Snake Robot

New locations to explore

Nasa-JPL snake robot explores extreme terrain

Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing an exobiology extant life surveyor (EELS). It was conceived to explore diverse terrains and ultimately search for evidence of life.

It was tested in Canada's Athabasca glacier and Mount Meager volcano. The latter expedition was made possible by the Trebek Initiative, a partnership between the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and National Geographic.  

AI Godfather says New Tech Could be Dangerous

 Well known AI Scientist Geoffrey Hinton,  often mentioned here,  who we followed closely n the 80s, says AI is real, and conceivably threatening humanity.    Equivalent to Invention of Wheel or electricity.  Scary statements from him. 

Artificial intelligence 'godfather' on AI possibly wiping out humanity: ‘It's not inconceivable’

Artificial Intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton said the development of artificial intelligence is happening rapidly

Andrea VacchianoBy Andrea Vacchiano | Fox News

Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist who has been called "the godfather of artificial intelligence", says it is "not inconceivable" that AI may develop to the point where it poses a threat to humanity.

The computer scientist sat down with CBS News this week about his predictions for the advancement of AI. He compared the invention of AI to electricity or the wheel.

Hinton, who works at Google and the University of Toronto, said that the development of general purpose AI is progressing sooner than people may imagine. General purpose AI is artificial intelligence with several intended and unintended purposes, including speech recognition, answering questions and translation.

"Until quite recently, I thought it was going to be like 20 to 50 years before we have general purpose AI. And now I think it may be 20 years or less," Hinton predicted. Asked specifically the chances of AI "wiping out humanity," Hinton said, "I think it's not inconceivable. That's all I'll say." 

Geoffrey Hinton, chief scientific adviser at the Vector Institute, speaks during The International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA) Toronto Global Forum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. 

Geoffrey Hinton, chief scientific adviser at the Vector Institute, speaks during The International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA) Toronto Global Forum in Toronto .. 

Artificial general intelligence refers to the potential ability for an intelligence agent to learn any mental task that a human can do. It has not been developed yet, and computer scientists are still figuring out if it is possible.  Hinton said it was plausible for computers to eventually gain the ability to create ideas to improve themselves. 

"That's an issue, right. We have to think hard about how you control that," Hinton said.   ... ' 

Robotic Echolocaton

More examples of biomimicry here and hint at possible mapping application, 

Flying Robot Echolocates Like a Bat to Avoid Hitting Walls,  By New Scientist, February 6, 2023

This drone uses a buzzer and microphone set-up to navigate by echolocation.

A robot using the echolocation technique can make a map of its environment and localize itself at the same time.

Frederike Dümbgen and colleagues at Canada's University of Toronto and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne have equipped a flying robot to use bat-like echolocation to map its surroundings using a simple microphone and speaker.

The robot’s speaker emits sound bursts infused with a range of frequencies, which bounce off walls and are recorded by the microphone when they come back., An algorithm then uses interference patterns caused by the sound waves to model the environment's surfaces.

The researchers tested the system on a drone rigged with a buzzer and four microphones, and on a wheeled robot with a built-in speaker and microphone. The drone could map walls with up to 2-centimeter (0.7-inch) accuracy from 0.5 meters away when stationary, and with 8-centimeter (3.1-inch) accuracy when airborne.

From New Scientist

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Canada Has National Quantum Strategy

Useful integration of efforts.

Efforts under Canada's National Quantum Strategy are already under way.

On Jan. 13, Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry François-Philippe Champagne announced the launch of Canada's National Quantum Strategy to enhance and expand the country's global quantum technology leadership.

With a commitment of C$360 million (about US$268 million), the strategy aims to make Canada an international leader in continued development, implementation, and use of quantum technologies; establish a national secure quantum communications network and post-quantum cryptography support; and support domestic developers and early adopters of new quantum sensing technologies.

In addition, the National Research Council of Canada will expand its Internet of Things: Quantum Sensors Challenge program and launch an Applied Quantum Computing Challenge program to turn quantum science and research into economically beneficial commercial innovations adopted by Canadian businesses.

From Government of Canada  

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Canada W0rking on Worlds largest Geothermal Lagoon

Geothermal efforts

Canada Is Working On the World’s Largest Geothermal Solar Lagoon

By Adrianna Nine on September 8, 2022 at 9:31 am in  ExtremeTech

Petite-Rivière-Saint-François has never been considered much of a tourist destination. The tiny Quebec town is typically regarded as a pass-through municipality on the way to Canada’s Charlevoix region, an area known for its vast greenery, architecture, skiing, and arts scene. Soon, however, that’s going to change. In just a couple of years, Petite-Rivière will be home to geoLAGOON, the world’s largest geothermal solar lagoon.

If you’re thinking the term “geothermal solar lagoon” looks at first like a jumble of buzzwords, you’re not the only one. But each aspect of the self-sufficient, environmentally-friendly destination is carefully planned. The center will be a large, open-air lagoon heated to 100.4 F (38 C) year-round. The heat will come from an “energy ecosystem” consisting of solar, air, and biomass resources, as well as built-in geothermal equipment. Under the lagoon will sit a thermal reservoir heated to 150 F (70 C) by both solar and geothermal energy.  .... ' 

Using Wearable Tech to Detect COVID-19 before Onset

 Using Wearable Tech to Detect COVID-19 before Onset of Symptoms

By McMaster University (Canada), July 27, 2022

Pairing wrist-worn health devices with machine learning, researchers in Canada and Europe were able to detect COVID-19 prior to the onset of symptoms. More than 1,100 participants wore a fertility tracker that monitors respiration, heart rate, heart-rate variability, skin temperature, and blood flow during sleep. The tracker was synchronized to a mobile application that recorded activity that might affect the central nervous system, as well as potential COVID-19 symptoms.

More than 100 participants tested positive for the virus, and the tracker detected changes in all physiological markers during infection.

From McMaster University (Canada)

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Calgary to become Canada Quantum City Hub

 Canada using regional hubs for emerging tech. 

ACM TECHNEWS

Alberta Investing C$23 Million Toward U of C's Quantum City,  By Calgary Herald (Canada), June 14, 2022

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced that the Canadian province is investing C$23 million (US$17.9 million) in the University of Calgary (U of C) Quantum City hub.

The center will be the focus of a multi-institutional partnership that includes all polytechnic schools in Calgary, as well as global technology company Mphasis and the universities of Calgary, Alberta, and Lethbridge.   U of C's Ed McCauley said Quantum City will help fuel research in quantum technologies in Alberta, and foster local talent to fill positions that are expected to be created in the coming years.

Said McCauley, "We hope companies like Mphasis and other companies around the world will take up support in the area around building up fabrication facilities where we can collaborate with industry to prototype, scale, and test those devices."

From Calgary Herald (Canada) (06/09/22) Dylan Short

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Canadian AI Research

Brought to my attention again:

Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence

The Vector Institute is an independent, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), excelling in machine and deep learning.

The Vector Institute launched in March 2017 with generous support from the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, and private industry, and in partnership with the University of Toronto and other universities.

The Vector Institute will work with institutions, industry, start-ups, incubators and accelerators to advance AI research and drive its application, adoption and commercialization across Canada.

Download Overview
Download Health Strategy Phase 1
Annual Report 2019  |  Audited Financial Statements 2018-19
Annual Report 2018  |  Audited Financial Statements 2017-2018  ... 

Testing Self-Driving Cars in Extreme Conditions

Extremes of data can be important.  Now how are they folded into the tests being proposed?

Research Data Puts Self-Driving Cars to the Ultimate Test: Canadian Winter   By U of T News

Driving in snowy conditions.

A new dataset will train future autonomous vehicles to drive in winter conditions.

Researchers at Canada's universities of Toronto (U of T) and Waterloo collaborated with San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure firm Scale AI to create a dataset for training future autonomous vehicles to drive in winter conditions.

The Canadian Adverse Driving Conditions dataset uses real-world scans of icy, snow-covered Canadian roads as a virtual training course for self-driving cars' algorithms.

U of T's Steven Waslander said most driving datasets are collected in summer, and self-driving algorithms trained on such data tend to be confounded in adverse conditions.

Waslander and Waterloo's Krzysztof Czarnecki compiled the new dataset over the past two winters, using a Lincoln MKZ hybrid equipped with cameras, a LiDAR scanner, and a global-positioning system tracker to record conditions across more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of roads.

Scale AI labeled the data through computer and human image recognition, and further analysis and processing converted the data into a software-parsable format.

From U of T News

Wal-Mart Launches Freight and Payment Blockchain Network

Walmart continues work in the space.  Here again covering tracking, payment processing and dispute analysis.   Good example to track further.  More at the link.

Walmart launches ‘world’s largest’ blockchain-based freight-and-payment network
Walmart Canada's blockchain hits the sweet spot for the supply chain industry as it solves issues such as invoice dispute resolution and real-time data distribution.  By Lucas Mearian  in Computerworld

The Canadian division of Walmart has launched a blockchain-based supply chain that includes freight tracking and payment processing for 70 trucking companies whose goods are transported to more than 400 retail stores.

The system is now live and all of Walmart Canada's third-party freight carriers are scheduled to be on the network by Feb. 1, 2020, the company said in a statement. Walmart claims the blockchain network is the largest of its kind in the world, a claim not disputed by industry analysts. .... " 

Smart Carts aiding Self-Checkout

We spent much time examining and testing the idea of a 'smart cart', but none of them ever became commercially viable.    See my coverage at the tag.  Hand held dedicated devices became the replacement, and later the no-checkout idea promoted by 'Amazon Go'.

Tired of Long Lines? Canadian Grocery Chain Debuts Smart Carts with Self-Checkout   The Washington Post   By Peter Holley

Nova Scotia, Canada-based grocery chain Sobeys has launched a pilot program using intelligent shopping carts that scan and weigh items, and help customers skip long checkout lines by allowing them to pay on the spot. Sobeys' Smart Cart fleet features touchscreens that display a running count of purchases as shoppers scan and place their items in bags within the cart; customers can pay as soon as their shopping is completed. Sobeys says that as the carts are upgraded, their screens will help customers navigate stores, fill out shopping lists, and suggest products for recipes. The carts are equipped with high-resolution cameras which, when combined with scales, enable shoppers to add items to their purchase without entering information or scanning bar codes. ... "

Authorship Patterns via Machine Learning

Although this about music, I like it as an example of pattern recognition, and useful as an exampled.  I note that the link is to the Financial Times, which has a strict pay-wall.   But the example stands as a useful example of this technology use.  Looking up the tech paper, will post here:

Abstract and technical but useful paper here:  https://hdsr.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/xcq8a1v1 

Lennon or McCartney? Machine Learning Tries to Crack Disputed Beatles Authorship 
Financial Times By Martin Coulter

Researchers at Harvard University and Canada's Dalhousie University used machine learning to ascertain the authorship of disputed Beatles songs. Over a three-year period, the team created an algorithm and applied it to an array of musical motifs taken from 70 songs co-authored by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The algorithm was able to distinguish tracks known to be written by one of the two musicians with 76% accuracy. When applied to eight disputed songs or song segments, the algorithm found a number of the songs yielded a more than 90% match against Lennon's other works; one song was an 81% match for Lennon, with its bridge returning a 57% match for McCartney. Harvard's Mark Glickman hopes the algorithm's statistical model finds use as "a blueprint for those wanting to follow changes in music over time."  .... '

DarwinAI to Automate AI Development

Another move towards the automating of AI, from U of Waterloo

DarwinAI launches from stealth to automate artificial intelligence development  By Maria Deutscher in SiliconAngle

 Artificial intelligence projects usually rely on existing code. Engineers sift through the AI models available from sources such as academic publications, pick the one deemed most suitable and then customize it to their requirements.

Canada’s DarwinAI Inc. wants to reduce the amount of work involved in the last two steps. The startup today launched from stealth with $3 million in funding and a specialized development platform that promises to automate AI projects.

DarwinAI’s software is based on research conducted by co-founder Alexander Wong at the University of Waterloo, where he serves as a professor with the systems design engineering department. The platform can customize an existing AI for the requirements of an application using its own built-in neural network.

According to DarwinAI, the software works by deriving a series of new models from the original based on user-defined parameters. Engineers can then pick the version with the particular combination of characteristics that best matches their target use case and, if necessary, make further enhancements. The startup said AI models created with its software are not only faster but also considerably more efficient.  ... " 

Samsung Opens AI Lab in Montreal

Following closely what Samsung is doing, given their broad involvement with home appliances and the Smart Home via SmartThings.  (Update)  See also,
Samsung teams up with ADT for new SmartThings-powered home security system   by Chaim Gartenberg


Samsung is the latestTech Giant to Open an AI Lab in Canada   By Lulu Chang 

Canada's investment in AI is paying off now that yet another tech company is opening up an AI lab in the country.

As smart as Samsung’s artificially intelligent assistant Bixby may be, it can’t exactly develop itself. That task, of course, falls to a team of Samsung specialists who are continually working to not only improve Bixby, but find new applications for AI as well. And now, they’ll be able to do so in a new home. The Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) has opened up a new AI Lab in Canada’s University of Montreal. The lab is said to be focused on strengthening collaborative research with “world-leading scholars in the AI field.”

Samsung has quite the history of collaboration with academics, having worked previously with Professor Yoshua Bengio of University of Montreal, one of the world’s foremost experts on deep learning, machine learning, and AI. The South Korean company has also worked with partners in the University of Toronto, McGill University, and New York University.

The lab will focus on a number of initiatives, including voice and image recognition, translation, autonomous driving, and of course, robots. Korean researchers will be sent to Canada to work alongside local professors and students in order to develop the algorithms and further technology needed to ensure that Samsung stays ahead of the curve when it comes to modernization.  ... ." 

Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms

Just Brought to my attention, much more detail at the link.

Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA)

Overview:
Researchers from MILA have pioneered the field of deep learning and deep neural networks (both discriminative and generative) and their applications to vision, speech and language. MILA is world-renowned for many breakthroughs in developing novel deep learning algorithms and applying them to various domains. They include neural language modelling, neural machine translation, object recognition, structured output generative modelling and neural speech recognition.  .... "