Technology giant Amazon has announced a partnership with Virginia Tech to offer opportunities to students in fields like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
As a part of the partnership, Amazon and Virginia Tech plan to take initiatives towards machine learning-focused research, Ph.D. student scholarships, community engagement, and the formation of a common advisory board.
The new collaboration will allow Virginia Tech graduate and doctoral students interested in artificial intelligence-related subjects and are currently pursuing education and research experiences in those fields.
Vice President of Alexa AI, Prem Natarajan, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Virginia Tech in launching this new initiative which brings together the top talent in our two organizations in a joint mission to achieve ground-breaking advances in robust machine learning.”
He further added that the initiative’s proximity to Amazon’s HQ2 would accelerate research activities that take advantage of the Northern Virginia area’s depth of talent to address some of AI’s most urgent concerns.
Additionally, the partnership will considerably help Virginia Tech graduate and Ph.D. students as they will be able to apply for fellowships, including Amazon internships, to assist them in obtaining a better grasp of the market. After the internship year, every student will be invited to interview for a paid Amazon internship during the summer.
Faculty members from Virginia Tech will also get a chance to propose Amazon-sponsored machine learning research ideas that aim to alter how the world utilizes and understands this sector.
President of Virginia Tech, Tim Sands, said, “This partnership affirms the value of our connection to Amazon as we scale up project-based learning and research programs in artificial intelligence and machine learning.”
He also mentioned that building Virginia Tech’s strength and knowledge in these areas will support key technical developments and the university’s commitment to fostering workforce development throughout the Commonwealth.
India researchers from Salcit Technologies have developed a novel application that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology named Swaasa to detect lung diseases in humans with a single cough.
The highly accessible smartphone application listens to the coughs of humans to accurately detect the condition they are suffering from.
The official statement claims that this technology’s validation and pilot deployment has demonstrated encouraging results for COVID-19, with over 95 percent sensitivity under laboratory circumstances.
Center for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) teamed with technical, clinical, and health systems expertise through Andhra Medical College and PATH, an international non-profit organization based in Seattle, US, to extend the capabilities of the AI platform and enable it in detecting COVID-19 along with tuberculosis as part of a consortium project financed by the FDCO.
“After the success of the UK-India Astra-Zeneca vaccine collaboration, our bilateral health tech partnership goes from strength to strength with this AI solution,” said Dr. Andrew Fleming.
He further added that the healthcare system might save a significant amount of money and time due to this technology.
According to the plans, researchers aim to further test the platform on the field and boost its commercialization efforts through its nation and international ecosystem.
Hyderabad-based Healthcare technology company Salcit Technologies is driven by patented artificial intelligence technology that assesses respiratory health through audiometric analysis of cough sounds in conjunction with critical data.
The company’s technology uses multiple complex machine learning models working together to generate instant insights about respiratory health, indicative patterns, severity, and many more. The C-CAMP-backed firm is best known for its technology that can be used to detect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Global telecommunication company Airtel announces that it has selected Nuronics Labs, Enthu.AI, and Chimes Radio for its new accelerator program.
The chosen startups were declared the winners of the ‘Airtel India Startup Innovation Challenge,’ which was organized in collaboration with Invest India.
Indian startups working on novel solutions in 5G, IoT, cloud communications, digital advertising, and digital entertainment were invited to participate in the competition.
The competition witnessed massive participation from 237 companies across India, demonstrating the significant response the initiative garnered from Indian startups.
Airtel said in an official statement, “The three winners of the competition will get access to Airtel’s Digital Innovation Lab and an opportunity to be a part of the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program.”
The statement further mentioned that the unique program invests in early-stage startups that are developing new-age technology-based solutions, which complements Airtel’s digital vision across segments.
Nuronics Labs specializes in offering a platform that combines the fastest “voice-to-meaning” technology with unrivaled accuracy using its patented “Meaning Match” algorithm.
Chandigarh-based conversation intelligence startup Enthu.ai, the competition’s first runner-up, aims to enable artificial intelligence-powered call centers with its agent evaluation and performance management software.
Whereas the second runner-up of the competition organized by Airtel, Chimes Radio is a children’s podcasting network.
\CEO of Airtel Digital, Adarsh Nair, said, “We welcome the winners to Airtel’s digital ecosystem and thank everyone who participated and wish them the very best for the future.”
Artificial intelligence-powered Software-as-a-Service platform Actyv.ai announces the launch of its new Working Students program in India.
The newly launched program will allow students to gain practical experience and industry knowledge while pursuing their studies, helping them become job-ready. It is a novel initiative of Actyv.ai to enable students to build networks and shape their future careers.
Over the next three months, Actyv.ai plans to hire 100 students in areas such as sales & marketing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, app development, programming, finance, and general management through this unique program.
Global CEO and Co-founder of Actyv.ai, Raghunath Subramanian, said, “We at Actyv.ai have always believed in breaking the traditional boundaries and building something unique for the upliftment of the businesses and society at large.”
He further added that in order to lay a strong foundation for India’s Techade, they feel that now is the moment to take hold of and engage with their country’s developing talent pool, which comes directly from the classroom, and groom them for a brighter future.
Students pursuing Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees at various institutes across the country can participate in Actyv.ai’s new program and work on their assigned projects during flexible hours. Moreover, first-year students are also eligible to apply for this program.
According to the company, the Working Student program is designed to provide students with a positive learning experience while also assisting young leaders in developing general management skills.
“We are confident that students will be able to deploy their knowledge for practical purposes and gain experience even as they continue with their studies,” mentioned Subramanian.
Artificial intelligence-powered voice solutions providing company AI Rudder announces that it has raised $50 million in its recently held series B funding round by Tiger Global and Coatue.
Many other investors, including Cathay Innovation, First Plus, VenturesLab, Sequoia Capital India, and Huashan Capital, participated in AI Rudder’s funding round.
The company plans to use the newly raised funds to quadruple AI Rudder’s personnel, attract more clients, and expand its global footprint.
Additionally, AI Rudder will also add new languages including Arabic, Japanese, Cantonese, French, German, Korean, and Portuguese to its platform, which already supports English, Bahasa, Chinese, Hindi, Thai, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, and Vietnamese.
Co-founder and Managing Director of Ai Rudder, Kun Wu, said, “Advancements in the machine and deep learning technologies are opening new possibilities for voice AI to be more human-like. This fresh infusion of capital will support continuous enhancements to our suite of products, enabling our clients to deliver more frictionless digital experiences to their customers.”
He further added that the ubiquity of technology and SaaS has allowed them to impact enterprises all across the world, even in nations like Mexico, Kenya, and Australia.
Singapore-based artificial intelligence-powered B2C voice communications solutions providing firm AI Rudder was founded by Kun Wu and Teng Ren in 2019. The company specializes in offering solutions to help call centers reduce costs by automating repetitive tasks and lowering agent workload.
According to AI Rudder, it is redefining customer engagement by combining humans and AI to create a seamless customer experience. To date, AI Rudder has raised a total funding of $60 million from several investors over four funding rounds.
The firm provides its services to multiple industries, including banking, fintech, finance, insurance, eCommerce, and many more.
Adobe announces the addition of Polygon and Solana on its creative social media platform Behance to expand its Non-fugitive Token (NFT) support.
Adobe recently made this announcement through a blog post on its website. The addition will allow Behance users to seamlessly showcase Solana and Polygon-based NFTs on Adobe’s platform.
Behance’s integration with Polygon is the next phase in Adobe’s Web3 journey. Polygon and Solana are both green blockchains as Polygon consumes a fraction of the energy that Proof of Work (PoW) blockchains do, and each Solana transaction consumes less energy than two Google searches.
Therefore users will not only be able to showcase their NFTs but also help in reducing carbon footprint.
Polygon is built on top of the popular Ethereum blockchain. Moreover, it avoids Ethereum’s high transaction costs, allowing users to minimize the transaction fees involved.
Vice President of Product at Adobe, Will Allen, said that he is impressed by Polygon’s vision of being an Ethereum scaling solution. “It can help give creators the best of both worlds: the security of Ethereum as a settlement layer while providing lower gas fees and a negligible carbon footprint,” he added.
In addition, Adobe has also launched the Content Authenticity Initiative, an open-source standard that allows artists to attach proof of origin to their artworks.
Furthermore, the company is partnering with popular NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea, SuperRare, KnownOrigin, and Rarible. Interested users can visit Adobe’s blog to understand how to showcase their NFTs on Behance.
Designer Christina Young said, “As we venture further into NFTs, it’s important that we stay true to ourselves, find communities that uplift, and create that empowering experience for ourselves and others.”
She also mentioned that Solana is more environmentally sensitive, and it is dedicated to cultivating a supportive, positive, and healthy community of artists and collectors.
Automobile manufacturing giant Volvo announced that it plans to roll out artificial intelligence (AI)-powered inspection systems to dealerships located in the United States.
Initially, the AI inspection system will be deployed in the East Coast region but will slowly expand its operations in multiple areas within the United States.
The system will drastically help provide better inspection services to customers while maintaining quality standards across all dealerships, which was very subjective earlier.
Volvo’s prime motive with this AI system is to minimize the chances of any human mistake in identifying damages in vehicles while speeding up trade-in valuations and even creating vehicle health reports.
Volvo partnered with an Israel-based automated inspection system for automobiles developing company UVeye to offer this AI-powered system to its dealerships. It is a camera-based system that drastically reduces the time required in vehicle inspection when compared to traditional methods.
Vice President of Sales and Operations at Volo US, Rick Bryant, said, “An automated system can help resolve problems. It shows the vehicle’s actual condition. The result is that customers will be able to see flaws such as a rusty tailpipe that they didn’t know about.”
He further added that the AI system would also allow customers to know whether the retailer is upfront with them. UVeye offers three types of inspection tools, namely Helios, Artemis, and Atlas, which, when put together, deliver unmatched accurate and swift performance.
Each device has been assigned different tasks such as underbody inspection, quality cum air-pressure inspection, and 360 scans to detect body damage or rust.
Dealers need to purchase the system from UVeye but buy subscriptions from the company. However, Volvo will provide certain incentives to its dealers, but the company did not reveal any specific details regarding the same.
At its first event of the year, the Apple Peak Performance Event, Apple revealed that its new iOS would be available next week. Five beta versions of iOS 15.4 were released, one of which includes the long-awaited debut of Universal Control. The public beta of iOS 15.4 has now been released. A final version of the operating system will be available as a free upgrade next week, preloaded on the new green iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro and the current iPhone SE.
iOS 15.4 is the fourth major update to iOS 15, which was first released in September alongside the iPhone 13. These upgrades, which began with iOS 15.1 in December, have introduced new capabilities and upgraded old ones to Apple’s iPhone operating system. iOS 15.4 will take after iOS 15.3.1, which was issued last month to address a security flaw in iPhones and iPads.
Face ID is now mask-friendly in iOS 15.4, allowing you to unlock your phone while wearing a mask, a feature that worked surprisingly well in the beta. Apple previously attempted to fix the face mask issue by developing a function that bypasses Face ID and instead uses your Apple Watch (only if you have one) to verify your identity. The latest update will make unlocking your phone while wearing a mask a lot easier since it won’t need you to enter in your passcode repeatedly or have an Apple Watch tied to your wrist.
Source: Apple
Apple has promised numerous AirTag updates for this year, the first of which will be available in iOS 15.4, building upon the anti-stalking features Apple released in February. AirTag is intended to be detected by victims and enable law authorities seeking to identify information about the owner, according to a new notification displayed during setup by Apple. It also advises that tracking people without their consent using an AirTag is illegal. This is also applicable for other Find My gadgets. It’s also possible to add digital IDs and driver’s licenses to your iPhone’s Wallet.
If you’ve ever used iOS 15, you’re certainly familiar with the Live Text feature, which allows you to capture text with your phone’s camera and paste it into other applications. You could employ Live Text with Notes and Reminders before, but iOS 15.4 enhances the text-scanning feature’s integration. There is now a Scan Text command in the pop-up menu; if you click that, a camera window pops up, allowing you to record the text from a book, note, or photo. That text displays in your Note or Reminder right away, and you may enter it once you’ve recorded all the information you need.
Apple’s new Tap to Pay functionality, which turns compatible iPhones into contactless payment terminals, is also available with iOS 15.4. This might lead to more merchants using their iPhones as a digital cash register, perhaps undercutting Square’s card readers that connect directly to iPhones. Apple Pay, NFC-enabled credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets are all supported by the functionality.
iOS 15.4’s latest beta adds a fifth American voice to Siri’s voice assistant. Apple’s user interface refers to it as “Voice 5,” however iOS developer Steve Moser claims that the new voice is referred to as “Quinn” in the filename. The voice comes a little over a year after Apple added two more American Siri voices (both recorded by Black actors) and discontinued using a female-sounding voice by default. According to Apple, the new voice isn’t explicitly male or female and was recorded by a member of the LBGTQ+ community. However, it didn’t provide any other information about the voice actor’s identity. It’s another step in Apple’s diversity and inclusion initiative.
If you feel like there aren’t enough emoji, iOS 15.4 beta features 37 new ones, as well as 75 skin tone variants for increased inclusion. A biting lip, a melting face, love hands, and many more are among the new emojis. Last September, the Unicode Consortium approved all of the emoji that would be included in iOS 15.4.
Apple’s Universal Control function is also included in iOS 15.4, which lets Mac users control a nearby iPad or another Mac with the same keyboard and mouse. Once activated, the mouse and keyboard could be moved between any nearby iPad or Mac that is signed into the same iCloud account, and the cursor can even push past the display’s edge to connect with the second device. This much-anticipated feature was originally planned for macOS Monterey, but it was postponed until this spring, as per the revised schedule. Universal Control also will launch in public beta alongside the Monterey OS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4 updates.
There are some extra enhancements offered by iOS 15.4. For instance, in iOS 15.4, the Apple Card will have a home screen widget that shows the current card balance and available balance. There is a new feature that allows users to add notes to their Keychain passwords. To see your Keychain entries, go to Settings > Passwords.
If you have a COVID-19 vaccination certificate from the EU, you can now add it to your iPhone’s Health and Wallet applications. With a double side-button click on your iPhone or Apple Watch, you can access your certificate.
Users can now set up custom domain names by navigating to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud and selecting the ‘iCloud Mail’ option. However, an iCloud+ membership is necessary.
Safari will no longer remember passwords for websites when it doesn’t have a login name starting with iOS 15.4 beta 3. Instead, it will urge you to enter your login so that it may collect additional information about your password. There’s a new ‘Push API’ switch under experimental settings in Safari for iOS 15.4, which would allow websites and web apps to send notifications to Safari users in the same way that Chrome and other browsers do presently. This feature isn’t live yet, but there’s programming in place to make it happen later.
You must first sign up for Apple’s Beta Software Program in order to get the iOS 15.4 beta. Download the configuration profile from Apple once you’ve entered the program. The latest beta version should be available by navigating to Settings > General > Software update and selecting Download and Install. Due to the unstable nature of beta tests, it is recommended that you review this update on a secondary and tester device.
Innovative fire protection products developing company GIWUS Technology announces the world’s first fully automated artificial intelligence (AI)-controlled fire protection system.
According to the company, its newly built AI-powered technology integrates with existing fire suppression systems and the metaverse to automatically identify and extinguish flames without the need for any human intervention.
GIWUS Technology claims that its technology can detect and extinguish fires at a record time of 55 seconds. The new system automatically learns the environment and uses artificial intelligence to perform in new scenarios.
The fire protection system comes with an Ultraxs Robotic Firefighter and a Smart Application that carries out the operations.
“Ultrax Robotic Firefighter is a unique device equipped with a combination of AI, smart detector, advanced fire suppression, and smart application to avoid losses, save water, and the environment,” said GIWUS.
The Ultraxs is a high-end tool that can be connected with Google Assistant, Apple HomePod mini, Amazon Alexa & Echo to the app in order to protect smart homes.
Additionally, the fire detection system is integrated with a smart detector that reduces the chances of false alarms up to 99%. Its smart sensor rotates 360 degrees and uses AI to identify a fire in just a few seconds.
A significant advantage of the Ultraxs fire suppression system is that it disperses materials solely in the local vicinity of the fire, avoiding damage and subsequent losses in the surrounding areas.
GIWUS Technology mentioned in a blog, “The Ultraxs smart application is programmed to connect to Ultraxs Robotic Firefighter wirelessly via Bluetooth. Users can access the smart app on a phone, tablet, computer, or other smart devices.”
It further quoted that the application provides users with information such as the location of the fire, the status of the building facilities, exits and escape routes, fire pattern, and setting options for personalizing their device by alarm, voice, or notification in their preferred language, with the ability to send them to all residents’ smartphones.
Technology giant Microsoft announces that its Startup Founders Hub is now available to all, which earlier had eligibility criteria for founders.
Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub is a one-of-a-kind platform that brings together the technology, mentoring, and support that startups require to get up and running.
This new development will now need a founder only to have an idea to gain access to this platform. Startups play a critical role in a flourishing ecosystem, given their outsized power to propel the entire ecosystem ahead.
Addressing this potential, Microsoft makes its platform available to everyone, which will help startups tackle most of the commonly faced challenges with ease.
The following are the critical factors that Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub intends to solve –
Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub helps founders with venture capital requirements, third-party validation, and many more regardless of location or access.
The platform aids founders by providing free access to GitHub and the Microsoft Cloud and also the option to gain more benefits over time.
Founders are able to connect with industry veterans through the platform, gain access to personalized startup-centric training, and quickly innovate with professional technical support.
Additionally, Microsoft has partnered with leading artificial intelligence research and deployment company Open AI, which is best known for developing AI systems like GPT-3 and Codex to provide startups with exclusive benefits and discounts.
Microsoft and OpenAI will offer founders exclusive access to $1,000 in credits, three months of an OpenAI API Innovation License for free, and a free consultation with an OpenAI expert.
Startups can use Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub to create their businesses at their own speed, with Microsoft Azure funding of up to $150,000.
Vice President of Microsoft for Startups, Jeff Ma, said, “As an experienced founder, access to a diverse network – to validate ideas, get advice and coaching – was instrumental in my success and is something we aim to provide to every founder through the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub.”
He further added that their goal is to increase the diversity of the global startup ecosystem, regardless of background, geography, progress, or passion. Interested founders can sign up through the official website of Microsoft.
