For a decade or so before the market for touchscreen smartphones took off around 2010, BlackBerry's hand-held communication devices were ubiquitous among thumb-jockeying executives trying to keep in touch with the office outside working hours. After several recent failed attempts to launch new phones and operating systems to compete against Apple, Google and Samsung Electronics products, the company that "made the modern cellphone," as BlackBerry's CEO John Chen puts it, is hoping to become the main supplier of secure applications and software for the next generation of internet-linked devices -- the much- touted "internet of things" -- from web-connected self-driving cars to "smart" domestic appliances that are expected to take off over the coming decade. "It's going to be very much driven by securing end-point communications," Chen told the Nikkei Asian Review. "We want to be the number one secure communications in IoT. We have signed a deal with Ford for seven years to help them build their next generation cars."

With the progressing year, the technology diversified ways in which we could communicate and retrieve the information from the pocket fitting devices. Technologies such as IoT, automation, and cognitive computing moved beyond the conceptual stages in 2016. As the year takes up, companies throughout the world are developing their business strategies. In order to move forward in the competition, companies are turning towards major investments in technology. The world's biggest consumer technology convention, CES is one of the best places to find a handful of key technologies. CES 2017 finished another spectacular year with pioneering technology trends including smart homes to self-driving cars. This year is assumed to bring transformative technology trends for us to explore and invest in. AI, also known as Artificial Intelligence has been studied for decades and now the vision of transforming insentient objects into intelligence is gradually becoming a reality. AI based Innovations are now pondering into the market and becoming part of our daily lives with quick adaptability. Artificial intelligence assists humans and handles the tasks flawlessly, without interrupting your comfort. Whether to set an alarm, or remind you of something important, or to play your favorite music or to read out general news for you or to find your phone, AI can make the task more convenient and smart. Sit back and relax while you command your device to do things for you.

Chip giant Intel aims to become the foremost brain-builder for self-driving cars. The Grand Canyon State is crawling with AVs because of its temperate climate (lidar and cameras are not cool with rain or snow) and because it is deeply chill about experimental tech roaming its highways. "Government should be there to facilitate these technologies, not inhibit," an Arizona DOT official told WIRED. Mazda made a bid for the near-er future with the news that it has crafted a new gas engine just as efficient as diesel ones--and cleaner, too. The company has kept some parts of its breakthrough close to the chest, but you can look for these new engines in 2019.

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your Automaton bloggers. We'll also be posting a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next two months; here's what we have so far (send us your events!): Let us know if you have suggestions for next week, and enjoy today's videos. Prior to deployment, robots must be extensively trained and tested. With physical prototypes, this can be expensive and impractical.

Big data and AI algorithms are in the center of a new deal between China's largest retailer JD and leading search engine provider Baidu. JD will provide its wealth of consumer data while Baidu will use their AI skills to help advertisers understand their users better. The partnership will enable advertisers to target users directly within Baidu's apps through content partners and offer a more tailored e-commerce experience. As part of the partnership, the company's flagship mobile search app, is providing JD "first-level" access points to the hundreds of millions of mobile users in China who use Baidu to connect with the information and services they need, from its core search platform and suite of products ranging from mapping, music and video, to its popular chatroom platform Baidu PostBar (Tieba). The access points allow users to make purchases of JD products without ever needing to leave the Baidu apps, providing consumers a seamlessly integrated user experience.

There are giant, complex machines out there that we all rely on. Without them, civilisation as we know it would collapse. But these machines - power stations - are often pretty dumb, according to Peter Kirk, former chief executive of software company NeuCo. "Power plants," he says, "are just robots that don't have a brain yet." That is where his firm, acquired by GE Power last year, comes in. For years, NeuCo had been developing optimisation technologies - a form of artificial intelligence or AI - that can make power plants more efficient.

The image of an Olympian is associated with physical prowess, a sculpted body chipped into perfection by years of careful maintenance and preparation. We expect these people to perform great feats of physicality better than the rest of us. That is why so many are scornful of the notion that competitive video gaming, or eSports as it's come to be known, should stand alongside other Olympic sports. The nascent field currently enjoys enormous attention and funding, even without IOC recognition. Last year, CNN noted that the global audience for eSports grew to 292 million, with some projecting this to almost double by 2019.

Toyota is teaming up with Intel, and an assortment of tech and automotive firms, to develop an ecosystem for connected cars. By sharing self-driving vehicle data, the companies aim to develop maps and improved driver assistance systems based on cloud computing. Rounding out the alliance (dubbed the "Automotive Edge Computing Consortium") will be Ericsson, Japanese auto parts-maker Denso Corp, and telecoms firm NTT DoCoMo. Practically everyone is wading into the autonomous car space. And, collaboration between firms is just as common.

Defense Secretary James Mattis has a lot on his mind these days. Mattis admitted to that concern Thursday during the Silicon Valley leg of a West Coast tour that includes visits to Amazon and Google. When WIRED asked Mattis if the US had ambitions to harness recent progress in AI for military purposes like those recently espoused by China, he said his department needed to do more with the technology. "It's got to be better integrated by the Department of Defense, because I see many of the greatest advances out here on the West Coast in private industry," Mattis said. Mattis, speaking in Mountain View, a stone's throw from Google's campus, hopes the tech industry will help the Pentagon catch up.

Costing £3.1billion and weighing 65,000 tonnes, she's Britain's biggest and most advanced warship ever built. But HMS Queen Elizabeth has been outmanoevred by a £300 drone which landed on the deck completely unchallenged. The drone pilot, who wanted to remain anonymous, made the daring flight while the aircraft carrier was docked at Invergordon, Scotland in July. He flew over the carrier before touching down on the four-acre deck and then taking off again unchecked. Princess Diana's driver: Her death'stirred things within me' The flight may now be discussed in Scotland's Parliament by MSPs concerned about security flaws.