bankrupt

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

V-16 beacons run the risk of being left without connectivity if their manufacturer goes bankrupt. Don’t worry, there is a solution

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You may have read it on social networks: you buy a connected V-16 beacon, you go years without using it and, before you know it, the company that sold it to you has gone bankrupt, has stopped paying for its servers and now you have a nice paperweight because, without connectivity with DGT 3.0, that beacon has become illegal. It’s true? No. Plain and simple. When we buy a connected V-16 beacon, the manufacturer assures us that the connectivity is guaranteed for at least 12 years. The manufacturer may offer more connectivity time, as an incentive to purchase, but it cannot offer less. This, like the luminosity of the beacon or the 30 minutes that it must be in operation for at least, is one of the demands that Traffic has set to manufacturers so they can sell their beacons and we let’s buy them with enough peace of mind to be following the rules. Sure, but… what if the company goes bankrupt? It is one of the questions that some users have asked and that has been answered by accounts on social networks like Twitter. It is stated that when a connected V-16 beacon is activated and the required 100 seconds pass, the following process is launched: Protocol A: the beacon sends the data exclusively to the manufacturer’s servers Protocol B: Data leaves the manufacturer’s servers and is forwarded to the National Access Point for Traffic and Mobility Information which is where all activations and any other type of emergency are reflected. The response points out that, in the event that the manufacturer stops selling the connected V-16 beacon, the connection would be broken and therefore we would be left with a luminous paperweight because without connectivity that light is not legal. Insured. To confirm these details, we have contacted some of the companies that manufacture or sell these types of beacons. César Basterrechea explains to us from Atressa Automotivewho have their own beacons, that the information is not true and clarifies what would happen if their company went bankrupt and stopped paying for the beacons. First, he points out, the manufacturer has to register in DGT 3.0 and request a connectivity license. When this requirement is met, the following happens: “My operator sends me the data generated by one of my beacons through an APN and which is protected within a private VPN, the information reaching my Cloud once received, we send it through a VPN with a digital certificate to the DGT 3.0. If my company closed tomorrow, my operator would redirect the data emitted from my beacons to another APN of its own and through its own VPN it would send the data to the DGT cloud” With these words he explains, therefore, that it is the operator that offers its support if the company stops paying for the servers and, therefore, cannot offer the service. They confirm it to us. Asked to the other party, the answer is the same. In Xataka We have contacted Orange, an operator that offers connectivity in different connected V-16 beacons on the market. The company confirms the above, although it points out that, exactly, it is not that the operator keeps the servers of the bankrupt company, it only guarantees that the signal reaches DGT 3.0. “The communication architecture has been defined so that there are two ways to send the data to DGT 3.0: through the manufacturer’s cloud services (which must always be used if there are no incidents) or directly from the operator if the manufacturer’s cloud service is not operational (manufacturer bankruptcy or massive drop in its cloud service)” It’s not easy. The truth is that although we have confirmation from this beacon manufacturer And getting there is not easy. In the Resolution of November 30, 2021 which details the requirements that a V-16 beacon must have connected to be valid, it specifies that the manufacturer must have support to offer the service if it cannot be performed, but nowhere does it specify whether this company should be the operator, as Atressa Automotive tells us. This text explains the above-mentioned details of protocols A and B. Subsequently, the following is stated: The implementation of a device with these characteristics requires having a standard channel and a common language. Additionally, defining this standard also makes it easier for a third party to perform these functions if necessary due to the existence of a problem in the information systems of a manufacturer. The data model that the messages that V-16 devices send to their manufacturers’ information services must comply with is defined below. a hoax. Although with the connected V-16 beacons we have had a lot of controversy and we know that there are even those who has demonstrated cybersecurity risksThe truth is that this time we are facing a hoax. The DGT has actively repeated that when we buy a connected V-16 beacon we are guaranteed access to DGT 3.0 for 12 years. And although the protocol does not clearly detail whether a specific company must take charge (operators, other manufacturers…), it does specify that it must guarantee backup to keep the service active. Photo | DGT In Xataka | V16 beacon without eSIM or connectivity: what the DGT says about them from 2026

iRobot invented and dominated the robot vacuum industry. Now it’s bankrupt

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The company that created the Roomba robot vacuum cleaners, iRobot, has declared bankruptcy in the United States. The future of its products seems safe, but only after a move in which the winner is the Chinese technological steamroller. what has happened. The company already r in March, and a potential bankruptcy seemed imminent. The financial results The third quarter certainly didn’t help. This Sunday, those responsible requested entry into the so-called “Chapter 11”, a technical bankruptcy that companies in trouble request. The objective of this process is for a company to reorganize its properties and debts to continue operating instead of liquidating all its assets. Disastrous results. iRobot generated nearly 682 million in revenue in 2024, but its benefits have been fading, mainly due to competition with Chinese manufacturers such as Ecovacas. Although iRobot continues to be a protagonist in markets such as the US and Japan, this competition has forced it to lower prices and see its profit margins reduced. The tariffs. Another cause of the fall according to the documents of that bankruptcy application has been the tariffs. Especially those that apply to imports from Vietnam, where iRobot manufactures its robot vacuum cleaners for the United States, and which are 46%, a figure that is hardly sustainable for the manufacturer. That tax increased costs by $23 million in 2025 and made it more difficult to establish future plans. Amazon has gotten away with a good. amazon announced the purchase of iRobot for 1.7 billion dollars – later the figure was adjusted to 1.4 billion. The operation finally was canceled because as the companies expressed “there was no path to regulatory approval for that agreement.” When that agreement fell apart, iRobot began accumulating debts that Picea, the manufacturer of the Roomba, assumed. iRobot will pass into Chinese hands. The plan to get out of iRobot’s technical bankruptcy consists of something very simple but equally terrible for its creators. Picea will end up taking over 100% of iRobot’s assets and will cancel the $190 million of accumulated debts, in addition to the $74 million of debts that iRobot also owed to Picea under the manufacturing agreement that both had. Users can rest assured. According to iRobot, this process will allow there to be no impact on the functionality and support of its products and applications, its customer programs, its partner relationships or its supply chain. This means that current Roomba users will continue to be able to enjoy them with (theoretically) the same level of support as before. Not only that: Picea will theoretically continue to develop and market new models going forward. In four years they are worth 25 times less. In 2021, iRobot had a valuation of $3.56 billion. The pandemic boosted demand and significantly encouraged sales. Four years later data compiled by LSEG and cited in Reuters They indicate that its value is 140 million dollars, 25 times less than then. Pioneers devastated by the Chinese steamroller. iRobot was created in 1990 by three robotics experts from MIT. Although they initially focused on defense and space projects, in 2002 they launched the first robotic vacuum cleaner Roomba. The product was an absolute success, and today it continues to be the dominant brand in the United States (42% share) and especially in Japan (65%). China takes over the market. In recent years, Chinese manufacturers have managed to innovate faster and end up outselling iRobot models. Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame and Xiaomi have already managed to outsell iRobot in the first quarter of 2025, and with the current agreement – ​​Picea, a Chinese manufacturer, will be behind the Roomba – China’s effective market share will be almost absolute in this industry. A clean and silent conquest. In Xataka | “Humanoid robberies are a fantasy”: iRobot co-founder believes there is a robotics bubble

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