Displaying items by tag: Abu Dhabi

UAE based satellite operator Yahsat announced the successful trial of a 50Mbps in-flight connection that will change the way passengers experience air travel. The result of a unique partnership between Yahsat, du, Etihad Airways Engineering, Hughes Network Systems and Carlisle Interconnect, the high-speed broadband offering will be available for airlines to offer its passengers within the next year.

Using Yahsat’s Al Yah 2 satellite, and the latest generation Ka-band technology, the test took place in Abu Dhabi, simulating the environment found on an Airbus A320 aircraft. This new level of performance for in-flight connectivity (IFC) will mean passengers have an in-flight browsing experience similar to the service available in their home or office, including access to HD streaming content, social media, online shopping and the ability to connect with friends and family via messaging apps.

"We are incredibly proud to have brought together leading Emirati and global companies to achieve this milestone,” said Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Chief Executive Officer of Yahsat. “It paves the way for Yahsat to bring further breakthrough technologies to the markets and segments it serves, adding another key pillar to Yahsat’s portfolio of market leading services and solutions.”

Following this successful test, selected guests will be invited to experience the ultra- fast connectivity for themselves, onboard an Etihad Airways Flying Testbed Airbus A320 aircraft at the Dubai Airshow taking place from the 12th to 16th of November. Subsequently, Yahsat and its partners plan to execute the key next steps over the coming year to rollout the solution to commercial airliners across the Middle East, and beyond.

Saleem Al Blooshi, Chief Infrastructure Officer at du said the operator’s partnership with Yahsat is a “testament to our commitment towards adding life to life through innovative new technologies, and we are pleased to be a part of such a monumental step in aviation history. This partnership will allow us to establish the necessary infrastructure needed to keep passengers comfortably connected in the air through the latest and most advanced in-flight connectivity.”

Al Blooshi added, “We believe that together we will set the benchmark for high speed WiFi in the air and we look forward to enhancing our customer experiences like never before. Furthermore, we are introducing our state of the art Data Analytics as well as our Backend systems to this innovative In-Flight WiFi which enables the Airline Industry to use such analytics of the user behavior to enhance even further the customer experiences on board airplanes.”

US electrical car maker Tesla has launched its services in the UAE - following an official announcement by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk at the World Government Summit. Tesla has initiated operations in Dubai, and also disclosed plans to open a shop and service station in Abu Dhabi next year.

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk revealed that he planned to invest millions in the UAE on infrastructure including recharging stations - predicting that in the next twelve months consumers will be able to drive anywhere with an electric vehicle. Musk said, "We expect to invest tens of millions of dollars in the UAE for charging, service, and support infrastructure. By next year, you'll be able to travel anywhere in the GCC with an electric vehicle."

Musk believes the biggest challenge facing Tesla is trying to persuade car buyers to switch from petrol to electric, but is excited about expanding operations in the UAE. That said - orders have already started for Tesla's Model S sedan and Model X SUV, which are expected to be delivered this summer. Prices start from Dh275,000 for the Model S and Dh344,000 for the X.

A pop-up shop will be launched in Dubai Mall, a Tesla Ranger support center and service center will be erected near Interchange 2 of Sheikh Zayed Road, which is due to be open in July.

Chairman of the World Government Summit, Mohammad Abdulla Algerawi, then conducted an interview with Tesla's CEO on stage at the World Government Summit - in what was a captivating, thought provoking and ultimately fascinating experience for the large audience assembled to hear the thoughts of the tech visionary.

Musk outlined his vision for his organizations Tesla and SpaceX - and claimed that mass adoption of autonomous vehicles by car manufacturers was going to happen much quicker than people expect.

Musk said: "My guess is that in probably about ten years it will be very unusual for cars to be built that aren't fully autonomous. Almost all cars that will be produced will be capable of full autonomy in about ten years. Tesla cars that are made today have the sensor system necessary for full autonomy and we think probably enough compute power to be safer than a person."

The Chairman of the World Government Summit recalled the time when he first met with Musk at his office in SpaceX in July, 2015, and queried if he had plans to have a presence in the UAE, at that time Musk responded by saying, 'I'm busy in China, so not in the near future'. But in eighteen months he has made the decision to expand to the UAE - so why did the Tesla CEO make the move?

Musk said, "Well things are going reasonably well in China, we had some initial challenges figuring our charging and service infrastructure and various other things, but now it's going very well - so the timing appeared to be good to really make a significant debut in this region starting in Dubai."

When asked what's next in technology, Musk said the most near term impact from a technology standpoint is autonomous cars. Musk said: "It's going to happen much faster than people realize and it's going to be a great convenience to have an autonomous car, but there are many people whose job is to drive - in fact it might be the single largest employer of people is driving in various forms. So we need to figure out new roles for what do those people, but it will be very disruptive and quick."

Musk also added later in the conversation that he fully believes that in the future there will be a Universal Basic Income - simply because he feels there will be very few jobs we can do that can't be done better by a robot.

A futuristic car which transforms into a robot is set to be unveiled at an exhibition that takes place at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi on November 23rd. The creation is the brainchild of Turkish company Letvision which have created this ‘auto-bot’ which has been named the Antimon. It is a red BMW E92 that turns into a robot in approximately 30 seconds.

It is the star attraction at ‘The Big Boys Toys’ exhibition that will allow fans of the Hollywood blockbuster Transformers see a car morph into a robot in front of their own eyes. However, the car does not come cheap – if you wish to purchase this futuristic mean machine it will cost you an eye-watering $600,000. Bids will begin at $600,000 which was the original cost of the car, but it is expected to go for more than that at auction.

The car was designed and developed by a skilled team of engineers – with twelve engineers and four technicians working on the innovative project over a period of eight months, and it will be won’t be the last as the company plan on developing 300 such cars per year - that will have more features and technology.

Those considering purchasing the vehicle with aspirations of test driving it on Sheikh Zayed Road will be ultimately left disappointed as the Antimon is remote-controlled – with no seats inside with a maximum speed of 20kph. But let’s not forget that Optimus Prime, sorry the Antimon turns from a car into a robot!

A spokesman for Letvision confirmed that there will be eleven cars joining the fleet in the forthcoming months. “Since it’s the first of its kind, we will auction Antimon to any buyer who wants to be the owner of the world’s first transformer. “Bids will start at $600,000, which is the original cost of the car, but there will be eleven more cars being made in the next number of months.”