Month: February 2026

attract tourism without going bankrupt

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Fossil fuel-dependent countries have amassed enormous fortunes over the past few decades. However, they are aware that their future is as finite as their natural resources. For this reason, countries like Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates are investing huge sums of money in changing the course of their countries by disengaging them of its oil reserves or natural gas. According to an official statementDubai is launching a new tourism project that, in ambition and size, could compete with Saudi Arabia’s plans with NEOM, but unlike the pharaonic project and its dystopian constructions, its budget it is more manageable and it has a more sustainable approach…but not much. The Al Layan Oasis is an oasis of more than one million square meters in the middle of the desert, ready to attract visitors without putting at risk the more than 4 billion dirhams (about 926 million euros) that the Dubai government plans to invest. A millionaire oasis in the desert. While Saudi neighbors plan to build ski slopes or water parks in the middle of the desert. In the Arab Emirates they have been more traditional and have chosen to build an oasis. But such and as advertised the top leader of the country, not just anyone. As I collected Gulf NewsAl Layan Oasis will occupy one million square meters in Al Marmoom, about 50 minutes from central Dubai. The central element of the plan is an artificial lake of 230,000 square meters, which will create a cool microclimate and attract wildlife, beyond being a mere visual attraction. Infrastructure for sustainable leisure. The new enclave is expected to receive 330,000 visitors a year, including residents and tourists, which makes it an asset capable of boosting the economic activity of the area, but without being destructive to the environment or an engineering chimera. The oasis is not going to be limited to the lake. The plan includes planting 1.5 million trees in five years, more than 45 landscaping projects and 120 new parks covering 3 million square meters. In addition, 1,000 parking spaces will be enabled, along with 14 km of trails to explore the oasis on foot or by bicycle, of which 4 km will be elevated to five meters to offer spectacular views of the desert and the lake. These roads join the existing routes of Al Marmoom, facilitating tourist exploration without major complications or additional investments. ​Four areas for different audiences. The project includes a visitor center, with information about the desert, large shaded areas with native plants to lower the temperature and care for the fauna. The oasis is divided into four themed areas that adapt the oasis to different tastes and uses. The “Gathering Oasis” is the social hub, with an open-air cinema, amphitheater and food trucks for events and meetings. The “Family Oasis” prioritizes the needs of families with 28 relaxation areas, children’s games and spacious spaces to spend the day. While the “Camping Oasis” accommodates 100 spaces equipped for caravans. The bulk of the restaurants and services are concentrated in the “Recreation Oasis”, which mixes leisure, shops and accommodation, maintaining the sustainable nature of the project. Difference with plans like NEOM. Al Layan Oasis seems minor when compared to the billions of dollars that were budgeted for the NEOM works. However, according to the cuts and rethinks who are suffering The Line or TrojenaAl Layan offers a much more realistic vision with infrastructure adapted to the climatic and economic reality of Dubai The Emirates is not trying to build a separate world, but is limiting itself to improving what already exists, taking advantage of the desert as an asset and turning it into a sustainable tourist attraction, without mortgaging the future of the emirate or linking it even more to its oil price dependence. In Xataka | Saudi Arabia is not willing to give up a paradise in the purest Caribbean style, despite NEOM cuts: Laheq Island Image | Dubai Government

Is it worth paying extra to spin faster?

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Life takes many turns, but not as many as a washing machine. If you start looking at a washing machine, it’s normal that your eyes will focus on the capacity or the price. But, what are those RPMs that they put on their technical sheet? It is not just another number, but it has its importance. Because a washing machine with a higher RPM has, in most cases, an even higher price. Is it worth spending more to have more RPM in your new washing machine? Since there is no simple answer, I am going to explain to you what it means for a washing machine to have more or less RPM. And if it’s worth spending that extra. Faster is not always better. The same thing happens inside your washing machine. When a washing machine finishes the wash cycle, everything in the drum is dripping with water. At that moment it is the turn of the centrifuge, that thing that makes a washing machine look like it’s going to fly away. Basically, the drum begins to rotate at a very high speed, causing the clothes, sheets or whatever we have put in the washing machine to stick to the walls of the drum. So that? So that the water comes out through the holes in the drum due to centrifugal force. Now that we know what the spin of a washing machine does, it’s time to talk about the RPM or revolutions per minute. There is not much mystery here: it is a unit of measurement that is used to know, in this case, how many revolutions does the drum make per minute. These are impressive figures, since if the cycle we use in the washing machine spins at 1,200 RPM, it means that the drum makes 20 revolutions per second. Numbers aside, what does more or less RPM mean when spinning? The higher the number of revolutions per minute of the drum, the greater the centrifugal force that is generated and, therefore, the greater the amount of water that is extracted from the clothes. So, in short, choosing a very high RPM number in our wash cycle will make the clothes come out with much less water. This is ideal if you put in a load of laundry and want it to be dry as soon as possible. Or even if you are going to use the dryer later, because if the clothes come out with less water, you will be able to use the dryer for less time. If we stop there, logic will tell us that it is better to use 1,400 or 1,600 RPM to remove dry or almost dry clothes from the washing machine. Spoiler: it is not like that. These types of spins make a lot more noise, so you don’t want to run them at night. Besides, they make clothes come out very wrinkledso it’s time to have a good time with iron in hand. It’s not that you have to worry about using it a few times, but in the long run, 1,400 or 1,600 RPM causes the fibers of the clothing to wear out much faster, so your clothes will be damaged. And what remains is what affects our pocket: Using these RPMs causes the washing machine’s consumption to increase a little. It’s not a drama, especially since then you will have to use the dryer less time (which uses a lot more) or use the clothesline less time. However, it is something to keep in mind because it adds to the higher price of the washing machine. The good and the bad of both options, face to face 1,200 RPM 1,400 or 1,600 RPM THE GOOD 🟢 It’s cheaper and will make your clothes suffer less. Your clothes will come out practically dry, so your laundry will be ready sooner. THE BAD 🔴 It will take you longer to dry your clothes (even with a dryer) They make more noise and clothes suffer more. It will also appear more wrinkled. Ideal for: Homes that air dry clothes and take great care of each garment Humid climates where air drying clothes is torture or for families who do a lot of laundry We do the math to see which one can compensate you more. As you can see, Both have advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the spin speed will almost always depend on the type of clothing or fabric that we put in the washing machinebut here the question is whether it is worth having that extra that 1,400 or 1,600 RPM gives you. Above all, because a washing machine is an appliance with a very long useful life. You are going to live with her for many years, so it is better to choose well. If at home you tend to blow dry and don’t use the dryer too much, With a 1,200 RPM washing machine you will have plenty. Because? Actual use: You don’t have the highest spin power, but you do have a balanced and sufficient one for most people. So?: You spend less on your new washing machine and you still have enough spin to remove clothes with little water. And, in the long run, you will take better care of your clothes. However, in a humid area such as northern Spain, you will know what an ordeal it is to dry your clothes outdoors. If we add to this intensive use of the dryer and you put so many loads in a week that you don’t have room to hang everything, then You may be interested in opting for a washing machine with 1,400 or 1,600 RPM. Because? Actual use: You live in an area where it is (almost) impossible to dry clothes because of the humidity and you want to use the dryer as little as possible. So?: You spend a little more, but you will take the clothes out of the washing machine practically dry. A blow of the dryer and you will … Read more

The Government wants new buildings to include spaces for bicycles. There are those who warn that it will make housing even more expensive.

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Europe wants its buildings to be increasingly ‘green’, an endeavor that Spain seems willing to take a step further. The Government has reviewed the Technical Building Code (CTE) to apply certain changes that prioritize precisely that: sustainability. If it goes ahead, the new CTE will pay even more attention to the energy efficiency of buildings, their polluting footprint and even proposes using buildings as a lever to promote sustainable mobility. With this last objective, a demand that has generated some controversy: that the properties must include a minimum of places for bikes. From the sector they already warn that the new requirements costs will skyrocket of construction at the worst time, with the price of housing shot. What has happened? That the Government has launched the institutional machinery to modify the CTEthe framework standard that details the basic requirements that buildings must meet. It is not a capricious change. In reality, it is an update that seeks to adapt the code to the guidelines set by Brussels, such as the Directive 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and Council. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda is already advancing that it will be one of the “most ambitious” modifications since the CTE was implemented. What is the objective? The change seeks to give more weight to certain objectives set from Brussels, such as the “energy efficiency of buildings”“environmental sustainability” or control of the polluting footprint during the life cycle of buildings. One of the novelties in fact is the regulation of what European regulations call “global warming potential of buildings”, a way of quantifying the emissions of a property. With the current CTE, the Government also wants to review the anti-fire regulations (the change comes after the tragic fire of Valencia in 2024, which left several deceased) and use real estate as a lever for “sustainable mobility”. After all, buildings also usually include parking spaces. Housing has proposed that these spaces be planned from the beginning to make it easier for those who travel with electric cars, scooters or bikes. And how will he do it? Including a series of guidelines in the CTE. At the moment we have your draftbut it is clear: “Buildings with parking spaces for cars will have a minimum infrastructure that enables the charging of electric vehicles and will have a minimum provision of parking for bicycles.” The text does not stop there and specifies issues such as the minimum number or even the size of the spaces reserved for bikes. What does it say exactly? “Parking spaces for bicycles will have a minimum dimension of 2.00 x 0.4 m. From 20 spaces, 5% of the spaces will have a dimension of 2.5 x 0.9 m for bicycles with dimensions larger than standard, such as long bikes or for people with disabilities. In uses other than private residential, parking spaces will be marked in accordance with the highway code,” collect the text. The draft clarifies that these parking spaces must “preferably” be in the parking lot or the access floor and that, at a minimum, residential properties must incorporate two bicycle spaces for each home. The CTE clarifies in any case that town councils can regulate to reduce this general requirement. Things are somewhat different in properties that are not intended for housing. In them, bicycle parking spaces must cover “5% of the building’s total user capacity.” At what point is the change? What we have at the moment is the draft royal decree that modifies the CTE, a document that was kept on public display until December so that citizens, builders or any other group that wished could raise their “observations.” Once this mandatory requirement has been dispatched, the CTE must now continue with its processing, including, if the Government so deems it, the proposed corrections. If we talk about the guidelines on bicycle spaces (and in general the “sustainable mobility” chapter of the project) it is important to take into account a nuance: the changes are proposed for newly built buildings. The project It also contemplates that the guidelines be applied to existing properties, but only when they have undergone substantial renovations, extensions or changes of use. Has it generated controversy? It has certainly generated debate. And the reason is simple: there are those who already warn that, in general, the different changes applied to the CTE will make construction more expensive at the worst moment, in the midst of the housing crisis and with prices (especially rents) skyrocketing. Recently the College of Surveyors of Madrid did the math and estimated that in general the new CTE requirements (not only those related to bicycle spaces) will translate into thousands of euros of extra cost. How many? In a first phase, the new houses will become 12,000 euros more expensive. And that will only be at the beginning. When they are fully implemented, the extra cost will be even greater and will reach 18,000, making it even more complicated. the “cost of entry” to the homes. Images | Alexander Van Steenberge (Unsplash) and Liona Toussaint (Unsplash) In Xataka | Communities and neighbors have been wondering all their lives whether bikes can be parked in the hallways. The law leaves little doubt

warm the planet comfortably

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“Stay cool while you warm up America “United States again.” With that brief message, the Trump Administration has declared war on the function Start & Stop that most cars have implemented for a few years. He has announced the Environmental Protection Agency as one of the measures to protect the vehicle, please the consumer and “fix a stupid feature” that slowly kills the car. Where do we start? ANDl advertisement. Here it is: 27 seconds of video send a very clear message: the Start & Stop button is unnecessary in a powerful car, turn off your air conditioning and it’s ‘woke’. It is also curious to see the number of errors there are in a video of just 27 seconds. And we are not just referring to the continuity failure when placing the red car first on the right and then on the left. “Universally hated”. Beyond the video, there is a release in which the EPA is proud of the decision. In 2012, the EPA itself (under the Obama Administration) advocated for a system of rewards and subsidies to encourage the adoption of Start & Stop systems in vehicles. The operation is “simple”: when a car stops at the traffic light, the engine turns off. When it is idling, too, but the system ‘starts’ again as soon as we want to start driving again. The theory says that emissions and consumption are reduced, but Lee Zeldin, head of the EPA, disagrees. “As I traveled through all 50 states last year, countless Americans told me that they not only disliked the system, but wanted it to be a thing of the past. Not only do many find it annoying, but it kills the battery and has no benefit to the environment. Consumer choice is a priority for Trump’s EPA, and we are proud to continue delivering common sense for the American people,” says the administrator. The importance of language. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy notes that removing incentives for brands to stop adding the feature will “make cars more affordable again by eliminating a stupid requirement that is universally hated.” The statement as a whole is very interesting because it is difficult to see an official document using such… passionate language. And it demonstrates the importance of language to reach exactly the population you want to reach. In just a few paragraphs and in external statements in which it is said that “everyone hates him”, he has been baptized as an “Obama switch” (when it is also in the rest of the world) and it is stated that “it kills the battery without any significant benefit to the environment”, they send a very powerful message. There is sometimes a misconception that these systems are bad for the engine or starting, so some drivers disable the functionality” – Alex Knizek, director of automotive testing development at Consumer Reports Raising an eyebrow. But no matter how powerful it is, it does not imply that it is true. The system was not invented by Obama, but was a response to the oil crisis from the 80s. Like many other technologies, it was widely applied decades later, but the idea is simple: if the engine is turned off when it can be turned off, it will consume less and emit less CO₂. We don’t say it: the United States says it. Well, the Department of Energy in a analysis. In the technical study, they tested four vehicles with and without Start & Stop in three situations: urban cycle (FTP), aggressive cycle (US06) and cycle in New York. The result was that there were consumption improvements of up to 7.27% in the FTP cycle and up to 26.4% in New York, a city in which 38% of the journey is spent idling (the engine continues running, polluting and consuming). Canada also measured improvements in consumption of between 4 and 10% depending on conditions. Or both. Here the logic is overwhelming: less engine time running, greater fuel savings and lower emissions. And here you may be thinking that it is true that the system is sometimes annoying, the battery suffers and the air conditioning stops working. There is an asterisk in this matter and it all depends on whether the car is combustion, hybrid and even how the system has been designed. In a combustion car, if the engine is turned off, the air conditioning is turned off. The fan keeps pulling air and pushing fresh air until it runs out. At a traffic light it is something that is barely noticeable. In a hybrid, the most common thing is that the air conditioning system is regulated by the electrical system, so that problem would not be present (and the Prius in the advertisement above is a hybrid). Logic tells us that the battery suffers more by having more work and increasing cycles, but the industry and consumer organizations (such as the American Consumer Reports) point to reinforced electrical systemsprecisely to withstand the overload. And something more important: there is no evidence of massive failures attributed to this technology and the moments in which it is not activated may be because, consciously, the system is protecting a battery that may be about to die or in poor condition. Volantazo and “drill, baby, drill”. But it doesn’t matter the evidence because Zeldin is proud to have signed “the largest deregulatory action in US history.” It is the continuation of the shift in climate policies that Trump’s second presidency has embarked on. They claim that there is no scientific evidence that the climate changeor put health at risk or to environment and his battle in cars is not only against the Start & Stop button. Also against other technologies such as the reuse of engine heat to heat the interior of the car, the use of reflective paint for better passive insulation or research into more efficient fuels. Locking this, and stopping giving “environmental credits” to manufacturers who adopt these measures, the United States continues on … Read more

build a “military Silicon Valley” in the heart of Madrid

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In recent years, security has become the new silent motor of European industrial policy. Wars and pressures between allies have modified plans. It is no longer just about manufacturing more, but about deciding where, how and under what control strategic capabilities of the future are built. Spain, in fact, is in search and capture of a node that amplifies its defense. The obstacle of the ground and an ambition. Spain wants to accelerate its military modernization and the centerpiece is to concentrate talent, engineering and technological development in a single large complex. Here appears Indra who, apparently, is looking for 77 hectares in the area of ​​Madrid to build a macrohub of up to 300,000 square meters dedicated to radars, electronic defense, communications and industrial digitalization, with a investment of 385 million backed by the European Investment Bank and the promise of thousands of skilled jobs (speaking of more than 3,000 new positions). The project, initially linked to Torrejón de Ardoz, has been slowed down by administrative slowness and is now considering other locations in the Henares Corridor, an area that the company considers strategic to reinforce a technological hub capable of responding to the new modernization programs of the Armed Forces. A military Silicon Valley. The ambition, on paper, goes beyond a simple corporate center. The idea is to create a complete ecosystem where laboratories, simulators, advanced manufacturing and auxiliary companies come together, turning the Madrid axis into a kind of Military Silicon Valley Spanish. The strategic plan Leading the Future aims to consolidate Indra as a driver of the defense and aerospace sector, attracting suppliers, research centers and technological startups that revolve around a strong industrial core. It is not, therefore, just about constructing buildings, but about articulate an innovation network that places Spain in a more autonomous and competitive position on the European board. Corporate engineering to avoid losing control. In parallel, the Government is moving to ensure that this national defense champion does not escape public control. As? Apparently, Moncloa is studying transferring Indra’s defense assets to a new subsidiary that allows the integration of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering and eventually other companies in the sector, all without diluting state participation through SEPI. counted the newspaper El Mundo There is a compelling reason behind this movement. The formula aims to avoid the conflict of interest derived from Ángel Escribano’s dual status as president of Indra and co-owner of EM&M, and to avoid a loss of control over an industry considered strategic. Industrial consolidation under pressure. The merger by absorption initially approved generated tensions due to shareholder balance and the risk of litigation, but undoing the path is not easy either. I remembered the media that Indra and EM&M have signed contracts under the heat of public credits linked to military programs and, in practice, they have operated as if integration were already underway. Added to this is the pressure of new international investors who see consolidation as a clear opportunity to create value. The result is a pulse between industrial ambition, state control and political times, one that will define whether Spain manages to articulate that “sovereignty mode” with a technological-military pole, or if societal complexity slows down the project that aspires to transform the heart of the country at the epicenter of its new defense industry. Image | RawPixel, Felipe Gabaldon In Xataka | Spain has been a weapons exporting power for decades. Now he has made a decision: keep them In Xataka | In the midst of rearmament, Spain has just surprised Europe: 5,000 million for 34 warships and four submarines

Deportivo has built a system to know how much the player they already have is worth

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A few years ago, the Depor A question was asked that seems obvious but that almost no one in Spanish football had taken seriously: is it possible to gather everything a club knows about its players in one place? Not the goals, not the assists, not what appears on Transfermarkt. All. From the vertical jump that a cadet records on a strength machine to the subjective assessment of a veteran scout after watching a game on a rainy Saturday in Becerreá, province of Lugo. From the history of injuries to the psychological alerts of a 14-year-old boy who has been angry for five training sessions. The answer was to build it themselves. The result is an internal platform without a commercial name. They call it, without much ceremony, “the Dash,” which functions as the club’s digital nervous system. Nacho Louriddirector of Deportivo’s analytical and sports technology department, describes him with an ambition that he does not hide: “I call him, maybe he is a little ambitious, like a ERP sporty”. Perhaps with a play on words. Nacho Lourid. Image: Deportivo de la Coruña. It’s not ambitious. It is exactly what it is. And the interesting thing is not the technology itself, but what it says about the real state of data analysis in professional football: that although clubs have embraced the data culture, the majority continue to work with fragmented information, dispersed between departments that sometimes do not speak to each other, with external tools designed for the scouting but not to understand his own players. What the market did not offer The starting point is a lack. Commercial football data platforms (Opta, Media Coach, Transfermarkt itself…) They are designed mostly for one thing: to help sign. They are tools of scoutingnot internal performance. They provide competition statistics, but they cannot integrate what happens within a club’s facilities: GPS data from training, medical records, anthropometric evaluations, the maturational status of a youth, psychologist reports… Signature of one of the players. Image provided. “What we never find is that these platforms are focused on performance,” explains Lourido. “Why? Because there is data that no external platform can have. It is our data, physical data, medical data, protected by law and collected by devices that we have internally.” What Deportivo wanted to measure was something that sounds simple but that in practice almost no one achieves: the actual performance of a player, decoupled from the result. A team can lose 0-1 and have played the best game of the season. A striker can score a goal and have had an alarmingly poor physical performance. Competition data alone does not distinguish between both scenarios. Everything a club knows, in one place The platform connects all the club’s sports professionals. Everyone: trainers, physical trainers, medical department, nutritionist, psychologist. Each one feeds the database from their plot. The GPS that the players carry during training automatically dumps. The competition data comes from providers such as Opta or Olocip. The scouts’ subjective evaluations are recorded through their own mobile application. The individualized rubrics of the youth coaches are added to the profile of each boy from the time he is a first-year junior. The result is a cumulative profile of each player that is not limited to what he does in games. When a technician or manager accesses the dashboard of a footballer, finds his performance in competition, but also his medical history, his physical evolution, his accumulated GPS data, the assessment of scouts and, in the case of the youth team, his career since the first years of training. “When someone goes to dashboard of a footballer and his performance profile, it is very clear in all areas how that footballer is doing. On a physical level, on a psychological level, on a competition level, his medical history, injuries, everything.“, summarizes Lourid. Detail of injuries of a youth player. Image provided. Image provided. The dashboards adapt to the user profile. The sports management sees a general panorama; the physical trainer, overload alerts; the youth coach, the maturational evolution of his players. It is the same database with many windows. Beyond xG The most striking thing is not the obvious metrics expected by anyone who reads the Brand day in and day out, but also the variables that the team of analysts has been cooking up: Game initiative, which combines circulation rhythm and territorial dominance. Construction efficiency, which measures not only whether the team reaches the rival area but how it arrives. Passes allowed by defensive action: how many touches the opponent gives before you steal the ball. A detail that says a lot: The platform contextualizes the data according to the moment of the partido. “The game plan is until you score the first goal or your rival scores it”, Lourid explains. The metrics distinguish between performance before and after the marker alters the dynamics. It is the type of detail that distinguishes a dashboard as such an Excel that has come to the fore. In the quarry, the platform detects invisible patterns without accumulated data. “We had recorded data on players who are in the first team, who when they were cadets gave data on professional footballers. Efforts above 30 km/h… and perhaps the kid was 15 years old.” The club measures biological versus chronological age to decide promotions. A kid who plays below his maturity level receives a “survivor” profile. And you are not penalized for it, you are simply protected. Image provided. Image provided. Image provided. An example of what Nacho commented in the training phase. A first-year cadet team (14/15 years old) and its players who are divided into four large groups based on their level of maturational development: “survivors”, “sufferers”, “competitors” and “leftovers”. Image provided. What the algorithm does not touch (on purpose) There is a decision that indicates the maturity of the system. The psychological data exists (the first team psychologist eats with the players, travels with them, is on the field…), but they do not feed the … Read more

China manufactures 90% of the world’s humanoid robots and the reason is not its industrial policy: it is crossing the street

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On Chinese New Year, 16 Unitree humanoid robots danced a folk dance before almost a billion viewers. The West reacted as always: some with panic, others with disdain, others with an undisguised admiration that sometimes tends to concoct theories with more clichés regarding China than real analysis. None of those answers is entirely true and that blindness has a cost. The context. China manufactures about 90% of the humanoid robots sold in the world. In 2025, about 13,000 units were shipped, with Chinese companies (AgiBot, Unitree, UBTech…) dominating the ranking by volume, according to Omdia data collected by Bloomberg. Tesla, with all its brand reputation and all its industrial apparatus, internally deployed around 800 units of the Optimus that same year. The figure. He Unitree G1 It costs $13,500. He Tesla Optimus will exceed 20,000. That gap is the difference between being able to iterate ten times with the same budget or staying at one. Between the lines. The story circulating in the West has two versions, equally lazy: The first: all this is the five-year plan, the hand of the State, industrial policy made robot. The second, reserved for the most condescending: it is because they copy. Neither of them explains what is really happening. China’s advantage in robotics does not come from the Communist Party. It comes from the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze Delta: the two densest manufacturing ecosystems on the planet. Motors, actuators, sensors, custom PCBs… everything is available within walking distance. Is what it describes Rui Xuan engineer who has worked in robotics startups in China and Silicon Valley. When Unitree wants to test a new joint design, it crosses the street and comes back with the right component. A team in San Francisco has to wait weeks to receive the same component from China. The background. That difference in iteration speed changes everything in hardware engineering. It stops being a problem of talent, because Chinese and American engineers are equally capable, and becomes a problem of infrastructure. Breaking a robot, learning, replacing it, and trying again: that’s what builds cumulative technical advantage. If breaking a robot costs three weeks of logistics, learning stops and times become longer. Yes, but. China does have state support, and it is completely legitimate to point this out. The government has injected a lot of money into that sector and has set production targets. But it’s not that Silicon Valley is an impoverished region: it has more capital, investors with more experience and resources, and more decades of experience financing high-risk bets. If this were a war to see who has the fattest checkbook, the United States would win handily. But it is not. Furthermore, Chinese state money comes with strings attached: it is classified as “state asset” and founders assume personal liability if the company fails. That pushes capital toward politically safe bets, not necessarily toward the most innovative ones. The question. Can the West make up ground in robotics? Yes, but not like he’s trying. Attracting foreign talent helps on the margin, but does not solve the underlying problem. The equalization involves building local supply chains capable of delivering a spare part in two days, not two weeks. And that is not an immigration or R&D problem. It is an industrial-based problem, and solving it takes many years of work. And of thankless work, from which those who arrive later may reap the fruits. Until then we are going to see many more viral videos of Chinese robots doing pirouettes with increasing naturalness. And it’s because they’ve built the best environment in the world to break things and try again. In engineering, that explains almost everything. Featured image | CCTV In Xataka | Folding clothes or taking apart LEGOs has always been a tedious task. Xiaomi’s new AI for robots has put an end to it

what it is, what it is for and how you can get one to use in your projects

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Let’s explain to you what it is and how to get a Gemini APIthe artificial intelligence from Google. It is a kind of essential key or bridge if you want to develop an app or create a workflow that includes artificial intelligence, and in which you decide that this AI is Gemini. We are going to start this article by explaining what the Gemini API is and what it is for, trying to help anyone understand the concept. And then, we’ll tell you step by step how to get your Gemini API to use in your projects. What is the Gemini API and what is it for? Gemini is the name of Google’s artificial intelligence chat, but it is also the name of the AI ​​model, of the engine underneath processing your prompts and looking for a response. And being an engine, it is an element that you can use both in Gemini apps and in other applications, as long as they can connect with Gemini to use it. And this is where Gemini having an API or application programming interface comes into play. APIs are a kind of communication bridge between an app and an external servicein this case the API is used to connect other applications with Gemini. To give an example, imagine that I want to create an artificial intelligence bot. Within this bot I would need an AI model, an engine that processed my requests. But of course, an artificial intelligence model can weigh gigas or terabytes, and I can’t afford to include it within the app. Then I will have to connect the bot with an external AI hosted on its own servers. The idea would be that when you write something to my bot, this bot sends my message to the AI, and that when the AI ​​generates the response it reaches the bot and it can show it to me. And since the bot and the AI ​​are on different servers, possibly in different countries, I’m going to need a bridge. And this bridge is the API. The Gemini API that you can create for free is a key, and it’s like the key to the bridge to connect any service to Gemini. In this way, with the API you will be able to include Gemini in your projects, or link it to third-party pages where you are creating an application or a workflow. API keys can be paid, but Google also allows you to have a free one for Gemini. The free API has certain limitations in the speed and number of requests, with numbers like 5 requests per minute or 100 per day for Gemini 2.5 Pro. And so, each model has its limits. But in exchange, what you have is the possibility of use Gemini in your projects to create your own chatbot or assistant, to automate tasks, to analyze texts, videos or audio and make transcriptions and summary, generate code, and ultimately for whatever you need. You will have the AI ​​within the application, but not natively, but you will have connected both. How to get the free Gemini API To get the Gemini APIyou will have to go to the Google API management website. For that, go to the website aistudio.google.com and sign in with your Google account. When you do, in the bar on the left at the bottom click on Get API Key. Now you have to click on the option Create API key that appears at the top of the screen you have created. This will open a window where you have to create the project for which you are going to use it to be able to identify it. When you create the project, you can now create the API. When you have created the API, you will see that it appears in the list of API keys. You just have to click on the left, below where it says Clueand a window with the API will open, starting with “AIza–“. Now you have the API, and you can link it to third-party services to access Gemini. In Xataka Basics | How to Improve Gemini Answers: 14 Steps to Ensure Higher Quality and Better Sources

validates the digital professional card as an accreditation document to practice

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The highest judicial authority in Mexico has settled a debate that generated some confusion among workers, employers and even institutions: What happens with the digital professional card. Recently have ruled in favor of its validity when presented as the only document, being as valid as the physical one. Below these lines we tell you all the details. Why does it matter? On January 15, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) resolved the Contradiction of Criteria 164/2025 and confirmed that the electronic professional card has full legal validity to accredit the beginning of a profession in Mexico. For years it has been a confusing situation in work environments and institutions, even generating unjustified rejections in hiring processes, labor procedures and records. And there were employers and institutions that required physical support out of habit or ignorance, without any legal support to do so. What exactly does the resolution say? The full court established Three points that should be clear: First: the digital ID does not need a photograph or signature to have legal effects, because its function is not to identify a person, but to prove that they are authorized to practice their profession. Second: the electronic format issued by the General Directorate of Professions of the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) meets all current legal requirements, since the regulations at no time impose mandatory physical characteristics for this document. Third: no public or private institution can require the paper version as a condition for hiring or recognizing a professional. Doing so has no legal basis. What this document does not do. However, the SCJN also explained an important nuance that may lead to confusion: the professional ID, whether digital or physical, It is not an official ID. It does not prove identity, only that the person is authorized to start a profession. This means that for procedures that require identification as a person (opening a bank account, voting, signing contracts before a notary…) it will continue to be necessary to present a separate identity document. How to verify its authenticity. If an employer or institution needs to verify that an ID is legitimate, the official mechanism is to consult the ID number directly in the National Registry of Professionalsthe system of the General Directorate of Professions. There is no need to request an additional physical document or request photographs. What changes in practice. For professionals, the ruling eliminates that confusion that has existed for years, since the ID downloaded from the SEP platform It has exactly the same legal weight as any printed version. For recent graduates, it simplifies accreditation procedures and eliminates unnecessary costs and management times. For employers and institutions, the SCJN resolution clarifies doubts and turns the digital document into a mandatory recognition, not an option. Rejecting it or conditioning a contract on having to present the format on paper no longer has legal protection. In Xataka | Mexico has the most powerful dubbing industry in Latin America. And now it has a serious problem: AI

A century ago Denmark built an island to defend its capital. Now it is full of tourists and is sold for ten million

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The world has started 2026 slope of an island linked to the Kingdom of Denmark, but Greenland is not the only island dependent on Copenhagen that makes headlines. In it Øresund Strait There is a small Danish island that in recent weeks has also sparked interest due to its history, status and (above all) ownership. His name is Flakfortet and in this case, unlike Greenland, there would be no problem with Donald Trump controlling it. Of course, first you would need to go through the cash register and pay 10 million euros. The reason: Flakfortet is actually an old military fortification built on an artificial island and in private hands that has just gone up for sale. What has happened? that the Danish real estate market has incorporated an unconventional piece: a maritime fort built on an artificial island. That’s what they advertise on their page. Lintrup & Norgarta Danish firm specialized in real estate that for a few weeks advertise the sale of the Flakfortet fortress, located in the Øresund Strait. The property is offered for 74.5 million of Danish crowns, equivalent to about 10 million dollars. “The island has modern facilities and historic structures and is visited by thousands of people each year,” highlights the agency. The announcement has attracted the attention of media outlets such as the German newspaper Bildthe specialized medium Yacht or the Danish public broadcaster TV2which specifies that the complex reaches 30,000 square meters (m2) and there are around 10,000 built. Among its facilities, the island includes a large marina and a heliport. But what is Flakfortet? A vestige of the First World War. And a huge and picturesque reminder of the turbulent start of the 20th century. Flakfortet is a maritime fortress built on Saltholmrevan artificial island built from tons and tons of stone, concrete and sand in the Saltholm Strait. In fact, it is located between saltholm island and Copenhagen. Flakfortet was not the result of a whim or megalomania. It was promoted at the beginning of the 20th century, after the Defense Agreement of 1909 with which an attempt was made to improve the fortifications (land and sea) that protect Copenhagen from enemy attacks. To be more exact, his works were developed between 1910 and 1916. And what was it used for? The idea was to shield neighboring Copenhagen by sea. Hence, Flakfortet was projected as a true fort, capable of hosting around half a thousand soldiers and equipped with powerful cannons. Danmarks Nationalleksikon remember which in its day was equipped with howitzers, half a dozen cannons and anti-aircraft artillery. However, its role during the two great conflagrations of the last century was rather modest. In fact, the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, with the project still uncompleted, frustrated the plans to equip it with modern howitzers. In the 40s it was occupied by the Wehrmacht and in the 50s it returned to Danish hands, although without much success. At the end of that same decade it closed as a naval anti-aircraft fort and during part of the 1960s it hosted the HAWK 541 Squadron of the Danish Air Force. Over time it was rented to the Copenhagen Sailing Union and was converted into a marina in the 1970s. And in recent decades? His military past is behind him. After the Danish army decided to abandon the fort the weapons were dismantled and the casemates abandoned. As the 20th century progressed, the soldiers gave way to sailors who arrived aboard sailboats, tourists and history lovers fascinated by the fortification’s past. The next major chapter of his chronicle was written in 2021, when Denmark sold the island to Malmökranen AB, a Swedish company that acquired it for around 400,000 euros. It may not seem like a lot of money, but the company had to invest significantly more to remodel the facilities and modernize its services, which includes a restaurant, a desalination plant that supplies the island with drinking water, and generators. These improvements, added to a ferry service that connected the island with Copenhagen and the interest aroused by the fort’s military past, explain why Flakfortet attracted up to 50,000 visitors in high season. Good business, right? If we ask Malmökranen right now, the business seems to involve more the sale of the island than its direct management. And it’s not something new. In 2015 the complex already looked for a buyer without much success. More than a decade later, its owners have decided to try again, asking for even more money for facilities that have a port and heliport. The agency in charge of the sale wait that the island will attract the interest of specialized investment firms or millionaires looking for a “secluded and quiet” property. Nor do they rule out that the Danish State itself decides to recover Flakfortet because it considers it “a critical infrastructure” and its location. If it is finally an individual who takes over its reins, they should keep in mind that they cannot do whatever they want with the old fort: since 2002 It is considered a historical monument, so any significant work must have the OK of Heritage. The island must also remain open to the public. Images | Wikipedia and Google Earth In Xataka | China has been dumping tons of sand into the ocean for 12 years. And now we are seeing islands emerging in the middle of nowhere

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