Technology
KSA’s Neom mega-city: From sand dunes to flying taxis
“A start-up the size of a country,” is how Saudi Arabia’s futuristic mega-city Neom is being described by Saudi officials, investors, contractors and the like.
The city will take up a whopping 10,000 square miles of rocky desert and empty coastline in the country’s remote northwest Tabuk province, where the kingdom will look to attract the world’s brightest and best.
However, the seaside of the northwestern province was considered so barren that the only identifiable resources were sunlight and an infinite supply of salt water.
Yet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman didn’t see a coarse wasteland when he landed in his helicopter there years ago. But a future where human civilization and progress can be propelled forward in every sense of the word.
What is Neom?
Neom is a portmanteau of the Greek word neos, meaning “new,” and mustaqbal, the Arabic word for “future.”
With a price tag of more than $500 billion, as well as seeking foreign investments to fully foot the bill of its ambitious goals, the project is expected to be a crossover between Silicon Valley’s innovations, Hollywood’s entertainment aura, mixed with a French Riviera vacation spot.
Neom will be 33 times the size of New York City and nearly the size of Belgium, more than one million people will work and reside within it and will include a number of towns, ports, and research centers.
“The city will drive the future of human civilisation, energy and water, mobility, biotech, food, technological and digital sciences, advanced manufacturing, media and entertainment,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz described the project to reporters.
What this means for the Kingdom
According to reports by Al Arabiya, Energy Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman and Neom CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr signed the memorandum of understanding in several energy fields as of late August.
This shows the kingdom’s relentless push and unwavering willingness to achieve the monumental goals they’ve set for themselves as put forth through its 2030 Vision; as well as diversifying Saudi Arabia’s economy away from its dependency on oil and more into renewable energy and human capital.
“We all hope that as citizens, the Neom project will accomplish all its goals and on time…and if we want to do so, we have no choice but to be up to the work and ambition required for this project,” Prince Abdul Aziz told reporters.
Neom aims to produce 15 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, which is equivalent to a quarter of the country’s electricity consumption at peak times, the minister added.
Neom, which is coastline bordering Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt aims to lure serious international investments to make it the number one destination for both work and pleasure worldwide.
This futuristic mega-city, however, isn’t the only plan on the horizon. The kingdom will also look to push multibillion-dollar plan to erect a handful of new cities in the hopes of kick-starting the country’s economy into the future.
The developments include a sports and entertainment city outside Riyadh, luxury tourism resorts spread across an archipelago of pristine Red Sea islands and an ancient Arabian trading post turned wildlife reserve called al-Ula.
Infrastructure
From an infrastructure perspective, Neom Co., the developer of the smart-city, has chosen US-based engineering and construction firm Bechtel to design, build, and manage the construction efforts of its transportation, as well as its power and water infrastructures.
“Neom is one of the most complex projects in living memory and we are proud to be part of it. The vision for a futuristic, innovative and sustainable ecosystem is unique and bold, and we believe Neom will change the way new cities are developed by future generations,” Brendan Bechtel, Chairman and Chief Executive of the family-owned company, said in a press release.
Bechtel has long experience of working with the kingdom, beginning with the construction of the Trans-Arab Pipeline in 1947.
In addition, Neom Co. also signed a number of contracts with Saudi telecom company STC to establish and lay the ground work for a 5G network, as well as a $5bn partnership with US-based Air Products and Saudi ACWA Power to develop the world’s largest green hydrogen and green ammonia plant, to be operational in 2025.
While in parallel, Aecom has also been awarded a contract to work the city’s general design, alongside a plethora of environmental and geotechnical support.
“We are excited to be playing such a pivotal part in delivering one of the world’s largest and most complex infrastructure projects,” said Lara Poloni, president of Aecom in a press release.
She added that with Neom being the centerpiece of Saudi Vision 2030, it will become one of the world’s leading destinations to attract talent and investment and drive economic change in the kingdom.
Hollywoodesque Features
Seeing that Neom will be constructed in one of the world’s driest climates, the city’s architects are planning to draw on “cloud seeing” technology to create artificial clouds, producing more rainfall than naturally possible in the desert.
Also, plans have surfaced that include the construction of an artificial mood drone that would light up during night-time, as well as showcasing live-streamed images of outer space.
The project also aims at constructing a Jurassic Park style island filled with a myriad of robot dinosaurs, alongside a vast stretch of glow in the dark sand on its coastline.
It’s estimated it will take around 7 to 10 years to finish the project.
This smart city will aim to lead the world when it comes to healthcare, education by using holograms to give classes and quality of life.
At the moment, there’s nothing but golden sands and gorgeous coastline on the Saudi stretch of the Red Sea, and currently construction is underway to build an airport and resort.
What about Covid-19?
This is where the uphill battle begins.
The kingdom suffered harshly due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after introducing tourist visas for the first time back in September, the country was forced to close its borders to the most vital source of tourism income: religious visitors.
While Saudi Arabia’s economy is the biggest in the Arab world, the country has been hit hard by coronavirus. The kingdom has also had to deal with falling oil prices sparked by an acrimonious dispute with Russia.
However, steps taken by the Saudi government to keep the momentum going has been accelerated showing a strong fortitude toward getting the job done regardless of any hurdle that may come along.
Despite the difficulties ahead, the kingdom will see to it that the Neom dream will not turn into a distant mirage within the covid-19 era.
What is biometric identification? It is the process through which unique biological characteristics are used in biometric identification to recognize and validate a person. These characteristics can be found in facial traits, eye structures, DNA, fingerprint patterns, and even handwriting. All this data that can be gathered on an individual inevitably brings up the ethical issues in biometrics that need to be addressed.
Facial recognition and fingerprint scans were previously the domain of security, and they were utilized for identification and law enforcement. However, increasingly more business and civil applications are using biometrics authentication. Due to this increased use, it is crucial to address the moral and ethical issues in biometrics when used in the creation of new application and technology.
Applied biometrics and corporate ethics have received little empirical study despite the widespread use of biometric technologies. As a result, there is plenty of room for future study to help us better comprehend the moral consequences of adopting this technology.
This article examines the ethical concerns associated with the use of biometric technology on the use of biometrics for non-security applications as well as the moral ramifications for business.
Ethical Issues in Biometrics and Privacy
Biometric data takes privacy concerns to a whole new level that typical data gathering only touches on. Digital identities can be forged, and anonymity on the web can be maintained to a degree if you know how. Also, digital data can be deleted – if we forget that Meta (Facebook) has been revealed to store deleted data, which is an ethical concern in itself.
The problem with biometric data is that it is unforgeable, unconcealable, and permanent, You can’t change your eye structure, your fingerprint, or your facial features. Big tech companies already have your face, fingerprints, and your voice recorded and stored via current biometric authentication systems – mainly used for unlocking your phone. That data will be there forever, and there is little that people can do about it besides avoid it In the first place.
While many companies still give users the option of using a good old fashion passcode to unlock their phones, as technology as a whole tends to do, the biometric alternative is slowly gaining more traction, and will one day become the norm, as it is hard to argue its convenience and security. You can’t accidentally leave your eyeball at home or forget your fingerprint. But in the same sense, you can’t change it. If your childish curiosity while browsing the web put a black spot on your record, there’s no changing that.
Therein lies the question of who if anyone should have access to such data. Today’s tech giants have all our data in their hands, that won’t change with the spread of biometric verification methods. Indeed, it will only increase targeting capabilities.
While the collection of biometric data on its own does not necessarily mean it will be shared, monetized, or abused in any way, it never the less requires clear and strict guidelines and regulations to be implemented around it. There are too many things that can be abused by the wrong party when the ethical issues in biometrics are not taken seriously, and if such limitations are not applied stringently.
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The Reno line of smartphones has always had a fantastic camera and an attractive design. The Reno 8 and 8 Pro include a 120Hz AMOLED display, the newest Dimensity chipsets, 80W fast charging, a 32-megapixel front camera, and triple 50-megapixel back cameras, among other notable features that make the Oppo Reno 8 and Reno 8 Pro high-quality yet affordable option for anyone.
Here we compare the two latest Oppo phone series iterations and see what to expect from the flagship Oppo smartphone, and how the Oppo Reno 8 and the Oppo Reno Pro stack up against each other.
Oppo Reno 8 Specifications
The Oppo Reno 8 has a smaller 6.43-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,080 by 2,400 pixels, a 90Hz refresh rate, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It also runs Android 12 with ColorOS 12.1 on top. Additionally, the display has an 800 nits maximum brightness and a 20:09 aspect ratio. An octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC, up to 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage are all found within the Oppo smartphone.
The Reno 8 has a triple back camera configuration for pictures and movies, with a 50-megapixel main sensor and an f/1.8 lens as its focal point. Additionally, there is a 2-megapixel macro camera with a 112-degree field of view and an 8-megapixel sensor coupled with an f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens.
The Reno 8 offers 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, GPS/A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C connector as connection options. An accelerometer, light, gyroscope, magnetometer, and a proximity sensor are among the sensors on board. For biometric verification, the phone also has a fingerprint sensor hidden behind the display. A 4,500mAh battery inside the Oppo Reno 8 supports 80W Super Flash Charge quick charging. The phone weighs 179 grams and has dimensions of 160 x 73.4 x 7.67mm.
Oppo Reno 8 Pro Specifications
A 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,412) AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection is included with the Oppo Reno 8 Pro. Running on top of Android 12 is ColorOS 12.1. Additionally, the display supports HDR10+ and is certified by Netflix HD, Amazon HDR, SGS Low Motion Blur, and SGS Low Blue Light. The MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max SoC, which has eight cores, and up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM power the smartphone. Storage on the Oppo Reno 8 Pro is UFS 3.1 capable of up to 256GB.
The Oppo Reno 8 Pro boasts a triple rear camera arrangement with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 main sensor and an f/1.8 lens, an 8-megapixel sensor and an ultra-wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a 112-degree field of view, and a 2-megapixel macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture. Along with the MariSilicon X NPU, the phone’s camera will offer generally better performance in both bright and dim light. It has a 32-megapixel front-facing camera sensor with an f/2.4 lens for taking selfies and making video calls.
The phone has 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, GPS/A-GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C connector as connectivity options. An accelerometer, a light meter, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, and a proximity sensor are among the sensors built into the phone. For biometric authentication, the phone also contains a fingerprint sensor underneath the touchscreen. The smartphone has a 4,500mAh battery that supports rapid charging at 80W Super Flash Charge. The phone weighs 183 grams and has dimensions of 161 x 74.2 x 7.34mm.
Both the Oppo Reno 8 and Reno 8 Pro are prime smartphones that can fit any user’s preferences and can be considered premium smartphones on the cheaper side. If you like photography, you will be satisfied with the level of quality overall, but keep in mind that neither phone is particularly water resistant, so be careful where you take it.
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Many prefer the rumbling ‘vroom’ of a gasoline car to the soft hum of an electric vehicle, while others would rather just be satisfied in the knowledge that they are lessening their carbon footprint. Let’s look at the cold hard facts however, and compare electric cars vs gas cars
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Components
The amount of moving components is an important distinction between electric and gasoline-powered automobiles. While a gasoline-powered car contains hundreds of moving components, an electric vehicle just has one, the motor. Another significant distinction is that the electric car has fewer moving components. The electric car is more dependable and needs less routine maintenance. The maintenance needed for a gasoline-powered car ranges from routine oil changes, filter replacements, tune-ups, and exhaust system repairs to less frequent component replacements including water and fuel pumps, alternators, and so on.
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Maintenance
The expenses associated with maintaining an electric car are reduced since there are less maintenance requirements. The shaft, the only moving component of the electric motor, is extremely dependable and needs little to no maintenance. The controller and charger are electrical devices that require minimal to no maintenance because they have no moving components. Modern sealed lead acid batteries are maintenance free and utilized in electric cars nowadays. However, these batteries have a finite lifespan and will eventually need to be replaced. New batteries are being developed to increase the range of electric cars as well as the battery pack’s lifespan, perhaps eliminating the need to replace the battery pack throughout the course of the vehicle’s lifespan.
Electric Cars vs Gas Cars: Efficiency
In addition to being simpler and less expensive to repair than gasoline-powered vehicles, electric vehicles are also more cost-effective to run. The electric car will drive roughly 43 miles for $1 based on the efficiency of 3 miles/kwhr and the cost of power at 7 cents per kwhr. The gasoline-powered car will go roughly 18 miles based on the average gas mileage of 22 miles per gallon and the price of gasoline at $1.25 per gallon. As a result, an electric car may drive more than twice as far on a dollar’s worth of petrol.
Where Electric Falls Behind
There are still a number of difficulties for the owner of an electric car despite the fact that it will be less expensive to operate and maintain.
The primary issue is the restricted range offered by existing battery technology. The amount of driving distance possible utilizing the current batteries is between 50 and 150 miles. These ranges are being extended by new battery technologies, and prototypes of these batteries have shown ranges of up to 200 miles between recharging. Solar powered charging stations are being implemented in numerous places to decrease range anxiety towards electric vehicles
The lack of qualified service professionals to repair and maintain electric cars is another issue that faces their owners. A two-year associate degree program has been developed to train high school graduates to become proficient electric vehicle technicians, and training programs are being developed and made available to upgrade the conventional automotive technician with the skills needed to maintain an electric vehicle.
Infrastructure to recharge the batteries is also required. The most important component of the infrastructure for recharging already exists: electric power is accessible practically everywhere. To support the electric car, it is still necessary to guarantee that charging stations with the right sorts of service (i.e., maximum voltage and current) are placed in important areas. Plans must also be made.
Inside Telecom provides you with an extensive list of content covering all aspects of the tech industry. Keep an eye on our Technology sections to stay informed and up-to-date with our daily articles.
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Ian Terblanche, Global Strategic Sales & Channel Director at Sigfox
