Police in Beijing use ultrasound to guide police dogs
Beijing: Police in Beijing are using an ultrasonic remote control method to command the police dogs from a distance in a bid to catch the suspects by surprise, state-run media reported on Monday. Inaudible to humans, the ultrasonic signals are heard by dogs, which have a wider range of hearing, Global Times reported. “We hope to silently guide our police dogs at a distance without disturbing criminal suspects, especially in some specific tasks,” Liu Xiaoxiao, vice-captain of the city police corps, told the daily. The police have filed a patent for the ultrasonic remote control method. Dogs accustomed to one officer’s voice may fail to follow orders from a different officer. Ultrasonic uses an identical passphrase coded into a radio signal, enabling different police to guide their dogs’ behaviour, Liu said. The experiment started out in 2016, he said. (PTI)
First all-electric police car hits Australia roads
Sydney: Australia’s first all-electric police car hit the roads in the state of Victoria on Monday, one of the first jurisdictions in the world to take the landmark step. The fully electric ‘Tesla Model X’ will perform highway patrol operational duties as part of a feasibility study into using more ‘intelligent vehicles’ for policing, Xinhua news agency reported. “This vehicle is unlike any other Victoria police has ever had in its fleet and could well be the future of road policing in this state, country and the world,” Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane said. “Our Highway Patrol cars are equipped with cutting-edge technology and this car gives us the opportunity to investigate having these technologies in a fully integrated in-car system which has the potential of streamlining the road policing effort.” Victoria Police are working with engineers from Tesla, the US automotive and energy company, to integrate police software directly into the vehicle’s onboard system, hopefully giving officers a more intuitive and easier to use interface. (IANS)
‘Power lunch’ with Warren Buffett auctioned for USD 4.5 mn
San Francisco: A man has agreed to shell out over $4.5 million for lunch with Warren Buffett, breaking the previous record for a “power lunch” with the Berkshire Hathaway founder, the media reported. This is the 20th year that Buffett, famous for making it to age 88 on a diet of Coca Cola, Utz potato sticks, Dairy Queen Sundaes, and fast food from McDonald’s, has auctioned off such a “power lunch”, Quartz reported on Monday. The winner committed $4,567,888 when the bidding closed on eBay on May 31. In 2001, a meal with Buffett cost a commoner just $20,000. But the price jumped once online auction started on eBay. In 2008, it reached over $2 million and later touched a record of $3.45 million in 2014 and 2016. The lunch will benefit the Glide Foundation in San Francisco, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. Since bidding shifted to eBay 17 years ago, no lunch with Buffett has cost less than $1 million, Debbie Mesloh, Glide’s spokeswoman for this year’s event was quoted as saying. Every year, Buffett holds the lunch at Smith & Wollensky in New York. The winning bidder is allowed to bring up to eight guests for the power lunch. The restaurant charges nothing and donates $10,000 to Glide, San Francisco Chronicle reported. (IANS)
Dangerous #VacuumChallenge takes Internet by storm
New Delhi: After the Kiki challenge, the ‘Bin bag challenge’ or ‘Vacuum challenge’ has resurfaced on the Internet as a new craze among users on Twitter and Instagram. The unusual challenge involves people moving inside a huge garbage bag after which a vacuum is used to suck the air out of the bag. Those who take up the challenge are seen having difficulty adjusting to the new situation as the air gets sucked up, making them react with amusement and laughter. The videos have been watched over thousands of times on social media platform. Some have even made children take up the challenge. Now, many young people are itching to try it because it seems easy and funny but it could actually be very dangerous. Some people have expressed concerns about the dangers that the challenge involves. A boy who tried the challenge said on Twitter: “I was lying there for 2 hours before my parents came home.” Problems could arise if someone is left alone with the trash bag as they might face difficulty in breathing. Detailing the experience, another person wrote: “It looks like I’m wearing a leather jumpsuit.” This challenge was created a few years ago but has recently surfaced on the Internet again. (IANS)