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Tag: E-skimo

  • E-Skimo, the world’s first powered skis, hit the slopes – Tech Digest

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    After five years under development, the world’s first powered skis have officially hit the slopes, promising to transform the gruelling world of ski touring into a more accessible experience.

    Launched in Verbier this month, the E-Skimo system uses electric motor technology to assist skiers during uphill ascents, effectively acting as the snow-bound equivalent of the e-bike.

    The project is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Nicola Colombo, who was inspired to lower the physical barriers of the sport after watching friends struggle with traditional manual ascents during Covid.

    “There was a spike in ski touring because resorts were closed,” Colombo explained, noting that many newcomers found the intense physical effort of climbing far outweighed the joy of the two-minute descent.

    The E-Skimo system works by equipping high-performance free-ride skis with a front-mounted lithium battery and a rear-mounted 850W motor. Unlike a motorized vehicle, it requires the skier to maintain a natural rhythm.

    Propulsion is delivered through a “traction skin”, a looped conveyor belt that runs through the ski base. A suite of AI-driven sensors and gyroscopes monitors the skier’s gait and terrain, automatically activating the motor when the heel is lifted to slide the ski forward.

    Skiers can choose from three power modes – Eco, Climb, and Boost – allowing them to ascend at 700 meters per hour, nearly triple the speed of a typical manual climber, with roughly a third less effort. Once the summit is reached, the drive units and batteries can be detached in about 60 seconds and stowed in a specialized backpack, allowing the user to descend on standard high-performance skis.

    The technology is currently available in a premium “Launch Edition” priced at SFr4,500 (approximately £4,200). To reach a wider audience, E-Skimo has established “Experience Centres” in major alpine hubs, including Verbier, St Moritz, and San Bernardino, where potential users can test the equipment.

    While the current price targets early adopters, the company anticipates that future models could retail for closer to £2,000 as production scales.


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    Chris Price

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  • Grok still allowing deepfakes of women in bikinis, Starlink now cheaper than BT broadband – Tech Digest

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    X has continued to allow users to post highly sexualised videos of women in bikinis generated by its AI tool Grok, despite the company’s claim to have cracked down on misuse. The Guardian was able to create short videos of people stripping to bikinis from photographs of fully clothed, real women. It was also possible to post this adult content on to X’s public platform without any sign of it being moderated, meaning the clip could be viewed within seconds by anyone with an account. It appeared to offer a straightforward workaround to restrictions announced by Elon Musk’s social network this week. The Guardian 

    Elon Musk’s Starlink is now offering cheaper broadband than BT after rolling out price cuts in the UK. The billionaire’s satellite broadband company has launched a high-speed internet service for just £35 per month in some areas, down from its previous entry-level price of £55.  That compares to £40 for BT’s equivalent package, while Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is priced at £36. Even when the £94 installation fees are included, Starlink’s new discounted package is still less expensive than BT’s over a 24-month contract. Telegraph 

    Amid continued trade and geopolitical volatility between Europe and the US, Amazon Web Services is making its European Sovereign Cloud generally available today and plans to expand so-called Local Zones. Amazon says the cloud is “entirely located within the EU, and physically and logically separate from other AWS Regions.” It will initially offer 90 services from compute to database, networking, security, storage, and AI. The Register

    A new report on Apple’s partnership with Google to have Gemini power the new Siri appears to confirm speculation that the iPhone maker is paying around a billion dollars a year for the deal. It also claims that ChatGPT provider OpenAI made a conscious decision to decline the opportunity to provide the intelligence behind Siri … A Financial Times report says that the deal will be ‘structured in the form of a cloud computing contract, which could lead to Apple paying several billion dollars to Google over time, a person familiar with the agreement told the FT.’ 9to5Mac


    Launched officially in January 2026 in Verbier, the wonderfully-named E-Skimo system represents a significant shift in alpine mobility. Just as the e-bike expanded the reach of casual cyclists, these motorised skis are designed to assist the normal rhythm and motion of ski touring, allowing users to ascend faster and with significantly less physical strain. On a technical level, E-Skimo consists of a pair of high-performance free-ride skis, each equipped with a front-mounted lithium battery and a rear-mounted motor delivering up to 850W of power. ShinyShiny

    The BBC has struck a landmark deal to make shows for YouTube as it grapples with an exodus of viewers to the streaming service. The public service broadcaster will begin making programmes specifically for YouTube under the terms of a deal that could be announced as early as next week, the Financial Times reported. These programmes, which would primarily be aimed at younger viewers, would subsequently be shown on the corporation’s own streaming platforms iPlayer and Sounds. Telegraph 


    For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv

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    Chris Price

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