CHENNAI: Google DeepMind's AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence programme developed using deep neural networks and machine learning techniques, hit global headlines last year when it beat South Korean Go grandmaster Lee Sedol to win the series 4-1. However, not many know that AlphaGo has consumed a whopping 30,000 watts of power to complete the task, while the human brain consumes around 20 watts! What gives the human brain such efficiency has so far proven elusive to replicate in computers. Not surprisingly, man's most defining organ is also the least understood. Although an adult human brain weighing 1.4 kg is made up of close to 100 billion neurons, scientists do not know how many different kinds of human neurons exist.

Social robots are making their entrance at the Consumer Electronics Show this year. AvatarMind today unveiled its iPal Companion Robot, which is designed as an educational and entertaining friend for children and elderly people. AvatarMind is showing off the robot in a booth at the Family and Technology Marketplace at the Sands Expo during CES 2017. The robot can sing, dance, navigate a maze, and interact with people. The iPal is intended to serve as a learning and safety companion for children.

A clothes-folding robot that has been in development for more than a decade is about to go on sale. Laundroid will initially be targeted at hospitals and nursing homes in Japan, but its maker aims to sell a tweaked version to families worldwide before the end of the decade. Chris Foxx caught up with the project's founder at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.

Lantern Pharma Inc., is a privately held, global biotech company pioneering the field of precision oncology. Lantern's proprietary approach to drug development is driven by advanced genomics and machine learning-based artificial intelligence (AI), which when combined, are advancing a new wave of precision drug therapies that significantly reduce the time to market and overall risk associated with drug development. Lantern has reached an agreement to collaborate with India-based AI and data analytics company, Intuition Systems. Intuition will work closely with Lantern's existing computational team to bring additional AI, big data analysis, cloud support and infrastructure to support drug development and biomarker identification. The treatment of cancer represents a large market with many underserved areas where precision therapies will be highly valued.

Beneath the utterly stunning body is a clever artificial intelligence program that, along with a host of sensors and cameras, turns the already desirable device into a truly smart phone. We got a jaw-dropping demonstration of its abilities, and the great news is that although the Magic is only for sale in China, the tech is expected to arrive in an Honor phone we'll actually be able to buy in the future. Here's an example of what makes the Magic, well, magic. The front facing camera uses facial recognition technology to ensure your lock screen notifications are safe from prying eyes, with the least interference to you. After setting the Magic up to recognize my face, a text message arrived and when looked at by anyone but me, the lock screen notification simply read "text message."

LAS VEGAS – Professor Einstein can roll his eyes, stick out his tongue and give a simple explanation of the theory of relativity. With his lifelike rubbery "skin" and bushy mustache, he can almost make you forget he is a robot. The Einstein robot is among dozens roaming the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that can be your companion or educator or baby-sit your children. Japan's SoftBank Robotics meanwhile announced a partnership that will allow its humanoid robot Pepper to travel onboard state-owned SNCF trains in France to assist travelers. While robots have been around for years, advances in technology and artificial intelligence have allowed developers to give them traits that enable the devices to be seen as members of the family.

With time, smartphones and the technology used in them are constantly evolving. Most features that we often use on our phones right now such as playing augmented reality games or streaming live videos were difficult or nearly impossible a few years back. With the advancement in technology came the smartphones and the sliding keyboard phones or flip phones are a thing of the past right now. The smartphones that exist now feature fingerprint authentication, powerful processors, sharp cameras, and bright displays making many things possible. Still, the technology is subject to constant advancement and we can see many more improvements coming to our phones in future.

Columnist Jennifer Jolly tries out Alexa on the Ford, peers at TVs held to walls by magnets, and tests a'smart bike'. There's the equivalent of some 43-football fields worth of space filled with gadgets at CES 2017. With that many tech toys to explore, they all start to blur together pretty quickly. Here's what I've seen so far that's made an impression. Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant is already trying to get into every room of your house, so it was only a matter of time before she made it into your car, too.

This unconventional interplay between the driver and automobile is central to concept cars that Honda and Toyota unveiled at a technology conference in Las Vegas this week. In the not-so-distant future, vehicles will not only be safer or more efficient. They also will be our companions, watching our every move. These cars, which exist today only as partially functional concepts, will use powerful artificial intelligence systems to memorize and store information about every passenger's likes and dislikes, how they speak, and the places they frequent, all to make decisions the car feels are in the riders' interest. The auto industry's pursuit of a hyper-personal experience comes as the very nature of automotive transportation is in flux.

CES is a visual feast of lights, colour, people, costumes - and of course endless gadgets. There are plenty of striking pictures from the show floor. But are any of the exhibitors interested in delighting your ears? Rather like the city of Las Vegas itself, it has its own distinctive beat. The amplified echo of a hundred demonstrations.