Bots & Brains

Mindtech Global, developer of a platform for the creation of synthetic data for training AI, has published details on how machine learning engineers can radically speed up the time it takes to train their AI vision systems to see and understand the world around them.

Researchers at Kyoto University designed a shared-laughter AI system that appropriately responds to human laughter in order to build a sense of empathy into dialogue.

Astrobotic announces the acquisition of Masten Space Systems, a space technologies company with suborbital payload testing services, which has completed more than 600 vertical takeoff and landing (VTVL) rocket flights. The acquisition also includes Masten’s portfolio of space technology development programs with over 18 years of operations.

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) have developed a wearable assistive robot that can detect and prevent a fall before it happens, reducing the user’s risk of sustaining injuries.

Intel Labs, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Technology and the Technical University of Munich, has introduced a new approach to neural network-based object learning. It specifically targets future applications like robotic assistants that interact with unconstrained environments, including in logistics, healthcare or elderly care.

Constructing a tiny robot from DNA and using it to study cell processes invisible to the naked eye. This is the subject of research by scientists from Inserm, CNRS and Université de Montpellier at the Structural Biology Center in Montpellier. This highly innovative “nano-robot” should enable closer study of the mechanical forces applied at microscopic levels, which are crucial for many biological and pathological processes. It is described in a new study published in Nature Communications.

Researchers at the Robotics Institute (RI) in Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science have developed a new learning method for robots called WHIRL, short for In-the-Wild Human Imitating Robot Learning. WHIRL is an efficient algorithm for one-shot visual imitation. It can learn directly from human-interaction videos and generalize that information to new tasks, making robots well-suited to learning household chores.

In a paper published in the Canadian Journal of Recreation Therapy, University of Utah researcher Rhonda Nelson and graduate student Rebecca Westenskow developed a protocol for using robotic pets with older adults with dementia. The protocol uses a low-cost robotic pet, establishes ideal session lengths and identifies common participant responses to the pets to aid in future research.

The convergence of AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and solutions (AIoT) is leading to “thinking” networks and systems that are becoming increasingly more capable of solving a wide range of problems across a diverse number of industry verticals. AI adds value to IoT through machine learning and improved decision-making. IoT adds value to AI through connectivity, signaling, and data exchange.

Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) implemented a non-verbal Turing test that shows that people interacting with the humanoid robot iCub were not able to tell whether the robot was human-controlled or pre-programmed.