Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. As any diligent stargazer knows, mid-summer means one thing: the Perseids! This meteor shower hits its peak on August 12 this year, and while that date is inconveniently close to that of this month's full moon, there should still be plenty of meteors on show for those who choose their time and location with care. As another long summer day has finally receded into another summer night, look east. If the sky is clear, you might well spy the Summer Triangle.

In 1979, two M.I.T. computer-science alumni and a Harvard Business School graduate launched a new piece of computer software for the Apple II machine, an early home computer. Called VisiCalc, short for "visible calculator," it was a spreadsheet, with an unassuming interface of monochrome numerals and characters. But it was a dramatic upgrade from the paper-based charts traditionally used to project business revenue or manage a budget. VisiCalc could perform calculations and update figures across columns and rows in real time, based on formulas that the user programmed in. VisiCalc sold more than seven hundred thousand copies in its first six years, and almost single-handedly demonstrated the utility of the Apple II, which retailed for more than a thousand dollars at the time (the equivalent of more than five thousand dollars in 2023).

Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) were once concepts relegated to only the most optimistic observers, much like self-driving electric vehicles and smartphones once were. But if it isn't obvious, the times have changed. Today, ML and AI--along with the immensely powerful data collection and analytics tools that power those processes--are a mainstay of modern life. Every day, people interact with products and services powered by some of the world's most ground-breaking technology. In the financial sector specifically, ML and AI present an enormous opportunity to institutions to revolutionise their businesses and generate both top- and bottom-line results.

This semester I started a new graduate course at Northeastern on Visualization for Machine Learning. I am particularly excited about this course because it strongly connects with our research over the last few years. As usual, teaching is an excellent way to understand our research work better. We are about six weeks into the semester, and I am ready to share some details and observations. The course targets graduate students, and for this reason, it is heavily based on paper reading.

Altair, a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI), announced the launch of its broad digital twin solution that features the market's most connected, cross-functional capabilities that can be deployed through any and every stage of a product lifecycle. "Altair offers the market's premier digital twin solution that can transform the way people and organizations design, develop, implement, and improve products and processes," said Sam Mahalingam, chief technology officer, Altair. "Moving forward, we will continue establishing our digital twin leadership to provide further democratized, more accessible digital twin solutions." Combining Altair's leading simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), AI, data analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities, companies can apply digital twin technology at any stage of the product lifecycle -- from concept through in-service -- as part of a cross-functional, enterprise-wide effort that advances collaboration and eliminates departmental silos. Additionally, Altair's open, vendor-agnostic digital twin solution is the premier offering that gives customers the flexibility to run Altair software anywhere – whether on-site, in the cloud, hybrid, or via plug-and-play appliances – and the freedom to choose from a comprehensive toolset through a cost-effective, units-based licensing model called Altair Units.

TROY, MI, Oct 4, 2022 – Altair, a global leader in computational science and artificial intelligence (AI), announced the launch of its broad digital twin solution that features the market's most connected, cross-functional capabilities that can be deployed through any and every stage of a product lifecycle. "Altair offers the market's premier digital twin solution that can transform the way people and organizations design, develop, implement, and improve products and processes," said Sam Mahalingam, chief technology officer, Altair. "Moving forward, we will continue establishing our digital twin leadership to provide further democratized, more accessible digital twin solutions." Combining Altair's leading simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), AI, data analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities, companies can apply digital twin technology at any stage of the product lifecycle -- from concept through in-service -- as part of a cross-functional, enterprise-wide effort that advances collaboration and eliminates departmental silos. Additionally, Altair's open, vendor-agnostic digital twin solution is the premier offering that gives customers the flexibility to run Altair software anywhere – whether on-site, in the cloud, hybrid, or via plug-and-play appliances – and the freedom to choose from a comprehensive toolset through a cost-effective, units-based licensing model called Altair Units.

Together, Altair and LG will promote research and development and the construction of a simulation platform. The two companies will share information in priority fields of research, including computer-aided engineering (CAE), data analytics, automation, and more. In addition, the two companies plan to build a more advanced digital transformation development environment by integrating LG's product development technology with Altair's simulation and AI technology. Together, the companies will cooperate on CAE/automation platform development and digital twin technology, which LG uses to develop products. "Altair has the advanced simulation, high-performance computing, and data analytics technology to support manufacturing companies as they develop products quickly and efficiently," said Sam Mahalingam, chief technology officer, Altair.

Artificial intelligence is one of those highly misunderstood sectors. On one hand, science fiction authors and the regular assortment of floating head tech billionaires claim that AI is going to spearhead the decline of humanity as we coast past something they call the singularity, wherein computing power advances machine intelligence beyond man. The flipside of that argument involves AI ruining our economy by eliminating jobs. Some of that might be true. All of it might be true.

Social and domestic robots are aimed at providing assistance and companionship in the daily life of elderly users. In this context, the robot's ability to automatically adapt to the user, user-adaptiveness, can be a deciding factor in the system's success. This work presents POMDP, a POMDP based decision-making mechanism able to learn and adapt to a user, applied to a realistic scenario. Specifically, this work introduces the following key innovative factors: A novel state-based reward formulation; A novel learning mechanism and execution loop.

AI, ML, and NLP are making it far more feasible to automate many data analytics processes. It hasn't taken long for smart technologies such as Google Home and Amazon Alexa to become embedded in everyday life. In the process, millions of us have become accustomed to the idea of holding something approaching a natural conversation with a machine. Natural language processing (NLP) is one of the key enablers of this voice-controlled revolution. Going forward, we can expect NLP to play a similarly central role in transforming the way we interact with data analytics tools.