Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it has become the first South Korean company to sign the EU smart appliance energy code of conduct. The voluntary programme, led by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, encourages development and wider adoption of high-efficiency smart appliances linked to power management systems. Samsung said the signing will broaden cooperation with European power companies. Its washer-dryers, washing machines and dishwashers meet the criteria and are registered as energy smart appliances in EPREL.

Warnings are growing that navigation accuracy for aircraft and drones could be disrupted as reference data used by electronic compasses ages quickly. Electronic compasses rely on Earth magnetic field models, unlike GPS, and the World Magnetic Model underpins compass functions in most devices. Earth’s magnetic field is constantly changing, shortening model validity. Concerns are also rising that an end to ESA’s Swarm mission could weaken data reliability, prompting U.S. efforts to develop near real-time magnetic sensing technology.