Software Engineering & Open-Source

AI Model ‘SleepFM’ Predicts Future Disease Risk from a Single Night’s Sleep Researchers have developed a groundbreaking artificial intelligence foundation model, named SleepFM, that can predict the future risk of various diseases by analyzing data from a single night’s sleep. A study published in Nature Medicine details how the model was trained on over 585,000 hours of polysomnography (PSG) data from approximately 65,000 individuals. SleepFM has demonstrated a remarkable ability to predict the risk of numerous conditions—including dementia, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and mortality—years before a clinical diagnosis might occur. The model analyzes complex physiological signals captured during sleep to identify patterns indicative of a predisposition to future health issues. This innovative approach could serve as a powerful early warning system, enabling proactive healthcare and early disease detection. ...

Humanoid Robots for Rent: LG’s CLOiD and On-Demand Services Democratize Robotics The field of advanced humanoid robotics is rapidly expanding into consumer and public applications. At CES 2026, LG is set to debut its new dual-armed humanoid robot, CLOiD, designed as a home assistant to automate daily household chores. In a parallel move to increase public access, Chinese company Qingtianzhu Technology has launched a “1 RMB robot rental” service across 10 major cities. This “flash rental” service aims to normalize on-demand access to humanoid robots for events, featuring a promotional price of 1 RMB (14 cents USD) to drive adoption. The service includes rapid booking and on-site staff to ensure reliable operation. ...

SoftBank’s $4B DigitalBridge Acquisition to Supercharge AI Infrastructure SoftBank Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire digital infrastructure asset manager DigitalBridge Group for approximately $4 billion. This strategic acquisition is designed to significantly strengthen SoftBank’s position in the AI sector. By gaining control over critical digital assets like data centers, cell towers, and fiber networks, SoftBank aims to build the necessary infrastructure for training and deploying advanced AI models on a global scale, advancing its goal of achieving Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, with DigitalBridge continuing to operate as a separately managed platform under its current CEO, Marc Ganzi. ...

Disney Integrates Generative AI to Revolutionize Content Creation and Theme Park Experiences The Walt Disney Company is moving beyond experimentation to fundamentally integrate generative AI across its entire operational structure. This strategic initiative aims to boost efficiency in key areas like content creation and post-production. Furthermore, the company will leverage the technology to create more personalized guest experiences at its theme parks. By centralizing its AI development, Disney intends to streamline creative workflows and train its own proprietary models using its vast library of intellectual property. This move signals a significant commitment to using artificial intelligence as a core business component while maintaining strict brand and copyright control. ...

Daily Tech Newsfeed: December 25, 2025 Waymo Rolls Out AV Software Update After San Francisco Outage Causes Stalls Waymo is deploying a fleet-wide software update after a major power outage in San Francisco caused some of its autonomous taxis to stall, leading to traffic disruptions. The outage, which disabled traffic signals, triggered a high volume of requests from the vehicles for remote human operator confirmation. While Waymo’s autonomous driving technology is designed to treat non-functional traffic lights as four-way stops, the sheer number of confirmation requests created a system backlog, causing the vehicles to remain stationary. The company announced it is now integrating more contextual data about regional power outages into its system, enabling its vehicles to navigate these scenarios more decisively. In addition to the software patch, Waymo is enhancing its emergency preparedness protocols in collaboration with San Francisco officials. ...

Arm Bets on Edge AI for Future Growth, Citing Lower Latency and Efficiency Arm Holdings is strategically positioning itself for the next wave of artificial intelligence, which it predicts will be dominated by edge computing over centralized cloud processing. In a recent interview, Vince Jesaitis, Arm’s head of global government affairs, asserted that most AI computations, especially inference tasks, will become increasingly decentralized. This strategic shift to local AI processing on devices ranging from smartphones to industrial sensors is poised to be the next major development in the field. The key benefits of edge AI include lower latency, critical for applications like real-time translation, and enhanced energy efficiency, thanks to the low-power design of Arm’s chips. Jesaitis also emphasized the sustainability advantages, noting that edge AI can help enterprises achieve their energy goals without sacrificing computing performance. Arm’s strategy centers on supplying the intellectual property for billions of chips in these edge devices, empowering them to be truly intelligent and context-aware. ...

Unitree G1 Humanoid Robots Showcase Agility in Onstage Concert Performance In a stunning display of robotic agility, six Unitree G1 humanoid robots from Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics performed as backup dancers at a Wang Leehom concert in Chengdu, China. Dressed in silver sequin outfits, the advanced robots executed complex, synchronized dance routines and a collective backflip, perfectly timed to the music. This AI-powered performance, praised by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, marks a significant milestone in demonstrating the real-world capabilities and commercial potential of humanoid robotics. Industry observers highlight the event as a major leap forward in robotic dynamic balance and power systems. The G1 robot features 3D LiDAR and depth cameras for advanced perception and boasts a wide range of motion with its 23-43 joint motors. ...

AI Breakthrough: New Molecule Boosts Pancreatic Cancer Chemotherapy In a significant advancement for AI in healthcare, researchers have developed a molecule using artificial intelligence that dramatically improves chemotherapy effectiveness for pancreatic cancer. The AI-generated aptamer, named Apt1, works by disrupting DNA repair mechanisms within cancer cells. This targeted action makes tumors more susceptible to chemotherapy drugs like olaparib, even at lower dosages. This breakthrough highlights the immense potential of AI in drug discovery and creating novel treatments for aggressive cancers by precisely targeting cellular processes. ...

Robotics & Autonomous Vehicles Researchers Unveil World’s Smallest Programmable Micro-Robots Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan have created the world’s smallest programmable, autonomous robots. These microscopic swimming bots, barely visible to the naked eye, can be programmed with light pulses to move in complex patterns and sense their environment. Each robot, measuring approximately 0.2 by 0.3 millimeters, has its own unique identifier for receiving individual commands. The current models are equipped with sensors that can detect temperature variations, which could be used to monitor the health of individual cells. This breakthrough in micro-robotics opens up new possibilities in fields such as medicine and micro-scale manufacturing. ...

BNP Paribas Deploys Internal AI Tool to Streamline Investment Banking BNP Paribas has introduced a proprietary AI-powered tool, IB Portal, to streamline the creation of client pitches for its investment banking division. The tool operates as a sophisticated search engine, scanning the bank’s historical pitch materials to identify relevant slides and analyses, aiming to reduce repetitive tasks. According to the bank, this innovation can shorten research time by days, enabling teams to focus more on strategic development. The system is built on the bank’s internal “LLM as a Service” platform, which leverages multiple large language models within a secure, private infrastructure. All information generated by the tool requires human review to ensure accuracy and the proper handling of sensitive data. ...