Malaysia is considering adopting an AI-driven system to improve road safety. The Automatic Road Incident Detection System (ARIDS), developed by a Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) team, uses neural networks to identify accidents and traffic anomalies in real time. Currently in pilot testing across 1,000km of expressways and roads, ARIDS has shown potential to reduce emergency response times significantly.
ARIDS, launched in February, has already been implemented in Brunei and parts of Xi’an, China. The Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) is assessing its viability for nationwide implementation. A recent crash in Johor, detected by ARIDS 23 minutes before an official report was made, highlighted the system’s ability to enhance response efficiency. Authorities currently rely on CCTV monitoring and user reports for accident detection, which often causes delays.
The system’s mobile integration allows remote access, providing alerts through WhatsApp without human intervention. It also monitors traffic congestion and vehicle breakdowns, offering insights into road safety improvements like sturdier guardrails. Analysts believe this AI-powered solution could complement existing monitoring systems, such as the Traffic Monitoring System (TMS) and CCTVs, and boost predictive capabilities.
Broader adoption faces legal and operational hurdles. Concessionaires cannot currently enforce safety inspections on heavy vehicles without regulatory approval. However, integrating ARIDS with technologies like Weigh-In-Motion systems could streamline enforcement and reduce risks from overloaded or unsafe vehicles.
South Korean Naver Corporation has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Company to establish a joint venture focused on digital twin platform projects in the Middle East. Digital twin technology, which creates virtual replicas of real-world environments, will be central to the collaboration, enabling advanced urban planning, real-time monitoring, disaster prediction, and smart city development.
The venture will develop city monitoring platforms and mapping applications to enhance public administration and services. That initiative builds on Naver’s previous success in implementing digital twin platforms for Riyadh and four other Saudi cities, solidifying its position as a leader in smart city innovation.
The partnership aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a national initiative to drive digital transformation and sustainable development. By integrating advanced technologies into urban planning and public administration, the joint venture aims to support the creation of efficient, modern cities, furthering technological and economic progress in the region.
At the SC24 conference, Dell unveiled a range of AI-powered infrastructure products designed to overcome common obstacles in AI adoption, such as data quality, cost, and sustainability concerns. The company’s focus is on providing solutions that allow businesses to unlock the full potential of their data to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Among the highlights were three new server products: the PowerEdge XE7740, XE9685L, and the updated Integrated Rack 5000 series. These servers cater to both AI inference and high-density training needs, with features like support for multiple NVIDIA GPUs and enhanced network performance, ensuring scalability for enterprise AI workloads.
Dell also announced a significant update to its Data Lakehouse, now integrating Apache Spark to support unified access control. These innovations aim to simplify the management of AI and high-performance computing workloads, offering improved insights and more efficient processes.
As part of its broader strategy, Dell revealed partnerships with NVIDIA to optimise its AI infrastructure with advanced GPUs and software. Additionally, new services like Dell Data Management and sustainable data centre solutions are set to help businesses build more efficient AI systems while addressing environmental concerns.
Meta has started rolling out AI capabilities for its Ray-Ban Meta AR glasses in France, Italy, and Spain. Users in these countries can now access Meta AI, the company’s voice-activated assistant, which supports French, Italian, and Spanish alongside English.
The rollout follows months of efforts to align the glasses with Europe’s regulatory requirements. Meta expressed excitement about bringing its innovative features to the region and plans further expansion. However, certain features available in other regions, such as multimodal capabilities using the glasses’ cameras, remain unavailable in Europe for now.
Meta has faced challenges complying with Europe’s AI regulations, including the EU’s AI Act and GDPR privacy laws. These rules govern AI training practices, particularly regarding data sourced from Instagram and Facebook users. Earlier this year, EU regulators temporarily restricted Meta from training AI models on European user data.
After making adjustments to its opt-out processes, Meta resumed training on UK data and introduced AI features in several countries. The company has yet to disclose broader compliance measures for the rest of the EU, though it remains committed to addressing regulatory feedback.
The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and the Shenzhen Data Exchange Centre (SDEC) have partnered to foster data exchange and collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. That partnership aims to promote data interconnection between the two cities, develop data element markets, and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in utilising data for business growth and digital transformation.
Additionally, the organisations will focus on building a data ecosystem that encourages innovation and collaboration around data-driven solutions. Moreover, they plan to explore initiatives to advance the digital economy in both regions, creating new opportunities and enhancing their competitive edge. The collaboration will involve stakeholders such as government agencies, data service providers, traders, and SMEs, with HKPC and SDEC combining their expertise to drive these efforts forward.
Furthermore, HKPC and SDEC will organise seminars and briefings to engage stakeholders and share knowledge on leveraging data for growth. These sessions will provide valuable insights into how businesses can utilise the growing digital economy and enhance their data-driven capabilities. As a result, both organisations are committed to advancing regional cooperation in data exchange and innovation, thereby contributing to developing a stronger, more connected digital ecosystem.
FPT Vietnam and Ericsson have partnered to accelerate the adoption of 5G technology in Vietnam and drive advancements in AI and digital transformation. The collaboration will focus on developing applications that highlight the potential of 5G in key sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, especially through augmented and virtual reality.
By leveraging Ericsson’s 5G expertise, FPT aims to enhance its AI capabilities and create more sophisticated, data-driven solutions. That partnership is designed to speed up 5G deployment and unlock new opportunities for consumer and enterprise markets, ultimately boosting Vietnam’s digital infrastructure. It also marks a significant milestone as Vietnam becomes a key market for 5G technology, laying the foundation for broader international collaboration.
The partnership was officially announced during FPT Techday 2024, a major technology forum that brings together industry leaders, businesses, and technology enthusiasts. This event showcased the strategic importance of the collaboration and its potential to foster innovation and business growth in Vietnam. FPT and Ericsson are advancing 5G adoption through this initiative and enabling local businesses to maximise the benefits of next-generation connectivity.
Taiwan and Poland have collaborated to strengthen their positions in the rapidly growing drone industry by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The partnership, with Poland becoming the second country to join Taiwan’s government-backed drone supply chain alliance, aims to foster technological exchanges and combine the strengths of both nations.
The alliance plans to ramp up production, with Taiwan targeting the production of over 10,000 drones per month and projecting a production value of USD 922 million by 2028. That strategic collaboration also highlights Taiwan’s ambition to become a key hub for drone manufacturing and innovation in the Asia-Pacific region.
With the expanding global drone market, Taiwan is positioning itself as a critical player by diversifying its international partnerships. The agreement with Poland reflects a global trend toward reducing reliance on China for technology and supply chains. Taiwan actively fosters alliances that promote mutual growth and technological advancement in the drone sector. Taiwan and Poland aim to enhance their competitive edge in the global drone market through this partnership while advancing technological capabilities.
François Chollet, a prominent AI figure and creator of the popular Keras API, announced his departure from Google after nearly ten years. In a post on X, Chollet shared that he will be starting a new venture with a friend, but details remain undisclosed. Reflecting on his time at Google, he highlighted the transformation of deep learning from a niche academic interest to a global industry.
Keras, developed by Chollet, has become a widely used tool in AI, with over two million users. It powers advanced technologies like Waymo’s autonomous vehicles and the recommendation engines of platforms such as YouTube and Netflix. Beyond Keras, Chollet’s work on the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC) benchmark and the ongoing $1 million ARC Prize reflects his innovative contributions to AI research.
Chollet has consistently voiced concerns about the dominant approaches in AI development, advocating for models that reason more like humans, rather than simply relying on vast amounts of data. Even after his departure, he will continue contributing to Keras, while Jeff Carpenter will take over as the team lead. Chollet’s vision remains focused on developing AI as a tool to advance human knowledge.
Governments across Africa should increase the protection of fibre optic cables from theft and vandalism, while also aligning regulations to boost tech infrastructure development, according to a Google executive. Charles Murito, Google’s head of government relations and public policy in Africa, emphasised the need to classify fibre cables as critical infrastructure, which would ensure severe consequences for those who damage them. Theft and vandalism targeting batteries, generators, and cables have driven up costs for infrastructure providers.
Murito, speaking at the Africa Tech conference, highlighted Google’s investments in subsea cables, including Equiano, connecting Africa with Europe, and the upcoming Umoja cable linking Africa and Australia. He stressed that better protections and regulatory harmonisation could make the continent more appealing to tech investors. Industry leaders agree that such measures are essential to encouraging business expansion in Africa.
Additionally, Murito has called for more infrastructure sharing among internet service providers to reduce data costs. The diverse regulations across African nations concerning permissions for cable installations hinder the expansion of fibre networks. Although South Africa‘s authorities have acknowledged the issue, urging law enforcement to act and proposing legal updates, fibre optic cables have yet to receive a new critical classification.
The Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Bank have partnered to develop a National Land Digital System, aiming to address long-standing challenges in land administration. That initiative seeks to improve transparency, efficiency, and accessibility in land transactions by digitising land records, which will streamline the registration process and reduce bureaucratic delays.
Given that over 90% of Nigeria’s land remains unregistered, this system will unlock significant economic potential by formalising land ownership and boosting investor confidence. As a result, the goal is to increase formal land transactions from under 10% to over 50% within the next decade, thereby enhancing property rights protection and promoting economic growth. Moreover, the initiative will focus on collaborating with state governments to register, document, and title land parcels, thus securing land ownership and unlocking new development opportunities.
In addition to these efforts, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Bank are finalising the National Urban Development Policy (NUDP), which will provide a strategic framework for long-term urban and rural growth. The policy is designed to guide the development of economically vibrant, climate-resilient, and inclusive cities, aligning with Nigeria’s broader objectives for sustainable development.
Furthermore, the initiative emphasises the importance of streamlining land administration and encouraging private sector investment in housing and infrastructure. That includes promoting eco-friendly construction materials and improving access to mortgage options. Consequently, these combined efforts are expected to lay the foundation for a more efficient and equitable land system, contributing significantly to the nation’s economic and social development.
