Category: business – Page 240
Google’s Next Big Money Maker Could Be the Maps on Your Phone
Indeed, Schindler stressed that Google would generate personalized Maps recommendations in “privacy-sensitive, opt-in ways.”
The company is betting that adding more data about places and businesses to Maps will lead people to spend more time on the service. As users expect more from Maps, Google has extra space to introduce more ads.
“We want to be able to highlight things that are around you and surface them nearby to you in a way that’s not disrupting your experience,’’ said Rajas Moonka, director of product management for Google Maps. Because so much of what users are looking for in Google Maps is commercial in nature, ads can be a helpful addition to the experience, he said.
New algorithm optimizes quantum computing problem-solving
Tohoku University researchers have developed an algorithm that enhances the ability of a Canadian-designed quantum computer to more efficiently find the best solution for complicated problems, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Quantum computing takes advantage of the ability of subatomic particles to exist in more than one state at the same time. It is expected to take modern-day computing to the next level by enabling the processing of more information in less time.
The D-Wave quantum annealer, developed by a Canadian company that claims it sells the world’s first commercially available quantum computers, employs the concepts of quantum physics to solve ‘combinatorial optimization problems.’ A typical example of this sort of problem asks the question: “Given a list of cities and the distances between each pair of cities, what is the shortest possible route that visits each city and returns to the original city?” Businesses and industries face a large range of similarly complex problems in which they want to find the optimal solution among many possible ones using the least amount of resources.
Read more
DTI: PH can become artificial intelligence powerhouse
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the DTI would soon launch an initiative to train the country’s IT and engineering graduates to create AI solutions for the global marketplace.
Instead of fearing artificial intelligence (AI), a supposed threat to the country’s thriving business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, the Philippines can position itself as a global AI hub, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
In a recent chance interview, Lopez said the Department of Trade and Industry would soon launch an initiative to train the country’s IT and engineering graduates to create AI solutions for the global marketplace.
Lopez said the government could team up with successful Filipino technopreneur Dado Banatao to upgrade the skills of the country’s IT, science and engineering graduates.
Read more
New Spinoff Publication Highlights NASA Technology Everywhere
From precision GPS to batteries for one of the world’s first commercial all-electric airplanes, NASA technology turns up in nearly every corner of modern life. The latest edition of NASA’s Spinoff publication features dozens of commercial technologies that were developed or improved by the agency’s space program and benefit people everywhere.
“NASA works hard, not only to develop technology that pushes the boundaries of aeronautics and space exploration, but also to put those innovations into the hands of businesses and entrepreneurs who can turn them into solutions for challenges we all face here on Earth,” said Jim Reuter, acting associate administrator of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “These are sometimes predictable, like the many NASA technologies now adopted by the burgeoning commercial space industry, but more often they appear in places that may seem unrelated, like hospitals, farms, factories and family rooms.”
In this issue of Spinoff, the agency shares new stories of how:
U.S. Missile Defense Agency wants a new 1,000 kilowatt-class laser weapons
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is looking for information on a 1,000 kW-class electrically-pumped laser for defending the United States, its deployed forces, allies, and friends against all ranges of enemy ballistic missiles in all phases of flight.
The post on the federal business opportunities website is asking industry for information on a capability to demonstrate a 1,000 kW-class electrically-pumped laser in the 2025–26 timeframe.
Missile Defense Agency does not provide a specific platform or strategic mission at this time. The proposed ground demonstrator laser system would be designed to have technology maturation and lightweight engineering paths to potential future platforms.