AI & RoboticsNews

Fitbit brings Google Assistant to the Sense and Versa 3

November 26, 2020
Fitbit is releasing Fitbit OS 5.1 for the Sense and Versa 3, with a focus on improving health-tracking and improving voice assistance. The most important innovation is the ability to now take pulse oximetry readings when you’re sleeping without the use of a dedicated clock face. That said, the company will  also launch seven new SpO2 clock faces to the platform between now and the end of the…
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AI & RoboticsNews

Google Assistant will let your kids ask it where you are

November 26, 2020
If your family is anything like mine, smart displays like the Nest Hub tend to get a lot of use by both adults and kids. The conversational capabilities of Google Assistant make that almost a certainty. So it makes sense that for one of its last major updates of 2020, Google…
AI & RoboticsNews

Facebook is using AI to help its content moderators

November 26, 2020
Facebook has relied on AI to help its content moderation efforts for awhile and today the company shared the latest way in which machine learning is making the thankless task easier. The Verge reported that the social network is now using machine learning to prioritize posts in a queue that human moderators need to go through. Before the new AI was implemented, the queue was mostly sorted…
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AI & RoboticsNews

Hyundai is reportedly in talks to buy Boston Dynamics

November 26, 2020
Boston Dynamics, the robotics company behind nightmare-fuel products like Spot, may be headed to Hyundai, Bloomberg reports. Sources say that current owner Softbank is in talks with the Korean automaker. The deal could be worth up to $1 billion, though Bloomberg notes that…
AI & RoboticsNews

AI could tell smart speakers what direction your voice is coming from

November 26, 2020
AI might soon be an ally in the quest to banish wake words from voice assistants. Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a machine learning model that estimates the direction a voice is coming from, indicating your intent without the need for a special phrase or gesture. The approach relies on the inherent properties of sound as it bounces around a room. The system recognizes that…
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AI & RoboticsNews

AI can detect COVID-19 by listening to your coughs

November 26, 2020
It’s easy to be worried when you cough these days — is it COVID-19, or are you just clearing your throat? You might get a clearer answer soon. MIT researchers have developed AI that can recognize forced coughing from people who have COVID-19, even if they’re otherwise…
AI & RoboticsNews

Consumer Reports says Tesla Autopilot is a 'distant second' to GM's tech

November 26, 2020
Tesla has taken another bruising for the quality of its driver assistance tech. Consumer Reports has conducted (via Reuters) a driver assistance study where Tesla’s Autopilot placed a “distant second” to GM’s Super Cruise, with a Model Y scoring 57 versus the Cadillac CT6’s 69. The key, CR’s Kelly Funkhouser said, was the Cadillac’s infrared camera to ensure your eyes are focused on…
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