Located in the Ebina Center, this facility, dubbed Future Edge, will also devote to demonstrate enhancing productivity of print operations and the fruits of work-style reforms. Future Edge will serve as the hub in cooperating with other Fuji Xerox facilities inside and outside Japan as in the hub-and-spoke structure.

Upholding its new value proposition strategySmart Work Innovation, Fuji Xerox provides three values: Liberate from Restraints, Open Professional Expertise, and Transform to Creative Work-style. Future Edge is a place that embodies these values in the field of print communication, instead of being just a showroom displaying devices and related software.

With advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence(AI), and robotic process automation (RPA), Future Edge will also aim to demonstrate how these technologies can contribute to enhancing the productivity of print operations and reforming workstyles by enabling people to grasp the state of print jobs remotely and automating workflows that have so far required human labor.

With approximately 7,000 square meters of space, this facility has the entire lineup of Fuji Xerox production printers, related software /services, as well as FUJIFILM Corporation’s inkjet digital press Jet Press 720S and print workflow system FUJIFILM WORKFLOW XMF under one roof, to maximize the business synergy of the Fujifilm Group. The facility will also further accelerate collaboration with partners and innovators both in Japan and abroad, to continue introducing cutting-edge systems and expertise. By locating inside the Ebina Center, a base for Fuji Xerox’s technology development, the facility allows not only sales personnel and systems engineers, but also development engineers, manufacturing personnel and Fuji Xerox’s partners to work directly with customers to address challenges and verifications.

To create more added value upon the print value chain, Fuji Xerox believes that under the concept of Smile Curve (illustrated on the right), it is important to connect all processes seamlessly, from upstream creative and printing processes to downstream tail-end and delivery processes.

Main components of Future Edge

Future Edge comprises the Smile Garden—a place to offer experience with, and verify, communication-related ideas and systems—, and the Smart Factory—a place to clarify various needs for digital printing deriving from such ideas and systems and demonstrate seamless processing and delivery.

[Smile Garden]

The Smile Garden is a place to consider ways of communication in a community of diverse people and explore desirable business models together with customers.With constantly upgraded systems useful for establishing better communications based on a wide variety of applications and cloud services, this section aims to develop hypotheses about new business models together with customers by holding workshops featuring hands-on experiences. In addition, open innovation events will be held here to find business seeds leading to technological innovations by recruiting participants from the outside to brainstorm ideas.

[Smart Factory]

The Smart Factory offers experience with, and demonstrates, productivity reforms in a future printing factory. Productivity can be enhanced by visualizing the entire print workflow with the latest technologies, utilizing various digital presses and post-print processing systems installed here.Digital contents created at the Smile Garden are sent to the Smart Factory—which represents the production process on the Smile Curve—to produce and process printed matters per various uses.The Smart Factory aims to build a system for delivering completed products to people who need them on time to the right place in the right form. To that end, Fuji Xerox and Fujifilm collaborate to provide an integrated printing workflow consisting of digital and offset printing for seamless workflow straight from upstream to downstream processes.

The increasingly diversifying preferences and values of people due to changes in the social environment and globalization require more diverse communication means. To make agile and flexible digital printing prove its usefulness in a more definitive manner, it is necessary to create a system that reflects the diversity of values by adapting to advanced multi-item, small-lot production. Future Edge will engage in communication business transformation in the entire print value chain, from upstream processes in which communication contents are produced via production processes, to downstream processes in which contents are delivered on time to the right place in the right form.

As a pioneer in the field of graphic communications^Note, Fuji Xerox together with Fujifilm, customers and partners will endeavor to open up the future of multifaceted communication, and will contribute to the promotion of better mutual understanding in a digital society and the enhancement of customers’ business competitiveness.

Organised by Hubba Co Ltd, a startup facilitator, the 10,000-delegate event is being held at the Centara Grand at CentralWorld until tomorrow (Saturday).

Held in Bangkok for the third year, attendance has almost doubled from last year’s 5,500 delegates with more than 10,300 tickets sold this year.

Amarit Charoenphan, CEO of Hubba, said: “More than 300 startups are being showcased and some 300 international speakers are attending, including the founder of [cryptocurrency] Ethereum, Joseph Lubin, the CEO of Techstars, David Brown, and the founder of Global Innovation Catalyst, Kamran Elahian.

“Our purpose is to bring together the very best and the brightest in the new economy to share their ideas and successes for the benefit of the wider community and to stimulate collaboration, partnerships and joint endeavours that will accelerate progress in every field of human endeavour.”

Charle Charoenphan, co-founder of Hubba, added: “We have speakers and discussion groups at every level and covering everything from fintech to AI to blockchain and cryptocurrencies and health tech. We’ve put everything and everyone together into the pot: it’s the best way to make a great sauce.”

Currently the vast majority of revenue at the Google-owned service comes from advertising and that will remain a focus, said Neal Mohan, YouTube’s chief products officer.

“But we also want to think beyond ads. Creators should have as many ways and opportunities to make money as possible,” he said.

Viewers will pay $4.99 a month for channel memberships giving them access to exclusive content including livestreams, extra videos or shout-outs on channels with more than 100,000 subscribers.

Creators will also be able to sell merchandise like shirts or phone cases directly on their channels, the company said.

YouTube returns a small part of its advertising revenue to content creators who regularly accuse the platform of giving them only crumbs.

The site is facing increasing competition from other platforms using more and more video.

YouTube says it has more than 1.9 billion users but the figure only counts those who log in via their accounts.

Customers of the US tech giant had complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after an operating system update disabled their devices in a global issue known as “error 53”.

The users were told by Apple that they were not eligible for a remedy if the iPhone or iPad had been repaired by another company.

The ACCC took Apple to the Federal Court last year over allegedly false or misleading representations to customers with faulty iPhones and iPads about their rights under the law.

“If a product is faulty, customers are legally entitled to a repair or a replacement under the Australian Consumer Law, and sometimes even a refund,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said in a statement.

“The court declared the mere fact that an iPhone or iPad had been repaired by someone other than Apple did not, and could not, result in the consumer guarantees ceasing to apply, or the consumer’s right to a remedy being extinguished.”

Apple admitted misleading at least 275 Australian customers over the issue between February 2015 to February 2016 on its US website, by its Australian store staff and on its customer service phone calls.

The consumer watchdog said Apple had also committed to providing new devices as replacements, after allegations that the company was giving customers refurbished goods instead after a device suffered a major failure.

Apple said Tuesday that it had “very productive conversations with the ACCC” over the issue and vowed to offer its Australian users “excellent service”.

It has previously described the error as appearing “when a device fails a security test” and released an operating system update to fix the issue.

1 MoonBot kit from MORPX is an artificial intelligence robot for kids that can be used to assemble modules into different forms and application scenarios. With the world’s leadฌing visual recognition technology, it can identify objects and interact with its users.

2 Kenzen, a pioneer in next-generation wearables for precision health, is now developing a health analytics platform that predicts and prevents avoidable injuries and illness using sweat analysis. It takes a noninvasive approach via the Kenzen Patch, a small, flexible wearable that adheres comfortably to the skin.

3 The first truly professional underwater robot, FIFISH P3 offers unparalleled performance for capturing underwater footage. It features a one-inch CMOS sensor capable of capturing 4K footage at a 162-degree field of view. It helps users discover the underฌwater world. The robot is developed by Shenzhen Qysea Technology.

4 The Dreamlight Sleep Mask from Dreamlight is more than a sleep mask, offering a sleep-aid system that uses lighting, sound and genetics to help people fall asleep faster and wake up with more energy.

5 Paperang Meow Meow developed by Xiamen Paperang Technology, is a handheld ink-free mobile printer that in addition to printing documents or photos, can also recognise and interpret text, or take and enlarge images with the Bluetooth-controlled app. It offers 200dpi resolution and the ability to print 40 metres of paper on a single charge. It is a truly mobile solution for those on the go.

6 Super Cruise intelligent-driving system from Cadillac is the industry’s first truly intelligent hands-free driving solution that can be used at highway speeds. It uses a unique system to keep the driver’s attention and high-precision map data to guarantee driver safety and vehicle operation. It is combined with onboard cameras and radar sensors.

7 PEGASI Smart Glasses from Shenzhen Qianhai Icecold IT uses both biometric and artificial intelligence technologies. Acting as a form of deep-sleep therapy, Pegasi glasses help improve the quality of sleep. A unique blue light emitted from the glasses affects the wearer’s secretion of melatonin and cortisol. During the day, the blue light decreases melatonin and increases cortisol. It helps improve sleep quality and reduces jet lag.

8 Zhejiang Detu Network hit the mark with DETU MAX, the world’s first AIpowered 12K professional-grade 3D VR panoramic camera, bringing revolutionary high-definition and true 3D VR panoramic images to elevate the user’s photos to a new level.

9 Lynx Routes Tmall Router developed by Alibaba AI Labs is a consumer-grade intelligent routing terminal powered by Alibaba’s years of enterprise-class network technology.

10 NeuroChat’s Neurocgat, is the first specialised social network in the world, working on the basis of a brain-computer interface. The unique technological breakthrough allows people with severe speech and movement disorders to communicate with each other, relatives, medical staff and the whole world.

Parent company Snap said people will be able to use Snapchat credentials to sign into apps the way they might do using Facebook or Google credentials, while strictly limiting access to personal data or activity tracking.

The software kit will also allow free Snapchat features such as filters, stories or “Bitmojis” to appear in other applications, according to the California-based firm.

The kit, aimed at making Snapchat more ubiquitous in the world of smartphone apps, was built with privacy as a priority, Snap vice president of product Jacob Andreou told AFP.

“We did not want to lower privacy expectations,” Andreou said.

The move comes as Facebook deals with aftershocks of a data privacy scandal that rocked the leading online social network.

Facebook admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by British consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.

The firm, which was working for US President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, has since declared bankruptcy.

Snap committed to making the kit well before the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica getting data about users from a psychological research app.

Facebook has since been hammered with criticism for not guarding more carefully user data collected by apps synched to the social network.

‘Snappening’ lessons

Snapchat sign-ins to other apps will use nicknames and “Bitmoji” avatars instead of personal data from profiles, according to the company. Snap also vowed to carefully scrutinize what applications do with the new software tools.

Snap deputy general counsel Katherine Tassi said that the service learned from an incident nearly four years ago when a huge trove of evidently intercepted Snapchat images and videos were exposed online.

In what was referred to in late 2014 as “The Snappening,” people who used a third-party program instead of the official Snapchat application had copies of supposedly transient missives squirreled away by hackers who then posted them online.

Snap wanted to “make sure that we build security and privacy into the design” when creating the kit for outside developers, according to Tassi.

Snap has been modifying the app, sometimes to the chagrin of users, in the name of broadening the appeal of the youth-oriented service.

“We are now focused on optimizing the redesign based on our ongoing experimentation and learning,” Snap co-founder and chief executive Evan Spiegel said last month during an earnings call with analysts.

Users had complained about an abrupt overhaul of the service late last year.

Snapchat rocketed to popularity, especially among teens, after the initial app was released in September 2011. Created by then Stanford University students, the app allows the sending of messages that disappear shortly after being viewed.

The work is part of an ongoing upgrade to the $100 billion orbiting outpost, adapting it for the arrival of a new fleet of US vehicles built by private aerospace industries that will ferry astronauts back and forth.

Boeing and SpaceX are completing the final touches on their respective crew capsules, and are expected to begin regularly transporting astronauts to the ISS in 2019. The first test flights could happen later this year.

The new cameras are located near an international docking adapter on the station’s Harmony module.

“The two astronauts installed new high-definition cameras that will provide enhanced views during the final phase of approach and docking of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner commercial crew spacecraft that will soon begin launching from American soil,” NASA said in a statement.

Astronauts have not launched from the United States since 2011, when the 30-year US space shuttle program came to an end.

In its absence, the world’s astronauts have paid Russia upwards of $70 million per seat for a ride to the ISS aboard the Soyuz spaceships.

During the six-hour, 49-minute outing, veteran NASA astronaut Drew Feustel rose to third place on the all-time cumulative spacewalking list.

Feustel, making his ninth career spacewalk, now has logged 61 hours and 48 minutes of spacewalk time. The world leader is Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev with 82 hours, 22 minutes, followed by NASA’s Michael Lopez-Alegria with 67 hours, 30 minutes.

The impoverished country and Huawei inked a deal in late 2016 to construct the fibre-optic cable from Australia to Honiara to improve its often unreliable internet and phone services.

But Solomon Islands Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela said last week there had been a change of heart following “some concerns raised with us by Australia”, without elaborating.

The move comes with Australia refocusing its foreign aid programmes to win hearts and minds in the island nations of the Pacific, as China flexes its muscle in the region.

It pledged more than Aus$1.3 billion (US$970 million) in its national budget last month to fund projects such as the communications cable, which will also link-up with Papua New Guinea.

Canberra and other regional capitals have become increasingly alarmed at Beijing’s push into the Pacific through “soft diplomacy”, which could potentially upset the strategic balance in the region.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop refused to detail what concerns Canberra had with telecom giant Huawei.

“I would not elaborate on security issues, that’s not appropriate,” she told reporters.

“What we have offered the Solomon Islands, and they have accepted, is an alternative to the offer, and ours is cheaper. It’s likely to be a faster result for them, and technically superior.”

Huawei was blocked from bidding for contracts on Australia’s ambitious national broadband project in 2012, reportedly due to concerns about cyber-security.

Huawei has long disputed claims of any links to the Chinese government.

According to broadcaster ABC, Australia’s spy boss Nick Warner and other senior officials visited the Solomons last year and returned with concerns about Huawei being permitted to plug into the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.

They reportedly believed that while Huawei was an independent company, it retained links to the Chinese government and could pose a threat to Australian infrastructure in the future.

After meeting Houenipwela in Canberra Wednesday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australia will also jointly fund a domestic telecommunication cable network linking remote provinces in the Solomons to the capital Honiara.

“As we step up our engagement in the Pacific, we are working as partners with Solomon Islands more closely than ever to ensure stability, security and prosperity in the region,” he said.