Category Archives: Science & Technology

Kalaburagi gets State’s first smart pole Wi-Fi

Records, All, Science & Technology
Congress Leader in Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge inaugurating the State’s first smart pole providing high speed wi-fi services on the municipal corporation premises in Kalaburagi on Wednesday.
Congress Leader in Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge inaugurating the State’s first smart pole providing high speed wi-fi services on the municipal corporation premises in Kalaburagi on Wednesday.

As part of the State government’s initiative to provide free Wi-Fi services to people at select places, a Wi-Fi smart pole was inaugurated on the premises of Kalaburagi City Corporation by Congress Leader in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Information Technology and Bio-Technology and Tourism Priyank Kharge said that the smart pole was the first of its kind in the State and 12th in the country.

“With this smart pole Wi-Fi, one can have unlimited browsing and 100 MB download a day with a data transfer speed of 1 mbps. We are planning to shortly establish similar smart poles in 18 other places in the city,” he said.

Mr. Priyank said that as per the announcement made in the last budget, work to provide free Wi-Fi services in 2,500 gram panchayats was under way. “The task would be completed by the end of March,” he said.

Indus Tower Karnataka is implementing projects to establish smart poles in association with the government. Subbu Ayyar, a representative of the company, said that each pole cost about IRs. 5 lakh.

“The smart pole is so powerful that it can offer free Wi-Fi service up to 300 m,” he said.

Medical Education Minister and Kalaburagi in-charge Sharanprakash Patil, Mayor Sharankumar Modi, Deputy Commissioner R. Venkatesh Kumar, Corporation Commissioner Raghunandan Murthy, District Congress Committee president Jagadev Guttedar and others were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu> News> States> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Kalaburagi – February 15th, 2018

Railways introduces mobile app for buying unreserved tickets

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology
The number oftickets booked through mobile booking app UTS is steadily increasing. File photo: V. Ganesan
The number oftickets booked through mobile booking app UTS is steadily increasing. File photo: V. Ganesan

SWR is the only zone of Indian Railways where all stations are covered by utsonmobile

Indian Railways, to make unreserved travel easier, has come out with an app ‘utsonmobile’ to help passengers book an unreserved ticket, without waiting in long queues at railway stations.

Through the app, one can book season tickets and platform tickets too. While the app is available for suburban sections of Southern, Central, Western, Eastern, South Eastern, South Central and non-suburban sections of Northern Railway, it is available for the entire South Western Railway Zone after its launch by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in Belagavi on February 10.

About 5 lakh people undertake unreserved journey in SWR daily.

The app is available for free on Android and Windows platforms. It offers twin ticketing options: paperless and paper tickets. Upon registration, one can recharge the rail wallet either through UTS counters or through www.utsonmobile.indianrail.gov.in.

One has to be within a 5-km radius of the station from where the journey commences to book a paperless ticket with a GPS-enabled smartphone.

The journey has to commence within three hours of booking and one has to open “show ticket” window to show the ticket to a ticket examiner.

The paperless ticket cannot be cancelled.

On the other hand, a paper ticket can be booked even while inside a station and a printout has to be taken from ATVM after providing mobile phone number and booking number. Paper ticket can be cancelled.

A senior official from SWR told The Hindu that all stations of SWR have been mapped with GPS and tickets can be booked from any station to any other within the SWR network. Booking tickets to or from stations outside SWR zone may be done if the station outside SWR is mapped with GPS, the official said.

The official said utsonmobile would be a boon to season ticket travellers as they need not spend a day to buy or renew the ticket. Others doing unreserved travel too would get benefited, the official added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Anil Kumar Sastry / Mangaluru – February 14th, 2018

Kalaburagi student honoured with Junior Scientist Award

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology

Praveen Kumar V., a geology student from Central University of Karnataka (CUK), Kalaburagi, has been honoured with the Junior Scientist Award of 2017 for his research on the earth and the environment.

The award was conferred by International Foundation of Environment and Ecology (IFEE), Kolkata, at the fourth international seminar held at Guwahati, Assam, recently.

Mr. Kumar was the one among the ten students and the only one from Karnataka selected for the award that is given to young achievers under the age of 32 in the field of earth sciences.

A joint committee of Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi and IFEE, Kolkata, had been formed to select the achievers for the award.

Groundwater recharge

The CUK authorities said that Mr. Kumar’s research on earth and environment, particularly on artificial recharge of groundwater, water management and conservation, hydrology, solid waste management, the impact of solid waste on surface water and disparity in rains had got him the prestigious award.

With an M.Sc. and a B.Sc. in geology from CUK, Mr. Kumar is presently pursuing a Ph.D. under the guidance of Mohammad Aslam at CUK. University Vice-Chancellor H.M. Maheshwaraiah, in a release, congratulated the young scientist and expressed his commitment to create a conducive and research-friendly environment in CUK.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Staff Reporter / Kalaburagi – February 21st, 2018

3D planetarium at Pilikula to open on March 1

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, Science & Technology
High-tech: A view of the Swami Vivekananda Planetarium at Dr. Shivaram Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama in Mangaluru.
High-tech: A view of the Swami Vivekananda Planetarium at Dr. Shivaram Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama in Mangaluru.

The public can view shows from March 2

The Swami Vivekananda Planetarium at the Dr. Shivarama Karantha Pilikula Nisargadhama here will be inaugurated on March 1.

The planetarium, on the premises of Regional Science Centre, will be thrown open to public from March 2.

According to Sasikanth Senthil S., Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada and chairman of the governing council of the nisargadhama, it is the first planetarium in the country having active 3D, 8K digital and opto-mechanical (hybrid) projection system.

Addressing presspersons after a preview show at the planetarium on Saturday, he said there would be six shows daily. The entry fee would be ₹60 per adult per show and ₹25 for children. People can book online tickets through ‘BookMyShow’ from February 27.

For those who attend the inaugural ceremony on Thursday, free passes would be given for the next two day shows, he said.

Mr. Senthil said the nisargadhama would introduce a comprehensive fee package of ₹100 per head per person from March 1. With this, visitors can see all tourist attractions inside the nisargadhama. It applies to watching the science show at the planetarium. However, the single ticket facility for each tourist attraction like for the zoo, science centre, lake garden and boating, botanical garden and cultural village would continue.

The Deputy Commissioner said a digital gallery would be set up in the planetarium this year.

He said Antrix Corporation Ltd., the commercial arm of ISRO, would organise an exhibition at the venue on the inaugural day. There would be demonstration of water rocket by ISRO.

J.R. Lobo, MLA, Mangaluru City South, said the planetarium has cost ₹36 crore.

He said the Pilikula Development Authority would be constituted this year as both Houses of the State legislature have approved the Bill to this effect.

Uncomfortable seats

Swami Vivekananda Planetarium has a 170-seating capacity. But the seats in the first three rows are the most uncomfortable for viewers, who do not get a full view of the 18 diameter dome during the science show.

During the preview on Saturday, reporters in the first three rows were not able to push the seats back to a comfortable level to get a full view of the dome. One had to either turn their head either to the right or left of the seat by taking their head out of the headrest, which is not flexible.

Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil S. said it could be corrected as seats could be tilted back to the comfortable level. Terming it a minor issue, he said it would be done before the planetarium is opened to the public.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – February 24th, 2018

Honour for SOAHS faculty member

Education, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Abraham Samuel Babu, Associate Professor in the Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences (SOAHS), has been made ‘Endeavour Ambassador’ by the Department of Education and Training, Australian High Commission, India.

The 2018 Ambassadors’ event was held in New Delhi on February 16.

As many as 20 ambassadors from India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh have been appointed.

Among them, 10 are from India: Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bhopal, Mizoram, and New Delhi.

They will also be recognized in the Australian government publications and events and will have the opportunity to meet and network with others from the region.

For MAHE, Dr. Abraham is the second ambassador. The first was Arun Chawla, Professor, Department of Urology, Kasturba Medical College (KMC) here.

Dr Abraham received the Endeavour Executive Fellowship in 2015 to train in heart rate variability measurements and scale development under the supervision of David Hare, Department of Cardiology, Austin Health, University of Melbourne, Australia. MAHE has also been home to 13 various Endeavour Fellow recipients.

Following his training, he was offered an Honorary Research Fellow position in the Department of Cardiology at Austin Health, Melbourne to continue research activities.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Manipal – February 24th, 2018

App to link farmers with buyers and sellers launched

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology
A girl trying to climb a coconut tree with the support of climbing equipment during the Krishi Sangama programme at Oddur Farm at Ganjimutt near Mangaluru. | Photo Credit: H_S_Manjunath
A girl trying to climb a coconut tree with the support of climbing equipment during the Krishi Sangama programme at Oddur Farm at Ganjimutt near Mangaluru. | Photo Credit: H_S_Manjunath

IT and BT Dept. has sanctioned IRs. 8 lakh for mobile application

A mobile application, Farmsurge, to connect farmers, scientists, institutions, buyers and sellers, developed by Arunya Foundation, Mangaluru, was released during the inauguration of the two-day Krishi Sangama, a farm fair, which began at Ganjimath, near here, on Saturday.

Speaking after launching it, H. Kempe Gowda, Joint Director, Agriculture, Dakshina Kannada, said the app can provide information on government facilities and schemes available to farmers from time to time.

Mr. Gowda said that the app has options to create different groups, like farmers cultivating arecanut, coconut, paddy, jowar, ragi etc., and provides a platform for interaction. It has ‘buy request’ and ‘sell request’ categories for farmers and a category of notification.

He said the IT and BT Department of the government has sanctioned ₹8 lakh to the foundation for developing the app under the innovation promotion scheme of the government. In that, the government has released ₹4 lakh and the balance would be released later.

The team of youth, who developed the app, had to compete with others who have developed similar apps. The government selected this app after its own assessment. B.K. Deva Rao of Mittabagilu, near Ujire in Dakshina Kannada, who has preserved about 150 varieties of paddy, and who inaugurated the Krishi Sangama asked youth not to drift away from paddy cultivation.

He asked them to pursue education and other professions by reserving some time for paddy cultivation.

The youth can cultivate paddy in fields which have been left barren by its owners for various reasons. Mr. Rao said his efforts in conserving paddy variants has won him about 15 awards, including the SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions) Samman award. The 73-year-old Mr. Rao, explained how use of chemical fertilisers brought down 45 varieties of paddy being cultivated by him since 1960s to about eight varieties in the late 1980s. He quit application of chemical fertilisers in 1988 and went the organic way, thus saving up to 150 varieties. Since the shelf life of paddy seeds is only up to eight months, he has to grow them every year in small plots to preserve the seeds.

The foundation has organised the Krishi Sangama at Oddur farm.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by Special Correspondent / Mangaluru – February 05th, 2018

Indigenous flight control system powers LCH

Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. flew its Light Combat Helicopter that is under development for 20 minutes on Wednesday using its own Automatic Flight Control System for the first time.

The indigenous AFCS is also the first to be designed and made in the country.

HAL said: “The maiden flight of LCH (Technology Demonstrator-2) was flawless with the engagement of the system throughout.” The LCH got its initial operational clearance on August 26 last year.

The Defence enterprise has funded the development of the hardware, software of the AFCS, which will replace the expensive imported system, said T. Suvarna Raju, HAL’s CMD.

HAL’s research and development centres — the Rotary Wing R&D Centre and the MCSRDC at Bengaluru, SLRDC at Hyderabad and Korwa Division — are involved in its development.

The digital, four-axis flight control system is capable of performing control and stability augmentation functions and auto pilot modes of helicopters.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – January 31st, 2018

Over 2,000 audiologists from India, abroad to attend Mysuru ISHA meet

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The Mysuru chapter of the Indian Speech and Hearing Association (MyISHA) is set to host the golden jubilee conference of the Indian Speech and Hearing Association (ISHA) in Mysuru. The conference will be attended by over 2,000 audiologists and speech language pathologists from India and aboard.

The 50th annual convention of the Indian Speech and Hearing Association will be held from Friday to Sunday at the All-India Institute of Speech and Hearing (ISHACON) — the birthplace and headquarters of the association. Governor Vajubhai Vala will inaugurate the 50th ISHACON at AIISH Gymkhana campus here at 6.15 p.m. on Friday. Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, will be the guest of honour.

The scientific session of the conference will start with homage to the founders of the ISHA. Dr. N. Rathna, Prof. Ramesh Oza, and Dr. Shailaja Nikam, signatories of the memorandum of association of ISHA in 1967, will talk about its golden era. Other senior members of the association. Dr. N.P. Nataraja, Dr. M. Jayaram, and Dr. Shivashankar N. will be addressing the delegates during the session, a release stated here.

The deliberations and discussions at the conference will add a wealth of knowledge to the participants who will learn about the state-of-the-art techniques in diagnosis and rehabilitation of communication problems.

Experts in the field will deliver lectures on diverse topics such as language recovery in aphasia, paediatric feeding disorders, and intervention, professional voice management, motor speech disorders in neuro-developmental syndromes, dead regions of the cochlea, clinical applications of OAE, cross check principles of diagnostic audiology, certification of disability, and funding opportunities for aid and appliances, the release added. In addition, around 220 research papers will be presented by students and professionals at the conference.

Prior to the conference, six workshops will be held on Thursday to enable delegates to get in-depth hands-on training on specific issues. More than 50 stalls will be put up by different companies related to speech and hearing exhibiting their products and recent technical advances. The vision document that will be released as part of the conference will give directions to the members of the association to enhance the clinical and research activities. The document will also emphasise on the ethics to be practised by its members and directions to establish a speech and hearing council.

For more details, visit www.ishacon.com.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – January 04th, 2018

Engineering students in Bengaluru launch 3 race cars

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology, Sports

AshwaRacingMPOs16jan2018

On the combustion, hybrid and electric platforms

Ashwa Racing, a brand under Ashwa Mobility of RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, on Saturday launched three new race cars on the combustion (AMF RZX8- CO), hybrid (AMF X8-HY) and electric (AMF-RZX8 -ELE) platforms for the 2018 race season.

Undergraduate students, who conceived, designed and build formula race cars, would be competing in national and global events in the coming months.

The combustion vehicle (210 kg without driver) development is headed by team captain Sweekruth Shetty, project manager Rakesh H.N, chief engineer Prateek Bhustali. The racing hybrid vehicle (300 kg) development is headed by team captain Asfan Khan, project manager Suhas B.U., chief engineer Uday Naik and chief communication officer Tarun Kasa.

The electric vehicle (200kg) development is headed by team captain Pranave Nanda, project manager Rahul S.D., chief engineer Gautam Singh and chief communication officer Srivatsa Deshpande.

The combustion and electric divisions of Ashwa Racing would be competing in Formula Bharat, which will be held in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu from January 24 to 28, 2018.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / January 15th, 2018

One app to connect to all social media

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Manoj Patil, director of operations of Sprouter, and Daniel Everist, developer of the app, at a press meet in Hubballi on Friday.
Manoj Patil, director of operations of Sprouter, and Daniel Everist, developer of the app, at a press meet in Hubballi on Friday.

‘Sprouter’, developed by U.S. student, to be launched in Bengaluru

A new mobile application that might change the way people connect to their social media accounts has been developed by an American student of University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, U.S., Daniel Everist, and is all set to be launched in Bengaluru.

The app, ‘Sprouter’, helps one connect to various social media accounts with just one touch. Twenty-year old Everist was in Hubballi on Friday, along with his one-time teacher Manoj Patil, who is now a teacher as well as entrepreneur, to give details of the app that is already being used by thousands in the U.S.

You can access FB, Instagram etc.

Mr. Patil, a native of Hubballi, director of operations of Sprouter, told presspersons that through the new mobile app one can access Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Spotify, Pinterest and VSCO. “We are also in talks with other social media platform providers like WhatsApp, and want to help users log into their social media accounts with one touch,” he said. Explaining how the app works, Mr. Everist said users can synchronise their accounts with Sprouter, create one username, and on meeting someone new, they can share their Sprouter username and give access to multiple accounts.

The idea first came to Mr. Everist while in a dorm room, when as a fresher at the university, he was introduced to others. Soon each one started adding the other on social media giving the different usernames. Mr. Everist then wondered if there could be an easier way to log into all accounts at once. “The idea took an year to take shape and that’s how Sprouter was born,” Mr. Everist said.

The Android and iOS versions of the app are available on the app stores, or can be downloaded by visiting getsprouter.com.

Mr. Patil said their plan is to add at least one new feature every month and get as many social media under Sprouter as possible. After the formal launch for India in Bengaluru, the plan is to get it launched in the United Kingdom, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Hubballi – January 13th, 2018