AI is Integrated into Surgeries, Dementia Diagnoses, Cooking, and Festivals
Emerging Tech Roundup — May 7
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Volkswagen plans to advance in the EV market, the U.S. Knee Surgery Market is advancing, Dementia can be diagnosed sooner in elderly drivers, NYC Tribeca Film Festival goes partially virtual, AI can now be used to cook meat to perfection, Snapchat launches their ‘Creator Marketplace,’ and the White House levels the playing field with their new AI website.
Volkswagen Will Develop In-House Self-Driving Chip to Compete With Tesla, Apple
(Observer, April 30)
Volkswagen is taking the next step in the electrical vehicle (EV) market to compete with Tesla and possibly Apple, which has also expressed interest in the EV market. VW has already gotten their feet wet in the EV market, having sold over 231,000 electric cars globally and reaching about half of Tesla’s sales volume in 2020. VW will be using their in-house software company, Cariad, to develop the autonomous vehicles and hope to have patents in place for the chips enabling a self-driving feature.
Pixee Medical Surgery Solution Has Received Clearance to Enter U.S. Knee Surgery Market with Vuzix AR M400 Smart Glasses
(PRNewsWire, May 3)
Knee+, a patented, total knee replacement surgery solution has received clearance from the FDA. The smart glasses are lightweight and assist in positioning the instruments used while surgeons are operating. Use of the glasses during surgery requires minimal AR training, as the process is quite similar to traditional surgery. In the future, Pixee plans to create similar surgical solutions for hip and shoulder replacements.
Scientists Can Use Driving Data and Machine Learning to Detect Dementia
(CNET, May 3)
Scientists are working to combine machine learning with driving data including trip length, driving time, and braking records, to diagnose dementia patients sooner than they previously could. These diagnoses are reported with 66% accuracy. The contributing data was retrieved from a four year long study made up of 3,000 senior drivers, LongROAD, from which 64 were diagnosed with some form of cognitive impairment. This advancement is expected to increase safety on the road, both for elders and all other drivers.
NYC Tribeca Film Festival to Have Both In-Person Immersive Experiences and Online Virtual Projects That People Can Experience
(Inside, May 4)
A virtual reality (VR) experience will be leveraged during this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. Small groups will be able to gather in-person for select showings and will be safely regulated with timed tickets. Other attractions of the festival can be experienced from your home, using the Museum of Other Realities (MOR) VR platform. The remote audience will be able to use headsets to gain access to the film festival through a virtual, augmented, and mixed reality experience. Users can even buy access into MOR’s Virtual Arcade. The MOR virtual lineup includes experiences curated from every corner of the globe, all brought to you in your own home.
Miso’s AI-Powered App Helps Restaurants Cook the Perfect Medium Rare Steak
(Engadget, May 4)
Miso Robotics has created CookRight, an AI app that tells line cooks when and how to tend to meat on the grill. For a much cheaper price than their previous innovation, Flippy, all the cooks have to do is listen for the prompt to either flip or remove the food from the grill and they are guaranteed a perfectly cooked piece of meat. If, by chance, a grill is faulty or is experiencing uneven heat distribution, the app can recognize this and then alter the cook time to reach perfection. CookRight is expected to increase efficiency, decrease food poisoning and similar issues, and save money for both small business and large corporations.
Snapchat’s New ‘Creator Marketplace’ will Pair Marketers With Creators To Collaborate on Ads
(Tubefilter, May 5)
Snapchat announces that through their new Creator Marketplace, marketers and Snapchat creators specializing in AR can connect as business partners. Marketers will be able to search through the profiles of Lens creators, or upcoming Snap stars, based on location, expertise, budget, and additional criteria. This way, they can connect with the Lens creators who best fit their needs. Marketers and their businesses will be able to use Snapchat’s creative resources to build AR ads through their Lens network. Snapchat has plans to soon open up the marketplace to additional creators, other than those with expertise in AR, specifically.
Exclusive: White House Launches new Artificial Intelligence Website
(Axios, May 5)
The White House has debuted AI.gov with intent to increase accessibility of AI knowledge for citizens of the United States. The site will be run by the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office and will offer varied examples of how AI is currently being used in the country, while also doubling as a research tool. In addition, students can use the new site as a starting point for educating themselves in the field and uncover opportunities for scholarships and/or fellowships.
