{"id":4439,"date":"2021-01-02T04:35:42","date_gmt":"2021-01-02T04:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/02\/7-historic-milestones-to-expect-in-2021\/"},"modified":"2021-01-02T04:35:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T04:35:42","slug":"7-historic-milestones-to-expect-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techclot.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/02\/7-historic-milestones-to-expect-in-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"7 historic milestones to expect in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

7 historic milestones to expect in 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

TORONTO —
\n\tTo say that 2020 was a challenging year would be an understatement.<\/p>\n

\n\tMore than 15,000 people died of COVID-19 in Canada since the virus first arrived and more than 1 million people lost their jobs. With lockdowns still in place, many more Canadians are still without a job. Weddings and funerals were cancelled and students were asked to adjust to distanced learning.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe past 12 months will be remembered for the emergence of COVID-19, but 2021 is a new year. Here\u2019s a look at some historic milestones on the horizon in 2021. <\/p>\n

\n\tVACCINE ROLLOUT<\/h3>\n

\n\tCOVID-19 vaccinations are currently being administered around the world in efforts to create widespread immunity. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn Canada, vaccinations are being given to some of the most vulnerable Canadians and front line health-care workers. The federal government is expecting anyone in the general population who wants a shot to be vaccinated by the end 2021.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tCanada has secured more than 400 million vaccine doses from multiple manufacturers, including 60 million from Pfizer and Moderna — the only two COVID-19 vaccines currently approved in the country.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs of Jan. 1 there have been 99,559 Canadians<\/a> who have received their first shot. <\/p>\n

\n\t2021 OLYMPICS<\/h3>\n

\n\tFor the first time ever, the 2020 Olympics were postponed due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe IOC has since rescheduled the summer games for July 2021 and altered how the games will be held. Although the Olympics are expected look different, the games are still scheduled for next summer, although it\u2019s yet to be seen if COVID-19 could alter those plans.<\/p>\n

\n\t“It is appropriate to make ceremonial events and programs simpler and have them in some way reflect and respect the world’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee recently said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\n\tBIDEN\u2019S INAUGURATION<\/h3>\n

\n\tU.S. president-elect Joe Biden\u2019s inauguration is scheduled to take place on January 20. COVID-19 restrictions will likely prevent large crowds from gathering in Washington. However, the ceremony is expected to garner a large television audience.<\/p>\n

\n\tU.S. vice-president elect Kamala Harris will also make history as the first woman of colour to assume the office. Biden will be the 46th person to serve as president in the United States.<\/p>\n

\n\tU.S. President Donald Trump will join a short list of one-term presidents who were unable to win re-election. He is one of 10 people to serve only one term in office.<\/p>\n

\n\tSPACE RACE<\/h3>\n

\n\tBoth NASA and the Chinese space agency are inching closer to exploring Mars. <\/p>\n

\n\tChina’s first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen-1, is currently on its way orbit the red planet. The mission\u2019s objectives are to map the planet\u2019s geological structure and to asses surface soil characteristics including water and ice distribution.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe U.S. Mars rover mission is also underway and its objective upon landing will be to search for ancient microbial life and explore the planet\u2019s habitability. The robot is expected to stay on the planet\u2019s surface for one year before returning to Earth.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe United Arab Emirates also has a robotic spacecraft currently on a mission to Mars with similar objectives. All three countries are expected to arrive in February 2021. <\/p>\n

\n\tROYAL MILESTONES<\/h3>\n

\n\tThe Queen is expected to reach a milestone of her own as she turns 95 on April 21.<\/p>\n

\n\tPrince Philip will also celebrate his landmark 100th birthday on June 10. The couple celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in November. The Queen continues to be the longest reigning monarch in British history.<\/p>\n

\n\tRETURN OF TRAVEL<\/h3>\n

\n\tNon-essential travel is expected to return to some degree of normalcy as widespread vaccinations are administered and mass immunity is established.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith COVID-19 caseloads still rising across the United States, both the U.S. and Canadian governments have agreed to continue restricting movement between the two countries.<\/p>\n

\n\tCanada also recently announced that in order to enter the country by air, passengers will have to test negative for COVID-19 prior to boarding their flight.<\/p>\n

\n\tTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES<\/h3>\n

\n\tOne of the lasting effects of the pandemic is the way humans interact with technology. Artificial intelligence has helped people from remote learning to the way companies do business. <\/p>\n

\n\tMore 5G networks are being built worldwide to improve the next generation of technology.<\/p>\n

\n\tCanadian internet providers have launched 5G networks across Canada with more coverage coming online this year. With stronger internet connection on its way to cities and rural communities, people will be able to stay more connected.<\/p>\n

\n\tJapan, Korea and China have all set up national committees to take a global lead in establishing 6G efforts. This refers to different generations of technology standards in wireless communication services.<\/p>\n

\n\tJapan hopes to have the 6G prototype ready for 2025 and is aiming to put the new technologies into practical use by around 2030.<\/p>\n

\n\t“We’re going to see innovation in gadgets and platforms, smart boards, mics, 360 cameras, it’s going to evolve,” said tech analyst Ritesh Kotak.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Published at Sat, 02 Jan 2021 02:03:45 +0000<\/p>\n

Artificial Intelligence to Evaluate Quality, Find Fish<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tAI solutions are being rolled out to evaluate tuna quality and to locate rich sanma<\/em> Pacific saury fishing grounds. With fewer people going into the fishing industry nowadays, technology could lend a helping hand. What do professionals think about the idea?\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n

At the crack of dawn, brokers on the wholesale auction floor at Tokyo\u2019s Toyosu wholesale market<\/a> carefully inspect the tuna laid out for sale, taking a close look at tail cross-sections and peering inside the fishes\u2019 stomach cavities. Meanwhile, on the open seas, fishers guided by instinct shaped by experience and by their intimate knowledge of weather and sea conditions pilot their vessels in search of fish.<\/p>\n

An eye for the finest fish and a nose for fishing grounds are artisanal, purely human skills, but they are increasingly being aided by artificial intelligence. Such skills have depended so much on experience and instinct that many are skeptical whether AI can make inroads. But thanks to technological advances and convenience, even fisheries business professionals are starting to take a closer look at these aids.<\/p>\n

\"Intermediate<\/a>
Intermediate wholesalers evaluating frozen tuna before auction. (\u00a9 Kawamoto Daigo)<\/span><\/p>\n

Long Road to Become a Master of Picking out the Best Tuna<\/h2>\n

Oyamada Kazuhito, president of Sugibun, an intermediate wholesaler in the tuna business for 50 years, explains how difficult it is to pick out the best tuna. \u201cEven if you\u2019ve been doing it for half a century, there\u2019s still so much to learn. The fatty red meat of the best tuna has great umami, and the flesh, which should be firm and smooth, tastes faintly sweet. Even if the tail cross-section looks dull, cutting away the topmost layer sometimes reveals bright red flesh inside. With frozen tuna, it\u2019s hard to judge the smooth feel of the flesh until you work it for 3 to 5 minutes, and you can\u2019t tell how easily the flesh will discolor until several hours after the tail cross-section has been cut. With tuna, it\u2019s a gamble every time, so I don\u2019t see how AI can do something that human beings can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The tail cross-section, essential for evaluating tuna fattiness, viscosity, umami, and color. (\u00a9 Kawamoto Daigo)<\/span><\/p>\n

Most Toyosu brokers believe that developing an eye for spotting good tuna is a skill that can only be acquired through experience\u2014and one that can\u2019t be taught. Some even say that they put all five senses to use when selecting tuna, but many other factors in addition to size and flesh quality come into play. For example, brokers need to know whether the fish was wild or farmed and if it was caught in waters near Japan and delivered fresh to the market or frozen for shipment after being caught far from home. The season, location of the catch, and fishing method\u2014whether pole and line, longline, in a set net, or a round haul net\u2014also affect their buying and selling decisions.<\/p>\n

At the first auction of the new year, bluefin tuna caught off \u014cma, in the Tsugaru Strait between Honsh\u016b and Hokkaid\u014d, can fetch hundreds of millions of yen for a top specimen, but even average fish sell for several million yen each. Given such prices, brokers need to carefully evaluate what they are buying.<\/p>\n

A Foolproof Tool for Tuna?<\/h2>\n

When it is so difficult for professionals to properly evaluate quality, it is not surprising that many consumers end up disappointed even after carefully checking out the tuna on offer at their local fish shop. That negative experience spurred development of an AI app, called Tuna Scope, for evaluating tuna.<\/p>\n

Dents\u016b<\/a> creative director Shimura Kazuhiro has been a tuna lover since childhood. He says, \u201cTuna is something you buy for a festive occasion, expecting a real treat, but even if you always buy from the same shop, it may disappoint.\u201d After watching a television program showing brokers evaluating tuna at the former Tsukiji fish market by looking at tail cross-sections, Shimura decided that AI had a role to play and set up a project to develop an app.<\/p>\n

Working with Dents\u016b and other partners, after much trial and error Shimura succeeded in developing and commercializing the Tuna Scope app. Simply taking a snapshot of a tuna tail cross-section can yield information about that particular sample\u2019s freshness and fattiness.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Tuna Scope app allows buyers to evaluate quality instantly simply by holding a smartphone over the tail cross-section. (Photo courtesy of Dents\u016b)<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Dents\u016b, photos of frozen yellowfin tuna tail cross-sections and experienced graders\u2019 evaluations were entered into a database and AI deep learning was put to work absorbing the database to enable instant grading. Since even inexperienced workers can now grade the fish on three to five different levels simply by holding a smartphone over a tail cross-section, the app is increasingly being adopted in processing facilities. And today, conveyor-belt sushi chains like Kura Sushi are now serving premium-grade tuna rated using Tuna Scope.<\/p>\n

In July, Kura Sushi added AI-graded tuna to its menu. The item, called \u201cPremium Matured Tuna,\u201d which sold for 200 plus tax per plate, was a hit with customers during the chain\u2019s summer and fall sales campaign.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The AI-graded tuna sushi was available at Kura Sushi in summer and fall 2020. (Photo courtesy of Kura Sushi)<\/span><\/p>\n

With an eye on using the app outside of Japan, Tuna Scope\u2019s Shimura hopes to upgrade its capabilities to allow grading of Pacific bluefin and bigeye tuna. Many fishing operators around the world make their money on large catches, but Shimura hopes to contribute to sustainability by using Tuna Scope to establish global quality standards for tuna that would lessen the need for huge hauls.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely that ordinary consumers will use Tuna Scope to rate tuna themselves. But if supermarkets come to carry \u201cAI certified\u201d tuna, it could take the guesswork out of trying to select the tastiest cuts. The day may come when shoppers will rely on artificial intelligence to always enjoy the best-tasting tuna.<\/p>\n

AI Helps in the Search for Fish<\/h2>\n

AI has also begun making inroads in saury fishing. In response to poor saury catches in the past few years, the Japan Fisheries Information Service Center has successfully developed an AI-aided fish finder, a service inaugurated this season, that alerts fishers to schools of saury by showing their location on maritime maps.<\/p>\n

Saury prefer relatively cold waters, and until now, based on knowledge and experience, lead vessels have guided their fleets to promising fishing grounds by examining seawater temperature data. The Ebisu-kun system, which transmits detailed hydrographic and weather data online, is a valuable aid to fishers, and most large vessels use it.<\/p>\n

An additional Ebisu-kun service for predicting fishing grounds uses seawater temperature data from the past 15 years and information provided from fishers to provide input on characteristics of yearly changes to saury school formations, the amount of available resources, and seasonal changes to fishing ground locations. Service Center officials say that recent poor catches, fewer vessels catching saury, and fewer fishing sorties mean that that such information is less plentiful nowadays, and hopes are high that Ebisu-kun can compensate for this.<\/p>\n

\"Ebisu-kun<\/a>
Ebisu-kun uses AI to locate saury fishing grounds. The small round marks off the eastern coasts of Hokkaid\u014d and northern Honsh\u016b indicate saury fishing grounds, with lighter-colored circles indicating better grounds. (Photo courtesy of the Japan Fisheries Information Service Center)<\/span><\/p>\n

Fisheries officials say that whereas conventional fish finders aboard trawlers can only detect fish immediately around the ships, AI-enabled fish finders, which cover a much wider area, are very helpful. They hope Ebisu-kun will prove its worth as the saury season nears its end without much improvement in catch volume, so that they can finish the year in reasonable shape.<\/p>\n

Some believe that effective searches for fishing grounds aided by AI will only hasten the depletion of marine resources. But a fisheries research institute estimates are that only 20% to 30% of saury present in the northern Pacific are being caught right now, including by non-Japanese ships. The Service Center hopes that using AI will not only help speed up locating rich fishing grounds but also contribute to fisheries research and effective measures for managing marine resources.<\/p>\n

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: The Tuna Scope app allows even amateurs to evaluate tuna quality. Photo courtesy of Dents\u016b.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Published at Sat, 02 Jan 2021 00:39:51 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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