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SoftBank Corp. and TOPPAN Holdings Develop Lightweight, Durable Skin for Solar HAPS Aircraft Wings

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Skin’s compatibility with stratospheric conditions such as extreme UV rays and ultra-low temperatures makes longer HAPS operations possible

TOKYO, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SoftBank Corp. (TYO: 9434) (President & CEO: Junichi Miyakawa, “SoftBank”) and TOPPAN Holdings Inc. (TYO: 7911) (President & COO: Satoshi Oya, “TOPPAN Holdings”) jointly developed a lightweight, durable skin for use on solar High-Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) aircraft wings and devised a testing method that replicates the stratosphere’s environment. Test production will go forward, and the aircraft wing skin is planned for use with HTA-type[1] HAPS, which SoftBank plans to deploy for commercial services from 2029 onwards.     

This jointly developed HAPS aircraft wing skin and test method that reproduces stratospheric conditions were made possible by combining SoftBank’s HAPS expertise and TOPPAN Holdings’ know-how accrued over years of creating advanced multi-layered film technology designed for packaging and construction materials. TOPPAN Holdings also leveraged its proprietary technology that evaluates weather resistance. This joint development mitigates film damage (degradation) caused by strong ultraviolet (UV) rays and ultra-low temperatures of almost -100°C. As a result, the aircraft can stay in the stratosphere for longer periods. 

Development Background
HAPS, also referred to as “base stations in the sky,” provide communication services from uncrewed aircraft that remain airborne in the stratosphere. Being able to keep an aircraft with a communications payload airborne for extended periods of time would make it possible to provide an alternative means of communications in the aftermath of large-scale natural disasters, as well as provide communication services to under-connected areas, such as mountainous regions and remote islands. As these platforms operate from the stratosphere at an altitude of approximately 20 km above, they offer wider-area coverage than base stations on the ground, while also providing high-quality, high-volume, low-latency communications superior to satellite-based communications. However, at this altitude in the stratosphere, UV ray and ozone exposure is far greater than at ground level, and with exposure to extremely cold temperatures that sometimes drop to almost -100℃, impaired efficacy due to these environmental factors had been a serious issue with conventional all-purpose skins. Responding to this challenge, SoftBank and TOPPAN Holdings jointly developed a new ultra-lightweight, high-durability skin for aircraft wings capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of the stratosphere, along with a specialized methodology for its evaluation.     

Wing Skin & Evaluation Method Characteristics
1. Use of impact-resistant advanced resin and proprietary structure to achieve both lightweighting and safety
Leveraging converting technology[2] developed for packaging by TOPPAN Holdings, an optimized skin structure was achieved by precisely layering original materials and impact-resistant advanced resin suitable for use at extremely low temperature conditions. The resulting skin weighs the same as or less than average conventional all-purpose skin, and even if damage to the skin were to occur, the break-resistant design keeps damage from spreading, allowing for both a safe and lighter HAPS airframe.    

2. Advanced durability to address harsh stratospheric conditions
SoftBank has contributed real-world data from its stratospheric HAPS flights, including actual temperature measurements and deep ultraviolet (UV-C) ray exposure conditions, and has also defined requirements such as weight reduction and other performance criteria. This has enabled TOPPAN Holdings to design a skin that addresses exposure to the harsh environmental conditions of the stratosphere by applying technology developed for construction materials. These conditions particular to the stratosphere include everything from extremely low temperatures (approximately -50℃ to -95℃) to extreme heat (approximately 100℃) from direct sunlight. The skin is also resistant to short wave UV-C and high-concentration ozone (10-20 ppm, parts per million) exposure that are far stronger than at ground level. This durability will allow for extended HAPS operation periods.      

3. Establishing a testing method that simulates stratospheric conditions to ensure reliability
TOPPAN Holdings leveraged its knowledge of packaging film testing and accelerated durability testing of construction materials, to construct a new test environment that assesses the skin under a simulation of the ultralow temperatures of the stratosphere, while also facilitating the testing of simultaneous exposure from short wave UV rays and the ozone. By using this test environment, it is possible to understand the detailed mechanisms of deterioration particular to the stratosphere and to use that knowledge for improved product design. This understanding and design adjustment makes it possible to carry out a more precise and more reliable evaluation compared to former testing methods.     

Roles of Both Companies
SoftBank
Provide expertise required to evaluate the suitability of the skin as well as expertise on HAPS operations
Supervision of advancing use with HAPS aircraft and transferring advances to practical application

TOPPAN Holdings
Develop and provide skin material suitable for HAPS aircraft
Proposal for evaluation method in stratospheric environment

Future Developments
SoftBank and TOPPAN Holdings will proceed with research to make the skin material developed within the scope of this project even lighter and stronger by fiscal 2027 (the year ending March 31, 2028). Additionally, while evaluating durability in the stratosphere, both companies will also attempt to establish mass production technology capable of ensuring sufficient supply and reliable quality by fiscal 2028. Also, based on testing outcomes, additional functions will be added, and the skin is expected to be used by SoftBank on HTA-type HAPS aircraft that provide commercial services, planned for launch from 2029 onwards. Both companies also plan to apply this skin to other fields that require a high level of durability.

[1] HTA (Heavier-Than-Air) refers to HAPS that remain airborne by generating aerodynamic lift, similar to conventional aircraft.

[2] Converting technology is the process of transforming materials like film into high-function final products through specialized processing such as printing and lamination. 

For more information:
https://www.holdings.toppan.com/en/news/04/newsrelease260427_1.html 

About SoftBank Corp.
Guided by the SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy, “Information Revolution – Happiness for everyone,” SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) operates telecommunications and IT businesses in Japan and globally. Building on its strong business foundation, SoftBank Corp. is expanding into non-telecom fields in line with its “Beyond Carrier” growth strategy while further growing its telecom business by harnessing the power of 5G/6G, IoT, Digital Twin and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions, including High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)-based stratospheric telecommunications. While constructing AI data centers and developing homegrown LLMs specialized for the Japanese language, SoftBank is integrating AI with radio access networks (AI-RAN), with the aim of becoming a provider of next-generation social infrastructure.
https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/

About the TOPPAN Group
Established in Tokyo in 1900, the TOPPAN Group is a leading and diversified global provider committed to delivering sustainable, integrated solutions in fields including printing, communications, security, packaging, décor materials, electronics, and digital transformation. The TOPPAN Group’s global team of more than 50,000 employees offers optimal solutions enabled by industry-leading expertise and technologies to address the diverse challenges of every business sector and society and contribute to the achievement of shared sustainability goals.
https://www.holdings.toppan.com/en/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/toppan/

 

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SOURCE TOPPAN Holdings

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Yubi Group Launches ‘TopScore’ at GFF 2026 to Widen Credit Health Awareness for Indian borrowers

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MUMBAI, India, Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Yubi Group, the AI-powered operating system for financial services, today launched TopScore, a consumer credit-health app, unveiled at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026. The launch arrives at a pivotal moment for financial inclusion in India: even as over a billion Indians are now eligible for credit, recent studies suggest nearly one in two have never checked their credit score, and many first encounter it only as a loan rejection, without understanding what shaped it or what to do next. Credit access has scaled; credit understanding has not.

The app was unveiled by Mr. Ajay Kumar Choudhary, Non-Executive Chairman and Independent Director of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Independent Director on the Board of Yubi Group, and a former Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Choudhary said, “Financial health begins with early education, not late collections. When consumers understand their credit habits before taking on debt, we break the default cycle and curb NPAs across the entire system. Solutions like TopScore are an integral pillar of the effort to improve credit literacy and protect everyday citizens from debt stress.”

Gaurav Kumar, Founder & CEO, Yubi Group, shared the vision behind the launch saying, “For years, debt management in India was reactive, focused on collections, recovery, and managing NPAs after financial stress had already set in. That era is ending. By channeling deep credit infrastructure and predictive technology toward the consumer, we are shifting from reactive recovery to proactive credit health. TopScore is the natural culmination of that evolution. It moves the conversation beyond simply accessing credit to helping people borrow smarter, build lasting financial health, and prevent debt stress before it begins.”

TopScore is a comprehensive credit-health companion built around three simple steps: check, understand, and grow. Users start with a free credit score and full report, drawn from Experian, one of India’s leading credit bureaus with the user’s own consent, and translated from complex bureau data into plain language across 10 languages, including Hindi and English. An AI Score Coach turns that report into a personal, step-by-step plan, showing what is helping a user’s profile and what is holding it back, while a Human Coach, (a real credit expert who speaks the user’s language) is available for the moments where human intervention is required. A built-in score predictor lets users play out real-life scenarios and see their estimated effect before acting. And the app goes beyond numbers: TopScore assists users in raising disputes to correct reporting errors, and in pursuing a consent-first, borrower-initiated path to resolve past dues directly with their lender and rebuild.

TopScore will be available on Google Play Store and the Apple App Store soon.

While TopScore is a bold step into the consumer space, it stands on the foundation of the Yubi Group. For years, Yubi has been the engine powering the systems behind India’s credit landscape. By channeling that institutional understanding into a consumer product, Yubi Group is uniquely positioned to serve the entire credit lifecycle, from awareness to access to rebuilding.

About Yubi Group:

Yubi Group is the world’s only AI-powered operating system (OS) for financial services, founded in 2020 by CEO Gaurav Kumar. At its core is YuVerse, an applied AI suite powering four specialized companies – Yubi, Accumn, Spocto X, and YuCollect – that together deliver end-to-end solutions in lending, underwriting, and collections. Backed by leading investors including Peak XV, Insight Partners, Lightspeed, B Capital Group, Dragoneer, and TVS Capital, Yubi has facilitated over ₹3.2 lakh crore in credit and 3.5 crore transactions, serving 17,000+ enterprises and 6,200+ investors & lenders while reducing collections costs by 57%. The company is redefining transparency, compliance, and performance across India’s financial services sector. 

Visit www.go-yubi.com to learn more.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/3008967/Yubi_TopScore_Launch.jpg

 

 

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Owl Autonomous Imaging Selected for Pentagon-Led DUTCH Award to Advance Uncooled Thermal Imaging

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Fabless semiconductor company brings advanced LWIR technology and scalable North American manufacturing to next-generation defense systems

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Owl Autonomous Imaging, Inc. (Owl AI), a U.S.-based fabless semiconductor company developing advanced long-wave infrared (LWIR) technology, today announced that it has been selected for an award supporting the Delivering Unmatched Thermal Capability–Hastened (DUTCH) initiative, led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) C5ISR Center.

Under the award, Owl AI will apply its expertise in uncooled LWIR semiconductor and imaging technology to the development and demonstration of next-generation thermal capabilities. As a fabless semiconductor company, Owl develops technology across the thermal imaging chain, from focal plane arrays and digital readout technology through camera cores and complete thermal camera systems.

Owl AI’s KnightOwl HD™ platform is designed to deliver high-quality uncooled LWIR imaging with the low-power architecture, compact form factor and scalable manufacturing approach required by emerging autonomous and defense systems.

“We are excited to support the DUTCH initiative and the effort to accelerate the next generation of uncooled thermal technology,” said Chuck Gershman, CEO and co-founder of Owl Autonomous Imaging. “We developed KnightOwl HD around the needs of a new generation of systems that require higher-quality thermal imaging, lower power, smaller form factors and a path to much broader deployment. We believe scalable thermal imaging can become an important enabling technology for drones, robotics and critical defense programs like Drone Dominance.”

Owl AI’s fabless model uses semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing partners in the United States and Canada, supporting Department of War priorities for secure, resilient and scalable supply chains for mission-critical technologies.

The DUTCH award expands Owl AI’s work with the U.S. defense community and supports the company’s broader objective of moving advanced LWIR thermal perception from a specialized sensing technology to a highly scalable platform for the next generation of autonomous systems.

About Owl Autonomous Imaging

Owl Autonomous Imaging, Inc. (Owl AI) is a U.S.-based fabless semiconductor company developing advanced long-wave infrared imaging and thermal perception technology for the emerging world of Physical AI.

Owl AI develops technology across the thermal imaging stack, including proprietary focal plane arrays, digital readout technology, compact camera cores and complete thermal camera systems. In addition to thermal imaging, Owl develops proprietary AI algorithms and multimodal fusion capabilities that combine thermal data with other sensing modalities to enable perception capabilities including detection, classification and environmental understanding.

By combining semiconductor innovation, LWIR imaging and AI-enabled thermal perception, Owl AI enables intelligent systems to perceive and operate in darkness, degraded visual environments and other conditions where conventional vision systems are limited. Owl AI develops technology for drones, robotics, defense, automotive autonomy and industrial applications. For more information visit https://owlai.us 

Media Contact
Wade Appelman, Chief Business Officer
Owl Autonomous Imaging
wadea@owlai.us
781-439-7480

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SOURCE Owl Autonomous Imaging

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Loop8 Kills the Master Password

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Nothing to remember. And the password manager is only one part: Loop8 is a privacy controller covering notes, private messaging and two-factor codes, all behind your biometrics.

GLENDALE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Loop8 today made its privacy app generally available. The app is free to download and use, and there is no master password anywhere in it. Users open it with the biometrics already built into their phone. Passwords are only part of what it holds: Note8 protected notes, True8 Connect private messaging, two-factor codes and dark web monitoring all sit behind the same biometrics, and Loop8 never saves any of it on its own servers.

Most password managers and secure note apps encrypt what users give them and then keep it on company servers, which puts millions of vaults in one place for a single breach to expose. Loop8 has no such place. Everything a user stores is encrypted on the phone, and the backup copy goes automatically to the user’s own iCloud account on iOS or Google account on Android. The encryption key never leaves the device, so even that backup cannot be opened without the phone.

Data does travel through Loop8’s servers to reach another device, encrypted end to end with keys that stay on user devices, so the company cannot read what it carries and keeps no copy after delivery.

Registration takes two pieces of information, an email address and a phone number. Loop8 does not ask for a name, a home address, an age or a gender.

A master password is also the thing people end up writing down, and the thing an attacker can talk them out of. Phishing works because a secret can be repeated to a stranger over the phone. No one can be talked into handing over a fingerprint. Loop8 has no password to write down, and none to hand over.

If the phone is lost

The encrypted backup in the user’s own cloud is still there, but it cannot be opened without the key from the lost device. That is where trusted contacts come in. Loop8 asks users to name people they trust, and those people are what restores access. There is no reset link to click, and Loop8 cannot restore an account itself, because it never held the content or the key.

What’s in the privacy controller

Free with the app

Note8. A one-page notes app behind the user’s biometrics, built for people who have a hard time with password managers, including older users. It can also copy a protected note into a family member’s Loop8 app, so a spouse or an adult child can take over if something happens.
True8 Connect. Private messaging between two people, not stored on Loop8’s servers. Messages delete themselves after eight days, with no recovery and no archive.
Authenticator. Two-factor codes, generated and kept on the device.
PrivacyMate. Scans the dark web for compromised data and provides real-time notifications to users while they browse on a desktop.

In the paid version

The password manager. Credentials kept on the phone and opened with biometrics. No master password, and no copy on Loop8’s servers.
MySafe. A desktop tool that keeps its contents on the computer and does not copy them to the cloud on its own. Users who want a backup send it to storage they already own, such as their own Google Drive.
Seven extra licenses. Every paid license comes with seven more at no cost, so a user can cover family and community instead of buying one seat at a time.

“Most people aren’t security experts, and they shouldn’t have to be,” said Zarik Megerdichian, founder and CEO of Loop8. “We built Loop8 for everyone else. It’s simple, and there’s nothing for you to manage. Hackers go after big companies because that’s where millions of accounts sit in one pile. We don’t keep that pile. The master password had a good run. As of today, people have another option.”

Availability

Loop8 is free on the Apple App Store for iOS and on Google Play for Android. The free version includes Note8, True8 Connect, the authenticator and PrivacyMate. The paid version adds the password manager and MySafe for $8, and every paid license comes with seven more at no cost.

On the desktop, Loop8 runs on both Mac and Windows and syncs through the Loop8 browser extension, which is available for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.

About Loop8

Loop8 makes a privacy controller, a single app that keeps a person’s passwords, notes, private messages and two-factor codes behind their own biometrics. User content stays on the user’s own devices and in their own cloud accounts. Loop8 never stores it on its own servers. The app is free, and registration asks only for an email address and a phone number. Loop8 is based in Glendale, California. For more information, visit loop8.ai.

Media Contact

Zarik Megerdichian CEO, Loop8 pr@l8p8.com | (818) 208-0238 www.loop8.ai

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SOURCE L8P8 Inc.

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