NEXT Biometrics a fingerprint sensor technology, specialist announced hat it has received initial orders for its “Scallop” fingerprint readers for use in India’s Aadhaar government ID program. At the same time, NEXT announced its intention to create a subsidiary in India and has also made key additions to the sales organization in the country. The orders for fingerprint readers come just two months after NEXT received certification from India’s Standardization Testing and Quality CertificationDirectorate to sell products for use in the Aadhaar program. The fingerprint readers are sold through NEXT’s distribution partner, AqTronics Technologies. As previously stated, NEXT’s product plans call…
Author: IOT News Asia
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LINE’s consolidated subsidiary Gatebox Inc. has begun to take orders for the latest model of Gatebox, the world’s first “virtual home robot” that allows owners to live together and interact with a virtual character. The Gatebox uses the latest in projection and sensing technologies to create the interactive virtual character. A limited-run model (the GTBX-1) of only 300 units went on sale in 2016 and sold out in just one month, despite costing approximately JPY300,000 (about SGD3,650). When an addition run of 39 units went on sale in 2017, the company received some 1,000 orders. Since then, many people have asked…
IDC Thailand named Khon Kaen and Phuket cities as the most outstanding smart city projects in Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APeJ) for the 2018 IDC Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA). The winning projects, Kohn Kaen Smart Health and Phuket Smart Tourism and Living Communities won under the “Public Health and Social Services” and “Tourism, Arts, Libraries, Culture and Open Spaces” categories. Thailand’s Phuket and Khon Kean cities are 19 out of 148 most outstanding smart city projects in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) that are initiated by Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA). Both the winning projects illustrated the best practice…
Canalys expects the smart speaker installed base will approach the 100-million barrier by the end of this year, making it almost 2.5 times bigger than at the end of 2017. The installed base will keep growing, more than doubling in size to reach 225 million units by 2020. Amazon Echo devices will account for over 50% of the installed base in 2018, while Google’s Home series will account for 30%. Apple’s HomePod models will trail, accounting for a meager 4% of the 2018 base. Canalys Research Analyst Vincent Thielke said, “The US is the world leader in smart speaker adoption.…
TabSquare, the front-end automated solutions provider for the F&B industry have officially unveiled the brand new AI-Powered Kiosks at the Hokkaido-Ya Restaurant in VivoCity, Singapore. With the soft launch that took place on June 14th, 2018, Hokkaido-Ya is Singapore’s first fast-casual, self-service restaurant to implement TabSquare’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled self-ordering kiosks while employing the quintessential Japanese competence through advanced, state of the art technology. This historical moment will mark a new beginning in technological advancement for the nation’s food and beverage industry as it will be the first-ever kiosk restaurant in Singapore. The kiosks are powered by TabSquare’s advanced artificial…
Toll Group, the Asia Pacific region ’s provider of transport and logistics, and part of Japan Post, officially opens Toll City – a S$228 million, next-generation logistics hub, spanning over one million square feet – the size of 15 football fields. Strategically located in Tuas, Singapore, the opening of Toll City is expected to increase Toll’s Asian network and traffic, while its proximity to road links into Malaysia and the growing Jurong region in the West of Singapore will make the facility an excellent land-sea interface for customers. Toll City, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, is well-poised to…
Just six months after its unprecedented Series A announcement of $112M, autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai has raised a follow-on funding round. Co-led by ClearVue Partners and Eight Roads (the proprietary investment arm of Fidelity International Limited), this continuation of funding represents $102M, bringing Pony.ai’s total Series A funding to $214M. In addition to ClearVue and Eight Roads, new investors include Green Pine Capital Partners, China Merchants Capital, Redpoint Ventures China, Adrian Cheng (Founder of K11), and Delong Capital. Existing investors participating in this round include Sequoia Capital China, Morningside Ventures, DCM Ventures, and Hongtai Capital. Notably, both Sequoia and Morningside…
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) is supporting Wilhelmsen Ship Service and Airbus in their pilot trial of deliveries from shore to vessels anchored off the coast with an unmanned aerial system (UAS), in the second half of 2018. Wilhelmsen Ship Service and Airbus announced on 5 June 2018 that they will be collaborating on an experimental project to deliver spare parts, documents, water test kits and 3D printed consumables via Airbus’ Skyways UAS to vessels at Singapore’s anchorage. This trial is a culmination of over a year of planning and collaboration between the two companies, with support…
Cainiao Network (“Cainiao”), the logistics affiliate of Alibaba Group, today showcased New Logistics technologies at its 2018 Global Smart Logistic Summit. In addition, Cainiao unveiled plans to upgrade its global logistics network with initiatives to open five hubs around the globe. Technologies and programs introduced by Cainiao today are part of its efforts to facilitate trade in China and around the globe, and to enhance services to merchants and consumers through a fully integrated online and offline experience. Introducing “Future Park” solution Cainiao today showcased its “Future Park” solution for a new state-of-the-art logistics complex that will house a smart…
The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) technology across consumer products, enterprises and public service fueled by artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data is often said to bring about a fundamental change in the society from a macro level all the way down the everyday lives of the common folk on the street. This is described by some as the 4th Industrial Revolution, and if history is any indication it will completely revolutionise everything as we know it. Yet, despite the big impact that it will potentially have, the understanding of the subjects is still limited at best, given…