Robots, Science & Technology News

Israelis to get smart manicures from robots that combine 3D imaging and AI

BY AYUB DAWOOD

Getting an appointment, waiting for your turn and then going through a time consuming process makes manicure a hassle for people across the globe. But in an age when technology has accelerated the pace of all daily tasks, taking care of yourself shouldn’t be such a painstaking procedure.

Hospitality chains in the UAE have launched apps to book spa treatments while ensuring contactless service, and now friendly robots have also been rolled out to provide care for people at home. In the post-pandemic era when visits to the salon won’t be the same for a while, an Israeli startup has created a gadget that performs manicures at the push of a button.

Continue reading… “Israelis to get smart manicures from robots that combine 3D imaging and AI”
Finance, Science & Technology News

Self-driving truck startup Plus to go public through $3.3 billion SPAC deal

(Reuters) -Plus said on Monday it would go public through a merger with blank-check company Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V in a deal that values the self-driving truck technology startup at $3.3 billion.

The combined company will get proceeds of $500 million from the deal, including a private investment of $150 million. Investors in the deal include BlackRock and D.E. Shaw group, among others.

In February, Plus raised $200 million in a funding round, co-led by brokerage Guotai Junan International and private equity firm CPE, according to data from Pitchbook.

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Artificial Intelligence, Science & Technology News

Researchers develop artificial intelligence that can detect sarcasm in social media

by University of Central Florida

Computer science researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed a sarcasm detector.

Social media has become a dominant form of communication for individuals, and for companies looking to market and sell their products and services. Properly understanding and responding to customer feedback on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms is critical for success, but it is incredibly labor intensive.

That’s where sentiment analysis comes in. The term refers to the automated process of identifying the emotion—either positive, negative or neutral—associated with text. While artificial intelligence refers to logical data analysis and response, sentiment analysis is akin to correctly identifying emotional communication. A UCF team developed a technique that accurately detects sarcasm in social media text.

The team’s findings were recently published in the journal Entropy.

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drones, Science & Technology News

UK postal service tests autonomous drone deliveries to remote islands

The drones will be used to carry COVID testing kits and assorted mail. 

By S. Shah

It’s not just online and big-box retailers that are exploring deliveries by drone. Following in the footsteps of the Swiss Post, the UK’s Royal Mail is the latest postal service to trial drone flights. The company has announced a landmark project to deliver packages — including personal protective equipment, COVID testing kits and assorted mail — to a UK island using an autonomous Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV). 

As part of the government-backed project, a large drone will take off from the mainland and fly to the Scilly Isles (a remote archipelago off the Cornish coast in southwest England). The twin-engine UAV can carry up to 100kg of mail of all shapes and sizes, which the Royal Mail said is equivalent to a typical delivery round. Thereafter, a smaller vertical take-off and landing drone will be used to fly parcels between the islands to recipients.

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drones, Science & Technology News

Kroger, Drone Express Begin New Drone Grocery Delivery Program

Posted By: Miriam McNabb

Drone Express and Kroger begin testing drone grocery delivery in a pilot program – part of the retailer’s goal of providing customers with “anything, anytime, anywhere,” says a company press release.

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) and Drone Express, a division of TELEGRID Technologies, Inc., will offer package delivery near the Kroger Marketplace in Centerville, Ohio.

“Kroger’s new drone delivery pilot is part of the evolution of our rapidly growing and innovative e-commerce business – which includes pickup, delivery, and ship and reached more than $10 billion in sales in 2020,” said Kroger’s Jody Kalmbach, group vice president of product experience. “The pilot reinforces the importance of flexibility and immediacy to customers, powered by modern, cost-effective, and efficient last-mile solutions. We’re excited to test drone delivery and gain insights that will inform expansion plans as well as future customer solutions.”

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Robots, Science & Technology News

Chinese unicorn’s robot waiters ready to serve the world

Workers assemble robots at a Keenon factory in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province.

By SHIN WATANABE, Nikkei staff writer

Keenon to have bases in 10 overseas markets this year.

SHANGHAI — As the pandemic propels restaurants and other businesses to keep their distance from customers, Shanghai-based Keenon Robotics looks to bring its automated helpers to markets across the globe.

At a Zui Hui Huang Chinese restaurant chain location here, Keenon’s robotic servers wait by the kitchen for meals to come out. Staffers load them up and tell them which tables to go to via touchscreen. Then they roll off, deftly avoiding obstacles in their way.

Built-in obstacle sensors are a major selling point of the robots. “They have an easier time carrying heavy things and can help ease labor shortages,” a representative of the restaurant chain said.

Keenon aims to have local units set up in at least 10 countries by the end of 2021. It opened a Japan arm in March with just under 10 staffers and is looking at South Korea and Singapore, as well as markets in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

Production capacity was roughly doubled in 2020 to prepare for overseas expansion. “Our factories all have extra space, and we can increase capacity to up to 200,000 units,” said Chi Xiaomin, who heads Keenon’s public relations — about triple current levels.

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Healthcare, Science & Technology News

Smart magnetic soft materials to develop artificial muscles and therapeutic robots

Interaction forces between magnetic particles translate into macroscopic transformations of the smart polymers

by Carlos III University of Madrid

Developing a new generation of artificial muscles and soft nanorobots for drug delivery are some of the long-term goals of 4D-BIOMAP, an ERC research project being undertaken by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M).This project develops cross-cutting bio-magneto-mechanical methodologies to stimulate and control biological processes such as cell migration and proliferation, the organism’s electrophysiological response, and the origin and development of soft tissue pathologies.

“The overarching idea of this research project is to influence different biological processes at the cellular level (i.e., wound healing, brain synapses or nervous system responses) by developing timely engineering applications,” explains 4D-BIOMAP’s lead researcher, Daniel García González from the UC3M’s Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis.

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3D Printer, Science & Technology News

Dutch Firm Builds First Commercial House Printed With 3D Technology

Shaped like a boulder, the house is surrounded by greenery and open space on each side

The three-room single-storey house is spread across 1,000 square feet and has a wooden roof.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • These houses are intended to be occupied for at least several decades
  • 3D concrete printing allows builders to design fine concrete structures
  • The work on the project began during the 2016 Dutch Design Week
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IBM, Science & Technology News

IBM Opens A New Frontier For Semiconductors, Unveils World’s First 2 Nanometer Chip Technology

IBM today unveiled the development of the world’s first chip announced with 2 nanometer (nm) nanosheet technology. According to reports, new 2 nm chip technology helps advance the state-of-the-art in the semiconductor industry, addressing the growing demand for increased chip performance and energy efficiency.

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drones, Science & Technology News

Precision farming company raises $20M to deploy herbicide-spraying AI drone swarms

Canada-based agritech startup Precision AI has raised seed funding of $20 million to help the agriculture industry reduce its chemical footprint. Its solution? Deploying swarms of artificially intelligent drones to bring down the use of herbicides in agriculture dramatically.

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Education, Science & Technology News

The digital divide has left millions of school kids behind

US schools are going back to in-person learning as COVID ebbs, but the so-called homework gap will persist.

By Marguerite Reardon

The coronavirus shined a light on the homework gap, or the disparity between the haves and have-nots when it comes to those students with laptops, tablets and high-speed internet and those without even basic online access. But the waning of the pandemic’s threat is a stark reminder that this aspect of the larger digital divide was a problem long before, and will remain one even as things return to normal. 

But the seismic shift sparked by the coronavirus has some optimistic that more change is on the way. 

Continue reading… “The digital divide has left millions of school kids behind”
3D Printer, Science & Technology News

Researchers use 3-D bioprinting to create custom-shaped cartilage for use in surgical procedures

A team of University of Alberta researchers has discovered a way to use 3-D bioprinting technology to create custom-shaped cartilage for use in surgical procedures. The work aims to make it easier for surgeons to safely restore the features of skin cancer patients living with nasal cartilage defects after surgery.

The researchers used a specially designed hydrogel–a material similar to Jell-O–that could be mixed with cells harvested from a patient and then printed in a specific shape captured through 3-D imaging. Over a matter of weeks, the material is cultured in a lab to become functional cartilage.

Continue reading… “Researchers use 3-D bioprinting to create custom-shaped cartilage for use in surgical procedures”