Market Newsdesk

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NextNav, the leader in 3D geolocation, today launched a new program, NextNav Certified, which will improve the accuracy of vertical location by standardizing performance metrics for barometric sensors used in mobile devices.

Barometers
are a relatively recent addition to most smartphones. Up to this point, they’ve been used primarily for crowdsourced weather apps and other services which don’t require highly precise measurements.

Vertical location services like NextNav Pinnacle, on the other hand, rely on quality barometric pressure readings to deliver vertical positioning with “floor level accuracy.” As mobile apps start to use vertical location at scale, barometric sensors will need to produce consistent, reliable measurements.

Through the NextNav Certified program, NextNav will work directly with barometric sensor manufacturers to improve the quality of their products. By testing sensors against real world data, NextNav will help manufacturers measure performance against higher standards which will benefit a wide variety of solutions.

Certification of barometric sensor quality will also benefit device manufacturers. The NextNav Certified program will create an independent data source which device makers can use to judge the quality and reliability of barometric components.

“Certification of barometric sensors will be a critical component of the 3D location ecosystem,” said Ganesh Pattabiraman, CEO of NextNav. “With NextNav Certified, we’re setting a high bar for performance which will improve the quality of sensors and the services that use them.”

Here’s how the NextNav Certified program works. NextNav works with the sensor manufacturer to develop a test plan specific to the particular sensor model. Tests are performed by the sensor manufacturer and the results are shared with NextNav. NextNav validates the performance data to ensure it meets certain minimum criteria. Once the performance thresholds are met, the sensor is officially certified.

Once a sensor is NextNav Certified, test data can be shared with device manufacturers, wireless carriers, and other stakeholders. NextNav also lists the sensor model on its public roster of certified components. NextNav and the company will also issue a joint press release. The company will also receive a NextNav Certified badge to display on its website.

To learn more, visit the NextNav Certified page or contact NextNav for more information.

About NextNav

NextNav brings new dimensions to geolocation.  Pinnacle, our revolutionary vertical positioning system, unleashes 3D location for apps, mobile devices, IOT, autonomous systems, and more.  TerraPoiNT extends these services by providing a resilient 3D Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) capability in environments where GPS is jammed or blocked.  With carrier-grade reliability and a rapidly expanding service footprint, NextNav is driving a whole new ecosystem for geolocation applications and services.

For more information, visit NextNav.com, follow @NextNav on Twitter, or find us on LinkedIn.

Media Contact

Chelsea Hoedl 
LaunchSquad for NextNav
[email protected] 

 

Houston, Texas, March 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EDP Renewables (EDPR), through its fully owned subsidiary EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA), has closed on its acquisition of a majority interest in C2 Omega LLC, the distributed solar platform of C2 Energy Capital LLC (C2). The platform has an operating capacity of 89 megawatts (MW), with a near-term pipeline of more than 150 MW, across 200 sites in 16 states. The closing follows the initial acquisition announcement made on January 18, 2021, and creates a new business unit named EDPR NA Distributed Generation LLC (EDPR NA DG). 

The new venture will unite the technical and financial expertise of the C2 Energy Capital team with the competitive development capital, equity and innovative technology approaches of EDPR’s global team. The new EDPR NA DG team, composed of nationally recognized market experts, will lead efforts spanning the acquisition, development, financing, construction and operation of DG, C&I and community solar related projects across the United States.

“This acquisition closing confirms our commitment to the North American market, where EDPR operates more than 7 gigawatts of renewable energy projects. We are excited to reach this milestone, given C2’s impressive track record, strong management team, and long-standing commercial, industrial and community relationships across the United States,” stated Miguel Prado, CEO of EDPR NA & EDPR NA DG.

EDPR NA DG is positioned to be the leading provider of distributed generation in the US market, servicing the largest portfolio of Fortune 500 commercial and industrial (C&I) clients in the country. The move also comes with a renewed focus on the quickly evolving community solar market, leveraging strong relationships fostered by C2 with entities ranging from local communities and municipalities to universities, schools and hospitals on their adoption of renewable energy.

“By combining C2’s distributed generation focus, strategic regional and vertical market positioning and extensive finance expertise with EDPR NA, we will be able to successfully execute on an ever-expanding project pipeline. Our aim will be to leverage our project developer relationships and the strength of our new business unit’s resources to accelerate growth and achieve greater scale in the market,” noted Richard Dovere, incoming Chief Investment Officer, EDPR NA DG.

“We’re delighted to increase EDPR’s footprint across the US through EDPR NA DG, and to continue to bring innovative renewable energy solutions to a growing number of new entrants to the market,” stated Candice Michalowicz, incoming Chief Operating Officer, EDPR NA DG. “By providing a comprehensive customer offering ranging from virtual power purchase agreements to rooftop solar installations, our expanded suite of services and solutions will now cover the entire distributed generation market.”

This acquisition closing follows the announcement last month that EDPR will be launching a new H2 Business Unit (H2BU) that will be the Group’s new arm for the development of green hydrogen projects, while a dedicated storage unit, built in EDPR NA, will aim to achieve a storage capacity of 1 gigawatt within the next five years. The creation of EDPR NA DG and these additional business units reinforces EDPR’s leadership in the energy transition in the United States.

For more information about EDPR NA DG, visit www.edprnadg.com.

About EDPR NA Distributed Generation

At EDPR NA Distributed Generation (EDPR NA DG), accelerating the adoption and success of distributed generation is at the core of our mission. EDPR NA DG provides cutting edge innovative renewable energy services to the entire North American region. Built on long-standing relationships with developers, power generators, corporate purchasers, municipalities and local communities, EDPR NA DG delivers a full suite of offerings ranging from financing and development to construction and operation of energy and storage assets poised to scale. To date, EDPR NA DG has an operating capacity of 89 MW, with a near-term pipeline of more than 150 MW, across 200 sites in 16 states. For more information, visit www.edprnadg.com.

About EDP Renewables North America

EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA), its affiliates and subsidiaries, develop, construct, own, and operate wind farms and solar parks throughout North America. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with 54 wind farms, eight solar parks, and seven regional offices across North America, EDPR NA has developed more than 7,600 megawatts (MW) and operates more than 7,200 MW of renewable energy projects. With more than 800 employees, EDPR NA’s highly qualified team has a proven capacity to execute projects across the continent.

EDPR NA is owned by EDP Renováveis, S.A. (EDP Renewables or EDPR), a global leader in the renewable energy sector and the world’s third-largest wind energy producer. With a sound development pipeline, first-class assets, and market-leading operating capacity, EDPR has undergone exceptional development in recent years and is currently present in 14 markets (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Energias de Portugal, S.A. (“EDP”), the principal shareholder of EDPR, is a global energy company and a leader in value creation, innovation, and sustainability. EDP has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 13 consecutive years. For more information, visit www.edpr.com.

About C2 Energy Capital

C2 Energy Capital LLC, a rapidly growing investor in renewable energy and storage assets, provides capital and support services for the development and construction of assets as part of a long-term ownership strategy. Founded in 2014, the company manages capital on behalf of leading investors, including through a managed fund, C2 Taiyo Fund I, LP. With a steadfast commitment to building long-term relationships, C2 Energy Capital’s experienced leadership team collaborates with developers, vendors and power purchasers to safely deliver high-quality power plants. To learn more visit www.c2.energy.

Tom Weirich
EDPR NA Distributed Generation
(202) 509-6435
[email protected]

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TigerGraph, provider of the leading graph analytics platform, today announced Graph + AI Summit 2021, the first and only open industry conference devoted to democratizing and accelerating analytics, AI and machine learning with graph algorithms.

Digital transformation, particularly during 2020, has accelerated an across-the-board enterprise move to the cloud. As transactional and analytical workloads have moved to the cloud, graph technologies play a key role in connecting, analyzing and learning from data, both on-premises and in the cloud. In fact, when it comes to graph, it’s not “if” but “when.” Mark Beyer, Distinguished VP Analyst with Gartner, noted the following in a report on the adoption of graph technology in the enterprise: “To Graph or Not to Graph? That Is Not the Question — You Will Graph.” ¹

The Graph + AI Summit


, focused on accelerating analytics, AI, and machine learning with graph algorithms, will return as a virtual conference on April 21-22, 2021. This latest event comes after the inaugural Graph + AI 2020, which attracted more than 3,000 attendees from 56 countries. Data scientists, data engineers, architects, and business and IT executives from 115 of the Fortune 500 companies participated in the last event. Speakers from UnitedHealth Group, Intel, Dell, Jaguar Land Rover, Intuit, AT&T, Xandr, Scotiabank, Accenture, KPMG, Publicis Sapient, and Xilinx, along with many innovative startups, shared how their organizations benefited from graph. The Graph + AI 2021 roster will feature many of these thought leaders along with new speakers from the world’s largest banks, retailers and fintechs.

Harry Powell, Director of Data and Analytics at Jaguar Land Rover, will deliver the keynote for Graph + AI Summit 2021. Jaguar Land Rover has accelerated query times across their complex supply chain model from three weeks to 45 minutes, reduced their supplier risk by 35 percent, and delivered three times the business value from their data. Noel Yuhanna, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, will join Harry for the Graph + AI 2021 keynote to discuss how organizations of all sizes are driving business outcomes with graph data platforms.

Graph + AI Summit Workshops, Breakout Sessions, Certification Opportunities

At Graph + AI Summit 2021, data scientists, engineers and architects will:

• Attend hands-on workshops and technical breakout sessions for the integration of graph algorithms into your analytics and AI projects
• Get certified on graph algorithms for machine learning
• Skill up by learning how real-world companies are implementing graph with analytics, AI and machine learning processes including:
  • Graph enrichment techniques by leveraging NLP for enhanced knowledge retrieval
  • Unsupervised machine learning with graph
  • Continuous graph-based feature generation and training with in-database machine learning
  • Enterprise-ready visualization dashboards that integrate AI with your graph- based solutions

The conference will feature four industry tracks for business and IT executives with case studies for:

• Banking, Insurance and Fintech
• Technology, Advertising, Media and Entertainment
• Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Retail and eCommerce
• Government, Healthcare and Life Sciences

Graph + AI Summit 2021 Call for Papers — Open Through March 25, 2021

Have you worked on combining analytics, AI or ML with graph algorithms to analyze customer data? Have you put graph to work to find fraudsters, predict health outcomes or recommend the most relevant products or services? Does your project address supply chain issues? Does your prototype combine NLP, chatbot, or other AI features with a graph database? If you’re working to solve real-world problems with graph, we want to hear from you.

The conference will include keynote presentations from graph luminaries as well as industry and technology tracks. Each track will include beginner, intermediate and advanced-level sessions. Our audience will benefit from a mix of formal presentations and interactive panel participation. Case studies are particularly welcome.

Your submission may include one or more of the following topics:

• Artificial intelligence use cases and case studies
• Machine learning use cases and case studies
• Graph neural networks
• Combining Natural Language Processing (NLP) with graph
• First-of-a-kind solutions combining AI, machine learning and graph algorithms
• Predictive analytics
• Customer 360, customer journey
• Hyper-personalized recommendation engine
• Fraud detection, anti-money laundering
• Supply chain optimization
• Cybersecurity
• Industry-specific applications in internet, eCommerce, banking, insurance, fintech, media, manufacturing, transportation and healthcare industries

Please submit your proposal by March 25, 2021 at 12:00 A.M./midnight PT here.

Registration

To register for the event, please visit https://www.tigergraph.com/graphaisummit/.

Helpful Links

• 
  Graph + AI Summit
  
• 
  Get TigerGraph
  
• 
  TigerGraph Cloud
  
• 
  TigerGraph Website
  
• 
  TigerGraph Blog
  
• 
  TigerGraph on Twitter
  
• 
  TigerGraph on LinkedIn
  
  

¹
Gartner,

Graph Steps


Onto


the Main Stage of Data and Analytics: A Gartner Tren


d Insight Report,

14 December 2020

About TigerGraph
                                                                                                        
TigerGraph is a platform for advanced analytics and machine learning on connected data. Based on the industry’s first and only distributed native graph database, TigerGraph’s proven technology supports advanced analytics and machine learning applications such as fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), entity resolution, customer 360, recommendations, knowledge graph, cybersecurity, supply chain, IoT, and network analysis. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, California, USA. Start free withtigergraph.com/cloud.

Media Contact

Cathy Wright
Offleash PR for TigerGraph
[email protected]
650-678-1905

STMicroelectronics Boosts Automotive Innovation with Longevity Extension for Popular Body, Chassis, and Safety Microcontrollers

Availability of SPC56 automotive
microcontrollers

 assured until at least 2034 by extension of longevity program to 20 years

                  

Geneva, March 3, 2021 – STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, is extending its long-term commitment to support customers of the Company’s SPC56 automotive microcontrollers, which are deployed in millions of powertrain, chassis, and body-electronics applications worldwide.

“The SPC56 series has enjoyed enduring success and it remains the go-to automotive controller for a wide range of design projects, blending performance, robustness and reliability,” said Luca Rodeschini, Automotive Processing and RF Division General Manager, STMicroelectronics. “To ensure lifetime support for our customers’ new applications, and those already in the market, we are today unveiling the extension to 20 years, of our unique product longevity commitment, which we launched in 2014, assuring the availability of SPC56 MCUs until at least 2034.”

ST’s semiconductor innovations are powering today’s automotive electrification and smart-driving trends that increase economy, safety, and reliability. The Company continues to develop new and more advanced products that define the state of the art, while maintaining its lifetime commitment to meet the unique needs of customers.

Customers can extend the lifetime of their successful products and continue to count on SPC56 general-purpose and performance automotive microcontrollers for new designs, thanks to the simple porting of a consolidated design and proven software into new applications, saving development resources and costs.

Further Technical Information

The SPC56 series of Power Architecture^® 32-bit automotive microcontrollers delivers scalable performance through single- and multi-core options, with non-volatile memory density ranging from 256 Kbytes to 4 Mbytes. The MCUs come with a variety of external interfaces and support for popular automotive connectivity standards such as LINFlex, FlexCAN, and FlexRay™, while including 10- and 12-bit resolution ADCs, and multiple DSPI serial peripheral interfaces.

The SPC56 series includes general-purpose automotive microcontrollers tailored to body and gateway applications providing rich connectivity options including I²C, Fast Ethernet, flexible ADC channels with watchdog and timers (eTPU, eMIOS). The SPC56 performance MCUs target powertrain and chassis-safety segments such as airbag control, delivering increased performance through multicore options. For safety-critical applications, designers can choose from devices featured to support ASIL-D functional safety. Built-in safety features include memory error correction code (ECC) protection, a Fault Collection and Control Unit (FCCU), and chip fail-safe mode.

The SPC56 ecosystem comprises multiple evaluation boards and the SPC5Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which provides a comprehensive framework to help develop and deploy applications.

SPC56 microcontrollers
are in full production. Please contact your local ST sales office for pricing options and sample requests.

For further information please visit www.st.com/spc5-32b-auto-mcus.       

About STMicroelectronics

At ST, we are 46,000 creators and makers of semiconductor technologies mastering the semiconductor supply chain with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. An independent device manufacturer, we work with more than 100,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities, and the need to support a more sustainable world. Our technologies enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of the Internet of Things and 5G technology. Further information can be found at www.st.com.

For Press Information Contact:

Michael Markowitz
Director Technical Media Relations
STMicroelectronics
Tel: +1 781 591 0354
Email: [email protected]

Attachments

• T4341A — Mar 3 2021 — Longevity extension for SPC56 MCUs_FINAL FOR PUBLICATION
• T4341A — Mar 3 2021 — Longevity extension for SPC56 MCUs_IMAGE

WILMINGTON, Del., March 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and people grapple with uncertain futures about their work, home and social environments, nearly six in 10 (59%) residents in the Greater Philadelphia and Delaware region feel the area is affordable, including more than half (55%) seeing the City of Philadelphia as a possibility for their next home purchase, a WSFS Mortgage Regional Study reveals.

The study, a regional tracking survey of Generation X (ages 39-55), older Millennials (ages 30-38), young Millennials (25-29) and Generation Z (18-24), examines the behavioral preferences of homeowners and others who plan to buy a home within the region in 2021.

Two-Way Migration

While respondents are interested in purchasing a home in Philadelphia, especially among Gen Z (60%) and young Millennials (56%), 45% of all respondents prefer to move to the Pennsylvania suburbs, including 69% of current suburban residents.

Current Delaware (77%) and New Jersey (72%) residents prefer to remain in their respective states, however 40% of Gen Zers in the region are interested in leaving the state they currently live in. And while only 25% of current Philadelphia residents plan to buy in the City, the overall interest among younger generations indicates Philadelphia is an option.

Across the region, the top reasons cited for wanting to buy a new home are better quality of life; more affordable; family nearby; and prefer more outdoor space.  

Inventory and Cash Concerns

Despite the prevailing feeling that the region is affordable, the shrinking inventory in some areas is cause for concern among all respondents, as nearly seven in 10 (69%) feel the middle class is being priced out of the market.

Overall, confidence in being able to afford to buy a new home in 2021 is down 10% compared to WSFS Mortgage’s 2020 findings, despite 64% believing the job market will improve this year.

“While we continue to see people look for new homes with more space or in desirable areas as interest rates remain low, there is also a crunch on inventory in the suburbs that is driving prices up,” says Jeffrey M. Ruben, President of WSFS Mortgage. “Some homebuyers, especially the middle class, are starting to feel squeezed out of some markets and are looking at Philadelphia as an option, especially among younger generations, while Delaware remains a strong choice due to affordability.”

Ruben adds, “We’re also seeing an influx of New York City residents moving to the area, with the metro Philadelphia market the leading destination due to lower homeownership costs, according to national data. This includes renters too, who may not know the area well enough to buy yet but are interested in staying here long term.”

Uncertain Expectations

Preparation is at the forefront of homebuyers’ minds, as 69% reported the current pandemic plays a role in buying a home that better meets their needs, with more than half (55%) making their homebuying decisions in anticipation of another pandemic, and nearly the same amount (53%) would consider vacation homes while 60% are interested in investment properties.

“The rate and buying environment sparked an increased interest in vacation homes and investment properties during the pandemic, for those who can afford it,” adds Ruben. “COVID-19 has changed the dynamic of extended family and multi-family vacations and destination travel, at least in the interim, and has shifted homeowners’ thinking about owning their own getaway properties, renovating their current homes for more frequent ‘stay-cations’ or investing in rental properties that provide additional, steady streams of income.”

Survey Methodology

The study was conducted by research company The Melior Group. The sample includes 782 respondents who reside in the five-county Philadelphia market (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery), two New Jersey counties (Burlington and Camden), and all three Delaware counties (Kent, Sussex, and New Castle). All respondents were between the ages of 18 and 55. The first wave of the online survey was conducted from late January through early February 2021, with a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent.

About The Melior Group

The Melior Group is a strategic consultancy with extensive industry experience and deep roots in marketing research. Melior provides insights that transform questions into answers, by delivering rich and robust results that directly inform strategic decision-making.

Melior was founded in 1982 to bring the disciplines of marketing research to service industries. Today, Melior is one of the region’s leading research-based consulting firms, serving organizations in the healthcare, government, leisure, tourism, financial services/ insurance, and education sectors.

About WSFS Financial Corporation

WSFS Financial Corporation is a multi-billion-dollar financial services company. Its primary subsidiary, WSFS Bank, is the oldest and largest locally managed bank and trust company headquartered in Delaware and the Greater Philadelphia region. As of December 31, 2020, WSFS Financial Corporation had $14.3 billion in assets on its balance sheet and $24.2 billion in assets under management and administration. WSFS operates from 112 offices, 89 of which are banking offices, located in Pennsylvania (52), Delaware (42), New Jersey (16), Virginia (1) and Nevada (1) and provides comprehensive financial services including commercial banking, retail banking, cash management and trust and wealth management. Other subsidiaries or divisions include Arrow Land Transfer, Cash Connect®, Cypress Capital Management, LLC, Christiana Trust Company of Delaware®, NewLane Finance®, Powdermill® Financial Solutions, West Capital Management®, WSFS Institutional Services®, WSFS Mortgage®, and WSFS Wealth® Investments. Serving the Greater Delaware Valley since 1832, WSFS Bank is one of the ten oldest banks in the United States continuously operating under the same name. For more information, please visit www.wsfsbank.com.

Media Contact: Eric Springer

(215) 864-1778

[email protected]

• The 25G symmetric PON multi-source agreement (25GS-PON MSA) Group is growing rapidly, with the addition of seven new members since it was first announced
• AT&T’s commitment to the MSA Group highlights the importance of 25GS-PON to the telecommunications industry
• Technology vendors including CommScope, Cortina Access, Feneck, HiLight Semiconductor, Hisense Broadband and Semtech among those fast-tracking 25GS-PON commercialization    
• Industry group brings together major operators along with leading system and component vendors to define and promote next-generation 25GS-PON technology in support of emerging 5G and industrial requirements at cost-effective price targets

March 3, 2021

The 25GS-PON MSA Group today announced the addition of seven new member companies including AT&T, CommScope, Cortina Access, Feneck, HiLight Semiconductor, Hisense Broadband and Semtech. These companies, along with the ten founding 25GS-PON MSA members, are enabling a move beyond the limitations of 10 Gb/s next-generation PON, the current state-of-the-art.

The 25GS-PON MSA was first announced on October 8, 2020 with the goal of promoting and accelerating the development of 25GS-PON technology. Since its formation, the 25GS-PON MSA Group has published version 1.0 of the 25 Gigabit Symmetrical Passive Optical Network specification, providing the basis for how 25GS-PON should be implemented to ensure basic functionality and interoperability across different vendors.  The founding members of the 25GS-PON MSA Group include AOI, Chorus, Chunghwa Telecom, Ciena, MACOM, MaxLinear, NBN Co., Nokia, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd, and Tibit Communications. 

There are several performance and efficiency-driven demands propelling the market toward 25GS-PON. The first is for 5G wireless networks, which will require three to ten times greater density than 4G. 25GS-PON is extremely well suited to support xHaul transport for 5G’s increased cell density and capacity requirements. With 25GS-PON, operators can leverage their existing fiber networks to significantly reduce both the cost and time required to bring up 5G services, ultimately delivering better services to consumers.

Another factor driving 25GS-PON is enterprises’ growing reliance on high-performance applications, including cloud computing big data applications, artificial intelligence and machine learning. 25GS-PON can deliver true 10 Gb/s symmetrical services.  Because 25GS-PON leverages mature, high-volume data center optical technology, it can be implemented quickly and cost efficiently. The first 25GS-PON products have been announced, and analysts anticipate the first trials this year, with deployments in 2022.

“The addition of such a wide range of network operators, equipment vendors, and component suppliers to the 25GS-PON MSA is evidence of the technology’s importance for 5G xHaul and enterprise services,” said Jeff Heynen, Vice President, Broadband Access and Home Networking for Dell’Oro Group. “25G PON’s ability to co-exist with XGS-PON and reuse existing fiber plant makes it extremely attractive to operators around the world.”

Information regarding the 25GS-PON Group, including a copy of the 25GS-PON v1.0 specification, is published at www.25gspon-msa.org. The 25GS-PON MSA Group invites other industry leaders to join the group to advance the technology and market. To express interest, follow the link on the 25GS-PON MSA website or send an email to [email protected].  

New Member Comments

CommScope: “CommScope is joining the 25GS-PON MSA Group to lend our global expertise in standards development and PON deployments to the advancement of the 25 Gigabit specification. This evolution of PON is a necessary step in enabling Wireless xHaul as well as serving the growing bandwidth requirements of enterprises and future networks and applications.”

Cortina Access: “We are delighted to join this industry collaboration effort to define and develop the 25G symmetrical PON technology, a next step in the PON evolution. PON technology has been proven to be the most cost-effective solution, not only connecting the residential homes, but also providing the optical transport infrastructure for current and future business applications.”

Feneck: “25GS-PON is a natural evolution to the highly successful GPON and XGS-PON access technologies and builds the foundation for converged next-generation access. Taking an active role in the 25GS-PON MSA will enable Feneck to provide our customers with industry-leading FPGAs supporting the industry’s highest performance access platforms.”

HiLight Semiconductor: “HiLight are excited to join the 25GS-PON MSA and bring our CMOS technology and economies of scale to help enable 25Gbps PON networks with our proven product line of GPON, 10G-PON and now 25G-PON PMD ICs.”

About the 25GS-PON MSA

The 25GS-PON Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) brings together major operators along with leading system and component vendors, to promote and accelerate the development and deployment of 25 Gigabit Symmetrical Passive Optical Network (25GS-PON) technology. 25GS-PON meets the needs of the mobile 5G era and large-scale enterprises, providing communications service providers with the most cost-effective and timely evolution path for PON fiber technology. Current members include AOI, AT&T, Chorus, Chunghwa Telecom, Ciena, CommScope, Cortina Access, Feneck, HiLight Semiconductor, Hisense Broadband, MACOM, MaxLinear, NBN Co., Nokia, Semtech, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd, and Tibit Communications.

For more information, or to express interest in joining the 25GS-PON MSA, visit www.25gspon-msa.org and follow us on Twitter @25gspon_msa.

Media Inquiries:
Phone: +1 (858) 705-0319
Email: [email protected]

 

March 3, 2021

• Philips partners with European Hospitals to conduct first of its kind clinical research pilot program that aims to help reduce fear and anxiety to improve children’s patient experience during MRI exams
• Study will explore the effects and use of animated stories and characters, including Disney favorites, as part of Philips Ambient Experience solution

Amsterdam, the Netherlands –

Royal Philips
(NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and The Walt Disney Company EMEA today announced they are teaming up to test the effects of custom-made animation , including specially-made Disney stories, within Philips Ambient Experience, a solution that integrates architecture, design and enabling technologies, such as dynamic lighting, video projections and sound, to allow patients and staff to personalize their environment to create a relaxing atmosphere. Philips’  clinical research project will commence this summer in six hospitals across Europe and the results of the pilot project will be completed later this year.  It is the first time Disney has collaborated as part of a clinical research project of this kind.

Philips will investigate how Philips Ambient Experience – using a series of animated stories, including some of Disney’s most beloved characters,  – can improve the patient and clinician experience during pediatric MRI procedures. Philips Ambient Experience will render six pieces of  original, stylised Disney animation – created specially by Disney animators for use in hospitals with clinical guidance from Philips – intended to reduce fear and anxiety often felt by a child in the MRI process. The Disney animation features characters like Mickey Mouse, Ariel, Marvel’s Avengers, Star Wars’ Yoda and others, coming together in a diagnostic setting for the first time. The goal of the research pilot is to help alleviate children’s anxiety, create bonds and improve the staff’s ability to carry out their tasks in MRI scanning rooms across six leading European hospitals.

Philips clinical expertise meets Disney story-telling

Medical exams like MRI scans can be challenging for many patients, especially children, who are anxious or claustrophobic. Philips Ambient Experience – with 2,000 installations worldwide – helps manage these challenges by creating an engaging, multi-sensorial imaging environment that is welcoming and relaxing. Patients can personalize the room’s lighting, video, and sound by selecting a theme of their choice. This gives them a feeling of empowerment and control over the procedure and provides a positive focus on the ambient theme. Ambient Experience Patient In-bore Connect helps them relax, follow directions, and minimize motion once they are in the scanner using video content aligned with the MRI procedure to provide information and guidance to the patient during scanning as well as information about scan duration. This becomes increasingly important for younger pediatric patients undergoing MR scans who need to remain still to help reduce the need for repeat scans. Philips Ambient Experience is proven to help improve efficiency with higher patient throughput and predictability, significantly reducing the need for retakes and rescans.

The collaboration brings together Philips’ vast clinical knowledge and expertise combined with a deep understanding of patient needs with Disney’s masterful storytelling. It will allow children to select Disney content featuring their favourite  character to help provide them with a sense of familiarity, control and comfort. From joining Aladdin and Jasmine on a magical carpet ride to gently swinging through city skyscrapers with Spiderman, each story is specially designed to calm and support the child through their experience.

“A visit to the hospital can be quite intimidating for people, and especially children, where a more patient-friendly, patient-centric environment could help improve the patient experience and help drive first-time-right imaging for improved outcomes,” said Kees Wesdorp, Chief Business Leader of Precision Diagnosis at Philips. “With this pilot study, we will investigate the impact of Philips Ambient Experience including Disney’s specially developed themes to empower children with a positive experience to help them throughout the medical procedure. Philips has always taken a human-centric approach to healthcare. Together, we can make a real difference for thousands of young patients going through medical procedures each day.”

“I have seen first-hand that MRI scans can be intimidating for children, and I like how focused Philips is on the patient experience,” said Jan Koeppen, President, the Walt Disney Company, EMEA. “At Disney, we look forward to complementing Philips’ MRI experience with our stories and characters. We are excited to see the results of the clinical research and to quantify the impact our characters can have in this environment.”

In a recent study carried out by the New Economics Foundation, it was identified that in addition to creating a positive experience, the well-known Disney characters help build trust for children in anxious circumstances.  The research, also  identifies that, through the power of  Disney’s storytelling and characters, it  can inspire and create positive feelings, experiences and memories  helping children and young people to cope where and when they need it most.

Disney has a long history of bringing magic and storytelling to children’s hospitals and places of care across the world. In 2018, Disney announced a further commitment of $100 million to help reimagine the patient journey for children in hospitals around the world as part of their global Social Purpose program.

Philips Ambient Experience solution at ECR 2021

For more information, watch the video on Philips and Disney’s collaboration to improve the healthcare experience of children, or download it here. Philips will be showcasing its Ambient Experience solution at the European Congress of Radiology virtual event, March 3-7.  For more information on Philips’ new portfolio of diagnostic and interventional solutions and AI-enabled applications to enhance radiology workflows at ECR 2021, visit the Philips ECR site, and follow @PhilipsLiveFrom for updates throughout the event.

For further information, please contact:

Kathy O’Reilly
Philips Global Press Office
Tel. : + 1 978-221-8919
E-mail : [email protected]
Twitter: @kathyoreilly

Mark Groves
Philips Global Press Office
Tel.: +31 631 639 916
E-mail: [email protected]

James Matheson
Walt Disney Company, EMEA
Tel: +44 7891 763002
E-Mail: [email protected]

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and well-being, and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum – from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2020 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 82,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

About Disney’s Social Purpose

As well as being a responsible business, Disney is dedicated to providing comfort and inspiration to those in need and creating inspiration and opportunity for those who want to improve their world.

Disney’s collaboration with Philips is an example of how, through working with others, we help build emotional resilience. Together we bring the power of our brand, stories and characters to inspire and create Moments that Matter for children and those closest to them when they need it the most. In 2019, we created over 26,000 life-changing moments for children across Europe. For more information on our programmes and our long-standing charitable partners please visit www.thewaltdisneycompany.eu.

Attachments

• Philips Disney Ambient Experience Ariel and Nemo
• Philips Disney Ambient Experience Mickey Mouse
• Philips Disney Ambient Experience Yoda
• Philips MR Ambient Experience with child

PINE BLUFF, Ark., March 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Simmons First National Corporation (Nasdaq: SFNC) (“Simmons” or “Company”) announced today that Julie Stackhouse has been added to the Company’s board of directors. Ms. Stackhouse has also been added to the board of directors of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary bank, Simmons Bank.

Ms. Stackhouse is a former executive vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where she was responsible for, among other things, bank regulation, including supervision of bank holding companies and state member banks.

“We are thrilled to welcome Julie to our organization,” said George A. Makris, Jr., Simmons’ chairman and chief executive officer. “Julie brings incredible insight and a tremendous understanding of our industry from her many years of working with financial institutions, and I am confident that she will be a valuable contributor as a member of our board.”

Simmons is a financial holding company headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, with total consolidated assets of approximately $22.4 billion as of December 31, 2020. The Company, through its subsidiaries, offers comprehensive financial solutions delivered with a client-centric approach and has operations in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The Company’s common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SFNC.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen C. Massanelli
EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, and Investor Relations Officer
Simmons First National Corporation
[email protected]

LIMASSOL, Cyprus, March 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Castor Maritime Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRM), (“Castor” or the “Company”), a diversified global shipping company announces today that on March 2, 2021, it took delivery of the M/V Magic Venus, the 2010 Japanese-built Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel it had agreed to acquire as previously announced on February 1, 2021. The M/V Magic Venus acquisition was financed in its entirety with cash on hand.

The M/V Magic Venus is expected to commence employment under a time charter agreement on or about March 5, 2021, with a daily gross charter rate of $18,500 and an expected term of between minimum five to about seven months. Castor estimates to generate approximately $2.8 million of gross incremental revenues for the minimum scheduled period of the charter and approximately $4.2 million should employment extend to its maximum period, in each case assuming no off-hire days.

About Castor Maritime Inc.

Castor Maritime Inc. is an international provider of shipping transportation services through its ownership of oceangoing cargo vessels.

On a fully delivered basis, Castor will have a fleet of 12 vessels, with an aggregate capacity of 1.1 million dwt, consisting of 1 Capesize, 3 Kamsarmax and 6 Panamax dry bulk vessels and 2 Aframax tankers. Where we refer to information on a “fully delivered basis,” we are referring to such information after giving effect to the successful consummation of our recent vessel acquisitions that we have previously announced.

For more information please visit the Company’s website at www.castormaritime.com Information on our website does not constitute a part of this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect,” “pending” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward‐looking statements include general dry bulk and tanker shipping market conditions, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, the strength of world economies the stability of Europe and the Euro, fluctuations in interest rates and foreign exchange rates, changes in demand in the dry bulk and tanker shipping industry, including the market for our vessels, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry docking and insurance costs, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, the length and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, the impact of public health threats and outbreaks of other highly communicable diseases, the impact of the expected discontinuance of LIBOR after 2021 on interest rates of our debt that reference LIBOR, the availability of financing and refinancing and grow our business, vessel breakdowns and instances of off‐hire, risks associated with vessel construction, potential exposure or loss from investment in derivative instruments, potential conflicts of interest involving our Chief Executive Officer, his family and other members of our senior management, and our ability to complete acquisition transactions as planned. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward‐looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.

CONTACT DETAILS

For further information please contact:

Petros Panagiotidis
Castor Maritime Inc.
Email: [email protected] 

Media Contact:
Kevin Karlis
Capital Link
Email: [email protected] 

BEDFORD, Mass., March 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aware, Inc., (NASDAQ: AWRE), a leading global provider of biometrics software products, solutions and services, announces a new partnership with Intercede, a leading cyber security solutions provider. By combining forces, both companies are poised to drive progress in securing peoples’ identities, and address today’s digital security concerns head on.

Aware and Intercede both understand the need for organizations to provide safe and simple access to their sensitive assets. As a leading global cybersecurity solutions provider, Intercede leverages Aware’s industry-leading biometric solutions including Astra^™, AwareXM^™ and PreFace^™ in its MyID Credential Management System, a software platform enabling federal agencies and large enterprises to issue and manage digital identities, as well as issue smart-card based credentials that enable secure multi-factor authentication. By combining their cybersecurity and biometric expertise, Intercede and Aware will continue to protect enterprises, federal agencies and law enforcement against the rising threat of data breaches and identity theft.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Intercede,” said Bob Eckel, chief executive officer and president of Aware. “Intercede’s long track record of tackling digital identity challenges speaks for itself, and we are thrilled they will be incorporating some of our leading biometric products to further strengthen their two-factor authentication and protect their customers.”

This partnership marks the beginning of a five-year agreement between Aware and Intercede, with the option to extend. The two companies have already enjoyed a collective win, securing a contract with a United States federal agency to protect its most valuable assets from external attacks.

“Intercede and Aware are a natural fit,” remarked Klaas van der Leest, chief executive officer of Intercede. “By integrating Aware’s solution set into the MyID identity and credential management platform, our customers benefit from the highest levels of identity assurance delivered as an easy to consume commercial off-the-shelf solution. Aware enables the biometric features of MyID including ISO compliant face image capture and formatting for a smart card, ten-finger civil applicant enrollment, high speed one-to-many fingerprint duplicate checking to search for prior enrollments, and NIST MINEX compliant finger template generation for storage on a smart card as part of the personalization process.

Already evidenced by a major joint win, we expect the partnership to ensure Intercede is well positioned to meet the growing demand for high security digital identity solutions.”

MyID is a feature-rich credential management system (CMS) that enables organizations to deploy digital identities to a wide range of secure devices simply, securely and at scale. To learn more about the MyID cybersecurity solution, visit Intercede’s website.

The Aware-Intercede partnership is highly complementary and further strengthens the offerings of two best-of-breed companies in the rapidly expanding domain of digital identity.

To learn more about Aware’s industry-leading biometric identification and authentication offerings, visit Aware’s website.

About Intercede
Intercede is a cybersecurity company specializing in digital identities, credential management and secure mobility. Our vision is to make the highest levels of cybersecurity available to all organisations, solving complexity issues by simplifying the management of digital credentials, securely and at scale. We have been delivering trusted solutions to high profile customers for over 20 years. Our team of experts has deployed millions of identities to governments, most of the largest aerospace and defense corporations, and major financial services and healthcare organizations, as well as leading telecommunications, cloud services and information technology firms, providing industry-leading employee and customer credential management systems.

About Aware

Aware, a global leader in productized biometrics software products, solutions and services, provides critical biometric functionality to collect, manage, process, and match biometric images and data for identification and authentication. With their decades-long experience, Aware leads the market in liveness detection and multi-modal fusion to protect client and business processes through fingerprint, face, iris, and voice matching algorithms, mobile biometric capture and authentication software, a biometric workflow and middleware platform, and a fully-scalable ABIS. Their device-agnostic, integration-ready, and customer-managed products enable ease-of-use for enterprises to empower individuals to own their identities. Aware serves customers across a multitude of industries, including financial services, enterprise security, healthcare, human resources, citizen ID, border management, law enforcement, defense, and intelligence. Aware is a publicly held company (Nasdaq: AWRE) based in Bedford, Massachusetts. To learn more, visit https://www.aware.com or follow Aware on Twitter @AwareBiometrics.

Safe Harbor Warning

Portions of this release contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, such as our expectations regarding our new product. Aware wishes to caution you that there are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results indicated by such statements, including the risks that (i) current and prospective customers do not purchase our new product in the quantities that we expect and (ii) our new product does not perform as well as we expect because of errors, defects or bugs. We refer you to the documents Aware files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the section titled Risk Factors in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and other reports and filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Aware is a registered trademark of Aware, Inc.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4e91a932-b3f0-411d-b9c5-3a1ce0dd7444

CONTACT
Company Contact                
Gina Rodrigues                                                        
Aware, Inc.                                                        
781-276-4000                                                                
[email protected]