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Alexa, have a heart! British company develops artificial voice that can speak with ‘deep human emotion’ — and even cry The software from Sonantic can imbue dialogue with emotional inflections It works by sampling lines recorded by voice actors with different deliveries Game and film companies can then use the AI to produce speech in minutes … Read more
Patagonia’s boss has revealed the company could stop advertising with Facebook ‘indefinitely’ if the platform fails to tackle a ‘rampant’ problem with hate speech, antisemitism and climate denialism. Ryan Gellert, the outdoor clothing brand’s general manager in Europe, today said the tech giant’s business model was ‘flawed’ and had been profiting from hate speech and … Read more
More than meets the eye! Army develops a new drone that can TRANSFORM mid-flight, making it useful for missions that require high-speed flight or hovering in place A team of engineers from the Army and Texas A&M designed a new kind of drone The vehicle can transform into different shapes for different mission stages Its … Read more
Space Tourism startup is developing ‘cruises’ into the stratosphere that will launch explorers aboard a capsule attached to a gigantic balloon – but tickets may cost $125,000 Space Perspective announced its plans for cruises to the stratosphere It would use a giant balloon to launch a nine-person capsule 10,000ft into the air The entire trip … Read more
Fitbit follows Dyson and NASA in developing a ‘low cost’ emergency ventilator to treat coronavirus patients during the pandemic FitBit’s ‘Flow’ ventilator has been designed to be intuitive and easy-to-use The firm hopes it will reduce demand on the specialists who oversee ventilators Emergency ventilators will be used when traditional models are unavailable The FitBit … Read more
EVERY recovered COVID-19 patient develops ‘neutralizing’ antibodies to the virus – but they may not be enough to block reinfection, small study suggests Researchers looked at 149 recovered coronavirus who donated plasma, which is supposed to contain virus-fighting antibodies About 79% had low levels of antibodies in their blood but 1% of ‘elite donors’ had very high … Read more
MIT researchers develop wireless system that measures use of appliances likes microwaves and hair dryers so data can be used to optimize energy usage The system is called Sapple and uses radio waves and a smart e-meter It is being positioned as a way to increase energy savings A Wi-Fi like box can judge radio … Read more
Nearly EVERYONE who recovers from coronavirus develops antibodies to it: 95% of patients had the immune cells within 3 weeks, Chinese study finds Chinese researchers studied blood from 285 coronavirus patients Within the first week after diagnosis, 40% developed short-term antibodies, and 95% had them within two weeks All of the patients developed longer term antibodies … Read more
Samsung launches new ‘upcycling’ initiative that will let customers convert bulky television boxes into household furniture, like coffee tables and kitty castles Samsung will ship its flatscreen TVs in boxes that can be converted into furniture Customers can make coffee tables, kitty castles, nightstands, and more Initially, the feature will be limited to boxes for … Read more
UK charity develops ‘chatbot’ to help people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions get medical advice and deal with isolation during the coronavirus crisis AI-powered tool COVA has been developed by British charity Versus Arthritis It was created after the charity was inundated with requests for help Chatbot incorporates advice from NHS and government sources … Read more