Speech Technology Center
(part of Sberbank ecosystem) is involved in the development of an intelligent
chatbot for automating the responds to the requests from Moscow Metro
passengers. 

 
 The chatbot is based on ChatNavigator
dialogue platform. Hybrid classification, a combination of rules and machine
learning will be used develop the chatbot so that it can understand user
queries.

 
 The chatbot will provide
information about the working hours of metro, Moscow Central Circle, Moscow
Central Diameters, intercept parkings, help passengers call Passenger Mobility
Center workers for assistance, automate the submission of applications and
service responses and find lost items.

 
 The service will be launched
this autumn and will be available on mosmetro.ru website, in the Moscow Metro
mobile app, in messengers and MosMetro account in one of the social networks.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/tsrt-razrabatyvaet-virtualnogo-pomoshchnika-dlia-passazhirov-moskovskogo-metro/">Original (in Russian)</a>

IKS Media

A virtual assistant will help Moscow Metro passengers

According to the Content Review report, the average cost of a mobile tariff with unlimited Internet in Russia increased by 47% to 887.5 rubles over the period from December 2019 to July 2020. At the same time, there was a 15.5% decrease (from 37.3 rubles to 31.5 rubles) in the cost of 1 Gb of Internet in other tariffs. Therefore, Russia retains sixth place in the ranking of the countries with cheapest mobile internet, ahead of Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Singapore.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/issledovanie-rossiia-sokhranila-shestoe-mesto-v-reitinge-stran-s-naibolee-deshevym-mobilnym-internetom/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Kommersant

Russia retains sixth place in the ranking of the countries with the cheapest mobile Internet

Beeline
started to build 5G-ready network (supports LTE standard and will support 5G)
at all stations, in all underpasses and tunnels of the Moscow Metro, Kommersant
reports with reference to the operator’s representative. 

 
 The
project is supposed to be completed in November 2020, the network will be
launched firstly on five busiest lines. The amount of investment has not been
disclosed, but, according to the source referred to by the newspaper, it can be
over 3 billion rubles during a period of three years. 

 
 Currently,
Vimpelcom’s network is already available at 61 out of 218 underground metro
stations, the company representatives claim.

 
 The
partner of the project is Huawei, the equipment of which the operator used to
upgrade the network to 5G-ready in Moscow.

 
 Megafon completed 4G
coverage of all Metro stations at the beginning of 2019, and the amount of
sections between stations where its services are available is “close to 100%”,
the representatives of the company say. Tele2 representatives note that the
network is available at all stations, and at the new ones Ericsson equipment is
being installed. One year ago, MTS managed to provide subscribers with the same
internet quality in the metro and ground transport after it had completed the
construction of underground LTE network using Nokia equipment, according to the
operator’s press service. 

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/vympelkom-investiruet-v-razvitie-mobilnoi-seti-v-moskovskom-metro/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Beeline invests in the mobile network in the Moscow Metro

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.

ICT.Moscow

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

MTS became the first
company in Russia to obtain a license for providing 5G mobile services. The
license that expires on July 16, 2025 was granted to MTS by Roskomnadzor to
create a network that will cover almost all regions of Russia (83 out of 85).
Communication will be provided in 24.25-24.65 GHz frequency range in accordance
with 5G/IMT-2020 standard.

 
 Company representatives note
that large enterprises and business will become the first users of the 5G
network.

 
 “5G standard will allow corporate clients to actively use artificial
intelligence, IoT, AR and VR technologies for remote control of equipment,
driverless vehicles development, interactive educational programs and creation
of the latest quality control systems at production sites” commented Alexey Kornya, President of MTS.

 
 The license was granted to MTS
on the basis of the decision of the State Commission for Radio Frequencies
dated March 17, 2020 allowing “an indefinite range of persons to use 24.25-24.65
GHz frequency band by radio electronic means of 5G/IMT-2020 standard in the
territory of the Russian Federation".

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/mts-poluchila-litsenziiu-na-sozdanie-seti-5g/">Original (in Russian)</a>

MTS received a license to create 5G networks

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

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

According
to the press service of the Moscow Healthcare Department, over 150 thousand
radiology images were processed in Moscow using artificial intelligence. 

 
 “As a part
of the Moscow experiment on the implementation of computer vision in radiology,
artificial intelligence services were integrated into the radiological
information service. During the peak of the pandemic 98% of all test results
analyzed by the technology were CT scans of the chest organs of patients with
suspected coronavirus infection and pneumonia. Artificial intelligence
algorithms for diagnosing other diseases will be introduced in 2020,” - the
statement said.

 
 It is noted
that in medical organizations, artificial intelligence analyzes several types
of radiology examinations - computed tomography, X-ray diagnostics, mammography
and fluorography. They are used to detect pneumonia, lung cancer and other
pulmonary pathologies, as well as breast cancer.

 
 The
statement specifies that the results of the work of artificial intelligence
services are available in 48 inpatient facilities and 193 polyclinics,
including there branches. The wide implementation of the technology became
possible due to the modernization of diagnostic equipment in medical facilities
and the availability of the unified radiological information service for
storing and working with medical images, as artificial intelligence services
can only work with digital images. They also need to be integrated with the
radiological information service to ensure stable work with the research
stream.

Moscow News Agency

Over 150 thousand radiology images were processed in Moscow with the help of artificial intelligence

MTS announced that it will provide the building
and territory of the Balchug Viewpoint residential complex with digital
solutions for automatic collection of meter readings and billing for housing
and communal services, contactless access to a closed area using a smartphone,
entry to a parking lot by recognizing car numbers, as well as a security system
based on video analytics.

 
 The first stage of the project was completed in
June 2020, and the company plans to implement the entire range of solutions in
the fall of 2020. The residential complex will be managed through a single
center, and residents will have access to services via a mobile app. MTS will
also provide the residential complex with Wi-Fi, high-speed wired Internet and
mobile communications.

 
 At the first stage of the project, MTS automated
the collection of water and electricity meter readings and billing of
residents. Data from utility metering devices via the cloud platform is sent to
the billing management company, where an invoice is automatically generated.
Data transfer from counters is carried out via the Internet of things NB-IoT
network, specially developed for the housing, real estate and smart city
segments.

 
 The company notes that residents will be able to
pay bills in an app developed specifically for the residential complex. You can
also use the app to order a pass, answer a call from the intercom, connect to
the CCTV cameras on the territory of the complex and the Parking monitoring
system, apply to the management company and take part in voting, as well as
manage the "smart home" in the apartment.

 
 “Today, only about 5% of Russian management
companies use digital solutions for managing apartment buildings, but we expect
that the growth rate of this market will be comparable to the growth rate of
retail sales of smart home devices – about 20-30% per year.”​ - commented MTS representative and Director of the Internet of Things Department Mikhail Kozlov.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/mts-sozdast-v-moskve-tsifrovoi-zhiloi-kompleks/">Original (in Russian)</a>

MTS will create a digital residential complex in Moscow

MTS announced that it will provide the building
and territory of the Balchug Viewpoint residential complex with digital
solutions for automatic collection of meter readings and billing for housing
and communal services, contactless access to a closed area using a smartphone,
entry to a parking lot by recognizing car numbers, as well as a security system
based on video analytics.

 
 The first stage of the project was completed in
June 2020, and the company plans to implement the entire range of solutions in
the fall of 2020. The residential complex will be managed through a single
center, and residents will have access to services via a mobile app. MTS will
also provide the residential complex with Wi-Fi, high-speed wired Internet and
mobile communications.

 
 At the first stage of the project, MTS automated
the collection of water and electricity meter readings and billing of
residents. Data from utility metering devices via the cloud platform is sent to
the billing management company, where an invoice is automatically generated.
Data transfer from counters is carried out via the Internet of things NB-IoT
network, specially developed for the housing, real estate and smart city
segments.

 
 The company notes that residents will be able to
pay bills in an app developed specifically for the residential complex. You can
also use the app to order a pass, answer a call from the intercom, connect to
the CCTV cameras on the territory of the complex and the Parking monitoring
system, apply to the management company and take part in voting, as well as
manage the "smart home" in the apartment.

 
 “Today, only about 5% of Russian management
companies use digital solutions for managing apartment buildings, but we expect
that the growth rate of this market will be comparable to the growth rate of
retail sales of smart home devices – about 20-30% per year.”​ commented MTS representative and Director of the Internet of Things Department Mikhail Kozlov.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Russia's national development goals for the next 10 years. These include digital transformation and successful entrepreneurship.

 
 To achieve the goal of "Digital transformation", four indicators were set by 2030:

<ul>
 <li>&nbsp;achieving
"digital maturity" in key sectors of the economy and social sphere,
including health and education, as well as public administration;</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>increasing
the share of mass socially significant services available in electronic form to
95%;</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>increase
in the share of households with broadband Internet access to 97%;</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>the
increase in investment in domestic solutions in the field of information
technology is four times compared to the indicator of 2019.</li>
</ul>

 
 The government has until October 30 to submit a plan to achieve the national goals.

 
 <a href="https://ict.moscow/news/tsifrovaia-transformatsiia-voshla-v-chislo-osnovnykh-tselei-razvitiia-rossii-do-2030-goda/" target="_blank">Original (in Russian)</a>

kremlin.ru

Digital transformation has become one of the main goals of Russia's development until 2030

Coursera analysed the level of training of
IT-specialists in various fields around the world. In the overall rating,
Russia is recognized as the country with the most highly qualified developers
in the field of software development and data management. This is due to the
high quality of technical education in universities in Moscow, Saint
Petersburg, Tomsk and Novosibirsk.

 
 The most trending skills in the field of
technology analysts include artificial intelligence and convolutional neural
networks, and in the field of Data Science — deep learning and natural language
processing.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.coursera.org/gsi?ranMID=40328&amp;ranEAID=a1LgFw09t88&amp;ranSiteID=a1LgFw09t88-k7TyLSf8XEZbOeXVWZ9ZFA&amp;siteID=a1LgFw09t88-k7TyLSf8XEZbOeXVWZ9ZFA">Explore the details of research</a>

Coursera

Russia took first place in the "Technology" and "Data Science" categories in the Coursera global skills index

Mediascope has researched the Russian online
payment market in 2020. Internet banking and Bank cards remain the most popular
ways of payment on the Internet&nbsp;-&nbsp;90% of respondents use each of
them, as well as electronic money – 78% use them to pay online. Contactless
payments are used by 53% of Russians, compared to 45% a year earlier.

 
 Most often, they pay online for mobile communication
– 82% of respondents do so, orders in online stores (81%) and utilities (72%).

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/issledovanie-53-rossiian-platiat-v-internete-s-pomoshchiu-servisov-beskontaktnykh-platezhei/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Mediascope

Research: 53% of Russians pay online using contactless payment services

CNews Analytics presented an overview of the market for it solutions for mobile app development. According to the research, the global market for mobile apps and embedded paid services totaled $120 billion in 2019. The Russian market is still less than 1% of the global market and was estimated at $1.06 billion last year, which is 40% more than a year earlier.

 
 On average, Russians spend about 2.5 hours in mobile apps, which is 10% more than two years ago. During this time, they downloaded various mobile apps more than 5.1 billion times. In addition to games, banking and online shopping apps were the most successful.

 
 <a href="https://ict.moscow/news/issledovanie-rossiiskii-rynok-mobilnoi-razrabotki-vyros-na-40/" target="_blank">Original (in Russian)</a>

CNews

Research: the Russian mobile development market grew by 40%

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

Sberbank has launched a free service for recognizing CT images

97% of Russian
households will be provided with broadband Internet by 2030, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said
during a meeting of the Council for strategic development and national
projects, RNS reports.

 
 "By 2030, in order
to ensure full penetration of all the benefits and opportunities of
digitalization, it is necessary that 95% of all socially significant services
for citizens are available online. This will, of course, require that almost
the entire population of our country be provided with broadband Internet
access. We offer an indicator of 97% of households that will be connected to
the Internet, " Chernyshenko said.

 
 According to the Deputy
Prime Minister, the government is also working on an instruction from Russian
President Vladimir Putin to gradually switch to Russian hardware and software.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/chernyshenko-k-2030-mu-godu-shirokopolosnym-internetom-budut-obespecheny-97-domokhoziaistv/">Read more →&nbsp; </a>

97% of Russian households will be provided with broadband Internet by 2030

This conclusion was
reached by the authors of the study "AI Technologies in medicine and
healthcare: Russia's position on the global patent and publication
landscape", who analyzed scientific publications and patents in the field
of medical artificial intelligence from 2010 to 2019.

 
 Insights:

<ul>
 <li>Russia ranks 27th in the world in terms of the number of publications
devoted to the use of AI in healthcare. The top 5 are: USA, UK, China, Germany,
Canada. To enter the top 5 countries in terms of publication activity in Russia,
you need to increase the number of publications by more than 6 times.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>The largest number of scientific publications on the topic
"Computer science, artificial intelligence" (since the technology is
multidisciplinary) in Russia belongs to the Russian Academy of Sciences (1370),
ITMO University (496) and HSE (343).</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>The largest portfolio of patent documents in the field of "AI in
medicine" — 9 patent families belongs to the Federal state institution of
eye microsurgery of&nbsp;S. N. Fedorov.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
 <li>The main competitive advantages of Russia on the world stage are the
presence of a large number of highly qualified specialists in the field of AI.</li>
</ul>

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/issledovanie-bolee-4-tys-nauchnykh-publikatsii-i-12-tys-patentov-v-mire-prikhodiatsia-na-sferu-meditsinskogo-iskusstvennogo-intellekta/">Read more →&nbsp; </a>

More than 4 thousand publications and 12 thousand patents in the world are in the field of medical artificial intelligence

Specialists of the
center for diagnostics and telemedicine of the Moscow Healthcare Department conducted a survey of patients as part of a Moscow experiment on the use of
computer vision technology in medicine.

 
 Among respondents who
positively assess the use of AI in healthcare, 80% called the use of this
technology appropriate, 70% said that the quality of medical care has improved.

 
 Anna Meshcheryakova, CEO
of Third Opinion (participant of the Moscow experiment on the use of AI in
medicine):

 
 "One of the goals
of applying the experimental legal regime (EPR) is called "testing digital
innovations for their accelerated implementation". EPR allows you to apply
innovative services without their presence in the order of medical care,
clinical recommendations and standards of medical care."​

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://t.me/ict_moscow_ai/812">Original (in Russian)</a>

50% of Muscovites positively rate the use of AI in medicine

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

In the annual rating of dynamically
developing cities Cities in Motion, Moscow took the 6th place in the category
"Urban planning" and the 8th-in the category "Human
capital".

 
 The rating is compiled by the
University of Navarre business school (IESE). It included 174 cities from 80
countries (including 79 of the capitals of the States). The comparison is made
in nine categories: "Economy", "Human capital",
"Social cohesion", "environment", "Management",
"Urban planning", "International relations and image", "Technology",
"Transport system".

 
 Over the past year, Moscow has
improved its indicators in such areas as" environment","
International relations and image", and"Social cohesion". In the
General list, the Russian capital is on the 87th line, in the
"Technology" category-on the 119th position.

 
 In June 2020, Moscow was included in
the top 20 most promising cities for it investment in Europe according to the
magazine fDi Intelligence and the Next Web.

 
 In may 2020, Moscow was ranked 9th in
the ranking of world cities with the best ecosystem for startups by
StartupBlink.

 
 Since April 2020, the Smart City Lab of the Moscow Department of information technology has been publishing more
than 30 thematic datasets of information about the city on the open data portal.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://citiesinmotion.iese.edu/indicecim/index.eng.html?lang=en">Read more → </a>&nbsp;

mos.ru

Moscow entered the top-10 of the Cities in Motion rating in two categories

Amazon Web
Services (AWS, the world's largest cloud service provider) has reached an
agreement with Mail.ru Group on partnership to enter the Russian market. Companies
will be able to offer customers unified access to their cloud services and
solutions in the multi-cloud format.

 
 This cooperation will allow Amazon to comply with Russian
legislation on the storage of personal data in Russia. As the representative
told the newspaper "Kommersant" Mail.ru in addition, the partnership
with MCS will help AWS global customers to enter the Russian market without
hindrance, while complying with all local legal requirements, and MCS Russian
customers will be able to quickly scale in foreign markets.

 
 According to Stanislav Mirin, an analyst at iKS-Consulting,
AWS's entry into Russia will boost competition and the level of service
delivery in the Russian market. According to him, direct sales of services from
the world's leading cloud providers in Russia make up no more than 8% of the
market.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/amazon-web-services-vyidet-na-rossiiskii-rynok-v-partnerstve-s-mail-ru-group/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Amazon Web Services will enter the Russian market in partnership with Mail.ru Group

<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
RU">According to Olga Kairova, she is looking for funding and forming an application development team for a new business. The co-founder of iPavlov does not disclose the name of the future project before its launch.

&nbsp;

<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
RU"><o:p></o:p>

<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
RU">Infrastructure project iPavlov in 2017 received a grant in the amount of 500 million roubles from Russian venture company and the savings bank. The bank also became an industrial partner of the project. The library for developing dialog systems is one of the products of the iPavlov research project. 

&nbsp;

<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;color:black;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
RU">The development of DeepPavlov is carried out by employees of the laboratory of neural systems and deep learning at MIPT. The DeepPavlov brand belongs to the Institute, but MIPT does not claim it, Kairova notes. <span style="font-size:12.0pt;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;color:black;
mso-fareast-language:RU">However, the laboratory cannot engage in commercial activities.​

&nbsp;

<a href="https://rb.ru/news/ipavlov-new/">Read more →&nbsp;</a>

<o:p></o:p>

<span style="font-size:12.0pt;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;color:black;
mso-fareast-language:RU"><o:p></o:p>

RB.ru

Сo-founder and former head of the business department of the iPavlov AI project, will launch a new company

Russian
President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Russian government to ratify a
Federal project "Artificial intelligence". As a result of the meeting
on the development of information and communication technologies and
communications, which took place on June 10, the President issued an
instruction to the government to "take exhaustive measures to approve a
separate Federal project "Artificial intelligence", providing the
necessary funding, including from the Federal budget funds provided for the
implementation of the national program "Digital economy of the Russian
Federation" (the implementation period is until August 31, 2020).

 
 The
government was also instructed to work on the issue of "developing a set
of measures to promote the introduction of innovative software, including
artificial intelligence technologies, into the activities of medical
organizations" (until August 3, 2020).

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/podpisan-zakon-ob-eksperimentalnykh-pravovykh-rezhimakh-v-sfere-tsifrovykh-innovatsii/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Vladimir Putin instructed the government to ratify Federal project "Artificial intelligence"

Logistics operator Cainiao (part of Alibaba Group) and AliExpress Russia will allocate up to $ 7 million to subsidize delivery for Russian marketplace sellers within a year.

 
 To get a subsidy, the seller must set the same delivery rates offered by the platform. The seller must also work with Cainiao. In exchange, AliExpress and Cainiao offer free delivery of the first ten orders and subsidies for each order by courier or at the pick-up point.

 
 The company plans that unified tariffs will reduce the cost of delivery for users and make it more predictable, the company calculates.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/cainiao-i-aliexpress-rossiia-vydeliat-do-500-mln-rublei-na-subsidirovanie-dostavki-dlia-prodavtsov-marketpleisa/">Read more →&nbsp;</a>

VC.ru

Cainiao and AliExpress Russia will allocate up to $ 7 million to subsidize delivery for marketplace sellers

International
experts highly appreciate conditions Moscow provides for the successful
creation and development of startups.

 
 Moscow
ranked 20th in the “Top 100 emerging startup ecosystems”, placing the Russian
capital ahead of Taipei, Milan, Chengdu, Hamburg and Vienna. The overall
efficiency of startup ecosystems, the level of funding, its availability and
talent development were used in the assessment. 

 
 Startup
Genome consulting company published “Top 100 emerging startup ecosystems”
ranking as a part of the global report on startup ecosystems (The Global
Startup Ecosystem Report 2020).

 
 In the
overall ranking, Moscow attained the highest scores for two out of the four
indicators - availability of funding and the level of talent development and
experience. The assessment of the availability of investment was carried out
based on the amount of funding at early stages, its dynamics, the increase in
the number of investors and also their experience. “Talent and experience”
indicator included the number of technology specialists, the number of
programmers registered on Github (the largest web service for hosting
IT-projects and their joint development), as well as the average salary in the
industry and the number of exits (sales of their shares by shareholders -
founders and investors) over the past 10 years.

 
 The ranking
includes 270 ecosystems from over 100 countries and was prepared by Startup
Genome consulting company. Over 65 cities in 30 countries use Startup Genome
services in startup ecosystems development. Startup Genome community brings
together leaders and experts to foster economic and innovative development. 

 
 Due to
achievements in different fields, from transport to the restoration of
monuments, Moscow won prestigious Russian and International awards. High
rankings across different metrics confirm its success. Recently, the capital of
Russia has been ranked among top 20 Europe’s most promising high-tech cities.

 
 <a target="_blank" href="https://ict.moscow/news/moskva-zaniala-20-e-mesto-sredi-100-luchshikh-razvivaiushchikhsia-startap-ekosistem/">Original (in Russian)</a>

Market in Brief