Neom announces investments in future land and sea travel

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Neom Regent coast

Neom, the smart, regional greenfield development being built in Saudi Arabia, which includes The Line smart city, has announced investments in both autonomous vehicles and electric sea gliders. It will invest $100m through the Neom Investment Fund (NIF), into Pony.ai, a global autonomous driving company. Additionally, a joint venture will be established for autonomous technology solutions for the region. NIF has also closed an investment into Regent, the US-based electric seaglider manufacturer. It makes Neom the largest single contributor in Regent’s series A round, enabling the company to take its…

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Developer unveils plans to create £5bn UK climate tech hub

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climate tech hub

The Earls Court Development Company, responsible for driving regeneration of the site of the former Earls Court Exhibition Centre in West London, is aiming to attract £5bn of investment to make the site a commercial space for the UK’s clean and climate technology sector. Earlier this year, ECDC launched its draft masterplan which outlined its ambition to go beyond net zero for the development of the site. Energy sharing network The company is designing one of the UK’s largest combustion-free major mixed-use developments. The scheme will feature an energy sharing…

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Santiago uses AI to transform public transport network

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Santiago Chile

Santiago is introducing new artificial intelligence software to manage a citywide public transportation system. Sonda, a contractor of the Directorio de Transporte Público Metropolitano (DTPM), has selected Optibus, as the planning, scheduling, and EV management software for all buses across the city. The goal is to enhance and optimise public transportation for the seven million residents in the Chilean capital. Advanced bus fleet Established in 2013, the DTPM oversees the city’s bus network, which consists of nearly 7,000 buses, including more than 2,000 electric buses, operated through 11 concession contracts.…

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Hundreds of cities to deploy metaverse technology by 2030

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metaverse city

Almost 700 cities will have deployed some form of metaverse infrastructure by 2030, according to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research. In many cases, the technology will be used as an extension of existing urban digital twin platforms and solutions. City governments and the metaverse The research company said benefits for city governments include gaining political capital through enhanced citizen engagement and participation and significant cost-savings related to smarter and more effective urban infrastructure design, operations, and maintenance. “Though metaverse is undeniably overhyped and steeped in vagueness, the urban context…

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EHang gains world-first eVTOL certification in China

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EHang EH216-S Type Certification

Urban air mobility (UAM) technology platform company EHang Holdings has announced it has received the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s type certificate (TC) for its EH216-S passenger-carrying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system. The TC demonstrates that the model design fully complies with CAAC’s safety standards and airworthiness requirements, and that the EH216-S is qualified for conducting passenger-carrying UAV commercial operations. Unmanned electric vertical take-off The CAAC formally accepted EHang’s EH216-S TC application in January 2021 and EHang claims it has obtained the world’s first TC for unmanned electric vertical take-off…

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SmartCow launches edge AI camera for smart city applications

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Sphinx Ruggedized AI camera with 5G connectivity and real-time analytics

AI engineering company SmartCow has announced the launch of Sphinx, an edge AI camera with 5G connectivity, aimed at smart city and smart traffic deployments. Sphinx is a self-contained, ruggedised AI camera featuring dual image sensors that deliver low-light performance and built-in infrared (IR) illumination. According to SmartCow, the camera offers a reliable solution for AI applications, including automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), public safety, and intelligent traffic management systems (ITMS). Challenging environments Its open modular connector enables operators to enhance their capabilities by integrating external sensors, such as air-quality…

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Vaisala weather station aims to help cities build resilience

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Beam weather station

Vaisala, a specialist in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements, has launched a compact weather station aimed at cities, road authorities and industrial zones for weather and environmental monitoring. According to Vaisala, whether assessing road conditions, air pollution, or other environmental challenges, the flexible and scalable Beam weather station empowers communities to leverage weather, environmental and road state observations to localise intelligence to fit their specific needs. Denser observation networks Beam is designed as a turnkey monitoring station that provides access to reliable information on air pollutants, solar radiation, flooding, snow…

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Is this the future of express freight?

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HyperloopTT Express Freight

Transportation and technology licensing company HyperloopTT has unveiled details of HyperloopTT Express Freight, its new innovative freight transport capsule system. The system has been illustrated in this animated video. The system was designed in collaboration with design consultancy Tangerine and is based on four key drivers: loading freight as fast as possible; integrating with existing infrastructure; maximising freight volume inside capsules; and being flexible enough to cater to different customer demands. Hyperloop feasibility study In HyperloopTT’s Great Lakes Hyperloop Feasibility Study from 2020 conducted by the firm Transportation Economics Management,…

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Seoul launches multilingual version of its metaverse

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Metaverse Seoul

The Seoul Metropolitan Government also plans to launch a PC as well as a smartphone app version of Metaverse Seoul and use it for IT education for citizens. Seoul’s metaverse platform has been made available in multilingual versions (English, Chinese, and Japanese) to allow those who do not speak Korean to benefit from the service. Metaverse Seoul has constantly updated features and added content since its launch in January this year. Users of Metaverse Seoul can use the international version based on the language information saved in their smartphone without…

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Thailand claims world’s largest factory rooftop solar project

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Amata City Rayong industrial park

Kansai Electric Power, Japan’s second largest electricity supplier, is creating what it claims to be the world’s biggest standalone rooftop solar panel installation on a factory in Thailand’s high-tech Eastern Economic Corridor. The solar panels on the plant, which manufactures Falken tyres for the European market, are reportedly equivalent in size to more than 18 football pitches. It is located in the Amata City Rayong industrial park, 135km southwest of Bangkok. Thailand is bidding to become the leader in clean energy in Southeast Asia and, once complete, this project will…

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Dubai economic zone implements smart pedestrian systems

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AI-powered smart pedestrian crossings

The Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) economic zone has implemented 14 AI smart pedestrian crossing systems. The Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (Diez) is collaborating with Derq, a developer of artificial intelligence (AI) analytics solutions for road safety and traffic management on the project. Artificial intelligence platform Derq’s Real-Time Perception and Connectivity AI Platform is designed to detect pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users (VRUs). The system, a first-of-its-kind in the region, integrates with road infrastructure to enhance safety measures. Using patented behaviour prediction models, the technology can proactively activate…

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Singapore announces winners of GreenTech Challenge 2023

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GreenTech Challenge 2023

The challenge is designed to accelerate the development of innovative sustainability solutions in Singapore and help achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Tools that help organisations identify and transition to renewable energy, create and sell carbon credits and track sustainability have been named as the winners of the Singapore GreenTech Challenge 2023. The context is a collaboration between Microsoft, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and the tech community SGTech. Sustainability solutions Each winner will receive up to $350,000 in benefits and will be onboarded to the Microsoft Independent Software Vendor…

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Bolt and Starship partner for robot deliveries

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Starship Technologies Bolt

Autonomous delivery services company Starship Technologies has announced a partnership with European mobility super-app Bolt. The companies say the partnership “opens the door” to thousands of robots doing Bolt Food deliveries across multiple countries later this year. Multimodal options The announcement coincides with Starship celebrating what it claims is an industry milestone, become the first company to complete five million autonomous commercial deliveries around the world. Bolt has more than 100 million customers in some 45 countries and 500 cities, including in Europe, Africa, West Asia and Latin America. The…

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Seoul expands real-time urban data service for citizens

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Real-time urban data service

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced that it has expanded its real-time urban data service with the potential to link with digital technologies including virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse. The city has extended services to include information on not just population density and traffic congestion, but also cultural events and other location-based services. Population density According to SMG, as a result, a tourist visiting Seoul was able to check the status of population density and traffic congestion before visiting Deoksugung-gil and Jeongdong-gil, which were scheduled to be crowded by…

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Neom and Volocopter complete electric taxi flights in Saudi

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NEOM Volocopter eVTOL

Neom, the smart and sustainable regional development in northwest Saudi Arabia, and the urban air mobility (UAM) firm Volocopter, have announced successful completion of a series of air taxi test flights. According to Neom, this marks the first time an eVTol (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft has received a special flight authorisation and performed test flights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Electric UAM ecosystem The flight test campaign lasted over a week and built on 18 months of collaboration between Neom, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA),…

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