Personal Assistant Systems
Google Lens offers a snapshot of the future for augmented reality and AI
There are a ton of exciting new technologies on the way in the near future. These include the likes of virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, IOT, personal assistants and more. We're taking tentative steps into the future and the next few years promise to be very exciting indeed for tech enthusiasts (that's you!). But when looking at these kinds of paradigm shifts, what's more important is the technology that lies beneath them. Keeping your ear to the floor and looking out for examples of new technology can therefore help you to better understand what might be around the corner.
Domino's Pizza launches Amazon Echo voice ordering
Getting a pizza delivered just got easier, thanks to a new feature for the Alexa smart assistant. A deal signed between Domino's and Amazon means the firm's voice activated devices will now allow you to order your favourite items with a single command. GPS tracking in trial locations also means the service can tell you exactly how far away your delivery is, right down to the minute. Getting a pizza delivered just got a slice easier, thanks to a new feature for the Alexa smart assistant. A deal signed between Domino's and Amazon means the firm's voice activated devices (pictured) will now allow you to order your favourite items with a single command Pizza fans can now simply call for Alexa, who will take care of your order.
Check Out These NVIDIA-Powered AI and VR Tools at SIGGRAPH 2017 NVIDIA Blog
If you're a content creator, you're not just striving to do your best work. You want to make your best work better. At the SIGGRAPH conference, which runs July 31-Aug. From Siri to Smart Cars to Netflix recommendations, AI is infused in our daily lives. Now, thanks to the computational power of NVIDIA GPUs, new AI accelerated workflows are optimizing content creation, saving artists and studios time and money, and driving greater creativity.
Amazon's race to make Alexa smarter
Amazon's range of smart speakers and their artificial intelligence assistant Alexa have proved to be a huge sales hit. But the product is still a shadow of what the man in charge - Dave Limp - and indeed their owners, hope it will become. "We have thousands of engineers inside Amazon adding to [its] capability every day and then another tens of thousands of developers adding to the skills," he tells the BBC. "The thing I am sure of is that this time next year she will be significantly more intelligent than she is now, and that sometime in the future we will hit our goal of reinventing the Star Trek computer." It's a lofty goal, especially since any attempt to go beyond commanding a weather update or asking for the lights to be switched on is currently asking for trouble.
Robotic furniture transforms tiny apartment ZDNet
Home robots are the promised land of a consumer market that has been on the precipice of burgeoning for a few years. But aside from a roving vacuum cleaner-turned-spy or a Tesla with some self-driving functionality, you probably don't have a robot in your house. One company is hoping to take a circuitous path past the discarded corpses of helper bot prototypes and creepy home assistants. Ori has developed a line of robotic, reconfigurable furniture that moves around a small space, creating new partitions and spitting out hidden features like cabinets, a bed, or a desk on-demand. If you live in San Francisco, New York, or Vancouver, you probably don't have as much space as you want.
AI and analytics accelerating digital workplace transformation
New research examining how organisations are evolving from a traditional office environment to a digital workplace, has revealed that gaining competitive advantage and improving business process are among the top goals of their digital transformation strategy. This is according to 40% of 800 organisations in 15 countries on five continents that were interviewed for Dimension Data's survey. The report found that digital transformation is not just about adopting the technologies of the past: 62% of research participants expect to have technology such as virtual advisors in their organisations within the next two years. In addition, 58% expect to start actively investing in technology that powers virtual advisors in the next two years. Today, the digital workplace is no longer just made up of managers and those managed; co-workers collaborating with one another to complete projects; and employees interacting with customers and partners.
AI and the retail store of the future
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), both reporters and consumers tend to focus on big, bold, and very sexy stories, like autonomous self-driving cars or machines beating human world champions at games like chess, Go, and even Jeopardy. And I'll admit, those stories are very cool, and they certainly deserve the attention they get. Aside from those stories, though, some of the largest, most practical advancements in AI are happening in the industrial sector, and it might come to the surprise of more than a few that the retail industry -- traditionally risk-averse and more fast follower than early adopter -- is leading the way. Currently, retail sees AI solutions like Amazon's Echo, Google's Home, and Apple's Siri making real differences in the online shopping experience, and the Amazon Go concept store appears destined to be a disruptive force in the brick-and-mortar realm. Seemingly every week, new applications come online, like Original Stitch's Bodygram, which custom-tailors button-down shirts from a single photo.
Facebook will release a speaker in 2018, rumours suggest
From Amazon to Apple, many of the biggest technology firms around the world have recently developed smart speakers. And according to the latest rumours, Facebook looks like it could be the next firm to release its own device. The rumours suggest that Facebook plans to unveil a smart speaker with a 15-inch (38-cm) touchscreen as early as next year. According to the latest rumours, Facebook (CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pictured) looks like it could be the next firm to release its own speaker. In May, Amazon released a version of its Echo speaker called the'Show' which features a seven inch touchscreen.
Fitbit makes Cortana your new workout partner
Fitbit might have had a few issues (okay, many issues) developing their long-expected smartwatch, but they have some good news today if you use Windows. You can now use the Fitbit skill with Cortana, Windows' virtual personal assistant. Microsoft introduced the Cortana Skills Kit earlier this year, which encourages developers to integrate their products with Cortana. To connect Cortana to Fitbit, all you have to do is say, "Hey Cortana, open Fitbit." Cortana will then prompt you to connect your Fitbit account.