Facebook has used Intel CPUs for many of its artificial intelligence services, but the company is changing course to adapt to the pressing need to better filter live video content. At the Viva Technology industry conference in Paris, Facebook chief AI scientist Yann LeCun stated that the company plans to make its own chips for filtering video content, because more conventional methods suck up too much energy and compute power. Last month, Bloomberg reported that the company is building its own semiconductors. Continue reading Facebook to Develop Live Video Filtering Chips for Faster AI

At the Technicolor Experience Center in Culver City, Nvidia held an event highlighting its decisive move into software, with artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other areas. Vice president of developer programs Greg Estes noted that the company has 850,000 developers all over the world in universities and labs as well as companies like Adobe. Its developer program provides hands-on training in AI and parallel computing, impacting the media and entertainment industry, as well as smart cities, autonomous vehicles and more. Continue reading Nvidia Emphasizes Software at Technicolor Experience Event

Nvidia debuted a deep learning method that can edit or reconstruct an image that is missing pixels or has holes via a process called “image inpainting.” The model can handle holes of “any shape, size, location or distance from image borders,” and could be integrated in photo editing software to remove undesirable imagery and replace it with a realistic digital image – instantly and with great accuracy. Previous AI-based approaches focused on rectangular regions in the image’s center and required post processing. Continue reading Nvidia’s New AI Method Can Reconstruct an Image in Seconds

Tools powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning can also be used in animation and visual effects. Nvidia senior solutions architect Rick Grandy noted that the benefit of such tools is that artists don’t have to replicate their own work. That includes deep learning used for realistic character motion created in real-time via game engines and AI, as well as a phase-functioned neural network for character control, whereby the network can be trained by motion capture or animation. Continue reading NAB 2018: Artificial Intelligence Tools for Animation and VFX

As part of the Next-Generation Media Technologies education track at the upcoming NAB Show in Las Vegas, a half-day conference produced by Rochelle Winters will examine the latest trends in Machine Intelligence and Content Creation (Tuesday, April 10, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm). The program will examine how studios, creative service companies and filmmakers are using machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence to help produce content. Leading technologists, production execs and content creators will share the latest research and case studies involving machine intelligence. Continue reading NAB Program to Look at Machine Intelligence, Content Creation

As part of the Next-Generation Media Technologies education track at the upcoming NAB Show in Las Vegas, a half-day conference produced by Rochelle Winters will examine the latest trends in Machine Intelligence and Content Creation (Tuesday, April 10, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm). The program will examine how studios, creative service companies and filmmakers are using machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence to help produce content. Leading technologists, production execs and content creators will share the latest research and case studies involving machine intelligence. Continue reading NAB Program to Look at Machine Intelligence, Content Creation

Google, which created tensor processing units (TPUs) for its artificial intelligence systems some years ago, will now make those computer chips available to other companies via its cloud computing service. Google is currently focusing on computer vision technology, which allows computers to recognize objects; Lyft used these chips for its driverless car project. Amazon is also building its own AI chips for use with the Alexa-powered Echo devices to shave seconds off its response time and potentially increase sales. Continue reading Google Offers Its AI Chips to All Comers via Cloud Computing

Google is in development on a game streaming service for compatible Chromecast devices (or potential future home consoles). Dubbed “Yeti,” the service would be similar to Sony’s PlayStation Now and Nvidia’s GeForce Now game streaming services, which means that users wouldn’t download software but stream from a Google server. Users could play Android games on a consumer TV via existing technology, but it isn’t clear if that would be Google’s sole strategy. The company recently hired game industry veteran Phil Harrison. Continue reading Google Developing Game Streaming Service for Chromecast

Artec 3D is a Luxembourg-based manufacturer of 3D scanning hardware and software with offices in Moscow and Santa Clara, California. At CES 2018, the company demonstrated its $25,800 professional 3D scanner dubbed Artec Leo. With the handheld scanner’s built-in processor, there is no need for an external computer, “making 3D scanning as easy as taking a video.” The company claims that its 80 fps 3D reconstruction rate makes its device “the fastest professional handheld 3D scanner on the market.” The Leo offers a large field of view for accurately scanning and processing large scenes and objects. Continue reading Artec 3D Demonstrates Fast and Accurate 3D Scanning at CES

Nvidia unveiled the first big-screen TVs designed for gamers this week at CES. The company’s “Big Format Gaming Displays” (BFGDs) are 65-inch, 4K screens that tout impressive features such as HDR, low latency, 120Hz refresh rates, full-array backlighting, full DCI-P3 color gamut support, and Nvidia’s G-SYNC technology for smooth game performance (it minimizes screen tearing). “Nvidia is partnering with Asus, Acer and HP to build these displays,” reports Engadget. “With their built-in Shield support, they’ll do everything Nvidia’s set-top box can, and they’ll also come with the company’s remote and gaming controller.” Continue reading Nvidia Introduces Big Format Gaming Displays to Las Vegas

Engadget posted finalists across 16 categories for its annual Best of CES awards. The winners — including the People’s Choice Award — will be announced during a 5:00 pm PST ceremony from the Engadget CES stage. For those interested in a list and brief description of all the nominees, visit Engadget. Our audience may find the following categories of particular interest: Best Home Theater Product — Optoma 4K Alexa Projector, Hisense 150-inch Laser TV Projector, Channel Master SMARTenna+; Best PC or Tablet — Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Dell XPS 15 2-in-1, Acer Swift 7, HP Spectre x360; Best Phone or Mobile Device — Lenovo Miix 630, Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra; and Best TV Product — The Wall by Samsung MicroLED TV, LG 2018 C-Series OLED, TCL 6-Series Roku TVs, Nvidia 65-inch Big Format Gaming Displays. Continue reading Engadget to Unveil its Best of CES Winners Onstage Tonight

Execs from HTC, Hulu, GoPro and Black Box VR looked at “Tapping Virtual Reality’s Real Potential” during a panel discussion at CES 2018. Each company had its own strategies, but everyone agreed on one thing: the need for the nascent industry to create standards and adopt open systems. “If you’re making a fitness app, you don’t want to have to optimize for every platform,” noted HTC senior vice president of virtual reality Rikard Steiber. “It’s too hard, doesn’t scale and isn’t sustainable. We as an industry must push towards an open platform.” Continue reading Virtual Reality Execs Advocate VR Standards, Open Systems

CES 2018 is out the gates, and, as expected, artificial intelligence is still very much present in products, conversations and conference panels. Still in its quest to become synonymous with AI, Nvidia did not disappoint at its press event Sunday and its “Autonomous Machines” keynote Tuesday morning. From doubling down on autonomous vehicles to AI-composed music (in partnership with Disney), to a technically impressive foray into intelligent video analytics to power smart cities, the CES darling is still — by far — the biggest AI enthusiast at the show. Continue reading Artificial Intelligence Front But Not Center at CES Trade Show

In a roving two-hour presentation, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a raft of products, partnerships and performance achievements at CES 2018. Focusing mostly on the automotive industry, Huang showed off the GPU giant’s new autonomous driving software stack powered by Xavier, a system-on-chip (SoC) for artificial intelligence-empowered car platforms, and touted partnerships with more than 320 car and truck companies. Huang also showcased a large HDR display for giant-screen, PC gaming and streamed an AI-generated motion picture theme composed in the style of “Star Wars” by John Williams. Continue reading CES: Nvidia Stakes Claim to Automotive and Entertainment AI

Broad but logical thematic lines distribute exhibits across three main event areas at CES 2018 in Las Vegas: the entire Las Vegas Convention Center (Tech East), the Sands Convention Center (Tech West), and the Aria (Tech South). Tech East will focus on sectors such as e-commerce, security, manufacturing, gaming, VR, AR, AI, automotive, cameras, computing, displays and CE devices. For those interested in health, fitness, wearables, sports tech and the smart home, you’ll want to visit Tech West. And Tech South will feature C Space, which will address disruptive trends and how they are going to change the future of brand marketing and entertainment. Continue reading CES 2018: Overview of the Show Floor, Key Themes and Areas