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Tag: Medic

  • Can AI turn a robot dog into a first responder? – WTOP News

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    Researchers with the University of Maryland are turning a dog they nicknamed Spot into a robot that can assess patients at mass casualty scenes.

    At a scene where there’s more victims than medics, whether it’s a crime scene, the scene of accident or on a battlefield, the future of that initial screening could be conducted by a robotic dog made by Boston Dynamics.

    Researchers with the University of Maryland, in cooperation with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, are turning a robot dog they nicknamed Spot into a first responder that can talk to and assess patients, and work with medics to make sure whoever needs the most serious amount of help can get it fast.

    “I’m here to help,” the robot says as it approaches a mannequin that, at least in this demo, had suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. “Can you tell me what happened?”

    The computer on the dog includes a large language model artificial intelligence system, similar to ChatGPT, that can communicate with the patient.

    “We buy pretty much the heaviest computer that it could carry, and we put it on there,” said Derek Paley, a professor in Maryland’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and the Institute for Systems Research. “We also add a lot of sensors to the arm here. These are the sensors that are used to assess a patient’s injuries.”

    It all works together to determine someone’s condition.

    “The depth camera can create a 3D image of the casualty, and each of these sensing modalities are fused in what we call an ‘inference engine,’ so that accumulates evidence to support the assessments that are shown here. So each assessment may be determined by combining information from multiple robots, multiple sensors and multiple sensor-processing algorithms,” Paley said.

    At the very beginning of the response to the incident, an aerial drone will assess the situation on the ground, mapping out where potential victims are and sending that information to both Spot and medics on scene. Spot can then scour the area to get a closer look with all its cameras and sensors.

    “The robots can explore, they can assess the number of casualties, where they’re all located, and actually provide that information to the medic in real time on a phone that’s attached to the medic’s chest,” Paley said. “So the medic can look down at their chest and see pins on a map where all the casualties are, color coded by the severity of injuries.”

    The robots are all doing it autonomously, too.

    “They build a mosaic of images in a map to show where the casualties are, and then the ground robots, the Spots here, go to each casualty and they get things like vital signs and other assessments that the drones can’t perform,” Paley said. “That’s all preloaded onto the medic’s phone, so they have that information when they get to each casualty. They already know what the robot has assessed.”

    Spot can even call out for a medic urgently if it determines a patient has critical injuries by shouting, “Medic, medic!”

    All of this is still in the testing phase right now; but Paley thinks the technology could be deployable within the next couple years.

    “We’re able to provide valuable assessments to the medics while they’re under pressure to provide those interventions in timely fashion,” he said.

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    John Domen

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  • Biden’s pot pardons could boost states’ legalization drives

    Biden’s pot pardons could boost states’ legalization drives

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    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — There are few surprises expected on Election Day in solidly Republican Arkansas, where Donald Trump’s former press secretary is heavily favored in the race for governor and other GOP candidates are considered locks.

    But one big exception is the campaign to make Arkansas the first state in the South to legalize recreational marijuana. A proposal to change the state’s constitution is drawing millions of dollars from opponents and supporters of legalization, with ads crowding the airwaves.

    President Joe Biden’s recent announcement that he will pardon thousands of people for simple marijuana possession has shined a new spotlight on the legalization efforts in Arkansas and four other states. Voters in Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota are also taking up measures on recreational marijuana.

    Biden’s step toward decriminalizing the drug could provide a boost for legalization in some of the most conservative parts of the country, experts say.

    “The most powerful elected leader in the world has publicly declared it was a mistake to criminalize people for using cannabis and I think that will go a long way with regard to voters who may be on the fence,” said Mason Tvert, partner at VS Strategies, a cannabis policy and public affairs firm.

    Biden’s announcement only covers people convicted under the federal law. But he has called on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. The president also directed his health secretary and attorney general to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.

    The moves come as opposition to legalization has softened around the country, with recreational marijuana legal in 19 states, despite resistance at the federal level. Advocates say it shows that states are ahead of the federal government on the issue.

    “I think it’s an example of state level leadership and citizens pushing the federal government in the right direction,” said Eddie Armstrong, a former state legislator who leads the Responsible Growth Arkansas group campaigning for legalization.

    In 2016, Arkansas became the first Bible Belt state to approve medical marijuana, with voters approving a legalization measure. More than 91,000 people have cards to legally buy marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries, which opened in 2019. Patients have spent more than $200 million so far this year, the state says.

    An ad by Responsible Growth Arkansas points to benefits such as the thousands of jobs it says legalization would create. The main group opposing the measure is running an ad that urges voters to “protect Arkansas from big marijuana.”

    The proposal faces opposition from Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration who criticized Biden’s pardon announcement. Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, the Republican front-runner to succeed Hutchinson, has said she will vote against the measure. Her Democratic rival, Chris Jones, said he supports it.

    In neighboring Missouri, a proposed constitutional amendment would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older and expunge records of past arrests and convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses, except for selling to minors or driving under the influence.

    Supporters said they do not expect Biden’s pardon announcement for some federal marijuana offenses to have much of an impact on the Missouri measure, which could expunge several hundred thousand state marijuana offenses.

    “There is some danger of confusion, but I think most people understand the distinction of the federal and state processes,” said John Payne, campaign manager for Legal Missouri 2022.

    Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican and former sheriff, opposes the ballot measure but has not aggressively campaigned against it. He has no plans to emulate Biden’s pardon announcement.

    Parson has granted pardons “to individuals who demonstrate a changed life-style, commitment to rehabilitation, contrition and contribution to their communities — rather than as a blanket approach to undermine existing law,” said Parson spokesperson Kelli Jones.

    Similarly, North Dakota’s legalization campaign does not expect to incorporate Biden’s pardons into its messaging. Mark Friese, treasurer of the New Approach Initiative backing the legalization ballot proposal, said he doubts Biden’s pardon will have much of an impact in North Dakota or sway the legalization effort.

    “The number of North Dakotans convicted in federal court is small,” said Friese, a prominent North Dakota lawyer and former police officer. “Small amounts of marijuana are typically and historically not prosecuted in North Dakota.”

    Matt Schwiech, who is running South Dakota’s ballot initiative campaign to legalize recreational marijuana possession for adults, said the president’s pardons may hand the campaign a boost with older Democrats. It also underscores the campaign’s message that convictions for pot possession hurt people on job or rental applications, as well as that enforcing pot possession laws are a waste of time and resources for law enforcement, he said.

    South Dakotans, including a sizable number of Republicans, voted to legalize marijuana possession in 2020, but that law was struck down by the state Supreme Court in part because the proposal was coupled with medical marijuana and hemp. This year, recreational pot is standing by itself as it goes before voters.

    It remains unclear whether Biden’s pardon move will inject party politics into an issue that supporters say crosses partisan lines. For example, Arkansas voters in 2016 approved medical marijuana the same year they overwhelmingly backed Trump.

    All of the states with recreational marijuana on the ballot next month, except for Maryland, voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election. And the issue is going before voters as GOP candidates have been stepping up their anti-crime rhetoric.

    “From our perspective the people of Arkansas, they didn’t vote for Biden initially and so we don’t anticipate this really having any sort of influence over anybody’s decision,” said Tyler Beaver, campaign manager for Safe and Secure Communities, the main group campaigning against the proposal.

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    Associated Press writers David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri; Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota; contributed to this report.

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    For more information on the midterm elections, go to: https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections

    Follow AP’s coverage of marijuana at https://apnews.com/hub/marijuana

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  • Taiwan chipmaker TSMC says quarterly profit $8.8 billion

    Taiwan chipmaker TSMC says quarterly profit $8.8 billion

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    TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the biggest contract manufacturer of processor chips for smartphones and other products, said Thursday that its quarterly profit rose 79.7% over a year earlier to $8.8 billion amid surging demand.

    Quarterly revenue rose 47.9% over a year ago to $19.2 billion, the company reported.

    TSMC, headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, makes processor chips for brands including Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. Many of their products are assembled by factories in China, which has exposed TSMC to the possible impact of U.S.-Chinese tension over technology and security.

    TSMC’s U.S.-traded shares fell 14% in value after Washington on Friday tightened restrictions on Chinese access to advanced computer chips. Those controls are based on limiting the ability of TSMC and other suppliers to use U.S. chip or manufacturing technology for Chinese customers.

    The American Embassy in Beijing didn’t immediately respond to a question about whether TSMC had received an exemption that might allow normal supplies to Chinese factories to continue.

    TSMC’s chip supplies to China already were restricted under a 2020 order by then-President Donald Trump that prohibits vendors from using U.S. technology to manufacture for Huawei Technologies Ltd., a maker of network switching gear and smartphones. Washington says Huawei is a security risk and might facilitate Chinese spying, which the company denies.

    Chipmakers are benefiting for demand for next-generation telecoms, high-performance computing and chips for use in products from cars to medical devices.

    TSMC announced plans last year to invest $100 billion over the next three years in manufacturing and research and development.

    Most semiconductors used in smartphones, medical equipment, computers and other products are made in Taiwan, South Korea and China.

    That has prompted concern among American officials about reliance on supplies that might be disrupted by conflict between China and Taiwan. They are lobbying TSMC and other chipmakers to set up factories in the United States.

    TSMC announced plans last year to build its first chip factory in Japan. The company and Sony Corp. later said they would jointly invest $7 billion in the facility.

    TSMC operates a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility in Camas, Washington, and design centers in San Jose, California, and Austin, Texas.

    The company has announced plans for a second U.S. production site in Arizona.

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