On screen an adult talks to a baby, showing images and words that the baby identifies and says aloud. But this isn't a parent talking to a child - rather, it's a researcher talking to an artificially intelligent human known as BabyX. The virtual infant learns and acts just like a real baby, and it could be an important step to creating artificially intelligent brains. Scientist at Auckland University have designed a virtual baby that learns. Called BabyX the computer programme can recognise words and images (shown).

For years scientists have worked to find a way to make it easier for deaf and hearing impaired people to communicate. And now it is hoped that a new intelligent system could be about to transform their lives. Researchers have used image recognition to translate sign language into'readable language' and while it is early days, the tool could one day be used on smartphones. Researchers have used image recognition to translate sign language (pictured) into'readable language' and while it is early days, the tool could one day be used on smartphones Scientists from Malaysia and New Zealand came up with the Automatic Sign Language Translator (ASLT), which can capture, interpret and translate sign language. It has been tested on gestures and signs representing both isolated words and continuous sentences in Malaysian sign language, with what they claim is a high degree of recognition accuracy and speed.

For centuries, mankind had fantasised about the end of the world - when it would come and what form it would take. The Hindus and Buddhists took a decidedly sanguine, long-term view, assuming that the endless cycles of creation and reincarnation would persist for millennia, even aeons. Christians, however, had traditionally been more alarmist. Built into their religion was the concept of "end of days", a Biblical Armageddon which would see Satan's last stand on Earth defeated by the return of Christ in a blaze of glory. While the "elect" would enjoy eternity in the New Jerusalem, everyone else would go to the Other Place to spend the rest of time in torment.

Dr. Venu Govindaraju, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, is the founding director of the Center for Unified Biometrics and Sensors. He received his Bachelor's degree with honors from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in 1986, and his Ph.D. from UB in 1992. His research focus is on machine learning and pattern recognition in the domains of Document Image Analysis and Biometrics. Dr. Govindaraju has co-authored about 400 refereed scientific papers. His seminal work in handwriting recognition was at the core of the first handwritten address interpretation system used by the US Postal Service.

Jacky Zhen's paper Neuroevolution for Micromanagement in the Real-Time Strategy Game Starcraft: Brood War was nominated for Best Student paper at the 26th Australasian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. AI Communications 25:19-48., has been published. The 2011 Computer Poker Competition was held at the AAAI-11 Twenty-Fifth Conference on Artificial Intelligence. Our case-based poker agent, Sartre, competed in all events this year. Once again, Sartre's performance improved since the previous year's competition, placing 2nd in four events, 4th in one event and achieving a 1st place finish in the multi-player, limit Hold'em competition.

If the battle between rival digital assistants can be summed up by the NBA championships, then Google's take would be the Golden State Warriors. That's assuming, of course, the record-setting Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to defend their NBA title. It's the analogy used by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who characterized the competition as more friendly than bloody. "This is not like'Game of Thrones,'" he said Wednesday at Recode's Code conference in Ranchos Palos Verdes, California. Artificial intelligence is already a hot topic at the conference, and it's a big part of Google's future.

They sniff, wag their tails, fetch and run in packs. But no one minds if these canines stick their noses into some pretty dirty stuff. That's because they are robotic dogs, modified by engineering students at Yale University to sniff out toxic materials. Equipped with just about everything but a wet nose, the plastic and metallic-skinned robots have spurred toxic search projects in the United States, Europe and Australia. They are the brainchild of Natalie Jeremijenko, a lecturer in engineering at Yale and self-described technoartist.

Presented at Land-Information Systems: Developments for planning the sustainable use of land resources, Hanover 20-23 Nov. 1996 Proceedings to be published by European Commission. A paper presented at the Management Science/Operations Research Working Group Session at the SAF National Convention, Washington, D.C. Bare, B. and Mendoza, G. 1992. "Ecosystem analysis using fuzzy set theory." "Modelling management of agricultural ecosystems using fuzzy set theory: methodological issues." Paper presented at the joint meetings of the Western Agricultural Economics Association and the Canadian Agricultural Economics and Farm Management Society, 1993, Edmonton, Alberta. A rational method for assessing irrigation performance at farm level with the aid of fuzzy set theory.

The Calgary Police Service became the first force in Canada to start using facial recognition software to match suspects against a mug shot database this week, but it likely won't be the last. The use of facial recognition technology is growing not just in law enforcement and security fields but also in commerce. "One of the reasons face [recognition] is so popular is that face images exist of almost everybody," said Kevin Bowyer, an expert on biometrics and computer vision and chair of the department of computer science and engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Some cellphone apps use face recognition instead of passwords to give users access to devices. "You've got your driver's licence photos, you've got your identity badges wherever you work, so you've got this legacy of images that are easily accessible for everyone."

It organizes an annual conference, the first of which was held in 1996 in Hong Kong. Since then, 20 conferences have been held in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The next conference, in 2015, will be held in Kyungpook National UniversityDaegu, Korea. The conferences provide an opportunity for teachers, students, researchers, and practitioners to meet each other and learn about the latest research in the field. The proceedings of the conferences are available both on line and in research libraries around the world.