Lotus Manila Re-opens Doors and Unveils New Emeya in New BGC Showroom

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

From the official opening of the Lotus Manila showroom located at 38th Street corner 11th Avenue, Triangle Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The Autohub Group brings Lotus, a global performance automotive brand built on solid foundations and rich heritage, as it celebrates its 25th anniversary of continuously delivering exceptional customer experience in the Philippines.

• Official opening of Lotus Manila showroom in the heart of Metro Manila 

• Debut of the all-new Lotus Emeya - the first four-door electric hyper Grand Tourer (GT)

• Full model range now available to esteemed customers in the Philippines

• Unwavering commitment to deliver exceptional customer experiences in the Philippines

Lotus Philippines ignited the local automotive scene with the official opening of its showroom in Bonifacio Global City (BGC). The event marked a momentous occasion for Lotus, solidifying its presence in the Philippines and offering a dynamic luxury driving experience in the heart of Metro Manila.

Esteemed guests also witnessed the much-anticipated reveal of the stunning Lotus Emeya. The car brings together Lotus’ design and engineering DNA, with the latest cutting-edge technologies to set a new benchmark for what it means to drive an electric car. Emeya seamlessly blends the excellent dynamic performance that Lotus is renowned for, with world-class refinement, comfort, usability, and connectivity – bringing drivers the ultimate grand tourer package. 

On this special occasion, Lotus Emira, an iconic sports car with class-leading driving dynamics and enhanced comfort for everyday usability; and the first of a new breed of pure electric performance SUVs - Eletre - were also on display at the new home of Lotus. 

"We are incredibly excited to unfold this new chapter in the Philippines as we re-open our doors to the state-of-the-art showroom in BGC," said Willy Tee Ten, President, Autohub Group. "The investment in this facility marked our unwavering commitment to elevating the Lotus brand and delivering exceptional customer experience in the Philippines.” 

Dan Balmer, President & CEO of Lotus Cars in Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa commented, “We are proud of our continued partnership with Autohub Group in the Philippines.  Together with the professional team at Lotus Manila, we look forward to welcoming our new and existing customers to experience the complete Lotus model range at this dedicated space.”

The grand opening of the Lotus showroom marks a significant step forward for the iconic brand in the Philippines. Lotus Manila showroom is located at 38th Street corner 11th Avenue Triangle Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

ABOUT LOTUS CARS

Lotus is a global performance brand built on solid foundations and a rich heritage. Since the formation of Lotus in 1948, it has been pioneering true automotive innovation, introducing cutting-edge technologies and designs to meet its uncompromising vision of how a car should look, perform, and feel. Lotus Group is made up of a high-performance sports car business, Lotus Cars, and an all-electric luxury mobility provider, Lotus Technology. Together, we are setting a new standard for automotive excellence.

ABOUT AUTOHUB GROUP

The Autohub Group is a conglomeration of car and motorcycle distributorships and dealerships that covers a complete range of automotive needs and several allied businesses.  Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Autohub has expanded its portfolio to include several brands for every key market segment, from the most affordable daily drivers to the most exciting supercars and ultra-luxury cars. And to contribute to sustainability development, Autohub now offers electric vehicles and electric scooters. It has also ventured into other industries such as premium window film distribution, car restoration hubs, aftermarket vehicle care, online sales of pre-owned cars, and an automotive training school.

SIMATAR at NSTF-Thailand: Showcasing the Future of Augmented Reality in Education

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

In an era where technology is rapidly transforming education, the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) is leading the charge with innovative tools designed to enhance learning experiences for Filipino students.

Among its educational innovations is the Strategic Intervention Material for Teaching with Augmented Reality (SIMATAR), standing out as a tool in science education, leveraging Augmented Reality (AR) to bring complex scientific concepts to life.

DOST - SEI’s SIMATAR is another project under the leadership of Josephine Feliciano that revolutionizes the overall accessibility to science education knowledge.

Other DOST science education projects are the Virtual Laboratory Application in Science (VLAS), and the DOST coursewares which are softwares designed to create learning-conducive virtual environments for students and teachers alike.

SIMATAR is one of the excellent ‘filipinovations’ participating at the National Science and Technology Fair - Thailand. With one of the fair’s categories perfectly aligning with SIMATAR’s purpose of integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) in educational technologies.

Creating access to science education

As the education arm of DOST, DOST-SEI carries out their mandate to support the development of science and math education, as well as their continued innovation of educational technologies in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

SIMATAR is an innovative ICT resource utilizing augmented reality technologies in education that leverages handheld tablet platforms, seamlessly integrating computer-generated graphics with the real-world. Instead of creating an entirely new reality, SIMATAR blends graphics with the existing world around us.

The software provides visual references and practical examples for hard-to-understand STEM topics. It is designed for deployment in every local school, enhancing mastery and making classroom learning significantly more effective and efficient.

SIMATAR’s international influence

Having attended the BettAsia edutech conference in 2016 and 2018, Feliciano

and her team was able to benchmark and conceptualize local equivalents of educational

technologies presented there. This participation led to the conception of SIMATAR as

an idea and technology.

Feliciano said that with similar intent, she and her team aims to launch their

innovations locally and internationally in hopes of inspiring and helping others to assist

the teachings and learnings in STEM.

“[The] Primary target of our innovations is the education sector to

assist the teaching and learning of STEM for the Philippines but with the

international audience. We hope to deploy our education technologies not

just to every local school to give our learners self-learning materials for

mastery of hard to learn topics.”

- Josephine Feliciano

On the internationalization of SIMATAR

With DOST-TAPI’s continuous support, SIMATAR is set to participate at the NSTF - Thailand 2024.

Feliciano expressed her excitement for the opportunity to realize the potential of their educational softwares. She added that with the positive feedback from User Acceptance and Experience Testing (UAT) with end-users, teachers and learners during their beta-testing, they are excited to show the innovative prowess of Filipinos globally.

The Role of DOST-TAPI’s Internationalization Campaign

The participation of SIMATAR at NSTF-Thailand represents a key achievement for Filipino innovation. Feliciano and her team aims to impress at the event by showcasing the SIMATAR’s ability to blur the line between virtual and reality, providing reality augmenting tools that can curb difficulties in bringing science to the classroom.

Internationalization campaigns similar to this one provides opportunities for

existing technologies to benchmark their capabilities with the global scene, as well as

help innovators adapt international technologies that are not yet implemented locally.

This provides insights and ideas that are appropriate for the Philippines, especially in

the context of the Philippine education curriculum.

“I’ll seek for emerging technologies that could be applied in the

existing innovative products that we have or gather insights and ideas for a

new education technology appropriate to the context of the Philippine

Curriculum.”

- Josephine Feliciano

On their goals for NSTF-Thailand participation

Participating in NSTF-Thailand allows VLAS to gain recognition while also contributing to the global conversation on the role of digital tools in enhancing science education. This visibility could lead to partnerships with educational institutions and technology companies worldwide, broadening the impact of this innovative application.

Looking Ahead: The Future of VLAS and International Collaboration

As DOST-SEI advances the development of SIMATAR, the future appears bright for this cutting-edge educational tool. Plans are underway to expand its content by incorporating additional scientific topics and enhancing its interactive features.

Moreover, SIMATAR will soon offer multi-lingual support for the Philippines and be adapted for various dialects in other countries, broadening its educational impact and making it more accessible globally.

The institute’s commitment to improving science education through technology is evident in the continuous development of SIMATAR and other similar projects. By embracing innovation and leveraging the power of AR, DOST-SEI is not only transforming the way science is taught in the Philippines but also setting the stage for abnew era of education where technology plays a central role in shaping the minds of future generations.

** This article is part of the "SPICE: Science and Technology Promotion for International Contest and Exhibits" campaign for the National Science and Technology (NST) Fair Thailand 2024. For more information and event updates, visit the DOST-TAPI website at www.tapi.dost.gov.ph.

Make-roscope™: a tiny microscope with big potential

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

In the realm of scientific innovation, the quest for accessible and affordable technology often leads to groundbreaking solutions that transform traditional practices.

The Make-roscope™ is a revolutionary device developed by Engr. Jeremy C. De Leon that is set to change the way we approach microscopy. Combining ingenuity with practicality, the Make-roscope™ represents a significant leap in making scientific observation more accessible to students, researchers, and the general public.

With its compact and efficient nature, the Make-roscope™ acts as an attachment for mobile phone cameras to create a digital microscope that can fit in your pocket. The Make-roscope™ can also be carried around as a keychain for quick and easy use.

Driven by a vision to democratize scientific observation, De Leon came up with the Make-roscope™ as a solution for inaccessible microscopy equipment. This innovation serves as a nifty alternative for traditional compound light microscopes that are prohibitively much more expensive and bulky.

A vision for accessible microscopy

Recognizing a gap in accessible microscopy tools for research and educational purposes, De Leon formulated a product that utilizes the processing power of the modern handheld devices as a tool for aiding science education. The resulting output ist he Make-roscope™, a compact, affordable alternative to traditional microscopes

This innovative device is designed to be easily attached to the camera of a smartphone or tablet, converting it into a powerful magnifying tool capable of examining organisms and materials with magnifications ranging from 125x to 400x.

Without any need for additional softwares or hardwares, the Make-roscope™ effectively transforms phones and tablets into working microscopes.

In an effort to maximize its potential, the Technology Application and Promotion Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-TAPI) provided funding for its pilot production. This support covered the acquisition of raw materials, assembly and packaging, distribution, and testing by relevant regulatory bodies.

Through the Eyepiece of Make-roscope™

Designed as a compact attachment, the Make-roscope™ is made with a high-quality lens system encased in a durable, user-friendly frame that can be secured

near the actual camera lens of the devices. This modular approach allows users to quickly transform their mobile devices into a functional microscope without the need for complex setup or calibration.

By leveraging existing smartphone technology, and using cost effective materials, De Leon created a bridge to accessibility by creating an affordable microscope for students, institutions, and people seeking more knowledge in microscopy.

The Make-roscope™ 's technology allows the magnification of camera lenses into the world of microscopy where users are enabled to view fine details of specimens up to the cells, bacteria, and small organisms. Its price and size makes it an ideal tool for allowing individuals to engage in hands-on experimentation and observation without the constraints of traditional microscopy equipment.

Magnifying Make-roscope™’s ingenuity

The Make-roscope™ garnered much attention not only for its innovation, but for its potential to contribute to the global pool of scientific knowledge. The device represents a significant step towards making scientific tools more accessible for educational and general use.

Recognizing its ingenuity, DOST-TAPI includes the Make-roscope™ in its final roster of participants for the NSTF-Thailand as part of its internationalization campaign.

“The Institute’s comprehensive programs are vital to starting inventors and innovators because we don’t have much reputation in the industry yet DOST-TAPI puts a lot of trust in our innovations that slowly through that trust we gain credit in the field.”

- Engr. Jeremy C. De Leon

On the impact of DOST services to Make-roscope

Currently, the Make-roscope™’s catalog includes a laboratory kit, a keychain version, and a 2024 version which is priced for only Php 549.00 ($ 9.73). These versions offer the updated 125x-400x magnification, with available sample slides for Php 199.00 ($ 3.53).

Looking Ahead: The Future of VLAS and International Collaboration

With its current trajectory, Make-roscope™ is set to locally become more widespread as it gains more popularity. Being a market-driven innovation, the product gains full-support from the government in its journey towards globalization.

De Leon, together with his team at JereMake aims to produce and distribute units, as well as establish more partnerships, and secure potential investment networks for Make-roscope™ internationally.

** This article is part of the "SPICE: Science and Technology Promotion for International Contest and Exhibits" campaign for the National Science and Technology (NST) Fair Thailand 2024. For more information and event updates, visit the DOST-TAPI

website at www.tapi.dost.gov.ph.