A team of researchers at Japan's Keio university have built a robotic tail. Dubbed'Arque', the grey one-metre device mimics tails such as those of cheetahs and monkeys, used to keep balance while running and climbing

KYOTO – A 400-year-old temple is attempting to hot-wire interest in Buddhism with a robotic priest it believes will change the face of the religion -- despite critics comparing the android to "Frankenstein's monster." The android Kannon, based on the Buddhist deity of mercy, preaches sermons at Kodaiji temple in Kyoto, and its human colleagues predict that with artificial intelligence it could one day acquire unlimited wisdom. "This robot will never die; it will just keep updating itself and evolving," said priest Tensho Goto. It can store knowledge forever and limitlessly. "With AI we hope it will grow in wisdom to help people overcome even the most difficult troubles. It's changing Buddhism," he added.

Jaguar Land Rover is trailing an in-car system that changes temperature, music and lighting in response to a driver's mood. The system gauges a driver's mood with a driver-facing camera and biometric sensing, and adjusts the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, media and ambient lighting to help tackle stress and tiredness. "Personalisation settings could include changing the ambient lighting to calming colours if the system detects the driver is under stress, selecting a favourite playlist if signs of weariness are identified, and lowering the temperature in response to yawning or other signs of tiring," the company said. The systems uses AI to get to know the owners moods better over time, Jaguar Land Rover added. "In time the system will learn a driver's preference and make increasingly tailored adjustments," the company said.

We all see the headlines nearly every day. Whether primitive (gunpowder) or cutting-edge (unmanned aerial vehicles) in the wrong hands, technology can empower bad actors and put our society at risk, creating a sense of helplessness and frustration. Current approaches to protecting our public venues are not up to the task, and, frankly appear to meet Einstein's definition of insanity: "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." It is time to look past traditional defense technologies and see if newer approaches can tilt the pendulum back in the defender's favor. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play a critical role here, helping to identify, classify and promulgate counteractions on potential threats faster than any security personnel.

As we continue to move forward in digital transformation, an increasing number of companies are discovering the promise of robotic process automation (RPA). In a nutshell, RPA allows companies to gain efficiencies and (hopefully) save money by automating routine tasks. RPA is what I'd call the low-hanging fruit of artificial intelligence. It's governed by structured input. Its processes are mundane and rule-based.

Kleos Space S.A., a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data provider, has signed a binding MOU with EarthLab Luxembourg S.A. to examine collaboration opportunities for the use of Kleos RF Reconnaissance and Geolocation data for the insurance sector and for other different geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) purposes. EarthLab was the first European centre established for environment monitoring dedicated to industrial and environmental risk. With partners Telespazio France, e-GEOS, the wholly state-owned postal and telecommunications company, POST Luxembourg and the SME HITEC Luxembourg, through its Max-ICS platform it provides earth observation, geo-spatial information and risk assessment data analytics to improve operational and strategic decision making for the insurance, reinsurance, investment fund industries and the related market segments. Kleos and EarthLab aim to utilise geolocation and activity-based intelligence data from the Kleos' Scouting Mission* and further Kleos satellite launches to enhance EarthLab's geospatial intelligence analytics, allowing EarthLab to verify radar detections and optical observations. Collaboration opportunities include the opportunity to develop a value-add proposition for current and future EarthLab Maritime business line prospects using Kleos data, develop a commercial procurement strategy and the potential to implement two laboratory scenarios to validate the technical usability of the data and the mutual commercial strategy.

As AI is more deeply incorporated into the insurance sector, carriers are reacting to the evolving market landscape with insights into how AI will reshape the industry. FREMONT, CA: By quickly generating controlled, digitally enhanced automated environments for maximum productivity, artificial intelligence adds value to multiple industries and specifically to insurance companies, which have plenty of opportunities to gain from investing in AI-enabled technology that can not only automate the planning of executive-level duties but can also enhance the quality of service by supporting agents make good choices and make final judgments. Within the fields of their prime concern, the insurance businesses certainly profit from the AI implementation. With this knowledge, they can begin building abilities and talent, embracing evolving technologies, and creating the culture and outlook required to be active players in the future insurance industry. There have been several use cases for AI that can be leveraged to solve the many problems faced by insurers.

DefCon is an annual conference hosted every summer in Las Vegas, Nevada, where thousands of hackers from around the world congregate to learn on new technology vulnerabilities and cyberattacks. Over the past weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, thousands of hackers congregated at the 27th annual DefCon, the world's oldest and largest running hacker convention, to learn from their peers about the latest hacking techniques. During the show, there were sessions like "Say Cheese, How I Ransomwared Your DSLR Camera" by Check Point Software security researcher Eyal Itkin (more on that in a later post), "Defeating Bluetooth Low Energy 5 For Fun", "Breaking Google Home" or "Reverse Engineering 4G Hotspots For Fun, Bugs, And Net Financial Loss". And if that's your thing, then check out the conference's schedule here as well as the event's media server where most of the presentations are available for free. In this report, I'll focus on the presentation titled "Black Mirror: You Are Your Own Privacy Nightmare–The Hidden Threat of Paying For Subscription Services" given by security expert Cat Murdock on how she used information from online subscription services like Netflix, Apple Music or Spotify to access a banking account and steal confidential financial information.

One of China's newest autonomous vehicle makers, Neolix, recently put self-driving microvans into action as it looks to scale up its solution to the country's logistics puzzle made more complex by a surge in online shopping. The Beijing-based startup, barely a year old, has already deployed the vehicles in the capital and other cities, but it faces stiff competition from a crowded field where other players, especially e-commerce groups, are racing to develop similar robovans. "Operating 10,000 units will be an industry milestone and it is crucial [for us] to achieve it," said Yu Enyuan, 45, Neolix's founder and chief executive. Neolix's ambition is to replace the roughly 40 million vehicles providing so-called last-mile logistics in China, a market projected to be 3 trillion yuan ($428 billion). These home deliveries are now handled mainly by two- and three-wheel electric motorbikes, zigzagging through neighborhoods to carry everything from milk tea to mattresses.

In 2018 alone, AI-related startups and ventures have secured $9.3 billion in VC funding, according to a report from PwC and CB Insights. The Indian unicorns PayTm, Swiggy, and Oyo have been investing resources to gain AI capabilities and have acquired at least one AI company. In 2018, VCs have funded Indian AI startups with USD 478.38 million in 111 funding rounds. One of the reasons why AI & machine learning-based technologies on the rise are that the competitive advantages one can develop using them, especially with the customer experience and cost optimization. In e-commerce, for example, understanding consumer behaviour and product demand and making the right offer at the right time can be the difference between winning or losing over the competition. AI in the early stages was mostly based on rule-based systems, whose ability to deliver value is limited by how well the rules are defined, which requires human expertise.