Airspace around US airbases in Norfolk and Suffolk has been under scrutiny following multiple recent drone incursions. Those responsible for the aircraft have yet to be found and nearby residents have questioned how and why the incidents have been allowed to happen. Drone incursions were initially reported at three US airbases – RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk – between 20 and 22 November, and the aircraft has since reappeared. In the village of Beck Row, Suffolk, which is situated next to RAF Mildenhall, residents reported brightly lit aerial vehicles hovering above their houses and over the base itself.

Supported by a host of East Anglian based businesses and universities, this virtual event is exploring the possibilities for applied'Artificial Intelligence' Facebook, Google, and BT are just some of the leading technology companies set to share their knowledge and insights at the newly launched AI Festival, on 24 and 25 February 2021. Created by Suffolk based Orbital Global and BT, this virtual event is a unique initiative that will explore the implications for business, skills, and employment in relation to what could be the defining technology of the 21st Century. Taking place online at www.aiglobalfestival.com and accessible globally, the ticketed, two-day event brings together a range of sector specialists to share their experiences and forecasts for the future in a series of inspirational keynote talks, workshops, 'fireside chats', and technology demonstrations. This includes former NASA scientist, Peter Scott, who worked for the space agency's famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory, speaking about the future of AI and technology, Professor Paul Hunter from University of East Anglia will share what the pandemic tells us about future AI and digital based approaches to health, and Daniela Rus from MIT will provide an overview of AI robotic automation and the opportunities this offers the average business. The line-up includes many other world leading representatives from organisations such as PwC, Silicon Valley Bank, Alan Turing Institute, MIT, IQ Capital, Innovate UK, Orbital Global, VirtTuri, Wilkin and Sons Tiptree, University of Essex, and University of Suffolk.

A construction site is a dangerous place to work, with a fatal accident rate five times higher than that of any other industry. Now a number of big construction companies are testing technology that could save lives, and money, by predicting when accidents will happen. Suffolk, a construction giant based in Boston, has been developing the system for more than a yearin collaboration with SmartVid, a computer vision company in the same city. Earlier this year, the company persuaded several of its competitors to join a consortium that would share data to improve the technology. Jit Kee Chin, chief data officer and an executive vice president at Suffolk, discussed the project and the collaboration at EmTech Next, a conference hosted by MIT Technology Reviewthis week.

Construction workers are killed on the job five times more often than other laborers. Now a new kind of construction worker--a data scientist--aims to use artificial intelligence to predict the likelihood of injury and intervene. Suffolk, a Boston-based general contractor with annual sales of $3 billion, is developing an algorithm that analyzes photos from its job sites, scans them for safety hazards such as workers not wearing protective equipment, and correlates the images with its accident records. The company is still fine-tuning the technology but says it could potentially compute "risk ratings" for projects so safety briefings can be held when an elevated threat is detected. Suffolk is also writing an algorithm that would parse information from a variety of sources, including 10 years of scheduling data from its archives, and forecast project delays--information that could be communicated to building owners and subcontractors.