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Electronics For You
February 2020 Issue
Vol. 52 No. 2
TECH FOCUS
Investing In AR And VR: A Promising Tactic Or A Sheer Gamble For Your Business?
Various market reports suggest that exponential strides in extended reality (XR) technology in the coming years are going to teleport mankind into a world of unimaginable illusion. Yet, like any other technology in its infancy, a lot of issues still need to be resolved for wide-scale adoption
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VIRTUAL REALITY
Can Video Games Improve Brain Functioning?
Even though video games could cause addiction, playing certain games can help improve the cognitive function of the brain
| DESIGN
How To Build An Intelligent Home Using Raspberry Pi
The proposed Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart system includes such smart devices as smart fridge and smart alarms. Here, the smart fridge will automatically detect daily needs such as eggs and milk stored in it, and if any of it is about to finish, it will automatically send a message to the grocery store. Such smart devices and wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) are connected through a wireless module to a centralised server, Raspberry Pi. The smart fridge uses pressure and temperature sensors for gathering information and sending a message
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DESIGN
Some Useful Tips And Tricks For Designing Drones
Choosing appropriate components is crucial to building a drone with desired specifications
| HEALTHCARE
How LEDs Are Being Used In Health Sector
LEDs have proven their versatility in the healthcare sector. Coloured light, for example, has a calming effect on patients, as dynamically changing the light provides the human organism with activating impetus
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
How Humanoid Robots Are Transforming Media Industry
AI is a valuable tool for both editorial and production teams in the publishing industry. It reduces human journalists’ workload and allows them to spend more time on other important stories
| SMART WORLD
Bio-CNG: The Panacea For Green Transportation?
Global adoption of bio-CNG depends on several economic, environmental and technical factors
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STARTUP ZONE
Optimise Work Productivity With Clean Indoor Air
Even the cleanest looking environment may have invisible particles that can deteriorate health and aggravate health issues. Clean air is defined as air that has no harmful pollutants, such as dust, dirt, airborne microbes or chemicals, in it. This is why we require air purifiers to reduce the pollutants in the air around us
| STARTUP ZONE
Sweeping And Mopping Robot To Free People From Trivial Housework
You no longer have to dirty your hands while mopping. The pain point of traditional mopping is the dirty cloth that becomes dirtier during usage. The dirty cloth needs to be handwashed, which not only dirties hands but also takes time and effort. Venii N1bot returns for cleaning after every 20m2 to mop the whole room with clean cloth. Its self-cleaning makes mopping easy and worry-free. The bot is a fully-automatic mopping robot system
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DO-IT-YOURSELF
Make Your Own Smart Wireless Biometric Lock
Traditional key-based locks are now outdated and come with limitations of their own. First, you always have to carry the key with you, and the key might get misplaced or stolen. Such locks are not completely secure either
Download source code
| DO-IT-YOURSELF
Make Your Own Nifty Night Lamp
This simple circuit can be used to light a small area at night. It is useful as a nifty bedroom night lamp, but it can also be used for other applications. The circuit is versatile and fully-automatic but draws very little electric current from the grid
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DO-IT-YOURSELF
Build GPS-Based Timer For Your Radio Set
This Global Positioning System (GPS)-based timer is used to turn on and turn off a radio receiver at a specific time. The GPS clock works as the timer for turning on and turning off any digital or analogue radio receiver set at 100.1 FM band
Download source code
| eSTYLE
FIRST LOOK: Some New Gadgets
• Dual-screen smartphone
• Bluetooth speaker
• CCTV camera
• Gaming keyboard
• Safety smartwatch
• Bluetooth earphones
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REGULARS
New Products
• Fresnel lens
• Quarter-brick DC-DC converter
• Half-bridge gate drivers
• 5G chipsets
• Power management IC
• Oscilloscope
• Digital colour meter
• Fixed cellular terminal
• LED driver modules
• Bluetooth mesh software stacks
| ROBOTICS
Lilliputian Robots: The Micro-Bots Revolution Is Here!
Micro-robotics deals with small-scale robots of micrometres size. A typical macro-scale mobile robot is a self-contained, untethered and re-programmable machine that can perceive, move and learn in a given environment to accomplish a given task repeatedly and with precision
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WEARABLES
Sixth Sense Technology: Life Beyond Physical Senses
Sixth Sense technology, based on the interaction of the physical world with digital information, has the potential of bringing about a revolution in the field of technology and paving the way for many more great innovations. Revealing the true meaning of this technology and further explaining its various applications and implementations in the real world is the primary focus of this article
| SMART WORLD
Resurgence Of Space-Based Solar Power
If successful, space-based solar systems can be sustainable and inexhaustible long-term solutions for meeting power requirements for the entire world
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SMART WORLD
Becoming Financially Smarter With New-Age Banking
While technology and simple regulations are blurring business boundaries and boosting employment, security concerns related to the use of algorithms need to be addressed through comprehensive legal frameworks
| SMART WORLD
Parking 4.0: The Next-Generation Parking Management System
Automotive, automation, ITS and telecom industries are showing great interest in the smart parking market as part of a broader smart city and the Internet of Things (IoT) strategy
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STARTUP ZONE
A Disruptive VR Platform For Real Estate
Designing and constructing a building is not an easy task. Lack of proper research and lucid documentation can cause confusion and lead to errors/defects in work or a compromise in quality. Rework further increases the cost
| DO-IT-YOURSELF
Make A Simple Power Supply For Adjustable Voltage And Current
Sometimes a simple analogue power supply with adjustable output voltage and adjustable current-limiting function is needed. This article presents a simple power supply using an adjustable regulator LM350 that provides variable output up to 17V and maximum output current below 2A. LM350 has higher power dissipation as compared to commonly-available adjustable voltage regulator LM317 and, hence, has higher guaranteed output current. This power supply may be useful in laboratories and for hobby projects
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DO-IT-YOURSELF
Make This Joystick-Controlled Robot
The circuit presented here uses a joystick to control a robot. A joystick is more comfortable to use and accurate to control a robot as compared to switches. The circuit is simple, compact and low-cost. It uses two ATtiny13A (eight-pin) microcontrollers (MCUs) for both transmitter and receiver circuits
Download source code
| INTERVIEW
“Whenever there is a mechanical movement that has to be counted or detected, a reed switch is applicable” — Kai Hold, marketing manager, PIC GmbH
Standard reed switches are small, have high reliability and a long life for demanding applications in automotive, industrial and all kinds of position control, position-sensing applications. Standard versions can be modified with terminals according to specific needs. Kai Hold, marketing manager, PIC GmbH, in a conversation with Deepshikha Shukla, explains how reed switches help in motion-sensing devices and their parts
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eSTYLE
BUYERS' GUIDE: Top Virtual Reality Headsets To Go For In 2020
With innovations happening in technology over the past few years, virtual reality (VR) is gaining prominence throughout the world. It is nothing but usage of computer technology to create a simulated environment. The technology started gaining traction when companies started coming up with VR headsets back in 2016, the first few launches being HTC Vive and Oculus Rift
| REGULARS
Industry News: Industry Updates
• Railways to allot vacant land to install 500MW solar power plants
• EESL inks MoU with HPCL to set up EV charging infrastructure
• India’s lack of electronics manufacturing ecosystem hurting ISRO’s space plans
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The Rise Of AI And Its Impact
There is no accepted or standard definition of good artificial intelligence (AI). However, good AI is one that can guide users understand various options, explain tradeoffs among multiple possible choices and then help make those decisions. Good AI will always honour the final decision made by humans
| STARTUP ZONE
Smart Connected Battery Solution For Electric Vehicles
Right now, the world is in the middle of a technological paradigm shift, namely, renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs). Being a new technology, there are not many players with prior experience of lithium-ion batteries
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eSTYLE
EVENT: Some Innovations Showcased At CES 2020
Global trade show Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held in Las Vegas, USA, every year, and is organised by Consumer Technology Association. This year, it showcased about 4400 exhibiting companies, comprising manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems coupled with numerous conference sessions, and featured approximately 170,000 participants from 160 countries
| REGULARS
Tech News: Technology Updates
• Study shows how to reduce physical risk in VR
• VR, drones help to predict and protect koala habitat
• Skin-like sensors bring a human touch to wearable tech
• Team builds the first living robots
• Study finds AI can detect changes in patients’ mental health
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TEST & MEASUREMENT
How To Check Performance Of VR Headsets
A good quality VR experience requires high consistent frame rate, low latency between head motion and display output, and frames that have to be pre-distorted to offset the effect of looking at the display through an optical lens
| FACTS & FIGURES
Some Tech Patents Issued In 2018-19 In India
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MARKET SURVEY
AR And VR Market Size Likely To Grow Exponentially
To succeed in the AR/VR market, adopting perfect strategy is the most important task because competition is increasing drastically
| MY STORY
Ashish Jain, director, Modern Communication & Broadcast Systems Pvt Ltd
Making risky investments was discouraged by his family members, who feared losses in case the markets crashed. But the zeal to prove everyone wrong kept Ashish Jain going
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STARTUP ZONE
Lidar For Environment Sensing In RoboTaxi
True autonomous driving requires human-like advanced sensing of the environment, for driving with little or no human input. Safety of passengers and passersby is the foremost priority in autonomous driving. To achieve the same, RoboSense delivers comprehensive intelligent environment perception lidar solutions, including chip, FPGA, lidar hardware and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms
| INTERVIEW
“Solving thermal management issues is critical” — Chris Nash, product manager - PCB Materials, Indium Corp.
Selecting the right material, form and dimensions are key to producing a quality electronic product. Chris Nash, product manager for PCB Materials, Indium Corp., explains to Deepshikha Shukla how materials enable manufacturing of strong, reliable products that can endure inevitable physical shocks and thermal stresses associated with electronic devices, in applications ranging from Internet of Things (IoT) devices to next-generation, low-energy servers and automobile electronics
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INTERVIEW
“Choosing the right material is critical to the success of the 3D print” — Benjamin Tan, vice president, Ultimaker Asia Pacific
3D printing has revolutionised the manufacturing sector through local and customised production. It remains one of the biggest technological trends. Benjamin Tan, vice president, Ultimaker Asia Pacific, discusses with Ayushee Sharma the various steps involved in getting the perfect 3D-printed product for an application while keeping in mind the environmental impact of such a process
| eSTYLE
HEALTHCARE: Smartwatches And Wristbands To Keep You Fit
Wearables are the most convenient tools to collect health data, and monitor and interact with users on-the-go. Smartwatches and activity trackers can remind when a routine task has been missed or left undone. These also promote healthy lifestyles and assist in healthcare wherever and whenever required
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REGULARS
Software and Apps
• Software For Augmented Reality
• Mobile Apps For Augmented Reality
| DO-IT-YOURSELF
Build This Electronic Toy For A Child
Presented here is an electronic toy circuit for your child’s entertainment. The concept of a joint family is disappearing, and childcare is also becoming difficult. It is best to spend some quality time with your child by doing things that interest him/her, or by putting things together to have some fun. This circuit has both audio and visual aspects for entertainment
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Next
Issue...
Is Remanufacturing Better Than Manufacturing?
How Twisting Changes Properties of Materials
Green Cars With Futuristic Designs
Solar Charging And EV Charging Infrastructure
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