Industrial News

Dutch financial giant ING and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) have selected five promising local fintech startups that will receive fresh funding and mentorship under their joint program that scouts for ground-breaking and scalable solutions that will benefit the financially excluded and hardest-to-reach communities. Agriculture marketplace provider Agrabah, remittance platform provider BeamAndGo, education technology firm Educ4All, microinsurance provider Reach52 and microinsurance enabler Saphron qualified for ING Bank and Unicef’s “Fintech for Impact” program. “In the Philippines, over nine million children live below the poverty line. They not only suffer from poor health and nutrition but also miss out on [...]

Semiconductors, also known as microchips and integrated circuits (ICs), are essential components in every electronics product, whether it be a simple remote control unit for changing channels on the television, or a supercomputer used to simulate weather patterns. While chips themselves are resilient, made to handle extreme temperatures, vibrations and other external shocks, the global semiconductor supply chain is relatively fragile, prone to disruptions from natural and man-made shocks. The supply of chips cannot be turned on and off with a switch. Multibillion-dollar wafer fabrication plants are finely tuned and run 24/7, 365 days a year. Changing the production line [...]

When we first learned that Honda was looking at replacing the Jazz (international name: Fit) in the Philippine market, we felt it was a shame. Honda had just premiered a new generation Jazz/Fit which included a crossover-inspired variant at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. Now the news is official: Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) has just announced that they are discontinuing the Jazz for our market. The Jazz was first launched in the Philippines in July 2004, meaning the nameplate is about to celebrate its 17th birthday in our market. Internationally, the Jazz/Fit will be turning 20 as it was first launched [...]

Yamaha Motor Philippines (YMPH) has formally opened its second assembly plant at the Lima Technology Center (LTC) in Malvar, Batangas. This event signals the start of local manufacturing of the best-selling NMax 155. Former congresswoman Charito Plaza, now director-general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, joined YMPH president Hiroshi Koike to witness the ceremonial roll-out of the first NMax from the new assembly line. “This is really a gesture of support that Yamaha has provided the Philippine Economic Zone Authority,” says Plaza. The new facility was originally scheduled to open in August last year, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In all, it has created some [...]

Apple Inc has partnered with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to develop micro OLED displays, which it plans to use in its upcoming augmented reality (AR) devices, Nikkei Asia reported on Wednesday. Apple is collaborating with TSMC, the sole supplier of iPhone processors, as micro OLED displays are far thinner, smaller and use less power, making them more suitable for use in wearable AR devices, the report said. The displays under development are less than 1 inch in size, Nikkei added. Bloomberg News in January reported that Apple was still working on underlying technologies for its AR glasses, codenamed N421. It [...]

A group of lawmakers is asking the Biden administration to intervene in what has become a global computer chip shortage. "We believe that the incoming administration can continue to play a helpful role in alleviating the worst impacts of the shortage on American workers," the senators wrote in a letter. So what's going on? Automakers and consumer electronics companies are vying for computer chips These chips have become a crucial part of the supply chain. Car companies like Ford use them to power the modern-day technology in their vehicles — the engine, Bluetooth capabilities, seat systems, collision and blind-spot detection, transmissions, WiFi, and video [...]

Swedish motorcycle manufacturer, Husqvarna, has been selling its street motorcycles in KTM dealerships around the country for nearly a month now. Consisting of 3 models, Husqvarna’s lineup is composed of the Vitpilen 401, Svartpilen 401, and the Svartpilen 200. Unlike its sister company, KTM’s edgy and sharp two-wheelers, Husqvarna's lineup gives a more retro and sophisticated aesthetic to would-be customers. That said, the Ayala Corporation has finally made it official that they will be taking the helm of Husqvarna's operations in the country. This comes as no surprise, as the conglomerate in 2017, inaugurated the first KTM manufacturing plant in the country, located in [...]

MANILA -- Nissan Motor will end its assembly operations in the Philippines in March as part of efforts to restructure its regional operations, the Japanese automaker said on Thursday. Nissan's move comes as automakers in the country struggle to keep business humming amid the pandemic. Car sales in the Philippines fell 40% last year to 223,973 vehicles. Nissan will terminate operations of its Almera assembly line in Laguna Province, south of Manila, upon the expiration of its contract with its local partner, the company said. While Nissan's assembly plant employs only 133 people, the automaker's decision is a blow to [...]

X-ray imaging with AI The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has demonstrated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the process of reconstructing images from coherent X-ray scattering data. Argonne’s technology, called PtychoNN, combines an X-ray imaging technique called ptychography with a neural network. This in turn enables researchers to decode X-ray images faster, which could aid in innovations like medicine, materials and energy. Ptychography is a lensless, X-ray coherent imaging technique. In a system, this technique generates X-ray images of a sample. This is done by diffracting or scattering a beam on a sample. The beam bounces [...]

Semiconductor companies are asking their customers for patience as the industry works through a sharp increase in demand from makers of everything from cars to consumer electronics. The chip shortage has caused prices to rise for certain semiconductors, delays in filling orders and auto makers to idle factories. If the problems persist, consumers may see delays in getting new cars and some electronic devices, and possibly higher prices. There is no quick fix to the situation, either. Adding new chip-making machinery can be expensive and slow, and some of the deepest supply problems are taking place with older production lines [...]