Technology

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business LG Electronics is demonstrating its commitment to gaming technology with the announcement of its new UltraGear monitors at IFA 2018 in Berlin this week. The monitors take immersion to a new level thanks to their powerful performance, superb picture quality and speedy refresh rate. These factors combine with the UltraWide 21:9 screen and stylish design to ...

Bloomberg Nikon Corp. unveiled its first full-frame mirrorless cameras, seeking to make up lost ground against Sony Corp. in the professional photography market. The new Nikon Z7 and Z6 devices will feature new lenses and lens mount, and will be lighter than the current pro-grade cameras, the company said. The 440,000 yen ($4,000) Z7, which will have a 45.7 megapixel ...

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG mapped out details of its transformation from a mass manufacturer of cars to a provider of transportation services by unveiling a car-sharing service and promising digital acquisitions as part of a $4 billion push into next-generation automobiles. The plan will kick off in Berlin, where the manufacturer will put 2,000 all-electric vehicles on the road by the ...

Bloomberg The slide in Meitu Inc.’s shares makes for grim viewing. The company behind a photo-retouching app used by hundreds of millions tumbled 13 percent, the most in five months. That came after Meitu posted a first-half loss of $19 million and said it would “de-emphasize net profit generation” until it transformed into a social media platform. The shares fell ...

Bloomberg The next battleground for replacing fossil fuel-guzzling vehicles will be US interstate highways, where long-haul trucks keep the economy moving. Electric trucks are coming, and they’ll be cleaner and cheaper to operate than conventional models that burn diesel, according to Tesla Inc., which already has prototypes on the road. Diesel advocates say range and recharging will be bigger hurdles ...