Honda furthers AI tech development in its cars with SoftBank partnership

Artificial intelligence is at the heart of a new partnership between Honda and internet company SoftBank. The idea is that the AI in vehicles will be able to read and react to the emotions of the drivers as intelligently as it can. “"Imagine if robots, with their super intelligence, devoted themselves to humans,” SoftBank Group Corp.’s Masayoshi Son said during an event in Tokyo announcing the partnership. “And imagine that cars themselves became supercomputers or robots one day. Honda will be the first to adopt this technology.” The team suggests that Honda cars might interact with drivers using the technology used in SoftBank’s Pepper robot. And maybe Pepper could even meet Honda’s own Asimo (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) robot.

Honda’s team will be working with SoftBank’s Cocoro SB unit on AI research for cars. This team from SoftBank is currently studying cloud-based AI on their own.  SoftBank recently acquired chipmaker ARM, which is seen as an essential move needed for this partnership to work. Honda previously announced they were establishing a research facility this September dedicated to AI technology.

Source: Reuters | Via: SlashGear

YouTube to livestream match between 'Go' world champion and AlphaGo AI

We've seen artificial intelligence systems take on different champions of various fields. This time, the AlphaGo AI system wants to take on the highest ranked player of the ancient Chinese board game Go to a match. The system will be challenging Lee Sedol for a US$1 million prize. And you'll get to see this play out on a YouTube livestream. The matches will take place on March 9, 10, 12, 13, and 15.

The game has millions of possible combinations for its pieces, which make developing a system to get to play this well particularly challenging. Previous robots built to play Go couldn't leave past the amateur level. AlphaGo has already defeated the European champion Fan Hui five times in a row. This AI has been trained to use 30 million moves off of games played by experts and it has even learned its own moves. 

Source: The Next Web

Toyota’s AI initiatives now headed by former Google exec

Toyota has gotten itself a capable individual to head its artificial intelligence initiatives. James Kuffner, the former head of robotics and one of the key executives of Google’s driverless car efforts, is now head of Toyota’s US-based AI research lab. Kuffner believes Toyota’s business down the line could one day be concentrated or at least mainly work with robots. Toyota is promising US$1 billion in funding for the lab in its first five years, showing just how important this initiative is for the carmaker.

Toyota takes a different approach to how Google wants AI-assisted driving to work. Toyota believes humans should stay at the wheel for a longer transition period as they are aided in increasing degree by automation. The company aims to create vehicles and machines that can help its ageing population, such as finding ways to increase car access for the elderly and handicap as well as create new forms of mobility indoors.

Source: Financial Times

AKAStudy unveils artificially intelligent Musio robot

We’ve been seeing it for a while how we’re slowly moving into the sci-fi age. This time, we’re getting a smarter robot/personal assistant in Musio. AKAStudy introduced this artificially intelligent robot that can hold conversations with you, share emotions, communicate with devices, and even tell you jokes. The more you interact with Musio, the more it learns new phrases and ideas that it can talk to you about. AKAStudy likened it to a friend even as time goes by.

Musio was first made to help Asian children to learn English but now it has evolved into a smarter digital assistant that works for people of any age. It is available on Indiegogo and comes with three different engines with prices that range from US$99 to $599. The “Simple” engine offers fast CPU with the ability to hold a conversation with Musio; “Smart” provides around 11 hours of battery life and a connection to Sophy; and “Genius” is built with the fastest CPU and longest battery life (14 hours) and connection to Sophy. They even provide add-on packages for developers and for kids.

Source: AKAStudy