Social distancing in manufacturing facilities is the new norm. To overcome this challenge of creating space between humans, manufacturers may get a little help from robots.
Category: Gadgets
Google Play Music to stop playing by end 2020

Google Play Music will stop playing by the end of 2020. It has joined a growing list of products that Google has canned over the year.
Qualcomm introduces Snapdragon 768G gaming chip
Photo by Florian Olivo on UnsplashQualcomm Technologies has unveiled the Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G Mobile Platform that is designed to deliver smart, immersive gaming experiences.
New Oculus Quests in the making
The Oculus Quest is an all-in-one VR headset (Source: Oculus)It’s been reported that Facebook is working on new versions of the Oculus Quest virtual reality (VR) headset. According to Bloomberg, the social networking giant is working on multiple potential successors to the Quest.
Qualcomm introduces IoT modem with extremely low power consumption
Source: QualcommQualcomm Technologies, has announced the Qualcomm 212 LTE IoT Modem that requires under one micro-amp (1uA) of sleep current for extremely low average power consumption.
Stadia Pro free for 2 months
Source: GoogleMore people staying at or working from home during this COVID-19 period are turning to gaming as a source of entertainment or to get some respite. And now they can enjoy free access to Google’s paid cloud gaming platform Stadia Pro for two months.
Razer: From gaming mouse to surgical masks
In a series of tweets, Razer Chief Executive Officer Min-Liang Tan has announced that his company has turned some of its existing manufacturing lines from producing gaming devices to making much needed surgical masks to be donated to countries around the world.
Apple shuts all stores outside Greater China
In a surprising reversal, Apple has announced that the temporary closure of all its stores outside of Greater China to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It’s interesting in that Apple has just re-opened its China stores.
Ear-worn devices drive India wearables market to record growth
Apple AirPods are hot in India.In a country that is known for loud road traffic, it is not surprising that ear-worn devices are in hot demand. According to IDC, earwear led the wearables market with 443.6 percent growth to 8.5 million units in 2019.
Coronavirus situation shifts IT Show
The popular IT Show in Singapore, scheduled to take place in March, has been postponed until further notice because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Arm launches AI chip for IoT devices
Source: ArmArm has launched the Cortex-M55, an artificial intelligence (AI) processor based on the Armv8.1-M architecture with Arm Helium vector processing technology for significantly enhanced, energy-efficient digital signal processing and machine learning (ML).
EyeTech launches EyeOn gaze tablet
EyeTech Digital Systems has launched EyeOn, an all-in-one, ultra-slim eye gaze tablet that enables people with mobility and motor impairments to use eye movement to select, type, and speak.
Zini Mobiles launches “world’s smallest mobile phone”
Zini Mobiles has launched the Zanco tiny t2, dubbed “the world’s smallest mobile phone” at just a tad over 6cm long. The 31g miniature phone is intended for those who need an ultra-lightweight mobile device that can handle essential daily tasks, including taking photos with it’s 2.4cm display.
Sim Lim Square fails again in en bloc sale
Sim Lim Square may be the go-to place for tech stuff in Singapore but the building has failed in its second attempt at an en bloc sale. According to The Straits Times, the tender closed on December 30 without receiving any bid.
Sleeprate and Garmin aim to help consumers sleep better
Japan, India and Singapore are the top threee most sleep deprived nations in the world, according to a study. Thankfully, help is on its way for those who want to sleep better. Sleep platform Sleeprate is collaborating with Garmin on a mobile self-help sleep assessment and improvement program that aims to help consumers sleep better, track their recovery, and optimise workouts.
Oculus buys Beat Saber maker
The award-winning Beat Saber is an easy to learn and addictive VR game.Oculus has acquired Beat Games, maker of the highly popular VR game Beat Saber, for an undisclosed sum.
NVIDIA unveils Jetson Xavier NX for AI supercomputing at the edge
NVIDIA has introduced the Jetson Xavier NX, which it dubbed as “the world’s smallest, most powerful AI supercomputer for robotic and embedded computing devices at the edge”.
Smartisan reveals flagship Jianguo Pro 3 smartphone
Smartisan may not ring a bell to those in the region but what about TikTok? Smartisan and TikTok are both owned by ByteDance. The China-based technology company has launched the Jianguo Pro 3, its flagship smartphone that’s packed with leading features, including dual-video.
Google acquires Fitbit for US$2.1b
The Fitbit Versa 2 was launched in Septermber.The rumours have come true. After days of speculation, Google has confirmed that its is acquiring Fitbit for US$2.1 billion.
Computer and machine vision market to hit US$26b in 2024
Expanding range of applications and more powerful hardware are expected to drive growth in the computer vision and machine vision market in the next five years, according to BCC Research.
NVIDIA touts 2 new Shield models
NVIDIA has rolled out the Shield TV and Shield TV Pro media streamers to deliver new visual and sound experiences to the gogglebox.
Infineon inks 3 MOUs to accelerate innovations in Singapore
SM Tharman: Keep pushing the frontiers of innovationInventing the future together was the theme of this year’s OktoberTech Asia Pacific conference in Singapore organised by Infineon Technologies. And the semiconductor giant certainly walks its talk. At the opening of the event, it inked three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to help accelerate innovations in Singapore.
Infineon Co-Innovation Space takes flight as startups depart with commercially-ready solutions
A year after its launch, the Infineon Co-Innovation Space has borne fruit with two of its inaugural batch of startups coming up with their commercially-ready solutions built with Infineon’s microelectronics.
SENEC launches new-generation hybrid solar battery
The Home V3 Hybrid can be used to charge electric vehicles.SENEC has launched in Australia SENEC.Home V3 Hybrid, a hybrid solar battery that provides households with up to 90 percent solar power self-sufficiency. This translates to massive savings as home owners may only need to draw 10 percent of their power usage from the grid.
Google Pixel 4 loses key edge

By Edward Lim
The much awaited Google Pixel 4 and Google Pixel 4 XL smartphones were announced at Google 19 yesterday. Interestingly, Google chose to talk more about the software capabilities rather than the hardware specifications, avoiding direct comparison with other flagship smartphones.
New Ambi Climate feature balances multiple users’ needs to keep everyone cool and cosy
Keeping cool in an air-conditioned room can raise the temperature if multiple users cannot agree on the correct setting. Hong Kong-based IoT startup Ambi Labs has come up with a new feature for its Ambi Climate controller that aims to keep everyone cool and cosy.
Qualcomm and Tencent Games ink MOU

Qualcomm and Tencent Games have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a strategic cooperation on digital entertainment. This includes joint efforts to optimise future projects such as Qualcomm Snapdragon-based mobile gaming devices, game content and performance optimisations, Snapdragon Elite Gaming enhancements, cloud gaming, AR/VR, 5G gaming use case developments and additional relevant technologies.
Robots to replace 20m jobs by 2030
Nearly one in 10 jobs will be replaced by robots by 2030, according to a paper released by Oxford Economics. Entitled How Robots Change the World, it highlights that up to 8.5% of the global manufacturing workforce could be displaced by industrial robots just 11 years down the road.
Malaysian teams top first Infineon-LG Hackathon

Malaysia scored big at the first Infineon LG </> Make Hackathon on breakthrough Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in Singapore on June 17.
Goodbye and good riddance, iTunes!
By Edward Lim
Apple’s announcement that it is killing of iTunes is music to my ears. It’s about time!