Machine learning has become popular for solving machine vision and other embedded computing problems. While classical machine learning algorithms need human intervention to extract features from data, machine learning algorithms or network models learn how to extract important features in data and make intelligent predictions about that data. Below, figure 1 shows a few examples where machine learning technology is adding intelligence to a variety of devices. In smart home appliances like a smart oven, machine learning can be used to classify food inside the oven and set the cooking temperature and time of the oven accordingly. In factories, machine learning can be used for detecting defects in the products or it can be used for predictive maintenance to help predict the remaining useful life of the motor or detecting anomaly in motor operations.

The sophisticated technology that powers face recognition in many modern smartphones someday could receive a high-tech upgrade that sounds--and looks--surprisingly low-tech. This window to the future is none other than a piece of glass. University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have devised a method to create pieces of "smart" glass that can recognize images without requiring any sensors or circuits or power sources. "We're using optics to condense the normal setup of cameras, sensors and deep neural networks into a single piece of thin glass," says UW-Madison electrical and computer engineering professor Zongfu Yu. Yu and colleagues published details of their proof-of-concept research today in the journal Photonics Research.

Just about everyone agrees that the traditional, annual-review-based way of evaluating employees simply doesn't work anymore, if it ever did. In fact, it's hard to think of anything businesses routinely do that's more universally unpopular. A recent global Mercer survey of HR leaders worldwide found that just 2% believe their current performance-management systems are very effective. No wonder McKinsey reported, in another recent study, that two-thirds of employers say they're making big changes, or trying to. "Managers and employees alike see the old annual-review approach as too subjective, too bureaucratic, and too backward-looking," notes Bryan Hancock, a McKinsey partner in Atlanta who has worked closely with companies where artificial intelligence is being applied to evaluating humans' performance.

Do chatbots, robots and digital assistants intrigue you? What about automated vehicles and virtual assistants? AI is a field of computer science that focuses on the creation of a machine that can replicate human behaviour. The science fiction of yesterday quickly becomes reality. AI statistics surrounding the business and tech industries are changing.

Robots can drive on the plains and craters of Mars, but what if we could explore cliffs, polar caps and other hard-to-reach places on the Red Planet and beyond? Designed by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, a four-limbed robot named LEMUR (Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot) can scale rock walls, gripping with hundreds of tiny fishhooks in each of its 16 fingers and using artificial intelligence (AI) to find its way around obstacles. In its last field test in Death Valley, California, in early 2019, LEMUR chose a route up a cliff while scanning the rock for ancient fossils from the sea that once filled the area. For Climbing Robots, the Sky's the Limit: The climbing robot LEMUR rests after scaling a cliff in Death Valley, California. The robot uses special gripping technology that has helped lead to a series of new, off-roading robots that can explore other worlds.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech LEMUR was originally conceived as a repair robot for the International Space Station.

NEW YORK - In 1964, Stanley Kubrick, on the recommendation of the science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, bought a telescope. "He got this Questar and he attached one of his cameras to it," said Katharina Kubrick, the filmmaker's stepdaughter. "On a night where there was a lunar eclipse, he dragged us all out onto the balcony and we were able to see the moon like a big rubber ball. I don't think I've seen it as clearly since. He looked at it all the time."

DALLAS - At a vast greenhouse in the central Danish city of Odense, a squad of robots move thin plastic pots of herbs for shipping without even putting a dent in them. For moviegoers used to seeing humanoid machines in action, that might not seem special -- but in truth, it is a remarkable feat. Robots until recently have been limited to precise, preprogrammed and repetitive heavy-duty jobs like automotive manufacturing. Yet at the Rosborg Food greenhouse, the OnRobot devices adjust on the fly. One pot might be slightly out of position.

OSAKA--Summer spells fun for many, but not for air conditioner repair workers, who face incessant calls during the peak service period and often have to make repeated visits to fix a single problem. And since the average air conditioner has 2,000 or so components embedded inside, it's no easy task to figure out which parts they need to take with them when heading out on a repair call. To simplify life for those sweating to keep customers cool, leading air conditioner manufacturer Daikin Industries Ltd., based here, is relying on an artificial intelligence (AI) system to pick the parts. Few other firms in Japan are utilizing an AI system on such a large scale for repairs, Daikin officials said. As summer nears, the company's call center in Osaka's Chuo Ward begins being bombarded with calls from households and businesses requesting repairs. Callers typically complain that their air conditioner is emitting an odor or isn't effectively cooling their room.

Through the new technology, which was developed by researchers at Saarland University in Germany, the scientists hope to be able to predict storms with greater accuracy than ever before. Lightning is a common occurrence in most parts of the world. Often pretty to watch, the risk of injury can be very high. In the case of the researchers' own country, June 2019 saw 177,000 lightning bolts in the night sky occurring over just a few days. The outcome was that many people were injured, either directly by the lightning or by the associated storm.

"Alexa, why is my baby crying?" Scientists say they have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can reliably interpret the cries of babies. Using similar technology to Amazon's Alexa assistant, it can tell parents whether their little one is hungry, needs changing or is in pain. Crying babies demand attention, but for their anxious parents it's often difficult to understand exactly what the problem might be. Now a group of American researchers has developed a AI that can help.