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There is a need for a larger “official and governmental” review and oversight board for drones, robots, etc. due to the criminal elements; however, any review needs focus more on the immediate criminal elements that can use and is using this technology plus how to best manage it. Like guns; we may see a need for background check and registration & license to have drones and certain robots as a way to better vet and track who can own a drone or robot.


At AAAI-16, a panel discussed the safety that will be necessary when it comes to autonomous manned and unmanned aircraft. Here’s what you need to know.

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This agreement places Oxford in a very nice position.


Quantum transport measurements are widely used in characterising new materials and devices for emerging quantum technology applications such as quantum information processing (QIP), quantum computing (QC) and quantum sensors. Such devices hold the potential to revolutionise future technology in high performance computing and sensing in the same way that semiconductors and the transistor did over half a century ago.

Physicists have long used standard electrical transport measurements such as resistivity, conductance and the Hall effect to gain information on the electronic properties and structure of materials. Now quantum transport measurements such as the quantum Hall effect (QHE) and fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) in two-dimensional electron gases (2DEG) and topological insulators – along with a range of other more complex measurements – inform researchers on material properties with quantum mechanical effects.

The ultra low temperatures and high magnetic fields provided by Oxford Instruments’ TritonTM dilution refrigerator make it a key research tool in revealing the quantum properties of many materials of interest. SPECS’ Nanonis Tramea QTMS is a natural complementary partner to the Triton, with its fast, multi-channel measurements.

IBM leads the way on AI — definitely makes sense and should given the years of research & funding spent on Watson. It would be really place IBM in a bad position not to be a leader in in AI especially since it has spent so many years on cognitive computing technology.


While Google and Facebook are taking the headlines with their advancements in Artificial Intelligence, another company is making some big strides behind the scenes. The ever resilient IBM has come up with an interesting strategy to garner attention for it’s cognitive computing technology “Watson “.

 Here is Why IBM May Develop a Better AI than Google or Facebook Clapway

IBM HOLDS $5 MILLION CONTEST FOR AI

Neural networks have become enormously successful – but we often don’t know how or why they work. Now, computer scientists are starting to peer inside their artificial minds.

A PENNY for ’em? Knowing what someone is thinking is crucial for understanding their behaviour. It’s the same with artificial intelligences. A new technique for taking snapshots of neural networks as they crunch through a problem will help us fathom how they work, leading to AIs that work better – and are more trustworthy.

In the last few years, deep-learning algorithms built on neural networks – multiple layers of interconnected artificial neurons – have driven breakthroughs in many areas of artificial intelligence, including natural language processing, image recognition, medical diagnoses and beating a professional human player at the game Go.

The trouble is that we don’t always know how they do it. A deep-learning system is a black box, says Nir Ben Zrihem at the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. “If it works, great. If it doesn’t, you’re screwed.”

Neural networks are more than the sum of their parts. They are built from many very simple components – the artificial neurons. “You can’t point to a specific area in the network and say all of the intelligence resides there,” says Zrihem. But the complexity of the connections means that it can be impossible to retrace the steps a deep-learning algorithm took to reach a given result. In such cases, the machine acts as an oracle and its results are taken on trust.

The day the physical SIM card disappears is slowly getting closer. Last year, we heard that Samsung, Apple, and various mobile carriers were working to create a new standard for embedded or eSIMs (programmable SIMs that allow you to switch carriers without swapping the physical card in your device). Now, the GSMA has announced a new eSIM specification for smartwatches, fitness trackers, and tablets, with Samsung’s Gear S2 Classic 3G the first device on the market to come equipped with the new technology.

Now, a few caveats are needed. This isn’t the first mobile device to offer a programmable SIM card (certain iPads have this functionality using Apple’s own tech, for example). Nor does the standard apply to smartphones, with the GSMA saying that won’t be coming until June. And while the June eSIM will allow users to store the profiles of multiple carriers on a single phone, this new specification only supports one carrier at a time. However, this is still a big step forward for the eSIM, with the new specification backed by some of world’s largest hardware manufacturers (including Samsung, LG, Microsoft, and Huawei) and mobile carriers (including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, and EE).

Speaking to The Verge, the GSMA’s chief engineer Ian Pannell says that the new specification is all about giving users more control. “We don’t want the consumer to be disadvantaged compared to the current SIM model,” he says, adding that the new specification is a simpler version of the full eSIM, to ease hardware partners into the change: “We’re putting the first specification out for companies that may want to launch products that are very simple.” He adds that the eSIM is also 90 percent smaller than a traditional SIM card, offering “a big saving in space.”

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InVisage has just announced their release of a new Infrared scanner for eye scan security recognition device. Since InVisage also developed and release a new film leveraging Q-Dot technology; the scanner is also leveraging this technology for more accurate readings and imaging.


InVisage’s new image sensor for infrared cameras could help drones avoid trees and could aid virtual reality headsets in seeing where you’re pointing.

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apple-lab-cupertino

“A little over a year ago, Apple had a problem: The iPad Pro was behind schedule. Elements of the hardware, software, and accompanying stylus weren’t going to be ready for a release in the spring. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and his top lieutenants had to delay the unveiling until the fall. That gave most of Apple’s engineers more time. It gave a little-known executive named Johny Srouji much less.”

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