Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/673696
44 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 MAY 2016 Autonomous driving gains traction as Toyota opens third research facility TOYOTA is to open a third Toy- ota Research Institute facility in the USA, which will fund stud- ies into artificial intelligence, materials science and robotics. It will be located in Ann Arbor, close to the University of Michi- gan campus. The new centre, known as TRI-ANN, is due to open in June this year and is set to build a 50-strong team. It will join the TRI facility which opened in Pa- lo Alto in January (TRI-PAL) to work with Stanford University, and TRI-CAM in Cambridge, which works with the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technol- ogy. Toyota also has two well- established technical centres nearby, which have been re- searching the concept of auton- omous vehicles for more than a decade. A group of about 15 team members will transfer to the new TRI-ANN facility when it opens, together with Universi- ty of Michigan professors Ryan Eustice and Edwin Olson, who will be area leads respectively for mapping/localisation and perception. The Toyota Research Insti- tute is an enterprise designed to bridge the gap between fundamental research and product development. With initial funding of $1 billion, it has four initial mandates. The first is to strive to enhance automobile safety with the ulti- mate goal of creating a car that is incapable of causing a crash, regardless of the skill or condi- tion of the driver. The second is to work to in- crease access to vehicles for those who otherwise could not drive, including older people and those with special needs. The third is to help translate Toyota's expertise in creating products for outdoor mobility into products for indoor mobil- ity. Finally, TRI will accelerate scientific discovery by applying techniques from artificial intel- ligence and machine leaning, particularly in the sphere of materials science. This will also help reduce costs and improve the performance of future mobility systems. Beyond these, TRI is engag- ing in multiple projects with the three universities and is also pursuing collaboration with other car makers, IT companies, suppliers, research labs and aca- demic institutions for the joint development of autonomous technologies. Dr Pratt said: "Although the industry, including Toyota, has made great strides in the last five years, much of what we have collectively accomplished has been easy, because most driv- ing is easy. Where we need au- tonomy to help most is when the driving is difficult. It's this hard part that TRI intends to address. "Toyota's goal is safe mobility for all, at any time, in any place, and the tremendous improve- ments in quality of life that such universal mobility can bring." For more information on Toy- ota and its products visit the Toyota showroom situated in Mdina Road Zeb- bug log on the Toyota Malta Facebook page or call on 2269 4000. Easisave's 2% special offer on 1-year deposits extended FIMBANK is pleased to announce that its special offer of a 2.00% per annum interest rate on Easi- save one-year fixed term deposits, originally announced in March to celebrate Easisave's fifth anni- versary, has been extended until the end of May. An online savings platform developed by FIMBank, Easisave offers a range of deposit products in Euro and US Dollars to its customers, giving them a choice between savings or fixed term de- posits in different tenors. Commenting on the extension of the special offer, Chris Trapani, FIMBank's Head of Cash Manage- ment, stated that "We are delighted that our original offer, which was meant to reward our loyal custom- ers, was extremely well received, so much so that we have decided to extend it throughout the month of May. An advantageous market- leading 2.00% per annum interest rate will continue to be applied for existing Easisave customers who choose to open or renew a new 1 year fixed term deposit during the next 30 days." Mr Trapani also announced that as from June, the Bank will be rea- ligning its Easisave interest rates downwards, so as to conform to current market conditions. Easi- save is available exclusively on the Internet, and is designed to the highest standards, offering a secure environment in which customers can control and manage their sav- ings. For further information, please visit www.easisave.com or call the Easisave Helpdesk on telephone 21322102. Harley-Davidson bikers take to Maltese roads H A R L E Y-DAV I DSON bikers from six differ- ent H.O.G Chapters participated for the first ever H.O.G meet in Malta. The Belfast Chap- ter Northern Ireland, Etna, Duemari, Licata, Pescara and Palermo Chapters from Italy joined the H.O.G Malta Chapter for an event full of riding, food, and fun from the 22nd to the 24th of April, arriving in Malta on Friday with a welcome dinner that kicked off the event. The three-day affair continued on Saturday morning at Fapi Mo- tors showroom, and took the bik- ers for a ride around our beautiful islands, beginning from Malta on Saturday and proceeding to Gozo on Sunday. Members enjoyed parties and a number of dinners throughout the whole event, in- cluding a private party on Saturday night and a thank you dinner on Sunday evening, leading to the end of the event. A positive response was noted, especially in the feedback given on social media, with attendees stat- ing that the event was "An amaz- ing success!" and moving on to say that they "enjoyed it all the way" and "felt so proud of being a part of it. Looking forward for more." H.O.G. Malta Chapter, spon- sored by Harley-Da- vidson Malta, is a non- profit, family oriented association with the aim of further promot- ing Harley-Davidson motorcycling in par- ticular. The Chapter is a circle of Harley-Da- vidson owners in Malta and Gozo, united by a passion for the Bar and Shield. The Malta Chapter's objectives include being a recreational and social club, providing social eve- nings, Chapter rides and events to advance the interest and welfare of Harley-Davidson motorcycling in the community. Fapi Motors Ltd. are the official distributors of the Harley-Da- vidson brand in Malta. For more information you can visit our showroom in Attard, e-mail us on info@h-dmalta.com or call (+356) 2339 3102. Coins celebrate the art of Antonio Sciortino ON 25 April 2016 the Central Bank of Malta will issue numis- matic coins in gold and silver celebrating the art of Antonio Sciortino. The coins are issued under the Europa Programme with the theme 'modern 20th century' and bear the Europa Star logo. The gold coin has a face value of €50, while the silver coin has a face value of €10. The €10 silver coin is of 0.925 finesse and has a weight of 28.28g and a diameter of 38.61mm. The minting limit is 3,000 pieces. The €50 gold coin is of 0.916 finesse and has a weight of 6.5g and a diameter of 21mm. The minting limit is 1,000 piec- es. Both coins are struck to proof quality. The coins were designed and engraved by Noel Galea Bason, and were minted at the Royal Dutch Mint. The reverse of the coins carries a representation of Antonio Sciortino's sculpture 'Dangerous Sport' which the art- ist produced in 1937. Sciortino is arguably Malta's most inter- nationally acclaimed artist. He spent most of his working life in Rome where he produced a large number of works including 'Dan- gerous Sport'. Sciortino's con- cern with capturing movement is evident in this artwork, which heralded the style so symbolic of the artist's distinctly futurist oeuvre. The obverse of the coin features the new face of the Eu- ropa Programme coins which incorporates the coat of arms of Malta. This year's coins will be part of five-year series dedicated to dif- ferent periods of European art- forms and history which have been widely grouped as: Modern 20th century (2016), The Age of iron and glass (2017), Baroque and Rococo (2018), Renaissance (2019) and Gothic (2020). The coins may be purchased di- rectly from the Malta Coins Dis- tribution Centre's online e-shop facility on www.centralbankmal- ta.org or from the main building of the Central Bank of Malta. The gold coin will be sold for €320 and the silver coin for €60. For more information the public is kindly requested to contact the Bank's Malta Coins Distribution Centre by email on mcdc@cen- tralbankmalta.org or by calling (+356) 2550 6006/7.