Daniela Rus, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL), isn’t worried that robots will take over the world. Instead, she envisions robots and humans teaming up and achieving things that neither could do alone. In this excerpt from her new book, The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots, she explores how they can extend the reach of human capabilities.

The sense of discovery and surprise at something that matches an unrecognized yearning can be exhilarating. But the sheer size of many stores is exhausting -- with some, I need a site map, flashlight, and overnight bag to take it all in. In others, the inventory is specialized and packed in so tightly that online seems a better way to find what I want. If you're primarily an online shopper, you may be asking how relevant brick-and-mortar stores are. The answer is: quite relevant.

JOHANNESBURG – If data is the new oil, artificial intelligence (AI) can arguably be its best drill, able to uncover insights and mine real business value from the huge and complex data sets that typify modern organisations. Enterprises are not blind to the massive opportunities that can be extracted: according to the latest Gartner data, enterprise adoption of AI has grown 270% over the past four years. In the last year alone, AI adoption has essentially tripled within enterprises of all sizes. That's not surprising considering 85% of global CEOs believe AI will fundamentally change the way they conduct business within the next five years. Until recently, the majority of business decision-making was predominantly driven by human centric capabilities.

Combining 30 year's research with the latest in machine learning and eye tracking technology, our unique solution is able to determine a child's exact reading attainment in a matter of minutes. "It is quick, straightforward and easy to manage within the day-to-day routine of the school." By monitoring spontaneous eye movements we can pick up on minor differences in the way children's brains process text, helping to identify those with language based learning difficulties much earlier in their development, and tailor specific interventions to their individual needs. "The assessment helped uncover examples of children who were not previously identified as having reading difficulties." Requiring no administrative input our solution supports existing learning programmes by freeing up teacher time and quickly demonstrating the outcome of targeted interventions for each individual child.

Now, Nasa has published a stunning image captured by Osiris-Rex during its travels, showing our planet in breathtaking detail. Nasa has published a stunning image captured by Osiris-Rex during its travels, showing our planet in breathtaking detail. MapCam is a medium-resolution camera that will map the asteroid in colour and search for satellites and dust plumes. After a careful survey of Bennu to characterise the asteroid and locate the most promising sample sites, Osiris-Rex will collect between 2 and 70 ounces (about 60 to 2,000 grams) of surface material with its robotic arm and return the sample to Earth via a detachable capsule in 2023.

Powers planned by the Government aiming to pave the way for commercial space flights in Britain will be included in the Queen's Speech alongside a raft of investments in transport infrastructure. The legislation, according to Department for Transport (DfT), will allow the launch of satellites from the UK for the first time, horizontal flights to the edge of space for scientific experiments and the establishment of spaceports in regions across Britain. The Queen's Speech, which has been delayed by two days due to the current instability in British politics, will also include measures to improve conditions for the 100,000 drivers of plug-in vehicles by "removing barriers that are preventing more drivers switching to electric". "As things stand, those wanting to use publicly-accessible charging points may need to register with several different companies that run them," the Department for Transport added. "The planned legislation will include measures to ensure drivers need register only once to make full use of the existing infrastructure."

Google Lens is both a return to form for the search giant, and a tantalizing glimpse into what lies ahead. Google's early claim to fame was its ability to efficiently index the web and fetch search results quickly, bringing some much needed organization to the chaotic early days of the internet. Lens, similarly, uses computer vision and AI to make sense of your photos, videos and the real world. Most intriguingly, Lens is yet another way for Google to expand on its original mission statement: "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." Though we've only seen brief a brief, pre-produced demonstration of Lens, it looks compelling.