This is What Techies Talked About in February
In this issue of the Tech Digest: AI recognizes asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers and facilitates surgeons’ training, while 5G is still in its early days, 6G is already round the corner, and smart industrial robots produce ready-to-fly drones. All that and more in a 10-minute read.
Now it’s real: This groundbreaking system can fabricate a ready-to-fly drone
3D printers have made it possible to produce hardware enclosures, product prototypes, and even fashionable jewelry. But until recently, they have lacked the ability to fabricate more complex devices that are ready-to-go, right out of the printer.
Things have changed with LaserFactory, a new system to “print” functional, custom-made devices and robots. With little human intervention, the Factory can build you an entire finished drone. That means when the fabricator is done, the drone can actually fly straight out of it r. Have you ever seen that before?
Edge computing and 5G will boost the performance of business applications
Companies no longer take a wait-and-see approach before introducing 5G into their edge computing networks. 5G does deliver higher speeds, increased bandwidth, and ultra-low latency to wireless data transmission. But when combined with edge computing, 5G has the potential to provide near real-time connectivity for network devices.
According to a recent survey by TechRepublic, more than half of respondents have already improved their productivity, operations, and efficiency by making 5G part of their edge computing plans. How will the mix of the two technologies benefit enterprise operations in the next five years?
Apple is already moving towards 6G networks
Technology never stops. Most of the world hasn’t yet experienced the benefits of 5G, but tech giants are already gearing up to deliver 6G wireless technology. Though 6G is still far in the future, it is expected to offer even higher speeds (up to 100 times faster than 5G!), even lower latency, and masses of bandwidth.
Recently, Apple joined the industry group Next G Alliance to work on the next G design roadmap. Learn what the company’s plans are for 6G development.
COVID-19 is not finished: How AI helps track down silent virus carriers
One of COVID-19’s nastiest tricks is the way it can infect someone without causing any symptoms. This allows the virus to spread further under the radar of contact tracers and increases the number of asymptomatic, though contagious, carriers.
That’s where AI is winning again. A new machine learning algorithm identifies people in a moving crowd who are most likely asymptomatic carriers of the virus. The algorithm makes these predictions based on the GPS-tracked movement of people within a city environment and known cases of infection. Follow the link to learn more about the new algorithm, its core features, and benefits.
Digital surgery: How AI helps break through the limitations of outdated training models
Surgery’s adoption of digital technology is still modest. The problem isn’t that there's any shortage of tech innovations. Instead, one issue is that surgeons are trained via outdated education models.
One U.S. startup is on a mission to break down that barrier with their high-tech platform for surgeons. Using AI and computer vision, the platform extracts and annotates every critical moment from real-world procedures. Now, surgeons can gain deep insight into their own performance and more. Learn how Theator helps standardize surgery and improve training for future surgeons.
Discover 15 disruptive innovations to watch in 2021 in one provocative research study
An American investment advisor, ARK Invest, has been publishing its Big Ideas research study for five years already. This document highlights the latest developments in tech innovation and offers quite provocative research conclusions for the year. Want to know what the big, disruptive, and impactful ideas are for 2021 and beyond? Did bitcoin, deep learning, or delivery drones make the list? Check out the full article to find out.
Cybersecurity Warning: This forgotten but still damaging form of cybercrime may cost companies millions
Rule #1: recognize and prevent! What if you received an email message convincing you to wire money to support a deal from a business that your company has a longstanding relationship with? Would you make a wire transfer of funds to a bank account you believe is trusted? Many people do it.
According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), such fraudulent scams resulted in more than $1.7 billion in worldwide losses in 2020. And they are flourishing now. These business email compromise (BEC) attacks are increasingly prevalent, sophisticated, and costly for businesses of all sizes. Read Zdnet’s recommendations on how to detect and mitigate the risks of BEC attacks.