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A catalog server provides a single point of access that allows users to centrally search for information across a distributed network. In other words, it indexes databases, files and information across large network and allows keywords, Boolean and other searches. If you need to provide a comprehensive searching service for your intranet, extranet or even the Internet, a catalog server is a standard solution.
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A companion robot is a robot created to create real or apparent companionship for human beings. Target markets for companion robots include the elderly and single children. Companions robots are expected to communicate with non-experts in a natural and intuitive way. They offer a variety of functions, such as monitoring the home remotely, communicating with people, or waking people up in the morning. Their aim is to perform a wide array of tasks including educational functions, home security, diary duties, entertainment and message delivery services, etc. The idea of companionship with robots has already existed on science fictions of 1970s, like R2-D2. Starting from the late 20th century, companion robots became a reality, mostly as robotic pets. Besides entertainment purposes, interactive robots were also introduced as a personal service robot for elderly care around 2000. == Characteristics == Companion robots try to interact with users. They gather information about users based on their interactions and yield feedback. This procedure varies slightly based on their specific roles. For example, social-companion robots make simple conversations, while pet-companion robots mimic being real pets. == Types == Companion robots can perform a variety of tasks and they are produced in a specialized manner according to their purpose or target audience in order to increase convenience and end user satisfaction. === Social companion robots === Social companion robots are designed to provide companionship and be a solution for unwanted solitude. They often mimic adult human, child or pet behaviours appealing to the user base. Robots which are specifically devised for simple conversations, conveying emotions and respond to user feelings fall under this category. === Assistive companion robots === Assistive companion robots are aimed at people who require constant care because of age, disability or rehabilitation purposes. Such robots can help disadvantaged users with their daily tasks, act as reminders (e.g., for regular medication) and facilitate mobility in everyday actions. Assistive companion robots reduce the intensity of labour that should be performed by caretakers, nurses and legal guardians. === Educational companion robots === Educational companion robots perform tutorship for students, regardless of their ages, and can teach desired subjects with activities tailored for the user such as interactive assignments and games. Rather than replacing teachers and instructors, educational companion robots are aides to them. === Therapeutic companion robots === Designed for individuals coping with stress (PTSD in severe cases), anxiety and loneliness; therapeutic companion robots support users' emotional and mental wellbeing. Such robots can be utilized in hospitals and care facilities as well as dwellings where the distressed user may need the most help. Therapeutic companion robots bear a vast resemblance to assistive companion robots to the extent of being a branch of them; the nuance between these two types of companion robots is that the former is for long-term/lifetime usage while the latter is mostly for the duration of the therapy received by the user. === Pet companion robots === Pet companion robots are for individuals who seek an alternative to live pets as live animals demand a considerable amount of care and may not be eligible for people with allergies. These robots aim to be perfect imitations of a pet while diminishing the chore aspect of having one. === Entertainment companion robots === Entertainment companion robots are designed solely for entertainment and can provide numerous ways of entertainment, ranging from dancing to playing games with the user. People who would appreciate an individual to have fun with are the main audience of such products. === Personal assistant robots === Personal assistant robots help people with daily tasks, management, scheduling, reminding etc. Their area of activity can be offices as well as homes and public spaces. === Sex robots === Sex robots are anthropomorphic robotic sex dolls that have human-like movement or behavior, and some degree of artificial intelligence. As of 2026, although elaborately instrumented sex dolls have been created by a number of inventors, no fully animated sex robots yet exist. Simple devices have been created which can speak, make facial expressions, or respond to touch. There is controversy as to whether developing them would be morally justifiable. In 2015, robot ethicist Kathleen Richardson called for a ban on the creation of anthropomorphic sex robots with concerns about normalizing relationships with machines and reinforcing female dehumanization. Questions about their ethics, effects, and possible legal regulations have been discussed since then. == Examples == There are several companion robot prototypes, and these include Paro, CompanionAble, and EmotiRob, among others. === Paro === Paro is a pet-type robot system developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The robot, which looked like a small harp seal, was designed as a therapeutic tool for use in hospitals and nursing homes. The robot is programmed to cry for attention and respond to its name. Experiments showed that Paro facilitated elderly residents to communicate with each other, which led to psychological improvements. === CompanionAble === This robot is classified as an FP 7 EU project. It is built to "cooperate with Ambient Assistive Living environment". The autonomous device, which is also built to support the elderly, helps its owner interact with smart home environment as well as caregivers. The robot functions as a mobile friend, by which natural interaction is possible via speech and the touchscreen to detect and track people at home. === EmotiRob === EmotiRob is developed in a robotics project which is the continuity of the MAPH (Active Media For the Handicap) project in emotion synthesis. The aim of the project was to maintain emotional interaction with children. EmotiRob designed in a way that a child can hold it in a his/her arms and with which he/she could interact by talking to it, and then the robot would express itself through body postures or facial expressions. It has cognitive capabilities, which are further extended so that the robot can have a natural linguistic interaction with its owner through the DRAGON speech-recognition software developed by a company called NUANCE. Such interaction is expected to facilitate a child's cognitive development and develop new learning patterns. === LOVOT === Lovot is a Japanese company robot whose only purpose is "to make you happy". It features over 50 sensors that mimic the behavior of a human baby or small pet, a 360° camera with a microphone, the ability to distinguish humans from objects, neoteny eyes, and an internal warmth of 30° celsius. An interactive Lovot Café was opened in Japan October 3, 2020. === NICOBO === Nicobo was developed by Panasonic and was influenced by the loneliness of lockdowns created as a measure of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was designed to appear vulnerable, which creates empathy in its owners. Nicobo's name derives from the Japanese word for "smile". It wags its tail, engages in baby talk, and stays as a housemate. === Hyodol === Hyodol is an advanced care robot designed to support the elderly by reminding them to take their medications and monitoring their movements to keep their guardians informed. Additionally, this innovative robot can detect and respond to the emotional states of its elderly users, adding a layer of personalized care. Hyodol is designed with the appearance and speech style of a 7-year-old Korean grandchild, featuring a soft fabric exterior and user interaction methods such as striking the head or patting the back. It is equipped with various sensors and wireless communication technologies to collect and process data, supporting mobile apps and PC web monitoring systems for remote monitoring from anywhere. In South Korea, approximately 10,000 Hyodol robots are deployed to the homes of elderly individuals living alone, providing essential support and companionship. Local governments, including provincial and county offices, have embraced Hyodol as a solution to address social challenges stemming from the country's rapidly aging society.Furthermore, the robot is widely utilized in the treatment of dementia patients at a university hospital in Gangwon province. Hyodol was honored with the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO) in the "Best Mobile Innovation for Connected Health and Wellbeing" category on February 29, 2024. === Moxie === Moxie was a companion robot for autistic children developed by a company called Embodied. Although it had limited motion, it presented itself as a lifelike avatar. It was designed to help the children learn emotional cognition, using remotely hosted large language models to direct its respons
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Game Jolt is a social community platform for video games, gamers and content creators. Founded by Yaprak and David DeCarmine, it is available on iOS, Android, and on the web and as a desktop app for Windows and Linux. Users share interactive content through a variety of formats including images, videos, live streams, chat rooms, and virtual events. == Features == === Crowd streaming === In 2021 Game Jolt revealed their own live streaming feature called Firesides. Firesides allowed multiple users to simultaneously livestream together with nearly no delay. The feature launched with a virtual concert showcasing its ability to accommodate multiple streamers. On October 16, 2023, Firesides were removed from Game Jolt. === Mobile app === Game Jolt Social by Game Jolt Inc. launched on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in March 2022. "It's clear to us that Gen Z is tired of generic social media and they want a place specifically for gaming that supports all types of content they're creating–art, videos, thoughts, and livestreams all in one place." said Game Jolt founder and CEO Yaprak DeCarmine, in a statement to VentureBeat. === Game API === The Game Jolt Application Programming Interface (usually known as the Game Jolt Game API) allows any developer using a game development platform that supports HTTP operations and MD5 or SHA-1. Game Jolt advertises that the API can: Create multiple "scoreboards" which collect high scores from players made publicly available on the game's profile and give user accounts EXP Award player's trophies which give user accounts EXP Store game data on Game Jolt's data servers Log whether a user is currently playing a game they're logged into via the GJAPI == Game jams and competitions == Game Jolt regularly hosts game jams where participants are encouraged to develop games for a chance to win prizes. They hosted their first game jam in 2009, Shocking Contest. In November 2014, Game Jolt announced the "Indies vs PewDiePie" game jam, partnering with the popular YouTuber Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg. Developers were given a weekend (21–24 November) to create a game with the theme of "fun to play, fun to watch" to suit the Let's Plays entertainment style. Users could rate entries afterwards until December 1 when the scores were counted up. The prize to the top 10 rated games was Felix playing the games on his channel as a means of promotion for the developers, although later he played other entries. One of the participants of the jam, now known as Outerminds Inc. was discovered and hired by PewDiePie to develop his mobile game, Legend of the Brofist. Game Jolt partnered with Felix, Sean "Jacksepticeye" McLoughlin and Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach to host "Indies vs Gamers" in July 2015. The requirements for entries were arcade games using the Game Jolt Game API highscore tables, to be made between the July 17–20 and the top 5 games were played on the partner's YouTube channels. Following the "Indies vs PewDiePie" game jam in 2014, Game Jolt released their internal jam hosting tools public for all users to use as a service, to create their own game jams that integrated with the main site. Today, Game Jolt focuses on hosting and co-hosting game competitions with established brands in order to bring monetary and educational opportunities to their users. On April 15, 2024, an announcement was made about a collaboration with Pocket Worlds for the "HighRise Game Jam". Pocket Worlds had sold NFTs up until roughly 2022, causing a community outburst. The situation was addressed, and the situation started to disperse. == Contests == == Events == Game Jolt hosts both physical and virtual events to entertain and prank its users, which consists of the following: == History == Game Jolt has supported independent creators with a central platform to manage their content and communities since its start in 2003. David DeCarmine began development of Game Jolt at the age of 14 for a group of hobbyists, making games and sharing on forums in an early iteration known as Holo World. The original intention was to create a platform for gamers where new games could be discoverable and quickly playable, and where feedback could be provided directly to the creators, allowing them to continue improving their games. In 2008, Game Jolt was registered as an LLC, then incorporated as Game Jolt Inc. in September 2020. A new site launched in 2015 featuring a responsive design, automated curation for both games and game news articles which weighs how recent a game was uploaded and how popular it is ("hot") and filtering options on game listings for platform, maturity rating and development status. In March 2022, Game Jolt launched a mobile application simultaneously on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store targeted at Gen Z gamers and creators. While in beta, the mobile app had 100,000 installs pre-launch. === Game store === Game Jolt continues to host a large library of independent games. Game developers can upload their games directly to the site to share or sell. They would allow distribution for downloadable games, later adding support for Adobe Flash, Unity and Java games which allowed support for browser based games. In February 2013, Game Jolt built support for browser-based HTML5 games as well. A user levelling system was released into public beta in April 2013, incorporating the GJAPI trophies and highscores, as well as site activity, to generate 'EXP' (experience points). Game Jolt Jams released in early 2014 as a service to allow users to create their own game jams that integrated with the main site. In April 2016, an online marketplace was announced and released the following month with an exclusive set of game titles, including Bendy and the Ink Machine, allowing developers to sell their games on the site. In January 2016, Game Jolt released source code of the client and site's front end on GitHub under MIT license. In January 2022, Game Jolt banned adult games from appearing on the site, stating in an email to developers that the site had become a "social media platform" and they "had to make decisions around the direction and future of the brand which has now included the removal of hosted games with explicitly adult content." In response to a tweet by Itch.io saying the site is not for prudes, they wrote in their own tweet: "Game Jolt is a platform with a large audience of 13-16 year olds. Our users asked us to clean up, so here we are." == Investments == After bootstrapping Game Jolt with revenue earned from ads on the website for years, the DeCarmines secured venture capital in 2020 from SoftBank, doing so again in 2021 from founders of Twitch, Rec Room, Modio and more.
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An imaging phantom, or simply phantom (less commonly spelled fantom), is a specially designed object that is scanned or imaged in the field of medical imaging to evaluate, analyze, and tune the performance of various imaging devices. A phantom is more readily available and provides more consistent results than the use of a living subject or cadaver, while also avoiding direct risks to living subjects. Phantoms were originally employed in 2D x-ray–based imaging techniques such as radiography or fluoroscopy, but more recently phantoms with desired imaging characteristics have been developed for 3D techniques such as SPECT, MRI, CT, ultrasound, PET, and other imaging modalities. == Design == A phantom used to evaluate an imaging device should respond in a similar manner to how human tissues and organs would act in that specific imaging modality. For instance, phantoms made for 2D radiography may hold various quantities of x-ray contrast agents with similar x-ray absorbing properties (such as the attenuation coefficient) to normal tissue to tune the contrast of the imaging device or modulate the patient's exposure to radiation. In such a case, the radiography phantom would not necessarily need to have similar textures and mechanical properties since these are not relevant in x-ray imaging modalities. However, in the case of ultrasonography, a phantom with similar rheological and ultrasound scattering properties to real tissue would be essential, but x-ray absorbing properties would not be relevant. The term "phantom" describes an object that is designed to resemble human tissue and can be evaluated, analyzed or manipulated to study the performance of a medical device. Phantoms are created using a digital file that is rendered through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computer-aided design (CAD). The digital files allow for quick modifications that are read by the 3D printer. The 3D printer will create the product in successive layers using polymeric materials. There are several types of phantoms including tissue-mimicking, radiological phantoms, dental phantoms, BOMABs (used to calibrate whole-body counters), and more.
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Indic Computing means "computing in Indic", i.e., Indian Scripts and Languages. It involves developing software in Indic Scripts/languages, Input methods, Localization of computer applications, web development, Database Management, Spell checkers, Speech to Text and Text to Speech applications and OCR in Indian languages. Unicode standard version 15.0 specifies codes for 9 Indic scripts in Chapter 12 titled "South and Central Asia-I, Official Scripts of India". The 9 scripts are Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Tamil and Telugu. A lot of Indic Computing projects are going on. They involve some government sector companies, some volunteer groups and individual people. == Government sector == Indian Union Government made it mandatory for Mobile phone companies whose handsets manufactured, stored, sold and distributed in India to have support for displaying and typing text using fonts for all 22 languages. This move has seen rise in use of Indian languages by millions of users. === TDIL === The Department of Electronics and Information Technology, India initiated the TDIL (Technology Development for Indian Languages) with the objective of developing Information Processing Tools and Techniques to facilitate human-machine interaction without a language barrier; creating and accessing multilingual knowledge resources; and integrating them to develop innovative user products and services. In 2005, it started distributing language software tools developed by Government/Academic/Private companies in the form of CD for non commercial use. Some of the outcomes of TDIL program have been deployed on Indian Language Technology Proliferation & Deployment Centre. This Centre disseminates all the linguistic resources, tools & applications which have been developed under TDIL funding. This programme took to exponential expansion under the leadership of Dr. Swaran Lata who also created international foot-print of the programme. She has now retired. === C-DAC === C-DAC is an India based government software company which is involved in developing language related software. It is best known for developing InScript Keyboard, the standard keyboard for Indian languages. It has also developed lot of Indic language solutions including Word Processors, typing tools, text to speech software, OCR in Indian languages etc. ==== BharateeyaOO.org ==== The work developed out of CDAC, Bangalore (earlier known as NCST, Bangalore) became BharateeyaOO. OpenOffice 2.1 had support for over 10 Indian languages. ==== BOSS ==== BOSS linux was developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) to promote use of open-source software in India. == NGO and Volunteer groups == === Indlinux === Indlinux organisation helped organise the individual volunteers working on different indic language versions of Linux and its applications. === Sarovar === Sarovar.org is India's first portal to host projects under Free/Open source licenses. It is located in Trivandrum, India and hosted at Asianet data center. Sarovar.org is customised, installed and maintained by Linuxense as part of their community services and sponsored by River Valley Technologies. Sarovar.org is built on Debian Etch and GForge and runs off METTLE. === Pinaak === Pinaak is a non-government charitable society devoted to Indic language computing. It works for software localization, developing language software, localizing open source software, enriching online encyclopedias etc. In addition to this Pinaak works for educating people about computing, ethical use of Internet and use of Indian languages on Internet. === Ankur Group === Ankur Group is working toward supporting Bengali language (Bengali) on Linux operating system including localized Bengali GUI, Live CD, English-to-Bengali translator, Bengali OCR and Bengali Dictionary etc. === BhashaIndia === === SMC === SMC is a free software group, working to bridge the language divide in Kerala in the technology front and is today the biggest language computing community in India. == Input methods == === Full size keyboards === With the advent of Unicode inputting Indic text on computer has become very easy. A number of methods exist for this purpose, but the main ones are:- ==== InScript ==== Inscript is the standard keyboard for Indian languages. Developed by C-DAC and standardized by Government of India. Nowadays it comes inbuilt in all major operating systems including Microsoft Windows (2000, XP, Vista, 7), Linux and Macintosh. ==== Phonetic transliteration ==== This is a typing method in which, for instance, the user types text in an Indian language using Roman characters and it is phonetically converted to equivalent text in Indian script in real time. This type of conversion is done by phonetic text editors, word processors and software plugins. Building up on the idea, one can use phonetic IME tools that allow Indic text to be input in any application. Some examples of phonetic transliterators are Xlit, Google Indic Transliteration, BarahaIME, Indic IME, Rupantar, SMC's Indic Keyboard and Microsoft Indic Language Input Tool. SMC's Indic Keyboard has support for as many as 23 languages whereas Google Indic Keyboard only supports 11 Indian languages. They can be broadly classified as: Fixed transliteration scheme based tools – They work using a fixed transliteration scheme to convert text. Some examples are Indic IME, Rupantar and BarahaIME. Intelligent/Learning based transliteration tools – They compare the word with a dictionary and then convert it to the equivalent words in the target language. Some of the popular ones are Google Indic Transliteration, Xlit, Microsoft Indic Language Input Tool and QuillPad. ==== Remington (typewriter) ==== This layout was developed when computers had not been invented or deployed with Indic languages, and typewriters were the only means to type text in Indic scripts. Since typewriters were mechanical and could not include a script processor engine, each character had to be placed on the keyboard separately, which resulted in a very complex and difficult to learn keyboard layout. With the advent of Unicode, the Remington layout was added to various typing tools for sake of backward compatibility, so that old typists did not have to learn a new keyboard layout. Nowadays this layout is only used by old typists who are used to this layout due to several years of usage. One tool to include Remington layout is Indic IME. A font that is based on the Remington keyboard layout is Kruti Dev. Another online tool that very closely supports the old Remington keyboard layout using Kruti Dev is the Remington Typing tool. === Braille === IBus Sharada Braille, which supports seven Indian languages was developed by SMC. === Mobile phones with Numeric keyboards === Mobile/Hand/cell phone basic models have 12 keys like the plain old telephone keypad. Each key is mapped to 3 or 4 English letters to facilitate data entry in English. For inputting Indian languages with this kind of keypad, there are two ways to do so. First is the Multi-tap Method and second uses visual help from the screen like Panini Keypad. The primary usage is SMS. 140 characters size used for English/Roman languages can be used to accommodate only about 70 language characters when Unicode Proprietary compression is used some times to increase the size of single message for Complex script languages like Hindi. A research study of the available methods and recommendations of proposed standard was released by Broadband Wireless Consortium of India (BWCI). ==== Transliteration/Phonetic methods ==== English is used to type in Indian languages. QuillPad IndiSMS ==== Native methods ==== In native methods, the letters of the language are displayed on the screen corresponding to the numeral keys based on the probabilities of those letters for that language. Additional letters can be accessed by using a special key. When a word is partially typed, options are presented from which the user can make a selection. === Smart phones with Qwerty keyboards === Most smart phones have about 35 keys catering primarily to the English language. Numerals and some symbols are accessed with a special key called Alt. Indic input methods are yet to evolve for these types of phones, as support of Unicode for rendering is not widely available. === For Smart Phones with Soft/Virtual keyboards === Inscript is being adopted for smart phone usage. For Android phones which can render Indic languages, Swalekh Multilingual Keypad Multiling Keyboard app are available. Gboard offers support for several Indian languages. == Localization == Localization means translating software, operating systems, websites etc. various applications in Indian language. Various volunteers groups are working in this direction. === Mandrake Tamil Version === A notable example is the Tamil version of Mandrake linux(defunct since 2011). Tamil speakers in Toronto (Canada) released Mandrake,
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Canva Pty Ltd. is an Australian multinational proprietary software company launched in 2013 based in Sydney, Australia. The platform provides a graphic design platform to create visual content for presentations, websites, and other digital products. Its uses include templates for presentations, posters, and social media content, as well as photo and video editing functionality. The platform uses a drag-and-drop interface designed for users without professional design training or experience. Canva operates on a freemium model and has added features such as print services and video editing tools over time. == History == === 2013–2020 === Canva was founded in Perth, Australia, by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams on 1 January 2013. One of the company's early investors was Susan Wu, an American entrepreneur. In its first year, Canva had more than 750,000 users. In 2017, the company reached profitability and had 294,000 paying customers. In January 2018, Perkins announced that the company had raised A$40 million from Sequoia Capital, Blackbird Ventures, and Felicis Ventures, and the company was valued at A$1 billion. It raised A$70 million in May 2019, followed by A$85 million in October 2019 and the launch of Canva for Enterprise. In December 2019, Canva announced Canva for Education, a free product for schools and other educational institutions intended to facilitate collaboration between students and teachers. === 2021–2025 === In June 2020, Canva announced a partnership with FedEx Office and with Office Depot the following month. As of June 2020, Canva's valuation had risen to A$6 billion, rising to A$40 billion by September 2021. In September 2021, Canva raised US$200 million, with its value peaking that year at US$40 billion. By September 2022, the valuation of the company had leveled at US$26 billion. While Canva's value declined from its 2021 peak by mid-2022, it remained one of Australia's most prominent technology companies, alongside Atlassian. In March 2022, Canva had over 75 million monthly active users. In 2023, the pair were named in the Australian Financial Review's AFR Rich List as among the 10 most wealthy people in Australia. On 7 December 2022, Canva launched Magic Write, which is the platform's AI-powered copywriting assistant. On 22 March 2023, Canva announced its new Assistant tool, which makes recommendations on graphics and styles that match the user's existing design. On 11 January 2024, Canva launched its own GPT in OpenAI's GPT Store. The company has announced it intends to compete with Google and Microsoft in the office software category with website and whiteboard products. In May 2024, the company announced the launch of Canva Enterprise, a plan designed for large organisations, alongside new tools including Work Kits, Courses and AI capabilities. In 2024, it announced a co-funded solar energy project to enhance its sustainability efforts. On 10 April 2025, Canva released Visual Suite 2. The new interface combines Canva's design and productivity tools. New features include a spreadsheets application (Canva Sheets), a generative AI coding assistant (Canva Code), a chatbot, and an updated photo editor that can modify or remove background objects. In August 2025, Canva launched a stock sale to employees, valuing the company at US$42 billion. == Acquisitions == In 2018, the company acquired presentations startup Zeetings for an undisclosed amount, as part of its expansion into the presentations space. In May 2019, the company announced the acquisitions of Pixabay and Pexels, two free stock photography sites based in Germany, which enabled Canva users to access their photos for designs. In February 2021, Canva acquired Austrian startup Kaleido.ai and the Czech-based Smartmockups. In 2022, Canva acquired Flourish, a London-based data visualization startup. In March 2024, Canva acquired UK-based Serif, the developers of the Affinity suite of graphic design software, for approximately $380 million. In August 2024, Canva acquired the AI image generation platform and startup, Leonardo AI, for an undisclosed amount. In June 2025, it was announced that Canva had acquired Australian AI marketing startup MagicBrief for an undisclosed amount. In February 2026, Canva acquired two startups: Cavalry, which specializes in animation software, and MangoAI, which focuses on improving advertising performance. In April 2026, Canva acquired Simtheory, an AI Workflow Tool, and Ortto, a marketing automation tool. == Philanthropy == Canva's co-founders, Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, have publicly stated their intention to donate a significant portion of their personal wealth to charity. In 2021, Canva started a partnership with GiveDirectly, a nonprofit organization operating in low income areas that makes unconditional cash transfers to families living in extreme poverty. Since then, the company has donated $50 million to support GiveDirectly's work across Malawi. In 2025, Canva announced an additional $100 million commitment to expand its GiveDirectly partnership. == Controversies == === Data breach === In May 2019, Canva experienced a data breach in which the data of roughly 139 million users was exposed. The exposed data included real names of users, usernames, email addresses, geographical information, and password hashes for some users. In January 2020, approximately 4 million user passwords were decrypted and shared online. Canva responded by resetting the passwords of every user who had not changed their password since the initial breach. === Russian operations === In May 2022 Canva was criticized for continuing to provide free access to its services in Russia, even after suspending payment processing in the country. Activists from the Ukrainian diaspora in Australia and others said this could be viewed as indirectly supporting Russia’s war effort. They noted the company was the only one of several major Australian firms to receive the lowest “digging in” rating on a tracker run by the Yale School of Management for failing to pull out of Russia. Canva responded that it had suspended financial transactions in Russia from March 2022 and maintained the free version to allow the continued creation and sharing of “pro-peace and anti-war” content for its 1.4 million Russian users.
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Deep Zoom is a technology developed by Microsoft for efficiently transmitting and viewing images. It allows users to pan around and zoom in on a large, high resolution image or a large collection of images. It reduces the time required for initial load by downloading only the region being viewed or only at the resolution it is displayed at. Subsequent regions are downloaded as the user pans to (or zooms into) them; animations are used to hide any jerkiness in the transition. The libraries are also available in other platforms including Java and Flash. == History == The Deep Zoom file format is very similar to the Google Maps image format where images are broken into tiles and then displayed as required. The tiling typically follows a quadtree pattern of increasing resolution of image (in other words twice the zoom and twice the resolution). The main difference is that with Google Maps the actual details on the image change from one zoom level to another, while with Deep Zoom the same image is displayed at each zoom level. Seadragon Software, formerly Sand Codex, first created the Seadragon technology and its implementation of what is now called Deep Zoom. This technology was then absorbed into the Microsoft Live Labs when Seadragon Software was acquired. Engineers from Seadragon now work with Microsoft to integrate their work into technology such as Silverlight and Photosynth. == Deep Zoom examples == The most famous implementation of Deep Zoom was probably the first: the memorabilia collection at the Hard Rock website. Conceived and designed by Duncan/Channon and built by Vertigo, it was demonstrated for the first time in March 2008 at the Microsoft MIX convention in Las Vegas. In 2010, Microsoft Live Labs partnered with the University of California, Berkeley to create ChronoZoom, a DeepZoom-powered time visualization tool that pushed the limits of DeepZoom, since it required zooming from the scale of 13 billion years down to a single day. The project has since graduated to development under Microsoft Research. Another example is the Deep Earth project. It is described by its creators as "a community project focused on creating a rich interactive mapping control using Silverlight2 Deep Zoom. Concentrating on Microsoft Virtual Earth imagery and data the project offers team members the opportunity to learn and share while creating something cool and useful." A paintings collection project http://galleryzoom.co.uk/ shows 1000 high resolution/sensor images individually indexed. (Using Deep Zoom Composer). Blaise Aguera y Arcas gave a demonstration of Seadragon and Photosynth at the 2007 TED conference. In November 2009, 352 Media Group, a Silverlight developer in the Microsoft Silverlight Partner Program, created an example of Deep Zoom using Microsoft Silverlight version 3. It is online at 352 Media Group's Web site. The Winston Churchill Deep Zoom Archived 2010-07-04 at the Wayback Machine mosaic, created by Silverlight developers Shoothill, features as both an online interactive deep zoom and a standalone deep zoom which forms part of the Churchill exhibit in the Churchill War Rooms in Whitehall. In 2010, Shoothill built the Sumatran Tiger Deep Zoom - the largest seen to date - for worldwide conservation charity Fauna and Flora International, featuring thousands of images of endangered species. An early example of Deep Zoom-like technology was implemented at The Department of Maori Affairs in New Zealand in 1997. The technology was used to display Maori land ownership. == Deep Zoom images == The file format used by Deep Zoom (as well as Photosynth and Seadragon Ajax) is XML based. Users can specify a single large image (dzi) or a collection of images (dzc). It also allows for "Sparse Images"; where some parts of the image have greater resolution than others, an example of which can be found on the Seadragon Ajax home page; The bike image displayed is a sparse image. Though used in the proprietary Deep Zoom, the dzi format is open and able to be used by anyone. === Deep Zoom image (dzi) === A DZI has two parts: a DZI file (with either a .dzi or .xml extension) and a subdirectory of image folders. Each folder in the image subdirectory is labeled with its level of resolution. Higher numbers correspond to a higher resolution level; inside each folder are the image tiles corresponding to that level of resolution, numbered consecutively in columns from top left to bottom right. === Deep Zoom collection (dzc) === A DZC is a collection of some number of DZIs linked and referenced by a DZC file (with either a .dzc or .xml extension). At a high level, a collection is a number of image thumbnails whose location is kept track of by the .dzc/.xml file, when zooming into an image, it accesses greater resolutions tiles. A DZC's structure is similar to that of a DZI; the .dzc/.xml file defines the collection and the subdirectory of folders maps to the DZI file structure, each with their set of .dzi/.xml and image tiles. The DZC is used in Microsoft's Pivot, but not in SeaDragon per se. === Sparse Images === Sparse images are a sub-classification of the DZI file type. A sparse image is normally a number of separate photographs with varying resolution levels that have been placed in a single DZI instead of a DZC. Sparse images have no different file structure than that of a DZI and differ only in that there is not a single "highest resolution" level for the entire DZI. == Software that uses Deep Zoom == Image Composite Editor - image stitching tool created by Microsoft Research Deep Zoom Composer - collage maker and simple panorama tool created by Microsoft. Images' resolution is maintained when exporting for web use (via Silverlight Deep Zoom or JavaScript using a third-party template). No longer available for download from Microsoft though it can be found on various other sources such as Internet Archive. == iPhone OS development == Microsoft Live Labs has created an application for the App Store called Seadragon Mobile. It is run over the internet and includes Deep Zoom on the following categories; art, history, maps, photos, Photosynth which anybody can upload to, space and technology & web.
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Colors! is a series of digital painting applications for handheld game consoles and mobile devices. Originally created as a homebrew application for Nintendo DS (as Colors!), which was since legitimately distributed on PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android, the project eventually evolved into an officially licensed application for Nintendo 3DS (as Colors! 3D) and Nintendo Switch (as Colors Live). == History == === Colors! === Colors! was originally released in June 2007 as a simple homebrew painting application for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Jens Andersson, a programmer and designer on sabbatical from the games industry who wanted to experiment with the potential of the new handheld platform. Shortly after, Rafał Piasek created an online gallery where users could upload paintings made with the program. Colors! quickly became one of the best-known homebrew applications on the Nintendo DS, and in September 2008, it was also released for the iPhone and iPod Touch. As of August 2010, it had been downloaded almost half a million times. It was voted the most popular homebrew application on the Nintendo DS by readers of the R4 for DS blog. Development of Colors! DS homebrew officially ended in December 2010 although the official gallery still accepted submissions from DS users until 2020 when Colors! Gallery was discontinued. === Colors! 3D === Colors! 3D is a successor to the application Colors! for the Nintendo 3DS. It was released as an officially licensed application for the Nintendo eShop in North America on April 5, 2012, and in the PAL region on April 19, 2012. It was later released in Japan on August 21, 2013, published by Arc System Works. Colors! 3D allows users to draw on five layers, each on their own stereoscopic 3D plane. Drawing is done on the bottom screen, while the top screen displays the painting in 3D. While drawing, players can use the various controls on the Nintendo 3DS to change layers, zoom and pan, and alter the pressure of their brush. Pressing the L button allows users to access a menu to change brush type, size, and opacity, modify the layers, use the camera to provide references, and more. When the user finishes their painting, they can export it to the SD card for viewing in the Nintendo 3DS Camera application. Users can also upload their finished creations to an online gallery, viewed on the 3DS or the official website. Gallery features include hashtags and the ability to follow artists and post comments. Each painting also features a replay feature that allows viewers to see how it was drawn. The application also features local multiplayer, allowing several people to work cooperatively on a painting. In April 2024, the developers of Colors! 3D collaborated with the Pretendo Network project to officially add support for the application, meaning Colors! 3D will continue to operate as normal when using Pretendo Network. ==== Reception ==== IGN gave the application a score of 9.0 and an Editor's Choice award, praising its simple interface and tutorials. Destructoid gave the app a 9.0, calling it "a simple and incredibly fun tool with an amazing community of artists proudly displaying their beautiful and funny 3D images." Nintendo Life gave the app a 9/10, stating, "Though lacking in any structured play, Colors! 3D’s robust free drawing system and unique ability to let anyone create their own three-dimensional artwork more than make up for this." === Colors Live === A Nintendo Switch successor called Colors Live (stylised as Colors L!ve) was released in 2020 after being funded via a Kickstarter campaign. This expanded upon the features of previous installments by adding new brushes, increasing the maximum number of layers to ten, and introducing blend modes. A new game mode called Colors Quest was also included. A pressure-sensitive pen called the Colors SonarPen was developed in collaboration with GreenBulb to facilitate drawing on the Nintendo Switch, and comes pre-bundled with physical copies of the game. ==== Colors Quest ==== This new mode acts as a story-driven adventure wherein players are given a daily drawing challenge with a specific theme and certain stipulations that must be fulfilled. Once the drawing is complete, players must anonymously score other players' submissions, these scores are then aggregated to produce a personal ranking that measures the improvement in the player's art skills over time.
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The Open Syllabus Project (OSP) is an online open-source platform that catalogs and analyzes millions of college syllabi. Founded by researchers from the American Assembly at Columbia University, the OSP has amassed the most extensive collection of searchable syllabi. Since its beta launch in 2016, the OSP has collected over 7 million course syllabi from over 80 countries, primarily by scraping publicly accessible university websites. The project is directed by Joe Karaganis. == History == The OSP was formed by a group of data scientists, sociologists, and digital-humanities researchers at the American Assembly, a public-policy institute based at Columbia University. The OSP was partly funded by the Sloan Foundation and the Arcadia Fund. Joe Karaganis, former vice-president of the American Assembly, serves as the project director of the OSP. The project builds on prior attempts to archive syllabi, such as H-Net, MIT OpenCourseWare, and historian Dan Cohen's defunct Syllabus Finder website (Cohen now sits on the OSP's advisory board). The OSP became a non-profit and independent of the American Assembly in November 2019. In January 2016, the OSP launched a beta version of their "Syllabus Explorer," which they had collected data for since 2013. The Syllabus Explorer allows users to browse and search texts from over one million college course syllabi. The OSP launched a more comprehensive version 2.0 of the Syllabus Explorer in July 2019. The newer version includes an interactive visualization that displays texts as dots on a knowledge map. As of 2022, the OSP has collected over 7 million course syllabi. The Syllabus Explorer represents the "largest collection of searchable syllabi ever amassed." == Methodology == The OSP has collected syllabi data from over 80 countries dating to 2000. The syllabi stem from over 4,000 worldwide institutions. Most of the OSP's data originates from the United States. Canada, Australia, and the U.K also have large datasets. The OSP primarily collects syllabi by scraping publicly accessible university websites. The OSP also allows syllabi submissions from faculty, students, and administrators. The OSP developers use machine learning and natural language processing to extract metadata from such syllabi. Since only metadata is collected, no individual syllabus or personal identifying information is found in the OSP database. The OSP classifies the syllabi into 62 subject fields – corresponding to the U.S. Department of Education's Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). Additionally, the OSP assigns each text a "teaching score" from 0–100. This score represents the text's percentile rank among citations in the total citation count and is a numerical indicator of the relative frequency of which a particular work is taught. The OSP also has data on which texts are most likely to be assigned together. The developers behind the OSP admit that the database is incomplete and likely contains "a fair number of errors." Karaganis estimates that 80–100 million syllabi exist in the United States alone. The OSP is unable to access syllabi behind private course-management software like Blackboard. == Notable findings == === Anthropology === Using data from the OSP, anthropologist Laurence Ralph uncovered that black anthropologists are "woefully under-represented in (if not erased from) most anthropology syllabi." Black authors wrote less than 1 percent of the top 1,000 assigned works. === Economics === The database indicates Greg Mankiw is the most frequently cited author for college economics courses. === English literature === The OSP found that Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was the most widely taught novel in college courses. Additionally, the majority of novels published after 1945 taught in English classes were historical fiction. === Female writers === The most read female writer on college campuses is Kate L. Turabian for her A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations . Turabian is followed by Diana Hacker, Toni Morrison, Jane Austen, and Virginia Woolf. === Film === The most assigned film according to the OSP is the 1929 Soviet documentary film, Man with a Movie Camera. English filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is the most assigned director in college courses. === History === Historians George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi's America: A Narrative History is the number one assigned textbook for history, followed by Anne Moody's memoir, Coming of Age in Mississippi. === Philosophy === The most assigned texts in the field of philosophy include Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism, and Plato's Republic. Plato's Republic was also the second most assigned text in universities in the English-speaking world (only behind Strunk and White's Elements of Style). === Physics === David Halliday's et al. Fundamentals of Physics is the number one ranked physics textbook in the OSP's database. === Political science === Data from the OSP indicates that the dominant political science texts are written almost exclusively by white men and scholars based in the West. In the top 200 most-frequently assigned works, 15 are authored by at least one woman. === Public administration === American president Woodrow Wilson's article "The Study of Administration" was the most frequently assigned text in public affairs and administration syllabi. == Reception == According to William Germano et al., the OSP is a "fascinating resource but is also prone to misrepresenting or at least distracting us from the most important business of a syllabus: communicating with students." Historian William Caferro remarks that the OSP is a "tacit experience of sharing, but a useful one." English professor Bart Beaty writes that, "Despite the many reservations about the completeness of its data, the OSP provides a rare opportunity for scholars to move beyond the anecdotal in discussions of canon-formation in teaching." Media theorist Elizabeth Losh opines that "big data approaches", like the OSP, may "raise troubling questions for instructors about informed consent, pedagogical privacy, and quantified metrics."
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CodeCheck is a mobile app that provides consumers with information about the ingredients in cosmetic products, as well as the ingredients and nutritional values of food. Users can access this information by scanning the product’s barcode with a smartphone or by using a text-based search. The app is available for iOS and Android devices in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands. == History == CodeCheck was founded in 2010 as an association, online database, and app by Roman Bleichenbacher, who was then a student in Zurich. A website of the same name had already been launched in 2002, where users could enter information about ingredients, nutritional values, and manufacturers of products. The first round of financing took place in July 2014 and raised over 1.1 million Swiss francs, which coincided with the founding of CodeCheck AG. Investors included Doodle founders Myke Näf and Paul E. Sevinç. The company subsequently expanded to Austria and Germany. In the same year, Boris Manhart became CEO. CodeCheck GmbH was established in Berlin in 2016. The app became available in the United States in 2017 and in the United Kingdom in November 2019. In 2020, it was also launched in the Netherlands. Following insolvency proceedings, the app has been owned by Producto Check GmbH since 2022. == Functions == The app can be used to scan the barcode of food and cosmetic products. It then displays information about ingredients, nutritional values, manufacturers and certification labels. For many years, users were able to enter and edit product information themselves and indicate advantages and disadvantages of individual products. Since 2020, the app has placed greater emphasis on machine text recognition. The collected data is combined with substance ratings using an algorithm. These ratings are based on scientific studies and expert assessments, including those from the Consumer Advice Centre in Hamburg, Greenpeace, the WWF and the German Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND e. V.), and cannot be modified by users or manufacturers. The app also provides information on the sugar and fat content of food products. In addition, it indicates whether a product contains hormone-active substances, microplastics, palm oil, animal-derived ingredients, lactose or gluten. Since 2020, the app has displayed a climate score for food products in cooperation with the Eaternity Institute. == Financing == CodeCheck is primarily financed through native advertising and banner ads. Since 2018, the company has also offered analysis services and survey tools directly to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturers. In addition, access to the API is available, enabling other companies to use the product database. With the introduction of a subscription model in 2019, the CodeCheck app can be used ad-free and in offline mode. Since 2021, CodeCheck has also offered its own “Green Label” certification for manufacturers. Products are certified if at least 90 percent of their ingredients are classified as harmless. == Awards == In May 2015, the app topped the download charts for the first time, reaching 2.3 million installations. By September 2019, the app had once again reached the top of the German app charts, surpassing five million downloads.
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G'MIC (GREYC's Magic for Image Computing) is a free and open-source framework for image processing. It defines a script language that allows the creation of complex macros. Originally usable only through a command line interface, it is currently mostly popular as a GIMP plugin, and is also included in Krita. G'MIC is dual-licensed under CECILL-2.1 or CECILL-C. == Features == G'MIC's graphical interface is notable for its noise removal filters, which came from an earlier project called GREYCstoration by the same authors. G'MIC offers many built-in commands for image processing, including basic mathematical manipulations, look up tables, and filtering operations. More complex macros and pipelines built out of those commands are defined in its library files. == Interpreters == === Command line === G'MIC is primarily a script language callable from a shell. For example, to display an image: This command displays the image contained in the file image.jpg and allows zooming in to examine values. Several filters can be applied in succession. For example, to crop and resize an image: === Graphical interface === G'MIC comes with a Qt-based graphical interface, which may be integrated as a Gimp or Krita plugin. It contains several hundred filters written in the G'MIC language, dynamically updated through an internet feed. The interface provides a preview and setting sliders for each filter. G'MIC is one of the most popular Gimp plugins. === G'MIC Online === Most of the filters available for the graphical interface are also available online. === ZArt === ZArt is a graphical interface for real-time manipulation of webcam images. === libgmic === Libgmic is a C++ library that can be linked to third-party applications. It sees integration in Flowblade and Veejay.
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A companion robot is a robot created to create real or apparent companionship for human beings. Target markets for companion robots include the elderly and single children. Companions robots are expected to communicate with non-experts in a natural and intuitive way. They offer a variety of functions, such as monitoring the home remotely, communicating with people, or waking people up in the morning. Their aim is to perform a wide array of tasks including educational functions, home security, diary duties, entertainment and message delivery services, etc. The idea of companionship with robots has already existed on science fictions of 1970s, like R2-D2. Starting from the late 20th century, companion robots became a reality, mostly as robotic pets. Besides entertainment purposes, interactive robots were also introduced as a personal service robot for elderly care around 2000. == Characteristics == Companion robots try to interact with users. They gather information about users based on their interactions and yield feedback. This procedure varies slightly based on their specific roles. For example, social-companion robots make simple conversations, while pet-companion robots mimic being real pets. == Types == Companion robots can perform a variety of tasks and they are produced in a specialized manner according to their purpose or target audience in order to increase convenience and end user satisfaction. === Social companion robots === Social companion robots are designed to provide companionship and be a solution for unwanted solitude. They often mimic adult human, child or pet behaviours appealing to the user base. Robots which are specifically devised for simple conversations, conveying emotions and respond to user feelings fall under this category. === Assistive companion robots === Assistive companion robots are aimed at people who require constant care because of age, disability or rehabilitation purposes. Such robots can help disadvantaged users with their daily tasks, act as reminders (e.g., for regular medication) and facilitate mobility in everyday actions. Assistive companion robots reduce the intensity of labour that should be performed by caretakers, nurses and legal guardians. === Educational companion robots === Educational companion robots perform tutorship for students, regardless of their ages, and can teach desired subjects with activities tailored for the user such as interactive assignments and games. Rather than replacing teachers and instructors, educational companion robots are aides to them. === Therapeutic companion robots === Designed for individuals coping with stress (PTSD in severe cases), anxiety and loneliness; therapeutic companion robots support users' emotional and mental wellbeing. Such robots can be utilized in hospitals and care facilities as well as dwellings where the distressed user may need the most help. Therapeutic companion robots bear a vast resemblance to assistive companion robots to the extent of being a branch of them; the nuance between these two types of companion robots is that the former is for long-term/lifetime usage while the latter is mostly for the duration of the therapy received by the user. === Pet companion robots === Pet companion robots are for individuals who seek an alternative to live pets as live animals demand a considerable amount of care and may not be eligible for people with allergies. These robots aim to be perfect imitations of a pet while diminishing the chore aspect of having one. === Entertainment companion robots === Entertainment companion robots are designed solely for entertainment and can provide numerous ways of entertainment, ranging from dancing to playing games with the user. People who would appreciate an individual to have fun with are the main audience of such products. === Personal assistant robots === Personal assistant robots help people with daily tasks, management, scheduling, reminding etc. Their area of activity can be offices as well as homes and public spaces. === Sex robots === Sex robots are anthropomorphic robotic sex dolls that have human-like movement or behavior, and some degree of artificial intelligence. As of 2026, although elaborately instrumented sex dolls have been created by a number of inventors, no fully animated sex robots yet exist. Simple devices have been created which can speak, make facial expressions, or respond to touch. There is controversy as to whether developing them would be morally justifiable. In 2015, robot ethicist Kathleen Richardson called for a ban on the creation of anthropomorphic sex robots with concerns about normalizing relationships with machines and reinforcing female dehumanization. Questions about their ethics, effects, and possible legal regulations have been discussed since then. == Examples == There are several companion robot prototypes, and these include Paro, CompanionAble, and EmotiRob, among others. === Paro === Paro is a pet-type robot system developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The robot, which looked like a small harp seal, was designed as a therapeutic tool for use in hospitals and nursing homes. The robot is programmed to cry for attention and respond to its name. Experiments showed that Paro facilitated elderly residents to communicate with each other, which led to psychological improvements. === CompanionAble === This robot is classified as an FP 7 EU project. It is built to "cooperate with Ambient Assistive Living environment". The autonomous device, which is also built to support the elderly, helps its owner interact with smart home environment as well as caregivers. The robot functions as a mobile friend, by which natural interaction is possible via speech and the touchscreen to detect and track people at home. === EmotiRob === EmotiRob is developed in a robotics project which is the continuity of the MAPH (Active Media For the Handicap) project in emotion synthesis. The aim of the project was to maintain emotional interaction with children. EmotiRob designed in a way that a child can hold it in a his/her arms and with which he/she could interact by talking to it, and then the robot would express itself through body postures or facial expressions. It has cognitive capabilities, which are further extended so that the robot can have a natural linguistic interaction with its owner through the DRAGON speech-recognition software developed by a company called NUANCE. Such interaction is expected to facilitate a child's cognitive development and develop new learning patterns. === LOVOT === Lovot is a Japanese company robot whose only purpose is "to make you happy". It features over 50 sensors that mimic the behavior of a human baby or small pet, a 360° camera with a microphone, the ability to distinguish humans from objects, neoteny eyes, and an internal warmth of 30° celsius. An interactive Lovot Café was opened in Japan October 3, 2020. === NICOBO === Nicobo was developed by Panasonic and was influenced by the loneliness of lockdowns created as a measure of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was designed to appear vulnerable, which creates empathy in its owners. Nicobo's name derives from the Japanese word for "smile". It wags its tail, engages in baby talk, and stays as a housemate. === Hyodol === Hyodol is an advanced care robot designed to support the elderly by reminding them to take their medications and monitoring their movements to keep their guardians informed. Additionally, this innovative robot can detect and respond to the emotional states of its elderly users, adding a layer of personalized care. Hyodol is designed with the appearance and speech style of a 7-year-old Korean grandchild, featuring a soft fabric exterior and user interaction methods such as striking the head or patting the back. It is equipped with various sensors and wireless communication technologies to collect and process data, supporting mobile apps and PC web monitoring systems for remote monitoring from anywhere. In South Korea, approximately 10,000 Hyodol robots are deployed to the homes of elderly individuals living alone, providing essential support and companionship. Local governments, including provincial and county offices, have embraced Hyodol as a solution to address social challenges stemming from the country's rapidly aging society.Furthermore, the robot is widely utilized in the treatment of dementia patients at a university hospital in Gangwon province. Hyodol was honored with the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO) in the "Best Mobile Innovation for Connected Health and Wellbeing" category on February 29, 2024. === Moxie === Moxie was a companion robot for autistic children developed by a company called Embodied. Although it had limited motion, it presented itself as a lifelike avatar. It was designed to help the children learn emotional cognition, using remotely hosted large language models to direct its respons
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Negobot also referred to as Lolita or Lolita chatbot is a chatterbot that was introduced to the public in 2013, designed by researchers from the University of Deusto and Optenet to catch online pedophiles. It is a conversational agent that utilizes natural language processing (NLP), information retrieval (IR) and Automatic Learning. Because the bot poses as a young female in order to entice and track potential predators, it became known in media as the "virtual Lolita", in reference to Vladimir Nabokov's novel. == Background == In 2013, the University of Deusto researchers published a paper on their work with Negobot and disclosed the text online. In their abstract, the researchers addressed the issue that an increasing number of children are using the internet and that these young users are more susceptible to existing internet risks. Their main objective was to create a chatterbot with the ability to trap online predators that posed a threat to children. They intended to deploy the bot into sites frequented by predators such as social networks and chatrooms. The university researchers used information provided by anti-pedophilia activist organization Perverted-Justice, including examples of online encounters and conversations with sexual predators, to supplement the program's artificial intelligence system. == Features == === Programmed persona === The chatterbot takes the guise of a naive and vulnerable 14-year-old girl. The bot's programmers used methods of artificial intelligence and natural language processing to create a conversational agent fluent in typical teenage slang, misspellings, and knowledge of pop culture. Through these linguistic features, the bot is able to mimic the conversational style of young teenagers. It also features split personalities and seven different patterns of conversation. Negobot's primary creator, Dr. Carlos Laorden, expressed the significance of the bot's distinguishable style of communication, stating that normally, "chatbots tend to be very predictable. Their behavior and interest in a conversation are flat, which is a problem when attempting to detect untrustworthy targets like paedophiles." What makes Negobot different is its game theory feature, which makes it able to "maintain a much more realistic conversation." Apart from being able to imitate a stereotypical teenager, the program is also able to translate messages into different languages. === Game theory === Negobot's designers programmed it with the ability to treat conversations with potential predators as if it were a game, the objective being to collect as much information on the suspect as possible that could provide evidence of pedophilic characteristics and motives. The use of game theory shapes the decisions the bot makes and the overall direction of the conversation. The bot initiates its undercover operations by entering a chat as a passive participant, waiting to be chatted by a user. Once a user elicits conversation, the bot will frame the conversation in such a way that keeps the target engaged, extracting personal information and discouraging it from leaving the chat. The information is then recorded to be potentially sent to the police. If the target seems to lose interest, the bot attempts to make it feel guilty by expressing sentiments of loneliness and emotional need through strategic, formulated responses, ultimately prolonging interaction. In addition, the bot may provide fake information about itself in attempt to lure the target into physical meetings. === Limitations === Despite being able to carry out a realistic conversation, Negobot is still unable to detect linguistic subtleties in the messages of others, including sarcasm. == Controversy == John Carr, a specialist in online child safety, expressed his concern to BBC over the legality of this undercover investigation. He claimed that using the bot on unsuspecting internet users could be considered a form of entrapment or harassment. The type of information that Negobot collects from potential online predators, he said, is unlikely to be upheld in court. Furthermore, he warned that relying on only software without any real-world policing risks enticing individuals to do or say things that they would not have if real-world policing were a factor.
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Tiimo is an app designed to help neurodivergent individuals with planning their life. In August 2024 the company raised €1.4 million, bringing their total funding to €4.3 million. At that point they had over 500,000 users, including 50,000 paid users. The app has Apple Watch support and a learning platform that includes courses on well-being and neurodiversity. The app was founded by Helene Lassen Nørlem and Melissa Würtz Azari in 2015. After being a finalist in 2024, in December 2025 Tiimo was won Apple’s iPhone App of the Year. The premium version is $10/mo and features an AI chatbot alongside the daily planner.
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Clubhouse is an American social audio app for iOS and Android developed by Alpha Exploration Co. that enables users to participate in real-time, audio-only communication within virtual "rooms". Launched in March 2020 by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, the platform is characterized by its "drop-in" nature, where users can join live discussions on a wide range of topics as either listeners or speakers. The application gained attention in early 2021, operating on an invite-only model and featuring appearances from public figures such as Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, and Mark Zuckerberg. During this period, Clubhouse reached a reported valuation of approximately $4 billion and contributed to the expansion of similar social audio features like Twitter Spaces and Spotify Greenroom. The app later expanded to Android in May 2021 and removed its waitlist in July 2021, opening access to the general public. == History == Clubhouse began as an invite only social media startup by Paul Davison and Rohan Seth in Fall 2019. Originally designed for podcasts with the name Talkshow, the app was rebranded as "Clubhouse" and officially released for the iOS operating system in March 2020 and as of May 2021 the Android systems as well. Clubhouse was valued at $100 million after receiving funding from notable angel investors. These investors included Ryan Hoover (Founder, Product Hunt), Balaji Srinivasan (Former CTO, Coinbase), James Beshara (Co-Founder, Tilt.com), and several venture capitalists, including a $12 million Series A investment from the venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, in May 2020. The app gained popularity in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It had 600,000 registered users by December 2020. In January 2021, CEO Paul Davison announced that the active weekly user base on the app consisted of approximately 2 million individuals. The company announced that it would start working on an Android version of the app. In that month, the app became widely used in Germany when German podcast hosts Philipp Klöckner and Philipp Gloeckler began an invite-chain over a Telegram group. It brought German influencers, journalists, and politicians to the platform. Clubhouse raised their Series B at a $1 billion valuation. On February 1, 2021, Clubhouse had an estimated 3.5 million downloads on a global level which grew rapidly to 8.1 million downloads by February 15. This significant growth in popularity was because celebrities such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg made appearances on the app. In the same month, Clubhouse hired an Android Software Developer. A year after the app's release, the number of weekly active users was greater than 10 million, but the user base declined 21% during three weeks from late February to early March. This decline was reportedly caused by a decrease in the number of Clubhouse users after its initial release. During its initial roll out, the app was accessible only by invitation, and invitation codes on eBay were selling at up to $400. On April 5, 2021, Clubhouse partnered with Stripe to launch its first monetizing feature called Clubhouse Payments. Although testing began with only 1,000 users, after a week, the company rolled out the functionality to another 60,000 or more users in the US. In the same month, Twitter entered in discussions to purchase Clubhouse for $4 billion. The talks ended with no acquisition. Later, the company raised their Series C round of funding at a $4 billion valuation. The app also received interest in a partnership, with the National Football League announcing a content deal that month; Twitter Spaces later poached Clubhouse's exclusive NFL deal with 20 official NFL Spaces scheduled for the 2021-22 season. Finally, On May 9, 2021, Clubhouse launched a beta version of the Android app for users in the US, and on May 21, 2021, Clubhouse became available worldwide for Android users. In July 2021, Clubhouse announced a partnership with TED to offer exclusive talks. and on July 21, 2021, the company discarded its invitation system and made the application available to all, though a wait list for registration was still applied in order to manage new traffic. As of the time of the announcement, the company stated it had 10 million users on the wait list. On September 23, 2021, the company announced a new feature named "Wave". In October 2021, Clubhouse rolled out new features called "Replays and Clips". In April 2023, the company announced it was reducing its staff by half amid a "resetting" due to post-pandemic market shifts. == Features == === Rooms === The primary feature of Clubhouse is real-time virtual "rooms" in which users can communicate with each other via audio. Rooms are divided into different categories based on levels of privacy. Moderator roles are denoted by a green star that appears next to the user's name. When a user joins a room, they are initially assigned to the role of a "listener" and cannot unmute themselves. Listeners can notify the moderators of their intent to join the stage and speak by clicking on the "raise hand" icon. Users who are invited to the stage become "speakers" and can unmute themselves. Users can exit a room by tapping the "leave quietly" button or with the help of peace sign emoji. === Houses === In August 2022, Clubhouse announced a feature called Houses, an invite-based version of the rooms. === Events === A lot of conversations in Clubhouse are of spontaneous nature. However, users can schedule conversations by creating events. While scheduling an event, users can first name the event and then set the date and time at which the conversation will begin. Users can also add co-hosts to help moderate the event. Once the event has been created, it is added to the Clubhouse "bulletin". The bulletin shows upcoming scheduled events and allows users to set notifications for events by clicking the bell icon corresponding to the event. Users can access the bulletin by clicking on the calendar icon at the top of the home page. === Clubs === At the Clubhouse, clubs are user communities that regularly discuss a common interest. Many clubs are present in Clubhouse which represents a wide array of topics. Users can find clubs by name under the search tab. A club consists of three categories of users: "Admin", "Leader", and "Member". Members can create private rooms and invite more users into the club. Leaders have all the privileges of a member. Apart from that, they are authorized to create/schedule club-branded open rooms. An admin can modify club settings, add/delete users, change user privileges and create/schedule any type of room. There are three types of clubs: "Open", "By Approval", and "Closed" for membership. Any user can join an open club by pressing the "Join The Club" button on the club profile. In case of approval, users need to apply and wait for membership by clicking the "Apply To Join" button on the club profile. The admins of the respective club are privileged to accept or reject the user's request. In a closed club, membership is limited to users selected by the club admin. All users of a club will be notified when a public room within the club is created. The club creation is restricted to active users and whoever creates the club will become the club admin. Eligible users can create a club by going to their profile, press the "+" sign present in the "Member of" section. Clubs in which a user is a member are shown on their profile page. The first club to half a million members was the Human Behavior Club founded by The Digital Doctor (Dr. Sohaib Imtiaz). === Backchannel === Backchannel is the messaging function which allows users to interact individually or within a group via text. The Backchannel feature was initially leaked on June 18, 2021, in response to the launch of Spotify Greenroom. This is notable step because, until this point, Clubhouse was voice only with no way to hyperlink or message. It was entirely dependent on Instagram and Twitter for text messaging. The feature was initially leaked in the App Store, which the company says was an accident on Twitter. A month later, after multiple failed attempts, the Clubhouse Backchannel finally launched on July 14, 2021. === Explore === The homepage of Clubhouse provides access to ongoing chat rooms, which are recommended based on the people and clubs that are followed by the user. As the users tap on the magnifying glass icon, they will be redirected to the explore page. On that page, users can search for people and clubs to follow and also find conversations categorized by topics. === Clubhouse Payments === This is the direct payment service provided by the app, which allows users to send money to content creators. It includes those users who had enabled this functionality in their profile. Money can be sent from users to the creator by clicking on their profile. Press "Send Money" then enter the amount you want to send. When a user does this for the first time, they'll be prompted to reg
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