4 things we learned this morning

The iCub is a talking humanoid robot head with the ability to see, speak and hear Picture: Greg Macvean

Sir Ian Wood will never own a private jet

After attending charity conference The Giving Pledge in Virginia, USA, oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood realised he was probably the only person there who didn’t arrive by private jet.

The conference was hosted by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and American industrialist Warren Buffett, and joked he was probably the poorest person on the guest list.

Hating the idea of a billionaires’ club and shying away from the word philanthropist, Sir Ian spends most of his retirement working on The Wood Foundation, the trust set up by his family which by the end of 2014 had channelled £16m both into good causes in Scotland and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Read the full interview: http://beta.scotsman.com/news/sir-ian-wood-why-i-ll-never-have-a-private-jet-1-3901173

Edinburgh scientists are teaching a robot emotions

At Heriot-Watt university, there is a robot called Nikita who is being taught to understand human emotions through a combination of artificial intelligence and programming.

The iCub has a cotton skin mask, which gives the robot the capability to not only speak but also to show mouth movement, with the aim that we can generate a more natural interaction.

This humanoid robot is a developing platform which 28 institutions across the world are also working on.

Discover how they are doing this here: http://beta.scotsman.com/news/education/edinburgh-scientists-teach-a-robot-human-emotion-1-3901055

John Logie Baird’s oldest recording is coming home to Scotland

Thanks to an anonymous benefactor, the world’s oldest surviving transmission recording made by the Scots television pioneer has been saved by the University of Glasgow.

The disc, dating back to 20 September, 1927, is the world’s oldest surviving 78rpm video recording. The collection was put up for sale in April and looked almost certain to go to a private collector overseas, but a temporary export bar was placed on its sale until today and the University has confirmed it is in the process of buying the collection.

Find out what the anonymous donor said: http://beta.scotsman.com/news/logie-baird-s-1927-video-recording-coming-home-1-3901161

Where the luckiest town in Scotland is

Data gathered by Camelot, the National Lottery operators, has shown that the luckiest town in Scotland is Glasgow. The city has had more top tier wins (over £50,000) than any other city or town in Scotland. The National Lottery has also created a massive 78 millionaires in the “G” postcode area alone.

Rounding out the top five list is:

2. Aberdeen

3. Dundee

4. Edinburgh

5. Perth

Discover how much other cities have won: http://beta.scotsman.com/lifestyle/what-are-the-luckiest-cities-in-scotland-by-lottery-wins-1-3900749