In many big bungalows, houses, rowhouses, or farmhouses, we may find an automatic GATE or automatic garage door. Such a gate or door opens automatically when the owner’s CAR arrives, and, after some time, it closes automatically. There’s no need for any gate-man (chowkidar or Gurkha) to open-close the gate or door when the car…
Use of AI for cybersecurity
Given the plethora of cyber threats, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a highly valuable domain as it involves leveraging AI to identify and stop cyber-attacks with a minimum of human intervention. AI tools and techniques autonomously identify, discover, predict, justify, act, and learn about potential cybersecurity threats without needing much human intervention. In the…
Building the foundations of a smarter future with standards
By Aurindam Bhattacharya, C-DOT representative in Government Departments Back in 2015, the Government of India launched the Smart Cities Mission program with the ultimate goal of developing 100 smart cities by 2022. The aim is to create cities that provide essential infrastructure, provide a decent standard of living for its citizens, and create a sustainable…
Technological advances in smart city development
Urbanization is a rapidly-growing phenomenon. As per the United Nations estimates, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. All this necessitates the development of smart-city initiatives backed by environmental, social, and economic sustainability to keep pace with the rapid expansion that will impinge heavily on cities’ resources worldwide. Among many…
RPi Python Programming 13: TTK menus, layout management, events & multi-threading
In the previous tutorial, we covered Tkinter and TTK widgets. With the help of these widgets, we’ll create user interfaces to control embedded electronics. We have already created a blank GUI window for our Raspberry Pi (RPi) embedded electronics control app. In this tutorial, we’ll learn about TTK menus and create one for our RPi…
Arduino-based LED chaser with 13 different lighting patterns
An LED chaser or sequencer is a popular LED driving circuit. It’s used in running-light rope displays to flash different lighting patterns. In a chaser or sequencer circuit, a controller commands the sequence and timing of the flashing LEDs to illuminate different kinds of lighting patterns. This LED chaser is built on Arduino UNO. Arduino is…
Brain implants – Can they make the blind see?
Recent advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology promise restoration of functional sight to the blind through sending signals straight to the brain’s visual cortex. Similar to cochlear implant that has done wonders for the deaf, research is under way to restore visual perception to the blind through an implant that work by stimulating the visual cortex…
Wireless power — fuel of the future
Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) is a technology that allows the transfer of electric power without wires. Based on technologies using electric, magnetic, or electromagnetic fields, WPT is capable of supplying power from a standard AC source to the batteries and devices which are compatible, without any physical connectors. This technology utilizes the electromagnetic field generated…
Role of AI in legal practice
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been making inroads into nearly all walks of life today. It has led to a paradigm shift in various fields, necessitating the reinvention of their operating and business models. Defined as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines” that employ “cognitive computing” (enabling computers to learn, reason, perceive, infer, communicate,…
iBASE introduces signaturePro 12-Port video wall signage player with outstanding capabilities
iBASE recently introduced its SignaturePro SP-63E multi-port video-wall signage player. A unique product, it is equipped with Intel vPro Core processors and Intel Arria 10FPGA modules and Intel MARS (Media Accelerator Reference Software) technology. The integrated processor platform of SP-63E allows it to offer cost-effective video wall solutions with a promise of optimum performance. It…
How advances in 5G and IoT will impact technology
This year has been characterized by rapid changes in engineering technology and production. For example, wearables that used to only track the date, time, and a user’s steps can now monitor one’s blood pressure, sleep habits, and stress levels. This means devices, including smartphones, must provide real-time data on multiple variables whenever requested to be…
Three digital engineering trends that will shape future workplaces
Technology has radically shifted how organizations do business, form partnerships, relate to customers, and succeed in today’s consumer marketplace. Digital adoption has provided companies with major opportunities to market products, reach a greater customer base, and speed interactions and decisions. However, much of these opportunities are dependent on leveraging the ideal technology and using it…
Autonomous vehicle – Long, bumpy road ahead
As AV (autonomous vehicle) technology undergoes continuous improvement, the sight of AVs taking to city streets is gradually veering into the realm of probability. Major automobile manufacturers have begun to invest significant resources in AV research. It is estimated that the auto industry globally has invested $80 billion in AV development in the last three…
Feasibility of an all-renewable electric grid
Given the imminent threat of climate change due to excessive consumption of fossil fuels, the need to have fully renewable electric grids has acquired critical urgency. To achieve this, we need to run everything on electricity – vehicles, trains, buildings, industrial applications, and so on. But is the transition to a post-fossil-fuel future really feasible,…
India to develop local electronics manufacturing hub
The Indian government is currently developing policies that support an electronic components manufacturing hub in the country. The intent is to develop a supply chain that encourages electronic exports. “We are right now moving [forward] with policies for producing sub-assemblies…and component manufacturing in India,” said Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and…
5G – Towards a ubiquitous world
The fifth-generation or 5G wireless technology started hitting the market towards 2018-end. Now it is on the threshold of picking up momentum across the world. Among other things, 5G wireless networks herald the progression from mobile internet to massive IoT (Internet of Things) applications, tactile internet, and robotics. The technology is expected to establish a…
Fujitsu’s Auth Conductor V2 promises to take biometric authentication to next level
Fujitsu recently launched the Fujitsu Security Solution AuthConductor V2 that makes use of various authentication precesses like palm vein authentication. It guarantees a very comprehensive biometric authentication support to its clients. Along with this, it will provide a very unified palm vein authentication office environment. Primary highlights of the product include fingerprint authentication, IC card…
Electromechanical and SSR relays characteristics and how-to DIY
Replacing vacuum tubes with transistors made it possible to switch between logic states with a minute amount of power consumption and in a relatively smaller space. This article will focus on logic switching. Not much has changed with electrical switching technologies, although there have been some innovations around various techniques to switch electrical loads. Still,…
How consumer demands are pushing IoT developments forward
The Internet-of-Things (IoT) sector is driven largely by consumer demand for greater personal information in real-time. The ability for smartphones and wearables to track health and fitness (such as heart rates and steps) offer a couple of examples of such personal information, thanks to the Internet-of-Things. Smart homes, which include smart appliances (such as a…
How System-on-Chip developments will benefit consumer IoT
New developments in System-on-Chip (SoC) devices — which provide optimal energy and connectivity characteristics and sensor integration — are expected to gain momentum in the market. Essentially, SoC is an integrated circuit that includes all components, such as a central processing unit, memory, and others, on a single microchip. Although these first-generation chips are already…