Protecting privacy across the internet has never been more important. Covid-19 has sparked an unprecedented growth in digital services and pushed more people into the online world. Due to this, we must ensure that users’ data is protected and they have full control over what information they share, especially as data breaches and hacking are on the rise. Decentralized technologies have the potential to provide a solution through applications that allow people to only grant access to their information using a blockchain-based private key. Whilst these solutions can provide users with greater control of their online data, it is essential that full privacy in the decentralized realm is also upheld as blockchain alone can’t solve for full privacy, and confidentiality issues still remain. 
Marketing Technology News: What China’s New Data Privacy Laws Means for Marketers
The internet brought with it many benefits, such as allowing people to conduct business online and connecting people across the globe. Yet, data breaches still occur every day. From Facebook leaking over 553M users personal information in 2021, to Microsoft accidentally exposing user analytics online, the examples are endless. This exhibits the need for better privacy across the web. Many users aren’t aware of these risks and don’t consider who can access their personal data, especially from centralized social media platforms. Exposing this type of private information leaves it vulnerable and at risk of breaches and exploitation, which can be dangerous if placed in the wrong hands. Luckily, the continued development of blockchain technology signifies a large collective effort to offer more secure platforms across the web. 
The development of centralized technologies has outstripped the growth of adequate data protections suitable for online interoperable services that drive the data driven economy. This means that it is somewhat easy to hack or lose sensitive information across these data bases, as they exist in silos protected by systems less suitable for online interoperable services. On the contrary, Blockchain technologies differ in that information is shared with a number of systematically connected parties, making it much harder to tamper with information. Blockchain technologies facilitate ideally online interoperable services and allow for solutions that put the users in control of data. Despite this, it is vital to remember that online users must also take responsibility for their own personal data and what they choose to share with the online world. Integrating the physical and digital world through decentralized technologies means that users can place a deeper level of trust in the internet.
Continue reading: https://martechseries.com/mts-insights/guest-authors/why-blockchain-alone-wont-solve-todays-privacy-woes/

A blockchain is a distributed database where every entry needs to be approved by a network of peers without any intervention from an intermediary or central authority.
This distributed, decentralised nature of the database makes it highly secure and transparent as several nodes (peers) in the network have a copy of it. If there are any irregularities in the database of a single node, the other nodes in the network can point them out and correct them.
It is a desirable feature not only to the financial industry but also to any industry that values the security and transparency of its data.
As such, several businesses across several sectors have either assimilated blockchain into their business model or are in the process of doing so. And in the coming years, we could see blockchain features in many businesses, if not all of them!
Here are some spaces we could see blockchain revolutionise in 2022: 
International Transactions
With rapid globalisation, the need for quick, convenient, and secure international money transfers is on the rise. Until now, sending money across borders was tedious and took several hours, days even! But this could all change once blockchain technology is added to the mix.
International transactions backed by blockchain technology would remove intermediaries that slow down the process. Transactions would also become more secure. It’s a future that isn’t too far away. A company named Ripple is already working on instant and reliable international transactions using blockchain technology, and their efforts could come to fruition within the next few months!
Capital Markets
Blockchain technology also has the potential to overhaul the capital markets for the better. A recent survey from coalition Greenwich, a financial consultancy organisation, shows that the total annual budget for enterprise blockchain applications within the capital markets domain has been roughly $1.7 billion since 2018. The implementation of blockchain technology in capital markets can provide faster clearing and settlement, consolidated audit trails, and improved operations.
Digital Voting
They say democracy is only as strong as its voting freedom and structure. This is a big issue given the current voting system, which is governed by a central authority and, as such, is vulnerable to internal and external attacks.
Continue reading: https://www.cnbctv18.com/cryptocurrency/blockchain-technology-could-revolutionise-these-spaces-in-2022-12575792.htm

In part, yes. We could tap into unused manufacturing capacity using AI, and Synopsys believes it has the AI that could do it.
Today’s chip shortage is holding back global economic growth, fueling inflation, and making life difficult for consumers and businesses alike. Everything from ovens to Porsches are affected. The causes are complex, but one of the aspects is that the shortfall in manufacturing capacity is uneven, affecting legacy process nodes far more than mid-performance nodes such as 12 and 16nm, where there is a surplus. Yes, even though Apple, Intel, Qualcomm, and NVIDIA push the envelope to produce chips in the most advanced process nodes, the US Department of Commerce says 8-10% (20-25 million wafers) of total global fab capacity goes unused annually. Until now, investing in retargeting older chips to available capacity just hasn’t made economic sense. Things may be changing...
Re-balancing Capacity and Demand
As Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger recently noted, “The inability to transition nodes efficiently and quickly means that capacity remains unused. Since building new fabs on old nodes doesn’t make techonomic sense, to mitigate the supply issue, the path forward is moving designs between nodes”.
As Intel seeks new customers for its foundry services, Synopsys AI tools can help remaster designs to soak up excess capacity. 
However, moving designs from node to node, or “retargeting,” is impractical. Scarce engineering resources are busy designing new silicon, which drives future revenue and profits, so retargeting projects are a lower priority. To make things worse, retargeting, in most cases, is almost as complex as designing a chip, to begin with. But now, AI may offer a path forward, enabling companies to refresh silicon quickly and affordably, producing new, faster chips, lower power, and less expensive than what is in the field today. Synopsys has years of experience with using AI in chip design, and is now taking the next step.
Silicon Remastering
Synopsys refers to this as “Silicon Remastering”: the use of AI algorithms to automatically redesign a chip for a different node, achieving months or years of work in just weeks while potentially saving customers hundreds of millions of dollars. Company co-founder and co-CEO Aart de Geuss discussed this capability in his keynote address at the annual ISSCC conference, explaining that this approach could mitigate supply issues in relatively short order by bringing 25 million new wafers online or more than a year’s worth of new capacity. “Within five years, we will see a transformation of the global chip supply chain that will better facilitate the use of capacity, and we believe silicon remastering will be critical technology,” Dr. de Geus said.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlfreund/2022/02/21/could-ai-help-solve-the-global-chip-shortage/?sh=40234e9cc42f

While businesses and IT professionals are increasingly using artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML), measuring and proving the business value of the technologies remains a challenge for organizations.
Rackspace recently released a survey on AI and ML, where 1,870 IT leaders from differing areas – including manufacturing, finance, retail, government and healthcare – weighed in on the subject.
The survey found that while 62 percent of respondents said AI and ML is a high priority within their respective organizations, 36 percent said that “measuring and proving its business value remains the most common challenge.”
Further, the survey uncovered three barriers for implementing AI and ML: legacy technology barriers; difficulty in identifying return on investment; and lack of skills and/or staff.
“Almost every AI/ML project seeks to leverage insights gained from data. Converting the numbers into actions is a goal of every organization that operates AI/ML,” the survey says. “However, data and management obstacles associated with AI/ML can often impede or delay adoption.”
Continue reading: https://www.meritalk.com/articles/survey-business-value-of-ai-ml-difficult-to-prove-for-organizations/

For business, time and money are precious commodities. The rise of the Application Programming Interface, better known as APIs, has streamlined business operations and created a better customer experience. This kind of automation saves businesses both time and money, but also provides valuable data and an improved user experience.
From chatbots to checkout, APIs have become a critical part of running a business in a digital world. Yet, while technology has brought millions of applications to the market built to help businesses improve their operations, the problem is that they often must use three to five APIs separately yet together to get the information and process flow they need for their business.
Building custom APIs can be costly. Running existing APIs side-by-side, instead, can cut costs while catapulting automation and reducing inefficiencies, but it requires a critical missing piece – artificial intelligence.
What it takes to run multiple APIs side-by-side with AI assistance
If you have dabbled around in application development, you may have come across the term API.
Application Programming Interface, or API, is a software intermediary responsible for facilitating communication between two applications. It is the channel that communicates a request to the provider and backtracks the response to the said request with the correct information.
Even though APIs promise a bouquet of benefits by themselves, using them side-by-side can amplify their effects. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) with multiple APIs can provide even more efficiency and sounder data.
How do APIs work?
A typical API that few of us think about, but appreciate the ease of doing online, is booking a flight.
You, the customer, are on one end of the spectrum, and the airline’s database is at the other end. The API is essentially the link between you and the airline.
Before starting with the booking, you key in various flight-related details, such as your departing airport, arrival airport, date of travel, class, etc. The API collects these details and transfers them to the airline’s website. Based on the inputs, the servers identify the appropriate options and the API fetches these along with the flight costs.
If you need to see more information about a particular flight, the API will once again take this request to the database and return with the relevant details. And finally, when you are all set to finalize and pay for your booking, the API will coordinate action at every step of the process — from flight selection to meal or seat selection to payment and ticket confirmation.
Continue reading: https://venturebeat.com/2022/02/21/running-multiple-apis-side-by-side-with-ai-paves-way-to-hyperautomation-for-business/

A farm in Queensland, Australia, could be home to the first flower in the world planted by a drone.
It's part of an experiment in which drone pilot and farmer Roger Woods deposits tens of thousands of sunflowers using a single, aerial drone.
The unmanned aircraft distributes 45,000 seeds per hectare with the aim of sprouting 30,000 plants.
"This sunflower crop, to the best of our knowledge, is the first sunflower crop planted entirely by drone. So a big agricultural drone that we use commercially, spreads the seeds," says Woods.
The technique is already used for crops like barley, lucerne (alfalfa) and wheat.
But many were sceptical it would work for sunflowers.
"Sunflowers need to have fairly consistent spacing to grow correctly, and they also get incorporated quite accurately so these are some of the challenges that we had to overcome while planting them by drone," explains Woods.

The experiment is now in full bloom, drawing in tourists to learn more about modern, less invasive farming practices.

Click to expand...

The experiment is now in full bloom, drawing in tourists from all over to enjoy the photo opportunity and learn more about modern, non-invasive farming practices.
Continue reading: https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/02/22/drones-are-planting-sunflowers-on-this-modern-farm-in-australia

The entire country of Lebanon was changed forever when a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut exploded on August 4th, 2020. The $15 billion in property destruction that it caused was the least of that damage, as the hundreds dead, over 7,000 injured and the estimated 300,000 people that were rendered homeless signify the true catastrophic nature of the event.
In the midst of this tragedy, experts from a handful of companies came together to use data captured by drones to create a 3D map of the area most affected by the explosion. Developed on a “Pro Bono” basis that have made these assets available to anyone, these 3D models of the area allowed first responders to take decisive action and literally save lives. The detailed and accurate open-access map of the blast area and surrounding damage to the city bolstered rescue and recovery efforts on multiple levels.
The 2D and 3D maps and surveys that were created with data captured by drones made a major difference in Beirut but these models have also highlighted what kind of possibilities these sorts of assets can enable. 3D models can be utilized for blast modeling, flood modeling, damage assessment, automated structural damage assessment, urban planning, infrastructure planning and more. However, the true power of 3D maps is something that many are just beginning to truly understand.
Continue reading: https://www.commercialuavnews.com/public-safety/3d-models-from-drone-data-support-disaster-efforts-and-define-city-mapping-possibilities

Law enforcement uses small drones or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to safely gather key information and save time, personnel hours and money. Police drones are used to collect evidence, photograph traffic crash scenes, monitor crowds, track suspects and more. Whether tracking or surveilling via drone technology, there are challenges with battery capacity, flight time and payload performance.
Many agencies deploy UAS payloads equipped with visible-light cameras and a single thermal camera with digital zoom. While thermal-visible payloads offer greater flexibility for a variety of operations, at night or in other challenging lighting conditions, operators risk the potential of overlooking a person or item of interest due to poor-performing digital thermal zoom. This can lead to increased mission time, or worse, give away personnel locations while increasing room for error due to less visual awareness.
In response, UAS thermal camera payload technology has evolved to incorporate two (dual) radiometric cameras. Radiometric thermal cameras measure the temperature of every pixel in the scene to provide clarity and awareness. A high-resolution dual thermal camera payload that features pixel-by-pixel temperature measurement can aid law enforcement officers in making critical decisions faster.
SAFELY SURVEIL AND TRACK IN SILENCE
A dual thermal camera payload provides improved overall awareness and zoom clarity. When equipped with a fixed narrow field of view (FOV) camera and a wide FOV camera, it provides the best of both lens types, offering wide-angle situational awareness and a larger concentration of pixels on target when paired with a narrow FOV camera. This combination keeps full-image resolution at 1x and 5x zoom, eliminating the blurriness that comes from the magnification of a single thermal camera with digital zoom. This can reduce false positives and increase safety.
By adding thermal imaging capabilities to a drone airframe, law enforcement can surveil an area safely and silently at nighttime or in other challenging lighting conditions such as through smoke or fog.
Continue reading: https://www.police1.com/police-products/police-drones/articles/improve-mission-success-and-safety-with-a-dual-thermal-camera-zoom-drone-payload-fdv9z4xyW3pKI4p1/

The United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February) throws a spotlight on achieving full and equal access and participation for women and girls in science, citing the importance of this goal in global development. The UN has highlighted that over the past decades the global community has made great strides in inspiring and engaging women and girls in science, yet there is still much work to be done.
This is the case in financial services as much as many other sectors. One critical area is artificial intelligence (AI) and how it affects financial decisioning.
AI is becoming pervasive
There’s no contesting the far-reaching growth of AI. From loan applications to fraud prevention, it and machine learning are entrenched in our lives and has a say in the important decisions we make as well as those that are made for us. To make fair and accurate assessments, AI software needs to be reflective of the people it scrutinizes and the best way to achieve this is to have a diverse team at work.
Of course, gone are the days of gender discrimination in financial decisions – it is mandated that risk cannot be measured based on gender. But to achieve the equality that is expected of financial services providers, it is crucial to make it easier for girls and women to enter the sector and further their careers, because one of the real challenges in AI is fighting the bias that can be coded into the models themselves.
All AI models are trained on datasets, and these datasets frequently have coded into them a level of bias. In fact, FICO Chief Analytics Officer Scott Zoldi says, “All data is biased.” It’s up to the data scientists to correct for this, and that is why it is so important to achieve more diverse teams building AI.  
Recognizing that we need diversity in innovation and teams is the first step. In many cases, AI learns from data generated by human actions. Left unchecked by data scientists, algorithms can mimic our biases, conscious or not. However, we can mitigate those biases by including people across race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and economic conditions to challenge our own views. By bringing in people with different thoughts and approaches to our own, analytics teams will see a quick improvement in their code.
Continue reading: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/opinions/ai-diversity-in-will-equal-fairness-out/

There’s no doubt that COP26 last November was a big wake-up call for organisations around the world. From requiring nations to disclose their zero emissions plans, to committing to make sustainable technologies more accessible and affordable within the next decade, it’s clear that companies will have to make a global effort to drive progress and strengthen climate action. There are many ways that the Internet of Things (IoT) can help them.
As a result of the pandemic, digital transformation accelerated dramatically, forcing businesses to adopt new technologies to achieve resilience, flexibility and maintain productivity. It’s hard to find a business that has survived without digitalising at least some of its processes over the past two years; and for many, it has been IoT that has proved to be essential. IoT helps to ensure continuity of operations and allows organisations to thrive in the future, even creating new revenue streams.
But digital transformation is now evolving and must not just focus on measuring and managing processes. It needs to focus on optimising them instead, to help companies reduce waste, costs, and improve time management. This is where IoT really comes to the forefront.
The critical differentiator
Now that there are fewer pandemic regulations, businesses are no longer in survival mode and can shift their attention to their future. In this landscape, IoT is a critical enabler delivering green impact. It has evolved from being a simple connectivity tool that keeps organisations going, to being a critical operational asset.
This bespoke solution can help to solve many challenges, including employee efficiency, customer experience, and improved adaptation. As an operational asset that can enable businesses to drive out waste through the improved supply chain, IoT can offer them the data needed to rapidly innovate to meet changing user demands and also enable them to provide customers with connected products and services. It can even make it possible for a company to extend its services into new markets and locations, enabling it to demonstrate compliance with local regulations.
Continue reading: https://www.information-age.com/how-iot-can-help-build-towards-future-improved-sustainability-123498804/

Lately, it’s hard to go a week without a new satellite announcement aimed at the IoT. There are already plenty of companies using satellite connectivity to connect to LoRaWAN gateways on the ground, or to satellites themselves to send data directly from a device to the web. And with OQ Technology there’s a company trying to use satellites as a means to expand existing cellular NB-IoT networks to corners of the Earth where cell towers are scarce.
As Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology, explained to me, the differentiating factor for OQ’s satellites is that to a device, they look like a traditional cell tower capable of using the NB-IoT or LTE-M standard. This is a pretty novel claim, because even with the low Earth orbit satellites that OQ is deploying, signals from satellites must travel further than signals from terrestrial cell towers, and because satellites are always moving, their signals get distorted by the movement, much in the same way sound waves get distorted as a siren moves away from you.
Qaise said the only reason it can offer cellular signals from space is that the company’s engineers figured out ways to mathematically account for the Doppler effect as the satellites move and the signal distorts. For firms that use the OQ service, the cellular waveforms also provide a source of savings because they don’t need specialized modems to transfer the satellite signals; a traditional NB-IoT or LTE-M modem will work on the device side. Using traditional modems cuts down on battery power and on costs for the device.
Currently, OQ has two satellites in low Earth orbit as well as partnerships with other satellite providers that have satellites higher up in space. It provides a satellite-to-Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) service using its own satellites — NB-IoT is good for sending small bits of data a few times a day — but thanks to its partnerships with other satellite providers and a gateway product it sells, it can also provide a satellite-to-cellular service for NB-IoT and LTE-M. LTE-M supports a couple of megabytes of data for use cases where images or larger files might need to be transferred.
Qaise said OQ currently uses others’ satellites to provide its connectivity service, but he’s adamant that the ability to launch satellites will be a large differentiator for the business and help OQ control its own destiny. In the meantime, in the last few months, we have seen several companies that have been offering satellite IoT services decide to get out of launching satellites and use existing constellations instead. Though as far as Qaise is concerned, “[C]onstellations-as-a-service aren’t a mature business yet.”
Continue reading: https://staceyoniot.com/oq-is-trying-to-combine-cellular-and-satellite-for-the-iot/

Recent research from Packaging Gateway’s parent company, GlobalData, has shown how companies are starting to use the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance the efficiency of their operations. Within packaging, the leaders, according to GlobalData’s ‘Internet of Things in Packaging – Thematic Research’, include Tetra Pak, Amcor & Berry Global, all of whom are implementing IoT to help deliver their ESG targets. 
IoT – The way forward 
As in all other industries, the breadth of data that packaging companies possess can provide significant opportunities to locate efficiency opportunities. Integrated smart systems, processes, sensors, data and analytics are helping packaging manufacturers make smart decisions, automate processes and reach efficiency and cost-saving targets – all of these come under the remit of IoT.  
Industry observers believe IoT initiatives can often be the starting point of digitalisation. Peripheral technologies, such as 5G and artificial intelligence (AI), provide support and enhancements: IoT collects the data, 5G transmits it, and AI extracts the insights. 
“Companies in all sectors are increasingly looking to digitalise their supply chains and make faster and better-informed decisions based on the data collected,” says GlobalData analyst Luke Gowland. “Fully integrating interconnected technologies like IoT, AI, cloud and edge computing through the entire packaging value chain represents a significant opportunity.” 
Gowland notes: “IoT as a service (IoTaaS) vendors provide various platforms to assist organisations with IoT deployment without in-house expertise. IoTaaS aims to make it easy for enterprises to deploy and manage their connected devices, and has become an accelerator for IoT adoption, especially in predictive maintenance, advanced automation and condition monitoring. 
Continue reading: https://www.packaging-gateway.com/features/how-iot-is-revolutionising-the-packaging-industry/

While some people are getting excited about drones that can deliver coffee or books, a Bay Area company is testing much larger and stronger drones that can deliver life-saving supplies to firefighters on the front lines of wildfires.
Parallel Flight Technologies is testing large drones, able to haul payloads of 100 pounds, near Santa Cruz.
"To allow the aircraft to fly longer and carry a heavier payload," Parallel Flight Technologies CEO Joshua Resnick said.
Resnick, who nearly lost his home in the CZU Fire, said the drones will act as pack mules to bring critical supplies to fire crews, even in remote areas.
"We can bring tools, fuel, food, first aid, hose packs, right to the front lines of a fire, drop it off where the crews need it so they don't have to hike as far to get it," he said.
Continue reading: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/bay-area-company-testing-larger-stronger-drones-for-firefighting-purposes/2818507/

Two N.C. Department of Transportation programs combined to be the first in the nation to launch an innovative technology pilot with their safety service patrol that should improve safety on North Carolina roadways.
The statewide Incident Management Assistance Patrol (IMAP) program and the Division of Aviation’s Unmanned Aircraft System program recently helped develop and deploy the operation of tethered drones from select IMAP vehicles.
This helps responders assess incidents, provide situational awareness to the NCDOT Statewide Transportation Operations Center and Traffic Management centers and assist with overall traffic management of the incidents. The deployment of this technology was realized as a result of a federal innovation grant received in 2020.
“Along our interstates, where our IMAP patrols operate, there are gaps in camera coverage, so we don’t have perfect situational awareness,” said State Traffic Operations Engineer Dominic Ciaramitaro. “Our tethered drones will help us fill those gaps.”
Traditionally, traffic operations staff views video feeds at the NCDOT Statewide Transportation Operations Center and Traffic Management centers through traffic cameras or they receive reports from responders in the field. Tethered drones safely offer another method to provide more information in real time, with higher quality video, and for long periods of time.
IMAP trucks are equipped with multiple specialized tools to assist stranded motorists or scene management with first responders. The tethered drones will be just one more resource in their toolkit.
Each drone can fly up to 150 feet to take video, which is livestreamed to the Transportation Operations Center, traffic management centers and to emergency management personnel at the incident.
This instant information can provide a safer environment for those on scene or approaching an incident and allow the centers to better manage traffic and share more accurate traveler information to the public. The systems are highly portable and can be quickly launched and recovered.
Continue reading: https://www.robesonian.com/news/154404/ncdot-launches-national-first-with-tethered-drones-on-imap-trucks

Archaeologists and historians have uncovered new insights about the Underground Railroad and the people who risked their lives to escape enslavers in 19th-century America. With technologies such as thermal drones and laser pulses, scientists have peered through overgrown vegetation and under the ground to find tunnels, caves and refuges that offered respite along the dangerous journey to freedom.
Many freedom seekers fleeing slavery in the United States found a hard-won path to liberty through a system of secret routes, safe houses and hidden way stations known as the Underground Railroad. This escape network operated from roughly 1830 to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, and it arose during the brutal period in the U.S. when white people in Southern states routinely kidnapped, tortured and enslaved African people and their American-born descendents.
Because secrecy was critical for ensuring freedom seekers' safety and keeping the routes open, many of the details surrounding the Underground Railroad were thought to be lost. However, recent archaeological discoveries and new analysis of historic archives are shedding light on the individuals who forged and followed the secret routes. Their stories are revealed in the new four-part docuseries "Underground Railroad: The Secret History," which debuted Jan. 30 on the Science Channel and is streaming on discovery+.
Continue reading: https://www.livescience.com/underground-railroad-secrets-science-channel

Read more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgyNTyZR80Q
America's Got Talent: Extreme kicked off its debut season with a bang on Monday, in a two-hour premiere filled with death defying stunts. However, it was a team of tech wizards with an army of colorful drones who managed to truly impress Simon Cowell.
The four-man group known as Verge Aero hit the stage to explain their act, which involved controlling 160 drones that are synched up for a choreographed aerial light show!
Cowell, for whatever reason, was wildly unimpressed with their pitch, and made it almost laughably clear how bored he apparently was with the idea of dancing drones. 
However, as the judges -- including Cowell, Nikki Bella and Travis Pastrana -- and host Terry Crews sat outdoors at night, it was immediately clear just how breathtaking Verge Aero's light show truly was. When the drone array ascended into the sky, everyone was instantly wowed by the spectacle.
Continue reading: https://www.etonline.com/americas-got-talent-extreme-simon-cowell-awards-1st-golden-buzzer-in-thrilling-season-premiere

Drones from manufacturer DJI are valued by consumers and business users alike across a variety of applications, and now the craft are also being embraced by firefighters for their effectiveness in battling chemical blazes – among the most dangerous they face.
Though deployment of drones by services fighting catastrophic wildfires that ravaged Australia and western US states in recent years have increased generally, DJI craft in particular have played important roles in responding to infernos ignited or fed by chemicals. A good example of that was a case study on the company’s Enterprise page, which detailed how use of a DJI M300 + H20T drone equipped with thermal sensors allowed officials in Thailand to combat a deadly chemical fire – and make decisions about preventing similar conflagrations from reoccurring.
The emergency began with a large explosion at the Ming Dih Chemical factory about 20 km from Bangkok in the wee hours of July 5, 2021. Though the initial blast was violent enough to be heard five km away, the worse threat came from the estimated 50 tons of industrial chemical reserves that continued feeding the blaze that responders desperately fought for over a day. Before they could bring it under control, extensive damage had been suffered to buildings 1 km in all directions, forcing the evacuation of residents within a 5 km radius of the flames.
What turned the situation around, according to officials with the Thai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department called into the emergency, was the use of the DJI M300 + H20T drone, which provided critical situational awareness vis-à-vis the worst hotspots, as well as where the fire was likely to spread to next. That information was communicated by the craft’s thermal sensor, which was able to pierce the thick, black clouds of smoke and send back actionable on-the-ground data to firefighters. 
Once the flames had been brought under control, that tech was swapped for a P1 high-resolution mapping sensor and an L2 that captured high-density point clouds. Using the data collected from the drone, DJI’s Terra software was able to provide officials with a sophisticated 3D model of the fire-gutted factory, which in turn enabled a detailed forensics analysis of the catastrophe. 
Continue reading: https://dronedj.com/2022/02/21/dji-drones-provide-critical-help-fighting-chemical-fires/

The integration of technology in many traditional and well-established sports and leagues including the NFL, MLB and English Premier League is a frequently debated topic as its usage and efficiency is still being fine tuned.
The Drone Racing League, on the other hand, is relying on and leveraging technology to continue its rapid growth among a predominately younger demographic not only in the United States, but around the globe.
DRL more than doubled its broadcast reach from last season, offering its high-speed drone racing to audiences across six continents with 13 sports networks broadcasting into more than 250 million households in over 140 markets worldwide.
“We’re just getting started,” DRL president Rachel Jacobson says. “I think about such fertile ground. I think about all we’ve accomplished here and all that we’ll set out to do. 
“The ambition is really high, and there’s absolutely no reason we are not a multi-billion-dollar company and mainstream sports property.”
Founded in 2015 by Nicholas Horbaczewski, Drone Racing League pits the world’s greatest drone pilots against each other as they navigate their drones around live and virtual races via first-person view (FPV) at speeds of 80 mph.
Not only is DRL a competitive sports league, but similar to Formula E, is a testing ground and incubator for emerging technologies around drones, FPV, automation and more. Society’s increasing reliance on these technologies has helped contribute to DRL’s popularity.
“We’re going to be the sport that isn’t just the testing ground, but everything fans love about gaming, tech and crypto is going to be right in front of them to get engaged with our sport,” Jacobson says. “The younger demographic for us is an absolute home run because of that technology piece. The world runs on technology now. 
“We aren’t expecting them to sit through hours and hours of sports or entertainment to find out who the winner is. Our heats are a minute long so it’s low commitment but incredible immersion of all the things they love right in front of their eyes.”
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaellore/2022/02/21/drone-racing-league-doubles-broadcast-reach-thanks-to-growing-global-interest/?sh=70467caa2125

The Queensland government has announced that it will invest nearly a million dollars to deliver drones for use in Townsville and Cairns.
The government of the Sunshine State detailed that the drones will initially be trialled in each town for 12 months.
The remotely piloted aircrafts will be integrated with an aerial platform featuring intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, plus AI technologies for tracking vehicles and thermal imaging cameras to locate lost people. Police on the ground will then be able to receive a live feed of images being recorded by the aerial platform.
The drones form part of an expansion of the Queensland Police's air fleet, which will also see the introduction of new helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
"Once again this is the Queensland Police Service looking to always be at the cutting edge and be early-adopters of the latest technologies that may assist their efforts to support community safety," Queensland Police acting chief superintendent Marcus Hill said.
Drone operations in Queensland are not uncommon. Earlier this month, on-demand delivery drone company Wing announced it was expanding its pilot in southeast Queensland by teaming up with KFC to run a trial where its drones will be used to deliver for free a range of Kentucky Fried Chicken menu items to customers in the area.
Continue reading: https://www.zdnet.com/article/queensland-government-expands-police-air-fleet-with-new-drone-trials/

In the last decade legal tech has come on leaps and bounds and the number of tech companies has grown exponentially. COVID-19 appears to have led to the further adoption of tech to enable working from home (in particular communication applications) but what about AI tech? What really is AI, why would firms adopt it and what needs to be thought about from the risk side? Further, what are the risks in using communication applications?
What is AI really? 
When some people think of AI they might think of a humanoid from a movie, a piece of technology masquerading as a human, doing what a human does. Alas (or not) AI in the legal world is not that exciting (or it may be to you depending on your viewpoint).
In terms of AI in the legal world, we are often talking about using natural language processing (NLP) software to perform a sort of ‘word search on steroids’ to find information contained in contracts and court records at speed and at little cost.
It’s called AI or ‘legal AI’ because the NLP is trained up using machine learning (this gives it the ‘artificial intelligence’ bit), whether assisted by a lawyer while using it, or prior to that by the software vendor, and in many cases both.
AI in law firms can relate to due diligence reviews, eDiscovery, legal research, knowledge management tools, review and red-lining contracts and more. 
It may be that in years to come AI develops to be more of the kind found in movies, a sort of ‘artificial intelligence lawyer’ if you will, but we aren’t there yet.
Continue reading: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=56e7d116-93f2-4021-85f9-f8cfc5b391fa

Want to try to make money? Maybe it’s time to create or buy or sell NFTs. Many entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia area are doing this. But before you jump in, there are a few things you should know.
An NFT, which stands for non-fungible token, is a one-of-a-kind digital asset that can be made from just about anything that can be scanned, copied or photographed and then loaded onto a computer. When your digital asset — such as a photo or video — has its own NFT, you’re telling the world that it’s unique and can be bought and sold like any piece of art; an artwork can be copied but there’s only one original. A token is stored on the blockchain, a digital ledger on which every transaction must be verified by multiple sources.
Thanks to the blockchain, an enormous market of digital art has suddenly materialized over just the last few years. How enormous? The market is now at $40 billion, according to new research, and it’s expected to double in size in just the next few years.
NFTs are now being sold by celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Ellen DeGeneres and Eminem. But more important, digital art marketplaces such as OpenSea (which was recently valued at $13 billion) and Foundation have created massive opportunities for countless entrepreneurs looking to sell their digital art to customers that just a few years ago would never have even existed.
Continue reading: https://www.inquirer.com/business/small-business/nft-tokens-art-blockchain-philadelphia-20220221.html

Ayumi Moore Aoki is a social entrepreneur committed to driving positive, sustainable change through technology. She is the Founder and CEO of Women in Tech, a global movement, with over 250 volunteers, 200,000 members in 6 continents and they are on a mission to empower 5 million women and girls in STEM by 2030.
Nitya Ravi, a contributing Editor at tahawultech.com discussed other pertinent topics in addition to gender inequality in IT, such as digital transformation and FutureTech with Ayumi, in the latest in our series of Women in Tech interviews.
“The pandemic accelerated the shift to a digital-first approach which was adopted by companies, governments and societies alike. However, it also accentuated the digital divide, and most specifically the gender digital gap that exists today across the world. There are millions of women and girls that are suffering from not having access to internet or technological equipment. To achieve SDG 5, gender equality, women need to have equal access to technology and its training. This is particularly true in developing countries. Bright young students who cannot afford a laptop, like Aishwarya Reddy, a 19-year-old college student at Delhi University’s LSR College, came under tremendous stress as she didn’t have a computer to study from at home. She tragically took her life in November 2020.’ said Ayumi.
She further added about the challenges that comes with rapid digital transformation and the need for a leadership that looks at digital resiliency.
Continue reading: https://www.tahawultech.com/news/women-are-the-most-untapped-resource-in-technology-ayumi-moore-aoki/

Spokesperson Alex Macoun, Chief Strategy Operations Officer, SiteMinder
“We’ve been talking about a talent shortage, especially in STEM fields, for years now, but current market conditions, with strong competition for tech roles and continuing limits on immigration, are at a whole new level. It is imperative to grow the skills base for the future, and since women are still less than a third of the tech workforce and hold only a quarter of technical roles, the opportunity is obvious. We need to find ways to expand the pipeline of tech candidates and open up opportunities for diverse professionals to enter. How? By reconsidering the meaning of ‘expertise’, investing in people who have the potential to grow their skills into new areas, and embracing new perspectives and ways of thinking as valuable and desirable assets.”
“Technical skills, whether for engineers, data analysts, product managers or lawyers, are obviously very important. We need to ensure a diverse pool of candidates with these qualifications, and support people to continue their professional development. But many roles in tech companies don’t need the highest level of technical skills, or even necessarily tech industry experience. People who can manage programs, detect patterns in competitive dynamics, or manage and grow teams, are hugely important to success. There’s a much broader pool of candidates, including many women, who have demonstrated these skills in other industries and can transition into tech and have a really positive impact.”
“Too often, people are made to think they’re not a ‘fit’ for a job or a company as their work experience or qualifications do not match limiting job descriptions. ‘Tech bro’ cultures and stereotypes are also still a massive hindrance. It is time the tech community ramp up efforts to build a culture that more openly encourages diversity of experience and difference. This could include making diversity a priority in the recruitment process, changing work practices that aren’t inclusive, or creating unique opportunities and pathways for diverse professionals to advance. It is about making sure women know they can and will excel in these roles.”
Continue reading: https://womenlovetech.com/uptake-by-women-of-stem-subjects-finally-on-the-rise/

What are the benefits of having IoT (Internet of Things)? To answer this question, I will be discussing with you 6 astounding benefits of having IoT. Let’s hop right into it!
1.) New business amazing opportunities
IoT can give you the capacity to gather information from the organization and utilize progressed investigation to uncover business bits of knowledge and open doors, and diminish functional expense. For instance: Select a testing of information about your top clients and the key cycles that help those clients. Separate what you can assemble to make an underlying pattern. Check out how clients are mentioning your administrations and your common reaction. Is it safe to say that you are just reacting to asks for, or by tapping IoT information, would you be able to set out new open doors to develop income?
2.) New capacities to foresee and act
A key open door is the capacity to foresee needs before they emerge and act with accuracy in view of experiences from the IoT organization. Gathered information can be utilized to construct the recorded patterns that anticipate and place you before issues before they happen. For instance, producer guarantee and support data can be matched with IoT-gathered information to anticipate upkeep occurrences. You might have the potential chance to furnish clients with a worth added administration that sets aside them cash while, simultaneously, building their reliability.
Continue reading: https://medium.com/codex/6-astounding-benefits-of-having-iot-internet-of-things-997222f3cbb2

Take a look at the top challenges faced by data science professionals with the growing importance of data science in the age of AI
As a growing number of businesses acknowledge the importance of data science, data science professionals seeking to master the domain, face manifold challenges.
Data Security
As enterprises increasingly transition into cloud data management, the risk of cyberattacks has become inevitable. If not harnessed the power of data science correctly, it can harm companies in terms of both financial status and organizational reputation. To cope with this, organizations should utilize advanced AI-powered security platforms and incorporate additional security checks to safeguard their data.
Misconceptions Over the Role
Organizations expect their data scientist to be proficient in all trades, from cleaning to retrieving data and building models to conduct analysis. However, this is very challenging as it requires a collaborative approach, and to function effectively, tasks need to be distributed among individuals about data preparation, model building, data analysis, and more.
Deficiency of Skilled Talent
Finding the right talent or people with germane skills and knowledge to support businesses is very crucial. People with data science skills, who understand business processes and have domain expertise can help guide a company to the future which is a top priority for enterprises today.
Continue reading: https://www.analyticsinsight.net/what-are-the-challenges-faced-by-data-science-professionals/