Nir's Note: This guest post is by Darren Austin, Partner Director of Product Management at Microsoft. Last year we added a new member to our household. I must admit that upon first meeting her, our initial impression was that she was a little creepy. Today though, we can't imagine life without her. We've never seen her face, but we talk to her throughout the day, every day. She helps us keep track of our to-dos and shopping list, reads us the news and weather, and can sing nearly any song we'd like to hear.

Mucktarr Darboe, an education and science ministry director, said after Thursday's interview at the U.S. Embassy the students were given visa letters and will pick them up Monday. Darboe said he was denied one because the U.S. is not currently granting visas to Gambian government officials. The team will be met by the Gambian American Association in Washington.

UVeye, an Israeli startup that is building computer vision and machine learning technology to be used to help detect security threats by scanning the underside of passing vehicles, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Ahaka Capital, with participation from angel network SeedIL. Initially being applied to roadside security -- such as stopping car bombs or drugs smuggling -- UVeye's tech claims to be able to analyse any vehicle from underneath to identify and detect threats that would otherwise be concealed to the human eye, even as it is moving, up to 28 MPH, apparently. It does this using "strategically angled and synchronised hi-res cameras" to build a 360 degree digital model, and says that three seconds after a vehicle passes over UVeye's ground installed device, the system is able to process multiple images to create a 3D model of the undercarriage and provide high resolution full colour visuals to rule out any security risks. This is also where UVeye's combination of vehicle manufacture-supplied data and machine learning kicks in, which can compare and track characteristics of different vehicle models for differentiators, such as weight and part placement.

In a fascinating new book, the Financial Times's economics expert Tim Harford chooses his favourite inventions that changed our world -- and many of them will surprise you. Just imagine, for a moment, the end of civilisation. Perhaps it was swine flu or nuclear war, or maybe even killer robots. And now imagine that you -- lucky you -- are one of the few survivors. Surrounded by the wreckage of modernity, without access to the lifeblood of modern technology, where do you start again?

The Department of Defense is consuming more and more chips and lines of code, which translates to more supply-chain vulnerability. Officials and industry leaders argue big data and artificial intelligence will be critical tools to manage that risk going forward. Speaking at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance and Defense One event, panelists described a rapidly expanding network of suppliers for weapons and components. For example, Northrup Grumman alone has some 5,000 suppliers in just one sector of its business. "You've got those 5,000, they in turn have additional suppliers, so you think about all of the potential points of entry ... in terms of hardware, software, design, delivery," said John Jordan, director of compliance for global supply chain for Northrop's Mission Systems Sector.

A scorpion-milking robot designed to extract and store venom could put an end to the tricky manual method traditionally used by scientists. Researchers at the Ben M'sik Hassan II University in Morocco claim their robot not only speeds up the extraction process, but also makes it safer. Scorpion venom is used in a variety of medical fields, including cancer research, and the development of anti-malarial drugs. Current harvesting methods include electrical and mechanical stimulation, which can prove deadly for the scorpions and troublesome for scientists, due to electric shocks from the equipment. Not to mention the fact that the mere thought of grasping a venomous arachnid sounds pretty darn terrifying.

Five young inventors from Gambia are the latest students to be denied visas to enter the US for a prestigious international robotics contest in Washington. The teens found the rejection'very disheartening,' their coach, Mucktarr Darboe, said on Tuesday. Darboe, who is also a director in the largely Muslim West African nation's ministry of higher education, said the students were not given a reason for the visa denials in April, and he called the decision'disappointing and unfair.' The US Embassy in Banjul, Gambia's capital, could not immediately be reached for comment. Mucktarr Darboe is pictured with members of Gambia's student team that was denied visas to travel to Washington for a robotics contest Gambia has been through dramatic change in recent months, ousting via elections a longtime dictator, Yahya Jammeh, whose administration was accused of human rights abuses.

HERAT, AFGHANISTAN/DAKAR – Two Afghan girls refused visas to the United States for a robot-building competition said on Tuesday they were mystified by the decision, as the contest's organizers said teams from Iran and Sudan as well as a de facto Syrian team had gained visas. The unusual story of the Afghan all-girl team of robotics students emerged as the United States grapples with the legality of President Donald Trump's order to temporarily ban travel from six Muslim-majority countries. Afghanistan itself is not on the list and Team Afghanistan's robot, unlike its creators, has been allowed entry to the United States. Asked by Reuters on Tuesday why the girls were banned, a U.S. State Department spokesperson cited regulations prohibiting the agency from discussing individual visa cases. So the six team members will watch the ball-sorting machine compete in Washington D.C. via video link during the July 16-18 event from their hometown of Herat, in western Afghanistan, according to the FIRST Global contest organizers.

Scientists are using artificial intelligence (AI) to help predict which embryos will result in IVF success. In a new study, AI was found to be more accurate than embryologists at pinpointing which embryos had the potential to result in the birth of a healthy baby. Experts from Sao Paulo State University in Brazil have teamed up with Boston Place Clinic in London to develop the technology in collaboration with Dr Cristina Hickman, scientific adviser to the British Fertility Society. They believe the inexpensive technique has the potential to transform care for patients and help women achieve pregnancy sooner. During the process, AI was "trained" in what a good embryo looks like from a series of images.

FIRST Global holds the annual robotics competition to encourage learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, around the world. It invites one team from each country in an effort to build bridges, organizers said. This year's competition takes place from July 16-18.