On June 27th 2019, Google announced that is testing its new artificial intelligence system called Duplex. The Duplex artificial intelligence system or (AI), is designed to to make phone calls for its users. The new software has a realistic human voice. In its testing phase, Duplex is being used to make restaurant reservations. It identifies it's self as the Google Assistant calling for a client, which lets respondents know that they are talking to an automated system.
The real and natural, human sounding voice, is very smooth and is replete with the use of umms and aahs. Duplex also discloses that the phone call that it is making is being recorded, which gives respondents the opportunity to decide whether to continue with the call or not. Google is expected to start public trials of Duplex in the summer of 2018, with a small group of "trusted testers," and businesses. The system will only be checking for holiday hours for the 4th of July.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
5G Is Coming
On June 14th 2018, 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) announced that they had completed work on their 5G New Radio standard for its standalone specifications. In December of 2018, 3GPP completed the specifications for that frequency range or spectrum that 5G would operate within, which is 600 and 700 MHz up to 50GHz. This new portion of the standard is about new deployments of 5G that will not be built on the existing LTE infrastructure.
The goal is to deploy 5G in a wide variety of places for uses that go beyond the hand held phone. 5G is a candidate for use by the IoT or internet of things, making connected devices more readily accessible. Both ATT and T-Mobile expect to begin rolling out their new 5G services by the end of 2018
The goal is to deploy 5G in a wide variety of places for uses that go beyond the hand held phone. 5G is a candidate for use by the IoT or internet of things, making connected devices more readily accessible. Both ATT and T-Mobile expect to begin rolling out their new 5G services by the end of 2018
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Curiosity Rover Makes Martian Discovery
On June 7th 2018, NASA announced, in the Journal Science, that its Curiosity Rover has discovered the building blocks for organic life on Mars. According to the first of two new studies, Gale Crater, Curiosity's landing site, is the home of carbon-based molecules that are persevered in the sediment of what was once a great ancient lake. The other study revealed that the methane in Mar's atmosphere changes with the change of the Martian season.
Curiosity first landed on Mars in 2012. Since then it has been exploring Gale crater. It has drilled into the Martian rock and soil and taken many samples. It is these sample that have revealed what appears to be complex molecules that resemble fossilized building blocks of what would be oil and gas, here on Earth. The other discovery made by Curiosity, was that There are trace amounts of methane in the Martian atmosphere.
On Earth, 95% of the methane found in the atmosphere is produced by biological means, or life. On Mars, the amount of methane is not near that of the Earth. However, researchers have discovered the amount to be in a range in concentrations of 0.24 to 0.65 parts per billion. What researchers have found after studying the data from Curiosity, is that the methane level appears to rise in the summer and diminish in the winter.
Clearly, these findings do not yet prove the existence of life on Mars, but they do give reason for continued exploration. The discovery of complex carbon molecules and rising and falling methane levels do suggest that if Mars is no longer inhabitable, it once had life.
Curiosity first landed on Mars in 2012. Since then it has been exploring Gale crater. It has drilled into the Martian rock and soil and taken many samples. It is these sample that have revealed what appears to be complex molecules that resemble fossilized building blocks of what would be oil and gas, here on Earth. The other discovery made by Curiosity, was that There are trace amounts of methane in the Martian atmosphere.
On Earth, 95% of the methane found in the atmosphere is produced by biological means, or life. On Mars, the amount of methane is not near that of the Earth. However, researchers have discovered the amount to be in a range in concentrations of 0.24 to 0.65 parts per billion. What researchers have found after studying the data from Curiosity, is that the methane level appears to rise in the summer and diminish in the winter.
Clearly, these findings do not yet prove the existence of life on Mars, but they do give reason for continued exploration. The discovery of complex carbon molecules and rising and falling methane levels do suggest that if Mars is no longer inhabitable, it once had life.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Microsoft Buys GitHub
On June 4th 2018, Microsoft announced that it is buying GitHub for $7.5 billion dollars. GitHub is a code repository and an open source software platform for developers. GitHub's use of open source licensing allows developers to access the code submitted by others. They can then tweak and use that code as they see fit, with the goal being to improve it. Microsoft intends to let GitHub run independently. Nat Friedman will be come GitHub's new CEO, while its current CEO Chris Wanstrath will become a technical fellow at Microsoft.
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