Defense Firm Unveils Turkey's 1st Flying Car Prototype

Photo: ANADOLU NEWS AGENCY

ISTANBUL | Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar's chief technology officer announced the prototype of a flying car on Tuesday, which if materialized could become the first-of-its kind in the country.

The company has been working on technical drawing, conceptual design, testing, detailing and producing the prototype for eight months, Selcuk Bayraktar tweeted.

The flying car, "Cezeri", is expected to complete this September and could be unveiled at Turkey’s largest aerospace and technology festival Teknofest.

Photo: ANADOLU NEWS AGENCY

The car is named after famous Muslim engineer Al Jazari, who lived between 1136 and 1206.

Bayraktar also started a survey to choose one of four different colors of the prototype.

Baykar, established in 1984, produces armed and non-armed drones, control systems, simulators and avionics systems.

SOURCE: Anadolu Agency

NEC's Passenger Drone Takes A Short Test Flight In Japan

PHOTO : ASSOCIATED PRESS

Japan is eager to become a leader in the passenger drone industry. NEC Corp nudged the nation a step closer to that goal Monday with a demo of a people-carrying quadcopter, which stayed in the air for about a minute. 

The company operated the flight inside a safety cage at a test facility in Abiko, a Tokyo suburb.

The battery-powered drone didn't actually have a passenger inside as it rose to a height of about 10 feet for a few moments before returning to the ground.

 It was the first demo of such a vehicle by a major Japanese corporation, according to Bloomberg. Its partner Cartivator aims to start mass production in 2026.

"Japan is a densely populated country and that means flying cars could greatly alleviate the burden on road traffic," Kouji Okada, who is among the project leads at NEC, told Bloomberg. "We are positioning ourselves as an enabler for air mobility, providing location data and building communications infrastructure for flying cars."

Under Japan's infrastructure plan, deliveries made by such drones are scheduled to start by 2023 or so. 

The government hopes to allow people to travel in the machines in the following decade. Venture capitalists in Japan meanwhile are investing in autonomous aircraft companies through their Drone Fund.



There's a long way to go to reach those goals though, with battery life, regulatory and safety hurdles to overcome. 

NEC's machine weighs about 150 kilograms, and is around 3.9 meters long, 3.7 meters wide and 1.3 meters tall. Add some bodies and that's a considerable mass to keep in the air safely for any length of time.

NEC isn't the only ones building autonomous flying vehicles, of course. The United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Singapore are hoping to make waves in the industry, while private companies like Uber, Volvo's parent company and Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk are working on such machines too.

However, NEC and Cartivator might hold an advantage over rival businesses, thanks to the Japan government's support. Cartivator already has a permit for outdoor flights.

Source: Bloomberg

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 unveiled with SD 855, 7030mAh battery, DeX mode and more starting from ~RM2689

Photo: TECHNAVE.COM

Before Samsung unveils the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 next week, the company decided to reveal a new tablet from the Tab S series. Known as the Galaxy Tab S6, it was spotted from a new video on its YouTube channel but not the Malaysia website. Returning as a premium tablet with the S Pen stylus, let's see what are the new upgrades.

Starting with the exterior, the Galaxy Tab S6 has a big 10.5-inch AMOLED display (2560 x 1600 resolution) and measures 244.5 x 159.5 x 5.7mm. In comparison, this is actually thinner than the Apple iPad Pro (2018) which is already slim itself so that's quite impressive. 

Like the Galaxy Note 9, the S Pen will also have its own Bluetooth LE plus a new feature called Air Action which they didn't say what it was, but it sounds like the user can use gestures to command certain tasks.

As a new tablet, Samsung obviously took advantage by integrating Samsung DeX mode. It doesn't need an external monitor but relies on a Book Cover Keyboard (separate accessory). 

Oh, the S Pen is magnetic being able to stick on the back of the tablet in its own dock and has wireless charging. There are a total of four AKG speakers too and an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, the 3.5mm headphone jack is nowhere to be seen.


 Going into the tech specs, the Galaxy Tab S6 features an impressive Snapdragon 855, either 6GB + 128GB or 8GB + 256GB memory capacity (with an expandable memory of 1TB via microSD card), a dual 13MP + 5MP (ultra-wide lens) rear camera with a Neural Processing Unit for refining the photos. Lastly, the battery pack is 7040mAh and that's a lot!

The Galaxy Tab S6 is available in Mountain Gray, Cloud Blue and Rose Blush options with a starting price of $649 (~RM2689), while the higher variant is $729 (~RM3020). It will definitely appear at the upcoming UNPACKED event next week but we aren't sure if the Malaysia market will get a chance or not. Time will tell.


SOURCE: TechNave.com.

Pesawat Pertama AS mendarat di Arab Saudi Selepas 22 tahun!

Foto Sumber: AGENSI

JEDDAH: Pesawat penerbangan Amerika Syarikat (AS) pertama tiba di Arab Saudi sejak 1997, selamat mendarat di sini bersama 168 jemaah haji, pada 31 Julai lalu.

Penerbangan Miami Air dari Ohio itu selamat mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Raja Abdulaziz tengah hari semalam, kata jurucakap Pihak Berkuasa Umum Penerbangan Awam (GACA) dan di akaun Twitter lapangan terbang.

Menurut data pengesan penerbangan, pesawat berkenaan berlepas pagi Selasa lalu dari Columbus, Ohio sebelum berhenti di Gander, Nova Scotia.

Pesawat berkenaan berhenti sekali lagi di Shannon, Ireland dan Athens di Greek sebelum menuju ke destinasi akhirnya, Jeddah. 

SUMBER: Agensi

Honda E Video Shows Off The EV's Dual-Touchscreen Dash

Photo Credit: ENDGADGET

Need another look at Honda's adorable electric vehicle? Some new images and a teaser video take you inside the Honda E prototype to check out its dual 12.3-inch touchscreens. 

The menu has a similar style to Honda's current touch UI, but with two screens it's designed for easy use by both driver and passenger -- even if they're in separate apps. It's very customizable, with a quick swipe to add or remove shortcut items.

Honda seems intent on making its software live up to the experience people expect from their smartphones, and allows for swiping or browsing through both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. 

The idea is that if the EV is parked, then those inside can even watch video on the large screens.

Naturally, it also has its own voice-controlled Honda Personal Assistant, while a smartphone app can monitor its charging, start the car with a digital key or send navigation details to the dual-screens. 

It's still a prototype and this is just a video demo, but it certainly doesn't make things easier for anyone in the US who knows Honda's strategy will keep the E away from here.

Source: Honda Europe
Coverage: Autoblog

DeepMind AI Can Predict Kidney Illness 48 Hours Before It Occurs

Photo: ENDGADGET

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) kills 500,000 people in the US and 100,000 in the UK annually, often because it's not detected soon enough. 

Researchers want to use AI to change that. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop an AKI prediction algorithm. 

In a paper published in Nature today, the partners share their findings that the algorithm can predict the presence of AKI up to 48 hours before it happens. 

The model correctly identified 9 out of 10 patients whose condition worsened to the point that they needed dialysis.

DeepMind also had its mobile assistant for clinicians, known as Streams, evaluated by researchers at University College London. 

The results show that, through the app, specialists reviewed urgent cases within 15 minutes, as opposed to several hours. And only 3.3 percent of AKI cases were missed, compared to 12.4 percent without the app. 

Streams also led to health care cost savings. Combined with DeepMind's new AKI-detecting algorithm, Streams could offer improved early detection.

With these tools, DeepMind hopes to advance medicine from a reactive model to a prevention-based approach. And it doesn't plan to stop with AKI. 

It will look at some of the other diseases that lead to millions of preventable deaths every year. The DeepMind team plans to carry this work forward as a part of Google Health, a partnership meant to foster global impact.

SOURCE: ENDGADGET

BMW will have 25 electrified cars on the road by 2023

Photo: BMW

BY: Roberto Baldwin / Engadget

At a tech-focused event in Munich, Germany this week, BMW officials have repeated the mantra that they deliver what they promise. Turns out, they also deliver quicker than they originally promised.

The automaker originally stated that it would have 25 electrified vehicles on the road in 2025. Now BMW says it can do all that by 2023.

Accomplishing this has a lot to do with BMW's plan to create both products and production lines that are modular. The same chassis could accept a gas, hybrid or pure electric propulsion system on the same factory line. 

That gives the company the ability to quickly adjust to customer demand. With that in mind, CTO Klaus Fröhlich says that he's not worried about the transition to electrification.

"It's very simple for me: We have this flexible architecture," Fröhlich said during a roundtable discussion in Tuesday. BMW builds its own electrical components and doesn't have to rely heavily on the supply chain to make vehicle updates.

Among BMW's riskier movies is its decision to exclude rare earth magnets from electric motors. Yet, the move makes sense given the current trade climate. After all, China is the largest supplier of rare earth minerals, so by forgoing those elements BMW is trying to protect itself against future tariffs.

BMW isn't totally on board with battery power for all vehicles, though. While he doesn't see fuel cells being a large part of its upcoming portfolio, Fröhlich does see the powertrain being integral to medium and heavy-duty trucks.

Fröhlich didn't mince words on his thoughts about battery powered long-haul tractor-trailer trucks versus fuel cells. Fuel cells have a future, he insists, while batteries do not. 

"The consensus is that beyond 2025, it'll be relevant for light and heavy-duty vehicles because the charging time is relevant," he said. 

"If you look at the range of a truck you would need a 16-ton payload only for the battery which is complete nonsense. So all electric trucks are complete bullshit for long for long-distance travel."

While BMW's been betting heavily on hybrids, it has twelve EVs on tap to appear by 2023. At its event this week, it showed off an electrified M variant concept. 

The chances of that car showing up in showrooms are murky if BMW really does keep its promise, but if it does make it to production it'll be joined by quite a few vehicles with some sort of electrification.

SOURCES: ENDGADGET