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Electronics For You
October 2019 Issue
Vol. 51 No. 10
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI And Robotics: Hype Or Reality?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to a point where action, not talk, is needed. While there are fears and inflated expectations of what AI can do, much of it is hype and a far cry from what it can actually achieve today
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SMART WORLD
RFID PCB Tags Creating and Protecting Value
RFID tags solve the challenges of barcodes by simultaneously reducing manual operations in the process
| SHOPPING
Retail 2030: What the Future Holds
Retailers are starting to acknowledge the role of IT as an enabler. Basically, it can speed up processes and deliver cost-saving benefits to companies
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AUGMENTED REALITY
The Art of Creating 3D Animations
As augmented reality (AR) continues to develop and achieve new technological advancements, you can expect to see more of it in the communication industry. AR has a strong use-case for communication and is bringing about immersive ways to connect people
| COMPUTING
Why your Cloud Provider’s Business Must be As Stable As Yours
Digital businesses cannot afford to have unauthorised data access in the cloud, nor have their cloud services provider unexpectedly shut down shop. As a corollary, end-users are advised to engage with economically-stable and well-entrenched cloud services providers
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SMART WORLD
“Blockchain needs to be a part of a larger network” — Vivek Mahendra, enterprise architect and chief platform officer, CallHealth; and Parag Jain, founder, ThynkBlynk
NITI Aayog’s National Health Stack represents a holistic platform that supports a multitude of health verticals and their disparate branches. Vivek Mahendra, enterprise architect and chief platform officer, CallHealth, and Parag Jain, founder, ThynkBlynk, talk about how blockchain technology will work in healthcare, in conversation with Ayushee Sharma
| TECH FOCUS
How AR and VR are Leading to a Better Future
One of the biggest benefits in an augmented reality (AR)- and virtual reality (VR)-enabled environment is the ability to innovate products and services in a completely new way
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NETWORKING
How to Choose the Best Content Distribution Network to Meet Your Business Needs
The purpose of developing a customer-centric content strategy is to keep your audience engaged across all touchpoints. However, if this content is not delivered perfectly, it needlessly makes you lose a considerable chunk of your audience. You can easily avoid this by ensuring seamless content delivery with a content distribution network (CDN) that can accommodate all of your content needs
| AUTOMATION
Home Robotics: The Innovation Continues
Robots have become advanced enough to penetrate homes. The market for consumer robots has grown at a CAGR of seventeen per cent between 2014 and 2019
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ENVIRONMENT
How to Use Electronics to Conserve Water
In recent times, several electronic devices, which are being developed to improve potable water availability, are becoming a part of the market and households. This article discusses different ways of using electronics to conserve, clean or produce water
| DESIGN
Data Management Systems for The IoT Devices
The Internet of Things (IoT) device management enables users to track, monitor and manage the devices to ensure these work properly and securely after deployment
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MARKET SURVEY
Made in India Mobiles to Reign
Intense competition among cellphone manufacturers is driving down the price of cellphones, which is helping in increased penetration across India. Smartphones are expected to outrun feature phones in the country
| INTERVIEW
“Sensors are enabling new features in all market segments” — Vishal Goyal, senior technical marketing manager, Analog and MEMS Group, STMicroelectronics
Machine learning (ML) technology integrated into advanced inertial sensors can improve activity tracking performance and battery life in smartphones, wearables and game controllers. Vishal Goyal, senior technical marketing manager, Analog and MEMS Group, STMicroelectronics, explains how sending lesser data to the cloud, and putting more intelligence in edges and sensors can improve overall system security and efficiency, in conversation with Deepshikha Shukla
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DO-IT-YOURSELF
Make Your Own 15W Audio Amplifier
Here is a simple audio amplifier circuit based on TDA2050 IC. This amplifier can deliver an output power of around 15W for an 8-ohm load, 18W speaker with 18V DC power supply
| DO-IT-YOURSELF
Make This Solid-State Relay Driver for Microcontroller
Here is a simple solid-state relay (SSR) driver circuit using a transistor. An SSR is similar in operation to a traditional electromagnetic relay with movable/physical contacts. It employs an optical semiconductor, called photocoupler, to isolate input and output signals; and switching elements such as thyristor, triac, diode and transistor. An important feature of the SSR is that it does not use switching contacts, and so there are no physical wear and tear problems
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DO-IT-YOURSELF
Build A Filter and Polarity Guard for AC/DC Adaptors
Presented here is a simple filtering and polarity reverse protection guard for AC/DC power adaptors. Wall adaptors have many advantages because these are low-cost, have a wide range of output voltages and currents, are easily available, come with input and output cables of different fixed lengths and so on. But these have some disadvantages, too, such as high ripples, output noise, RFI/EMC and unwanted transient responses. Again, output polarity of adaptors may vary for the same type of connectors
| STARTUP ZONE
3D Printer for Hobbyists and Small Industries
The process of making a three-dimensional (3D) solid object from a digital file is known as 3D printing or additive manufacturing. A 3D object is created through an additive process, which means laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Additive manufacturing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing, which is done through cutting out or hollowing out a piece of metal or plastic to achieve the desired shape
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eSTYLE
First Look: Some New Gadgets
• Android TVs
• Bluetooth speaker
• Chromebook
• Ear pods
• Wall charger
• Fitness band
| REGULARS
Software and Apps
• Software For Machine Learning
• Apps Using Machine Learning
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REGULARS
Industry News: Industry Updates
• MAIT in discussion with MeitY for growth of Indian electronics and IT manufacturing
• Government scraps five per cent import duty on open-cell TV panels
• Tamil Nadu unveils new EV policy
| REGULARS
Q&A: Things You Wanted To Know!
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SMART WORLD
Smart Water Management
Water-related data includes quality, pressure, level, dissolved oxygen and more. Data management is essential to keep track of this large amount of sensor and meter data collected in real time
| ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
How AI Empowers Workforce and Drives Objectivity
In general, human resource (HR) services include a large amount of time spent on standard onboarding processes for new employees, triaging common questions and employee requests, and basic benefits management. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents an opportunity for HR to automate repetitive, low-value tasks and to increase focus on more strategic work
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TEST & MEASUREMENT
Advanced T&M Equipment for 5G and Their Demand
The number of trials for effective 5G implementation the world over, including India, has been on a constant rise. This is a key reason for increase in demand for 5G testers in the global market
| OPINION
Make in India: Why There is Struggle
Based on personal experience, the author explains why Make In India initiative is yet to make a mark in the electronics industry
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INTERVIEW
“Reskilling/upskilling should be the top priority” — Karthikeyan Natarajan, global head - engineering, the IoT and Industry 4.0; and Srinivas Rambabu, head - engineering talent acquisition and special initiatives, Tech Mahindra
It is a misconception that there are not many core electronics jobs in top IT MNCs. Tech Mahindra’s Srinivas Rambabu, head - engineering talent acquisition and special initiatives, and Karthikeyan Natarajan, global head - engineering, the IoT and Industry 4.0, share their inputs on the hiring trends, jobs, skillsets, hiring process, steps to follow and internships at Tech Mahindra with Ankita K.S.
| DO-IT-YOURSELF
Flash Twenty LEDs Using Arduino
Presented here is the circuit that drives twenty LEDs in a random manner. LED flashers and sequencers are used in decorative lights to give pretty colour combinations by glowing LEDs in random or sequential manner. This flasher has a chip that controls the random flashing rate of the LEDs
Download source code
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STARTUP ZONE
The IoT to Make Microscopes Smarter
If you have ever searched your medical symptoms online, you probably know that several medical conditions have similar indicators. To diagnose any disease, doctors recommend certain tests based on issues a person might be facing. Often, patients have to wait long for test results. Sometimes, slides and medical records get misplaced, too. Patients in remote areas have to travel huge distances, and proper treatment gets delayed even if they can bear the expenses
| eSTYLE
SMART HOME: Your Home Can Now be Completely Smart and Connected!
The popularity of and demand for Internet services technology has made our lives easier and hassle-free. These days, most household products are Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled, thereby helping us control things from any corner of the room. For instance, we do not need to switch off the TV or microwave oven from its main switch; instead we can simply ask the smart switch to turn it off, or we can do the needful through a virtual assistant-enabled smart speaker such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple’s Siri
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REGULARS
Tech News: Technology Updates
• Electronic glove offers human-like features for prosthetic hand users
• Scientists develop nylon for transparent electronic devices
• A 400-year-old Japanese temple just introduced a robotic priest
• Optical lace that gives robots heightened sensory ability
• Laser printing tech produces waterproof e-textiles in minutes
• Water-filled Inmergo headphones allow immersive listening
• e-Scooter that fits in a backpack
| STARTUP ZONE
An Autonomous Robot to Clean Solar Panels
Among renewable energies available worldwide, solar is used extensively due to its abundant availability. For this energy to be utilised effectively, efficiency of the solar panels plays a major role in conversion to electrical energy. Factors such as dust particles, atmospheric dirt, pollen grains, bird droppings, weather conditions and surrounding elements cause a major loss in the production efficiency of the modules, which has a direct impact on the cost of solar electricity. Hence, solar panels require regular cleaning
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eSTYLE
Buyers’ Guide: The Best Tablets Under Rs 30,000
From students to professionals, tablets are a popular option when it comes to daily work or other such activities as reading, gaming, drawing, voice-calling, browsing, streaming, etc. Tablets are lightweight and portable, hence easier to use than laptops or PCs. These usually have a bigger screen size than smartphones. To accommodate the needs of every user, tablets come both as convertible tablet PCs as well as standalone options
| REGULARS
Feedback: Your Suggestions
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DO-IT-YOURSELF
Control Four Appliances with a Touch Switch Panel
This project is based on a capacitive touch sensor for controlling four electrical appliances. Toggle switches have been used for operating lights or fans, and momentary press switches for operating electric doorbells. Most of these switches are mechanical and susceptible to damage through dirt, moisture or mishandling
| REGULARS
New Products
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SMART WORLD
The Future of Hiring
Organisations need to realise that redesigning jobs is essential to integrate traditional ones with new-age technologies
| INTERVIEW
“Big companies also get to learn from startups about the actual needs of the market” — Hwai Lin Khor, head of sales and business development for digital security solutions, Infineon Asia-Pacific
Adoption of Industry 4.0 has been slow in India. But advancements in electronics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and correlated technologies indicate a soon-to-be mainstream automated factory ecosystem. Hwai Lin Khor, head of sales and business development for digital security solutions, Infineon Asia-Pacific, talks to Baishakhi Dutta about technical upgrades and corresponding design improvements that the industry is following to embrace Industry 4.0
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DO-IT-YOURSELF
Develop a Smart Android App for Temperature Alert System
This project presents an Android app to generate an alert (alarm) on a smartphone when temperature of the process under consideration exceeds user-defined maximum temperature
Download source code
| STARTUP ZONE
Smart Waste Collection System for a Cleaner India
Waste collection and segregation is a tedious task. Collecting trash from dustbins on a regular basis requires dedicated manpower and vehicles to avoid overflow situations. A sustainable waste management solution is needed to utilise the resources and manpower efficiently. MassTrans has launched a smart waste collection system called Bigbelly in line with Clean India Mission by the government of India
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DESIGN
How to Ensure a Fast Start and a Strong Finish for Industrial Products
The opportunity to trim time and cost from a development project by starting with affordable off-the-shelf hardware can be tempting, especially for designers who are familiar with such platforms as Raspberry Pi and Arduino. Although these can be effective for proof-of-concept work, problems may arise when industrialising the end product to withstand the operating environment and satisfy mandatory requirements of the target market
| DO-IT-YOURSELF
Simulate MOSFET-Based Ideal Diode
A simple explanation for the working of an ideal diode circuit based on P-channel MOSFET and PNP transistor is presented here. Typical voltage required to turn on a diode is forward voltage. An ideal diode should have zero forward voltage but, unfortunately, there is no such thing as an ideal diode
Download source code
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STARTUP ZONE
Sustainable Power Generation with Micro Gas Turbines
As environmental concerns over global warming escalate, there is a worldwide shift towards cleaner fuels for power generation for sustainable development of smart cities. Aerostrovilos Energy, an IIT-Madras incubated startup founded by Rohit Grover, Pradeep T., Suresh M. and Satyanarayanan R. Chakravarthy in 2017, is indigenously developing micro gas turbines (MGTs) for power generation to reduce usage of such conventional fuels as coal, for lower carbon footprint
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Issue...
Tech Focus
Technology and Devices to Improve Long-Range and Short-Range Wireless Communication
Market Survey
Electronics Manufacturing Services
T&M
Aerospace & Naval Applications
AI
AI for Aviation
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