Category: Artificial Intelligence

Steve Jobs was an amazing technological revolutionist with his creation of Apple and its many products; most notably, the iPhone. With a new iPhone being released just about every year, it can become difficult to keep up with the next best thing from Apple. One of Apple’s most popular accomplishment is the iPhone X.

Facial Recognition: How does it work?

Aside from the iPhone X’s larger infinity screen, it’s the biggest selling feature that it focuses on for the advertisements is its ability to use a picture of the user’s face in order to unlock their phone. The big question is, how exactly does it work? Biometric facial recognition for Apple’s iPhone X uses infrared and visible light scans to identify the user’s face. This isn’t the first time we have been introduced to this type of technology. Regardless, this facial recognition has been what everyone has been talking about since the release of the phone. Most likely due to the fact that Apple removed the “Touch ID” system altogether.

Apple published a white page that explains the technology behind the Face ID a little more in depth. The white page claims that this biometric technology has a low false rate; however, there are been cases of users able to bypass the Face ID on a phone that is not theirs. So, the claim of a low false rate is debatable on the matter of what Apple constitutes as “low.”

The Face ID technology utilizes a “TrueDepth camera.” The TrueDepth camera uses 30,000 infrared dots to create a depth map of the user’s face as well as producing a 2D infrared image. The data collected from this process is then used to create a plethora of 2D images and depth maps; each with their own unique signature, and then sent to the Secure Enclave.

How Strong is Face ID’s Security?

Apple claims that the TrueDepth camera will randomize the images and customizes a random pattern unique to the specific device in use. At which point, the bionic processor will transform the data into an algorithm, and then compares that data to the information given to the Face ID. This is a great idea in theory, but the implementation of it is flawed. First off, the new face ID method is not a reliable biometric source. Most people invest in iPhone because they generally have a fantastic security system. Unfortunately, the Face ID may not be as secure as you think.

Nothing in this world is unbeatable. No matter how great you are at writing code, there’s going to be someone out there that’s better at hacking it. This same concept goes towards biometric passcodes like Touch and Face ID. However, every time someone is able to “beat the system” and fake their way past the Touch or Face ID, Apple is right there to correct and strengthen their security with their ID recognition systems. However, seeing as iPhone X is still fresh and new, the biometric scanning system is still highly vulnerable to potential hacks. There are ways to get around the Face ID already that Apple still has not fixed. Methods such as finding a picture of the phone user on social media have been proven to work in unlocking a phone, thus, granting the hacker access to all of your personal information.

Even though Face ID is relatively vulnerable to hacks, there is no evidence in favor of either Face ID or Touch ID to have stronger security than the other. In the end, the pin code will always be the most secure method to keep your information safe.

It’s Okay Though

Everything that is new goes through a “bug fixing” period. Nothing is ever perfect the first time. Therefore, even though some of the features of the new iPhone X may be flawed, those flaws will more than likely be addressed by the developers. In that event, the developers will do their best to fix the issues that they can and release a new device. If you currently have or are deciding on purchasing an iPhone X, understand that although the Face ID feature might be a neat trick; although, it hasn’t been proven to be as secure as Apple makes it out to be. Just keep in mind that the pin passcode is safe and reliable as long as you update it frequently and utilize random number sequences.

At the end of the day, Face ID is essentially the same as Touch ID since Touch ID has roughly the same potential of being hacked as Face ID does.

A bot is a software application that uses scripts and the internet to carry out automated tasks. One of the main purposes for the creation of bots was to make the lives of humans simpler. They are able to successfully complete tasks faster and more efficiently than a human can. Bots were created on messaging platforms such as the InterBot Column. This enables a bot to send messages to internet servers to make actions applicable to what one is trying to do.

Types of Bots

There are many different types of bots that have been created. Some of the main ones are Travel Bots, Emergency Bots, Interbots and Socialbots used for social business. Travel Bots are the bots that control flight or hotel websites. These bots have people enter information about when their travel plans are and then it does its best to find coordinating flights. A travel bot also helps to find a hotel to stay at while you are on vacation or travelling.

Emergency bots are used for emergency calls and security. They are beginning to use these emergency bots in 911 call centers and even some other call centers such as suicide prevention. Emergency bots are also contributory to border security. These bots are being used in the form of drones to watch the borders of the United States. They can help with the safety of public figures when travelling, preventing human trafficking or trafficking of any kind and safely allowing military personnel out of the country and into other countries. Interbots are bots that talk to one another. These bots make it possible for businesses to communicate with anyone more efficiently. And last but not least, there are socialbots. Socialbots serve as automated customer service representatives. They allow businesses to save time by using these bots as a resource. Socialbots also boost company efficiency. The timely manner it takes for a bot to respond versus a human is a lot shorter. This being said, bots lead to customer satisfaction which reflects highly on the business.

What will the future hold for Bots?

As bots are continually being developed, in the future they will become even greater tools of power. For example, bots are being used for self-driving cars. These automated bots that are functioning by Artificial Intelligence works with systems to function self-driven cars. In May they began trials to test the data of the project in the UK. They are acquiring data to find better ways to develop the product. Who knows, maybe they will create another high tech gadget while running tests. Although it will take nearly 13 years for these developments to become official, they have begun and no matter how long it takes they will be successful at some point. Bots are the future, and the future is looking bright.

Everyone has that moment where they want nothing more than to be elsewhere. Whether it is a specific place, such as a state, country or local business, there are times when you wish nothing more than to be there. Some may ask, “Why not just take a trip?” And the reason one can’t “just take a trip” is because life gets in the way. The struggle of finding flights, hotels, and especially the cost is the reason most people are reluctant to travel. Now with Virtual Reality and Travel, a more non-expensive way of visiting anywhere you want is possible.

When virtual reality was a newer system in 2009 it was being studied by undergraduates at a University in Massachusetts. What inspired them was the process of choosing a University to attend. They did not like the idea of choosing a college just based off of research and some pictures. Also, the pictures did not fully show everything on the campus and what surrounded the University. They decided that Virtual Reality would be the tool to give future students a larger insight on the college and some of the city. Their final creation was a website called YouVisit. This website allows one to access almost any college in any location and see it through virtual reality. It is like a 360 degree video. From these three undergraduates creation, the technology of Virtual Reality has expanded immensely. Virtual Reality has gone from showing college campuses to showing entire cities and artifacts such as New York City and museums in foreign countries.

Who uses Virtual Reality?

It is now known that Virtual Reality is used for seeing college campuses and overheads of places around the world, but believe it or not, it is being used for even more. Businesses are always looking for ways to get ahead. The North Face clothing line has used Virtual Reality to set them at a technological advantage. The North Face relies on the durability of their clothing to be successful. They have a lot of clothing for outdoor activities and for cooler weather. When it comes to these two categories, nobody wants their product they purchased to be flimsy. Through a picture, one can’t truly see how durable the clothing is. Therefore, The North Face began using Virtual Reality to show people wearing their clothing while doing numerous things, such as climbing mountains. This is an extremely smart idea, and is also beneficial towards their business. Other places of businesses also use Virtual Reality. For example, hotels use this system. They are able to show prospective residents a clearer and more realistic picture of what they can expect when residing at their hotels. This is really good for your business because if you can show that your hotel has features others might not have, customers would be more likely to choose your establishment simply because they do not have to “take their chances” of what your hotel will or will not include. Conclusively, virtual reality is a jump in videography and beneficial to providers and consumers.

Industry 4.0 simply expresses an industrial revolution. When thinking about it, that is truly, what has slowly been happening and is continuing as the years pass. These developments are of various sorts. Those being bots, self-driving cars, drones, 3D technology, sensors, virtual reality and much more. To prepare for all of these advancements, they need to find a way to deal with humongous loads of data coming in from various channels. The key to industrializing America furthermore is to have quick tech savvy machines.

Who is taking part in the Revolution of Industrialization?

In Germany the concept of Industry 4.0 has taken action fully. They are increasing the correspondence between businesses and customers daily. Due to Germany advancing their business capabilities they have made it possible for manufacturers from all over to have cost reductions, increased safety and the risk to human errors diminished. For other countries to be involved in Industry 4.0 they have to have a close range of manufacturers to educate. This is simply because you need people to rely on more than just a bot to do their job correctly. They need to understand the machines and be able to be innovative when it comes to experiencing the usage of this technology first hand.

Virtual Reality Revolutionizing the Workplace

Virtual Reality is like seeing the world through a controlled state. Yes, everything is as it would be in real life, but you would not have to deal with the trials and tribulations of the real world. On Your text to link… they list four valid reasons virtual reality is revolutionizing the workplace. They are the following: unifying geographically diverse workplaces, creating safe and controlled testing and training environments, reimagining the ‘second-screen’ experience, and acquiring top talent. A lot of places of work have business CEO’s who can’t be in two places at once, so they do video calls. Although these have been successful, using virtual reality would allow for a more in person meeting. When learning new techniques in the work place it can be dangerous due to low staffing or simply because there has not been sufficient practice yet. With virtual technology, this risk for danger is eliminated. The ‘second-screen’ is like doing two things at once. Virtual reality technology can help with the organization of files by applying the second-screen. You would use the VR screen to organize documents and in your peripheral vision, you would manually file the documents. This would make your job a lot simpler and it would also hold your focus, for you can’t grab for your phone or be distracted by too many other things. Lastly there is acquiring top talent. If you are looking for a job, most of the time there is an idea of how to proceed, but all of the detailed work is unknown until the job is yours. With VR future hires can see the workplace and experience the environment before they even start.

We’ve all heard someone say “robots are going to take over the world.” In a way, technology is being advanced to the point where this is possible. Some may not have noticed, but robots are being used for various different tasks. As time goes on these tasks they are able to perform are becoming more and more advanced. Artificial Intelligence Applications are “bots” such as Siri, Cortana and Alexa that are being introduced to our daily lives. These bots are programs that are designed to behave like a player or person. In order to do this, these bots are made with an autonomous program on a network such as the internet that interacts with computer systems or users. Bots are progressing and are being used for even more technological advances. Now the question is why and how are these bots assigned a gender?

Female and Male Bots

It is said that male engineering groups typically give female names to the bots they create. This is because the female voice is found to be more calming and that results in a more comfortable connection between a human and a bot. Although they try to say this is false and their bots are not gender specified, gender is shown through the voice, appearance (if shown) and name of the bot. Although a lot of bots are thought to be women, there are a lot of men bots as well and the numbers are closer than many would think. These male bots are mainly seen in movies as robots. Some movies with male bots would be Wall-E, iRobot, and Star Wars just to name a few. This does not exclude female bots from being in movies, such as the movie “Her,” it simply is justifying that male ones are more common.

What are these bots used for?

Almost every smart phone or gaming console is equipped with a bot. Some examples were listed earlier. The most well-known bot would be Siri. Siri is the Apple IPhone bot that assists in calling, texting, setting reminders or alarms and much more. Although Siri seems like a gender neutral name, the voice no matter the accent is a bit more feminine. A noticeably female bot would be Amazon’s Alexa. Alexa is very much like Siri except rather than being on a phone; this bot is its own individual product. Alexa is always listening and answers to what you ask or say. These bots are very useful and resourceful, but there are bots being created to be used for tasks that are even further advanced. Some things they are now being used for are: Self-driving cars, assistants and customer service. The most well-known advancement would probably be customer service. Everyone has seen how store after store is becoming equipped with self-checkout stations. These stations (that are operated by bots) are taking the jobs of human beings but are part of developing a better technology filled future. Having these bot controlled check out stations and virtual assistants has helped lead to the development of self-driving cars. So when they say robots are taking over the world they are pretty accurate.

Interbots or IBC is a messaging channel that consists of bots communicating with other bots. They are introducing a new and extremely cool way of communicating. There can be an interbot for nearly everything, which will be described later on. They can almost be thought of as a more high tech google translate. They allow for you to use systems that are based in other countries or systems that do not directly use your language. They can also simply be used for normal communications between businesses and companies. Interbots have more than likely been used by a majority of people. Whenever one simply types in a question on a foreign site, or a site that uses a different language, these language-interbots are being used. These various interbots communicate through the InterBot Console, which helps translate communications to complete the tasks set at hand.

How do Interbots Work?

For example, let’s say there is a shopping bot. This shopping bot understands English and communicates with customers in English. If one is more comfortable speaking German, then they would build a German shopping bot. This German shopping bot would communicate with the English shopping bot in order to translate the conversation. This interaction consists of three bots, the shopping bot, English bot and German bot, communicating with each other to make your experience more efficient. In this scenario you would use the following in the InterBot Console: @shoppingbot + @eng2gerbot / @germanshoppingbot / @ger2engbot. This is telling the console to translate what they are saying from English to German. Once it is translated to German, and there is a response, the system receives the response that is translated back to English. This then turns into a recurring pattern until the conversation is done.

How are Interbots Useful?

Interbots are of extremely great use. They make customer interactions with businesses a lot easier. Interbots are also used for various other things. These things include flights, hotels, taxi, cafés, assistants and much more. Interbots can communicate with flights and hotels. They do this by combining the services of the booked flight with the hotel. How this works is when you choose a flight, the “flight bot” will communicate with the “hotel bot” and it will provide you with hotels that are available at the time your flight arrives. This can also be done vice versa. The “hotel bot” can communicate with the “flight bot” to find a flight by the time your hotel reservation expires. This also applies to the taxi and café. The “taxi bot” will communicate with the “café bot” and your coffee will be ready by the time your taxi arrives to the café. As for the virtual assistant, this bot would come in handy the most. These “personal assistant bots” can do anything from take notes to schedule meetings. This innovative technology is a true way of simplifying life while also introducing new and exciting technology. Knowing that this is only the beginning one can only imaging the lengths interbots will be taken to in the future.

Emergency bots are anything from bots that answer 911 calls to drones. Normally a 911 or any other emergency call is answered by a person, but now that these places aren’t staffed as much, emergency bots help fill the vacant spaces. Having emergency bots answer 911 calls can seem a bit tedious because people are usually frantic and for a bot to try to maintain a conversation would be a bit difficult. Due to the importance of these calls, emergency bots are extremely advanced. These bots are able to pick up location and language. This makes it more efficient for the 911 call responders. The bots are able to connect the person with one who can understand either their language or accent.

The bots are also able to connect the caller to someone within their immediate location. This is extremely important so that when people arrive at the location they are prepared to the best of their abilities. Emergency bots are becoming so advanced that it has been predicted that over 85 percent of interactions between businesses and customers will have no involvement of a human on the business side by 2020. Without even knowing it, the majority of your phone calls through customer care are led by bots. Bots have become a huge contribution to customer care and will more than likely become a huge part of more emergent matters.

Emergency Bots for Safety

Scientists are working on robotic drones for security on the country’s border. Before drones, Homeland Security used unmanned vehicles with cameras for border surveillance. They have been using these surveillance vehicles since 2005. It can be assumed that this is reliable, but like everything, technology evolves. Staying with one set plan does not assure long term success. Using these vehicles for surveillance is a difficult task. They have to be in the right place at the right time to be activated. This means there is a lot of room for errors and when dealing with border security, this is not something that can take any errors. With the help of bots in the form of drones, this room for error becomes minimized. Drones are more advanced and the technology on them is still advancing.

How are drones used for security?

At the University of Arizona, researchers were given a grant from the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research to create a surveillance system to monitor the United States’ border with Mexico. They are creating this artificial intelligence development for a surveillance system that includes more realistic data and can respond to threats faster. Overall they want to be able to make everything safer and more efficient. Everything would include the travel of high power authority figures, to military personnel. Huge developments of these drones allow are the ability to fly low. Having low-flying drones will allow traffickers to be picked up. Trafficking of any kind is extremely important and dangerous. Having a system enabled to track and stop this kind of behavior is extremely important. This can prevent the loss of lives and the illegal dealings over borders. Conclusively, the development of these higher tech emergency bots allows the United States Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection to be notified of unsafe activities and the locations of these activities much faster.

Everybody knows the struggle of planning a vacation or trip. From booking flights to finding hotels, it becomes a real hassle. With travel bots, which are said to be “virtual travel assistants,” this process is made a lot easier. A travel bot is an artificial intelligence (AI) design that responds to messages instantly. These bots typically help to find the best flights, hotels, and even gifts. Travel bots are rather new and most have come about around three years ago. You will mainly see Travel bots being used for finding flights or hotels.

How Are Travel Bots Useful?

Instead of spending your time trying to search multiple sites for the best hotels or cheapest flights you can spend your time planning what to do when you get there, while a travel bot finds these things for you. For companies, these travel bots save time and money. With the help of travel bots there is less of a demand for customer service representatives. The bots can manage questions and give excellent results. Travel agencies and hotels are also able to be more productive due to these travel bots. Instead of having to notify potential customers of prices and or other information, one can receive this information from the travel bot.

How do you use a Travel Bot?

Some of the first sites to have a travel bot were Kayak, Skyscanner, Expedia.com and Cheapflights. For example, Cheapflights works by entering your flight location and destination along with dates and amount of people. Once all of this information is entered, it loads a list of travel sites that you can go on to find the best and or cheapest flight. If one wanted to find a hotel the process would be similar. You would go on a site such as Kayak and search the place you are visiting and then you will receive different hotels that you can look further into. You can even use a travel bot to find and send a gift to anyone. You can buy almost anything such as gift cards, gift baskets, and much more. It is also possible to have gifts sent to or from other countries which makes things so much easier price wise. Although travel bots are recent and there is still some experimentation, they have turned out well thus far. They have made life on both ends more efficient. It is believed that travel bots will develop into an even more hassle free network for safe and easy travel.

Touch and fingerprint scanning have become essential at protecting our digital identities. Before the technology, entering a passcode was the only alternative to secure your smartphone. Fingerprint scanning has been available to laptops for years. However, the technology had quirks.

Customers demand more stringent security for their digital devices. Apple and other large tech companies stepped in to solve the situation. Fingerprint scanning is now a standard component for every smartphone sold today, except the iPhone. The start of the technology was awkward. Finally, fingerprint ID was located in the most logical place, the home button.

The security of the Touch ID is irrefutable. Incorporate Touch ID into your daily life and you wonder why there were passwords in the first place. From biometric facial scanning to fingerprint ID, there is a security level to match every smartphone user’s personal preference.

Following Apple’s lead, every other smartphone operating system has enhanced their biometric security features. None are quite at the level of Apple’s Touch ID or biometric facial scanning. Customers are demanding better security.

Securing Your Smartphone and Apps with a Fingerprint

The obvious use of a fingerprint ID is to keep others from accessing your phone. However, what if several people need access to that phone? There are plenty of valid scenarios where more than one user needs to access a single phone. Both Apple and Android anticipated this need, with both operating systems allowing multiple fingerprints.

Two outstanding password managers, 1Password and LastPass both allow the use of biometric security. Downloading apps is a breeze when you set up Touch Id for the iPhone and fingerprint scanning for your Android device. Keeping your documents and notes safe can be a headache. Again, securing your digital life can be just as important as a secure car or home.

The need to place a physical signature on paper documents is becoming less and less critical. A secure digital world is evolving. Millions of people and their companies are now trusting electronic signatures. SignEasy and DocuSign are two of the best electronic signature applications, and both have integrated fingerprint scanning.

Alternative Uses for Touch ID and Fingerprint Scanning

Keeping your smartphone secure with a fingerprint is not the only thing the home button does. The obvious choice is buying merchandise from your favorite online store or brick and mortar. Place your finger on the home button make your purchase, and you have less money in the bank. With Apple’s Touch ID, a fingerprint can make purchases from iTunes, App Store and iBook Store. Amazon has integrated Touch ID into its app. You can make purchases, save searches and verify your identity when logging on.

Here are some great apps for Touch ID. After a night on the town, a fingerprint scanner can be used to detect your blood alcohol level. The Blood Alcohol Content Analyzer tells you how long to wait before getting behind the wheel of a car. Use Touch ID and turn your iPhone into a scanner. Use Touch ID to protect your Evernote, Mint Personal Money Management and a burgeoning array of credit cards.

Touch ID uses the same technology as their Facial ID scanning. The original copy of your fingerprint is stored in a secure enclave within the hardware itself. Each time you press the home button, Touch ID improves its biometric characteristics. When your fingerprint changes over time, the system recognizes those changes and stores the new copy.

Face ID and biometric scanning are now mainstream. The launch of Apple’s iPhone X put security front and center. Manufacturers are scrambling to catch up to the iPhone. There are apps with facial scanning but not as sophisticated as the iPhone X.

Apple has incorporated facial scanning throughout their product line. The scan can unlock downloaded apps and ApplePay is also participating in the transformation. With certain retailers, you can check out by looking at an installed face scanner.

Face Id is the ultimate form of recognition, just like fingerprint security. The process analyzes individual features and converts those biometric features into computer algorithms. The iPhone X generates a mathematical reproduction of your face. Starting with your first login, the iPhone sets up the original scan. All subsequent logins are measured to this original. Patience is a virtue while setting up your initial scan.

TrueDepth Camera

The entire security system of your phone starts with Apple’s amazing TrueDepth Camera. Depth mapping is utilized when examining your face and there are eight separate functions of the camera which allows for facial scanning. You must face directly at your phone for the Face ID to work.

Biometric identifiers are used to construct the original ID. These identifiers are physiological characteristics. The shape of the face, is it more round or oval? What is the relative size of your chin or nose? How close are your eyes and what color? These are just a few of the structural characteristics that Biometric scanning refers too.

The original scan is not stored in the operating system. Instead, it becomes part of the A11 Biometric chip. The initial scan is impossible to share, even with Apple servers. The company asserts there is virtually no way to bypass the system. When logging into your phone utilizing face ID, the system cannot be tricked. Even identical twins cannot access the system.

Adapting to Change

The original scan of your face is integral to the future success or failure of the security system. There are two modules used to produce the scan. The first module projects a grid onto your face. This grid consists of more than 30,000 infrared dots, generating a 3D map of your physiological identifiers. The second module confirms your identity by matching to the original embedded scan. A secure enclave in the A11 chip is where the initial scan is stored. Hackers always try to find ways around the Face ID scan with next to zero results.

The face ID system is not a photograph, and it will not work if your eyes are closed. The iPhone X adapts to changing details and the embedded neural network learns over time. If you get a haircut or start wearing glasses, the Biometric A11 chip remembers this and makes those adjustments. The basic structure of your face never changes. Physical attributes, such as the shape of your head and the length of your nose, is the original scan embedded into the A11 chip.

The iPhone X includes a Require Attention feature. This function means you must show the iPhone you are cognizant of the scan. This is the reason why you must be facing straight at the screen to log in. This convenient feature prevents others from scanning your face while you sleep or merely are unaware of the scan. Apple’s Facial ID scanning system works exceptionally well to identify only your face.