FORMULA E AND GOOGLE CLOUD ANNOUNCE INCLUSIVITY PODCAST FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED MOTORSPORT FANS
Unveiled at the Google Cloud Summit in London by Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds, the project uses Google Cloud's generative AI technology to create rich, descriptive audio summaries of every E-Prix race.
The content will be made available globally on Spotify and other popular audio platforms in more than 15 languages, with Arabic being prominently featured alongside English, Spanish, French, German, and Mandarin – ensuring Middle Eastern fans can experience the thrill of Formula E racing in their native language.
The reports will provide fans with a dynamic recap that captures the excitement and key moments of the race, available on-demand within minutes after the chequered flag.
The initiative was born from a Google Cloud Hackathon held at the 2024 London E-Prix. It is being developed in close partnership with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to ensure the final product meets the needs of visually impaired users. Formula E and Google Cloud will work with the RNIB to conduct focus groups and user testing during the upcoming race weekends in Berlin and London, with a full rollout planned for Season 12.
Jeff Dodds, CEO, Formula E, said:
'At Formula E, we believe the thrill of electric racing should be accessible to everyone. This innovative collaboration with Google Cloud is a fantastic example of how technology can be used for good, creating a brand-new way for blind and visually impaired fans to experience the drama and emotion of our sport. By working closely with the RNIB, we are ensuring this innovation is truly inclusive and fit for purpose, so that no fan is left behind.'
John Abel, Managing Director, Specialised Software, Google Cloud, said:
'For too long, the visual nature of racing has been a barrier for fans who are blind or visually impaired. Google Cloud's AI technology will act as a digital storyteller, creating a vivid audio narrative that brings the speed, strategy, and excitement of Formula E to life. We are proud to work alongside a partner like Formula E that shares our passion for using innovation to break down barriers and connect people through shared experiences.'
Sonali Rai, RNIB's Media Culture and Immersive Technology Lead said:
'Audio description transforms how blind and partially sighted motorsport fans can fully engage in enjoying the full racing spectacle – taking in the visceral sounds of cars on the track while feeling the passion of the crowd.
'RNIB has been working with Formula E and Google Cloud on this AI-powered podcast which promises to give a full picture of the race in an accessible and engaging way for blind and partially sighted racing fans. Formula E's commitment to working directly with the blind and partially sighted community to develop this technology is exactly the right approach and sets a fantastic standard in inclusivity for other sports to follow and stay on track with new advances in innovation.'
How The Technology Works:
The audio report is created through a multi-stage process powered by Google Cloud's AI platform Vertex AI:
Transcription: Google's Chirp model accurately transcribes live race commentary. Analysis and Generation: Google's Gemini models then analyse the transcribed commentary alongside live timing data and other official race information. The audio report identifies key events – such as overtakes, incidents, and strategic pit stops – and generates a fact-based, engaging race summary. Audio Production: Finally, the text is converted into natural, expressive speech using advanced text-to-speech technology, creating a polished audio report ready for distribution.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
21 minutes ago
- Zawya
Bahrain: ONE App launches e-marketplace and BNPL
Bahrain - ONE App, powered by Al Salam Bank, has announced the launch of its integrated e-marketplace and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) feature. This latest development reflects ONE App's commitment to creating an inclusive and seamless retail ecosystem that empowers both clients and merchants through accessible and innovative digital solutions. The e-marketplace allows a wide network of local merchants – whether operating online or through physical retail outlets – to showcase their products directly within the app. This new platform offers users a curated retail experience, enabling them to browse, select, and purchase a diverse range of products with convenience and confidence. ONE App now allows clients to opt for BNPL as a payment method with interest-free and no paperwork or salary transfer required. Clients can split their payments into three monthly instalments, making shopping more flexible and accessible. The newly introduced features not only enhances client convenience but also extends significant value to merchants. Businesses can now digitally onboard themselves through a self-service process, enabling them to list products on the ONE App marketplace, extend comfortable instalment plans to their clients, and monitor their sales performance through an intuitive dashboard. This initiative is set to drive meaningful commercial growth by enabling merchants to reach a digitally connected audience while offering added flexibility at checkout, whether online or at physical retail locations. Commenting on the launch, ONE App general manager Haitham Al Haddad stated: 'Our goal at ONE App has always been to simplify everyday living by integrating financial services with real-life experiences. The launch of the e-marketplace, combined with a seamless BNPL feature, represents a transformative step forward — not only for our clients but for the broader retail landscape in Bahrain. This initiative empowers merchants with greater reach and digital presence while giving clients an affordable, transparent, and effortless way to shop. It is another example of how ONE App continues to bridge technology, finance, and lifestyle to build a smarter, more inclusive future.' The launch of the e-marketplace with BNPL is a significant step in ONE App's broader strategy to become the preferred digital platform for modern living. It reflects a vision rooted in accessibility, convenience, and value-delivering benefits that extend beyond financial transactions to support real economic participation and digital transformation across the kingdom. To learn more about the marketplace, shop with BNPL, or onboard as a merchant, users are invited to visit or download ONE App from the App Store or Google Play. Copyright 2022 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
The National
a day ago
- The National
Can Formula E drive electric mobility in road cars?
In front of a crowd of thousands, a pack of high-powered electric racing cars tore through the Excel London exhibition centre last weekend in the final rounds of the Formula E World Championship. At the two races in London that concluded the 2024-25 championship of this all-electric series, there was action aplenty, with crashes, daring overtakes and tensions over strategy between drivers and their teams. While the drama of Formula E (FE) is beyond dispute, the series has grander ambitions than entertainment: it states that it wants to 'accelerate change towards an electric future'. To achieve this, it states that it wants to alter perceptions and speed the switch to electric vehicles, by becoming to be a 'test bed' for low-carbon technologies. After concluding its 11th season, is FE realising its purpose? Johnny Herbert, 61, a British driver who scored multiple victories in Formula One and who now acts as a global brand ambassador for Lola Cars, which is involved in FE through its Lola Yamaha ABT team, cautions that electrification is still in its 'early stages' both on the racetrack and in road transport. Driven to the future 'It's not totally accepted [in road cars] but eventually it will be the norm and the same for FE, because the technology will only advance,' he said. The series is 'pushing the boundaries' technologically by using more sustainable materials, Mr Herbert says as he points at a piece of bodywork made from the natural fibre hemp. The short history of FE demonstrates of how electric mobility is improving. In the inaugural season, in 2014-15, and in the next three seasons, drivers had to swap cars mid-race because the batteries could not last for a whole race. Now a single car is enough. 'That [type of improvement] will feed down to road-car technology,' Mr Herbert said. 'Motorsport, it can advance the technology very, very quickly.' Julia Pallé, Formula E's vice president for sustainability, describes the series as having a mission to support electrification and, beyond that, to support 'sustainable human progress' by highlighting what technology can do to solve problems. 'We're technology optimists,' she said. 'We want to inspire people to adopt. The technology revolves mostly around battery software and power train. The technology road map is centred around the barriers to adoption consumers can encounter.' A key example of this is battery charging, which is well known as causing consumers to think twice about going electric. To highlight improvements in fast-charging technology, last season FE introduced Pit Boost, in which cars stop for 30 seconds to receive an ultra-fast charge that adds 10 per cent to the battery's energy. In another nod to consumers, Ms Pallé says that FE has a focus on street circuits rather than traditional race tracks to help make the series more relatable. 'We needed people to project that they would be driving electric vehicles,' she said. 'If they're driving racing cars in the heart of the city, [people think], 'I can do it myself.'' On the right track The 2024/25 FE season saw 16 races at 10 circuits, including two races in February at Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. Among the other locations where the cars lined up were street circuits in Berlin, Tokyo and Monaco. The cars themselves are blisteringly fast, accelerating from 0 to 60mph in as little as 1.82 seconds, compared to more than two seconds for Formula One cars, which, unlike the electric FE cars, are powered by a hybrid internal combustion engine. F1 cars have tyres with more grip and so tend to corner faster than their electric equivalents. According to official figures, nearly half the energy that FE cars need during a race comes from regenerative braking, which captures the energy from slowing the car and turns it into electricity. Central to FE's aim of advancing technology for electric mobility on the roads is attracting top car manufacturers to the sport, and in that respect it has had plenty of success. Ms Pallé describes the series as having 'arguably the biggest line-up of car manufacturers in motorsport', with 'fantastic household names' including Jaguar, Stellantis (owner of the Maserati and DS Automobiles brands, which each has an FE team) and Porsche. Nissan too has its own team. 'It's testament that there's a need from OEMs [original equipment manufacturers or brands] to develop technology and take that and transfer [it] to passenger cars. That's important to us,' Ms Pallé said. 'We hope for the future we get some Chinese OEMs, because China is playing a key role in electric mobility.' Make or brake? Whether the series will prove commercially successful long term remains unclear. McLaren have pulled the plug on their FE team and Tom Rubython, editor-in-chief of BusinessF1 magazine, says that FE is 'making huge losses which are getting worse'. In the financial year to September 30, the series' pre-tax losses were €78.3 million (Dh331.7 million), nearly 85 per cent up on the previous year's losses of €42.4 million (Dh178.6 million), and revenue fell, something attributed to a reduction in the number of race events. 'They would be all right if they could make money,' Mr Rubython said. 'They're doing quite well on sponsorship, but they've got to lower the costs.' The series reports that the number of people viewing coverage is increasing and says that it will reach profitability as interest grows, while the championship's title sponsor, ABB, an electrification and automation company, recently announced that it was continuing its support. Aside from FE's potential to accelerate electric vehicle technology and to encourage consumers to turn to electric vehicles, another key issue is how sustainable the series itself is. At Change Accelerated Live, a sustainability-themed conference on the sidelines of the London event, FE became the first sport to be certified by the BSI (British Standards Institution) as being on the way to achieving its target of reaching net zero carbon emissions. 'BSI send in the auditors to check that the claims they're making are valid. We are living in a world of greenwashing – people want more confidence it's a valid claim,' Martin Townsend, the BSI's growth director, said. Formula E has, he says, set targets to cut emissions and make events as sustainable as possible by, for example, cutting out single-use plastics and making transport to races greener. Jeff Dodds, the CEO of Formula E, told the conference that the series had cut from three to two the number of aircraft needed to transport the series around the globe. It uses no more planes, he told delegates, than a single F1 team. Sustainability auditing by BSI extends to considering how the electricity that powers the cars is generated. In the 10th season every race except the event in Tokyo used completely sustainable power, according to the series, although overall emissions that season went up from 32,569 tCO2e (tonnes of CO2 equivalent) to 33,529 tCO2e. The series states that it investments in climate projects offset its emissions. Mr Townsend describes FE as 'already' being a trailblazer and, as well as developing technology that could be used in road cars, he suggests that it could influence industries outside motorsport. 'We're seeing more and more that sustainability is jumping across sectors,' he said. 'You used to find that, historically, industry was ring fenced, but now we're seeing more technology jumps.' As an example, he cites the way that vehicle battery packs are used to power homes, often through the use of solar energy. Willem Groenewald, Secretary General for car mobility, sustainability and tourism at the FIA, the organisation that governs world motorsport, says that 'all of our championships are firmly entrenched in net zero'. 'The climate action developments extend beyond the championship through to promoters and partners – everybody is making a contribution with sustainability goals,' he said. 'It's all contributing to a significant impact. FE is testament to that. Look around at what they've done: it's electrifying, it truly is.'
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE's e-invoicing revolution: The Peppol promise in tax filing
The UAE is gearing up for a digital transformation in tax compliance with the mandatory launch of e-invoicing starting July 1, 2026. This shift isn't just about reducing paperwork — it's about redefining how businesses issue, track, and report transactions across sectors. But what exactly does e-invoicing mean in practice? And what can the UAE learn from early movers like Saudi Arabia, India, and global frameworks like Peppol? Contrary to popular belief, e-invoicing is not about emailing a PDF. Think of an e- invoice not just as a document, but as a conversation between five parties — two familiar, and three newly invited guests: 1. The seller – That's you, the business issuing the invoice. 2. The buyer – Your customer who receives the invoice. 3. The seller's ASP (Accredited Service Provider) – An FTA-approved tech platform that formats and securely sends your invoice to the right channels. 4. The buyer's ASP – Another approved platform that receives and processes the invoice on the buyer's side, ensuring compatibility and security. 5. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) – The ultimate overseer. It validates the invoice in real time for compliance, accuracy, and auditability. So, every e-invoice is more than a digital receipt — it's a structured dialogue routed through secure intermediaries, keeping everyone accountable and in sync. So, every time an e-invoice is created, it's not just a one-way message from seller to buyer. It's a five-way interaction that promotes trust, automation, and audit- readiness. As in most economies, even the FTA's rollout will occur in two phases: • Phase 1 (July 2026): Targets large businesses issuing B2B and B2G invoices. • Phase 2 (2027 onward): Extends to SMEs and B2C entities with invoice clearance and real-time reporting. Saudi Arabia: A regional success story Saudi Arabia's Zatca introduced e-invoicing in 2021 with a phased approach — first requiring businesses to generate e-invoices, and later mandating real-time integration with tax systems. The result? Millions saved in VAT leakage, quicker audits, and improved compliance. Businesses became more transparent and tax administration more efficient. For the UAE, Saudi Arabia's approach offers a ready blueprint for scale and execution — backed by data and success metrics. India's experience: Scale, simplicity, and structure India launched its e-invoicing regime under the GST framework in 2020. Starting with large taxpayers and expanding downward, every invoice passes through a centralised Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) and is validated in real time. This system exposed large-scale mismatches and helped recover massive tax leakages, while improving invoice trail integrity. One key takeaway from India is that technology alone isn't enough — effective training, stakeholder awareness, and robust onboarding are critical to success. The Peppol model: A path to global compatibility Peppol is like the global party planner for e-invoicing — making sure every guest (buyer or seller) shows up on time, wears the right outfit (standard format), speaks the same language (structured data), enters through the approved door (access point), and follows house rules (security and validation). Whether the party's in Singapore, Sydney, or Sharjah, Peppol ensures the compliance stays smooth and no one gets lost in translation. For the UAE, it could be the key to hosting seamless e-invoicing across the GCC ensuring flawless digital harmony. Countries like Singapore and Australia have already adopted Peppol to simplify both domestic and international e-invoicing. For the UAE, it could serve as the backbone for GCC-wide interoperability, reducing system mismatches and enabling seamless digital trade in B2B and B2G environments. The time to act is now The FTA may have set the deadline for 2026, but readiness must begin today. Companies should assess their ERP capabilities, ensure XML/JSON compatibility, engage with registered ASPs, and prepare teams for new workflows. This transformation isn't just about compliance — it's about competitiveness. The UAE Vision 2031 imagines a fully digital tax ecosystem powered by AI, real-time validation, and data transparency. E-invoicing is its gateway. Final thoughts The writer is Associate Partner, MICS.
