Emerging Tech
practical monthly roundup of emerging tech experiences with Joel Burgess, including all the latest virtual and augmented reality apps, alongside AI apps
The coronavirus is having a large impact on the technology industry, and the emerging tech scene is not immune to it. But the industry is fighting back with autonomous robots that are helping Chinese hospitals curb the spread of COVID-19 by performing menial tasks, AR games designed to help find a vaccine, and a fully online VR conference platform that hopes to fill the gap of cancelled tech events like MWC. Apart from all the pandemic related emerging tech this month there’s also some updates on how the Australian Federal Police and non law enforcement investors have had access to Clearview AI’s facial recognition technology… just in case you still had any hope left for the future.
AR Foldit
Free, fold.it
In 2011 a game created by the University of Washington’s Center for Game Science led to some major breakthroughs in viral research that had eluded medical researchers for decades. The team behind this 3D protein key building game, Foldit, have created a new edition that hopes to get creative gamers to come up with molecular solutions to slow or halt the transmission of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Anyone is free to download and play this challenging puzzler and because it is just shapedependent, you don’t even need to have any medical knowledge.
VR Everest VR
$15, oculus.com
If you’ve ever wondered what the view from the top of the world is like, Everest VR is sure to pique your interest. The immersive video project follows John Griffith and Sherpa Tenji in their journey to finish a climb of Everest and Mt. Lhotse without any bottled oxygen. The challenging feat was originally conceived by a friend and fellow climber Ueli Steck, who died while preparing for the journey. The full length 8K stereoscopic 3D feature can be purchased for VR headsets through the Oculus store and includes five iconic settings for major experiential scenes along the way.
AI Wildlife Alert $TBC, https://apps.wcswildlifetrade.org/
While we might be familiar with things like the ivory trade, everything from exotic parrots to reptiles are traded and trafficked on the black market, depending on global supply and demand. So instead of using ‘the stick’ to police this market, conservation criminologist Dr. Meredith Gore wants to use AI. The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife professor at Michigan State University hopes to use situational crime prevention techniques and AI processing to reduce the appeal of animal poaching before anything is killed.
VR Run the World
25% of ticket sales, runtheworld.today
With every tech conference from MWC to Google’s I/O conference falling to the threat of the novel coronavirus, there’s perhaps never been a better opportunity for the virtual conferencing company Run the World to showcase the merits of digital conference. The platform has been described as “a hybrid of Zoom video, Eventbrite ticketing, Twitch interactivity and LinkedIn networking” by an early investor… a combination that sounds like a pretty good alternative to a real-world conference. Run the World recently held the Hack for Wuhan digital hackathon conference that attracted 875 contestants and held virtual conferences for more than 500 audience members.
AI StradVision
$NA, stradvision.com
In the US there are over 1.5 million deer-related vehicle collisions every year causing, on average, 200 fatalities,
10,000 injuries and over US$1bn in damages – which is a pretty big incentive for good animal avoidance systems in autonomous vehicles. In response to this, camera perception company StradVision has updated its advanced driver assistance AI systems to better recognise animals. The company’s CEO has said the software will “almost completely end” animal related road incidents.
AI Promobot Terminator
US$25,000, robo-c.ai
Former Governor of California and actor Arnold Schwartzenegger is suing a Russian robot manufacturer, Promobot, for creating a humanoid robot bust of his face that consumers can buy for US$25,000. Complete with twitchy, unnatural facial expressions the Arnold Schwartzenegger robot will greet guests, turn the kettle on and make you feel like your smarthouse is one rogue download away from murdering you while you sleep.