Sci-Tech

Britain’s “Iron Man” breaks his own jet-suit speed record

ENGLAND, United Kingdom (Reuters) — The British inventor of an “Iron Man”-style jet suit has lofty hopes for powering his creation from a curiosity to a tool in industries ranging from entertainment to the military. Richard Browning, a 38-year-old former commodities trader with little experience of engineering, developed his jet suit with the help of friends over the last 18 months, just for fun. But Browning is aiming to turn his hobby into a business […]

US Navy uses virtual reality to simulate combat

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Brace yourself, you are about to experience military combat. Using virtual reality, civilians can feel like they are part of the action as they pilot a Navy Special Warfare Combatant-Craft as part of a rescue mission. The mission – to extract a Navy SEAL team pinned down under enemy fire. The US Navy began using virtual reality simulations last October as a way to engage prospective recruits about careers […]

New spacecraft data re-writes the books on Jupiter

Reuters — Jupiter’s atmosphere features colossal cyclones and rivers of ammonia welling up from deep inside the solar system’s largest planet, researchers said on Thursday (May 25), publishing the first insights from a NASA spacecraft flying around the gas giant. The cyclones were discovered as the Juno spacecraft made the first of at least 12 planned close encounters with Jupiter, which scientists believe set the stage for the development of Earth and other planets in […]

Wearable device to straighten out slouches

TEL AVIV, Israel (Reuters) — Slouching over screens could be a thing of the past thanks to a wearable gadget that reminds you to sit up straight. The Upright pro is a small device taped to the back that senses poor posture and vibrates to nudge the user to straighten up. It can be synched with a smartphone app to track posture data over time, monitor the user’s progress in a training program, and share […]

Jury out on North Korea link to ransomware attack

By Rob Lever Agence France-Presse Was North Korea behind the ransomware epidemic that hit global computer networks earlier this month? That’s the subject of heated debate in cybersecurity circles after analysts found similarities in the “WannaCry” worm to other malware attributed to North Korea, including the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures and a cyberheist of millions of dollars from the Bangladesh central bank. The security firm Symantec this week said the shared code makes it […]

China’s self-developed satellite payload test system debuts at conference

SHANGHAI, China (Reuters) – China’s self-developed satellite payload test system made its maiden appearance at the eighth China Satellite Navigation Conference (CSNC). At the 2017 CNSC which opened Tuesday in Shanghai, a satellite payload test system developed by the National University of Defense Technology was displayed. The newly released system marks a landmark progress in the country’s satellite research and development. It broke a technological bottleneck because previous devices were custom-designed only. The test system […]

Samsung investigating Galaxy S8 ‘iris hack’

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Samsung Electronics is investigating claims by a German hacking group that it fooled the iris recognition system of the new flagship Galaxy S8 device, the firm said Wednesday. The launch of the Galaxy S8 was a key step for the world’s largest smartphone maker as it sought to move on from last year’s humiliating withdrawal of the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7s, which hammered the firm’s once-stellar reputation. But a video posted […]

Google AI program beats top-ranked Go player

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) – Google’s computer program AlphaGo beat the world’s top-ranked player in the ancient Chinese board game Go on Tuesday, re-affirming the arrival of what its developers tout as a ground-breaking new form of artificial intelligence. AlphaGo took the first encounter in a three-game series against brash 19-year-old Chinese world number one Ke Jie, who before the game called the program a “cold machine” and vowed never to play it again after this week. […]

Headset helps the legally blind see nearly 20/20

NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — More than three years ago, Julissa Marquez was rendered blind from a near fatal stabbing. Doctors said she would never see again. Today, with help from a team of doctors at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai and electronic glasses, Marquez’s vision is nearly 20/20. Marquez began using the eSight electronic glasses in October, which made her eyesight go from legally blind to in focus. […]

Volvo Cars moves into fast-growing Indian market

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Swedish carmaker Volvo said Thursday it will start assembling cars in India this year in a move into a fast-expanding market where it has had only a small presence until now. Volvo Cars said in a statement that it was teaming up with truck manufacturer Volvo Group to build cars at the latter’s existing plant in Hoskote near Bangalore. While sharing the Volvo name, Volvo Cars has not actually been part of […]

Mobile internet next target of cyber attack: insiders

  The cyber attack seems to be no longer far from ordinary people’s lives, as global authorities are busy handling the latest wave of ransomware attack. Insiders warned that the mobile network will be the next target of hackers. The ransomware, called WannaCry, which exploited the vulnerabilities in older Microsoft computer operating systems, encrypted data on the computers, demanding certain amount of payments to restore access. It is reported that the WannaCry cyber attack has […]

World close to ‘serious digital sabotage’: Dutch spy chief

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The world may be close to a “serious act of digital sabotage” which could trigger unrest, “chaos and disorder,” Dutch spy chief Rob Bertholee warned Tuesday. Sabotage of critical infrastructure “is the kind of thing that might keep you awake at night,” Bertholee told a timely cyber security conference in The Hague, as global experts grapple with the fallout of a massive cyberattack over the past days. Digital threats “are […]