US space rivalry intensifies, with the two competing for the world’s most number of space launches. China has also strengthened space exploration coo…
An AI-powered robot is helping “coach” Chinese curlers as they prepare for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology, the robot uses a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), image recognition, and automatic-control systems. This isn’t the first time AI-powered robots hav…
Rising labour costs and a boom in advanced robotic technology have given rise to a bigger role for robots in China’s service sector. Some prime examples can be found in Shanghai, where one community canteen has deployed robots in its kitchen and then there is a cafe that has robots serving up lattes crafted by robot…
The Hong Kong government has presented an ambitious plan to develop land near the city’s border with mainland China into a “Northern Metropolis” which will serve as an economic and residential hub for some 2.5 million residents. The plan includes building a “technopole” in the San Tin area that is being touted as “H…
Counterfeit experts study the closest imitations of the Euro banknote at the European Central Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. To curb the use of fake bills, they track the latest in counterfeit technology. The ECB urges people to “feel, look, tilt” to check for fakes because most are low-quality counterfe…
Chinese search engine giant Baidu will launch the country's first metaverse platform. Xi Rang, which means "land of hope" in English, can be accessed via smartphones, computers or VR goggles, allowing users to create avatars and interact with other players. Baidu says it aims to develop Xi Rang into an infrastructur…
The world's first bus-train is set to debut in Kaiyo, Japan on December 25. With an extra set of wheels for train tracks, the dual-mode vehicle can run on road and rail.
Homei Miyashita from Japan’s Meiji University has created a lickable TV screen to allow viewers to taste what they see. “Taste the TV” (TTTV) uses a “flavour spray” technology to create a multi-sensory viewing experience. Miyashita says his invention was inspired by the pandemic when people were unable to enjoy rest…
China’s “Xingguo” magnetic levitation sky train rolled off the assembly line on December 14, 2021, in the central city of Wuhan. Also known as maglev, magnetic levitation is a transport system that suspends, guides and propels vehicles. It’s reportedly the first time that permanent maglev technology has ever been ap…
The first-ever text message sent was sold for €107,000 (US$121,000) as a non-fungible token (NFT) at a Paris auction house on December 21, 2021. The text, which reads “Merry Christmas”, was sent on December 3, 1992. It was put up for auction by the British telecoms company Vodafone. NFTs are a type of digital asset …
The US Treasury Department added eight more Chinese companies to an investment blacklist on December 17, 2021, for alleged involvement in the surveillance of Muslim minority people in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The world’s top commercial drone maker DJI Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) giant Me…
