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Half of young people are so troubled they can’t focus at school, study finds

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Teenagers’ levels of happiness and confidence are plummeting, as they worry that their lives will amount to nothing

Almost half of all young people experience so many emotional problems at school that they are unable to focus on their studies, a new poll has found.

Meanwhile, their levels of happiness and confidence are dropping, and more than a quarter feel that they have no control over their lives.

And more than one in six believe that they will never amount to anything, no matter how hard they try.

More than 2,200 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 were surveyed by the Prince’s Trust charity. Nearly half (45 per cent) said that they did not believe in themselves when they were at school. And 48 per cent said that they experienced problems during their school years that prevented them from concentrating on their academic work.

Of these, 46 per cent did not talk to anyone about their problems. Largely, this was because they did not want other people to know that they were struggling. And more than half (58 per cent) did not think that asking for help would solve the problem.

The survey is the eighth such study conducted by the Prince’s Trust. This year, young people’s levels of happiness and confidence were at their lowest level since the first survey was commissioned.

‘Amount to nothing’

Their plummeting confidence is caused by a number of factors. Half of those surveyed felt that the pressures of finding a job were greater than they were a year ago. And 42 per cent believed that traditional financial goals – such as finding a steady job or owning a house – were unrealistic.

In fact, 16 per cent argued that their lives would amount to nothing, no matter how hard they tried. And 18 per cent said that they did not believe that they could change their circumstances, even if they wanted to.

Dame Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Prince’s Trust, said: “This report paints a deeply concerning picture of a generation who feel their ability to shape their own future is slipping away from them.

“It’s shocking how many feel so desperate about their situation, and it is vital that we support them to develop the confidence and coping skills they need to succeed in life.”

[Source:- tes]

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Education

Teachers in all secondary schools to be offered mental health training

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

mental health training for all schools

Funding for previous measures has failed to reach schools, says former health minister

Mental health reforms being announced by Theresa May today will help tackle the “blackspot” of treatment for children who self-harm and suffer bullying on social media, the health secretary has said.

Jeremy Hunt said three children in every classroom in the country have a mental health condition but only a quarter of them receive help, stressing early intervention can give patients a much better chance of a full cure.

He said measures being announced by the prime minister will also help those with eating disorders or who are “behaving in a strange way” and sometimes have to wait six months for treatment.

Mr Hunt admitted the £1 billion already earmarked for mental health services in February was not yet fully filtering through the system.

But he stressed Mrs May’s announcement, which includes extra training for schools, would improve the situation for children.

Under the plans, mental health training for teachers and staff will be rolled out to a third of secondary schools in England next year, with the remaining two-thirds of secondary schools offered the support in the following two years.

Mr Hunt told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’ve had a slightly patchy start… but overall this year we are seeing the amount clinical commissioning groups spend on mental health is about £1 billion more than it was two years ago, so I think things are going in the right direction.”

He went on: “But I think the sort of blackspot is what we do for children and young people.

“Because if we are going to have a society that works for everyone we need to be there.

“And what is more worrying for a parent than if you’ve got a child with an eating disorder, a child who’s self-harming, a child who is behaving in a strange way and as sometimes happens now, people are having to wait for six months to get the help they need, or having to travel to another part of the country.”

‘Hidden injustice’

Mrs May is due to announce:

* Secondary schools will be offered mental health first aid training;

* New trials to strengthen links between schools and local NHS mental health staff;

* A major review of children and adolescent mental health services, led by the Care Quality Commission.

The prime minister will set out the plans as part of her vision of a “shared society”, with an increased role for the state in addressing issues of social injustice.

Mrs May will say: “For too long mental illness has been something of a hidden injustice in our country, shrouded in a completely unacceptable stigma and dangerously disregarded as a secondary issue to physical health.

“Yet left unaddressed, it destroys lives, it separates people from each other and deepens the divisions within our society.

“Changing this goes right to the heart of our humanity; to the heart of the kind of country we are, the values we share, the attitudes we hold and our determination to come together and support each other.”

The focus on schools is driven by figures showing over half of mental health problems start by the age of 14 and 75 per cent by 18.

‘Chaos’

Russell Hobby, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Just as we are becoming more aware of children’s mental health issues the resources are being taken away. School budgets are being cut by £3bn so it will become increasingly difficult to fund in-school care for children unless these cuts are reversed immediately.

“This problem is exacerbated when the school seeks to access help itself, because of the chaos in the health and social care system.”

Joint research between NAHT and mental health charity Place2Be has revealed that seven out of 10 school leaders found that funding was the main barrier to putting in place professional mental health support for pupils. Six out of 10 cited the lack of services or qualified professionals locally as a significant barrier.

Mr Hobby added: “Schools have always been on the front line with children’s mental health because school is often where issues first become apparent and a school is often a parent’s first port of call if they are looking for support.

Sir Ian Cheshire, chairman of the Heads Together campaign, an alliance of charities and businesses interested in mental health, said: “The prime minister’s announcements today are extremely important and very welcome, as they show both a willingness to tackle the broad challenge of mental health support and a practical grasp of how to start making a real difference.

‘Puny response’

But Liberal Democrat former health minister Norman Lamb said Mrs May was reannouncing policies agreed under the coalition government.

“This is a puny response to a burning injustice and an attempt to cover up for this government’s failure to deliver on promised investment for children’s mental health,” he said.

“Measures to improve mental health care in schools were already agreed during coalition, and the current government has failed to ensure the investment needed to implement them has got through.

“Much of the additional £1.4 billion of funding secured for child mental health care is being diverted to prop up other services. This amounts to theft of money intended to improve the lives of vulnerable young people.”

It comes as a survey by the Prince’s Trust charity, released today, found that almost half of all young people experience so many emotional problems at school that they are unable to focus on their studies.

[Source:- tes]

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Education

Local control over education ‘is key’

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

SCHOOL CHILDREN

A teaching union has warned against reducing the influence of councils over the country’s education system.

The Scottish government has been consulting on plans to introduce new regional education boards, which would operate across council areas.

Some within local government fear the proposals could reduce their traditional role.

The EIS union said ensuring education was democratically accountable at a local level “remained key”.

The Scottish government consultation also covers its desire to hand as much power as possible to individual schools and head teachers as part of efforts to close the attainment gap between the country’s wealthiest and most deprived pupils.

This will include £120m of government funds which will go straight to head teachers to allow them to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds – with schools with the most disadvantaged pupils getting the most money.

  • Schools review to ’empower’ teachers
  • Councils ‘should resist school changes’
  • Swinney lays out new education plans

It also wants to create new regional education boards which will be designed to support schools and help ones in different council areas work together more effectively.

However, details of what specific powers the boards will have and the regions they will cover have still to be decided.

The government has insisted that councils will still have legal responsibility for schools, and an important role to play in deciding how they are run.

But local government has been fiercely protective of its traditional role in the education system, with some wondering what practical powers they will retain after the new regional boards are introduced and greater powers are devolved to individual schools.

Speaking in October, Cosla president David O’Neill said the local government body would strongly resist any attempt to “centralise” the education system.

pupils and parentsImage copyrightTHINKSTOCK
Image captionThe plans would give parents and head teachers a greater say over how schools are run

In its response to the school governance consultation, which will close later on Friday, the EIS welcomed the commitment from the Scottish government that it will not remove education from local authority control.

And it praised ministers for ruling out a move towards the “discredited academy or free school models” that have been introduced elsewhere in the UK.

But the union’s general secretary, Larry Flanagan, echoed the view that any “significant restructuring” of the relationship between central and local government would be a “significant distraction from the real needs of Scottish education”.

‘Checks and balances’

He said: “Recent tensions between national and local government have led some to question whether the current model of delivery through local authorities is the best means of delivering education at a local level.

“It could be argued, however, that the checks and balances which exist between the different layers of government is an important aspect of a pluralist approach to democracy.

“The EIS does not believe that it would be useful at this point to look at any significant restructuring of the basic relationship between the two arms of government.

“In fact, we would go further and state that it would be a significant distraction from the real needs of Scottish education to engage in such a process.”

Mr Flanagan also said it was important that new initiatives, such as the £120m in additional funding for attainment projects, were managed through democratic structures to ensure fairness and transparency.

And he warned that schools, and the education system in general, would struggle to cope if wide-ranging changes were introduced too quickly.

He added: “It is essential that sufficient time is taken to make the correct decisions and to prepare for changes, rather than rushing to judgment and implementation simply to meet political rather than educational imperatives.”

Mr Flanagan also said the greatest barrier to educational equality was “the imposition of austerity driven budgets and the underfunding of the Scottish education system over the past period”.

He argued it was clear that in significant areas, such as pupil support, previous levels of provision have simply disappeared which “inevitably creates barriers for children’s learning”.

He concluded: “Genuine commitment to tackling inequality of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage requires solid support for schools, and the necessary resources, as the EIS has outlined in its submission to the Governance Review.”

Remove staff

Meanwhile, the Commission on School Reform – set up by the Reform Scotland and Centre for Scottish Public Policy think tanks – has published its own response to the Scottish government consultation.

It welcomed proposals to give schools, teachers and parents greater autonomy, but recommended that all decisions relating to “children’s learning and school life” should be taken in school unless strong arguments are advanced to the contrary.

This would include allowing head teachers to have the final say in staff appointments, and to be able to remove staff who are surplus to requirements or not performing satisfactorily.

But it said passing more power to schools would fundamentally alter the relationship between schools and local authorities, with a “significant impact” on local democracy.

The commission also said change should take place only when the ground has been well-prepared, and need not take place at the same pace or even in the same form throughout the country.

Speaking ahead of the consultation closing, a Scottish government spokesman said it had an “unwavering focus on improving Scotland’s education system to make it world-class”.

He added: “Our comprehensive programme of reform is based firmly on the independent findings of the 2015 OECD review of Scottish education which recommended, among other things, putting schools and communities at the heart of the education system.

“That is why we are reviewing school governance, and we will carefully consider all submissions to our consultation.”

[Source:- BBC]

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Education

Apprentice levy ‘will harm small council schools’

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Child using abacus

Plans to boost apprenticeship funding in England will hit school budgets, with small council schools unfairly affected, say town hall bosses.

From May, all employers with wage bills over £3m a year must pay 0.5% of that into the new apprenticeship levy.

But council schools below that threshold must still pay as they come under the overall local authority wage bill, while small academies are exempt.

The LGA wants the rules changed to put all schools on an equal footing.

Ministers say local authorities, rather than the schools themselves, will be responsible for paying the levy.

But the LGA says advice agreed with the government is that schools should adjust their spending plans for next year to account for the extra cost of the levy.

‘Discriminatory’

The LGA says the levy will unfairly hit the finances of about 9,000 small community schools, usually primaries, with a total of 2.8 million pupils.

This is because where a school is maintained by the council, its staff are employed by the local authority, and those staff contribute to the overall wage bill of the council rather than being counted separately.

This means that the apprenticeship levy is applied to them, and will need to be accounted for in school budgets from April 2017, according to the LGA.

But free standing academies, where the academy trust is the employer, will be exempt.

The same is true of some faith and foundation schools, where the governing body is the employer.

“It is discriminatory,” said Richard Watts, chairman of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board.

“It is no secret that many schools are struggling with their funding, yet once again, council-maintained schools are being dealt a poor hand compared to academies.”

“Clearly what really matters is making sure that all children get the education they deserve, regardless of school structures, so applying initiatives like the levy equally across all schools is only right.

“The government therefore needs to urgently revise the apprenticeship levy to make sure that all schools are on an equal footing.”

‘Breaking point’

The National Association of Head Teachers warned that while 0.5% might not sound like much, “it comes in the context of school budgets being at breaking point already”.

“It’s another example of government policies hurting schools,” said NAHT Head of Policy Valentine Mulholland.

“We would definitely support the LGA’s call for small local authority schools to be treated in the same way as stand-alone academies.”

Once the levy is paid, employers will be able to access funding for apprenticeships, but Ms Mulholland said smaller schools would struggle to do this.

“There are hardly any apprenticeships that are suitable for schools,” she said.

Ms Mulholland said large secondaries could develop master’s level apprenticeships to help staff teach outside their main subject areas or move into leadership.

But smaller schools, which are often primaries, lacked the flexibility and the resources to be able to do this, she said, so the levy would become “just another tax”.

Apprenticeship and Skills Minister Robert Halfon said: “We expect these schools to have full access to funding for apprenticeship training and will support all employers, including schools and local authorities, in using levy funds to invest in quality apprenticeships,” said Apprenticeship and Skills Minister Robert Halfon.

[Source:- BBC]

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Internet

Verizon Says Unsure About Yahoo Deal

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Verizon Says Unsure About Yahoo Deal

A senior Verizon Communications Inc executive said on Thursday that the company was unsure about its planned acquisition of Yahoo Inc’s Internet business.

Yahoo came under renewed scrutiny by federal investigators and lawmakers last month after disclosing the largest known data breach in history, prompting Verizon to demand better terms for its planned purchase.

“I can’t sit here today and say with confidence one way or another because we still don’t know,” Marni Walden, president of product innovation and new businesses at Verizon, said at the Citi 2017 Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas.

Walden added that the merits of the deal still made sense and that there were certain aspects of the investigation that had yet to be completed.

She did not provide a time-frame for the completion of the deal.

“We think it will take weeks at least, we don’t have a desire to have it drag on forever, that’s not our intent,” Walden said.

However, AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong told CNBC that he expected the Verizon-Yahoo deal would likely go through. AOL was acquired by Verizon in 2015 for $4.4 billion.

Yahoo’s shares were up 3.09 percent at $41.30, while Verizon’s shares were relatively unchanged in late afternoon trading.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

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Internet

Google Acquires Limes Audio to Improve Audio Quality in Its Products

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Google Acquires Limes Audio to Improve Audio Quality in Its Products

After acquiring smartwatch OS startup Cronologics last month, Google has now acquired another company called Limes Audio. The Swedish company deals in voice communications solutions, and essentially builds technology that aims to improve audio quality for communication-related technology.

Google has announced this acquisition on its blog, but has refrained from revealing any financial details. Limes Audio was founded in 2007 by academic researchers Fredric Lindstrm and Christian Schuldt, with the aim to develop technology that makes voice communication systems sound better. The company had a workforce of only 20 people.

With this deal, Google looks improve on audio quality of its products in Gsuite. Google Hangouts and Chromebox for Meetings are used for video conferences and business meetings, and Google looks to leverage the intelligence received from Limes Audio to elevate its product quality.

“One of the biggest challenges to a great video meeting is the audio quality. Conference rooms today come in all shapes and sizes and that can provide a challenge for acoustics. Additionally, a poor Internet connection can hamper voice quality in video conference calls. Limes Audio has been building solutions that remove the distracting noise, distortion and echoes that can affect online video and telephony meetings, improving the overall online conference experience. We’re excited to work closely with the Limes Audio team to introduce new solutions that offer our customers the best online voice quality on the market,” Google wrote on its blog.

This suggests that Google could also be working with Limes Audio to build new products that elevate audio quality, apart from improving experience in existing products like Hangouts and YouTube Live. More often than not, audio quality is compromised when outdoors, where factors like background noise and wind noise come into play. It will be interesting to see what Google does to combat these pain points.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

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Internet

Wi-Fi Alliance Announces TimeSync for Synchronized Multi-Device Audio, Video Output

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written by Rajdeep

Wi-Fi Alliance Announces TimeSync for Synchronized Multi-Device Audio, Video Output

Wi-Fi Alliance, the organisation that promotes Wi-Fi tech and certifies products maintaining certain standards of interoperability, at CES 2017 announced Wi-Fi TimeSync that allows devices to couple with each other through Wi-Fi connectivity delivering “sub-microsecond clock synchronised” output.

The non-profit organisation however didn’t announce any new product featuring the new Wi-Fi TimeSync technology. The Wi-Fi TimeSync is said to fix the biggest issue with synced audio output that caused perceptible drift or lip-sync issues. Wi-Fi Alliance is promoting that the Wi-Fi TimeSync can be best used for wireless in-room, multichannel audio and video capabilities while can also deliver synchronisation across the entire Wi-Fi coverage area.

It can be also utilised for industrial facilities that use Wi-Fi enabled sensors to monitor equipment activity and can be also used to time sequential equipment functions for precise output. The organisation stresses that home entertainment will see major application of latest Wi-Fi TimeSync.

“There are a host of possible industrial, automotive, healthcare, and IoT applications that Wi-Fi TimeSync facilitates by providing tightly-coupled timing to support applications for coordination of Wi-Fi devices,” said Wi-Fi Alliance in a press statement. Wi-Fi TimeSync will be able to operate in both infrastructure and peer-to-peer mode which is expected to provide flexibility when Wi-Fi networks are not available.

Commenting on the announcement, Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance said, “Wi-Fi is becoming ubiquitous in an increasing number of device categories as it expands from an internet connectivity tool into a dependable enabler of high-quality, wireless entertainment experiences. Wi-Fi TimeSync enables interconnectivity between various rich, media components and also entire systems. This enhanced capability will create an excellent, fully-synchronized media experience with Wi-Fi devices.”

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

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Internet

Sandford Fleming’s 190th Birthday: Inventor of World Standard Time Gets a Google Doodle

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written by Rajdeep

Sandford Fleming’s 190th Birthday: Inventor of World Standard Time Gets a Google Doodle

Google has honoured Sandford Fleming, a Canadian inventor and engineer of Scottish birth known for his invention of worldwide standard time, with a doodle.

“Today’s doodle reflects Fleming’s legacy on this, the 190th anniversary of his birth,” Google said in a statement on Saturday.

It is widely believed that Sandford Fleming missing a train in Ireland due to a mistake printed in a timetable ultimately led to his brilliant idea that altered time as we know it.

Sandford Fleming was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, in 1827. This was a period when regions used solar time to set their own clocks.

Solar time worked well enough until trains came along and the need for standardised time arose.

Following his missed train in 1876, Sandford Fleming proposed a worldwide standard time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute on February, 8, 1879.

Sandford Fleming advocated for dividing the world into 24 time zones beginning at the Greenwich Meridian and spaced at 15 degree intervals.

His proposal gave way to the International Prime Meridian Conference which convened in 1884 and was attended by 25 nations.

It was here that Sandford Fleming’s system of international standard time was adopted.

Sandford Fleming was also known for helping build the Intercontinental Railway, serving as chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and designing Canada’s first postage stamp.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

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Internet

Bitcoin’s Downward Slide Continues After China Warning

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Bitcoin's Downward Slide Continues After China Warning

Bitcoin plunged by as much as 12 percent on Friday after China’s central bank urged investors to take a rational and cautious approach to investing in the digital currency, which is on track for its heaviest two-day drop in two years.

Bitcoin had been on a tear until Wednesday, gaining more than 40 percent in two weeks to hit around $1,139 (roughly Rs. 77,700) on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, just shy of its all-time record of $1,163 (roughly Rs. 80,000).

But the Web-based digital currency, which has shown an intriguing inverse correlation to the Chinese yuan in recent months, plunged as the yuan soared on Thursday, falling as much as 20 percent at one point.

It continued that fall on Friday, with its losses accelerating after the central bank’s warning.

It fell as low as $871, down almost a quarter from its peak on Wednesday, before recovering to about $900 by 1455 GMT. That still left it down 10 percent on the day and on track for its worst two-day performance since January 2015.

The Shanghai head office of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) noted in a statement that Bitcoin prices had shown abnormal fluctuations in recent days, and said those investing in it should do so carefully, with awareness of the currency’s volatility.

The PBOC’s words carried echoes of its 2013 warning that financial institutions should steer clear of the digital currency, which sparked a $300 slide in Bitcoin.

The PBOC also repeated on Friday its 2013 view that Bitcoin is not a currency and could therefore not be circulated as a real currency in the market.

For full statement click: http://beijing.pbc.gov.cn/beijing/132005/3230072/index.ht

“This is the Chinese authorities saying: we’re watching,” said Charles Hayter, CEO of digital currency data analysis Website Cryptocompare. “The relative size of the Bitcoin market is minor, but trading has reached up to $10 billion a day on the Bitcoin-yuan pairs.”

“The full meaning of the government’s comments aren’t 100 percent clear, but restrictions and regulation of trading is one avenue that could affect volumes and therefore price.”

Hayter said trading between the yuan and Bitcoin had made up about 98 percent of the market for the past six months, according to his analysis. Because there are no trading fees on Chinese exchanges, it is much easier to get in and out of trades and therefore creates a higher trading volume, he said.

Bitcoin can be used for moving money across the globe quickly and anonymously, and operates outside the control of any central authority.

That makes it attractive to those wanting to get around capital controls, such as in China, and also to investors who are worried about a devaluation in their currency – one of the reasons often cited for Bitcoin’s surge in 2016. While the yuan fell 7 percent, its worst year since 1994, Bitcoin outperformed all other currencies, with a 125 percent climb.

But many Bitcoin experts say Chinese trading volumes are overstated and attribute sharp moves to speculation by, for example, US-based hedge funds.

“Volatile markets”
The volatile trading prompted officials from the PBOC’s Shanghai branch on Friday to meet representatives of a major Bitcoin trading platform in China, BTCC.

“On January 6 the People’s Bank of China Business Management Department and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Financial Affairs jointly met with the relevant regulatory authorities of the ‘currency network’,” the PBOC said in the statement.

BTCC said in a post on Twitter: “BTCC regularly meets with (the) PBOC and we work closely with them to ensure we are operating in accordance with the laws and regulations of China.”

“All of our users should be aware of the current policies on virtual goods as well as the risks involved in trading in volatile markets,” another Tweet read.

Eric Gu, a blockchain expert and founder of ViewFin, a Chinese blockchain start-up, said the PBOC meets the country’s major Bitcoin exchanges regularly but had previously never made such meetings public.

But recent volatility has increased risks and has triggered fears that the market could be used as a channel for money laundering, he said.

“Previously, Bitcoin trading volume was small, and money laundering was not possible in such a market,” said Gu. “Now, the volume is up … everyday, there are tens of billions of yuan worth of Bitcoin changing hands. Volume is still (comparatively)small, but big enough to make the central bank worry.”

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

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Internet

China’s Baidu Takes on Amazon Echo With ‘Little Fish’ of Its Own

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written by Rajdeep

China's Baidu Takes on Amazon Echo With 'Little Fish' of Its Own

Chinese Internet colossus Baidu is out to make a splash with ‘Little Fish,’ a family robot that is a voice-controlled virtual valet akin to Amazon Echo or Google Home.

Baidu showed off “Little Fish,” a translation of its Chinese name “Xiaoyu Zaijia,” on Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas ahead of its release in China later this year.

“I think 2017 will be the year of conversational computing,” Baidu chief scientist Andrew Ng said while demonstrating Little Fish for AFP behind closed doors at the show.

“We see a clear path of conversational computers changing everything.”

Using voice to interact with computers that are able to essentially learn from experience was among the hot trends at CES. Arrays of device makers added digital aide capabilities with the help of Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant technology.

Unlike “faceless” Amazon Alexa or Google Home devices that rely on people asking for information or controlling devices by speaking, Little Fish also features a touch-screen on top of its orb-shaped base.

A camera on top tracks faces, and the screen swivels to keep facing a speaker.

“Speech is the fastest way for you to communicate with a computer, but a screen is a very fast way for a machine to communicate back to you,” Ng said.

For example, it would be quicker to glance at a requested list of top restaurants from Yelp than it would be to listen to the computer read all the names and descriptions, he said.

Transformative
Little Fish uses Baidu’s operating system DuerOS, which is already employed by other devices in China, such as set-top TV boxes that can switch channels by voice command or figure out names of actors on screen when asked.

The bigger vision is to build DuerOS into a broad range of gadgets that tap into Baidu’s Internet capabilities for search, food delivery, online commerce and more.

“If this takes off, I am not worried about how we will make money,” Ng said when asked about revenue plans.

“It will transform how you use devices in your home. There are plenty of business models.”

Little Fish, a second-generation device, will be released in China at a price yet to be disclosed, according to Baidu.

Baidu partnered with hardware firm Ainemo to build it.

“We believe family robots will be the next big category that will be a member of everybody’s home,” Ainemo chief executive and founder Chenfeng Song said in a release.

AI taking hold
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is getting a foothold in homes, with developers feverishly adding “skills” to Amazon Echo speakers infused with Alexa.

Google, meanwhile, is using its AI prowess in Android smartphones, messaging software, and a vase-sized Home digital assistant.

The home hubs, sometimes referred to as smart speakers, fetch content or answers from the internet, and can act as remote controls for other devices in houses.

“We are moving technologies beyond the smartphone,” said Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) that organizes CES.

“Ultimately, vocal computing is replacing the (screen).”

Chinese tech giant Huawei said at CES that it is adding Amazon’s Alexa to its flagship smartphone for its US launch.

China-based Lenovo announced it was launching a smart home assistant powered by Alexa, joining the growing roster of contenders in the market for voice-activated devices.

“In the smart home, voice is clearly important,” DuBravac said.

“We are seeing that play out at CES.”

He expected voice technology to quickly improve, within years perhaps even being able to recognize speakers so accurately it could be used for biometric security, or simple parental override of Internet use by offspring.

“I know that in my home with my boys, I would like Alexa to recognize my voice as the ruler of the coop,” DuBravac quipped.

While digital assistant technology is being built into televisions, appliances and more, hub devices such as Alexa will be key to voice-controlled computing, according to the economist.

NPD analyst Ben Arnold said at CES that he is “bullish on everything voice and AI,” with the technologies eventually “pollenating” devices so thoroughly they essentially become home operating systems.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

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