IoT helps cities to predict accidents and crime as well as gives doctors real-time insight into information from pacemakers or biochips,

Power plants can deploy these innovative technologies today to more accurately predict the condition of assets and schedule appropriate maintenance to correct equipment problems before failure. Although the new administration in Washington has reversed the "war on coal," long-term trends in the U.S. are not promising. Most coal-fired capacity was built between 1950 and 1990, and the average coal plant is about 42 years old. With plant retirements expected to continue in 2018 and beyond, investment in new plants has come to a standstill. The confluence of regulatory issues and alternative energy sources is well known.

The 10 most popular things our readers bought on Amazon in January (Photo: Reviewed.com) If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. However, our picks and opinions are independent from USA TODAY's newsroom and any business incentives. If you think people take a break from shopping after the holidays, guess again. January was a productive month for our readers and their wallets.

Scientists are developing robots that might someday be able to creep through the pitch-black mines to help prevent spills. A 2015 spill from Colorado's Gold King Mine unleashed 3 million gallons of water that fouled rivers in three states with toxins.

Based on almost half-a-billion connected devices it sells every year, Samsung Electronics will lead the consumer-centred Artificial Intelligence (AI) world, a top company official has said. "Samsung will begin an exciting journey open to boundless possibilities in new user experiences by integrating AI into the open IoT ecosystem it is currently developing," Larry Heck, Head of Artificial Intelligence, Samsung Research America said on Friday. Citing examples of various Samsung products showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier in January, the expert said the South Korean tech giant is highlighting its latest innovations in its vision to drive IoT supported by AI, Yonhap News Agency reported. "Moving forward, Samsung will continue to remain focused on holistically integrating AI into a connected setting, such as the home or the office, in contrast to other players primarily pursuing implementation of AI on a few devices and services," he said. Heck said the company's perspective on AI is to build an ecosystem that is user-centric rather than device-centric, as many IoT devices with AI support will generate a vast array of usage patterns and scenarios in the future.

Artificial intelligence (AI) today is the new frontier in the digital transformation journey enterprises have already embarked on. But adoption to solve real problems and drive business outcomes has been slow. Driving up adoption is critical to unlock the real promise of AI and is going to depend on how we approach AI. And that opportunity is in front of us thanks to industry-optimized augmented intelligence. Most realistic and successful AI initiatives have been focused on augmenting human abilities with powerful machine intelligence.

By December, more than 6,985 stores closed across the US, according to retail think-tank Fung Global Retail & Technology. It also beats the previous all-time high of 6,163 store closings that took place during the 2008 financial crisis, according to estimates by Credit Suisse. The reality is that many stores are closing for the same reason they've always closed -- they simply don't meet the needs and demands of customers. But at a time when consumers are empowered with choice and market conditions are increasingly volatile, new technologies can help brands and retailers drive valuable business efficiencies, and improve the overall customer experience and value proposition. "The biggest upside to technology in fashion will be the ability to offer consistency, and being able to personalise the customer's shopping patterns," said Robert Burke, chief executive of retail consultancy firm Robert Burke Associates.

These Indian subsistence farmers know just what to do: Pull out their smartphones and take their picture. The farmers then upload the images with GPS locations to a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) app named Plantix. The app identifies the crop type in the image and spits out a diagnosis of a disease, pest or nutrient deficiency. Plantix also aids farmers by recommending targeted biological or chemical treatments for ailing plants, reducing the volume of agrochemicals in groundwater and waterways that can result from overuse or incorrect application of herbicides and pesticides. "Nearly every household in India has a smartphone, and many want to see how Plantix works," says Srikanth Rupavatharam, a digital agriculture scientist with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, which is collaborating with Plantix's developer to adapt the tool for Telugu and Hindi languages.

Despite the advancements in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Robots have not learnt how to show emotion… just yet…but when we think of robots, more often than not images of clunky humanoid contraptions, metal with hinged joints and bulky movement spring to mind (excuse the pun). Whilst there are lots of applications for hard robotic machines such as factory lines, farming, military purposes, robots are evolving into more pliable and adaptable artificial organisms. As the use of robotics increases, as does the need for more malleable machines that can assist in more intricate tasks. Building on this need, we've found ourselves entering into a new and exciting realm of engineering, the next generation of robots – soft robotics. The field of soft robotics is still in its infancy and there's still a lot of new ground to cover.