Another study has found that artificial intelligence is able to beat humans -- this time it involves judging selfies to determine the subject's personality traits. The machine was best able to identify one particular trait, at least compared to humans, but it was ultimately able to determine five different personality qualities based on nothing more than a picture of a face.
New research out of Hong Kong brings humanity one step closer to the existence of cyborgs. The study, which was published in the prestigious journal Nature, details the creation of a biomimetic eye prototype that features a hemispherical retina made from a high-density nanowires array that is the machine equivalent of the photoreceptors found in the human eye. The prototype could pay the way for 'super vision' in robots and maybe, eventually, in humans, as well.
Sphero, the company best known for its BB-8 toy robot, has announced the successful spin-off of its Company Six into a startup that will make robots for the government, military use, and more. Company Six will operate as an independent company, according to Sphero, which says that it will also work on artificial intelligence-based software designed for customers 'who work in dangerous situations.'
Boston Dynamics' more portable version of its BigDog robot is getting around, figuratively and literally. At a time when social distancing and working remotely has become more than just a luxury, Spot's mobility and general-purpose design could be the key to keeping the world turning even with no humans in plain sight. That's the future that New Zealand robotics company Rocos is preparing for, with Spot doing the tedious and often dangerous work that farmers and herders might not be able to do for a while.
Many people might not understand the fuss over a new rover that lands and rolls over the moon, Mars, or even an asteroid. After all, isn't it just a crude looking car that happens to have gone outer space? It's easy to take for granted that these aren't remote-controlled vehicles but are pretty much the self-driving cars that we can only dream of here on Earth. These rovers have to navigate literally alien terrain mostly on their own and, as this Mini Rover prototype demonstrates, needs to avoid sand traps without much human assistance.
Sony and remotely-controlled robot startup Avatarin are teaming up to make telepresence avatars smarter, borrowing tech from Aibo and more. It's the latest move by the freshly-founded Sony AI, the Japanese firm's incubator for next-gen robotics, artificial intelligence, sensor technology, and more, that was set up back in April.
Scientists have created what they call the fastest soft robots ever, inspired by the biomechanics of cheetahs. The soft robot is capable of moving more quickly on solid surfaces or in the water than previous generations. The new soft robots are also capable of grabbing objects delicately or with sufficient strength to lift heavy objects.
Researchers have created tiny microbots that they claim to be the world's smallest microelectronic robot. The minuscule robots are powered by shooting out dual jets of bubbles behind them, a propulsion system first conceived about a decade ago. The tiny robots were developed by an international team led by Professor Oliver G. Schmidt from the Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany.
While there are many that heed warnings to keep their distance or even stay indoors unless absolutely necessary, there are definitely those that may not be so diligent, especially if there's no one around to catch them. Given the lack of manpower to enforce social distancing regulations, Singapore is turning to robotics to keep an eye out and remind people about the risks they may be putting themselves and others in. The question, however, is whether their use of Boston Dynamic's popular yet unpopular four-legged robot will be an effective tool or will ironically only draw more people to it instead.
You'll have to wait a little longer to set iRobot's Terra robot lawnmower loose on your grass, with the company revealing it has put the launch on ice because of coronavirus. Announced back at the start of 2019, Terra saw iRobot roam outside the home for the first time, with a grass-nibbling robot intended to make tending a lawn easier.
It might not have the most comforting appearance but it will at least be saving lives. The smaller version of the company's "Big Dog", Boston Dynamics is putting the robot Spot to work as a frontliner in hospitals in Boston, allowing healthcare workers to communicate with patients over a safe, remote distance. Going beyond the call of duty, the former Google subsidiary is also opening up its hardware and software so that other robot makers could follow suit.
Researchers from Georgia Tech have created a robot called Shimon that can write songs, play music, and sing. The marimba-playing robot is going on tour to support a new album that he has composed and sings. The album will have eight to ten songs, and Shimon wrote them in collaboration with humans. The human collaboration starts with the human giving the robot a theme, like space, and Shimon will write lyrics around the theme.