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|In: Embedded|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

National Instruments, the provider of platform-based systems that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, has mentored Anuj Verma and Shlok Jhawar [Age: 14 years respectively], students of Delhi Public School, Bengaluru in successfully creating a 4-wheeled, all-terrain, multi-purpose robot named, Recon Rover.

In their quest to do something for the society, these budding engineers aspired and built a Disaster Recovery and Surveillance Robot, Recon Rover, that can be used for surveillance during disasters and natural calamities. This robot incorporates data from various actuators and sensors in order to give the users the best control and accurate data from areas struck by natural calamities.

The robot uses ultrasonic sensors to automatically avoid obstacles and prevent crash along with sensing the presence of humans stuck in disaster zones. It sends real time images and data from the disaster site while being controlled remotely.

Anuj and Shlok are class VIII students of Delhi Public School, Bengaluru. They want to pursue robotics and electronics engineering later in their careers. They had earlier participated in NIYantra, NI’s annual Student Design contest, with a simple prototype of their product. They were successful in getting noticed by NI experts and since then have been closely working with the team in shaping up their final product using NI LabVIEW [system design software] and NI myRIO [embedded hardware device for students]. National Instruments provides hardware and software platform that not only helps professional scientists and engineers to solve complex applications, but also these budding engineers to envisage and build systems having great social impact.

Commenting on the success of these students, Aditi Chauhan, Marketing Manager-India, National Instruments, said

National Instruments has equipped scientists and engineers, with tools that accelerate the development of smart measurement systems and embedded control systems. This mission of ours extends into education, to serve budding scientists and engineers with access to the same advanced tools and technologies. These technologies help students to quickly realize and validate, solutions to real-world problems. We are particularly proud of Anuj and Shlok who at such a young age have envisioned a product which can make disaster recovery faster without putting anyone at risk. Over the years, we have partnered with various schools and colleges and helped many aspiring engineers solve pertinent engineering challenges. In the same way, we will continue our engagement with these two promising students and help them with their future endeavors.

Anuj Verma said

Even with advanced technology into play, rescue operations are often slow resulting in mass panic. The biggest challenge which rescue teams face is that of accessibility. When disaster strikes a place which is remote and hard to access, getting any information can be challenging. To address this issue, we created the Recon Rover, with a highly-advanced user interface which can be controlled very easily. NI provided us access to various NI tools required to make this product flexible and scalable. With NI’s help, we were able to solve various challenges which we faced in the product development stage.

Shlok Jhawar added

Today, rescue teams go into disaster zones without knowing what lies ahead. This also puts their lives at risk. Recon Rover created using NI’s LabVIEW platform, can not only solve this problem but can also reduce cost of manpower. NI LabVIEW, being a powerful and user friendly platform, has helped us turn our thoughts into a successful application. It is also better than other platforms as it can be easily interfaced with several different hardware platforms, not restricting it to only NI platforms. We were happy to get constant support from NI’s team who have helped us in our product development process.

As a part of its Academic program, NI organizes an annual student design competition, NIYANTRA, where it mentors hundreds of students, equips them with NI hardware, software and guidance that is required for their projects. Some of these students are really motivated to take their idea to prototype. NI further makes this possible through its various initiatives aimed at enabling SMEs and future entrepreneurs with technology access, startup assistance and ecosystem support. Also, NI, with a rich ecosystem of industry, academia, partners and consultants, encourages a continuous collaboration between these stakeholders that fosters business opportunities for all of them.

|In: News|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Aeris, a pioneer and leader in the Internet of Things [IoT] market has formed a partnership with MapmyIndia, India’s leader in premium-quality digital maps, GPS navigation, tracking, location-based apps and GIS solutions, to jointly address the market by offering geo-spatial intelligence based IoT solutions in India.

With this breakthrough alliance, both companies said they have decided to pursue opportunities jointly by developing solutions and offering services leveraging their respective areas of core competence.

The landmark agreement will redefine the contours of the overall IoT solutions market while addressing business challenges such as ubiquitous tracking through connectivity leading to truly IoT-led businesses change. The global IoT market is expected to cross $200 billion by 2020. The IoT market in India stood at USD 5.6 billion with 200 million connected devices in 2016. This is expected to grow to USD 15 billion with 2.7 billion devices by 2020 presenting a significant opportunity for technology and service providers.

Grounded on the mutual strengths of both the companies, the combination will create solutions that will transform specific aspects of how businesses and employees work using IoT, allowing companies to achieve newer levels of efficiency, effectiveness & customer satisfaction.

Rakesh Verma, MD, MapmyIndia said

The world is moving from automatic to autonomous operations. The era of IoT is here and MapmyIndia, as always, is taking the lead. The partnership with Aeris, a pioneer in the IoT space, will go a long way in making the Indian businesses globally competitive. I am confident that the combination of MapmyIndia’s best-in-class mapping & GIS solutions and the pioneering IoT prowess and global experience of Aeris will be a big boon for not just the Indian businesses and enterprises but will benefit the whole country. This will act as a catalyst towards realizing the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India.

Dr. Rishi Bhatnagar, President, Aeris Communications said

This agreement marks a major milestone for both companies. “We are witnessing the evolution of the IoT ecosystem globally with businesses recognizing the need to invest in technologies and solutions based on IoT. Our tie-up with MapmyIndia is primed towards helping businesses leverage the potential of IoT to realize business benefits that are multi-dimensional, innovation driven and transformative. I am confident that this will change the way verticals operate and companies perform.

About MapmyIndia

MapmyIndia’s mission is to make the world better through maps and location technologies. Founded in 1992, the company is India’s leader in premium quality digital map data and APIs, GPS navigation, tracking, location apps, and GIS solutions. MapmyIndia is an ISO 9001-2012 company with 750+ people that pioneered digital mapping in India. Using the state-of-the-art panoramic mapping technology that captures, analyses and publishes the world in 3D and 360-degree photo-realistic clarity, the company has built its proprietary, Industry grade MapmyIndia Maps. It has fully monetized maps offerings through consumer apps, navigation devices, licensing, map APIs, tracking and analytics. Some of the leading companies like Flipkart, Ola Cabs, Toyota and Mahindra & Mahindra are using MapmyIndia maps. For more information, please visit MapmyIndia

|In: Education|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

A lot has been said about the Narendra Modi government’s efforts to integrate information technology as an indispensable part of citizens’ lives. But IT brings with it, its own challenges. One of them is data security. In an increasingly digitized world, our vulnerability to the misuse of personal, professional, even national security data is a big issue.

While IT is playing a dominant role in the country’s economy, a key question being raised is: Is digital India prepared enough to combat the red eye of cyber security threat ?

Image Source – Security

We have to admit that white-collar crime has evolved into a smarter avatar in the last 5 years or so. Even on the terrorism front, India is witnessing a moment of change from the operational perspective as the country’s confidential data faces challenges of vulnerability in the cyberspace from international cyber goons.

While the government’s recent demonetization move, brings with it a huge opportunity for digital commerce, it throws up new challenges. As India moves slowly towards the goal of a cashless economy, there is bound to be a large numbers of ‘first timers’ whose lack of familiarity with technology, might result in security compromises and data leakages. We need to be equipped to handle the eventuality.

With the recent escalation of threats from neighbouring countries and incidents of ATM/debit card data breach, the Government is setting up a cyber security research and development fund of Rs 1,000 crore to be spend over the next five years. It will be administered by a Committee headed by the National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval.

Why it Matters

The Ponemon Institute, which conducts independent research on privacy, data protection and information security, recently reported that the average cost of global cyber breach has reached as much as USD 3.8 million. With reports of data breaches every other day, most of them leading to grave financial losses, it’s time to sit up and take note of the threat. People and organizations are nowadays becoming increasingly concerned about the rampant use of IT networks for spying, data leakage, or other similar threats, capable of putting their reputation at stake.

To combat this, there is today, a growing demand for trained IT security professionals. Data security is fast becoming a promising career option and training in this field is growing hugely in importance. Corporates as well as government organizations are now hiring data security experts for tasks such as fixing internal security loopholes, clinical investigation of computer frauds, outlining data security and networking fundamentals for organizations, remote firewall management and security auditing for standard management of IT systems.

Protecting Data

Protecting computer networks from illegal attempts of accessing personal or business-related information on the internet requires a lot of expertise. Recently, two apex educational bodies-the University Grant Commission [UGC] and All India Council for Technical Education [AICTE] have proposed that Indian universities and institutions introduce Cyber Information Security as a subject at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Graduates with a degree in computer science or engineering may opt for full-time or short-term courses, degrees and diplomas in cyber information security and network administration. Many academic institutions, in the recent past, have based their IT courses on internationally-renowned certifications like CompTIA.

An international certification as a data security expert can do wonders for a career in this domain. Such certifications are much sought after, today. An IT certification in data security enhances skills of individuals willing to enter this field, or professionals looking for customized knowledge, and thus help create an employable workforce with industry-relevant skills.

CompTIA Security+ certification, for instance, is a vendor-neutral certification dealing with key data security concepts such as application, data & host security; threats and vulnerabilities, compliance, identity control and cryptography. This certification is widely acclaimed by hiring managers as a great certification for a newbie or someone having about a year’s experience in network technologies.

With the upcoming release of their Cybersecurity Analyst [CSA+] certification in 2017, CompTIA is looking forward to provide an advanced logical progression in career pathway of people who have already done the Security+ course. CompTIA also has CASP [CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner] for senior security practitioners responsible for enterprise security, research and analysis.

Growing Specialization

With cyber-crime on the rise, the need for qualified professionals to protect data is on the rise.  In fact, data security is one of the fastest growing specializations in IT. You have chances of growth opportunities after just a few years of experience. When it comes to remuneration, cyber security specialists make almost 10% more money than their IT peers, states a recent job intelligence report. However, salaries may vary according to individual skill sets, experience, and geographic location of the employer.

Qualification Needed

Cyber security experts may come from diverse set of backgrounds that don’t necessarily include IT. Working in data security requires an analytical mind to solve data loss issues and design methodologies for preventing breaches. As a professional in this field, your job duties will involve ensuring data encryption, monitoring access to data, disaster recovery of important data and maintaining consistency in data security. Besides these, your responsibilities  will be also be to identify risk, participate in risk mitigation activities, provide infrastructure, application, information and operational security, apply security controls to maintain confidentiality, integrity and availability of data, troubleshoot security events and incidents and operate with an awareness of applicable policies, laws and regulations.

Opportunities & Prospects

Data security is among the most sought-after profession in the tech sector right now, outpacing demand for other IT-related jobs. CompTIA’s International Trends in Cyber Security research reveals that nearly 8 out of 10 managers responsible for network data protection expect data security to become a higher priority for their companies over the next few years. Persons interested in a career in this field may pursue their job profile as an ethical hacker, security administrator, cyber policy analyst, information security architect, data security analyst or specialist, information technology officer, or even cyber security consultant.

Besides, this Information security is a skill which is applicable in all segments of the industry. One can be an Information Security Specialist employed in an IT company, BFSI, retail, government and myriad of other industry segments. Since every organization today deals with electronic data, safety of the same becomes crucial and leads to a huge requirement of generic information and cyber security specialists.

The Road Ahead

According to a report compiled by Burning Glass technologies, postings for cyber security related jobs grew as much as 74% between 2007 and 2013 around the world. According to Forbes magazine, the cyber security job market is expected to grow to over $170 billion in the next 4 years. With netizens of world coming together as a result of digital convergence, we need more reliable communication and information security systems, almost everywhere. Today, there are international companies [like CompTIA] working overtime to eliminate the widening gap in the data security workforce.

Data security decisions can create sustainable impact on business operations. As a matter of fact, only companies with protected knowledge and resources can enhance their businesses efficiently. Training young professionals to work in this domain is the need of the hour and there are opportunities galore in this field. In fact, cyber security experts are today the new ‘super heroes’ of most organizations.

Pradipto Chakrabarty is the Regional Director, CompTIA, the voice of the world’s information technology industry. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, professional certifications and public policy advocacy. You can view his profile here

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

IBM unveiled the annual IBM 5 in 5 [#ibm5in5], a list of ground-breaking scientific innovations with the potential to change the way people work, live, and interact during the next five years.

In 1609, Galileo invented the telescope and saw our cosmos in an entirely new way. He proved the theory that Earth and other planets in our solar system revolve around the Sun, which until then was impossible to observe. IBM Research continues this work through the pursuit of new scientific instruments-whether physical devices or advanced software tools-designed to make what’s invisible in our world visible, from the macroscopic level down to the nano-scale.

Dario Gil, vice president of science & solutions at IBM Research said

The scientific community has a wonderful tradition of creating instruments to help us see the world in entirely new ways. For example, the microscope helped us see objects too small for the naked eye and the thermometer helped us understand temperature of the Earth and human body. With advances in artificial intelligence and nanotechnology, we aim to invent a new generation of scientific instruments that will make the complex invisible systems in our world today visible over the next five years.

The IBM 5 in 5 is based on market and societal trends as well as emerging technologies from IBM’s Research labs around the world that can make these transformations possible. Here are the five scientific instruments that will make the invisible visible in the next 5 years:

PS – We in the article refers to IBM Research

With AI, our words will open a window into our mental health

Brain disorders, including developmental, psychiatric and neuro degenerative diseases, represent an enormous disease burden, in terms of human suffering and economic cost. For example, today, one in five adults in the U.S. experiences a mental health condition such as depression, bipolar disease or schizophrenia, and roughly half of individuals with severe psychiatric disorders receive no treatment. The global cost of mental health conditions is projected to surge to US$ 6.0 trillion by 2030.

If the brain is a black box that we don’t fully understand, then speech is a key to unlock it. In five years, what we say and write will be used as indicators of our mental health and physical well being. Patterns in our speech and writing analyzed by new cognitive systems will provide tell-tale signs of early-stage developmental disorders, mental illness and degenerative neurological diseases that can help doctors and patients better predict, monitor and track these conditions.

At IBM, scientists are using transcripts and audio inputs from psychiatric interviews, coupled with machine learning techniques, to find patterns in speech to help clinicians accurately predict and monitor psychosis, schizophrenia, mania and depression. Today, it only takes about 300 words to help clinicians predict the probability of psychosis in a user.

In the future, similar techniques could be used to help patients with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease, PTSD and even neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and ADHD. Cognitive computers can analyze a patient’s speech or written words to look for tell-tale indicators found in language, including meaning, syntax and intonation. Combining the results of these measurements with those from wearable devices and imaging systems and collected in a secure network can paint a more complete picture of the individual for health professionals to better identify, understand and treat the underlying disease.

What were once invisible signs will become clear signals of patients’ likelihood of entering a certain mental state or how well their treatment plan is working, complementing regular clinical visits with daily assessments from the comfort of their homes.

Hyperimaging and AI will give us superhero vision

More than 99.9 percent of the electromagnetic spectrum cannot be observed by the naked eye. Over the last 100 years, scientists have built instruments that can emit and sense energy at different wavelengths. Today, we rely on some of these to take medical images of our body, see the cavity inside our tooth, check our bags at the airport, or land a plane in fog. However, these instruments are incredibly specialized and expensive and only see across specific portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

In five years, new imaging devices using hyper-imaging technology and AI will help us see broadly beyond the domain of visible light by combining multiple bands of the electromagnetic spectrum to reveal valuable insights or potential dangers that would otherwise be unknown or hidden from view. Most importantly, these devices will be portable, affordable and accessible, so superhero vision can be part of our everyday experiences.

A view of the invisible or vaguely visible physical phenomena all around us could help make road and traffic conditions clearer for drivers and self-driving cars. For example, using millimeter wave imaging, a camera and other sensors, hyper-imaging technology could help a car see through fog or rain, detect hazardous and hard-to-see road conditions such as black ice, or tell us if there is some object up ahead and its distance and size. Cognitive computing technologies will reason about this data and recognize what might be a tipped over garbage can versus a deer crossing the road, or a pot hole that could result in a flat tire.

Embedded in our phones, these same technologies could take images of our food to show its nutritional value or whether it’s safe to eat. A hyper-image of a pharmaceutical drug or a bank check could tell us what’s fraudulent and what’s not. What was once beyond human perception will come into view.

IBM scientists are today building a compact hyper-imaging platform that “sees” across separate portions of the electromagnetic spectrum in one platform to potentially enable a host of practical and affordable devices and applications.

(more…)

|In: e-commerce|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Smartbox.in, India’s first network of automated parcel delivery terminals, commenced its operations in India with Oriflame becoming the first company to offer the superior customer experience associated with receiving orders via automated delivery terminals to its customers. Additionally, Smartbox has partnered with YES Bank to power their terminals with unattended payment solution. Besides being the only available 24/7 parcel delivery service, Smartbox also offers the option of cashless COD making it the most safe, secure and private among the available delivery options.

Oriflame, the leading international beauty products company, has entered into a strategic alliance with Smartbox to offer the most flexible and convenient alternative to receiving parcel delivery from couriers at home or office. The partnership brings in extended capabilities to deliver orders 24 hours a day through Smartbox’ automated parcel delivery terminals installed at strategic locations in Delhi NCR.

Last mile delivery is one the most crucial steps in the entire delivery process-as it involves a lot of co-ordination between logistics partner and end consumers to locate exact address, match timings, etc. Current delivery methods of most ecommerce companies often result in repeated/missed delivery attempts, or returned orders due to last mile delivery challenges that increases cost per delivery and loss of order respectively. Automated delivery terminals from Smartbox solves such challenges of ecommerce companies while at the same time, empowers consumers with a highly secure, private & convenient way to collect their orders.

Smartbox delivery terminals have been installed at various convenient locations such as metro stations, residential complexes and office premises from where shoppers can pick their parcels 24/7 as per their convenience, be it the early morning or late night. Smartbox automated parcel terminals are also environment-friendly and help in reducing carbon footprint.

Oriflame becomes the first company in India to deliver products through automated terminals. This is a shift from the traditional courier home-based delivery system to more efficient self-service lockers.

Kunal Verma-Operations Director, South Asia, Oriflame Cosmetics said

This is a crucial move from the perspective of Oriflame as an endeavor to streamline the product delivery to our network of consultants and consolidate our position in the market by providing high-quality products faster to end customers. We see this partnership with Smartbox as a great opportunity to eliminate logistical bottlenecks and make our network more efficient. We have successfully used such services in other markets and hope to make this association with Smartbox a similar success in India. The Smartbox network is expected to first cover Delhi NCR extensively before moving to remaining 7 metros and eventually to cover the Rest of India.

Amit Sawhney-CEO, Smartbox Ecommerce Solutions Pvt. Ltd. said

We are delighted to get into this partnership with a globally leading brand in its category like Oriflame. Our technology helps solve the most complex and costliest part of a parcel’ journey – i.e. the last mile. Our agile platform is a world class solution that solves multiple challenges for E-commerce businesses in India. 

YES BANK has ensured that best-in-class security systems are implemented for ease and safety of transaction for consumers at various locations across Delhi NCR to give today’s busy consumers the flexibility to take deliveries at the place & time that fits their schedule-instead of courier person’s schedule.

Speaking on the partnership Ritesh Pai, Senior President & Country Head, Digital Banking, YES BANK said

Earlier this year YES BANK partnered with Smartbox to efficiently solve the last mile delivery challenges of e-commerce companies and offer additional convenience to the online shoppers. YES BANK powers the payment solutions for Smartbox network of more than 60 Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals installed in Delhi NCR region, and provides best-in-class security systems to ensure easy and safe transactions by shoppers. I am excited about the next phase of this innovative solution where we get onboard the online seller/merchant base. One such significant partnership is with Oriflame, an international beauty brand, that will now use Smartbox solution powered by YES BANK to deliver its products at the delivery terminals near the consumer’s vicinity. We at YES BANK are working in tandem with e-commerce players to drive digital banking in India & build an advanced ecosystem for both the buyers and sellers.

With the recent government emphasis on digitization and its push towards making India a cashless economy, Smartbox with its inherent cashless COD option will also help its clients as well as their customers in making this transition as smooth as possible.

About Smartbox

Smartbox is a fresh & innovative new way to simplify online shopping. It is India’s first integrated network of automated parcel delivery terminals-a true symbol of technology bringing convenience to online shoppers. Smartbox has been established with an objective of streamlining the delivery process of e-commerce businesses in India and improve online shopping experience for consumers. For more information, please visit SmartBox

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

DigitalOcean, a cloud platform focused on simplifying the complexities of infrastructure for software developers and businesses and Stockroom.io, India’s first curated platform for developers have partnered to launch Women Hack, an online coding challenge for women.

The women hack will consist of a series of challenging coding questions of various complexities. Participants are expected to solve these questions remotely in a given time frame. The top women developers who participate in the challenge will be featured and rewarded.

Women earn 57% of the country’s bachelor degrees and make up roughly half of the professional workforce, yet they represent less than 25% of science, technology and engineering employees. The time is long overdue to encourage more women to dream the possible dream. It’s not just about diversity at the workplace but also about encouraging and supporting more women to build amazing technology products.

Speaking about the partnership, Prabhakar Jayakumar, Country Manager, DigitalOcean said

We are happy to partner with Stockroom.io on the Women Hack initiative. We believe men and women are equally capable of being innovators in technology. In a progressive field like technology, events like these provide a good platform to foster innovation and we look forward to supporting women entrepreneurs and developers.

Though this is a small step together by Stockroom.io and DigitalOcean to celebrate women in technology, they plan to host women only coding challenges more frequently going forward.

The first women hack is scheduled to happen on January 7th 2017. Every participant of the challenge will receive free cloud credits from DigitalOcean and the winner will get some cool swag, additional cloud credits and a cash prize from DigitalOcean.

About DigitalOcean

Founded in 2011, DigitalOcean is a cloud platform that is simplifying the complexities of infrastructure for software developers. DigitalOcean has become the second largest and fastest growing cloud computing platform in the total number of public facing apps and websites, according to Netcraft.com. The company has raised $123 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Access Industries, IA Ventures, CrunchFund, and Techstars. The company is headquartered in New York City with data center regions throughout the world, including one in Bangalore (India). For more information, please visit DigitalOcean

|In: Guest Blogging|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

The shops are getting busy, and, depending on which hemisphere you live in, it’s either time to turn on the central heating or break out the shorts and shades. But it’s also time to look ahead to 2017 and wonder what it might have in store for us.

Image Source – Tech Trends

On a global level the world is going through turbulent times, with conflicts, political uncertainty, an ongoing refugee crisis and a somewhat fragile economic recovery from the most recent financial downturn. At the same time, technological developments continue unabated, with high-speed networks, big data and deep learning moving beyond that initial phase of just being marketing buzz words to enabling new and improved security offerings. Similarly, we expect the so-called Internet of Things to be much less of a novelty and more of the fabric of our daily lives. However, that means manufacturers of internet-enabled devices will have to step up and take much more responsibility for the level of default security they ship with. All of these factors are likely to fuel demand for increased security, both physical and online.

PS – We in the article refers to Axis Communications

Security as a Service

As many other technologies have done, we expect customers will stop looking at physical security as simply being a collection of hardware and software connected to a network. Instead, we think they will start to see their security as a service-remote and professionally hosting and monitoring of video transmitted from the customer’s premise.

Whether by themselves, or more likely by sector-specific specialists who can not only take away the burden of managing the complex systems involved, but also reduce the costs of keeping those systems up to date and secure. This will not only free up internal resources which could be better focused elsewhere, but also improve the service level of the security system, enable better device management, and strengthen cyber security processes.

On the topic of cyber-security, we see an increased use of tools and practices that make network video a less vulnerable to attacks. In general, wider use of pre- and post-installation tools [such as Axis Site Designer, for example] will help in on-going monitoring and maintenance of systems.

Integrated Solutions

The security industry will continue its trends of offering more specific solutions to particular problems, rather than one-size fits all hardware/software. In the end, customers aren’t looking to buy a camera, or a video management system [VMS]-what they really want is to reduce shoplifting, or make sure only certain people can access the cash office, or keep track of potential threats in an airport. Although the word ‘solutions’ gets bandied around by technology companies a lot, for once this really is the most apt term.

The convergence of hardware and software as well as pre-installation and post installation tools as mentioned above, into end-to-end solutions will be able to address specific security problems. They will consist of high-performance cameras, storage and access controls tightly integrated with video management and analytics tools. This approach will be easier for customers to purchase, install and implement, while offering a great return on their investment.

Expanded Use of Analytics

As part of this, we see that while high quality video footage is a core feature of modern security cameras, ultimately that information needs to be assessed and analyzed before a decision can be made to respond to its content. The recent advances in camera technologies, such as thermal imaging and enhanced low-light capabilities have been significant steps forward. But in the end, they just generate more footage that needs to be watched/reviewed.

So, much like how tools have been developed to sift through the huge pools of numerical/text data that is being captured every day, the security industry has been working hard on video analytics software that can work in real time to help professionals make informed decisions. We expect to see 2017 as the year when these new camera capabilities are combined with real-time analytics to address several security challenges, including facial recognition, forensic analysis and perimeter protection.

Deep Learning

With all this data being gathered, we are seeing deep learning technologies coming to the fore. These use pattern recognition software to ‘learn’ about different kinds of behaviours as seen through the multitude of security cameras installed around the world. Techniques involving deep learning and artificial intelligence will see broader utilization within the security industry.

The benefits are that although all customers are different, the environments and locations they are based in tend to fall into the same general categories, with people exhibiting the same general behaviours. Once those behaviours have been ‘learned’ the patterns that underlie them can be shared, enabling the system to flag up when something unexpected occurs. We see this as only the beginning and a very exciting space to keep an eye on.

Beyond Video

However, we know that physical security doesn’t just involve surveillance of people/places/objects. It is also about physical access control, one & two-way communication and managing emergency situations-and often managing this from a significant distance. So, to extend the concept of integration even further, 2017 should be the year when security cameras work hand in glove with intelligent doors, intercoms and speakers, both locally and remotely. That means one simple system that can manage them all, in real time-enabling customers to see, hear and talk to the people in/near their buildings.

Cybersecurity

As mentioned above ‘The Internet of Things’ has evolved from buzzword status to mainstream reality, but not without its challenges. While we still think the idea of millions of IP-enabled devices is an exciting prospect for the future, 2016 gave us a sobering reminder of the pitfalls of not properly securing all those internet-connected fridges, DVRs and unfortunately security cameras. Given that most of those devices are just plugged in and switched on by customers, it is down to manufacturers to take responsibility to ensure they are secure out of the box.

Axis has always taken its customers’ security seriously, but we will hopefully see 2017 as the year when all manufacturers make this a priority. We will continue to strengthen our existing offerings and make it easier for our customers to keep their networks and devices secure.

We think the Internet of Things should be about better security, and more efficient businesses, organizations and cities thanks to “smart” cameras, door stations and audio equipment with network connectivity. 2017 will add more ‘smarts’ to those devices, while also enabling customers to focus on what they do best and allowing security specialists to improve the services they provide.

|In: Review|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy is an age-old adage that still holds a lot of relevance. For a matter of fact, this saying is becoming more & more relevant with changing times and one factor that has made this adage more relevant is Stress!  Stress, one word that lately each one of us can easily co-relate to. In this fast paced life, stress can sometimes get over you and can hamper your productivity & also your personal life. Stress levels have been on the rise and number of factors like increased work pressure, personal finance, peer pressure, instability in the world economy, etc. are some of the major contributors leading to it’s phenomenal rise 🙁 It is not only the adults who have stress, this menace is on the rise amongst children.

However, where there is stress there needs to be a stress buster, a way to calm your body and mind. The mechanism or methodology a person follows to beat stress is also unique e.g someone might find happiness in doing Yoga or reading or playing games or playing adventure sports, etc. My biggest stress buster is playing cricket since many times it becomes important to move away from our phones/laptops and have some fun.

Image Source – Kayaking

Talking about Adventure Sports, it is not only an effective way to beat fatigue but it is an industry that is garnering a lot of attention especially after PM Modi’s initiative of World Yoga Day. As per Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture – Seeing tourist presence and investors interest, it seems adventure sports are the future of tourism in India. We honor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to promote extreme sports. Our government, as well as the state government is committed to developing this region as a serene and safe spot for adventure sports [Source]. Adventure Tourism is also a burgeoning industry and the availability of low-cost airlines is acting as a catalyst for its growth. Vacation over beach side, sight seeing are loosing their Midas touch to adventure activities like skydiving, scuba diving, kayaking, etc.

As per a recent study about the Adventure Tourism Market

The international adventure tourism market is likely to grow at a fast pace during the forecast period and is anticipated to post a CAGR of more than 46% by 2020. Much of the segment’s growth can be attributed to the increased popularity of international holiday destinations among global tourists. This analyst forecast the global adventure tourism market to grow at a CAGR of 45.99% during the period 2016-2020. According to the adventure tourism market report, increased preference for adventure over other tourism activities will be a key driver for market growth.

Though India is not a very popular adventure tourism destination [when compared to Europe, other Asian countries, etc.], adventure sports like Paragliding, Mountain Biking, Scuba Diving and Kayaking in India are garnering popularity. Whitewater Kayaking is a niche sport and initiatives like Malabar River Festival by Kerala Kayak Academy and Madras Fun Tools acts as a medium to take this sport to Kayaking enthusiasts.

Since Kayaking and other such water sports have a niche fan following, availability of high-quality paddling equipment’s [both online and offline] could further boost the interest in the sport as well as adventure tourism. They are not even stocked [or not available] at sporting retailers like Decathlon. This core problem could only be solved by passionate & enthusiast kayakers as they not only love the sport but have also experienced this problem first-hand! Madras Fun Tools started by Jacopo Nordera, Manik Taneja, Raymond Shaw is the only online equipment store dedicated to the sport of White Water Kayaking where you could buy SUP in India.

Equipment’s available on Madras Fun Tools

Madras Fun tools specialize in distributing and retailing high-quality white-water & recreational kayaks, stand up paddle boards [SUP] from famous brands such a Dagger, AT paddles, Wavesport, etc. Enthusiasts can log on to Madras Fun Tools, place an order and get the order delivered at their doorstep. They have also established a partnership with Confluence Outdoor, #1 manufacturer of Kayaks, Canoes, and Accessories.

Niche e-commerce portals like Madras Fun Tools are solving a genuine problem that could otherwise clog the growth of the sport in India. If you are a sporting enthusiast with inclination towards white-water sports/adventure sports, you need not hamper your passion as high-quality kayaks in India are just a click away @ Madras Fun Tools