Could Smart Build Another Miata Rival? This Time, It's Electric
A Smart Roadster revival would be nice, and apparently, it's entirely possible given that the brand is already preparing a successor to the ForTwo. There's one big catch, though – the Roadster will be entirely different, thanks to Smart's EV-only strategy.
In an interview with Auto Express, Smart UK CEO Jason Allbutt was asked if there's a possibility of a new Smart Roadster given the Fortwo's upcoming turn. Albutt recognized the "particularly good fun" that the convertible brought to the table before, and the UK's love of coupes and top-downs.
"For a country that has more rain than probably any other European market, we are lovers of coupés and roadsters. So yes, I could see a possibility for such a car in the UK," said Albutt.
However, Albutt emphasized that a Roadster revival isn't being planned yet, with the company currently focusing on the Smart #5 SUV and the Smart #6 hatchback. Both vehicles are electric, which follows the brand's strategy.
That said, if – and that's a huge IF – Smart proceeds with the revival of the Roadster, it will likely be battery-powered. It also needs to be lightweight and compact to match the original's driving dynamics, while also incorporating the instantaneous pull that EVs are known for. With an electric Mazda MX-5 potentially sitting alongside an ICE-powered Miata – a car like the Smart Roadster would be a worthy rival.
However, Albutt also expressed his reservations about an electric roadster. Apart from the sensory open-air feeling, he cited that buyers of roadsters typically open their tops to hear the sound of the engine. Of course, this isn't possible with an electric powertrain, though speed won't be a problem given where electric powertrains are these days.
"Maybe there's a new audience that would be looking at [an electric roadster] in a different way. I'm not quite sure yet as to who the buyers of that car really are. It's too early to tell right now, but we'll see."
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Verge
20 hours ago
- The Verge
Matter's latest update doubles down on stability and pushes the platforms to play better together
For Matter, this year was never going to be about flashy new features. Other than support for security cameras, which I hear should finally arrive this fall, 2025 is all about fixing problems. And with Matter 1.4.2, announced today, the smart home standard is taking an encouraging step forward. Back in January, Tobin Richardson, president and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (the organization that runs Matter), said this year was all about 'focusing on fixing these reliability and performance issues.' Now, over halfway through 2025, the CSA is finally looking to make good on that promise, and showing signs that it's prepared to push the platforms harder to work together and adopt these new specs sooner. Matter 1.4.2 brings more standardization to the standard, so devices behave the same whether you're using Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, or any Matter platform; improvements to how devices communicate, which should mean fewer random disconnects and faster responses; and a big reliability push. The CSA is pushing the platforms to work together better and adopt these new specs sooner And where does reliability in the smart home start? With your Wi-Fi router. Home routers and access points were added to Matter in 1.4, and the latest spec lays the foundations for Matter ecosystems to automatically optimize router settings to help your gadgets get connected and stay connected to your network. This includes things like managing multicast traffic (a way devices communicate over a network) and storing Thread network credentials to help devices connect to the right Thread network. While there aren't any Matter-certified routers yet, the potential here is huge. Misconfigured router settings are one of the most common reasons a device won't connect to a network, and the user is normally left to figure that out. With this feature, your smart home platform could potentially fix these problems before they arise. Your smart home platform could potentially fix connectivity problems before they arise The 1.4.2 spec introduces new security features for Matter routers, including Access Restriction Lists (ARLs), so platforms can only access the settings they need to, limiting the potential that they could mess up your Netflix streaming. The spec sets new minimum standards for how many devices a router can support, including at least 150 Thread devices and 100 Wi-Fi devices. It also adds support for Target Wake Time to help battery-powered devices conserve energy. All these improvements rely on ecosystems and device manufacturers rolling out updates Several network management tweaks in 1.4.2 should help keep devices online and communicating more efficiently. These include updates around how often and why devices need to 'check in,' which should help reduce traffic. This could prolong battery life for some devices and mean faster response times for all devices, as they're not fighting to be heard. Gadgets that don't need to report in often, like say a water leak sensor, should now be able to stay 'asleep' for longer without being dropped off the network. Security updates with 1.4.2 bring protections for a growing concern in IoT: cloning. 'We've added the ability to revoke the unique ID every Matter device has,' explains Steve Hanna of Infineon. This means if you try to add a device that has been identified as cloned or counterfeit, you'll get a warning that it's not secure. Matter Controllers will also now be able to cryptographically verify they are what they say they are, again designed to ensure nothing counterfeit and potentially dangerous can get onto your Matter network. 'This is considered an industry best practice,' says Hanna. 'We've not seen this in the wild, but we're focused on being proactive.' Matter is a smart home interoperability standard designed to provide a common language for connected devices to communicate locally in your home without relying on a cloud connection. It is built to be secure and private, easy to set up, and widely compatible. Developed by Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, and others, Matter is an open-sourced, IP-based connectivity software layer for smart home devices. It works over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Thread. Thread is a low-power, wireless mesh protocol. It operates on the same 2.4GHz spectrum as Zigbee and is designed for low-power devices, such as sensors, light bulbs, plugs, and shades. IP-based, Thread devices can communicate directly with each other, the internet, and with other networks using a Thread Border Router. Today, Matter supports most of the main device types in the home, including lighting, thermostats, locks, robot vacuums, refrigerators, dishwashers, dryers, ovens, smoke alarms, air quality monitors, EV chargers, and more. A smart home gadget with the Matter logo can be set up and used with any Matter-compatible ecosystem via a Matter controller and controlled by more than one ecosystem with a feature called multi-admin. Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Apple Home, Home Assistant, Ikea, and Aqara are among the well-known smart home companies supporting Matter, along with hundreds of device manufacturers. There are also some quality-of-life updates for users in the new release, which are focused on standardizing the experience across smart home platforms. Wi-Fi-only commissioning: Currently, Bluetooth is the only way to onboard a device to Matter, meaning every device has to have a Bluetooth radio that may only be used during setup. With Wi-Fi commissioning, manufacturers no longer need to build Bluetooth into their devices, which could lead to cheaper gadgets. The onboarding experience would be the same, though: scan the Matter code into your ecosystem app. Matter Controllers will have to get a firmware upgrade to support Wi-Fi onboarding, so it will be a while until we see manufacturers taking advantage of this. Better scenes: Matter Scenes now have a standardized way for ecosystems to activate them. This means you can create scenes using just Matter devices in your smart home app, and they should respond faster and still work when the internet is down, compared to scenes that include devices on other protocols. Scenes also now support time-based actions. So, for example, you can create a wakeup scene where lights could slowly brighten over 30 minutes. Cleaner device identification: Matter ecosystems will recognize when a device has been added to them twice — say, through cloud connection and through Matter — and just show it once in their app. Devices with multiple functions, like a power strip with four smart outlets or a sensor with multiple capabilities, will be more reliably identified across ecosystems. Automatic adding: 1.4.2 standardizes how devices inform a Matter ecosystem about their presence or new capabilities. So, if you add a new light to your Hue bridge, or if a gadget receives a new feature from a firmware update, your smart home app can alert you to the new device/capability automatically without any additional setup. Standardized robot vacuum behavior: Another update to make things work the same way, no matter which ecosystem app you're using, vacuum commands are getting updated. Now, a job won't have to be canceled before a new one can be started. While all of this sounds very encouraging for the smart home standard, these improvements rely on ecosystems and device manufacturers rolling out updates or building new hardware (there are still no Matter-enabled Wi-Fi routers). One of Matter's biggest problems has been the slow adoption of new specs by some of the major players, which in turn deters manufacturers from investing in updates and new hardware. Tobin Richardson tells me the CSA has developed fast-track programs that make it easier, faster, and cheaper to update to the most recent code, which might lead to quicker uptake. When Matter launched almost three years ago, it seemed the hope was the big players here – Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung – would just take it and run with it. That's not been the case. The resulting setbacks and slowdowns have frustrated customers and manufacturers alike. Taken as a whole, the Matter 1.4 updates have a clear focus on nudging the ecosystems forward, giving them better tools to make it easier for them to create better experiences. Let's hope they use from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Analysis Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Matter Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Report Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Smart Home Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Beyond the Desk: Why WELL and Ergonomics Matter More Than Ever
NORTHAMPTON, MA / / August 11, 2025 / The way we work has changed. Offices now stretch from skyscrapers to spare bedrooms, and employee well-being is no longer just a nice-to-have experience, it's a business essential. But let's be honest: it's easy to overlook comfort when your "office" is your kitchen table. As hybrid and remote models become the norm, creating environments that support physical comfort and mental wellness is key. That's where smart ergonomics and the WELL Building Standard™ come in, not as extras, but as essentials. Together, they offer a roadmap to healthier, more engaged, and more productive teams. Ergonomics Isn't Just About Chairs Bad posture, poor lighting, and awkward setups, whether in the office or at home, can quickly lead to aches, strain, and burnout. And that hurts more than just your back. Productivity drops, engagement dips, and health costs rise. For example, research shows that poor ergonomics can reduce productivity by up to 40%, while proper ergonomic interventions can cut workers' compensation claims by 58%. A few quick fixes won't cut it anymore. This means going beyond merely providing furniture; it requires training, clear guidance, and a commitment to keeping all employees protected, comfortable, and productive, wherever they work. Today's hybrid work reality needs flexible, proactive ergonomic support, for everyone, everywhere. Enter: The WELL Building Standard What if your building could actually make people feel better? That's the idea behind the WELL Building Standard™, a globally recognized system that helps organizations create spaces designed to improve human health and well-being. WELL looks at the full picture of how a space affects the people inside it. That includes: Air quality and ventilation Lighting that supports natural rhythms Thermal comfort (because no one does their best work when they're freezing) Noise control, clean materials, water quality, and more Even mental health, community, and movement - it's all connected It's backed by science, designed to be flexible, and focused on people, whether you're designing a new space, upgrading an existing one, or just trying to better support hybrid teams. WELL certification comes in tiers: Silver (meeting core health and wellness features), Gold (demonstrating enhanced performance), and Platinum (achieving the highest level of human health and wellness benefits), but even starting the process shows employees you're serious about their health and comfort. And with options like the WELL Health-Safety Rating, you can focus on key operational strategies around cleanliness, emergency preparedness, and building trust, without a full design overhaul. Real Results: Some large global companies have reported that WELL-certified buildings led to 6% higher cognitive function scores and 16% better sleep quality among employees. Curious how WELL Certification could give your company an edge in attracting top talent?Explore this scenario that brings the benefits of WELL to life. Combining WELL-aligned workspaces and ergonomics support leads to a workplace that feels good to be in and one that stands out in a competitive market. Where Ergonomics and WELL Work Together Here's the best part: WELL and ergonomics aren't separate strategies - they're complementary. In fact, WELL includes specific features focused on ergonomic furniture and practices. Ergonomics is about physical comfort, reducing strain, and improving posture and productivity. WELL adds layers like air quality, lighting, noise control, and mental health support, all of which directly impact how people feel at work. Together, they reinforce each other. When ergonomic design is paired with WELL-aligned spaces, people experience less fatigue, more focus, and greater job satisfaction. And when employees feel good, they do better work. Real Results: The Benefits of WELL + Ergo Speak for Themselves Combining WELL strategies and ergonomic support isn't just about doing the right thing, it's about measurable business outcomes. For example: Fewer injuries: Think fewer neck, back, and wrist complaints. Better focus: Comfort + good air + smart lighting = clearer thinking. Happier teams: People feel valued, and they stick around. Bringing it to Life: What You Can Do Now Ready to start? Here are three practical steps to bring ergonomics and WELL principles into your workplace: Offer comprehensive ergonomics checks for both home and office setups: don't assume a one-size-fits-all solution works. Personalize support to help employees stay safe and comfortable wherever they work. Design with WELL in mind: natural light, quiet zones, thermal comfort, greenery, improved air filtration. Promote healthy habits through structured programs: encourage movement breaks every hour, provide hydration reminders, and create dedicated spaces for mental breaks and meditation. The Bottom Line: People-First Workplaces Win If you want a healthier, more productive workforce, it's time to think beyond the desk. Combine ergonomics with WELL principles and build work environments that support your people, wherever they are, so they feel safe and empowered to do their best work. Your employees will thank you. And your bottom line will too. Ready to transform your workplace wellness strategy? Our WELL-certified experts can guide you through a comprehensive assessment of your current environment and develop a customised roadmap for certification. Contact us today to schedule your initial consultation and discover how WELL certification can become your competitive advantage in attracting and retaining top talent. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Antea Group on Contact Info:Spokesperson: Antea GroupWebsite: info@ SOURCE: Antea Group View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Tencent Cloud Announces Full Upgrade of AIoT 2.0 Product Solutions, Setting a New All-in-One Standard for Intelligent Device Development
HONG KONG, Aug. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, today announced the upgrade of its AIoT 2.0 product solutions, which will deliver seamless hardware-software integration with ready-to-use multimodal capabilities. The enhanced offering features TWeTalk (voice intelligence system) and TWeSee (video intelligence system), both deeply integrated into Tencent Cloud's foundational AIoT platform for device management, messaging, and end-to-end audio & video communications. Together, these solutions provide users with a comprehensive, intuitive one-stop service, while also supporting the global expansion of smart hardware. As artificial intelligence continues to advance, AIoT products are transitioning from simply being "AI-assisted" to becoming truly "AI-driven." By addressing challenges such as complex system integrations, model adaptations, and high development and deployment costs, AIoT 2.0 harnesses Tencent Cloud's deep expertise in AI, IoT, and audio & video technologies. These solutions facilitate seamless integration between hardware and software, making interactions among people, devices, and systems smarter, more efficient, and more user-friendly. AIoT 2.0: A New Standard for Intelligent Device Development The upgraded AIoT 2.0 product suite—featuring TWeTalk, TWeSee, and the foundational AIoT platform—sets a new benchmark for intelligent device development. "Compared to version 1.0, AIoT 2.0 offers deeper integration with AI technologies, particularly in Voice and Visual Agents, delivering significant enhancements in both functionality and user experience," said the Tencent Cloud AIoT team. TWeTalk delivers a comprehensive AI conversational solution for smart hardware, with a focus on advanced Voice Agent functionality and real-time audio-video communication capabilities (TRTC/WebSocket). On the device side, TWeTalk partners with leading embedded chip and module manufacturers to integrate core technologies such as noise reduction, wake word detection, and sound source localization. On the cloud side, it provides essential services and distinctive features including speech-to-text (STT) with emotion recognition, voice broadcasting, text-to-speech (TTS), voice customization, WeChat call integration, and conversation highlights. TWeTalk also offers robust AI platform capabilities such as model fine-tuning, agent customization, knowledge graphs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and model context protocol (MCP). Additionally, TWeTalk integrates seamlessly with Tencent's extensive ecosystem, broadening its range of applications. For communications, TWeTalk enables two-way audio & video calls (VoIP) between devices and WeChat, making it suitable for a wide array of use cases. In terms of content, it supports integration with QQ Music, allowing users to easily access music through voice commands for a more convenient listening experience. Looking ahead, TWeTalk will also enable wearable devices such as smartwatches and AR glasses to support WeChat Pay, enabling smooth and secure payments directly from these devices. Users can customize these features to suit their specific business needs, assembling them in a modular, building block–style approach for highly tailored solutions. Through close collaboration with leading chip and module partners, TWeTalk ensures optimized compatibility, allowing users to deploy finely tuned large AI models with minimal chip resources. This approach delivers cost-effective, full-scenario edge-cloud collaboration and significantly lowers the development barrier for smart hardware. Currently, TWeTalk is widely used across a range of applications, including companion toys, robotics, smart wearables, live translation headphones, smart ordering systems, intelligent tours, and AI interviews. It enables natural conversations between users and smart devices with end-to-end latency below 800 ms. For example, Dahua's intelligent surveillance solutions leverage Tencent Cloud's technology to allow IPC (Internet Protocol Camera) devices with screens to make native WeChat calls. This ensures users receive WeChat notifications directly on their devices without the need to install additional applications, thus important calls are never missed. TWeSee is dedicated to advanced visual solutions, offering video condensation, summarization, search, and object detection—powered by visual agents with perception, reasoning, and autonomous decision-making capabilities. With TWeSee, visual capture devices progress from merely "seeing" to truly "understanding", transforming into intelligent systems able to perform multimodal perception, multi-dimensional analysis, and scenario-based decision making. On the integration side, TWeSee provides plug-and-play AI visual analytics for audio and video equipment connected to the Tencent Cloud AIoT platform, while also offering seamless access for third-party cloud storage users. This greatly shortens the time-to-market for smart applications. Powered by self-developed multimodal large models, TWeSee is specifically optimized for use cases such as IPCs, smart locks, and security surveillance, continuously enhancing video understanding across diverse scenarios. For instance, with IPC devices, TWeSee can automatically generate concise video highlights of important events and deliver real-time alerts. Additionally, TWeSee supports natural language search, enabling precise and intelligent indexing across large video datasets. In pet monitoring scenarios, TWeSee can condense video footage of pets into engaging video highlights. For playback retrieval, users can search using text or images, and when paired with TWeTalk, voice search is also supported—for example, "retrieve footage of yesterday's delivery worker". In industrial settings, TWeSee delivers advanced visual analytics for applications such as supermarket foot traffic analysis, shelf stockout detection, theft identification, and monitoring employee behavior, providing valuable customer insights and timely theft alerts. With its robust and adaptable visual understanding capabilities, TWeSee quickly adapts to a wide range of customer needs and industry requirements, enabling smart devices to fully realize the vision of an intelligent and connected world. From "General Intelligence" to "Scenario Intelligence": Global Implementation Redefines the AIoT Interaction Experience With the rapid advancement of AIoT technology, the boundaries of hardware devices are constantly expanding, and industry focus has shifted from pure technical competition to ecosystem building. The ability to achieve real-world implementation across various application scenarios has become a key measure of enterprise competitiveness. Tencent Cloud's AIoT 2.0 product solutions are deeply integrated into industries and use cases worldwide, driving intelligent transformation across a diverse range of sectors. In the AI toy sector, Tencent Cloud equips Alpha Group's Weslie 3.0 smart toy with a comprehensive TWeTalk voice solution, offering features such as WeChat calling and voice customization. Jianing Lv, Product Head of Alpha Group's Intelligent Toy Division, shared: "With AI technology, we hope Weslie can evolve from a 2D cartoon character into a true smart companion—capable of making WeChat calls, singing, and genuinely accompanying children. This collaboration with Tencent Cloud and Yancheng AI Core Star Technology Co., Ltd, marks an exciting new journey into 'IP + AI'." Looking ahead, even more innovative features, including conversation highlights and memory storage, will be introduced to further enrich meaningful parent-child interactions. Talking Tom, an internationally renowned IP, has redefined the global landscape for AI toys with the launch of the "AI Tom Bud," powered by TWeTalk's global solution. Han Chengyan, Co-founder of Talking Tom's AI business, commented, "The localized deployment and language technology offered by Tencent Cloud's TWeTalk global solution were critical to our large-scale launch in the North American market. Our collaboration—from R&D to commercial rollout—was seamless. We are highly optimistic about our ongoing partnership and look forward to expanding the global AI companion market together." In the AI headphones sector, Philips AVA-CN has transformed its TAT5599 headphones by *iPhi APP into both a "AI meeting assistant" and a "portable interpreter" by leveraging Tencent Cloud TWeTalk's text summarization and real-time translation capabilities. Wang Qiang, General Manager of Philips AVA China Region, stated,"The distinction between traditional and AI headphones has been eliminated. Through our strategic collaboration with Tencent Cloud, Philips has redefined the standards for effective communication and productivity—shifting from simple 'sound transmission' to truly 'intelligent communication'." In the smart home sector, Kaadas—a long-standing leader in China's smart lock market, with products sold in 36 countries—has partnered with Tencent Cloud's TWeSee solution to bring a closed-loop experience to smart locks for the first time, spanning cloud decision-making, edge execution, and user feedback. By leveraging TWeSee's proprietary vision models for door lock scenarios, security events can be identified, summarized, and alerted with greater accuracy and speed. Intelligent extraction and rapid compilation of event videos reduce users' abnormal video search time by about 90%, cut average response time for security events to under 500 ms, and extend lock battery life by 30%. This empowers smart locks to truly "see and remember" everything happening at your doorstep. Gwelltimes, an innovative technology-driven company specializing in integrated smart security solutions, is a leading player in the network camera sector, with products and services spanning more than 200 countries and regions. Its popular Yoosee cameras are deeply integrated with Tencent Cloud's TWeSee visual intelligence solution—making Gwelltimes the first in the industry to deploy multimodal large models at scale. This advanced solution delivers intelligent event extraction, text summarization, and natural language video search, helping elevate the security industry from a "passive event recorder" to an "intelligent security steward" and establishing a new industry benchmark. Today, Gwelltimes' IPC products, powered by TWeSee, serve over 130 million Yoosee app users worldwide, making security video more interactive, engaging, and insightful. Last but not the least, a major Thai enterprise has leveraged Tencent Cloud's TWeSee visual intelligence solution to rapidly introduce value-added AI features—such as video highlights—to its existing video surveillance platform through lightweight cloud integration in less than three months. By unlocking new business value from its surveillance data, the company has established additional revenue streams. Moving forward, a wider range of TWeSee-powered value-added services will be rolled out, further propelling Thailand's smart home industry into the AI era. In summary, AI is reshaping the boundaries of the Internet of Things, driving industries into a new era of innovation and growth. With AIoT 2.0 product solutions, Tencent Cloud remains committed to advancing its technologies and solutions—delivering high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective intelligent services. This empowers industries around the world and helps customers unlock new opportunities for growth. About Tencent Cloud: Tencent Cloud, one of the world's leading cloud companies, is committed to creating innovative solutions to resolve real-world issues and enabling digital transformation for smart industries. Through our extensive global infrastructure, Tencent Cloud provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry-leading cloud products and services, leveraging technological advancements such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT, and network security. It is our constant mission to meet the needs of industries across the board, including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, property, retail, travel, and transportation. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Tencent Cloud Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
