Tech for Good

2021-11-24 16:09:03 A flawless film dubbing

Artificial intelligence (AI) is controversial. I hear many people say it is stealing jobs from people. Others, like Elon Musk, for example, think AI could be a threat to human existence.

However, we all already use AI in everyday life, enjoying the benefits it provides. And today, I am sharing another example of AI tech that could help all of us who like to watch movies.

The London-based Flawless AI, founded by former film director Scott Mann, has created software called TrueSync, which assists in dubbing a film into a foreign language.

When a movie is dubbed, the dialogue often gets changed to fit an actor’s mouth movements. That leads to two big problems: first, the new dialogue never really fits; and second, even skillfully altering a script can sacrifice a movie’s meaning and nuance.

TrueSync AI learns specific actors’ vocal and facial performances and generates modified versions of the original performance that change the actor’s voice and facial expression to fit an entirely different language.

The AI-generated dubbing performances still require some manual touch-ups by human visual effects artists. However, look at the impressive results showcased in a Flawless AI demo reel. They include Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson confronting each other in fluent French in the 1992 film “A Few Good Men.” Robert DeNiro speaks German in the 2015 film “Heist,” and Tom Hank’s titular “Forrest Gump” character cries over Jenny’s grave while speaking German, Spanish, and Japanese in the 1994 film.

Flawless AI website

#AI #startups Open / Comment

2021-11-15 09:05:39 A lasting laptop

Today we have tech that Time magazine has named as one of the best inventions of 2021. Meet Framework, the San Francisco startup, and their lasting laptop that you can repair yourself.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a leader in the “right to repair” movement that’s pushing back against manufacturers that make their products unfixable by users, estimates Americans could save $40 billion annually by repairing rather than replacing electronics. There’s a green impact, too, in sending fewer machines and their toxic chemicals to landfills.

You can easily customize, upgrade, and repair the Framework laptop. You can choose exactly the ports you want and which side of the notebook you want them on. You can swap the entire motherboard to boost performance as the updated CPU versions are launching.

High-use parts like the battery, screen, and keyboard are easy to replace. QR codes on each item take you directly to guides and the listing in the company web store. Besides, Framework has opened the ecosystem for the users to produce the compatible parts themselves.

The company has not sacrificed the tech specs in favor of reparability. The laptop meets or beats the best of what’s in the category. Prices range from $999 for the pre-built base version to $1999 for the professional version. You can also choose a DIY option with a required set of spare parts and assemble it at home.

6-minute video review with a 10 out of 10 rating from iFixit
Framework website
Article on Time

#electronics #startups Open / Comment

2021-11-14 20:12:07 It is Sunday's #weeksummary:

From light shows to space flights - Rammaxx, which makes RADs (Rapid Ascent Drones), has proposed using them to launch space rockets
Solar trains for India - an ambitious project of the Indian Railways to power 1 of 4 trains with solar power
The right to be understood - an Android app aimed at providing more communication options for people with speech impairments
Squirrels vs. Engineers 2 - a sequel about squirrel ninjas going through all kinds of tests that a former NASA engineer prepared for them

See you all next week. Be safe.

Your Tech for Good Open / Comment

2021-11-11 16:47:08 Squirrels vs. Engineers 2

Looking at the engagement of the "Squirrels vs. Engineers" post last week, I decided to continue the #fun series.

Here is a sequel about squirrel ninjas going through all kinds of tests that a former NASA engineer prepared for them. And all for what? For the sake of a mountain of nuts, of course.

This time, Marc Rober was inspired by films and arranged such a tricky obstacle course that, I think, the fluffy tails may start a new round of their evolution with it.





PS: By the way, Mark has a course for those wishing to become a creative engineer, which will start on November 22th and will take a month. The last day of signing up for it is tomorrow, November 11th. The training program is quite intensive: 5-10 hours a week. The course is suitable for both children and adults. That is a great chance to understand how an engineer who has worked on the Curiosity rover for seven years thinks.

Have a good and safe weekend.

PPS: This post is not a promo one. Open / Comment

2021-11-10 16:53:39 The right to be understood

Google is looking for the help of testers for its Project Relate. That is an Android app aimed at providing more communication options for people with speech impairments.

Project Relate is, at its core, a better voice transcription tool. We all know there are many speech recognition engines out there. These engines need lots of recorded speech to learn how to interpret it correctly.

However, that data is biased in favor of general speech patterns. Data sets do not represent so well people with accents. And people with speech impairments like those resulting from a stroke or injury are even less commonly included. That makes it practically impossible for them to use traditional voice-powered devices.

To help these people be understood, Google has built a database of over a million speech samples by volunteers. They used it to train up the speech-recognition AI and created the Project Relate app.

The app has three functions. "Listen" turns the speech directly into the text to be pasted elsewhere or read by others. "Repeat" listens first, then repeats in a clearer computerized voice. "Assistant" forwards their transcribed speech directly to Google Assistant for usual tasks like playing music or asking about the weather.

The project leaders are Dimitri Kanevsky, a research scientist, and Aubrie Lee on the marketing team. They both have impaired speech, so it is hard to imagine better candidates for making such project a reality.

With current testing, Google wants to understand how the application will work for people in their daily lives, how accurate it is, and what to improve before expanding to a broader audience.

2.5-minute Project Relate video
Article on Techcrunch
Sign up as a potential volunteer to make the app better

#AI Open / Comment

2021-11-09 15:30:50 Solar trains for India

India has set an ambitious goal. This summer, Indian Railways (IR) announced their plan to become net-zero carbon by 2030. Nobody else in the world has the same scale and pace attempting to deliver a zero-carbon railway.

So, how could India achieve that? Switching trains from diesel to electricity will not be enough. Actually, doing that in India will initially increase pollutions. The country heavily relies on coal to generate electricity. The only way for the country to electrify and decarbonize at the same time is to expand their clean energy capacity.

That’s exactly what they intend to do, with plans to install 20GW of solar power on unused railway company land. Making this plan a reality will allow running 1 in 4 trains in India on solar power.

The strategy has many other benefits. It would improve air quality. A zero-carbon railway network will cut 5% of India’s total emissions. And of course, it will save a lot of money on fuel: the estimated $2.3 bln a year.

Indian Railways have partnered with Riding Sunbeams, a world-leading innovator focused on decarbonizing rail traction networks from Britain.

Article on The Earthbound Report
More details you can find in the "Riding Sunbeams in India" report.

#solar Open / Comment

2021-11-08 15:41:24 From light shows to space flights

Today we have my favorite drones on the menu.

Rammaxx, which makes RADs (Rapid Ascent Drones), has proposed using them to launch space rockets.

RADs are like electric rockets that can climb very quickly. Rammaxx is now using them for light shows.

The devices take off, light up, engage in the sky picture creation, then return to the pad for wireless recharging. With full illumination, the flight time is only 2 minutes. However, the recharging is quick - 3 minutes.

By replacing each other, drones can demonstrate a light image for a long time. The company offers an application in which you can set the trajectory of their flight and the parameters of the light show. Up to five drones can simultaneously be in the sky and work together in a swarm mode.

Rammaxx devices are small - weighing only 90 grams, can withstand wind blowing at a speed of 32 km/h. The LED lights installed on the drones are very bright - they give out 3000 lumens.

It is not very clear how much the service offered by Rammexx is in demand. Probably not so much, as the team is looking for other uses for their designs.

Rammexx proposed the concept of using their RADs (only larger, of course) to launch rockets into space.

The idea is to lift them into the sky (up to 5 km above the ground) at a speed of 500 km/h using one drone or a group of five RADs so that the engines start from this height.

That is, drones can almost completely replace the first stage burning vast fuel amounts. The tech allows creating and launching ASR (Air to Space Rocket) type rockets. They are cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and safer than the GSR (Ground to Space Rocket). After raising the rocket to the desired height, the drones return to base, charge, and after a while are ready for a new launch.

The guys have experimented with their miniature drones, having installed mock-ups of proportional-sized rockets on them. They report the tests to have gone very well.

A 2-minute video is here
Drone tech parameters are here

#drones #space Open / Comment

2021-11-07 21:00:56 Here's the usual weekend's post summary:

Solid-state batteries - two news about solid-state batteries coming closer to mass production. That could mean improving the EV industry's fire safety
Unknown Earth - a drone mapping our oceans and using the technology of generating clean energy from natural temperature changes
Toyota's first EV - Toyota revealing its first all-electric car, the bZ4X SUV
Airspeeder League - the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) racing league aiming to transform the aerial transport
Squirrels vs. Engineers - Friday's fun reality show where squirrels challenge the engineer in the battle for walnuts
Guys, I need your attention - the explanation of the channel's advertising policy and a poll to understand your attitude to it

I appreciate all the feedback and support from you. Be safe and see you around next week.

Your Tech for Good

#weeksummary Open / Comment

2021-11-07 15:23:17 Tech for Good pinned «Guys, I need your attention. As the owner and creator of the Tech for Good channel, I do everything myself. I research and create content, answer questions and comments, sometimes requiring even more research than the post itself. As for the channel management…» Open / Comment

2021-11-07 15:22:54 Open / Comment