Sci-Tech

Three astronauts reach ISS for five-month mission

by Kirill Kudryavtsev  Agence France-Presse   BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) – Two US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut docked at the International Space Station for a five month mission on Wednesday following a night-time launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Russia’s Roscosmos space agency said that the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft “successfully docked” at the ISS at 0255 GMT in a statement on its website. The Soyuz rocket carrying Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos, NASA first-time flyer Mark Vande Hei […]

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Internet hindering fight against human trafficking: experts

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AFP) — The anonymity afforded by the internet — especially in the dark web — is hindering efforts by organizations to fight human trafficking, especially the sexual exploitation of minors, experts from key groups said Tuesday. “The issue of the dark web, which for its form and configuration is extremely untraceable, is it makes it very difficult to find the criminals we are looking for,” Rosilyne Borland, a specialist on migrant […]

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Robot ‘conductor’ steals the show from Italy’s top tenor

by Ella Ide Agence France Presse PISA, Italy (AFP) — Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli’s voice soars to the rafters of the Tuscan theater, but all eyes are on the orchestral conductor beside him — a robot with an apparent penchant for Verdi. The concert in the heart of Pisa is a world first, with two mechanical “arms” conducting live music at the grand finale of the first International Festival of Robotics. The Swiss-designed YuMi sweeps […]

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Three astronauts blast off for five-month ISS mission

by Kirill Kudryavtsev  Agence France Presse BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Two US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut blasted off for the International Space Station in a nighttime launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Wednesday, heading for a five-month mission. The Soyuz MS-06 rocket carrying Alexander Misurkin of the Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, NASA first-time flyer Mark Vande Hei and his veteran colleague Joe Acaba launched as scheduled at 3:17 am (2117 GMT), according […]

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Volkswagen to electrify entire range by 2030

(AFP) — German carmaker Volkswagen doubled down Monday on efforts to clean up its image tarnished by the dieselgate scandal, vowing ahead of the IAA auto industry show to electrify its entire range by 2030. By the end of next decade, VW vows to offer “at least one electrified version of each of the 300 or so group models”, the firm said in a statement. The Wolfsburg-based group owns a stable of 12 brands ranging […]

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The submarine of the future?

PORTSMOUTH, England (Reuters) — Britain’s Royal Navy has released a series of futuristic submarine concepts which mimic real marine life forms and radically change the way underwater warfare could look in 50 years. The concepts, called Nautilus 100, include a mothership shaped like a manta ray, unmanned eel-like vessels equipped with sensor pods which dissolve on demand to avoid enemy detection, and fish-shaped torpedoes sent to swarm against enemy targets. The project, celebrating the centenary […]

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Mythical, magic, unique: Ferrari turns 70 in style

by Céline CORNU Agence France-Presse   MILAN, Italy (AFP) — It’s the black prancing horse’s 70th birthday and gleaming Ferraris are out in force in Italy this weekend to celebrate. Some 500 sleek, purring sports cars are gathering in Milan on Friday before the festivities move to Modena, where founder Enzo Ferrari was born, and end with an exclusive party in Maranello, where Ferraris have been made since World War II. “Ferrari is a mythical brand: it has […]

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Finger-worn swimming tech makes waves

Reuters — Fitness trackers remained big business at this year’s IFA consumer technology fair in Berlin, with major players like Fitbit and Garmin announcing new devices. However, waterproof fitness trackers for swimmers are often limited to data gathering, such as stroke rate per minute or distance swam. Hong Kong-based start-up Platysens is hoping to make a bigger splash with its ring-style swim analyser. Instead of a typical wrist-worn device, their ‘Seal’ prototype comprises two ‘rings’ […]

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E-skin smart shirt monitors fitness and health

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) — A spin-off company from the University of Tokyo has developed a motion and health tracking wearable technology with stretchable wires and sensors embedded onto traditional textiles. Dubbed “e-skin”, the makers say it can withstand high strain rates when subjected to the wearer’s repeated and extreme movements, making it ideal as ‘smart’ sportswear. So-called ‘smart clothing’ has been developed by a number of companies, most notably luxury brand Ralph Lauren with its […]

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Waterproof and air-cleaning drones fly high at IFA

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) — The third generation of Swellpro’s waterproof drone has gone on display at the IFA consumer technology fair in Berlin. Swellpro says it was the first company to develop waterproof drone technology. The idea came about when founder Eric Hu saw a drone crashing into the sea while on holiday in the Caribbean islands. Swellpro’s technical manager for China, Anthony Kuhn, told Reuters: “It’s a stomach turning feeling when you’ve got your […]

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Nissan unveils new electric car in bid to drive off competition

CHIBA, Japan (AFP) — Japanese giant Nissan Wednesday unveiled a new electric car with an extended range and semi-autonomous driving functions, as it seeks to battle off competitors in a sector it once pioneered. The second-generation Nissan Leaf has a potential range of 400 kilometers (250 miles) between charges, compared with 250 kilometers for its previous version. It also boasts semi-autonomous driving capabilities such as keeping the vehicle automatically in one lane on the motorway […]

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Videograhics: What is an H-bomb?

  With the recent news about North Korea developing a hyrdrogen bomb, and that it had even recently detonated one, curiosity about what exactly is an H-bomb followed. Hydrogen bombs have a destructive power to dwarf even the nuclear weapons dropped on Japan in 1945. Unlike atomic or A-bombs, where the explosion comes from the splitting or fission of a heavy atomic nucleus, hydrogen or H-bombs work on the principle of nuclear fusion, when two […]

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