This week’s list of top data news highlights covers July 27, 2024 to August 2, 2024, and includes articles on a new training system for police officers using virtual reality and a robot dog that uses AI to detect and remove harmful trash.
A U.S.-based AI startup called Friend has designed a wearable pendant that offers companionship to help alleviate loneliness. An onboard microphone records what is happening around the user, and the AI system on the device analyzes that information to generate messages about its surroundings. Users can ask it questions or start a chat and the AI-powered pendant will answer by sending a text message to the phone that the user has paired the device to.
OpenAI has released a pilot feature on ChatGPT answering questions through a hyper-realistic human voice to a small group of users. The new feature will use four preset voices that the company created through a collaboration with paid voice actors.
AI travel agent startup Mindtrip has launched a new feature that uses generative AI to turn a user’s favorite online travel content into detailed travel itineraries. Users can input links to blog posts, articles, YouTube videos, and TikTok videos mentioning the cities they want to visit, and the tool analyzes the information to determine the best itinerary and suggest places to visit, such as bars or restaurants.
4. Training in High-Risk Scenarios
An Australian-based startup called XReality Group has designed virtual reality (VR) systems to train police officers in high-risk scenarios, such as hostage rescue operations, active shooter confrontations, and military operations in urban areas. The new VR training systems allow police departments to simulate realistic training scenarios and customize them to include many characters and participants in different scenarios, which is difficult to do in live simulations.
Vimeo, a U.S.-based platform for recording and sharing videos, has created a tool that allows business users to translate videos from 57 input languages into 29 output languages using generative AI. The AI-powered tool matches the voice and tone of the speaker in the original video.
Google has launched a new feature for business profile users that allows them to convert images of restaurant menus into detailed online menus using generative AI. Users upload an image of their menu, and the AI-powered feature analyzes it to create an editable menu with the correct price tags. The tool will help restaurants that change menus often to update their offerings more efficiently.
7. Addressing Medical Emergencies
New Delhi’s municipal government has created an online data dashboard that provides the public with information on available intensive care unit (ICU) beds in 17 government-run hospitals. Real-time updates will help patients and their families make time-sensitive decisions during medical emergencies, such as which nearby hospital with available ICU beds they should go to.
Scientists at the Italian Institute of Technology have created a robot called Vero that uses AI to detect and remove the butts of cigarettes from beaches and public spaces by analyzing images it captures through a computer vision system. Chemicals in cigarettes can harm freshwater and marine fish species.
A New York-based startup called Leaf has developed a platform that helps farmers make data-driven decisions by transforming a farm’s unstructured, raw data from things like machines and irrigation systems into standardized datasets. Farmers can use the datasets to train AI prediction models that enhance farming practices by answering questions like when to plant crops or how much fertilizer to use, for example.
AES Corporation, a Virginia-based renewable energy company, has developed Maximo, an autonomous robot that installs solar panels twice as fast as humans and at half the cost. Maximo uses computer vision and AI to determine where exactly to lay the panels, creating neat rows faster.