Traffic lights are finally getting smarter in Pittsburgh.
Thanks to a new pilot program from the tech startup Rapid Flow Technologies, Steel City now boasts 50 intersections whose stoplights are running artificial intelligence software known as Surtrac that reduces wait times on empty or lightly-traveled roads.
Imagine you’re trying to find your car in a crowded parking lot. Rather than let frustration take hold, you simply say “locate car” and a tiny drone perched on your shoulder flies off and guides you to it. Amazon has been awarded a patent for a voice-activated personal assistant drone that would do just that, and may be used by emergency personnel for slightly more important tasks, like locating missing children or spotting fires.
Continue reading… “Amazon patents personal mini drones that locates lost cars or kids”
Over the past year or two, someone has been probing the defenses of the companies that run critical pieces of the Internet. These probes take the form of precisely calibrated attacks designed to determine exactly how well these companies can defend themselves, and what would be required to take them down. We don’t know who is doing this, but it feels like a large nation state. China or Russia would be my first guesses.
Continue reading… “Somebody Is Learning How to Take Down the Internet”
There are numerous researches indicating virtual and augmented reality market to grow in exponential rates. A recent report by Citigroup is taking this even further.
The analysis unit of the investment group, Citi GPS claims virtual and augmented reality technology can be a trillion-dollar industry by the year 2035.
Continue reading… “Citi expecting trillion-dollar virtual reality market by 2035”
The artificial intelligence that beat human players in Go can now learn from its own memory. Google’s DeepMind AI, according to its programmers, is now capable of intelligently building on what’s already inside its memory.
Continue reading… “The Dawn of Synthetic Reason: DeepMind Can Learn From Its Own Memory”
Robots are now just as good at transcribing speech as humans.
According to a paper published yesterday, a team of Microsoft engineers in the Artificial Intelligence and Research division reported their system reached a word error rate (WER) of 5.9 percent, a figure that is roughly equal to that of human abilities.
Continue reading… “Microsoft’s speech recognition is now as accurate as a human’s”
In the early morning hours of October 20th, an 18-wheeler tractor trailer pulled into Colorado Springs, Colorado, bearing 50,000 frosty cans of Budweiser beer. Normally, this would not be a noteworthy occurrence, but this truck was driving itself, marking the first time that commercial cargo was shipped by a self-driving vehicle.
Continue reading… “Uber’s self-driving truck company just shipped 50,000 cans of Budweiser”
NASA recently tested drones to serve as unmanned air traffic controllers, according to Recode.
The tests, which were conducted at the Reno, Nevada, airport, are part of a larger research project spearheaded by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop an unmanned air traffic control system.
Continue reading… “NASA is testing air traffic controller drones”
Using state driver’s license data, US law enforcement agencies have created a huge network of ID photographs that can be searched using facial-recognition software, raising legal and privacy concerns about its use.
Photographs of more than 117 million adult US citizens are now part of the “perpetual line-up,” according to a report by that name published Tuesday by the Center on Privacy and Technology at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Continue reading… “Police face-tracking network covers nearly 50% of US adults”
If a tree falls in the Amazon, but you don’t capture it on Snapchat, did it actually fall? I had the thought while hiking through the rainforest, on the third day of a digital detox that was slowly killing me. What’s the point of eating a live worm or luring a monkey onto my shoulder if I can’t post the photos to prove it?
Continue reading… “‘Unplugged’ Tourism Is Booming Because We’re So Addicted to Our Gadgets”
AT&T is using drones to conduct cell tower inspections and find birds’ nests that can potentially affect cell coverage, reports Recode.
The telco provider is doing this as part of a new drone initiative it announced in July.
Continue reading… “AT&T using drones to inspect cell towers and find bird nests”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.