On Tuesday ICT.Moscow <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/specific-features-of-russian-ecosystems/">published </a>a
review of the development areas of three ecosystems: Yandex, Sberbank and Mail.ru Group. The monitoring includes the analysis
of 242 publications from November 2019 to August 2020. One of the conclusions
of the review was the fact that the areas for development of such business
model are defined by the specialization of the parent company, around which the
ecosystem is built.

 
 There was a significant number of publications dedicated to the use
of artificial intelligence, as well as on voice assistants, robotics and
unmanned vehicles. Sberbank has about 32 mentions of different AI technologies
out of 86 publications included in the monitoring, Yandex - 25 out of 81,
Mail.ru Group - 18 out of 75.

 
 The most common areas of AI use include voice assistants and other
speech processing and synthesis systems, unmanned vehicles, and biometric
systems.

<h2>
 Sberbank: joint development of AI
</h2>

 
 Sberbank was mentioned for joint work with other companies: either
within the framework of the joint venture (Cognitive Pilot, Mail.ru Group), or
in the context of the companies included in its ecosystem (MDG, VisionLabs).
However, Sberbank began to develop its own practices for working with AI. This
is also due to the launch of the Christophari supercomputer: in March its AI
Cloud platform was certified to work with personal data.

 
 During the pandemic, Sberbank was on the agenda more frequently:
from March to July inclusive, 11 publications related to coronavirus were
found. Artificial intelligence was mentioned in 5 cases. The company also&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/sberbank-has-launched-a-free-service-for-recognizing-ct-images/">developed</a> its own AI model for diagnosing COVID-19 and provided the regions
with free access to it.

 
 Currently, voice assistants are the main segment of AI, which is
practically not covered by Sberbank (as demonstrated by the materials found).
The ecosystem of the bank includes Speech Technology Center (STC), which is
developing solutions in the field of natural language processing (NLP), but
Sberbank still does not have its own analogue of Alice or Marusya.

 
 But the company is actively developing self-driving vehicles, working
in two areas at once. One is <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/card/cognitive-pilot/">Cognitive Pilot,</a> a joint venture with Cognitive
Technologies, which was announced in November. It took the companies only six
months to begin the industrial implementation of unmanned systems in
agricultural machinery. The second direction of work is the company’s own
development, and nothing is known about it yet, only the fact that the company
carries out the corresponding development activities.

<h2>
 Yandex: working in all directions
</h2>

 
 Yandex, on the other hand, develops its own AI projects, rarely
getting involved in joint ventures. In 2020, the company <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/yandex-announced-the-division-of-assets-with-sberbank/">concluded</a> partnership
with Sberbank and reorganized Yandex.Money and Yandex.Market services. However,
there are exceptions: Yandex and NVIDIA announced joint support for AI startups
in their acceleration programs.

 
 In general, the company strives to scale its developments and
services independently. For example, Yandex <a target="_blank" href="https://www.world-today-news.com/yandex-cloud-launched-a-service-for-developers-in-the-field-of-machine-learning-yandex-datasphere-editorial-material/">launched</a>&nbsp;a cloud-based framework
for developing machine learning models last year. It was is aimed at involving
third-party developers in their own ecosystem, a significant part of which is
built on artificial intelligence technologies.

 
 Today Yandex carries out development work in every area of AI. There
were not many noticeable news items about the voice assistant “Alice” - two
publications were selected as part of the monitoring. In November 2019, the
assistant first learned to speak a foreign language - Turkish. And at the
beginning of the year, the developer integrated Alice even deeper into its own
ecosystem and added the ability to call Yandex.Taxi with its help.

 
 However,&nbsp; the main area of work, according to the head
of the company Arkady Volozh, is driverless vehicles. From November 2019 to
August 2020, there were at least 9 important news items for the company in two
areas of drones development. The first was self-driving cars (the fourth
generation was introduced, and the company’s cars entered the world top-3 in
terms of mileage). The second was the robotic courier Yandex.Rover, which was
announced to be tested in November, and in April it was already put into
commercial operation at Skolkovo.

<h2>
 Mail.ru
Group: AI
through social networks
</h2>

 
 In terms of developing its own
services, Mail.ru Group combines the approaches of both Sberbank and Yandex.
But from the point of view of AI integration, the company’s model of work
resembles Yandex more. Mail.ru Group has recently been actively working in the
field of voice assistants:&nbsp; the smart
speaker "Capsule" was presented at the end of 2019, and in April 2020
this speaker equipped with “Marusya” voice assistant went on sale.

 
 The main difference between Mail.ru
Group and its competitors is that the company puts social networks at the
center of its ecosystem (as <a target="_blank" href="https://corp.imgsmail.ru/media/files/strategy2020-22.pdf">stated</a> in its development strategy). So it is not
surprising that the company begins to actively use artificial intelligence in
this area as well. Thus, it is planned to integrate VKontakte voice calls and
several other services with Capsule. And in Odnoklassniki (both social networks
are owned by Mail.ru Group) in March, a profile recovery function using face
recognition technology was launched.

 
 Like Yandex, Mail.ru
Group develops
all areas of artificial intelligence, but with one major exception. Driverless
vehicles are not on the Mail.ru Group agenda yet, and the plans of the company
for the development of this area are still unknown.

 
 <a></a>* * *

 
 It should also be noted that all the
three companies are expected to develop the area of scientific and technical
activities. In December, they signed a code of ethics for working with big
data, and a month before that they had announced plans to create an alliance
for the development of artificial intelligence. Companies also invest in
education in this area, entering into partnerships for the training of
specialists: for example, Sberbank and NUST MISIS or Yandex and ITMO
University.

 
 In general, the role of artificial
intelligence in Russian ecosystems corresponds to the general trends of the IT
market. At the beginning of the year, ICT.Moscow found out that most of the
world’s major analytical companies (including Gartner, IDC and KPMG) named AI
as one of the leading trends. Today, the active use of AI by Sberbank, Yandex
and Mail.ru Group shows that analysts were right: services using AI are
embedded in the life of businesses and end consumers.

 
 You can study the overview of the
development of Russian ecosystems from November 2019 to August 2020 in <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/specific-features-of-russian-ecosystems/">this</a>&nbsp;article.

ICT.Moscow

Role of AI in the development of the largest ecosystems

Analysis of the differences between the largest digital ecosystems in Russia based on their actions over the past six months

Specific features of Russian ecosystems

Yandex
launched Toloka Laboratory to automatically solve data processing tasks. The processes
of interface creation, setting up the project and searching for task performer
are automated in the service.

 
 The customer
will need to provide data and form a request what has to be done with this
data. The minimum amount of data for processing is 500 texts or images.

 
 The laboratory
performs three types of data labeling: images classification, text
classification and object detection in images.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-zapustil-laboratoriiu-toloki-dlia-avtomaticheskogo-resheniia-zadach-po-obrabotke-dannykh/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Yandex

Yandex launched Toloka Laboratory to automatically solve data processing tasks

Mail.ru Group and Sberbank invested 12 billion rubles (approximately $164 million) in their joint venture focused on transportation and food.

 
 The funds will be used to expand areas and scale the businesses that were not included into the perimeter at the moment of the deal closure in December 2019. Among them there are 2GIS mapping service and Samokat express food delivery (75.6% stake consolidated in May), as well as other assets. 

 
 Moreover, the parties explain that the management of the joint venture is confident about the prospects of not only food delivery from restaurants, but also e-grocery, dark kitchens and dark stores.

 
 Following the additional funding, Sberbank and Mail.ru Group will continue to have equal stakes in the joint venture (45.005% each).

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/o2o-predpriiatie-mail-ru-group-i-sberbanka-poluchilo-12-mlrd-rublei/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Mail.ru Group

O2O enterprise of Mail.ru Group and Sberbank receives $164 million

Yandex
announced the launch of a unified application for city life - Yandex Go. It
combines taxi, “Drive” car sharing , delivery from “Food” restaurants, “Lavka” express
delivery, courier delivery and ground transport timetables, and from August 19
will replace another application of Yandex - Yandex.Taxi.

 
 The
representatives of the company explain that all applications - Yandex.Drive,
Food and Lavka - will be available both in Go and as separate applications.
Moreover, the company claims that third-party services can also appear in Go,
VC.ru reports.

 
 To switch to
Yandex Go, Yandex.Taxi users will have to update the application to the latest
version. Download Yandex Go from <a target="_blank" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.yandex.taxi">Google Play</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://apps.apple.com/app/id472650686?mt=8">AppStore</a>.

 
 ***

 
 A super-app
based on&nbsp; VKontakte is being developed by
Mail.ru
Group, and at the beginning of 2019 Tinkoff announced the
launch of a super application based on the mobile bank.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-zapustil-superprilozhenie-dlia-goroda-na-baze-iandeks-taksi/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Yandex has launched a super-app for the city based on Yandex.Taxi

At least 77% of Russian residents aged 18-65 are ready to use unmanned taxi, reports NTI Autonet (results of the survey <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GMwOH0LSiBnKSqzGFovrBQQrnyJfMemCHtVMlQyT4pY/edit?usp=sharing">available</a> on ICT.Moscow). In one year this indicator has increased - in 2019 a similar survey showed that over 60% of residents were ready to use autonomous cars.

<div class="incut-block ">
 
 This survey confirms that the readiness for using new technologies in everyday life is directly connected with the their experience and interaction with technology. We are glad that the number of people ready to use unmanned cars grows together with the development of technologies.
 
 <div class="quote-owner">
 <div>
 
 NTI Autonet
 
 press service
 </div>
 </div>
</div>
 
 Moscow’s result was higher
than the average result in the country - 79%. The number of autonomous cars
tested in Moscow is the largest in the country.

<div>
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="0"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/6d2ade39-cd03-5585-80ef-3301d8b298ad.png">
</div>

 
 Source: NTI Autonet, 2020 (data <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GMwOH0LSiBnKSqzGFovrBQQrnyJfMemCHtVMlQyT4pY/edit?usp=sharing">available</a> on ICT.Moscow)

 
 10.5 thousand people aged
18-65 took part in the survey. Younger residents aged 25-34 more positively
perceive autonomous taxi: 83.3% of them are ready to use such means of
transport. 73% of people over 45 also said they could use autonomous taxi, even
though this age group is considered to be more conservative. According to NTI
Autonet, such results indicate the possibility of self-driving taxi rapidly
becoming a part of everyday life.

<h2>
 Other evaluation of autonomous vehicles perception in Russia<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h2>

 
 Other surveys also show that
Russian residents are ready for using unmanned transport. For example, this
indicator was monitored by KPMG analysts while compiling the Global report
entitled “<a target="_blank" href="https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2019/02/2019-autonomous-vehicles-readiness-index.html">Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index 2019</a>”. To evaluate the readiness of customers to embrace the technology,
Branded Research company conducted a focus group survey in 25 countries. People
in India, Mexico, UAE and Russia reportedly have
the most optimistic perception of autonomous transport.

<div>
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="0"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/964ea9b0-b73f-57cc-ab0f-977e654d9395.png">
</div>

 
 Source: <a target="_blank" href="https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2019/02/2019-autonomous-vehicles-readiness-index.html">KPMG</a>, 2019

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 In 2020 KPMG analysts haven’t conducted public opinion polls regarding unmanned transport perception. Instead, in the “<a target="_blank" href="https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2020/06/autonomous-vehicles-readiness-index.html">Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index 2020</a>” report other factors were taken into account, for example, the number of people living near autonomous vehicles testing areas. Nevertheless, this indicator cannot be considered objective for Russia, as KPMG took into consideration only the test sites <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.org/program/government-innovation/bloomberg-aspen-initiative-cities-autonomous-vehicles/">included</a> in the Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute project. Neither Moscow, nor Kazan are included there.
 </div>
<h3>
 USA
readiness for autonomous vehicles<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h3>

 
 Google’s project Waymo is the
leader in terms of the distance covered by autonomous vehicles. By the
beginning of the year, its cars drove 20 million miles (for comparison - Yandex
cars drove 4 million miles or 6.4 million km). Nevertheless, studies show that
Americans are not so enthusiastic about the technology.

 
 A survey conducted at the
beginning of 2020 in the USA by Partners
for Automated Vehicle Education<a target="_blank" href="https://pavecampaign.org/pave-poll-americans-wary-of-avs-but-say-education-and-experience-with-technology-can-build-trust/"> showed </a>that 48% of Americans “will never get” in an
autonomous taxi. Around three fourths of Americans say the unmanned transport
technology is not ready yet.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 <a target="_blank" href="https://pavecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/PAVE-Poll_Fact-Sheet.pdf">Partners for Automated Vehicle Education poll (pdf)</a>
 </div>
 
 The respondents of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and World Economic Forum
(WEF) <a target="_blank" href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Press%20release.pdf">survey</a> also say that the technology is still immature. However, they say
that it is of primary importance to change the culture and the perception of
this means of transport.

<h3>
 Autonomous
vehicles testing<a class="ce-block__copy-anchor-btn"></a>
</h3>

 
 Currently, the testing of automated vehicles in
Russia is carried out in accordance with the Russian government decree No.1415 &nbsp;“On Conducting an Experiment in
Testing the Use of Highly Automated Vehicles on Public Roads”.
Unmanned vehicles can drive on public roads in 13 regions.

 
 The current version of the
decree does not imply the use of unmanned transport in commercial services and
also requires a driver in the car, NTI Autonet notes.

 
 The regulation in the field of
autonomous transport is currently being developed. It will allow to switch from
autonomous car testing to their full use in services. In May, the Ministry of
Economic Development supported the draft plan for staged implementation of
unmanned vehicles until 2023.

 
 In July, Yandex Self Driving Cars team (the company is involved in the
development of the document)&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/an-interview-with-yandex-self-driving-dars-on-the-prospects-of-driverless-future/">told</a> ICT.Moscow that the plan was being finalized
and by the end of August it would be presented to the Russian president.

An overview of various research studies on the perception of autonomous vehicles in Russia

Self-driving taxis are more expected in Russia than in the USA

Several Russian banks, such as Promsvyazabnk, Credit Bank of Moscow and VTB are exploring the possibility to issue loans at ATMs using biometrics, Izvestiya reports.

 
 According to Alexander Petrov, the Director of Payment Cards Department at Promsvyazbank, not only the current customers of the bank who have already opened an account at the bank branch, but also people who previously were not clients of the bank - after being identified using the Unified biometrics system - can receive loans. 

 
 Credit Bank of Moscow is developing a similar service, Izvestiya notes. It is expected that after the identification through an ATM the products of the credit institution will be available for the client at the ATM. The possibility of issuing loans is being explored by VTB and UBRD (Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development).

 
 Sberbank and Tinkoff are already piloting facial recognition at ATMs. It was reported in January that Sberbank was testing facial biometrics technology at several self-service devices in the offices where they do not work with customers. Tinkoff is testing ATMs in Moscow shopping malls.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/banki-izuchaiut-vozmozhnost-vydachi-kreditov-v-bankomatakh-po-biometrii/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Izvestia

Russian banks are exploring the possibility of issuing loans at ATMs using biometrics

At the end of July, IT company Yandex <a target="_blank" href="https://yandex.ru/company/researches/2020/ai-news">published</a> a research report titled “Artificial intelligence in news headlines”. It included all materials of Yandex.News since 2010 the headlines of which included such combinations of words such as “artificial intelligence”, “machine learning” and “neural network”, as well as “AI” acronym.

 
 The authors focused on the context where artificial intelligence (AI) was mentioned in the news: what it created, determined and forecast. After the study had been published in the media, the news with reference to Yandex PR team about the places that different cities took based on the number of AI mentions (Saint Petersburg - second place, Perm - fourth place, and Kazan entered top-7 cities) came out.

 
 ICT.Moscow requested data from Yandex and tried to figure out how the number of AI mentions has changed in the context about cities and in general over the past 10 years and what topics the media focused on.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 The initial data was provided by Yandex, around 61.5 thousand publications featured by Yandex.News were collected in total. Data analysis and interpretation were carried out by ICT.Moscow.
 </div>
<div class="wrapper">
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="1"
 data-originalsrc="https://ict.moscow/static/9b9859f0-092c-5788-9695-025844fba80c.jpg"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/9b9859f0-092c-5788-9695-025844fba80c.jpeg">
 <button data-originalsrc="https://ict.moscow/static/9b9859f0-092c-5788-9695-025844fba80c.jpg"></button>
</div>

 
 Out of the 61.5 thousand materials, 84% are from 2017-2020. In 2017 the number of publications exceeded 11 thousand, and over the past three and a half years AI was mentioned in the headlines of 51.5 thousand pieces of news.

 
 Despite the fact that 2020 is not over yet, negative dynamics can be currently seen (for the first time since 2010). If the average number of publications per month is considered, the year 2020 is at the level of 2017 - about 950 materials per month. 

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 In relation to the total number of publications in Yandex.News from 2010 through July 2020 (about 282 million), the number of news items mentioning AI in the headlines was 0.02%. This indicator has increased over nine years - from 0.0013% in 2010 to 0.0532% in 2019.
 </div>
 
 The technology was mentioned most often in 2019 (over 17.5 thousand times, 1.5 thousand times per month on average). It can be compared to the total number of AI references in media publications (not only in headlines, but in the texts also) which ICT.Moscow monitors within IT media trends monitoring. These dynamics also indicates a slight decline in the media’s interest in artificial intelligence compared to the previous year. 

 
 After Yandex’s data was processed, a ranking of top-20 cities which were most frequently mentioned in the AI news headlines was compiled.

<div class="wrapper">
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="1"
 data-originalsrc="https://ict.moscow/static/b1165b55-bc40-509e-848d-e2aaf4982c94.jpg"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/b1165b55-bc40-509e-848d-e2aaf4982c94.jpeg">
 <button data-originalsrc="https://ict.moscow/static/b1165b55-bc40-509e-848d-e2aaf4982c94.jpg"></button>
</div>

 
 The ranking cannot be considered absolute, as the number of mentions can vary upon the counting methods.

<h2>
 Moscow is the leader of the ranking
</h2>

 
 Moscow is leading by a significant margin: over one thousand mentions about the capital were found. Over half of all references in the context of artificial intelligence over ten years are from 2020, which is not over yet. The sharp increase in the number of mentions of Moscow happened against the background of overall decline in the number of references of this technology in the headlines.

 
 The main newsworthy event was the launch of experimental legal regulation in the field of AI: in different variations it was mentioned over 200 times. The other relatively frequently mentioned topics were:

<ul>
 <li>fighting COVID-19, first of all - diagnostics using AI in Moscow medical facilities;</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.openculture.com/2020/03/watch-scenes-from-czarist-moscow-vividly-restored-with-artificial-intelligence-may-1896.html">video</a> of Moscow shot in 1896 and restored using a neural network</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>launch of a <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/projects/ai/">knowledge base</a> on artificial intelligence</li>
</ul>

<h2>
 Notable issues in other cities
</h2>

 
 Other Russian cities are less often but still quite frequently mentioned in the headlines of the news about AI. Saint Petersburg is the second most frequently mentioned city after Moscow, and over half of the mentions within the context of artificial intelligence are from 2019. The announcement about the opening of the national center for industrial artificial intelligence can be called the “news of the year” in the northern capital. The coffee shop where AI will be used to determine customer tastes was also mentioned quite often, as well as the establishment of Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

 
 The high position of Perm in the ranking was ensured by 2018 FIFA World Cup. When the event was being held, the news frequently featured predictions about the finalists and the winner of the competition. One of predictive AI models was developed in Perm University. As a result, the city was mentioned most frequently in the AI news headlines in 2018. However, a similar solution was presented by Perm scientists in 2013, in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympics (nevertheless, the city was not mentioned in the title of the publication). 

 
 Kazan, where digital technologies are being actively developed and implemented, was ranked 7th and was mentioned in several dozen more publications than Tyumen, which was ranked 8th. It should be noted that Innopolis which is located near Kazan was counted separately, it was also included in top-20 and was ranked 12th. Like in the case of Moscow, the largest number of Innopolis mentions occurred in 2020. The main newsbreaks were a web series about AI called “The last program” shot in Innopolis, and (also like in Moscow) - the development of neural networks for COVID-19 diagnostics.

 
 Skolkovo Innovation Center, which is not a city but can be considered an independent significant toponym, was mentioned 77 times over the past ten years. It was firstly mentioned in 2010, when it was founded. Then ABBYY received Skolkovo grant for development in the field of artificial intelligence. Since 2014, the Center was mentioned almost every year (except 2015), initially within the context about AI conferences, and later - in connection with the establishment of the Center for artificial intelligence development and other practical developments (for fighting cancer, for instance).

<h2>
 Perception of the technology
</h2>

 
 The study of the materials about artificial intelligence which was most often spoken about only in the last three-four years (see the graph with the total number of AI mentions in headlines by year) made it possible to assess how the perception of the technology has changed over time. In the beginning of 2010s, “artificial intelligence” was not perceived as an IT tool, but as a description of the behavior of computer game programmed characters. From 2014-2015 such interpretation became less common.

 
 In 2010, the media audiences were not used to seeing artificial intelligence as a standard IT tool. It is evident from the publications in the major media sources where AI self learning was interpreted as an evolution of artificial intelligence by analogy with living organisms. The concept of self-driving transport also was not formed: such developments (of Google, for example) were called “vehicles with artificial intelligence”. Nevertheless, already in 2010 Sergey Sobyanin, the Mayor of Moscow, spoke about the prospects of implementing intelligent systems in the urban environment. In particular, the Mayor proposed to implement them in the traffic management systems in order to reduce traffic jams.

 
 2013 can be called a turning point in the mass perception of artificial intelligence. In that year there was a more than two-fold increase in the number of publications about this technology. After that the dynamic of mentioning increased until 2018, when the growth decreased slightly.

 
 In 2013, artificial intelligence was practically no longer associated in the media with something fantastic, and was seen as a tool for fulfilling specific tasks, such as predicting the behavior of people at public events, recognition and processing of accounting documents, monitoring information from aircraft sensors, etc.

 
 Also, in 2013 people started talking about implementing AI in medicine: one of the most significant newsbreaks was the IBM Watson supercomputer, the artificial intelligence of which was used for treating cancer. At the same time, the publications about self-learning algorithms forecasting the emergence of dangerous strains which can cause a pandemic also appeared. 

<h2>
 Hype and corporations
</h2>

 
 Over the past 10 years, artificial intelligence technology has often been mentioned in the context of “hype” topics. It is well illustrated by the case of major sports events. The examples of neural networks developed in Perm were mentioned above in the text, but they are by no means the only ones. For example, during the 2018 World Cup, the artificial intelligence of Microsoft was also actively making forecasts.

 
 The AI references in headlines experienced the most rapid growth in 2016-2018, when the number of publications increased by 3-6 thousand per year (see graph). Just at this time, major players of the IT market were frequently mentioned in the news: Google (more than 600 publications in 2016 compared to around 250 in 2015), Sberbank (about 200 mentions in 2017), and Yandex itself (over 200 references in 2017).

 
 Thus, an increase in the number of references of the technology in news headlines is accompanied by an increase in the number of references of major IT players. Quite often the companies themselves created media hyping statements: a rock album recorded using a neural network for example, or the prospect of replacing thousands of Sberbank employees with artificial intelligence.

 
 By the way, the news about Sberbank dates back to 2016. In recent years, the company has recorded the fastest growth rate in terms of references in the context of artificial intelligence. In 2019, the bank overtook IT corporations on this indicator: it appeared in the headlines more than 500 times, whereas Google, which is usually leading, was mentioned only 350 times.

<hr />
 
 The analysis of news in the sphere of artificial intelligence over the past 10 years showed how much the perception of technology has changed during that time. Previously it was perceived as something fantastic, then it gradually became associated with an IT tool that can solve very specific tasks. And the understanding of AI as an analogue to the human mind started to be mentioned with the subscript “strong” (once in 2013 in a specialized IT publication, starting from 2016 - also in other sources).

 
 The dynamics convincingly demonstrates that various AI solutions in Russia have become firmly associated not only with hype topics, but also with cities. Most often - with Moscow, especially when it was announced that a legal experiment in the field of artificial intelligence was being launched locally. But other cities also make themselves known, regularly appearing in the headlines of the news about AI. It is not always about development: often about piloting, implementation, and practical use. The media usually covers these topics, meaning their target audience is interested in such issues.

An overview of AI mentions in news headlines in Russia since 2010.

Research: the most notable in AI news headlines in Russia over the past 10 years

Yandex launched Yandex.Pro, a unified platform and an application for self-employed individuals. It helps people to find a part-time job, keep track of their income and pay taxes, VC.ru reports.

 
 Both private individuals and self-employed entrepreneurs can connect to the service. The platform is based on Yandex.Taximeter.

 
 Application users can find and fulfill orders in various spheres in the services of Yandex. You can register as a self-employed person in the application. The users can synchronize Yandex.pro with “Moi nalog” (“My tax”) app of the tax service, so that all necessary payments and tax payments are transferred automatically.

 
 Drivers and car couriers of Yandex.Taxi are already connected to Yandex.Pro. The company plans to connect Yandex.Eats and Yandex.Lavka couriers and the Yandex.Uslugi (Yandex.Services) masters and Yandex.Toloka’s task performers to the service.

 
 Download Yandex.Pro in <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.yandex.taximeter" target="_blank">Google Play</a> and <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1496904594" target="_blank">App Store</a>.

 
 According to the Federal Tax Service, as of August 1, there are approximately 900 thousand self-employed individuals in Russia.

 
 <a href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-zapustil-edinuiu-platformu-i-prilozhenie-dlia-samozaniatykh/" target="_blank">Original (in Russian)</a>

VC.ru

Yandex launched a unified platform and an application for self-employed 

Leadership of Russia according to Coursera and Mirosoft estimates,
commercial prospects of self-driving vehicles and other topics of the month - ICT.Moscow collected the most significant AI-related news of July in one digest.

<hr />
 
 Success of the Russian AI

 
 In July, Coursera <a target="_blank" href="https://www.coursera.org/gsi?ranMID=40328&amp;ranEAID=a1LgFw09t88&amp;ranSiteID=a1LgFw09t88-k7TyLSf8XEZbOeXVWZ9ZFA&amp;siteID=a1LgFw09t88-k7TyLSf8XEZbOeXVWZ9ZFA">published</a>&nbsp;a ranking of countries by the level of
training of IT specialists in different spheres. Russia was ranked first in two
out of three categories - “Technologies” and “Data Science”. Analysts named
Russia the country with the most highly-qualified specialists in software
development and working with data.

 
 As a part of the Global Pilots program for supporting
Russian startups, Microsoft Corporation has chosen the most notable artificial
intelligence projects. Their authors managed to reach an agreement on pilot
projects, establish contacts with international suppliers, start negotiations
with investment funds and receive grants.

<hr />
 
 High efficiency in medicine

 
 At the beginning of July it became known that
artificial intelligence algorithms had had<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/over-150-thousand-radiology-images-were-processed-in-moscow-with-the-help-of-artificial-intelligence/"> processed</a> 150
thousand chest radiological scans in Moscow, mostly for diagnosing COVID-19. So
far, the technology has been available in 48
in-patient clinics and 193 polyclinics. At the beginning of the month it was announced that AI would process not only
CT scans, but also X-ray scans to diagnose other diseases. The service has been
connected to 17 Moscow medical facilities.

 
 Against this background, the level of trust to
the technology among patients is increasing. It is confirmed by studies
<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/50-of-muscovites-positively-rate-the-use-of-ai-in-medicine/">conducted</a> by the Diagnostics and Telemedicine Center of the Moscow Healthcare
Department. The results are as follows:

<ul>
 <li>50% of Moscow residents positively assess the application of
AI in medicine</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>80% of them called the use of the technology reasonable</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>70%&nbsp; claimed that the
quality of medical health had improved.</li>
</ul>

<hr />
 
 AI is becoming more deeply-rooted in call centers

 
 Mango Telecom, Russian business telephony operator expanded the application
of artificial intelligence in call centers and launched a speech analytics
module to control the work of operators and to find out how actively they
promote goods or services.

 
 Neuro.net estimates that
63% of all center workers expect that AI will partially replace people in their
professional sphere. 13% of people are sure that AI will fully replace them.

<hr />
 
 Commercial prospects of self-driving vehicles

 
 At the beginning of July journalists of “RIA Novosti” filmed the
testing of Yandex.Rover, the company's autonomous delivery robot. ICT.Moscow
talked to the team of Yandex Self Driving Cars, and found out that the company uses Rovers in the streets of
Moscow on a regular basis to collect data and train machine learning
algorithms.

 
 In an interview
with ICT.Moscow, a representative of Yandex described where and under what
conditions the first commercial vehicles, both Rovers and
cars, would be introducted. The company noted that a phased plan for the introduction of the unmanned
vehicles in Russia would be further
developed. It will be submitted to the president in
August.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 &nbsp; You can read the interview&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/en/news/an-interview-with-yandex-self-driving-dars-on-the-prospects-of-driverless-future/">here</a>
 </div>
 
 Other Russian companies are also developing self-driving transport. In mid-July, the unmanned truck “Kamaz” was launched on
the territory of the Innopolis University. In northern Russia, the testing of unmanned trucks continues: the
government of Ugra has signed an agreement with one of the oil-producing
enterprises about another experiment in this field.

 
 Also in July it became known about the plans of
the Russian Ministry of Transport and “Russian Railways” to test computer
vision technologies for unmanned trains at a virtual test site.

Leadership of Russia according to Coursera and Microsoft, continued government support for AI, other topics of the month.

Digest about AI in Russia: top news in July

In spring 2020 Yandex applied to register 17
trademarks in banking, investment and insurance. 

 
 The representatives of the company did not
announce the project launch date and
noted that Yandex “often registers trademarks or patents, but not all of them
will be applied in the future. It is standard practice in big IT companies”,
Vedomosti reports.

 
 According to Vedomosti, Yandex does not aim at
creating its own bank, and the company plans to launch a financial ecosystem.

 
 At the end of June,
Yandex and Sberbank officially announced the separation of joint assets -
Yandex.Market and Yandex.Money. The transaction was completed a month later.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/iandeks-podal-zaiavki-na-tovarnye-znaki-v-bankovskoi-investitsionnoi-i-strakhovoi-sferakh/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Vedomosti

Yandex applied to register trademarks in banking, investment and insurance

Yandex today&nbsp;announced&nbsp;it has expanded testing of its self-driving cars to Michigan. A fleet of Yandex’s driverless vehicles recently hit Ann Arbor city streets, including the company’s fourth-generation autonomous&nbsp;Hyundai Sonatas&nbsp;created in partnership with Hyundai Mobis.

 
 This will make Ann Arbor our third urban testing ground in addition to Moscow and Tel Aviv.&nbsp;

 
 Michigan has a very progressive and supportive regulatory environment for the development of self-driving cars. This allows for rapid development and advancement of the fleet in Ann Arbor. Unlike Moscow and Tel Aviv, where self-driving vehicles must always have engineers behind the wheel, in Ann Arbor more autonomy is allowed.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nhqyrze30bk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<div class="incut-block ">
 
 We are trying to use our testing locations to the fullest. For example, Innopolis is the only testing location in Russia that allows self-driving cars to transport passengers without regulations requiring that an engineer be present behind the driver’s wheel. This is where we launched Europe’s first robotaxi service two years ago and, since then, have made thousands of trips without a driver behind the wheel. Ann Arbor, with its bigger size and more progressive regulatory environment, will enable us to take this experience a step further.&nbsp;
 
 <div class="quote-owner">
 <div>
 
 Dmitry Polishchuk
 
 Head of Yandex Self-Driving Cars
 </div>
 </div>
</div>
 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/yandex-self-driving-car/yandex-expands-its-self-driving-testing-to-ann-arbor-michigan-e1fdbab17303">Read more →&nbsp;</a>

Yandex begins testing self-driving cars in Michigan

According to Sergey
Popov, Director of Sberbank’s transaction business, the company may issue
tokens that can be used for settlements involving digital financial assets,
Prime reports.

<div class="incut-block ">
 
 This subject is very interesting for the bank. Probably, we can issue a stablecoin that we can peg to the ruble in accordance with the law that has been adopted recently, and it will become a basis, a tool for settlements involving other digital financial assets.
 
 <div class="quote-owner">
 <div>
 
 Sergey Popov
 
 Director of the Transaction Business Division of Sberbank
 </div>
 </div>
</div>
 
 Popov told reporters the details during an online discussion “Digital
financial assets in practice”. The representatives of the bank’s press service
told RIA Novosti that the decision on the issuance of tokens would be made
soon.

 
 At the end of July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law that
allows digital financial assets transactions, but prohibits to use
cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in Russia starting from January 1, 2021.


 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/sberbank-mozhet-vypustit-token-dlia-raschetov-za-tsifrovye-finansovye-aktivy/">Original (in Russian)</a>

PRIME

Sberbank may issue tokens for settlements involving digital financial assets

The Banker (part of Financial
Times Group) has recognized Sberbank as the best bank in Central and Eastern
Europe in digital banking innovation.

 
 The bank became the winner of
the Innovation in Digital Banking Awards 2020 in Best Bank in Central and
Eastern Europe for Innovation in Digital Banking category. Sberbank received
the award for its three projects: biometric scanners in ATMs, BRIS Utilities
Billing Platform and algorithmic orders on the Sberbank Markets platform.

 
 Biometric facial recognition
technology allows clients to use self-service devices, make payments and
transfer money, withdraw and deposit money without a card, smartphone or any document.

 
 BRIS Utilities billing
platform allows to calculate charges for utilities, generate bills for
customers, including in electronic form, automate payments processing and
further settlements with contractors.

 
 Robotic algorithms - algorithmic orders - are available to the customers
of the Sberbank Markets platform to make FX transactions. Such orders help to
increase automation, control and transparency of the FX position sizing.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/sberbank-priznan-luchshim-bankom-tsentralnoi-i-vostochnoi-evropy-po-innovatsiiam-v-tsifrovom-bankinge/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Sberbank

Sberbank was named the best bank of Central and Eastern Europe for innovation in digital banking

At
the beginning of July, a video with a driverless Yandex.Rover in the streets of
Moscow appeared online. The technology is supposed to become a useful tool in
e-commerce - it is evident from the fact that Amazon corporation launched
similar rovers in the summer of 2019.

<div>
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="0"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/f0c69ba0-fc75-5b47-b36d-ea07cb40845d.gif">
</div>

 
 Source: <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/rian_ru/44820">RIA Novosti</a>

 
 ICT.Moscow
decided to learn about Yandex’s plans on implementing the technology in Russian
e-commerce and asked about the peculiarities of working on driverless
transport. The representative of the company revealed where the rovers have
already been implemented, spoke about their readiness for real operation and
explained the details of the development of a universal technology for
self-driving vehicles.

 
 Read
the interview of ICT.Moscow to learn where the delivery robots will appear
first, when the driverless transport technology will be ready for operation in
the most difficult road conditions and where and why Yandex tests its
self-driving cars.

<hr />
 
 —&nbsp;You
started to use Yandex.Rover in the streets of Moscow. Does it mean that the
technology will soon be ready for operation in real-life conditions?

 
 —
We have been using our rovers in the streets of Moscow for quite a long time
for collecting data, testing and training algorithms. This time a journalist
was nearby, and he shot the standard working process.

 
 In
terms of operation, we have already conducted several pilot projects and the
first launch of the robot outside the Yandex ecosystem. We started to develop
Rover in the summer of 2019, and already in November we conducted the first
trial - the robot was delivering documents and small parcels within our
headquarters. November was a good time to launch Rover because of the weather
conditions: the robots had to deal with rain, snow and ice. The robot
leapfrogged favorable weather conditions and faced harsh Russian realities
straight away.

 
 In
February this year we carried out a test integration with “Beru” service. The
piloting was linked to February 14th, when there was a high demand for
delivering a large number of parcels. However, only Yandex employees could use
the delivery - Rover picked up parcels at a single center and delivered them to
buildings.

 
 In
April, the robot got its first serious job - it started to operate at Skolkovo.
The territory of the center is arranged in the way that the buildings of
different offices are situated at a certain distance from each other.
Previously, the employees had to use a car to get to several places to exchange
documents and correspondence. With Rover it is no longer needed - the robot
took over this function. Its route there is about 2-3 km. 

 
 In
fact, Skolkovo buys robot delivery service from us, so, technically, it is the
first commercial integration of the technology.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 Less than a year has passed since the emergence of “let’s create a robot” idea till the first commercial application.
 </div>
 
 —&nbsp;In
other words, is the technology ready for real-life application? What are the
plans for further implementation of Rover in real commercial and business
processes?

 
 —
We are currently negotiating with several other companies interested in small
cargo delivery using robots. We expect that Rover will fit into Yandex
ecosystem, including FoodTech sector, which has become more in-demand than
before due to the pandemic.

 
 Such
delivery robots allow to successfully develop e-commerce in general. This
sector is rapidly growing and requires more and more people at different
stages. In the USA there is a shortage of staff in the cargo transportation,
because young people are reluctant to enter this profession. Such rovers are
able to meet the increasing demand for water, food and goods delivery.

 
 If
we talk about the possible range of application of such rovers, there are many
tasks in logistics that can be automated using these robots. They not only can
drive through the streets and deliver documents, parcels and food, but also can
be used within warehouses. When we announced the introduction of the robot
within the company, our colleagues from data centers, which occupy large areas,
showed a great interest in it. In case there is a need to deliver two ram cards
from one point of the data center to another, a rover can help. 

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 The main range of self-driving couriers use includes the services where last mile delivery is needed, primarily e-commerce and warehouse logistics.
 </div>
 
 —&nbsp;The
operation process within data centers and warehouses in quite clear, but Rover
will also be operating in the streets, with a large number of road users and
unpredictable situations. To what extent is the technology ready for urban
environment?

 
 —
The technologies that were perfected and tested in driverless vehicles helped
us a lot. We had to rebuild some algorithms, but the basic principles are the
same. It was one of the reasons why we managed to carry out Rover piloting so
soon: it comprises many skills that have already been developed. Moreover, the
scenarios of use are more simple, even in terms of safety: a car drives at
about 60km/h, so the safety requirements are much higher. 

 
 Rovers
drive on sidewalks at an average speed of 5 km/h, in bike lanes the speed can
be higher (this scenario is being tested in Skolkovo). They have already learnt
to accurately detect and recognize the signals of pedestrian traffic lights (in
the same way as a self-driving car detects turning arrows). But currently there
is a difficulty with uncontrolled pedestrian crossings, as it is not clear how
Rover should behave at them - it is neither a car, nor a pedestrian. So far,
the solution is as follows: the robot will let a car pass, but if it
understands the driver sees it and lets the robot pass, Rover will drive across
the crossing.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 One of the main tasks of machine learning in self-driving transport is to learn to predict the behavior of other road users.
 </div>
 
 It
is not enough to determine where they are driving or going and forecast their
trajectory - intentions are more important. Especially in case with
self-driving vehicles: will the pedestrian. standing at the median strip, cross
the road or not?

 
 To
determine this, neural networks use all available data on the object and the
environment. For example, in case with a car it will be the position in the
lane, steering angle, previous acceleration, road environment, etc. Moreover,
such scenarios have been tested many times in real road conditions. If in the
previous 10 thousand similar episodes a person (a driver or a pedestrian)
behaved in a certain way, in the new episode we can predict future behavior.

<div>
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="0"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/f93cf2bc-670c-520b-90b6-6e87f7e0794c.png">
</div>

 
 Source: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGlf14a7fAQ">Yandex</a>

 
 —&nbsp;And
what about security? Rovers will have to deliver value parcels as well. Is it
safe to leave the unattended?

 
 —
Firstly, they are not left unattended. There are GPS tracker and various
sensors and cameras in each Rover. If the robot considers something went wrong,
for example, if it deviates from the set course, it will send a signal to the
operator, who will be able to access remotely and see what is going on.

 
 Secondly,
a Rover is quite heavy, so it will not be easy to carry it away. Even if
someone manages to do it - what for? You do not know what is inside, and it
will not be easy to pick the lock. If someone succeeds, there can be an
inexpensive product from an online shop. It will also be difficult to resell
the parts of Rover: it will be clear where the part came from. And again, GPS
trackers are installed in Rovers, and they allow to track its movement, just
like in car sharing. 

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 There are not so many scenarios in which something threatens a rover.
 </div>
 
 —&nbsp;You
said that the developments for self-driving car were used in Rovers. So, it is
a universal technology for unmanned transport that requires a minor adaptation,
right?

 
 —
Absolutely correct. Once again, Rovers drive in more simple conditions than
self-driving cars, with&nbsp; more factors to
consider during operation. We will have to pilot self-driving vehicles in
different countries to create a technology that can be implemented worldwide -
only Russia is not enough for this task.

 
 There
are unique things in the USA, which cannot be seen anywhere in the world. For
example, a four-way stop, where the rule about the right of way, according to
which the right-of-way should be yielded to the vehicle on the right, does not
apply. If you arrive at the intersection first, you can continue driving. In
Tel Aviv, where we also test unmanned vehicles, there are things that are not
so common in Russia, but can be seen in other countries. For example,
roundabouts are not very popular in Russia, but in Europe they are practically
the main element of road infrastructure. In Tel Aviv there are a lot of
two-wheeled vehicles: mopeds, self-balancing unicycles, scooters, bicycles,
electric scooters, etc. 

 
 In
Moscow and in Russia in general we also do have these things, but there are
many more of them in Tel Aviv (and they are available all year round - one more
advantage in for training self-driving vehicles algorithms). If we are able to
drive in difficult conditions in Tel Aviv, and then will go to Italy, for
instance, we will be able to drive with scooters, on roundabouts and will be
prepared for other peculiarities.

 
 It
is also important to take the local driving culture into consideration. In Tel
Aviv, for example, you should be very persistent to drive.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 If you are polite and give way to other cars, you will not drive far.
 </div>
 
 We
noticed this feature in Las Vegas. Local residents, after taking a ride in our
self-driving vehicles, noted that the car changes lanes very quickly. It can be
explained with the peculiarities of driving in Moscow: you have to be quick to
change lanes. In the US it is easier - the people are in no hurry and will give
way to you. We configured the system to drive like locals - we changed settings
so the car could change lanes more smoothly. And Tel Aviv, on the contrary,
teaches you to be more persistent. This experience will be useful for us in
Moscow as well.

<div>
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="0"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/d9b1ac1e-196b-5761-9169-d2edfe421001.png">
</div>

 
 Source: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97kpp_8QGuIъ">Israeli TV</a>

 
 —&nbsp;V2X
infrastructure can be of great help for self-driving vehicles, it allows the
car&nbsp; to exchange information with road
infrastructure objects and other vehicles. How actively is this area developing
in Yandex?

 
 —
That also brings us to the issue of technology’s versatility. If we create a
technology that should be safe and applicable anywhere, we should rely only on
ourselves. Communications with infrastructure and other driverless vehicles is
good and useful, and we are testing such scenarios. But we cannot rely on them
and make them an indispensable condition. 

 
 For
example, a person ordered an self-driving taxi to a location that is far away,
with no infrastructure and no self-driving vehicles around. The vehicle should
be able to drive safely by itself - as if there was V2X infrastructure around
it.

 
 Moreover,
different countries have their infrastructure with their standards of data
transmission. This problem exists, even without V2X infrastructure. For
example, in the USA there are traffic lights that have eight different signals,
including a yellow flashing arrow. 

 
 In
general, the possibility of receiving information about the signals one
kilometer before the traffic lights is a good advantage. Having this
information, the vehicle can adjust the speed, plan the motion path in order to
cross the intersection as efficiently as possible, with minimum fuel and time
consumption. This is a nice bonus, but it is still extremely important to be
able to recognize traffic lights signals using vehicle’s vision. 

 
 It
is not always possible to rely on 5G in data transmission. Firstly, 5G coverage
is available not everywhere. Secondly, the signal can be unstable even if the network
is available. All these are additional risk factors.

 
 Finally,
imagine how much the dependence on V2X infrastructure could postpone the launch
of self-driving vehicles. Then it would be necessary to re-equip all roads,
which is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process and requires a lot of
investment. If we want self-driving vehicles to be implemented on roads and
provide services (taxi, for instance) as soon as the regulatory measures are
finalized, relying on V2X is not practical.

<div>
 <img alt="" data-openpopup="0"
 src="https://ict.moscow/static/1200x/f9c48bd4-df84-5ec3-af78-90d74dd7999e.png">
</div>

 
 Source: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa3A4X6YYgk">Yandex</a>

 
 —&nbsp;So,
if the self-driving couriers and vehicles&nbsp;
technology is ready for commercial use, do we have to wait only for the
finalization of the Russian regulatory measures?

 
 —
In case with rovers, no additional regulation is required.

 
 As
for unmanned cars, in general, we are ready to launch the corresponding
services in small cities, with not very intensive traffic. We managed to test
such a service in Innopolis, where it has been operating for about two years
now. The conditions similar to Innopolis are already suitable for launching
such services. 

 
 As
has already been mentioned, the most difficult task for self-driving vehicles
is to predict intentions. The more road users&nbsp;
there are around the vehicle - the less predictable the environment
becomes.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 The trajectory for the emergence of self-driving vehicles will be roughly as follows: small cities — suburbs of large cities — centers of large cities.
 </div>
 
 Rush
hour in the center of Moscow is the most unpredictable time for road traffic.
With the increase in the number of cars, the number of traffic rules violations
also grows. The traffic in the center of major cities poses a challenge to
self-driving vehicles, which needs to be solved.

 
 Of
course, now unmanned cars can drive during rush hour in Moscow safely, without
creating emergency situations for other road users and themselves. But it will
take them more time to drive through difficult junctions than it would take an
experienced driver. In every ambiguous situation the vehicle will give way to
other road users.

 
 But
when data accumulates, the situation will change. It can be compared to an
ordinary person - it is probably not a good idea to drive in the center of
Moscow during rush hour right after getting a driving license, when you are still
learning to drive. As you gain experience, you will be able to drive well even
in heavy traffic. This is a task we will have to solve.

<div class="incut-block incut-block-text-small-size">
 In terms of technology, it will take us about three or four years.
 </div>
 
 In
May, it was revealed how and when the regulations concerning self-driving
vehicles would be finalized in Russia. Yandex has also taken part in developing
the plan for phased implementation of self-driving vehicles. During the
conversation with ICT.Moscow, the representative of the company said that the
document was being finalized and would be submitted to Vladimir Putin for
approval at the end of August.

<hr />
 
 ICT.Moscow spoke with Yulia Shveyko, Head of Media
Relations for Self-Driving Cars of Yandex.

ICT.Moscow spoke with a representative of the Yandex team about the commercial launch of driverless rovers, their readiness to work in real-life conditions and the development of universal technology for self-driving vehicles.

An interview with Yandex.Self-Driving Cars: the prospects of driverless future

Yandex’s self-driving car unit has accelerated through the coronavirus pandemic, becoming one of the world’s top 3 companies for the number of miles driven by automated vehicles.&nbsp;In a conference call with investors Tuesday, 28th of July, the Russian technology giant said its fleet of 130 vehicles had passed four million miles in autonomous driving

 
 The milestone is the latest in Yandex’s heavy investment into driverless technology. The mile count has doubled since the previous update in February, and its global ranking&nbsp;has climbed from fifth — when the company hit the one-million-mile landmark in October 2019 — to third, deputy chief executive Tigran Khudaverdyan said on the call.

 
 But Yandex is still well behind market leader Waymo, a project run by Google’s parent company Alphabet. In its latest public update in January, Alphabet executives said Waymo cars had hit 20 million miles driven on public roads — more than ten times Yandex’s mileage at that point.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/bespilotniki-iandeksa-voshli-v-mirovoi-top-3-po-probegu/">Read more →&nbsp;</a>

Yandex self-driving cars break into world's top 3

The Sberbank Health service and the SberCloud
cloud platform have launched a&nbsp;project to recognize CT scans of the lungs.

 
 As specified in Sberbank, this will allow any
user to upload their CT image to the site and get its decryption within 5-10
minutes. The result will be sent to&nbsp;email&nbsp;and to the site interface
after the analysis is completed. The system uses artificial intelligence
algorithms developed in the Laboratory on artificial intelligence of the
savings Bank, and runs on the computing power of a supercomputer
"Сhristafari".

 
 The system shows the percentage of the affected
part of the lungs, determines the affected areas of the lungs (frosted glass
and consolidation) and calculates their total volume. This analysis will allow
the user to independently assess the dynamics during repeated CT examination in
order to monitor the development of the disease. Doctors service will
help&nbsp;to decipher pictures of patients.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/sberbank-zapustil-besplatnyi-servis-po-raspoznavaniiu-snimkov-kt/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Sberbank has launched a free service for recognizing CT images

Sberbank has
obtained a patent for a method and system for creating facial expressions based
on text. It use in the digital counterpart of the TV presenter -
"Elena". This <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/abulaphia/posts/10157436146886914">was written</a> on Facebook by Albert Efimov, head of the
Sberbank robotics laboratory.

 
 The patent
describes a technology that receives information from at least one speech
signal, processes it, and generates changes to the "face mask" on a
virtual head model. In other words, it is a technology for creating a virtual
image of a speaker who speaks a given text.

 
 In the
comments, there is concern that Sberbank's patent may become an obstacle to the
development of other companies in this direction.

 
 Sberbank introduced
the virtual TV presenter "Elena", created using this technology, in
April 2019. Then " Elena» hosted several SberNews news releases.

 
 In 2018,
Sberbank together with MIPT showed a robot under the working name
"Nika", which answered the questions of the interlocutor and showed
various emotions.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/sberbank-zapatentoval-tekhnologiiu-sozdaniia-chelovecheskoi-mimiki-na-osnove-teksta/">Read more → &nbsp;</a>

Sberbank has patented a technology for creating human facial expressions based on text in Russia

Yandex N. V., the parent company for Yandex and other companies in the group, announced the parameters for the division of joint assets with Sberbank.

 
 Yandex buys 45% from Sberbank " Yandex.Market " for 42 billion rubles, with a total valuation of about 87.3 billion rubles. After closing the transaction, the Internet holding will consolidate 100% of the trading platform. As before, part of the shares of Yandex.Market" will be allocated for the motivational program of employees.

 
 Yandex will also sell Sberbank a minority stake-25% plus 1 RUB-in Yandex.Money». The preliminary sale amount, which will allow the Bank to fully consolidate the project, is 2.4 billion rubles. But the final amount will depend on the closing date of the transaction and the exchange rate. "Yandex.Money " will continue to work for users in the usual mode, but before the end of this year will rebrand, the report notes.

 
 The parties expect the deal to close in the third quarter of 2020. It has already been approved by the Yandex Board of Directors and the Sberbank management Board. The part of the transaction related to the e-Commerce business also requires approval from the Federal Antimonopoly service of Russia.

 
 As Lev Khasis, first Deputy Chairman of the Sberbank management Board, explained, " competition between the Sberbank and Yandex ecosystems has started to increase." "We plan to remain partners with Yandex under commercial agreements in many areas," he said. "Building an ecosystem is a living process, and this transaction opens up completely new opportunities for us in the development of the e-commerce segment, as well as removes a number of restrictions previously stipulated by our agreements with Yandex," Khasis also said.

 
 The fact that Yandex and Sberbank may announce the division of joint projects in June became known on June 2.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/23/06/2020/5ef2332d9a79476c6a5ea67a">Read more →&nbsp;</a>

Market in Brief