Latest news with #Hamburg
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
New York Times and ‘Germany's Wordle' owner seek to reschedule UK trademark hearing on Wordle
The New York Times , owners of the vocabulary game Wordle, and the owner of 'Germany's Wordle' are seeking to reschedule their October UK trademark hearing. The hearing was originally booked for October 10th, but according to the UK Intellectual Property Office the parties have requested a different date, which is currently expected to be later this year. Wordle was developed in 2021 by Josh Wardle and became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic. The New York Times subsequently purchased the game in 2022 for an undisclosed low seven-figure sum. READ MORE The UK hearing is part of a long-running dispute between the New York Times and Stefan Heine, a Hamburg-based puzzle maker, over trademark rights to the name Wordle. According to a court filing by the US newspaper, immediately after it was publicised that the New York Times had 'acquired the rights to the [Wordle] game and the mark', Mr Heine filed a trademark application in Germany, the rights to which were secured on February 1st, 2022. [ Róisín Ingle: I have a great Wordle start word – it's just a bit rude Opens in new window ] According to the New York Times filing, 'he then followed that with a flurry of international trademark application designations for Wordle ... in Norway, Switzerland, [with] the EUIPO [the European Intellectual Property Office], and the UK, … [with] no lawful basis'. These moves were met with legal measures in the various jurisdictions by the New York Times, which in turn are being contested by Mr Heine, according to the newspaper's filing. In July 2023, the New York Times applied to register the trademark for Wordle in the UK, and in August of that year it filed an invalidation action against Mr Heine's UK Wordle trademark registration. The newspaper claimed that Mr Heine's registration should be cancelled due to a risk of passing off. This is based on the New York Times' claimed use of the word Wordle throughout the UK since June 2021. It is also claimed that Mr Heine's Wordle trademark was applied for in 'bad faith'. In November 2023, Mr Heine opposed the New York Times' trademark application on the basis of his earlier trademark application in August 2022, which was protected in December 2022. The Hamburg puzzle maker also claims a priority filing date of February 1st, 2022, from his German Wordle trademark registration. Meanwhile, the New York Times claimed that on January 31st, 2022, it acquired all of Mr Wardle's rights in the Wordle game and its trademark, which the US paper claimed Mr Wardle created 'around January 2021'. The newspaper is also claiming that by February 1st, 2022, Wordle was a 'well-known trademark' as per the UK legislation and the Paris Convention. A spokesperson for the New York Times confirmed that the paper is opposing the registration of the UK trademark for Mr Heine's Wordle 'as part of our standard IP protection efforts, because we think it is likely to cause confusion among consumers about the source of the mark'. The legal representatives for Mr Heine – Murgitroyd & Company – said that as the cases were ongoing they were unable to comment 'as we are keen not to prejudice our client's case'.
Forbes
18 hours ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Advances In LiDAR And Radar Accelerate Driving Autonomy
17 June 2025, Hamburg: Anjes Tjarks (Alliance 90/The Greens), Hamburg's Senator for Transport and ... More Mobility Transition, speaks at the presentation of the autonomous "Volkswagen AD" in Hamburg's Hafencity. Volkswagen is presenting the series version of its autonomous electric van ID Buzz for the first time in Hamburg. Prototypes are already being tested on the streets of Hamburg by the ridesharing subsidiary "Moia", so far still with a safety driver on board. Photo: David Hammersen/dpa (Photo by David Hammersen/picture alliance via Getty Images) Volkswagen recently announced the launch of the L4 (Level 4 autonomy with no human driver in designated locations, times and driving conditions) AD microbus. The business model is to work with existing transportation and mobility companies (private and public), by providing the hardware (vehicle, sensors, compute) and autonomous driving software stack (including fleet management software). The first set of 500 vehicles is slated for delivery in 2026 to Uber for ride-hailing trials (with a human driver) in Los Angeles, Fully autonomous ride hailing is planned for 2027. The AD is currently offering ride share services In Hamburg, Germany, through MOIA, a 'technology company of the Volkswagen Group which develops on-demand ride-pooling services to redefine mobility for people in urban areas'. Volkswagen has attempted to enter the autonomous mobility market since 2020 with ambitious plans and $Bs in investments - both, internal (the CARIAD software division), and external (co-investment in Unfortunately, these were delayed or dissolved, led to board tensions and senior executive changes, and slowed the effort. This is similar to the experience at other OEMs like Ford and GM Cruise. Volkswagen is re-entering the space at a time when technology giants (Waymo-Alphabet, Zoox-Amazon and Tesla) are already significantly ahead. Even the Sam Altman-led OpenAI, (the company that started off as a non-profit venture and now also has a for-profit division) announced recently on a podcast that 'We have some new technology that could just do self-driving for standard cars' (see minute 6 of the podcast). So can a century old automaker (and other automakers) prevail in this market, dominated by technology companies? In Volkswagen's case: Valeo As a global, publicly listed (~$25B/year in revenues), Tier 1 supplier to automotive OEMs, Valeo supplies a wide range of products in electrification, driving assistance systems, interior cabin experience and lighting groups. Products include mechanical, electrical, sensing and electronic components, spanning from motors and lighting assemblies to ultrasonic, camera, radar and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The SCALA™ series of LiDARs is one of these products, with the second generation (SCALA 2) version designed into the Mercedes S-Class (see Figure 1) to support its L3 autonomy (self driving under certain conditions with human driver ready to take over in 10 seconds) feature (Drive Pilot) at a maximum speed of 95 km/h (60 mph). SCALA 2 achieves a 80 m range for brick and tire debris size objects and 300,000 pps (points per second, a metric akin to resolution or pixels in a camera) in a ~ 600 cm³ volume with a square optical format. Figure 1: 05 May 2022, Berlin: Mercedes is the first manufacturer in Germany to start selling a ... More system for highly automated driving that can completely take control in gridlocked traffic on the autobahn. Photo: Carsten Koall/dpa (Photo by Carsten Koall/picture alliance via Getty Images) Valeo's next-generation version, the SCALA 3, uses a similar platform as the SCALA 2, but delivers significantly higher range (200m) and resolution (12.5M pps) performance in a ~1200 cm³ volume, with a 45 mm height and rectangular format, suitable for roof or behind-the-grill mounting, see Figure 2). Figure 2: SCALA 3 LiDAR (Left) and Point Cloud Image for Rooftop Mounted Version (Right) The higher performance of the SCALA 3 is expected to increase the allowable L3 speeds for the Drive Pilot to 130 km/h (80 mph). SCALA 3 is expected to start production in 2025, and has been selected by Stellantis (launch of Stella AutoDrive for L3 at initial speeds of 37 mph in 2026). It has also been selected by 3 other global OEMs to support L3 and L4 autonomy features. Per Antoine Claudepierre, V.P of LiDAR Business Development, one of these is a leading Asia-based automotive OEM (to start production in 2026 for L3 vehicle). Valeo has previously supplied LiDAR for Honda's L3 efforts. On the imaging radar front, Valeo announced a design win with a leading European OEM, with production slated for 2028. The goal is to increase allowable speeds for unsupervised Highway Pilot to 130 km/h. Apart from the imaging radar, the sensor suite will also use a LiDAR (supplier evaluation ongoing). Given the discussion above, its seems likely that this is for the Mercedes Drive Pilot. As a Tier 1 supplier, Valeo has collaborated with Mobileye since 2015 on front-facing cameras and other driver assist solutions. In September 2023, the companies announced a collaboration to industrialize imaging radar for autonomy where 'automakers gain access to the latest cutting edge technology from Mobileye that they can trust will exceed industry expectations as we have proven before, while benefiting from the customization, industrialization, testing and support capabilities brought by Valeo'. The two companies have also collaborated on delivering ADAS features to OEMs like Volkswagen, with Valeo as the Tier 1 and Mobileye as the Tier 2 supplier. Mobileye has been developing its imaging radar (Mobileye Imaging Radar™) since 2018 and separately announced a design win with a major OEM for L3 capability (at or > 130 km/hr) to launch in 2028 (Mercedes again??). More on this later in the Mobileye section. Innoviz Technologies Innoviz has been chosen as the LIDAR supplier for L4 autonomous driving in the Volkswagen microbus. With launch of this capability planned for 2026 in select cities like Los Angeles and Hamburg, Innvoiz is currently ramping up production of its InnovizTwo short and long range LiDARs. Each will use a total of nine InnovizTwo LiDARs (6 short and 3 long range). Innoviz uses 905 nm SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diodes) based detectors and edge emitting laser arrays, along with MEMs (Micro Electro Mechanical) mirror scanners in the InnovizTwo LiDAR family. The InnovizTwo short range LiDAR has a range of 100 m and a high vertical Field of View (FoV) of up to 90°. The long range version has a range of 300 m, a 120°x43° maximum FOV, minimum angular resolution of 0.05°x0.05°, 20 Hz frame rate and a physical volume of 825 cm³. Figure 3 shows the InnovizTwo, and point clouds at short and long range: Figure 3: InnovizTwo (Left), Point Cloud at Short Range (Middle), Point Cloud at Long Range (Right) InnovizTwo is also resilient to optical path obscurations (mud, rain, insect splatter), a critical requirement for autonomous operation. Per Mr. Kielaf, having such capabilities in an L4 vehicle (no human driver) is an absolute requirement since loss of perception at high speeds can be lethal. The optical design of the InnovizTwo LiDAR ensures redundancy in the optical path for the transmit and receive path for each pixel. As an example if the window is 25% covered, no single pixel will be 'dead' and some pixels will lose about 7% of the range performance. Innoviz was selected by Audi (a Volkswagen brand) to deliver LiDAR as a Tier 1 supplier in 2023. Achieving this designation has many benefits - direct relationships with the OEM, transparency and integration smoothness, visibility into other program opportunities, direct performance and product feedback, higher profit margins and credibility for other OEMs. But it has its own challenges as well - intensive audits on multiple fronts - manufacturing, costs, quality and production strategy. Innoviz has a manufacturing facility in Israel. However, it is not automotive-certified, and achieving this takes time and investments. Innoviz announced a partnership with Fabrinet, a publicly listed contract manufacturer with automotive grade certification, and a specialist in high volume manufacturing of precision opto-mechanical-electrical products. Its factories in Thailand can scale manufacturing to automotive volumes and quality as demand grows. This positions Innoviz to deliver as a Tier 1 supplier to the Volkswagen L4 program as it scales up. Apart from the Volkswagen and Audi selection, Innoviz is also the preferred LiDAR supplier to Mobileye for their different autonomy applications. The company also announced recently that 'it has signed a Statement of Development Work (SoDW) agreement with a Top 5 passenger automotive manufacturer. Through this SoDW, Innoviz will supply advanced LiDAR units for the OEM's L3 highly automated series-production program with target SOP of 2027'. Mercedes Again?? According to Omer Kielaf, CEO of Innoviz, the company's success in getting designed into major OEM platforms 'are our history of deep working relationships, disciplined project management, investing in becoming a Tier 1 designated supplier, the cost-performance-durability-size of the InnovizTwo LiDAR, and the ability for customers to source short and long range lidars from the same supplier'. Mobileye One of the biggest success stories of high tech from Israel in the last decade, Mobileye is today a Nasdaq listed company (occurred in 2022 after its spin-off from Intel which had acquired the company earlier). With a market capitalization of ~$15B and revenues of $1.8B/year, it is easily the leading player in the pure play autonomy landscape. Its customers include 50 automotive OEMs who use their ADAS-based solutions (cameras, chips, software) across 1200 car models and 190M cars. The goal is to support ADAS, L2, L3 and L4 capabilities through a combination of semiconductor chips, crowdsourced data from its mounted camera units, sensor integration (internal and external) and AI based software for path planning and drive policy. These products are listed below: Mobileye had a development program for a proprietary 1320 nm FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) which it presented at CES 2023. In late 2024, it discontinued this effort claiming that this development was less essential to its future efforts, and 'that the availability of next-generation FMCW lidar is less essential to our roadmap for eyes-off systems'. It cited as reasons the progress on its EyeQ6-based computer vision perception, performance of its imaging radar, and better-than-expected cost reductions in third-party time-of-flight (ToF) LiDAR units. The Mobileye Imaging Radar™ draws on IP during its tenure within Intel. Mobileye believes that its imaging radar is a perfect complement to cameras, especially in bad weather and will play a big role in compensating for loss of LiDAR and camera sensitivity. The core of the radar is the proprietary design of radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFIC), embedded in a unique architecture where the entire radar signal is sampled and digitally processed by a dedicated proprietary processor. It has 1500 channels (virtual antennas), 20 Hz frame rate, 100 dB dynamic range and an angular resolution of 0.5°. The resolution is twice that of other imaging radars on the market enabling small object hazard detection, segmentation and identification at 130 m range (at speeds of 130 km/hr, presumably for L3 or L4, this is an OEM requirement). Larger objects like pedestrians and traffic poles can be detected at a 300 m range. Costs are expected to be in the $100 range. At short range, a combination of these radars can address a 360° FoV. In essence, this radar delivers essentially the same type of 3D point cloud and axial velocity information as a FMCW LiDAR, but at 100X lower angular resolution. It can detect most objects and their axial velocities, but not identify or classify them. The big advantage of course, is that performance is not degraded in bad weather and it costs 5-10X lower than a LiDAR. It is also more compact and can be gracefully designed into the vehicle body. Figure 4 shows a point cloud generated by the imaging radar. Figure 4: Point Cloud (dots) Superimposed on a Camera Image from Mobileye Imaging Radar. Colored ... More Dots Represent x-y-z Position. Doppler Velocity for Each Point is Also Provided. According to Dan Galves, Chief Communications Officer, 'Our imaging radars were designed as a key technology pillar to enable high-precision hands-off, eyes-off driving in both robotaxis and privately-owned vehicles, with a cost that supports scale. By adding a perception layer based on imaging radars, fully independent of cameras and LiDAR, Mobileye delivers a scalable, safe and cost-efficient solution to support the global deployments of consumer AVs and robotaxis - no matter where they drive.' Automotive OEMs are entering the autonomous car revolution once again. The challenge for them is not the technology - that exists. It is to find business models that unleash meaningful revenues and profits demanded by their shareholders (unlike the tech giants who have massive profits on their core business, and autonomous driving is just another BET). On the L3 front, it is a feature they can sell to consumers by the millions, and at reasonable cost and profits. Leveraging this into L4 capability for autonomous ride-hailing services will require competing aggressively with technology giants already deep in the game. It will be interesting to see how this war unfolds.
Washington Post
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Swiatek routs Paolini in Hamburg for her first grass final. Pegula awaits
HAMBURG, Germany — Five-time major champion Iga Swiatek reached her first final on grass and first final in more than a year at the Bad Homburg Open on Friday. World No. 8 Swiatek beat No. 4 Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals and improved her record against the 2024 Wimbledon finalist to 5-0.
Associated Press
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Swiatek routs Paolini in Hamburg for her first grass final. Pegula awaits
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Five-time major champion Iga Swiatek reached her first final on grass and first final in more than a year at the Bad Homburg Open on Friday. World No. 8 Swiatek beat No. 4 Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals and improved her record against the 2024 Wimbledon finalist to 5-0. 'I wasn't expecting to win this match, so I'm happy that I just did my job,' Swiatek said. 'Jasmine, you can't let her get back in the game because she's a fighter. I just wanted to go for it, and go for my shots.' To win her first title since the 2024 French Open, Swiatek will have to go through No. 3 Jessica Pegula. Pegula outlasted Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-1. Pegula will appear in her fifth final this year, including titles in Austin, Texas, and Charleston, South Carolina. ___ AP tennis:
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Yutong Debuts New Generation Battery Electric Intercity Bus IC12E at UITP Summit Hamburg 2025, Showcasing Electrification Innovation
HAMBURG, Germany, June 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yutong Bus ("Yutong", SHA: 600066), a global commercial vehicle manufacturer, showcased its green public transport innovations under the theme "Think Eco, Move Green" at the UITP Summit 2025, held from June 15-18 in Hamburg Germany. The flagship models included the battery electric intercity bus IC12E and the premium city bus U12. Yutong IC12E：High Standard Battery Electric Intercity Bus – specifically designed for the European market Yutong IC12E is specially designed and built for intercity operations in the European market. It comes with the advantages of long driving range, strong power, large capacity and superior quality. On June 19, the IC12E embarked on a full-scenario challenge across four European countries: beginning in Hamburg, Germany, traversing through Copenhagen, Denmark, Gothenburg, Sweden, and ultimately reaching Oslo, Norway. This journey covers a variety of road conditions, including urban streets, highways, bridges, coastlines, and ramps, thereby fully showcasing the IC12E's exceptional performance and adaptability in diverse environments. The test data shows that over a distance of 1,272 km, with an average energy consumption of as low as 0.7 kWh/km (the vehicle was not fully loaded), demonstrating its extraordinary leading strength in new-energy technology. During the test, the IC12E successfully completed a 510 km range-challenge between Germany and Denmark, with SOC dropped from 99% to 31%, and remaining range indicated 170 km. In the charging-efficiency test, the SOC rose from 13% to 99% in just 1 hour and 40 minutes when charging with a single gun. In the continuous uphill sections in Norway, the IC12E demonstrated a strong power-performance with a grade ability of 20%. Yutong U12, a premium battery electric bus engineered for main urban routes The U12, winner of the Busworld Design Label, features a 12-meter body capable of carrying up to 95 passengers, while incorporating a high-strength, robust closed-ring body structure and YESS battery safety system, combining safety, efficiency, comfort, and intelligent management. Moving forward, Yutong will continue to create greater value for customers and enhance public travel experiences with green, safe and comfortable mobility solutions. For more information, please visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Yutong Bus
