Tesla-Grünheide with problems and an alternative to GPS

We hope you had a good day and now we want to give you some exciting information to take with you into the evening. t3n Daily is also available as a newsletter. Here are the topics of the day.

Tesla’s German gigafactory in Grünheide, Brandenburg, is apparently facing a turnaround in human resources. Hundreds of contract workers are at risk of being laid off, according to a Business Insider report, which references an internal email. In addition, extra shifts are to be canceled in the second quarter and regular working shifts reduced from three to two and a half.

Tesla disagreed that this had to do with sales problems. The Gigafactory near Berlin is “still successfully ramping up,” the US company said. Tesla explained that temporary workers would still be needed, “but to a lesser extent”. According to RBB, there are several hundred temporary workers among the 10,000 people who work in the Gigafactory in Brandenburg. It’s no secret that Tesla was recently looking for specialists such as maintenance workers and electricians.

European e-commerce providers can expect to soon have to compete with Alibaba. The Chinese company has now announced that it will enter the European market with Tmall. Tmall is one of the world’s largest mobile commerce platforms for brands and retailers. Michael Evans, President of Alibaba Group Holding, said at an event in Paris that Tmall plans to sell locally branded products to customers in Europe.

That could affect big local players like Amazon and Ebay, but also Otto, Zalando and About You and put them under pressure. Evans explained that Tmall will initially start with a pilot project in Spain and then gradually open up other countries. The company did not specify when Germany was on the agenda.

Researchers have tested a GPS alternative using cosmic rays. Unlike GPS, the muon-based navigation system is said to also work under water and in caves, since these elementary particles are said to be able to penetrate hundreds of meters of stone and water. A chamber in the Cheops pyramid that had been hidden for at least 4,500 years was recently discovered.

The GPS alternative could be used in the future, for example, in rescue operations at sea or in caves and guide robots to possible victims with pinpoint accuracy. However, the muon navigation system is still a long way from practical application. The accuracy was a maximum of two to 25 meters. However, the accuracy must be at least one meter, according to the international research team.

Deutsche Bahn wants to use specially developed AI software to make its trains more punctual. The AI ​​should be able to simulate railway operations in around a hundred times real time and play through different variants of the traffic situation. This should help trains reduce their speed or wait less often when another train is blocking a section of track.

Deutsche Bahn’s long-term goal is a real-time timetable that will become “like a kind of brain” the digital control center of German rail traffic. With the help of AI, all delays caused by disruptions, construction sites or other incidents could then flow directly into traffic control. The AI ​​tool is already in use on the S‑Bahn trains in Stuttgart, Munich and in the Rhine-Main network. In the second half of this year, it will also be introduced on the Berlin S‑Bahn.

In the world of video games, there is sometimes mysterious and secret content that is particularly exciting for gamers. One such case is the famous cow level in the “Diablo” series: players had to hold their own against weapon-wielding cows if they accidentally strayed there. But how does that look in “Diablo IV”?

Producer Rod Fergusson explained that such a cow level was deliberately removed from Diablo IV. But not all gamers believe that. A lengthy thread on the game’s subreddit reveals that fans are still searching for the secret cow level. One particularly avid user believes a mysterious portal may lead to the Cow Plains. He hasn’t found it yet, so the search will continue.

That’s it for today’s t3n daily. You can find much more about all aspects of digital life, working life and the future around the clock at t3n.de.