People and companies are using AI hardware and software to make life easier and more accessible for everyone. That’s the case with smartARM, a Toronto-based startup developing a vision-first bionic arm prototype that uses open-source software, with Meta AI glasses as an optional add-on, to explore more intuitive prosthetic control for people living with limb differences.

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Many traditional prosthetic hands require users to switch manually between grip patterns for different objects, making it cumbersome to move everyday items. Something as seemingly natural as picking up a glass, and then a spoon, becomes a multistep process. smartARM addressed this by developing AI hardware and software that understands the environment, and  automatically selects a suitable grip for the object – so users can intuitively move between everyday tasks.

smartARM’s prosthetic arm “sees” through a camera embedded in its palm. The team is using DINOv2, Meta’s open-source vision model, to help it recognize everyday objects from just a few reference photos, supporting smartARM’s grip-selection software.This allows it to grip and pick up objects based on direct visual feature reading, without needing prior understanding or additional programming. The arm can adapt almost instantly to objects trained on just a few photos – something that could take weeks previously.

smartARM uses Meta AI Glasses and the Meta Wearables Device Access Toolkit to extend and improve object recognition and understanding, providing more data from the egocentric point of view the glasses offer. Meta AI glasses  give the arm additional context to better understand what the user is trying to interact with. It also lets users add new objects, through the device app on their phones, giving everyone in the smartARM community a way to personalize their prosthetic around their everyday needs.

For the people who wear it, the results are life altering: a bionic arm that works from the first try, with no training required.

Long-time smartARM user and former NFL player Shaquem Griffin described what it feels like to use it: “Of all the tech packed into it, scalability and accessibility matter most to me. This is the future of consumer prosthetics.”

“Building a capable hand is only part of the challenge. Making it intuitive to use matters just as much,” said Hamayal Choudhry, smartARM’s Founder and CEO. “By helping the arm recognize everyday objects and select a suitable grip, we’re working toward an experience where people can focus more on what they want to do and less on how to operate their prosthetic.”

The post Canadian Start-up smartARM Uses AI to Create Intuitive Bionic Prosthetics appeared first on Meta Newsroom.

We’re announcing new Threads tools for podcast creators and listeners, giving creators more ways to share their shows and listeners more ways to have conversations around the podcasts they love.

Here are some of the new features rolling out today: 

• Show off your podcast: You can now display banners across your profile and posts, so listeners can more easily find your show. 
• Share your best work: Feature your favorite episode with the episode picker, and make  your podcast links appear as a tappable card. 
• Broadcast the highlights: You can now share standout moments and featured guests with transcript, video, and guest card posts. 

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• Save your faves: You can now save episodes you come across in your feed, so never lose track of the content that’s catching your attention. 
• Keep them coming back: You can opt in to getting an automatic notification from Threads reminding you to share new episodes with your audience
• Get to know your audience: Insights now show the reach and engagement Threads is driving for a podcast, including clicks and saves.

Threads is already a place where people are connecting around podcasts, and these updates make it even easier to join conversations about your favorite shows.

The post Threads Expands Podcast Toolkit for Creators and Listeners appeared first on Meta Newsroom.

As part of our ongoing commitment to providing parents with helpful tools to support their teens across Meta’s apps, we’re bringing parental supervision to Threads. Starting this week in Asia Pacific countries, parents and guardians in Family Center will have visibility and controls on Threads, as they do across our other apps.

Teen Accounts on Threads have automatic, built-in protections like private accounts and limits on the content teens see. Beginning this week, parents can decide if teens under 16 can change any of these settings to be less strict, and will have access to new insights and controls.

How Supervision Works on Threads

Parental Supervision offers a set of tools and insights that parents and guardians can use to help support their teen on Threads. When supervision is set up, parents and guardians can:

• See time spent: View how much time their teen has spent on Threads each day for the past week, including their average daily time spent for the week.
• Set time limits: Set a daily time limit for how long their teen can use Threads and block access during select days and hours. If Threads is used on multiple devices, time limits apply to the total time spent using Threads.
• Adjust sleep mode: Parents can limit or block their teen’s access to Threads at night, with notifications muted and auto-replies on by default from 10 PM to 7 AM.
• Manage tagging: Control who can tag their teen in posts.
• Manage privacy and content preferences: Manage and approve some of their teen’s privacy settings and sensitive content preferences.

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To set up supervision on Threads, visit familycenter.meta.com/supervision. We’ll continue expanding our supervision tools to make it easier for parents to find controls, get meaningful visibility, and support their teen’s experience across our apps — all in one place.

The post Threads Introduces Parental Supervision for Teens in APAC appeared first on Meta Newsroom.