Technology
New personal fryer can help fuel your tempura addiction
Japanese electronics company Thanko has come up with another brilliant way to cook your favorite struggle meals: the new Kalari portable fryer.
The Kalari has a wide range of temperature settings, up to 392 degrees Fahrenheit. A personal fryer, it only holds up to 16.9 ounces of oil. Its size makes the Kalari a perfect personal fryer for your college dorm room or that box in New York City you pay nearly $3,000 a month for.
Bangkok wants to become ‘Silicon Valley of food tech’ through anti-hunger project
- Dr. Pun-Arj Chairatana, executive director of Thailand’s National Innovation Agency, said the agency aims to make the country the “kitchen of the world” through its SPACE-F project.
- “Not only that Thailand has sufficient raw material to serve growing demands, the country also has a top-notch logistics service,” Chairatana said in a press release on Thursday. “These attributes make the Thai food industry exceptional and position Thailand as the kitchen of the world.”
- The SPACE-F project, an incubator and accelerator program founded in 2019 in partnership with the Thai Union, NIA and Mahidol University, was billed as the “first-ever food tech innovation program in Thailand.”
- “The project brings together FoodTech startups and corporates through innovative mentorship, business connections, and a co-working program,” Chairatana explained.
Bangkok is aiming to become the Silicon Valley of food technology through its SPACE-F project, which aims to tackle the global food security crisis and make Bangkok the “kitchen of the world,” Thailand’s National Innovation Agency (NIA) said.
Citing the UN’s “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” 2022 report, Dr. Pun-Arj Chairatana, executive director of the NIA, said in a press release on Thursday that around 800 million people — or 10 percent of the world’s population — are suffering from hunger brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis.
Interpol issues red notice for Luna, TerraUSD co-founder Do Kwon
- Interpol granted South Korean prosecutors’ request to issue a red notice for Do Kwon, the South Korean co-founder of the defunct cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD (UST), on Monday.
- South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant on Kwon — born Kwon Do-hying — and five other individuals linked to the Terraform Labs cryptocurrencies on Sept. 14 for violating South Korea’s Capital Markets Act.
- The 31-year-old Stanford University graduate was reportedly living in Singapore when UST and Luna imploded in May.
- The Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed in a statement on Sept. 17 that Kwon was no longer in the city-state at the time of the prosecutors' request.
- “SPF will assist the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) within the ambit of our domestic legislation and international obligations. Do Kwon is currently not in Singapore,” the SPF said.
- Luna, the sister token of UST, fell from a $116 high to less than $0.0002 in April. Global investors reportedly lost an estimated $42 billion from the crash in May, prompting South Korean authorities to open a case against the incident.
A red notice has been issued for Do Kwon, the South Korean co-founder of the defunct cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD (UST), effectively making him a wanted man among the 195 member countries of Interpol.
Prosecutors in Seoul told Bloomberg on Monday that the international police organization has issued a red notice for Kwon, who faces charges for the $60 billion meltdown of Terraform Labs’ Luna and TerraUSD cryptocurrencies.
China’s space program discovers new mineral from the Moon in 46-year first
- China has discovered a new mineral from the Moon for the first time in the country’s history, 46 years after Russia’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.
- The mineral, which has been named Changesite-(Y), was confirmed by the New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association as a new type of mineral on Friday.
- Changesite-(Y) was included in the 1,731 grams of lunar samples that the Chang’e-5 probe collected from Oceanus Procellarum, a basalt area on the Moon formed by lunar volcanic eruptions billions of years ago, during the moon mission in December 2020.
- "We brought back 1,731 grams of lunar samples from the Chang'e-5 probe. And through joint research, we've achieved substantial scientific results,” Liu Jizhong, director of China's Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center, said.
China has discovered a new mineral from the Moon after sifting through the first lunar samples gathered in 46 years.
The new mineral, Changesite-(Y), named after China’s lunar exploration project Chang’e Project, was included among the 140,000 lunar sample particles studied by the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology through high-tech procedures like X-ray diffraction.
Japan’s Minister of Digital Affairs declares ‘war’ on obsolete floppy disks
- Japan’s newly appointed Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Kono, declared ‘war’ on outdated storage mediums, such as floppy disks and CDs, in a tweet on Wednesday.
- “There are about 1900 government procedures that requires business community to use discs, i.e. floppy disc, CD, MD, etc to submit applications and other forms,” Kono wrote. “Digital Agency is to change those regulations so you can use online.”
- He noted that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has offered his full support.
- Kono has previously tried to stop the use of fax machines.
Taro Kono, Japan’s newly appointed Minister of Digital Affairs, has received the full support of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in his declaration of ‘war’ against outdated storage mediums plaguing Japanese government offices.
Kono declared his ‘war’ on obsolete technology in a tweet on Wednesday, naming outdated storage mediums such as floppy disks and CDs.
More immigrants than ever have become billionaires in the US
- Forbes’ recently unveiled World’s Billionaire list for 2022 revealed that a record-number 92 American billionaires are immigrants.
- Topping the list is the South African-born head of Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, Elon Musk.
- China, India and Taiwan are among the top eight countries that produce the most foreign-born billionaires
- Many billionaires have accumulated their wealth through the tech industry, including five out of the seven billionaires hailing from India.
- Others have found success creating the companies behind some of today's most popular products and services.
Forbes’ recently unveiled World’s Billionaire list for 2022 revealed that a record-number 92 American billionaires are immigrants.
Topping the list and leapfrogging the wealthiest man for the past four years — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — is the South African-born head of Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, Elon Musk.
Google now lets US businesses label themselves as ‘Asian-owned’ on Search and Maps
- Google launched a new attribute on Wednesday that allows businesses in the U.S. to identify themselves as Asian-owned.
- The update adds to existing business attributes, such as “Black-owned,” “Latino-owned,” “veteran-owned,” “women-owned” and “LGBTQ+ owned.” Owners can use multiple attributes.
- Google also announced that Grow With Google is building upon its partnership with the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC) to help 10,000 additional Asian-owned small businesses gain digital skills.
Google launched a new attribute on Wednesday that allows businesses in the U.S. to identify themselves as Asian-owned.
Designed to promote diversity and help Asian merchants recover from COVID-19 losses, the “Asian-owned” attribute can now be added to Business Profiles on Search and Maps. Additionally, ad-supported publishers will soon be able to use the label in Display & Video 360’s Marketplace.
US handed green battery tech discovery worth millions of taxpayer dollars to China, report reveals
- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gave China the rights to a green battery that cost millions of taxpayer dollars to develop, according to NPR.
- The vanadium redox flow battery, which can power an entire house for decades, was designed at the government-run Pacific Northwest National Laboratory before being licensed to its lead scientist for manufacturing and sale.
- Washington state-based UniEnergy Technologies saw the manufacturing and assembling of the battery slowly shift to its Chinese investor, Dalian Rongke Power Co. Ltd., in the following years.
- UniEnergy, which had been struggling to meet licensing requirements, contacted the Pacific Northwest lab in 2021 to apply for a license transfer to the Netherlands-based Vanadis Power.
- In less than two hours, the license was transferred to Vanadis, raising concerns about whether the lab or the DOE checked into the company’s background and its apparent plans to keep manufacturing in China.
- While the licensing woes unfolded, Rongke Power cemented itself as the world’s top manufacturer of vanadium redox flow batteries over the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gave China the rights to a green battery capable of powering an entire house for decades which cost millions of tax dollars to develop, according to a new report.
Designed at a U.S. government lab near Seattle, the vanadium redox flow battery was manufactured by a company in Washington state called UniEnergy Technologies until last year, when a DOE license transfer effectively sealed its fate to a Chinese company.
South Korean researchers develop nanotech tattoos that monitor your health
- Researchers in South Korea have reportedly developed an electronic tattoo that automatically alerts individuals about potential health issues.
- The tattoo, made of liquid metal and carbon nanotubes, is connected to an electrocardiogram device or biosensor and sends a health analysis to patients.
- The ink is made of particles based on gallium and platinum-decorated carbon nanotubes.
Researchers in South Korea have reportedly developed an electronic tattoo that can be used to track a patient’s health, including their heart rate and levels of glucose and lactate.
Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea, developed a nanotech tattoo made of liquid metal and carbon nanotubes. The tattoo will function as a health monitoring device that can be hooked up to an electrocardiogram, sending an analysis of patients’ heart rates, glucose and lactate levels and other vital signs.
Congress passes bipartisan $280 billion bill aimed at challenging China’s dominance in chip manufacturing
- Both chambers of the United States Congress have passed the “Chips and Science Bill,” a $280 billion measure which aims to boost the country’s technological competitiveness against China.
- The measure would provide $52 billion of subsidies and grants for the domestic chip manufacturing industry and over $100 billion in technology and sciences investments.
- On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the bill in a 243-187-1 vote, a day after the Senate cleared it in a bipartisan 64-33 vote.
- “This Chips and Science bill will create millions of good-paying jobs and it will help lower costs and help protect America’s national security interests,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer during the senate deliberations on Wednesday.
- The bill now heads to the desk of President Joe Biden, who said that it is “exactly what we need to be doing to grow our economy right now.”
A bill authorizing $280 billion to boost the country’s manufacturing and technological competitiveness against China is one step closer to becoming a law.
The legislation, called CHIPS and Science Act, would provide $52 billion in subsidies and grants for the domestic chip manufacturing industry and over $100 billion for technology and sciences investments, including $81 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF). It will also establish a 25 percent tax credit for investment in semiconductor manufacturing.
Chinese smartphone brand Honor copies iPhone features, sees sales double
- Chinese smartphone brand Honor saw its sales double in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022 by incorporating some features of Apple’s iPhone, such as facial recognition and a 120 Hz screen refresh rate.
- Honor saw a growth of 103% amid the decline of smartphone sales in the Chinese market, which decreased by 14.2% year-on-year (YoY) in Q2 2022.
- Other brands such as Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and Huawei saw a drop in sales by 26.5%, 30%, 23.3% and 37.9% YoY, respectively.
- Counterpoint research analyst Mengmeng Zhang noted that Honor also worked on “expanding its offline presence,” adding, “With the lockdowns hitting major cities, HONOR’s coverage in lower-tier cities, which saw fewer lockdowns, helped the brand steer through the turbulence in Q2 2022.”
By copying some features of Apple’s iPhone, Chinese smartphone brand Honor has doubled its sales despite a downward trend in smartphone sales in China for the second quarter (Q2) of 2022.
In a press release on Wednesday, Counterpoint’s Market Pulse reported that smartphone sales in China decreased by 14.2% year-on-year (YoY) in Q2 2022. The recent data showed that the volume of sales during that quarter was 12.6% lower than that of Q1 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the market.
Robot dog outfitted with machine gun in Russia brings us closer to real-life ‘Black Mirror’
- A robot dog modified to include a machine gun on the top half of its body has captured the attention of the internet with its sophisticated design resembling something out of a sci-fi thriller.
- As shown in the video, which has garnered over 7.3 million views on Twitter, a silver-colored robot dog runs along a firing range as it opens fire on various targets.
- Sophos Senior Threat Researcher Sean Gallagher likens the model seen in the video to the Hangzhou-based company’s Go1 robot dog model, which retails for around $3,000.
- The clip of the robot dog appears to have been taken in Russia, as its left flank bears the Russian flag and the other side a wolf’s head, which is an insignia commonly used by the Russian Special Operations Forces.
- A parked armored vehicle seen in the video can be identified by its distinct triangular door as a BRDM-2, which has been recently spotted in Ukraine.
A robot dog modified to include a machine gun on the top half of its body has captured the attention of the internet with its sophisticated design resembling something out of a sci-fi thriller.
As shown in the video, which has garnered over 7.3 million views on Twitter, a silver-colored robot dog runs along a firing range as it opens fire on various targets.
