As the world’s largest smartphone and memory chip manufacturer – along with being a key player in many consumer devices including TVs, washing machines, fridges, and more – Samsung has established itself as a tech leader.

The convergence of powerful emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, and the cloud, have the potential to radically shake-up the industry and dethrone established players if they don’t keep pace. Samsung has made clear it has no intention of giving up its castle.

“In a hyperconnected society via 5G, AI and internet of things, a company that innovates user experiences will be a global business leader,” said Koh Dong-jin, head of IT & mobile communications at Samsung, during an AI forum held at the company’s Seoul R&D Center.

“5G, AI will lay the ground for technology innovations for smartphones, wearables, speakers, internet of things, augmented reality and virtual reality, and provide a turning point for our everyday lives.”

Samsung has seven dedicated AI research centres across five nations; the US, UK, Korea, Canada, and Russia.

The company’s first AI mobile processor with a built-in 5G modem is set for release later this year to simplify the development of highly-capable devices with support for both of the important new technologies.

Amid a global slowdown in smartphone sales, Samsung will be hoping its AI and 5G investments help to fortify its position as a global tech leader in a rapidly-changing world.

The post Samsung boosts AI and 5G investments to ‘lay the ground’ for innovation appeared first on AI News.

Three researchers at Samsung have created an AI which can generate realistic 3D renders of video scenes.

In a paper detailing the neural network behind the AI, the researchers explained the inefficient process of creating virtual scenes today:

“Creating virtual models of real scenes usually involves a lengthy pipeline of operations. Such modeling usually starts with a scanning process, where the photometric properties are captured using camera images and the raw scene geometry is captured using depth scanners or dense stereo matching.

The latter process usually provides noisy and incomplete point cloud that needs to be further processed by applying certain surface reconstruction and meshing approaches. Given the mesh, the texturing and material estimation processes determine the photometric properties of surface fragments and store them in the form of 2D parameterized maps, such as texture maps, bump maps, view-dependent textures, surface lightfields.

Finally, generating photorealistic views of the modeled scene involves computationally-heavy rendering process such as ray tracing and/or radiance transfer estimation.”

A video input is converted into points which represent the geometry of the scene. These geometry points are then rendered into computer graphics using a neural network, vastly speeding up the process of rendering a photorealistic 3D scene.

Here’s the result in a video of a 3D scene created by the AI:

Such a solution could one-day help game development, especially video game counterparts of movies that are already being filmed. Footage from a film set could provide a replica 3D environment for game developers to create interactive experiences in. Or, perhaps, you could relive events like your wedding day using just an old video and a VR headset.

Before such a point is reached, some advancements still need to be made. Current scenes cannot be altered and any large deviations from the original viewpoint results in artifacts. Still, it’s a fascinating early insight at what could be possible in a not-so-distant future.

You can read the full paper here or find the project’s Github page here.

deepgeniusai.com/">AI & Big Data Expo events with upcoming shows in Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam to learn more. Co-located with the IoT Tech Expo, , & .

The post Samsung researchers create AI which generates realistic 3D renders of video scenes appeared first on AI News.

Around 30 AI experts are based at Samsung’s current Paris office working on research and development projects.

The Paris-based AI lab of Samsung is smaller than centres based in London, Toronto, and Montreal. While the lab itself is smaller than its counterparts elsewhere in the world, Samsung is seeking local partners to help advance its AI ambitions.

Sohn Young-kwon, Chief Strategy Officer of Samsung, is due to visit the Paris office in May to review its plans and meet local AI startups. These firms could be up for potential acquisition.

“Companies that could create synergies with Samsung’s AI lab are being identified for possible M&As,” local news outlet Maeil Business News reported.

Samsung has invested in 13 AI-related startups so far. Among the most notable is Viv Labs, founded by the creators of Siri.

Overall, the firm has invested more than $200 million in 75 startups through its various investment units.

Samsung has big plans for AI and recently announced it aims to have its entire range of electronic products fitted with AI by 2020.

deepgeniusai.com/">AI & Big Data Expo events with upcoming shows in Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam to learn more. Co-located with the IoT Tech Expo, , & .

The post Samsung is looking to snag Paris-based AI startups appeared first on AI News.

The company says its NPU (Neural Processing Unit) will deliver up to seven times faster AI performance than Samsung’s older Exynos 9810 chip in the S9.

Huawei became the first to debut a dedicated NPU in a flagship smartphone with their Kirin 970 chip in the Mate 10.

In our Mate 10 coverage, we noted Huawei claimed using an NPU could increase performance up to 25x over a CPU/GPU.

Huawei pitted the Mate 10 against the Galaxy Note 8 in an internal test recognising 100 photos. The Mate 10 reportedly completed the benchmark in five seconds while Samsung’s device trailed behind at 100 seconds.

Now that Samsung will have its own NPU chip, we look forward to comparing its performance against Huawei’s efforts.

Qualcomm chips are found in most other handsets – in fact, the Snapdragon 845 is even used in the US version of the Galaxy S9.

While Qualcomm is yet to launch a dedicated smartphone NPU, the company says the 845’s combination of DSP, CPU, and GPU delivers three times faster AI performance than its predecessor.

Samsung boasts the Exynos 9820 will deliver a 20 percent boost to single-core CPU performance and 15 percent improvement to multi-core. The GPU benefits from ARM’s new Mali G76 cores, which first debuted in Huawei’s Kirin 980 chip, to deliver 40 percent more performance.

The 9820 is said to be ready for production by the end of the year so it should be on track for the S10’s expected launch in late February.

It will be interesting to see how Samsung makes use of its NPU. More competition is always good, especially from a tech behemoth like Samsung, and will help drive innovations from the likes of Huawei and Apple further.

Here’s our video of Huawei’s latest AI features in the Mate 20 Pro:

 AI & >.

The post To no surprise, Samsung’s next chip has an NPU for AI appeared first on AI News.

Samsung’s New York AI centre will be led by Sebastian Seung, Executive Vice President of Samsung Research.

Each of Samsung’s AI centres focuses on different areas of research. The New York branch will be researching the important field of AI in robotics.

Hyun-suk Kim, President and Head of Samsung Research, said:

“What we need now is to focus on creating new values that make people’s lives easier and more convenient by harnessing the power of AI in Samsung’s products and services.

To do this, our Global AI Centers, including the New York AI Center, must play a pivotal role.”

Considering the use of Samsung’s technologies for industries such as manufacturing, AI-powered robotics will be an important part of the company’s future business. Expect plenty of Samsung’s resources to be allocated here to see off competition.

The latest AI centre opening is part of Samsung’s grand plan to employ ~1000 AI specialists by 2020.

Samsung has already opened AI centres in different locations around the world including Korea, the UK, France, Russia, Canada, and Silicon Valley.

Back in March, AI News reported of Samsung’s plans to open an AI centre in France.

“Great progress on artificial intelligence is happening in France,” President Macron said in a Twitter message. “Samsung chooses France to locate its new research centre on artificial intelligence, creating more than 100 jobs.”

However, some experts believe strict EU regulations will stunt the development of AI in Europe.

Our sister publication IoT News reported back in May about Samsung’s opening of a huge AI centre in the UK.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May commented:

“Samsung will create high-paying, high-skilled jobs and our modern industrial strategy will encourage further investment like this all around the country.

It is a vote of confidence in the UK as a world leader in artificial intelligence, and the new AI research centre will benefit from the world-renowned talent and academic prowess of Cambridge.”

The UK has become something of a hotbed for AI talent due to its leading universities and companies such as Google-acquired DeepMind. Significant funding has also been allocated for continued development, highlighting the importance of AI for the future economy.

Samsung’s UK centre is being led by Andrew Blake, an esteemed AI researcher and ex-director of Microsoft’s Cambridge Laboratory.

Blake comments: “Our research will help us to better understand human behaviour while exploring areas like emotion recognition, and further expand the boundaries of user-centric communication to develop AI technologies that ultimately improve people’s lives.”

All of Samsung’s AI centres around the globe will cooperate to advance the company’s goals to lead in the field.

“Samsung has a long history of pursuing innovation and we are excited to be bringing that same passion and technology leadership to AI,” said Hyun-suk Kim. “With the new AI centres and recruitment of leading experts in the field, our aim is to be a game-changer for the AI industry.”

What are your thoughts on Samsung’s new AI centres?

The post Samsung continues global AI centre rollout with NY opening appeared first on AI News.

AI News first covered GP at Hand in November last year.

“GP at Hand is a window into what the NHS of the future will look like,” said Dr Howard Freeman MBE, senior GP. “When innovative NHS GPs embrace Babylon’s technology to make life better for their patients, the sky is the limit.”

The service uses AI to determine if a patient’s symptoms require further attention before putting them in touch with a GP using video chat if necessary.

Where appropriate, prescriptions can be sent automatically to a pharmacy of choice — or a patient can be booked in for a physical examination at a practice.

Dr. Ali Parsa, Babylon’s Founder & CEO, says:

“Babylon’s mission is to make healthcare accessible and affordable and to put it into the hands of everyone on Earth. Samsung’s vision for empowering individuals and transforming healthcare, partnered with the company’s illustrious history of technological innovation, constant focus on customer satisfaction and truly global reach makes it a perfect fit with our values and mission.

It’s very exciting to know that millions of Samsung users will soon be able to better manage their health using Babylon’s services as we deliver personal health assessments and treatment advice via their Samsung Galaxy devices.”

Samsung will be integrating Babylon Health’s service into the built-in Samsung Health app on compatible Galaxy devices. The service will not be free: users can decide between a £50 per year subscription, or pay £25 for a one-off appointment.

Kyle Brown, Head of Technology and Services at Samsung UK, adds:

“We’re excited to be welcoming ‘Ask an Expert, powered by Babylon’ to the Samsung Health app. Now our customers will be able to look after their health from wherever they are – whether it’s checking a symptom or talking to a doctor – all within a few simple taps.

The availability of the Babylon service within the app is another milestone for Samsung as we move towards a more connected, healthy world.”

Health startup Babylon has been expanding rapidly as people look for alternatives to overburdened traditional health services.

Dame Barbara Hakin, Former GP and National Director in NHS England, comments:

“I know just how difficult times are for GPs these days and how busy they are. GP at Hand, in addition to being very convenient for patients, can help the service given the recruitment crisis we know is facing us.

This technology can take more of the strain and ensure the best information and insight is available ahead of consultations which will then relieve some of the pressure on hard-pressed clinicians.”

While the service is launching in the UK, Babylon Health is looking to expand its partnership with Samsung worldwide.

Babylon Health recently signed a deal with social giant WeChat in China to offer its services in the country; showing its desire to make healthcare more accessible to everyone around the world.

One day, it’s not hard to imagine a subscription to a service like GP at Hand being able to quickly connect patients with local doctors for advice and treatment even while travelling in other countries. That could offer a lot of peace of mind.

What are your thoughts on the partnership?

  deepgeniusai.com & ac

The post Samsung partners with Babylon Health to offer AI consultations appeared first on AI News.

The new facility will house more than 100 researchers and joins an expansion announcement from Fujitsu who are set to grow their own presence in the country.

“Great progress on artificial intelligence is happening in France,” President Macron said in a Twitter message. “Samsung chooses France to locate its new research center on artificial intelligence, creating more than 100 jobs. Thank you Young Sohn for taking the leap.”

Samsung and Fujitsu’s announcements have been made ahead of the launch of the French government’s AI initiative. Macron says France was behind in most recent technological advancements but the initiative will help to ensure his country leads in artificial intelligence.

“We missed all the big technological revolutions of recent years, but France has a card to play in the field of artificial intelligence,” said an aide to the president to POLITICO. “Either we seize the chance now, or we watch another wave pass us by.”

Macron’s advisors conceded that France is starting from a difficult position, especially in comparison to China and the United States.

Earlier this month, AI News reported that Macron wants Europeans to relax about the use of their data by AI companies. The comments were made following Macron’s trip to Beijing where he saw the depth and scope of data Chinese researchers have access to in comparison to their European counterparts — making things such as training machine learning models easier.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is often the most cited example of being a particular concern to companies and researchers which rely on the bulk collection of data for their work.

“Very often we hear ‘Where are the British and European Googles and Facebooks?’ Well, it’s because of barriers like this which stop organisations like that being possible to grow and develop,” said Peter Wright, Solicitor and Managing Director of Digital Law UK, in a piece for our sister publication IoT News.

However, with the current outrage over the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, it may be hard to sell the need for more data access to citizens.

Samsung’s new facility is to be based either in Paris or in Saclay.

What are your thoughts on France’s new AI initiative?

The post Samsung plans to open a huge AI research facility in France appeared first on AI News.

In an editorial last month, we predicted an invasion of mobile AI chips with a pace of adoption quicker than what Counterpoint is expecting. Recent announcements, such as the Huawei Mate 10 yesterday, certainly appear to indicate the start of a trend over the coming months.

If you missed our coverage from Huawei’s event in Munich yesterday, we came away impressed. We agree with Huawei’s comments this is just the start, but it’s clear AI already offers tangible benefits to smartphone users.

Any smartphone manufacturer not taking advantage of AI risks being left behind. As such, we think Counterpoint Research’s predictions may be on the conservative side.

We’ll return to these predictions in a few years, but – not including cheap or knockoff brands – we expect the number of smartphones with dedicated AI chips to be at least two in three by 2020. By the end of 2019, we expect most flagships to feature chipset-level AI.

Huawei and Apple have set the bar with their AI chips and it’s likely other smartphone manufacturers will be scrambling to match or exceed their capabilities. We’re almost certain that Samsung will have dedicated AI chips starting with their Galaxy S9 and there are rumours the company is even fast-tracking its launch plans to catch up with Apple and Huawei.

Apple, with its Bionic System-on-Chip (SoC), is predicted to drive native AI adoption in smartphones and make the iPhone maker a leader in the AI-capable chip market through 2020 – according to Counterpoint.

Huawei, with its HiSilicon Kirin 970 SoC, is expected to be second in the market after Apple with its AI-capable smartphones.

“The initial driver for the rapid adoption of AI in smartphones is the use of facial recognition technology by Apple in its recently launched iPhone X,” said Counterpoint Research Director Jeff Fieldhack.

“Face recognition is computationally intensive and if other vendors are to follow Apple’s lead, they will need to have similar on-board AI capabilities to enable a smooth user experience,” he added.

In the coming months, Qualcomm is expected to announce AI capabilities for its widely used chipsets. This will be supported in their mid-tier to high-end chips so we could be seeing mid-range handsets with powerful AI capabilities prior to the end of next year.

“With advanced SoC-level AI capabilities, smartphones will be able to perform a variety of tasks such as processing natural languages, including real-time translation; helping users take better photos by intelligently identifying objects and adjusting camera settings accordingly,” explained Counterpoint Research Director Peter Richardson.

Are the predictions in-line with your own expectations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The post Research: One in three smartphones will feature dedicated AI chips by 2020 appeared first on AI News.