Engineers at Stanford University have built a robotic bird to understand how birds are able to fly and perch on branches. The robot has a pair of snatching talons that attach to a circular flat base; that is then attached to a quadcopter drone to fly around. To account for the size of the drone that allows it to fly, the avian robot is based on the legs of a peregrine falcon. In place of bones, the machine has a 3D-printed structure with motors and fishing line for muscles and tendons. Each leg has its own motor to move back and forth, another for grasping, and a mechanism to absorb impact energy when it lands.

As in my prior commentary, AI is coming to be an everyday term not only from the science fiction of movies, but increasingly from the realities of our everyday lives. Many debates are in play around AI, where it can be trusted, how robust it is and the impact if may have on all our lives and job roles in the coming years. It is inherently linked to the concept of robotics and ability for a human like machine to mimic our human form and actions. AI by many is expected to bring fear and negative impact, to replace the human in many job of today and to make others lazy where affordability allows them to have machines do mundane and boring tasks for them. As the human form strives forwards for an easier more productive life AI will invariably continue to invade, be it under the cover guise of other non-AI labelled devices.

Customer interaction and channels preferences have experienced significant changes over time and are constantly evolving and expanding across all industries, including banking. To consolidate customer satisfaction and cultivate customer advocacy, banks must endeavor to continue to meet these changing needs through use of innovative and progressive technology. Self-service banking interactions with technology were first introduced to customer's through implementation of ATMs, marking the advent of self-service banking. For staff, their introduction to the digital age began with some employees using text terminals that provided the first user experience with computing, though these character interfaces lacked intuitive design and required training. Channel options for customers experienced further expansion with availability of phone banking in the 1980s, while staff started using graphical windows screens.

Customer interaction and channels preferences have experienced significant changes over time and are constantly evolving and expanding across all industries, including banking. To consolidate customer satisfaction and cultivate customer advocacy, banks must endeavour to continue to meet these changing needs through use of innovative and progressive technology. Self-service banking interactions with technology were first introduced to customer's through implementation of ATMs, marking the advent of self-service banking. For staff, their introduction to the digital age began with some employees using text terminals that provided the first user experience with computing, though these character interfaces lacked intuitive design and required training. Channel options for customers experienced further expansion with availability of phone banking in the 1980s, while staff started using graphical windows screens.

ICICI Bank customers will now to able to put money lying idle in savings bank accounts to better use with the help of an investment advisory platform powered by software robotics and AI (artificial intelligence). The platform, dubbed Money Coach, is the latest in a long line of products and features that India's largest private sector lender has been rolling out over the years as part of its digital banking initiative. "Money Coach will manage the entire investment journey of a customer from building an investible corpus to investing in recommended portfolios," said the bank's chief technology and digital officer Madhivanan Balakrishnan told TechCircle during a media interaction recently. The launch of the platform also marked two decades of digital banking for the lender. It claims that it was the first to launch internet banking in 1998. It introduced its mobile banking application, iMobile, in 2008 and a digital wallet in 2015.

There are a few examples of start-ups within the finance industry who have pioneered chatbots, such as Chip16, a chatbot designed to help you save money as you spend, and Kasisto17, which is a whitelabel conversational AI available for banks to pick up and use off the shelf18. However, most of the companies are still only fulfilling basic service requests, and have yet to get sophisticated enough to replace the roles of financial advisor or stockbroker. This is a huge opportunity as the next step in AI is through cognitive conversation between a customer and a chatbot, designed to provide the customer with an effortless service when fulfilling requests currently requiring human intervention. While chatbots are an exciting proposition for the industry, any disruptive shift comes with challenges, which are potentially heightened in the financial sector where consumer trust of banks is low and the stakes are high if it doesn't work19. There has already been strong take-up of chatbots in customer service, where users value the ability to get access to finances in a way that works for customers, outweighed by risks and negative customer sentiment.

What will be the top technology priorities and trends in the banking industry in 2017? New technology innovations and shifting competitive landscape due to the entry of fintech start-ups, payment players and challenger banks will change how transactions will be carried out in the future. All of these changes are forcing banks to relook at their technology capabilities and operating and service delivery models to retain wallet share. While technology transformation is inevitable (and will probably be rapid), few areas emerge as distinct priorities of financial institutions and hot trends for 2017. Technology priorities of banks in 2017 A survey across some of the leading banks in Asia Pacific on their key priorities in technology investment in 2017 highlights following focus areas (Figure 1). Improving mobile and digital experience remains a key priority for financial institutions in 2017.

Natwest's internet banking services appear to be completely broken, leaving people unable to check their account. Customers also seem to be having issues making and seeing payments, with some people reporting that cash had left their account but wasn't making its way to the person they'd paid. The problem has happened on the morning of most people's payday, and right before a bank holiday weekend. Users report being unable to check their online banking either through Natwest's website or its app. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph. The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session A man looks at an exhibit entitled'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar.