In the past decade, cars have become smarter in ways we previously never thought possible. They have gained internet connections, formed successful relationships with our smartphones via CarPlay and Android Auto, and learned a whole host of new semi-autonomous driving skills. They have also turned into the largest'device' we own, morphing from simply a mode of transport, into a smart gadget with abilities of our phones, smartwatches and computers. Next, they'll get much better at communicating with those products, and with the services – especially health and wellbeing services – we use everyday. And, of course, they'll get even safer too.

Even as population growth slows, projections show that the world will be home to nearly 10 billion people by 2050, 2 billion more than it hosts today. The job of feeding them will fall to an industry that's emerging on the forefront of innovation. Article Snapshot: Long at the mercy of forces beyond their control, farmers are creating tech-reliant connected farms that track everything within inches and help them centrally manage every season in the fields. Farmers are getting younger and more tech savvy, and they're transforming the agriculture industry through location intelligence and tools such as AI, autonomous vehicles, and IoT-connected cattle. In this installment of the WhereNext Think Tank series, Esri's director of Professional Services, Brian Cross, interviews Esri's agriculture practice lead, Matt Harman.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Technology companies transformed smartphones and televisions into continuous fountains of revenue. Now, big tech wants to work with automakers to do the same thing for your car. With the widespread rollout of autonomous vehicles still years away, the two industries have converged on the idea of cars providing services and features delivered "over the air" - that is, over the same wireless data networks used by smart phones. Those services - streaming video, vehicle performance upgrades, dashboard commerce - could answer a pressing need for automakers. They need to learn how to milk their hardware for revenue long after vehicles roll off dealers' lots.

Imagine you're using a VR headset and as a car races past, you hear it whip from left to right. Only the sound literally moves from left to right because it's coming from a robotic speaker that zips across the room. From the looks of a new patent, audio company Harman is dreaming up speakers that would do just that. This week, the US Patent Office awarded Harman a patent for a "mobile speaker system for virtual reality environments." According to the patent, the company would map VR soundscapes to robotic speakers, which would either drive or fly (thanks to quadcopters) to better represent the distance, direction and movement of sounds.

Some of the world's biggest car makers debuted future technology at the annual Las Vegas show. Between all the connected home tech, giant 8K TVs and robots, the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show didn't let down automotive enthusiasts. Many of the world's biggest car makers exhibited at the annual mecca to Las Vegas, which serves as a glimpse into the future of technology, by dominating much of the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as surrounding facilities. And it didn't seem to matter the Sin City event falls just a week before the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The following is just a small sampling of some amazing automotive tech coming down the road -- pun intended -- most of which debuted at CES. Seen at CES: New features added to Toyota's next-gen Guardian autonomous technology.

In a world increasingly fragmented by U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda, Japan should take on the role as the world's new "stabilizer" by committing to the landmark Paris accord on climate change and keeping a multilateral trade regime from falling apart in the absence of the United States, according to experts who gathered at a Tokyo conference earlier this week. The annual G1 Global Conference, held at Globis University in Tokyo, examined Japan's shifting roles on the global stage on the heels of an intensifying trade war between the U.S. and China that its panelists said has thrown the international order into disarray. The conference held Sunday invited experts on fields including security, energy and technology -- as well as social entrepreneurs and business executives -- to discuss a "fractured world" caused by the rise of protectionism, the shift in Asian geopolitics and potential threats stemming from the advent of artificial intelligence. With the election of Trump in 2016, "many tensions in the U.S. that had existed beforehand became much more evident," former U.S. Democratic member of congress Jane Harman told the all-English conference, titled "Connecting a Fractured World." The Japan Times was a media partner for the event.

You now have a viable option if you want a high-end Google Assistant speaker that slots between the good-but-not-mind-blowing Home Max and Bang & Olufsen's ultra-premium Beosound models. Harman Kardon has unveiled the Citation 500, a smart speaker that touts 200W of stereo audio and high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz support in a compact form for £549 (about $708). It's difficult to say for sure that it bests the Home Max when Google doesn't provide official wattage, but it could easily outperform much of what's on the market. As it stands, the Citation isn't relying solely on audio prowess. It serves as a smart home hub, and an LCD on the top helps control playback when you're not shouting song requests.

Today's virtual personal assistants are conversational, voice-enabled artificial intelligence (AI) backed innovations that can communicate, learn, and intelligently predict an individual's needs to offer truly personalized experiences. Earlier this year, HARMAN and MSC Cruises introduced a groundbreaking virtual personal assistant as part of the cruise line's digital innovation program. By offering guests quick and easy answers about cruise events and entertainment from the comfort of their own cabin, the digital assistant can help simplify and enhance passengers' cruise experience. However, this new, progressive service is a mere drop in the ocean when it comes to the infinite number of ways that AI stands to revolutionize the hospitality industry. The hospitality and travel industry is no stranger to technological transformations, and it is on the cusp of a new revolution with the introduction of digital assistants and voice-enabled technology.

This is part of CNET's "Tech Enabled" series about the role technology plays in helping the disability community. When Shannon Conn puts her hearing aids in her ears in the morning, a few things happen. The coffee maker starts brewing. When someone rings the doorbell, the chime streams straight into her ear. Conn, a 43-year-old special education advocate from College Grove, Tennessee, wears the Oticon Opn, which features the ability to link up with other connected devices.

March 20, 2018 Written by: Kareem Yusuf, Ph.D. Over the last few years, digital assistants have cemented their place in our homes, helping execute routine day-to-day tasks, from turning on our televisions to telling us about "this day in history." But these devices have also accomplished something else, they have laid the groundwork for what's next: truly intelligent AI assistants that get to know you. Today at Think 2018, IBM introduced Watson Assistant, a smart enterprise assistant that brings together artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT) to help businesses enhance brand loyalty and transform customer experiences, while keeping the business and customer data private and secure. Right now, leading brands are joining us to bring Watson Assistant into our daily lives.