UK Launches First Autonomous Bus Service
Tech

UK Launches First Autonomous Bus Service

A full-sized autonomous bus service was opened to the general public in Scotland, United Kingdom, on May 15. The AB1 service runs on a 22.5-kilometre route with five buses operating a scheduled passenger service throughout the week. The vehicles will travel in mixed traffic up to over 80 kilometers per hour. AB1 is believed to be the first registered bus service in the world to use full-sized autonomous buses. The trial, which will now run until 2025, aims to demonstrate autonomous technology in a real-world environment transporting up to 10,000 passengers per week. During this time, the t

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Singapore and Qatar Have Highest Internet Speeds
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Singapore and Qatar Have Highest Internet Speeds

Singapore ranks first globally in fixed broadband speed with a median download speed of 242.01 Mbps, says Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index for April. The index also found Qatar to be first globally in mobile internet speed with a median download speed of 189.98 Mbps. The Asian city-state is followed by Chile, the UAE, China, Hong Kong (SAR), Thailand, the US, Denmark, Spain and Romania in fixed broadband speed. Meanwhile, the Gulf country is followed by the UAE, Macau (SAR), Kuwait, Norway, Denmark, Bahrain, South Korea, China and the Netherlands in mobile internet speed. In the April i

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AIX Connect Flies First Flight Using Sustainable Aviation Fuel
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AIX Connect Flies First Flight Using Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on May 19 announced the successful operation of the first domestic flight by AIX Connect – formerly known as AirAsia India – using India-produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The Delhi-bound flight i5-767 took off from Pune and was received at the airport by the minister. On the success, Puri said, “Today, I received crew and passengers who took the first commercial passenger flight from Pune to Delhi powered by indigenously produced sustainable aviation fuel. We have started with 1% ble

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WHO Calls for Safe and Ethical AI for Health
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WHO Calls for Safe and Ethical AI for Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned while using artificial intelligence (AI) generated large language model tools (LLMs) to protect and promote human well-being, human safety, and autonomy, and preserve public health. LLMs include some of the most rapidly expanding platforms such as ChatGPT, Bard, Bert and many others that reproduce understanding, processing, and producing human communication. Their sudden popularity among people and rising experimental use for health-related purposes is generating significant excitement around the potential to support people’s health needs

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India Successfully Test-Fires BrahMos Supersonic Missile from INS Mormugao
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India Successfully Test-Fires BrahMos Supersonic Missile from INS Mormugao

The Indian Navy successfully test fired a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on May 14 using its frontline guided missile destroyer INS Mormugao. The ship and the weapon are both indigenous. The INS Mormugao hit a bull’s eye with the maiden BrahMos supersonic cruise missile firing. It is the latest guided-missile destroyer to be used by the Indian Navy. “The ship and her potent weapon, both indigenous, mark another shining symbol of Atma Nirbharta and Indian Navy’s firepower at sea," said a senior Indian Navy official in a statement after the test. BrahMos Aerospace Priva

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In UK’s First, a Baby Born from Three People’s DNA
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In UK’s First, a Baby Born from Three People’s DNA

The United Kingdom's fertility regulator on May 10 confirmed the births of the country's first babies created using an experimental technique combining DNA from three people, an effort to prevent the children from inheriting rare genetic diseases. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said fewer than five babies have been born this way in the UK. Most of their DNA comes from their two parents and around 0.1% from a third, donor woman. The pioneering technique is an attempt to prevent children being born with devastating mitochondrial diseases. These diseases are incurable and ca

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UP Government Schools to Teach Crypto, Drone Tech, AI
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UP Government Schools to Teach Crypto, Drone Tech, AI

The Uttar Pradesh board will introduce topics such as e-governance, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and drone technology, among others, in its revised syllabus for classes 9 to 12, to be implemented from the current academic session. The board experts have also replaced C++ and HTML programming learning with other coding languages such as Python and Java for classes 11 and 12. From the academic session 2023-24, the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad has revised the syllabus for classes 9 to 12, introducing topics such as cryptocurrencies, drone technology, and IT advancements

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Japanese Company to Try Removing Atmospheric CO2 with Vending Machines
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Japanese Company to Try Removing Atmospheric CO2 with Vending Machines

The soft drinks division of Japan's Asahi Group Holdings plans to test its new vending machines capable of absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. The experiment planned in June will begin by installing about 30 units in Kanto and Kansai regions. The patent pending design is the first of its kind in Japan. Asahi is aiming for the machines to be fully operational from 2024. The company said that each machine is capable of offsetting 20% of the CO2 emissions generated from the production of the electricity they require to operate. Asahi Soft Drinks, the group’s dedicated non-alcoholic divisi

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ICMR Conducts Blood Bag Delivery with Drones
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ICMR Conducts Blood Bag Delivery with Drones

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has successfully conducted a trial run of blood bag delivery using drones under its i-DRONE (ICMR's Drone Response and Outreach for Northeast) initiative. The i-DRONE initiative was during COVID-19 pandemic for distributing vaccines to hard-to-reach areas. The trial flight carried 10 units of whole blood samples from Greater Noida to New Delhi. The initiative was in continuance with the national mission of expanding the drone ecosystem in India. After the successful completion of the service, blood delivery through drones can be expanded to the who

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IIT Madras and DRDO develop sensor for underwater communications
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IIT Madras and DRDO develop sensor for underwater communications

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have developed a new sensor for underwater communications. This technology is expected to facilitate communication between divers and underwater vehicles or submarines. The underwater communication system is a vital component in defence and civilian operations such as oil exploration and environmental monitoring. However, conventional radio frequencies cannot transmit signals underwater due to the high absorption of electromagnetic waves. To overcome this challenge,

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