Samsung Announces AI Enhancements of Bixby

Followed Koreas appliance and AI related work. Now joining AI inspired efforts.

Korea on February 22, 2023   in Samsung.com

Samsung’s intelligent interface improves performance and provides users with greater options for control

Samsung Electronics today announced new updates to Bixby that improve user experience, performance and capabilities of the intelligent assistant and platform. The new updates deliver significant improvements in Bixby’s ability with enhanced language recognition, giving people greater control over their mobile experience.

“When Samsung first launched Bixby as a voice assistant, it was part of a vision to create a human-to-machine interface that makes life easier and can advance over time with Samsung Galaxy innovation,” said YoungJip Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Artificial Intelligence Team in Mobile eXperience Business, Samsung Electronics. “Today, we introduce updates to build a more intelligent interface that is proactive and adaptive, giving people greater control over their mobile experience.”  ... '

Metaverse Education Blossoms in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan

Interesting, but have by doubts on ultimate efficiency.

Metaverse Education Blossoms in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan

Nikkei Asia (Japan)

Dylan Loh, May 8, 2023

Schools and other organizations in Asia are using the metaverse as an instructional tool. South Korea's Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), for instance, hopes to become a "metaversity," where cyber training courses are held in metaverse classrooms. POSTECH's Moo Hwan Kim said, "Virtual reality (VR) technology can be applied in fields that are difficult to access in reality, such as outer space and the nanoworld. In the long run, it will be able to replace classes that require more hands-on experiences or training in dangerous environments." Meanwhile, 7,000 students at online N and S high schools in Japan are using VR headsets in the classroom as part of an effort to learn in an immersive environment without physical constraints. Among other initiatives, South Korea's science ministry plans to develop a "Metaverse Academy" as it works to build a metaverse ecosystem.... 

Samsung Loses Sensitive Data to ChatGPT

Implications for securing your own workplace data.

Samsung Engineers Feed Sensitive Data to ChatGPT, Sparking Workplace AI Warnings

In three separate incidents, engineers at the Korean electronics giant reportedly shared sensitive corporate data with the AI-powered chatbot.

Jai Vijayan, Contributing Writer, Dark Reading, April 11, 2023

Machine Deep learning algorithms, Artificial intelligence (AI), Automation and modern technology in business as concept.

Recent reports about engineers at Samsung Electronics inadvertently leaking sensitive company information via ChatGPT in three separate incidents highlight why policies governing employee use of AI services in the workplace are quickly becoming a must for enterprise organizations.

The Economist Korea, one of the first to report on the data leaks, described the first incident as involving an engineer who pasted buggy source code from a semiconductor database into ChatGPT, with a prompt to the chatbot to fix the errors. In the second instance, an employee wanting to optimize code for identifying defects in certain Samsung equipment pasted that code into ChatGPT. The third leak resulted when an employee asked ChatGPT to generate the minutes of an internal meeting at Samsung.

The incidents played out exactly the same way that researchers have been warning that they could, since OpenAI made ChatGPT publicly available in November. Security analysts have noted how, in all instances where users share data with ChatGPT, the information ends up as training data for the machine learning/large language model (ML/LLM). They have noted how someone could later retrieve the data using the right prompts. 

ChatGPT creator, OpenAI, itself has warned users on the risk: "We are not able to delete specific prompts from your history. Please don't share any sensitive information in your conversations," OpenAI's user guide notes.

Samsung Enacts Emergency Anti-ChatGPT Measures

The situation has apparently prompted a rethink of ChatGPT use at Samsung after the third incident, just barely three weeks after the South Korean electronics giant allowed employees access to the generative AI tool. The company had initially banned the technology over security and privacy concerns before relenting.   ... '

Wall Climbing Robotics

 Recall some related designs some time ago.

ACM TECHNEWS

'Spider-Man' Robot Can Climb Walls, Cling to Ceilings

By EuroNews, February 16, 2023

Credit: KAIST

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) have developed a quadrupedal robot with magnetic soles on its four feet, allowing it to move up and down metal walls and across metal ceilings while upside down.

The robot, called Marvel (Magnetically Adhesive Robot for Versatile and Expeditious Locomotion), can carry more than 37 kilograms (82 lbs.) up a wall at a speed of 42 meters per minute.

The soles are comprised of a permanent magnet and a magneto-rheological elastomer, which allow the feet to turn on to adhere to the surface, turn off to detach, and maintain high adhesive power on uneven surfaces.

The researchers said Marvel could be used to carry out dangerous maintenance tasks on ships, bridges, transmission towers, and storage tanks.

From EuroNews

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Chula Chatbot

ACM CAREERS

Chula Chatbot Serves As an Education and Career Coach

By Chulalongkorn University, September 26, 2022

A chatbot developed by lecturers at Chulalongkorn University is designed to serve as an education and career coach for learners and students.

The EmpowerMe chatbot "is like having a student counselor or personal coach who can offer advice on how to develop career skills in the digital age so that students can find the job for which they are well suited," says Professor Jintavee Khlaisang. It will also suggest lessons to help a user develop the types of skills needed in a particular career. It assesses a learner's performance and motivates them with rewards in the form of medals.  

The application received a gold medal award from the 2021 Seoul International Invention Fair. It has been patented for user-interface design.

From Chulalongkorn University

View Full Article   

Chula Chatbot Career Coach

Interesting, especially regards to how much a coach it can be. 

Chula Chatbot Serves As an Education and Career Coach

By Chulalongkorn University, September 26, 2022

A chatbot developed by lecturers at Chulalongkorn University is designed to serve as an education and career coach for learners and students.

The EmpowerMe chatbot "is like having a student counselor or personal coach who can offer advice on how to develop career skills in the digital age so that students can find the job for which they are well suited," says Professor Jintavee Khlaisang. It will also suggest lessons to help a user develop the types of skills needed in a particular career. It assesses a learner's performance and motivates them with rewards in the form of medals.  

The application received a gold medal award from the 2021 Seoul International Invention Fair. It has been patented for user-interface design.

From Chulalongkorn University    (Korea) 

View Full Article   

Denoising Images

 A New Method for Denoising Images

Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea)

September 13, 2022

Researchers from South Korea's Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Vietnam's VinAI Research, and Canada's University of Waterloo have developed a reference-free image denoising method. The new approach uses a post-correction network and a self-supervised machine learning framework to improve the quality of path-traced visuals. The model tripled the quality of rendered images relative to input images by preserving finer details, and could be trained on the fly to output final images in just 12 seconds. Said GIST's Bochang Moon, "Our approach is the first that does not rely on pre-training with an external dataset. This, in effect, will shorten the production time and improve the quality of offline rendering-based content such as animation and movies."  ... '

A Silicon Image Sensor That Computes

New approach for image analysis?

A Silicon Image Sensor That Computes

Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Leah Burrows, August 25, 2022

U.S. and South Korean researchers have developed in-sensor processors that could be incorporated into commercial complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors. The researchers created an electrostatically doped silicon photodiode array, enabling voltage-based tuning of pixels' optical sensitivity. Harvard University's Houk Jang said, "These dynamic photodiodes can concurrently filter images as they are captured, allowing for the first stage of vision processing to be moved from the microprocessor to the sensor itself." Users can program the array into different image filters to eliminate unnecessary details or noise for various applications. Harvard's Henry Hinton predicted the processor will see use "not only in machine vision applications, but also in bio-inspired applications, wherein early information processing allows for the co-location of sensor and compute units, like in the brain."

Infant Pacifier as Sensor

 Clever application

Smart Pacifier Developed to Monitor Infant Health in Hospitals

By WSU Insider, May 19, 2022

U.S. and South Korean researchers have designed a wireless, bioelectronic pacifier to monitor the electrolyte levels of infants in Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICUs).

Washington State University's Jong-Hoon Kim said the non-invasive device can provide real-time electrolyte readings in lieu of blood draws.  The researchers adapted a commercially available pacifier to sample the infant's saliva via microfluidic channels, which are equipped with sensors that measure sodium and potassium ion concentrations.

Caregivers receive this data wirelessly through Bluetooth.  Kim said the device is part of an overarching project to make NICU treatment less disruptive for babies.

From WSU Insider  

Thermal Sensor on a Smartphone

Always looking for data, and thus for good sensors.   We often used these for plant systems. Now smartphones give the opportunity for better portable applications   Here a thermal sensor.  Ultimately such IOTs will become very important.

Team's Sensor Fit for Smartphones, Autonomous Vehicles

By National Research Council of Science & Technology

July 28, 2021

A joint research team from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Sungkyunkwan University has developed a thermal-imaging sensor that overcomes existing problems of price and operating-temperature limitations. The sensor can operate at temperatures up to 100°C without a cooling device and could pave the way for applications in smartphones and autonomous vehicles.

To be integrated with the hardware of smartphones and autonomous vehicles, sensors must operate stably without difficulties at high temperatures of 85°C and 125°C, respectively. Conventional thermal-imaging sensors do not meet this criterion without a costly independent cooling device.

The team developed a device using a vanadium dioxide (B) film that is stable at 100°C. The device detects and converts the infrared light generated by heat into electrical signals, which eliminates the need for cooling devices.

The work is described in "Wide-Temperature (Up to 100°C) Operation of Thermostable Vanadium Oxide Based Microbolometers with Ti/MgF2 Infrared Absorbing Layer for Long Wavelength Infrared (LWIR) Detection," published in the journal Applied Surface Science.

From National Research Council of Science & Technology

Full article.

Detecting, Recognizing Voices at a Distance

Hmm, talk about loss of privacy.   Will this do it through a mask? Will we be wearing new kinds of 'voice' masks?  Note the training data.  Probably will be quickly restricted for use in the West.   But elsewhere?  

Biomimetic Resonant Acoustic Sensor Detecting Far-Distant Voices Accurately to Hit the Market

KAIST (South Korea), June 14, 2021  in CACM

Researchers at South Korea's Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a bioinspired flexible piezoelectric acoustic sensor with a multi-resonant ultrathin piezoelectric membrane that acts like the basilar membrane of the human cochlea to achieve accurate and far-distant voice detection. The miniaturized sensor can be embedded into smartphones and artificial intelligence speakers for machine learning-based biometric authentication and voice processing. Compared to a MEMS condenser microphone, the researchers found the speaker identification error rate for their resonant mobile acoustic sensor was 56% lower after it experienced 150 training datasets, and 75% lower after 2,800 training datasets. ... ' 

Artificial Emotional Intelligence

Fascinating thoughts on emotional intelligence.   Given how much I trust all the ads pushing 5G I see, scary too.  

Artificial emotional intelligence: A safer, smarter future with 5G and emotion recognition   by Incheon National University

With 5G communication technology and new AI-based systems such as emotion recognition systems, smart cities are all set to become a reality; but these systems need to be honed and security issues need to be ironed out before the smart reality can be realized. Credit: macrovector on Freepik

With the advent of 5G communication technology and its integration with AI, we are looking at the dawn of a new era in which people, machines, objects, and devices are connected like never before. This smart era will be characterized by smart facilities and services such as self-driving cars, smart UAVs, and intelligent healthcare. This will be the aftermath of a technological revolution.

But the flip side of such technological revolution is that AI itself can be used to attack or threaten the security of 5G-enabled systems which, in turn, can greatly compromise their reliability. It is, therefore, imperative to investigate such potential security threats and explore countermeasures before a smart world is realized.

In a recent study published in IEEE Network, a team of researchers led by Prof. Hyunbum Kim from Incheon National University, Korea, address such issues in relation to an AI-based, 5G-integrated virtual emotion recognition system called 5G-I-VEmoSYS, which detects human emotions using wireless signals and body movement. "Emotions are a critical characteristic of human beings and separate humans from machines, defining daily human activity. However, some emotions can also disrupt the normal functioning of a society and put people's lives in danger, such as those of an unstable driver. Emotion detection technology thus has great potential for recognizing any disruptive emotion and in tandem with 5G and beyond-5G communication, warning others of potential dangers," explains Prof. Kim. "For instance, in the case of the unstable driver, the AI enabled driver system of the car can inform the nearest network towers, from where nearby pedestrians can be informed via their personal smart devices."   ... " 

Korean Mixed Reality Glasses

Another attempt at more generalized smart glasses, here aimed at mixed reality in particular.  Casual everyday wearable, or context specific wearable for the job. linked closely to mobile.

Nreal Light mixed reality glasses launch in Korea with the Galaxy Note 20
LG Uplus is bundling the Nreal Light with a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 or an LG Velvet.

By Richard Lai, @richardlai in Engadget

After successfully fighting off Magic Leap’s claim that it stole trade secrets, Nreal is finally able to launch its Light mixed reality glasses into the consumer market. Starting today, folks in Korea can pre-order the Light — locally rebranded as “U+ Real Glass” — as part of a mobile phone plan on the LG Uplus network, so long as you pick the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 or the LG Velvet as your handset. That way you can buy the Light at a subsidized price of 349,500 won (about $295). You can also purchase the glasses separately for 699,000 won (about $590) at an LG Uplus store from August 21st, if you’d rather use them with other phones. ... "

South Korea Testing an Elderly Assistant

Hard to follow the depth and breadth of this precisely, but seems to be an assistant oriented  to interact with lonely elderly.  Prompted by recent pandemic pressure.   With some aim to sense memory and cognitive functions and adapt to that status.  Similar in form to 'intelligent' interacting speakers.

In Virus-Hit South Korea, AI Monitors Lonely Elders
Associated Press
Kim Tong-Hyung
May 30, 2020

South Korean telecommunications provider SK Telecom operates an experimental artificial intelligence (AI)-powered network of voice-enabled smart speakers to remotely monitor thousands of isolated seniors during the coronavirus pandemic. The speakers feature the "Aria" AI component, and a lamp that turns blue when processing voice commands for news, music, and online searches. The devices also can assess users' memory and cognitive functions with quizzes, which would be potentially helpful for advising treatments. However, it is difficult for SK Telecom customers to use this information without clear legal guidelines for managing health data on private networks. Seoul National University's Haksoo Ko said, "An appropriate control system needs to be baked into the process, to make decisions on data access based on necessity and sensitivity, and restrict access to information that isn't really needed."  ... ' 

Multifunction E-Glasses Track the Brain, Eyes, and More

Claim to considerable advances in sensor interfaces through a 'glasses style' interface.   Consder how combining brain and vision sensor data  would provide adaptive data about attention.  More at the link.

Multifunction E-Glasses Track the Brain, Eyes, and More  By New Atlas in CACM

The prototype electronic glasses.
Researchers at Korea University's KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology have developed multifunctional e-glasses.

Researchers at Korea University's KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology have developed prototype multifunctional e-glasses equipped with flexible electrodes near the ears and eyes.

Those electrodes monitor electrical activity in the brain and track eye movements, and transmit that information wirelessly for processing.

Meanwhile, an ultraviolet (UV) light sensor on the side of one arm quantifies the intensity of incoming UV rays, and can activate a gel within the lenses to temporarily darken the eyewear into sunglasses.

An accelerometer also tracks the wearer's posture and gait and detects falls, with potential applications in virtual reality and accident-alert systems for seniors.

From New Atlas

Wearable Strain Sensor

Appears to be a new method, brought to my attention by a colleague looking at new sensors. Note implications beyond healthcare.   Image at the link.

Wearable Strain Sensor Using Light Transmittance Helps Measure Physical Signals Better
By KAIST College of Engineering in CACM

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology researchers have developed a wearable strain sensor that can complete sensitive, stable, continuous measurements of physical signals.

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a wearable strain sensor based on the modulation of optical transmittance of a carbon nanotube (CNT)-embedded elastomer.

The sensor can complete sensitive, stable, and continuous measurements of physical signals.

The optical strain sensor is based on the light transmittance changes of a CNT-embedded elastomer; the technology addresses the low sensitivity problem of conventional optical stretchable strain sensors.

Said KAIST's Inkyu Park, "Our group developed a new wearable strain sensor platform that overcomes many limitations of previously developed resistive, capacitive, and optical-type stretchable strain sensors. Our sensor could be widely used in a variety of fields, including soft robotics, wearable electronics, electric skin, healthcare, and even entertainment."

From KAIST College of Engineering  ...

Update on Samsung Bixby

Took early looks at Bixby, was not impressed.  Has huge appliance exposure, IOT connections.  What's new and interesting

Bixby was quiet in 2019, but don't sleep on Samsung's assistant
It's not all bad news for Bixby.

Chris Velazco, @chrisvelazco in Engadget

Decades of science fiction assured us all that, yes, one day we'd be able to control the immensely complex gadgetry around us with just our voices. It was right, mostly. The rise of the virtual assistant, built atop still other developments in cloud computing and machine learning, means we can wonder out loud what the weather is like, or how far away the moon is, or hail a car and expect a response from a carefully crafted voice in moments. And now, those disembodied voices have taken up residence in our homes .... "

Bandage like Sensors Gather Body information in Real-Time

Breath and accuracy of data in real-time could be important.

Bandage-Like Sensor to Detect Human Body Conditions in Real Time
 Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology
January 7, 2020

Researchers at South Korea’s Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) and Sungkyunkwan University have developed a "patch-based health diagnosis sensor system" that adheres to skin like a bandage. The sensor gleans health data in real time by tracking biosignals and certain movements. The researchers created a stable architecture allowing the sensors to function without suffering damage from intensive movement, and enhanced their vertical elasticity via a zigzag paper craft framework. The devices are made from a waterproof material to avoid problems in the collection of accurate data, and can be linked to smartphones via Bluetooth to store the information on a cloud server. DGIST's Hyuk-Jun Kwon said, "The sensor is very useful because as long as it is attached to skin like a band-aid, it can collect various biodata information."   .... " 

Knock it with a SmartPhone to Identify

Here a system built in South Korea that lets you knock on an object with a smartphone, and it identifies it using sound and motion sensors.   We worked on problems that predicted maintenance needs of machinery, using sounds and vibrations, might this be useful for such an application as well?  Another way to gather data that might be useful otherwise.     Add visual inspection information for machinery diagnosis?

Object Identification, Interaction with a Smartphone Knock
KAIST - South Korea

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea have developed technology for identifying objects and carrying out actions, simply by knocking on objects with a smartphone. The Knocker solution combines the sound and motion sensors in smartphones with software that executes directions according to sounds and vibrations. These capabilities are maintained even in low-light settings, without the use of cameras or other specialized hardware. Knocker harnesses the smartphone's built-in sensors, and machine learning identifies objects the device is knocked on by analyzing the responses generated when a smartphone is knocked against an object. Knocker was able to identify 23 everyday objects in noisy environments with 83% accuracy, and with 98% accuracy in quiet indoor environments.  ... " 

South Korea Goes 5G

Korea to launch country wide 5G,  impressive claimed 20X speed move. How will this change the overall computing experience?  In particular applications like VR?  Will less happen at the smartphone edge?  Big trouble is still that today compliant handsets are very expensive at $1000+. Though would expect that to change quickly.

S. Korea to launch world's first national 5G networks in TechExplore  by Kang Jin-Kyu

A number of South Korea's tech giants are to launch new, 5G-enabled devices to coincide with the country switching over to the high-speed technology

South Korea launches the world's first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks Friday, a transformational leap that already has superpowers sparring for control of an innovation that could potentially change the day-to-day lives of billions of people.

The superfast communications heralded by fifth-generation wireless technology will ultimately underpin everything from toasters to telephones; from electric cars to power grids.

But while the South has won the race to be first to provide the user experience, that is only one part of a wider battle that has pit the United States against China and ensnared giants including Huawei.

Hyper-wired South Korea has long had a reputation for technical prowess, and Seoul has made the 5G rollout a priority as it seeks to stimulate stuttering economic growth....."

The system will bring smartphones near-instantaneous connectivity—20 times faster than the existing 4G—allowing users to download entire movies in less than a second. ...'