Latest news with #InternetofThings
Borneo Post
11 hours ago
- Science
- Borneo Post
Farmers gain precision edge with AI smart glasses
A farmer harvests grapes in a vineyard at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 19, 2024. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua) BEIJING (June 30): At first glance, they look like ordinary glasses until they are worn, when cutting-edge agricultural expertise brings the field to life. These high-tech lenses can scan crops for disease, track fruit growth in real time, and even deliver step-by-step farming instructions directly to the wearer. These smart farming glasses are currently under development by researchers from the artificial intelligence (AI) research center at China Agricultural University (CAU). By combining computer vision, deep learning, the Internet of Things and augmented reality, these glasses aim to tackle some of agriculture's toughest challenges, from labor shortages and inconsistent fieldwork to the battle against pests and diseases. 'Traditional methods like manual inspection or fixed cameras cost a lot and are not very efficient,' said Li Xiang, the project's lead researcher and an associate professor at CAU. 'After extensive field research and technical evaluation, we chose smart glasses, a wearable AI terminal capable of offline operation and real-time feedback, as the next-generation tool for farm supervision and crop monitoring.' The glasses track every move and provide real-time voice prompts and on-screen alerts to guide farmers with instructions like, 'Please prune moderately here' or 'This fruit is ready for harvesting.' According to Li, the glasses are empowered by a suite of AI models, from object detection and hand tracking to motion recognition and phenotype analysis. These allow the system to recognize specific targets like leaves, fruits, or pest damage even in complex environments. When anomalies are detected, the glasses issue instant audio or visual alerts to prompt quick intervention and minimize crop loss. During its technical tests in a grape farm in southwest China's Yunnan Province, the technology has cut pruning errors from 10 percent to less than 2 percent, saving farmers significant losses. 'Right now, we're focusing on high-value crops such as grapes, strawberries and tomatoes,' Li said. 'Not all produce suits this method. We target technically demanding cash crops, including citrus, blueberries, apples and pears.' Developing field-ready AI glasses was no easy task. The team had to compress large AI models to run efficiently on portable devices, employing technologies such as quantum neural networks to enable offline operation in remote areas with limited internet access. 'The development of smart glasses is not just a technical challenge,' Li said. 'It requires breakthroughs in three areas — data collection, hardware design and AI optimization. Through large-scale field trials, precise hardware selection and iterative algorithm refinement, we're steadily overcoming these hurdles.' The team also has plans to develop personalized versions for urban gardening. 'Future models might be lighter, voice-interactive, or equipped with virtual displays to assist with balcony farming,' he said. 'They could help people spot over-fertilization, underwatering, or early-stage pests, creating a potential niche market for hobbyists.' 'What we're building is the idea that AI models will become as fundamental to farming as seeds or fertilizer,' Li said. 'Agriculture will move beyond relying on good weather or gut instinct. It will be a smart industry capable of autonomous judgment, rapid response and continuous optimization.' In this transformation, he said, AI will serve as agriculture's 'new brain' by not just identifying problems, but offering solutions and automating decisions across production, management and services. 'AI smart glasses are just one node in our broader smart farming ecosystem,' Li said. 'To truly achieve intelligent agriculture, we must complete a closed-loop system encompassing data collection, intelligent analysis, precise execution and continuous refinement.' 'Our team will continue to strive to make that vision a reality,' he added. – Xinhua artificial intelligence China farmers glasses
CairoScene
20 hours ago
- Business
- CairoScene
Aria Ventures Launches LE 50M Fund For Egypt's Deep Tech Startups
Aria Ventures backs Egypt's next wave of deep-tech startups, targeting AI, robotics, biotech and more with major funding and hands-on support. Jun 29, 2025 Michigan-based venture capital company Aria Ventures has launched LE 50 million fund to support early-stage companies in Egypt's deep-tech sector, with plans to increase the fund to LE 200 million by 2029. The fund is directed at startups working in high-science fields including AI, robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and the Internet of Things. The initiative includes a competition called DeepTecher, which identifies promising technological research and guides selected projects through mentoring and evaluation phases toward becoming market-ready companies. The studio's hands-on approach offers both funding and services, including product development, legal support, and market research. Aria Ventures operates as a venture studio, meaning it develops startups from concept through execution. By assembling teams and building out infrastructure internally, the firm aims to create a pipeline of high-tech startups capable of turning academic research into viable commercial products. Egypt's deep-tech landscape is still nascent, though growing interest from investors and research institutions has brought more attention to science-driven startups. This move marks a bid to make Egypt a more active player in advanced technology fields regionally and beyond
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
CrowdStrike or Check Point: Bank of America Selects the Superior Cybersecurity Stock to Buy
We live in the digital age, the age of networked computers and commoditized information. For better or for worse, the global computer networks are expanding, and that expansion is accelerating, particularly with the AI boom of recent years and the growth of the Internet of Things. Confident Investing Starts Here: This growth in digital networking has brought with it an increased demand for cybersecurity services, a need that has been highlighted by recent geopolitical developments. Iran, for example, has a long history of employing, or attempting to employ, unconventional tactics against its adversaries, including cyberattacks. And that last has put global cybersecurity companies into investors' sights. Given this environment, it's reasonable to expect that governments and critical organizations – financial institutions, medical facilities, utilities – will ramp up their cybersecurity defenses. Investors, in turn, may see major cybersecurity firms landing new contracts or onboarding new customers in the coming months. This rising demand is set against the backdrop of an already enormous cybersecurity market. Valued at $172.2 billion in 2023, the market is projected to balloon to $562.7 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights, reflecting a CAGR of 14.3%. Bank of America has taken note, and is looking at CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) and Check Point (NASDAQ:CHKP), two major names in the cybersecurity industry. The bank is weighing these leaders to determine which offers the stronger investment opportunity. Let's take a closer look at both, and see which one BofA prefers. CrowdStrike The first stock we're looking at here, CrowdStrike, was founded in 2011 and today has grown into a $124 billion leader in the cybersecurity industry. CrowdStrike's specialties are identity threat detection, endpoint security, and ransomware protection. The company's Falcon platform, its flagship product, takes a proactive approach to digital security, using active threat detection to prevent breaches. Falcon is a cloud-native platform that supports multi-tenant intelligent security solutions in the cloud or virtualized environments. Even better, the system provides protection at all endpoints, including desktops and laptops, as well as IoT devices, servers, and virtual machines. CrowdStrike operates on the popular SaaS subscription model and offers multiple cloud modules through the Falcon platform. Building on these capabilities, CrowdStrike is actively moving to position itself as a security provider with and for AI, addressing a critical gap as most companies with active AI programs are not yet tackling the unique security risks associated with AI. CrowdStrike aims to fill this gap by safeguarding sensitive data while maintaining system integrity. Altogether, these strengths support CrowdStrike's ambition to deliver a security platform that can meet the needs of any customer, at any time. The company achieves this through a modular approach, allowing subscribers to select packages and features that best fit their needs, and combining them with flexible pricing plans to suit a range of budgets. The key, for CrowdStrike, is recognizing that one size does not fit all. That strategy appears to be paying off. Earlier this month, CrowdStrike reported results from its fiscal 1Q26, posting quarterly revenues of $1.1 billion, up 19% year-over-year. At the bottom line, CrowdStrike delivered a non-GAAP EPS of 73 cents, 7 cents per share ahead of expectations. Looking ahead, the company exited fiscal Q1 with $4.4 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR), adding a net of $194 million in new ARR during the reporting period. Not surprisingly, shares of CRWD are up 46% so far in 2025. However, Wall Street's enthusiasm is not without caution. Bank of America's 5-star analyst Tal Liani, who covers this stock, sees CrowdStrike in a solid position but questions whether its current valuation offers enough upside. 'We favor CrowdStrike's fundamentals and growth prospects, but believe the valuation leaves only limited upside from the current level of 20x CY26E EV/Sales. Growth has decelerated to below 20% in 1H26, and while we expect acceleration to about 22% in 2H on the back of CCP related renewals, we believe growth will decelerate in the next few years, hence our growing focus on valuation,' Liani noted. Reflecting this, Liani rates CRWD shares as Neutral (i.e., Hold), with a $470 price target that implies a ~6% downside over the next year. (To view Liani's track record, click here) Overall, among 37 recent analyst reviews, there are 28 Buys, 8 Holds, and a single Sell, giving CrowdStrike a Moderate Buy consensus rating. However, with a current price of $499.33 and a $494.31 average price target, most analysts expect the stock to trade roughly sideways over the next 12 months. (See CRWD stock forecast) Check Point Check Point, the second stock we'll look at here, has been in the software and cybersecurity business since 1993, making the company an old name in a new field. The firm's stated mission is simple but ambitious: 'to secure the digital world for everyone, everywhere.' To accomplish this, Check Point has put together its Infinity Platform to provide cutting-edge solutions for cyber defense against even the most sophisticated attacks. The company's product portfolio includes Quantum, which secures networks; Harmony, for workforce security; and the aptly named CloudGuard. These solutions are supported by Check Point's highly skilled workforce of more than 7,000 employees, including over 3,500 dedicated security experts, who protect more than 100,000 enterprise clients worldwide. This deep bench of expertise underpins the company's guiding philosophy that 'prevention is the best cure,' reflecting Check Point's focus on proactive, rather than reactive, cybersecurity. This prevention-first strategy has not only shaped its technology but has also translated into strong business results. In its last reported quarter, 1Q25, top-line revenues came to $638 million, up 7% year-over-year, while non-GAAP EPS rose 9% to $2.21, beating forecasts by 2 cents per share. Several additional metrics also bode well for Check Point. Cash flow from operations increased 17% year-over-year to $421 million, calculated billings climbed 7% to $553 million, and its work backlog, represented by remaining performance obligations, expanded 11% to $2.4 billion. Given these results, it's no surprise that Bank of America analyst Tal Liani remains upbeat on Check Point, describing it as a cybersecurity name with a solid foundation to build on. 'We believe that further stock appreciation depends on the company's ability to sustainably accelerate growth and flag recent changes that support our growth acceleration expectations, such as new sales leadership, a new CTO, effort of the CEO to meet key customers, etc. These processes should translate to growth acceleration but should take time to bear fruit. We also flag management's measured approach designed to maintain the current margin level,' Liani opined. In line with this assessment, Liani rates CHKP as a Buy, complementing that with a $260 price target, which suggests a one-year upside potential of 20%. All in all, Check Point has 25 recent analyst reviews on record, and the almost even split between Buy and Hold gives the stock its Moderate Buy consensus rating. The shares have a selling price of $216.45 and an average target price of $239.23, together implying a modest gain of 10.5% on the one-year horizon. (See CHKP stock forecast) After setting out the facts, it's clear that Bank of America has chosen Check Point as the superior cybersecurity stock to buy in today's unsettled world. To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.
India.com
a day ago
- Business
- India.com
Stock of THIS company in focus as company shares detail about new deal
शेयर बाजार भी पाकिस्तान से कई गुना बड़ा IT stock Blue Cloud Softech Solutions Ltd will be in focus on Monday as the company shared some information related to the new purchase with the exchanges. On Friday, the company's shares closed at ₹ 31.51 per share. Blue Cloud Softech Solutions Limited said that it is going to buy a global tech company named AIS Anywhere. For this, the company will issue about 31.68 crore new shares. The price of each share has been kept at around Rs 23. Blue Cloud said that this deal will not be done in cash but will be completed by exchanging shares for shares. This means that the owners of AIS Anywhere will get new shares of Blue Cloud. AIS Anywhere: Let us tell you that AIS Anywhere is a well-known global tech company. This company works in sectors like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Analytics, Cyber Security and Internet of Things (IoT). In the last three years, this company has done a business of more than $ 220 million. Blue Cloud said that around 14 crore shares will be given to AIS Anywhere's promoter Mrs. Janaki Yarlagadda. Whereas Siraj Holdings LLC will get around 17 crore shares. The company says that this will definitely change the shareholding pattern but there will be no change in control or management. The company has placed this proposal in the Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be held on 10 July 2025. This deal will be completed only after getting the approval of the shareholders in this meeting. The company said that following the approval of shareholders, it will acquire 100% stake in AIS Anywhere and will become the holding company of AIS Anywhere. Blue Cloud's Statement: Blue Cloud said that this deal will give the company new strength in the digital sector. The company will be able to strengthen its hold in emerging sectors like artificial intelligence, data analytics, cyber security and IoT. This will further improve Blue Cloud's services and customers will get new facilities. This stock has given a return of 45 percent in the last one month. At the same time, the stock has fallen by 32 percent in the last 6 months and 72 percent in a year. However, the stock has given a return of more than 400 percent in five years.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
LuLu Hypermarket launches ‘Let's Connect' tech promotion across Qatar
Tribune News Network Doha LuLu Hypermarket, one of the region's leading retail chains, has officially launched its highly anticipated 'Let's Connect' promotion at the Al Gharrafa branch. The launch event was graced by prominent Qatari influencer Khalifa Al Haroon(MrQ), along with senior LuLu officials and special guests. The 'Let's Connect' campaign is now live across all LuLu outlets in Qatar as well as on LuLu's online shopping platform and will continue until July 7. This exciting promotion features exclusive offers on smartphones, accessories, and a wide range of AI and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, further reinforcing LuLu's leadership in the tech retail sector. This year, the campaign takes a bold step forward by spotlighting AI-powered gadgets that go beyond convenience—offering intelligent, personalized experiences that help customers truly connect with the future. As part of the campaign, LuLu Hypermarket has introduced dedicated in-store sections for IoT and AI-enabled products, underlining its commitment to innovation and smart technology. These specially curated areas allow shoppers to interact with the latest personal tech and explore how AI-driven devices are reshaping modern lifestyles. A LuLu spokesperson commented: 'With our 'Let's Connect' promotion, we're making the latest tech more accessible than ever. As the world moves rapidly into a new era of connectivity, LuLu is proud to provide unmatched deals that help customers stay ahead in the digital age.' In addition to the tech-focused campaign, LuLu Hypermarket is also offering seasonal promotions to meet a wide range of customer needs. A Buy 1 Get 1 Free offer is available on premium men's fashion brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, and Peter England, valid until 5th July. A similar Buy 1 Get 1 Free offer on selected men's, women's, and children's garments is available until 30th June, making it an ideal time for families to refresh their wardrobes. Furthermore, shoppers can take advantage of exclusive discounts on top smartphone brands and accessories, including never-before-seen offers on premium devices—making this campaign a golden opportunity to upgrade to the latest technology at unbeatable prices.
