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OpenAI introduces AI model that turns text into video

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(Last Updated On: February 16, 2024)

Microsoft-backed OpenAI is working on a software that can generate minute-long videos based on text prompts, the company said on Thursday.

The software, called Sora, is currently available for red teaming, which helps identify flaws in the AI system, as well as for use by visual artists, designers and filmmakers to gain feedback on the model, the company said in a statement.

“Sora is able to generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background,” the statement said, adding that it can create multiple shots within a single video.

Apart from generating videos from text prompts, Sora can animate a still image, the company said in a blogpost.

The video generation software follows OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, which was released in late 2022 and created a buzz around GenAI with its ability to compose emails and write codes and poems.

Social media giant Meta Platforms beefed up its image generation model Emu last year to add two AI-based features that can edit and generate videos from text prompts.

The Facebook-parent is also looking to compete with Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google and Amazon in the rapidly transforming generative AI universe.

Sora is a work-in-progress, with the company adding that the model may confuse the spatial details of a prompt, and have difficulty in following a specific camera trajectory.

OpenAI said it was also developing tools which can discern if a video was generated by Sora.

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Apple loses top phonemaker spot to Samsung as iPhone shipments drop, IDC says

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(Last Updated On: April 16, 2024)

Apple’s (AAPL.O), opens new tab smartphone shipments dropped about 10% in the first quarter of 2024, hurt by intensifying competition by Android smartphone makers aiming for the top spot, data from research firm IDC showed on Sunday.

Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% to 289.4 million units during January-March, with Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab, at 20.8% market share, clinching the top phonemaker spot from Apple, Reuters reported.

The iPhone-maker’s steep sales decline comes after its strong performance in the December quarter when it overtook Samsung as the world’s No.1 phone maker. It’s back to the second spot, with 17.3% market share, as Chinese brands such as Huawei gain market share.

Xiaomi, one of China’s top smartphone makers, occupied the third position with a market share of 14.1% during the first quarter, read the report.

South Korea’s Samsung, which launched its latest flagship smartphone lineup – Galaxy S24 series – in the beginning of the year, shipped more than 60 million phones during the period.

Global sales of Galaxy S24 smartphones jumped 8%, compared to last year’s Galaxy S23 series during their first three weeks of availability, data provider Counterpoint previously said.

In the first quarter, Apple shipped 50.1 million iPhones, down from 55.4 million units it shipped same period last year, according to IDC.

Apple’s smartphone shipments in China shrank 2.1% in the final quarter of 2023 from a year earlier.

The drop underscores the challenges facing the U.S. firm in its third biggest market, as some Chinese companies and government agencies limit employees’ use of Apple devices, a measure that mirrors U.S. government restrictions on Chinese apps on security grounds.

The Cupertino, California-based company in June will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where it will highlight updates to the software powering iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices.

Investors are closely watching for updates on artificial intelligence development at Apple, which has so far spoken little about incorporating the AI technology into its devices. The company earlier this year lost the crown as the world’s most valuable company to Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Reuters reported.

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China launch of relay satellite Queqiao-2 for lunar probe mission successful

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(Last Updated On: April 12, 2024)

China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Friday its launch of a key signal relay satellite was a “complete success” and it would serve as the communication bridge for its future lunar probe missions for years to come, state media reported.

China launched the satellite Queqiao-2, which was named after a mythological bridge made of magpies, and two miniature satellites, Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2, on March 20.

Queqiao-2 will be used as a communications bridge between the ground operations on earth and upcoming lunar probe missions on the far side of the moon until at least 2030.

The moon’s near side always faces earth. That means data transfers from the far side are impossible because there is no direct line of sight.

Queqiao-2 researcher and developer Xiong Liang described the satellite as “the main switch” of the whole fourth phase of lunar missions, according to state television CCTV.

“Only when the main switch is flipped on, all the communications can kick off,” Xiong said.

Queqiao-2 will orbit the moon and relay signals to and from the Chang’e-6 mission, which expected to be launched in May. The robotic Chang’e-6 probe will seek to retrieve samples from an ancient basin, acquiring lunar material from the moon’s hidden side for the first time.

Queqiao-2 will also be used as a relay platform for the Chang’e-7 lunar mission in 2026 and the Chang’e-8 mission in 2028.

The functions and performance of Queqiao-2 met mission requirements and it will be able to provide relay communication services for China’s lunar exploration projects and future lunar missions for China and other countries, said the CNSA, according to CCTV.

Queqiao-2 entered its targeted elliptical orbit on April 2 after a correction midway, near-moon braking and orbital manoeuvre around the moon, CNSA said.

The satellite has successfully communicated with Chang’e 4, which was the first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the far side of the moon and is still carrying out its exploration mission. It also communicated with the Chang’e-6 probe while it is still on the ground earlier this month.

The successful launch of Queqiao-2 comes after the failed launch of another lunar spacecraft DRO-A/B satellites, which was intended to enter the moon’s distant retrograde orbit (DRO).

China has not released any information on whether or not the satellites can be retrieved.

 

(Reuters)

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Russia aborts planned test launch of new heavy-lift space rocket

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(Last Updated On: April 11, 2024)

Russian space officials on Tuesday aborted the test launch of a new heavy-lift rocket from its far-eastern launch pad.

The Angara-A5 rocket was scheduled to lift off from the Vostochny space launch facility at 0900 GMT Tuesday, but the launch was aborted two minutes before, AP reported.

Yuri Borisov, head of Roscosmos state space corporation, said the automatic safety system canceled the launch after registering a flaw in the oxidizer tank pressurization system.

He said the next launch attempt was set for Wednesday.

Tuesday’s launch was to be the fourth for the Angara-A5, a heavy-lift version of the new Angara family of rockets that has been developed to replace the Soviet-designed Proton rockets.

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