Koinex, India’s most advanced digital assets exchange, is currently ranked the second highest exchange globally, by trade volume for REQ tokens. REQ is the token from Request Network which was one of the latest crypto-assets that was listed on Koinex exchange. The token was listed on Thursday, 22 February at 10:30pm and within 15 minutes post listing, the exchange garnered over 1.5 million REQ tokens trading volume and after an hour the numbers were at a staggering 4.5 million.
Image Source – Koinex
This volume trade on Koinex influenced the global crypto-market as the price of REQ token went up by 40%. This is a white-knuckle moment for the domestic crypto-market, as India is driving the global market, which also sets precedence to our prominence in the crypto-assets segment globally.
Elated by the affability shown for REQ by traders on the exchange, Rahul Raj & Aditya Naik, Co-Founders, Koinex said
This tremendous response for REQ validates our robust research-led approach used to identify the right token to be listed on Koinex. No one ever imagined that an Indian exchange would influence the global crypto-assets market in such a significant manner. It only shows the impact and the strong voice we command in the digital assets segment. This is not only reverence for us but also an Indian success story being scripted here.
Koinex is built over cutting-edge technology, offers a proprietary trading engine, wallet and platform architectures and grade A security that make it seamless for the users. We optimized our trade engine and I am proud of the engineering team which efficiently managed such a huge traffic within a short period.
The Request Network [REQ token] is based on Ethereum platform and aims to be a decentralized network that allows anyone to request a payment, for which the recipient can pay directly in a secure way. Essentially, here the need for a third party in the financial transaction is eliminated, thus saving cost and being secure, quick and efficient at the same time. It also gives scope for wide range of automation possibilities.
All the transactions are saved on an irreversible, authentic ledger, which is beneficial for accounting and auditing processes. The platform aims to work with every global currency and will be designed to be flexible and be compatible with IoT or any future systems. Currently Koinex has clocked over 10 million trade volume for REQ token in less than a day and continues to lead the global market.
India is witnessing a transition to a digital heavy economy. What started as a unified identification, Aadhar is slowly making its place as an integral part of authentication in Banking, Insurance, Telecommunication [Aadhar enabled eKYC, Aadhar enabled payments, eSign, UPI etc.]. As per latest available information, cost of transacting via online banking is around Rs. 1 and it is even lesser when the channel is mobile. This is pushing the country to a digital transformation walkabout.
Digital transformation is about efficiency and competitiveness. It requires deep understanding of current and emerging business process models and similar understanding of futuristic and disruptive digital technology. These technologies enable transformation, such as the use of augmented reality to improve education and learning, the use of location based services for real time cross selling/up selling and the application of automated reasoning to transaction processing. Best practices enable the optimization of digital transformation, the right soft skills sustain digital transformation.
Many companies are responding to the increasing digital environment by adding roles with a digital focus or changing traditional roles to have digital orientation. The synchronicity of digital technology & lean business models is that it not only makes you more efficient, it can also allow you to be something completely different from what you were before. A key point about getting value from technology is being able to drive transformation that technology enables.
Most companies are in the phase of delivering better customer experience, the leaders/disruptors are moving to an era of delivering new value to the customers. Many believe they are innovative simply because they are doing things they weren’t doing before or investing in new technology and bringing in new expertise to implement and manage it. Companies are investing in iteration versus innovation. Iteration is doing the same thing better. Innovation, is doing different things that unlocks new value to the customer.
How we view the impact of the emerging technologies on value creation for customers is:
Unique & Ambient Experience – Advancements in information communication technology like augmented/virtual reality is aiding in creating alternative delivery channels, which creates a unique experience for its customers. Companies are utilizing the advancements also to open up opportunities beyond the traditional models to reach the previously unserved populations. e.g. Tele-medicine, banking services on low range mobile networks [mesh network]
Data Currency – Future ready companies rely on a large amount of current data to make decisions. Congruity of the emerging technologies like, IoT, Blockchain, and Cognitive Analytics creates an abundance of data, transparency of data and accessibility to data; that is enabling companies to make better strategic decisions.
Reasoned Decisioning – Smarter machines and AI are playing primary role in developing robo advisers in the financial services and intelligent claims processing in the insurance segments.
Dispersed Workforce – Millennial generation prefers work flexibility over compensation. Organizations are experimenting with technology solutions driven by mixed reality, proliferating with mobile technology to allow employees work from anywhere in the world.
A good example for this would be the India stack initiative which enables organizations that are Indian market specific to digitally transform the lives and ensure that the impact reaches the unpenetrated sections of the society. This stack comprises of a four layers; layer one enables users to remotely identify themselves for any service from anywhere in the country [Presenceless layer], layer two enables individuals move their documentation for identity without humongous paper work [Paperless layer], layer three comprises of a digitally enables network enabling individuals and business to transact without physical cash via e-wallets like BHIM powered by payment networks like UPI [Cashless Layer], and finally layer four that provides a pre-agreed network among governmental agencies and third parties to share agreed data freely and securely [Consent Layer].
Hence, in an evolving marketplace, a business must proactively innovate to stay ahead of the competition. It must assess, test, analyze and judge the legacy systems faster than ever. The aim for all innovation should be to solve a business problem using the technological advancements, businesses should not retro fit technology so that they can seem innovative.
Innovative solutions aligned to Digitization, and focus on quick turnaround of Proof of Concepts [PoCs] & prototyping, along with flexible engagement models and flawless delivery are some of the key strengths that would define organizations of the future.
About the Author
Ms. Aparna Pallavi is the Head Digital Banking at 3i Infotech. You can more details about her here
Nokia’s annual Mobile Broadband Index study of mobile broadband performance in India shows that 4G emerged as the key driver of mobile data consumption in 2017, capturing 82% of mobile data traffic and growing 135% YoY with the rapid deployment of 4G networks and affordable devices. 3G grew data grew 286% in 2017, driven by an increased appetite for data consumption and better coverage.
According to the report, data consumption continued to be driven by video, which contributed 65% to 75% of total mobile data traffic. This was powered by the availability of Hindi and regional language content, as well as the proliferation of original OTT-only series. In 2017, Hindi and regional languages comprised more than 90% of popular videos watched online.
On average, an Indian subscriber consumed 7.4 GB of data per user per month on their mobile devices over mobile networks alone, placing India ahead of developed markets like the UK, South Korea and France. The average consumption over both Wi-Fi and mobile networks in India was 8.8 GB data per user per month, at par with other developed markets.
Indian telcos continued to rapidly expand 4G in 2017 and have narrowed the gap with 3G coverage in the country. The 4G network expansion was supported by the dramatic growth of LTE devices in the country, with 9 out of 10 smartphones shipped in 2017 supporting 4G. The LTE-capable device base grew to 218 million in 2017, with 74% being VoLTE capable as well.
Service providers will need to take advantage of technologies such as 3-band carrier aggregation and 4×4 Multiple Input Multiple Output [MIMO] to transform their networks and sate the ever-increasing demand for data consumption without a glitch. The deployment of LTE-A/LTE-Pro and Cloud RAN will further enhance the customer experience.
The year 2017 saw telcos expand 4G networks, and this momentum is likely to continue. The drop in prices of devices, both smartphones and feature phones, is driving data consumption in the country.
We believe that the next wave of growth in the Indian broadband market can come from the untapped base of feature phone users who will potentially move directly from 2G to 4G. As we mentioned in the last MBiT study, Indian telcos will need to explore innovative network technologies, like carrier aggregation and MIMO, to meet the growing data demand. These technologies will also help them prepare networks for the 5G and connected devices era.
Infographic of Nokia MBiT 2018
Other key trends expected in 2018
As the adoption of 4G increases beyond Metros and Tier-1 cities, 4G is expected to drive the bulk of data traffic in 2018.
LTE-A / LTE-Pro and Cloud RAN could help Indian operators enhance the customer experience, reduce churn, increase market share and drive higher ARPU.
5G use cases like Massive Machine-type Communication [mMTC] can support the deployment of smart cities; ultra-reliable and low latency communication [uRLLC] can enable low latency healthcare and digital education.
Driven by operators investing in virtualized networks as part of their 4G rollout, the commercial launch of 5G in India is expected by 2020 in line with other developed markets.
About the Nokia MBiT Index
Nokia MBit Index is a report on mobile broadband performance in India. The primary objective of the MBit Index is to provide reliable time-series based statistics and insights about mobile broadband traffic growth in India, and co-relate those trends with changes in various ecosystem drivers such as subscriber usage patterns, devices, tariffs, coverage etc. The MBit Index analyses mobile broadband traffic trends only at a consolidated level.
VeriSign, Inc., a global leader in domain names and internet security, today announced that approximately 1.7 million domain name registrations were added to the internet in the fourth quarter of 2017, bringing the total number of domain name registrations to approximately 332.4 million across all top-level domains [TLDs].
New .com and .net domain name registrations totaled 9.0 million during the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to 8.8 million for the fourth quarter in 2016.
The increase of approximately 1.7 million domain name registrations globally equates to a growth rate of 0.5 percent over the third quarter of 2017.
Domain name registrations have grown by 3.1 million, or 0.9 percent, year over year.
The .com and .net TLDs had a combined total of approximately 146.4 million domain name registrations in the domain name base at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017. This represents a 2.9 percent increase year over year.
As of Dec. 31, 2017, the .com domain name base totaled 131.9 million domain name registrations, while the .net domain name base totaled 14.5 million domain name registrations.
Verisign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide internet users throughout the world with statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry. The first quarter 2017 Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained here
Reaffirming its commitment towards transforming the education landscape, the government of Tamil Nadu today announced an agreement with Microsoft to improve the integration of technology in teaching and learning in the state. The partnership was announced by Shri K.A. Sengottaiyan, Minister for School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu at an event attended by academia and regulators. It aims to reform education, build tech capacity and enhance digital literacy across all levels.
As a part of the agreement, Microsoft will adopt seven schools identified by the government and train their teachers and students around building 21st century skills which includes critical thinking, creative coding & gaming, app development, robotics, and entrepreneurship. Microsoft will also offer its Microsoft Innovative Educator Program to all educators in primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary education across the state. Additionally, the company will train and provide a digital literacy certification District Education Officers [DEOs] in Tamil Nadu.
Talking of the agreement, Shri K.A. Sengottaiyan, Minister for School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, said
We are committed to harnessing the power of the technology to reform education in Tamil Nadu and make our youth future-ready with the essential digital skills. We have a longstanding partnership with Microsoft and believe their expertise in this area makes them an ideal partner for our transformational initiatives.
Building educator capacity
Microsoft will provide resources, free tools & software, as well as online professional development specifically tailored for educators through its Partners in Learning Network. The company has so far trained 48,000 teachers in Tamil Nadu on usage of ICT in education. From this skilled ecosystem, the company will now further train a set of 500 school teachers as ‘master trainers’ over next few months.
These master trainers will in turn enable their peers state-wide. In addition to offering a fundamental understanding of computers and productivity software, the comprehensive Microsoft Teaching with Technology [TwT] Curriculum program will empower educators with a deeper knowledge of how technology integration can enhance the teaching and learning experience, equipping students with 21st-century skills. All educators of Tamil Nadu will be eligible to seek certification as Microsoft Certified Educators and apply for the elite Microsoft Expert Educator program.
Building administrator capacity
The company will also impart training to District Education Officers [DEOs] over a the next few few months. The DEOs will further percolate technology usage to the schools and staff in their districts. The Digital Literacy Curriculum will be available both online and offline and provide the officers the opportunity to be internationally certified on various Microsoft Technologies.
Manish Prakash, Country General Manager – Public Sector, Health & Education, Microsoft India, said
At Microsoft we believe that education is the single-most important investment in the future of individuals, and key to the growth of a nation. We are deeply invested in empowering India’s education ecosystem with technology, necessary for success in the 21st century.
The combination of quality content, partnerships, capacity building of teachers and administrators is as essential for this as access to technology We are delighted to continue our collaboration with the state of Tamil Nadu in this journey.
Through the last 12 years, Microsoft has been functioning as a key contributor in the area of education in Tamil Nadu. Over 48,000 teachers have been trained under the Microsoft Shiksha program, which empowers government teachers by integrating computing into their teaching, creating a fun and interactive learning atmosphere for their students. Several of these educators have been recipients of ICT awards at the State and National level as well.
Through Project Saksham the company works with 15 universities in the region, enabling faculty to become ICT Champions who digitize their institutions, build technology-enabled content repositories and schedule online sessions. This is in addition to helping the government set up digital classrooms in the Presidency Girls Higher Secondary School, Egmore, and Govt. Model Girls Higher Secondary School, Triplicane.
In the last 10 years, Microsoft’s education, skill development, entrepreneurship and digital literacy programs have touched over 5 crore people across India. Project Shiksha, has trained over 780,000 teachers and reached over 3.9 million students in India since its launch in 2002, Project Saksham has conducted trainings for over 3,307 educators across 123 universities. 238 educators from India joined the Microsoft Innovative Educator program in FY17.
They are part of the 7600-educator strong global MIE community and work closely with Microsoft to lead innovation in education. Microsoft has invested over INR 670 crore in not-for-profit programs such as YouthSpark, BizSpark, Imagine Cup and Partners in Learning in India in the last decade alone.
As per Bain’s India Philanthropy Report 2017, there has been a significant growth in the number of individual philanthropists and the amount of funds that has been contributed has grown six fold in the last five years. The total amount that was contributed back to the community from these philanthropists totaled to around Rs. 36,000 crore in the year 2016 [Source].
Across India the health-care sector suffers from overcrowding, overworked staff, failing equipment, sub-standard hygiene, in rural areas the doctor to patients’ ratio is as bad as 75000 to 1. Picture this, when a primary health-care centre in a village cannot adequately sustain a patient’s life, then the patient is sent to a university hospital in the region. This means that hospital will be receiving patients from as many as 10 or more other areas with outstretched primary health-care centres. And unfortunately when the university hospital can no longer manage the patient load, the same emergency care patients are then dispatched to larger, urban hospitals, most of which are as far away as the other state. Meanwhile the state-government has failed to provide meaningful health-care to the poor.
Though there are many hospitals that provide treatment for a menace like Cancer but the entire treatment is an expensive affair. A single sitting of chemotherapy costs about Rs. 90,000, a full-fledged cancer treatments runs into lakhs of rupees. What makes the matters worse is availing any kind of treatment for the poor is a challenge. They either face shortage of quality care, or shortage of money or often are deprived from timely care. [Source]
Many of these philanthropists are contributing to the cause of education and health-care, either through self-funded NGO’s or by participating in various CSR activities. There was a definitive need for an affordable approach to cancer treatment, especially for the Bottom Of the Pyramid market. A solution to this problem could only be realized, if the solution from a person who has passion, commitment and willingness to solve the same. In a distinctive initiative, Bengaluru based leading businessman Mr. Vijay Tata and his wife Mrs. Amrita Tata celebrated their daughter’s birthday in a memorable way for many. They announced the launch of their dream project, NEW INDIA – a self funded NGO, and gifted Rs 200 crores towards building of cashless cancer care hospital for underprivileged.
Actor Emraan Hashmi graced the occasion with his presence. The unique attribute about NEW INDIA is that it is self funded and it won’t accept funds from anyone. The couple has been sheltering 40 kids for 6 years and the dream got bigger to give back to society, which gave birth to NEW INDIA.
New India solemnly commits itself to the fight against cancer by ensuring to take strong steps in making sure that cancer treatment and care is available to all the needy and poor for free. Because with Cancer what kills faster is the cost associated to it. NEW INDIA already has earned itself a 50-acre land worth Rs. 100 crores [#VijayTataDontates100cr] that will be the foundation on which a cancer hospital for the underprivileged will be built.
NEW INDIA – A nonprofit organization will be completely self funded by Mr Vijay Tata & Mrs Amrita Tata and will focus on creating a new hope for the betterment of underprivileged. It aims to cater women, children, critical illness and stop-rape initiative to bring justice to rape victims and help them resurrect their lives. As the first initiative by NEW INDIA, it has already pledged 50 acres of land worth Rs 100 crores in Attibele-Anekal Road, Bangalore to the trust. Additional Rs 100 crores will be used towards construction of the super-specialty cancer care hospital. All underprivileged cancer patients from across India will be treated completely free of charge. This will be the first cashless hospital across India.
Inaugurating the NGO, Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi said
I have very closely seen the pain which cancer patients and their family goes through. NEW INDIA’s initiative to create new hope for poor cancer patients is worth appreciating and I am glad that individuals like Mr. Vijay Tata and Mrs Amrita Tata are coming forward to take this novel step.
On this development, Mr. Vijay Tata said
A small step can transform into a milestone and development is always bottom-up. Our Honorable PM’s vision on healthcare for all inspired me. Our major thrust today is to work for improving the life of our people who are below poverty line. The need of the hour is to give proper guidance and free timely treatment to them. NEW INDIA is a national movement and underprivileged cancer patients across India will be treated free of cost. We are sure that this cashless cancer hospital will be able to pull down the agony of these people up-to a certain extent at-least on the monetary side. A Nation’s progress lies in its ability to provide health and care to its people. A healthy India is our aim.
Mrs Amrita Tata said
To make a difference, one has to be the difference. Many people want to work on these lines but we are fortunate enough to execute this initiative on my daughter’s birthday. We want to give it back to the society and we have already taken the first step. NEW INDIA wishes to provide a holistic care and solution for cancer patients, which include free treatment and after care. We will also be aggressively working towards other social causes for women and children.
Vijay Tata with Amrita-Tata and Emraan Hashmi at the launch of SACCI
The entire hospital will be of 150 beds and will be completed in different phases. The initial phase will be ready by December 2018. It will be state of the art infrastructure with renowned oncologists and consultants on board. Entire hospital project will be designed by a UK based Architect and Engineering firm, BDP, formerly known as Building Design Partnership. It’s a firm of architects and engineers employing over 900 staff in the UK and internationally. Entire project from planning to execution will be executed by BDP.
This project is founded by Vijay Tata and Amrita Tata, leading entrepreneurs from Bangalore who are on a mission to make a difference and touch lives through NEW INDIA and its underlying movements. This NGO aims to be working together with partners and local communities in various part of India at grass root level to understand the key issues and work in best possible way to eradicate or minimize the cause. The NGO is open for collaboration with local NGO’s and volunteers across India to make this a mass movement. Though the organization is self-funded but it seeks the support of our fellow Indians to spread the message, support our cause and volunteer in the New India Movement.
About NEW INDIA
NEW INDIA, is a self-funded NGO that is founded by two entrepreneurial and compassionate beings, viz. Vijay Tata and Amrita Tata. The NGO is a manifestation of their vision to give back to the society and the country that has given them the opportunity to dream and flourish. New India, found its root and meaning in the belief of Vijay and Amrita that we can definitely make India a country that is invincible and a beautiful haven.
Doodhwala, a micro delivery service for fresh groceries has received a seed investment of $2.2 million by Omnivore, a venture capitalist firm,for a minority stake in the company. The hyper-local delivery platform, Doodhwala, is a subscription-based, early-morning delivery platform for all farm fresh groceries sourced directly from local farms and dairies.
Doodhwala with it’s unique model has had a tremendous momentum, becoming a well-known brand for fresh milk and grocery delivery in Bengaluru & Pune. We are evolving into the finest delivery service option for customers seeking freshness, convenience and specialty products.
Doodhwala’s unique business structure benefits customers, dairies and supermarkets. It makes farm-to-fork viable by taking over sales, marketing, logistics, and fulfillment for producers. Additionally, we are expected to scale easily due to our capital effective model, paired with the high demand for milk, and a need for regulated milk supply.
Commenting on the transaction, Jinesh Shah, Founding Partner, Omnivore said
The lean operating model, and the direct sourcing relationships that have been built, made this company stand out amongst competitors.
Doodhwala offers users a wide selection of ad-hoc everything from fresh dairy milk, meat, vegetables, fruits to shelf stable items delivered to their door before 7 AM every day. Users get the convenience of ordering on subscription basis which helps in frequent and easy purchases.
Founders of Doodhwala : Ebrahim Akbari[L], Aakash Agarwal[R]
Our unit economics are exceptionally strong. By lowering our delivery cost to Rs 3, Doodhwala is uniquely positioned in a market where other players are struggling. We have done a great job of maintaining a steady month-on-month growth rate while scoring a 85% plus customer retention.
Currently operating in Bangalore and Pune, Doodhwala has over 4 lakh month deliveries. The new financing will go towards expanding Doodhwala’s service into new markets, funding talent acquisition and upgrading technology. Reihem Roy, Principal, Omnivore will join the board.
The new funding comes less than a year after the company raised an undisclosed amount in another Pre-Series A funding from Thomas Varkey, a partner at Stonehill Capital, USA.
About Doodhwala
Doodhwala is a Bengaluru-based online grocer that is digitizing the traditional doodhwalas. Doodhwala is the only app in Bengaluru and Pune to deliver fresh farm milk directly to houses. Besides milk the start up offers a variety of groceries, fresh poultry, veggies, fruits and household essentials at MRP. Founded in 2015 by Aakash Agarwal and Ebrahim Akbari, Doodhwala, is present in Bengaluru and Pune. For more details, please visit Doodhwala
The automotive industry has moved towards digitalization and connected mobility, resulting in a significant rise in the use of electronics and technology in vehicles. Vehicle-to-Everything [V2X] is one such technology which is still a nascent market that has managed to offer a wide range of everyday convenience benefits. Today, it has grown to be a critical component in providing vehicles with the ability to communicate with each other and beyond. In fact, the automotive V2X communication market is expected to reach a staggering $26.72 billion by 2025, according to a report by Grand View Research.
Interestingly, some of the key reasons why OEMs today are forced to incorporate V2X communication systems into vehicles are due to the several benefits that the systems provide in terms of advanced route guidance systems, roadway efficiency, driver convenience and traffic optimization. Allowing vehicles to ‘talk’ to each other, V2X systems are geared towards safety and are essential for hundreds of thousands of self-driving cars to operate safely.
Sasken understands the importance of disruption to address the need for autonomous driving. They have achieved a breakthrough in this area and are engaged with a Tier-1 OEM and provide services for the V2X platform to enable actionable insights in the connected automobile. Today, we have a Q&A session with Ashwin Ramachandra, VP and Head – Product Engineering Services, Sasken Technologies, on how players in the automotive industry are re-defining the electronics segment through the advent of advanced communication technologies like Vehicle-to-Everything [V2X]. So, let’s get started with the Q&A…
Can you please talk about yourself, your experience so far with Sasken Technologies ?
I have more than 20 years of experience and am currently the head of the Embedded Practice at Sasken Technologies Pvt. Limited. The Embedded Practice group consists of the following divisions:
Semiconductors and Platform devices
Industrials
Automotive
Digital [Cloud and Analytics]
When it comes to the automotive domain, the amount of software & intelligence in the car is increasing day by day and that intelligence executes on the chips that are manufactured by the semiconductor companies. In order to appreciate what Sasken is doing in the automotive segment, it is very important to deep dive into what Sasken does in the semiconductors segment. The amount of software and intelligence in the car has increased in three different areas:
Software on the cockpit [In-cockpit entertainment]
Autonomous Driving
Telematics
The rise has been majorly seen in the last five years. Silicon vendors are bringing out chipsets that are much more powerful so that customers can enjoy a richer audio experience and exceptional performance for these offerings. Sasken starts working with the semiconductor vendors through the Development and Testing phase. Companies like Qualcomm have chipsets like MSM820 that are meant for richer infotainment experience. On a similar line, there are silicon vendors that are working on powerful chipsets for the autonomous driving sector and in future, we would see many more companies bringing out much richer solutions for that segment.
Telematics would be typically seen in the form of communication modems. In the western world, you would have an LTE Modem connected to the car for a whole bunch of communication. These are the three major areas where semiconductor companies and Sasken are co-working together to revolutionize the overall automotive industry.
Please comment on the rise of the infotainment options in car and where do you see Android in the automotive segment ?
Many years back, we only had the option of FM Radio, which gradually moved to CD Player, and now you have a plethora of playback options on the touchscreen located on the dashboard of your car which provides a whole new world of entertainment. Previously, these systems were based on Vanilla Linux, but now Android is playing a vital role even in the automotive sector. As we all know, Android already has a huge market share in the mobile space and now its share in the auto segment is gradually increasing.
By the year 2020, we expect that Android would be present on more than forty percent of mid-range and high-end cars, which means that Android is at a huge inflection point in the auto segment. Sasken has extensive experience in Android and our team of engineers has been working on Android since the first public release of Android. This experience gives us a huge edge over our competitors since when companies need expertise on Android for the car segment; they need someone like us who have gone through the complete development cycle. The mobile expertise and experience in bringing products to the market would definitely help us in achieving an edge in the auto segment!
Based on the queries and projects that Sasken has been approached for in the auto segment, we believe that Android is very much in line to be the default operating system for cars. This would bring in a major change in the infotainment space for automobiles.
Can you walk us through some of the technical challenges for porting Android on the automotive platform ?
The use-cases that you see on the phone are quite different from the use-cases that you see in the car. For example, you would never plug a music player like an iPod to your phone, but that is a very natural use-case when it comes to a car. You expect that the device and its type is recognized when it is plugged into the dashboard and it should also start the playback. This means that there are a lot of changes that are required to the Android stack in order to accompany such use-cases. From the UI and UX point of view, a lot more changes are required. Also, unlike India, users in the western countries use a lot more voice commands, and those commands vary when used on car vis-a-vis mobile.
You need to have a good amount of Android expertise in order to realize such use-cases and though Androidauto would evolve over a period of time. Expertise does come in very handy since time-to-market is very critical for any product. Also, the time-to-market for an automobile is typically 18~24 months, which in itself speaks for the complexity.
What are some of the cost implications for the car manufacturers in order to realize V2V/V2X/V2I use-cases ?
As far as Android for auto is concerned, it would take a fair amount of time to make its way into the entry-level automobile segment. Just take a case where you do not use Android, even in such a scenario, you need to have the silicon, an in-house R&D team, an operating system like Linux, middleware, etc. i.e. You need a significant number of engineers, hence a good amount of R&D cost is involved. Also, as mentioned earlier the number of features in the car always keeps on increasing. Hence, if you need to have your own in-house infotainment system [in absence of Android], the R&D cost itself would look similar or even lesser with a platform like Android.
Whether it is V2V, V2X, V2I, there is a lot of data that would be used to ensure that the objective is met. How secure are these protocols and how do two vehicles from different manufacturers talk to each other ensuring that there is no breach of important data ?
In case of V2V and V2I scenarios, the information is almost anonymous. For example, if a car is driving ahead of another vehicle [on a freeway], either of the vehicles can transmit information that is generic in nature and is useful for both the parties. It could transmit road-related data, climatic data, etc. There is no personal or confidential information exchanged between the two of them.
The information is completely momentary and the moment you get off the freeway, the information is gone. This data is non-threating in nature and hence, we need not worry when such data is sent over V2V/V2I channels. Also, in order to ensure that the necessary security protocols have adhered, the exchanged data goes through an approved/certified channel and it is almost impossible to fake the information. There has been a significant amount of effort that is spent to ensure that the information [irrespective of its nature] is tamper-proof and all the necessary security measures are taken.
The second part is about ‘Telematics’ i.e. the information that is shared between your car and the cloud infrastructure. This exchange has nothing to do with the co-operative network, but it is more about the route that it takes for transmission of the data. You can poll a lot of peripherals on the car to get data about the health of the car, battery, fuel, etc. This data is completely owned by the car owner but sometimes by accident, you agree to share this information in which case, this data can be used by third-party companies for targeted advertising. For example, in the current scenario, there are many cases where a particular company does not charge the consumer to use their services but instead use their data to push some relevant advertisements, coupons, etc. As a matter of fact, the millennial generation is willing to share such information in lieu of product discounts [only after providing consent].
Can you comment on some of the B2B as well as B2C use cases for the V2V/V2I/V2X technologies ?
Ride-hailing companies are already leveraging these technologies, especially the V2V and V2I to ensure that their vehicle’s health is in-tact so that the riders can enjoy a smooth ride.. They are using onboard telematics to get the necessary information. This also includes details about the driver’s characteristics, which are provided after consent by the car driver e.g. average speed at which the driver drives the car, how many times he over-speeds, angle at which he takes turns, how many times he jumps signals, etc.
This information can be used by all the necessary parties involved in the journey i.e. the car driver to improve his driving skills and average customer ratings. It can be used by the ride-hailing company to ensure that they have the best drivers on-board thereby providing a superior customer experience and it gives an additional parameter to the customer on basis on which they can rate their journey. This is currently under testing by a couple of ride-hailing companies for their premium car segment.
How wireless communications and WLAN technology have evolved over the years to be well-suited for V2X communication, due to its low latency and the ability to communicate instantly. Can you also touch upon DSRC [Dedicated Short Range Communication] ?
This is one of the points that we have discussed earlier about the co-operative network. There are a couple of emerging technologies like DSRC and Cellular V2X [CV2X] and each of them has its pros & cons. As per our understanding, the CV2X is much better-designed technology and has better technology roadmap. DSRC is loosely based on the WLAN/WiFi technology and the base standards remain the same. On the other hand, CV2X is based on the Cellular LTE technology. The US government is gearing towards usage of DSRC for V2V/V2X use cases and with wider adoption, the governments across the world would mandate what technology should be used further down the line.
As expected, both these technologies have very low latency due to nature of the use cases associated with the vehicle. This is the overall landscape of the Intelligent Transport System [ITS], both from the technical and non-technical perspective. As an organization, we are working on both these technologies and are gearing up for testing with some of our automobile clients.
Please walk us through the opportunities in the autonomous driving segment and what are some of the tech and regulatory hurdles being faced by this sector ?
The single most important requirement of this sector is that the information should be kept safe & secure. In the future, governments would also mandate a certain amount of certification and testing to ensure that there is no compromise on quality. Apart from these, standards would evolve as it autonomous driving becomes mainstream.
Technology is evolving at a very rapid pace, where do see the automobile technology 5~10 years down the line and the role that technology would play to make that dream a reality ?
As far as the automobile sector is concerned, the internal combustion engines occupy 99% of the market share, whereas electric engines have a fairly minuscule market share. However, things would take a drastic turn as we move forward. The trend is likely to change as electric engines would play a much larger role in the overall automobile ecosystem.
Sasken, as an embedded company,is looking at this area very closely but our main focus areas are in the ares of In-car infotainment, Autonomous driving and Telematics. These three pillars would change the entire automobile landscape. Some of the use cases in autonomous and assisted driving might not be directly applicable to a country like India due to the nature of traffic, road conditions, etc. but over a period of time, the entire ecosystem in India would also evolve and we would observe wider adoption.
We thank Mr. Ashwin Ramachandra for sharing his insights with our readers. If you have any questions for Ashwin about autonomous driving, opportunities in V2X/V2V/V2I, etc. please email them here or share them via a comment to this article.
