Siri Creators Introduce New AI Assistant Viv

One of the creators of the artificial intelligence (AI) behind Siri, the digital assistant acquired by Apple in 2010, today demonstrated a next-generation AI called Viv that he said could eventually let people "converse" with any smart device in the Internet of things.

Siri creator Dag Kittlaus currently runs a San Jose startup called Viv Labs, founded with fellow Siri creator Adam Cheyer. (Another Siri creator, Tom Gruber, now works for Apple.) At the Disrupt NY 2016 tech conference in New York today, Kittlaus gave a live demonstration of his company's latest creation, Viv ("viv" comes from Latin word, "vivus," which means "alive").

Kittlaus said Viv represents the next "new paradigm" for how people interact with computers. The technology's unique character comes from its use of dynamic program generation, an intelligent method for creating software on the fly depending upon the intent of a user's request.

'Software That's Writing Itself'
"We're going to use this technology to breathe life into the inanimate objects and devices of our life through conversation," Kittlaus said during his demonstration. Kittlaus gave several spoken queries to Viv during the presentation and received quick and accurate answers even to complex questions like, "Will it be warmer than 70 degrees near the Golden Gate Bridge after 5 p.m. the day after tomorrow?"

Unlike other intelligent assistants Viv uses a "computer science breakthrough" that -- after using speech recognition and determining a user's intent based on the words spoken -- automatically creates a software program to produce an accurate and relevant response to a question or request, Kittlaus said.

"This is software that's writing itself," Kittlaus said. The process, which takes just 10 milliseconds or so, enables Viv to scale in ways that other digital assistants currently cannot, he added.

Viv's Goal? 'Ubiquity'
Viv Labs plans to begin launching its AI toward the end of the year, first through a select group of partner, Kittlaus told TechCrunch editor-in-chief Matthew Panzarino during an on-stage Q&A after the demonstration. Eventually, Viv will be opened up to developers at large to allow them to create a wide range of uses for the technology. Viv can already interact with users and enable transactions such as ordering flowers through ProFlowers or reserving a ride through Uber.

For consumers, Kittlaus said he envisions Viv becoming "the intelligent interface to everything." For developers, Viv will be the next great marketplace and channel for offering content, commerce and services, he said.

By enabling people to interact with smart devices through conversation, Viv offers an easier and more natural way to interact with computers than, say, apps do, Kittlaus said. "I think kids will be asking in future, 'How did you get along without your assistant?'" he said.

Unlike with Siri, Viv Labs has no plans to sell its technology to a larger tech firm. Instead, Kittlaus said his company is in talks with most every major firm in the world to put it on almost every device. "Our goal for this is ubiquity," he said.

ROGER: ALEXA ON YOUR PHONE

Roger, an app that lets you send voice messages to your contacts in a walkie-talkie format, has now added third-party integration — starting with Amazon’s Alexa, Dropbox, and Slack.

The app is currently the only free way to utilize Alexa on your phone; there’s a paid app called Lexi that solely offers access to Alexa’s voice services. But with Alexa on Roger, you now you can access Alexa and throw commands at her on the go — you can check your calendar, control smart home devices, make shopping orders, and more, but not all orders will work.



Phrases like, “play music,” won’t enable Alexa to begin playing music on your device, and Roger CEO and co-founder Ricardo Vice Santos says that’s an issue on Alexa’s end.

Dropbox integration is a feature Roger users have been calling for as the app only stores messages for 48 hours. Now, users can have their conversations backed up directly to their Dropbox account for safekeeping.

For Slack, it works precisely how you think it would. Tap on the Slack icon to send a voice message to someone on the service — you can specify where you want to publish your messages, whether it’s to a group or an individual. Santos says the company is working on a transcribing system, but it’s not going to be a core feature since Roger’s purpose is to push voice communication.

Perhaps the more interesting feature is how Roger can deal with voicemail.

“One of the reasons why people don’t like voicemail that much is because it’s actually the only medium that you can’t respond in the same currency, so you can’t respond to a voicemail with a voicemail,” Santos told Digital Trends.



Once a call is missed and if a voicemail is left, Roger will identify the contact and let you listen to the voicemail through Roger. You can then respond with a voice message to that person through the app. If users don’t have Roger installed, they’ll get a text message with the voice message embedded.

Developers can build their own integrations with Roger, and users can also build IFTTT recipes to get more mileage out of the app.

Roger was built by former Spotify engineers and is funded by former Facebook executives. The update is available now — the app recently launched on Android, but debuted on iOS last year.

Google Is Working On An Amazon Echo Competitor Codenamed "Chirp"

About two months ago, when Amazon announced two new Alexa-powered devices, the Echo Dot and Echo Tap, many of you voiced the same thought: this is the kind of product Google should be working on. With "OK Google" commands being some of the most powerful voice search and personal assistants on the market, Google shouldn't have a lot of trouble inviting itself into your home and living room or making automation independent from your phone and more integrated with your life.

At the time, we knew (check Artem's comment) that Google was indeed working on an Echo competitor, codenamed "Chirp," and we were rooting for a Google I/O announcement. It seems that this is actually founded in reality as Recode has now obtained information that verifies the original rumor we heard. According to the site's sources, the device will look like the OnHub routers, but that's where the details become scarce.

It's likely that the Chirp, which will probably have a different name by the time it hits the market, will be talked about and demoed at I/O next week, but the release date might not be immediate. Recode says the plans are for it to land sometime this year, but there's no indication of the price, other features, or capabilities of the device.

This, along with Virtual Reality, are purported to be part of Google's big themes for I/O so the event is looking more and more exciting. With Google @Home realistically dead in its original iteration, it's interesting to see what approach Google takes now to sneak into the home and integrate with your lifestyle and the different devices and technologies that are already in it.

• Source: 
• Recode

BMW readies electric, self-driving flagship car

MUNICH -- BMW's iNext electric, self-driving car is set to enter showrooms in 2021 as the brand's flagship model.

The addition to the automaker's i subbrand, which currently includes the i3 EV and i8 plug-in hybrid, will be able to drive itself in many situations, CEO Harald Krueger said in comments prepared for the company's annual shareholders meeting in Munich today.

The sedan will have a new interior and offer a cutting-edge electric powertrain, Krueger said.

The new car is the centerpiece of BMW's effort to defend its position in the luxury-car market from challengers such as Tesla Motors.

The iNext will be "our new innovation driver, with autonomous driving, digital connectivity, intelligent lightweight design, a totally new interior and ultimately bringing the next generation of electro-mobility to the road," Krueger said.

BMW unveiled the Vision Next 100 futuristic self-driving concept car in March that explores the automaker's ideas for how automobiles will evolve as autonomous vehicles.

BMW is in the midst of shifting strategy under pressure from Tesla as well as traditional rivals like Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

In addition to the iNext, BMW is expanding into mobility services as owning a car becomes less important to city-dwelling consumers. The company started a car-sharing service in Seattle last month that offers the option of a chauffeur service as well as people renting out their own vehicles.

Growth on track

BMW may lose the top spot in global luxury car sales this year for the first time since 2005. Mercedes, benefiting from a rejuvenated product lineup and a host of all-new models, took the lead during the first quarter when sales rose more than twice as fast as BMW's.

The battle to stay in the lead contributed to price cuts to entice buyers to BMW's relatively older cars. The average price of BMW's vehicles declined 5.9 percent to about 33,700 euros ($38,500) in the first quarter as demand for cheaper cars like the X1 SUV powered past sales of the revamped 7-series sedan, according to Bloomberg calculations. Still, BMW said it's on course to meet 2016 targets of delivering slight increases in pretax profit and car sales for the seventh record year in a row, Krueger said.

"After our first quarter, we are on track for the full year," Krueger said, who's been at the helm of the 100-year-old company for a year. "We have always stressed that our centenary is a springboard to the future."

Automotive News Europe contributed to this report

Google launches new keyboard for iOS

I downloaded the new Gboard for iOS today, and have been really enjoying it so far. Along with wondering about what Google will tell advertisers now that they can read every single thing I type, I came to the realization that pretty much every major function of my iPhone has now been taken over by Google software.

I use Google products for email, search, photos, maps, and video. Gboard effectively puts Google inside every app I use that requires me to type, from texting to taking notes. The only activity that isn't really mediated by the search giant at this point are voice calls, although in the past I have used Google Voice.

This isn't an op-ed about how Apple is dying or how Google products are superior to others. Just an observation that the two biggest players in the world of mobile devices / operating systems can radically overlap on an iOS device, in a way that I don't think would be possible or practical if I was on Android.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made the argument before that part of the value customers derive from his company's products is privacy. Apple doesn't suck up your personal data and sell it to advertisers because it's found a nice business as the most profitable corporation in history mostly by selling hardware.

If you are the kind of person who is offended or frightened by the idea that a big company is tracking everything you say and do, Google apps are not a good fit. Personally, I'm okay with exchanging that information for a suite of software tools that fits my life. Now excuse me, I have some risqué emoji to search for.

source: theverge

Copenhagen buses to go electric by 2020

11 May 2016

City mayor questions the increased taxes that the new vehicles must pay

Copenhagen’s buses will make the switch from diesel to electric when current bus contracts expire in 2019.

The move is expected to help the city mayor, Frank Jensen, in his push for a carbon-neutral Copenhagen by 2025.

A total of 385 buses are expected to be replaced covering 33 bus lines.

“Completely wrong”
The electric buses are expected to cost around 68 million kroner more per year than the current diesel buses.

A significant amount of this cost is due to the high rate of electricity tax on buses, which is three times the amount payable on fuel tax.

“It is absurd that the current tax policies are favouring diesel buses rather than electricity,” Frank Jensen told Politiken.

“And it is completely wrong, the buses in public transport must pay 200 times more electricity tax than the national rail operator does.”

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Copenhagen Airport among Europe’s fastest growing

12 May 2016

Nordic hub saw a 13.2 percent increase during the first three months of the year

Over the first three months of 2016, Copenhagen Airport has been the fourth-fastest growing airport in Europe, according to the airport council ACI Europe.

The Danish capital’s airport saw an increase of 13.2 percent during the first three months of 2016 compared to the same period in the previous year.

“The growth is naturally down to the Danes travelling more, but there are also many more travellers from abroad coming to Denmark,” Peter Krogsgaard, the commercial head of Copenhagen Airport, told Check-In.dk.

“We can see considerable growth in the number of tourists and business travellers coming to Copenhagen. It’s helping generate growth and jobs across Denmark.”

Turkish delight

Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport was the fastest growing larg airports in Europe with 19.5 percent growth, followed by Dublin (17.5 percent), Barcelona-El Prat (16.1 percent), and Copenhagen and Amsterdam Schiphol (12.4 percent).

The ACI Europe report showed that Europe’s airports enjoyed an average passenger growth of 7.8 percent, while the EU nations saw an 8.2 percent increase.

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