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30 December 2022
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Europe’s first drone cargo airline. Dronamics

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Artists impression of the Black Swan drone

Looking very much like a conventional light aircraft but without a pilot’s cabin – this will be known as the Black Swan.

With a range of 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles), according to Dronamics, any EU-based transport center can be reached all over Western Europe.
A full-scale prototype of the drone should be in the air by the beginning of 2023, but smaller versions are already flying in Bulgaria.

To save money and remove trucks off the road, move a smaller consignment to a small airport near the recipient – that is the main reason why the drone was invented. Black Swan features a typical piston engine that consumes gasoline and is made of lightweight composite materials. The drone flies on long, fuel-efficient wings. This entire package will travel at the height of 20,000 feet, far above the majority of other passenger aircraft. In addition to experimenting out a new, synthetic aviation fuel that it believes will enable carbon-neutral flights, Dronamics views this height band as unoccupied airspace.

The Black Swan’s 350kg (770lb) cargo load is equivalent to that of a compact courier van. “Europe’s first drone cargo airline,” Black Swans will be run like an airline by Dronamics. It will charge by weight or charter by eliminating the expense and time required by vehicles that crisscross Europe to carry necessary supplies and parts. By uncrewed civil drone standards, the drone, Chapparal, is huge at nearly 8m (26ft) in width.

Due to its hybrid construction, the drone is not dependent on docking stations for electricity and can refill at current locations. Additionally, it consumes less fuel than a helicopter. It operates for a quarter of the cost of a helicopter and can carry 100 times the weight of a small UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). In terms of load, it is comparable to a small plane.

It’s unlikely that you’ll be placing an order for a flying drone delivery to your house any time soon. However, it appears that the demise of one vision of a drone has made room for the growth of a different, more realistic one.

Sources:

1)https://www.dronamics.com/

2)https://www.businessinsider.com/pilotless-cargo-aircraft-carry-770-pounds-freight-black-swan-photos-2022-12?IR=T

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16 December 2022
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Apps, Devices, Security

Why do you need a trusted device?

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To secure devices and the data they generate, store, and transmit from the chip all the way to data reaching the cloud, security must begin even before establishing the root of trust. By 2035, there are expected to be one trillion linked devices, yet security is still a major concern for many businesses and consumers that are considering IoT deployment. It is such a significant issue that some industry experts believe it could hinder IoT’s projected development and related economic benefits. According to study released by Bain & Company in October 2018, 45% of executives from surveyed organizations said that protecting IoT was their top concern.

A significant finding of the study was that customers would be ready to spend 22% more for secure devices and purchase 70% more of them. It also recognized device security as a critical component in protecting the data that these devices generate, store, and transfer. According to Bain, this would cause the market for IoT cybersecurity to increase from US$9 billion in 2018 to US$11 billion in 2020. In a September story regarding IoT security in The Economist, it was noted that Arm and Intel had taken steps to strengthen devices by incorporating security into their chips.

Clearly, the development of SIM technology, particularly the embedded SIM (eSIM) standard from the GSMA and the integrated SIM from Arm, will be crucial in assisting with the security of cellular IoT devices (iSIM). However, a poll of 650 executives revealed there is significant opposition to and a lack of awareness of them, as Vincent Korstanje, the vice president and general manager, Emerging Businesses at Arm, emphasized in August.

According to the poll, the three biggest barriers to major commercial eSIM deployments are resistance from established stakeholders (69% of respondents), the perception that eSIM deployment is difficult to deliver (40%), and worries about getting trapped into a contract (40%).

In addition, whereas 90% of respondents were familiar with eSIM, just 43% were familiar with iSIM technology. Mobile carriers, semiconductor and module producers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), IoT service providers, businesses, consultants, and SIM suppliers were among the responders.

The benefits of this strategy include increased security—partially due to the reduction of the attack surface to a single component—a lesser environmental impact and lower power requirements enabling cellular IoT device operation in off-grid settings at an affordable price.

Hackers who correctly predicted that the default usernames and passwords of the devices were unlikely to have been changed when they went into use and used them to carry out an organized attack on Dyn, the domain name server that maps browsers to websites, infected millions of IP surveillance cameras, printers, baby monitors, and other ostensibly innocent devices with the Mirai virus.
This is exactly why a trusted gadget produces trustworthy data.

Sources:

1)https://www.information-age.com/really-trust-trusted-devices-8664/

2)https://duo.com/blog/reducing-risk-to-the-enterprise-with-trusted-devices

3)https://patents.google.com/patent/JP4732508B2/en

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2 December 2022
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What about the need of processed food?

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Without food processing, it will be impossible to sustainably feed billions of people a healthy diet. People and the world cannot afford the growing resentment against processing.

The biodiversity is being badly harmed by processed meals. But despite the fact that the effects of current land use and food production techniques on biodiversity have garnered a lot of attention, the significance of ultra-processed meals has largely gone unnoticed.

The production, consumption, and cultivation of traditional foods, cuisines, and diets—which typically consist of mostly fresh and minimally processed foods—are threatened by an increasingly prevalent “globalized diet” characterized by an abundance of branded, ultra-processed food products made and distributed on an industrial scale.

The components used to make ultra-processed foods are typically derived from a small number of high-yielding plant species, such as maize, wheat, soy, and oil seed crops. Animals kept in confinement and fed the same crops are frequently the source of the animal-sourced ingredients included in many ultra-processed foods.

Numerous advantages of processed foods that we soon forget – exist. Iodized salt is just one example; iodine deficiency used to be widespread around the globe, increasing the incidence of stillbirths and miscarriages as well as causing severe IQ declines and impaired cognitive growth. Iodized salt is now consumed by the majority of people worldwide, and many nations have eradicated this shortage. We’ve been able to correct a number of other micronutrient shortages by adding nutrients to food.
Naturally, when people refer to “processed” food, they frequently mean ultra-processed food (UPF). These prepared meals and snacks are made to be more convenient and appetizing, and to have a longer shelf life.

It is true that consuming more food that has undergone extreme processing has been associated with negative health effects. It has been linked to a decrease in the ingestion of vital nutrients as vitamins C, D, and B12. We are more likely to be overweight or obese the more of these foods we consume. As a result, we are more likely to develop diseases including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It’s simple to consume too many ultra-processed foods.
The issue with the majority of UPFs is their higher calorie, sugar, and fat content. Additionally, they include less protein and fiber, two nutrients that help us feel full.

However, this is not a natural part of food processing. What corporations put into our food is important. If we demand it, companies can produce better food if they want to.
We must eat far less meat if we hope to achieve our global climate goals, stop deforestation, and safeguard species around the world. Compared to meat, plant foods and animal replacements utilize far less land, produce much less water pollution, and have much smaller carbon footprints. Compared to beef or lamb, the environmental cost can be 10 to 100 times cheaper.

The variety of plant species that are available for human consumption will continue to be under strain due to the extremely rapid rise of ultra-processed foods in human diets. The devastation of agrobiodiversity brought on by ultra-processed foods must be highlighted in upcoming global food systems forums, biodiversity conventions, and climate change conferences, and solutions must be agreed upon. This process requires the participation of relevant politicians at all levels, researchers, professional and civil society organizations, and citizen action groups.

Sources:

1)https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/3/e008269

2)https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2022/october/features/should-we-eat-more-processed-foods

3)https://www.reuters.com/technology/processed-food

4)https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/ultraprocessed-foods-what-they-are-and-how-to-identify-them/E6D744D714B1FF09D5BCA3E74D53A185

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18 November 2022
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Business

TrinoXO Tee made of recycled crab. Yes, you read that right.

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Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger co-founded Allbirds in 2016 to create an eco-friendly brand of apparel. “Fashion doesn’t need more things, it needs better things,” Brown said to Vogue.

The most recent material breakthrough, XO, preserves tees for longer without the use of extractive metals like silver or zinc. It is a byproduct of the seafood business and is created from Canadian crab shells, but when spun into fiber, it acquires the property of naturally combating odors. Because of this, tees need fewer washings, which is good for the environment.

TrinoXO is the brand’s exclusive eco-knit, which is composed of 65% Tencel and 30% merino wool. It costs more than those cotton five-packs from big-box stores ($48 and $58, respectively), but considering how very light and breathable it is, how well it reduces odors, and how ecologically friendly it is – the premium is worthwhile. Along with the fundamental neutrals like off-white and black, the distinctive hues range from terracotta to misty grey.

Although the TrinoXO does contain chitosan, a fiber extracted from snow crab shells, a company representative assured customers with shellfish allergies that this shouldn’t be a cause for concern as chitosan doesn’t contain the protein that causes allergic reactions and has been used safely in food and medical settings. Even though we have faith in Allbirds’ capacity to use innovative and eco-friendly materials, chitosan makes up only 5% of the TrinoXO T-shirt overall and appears to have been used purely for its capacity to lessen odor.

Crabyon

Since 40% of a crab’s mass is made up of meat, six to eight million tons of waste crab, shrimp, and lobster shells are produced annually worldwide. These shells from waste materials are either disposed of in landfills or removed through waste management, which is expensive and unattractive to producers. Only a few thousand tons of the approximately 150,000 tons of useable chitin that can be found in crab shells each year are actually exploited for commercial purposes.

In April 2019, Allbirds achieved carbon neutrality through self-taxing and funding carbon offset initiatives. Investing, as an illustration, in the advancement of wind energy

The company hopes to actively reduce carbon emissions in the environment by 2025 and make all of its apparel using carbon-neutral methods. Allbirds employs resources like sugar, castor bean oil, recycled water bottles, wool, wood, recycled cardboard, and recycled nylon in addition to crab shells.

Additionally, it developed and released a technology for tagging carbon footprints. Every product has a grade that estimates its carbon impact for the consumer.

BY THE NUMBERS:

  • 7.1 kg carbon footprint
  • 100% carbon neutral
  • 20% lower carbon footprint than standard cotton or polyester t-shirt
  • 100% FSC-certified eucalyptus tree fiber

Resources:

https://www.surfacemag.com/design-dose/product/allbirds-trinoxo-tee

https://www.insider.com/guides/style/allbirds-tshirt-review

https://www.allbirds.eu/

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4 November 2022
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The datafication of our world

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Data has become the central focus of our time. Everything around us can now be measured, recorded, and analysed thanks to modern technology. Additionally, it creates a whole new universe of opportunities for businesses to take advantage of. Datafication is the most recent in a line of customer-focused, data-driven business intelligence techniques that are currently reshaping the entire business environment.

For many years, the only tech titan in the top ten list of most valuable firms was Microsoft; today, Apple, Google, and Amazon share the honor. Why then are technology businesses outperforming the rest of the economy by such a wide margin? The solution is data. The new infrastructure and the new promised land are data. History demonstrates that data is simply doing what computing, steam, and electricity did before it—it is fostering innovation, scientific discoveries, and improvements to our world.

The widespread and integrated use of computer, telecom, and chip technology in most facets of our societies and daily lives has resulted in this phenomenon. Local governments have already begun to digitize, and Smart Cities are quickly gaining favor. This smart revolution in cities has great promise for tackling even the most difficult issues.

It is time for the e-government community, which consists of government employees, academia, and business, to change the focus from digitalization present to datafication future. In this approach, governments can ensure that the increasingly digital society is a better place for everyone by preparing for their new position in it.

We are in extraordinary times. Computers and widespread Internet connectivity transformed how we live today as the industrial age came to an end. Almost everyone creates data on a computer that is connected to the Internet. Additionally, the number of data-generating gadgets is always increasing.

The biggest winners in this situation are businesses, but in some areas, the government also benefits from ongoing surveillance. If the data itself isn’t the issue, we should always consider whether datafication may be made even more considerate of specific consumers. Although the idea of datafication may terrify some of us, properly handled datasets (by legal requirements, security precautions, and work ethics) could usher in a new era of less intrusive advertising and more customer-friendly services across a wider range of industries, as each experience could be enhanced thanks to the thousands of records amassed (as opposed to decades on the market). And in which brand name and size will no longer be important considerations when picking a supplier.

Check your databases right away if you don’t want to get left behind when the datafication comes.

References:

https://www.airswift.com/blog/datafication

https://medium.com/@uniworktat/the-datafication-of-contemporary-world-c522d585b280

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-32001-4_332-1

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