Developer creates open source computer vision platform that lets ‘machines see

A Russian developer here has created an open source computer vision platform, in collaboration with Facebook and Google, that acts as a teaching machine and enables them “see”.

VisionLabs, a solutions developer in the field of computer vision, data analysis and robotics, and a Skolkovo IT Cluster resident have developed this as a global open-source computer vision project with the support of Facebook and Google, an official said.

VisionLabs integrated two popular libraries for developers – OpenCV and Torch. The joint project with Facebook and Google was launched last year. “The two IT giants became interested in the in-depth study of neural networks and artificial intelligence and hence extended their support,” the official told IANS.

The most popular tools for developers in this field are the OpenCV Open Source Computer Vision Library and the Torch Open Source Scientific Computing Framework with wide support for Machine Learning Algorithms. Each of them has thousands of users. VisionLabs initiated integrating the two libraries. Google and Facebook funded the work and tested the results.

Balmanohar Paluri, Research Lead, Facebook AI Research, said: “The project opens up the field of computer vision to a greater audience of developers. Our focus is making machines see. To do that, knowledge needs to be open.”

As a result of the work undertaken, a number of technological barriers the developers had faced within the fields of computer vision and neural networks were lifted. From now on, any start-up in this field can launch a project in a matter of days where it could literally take years previously.

Google, Facebook and VisionLabs do not consider this a commercial project – its purpose is developing the community and its aim is long-term prospects.

The idea of integrating the two popular developer “worlds” had been on the cards for some time. The creators of Torch and OpenCV had been discussing it. But, as is often the case, nobody actually set about making the integration happen, the official elaborated.

In the end, it was VisionLabs, one of the top three world leaders in terms of image recognition, that was willing to realise the project and use its own know-how to do so that had previously only been applied inside the team.

Alexander Khanin, General Director, VisionLabs said they “regularly communicate with the world scientific community and attend all the important international conferences.”

“We are already well-known and we are familiar with the research units of Google, Facebook, Twitter and other large-scale IT-companies. When the closed competition to become the project leader was launched, we put ourselves forward and, in the end, we were chosen. Google and Facebook financed our work, but I would like to reiterate that this is absolutely not a commercial project for us – all funds, that were in fact rather modest, were put to use,” he added.

Albert Efimov, Head of the Skolkovo Robotics Centre, said: “Integration of machine learning and computer vision in a unified development kit is an important step towards stimulating the creation of the new technologies and products in such strategic industries as robotics and artificial intelligence.”

A report on the integration of Torch and OpenCV with examples of the developed recognition software and fragments of source code was published recently in the torch.ch community that reaches 10,000-15,000 people a day.

iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak tool expected to be made public on 10 June

Apple’s WWDC event is just a week away and expectations are high for the company’s iOS 10 software. So far, rumours claim an expected redesign with more colors and even a new notifications system as well. Still then, the iOS jailbreaking community is far behind. The last official jailbreak that was made public is only available for iOS 9.0-9.1. While we did recently hear about a community member jailbreaking an iPod with iOS 9.3.3 beta on board, there is now a new update from team GSMagic who will be making their jailbreak tools public, just before WWDC on 10 June.

The team has put out a tweet claiming that they will make their jailbreak public (unlike the others) on 10 June at midnight. The jailbreak is expected to work on iOS 9.3.3.

While it may seem like a wasted effort with iOS 10 about to launched, Apple WWDC at first will only roll out the Developer beta of iOS 10 followed by the Public beta a month later. The final version is expected to arrive in September at the launch of the next iPhone. So there is plenty of time.

GSMagic is a new entry on the jailbreaking scene and so far things are not going too well with established jailbreakers (who have so far refused to share the new tools) taking jabs at the new guys.

Cloud storage vs local storage: Is the Nextbit Robin better than its Android counterparts?

Today, Swipe Technologies launched its new smartphone called the Elite Plus and it packs in some budget to mid-range specifications at an attractive price tag. But an additional feature did grab our attention, and that is the 100GB of cloud storage via its SwipeBox app. So can a cheaper Rs 6,999 smartphone take on the mighty cloud-storage-powered Nextbit Robin? Let’s find out.

First, let us have a look at the specifications. On the Robin, users get a 5.2-inch FHD display compared to the 5-inch FHD unit on the Elite Plus. Next up there’s the all-important processor. We get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core chipset with 3GB RAM, while the Elite Plus gets a tried and tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core chipset with 2GB RAM. Indeed, the Robin gets an edge out here. Then there’s the storage.

The Robin gets 32GB of internal storage with no expandable memory option, but 100GB of cloud connected storage (for life). The Swipe Elite Plus comes with 16GB of internal storage that is expandable to 64GB via a microSD card and packs in 100GB of cloud storage space via its SwipeBox app. For a minute there, one may think that Swipe just one the battle, but more on this later.

We have a similar camera setup on both devices (at least on paper). The Robin packs in a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing unit, while the Elite Plus packs in a 13MP camera and an 8MP front facing unit. You get single SIM setup on the Robin versus the Dual SIM LTE support on the Elite. And then there’s the battery where the Nextbit loses again, with Elite Plus sporting a larger 3050mAh unit.

We recently reviewed the Nextbit Robin. It was a great smartphone that features a fresh design and a fresh new concept of an always connected cloud storage. The cloud storage unlike the Google apps in your Android smartphone, will back up not just your photos and videos to free up space, but apps as well. Unused apps will automatically backup to the Robin’s 100GB of allotted cloud storage and will be downloaded (within minutes) when you want to use them.

The process has not been perfected yet, and the feature may not be feasible in India since data is expensive and networks aren’t exactly fast, so apps do take some time to appear on to your smartphone. Additionally, at no point in time do you have any clue as to what all has been backed up to your cloud storage. This may prove to be tricky if you want to reset the data on your smartphone as all the data on your cloud account may just disappear with no way to access the same through a web app. You can contact Nextbit if you lose your smartphone, but it is a lengthy process and there’s little that you do to get data back. Moreover, data is not duplicated like you can with Google Photos app, so the photo is either on your smartphone or on the cloud.

Coming to the Swipe Elite Plus, you get specifications similar to the older Motorola Moto Turbo and X Play models. You will get to decide what to back up to your smartphone and you do get an additional 32GB (thanks to the MicroSD card slot) that you can locally back up and switch, if you heading into zone with limited connectivity. In fact with the remainder of your cash savings (Rs 13,000) you could get plenty of microSD cards, pen drives and a 2TB hard drive to hook up to your Elite via USB OTG (obviously it’s not available in your on the Robin). You could buy another Swipe Elite Plus if you wanted to. And this applies not just to Swipe, but any other budget Android smartphone out there that sells in a similar price range (Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, LeEco Le 1s Eco, Motorola Moto G4 etc.).

While many may love the Robin, in India (its stock sold out even before its first sale), it makes little sense thanks to expensive cellular data, network performance and of course limited local storage. The Robin’s cloud connected storage offers little benefits compared to locally stored data and all of that app, photo and video juggling to save storage space will leave you stranded when you need to access something quickly. In this unusual showdown of a cloud-connected smartphone versus a standard Android smartphone that can access the cloud, the Elite is the clear winner, with Robin getting plus points for design and its powerful processor.