5 Aug 2017

A rough ride for UBER in Asia

From This Way Up, 12:30 pm on 5 August 2017
In this artist's concept an astronaut performs a tethering maneuver at an asteroid.

In this artist's concept an astronaut performs a tethering maneuver at an asteroid. Photo: (By NASA Public Domain)

The ride sharing app UBER is struggling to make much of an impact in Asia, with consumers preferring variations of the technology more suited to their local market.

And QR codes – the funny looking bar code first developed as a stock and inventory tracking tool in Japan is now leading a cashless revolution in China.

Also, why the field of asteroid mining is so attractive for investors today and the tiny European country of Luxembourg enters a very specialised part of the space race, using tax breaks to encourage asteroid mining companies to base themselves in the country.