This week’s list of top data news highlights covers December 21, 2024 to January 3, 2025, and includes articles on an augmented reality training program for fighter jet pilots and using AI to enhance public safety.
Researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK have developed a tool that uses AI to analyze medical records and identify patients at risk of developing atrial fibrillation, a heart condition causing irregular heartbeat, before symptoms appear. The tool analyzes patient data like age, sex, ethnicity, and existing conditions like heart failure, diabetes, and high blood pressure to calculate individual risk levels for developing atrial fibrillation. Early detection can allow patients to seek treatment sooner and prevent strokes.
Researchers at Stanford University in California have developed an AI model that allows digital avatars to move more naturally and use context-specific body language when speaking. The researchers trained the model using audiobooks and motion capture data to enable digital avatars to detect emotions from motion patterns. The new model can help make virtual characters and digital avatars more expressive and appealing to consumers who wish for more human-like interactions.
The British Royal Air Force has developed an augmented reality program (AR) to train Hawk fighter jet pilots. During a successful test, the pilots engaged and defeated virtual adversaries while flying the aircraft. This hybrid approach using AR allows the pilots to hone their flying skills while preparing for combat engagement in the air through simulation.
4. Detecting High Blood Pressure
Toronto-based Klick Labs has developed a tool that uses AI to detect hypertension by analyzing subtle patterns in a person’s speech through a mobile app. The system processes hundreds of vocal biomarkers, including pitch variations and sound energy distributions, to identify patients with high blood pressure using only their voice.
San Francisco-based nonprofit Earth Species Project has developed NatureLM, an AI model that can identify an animal’s species, age, and emotional states from its vocalizations. The project’s ultimate goal is decoding communication between animals.
6. Monitoring Behavioral Health
The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement has launched an interactive data dashboard to help researchers, policymakers, and the broader public monitor and understand the mental health crises in the state. The dashboard provides county-specific data on emergency department admissions and patient stays related to mental health, substance use, and developmental disorders, and users can filter the data by age, gender, or diagnosis type.
A German data analytics company called Media Control has partnered with BearingPoint, a Dutch tech consulting firm, to create Demandsens, a tool that uses AI to forecast book sales. The tool processes information from roughly 9,000 sales locations covering 90 percent of the German book market. This forecasting tool could improve sustainability in publishing by reducing returns and adjusting the number of publications for the forecasted demand.
Researchers at King’s College London have published a study demonstrating the potential of metabolomic aging clocks—statistical models that use molecular data to predict someone’s age—to predict aging-related health outcomes using machine learning algorithms trained on data from roughly 225,000 UK residents. The research team analyzed 168 metabolites and tested 17 different machine learning models, with a rule-based regression model emerging as the most accurate predictor of aging-related health markers.
Marion County in West Virginia has partnered with ROC, a Colorado-based biometrics and computer vision provider, to equip the county’s sheriff department and first responders with Vision AI, a tool that analyzes data from smart sensors to provide officials with situational awareness. The tool can help improve emergency response times and monitor public safety in the county more effectively.
Google has introduced a tool called Illuminate that uses AI to help researchers access and study complex sources easier and make the learning process more engaging. Illuminate uses generative AI to turn books and dense research papers into concise audio conversations that users can listen to at their own pace.
Image credit: Brandon Lopez
