Author: Techie.lk

PhoneBot uses a torso-mounted smartphone for camera vision, motion sensing and movement-control computation. The researchers estimate its hardware cost at about $400, excluding the handset. Smartphones combine cameras, motion sensors and powerful processors in devices that fit inside a pocket. These features could also make them useful components for robots, reducing the need to buy and connect separate sensors, processors or other electronics. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, recently developed PhoneBot, a small humanoid robot that relies on an Android smartphone to sense its surroundings and control its movements. Their proposed system, introduced in a preprint posted…

Mahesh de Andrado is a Sri Lankan technology reviewer, PC hardware specialist, and digital infrastructure professional with over a decade of hands-on experience across high-performance computing, consumer technology, and digital systems. His work has appeared in the Sunday Times Magazine and ReadMe.lk, covering everything from PC hardware and consumer devices to emerging technologies and the local tech ecosystem. He was also the former Head of Systems Division at Redline Technologies, where he built and optimized custom gaming rigs, creative workstations, and enterprise systems, with a particular focus on performance, troubleshooting, and cost-effective upgrade strategies. He is currently the Digital &…

Sri Lanka’s consumer electronics retail scene is not short on options for someone looking to buy an iPhone or a MacBook, with grey-market importers, multi-brand electronics chains, and a handful of authorized resellers all competing for the same customer. DigiBox is entering that landscape with a narrower, more deliberate proposition: Don’t try to be everything to everyone but aim to be one of the clearest and most trusted places to buy Apple products in Sri Lanka. The company describes itself as a Sri Lankan Apple-focused retail and e-commerce destination, built around iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and related accessories,…

In a major transformation of Sri Lanka Customs, the Digital Signature and Paperless Customs Declaration Processing System, introduced jointly by the Revenue Administration Reform and Modernisation Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat and Sri Lanka Customs, was officially launched last week at the Sri Lanka Customs Auditorium, under the patronage of Deputy Minister of Economic Development Nishantha Jayaweera and Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake. Accordingly, with effect from today, all importers and declarants are required to submit their customs declarations and other relevant documents bearing a valid digital signature. Customs declarations submitted under the previous system will no…

Elon Musk has a history of making controversial comments online, especially in recent years. And if one thing is clear, it is that this tech billionaire does not like Instagram. Musk, who bought Twitter and subsequently rebranded it as X, maintains that Instagram is an app for girls. Elon Musk once again expressed his opinion on Instagram while replying to a post on X. The author of the original message stated they were leaving Instagram because they considered it an “inherently feminine” app with “no benefit.” Musk quickly replied: “Instagram is for girls.” This is not the first time Elon…

OpenAI yesterday confirmed it will not release GPT-6.1 Astra, its new autonomous AI model, after it failed to meet the company’s safety standards, a rare case of a major developer withdrawing a product over risk. The model, designed to browse the web and operate apps without human input, fell short on staying within its scope and authorisation and on how it reports back to users on the work it has done, OpenAI Head of Safety Systems Saachi Jain said. “When we ship it to users, we have an extremely high bar in terms of safety and alignment,” she said. The…

Huawei is showcasing a range of artificial intelligence applications at Sri Lanka AI Week 2026, demonstrating how AI can support everyday experiences, customer service, business, industry, government, infrastructure and education. As the AI Technology Partner, Huawei is participating for the second consecutive year, following the inaugural National AI Expo in 2025. The Huawei booth at Monarch Imperial features 18 demonstrations showing AI in practical settings. Huawei AI Innovations for Everyday and Business For everyday experiences, the AI Digital Human, developed with iFLYTEK, demonstrates multilingual, multimodal interaction and 24/7 smart service, while the Multilingual AI Screen enables real-time cross-language communication at…

Haridhu Abeygoonaratne is the Chief Operating Officer of SimCentric Technologies a leading provider of turnkey solutions for military simulation. He brings 20 years of experience in the software development industry. He is also the Vice Chair of the Sri Lanka Association of Software & Service Companies (SLASSCOM), and a passionate advocate for the Sri Lankan knowledge and innovation sector. Techie.Lk caught up with Mr. Abeygoonaratne recently to gather his expert insights on the Sri Lankan tech and IT sectors. Haridhu on Building a Product Nation and Tech Priorities As a leader within SLASSCOM, what do you believe should be the…

XpressJobs has been recognised for its AI Recruitment Assistant in the Best Agentic AI Solution category at the National AI Awards 2026. The inaugural ceremony took place on 30 September at Monarch Imperial, Colombo. The awards form part of Sri Lanka AI Week 2026: AI Amplified, powered by the Ministry of Digital Economy and SLT-MOBITEL. They recognise organisations building practical AI solutions in Sri Lanka. Two rounds of filtering narrowed 263 applications to 83 companies, which went to face-to-face judging. Four expert panels assessed entries over two days. Criteria included innovation, measurable impact, technical excellence, responsible AI, scalability and execution.…

Microsoft released its latest Windows 11 26H2 update, bringing a new milestone for Windows 11 users. In this release, Microsoft is highlighting a few features that Windows 11 25H2 users have not yet experienced. These include a smarter File Explorer with new capabilities such as summarization, additional archive formats, and AI productivity enhancements. Additionally, Windows Search has been improved to prioritize searching through your files before resorting to web searches, while also handling typos and partial application names more effectively. Frequently used folders will receive automatic indexing, making them easier to find. Other optimizations include updates to Magnifier with new…