Industry
Towards Task-Oriented Flying: Framework, Infrastructure, and Principles
Huang, Kangyao, Wang, Hao, Chen, Jingyu, Chen, Jintao, Luo, Yu, Guo, Di, Zhang, Xiangkui, Ji, Xiangyang, Liu, Huaping
Deploying robot learning methods to aerial robots in unstructured environments remains both challenging and promising. While recent advances in deep reinforcement learning (DRL) have enabled end-to-end flight control, the field still lacks systematic design guidelines and a unified infrastructure to support reproducible training and real-world deployment. We present a task-oriented framework for end-to-end DRL in quadrotors that integrates design principles for complex task specification and reveals the interdependencies among simulated task definition, training design principles, and physical deployment. Our framework involves software infrastructure, hardware platforms, and open-source firmware to support a full-stack learning infrastructure and workflow. Extensive empirical results demonstrate robust flight and sim-to-real generalization under real-world disturbances. By reducing the entry barrier for deploying learning-based controllers on aerial robots, our work lays a practical foundation for advancing autonomous flight in dynamic and unstructured environments.
PinRec: Outcome-Conditioned, Multi-Token Generative Retrieval for Industry-Scale Recommendation Systems
Agarwal, Prabhat, Badrinath, Anirudhan, Bhasin, Laksh, Yang, Jaewon, Botta, Edoardo, Xu, Jiajing, Rosenberg, Charles
Generative retrieval methods utilize generative sequential modeling techniques, such as transformers, to generate candidate items for recommender systems. These methods have demonstrated promising results in academic benchmarks, surpassing traditional retrieval models like two-tower architectures. However, current generative retrieval methods lack the scalability required for industrial recommender systems, and they are insufficiently flexible to satisfy the multiple metric requirements of modern systems. This paper introduces PinRec, a novel generative retrieval model developed for applications at Pinterest. PinRec utilizes outcome-conditioned generation, enabling modelers to specify how to balance various outcome metrics, such as the number of saves and clicks, to effectively align with business goals and user exploration. Additionally, PinRec incorporates multi-token generation to enhance output diversity while optimizing generation. Our experiments demonstrate that PinRec can successfully balance performance, diversity, and efficiency, delivering a significant positive impact to users using generative models. This paper marks a significant milestone in generative retrieval, as it presents, to our knowledge, the first rigorous study on implementing generative retrieval at the scale of Pinterest.
TabKAN: Advancing Tabular Data Analysis using Kolmogorov-Arnold Network
Eslamian, Ali, Aghaei, Alireza Afzal, Cheng, Qiang
Tabular data analysis presents unique challenges that arise from heterogeneous feature types, missing values, and complex feature interactions. While traditional machine learning methods like gradient boosting often outperform deep learning, recent advancements in neural architectures offer promising alternatives. In this study, we introduce TabKAN, a novel framework for tabular data modeling based on Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KANs). Unlike conventional deep learning models, KANs use learnable activation functions on edges, which improves both interpretability and training efficiency. TabKAN incorporates modular KAN-based architectures designed for tabular analysis and proposes a transfer learning framework for knowledge transfer across domains. Furthermore, we develop a model-specific interpretability approach that reduces reliance on post hoc explanations. Extensive experiments on public datasets show that TabKAN achieves superior performance in supervised learning and significantly outperforms classical and Transformer-based models in binary and multi-class classification. The results demonstrate the potential of KAN-based architectures to bridge the gap between traditional machine learning and deep learning for structured data.
Repair iconic 2000s-era gadgets in upcoming indie game ReStory
GPU prices could follow RAM's big rise Dang, now I miss my old Tamagotchi. We love a little nostalgia mixed in with our cozy gaming, and looks like a perfect blend of those two. In this upcoming indie game, you play the owner of a Tokyo electronics repair shop in the mid 2000s. The trailer that dropped today shows you tinkering with some very familiar gadgets from the era, such as renamed riffs on a Tamagotchi, a Nokia brick phone, a PSP and a Walkman. You clean and repair these devices for customers, and it looks like your conversations with them might have as much impact on their lives as your official work does.
Intel Takes Major Step in Plan to Acquire Chip Startup SambaNova
The two chip companies have signed a term sheet, according to sources with direct knowledge of the agreement. Intel has signed a term sheet to acquire the AI chip startup SambaNova Systems, two sources with direct knowledge of the agreement tell WIRED. The details of the term sheet are unknown. The agreement is non-binding, meaning the deal is not yet finalized and could be dissolved without penalty. It could take weeks or even months before regulatory approval, liability scrutiny, and financial due diligence are complete.
The Best Down Comforter Deals for Winter Nights (2025)
We've used all of these down comforter picks on our own beds and can attest they're excellent for winter (or year-round). Down comforter deals are usually easier to find during the warmest months of the year, but we've rustled up a few worth your while before it gets too bitterly cold outside. Down comforters are some of my very favorite products to test. I live in northern Illinois, and around this time of year it's usually either snowing, dangerously cold, or both. I have tried several blankets for our down comforter buying guide in my day-to-day life over the course of months.
Major talks on changes to ECHR migration rules set to start
International talks to revolutionise how the European Court of Human Rights handles migration cases will begin on Wednesday. The British government is urging partners to modernise the way states tackle the continent-wide illegal migration crisis. The talks are the most significant sign yet that international human rights law could be reinterpreted to make it easier for states to target people smuggling and set up'returns hubs' to hold people with no right to be in Europe. Writing ahead of the major meeting in Strasbourg, Sir Keir Starmer and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said other nations should rethink human rights laws to make protecting borders easier. Critics say the ECHR is getting in the way of removing more illegal migrants, while supporters say claims about the ECHR's role in migration are exaggerated.
Slack's CEO is joining OpenAI to find the money to pay for all those data centers
GPU prices could follow RAM's big rise Slack's CEO is joining OpenAI to find the money to pay for all those data centers Slack CEO Denise Dresser is OpenAI's new Chief Revenue Officer. OpenAI has announced that Denise Dresser, the current CEO of Slack, will be the company's new Chief Revenue Officer. Dresser will oversee the company's revenue strategy across enterprise and customer success, according to OpenAI's announcement, and will presumably play a key role in leading the company towards profitability now that it's reorganized as a public benefit corporation . We're on a path to put AI tools into the hands of millions of workers, across every industry, Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Products said in the announcement. Denise has led that kind of shift before, and her experience will help us make AI useful, reliable, and accessible for businesses everywhere.
OpenAI Is in Trouble
The start-up is falling behind in the AI race. For nearly three years, Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, was a ChatGPT devotee. Then, late last month, he abruptly converted to Google's chatbot, Gemini. "Holy shit," he wrote on X. "I've used ChatGPT every day for 3 years. Just spent 2 hours on Gemini 3. I'm not going back. When Gemini 3 was released in mid-November, it appeared to crush OpenAI's top model on a suite of evaluations shared by Google. The bot has since received widespread praise from the tech industry. One analyst said that Gemini 3 is " the best model ever .
The latest Polaroid instant film camera is down to just 99 at Amazon making it a killer holiday gift
Bring this to a holiday party and take pictures or wrap one up as a great gift for anyone who likes photos taken without a smartphone. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Did you know you're not supposed to shake a Polaroid picture? There's actually a chemical process going on inside of each Polaroid print and shaking it won't help it turn out any better. In fact, it might ruin the emulsion required for the picture to form.