The Innovation Report
T-Mobile’s Massive 5G Push Includes Home Internet and Free 5G Phones
T-Mobile would really like to bring you aboard the 5G train. As part of its latest Un-carrier initiative, the company announced it’s letting customers upgrade their smartphones to a 5G phone for “free,” offering a $60 home internet plan, and promising...
AI Studies Kurt Cobain and Creates New Nirvana Song
Though hits like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “In Bloom” remain FM staples decades later, the tragic 1994 death of singer-songwriter Kurt Cobain cut short any future catalog for grunge rock pioneers Nirvana. But in 2021, we actually have a “new” Nirvana song — thanks...
Health Tech Tool Detects Vital Signs via Video
At an international health conference this week, scientists with the University of Washington and Microsoft Research will virtually present new technology that allows medical providers to remotely check a patient’s pulse and heart rate. The tool uses the camera on a...
Will the Pandemic Spur a Smart Rebirth for Cities?
Cities traditionally have been bustling hubs where people live, work and play. When the pandemic hit, some people fled major metropolitan markets for smaller towns — raising questions about the future validity of cities. It’s true that we’re still months away...
New Machine-learning Method Cuts Energy Use by 20%
A new machine-learning method tackling the limitations of reinforcement learning can cut energy use by 20%. Artificial intelligence (AI) engineers possess hands-on experience in machine-learning to help companies solve complex business problems by facilitating...
AI Learning to Categorize and Talk About Art
It’s hard enough for people to categorize or discuss art, but it’s even more difficult for artificial intelligence. Several research groups have recently tried to apply machine learning to large databases of artworks to sort and describe them in a meaningful...
T-Mobile Takes a Stab at 5G Home Broadband
T-Mobile US Inc., which has emerged as the surprise leader in the new wireless technology known as 5G, is close to unveiling a broadband service for homes that may let a swath of U.S. consumers cut another cord -- the landline tying their internet service to a...
Report: Robots May Replace 20 Percent of Oilfield Jobs in a Decade
The U.S. oil industry could save more than $7 billion in wages by replacing human roughnecks with robots on rigs, according to a report from Rystad Energy. At least two out of every 10 oil workers globally in drilling, operational support and maintenance could be...
Drones Can Help Prevent Avalanches
Avalanches can be a danger for skiers as well as for the resort towns that welcome them. For protection, towns erect steel fences to act as barriers along the ski slopes. But before these snow barriers can be built, steep rock faces and cliffs need to be surveyed....
How Bees and Drones Team Up to Find Landmines
Among the virtues of bees you may not be aware of is their knack for detecting bombs. Thanks to the fact that they can pick up the scent of explosives with their antennae, researchers in countries such as Croatia have spent years perfecting how to use bees as landmine...
