Ecovacs Robotics is shipping Winbot X, calling it the first cordless window cleaning robot that can reach areas that were previously inaccessible. The $449 robot operates in stages: it automatically scans and analyzes a window’s cleaning area before going into a “deep clean mode” to concentrate on dirt and stains; then it uses a mop and squeegee to “clean in all directions,” said the company. Edge detection technology uses sensors to detect window edges or edgeless windows to prevent the robot from going farther, it said. A safety tether system is said to secure the robot to a window to prevent it from falling off: a pad monitors and ensures the robot’s connection to the glass, and when the air pressure within the suction cup reaches a certain point, a warning signal sounds, causing the tether to retract, it said. The bot cleans for 50 minutes on a full charge, said Ecovacs. Winbot X was a 2018 CES Innovation Award recipient.
The White House wants an update to the national artificial intelligence strategy on research and development, and opened the process to public comment, an AI advisory board announced Wednesday. The Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (see 1805100065), which is under the National Science and Technology Council, “began updating” the National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan Wednesday. “By updating our strategic plan for AI R&D, we help ensure that the United States continues to lead in cutting edge AI innovations that address the most pressing AI challenges of today,” said Deputy Assistant to the President-Technology Policy Michael Kratsios. BSA|The Software Alliance Vice President-Global Policy Aaron Cooper said: “Ensuring that the federal government’s funding is used efficiently and effectively -- both on basic research and in addressing workforce shifts -- is a key pillar of a national AI strategy.” Comments are due Oct. 26.
Legislation for improving the federal government’s use of artificial intelligence was introduced Wednesday by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. The Artificial Intelligence in Government Act will provide resources and direct “federal agencies to include AI in data-related planning,” the lawmakers said.
Global spending on cognitive-learning artificial intelligence systems is forecast to reach $77.6 billion in 2022, more than three times the $24.0 billion forecast for 2018, based on a 37.3 percent compound annual growth rate for the five years through 2022, said IDC Wednesday. "The market for AI continues to grow at a rapid pace," it said. "Vendors looking to take advantage of AI, deep learning and machine learning need to move quickly to gain a foothold in this emergent market.” Software will be “both the largest and fastest growing technology category throughout the forecast,” representing about 40 percent of all spending, based on a 43.1 percent five-year CAGR, it said. “Conversational” AI applications, including personal assistants, will be a key area of focus for those investments, it said.
Chinese artificial intelligence startups raised $5 billion in 2017 venture capital funding from only 19 investments, overtaking their U.S. counterparts, which raised $4.4 billion from 155 investments, reported ABI Research Monday. The trend shows investors are “confident” with the AI technologies the Chinese startups are developing, and with their business strategies and market potential, said ABI. “The influence of the Chinese government plays a key role in attracting investment in AI startups.” The government “is setting clear policy guidelines for the future development of AI and startups are responding with cutting edge AI technologies across many industries,” it said.
Consumers are “conflicted” as they weigh artificial intelligence, excited about innovations in self-driving and robotics, fearful of the “misuse of personal data,” reported Elicit Thursday. The consulting firm canvassed a nationally representative sample of nearly 700 adults in the spring and found they are divided in “general level of comfort with AI,” it said. A third worry AI “won't stay focused on mundane tasks and leave the real thinking to humans.” Consumers “have a healthy skepticism about what companies will do with AI,” it said. Seven of 10 said they think some companies “will go too far” with AI, it said.
LG Electronics filed last week to register the “CLOi” trademark for an international class of robots and services that use software as “an artificially intelligent personal assistant,” Patent and Trademark Office records show. LG filed a similar application June 29 with South Korean trademark authorities, said the July 23 PTO application. Senior Vice President-Marketing David VanderWaal took the stage at LG's CES 2018 news conference to introduce CLOi as the consumer touch point for LG’s ThinQ artificial intelligence platform. “CLOi is our way to operate your LG devices via voice commands,” said VanderWaal. “We really love how CLOi is capable of physical and emotional interaction. She’s so cute. Talk about innovation that makes you smile.” Moments later, when CLOi became unresponsive to VanderWaal’s voice commands, he said: “Even robots have bad days.”
House lawmakers said artificial intelligence and machine learning have a high level of potential to solve scientific problems and improve human life. During a joint hearing Thursday between the Energy and the Research and Technology subcommittees, House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, listed some notable AI efforts: the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are experimenting with machine learning-based approaches; Argonne National Laboratory researchers are creating a 3D map of human brain neurons; and Carnegie Mellon University’s NextManufacturing Center is combining 3D printing and machine learning for monitoring “the quality of manufactured components in real-time.” Energy Subcommittee Chairman Randy Weber, R-Texas, cited Rice University in his district, where researchers are using machine learning to address geological science. Weber cited the Department of Energy’s goal of fielding exascale computing systems capable of a great many calculations per second by 2021. “With the immense potential for machine learning technologies to answer fundamental scientific questions … it’s clear we should prioritize this research,” Weber said. Research and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Barbara Comstock, R-Va., discussed DOE’s joint effort with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the MVP-Champion program. The program seeks to use advanced computing and machine learning to analyze health records for more than 20 million veterans. “The potential for AI to help humans and further scientific discoveries is immense,” Comstock said. Argonne National Laboratory researcher Bobby Kasthuri told the committee that advanced computing has the potential to transform mental illness and disease treatment, revolutionize computers and algorithms and bolster artificial intelligence capabilities and national and economic security. Carnegie Mellon University professor Anthony Rollett suggested U.S. government agencies be given the capability to support data storage systems, allowing data to be shipped on a “terabyte scale.”
The U.S. policy path to spurring the growth of artificial intelligence comes in freeing up spectrum for flexible use, cutting red tape and "regulatory humility" of avoiding imposing rules in the absence of market failure or consumer harm, Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday at the ITU Global Symposium for Regulators in Geneva, per prepared remarks. He said that through ITU is opportunity to work on international spectrum allocation and harmonization that can help along AI and other emerging technologies. He said guaranteeing universal access is a key part of the U.S. approach to emerging technologies, and ITU's priority should be widespread broadband connectivity to help drive the potential of AI, blockchain and other technologies. Pai has mulled organizing an FCC forum on AI and machine learning to help the agency get up to speed on such emerging tech (see 1806140049).
Next week's hearing of two House Science, Space and Technology subcommittees on artificial intelligence is titled "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility," amid congressional and public scrutiny of AI. The hearing will discuss the "difference between narrow and general intelligence," the committee said Tuesday. The hearing will be Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in 2318 Rayburn with witnesses Jaime Carbonell of Carnegie Mellon University; Tim Persons, GAO chief scientist; Greg Brockman, chief technology officer of OpenAI; and Fei-Fei Li, chairperson of AI4All.