4 Ways How Sustainable Technologies Can Help Protect Oceans - IEEE

Given that oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface, there’s no question that they’re a major factor in the sustainability equation. As such, a number of research efforts are underway to both harness their energy (and in turn reduce our carbon footprint), and to clean them up, making them more sustainable for future generations.

Harnessing the Ocean’s Energy
The ocean’s energy-generation potential is tremendous and could help lead us to a more sustainable planet. An overview in Proceedings of the IEEE covers three emerging technologies focused on the ocean: wave energy converters, ocean thermal energy converters and tidal current systems. Wave energy converters are oscillating bodies (like moorings, columns or man-made channels) that use the pressure of ocean waves to harness energy. Ocean thermal uses the temperature differential between the warmer ocean surface and the cold depths to drive a turbine. And tidal current systems are roughly similar to wind turbines, using the kinetic energy of tidal currents to generate power. All three have significant potential.

Making Offshore Wind Power More Efficient
In a new paper published by the IEEE Power & Energy Society, researchers looked into three potential methods of power transmission from offshore windfarms to see which would be most effective. After all, as they note early in the paper, “in the shallow Atlantic waters of the Northeast, proximate to large load centers, offshore wind could provide all the electricity now consumed by all Northeast coastal states three times over.” They compared three transmission scenarios involving alternating current, direct current with voltage-source conversion and a combination of the two. The combination was most efficient: “The lattermost allows large-scale developments of offshore wind power plants and can be technically superior, but only makes sense when analyzed at a scale greater than a single project.” In that sense, advanced planning of offshore wind farms would be essential.

Reducing Emissions from Shipping
When it comes to shipping, traffic isn’t just a concern for delivery trucks. Ocean routes get congested as well, taking longer for ships to get to their destinations, in turn leading to more emissions. In a paper on IEEE Access, researchers from Greece explain how they developed software that can detect which routes are most likely to be congested, those with the biggest impact on shipping times and alternate paths/ports that ships can use. With emissions controls getting more stringent in local waterways around the world, small ships like ferries and cruise ships have started incorporating hybrid power systems that use lithium-ion batteries to store energy. While there’s an appetite to apply hybrid technology to larger shipping vessels, it’s a complicated proposition.

Grappling with Microplastics and Pollution
Finally, microplastic waste is an issue that we’re still trying to understand. Technology has thus far been playing a role in discovering the geographic limits of it, with specific fixes still down the pipeline. Next steps on marine pollution will be a special topic at the upcoming OCEANS conference, which starts June 17th in Marseille, France. OCEANS brings together global marine technologists, engineers, students, government officials, lawyers and advocates, and is presented by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society and the Marine Technology Society.

High-Performance AMD Radeon GPUs to Power All-New Mac Pro

AMD has announced that its new AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs will be included in the all-new Mac Pro. Built on industry-leading 7nm process technology, AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs provide groundbreaking levels of graphics performance for computation-intensive tasks, including rendering, 8K video, video effects, and other high-end content creation workloads.

AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs provide exceptional computational performance by harnessing 7nm AMD Radeon Vega family GPUs, ultra-fast High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2), and AMD Infinity Fabric Link GPU interconnect technology that dramatically enhances data-transfer speeds between GPUs. Providing up to 14 TFLOPS of single-precision floating-point (FP32) performance and up to 28 TFLOPS of half-precision floating-point (FP16) performance, AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs are optimized for powering demanding professional applications.

“Today’s high-end professional content creation applications are driving an insatiable need for ever increasing levels of processing power and memory,” said Scott Herkelman, corporate vice president and general manager, Radeon Technologies Group at AMD. “Equipped with Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs, the new Mac Pro delivers the computational horsepower and memory bandwidth to power ultra-high screen resolutions and help dramatically accelerate compute and content creation workloads, enabling creative professionals to focus on unleashing their creativity and delivering amazing results.”

“AMD continues to develop amazing graphics technologies to accelerate workflows for professionals who rely on DaVinci Resolve for faster color correction and editing,” said Dan May, president, Blackmagic Design. “Radeon Pro Vega II delivers outstanding performance, especially when DaVinci Resolve is put to work with 8K video footage combined with various filters.”

Key capabilities and features of AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs include:

Leading-edge compute performance – The AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPU delivers up to 14 TFLOPS of single-precision FP32 performance and up to 28 TFLOPS of half-precision FP16 performance.
Support for Infinity Fabric Link GPU interconnect technology – With up to 84GB/s per direction low-latency peer-to-peer memory access1, the scalable GPU interconnect technology enables GPU-to-GPU communications up to 5X faster than PCIe® Gen 3 interconnect speeds2.
Ultra-fast HBM2 memory – 32GB of high-speed HBM2 memory delivers 1TB/s memory bandwidth, providing the memory capacity and data transfer speeds required by today’s high-resolution, multi-display setups, 8K video, and other demanding content creation workloads.

Health and Wellness Principal Drivers for Bangaloreans’ Organic Aspirations

Almost 91% of Bangaloreans would adopt an organic lifestyle even if it came at a price premium of up to 15%, according to new research from Godrej Nature’s Basket[1]. The principle motivation for such a shift, according to the survey, is to improve levels of ‘health and wellness’ (for 63% of respondents), and over half (60%) believe that they would feel more physically fit as a result.

However, when it comes to the practicalities of making such a switch, a number of barriers emerged; 45% of respondents said that they were still not certain how to check whether a product was ‘100% organic’, and 51% feel that organic products are very expensive. Less than half – 30% – currently check for organic certifications when buying groceries.

The findings from Nature’s Basket’s inaugural ‘Organic Lifestyle’ survey reflect considerable research confirming Indian consumers’ belief and interest in organic purchases as a way to prioritize their health by consuming fresh produce cultivated without the use of chemicals or additives. According to the India Organic Food Market Report 2018, for instance, the organic market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25% to 2023[2]. People are adhering to a lifestyle that is organic in nature as they witness tangible results, but they still remain unaware of options that will help them validate the authenticity of such products.

According to Avani Davda, Managing Director, Godrej Nature’s Basket, “People are increasingly becoming aware of adhering to a lifestyle that not only promotes their wellbeing but also contributes positively to the planet. The new challenge for consumers is not the availability of organic products but a lack of awareness about whether a product is truly organic and the tools that can assist them in making it a lifestyle rather than a one-time activity,” she said.

“As an industry, it is essential to equip consumers with the information and knowledge to make organic choices, and also address a few of the myths that exist regarding the same.  For instance, more than half of respondents (51%) believe organic choices to be ‘very expensive’, 31% describe organic qualities as nothing more than a ‘marketing gimmick’, while 16% actually believe that organic produce ‘does not taste as good’ as ‘regular’ alternatives!  We are absolutely committed to helping consumers make informed choices and addressing such assumptions,” she added.

Other key data insights from the research include:

·         100% are aware of the availability of organic produce for fruits, vegetables while only 57% of the respondents are aware of the existence of organic hair care products, 40% of organic skin care products and just 29% of organic homecare products
·         95% have already included some organic products as part of their daily diet
·         Almost 42% believe that such a lifestyle would help to sustain a better environment
·         59% of the respondents believe that an organic lifestyle would give them more energy

Avani also elaborated, “As a brand, our objective is to maintain consistency in the quality of our products and services. For our organically inclined customers, we have a wide range of health foods such as low carb food, diabetic food, heart-healthy foods, gluten-free food, immune boosting foods, organic jams, organic juices, organic oils, organic snacks, organic milk, and organic honey. For their easy access to these products, an online portal is available to our customers so that they can browse through a wide range of fruits and vegetables or enter the item name in the search tab for the item of their choice and have it delivered to their doorstep.”

'Our EVMs Cannot be Tampered With', Says BEL CMD Gowtama

Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited’s (BEL) order book as on April 1, 2019 stood at ₹51,798 crore as compared with ₹40,115 crore in April 2018. During the year 2018-19, company has acquired ₹23,431 crore worth of new orders. The expenditure on R&D was ₹1,077 crore as against ₹988 crore in 2017-18. The value added per employee was ₹60.38 lakh in comparison to ₹45.86 lakh the previous year. On the export front, order book stood at $116.62 million as on April 1, 2019.

In his annual press conference, M V Gowtama, chairman and managing director, BEL said “about 96 per cent (provisional) of sales revenue accrued is from indigenous technology and of the company’s ₹51,798 crore order book, major customers were Indian Navy around ₹25,000 crore, Indian Army ₹9,000 crore and the Indian Air Force ₹8,800 crore.”

“Of late, the company which had heavy defence focus has begun to diversify more on civilian applications and has identified space electronics, solar, homeland security, smart card, telecom, railways, civil aviation and software as service,” he added.

Electronic Voting Machines

BEL has supplied 74 per cent of the Electronic Voting Machines and VVPAT to Central Election Commission for the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

“For the company, EVM-VVPAT business contributed substantially and we earned a revenue of ₹2,600 crore by supplying around 10 lakh EVM-VVPAT sets,” said Gowtama.

Allaying fears of tampering, CMD said "No mismatch was reported between votes recorded in EVMs and VVPAT machines during the Lok Sabha elections. Not even a single case of any such mismatch was reported from our machines.”

He further said, “There is no scope for any mischief in EVMs. All post-poll controversies over EVMs have settled now. Political parties know well that EVMs cannot be tampered with.”

ISRO satellites

“After assembling and building one satellite for ISRO, we have got confidence now of going ahead to build future satellites by partnering with Indian industry. This year, we are expecting more orders from ISRO,” Gowtama said.

“To take it forward, the company has bought 30 acres in Devanahalli, near Bengaluru allotted by KSSIDC. Here we plan to build separate facility specially to cater to ISRO’s satellite needs,” he added.

Mobility card

BEL is keen to be part of the national common mobility card (NCMC) mission.

Gowtama said, “To be part of the mission, so far we have tested and proved many concepts with products in the country. In Ahmedabad, we have installed fare collection gates for metro with an open access. This can be applicable to any metros operating in the country. In Maharashtra, we are working with the state transport corporation for supply of hand-held devices and with NHAI toll collection system as part of a national project with a single mobility card for pan-India usage.

Artificial Intelligence Empower Workforce and Drive Objectivity in India

By Mohua Sengupta, EVP and Global Head of IT Services, 3i Infotech

Corporate India is going through a defining time, with emerging technologies taking over many areas of business. Human resource is one such critical area, which is core to any business and has been going through rounds of revolution and transformation, both in terms of processes and technology.

AI happens to be the newest kid in the block, which is taking the recruitment processes by storm, as it is getting re-engineered every day, with more and more intelligent and repetitive work being replaced by AI. Let’s look at some of the key areas where AI is being used to empower workforce:

1) Removing bias – Unconscious bias is a huge challenge that all corporates are trying to fight. Corporate India is no exception. When it’s a conscious bias, it’s easier to tackle but unconscious bias creeps in the most unexpected way. It can not only influence the choice of a candidate at the time of interview, but also the job description itself, making it a far more pervasive problem. AI can easily be used to remove this unconscious bias.

2) Evaluate profiles and first level interviews – Today sourcers and recruiters are spending a considerable amount of time in scanning, evaluating and shortlisting profiles and doing the first level interviews and the outcome of it is often very subjective, based on the emotional state of the recruiters. AI can easily take over these repetitive jobs, bring more objectivity to it and complete it much faster. There are quite a few AI-based platforms in the market today. According to a report by Forrester, by 2020, candidates applying to jobs at 20% of large global enterprises will interact with chatbots before recruiters.

3) Improved employee onboarding experience – Employee onboarding is the employee’s first experience with an organization and it’s the organization’s best opportunity to create an excellent first impression. Today, due to a resource crunch and subjectivity associated with people, onboarding experience tends to be random and unstandardized. Using AI effectively can help new employees navigate their way into an organization more seamlessly, giving them an excellent onboarding experience.

4) Identifying the customised training requirement for employees – Mostly, people become redundant within an organisation because they lack relevant skills, but if we can train the employees in a timely fashion, then organizations can utilize its existing staff, without having to retrench and hire new employees. AI can be used very effectively to match existing talent with the required ones and identify the gaps in skillset and also to do a fitment of who is best trained on which of the required skills.

5) Resource Management function – People intensive businesses have a huge challenge of finding the right skilled people internally at the right time and often end up hiring people at a higher cost, when an equally skilled person is available within the company. AI can help with this function and in a very time effective manner, thus reducing the cost of hiring, training and keeping a skilled resource on the bench.

6) Identifying people who are looking out – Losing trained and experienced employees to competition is a huge loss to any organization. AI can easily track the employees keystroke patterns, idle time & internet checking patterns and predict whether the person is looking out for newer opportunities.

7) Smarter and better people analytics – AI-enabled employee analytics provide the necessary insight to ensure better employee experience. It ensures meaningful employee engagement, creating happier employees and increased employee retention.

And these are only a few of the core functions that AI can do immediately. However, there still exists a degree of apprehension amongst the human resource fraternity to totally embrace AI, for reasons unfounded. AI today is not just efficient, it is also inexpensive. Just one word of caution, it is imperative that the recruitment processes are reviewed and reengineered to remove age old practices and made well suited for reaping maximum benefit out of AI. Research from PWC shows that 63 percent of companies are rethinking the whole role of their human resources department in light of the impact AI will have on the business. Thanks to AI and RPA, human resource experts will be now able to focus on the core areas, which cannot be done by any technology. AI can help build a high-performance human resource team and as a result a high-performance workforce.

Weak Market Sentiments Continue to Constraint Tata Motors Domestic Sales in May 2019

Tata Motors Commercial and Passenger Vehicles Business sales in the domestic market in May 2019 at 40,155 units witnessed a drop of 26%, as against 54,290 units sold in May 2018, as market sentiments continued to be muted. The cumulative sales for the domestic market (April-May 2019) was at 82,684 units compared to 107,758 units over last year, a de-growth of 23%. 

Domestic - Commercial Vehicles
Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles (CV) Business sales in the domestic market in May 2019, at 29,329 units registered a drop of 20% compared to 36,806 units sold last May. The market sentiments remain weak due to depressed freight rates and underutilization of truck(s). Slowing economy and stagnant industrial output have also dragged down CV sales in recent months. Cumulative CV sales volume in the domestic market for the fiscal (April-May 2019) was at 59,212 units, a decline of 19%, compared to 73,082 units, in the same period last fiscal.

The M&HCV sales in the domestic market in May 2019 declined by 38%, at 7,683 units, compared to 12,424 units sold in May 2018. The demand for MHCV trucks continues to be weak on the back of excess freight carrying capacity of MHCV parc which got increased by ~20% after the revised axle load norms without the commensurate increase in freight availability. Tipper sales have also dropped by 22% at 2,539 units in May 2019, compared to 3,261 units, sold in May 2018, which is resultant of a drop in tipper utilization rates among fleet owners in recent months.

The I&LCV truck sales in May 2019 declined by 2% at 4,043 units as compared to 4,106 units sold in May 2018 This segment has been relatively less affected by the revised axle load norms. E-commerce and discretionary consumption have been the two main drivers of I&LCV volume. The new products introduced in the fast growing 15-16 Tonne segment and CNG products have been well accepted by the customers and now contribute to over 10% of volumes.

The SCV Cargo and Pickup segment in May 2019, witnessed a drop in sales at 12,695 units, lower by 18%, as compared to 15,558 unit sold in May 2018, essentially due to slowing consumption, including in rural areas. A normal monsoon should be able to reverse this situation, especially in rural areas. The evolving hub-spoke model, demand for the last mile connectivity across the rural and urban markets, and Swachch Bharat initiatives continue to support sales volume in this segment.

The commercial passenger carrier segment sales in the domestic market in May 2019 at 4,908 units, were higher by 4% over last May. The Company is gearing up for the supply as per the new regulations, AIS 153. The order book for Winger ambulances is strong at over 2,000 units and the new product introduction of 15-seater Winger has witnessed good traction.

Domestic - Passenger Vehicles
Due to continued low market sentiments, while the Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (PV) domestic wholesales in May 2019 at 10,900 units, witnessed a drop of 38%, as compared with 17,489 units sold in May 2018, in view of higher vehicle stocks in network the PV Business strategy was to focus on retails. In May 2019, retail sales have recorded a growth of 11% over May’18, on the back of exciting product line-up and micro segmenting strategy. Despite a challenging market, the UV segment sales recorded a growth of 13%. Cumulative sales growth of PV in the domestic market for the fiscal (April-May 2019) were at 23,594 units, a decline of 32%, compared to 34,724 units, in the same period, last fiscal.

Export
The company’s sales from exports (CV and PV) in May 2019 was at 1,563 units, lower by 58% over last May. Several factors like drop in retails in Bangladesh and Nepal, high stocks in SAARC region and slump in Middle East have affected the overall industry volumes in these markets. 

Synechron Reinforces its Commitment to Reskilling and Upskilling by Engaging SpringPeople for MuleSoft Tech

Synechron Inc., a leading Digital Consulting firm for financial services, has today announced that it has engaged SpringPeople for MuleSoft technologies. Through the partnership, Synechron will further facilitate and accelerate digital transformation and integration initiatives for customers by providing exceptional business agility for businesses by leveraging its cloud capabilities with an API-led approach. The partnership is in association with SpringPeople, India’s biggest enterprise IT training provider in emerging and niche technologies. Significantly, this makes additional progress toward Synechron’s commitment to reskilling and upskilling initiatives related to its Employee 2020 initiative focused on onboarding, reskilling and upskilling employees and recruits, and fueling their aspirations.

Upskilling programs on MuleSoft would help specialists from Synechron achieve more agility in their projects, improve time-to-market, and control costs by making the move to the digital and cloud more rapidly. Today, the demand for MuleSoft’s tools is at an all-time high.  Salesforce’s recent acquisition of MuleSoft for $6.5 billion in its biggest ever deal exemplifies its importance to organizations looking to unlock growth with digitalization and integration using cloud technologies.

Faisal Husain, Co-founder and CEO of Synechron said, “As a rapidly growing Digital Consulting firm, Synechron is committed to a sound digital transformation roadmap for clients. With our strong presence in India, particularly in Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, partnering with various technology partners for our upskilling initiatives is a strategic priority. These partnerships will be accompanied by various reskilling and upskilling initiatives in emerging and niche technologies to equip our talent so that they can better assist our customers in their digital transformation journey."

Ravi Kaklasaria, Founder & CEO, SpringPeople added, “Today, Indian IT companies are reinventing themselves like never before to become responsive to changing market conditions and to optimize costs. Taking notice of this, we provide enterprise enablement in emerging and high-end technologies that helps companies to achieve this objective. Our MuleSoft training programs were designed to meet this growing demand, with authorized content & delivery by highly qualified, certified trainers. With this partnership, we hope to help Synechron achieve enterprise-wide digital transformation and equip their teams in the entire spectrum of MuleSoft technologies.”