Soldiers controlling a robot dog with their mind as they patrol a dusty road and sweep an delipidated building may sound like science fiction, but it is the scene in a real world demonstration. The Australian Army has perfected mind-controlling abilities with eight sensors neatly packed inside a helmet that work in tandem with a Microsoft HoloLens. The innovation features an AI-decoder that translates a soldier's brain signals into explainable instructions that are sent to the robotic quadruped, allowing humans to stay focused on their surroundings. A new video shows military personal conducting a simulated patrol clearance using the robot dog, which was instructed to sweep a facility using what it read from a person's brain waves - and with 94 percent accuracy. The system was developed by the University of Technology Sydney that first unveiled the innovation last year, but recently published a new paper detailing the work. 'The user used our augmented brain–robot interface (aBRI) platform to control the robot systems,' reads the paper published by American Chemical Society on March 16.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, 60, revealed to he does not see himself running the tech firm in 10 years. The CEO spoke with Kara Swisher for The New York Times Monday about Apple's upcoming technologies, specifically AR and an autonomous car, along with his own future. But I can tell you that I feel great right now. And the date's not in sight,' he told Swisher. Along with the announcement, Cook also augmented reality is'critically important' to Apple's future and said it could be used to enhance conversations.

Augmented Reality is still developing as a technology, but is beginning to move into the mainstream. The big tech companies are scrambling to build sustainable AR ecosystems to gain early foothold in the potentially lucrative market, while specialist firms are focusing on areas like content development. In 2018, Alibaba, the Chinese ecommerce giant launched Taobao Buy, an app that aims to make online shopping more interactive. The app, accessible via Microsoft's HoloLens headsets, allows users to browse and interact for a select range of products from Alibaba's online store. Alibaba acquired Infinity AR and has also invested in Augmented Reality companies like WayRay and Magic Leap.

The internal unrest over the Army contract follows a year of activism by tech workers who have become increasingly emboldened to voice their concerns about how their products are applied. A similar employee protest at Google last year contributed to the company dropping out of the military's Project Maven, which uses artificial intelligence to analyze aerial images from combat zones. Microsoft workers also last year raised public concerns and circulated an open letter protesting the company's work with U.S. immigration authorities.

Microsoft is working on an artificial intelligence (AI) chip for its next generation HoloLens headset. And the U.S. technology giant could take it to other products in its hardware range, Panos Panay, corporate vice president of devices at Microsoft, told CNBC on Tuesday. In July, Microsoft disclosed it was working on a processor for the second generation of HoloLens, a headset that allows users to interact and touch digital images overlaid on the real world. Microsoft calls this "mixed reality." The AI chip will allow HoloLens to do things like recognize objects in the line of sight.

Both Microsoft and Google envision a not-so-distant future in which donning smart headgear to repair an elevator or assemble a tractor motor is the norm. Over the past several days, both tech giants have revealed they're each taking concrete and compelling steps to make that happen. Microsoft just revealed that it's working on a new artificial intelligence chip to power its second-generation HoloLens headset. The coprocessor's chief job will be implementing deep neural networks -- a machine learning technique with a structure that loosely resembles the human brain -- into the HoloLens' core processing unit. A dedicated A.I. chip is necessary for a gadget like the HoloLens, says Microsoft, which must be able to comprehend large amounts of complex data gathered by its depth and camera sensors without latency.

The ability to browse a website without needing to as much as move your hand could soon be a possibility with Microsoft's next HoloLens device. Microsoft has filed a patent for new eye-tracking technology for head-mounted displays (HMDs). The technology uses infrared beams to track the eyes, reducing the need for clunky cameras that obstruct your view as seen in current devices on the market. Microsoft has filed a patent for new eye-tracking technology for head-mounted displays (HMDs). The glasses will use'wave guides' to track infrared-lit eyes.

Microsoft has unveiled a new system of bots that can represent businesses and interact with users via Skype. Social bots are automated programs that can chat to users in a humanlike way. As part of the Build developer conference, Microsoft also revealed updates to digital assistant Cortana, which can interact with bots on the user's behalf. Cortana will now function across various devices and operating systems, like Android and iOS. The tech giant also announced a Skype app for its HoloLens headset.