Suvastu Tech

Haixing 6000, one of China's underwater robots.  SHENYANG: One of China's underwater robots, the Haixing 6000, recently set a national depth record for a Chinese remotely operated vehicle. The robot drove 6,001 meters below sea surface during its first research expedition, scientists told Xinhua Sunday. Haixing 6000 was developed by a team at the Shenyang Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is the first remotely operated underwater vehicle built by China that is capable of diving 6,000 meters, said Li Zhigang, chief scientist of the team. It reached a maximum depth of 6,001 meters, and completed a series of underwater tasks in three hours, including deep-sea observation, biological research, soil and water sample collection, and a simulative black box search. At 2,000 meters, the underwater robot completed three sample collections in different sea areas in a single day, obtaining a total of nearly 400 kilograms of rocks...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first space mission has been planned for 2022 and the Federal Cabinet has approved this in today’s meeting. An agreement between Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and a Chinese company has already been signed, Federal Information Minister Ch Fawad Hussain said after the cabinet meeting. Pakistan in July this year launched two of its satellites into the orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China. The satellites, Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1) and Pakistan Technology Evaluation Satellite-1A (PakTES-1A), were propelled into space through the Chinese Long March 2C launch vehicle. The PRSS-1 is to be mainly used in Pakistan for land resources survey, evaluation, dynamic monitoring and management, resource utilisation, environmental disaster monitoring, agricultural survey, and urban construction. The satellite, which has a designed life of seven years, is equipped with two panchromatic/...

In a first, automobile company Rolls Royce is partnering with Intel in order to build world’s first entirely self-driving ships. Rolls Royce recently announced about the new partnership with Intel to manufacture a full fleet of autonomous cargo vessels that will require no humans onboard and will be completely autonomous. The autonomous system, as explained by Interesting Engineering, is equipped with a huge network full of thermal and HD cameras, radar and LIDAR, satellite data and weather forecasts, all of them controlled by a centralized program. The vision algorithms are what that will help the self-sailing ship to detect obstacles in night time and within busy ports. China will soon make artificial islands by ‘magic’ vessel The luxury car manufacturer, aiming to get the fleet ready by 2025, also introduced the Intelligent Awareness System in one of the crewed vessels this year. In this new partnership, the companies plan to use 3D NAND solid-state drives, ...

In a first, China is planning to launch an ‘artificial moon’ to space that will light up skies and will be brighter than the real moon and also act as streetlight replacement. China is aiming to launch an ‘artificial moon’ by 2020 that will light up skies as far as 50 miles around. The illumination satellite will be deployed over the city of Chengdu and will be eight times as bright as the real moon, casting a ‘dusk-like glow’ over the area, according to People’s Daily. The plan was revealed by Wu Chunfend, chairman of Chengdu Aerospace Science and Technology Microelectronics System Research Institute. The idea has been inspired from a French artist who envisioned a necklace of mirrors hanging over Earth that could reflect sunshine through the streets of Paris all year round. China plans to build ‘palace’ on moon powered by sun When launched, the artificial moon will complement the moon to make Chengdu’s night skies brighter and serve as a replacement to ...

Apple has got its fans all excited by sending out colorful and differently styled logo invitations for its new event to be held soon. Apple sent out invites for its launch event to be held on October 30 at the Howard Gilman Opera in Brooklyn, New York, starting at 10:00am EDT. The tech giant is expected to introduce some new iPads and laptops in the event. Just a month ago the Cupertino tech giant introduced its three new iPhones and Apple Watch among few other products, thus it is expected that with this event Apple will reveal some new iPad model and new Mac computers. Interestingly, the event invite came with various stylized, colorful Apple logo graphic with a tag line ‘There’s more in the making’. The different styled logos might suggest that the event will focus more on creative drawing and graphics uses for iPad Pro. According to a Twitter user, the tech giant designed the invite with reportedly over 300 different logos. According to Business...

Smartphone manufacturer Huawei amazed everyone at its event yesterday by unveiling new flagship phone series, the Mate 20. At its event held yesterday, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei released its new super-sized Mate 20 flagship phone series that included a premium phone, the 6.39-inch Mate 20 Pro, a more affordable but larger phone, the 6.53-inch Mate 20, and also a huge 7.2-inch Mate 20 X, a phone that is even bigger than an iPad mini. Not only this, the tech giant also introduced a leather-clad Porsche-branded variant of the Mate 20, the Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20 RS. All the phones feature more efficient CPU and GPU, longer battery life, Leica camera components, improved AI capabilities, and also Huawei’s version of Android EMUI 9 OS. As per Mashable, Huawei has decided to put up the Mate 20 X as a gaming phone because of its graphene film and vapor chamber-based cooling system, which the firm says lets extended periods of gameplay without overhe...

The sensors are not just for humans. (Photo: AFP/Karyn Nishimura-Poupee) MAKUHARI, JAPAN: State-of-the-art sensors that can measure stress levels, mood, posture, performance and even smell took centre stage at Asia´s top high-tech fair in Tokyo. The big-screen TVs and entertainment systems that were all the rage 10 years ago at the CEATEC fair have gradually been replaced by tiny sensors that accurately measure the minutest facet of the human body — a Japanese speciality. Electronics giant Panasonic showcased a prototype of an armchair that measures how much the user´s hands sweat along with the seating position and facial expressions via a camera, all to determine stress levels. This could be useful for an airline pilot or long-distance truck driver for example but could also one day find its way into the workplace. "You could imagine such a chair in the office and by combining the results with air conditioning and lighting levels, you could adjust the am...

Washington -Nine scientists were recognized Wednesday with a "Breakthrough Prize," a $3 million Silicon Valley-funded award meant to confer Oscars-style glamour and prestige on the basic sciences. The prizes in physics, life sciences and mathematics went to six men and three women, including four researchers who shared two prizes and five who get the full reward to themselves. Vincent Lafforgue, of France´s National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), was awarded the prize in mathematics for groundbreaking work in multiple areas. Five US-based researchers who won prizes in the life sciences included Frank Bennett and Adrian Krainer, from companies in Carlsbad, California and Long Island, New York. They were recognized for their discovery of a DNA-linked process that led to a treatment for a rare infantile disorder, spinal amyotrophy. They were joined by Chinese-born scientists Xiaowei Zhuang (Harvard), who developed a new tool for super-resoluti...

Paris: When Australian scientists presented evidence in 2016 of life on Earth 3.7 billon years ago -- pushing the record back 220 million years -- it was a big deal, influencing even the search for life on Mars. But that discovery, based on an analysis of primordial rocks in Greenland, has now been challenged, with another team of researchers arguing in a study published Wednesday that the structures presented as proof of microbial activity were, in fact, geologically forged by underground heat and pressure. The truth hinges on whether the cone-shaped formations in question are genuine stromatolites, layered structures left in the wake of water-dwelling microorganisms. Previously, the earliest confirmed stromatolites were found in 3.45-billion year old rocks in Australia. Being able to accurately date the first stirrings of life on our young planet -- roughly a billion years old at the time -- has important implications for understanding how it emerged and evol...

A new gadget brand has launched a tiny phone that will serve as a companion to your iOS or Android smartphones. Palm, a gadget brand mostly known for its personal digital assistants (PDA) has designed a small travel-sized phone to serve as a companion to the regular smartphones, minimizing their use and letting users focus on ‘what’s in front of you and stay present during life’s most important moments’. Though the almost credit card-sized phone is available on the markets yet, but as per The Verge, it’ll soon be available for buying in November costing $350. The idea for Palm phone is to work as an option to leave the normal smartphone at home, and serving an on-to-go version of smartphone and act as tool to combat app addiction. Sales of ‘dumb phones’ increase as people hope to switch from smartphones The phone, as explained by Business Insider, is an Android phone that syncs with users’ regular smartphone, either iOS or Android, where both the devices can sh...

Japanese auto-giant Honda is now moving towards making road intersections safer and smarter for the people. “Our vision of a smart intersection is one that can have non-connected road users — pedestrians, cyclists — work with those that are connected, like connected cars,” said Ted Klaus, vice president of strategic research at Honda R&D Americas, quoted Digital Trends. In USA, roughly 20 percent of accident fatalities occur at the intersections, Klaus said. Honda’s smart intersection technology works by tracking those ‘non-connected’ users and controlling those that can be controlled using technology — such as cars, traffic lights, and signaling systems, that will work together to protect the things that can’t be controlled by technology i.e. people walking across the street. “The key part of this technology is that is able to sense things that you can’t see, so this technology moves us beyond where any on-board sensor is today,” said Jim Keller, ...

Taking eyes off Mars for a moment, European Space Agency (ESA) is now aiming to set off craft for the first planet of our Solar System, Mercury. ESA’s BepiColombo is set to take off from Earth to Mercury, the closet planet to the sun, in order to explore more about its hellish atmosphere where temperature soar up to 450°C. The approximately €1.6bn mission, set to launch this Saturday, October 20, will send two orbiters to the planet, carrying futuristic ion electric propulsion driver. Four ion engines on the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) transporting the orbiters will provide thrust by electrically ejecting ‘plasma’ of charged xenon gas, explained Independent. After studying Mars, NASA plans to send flying drones to Venus The four ton spacecraft will be launched into an ‘escape trajectory’ orbit by ESA’s most powerful rocket, the Ariane 5, from the European Spaceport in French Guiana. From there, the craft will set off for a seven year long, 8.5 billion km journe...

It’s a sad time for Microsoft as its co-founder Paul Allen passed away at the age of 65 on Monday, after fighting cancer. Microsoft announced yesterday via its blog post that its co-founder Paul Allen, ‘a renowned philanthropist and business leader’ passed away yesterday on Monday, October 15, after battling cancer. The 65-year-old leader who founded the company over four decades ago died because of complications in a form of cancer known as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma he was suffering with, as confirmed by Vulcan Inc. on behalf of Allen’s family, Vulcan Inc. and the Paul G. Allen Network, wrote Microsoft. Allen was battling cancer for years before receiving treatment and brushing off the disease in 2009, until October 1, 2018 when he announced that his disease had returned. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed his sorrows for the loss stating that Allen was a great impact on technology and much more. He stated, “Paul Allen’s contributions to our company, our industr...

ISLAMABAD: Cellular companies were barred by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday from imposing surplus charges on postpaid connections in the country. Amidst the hearing under a three-member bench at the apex court, the additional attorney general sought more time to present a response before the court. The court was told by Advocate General Ahmad Awais about the monthly loss of Rs2 billion suffered by the Punjab government owing to the added charges taxed by the cellular companies. It was also added by the Sindh advocate general the provincial administration was also at a monthly loss of Rs1 billion. Chief Justice Saqib Nisar responded to the statements saying the court is mindful of the losses suffered by the provinces adding that “If you stop charging commission, these losses can be reduced." Moreover the CJP also urged the provincial authorities to curtail corruption. He also condemned the surplus charges by the cellular companies stating: ...

The first ever digital city in Pakistan is being initiated by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in the nearby areas of Islamabad. Kamran Khan Bangash, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, announced the provincial government’s plan of launching Pakistan Digital City Haripur, the first ever in the country, located behind the capital’s Margalla Hills. “Industrial revitalisation in IT Sector is the cry of the day. We’re soliciting preliminary survey from National & International investors/industries for “Pakistan Digital City Haripur”, only 30 minutes’ drive from Islamabad,” read his tweet. It was revealed further by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board that the site will be transformed into a platform for a wide variety of businesses and technology corporations as per the requirements of the industry with firms being able to obtain the land on lease, while urging investors to partake in the initiative. 

Social media site Facebook is taking a new approach by introducing a ‘3D photo’ feature that will add depth to the pictures in the News Feed and VR headset. Facebook announced yesterday about the new 3D feature that has already started rolling out that will show more life-like pictures in both News Feed and VR. The feature captures the distance between the subject in the foreground and the background, bringing ‘scenes to life with depth and movement’. Facebook reportedly working on voice commands for Messenger Facebook explained that the user would just have to take a photo in Portrait mode through their compatible dual-lens smartphone and share it as a 3D photo on the site where the user can pan, scroll and tilt to witness the photo in realistic 3D, which Facebook describes as a feel ‘like you’re looking through a window’. The 3D pictures could also be seen in VR with the Oculus Browser on Oculus Go or Firefox on Oculus Rift. Video Courtesy: Facebook ...

SAN FRANCISCO: Google announced Monday it is shutting down the consumer version of its online social network after fixing a bug exposing private data in as many as 500,000 accounts. The US internet giant said it will "sunset" the Google+ social network for consumers that failed to gain meaningful traction after being launched in 2011 as a challenge to Facebook. A Google spokesperson cited "significant challenges in creating and maintaining a successful Google+ that meets consumers´ expectations" along with "very low usage" as the reasons for the move. In March, a security audit revealed a software bug that gave third-party apps access to Google+ private profile data people meant to share only with friends. Google said it was unable to confirm which accounts were affected by the bug, but an analysis indicated it could have been as many as 500,000 Google+ accounts. "We found no evidence that any developer was aware of this b...

Samsung has turned all the rumors true by unveiling the world’s first smartphone to have four rear cameras. Samsung Electronics today announced its Galaxy A9 (2018), a smartphone that was long rumored about and was expected to have four cameras on its back. Samsung calls its phone built for those ‘who love to explore, capture the moment and share it as they see it’. Samsung Mobile Division CEO DJ Koh said, “Building on our legacy in smartphone camera development we’re introducing next-generation technology across our entire Galaxy portfolio to give more consumers the opportunity to experience cutting-edge innovation. We’re excited to deliver on this promise and debut world leading smartphone camera technology with the Galaxy A9.” The four cameras on the back come in four various lenses for capturing different kind of images. One lens: the 10MP Telephoto Lens comes in with 2x optical zoom for detailed close-up shots, the second 8MP Ultra Wide Lens makes the camera smart...

Researchers have developed the world’s fastest camera till date that can capture 10 trillion frames per second, making slow-motion more real like. Scientists have recently developed the world’s fastest camera, which is able to capture 10 trillion frames per second. This camera makes it possible to experience any phenomenon in extremely slow motion, similar to freezing time. The new system is based on a femtosecond (one quadrillionth of a second) streak camera and integrated a data acquisition type used in applications like tomography. In the study published in the journal Light: Science & Applications, co-lead author Wang Lihong said, “We knew that by using only a femtosecond streak camera, the image quality would be limited.” World’s fastest film camera captures five trillion frames per second “So to improve this, we added another camera that acquires a static image. Combined with the image acquired by the femtosecond streak camera, we can use what is called...