This Week in Tech: The Beatles’ AI Comeback and Intergalactic Robots
Emerging Tech Roundup — June 16
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Shape-Shifting Robot Performs Repair Work in Space, Tesla Introduces Latest Concept Store in China, Rex Makes it Easy to Share Recommended Places with Friends, Paul McCartney Creates Final Song for The Beatles Using AI, OpenAI Intros New Generative Text Features, High Tech Glasses Relaxes First Time Blood Donors, and Google Uses AI to Show How Clothes Look on Real People.
Shape-Shifting ‘Mori3’ Robot Designed to Perform Repair Work in Space
(Interesting Engineering, June 12)
Engineers have developed a shape-shifting robot called Mori3 to address the limitations of current robotic explorers in space. Inspired by origami, Mori3 can change its size, shape, and function, allowing it to adapt to different environments and tasks. The robot’s modular design, consisting of triangular modules, enables seamless connectivity and the formation of polygons of varying sizes and configurations — expanding its capabilities in space exploration and short space travel.
Giga Lab: Tesla’s Latest Concept Store in China Can Build Cars in 45 Seconds
(Interesting Engineering, June 12)
Tesla has introduced its “Giga Lab” concept in China, a unique retail model designed to highlight its manufacturing capabilities. The store’s interior is designed to resemble the Shanghai Gigafactory and offers customers a glimpse into the Tesla vehicle manufacturing process. With this move, Tesla aims to increase engagement and capture a significant market share in China’s competitive EV market.
Rex’s New App Makes it Easy to Discover and Share Recommended Places with Friends
(Tech Crunch, June 12)
Rex, a new consumer social app created by Twitter alumni, launched with a focus on enabling users to share personal recommendations for various places like restaurants, bars, museums, and more. Utilizing AI and computer vision technologies, Rex simplifies the process of sharing recommendations by scanning users’ Camera Roll for relevant photos. The content can then be added to curated playlists shared with friends and followers. Rex has been in development for over a year, and is now officially available to the public after exiting beta testing.
Paul McCartney is Using AI to Create a Final Song for The Beatles
(Engadget, June 13)
Paul McCartney has announced that he is utilizing AI to transform a demo recorded by John Lennon into a new song for The Beatles. The AI tool helped extract Lennon’s vocals, providing a “pure” version that could be incorporated into a final composition. Unlike the recent AI-generated “collaboration” between Drake and The Weeknd, McCartney’s use of AI aims to salvage a track that would not have otherwise been released to the public.
OpenAI Intros New Generative Text Features While Reducing Pricing
(Tech Crunch, June 13)
OpenAI has unveiled new versions of its text-generating AI models, GPT-3.5-turbo and GPT-4, with the addition of a feature called function calling. This capability allows developers to describe programming functions to the models, enabling them to generate code and execute those functions. Additionally, OpenAI has introduced a version of GPT-3.5-turbo with a significantly expanded context window, addressing issues where models “forget” recent conversations and go off-topic.
High Tech Glasses Could Help Relax First Time Blood Donors
(CBS News, June 14)
Abbott Laboratories, based in Chicago, has developed mixed-reality glasses that can assist in attracting and comforting first-time blood donors. The glasses immerse donors in a virtual Zen garden, providing a soothing experience while they must keep their arms steady during the blood donation process. A New York blood center is the first to adopt this technology, with several blood banks across the nation to follow.
Google Is Using AI to Show How Clothes Look on Real People Before You Buy
(Cnet, June 14)
Google has announced the integration of AI in its online shopping tool, enabling it to display how clothing items from various online retailers will fit different body types. This move is part of Google’s broader strategy to incorporate generative AI into its products and online services. Launched with brands such as Anthropologie and Loft, the feature utilizes AI to generate images of clothing on real models, aiming to provide customers with a better understanding of how different sizes will appear on actual people.
