Apple has updated Final Cut Pro X with a slew of features and improvements. The editing suite can now use machine learning smarts to automate video cropping for social media-friendly formats, including square and vertical sizes.
Final Cut Pro can analyze clips for “dominant motion” and crop them in what it thinks is the most effective way. You’ll be able to reposition the crop manually, if…
Microsoft gives devs an AI-powered tool to build reading accessibility into their apps
August 25, 2020
Microsoft today announced the general availability of Immersive Reader, an Azure Cognitive Services offering that allows developers to embed text reading and comprehension capabilities into apps to make them more inclusive. Immersive Reader is designed to help users —…
Socure raises $35 million to combat payments fraud with AI
August 25, 2020
Cloud-based identity verification and fraud prevention startup Socure today closed a $35 million round. CEO Tom Thimot told VentureBeat the funds will bolster Socure’s R&D efforts and help it expand its customer base.
Javelin Strategy reported that 6.64% of consumers…
Even as Google’s $2.1 billion acquisition hangs over Fitbit, the wearables company today announced three new devices. Fitbit Sense replaces Fitbit Ionic to become the company’s most advanced health smartwatch, with an electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor for managing stress, heart rate tracking, a new ECG app, an on-wrist skin temperature sensor, and Google Assistant. Fitbit also introduced…
Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) say they’ve developed a system — RF-Diary — that can detect and caption the behaviors of people within a room from radio signals. They claim their approach can observe people through…
Colin Angle no longer believes that full autonomy is the right approach to home robotics. That’s a remarkable statement from the CEO of iRobot, a company that for years touted its carpet-sweeping, floor-dusting Roomba’s automation as a selling point. “In my belief, the…
Oral-B's absurd $200 AI toothbrush is finally available
August 24, 2020
Oral-B showed off its flashy new AI-powered iO toothbrush at CES 2020. It threw around phrases like “linear magnetic drive” and “oscillating, rotating movements,” but the company didn’t reveal the price. Now, the brush is finally available, and it starts at a whopping $200.
Oral-B insists that the iO is worth the investment. The company spent six years on R&D and got input from…
If the US is going to build a quantum internet and otherwise claim technical supremacy, it’s going to need appropriate funding — and that might be forthcoming. As the Wall Street Journal reports, The White House has proposed a 2021 non-defense budget that includes a…
If you’ve been eyeing a robot vacuum to automate part of the home-cleaning process, Wellbots has a couple of good deals on Roombas that could fit the bill. Now you can get the Roomba i7+ for $699, which is $100 off its normal price and the lowest its ever been. Wellbots…
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this week signed a deal with Clearview AI to license the facial recognition company’s technology. According to a federal purchase order unearthed by the nonprofit Tech Inquiry (via The Verge), an ICE mission support office in Dallas is paying $224,000 for “Clearview licenses.” Engadget has contacted Clearview and ICE for details on the scope of this…
