The UAE’s most advanced Earth-imaging satellite, MBZ-SAT, will launch on Tuesday, January 14, at 10:49 PM UAE time from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has announced.

This marks the second satellite entirely developed by Emirati engineers. MBZ-SAT, weighing 700 kg, will launch alongside the student-built CubeSat, HCT-SAT 1, as part of SpaceX’s rideshare program. Originally planned for October 2024, the launch was delayed due to technical issues with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. A livestream of the event will be available from 9:30 PM UAE time at live.mbrsc.ae.

The SpaceX rideshare program, introduced in 2019, has enabled the deployment of over 200 satellites, offering a cost-effective alternative to traditional launches.

MBZ-SAT, named after President Sheikh Mohamed, will revolutionize Earth observation with enhanced imaging capabilities, producing ten times more images than current satellites. Meanwhile, HCT-SAT 1 underscores the UAE’s commitment to fostering future space experts.

Salem Humaid Al Marri, Director-General of MBRSC, stated, “We have a team of seven members on-site in the US and another at Mission Control in Dubai, working around the clock to ensure a successful launch.”

The UAE currently operates 10 satellites, with eight more under development. MBZ-SAT underwent rigorous testing in the UAE before being transported to South Korea for environmental assessments. Afterward, it was shipped to SpaceX in the US for final testing.

Marri described the simultaneous launch of these two distinct satellites as a moment of national pride. He emphasized the significance of combining advanced space technology with initiatives like the HCT-SAT program, which involved 50 students from across the UAE. This dual effort, he said, highlights the country’s dedication to building a robust space industry while nurturing local talent.

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Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, former Director General of the Smart Dubai Office (UAE), gave examples AI traffic lights now save every driver in Dubai 20 minutes a day, and traffic jams have been reduced by 15%. In general, the UAE is paying a lot of attention to the development of artificial intelligence: in 2017, the country became the first in the world to introduce the position of Minister of AI.

AI Journey, an international conference on artificial intelligence and machine learning, has hosted the main panel discussion, AI for Humans: Helping People. Uniting Countries, featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin and moderated by Sberbank CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board Herman Gref.

Vladimir Putin noted that Russia has become an important platform for discussing advanced technologies, and Sber and the National AI Alliance play a crucial role in this. In the past year alone, artificial intelligence has changed the face of entire industries, including the creative industry.

Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, an expert on global digital transformation and smart cities and former Director General of the Smart Dubai Office (UAE), gave examples of practical smart city solutions. AI traffic lights now save every driver in Dubai 20 minutes a day, and traffic jams have been reduced by 15%. In general, the UAE is paying a lot of attention to the development of artificial intelligence: in 2017, the country became the first in the world to introduce the position of Minister of AI. 

This year Sber’s large language model GigaChat will, for the first time ever, process the questions of Russian citizens for the direct line with Vladimir Putin, which will be held on December 19, giving a full objective picture of what questions Russians are concerned about. These technologies will help create unique tools for feedback from citizens.

As Herman Gref noted, the analysis of the questions submitted for the call-in session showed that citizens are mostly concerned about urban development, public administration, education, social services, and healthcare. Artificial intelligence is able to provide effective solutions, which were shared by Russian and foreign experts who participated in the panel discussion.

Dr. Song Haitao, President of the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (SAIRI) and Director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) International Centre of Excellence for Development of AI in Industry and Manufacturing, described how AI is improving the Chinese government’s operations by automating data management, providing decision support, and optimizing resource allocation and budgets. AI is being used across a wide range of sectors in the Chinese economy and is attracting investors. In Shanghai alone, AI startups have attracted more than four billion yuan in investment.

Artificial intelligence also speeds up social welfare payments and benefits and improves the quality of such services, said Herman Gref. This is already being done in Lipetsk Region, and Olga Beloglazova, deputy governor of the region, spoke about it during the conference. More than 100 relief measures are available in Lipetsk Region. The adoption of an intelligent management system in this region has enabled process automation and reduced the time of service provision by half, while reducing the number of errors by a factor of ten. Accordingly, labor productivity has quadrupled. Soon, the region is set to reduce the time to distribute welfare by another half.

According to Herman Gref, artificial intelligence can accelerate scientific discoveries in medicine to an extent that progress in the next decade may be similar to progress made over the last 100 years. It is AI that can make medical services better and more accessible, and find new ways of providing medical care.

To unite efforts in driving AI worldwide, AI Journey 2024 has announced the establishment of the International AI Alliance Network with 18 participating associations from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Iran, China, Cuba, Morocco, Russia, Serbia, Tunisia, Chile, Ethiopia, and South Africa. This move should take stakeholders to the next level of cooperation, Herman Gref emphasized, to make AI efforts open and transparent so that artificial intelligence would be proper and balanced to meet the needs and state of society.

WhatsApp has introduced an innovative new feature: voice message transcripts. This addition allows users to convert voice messages into text, making it easier to keep up with conversations no matter where you are or what you’re doing.

The feature is rolling out globally over the next few weeks, initially supporting a few select languages, with plans to expand language options in the coming months. In a blog post, WhatsApp highlighted the personal touch of voice messages, stating, “There’s something special about hearing your loved one’s voice even when you’re far away.” However, the company acknowledged that there are times when listening isn’t feasible, such as being in a noisy environment or receiving a lengthy message that’s difficult to hear.For those moments, WhatsApp now offers voice message transcripts.

These transcripts are generated directly on your device, ensuring that no one else — not even WhatsApp — can access your messages.To activate this feature, go to Settings > Chats > Voice Message Transcripts, where you can toggle transcriptions on or off and select your preferred language. Transcribing a message is simple: long-press the voice message and tap “Transcribe.”WhatsApp expressed enthusiasm about enhancing this experience further, promising to make it even more intuitive and user-friendly.

This update follows the introduction of the Message Drafts feature, which addresses a common issue: forgetting to send unfinished messages. WhatsApp now marks incomplete messages with a clear “Draft” label and moves the chat to the top of your list, ensuring you can quickly find and complete them without searching through multiple conversations.With these updates, WhatsApp continues to innovate and make communication more seamless and efficient for its users worldwide.