Singapore will inject a further S$60 million (US$45 million) over two years to grow its space technology programme amid a “revolution in the development of space”, officials have said. Wednesday’s announcement follows Singapore’s commitment in 2022 of S$150 million to research and development in space technologies, which has led to 14 space-related technology patents being filed by local entities, according to Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong. Speaking at the Global Space Technology Convention and Exhibition held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Gan said: “Singapore can be a key hub of ideas, innovation and impact for the global space economy, by drawing on our strengths across our business, industry and research ecosystems; focusing on relevant use cases of both economic and strategic value to Singapore; and strengthening
Category Archives: SCI-TECH
Feb
The Ram Ramcharger has a 91.8 kWh battery, but only 69.7 kWh are usable. Ram says this is to provide a consistent driving experience between EV driving and when the truck uses its gas engine. The truck also has a heavy-duty frame and 8-lug wheel hubs to haul more weight compared to its ICE cousin. I know I’ve railed against too-big batteries in trucks in the past, and that includes the all-electric version of this very vehicle. However, when Stellantis previewed the 2026 Ram Ramcharger’s technical details to the media this week, its 91.8 kWh battery felt a little small compared to full EV trucks. Stranger still, Stellantis says that only 69.7 of those kWh are usable, meaning a whopping 22.1 kWh is just in the battery, unable to be
Feb
Does it make sense to go for a 350 kW DC fast charger when the Chevy Equinox EV can only accept 150 kW? Tom Moloughney tried three different fast chargers to see if it made a difference. Surprisingly, the 250 kW charger had the shortest charging session, not the 350 kW stall. The Chevrolet Equinox EV offers a lot of bang for the buck, but it has a big drawback. Despite its high-voltage battery being described as a 400-volt pack, it’s actually under 300 V when the state of charge is low, and it never goes over 400 V even when it’s full. That’s for cell longevity, but it also means charging times are longer than what is expected of a modern EV. Theoretically, the maximum charging speed is 150
Feb
Tencent Holdings has made sweeping changes to its artificial intelligence (AI) product portfolio, as the Chinese internet giant doubles down on efforts to stay competitive in this fast-developing sector. The Shenzhen -based social-media and video-gaming powerhouse recently incorporated several apps – including QQ Browser, keyboard tool Sogou Pinyin and learning assistant Ima – into the firm’s Cloud & Smart Industries Group (CSIG), from their previous home at the Platform & Content Group, according to a report by Chinese digital media outlet The Paper. That followed the previous transfer of AI chatbot Yuanbao to CSIG from the firm’s Technology Engineering Group. A Tencent representative on Friday confirmed the company’s reshuffle of its AI product portfolio. That revamp is expected to help Tencent bolster its AI business amid the rapid developments being
Feb
When a fresh-faced Workers’ Party team in Sengkang, a new town in the northeast of Singapore , won the popular vote in 2020, ousting a cabinet minister who was slated to become part of the next generation of leaders, resident Maideen Abdul Kader was shocked. But Maideen, who recalled his primary school being used as a polling station in 1959 when the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) began its uninterrupted reign in the city state, is not holding his breath for the multi-seat constituency to be won back by the PAP. “Nowadays young people feel their demands aren’t satisfied. They also lose nothing if they vote for the opposition, so the mentality is ‘why not just try, nothing to lose’,” said 75-year-old Maideen, a retired accountant who has lived in
Feb
Interest in electric vehicles grew substantially in 2024. According to a survey from CDK Global, 31% of gas-car shoppers plan to buy an EV. That’s up from 18% in 2023. There are still big misconceptions about the cost of EV ownership across car buyers, though. The percentage of car shoppers who plan to buy an electric car someday shot up in 2024. But you wouldn’t know that based on the breathless coverage of EV demand “stalling.” CDK Global, a company that provides software to car dealerships, surveyed car buyers and found that the percentage of gas-car shoppers planning to buy an EV in the future jumped from 18% in 2023 to 31% in 2024. For those considering hybrids, EV interest was even higher, which makes sense. CDK says that in
Feb
Chinese internet search giant Baidu will make its Ernie Bot service free to use from April 1, providing wider access to the company’s own artificial intelligence (AI) models, as competition in this nascent field heats up with the rise of innovative newcomers like DeepSeek . Beijing -based Baidu said users of Ernie Bot’s desktop and mobile versions will gain free access to its Ernie large language models (LLMs) on the back of “continued upgrades and inference cost reductions”, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The Ernie Bot platform on Thursday launched a function called Deep Search, which has enhanced capabilities in thinking, planning and providing expert-level response across multiple scenarios. This feature will also be available for free from April 1. Baidu co-founder, chairman and chief executive Robin
Feb
Thursday, February 13, 2025 By Bjorn Lomborg Kids’ educational test scores are a major cause for concern across the world. Learning plummeted nearly everywhere during the Covid pandemic—but even before that, standardized test result measures in mathematics, science and reading were heading in the wrong direction. Education truly unites parents across the world, although the level of challenge differs, with American and rich world results stagnating at relatively high levels, whereas children in the world’s poorer half struggle with even reading a simple sentence or doing basic math. But after years of experience, it has become clear which policies don’t work at all—even if they have loud backers. Increasing per pupil spending sounds like a no-brainer, but it can deliver little or no learning at all if the money isn’t used wisely. India showed this when
Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, PhD
Feb
A senior lecturer at the Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, PhD, has made history as West Africa’s first deaf professor. The university announced this milestone in a Facebook post on February 13, 2025, celebrating Prof. Mprah’s groundbreaking achievement and his inspiring journey. Prof. Mprah’s academic journey began under trees in the Oti Region, where he attended primary school. He later studied at Krachi Secondary School and Okuapemman Secondary School before earning his first and second degrees at the University of Cape Coast (UCC). However, his path took an unexpected turn during his Master’s programme when he became deaf just as he was nearing the completion of his studies. “People didn’t know how to deal
Feb
UK-based solar tech startup GRYD has secured $1.2 million (£1 million) in pre-seed funding to build the nation’s first solar subscription platform. Black Seed VC, an early-stage venture firm dedicated to Black business founders in the UK, and SFC Capital, an investor in disruptive UK companies, participated in the round. Other notable investors include Oasthouse Ventures, whose Director, Simon Turner, has financed and scaled renewable infrastructure businesses globally. The solar tech startup will use the investment to fund its national expansion. GRYD’s Affordable Solution For Residences Mohamed Gaafar, Scott Whiteside, and Tom Jordan founded GRYD in 2023 after meeting at the Antler accelerator program in London. They envisioned creating a subscription-based solar power service, allowing homeowners to access solar power without upfront costs. The solar tech startup has developed a
Feb
Ever since the EV conversion game got going, I’ve been waiting for this one to happen. It’s a car loved the world over, nearing the end of its fourth decade, and remains a benchmark: It’s time for the NA Miata to ditch the gas and go electric. At this point I’ve no doubt there’ll be pearl clutching and smelling salts being whipped out to calm the nerves of the hardcore driving enthusiasts lurking in the corner. There’s a reason for that: In its original form the Miata is symphony balance, modest performance and lightweight excellence. Will removing a gas heart take away some of the fun? I drove the electric version to find out. Gallery: Electrogenic Mazda Miata Review This Miata is a creation by the UK’s Electrogenic. The company’s
Elon Musk and Sam Altman were among the 11-person team that founded OpenAI in 2015. Photo: Frederic J. BROWN, Jung Yeon-je / AFP/FileSource: AFP The feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has become one of the bitterest rivalries in business history, with the Tesla tycoon bidding to buy Altman’s OpenAI in an apparent attempt to derail the ChatGPT maker’s ascent to becoming one of the world’s most important companies. What sparked the rivalry? Musk and Altman were among the 11-person team that founded OpenAI in 2015. Created as a counterweight to Google’s dominance in artificial intelligence, the project got its initial funding from Musk, who invested $45 million to get it started. Three years later, Musk departed OpenAI. The company initially cited “a potential future conflict for Elon…as Tesla
Feb
Hangzhou, the capital of China’s southeastern Zhejiang province, is rapidly gaining recognition as a leading technology hub in the country with the rise of local start-ups known as the “Six Little Dragons”. Among the hottest of the start-ups right now is DeepSeek , which captured global attention this year for its cost-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) models. The others include robotics firms Unitree and Deep Robotics, video game studio Game Science, brain-machine interface innovator BrainCo, and 3D interior design software developer Manycore. Authorities in Hangzhou, perhaps best known as the home of tech giant and Post parent company Alibaba Group Holding , acknowledged the group of start-ups in a New Year’s message to the local business community last month. “It’s an honour to be dubbed as one of the ‘Six Little
Feb
DeepSeek is fighting a surge in fake social media accounts and websites pretending to be linked to the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up, as scammers and impersonators take advantage of the frenzy surrounding the firm’s success. Hangzhou-based DeepSeek on Thursday warned that it had only three authentic social media accounts, which could be found on Chinese platforms WeChat and RedNote , as well as US microblogging service X, formerly Twitter. The company added that its namesake chatbot app was free to download and that it had not issued cryptocurrencies. Any social media groups set up in the name of DeepSeek to charge fees must be fraudulent, it said. This was DeepSeek’s first official statement since its V3 large language model and R1 reasoning model grabbed global attention last month. In
Feb
Chinese start-up DeepSeek’s multilingual capabilities and open-source nature serve as an attractive alternative for users in Southeast Asia, but its true potential can only be realised if security and legal concerns are addressed, according to analysts. As the US and China continue their AI rivalry, businesses and governments in Southeast Asia are taking a pragmatic approach – weighing costs, performance and regulatory concerns. While platforms such as ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are prominent among Southeast Asian users, Chinese AI models are “steadily making inroads”, according to Ali Fazeli, chief technology officer at NexVision Lab, a technology company specialising in artificial intelligence and machine-learning solutions. “Their multilingual capabilities, such as support for Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia and Thai, coupled with partnerships with local tech companies, give them an edge in catering to