EFYMay2020 1

may 2020 | Vol. 52 No.
5 | ISSN-0013-516X
Contents
52nd Year of Publication
Since January 1969
20 EXPLORATION: Do Space Rovers Promise 46 COMMUNICATION: Emerging Wireless Next Issue

A Better Future For Space Technology? Standards For Next-Gen IoT Applications • Kitchen Appliances Getting
25 Design: Design Your Own Electric Vehicle 49 Test & Measurement: Performance A Technology Makeover
Battery Charging Solutions • The Case For Responsible
Evaluation Of Upgraded Data Centre Artificial Intelligence
29 POWER: Electronics With Lithium-Ion Infrastructure • Digital Twin And Its Applications
Batteries In The Internet World
54 COMPUTING: Present Status Of • Demand Of Drones For Delivery
33 Artificial Intelligence: We Lost Quantum Based Superfast Computer And Logistics
The Tail, Is The Brain Next? • Make Your Own Three-Channel
78 Market Survey: Growth Of Edge And Audio Amplifier
36 Artificial Intelligence: Neural
Cloud Computing In Business
Network Preceptors: How Deep Learning
84 Facts & Figures: India’s Imports And Editor : Ramesh Chopra
Can Help Solve AI Problems
Exports Of Telecom Equipment From Editorial : Editorial Secretary
38 Artificial Intelligence: Ten AI Trends correspondence Phone: 011-26810601; E-mail: editsec@efy.in
Revolutionising Manufacturing Industry April 2018 To March 2019 (Technical queries: efylab@efy.in)
41 COMPUTING: Touch The Future Together 85 Facts & Figures: National Subscriptions & : Phone: 011-40596600
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15 Solar-Powered Charging For Electric Vehicles taiwan : J.K. Media, Ph: 886-2-87726780 ext. 10
56 “Autonomous And Connected Car E-mail: taiwan@efy.in
16 Scopes And Impact Of Cloud Computing
Technologies Are Making The United States : E & Tech Media
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Vehicles Safe, Intelligent, And
17 Quantum Dots Transforming The Medical E-mail: usa@efy.in
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18 How 3D Printing Is Transforming Businesses C:+44 7910 073565
India, Continental Automotive E-mail: alastair@asa-media.com
57 “We Help Startups In Every pms plantenberg media service GmbH,
StartUp Zone Germany
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74 High-Performance Smart Water Meters Mobile: +49 170 4828426
Incubation Period”
75 A Robot For People With Spinal Disabilities E-mail: germany@efy.in
Sanjeev Chopra, chief executive officer,
75 Preventing Machine Failure Using Printed, published and owned by Ramesh Chopra. Printed at
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Extension, NOIDA-201305, Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, on the
76 Leveraging Trapped-Ion Technology first day of each month and published from D-87/1, Okhla Industrial
For Quantum Computing Area, Phase-1, New Delhi 110020. Copyright 2020. All rights reserved
throughout the world. Reproduction of any material from this magazine
Do-It-Yourself 77 The IoT And Drones For Digitally
Transforming Industries
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58 Making This Versatile Arduino-Based EFY will not be responsible for any wrong claims made by an advertiser.
Frequency Generator Is Simple Disputes, if any, will be settled in a New Delhi court only.
60 Enjoy This Wireless 3D Mouse And

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Q&A
Things You Wanted to Know!
Q1. What is the difference between MATLAB and Vivado? Do we need both MATLAB
and Vivado Design Suite for programming a ZCU111 Evaluation Kit?
Pournima
A1. There are many differences between MATLAB and as well as MATLAB. It features system-level design using signal
Vivado. While MATLAB is a numerical computing and capture and analysis with MATLAB and Simulink. You can work
programming language offered by MathWorks, Vivado is on certain applications with Evaluation Kit using MATLAB.
a design automation tool for embedded systems offered But to explore the full potential of this kit, you may need both
by Xilinx. Vivado is targeted at larger FPGAs and is slowly MATLAB and Vivado Design Suite.
replacing Xilinx ISE as their mainline tool chain. Vivado For more details on MATLAB and Vivado Design Suite, you
tool has a wide range of applications for designers espe- may visit the following websites:
cially in embedded systems and RF domains. https://www.mathworks.com/products/connections/prod-
I think you are talking about Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC uct_detail/avnet-rfsoc-dev-kit.html and
ZCU111 Evaluation Kit which provides a rapid, compre- https://forums.xilinx.com/t5/Xilinx-Evaluation-Boards/
hensive RF analogue-to-digital signal chain prototyping Problem-with-Hardware-Co-Simulation-for-ZCU111-board/
platform. This Evaluation Kit supports Vivado Design Suite td-p/988291
Q2. What is e-paper display? What are its advantages and disadvantages?
A. Samiuddhin
A2. E-paper or electronic paper is a special type of display However, it has many Positively charged Transparent top Negatively
electrode charged black
that does not need electricity to sustain the displayed text disadvantages as white pigment pigment
and image. Just like real paper, the displayed image resem- well. That include
bles ink on paper (hence the name). Unlike traditional LCD its high cost as com-
or OLED display, it does not emit light but reflects light. pared to other dis-
This characteristic makes e-paper display very comfortable plays, slow to update
to read even under direct sunlight (refer Fig. 1). Unlike LCD text and images, less
or TFT display, e-paper also does not require a backlight. m e m o r y, a m o n g
The displays are made of millions of minuscule cap- others.
sules filled with a clear fluid containing microscopic par- Advantages. Clear fluid Bottom
ticles of different colours and electrical charges (refer Fig. 1. Consumes less electrode
2). Electrodes located power

above and below the 2. Display stays Fig. 2: Scheme of e-paper display
capsules move up and for a long time with- (Credit: smartcity-displays.com)
down when a posi- out power
tive or negative elec- 3. Ideal for low-power projects including Arduino,
tric field is applied, NodeMCU and other embedded prototyping boards
making the surface 4. It is available in multiple sizes
to reflect a certain 5. It is a high-definition and paper-like appearance display
colour. Disadvantages.
The displays can 1. Display is slow to update
hold static text and 2. Not suitable for animation or fast-changing displays
images for months 3. Costlier as compared to LCD and other similar size
without electricity. displays.
That is, it can retain 4. Currently, it has limited software library and supports
Fig. 1: e-paper based e-book
reader visible in the sunlight text and images even very few fonts
(Credit: wikipedia.org) when power is off. 5. It has less memory
Answers compiled by Sani Theo, technical editor. Letters and questions for publication may be addressed to Editor, Electronics For You, D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area,
Phase 1, New Delhi 110020 (e-mail: editsec@efy.in) and should include name and address of the sender.

Tech News
Technology Updates
Remote health monitoring system to combat Covid-19

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, in developed the Proof of Concept (PoC) model of a system
collaboration with Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics integrating non-invasive health monitoring sensors to meas-
Limited (BEL), has developed a state-of-the-art health monitor- ure critical parameters such as temperature, pulse rate, SPO2
ing system to remotely assess the health of Covid-19 suspects/ (saturated oxygen level) and respiration rate.
patients quarantined in homes and hospitals. The solution A mobile app/Web browser has been developed for
aims to significantly reduce the risk of exposure to healthcare people to get enrolled with AIIMS-Rishikesh once they show
workers. It is also expected to reduce the increasing demand symptoms of Covid-19. AIIMS-Rishikesh will study patient
of PPE and other logistics. complaints and based on the assessment by clinical experts,
Due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the need to a health monitoring kit will be handed over to the patient for
develop a solution to remotely monitor patients for limiting periodical monitoring of the critical parameters. Software will
exposure of healthcare workers was prime and urgent. To give out alerts in the form of messages to medical officers and
combat this need, AIIMS-Rishikesh and BEL came together healthcare workers when the health parameters exceed the
to provide a comprehensive digital and clinically appropri- threshold. It will also record the severity of the patient’s condi-
ate solution. Based on inputs given by AIIMS-Rishikesh, BEL tion in different colour codes.
VersaTouch brings touch localisation and force sensing

to everyday surfaces
Researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand’s one or more receivers to measure sound waves emanating
Augmented Human Lab are exploring a new way to construct from the wearer’s ‘augmented’ fingers, allowing it to calculate
interactive touch surfaces, using finger-mounted audio trans- their positions and/or movements. The plug-and-play system
ducers. can also sense force based on a changing audio signature
VersaTouch—which works on everyday surfaces—uses and track individual digits by alternating each one’s sonic
outputs.
Importantly, VersaTouch
can be configured without
permanent modification to
the newly interactive surface.
The setup includes an Ardui-
no Due to receive signals,
a Teensy 3.6 to control the
transducers, and a MacBook
to process the data and calcu-
late the touch positions with
a Java program.
It is a portable, plug-and-
play system that uses active
acoustic sensing to track fine-
grained touch locations as
well as touch force of multiple
fingers on everyday surfaces
without having to perma-
nently instrument them or do
Representational image an extensive calibration.

Tech News
OmniTact: A high-resolution tactile sensor for robotics
applications
From the past few years, researchers worldwide have
Elastomer
been trying to develop sensors that could replicate Gel
humans’ sense of touch in robots and enhance their
manipulation skills. While some of these sensors LEDs
achieved remarkable results, most existing solutions
have small sensitive fields or can only gather images Cameras
with low resolutions.
A team of researchers at UC Berkeley recently
developed a new multi-directional tactile sensor, called
OmniTact, that overcomes some of the limitations of
previously developed sensors. OmniTact, presented in
a paper pre-published on arXiv and set to be presented GelSight Sensor OmniTact
at ICRA 2020, acts as an artificial fingertip that allows
robots to sense the properties of objects it is holding
or manipulating. “Our lab recognised the need for a
sensor for general robotic manipulation tasks with
expanded capabilities than current tactile sensors,”
Frederik Ebert, one of the researchers who carried out
the study, told TechXplore.
OmniTact, the sensor developed by Ebert and
his colleagues, is an adaptation of GelSight, a tactile An illustration and image explaining the basic differences between the GelSight Sensor
sensor created by researchers at MIT and UC Berkeley. and OmniTact (Credit: Padmanabha et al)
GelSight can generate detailed 3D maps of an object’s
surface and detect some of its characteristics. compact and has a curve shape. When integrated into a gripper
In contrast with GelSight, OmniTact is multi-directional, or robotic hand, the sensor acts as a sensitive artificial ‘finger,’
which means that all of its sides have sensing capabilities. allowing the robot to manipulate and sense a wide range of
In addition, it can provide high-resolution readings, is highly objects varying in shape and sizes.
New scavenger technology allows robots to eat metal

for energy
When electronics need their own power sources, there are
two basic options: batteries and harvesters. Batteries store
energy internally, but are therefore heavy and have a limited
supply. Harvesters, such as solar panels, collect energy from
their environments. This gets around some of the downsides
of batteries but introduces new ones, in that they can only
operate in certain conditions and can’t turn that energy into
useful power very quickly.
New research from the School of Engineering and Applied
Science is bridging the gap between these two fundamental
technologies for the first time in the form of a ‘metal-air scav-
enger’ that gets the best of both worlds.
This metal-air scavenger works like a battery, in that it
provides power by repeatedly breaking and forming a series
of chemical bonds. But it also works like a harvester, in that
power is supplied by energy in its environment, specifically,
the chemical bonds in metal and air surrounding the metal-air
scavenger. The result is a power source that has ten times more
Rather than a battery, the researchers’ metal-air scavenger vehicle gets energy
from breaking chemical bonds in the aluminium surface it travels over power density than the best energy harvesters and thirteen
(Credit: University of Pennsylvania) times more energy density than lithium-ion batteries.

Tech News
Intel launches 10th generation of Intel Core H-series chipsets
Intel has launched its latest generation of the 5G-enabled also delivers two times faster 4K video rendering and export
chipset. It has introduced a new 10th generation of Intel Core compared to the previous generation of processors.
H-series. The company said that the Intel Core H-series gives The 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H processor comes with
faster performance with up to 5.3GHz Turbo with eight cores up to 5.0GHz Turbo. The company claimed that it will give up
and sixteen threads. It also said that the chipset provides lower to 44 per cent more frames per second in gaming, up to 33 per
latency and provides the best gaming experience on a laptop. cent better overall performance and up to 70 per cent faster 4K
Intel stated that the Core i9-10980HK chipset gives up to video exporting. Intel also introduced the new 10th Gen Intel
54 per cent more frames per second in gaming and 44 per Core i7-10875H. It features up to 5.1GHz Turbo, eight cores
cent overall performance as compared to its predecessor. It and sixteen threads.
Small, precise and affordable gyroscope for navigating with GPS

A small, inexpensive and highly accu- autonomous vehicles currently use
rate gyroscope, developed at the Univer- high-performance gyroscopes that are
sity of Michigan, could help drones and larger and much more expensive.
autonomous cars stay on track without “High-performance gyroscopes are
a GPS signal. a bottleneck, and they have been for a
“Our gyroscope is 10,000 times long time. This gyroscope can remove
more accurate but only ten times more this bottleneck by enabling the use of
expensive than gyroscopes used in your high-precision and low-cost inertial
typical cell phones. This gyroscope is navigation in most autonomous vehi-
1,000 times less expensive than much cles,” said Jae Yoong Cho, an assistant
larger gyroscopes with similar perfor- research scientist in electrical engineer-
mance,” said Khalil Najafi, the Schlum- ing and computer science.
berger Professor of Engineering at U-M The key to making this affordable,
and a professor of electrical engineering small gyroscope is a nearly symmetrical
The new resonator and electrodes on a finger for scale.
and computer science. The resonator is almost perfectly symmetrical, made of mechanical resonator. It looks like a
Most smartphones contain gyro- nearly-pure glass (Credit: Najafi Group) Bundt pan crossed with a wine glass,
scopes to detect the orientation of the made one centimetre wide. As with
screen and help figure out which way we’re facing, but their wine glasses, the duration of the ringing tone produced when
accuracy is poor. They’re the reason why phones often incor- the glass is struck depends on the quality of the glass—but
rectly indicate which direction a user is facing during navigation. instead of being an aesthetic feature, the ring is crucial to the
It doesn’t matter much to a human on the street or behind gyroscope’s function. The complete device uses electrodes
the wheel, but a driverless car could get lost quickly with a placed around the glass resonator to push and pull on the glass,
loss of GPS signal. Inside their backup navigation systems, making it ring and keep it going.
Smart and customised light solutions based on open source

and AI
The research project OpenLicht was launched in September the user’s position and activity, such as reading or watching
2016 and stands for the design of smart, customised light solu- TV, learns the person’s preferences and can even respond to a
tions based on open source and new materials. OpenLicht was certain degree to circumstances it has not learned previously.
funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research The solution developed in the project is based on open-
(BMBF), with the goal of enabling new forms of collaboration source approaches like openHAB, a smart home system, and
between science, business, maker and startup community. machine learning libraries. The use of freely available develop-
Infineon Technologies AG is supervising the project in close ment environments, software frameworks and low-cost hard-
cooperation with Bernitz Electronics GmbH, Deggendorf Insti- ware solutions enable integration of a wide range of different
tute of Technology and the Technical University of Dresden. sensor data and further development of existing results by the
The results are now being made public and include the community. Intelligent light design is entering the smart home,
prototype of a smart lighting system based on artificial intel- so the vision will accompany people through their day-to-day
ligence (AI). It automatically adjusts the light in the room to life with fully automated solutions.

Smart World
Solar-Powered Charging Scopes And Impact Of Cloud Quantum Dots Transforming How 3D Printing Is
1 For Electric Vehicles 2 Computing On Banking 3 The Medical Field 4 Transforming Businesses
Solar-powered charging
1 for Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles (EVs) have become the latest trend in the modern world, but power should be
generated only through renewable energies like solar, considering the global warming issue
around the globe. The introduction of solar charging stations at various places has made it easy
for the public to charge their vehicles and reduce range anxiety
A level 1 or level 2 charging station

is typically present below the photovol-
taic array, protecting the vehicles from
sun damage. Level 1 charge stations
are the slowest but the least expensive
of three charge levels and are suitable
for areas where parking time is high
such as offices. Level 2 charge station
is more suitable for areas where the
parking time is not too long. Not all EVs
can use a level 3 charger which is used
for rapid charging (around an hour),
especially for travelling large distances.
Tesla SuperCharger is an example of a
level 3 charger.
Installation of such stations can
be done in places like parking lots of
A
lthough electric vehicles (EVs) for converting solar power from DC to shopping centres, offices, restaurants,
are considered an eco-friendly AC, an energy storage system (for off- gyms, rest stops along highways,
option, global warming due to grid charging), charge controller and a parks, among others. It makes it easy
greenhouse emissions is still an issue secure network for wireless transmis- for the public to charge their vehicles
if conventional sources of energy sion of data to the software, helping and reduce range anxiety.
are used for electricity generation to users to make real-time decisions. For home installations, if the
power EVs. This is where the need for In on-grid charging, solar power amount of solar electricity generated
power generation through renewable is fed into the grid regardless of the does not suffice the requirement of
energies like solar arises. It is true current need and electricity is drawn charging the owner’s vehicle due
that solar panel production results in from it, which guarantees charging to reasons like weather conditions
carbon footprints but they become and optimum use of solar power. It is (cloudy days), only then grid electric-
carbon neutral in a few years and last a cheaper option compared to charg- ity is required. While going for this
for fifteen to twenty years on average. ing off-grid. In off-grid charging, a option, make sure the number of solar
Electric mobility adoption not only solar panel connects to the energy panels installed is able to compensate
by customers but even the auto indus- storage system from which the power for the charging losses. Also, three-
try depends hugely on the growth of is drawn. Such chargers can be placed phase power is capable of supporting
electric charging infrastructure. A anywhere since they are not connect- a higher capacity array. The excess
solar charging station usually consists ed to the grid. A heavy steel base plate power generated, which the owners
of an EV supply equipment (EVSE), usually acts as a solid foundation, can get back in the form of credits
an array of solar panels, an inverter making it easy to install the system. whenever required, can be sold to
www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 15

Smart World
utility companies. This is a cheaper low costs are incurred and there is a policies can decrease it and help in
option compared to a battery storage reduced tendency of health-related establishing a robust charging infra-
system that is generally used for charg- risks. The load on conventional grids structure. In India, the government
ing overnight. also gets reduced. Apart from this, has de-licensed public charging sta-
The cost of setting up a solar- a large-scale implementation will tions business for EVs. In 2019, BHEL
powered charging station depends on increase employment owing to the announced that it will be setting up
factors like installation cost, hardware need for installation, maintenance, five solar-based EV charging stations
equipment, cost of electricity and and operation. at Haryana Tourism Corporation’s
maintenance in the long run. The cost Considering the benefits and resorts on the Delhi-Chandigarh high-
of purchasing a solar array is based viability of such a system, many busi- way. The organisation also developed
on the manufacturer and selection of nesses are investing in this concept. a central monitoring system and a
solar panels. For those who already For instance, Tesla Motors, a subsidi- mobile app for EV charging. Japanese
have a solar array installed at their ary of Tesla is constructing solar-pow- electronics company Panasonic has
homes, they just need to have an EV ered charging stations in convenient also been working to set up nearly one
charging station. locations for its EV customers. lakh charging stations for EVs across
Besides better air quality and Although the payback period is twenty-five top Indian cities.
reduced dependence on fossil fuels, long, collaborations and government —Ayushee Sharma
2 Scope And Impact Of

Cloud Computing On Banking
With the introduction of cloud computing, things have become easier and much accessible in
banking and financial sectors. Cloud computing is a hybrid technology that helps in storing and
recovering huge data of the banks, besides cost reduction and better customer services
C
loud computing is who provide hybrid cloud
a hybrid technol- computing servers to the
ogy of comput- companies are Amazon
ing various services like Web Services, Google
software, servers, storage, Virtual Cloud, Microsoft
databases, networking, Azure, Aliyun, and IBM
analytics and many more Bluemix.
over the Internet. It can Banks can access
be easily deployed and the cloud any time as
integrated with all the required, which means
services of the banking they can utilise it more
system, which decreases flexibly. This increas-
the time and effort of the es the banks’ ability to
bankers and customers. relieve their staff from the
It has made many things administration of IT infra-
easier in banking and structure and reallocate
finance sectors like inter- resources for more inno-
operability, 24×7 access, vative banking solutions.
secure storage, etc. Using software or and wealth. Every information stored During peak customer demand hours,
banking apps from any device from in the cloud is safe with end-to-end the cloud can allow banks to scale
any location has become seamless. protection. computing resources according to the
On-demand cloud services are Enterprise Resource Planning requirements of the consumers. The
delivered with a pay-as-you-go billing (ERP) and Customer Relationship scalability of the cloud means it can
model that leads to significant cost Management (CRM) are the most scan potentially thousands of transac-
reduction. Cloud computing helps in popular software in cloud computing. tions per second to improve security
storing, backup and recovering huge These software allow the banks and against fraud and money laundering.
data of the banks. It has enabled the financial institutions to secure the In a bid to ensure secure transac-
banks to focus more on the customer- data and provide better support to tions and smooth customer experi-
centric model and digitalising trading the customers. Some cloud providers ence, banks need 100 per cent uptime.

Smart World
But in-house IT systems need periodic online fund transfer, digital wallets, speed as well as flexibility, which ulti-
maintenance during which it becomes payment gateways, and secure online mately make data safer both internally
difficult to provide continued ser- payments are among the best exam- and externally.
vice. Cloud computing offers server ples of cloud computing service. All When data is secure and can be
availability of 99.999%, even during the basic services such as net bank- accessed at any time, anywhere,
maintenance, to do transactions at any ing, mobile banking, KYC, and card by both customers and employees
time of the day or night. The hosting management are managed aptly with without the down-time restrictions
of mobile and web apps also ensures cloud platforms. imposed by traditional infrastructure,
better speed for users. With cloud providers offering banks can improve operations as well
The confidentiality and security pay-as-you-use models that allow as user experience.
of financial information of custom- their usage and payment only for the Cloud computing can transform
ers and internal company data are of capacity being used, adoption of cloud the banking and financial sector,
prime importance. Cloud computing computing can lead to significant offering support to the industrial revo-
is used to ensure that payments are savings for banks. Banks can divert lution 4.0. The technology has been
processed securely without any dis- those funds to develop other financial implemented to keep security, regu-
crepancies. It is engineered to offer products to improve their customers’ latory and compliance and business
multiple layers of safety and can experience. alignment in effect. Experts across
pinpoint fraudulent transactions in Most prominent cloud providers the banking sector believe that cloud-
real-time without compromising user offer sophisticated encryption and based services should be deployed
experience. end-to-end data protection solutions only through trusted cloud service
Cloud computing is changing the to help secure their customers’ data. providers.
way consumers interact with banks; Cloud computing architectures offer —Deepshikha Shukla
3 Quantum Dots Transforming

The Medical Field
Quantum dots (QDs), popularly used as QLED displays in TVs, are now playing a crucial role in
the development and transformation of the medical field. QDs are now being used in advanced
and intelligent applications like bio-imaging, drug delivery, sensing, and therapy
N
anotechnology, the branch
of science and engineering
that deals with the world of
nanometer-sized particles, is rapidly
growing due to its potential to solve
some of the most pressing problems
in the world like hunger and serious
diseases such as cancer.
An important topic of research
in nanotechnology, quantum dots
(QDs) that find their popular use as
QLED displays to light up TVs have a (Credit: www.sciencedirect.com)
much wider scope beyond that. QDs
are nanoscale crystals made of pure especially beneficial for diseases hard for transmission through biological
metal or semiconductor alloys with to diagnose or treat. tissues but QDs can make use of the
special optic and electronic proper- When ultraviolet rays hit these NIR optical window. This is done by
ties compared to larger particles due dots, they can emit light of different controlling the size of the QDs.
to quantum mechanics. Characteris- colours based on their size. QDs have Development of theranostics plat-
tics of these particles include good tunable optical properties, which forms for simultaneous sensing, imag-
photostability, high brightness, high make them useful as fluorescent dyes ing and therapy is also increasing. In
quantum yield, narrow and symmetri- for deep-tissue imaging typically used theranostics, specific targeted therapy
cal emission, broad excitation, and in animal models since most conven- is delivered to a patient based on spe-
so on. These advantages make them tional organic dyes are not capable of cific targeted diagnostic images and
suitable for advanced and intelligent near-infrared (NIR) emissions. Vis- tests. QDs can behave as nano-carriers
applications like bio-imaging, drug ible light, with a wavelength range for drug delivery or fluorescent labels
delivery, sensing, and therapy. This is of about 400-700nm, is unsuitable for a theranostic approach in therapy.

Smart World
Fluorescent labelling and detection Physics in the Netherlands, is aimed at cellular structures. In these types of
involve binding fluorescent dyes to developing advanced biosensors using processes, no toxic products are gener-
biomolecules so as to visualise them quantum technology. ated and the QDs obtained are suitable
through fluorescence imaging, such QDs also find other application for biological and biomedical applica-
as lymph nodes in a pig. Theranostics areas such as solar cells, lasers, pho- tions. This is important as toxic ele-
helps in detecting target biomolecules tovoltaic devices, computing, and so ments like cadmium, mercury, lead,
like tumour cells for early diagnosis of on. One such example is a new type and more can leak causing cell death
cancer, tracking progress of tumour of solar panel created by scientists and inflammation.
elimination, and localised treatment at the National Research Nuclear Several challenges in this realm
to specific sites. University MEPhI, Russia based on still remain to be solved including
Last year, researchers headed by a hybrid material consisting of QDs and environmental impact, toxicity, manu-
team at the Massachusetts Institute of photosensitive protein. According to facturing costs, among others. This
Technology (MIT) created a micronee- a report from Regal Intelligence, the restricts their use to animal research.
dle platform using QDs, which can global QDs market is expected to grow The issue is that biosynthesised QDs
deliver vaccines as well as invisibly to US$ 10,423.13 million by the end of have a lower quantum yield and lesser
encode vaccination history directly in 2025 at a CAGR of 22.06 per cent. uniformity in their size as compared
the skin for recordkeeping at the same Although there are numerous to those sythesised through other
time. The NIR emission detection was chemical and physical methods avail- methods. More research needs to be
made possible by a specially equipped able to synthesise QDs, biosynthetic done in relation to the mechanisms
smartphone. methods enhance the biocompatibil- and protocols for the scalability of
They can also work as optical indi- ity and biostability of their structure high-quality, non-toxic QD produc-
cators for the development of biosen- through the utilisation of biomol- tion. In addition, the biosensors must
sors. For instance, Project BioSensing, ecules such as proteins, enzymes, have higher sensitivity to improve the
a collaboration among Germany’s and nucleic acids for formation. Other reliability and efficiency of disease
Fraunhofer institutes (ISC and IME) ways include modifying the surface diagnosis in real-time.
and Leiden University’s Institute of of available QDs and using artificial —Ayushee Sharma
4 How 3D printing
is transforming Businesses
3D printing has become an integral part of several sectors such as healthcare, aerospace,
architecture, automotive and industrial goods. It has led to increase in the productivity and
efficiency of the different sectors, and surely has a bright future for industries worldwide
U
nlike traditional manufacturing and medical, can test their designs that are resistant to pressure and tem-
ing, 3D printers can be used to and improve, while professionals like perature changes. Hence, it gives indi-
make models multiple times by dentists can create durable moulds viduals the chance to experiment with
simply changing the algorithm, new materials and bring their
leading to faster production and vision to life, prior to making
decreased turnaround times. huge investments in production.
The three-dimensional digital 3D printing has become an
model is converted to a physical integral part of different sectors
object by adding multiple suc- such as healthcare, aerospace,
cessive thin layers of materials architecture, automotive and
like polymers, metals, ceram- industrial goods, among others,
ics, and the like. The quality of to increase productivity and effi-
products is much better along ciency in manufacturing. Accord-
with several customisation ing to a report from research firm
options. Although the cost of Wohler, the 3D printing market is
buying a 3D printer can be high estimated to grow to 35.6 billion
based on the requirement, the dollars by 2024.
reduced cost of constructing In one such instance, four
prototypes provides a quick companies—Air New Zealand,
return on investment. Microsoft, Moog and ST Engi-
Due to these advantages, neering—teamed up to digitise
students like those in engineer- (Credit: www.pinterest.com) the aerospace supply chain by

Smart World
leveraging on-demand 3D printing and that are hard to create, ensuring not implantcast GmbH in Germany to treat
blockchain technology. only quality but also reproducibility a patient suffering from a rare bone
According to a press release from and reliability. Besides saving over tumour known as Chondromyxoid
Air New Zealand Communications, € 350,000 through such initiatives, the fibroma (CMF) of pelvis that’s typical-
their aircrew on a Boeing 777-300 company could successfully eliminate ly found in children and young people.
aircraft noticed that a business pre- safety hazards in their facilities. After removing the tumor completely,
mier bumper part—that sits between Customisation and personalisation the team used CT and MRI scans of
a seat and monitor to prevent the have also played an important role in the patient to create a digital model
screen from damaging the seat when providing 3D printing an edge over for surgical planning and designing
it’s pushed back to default position— traditional manufacturing. This can be a custom 3D printed pelvic implant.
needed replacement and ordered a seen from Wiivv Technology’s concept The operation was successful and
digital aircraft part file from ST. The of custom-fit 3D printed insoles for prevented the patient from undergoing
file was sent to Moog’s printer and their footwear. After users purchase an amputation.
the 3D printed part could be installed sandals of their choice, they are given With the price of printers fall-
within a few hours ahead of the a special link to take foot measure- ing down as well as new emerging
flight’s scheduled departure. The ments using the app and a white technologies and applications, the 3D
traditional process would have taken paper. Each foot of an individual is printing business has a bright future
days, which would have resulted in a digitally mapped with over 200 points for industries worldwide. It has the
huge revenue loss. to create a unique file of an insole for potential to change how businesses
In another example, ERIKS, a 3D printing. The custom-fit product is operate and cater to the needs of their
company that offers technical compo- then sent to the customer. customers. As of now, in industries
nents and related services to various In India too, there have been where not all parts can benefit from
industries internationally, began using numerous instances where 3D print- embracing the 3D printing process,
Ultimaker S5 3D printers to customise ing was chosen as the ultimate solu- a hybrid approach is suitable. Even
safety parts, iterate faster, and scale tion for a problem. For instance, for beyond businesses, 3D printing is
up its production. The company now the first time in the country last year, slowly making its way into areas like
3D prints seals, gaskets, valves, safety Bengaluru-based Yellow Ribbon homes and emergency sites.
tools, prototypes as well as end-parts team collaborated with Osteo3D and —Ayushee Sharma

Exploration
Do Space Rovers
Promise A Better Future
For Space Technology?
In the rapidly transforming technological world, India is currently focusing its attention on emerging
technologies. Though not by design, space rover technology is still an emerging sector in India
tion because of better service compared

to satellites. Today, rovers contain several
instruments for overall improvements in
exploration and findings in planets, sub-
planets and other celestial bodies.
A rover contains the following parts:
• Body, which is the structure that pro-
tects the rover’s vital organs.
• Brains, which are computers that pro-
cess various information.
• Temperature controls, which include
internal heaters, a layer of insulation and
more.
• Neck and head, which are the mast
for cameras to give the rover a human-scale
view.
• Eyes and other senses, which include
cameras and other instruments to give the
Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander and rover before launch (Credit: Indian Space Research rover information about the environment
Organisation) around it.
• Arm and hand, which help extend the
rover’s reach and collect rock samples for
A
space rover is sometimes called study.
a planetary rover. It is a space • Wheels and legs, which provide
exploration vehicle designed to mobility for the rover.
move along the surface of a planet or • Energy, which includes batteries and
other celestial body. Some space rovers are power control units.
autonomous robots. • Communications, which includes
Vinayak Rovers are usually sent to a planet antennae for speaking and listening.
Ramachandra using a lander-style spacecraft. These
Adkoli is BE in are used to gather various information Space rovers giving new look
industrial production.
He has been a about the planet or take samples and/or to lunar missions
lecturer in mechanical pictures. These help in the exploration of After manned missions to the moon, the
department for ten
years, in three different
the universe. lunar space sector undertook several experi-
polytechnics. He is also With abundant technologies, space ments. Establishing a hotel in space in the
a freelance writer and also offers opportunities for rover technol- future is a dream of space scientists. The
cartoonist
ogy. Space rovers are increasingly being lunar space sector cannot survive without
seen in the field of space technology. These innovations and responsible handling
are becoming essential for space explora- by space scientists who have specialised

Exploration
knowledge of the space sector and the
underlying risks.
Various lunar rover missions that
have so far taken place are given in the
table below.
Without vision, no space pro-
gramme can exist. China launched
its rover Yutu 2 on December 7, 2018,
from Xichang launch station. It suc-
cessfully landed on Von Karman
Crater. China’s far-side moon rover is
busy exploring its exotic new home.
A part of Yutu 2 Chang ‘e 4 mis-
sion—in Chinese mythology, Chang
‘e 4 is a moon goddess and Yutu or
Jade Rabbit is her pet—Yutu 2 is a six-
wheeled rover, and is likely to cover China’s Yutu 2 lunar rover (Credit: www.universetoday.com)
2500 kilometres of the south pole of
moon Aitken Basin. Yutu 2 houses Economic reforms like Make in taking Prop-M with it. Mars3, sent in
four scientific instruments that will India and startups from various sec- 1971, stopped communicating after
be used to study the surrounding dirt tors have done wonders in terms of about twenty seconds after landing,
and rocks, and to probe the far side’s productivity, consumer welfare and making the mission a failure.
sub-surfaces. Such observations could more. This includes the Indian space Sojourner rover landed success-
help scientists better understand the sector as well. fully on July 4, 1997. However, com-
moon’s composition, structure and India’s Chandrayaan-2 was sched- munications from it were stopped on
evolution. uled for October 2018, but got post- September 27, 1997. Spirit Mars Explo-
On moon, fourteen days are cold poned to 2019. The average-sized, ration device-A (MER-A), launched on
when temperature is around -173°C. indigeneously-developed Indian rover June 10, 2003, landed on Mars on
Other fourteen days are hotter, and started giving trouble with re-throt- January 4, 2004. It worked for nearly
during this time temperature reaches tling in lander parts. This was due to six years and travelled through 7.73
as high as +127°C. Yutu 2 has to face problems with thrusters. Previously, kilometres.
these extremities in temperature. Plant- GSLV II was proposed to ferry Chan- Opportunity Mars Exploration
ing potato seeds and other seeds on the drayaan-2. device-B (MER-B) was launched on
moon is one of the important experi- July 7, 2003, and landed on Mars on
ments to be carried out by it. Mars rover missions January 25, 2004. It covered a total
Yutu 2 is carrying a radioscope, making reforms distance of 40.25 kilometres. On 2018,
which is equipped with a thermo- Proper utilisation of rover technology it stopped functioning when Mars dust-
electric generator in which radioac- will help provide better opportunities storms blocked the sunlight needed to
tive substance is present, which is to explore Mars as well. Geographi- recharge its batteries.
converted into electricity. Quequioa cal exploration including study of Curiosity rover was launched by
(Mas Pie Bridge) is a satellite rotating mineral compositions, and environ- NASA on November 26, 2011. It landed
around the moon, and relaying data mental studies such as temperature on Gake Crater on August 6, 2012. It is
and commands from Yutu 2 to Earth. and pressure (particularly wind) are still operational.
In the rapidly transforming tech- some important studies to be made Improved experiments by Curi-
nological world, India is currently by rovers. Such findings may act as osity. On November 26, 2011, NASA
focusing its attention on emerging key instruments for landing on Mars. sent Curiosity rover to Mars. Examina-
technologies. Though not by design, Six rovers have been sent to Mars tion of loose rocks, sand and dust by
space rover technology is still an so far, of which four projects have Curiosity has provided great under-
emerging sector in India. been successful. Mars2 was sent in standings about local and global soil
1971, and its landing failed while details of the red planet. A key finding
of Curiosity is that, water molecules
Lunar Rover Missions
Name of rover Country Year
Planned Rover Missions on Mars are bound to fine-grained
soil particles at Gale Crater, where it
Lunokhod 1 Soviet Union 1969
to Mars landed. Findings about both crystal-
Apollo Lunar USA 1971 • Rosalind Franklin by combined efforts line and non-crystalline components
Lunokhod 2 Soviet Union 1973 from Europe and Russia in soil provide information about the
Yutu 1 China 2013 • Mars 2020 (Maven) by NASA planet’s volcanic history.
• Mars global remote sensing orbiter and Curiosity is 3.05m (10-feet) long,
Yutu 2 China 2018
small rover by China 2.74m (9-feet) wide and 2.13m
Chandrayaan-2 India 2019 (7-feet) tall, and its arm reaches 2.13m

Exploration
(7 feet). It weighs 900 kilograms. It
has many cameras, rock vapouriser
(laser-operated), rocker-bogie sus-
pension and geology laboratory. The
main mission of Curiosity was to find
whether Mars can support small life
forms called microbes. Curiosity was
designed to travel up to 200 metres per
day as it explored Mars.
Mars exploration rover (MER)
charge-coupled device (CCD) sen-
sors are mounted on it at two dif-
ferent types of cameras. These are
hazard avoidance cameras (hazcams)
and navigation cameras (navcams).
Together these work to provide a
complementary and comprehensive
view of the terrain. Eight black-and- NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars
white hazcams are mounted on the
lower portion of the front and back of carbon-dioxide and methane in the Canberra, Australia.
the rover. atmosphere to distinguish between Curiosity has its own curiosities.
Other instruments that Curios- their geochemical or biological origin, One of them is its laser detection
ity carries are rock abrasion tool, and radiation assessment detector. system that works with new artificial
alpha particle x-ray spectrometer, On March 2018, Curiosity cel- intelligence (AI)-based AEGIS algo-
x-ray diffraction meter, neutron spec- ebrated 2000 days on Mars, making its rithm, which took ten years to build
trometer used to measure hydrogen, travel from Gale Crater to Aeolis Mons. and test.
ice or water, rover environmental During the travel, it examined geologi-
monitoring system that consists of cal information embedded in moun- In nutshell
various sensors (including UV, air tains’ layers, and found evidence of Hardware-based features of rovers
temperature, wind, ground tempera- past water and geological change. such as sensors, cameras, spectrom-
ture, humidity and pressure sensor), NASA’s deep space network (DSN) eters and detectors should be strong
sample analysis at Mars (SAM) is an international network of anten- and tamper-proof to face such hazard-
system that includes quadrupole nae that provides communication ous elements as wind, storm, radia-
mass spectrometer to detect gases, links between scientists and engineers tion, temperature, pressure, etc, so
gas chromatograph used to separate and rovers on Mars. The DSN consists that uninterrupted data can be trans-
individual gases from a complex mix- of three deep space communica- mitted and collected by these devices
ture into molecular components and tion facilities placed approximately and sent to Earth. Memories and pro-
tunable laser spectrometer (TLS) that 120-degrees apart around the world cessing capacities of brain (computer)
performs precision measurements of at Gold Stone in California’s Mojave of the rover should be strong, too.
oxygen and carbon isotopes, ratios of Desert, Real Madrid Spain and near Scientists and engineers are
accepting rovers as the most essential
part in planet exploration with more
features and updated processes. More
functionality can be added to rovers
and correctly implemented. The pre-
sent challenging task for researchers is
to add nanotechnology, AI, Big Data,
robotics, improved computer vision
and other recent technologies to rovers
to make them more sophisticated so
that these gather better information
required to make space life possible
for humans.
Currently, landing of humans on
Mars is the biggest challenge before
scientists. NASA has been working on
what it calls a Mars rover concept vehi-
cle. It is a human-driven rover. NASA is
hopeful of making astronauts land on
NASA’s proposed Mars 2020 rover, Maven Mars along with the rover by 2030.

Design
Design Your Own Electric

Vehicle Battery Charging
Solutions
The application note below should help designers make their own electric vehicle battery
charging solutions. If required, help is available from the company
T
he popularity of electric vehicles product. This semiconductor-based smart
(EVs) is increasing rapidly in India. charging system can support both lithium-
According to a survey, the EV market ion as well as lead-acid battery types.
in India is estimated to increase from 3 Block diagram of the EV charging solu-
million units in 2019 to 29 million units tion is shown in Fig. 1. Here, battery charger
by 2027 with a CAGR of 21.1 per cent. As ASSP flash MCU HT45F5Q-X is the heart of
Krishna Chaitanya a result, demand for AC/DC chargers, the EV charger circuitry, with in-built operation-
Kamasani is smart chargers for EVs, will also increase. al amplifiers (OPAs) and digital-to-analogue
director - India
operations at Holtek In order to charge the batteries effi- converters (DACs) that are necessary for
Semiconductor ciently, and to ensure their long life, we battery charging function.
need a smart battery management or Specifications of the battery charger flash
charging system. To realise such an EV MCU HT45F5Q-X series are shown in Fig. 2.
charging system, Holtek has come up Designers can choose an appropriate MCU
with smart EV charger solutions based on from HT45F5Q-X series according to their
their low-cost ASSP flash microcontroller application requirement.
(MCU) HT45F5Q-X for charging EV bat- The features and working of EV charger
teries. solution for 48V/12A specification is briefly
At present, three EV charger designs explained below. This EV charger design
suitable for Indian market—with specifica- utilises HT45F5Q-2 MCU for implementing
tions of 48V/4A, 48V/12A and 48V/15A— battery charging control function.
are available for rapid development of the The MCU incorporates a battery charging
Fig. 1: EV charger
block diagram

Design
Battery Charger Flash MCU
Part Internal VDD System clock Program Data Data I/O Interface Timer A/D D/A OPA Package
number clock memory memory EEPROM
HT45F5Q-1 8MHz 2.2V~5.5V 8MHz 1K×14 32x8 32×14# 9 — — 10-bit×5 8-bit×1 2 16NSOP
12-bit×1
HT45F5Q-2 8MHz 2.2V~5.5V 125kHz~8MHz 2K×16 128×8 32×8# 15 UART×1 10-bit CTM×1 12-bit×7 8-bit×1 3 20NSOP
32kHz or 32kHz 12-bit×1
HT45F5Q-3 8MHz 2.2V~5.5V 125kHz~8MHz 4K×15 256×8 32×15# 23 SPI/12C/ 10-bit CTM×1 12-bit×11 14-bit×1 3 24/28SSOP
32kHz or 32kHz UART×1 10-bit STM×1 12-bit×1
Fig. 2: HT45F5Q-X specifications
Fig. 3: Block diagram of HT45F5Q-2
module, which can that are needed for charging process.

be utilised for closed- Therefore the design reduces the need
loop charging control for external components like shunt
with constant voltage regulators, OPAs and DACs, which
and constant current are commonly used in conventional
for efficiently charg- battery charging circuits. As a result,
ing a battery. Inter- the peripheral circuit is compact and
nal block diagram of simple, resulting in a smaller PCB area
MCU HT45F5Q-2 is and low overall cost.
shown in Fig. 3.
The battery Working of EV charger
charging module in Input power to the EV charger is an AC
HT45F5Q-2 has built- voltage in the range of 170V to 300V.
Fig. 4: Battery charging curve in OPAs and DACs The EV charger uses a half-bridge LLC

F+ NTC1
L
+ NTC
C1 R1
www.EFYMag.com
+ NTC2
NTC C2
E C3 Q1
+ +
R2 33N60M2
R3
C4 R4
+ NTC3 + 1
N 2
D3 HV D6
ZD1 Q2 T1
NTC
33N60M2 R5 2 1 +
R7 +
R9 R8 C6 R6
COM
COM
C7 + 2 1 L1 F+1 B+
+ R10 RELAY
ZD2 C9 C8 R11 + NO +
C10
COIL2
COIL1
C11
+ + + 470uF/100V D7
D4 4 3
R12 +
C12 D2 R13 Q3 +12V D8
Q4 D9 VIN VOUT
+ Q5 + GND
PNP(1) + +
R14 C13 C14
470uF/ R16
470uF/35V B–
7812 25V
C15 D1 R17
Q6
+ Q7 +
PNP(1) R21
R19 R18 R22 R20 1k
D10
+ 1k +7 +5V
+12V 10k C6 VIN VOUT
D11 R24 PNP(1) GND
10k D12 D13
Q9 R23 10k
D14 + C16
+ + 1uF C17
+5V R25 LDO
UC3525 100k 2.2uF
+ 11
R27 OUTPUT A SW1 R26 10k
100k 14 OUTPUT B +VIN 15
2 NI INPUT VC 13 C18 C1 C20
1 INV INPUT SOFT START 8 + + + R29
R28 R38 7 DISCHARGE OSC OUT +
100k 16 4.7k
5 CT VREF 3 C +5V U1 R31 Q10
C23
6 RT SYNC 1L +
12 U3 PB1/AN1/VREF
R32 GND Q11 C2 C22 VDD
10k R33
+ 10 R35 +
9 C24 R36 R37
+ + VSS
C25 10k 3k 10k
+ R34 +12V
UC3525 + R38
1k R39
R40 75k
10k OPAIN R41 Q12
R43 R42 PNP(1)
3k 100k
R44 Q13 FAN
C26 PB2/AN2 + 1
R45 2
2.7uF
OPAE
C27
2.7uF
R46 +5V
R47 15k
1k P1
OPACN 1
PA2/OCDSCK/RX 2
C28 PA1/ PA0/OCDSDA/TX 3
R48 OPA2P 4
10k 0.1uF Header 4
HT45F5Q-2
electronics For You • may 2020

Design
Fig. 5: EV charger schematic for 48V/12A
27
Design
resonant converter design, heat; it gets switched off
because of its high-power when the temperature is
and high-efficiency char- reduced to the lower set
acteristics, to obtain DC threshold. Also, the fan
power for charging the turns on when charging
battery. current is high and turns
The design utilises a off when charging current
rectifier circuit for convert- is low.
ing input AC voltage to • When NTC tempera-
high-voltage DC output, ture >110°C, the charging
and it also has an elec- current will be reduced to
tromagnetic interference 50 per cent of charging
(EMI) filter to eliminate current and will be moni-
high-frequency noise from tored periodically
input power source. A (d) LED indications
pulse-width modulation Fig. 6: EV charger PCB assembly for charging status.
(PWM) controller IC, like These are listed below.
UC3525, can be used for driving the voltage of battery when it is con- • TC charge, red light flashes
MOSFETs of half-bridge LLC connected for charging. As the charging slowly (0.3 sec on, 0.3 sec off)
verter. progresses, charging voltage changes • CC, CV charge, red light flashes
The battery charging process is accordingly and, finally, when bat- quickly (0.1 sec on, 0.1 sec off)
supervised by the MCU HT45F5Q-2. tery is fully charged, the final voltage • When not charging, green light
It monitors the battery voltage and is set. The charging-voltage decision is on
charging current levels and gives feed- levels for 48V/12A battery charger are • When charging time exceeds
back to the PWM controller IC. Based explained below. eight hours, red and green lights are
on the feedback, the PWM control- • If Battery Voltage <36V, bright
ler varies the duty cycle of its PWM TC(0.6A) Charging, Voltage Setting (e) Charging duration. When
signal and drives the MOSFET circuit FV(56V) charging duration is exceeded (dura-
to obtain variable output voltage and • If Battery Voltage <40V, tion depends on battery capacity),
current for charging the battery. TC(0.6A) Charging, Voltage Setting the voltage drops to FV, the current is
For better protection, HT45F5Q-2 CV(58V) reduced to TC, and charger repeatedly
is isolated from rest of the circuit • If Battery Voltage >40V, monitors the battery voltage.
(i.e., high-voltage components) using CC(12.0A) Charging, Voltage Setting
a photo-coupler. Battery-level LED CV(58V) Schematic and PCB assembly
indicators are provided for knowing • When fully charged, voltage is The schematic of Holtek EV charger
the charging status. set to FV(56V). If battery voltage is design for 48V/12A type is shown in
lower than FV, the charging current Fig. 5 for reference and its PCB assem-
Battery charging process will be reset to CC (12.0A). bly is shown in Fig. 6.
The change in charging voltage and (b) Current control. Charging cur- The ASSP flash MCU HT45F5Q-2
current during the charging process rent is set depending on the battery can also be used for designing higher-
is graphically illustrated in Fig. 4. If voltage. Initially, if the battery volt- wattage solutions. It offers a program-
the battery voltage is too low when age is too less, trickle-charge current mable option for setting parameter
connected for charging, low charging would be set for charging the battery. thresholds, which makes it very con-
current (i.e., trickle charge (TC)) will Once battery voltage reaches certain venient for EV charger designs. Holtek
be set initially and charging process level, constant current is supplied for provides technical resources such as
will start. charging, until battery is charged fully. block diagram, application circuits,
When the battery voltage increases The charging-current decision levels PCB files, source code, etc to help
to a pre-defined level (Vu), constant for 48V/12A battery charger are listed designers in rapid product develop-
voltage (CV) and constant current below. ment and speed up time-to-market.
(CC) is applied for charging and • Recharging Current <1.2A, EV charger development platform
continued until the battery is fully determine the end of charging for HT45F5Q-X series will also be
charged. Battery is considered to be • Recharging Current >0.2A, available soon. Using this software
fully charged when voltage reaches determine the start of charging tool, users would be able to easily
VOFF. When charging current drops (c) Over-temperature protec- select the charging voltage/current
to Iu, final voltage (FV) is set. The tion. The EV charger has a negative and other parameters to create a pro-
voltage, current and temperature temperature coefficient (NTC) ther- gram. This application will also be
control process in this EV charger are mistor to monitor the temperature able to generate a program containing
explained below. and a fan to regulate the heat. When a standard charging process, thereby
(a) Voltage control. The charging temperature increases, the fan is auto- significantly simplifying the develop-
voltage is decided based on the initial matically switched on to dissipate the ment process.

Power
Electronics With
Lithium-Ion Batteries
Lithium battery packs are particularly sensitive to faults caused by external shorts, runaway
charging conditions and abusive overcharging, which can cause potentially damaging over-
current and over-temperature conditions. Hence, there is a need to enforce safety regulations
and established test requirements for lithium-ion and lithium-polymer packs to demonstrate
their resilience to both short-circuit and overcharge events
N
ickel-cadmium had been the only are extremely popular and can be found in
suitable battery for the last many laptops, PDAs, cellphones and iPods.
years, to be used in portable equip- Today, lithium-ion has emerged as the
ment from wireless communications to fastest growing and most promising battery
mobile computing. Then, other types of chemistry. Lithium-ion battery technology
batteries like nickel-metal-hydride and is further driven by consumer demands
Dr S.S. Verma lithium-ion emerged in the early 1990s, for applications that have more computing
is professor at giving fierce competition to gain cus- power, and come in thinner and smaller
Department of Physics,
Sant Longowal Institute tomer’s acceptance. Evolution of battery packages. In response, design engineers and
of Engineering and technologies is directly tied to miniaturi- components manufacturers must continue
Technology, Sangrur,
Punjab
sation of mobile electronics, and to power to find creative solutions that conform to
portable electronic devices in everyday these requirements.
life. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries Groundwork towards the development

Power
of lithium-ion battery started during of our lives based on the use of batter- electronics have driven the demand
the oil crisis of 1970s. Prof. M. Stanley ies and have laid down the foundation for larger, higher-capacity lithium-
Whittingham (USA) was working of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society. polymer cells with higher discharge
towards developing methods that The Royal Swedish Academy of currents. These demands and applica-
could lead to fossil fuel-free energy Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize tions are fulfilled with higher current
technologies supported with research in Chemistry 2019 to Profs John B. ratings in battery protection devices.
on superconductors. He discovered Goodenough (USA), M. Stanley Whit-
an extremely energy rich material tingham (USA) and Akira Yoshino Working of a lithium-ion
from titanium-disulphide to create an (Japan) for the development of lithi- battery
innovative cathode in a lithium bat- um-ion batteries. These lightweight, Lithium is not only the lightest of
tery. This material, at molecular level, rechargeable and powerful batteries all metals but also has the greatest
has spaces that can store intercalated are now used in everything from electrochemical potential and, thus,
lithium ions. cellphones to laptops and electric provides the largest energy density
Anode of the battery was made vehicles (EVs). These types of batter- by weight. Because of the inherent
partially from metallic-lithium having ies can also store significant amounts metallic instability of lithium, initial
strong drive to release electrons. With of energy from solar and wind power efforts to develop rechargeable lithium
present batteries offering potential generators, thus leading to a fossil batteries failed miserably due to safety
much less than a volt even, such a fuel-free society. reasons.
combination of anode and cathode Research then shifted towards a
materials resulted in a battery with a Electronics with non-metallic lithium battery using
great potential (just over two volts). lithium-ion battery lithium ions. Lithium-ion battery is
However, the developed metallic Lithium-ion battery, having much slightly lower in energy density than
lithium battery was reactive and too better energy density (joules of energy lithium metal but is safe taking into
explosive to be viable. per kilogram) than previous battery consideration certain precautions while
Contemporary to this research, technologies like nickel-cadmium charging and discharging of the battery.
Prof. John B. Goodenough (USA) pre- (NiCd) and nickel-metal-hydride As with most batteries, lithium-ion
dicted that cathode made up of a met- (NiMH), makes use of portable elec- battery also has an outer case made of
al-oxide instead of a metal-sulphide tronics more versatile to mankind. metal, which is particularly important
would have even greater potential. Lithium is not the most stable ele- here because the battery is pressurised.
After a long systematic research, Prof. ment, so many new safety concerns Metal case of the lithium-ion battery,
Goodenough in 1980 demonstrated arose with the introduction of lithium- thus, has some kind of pressure-
that cobalt-oxide with intercalated ion batteries. sensitive vent hole and, if the battery
lithium ions can produce potential Sophisticated protection electronic ever gets so hot that it risks exploding
as much as four volts. This was an circuits have been designed and devel- from over-pressure, this vent releases
important breakthrough in the history, oped to make lithium-ion batteries the extra pressure acting as a safety
leading to development of much more safe to use. Lithium-ion 18650 cells, measure. The vent acts as a positive
powerful batteries. which are shaped like cylinders (with temperature coefficient (PTC) switch
Making the research on cathode 18mm diametre and 65mm length), keeping the battery safe from overheat-
by Prof. Goodenough as the basis, are commonly used in present-day ing. The metal case holds a long spiral
Prof. Akira Yoshino (Japan) created laptops, whereas typical notebook comprising three thin sheets pressed
the first commercially viable lithium- computers need battery packs com- together as positive electrode, nega-
ion battery in 1985. Instead of using prising an average of about four to six tive electrode and separator, which are
reactive lithium in the anode, he made 18650 cells to allow it to operate for submerged in an organic solvent acting
use of petroleum coke (a carbon mate- several hours between charges. as the electrolyte.
rial) that like cathode of cobalt-oxide Then about a decade ago, lithium- Ether is one common solvent used
can intercalate lithium ions. Use of polymer (lipo) cells made their entry in lithium-ion batteries. Positive and
petroleum coke cathode resulted in a to the consumer market. Because of negative electrodes are separated by
lightweight and hardwearing battery their attractive size characteristics a very thin sheet of micro-perforated
that could be charged hundreds of like thin, rectangular, customised plastic, allowing ions to pass through.
times before its performance deterio- pouch-like shape, these packs were The positive electrode is made of
rated, thus leading to development of very attractive to designers looking for lithium-cobalt-oxide (LiCoO2), while
rechargeable batteries. space savings, especially in ultra-slim the negative electrode is made of
Lithium-ion batteries are not based electronic devices. Presently, lithium- carbon. During the battery charging
upon chemical reactions, leading to polymer cells are being used in thin process, ions of lithium move through
the breakdown of electrodes; rather, and large-screen electronic devices like the electrolyte from the positive elec-
these work on the basis of lithium ions smartphones and slimmer notebooks trode to the negative electrode and
flowing back and forth between anode combined with high-end processors attach to the carbon. Whereas, during
and cathode. Since entry of lithium- to run complex programs while still discharging, lithium-ions move back
ion batteries to the market in 1991, providing instant-on capability. to LiCoO2 from carbon. Movement
these have revolutionised every aspect All of these trends in consumer of lithium ions takes place at a fairly

Power
Advantages and Disadvantages of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Advantages Disadvantages
• Electrodes of a lithium-ion battery are made of lightweight lithium and carbon; hence, these are • These batteries start degrading as soon as they leave the
generally much lighter than other types of rechargeable batteries of the same size. factory, and will only last two or three years from the date
• Lithium, being a highly reactive element, will store a lot of energy in its atomic bonds, leading of manufacturing whether used or not.
to very high energy density lithium-ion batteries. A typical lithium-ion battery can store 150 • These are extremely sensitive to high temperature, and
watt-hours of electricity in one kilogram of battery. heat can cause lithium-ion battery packs to degrade much
• Battery pack can store, perhaps, 100 watt-hours per kilogram, and a lead-acid battery can store faster than they would normally do.
only 25 watt-hours per kilogram. • A lithium-ion battery becomes useless if it is left to be
• These hold their charge for long as a lithium-ion battery pack loses only about five per cent completely discharged.
of its charge per month, compared to a twenty per cent loss per month for NiMH batteries. • A lithium-ion battery pack must have an onboard computer
• In comparison to other batteries, lithium batteries show memory effect, that is these do not to manage the battery; however, this makes the batteries
completely discharge before recharging within a required time. even more expensive than they already are.
• Lithium-ion batteries can sustain hundreds of charge/discharge cycles. • In case a lithium-ion battery pack fails, there is a small
• Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery. chance that it may burst into flame.
high voltage making the cells produce causes stress to the cell, resulting in of the charge cycle is reached when
3.7 volts, which is much higher than oxidation, which reduces service life current falls to around ten per cent of
the 1.5 volts typical of a normal AA and capacity of the battery. Therefore rated current. In this case, charge time
alkaline cell. it is important to be able to detect the may be around two hours depending
full charge state of battery accurately on cell type.
Lithium-ion charge/ because lithium-ion batteries do not Lithium-ion batteries’ charging/
discharge basics tolerate overcharging, which can also discharging characteristics show
Charging and discharging charac- cause safety issues. improvements over its competitors,
teristics of lithium-ion battery are For lithium-ion batteries, the and have been shown to be able to
important, especially for its safe oper- amount of charge retained by the withstand over one thousand charge/
ation and long-term performance. To battery or cell against the amount of discharge cycles but still be able to
manage smooth and safe charging and charge entering the cell (known as hold eighty per cent of initial capacity.
discharging processes of lithium-ion charge efficiency) is high, and charge NiCd batteries offer up to around
battery, a typical battery management efficiencies of around 95 to 99 per 500 cycles, which is very much
chip is incorporated into the battery cent can be achieved with low-level dependent on the way batteries are
pack. This way the user can plug the temperature rise of cells. Charging used, and a badly treated cell may
battery into a charger and leave it to process of lithium-ion batteries can only give fifty or hundred.
charge with the knowledge that it does be separated into two main stages, as NiMH cells are even worse, and
not have to be unplugged after a cer- given below. this is one of the main areas receiving
tain time. Moreover, the battery man- Constant current charge. In the development. These are only able to
agement chip also ensures that the first stage of charging a lithium-ion give 500 cycles at the very best before
battery is not discharged beyond limits battery or cell, charge current is con- their capacity drops to eighty per cent
so that it can be recharged easily. The trolled, which typically is between of initial charge rating.
focus is to ensure that the battery 0.5C and 1.0C. Capacity of the battery Due to a number of significant
management pack understands the is commonly rated at 1C, meaning advantages associated with lithium-
exact state of battery charge. that a fully charged battery rated at ion batteries in comparison to compet-
Charging lithium-ion batteries is 1Ah should provide 1A for one hour, ing technologies, these batteries are
different from charging Ni-Cads or and for a 2000mAh battery, charge becoming popular but are not without
NiMH batteries. Charging of lithium- rate would be 2000mA for a charge limitations. The advantages and disad-
ion batteries is voltage-sensitive rather rate of 1C. vantages of lithium-ion batteries are
than current-sensitive. Charging of For consumer-based lithium-cobalt summarised in Table 1.
lithium-ion batteries is same as charg- (LCO) cells and batteries, charge rate of
ing of lead-acid batteries, only differ- a maximum of 0.8C is recommended. Lithium-ion battery
ence being lithium-ion batteries have Thus, during charging process, voltage charging precautions
a higher voltage per cell. These also across the lithium-ion cell increases for In view of the amount of energy stored
require much tighter voltage tolerance constant current charge, and charge in lithium-ion batteries and the nature
on detecting full charge, and once fully time may be around an hour. of their chemistry, etc, it is necessary
charged these do not allow or require Saturation charge. After some to ensure that the batteries are charged
to be trickle or float charged. time, voltage peaks at 4.2 volts for an in appropriate manner and with an
Consumer-oriented lithium-ion LCO cell, and at this stage the cell or appropriate charger and equipment.
batteries mostly charge to a voltage battery must enter a second level of Battery chargers or battery packs
of 4.2 volts per cell with a tolerance charging, known as saturation charge. have inbuilt mechanisms to prevent
of around ±50mV per cell. Charg- Constant voltage of 4.2 volts is main- damage and dangers due to overheat-
ing of batteries beyond this voltage tained and current steadily falls. End ing. Mechanisms required for charging

Power
and discharging of lithium-ion batter- Lithium battery packs are par- about the life quality of people in
ies include: ticularly sensitive to faults caused by modern society. It can easily be called
Charge current. Charge current external shorts, runaway charging a dominant technology that is widely
must be limited for lithium-ion batter- conditions and abusive overcharg- used in portable electronic devices.
ies with a typical maximum value of ing, which can cause potentially Lithium-ion batteries are also a pre-
0.8C, but lower values are usually set damaging over-current and over- ferred option today in the emerging
to give some margin. temperature conditions. Hence, there sector of EVs. The technology is still
Charge temperature. Lithium-ion is a need to enforce safety regulations on the breakthrough for its use in the
battery charge temperature should be and established test requirements field of power supply systems like
monitored, and cell or battery must for lithium-ion and lithium-polymer wind power and photovoltaics. Thus,
not be charged when temperature is packs to demonstrate their resilience the technology offers a massive global
lower than 0°C or greater than 45°C. to both short-circuit and overcharge potential in terms of reduction in
Discharge current. Discharge cur- events. carbon emissions and energy sustain-
rent protection is required to prevent Protection circuits built into the ability. Although these batteries show a
damage or explosion as a result of battery pack limit the peak voltage of lot of promise to rid the world of several
short-circuits. each cell during charging as well as challenges in the future, there are still
Over-voltage. Charge over-voltage prevent cell voltage from dropping too a few shortcomings of this battery that
protection is required to prevent low on discharging. In addition, cell need to be addressed.
voltage that is too high to be applied temperature is also monitored with Safety of lithium-ion batteries
across battery terminals. the help of protection circuits acting remains an important concern for the
Over-charge protection. Over- as temperature sensors to prevent industry. However, new developments
charge protection circuitry is required temperature extremes as maximum in separator technology have improved
to stop the lithium-ion charging pro- charge and discharge current on most the outlook towards safer batteries.
cess when voltage per cell rises above pacts is limited to between 1C and 2C. Similarly, with recent progress in new
4.3 volts. Using such precautions, the possibil- materials and successful implementa-
Reverse polarity protection. Lithi- ity of metallic-lithium plating due to tion of new battery concepts in active
um-ion battery reverse polarity protec- overcharging is virtually eliminated. materials, inert materials and cell
tion is needed to make sure the battery A few battery protection methods are designs, the lithium-ion battery will
is not charged in the wrong direction summarised below. continue to improve in all its proper-
as this could lead to serious damage • Temperature sensors to monitor ties.
or even explosion. battery temperature. Researchers and manufacturers
Lithium-ion over-discharge. Over- • Voltage converter and regulator are constantly improving on lithium-
discharge protection is required to circuit to maintain safe levels of volt- ion batteries, introducing new and
prevent battery voltage falling below age and current. enhanced chemical combinations
about 2.3 volts or dependent on manu- • Shielded notebook connector every six months or so. With such
facturing of the cell. that lets power and information flow rapid progress, it will be possible to
Over-temperature. Over tempera- in and out of battery pack. develop new lithium-ion batteries free
ture protection is often incorporated • Voltage tap to monitor energy from existing disadvantages.
to prevent the battery from operating capacity of individual cells in battery Finally, several investigators are
if temperature rises too high, and pack. studying the possibility of 3D architec-
temperatures above 100°C can cause • Battery charge state monitor to ture of lithium-ion battery structures
irreparable damage to the battery. handle the whole charging process to including porous or expanded metal
make sure battery charges as quickly collectors. This would help to increase
Battery protection challenges and fully as possible. battery density and spatial utilisa-
If the battery gets hot enough to ignite • Battery storage in a cool place tion if production-friendly concepts
the electrolyte, a fire is usually caused that slows the aging process of lithi- are developed. The result of these
by an internal short in the battery. um-ion (and other chemistries). advances, if realised, could yield lith-
Lithium-ion cells contain a separator ium-ion battery with specific energies
sheet that keeps positive and negative Future scope of 400Wh/kg with at least moderate
electrodes apart. If that sheet gets Twenty-five years ago, the lithium- power density. This would represent
punctured and electrodes touch, the ion battery made its debut into the an increase of about sixty per cent
battery heats up very quickly. Heat marketplace as a result of innovative compared to the best of today’s 18650
produced can cause the battery to vent work by Asahi Kasei, and develop- cells with 3400mAh capacity, and
the organic electrolyte or light it. In a ment and marketing by Sony Corp. could come about within the next
separator failure, some kind of short Since the realisation of lithium-ion several years. Hence, the future for
happens inside the lithium-ion bat- batteries, there has been tremendous lithium-ion battery continues to be
tery. Once that happens inside one of development in terms of their capac- bright, especially if manufacturers
the cells, heat of the fire cascades to ity, energy, power and cost reduction. are careful to maintain safe practices
other cells, and the whole pack goes Lithium-ion batteries have become in manufacturing processes and new
up in flames. indispensable today when we talk designs.

Artificial Intelligence
We Lost The Tail,

Is The Brain Next?
Million years ago, humans lost the tail, would the brain be the next, thanks to artificial intelligence?
Anand Tamboli
is a serial entrepreneur,
speaker, award-winning
published author and
emerging technology
thought leader
(Credit: www.needpix.com)
I
n recent past years, there have been and business aspects.
dramatic improvements in artificial One of the things we are not considering
intelligence (AI) underpinned by sev- is modular advancements that could soon
eral technological advances. They will con- build up this risk multifold. If you have
tinue to take longer strides with even more experience in module developments, such
developments and substantial progress in as programming or using building blocks
the coming years. And, as this happens, of some kind, it will be more apparent.
we are also creating (unknowingly) vari- Making the first few building blocks takes a
ous risks to our socio-economic structure, lot of time and effort. However, as we build
civilisation in general, and to some extent those blocks, the next build becomes more
for human species. straightforward, more comfortable and
Species-level risks are not evident yet; faster. And within no time, the overall build
however, the other two, socio-economic becomes much faster and easier.
and civilisation level risks are too sig- It is the same with AI developments. So
nificant to be ignored. From a business far, several significant building blocks have
perspective, several risks could affect busi- been developed and are in progress. When
ness metrics adversely. For now, let us talk we stitch them together, the capability of AI
about general outcome risks that can have will increase multifold, which should be a
a significant impact on critical social, civil more significant concern for us.

The more concerning part is about AI solutions that can change shades be dangerous. It is easier to course-
the risks that we have not thought of over a period. Moreover, if we are not correct a team of humans; doing that
yet. If you had asked people in the clear in which direction would that be, with a rampant machine could be a
18th century what significant risks to we end up creating a junk. This junk very tricky and arduous task.
the civilisation were, they wouldn’t essentially means someone somewhere If you command your autono-
have said nukes or guns; it was far- has wasted a lot of money in creating mous car, “Take me to the hospital
fetched for them. We are probably in and nurturing these solutions. It also as quickly as possible,” it may have
the same situation as them, and we indicates that several customers may terrible consequences. Your car may
don’t know what we don’t know, a have suffered or have had negative take you to the hospital quickly as
classic example of hypocognition. experiences, courtesy junk solutions. you asked, but it may leave behind a
There are several risks that this AI trail of several accidents. Without you
crusade is bringing with it. We may specifying that the rules of the road
not be able to avoid all of them, but must be followed and no humans
we can understand them so we can should be harmed, and it should not
address them. take dangerous turns, and several
other common-sense fundamentals,
At present, many AI solutions your car will end up turning into a
are pure junk 2-tonne weaponised metal block.
Our over-enthusiasm for new tech- Achieving a level of alignment
nologies has somehow colluded our with human-level common sense
quality expectations. So much so that is quite tricky for a computerised
we have almost stopped demanding system. Without having any balanced
the right quality solutions. We are so approach like a scorecard, this may
fond of this newness that we are ignor- not be achievable.
ing flaws in new technologies. Misaligned or confused and con-
This attitude of ours is encour- flated goals of an AI are going to be a
aging subpar solutions day by day, significant concern of the future, as the
resulting in a pile of junk solutions, AI will be extremely good at achieving
which is growing faster than ever. The its goals, but those goals may not rep-
disturbing part of that is those who are resent what we really wanted.
making subpar solutions are unable to
understand this issue either. Know ‘how’ but not ‘why’?
Shouldn’t we be challenging junk We have a problem
AI solutions? We not only need to challenge AI solutions are usually excellent in
Merely pushing for more technol- the quality of every solution but also performing any given task efficiently,
ogy solutions without paying attention improvise our approach towards the effectively, and at scale, consistently.
to quality of those solutions adds a lot emerging technologies in general; AI However, knowing how to perform a
of garbage out in the field. This gar- included. specific task sometimes is not the only
bage, when out there in the market, thing one needs to know. Understand-
easily creates disillusionment and, in Have you seen a balanced- ing the purpose of the job is equally
turn, adds to the resistance for healthy scorecard for AI? essential, since it can give a valuable
adoption. The absence of a balanced-scorecard context to the task itself. Understand-
Quantity versus quality approach has adversely affected sales depart- ing this context is helpful not only
also encourages corrupt practices at ments for several decades and instilled for performing the task but also for
customer’s expense, where subpar many predatory and deceptive sales improvising, as and when required,
solutions are pushed down customer’s practices. It happened because one and ensuring that all the relevant
throat by leveraging their ignorance of the goals for the sales team was to bases are covered.
and an urge to give in to the fear of maximise sales numbers. However, it Technology is an answer to ‘how’
missing out (also called as FOMO). often lacked some of the finer details of the strategy, but without having the
It is especially true with several tech- and did not specify acceptable meth- right ‘why’ and ‘what’ in place, it can
nologies that are going through the ods of sale to achieve those goals. do more damage than good.
hype cycle; AI is one of them. Contention and racing, or conflict- One of the sources of bias in AI
The problem with these low-qual- ing objectives, are often the cause solutions is failing to know ‘why.’
ity solutions is that flaws in subpar of friction within various teams and For example, if your car insurance
techs do not surface until it is too late! people. With AI in the picture, there is company tells you that you are not
In many cases, the damage is already a matter of scale. That is, AI-powered insurable because the system says so.
done and may be irreversible. solutions are known for their efficien- And the system says so because it has
Unlike many other technologies, cy and effectiveness at a massive level. data that shows you were going above
where things work or do not work, Therefore misalignment between our the speed limit. Would anyone even
there is a significant grey area with goals and the machine’s goals could know why you were driving above the

speed limit? Could it be the case of an Not to forget risks from disgrun- see much value in that (skill) any more.
emergency where you had to break tled personnel getting hands on these We still value human interaction,
the rule? Only by understanding why systems, and being able to corrupt communication skills, emotional intel-
it would make more sense in such systems’ functioning in some way or ligence and several other qualities in
cases. But it is quite possible that your the other. Weapon systems equipped humans. What happens when an AI
insurance company may not even ask with AI are the most vulnerable to the app takes over? What happened to AI
you about this and decline the cover. right AI in wrong hand problems, and doing mundane tasks and leaving time
When AI systems do not know therefore have the greatest of risks. for us to do what we like and love?
why, there is always going to be a lurk- Again, we are not talking about AI There is a high risk that, eventu-
ing risk of discrimination, bias, or an systems turning evil. Instead, the con- ally, several people would resign from
illogical outcome. cern is someone misusing a powerful their intellect and sit on sidelines,
AI system. The possibility of AI sys- waiting for their smartphone app to
Right solution - wrong hands tems being used to overpower others tell them what to do next, and how
I always say that tools and systems are by some group or a country is one of they might be feeling now!
not hurtful; people using them are! the significant risks. Overall, the risk When we invented automatic cars,
The thing with technology is that, if of the right AI in the wrong hands is an upgrade from manual gear shift
you learn to use it, it works for you. one of the critical challenges and war- cars, we almost lost hand-leg-brain
But ‘who’ you are will decide ‘how’ rants substantial attention to avoid it. coordination that was once important.
you use it. It is not just a matter of coordination
Notably, the interface between The grey matter - use it per se; it is the matter of thinking,
humans and AI systems is one of the or lose it! which is what humans do and are
risky areas. Not just during the use of Extending AI and automation beyond good at. Aren’t we?
the systems, these risks are prevalent logical limits could potentially alter The enormous power carried by
in preliminary stages of AI training, our perception of what humans can the grey matter in our heads may
too. Coding errors, lapses in data man- do. Several decades ago, doing a math become blunt and eventually useless,
agement, incorrect model-trainings, calculation by hand on a piece of if we never exercise it, turning it into
etc can easily compromise critical paper was a highly appreciated skill for just some slush. The old saying, “use
characteristics of AI solutions such as human beings. Now, with the advent it or lose it” is explicitly applicable in
bias, security, compliance, etc. of calculators and computers, we don’t this case.

Neural Network Preceptors:

How Deep Learning Can
Help Solve AI Problems
This article, using an example, shows how deep learning mechanism can help solve an artificial
intelligence (AI) problem. It gives a good insight on how layers in training data can be formed
Hidden Hidden Hidden

Input Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3
Layer
Output
Layer
Happy
Face
Kanu Ratan Butani
is working as project
manager in a software
company in Mumbai.
He has fifteen years
of experience in Java,
EAI and AI-related
technologies
Image Labels
How deep learning mechanism reads a happy face
C
reating an artificial intelligence done in all those layers. It then provides
(AI) system comes with many additional help by giving three times more
challenges and the biggest of all is accurate results.
to see how to get closer to human think-
ing and solve a problem the way a human Back propagation
will. Human or cognitive level of thinking Let us take the classic example of the lift
is the most difficult, and to achieve that, it versus staircase. Here, apart from all other
is necessary to make use of deep learning aspects, it still depends on the mood of the
mechanism. Since convolution neural net- person—whether the person will consider
work (CNN) is the core of the deep learn- taking the lift or stairs—and this can change
ing mechanism, it allows adding desired every day.
intelligence to a system. We create infinite scenarios, yet eve-
A neural network has layers of pre- ryday being a new day we cannot be sure
ceptors or logics/algorithms that can be what will the mood be today, and still we
written. Hence, the more layers of this will try to solve this and make it as accurate
logic one adds, the more the solution gets as we can using the following steps.
closer to cognitive thinking. The most Human mood capture. How do we
important step here is back propagation, capture this mood and decide what is the
which helps analyse whatever has been person’s mood today? We cannot read any-

one’s mind, but this can be achieved use statistical and complex mathemat- will also be weighed.
through face reading, which can give ical formulae and concepts like calcu- Second layer preceptor. All pixel
us facial expression and emotions, lus, integration, derivatives, complex numbers will be captured and given
and body language, which can give numbers and algebra fundamentals to to the second layer.
us more information on the mood. solve this, and get results. This will capture every single pixel
Face reading. Face reading or face The video clip is broken into based on the higher or lower number,
detection software can help capture continuous shots of images and then and finally the figure will be read. Here
the emotions of the face, such as every image is read by applying the we can capture lines formed near the
happy face, sad face or other. (There above mathematical rules. All these eyes. Based on the lines and shape of
are many different types of emotions rules are defined and calculated in API the eyes captured we can decide the
that can help in capturing a person’s functions created by Python. emotion.
mood.) In this case, instead of photos, Every image can be divided into It is the same for the other two
video clips of the person would be number of pixels. In a normal scenario, images.
more helpful in making accurate pre- a coloured image is divided into 32×32 Now we get three different weights
dictions of the mood. pixels. But since we have to divide the of eyes, nose and lips, which will help
Note that, there are hundreds of image in three parts, let us set the pixels us come to some conclusion.
different emotions and emojis, and as a round figure to make calculations Drop-out layer. When we have
if we consider all of them, it will not simple for this scenario. Let us make created five to six layers, and we come
solve the issue. It would make up huge the image in 30×30 pixels, so we get across some layer that shows too much
amounts of similar data, since there total 900 pixels for the image. learning or very little learning, both
are many emotions that are related Now, we have the following ways of which are not so useful in machine
and similar to each other. Only a few an image is divided: learning and deep learning, then that
basic emotions need to be checked, 1. Every image is divided into three layer must be dropped out of the
which are obvious in nature. It works equal horizontal parts based on facial structure. But this must be done after
in the same way as it does with col- expressions, as explained earlier. This proper analysis and understanding,
ours, where there are infinite colours, way we have 300 pixels for each part and it depends completely on the data
but we take three primary colours and of the image. scientist and the situation to decide
then differentiate them accordingly. 2. Every image is a coloured image; which layer must be dropped.
Hence, the seven basic emotions to thus, it is divided into three red, green
be considered are joy, sad, angry, fear, and blue (RGB) images. Here, every Back propagation analysis
disgust, neutral and surprise. colour will have 900 pixels. Thus, the This figure can be compared with back
According to psychology, facial total for three primary colours will be propagation of different emojis that we
expressions are checked with eyes, 2700 pixels. have. This analysis is done when we
nose and mouth changes. Therefore This way we break down every get some wrong result at the training
the facial image should be divided into image into 900 instances of weight, stage. If we show a happy face and its
three equal horizontal parts: forehead which forms the first layer in the deep giving output as sad face, then we have
till eyes, nose and lips till the chin. learning mechanism. to do back propagation and find the
Body language. This is a very Considering different formulae and source of the issue, and then solve it.
important aspect, and there are many calculations, we will keep adding dif- In our case, there will be an output
things involved in body language. But ferent layers, and the last layer (output of seven different emojis, and in the
the main things to consider are walk- layer) will contain the total number of training data, we give all seven images
ing pace, hand and leg movements, emotions captured and output using for the machine to learn. This step
and postures. the deep learning mechanism—in this is sort of reverse engineering, where
For a more accurate analysis, it case, output will be seven emotions. we go back from the final layer to the
is important to find the correlation Let us divide the image in three previous layer to check if there are any
between facial expressions and body parts and analyse each part separately. mistakes.
language for decision-making. All three parts will enter the first layer Once that is resolved, we can move
together but will be weighted sepa- ahead with test data, which will be
How to begin rately. So, we will have the following the actual image that will be used for
Video clip is captured in the CCTV in the first layer: machine learning to figure out the
camera that is near the lift. It is called First layer preceptor. This is divid- emotion. If we do this correctly, with
the unstructured form of data. This ed into a square and very small pixels; hundred per cent results, then in test
must be read by the machine in a dif- in our case, 30×10 pixels (one third data we should get around 95 per cent
ferent manner. Here comes the magic of the image is taken). The higher the correct result.
of deep learning, which is the most number of pixels, the more accurate If this is successful, we have a
suitable technique in decoding any the results. Every pixel, depending ready machine learning mechanism
form of complex unstructured data. on darkness, will give numbers rang- for facial expressions and face reading
ing from 0.0 to 1.0. These are called software. This will help us analyse the
How it is decoded weights of every pixel. face expressions and decide if these are
The core of AI is where we extensively Similarly, the other two images happy or sad ones.

10
AI Trends
Revolutionising
Manufacturing Industry
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been playing a crucial role in the growth of manufacturing industries by
boosting productivity and efficiency. The article below explores some of the trends that AI technology is
bringing in the modern manufacturing industries like smart factories, 3D printing and blockchain. These
trends ensure more flexibility and improve speed and quality of products
processes and setups. AI is being employed

in manufacturing to make businesses more
efficient by extending human capabilities.
There are many areas where AI is helping
to improve the processes of manufacturing
industries and boost productivity and effi-
ciency. This article covers some of the AI
trends that have revolutionised the modern
manufacturing industry including smart
factories, 3D printing, AI-robots, generative
designs and blockchain.
1. Smart factory
Automation in manufacturing or factory is
not a new thing. A smart factory is based
on the modern industrial automation
concept. It is a highly digitised and con-
nected production facility, considered as an
outcome of the fourth industrial revolution
or Industry 4.0. The smart factory employs
modern technologies such as AI, robotics,
analytics, Big Data and the IoT. With the use
Representation of artificial intelligence (Credit: www.freightwaves.com) of modern technologies, the smart factory
systems can learn and adapt in real-time,
enable more flexibility in operation and run
without much human intervention. The
A
Sani Theo smart manufacturing unit is different characteristics of the smart factory include
from a traditional manufacturing unit visibility, connectivity, and autonomy. Asset
in many ways. A typical modern manu- management, supply chain management
facturing unit is not a clumsy industrial space and inventory management are some of the
with a few or thousands of human workers hottest areas of AI, machine learning and
or robotised production units under one roof. IoT adoption in a smart factory.
With the advancement in technologies, such
as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learn- 2. AI and 3D printing
ing and the Internet of Things (IoT), there is 3D printing is mainly used in rapid proto-
much more than the traditional manufacturing typing, design iteration, and small-scale

production. This technology is constantly evolving and
improving in the manufacturing industry. Improvements
in speed, quality and materials could make 3D printing
useful in mass production and mass customisation. The
combination of AI and 3D printing brings lots of new
excitement and flexibility in additive manufacturing
technology. The role of AI in 3D printing technology is
in the software. In other words, the intelligence of a 3D
printer lies in the software program. AI algorithms are
being incorporated into 3D modeling programs to help
you optimise the 3D printing process and also create the
best 3D printable models.
3. AI and IoT
The emerging technologies like AI and IoT have been
going on well especially in the manufacturing industry.
These technologies have been revolutionising the mass
production of goods and boosting the output of different
industries.
In the manufacturing industry, the IoT involves the
use of devices/sensors, cloud computing and the Internet
for communication, and AI software to compile massive
amounts of data for intelligent machine learning. Through
IoT technology, machines can seamlessly talk to each
other and react to any problems that arise. IoT system can
quickly alert other machines and human workers—allow-
ing the problem to be addressed in real-time.
4. AI-robot
When we talk about robots in manufacturing industries,
there are two technology terms that come into the picture:
cobots and robotic process automation (RPA). Cobots
were first coined by professors at Northwestern University
in America. Unlike traditional industrial robots, cobots or
collaborative robots are the latest generations of robotic
systems intended to work alongside humans. While
cobots are robots intended to interact with humans in a
shared space or to work safely in close proximity, RPA is a
form of business process automation technology based on
metaphorical software bots. That is, unlike the physical
robotic machines, RPA is software that acts as an addition-
al employee in various disciplines throughout the supply
chain, automating certain activities, minimising human
errors, and maximising productivity. Actually, RPA works
behind the scenes, replicating human minds, accelerating
operations and transforming business processes.
The robotics market is growing at a great speed
across the globe. There are millions of robots working in
factories all over the world. With the emergence of AI,
robots are becoming smarter, cheaper and easier to use.
Cutting-edge AI techniques will help the industrial robots
to improve the speed, accuracy and safety of production.
The most common robots are pick and place, packag-
ing, welding and assembly robots. Other manufacturing
robots include cutting, drilling, milling and painting
robots. Assembly robots are used on automated assembly
lines including automotive, consumer electronics and
electrical appliances. AI-powered computer vision is one
of the most important modern researches in robotics.
Some assembly robots employ computer vision and sen-

sors to identify, grasp and manipulate turnaround time. Depending on the process represents goods that are still in
parts. Some assembly robots can also product, the actual designing phase the production process. Finished goods
handle assembly of parts that are too involves lots of imagination and crea- are those that are awaiting sale or ready
small for human hands to handle them tivity of the designer. to ship to customers.
accurately. With the generative design con- AI in inventory provides many ben-
cept, a designer is no longer limited by efits for the companies that are utilising
5. AI and Quality 4.0 his own imaginations or past experi- it. For example, in the car manufactur-
The core concept of Quality 4.0 aligns ence. The designer just needs to input ing industry, smart warehouses are
quality management with Industry 4.0 design parameters (such as materials, inventory systems, where the inventory
techniques. Technological advances in size, weight, strength, manufacturing process is partially or entirely auto-
Industry 4.0 such as advanced analyt- methods, and cost constraints) into mated using modern technologies such
ics, AI and machine learning can help generative design software, and the as AI, machine learning and Industrial
organisations achieve real-time vis- AI algorithm explores all the possible Internet of Things (IIoT). These tech-
ibility of vital quality metrics, supplier combinations of a solution, generates nologies enable inventory systems to
performance, and customer services. many or thousands of design options. connect each process, collect data at
Due to the rising complexity in the The designer can filter from the gener- each of the nodes, continuously learn
products and the spare parts, manufac- ated design options and select the best and optimise the process and increase
turers may face the challenge to main- options that would meet his require- productivity. AI and machine learn-
tain high-quality products. Quality 4.0 ments. ing models are able to scale inventory
ensures improved quality of products optimisation across all distribution
and enhanced output efficiency by 8. AI and cost optimisation locations and independent variables
using AI algorithms. If any kind of One of the major benefits of AI in that affect demand and supply perfor-
issues are found at the initial stages, manufacturing is cost optimisation. AI mance.
they can be taken care of immediately. enables manufacturers to cost-effec-
tively create and maintain their own 10. AI and blockchain
6. Predictive analytics algorithm in-house, which is cheaper, Many products are being manufac-
AI, machine learning and IoT are used more versatile, and more adaptive to tured globally but do you know from
in modern manufacturing industries. constantly changing market condi- where these products originated, how
Here, data is one of the most impor- tions. AI can fully automate complex and when they were produced and
tant assets. Predictive analytics tools tasks, provide consistent and precise shipped to the buyers? The demand
are used to analyse the incoming data optimum set points. It requires less for transparency in the manufactur-
to identify problems in advance. AI- manpower to maintain and adjust ing supply chain has significantly
powered predictive analytics promises quickly when management revises increased in today’s global market.
to revolutionise analytics. Predictive manufacturing strategy and produc- Blockchain can be used in manu-
tools give manufacturers the power to tion plans. facturing and perfectly fits for this
analyse massive amounts of data and In some cases, AI can partially or solution to track manufactured goods
discover correlations between critical even fully replace certain employees through the supply chain.
variables, enabling them to address and you need not include their sala- Blockchain involves a digital
the root causes of problems before ries in your budget. AI is used to cut ledger that is continuously updated
quality issues occur. Predictive quality maintenance and repair costs. to record and track transactions,
is one of the most important use cases accounting and asset movement. It
in manufacturing. Predictive mainte- 9. Inventory optimisation is new digital information, which
nance makes use of AI algorithms to Inventory management plays an impor- stores data in an encrypted, distrib-
predict failures of a system or machine tant role in manufacturing because it uted ledger format. AI can manage
to prevent failures and prevent down- can make or break a business. One item blockchain efficiently because AI and
times in the manufacturing units. out of stock can bring a business to its encryption work very well together.
With advanced data analysis and knees. Many companies run into losses In manufacturing, blockchain can be
real-time tracking, machinery main- due to bad inventory management. used to establish an organised digital
tenance can be scheduled before any Unlike inventory management in retail- thread, track the history of a part, from
problem arises. These technologies ers and wholesalers, which consists its digital design to production all the
help drive operational efficiency, items ready for sale, a manufacturing way to end of life. This digital data can
reduce the manufacturing operating company’s inventory will include be shared with multiple parties that
expenditure and improve productivity. goods in various stages of production, get access to the same information.
from raw materials to products ready Some of the advantages of block-
7. AI and generative designs to ship to customers. A typical manu- chain include monitoring supply chain
A designer in the manufacturing facturer uses three types of inventories: for greater transparency, materials
industry first establishes a request-for- raw materials, work in process and fin- provenance and counterfeit detection,
quotation, provides the design assets, ished goods. Raw materials including engineering design, identity manage-
indicates the processes required, such steel, wood, plastic, chemicals, etc, are ment, asset tracking, quality assur-
as dimensions, materials, volume and the main inputs of production. Work in ance and regulatory compliance.

101010101
101010
1010
Computing
Touch The Future Together

With Multi-Touch Technology
We not only see touch technology in science fiction movies, but also in real life across
thousands of businesses that focus on customer engagement
T
im Berners-Lee, inventor of World with handwriting recognition in the 1990s,
Wide Web, once said, “There was a while IBM released Simon, the first smart-
time when people felt the Internet phone with touchscreen interface. In 1996,
was another world, but now people realise Palm released its Pilot Series with advanced
it is a tool we use in this world.” touchscreen technology. In 2002, Microsoft
Technological progress allows more entered the touch technology sphere by
Dr Krishna Naga and more inventions to occur that open introducing Windows XP Tablet edition,
a new world of possibilities for all types and in 2007, Apple introduced its iPhone,
of businesses, creating a link with people the king of smartphones with touchscreen.
around the world to make connections
easily and, hence, developing strong bond- Single user versus multi-users
age between them. Electronic devices like A single user using single (for example,
cellphones, trackpads and laptops have ATM) or dual touch on a smartphone, like
become ingrained in our daily lives. selecting an icon, typing a letter or using
The physical keyboard in these devices two fingers to zoom in or out, is an attrac-
was replaced by the sleek touchscreen. tive digital trend compared to the traditional
This technology was initiated with the keypad phone. This classic touchscreen has
capacitive touchscreen (used in air traf- two limitations: only a single user is allowed
fic control, and not by people) invented at a time due to single input command and it
by E.A. Johnson around 1965-1967, at is limited based on scale, that is, cost of the
Royal Radar Establishment, UK, followed touchscreen increases as size of the screen
by the resistive touchscreen invented by increases.
George Samuel Hurst in 1982. This was As human needs are wide, the single-
followed by Hewlett-Packard’s built-in user single-touch did not offer much in
infrared (IR) beams that detected finger terms of flexibility and expansion into more
movements. Later, Apple introduced its command inputs. This led to the invention of
Newton personal digital assistant (PDA) multi-touch user touchscreens. We already
Typing/selecting an icon Flicking a finger Zoom in or out/

to turn a page rotating an image/
reshaping an object
Fig. 1: Multi-touching in smartphones or tablets Fig. 2: Multi-touch technology

Computing
enjoy the benefits of multi-touch tech- can control graphical applications
nology built in traditional touchscreen using several fingers, and one or more
designs in smartphones, tablets and users can interact with computer
other touch-enabled human-machine applications through various gestures
interfaces (HMIs). However, the multi- created by fingers on a surface without
touch application in smartphones and affecting other users.
tablets has replaced a keyboard and a A multifaceted experience can be
mouse to access different screens. created by simultaneously opening
Multi-user multi-touch is a highly different popups, which encourages
intuitive technology that enables a greater engagement, sales or training.
trackpad or touchscreen to simulta- This versatility enriches the technol-
neously sense the presence of more ogy for more immediate interaction Fig. 6: Projected capacitance
than two concurrent points of contact between the computer and users.
with the surface. This has a profound Multi-touch devices are stronger
impact on end-users, panel operators, than dual-touch devices but are also
engineers, managers, purchasers, expensive because the technology has
executives and other decision-makers. to support several concurrent contact
With this interaction technique, users points, and it also has to sense each
touch. In today’s
m a r ke t , i m p l e -
menting a multi-
touch display for
multiusers will
enhance customer
experiences and, Fig. 7: 3D touch
thus, enable entre-
preneurs to make
Multi-touching strategic business
Multi-touching by a single user by multi users decisions.
Fig. 3: Single user versus multiple users using the technology Multi-user mul-
ti-touch technolo-
gy is used in multi-
touch interactive
walls, also called
walls of wonders
used in public
spaces or collab-
oration environ- Fig. 8: Resistive touch
ments, like muse-
ums, schools, hos- videos and images. These files can
pitals, hotels, spas, be sent via email, and shared and
conference rooms compared by other users. Hence, this
of offices, etc that technology has proven its significance
show a real-time in improving customer relationships.
3 D a t m o s p h e re The electronics and semiconduc-
where users can tor industry pays special focus to the
access over 2000 multi-user multi-touch screen market
Fig. 4: Multi-touch interactive wall (Credit: eyefactive interactive systems) files such as PDFs, analysis, which is expected to rise by
2027. The classification of multi-touch
technology is as follows:
Based on the built-in technology
and application, multi-user multi-
touchscreen is segmented in the global
market.
Based on technology, it is segment-
ed into capacitive, resistive, acoustic,
and optical and IR. Each technology
is diverse in terms of approach, from
problem recognition and interpreta-
Fig. 5: Classification of multi-touch technology tion to simultaneous multiple touches.

Computing
Based on application, it is seg- capacitance technology is a sensitive user touches one conductive layer,
mented into consumer electronics, sensor that can sense through a 6mm- pressure creates contact between the
retail, government, enterprise, indus- thick glass (insulator), coated with two layers, causing current to flow. So,
trial, commercial (hospitality, trans- a conductor like indium-tin-oxide. usage of gloves by the user does not
port and gaming) and others (medical, When the user touches the surface affect the flow of current.
military and training). of the screen, electricity is conducted This technology is easy to manu-
through the finger causing a meas- facture and costs low if size of the
Overview of various urable change in capacitance. This screen is normal, but increases expo-
multi-touch technologies change in capacitance creates a distor- nentially for large sizes. Touchscreens
Touch panels are becoming more tion in the screen’s electrostatic field. made using this technology are more
common in our daily lives, in cell- It is mainly used in control panels, stable, resistant to screen contami-
phones, ATMs, kiosks, ticket vending digital signage, industrial automa- nants and immune to ambient light.
machines, etc to enable user interaction, gaming machines and so on. But these have poor object recogni-
tion. Each device uses a different tech- Touchscreens manufactured with this tion, poor clarity and poor multi-touch
nology to meet the demand. technology give excellent resistance capability.
Electrostatic systems. Projected to surface contaminants and liquids, a Acoustic systems. Acoustic sur-
long life span with more simultaneous faces are mainly used in point-of-
touch points, use less power, and are information kiosks, hospitality, ticket
more reliable and durable. However, sales (transportation), multimedia
this technology requires initial tuning payphones, gaming, lotteries and
of devices, so it is expensive, and we amusement. Sides of the monitor
can use only conductive elements have a series of piezoelectric trans-
(gloves cannot be used). ducers and receivers that create an
Force touch systems. 3D touch invisible grid of ultrasonic waves on
Fig. 9: Acoustic surface technology is the same as projected the surface. When a user touches the
capacitance, and panel, the finger absorbs part of the
sensors can meas- wave that is produced, which allows
ure small chang- the receiving transducer to locate the
es in distance touchpoint(s).
between the cover Acoustic surface touch panels
glass and back- address the limitation of poor clarity
light due to force in projected capacitance and resistive
of the finger. 3D touch. These also ensure better dura-
Camera-based vision system PixelSense Infrared frame touch technology is bility, high stability, longer life span
mainly used in all and scratch-resistance. The remark-
iOS devices. These able feature of this technology is that
are extremely the screen is tested at over fifty million
strong, highly reac- touches.
tive and immune to It is not recommended to use
InGlass
ambient light. But acoustic products in open environ-
this technology is ments. Also, the screen cannot be
3D cameras limited to object completely sealed, is immune to low
Infrared laser plane
recognition—sim- weather and surface contaminants
Fig. 10: Various optical systems ilar to projected cause dead spots on the screen.
capacitance, where Optical systems. Optical systems
gloves cannot be are cost-effective and the easiest to
used. These touch- create. Fig. 10 shows the various opti-
screens are not cal systems, wherein each system
available in large uses different optical techniques such
formats. as frustrated total internal reflection
Frustrated Total Rear Diffused Front Diffused Diffused Surface Pressure-based (FTIR), rear diffused illumination
Internal Reflection Illumination Illumination Illumination systems. Resistive (RDI), front diffused illumination
touch technology (FDI), diffused surface illumination
is mainly used in (DI), laser light plane (LLP) and LED
aviation, military, light plane (LED-LP). Clarity and pre-
broadcast and edu- cision of detection of objects for each
cation devices. Two technique can be seen in Fig. 11.
Laser Light Plane LED Light Plane conductive layers Camera-based vision systems.
Fig. 11: Clarity and precision of detection of objects for all techniques of are separated by These have two or more IR cameras
touch technology (Credit: sethsandler.com/multitouch spacers. When the placed on top of a display, facing the

Computing
surface of the display to recognise as a big banner, which incorporates InGlass. Also known as planar
fingers and objects. This technology hand gestures and optical recogni- scatter technology, this technology
is typically characterised by a high tion of objects placed on the screen. uses the principle of total internal
degree of scalability, stylus-independ- Though immune to light, it is slim and reflection that maintains light within
ence, zero-force touch, high optical can recognise a large number of users the glass. It is mainly used in signs and
performance, object-size-recognition simultaneously. billboards. Here, IR light is injected
capability and low cost. But, on the IR frame. This is a revolutionary in the cover glass and extracted at
other side, it is heavy, voluminous high-performance platform, usually the opposite side where photorecep-
and gives a poor image quality. installed in front of any non-touch tors placed detect the disturbance.
PixelSense. This technology was display screen to offer interactive Though the glass comes with limited
introduced by Microsoft through a capability. The frame is integrated touchpoints, features like invisibility,
multi-touch table-top computer acting with a circuit that contains a line of robustness due to a large number of
IR LEDs and pho- scan lines, cost-effectiveness for large
toreceptors. When screens and highly reactive property
users touch the attract consumers.
screen, light beams 3D cameras. These use IR illumi-
are interrupted and nation to give depth information of
receptors recognise the image of the object or user. The
the exact location of main benefit is the possibility of non-
the touch. This frame touch gesture interaction. However,
is cost-effective and this system is immune to light with no
scalable up to 300 tactile feedback, and also background
degrees, but it is of the image could disturb recognition
immune to sunlight, heavily.
detects even inani- Some examples of applications of
mate object and is multi-users multi-touch displays in
difficult to clean. real life are:
Fig. 12: IR frame (Credit: https://cdn.vox) IR laser pane. • Interactive multi-touch displays
It is mainly used and touchscreens are useful in settings
in shop windows where more than one person operates
to create a way for the same digital system simultane-
large interactions. It ously. For example, gaming kiosks,
consists of an invis- which are revolutionising the gaming
ible laser pane that industry.
detects the reflected • In a retail store, where multi-
laser pulse of objects user multi-touch displays visually
or users, and dis- stimulate shoppers to stay and explore
tance is measured store promotions and facilitate the
from the time-of- shopping experience through a new
flight of light. How- engaging approach that makes cus-
ever, this pane has tomers come back.
low precision with- • Interactive multi-touch switch-
out any tactile feed- able, smart glass screen walls and
Fig. 13: Gaming kiosk (Credit: Kiosk industry) back. partitions used in shopping windows,
bank counters, outdoor advertise-
ments, hospitals, bathrooms and
public spaces. Smart glass works on
an electrical principle and switches
from frosted to clear when power is
applied. When power is on, the trans-
parent glass shows a 3D stereoscopic
image without affecting the display of
exhibits in the shopping window.
The normal glass can be coated
with a switchable optical layer using
UV light, or a laminated switchable
smart glass panel can be used for
superior performance and clarity.
Fig. 14: Innovative product presentation for the future [Credit: Eyefactive Interactive Systems (L) Black, tinted switchable smart glass
and Kiosk industry (R)] offers more privacy by turning the

Computing
Fig. 15: Self-service machines (Credit: Kiosk industry) Fig. 16: Interactive touch technology in retail (Credit: Eyefactive Interactive Systems)
glass darker. Smart glass serves as the with HDMI/VGA connections allow- information can be viewed before the
ideal choice for commercial or resi- ing users to connect to any PC or customers interact with the touch-
dential installations. laptop, while the integrated multi- screen. Also, offerings, products and
• Multi-touch functions in a kiosk touch technology transforms finger(s) services can be highlighted to them
allow multiple touch points on the movement(s) equivalent to the move- quickly.
screen at the same time. This flex- ment of the mouse, thus making any We not only see touch technology
ibility allows a single user to use both content touch-capable. in science fiction movies, but also
hands to interact with the kiosk, or • Interactive touchscreens can be in real life across thousands of busi-
multiple kiosk users can interact with used effectively in hotels, spas and the nesses that focus on customer engage-
the kiosk at the same time. hospitality industry to welcome and ment. This innovative technology has
These self-service machines lower inform individual guests and custom- impacted businesses that enhance
the total cost of ownership through- ers. Using proximity sensors and face environmental, ergonomic and eco-
out the lifecycle. Recent kiosks come detection via cameras, personalised nomical workflows.

Communication
Emerging Wireless
Standards For Next-Gen
IoT Applications
This article is based on a talk by Rittu Sachdev, RF engineer, Texas Instruments, at India
Electronics Week 2019 organised by EFY Group. She explains how communication standards
that started off with non-IoT (Internet of Things) applications are now evolving to help the IoT
T
Rittu Sachdev he Internet of Things (IoT) thrives wireless communication standards.
is RF engineer at on communication standards, and Building a wireless communication
Texas Instruments
these standards are evolving rapidly standard for the IoT is hard with all the
to support the IoT better. IoT applications available communication standards. It is
range from home and building automa- not easy to decide which one is best suited
tion to smart cities, smart manufacturing, for a particular IoT application. There are
wearables, automotive and agriculture. standards spanning from personal area
Scope of the IoT is immense; however, networks (PANs) and proximity sensors to
depending on the use-case, IoT applica- wide-area networks (WANs) and low-pow-
tions can pose different challenges for ered wide-area networks (LPWANs) that are

Communication
specifically meant for the IoT. And in
between, there are also wireless LANs Comparison Between 802.11ac and 802.11ax
(WLANs). Different communication 802.11ac 802.11ax
standards offer different specifica- Spectrum 5GHz 2.4 and 5GHz
tions to help the IoT in different ways. Technology OFDM OFDMA
These communication standards are Bandwidth 20/40/80/80+80/160MHz 20/40/80/80+80/160MHz
evolving and enabling new and future
Highest modulation 256 QAM 1024 QAM
IoT applications.
The IoT drives communication Sub-carrier spacing 312.5kHz 78.125kHz
standards on both (opposite) ends. It Symbol length 3.2µs 12.8µs
needs low latency (fast response time) Guard interval 0.4/0.8µs 0.8/1.6/3.2µs
as well as low power. Some applica- MU-MIMO 4 (DL) 8 (UL and DL)
tions require high data rate and wide Spatial streams 8 8
range. These are conflicting goals
Data rates 433Mbps (80MHz 1SS) 600.4Mbps (80MHz 1SS)
and are difficult for a single wireless
standard to achieve. On top of this, Spectral efficiency 42.5bps/Hz 62.5bps/Hz
there are other things to be resolved
such as security, low cost, network One classic example of this is the turn on devices to have addresses for
capacity and reliability. This is the real video doorbell, which needs high data specific devices and those devices
challenge for wireless communication (because it is video); if it is battery- with the wake-up packet. Other uses
standards. operated, power needs to be saved. A of the data packet are as follows:
video doorbell needs to continuously • Indoor location scan, which can
Evolving wireless standards in sniff the air for online commands be implemented using data packets
the IoT communication to operate the lock and that drains from neighbouring access points
Some wireless standards that are power. So, instead of keeping the main (APs) to figure out one’s location.
evolving to help the IoT are 802.11 for WLAN receiver on all the time (which • Roaming scan; when one moves
WLANs (802.11ax and 802.11ba that is actually meant for high data rate), out of AP coverage, WLAN receivers
are coming up as new standards), just for sniffing purpose, the wireless turn on a scan to check for new, avail-
Bluetooth 5, sub-1GHz and narrow- wake-up receiver can check for wake- able networks. This can be done on a
band IoT (NB-IoT), which is meant up packets and then turn on the main wake-up receiver, which substantially
specifically for the IoT. WLAN receiver. This saves a consider- reduces power consumption for the
802.11ba is also called wake-up able amount of power, which helps the WLAN device.
receiver. Usually, WLAN is used for IoT get high data rate, low latency as Wi-Fi 6, also called 802.11ax, is
applications that require very high well as low power. the latest upgrade for WLAN. This
data rate and where power is not a Main IoT enablers possible by is a substantial improvement over
concern. But to enable the IoT, WLAN 802.11ba are given below. the previous standard, Wi-Fi 5 or
has to reduce its power consumption. • Battery life can be increased by 11ac. Wi-Fi 5 was mostly focussed
The new standard of WLAN, 802.11ba, ten times because the wake-up receiv- on increasing data throughput in
works with previous-generation Wi-Fi er is a simple receiver. It is a sniffing favourable conditions. Wi-Fi 6 tries to
5 or Wi-Fi 6 standard to help achieve radio and consumes less than ten achieve the best possible average data
low power. per cent of the actual WLAN receiver output from WLAN. Though WLAN
Low power is usually achieved power. is capable of gigabits/sec kind of
by keeping the wireless device in • The wake-up receiver can data rate, it is normally not possible.
sleeping mode most of the time, but always be kept on. Thus, its response Data rate substantially drops when
that increases latency, which makes time can be in milliseconds. there are multiple connections to the
response time of the system very • It can be always connected. As same AP. Wi-Fi 6 is trying to address
slow. In many applications this is an example, let us take the case of this issue.
not possible because faster response sensors on the move, like the mobile There are two major changes
time, data rate and low power are application with sensors moving between ac and ax, as given below.
also needed. around. If there is a disconnection • The technology has changed
The goal is to achieve both low from the access point (AP), instead from orthogonal frequency-division
power and low latency. This is of keeping the WLAN receiver on to multiplexing (OFDM) to orthogonal
achieved by low-power wake-up sniff to see whether one is within AP frequency division multiple access
receiver (LPWUR). It works in con- coverage, one can use the wake-up (OFDMA).
junction with the normal WLAN receiver to sniff for AP coverage. This • Sub-carrier data spacing (fre-
transceiver (TRx). The basic function again saves considerable power. quencies that carry data symbols)
of wake-up receiver is to sniff the air There are future advances possible has reduced from 312KHz to 78KHz.
for wake-up packets. Once it receives for 802.11ba. The wake-up packet con- 78KHz means that there are data bins/
wake-up packets, it turns on the main sists of a legacy field and a data field. carriers closely packed together.
transceiver. Data field can be used to selectively Usually, WLAN channel is 20MHz

Communication
long, which can pack four times more rate activities and high bandwidth to by doubling symbol rate. This helps
data carriers using lower sub-carrier higher-data-rate applications. It also with faster pairing, connection and
spacing. allows multiple low-data-rate activi- download speed.
Symbol length and sub-carrier fre- ties from different users/devices to Earlier, Bluetooth 4 had 31 bytes
quency are interlinked, which means be served in the same channel at the for advertising, which is basically
if frequency reduces, symbol length same time, improving system effi- broadcast messages. This has now
increases. ciency. been increased eight times, thus help-
The advantage of having a longer 11ax features that enable the IoT ing achieve richer advertising content.
symbol length is that one is more are as follows: Various applications of Bluetooth 5
immune to delays of signal recep- • OFDMA for both uplink as well include health and fitness (heart rate
tion. So, in case of multiple signal as downlink. It offers more spectrum monitors, smart bands), wireless audio
reflections, each reflection is slightly efficiency and more network capac- (soundbars, speakers, headsets), retail
delayed. When that happens, the ity. More users can be served at one (location-based ads) and so on. Most
longer the symbol length, the more time. of these are like Bluetooth 4, but their
robust it is, without inter-symbol • 8×8 multi-user MIMO uplink specifications have improved, with
interference. and downlink. It allows transmitting lower power and better range.
Longer symbol length helps to eight users together for both trans-
achieve a bigger guard interval, which mission and reception. Wireless standards that are
is 3.2 µs versus 0.8 µs. A bigger guard • Long OFDM symbol duration. specifically meant for the IoT
interval safeguards from multiple • Power save modes with longer Sub-1GHz is specifically meant for IoT
reflections and helps get more reliable sleep intervals and scheduled wake-up applications. It gives very long range
data. This improves average through- times. (as band is from 750MHz to 950MHz),
put in dense environments when con- In terms of future IoT use-cases possibly up to 20km distance. It can
nections to AP increases. that 11ax enables, there are battery- run for multiple years on a single coin
Apart from these two major chang- operated devices for video surveil- battery. This robust technology uses
es, speed has increased, which is the lance, remote diagnostics, disaster frequency hopping and is less suscep-
main purpose of WLAN. 256 QAM has management and so on. All these use- tible to interference, and avoids the
gone up to 1024 QAM, which is almost cases require low power, long range, crowded 2.4GHz space.
a 25 per cent increase in data rate. low latency as well as good data rate. Its applications include streetlight
Data rates of 600Mbps can be There are augmented and virtual controls, e-meters, smoke detectors,
obtained for a single spatial stream reality (AR and VR) kind of applica- toll road tax systems, irrigation sys-
and 80MHz BW. WLAN6 allows for tions that Wi-Fi 6 enables in high data tems and the like.
eight spatial uplink and downlink rate modes. Virtual training, virtual NB-IoT is the latest LTE standard.
streams making multiple gigabits/sec diagnostics, robotic surgery, AR tour- It is the lowest data rate LTE version.
data rates possible. ism and others are some of the new In LTE, there is the high-performance
applications that have become pos- mode that offers up to 1Gbit/s kind
Sub-carrier spacing reduction sible with Wi-Fi 6. of data rates. This is where 5G is
enables packing more sub- going to come. At the other end of the
carriers in 20MHz channel Bluetooth 5: the latest spectrum, it has low cost, power and
bandwidth technology from Bluetooth throughput. The range is 20km with
Wi-Fi 5 has 52 sub-carriers in 20MHz The previous generation, Bluetooth data rate of 250Kbps. Use-cases are
bandwidth. Whereas, Wi-Fi 6 packs 4, had two sub-parts: classic and low similar to sub-1GHz.
242 sub-carriers in the same 20MHz energy. Classic was mostly used in
channel. These sub-carriers can be headsets and sound buds. Low energy Choosing the right wireless
divided into nine parts called resource is used in wearables, fitness bands and standard
units. Minimum size for a resource similar applications. Depending on the use-case, the com-
unit is 26 sub-carriers and 2MHz Bluetooth 5 has new features that munication technology should be
bandwidth. enable the IoT. Some of the features selected. Except for NB-IoT, which
Wi-Fi 5 allocates minimum 20MHz are given below. is subscription-based, all others are
bandwidth to a single user irrespec- • It gives 4x longer range for low licence-free. While NB-IoT and sub-
tive of the quantity of data packet. So, data rates. This is enabled by adding 1GHz offer a good range, Wi-Fi is
data-intensive video downloads and more forward error correction to the the best choice for speed. Bluetooth,
low-data activities like sending a text data that is sent. For every bit of data sub-1GHz and NB-IoT give similar
message both get the same allocation that is sent, this mode sends two more battery life.
of bandwidth. This is a waste of pre- error correction codes that improve As per a Digi-Key report, cost is
cious spectrum resource. the chances of detecting that bit, the highest for NB-IoT at ` 1000. Cost
With Wi-Fi 6, spectrum space giving four times the range. But this is for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is ` 300,
can be more efficiently utilised with only for low data rates. while that of sub-1GHz is higher at
OFDMA technology, which allocates • Bluetooth 5 can achieve 2Mbps ` 350. These are module costs, includ-
lower bandwidth (2MHz) to low-data- data rate. Faster data rate is achieved ing antenna.

Test & Measurement
Performance Evaluation
Of Upgraded Data Centre
Infrastructure
The demands on data centres have
increased tremendously with the
introduction of new technologies
such as artificial intelligence,
the Internet of Things, and now
autonomous vehicles. Besides,
video, cloud computing, and other
bandwidth-intensive applications
are forcing operators to rapidly
increase network capacity. So
network equipment manufacturers
now need best-in-class test
equipment to support them
Deepshikha Shukla architecture is required to achieve Data centre testing can help detect
higher data rates, increase port counts, potential faults and vulnerabilities in
E
merging technologies such as and lower cost per bit. However, this a facility’s infrastructure. This permits
the Internet of Things (IoT), growth can be an intricate process actions in advance, if any of them may
5G, artificial intelligence (AI), with rapidly changing technologies. contribute to server downtime or a
virtual reality (VR), and autonomous Organisations require end-to-end complete system outage throughout
vehicles generate massive data in a testing solutions that can test, meas- the data centre. Regular testing of
network, creating new computing ure and assure the IP networks and backup systems is also vital to ensure
and performance demands on data deployed services performance. Now these do not fail in critical moments
centres. So, data centre operators, and the challenge is to evaluate the deploy- due to being idle or redundant for a
cloud and service providers need to ments that will play an integral part in long period of time.
leverage cloud-enabled network ser- successful evolution and operation. Let Data centres should conduct
vices and innovations to deliver next- us check some new technologies and regular load bank testing to put their
generation apps and services from approaches available to the data cen- infrastructure through the paces in
anywhere. This need for virtualisation tres for network testing requirements. addition to regular inspections, both
and cloud computing requires valida- through intelligent monitoring and
tion and scalability for reliable perfor- Need for data centre testing visual inspections. Once a new data
mance of data centre infrastructure to Just having all components in place centre application is installed, or cloud
ensure cloud service excellence. will not be enough to deliver on services are moved to data centre,
Data centre infrastructure is con- service-level agreement (SLA) uptime performance evaluation gives insight
stantly evolving and needs to be assurance without regular data centre into how an application delivers under
optimised across all product develop- testing. The only way to know how different relevant scenarios, which can
ment stages—from design, installa- well your in-use and redundant help optimise deployment further.
tion, to maintaining new networking systems will perform is to test them Depending on the functional area
products. Modernising the network regularly. of the data centre under test, there

Test & Measurement
are different technologies, cabling and for each speed, equipment must be virtual network functions, and net-
connectivity options available that can multifunctional so that it can be used work services by creating elastic test
be used. Understanding the functional throughout the network as required. topologies to run on both network
areas of the data centre and what will Automated tests increase the repeat- virtualisation and cloud platforms.
likely be needed to test in each can help ability and reliability of results and Their OpenFlow solution lets vali-
prepare for data centre testing. simplify the process. date and deploy SDN in a multitude
Next-generation test and measure- of real-world scenarios of functional
Data centre performance ment is part of an essential toolset for and performance testing. It helps to
metrics keeping the cloud and the edge work- achieve compliance with OpenFlow
If you do not assess the entire data ing optimally with a zero-tolerance standards and the performance of the
centre stack, you will not be aware of approach to latency and downtime. controllers, switches and end-to-end
how it will perform in the real world Relatively new forms of computing, open flow network designs.
when fully populated. Network func- such as serverless and edge, are taking With data centre cloud services,
tions virtualisation (NFV) offers many some of the pressure off data centres, 4K video, and 5G mobile network
benefits to network and data centre but these create other challenges services, many network operators are
operators. But we need to select the instead. For instance, with growing moving from 28Gb/s (NRZ) signal-
right technologies for configuring infra- bandwidth, the role of data centre ling to faster 56Gb/s (PAM4) electri-
structure, optimising performance, and interconnects (DCIs) in delivering cal interfaces. Ixia’s K400 QSFP-DD
verifying the interoperability of new on data demands with an optimally load module can help validate all
products or services in a multi-vendor efficient architecture will become technologies utilising 400GE-port fan-
environment. increasingly important. out cables for testing 50GE, 100GE,
Data centre operators are turning to Getting the most out of existing 200GE, or 400GE multi-speed or
next-generation transceivers to increase data centre infrastructure is a chal- single-speed devices.
channel bandwidth to reach 400GE lenge that Internet content providers The measurement solu-
speeds. These transceivers guarantee (ICPs) now face. Rigorous test and tions include modules for evalu-
quality and interoperability and reduce measurement can help ICPs manage ating 400G technologies used by
test time and cost. Upgrading from change and speed network build- cloud services and data centres.
100GE to 400GE requires a whole new outs. For example, automated test The MP2110A is Anritsu’ solution
set of testing for 400GE components and inspection practices upgrade their for 25G/100G/200G/400G speeds,
and transceivers. The new transceiver equipment to enable 100G and 400G while the MP2100B targets 10G/40G
technology must be thoroughly tested speeds (and beyond). ICPs need a applications. The MT1000A provides
to comply with industry specifications way of ensuring reliability. ICPs also a solution for troubleshooting and
to ensure seamless compatibility before need to ensure performance across the installing DCI.
deploying into the network. whole ecosystem with data processing Video, cloud computing, and
Software-defined networking becoming distributed and abstracted other bandwidth-intensive applica-
(SDN) has helped cloud and service across hybrid environments. tions are forcing operators to rapidly
providers to visualise, monitor and The ANSI/TIA-942-A infrastructure increase network capacity. Network
manage cloud-level traffic in real standard defines the specific functional equipment manufacturers (NEMs)
time. It has been adopted massively to areas and contains appropriate infor- need best-in-class test equipment
accelerate the deployment of network mation for the data centres, providing to support them in their transforma-
services, save money and increase minimum recommendations for path- tions. EXFO offers 3D analytics and
reliability. ways and spaces, redundancy, cable test methodologies to converged net-
Test equipment must be capable of management, environmental consid- work testing for 100G and beyond,
supporting effective traffic simulation, erations and backbone, and horizontal addressing the needs of NEMs for
testing components and systems at the cable media distances. It is similar to design, manufacturing, and verifica-
new port rates, and standards compli- TIA-942-A and TIA-568 data centre tion. Thus it ensures scalability and
ance. All cables interconnecting the standards like ISO/IEC 24764, which resilience in data centre networks.
new port rates, whether optical fibre or are applicable for information technol- VIAVI collaborates with hyper-
direct-attached copper, and equipment ogy generic cabling systems for data scale data centre operators, cloud
like switches and routers need to be centres, and ANSI/BICSI 002-2014. service providers, ICPs, and those
tested to guarantee proper operation. Data centre design and implementa- deploying DCI to optimise opti-
tion best practices also outline various cal networks, reduce test time and
Data centre testing functional areas of the data centres latency, and ensure hundred per cent
and validation approach that define equipment placement while reliability that supports SLAs. It ena-
The new network paradigm, coupled allowing for scalability and reliability. bles inspection of MPO connectors
with rapidly changing hardware and in twelve seconds, and of two 100G
protocols, puts special demands on Measurement technologies ports simultaneously. It is involved in
data centre operators and the test for data centres all stages of hyper-scale optical test-
equipment they use. As it is financially Virtual solutions by Spirent optimise ing, and test high-speed networks up
impractical to buy separate test gear and validate NFV infrastructure, to 400G and beyond.

Tech Focus
Breaking Down The Buzz

Around Quantum Computing
Quantum computing helps scientists and researchers in solving problems above a certain
complexity. Quantum computers derive their power by utilising quantum mechanics and
marvels such as superposition and entanglement, which allows them to perform a variety of
computational tasks exponentially faster than classical computers
T
Ayushee Sharma he invention of the computer has 1970 that using quantum mechanics
undeniably been one of the biggest as a communication resource and the
technological revolutions in the term quantum information theory came
history of mankind. However, classical into being. So, the question arises: how
computing is not the only way that was is quantum computing different from
formulated in the last century to solve classical computing, and how did it go
complex problems. While it was in 1927 from being a purely theoretical subject
that physicist Heisenberg introduced the to being used by companies like Google
uncertainty principle, it was not until and IBM?
(Credit: www.eweek.com)

Tech Focus
Quantum computers versus as compared to basic
classical computers computers. Underlying
quantum computing is
We already have computers and even the principle of quantum
supercomputers for faster processing mechanics. Fundamental
speeds, then why do we need quan- quantum properties like
tum computers? To understand it, we superposition, entangle-
need to understand the difference ment, and interference
between the two. are used to manipulate
A classical computer’s main the state of a qubit.
purpose is to save and manipulate Superposition refers
data for working. Its chip uses bits to the overlapping of
to store this information. These usually independent
bits are like tiny switches with two states. Real-life examples
states—on and off, represented by include sounds gener-
one and zero, respectively. From ated while playing an
every pixel in an image to the texts instrument where notes
exchanged between people, every- are played simultane-
thing is ultimately made up of these ously, or waves formed
bits, a language that the computer on throwing a stone in
understands. But even supercom- a lake. Qubits can be in
puters cannot define the uncertain superposition, that is,
state that exists between on and off, somewhere between on
especially on atomic and molecular and off. This means that
levels. This makes them capable of if there is more than one
only analysing simple molecules in option, a quantum com-
practical applications related to biol- puter can go through each
ogy and chemistry. option simultaneously
This is where scientists and and choose the ultimate
researchers needed to find a better answer, instead of ruling
way of computing when the prob- out previous options indi-
ability is involved (such as spinning vidually before checking
a coin instead of flipping it). Also, the next option.
for problems above a certain com- Entanglement is a
plexity, more computational power quantum phenomenon
is required, which is only possible where states of two par-
with quantum computers. ticles, even if they are IBM’s quantum computer model
Dr Martin Laforest, senior prod- physically separated, are
uct manager and quantum technolo- tied such that they cannot be described of quantum gates; long coherence
gy expert, Isara, explains, “Quantum independently of each other. What- times, much longer than the gate-
computers leverage the surprising ever is the result of measuring one of operation time; and single-qubit
and often counterintuitive behaviour these particles, the outcome of anoth- measurement.
of atoms and molecules, making er one will be mathematically related There are different ways to create
them radically different from today’s to it. This correlation is necessary for a qubit. In one of the most commonly
computer. They derive their power faster computations through special used methods, superconductivity
by utilising quantum mechanics instructions (algorithms) that can only is applied to create and preserve
and marvels such as superposition be written with quantum computers. hard-to-maintain quantum states.
and entanglement. Their quantum Just like wave interference, quantum Quantum computers are isolated
behaviour makes them much more states can also change (cancel or add) from any sort of electrical interfer-
powerful, allowing them to perform depending on whether they are in ence and made to operate in an
a variety of computational tasks phase or out of phase. environment at almost absolute zero
exponentially faster than classical temperatures to prevent errors while
computers.” Making of a quantum computer working with qubits. Superconduc-
According to IBM researcher DiVin- tors also minimise energy loss during
Behind the magic: Working of cenzo’s Criteria, there are five mini- transmission.
a quantum computer mal requirements for creating a In order to achieve results close
Quantum computers use quantum quantum computer—a well-defined to absolute zero, necessary cool-
bits (qubits) instead of the regular scalable qubit array; an ability to ing power is made available and
bits. By combining qubits, a lot more initialise the state of the qubits to a multiple other steps are followed.
data can be processed in less time simple fiducial state; a universal set This includes attenuation during

Tech Focus
refrigeration to protect qubits from strategies for prediction of financial development of tools and methods
thermal noise during the process of markets, better weather forecasts, that will make it easy and seamless
transmitting signals to the quantum and so on. to transition to these quantum-safe
processor. Also, cryoperm shields algorithms. Key to this success will
protect the qubits from electromag- Problems encountered be successfully completing this tran-
netic radiation. Holding an object in a superposition sition within a decade without any
To create a fault-tolerant quantum state for a long period is difficult. wholesale disruption to our current
system, it is necessary to increase the Interaction with the environment security systems and infrastructure,”
computational power of a quantum is necessary for quantum measure- Dr Laforest adds.
computer. For this, higher numbers ment. But if a qubit comes in contact Dearth of required skill set, lack
of qubits are preferable as states with such occurrences as changing of available resources, and cost are
increase exponentially with each magnetic and electric fields and some other impediments for it to be
qubit. Researchers have designed radiation from warm objects nearby, the technology in the making.
algorithms for sequential quantum or if there is a cross talk between
operations that can run on fault-toler- qubits, it undergoes decoherence, Can it be a staple technology?
ant quantum computers for extended and changes in the uncertain state Companies are competing to build reli-
periods of time. To ensure that the cause the information to be lost. able quantum computers in a variety
results are accurate and noise-free, Due to these interference problems, of fields like manufacturing, secu-
low error rates need to be maintained. in spite of high speeds, a quantum rity and financial services. Numerous
computer is also much more vulner- startups like Isara, Ionq and 1qbit
New opportunities able to errors than a classical com- have come up in this field. They are
Quantum computers are not just puter would be. willing to invest money in the technol-
about saving time and money with This requires robust quantum ogy at this early stage of development
better speed and higher efficiency processes and designing devices such because of its great potential. Cloud
of doing tasks that can already be that the system is only sensitive to based quantum computing technol-
performed. Quantum computers are the targeted measurement, protecting ogy is increasingly being leveraged
thought to be useful in places where quantum states from decoherence. to make it more easily available for
any uncertain system needs to be But one needs to keep in mind that remote access and be user-friendly for
simulated. high sensitivity is crucial for preci- enterprises, no matter the size of their
Quantum chemistry is one of sion. work teams. Microsoft in November
the most promising applications of When it comes to cybersecurity, 2019 announced that it would start
quantum computing. By determin- Dr Laforest says, “It is important to providing access to quantum com-
ing the lowest energy state among note that quantum is a dual-use tech- puters in its Azure cloud for select
various molecular bond lengths nology that also has the capacity to customers.
that represents equilibrium molecu- cause security chaos. Imagine a world IBM Quantum designed and built
lar configuration, it is possible to where our existing encryption is no the world’s first integrated quantum
simulate a molecule. Modeling even longer effective. If hackers equipped computing system ‘IBM Q System One’
simple molecules and predicting with quantum computers can break for commercial use in 2019. Another
particle interactions in chemical these algorithms, they can determine company, D-Wave, recently announced
reactions can aid in discovery of new the private keys used to secure the that it is freely opening up its quantum
life-saving medicines and other com- data and expose it. The combination computers to anyone who has ideas
pounds useful for making efficient of quantum computer speed-ups for how to use them to find a cure for
devices, which is not possible with and known algorithms developed COVID-19. For assistance in developing
conventional computing memory and by Peter Shor and Lov Grover make solutions, the company along with its
processing power. this possible. To ensure we are ready, customers like Cineca, Volkswagen,
Another application is cryptog- preparation has to start now as it will Denso, Tohoku University, Kyocera,
raphy, as these computers can easily take a decade or more to fix many of Sigma-i, among others, is offering
generate hard-to-break encryption our complex systems. Experts in the access to their engineering teams.
keys for better cyber security. Dr field of quantum computer develop- Quantum computers could change
Laforest says, “Quantum computing ment agree it is highly probable we the world but they are still not
promises many positive disruptions. are only ten years away from large- advanced enough to replace the clas-
One such possibility is the use of scale quantum computing with this sical method. They are not so useful
quantum particles called photons to capability. Cybersecurity experts are when it comes to the basic tasks like
create secure communications chan- already starting to prepare for poten- storing images that ordinary comput-
nels for the distribution of quantum tial quantum computer attacks on ers do. They are undoubtedly power-
keys. This has the potential to revolu- the encryption algorithms we use to ful, but not so reliable yet. As for now,
tionise networking and the protection protect data today.” the most beneficial way will be to
of future data transmission.” “The good news is that quantum- give users access to both traditional
Other possibilities include safe algorithms exist. The most and quantum computers simultane-
improved solar panels, financial significant challenge we face is the ously.

101010101
101010
1010
Computing
Present Status Of Quantum

Based Superfast Computer
This article is a review of the present status of quantum computers, which can solve certain problems
much faster than a classical computer. Their future is now much more exciting and awaited
A
computer is a device that takes
an input, carries out a sequence
of instructions, and produces
an output. In a digital computer, these
inputs, instructions and outputs are all
sequences of 1s and 0s—individually
D. Raghu Ram called bits. A quantum computer is one
has previously worked that harnesses phenomena from quantum
with Defence Research
and Development physics, the study of the behaviour of
Organization (DRDO) subatomic particles.
as a scientist. He has
been awarded medal and
A quantum computer does the same
citation by former Prime thing as a classical computer, but it uses
Minister Indira Gandhi quantum bits or qubits. While a bit takes
for his contribution as
Chief Design Engineer of only one of the two values—1 or 0, a qubit
Arjun main battle tank, uses the complex mathematics of quan-
which has been accepted tum mechanics, providing a richer set of
by Defence Forces and
has gone into production possibilities. As binary digits or bits are
since then the basic units of information in classical
computing, quantum bits or qubits are
the basic unit of information in quantum
computing.
Large-scale quantum computers
would theoretically be able to solve cer-
tain problems much more quickly than
any classical computer that uses even
the best currently known algorithms, like
integer factorisation. There exist quantum
algorithms, such as Simon’s algorithm,
that run faster than any possible proba-
bilistic classical algorithm. On the other
hand, quantum computers may be able
to efficiently solve problems which are
not practically feasible on a classical
computer. Quantum computer based on superconducting qubits
developed by IBM Research in Zürich, Switzerland. The qubits
The principle is that a particle can in the device shown here will be cooled to under 1 kelvin using
be in two different states at the same a dilution refrigerator (Credit: en.wikipedia.org)
time—as with Schrodinger’s imaginary
cat, who was both alive and dead at the or one. But quantum computers work with qubits,
same time. This is known in the jargon as which can have a value of 0, 1 or both. Thus, two
“superposition.” Superposition is at the qubits can represent four states simultaneously
heart of quantum computing. 00, 01, 10, 11. This means that a quantum com-
Ordinary computers work with bits puter would be much faster and efficient at some
that can be either on or off—coded as zero kind of computation than a classic computer,

Computing
which has to chunter along with bits information about the two possible barium borate crystals, the researchers
that are only on or off. states in case of qubits. created qutrits. They also said that it
Quantum computation, a tool for Building quantum computers could be possible to use ququarts in
science, represents a fundamental takes phenomenal engineering. They the future. The researchers were able
shift that is now underway. Quan- must be isolated to ensure nothing to prove that qutrit teleportation is
tum supremacy was the name given interferes with the delicate quantum possible. Despite rapid and impres-
to the hypothetical point at which a states of the qubits. This is why they sive experimental progress, most
quantum computer could perform are kept in vacuum chambers contain- researchers believe that “fault-tolerant
a calculation that no conceivable ing fewer particles than outer space, or quantum computing [is] still a rather
digital computer could perform in a in refrigerators colder than anything in distant dream”.
reasonable amount of time. From a the universe. Scientists have been able No scalable quantum computing
scientific point of view, the future of to teleport qubits. hardware had been demonstrated till
quantum computation is now much One of the greatest challenges September 2019. Nevertheless, there
more exciting. The outputs of early is controlling or removing quantum is an increasing amount of investment
digital computers could be verified decoherence. This usually means in quantum computing by govern-
by hand calculations, while the isolating the system from its environments, established companies, and
outputs of quantum computers have ment as interactions with the external startups. Current research focuses on
until now been verifiable by digital world cause the system to decohere. building and using near-term interme-
computers. However, other sources of decoher- diate-scale devices and demonstrating
Quantum teleportation is based ence also exist. Examples include the quantum supremacy alongside the
on quantum entanglement, through quantum gates, and the lattice vibra- long-term goal of building and using
which the properties of a quantum tions and background thermonuclear a powerful and error-free quantum
particle can be transferred to a distant spin of the physical system used to computer.
particle without physical movement implement the qubits. Decoherence Quantum based computers will
of the particle itself. It is just two is irreversible. arrive in the market sooner than we
interlinked particles revealing the Splitting the photon into three think. What is most exciting is not
properties of the other particles. Quan- beams through the use of an intricate what we can do with a quantum
tum teleportation is possible by using contraption consisting of the calibrat- computer today, but the undiscovered
photons which carry the quantum ed setup of lasers, beam splitters and truths it will reveal tomorrow!

Interview Connectivity
Autonomous And Connected Car

Technologies Are Making The Vehicles
Safe, Intelligent, And Efficient
Alexander Klotz
head of Technical Center India, Continental Automotive
With a focus on safety and economic growth, connected and autonomous vehicles are the future of mobility in smart cities. Alexander
Klotz, head of Technical Center India, Continental Automotive, explains what needs to be done to achieve various capabilities of such
vehicles and their benefits, in an interaction with Ayushee Sharma
Q. What features are necessary to term Many autonomous driving features Ultra-Wideband is another tech-
a vehicle as holistically connected? have become a reality only because of nology that complements the exist-
A. Holistic connectivity enables connectivity. For example, Continen- ing short-distance radio standards in
embedded systems inside the vehi- tal’s Cellular V2X (C-V2X) communica- keyless vehicle access. It helps to avoid
cle (for example, high-performance tion allows an exchange of such time- unauthorised access via relay (man-in-
computing, gateways, or sensors) and sensitive and safety-critical information the-middle) attacks and therefore makes
systems outside the vehicle (such as as warnings of potentially hazardous keyless vehicle access more secure.
edge computing, cloud) interact more situations. Dedicated Short Range Communica-
efficiently to achieve advanced levels tion (DSRC) allows vehicles to directly
of autonomous driving capabilities. Q. What are the key considerations in communicate with each other through
However, to term a vehicle as holistical- designing connected vehicles? over-the-air messages compliant to
ly connected, wireless updates for the A. It is a whole new game from an the IEEE 802.11p standard. Apart from
entire vehicle electronics is extremely interior perspective where infotainment DSRC, cellular V2X (Vehicle to Eve-
crucial. systems, cameras, a head-up display, rything) communication has a strong
and other integrated systems are collec- potential of becoming a key enabler
Q. What are the benefits of connected tively referred to as vehicle cockpit. for automated driving and intelligent
electric cars? The car of the future may well mobility.
A. Irrespective of whether the vehi- sport large interactive and integrated
cle is electric or not, connectivity ena- information display surfaces running Q. What are the challenges involved in
bles the vehicle to receive and send data from pillar to pillar, what we refer achieving the transition from partially to
in real-time. With holistic connectivity, today as Integrated Interior Platform fully autonomous vehicles?
to keep this digital network up-to-date (IIP). Another vital consideration is the A. What we need today is a more
or to install new functions, it is possible mounting of sensors that help in moni- reliable artificial intelligence (AI) that
to update while on the go. toring driver behaviour, and designing offers accurate machine learning (ML)
Similarly, connectivity opens the will play a key role here, too. techniques to enable the system to sense
scope for predictive maintenance, While considering the exteriors, the road environment and take intelligent
where the vehicle gets scanned for any vehicles will increasingly be equipped decisions. Given that all the collected data
possible breakdown, or perhaps loss in with cameras, radars, lidars, and other needs to be combined, processed, and
tire pressure. The driver receives this proximity sensors. Cameras aiding in turned into a machine-friendly picture of
information on-board and through sug- rear viewing, 360-degree surround view the environment, and further make deci-
gestion, based on GPS, the driver gets for blind-spot detection, and under the sions to move through the environment,
information about the nearest service hood viewing. it calls for high-performance computing
station. In a typical scenario, electric power within the vehicle.
vehicle (EV) range anxiety can be eased Q. What wireless technologies enable Currently, there is no standard
through real-time range calculation and intra- and inter-vehicle communica- operating system (OS) for vehicles. This
suggestions on an optimally located tions? creates multiple ecosystems that might
charging station. A. Near Field Communications eventually cause trouble to the user
Connectivity also makes in-vehicle (NFC) has been used in various inter- while migrating cars or being connected
infotainment smarter and more flexible. vehicle communications. It is a set across different systems. Hackers might
With the cloud terminal, the system is of short-range wireless technologies, be motivated to hack into the vehicle’s
always up-to-date and new functions typically requiring a distance of ten system to steal vital information of the
can be added at any time, allowing centimetres or less, for two devices passenger or meddle with the function-
vehicle manufacturers to roll out the such as smartphones to establish com- alities of the car.
applications across different models munication. Continental has also been Besides, the sensors like lidar, radar,
and vehicle classes. This also helps in using NFC for smart access and door- and camera are getting higher in num-
making the vehicle safer. handle sensor. bers and increasing in complexities.

Interview Startups
We Help Startups In Every

Possible Way During The
Incubation Period
Sanjeev Chopra
chief executive officer, Electropreneur Park
A brainchild of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Electropreneur Park helps electronics startups through the processes
of incubation, acceleration and pitching to VCs. Sanjeev Chopra, chief executive officer, Electropreneur Park, in an exclusive
conversation with Mukul Yudhveer Singh, sheds light on how the organisation is helping India based startups incubate, accelerate
and pitch ideas to VCs
Q. What do you offer startups, in terms of operation. Till now, we have been them. However, if a startup is working
of support? able to support forty startups in various on an idea with a new value proposi-
A. We offer every incubated startup programmes. Our programme typically tion, though addressing maybe the same
a dedicated office space at our centre, runs for one-and-a-half to two years, as problem as an earlier startup, then we
giving full-time access to the state-of- far as the incubation is concerned. may consider taking it on board.
art electronics lab facilities and product
development assistance. Typically, an Q. What does the term ‘exit’ signify? Q. From all the applications you receive,
electronics startup needs to invest two A. By ‘exit’ we mean that we com- how do you select the startups?
million to three million rupees in the pletely let go of whatever equity we hold A. We do the first level of screening to
necessary test and development equip- in the startup that is exiting. The money shortlist twenty complete and most prom-
ment. We have advanced testing equip- that comes in can be used to sustain this ising proposals. These teams are then
ment like spectrum analysers, variable project. Exits generally happen when called to make a detailed presentation and
DC loads, 3D printers, PCB prototyping venture capital (VC) comes in and there pitch to a panel of industry leaders and
machines, EDA/software tools and is a VC level of funding involved. experts. After making presentations, a lot
embedded tools for creating embedded of cross-questioning and discussions take
designs, and more. Then, as a part of the Q. How many types of programmes do place. We typically coach about six to
programme, we offer each startup an you run? eight startups every season.
anchor mentor, who could be a leader/ A. We have two types, mainly, the
expert in a company or a successful pre-incubation programme and the Q. What if the panel sees potential in a
entrepreneur. We also facilitate interac- incubation programme. There is also a startup but is still not sure?
tive sessions with technical experts from third category, which is virtual accelera- A. We have started a pre-incubation
the industry, such as chip manufactur- tion. It is offered to startups that are not programme. For the first two seasons,
ers/distributors like Infineon Technolo- located at Electropreneur Park prem- we were only taking startups that had
gies, STM, Arrow Electronics, etc. We ises. For example, we have one startup a validated proof-of-concept (POC)
arrange visits by technical experts and under virtual acceleration in Bengaluru. for incubation. Now, if a startup has a
engineers from leading organisations to That programme involves more of men- very good business idea, and we see
Electropreneur Park, and sit down with toring and other support services. potential in the team, then we give them
startup team members to understand the free access to the lab and the office for
application and help them choose the Q. What if a startup is not ready to a period of three months along with
right set of components for the product make an exit two to three years after the required technical and business
or solution they are building. While all the incubation? mentorship. Once the startup is able to
the facilities are extended to a startup A. Apart from the physical space, all demonstrate a POC, it gets an opportu-
without any outright fee or charges, we the other support is available to start- nity to pitch again to the panel for the
expect each firm to share a small per- ups that have graduated. If a startup incubation programme.
centage of its equity for the sustainabil- graduates after two years but still wants
ity of the Electropreneur Park project. mentoring or access to the lab facilities, Q. Are you focusing on startups working
we extend these facilities without any around some specific technologies?
Q. How long does a season usually charges. We also continue to extend A. While selecting a startup, we look
run for? How many startups have you our support in market access to these for innovation, uniqueness of the idea,
helped so far? startups. business potential, team capabilities and
A. A formal call for proposals the feasibility of the project to create a
is given and outreach activities are Q. What happens if a startup makes sustainable business venture within one
conducted every eight to nine months, an exit and another reaches out to you to two years.
depending on the availability of incuba- with the same idea? We also ensure that we are able to
tion space. We have already conducted A. At any given time, we do not offer the required mentorship and facili-
six seasons. We started operations in incubate two directly competing start- ties in the technology area of the startup
April 2016 and are in our fourth year ups unless we see a synergy among we incubate.

Do-It-Yourself EF Y
vedi
Dwi
S.C.
Making This Versatile Arduino-Based K. Padmanabhan and
Frequency Generator Is Simple A.K. Mariselvam
T
his is a simple function gen-
erator that works in the audio
frequency range. It can be useful
for amplifier testing, experimentation
in digital signal processing (DSP) and
electronics labs. The author’s proto-
type is shown in Fig. 1.
Circuit diagram of the sine, square
and ramp Arduino-based frequency
generator is shown in Fig. 2. It is
built around an Ardunio Uno board
(Board1), 16x2 LCD (LCD1), two
10-kilo-ohm potmeters (VR1 and VR2)
and a few other components.
Potmeter VR1 connected to pin 3 of
LCD1 is used for controlling the con-
trast of LCD1. VR2 connected to ana- Fig. 1: Author’s prototype
logue input A0 pin of the Arduino Uno
board is used to adjust time period of
the output waveforms.
Three separate outputs are taken 1
Vss
LED−
LCD1 16
from pins 3, 9 and 10 of Arduino VR1 3
VO
16X2 LCD
board. Pin 3 is for square wave, pin 10K
VDD LED+
2 15
9 for sine wave and pin 10 for ramp CON1 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 EN R/W RS
wave output. Pins 9 and 10 outputs FOR 9V 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4
are actually pulse width modulated

(PWM) signals carrying the analogue R1
signals, and are obtained after filtering 470E
POWER USB
with a simple resistor-capacitor filter INPUT
circuit. The square wave output at AREF
DRIVER
pin 3 is directly taken without filter as IOREF GND
RST 13
ARDUINO
3.3V
Parts List 5V
12
11
Semiconductors: GND 10
GND 9
Board1 - Arduino Uno board
Vin 8 R2 CON2
Resistors (all 1/4-watt, ±5% carbon): C1
ATMEGA328
3.3K FOR
R1 - 470-ohm 0.1u
R3 RAMPWAVE
R2, R3 - 3.3-kilo-ohm 7
VR1, VR2 - 10-kilo-ohm potmeter 6 3.3K
DIGITAL
A0 5
Capacitors: A1 4
VR2
ANALOG
CON3
C1, C2 - 0.1µF ceramic disk A2 3
10K FOR
Miscellaneous: A3 2
C2
A4 TX 1 SINEWAVE
CON1-CON4 - 2-pin connector 0.1u
A5 RX 0
S1, S2 - Push to on switch S2
LCD1 - 16×2 LCD RANGE
S1 CON4
- 9V battery/adaptor BOARD1 SWITCH FOR
- 17-pin Berg female ARDUINO UNO SQUAREWAVE
connector for Board1
- 16-pin Berg female GND S1 OPEN = LCD DISPLAY S2 OPEN = 30 − 250Hz
connector for LCD1 S1 CLOSED = SERIAL PLOTTER S2 CLOSED = 250Hz − 2.5KHz
- Jumper wires
(All these are available from kitsnspares.com)
Fig. 2: Circuit diagram of Arduino based frequency generator

Do-It-Yourself
efy Note
The source code
of this project
is available
for free download
at source.efymag.com
PCB using 16-pin Berg strip. A 470-

ohm resistor (R1) connected to pin 15
Fig. 3: Signal waveforms on serial plotter is used to light LCD1. 5V for the LCD
is taken from Arduino board’s pins 5V
configured as per datasheet. The and Gnd.
software (freq_gen.ino) is written A USB cable is used to connect
in Arduino programming language Arduino to a PC or laptop. After
and compiled using Arduino IDE uploading the program (freq_gen.ino),
software. the Arduino board and LCD1 can be
Switch S2 connected to pin powered by a 9V adaptor/battery.
8 of Board1 is used for chang-
ing the frequency range. Two Construction and testing
frequency ranges are designed in An actual-size PCB layout for the
the program: 30 to 250Hz and 250 frequency generator is shown in
Fig. 4: Actual-size PCB layout for the frequency generator to 2500Hz to cover the medium Fig. 4 and its components layout in
audio frequency range. These Fig. 5. After assembling the circuit
signals from CON2 through CON4 on the PCB, upload the source code
can be viewed on an oscilloscope. (freq_gen.ino) to Arduino board. Dis-
The program is to be uploaded connect Board1 from computer and
into the Arduino board from connect it to 9V supply across CON1.
the PC using Arduino IDE soft- You can view the generated frequency
ware. With USB cable connected value on LCD1 by opening switch S1,
between Arduino and PC, the or check different signal waveforms
frequency value can be viewed on on the serial plotter by closing S1.
LCD1. Switch S1 connected to pin
2 of Board1 is used for changing
Fig. 5: Components layout for the PCB the display between LCD1 and K. Padmanabhan was a
serial plotter on Arduino IDE. professor in Anna University,
Chennai
shown in Fig. 2. If pin 2 is grounded, the waveforms
These waveforms are synthesized (sine, square and ramp) can be viewed
using Timer 0 and Compare–Match on the serial plotter like a digital oscil- A.K. Mariselvam received masters degree in
interrupt control functions of Arduino loscope (refer Fig. 3). communication systems from Anna University
microcontroller (ATmega328). Timer 1 Each waveform has a magnitude in 2011. He is currently pursuing his
Ph.D in the field of environmental
of ATmega328 is programmed at 10kHz of about 5V. So the sine wave changes monitoring from Anna University,
to generate PWM output signals. The from 0 to 5V and does not go to nega- Chennai. He also worked as
program (freq_gen.ino) contains regis- tive. an assistant professor in SRM
University, Chennai
ters of the ATmega328 microcontroller LCD1 connections are made on the

Do-It-Yourself
EF Y
o
i The
San
Enjoy This Wireless Ashwini Kumar Sinha

3D Mouse And Keyboard
W
e have seen different types has the capability to work in all three unit is to be attached to the user’s
of human interface devices coordinates. hand and the receiver unit is to be
(HID), such as mouse and In this project, we are going to attached to your computer.
keyboard. In older versions of the make a 3D wireless HID device that This device can be very helpful
mouse, optical sensors were used to will give you a whole new experience in making 3D UI based systems. We
detect movement relative to a surface, of using computers and playing online can use this device in 3D designing as
thus they required a smooth surface to games. With this device, you will be well. For instance, you can draw any
function properly. They could work in able to control computers and smart- design by moving your hand in the air.
only two coordinates. With advance- phones by just moving your hand in Further, you can develop the device
ments in technology, we are now talk- the air. for 3D holographic display and virtual
ing about 3D user interfaces (3D UI). This project has two units: trans- reality (VR) that gives us a 3D UI.
So, let us make a 3D HID device which mitter and receiver. The transmitter The system can be further devel-
oped for differently-abled people
(without hands) to enable them to use
computers and smartphones. They
can wear this device on their head and
operate gadgets by moving their head.
To start our interesting project, we
need to gather the following compo-
nents:
• Arduino Pro Mini 5V, 16MHz
• Two Bluetooth HC-05 modules
• MPU6050 sensor
• Arduino Leonardo Pro Micro
(ATmega32U4)
• Jumper wires
• Micro USB cable
Fig. 1: Installing library • Four pushbutton switches
Coding
First of all, we need to install an
MPU6050 library. Open library man-
ager of Arduino IDE and search for
MPU6050, then install the library
(refer Fig. 1). Then set one Bluetooth
as a slave and another as master;
follow the Bluetooth instructions on
the Internet to do this.
As we have installed the library,
now we can start the coding part. In
the first part of coding, we will include
the library for MPU6050 and set the
variables for storing values of the
MPU6050 sensor. After that, we can
set up the sensor and Bluetooth in set
up function (refer Fig. 2). I have used
a baud rate of 9600 in this code.
In the second part of coding, we
Fig. 2: Arduino Mini code set up for sensor Fig. 3: Arduino Mini code getting MPU6050 data will send the buttons and sensors data

Do-It-Yourself
Arduino Pro Mini Connections Table 1
Arduino Pro Mini Pin Components Pin
Arduino Pro Mini SCL MPU6050 SCL
Arduino Pro Mini SDA MPU6050 SDA
Arduino Pro Mini Vcc MPU6050 Vcc
Arduino Pro Mini GND MPU6050 GND
Arduino Pro Mini TX Bluetooth HC05 RX
Arduino Pro Mini RX Bluetooth HC05 TX
Arduino Pro Mini Vcc Bluetooth HC05 +Ve
Arduino Pro Mini Vcc Pushbutton switch (S1 through S4)
Arduino Pro Mini (A0 through A3) Pushbutton switch (S1 through S4)
Fig. 4: Arduino Pro Micro code setting library
Arduino Pro Table 2

Micro Connections
Arduino Pro Micro pin Bluetooth HC-05 pin
Vcc +VE
GND -VE
Pin 9 TX
Pin 8 RX
to another Arduino over Bluetooth

(refer Fig. 3).
Our Arduino Mini code (transmit-
ter) is ready now. So, let’s start coding
for Arduino Pro Micro (receiver).
First, we will create variables to store
values, then set up Bluetooth to read
serial data of the sensor (refer Fig. 4).
In the third part of our coding
process, we will create a loop function
Fig. 5: Checking the data to set coordinate values Fig. 6: Setting mouse click function and get the serial data from Bluetooth.
Here in this code, I have used software
serial for Bluetooth connection with a
baud rate of 9600.
After that, we check the range
value of serial data and assign its
value for mouse movement as shown
in Fig. 5.
Next, we will create if ( ) condition
to check how the mouse button func-
tions (refer Fig. 6). We can also add
extra keyboard shortcuts and other
functions to it. Here in this code, I
have added buttons shortcut for copy
and paste functions. You can create
your own custom function according
to your requirement.
As we have completed the coding
part, we need to connect the compo-
nents. Arduino Pro Mini pin-to-pin
connections are shown in Fig. 7 and
also shown in Table 1.
Fig. 7: Connections with Arduino Pro Mini (transmitter) Switches S1 through S4 are con-

Do-It-Yourself efy Note
The source code
Now we will connect
of this project
Arduino Pro Micro with
is available
Bluetooth as shown in
for free download
Fig. 8. Arduino Pro Micro
pin-to-pin connections with
Bluetooth are shown in
Table 2.
Next, we need to upload
the code to Arduino Pro
Micro. For that open Ardui-
no IDE, select the board, it—you can attach the transmitter
COM port and press Ctrl+U unit on your hand or any toy gun and
to upload the code. Simi- enjoy the real shooting game experi-
larly, upload the code to ence using switches S1 and S2. You
Arduino Pro Mini after can also attach the device on the tip
selecting the appropriate of a plastic knife and play vegetable
board. cutting game with it. Use switch S1
Congrats! The wireless for actions such as shooting and cut-
HID mouse is ready for use. ting vegetables. Use switch S2 for
First, make sure that the additional functions such as selection
receiver unit is attached to and highlighting objects in video game
Fig. 8: Arduino Pro Micro connections (receiver) your computer through a applications.
USB port. Keep a distance
nected to pins A0 through A3 of between transmitter and receiver
Arduino Pro Mini, respectively. units. Use pushbutton switches (S3
Switch S1 is for mouse right click, S2 and S4) to operate functions like copy Ashwini Kumar Sinha is an electronics
for mouse left click, S3 for paste and and paste on your computer. You can hobbyist and tech journalist at EFYi
S4 for copy function. also do some awesome tricks with

Do-It-Yourself
EF Y
This IR Remote Can Control Adeeb Raza
S.C.
Dwi
vedi
Up To Eight Devices
T
his project based on an 8-bit Power supply unit. This section by TV remote control and sends them
ATmega328P microcontroller includes a 230V AC primary to 15V, to the MCU through infrared receiver
(MCU) can control up to eight 1A secondary step-down transformer module TSOP1738 (IRRX1). Output
devices connected to its electromag- (X1). The secondary of this transform- pin 3 of IRRX1 is connected to MCU’s
netic relays. The article also describes er is connected to a bridge rectifier pin 18. The MCU’s output pins are
how to program an MCU to accept circuit formed by four IN4007 rectifier programmed to turn on or turn off
infrared (IR) remote control signals for diodes (D1 to D4) and filter capacitor using IR remote input signal. MCU’s
controlling the relays. C1. Regulators 7812 (IC1) and 7805 output pins 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14 and
Here, an ordinary TV remote (IC2) are used to get required 12V and 15 are connected to pins 1 through 8 of
control is used along with the 28-pin 5V supplies, respectively. ULN2803 (IC4) relay driver unit. The
ATmega328P MCU in DIL package Infrared light receiver unit. An IR output pins 18 through 11 of IC4 are
and Arduino bootloader to control the module TSOP1738 (IRRX1) is used to connected to RL1 through RL8 relays,
devices. Pin details of ATmega328P receive infrared light signal from any respectively as shown in Fig. 3.
are given in Fig. 1. TV IR remote control. The IR remote The MCU can be programmed by
control signals are sent to IC3 micro- following the steps below:
Circuit and working controller’s pin 18 for processing and 1. Download Arduino IDE software
Block diagram of the project is shown controlling the relays as per program and install it in the PC
in Fig. 2 and its complete circuit dia- and calibration of the controller unit. 2. Connect USB cable between
gram is shown in Fig. 3. To understand Microcontroller unit and pro- Arduino board and the PC
the project, it is divided into following gramming. This unit is the heart of 3. Open Arduino IDE by clicking
four sections: the device. It has two parts: hardware the Arduino icon from Desktop. (You
1. Power supply unit and software. will get Arduino programming/sketch
2. Infrared light receiver unit The hardware receives the infrared window as shown in Fig. 4.)
3. Microcontroller unit and its pro- light’s hex-coded signals generated After installing Arduino IDE in
gramming the PC, install IR remote
4. Relay driver output and power libraries. For this use
isolator unit IRremote-2.0.1 and IRre-
mote-2.2.3 folders included
Parts List in this project. Copy these
Semiconductors: folders under Arduino/
IC1 - 7812, 12V voltage regulator
IC2 - 7805, 5V voltage regulator
Libraries in a Windows PC.
IC3 - ATmega328P MCU Alternatively, you can install
IC4 - ULN2803 relay driver the libraries from Arduino
LED1-LED9 - 5mm LED IDE as explained below:
D1-D4 - 1N4007 rectifier diode
IRRX1 - TSOP1738 1. Select Sketch→
Resistors (all 1/4-watt, ±5% carbon): Include Library→Manage
R1-R9 - 1-kilo-ohm Libraries option
Capacitors: 2. Type IR Remote and
C1 - 1000µF, 40V electrolytic
C2-C3 - 22pF ceramic disk
Fig. 1: ATmega328P pin details press Enter
Miscellaneous:
X1 - 230V AC primary to 15V,
1A secondary transformer INFRA RED LIGHT RELAY DRIVER
EIGHT
PROGRAMMED AND POWER
XTAL1 - 16MHz crystal RECEIVER MODULE
RELAYS
CON1-CON8 - 2-pin connector ATMEGA328P ISOLATOR
TSOP1738
CON9 - 2-pin terminal connector
RL1-RL8 - 12V, single changeover relay
POWER SUPPLY UNIT 230V AC
- 28-pin IC base
7812 and 7805 POWER SUPPLY
- 18-pin IC base
FOR LOADS
- Heat-sink for IC1 and IC2
(All these are available from kitsnspares.com)
Fig. 2: Block diagram of the project

Do-It-Yourself
230V AC
LOAD3
LOAD6
CON3
CON6
CON9
FOR
50HZ
LOAD1−LOAD8=230VAC OPERATED APPLIANCE
FOR
N
L
NO
NC
NO
NC
RL6
RL3
LOAD8
CON8
LED6
FOR
LED3
R6
1K
R3
1K
LOAD5
LOAD2
CON5
CON2
FOR
FOR
NO
NO
NC
NC
NO
NC
Fig. 4: Arduino sketch window

RL2
RL8
RL5
LED8
LED5
LED2
R8
R5
1K
1K
R2
1K
TSOP1738
LOAD4
POWER
IOREF
LOAD1
INPUT
LOAD7
GND
GND
5V
3.3V
RST
CON4
A5
A4
A3
A2
A1
A0
Vin
CON1
CON7
RL1−RL8=12V,1CO RELAY
FOR
FOR
FOR
ANALOG
DRIVER
ATMEGA328 1 2 3
USB
GND
VCC
O/P
NO
NO
NC
NC
NO
NC
DIGITAL ARDUINO
RL4
TX 1
RL7
RX 0
AREF
RL1
GND
10
11
12
13
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
LED7
LED4
LED1
R7
R4
1K
1K
R1
1K
BOARD1 ARDUINO UNO
Fig. 5: TSOP1738 connection with Arduino Uno

12V
10
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
8C
5C
COM
Remote Control Code and Device Status

2C
3C
1C
7C
6C
4C
ULN2803
IR Remote key/button Decode Relay Load/device

IC4
1 16748655 Energised Load1 on

GND

8B
GND
4B
5B
2B
3B
6B
7B
1B

9
1
8
4
5V

28
27
26
25
24
23
19
18
17
16
15
22
20
21

PB2
PB1
PC5/SCL
PC4/SDA
PC3
PC2
ATMEGA328 PC1
PC0
PB5/SCK
PB4/MISO
PB3/MOSI
AGND
AVcc
AVREF

IC3
X1= 230V AC PRIMARY TO 15V,1A SECONDARY TRANSFORMER

PC6/RESET
PB6/XTAL1
PB7/XTAL2
Power on/off 16773135 De-energised All loads off

PD0/RXD
PD1/TXD
GND
PD2
PD3
PD4
PD5
PD6
PD7
PB0
Vcc
3. S e l e c t I R decode the code of each button. For

7
1
2
3
4
5
6
9
10
11
12
13
14
8
Remote (By Cris- that, first open the IR decode.ino code

tiano Borges) and from the Arduino sketch window.
click on Install. To use this code you need a hard-
16MHZ
3
XTAL1
3
O/P
1 2 3
Fig. 3: Circuit diagram of the device controller
(This will install all ware circuit such as the one shown in
VCC
GND
7812
7805
IC1
IR libraries in Ardui- Fig. 5. Here, output pin 3 of TSOP1738

IC2
IRRX1
TSOP
1738
2
2
no IDE software.) module is connected to pin 12 of

22p
22p
Arduino Uno.
C2
C3
Decoding IR
1
1
Compile the code and upload it

remote to Arduino Uno board. Point the IR
POWER
Every remote has remote towards the TSO1738 module

1N4007 R9
1K
LED9
a different code and press any button on the IR remote.

1N4007
1000u
ON
X1 1N4007
1N4007
40V
C1
corresponding to You can see the decoded value of each

I/P = 230V AC
D1
D2
D3
D4
each key/button. button on serial monitor of Arduino

50HZ
In order to use your IDE. (Please note, the decoded values

IR remote in this may differ from remote to remote.)
I/P
N
L
project, you need to The decoded values observed

Do-It-Yourself
ATemga328P MCU from
Arduino Uno board and use
it in the main device control
circuit as shown in Fig. 3.
Relay driver and power
isolator unit. This section
includes ULN2803 (IC4)
relay driver, which is used
to drive the relays as well as
to isolate low-voltage sec-
tion of the circuit from high-
voltage section. Basically, it
is used for switching on or
switching off a high-voltage
device connected through a
set of relay contacts.
Construction and testing
An actual-size PCB layout
for device controller is
shown in Fig. 6 and its com-
ponents layout in Fig. 7.
First, decode each key
of the remote control,
include decoded values in
Fig. 6: An actual size PCB layout for the device controller devicecontefylab.ino code
and upload it to the MCU as
explained earlier. Remove
the MCU from Arduino
board and insert it into the
PCB. It is recommended to
use a 28-pin IC socket for
the MCU.
Connect eight loads
across Load1 through
Load8. Connect second-
ary of transformer X1 to
the PCB for power supply.
Point the IR remote towards
TSOP1738 module from a
distance of about one metre.
W h e n yo u p re s s a
button of the remote, say
key 1, relay RL1 energises
and Load1 turns on. When
you press power on/off key
of remote control, relay RL1
de-energises and Load1
turns off. Similarly, you can
operate the remaining loads
by pressing remote buttons
Fig. 7: Components layout of the PCB 2 through 8 as listed in the
Table.
during testing are listed in Table 1.
You should use these decoded values
in your final Arduino code (device-
Adeeb Raza is an electronics
contefylab.ino). After entering the efy Note engineer having a practical
decoded value of each key in the final The source code experience of about 35 years.
code, compile it and upload it to the He is a regular reader and
of this project contributor to EFY
Arduino Uno board. Then remove the is available
for free download
www.EFYMag.com at source.efymag.com electronics For You • may 2020 65
Do-It-Yourself EF Y
akta
ti Bh o
Pree ani The
&S
This Gauss Meter T.K. Hareendran

Is Simple To Make
P
resented here is the design of is near south pole of the
a low-cost Gauss meter using TP1
IC2 magnet and decrease if it
S1
a linear Hall effect sensor and ON/OFF
3 IC1 2
SS49E is near north pole. k is the
LM1117−5.0
a standard alkaline battery. A Gauss typical sensitivity (mV/G)
GND
TP2
OUT
Vcc
meter is used to measure the strength 1
1 2 3 of the sensor as indicated
of a magnetic field. Here, in order to BATT.1 in its datasheet.
C1
9V C2 R1
make sure that the meter readings 10u
10u
CON1 For example, let us say
25V 10K FOR
are stable over the life of the battery, 25V O/P1 you measured 2.50 Vdc
a low-drop fixed voltage regulator for V1 and 1.35Vdc for
GND
is used, which supplies a steady V2. Then,
DC power source to the Hall effect B = 10 0 0 × ( 2 . 5 0 –
sensor. Fig. 1: Circuit diagram of the Gauss meter 1.35)/1.80=638 Gauss
Circuit diagram of the Gauss
meter is shown in Fig. 1. It com- SS49E
Linear Hall Effect Sensor Electrical Characteristics (TA=25°C, VCC=5.0V)
prises a compact (6F22) 9V battery
Parameter Symbol Test conditions Min. Typ Max. Units
(BATT.1), an LM1117-5.0 (IC1) that Operating voltage VCC Operating 3.0 6.5 V
takes +9V from the battery through Supply current ICC Average 4.2 8.0 mA
the toggle switch (S1) and regulates
Output current IOUT 1.0 1.5 mA
it to +5V for the SS49E Hall effect Response time Tack 3 uS
sensor (IC2), a 2-pin connector Quiescent output voltage Vo B=0G 2.25 2.5 2.75 V
(CON1) for connecting a good- Sensitivity ∆Vout TA=25°C 1.6 1.8 2.0 mV/G
1 Vdd Power supply
quality digital voltmeter (DVM) or Min output voltage B=–1500G 0.86 V
2 GND IC ground
digital multimeter (DMM). Voltage Max output voltage B=1500G 4.21 V
3 Output Output
at test point TP1 is 5V when switch
S1 is closed and voltage at TP2 Fig. 2: Hall sensor data
depends on the position of magnet
with respect to sensor (IC2). Circuit Board
The Hall effect sensor (SS49E)
is like a flattened TO-92 transistor
(Fig. 2) in appearance. To give it
mechanical robustness, you can glue Magnet DVM/DMM
(epoxy) flat side of the sensor to a Sensor 0-10V
piece of small circular plexiglass or
cardboard (Fig. 3). Solder its leads to Battery
a 3-core cable and link up the cable
to your main circuitry (Fig. 1). Fig. 3: Hall sensor setup Fig. 4: Test setup
To measure the field strength of
a magnet, keep it away from sensor, towards south pole of the magnet. If It indicates north pole because the
place the probes of DVM across voltage read is at its lowest, it is facing result is positive.
CON1 and note down the output towards magnet’s north pole. But if you measured 3.50 Vdc for
voltage (usually this quiescent To measure the magnetic field V2 with the same sensor, then,
output voltage is around ½ Vcc). strength (magnetic flux density) in B=1000×(2.50-3.50)/1.80=–555
Next, move the magnet towards the Gauss, the relationship is: Gauss
sensor. Test set up for the project is Magnetic Flux Density (B) = 1000 This indicates south pole because
shown in Fig. 4. ×(V1-V2)/k Gauss the result is negative.
You will observe two output volt- where V1 is the output voltage with
ages in DVM depending on the posi- no magnet near the sensor, and V2 is T.K. Hareendran is a freelance
tion of the magnet with respect to the the output voltage with magnet near technical author and circuit
designer, founder and promoter
sensor. If voltage read in DVM is at its the sensor. Note that, V1 should be of TechNode - Protolabz
highest, it means the sensor is facing around 2.5V. V2 will increase if sensor

Do-It-Yourself
EF Y
Arduino Based Sagar Raj and
akta
ti Bh o
Pree ani The
&S
Liquid Vending Machine Mahendra Raisinghani
T
his is an automatic liquid vend- operation and instructions for users shops are opened for fixed hours.
ing machine based on radio- to follow while dispensing the liquid. With this machine, you get 24-hour
frequency identification (RFID) This machine could be implemented service.
system. A fixed amount of liquid can in organisations like hospitals and 3. At events/functions, this
be dispensed by swiping an RFID tag colleges (medical, engineering, etc) to machine can be used to dispense
across the RFID reader. An alpha- provide 24-hour service to customers juice of varied flavours.
numeric LCD is used to display the with no humans involved. 4. In rural areas, this machine can
The vending be used to dispense water for a variety
machine has many of purposes including drinking and
Liquid advantages and is watering plants to enhance productiv-
source
Power supply highly beneficial in ity as well as quality.
many ways. Some The concept of this project could
examples are given be useful for hobbyists and designers
Solenoid Relay below: to further design a rugged-mechanical
valve 1. In hospitals, it machine. This DIY article describes
LCD
display can be used as a milk programming and interfacing the
Arduino vending machine. circuit as per the working prototype
Uno
Patients can buy without mechanical construction
Flow
milk from the vend- parts. The main components required
sensor ing machine without in this project are listed in the table
going to the market. on next page. The block diagram
2. In educational of Arduino based liquid vending
Fig. 1: Block diagram of Arduino based liquid vending machine organisations, some machine is shown in Fig. 1.
NO
Vss
1 LED−
16x2 16
VO NC
3 LCD1 R1 100E
LED+
D1 RL1 CON4
VDD
2 15 1N4007 12V 1CO RELAY FOR
D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 EN R/W RS
SOLENOID
14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4
CON1 R2 1K
FOR T1
12V BC547
AREF
GND
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
TX 1
RX 0
ARDUINO DIGITAL
Tx
CON2
FOR
DRIVER
USB
Vcc EM−18
ATMEGA328
GND RFID
READER
POWER
ANALOG
INPUT
IOREF
GND
GND
3.3V
RST
OUT
Vin
A0
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
5V
CON3
GND
FOR
Vcc FLOW
BOARD1 SENSOR
Fig. 2: Circuit diagram of the liquid vending machine

Do-It-Yourself
Circuit and working in the flow meter using a small fan/ In this project, Arduino is the
propeller-shaped rotor, which is brain which controls the whole
The circuit diagram of Arduino based placed in the path of the liquid flow. process. Analogue flow sensor con-
liquid vending machine is shown in It has three wires: red wire for nected to the Arduino board is shown
Fig. 2. This project consists of ana- supply voltage, black wire for ground in Fig. 5.
logue flow sensor, RFID tag, RFID and a yellow wire to collect output When liquid flows through the
reader, 16x2 LCD, solenoid, Arduino from Hall effect sensor. Supply voltage flow sensor, the liquid pushes against
Uno, a single channel relay and a 12V could be from 5V to 18V DC. fins of the rotor, causing it to rotate.
DC power supply. RFID reader. EM-18 RFID module The shaft of the rotor is connected to
Analogue water flow sensor. This (refer Fig. 3) is used to read the RFID a Hall effect sensor. It is an arrange-
sensor measures the flow rate of a tag. It decodes and transmits the ment of a current flowing coil and a
fluid. It has two openings—one open- signal to Arduino via a serial commu- magnet connected to the shaft of the
ing for fluid in-take and the other for nication protocol. rotor, thus a voltage/pulse is induced
out-take. LCD. A 16x2 LCD (liquid crystal as this rotor rotates. In this flow
It works on the principle of the display) displays the data received meter, for every litre of liquid pass-
Hall effect. The Hall effect is utilised from Arduino board. ing through the sensor per minute, it
Solenoid. A 12V solenoid is used outputs about 4.5 pulses.
to control the flow of liquid. When the Output pin of this flow sensor is
Main Components solenoid gets energised, it opens its connected to digital pin 2 of Arduino.
S.No. Components valve and allows fluid to flow through When liquid flows, the output pulses
1 RFID tag the flow sensor; otherwise it stays are counted by the microcontroller in
2 RFID reader (EM-18)
closed and does not allow fluid to flow Arduino.
across it. The solenoid valve used in The total number of received
3 12V solenoid this project is shown in Fig. 4. pulses is converted into a specific
4 12V relay unit like millilitre per second or litre
5 Water flow sensor per minute. This is due to the chang-
6 Adaptor (12V,1 ampere) ing magnetic field caused by the
magnet attached to the rotor shaft.
7 Arduino Uno
Here, the flow rate in litres per
8 Alphanumeric LCD (16x2) minute (L/min.) is calculated using
a simple conversion formula.
Pin Tx of EM-18 reader is con-
nected to receive pin Rx of Arduino.
When RFID tag swipes across EM-18
reader, it sends data to Arduino. If it
matches with the programmed data,
it sends a signal to the input of the
relay driver consisting of transistor
BC547 (T1). This input signal makes
transistor to conduct, relay RL1 to get
Fig. 3: EM-18 RFID reader Fig. 4: Solenoid valve energised, which in turn connects
12V supply to solenoid via NO pin of
relay and the solenoid gets energised.
At the same time, “Place your pot/
jug/cup” message is displayed on the
first line of LCD1.
Energisation of solenoid allows
the liquid to flow through the flow
sensor. As the liquid starts to flow
through the flow sensor, the amount
of liquid being dispensed is displayed
on the second line of LCD1.
When a predefined amount (pro-
grammed in the code) of liquid has
passed through the flow sensor, the
relay automatically gets de-energised
and the flow of liquid stops. At the
same time, “Remove your pot/jug/
cup” message is displayed on the first
Fig. 5: Analogue flow sensor connected to Arduino line of LCD1.

efy Note
The source code Do-It-Yourself
of this project
communication for reading the data 5. Swipe the RFID tag over EM-18
is available
from the RFID reader. Two built-in reader. If it matches the programmed
for free download
functions are used, namely, Serial. RFID tag code, relay and solenoid
available( ) to return the RFID tag will be energised, water from the
number arrived in the serial buffer source(tap) will flow through flow
and Serial.readString( ) to read a sensor.
string of RFID tag numbers. 6. You will get all relevant informa-
In this code/sketch, we used a tion on LCD1 as already explained.
variable as ‘int amount=1000’. This Make sure that there is sufficient
If you want the same amount of gives a default liquid amount of 1000 amount of liquid in the source (water
liquid again, you just swipe the RFID millilitres or one litre per card swipe. tap or container). Less amount of
card again across the RFID reader. You Just change the amount value as per liquid in the source means less pres-
can repeat this again and again till your requirement. sure in liquid flow in the pipe, result-
the amount of liquid in the container ing in inaccuracy in the liquid flow
finishes. Construction and testing measurement.
1. Connect all the components and
Software modules as per the schematic dia-
The software code (liquid_vending. gram. Sagar Raj is founder and
ino) is written in Arduino program- 2. Connect a 12V power supply director of Shoolin Labs, Jaipur
and Lifegraph Biomedical
ming language. Arduino IDE is used from 12V adaptor or 12V battery to Instrumentation Pvt Ltd at
for compiling and uploading the Vin pin of Arduino, relay driver and Incubation Center, IIT Patna. He
sketch to ATmega328 microcontroller to relay NO pin. is guest faculty at NIELIT Patna
of the Arduino board. Every RFID tag 3. Connect relay common pin to
has a unique number. This number the solenoid as shown in the circuit
Mahendra Raisinghani is
has to be included in the Arduino diagram. co-founder and director of Shoolin
code/sketch. 4. Check the default amount of Labs, Jaipur and Lifegraph
Arduino code uses LiquidCrystal.h liquid in the code for dispensing per Biomedical Instrumentation Pvt Ltd
at Incubation Center, IIT Patna
header file for the LCD and serial minute.

Industry News
Industry Updates
Production linked incentive scheme

for electronics manufacturing
On The move
Konica Minolta appoints
In a bid to improve and strengthen 2014-15 at a compound annual growth Tai Nizawa as MD
Konica Minolta India has appointed Tai
the indigenous manufacturing of rate (CAGR) of about 25 per cent. Nizawa as managing director. Nizawa is
electronics in India, the government The total cost of the proposed an industry veteran with over 30 years of
has approved a production incentive scheme, as informed by the govern- experience in the printing industry. He has
been associated with Konica Minolta since
scheme (PLI) for large scale elec- ment, is approximately ` 409.95 bil- 1987. Before moving to this role, Nizawa
tronics manufacturing. The scheme lion. This figure includes an incentive worked as MD at Konica Minolta Vietnam.
includes incentives for players manu- outlay of approximately ` 409.51 bil- He has also worked with the brand in Osaka,
facturing mobile phones in India. It lion and administrative expenses of Germany, New Zealand, Tokyo, Netherlands,
UAE, and the US. Nizawa will be currently
also encompasses specified electronic around ` 0.44 billion. responsible for creating a strategic roadmap
components including assembly, test- Interestingly, India’s import of and leading day-to-day operations for the
ing, marking and packaging (ATMP) electronics products has been on a Indian business.
units. sharp rise since 2011. While the figures
The India Cellular and Electron- were around one trillion rupees in
Danlaw appoints Sirish Batchu
ics Association (ICEA) last year had 2011, the same for the year 2019 stood
as new MD
Danlaw has announced the appointment
pointed out that there were around at around four trillion rupees. Sourced of Sirish Batchu as the company’s new
268 mobile phone manufacturing from Statista, the report mentions managing director. Sirish has over 28+ years
units operating in India. The value of that these imports included computer of experience across the automotive and
IT industries especially in OEMs and EV
electronics produced in India, as per hardware, consumer electronics, elec- segments in India. Before Danlaw, Sirish was
government, had reached ` 4580 bil- tronic components and instruments, associated with several firms including Bosch,
lion in 2018-19 from ` 1903 billion in and telecom instruments. Mahindra & Mahindra and Ather Energy.
NEC Technologies India

appoints new CEO
Assistance for modified electronics NEC Corporation and NEC Technologies
India have appointed Aalok Kumar as the
manufacturing clusters new president and chief executive officer
(CEO) of NEC Technologies India. With this
appointment, Takayuki Inaba, former chairman
Aimed towards improving electron- support setting up both EMCs and and managing director, has been appointed
ics manufacturing in the country, common facility centres (CFCs). as executive chairman of NEC Technologies
the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Government expects that these EMCs India. In collaboration with local government
Minister Narendra Modi has approved will aid growth of the electronics authorities, NEC is working on a number
of smart city projects as well by setting up
financial assistance to the modified and semiconductor manufacturing digital command and control centres for traffic
electronics manufacturing clusters (ESDM) sector, help in development management and public safety.
(EMC2.0) scheme. The scheme, of the entrepreneurial ecosystem,
as per the government of India, drive innovation and catalyse the
works towards the development of economic growth of the region by
world-class infrastructure along with
common facilities and amenities
through electronics manufacturing
attracting investments in the sector,
increasing employment opportunities
and tax revenues.
Awards
Mouser Electronics honoured with
clusters (EMCs). The scheme, as per the govern- Awards from Neutrik USA
India’s electronics production has ment, will provide financial assis- Mouser Electronics, Inc. has been honoured
increased from ` 1903 billion in 2014- tance of up to fifty per cent of the by Neutrik USA with three top awards for
15 to ` 4580 billion in 2018-19, at a project cost subject to a ceiling of 2019 performance—Distributor of the Year,
Top Revenue award and Outstanding
CAGR of about 25 per cent. India’s ` 0.7 billion per hundred acres of land Performance of the Year award. Neutrik is the
share in global electronics manufac- for setting up of EMC projects. The leading provider of professional audio, video,
turing grew from 1.3 per cent (2012) total outlay of the proposed EMC 2.0 and lighting connector systems. Mouser
received the awards based on Neutrik’s
to three per cent (2018). It accounts for scheme is ` 37.62 billion. It includes rigorous criteria, including overall sales
2.3 per cent of India’s GDP at present. financial assistance of ` 37.25 billion performance, personnel relationships, on-time
The modified EMC 2.0 scheme, and administrative and management delivery and quality of inventory.
as the government informed, would expense to the tune of ` 0.37 billion.

Industry News Snippets
ware to remain productive. These 90-day software trials also
Digi-Key signs distribution partnership provide complimentary access to KeysightCare Software Sup-
with Rigol Technologies port for the duration of the trials featuring live interaction with a
Global electronic components distributor Digi-Key Electronics has technical expert within four hours of contacting Keysight.
expanded its product portfolio by signing a North American distribu-
tion partnership with Rigol Technologies. It is a part of Digi-Key’s STMicroelectronics launches Smart Gateway Platform
Marketplace initiative to broaden the product offering to customers. The Smart Gateway Platform (SGP) from STMicroelectronics
Rigol Technologies deals in digital oscilloscopes, waveform gen- provides a valuable development tool for prototyping auto-
erators, multimetres and DC loads. Its product range also includes motive Smart-Gateway and Domain-Controller applications.
digital and mixed-signal oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers and RF ST’s modular Smart-Gateway Platform (SGP), built on gigabit
signal generators, arbitrary waveform generators, sensitive meas- Ethernet communication between the secure and ASIL-B
urement products, and data acquisition systems. Recently, Digi-Key Telemaco3P microprocessor (MPU) and the ASIL-D SPC58/
Electronics had announced that it was offering a free eBook on the Chorus microcontroller (MCU), delivers powerful processing
benefits of implementing Application Programming Interface (API) capability to handle firewall functionalities, predictive main-
solutions, as well as a new ROI calculator to see the return on tenance, over-the-air (OTA) upgrades, and high data-rate
investment that implementing APIs can deliver. communication among different ECUs and to the cloud. The
SGP reference design features a rich set of in-vehicle network
Keysight launches Innovate Anywhere program interfaces including multiple Ethernet and CAN ports as well
Keysight Technologies has launched the ‘Innovate Anywhere’ as support for LIN and FlexRay connections.
program in response to Covid-19. This program spans across three It is deployed with a comprehensive starter package
key areas including 90-day software trials, remote learning, and including hardware design files, hardware/software documen-
scalable live network testing. Keysight is offering the company’s tation, software utilities (drivers and flashers), and sample
popular software products free of charge for 90 days. Engineers applications. The SGP also integrates expansion connections
working on design and simulation or managing multiple instruments to Wi-Fi and LTE modules for full prototyping of use cases
and test stations remotely, can leverage Keysight’s PC-based soft- requiring cloud-connectivity simulation.
Incentives for electronic lion people across the country. This At present, the country has around
components and scheme, as the government informed, 10GW of wind equipment manufac-
semiconductors manufacture will be open for applications initially turing capacity.
In a bid to improve and strengthen for three years from the date of its “It may be stated that in a time
the indigenous manufacturing of elec- notification. The incentives will be when many companies are planning
tronic components and semiconduc- available for investments made within to shift their manufacturing base from
tors in the country, the government five years from the date of acknowl- China, it is opportune time for India
of India has approved a scheme for edgment of application. to bring policy changes for facilitat-
the promotion of this sector. The total ing and catalysing manufacturing in
cost of the scheme is approximately ` Opportune time for India as India. In tune with this, MNRE has set
32.85 billion, which includes incentive companies shift base from up the RE Industry Facilitation & Pro-
outlay of approximately ` 32.52 billion China motion Board to facilitate investment
and administrative expense to the tune The Ministry of New and Renewable in RE sector,” reads MNRE’s official
of ` 0.32 billion. Energy (MNRE) has initiated action in statement.
“We are confident that the gov- a big way towards setting up new hubs
ernment’s assurance of providing a for manufacturing renewable energy Automotive lithium-ion
financial incentive of 25 per cent on equipment in the country to meet both battery market to reach
capital expenditure for the identified domestic and global demand. With $74.3 billion by 2024
list of electronic goods and compo- this objective in view, the ministry has It is expected that the global automo-
nents, will not only enable India to written to various state governments tive lithium-ion battery will generate
become the electronics manufactur- and various port authorities to identify revenue of 74.3 billion dollars in
ing hub of the world but also provide land parcels of fifty to five hundred 2024, advancing at a 15.9 per cent
a fillip to its ‘Make in India’ program. acres for setting up such parks. CAGR during the forecast period of
All of these steps are going to provide Tuticorin Port Trust, Madhya 2019-2024, as per a recent P&S Intel-
a much-needed boost to the sector Pradesh, and Odisha have already ligence report. It further says that in
and help homegrown companies like expressed their keen interest in set- 2018 the global automotive lithium-
Goldmedal Electricals expand their ting up renewable energy manufac- ion battery market generated 24.2
business capabilities further,” says turing parks. These hubs, once set billion dollars.
Kishan Jain, director at Goldmedal up, will manufacture equipment like The report adds that different types
Electricals. silicon ingots and wafers, solar cells of vehicles make use of lithium-ion
As per industry estimates, elec- and modules, wind equipment and batteries. These include two-wheelers,
tronics manufacturing has gener- ancillary items like back sheets, glass, commercial vehicles, and passenger
ated employment for over two mil- steel frames, inverters, batteries, etc. cars. In 2018, the largest demand for

Industry News
Li-ion batteries was created by pas- for largest share in the market in 2018. Covid-19-induced 2020
senger cars and it is expected to hold This was due to the growing demand recession to impact
true in the future as well. This will be for micro batteries in various devices semiconductors business
due to the rising sales and production such as thermometers, glucometers, The Covid-19-induced 2020 recession
of EVs in China and the US. insulin pumps, and drug delivery will disrupt automotive, consumer
As per the report, Asia-Pacific systems. electronics, semiconductor and IT
(APAC) made the most use of automo- The wearable devices category is infrastructure businesses worldwide
tive Li-ion batteries in 2018. This can expected to witness the fastest growth before recovery in 2021, reckons Strat-
be attributed to the heavy production during the forecast period. This can egy Analytics in a scenario analysis
and sales of EVs in China. There, the be attributed to the growing adoption report ‘Covid-19—Catalysts for Eco-
government authorities are providing of wearable devices, such as fitness nomic Disruption’.
extensive support for the development bands, headphones, and watches, pri- The new scenarios indicate that
of infrastructure, including charging marily in China, India, and the USA. the damage from the worst economic
station spaces. Europe is projected to With the growing geriatric popula- cycle since the Great Depression will
register the fastest growth in demand tion and associated diseases amongst cause both consumer and B2B busi-
for Li-ion batteries during the forecast the populace, the demand for wireless nesses to suffer, starting with an eco-
period. This is due to the targets set and continuous health monitoring nomic plunge of over seven per cent in
by the government for increasing the devices is increasing. Also, healthcare real GDP (33 per cent annualised) in
sales of EVs. players are developing medical devic- major industrial economies in second
The automotive lithium-ion bat- es with next-generation technologies quarter of 2020.
tery market is witnessing increasing to monitor patients efficiently. Several semiconductor companies
utilisation of nickel-manganese-cobalt This is expected to fuel the growth have already revised their market
(NMC) batteries in EVs globally, the of the wearable fitness tracker market, outlooks citing uncertainty arising
report said. This is due to the rising which in turn boosts the demand for out of coronavirus outbreak. NXP
demand for electric vehicles, which micro batteries, as these are an impor- Semiconductors (NXP) had recently
have a higher range. tant source of power in these devices. updated its performance expectations
for Q1-2020, keeping business impact
Micro batteries market Foldable smartphones to caused by the novel Coronavirus
forecast to grow in the increase demand of flexible (Covid-19) in the picture.
wearable devices category AMOLED panels Due to the impact of the coro-
The global micro battery market, as Despite a projected double-digit decline navirus on semiconductor supply
per a report by Prescient and Strategic in smartphone shipments due to the and demand, the overall worldwide
Intelligence, is expected to reach 1.1 coronavirus pandemic, the global semiconductor revenue is forecast to
billion dollars by 2024, registering a market for active-matrix organic light- decline by 0.9 per cent in 2020, accord-
CAGR of 18.4 per cent during the fore- emitting diode (AMOLED) smartphone ing to Gartner, Inc.
cast period. The major factors stimu- displays is expected to rise by nine per
lating the market growth include the cent in 2020. A recent report published BEL achieves record turnover
growing demand for compact batteries by Omdia also pointed out towards Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electron-
in medical devices and the growing Samsung Display as the leader in ics Limited (BEL) posted a turnover in
adoption of wearable devices. AMOLED display panels market. excess of ` 125 billion (provisional and
Global shipments of wearable “Smartphone brands across the unaudited) during the financial year
devices totalled 84.5 million units world are increasingly migrating their 2019-20. The company had a growth
in the third quarter of 2019 (3Q19), product lines to AMOLED display of six per cent over the previous year’s
a year-over-year increase of 94.6 per technology—even amidst the cata- turnover of ` 117.89 billion.
cent and a new record for shipments strophic market conditions spurred BEL’s order book as on April 1,
in a single quarter, according to new by the coronavirus pandemic. Apple 2020 stood at ` 518 billion. The year
data from the International Data Cor- is expected to expand its AMOLED saw BEL securing significant orders
poration (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly iPhone line-up to three models in worth ` 130 billion. Some of the
Wearable Device Tracker. Most of the 2020, up from two in 2019. Mean- major orders acquired during the year
growth in demand for wearables was while, Chinese smartphone OEMs were Akash (7 Sqdn), coastal surveil-
driven by new products in the heara- are expected to increase the number lance systems (CSS), upgrade for EW
bles market. of high-end smartphones integrating system, radars, sonars and advanced
Based on applications, the micro AMOLED panels this year,” said Brian communication systems.
battery market is categorised into Huh, principal analyst, small/medium BEL achieved export sales of 48.59
consumer electronics, automotive, displays, Omdia. million dollars during FY 2019-20.
medical devices, wearable devices, This growth, as per the report, Major products exported include cable
and others, wherein the other category has been entirely driven by demand looms, coastal surveillance system
includes wireless sensor networks for flexible AMOLED panels. The spares, radars, compact multi-purpose
and smart metres. Among these, the shipments of these are expected to advanced stabilisation systems (CoM-
medical devices category accounted increase by fifty per cent in 2020. PASS), electro mechanical parts, etc.

Startup Zone
High-Performance A Robot For Preventing Leveraging Trapped- The IoT And
1 Smart Water
Meters
2 People
With Spinal
3 Machine Failure
Using Predictive
4 Ion Technology For
Quantum Computing
5 Drones For
Digitally Transforming
Disabilities Maintenance Industries
1 High-performance
smart water meters
The chosen MCU product was avail-
able at a low cost and was suitable for
basic operations. However, there were
certain limitations on the platform as
well as RAM scalability that made it an
inapt choice for highly efficient smart
meters.
Water meters need to be battery
powered as they are usually located
underground, or in other areas where
electricity is inaccessible due to safety
(Credit: www.sawater.com.au) concerns. They also need to be energy-
efficient so that they last for a reason-
able period of time. Software and
C
onsumption of different forms grated with the meters must support documentation tools enable design-
of energy including electricity, all major protocols, both long-range ers to easily integrate the necessary
gas, and water by residential, and short-range. For accurate analysis functionalities into the smart meters,
commercial and industrial establish- and billing, timing synchronisation thereby resulting in better performance
ments is measured using meters. As becomes crucial in wireless networks. and faster time to market.
water becomes scarce in many areas, Consumers can adjust their behav- The company’s search for an
smart water meters are finding wide- iour accordingly and collected data can alternative finally ended with EFM32
spread use worldwide due to such fea- even be used to predict consumption Gecko MCU by Silicon Labs. The cost-
tures as accurate and precise reading, patterns. The global smart water meter- effective MCU family is based on ARM
communication control, automatic ing market is expected to grow at a Cortex-M3 CPU platform along with
fault detection and more. With the rise CAGR of 13.3 per cent between 2019 and scalable flash memory configurations
of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the 2025, with a CAGR of 20.8 per cent in up to 128kB, 16kB of RAM and CPU
past decade, sensors and mobile apps Asia-Pacific region, according to a recent speeds up to 32MHz. It also features
are getting more commonly employed report from Trends Market Research. low standby current consumption,
to automate remote monitoring of Just like any other intelligent short process time, fast wake-up time
consumption levels and billing in real embedded system, choosing the from energy-saving modes and several
time. Ultrasonic and magnetic flow right MCU is essential to provide peripheral choices. These features can
meters are the most common choices long operational life and meet the adequately cater to battery-operated
for measuring water usage. computing needs for smart meters. applications, according to silabs.com.
In a smart meter, a microcontroller Different parameters including cost, The result was successful produc-
(MCU) interfaces to the sensor, display hardware interface and architecture, tion of an eco-friendly and energy-
and communications block, which software architecture, processing efficient smart water meter with a
is usually a wireless transmitter or power, memory, power efficiency, lifespan of fifteen years and required
transceiver. New-generation smart and so on are the key factors when it capabilities at a low-cost.
water meters use long-range wireless- comes to selecting an MCU. Many other companies like Toshiba,
protocols like WM-BUS and Lora MANAS, a Turkey-based smart STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instru-
or Sigfox to transmit the encrypted meter development company, planned ments (TI) also offer MCUs for smart
consumption information to a wider to develop a new smart water meter metering solutions. MSP430FR4xx is
area. Communication modules inte- that could meet the latest standards. one such MSP430 ferroelectric RAM

Startup Zone
(FRAM)-based 16-bit microcontroller ultra-low power consumption, stabil- feature, even small water leaks can be
series from TI. It includes a wide range ity, flexibility, and more. detected so that they get repaired rap-
of analogue and digital peripherals Reference designs provided by idly. This not only benefits the dealer
that makes configuration simple and the company make it easier to retrofit and consumer through intelligence
reduces PCB size. FRAM combines the pre-existing water meters with and connectivity but also the environ-
the abilities of both RAM and ROM to automated meter reading (AMR) capa- ment by conserving water and energy.
ensure high speed, high endurance, bilities. With its ultrasonic sensing —Ayushee Sharma
2 A Robot For People

With Spinal Disabilities
I
ndustry 4.0 technologies like thrombosis, and respiratory ailment.
robotics and machine learning find Weighing just sixty kilograms,
numerous uses in the medical field the chassis of Omnibot is built of
that directly or indirectly improve the aluminium tubing. It is lightweight,
lives of affected people. Capitalising compact, and has foldable parts unlike
on this potential, Bulgarian startup other vertical devices available in the
IRise Mechanics 357 is developing market. This makes the robot easy to
innovative robotic mobility devices transport in cars and other vehicles. It
for people with lower limb disabilities. also enables easy transfer to and fro
Lubomir Vassilevi, the founder between wheelchair or any furniture
of this company, decided to work on and the machine without assistance.
projects for people in need when his One can easily grab objects on
wife lost her ability to walk in an acci- shelves and other hard-to-reach places
dent that resulted in paraplegia a few with hands while on the bot. Its meca-
years ago. With the help of his team, num drive system (omnidirectional) per cent discount on price, according
he created the robotic tool Omnibot to enables 4×4 movement, axial move- to the company. The startup was
not only improve the quality of life for ment and zero-grade turning radius. It recently honoured with High Innova-
his wife but also others suffering from works best for narrow indoor spaces tion Achievement award from Presi-
such an issue. but is unsuitable for overcoming dent of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Although aids like wheelchairs obstacles or climbing stairs. Besides being involved in crea-
are available for people with motor The device provides independence, tion of individualised aids, the team
disabilities, most of them require the decreases health risks and makes the has also developed a motorcycle for
persons to move in a sitting position. person feel more socially included. people with lower limb disabilities and
As the vertebral injuries take long to In testing phase, the bot was used a wheelbarrow that is capable of run-
heal, and sometimes stay permanently by over thirty people having spinal ning even marathons. The company is
for lifetime, using wheelchairs can lead cord injuries in Bulgaria and Austria. now looking for more to expand on a
to chronic secondary health issues like The device is planned to be sold at a large scale, including foreign markets
long-term pain, heart disease, osteopo- retail price of € 21,000. It can be pre- like Germany and the US.
rosis, urinary tract infection, deep vein ordered by paying € 1,000 to get thirty —Ayushee Sharma
3 Preventing Machine Failure

Using Predictive Maintenance
W
hen a major machinery help save time, prevent costly down- machines, electrical IoT solutions,
breaks down because of time, and increase profits. vertical OEM solutions, and public
electrical issues or compo- MachineSense, headquartered safety solutions.
nent failure, you lose money every in Baltimore (Maryland, USA) with Their detection technology for
hour! This requires scalable, sustain- R&D offices in Kolkata, focuses on vibration, temperature and electrical
able, and cost-effective monitoring predictive maintenance and machine power is offered at a price point afford-
to maximise runtime productivity analytics for infrastructure systems, able for every industrial unit. Their
and reduce expense on maintenance. industrial machinery, and compo- platform offers 24/7 availability for
Industry 4.0 is revolutionising manu- nents including pumps, electrical online monitoring.
facture and maintenance with the help supply, and compressors. They spe- Vibration analysis assesses health
of sensor-based technology that can cialise in IoT solutions for pumps and of the rotational components of

Startup Zone
machines for issues in a bear- advanced meta-data analytics
ing, blower, or a broken tooth engine provides deep machine
in gearbox. Electrical charac- learning and statistical analysis.
teristics are used to analyse It never records process data,
(Credit: https://machinesense.com)
electrical sub-systems to under- and never takes control of the
stand specific power qual- machine or components, to
ity anomalies within indus- avoid potential security threats.
trial and commercial power Along with strong analytics
settings. and trusted data sources, there
In this technology, the are also industrial IoT (IIoT)
MEMS-based wearable sen- tools for downtime reduction of
sors can be easily attached to sensors, edge devices, or sensor
the outside of the machine or connectivity.
components to automatically The scalability of the prod-
monitor their condition on uct or system becomes an issue
a regular basis. The sensor data is vide a status dashboard of all con- when the number of sensors and
transmitted to an easy-to-install gate- nected assets such as analytics, devices exceeds, say, 250 in an IIoT
way, from where it is further sent to a histograms, and maintenance, repairs system. As every device has to be
cloud-based server running powerful and operational advice. Local machine brought up to the same firmware or
analytic software. The server trans- intelligence is allocated to mobile apps middleware version, connectivity
mits results to a user-friendly app, to provide gauge visualisations and becomes a major challenge in that
where one can view real-time machine maintenance corrective action alerts. case. To mitigate these challenges,
condition to give maintenance advice The Wi-Fi- and Ethernet-enabled one has to update the algorithms in
when required. data hub can connect with multiple the device as well, using OTT (over
The software packages installed sensors that enable edge computing the top) architecture.
across all industrial machinery pro- for at-site storage and analytics. Its —Deepshikha Shukla
4 Leveraging trapped-ion technology

for quantum computing
Q
uantum computing is consid- quantum systems such as entangle-
ered an efficient and precise Bits vs Qubits ment and superposition to perform
way of solving complex prob- In a classical computer, the smallest unit of mathematical calculations. Instead of
lems which may not get easily solved computation is called a bit. A bit can be in using synthetic quantum systems, the
by even the largest supercomputers only one of two possible states: one or zero. startup uses individual atoms for their
in fields like chemistry, medicine, A qubit has the ability to be in a complex quantum processing units to ensure
finance, and logistics. In comparison superposition of these states, allowing for a reliable and scalable quantum comput-
to the rest of the modern computing much larger computational space—imagine ing. The team chose atoms of ytterbi-
methods, it consumes less power and only being able to point at the north or south um, a silvery rare-earth metal, as these
speed of computation is remarkably pole, versus being able to point anywhere are perfectly identical to each other
high. on the globe. and, once prepared, they can remain
With the aim of taking trapped-ion in a particular stable quantum state for
quantum computing out of very long periods of time.
the lab and into the market, An electron from a neutral
US-based startup IONQ was ytterbium atom is removed
founded in 2015 by Chris with lasers, resulting in a ytter-
Monroe and Jungsang Kim. bium ion from this trapping
They initially received $2 process. Ionised ytterbium
million in seed funding from atoms then act as quantum
New Enterprise Associate and bits (qubits), the smallest unit
a licence to core technology of computation. These ions are
from the University of Mary- held in 3D space using elec-
https://insidehpc.com
land and Duke University nec- tromagnetic forces produced

essary for developing trapped- from a specialised chip called
ion quantum computers and a linear ion trap that consists
software. of around hundred tiny elec-
A quantum computer takes trodes with rapidly oscillating
advantage of properties of voltages.

Startup Zone
To prepare the ions for computa- is a zero. To repeat a measurement, quantum computer simulation of
tions, laser-based techniques for the entire process is repeated. the water molecule in 2019, with the
cooling close to absolute zero and ini- For storing quantum information, required accuracy for creating simu-
tialisation of ions into a well-defined the trap is put inside an ultra-high lation of any molecule for practical
zero state are required. The series vacuum chamber. The whole assem- applications in the future. This opened
of operations, called gates, include bly along with the other electrical, up the possibility to make accurate
modifying a qubit’s state and link- mechanical, and optical control sys- chemical predictions as an alternative
ing multiple qubits into an entangled tems then gets attached to a classical to performing expensive experiments.
state. Finally, the answer is read from computer. After making the necessary The startup has partnered with
the ions by shining a resonant laser on adjustments, the system is ready to Microsoft and Amazon Web Services
all of them at the same time. The atom function as a quantum computer. to make their quantum computers
glowing in response to laser light is Leveraging this technology, the available to customers via the cloud.
considered a one, and each dark atom company published the world’s first —Ayushee Sharma
5 The IoT and drones for

digitally transforming industries
M
achinery and struc- generates inspection reports to
tures like pipelines, help users make correct deci-
stacks, chimneys, and sions. Integrating with GIS for
tanks used in several industries asset mapping helps to effec-
need regular monitoring and tively identify, analyze, store
inspection to ensure reliability and display geographic data
and accuracy in results. When from different sources and build
done manually, this can be a Gumps Noctua relationships between them.
tedious, risky and expensive In November 2016, the drone
task. This becomes especially was used for its first flight stack
challenging when the struc- inspection in Tata Steel, Jam-
tures are at high temperatures. shedpur.
IIT Madras incubated start- These products leverage
up Detect Technologies was sensor technology, drone tech-
founded in 2016 to automate nology, image processing, and
such inspection processes machine learning algorithms
through their suite of pat- with an aim to ease decision-
ented products such as Gumps making by providing real-time
(Guided Ultrasonic Monitoring Detect Technologies
monitoring and inspection
Pipelines System), Noctua, for even those assets that are
T-pulse and Apis. usually difficult to access. The
Their flagship product, Gumps, be customised for different users. Its startup raised its funding from vari-
is a high-temperature (up to 300 first trial installation was done in Reli- ous investors such as SAIF Partners,
degrees celsius), real-time intelli- ance, Jamnagar in March 2016. Bharat Innovation Fund, Axilor Ven-
gent sensor for industries that need The fully-automated, intelligent tures, BlueHill Capital Pvt Ltd and a
continuous pipeline health and drone, Noctua comes with a thermal few angels from the Keiretsu Forum.
integrity monitoring to avoid poten- camera installed for utilising the In March 2019, Noctua did its
tially hazardous leaks. An ultrasonic captured aerial photos and videos to first international inspection in
pulse receiver unit processes the inspect several assets like columns, Oman. The startup was also among
data, which is then consolidated for vessels, and reactors that vary in size the winners of the 2019 edition of
transfer to cloud storage. The system and location (indoors or outdoors). the Qualcomm Design in India Chal-
is capable of detecting and sending Its positioning system and computer lenge. Some prominent customers of
automatic alerts for corrosion and vision algorithms make it capable of the startup include Indian Oil, Aditya
defects at any point of the pipeline doing a programmed flight even in Birla Group, Vedanta, Accenture,
network using fault detection soft- challenging indoor environments. Thermal Power Group, and Bharat
ware for a range of up to several Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technol- Petroleum. Having expanded to the
meters from a fixed point. This is also ogy helps to achieve this accuracy US already, the company is currently
useful in constructing 3D models of up to 150 metres under line-of-sight focusing on further international
pipelines for a holistic view. Reports (LOS) conditions, thereby minimis- expansion.
generated through the software can ing human error. Cloud report system —Ayushee Sharma

Market Survey
Growth Of Edge And Cloud

Computing In Business
With the introduction of edge computing and cloud computing, companies have reached a
different level in terms of growth and productivity. These technologies provide several benefits
such as cost reduction, data analysis, enhanced security and more, which in turn has led to
development of businesses all over the globe
(Credit: Bethany Drouin from pixabay)
C
Deepshikha Shukla ompanies are moving their work- negative perceptions are wiping out; the
load to cloud because of security, majority of companies are agreeing to
scalability, and flexibility. By the test their heavy workloads in the cloud
end of 2022, the overall market of edge and some are even moving entirely to
computing is speculated to reach thirteen cloud computing. By 2025, it is speculated
billion dollars globally as stated by Gartner. that around seventy five per cent of data
This is going to be possible because would be processed from the cloud, while
companies these days are extremely tech- the revenue of the global public cloud is
savvy and are now truly understanding the expected to reach seventeen per cent by
advantages of cloud computing. Also, the 2020, as per Gartner.

Market Survey
cities, and governments, EC
Worldwide Public Cloud Services and CC are impacting nearly
Descriptions 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 every business.
Cloud Business Process Services (BPaaS - business process as a service) 45.8 49.3 53.1 57.0 61.1 Anjani Kommisetti. Busi-
Cloud Application Infrastructure Services (PaaS - platform as a service) 15.6 19.0 23.0 27.5 31.8 nesses that are customer
Cloud Application Services (SaaS - software as a service) 80.0 94.8 110.5 126.7 143.7
experience-centric, or are
utilising IoT, investing in 5G
Cloud Management and Security Services 10.5 12.2 14.1 16.0 17.9
in their operations will benefit
Cloud System Infrastructure Services (IaaS - infrastructure as a service) 30.5 38.9 49.1 61.9 76.6 them from the technologies of
Total Market Revenue Forecast (US$ billions) 182.4 214.3 249.8 289.1 331.2 edge and cloud computing.
Source: Gartner (April 2019) For instance, the automation
industries have popular use
The new research report by Grand Benefits and potential cases including large engineering sim-
View Research, Inc mentions that, ulations, data and dealers’ networks,
with a CAGR of 37.4 per cent during
of EC and CC equipment and data analytics, etc. In
the speculated period, the market The US-based global tech firm Cisco the retail sector, different information
volume of edge computing is expected predicts that by 2021, around 94 per is gathered through edge computing
to reach 43.4 billion dollars by 2027 cent of workloads would be processed such as customer purchase behaviour.
globally, where 5G and IoT would and carried out by cloud data centres. These technologies have also greatly
play an extremely decisive role. Vari- It is well-known that when it comes benefitted the healthcare sector by
ous apps that will use 5G will com- to investment in cloud computing, the improving nursing efficiency through
pletely change the working pattern of USA tops every country and by 2023, tracking of mobile medical devices,
traffic demand and would uplift more Reportlinker states, the entire cloud wearable fitness devices, and optimi-
sophisticated technology for telecom computing market would cross 623.3 sation of medical equipment. Sectors
providers. billion dollars. like agriculture, BFSI, and logistics
MarketsandMarkets, the platform In this context, let’s find out what have also implemented these tech-
offering market research reports, the experts say. nologies, and businesses are realising
claims that by 2022 overall edge Gaurav Burman. Any busi- its potential.
computing market would be valued ness using IoT devices can benefit Adrian Johnson. Edge computing
around 6.72 billion dollars from a immensely from EC and CC. Because is benefitting the sector, where IoT
speculated 1.47 billion dollars in of these new-fangled technologies, devices are used specifically for profit
2017, with a CAGR of 35.4 per cent. retailers are able to depend on 24/7 purposes and utilised across-the-
The best way for companies to make online presence to offer enhanced board in every related industry. For
their top-notch IoT devices running customer service, factory floor opera- example: artificial intelligence (AI),
swiftly is to amalgamate edge com- tors stay connected to plant systems, smart cars, manufacturing plants,
puting and data-gathering potential even the operation efficacies of manu- smart cities, and other ‘smart’ objects,
with the cloud, storage space and facturers are enhancing, healthcare and healthcare IT infrastructure are
processing power. Apart from that, professionals have reliable access to getting immense benefit from edge
companies can also safeguard their possibly life-saving health-related data computing as it helps to prevent appli-
IoT devices running efficiently and smart buildings are redefining the cation performance latency issues.
against losing any imperative analyti- way we work, live and play. From IT, Sectors like education, law firms,
cal data value. financial markets and e-commerce emergency services, travel manage-
companies to utility providers, smart ment, and entertainment management
Need of edge computing (EC)
and cloud computing (CC)
$20,000
On the road to cloud computing, $18,175
$18,000
data centres will have to modernise
and extend their networks to be able $16,000
to provide resources more flexibly. $14,000
$12,694
This changes the way networks are $12,000
(US$ millions)
designed, built and monitored. As

$10,000
space is often very limited, ultra- $8,128
high density is a ‘must’ for providing $8,000
all required connections. The most $6,000
essential benefit of edge computing $3,706
$4,000
is its ability to enhance network per-
$2,000 $1,032
formance by reducing latency. Analys-
ing data closer to the edge provides $0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
huge benefits in terms of cost and
efficiency. Fig. 1: Fog computing revenue, 2018-2022 (Source: 451 Research & OpenFog Consortium)

Market Survey
need access to their technology tools
anytime, anywhere. Experts’ views
As the Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionising businesses and technologies, the number of connected
Market scope of EC and CC devices to the Internet is increasing exponentially. In fact, Gartner estimates the number of connected
The profound amalgamation of 5G IoT devices to be around 25 billion by 2020, which in turn is generating massive amounts of data to be
networks and IoT devices is ready processed and mined. Traditionally, it would take time for the data to travel from the device to the centre
to carry out an intense change in the for processing, and all this data travelling back and forth would also put a strain on the bandwidth. EC
deployment methods of computing offers a solution to this problem by relocating crucial data processing to the edge of the network. EC
workloads. Hence, at this moment, enabled devices can gather and process data in real time, allowing them to respond faster and more
effectively.
the important thing to consider is to
—Gaurav Burman, VP & APAC President, 75F-
craft state-of-the-art data centres that
As per a report, McKinsey estimates that India will see growth in number of the Internet users by
would offer decades of operating time.
about 40 per cent to between 750 million and 800 million by 2023. More internet connectivity means
Also, edge computing has the poten-
an unimaginable increase in data. As IoT devices become widespread and more efficient, enterprises
tial to perk-up efficacy coupled with will need to adopt successful computing architectures to maximise this technology and potential.
appropriate response time gathered By integrating EC with centralised CC services, both methods will optimise capacity while reducing
by IoT devices and it can also dimin- business constraints.
ish response time. The most important —Anjani Kommisetti, country manager, India & SAARC, Raritan & Servertech, brands of Legrand
aspect is that edge computing has the EC is suitable for operations that have extreme latency issues. It is like a mini data centre helping in
capability to reduce the cost of opera- decreasing the latency of work. CC is more needed and looked as a solution where flexibility, data
tions, because in this technology a recovery, no maintenance, easy access, and increased security are the concerns.
central server is not needed to exam- —Adrian Johnson, director - Technology, TechnoBind
ine the actions. Data could be stored
later when this is amalgamated with would be on a cloud. Edge-based IoT navio research says, the market for
cloud computing and then at the later devices gather and analyse data close edge computing will increase by 41
stage, with the help of big data ana- to the source, which greatly reduces per cent CAGR.
lytics, data can be processed to drive the transferring time and latency, Cloud computing enhances acces-
growth and innovation. allowing organisations to utilise the sibility, provides virtual storage
Cloud computing has made it data in real time without any delay. space, solves backup problems, offers
possible for companies to have Edge computing needs very less security against unauthorised access
access to huge amounts of computing bandwidth and hence can easily oper- and data loss. Cloud computing is not
resources in a short time with great ate in conditions with a limited con- only helping the businesses to adopt
ease and flexibility, without making nection, without hampering overall trending technologies like AI, ML,
costly investments. Cloud comput- business operations. advanced analytics and immersive
ing also allows companies to host media, but also complementing the
platforms, software and databases Future of EC and CC seamless adoption of SaaS, IaaS and
remotely, which helps in freeing up With the massive advancement of sci- PaaS technologies.
memory and computational power on ence and technology, the new-fangled According to Forrester, the overall
the company’s individual computers. cloud and edge computing will have edge computing market size is project-
On the other hand, edge comput- the full potential to enhance time, ed to increase from 2.8 billion dollars
ing systems spread all stages of data offering the ladder of growth and in 2019 to 9.0 billion dollars by 2024,
processing between various devices, innovation and also decreasing cost of with a CAGR of 26.5 per cent during
such as sensors, transponders, cam- operations and improving the life time the forecast period. In this context, the
eras, making the whole network safer of IoT devices. This is also because Meticulous Research report predicts
than a cloud computing network. the world is now moving towards that the overall market of edge com-
Moreover, edge computing stores smart devices and hence the demand puting would augment at a CAGR of
and transfers sensitive or important for these technologies would escalate 34.9 per cent from 2019 to reach 28.07
data remotely, making it safer than it more. Between 2019 and 2023, Tech- billion dollars by 2027, while cloud
computing is going to be more impor-
tant among the enterprise world.
By moving analytics to the edge,
organisations will get more imme-
diate insights and results from IoT
devices and sensors. The concept of
edge computing models and business
digitisation are going to become a key
component for many IoT initiatives.
Both the technologies can be lever-
aged together symbiotically to create
a more balanced and efficient technol-
Fig. 2: Global edge computing market 2019-2023 (Credit: www.technavio.com) ogy business model.

New Products NEW
deliver cutting-edge wireless-charging

Components products.
The STWLC68 family of highly inte-
grated devices needs a very low external
IoT chip Hence, Microchip Technology bill of materials (BoM), ideal for integra-
u-blox, a global provider of wireless has announced a new cryptography- tion in a wide range of applications. It’s
communication technologies, presents enabled microcontroller (MCU), the compliant with WPC Qi 1.2.4 standard
the SARA-R410M-63B module for LTE-M CEC1712 MCU with Soteria-G2 custom and compatible with all Qi-certified
cellular network operators. The module firmware. It is designed to stop mali- devices in the market.
series supports a broad spectrum of cious malware such as rootkit and STMicroelectronics
Internet of bootkit for systems that boot from www.st.com
Things (IoT) external Serial Peripheral Interface
applications (SPI) flash memory.
such as Microchip’s Soteria-G2 custom Inductors
smart meter- firmware features CEC1712 Arm Vishay Intertechnology has expanded
ing, telem- Cortex-M4 based MCU that provides its IHLE series of low-profile, high-
atics, asset the secure boot with hardware root of current inductors, which feature inte-
and vehicle trust protection in a pre-boot mode. grated e-shields for the reduction of
tracking, security systems and building This is a great feature security-wise electromagnetic interference (EMI)
automation, as well as smart lighting for operating systems that boot from
solutions and connected health. external SPI flash memory. Addition-
The SARA-R410M-63B modules ally, the CEC1712 provides key and
include an essential root of trust (RoT) code rollback protection during opera-
that provides an advanced set of security tion lifetime, thereby enabling in-field
functionalities, making them ideal for security updates.
mission-critical IoT solutions. It also Microchip with new commercial and automotive-
has an extended operating temperature www.microchip.com grade devices. The Vishay Dale IHLE-
range of –40°C to +85°C for optimal 5050FH-51 and IHLE-5050FH-5A bring
industrial applications. down costs and save board space by
Apart from the above features, Wireless charging IC eliminating the need for separate board-
u-blox cellular positioning technology In the age of 5G communication with level Faraday shielding.
enables standalone location estimation an ever-increasing demand for more Featuring operating temperature of
based on surrounding mobile network power and higher efficiency, STMicro- up to 155 degrees Celsius and coplanar-
information or in conjunction with electronics’ STWLC68 product family ity of four terminals within ≤100 µm, the
Global Navigation Satellite System provides the best solution for wireless- inductors are optimised for energy stor-
(GNSS) positioning data to improve the age in DC/DC converters of up to 2MHz
location. and provide excellent noise attenuation
u-blox in high current filtering applications (up
www.u-blox.com to the self-resonance frequency (SRF)) of
the inductor.
I H LE- 5050 FH - 51 a pplica tions
MCU with Soteria-G2 include desktop PCs and servers, high
With the rapid growth of 5G cellular charging applications with up to eighty current POL converters, low-profile,
infrastructure, networks and data cen- per cent efficiency, high power transfer high-current power supplies, and
tres supporting and safety. battery-powered devices. The IHLE-
the expansion of The new product family can oper- 5050FH-5A can be used in automotive
cloud comput- ate both as a high-power receiver and engine and transmission control units,
ing are growing. a transmitter for enabling rapid power diesel injection drivers, noise suppres-
This has prompt- transfer and power-sharing with For- sion for motors, windshield wipers,
ed developers to eign Object Detection (FOD) and other power mirrors and seats, entertainment/
seek new ways IPs. ST’s proprietary high-voltage navigation systems, heating and ventila-
of ensuring that technology, paired with excellent tion blowers, and LED and HID lighting.
operating systems remain secure and mixed-signal design and high-quality Vishay Intertechnology
uncompromised. assurance, enables the customers to www.vishay.com

New Products
the company, offers significant board-
Mobile processor for gamers area savings, which together with its
30W power supplies
Due to the availability of high-perform- versatility makes it a very attractive MORNSUN, a manufacturer of power
ing mobile systems, gaming enthusiasts part. supplies, has released open-frame,
are increasingly moving towards these The EiceDRIVER 1EDN TDI can telecom power supplies VCB_SO-
devices. Rich withstand static ground-shifts of up 3/6WR3 and
processing fea- to ±70V and transient ground shifts VCB_SBO-
tures offer an of up to ±150 Vpeak with 3.3V PWM 10 / 30 W R 3 .
extraordinary input signal at the application level. The series is
gaming expe- The EiceDRIVER 1EDN7550U enables high in per-
rience, some- 25V and 40V OptiMOS MOSFETs to formance,
thing gamers greatly prefer nowadays. operate in switched capacitor topolo- has a com-
Intel’s new 10th Gen Intel Core pro- gies at 1.2MHz switching frequency. A pact size and
cessors that are loaded with an incredi- high power density of 3060W/in3 and a high power density, and is equipped
ble performance capability, deliver faster 97.1% peak efficiency (including auxil- with a self-developed IC.
performance for immersive gaming iary losses) have proven to be possible Due to its wide operating tem-
experience and amazing responsiveness. even in such applications. perature range from -40°C to +85°C,
As games and applications continue The EiceDRIVER 1EDN TDI family the series has an excellent tempera-
to depend on high-frequency cores, is available in a standard SOT-23 ture derating curve. The maximum
through this launch, Intel has pushed 6-pin package and the new device working temperature is 85°C with a
the frequency boundary to achieve lower (1EDN7550U) is housed in an ultr- seventy per cent load. It also features
latency and deliver best PC gaming expe- asmall (1.5mm×1.1mm×0.39mm) 1500V DC isolation voltage, 3mA
rience on a laptop. 6-pin leadless TSNP package. no-load current and ninety per cent
Led by the 10th Gen Intel Core Infineon Technologies output efficiency.
i9-10980HK processor, the H-series deliv- www.infineon.com It is widely used in the telecom-
ers a high-end performance. The proces- munication field, such as FSU, switch,
sor features an excellent performance battery online monitoring, intelligent
with up to 5.3GHz Turbo, eight cores, 16 Power management IC communication gateway, GPS synchro-
threads and 16MB of Intel Smart Cache. Renesas Electronics Corporation has nous clock, and 4G/5G base station.
The processor also allows further cus- launched new Power Management IC Mornsun
tomisation, optimisation and tuning of (PMIC) reference designs to power the www.mornsun-power.com
a CPU’s performance.
Intel
www.intel.in
TEST & MEASUREMENT
5G NR test equipment
POWER SUPPLies Before the 5G systems can be deployed,
companies must test and validate
Gate driver IC products and services for standards
In Switching Mode Power Supplies multiple supply rails of Xilinx Artix-7 compliance, interoperability, and opera-
(SMPS), ground potential is the refer- FPGAs, Spartan-7 FPGAs and Zynq- tional performance. Hence, after the
ence for input signals of the gate driver 7000 SoCs, with and without DDR initial non-
IC. During switching of power MOSFETs, memory. The reference designs speed standalone
the development of power supplies for ( N SA ) 5 G
a variety of industrial and computing NR launch
applications, including motor control, l a s t y e a r,
machine vision cameras, program- National
mable logic controllers (PLCs), home Instruments
gateways and appliances, and portable now offers
medical and wireless equipment. an upgraded stand-alone (SA) version
Renesas’ high-efficiency PMIC of its 5G New Radio (NR) Test User
parasitic inductances produce ground reference designs provide user-friend- Equipment (UE).
shifts that may cause false triggering of ly solutions that support different It operates as a 3GPP Release
the gate driver integrated circuit (IC). Xilinx speed grades and DDR memory 15 standard compliant UE such as a
Infineon Technologies AG adds a new types: DDR3, DDR3L, DDR4, LPDDR2 modem or cell phone, allowing infra-
IC to its cost-effective and compact size and LPDDR3. The PMICs come in structure providers to test, validate,
EiceDRIVER 1EDN TDI (truly differential 4.7mm×6.3mm, 35-ball BGA with and assess performance in real-world
inputs) 1-channel gate driver family to 0.8mm pitch packages. scenarios.
prevent such consequences. The latest Renesas National Instruments
gate driver IC 1EDN7550, launched by www.renesas.com www.ni.com

New Products
Oscilloscope Video analyser and generator miscellaneous
Keysight Technologies has announced Teledyne LeCroy has announced the
a new cost-effective and flexible availability of the quantumdata M42d BoM Scrub Tool
single-channel instrument that has Video Analyzer and Generator, the BOM Scrub tools launched by LionCir-
been specifically designed to acceler- industry’s first DisplayPort 2.0 pro- cuits is a free software which helps in
ate the development of next-generation tocol test refining BoM/electronic parts search
mmWave communications, satellite instrument. w h i l e
communications and radar applica- This allows giving the
tions. designers and flexibility
The UXR0051AP Infiniium UXR- test engineers to compare
series oscilloscope, the newest addi- to conduct interoperable testing with prices and
tion to the other test devices. stock avail-
company’s The DisplayPort 2.0 provides data ability in
UXR series of rates of up to 20Gb/s per lane for an real-time from various global suppli-
oscilloscopes overall aggregate bandwidth of 80Gb/s. ers. This tool allows people to select
offers a fre- This goes well beyond the Display- components which suit their design
quency range Port 1.4 standard’s aggregate rate of specification without compromising on
o f 110 G H z 32.4Gb/s. These data rates support high quality and lead times.
and 5GHz and provides a fast, afford- screen resolutions of up to 16k with a In addition, it offers the use of
able, and flexible analysis of wideband 60Hz refresh rate. The M42d incorpo- latest supply chain tools and helps
measurements. It also offers flexible rates built-in passive probing based on with procurement in an hour instead
mmWave extension, and DDC band- Teledyne LeCroy’s state-of-art T.A.P.4. of days.
width license options enable perfor- Quantumdata M42d system supports BoM scrub tool allows to source
mance and affordability for oscilloscope both source and sink testing at new high quality, reliable components
based mmWave wideband analysis. data rates and line coding, as well as from global suppliers by managing all
Keysight enhanced capabilities like LTTPR emula- the custom clearance and global ship-
www.keysight.com tion and panel replay. ments handling. Customers can track
Teledyne LeCroy their shipments on the dashboard until
www.teledynelecroy.com delivery.
PIM analyser LionCircuits
Anritsu has launched the IQ Fiber www.lioncircuits.com
Master MT2780A multi-port CPRI Signal and spectrum analyser
based RF and PIM analyser that can Users of R&S FSV signal and spectrum
perform true PIM analysis over fibre and analyser and R&S SMBV100A or R&S CoronaOven
RF spectrum SGT 100A vector signal generator can Log 9 has developed a proprietary
results of IQ now do field-to-lab testing using the device for completely neutralising
data. The Covid-19 and other pathogens on sur-
MT2780A faces of various products in demand
reduces test during this outbreak. This includes
costs and masks, hospital PPE and tools, grocer-
time by providing field engineers, field ies, etc.
technicians, and third-party contrac- This can kill the virus in less than
tors a single instrument to conduct RF R&S IQW100. They can record signals ten minutes on all types of surfaces.
interference measurements and PIM acquired by the analyser in any environ- System is specifically designed to
troubleshooting on LTE-based systems ment and then replay them using the ensure complete kill of coronaviruses.
using CPRI front haul infrastructure. generator. These acquired signals are The company is retailing this in two
The IQ Fiber Master provides a full transferred and stored in the R&S IQW100 options. The plug-in model is priced at
PIM diagnosis, such as reporting the using the standard digital I/Q interface ` 7,999, while the battery compatible
presence of PIM, whether it is internal or available with selected R&S equipment. model is priced at ` 13,999.
external, and the distance to PIM. Also, To regenerate the recorded signal, This device, by eradicating coro-
the unique and proprietary PIM heat the data is again transferred using the navirus and other pathogens, might
map instantly displays which transmitter same standard R&S digital I/Q interface help in reusing equipment including
contributes the most PIM. For on-going to the signal generator. Signals with a masks, gloves and adequate protective
monitoring, IQ Fiber Master can be maximum bandwidth of 160MHz, with gears used by medical professionals
installed at cell sites to conduct long- a sampling rate up to 200 MS/s are sup- and authorities. People might also find
term PIM over CPRI measurements and ported. These are suitable for all WLAN/ a use of these at shops and inside their
provide analytical information. WiFi signals and all mobile standards. houses.
Anritsu Rohde & Schwarz Log 9
www.anritsu.com www.rohde-schwarz.com www.log9materials.com

Facts & Figures
India’s Imports And Exports Of Telecom

Equipment From April 2018 To March 2019
Import from April 2018 to March 2019 Export from April 2018 to March 2019
S.No. Commodity Quantity Value (US$) Quantity Value (US$)
1 Push Button Type 635,484 5,439,800 52,631 638,553
2 Base Stations 81,647 44,221,781 4,340 2,358,079
3 PLCC Equipment 10,152 5,453,934 20,879 5,044,369
4 Voice Frequency Telegraphy 2,619 998,976 1,515 266,956
5 Modems (Modulators-demodulators) 3,351,352 43,436,446 223,181 4,616,948
6 High Bit Rate Digital Subscriber Line Systems 1,603 1,623,329 25 10,649
7 Digital Loop Carrier Systems 1,997 2,187,122 783 324,912
8 Synchronous Digital Hierarchy Systems 18,102 6,357,160 4,309 3,616,284
9 Multiplexers, Statistical Multiplexers 69,221 9,105,192 15,805 14,547,851
10 ISDN Terminals 2,420 2,072,499 82 791,021
11 ISDN Terminal Adaptors 1,149 272,180 1,948 132,648
12 Routers 5,643,172 420,321,194 253,764 10,953,351
13 Subscriber End Equipment 1,884,504 45,551,808 3,885 134,342
14 Set-Top Boxes For Accessing The Internet 1,148,956 42,674,964 78,909 892,021
15 Attachments For Telephones 265,413 3,883,716 6,647 507,770
16 Populated, Loaded Or Stuffed Printed Circuit Boards 300,704,265 2,128,059,622 4,163,256 73,261,533
17 Walkie-Talkie Sets 172,070 23,435,555 1,688 602,421
18 Marine Radio Communication Equipment 278 284,161 4 29,486
19 Cordless Handsets 13,899 4,816,731 688 1,189,390
20 Other Satellite Communication Equipment 6,346 12,755,785 34 90,717
21 Rubber Insulated Winding Wires 197,970 metres 155,406 218,639 metres 1,200,888
22 Paper Insulated Conductors Fr ≤1000V Not Fitted With 147,204 metres 161,751 86,738 metres 427,034
Connectors
23 Plastic Insulated Conductors Fr ≤1000V Not Fitted With 38,755,519 metres 35,631,585 40,426,605 metres 132,068,352
Connectors
24 Rubber Insulated Conductors Fr ≤1000V Used For Not 20,283,729 metres 10,572,560 3,572,921 metres 14,444,213
Fitted With Connectors
25 Paper Insulated Conductors Used In Telecom For Voltage 172,554 metres 416,535 20,177 metres 138,004
≤10
26 Rubber Insulated Conductors Used In Telecom For 323,506 metres 284,685 7,495 metres 32,141
Voltage ≤1
27 Other Electric Conductors Not Fitted With Connectors 775,980,375 metres 251,066,060 49,128,687 metres 70,403,090
Used In Telecom
28 Optical-Fibre, Optical-Fibre Bundles And Cables 5,632,156 kilograms 181,370,140 13,252,271 kilograms 271,667,357
29 Other Instruments And Apparatus, Specially Designed For 64,304 182,751,065 7,490 18,236,264
Telecommunication
30 Other Apparatus, For Carrier/Digital Line Systems 6,827,713 528,482,670 1,800,241 37,621,546
31 Other Parts Of Telephone/Telegraph Apparatus 55,844,743 kilograms 6,613,115,298 3,842,461 kilograms 186,101,912
Source: DGCI&S; Calculated by Economic Division, DoT based on Commodity Description at 8 Digit HS code

Facts & Figures
National in IIT (BHU) and was inaugurated by the

Prime Minister. Similar systems like Param
Shakti and Param Brahma were installed at
Supercomputing IIT Kharagpur and IISER Pune. These are

equipped with applications from domains
like weather and climate, computational
Mission, India
fluid dynamics, bioinformatics, and material
science.
Eleven new systems are likely to be set
up in different IITs, NITs, national labs, and
IISERs across India by December this year,
which will have many sub-systems manufac-
tured and microprocessors designed in India,
A
first of its kind attempt to boost the which will bring in a cumulative capacity of
country’s computing power, the 10.4 PFs.
National Supercomputing Mission Spreading out the reach to the North-East
(NSM) is steered jointly by the Ministry of region of the country, eight systems with a
Electronics and IT (MeitY) and Department total compute power of sixteen PFs are being
of Science and Technology (DST), and imple- commissioned. Five indigenously designed
mented by the Centre for Development of systems with three PFs computing power will
Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and the be installed at IIT Mumbai, IIT Chennai and
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC)
The target of the mission is set to establish a at Delhi with NKN as its backbone. It also
network of supercomputers ranging from a includes an indigenously built twenty PFs
few teraflops (TFs) to hundreds of TFs and system at C-DAC Pune, and a hundred PFs
three systems with greater than or equal artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputing
to three petaflops (PF) in academic and system. One midlevel 650 TFs system is also
research institutions of national importance to be installed at C-DAC Bengaluru to provide
across the country by 2022. This network of consultancy to startups, SSIs and MSMEs.
supercomputers envisaging a total of fifteen Geared to provide supercomputing facility
to twenty PFs was approved in 2015 and was to about sixty to seventy institutions nation-
later revised to a total of 45 PFs (45000 TFs), a wide and more than thousands of active
jump of six times more compute power within researchers, academicians, and so on, NSM
the same cost and capable of solving large and has gathered momentum and is moving fast
complex computational problems. not only towards creating a computer infra-
structure for the country but also to build the
Objectives capacity of the country to develop the next
• To make India one of the world leaders in generation of supercomputer experts.
supercomputing and to enhance India’s capa-
bility in solving grand challenge problems of Application areas
national and global relevance Climate Modelling, Weather Prediction, Aero-
• To empower scientists and researchers space Engineering including CFD, CSM, CEM,
with state-of-the-art supercomputing facilities Computational Biology, Molecular Dynamics,
and enable them to carry out cutting-edge Atomic Energy Simulations, National Secu-
research in their respective domains rity/Defence Applications, Seismic Analysis,
• To minimise redundancies and duplica- Disaster Simulations and Management, Com-
tion of efforts, and optimise investments in putational Chemistry, Computational Mate-
supercomputing rial Science and Nanomaterials, Discoveries
• To attain global competitiveness and beyond Earth (Astrophysics), Large Complex
ensure self-reliance in the strategic area of Systems Simulations and Cyber-Physical Sys-
supercomputing technology tems, Big Data Analytics, Finance, Informa-
tion Repositories/Government Information
Current scenario Systems
The first supercomputer assembled indig-
enously, called Param Shivay, was installed Source: https://dst.gov.in/, https://nsmindia.in

Software
Free Daily Utility Tools

+ Office tools: Apache OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org)
Software Tools For + Zipping software: WinZip (www.winzip.com)
quantum computing
+ Browser: Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.org)
+ PDF Reader: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (get.adobe.com)
+ Media player: PotPlayer (potplayer.daum.net)
Ayushee Sharma
PennyLane ScaffCC Quantum Inspire

Visit: https://www.xanadu.ai/ Visit: https://github.com/epiqc/ Visit: www.quantum-inspire.com
software ScaffCC Full version: Paid
Full version: Free Full version: Free
Quantum Inspire (QI) by QuTech is
PennyLane is a free, open-source, ScaffCC is an open-source compila- a quantum computing platform that
device-independent cross-platform tion, analysis and optimisation frame- allows users to perform quantum
Python library from Xanadu that spe- work for the high-level programming computations efficiently. Users
cialises in quantum machine learning language Scaffold, which is used for can program quantum algorithms
(ML) and optimisation of hybrid quantum algorithms. The software in quantum assembly language,
quantum-classical computations. comes with built-in quantum appli- execute them, examine the results
It consists of built-in automatic dif- cation for ground state estimation of using a built-in data viewer and
ferentiation of variational quantum a molecule, secure hash algorithm download the output. Features like
circuits (like Xanadu’s Strawberry (SHA 1), Shor’s factoring algorithm, automatic bug identification and
Fields and Google’s Cirq). NumPy Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT), auto complete in QI editor are avail-
is the standard interface with other among others. It allows researchers able to aid non-experts. The editor
options for interfacing like PyTorch to compile Scaffold algorithms to flat also displays the list of available
and Tensorflow available too, thereby quantum assembly format, and trans- quantum bit (qubit) operations and
providing support for both hybrid form that output into an acceptable circuit visualiser, which automati-
quantum and classical models. It format for the QX quantum computer cally gets rendered from the code
works with Python versions 3.5 and simulator. It currently offers support in real time.
above. for Ubuntu, Red Hat, and OS X operat-
ing systems.
Quirk
Visit: https://algassert.com/quirk; Full version: Free
Quirk is a quick and interactive open source drag-and-drop simulator for
small quantum circuits. It comes with examples (circuits) to help under-
stand quantum algorithms, experiments and the overall functionality
of circuits. Several gates (that may be split sometimes) are included for
performing arithmetic operations. Simple actions like saving circuits, gate
dragging, duplication and deletion, qubit addition, gate alternation and
more are available for easy editing. Display objects (chance, amplitude,
density matrix, bloch sphere) are useful to know about the quantum state
at a particular time and place.

Software
Qbsolv
Visit: https://github.com/dwavesystems/qbsolv; Full version: Free
Qbsolv is a decomposing solver that partitions large quadratic unconstrained
binary optimisation (QUBO) problems into pieces to return bit-vector results
that minimise (or sometimes maximise) the value of the objective function
represented by the problem. By default, a classic solver runs the tabu algo-
rithm, but a D-wave system can also be arranged and configured to act as
the solver. The splitting is done in such a way that it fits the capacity and
constraints of the processor, which increases the efficiency of solving.
mobile apps Scan the QR codes to download

the apps based on the operating
For Quantum Computing system of your device
Quantum Programming Quantum TiqTaqToe Quantum

Compiler Updated: August 2019 Updated: April 2020
Updated: March 2020 OS: Android and iOS OS: Android
OS: Android and iOS Download: Full version (paid) Download: Full version (paid)
Download: Full version (paid) Quantum TiqTaqToe is an educational app Quantum is an educational app
Quantum Programming Compiler allows that combines TiqTaqToe with quantum that explains the basic phe-
effects. This helps understand the quan- nomena of quantum mechan- Android
users who have at least a basic under-
tum realm principles like superposition ics, which is the foundation of
standing of programming to learn via
and entanglement, which most people quantum computing, in a simple language.
tutorials and execute their quantum pro-
The topics are divided into parts that
grams. Custom keyboard is available for find difficult to understand, in a fun and
include wave-particle duality, uncertainty
easily inputting characters that are used intuitive way. It is similar in looks to a
principle, wave function, quantum tun-
often. The app also supports plotting and regular Tic-Tac-Toe but, when a player
nelling, and the like. The interface is
graphing, importing and sharing source makes a move, it acts as a unitary gate
user-friendly with images for explanation,
files. The app is optimised for connecting operation on quantum squares. Players thereby making it easy and interesting to
with external sources like a physical or can even select two squares in the grid; the learn. Tests are also available for practice,
Bluetooth keyboard. Running time of a board collapses to a single classical state including points-based questions, which
program is limited to twenty seconds and as soon as every square becomes full. The can help beginners understand where they
it is recommended to use a maximum of latest version comes with an improved lack in knowledge and improve. It is also
eight qubits. tutorial system and a hard AI for minimal available in French.
quantumness.
The Quantum Dice

Android iOS Android iOS Updated: September 2019
OS: Android
Download: Full version (free)
The Quantum Dice app is a
quantum random number
Quantum Computing engine that uses IBM’s quan- Android
Updated: March 2020 tum computing open source
OS: Android framework Qiskit to quickly generate a
Download: Full version (free) Android truly random set of numbers, which is
Quantum Computing app is a simulator that emulates the actions of a not possible usually due to classical com-
quantum computer with parallel processing (1-64 threads) and limited functionality based puter’s pseudo-random restriction on num-
on the computing power of user’s device. This enables creating and testing simple circuits bers. With all the possibilities that exist, a
to get instant results, even on the go. Besides displaying the state vector of the system in single measurable outcome is obtained.
probability mode, it can display the position of qubits on the bloch sphere (geometrical The latest version allows users to store the
representation) whose number is limited to ten. It has several predefined single qubit app on an external SD card, provided the
gates - including Hadamard, S-gate (π/2 phase shift), and Identity - while predefined Android version is at least 7.1 or higher
than that.
multi-qubit gates consist of Toffoli, Fredkin, Controlled-Hadamard gates, and the like.

First Look
EFY Bureau
Price
Wireless headphone ` 14,999
With active noise cancellation

Gurgaon based Play, which was making only neckband-style
earphones so far, has launched PlayGo BH70—a pair of AI-based
wireless headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC).
This new pair of headphones also offers Bluetooth 5 with
superior codec support and water resistance. The headset uses
40mm dynamic drivers and has a frequency response range of
20-20,000Hz.
PlayGo BH70 features a proximity sensor under the left
earcup which automatically pauses music when you take off the
headphones and plays it back again when you put them on.
The headset comes with a companion app, available on
both Android and iOS, that helps to control certain features. It
lets you keep the firmware up to date, adjust the noise cancella- play-time on single charge. These come with a Type-C
tion level to allow some transparency, adjust the equaliser, and port for charging and it takes two to three hours to get
more. Apart from that, the headphones deliver up to 24 hours of charged.
Smart vacuum cleaner Earbuds

With laser detect system With extra bass
Xiaomi has announced Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P in India that Sony has unveiled wireless WF-XB700 earbuds
can vacuum and also mop. It is available only in black colour that allow up to eighteen hours of listening.
option. The Mi Home app can be used to control its functions. Just ten minutes of quick charging provides
The product will be available for purchase post lockdown in sixty minutes of playback time. The Tri-hold
India. structure of the device creates a comfortable fit
The smart vacuum cleaner comes with interesting features for both earbuds, and the Bluetooth technology
such as sweeping and mopping together, sweeping-only and eliminates need for wires.
mopping-only modes. With accurate mapping and anti-drop or There is extra bass for deep, punchy sound
anti-collision sensors, it makes sure that it doesn’t drop from and easy hands-free calling, and voice assistant
stairs or doesn’t cross obstacles over 2cm high. facilities. The earbuds will go on sale post the
The product uses twelve sensors. It also has a Laser Detect current lockdown in blue and black colour
System (LDS) that helps locate nearby objects and clean accord- options. The device can also be used while
ingly. It comes with a quad-core Cortex A7 processor that has gymming or while on the move. It is water
2,100Pa suction. Its 3,200mAh battery gives a runtime of resistant.
60-130 minutes.
Price
` 9,900
(approx.)
Price
` 17,999

First Look
Wi-Fi routers Smartphone

With voice control support With 16.6cm HD+
Netgear has launched two models of Wi-Fi router systems in India amidst the Infinity-O display
coronavirus lockdown. Called Orbi Mesh Wi-Fi System (RBK12) AC1200 and
Orbi Mesh Wi-Fi System (RBK13) AC1200, both systems come in a cube-like Samsung has launched Galaxy
base router that has a diamond-shaped pattern on top. The RBK12 connects to a A21 smartphone in a single
single satellite, while the RBK13 connects to two satellites. Netgear also has its variant of 3GB RAM and 32GB
app Orbi through which users can remotely control their mesh system. internal storage. The storage can
Both the routers have the ability to deliver up to 1.2Gbps speed. These also be extended up to 512GB through
have two gigabit Ethernet ports—one for wide area network (WAN) and one microSD card slot. It comes
for local area network (LAN) connectivity. You can also create a guest Wi-Fi with a 16.6cm (6.5-inch) HD+
network to provide Internet access to your guests, without sharing your personal Infinity-O display with 720p+
network credentials. resolution.
The router also has two internal antennas and supports band-steering to
switch automatically between 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Further, there is voice control
support via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Price
` 18,900
Price
starts at
` 11,000
Fitness tracker Price

` 14,999
With advanced sleep tools
Fitbit has launched Fitbit Charge 4 fitness tracker
in India. Due to coronavirus lockdown and to
help people stay active at home, Fitbit is offering The smartphone features a
forty new pieces of Premium content free in the quad-camera setup that includes
Fitbit app. It offers 90-day free trial of this paid a 16MP primary sensor, an 8MP
subscription to new Fitbit Premium members. The sensor with an ultra-wide-angle
subscription includes personalised health insights, lens, a 2MP macro camera and
guidance, advanced sleep tools, customised pro- a 2MP depth sensor. The phone
grams, and over two hundred workouts. comes with a selfie shooter placed
The fitness tracker provides up to seven days of battery life, or up to five in the hole-punch located in top
hours with continuous GPS use. It’s Fitbit Active Zone Minutes is a person- left corner of the screen at front. It
alised standard based on the user’s resting heart rate and age. It tracks any is powered by a 4,000mAh battery
workout that gets the heart pumping and measures the time spent in each with 15W fast charging support. It
heart rate zone toward a weekly goal of 150 minutes. runs on Android 10 and has a fin-
The tracker also includes sleep features. It has a Sleep Score feature gerprint scanner on the rear panel.
which provides deeper insights into one’s sleep patterns. The tracker also In addition, it supports dual-SIM,
has a relative SpO2 sensor that powers Fitbit’s Estimated Oxygen Variation Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, a 3.5mm
Graph in the Fitbit app. It shows an estimate of the oxygen level variability headphone jack, and A-GPS with
in the bloodstream. GLONASS.
The prices, features and specifications are based on information provided to us, or as available on various websites and portals. EFY cannot vouch for their accuracy.

Digital
smart pen:
a smart thing to enhance
note-taking skills
Potshangbam July
H
igh-tech gadgets
have been speed-
ily replacing or
getting rid of the
traditional models
of many items. However, pen
and paper are still retaining
their place amid the techno-
logical changes that are taking
place. For those who still prefer
the feel of holding a pen in
hand and writing on a paper,
smart pens are a great option.
No doubt, the process of taking
notes on the paper and then
typing them on the computer
later, is time-consuming as
well as a monotonous task to
do. And one has to play the
role of multi-tasker—listen-
ing, understanding and taking
handwritten notes simultane-
ously, which have high chances not only on the paper, screen, tablet, engaging. At the bottom of the page,
of missing out on important etc, but even in the air and digitises it displays interactive icons where you
things. it by uploading it to your computer/ can choose functions like recording or
Thanks to smart pens, all smartphone. pausing audio, or placing bookmarks
these issues of taking notes as per your convenience.
with a regular pen, is a thing How does it work? When handwritten notes are
of past now. This piece of A smart pen is a high-tech writing tool converted into digital characters, the
tech has brought a significant that records natural handwriting notes texts can be changed using the edit
transformation and changed and stores the data on the memory chip option tool. It allows transmitting the
the dynamics of note-taking. It of the pen. It comes with sensors that user’s handwritten notes or drawings
has made it much easier to take intelligently capture what you write on to other devices such as Android or
smart, fast and easy notes, and the note, stroke by stroke. But a smart Apple devices, printers, modems,
to maintain files in an organ- pen requires a special paper that comes desktop computers, etc, for different
ised and reliable way. The pen in notebook form. Each sheet has a applications. Besides, it has features
records everything, whatever grid of thousands of microdots that that make it easy to share notes or file
you write, scribble or draw, make the page more interactive and transfer via LAN, email, and instant

Digital
messaging applications. And all the Hence, the pen accepts only the own-
notes and images can be saved safely er’s handwriting. It protects your files
for future reference. from loss and unauthorised access.
Some smart pens have interesting
features and functionalities like voice How does it help people
recording capabilities and a camera. with learning disabilities?
The audio recorder can be used for Smart pen is very handy for blind
recording interviews and lectures, people who struggle to keep up with
and later you can write them out and note writing. It is also useful for stu-
upload them. The camera records dents with a specific learning difficulty
whatever you write or doodle on the such as dyslexia or any disability that
paired notebook and can sync to your affects handwriting. Note-taking
smartphone or any device that has the requires a lot of concentration and
corresponding apps installed. It works effort than reading or learning. It can
with a battery that is rechargeable or have a negative impact on the student
in the dual charging system. This bat- with disabilities in unexpected ways
tery usually lasts for five to six hours while trying to balance consistent
of writing. writing with the time-bound lecture or
Smart pens are equipped with a presentation. When their focus is being
flashlight at the tip that allows writ- split, disabled students often end up
ing in the dark. When the pen is not not being able to make sense of what
used and remains idle for some time, it they have managed to take notes of.
automatically shuts off the light. In such cases, smart pens have
proven to be effective as they are
USP of smart pens designed to make the work of stu-
Smart pens make the note-taking dents easier. Since the device records
process easier and less stressful with everything and allows writing to be
better management. The notes hastily synchronised with audio, it helps in
written and recorded on the road, in a creating a positive learning experience
meeting or classroom are stored safely; for the students. Besides, it improves
more than ten pages of notes can be the quality of the notes as well as
stored on the pen. They eliminate the increases the engagement of the stu-
lengthy task of transcribing the whole dents. With such note-taking support,
lecture. The user can access any part the students feel a sense of ease and
of a recorded lecture/discourse by enjoyment of lectures without the fear
simply tapping a word, if in case you of missing important information.
miss, don’t understand or remember a The device significantly contributes
certain portion of the lecture. to instilling a new confidence and
They sport a sleek and slender improving academic performance of
profile and are light in weight. As a the students.
result, they are portable and easy-to- Studies revealed that a smart
carry anywhere. Not only that, they pen reduces an enormous amount
are comfortable to hold and easy to of anxiety among the students in a
write with, which makes them very classroom. Students have developed
user-friendly. various ways of taking notes with
The software embedded in the back up information in the device.
microprocessor of the pen enables They start to write in a single word
recognition of handwriting of the or keywords to identify each part of
user. It also comes handy for signa- the lecture. Later, they use the pen to
ture verification. The user can also extract detailed information from the
train the pen to recognise a particu- audio recording using the keywords.
lar handwriting style of the user. No The findings say that the use of a
matter how messy it is, the pen can smart pen has benefitted the students
identify the user’s handwriting, if it is in various aspects. The positive impact
written in a consistent manner. on the students is evident from the
One interesting fact about smart improved grades. In addition, smart
pen is that it rejects an intruder’s pens have also been able to create a
attempt to break into the device if it sense of belonging in their academic
fails to recognise the handwriting. environment.

Buyers’ Guide
Top smartwatches
with cutting-edge features
Under ` 10,000
Nijhum Rudra
T
echnology has of your travel buddy. James L. McQuiv- sion, but are time-consuming during
become an impor- ey, an analyst at Forrester Research navigation.
tant aspect of described smartwatch as, “Someone who Additional measures. While
our lives and has knows more about what you need than buying your watch, check the rating;
changed our daily you do.” But, before buying a smart- hybrid watches with digital as well as
schedules in various ways. Most watch, consumers should know what analogue display offer more battery
importantly, technology has are the important things and features life, but these don’t have touchscreens.
become smart these days. As an they should look for. A few tips are given You will also have to check the clasp
example people can switch off below. or buckle of the watch to see whether
their lights using their smart- Check OS and device compatibility. it is easy to use or swap. If you are a
phones. Not only that, people This particular feature is very important fitness freak, check whether the watch
can even command their speak- to look for because smartwatches are you are buying has GPS and heart rate
ers to listen to their favourite like your companions. There are various sensors or not. Many smartwatches are
music via AI-enabled smart smartwatches such as Samsung’s Tizen- available in the market without these
assistants such as Siri, Cortana powered Gear S3 and Gear Sport that are two important features.
and Alexa. Mobile phones are compatible with various smartphones, Now, let’s find out some of the
one of the first gadgets that both Android and iOS, but watches such latest top-notch smartwatches avail-
turned smart and subsequently, as Google’s Wear OS work better with able in the market
other gadgets followed equipped Android. When Android-compatible Honor watch magic. The watch is
with the Internet of Things watches are linked to iOS, many features crafted from true stainless steel and is
(IoT). such as direct connection to Wi-Fi and quite durable and sturdy. The watch
Along with smartphones, apps addition aren’t available. Hence,
wristwatches are now coming always check your device’s OS compat-
up with numerous smart fea- ibility.
tures. Initially, it was believed Types of display. Generally, the dis-
that smartwatches would get play of a smartwatch is LCD or AMOLED,
doomed, but slowly these have or e-ink. Watches with e-ink display are
gained massive traction among extremely easy to read even during a full
people. Smartwatches with pre- sunny day because it is an e-paper dis-
mium features were very expen- play. LCD or AMOLED display consumes
sive and hence companies came more battery power but is coloured. It
up with an alternative, known is brighter, which causes a bit of trou-
as smart band. But, smart bands ble while viewing apps and images in appears with a 3cm AMOLED coupled
failed to capture the market as sunlight. with a resolution of 390×390 pixels,
compared to smartwatches. Interface. Interface of smartwatch rounding to a pixel density of 326ppi.
Therefore smartwatch makers can also be of two types—buttons and It has a capacitive touch display, which
are now launching numerous touchscreen. Both come with their own is quite bright, radiant and offers stu-
budget-friendly devices to cap- pros and cons. It is a bit easier to navigate pendous readability. Most importantly,
ture the market. with a touchscreen, but can be difficult the watch also comes with a unique
A smartwatch not only tells to select small items on the display. On feature of measuring metabolism via a
you time, but also plays the role the other hand, the buttons assure preci- dynamic heart rate sensor that can be

Buyers’ Guide
turned off and on according to your watch faces that can be customised
wish. It sports a massive 600mAh to display essential information such
Li-ion battery that offers seven hours as heart rate, calendar, weather and
of constant back-up in a single charge. events you care about the most,
Price: ` 7,999 all in one watch face that’s easy to
Alcatel OneTouch Go. It is one check. In total, you can customise
of the finest budget smartwatches up to seven widgets out of seventeen
tailor-made to the requirements of functions.
adventurers and travel lovers. To offer Price: ` 9,145
fine quality, the watch is crafted with Amazfit GTR. The watch features
polycarbon- a dazzling screen and a great variety
ate bezel and of original interfaces, making your
a soft rubber Amazfit GTR a
strap that will seamless work
not cause any of art. According
sort of irrita- to the company,
tion to skin. they have intro-
It appears in duced a revolu-
an IPS LCD tion in battery
type 3.1cm back-up that is
display furnished with a resolution equipped with
of 240×204 pixels. You will get every an innovative
notification on time without even circuit design,
looking at your phone. Along with deep-in power optimisation and
the altimeter, the heart rate sensor power consumption management,
located at the back checks your heart enabling the Amazfit GTR to perform
rate from time to time. There is also impeccably for over three weeks.
an e-compass that makes sure you It also includes a unique heart rate
don’t lose your path. It is backed by monitor.
a 225mAh Li-Po battery that lasts for Price: ` 9,895
two days if you use it moderately. TCL Movetime. Though TCL is
Price: ` 6,999 popular in India for their budget-
Amazfit GTS. Amazfit GTS uses friendly LED and smart also ventur-
a top-class high-resolution screen, ing into TVs, it is now the arena of
whose pixel density is as high as smartwatches
341ppi and has a 348×442 resolu- for budget-con-
tion, bringing an unprecedented scious people
clarity to display. in India. TCL
M o r e o v e r, t h e Movetime
customised 4.2cm watch features
AMOLED display an elegant
takes the splendor design with an
of its colour to a attractive body
whole new level. finish. It comes
The hundred per with a 3.5cm AMOLED screen having
cent NTSC colour a resolution of 400×400 pixels. The
spectrum and only con is that in spite of having an
ultra-high colour AMOLED display, this smartwatch
saturation make is not that bright. But just like its
the display super-lifelike, while a competitors, the watch features a
bright and transparent 2.5D glass lens heart rate sensor and additional fea-
makes every screen image stunning. tures such as step counter, sedentary
The customised 4.2cm stylish square reminder and sleep monitor tracker.
screen offers a larger display area It has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth con-
than a round watch face of the same nectivity options and is powered by a
width, so it can carry more informa- 350mAh Li-Po battery that provides
tion. Apart from that, the company approximately two days usage.
has released two innovative modular Price: ` 7,699

advertisers’ index
Client name Page No. Client name Page No. Client name Page No.
Analog Devices International Inc. (www.analog.com)........................... 3 IIE Semiconductors Pvt Ltd (www.iiespl.com)..................................... 96 Sakthi Accumulators Private Ltd.......................................................... 97
Cohomology Labs Research Pvt Ltd (www.cohomologylabs.tech)..... 96 India Electronics Week ..................................................................... 100 Shavison Electronics Pvt Ltd (www.shavison.com)............................. 93
Digi-Key Electronics (www.digikey.in).................................................... 2 LWI Electronics Inc. (www.livewireinfo.com)....................................... 23 Siglent Technologies Co., Ltd...............................................................11
EFY Certified Skill Center.................................................................... 39 MediaTek India Technology Pvt Ltd (www.mediatek.com)................... 95 Smec Electronics India Pvt Ltd............................................................ 96
EFY Group Publications: Subscription Scheme.................................. 71 National Controlling & Equipments...................................................... 97 STMicroelectronics Private Limited (www.st.com)................................. 5
Electronics Industry Directory.............................................................. 35 NMTronics India Pvt Ltd (www.nmtronics.com)................................... 13 TME SLOVAKIA................................................................................... 99
element14 India Pvt Ltd.........................................................Front Cover Panasonic India Pvt Ltd (https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww)........... 21 ViscoTec India Private Limited (www.viscotec-india.com)..................... 7
HK Wentworth (India) Pvt Ltd (www.electrolube.in)............................... 9 Rebutor Electronics Pvt Ltd................................................................. 19 Watts Electronics Private Limited........................................................ 94
Advertisers’ product categories index

Products Page No. Products Page No. Products Page No. Products Page No.
Automation & Robotics LWI Electronics Inc. ............................................ 23 IT Products TME SLOVAKIA .................................................. 99
Cohomology Labs Research Pvt Ltd .................. 96 Smec Electronics India Pvt Ltd............................ 96 Cohomology Labs Research Pvt Ltd .................. 96
STMicroelectronics Private Limited ...................... 5 Sensors & Transducers

Batteries & Power Supplies TME SLOVAKIA .................................................. 99 Materials (Including Chemicals &
Cohomology Labs Research Pvt Ltd .................. 96
Rebutor Electronics Pvt Ltd................................. 19 Watts Electronics Private Limited ....................... 94 Consumables)
Sakthi Accumulators Private Ltd ......................... 97 HK Wentworth (India) Pvt Ltd................................ 9

Services
Shavison Electronics Pvt. Ltd.............................. 93 Consumer Electronics & Appliances
Cohomology Labs Research Pvt Ltd .................. 96
Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd...................................... 21 Reseller and Distributors
Components (Including Active & Passive) Digi-Key Electronics ............................................. 2
Analog Devices International Inc........................... 3 Industrial & Manufacturing Equipment element14 India Pvt Ltd ....................... Front Cover Test & Measurement Equipment
Digi-Key Electronics ............................................. 2 NMTronics India Pvt. Ltd..................................... 13 IIE Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd................................ 96 (Including Indicators & Monitors)
element14 India Pvt Ltd ....................... Front Cover ViscoTec India Private Limited .............................. 7 LWI Electronics Inc. ............................................ 23 Siglent Technologies Co., Ltd...............................11
EFY Magazine Attractions During 2020

Month Theme/Focus Areas Artificial Intelligence Tech Focus eStyle Buyers’ Guide MARKET SURVEY
January Anniversary Issue/ AI for Smart Home and Smart Smart Consumers Driving Smart Laptops Priced Under ` 25k Growth of Electronics R&D
Tech Trends City Industries Segment in India
February Augmented and Extended AI for News, Publishing and AR-Based Solutions for Top AR and VR Headsets Market Ratio for AR and VR
Reality Writing Businesses
March Automotive and Electric AI in Logistics and Intelligent Transportation and Mobil- Top Solar-Powered Vehicles Automotive versus EV
Vehicles Transportation ity Systems
April Healthcare AI in Telemedicine and Role of Data Analytics in Healthcare AI-Based Healtcare Equipment Role of Wearables
Telehealth for Hospitals
May Quantum Computing AI for Manufacturing High-Performance Computing - Top Quantam Computing Platforms Edge and Cloud Computing
QuantumComputing for 2020
June Drones and Quadcopters AI and Hybrid Drones AI in Surveillance and Security Upcoming Drones for Industry Drones in Delivery and
Manufacturing Logistics
July Strategic Electronics AI for Military Operations AI and ML to Enhance the Powerful Smartphones with Signal Processing in
Performance of Semiconductors and Powerful Batteries and Processors Communication
Electronics
August Education and Skill AI in Education Industry Technologies in Education and Skill Cutting-Edge Gadgets Making Schools Electronics in Education and Skill
Development Development and Classrooms Smarter Development
September AI, Robotics and Cobots AI in Humanoid Robots Exoskeletons for Healthcare Top AI-Powered Speakers Industrial Automation Through Robots
Under ` 15k and Cobots
October Renewable Energy AI in Fighting Global Climate Electricity from Snow, Plastic Top Solar and Wind Power Panels Transition from Conventional to
Change and Any Other Raw Materials (Other Renewable Sources of Energy
Than Water and Solar)
November Bots and Conversational Apps AI in Customer Service Industry Robotic Process Automation Top Free Bots and Conversational Apps Chatbots Prospects in Businesses
December Blockchain AI and Blockchain - A Perfect Blockchain for Travel and Tourism Top Antivirus Software for Malware Database Management with
Match Blockchain
In addition, there will be regular series every month on subjects such as: Plus, subjects such as the following will be covered more or less in each issue:
 Smart World  Do-It-Yourself  eStyle  Automation
 Test & Measurement  Market Survey  New Products  Healthcare
 Design/R&D  Startup Zone  Tech News  The Internet of Things (IoT)
 Artificial Intelligence  Interviews  Industry News  Wireless/5G

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may 2020 | Vol. 52 No.

Since January 1969

20 EXPLORATION: Do Space Rovers Promise 46 COMMUNICATION: Emerging Wireless Next Issue

tech focus Newsstand : Ph: 011-40596600, 8800295612

60 Enjoy This Wireless 3D Mouse And

EFY MAGAZINE GOING is not user-friendly. I request you to

6 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

2). Electrodes located power

8 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

Remote health monitoring system to combat Covid-19

VersaTouch brings touch localisation and force sensing

10 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

New scavenger technology allows robots to eat metal

12 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

Small, precise and affordable gyroscope for navigating with GPS

Smart and customised light solutions based on open source

14 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

A level 1 or level 2 charging station

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 15

2 Scope And Impact Of

16 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

3 Quantum Dots Transforming

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 17

18 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 19

tion because of better service compared

20 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

22 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

24 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

Design Your Own Electric

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 25

Fig. 3: Block diagram of HT45F5Q-2

module, which can that are needed for charging process.

26 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

electronics For You • may 2020

Fig. 5: EV charger schematic for 48V/12A

28 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

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30 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 31

32 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

We Lost The Tail,

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 33

34 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 35

Neural Network Preceptors:

Hidden Hidden Hidden

How deep learning mechanism reads a happy face

36 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 37

processes and setups. AI is being employed

38 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 39

40 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com

Touch The Future Together

Typing/selecting an icon Flicking a finger Zoom in or out/

Fig. 1: Multi-touching in smartphones or tablets Fig. 2: Multi-touch technology

www.EFYMag.com electronics For You • may 2020 41

42 may 2020 • electronics For You www.EFYMag.com