TechnologyWere All in Dark Mode NowHow light-on-black became a way of lifeBy Ian BogostIllustration by Giacomo BagnaraJanuary 2, 2025, 8 AM ET The sun is setting on computers. In October, Google finallyfinallyrolled out a new black-background view for its Calendar app. This is just the latest in a string of recent software darkenings. In July, Wikipedia went light-on-dark. And a few years before that, we got dark-theme Google Search. Since 2017, night has fallen on Slack, Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, and mobile Gmail too. Even Microsoft went dark. One by one, the bright, white backgrounds that have defined these and all computer interfaces since the advent of the Macintosh have been slipping into the shadows.Dark mode has its touted benefits: Dimmer screens mean less eye strain, some assert; and on certain displays (including most smartphones), showing more black pixels prolongs battery life. Dark mode also has its drawbacks: Reading lots of text is more difficult to do in white-on-black. But even if these tradeoffs might be used to justify the use of inverted-color settings, they offer little insight into those settings true appeal. They dont tell us why so many people suddenly want their screens, which had glowed bright for years, to go dark. And theyre tangential to the story of how, in a fairly short period of time, we all became creatures of the night mode.Computer programmers, for their part, have always liked the dark. Back when offices were the only places to work, some software companies housed their engineers in what I remember being called programmer pits: rooms with closed doors where all the lights were extinguished. In open-plan workplaces, where the pits could not exist, programmers who preferred darkness would go to great lengths to create or preserve it. I recall some plotting to remove the bulbs from overhead lights near their workstations.In the 1990s and early 2000s, I managed a large team of software engineers. They wrote programs for computer desktops, the web, and the handheld devices that predated smartphones. I remember one of them was so averse to lighting that he draped a thick blanket over his monitor and torso, creating a makeshift cave for work. Another built a lighttight cot underneath his cubicle in which to take breaks to recover from the oppressive sun that poured in through office windows. Others merely chose to work very early or very late, under the natural shroud of night.Why? If Id asked them, they would probably have said: to reduce distractions and improve focus. Programming a computer is a bit like repairing a very tiny machine with precision tools while looking under a microscope. Quiet and calm help facilitate that process. Programmers may also just prefer the dark. (Some have argued that people with Aspergers-like tendencies, which are associated with sensitivity to bright lights, may be especially well suited to the tech industry.)But even with the environment dimmed, one source of light persists: the computer itself. Its bright glare could potentially disrupt the very act of writing the programs it might run. Perhaps thats why code-editing software has long offered white-on-black displays or other dimmed-out custom color themes. If you look at depictions of programmers at work in television or film, youre likely to see white text on black screens. Its a visual sign of computer professionals at work.Those of us old enough to remember using command-line text on DOS- or Unix-based computers will recall that light-on-dark displays were, at first, the standard. Surely some of that color schemes newfound appeal is pure nostalgia, at least among those users who once typed out documents in WordPerfect or played text-only adventure games such as Zork. To call it dark mode, as we do today, and sell it as a wellness tool is a somewhat recent innovation.Read: I wrote this on a 30-year-old computerStarting about 10 years ago, the option of a dark or dimmer background began to be included as a system-wide setting on laptops and smartphones. Microsoft launched its Windows Night Light mode, with warmer colors, in 2017; Apple followed with its own Dark Mode shortly after. Once that happened, individual software applications followed suit. The light-on-dark appearance could now be marketed as a way to heal your circadian rhythms, but its essential function was the same as ever: a softer, less oppressive glow for people who might be staring at their screens for many hours at a time.The number of people doing so was increasing every day. Even 20 years ago, a computer was still a tool used only occasionally. Desktop computers sat on desks, to be consulted when needed. Even at work, many actions that are now carried out only via computersuch as filing expense reports or taking part in mandatory office trainingshappened in meatspace instead. Home life was also a mixed-media affair. Television was viewed on a television set, through a set-top box or DVD player. Voice calls were made on phones still found on desks or attached to walls. And other ordinary activities, such as paying bills and managing kids school affairs, still were carried out on paper, in personnot online.Read: Universities have a computer-science problemBetween the early aughts and the late 2010s, the rest of humankind caught up with computer programmers. Communication now takes place on a screen. So does knowledge work. Also shopping, entertainment, and the management of daily life. According to one report, Americans checked their phones more than 200 times a day this year, an increase of 40 percent over last year. In short, an ordinary persons habits of computer use have grown to be a lot more like those of the previously strange guys who were writing software with me at the dawn of the internet.So dark modes spread to serve our changing circumstances. Theres no longer any need to drape a blanket on your office desk; soon enough, every app will achieve this effect on its own. Software companies may even start competing to produce the most effective artificial night. Its now gotten to the point where Microsoft can engage in dark-mode ballyhoo: Its own Black theme provides the darkest experience, the company boasts; if youre in search of dark mode, this is the theme for you.Maybe the dark-mode age was inevitable. The bright glow of computers was tolerableeven thrillingwhen it still felt new, but as lit-up screens suffused our every waking act, their light was doomed to overwhelm us. Given that software developers are the people who develop software, and their software-making software had been in dark mode from the start, the latest trend should come as no surprise. Of course darkness would have spread from their desktops to everyones. From day into night, we are all programming computers now.Explore More Topics

Still Going RogueBaldur's Gate 3's popular roguelike overhaul mod just got a total revamp, including a level 27 "superboss" for the uber-masochists out thereIt looks like the list of new "unique, rarely-fought enemies" might also include a sheep, because why not?Image credit: Larian/VG247 News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 2, 2025 Thanks to Larian itself and modders, Baldur's Gate 3 keeps getting new bits added to it, because clearly the absolutely huge base game hasn't been enough to totally eat up the free time of hardcore DnD partiers.Plenty of folks were busy doing cool stuff with BG3 last year, both prior to and after official mod support for the game arrived last summer, and one of the coolest creations I saw was 'Trials of Tav'. Basically, modder Hippo0o managed to develop a full-on roguelike mode for the game, allowing you to go on your own adventure battling endless hordes of foes, as they told us around the time.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Now, in the wake of updates for the original mod slowing down, other modders have begun to release their own spins on Trials of Tav - giving its central premise a fresh coat of tweak and addition paint. Enter 'Trials of Tav - Reloaded', by modder Celerev.Their revamped version of the roguelike mode is designed to deliver "bug fixes, overhauled monsters, new scaling, [and] brand-new enemies adapted from tabletop". What kinds of new enemies, you ask? Well, one of them is a final test of sorts - a "veritable 'superboss', level 27, designed to pull all the stops in the classic RPG fashion"."He's the last creature to become available in the scaling, and if you defeat him, you can essentially consider the run 'won'", the modder writes. This is the part where you say 'challenge accepted', if you didn't die 20 times to the rats in the Elfsong Tavern's basement.Aside from that, Celerev writes that they've added over 60 foes from the base game, including "unique, rarely-fought enemies" like Nine-Fingers Keene and what looks to be a killer sheep. There are also some new custom bosses, and plenty of bug fixes for existing ones. Mechanic-wise, the scaling rates have been changed to make sure "creatures with thematic, powerful abilities can be reasonably added without having to worry the player will be unable to ever make the saving throw" and shops have been re-balanced."I cannot overstate how incredible the work Hippo0o has done [in creating the original mod] is," Celerev concludes, "While I have the benefit of the toolkit and a lot of time digging into the game mechanics, the lua scripting Hippo0o wrote to create an entire, functional, and now extendable game mode from scratch is true passion, a ton of effort, and real skill. I hope that those of you who are like me and wished the tactical combat of BG3 could be extended to higher levels enjoy my additions."Naturally, you might end op sticking with the first Trials of Tav if you find these tweaks don't suit your style, but it's nice to see modding concepts like this one evolve over time. If nothing else, it might be something to try while you wait to see if you've gotten into the Patch 8 testing that's set to kick off this month.

The Nightlord ComethIs Elden Ring Nightreign inspired by mods? Im not sure, but its certainly a dream come true for Seamless Co-op and randomiser enjoyersNightreign wont be for everyone, but for those who dabbled with Elden Rings mods, prayers have been answered.Image credit: FromSoftware Article by Kelsey Raynor Guides Writer Published on Jan. 2, 2025 The world cant get enough of Elden Ring, and neither can FromSoftware apparently, with the announcement of a co-operative roguelite set in a world parallel to the gargantuan RPGs events during The Game Awards last week: Nightreign.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. This year, I replayed Elden Ring for the umpteenth time as I prepared for the DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree. Though, replaying it wasnt enough to satiate my desire to fell boss after boss, and thats where Seamless Co-op and randomiser mods eventually came in. Me and my friends geared up almost ten of us for what was supposedly going to be the most epic co-op run of all time. You can only imagine how that went.With a lack of coordination, bosses were respawning mid-fight thanks to others resting at a Site of Grace, and it took us a shameful amount of time to actually go ahead and beat up ol Margit. I was drained, which isnt what you want when stepping through the yellow fog gates of Elden Rings first Great Enemy.Our group immediately grew smaller after that first chaotic session four of us, then three, and then finally, two remained. As a determined duo who fancied more of a challenge, we decided to randomise just about everything excluding fog gates. Sure enough, our first randomised run in Seamless Co-op was done in a matter of days, though we only had one hurdle left: Malenia.Malenia was one of the first bosses we encountered, hanging out in the early-game area of Castle Morne, with her health pool suitably scaled down. This didnt make her any less formidable as we tried to take her down, and we collectively agreed to make Malenia the final boss of the run. That was a mistake, because after a rendezvous with Morgott in place of the Elden Beast and returning to Malenia with full builds and overpowered weapons, she was rather underwhelming to fight.And thats how yet another randomised Elden Ring run began, one that I am actually yet to finish, as the DLC very quickly caught up with me.Lets get back to the point. Im excited for Nightreign. Thats where this is all going. Im certainly not alone in that. A co-operative experience of some of Souls biggest and best bosses set in a world adjacent to Elden Rings events? Not only is it co-operative, but youre telling me this new game takes the form of a roguelite? Dreams really do come true, I guess. Sign me up and take my money, FromSoftware.My experience with playing Elden Ring in co-op, with randomly generated items and bosses, was admittedly the most fun experience of Elden Ring Ive had outside of the first time playing it (something I really wish I could do all over again). So, the fact that a co-op Elden Ring game is actually coming to fruition with each experience of Nightreign not being the same as the last without the need for mods or any sort of faffing not only makes me excited for the game itself, but just how many different friends Ill hopefully be able to experience it all with.Its hard not to assume that FromSoftware has, perhaps, looked at fans' demands for co-op and witnessed just how much fun players have had with this, randomisers, and other mods. If thats the case, then that only makes me more hopeful for Nightreign and FromSoftwares future.

Image: Marvelous (XSEED)The latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy!Switch eShop - New ReleasesYs Memoire: The Oath in Felghana (Marvelous (XSEED), 7th Jan) - Originally conceived as a reimagining of the 16-bit console classic Ys III: Wanderers From Ys, this fan-favorite entry returns, newly remastered for the Nintendo Switch system as Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana. Nearly 15 years after its previous release, longtime fans can look forward to numerous improvements and upgrades, including an all-new voiceover for legendary protagonist, Adol Christin. With remastered high-definition visuals and music, the epic adventure has never looked or sounded better.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube790kWatch on YouTube Rivenaars Grove (eastasiasoft, Jan 8th) - Rivenaar's Grove is a top-down fantasy adventure spin on sliding puzzles. The quick little apprentice can only move in straight lines from one border of the field to another. Its up to you to figure out how to use these nimble movements to gather crops as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once each field is cleared, youll be able to move to the next, with 50 levels in all! As you progress, new traps, obstacles and portals will be introduced, making it even trickier to harvest. To further prove your worth, you can tackle challenge modes with limited moves and time limits. Can the student truly become the master?What will you be downloading this week? (73 votes)Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana56%Rivenaar's Grove 0%Nothing for me this week44%So that's your lot for this week's North American Nintendo Download. Go on, be a sport and drop a vote in the poll above, and comment below with your hot picks!

Spotify announced Thursday the launch of its new Partner Program that lets popular podcast hosts monetize their video content. Spotifys new program gives qualifying creators on its platform opportunities for extra income beyond just advertising revenue, such as video payouts. The program was initially announced back in November and is officially available in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia starting Thursday.The program is expected to enhance Spotifys video podcast library, likely aimed at competing with YouTube, which currently dominates the overall video space. According to Spotify, over 65% of eligible podcast shows have already enrolled in the Partner Program since the company revealed it at its Now Playing event. This includes Smart Money Happy Hour, The Paranormal Podcast, The Makeshift Podcast, Girls Rewatch Podcast, and more.Spotify has also begun allowing Premium users to watch video podcasts without ads. It also launched a new tool called Podcast Clips, which are short-form videos uploaded by creators to promote their shows and help users discover them more easily. Since the features launch in select markets in November, the company claims that clips are 33% more effective than previews at converting browsers into engaged listeners.

Thomson Reuters has acquired tax automation company SafeSend in an all-cash transaction valued at $600 million. Founded in 2008, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based SafeSend serves a cloud-based platform designed to streamline the processing and sharing of sensitive financial documents. This includes tools for delivering tax returns, gathering e-signatures, collecting payments, automating workflows, meeting compliance obligations, and more.SafeSend, which has some 235 employees, previously raised an undisclosed figure from Lead Edge Capital, and says its used by 70% of the top 100 accountancy firms in the U.S. SafeSend in actionImage Credits:SafeSendWhile Thomson Reuters is known for its news agency, the Canadian company also operates a range of products spanning the legal, tax, and accounting spheres. In fact, SafeSend already offers native integrations with Thomson Reuters tax preparation software, and by bringing the company under its direct stewardship, this will go some way toward helping Thomson Reuters support the so-called last mile of the tax return process.This acquisition underscores our commitment to addressing the evolving challenges faced by tax professionals and taxpayers alike, Elizabeth Beastrom, Thomson Reuters president of tax, audit and accounting professionals, said in a press release announcing the acquisition. By integrating SafeSends innovative technology with our existing solutions, were simplifying tax preparation workflows, and meeting the dynamic demands of businesses we serve to help them thrive in an increasingly complex tax landscape.SafeSend isnt the first such tax automation company that Thomson Reuters has acquired it snapped up SurePrep in a $500 million transaction in 2022. Indeed, there are clear parallels between SafeSend and SurePrep both in terms of their product lineup, and how they had started to embrace AI and automation. In early November, SafeSend launched a new AI product dubbed SafeSend One, which automates the entire tax process, from document gathering through tax return delivery.Thomson Reuters says it plans to continue offering SafeSend as a standalone product, and will continue to support multiple vendors across the tax software sphere.

Room Within A RoomWith the speculative Studiolo installation, Spanish practice HANGHAR explores the potential of nonprescriptive spaceByAdrian Madlener January 2, 2025Interiors, International (Luis Daz Daz)SHAREWorking to challenge the conventions attributed to increasingly constrained urban residential interiors, Madrid-based speculative architecture practiceHANGHARdebuts Studiolo, a room-within-a-room installation with no predetermined purpose. Domestic space has been overly commodified in the last century, as real estate has become much more prolific, said Eduardo Mediero, founder and principal of the Madrid-based practice HANGHAR. This has severely affected not only how we dwell but also how our homes are designed. The practice is deliberately intended to only exist for one decadeit will close in 2030and in this time, is committed to developing speculative work that tries to subvert market-driven impacts and decommodify residential architecture. It accomplishes this by suggesting different spatial configurations that can accommodate less prescriptive functions.In creating the form of the recently completed Studiolo project, Mediero and his team reexamined the importance of the room as an architectural entityone that has the potential for open, unconstrained activation. Our intention was not to assign a specific use to a space and try to make that use as efficient as possible, but rather to create a spatial structure that does not convey the use or program assigned to it, Mediero explains. We were interested in how inefficient environments can open up a vast array of possibilities of use. Drawing inspiration from Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina, specifically his paintingSaint Jerome in his Study(1475), HANGHAR introduced a deep-green, cabinet-like room within Medieros own central Madrid apartment. This space functions as his own little studio, the direct translation of the Italian word from which the project takes its name.Read more on aninteriormag.com. ApartmentsSpain

PeopleFrom Billboards to Balloons: Charlie Markert's Sky High ArtA career as a billboard pictorial artist paved the way into the niche of hot air balloon painting.Better LettersJan 2, 2025 3 min readThe incredible hot air balloon art of Charlie Markert.Sign painting often precedes different and tangential career paths, but few have moved into a niche quite as narrow as Charlie Markert and his work on hot air balloons. In the video below he describes himself as "really unique in what I did", and it was his extensive experience as a billboard pictorial artist that paved the way.The journey started while he was working for Naegele Outdoor in Minneapolis, and a request came in to have the Golden Grahams cereal packet painted on a hot air balloon. Charlie recalls exclaiming, "Oh my gosh, hot air balloons; that sounds interesting!", and the rest, as they say, is history, which Charlie recounts in this interview.Charlie Markert Interview on YouTube.Charlie Markert at work as a billboard pictorial artist for Pacific Outdoor in California.Charlie Markert following the move to Minneapolis and joining Naegele Outdoor.Work-in-progress and the finished hot air balloon from Charlie Markert's first commission for Golden Grahams and Whittaker Balloons.Charlie Markert at work in the barn that he remodelled for painting the fabric used for hot air balloons.Thank you to Brent Jones for bringing Charlie Markert's work to my attention. The photos below are of a restaurant they worked on together, and the picture at the top of this page is from a still from the The Most Beautiful Hot Air Balloon in the World on YouTube.More PeopleMore Films

Looking for Lorraine (2024), natural andsynthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, 55.5 x 68 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Rockwell Museum, shared with permissionIn Paintings and Quilts, Stephen Towns Spotlights Black Leisure in the Jim Crow SouthJanuary 2, 2025Kate MothesIn central Florida, Ocala National Forest is dotted with more than 600 lakes and rivers. A nearby recreation hub, Silver Springs, has capitalized on the tourism potential of these glistening, clear bodies of water for decades, offering sandy riverside beaches and taking visitors on jaunts in glass-bottom boats.Until 1968 and the passing of the Civil Rights Act, Silver Springssimilar to many other places in Florida and the South more broadlywas racially segregated and only open to white patrons. In 1949, the owners of Silver Springs opened Paradise Park a mile down the road as a destination for colored people, as the welcome sign read, who were prohibited from the other resort.Swimming Lessons (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inchesParadise Park was one of three beaches in Florida open to Black visitors during this time and also offered sandy beaches, rides in glass-bottom boats, a petting zoo, a dance pavilion with a jukebox, performances, games, and a softball field. It remained in operation until 1969, shortly after desegregation, and became a subject of fascination for photographer Bruce Mozert (1916-2015), who documented happenings at both recreation areas.For artist Stephen Towns, Mozerts images and the history of Paradise Park provide the foundation for Private Paradise: A Figurative Exploration of Black Rest and Recreation, now on view at the Rockwell Museum. Through paintings and quilted compositions, the artist explores how certain parks could be places of refuge and leisure for Black Americans during the Jim Crow era. Black people had to set up their own spaces in order to find recreation and to find peace, Towns says in a video accompanying the exhibition. This show is a way of illuminating that. It gives people a sort of way into history thats not as scary as it can be in other forms.Towns paintings portray groups of children swimming, sunbathing, and playing on the sandy shoreline. His fabric compositions are imagined scenes of respite and togetherness, which come across as disarming and candid. Motown in Motion (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, 55.5 x 68 inchesMotown in Motion, for example, depicts a group of young people gathered on the beach, and I Will Follow You My Dear trails two women swimming underwateranother nod to Mozerts work as a pioneer in underwater photography.The figures in Towns paintings are more posed, drawn directly from Bruce Mozerts snapshots, depicting smiling kids at play. Towns often uses reflective materials like metal leaf that emanate light back toward the viewer, reiterating a sense of brightness. I want people to feel that warm, reflective energy when they see the show, he says.Explore more on Towns website and Instagram, and if youre in New York, you can see Private Paradise in Corning through January 19.Taking Flight (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inchesI Will Follow You My Dear (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, and shells, 55 x 72 inchesWhen We Were Young (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inchesA Taste of Lemonade (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, crystal glass beads, metal and resin buttons, 55.5 x 68 inchesPhotograph of visitors at Paradise Park by Bruce MozertNext article

Foodora Norway, the Oslo-based subsidiary of online quick-commerce (Q-commerce) food delivery brand Foodora Group, has partnered with Nordic communications company Tele2 to pilot test home deliveries using robots and drones supported by 5G internet of things (IoT) technology.The Stockholm metropolitan area was chosen as the test location for the ground robot and drone delivery trials. The Doora robot will be used in the ground tests while the drone trials are being conducted as part of the parallel Foodora Air project. A subsidiary of Berlin-based Delivery Hero, Foodora is currently present in Norway, Sweden and Finland, where the company delivers restaurant food, groceries and other consumer goods using cars and bicycles. Foodora also operates in Austria , Hungary and Czechia.The collaboration with Tele2 forms part of Foodoras two-year plan to roll out GPS-based robot home deliveries across the Nordic countries by in 2025 and 2026. The ambitious joint venture with Tele2 is focused on self-driving robots and drones connected to 5G and IoT technologies.Foodora is hoping to roll out commercial Doora ground robot deliveries in Sweden and Norway by year-end 2025, with drone services introduced in 2026. Scandinavian countries are lagging behind the US and Finland as regards the development of self-driving robot food delivery services, said Prashant Segaard, CEO at Foodora Norway. Our partnership with Tele2 in Sweden will help identify the opportunities, challenges and physical obstacles we face in making Doora work as a viable and popular form of food delivery across Nordic markets, he added.In Finland, S-Group and its S-Market supermarket chain partnered with the Tallinn-based Starship Technologies in 2023 to roll out the Starship Robot. The first autonomous S-Market delivery robots (ADRs) became operational in selected towns during December 2023. Monitored in real-time for disruptions to service, the electric-powered Starship ADRs use artificial intelligence (AI) and GPS to plan routes and complete delivery missions.The Starship Robot platform, over the five-month operating period to 30 May 2024, delivered 150,000 orders to households. Working off S-Markets dedicated home delivery mobile app, the service had linked to an initial 100 S-Market grocery stores by the end of November.The platform currently serves 14 towns and cities across Finland , including Helsinki , Tampere and Espoo . S-Group is estimating full-year 2024 deliveries exceeding 400,000 homes.Additionally, S-Market is recording downloads of over 20,000 per month for the home delivery app, said Tiina Meyer, a senior business developer of retail ecommerce at S-Group.The robot delivery service is a major retailing innovation boosting our grocery business, she said. Because of its convenience, its hugely popular. Customers appreciate the convenience of this new technology, the speed at which their orders are processed and delivered, the aesthetically pleasing robots, and especially enjoy the music the robots play upon delivery.Starship Technologies was incorporated in 2014 by Janus Friis and Ahti Heinla, the two Estonian co-founders of Skype. Headquartered in San Francisco , the company operates engineering subsidiaries in Tallinn and Helsinki .Foodoras pilot trials of the ground delivery Doora in Sweden include specific tests related to how the robot navigates pedestrian crossings and curbs, as well as how the robot recognises its surroundings and communicates.The Doora and Foodora Air projects will help to test and evaluate the full potential of the delivery systems when connected to Tele2s 5G network and IoT technology, said Stefan Trampus, the executive vice-president of Tele2 B2B.Within this project, we will be able to use the robot delivery concept to look at other industries and areas of use, he said. We can track how GPS and IoT function, and look to optimise solutions. The 5G IoT technology is essential for the drones smooth operation. The target is to achieve rapid response times and substantial data transfer capabilities to ensure safe delivery management.The Doora ground robot is designed to transport food and other products up to a maximum weight of 20kg. The delivery robot has a top speed of 6km (3.72 miles) per hour and a battery life of eight hours, with a four-hour charge.The Foodora Air projects core focus is on testing the operability of a fleet of battery-powered drones, utilising 5G technology provided by Tele2, to deliver meals from various restaurants located in the Stockholm suburb of Vrmd. The Nimbi drones, developed by Swedish firm Aerit, are integrated into Foodora Airs technology platform.The all-weather certified Nimbi drones used by Foodora Air are able to operate within a maximum delivery range of 21km and emit 2g of carbon dioxide per kilometre. The Nimbi has a maximum payload carrying capacity of 4kg (10lb), and features a proprietary winching system that enables package pick-up and drop-off without the need for supporting infrastructure.As part of the Foodora Air trial, deliveries are being restricted to customers properties, including front and back gardens where packages can be safely lowered by cable from airborne drones.Read more about drone technologyDrones can automate the traditionally challenging job of inspecting industrial sites, including hard-to-reach infrastructure.Through a series of initiatives, Dubai is positioning itself to reap the benefits of apromising global market for drone technology.Drones could get life-saving equipment to heart attack victimsahead of emergency services staff, increasing survival rates.The results, and shared test data, emanating from the Doora robot and Foodora Air trials in Sweden will help to shape how the company rolls out drone and robot-supported delivery services in Norway , said Segaard. We are closely following the tests in Sweden and hope to learn from that experience, he said. The data we collect from the project and trials will better inform us about the challenges we face in Norway and need to overcome and solve.Foodora has opened a dialogue with public and private players to expand robot delivery services across Norway . The first significant hurdle will be to obtain authorisation from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen), and local municipalities, ahead of launching autonomous robots, and at a later stage, drones, in Norway.Foodora is hoping to roll out a robot delivery service in Norway during the first half of 2025, in collaboration with Danish autonomous air and ground vehicle firm Holo.In August, Holo partnered with Foodora Norway to conduct a demonstration test at Fornebu, a suburb of Oslo , using a six-wheeled delivery robot supplied by California-based Cartken. The Cartken robot is equipped with three 5G modems and connectivity to multiple mobile operators to ensure continuous communication to shield against signal drop-off. The Cartken uses a PIN code system enabling customers to unlock and retrieve food and other deliveries.Holo also collaborated with Posten , Norway s state-controlled postal service, on a pilot trial to test electric-powered delivery robot Ottobot. The robot was supplied by New York-based Ottonomy.IO. The test, which was conducted in the Oslo district of Filipstadkaia in November and December 2022, has so far not resulted in a decision by Postern to procure delivery robot units for commercial use. The Ottobot pilot test was run as a partnership project with AMOI, Norway s largest digital marketplace that connects specialist retailers, including restaurants, with customers ordering home delivery.Posten has been something of a trailblazer in Norway as regards the testing of ground robot delivery systems. In 2018, the company conducted a pilot trial in Oslo on the Buddy Mobility autonomous parcel delivery robot. However, high operating costs and low demand for the service resulted in Posten shuttering the project in 2019.