Vi successfully demonstrates Network Slicing over

 Vi successfully demonstrates Network Slicing over 5G Standalone mode,
along with Nokia, in Gandhinagar

 

Vi tested slicing capability using Nokia's secure 5G network slicing solution showcasing a virtual reality use case

Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) today announced that it used Nokia’s 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and 5G core to successfully demonstrate secure network slicing. The trial was conducted in Gandhinagar in the state of Gujarat in western India where Vi is conducting 5G trials on Govt. allocated 5G spectrum.

Deployment of network slicing will enable Vi to quickly add new revenue streams while delivering innovative 5G use cases to the users and to enterprises.

Two network slices were created as part of the demonstration. While the first slice was for general data traffic, a second slice was established for highspeed and extremely low latency. Without the second slice, virtual reality content achieved a lower resolution delivering an average user experience. Using Nokia’s solution, with security built in from the earliest product design phase, Vi showcased that network slicing significantly improved the user experience by allowing viewers to enjoy the high-resolution VR content. 

Network slicing allows service providers to create multiple virtual networks over the same physical network. These virtual networks can be configured based on different parameters, including network performance, speed, bandwidth and latency to offer differentiated services. This allows service providers to cost-effectively address the requirements of diverse customers by creating network slices in line with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) within minutes.  

Jagbir Singh, CTO at Vodafone Idea Limited, said: "Network slicing opens up new and exciting opportunities and will allow our enterprise customers to gain new competencies and efficiencies from 5G-powered use cases, like Virtual Reality, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT), among others. As we prepare for 5G for a better tomorrow for consumers and enteprises, we are happy to partner with our longstanding partner, Nokia, to trial network slicing capabilities and look forward to working with them on 5G deployment."

Vi will be demonstrating Network Slicing use case on 5G at India Mobile Congress 2021. Visit the Vi booth at IMC to know more on this.

How Sensors Monitor Bridges to

 How Sensors Monitor Bridges to Keep Us Safe

Vital to our infrastructure, bridges require regular maintenance to ensure safety for the cars, trucks, rails, and people regularly traversing them. Many bridges are 50 years or older, with citizens travelling across structurally deficient bridges every day.

“Structural health monitoring of bridges clarifies which repairs need to be prioritised,” says IEEE Senior Member Clint Andrews. “The deferred maintenance backlog has become so severe that it is easy to just throw up your hands and invest opportunistically in repairs, but the proper way is to prioritize based on the timely status information.”

Technologists are utilizing sensors and other smart technologies to monitor and protect our bridges and from irreparable damage to the infrastructure or the people involved if a structure collapsed.

While sensors are being used to detect early warnings of a catastrophic structural failure, they are also gathering important data about necessary structural repairs after a natural weather event like an earthquake or hurricane.

“In terms of civil management, the wireless sensors are commonly used to monitor and report the physical condition of bridges, such as the slip-factor and humidity,” says IEEE Member Yidong Li. “Estimating traffic on different road segments would provide very useful information for further analysis and decisions that would be taken or generated by the system.”

Gathering this type of data is also helpful for city management, providing the public with real-time traffic conditions.

To create smart cities or Next-Generation Cities that are tech, citizen, and eco-friendly, solutions need to be super-efficient. Innovations like IoT and the use of sensor technology for waste disposal are a few instances. According to IBEF, India will be the third-largest market for construction by 2022.

Sensors are also used for emergency rescue situations in remote areas. “If there’s an emergency condition on the roadside and emergency services can’t be reached nearby due to a lot of traffic, in this scenario, emergency vehicles can be triggered automatically through the connection of nearby wireless sensors sharing location details of the spot to those services,” explains IEEE Senior Member Aiyappan Pillai.

 

HOW DO SENSORS PROTECT BRIDGES?

 

A wireless sensor device, also known as a wireless sensor node, has a sensing unit connected to a processing unit, a communication unit and a power unit. The sensor will also have storage memory.

“The sensing unit may include one or many sensors for data acquisition of any physical phenomena of interest, such as temperature, humidity, strain and acceleration. There is also a signal conditioning unit, which incorporates an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) unit for converting the analog signals,” says Li. “The processing unit is the main controller of the node. It is responsible for managing the wireless sensor node operations, including sensing and wireless communication. It generally consists of an on-board computer (i.e. a microcontroller unit) with processing and data storage capabilities.”

“When we monitor bridges, we apply a large number of sensor nodes to formulate a wireless sensors network (WSN) and the sensors formulate data acquisition subsystems,” Li adds.

Therefore, to support the smooth functioning of bridges, it is essential to have sensor technologies and city management will only further help in providing a personalized experience for the city's businesses and people.

AI and ML, 5G and IoT will be the most important technologies in

 AI and ML, 5G and IoT will be the most important technologies in 2021,
according to new IEEE Study

Chief Information Officers and Chief Technology Officers surveyed on 2021 opportunities,

challenges and key technology trends

IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, today released the results of a survey of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) in the U.S., U.K., China, India and Brazil regarding the most important technologies for 2021 overall, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the speed of their technology adoption and the industries expected to be most impacted by technology in the year ahead.

2021 Most Important Technologies and Challenges

Which will be the most important technologies in 2021?  Among total respondents, nearly one-third (32%) say AI and machine learning, followed by 5G (20%) and IoT (14%).

Manufacturing (19%), healthcare (18%), financial services (15%) and education (13%) are the industries that most believe will be impacted by technology in 2021, according to CIOs and CTOS surveyed. At the same time, more than half (52%) of CIOs and CTOs see their biggest challenge in 2021 as dealing with aspects of COVID-19 recovery in relation to business operations. These challenges include a permanent hybrid remote and office work structure (22%), office and facilities reopenings and return (17%), and managing permanent remote working (13%).  However, 11% said the agility to stop and start IT initiatives as this unpredictable environment continues will be their biggest challenge. Another 11% cited online security threats, including those related to remote workers, as the biggest challenge they see in 2021.

Technology Adoption, Acceleration and Disaster Preparedness due to COVID-19

CIOs and CTOs surveyed have sped up adopting some technologies due to the pandemic:

• More than half (55%) of respondents have accelerated adoption of cloud computing
• 52% have accelerated 5G adoption
• 51% have accelerated AI and machine learning

The adoption of IoT (42%), augmented and virtual reality (35%) and video conferencing (35%) technologies have also been accelerated due to the global pandemic.

Compared to a year ago, CIOs and CTOs overwhelmingly (92%) believe their company is better prepared to respond to a potentially catastrophic interruption such as a data breach or natural disaster. What’s more, of those who say they are better prepared, 58% strongly agree that COVID-19 accelerated their preparedness.

When asked which technologies will have the greatest impact on global COVID-19 recovery, one in four (25%) of those surveyed said AI and machine learning,

Cybersecurity

The top two concerns for CIOs and CTOs when it comes to the cybersecurity of their organization are security issues related to the mobile workforce including employees bringing their own devices to work (37%) and ensuring the Internet of Things (IoT) is secure (35%). This is not surprising, since the number of connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, sensors, robots and drones is increasing dramatically. 

Slightly more than one-third (34%) of CIO and CTO respondents said they can track and manage 26-50% of devices connected to their business, while 20% of those surveyed said they could track and manage 51-75% of connected devices.

New age Robots will be an inevitable part of

 New age Robots will be an inevitable part of Industry 4.0: IEEE

IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, today concluded its virtual roundtable focused on how immersive technologies like Robotics & AI will be the driving force in India. With the post-pandemic scenario dawning upon us, IEEE curated a roundtable to discuss how these cutting-edge technologies are crucial for businesses, associations and societies to establish a strong foundation in these rapidly changing environments.

 

During the roundtable, Senior IEEE Member and CEO, ASIMOV Robotics Pvt. Ltd, Jayakrishnan T said “Robotics will play a pivotal role in Industry 4.0 revolution. The new world order has not only expedited the development of health-tech, but also has influenced technology solutions across sectors.”

 

During the last decade, the evolution of robotic capabilities was exponential. According to the International Robotic Federation (IRF) report, India has moved up one position to now feature among the top 10 countries with the most annual installations of robots in industries.

 

Adding to this Jayakrishnan said “With the accelerated pace of automation adoption, robotics will transform the world by the introduction of digital work force in combining the major game changers - Computer simulation, AR VR, Rapid prototyping, Collaborative robots, Big data analysis, AI, IOT, High speed internet and Cloud computing.”

 
The roundtable also highlighted how AI is opening new fronts in Healthcare and is fueling predictive and prescriptive analytics to help increase efficiencies across sectors. A recent IDC study revealed that India's AI spending will grow at 30.8% CAGR to nearly ₹6,490.6 cr in 2023.

 

Commenting on the same, Sukanya Mandal, Senior IEEE Member said, “Among other immersive technologies, AI & ML play critical role in helping businesses have an all-inclusive view of data, providing them a way to make connections. It’s not a matter of eliminating human intelligence and insight. In fact, in order to augment intelligence for businesses, the amalgamation of human intuition and machine intelligence is of utmost importance. Going forward, we will witness companies spending exponentially in intelligent solutions to drive and ensure business continuity, cutting across verticals.”

As the pandemic has influenced the direction of latest trends in all technology applications, it has become mandatory to maintain the new world order in every aspect of development. The COVID-19 outbreak has taught the world a number of lessons, one of the important one is to use technological innovation in its full potential. The IEEE members underlined the need to invest in new digital infrastructure, vital projects and innovate for a better tomorrow.

NIT TIRUCHIRAPPALLI RESPONDS TO

NIT TIRUCHIRAPPALLI RESPONDS TO COVID-19

As Covid-19 nationwide lock down enters its fourth week, NIT Tiruchirappalli is multiplying efforts to cope with the pandemic.   Director Mini Shaji Thomas laid out some of the measures taken.

The Institute is all set to produce low cost reusable face-shields that are 3D printed at its Centre for Manufacturing Technology.Work is also underway to design and develop an IoT-based smart ventilator to meet the growing demand for these life-savers.  The first batch of these ventilators are expected to roll out in July.

The frontline workers  including the security, health, and sanitary staff have been issued face masks to carry out their routines. Volunteers are making face covers and reusable cloth masks for the faculty and students.  A task-force has been set up to monitor the campus through tele-surveillance and data gathering for early detection and effective management of potential Covid-19 cases.  A clinical psychologist has also been engaged to handle stress and wellness related problems of the students.

NIT Tiruchirappalli was among the first institutes to prepare hand sanitizers in-house according to WHO-guidelines.  With social distancing becoming mandatory, arrangements have been made for door delivery of essential commodities. The theory course coverage is complete with online teaching and uploading of material on dedicated in-house servers.

Deliberations are going on at several levels to assess the viability of migrating to the online platform for teaching and evaluation till normalcy returns.  The administration is also mobilizing its research teams to come up with innovative solutions for the campus and the nation at large.

Photo Details : Dr. Mini Thomas,Director,NITT and Dr.Priyanka with face shield,with the masks and sanitizer.