Reuters

March 3, 2016

Google’s self-driving car team beefs up auto experience

This post was originally published on this site Google’s self-driving car team is expanding and hiring more people with automotive industry expertise, underscoring the company’s determination to move the division past the experimental stage. The operation now employs at least 170 workers, according to a Reuters review of their profiles on LinkedIn, the business-oriented social network. Many are software and systems engineers, and some come from other departments at Google. More than 40 of the employees listed on LinkedIn have previous automotive industry experience, with skills ranging from exterior design to manufacturing. They hail from a wide range of companies, […]
March 3, 2016

Indian phone maker Micromax’s CEO quits amid falling sales

This post was originally published on this site An employee stands at the counter of Micromax mobile phones at a showroom in New Delhi December 6, 2013. Reuters/Adnan Abidi/Files India’s second-largest phonemaker Micromax said on Thursday Chief Executive Vineet Taneja has left the company to “pursue other opportunities”, at a time when the company grapples with falling sales as cheaper Chinese rivals flood the market. Micromax, which has grown rapidly since 2008 by selling low-cost smartphones, saw shipments falling 12.1 percent in the last quarter of 2015 compared with a growth of 15.4 percent for the industry, data from industry […]
March 3, 2016

France, Britain agree to invest 2 billion euros in drone prototype project

This post was originally published on this site (L-R) French State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault … Reuters/Philippe Wojazer France and Britain have agreed to invest 2 billion euros in a project to build a next-generation multi-role drone with a view to making it operational after 2030, the two countries said in a statement on Thursday. “This program … will be based on a multi-role drone platform that could serve as a basis […]
March 3, 2016

Google to unveil J.J. Abrams’ Lunar X Prize documentaries

This post was originally published on this site Having mastered fictional renderings of spaceflight, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” director J.J. Abrams has turned his attention to a real space drama, with a series of Web-based documentaries about a Google-backed race to the moon. Produced by Abrams and directed by documentary filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel (“Virunga”), the series chronicles some of the 16 teams vying for $30 million in prizes for landing and operating a privately developed robotic spacecraft on the moon before Dec. 31, 2017. “The teams … range from Silicon Valley tech experts, to hackers in Germany, to […]