5 Ways IoT is helping Save the Environment

For several million years our ancestors used to be little monkey-like creatures covering and hiding the shadows from the titans that roamed this earth. Then those titans decided to give the little guy a break and presented us with the greatest gift of all ‘dying-off’. Of course, once they departed our rule began, but, we did not share the same sentiment as the dinosaurs about giving the little guy a break even if they are same species as you. So, we decided to take over the planet like no species ever has. In hindsight, it has not been going so well. We are running out of everything from air to heirs. In the not so distant future, we could witness a museum guide repeating the iconic line ‘Here behind the glass, that is a real blade of grass. Be careful as you pass! Move along! Move Along!’ However, there is hope yet, to avoid such a future given the efforts we are putting in to save our planet. Although that too has not been going so well. So it is time to kick the whole planet-saving thing into overdrive. In this article, we’ll explore how IoT could be leveraged to achieve this since it is the go-to solution for most things (at least in theory).

IoT and e-Waste Management

There used to be a time when people used to the adhere strictly to ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it policy’. Today the motto seems to be ‘I upgrade therefore I am’. Of course, if this were applied to the refinement of though, the world would be a better place. Most devices today have a lifespan of more than a few months before a newer product hits the shelves. This creates a lot of e-waste as it is called. From cell phone batteries to tons of discarded plastic panels, there are a lot of affluents that pollute the soil and groundwater or take years to decompose. To combat this there have been many efforts to make full use of all the components of electronic devices at all times. With IoT, in the near future, electronic components can be salvaged, or refurbished to be put back into circulation without letting anything go to waste. Companies like IBM are already implementing this with their clients and reusing IT-equipment components for maintenance and spares.

Wildlife Preservation

We have spent our entire existence on this planet fulfilling the noble quest of wiping out every single species that our taste buds can’t accept or we can’t tame. And after over 50 millennia of unrelenting effort just as we were at the brink of complete success those meddling little animal rights activists starting butting in. So, for the past century, they have been trying to get what is left of wildlife to safety. Yet their efforts have only afforded so much success. For every species saved at least, 10 have gone extinct the past 100 years. Since the traditional approaches have not been working that well it’s time to put them on steroids, this time in the form of IoT.

Today scientists are able to track endangered species, their movements, their behavior pattern, the inherent threats that may be around them and so on. A good example of this IoT in action as a tracking and preservation tool can be observed in the successful preservation of the Iberian Lynx. The Spanish captive breeding center ‘La Olivilla’ used collars to track the Lynxes in their habitats and their behavior. They also use connected drones to monitor them as they watched over them from a safe distance so as to not disturb their natural behavior. Similar efforts are being undertaken to save Dugongs and Australian Bees.

Environmental Monitoring

Although several researchers, scientists and activists are trying to monitor various aspects of the environment including polluted water sources, volcanic activity, radioactivity and so on, there are limitations to their efforts. Even with protection, there are several areas and levels of toxicity that are unbearable for the human body. Here IoT serves as a vital tool. It allows for the effective use of drones and sensors that are capable of measuring and monitoring various unreachable places and collect data which can be used to warn people, save the afflicted as well as take preventive measures.

Smart Farming

The use of IoT in farming has produced some great results for farmers. Through the use of connected automated irrigation systems, sensors, pesticide system and so on, we have been able to make the most out of every inch of land available. From soil condition monitoring to fertilizer management, there are a lot of advancements that have improved productivity as well as save space. Automation of irrigation systems will also facilitate the conservation of water and other resources. Smart Farming so far has had quite a positive impact on the environment.

The IoT Way of Combating Deforestation

Deforestation is an issue that requires constant monitoring and a lot of manpower to cover whatever is left of our forest life. The use of connected drones to this end have enabled forest protection agencies to monitor and get a detailed view of various areas. These drones are capable of providing detailed 3D images along with the diversity of vegetation found there, the soil content, nutrients and a myriad of other valuable data. In certain areas where the lumbering is illegal or regulated by strict government norms, trees are tagged and monitored using GPS and other tracking systems. Furthermore, trees that are cleared for cutting are tagged as such using special biometric systems and are tracked. Although at this point all forms of lumbering should be banned and instead a certain humble herb must be legalized again all over the world. That would be a win-win for both the environment and the creatures in it and most of the problems we face today would be gone. Because as Buddha realized in his 49-day penance ‘desire is the cause of all suffering’ and as Pink Floyd poetically it ‘encumbered forever by desire and ambition, there’s a hunger still unsatisfied.’ And we could all agree it is about time we gave up the pursuit of material wealth and yield.

IoT and the Dawn of Smart Farming

Farming for millennia has been a concept that has helped humans thrive. Trough the innovation we have made with the most ancient platform of all called earth, we have been able to revolutionize the art of farming to yield better vegetables and cereals in massive quantities. From the simple and humble wooden plow pulled by bullocks to the modern-day multi-storeyed mega harvesters, we have indeed come a long way to reach a pinnacle of sorts in the field of agriculture. Yet, today all the advanced machinery and genetic advances fall short to cope up with our dominant population. So, to manage today’s needs we need something more advanced than any farming machine out there. Or maybe we need the combined capabilities all the farming related machines out there. And there is only one technology that comes to mind when thinking along those lines – The Internet of Things (IoT).

Applications of IoT in Farming Today

There are a quite a few agricultural machineries available today for each and every aspect of farming. Connected devices have allowed for a myriad of uses that have made things easier for farmers and in doing so have also increased productivity. Here are a few major applications of IoT in Agriculture that are implemented on a mainstream level.

Livestock Monitoring

In developed countries, ear tags among cattle are a common sight. In some countries, all cattle farmers have tagged their livestock. These devices are capable of providing the location of each animal along with identification. More modern technologies such as sensors in various parts of the body allow the farmers to monitor the vitals of their cattle. These devices when integrated with IoT provide all the information pertaining to each individual cattle including signs of diseases. These integrated devices will enable 24/7 monitoring of all the cattle and easily isolate hurt or diseased ones and separate them from the herd. However, there are several challenges in implementing this. The biggest one being that putting wireless devices into an animal’s body is not an easy task. Especially devices that are meant to monitor internal functions. The second issue would be the battery life as most devices are not designed with batteries that can last the lifetime of the livestock.

Precision Farming

Monitoring the crops and soil is a much simpler and easier process. There is a wide variety of tools and devices incorporate IoT to assist farmers in improving their products as well as maintain and monitor them. From sensors to automated harvesting machines, there are a lot of products that make life easier for farmers. Sensors are used to allow farmers to monitor the status of the soil. They can retrieve information such as soil Ph level, amount of fertilizer required and when the soil is ready for planting. These sensors can be connected using a grid which could relay the information from each part of the land and provide farmers with live updates of the soil. Similarly, crops are monitored both for security as well as to prevent pests and other damages. Cameras and sensors monitoring the crops are connected and guide other devices in the grid such as sprinklers, alarms, and pesticide dispensers to be activated as when required. Factors such as sunlight and wind conditions are also monitored. Information such as chlorophyll content, water stress, biomass content etc. are also obtained using these devices.

Farming Drones

Automation is applied to a great extent in farming today. A good example of this is the use of drones for various farming tasks such as irrigation, planting, spraying and so on. Both land-based, as well as flying drones, are applied extensively. These drones are capable of automating the entire lifecycle of the farming process with even full-time surveillance and real times updates of the same which will include details regarding moisture levels, the potential for pest attacks, the onset of weeds and so on.

What We Can Expect in the Near Future

Since all manner of robotics and automation is still evolving, there are many prospects in that territory. In the near future, we can expect an IoT system that will be able to predict several contingencies and scenarios derived from weather and climate prediction and allow farmers to implement the best methods at the right time. Using IoT based analytics soon farmers will be able to increase their productivity many times over. Even alternate and newer methods of farming could be discovered analyzing the best possible conditions and scenarios for each variety of crop. Even now there is a lot that farmers can learn from the data acquired from various connected farming devices.

Conclusion

Since we have an ever-increasing demand for all crops, mass production on a larger scale is soon going to become a priority for us. With the help of IoT, farmers will be able to cultivate more on less land and come up with techniques to grow faster. As of now, IT technology based farming has not yet reached countries like India and China who are the World’s largest producers of several crops. The proliferation of IoT and other IT-based technologies in farming across the world is a key factor in the years to come.

How IoT Could Help the Emergency Services

There are few institutions out there that have a nobler intention than the ones that provide emergency services. Be it fighting blazing fires or getting a dying patient to a hospital, emergency workers are heroes who are revered with both admiration and respect by the entire humanity for the services they provide at great risk to own lives. There are several processes that help emergency and rescue systems function ranging from field work to dispatch and records. All of these aspects get updated constantly so as to keep up with the growing needs of the global human populous. Among all the technologies applied so far in Emergency services, there is one technology that is seldom discussed in this context despite its high prospects for such a field, IoT. So, let us now discern some of the most important aspects of Emergency services and how IoT could help various emergency response institutions cope with them.

Emergency Response Hotline

The easiest numbers to dial, often restricted to a maximum of 3 numbers, and capable of connecting without having a Sim Card, the emergency services numbers are often the first and last hope for people in varying levels of danger. The idea behind keeping these numbers simple and easy to dial like 911, 100 or 999 is to ensure that anyone in immediate danger can receive help immediately. But how reliable are these numbers and how would they cope during a busy day? Despite their simplicity and ease of access, there are some issues associated with them.

Network Traffic

Relying on one number all over a country makes sense for emergencies, but, connecting hundreds of millions of people and even in countries like India more than a billion people is no easy task. Heavy traffic on the emergency lines can cause a considerable amount of delays in relaying calls through to the concerned departments.

Location Tracking

Even though emergency services get constant updates to their infrastructure like new models of fire trucks, ambulance vans and police cars, their location hardware, as well as software, is still ancient. Even in countries like the United States where most of the domestic infrastructure is pretty developed, pinpointing the exact location from where an emergency call has been made is a challenge. Today approximately 2.5 Billion people in the world either directly use or have access to a smartphone. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Traditionally emergency phone operators triangulate a call’s source by referring to the address to which the number is registered. Ever since cell-phones have come around this has been rendered obsolete and operators have to rely on the use of GPS. Which again due to infrastructural constraints is proving to be a great challenge. Studies state that in countries where GPS systems are employed for tracking calls, the local food app more accuracy than the government emergency system.

How IoT can help with the Calls

Using IoT cell phones can be connected to the emergency services network allowing emergency services personnel to easily triangulate the source and use their guidance system to track them down easily. There could even be a system where an application could be used to send out an emergency message or a beacon of sorts to alert the services. There is also a prospect to automate the process in such a way that a signal is sent out immediately without someone having to do so manually. One way to do so would be relying on CCTV cameras, car sensors and other sensor-based technologies to detect accidents, fires, crimes and such. A system with such devices connected to an IoT network could be an ideal solution for reducing delays caused due to the problems in the phone network.  While this may sound like a far-fetched concept, it is presently being applied by a few cities. Cities like New York have provided their Police Department with an IoT system that allows them to detect and triangulate gunshots using car sensors. The same technology is applied by the fire departments as well.

Dealing With the Traffic

Overpopulation has been a problem for quite a number of years now and there seems to be no viable solution to dealing with all the problems that stem from it unless an asteroid was to strike and trigger another mass extinction. Like almost everything affected by overpopulation, emergency services also have their fair share of woes. One of the biggest ones being the constant surge in traffic. It is estimated that in the year 2015 there were approximately 947 million passenger cars and 335 million commercial vehicles actively in operation around the world. The traffic issue in crowded cities is a problem just as old as overcrowding itself. Even cities that have experienced a recent and sudden surge in population and infrastructure growth like Bangalore can feel the pinch (although often it feels more like a punch in the stomach after being stuck for hours in traffic).

This truly puts emergency vehicles in a spot of bother when they run into gridlocks when they are racing against the clock. With an IoT system, an emergency vehicle could have real-time access to an entire city’s traffic light system and could somehow manipulate it to allow them to pass through. As a matter of fact, such a system has been tried before but with very less effect. Because no matter how well connected a system may be, aspects like traffic need a human presence to deal with them effectively. So, there are quite a few kinks to be worked out here, but there is still plenty of prospect for an effective solution to this through IoT.

The Potential for the Advent of Robotics in Emergency Services

We have discussed Calls, the vehicles, and tracking, but, all of this would be just moot without the sweat and blood of the emergency responders. The Paramedics, the Firefighter, the Police Officers, all risk their lives every single day to keep the World safe. Their jobs are anything but safe and they try to ignore this fact when getting a job done and often end up paying the ultimate price for doing so. All the protective gear and safety measures in the world could fall short in the most critical of situations.

Robotics to this end seems to be a potential solution to minimize casualties and work under situations even the most staunch of firefighters couldn’t handle. While Robotics is already in use in an infinitesimal capacity in certain aspects of Emergency management there have been no such results that would prompt further proliferation. However, there are plans in place to employ IoT to introduce the robotics elements on a mainstream level in Emergency response. By employing robots for certain tasks, the effectiveness of the process could be increased while minimizing the risk. The robots could be dispatched ahead of a firefighting team or a police squad, to asses the situation and start the implementing rescue or relief measures. Establishments like the United States’ National Institute of Standards and Technology are already working on making robots designed to perform quite a few ambitious tasks such as search and rescue, climbing up stairs with various degrees of inclination, working in pitch dark or extremely bright environments and so on. With the use of IoT, these efforts could be put into overdrive and an almost automated system could be created which can work alongside the Emergency responders to produce a cumulative result which could only be achieved by the sum of both man and machine.

How IoT is Influencing Healthcare

The Internet of Things or IoT, by definition, is a technology that connects multiple devices to create a network much like the internet. Over the past decade this technology has been applied to many fields, but none more vital than healthcare. In healthcare the application of IoT is quite versatile, covering quite a few aspects of healthcare including patient care and supporting doctors and other medical professionals. While IoT has the ability to save millions of lives as part of the healthcare industry’s technical complement, it is not without drawbacks. So, let us take a look at some of the things that IoT could revolutionize in healthcare and the challenges it could pose.

IoT and Healthcare Monitoring

Today there are several devices, wearable or otherwise that are being used for monitoring several aspects of the human body. From our heartbeat rate to the ph levels in our blood sweat and urine, the traditional hands-on methods of diagnosing are way behind us. We can do a lot of monitoring on our own using these devices. The monitoring devices also serve as a vital tool for doctors to keep track of their patients’ health when they are in the hospital as well as after they are discharged. With IoT such devices can now be connected and provide medical professionals with all the data might require often in a compiled manner so they have access to every aspect of it. Furthermore, these devices when connected could come in handy during emergencies such as heart attacks or strokes by relaying the information to emergency services and facilitating the dispatch of necessary vehicles and personnel.

IoT in Medical Research

With monitoring technology growing exponentially at a steady rate, research has become considerably effective and more fruitful. Using the data received from patients and healthy test subjects, researchers can now craft medical solutions more effectively with a minimal chance of failure or side effects. IoT helps to enhance this process by facilitating the collection of data in real time and allowing it to be analyzed immediately, irrespective of the patients’ location. When it comes to drug testing, mobile IoT applications keep track of the patients’ behavior and body vitals while intimating them to take their medicine on time and double checking whether they have actually done so.

Enhancing Infrastructure Management

IoT’s application in the actual healthcare process has been quite useful so far. But, another aspect of healthcare where IoT is applied is infrastructure and budget management. Healthcare has always been an expensive affair and all the technological updates that the industry has had so far have only complicated things. IoT to this end helps out by analyzing all the infrastructural needs of an institution based on patient population, the frequency of consultations and the effectiveness of treatment imparted. Furthermore, healthcare facilities are now capable of accessing patient information and helping them out remotely using the connected devices, which saves a lot of time on infrastructure. Most services that can be offered remotely are surely bound to help ease the financial burden both for the healthcare providers as well as the patients.

Inventory management is also done using IoT today and this is proving to be an effective method of managing resources for healthcare institutions as well as pharmaceutical dispensaries. Keeping track of all the medical supplies that are dispensed to patients is by no means an easy task no matter. For large scale facilities, this is an even bigger issue due to the volume of cases they deal with and the frequency of emergency cases among them. Lack of proper monitoring could also lead to overcharging patients for supplies that had not been used on them.

The Roadblocks

Today there are several factors that pose a challenge for the healthcare community while implementing IoT as part of their service module. Most of these stem from the fact that the healthcare sector is not yet quite familiar with the technology and its use hasn’t spread across the globe as with other verticals such as retail.

Security

In the digital age, security is an issue everywhere and for an industry like healthcare where the healthcare data of millions if not billions of people are stored, the fallout could be drastic. It is estimated that a very high percentage of connected devices in the healthcare sector has been exposed and are extremely vulnerable to threats. According to experts the reason for this is the lack of understanding of IoT and its requirements by the top management of the healthcare centers. Most healthcare facilities tend to overestimate their own infrastructures and their capabilities and become oblivious to the actual things needed to support connected devices.

Multiple Device Integration

For IoT to function effectively in a healthcare system it is prudent for the integration of multiple devices functioning on a myriad of different platforms including mobile. Since IoT is a relatively new addition to healthcare, there is a lack of uniformity in protocols and regulations applied by various device makers which can lead to discord on a large scale. This is an issue that exacerbates the use of IoT in healthcare.

Scalability

For IoT and supporting devices to grow in the healthcare sector, the application of this technology must achieve a global level. The only issue here is that, today we are not even close to this scale. Many countries developed and developing alike still use primitive healthcare tools especially when it comes to patient data and medical records. This could stunt the growth of IoT to a great extent.

Conclusion

IoT undoubtedly has been a vital technology for healthcare. Its use have allowed doctors and patients to co-ordinate better and has also sped up the healthcare delivery system in countries where it is employed on a comprehensive level. But, its various shortcomings, most of which could be attributed to the lack of expertise and exposure to the technology, are the cause for some serious concerns. Security in particular is a menacing issue that needs to be resolved immediately. The good news here is that various IoT companies and the various governments are trying to coordinate to bring their respective healthcare systems up-to-date.

The Artificial Intelligence in Music Debate

Music has come a long way from the early days where the only instrument was the human vocal cord. The use of computer-based technology in music started in the 60s when the iconic Moog synthesizers starting taking over the British music scene and paved way to the irreplaceable artform that is progressive rock. If it was not for the Minimoog, Keith Emerson would have just stuck to literally rocking the Hammond L100, riding it like a bucking bronco, brutalizing it with knives and occasionally when he got the time even playing music on it. Yes indeed, the 60s and 70s were crazy times. But the introduction of integrated circuits and eventually processors paved way for a lot of innovation in music and the discovery of many new genres of music.

However, technology in music didn’t stop with the synthesizers. Over the past few decades, many technologies have been incorporated into music including the controversial auto-tune. In recent times though the most technology to make its way into the musician’s arsenal is Artificial Intelligence. While the overuse of technology in music is heavily debated and often shunned by the musicians of yore, there is still a lot of support as well. So, let us have a look at how AI is being used in the music industry today.

Algorithmic Composition

Surprisingly the roots of Artificial Intelligence in music date back to as early as 1965 when synth pioneer and inventor Ray Kurzweil showcased a piano piece create by a computer. Over the years, the use of computer programs in the composition, production, performance, and mass communication of music has allowed researchers and musicians to experiment and come up with newer technologies to suit their needs.

Algorithmic composition is one of the more complex applications of AI in music. Kurzweil’s early efforts towards producing music using computer algorithms relied on pattern recognition and recreation of the same in different combinations to create a new piece. The process of creating music cognitively used today have spawned from this idea. The algorithms used therein are created by analyzing certain human parameters that influence how music is perceived. The first step here is for the cognitive system to understand the music as a listener and then draw vital information from it as a musician would. To achieve this the AI system must first be able to compute the notational data in relation to its audio output. Aspects such as pitch, tone, intervals, rhythm, and timing are all taken into consideration here.

Based on the approach and the result intended there are several computational models for algorithmic composition such as mathematical models, knowledge-based systems, evolutionary methods etc. Each model has its own way of uploading a piece of music into the system, how the system would process it, what information it can derive from it and how it would do it. Composition is not always the purpose of an Algorithmic system. Musicians can use it for comprehension or even draw inspiration.

Non-Compositional Applications

While AI-based music composition is a work in progress that has been going on for decades and could take quite a few more to perfect, AI serves the music industry in many ways outside the studio.

Engagement Tracking

Today almost every form of art and entertainment profits most from the digital medium. This is also the case with music if it wasn’t obvious enough. Artists create music for a target audience which is spread around the many platforms like Youtube and Spotify. So, the engagement data recovered from these platforms have a huge impact on the songs that are created as well as how they are promoted. Artificial Intelligence plays a central role in this process. AI systems often act as the buffer between the distributors, advertisers, marketers and the audience for all their processes including monetization and the transactions involved therein.

Analytics

Analytics data is an essential aspect of almost every online venture today. And music is no exception. Music creators, independent and signed alike rely on analytics data to manage their online presence. AI-based analytics tools help bring speed and accuracy to the analytics processes, so as to help musicians keep up with the fast-paced internet competition.

It’s not Rock and Roll, Man

Music, being an art form that demands a great deal of creativity also demands a human mind behind it that is creative rather than analytical. This is the debate that has been surrounding the AI-music alliance for a long time. Technology, in general, has had the music world divided for eons. In a decade where bands like Pink Floyd thrived exclusively on ‘space age’ technology like the EMS VCS3 and a whole bunch of other stuff, acts like Rush, Motorhead and Aerosmith roughed it out with just the rudimentary instruments. Although most musicians are always open to new technologies or eventually warm up to them, that has not been the case with AI. The prospect of having to put in very less creative effort to compose may entice some, (especially given the volume of music that is being put out everyday) it also opens up the debate of industry giants such as Sony, Universal, Warner and Tips misusing or overusing it which could lead to an eventual vacuum in creativity.

I’m Perfect! Are You?

AI has always been a source of contradiction among all communities so it is no surprise that the music community is both supportive as well as skeptical of it. So far efforts towards harnessing Artificial Intelligence-based composition have been of infinitesimal proportions. So, there is not much out there for us to judge and take sides. Ventures like Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist (AIVA) are working exclusively towards bringing out the full potential of AI as a means of completely automating music production. While such ideas are a grey area today, how these will come to influence music as we know it, only time will tell.

What you Should know about Google AutoML

One of the highlights of last year’s Google I/O was the announcement of Google’s Automated Machine Learning or AutoML which according to founder Sundar Pichai was their ‘AI Inception’. The Machine learning Cloud software suite is finally about to hit the alpha stage and as of now, it seems like there is a lot that developer and designers alike can leverage from this tool. So let us explore this new addition to the Google family.

What is AutoML?

AutoML is Google’s Cloud software suite for Machine Learning tools based on Google’s Neural Architecture Search (NAS). Using AutoML a user can train deep networks without having any expertise in deep learning or Artificial Intelligence. This is achieved by leveraging NAS to derive the most suitable data network for the task at hand. This is a huge step for businesses as they will be able to harness the power of machine learning without using experts with years of experience in any field of automation. Customization of various AI product models meant for mundane as well as complex tasks.

How Will Businesses be able to Leverage AutoML?

Today, with deep learning still being in its infancy, most business use, AI for simplistic tasks. And considering the fact that AI and Machine learning experts are hard to come by and are quite expensive to hire, most companies try to keep their deep learning efforts to a minimum. This is where AutoML makes a world of difference. One of the most common applications of deep learning for businesses today is Image processing. Today companies rely on Image classification networks that run on neural matrices. This although running on machine learning tools, requires quite a bit of manual effort to isolate the proper network for the image datasets and then train the models to adapt to the task they intend to accomplish. With AutoML companies can skip the tedious processes of research and get directly into the transfer process. As a matter of fact, Google’s first AutoML tool is intended for exactly this aspect for visual companies.

AutoML Vision

This is AutoML’s first tool which will help developers create custom image recognition models. According to Google this tool will allow developers to upload their labeled data and the system will automatically create a custom machine learning model for them. This, in turn, will allow them to focus more on product development, design and other important aspects.  Although still in its alpha stage, this tool is being used by many big-time players such as the animation giant Disney.

Conclusion

As the concept of ‘Software 2.0’ catches on, developers around the world are getting used to the new tools largely built upon their predecessors, to write software without actually having to code each and every part of it. Tools like AutoML are a good example of how this is being applied to every aspect of software irrespective of the purpose. With AI the scope is further enhanced. Yet, for such tools to achieve any degree of comprehensiveness, they themselves need to be further developed to accommodate the needs of the upcoming generations of developers who will be relying upon them to do most of the work. So the road ahead will be the chicken and egg paradox where the efforts of both the man and the machine will craft the future. Today we have that sense of direction as to where we need to focus our efforts in terms of research, which is great news for AI tools such as AutoML.

How IoT is Influencing the Automobile industry

The Internet of Things is a technology that has been making a buzz in every forum and in doing so it is proliferating into every aspect of human existence. The IoT that we know of today is still in its infancy and all its applications that we see today are just a glimpse of what is to come. And it is a pretty elaborate glimpse. There are quite a few fields that have adopted IoT and are leveraging it on various degrees. Automobile is one such industry where IoT has several prospects lined up. So, how will a world of smart sentiently connected automobiles work and what can we expect in the future?

The automobile-IoT Story So Far

Connected automobiles is not a phenomenon we should be expecting in the near future, but something that already exists and has been around for quite some time now. There are several automated and semi-automated features in automobiles that have existed for decades. We all marveled at the GPS and mapping services in automobiles when they were introduced. Surprisingly this is a technology that was conceived decades ago, in the 60s. General Motors the American automotive giant, launched a program in 1966 named Driver Aid, Information and Routing System or DAIR which was intended to function similar to the modern GPS systems, but used ground-based infrared systems to relay the information rather than the satellite-guided internet system we use today. Even though DAIR never took off from its R&D phase, it helped laid down the foundation for the many ventures that followed in the ensuing decades.

G.M.’s most successful effort to incorporate a navigation system into automobiles came in the 90s with OnStar. This was also the first effort at using networking for navigation and guidance purposes. Although the devices applied for this were the now obsolete CDMA mobile phones. The services offered through OnStar included navigation, guidance and security features. Considering the technological limitations at the time both on the hardware as well as the software fronts.

The Smart Cars of Today

From the age of integrated circuits to digital, there has been a sea change. The dawn of the 21st saw the advent of several technologies that made things that once thought impossible literally a child’s play. Navigation, cab services, security, entertainment, and a myriad of other aspects became a staple feature in the modern cars. Once software applications started going mobile, the possibilities became endless. The noughties was a decade of competition. Application war would be a better term to describe the rat race that ensued between Blackberry, Google, and Apple. A war that is still going on with seemingly no end in sight. What this led to was the rapid evolution of the mobile platform and its prospects which have delivered us to the technological jungle that we live in today. The self-driven car which many an expert once predicted could only be brought to life in the distant future, is very much a reality today and is improving every day. The advancements in networking have further fueled progress on this front allowing onboard devices to function autonomously. Automation, in general, has received quite a boost and various functions are now getting automated and mobilizing for scalability and better access. This has been great news for cars. The only downside today is the service and monitoring charges that are associated with such services today.

Driverless Cars

There are quite a few driverless cars out there today. From Google’s Waymo to the many Tesla cars, innovations in the past few years have sown the seeds for a market for automated vehicles. Tesla just announced that all its cars will feature autopilot options. This is indeed a huge step as we head towards a future where many daily processes mundane or otherwise could be automated.

V2V and VII

The most effective aspects of IoT in automobiles are the Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle Infrastructure Integration technologies. To bring these innovations to life, many companies turn to expert automotive software development services that specialize in embedded systems, connectivity solutions, and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).Although still under research these technologies are proving to quite useful in the practical application they have been subject to so far. V2V and VII, collectively known as V2X integration function by enabling a communication network between devices embedded within the car in sensor and other forms, with wearable, portable and centralized devices which will be relaying information between each other. This network will enable functions from basic monitoring and diagnostics to the automation of various processes including driving itself. Progress on the data analytics front will further enable this to leveraged to a greater extent allowing more effective coordination between devices which could eventually lead to a safer, smoother and enjoyable ride.

The Long Road Ahead

IoT is still a relatively new technology and it has a long way to go before we could harness its full potential. The progress done so far with the resources we have has been quite remarkable despite the few shortcomings which have even claimed life in recent times. There is no denying that the idea self-driving cars will be the subject of unending debates for many more decades to come and the inevitable accidents could make the already skeptical populous even more paranoid about it. This could probably be the biggest roadblock that automobile manufacturers and the IT industry will have to overcome to build an IoT superhighway of the future.

5 Open Source Big Data Tools to Get You Started

As effective as it is in almost every field today, the term big data has turned into a scourge of sorts that seems to be floating around every corner you turn. People have been so talked out with big data that there is not much left for us to discuss unless of course, we were to discuss the various tools that are employed in processing and analyzing it. There are several platforms, tools, and extensions available today that are meant to serve each and every need.

1. Hadoop

When it comes to big data, there is no platform or tool that asserts itself as Hadoop does. Of course, the cute little yellow elephant mascot is both symbolic of Hadoop as well as big data in general. An open-source platform for big data, Apache’s Hadoop serves as the go-to place for everything big data, from the most fundamental aspects to more complex processes. With a myriad of different modules to offer, Hadoop sets the bar quite high for versatility. The Hadoop framework itself contains four modules.

Hadoop Common: A module comprised of Java libraries and utilities, Hadoop common supports other Hadoop modules. The libraries of this module contain java files and scripts required to run Hadoop.  

HDFS: Hadoop distributed file system or HDFS as it is commonly known is the primary storage system employed in all Hadoop applications.

YARN: Short for Yet Another Resource Negotiator, YARN is Hadoop’s cluster management system. It serves as a buffer between the HDFS’ and the processing engines.

Map Reduce: This is Hadoop’s data conversion module which converts data sets and breaks them down into individual elements called tuples. This is one of the most vital aspects of Hadoop and defining it in two sentences does not do it justice by the least. Perhaps we could cover this topic in detail in the future.

2. OpenRefine

One of the most fundamental tasks when it comes to big data is data sorting or data refining. As a software applied in an underrated aspect of big data, OpenRefine is an open source big data sorting tool that allows you to sort out the most contrived and unstructured of business data. One of the most desirable aspects of this open source tool is its simplicity and the user-friendly nature of its interface which will allow even data newbies to get right into the big data experience. However, as with anything and everything in technology, a little of experience and technology would be most recommended to get the most out of data using Open Refine.

3. Talend

An open source application that runs on Hadoop and NoSQL databases, Talend is a comprehensive tool to harness the best out of big data. It equips the user with various graphics tools and wizards to use Hadoop effectively with data quality, data integration, and management. Furthermore, the simplicity of this application is an added bonus for beginners. Talent offers a visual representation of the data and the processes rather than the source code in a simple drag and drop system, which while desirable to some, could become quite a hassle during certain processes. Talend also offers TalendForge, a collection of open source extensions to support and enhance the experience with various products offered by them.

4. MongoDB

When it comes to non-relational databases, there is none like Mongo for big data. A document-oriented, cross-platform database, Mongo comes with full index support and a great deal of flexibility. Horizontal Scalability and third-party log tool support are some of the additional features that Mongo offers. This database also comes with a replication facility called the Replica Set which provides automatic data failover and data redundancy.

5. Tableau Desktop and Server

Yet another data visualization tool for data analysis and other big data related processes, Tableau is quite an impressive piece of technology with a twist. It offers a new perspective of the data by allowing the user to slice it up into bits and even merging it with other data to gain yet another perspective. Tableau harnesses the power of both Apache’s Hadoop as well as Hive to offer an immersive and interactive process.

What You Need to Know About the New Google Assistant Update

As if we weren’t short of surprises this year particularly from the tech industry, Google made an announcement that could very well be the most pleasant one so far this year. At the Google I/O conference 2018 held this week, CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the Google Assistant will be getting major updates. And the updates are major indeed with several AI based application that could make life a ‘breeze’ for all you couch potatoes out there. Anyway, let us have a look at the updates that are soon going to hit the market.

Source: crowdfundingheadlines.com

Google Duplex

Speaking of couch potatoes, here is an update that is for the ages which could make that expression a literal one soon. The Google Duplex is an AI tool that will be assisting you with real world tasks all accomplished through the phone without you having to move an inch. With the ability to understand natural speech and complex sentences, the google assistant can now book appointments, reservations or orders and should any complication arise it will place a call to have a conversation with the concerned person and get it done. Which, while on the surface seems swell and all, but in the ‘real world’ when have we ever convinced a snooty receptionist at a fully booked hotel to make room. Maybe, Google should add the Jedi mind trick as part of their update if they haven’t already. ‘These are not the reservations you’re looking for’. Anyway, without digressing further, the application has to be trained in such conversations to become accustomed to and eventually become adept at it. And Google stresses that the application can only carry out conversations based on such scenarios and not answer questions like ‘why won’t my girlfriend talk to me anymore? I only made an observation about her dress’. For that, you still have to go to Quora.com.

Enhanced Interface

Google is also planning on changing the interface of the Google assistant on both iOS and Android platforms to make it more informative and interactive. A certain degree of automation will be available in the interface as well with timeline-based snapshots, suggestions, summaries of activities etc. being part of the order. All your planner based details from various applications will also be integrated to the assistant. As announced earlier this year Google’s Smart Displays will also be launched later this year which will further enhance the experience.

Google Maps

Google maps will now be integrated with the Google Assistant AI to allow multitasking. Now you can access weather-related information, songs, send text messages and even podcasts for some reason according to news outlets. This raises an interesting question, what are Google’s policies on driving while speaking on the phone? Because, hands-free or not, talking on the phone is something that I assume is frowned upon all the world. As a matter of fact all over India that is an offense punishable by law. So, food for thought?

New Voices

One of the most highlighted features of this update are the 6 new male and female voices. And the most highlighted aspect of these voices is that they are ‘natural sounding’. So instead of that persistent and seemingly strict lady asking you to take a left turn at 100 meters, you get John Legend and no you won’t be getting ‘all of him’, just his voice. Hey, at least now we can have a soothing semi-baritone voice telling ‘All your base are now belong to us’ when the machines take over. And if you think I am exaggerating, John legend himself feels threatened by his AI self. That’s why he felt the need to tweet out ‘Real John Legend > AI John.’ Anyway, the new voices will be playing a huge role in achieving the goals that Google seeks to achieve through Google Duplex. Furthermore, you will no longer have to use the phrases ‘OK Google’ or ‘Hey Google’ to trigger a conversation with the assistant. The new update will enable the assistant to distinguish conversations with others from the ones you make with it. Which again is not necessarily a reassuring prospect.

To sum up the new updates seem to be targeted at enhancing user experience by a huge margin and resolving some of the most infuriating issues people have had over the years with various google assistant functions. As ambitious as it is, the project will take a while to incorporate all these functions and hopefully, it would change our lives for the better.  And the question in everyone’s mind now probably is what is going to happen with Siri?

Star Wars Technologies That Have Come to Be or Have They?

Its that time of the year and I for one am not going to make that age-old pun, instead, I’ll just say ‘a Happy May the 4th, wish I everyone’. Indeed it was 41 years ago this day when a seemingly young and assumingly tall George Lucas’s five-year penance in his basement studio bore fruit. The result, of course, a generation of fans to rival the Tolkien universe. Some often refer to Star Wars as a religion, and they are probably right. Of course as old as the franchise is today, so are its original fans. Most of them are probably in their mid-50s. And I think it would be safe to assume that quite a few of them are software developers probably in various fields of technology.

For many in the 70s, Star Wars would have served as a reference point as to how the future would appear. So, after more than four decades, how much of the Star Wars Universe has come to life? Let’s spend some time contemplating on that.

Image source: flavorwire.com

These are not the Droids You’re Looking For

When R2D2 and C3-PO were first introduced, they are trying to escape from Tantive V and by chance meet Luke Skywalker and the story begins. And then we are introduced to the iconic Jedi Mind Trick by Master Obi-Wan. From the beginning, both automatons’ cognitive abilities are quite laudable considering that both of them have the ability to understand and respond in an almost human manner. Of course, R2D2 can only respond with bleeps and buzzing sounds. So fast forward to today, do we have robots that are capable of doing that? Surprisingly the answer is yes. While they are not as refined as the duo, we are getting there. Robotics has seen a lot of star wars style movement as well as designs based on the little dustbin shaped robot. The Robear and several such robots have been designed to perform similar functions as R2D2. Not to mention the AI robots that are eerily close to becoming reflections of ours.

Help Us Obi-Wan Kenobi! You’re Our Only Hope

One of the most replicated scenes of all times in science fiction is Princess Leia’s message projected by R2D2 as a hologram. Once considered a farfetched idea that could never be realized, holograms have become quite a common sight today at conventions and mass gatherings. They are still quite expensive, but the result far outweighs the cost.

Watch the Thrust. We’re getting Out of here at Light Speed

One of the most humble and surprisingly effective modes of transportation in fiction after the Delorean, the Millennium Falcon is indeed a force to be reckoned with. Capable of blasting off into hyperspace, Han Solo’s priced smuggling ship has been an inspiration to many an inventor. Besides the very idea of blasting off at the speed of light with a tall furry humanoid bear assistant pilot is quite enough for most of us to get to the drawing boards and pour in the hours to come up with something very close. While the speed of light is something that is physically impossible, the idea of large space crafts capable of carrying a huge cargo has inspired some good designs in recent years particularly with the likes of SpaceX trying to achieve largely impossible feats at zero gravity.

That’s no Moon, It’s a Space Station!

The Death Star is arguably one of the most impressive pieces of technology ever conceived, albeit in fiction. Imagine the idea of a giant moon-sized battle station with a force field, and a billion LASERs ready to shoot down anything and everything that approaches. In today’s context, this makes more sense, considering all the threats and dangers we live in. But God forbid it should fall into the wrong hands as it did in the movies. With the amount of effort that is being put into the space programs for extraplanetary bases, it is quite possible that such a structure could be built in the distant if not the near future. Yet again this is something Elon Musk could consider as part of his SpaceX research efforts. Who knows, he probably already has and they are already building one at their secret base.

This is the Weapon of a Jedi Knight

Probably the most iconic item ever seen in the history of entertainment, the LightSaber is as impressive a weapon as the sound it makes as it cuts through even the toughest of substances in the Alderaan system or the universe even. Every child’s fantasy till the prequel series and the latest sequel series started coming out, this is a weapon that as grown-ups we still feel the urge to fantasize about from time to time. Yet again this is a piece of technology that we have slowly started to develop over the past couple of decades. Directed Energy Weapons (DEVs) as they are called are in the works as you read this article. However, as easy as George Lucas made it seem in the back in the 70s, making DEVs is far from anything resembling any degree of ease. It is estimated that by mid-2020s these weapons will be available on a large scale and could redefine the art of war as we know it today. From short range LASERs to weapons capable of mass damage we have a lot of firepower or rather joules coming our way.

Difficult to See. Always in Motion, the Future is

All in all Star Wars has been quite influential both in entertainment as well as in real life. There are several instances where the franchise has brought about change on various levels. Technology in particularly is in a way indebted to George Lucas and his franchise, if not as a source of ideas at least as a source of inspiration to dream big and beyond the stars. Many from the generation ‘x’ probably moved out of their mother’s basement after feeling the force and pursued their dreams. Although it is more likely that most of them got confined to their basements in the first place because of Star Wars. The impact nonetheless has been quite monumental.

Ofcourse all the new movies have taken a huge step back from the amazing atmosphere of imagination and mystery and delivered us to an era of Computer Generated Diarrhea. But Star Wars still takes us all back to the days of our childish wonders where our dreams had no bounds or as Yoda would put it ‘Truly Wonderful the mind of a child is’. So Dream on and May the Force be With You.