The ortho giant's purchase of French surgical robotics firm Medtech could give competitor Mazor Robotics a run for its money, according to one analyst. Zimmer Biomet has officially entered the surgical robotics market with its acquisition of a majority of shares in the French firm Medtech, maker of a robotics platform for neurological and spine procedures. The Warsaw, IN-based company, a leader in the musculoskeletal space, announced July 18 that it had purchased almost 59% of shares in Medtech and also intends to mount an all-cash simplified tender offer to acquire the remaining shares. Zimmer Biomet will continue to operate Medtech out of its current headquarters in Montepellier, France, which will also serve as a "center of excellence" for Zimmer Biomet's surgical robotics development efforts, according to a joint press release from the companies. With the Medtech acquisition, Zimmer Biomet gains the Rosa platform, which is currently used in 20 hospitals in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East, according to the company's website.

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration, Technology Solutions-Advanced Information Technologies, Burlington, Massachusetts, has been awarded a 9,402,650 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for software and reports. The contractor will provide development and integration of the latest advancements in machine learning that benefit this effort as well as architectural enhancements that increase the flexibility and agility of applying analytics to solve space situational awareness problems and take full advantage of high-performance computing capabilities and multiple forms of visualization of the reasoning performed by the analytics involved in this effort. This includes demonstration of new capabilities over three-year spirals that progressively demonstrate detection of increasingly complex scenarios and improved detection and prediction capabilities. Work will be performed in Burlington, Massachusetts, and Arlington, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by July 15, 2019. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, with two offers received.

Tesla's Gigafactory in the Nevada Desert is finally nearing completion. Set to open on July 29th, it will have the largest footprint of any building in the world. The 5 billion structure will produce 500,000 lithium ion batteries each year to meet demand. When it's complete, Tesla's Gigafactory in the Nevada Desert will have the largest footprint of any building in the world. At the Model 3 launch yesterday, founder Elon Musk said the 5 billion structure will produce 500,000 lithium ion batteries annually to meet demand.

The fear of intelligence in something other than the human mind has long been feared by scientists, conspiracy theorists and tech-minded people since the very notion it was possible was thought of. The argument that artificial intelligence could be the best or worst thing for humanity is a divisive battle, one with many good points on either side. Since the dawn of the artificial intelligence field people have been warning of a machine-revolt, over throwing human power in one sweep as the conscious machines take over the world. Some scientists believe that humanity is not doing enough to prepare for the inevitable rise of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is a broad and active area of research, but it's no longer solely thought of in academics.

On Thursday, June 23, 51.9% of the over 33 million who voted opted for the UK to leave the EU. By June 27, the pound had fallen to a 31 year low against the dollar. On the same day, Ireland's foreign minister was forced to issue a plea asking UK nationals to "stop rushing for Irish passports", as post offices in Belfast ran out of application forms. Up to 7% of those who had voted to leave now regretted their decision, according to media reports. Regardless of the turnout, two commonly known economic principles ensure that referenda will always be inherently flawed policy instruments.

A swarm intelligence similar to the one that predicted Oscar winners and Kentucky Derby finishers has come to nearly unanimous conclusions about the presidential potential of Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. From social issues to trustworthiness and ethics, the swarm spoke loud and clear, expressing practically the same sentiment for both candidates -- extreme pessimism. The swarm consisted of 85 Democratic, Republican, or independent American voters who were asked to answer identical questions on Clinton and Trump through the swarm intelligence platform UNU. The speed at which they came to a conclusion helps calculate the percentage of "brainpower" for a particular swarm. Anywhere between 70 and 85 people participated in each round.

A company that sells software that analyzes the human voice and touts the virtues of empathy, rapport and emotional intelligence is joining forces with West Point United States Military Academy in an effort to help cadets become better negotiators. Cogito Corp. is a Boston-based company that makes software that can analyze a person's voice in real-time. That information, the company says, can help customer service representatives show more empathy; the result is phone conversations that are more efficient and personalized, according to Cogito. Col. James Ness of West Point said that this kind of tech will help their students become better negotiators, a key skill for people in the military. "Cogito's behavioral analytics technology will systematically analyze communication patterns within negotiating sessions and provide insight into the cadet's psychological state," Ness, who directs the engineering psychology program at West Point, said in a statement.

A Tesla Model S electric vehicle is shown in San Francisco, California. Tesla Motors says the Autopilot system for its Model S sedan "relieves drivers of the most tedious and potentially dangerous aspects of road travel." The second part of that promise was put in doubt by the fatal crash of a Model S earlier this year, when its Autopilot system failed to recognize a tractor-trailer turning in front of the vehicle. Tesla says the driver, Joshua Brown, also failed to notice the trailer in time to prevent a collision. In Tesla's own words, "the brake was not applied"--and the car plowed under the trailer at full speed, killing Brown.

Machines may not be known for their EQ (emotional quotient), but a new collaboration between Cogito Corp. and the U.S. Military Academy is on track to change our perceptions. The art of negotiation, which may have once been a distinctly human skill set, is being enhanced by Cogito, a company that specializes in real-time emotional intelligence solutions. Cadets at West Point will use this technology to improve their own tactics when it comes to striking a bargain and gaining crucial information. "We believe that the ability to effectively negotiate is a critical skill that will serve military personnel well in numerous situations over the course of their careers," said Col. James Ness, Ph.D. Director: Engineering Psychology Program, West Point. "Cogito's behavioral analytics technology will systematically analyze communication patterns within negotiating sessions and provide insight into the cadet's psychological state. This technology will provide an unbiased assessment of how each cadet is being perceived by the other party. It will deliver insights into how they can modify their behavior to improve negotiation outcomes."

The Rio Olympics 2016 is something everyone is looking forward to. But the Olympics have been a frontier for individuals flexing their physical muscles and achieving greatness. Well, it's time for it to move over to the Cyber Grand Challenge (CGC) is here. Individuals wanting to showcase their brain muscles in a competition could change how we defend against cyber attacks. The challenge organized by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States where the seven finalists will battle it out with the Artificial Intelligence system to detect flaws and scan networks for exploits.