This week, the computer chip company Nvidia opened a new robotics lab in Seattle. The lab has a lot of what you might expect–loads of electronics and robotic parts, work spaces, and computers everywhere–but the centerpiece is a bit unorthodox: It's an Ikea kitchen. That's because University of Washington robotics professor Dieter Fox, who is on leave from the university to head up this Nvidia lab, believes that the kitchen is the perfect test-bed for the robots of the future. Right now, most commercialized robots are either navigation robots that can deliver items from point A to point B in warehouses, hospitals, hotels, and maybe even urban areas, or they're "manipulation" robots, which are almost entirely found in factories. These robots move objects around, and they're optimized to do so over and over again in a very precise way.

"If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself." Following on from our review of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing and the Industry 4.0 Revolution, we look at the use of AI in the retail sector. As we will explore in this article, retailers are collecting data, and, combined with AI, are able to improve the efficiency, and the experience of shopping, making it easier for the consumer to find what they're looking for (even if they don't know they're looking for it), saving time and cutting retailers' costs. By using AI, retailers may begin to get an idea about what a particular consumer is looking for better, even, than consumers themselves. There may come a time where consumers could be under almost constant surveillance by retailers in terms of what they're looking at, buying and turning down – providing an insight into consumer preferences.

The online eCommerce landscape has become the land for big players like Amazon. Many retailers now, have to compete for those online dollars, by upgrading their digital stores so they are able to stay in the game – but what does it involve? Chicago-based firm Avatria, recently launched Avatria Convert, which is now offering affordable machine learning services for midsize businesses and small enterprise players. Avatria Convert is a new platform that helps online retailers increase their eCommerce conversion rates by adding machine learning intelligence. Since its inception, Avatria has been developing innovative eCommerce solutions, working with major retailers like Discount Tires before launching its first product.

According to an August 2018 survey of 400 retail executives worldwide by Capgemini, AI could save retailers as much as $340 billion annually by 2022. Capgemini estimates that 80% of the savings would come from AI enabling more efficient processes for supply chains and returns. Roughly 10% of respondents said customer-facing AI functions, such as chatbots and self-checkout services, will benefit retailers by enhancing customer satisfaction. A similar number of respondents in Capgemini's survey said that AI will increase promotion efficiency and reduce customer complaints. The study also found that AI can boost promotion efficiency by enabling automated ad buying, personalizing customers' online experiences and serving users targeted recommendations.

Amazon is launching a new conference focused on robotics, space and artificial intelligence. The re:MARS conference, which stands for machine learning, automation, robotics and space, is slated to take place at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas on June 4th through the 7th. It will be open to the public and is set to include'visionary talks, interactive workshops, technical deep dives, roundtables, hands-on demos, and more,' an Amazon statement said. Amazon's re:MARS conference, which stands for machine learning, automation, robotics and space, is slated to take place in Las Vegas on June 4th through the 7th The conference grew out of a private, invite-only event, called Mars, hosted by Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos in recent years. 'We're at the beginning of a golden age of AI,' Bezos said in the statement.

Dieter Fox thinks cobots, a portmanteau for "collaborative robots," will be a fixture of our future. These bots will operate alongside people, acting as our coworkers, companions, and caretakers. Fox also thinks he knows how to ensure the company he works for, NVIDIA, is the one leading this new era in robotics -- and it all starts with an Ikea kitchen. In November, NVIDIA opened a new AI Robotics Research Lab in Seattle and appointed Fox as its head. The lab already has about a dozen projects in the works, but the main one focuses on teaching a robotic arm to navigate an Ikea kitchen.

For the last couple of years, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has held an annual invite-only event where billionaires, astronauts, and roboticists could rub shoulders and chat about the future of tech over gourmet nibbles. Now that event is being turned into a public conference -- one that "embraces an optimistic vision for scientific discovery" and will feature demos, workshops and talks about machine learning and space exploration. "We're at the beginning of a golden age of AI," said Bezos in a press statement. "Recent advancements have already led to invention that previously lived in the realm of science fiction -- and we've only scratched the surface of what's possible." The new event will be held in Las Vegas between June 4th and 7th later this year.

Grocery store chain Stop & Shop announced today that it will begin testing driverless grocery vehicles in Boston starting this spring, combining the hype of autonomous delivery cars, cashier-less stores, and meal kits into one experimental pilot. The launch is part of a partnership with San Francisco-based startup Robomart, whose vehicles will cart around Stop & Shop items like produce, convenience items, and meal kits to customers' doorsteps. The electric vehicles will be temperature-controlled to keep produce fresh, and controlled remotely from a Robomart facility. Customers can hail the mini grocery stores via an app, on an interface which feels a lot like calling an Uber. Once the vehicle arrives, customers can unlock the doors, and the items they grab are tracked with RFID and computer vision technology.

For all the recent progress in artificial intelligence, industrial robots remain amazingly dumb and dangerous. Sure, they can perform arduous tasks precisely and repetitively, but they cannot respond to variations in their environment or tackle something new. That severely limits just how useful robots can be in the workplace. Nvidia wants to use machine learning to help solve this problem. The world's leading producer of the specialistcomputer chips that are crucial to artificial intelligenceis opening a new robotics lab in Seattle to make the robots that work alongside humans--co-bots-- smarter and more capable.

Data science has become a go-term for almost all the industries, including e-commerce. According to a report by a leading newspaper, India is the fastest growing online retail among the top global economies. With a growth rate of more than 50%, e-commerce websites have become more competitive than ever before. As the competition rises, these e-commerce players are resorting towards the use of technology such as analytics and data science to stay ahead of the competition. With an ever-growing data, it has become crucial for these players to use it in a way to keep the customers happy and satisfies.