Canon India Showcased Cinema EOS and Professional Video Products innovation at Broadcast India Show 2017

Canon, the ace player in global imaging industry showcased its varied range of products at the Broadcast India Show from October 12-14, 2017. Organized at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon – Mumbai, this show has become a coveted platform for the Television, Film and Infotainment industry in India.

The stall was inaugurated by  Kazutada Kobayashi – President & CEO, Canon India. The attraction of the stall was the latest flagship main stream Cinema EOS camera C700 for motion picture industry and Cinema EOS C200, a revolutionary video camera with inbuilt 4K Raw and high frame rate capabilities. In the professional video cameras range it was XA 11, which is the newly launched model.

Commenting on Canon’s participation in the Broadcast Show,  Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India, said, “Innovation and advancement have always been pivotal in our endeavor of empowering the world of imaging. Keeping customer delight as the focal point for all our innovations, we continuously engage with our customers through leading industry platforms, like Broadcast India Show. Having exhibited our prowess in the photography world over the years, we are now strengthening our footprint into the cinema business in the country. This year’s showcase will witness some of the best of our technology in the Cinema EOS and Professional Video cameras.”

Remarking on Canon India's product showcase at Broadcast India Show 2017, Eddie Udagawa, Vice President, Consumer Imaging and Information Centre, Canon India, said, “Canon has been a world leader in providing imaging solutions. Platforms such as Broadcast India Show enable us to showcase a plethora of products. This year we are highlighting our flagship main stream Cinema EOS camera C700.  We are also highlighting Cinema EOS C200, a revolutionary video camera with inbuilt 4K Raw and high frame rate capabilities. The events like these give us an opportunity to reach out to businesses and eminent broadcasters at the exhibition”.

Brief Information on the new products

1.       Canon Cinema EOS C700

Canon Cinema EOS C700 can shoot up to 4.5K resolution along with 120 fps in 4K & 4.5K resolution in RAW  and 240 fps in 2K (crop mode). The camera also comes in EF, PL and PL GS mount with global shutter technology. The dynamic range of camera holds up to 14 stops and 15 stops in two different models of EOS C700.

2.       Cinema EOS C200

The Cinema EOS C200 is revolutionary camera with inbuilt 4K Raw in Raw file format and high frame rate capabilities. The Raw light helps to reduce the file size significantly lighter compared to a standard Raw file. The 8.85 megapixel super 35 mm CMOS sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range, Dual pixel CMOS AF, full compatibility with Canon EF-mount lenses and HDR capability help make the camera ideal for wide range of shooters.

3.       Professional Video Camera XA 11

A compact, professional Full HD camcorder with a powerful 20X zoom and wide dynamic range provides stunning image quality. With Canon’s HD CMOS Pro Sensor and the powerful DIGIC DV4 Image Processor with improved low-light performance, the XA11 captures superb Full HD video in 50P at 35Mbps with wide dynamic range of 600%.

The other major products which were showcased at the Broadcast India Show are-

1.       Cinema EOS Range: Cinema EOS C300 Mark II

2.       Professional Video Camera Range: XC 15, XA 305, ME 20, XA 30/ 35

3.       Cine Lenses: Zoom Lens, Block lens and Cine Servo Lens

Zoom Lens

·         CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L S

·         CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L SP

Block Lens

·         CN-E14mm T3.1 L F

·         CN-E24mm T1.5 L F

·         CN-E35mm T1.5 L F

·         CN-E50mm T1.3 L F

·         CN-E85mm T1.3 L F

·         CN-E135mm T2.2 L F

Cine Servo Lens

·         CN7 X 17 KAS S/E1

·         CN-E70-200mm T4.4 L IS KAS S

·         CN-E18-80mm T4.4 L IS KAS S

ThoughtWorks Accelerates Growth with New Office in Koramangala, Bengaluru

ThoughtWorks, a global software consultancy recently opened a new office in Whitefield, Bengaluru, to leverage the city’s diverse talent pool, and to accommodate the year on year growth of more than 20% for the next five years.

The new ThoughtWorks office in the subcontinent, will spearhead the company’s future-focused technology and digital products. The space will adopt a shared service model which aims to create a common pool of people who collaborate across capabilities, around data and product development. The new office with a 300-people seating capacity will also leverage tech-community events, for wider networking that caters to data and digital interests.

ThoughtWorks India’s new office has already mapped its growth to developing digital innovations specifically for its Global In-house Center (GIC) customers. Some of these commitments span APAC, UK and global players, across the hyperlocal transport, energy management and retail sectors.

Additionally, the space will follow through on a mandate to advance technology and economic growth on a global scale. This will happen through programmes designed to help start-ups, enterprises and governments navigate global megatrends from theory to strategic implementation, using a Tech@Core approach. ThoughtWorks has identified five ‘Seismic Shifts’ that are key technology bets on what will transform organizations across the world. These five shifts are listed as; evolving interactions, humanity augmented, rise of the platforms, security-privacy-transparency and rise of the robots.

“This expansion is only a step in our comprehensive business expansion strategy for the country, aimed at the year on year growth of more than 20% for the next 5 years. The new space will exponentially boost our local supply market with specific focus on digital, product and data capabilities. The new office will also nurture digitally-led innovation to capitalize on technology driven opportunities for our current and future customers,” said Sameer Soman and Sudhir Tiwari, Directors, ThoughtWorks India.

Apart from this new space in Whitefield, ThoughtWorks has other offices across India - Koramangala in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Coimbatore.

30 Students Receive International Teacher’s Training Certification from Akshar Yoga

Akshar Yoga, one of the leading yoga training centers in the country, conferred 30 of students with its esteemed International Teachers Training Programme Certification on Saturday. The course, which is skillfully designed for serious practitioners of yoga, every year, receives participation from different parts of the world including Germany, Australia, Turkey, China, Japan, USA, France and Iran among others. Teachers Training Programmes from Akshar Yoga will be offered in countries like Sri Lanka and Germany by the next year.

This year’s grand convocation ceremony graced by Christian Friedrich Pohl, Director of International Affiliation, Indian Economic Trade Organization Asif Iqbal, President, Indian Economic Trade Organization, Dr Mamatha Devraj, Director Mamdev Yoga Hub, was conducted at Akshar Yoga, Sadashivnagar, Bangalore.

Akshar Yoga, the brainchild of Akshar, is one of the largest chains of Yoga academies specializing in professional Teacher Training Programs in India. Known to have trained close to 1800 teachers from all over the world, Akshar Yoga offers training program that includes multi-style yoga, which focuses on numerous styles of yoga rather than one main style. The multi style yoga, a hugely popular form of yoga, is also categorized into Power Yoga- a form Akshar Yoga is synonymous with, and traditional styles of Ashtanga Yoga and Hatha Yoga. This form of Yoga allows students to delve deep into the different forms of yoga, without compromising on its authenticity and thereby gives students the confidence to be an international yoga trainer. The wide variety of different styles the students can choose from makes the programme unique and versatile at the same time.

The Teachers Training programme has gained widespread popularity over the years, especially from the youth of today. The programme attempts to leverage the essence of the ancient form of Himalayan yoga for the enhancement of the wellbeing of the mankind by popularizing its therapeutic properties. The certified teachers from Akshar Yoga have already received invites from different countries to conduct workshops in these respective nations. Akshar Yoga will be offering Hatha Yoga and Ashtanga Teacher Training Programs from 2018 onwards.

While being a member of the prestigious World Yoga Organization, it has also received certificates from top ISO certified schools from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Micro-Lending Platform KrazyBee Raises US$ 8M in Series A Funding

KrazyBee, the Bangalore-based micro-lending platform primarily focused towards purchase finance, has raised 8M USD in a Series A financing led by Xiaomi Technologies and Shunwei Capital. Others who participated in the investment are E-city Ventures and RK Group. The Series A funding is a mix of equity and debt (majorly equity). The total composite funding received by KrazyBee till date is US$13M that includes a Seed Fund of US$2M and Pre-Series A funding of US$ 3M. The latest round of funding will be used for strengthening the risk model & algorithm, catering to new market segments and focusing on product diversification & geographical expansion in existing segments.

Speaking on the occasion of the Series A fund raise, Madhusudan E., Founder & CEO of KrazyBee, said, “KrazyBee’s mission is to make credit for young professionals and college students in India accessible and affordable. Financial independence among young adults is the need of the hour. A solution which helps them avail personal finance at maximum ease and minimum time is going to win the game in this market.” Earlier this year in June 2017, KrazyBee got an NBFC (Non-Banking Financial Corporation) License from The Reserve Bank of India, which gives it a lot of flexibility to source and manage funds. There are 6 other NBFCs that are lending on the platform currently. “We realized very early that to grow and sustain in this industry, having a steady source and lower cost of funds is quintessential, and this had been our focus right from the very beginning,” mentioned Madhusudan.

“We are actively working towards a risk algorithm that helps us achieve a system-generated decision on every profile, and we are optimizing that further in terms of efficiency & accuracy. Also, being in the Fintech space, compliance is the key and hence, we follow all the regulations very strictly,” added Madhusudan.

Shirley Mao, Investment Director at Xiaomi Technologies, said, “The Indian demography has a large population of urban young adults that spends a lot online & offline. For such an enormous ecosystem, the need for urgent personal finance for purchase requirements is highly underserved. An appropriate focus towards tech-based credit evaluation and compliant sourcing of funds can help capture and penetrate this market big time."

KrazyBee's current portfolio includes e-commerce purchase, cash credit, two-wheeler credit, college semester/tuition fees credit among others. The current segment being served comprises of young professionals and UG/PG students under the age of 30. KrazyBee currently has more than 3 Lakh registered users out of which over 50,000 active confirmed users are using the platform regularly. KrazyBee currently operates in close to 800 colleges in India. In each of these colleges, they have one or more student Campus Managers, depending on college strength. Currently there are nearly 1000 Campus Managers across all the cities. Apart from having an Android & iOS app of KrazyBee for customers (with 3 Lakh + installations), KrazyBee has an app exclusive to its army of Campus Managers. This app is used by the CMs to do the customer KYC. The UX is very seamless, and helps CMs close the entire KYC within 150 seconds. KrazyBee has also come up with an option for the customers to e-verify themselves after completing their profile. All they needs is their phone number to be linked to their Aadhaar Card.

KrazyBee raised 2M USD in Seed Round during June 2016 from Fenqile (the largest micro-lending platform for young adults in China) and VC Firm YeahMobi. During December 2016, KrazyBee raised a Pre-Series A funding of US$ 3M from VC Firm Plum Ventures (followed by seed round investors). The micro-lending platform has been operating across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mysore and Vellore, and has recently expanded to Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Nashik and Manipal. As of today, it processes nearly 1700 loan applications every day, and boasts of an NPA score of less than 1%. Till date, a credit line of over Rs 150 Crore has been rolled out by KrazyBee in less than 18 months, out of which over 50% has been utilized. The average size of an e-commerce purchase via the platform is close to Rs 12,000.

KrazyBee was co-founded by Madusudan E. and Wan Hong in May 2016. Madhusudan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal and was previously the Business Development Lead at Chinese telecom equipment and smartphone maker Huawei. Hong is a graduate from Wuhan University of China and has over 10 years of experience in Huawei. Even though Madhusudan is from a Product & Business Development background, he has been into personal finance for nearly 10 years and understands the sector both at a microscopic & macroscopic level. Together with Wan Hong and a few other colleagues from Huawei, he ventured out to build a tech platform that would cater to the young adults of India who require credit in a simple accessible way. The founding team includes graduates from IIM Bangalore, IIM Indore and NUS, among others.

Kionix's New KX220 Analog Accelerometers for the Industrial Market

Kionix is pleased to announce the release of the KX220 sensor series, a new family of medium-g, tri-axis Analog Accelerometers.   Initially two versions are available: the KX220-1071 and the KX220-1072, providing +/-20g and +/-40g ranges respectively.  Maximum supported bandwidths range from 4.5kHz to 8kHz.  Both sensors have built-in self-test functions, consume only 0.25mA at 3.3V and are delivered in 10-pin 3mm x 3mm LGA packages.

"The fast pace of digital sensor technologies in the consumer space is well known," states Nader Sadrzadeh, CEO of Kionix.  "However, industrial companies are now recognizing the benefits of these technologies and are accelerating their investment in them to bring greater efficiency, lower costs, and improved operations.  But unlike the consumer market, with its short upgrade cycles, it often doesn't make sense in the industrial sector to cast aside existing infrastructure and directly upgrade to digital solutions due to the significant capital already invested, the long lifetimes of equipment, and the need to ensure continuity.  So although digital rules in the consumer world, analog is still very alive and often preferred in industrial applications.  Recognizing this need, Kionix is complementing its high bandwidth, medium-g digital offerings with the addition of the KX220 series of analog accelerometers."

Since the typical application of industrial sensors are monitoring machines and physical processes, the g-range and bandwidth requirements are typically higher than those in hand held consumer devices.  These sensors are targeted to assist in applications ranging from vibration monitoring to shock and impact detection and measurement.  Markets served are Machine Health and Diagnostic Monitoring, Robotics and Automation, and Manufacturing Process Control.

Sample Availability: Now

Unity 2017.2 Gives Artists and Designers the Power to Unleash Their Full Creativity in 2D, 3D and XR

Unity Technologies (https://unity3d.com/), creator of the world’s most popular creation engine that reaches nearly 3 billion devices worldwide, announced that Unity 2017.2 is now available to download from the Unity Store. Unity 2017.2 is the most powerful content creation toolset to-date, delivering an end-to-end solution for 2D games and XR creation, as well as optimized support for ARCore, ARKit, Windows Mixed Reality and Vuforia.

“Unity 2017 was the start of a new cycle that evolves the world’s most popular game engine into an ever-expanding creation engine for gaming and a wide range of real-time entertainment,” said Adam Myhill, Head of Cinematics, Unity. “Unity 2017.2 continues this evolution, by providing enhanced visual tools that truly empower and inspire artists and designers to do what they do best: create amazing content. We believe the power and flexibility within 2017.2 allows for improved experimentation, rapid iteration and a deeper collaboration between disciplines, which is the backbone for truly stunning creations.”

Unity 2017.2 key features include:

●     2D Tilemap and Cinemachine for 2D: Designed to empower 2D creators, 2017.2 offers a complete suite of 2D tools, including the new 2D Tilemap tool for fast creation and iteration cycles. In addition, the new Cinemachine for 2D offers intelligent, easy to create camera behaviours with automatic composition, tracking, priorities and blending

●        Support and Further MR Optimization for the Latest Platforms: Unity currently powers 2/3rds of all AR/VR content, and now with further optimization for ARCore, ARKit, Windows Mixed Reality, and Vuforia, Unity developers will be able to reach over 1 billion AR-capable devices by the end of 2018. Unity makes it easy for developers to create MR experiences for supported devices, as well as add AR to existing apps to help drive user engagement and revenue growth

●        Collaboration with Autodesk to Improve Creation Workflow: Unity 2017.2 is the first creation engine that has source code access to Autodesk’s FBX SDK and that provides improved creation workflow for better iteration and decision-making. Unity and Autodesk are working together to directly and dramatically improve FBX support, and enable high-fidelity round-tripping between Maya/Max and Unity

Unity exists to democratize development, solve hard problems and enable success -- three core values that are the driving forces of Unity’s adoption by millions of creators. Unity powers more than 50% of all new mobile games and over 2/3rds of all AR and VR content. Interactive content made with Unity reaches nearly 3 billion devices worldwide.

Unity 2017.2 subscription plans are available with enhanced features and services to support customers’ needs. Unity Pro represents the top of the line in professional-grade tools while Unity Plus offers serious creators who intend to publish additional tools and services to help them succeed. Custom-tailored enterprise solutions are also available for teams of 21 or more. For hobbyists and aspiring creators, Unity Personal provides all the core features they need to get started for free.

USIF and The Chopra’s Collaborate For EB-5 Visa in India; Applications likely to Double Over the Years

The Chopras, a leading higher education business in exclusive partnership with U.S. Immigration Fund are bringing families in India the opportunity to invest in a global future to enable business, education, career and residential opportunities in the United States. As per the latest USIF report, the total number of EB-5 visa applications in the country numbered 150 in 2016 and likely to shoot up to 300 in 2017 and double again to 600 during 2018.

An official series of exclusive seminars across the nation are educating investors and families on the details of the EB-5 program and the process of obtaining US Green Card Status via high quality real estate investments.

The EB-5 visa program offers foreign investors to invest $500,000 into a qualified project. The project should successfully create 10 full-time jobs for U.S. worker’s basis which the individual and his/her immediate family is given a permanent green card.

Speaking on the occasion,  John Linn, Director of Asia-Pacific Operations at U.S. Immigration Fund, said, “As Indian economy is growing at a rapid pace, there is a lot of exchange between our neighboring countries to facilitate and furthermore business opportunities. Such seminars will prove to be a beneficial exchange of culture and employment opportunity where potential investors can make use of long term benefits extended by the US government. This is a great investment vehicle and has huge potential in generating multiple jobs and in turn rich dividends to the investors.”

Shan Chopra, Managing Partner, The Chopra Group added “Our partnership is focused on advancing opportunity for individuals and families in education, careers and business in the United States. Global mobility and access are in high demand in an emerging India, and our offering provides freedom and flexibility to many aiming to build a global future for their families. We’re excited to be in the early phases of developing a program that has intrinsic value for all stakeholders and is sure to see a steep growth curve over the next 18-24 months in India”. 

The seminar enlightened the future investors on the benefits and nuances of this U.S. EB-5 Investment program. The summit also focused on planning the future for U.S. college education and having a complete understanding of all the visa options. Both firms are working closely to establish a dedicated Investor Relations arm to manage the needs of their clients from start to finish in the execution of the EB-5 investor visa. The EB-5 investment opportunity is available in all offices operated by The Chopras across 20 cities, and growing.

The U.S. Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990 to enable high net worth Foreign Investors to obtain a U.S. Visa by investing in a U.S. business that will benefit the economy and create more jobs.

The EB-5 seminar was scheduled to take place in five cities in India out of which Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Delhi were successfully conducted. The programme agenda and relevant information for the roadshows in the cities mentioned above is available on the website of The Chopras.