Business
Guard Bot: Amazon Household Robot Patrols Home for Intruders
Amazon unveiled a robot that patrols users’ homes, scopes out strangers, and warns of perceived dangers.
Business
Business
Driverless Delivery in High Gear: Walmart Tests Self-Driving Delivery Vehicles
Walmart aims to deliver goods via self-driving vehicles this year.What’s new: The retail giant will test autonomous delivery in three U.S. cities. Cars built by Ford and piloted by Argo AI will ferry merchandise
Business
Getting a Jump on Climate Change: AI Startups Predict the Economic Impacts of Climate Change
Startups are predicting how climate change will affect global commerce. Companies that specialize in climate analytics are training neural networks to help businesses manage risks posed by a warming globe,
Business
AI Sales Closing In on $500 Billion: Report: Global Sales of AI Industry Nearly $500b by 2024
A new report projects a rosy future for the AI industry.What’s new: A study from market research firm IDC estimates that global revenues for AI software, hardware, and services will reach $341.8 billion in
Business
Dances With Robots: Tesla Unveils a Robot and D1 Chip at AI Day
Tesla unveiled its own AI chip and — surprise! — plans for a humanoid robot.What’s new: At Tesla’s AI Day promotional event, the company offered a first look at an upcoming self-driving computer powered by custom AI chips.
Business
Full-Bodied With Hints of Forest Fire: AI Masks Smoke Flavor in Wine's Tainted by Wildfire
Wineries in areas affected by wildfires are using machine learning to produce vintages that don’t taste like smoke. Some California winemakers are using a service called Tastry to identify grapes tainted by smoke from the state’s surging blazes and recommend blends that will mask the flavor.
Business
Wake Up and Smell the AI: Coffee Producers Use AI to Grow Better Beans
Coffee producers are using machine learning to grow better beans.What’s new: Beverage giant Nespresso is rolling out a system to assess the quality of hybrid coffee seedlings using technology from Israeli-Colombian startup Demetria.
Business
Outstanding in the Field: John Deere buys Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million.
One of the world’s largest makers of farm equipment is doubling down on self-driving tractors. John Deere agreed to pay $250 million for Bear Flag Robotics, a California startup that upgrades conventional tractors.
Business
Apple Kicks AI Into High Gear: Inside Apple's efforts to make pro-privacy AI
After years of trailing other tech giants in AI, Apple has a new ambition: to become the industry’s leading purveyor of products powered by machine learning. In an interview with Ars Technica, the company’s AI chief argues that its pro-privacy.
Business
To Bee or Not to Bee: AI farm robots help to pollinate tomatoes.
Insects that spread pollen to fruiting plants are in trouble. A possible alternative: Robots. Farmers in Australia and the U.S. are using robots from Israeli startup Arugga Farming to pollinate greenhouse tomatoes.
Business
Bye Bye Bots: OpenAI quit robotics to focus on AGI.
The independent research lab OpenAI wowed technology watchers in 2019 with a robotic hand that solved Rubik’s Cube. Now it has disbanded the team that built it. OpenAI cofounder Wojciech Zaremba revealed that OpenAI shuttered its robotics program last October.
Business
Home Sweet AI-Appraised Home: Inside Zillow's neural network for home price predictions.
Real estate websites helped turn automated real-estate assessment into a classic AI problem. The latest approach by a leader in the field gets a boost from deep learning.