The adoption of mobile robotic platforms in complex environments, such as agricultural settings, requires these systems to exhibit a flexible yet effective architecture that integrates perception and control. In such scenarios, several tasks need to be accomplished simultaneously, ranging from managing robot limits to performing operational tasks and handling human inputs. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive control architecture for achieving complex tasks such as robotized harvesting in vineyards within the framework of the European project CANOPIES. In detail, a 16-DOF dual-arm mobile robot is employed, controlled via a Hierarchical Quadratic Programming (HQP) approach capable of handling both equality and inequality constraints at various priorities to harvest grape bunches selected by the perception system developed within the project. Furthermore, given the complexity of the scenario and the uncertainty in the perception system, which could potentially lead to collisions with the environment, the handling of interaction forces is necessary. Remarkably, this was achieved using the same HQP framework. This feature is further leveraged to enable semi-autonomous operations, allowing a human operator to assist the robotic counterpart in completing harvesting tasks. Finally, the obtained results are validated through extensive testing conducted first in a laboratory environment to prove individual functionalities, then in a real vineyard, encompassing both autonomous and semi-autonomous grape harvesting operations.

China is working to update the rugged old computer systems on nuclear submarines with artificial intelligence to enhance the potential thinking skills of commanding officers, a senior scientist involved with the programme told the South China Morning Post. A submarine with AI-augmented brainpower not only would give China's large navy an upper hand in battle under the world's oceans but would push applications of AI technology to a new level, according to the researcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the project's sensitivity. "Though a submarine has enormous power of destruction, its brain is actually quite small," the researcher said. While a nuclear submarine depends on the skill, experience and efficiency of its crew to operate effectively, the demands of modern warfare could introduce variables that would cause even the smoothest-run operation to come unglued. For instance, if the 100 to 300 people in the sub's crew were forced to remain together in their canister in deep, dark water for months, the rising stress level could affect the commanding officers' decision-making powers, even leading to bad judgment.

After years of soggy inflation and a long reign by Japan's tight-fisted shoppers, businesses are adopting new methods to lift prices, from artificial intelligence to simple packaging tweaks. Despite many rounds of stimulus, policymakers have failed to jolt households out of the deflationary mindset that followed the 1990s property crash, which meant businesses refused to raise prices for fear of losing customers. Demand-based dynamic pricing, however, has allowed some Japanese retailers to discretely bump up prices without triggering the kind of customer backlash seen in more blatant attempts at repricing in the past. The J. League soccer team Yokohama Marinos, for example, introduced artificial intelligence last year to more closely align ticket prices with demand. "Previously, it was difficult to find the best prices between demand and value of each match," said Hiroshi Nagai, the club's general manager for fan relations. "The most fascinating thing about dynamic pricing is that it can offer more choices to customers."

John Marinos was skeptical when he received an email at his United Nations office in Bangkok that a team from SAP was developing an AI-based reporting tool to help this organization better manage humanitarian aid. One year later he's convinced. The aptly named 4W-Wizard has turned thousands of lines of non-standard, confusing and misspelled information from numerous agencies on the ground into clean data that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) can use for streamlined disaster relief management. AI-based tool helps support UN's vision of a seamless system across the humanitarian universe of support.Getty Images "Since 90 percent of our challenges involve people-oriented problems, I never believed technology would help us to sort this out," said Marinos, information management officer at UN OCHA. "We've struggled with manual-based reporting that took hours to clean up before it was usable. The 4W-Wizard helps provide fast visibility into which organizations are providing what kind of help where and when. In less than an hour, we can immediately see where the gaps are and what's needed next."

The next generation of unmanned drones will act more like birds than machines, thanks to new study by researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne and ISAE-Supaéro in Toulouse. The study includes experiments with drones that can sense wind gusts and thermals, then use them to gain speed or altitude, just like birds do. Dr Abdulghani Mohamed, who leads a large research program into bio-inspired technology in RMIT's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) research team, said the world-first project had exceeded expectations. "The results of our gust soaring system were remarkable and represent a big leap in energy harvesting for drones," Mohamed said. "This technology not only allows a drone to gain kinetic energy to fly faster but also means less work and more efficiency for the propulsion system, potentially enabling the next generation of drones to increase their flight time on limited resources."

China is working to update the rugged old computer systems on nuclear submarines with artificial intelligence to enhance the potential thinking skills of commanding officers, a senior scientist involved with the programme told the South China Morning Post. A submarine with AI-augmented brainpower not only would give China's large navy an upper hand in battle under the world's oceans but would push applications of AI technology to a new level, according to the researcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the project's sensitivity. "Though a submarine has enormous power of destruction, its brain is actually quite small," the researcher said. While a nuclear submarine depends on the skill, experience and efficiency of its crew to operate effectively, the demands of modern warfare could introduce variables that would cause even the smoothest-run operation to come unglued. For instance, if the 100 to 300 people in the sub's crew were forced to remain together in their canister in deep, dark water for months, the rising stress level could affect the commanding officers' decision-making powers, even leading to bad judgment.