Microsoft may be running the biggest Turing test in history
If you live in China and you've been on WeChat, there's a decent chance you've come across or at least heard of chatty teenager named Xiaoice.
Xiaoice is a good listener who sometimes offers encouragement when you're feeling down. Like many 17-year-olds, she can be a bit of a smart-aleck. She's also not human.
When Microsoft introduced Xiaoice in 2014, the company called it "Cortana's little sister." It was actually an experimental offshoot of “Xioa Na,” the nickname for Cortana's (Microsoft's voice assistant technology) expansion into China.
Bing's Chinese researchers, including Microsoft’s Dr. Yongdong Wang, set out to see if they could turn Xiao Na into a smart assistant that could, using Bing's vast knowledge set and natural language processing, conduct what they called at the time "convincing human conversations."
Essentially, they were about to launch a vast Turing test. In the 1950s, computer scientist Alan Turing posited that, by the year 2000, computers might be able to fool humans, at least 30% of the time, into thinking they were talking to other humans. Since then, programmers have been trying to build systems that could meet and beat that threshold.
The Microsoft researchers built Xiaoice and seeded the chatbot on China's most popular social media platforms: WeChat and Weibo. Could Xiaoice fool people into thinking it was human?
The answer appears to be yes.
Surprise, I'm a bot!
In a lengthy post on the science blog Nautilus Dr. Wang described what happened.
"When Xiaoice was released for a public test on WeChat... on May 29 of last year, she received 1.5 million chat group invitations in the first 72 hours. Many people said they didn’t realize she isn’t a human until 10 minutes into their conversation." wrote Dr. Wang.
On another Chinese social media platform, Weibo, Xiaoice conducted a "remarkably realistic" 23-minute conversation. Xiaoice conducted a "remarkably realistic" 23-minute conversation.
According to Dr. Wang, the thing that sets Xiaoice apart from other AI assistants is that Xiaoice is focused on the conversation and not the completion of a task.
Microsoft measured the effectiveness of their chatbot with what they're calling conversations per session (CPS), which measures the number of times the conversation goes back and forth. Typical chatbot CPS conversations have roughly two cycles (the person speaks, then the chatbot speaks — that's one cycle). "By comparison, Xiaoice’s average, after chatting with tens of millions of users, has reached 23," wrote Dr. Wang. He even claims that Xiaoice can analyze and react to your emotional state. To prove it he reproduced an example Xiaoice conversation:
Xiaoice: Are you feeling better today? I want to recommend a book to you.
Human: I am in a bad mood. I still miss her.
Xiaoice: You are so persistent. Wake up, you will have no future if you can’t get over with the past.
Microsoft, though, isn’t necessarily saying that Xiaoice is understanding what's being said. A lot of what Xiaoice can do is driven by the Bing search engine's 1 billion data posts and 21 billion relationships between those data points. Mixed in with that are voice and visual recognition systems that help Xiaoice figure out the context of the conversation.
Microsoft isn't the first to claim a Turning test breakthrough. In 2014 Princeton University researchers claimed that their chatbot, "Eugene Goostman," had fooled Turning test judges 33% of the time. (Like Xiaoice, Goostman had a little bit of a smart-aleck streak.) Yet, even that accomplishment was called into question as some researchers said the Goostman conversations, usually five minutes long, were too short. (It’s unclear how long 23-cycle Xiaoice conversations actually last.)
On the other hand, Dr. Wang contends that Xiaoice is now in a "self-learning and self-growing loop" because the system is gaining new insights from the billions of conversations it's already had.
In other words, the Turning test may not have just been broken — it could be utterly smashed
GoPro now sells just 3 different cameras
GoPro announced it is discontinuing its older series of cameras alongside a pretty negative financial report for 2015. The report describes an unexpected $57 million hit to the company’s revenues due to an excess of camera inventory and obsolete technology.
The new GoPro lineup starting in April will only include three cameras: the Hero4 Black, Hero4 Silver and Hero4 Session. Everything else will be discontinued, including the cheapest Hero GoPro, which the company describes as “the perfect entry-level GoPro.”
Following GoPro’s announcement, its stocks have taken a sharp fall, going down over 10% over the last day.
Amid the financial downturn of the action-camera company, GoPro also announced CFO Jack Lazar will be retiring after holding the position for two years. He will be replaced in March by Brain McGee, former Qualcomm vice president of business operations. Perhaps a new face leading the financial side of GoPro can pull the company out of its fiscal downturn Perhaps a new face leading the financial side of GoPro can pull the company out of its fiscal downturn.
GoPro’s future may see an upturn after the release of the new Hero5 camera this year, which founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman confirmed in an earnings call following the financial report. The company also has the Karma drone coming out in 2016, which will shoot 4K video.
Woodman also acknowledged in the report that the company needs to improve its cameras’ software.
“We recognize the need to develop software solutions that make it easier for our customers to offload, access and edit their GoPro content."
These bionic legs are so light, paraplegics can wear them under clothing
t takes just 26 pounds of hardware to get Steven Sanchez walking again. He lost the use of his legs more than a decade ago in a BMX biking accident. Now Sanchez serves as test pilot for an innovative, lightweight exoskeleton from SuitX called Phoenix.
Unveiled on Monday, the wearable robot is the result of years of work and stands apart from bulky, heavy and extremely expensive exoskeletons, like the one a partially paralyzed man wore to make the opening kick at the 2014 World Cup.
“It felt really freeing, being able to stand up and feel my legs move around and being able to move through the hallways without people kind of afraid of a wheelchair," said the 28-year-old Sanchez, describing to Mashable the first time he used Phoenix.
The Phoenix suit is not cheap, it costs an estimated $40,000, but similar systems from companies like ReWalk cost nearly twice as much.
"The whole idea behind designing an exoskeleton is that it borrows from robotics technology. But this one is based on... the way we walk," said SuitX Founder and CEO Dr. Homayoon Kazerooni, who spoke to Mashable from a robotics competition in Dubai.
Instead of placing motors (also known as actuators) at each joint, Phoenix has just two motors at the hips, a design that cuts the weight of SuitX's exoskeleton considerably. Phoenix has just two motors at the hips, a design that cuts the weight of SuitX's exoskeleton considerably. The knees have electrically controlled tension settings that tighten when the wearer is standing up and swing freely when they're walking with the device.
"The human leg during level-ground walking doesn’t require much power at the knee and we’re using the same principles with our Phoenix,” said Dr. Kazerooni. Similarly, the exoskeletons ankle and foot section are standard foot/ankle orthotics and not powered at all. Without power in the knees and lower legs, the exoskeleton is not, however, appropriate for stair-climbing beyond a step or two. "I don’t think any exoskeleton allows for climbing stairs," noted Dr. Kazerooni.
SuitX's Phoenix is fully customizable. It comes in a modular design and, according to Dr. Kazerooni, is adjustable for all kinds of weights, heights and leg sizes. And while some exoskeletons are controlled by thought, Phoenix keeps things simple and puts the controllers, literally, in the hands of the wearer. It comes with two crutches, one of which includes buttons for "Go or No Go" and "Sit" or "Standup." Pressing those buttons sends messages to the hip actuators, which also control knee tension. The wearer can press forward for each step or use a continuous walk mode.
Because it's so lightweight and adjustable, wearers can put the Phoenix exoskeleton on without assistance. Sanchez, who has been testing Phoenix for almost four years, explained that he dons it in 10-15 minutes, with most of the time devoted to cinching down and securing several straps. "15 minutes is taking your sweet, sweet time. I've gotten ready in less than five minutes," Sanchez said, laughing.
Physical therapists can use a tablet-based app for calibration and gait adjustment. Typically, it's done only once.
A paraplegic wearing Phoenix can walk up to 1.1 mph (running is out of the question) for up to four hours on a charge. Sanchez said he wears the exoskeleton as often as a few hours a day, though it's more typical for him to put it on once a week.
Dr. Kazerooni believes his design, which he's been working on for five years, is "very robust and low-cost." It could also be quite stylish. “You know, they can actually wear this under their clothing,” said Dr. Kazerooni.
Sanchez, who has yet to wear the suit under his clothes, has no illusions about SuitX's Phoenix replacing the wheelchair anytime soon, but he does see a powerful use case for it right now. “This device gets me up and standing [to a height of almost 6 feet] and relieves pressure on my body, especially in my buttocks area. I deal with a lot of pressure sores."
He also explained that he can still get around far more quickly with a wheelchair — at least for now. "That is my goal, pushing SuitX making it one day — this suit — able to run."
Google's 'SkyBender' project plans to beam 5G Internet from solar drones
The project, called SkyBender, involves several prototype transceivers and multiple drones, which are housed at Virgin Galactic's Gateway to Space terminal in New Mexico's Spaceport America. Information about the secret project, which is part of the Google Access team that includes Project Loon, was gleaned from documents that were obtained in accordance with public record laws.
SkyBender works with millimeter wave radio transmissions, which, "can theoretically transmit gigabits of data every second, up to 40 times more than today’s 4G LTE systems," The Guardian wrote.
Jacques Rudell, University of Washington in Seattle professor of electrical engineering, tells The Guardian the advantage to this technology is that the "existing cellphone spectrum is overcrowded." However, millimeter wave transmissions have a shorter range than that of a mobile phone signal, which is something the experiments are likely striving to improve.
SkyBender is working with, "an “optionally piloted” aircraft called Centaur as well as solar-powered drones made by Google Titan, a division formed when Google acquired New Mexico startup Titan Aerospace in 2014." The FCC has granted Google permission to continue tests until July 2016.
Neonotix Technologies Private Limited's photo.
Fire-resistant bags are the latest hoverboard accessory
After fires, explosions, recalls and bans, it seems like owning a hoverboard is just testing fate. If you must, at least take some precautions.
Aiming to give hoverboard-owners a little more peace of mind, an Australian company has built the Hovervault, a product it's marketing as a fire-resistant bag that will prevent a malfunctioning hoverboard from burning your house down. Designed to allow users to charge their hoverboard in the bag, as well as transport it, it claims to add an extra level of protection.
Hovervault's James Stewart told Mashable Australia he was inspired to make the bag after using similar products when transporting his own hobby drones. He purchased speciality-fibreglass pouches, known as Lipo bags, after discovering many drones have lithium polymer batteries that are known to be unstable. "[The bags] basically suffocate a fire and stop it from becoming a raging inferno," he said.
After hearing reports about the spate of hoverboard combustions, particularly when charging, he wondered why no one had made a similar bag for the larger devices and decided to go ahead and build his own. "You have to respect these batteries," he said. "They're lithium-ion batteries in the hoverboards ... They're very small, they're very cheap and they're high output. It doesn't always work together.
"They don't always have the highest levels of quality control on these things."
Hovervault is not the first such bag to market — there is a HoverCover fire resistant hoverboard bag available on Amazon. Made by Newtex, a supplier of fire resistant fabrics and coatings, it ships to the U.S., Canada and Europe but not to Asia nor Australia. The Hovervault will ship globally.
Made from 2-millimetre fibreglass composite weave, the Hovervault won't stop a fire from occurring, but it will contain and eventually suffocate the flames until danger has passed, Stewart claimed. "This thing won't stop a fire, it will contain a fire," he said. "It's quite a proven material to withhold the high temperatures these things can burn at."
The bag will vent smoke, but the company recommends not opening the bag after a fire and calling the fire brigade to dispose of it. "The minute you open it up again, if there's lithium remaining, it could flare up again," he explained, given lithium reacts to oxygen.
Furthermore, the Hovervault doesn't mean hoverboard owners can be cavalier. Stewart said the product manual would cover the do's and don'ts of charging the devices: "You're never to ever charge a hoverboard on any flammable surface or within 5 metres of any flammable materials," he said. "You're not even supposed to charge these things unattended. It's just good practice."
Stewart said his team have done in-house testing of the bags with various batteries, but added that independent testing and accreditation is expected to occur shortly, before the product is ready to ship in March.


LG's 'White Card' could replace all your credit and debit cards


Remember Coin, the electronic card that promised to replace your credit cards, debit cards and rewards cards? Yeah, it was a flop, but LG is now reportedly cooking up a similar version of the all-in-one payment card.
The credit-card-like device will reportedly be called LG Pay White Card, according to a report by ETNews. Like Coin and Plastc, the White Card will be able to store several credit, debit and rewards cards.
A leaked photo of the so-called White Card (shown above) shows a card with a simple LCD to display which card is selected, as well as buttons to switch between the cards. The contacts on the left side of the card are used for charging the White Card, which requires a separate charger.
Though mobile payment platforms such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay use smartphones to replace physical payment cards, LG hopes its White Card will differentiate LG Pay from the competition. The company reportedly wants to target not only smartphone users, but also less tech-savvy users like elderly customers The company reportedly wants to target not only smartphone users, but also less tech-savvy users like elderly customers who may not own a smartphone with any supported mobile payment platform.
ETNews claims the Korean electronics company has ordered 50,000 White Cards in preparation for its launch. LG announced in November it had partnered with two major Korean credit card companies — Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card — to launch the service in South Korea. Lotte Card, another major Korean credit card company, has also reportedly signed on with LG Pay. An unnamed source told the ETNews "most [credit card] companies will join LG Pay" by next month, though it's unclear if they are referring only to Korean credit card companies.
We're expecting to hear more about LG Pay and White Card in a few weeks at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Mashable will be on the ground bringing you the latest in mobile news from the show.



These Smart Light Bulbs Play Music, Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal, and More


As you probably know, LED bulbs are one of history’s greatest high-tech success stories. They use around 90 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs, yet last 25 years or more. They turn on to full brightness instantly. They remain cool to the touch. They’re hard to break, and safety-coated if they do.
They also contain electronics — which has sent clever inventors into overdrive. Since the circuitry in an LED bulb can be made very tiny, that leaves a lot of space inside to add chips that connect these bulbs to your phone and your home network. 
The smart-bulb revolution began a few years back, when companies started making bulbs that you can control with a phone app — turning on and off, dimming them, and even changing the color.
In the last few months, though, some even brighter ideas in light bulbs have heated up. Here’s what you have to look forward (or upward) to.

Light bulbs for power outages

The first SmartCharge LED bulb was a Kickstarter success story. And its technology is so amazing, you may not believe it.
At its heart, the SmartCharge 2.0 is a battery-backup bulb designed to work when your power goes out. It’s the size of a normal bulb, so you can screw it into any lamp or fixture. Compared with other smart bulbs, it’s refreshingly simple: There’s no Internet connection, app, control box, remote control, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or new wiring needed.
If the power ever goes out, the backup battery kicks in automatically; the bulb behaves exactly as it always has, for a total of 3.5 more hours of light. (The battery recharges whenever the power isn’t out.) Install a few of these, and you’ve performed your last frantic hunt in the dark for a working flashlight.
But here’s where your mind will fall apart. Read this slowly: You can still turn this bulb on and off from the wall switch, even when the power is out.

http://neonotix.com/