Engineers are working to make robots move with greater balance and fluidity, bringing machines closer to human-like motion. Progress depends heavily on actuators, the components that convert energy into precise physical movement.
Traditional electric motors have enabled many robotic breakthroughs, yet limitations in efficiency, safety and responsiveness remain clear. Machines often consume too much power, overheat at small sizes and lack the flexibility needed for smooth interaction.
Major manufacturers including Schaeffler and Hyundai Mobis are now designing advanced actuators that provide better control, real-time feedback and improved energy efficiency. Such innovations could allow humanoid robots to operate safely alongside workers and perform practical industrial tasks.
Researchers are also experimenting with softer materials and air-powered systems that behave more like muscles than rigid machinery. Continued advances could eventually produce robots capable of natural, graceful movement, opening new possibilities for everyday use.
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Infosecurity Europe has launched a new Cyber Startup Programme to support early-stage cybersecurity innovation and strengthen ecosystem resilience. The initiative will debut at Infosecurity Europe 2026, offering founders and investors a dedicated experience focused on emerging technologies and growth.
The programme centres on a new Cyber Startups Zone, an exhibition area showcasing young companies and novel security solutions. Founders will gain industry visibility, along with tailored ticket access and curated networking.
Delivery will take place in partnership with UK Cyber Flywheel, featuring a dedicated founder- and investor-focused day on Tuesday 2 June. Sessions will cover scaling strategies, go-to-market planning, funding, and live pitching opportunities.
Infosecurity Europe will also introduce the Cyber Startup Award 2026, recognising early-stage firms with live products and growth potential. Finalists will pitch on stage, with winners receiving exhibition space, PR support, and a future-brand workshop.
Alongside the programme, the Cyber Innovation Zone, delivered with the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, will spotlight innovative UK cybersecurity businesses and emerging technologies.
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Betterment has confirmed a data breach affecting around 1.4 million customers after a January 2026 social engineering attack on a third-party platform. Attackers used the access to send fraudulent crypto scam messages posing as official promotions.
The breach occurred after an employee was tricked into sharing login credentials, allowing unauthorised access to internal messaging systems rather than core investment infrastructure. Attackers used the access to send messages promising to multiply cryptocurrency deposits sent to external wallets.
Subsequent forensic analysis and breach monitoring services confirmed that more than 1.4 million unique records were exposed. Betterment said investment accounts and login credentials were not compromised during the incident.
Exposed information included names, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, dates of birth, job titles, location data, and device metadata. Security experts warn that such datasets can enable targeted phishing, identity fraud, and follow-on social engineering campaigns.
Betterment revoked access the same day, notified customers, and launched an external investigation. The breach was formally added to public exposure databases in early February, highlighting the growing risk of human-focused attacks against financial platforms.
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Germany has launched one of Europe’s largest AI factories to boost EU-wide sovereign AI capacity. Deutsche Telekom unveiled the new ‘Industrial AI Cloud’ in Munich, in partnership with NVIDIA and Polarise.
Designed to deliver high-performance AI computing for industry, research, and public institutions, the platform keeps data operations under European jurisdiction. Company executives described the project as proof that Europe can build large-scale AI infrastructure aligned with its regulatory and sovereignty goals.
The AI factory runs on nearly 10,000 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, providing up to 0.5 exaFLOPS of computing power. Telekom said the capacity would be sufficient to support hundreds of millions of users accessing AI services simultaneously across the EU.
Officials in Germany framed the AI factory initiative as a strategic investment in technological leadership and digital independence. The infrastructure operates under German and EU data protection rules, positioning compliance and security as core competitive advantages.
Industrial applications are central to the project, with companies such as Siemens integrating simulation tools into the platform. The AI factory also runs on renewable energy, uses river water cooling, and plans to reuse waste heat within Munich’s urban network.
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Organisations undergoing finance transformations are discovering that traditional system cutovers rarely go as planned. Hidden manual workarounds and undocumented processes often surface late, creating operational risks and delays during ERP migrations.
Agentic AI is emerging as a solution by deploying autonomous software agents that discover real workflows directly from system data. Scout agents analyse transaction logs to uncover hidden dependencies, allowing companies to build more accurate future systems based on actual operations.
Simulator agents to stress test new systems by generating thousands of realistic transactions continuously. When problems arise, agents analyse errors and automatically recommend fixes, turning testing into a continuous improvement process rather than a one-time checkpoint.
Sentinel agents monitor financial records in real time to detect discrepancies before they escalate into compliance risks. Leaders say the approach shifts focus from single go-live milestones to ongoing resilience, with teams increasingly managing intelligent systems instead of manual processes.
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Built using Gemini and advanced Google DeepMind models, the system analyses the biomechanics behind high-speed freestyle skiing and snowboarding manoeuvres.
Traditional motion capture required specialised suits and controlled lab environments. Google’s platform converts smartphone footage into biomechanical analysis, mapping body positioning, trick amplitude, and edge control within minutes.
Coaches and athletes can query performance data conversationally for immediate insight.
Near real-time delivery marks a significant shift in training methodology. Analysis can be reviewed on the slopes shortly after a run, enabling faster technical adjustments.
The technology is also supporting athlete preparation for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, where marginal gains can determine podium outcomes.
Applications extend beyond winter sports. Similar AI biomechanics systems could support physical rehabilitation, robotics engineering, and industrial safety environments where precision movement analysis is essential.
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The UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has partnered with Microsoft to develop AI agents to help university students find jobs. The initiative was announced in Dubai during a major policy gathering in the UAE.
The collaboration in the UAE will use Microsoft Azure to build prototype AI agents supporting personalised learning and career navigation. Dubai-based officials said the tools are designed to align higher education with labour market needs in the UAE.
Four AI agents are being developed in the UAE, covering lifelong skills planning, personalised learning, course co creation and research alignment. Dubai remains central to the project as a hub for higher education innovation in the UAE.
Officials in the UAE said the partnership reflects national priorities around innovation and a knowledge based economy. Microsoft said Dubai offers an ideal environment to scale AI driven education tools across the UAE.
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A based report highlights that major technology companies are planning to spend roughly $600 billion on AI-related capital expenditure in 2026, including data centres, AI hardware and infrastructure, which has unsettled global markets.
Shares of some big tech firms fell sharply on investor worries that such eye-wateringly high AI spending may not deliver near-term profits and could weaken traditional software sectors.
For example, Amazon’s share price slid after announcing a $200 billion capex plan, and other software and analytics stocks also saw significant declines.
Analysts say markets are no longer interpreting AI spending purely as a growth narrative; heightened caution reflects concerns that heavy investment may pull future earnings forward too aggressively or concentrate market leadership among a few mega-cap names, while broad profitability remains uncertain.
This investor unease has contributed to broader equity market weakness, with indices like the S&P 500 and tech weights under pressure as software and data services stocks face continued selling.
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Researchers in the United States have shown that an AI-enabled digital stethoscope detected moderate to severe valvular heart disease more than twice as often as traditional tools during routine clinical exams.
The study assessed 357 patients aged 50 and above in primary care settings, using both conventional and AI-assisted stethoscopes. Sensitivity rose from 46.2 percent with traditional listening to 92.3 percent with the AI-enabled device.
Valvular heart disease affects a large proportion of older adults but frequently remains undiagnosed due to subtle or absent symptoms and limitations of conventional auscultation during busy clinical practice.
The digital stethoscope records high-fidelity heart sounds and applies machine-learning models to identify acoustic patterns associated with valve abnormalities, helping clinicians make early screening decisions.
US researchers noted a small drop in specificity that could increase false positives, but argued that earlier detection could reduce complications, hospital admissions, and long-term healthcare costs.
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The system shifts away from transaction-centric blockchain models.
Enterprise adoption has faced regulatory friction, with estimates suggesting nearly 90% of pilots fail to reach production. COBI embeds institutional policy and regulatory controls directly into execution, ensuring transactions occur only after compliance validation.
The architecture operates through four layers covering process logic, compliance policy, system orchestration, and blockchain execution. Integrations span banking infrastructure, ERP platforms, and settlement networks without requiring system replacement.
Designed for financial and sovereign use cases, COBI supports cross-border payments, CBDCs, and tokenised assets. ZenithBlox is raising USD 8 million to scale deployments and certifications.
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