Technology

In a world of robots, carmakers hiring more humans

Bloomberg Car-industry employees concerned that robots will put them out of work needn’t worry — at least for now. Of the 13 publicly traded automakers with at least 100,000 workers at the end of their most-recent fiscal year, 11 had more staff compared with year-end 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Combined, they had 3.1 million employees, or 11 ...

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New iPhone: largest screens, cheaper models

Bloomberg Apple Inc. debuted a trio of iPhones, holding fast to what’s now a familiar strategy: getting new buyers to pay higher prices and gobble up more services, like storage and entertainment, as smartphone market growth slows. The iPhone Xs, starting at $999, succeeds last year’s flagship model with a faster A12 processor and updated cameras. The iPhone Xs Max ...

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Uber to invest over $150mn in Toronto driverless car hub

Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. said it will spend more than $150 million in Toronto to support driverless car research. The five-year investment includes opening an engineering hub in Canada’s biggest city in early 2019 and an expansion of its Advanced Technologies Group, the unit that’s developing much of the company’s autonomous vehicle technology. Last year, Uber began building an artificial ...

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Toyota ready to share hybrid-car secrets with China

Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. is preparing to divulge details of the hybrid-car engine technology it pioneered with the Prius to China in an attempt to catch up with rivals in the world’s biggest auto market. Chinese officials asked Toyota to share its gasoline-electric technology to help local companies meet stricter emissions targets, people familiar with the matter said, asking not ...

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Canon joins Sony, Nikon in mirror-less camera battle

Bloomberg Canon Inc. is finally entering the full-frame mirrorless camera market, joining Sony Corp. and Nikon Corp. in a new battleground for professional-grade camera equipment. The Japanese electronics giant will begin selling in late October the EOS R for 237,500 yen ($2,130), a price tag targeted at professionals and enthusiasts. It aims to move 20,000 units a month. Canon is ...

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Lockheed’s $2 million drone race pits human versus machine

Bloomberg In a modern-day version of John Henry taking on a steam drill, Lockheed Martin Corp. is pitting human pilots against artificial intelligence in a $2 million drone race. The catch is that the computer-driven drones can’t be pre-programmed for the route or rely on human intervention. They must depend only on artificial intelligence and self-learning to navigate obstacle-filled racecourses ...

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Facebook makes content deals for ‘watch’ product

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. is launching Watch, its video rival to YouTube, internationally and expanding the financial incentives that encourage people to share their content there. Video makers in five countries will be eligible to take a percentage of the ad revenue that comes from their content around the world as long as their videos on Watch are popular enough and ...

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Uber, Boeing enlisted to help Japan develop flying cars

Bloomberg Japan is making a push to develop flying cars, enlisting companies including Uber Technologies Inc. and Boeing Co. in a government-led group to bring airborne vehicles to the country in the next decade. The group will initially comprise 21 businesses and organizations, including Airbus SE, NEC Corp., a Toyota Motor Corp.-backed startup called Cartivator, ANA Holdings Inc., Japan Airlines ...

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Toyota doubles down on self-driving cars

Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. is investing $500 million more in Uber Technologies Inc., underscoring the Japanese automaker’s efforts to catch up on self-driving technology as General Motors Co. and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo lead the race to upend the industry. As part of the accord announced recently, Toyota plans to manufacture Sienna minivans loaded with Uber’s software, with testing slated to ...

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DJI’s Phantom drones may be blocked from US in trade spat

Bloomberg The world’s biggest maker of civilian drones could see its products shut out of the US market after a patent-infringement complaint was filed by smaller rival. SZ DJI Technology Co., a manufacturer of popular hobbyist and commercial drones including the Phantom and Mavic series, is being challenged by Autel Robotics Co. The dispute is over unmanned vehicles used for ...

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