This holiday season, feast on the bounty of food-themed stories NVIDIA Blog readers gobbled up in 2022. Startups in the retail industry -- and particularly in quick-service restaurants -- are using NVIDIA AI and robotics technology to make it easier to order food in drive-thrus, find beverages on store shelves and have meals delivered. They're accelerated by NVIDIA Inception, a program that offers go-to-market support, expertise and technology for cutting-edge startups. For those who prefer eye candy, artists also recreated a ramen restaurant using the NVIDIA Omniverse platform for creating and operating metaverse applications. Toronto startup HuEx is developing a conversational AI assistant to handle order requests at the drive-thru speaker box.

A U.S.-based network of people advocating for an inclusive economy through technology and market innovation say the success of facial recognition depends on both the public and private sectors working hard to engender trust in AI tools. The Financial Services Innovation Coalition, says ordinary people are worried that facial recognition systems will be an oppressive, biased and unblinking eye stripping them of liberty. While some are agitating for a ban on the technology, most have four requests, according to a new report published by the coalition with support from the Security Industry Association. Facial recognition systems should be strictly regulated, and there needs to be transparency on the technology's development, testing, operation and management. Government and industry should be able to demonstrate that the technology can be created and used ethically.

Even the most optimistic tech evangelist would concede that we're a long way from getting help from the likes of Rosie, the superbly efficient robotic housekeeper in The Jetsons. While today's household generally aren't life-sized and typically don't have mechanical limbs, they can take care of several chores we'd just as soon avoid, giving us more time to do things we enjoy like collapsing on the couch and chilling with Netflix. Some people find cutting the grass relaxing. Robomow is for that second group. This battery-operated mower can trim yards up to 23,000 square feet (1/2 acre) and can handle slopes of up to 20 degrees. Instead of just cutting once a week, it allows you to take care of your yard as often as you'd like.