Quest Global and IEEE Expand India Partnership to Empower Women Engineers

Quest Global, a leading global product engineering services company, has extended its strategic collaboration with IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization advancing technology for humanity, in India to provide opportunities for female engineers through its advancing women in engineering initiative.

Now in its third year, this strategic collaboration continues to deliver meaningful impact through two key Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives - the Women in Engineering (WIE) Scholarship Program and the Returning Women Engineers Program (RWEP).

To date, the IEEE WIE Scholarship Program has benefited 790+ Women students from three Indian states, that is, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Kerala, and is aiming to support 200+, including students from Underserved communities who aim to get admission to Engineering after the 12th Standard this year. The program offers a comprehensive development platform, including financial aid, technical courses through IEEE’s Blended Learning Program, industry-led learning sessions, mentorship, placement support, and professional networking opportunities.

Eligibility is based on academic performance, with applicants required to have a minimum of 60%, and preference given to candidates from Underserved Communities. The program is already yielding positive outcomes: 100+ students have successfully secured employment, with placement support ongoing for other participants.

“Quest Global is proud to continue our partnership with IEEE India in advancing equitable access to engineering education and careers for women in India,” said Cheryl Rodness, Global Head of Brand, Quest Global. “We are dedicated to enabling women to become leaders and innovators in this field because we believe in the transformative power of engineering.”

Srikanth Chandrasekaran, Country Head, IEEE India Operations, highlighted the importance of collaboration, stating, “We sincerely thank Quest Global for their continued support in empowering over 1,000 people through Women in Engineering initiatives across three states in India. Moving forward, IEEE is committed to expanding this impact to reach all states, fostering a truly inclusive engineering ecosystem nationwide.”

Complementing the scholarship initiative, the Returning Women Engineers Program (RWEP) is designed to help women professionals re-enter the workforce after career breaks. Developed by IEEE India and funded by Quest Global, the program provides training in both technical and soft skills, along with career preparation, interview coaching, resume building, and mentorship support.

About IEEE

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization and is a public charity dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more at https://www.ieee.org.

Cloud Computing, 5G, Metaverse, EVs Among the Most Important Areas of Technology in 2023, Says New IEEE Study

Chief information officers, chief technology officers and technology leaders globally surveyed on key technology trends, priorities and predictions for 2023 and beyond

IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, today released the results of "The Impact of Technology in 2023 and Beyond: an IEEE Global Study," a new survey of global technology leaders from the U.S., U.K., China, India and Brazil. The study, which included 350 chief technology officers, chief information officers and IT directors, covers the most important technologies in 2023 and future technology trends. To learn more about the study and the impact of technology in 2023 and beyond, visit https://transmitter.ieee.org/impact-of-technology-2023.

A More Connected, Sustainable and Virtual World

Which areas of technology will be among five most important in 2023? Global technology leaders surveyed said cloud computing (40%), 5G (38%), metaverse (37%), electric vehicles (EVs) (35%), and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) (33%) will be the five most important areas of technology next year.

The top industry sectors that will be most impacted by technology in 2023 are:

• (40%) telecommunications
• (39%) automotive and transportation
• (33%) energy
• (33%) banking and financial services

Currently in its nascent stages, the metaverse can be described as an immersive digital network of 3D interactive worlds. Global technologists surveyed said the following innovations will be very important for advancing the development of the metaverse in 2023:

• (71%) 5G and ubiquitous connectivity
• (58%) virtual reality (VR) headsets
• (58%) augmented reality (AR) glasses

Technologies that foster sustainability are growing in importance. A strong majority (94%) of those surveyed agree that they have prioritized sustainability goals for 2023 and beyond, and any technologies their company implements are required to be energy-efficient and help shrink their carbon footprint.

Metaverse-related technologies are also expected to be deployed in various ways: 91% of respondents agree, to bring employees together for corporate training across offices, conferences and hybrid meetings, their company is actively adopting metaverse technology strategies in 2023. In addition, over three-quarters (76%) of global technologists say 26%-75% of interactions with colleagues, customers and management at their company will be conducted virtually in 2023.

AI, Robotics, IIoT and Digital Twins

AI has become ubiquitous. So it is not surprising that 98% of survey respondents agree that in 2023 and beyond, AI-powered autonomous, collaborative software and mobile robots will automate processes and tasks, including data analysis, allowing humans to be more efficient and effective. In addition, when asked what percentage of jobs across the entire global economy will be augmented by AI-driven software in 2023, 24% of technologists surveyed said 1-25%; 40% of those surveyed said 26-50%; and 27% of respondents said 51-75%. Related to the IIoT, which optimizes smart industrial machines, sensors, processors and the real-time data they generate, 98% surveyed say using digital twin technology and virtual simulations in 2023 to more efficiently design, develop and safely test product prototypes and manufacturing processes will be important, including 68% who say it will be very important.

EVs, 5G and 6G

Because of its fast and high data throughput, 5G will impact vehicle connectivity and automation in 2023, 97% of survey respondents agree.

Respondents also said that 5G will benefit these areas the most in the next year:

• (56%) remote learning and education
• (54%) telemedicine, including remote surgery, health record transmissions
• (51%) entertainment, sports and live event streaming
• (49%) personal and professional day-to-day communications
• (29%) transportation and traffic control
• (25%) manufacturing/assembly
• (23%) carbon footprint reduction and energy efficiency

A strong majority (95%) of global technologists agree that space satellites for remote mobile connectivity will be a game-changer in 2023 because they enable 5G device connections anywhere, 24/7, leapfrogging terrestrial infrastructure. Close to nine out of 10 of global technologists (88%) agree 6G will primarily be an evolving work in progress in 2023, but that in half a decade 6G will be standardized.

Cybersecurity Concerns Rise

The cybersecurity concerns most likely to be in technology leaders’ top three in 2023 – which rose as compared to levels of concern in 2022 – are issues related to:

• (51%) cloud vulnerability (up from 35% in 2022)
• (46%) the mobile and hybrid workforce, including employees using their own devices (up from 39% in 2022)
• (43%) data center vulnerability (up from 27% in 2022)

About the Survey

"The Impact of Technology in 2023 and Beyond: an IEEE Global Study" surveyed 350 CIOs, CTOs, IT directors and other technology leaders in the U.S., U.K., China, India and Brazil at organizations with more than 1,000 employees across multiple industry sectors including banking and financial services, consumer goods, education, electronics, engineering, energy, government, healthcare, insurance, retail, technology and telecommunications. The surveys were conducted September 14-16, 2022.

About IEEE

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more.

How to Build an Inclusive Metaverse

The metaverse may only exist in pieces, but designers are already working on ways to ensure it is accessible to all.

Imagine this: you put on a pair of virtual reality (VR) goggles and are instantly transported…elsewhere. In this virtual world, you might exist as an avatar, but your actions and motions in the real world, captured by sensors, translate. Along the way, you and other users develop a community, connected by digital personas that everyone wears through a number of games and platforms.

That, in a nutshell, is the idea behind the metaverse: a persistent digital reality informed by real world sensors. In most imaginings, the metaverse will be used for gaming and entertainment. But that vision is limiting, as the metaverse could integrate with augmented reality (AR). And its uses go well beyond gaming. The metaverse could also be used for mental health therapy, business meetings, healthcare and even in industrial settings.

For India, a country with a large user base in video games, social media, e-commerce, and more – it is expected that the nation will play an important role in the emergence of the metaverse and its further growth. Furthermore, Indian IT companies are increasingly developing their metaverse suite to unleash better business growth and agility. If this trend continues, upcoming years will witness separate reporting of the metaverse numbers by Indian firms contributing their share in the development of the metaverse. It is highly likely that India will lead the design, development, and adoption of Metaverse technology in the future.

The metaverse may bring huge advantages for early adopters. These advantages include business opportunities for entrepreneurs, health care access for people in remote areas, and job opportunities for programmers or content creators.

A growing number of experts are beginning to assert that, as the metaverse develops, it’s important to build it with diversity, equity, and inclusion at its foundation to ensure that the benefits of the nascent technology are shared broadly.

“There is a need for diverse voices with new perspectives that can tell compelling stories and share interactive experiences through AR (augmented reality) and VR,” said IEEE Senior Member David Krum. “These experiences can teach us all about one another. These experiences can also resonate with minority users as they can see their experiences and stories represented.”

HOW DEVELOPED IS THE METAVERSE NOW?

The building blocks of the metaverse already exist in the form of augmented and virtual reality, but several of the components are not yet available.

“Depending on which factors you focus on, the metaverse is very close or very far,” said IEEE member Todd Richmond.

Many of the pieces of the metaverse, for example, are used in massive online role-playing games. VR systems also track users’ movement. But many of these capabilities aren’t integrated into a cohesive whole.

“However, all these pieces will need integration to become a general purpose metaverse platform,” Krum said. “It will take a lot of time and work for a team of developers to implement, integrate, and test standards and systems for handling distributed multi-player immersive experiences.”

EMERGING BARRIERS TO ADOPTION

Cost, both Krum and Richmond say, will likely emerge as one of the biggest barriers to inclusive adoption.

“The envisioned high fidelity entry points, like virtual reality, are out of reach for many in developed nations, and completely out of reach for most in developing countries,” Richmond said.

And hardware and network speed are only two factors. Krum notes that individuals with more financial means are more likely to participate in the metaverse, as users require access to a space of about 6 feet by 6 feet for a truly immersive experience.

But beyond cost, other issues are arising.

“Access for individuals with sensory or mobility challenges is a critical issue,” Krum said.

SOLUTIONS ON THE RISE

Despite the metaverse’s development being in the early stages, best practices are emerging. Closed captioning has become more common, Krum said, as has alternative ways to interact with systems and the ability to select difficulty levels in gaming.

“VR often leverages vision as a primary sensory mode, so it can be difficult to adapt visual experiences to other modalities. However, audio experiences can be very compelling, and it would be great for creators to build many experiences that are designed to be primarily 3D audio.”

In a recent blog post, Richmond argues that user experience and user interface (UI/UX) design was central to the commercial success of the Internet. But it often side-stepped questions of equity. He’s hoping the metaverse does better.

“We are doing work on design frameworks to address this called EI/EX – Equitable Interfaces, Ethical Experiences,” Richmond said. “Inspired by UI/UX design, we believe that questions of equity and ethics need to be central to design of technology capabilities in the metaverse (and beyond).

How Sensors Monitor Bridges to Keep Us Safe

Vital to our infrastructure, bridges require regular maintenance to ensure safety for the cars, trucks, rails, and people regularly traversing them. Many bridges are 50 years or older, with citizens traveling across structurally deficient bridges every day.

“Structural health monitoring of bridges clarifies which repairs need to be prioritized,” says IEEE Senior Member Clint Andrews. “The deferred maintenance backlog has become so severe that it is easy to just throw up your hands and invest opportunistically in repairs, but the proper way is to prioritize based on the timely status information.”

Technologists are utilizing sensors and other smart technologies to monitor and protect our bridges and from irreparable damage to the infrastructure or the people involved if a structure collapsed.

While sensors are being used to detect early warnings of a catastrophic structural failure, they are also gathering important data about necessary structural repairs after a natural weather event like an earthquake or hurricane.

“In terms of civil management, the wireless sensors are commonly used to monitor and report the physical condition of bridges, such as the slip-factor and humidity,” says IEEE Member Yidong Li. “Estimating traffic on different road segments would provide very useful information for further analysis and decisions that would be taken or generated by the system.”

Gathering this type of data is also helpful for city management, providing the public with real-time traffic conditions.

To create smart cities or Next-Generation Cities that are tech, citizen, and eco-friendly, solutions need to be super-efficient. Innovations like IoT and the use of sensor technology for waste disposal are a few instances. According to IBEF, India will be the third-largest market for construction by 2022.

Sensors are also used for emergency rescue situations in remote areas. “If there’s an emergency condition on the roadside and emergency services can’t be reached nearby due to a lot of traffic, in this scenario, emergency vehicles can be triggered automatically through the connection of nearby wireless sensors sharing location details of the spot to those services,” explains IEEE Senior Member Aiyappan Pillai.

HOW DO SENSORS PROTECT BRIDGES?

A wireless sensor device, also known as a wireless sensor node, has a sensing unit connected to a processing unit, a communication unit and a power unit. The sensor will also have storage memory.

“The sensing unit may include one or many sensors for data acquisition of any physical phenomena of interest, such as temperature, humidity, strain and acceleration. There is also a signal conditioning unit, which incorporates an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) unit for converting the analog signals,” says Li. “The processing unit is the main controller of the node. It is responsible for managing the wireless sensor node operations, including sensing and wireless communication. It generally consists of an on-board computer (i.e. a microcontroller unit) with processing and data storage capabilities.”

“When we monitor bridges, we apply a large number of sensor nodes to formulate a wireless sensors network (WSN) and the sensors formulate data acquisition subsystems,” Li adds.

Therefore, to support the smooth functioning of bridges, it is essential to have sensor technologies and city management will only further help in providing a personalized experience for the city's businesses and people.

Winners Announced for Gov Tech-Thon 2020 - FitForFuture Team secures 1st Place for Its Innovative Automated Vehicle Fitness Checks Prototype

Over 1300 bright minds across India come together at Gov Tech-Thon 2020 to solve grassroot problems

National Informatics Centre, IEEE and Oracle joined hands organized nationwide virtual hackathon

Gov-Tech-Thon 2020, a 36 hours, pan-India virtual hackathon organized by IEEE, National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Oracle, under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, witnessed a successful conclusion on 1st November, 2020. The virtual hackathon received registrations from over 1300 aspirants forming 390 teams. The hackathon webpage witnessed over 15,000 visitors in 2 weeks.

Shortlisted 447 enthusiasts from 100 teams participated in the Hackathon on the five problem statements provided by 3 central Government Ministries – Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Road Transport and Highway and Ministry of Education.

A thorough assessment of proposals was done by a panel of 27 jurors from the industry, academia and Government.

The five challenges seeking innovative solutions from Gov Tech-Thon 2020 were

1. Suggest alternate crops or crop rotation for farmers during different seasons using artificial intelligence technology, considering the terrain and local challenges to increase the productivity
2. Seed supply chain is a complex ecosystem involving various stakeholders. Address the issues of poor seed quality effectivelybytracing the seeds using BlockChain technology 
3. A mobile / web based application for scanning, resizing and uploading documents (as required) in a single flow 
4. A tool for monitoring online exams from homes / institutions through a combination of remote-supervision software and web cam. System should ensure necessary authentication, control, fraud detection and compliance, using appropriate technology like AI / ML etc. 
5. A self-learning tool for automating Vehicle Fitness Test procedures transparently 

First place was secured by FitForFuture team from Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Private Limited, for demonstrating an innovative solution prototype for automating vehicle fitness checks, second prize went to HackDemons of Indian Institute of Information Technology Vadodara for providing secure solution for delivering unsupervised tests remotely and Orange team from PES University Bengaluru secured third prize for providing a unique solution for seed certification using BlockChain technology.

The valedictory function on November 1 2020 witnessed participation from senior officials representing Ministries of Agriculture, Education and Transport as well as senior leaders from NIC, IEEE Computer Society board member Prof. Ramalatha Marimuthu, Oracle including jury members and mentors.

Dr. Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC, while addressing the Valedictory function of Gov Tech-Thon 2020, said that these virtual hackathon displayed a unique combination of social sector and emerging technologies. She also highlighted that the Hackathon has enabled the use of emerging technologies for social inclusion, empowerment of people & overall upliftment of the nation.

Melissa Russel, Executive Director of the Computer Society, said “We were so pleased to partner with NIC and Oracle for this event. The IEEE Computer Society has a strong membership base in India and opportunities like Gov-TechThon provide valuable ways for professionals to engage, network and utilize their skills to help solve challenging problems."

Shailender Kumar, Regional Managing Director, Oracle India, said “It was a great collaboration, and a great platform to seed innovation ideas. I was very fascinated with the prototype solutions that were submitted and it gives me an immense sense of pride to see our youth contributing to a better tomorrow. I wish the winners all the best. Oracle stays committed to innovation and to new ideas.”

Gov-TechThon 2020 - Hackathon to Incubate Ideas, Boost Innovation and Use Technology in Agriculture

• National Informatics Centre (NIC), IEEE Computer Society and Oracle to organise Gov Tech- Thon 2020 from 30 Oct 2020 to 1 Nov 2020 under aegis of MEITY
• The virtual hackathon aims to incubate new ideas, boost innovation and use technology in agriculture and allied sectors
• Secretary Meity releases the Online Registration portal ‘https://www.computer.org/education/oracle_hackathon_2020’; The hackathon is open for registration.

Representative Image Only

Building upon the ideation and guidance from the Prime Minister and under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), National Informatics Centre (NIC), IEEE Computer Society and Oracle have come together yesterday to announce Gov Tech-Thon 2020, to incubate new ideas, boost innovation and use technology in agriculture and allied sectors.

Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced the Hackathon by releasing the Online Registration portal ‘https://www.computer.org/education/oracle_hackathon_2020’. Shri Sawhney appreciated the efforts by National Informatics Centre, IEEE and Oracle for coming together to organise this hackathon. He pointed out that the youngsters are an important part of India’s digital ecosystem and he looks forward to their participation in the hackathon and their solutions to the challenges.

Dr. Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC in her address at the release of online portal for 'Gov Tech-Thon 2020', said that the Hackathon is a step towards developing a digital ecosystem with more emerging technologies. She stated that Gov Tech-Thon 2020 will spur a lot of ideas, proof of concepts, working models for innovation and inclusion in Government services.

Dr Savita Dawar, Deputy Director General, NIC gave a brief introduction to the five challenges including AI based crop recommendations , Blockchain based seed certification, Automated vigilance in exams/tests, Automated fitness check process for commercial vehicles and Easy document uploads , from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in India which require immediate solutions.

Shri Harish Mysore, Senior Director and Head of IEEE India Operations said, “IEEE has been empowering engineers for over a century, helping advance technology across sectors. This partnership with NIC and Oracle will help increase the use of technology, reduce the digital divide in agriculture, transportation and education and will help us deliver better governance to citizens of India.”

Shri Shailender Kumar, Regional Managing Director, Oracle India, said “To transform India into a digital and knowledge economy, we must first digitally empower all its people, key economic sectors and allied communities. We are proud to join hands with NIC and IEEE for Gov Tech-Thon 2020 and look forward to supporting local innovation in all key areas identified.”

Gov Tech-Thon 2020, a pan India 36 hours virtual Hackathon, to be organised from 30 October to 1st November, 2020. The Hackathon will be facilitated by IEEE, a trusted voice for engineering, computing and technology information. Registrations for Gov Tech-Thon 2020 are open.

The virtual hackathon is open to students, working professionals, startups, freelance technologists, faculty, and other IT service firms in India. During the hackathon, participants will receive mentorship and advice from technical experts from NIC, IEEE and Oracle, as well as senior domain experts from the Ministries of Agriculture, Education and Transport Departments, Government of India.

Participating teams will have access to the latest tools from Oracle, Oracle Autonomous Database, built-in and easy-to-use cloud security, and compute – to help them develop prototypes that are practical and scalable. Additionally, they will be able to leverage open source technologies that bring benefits of high performance, reliability and data security.

About National Informatics Centre (NIC)

National Informatics Centre (NIC) is attached office of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). NIC was established in 1976, and has rich experience in providing ICT and eGovernance support to the Government for the last 4 decades and helping bridge the digital divide. It has emerged as a promoter of digital opportunities for sustainable development. NIC spearheaded “Informatics-Led-Development” by implementing ICT applications in social and public administration and facilitates electronic delivery of services to the government (G2G), business (G2B), citizen (G2C) and government employee (G2E). NIC, through its ICT Network, “NICNET”, has institutional linkages with all the Ministries /Departments of the Central Government, 37 State Governments/ Union Territories, and about 720+ District Administrations of India.

NIC has been closely associated with the Government in different aspects of Governance besides establishing a Nationwide State-of-the-Art ICT Infrastructure, it has also built a large number of digital solutions to support the government at various levels, making the last-mile delivery of government services to the citizens a reality.

About IEEE Computer Society

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow through its more than 419,000 members in over 160 countries. For more information about IEEE, please visit www.ieee.org.

The IEEE Computer Society is the premier source for information, inspiration, and collaboration in computer science and engineering. Connecting members worldwide, the Computer Society empowers the people who advance technology by delivering tools for individuals at all stages of their professional careers. For more information about IEEE Computer Society, visit www.computer.org

About Oracle

The Oracle Cloud offers a complete suite of integrated applications for Sales, Service, Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, plus Highly Automated and Secure Generation 2 Infrastructure featuring the Oracle Autonomous Database. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.

COVID-19 Made Internet Access, Broadband and Hotspots an Educational Necessity

In the month of March, schools and colleges across India began shutting down temporarily as a measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. It’s been over three months, and yet - there is no certainty around when they will reopen. A large number of schools and institutions have adopted online teaching methods. Students are trying hard to get back to their studies through virtual learning portals. While virtual learning helps reduce the risk of person-to-person transmission, schools were presented with a new problem: how to ensure every student has internet access so they could continue their education remotely.

“Before COVID-19 led to social distancing and shelter-in-place orders, students who needed access to broadband could use school computer labs, public libraries, on-campus Wi-Fi, public Wi-Fi, and other networks — there are documented cases where students were found parked outside fast food restaurants to use the Wi-Fi for homework,” explains IEEE Senior Member David Witkowski. “This all changed after the pandemic when people were forced to stay home and avoid public places.”

Witkowski says that digital inclusion and equity are crucial to keeping online learning accessible to all students. The swift change to remote learning meant that the “homework gap went from an embarrassing inconvenience to a social crisis,” he explains.

“In the wake of the pandemic we can no longer ignore the issue of digital equity and hope it will go away on its own,” says Witkowski.

Witkowski is co-chairing the Deployment Working Group as part of the IEEE Future Networks Initiative that aims to raise awareness of the internet accessibility issue and to encourage accelerated network buildouts at the national and international level.

“Part of the work we’re doing in the Deployment Working Group is calling attention to the socio-economic trends and factors that have driven and continue to drive the societal shift towards mobile technologies and the apps that run on them,” says Witkowski. “Unfortunately, the deployment of networks that enable these technologies has not been equitable.”

Hotspots convert cellular signals to Wi-Fi to serve laptops with broadband access. If homes do not have the physical infrastructure or adequate wiring to deliver broadband, a hotspot helps students quickly gain internet access to continue their education from home. Cellular hotspots deliver broadband without the need for wiring, and they can be easily moved.

While many schools are beginning to close out their next semester, they are contemplating the likelihood of another term of virtual distance learning.

“We should expect that distance learning is the new normal for students,” says Witkowski. “This means that we must provide broadband to students at home. Broadband is the new textbook, and nobody would expect a student to successfully attend school without books.”

How Active Data is Fuelling Cities' Responses to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic presented emergency response teams around the world with the unique challenge of addressing a contagious virus for which there currently is no cure. Social engineering schemes that rely on managing social change and behaviours have become our go-to crisis response, introducing a new approach to disaster response and recovery.

To deal with these unforeseen challenges, intelligent digital technologies are being strategically leveraged, playing an active role in smart city management and helping to ensure that essential workers keep society humming along. Emerging technologies are being deployed to get us back to work safely and to propel the economy. Under the Smart City Mission India, 100 smart cities have been selected since 2015. It is more important than ever for policymakers to start planning their smart city strategies. The way people live and interact will determine the benefits of new-age cities.

“Smart cities provide an intelligence to the processes behind a city’s management,” says IEEE member Dalton Valadares. “Essentially, the thinking behind smart cities is that this additional intelligence will provide for substantial improvements in urban services and operations – in particular, taking a data-based approach to governance will enable improved efficiencies, which will in turn benefit citizens and essential workers alike.”

At the core of smart cities is data. Data powers our digital technologies, enables smart cities to improve efficiencies and supports the populace.

ACTIVE DATA AND DISASTER RESPONSE

According to IEEE member Xun Luo, active data collection involving individuals voluntarily feeding their user data into a system is one of the most efficient drivers of smart city technologies.

“Unlike passive data collection, which typically relies on autonomous systems and sensor-based technologies, active approaches to data collection require citizens to report their information voluntarily,” says Luo. “For example, some individuals might elect to have transponders installed into their cars that periodically send data through a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) network.”

Active data collection, like its name suggests, depends on individuals taking an active approach and sharing their data to better inform a network or system. This type of data collection is beneficial for the user because it allows them to control what data they choose to share. Unlike passive data collection, active data collection typically tends to provide more granular detail, enabling improved insights into consumer habits, preferences and more.

“There are several major advantages of actively collected data,” says Luo. “First – as people understand the purpose of data collection, the data they provide in an active data collection system will be less ambiguous and more directly relevant to the context. Thus, the quality of data is improved.”

“Second – as active data collection is explicit, there’s typically a better way of optimizing sampling methods, which, in turn, lowers the possibility of data bias.” 

According to Luo, active data collection helps us understand COVID-19 by providing insight into infection hotspots and travel routes, as well as an individual’s symptom progression, which could provide policymakers and care providers with the intelligence required to better inform strategic decision-making and response treatment.

“A crowd-sourced application that would enable people to report known infection cases or share their travel routes and individual symptoms would prove helpful in combating an infectious disease, such as COVID-19,” says Luo.

And the more citizens involved in active data collection the better, says Luo. “With today’s challenge, this actively sourced data could be very, very valuable.”

Can Air Sensors One Day Detect COVID-19? IEEE Experts Share Insights

As employers around the world begin to explore how to safely return employees to workplace environments, air ventilation systems and their potential role in airborne virus spread are starting to come into question. We wondered if air sensor technology might have the ability to help with virus detection.

Air sensors in ventilation systems currently cannot detect COVID-19. But it is possible that one day this technology may be augmented to help us understand and monitor diseases and illnesses.

We asked half a dozen IEEE Impact Creators for their expert perspectives on the possibility of such technology assisting in the fight against this virus, and how our workplaces may be affected by COVID-19.

1. SENSORS HELP DETECT AIR POLLUTION
   — Ramalatha Marimuthu, IEEE Senior Member

“Sensors can help us identify air pollution, which is very difficult for the human senses to detect. There are numerous sensors for measuring air quality, and identifying the contaminants is the next step. Sensors in a room can record the quality of the air as well as the quantity of movement of air to detect whether proper ventilation is available. It is also possible to detect room temperature, humidity and other parameters, which can help in identifying the personal comfort of the people in the room."

2. NEW BUILDINGS AND RENOVATIONS WILL BE AFFECTED — Artur Ziviani, IEEE Senior Member

“It is likely that sensors for the specific purpose of evaluating ventilation conditions of an environment should be developed. Nevertheless, this should also impact the architecture of new buildings or the renovation of old buildings, in particular, if new regulations start appearing to ensure a certain level of ventilation at different places."

3. BIOAEROSOLS ARE COMPLEX
   — Raul Colcher, IEEE Life Senior Member

“Although experts don’t seem to agree on whether COVID-19 is airborne or not (except for very specific circumstances, such as when intubating an infected patient), the issue is still relevant, not only for this one, but also for inevitable future epidemics. It would fall into the more general question of detecting ‘bioaerosols’. There are devices capable of capturing the particles of mucus or saliva coming out of someone’s mouth. However, the question of establishing in real-time whether they contain viruses, let alone detecting the presence of a specific virus, is much more complex. In addition, there are other unknowns: for example, what is the minimum dose of infection (the amount of particles that would be necessary to breathe and, consequently, the exposure time so that there is a significant probability of infection), and how far can droplets travel? Such parameters may vary widely for different viruses, probably making it difficult to precisely characterize what ‘good ventilation’ would mean in general."

4. IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE TECHNOLOGY THAN AIR SENSORS — André Leon Gradvohl, IEEE Senior Member

“Sensors can pick up different signals. In addition to temperature, pressure and humidity, they can also obtain concentrations of gases and particulate materials, among others. The software, which controls the sensors that capture these signals, can assess conditions to interfere with the environment the sensors are in. In this way, the sensors can provide information to software that controls other devices to redirect air flows and thus decrease the concentration of gases or particulate matter. The analysis of this data obtained in real-time by the sensors and the almost immediate action of the actuators – software-controlled – requires reasonable processing power. Not only to process data quickly, but also to evaluate the results of decision making."

5. FILTERS MIGHT HELP
   — Anderson Maciel, IEEE Member

“The best action in this domain seems to be the use of filters. Several ultraviolet light or ozone-based filters that kill viruses and bacteria have existed for years. The technology to detect viruses in the air, as far as I know, does not exist. It also seems that there is no consensus on how long a virus can remain active and infectious in the air."

6. DETECTION WILL BE NEEDED FOR RECYCLED AIR
   — Paul Kostek, IEEE Senior Member

“Expect to see sensors installed by air vents in buildings to measure air flow and provide feedback on the need to increase or decrease flow. Closed loop systems that recycle air will also need sensors to monitor the air quality and ensure pollutants or airborne viruses are not spreading.” 

7. SENSORS KEEP US ON TOP OF AIR MAINTENANCE
   — Tom Coughlin, IEEE Fellow

“Air flow sensors can help. Also, sensors that can detect air quality in the ventilation system can help. Sensors may also be used to determine that dangerous conditions exist, or that may encourage fungal or bacterial growth. Sensors can also determine the effectiveness of air filters and alert maintenance folks when they need changing.” 

IEEE Unveils Roadmap Addressing the Future of Electronics

IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, today announced the 2019 release of the Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap (HIR), a roadmap to the future of electronics identifying technology requirements and potential solutions. The primary objective is to stimulate pre-competitive collaboration among industry, academia and government to accelerate progress.

The roadmap offers professionals, industry, academia and research institutes a comprehensive, strategic forecast of technology over the next 15 years. The HIR also delivers a 25-year projection for heterogeneous integration of emerging devices and materials with longer research-and-development timelines.

“Today, we are seeing emerging technologies—such as AI, 5G, edge, cloud, and data center, autonomous vehicles and wearable technology—that hold great promise for improving the lives of individuals across the globe,” said William Chen, chair of the Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap and ASE Fellow. “The HIR, with its broad input from industry and academia, represents an invaluable resource that sets the course for continued electronics industry growth, greater technology innovation and enhanced performance of devices across a wide variety of applications that can bring increased benefits to humanity.”

The electronics industry relies on the integration of separately manufactured components into higher-level assemblies to enable enhanced functionality and operations. This heterogeneous integration of wireless and mixed signal devices, bio-chips, power devices, optoelectronics and microelectromechanical systems in a single package places new requirements on the electronics industry as these diverse components are introduced into System-in-Package (SiP) architectures for the tremendous array of industries where electronics are used.

“When you consider the scope of the HIR, the numerous application domains it addresses, and the level of valued input from a wide range of global stakeholders, it’s clear that there is a strong commitment to advance the entire electronics ecosystem,” said Ravi Mahajan, Intel Fellow, High Density Interconnect Pathfinding, Intel Corporation, and IEEE, ASME Fellow. “Today’s innovators, as well as future technologists, are encouraged to leverage the extensive, informative guidance contained within the HIR and actively participate in its future evolution.”

The 2019 edition of the Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap includes 22 chapters and can be downloaded by visiting https://eps.ieee.org/technology/heterogeneous-integration-roadmap/2019-edition.html. Additional chapters currently under peer review will be made available upon final approval.

"The broad industry support for the HIR is a clear mandate for us to stay ahead of the innovation curve and identify barriers that could slow the pace of growth in the electronics industry,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. “SEMI is firmly committed to support and connect the HIR with our members worldwide for long-term technology guidance and industry validation. HIR and other collaborations spanning the full supply chain are vital to identifying technology needs and ensuring the microelectronics industry thrives well into the future.”

The HIR is sponsored by the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society (EPS), SEMI, the IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS), the IEEE Photonics Society and The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME EPPD Division). For stakeholders interested in contributing to the 2020 Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap, please visit the roadmap’s member page.

To learn more about IEEE EPS and the institutional sponsors of the HIR, please visit the organizations’ respective home pages: IEEE EPS, IEEE Photonics, IEEE EDS, ASME, and SEMI.

About IEEE EPS

The IEEE Electronics Packaging Society is the leading international forum for scientists and engineers engaged in the research, design and development of revolutionary advances in microsystems packaging and manufacturing. The Society promotes close cooperation and exchange of technical information among its members and others through technical conferences and workshops, peer-reviewed publications, and collaboration with other organizations. Learn more at http://eps.ieee.org.

About IEEE

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice in a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics.

Google offering Rs.6 crores to build Laptop sized power inverter

Internet giant Google has decided to offer $ 1 million (Rs.6 crores approx) to anyone who comes up with a laptop sized solution or method for transforming renewable energy into a power source that can be easily used in homes.

Google has decided to offer these 1 million dollars as prize money in a competition called 'The Little Box Challenge' which it has started along with Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

The competition involves designing and building a kW-scale power inverter, an inverter that can be used to convert renewable energy like solar and wind, before transforming it into suitable current to be used at homes and in vehicles.  But the competition is not that simple, the challenge lays in the fact that the inverter has to be of the size of a small laptop or tablet, which is roughly 1/10^th of the currently available size of the inverters.

According to the search giant, they're looking for someone who can design and build a kW-scale inverter with the highest power density of at least 50 Watts per cubic inch. The company also thinks that anyone who has a high disregard for the perceived limits of engineering will be best suitable for the job. The company believes the development of this laptop sized technology can result in changing the future of electricity.



Google believes that the inverters being currently used in houses are too big and according to it, making these inverters smaller in size would enable more efficient distributed electrical grids, more solar powered homes and it could also help in bringing electricity to the most remote parts of the world.

People interested in participating in the competition can register their team by September 30, 2014. In order to allow and help even eligible academic participate in the competition, the search giant has arranged grant funding for them. The deadline for submitting the grant application is also September 30, 2014.

The registered teams would be then required to file a technical approach and testing application by 22^nd July, 2015. Based on these applications and approaches up to 18 finalists will be selected for the final testing at the testing facility. The final testing would require them to bring their inverters in person in the US by October 21, 2015. The final results would be announced sometime in January 2016.

Google offering Rs.6 crores to build Laptop sized power inverter

Internet giant Google has decided to offer $ 1 million (Rs.6 crores approx) to anyone who comes up with a laptop sized solution or method for transforming renewable energy into a power source that can be easily used in homes.

Google has decided to offer these 1 million dollars as prize money in a competition called 'The Little Box Challenge' which it has started along with Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

The competition involves designing and building a kW-scale power inverter, an inverter that can be used to convert renewable energy like solar and wind, before transforming it into suitable current to be used at homes and in vehicles.  But the competition is not that simple, the challenge lays in the fact that the inverter has to be of the size of a small laptop or tablet, which is roughly 1/10^th of the currently available size of the inverters.

According to the search giant, they're looking for someone who can design and build a kW-scale inverter with the highest power density of at least 50 Watts per cubic inch. The company also thinks that anyone who has a high disregard for the perceived limits of engineering will be best suitable for the job. The company believes the development of this laptop sized technology can result in changing the future of electricity.



Google believes that the inverters being currently used in houses are too big and according to it, making these inverters smaller in size would enable more efficient distributed electrical grids, more solar powered homes and it could also help in bringing electricity to the most remote parts of the world.

People interested in participating in the competition can register their team by September 30, 2014. In order to allow and help even eligible academic participate in the competition, the search giant has arranged grant funding for them. The deadline for submitting the grant application is also September 30, 2014.

The registered teams would be then required to file a technical approach and testing application by 22^nd July, 2015. Based on these applications and approaches up to 18 finalists will be selected for the final testing at the testing facility. The final testing would require them to bring their inverters in person in the US by October 21, 2015. The final results would be announced sometime in January 2016.