Efficient sampling in biomolecular simulations is critical for accurately capturing the complex dynamical behaviors of biological systems. Adaptive sampling techniques aim to improve efficiency by focusing computational resources on the most relevant regions of phase space. In this work, we present a framework for identifying the optimal sampling policy through metric driven ranking. Our approach systematically evaluates the policy ensemble and ranks the policies based on their ability to explore the conformational space effectively. Through a series of biomolecular simulation case studies, we demonstrate that choice of a different adaptive sampling policy at each round significantly outperforms single policy sampling, leading to faster convergence and improved sampling performance. This approach takes an ensemble of adaptive sampling policies and identifies the optimal policy for the next round based on current data. Beyond presenting this ensemble view of adaptive sampling, we also propose two sampling algorithms that approximate this ranking framework on the fly. The modularity of this framework allows incorporation of any adaptive sampling policy making it versatile and suitable as a comprehensive adaptive sampling scheme.

The machines are coming and they will eat your job. That's been a familiar refrain down the years, stretching back to the Luddites in the early 19th century. In the past, step-changes in technology have replaced low-paid jobs with a greater number of higher-paid jobs. This time, with the arrival of artificial intelligence, there are those who think it will be different. Politicians know that even in the best case AI will cause massive disruption to labour markets, but they are fooling themselves if they think they have years to come up with a suitable response.

Robots capable of growing knowledge and learning new tasks is of demanding interest. We formalize knowledge transfer in human-robot interactions, and establish a testing framework for it. As a proof of concept, we implement a robot system that not only learns in real-time from human demonstrations, but also transfers this knowledge.

Companies tapped more advanced bots to double check complex legal documents and contracts for irregularities at much higher speeds than remote workers. These types of efficiency gains are expected to drive growth in the software bot market for years, said Mihir Shukla, co-founder and chief executive of robotic process automation maker Automation Anywhere Inc., based in San Jose, Calif. "Most people recognize the need for automation," Mr. Shukla said at The Wall Street Journal's CIO Network Summit, held online Tuesday. Now there is an even greater appreciation at the board level, he said. The robotic process automation market is expected to grow by double digits through 2024, according to information-technology research and consulting firm Gartner Inc.

One year after voice-based AI technology company ConverseNow raised a $3.3 million seed round, the company is back with a cash infusion of $15 million in Series A funding in a round led by Craft Ventures. The Austin-based company's AI voice ordering assistants George and Becky work inside quick-serve restaurants to take orders via phone, chat, drive-thru and self-service kiosks, freeing up staff to concentrate on food preparation and customer service. Joining Craft in the Series A round were LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Moneta Ventures and angel investors Federico Castellucci and Ashish Gupta. This new investment brings ConverseNow's total funding to $18.3 million, Vinay Shukla, co-founder and CEO of ConverseNow, told TechCrunch. As part of the investment, Bryan Rosenblatt, partner at Craft Ventures, is joining the company's board of directors, and said in a written statement that "post-pandemic, quick-service restaurants are primed for digital transformation, and we see a unique opportunity for ConverseNow to become a driving force in the space."

All the sessions from Transform 2021 are available on-demand now. ConverseNow, a startup developing a platform that automates orders at quick service drive-thru windows, today announced that it closed a $15 million series A funding round led by Craft Ventures, with participation from LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Moneta Ventures, and angel investors. The proceeds bring the company's total raised to date to $18.3 million, which CEO Vinay Shukla says will be put toward scaling and creating technologies like "digital line-busting" -- some of which will roll out later this year. As restaurants recover from the pandemic, many are reimagining their channel strategy for ordering as well as the in-store guest experience. Labor availability and the supply chain are affecting those decisions, as well as challenges like inaccurate orders.

One year after voice-based AI technology company ConverseNow raised a $3.3 million seed round, the company is back with a cash infusion of $15 million in Series A funding in a round led by Craft Ventures. The Austin-based company's AI voice ordering assistants George and Becky work inside quick-serve restaurants to take orders via phone, chat, drive-thru and self-service kiosks, freeing up staff to concentrate on food preparation and customer service. Joining Craft in the Series A round were LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Moneta Ventures and angel investors Federico Castellucci and Ashish Gupta. This new investment brings ConverseNow's total funding to $18.3 million, Vinay Shukla, co-founder and CEO of ConverseNow, told TechCrunch. As part of the investment, Bryan Rosenblatt, partner at Craft Ventures, is joining the company's board of directors, and said in a written statement that "post-pandemic, quick-service restaurants are primed for digital transformation, and we see a unique opportunity for ConverseNow to become a driving force in the space." At the time when ConverseNow raised its seed funding in 2020, it was piloting its technology in just a handful of stores.

As the calendar reaches its last month in 2019, the bot is hot. Research firm Tractica LLC has forecast that a combination of cloud-computing and robotic hardware, software and services will propel global revenue in the cloud robotics field from single digits to in excess of $170 billion within the next five years. This is about a lot more than having robots deliver concierge services or burritos. Bots are having a major impact on how over 1-billion active Instagram users channel posts to reach target audiences. And "Grinch bots" are reportedly dominating online traffic to retailer login pages this week to elbow out human shoppers for the best deals.

Imagine your life being constantly disrupted by monkeys. Every day, growing in confidence and numbers, they come into your home or place of work, looking for food, creating a mess and sometimes becoming aggressive. For many people in India, this is an all too familiar occurrence. So, what would you do? One researcher, through a Microsoft AI for Earth grant, is using artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and her passion for the animal kingdom to help solve the problem.

Automation Anywhere has launched its AI-backed RPA-as-a-Service digital workforce platform, that is entirely web based and cloud native. The product, Enterprise A2019, is now available both on-premise and in any public, private or hybrid cloud, delivering RPA-as-a-Service to users. It is available in more than 14 languages and is designed to aid in RPA adoption. According to a statement from the company, the Automation Anywhere flagship platform now includes more than 175 new features across 40 different product capabilities around business automation. It also incorporates feedback from more than 3,000 customers as well as thousands of hours of research and development to aid in the advancement of automation for business.