Technology

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• A new AI capable of recognizing complex visual data has been developed
• SMAST can learn and predict complex human actions
• The tool could be used in surveillance, healthcare, and autonomous driving, researchers say

Researchers at the University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science have taken AI's visual data capabilities a step further with their latest innovation - an AI-driven video analyzer called the Semantic and Motion-Aware Spatiotemporal Transformer Network (SMAST).

This system offers precision in detecting human actions, promising applications in areas like public safety, motion tracking, and even autonomous vehicle navigation.

At the heart of SMAST’s capabilities is its ability to process complex video footage by focusing on the most relevant parts of a scene.

A new AI tool for video analysis

The system integrates a multi-feature selective attention model and a motion-aware 2D positional encoding algorithm. These features work in tandem to ensure that the AI can accurately detect and interpret human actions.

The selective attention model allows SMAST to concentrate on crucial elements, such as a person or an object in motion, while ignoring irrelevant details. For instance, it can distinguish someone throwing a ball from someone simply raising their arm.

Meanwhile, the motion-aware algorithm enables the AI to track movements over time, remembering how objects and people have shifted within a scene. This gives SMAST the ability to comprehend the relationships between different actions, making it more effective at recognizing complex behaviors.

In the security and surveillance sectors, the SMAST system can enhance public safety by detecting potential threats in real-time. For example, it can identify suspicious behavior in a crowded space or recognize if someone is in distress. In health care, the technology could be used to track patients' movements, enabling better motion analysis for rehabilitation or monitoring during surgery.

The researchers claim SMAST stands out in its ability to handle chaotic, unedited footage. SMAST’s AI-driven approach apparently allows it to learn from data, adapting to various environments and improving its action detection capabilities. The tool has been subjected to several academic benchmarks including AVA, UCF101-24, and EPIC-Kitchens and it did quite well.

"This AI technology opens doors for real-time action detection in some of the most demanding environments," said professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Scott T. Acton. "It's the kind of advancement that can help prevent accidents, improve diagnostics and even save lives."

Via TechXplore

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Watch the I'm A Celeb final 2024

It’s……… Coleen Rooney's title to lose, isn't it? If she wasn't already a national treasure (she was), Wagatha Christie has only enhanced her credentials on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, so it's no surprise she's the odds-on favorite to be crowned the new Queen of the Jungle. Here's where to watch I'm A Celeb final 2024 online for free – from anywhere with a VPN.

Coleen has serious competition in Strictly's Oti Mabuse, however, who played a blinder in midweek by securing immunity on consecutive nights. That does, however, put a target on her back.

McFly's Danny Jones and Coronation Street's Alan Halsall – aka Tyron Dobbs – have been popular with viewers throughout the show too, though it was Coleen's expert rumbling of Maura Higgins, Rev Richard Coles and Dean McCullough that will live long in the memory.

Read on as we explain how to watch I'm A Celeb final 2024 from anywhere.

Can I watch the I'm A Celeb final 2024 for free?

Yes. Viewers in the UK can watch I'm A Celeb final 2024 for free on ITV1 and the ITVX streaming service.

Away traveling and don't want to miss the final? Don't forget you can use a VPN to watch the I'm A Celeb 2024 final on your usual free streaming service from abroad.

How to watch the I'm A Celeb 2024 final from anywhere

If you're keen to watch the I'm A Celeb final 2024 but you're away from home and access to the show is geo-blocked, then you could always use a VPN to access it (assuming you're not breaching any broadcaster T&Cs, of course). You may be surprised by how simple it is to do.

Use a VPN to watch I'm A Celeb final 2024 from anywhere - our favorite is NordVPN.

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The best value plan is the two-year deal which sets the price at $3.69 per month, and includes an extra 3 months absolutely FREE. There's also an all-important 30-day no-quibble refund if you decide it's not for you.

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Can I watch the I'm A Celeb final 2024 in the US?

Any plans to make the British version of I'm A Celeb available to watch in the US are yet to be announced.

However, Brits currently away from home can use a VPN to watch I'm A Celeb final 2024 on ITVX from abroad.

How to watch the I'm A Celeb final 2024 for FREE

Brits can watch the I'm a Celeb final on ITV1 at 9pm GMT on Sunday, December 8.

It will also be available to stream both live and on demand on ITVX.

I'm a Celebrity... Unpacked will air immediately after, at 10.40pm on ITV2, and will also be available to stream online on ITVX.

Outside the UK? Brits abroad can use a VPN to tune into ITVX while away from home, and watch I'm a Celeb final for free.

Can I watch the I'm A Celeb final 2024 in Canada?

As with the US, it's unlikely that I'm A Celeb 2024 will ever air in Canada.

However, UK nationals currently traveling in Canada can use a VPN to unblock ITVX and watch the show from anywhere in the world. We recommend NordVPN.

Can I watch the I'm A Celeb final 2024 in Australia?

Despite being filmed there, any plans to make I'm A Celeb 2024 available to watch in Australia are likely a long way off.

Brits currently away from home can use a VPN to watch the I'm A Celeb final 2024 on ITVX from abroad.

I'm A Celeb finalists 2024

• Alan Halsall – actor
• Coleen Rooney – media personality
• Danny Jones – musician
• GK Barry – social media personality
• Oti Mabuse – dancer
• Rev. Richard Coles – broadcaster, musician and Church of England priest

From personal trainers to in-person therapy, only the wealthy have access to human connection. What are the options for the less advantaged?

If you’re looking for the absolute best camera phone you can buy, then well, according to our guide that would be the iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, but the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra lands just behind them, and there’s every chance the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will have them beat.

You probably won’t have to wait long for this phone either, as it’s likely to land in January, alongside the standard Samsung Galaxy S25 and the Galaxy S25 Plus.

We don’t know for sure what cameras the S25 Ultra will have yet, but leaks suggest they could be an upgrade on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s camera system, so this might be an exciting handset for photographers. Below, you’ll find everything we’ve heard about the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s cameras so far.

What cameras will the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra have?

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Image credit: Future / Roland Moore-Colyer)

Before discussing the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s cameras, let’s take a quick look at the cameras the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has, since the upcoming phone will likely be building off these.

That handset then has a 200-megapixel (f/1.7, 1/1.3-inch, 24mm) main camera, a 12MP (f/2.2, 1/2.55-inch, 13mm) ultra-wide with a 120-degree field of view, a 50MP (f/3.4, 1/2.52-inch, 111mm) periscope camera with 5x optical zoom, and a 10MP (f/2.4, 1/3.52-inch, 67mm) telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.

All except the ultra-wide have optical image stabilization (OIS), and there’s also a 12MP (f/2.2, 26mm) camera on the front.

So this is one camera-packed phone, and it’s likely that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will be just as packed full of cameras, albeit with at least one key difference, as you can see in the chart of predicted camera specs below.

That key difference then is the ultra-wide, as multiple sources have suggested the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a 50MP ultra-wide camera rather than the 12MP of its predecessor.

All those extra megapixels could allow for more detailed shots, but we’re not sure for now how else this camera might differ from the current one – whether for example the sensor will be a different size, or the field of view will differ.

Sadly, the leak above claims that the rest of the cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra won’t be changing though, so we may once again get a 200MP main snapper, a 50MP periscope, a 10MP telephoto, and a 12MP selfie camera.

That said, we haven’t heard a vast number of camera leaks yet, so it’s still possible that there will be other changes.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

In fact, one tip from @BennettBuhner suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra would not only have a 50MP ultra-wide camera, but also a 50MP periscope camera with 10x optical zoom, a 50MP 3x-5x variable zoom telephoto camera, and a main camera with a larger 1-inch sensor (but still 200 megapixels).

But while another source has backed up the 50MP ultra-wide claim, no one else has echoed those other specs, and this tipster doesn’t have much of a track record, so we’re doubtful these specs will pan out.

Even if there are no other upgrades to the lenses or sensors though, the new chipset in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – expected to be the top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite – is sure to prove beneficial.

For one thing, its ISP (image signal processor) – which is essentially the brain of the camera and handles the processing of photos – is likely to be more capable than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s.

We’re also likely to see new and improved AI photography features, and the existing AI photography tools may work better on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra too, as with its extra power it will probably be able to handle AI tasks more smoothly.

But ISP and AI improvements aside, our best guess for now is that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s cameras will be the same as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s, with the exception of a new 50MP ultra-wide sensor.

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The year might be coming to a close, but there’s still a few more weeks of 2024 for the tech giants to cram in some announcements ahead of 2025 and CES in January – and that's exactly what they're doing.

Hot on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday we’ve had some major moments take place such as PlayStation turning 30 – sorry if that makes some of you feel old – and Spotify Wrapped 2024 highlighting what our year looked like in music. One of our colleagues listened to Beyonce for over 17,000 minutes this year (or over 12 days) and we can’t decide if that’s far too much or not enough.

To catch up on all that and more (tech news we mean, not 17,000 minutes of Beyonce) then scroll down for this week’s seven biggest tech news stories. And once you’re all up to speed check out our picks for the seven new movies and TV shows to stream this weekend.

7. Sony turned the big 3-0

(Image credit: Sony)

Even if you missed out on the quick-to-sell-out 30th Anniversary edition PS5 consoles and accessories, you can still celebrate the 30th anniversary of PlayStation (which officially took place on December 3) with some limited-time digital cosmetics and gaming deals.

The first are new free PS5 themes which aim to mimic the look and sound of PlayStation eras on your dashboard, with options for PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4, and a general 30th anniversary theme. The catch? They’re only available for a limited time but this writer hopes Sony changes course so they’ll get to keep using their PS2 theme for years to come.

Then there’s the Anniversary sale which boasts sales and a large range of iconic PlayStation titles across PS4 and PS5 consoles. Of note, The Last of Us Part 1 is 50% off, the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is 60% off, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, received a massive 80% price cut. The sale will run until December 20.

• Read more: Sony announces its PlayStation 30th Anniversary sale

6. IKEA smart lights got brighter

(Image credit: IKEA)

IKEA smart tech – such as its bulbs, fixtures, and lamps – might not be as expensive as the competition but they can offer a lot of the same useful features at fraction of the cost. And thanks to an update this week they just got a feature to more closely match the smarts of Philips Hue lights – now IKEA’s smart lights can intelligently adjust their settings throughout the day

The feature just dropped onto the iOS version of IKEA’s Home Smart app, with this dynamic adaptive lighting tool automatically adjusting the bulbs to cooler temperatures during the middle of the day, and warmer hues towards the beginning and end of the day.

So if you’re looking to update your smart home on a budget IKEA’s bulbs might have just become a more appealing offering.

• Read more: Ikea's smart lights now offer one of Philips Hue's most compelling features

5. DJI Flip leak teased the foldable drone

The DJI Mavic 3 Pro (Image credit: DJI)

A new DJI Flip drone could land soon, according to new leaks. It's not entirely clear where the tiny foldable drone will sit in DJI's line up – although it will most likely be a DJI Mini series successor to rival the HoverAir X1 Pro and DJI's own Neo.

A recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing suggests the Flip could have a Mini 4 Pro-beating battery life, and the latest Lidar-powered obstacle avoidance sensors, much like in the pricier Air 3S. Leaked images of the Flip appear to show it has a gimbal-stabilized camera, too.

The DJI Flip is a mysterious new drone but we expect more leaks that will clear a few questions up in the build up to its launch. It appears that the threat of a US ban has only served to accelerate DJI's drone-making powers.

• Read more: DJI Flip leak gives us our first glimpse of tiny foldable drone

4. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew impressed us

Skeleton Crew tells the story a group of 10-year-olds who accidentally get lost in space (Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

Star Wars projects over the past few years could politely be described as a mixed bag. While some projects (like Visions season 2 and Tales of the Empire) earned critical acclaim, The Acolyte was cancelled just one month after its season 1 finale. So fans may have been cautious about Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, a new story about four kids who discover a star ship buried on their home world and accidentally transported halfway across the galaxy.

Writer Tom Power says that three episodes in the new show “possesses an unmistakable individuality that other Star Wars series lack” and calls it “one of the best Disney Plus shows of 2024.”

Hopefully Disney and Lucasfilm learn from Skeleton Crew’s successes, but we’ll have to wait and see what future projects and episodes of the series have in store for us.

• Read more: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is a thrilling galactic misadventure

3. AI said “I’m Batman”

(Image credit: kavan-the-kid/DC)

This week we were exposed to one of the most impressive-looking AI-made films yet, with Reddit user kavan-the-kid showing off a Batman movie that was created using virtually every consumer tool going – including KLING AI, Hailuo AI, Runway Act-One, Midjourney, Topaz Labs AI, Lima Dream Machine, Eleven Labs, Magnific, Blender, Character Creator 4, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop and Davinci Resolve – over the course of three weeks.

It takes a lot of visual cues from Matt Reeves’ The Batman, even borrowing the likeness of key actors. And there’s certainly something uncanny about the movie, from the way the characters look and talk to the movie’s sound effects, which are noticeably off much of the time. But considering where AI video was at the start of 2024 and where it appears to be now, to reference a different billionaire superhero, it’s a stark improvement.

• Read more: New Batman fan film is made entirely with AI

2. Spotify Wrapped 2024 exposed our musical secrets

(Image credit: Spotify)

Spotify Wrapped was simultaneously the biggest highlight and letdown of the week, depending on which Spotify fan you ask. Some enjoyed the annual recap’s new AI podcast feature, which turned the cringe dial to 11 as two Google-powered AI hosts praised their listener’s immaculate music taste.

But others, including TechRadar’s resident Spotify guru Rowan Davies (a top 0.8% worldwide listener, no less), were aghast at the lack of genre breakdowns and the more superficial nature of Wrapped 2024’s new AI features. Whatever you thought of it, everyone can agree that ‘Pumpkin Spice Hollywood Indie' is best left on an artisanal coffee shop menu rather than in our musical recaps.

• Read more: Spotify Wrapped 2024 is here – how to find it, plus the best new features

1. We reviewed the Amazon Kindle Scribe

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The new Amazon Kindle Scribe fixes all of my complaints about the last Kindle Scribe and adds AI and it’s … actually good?! Amazon AI does the best job of any writing tablet at recognizing my chicken scratch handwriting and it offers summaries of all my notes. Amazon has also added tons of books to the Kindle book store that you can write on with a Kindle Scribe, and there are new tools to write notes on the page of any book you own.

The Kindle Scribe (2024) is more expensive, but it’s a better Kindle Scribe than before, especially in that sweet Metallic Jade color. And if you want to upgrade, the good news is that all the older cases and pens will work with the new Kindle Scribe. It's available now for $399.99 / £379.99 / AU$649 with 16GB of storage or for $449.99 / $429.99 / AU$729 for 64GB (and the Jade is only 64GB, sadly).

• Read more: Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) review

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• You can try the Grok AI chatbot on X for free
• The free tier is limited to 10 messages an hour and 3 images a day
• Using Grok more than that still requires an X Premium subscription of at least $7 a month

XAI's AI chatbot Grok is now free to chat with on X (formerly Twitter), at least to a limited extent. Grok has been available only to people paying for an X Premium subscription until now, but after a few tests over the last few weeks, the free tier is now rolling out globally.

The free version of Grok employs the Grok-2 AI model, just like the Premium option. It includes a feature for producing images and Grok's signature "Fun Mode," which is supposed to make Grok's responses edgier, more provocative, and wittier than usual.

I'd recommend carefully watching your interactions with Grok if you don't want to pay for the subscription, though. The usage restrictions on the free tier may somewhat slow any rush of people switching from ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.

You can send up to 10 messages to the chatbot every two hours without paying, and you can only ask the AI to make three images a day. That's enough for a taste, but clearly, X and xAI are hoping it's enough to entice people into signing up to pay at least $7 a month to engage with the chatbot more.

Grok and go

Even with these issues, X likely sees value in opening up access to Grok to those reluctant to pay for it. At the very least, it puts the chatbot in a better position to compete with ChatGPT and its rivals. It also fits with other moves by xAI, such as an expected mobile app launch in the near future.

Whether these moves will be enough is unclear, but with 12 Days of OpenAI keeping people interested in the technology focused on the ChatGPT creator, xAI may see value just in drawing any attention at all this month.

And there's the matter of the Flux AI image creator fueling Grok's feature. The tool has a somewhat laid-back approach to copyright and trademark rules, leading to lawyers issuing notes telling people to take down AI images they post of Mario and other characters owned by corporations.

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If you’re looking for the most sought-after toys of 2024, you’ve come to the right place. Not only have our CNET experts spent hundreds of hours researching the best toys for kids, but they’ve been play-tested too, so you know they’re kid-approved.