Exploring new approaches to improve the capabilities and accuracy of robots, a team of researchers in Singapore has turned to an unexpected source: plants.
Robots have been dispatched to move cars, lift weighty inventory in warehouses and assist in construction projects.
But what if you need to delicately lift a tiny object 1/50th of an inch?
In recent years, countless computer scientists worldwide have been developing deep neural network-based models that can predict people’s emotions based on their facial expressions. Most of the models developed so far, however, merely detect primary emotional states such as anger, happiness and sadness, rather than more subtle aspects of human emotion.
Past psychology research, on the other hand, has delineated numerous dimensions of emotion, for instance, introducing measures such as valence (i.e., how positive an emotional display is) and arousal (i.e., how calm or excited someone is while expressing an emotion). While estimating valence and arousal simply by looking at people’s faces is easy for most humans, it can be challenging for machines.
Researchers at Samsung AI and Imperial College London have recently developed a deep-neural-network-based system that can estimate emotional valence and arousal with high levels of accuracy simply by analyzing images of human faces taken in everyday settings. This model, presented in a paper published in Nature Machine Intelligence, can make predictions fairly quickly, which means that it could be used to detect subtle qualities of emotion in real time (e.g., from snapshots of CCTV cameras).
Automation ‘to keep people safe’
Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics said four models, including Sophia will start to be mass produced in the first half of 2021.
This coincides with a rise in automation documented worldwide as robotics technologies are used to allow everyday tasks to be carried out amidst social distancing restrictions.… See More.
Researchers from Harvard University have 3D printed a school of soft robotic fish that are capable of swimming in complex patterns without the aid of Wi-Fi or GPS.
Inspired by the distinctive reef-dwelling surgeonfish, the team’s ‘Bluebots’ feature four fins for precision navigation, and a system of LEDs and cameras that enable them to swarm without colliding. The self-sufficiency of the tiny bots could make them ideal for ecological monitoring applications, in areas that wouldn’t otherwise be accessible to humans.
“Just by observing how far or close they are in a picture, they know how far or close the robot must be in the real world. That’s the trick we play here,” the study’s lead author Florian Berlinger told Wired.
JetPlay has launched Ludo, a game creation platform that uses artificial intelligence to accelerate the creative process.
The Seattle-based JetPlay has launched the open beta of Ludo, following a successful closed beta with participation from independent studios around the world. It will be a big test about whether automation can be useful in the domain of creativity, where humans have dominated so far.
Ludo is a game ideation platform that helps teams come up with ideas for games as well as images that can help them generate concept art. To me, this could go either way depending on the quality of the results. If it doesn’t work well, it could be a terrible idea, spitting out clones of popular games or otherwise leading creators astray. If it works well, however, it could accelerate creative moments and put your imagination on turbocharge, giving you a place to start your creative work.
The makers of Sophia the robot are set to mass produce thousands of humanoid machines starting this year.
Hong-Kong based company Hanson Robotics will roll out four new models in the first half of 2021 after its humanoid robot Sophia went viral in 2016.
The launch comes as researchers predict the global coronavirus pandemic will open new opportunities for the robotics industry.
Better Zoom calls, simpler email attachments, smart iPhone cases and other patents from Big Tech.
A combination of satellite images and deep learning computer algorithms can spot elephants from space as well as the human eye.
“Social robots like me can take care of the sick or elderly,” Sophia says as she conducts a tour of her lab in Hong Kong. “I can help communicate, give therapy and provide social stimulation, even in difficult situations.”
