Interactive digital maps have revolutionized how people travel and learn about the world; however, they rely on preexisting structured data in GIS databases (e.g., road networks, POI indices), limiting their ability to address geo-visual questions related to what the world looks like. W e introduce our vision for Geo-Visual Agents--multimodal AI agents capable of understanding and responding to nuanced visual-spatial inquiries about the world by analyzing large-scale repositories of geospatial images, including streetscapes (e.g., Google Street View), place-based photos (e.g., TripAdvisor, Y elp), and aerial imagery (e.g., satellite photos) combined with traditional GIS data sources. W e define our vision, describe sensing and interaction approaches, provide three exemplars, and enumerate key challenges and opportunities for future work.

Traditionally, network operations (NetOps) teams used performance monitoring tools to manage the health and performance of corporate networks. However, as network usage has increased and network deployments have become more disaggregated, many people are looking for alternative performance monitoring methods, such as Artificial Intelligence for IT operations or AIOps. This blog discusses NetOps and AIOps in detail and analyses how NetOps can be a bridge to AIOps, which will revolutionise the world of tech & business. Artificial intelligence for IT operations refers to applying AI and related technologies such as ML and NLP to traditional IT businesses and activities (AIOps). AIOps assist IT Ops, DevOps, and SRE teams (Site reliability engineers) in working smarter and faster.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BMW (BMWG.DE) rivals and ride-hailing companies are considering joining its consortium for developing self-driving cars as auto industry profits come under increasing pressure, board member Klaus Froehlich said on Tuesday. Carmakers and ride-hailing companies have sought to build self-driving cars as a way to enter the business of smartphone-hailed robotaxis. However, they are entering a crowded field where the likes of Apple (AAPL.O) and Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) have been pouring billions of dollars into cars that can drive themselves. "Unfortunately, everybody thought they would be the winner and would have an enormous ride-sharing business," BMW board member Klaus Froehlich told Reuters on the sidelines of the Paris Motor Show. BMW, however, wanted to spread the cost of investment and started a consortium that now includes Mobileye, Magna (MG.TO), Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI) and auto suppliers Delphi Automotive (DLPH.N) and Continental AG (CONG.DE).

BMW rivals and ride-hailing companies are considering joining its consortium for developing self-driving cars as auto industry profits come under increasing pressure, board member Klaus Froehlich said on Tuesday. Carmakers and ride-hailing companies have sought to build self-driving cars as a way to enter the business of smartphone-hailed robotaxis. However, they are entering a crowded field where the likes of Apple and Alphabet Inc have been pouring billions of dollars into cars that can drive themselves. Harald Kruger, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, poses in front of the new BMW series 3 during a media preview at the Auto show in Paris. Carmakers and ride-hailing companies have sought to build self-driving cars as a way to enter the business of smartphone-hailed robotaxis.

Car manufacturing company Ford has created a new device to help engineers design comfortable products: the Robutt. The robot was invented so that engineers at the company can test the wear and tear that comes with 10 years of driving a new car. It has the ability to sit on a car seat 25,000 times in three weeks, mimicking the effect of a decade of use. The Robutt helped a team designing the new Ford Fiesta create seats that would weather 10 years of use. The Robutt sits on a seat 25,000 times in three weeks.

BMW is overhauling its research and development activities to focus on self-driving cars, board member Klaus Froehlich told Reuters, a move which includes a revamp of its "i" sub-brand of carbon-fibre based electric vehicles. The company is updating its zero-emission vehicles after a lackluster response to its only fully battery-powered car, the i3, which recorded only 25,000 sales last year. By contrast, Tesla already has more than 370,000 orders for its Model 3. To help improve sales, BMW (BMWG.DE) is increasing the battery range of its i3 city vehicle by 50 percent this year. Its next full-fledged new electric car model is not due until 2021, but the Bavarian auto maker is also planning to build a new version of its i3 electric car to be released by 2018, a source familiar with the matter said. "It is a sportier brother for the i3," said the source, who declined to be named.

After a century of building what it calls the'ultimate driving machine', BMW is preparing for a world in which its customers will be mere passengers, and the cars will do the driving themselves. Days before its 100th birthday, a board member for research and development has described plans for a completely overhauled company. He revealed BMW's plans where half the R&D staff will be computer programmers, competing with the likes of Google parent Alphabet to build the brains for self-driving cars. BMW has said it plans to make half the R&D staff computer programmers, competing with the likes of Google parent Alphabet to build the brains for self-driving cars. 'For me it is a core competence to have the most intelligent car,' Klaus Froehlich told Reuters in an interview at the Geneva auto show.

BMW AG will dispatch a fleet of autonomous vehicles to U.S. and European cities in this year's second half, the next step in its partnership with Mobileye NV and Intel Corp. to introduce fully self-driving vehicles by 2021. The German automaker will put 40 of its 7 Series sedans on the road and train them to drive in urban areas, Klaus Froehlich, BMW's head of development, said in an interview. The goal is to apply the gathered data toward producing the iNext, which will supplant the 7 Series as the BMW brand's flagship model and be capable of full autonomy four years from now. Automakers and technology companies are rushing to form partnerships to compete against the likes of Alphabet Inc.'s Google, which has clocked 2 million self-driving miles on public roads, and Tesla Motors Inc., with 1.3 billion miles of data from Autopilot-equipped vehicles. BMW is appealing to other carmakers to adopt its approach to help shoulder research costs, speed development by sharing data and ensure they don't become also-rans.

A new device lets blind people read by popping a miniature camera on their fingertip. To read printed material, many visually impaired people rely on mobile apps like KNFB Reader that translate text to speech. Snap a picture and the app reads the page aloud. But users sometimes find it difficult to ensure that their photo captures all of the text, and these apps can have trouble parsing a complex layout, such as a newspaper or restaurant menu. "We want to empower end users to accomplish these activities of daily living through technology," says Jon Froehlich at the University of Maryland.

BMW is accelerating plans to acquire technology expertise in a race with the likes of Apple Inc. and Google to make cars smart enough to react like human drivers. The German automaker is pushing to acquire startups, partner with tech companies and hire talent to build an electronic brain for next-generation vehicles, Klaus Froehlich, BMW AG's head of development, said in an interview in Munich. At stake is billions of euros in potential profit as value in the auto industry gradually shifts to autonomous taxis. "There's a power play going on with other companies buying up software competencies at a fast clip," Froehlich said. "We definitely need partners in this area, and we massively need to build out in-house resources too."