“…developers had a wealth of data upon which to train Alice using Yandex’s ‘SpeechKit’ platform, making it a particularly sophisticated AI assistant.” A Moscow-based IT giant has just launched Russia’s own version of Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. Called Alice, the AI system is designed to respond to a wide range of voice-based queries, from…
“Between the two, Samsung Pay has a bit of an edge.” The two most prominent mobile payment platforms are now available in Russia. Samsung Pay launched in the country at the start of the month, and Apple Pay made its debut early this week. Between the two, Samsung Pay has a bit of an edge. Like Apple…
Apple Pay has launched in Russia. The mobile payment service makes its debut in the country with the support of Mastercard and domestic bank Sberbank. Retailers onboard to accept Apple Pay include Media Markt, BP, and Atak supermarkets, with Burger King promising coming support. It’s a bit of a get for Apple in a country…
After a long hiatus, Russia is willing to resume flights to Egypt, but the government wants biometric security in Egyptian airports, according to a report from Daily News Egypt. The planes stopped flying last year in the wake of a deadly terror attack against a Russian flight out of Egypt that killed all 224 passengers…
A Russian startup focused on facial recognition has received some considerable investment. Called VisionLabs, the company’s Luna software platform is designed to identify customers in realtime for businesses by scanning photos or video feeds. Meanwhile, its Face IS system is aimed at producing customized marketing offers to shoppers, also based on realtime facial recognition. The…
A Russian app that searches a popular social networking site to match faces to smartphone photos is proving increasingly popular in its home country. Called FindFace, the app was recently highlighted in an art project that used it to match pictures of Moscow subway riders to their profiles on the VKontakte social network. It’s based on…
The European Union is expanding its biometric collection for visitors to the Schengen area, a multi-state zone allowing passport-free travel between its constituent states, most of which are EU members. Russian citizens seeking Schengen visas are now required to provide fingerprint biometric data. It’s an understandable move given that Russia leads the other 18 countries…
Russian authorities are preparing to implement fingerprint scanners at the country’s approximately 400 entry points for visa-free migrant workers, according to reports from local media outlets. Details about the measure are currently scant, but there are indications that its main aim is to prevent the entry of individuals using assumed names, especially those who have…