Chinese telecommunications firm, Xiaomi, will make its debut in the country’s electric vehicle (EV) market in the first half of 2024. Xiaomi is one of several smartphone manufacturers that have expressed interest in the fast-growing industry, amid stiff competition from a plethora of domestic players in the field. Company CEO and one-half of the founding…
Chinese automotive firm, BYD, will supply the Zimbabwean government with 18 electric vehicles (EVs). The country seeks to showcase green energy as the world gradually phases out the production of traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Zimbabwe’s Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED) is also enquiring about the purchase of electric buses for use in the…
Just months after its completion, Chinese officials have announced plans to expand the now-operational Tiangong Space Station. Currently consisting of three modules, Tiangong or ‘Sky Palace’, was completed in November 2022 and is the culmination of more than three decades of research and development by the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA). Despite the station’s operational…
A woman in China’s remote far west has become the first person in the country’s history to have her gallbladder removed via robot-assisted remote surgery. In February 2023, the lengthy procedure was carried out by a surgeon more than 4 500 kilometres away by way of a four-arm laparoscopic robot. Advanced medicine is central to…
A team of Chinese researchers has unveiled a prototype quadcopter drone capable of flying and swimming. The TJ-FlyingFish, the autonomous drone, has four two-stage motors designed to operate in either aerial or underwater environments. Developed by scientists representing the Unmanned Systems Research Group at the University of Hong Kong and China’s Intelligent Autonomous Systems Research…
Chinese automotive player, Zhejiang Geely, recently announced it has successfully tested its electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL). Developed by Geely subsidiary, Aerofugia, the AE200 prototype eVTOL completed its maiden flight in early February, according to online publication Interesting Engineering. Aerofugia became the country’s first licensed eVTOL operator in 2022 and plans to make…
Hard on the heels of the hugely popular launch of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, ChatGPT, several prominent Chinese tech giants, including Baidu and Alibaba, have opted to release their own AI-powered chatbots. Open AI’s Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) has rapidly become one of the most popular features on the internet since its launch…
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) unicorn and Tesla rival, Xpeng, unveiled its new flagship models to several northern European countries, as it makes a pronounced international push in 2023. The Guangzhou-based startup launched its luxury P7 sedan and G9 sports utility vehicle (SUV) in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands in early February, according to the…
After a bumper 2022 for space exploration, China has set about developing a new lunar rover as it prepares for another mission to the moon in 2026. The Chang’e 7 mission objectives centre around exploring the moon’s south pole and far side. Chang’e 7 forms part of the Chinese National Space Administration’s (CNSA) latest phase…
Scientists in China have built a shapeshifting robot capable of alternating between liquid and solid states. Their creation has many practical applications, especially in areas that a traditional robot could not easily access, said the researchers responsible for the unique robot. While the idea of a liquid robot sounds like it was plucked from the…