By Ryan Daws | March 8, 2024 https://twitter.com/gadget_ry

Categories: Applications, Artificial Intelligence, Companies, Machine Learning, Robotics,

Ryan Daws is a senior editor at TechForge Media with over a decade of experience in crafting compelling narratives and making complex topics accessible. His articles and interviews with industry leaders have earned him recognition as a key influencer by organisations like Onalytica. Under his leadership, publications have been praised by analyst firms such as Forrester for their excellence and performance. Connect with him on X (@gadget_ry) or Mastodon (@gadgetry@techhub.social)

Hugging Face, the startup behind the popular open source machine learning codebase and ChatGPT rival Hugging Chat, is venturing into new territory with the launch of an open robotics project.

The ambitious expansion was announced by former Tesla staff scientist Remi Cadene in a post on X:

After 3 years @tesla and Optimus, I am thrilled to announce that I joined Hugging Face to start an ambitious open robotics project! (open as in open-source, not as in Open AI) Looking for engineers to build real robots in Paris 🇫🇷 https://t.co/cFuNL4PVI4 🤖🤗 pic.twitter.com/7IkunPXOpX— Remi Cadene (@RemiCadene)March 7, 2024Click to accept marketing cookies and enable this content

In keeping with Hugging Face’s ethos of open source, Cadene stated the robot project would be “open-source, not as in Open AI” in reference to OpenAI’s legal battle with Cadene’s former boss, Elon Musk.

Cadene – who will be leading the robotics initiative – revealed that Hugging Face is hiring robotics engineers in Paris, France.

A job listing for an “Embodied Robotics Engineer” sheds light on the project’s goals, which include “designing, building, and maintaining open-source and low cost robotic systems that integrate AI technologies, specifically in deep learning and embodied AI.”

The role involves collaborating with ML engineers, researchers, and product teams to develop innovative robotics solutions that “push the boundaries of what’s possible in robotics and AI.” Key responsibilities range from building low-cost robots using off-the-shelf components and 3D-printed parts to integrating deep learning and embodied AI technologies into robotic systems.

Until now, Hugging Face has primarily focused on software offerings like its machine learning codebase and open-source chatbot. The robotics project marks a significant departure into the hardware realm as the startup aims to bring AI into the physical world through open and affordable robotic platforms.

(Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash)

See also: Google engineer stole AI tech for Chinese firms

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Tags: ai, artificial intelligence, hugging face, machine learning, open source, open-source, remi cadene, robotics

Amazon is gearing up to roll out a revamped version of its Alexa voice assistant, which is expected to be available this October, right before the US shopping rush.

Internally referred to as “Remarkable,” the new technology will be powered by Anthropic’s Claude AI models. Sources close to the matter have indicated that this shift occurred due to the underperformance of Amazon’s in-house software.

The enhanced Alexa will operate using advanced generative AI to handle more complex queries. Amazon plans to offer the new Alexa as a subscription service, priced between $5 and $10 per month, while the classic version of Alexa will remain free. This approach marks a significant change for Amazon and suggests that the company aims to turn this voice assistant into a profitable venture after years of limited success in generating revenue through this platform.

Amazon’s decision to quickly adopt an external model, Claude, indicates a strategic shift. Amazon typically prefers to build everything in-house to minimise its dependence on third-party vendors, thereby avoiding external influences on customer behaviour and business strategies, as well as external influences on who controls data. However, it seems that Amazon’s traditional strategy does not provide the massive AI capability needed, or perhaps Amazon has realised the need for more powerful AI. It is also worth noting that the involved AI developer, OpenAI, is affiliated with major technology companies like Apple and Microsoft in developing AI technologies.

The launch of the “Remarkable” Alexa is anticipated during Amazon’s annual devices and services event in September, though the company has not confirmed the exact date. This event will also mark the first public appearance of Panos Panay, the new head of Amazon’s devices division, who has taken over from long-time executive David Limp.

The updated version of Alexa would be a more interactive and intuitive assistant, as the new functionality would stem from its conversational mode. The assistant is envisioned to do more than just recognise patterns in people’s speech; it would be able to hold conversations built on previous interactions. The most likely features include personalised shopping advice, news aggregation, and more advanced home automation. As for whether customers would pay for Alexa, this likely depends on the final set of available features. The issue might be particularly pressing for Amazon, given that customers already pay for Prime membership.

The future for Alexa is quite ambitious, but it also bears significant risks. For the new version to be successful, internal performance benchmarks must be met. While estimates for “Remarkable” Alexa suggest that even a small percentage of current users paying for the premium version could become a substantial income stream for Amazon, the likelihood of achieving the expected outcomes remains uncertain.

However, Amazon’s partnership with Anthropic is currently under regulatory review, largely due to an investigation by the UK’s antitrust regulator. The impending upgrade announcement and the regulator’s response could significantly influence the company’s future activities.

Amazon’s initiative to adopt an AI solution developed by Anthropic marks a significant shift for the company, which previously focused on developing its proprietary technology. At this point, it is possible to view this move as part of the general trend in the industry to turn to partnerships regarding AI development to enhance the competitiveness of products.

See also: Amazon strives to outpace Nvidia with cheaper, faster AI chips

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Tags: ai, alexa, Amazon, artificial intelligence, claude, generative ai, voice assistant

Researchers at Georgia State University (GSU) have designed an ‘electric eye’ – an artificial vision device – for micro-sized robots.

Through using synthetic methods, the device mimics the biochemical processes that allow for vision in the natural world.

It improves on previous research in terms of colour recognition, a particularly challenging area due to the difficulty of downscaling colour sensing devices. Conventional colour sensors typically consume a large amount of physical space and offer less accurate colour detection.

This was achieved through a unique vertical stacking architecture that offers a novel approach to how the device is designed. Its van der Waals semi-conductor powers the sensors with precise colour recognition capabilities whilst simplifying the lens system for downscaling.

“The new functionality achieved in our image sensor architecture all depends on the rapid progress of van der Waals semiconductors during recent years,” said one of the researchers.

“Compared with conventional semiconductors, such as silicon, we can precisely control the van der Waals material band structure, thickness, and other critical parameters to sense the red, green, and blue colours.”

ACS Nano, a scientific journal on nanotechnology, published the research. The article itself focused on illustrating the fundamental principles and feasibility behind artificial vision in the new micro-sized image sensor.

Sidong Lei, assistant professor of Physics at GSU and the research lead, said: “More than 80% of information is captured by vision in research, industry, medication, and our daily life. The ultimate purpose of our research is to develop a micro-scale camera for microrobots that can enter narrow spaces that are intangible by current means, and open up new horizons in medical diagnosis, environmental study, manufacturing, archaeology, and more.”

The technology is currently patent pending with Georgia State’s Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation.

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Tags: artificial vision, microrobotics, nanotechnology

SkyGrid, a Boeing-SparkCognition joint venture, has launched the world’s first AI-powered security for drones.

Drones are being used for increasingly critical purposes, including carrying vital medical supplies. Security is paramount to build the trust necessary to unlock the full potential of the emerging industry.

Amir Husain, CEO and founder of SparkCognition and SkyGrid, said:

“In the near future, we’ll essentially have a network of flying computers in the sky, and just like the computers we use today, drones can be hacked if not secured properly.

In this emerging environment, traditional anti-malware technology won’t be adequate to detect these never-before-seen attacks. SkyGrid is taking a new, intelligent approach by using AI to more accurately detect and prevent cyberattacks from impacting a drone, a payload, or a ground station.”

SkyGrid is equipped with SparkCognition’s DeepArmor, which promises far more advanced security than traditional anti-malware detection. AI models are trained “on the DNA of malicious files” rather than detecting signatures relating to known threats.

Sridhar Sudarsan, Chief Technology Officer at SparkCognition, comments:

“We leveraged cutting-edge AI research and technology to build the DeepArmor product, which allows it to protect endpoints against 99.9% of never-before-seen threats.

In addition, the product’s uniqueness lies in its ability to provide top-rate endpoint protection on the lowest footprint with minimal interference – all in varying degrees of connectivity. This is the true overarching security differentiator from which SkyGrid’s customers will see value.”

DeepArmour can be deployed directly on drones to function at the edge for when network connectivity is limited or even nonexistent.

A recent demonstration showed SkyGrid’s solution in action:

SparkCognition also recently added DeepArmor Industrial to its offerings, a solution built in collaboration with Siemens Energy to protect operational technology assets across the energy value chain.