Using airdrops to deliver relief to disaster zones may sound like a simple solution, but these missions have proved to be inaccurate, wasteful and expensive. With that in mind, ex-British Army veteran Nigel Gifford is developing a drone with edible wings that is capable of carrying 100-pounds of vacuum-packed food and medical supplies. Although in early stages, the'Pouncer' would be released from a plane or catapult and dropped within a 25 mile radius of the target. Nigel Gifford is developing a drone with edible wings that is capable of carrying 100-pounds of vacuum-packed food and medical supplies. Although in early stages, the'Pouncer' would be released from a plane or catapult and dropped within a 25 mile radius of the target Pouncer is the brain child of engineer and ex-British Army veteran Nigel Gifford.

The Draper Satellite Image Chronology Competition (Chronos) ran on Kaggle from April to June 2016. This competition, which was novel in a number of ways, challenged Kagglers to put order to time and space. That is, given a dataset of satellite images taken over the span of five days, the 424 brave competitors were required to determine their correct order. The challenge, which Draper hosted in order to contribute to a deeper understanding of how to process and analyze images, was a first for Kaggle--it allowed hand annotation as long as processes used were replicable. While the winners of the competition used a mixture of machine learning, human intuition, and brute force, Damien Soukhavong (Laurae), a Competitions and Discussion Expert on Kaggle, explains in this interview how factors like the limited number of training samples which deterred others from using pure machine learning methods appealed to him.

Alphabet, Google's parent company, is joining hands with fast food chain Chipotle to deliver food using drones, Bloomberg reported. The hybrid aircraft can both fly and hover in place. The experimental delivery by Alphabet's Project Wing will be available only for select employees and students at Virginia Tech. The trials are due to start this month and will last a couple of weeks. Deliveries will be made from a Chipotle delivery truck and the drones will lower the food using a winch while hovering overhead.

Just months after Microsoft's Tay artificial intelligence sent racist messages on Twitter, another AI seems to have followed suit. More than 6,000 selfies of individuals who live all over the world and range in ages of 18 to 69 were judged by a robot in a beauty contest last week. But when the results came in, there was something missing - it turned out the robots did not like people with dark skin. The Beauty.AI beauty contest put together of robot judges to determine the winners. Beauty.AI used five algorithms to act as judges in a beauty contest.

BuildingIQ, a provider of energy management software headquartered in California, provides tools to commercial building owners and managers to improve the energy efficiency of their building operations. BuildingIQ offers solutions that use technology originally developed by the Energy Division of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's national lab. The average commercial building wastes 30% of the energy it uses. Even simple changes, such as adjusting temperature settings and ensuring that lights are not on when no one is around, can produce substantial savings. BuildingIQ has responded by developing an energy management system driven by artificial intelligence (AI) that optimizes HVAC systems for maximum efficiency.

Australia's Macquarie Bank has deployed a new digital banking service, inspired by the data strategies used at the likes of Spotify and Netflix and tapping DataStax Enterprise and the NoSQL database. This includes search-how-you-speak technology; the ability to tag and track transactions; upload receipts and warranties; set saving and spending goals; and automatically categorise spending through machine learning technology. "We looked at the experience consumers receive from popular social media sites, search engines and video and music streaming services, and saw an opportunity to use leading edge technology to bring the same personalised and intuitive experience to banking," says Luis Uguina, Chief Digital Officer for Macquarie's Banking and Financial Services Group, who joined the FI in 2014 from Spain's BBVA. "To do this, we needed a scalable technology platform able to provide real-time value, and working with DataStax Enterprise has enabled us to be more nimble and utilise the most up-to-date technological capabilities available."

The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has partnered with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in a bid to see businesses increase their presence in Australian schools. The Ai Group, which represents more than 60,000 businesses, wants the number of industry professionals showcasing real-life science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills and associated careers in schools to increase, hoping to generate interest and motivation in STEM through real-world exposure. With 75 percent of the fastest growing occupations requiring STEM knowledge and skills, the Ai Group said the number of students leaving university is not keeping up with the demand. CSIRO Education Manager Mary Mulcahy said Australia needs to tackle the decreasing interest in STEM subjects early on in schooling to ensure the future workforce pipeline can meet future demand. "Our evidence shows that bringing real-life, hands-on STEM into classrooms results in students being more engaged in these subjects," Mulcahy said.

Sydney fintech startup Stockspot has become the first robo-advice platform in Australia to integrate AI and machine learning functions into financial advice. The company has today announced the launch of its new digital financial assistant to help clients optimise their investment behaviour. The digital financial assistant works by analysing thousands of clients and making targeted recommendations. As it learns, the technology will provide consumers with intuitive assistance to help investors optimise their profile and coach them to make better investment decisions. Instead of being a financial advisor that makes recommendations through listening to clients, Stockspot will now give advice based on consumer behaviour and actions.

Researchers have filmed an extremely rare white southern right whale calf off the coast of Western Australia.

Work on a new project by Deakin University and Melbourne-based software company Ytek has begun, aimed to develop skills of those training in the emergency response, defence, and aerospace sectors using machine learning algorithms. Dr James Zhang, a researcher from Deakin University's Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation, is working with Ytek to develop simulation solutions used to train surgeons, emergency workers, soldiers, and pilots. As part of the project, Zhang and Ytek will research how machine learning algorithms can help monitor and evaluate a trainee's conduct in mission-critical simulations by using sensors on training tools, such as manikins, to evaluate how trainers can assess students in practical training. Ytek CEO Richard Yanieri said the desired outcome of the project is to improve the practical training for students. "We've been working with Deakin's School of Medicine to understand their needs so that we can tailor a solution that works for this industry," he said.