One of the most comprehensive pictures of our changing planet is now available to the public. Thanks to the close collaboration between Google Earth, ESA, the European Commission, NASA and the US Geological Survey, 24 million satellite photos from the past 37 years have been embedded into a new layer of Google Earth – creating a new, explorable view of time on our planet.

In the biggest update to Google Earth since 2017, users can now discover our planet in an entirely new dimension – time. With a new feature called Timelapse in Google Earth, users can witness nearly four decades of change across the entire planet. The update will show the visual evidence of the drastic changes taking place in our world including the effects of climate change and human behaviour.

On 18 February, a two-week official validation test started of revolutionary new COVID-19 rapid testing method: a breath test with the QuBA (Quick Breath Analyzer). Fast, safe, reliable and - very important - without any nasty swabs in your nose and throat.

The test could be a huge breakthrough in getting social life back on track.

Users take the test by entering the testing cabin and speaking out loud.

CUE is an AI basketball-playing robot that scores 100 out of 100 shots, developed by Toyota volunteers in their free time. The development team working on the project as real work, scheduled until 2020, unveiled CUE4, the fourth generation, at the end of 2019.

"Novices attempting the impossible from scratch"―This is the third installment of this special in-house project.

Yanmar has delivered engines for an innovative hybrid power solution for the live fish carrier, Ro Vision, the winner of Norway’s Boat of the Year Award. Built by Norwegian shipyard Larsnes Mek. Verksted AS., the The Ro Vision is powered by three of Yanmar’s 6EY22ALW diesel generators integrated with a 600kW battery pack from Siemens which together provide power for onboard systems and the electric propulsion system. The ground-breaking vessel was awarded Norway’s prestigious Ship of the Year Award for 2020 for its outstanding technology and design.

The Ray and 3M announced today the expansion of their partnership and ongoing work to improve transportation safety and help save American lives by advancing innovation and exciting technologies in the transportation sector. The collaboration, which began in 2018, has targeted existing and potential future opportunities to modernize ubiquitous road infrastructure to enable the predictable and safe operation of connected and autonomous vehicles.

Kia Corporation has showcased two light tactical defense vehicle concepts at the 2021 International Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) in the UAE, the largest international defense exhibition in the Middle East and Africa.

Kia has been supplying its light tactical vehicles to the South Korean army since 2016, becoming the standard-bearer for vehicle quality in the country’s military operation system. The new four-seater Light Tactical Cargo Truck concept displayed at IDEX adopts a bold, commanding design and has been equipped with a cargo container for transporting troops alongside diverse armory. Kia expects the added visual appeal and usability to stimulate further demand for its military vehicles.

15 surgeons from 13 different countries have undertaken 13 mixed reality orthopedic operations as part of a 24-hour event. The surgeons virtually collaborated using Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, and were led by Professor Thomas Grégory of the Avicenne AP-HP Hospital, France.

Medicine’s (virtual) world tour

Professor Grégory and his team led all 13 mixed reality surgeries from the Avicenne AP-HP Hospital. From there, the surgery toured a number of countries, including: France, India, UAE, South Africa, Ukraine, Germany, Belgium, Morocco, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, USA, UK.

Smart city centre of excellence is organising an international challenge to find great research-intensive ideas to be developed and piloted in real urban environments. 71 ideas were proposed, twelve of these were selected to the finals and four projects have been selected for financing.

“To our knowledge, this approach is very unique globally where urban challenges of one country have been systematically mapped and matched with research-based solutions. This process effectively brings the scientific solutions from university labs to the urban streets within 1-2 years,” told the Founding Director of FinEst Twins Smart City Center of Excellence, Ralf-Martin Soe.

Hyundai Motor Group’s Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vision concept, S-A1, will be on display at GITEX Technology Week, December 6–10, at Dubai World Trade Centre.

Etisalat, a leading telecommunications company in Africa and the Middle East, and GITEX host, recently named the S-A1 to its “Best Innovations in 2020” list and invited Hyundai Motor Group to showcase its game-changing technology.

The full scale, all-electric S-A1 is on display at Etisalat’s booth, along with a virtual reality zone that illustrates how Hyundai Motor Group's UAM vision will help reduce passenger commute times and relieve congested ground transportation.