Content this week: why Android is about to kill SIM cards, this disturbing Ford patent, Figure, the humanoid robot that could charm Tesla and Xiaomi and finally, behind the scenes of Renault’s departure from Russia after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Bye, bye, cards SIM
Google continues to encourage all manufacturers in the Android ecosystem to move to eSIM on their next smartphones. Apple is already relatively advanced in this area and is starting to sell iPhones without the slot that allows the use of a classic SIM card. Among other things, Android will facilitate the transfer of these dematerialized eSIMs. Qualcomm and Thales, for their part, are announcing an improved version called iSIM.
Ford is seriously considering hacking super fast cars
Ford has filed a patent for a system that would remotely take control of the vehicles of late paying customers. The procedure, described in the document as “repossession”, would be gradual: Depending on the case, Ford could remotely lock the vehicle or even autonomously return it to a dealer. The patent has caused a lot of ink to flow since it appeared on the internet a few days ago. This forced the manufacturer to respond. Ford is making sure there is no question of deploying this technology…at least for now.
Figure could well become the first humanoid robot on the market
The brainchild of former Boston Dynamics engineers, Tesla, Apple Special Projects Group, IHMC Robotics Lab, Cruise Autonomous Vehicles, and Alphabet Project X, Figure is the robotics startup that’s really starting to grab viewers’ attention. The company probably has the most advanced team in the world in this field and already claims to be testing a prototype in its labs. What to launch a “commercially viable” robot before Tesla and Xiaomi? The designers hope so…
The new life of the Renault factory in Russia
The Russian factory of Renault has been taken over by the Moskvitch brand to produce SUVs for Yandex, the Russian equivalent of Uber. Renault left the Russian market after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. A forced departure that cost him 2.2 billion euros. Renault was able to recover from its departure from Russia thanks to an increase in the prices and revenues of its models sold in Europe. All the behind-the-scenes details of Renault’s departure from Russia in this article.
That’s all for today. Look for a new Lemon-pressed next week to stay up to date with the news not to be missed!