Cisco Announces $1 Billion Program for Smart Cities in India

So-called "smart cities" have less pollution, safer streets, and better quality of life for citizens. But many finance officers struggle to fund the upgrades that will make their cities smart. To help, Cisco today introduced the City Infrastructure Financing Acceleration Program. It is a $1 billion program aimed to make it easier, faster, and more affordable for cities around the world to fund and adopt technologies that will transform their communities.

The funding will be provided through Cisco Capital® in partnership with private equity firm Digital Alpha Advisors and pension fund investors APG Asset Management (APG) and Whitehelm Capital.  

"Funding is a major stumbling block for municipalities beginning their smart city transformation," said Anil Menon, Global President of Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities. "With our partners, Cisco will bring the capital and expertise it takes to make smart city projects a reality. Digital Alpha, APG, and Whitehelm Capital bring a fresh perspective on investment in an area that has previously been perceived as too new and, therefore, too difficult to finance."

The program helps cities assemble the right type or suite of finance instruments to fund and deploy innovative technology with minimal initial investment. Whether a city is looking to reduce energy usage, ease traffic and parking, or boost public transportation ridership and revenues, the program will help cities with solutions. Revenue-share financing, for instance, even allows a city to tie financing to desired outcomes and extend future operating budgets through revenue streams from the new services that a digitized infrastructure makes possible.

Additionally, today at the Smart City Expo World Congress, Cisco is announcing added functionality to its newly renamed connected digital platform, Cisco® Kinetic for Cities, which integrated with the Cisco Kinetic IoT data platform. The new features provide enhanced support for public safety. From the new full-policy automation options to an improved dashboard with integrated video, updates to the platform put citizen safety first. Real-time notification of emergency information now draws on additional IoT data sources and Cisco Spark™ Collaboration, enabling faster emergency response.

Cisco has also announced new purchasing options for Cisco Kinetic for Cities, including prepackaged starter solutions, which combine the Cisco IoT data platform, solution, and services with those from our ecosystem partners into ready-to-roll-out, end-to-end solution suites.

Cisco has added a number of new Cisco Kinetic for Cities customers. The Town of Cary, North Carolina, for instance, has created a "Living Lab" providing smart city technologies to improve the lives of citizens. Using the Cisco Kinetic for Cities platform, town officials can actively monitor the number of available parking spots—particularly spots for the handicapped—to gauge use and help with planning. "The Cisco Kinetic for Cities platform provides us the tools we need to positively affect our citizens' lives," said Terry Yates, Infrastructure and Network Manager, Town of Cary, North Carolina. 

Samsung Innovation Awards 2017 Held at IIT-Kanpur to Recognize Young with Path-breaking Ideas

Samsung India conducted the 7th edition of the annual Samsung Innovation Awards at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur in association with Entrepreneurship Cell. Samsung Innovation Awards aim to recognize and reward innovations that have the potential to revolutionize everyday living and enable students to take their ideas to the next level.

The first prize went to the team that included Kshitij Jaggi, Kumar Shivang and Rishabh Sahu who worked on a peer to peer financial transaction app using Blockchain technology in a distributed environment. The vision of the team is to enable financial inclusion of chit fund subscribers with Circle, a mobile first solution for organisers to easily manage the members, bringing in transparency in the whole process and creating credit history for all Indians.

Insomniatec, comprising students Kaustubh Mundra and Sankalp Rastogi, won the second prize for proposing a project that uses an infra-red camera coupled with computer vision technology to detect drowsiness in a vehicle driver while in motion and provides in-time alerts.

One of the projects, Muskan Solid Waste, consisting Hari Shankar and co-founder Mewa Lal found a special mention at the awards. This is a start-up that converts organic waste into high yielding compost. The technique used reduces time for composting and produces more efficient manure compared to artificial fertilizers.

The awards were presented by Dr Aloknath De, Chief Technology Officer, Samsung R&D Institute, India – Bangalore (SRI-B). The winners were given cash prizes worth INR 2.5 lakh while the five finalists received merit recognition from Samsung.

Samsung Innovation Awards 2017 saw an overwhelming response, with eight teams getting an opportunity to present their ideas to the jury comprising Dr. Aloknath De from SRI-B and professors from IIT-Kanpur—Dr. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay from the Department of Biological Sciences & Bioengineering (BSBE), Prof. Sandeep Shukla from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Kanpur.

Samsung R&D Institute – Bangalore will engage with the award winners to further develop their innovations.

“Through the platform of Samsung Innovation Awards, we want to encourage students to work on innovative ideas in evolving areas of artificial intelligence, computer vision and IOT. When we see diverse and quality projects in these emerging technology areas, we can sense the pulse of our youth. Novelty of ideas, comprehensiveness in execution and impact of solution are yardsticks in selecting the winners. Samsung has been supporting deep-tech innovation at large and this year’s event in IIT-Kanpur is one such initiative,” said Dr. Aloknath De, Chief Technology Officer, Samsung R&D Institute, India – Bangalore.

Cutting-edge innovations were showcased at the competition. The innovative product ideas and solutions presented this year ranged from a cloud-based healthcare data management system to an intelligence platform for law enforcement and defence agencies.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship ought to become an integral part of institutions of academic and higher technical learnings. We must quickly transform into an innovation driven society where young minds understand societal needs, carve out opportunities and take calculated risks to become job creators and leaders. We are happy that corporates such as Samsung are coming forward to help us create the desired ecosystem at IIT Kanpur,” said Sameer Khandekar, Associate Dean, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur.

The 2017 edition of the Samsung Innovation Awards was initiated at IIT-Kanpur campus six months ago through an open entry process, where students submitted their innovative ideas. The shortlisting process was led by professors from IIT-Kanpur and researchers from SRI-B, who also selected the eight finalists.

The final teams presented their ideas to the jury at the IIT-Kanpur campus. The winning project was selected based on the degree of innovation, feasibility, usability, relevance and overall impact on masses.

Conceptualised in 2011, the Samsung Innovation Awards seek to support and encourage young talent who have an innovative approach and look to improvise different systems and processes. Further, it aims to develop indigenous products and services for fulfilling mass needs thereby transforming lives and creating sustainable solutions for the benefit of the society at large.

Over the years, Samsung Innovation Awards have become one of the most eagerly awaited ideation contests at IIT’s due to enthusiastic participation from the student community. The first edition was conducted at IIT Delhi and since then Samsung Innovation Awards have been held at other major IITs. The last edition in 2016 was held at IIT Bombay and had witnessed great interest and enthusiasm from students. Samsung continues to provide the next generation of Indian innovators and entrepreneurs an avenue to showcase and advance their engineering skill sets.

Nasscom’s New Centres of Excellence on Artificial Intelligence, Data Science in Bengaluru

The software industry lobby Nasscom is setting up centres of excellence on artificial intelligence (AI) and data sciences for a better understanding on the emerging technologies, a top official has said.

With the tech world getting divided between whether or not to regulate AI, the body feels that technologies should be freely allowed to mature first before any regulation comes in, President R Chandrasekhar announced at the ongoing Bengaluru Tech Summit 2017.

“We are setting up a centre of excellence on AI and data sciences in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. They will look at mapping the resources available in the country, promoting start-ups in that area and also best practices globally, including regulatory aspects,” he told the media recently.

He, however, did not offer the investment that will go into these proposed centres nor a timeline as to when the first centre of excellence will be functional.

When sought his views on regulation of technologies, he said, “in the new-age technologies, regulation is important but it need not always precede the advent of technology as technology is evolving so quickly that regulation has only to keep pace with that.”

It can be noted that the tech world has been vertically divided over the aspect of regulation, with Tesla founder Elon Musk pitching for regulation, while Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg opposing it.

“Whichever side you are on, the time has not come to make laws which will guide behaviour of robots and create an IPC (Indian Penal Code) for robots,” Chandrashekhar quipped.

He said we have been too pessimistic because of the advent of new technologies and its impact on the sector, which gets US revenues of upwards of $150 billion and creates 4 million direct jobs.

Huawei’s India Campus Awarded Green Building Standard Certification by Indian Green Building Council

Huawei Technologies India announced that its software development campus in Bengaluru has been awarded Green Building Standard Silver Rating under the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

The assessment was conducted by IGBC covering five environmental categories which include sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

The one million sq. ft. campus built on 20 acres land in Whitefield, Bengaluru with an investment of USD 150 million was launched in 2015.

In line with Huawei’s corporate philosophy of protecting the environment, the Bengaluru campus was designed and built as a green building, adopting eco-friendly design and practices. Some of the highlights of the campus are:

·         Fully cloud-computing based environment to reduce energy consumption.

·         Solar power and natural lighting

·         Rainwater harvesting, sewage treatment plant, waste management

·         Eco-friendly glazing to reduce air-conditioning

·         Energy efficient motors, DG sets, Chillers

·         65% open space

As a leading global ICT solutions provider, Huawei follows a strategy of "Green Pipe, Green Operations, Green Partner, Green World". We explore innovative ways to maximize products' energy utilization efficiency and operating efficiency, and at the same time minimize our carbon footprint and negative environmental impacts. In addition, we invest in innovative green initiatives to provide energy-saving products and green ICT technologies that empower all industries – and even society as a whole – to decrease carbon emissions. Huawei Technologies India is engaged in developing software products and platforms in the areas of IP based data transmission networks, intelligent networks, BSS, OSS, terminal devices and future-oriented technologies including SDN, big data, cloud, mobile internet, digital services etc.

Komatsu Helps Improve Mining Performance with IIoT Platform Powered by Cloudera

Cloudera, Inc., the modern platform for machine learning and analytics, optimized for the cloud, announced that Komatsu, a leading global heavy equipment manufacturer, has implemented a cloud-based Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) analytics platform powered by Cloudera Enterprise and Microsoft Azure. The platform enables Komatsu teams to help mining customers around the world continuously monitor the performance of some of the largest equipment used in surface and underground mining, increase asset utilization and productivity, and deliver essential resources including energy and industrial minerals for the global economy.

Komatsu’s JoySmart Solutions is an IIoT-based service that helps customers optimize machine performance using machine data and analytics. The JoySmart platform ingests, stores and processes a wide variety of data collected from mining equipment operating around the globe, often at very remote locations in harsh conditions. Types of equipment monitored includes longwall mining systems, electric rope shovels, continuous miners and wheel loaders. Their data includes time-series metrics — machine pressures, temperatures, currents, etc. — alarm and event data, and other information from third party systems. A single machine can have hundreds to multiple thousand data metrics and generate 30,000-50,000 unique time-stamped records per minute.

“With increasing customer demand and more connected machines, we were looking at data growth reaching 30 terabytes per month. Our former environment limited our ability to scale, grow and innovate,” said Anthony Reid, senior manager of analytics at Komatsu. “With Cloudera’s modern platform, we use advanced data analytics and machine learning to power our IIoT success. We now provide customers with better recommendations on machine utilization and deliver services faster. In one example, we were able to make recommendations for a large coal mining company that enabled them to double the daily utilization of their Joy longwall system.”

“By deploying Cloudera Enterprise on Microsoft Azure, our teams make the invisible visible, gaining valuable insights to help customers optimize productivity and mining efficiencies. Cloudera delivered the fast performance, data security and customer support that allowed our teams to access machine data analytics and collaborate with different user groups across the world,” said Reid.

Komatsu data scientists can now build and deploy machine learning models faster to understand equipment operation, provide better insights for customers and ultimately influence future mining equipment design. Utilizing components such as Apache Kudu and Apache Spark, Komatsu can drive real-time processing, machine learning, and analytics on all of their IoT data, including data in motion and data at rest.

“Komatsu required a modern data platform that not only delivers next-generation machine learning and advanced analytics capabilities in the cloud, but is also scalable to increases in their customers’ equipment utilization and productivity,” said Dave Shuman, IoT and manufacturing industry leader at Cloudera. “With Cloudera, Komatsu can now use the vast amounts of data to help its mining customers manage increasing pressure to be environmentally smarter and more productive at a lower operation cost.”

Virgin Hyperloop One, GoK Signs MOU to Conduct Preliminary Study in India

VIRGIN HYPERLOOP ONE has announced its partnership with the Government of Karnataka to conduct its preliminary study to understand hyperloop’s feasibility and economic impact in the region. The US-based company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Karnataka Urban Development Department (KUDD) aimed at identifying potential routes to improve mobility in the Benguluru metropolitan area and connect high growth cities such as Tumakuru, Hubli-Dharwad and Hosur within the state. This MoU sees promise in hyperloop following the recent announcements on the company’s partnership with the Government of Maharashtra, the Government of Andhra Pradesh, and further expansion to other regions that are planned in India.

Virgin Hyperloop One’s technology strongly aligns with India’s planned industrial and economic corridors and will show potential promise in terms of transit-oriented development to accelerate the country’s economic growth. The company will be working with partners in the region and KUDD will help navigate the regulatory requirements and support the report with data. The preliminary study is intended toanalyse the applicability and benefits of hyperloop technology, identifying high priority routes within the State based on demand analysis and socio-economic benefits, and inform the Government of Karnataka in any future decision to progress to the full project stage.

“Bengaluru has been the IT hub of the country and all major giants have been functioning out of the region. The introduction of a technology like hyperloop will further add to the pace at which the state wants to grow,” said Minister Priyank Karghe, ITBT & Tourism, Government of Karnataka. “We are happy to partner with Virgin Hyperloop One for its preliminary study in our region and we hope to bring out some concrete solutions for the state swiftly.”

Since Virgin Hyperloop One built and successfully tested a full-scale hyperloop system at its test track in the Nevada desert this past summer, there has been a growing demand from governments and the private sectors around the world. In addition to India, Virgin Hyperloop One is working on projects in countries including the UAE, U.S., Canada, Finland and the Netherlands.

“We recognize the vital role of technology in larger initiatives like that of Digital India, and we strongly believe that Virgin Hyperloop One can be a strong addition to this initiative,” said Nick Earle, SVP Global Field Operations, Virgin Hyperloop One. “India is one of the most important geographies for developing hyperloop networks and reimagining the complete transportation system. With this preliminary study, we are excited to initiate the buildup of a strong foothold that we foresee in future throughout the state,” he added.

Embracing disruptive innovations like hyperloop will improve connectivity and accessibility to enable transportation within major cities in India in under two hours. This network could create the largest connected urban area in the world by linking nearly 75+ million people across the three metropolitan areas of the States of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh to improve global competitiveness, reduce congestion and emissions, and provide citizens with better social and economic mobility. As Karnataka is India’s hub for technology and innovation, it is certain to embrace a hyperloop transportation solution to support its growing manufacturing, technology, and scientific research industries. Some of the avenues where hyperloop could contribute are:

• Linking Bengaluru’s city center, IT hubs and industrial parks on the city’s periphery, by improving connections between fast-growing industrial hubs within the state such as Tumakuru, Hubli-Dharwad, Hosur, and Bengaluru

• Providing Bengaluru’s thriving tech and manufacturing employers with greater access to talent and enabling citizens to commute 10X farther in the same amount of time
• Improving air travel accessibility by connecting Bengaluru’s airport to the city center in minutes
• Creating freight corridors with surrounding cities, eventually extending to Chennai helping manufacturers to deliver freight to the closest port

"This preliminary study will help the Government of Karnataka explore how to provide its citizens with a cleaner, safer and faster mode of transportation,” said Harj Dhaliwal, Managing Director, Middle East & India, Virgin Hyperloop One. “Virgin Hyperloop One is the only company in the world that has successfully built and tested the first full scale hyperloop system. With this report, governments will be able to identify viable routes that link commercial and knowledge IT hubs dispersed throughout the region with greater mobility and unparalleled efficiency,” he added.

Gionee’s New M7 Power Allows Users to ‘Do More - Be More’ in India

Bolstering its product portfolio in the Indian market, Gionee India – one of the leading handset manufacturer in the country, unveiled its latest mobile marvel Gionee M7 POWER in India today. Bringing its brand ethos to life i.e. of launching products that are as unique as the people who use them, Gionee India is all set to launch its first handset that offers FullView Display and the exclusive 3D photo feature. These unique features will enable users to explore a whole new side to the world of visual experience and photography. With the launch of M7 POWER, Gionee further solidifies its positioning in the Indian market after securing a loyal customer base of 1.25 crore Indians.

M7 POWER distinguishes itself with next-generation full-view display, long-lasting battery and super performance. Equipped with a built-in 5000mAh high-quality Battery powered by intelligent management system, the phone possesses a 4GB RAM and a 64GB ROM to offer an upgraded user experience, assisting to multi task without latency.

This predominantly consumer friendly and durable device will be competitively priced at Rs 16,999, and will be available in three striking color options, i.e. Blue, Gold and Black across all retail stores in India starting November 25, 2017.

The device can be pre-booked on Amazon starting November 17-24, 2017.Customers who pre-book the device would avail exclusive offers that would entail a 6 months warranty for free one-time screen replacement, extra Rs 3000 off on exchange and 10GB extra data from Jio for 10 months on recharge of Rs 309 and above. Additionally, there will be no cost EMI on credit cards starting Rs 1417 per month.

Commenting on the launch, David Chang, Global Sales Director, Gionee India stated, “We have grown exponentially as a brand in the country over the last five years. India is at the cusp of smartphone revolution with new user base multiplying by manifolds and existing users graduating to newer and smarter devices. Betting big on this wave, Gionee has strategically decided to tap on its power to create smart products which are loaded with exclusive features, especially customized and localized for our growing consumer base in India. M7 Power is another intuitive product which in the true sense is a device that promises to empower its users with superior quality and seamless experience with many firsts to its credit from the 3D photo concept to a full view infinity display. Thus, reinforcing our ambition to be featured among the top 5 brands in 2018!”

Gionee M7 POWER is fortified with Full View Display complemented with Gorilla Glass 3 on the front side, which makes it clean and chic. With an 85% of higher screen-to-body ratio,M7 POWER’s wider field of vision offers a stunning visual experience while watching videos, playing games, reading and using the split-screen function.

In addition to its FullView display, M7 Power is a savvy choice; given the “ultra-long battery life” that is the DNA of the M Series, which helps ensure worry-free all-day use. M7 Power’s slim body houses a 5,000mAh high-quality Li-poly battery that offers a high-power density of 680 Wh/L. Gionee’s exclusive intelligent power management system efficiently controls power consumption. The extremely long battery life enables users to enjoy the best moments in life or at work to the fullest without worrying about “low battery”.     

M7 Power’s Qualcomm Snapdragon Octa-core Processor offers a basic frequency of up to 1.4GHz. The 4GB RAM ensures smooth and glitch-free operations whether for gaming or mobile office applications, enabling users to perform multitasks with ease. All this enables M7 Power to be extremely practical and stand out among competitor products in the same price range.  

M7 Power also excels in photo taking, equipped with a 13MP rear F2.0 camera and 8MP front camera, allowing it to quickly record user moments even under poor lighting conditions. Take selfies through the front camera with advanced software algorithms. M7 Power will automatically blur the background, making the selfie look more beautiful.

The 3D photo feature of the M7 power stands out as one of the key highlights. The user needs to go around an object to form a three-dimensional dynamic picture, post which a live photo can show the object with multiple angles for deeper details. Turn the phone or slide screen to enjoy the 3D picture -stroll around like you are in the middle of the scene. A brand new and fun experience for everyone.

M7 Power’s design beauty extends beyond its FullView display. The body of M7 Power is designed as an entire piece, available in three colours: Gold, Blue, and Black. A laser-engraving technique distinguishes the stamped aluminium body of the gold M7 Power, and laser drilling delivers a high-tech look on the black and blue M7 Power. These processes allow the metal body to have a diamond-like lustre too, showing different shades under different lights and at different angles.

Furthermore, as security remains the top priority for Gionee, M7 Power offers Private Space 2.0, fingerprint security and app lock to fully protect user security. Multi-function fingerprint identification can quickly unlock the phone in a safe and easy way. When taking a selfie, you can start the shutter by a simple touch, making the whole process more convenient. More functions are added on the fingerprint sensor; besides camera shutter, you can turn on Torch, Recorder or Camera in shortcut while screen is off or locked

Embedded with Amigo 5.0, the M7 POWER has a WhatsApp clone feature that enables users to create three WhatsApp accounts, allowing them to differentiate their personal and professional life.

The device allows a user to split screen, making it possible to juggle different activities on one screen at one time. Rooted with Intelligent eye protection, the device has a blue light filtering which protects the user’s eyes and reduces fatigue, making a long time use of the phone more comfortable.

Extending more power in the hands of the consumers Gionee India has also joined hands with PayTm and Jio to announce an exciting offer with this launch. Every purchase of Gionee M7 POWER will come with 2 PayTM Cashback Voucher Codes entitling customers with Rs 250 cash back on a base buy of Rs 350 from PayTM Mall. New or existing Jio Customers who purchase M7 POWER will get 10 GB data each month for a period of 10 months on any data recharge of Rs 309 and above.