The most recent creative platform to introduce a text-to-image AI tool is the online design and publishing app Canva. The feature was first tested in September, and it is now being rolled out to the app’s more than 100 million users.
With a few additional safety filters and a unique user interface to assist and guide Canva’s users toward the desired outcomes, the feature implements the open-source text-to-image model of Stable Diffusion. Anyone with a Canva account can use this feature to generate 100 pictures daily.
The Canva newsroom reports that text-to-image not only makes it possible for its users to produce visual material more quickly than ever before, but also signals the end of the creativity block. Users of Canva produced more than six million photos during the short time the app was in beta, according to the company, demonstrating the technology’s resounding popularity.
Similar to many other text-to-image generators, Canva’s app enables users to choose a style, including a picture, drawing, 3D render, painting, pattern, or concept art, and the Text-to-Image will generate a grid of four images to choose from and add to your design canvas. After creating an image, users may “enhance the photo” using Canva’s built-in photo editor, where they can change attributes like brightness, contrast, Autofocus, or add effects.
You can also report images that are biased or stereotyped, violent, nude, or that include hate speech.
In order to access this feature, log into your Canva account, click on “new design,” and then, on the left side of your screen, choose “more.” From there, you can either scroll down and look for the text-to-image beta feature or type “text-to-image” and select the icon that resembles the one shown below.
Now that you’re there, fill out the text box labeled “Describe the image you want to see” with a brief description of the image you’re visualizing. There are a few arbitrary descriptions under the “Need inspiration?” section if you’re stuck for ideas.
After that, check to see that “Choose your style” is set to your preference. Only one style can be selected at a time, or you can choose “surprise me” to receive two distinct styles. The final step is to generate your image and revise your description to get the best image results.
After the introduction of text-to-image feature Canva joins Picsart, a main rival of Adobe, which also launched a free and limitless text-to-image generator to its app, last week.
On Monday, the business process management unit of the Indian IT services firm, Infosys BPM, launched a unit for AI and automation in Lodz city of Poland, to assist global clients.
In collaboration with IBM, the new unit will use AI and automation to provide solutions for automation, productivity, customer experience, and lowering costs. The Center of AI and automation will offer Infosys BPM’s solutions, including Infosys Accounts Payable on Cloud, Infosys Intelligent Document Processing, Infosys Interaction Analytics, and Infosys Multilingual Conversational AI.
The company said the unit would assist organizations in analyzing workflows, designing AI-infused apps with low-code tooling, assigning tasks to bots, and tracking performance.
Marcin Gajdzinski, country general manager of IBM Poland and Baltics, said that IBM is focused on providing clients and partners such as Infosys the critical capabilities needed to scale AI for business. The newly opened Center of AI powered by IBM Watson in Lodz, Poland, will provide joint clients significant support in building the digital economy, as well as new skills and expertise in the field of AI and hybrid cloud, they added.
Infosys BPM and IBM, for two years, have collaborated to assist clients, identify new use cases, and build solutions. The company said that Lodz would be an innovation powerhouse and enable enterprises to address complex business processes.
Recent developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence have taken robotics a step forward and have increased human-robot interaction. The robotics industry is creating robots that perform simple (or repetitive) tasks like humans. Robots made for professional service provision by mimicking human motion and interaction are referred to as humanoid robots. They are responsible for adding value by automating tasks in a cost-saving manner. These robots are the newest form of service robots and are also capable of providing academic and emotional support to some extent.
Top humanoid robots made in India
Following is a list of some advanced humanoid robots designed and developed in India.
Mitra
Mitra is a 5 feet tall humanoid robot developed with the Make in India mission. Created by Invento Robotics, it is a one-of-its-kind humanoid robot that drew a lot of attention in 2017 through the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). It became popular after greeting the honorable PM Narendra Modi and Ivanka Trump. Mitra is a significant step forward in developing human-robot interactions because:
It took only one year to create, while most humanoid projects span several years.
The extensive features, design, and performance add value to customer interactions at several places like banks (Canara Bank), cinemas like PVR, etc.
Mitra’s performance is comparable to Japan’s ASIMO, which took about 17 years.
The robot has intuitive capabilities to carry forward conversations on its own.
Mitra also features several mechanical capabilities, making it suitable to be embraced by many other industries.
Kempa
If you visit Bengaluru’s Kempegowda Airport, you will be greeted by a special humanoid assistant named Kempa. Kempa was developed by Sirena Technology, entirely in Bengaluru, especially for the Kempegowda International Airport. It answers all queries and guides passengers about flight schedules and check-in details in English and Kannada.
The humanoid was revealed by Priyank Kharge, Minister of state of IT and Tourism. Kempa said, “I’m designed for deployment at the Kempegowda International Airport where I can be of assistance to you for flight-related queries, suggest places to visit in Karnataka, or simply entertain you on a conversation with artificial intelligence over a cup of coffee.”
Shalu is one of the few artificial intelligence-based humanoid robots which is a social, homemade, and multilingual educational robot. It was developed by Dinesh Kunwar Patel, a computer science teacher at Kendra Vidyalaya, and is made up entirely of waste material, aluminum, plastic, cardboard, wood, and newspaper. Shalu gained recognition during the Covid-19 pandemic by spreading the message, “Wear your mask, keep physical distance and follow government guidelines.” The humanoid is a part of Pratishtha World Records Book under the title “World’s First Artificially Intelligent Social and Educational Humanoid Robot made up of waste material.” It is also mentioned in the International Book of Records and the Indian Book of Records.
AcYut
AcYut is a series of humanoid robots created by a team of undergraduate students at the Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, BITS Pilani. It is India’s first “indigenously designed autonomous humanoid robot” recognized and sponsored by BITSAA and DEITY. AcYut is equipped with RGB camera vision and spatial orientation capabilities similar to the vestibular functions in human bodies. The team behind AcYut is yet involved in enhancing motor, sensory, and cognitive abilities by researching new ones and developing existing technologies.
Rashmi
Developed by Ranjit Shrivastava, a software programmer, Rashmi is a lip-syncing humanoid robot. Rashmi was unveiled in August 2018, two years after being developed, and is famous for its facial expressions and neck movements. It can showcase around 83 facial expressions and can converse in four languages: Hindi, Marathi, English, and Bhojpuri. Technically, Rashmi is designed on four layers covering APIs, AI, speech recognition, and interpretation of conversational moods. Its eyes feature a built-in camera with 3D mapping and OCR capabilities.
Vyommitra
Vyommitra, or Space Friend, is a female-look-alike humanoid robot developed by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) to onboard Gaganyaan on its mission. It is spacefaring with the crewed orbital spacecraft and will also be a part of uncrewed experimental missions. ISRO’s experimental missions do not involve onboarding animals or humans in certain space flights. It plans to fly humanoids for their weightlessness and understanding capabilities in long-term space missions. Vyommitra is a venture along the same direction, specifically to perform microgravity experiments, monitor parameters, and assist astronauts in crewed missions. As per its technical specifications, it can conduct switch panel operations, control the environment’s air pressure, and provide warnings when pressure changes.
Eagle 2.0
Eagle 2.0 is an artificial intelligence-driven humanoid teaching assistant at the Indus International School, Bengaluru. Over two months, it was entirely developed by an in-house team of developers, graphic designers, and programmers trained in robot development in China. This team took two years to create a humanoid robot from the ground up. Eagle 2.0 is a part of a pilot project undertaken by the school that aims to develop humanoid teaching assistants that can handle a classroom in the teacher’s absence. Three humanoids have been developed for ₹8 lakhs each, and continuous efforts and research are being made to develop their capabilities further. Eagle can currently assist professor Murali Subramanian in Grade 8 B’s physics class.
IRA
Launched by HDFC bank, IRA is an interactive humanoid robot at the Koramangala branch, Bengaluru. The humanoid was developed in collaboration with Invento Makerspaces and Senseforth Technologies. The prototype introduced was IRA 1.0, employed at the Kamala Mills Branch in Mumbai. IRS 2.0, the advanced version of IRA 1.0, aims to enhance the user experience for visiting customers and interacting with them to answer their queries. The idea behind employing a humanoid robot in public dealing is to make people realize the importance of upskilling technologies in all sectors.
Zafira
Zafira is a voice-activated female-look-like humanoid robot that greets customers at a garment store in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli district. Zafi Robots developed the artificial intelligence-based concept around the Covid-19 pandemic to aid frontline workers in curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus. Zafira is equipped with AI to track customer details, check their temperatures, dispense sanitizer, and monitor them as per social distancing norms. Zafira sends all daily reports to the owners via email.
Robocop
Robocop is a humanoid police robot developed by H-Bots, an AI startup based in Hyderabad. Entirely designed and developed in India, it is India’s first Robocop. It is responsible for supporting law enforcement and traffic rules in the region. It is a life-size humanoid with cameras and ultrasonic sensors to track proximity and protect officers, malls, airports, signal stations, and other public spaces. Robocop is also capable of detecting and diffusing bombs.
China’s Xinhua News Agency has introduced an AI anchor modeled after its regular news presenter Zhang Zhao. The anchor was debuted at the World Internet Conference on Thursday in the country’s eastern Zhejiang Province.
The English-speaking AI news anchor learns with the help of live videos and can tirelessly work 24 hours daily. The company claims that the news anchor learns from live broadcasting videos by himself and has the ability to read texts like a professional news anchor.
During the first broadcast, the anchor said that the development of the media industry needs continuous innovation and deep integration with advanced international technologies.
“I will work tirelessly to keep you informed, as texts will be typed into my system uninterrupted. I look forward to bringing you brand new news experiences,” it added.
Xinhua has developed the robot anchor in partnership with Sogou.com, the Chinese search engine. According to the news agency, the AI anchor was developed through machine learning to simulate the gestures, voice, and facial movements like real-life broadcasters, instead of a stiff robot.
The project announced by MK Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, this year will benefit one lakh students yearly. Moreover, the public visiting the library at respective locations can use VR devices for learning.
In Tamil Nadu, 76 libraries operate under the Directorate of Public Libraries, with a total of two libraries per district. In this regard, 152 virtual devices have been provided to 76 libraries, making it two virtual devices per library.
Also, 155 librarians at the libraries have been given detailed training pertaining to the use of these devices wherever these devices are located.
Through this initiative, students can easily understand many subjects like astronomy, the deep sea, body functions, animal biology, dense forests, scientific experiments, biology, archaeology, and more. In Chennai, the virtual reality facility is available at two locations, i.e., the Bharathidasan Salai and Ashok Nagar libraries.
“Currently, the VR device has been set up at Anna Centenary Library, and it will be made available for students and the public in December. The student coming to the library must read a book, answer some questions asked by the staff, and then may use the VR devices for virtual learning,” said an Anna Centenary librarian.
FTX, the crisis-struck cryptocurrency exchange, has filed for US bankruptcy protection after witnessing the digital currency equivalent of a bank run on Friday.
A week of several rumors over the platform’s financial worries sent Bitcoin to a two-year low this week, and the currency was trading at $16,861 (€16,256) by Friday evening.
Following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings – FTX US and FTX [dot] com initiated precautionary steps to move all digital assets to cold storage. Process was expedited this evening – to mitigate damage upon observing unauthorized transactions.
FTX, its affiliated crypto trading firm Alameda Research, and almost 130 of its other companies have started voluntary bankruptcy proceedings (Chapter 11) in Delaware.
Chapter 11 is a US mechanism enabling a company to restructure its debts under supervision of court while continuing to operate. FTX Trading said it has about $10 billion to $50 billion in liabilities, $10 billion to $50 billion in assets, and over 100,000 creditors in its bankruptcy petition.
The platform’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, resigned after failing to raise billions to stave off collapse as traders hastened to withdraw $6 billion in just 72 hours.
A restructuring expert, John J. Ray III, has been appointed FTX’s new CEO. Reuters cited sources saying FTX struggled to raise about $9.4 billion from rivals and investors to save itself after customer withdrawals.
Apple is planning to release Apple Reality Pro, its mixed reality (MR) headset, in March 2023. The company will collaborate with Pegatron, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, to push the headset into mass production starting in 2023. It is rumored to be a somewhat limited edition, only available to commercial clients, given the high price Apple products carry.
The MR headgear will likely resemble a pair of ski goggles in terms of appearance. It will be more compact and lighter than the Meta VR glasses Quest Pro (which weighs 722 gm) and are made of “mesh textiles, aluminum, and glass.” The Apple VR headset can scan irises, a feature that Quest Pro does not offer, enabling users to log in to their accounts as soon as they put on the headsets.
Additionally, Apple Reality Pro will have 14 headset cameras, out of which 2 can scan the leg positions of the wearer to portray them accurately in the virtual world. In contrast, none of the 10 headset cameras in Meta’s Quest Pro can scan leg positions.
The headset offers a resolution of 4K for each eye and is powered by an offshoot of iOS called realityOS or rOS. Its internal processor is modeled around the M2 processor that Apple just unveiled for Macs and iPads.
The Quest 2 cost US$399 and sold 15 million units, but the more recent Quest Pro, priced at US$1,499, did not get the same momentum in the market. No matter how much the Apple headsets costs, they will only cater to a small potential market.
On Sunday, Karnataka minister Ashwath Narayan said the new theme park near the Kempegowda statue would have a metaverse experience for the tourists that visit the place.
The announcement came in response to a Twitter user’s query on the efforts of the Karnataka government to boost tourism like the initiative undertaken by Gujarat through the Statue of Unity. Narayan replied to the tweet, saying that the government is constructing a theme park at the Statue of Prosperity location that depicts Kempegowda’s idea of Bengaluru. The theme park would have cultural symbols, museums, tiny lakes, and Metaverse experiences to depict rich heritage and tech prowess, the tweet added.
Definitely, yes! 👍🏻
The Govt is also constructing a theme park at the #StatueOfProsperity location that reflects Kempegowda’s idea of Bengaluru. The theme park would have tiny lakes, cultural symbols, museums, and Metaverse experiences to depict rich heritage & tech prowess. https://t.co/AMF3gcDgf0
The Karnataka minister shared the blueprint of the theme park, which, according to him, will attract tourists to the airport. “The theme park will have sacred soil and water which will be collected from various villages of Karnataka, including 31 districts. This park in front of the Kempegowda statue will serve as a major attraction for all tourists who visit Bengaluru,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the statue of Kempegowda, the ruler known as the fortifier of Bengaluru, on Friday. The statue is also known as the ‘Statue of Prosperity.’ The prime minister also unveiled the new terminal 2 at the Kempegowda International Airport.
The new terminal is expected to start operations by December, serving approximately 25 million passengers annually.
Palmer Luckey, the founder of Meta’s Oculus (rebranded as Meta Quest 2), created a VR headset that kills people in real life if they eventually die in the video game. Luckey wrote in a blog post that he has successfully made a true NerveGame, partly able to figure out half the explosion that kills the player.
Luckey reiterated the SAO (Sword Art Online) Incident, where thousands of gamers got trapped inside a death game, escapable only via competition. If the players’ hit points drop to zero, the headset will bombard the player with powerful microwaves, probably killing the user.
Such games are based on NerveGear, a VR head-mounted display that transports users’ minds and souls to the game. Massive enthusiasm for Oculus was sparked by the success of SAO, giving it a more grounded and believable experience. Since that, people have been inclined towards NerveGear.
NerveGear perfectly recreates reality with a neural interface by tying real life to the virtual avatar. On top of it, pumped-up graphics make the gaming experience feel more natural. Luckey said that he used three explosive charge modules and tied them to a narrow-band photosensor that flashes red at a specific frequency, detecting that the game is over.
He said, “When an appropriate game-over screen is displayed, the charges fire, instantly destroying the user’s brain.” Luckey also expressed his plan to incorporate an anti-tamper mechanism that will make it impossible to remove/destroy the headset.
MIT has recently declared that models trained on synthetic data can provide real performance improvements compared to traditional models. The models trained on synthetic data can also eliminate some privacy, copyright, and ethical issues of using actual data.
Researchers teach machines to identify human actions with the help of massive-scale video datasets that show humans performing actions. However, developing such datasets is expensive, and it violates the privacy of personal information such as people’s faces, licenses, number plates, and more. Therefore, to avoid these issues, researchers have started using synthetic datasets.
Synthetic datasets are artificially generated rather than real-world events. They are made by machines using 3D models of scenes, objects, and humans. MIT researchers have developed a synthetic dataset of 150,000 videos capturing various human actions to train machine learning models. They later used six video datasets taken from the real world to the same machine learning models to recognize human actions in those datasets.
MIT’s Researchers found that the synthetic-trained models performed better than those trained on the real datasets. This invention can help researchers use synthetic datasets on machine learning models to achieve more accuracy.
Rogerio Feris, the principal scientist, manager at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, and the research’s co-author, stated that the research’s goal was to replace actual data pretraining with synthetic data pretraining. Although there is a cost in creating the actions in synthetic data, once that is done, you can generate unlimited images or videos by changing poses, lighting, and more.
