DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF by Maryanne Kane, Journalist

 DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF              

By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane

ROBOT DOG SEES, HEARS & RESPONDS TO PEOPLE

                  Source:  Boston Dynamics & Brewster Kane

• Boston Dynamics unveiled the new Spot, a robot dog that talks like a human.  Here's what we know:

1. The robot can switch between over half a dozen different personas
2. One moment it can sound like an American teenager and the next moment it can use an English accent
3. Boston Dynamics has made the world famous Spot into a chatty canine through AI models like Open AI's ChatGPT integrated into the robot
4. Spot is given 3D maps of the buildings it's in to describe the surroundings
5. One role devised by Boston Dynamics for Spot is that of a tour guide
6. Spot can see, hear, talk and even write poems
7. As AI makes robots better problem solvers, it could mean new roles for robots
8. If Spot speaks Weimaraner, he could be the perfect friend for my brother Ed's dog Brewster.

BUMPS IN THE ROAD FOR EVs

                                                Source:  Hertz

• The push to convert gas guzzling America to EVs is hitting some serious bumps in the road.  Here are some key facts:
• Hertz aimed to be the icon of EV rentals with its 200,000 EV car fleet from Tesla and Polestar
• Uber drivers have turned out to be half of Hertz's Tesla rentals and the wear and tear damage to the rental vehicles is big and unexpected
• Hertz is hurting from the repair costs being double that of gas-powered cars
• And the resale value of the EVs is plummeting
• All of which is resulting in a tap of the brakes of their EV expansion plans
• Meanwhile, in the US consumer demand for EVs is declining, to the point that:

1. Ford is putting in pause $12 billion in spending on EV manufacturing facilities
2. Tesla is considering delaying construction of its Gigafactory in Mexico
3. GM and Ford are cutting EV production numbers
4. These are clear signs that the conversion to EVs is not as fast as many of us had hoped to start reducing carbon emissions.

WORLD'S 1ST VACCINE TO STOP COCAINE ADDICTION

                    Source:  Federal University of Minas Gervais

• Scientists in Brazil have developed an innovative vaccine that breaks addiction to cocaine and crack cocaine.  Here are some key facts:

1. Vaccine is called Calixcoca
2. Blocks the drug from getting to the area of the brain that triggers being high on the drug
3. Hope is this vaccine will break the cycle of addiction
4. Researchers are based at Brazil's Federal University of Minas Gerais
5. The vaccine creates antibodies that bind to cocaine molecules and make them too large to migrate into the brain
6. Very effective in animal testing
7. Next step is human testing
8. If approved by regulators, it will be the 1st time cocaine addiction is treated by a vaccine.

 "Daily Innovation Brief"© By Edward Kane