Sometimes you hear about an invention and you just know it will change the world for the better, take us into a future bright and shining, in which nothing will ever be the same. It’s the light at the end of a dark, dreary tunnel. This week, ladies and gentlemen, we found such an invention: a workplace coffee-delivering drone. And I suppose some other interesting things happened too. Let’s get to it!

Feeling low? In comes the drone.

IBM has filed a patent for an invention of which other companies can only say “why on earth didn’t we think of this?” It describes a drone infused with analytical skills to determine who exactly is in need of a caffeine boost, and which will, of course, bring that coffee right to them. Of course, it’s sometimes not easy to distinguish the truly tired from the naturally droopy-faced, but AI can do many things, and I speak for the entire TenForce office when I say that I am excited to see this project come into life. Want to know more? Samantha Ann Schwartz takes us to a caffeinated paradise on CIO dive.

Predicting chemical reactions using specialized software

Chemists know the drill, a certain active ingredient in a liquid product needs to be replaced, something needs to be added or removed, and the endless testing begins. The ability to predict the outcomes would make a lot of that legwork go faster, and this is possible by using software that is able to predict how exactly liquid solutions with a lot of active components will change if you add another one to it. A Purdue University-affiliated company has created a software solution that will be developed further to do exactly this, ensuring that companies will be able to save time, estimate the shelf life of their liquid products better when paired with various containers, and much more. Read more about this chemical industry solution on manufacturing.net.

Teaching AI to remember

People are pretty bad at remembering things, and therefore, considering AI is trying to mimic people’s brains, an AI system is also not great at remembering. When it’s confronted with a new task to learn, an AI system tends to forget older knowledge. However, a scientist at Google DeepMind by the name of Irina Higgins has been making promising progress. She’s creating an AI algorithm that can think more creatively, that will put the technology on the right track towards eliminating bias, and is able to imagine already learned elements in different contexts. This creates a whole new dimension to the quality of learning that AIs are capable of. We’re getting closer to imagining the endless doors AI can open to us, and Dan Robitzki on Futurism tells us more.

3D printing one of the strongest materials in existence

A collaboration between Virginia Tech and Lawrence Livermore National Library made it possible to take graphene printing from previously limited to 2D sheets to full-on 3D complex objects. The material is used in the production of, amongst others, batteries, vehicles, and sensors, so having a better way to manipulate this material will boost these industries majorly. Their new process is in its budding phase but shows promise. Jeff Reinke shares the scoop on Thomasnet.

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