Artificial intelligence and robotics are bringing drastic changes in the technological fields. Things we only imagined twenty years back have now become a reality. From automated systems at a manufacturing plant to self-serving robots in a restaurant, technology has evolved, driving humans together. In Today’s world, AI and robots serve people as problem-solvers, companions, and first-responders. Basically, when you chat online with a business on their website thinking that you are talking to their customer representative, you are actually talking to a chatbot. Technology has evolved for good, and it is not going to stop here. 

AI and robotics are getting used in multiple fields

When we talk about AI and robotics, they are not specific to a certain industry. Their adaptability has made them the favorites in all the industries and sectors you can name or think of. From gaming to defense, healthcare, automotive, fitness, education, retail, manufacturing, and whatnot. Online gambling, for example, is a billion-dollar industry, and online gambling platforms like True Blue Casino have already started using AI-based algorithms that control the outcome of the gameplay. 

So, it is safe to say that machines and computers will positively manage most of our dealings. It is just the start. AI, machine learning, and robotics are bound to progress further in the coming years before they become commonplace. Data has played a crucial role in the development of these systems because data has enabled these machines to learn on their own. With that being said, let’s discuss the applications of AI and robotics and how they are going to shape our future. 

Where AI and Robots are used Today? 

AI and robots are a powerful combination for automating tasks. In recent times, artificial intelligence has become a significantly common presence in robotic solutions, bringing in learning capabilities and flexibility in previously rigid applications. While still being nascent, both technologies work well when combined. 

1. Virtual Assistant and Chatbots 

Virtual assistants and chatbots propel the world with astounding automation levels, driving costs down, and productivity. Virtual assistants are a manifestation of AI and machine learning through the simulation of conversation with humans. Virtual assistants and chatbots are designed to obey automated rules using capabilities called Natural Language Processing (NLP). The recent advancements in technology have significantly improved their performance. From Siri to Google Assistant and Alexa, they are the glorified versions of virtual assistants. 

From answering the basic questions like Today’s date and weather to performing some complex tasks like “Hey Siri! Set up an alarm for 8 AM,” these virtual assistants will slowly replace your human assistants. The best part is that they amalgamate very well with machines in your home. With the likes of IoT (Internet of Things), you can command your virtual assistant to turn on the light or AC or music in your house.

2. Agriculture and Farming 

Believe it or not, robotics and AI are your next best bet for sustainable agriculture. With the food supply chain facing a crisis, courtesy of centuries of environmental abuse, over-farming, labor shortages, and population growth, it is threatening our most basic needs. AI and automation are believed to provide relief from the effects of an aging agricultural workforce. With the likes of autonomous drones, self-driving agricultural machines, etc., farmers can spend more time focusing on creating sustainable harvests and less time watching the path in front of them. 

Deere is a well-known agriculture equipment manufacturer that is popular for its self-driving machinery. Also, it expanded its agricultural arsenal with the introduction of an automated weed sprayer. It uses next-gen technology with advanced robotics, machine learning, and computer vision to distinguish between crop and weed. Also, Big Data is helping farmers to deliver better crops. Big Data has given rise to prescription agriculture that uses web-based tools for creating maps or prescriptions, telling farmers how much fertilizer they need to apply to certain crops and areas. 

3. Autonomous Flying 

Autonomous flying uses computer vision technology for hovering in the air while avoiding obstacles and moving in a straight path. With the introduction of artificial intelligence, these flying machines are getting smarter. From aerial view monitoring to security surveillance, video recording, rescue missions, and more, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles are revolutionizing and replacing many job roles. The application of computer vision in autonomous flying includes obstacle detection, collision avoidance, self-navigation, and object tracking. 

Machine learning can bring some drastic changes to how autonomous flying vehicles function. While object tracking UAVs capture real-time data, it also uses an on-board intelligence system that enables it to make human-independent decisions based on the real-time data. 

These drones can be used in urban management and smart cities for advanced surveillance, quick facial recognition, or tracing unwanted objects. They are also highly beneficial in agriculture and farming as they can monitor crops, check the soil fertility, assess soil, and help crop production. Other applications may include: 

• Scanning or mapping terrain of buildings in real estate; 
• In the military to bombard or combat enemies in the war; 
• For human tracking and face recognition. 

4. Retail, Shopping and Fashion 

The retail sector is reaping the benefits of AI and machine learning for some time now. Artificial intelligence is helping retailers better understand their target market through data analysis. Since data is the new currency of this digital world, it can make or break a business. Keeping this in mind, retailers are using predictive analytics to help forecast customer behavior based on sales data. E-commerce sites are using recommendations based on the customer’s regional search trends, location, and search history. Moreover, shopping sites like Amazon offer its customers product recommendations based on past sales data. 

AI also helps retailers enhance their online store by customizing messages they send to their prospective customers. Content generation is a tedious process, but with AI’s Natural Language Generation (NLG), retailers can send targeted messages and offers to customers. 

Robots have been introduced to manage the inventory and sales floor, giving ultimate precision and cutting high costs. And when it comes to fashion, AI is slowly taking over the supply chain and fashion store. From sorting of dresses to sewing, these mundane tasks are performed by AI-induced systems with better accuracy and faster speed. Robots can easily stitch fabrics with precision and can also detect flaws in the material, ensuring quality assurance. 

5. Security and Surveillance 

The robots developed Today use artificial intelligence, long-range sensors, high-definition cameras, and fast computer processing, all of which makes for a pretty decent security system for different needs. Experts believe that robots can easily guard a designated area. There are robots in the making that uses mapping software for creating a geo-fenced perimeter. 

They are designed to monitor the grounds and inside of the building. These security robots are intelligently designed and use differential GPS that can easily find objects within a few centimeters. So, when it is moving, it knows exactly where it is. They can record and store data on a daily basis with their security camera. The foundation of an AI-based security system is a self-monitoring system that features an HD camera. 

The latest AI-powered security robots use facial recognition to store the identities of people visiting a particular house or building and create a catalog of individuals who are regular visitors or those who are known. 

6. Sports Analytics and Activities 

The sports industry is embracing artificial intelligence and robots to make games more exciting and fairer. Sports are more than just games for millions of people. For some, it is an emotion. Above all, it is a billion-dollar industry. With so much at stake, organizations and associations across the globe are trying their best to gain a competitive advantage and keep the fans happy using robotics technology and artificial intelligence. 

AI is helping players improve their fitness and help teams discover new talents. In some sports, robot referees are already a thing, while smart machines are assisting spectators in finding their seats at the stadium. For those who don’t want to visit the jam packed stadium to have fun, their fan experience is retained and redefined using VR headsets. Artificial intelligence is also helping clubs and teams come up with strategies based on previous data. 

The following are some of the interventions that are being implemented in the sports industry: 

• Smart apps and Virtual Reality tech are driving fan engagement; 
• Tech-powered refereeing is soon going to become a reality; 
• Smart algorithms are developing new games; 
• AI is helping team management and support staff to find new star players;
• AI is assisting clubs and teams to protect the wellbeing of their players. 

7. Manufacturing and Production 

The evolution of the manufacturing and production industry is seen with the implementation of robotics and AI. The primary reason for the introduction of AI in the manufacturing industry is to cover for the lack of workforce, simplify the whole production process, and improve efficiency. Earlier, it used to take a whole team’s effort to manage one task system. Now since bots have taken over, it has helped manufacturers boost production speed. 

AI is helping the industry by making product decisions instant and smarter. This is an era of customized products, and AI is helping manufacturers gather useful customer data, which is used to make product-based decisions. Also, it has helped the companies to reduce the overall cost of production. AI and robotics is the future of manufacturing. To get a better understanding of how essential are robotics and AI in the manufacturing industry, have a look at their use cases: 

• Demand-based production; 
• Automatic control; 
• Damage control and quick maintenance; 
• Product design and redesign.

8. Gaming 

Robotics and AI have influenced the way computer games are designed and played. AI is helping game developers to create characters and generate their behavior to imitate humans. The primary goal of artificial intelligence in games is collecting and processing data obtained from players. Above all, it has enabled game developers to create games based on their needs and expectations. 

Also, online gambling has benefited a lot from artificial intelligence. It studies the expectations and preferences of the gambler for example in top 10 online casinos Australia, giving them maximum satisfaction from the comfort of their home. The adaptability and learning nature of the algorithm of AI allows for creating realistic and natural game environments. 

Last but not least, AI-based games have tremendous graphics. It needs a team of hundreds of developers to create such stunning graphics, but thanks to AI, the whole process is automated. This not only saves time, money, and resources as well. 

Conclusion 

Artificial intelligence and robotics are the driving force of the future. In the next decade, you will surely see some stunning technological revelations based on AI. AI is all about data, and when properly implemented, it will use the given data to our benefit, automating most of the processes and making our lives easier. 

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Hikvision has enhanced its DeepinView camera line by adding AI-powered deep learning algorithms to improve performance and deliver competitive pricing, the company announced.

The Dedicated Subseries are an example of AI chipset performance and how the technology can be used in security. Hikvision says its algorithms can be switched to have as many as five or six capabilities in one housing.

“Embedding switchable algorithms is a significant step for Hikvision to take in its AI product development. In a world of ever-changing technologies and functionalities, this approach creates great value for end users to try new technologies to ensure security, as well as to implement business intelligence and other applications,” said Frank Zhang, president of the International Product and Solution Center at Hikvision in a prepared statement . “The benefits of our new offerings are numerous including reduced costs, improved efficiency, and speedy and effective incident response.”

The Dedicated DeepinView cameras combine vehicle analysis for automatic number plate recognition and vehicle attribute recognition with switchable deep learning algorithms including facial recognition, face counting, hard hat detection, perimeter protection, queue management, and multiple-target-type detection.

Vehicle analysis can be installed at street checkpoints and at building entrances or exits, while the switchable algorithms can be deployed at construction sites to alert cases of hard hat violation, for example. In retail, a shop could use the face counting feature to keep exact count of new customers coming into and leaving the store.

Users can switch between perimeter protection for outdoor monitoring and security, facial recognition to allow access to restricted areas, and queue management to get insights on wait times and improve customer experience.

Available in 2, 4, 8, and 12 MP resolutions, the cameras are embedded with Hikvision’s DarkFighter and LightFighter technologies for enhanced clarity in low-light environments. For forensic searches, third-party platforms can receive camera data for real-time video analysis or footage archives. The cameras also include a feature that detects outdoor vandalism.

Hikvision’s thermal camera line was recently rolled out by six mining companies, while its facial recognition and other AI technologies were chosen to secure construction in the emirate of Ajman.

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The Chinese strategy of mass surveillance has, may be, achieved one of the greatest tangible results of the COVID-19 threat so far.

Singapore, Israel and China, though pressing the delicate button of the data protection regulation, have implemented strategies of controlled and monitored containment through advanced digital systems, such as drones and data mining tools, supported by applications installed in the mobile devices of the population, in order to track the population movements in quarantine times. 

Tracking the path of the virus that makes its way from man to man is perhaps one of the keys to solving the intricate puzzle of the pandemic management, a management that requires fully quantitative methods of analysis and prevention, as well as the application of mathematical and statistical models that, however, if not supported by the right amount of data to be taken into analysis, cannot be correctly implemented and risk to provide partially (or totally) wrong answers. 

In the same way, in Italy there are some technological proposals, that would require both technical-operational and regulatory screening, in view of what could, for some, be seen as a potential violation of the privacy rights, though their purposes would be the exclusive safeguard of the community.

«Singula», How It Works 

One of the most accredited (perhaps the most accredited) at the moment, for simplicity of use and functionality of the process (in fact, you only need to download and identify yourself through your fiscal code), is the proposal of the Milan-based team led by the economist and innovation expert Giuseppe Signorelli, of Sicilian origin, who immediately saw digitalisation as the solution to this complex plot of limiting the spread of contagion. 

The problem is of quantitative kind, «If you do not track the virus through the collection of individual data, the timeline of the containment strategy implemented by our country will be much longer», Signorelli reports. 

The application is called «Singula» (from the Latin «Individual») and works as described from here on.

The first step, as anticipated, is the personal identification through the individual fiscal code. 

From the moment of activation, the application makes a recording of the user’s position every exact 30 minutes using the smartphone GPS, and saves the positioning data in an internal database, accessible only through the owner’s smartphone. 

The data is not shared with anyone, except with the express consent of the owner.

The application records the 48 daily positions (one every 30 minutes) and stores them for a period of time of 14 days (incubation time, even latent, of COVID-19). Every day, the data for the fifteenth day prior is deleted. 

All positioning data are accessible from the owner’s smartphone and can be requested by the Civil Protection Department everytime: 

– It is suspected that the owner had contacts with a virus carrier, in order to see, by cross-referencing the owner’s data with the data of the carrier, whether the two may actually had contacts; 

– A new carrier is discovered, in order to track this carrier’s movements in the previous days and find, through crossreferencing his movement data with the movement data of other users, potential other infected persons, thus “drawing” the viral path. 

The strategy is clearly aimed at isolating the virus by isolating its carriers, and thus reducing the timeline of the containment policy implemented by our government. 

If, hypothetically, it were decided to increase the number of swabs, it would be logical to use the positioning data thus detected and start the swabs from the areas where carriers of the virus have passed or have spent most of their time, thus increasing the probability of finding, through the new swabs, new infected persons and isolate them. 

«The effectiveness of the system is obviously directly proportional to the number of people using the application», Signorelli reports.

Ideally, if the application were mandatory for every Italian, it would be possible to have the amount of data to potentially isolate the virus almost completely and reduce the infection exponentially. 

2.0 Geo-localisation Database

Through the application it is possible to access a map that geo-localizes the so-called «red zones» («hotspots»), i.e. the areas where a certain number (more or less large, depending on the size of the bubble) of contagions had occurred, on a local and national scale. 

The data of the zones at risk are put into the application database by the application management team, which draws information from public sources, or directly from the Civil Protection Department for a more accurate report. 

The purpose is clear, allow the population to know which areas of their city are most affected, and thus measure their choices regarding their «exits for necessity» in terms of risk of contagion.  

The idea is that red zones should be discarded by those who were thinking to go there to carry out their necessary activities, preferring instead zones with lower levels of risk. 

By scrolling down the page, in the same section, is reported the daily COVID-19 bulletin from the Civil Protection

3.0 «Red Zones» Database 

Other feature of the application is the reporting of certified information on the virus spread on a global scale. 

Graphical and numerical reports are presented, as well as updated statistics on the spread, the mortality and the recovery from COVID-19. 

The data source is the daily monitoring report from the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (USA). 

4.0 Global Analysis COVID-19 (Source J.H.U.)

Lastly, among the application settings, is reported the privacy policy and are described the data encryption mechanisms for the user maximum safety. 

The same page also lists the regional emergency numbers activated specifically for COVID-19 and provides the possibility to report an hotspot, even a restricted area at risk of contagion, or any information that may be useful to the Civil Protection Department to limit the spread.

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It can be hard to know how much we should care about our digital footprint – but like it or not, most of us have one.

From the first check of the phone in the morning, to the ride in to work, to lunchtime swiping of loyalty cards, we leave a trail of information behind us as we go about our lives.

Our movements, online activity and spending habits all paint a picture of who we are and – of special interest to marketers – what we buy.

Data collection can be a scary thought to some; a digital dystopia where our private information is collected without us really noticing and sold on.

But then again, maybe it’s a good thing.

Stuff journalist Katie Kenny, who reports on digital trends, says data collection has pros and cons.

 “It can make society a much fairer place if Governments are making really data-driven decisions around infrastructure and allocation of resources and things like that.

“On an individual level, there are conveniences. Even something as simple as a discount is an incentive to sign up for a loyalty club.

“The way that ads will pop up that are tailored to your previous browsing habits; some people think it’s creepy, some people think it’s helpful… but it can make life easier.”

But Kenny says the downside is that we run the risk of people knowing too much about us.

“At the extreme end, are we heading towards a surveillance society?

“We are very much in a society that I wouldn’t say is zero-privacy, but there’s certainly not a lot of privacy.”

While data collection is far from a new thing, Stats NZ’s latest information venture is looking to shake up the data game by accessing information held by phone companies.

Data Ventures is a commercial start-up from within Stats NZ. Its first project, Population Density, measures what the name suggests: how many people are in one place, at one time.

It does this by taking information provided by telcos from cell phone towers, and then compiles that information to show where all the people are.

Then that information’s sold on – initially, back to Government departments, but Data Ventures isn’t ruling out venturing into the private data market, either.

Kenny says that information will be used to plan for tourism peaks and troughs, and emergency planning too.

“You can use a big event like a rugby game, where you have 70,000 people gathered in open space, and then suddenly they’re leaving – this data would show hour by hour which highways are getting overloaded … and how quickly they’re able to get out of a central city area.  

The project’s attracted few privacy concerns. The Privacy Commissioner, Government ministers and phone providers Spark and Vodafone are all confident the anonymised nature of the data means no individual can be identified.

“It’s not the same as Google data, or other movement data, because it doesn’t track movements from A to B, it just provides a map of the number of people in a portion of a country,” says Kenny.

Not everyone is comfortable with it however.

A notable exception to this data train is 2 Degrees, which has opted out of the Population Density project over potential privacy concerns with future projects.

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