This week’s list of top data news highlights covers June 29th, 2025 to July 6th, 2025 and includes articles on using AI to understand how dolphins communicate and identify cancer with dogs.
1. Automating Precision Tattoos
Blackdot, a startup based in Austin, Texas, has developed an AI-powered tattoo device that applies designs with high precision. Using a camera, laser, and sensors the device scans the skin and deposits ink in dots as fine as a human hair, guided by a digital stencil. Tattoo studios like Bang Bang in New York are using the device for lettering and other detailed work, which artists prefer to skip. The device operates at shallower skin depths, avoiding nerve endings to reduce pain, while ensuring consistent results. That helps studios offer cleaner, more predictable tattoos to customers seeking a polished alternative.
Wimbledon is using an AI-powered system from UK-based sports technology company Hawk-Eye to make all line calls this year. The system relies on high-speed cameras placed around each court to track the ball’s trajectory in real-time and uses computer vision algorithms to determine whether it lands in or out. Calls are delivered through pre-recorded voice clips, replacing human line judges for the first time in the tournament’s 148-year history. Tournament officials say the system has already reduced disputes and improved match flow by making more accurate, instantaneous decisions.
China’s Yizhuang Development Zone, a major tech hub on the outskirts of Beijing, hosted the inaugural RoBoLeague tournament, the country’s first fully autonomous 3-on-3 humanoid robot soccer match. The robots, developed by Chinese startup Booster Robotics, competed without any human control. Each machine used AI, visual sensors, and motion systems to track the ball, navigate the field, and stand up after falls. Despite frequent stumbles, the match marked a breakthrough in embodied AI, showing that autonomous machines can coordinate complex physical tasks in real-world settings.
4. Cooling Temperatures with Smart Paint
A global team of researchers has developed AI-engineered paint that keeps surfaces significantly cooler than conventional coatings. Using machine learning, the team identified new paint formulations that reflect solar radiation and emit heat more efficiently, reducing surface temperatures by 5 to 20 degrees Celsius. In hot climates, applying the paint to a single apartment building with the paint can reduce indoor heat gain and cut electricity use by more than 15,000 kilowatt hours annually—enough to power 10 air-conditioning units for a full year.
5. Talking to Dolphins with AI
Google DeepMind has developed DolphinGemma, a large language model built to analyze dolphin vocalizations as part of a broader effort to enable communication between humans and other species. The system converts dolphin sounds into discrete tokens—similar to how human language is processed—allowing researchers to detect recurring patterns and map them to potential meanings. Developed with Georgia Tech and the Wild Dolphin Project, DolphinGemma also helps scientists generate sounds that could be used to communicate back, bringing the idea of two-way interspecies dialogue closer to reality.
6. Diagnosing Spaceflight Failures
Texas A&M University researchers have developed Daphne-AT, a virtual assistant designed to help astronauts troubleshoot spacecraft malfunctions in real-time. The system analyzes data from life support and environmental sensors to detect issues like low oxygen or high contaminant levels, then provides a step-by-step guide on how to fix them. In lab simulations, astronauts solved problems faster, with less effort, and without missing critical updates or instructions from mission control.
7. Reducing Traffic Violations
NoTraffic, a transportation company based in California, has installed AI-powered traffic systems at over 10 intersections in Santee to reduce red-light running and improve safety. The system uses cameras and radar to track real-time traffic and pedestrian flow, then automatically adjusts signal timing, like giving a longer green to a backed-up turn lane. When lights are better timed, drivers feel less pressure to speed through a red. Since installation, intersections have seen red-light violations drop up to 30 percent.
8. Identifying Cancer with Dogs
SpotitEarly, a health diagnostics startup based in Israel, has developed a breath-based cancer screening system that combines trained dogs with AI to detect early-stage disease. Users collect a breath sample at home and mail it in; trained beagles then sniff the sample to identify chemical compounds linked to cancer. As the dogs work, sensors track their behavior, like how long they sniff or whether they sit, while AI software interprets these signals to produce a diagnostic result. In a double-blind clinical trial with over 1,400 participants, the system achieved 94 percent accuracy across four major cancers: breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal.
Researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology have built a machine that uses AI and lasers to take apart old clothes so they can be recycled. First, it scans each item with infrared cameras to create a 3D image. Then, the AI figures out what parts can’t be recycled—like zippers, buttons, or logos—and a laser cuts those pieces off. Finally, the machine checks what kind of fabric the clothing is made of and sorts it so it can be reused properly. It takes about 10 seconds per item, and it’s now being tested with help from partners like Nike, Goodwill, and the recycling company Ambercycle.
The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, based in Hangzhou, has launched China’s first AI-powered provincial tourism platform. Powered by Qwen and DeepSeek language models, the platform features AI assistants that help visitors plan itineraries, find hotels, estimate budgets, and explore neighborhoods. A key feature is the in-app “Easy GO” QR code, which acts as a personalized digital ID. Travelers input their visa and payment details once, and the code can then be scanned at immigration, hotels, tourist attractions, and on public transport. Travelers report time savings of over 60 percent on logistics, and the app’s real-time translation and smart routing make it easier for international visitors to explore.