Artificial Intelligence

AI likely in new industrial policy in India

The Government of India is expected to provide incentives for use of frontier technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics in the new industrial policy that is likely to be unveiled soon. Besides, the industries would also be encouraged to adopt green technologies to promote cleaner environment.

The proposed policy, the draft of which has been released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry for consultation with various stakeholders, will completely revamp the Industrial Policy of 1991. The world is talking about industrial revolution 4.0 that includes artificial intelligence, robotics, deep learning and Internet of Things and incentives and there is a need to promote adoption of these modern technologies, which are capital intensive, according to government sources.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in August last year floated a draft industrial policy with an aim to create jobs for the next two decades, promote foreign technology transfer and attract USD 100 billion FDI annually.

The department is working to formulate an outcome oriented actionable policy that provides direction and charts a course of action for a globally competitive Indian industry that leverages skill, scale and technology. The development assumes significance as India is aiming at increasing the contribution of manufacturing sector in the GDP to 25 per cent by 2020, from the current level of about 16-17 per cent. www.thehindubusinessline.com

Mumbai to have India’s first artificial intelligence centre

In a first in India, the State government of Maharashtra will be setting up an institute for artificial intelligence (AI) in Mumbai.

“We have discussed cooperation in artificial intelligence and other portled development. Maharashtra has already become the first state to unveil a FinTech Policy,” said the Chief Minister, while setting up a joint working group for AI cooperation with the government of Canada.

The meeting between Canadian Minister of International Relations, Christine St- Pierre, and Mr. Fadnavis was held on AI cooperation in the industrial and service sectors. www.thehindu.com

Indoor Positioning Analytics Engine with Artificial Intelligence

Inpixon has announced that in connection with its 2018 product enhancement and development strategy, it intends to enhance its Indoor Positioning Analytics (IPA) engine by using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to anonymously capture device identity, build a repository of device profiles and fingerprints, and offer intelligent solutions for enterprise security and marketing customers. Following this enhancement, Inpixon’s IPA AI engine will assist in providing predictive, more accurate, bidirectional information to secure the indoors. inpixon.com

Collaboration on autonomous indoor mapping technology

NAVER LABS of NAVER Corporation, Korea and HERE Technologies have announced that they have signed a preliminary agreement to collaborate on autonomous indoor mapping technology.

The collaboration aims to combine NAVER LABS’ Scalable & Semantic Indoor Mapping (SSIM) technology, autonomous robots, and AI-based image recognition capabilities with the HERE Open Location Platform to create, maintain and publish 3D maps of indoor environments such as airports and train stations. Such maps are useful in various ways, from helping people find their way at complex transit interchanges to supporting last mile guidance and more efficient logistics. The companies are planning initial testing work in Korea, with a view to deploying the technology globally to support the rapid creation of indoor maps.

Intel introduces ‘Intel AI

Intel has unveiled “Intel AI: In Production,” a new program that makes it easier for developers to bring their artificial intelligence prototypes to market. Since its introduction last July, the Intel® Movidius™ Neural Compute Stick (NCS) has gained a developer base in the tens of thousands.

Once developers have a prototype, the next step is to take it into production, which can be challenging and costly for small companies and entrepreneurs. To make it easier, Intel selected AAEON Technologies*, a leading manufacturer of advanced industrial and embedded computing platforms, as the first Intel AI: In Production partner. Through the program, AAEON provides two streamlined production paths for developers integrating the low-power Intel® Movidius ™ Myriad™ 2 Vision Processing Unit (VPU) into their product designs.

Toyota AI ventures boosts investment in self-driving startups

Toyota AI Ventures is co-leading an $11.5-million seed investment in May Mobility, an Ann Arbor-based startup that is developing self-driving shuttles for college campuses, central business districts and similar low-speed applications. BMW i Ventures is a co-investor. www.btvi.in

AI-powered speakers, smartphones, and more

Microsoft and Xiaomi have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work closely in cloud computing, AI, and hardware.

Microsoft is planning to allow Xiaomi to use its cloud computing products, including Azure, to develop upgraded phones, laptops, and smart devices to bring them to an international market. At the same time, the partnership will also give Microsoft more reach and access to the Chinese market. Xiaomi are also in talks about projects that will use different Microsoft AI technology, including conversational AI and speech, and services like Bing, Edge, and Skype. www.theverge.com

Self-driving taxi service test in Japan next month

Nissan Motor and DeNA have announced that field tests of Easy Ride, the self-driving taxi service they developed together, will begin next month in Japan. This means that Nissan and DeNA now rank among Uber, Lyft, GM, Didi Chuxing and other companies pioneering self-driving taxi pilots, with the goal of launching commercially within the next few years. https://techcrunch.com

Driverless vehicles now legal in Victoria

The Victorian Parliament has this week passed historic legislation that allows autonomous vehicles to be trialled across the state.

The move follows a similar law established in South Australia in June 2016, and driverless vehicle trials on certain Victorian roads including Melbourne’s CityLink and EastLink freeways since last year. The Victoria government says self-driving vehicles will be “a game-changer for Victorian roads”, initially by reducing and ultimately eliminating human driver error.Under the new laws, all driverless vehicle trials will require a human supervisor to monitor the vehicle from either inside or outside the vehicle. www.motoring.com

South African nautical charts now available from East View Geospatial

East View Geospatial (EVG) has announced that it has expanded its nautical chart offerings via an agreement with the South African Navy Hydrographic Office (SANHO). This agreement makes EVG an official distributor of SANHO’s original paper charts – the only paper distributor located within the USA. The South Africa nautical chart series includes 91 charts and covers all of South Africa, as well as the coastlines of select neighboring countries.