21st Century Innovative Technologies and Developments as also discoveries, curiosity ( insolite)...

A group of Toyota engineers was inspired by the Japanese manga about basketball and in its free time built a robot that can throw the ideal three-pointer into the basket. After the robot was tested and finalized, the Japanese arranged a test for their pupils - a match with professional basketball players. And he won all.

It is claimed that the robot basketball player was trained with AI, but on video, his behavior looks much simpler: he rolls on wheels and repeats the same movements again and again.
However, this uncomplicated and uncreative behavior was enough to defeat several players from the professional league. The robot is simply more consistent and regular in its actions. To win, it is enough just to make fewer mistakes than a person.

"CUE" of humanoid robot who learns shoot form with artificial intelligence (AI). On the 20th in the practice range of Arvalq Tokyo in Fuchu, Tokyo, shoot showdown by cue and A Tokyo players was held. While the queue decided ten consecutive lines, the pair of Zac Balance key player and Ando Ozuya picked up failed in the sixth line. Ando played "I thought he would take off about 1, but ... I feel frustrated.

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On the stage of Google I/O, CEO Sundar Pichai announced Google.ai, a new initiative to democratize the benefits of the latest in machine learning research. Google.ai will serve as a center of Google’s AI efforts — including research, tools and applied AI.

The new site will host research from Google and its Brain Team. It also allows anyone to quickly access fun experiments that highlight the company’s progress in the field. This includes AutoDraw, that makes it possible for unskilled artists to put their ideas on paper, Duet that can play along with piano players and Quick, Draw!, a game where an AI tries to guess your drawings. A selection of videos and posts about Google’s AI-first efforts are also co-located.

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http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?&tag=AI

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-innovative-technologies-and-developments/?&tag=AI

Snap Inc., the Snapchat-maker's new name, hasn't said exactly when Spectacles will go on sale but we know they will be priced at $129.99. 

While that's still a decent chunk of change, as far as wearables go, it's pretty reasonable. It's less than many wrist-worn wearables like Fitbit's $149.95 Charge 2 tracker, and significantly cheaper than other glasses products. When Google Glass launched in 2013, it cost $1,500. 

Granted, Spectacles isn't an augmented reality product, as many thought it might be, and the fact that it's primarily a camera helps keep the cost down. But, with wireless charging along with Wi-FI and Bluetooth connectivity, it's not exactly light on features either. 

The right price point could make all the difference for Snap Inc., which is just starting to branch out into products beyond its flagship app. Given that the app is most popular among young users, making Spectacles too expensive could prove to be disastrous for the company.

And while it's still too early to tell if Spectacles will be a success for the company, at least we know the cost won't be holding many people back.

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https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2013/12/21/privacy-in-the-digital-world-shouldnt-we-talk-about-it/

IBM scientists have developed new algorithms to help improve the knowledge of complex chemistry and quantum computing.

Using IBM Q, the tech team successfully applied an efficient algorithm in relation to the number of quantum operations required for stimulation using a six qubits of a seven-qubit quantum processor to address the molecular structure problem for beryllium hydride which is to date the largest molecule simulated on a quantum computer.

IBM develop algorithm to create best quantum computing yet.
As a result of the breakthrough, it could result in effective practical applications across various sectors such as medicine to help develop personalised drugs, material engineering and energy to discover better sustainable energy sources.

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Es ist ein weiterer Beleg für den Klimawandel: Die Ozeane heizen sich immer schneller auf. Neue Daten zeigen, wie sehr sich Forscher in der Vergangenheit geirrt haben.

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Snapchat is the only company cool enough to possibly dismantle the Google Glass stigma. Awkward, useless, and a threat to privacy are how many think of computers you wear on your face. Can Snapchat show off the masterful marketing and smooth execution required to produce a product that won’t die on stores shelves or in a desk drawer?

To quickly recount the basics, a video of Snapchat’s new camcorder sunglasses leaked last night. Business Insider reported it, so the company rushed out the news with a Wall Street Journal piece that was planned for Monday.

Snapchat is renaming its corporate self to Snap Inc, and launching its $130 Spectacles this fall in limited release. They’ll be one-size-fits all in black, teal, or coral colors. Spectacles let you tap the glasses’ rim to instantly record 10 seconds of video, three taps to record a maximum of 30 seconds, with a light on the front alerting people you’re recording.

The video is captured with an 115-degree wide view lens in a circular format that can be watched full-screen on a phone in any orientation. The video is stored on the device and can be wirelessly offloaded to a phone over Wifi or Bluetooth so users can edit and share via Snapchat later. Spectacles’ battery should last a day, and you can get up to four full recharges from the portable charging case.

It seems like it was ages ago that Google Glass was the future that nobody wanted. The wearable tech had at least one bad design flaw—it seemed to get its early adopters punched in the face because people didn’t like the camera being pointed at them. Now, Snapchat thinks people are finally ready for glasses-mounted personal recording devices.

Snapchat is betting that it wasn’t so much the fear of being assaulted that killed Google Glass; it’s just that people didn’t want to pay $1500 for the privilege. The millennial-approved social network is jumping into the hardware game with its $130 “Spectacles.” Rather than trying to do everything a smartphone can, the frames will simply focus on looking “stylish” and recording 10-second bursts of circular video.

The glasses feature a fish-eye lens that captures videos at an 115-degree angle, which is closer to the eyes’ natural field of view. The user taps a button on the hinge, a ring of lights indicate to strangers that they are being filmed and a short clip is recorded. (Good luck with that.) The footage is then automatically pushed to Snapchat memories.

Quantum computing is now within closer reach thanks to a major breakthrough in which scientists have demonstrated that a key building block can be assembled.

Quantum computers are based on atomic-scale quantum bits, or qubits, that can represent both 0 and 1 simultaneously, and they are expected to deliver huge performance gains over traditional computers. Realizing that potential, however, depends on the ability to build working quantum circuits.

That's where the Fredkin gate, also known as a controlled-SWAP gate, comes in. The quantum version of the classic Fredkin gate exchanges two qubits depending on the value of the third. It could be a key component of quantum circuitry, but because of the complexity involved, no one has ever managed to build one in the real world -- until now.

Whereas the Fredkin gate typically requires a circuit of five logic operations, researchers from Griffith University and the University of Queensland used the quantum entanglement of particles of light to implement the controlled-SWAP operation directly.

“Similar to building a huge wall out of lots of small bricks, large quantum circuits require very many logic gates to function," explained Raj Patel, a research fellow in Griffith's Center for Quantum Dynamics. "However, if larger bricks are used, the same wall could be built with far fewer bricks.”

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