Category: Innovation

Decision to shoot down balloons puts spotlight on hobbyists

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

In this image taken from a video shot by Tom Medlin on June 11, 2022, Ed Harrison launches a so-called pico balloon, which costs about $12 and is about 32 inches in diameter, in a field near Collierville, Tenn. Medlin, owner of the Amateur Radio Roundtable podcast, believes a similar balloon is what the U.S. military shot down over the Yukon recently. Hobbyists typically fly the balloons for fun and to experience the challenge of building transmitters and antenna systems, although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been collecting data from operators to learn more about wind patterns, he said. (Tom Medlin via AP)

By TODD RICHMOND and HARM VENHUIZEN Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Decisions to shoot down multiple unidentified objects over the U.S. and Canada this month have put a spotlight on amateur balloonists who insist their creations pose no threat.

Over the last three weeks, U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered fighter jets to shoot down three objects detected in U.S. air space — a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast as well as smaller unidentified objects over Alaska and Lake Huron. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week ordered another object to be shot down over the Yukon; a U.S. fighter jet carried out that mission.

U.S. government officials have yet to definitively identify the objects, but Biden said Thursday that they were probably balloons linked to private companies, weather researchers or hobbyists. Continue reading

Robot Intervention: Will You Be Replaced by a Robot at Work?

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

Michael Dinich | Wealth of Geeks undefined

According to a new study, nearly half of UK jobs are at risk of being taken over by a machine. 45% of roles were at medium to high risk of being replaced by AI (artificial intelligence), including taxi drivers, dental nurses, and sales and customer services staff.

Data analysts at NetVoucherCodes looked at over 400 jobs to assess their risk of being replaced by AI or automation in the coming decades. The data revealed that the lowest-paid jobs are most at risk of being replaced by robots.

Using the AI bot ChatGPT, the analysts looked at job roles using the ONS Employee earnings in the UK 2022 survey to find out how at risk they are from automation and AI.

High Risk of Replacement

According to the data, lower-paid jobs are at a higher risk of being replaced because many of these roles involve repetitive tasks that require little creativity or decision-making. Continue reading

Obnoxiously loud car? A traffic camera might be listening

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A woman walks using her headphones on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, in New York. After the relative quiet of the pandemic, New York City has come roaring back. Just listen: Jackhammers disrupt the peace and fleets of honking cars, trucks and buses again clog thoroughfares as millions of denizens return to the streets — their voices and clacking heels adding to the ear-splitting din. In one of the world’s noisiest cities, the cacophony has returned louder than ever. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — After the relative quiet of the pandemic, New York City has come roaring back. Just listen: Jackhammers. Honking cars and trucks. Rumbling subway trains. Sirens. Shouting.

Over the years, there have been numerous efforts to quiet the cacophony. One of the latest: traffic cameras equipped with sound meters capable of identifying souped-up cars and motorbikes emitting an illegal amount of street noise.

At least 71 drivers have gotten tickets so far for violating noise rules during a yearlong pilot program of the system. The city’s Department of Environmental Protection now has plans to expand the use of the roadside sound meters.

“Vehicles with illegally modified mufflers and tailpipes that emit extremely loud noise have been a growing problem in recent years,” said City Council member Erik Bottcher, who heralded the arrival of the radars to his district to help reduce “obnoxious” noise. Continue reading

Ukrainian startups bring tech innovation to CES 2023

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Intermediate

Packaging made from leaves is on display at the Releaf Paper booth during the CES tech show Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

By JAMES BROOKS Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The past year has been difficult for startups everywhere, but running a company in Ukraine during the Russian invasion comes with a whole different set of challenges.

Clinical psychologist Ivan Osadchyy brought his medical device, called Knopka, to this year’s CES show in Las Vegas in hopes of getting it into U.S. hospitals.

His is one of a dozen Ukrainian startups backed by a government fund that are at CES this year to show their technology to the world.

“Two of our hospitals we operated before are ruined already and one is still occupied. So this is the biggest challenge,” Osadchyy said.

“The second challenge is for production and our team because they are shelling our electricity system and people are hard to work without lights, without heating in their flats,” he said. Continue reading

CES startups face cautious investors amid economic woes

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An exhibitor demonstrates the OneThird avocado ripeness checker during CES Unveiled before the start of the CES tech show, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Las Vegas. More than a thousand startups are showcasing their products at the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas, hoping to create some buzz around their gadgets and capture the eyes of investors who can help their businesses grow.(AP Photo/John Locher, File)

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) — More than a thousand startups are showcasing their products at the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas, hoping to create some buzz around their gadgets and capture the eyes of investors who can help their businesses grow.

But amid the slew of layoffs in the tech industry and an economic landscape battered with high inflation and interest rates, many may be met with cautious investors looking for products that can deliver quick returns instead of hype.

Analysts say the event this year has somewhat of a muted tone compared to prior shows, when many companies routinely unveiled pie-in-the-sky projects that never saw the light of day. Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst at the consumer tech research firm Creative Strategies, said this time around, many of the tech items displayed during the show’s media preview days, which occurred Tuesday and Wednesday, have been less “flamboyant” compared to prior years, which showcased things like talking microwaves and smart jeans that vibrate to direct users.

“The economy — and I think the mood in general — is a little bit negative around tech,” Milanesi said. “It’s really getting companies to focus on real value for customers.” Continue reading

CES 2023: Tech world to gather and show off gadgets

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – People walk across an empty booth spot during the CES tech show on Jan. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. CES is returning to Las Vegas in January 2023 with the hope that it inches closer to how it looked before the pandemic. (AP Photo/Joe Buglewicz, File)

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — CES, the annual tech industry event formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, is returning to Las Vegas this January with the hope that it looks more like it did before the coronavirus pandemic.

The show changed its name to CES to better reflect the changing industry and the event, which had expanded beyond audio and video to include automotive, digital health, smart phones, wearables and other technologies.

Companies and startups will showcase innovations in virtual reality, robotics and consumer tech items to the media and others in the tech industry during next month’s gadget show and organizers say their goal is to draw 100,000 attendees.

That would be a marked contrast with the look and feel of the past two shows — the last of which saw a 70% drop in in-person attendance amid the spread of the Omicron variant. The one before that was held virtually, replacing in-person displays and meet and greets with video streams and chats. Continue reading

The Deserts of Bolivia Hold The Key to Your New Electric Car

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By Carley Rojas Avila

The next generation of technological advancement might rely on the same place it has turned to since the days of the Spanish conquistadors: Bolivia. Despite being one of the poorest nations in the Americas, this landlocked South American country is exceedingly rich in the resources required to make our world move.

With global supplies of lithium, the critical element needed for electric car batteries dwindling fast, Bolivia’s vast, remote salt flats may hold the key to the future. But one of South America’s most famous natural wonders may be at stake. Continue reading

More consumers buying organic, but US farmers still wary

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George Naylor looks over organic apples grown on his farm, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, near Churdan, Iowa. Naylor, along with his wife Patti, began the transition to organic crops in 2014. The demand for organics has increased so fast that the U.S. Department of Agriculture last month committed up to $300 million to help farmers switch from conventional crops. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press

CHURDAN, Iowa (AP) — In the 1970s when George Naylor said he wanted to grow organic crops, the idea didn’t go over well.

Back then organic crops were an oddity, destined for health food stores or maybe a few farmers markets.

“I told my dad I wanted to be an organic farmer and he goes, ‘Ha, ha, ha,'” Naylor said, noting it wasn’t until 2014 that he could embrace his dream and begin transitioning from standard to organic crops.

But over the decades, something unexpected happened — demand for organics started increasing so fast that it began outstripping the supply produced in the U.S.

Now a new challenge has emerged: It’s not getting consumers to pay the higher prices, it’s convincing enough farmers to get past their organic reluctance and start taking advantage of the revenue pouring in.

Instead of growing to meet the demand, the number of farmers converting to organic is actually dropping. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture committed up to $300 million to recruit and help more farmers make the switch. Continue reading

EU wants to toughen cybersecurity rules for smart devices

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FILE – European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton speaks during a signature ceremony regarding the Chips Act at EU headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. The European Union’s executive arm proposed new legislation Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, that would force manufacturers to ensure that devices connected to the internet meet cybersecurity standards, making the 27-nation bloc less vulnerable to attacks. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, file)

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive arm proposed new legislation Thursday that would force manufacturers to ensure that devices connected to the internet meet cybersecurity standards, making the 27-nation bloc less vulnerable to attacks.

The EU said a ransomware attack takes place every 11 seconds, and the global annual cost of cybercrime is estimated at 5.5 trillion euros in 2021. In Europe alone, cyberattacks cost between 180 and 290 billion euros each year, according to EU officials.

The European Commission said an increase of cyberattacks was witnessed during the coronavirus pandemic and that Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised concerns that European energy infrastructure could also be targeted amid a global energy crunch.

The law, proposed as the Cyber Resilience Act, aims to remove from the EU market all products with digital elements that are not adequately protected. Continue reading

Bill Clinton: ‘The world’s on fire,’ but teamwork can help

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Read time : 4 mins

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FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is joined by daughter Chelsea Clinton and husband, former President Bill Clinton, during a late-night campaign rally at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. The first Clinton Global Initiative since 2016 is set to kick off Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in New York City, with top international leaders from politics, business, and philanthropy set to attend and collaborate to tackle world issues. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton is calling on governments, businesses, philanthropies and other prominent institutions to draw together and help a world that is “on fire” as he reconvenes the Clinton Global Initiative, the meeting of international leaders, for the first time since 2016.

Interest in the two-day meeting has been so intense that the Clinton Foundation had to turn away more than 1,000 potential attendees. It is convening a spectrum of luminaries, including Jordan’s Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and actor and water access activist Matt Damon.

Clinton, president of the United States from 1993 to 2001, said he has been amazed by the massive response.

“The world’s on fire in a lot of different ways,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. “But there are a lot of things that businesses, non-governmental groups and governments working together can do to help with a lot of these problems.” Continue reading