Researchers from Université de Sherbrooke in Canada have created a robot arm that can be used by humans which has the dexterity to pick fruit. The type of arm developed is called a supernumerary robotic arm, in that it does not supplement any existing human limb but adds an extra one to the body. The arm has three degrees of freedom and is controlled by a hydraulic system connected to the user through a tether and controlled by another human being. According to IEEE Spectrum, the arm weighs little over four kilograms, approximately the same as a human arm, although most of that weight comes from its external power source which has to be attached to the arm at all times. In terms of power, the arm can lift a five kilogram weight, meaning that it could be used for a number of tasks including painting walls, washing windows, handing tools to a human worker, or even playing badminton.

How will Canadian universities change over the next 20 years? What challenges will they face and what opportunities lie ahead? In honour of University Affairs' 60th anniversary, we put questions like these to seven people representing different regions and facets of the university enterprise from coast to coast. They spoke about their dreams for universities that better represent the world scholars strive to understand, about their concerns around finances, how the students they serve inspire and teach them, and about the opportunities – and risks – posed by the onslaught of rapid technological change. Most of all, they affirmed that universities have a vital role to play in helping society navigate through the deepest challenges of our time, from climate change to the dangers of misinformation and rising intolerance.

Canada higher education prowess is long-established. But some of its top colleges have been threatening the top spots traditionally held by UK and US universities. Indeed, Canadian universities are a dynamic group and each university has its own unique experience to offer both undergraduates and postgraduates. Check out these top Canadian universities: 1. University of Toronto The University of Toronto is widely considered to be the best university in Canada and one of the best universities in the world. Founded in 1827, it's a public research university with a student body of 60,000 and a;

Recently, a KPMG report was released indicating that Canada's FinTech industry is still quickly accelerating, particularly in Artificial Intelligence. Of all the aspects of traditional FinTech (as opposed to cryptocurrency and blockchain) that remain cutting edge, research into Artificial Intelligence is at the top. Already, financial technology has revolutionized the way people interact with their money and their bank. But Artificial Intelligence stands poised to take it one step further. "Canada continues to make strides to become a global player in AI, driven by Canadian government support and the presence of strong AI innovators at several Canadian universities."

Over the past few months, industry and government have pledged more than $500-million toward AI, a commitment that has led to the rise of powerful institutions such as the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms, the Vector Institute and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. These structures are well positioned to keep churning out cutting-edge research, train the next generation of AI leaders, and advance the innovation and technology transfer of AI. Our three AI Institutes are set up to offer Canadian businesses similar training programs and there's good reason for them to use these resources: Canadian enterprises that consider investing in state-of-the-art machine-learning and data infrastructure can enjoy results such as increased efficiency in manufacturing, better management of underwriting risk, minimization of fraud and reduction of health-care costs. Among the most urgent are ensuring the market is well supplied by streamlining immigration, ensuring higher education and industrial research-funding programs are well capitalized and targeted, modifying tax policies to encourage entrepreneurship and streamlining research and development tax credits to support AI investments.