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McCormick's concept grill plays music based on what you're cooking
As someone who won't turn down an invite to a barbecue, the one thing missing in my life is a grill. That's the part about living in New York City that saddens me. So, when McCormick invited me to check out its new concept grill, the SUMR HITS 5000, you know I couldn't say no. Much to my disappointment, because the event was indoors, there wasn't any actual grilling involved. Still, it was a good opportunity to see the SUMR HITS 5000 in person, which features a built-in DJ station that can play music based on what you're cooking. The grill uses a mix of capacitive touch sensors, computer vision and machine learning to do this, and McCormick says it custom developed the hardware and software to show how to "combine the fun of music and act of grilling together."
How McCormick and IBM will use AI to create the next big spice
It's not easy crafting the next taste sensation. Nobody hops out of bed in the morning, thinks to themselves, "Today, I'm going to invent the next Oreo," and actually follows through on it. Even training in the skills necessary to become a professional food product developer can take the better park of two decades, much less creating and testing the thousands of flavor iterations needed to dial in on the perfect taste that will finally unseat Cool Ranch Doritos. But thanks to IBM's IBM Research AI for Product Composition, spice manufacturer McCormick & Company's R&D the team is leveraging machine learning to cut the time it takes to develop new flavors by up to 70 percent.
Nanotech replaces your torn knee ligament without further pain
As Tom Brady and other athletes can attest, you really, really want to avoid tearing your knee's anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It can't heal up, and the tendon graft used to reconstruct it will likely leave you with permanent pain. Victims may have a much easier time of things if Northwestern University's nanotechnology-infused ligament becomes a practical reality, though. Their remedy combines calcium nanocrystals (like those in your bones), a porous biomaterial and strong polyester fibers to replace your ACL without having to perform grafts and leave you in continued agony. Both the artificial implant and the bone integrate with each other, stabilizing the knee in a way that both lets you move more naturally and spares you from losing some muscle.
