AI can now listen to individuals in a crowd
WHY THIS MATTERS This new breakthrough will let our Connected Home devices hear us better, but on the other it also gives organisations the ability to eavesdrop on everyone. Devices like Amazon’s Echo and Google Home can normally deal with requests from a single person, but like us they often still...
The world’s most advanced robot just learnt Parkour
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Humans evolve at a biological rate, technology evolves at an exponential rate, and ATLAS is improving all the time. The majority of people like to assume that one day we will live, work and eat alongside robots in perfect harmony in the happy knowledge...
Watch: Yamaha’s insane Motobot race Valentino “The Doctor” Rossi on the track
WHY THIS MATTERS Part marketing stunt part serious experiment Yamaha’s Motobot robot took on Valentino “The Doctor” Rossi on the track to improve bike safety. Yamaha was just caught showing off their latest humanoid robot that they put onto one of their motorcycles and pitted it against Valentino Rossi, one...
Researchers have created a 3D plasma hologram you can touch
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Everyone loves holograms, or they think they do, because until now most holograms have relied more on parlour tricks than actual science and technology to work, but that might be about to change. Every science fiction film ever created, and probably even the ones...
Companies are racing to fill the seas with autonomous drone ships
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It seems like every mode of transport is going autonomous these days, and that’s because it is, and cargo ships of every kind are no exception. Forget Uber’s itsy bitsy diddy self-driving cars, and Otto’s self-driving semi-trucks, if you want a robot to haul a...
Toyota ties up with blockchain startups to connect its world
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Blockchain is one of the world’s most promising emerging technologies and it’s now finding its way into the automotive and transportation sectors Just a few weeks after Ford officially ousted its CEO in order to make way for a new, more future focused CEO,...
Japanese scientists want to be the first to drill into the Earth’s mantle
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to drill through the the Earth’s mantle will not only help us predict earthquakes better, but it will also give us a complete record of the formation of Earth. Last week a team of Japanese scientists, backed by the Japanese government, announced...
Watch: Sony released two new songs from an unsigned AI
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Creative machines should be decades away but they’re here, today, and increasingly it looks like “creativity” is just another word for “algorithm.” Sony recently announced that they’ve released two brand new pop songs from a new, unsigned artist, and while the announcement shouldn’t seem even...
Scientists set new solar panel efficiency record
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Solar power is now coming of age and every innovation, and every breakthrough only helps to accelerate its adoption. Turning sunlight, which is basically photons, into electricity, electrons, is a surprisingly tricky thing. While there have been experiments that have created solar arrays that can capture...
Toyota’s latest third space concept car wants to be your friend
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Cars are evolving, they’re no longer modes of transportation, they’re lounges and homes on wheels, and Toyota’s Yui wants to be your friend. Toyota recently revealed a new concept vehicle with a virtual companion named Yui built in and while, in the past a...
Softbank CEO predicts the Singularity will occur in 2047
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The Singularity, the point at which we see runaway technological growth that result in unfathomable changes to human civilisation, is approaching, and we need to be prepared. In 30 years, the Singularity, the point at which we see runaway technological growth that result in...
Scientists publish a breakthrough architecture for the world’s first Quantum Computer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Building the world’s first commercial quantum computer will require international collaboration, and a plan, and it looks like we now have that plan. An international team, led by a scientist from the University of Sussex, and made up of scientists from Google, Aarhus University...
Hackers can copy your fingerprints directly from photos
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Unlike passwords you can’t change your biometric ID’s, and hackers are finding new ways to lift them and use them for their own nefarious objectives. Thanks Donald. Can I call you Donald? Now pass me your phone and don’t worry – I’ll take good...
Japanese insurer announces it will replace office workers with artificial intelligence
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF More and more companies are experimenting with AI as a way to automate away jobs, and as the human toll continues to increase this is just the beginning Fukoku Mutual Life, a Japanese insurance company with a turnover of $6.8 Billion in 2016, announced...
Japan joins the race to mine the Moon
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Outer space contains an unlimited amount of resources, from Platinum and ice to Helium-3, now, as we become a space faring species our future space exploration, outposts and transportation will rely on companies who can mine and process it. The Japanese Space Exploration Agency...
Japan gets ready to test its space junk grabbing space whip
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Space debris is an increasingly serious problem for space agencies who are loosing more space assets because of it than ever before, Japans system, while still as yet unproven might prove to be a credible solution. The Japanese Space Exploration Agency (JAXA) will soon be...
Manga legend scolds AI created zombie animation as an insult to life
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Artificial intelligence systems are getting increasingly good at constructing, designing and animating their own short movies, automating more of the tasks that, up until now, have been thought of as the preserve of humans and humans alone Born in 1964 it’s safe to say...
Scientists discover a way to delete fears from the brain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Researchers are slowly unravelling the mysteries of the brain and how memories are formed, as we edge nearer to being able to delete memories from peoples minds we also get closer to knowing how to implant artificial memories too. All of us have fears....
Japanese researchers have built a computer brain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to model the human brain will help us create better treatments for neurological conditions, and might also help answer questions about consciousness and sentience. Researchers in Japan have used the powerful Riken K computer, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, to simulate...
Apples CEO Tim Cook speaks out the future of AI
Apples latest announcements on its plans for AI are, well, boring Pixar founder George Lucas might have given the world the word “Droid” before he sold the company to Apple’s Steve Jobs but now Apple CEO Tim Cook is making no secret of the fact that he wants the company to play...
