ICYMI: Drawing bot, 3M’s future plan and an orb with a soul

Today on In Case You Missed It: Artist Sougwen Chung creates art with help from a robotic arm, take a tour of 3M’s exhibit, which visualizes the challenges the earth will face by 2050 and finally, bask in the glow of a large orb with AI that changes its display depending on what the humans around it are doing.

There will be one more SXSW-dedicated ICYMI episodes this week, but we’ll be back on Thursday from the studio. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.

Microsoft wants you to train AI with ‘Minecraft’

AI has mastered the complex game Go, and if you’re willing to teach the machines to beat you at Minecraft, too, Microsoft wants your help. Researchers from Project AIX want to use the open-world game to improve its artificial intelligence systems. Unlike Go, which is very rule-specific, Minecraft requires what researchers call “general intelligence,” a formidable challenge for deep learning systems. “Minecraft is the perfect platform for this kind of research because it’s this very open world,” says Katja Hofmann from Microsoft’s Cambridge labs.

To help its AI systems master the block-building game, the team made its AIX platform available to researchers in a small, private beta. For now, the experiments run on users’ local machines, sectioned off from general users. “People build amazing structures that do amazing things in Minecraft and this allows experimenters to put in tasks that will stretch AI technology beyond its current capacity,” Hoffman told the BBC.

Microsoft’s AIX research team playing Minecraft

However, Microsoft aims to make the AIX platform, including the Minecraft code, available to anyone via an open-source license. It’s not clear what mainstream users will be able to do with it, other than perhaps let it observe their moves. However, it could one day become a digital assistant that helps you out. “Eventually, we will be able to scale this up further to include tasks that allow AI agents to learn to collaborate with humans and support them in a creative manner.”

Another attraction to Minecraft is the endless situations it simulates from a first-person perspective. “It can actually be inside, looking out through the eyes of something that is living in that world,” says chief engineer Matthew Johnson. It’s also ideal for reinforcement learning, where machines combine experimentation with previous knowledge. All told, Microsoft hopes to use its popular game to accelerate AI at a pace that may make Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking uncomfortable. “This provides a way to take AI from where it is today up to human-level intelligence, which is where we want to be, in several decades time.”

Via: BBC

Source: Microsoft

Adobe’s Monument Mode gets rid of would-be photobombers

We’ve all been there. You arrive at the Lincoln Memorial only to encounter hordes of other tourists eager to snap a photo. Chances are you’re never going to get a shot that doesn’t have a bystander in the background. Adobe’s senior computer scientist Ashutosh Sharma realizes this, and he’s working on a new software tool that will help remedy the issue. Back at Adobe’s Max design conference in October, Sharma demoed Monument Mode: a software feature that makes those annoying photobombers disappear.

Monument Mode uses a software algorithm that distinguishes between moving (people, cars, etc.) and stationary objects to help you get a clean shot. When a person or vehicle is moving, it won’t appear in the image that your phone captures. By analyzing a camera’s live view, the software gets rid of anyone who may wander into the frame before a still image is taken. The time it takes to get a good photo depends on how long those photobombers remain stationary, of course.

“I travel a lot and I like to use photo apps, but I found that whenever I tried to take a good photo at a tourist spot, there would be a number of people coming into the shot,” Sharma explained. He says that he had the idea to take a collection of images of a monument or landmark and merge them together in Photoshop or another program. That’s all well and good, but using a handful of photos to compose a single good image takes a few minutes to complete, even with something like Photoshop Elements’ built-in features designed specifically for getting rid of unwanted people.

“It struck me that the best way to do this would be right in the camera,” he continued. “That’s when the idea came for people to be able to do this live. If I wanted to get a clean shot of a monument, all I would need to do is stand still for a few seconds.”

While it may sound simple, Sharma explained that there’s a good bit of heavy lifting going on underneath the hood. In order for the software to work, it has to analyze each frame every few milliseconds, demanding a great deal of computing power. However, Sharma and his team optimized the app to efficiently use GPU power. This means the act of capturing a good image won’t be too taxing on a device. “Speed is key for the user to get instant feedback on the screen and achieve the result they really want,” he said.

“Speed is key for the user to get instant feedback on the screen and achieve the result they really want.”

The Monument Mode demo at Adobe Max was driven by software on a mobile device. However, the team isn’t sure what the final implementation will look like or when it’ll be available to lend a hand with your vacation photos. It makes sense for the final product to arrive on phones, though, as that’s how so many people capture images nowadays. Sharma said standalone cameras that allow for third-party applications and better image quality, like Sony’s RX100, are also a possibility.

“On the desktop, it’s entirely possible that, after putting together 10 shots, the final photograph is still not what I wanted,” Sharma explained. “When I’m doing it live, I know how long I need to wait. If I see that there are people moving too slowly, I can adjust to make sure that I get the shot I want.” So what happens if someone walks into the frame and stops in the middle of your capture? By increasing the capture time to add a few more frames, Monument Mode can capture one that the person won’t be in, even if they walk into the frame and stand still.

Adobe has made a big push into mobile photography over the last few years. It released Lightroom mobile for both Android and iOS and regularly added new features that delivered more desktop-like functionality to those who like to edit on a phone or tablet. With that focus on its mobile apps, it’s easy to see how something like Monument Mode would further boost those efforts.

The mobile device that was used to show off Monument Mode last year was affixed to a tripod, but how long would you need to stay still in order for the software to do its thing? “We are still not at a point where this works handheld — there are still a few things we need to work out,” he said. However, you will definitely be able to do so in the final version. “As long as you’re holding the camera as steady as if you were taking a regular photograph, it should work fine,” he added.

Sharma isn’t planning to rest easy once he’s banished interlopers from your vacation pics. He’s already looking ahead to other uses for the tech, too. Monument Mode works by analyzing the dominant pixel values of an image or frame, so it could potentially be used for things like reducing noise in images taken in low-light environments. Image quality tanks in dimly lit conditions, and a feature like that could offer a welcome improvement.

The team is also looking into the potential for using video footage rather than the live camera feed to nab that perfect image. But again, you’ll have to wait a while to be able to put Monument Mode through its paces. “We’re still trying to work out how and where all of these features come together before we release this feature,” Sharma admits. “It might not be really good for a standalone application, so we’re still trying to work all of that out.”

WD’s PiDrive gives your Raspberry Pi 314GB of storage

Sure, you can already add storage to your Raspberry Pi, but it’s usually an exercise in trade-offs: SD cards don’t hold much data, and USB drives (even the portable ones) tend to be too big and power-hungry for a mini PC. WD doesn’t think you should have to compromise, though. It’s shipping a new PiDrive that stuffs 314GB into a slim design that won’t overwhelm the Pi’s power system, but is fast enough to make full use of the USB connection. It even has a special version of BerryBoot (a multi-operating system tool) to help you load your platform of choice and fill that abundant space with apps.

The PiDrive is relatively expensive. Its normal $45.81 (£39.50) price is higher than that of the Raspberry Pi itself, and even a “limited-time” cut to $31.42 (£27.09) may have you thinking carefully before pulling the trigger. If you have a media server or another Raspberry Pi project that simply can’t get by on a few dozen gigs, though, it might be worth shelling out a little extra.

Via: Western Digital (PR Newswire)

Source: WD PiDrive (US), (UK)

ICYMI: Dreamy robo-chef, concussion finder and smart wallet

Today on In Case You Missed It: Moley the robot-chef will man your kitchen and creep out your friends by sometime in 2017, cooking up stored recipes just like you first taught it to (aka: the end is nigh). A new iPad app on Indiegogo is designed to keep possibly concussed young athletes from re-injuring their brains with a simple white dot test. And the Walli is a Bluetooth-connected wallet that will send you notifications should you forget to replace a card in it, or leave your phone behind.

Volvo released a darling video of a four-year-old who was given the remote control for a large, real-sized Volvo truck. Her giggles are just the right degree of infectious and dastardly.

If you see any interesting science or tech videos, please share with us! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.

UK Parliamentary Bill Would Require Backdoors in Electronic Devices

Technology firms operating in the UK will be forced to install backdoors in their products and services for state surveillance purposes under proposed new laws, reports The Sunday Times.

The new powers come under the controversial Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB), referred to by critics as the “Snooper’s Charter”, which was published by Home Secretary Theresa May on March 1 and is due to get its second reading in parliament tomorrow. The bill is backed by a draft code of practice that would also ban companies from revealing if they had been asked to install the backdoor technology.

The accompanying draft document states that the British Home Secretary has the power to force firms to provide the “technical capability” to allow the security services to access communication data as well as undertake “interception” and “equipment interference”.

The bill itself grants the Home Secretary the power to order the removal of “electronic protection”, which technology experts say is another word for encryption. Internet service providers would also have to keep records of the online browsing history of everyone for a period of 12 months and enable intelligence agencies to access the data unhindered, allowing them to see every website a person has visited.

The UK opposition Labour party has warned the British government that it will derail the bill by abstaining to vote it through in its current form, which critics have called an invasion of privacy on a massive scale and a huge security risk if passed.

“The Home Secretary’s Bill requires substantial changes before it will be acceptable to us,” said Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham. “It must start with a presumption of privacy, as recommended by the Intelligence and Security Committee, include a clearer definition of the information that can be held in an internet connection record and set a higher threshold to justify access to them.”

According to a 2016 Consumer Openness Index consumer survey, only 12 percent of British people said that they had a good understanding of what the bill involves.

“There are widespread doubts over the definition, not to mention the definability, of a number of the terms used in the draft bill,” Nicola Blackwood MP, chair of the Science & Technology Committee, told TechRadar. “The government must urgently review the legislation so that the obligations on the industry are clear and proportionate.”

In the same survey, half of respondents believed that “making personal data easier for government officials to access will also make it easier for criminals to access that data as well”, while only 6 percent disagreed.

The bill’s progress through the UK parliament comes at a time when Apple is engaged in a high-profile dispute with the FBI, which wants its own backdoor into the company’s software to unlock the iPhone at the center of the San Bernardino shooter investigation.

Apple believes complying with the demand would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to the overall weakening of encryption on smartphones and other electronic devices. Apple is scheduled to appear in court to fight the order on March 22.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: Encryption, IPB
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Adobe Announces New ‘Adobe XD’ Creative Cloud App for End-to-End UX Design

Adobe today announced the launch of its newest Creative Cloud app, Adobe Experience Design, otherwise known as Adobe XD. Previously referred to as “Project Comet,” Adobe XD is designed to address the pain points in creative workflows with an end-to-end experience for designers that encompasses designing, prototyping, and sharing.

With Adobe XD, designers can create, test, and share mockups with simple, intuitive tools. XD aims to make design the focus of the UX creation process by simplifying tools for designers and eliminating the need to work with multiple third-party apps.

The app includes art boards that are available in standard sizes for devices like the iPhone or iPad, as well as custom sizes. Multiple art boards can be included in a single document, so designs for a range of devices can be mocked up in the same document. Built-in UI kits for iOS and Android give designers quick access to UI elements like panels, icons, controls, and more, so apps and other projects can be mocked up within minutes.

There are clever tools for things like adding vector artwork and icons, such as a repeat grid tool for adding lists of repeated items and a masking option for quick image insertion. Prototyping a design can be done by switching to an interactive prototype mode, which allows designers to use “wires” to connect different art boards together to replicate how a user experience might work in an app.

Assets from Adobe XD can be exported into apps like Muse and Dreamweaver, as well as third-party tools for creating native iOS and Android applications. There are also sharing tools for getting quick feedback on design elements.

Adobe XD is available for Mac users starting today as part of a public preview. The software has been in closed testing with 5,000 designers who have provided feedback for feature adjustments, and Adobe is now ready to open it up to additional users. Public preview users will be able to request features and submit bug reports, with Adobe using that information to determine the features and updates that get added to the software each month.

While Adobe XD is limited to Mac users at the current time, Adobe has plans to expand it to other platforms like iOS, Android, and Windows in the future. Additional integration with other Creative Cloud apps is also planned. Adobe XD is free to anyone with an Adobe ID and more information is available on Adobe’s website.

Tag: Adobe
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Philips Hue Ambiance Bulbs Focus on Shades of White Light to Encourage Better Sleep Cycles

Philips is extending the capabilities of its Hue lighting system even further with the Philips Hue White Ambiance kit, which will give fans of the smart lighting system access to every shade of white light (via SlashGear). The new bulbs are a more robust version of the Philips Hue Lux system, which is limited to dimmable white light rather than the full array of colors available with the standard Hue bulbs.

The White Ambiance bulbs are billed as a natural companion to the day/night light cycle of the sun, encouraging users to wake up in the mornings and then dimming the light temperature to a low-level of light before bed. The low light mode is similar in theory to Apple’s upcoming Night Shift feature in iOS 9.3, which cuts down on the amount of blue light users interact with in the evening hours to facilitate a better night’s sleep.

In fact, the Ambience bulb supports anything from 6,500 K, the equivalent of cool daylight, all the way to 2,200 K, which is a warmer, almost golden light. Philips’ light recipes are supported, which use different light temperatures to promote concentration, relaxation, or other moods.

To help with this, Philips is introducing a feature called “Routines” with the launch of the White Ambiance bulbs. Comparable to the alarms and timers of the current Hue app, Routines will allow users to customize instances that gradually increase white light levels ahead of a pre-set time in the morning, and dim lights as bed time draws near in the evening. It should be noted, as with the lower-cost Lux bulbs, the White Ambiance kit will not support the ability to change to any colors besides variations of white.

Philips will sell the new bulbs individually at a price not yet disclosed by the company, along with a starter kit that will come with a wall switch, two ambiance bulbs, and the new HomeKit-enabled Hue Bridge 2.0. It will launch “in the spring,” with more information trickling out closer to launch day. The company also hinted that this fall it will be launching a line of lamps with the same white color spectrum capabilities as the ambiance bulbs.

Tag: Philips Hue
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OnePlus releases new Gallery app to help OnePlus 2 owners sort their photos

OnePlus has unveiled and published a new app for OnePlus 2 owners rocking OxygenOS, called OnePlus Gallery. As the name suggests, it’s essentially an organizer for all the snaps captured throughout the day. Billed as a streamlined experience, this latest offering from the company is optimized for offline use, allowing you to get back to real life promptly without messing around.

The app also attempts to organize all your collections for you, utilizing pictures and images from multiple sources. Basic tools are available too, including the ability to crop, resize and even draw on saved shots. As touched on already, OnePlus Gallery is only available for the OnePlus 2 running OxygenOS version 2.2.1. The company will announce when the app is rolled out to other OnePlus handsets.

If you’re rocking a supported handset, download OnePlus Gallery from the Play Store.

Grab SanDisk’s 200GB microSD card for its lowest price yet, $59 at Amazon

SanDisk’s 200GB microSD card is on sale today at Amazon for just $59, which is $20 less than the previous deal price. This is the lowest price we have seen this card reach, and it makes it an even better value. If you’re looking to add more storage to your phone, tablet or even camera, you won’t want to miss out on this one!

Be sure to act quickly though, as this will certainly be a popular item at this price. Hit the link below to grab your 200GB microSD card for just $59 at Amazon.

See at Amazon