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A staff member conducts tests on a Walker X humanoid robot at a sci-tech company in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, June 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The explosive growth of humanoid robots represents a standout transformation in China's tech innovation landscape for 2024. As robust capital inflow fuels the emerging sector, the human-shaped machines are being fine-tuned for superior agility, and their versatile applications are becoming increasingly evident across a range of scenarios. "Humanoid robots have now reached the educational level of a high school junior or senior, and are expected to sit the college entrance exam as early as next year, which means their deployment in more scenarios," said Hu Debo, CEO of Shanghai-based Kepler Robot. NEW CAPABILITY In March, Hangzhou's Unitree Robotics released a remarkable video featuring their 50-kg Unitree H1 humanoid robot executing a standing backflip, a first for full-scale electric-driven humanoids. Two months later, a robot developed by Beijing-based RobotEra ascended the Great Wall, showcasing its stability and strength in different types of terrain. The Beijing-based startup's new STAR1 model also completed a long-distance run in China's Gobi desert in October, reaching speeds of six meters per second. Engine AI from Shenzhen unveiled the robot with the most human-like gait, with the promotional video going viral immediately. The evolution of these robots has captured people's attention on social media platforms and also secured substantial venture capital to fuel their growth. From January to October 2024, there were at least 69 global humanoid robot financing events, amounting to over 11 billion yuan (1.51 billion U.S. dollars), with 56 of these occurring in China, totaling more than 5 billion yuan, as per partial data from GGII, a Shenzhen-based consultancy for emerging industries. The market size of humanoid robots in China in 2024 is approximately 2.76 billion yuan, according to a blue paper published recently. AI-DRIVEN Now, the artificial intelligence (AI) has served as the "engine" driving this progress. "The deep integration of humanoid robots with AI constitutes a significant trend in the robotics industry this year," said Yang Fengyu, founder and CEO of UniX AI, a robotics technology company based in Shanghai. "In the past, robots lacked autonomous motion control capabilities and could only perform single tasks in a fixed environment, struggling to adapt when the environment changed," Xiong Youjun, general manager of Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, told Xinhua. The advancement of AI's large-scale models not only makes robots more intelligent, but also significantly lowers their production costs. China boasts a comprehensive supply chain and manufacturing infrastructure, enjoys good policy support and vast market potential, and has an ample reserve of technical talent, said Xiong. APPLICATIONS This month, a Chinese tech firm declared the start of large-scale production for general-purpose robots. AgiBot, a startup established in February 2023, has already produced nearly 1,000 units of these humanoid robots. Automotive production lines are among the fastest deployment scenarios for humanoid robots. UBTECH Robotics, a leading robotics firm based in Shenzhen, has integrated their products into the training programs of automotive manufacturers like BYD, NIO and Geely. Xpeng, another new-energy vehicle manufacturer, has ventured into robotics directly, with its self-developed robots now being trained in factory settings. The development of humanoid robots for caregiving services in households has begun to take shape, although their implementation is slower than in industrial settings. In September, Tencent's Robotics X Lab revealed "The Five," a hybrid home-help robot featuring four-wheels, tactile skin and hands. Laboratory test footage demonstrates that the residential robot is capable of walking, carrying objects, and assisting seated elderly individuals in standing up at an elderly care home in Shenzhen. "The Five" is still at the prototype stage and needs additional technological refinements before it can be effectively deployed in nursing homes, according to Robotics X. The Chinese humanoid robot market, which is on the verge of a boom, still faces several challenges. The rapid growth is hindered by "dependence on overseas high-end chips and proprietary algorithms, along with a shortfall in domestic computational resources," said Xiong.
DETROIT — If President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his threat to kill federal tax credits for electric vehicle purchases , it's likely that fewer buyers will choose EVs. Yet tax credits or not, auto companies show no intention of retreating from a steady transition away from gas-burning cars and trucks, especially given the enormous investment they have already made: Since 2021, the industry has spent at least $160 billion on planning, designing and building electric vehicles, according to the Center for Auto Research. In campaigning for the presidency, Trump condemned the federal tax for EV buyers — up to $7,500 per vehicle — as part of a “green new scam” that would devastate the auto industry. His transition team is reportedly working on plans to abolish the tax credits and to roll back the more stringent fuel-economy rules that were pushed through by the Biden administration. It is far from clear, though, that the Trump administration could actually rescind the credits. Trump's argument — one that most economists dispute — is that a rapid U.S. shift toward electric vehicles would lead to most EVs being made in China and would swell prices for America’s auto buyers. He has said he would redirect federal revenue recaptured from a canceled tax credit to build roads, bridges and dams. Ending the credits, which were a key provision of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, almost certainly would reduce EV sales, which have been growing in the United States this year, though not nearly as fast as automakers had expected. The slowing growth has forced nearly all auto companies to scale back EV production and delay construction of battery factories that are no longer needed to handle a more gradual transition. Jonathan Chariff, an executive at Midway Ford in Miami, one of the company's top EV-selling dealers, said he thinks ending the tax credits would severely hurt sales. The credits reduce monthly payments, he noted, making an EV closer in price to a gasoline counterpart. “It becomes more affordable,” he said. “Otherwise, those individuals won't be able to afford the payments.” Chariff calculated that the $7,500 credit could shrink a buyer's monthly payment by between $200 and $250, allowing many to afford an EV. On average, electric vehicles sell for about $57,000, compared with around $48,000 for a gasoline vehicle, according to Cox Automotive. (Though they cost more up front, EVs generally are cheaper to operate because maintenance costs are lower, and in most cases electricity is much cheaper than gasoline.) To qualify for the credits, EVs must be built in North America. EVs that contain battery parts or minerals from China or any other nation that is deemed an economic or security threat to the United States qualify for only half the federal credit. Because of that restriction, most of the 75 EV models on sale in the U.S. are not eligible for the full credit. All EVs, though, can receive the full credit toward a lease — a benefit that Trump likely will target. Some plug-in gas-electric hybrids qualify for the credits, too. Asked about the president-elect's opposition to EV tax credits, Trump's transition team would say only that he has “a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail.” Elon Musk, a close adviser to Trump and co-leader of a commission that intends to identify ways to vastly shrink the federal government, appears to be aligned with the president-elect in canceling the tax credits. Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla who spent an estimated $200 million to help elect Trump, has said that ending the credits would hurt his rival companies more than it would Tesla, the U.S. sales leader in EVs by far. “I think it would be devastating for our competitors and would hurt Tesla slightly,” he said. Even so, it might prove difficult for Trump to rescind the credits without help from the new Republican-led Congress, many of whose members represent districts where the EV credit is popular. Trump has floated the idea of using a constitutional theory by which a president could decide whether or not to spend money Congress has appropriated. The president-elect has promoted the concept of “impoundment,” under which congressional appropriations set a ceiling — but not a floor — for spending federal money. John Helveston, an assistant professor at George Washington University who studies electric vehicles and policies, said that in his view, the impoundment theory wouldn't apply in this circumstance because the EV tax credits affect government revenue and are not an appropriation. In any case, Helveston said he doubts Trump could persuade Republican lawmakers to remove the credits from the Inflation Reduction Act because so many congressional districts benefit from the tax breaks. “Cutting the EV tax credit makes it harder for the battery factory in their town to sell their product,” he noted. A 1974 federal law bars a president from substituting his own view of spending programs, said David Rapallo, associate law professor at Georgetown University. If Trump cancelled the tax credits, Rapallo said, it would be challenged in court. Research by J.D. Power shows that once people know about the tax credits, they're far more likely to consider an electric vehicle. In the meantime, federal subsides, not only for buyer tax credits but also for converting factories to EV production, are helping General Motors, Ford and Stellantis make the enormously expensive transition away from gasoline vehicles. It's also helping Detroit's Big Three compete with foreign rivals, notably Chinese automakers that received government subsidies and had a head start in developing EVs, said Sam Fiorani, a vice president at the consultancy AutoForecast Solutions. At present, Ford and GM, while profitable overall, are losing money on EVs, unlike Tesla, though both expect their electric-vehicle operations to generate positive earnings in the coming years as costs ease and more vehicles are sold. Eliminating the federal tax credits, Fiorani suggested, would “hurt the Detroit Three in the long run as they become less competitive against global players making the technological leaps” for electric vehicles, GM, Ford and Stellantis all declined to comment, though their executives have said in the past that they will continue to develop EVs while still selling gasoline vehicles and hybrids. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents most automakers, has written to Trump in support of the tax credits, arguing that they help ensure that the U.S. “continues to lead in manufacturing critical to our national and economic security.” Hyundai, the Korean automaker, which has spent more than $7 billion on an EV factory in Georgia, could also suffer. The company sped up construction of the huge plant near Savannah and is now building EVs in the United States to try to capitalize on the tax credits for buyers. In the end, most automakers say their ambitious plans for transitioning to electric vehicles won't change regardless of policy changes in Washington. “We plan for the long term, so political considerations aren’t a factor in how we approach product development or capital investments,” said David Christ, vice president of Toyota North America, which is building a battery factory in North Carolina. ____ AP writers Fatima Hussein in Washington and Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.OWINGS MILLS, MD, Nov. 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maryland Public Television (MPT) has launched its new Maryland Center for Media Literacy & Education (Center). The initiative and its mission were introduced during a livestreamed event on November 19 at the statewide public TV network’s Irene and Edward H. Kaplan Production Studio in Owings Mills, Maryland. The event recording is available for viewing at mpt.org/media-literacy . A major expansion of MPT’s long-standing Education Division, the Center will address the challenges and impacts of today’s media-saturated society and support the well-being of Maryland citizens. Its programs and resources on a variety of topics will empower individuals of all ages to navigate media in a complex digital world. The Center’s website is MarylandMediaLiteracy.org . Major funding support for the Maryland Center for Media Literacy & Education is being provided by the Sherman Family Foundation. Media literacy at every age is vital, notes the Center’s leadership. Social media is cited as a top source of news and information for adults and teenagers, with nearly half of teens ages 13-17 saying they are online “almost constantly.” In addition, research revealed that 55% of students are not confident in their ability to recognize false information online, 94% of teens say they want their schools to teach media literacy, and 69% of parents fear their children are sharing private information on social media without realizing it. On top of these findings, older adults reported losing more than $1.9 billion in online scams and digital fraud in 2023. “Over more than five decades, MPT’s education team has been a trusted partner in learning and convener in Maryland, which is why we’re well-positioned to spearhead this effort. We recognize media’s power to influence our perceptions, beliefs, and actions, and it’s more important than ever that everyone – from our youngest learners to our seniors – is equipped with healthy media habits,” explained Betsy Peisach, vice president, Maryland Center for Media Literacy & Education. “We’re committing the resources, expertise, and leadership over the long term to advance media literacy.” Serving as hosts for the Center’s November 19 launch event were Frank Sesno , former CNN anchor, correspondent, and Washington bureau chief, and current director of strategic initiatives and professor at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, and Kelsey Russell , a Gen Z national media literacy advocate and influencer with 100,000 TikTok followers. The program featured Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore , who spoke to the audience about the need for essential media literacy skills and the necessity for awareness of children’s digital media use. “For the past 55 years, MPT has helped build strong citizens from childhood to adulthood, and the Maryland Center for Media Literacy & Education will build on that legacy. I’m proud this new Center will be a guiding light for our kids and adults,” said Moore. “As first lady, the wellbeing of our children is one of my top priorities – and that’s why I will continue to work in partnership with MPT to uplift the future generations of Marylanders.” FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez and Sheppard Pratt President and CEO Dr. Harsh K. Trivedi took part in a conversation with Frank Sesno about the intersection of media literacy, technology, and mental health, and their impacts on individuals, families, and communities. “If you’re on social media more than three hours a day, that’s specifically correlated with higher rates of anxiety and depression. We’re seeing unprecedented mental health issues and problems from too much social media,” said Dr. Trivedi. “It’s really about making information accessible – like the wonderful things MPT does and this coalition can do – and coming out with tangible things that parents, kids, and educators can use to help to teach skills, change behavior, and impact mental health.” “What MPT is doing today to promote media literacy is important to make sure people can discern what is true and what is misinformation, disinformation, or mal-information,” said Gomez. “Remember, this is both a mental health issue and a public safety issue.” The one-hour program integrated videos about social media use and media literacy topics of importance to students at several grade levels. These videos were produced by students from Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie, Maryland, the DC International School in Washington, D.C., and Stevenson University in Owings Mills. The Maryland Center for Media Literacy & Education’s staff, advisors, and partners are developing and curating tools and resources to promote media literacy knowledge and best practices. This team will also create effective learning opportunities that teach media literacy and support informed choices. Among the Center’s initial primary resources and continuing professional development assets are – Media STEPs frameworks and curated partner resources specific to early learners , tweens and teens , and adults and seniors . Early Learning Media Ambassadors , who model best practices for teaching and learning with educational media in the early years. MPT uses a "train the trainers" model to develop media literacy ambassadors, equipping them with the tools to help children develop healthy habits to last a lifetime. In partnership with public libraries, ambassadors host free events, sharing media literacy tips and resources with families and educators in their communities. Maryland State Department of Education-approved media literacy courses for early childhood educators. A network of nine dedicated education professionals is instrumental in guiding the Center’s media literacy initiatives and advancing the movement statewide and beyond. The list of advisors is available at marylandmedialiteracy.org/advisors . (Statistic sources: Pew Research Center, 2022; News Literacy Project, 2022; C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll, 2021; News Literacy Project, May 2024; FTC Annual Report to Congress, 2024) # # # About Maryland Public Television Maryland Public Television (MPT) is a statewide, public-supported TV network and Public Broadcasting Service member offering entertaining, educational, and inspiring content delivered by traditional broadcasting and streaming on TVs, computers, and mobile devices. A state agency, it operates under the auspices of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission. MPT creates and distributes local, regional, and national content and is a frequent winner of regional Emmy® awards. MPT’s commitment to educators, parents, caregivers, and learners of all ages is delivered through its Maryland Center for Media Literacy and Education and Thinkport.org . MPT’s year-round community engagement activities connect viewers with resources on a wide range of topics. For more information visit mpt.org. Attachments Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore at MPT Interview during MPT's Maryland Center for Media Literacy & Education launch event Tom Williams Maryland Public Television 4105814031 tomwilliams@mpt.org
NDP will not support Liberal GST holiday bill unless rebate expanded: Singh
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official on Wednesday said at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that a number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could still grow. The U.S. believes that the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden has been briefed on the findings and that the White House “has made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” The Chinese embassy in Washington on Tuesday rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages on Wednesday.
Biden proposes new rule for weight-loss drugs to be covered by Medicare, Medicaid( MENAFN - AFP) Asia Stocks mostly fell in thin holiday trade on Monday after tech losses killed off the traditional year-end lift on Wall Street at the end of last week. The "Santa Claus rally" got off to a good start but US stocks then fell across the board on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the nasdaq both dropping more than one percent. Tech stocks led the way, with Elon Musk's electric car giant Tesla closing around five percent lower and AI chipmaker Nvidia shedding around two percent. Weighing on investor sentiment were worries about the pace of US interest rate cuts and possible higher import tariffs under incoming US president Donald Trump. "As US stock markets concluded with a downturn on Friday, Asia-Pacific markets are bracing for a slippery penultimate trading day of 2024," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. "With US (bond) yields climbing and liquidity essentially non-existent, there's always the potential for outsized moves. This comes during a critical phase of year-end rebalancing, intensified by hefty equity positions across portfolios," Innes said in a note. In Tokyo, the Nikkei was down 0.75 percent at 40,020.00 points on the last day of trading until January 6. The yen was little changed after hitting 158.08 against the dollar on Thursday, the lowest in almost six months. That came after Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda failed to give a clear signal on a possible interest rate increase next month. In Seoul, Jeju Air shares tumbled more than eight percent after one of its planes crashed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. South Korea's transport ministry said on Monday it was "reviewing plans to conduct a special inspection on (Boeing) B737-800 aircraft" after the crash. South Korea was also hit with further political turmoil, with authorities issuing an arrest warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon briefly imposed martial law this month and was then impeachment by parliament. Lawmakers also impeached his acting successor Han Duck-soo last week. Chinese stocks also opened lower on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.09 percent at 3,397.12. China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for manufacturing was due on Tuesday. The reading was expected to stay at 50.3, above the 50 line dividing expansion and contraction, according to Bloomberg. - Key figures around 0300 GMT - Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.75 percent at 40,020.00 points Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.40 percent at 20,001.00 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,397.12 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0423 from $1.0429 on Friday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2577 from $1.2579 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.82 yen from 157.89 yen Euro/pound: UP at 82.88 pence from 82.87 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP at $70.63 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP at $74.23 per barrel MENAFN29122024000143011026ID1109040187 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
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South Korean authorities seek warrant to detain impeached President Yoon in martial law probeSouth Korean authorities seek warrant to detain impeached president