Science & technology

Artificial intelligence programs have bested humans in checkers, chess, Go and two-player poker, but multi-player poker was always believed to be a bigger ask. Mission: accomplished. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, working with Facebook’s AI initiative, has announced that their program defeated a group of top pros in six-player no-limit …

Umpire wears an earpiece connected to iPhone and relays the call upon receiving it from a computer system “Robot umpires” have arrived. The independent Atlantic League became the first American professional baseball league to let a computer call balls and strikes on Wednesday night at its All-Star Game. Plate umpire …

Changes in soil characteristics affect organic elements, ruins of Viking settlements In Greenland, climate change isn’t just a danger to ecosystems but also a threat to history, as global warming is affecting archeological remains, according to a study. There are more than 1,80,000 archaeological sites across the Arctic, some dating …

Chandrayaan-2’s lander and rover were tested on a simulated surface Newly designed cars are tested for road-worthiness on terrain where they would be driven, while new aircraft are test-flown in the skies. But where on earth did the Chandrayaan-2 mission’s lander and rover, which will head for the moon on …

Greek find resets human migration clock A 2,10,000-year-old skull (image shows computer-generated model) discovered in a cave in Greece has been identified as the earliest modern human remains found outside Africa, putting the clock back on mankind’s arrival in Europe by more than 1,50,000 years. The remains are 16,000 years …

It will collect samples from beneath the surface of Ryugu as part of an effort to understand the origins of the solar system Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe made a “perfect” touchdown on Thursday on a distant asteroid, collecting samples from beneath the surface in an unprecedented mission that could shed light …

Centre says it will aid law enforcement The Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) will not violate privacy of citizens and is only being developed to help the law enforcement agencies to identify criminals, missing children and unidentified bodies in a scientific and speedy manner, a senior government official said on …

NHA teams up with Amazon to provide medical advice for common ailments Britain’s state-run health service is teaming up with Amazon to provide medical advice for common ailments such as migraines and flu via the tech giant’s voice assistant Alexa, aiming to help more patients at home and cut down …

It is currently undergoing integration The Indian Air Force is looking to adopt a new European visual range air to air missile across its fighter fleet. The Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile of European missile-maker MBDA has been approved for fitting on Jaguar jets. The IAF was looking to integrating …

HoloLens, which blends digital imagery with real world, caters to firstline workers When Toby Bouska Jr. started assembling cabs for Kenworth semitrucks last year, he learned the ropes by observing longtime workers at the factory. But it wasn’t exactly engaging, and he didn’t get much practice doing the job himself. …