"No, that's not true," Alexa quipped, midway through a presentation showcasing "artificial-intelligence intuitive in-vehicle experiences for next-generation vehicles," per Qualcomm's press release.

Temi (pronounced "Timmy," I think) is a personal robot with a 10-inch tablet for a head. It can play music and videos, control your smart home hardware and handle other basic assistant stuff, such as ordering takeout. In short, Temi is a friendlier telepresence robot for the home. Today, the company is announcing plans to integrate Amazon's Alexa assistant and, by extension, offer "Echo Show-like experiences" through its LCD screen. Now, Temi already offers video calls to mobile devices and other Temi robots. Echo-enabled calls, however, would increase the number of devices -- and by extension, it's usefulness -- that Temi owners can call.

Sony's WH-1000XM3 are the best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy, and at CES 2019, the company is adding another handy feature to the spec list. Amazon's Alexa will soon be available built-in on the headphones via an update through Sony's Headphone Connect app. This means with the press of a button, you can ask the virtual assistant to play music, skip tracks, answer your search queries and control your connected smart home gear. What's more, the update will also be available on the two older 1000X models: the WH-1000XM2 and WI-1000X. Sony's flagship noise cancelling headphones already offer direct access to Google Assistant, but it's nice to see the company cater to users who prefer to use Alexa.

We introduce the bilinear bandit problem with low-rank structure where an action is a pair of arms from two different entity types, and the reward is a bilinear function of the known feature vectors of the arms. The problem is motivated by numerous applications in which the learner must recommend two different entity types as one action, such as a male / female pair in an online dating service. The unknown in the problem is a $d_1$ by $d_2$ matrix $\mathbf{\Theta}^*$ with rank $r \ll \min\{d_1,d_2\}$ governing the reward generation. Determination of $\mathbf{\Theta}^*$ with low-rank structure poses a significant challenge in finding the right exploration-exploitation tradeoff. In this work, we propose a new two-stage algorithm called "Explore-Subspace-Then-Refine" (ESTR). The first stage is an explicit subspace exploration, while the second stage is a linear bandit algorithm called "almost-low-dimensional OFUL" (LowOFUL) that exploits and further refines the estimated subspace via a regularization technique. We show that the regret of ESTR is $\tilde{O}((d_1+d_2)^{3/2} \sqrt{r T})$ (where $\tilde{O}$ hides logarithmic factors), which improves upon the regret of $\tilde{O}(d_1d_2\sqrt{T})$ of a naive linear bandit reduction. We conjecture that the regret bound of ESTR is unimprovable up to polylogarithmic factors.

Incorporating digital assistants into modern vehicles has proven transformative for drivers, but only the folks who can afford to pony up for a new(ish) car that has them built in. For those of us still driving older models, those features aren't readily available unless we pull out our phones while driving -- not good. But with the new Link Drive from JBL, any vehicle with a cigarette lighter can offer Google Assistant's help to its passengers. After plugging in the device and pairing it with either an Apple or Android smartphone, activating it is as simple as saying "hey Google." You'll also need to pair it with your stereo, though it can also be connected through the system's aux port.

It was only a matter of time, really. Instant Brands has announced that its Instant Pot Smart WiFi pressure cooker now supports Google Assistant, making it possible to start cooking or check on the status without pulling out your phone or peeking at the tiny display. It's the height of culinary luxury, but it could be incredibly helpful if you'd rather not drop what you're doing to start your rice or check on your brisket. The cooker officially sells for $150 with a 6-quart capacity. You probably won't go out of your way to get an Instant Pot for Google Assistant support, but it could make the ultra-trendy device feel more at home with the rest of your connected kitchen devices.

LG has revealed a consumer version of its roll-up TV set at the CES trade show in Las Vegas. The Signature OLED TV R is built on a concept unveiled last year, in which the screen retracts into a base when not in use so it is less obtrusive. LG plans to sell the device in the US before the end of 2019, but has yet to reveal the month or price. Experts say the technology is unlikely to become a mass-market proposition for many years to come. "It's a 4K set rather than 8K, so you could argue there's a compromise there - but otherwise this is a very high-end design that is going to be very costly," commented Jack Wetherill from the consultancy Futuresource.

Arlo is already known for its 4K security camera and doorbell, but for CES 2019, the company has launched a complete security system. The key component is a new multi-purpose sensor that can detect window and door breaches, motion, smoke, carbon monoxide, water leaks and more. The other pieces are a siren, remote control and hub that works with Arlo's various cameras, along with Zigbee and Z-Wave devices. HomeKit will be supported by Arlo's Ultra 4K HDR Wire-Free and Arlo Pro 2 security cameras systems via a firmware update in Q1 2019. It'll let iPhone and iPad users access the cameras using the Apple Home app or Siri commands.

Ring's latest video doorbell attaches to the peephole on a front door, making it suitable for renters or apartment residents who often cannot drill into the wall next to the door. Announced at CES, the Ring Door View Cam delivers live high-definition video with the same features as Ring's other doorbells. The battery-operated unit comes in two parts. The outside half is styled along the same lines as Ring's Video Doorbell Pro, although instead of one lens, there are two: The top one is the conventional peephole door viewer, so the old analog function is retained, and the one beneath it is the video camera. The indoor half has the viewing lens for the conventional peephole and is where the battery is installed.

At the Consumers Electronics Show on Monday, the South Korean tech giant took the wraps off the Signature Series OLED TV R, its first-ever OLED television with a screen that can roll itself up and is also voice-activated. After the prototype was teased in 2018, LG announced today that the rollable TV will finally hit the shelves this year, with a launch date expected sometime in the spring. LG didn't disclose pricing details about the rollable TV. The OLED TV R is designed to be in the room when you want it and disappear when you don't, with three different modes that let users decide the size of the screen. 'LG's rollable OLED TV is a true game-changer, freeing users from the limitations of the wall and allowing them to curate their own personal space,' the company explained. Users can choose from three modes - full view, line view and and zero view.