Vol : 1, Issue 06, June 2017, Monthly

Science Gazette
&Technol gy
Rise of Intelligent
Machines:
AI & Robotics
Pradeep David, General Manager Future lies in the
(India & Sri Lanka )
hands of collaborative
Universal Robots
robots

Alternatives for
Bill Schweber
for Mouser Electronics
Complex
Robotic Motion

Ashish Gula , Country Head Digi za on and its

Telit India rela onship with IoT
NOTION And for thousands of companies throughout the world 2017
will represent the Year of the Robot.
Collabora ve robots and mobile service robots are on the
rise in factories across the globe. Many companies,
especially SMEs, are looking for new and viable ways to
integrate robo cs and automa on into their opera ons to
drive produc vity and profits.
Pradeep David, General Manager India& Sri Lanka at
Universal Robots believes future lies in the hands of co-bots.
But many Indian manufacturers have been slow to embrace
automa on and new technology. Much of this resistance
seems to be ed to cost, low awareness, exper se and a lack
of understanding of how they could produce an a rac ve
return on their investment.
Some manufacturers feel “they are not cost effec ve” and
“see no need” However, most of the new genera on robots
are significantly less expensive than tradi onal, sta onary
robots, which can cost anywhere from $100,000 to

Are $500,000. Collabora ve robots are now available in the

$20,000 to $50,000 price range, with prices dropping further
each year.
So what are you wai ng for? Are you ready for the rise of

You the robots? Has your company considered adop ng or

expanding its robo cs technology? Are there repe ve,
dangerous or onerous tasks that could be more efficiently

Robo managed by machines? Have you explored what sorts of

gains in produc vity, efficiency, and waste reduc on could
be achieved by deploying robots in your opera ons? Have
you assessed what possible return on investment and cost-

Ready? benefit analysis robo cs would bring – including savings in

labor costs? Does your company have the talent to exploit
robo cs technology to the fullest?
Keeping the importance of the automa on, AI and Robo cs
in driving the electronics Indian manufacturing ecosystem,
the June issue of Scigaze e Magazine focuses on the rise of
intelligent machines, current trends in AI and security
concerns a ached to it.

We hope you thoroughly enjoy reading June issue.

Regards,
Sagar Rawat
Asst.Editor
edit@scigaze e.com

Scigazette | 03 | June, 2017

 contents
20 Cover Story
Rise of Intelligent
Machines:
AI & Robotics

Inside

News 05

09 Design Maxim Integrated

Safeguarding Sensitive Data Via Hardware-Based Design Security

Stephan Dubach, CEO, Toradex Group In Conversation 11

“Based on the fact that the complexity of technology will continue to increase,
developers will need professional support during the design phase”

14 Tech Focus Diego Grassi, Senior Manager Market Development, u-blox

How our cities are becoming smarter and what it means for us

17 Bill Schweber for Mouser Electronics

Alternatives for Complex Robotic Motion

Pradeep David, General Manager In Conversation 25

(India & Sri Lanka )
Universal Robots Future lies in the hands of collaborative robots

29 In the digi zed scenario, networking will con nue to blanket the world.

31 Digi za on and its Rela onship with IoT

33 Preparing for Cyberwar

36 New Products
 News

Innovative Technology for Future Oriented Off-the-Grid Applications

Stäubli Electrical Connectors, the specialist in
advanced contact technology and the rewarded start-
up company Power-Blox signed a strategic
cooperation and will jointly offer efficient solutions in
the field of energy storage and off-the-grid systems.
With over 20 years of experience in the photovoltaic
industry and more than 1 billion installed PV
connector components, Stäubli Electrical Connectors
provides more than 150 GW or 50% of the worldwide
PV capacity. With the new technology called “Swarm
Power”, developed by the Swiss start-up company
Power-Blox and its intelligent energy cubes, an off-
the-grid energy supply can be produced without any
technical know-how or configuration.
Power-Blox is the first modular solar energy system,
which offers alternating current up to the megawatt
range based on swarm technology. This revolutionary
concept also allows for a completely mobile supply
and functions as a portable outlet.

Schneider Electric Announces New StruxureOn Digital Service for Data Centers
Schneider Electric has introduced StruxureOn, a
digital service that connects data center physical
infrastructure assets to the Schneider Electric cloud
enabling the delivery of simplified and faster services.
With real-time visibility into system performance,
maintenance and service requirements via mobile
app, StruxureOn data-driven analytics can proactively
advise of potential failures, fundamentally improving
the ability to service critical equipment prior to
failure.
As part of the digital service, Schneider Electric's
Service Bureau personnel is readily available to
remotely troubleshoot an issue or, in cases that can't
be addressed remotely, dispatch a field service
representative armed with the necessary information
and equipment to quickly resolve the issue and
minimise downtime. Schneider Electric's Service
Bureau acts as a 'second set of eyes' providing around
the clock incident monitoring so that data center and
facility managers can rest assured that immediate
action will be taken to curtail the impact on data
center operations.

Scigazette | 05 | June, 2017

 News

Back to School: Telit Launches IoT University

Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT),
has announced its official launch of Telit IoT
University. Designed for IoT developers and
integrators, Telit IoT University, which is part of the
company's IoT Know How suite of services, will teach
customers and partners how to succeed in launching
IoT solutions that deliver measurable business
outcomes.
It is located at the Telit IoT Platforms division in Boca expansion of the company's original deviceWISE
Raton, Florida, and features a broad curriculum, University program, and includes an innovation and
including courses and hands-on labs co-developed by design lab that showcases Telit deviceWISE Ready
Telit and Florida Atlantic University's Institute for partner applications and gives students experience
Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering with a variety of hardware components required for a
(I-SENSE). This education-focused initiative is an successful IoT deployment.

Strechable Batteries Printed to Light Wearables

Nanoengineers at the University of
California San Diego have
developed the first printed battery
that is flexible, stretchable and
rechargeable. The zinc batteries
could be used to power everything
from wearable sensors to solar
cells and other kinds of
electronics.
The researchers made the printed
batteries flexible and stretchable
by incorporating a hyper-elastic
polymer material made from
isoprene, one of the main
ingredients in rubber, and
polystyrene, a resin-like
component. The substance,
known as SIS, allows the
batteries to stretch to twice
their size, in any direction,
without suffering damage.
The ink used to print the
batteries is made of zinc silver rechargeable. The researchers
oxide mixed with SIS. While zinc added bismuth oxide to the
batteries have been in use for a batteries to make them
long time, they are typically non- rechargeable.

Cyber Security 2020 meet held in Delhi

In a recently held event hosted by
RAH Infotech, IT industry experts
came together to discuss the 20
threats each CEO should prepare
for by 2020 and how to combat
the ever challenging cyber security
issues.
Speaking at the event, the guest of
honour Mr. Pavan Duggal,
Chairman International
Commission on Cyber Security Law securing it should be the first attacks with cyber criminals
& Advocate, Supreme Court said priority. Ransomware is just the tip finding smarter ways to break into
“Data is the most critical of the iceberg. Organisations must any network.”
component of any business and brace up for more powerful

Scigazette | 06 | June, 2017

 News

India poised to become winner in IoT industry, says IT secretary

Launching the second edition of the 'IoT India connected to the internet in India by 2023, Indian IoT
Congress 2017', Information Technology Secretary market is forecast to secure 20 percent of the global
Aruna Sundararajan said with the two largest IoT business ecosystem to reach nearly $15 billion in
industries — information technology (IT) and telecom next three years.
— that power the IoT industry, India is poised to
become a winner in this space.
“The capabilities in entrepreneurship in different
sectors, the aspirational and second-to-none startup
community in India and the young demographics
makes me optimistic that India can forge ahead in this
direction,” Sundarajan told reporters here.
The global IoT market is set to exceed $300 billion by
2020 and with almost 1.9 billion devices to be

EU to Investigate Qualcomm's $38 Billion Bid for NXP Semiconductors

Antitrust regulators for the European Union will
investigate the $38 billion deal between Qualcomm
and NXP Semiconductors.
Should the deal go through, Qualcomm will become
the leading supplier of chips to the automotive
market. The company currently supplies chips to
Android smartphone makers and Apple.
The European Commission released its concerns over
the deal, citing the combined company's incentive to
squeeze out rivals in baseband chipset sales and near
field communications by bundling its products.
The EU expressed concern that Qualcomm might
alter NXP's intellectual property licensing protocol by
tying NXP's patents to its own portfolio.
The deal is set to be the largest ever in the
semiconductor industry. U.S. antitrust regulators
okayed the deal in April. The European Commission
will decide on the deal by Oct. 17.

China launches drone swarm of 119 fixed-wing UAV’s

China has launched a record-
breaking swarm of 119 fixed-wing
unmanned aerial vehicles that
broke the previous record of a
swarm of 67 drones, the China
Electronics Technology Group
Corporation (CETC) said.
The 119 drones performed
catapult-assisted take-offs and
formations in the sky.
According to the CETC, "swarm
intelligence" is regarded as the core
of artificial intelligence of
unmanned systems and the future
of intelligent unmanned systems.
Zhao Yanjie, an engineer with CETC,
said that since drones were
invented in 1917, intelligent
swarms have become a disruptive
force to "change rules of the
game".
Reports in the Chinese official
media in the recent past said
Chinese military is also testing to
launch mass armed drones as a
new technique in battle conditions.
China is currently the largest maker
of drones.

Scigazette | 07 | June, 2017

 News

SoftBank unit buys robotics

businesses from Alphabet Inc
Japan's SoftBank Group Corp said on Friday that a
unit of the company will buy two firms that build
walking robots from Alphabet Inc, which would add to
the group's growing artificial intelligence portfolio.
The Japanese company will buy Boston Dynamics and
Tokyo-based Schaft, which design and manufacture
robots that simulate human movement. It did not
disclose the terms of the transactions.
SoftBank's shares rose as much as 7.9 percent after
the deal was announced, hitting a 17-year high. clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic
“Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the robots," SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son
next stage of the information revolution, and Marc said in a statement. Raibert is CEO and founder of
(Raibert) and his team at Boston Dynamics are the Boston Dynamics.

Upcoming iPhones may not support LTE speeds

Apple and Qualcomm have been
battling for a while now, with
Apple most recently claiming that
the chip maker 'has unfairly
insisted on charging royalties for
technologies they have nothing to
do with', Apple said in a statement
in January this year.
A report by Bloomberg highlighted
that Apple will need to rely on
both Qualcomm and Intel
modems for its upcoming devices.
Apple's reason for using two
suppliers is to prevent relying on a
single supplier.
However the problem is that
whilst Qualcomm's modems are
capable of the one gigabit
download speeds, Intel is not. Intel
is working on a modem with the
same capability but reports
suggest it will not be ready in time
for Apple's next release.

Samsung Electronics to invest big as part of 'Make In India'

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. on
Wednesday announced an
investment of INR 4,915 crore in
India to add fresh capacity at its
Noida plant, where it
manufactures smartphones,
refrigerators and flat panel
televisions.
The expansion of the plant on an
additional 35 acres of land
adjacent to the current facility will
double the production capacity of
both mobile phones and
refrigerators. The investment
proposal was recently approved by
the Uttar Pradesh government
under its Mega Policy.
The investment indicates
Samsung's commitment to 'Make
in India' and 'Make for India' and
to the state of Uttar Pradesh. The
Noida plant is the Company's first
of two manufacturing units in
India and was set up in 1996.
Samsung's Noida plant started
with the manufacture of
televisions in 1997. The current
mobile phone manufacturing unit
was added in 2005.

Scigazette | 08 | June, 2017

Scigazette | 09 | June, 2017
Scigazette | 10 | June, 2017
 Interview

“Based on the fact that the complexity of

technology will continue to increase,
developers will need professional
support during the design phase”

We had the pleasure to ask a few questions to Stephan Dubach, CEO, Toradex Group about
the advent of embedded computing in India and insights about the global trends
for ARM computing

1. Please introduce Toradex and its contribution to
the embedded computing ecosystem.
Toradex is the leading provider of ARM-based system
on modules (SoMs). A very broad portfolio of
computing platforms with 10+ years product lifecycle
combined with highly optimized OS's enables lowest
Total Cost of Ownership for the developer of IoT
Devices.
always bring the latest technology to tomorrow's
embedded product.
3. What sets Toradex apart from the competition?
Toradex is one of the few SoM providers who is fully
into direct sales and support for its B2B
customers.This business model allows us to be very

2. Can you provide a detailed overview of the impact

of Toradex on embedded computing in recent years?
Toradex has set global trends for ARM computing
which have become standard meanwhile. Toradex
SoMs allow engineers familiar with microcontrollers
to easily upgrade to a full featured OS with standard
interfaces and GUIs, which is now an industry-wide
requirement.
With the introduction of the Apalis SoM family,
Toradex also enabled developers, who were
previously deploying industrial PC platforms, to
transition to lower-power and lower cost ARM-based
solutions. ARM-based computing platforms keep on
outpacing Industrial PCs with regard to growth rate.
Having established a very close collaboration with the
major SoC manufacturers, Toradex has been able to

Scigazette | 11 | June, 2017

 Interview
close to our customers and their needs.
Our unique offerings are our global network and
premium, free-of-charge support for product
developers. Together with the production-ready BSPs
developed in-house, Toradex is the one-stop-shop for
inventors of embedded products.
Purely focusing on the embedded market, Toradex in
addition provides free lifetime product maintenance
(Hardware and Software).
Last but not least, Toradex offers two pin-compatible
product families (Colibri and Apalis), each one of
them allowing for usage in a scalable application
and/or in multiple products using just one single
carrier board.
4. While selecting a CoM partner, what are the factors
OEMs should consider and how does Toradex address
these requirements?
Clearly the most important requirement of
embedded customers is shortest time-to-market. In
order to facilitate this, Toradex is offering free
professional support in the local language in the
major markets around the globe.By not charging for
the support of our products, the interest of both the
OEM and of Toradex are fully aligned. Revenue on
both sides are only building up if the customer makes
it to market in time.
Another important aspect to consider is the quality of
the software provided and the related cost. The
difference between a BSP ported by an external third
party or a highly optimized operating system with
premium performance and true industrial robustness
can end up in multiple man-years of additional
development at the OEM. Toradex develops both the
hardware and the operating systems in-house, while
the latter makes up around 90% of our engineering
effort. Still, Toradex is the single point-of-access for an
OEM, independently whether the issue is related to
SoC, the hardware design, or the software.
Furthermore, OEMs of embedded products should
care about product maintenance and product
changes, both being essential requirements when
talking about 7+ years of product lifecycle. At Toradex,
Scigazette | 12 | June, 2017
you are not just getting free lifetime product
maintenance, but also a product change policy which
is suitable for embedded products.
5. With established locations in India, what are your
future plans for the Indian market, and how does this
tie in to your global roadmap?
The Indian Embedded market is still small compared
to other regions, but developing at a very high pace.
In the past, the country with the very young
population was the workbench for software
engineering, developing products targeting foreign
markets. Nowadays, we observe a fast-growing Indian
middle class, which is driving a huge domestic market
demand.
Currently, the term SoM is not yet known to all the
engineers in India. The ever-increasing product
requirements drive the migration from
microcontroller-based products to a SoM.
But we also expect the demand for high-end modules
to significantly grow over the coming years, as the
Indian industry will ask for more demanding
computing platforms.
6. Key products you are manufacturing and your focus
markets?
Toradex is focused on the SoMs and the respective
Operating System. The product portfolio does range
from a Cortex-A5 based module with 400MHz up to a
Quad Core Cortex-A15 with a very CUDA-capable
GPU.
While offering a generic embedded computing
platform to its customers, Toradex did not decide to
favor any specific market segment.
Currently, our major market segments are:
· Industrial Automation
· Medical
· Transportation
· IoT
· Security
Securtity
 Interview
7. What do you see as the most active areas for
research and advancements in this field?
Very clearly, Artificial intelligence / Deep Learning
(which seem to be the only technology to enable
driverless cars), is one of the biggest topics in
technology. The potential behind Deep Learning is
disruptive, hence no one can provide an estimate
today.
Other areas which need improvements are
Networking and Communication, IoT protocols, Image
Processing, Deep Learning, Security, and ease-of-use.
8. Can you talk on the technology and trends evolving
around embedded computing?
Customers are expecting any device to offer a
Graphical User Interfaces and/or to connect via
Bluetooth, are becoming a standard even for simple
devices, this leads to the use of standard operating
systems like Linux.
Like on the PC, temperature is becoming the limiting
factor for high-performance ARM systems. Low power
consumption at high performance is becoming a key
design element. Software plays a significant role, too,
by delivering appropriate and reliable power
management capabilities.
More and more parts of the parts used for
embedded systems are only driven by consumer
applications (e.g. RAM and Flash). This is against the
long-term focus of embedded systems, and needs to
be addressed in a product maintenance strategy.
9. Which areas of embedded computing have the
potential for successful development in the near
future?
In the future world, private users will expect any
device to be connected to the internet in order to
access these devices remotely from any place in the
world. We will therefore continue to see a fast-
growing demand of embedded computers across all
industries.
Scigazette | 13 | June, 2017
Looking at the industrial world, “IoT” and “Industry
4.0” combine data collection technologies at the
node(which have been invented already many years
back), with latest data processing services in the
cloud. This new combination allows for previously
unseen insights into complete processes or data
mining and respective conclusions based on the input
data.
Today, it is not possible to properly rate the many
technologies in embedded computing. Some of the
key drivers, which are still in work in progress, are
interoperability, security, imaging, artificial
intelligence and, last but not least, edge computing
(i.e. where data is processed at the node and not
pushed into the cloud).
10. What according to you will drive the evolution of
embedded computing globally in the next few years?
In the consumer world, x86 PC systems are
increasingly being replaced by ARM-based tablets or
portable devices (i.e. smartphones). Driven by the
Internet of Things (IoT), a similar evolution is
happening in the embedded market and the
requirement for interoperability of the devices will
push the need for the standardization of interfaces
and protocols.
Backed up by various market overviews, it is a proven
fact that the number of ARM-based embedded
systems does grow significantly faster than the
traditional PC-based platforms. The major driver for
this change in architecture is lower power
consumption, lower cost as well as the wider offering
in the market. But as the software ecosystem of ARM
is not as standardized as the one of the PC
environment, the quality of the related software will
be the key to the success of any ARM-based product.
Based on the fact that the complexity of technology
will continue to increase, the developer will need
professional support during the design phase.
 Tech Focus
How our cities are
becoming smarter and
what it means for us
Diego Grassi, Senior Manager Market Development, u-blox
We are told that the connected city is going to be a
smarter city,but what does “smarter” actually mean
in this context, and how will cities be connected? We
don't yet have all the answers to these questions, but
public authorities, businesses, academic institutions,
NGOs and individuals have, over the last few years,
evolved a common understanding of what smart
cities are and how they will evolve in the future. It is
not a one-size-fits-all scenario, though. Geographic,
cultural, financial and technical considerations will
dictate priorities for the application of technology to
the smart city concept.
However, the unifying idea is that the smart city
enhances the lives of its inhabitants. This may mean
less traffic congestion and lower pollution, or the
more effective supply of clean water. It can be a city
where energy consumption and CO2 emissions are
minimized, and one in which businesses are helped to
thrive and public authorities can deliver better
services for their citizens. The smart, connected city is
one of the most exciting aspects of the Internet of
Things (IoT) that Really Matter.
While definitions and applications are still evolving,
it's clear that the smart city concept embraces the
supply of energy and water, transportation,
infrastructures, the management of buildings and the
work of municipal authorities. In all these areas, the
multifaceted IoT enables us to collect data from an
almost infinite variety of sensors and other sources,
Scigazette | 14 | June, 2017
process that data locally or in the cloud, and initiate
actions based on information derived from the data.
The sensors, some of which will be location-aware,
will communicate wirelessly with others around them
and with gateways that link them to the cloud.
Smart meters have already been installed in many
municipalities around the world. These enable better
management and monitoring of energy consumption,
for both consumers and utility companies. Meter
readings are instantly available to whoever needs
them. Electricity, gas, oil and water consumption can
be monitored locally or from anywhere in the world
with an internet connection. Consumers program
their electrical appliances to use off-peak energy,
saving money and helping load-balancing on
electricity grids. Utility companies no longer need to
send people in vans to read their customers' meters.
Instead, data is collected remotely, accurately, at low
cost and in real time. Some of this data can be used
to inform predictive maintenance programs,
improving reliability of supply while lowering
operating and maintenance costs. Other data enables
smarter management of the electricity grid, again
reducing waste and saving money.
Lighting accounts for nearly 20% of the world's
electricity consumption and by far the largest
proportion of this is city lighting. However, smart city
lighting, for example in streets and in car parks, can
now be controlled automatically. Light is
 Tech Focus
provided when it's needed, but switched off to save
energy when it's not. Sensors detect both
environmental conditions and traffic levels to
determine the most appropriate illumination level for
street lighting.
The automation of traffic control promises shorter,
safer journeys and lower pollution levels. Emergency
services will reach their destinations faster, saving
lives, and businesses will operate more efficiently by
reducing wasted travel time. Citizens will benefit too;
travel should become less stressful and shorter
commuter journeys may result in more leisure time.
Smart parking services will mean driving directly to
available spaces, rather than circling streets or car
parks to find that illusive vacant space.
The volume of data being generated by smart cities is
already immense and growing at an accelerating rate.
Although there are legitimate concerns about security
and privacy relating to individuals, much of the data
will be generated and transmitted as machine-to-
machine (M2M) communications. Some will inform
municipal authorities in ways that enable them to
optimize their work, either by saving money or
facilitating new and improved services. For example,
chemical sensors will monitor air quality, cameras will
improve security, inductive sensors in roads will
provide instant traffic updates and waste collection
services will become more effective and efficient
thanks to innovations such as smart bins, whose
location and status can be monitored remotely.
Other information derived from smart city networks
can be made available to consumers on websites, via
mobile apps and on displays. Real time information
Scigazette | 15 | June, 2017
on public transportation services is already displayed
at bus stops and railway stations in some cities and
businesses may also make use of smart city data to
create targeted advertising, perhaps delivered to
smart screens at transport terminals, shopping malls,
and sports and entertainment facilities.
Of course, connected devices will require robust,
secure communications at every point in the chain,
from sensor nodes to the cloud and back again. This is
where a plethora of wireless positioning and
communications technologies come into play.
Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) are
becoming more accurate, partly due to data fusion
techniques that combine satellite signals with
location information derived from cellular and Wi-Fi
networks and, in the case of vehicles, data from
wheel-tick sensors.
Familiar Wi-Fi and Bluetooth links, in a variety of
flavors suited to different IoT applications, will
proliferate, particularly where cell phones are used as
internet gateways. Then there's Narrow band IoT (NB-
IoT), a new, ultra-low power technology for
communicating small amounts of data over existing
cellular radio networks. NB-IoT has already been
proven in a number of applications, including remote
metering, where it eliminates the need for dedicated
networks. Here, it facilitates rapid smart meter
deployment with communications delivered over
established, secure and reliable cellular networks that
offer guaranteed quality of service. NB-IoT is
particularly effective in challenging locations such as
inside buildings, or even in cellars.
For video and other high-band width
communications, high-speed, low latency 4G LTE
networks are already playing a vital role. 5G is
emerging too, and in the near future will increase
network capacity and speeds by an order of
magnitude. Communications links will be able to carry
data from millions more sensors and consumer will be
able to download Ultra HD videos in seconds.
 Tech Focus
u-blox's unique heritage combines in-depth
experience in positioning, short range wireless and
cellular radio technologies, so the company is
perfectly positioned to provision smart city wireless
networks. u-blox's integrated circuits and modules
deliver secure, robust communications, whatever the
environment. Equally important, modules are simple
to install, scalable and easily upgraded as standards
evolve. They also feature low power consumption,
long operating life and minimal maintenance. As
wireless standards develop, u-blox is playing a major
role by participating in the most relevant industry
bodies, enabling the company to keep its customers
at the forefront of developments.
The smart city is bringing a better quality of life to
hundreds of millions of citizens around the world and
u-blox is delivering the connections that make it all
possible in this vitally important aspect of the
Internet of Things that Really Matter.
Below are five examples of smart cities in the making:
Bristol, UK
The BristolIs Open initiative is explained as, “Using
data sensors, smart city technologies will be able to
respond in real-time to everyday events including
congestion, waste management, entertainment
events, e-democracy, energy supply and more”.
Initiatives range from the council making its
underground ducts and fiber optic networks
accessible to service providers to participating in the
REPLICATE project (Renaissance in Places with
Innovative Citizenship And Technology) – a European
research and development project that aims to
deploy integrated energy, mobility and ICT solutions
in city districts.
Georgia, US
The Georgia Power Company uses a power
distribution technology that provides smart throttling
of energy generation in response to demand
fluctuations. It then offers its customers the option of
a Smart Usage Rate to control their power bills by
Scigazette | 16 | June, 2017
paying attention to which appliances are running and
when they're used in order to better manage
demand.
Yinchuan, China
Yinchuan describes itself as “the premier Smart City
capital of China”. The city administrators set
themselves three objectives: to benefit people's
livelihoods, efficient administration, and industry
derivation. Working with ZTE Corporation, the city has
built a “Map-Network-Cloud” architecture to manage,
among other things, government affairs, smart
transportation and smart environment protection.
20,000 sets of servers process the city's data.
Kigali, Rwanda
Started in Kigali, Smart Rwanda is a country-wide
initiative to develop smart cities and smart villages
that use information and communication
technologies (ICT) to help tackle development
challenges such as poverty, availability of basic
services, and employment. The idea spread and the
concept of Smart Africa came out of Kigali's
“Transform Africa Summit” held in October 2013.
Smart Africa's goal is to mobilise US$300 billion of
investment in the ICT sector by 2020 to make the
whole continent smarter.
Santiago, Chile
Santiago is home to 40% of Chile's population of
around 18 million people. In 2012, outgoing President
Sebastián Piñera set a goal for Chile to become a
developed nation, measured in terms of GDP per
capita, by 2020. Santiago's smart city initiatives are
playing a central role with declared goals to “improve
quality of life for its inhabitants by increasing access
to energy, creating environmentally friendly smart
homes, and emphasising the use of sustainable
energy”. Electronically controlled home appliances,
installation of smart meters with two-way
communication, and electronic information at bus
stops all form part of the initiative.
 Tech Focus

Programmable Versus Fixed-Function

Controllers:
Alternatives for Complex Robotic Motion

Control of today's sophisticated robot arms, regardless of their size or power, often requires
simultaneous management along multiple axes for their motion control. Modern
electronics–the motors, power-switching devices (Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect
Transistors [MOSFETs] or Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors [IGBTs]), device drivers, control
systems (now digital, formerly all analog), and feedback sensors–now make achieving precise
motion control easier than it was just a few years ago (Figure 1). At the same time, however,
the demands on system performance have increased dramatically, so the overall project is as
difficult as ever.

Figure 1: A basic motion-control system for robotics includes algorithm-execution functions, motor
drivers, power devices, and a feedback path; mechanical linkages, motor, and sensor (in most cases);
and voltage and current measurement and control at key points. (Source: National Instruments)

Scigazette | 17 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus

Nonetheless, there's one unavoidable fact: Robotics is largely a mechanical function, so the realities of
such systems must be part of the control loop. These include gear backlash, mechanical tolerances,
vibration, motor performance, rotating mass inertia, momentum, flexing of mechanical structures,
variable loads, and more. For these reasons, it is important to decide what type of motor is the best
fit—usually the choice is between brushless DC motors and stepper motors in low/moderate power
situations.

Another necessary decision is related to sensor-based feedback. Most robotic applications use some type
of feedback sensor to accurately gauge the end-effector's position, and thus velocity and acceleration
(recall that velocity is the time integral of position, and acceleration is the time integral of velocity). This
feedback transducer can be a Hall-effect sensor, a synchro/resolver, or an optical encoder. While it is
easiest to put the encoder on the motor, placing it there may not provide required data about the end-
effector's actual situation, with sufficient accuracy for the application, due to mechanical issues noted
above. Therefore, the sensor may need to be mounted closer to the load endpoint.

Some motion-control applications operate without a sensor, which reduces cost and mechanical
complexity. Rather than using a sensor for feedback, Sensorless Field-Oriented Control (FOC, also called
vector control) uses precise, synchronized readings of the current and voltage at each phase of the motor
windings; FOCs then perform complicated frame-of-reference transformations and matrix calculations in
real time to determine the motor's position. Eliminating the sensor reduces hardware cost, but it
necessitates significant computational capability and more complex programming. Many robotic designs
still prefer to use sensors because FOC does not provide the same level of confidence, credibility, and
robustness that using direct-sensor readout offers.

Understanding Basic Robotic Configurations

While the general public may associate the term "robot" with a mobile, life-like servant or assistant, most
robotic systems in the industrial domain are stationary and use a variety of mechanical arms and
configurations to perform tasks. Among the most common arrangements are:

The Cartesian robot, which has three linear axes of motion, one each in the x, y, and z-planes (Figure 2).
This setup is used in pick and place machines, application of sealant, and basic assembly.

Figure 2: The Cartesian robot is the easiest to comprehend and control because it has the simplest equations
and works in the x, y, and z planes. (Source: RobotPark)

Scigazette | 18 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus

In a cylindrical robot, all motion is confined to a cylinder-shaped zone. It combines linear motion in the y
plane, linear motion in the z plane, and rotational motion around the z-axis (Figure 3). This robotic
arrangement is used for assembly, tool handling, and spot welding.

Figure 3: The cylindrical robot has motion along two linear axes and around one rotational axis. (Source: RobotPark)

The spherical or polar robot combines two rotary joints and one linear joint, and the arm is connected to
the base with a twisting joint (Figure 4). Motion is defined by a polar coordinates system and confined to a
spherical zone. They are found in welding, casting, and tool-handling applications.

Figure 4: The spherical or polar robot combines motion around two rotary axes and along one linear axis,
and it requires numerous calculation-intensive transformations between
coordinate frames of reference. (Source: RobotPark)

The approaches cited here offer three degrees of freedom, using a combination of linear and rotary
motion; however, some applications need only one or two degrees. More advanced robotic arms or
articulated robots combine additional linear and rotary motion, for almost human-like dexterity and
flexibility (Figure 5). Some leading edge arms provide six, eight, or even more degrees of freedom.

Figure 5: The articulated robot arm combines multiple rotation and linear motion modes for many
degrees of freedom, but it also requires careful coordination among the actuators and arms. (Source: RobotPark)

Scigazette | 19 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus

Other designs use special combinations of linear and rotary motion for application-specific situations,
such as the parallelogram implementation; an implementation used for precise and rapid motion over
short distances, for example, pick and place of tiny components. As the number of degrees of freedom
increases, achieving rapid, smooth, accurate, and synchronized control along each of these degrees grows
exponentially more challenging.

Considering Trajectory Profiles

The motion-control objective in robotics seems simple enough: have the end-effector optimally reach its
target position as quickly and accurately as possible with the supported load. Of course, there are
tradeoffs involved, as in all engineering decisions, depending on the priorities associated with the
optimum result in the given application.

For example, is it acceptable to accelerate and decelerate more quickly to more rapidly reach a higher
velocity if the result is overshot and if there is even possible oscillation at the end point? Is it worth
trading accuracy for speed, and to what extent? How are the choices of acceleration, velocity, and
position related to the desired transition from position A to position B? What are the priorities and
parameters that define "optimum" in a particular application?

Specialists in motion control for robotics and other motion applications have developed standard
trajectory profiles that provide various ways to implement the desired tradeoff solution for a given
application. All choices involve significant real-time calculation based on the present situation and
feedback signal, but some impose a more substantial, high-resolution computation burden. These profiles
include:

The simple trapezoid, where the motor accelerates at a fixed rate from zero to a target velocity, stays at
that velocity, and then ramps down at a fixed rate to zero velocity at the desired position (Figure 6).
Higher rates might speed up the entire positioning cycle, but they might also induce sudden changes in
acceleration motion, called the jerk, which, in turn, adds to inaccuracy and overshoot.

Figure 6: The simplest motion-trajectory profile is the trapezoid, which has constant acceleration to the target velocity,
constant path velocity, and constant deceleration between start and endpoints. (Source: Performance Motion Devices)

Scigazette | 20 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus

The S-curve, a frequently-used enhancement to the trapezoid, where the acceleration rate ramps up from
zero, then decreases as the target velocity is achieved (Figure 7). Then, as the target position is reached,
the deceleration rate is ramped up and then reduced as the endpoint is near. The S-curve actually has
seven distinct phases, in contrast to the three phases of the trapezoid.

Figure 7: The S-curve path is more complicated than the basic trapezoid, but it eases the jerk (change in acceleration)
at each transition point of the path. (Source: Performance Motion Devices)

In contoured motion, the user establishes a set of desired positions, and the motion controller directs a
smooth, jerk-free transition profile through all of these points (Figure 8). This allows the ultimate in
flexibility and control, which is necessary for advanced motion situations. The required calculations of
control directions to achieve smooth curve-fitting are complex and must be accomplished without loss of
resolution due to rounding or truncation errors, despite the many calculations.

Figure 8: The contoured-motion path allows the user to define a series of position marker points between starting
and ending points, and the controller must guide the end-effecter through these
in a smooth curve. (Source: National Instruments)

Scigazette | 21 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus

There are other profiles in use, some of which are associated with specific application groups or
industries. Regardless of the desired profile, it's one thing to want it and another to make it happen. The
well-known, highly effective Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) closed-loop control algorithm is the
most common approach used to drive the motor and end-effector to do what is wanted with high enough
accuracy and precision (Reference 1).

Effective control of a single axis is a manageable project, but robotic control becomes far more difficult
when this control extends to two, three, or more motors and degrees of freedom, which must be closely
coordinated and synchronized with the performance along one dependent on the status of the others.

Determining Standard Versus Custom Motion Control Applications

For standard motion control applications, a dedicated, fixed-function, embedded controller Integrated
Circuit (IC) offers ease of use and rapid time-to-market. In contrast, if a non-standard, customized profile is
needed or if the correlation between the various axes is complicated and must accommodate unusual or
unique events, then the design team may consider a fully user-programmable processor. This solution is
implemented with a processor with Digital Signal Processor (DSP) capabilities for the computation-
intensive aspects or with a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). When considering programmable
devices, the vendor, third-party tools, and available software modules are factors in making a specific
selection, in addition to the hardware functions of the IC itself.

Note that these controllers are generally not the same as motor drivers, which are the MOSFET/IGBT
drivers/devices that control motor power, for two reasons. First, these power devices must be sized to the
motor, independent of the controller. Second, the high-density complementary metal-oxide-
semiconductor-based process technologies used for these digital controllers are very different than the
processes for power devices. For smaller motors, however, it is possible to integrate the controller with
the driver and power device. Despite the fundamental differences, the term "controller" often refers to
the power-device functional blocks, which can lead to confusion in keyword searches.
Some examples of motion control ICs show the spectrum that these devices span. At the basic single-
function end, the Toshiba TB6560AFTG is a PWM chopper-type stepping motor controller and driver IC
designed for sinusoidal-input microstep control of bipolar stepping motors (Figure 9). Housed in a 48-lead
Quad Flat No-leads (QFN) package measuring just 7 × 7 mm, it provides high-performance forward and
reverse driving of a two-phase bipolar stepping motor using only a clock signal, and it can deliver up to
2.5A to the motor windings.

Figure 9: The Toshiba TB6560AFTG is a stepping motor controller with microstepping capability that also includes 2.5 A power MOSFETs
for direct drive of the motor coils. (Source: Toshiba Corporation)

Scigazette | 22 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus

One of the issues with stepper motors, even when used in micro stepping mode, is that their output
motion can vibrate as they start or stop their step motion. While not a problem in many situations, it can
be a concern in the handling of delicate objects like glassware, or if it induces system resonances.
Therefore, the TB6560AFTG allows the user to tailor the rise/fall of the current drive and establish rise and
fall transitions for this current to minimize vibration (Figure 10).

Figure 10: In application, the Toshiba TB6560AFTG requires only a few external components and is guided by
high-level directives from a system processor, which it translates into detailed stepping control signals. (Source: Toshiba Corporation)

At the top end of the robotic motion-control pyramid are advanced units such as those in the Texas
Instruments C2000 microcontroller families. C2000 represents multiple broad families of devices with
various combinations of basic processing, numeric capabilities, types and number of input/output, and
housekeeping functions like timers, watchdogs, and pulse width modulation generators.

For example, processors in the TMS320 Delfino series under the C2000 umbrella (Figure 11) offer native
floating-point support to eliminate the challenge of fixed-point development, and they also support
porting code between fixed- and floating-point native devices with the IQMath™ virtual floating-point
engine. This eliminates the need for a second processor with a single or dual core that is efficient at both
the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) math tasks and microcontroller system-control tasks. They also include
a Trigonometric Math Unit (TMU) accelerator, which expedites trigonometric-based algorithms common
in many control-loop calculations such as torque loops.

Figure 11: The C2000 family from Texas Instruments consists of several subfamilies, each in turn with many members; the Delfino
group includes a powerful processor and embedded coprocessors plus many hardware-based internal support functions to
reduce programming load and speed execution. (Source: Texas Instruments)

Scigazette | 23 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus

Supporting this processor are development tools and kits such as the LAUNCHXL-F28377S C2000 Delfino
LaunchPad, which is based on a TMS320C28x 32-Bit CPU core (Figure 12). The LaunchPad features a
F28377S microcontroller unit (MCU) which provides 400 MIPS of total system performance between a 200
MHz C28x central processing unit and a 200 MHz real-time control co-processor. This microcontroller
contains 1MB of on-board flash and includes highly differentiated peripherals such as 16-bit/12-bit
analog-to-digital converters, comparators, 12-bit digital-to-analog converters, delta-sigma sinc filters,
high-resolution pulse-width modulators, enhanced capture modules, enhanced quadrature-encoder pulse
modules, Controller Area Network (CAN) modules, and much more.

Figure 12: Tools such as the LaunchPad from Texas Instruments are critical for developing, integrating, and
evaluating the advanced hardware and software of applications that C2000
Delfino-class processors target. (Source: Texas Instruments)

In addition to the MCU, the LauchPad has a built-in isolated XDS100v2 JTAG Emulator, which enables real-
time in-system programming and debugging via USB. The LaunchPad also includes dual 40-pin headers to
support two BoosterPacks simultaneously; includes a free, unrestricted version of Code Composer Studio
(CCS) Integrated Development Environment (IDE); and adds a free download of controlSUITE™ software.

Conclusion
Motion control options for robotics range from basic, dedicated-function ICs to highly integrated,
extremely flexible MCUs with a large array of auxiliary processing and support functions. Although
embedded devices may seem limiting, some of them allow selection of a variety of motion profiles and
setting of critical parameters, and they are quite adequate, have low cost, and are easy to use. For
advanced designs with unique or extremely sophisticated requirements, or designs needing additional
levels of connectivity along with control, MCUs offer effective solutions with evaluation and development
kits supported by verified code packages, debug and code-development tools, and validation suites.

Scigazette | 24 | June, 2017

 Cover Story

Rise of Intelligent
Machines:
AI & Robotics

The idea of machines that operate on the principles of the human brain has been around for more than fifty
years. However, for most of the history of artificial intelligence, progress has been measured by how well
machines solve particular problems, such as playing chess, driving cars, or passing the Turing Test. Relatively
few artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques are based on an understanding of how the brain
works and how it solves problems.
The impact of intelligent machines will rival and likely surpass the impact of computers operating under
traditional principles, i.e. computers with pre-programmed rules, rather than learning systems. This endeavor
will involve many people and many companies around the world.

Machine Intelligence: A Focus on Flexibility

To be intelligent, a brain or machine must take in a stream of sensory data, automatically find patterns, adapt
to changing conditions, make predictions about future events, and be able to act as required to get desired
outcomes. Essentially, this automated pattern finding, learning, and behavior is what the brain does and what
intelligent machines need to do.
Today's computers operate on entirely different principles. In a simple sense, we can think of them as
“programmed machines” where brains are “learning machines”. Since learning machines are often
implemented on programmed computers, it is worth clarifying this distinction. To us, a “programmed
computer” or just “computer” is one that executes a series of instructions where the programmer knows in
advance what problem he or she is trying to solve and the algorithms for solving it. On the other hand, a
learning machine does not know in advance exactly how to solve a problem. It has to learn from data. If a
learning machine is implemented on a computer, the software is not solving the problem directly but instead
implementing the learning rules and methods. A learning machine always has to be trained, where a
programmed computer does not.
Programmed computers have many strengths. They can be programmed to execute any algorithm, they are
fast, and they are reliable. The result is great performance for applications where the inputs and desired
outcomes are known.

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 Cover Story
But programmed computers are unable to do many
tasks that our brains perform easily, such as
understanding language, analyzing a complex visual
scene, planning, moving through a world filled with
obstacles, or learning new solutions as the world
changes.
Intelligent machines will accomplish tasks that
humans cannot do. For example, intelligent machines
can directly ingest data from non-human sensors such
as GPS or radar. An intelligent machine using the
same learning principles as the brain could
automatically find patterns in a scanning radar data
stream, make predictions, and identify anomalies.
The explosion of sensors in every area of human
endeavor will require automated learning systems in
order to understand and make use of that data.
Throughout the evolution of programmed computers,
no one could imagine which applications would be
important even ten years in the future. Similarly, we
expect there will be important applications for
intelligent machines that we can't imagine today. This
unclear future argues for flexibility as an essential
component of machine intelligence. Intelligent
machines designed around flexibility offer the
promise of solving any problem where we have large
amounts of data, the need for individualized models,
and a need to understand data in a rapidly changing
environment. Finally, another important reason to
have a flexible, general purpose architecture is the
notion of “network effects”. If each problem has a
custom-built solution, the learning involved in solving
that problem cannot be easily applied to the next
problem. Moreover, the costs of crafting individual
solutions to every problem are high, and are reliant
on the availability of a small cadre of highly skilled
data scientists. A universal, highly flexible approach
will attract the greatest talent and resources. The
accumulated value of shared applications, algorithms,
utilities, tools and knowledge will enable the work to
progress faster. Ultimately, this approach will yield
lower cost solutions for a broader range of problems.
The Brain as a Blueprint
If you talk to someone outside of the field of artificial
intelligence or machine learning and suggest that the
path to create intelligent machines is to first
understand how the human brain works and then
build machines that work on the same principles,
Scigazette | 26 | June, 2017
they will invariably say “that makes sense.”
However, this view is not held by everyone inside the
fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning. A
typical response you might hear is that “airplanes
don't flap their wings”, suggesting that it doesn't
matter how brains work, or worse, that by studying
the brain you will go down the wrong path -- like the
people who tried to build planes with flapping wings.
This analogy is mistaken. The Wright brothers
understood well the difference between the
aerodynamics of lift and the need for a method of
propulsion. In fact, Orville Wright's motivating
question was, “if birds can glide for long periods of
time, then...why can't I?” Bird wings and airplane
wings work on the same principles of lift. Those
principles had to be understood before the Wright
brothers could build an airplane. Wing flapping is a
means of propulsion and there are several ways to
create propulsion; the specific method used doesn't
matter that much. By analogy, we need to understand
the principles of intelligence before we can build
intelligent machines. We might find that we deviate
from the brain in some of our methods, but since the
only example we have of a truly intelligent system is
the brain, and since the principles of intelligence are
not obvious, it is wise to first understand these
principles before attempting to build intelligent
machines.
What does AI mean today?
Today, due to the scale of the challenge, research
scientists still lack a digitally federated environment in
which to fully sustain AI. Because of this, they typically
deploy several types of shortcuts (such as heuristic
approaches) to develop algorithms that represent their
best bet of localizing and managing views of specific
intelligent logic. This takes the form of a centralized
model that attempts to represent the intelligent logic
researchers would like to use, then connects as much
information and data to that as possible.
Many large companies and universities are using
more and more computing power and connecting to
more and more data. However, this is strengthening
their analytics capability rather than building what we
understand as their intelligence; the focus is on
automation, not autonomy. So far, the focus on
 Cover Story
hardwired algorithms such as semantic or logic
representation or neural mimicking and learning has
not derived a solution that best represents
intellectual logic. These approaches do not replicate
the natural order within the universe and they are
unlikely to efficiently yield the expected benefit from
AI in governance
Deep learning, a part of AI, can be employed to tackle
issues of scale often prevalent in the execution of
government schemes. It is essentially a process that
can be used for pattern recognition, image analysis
and natural language processing (NLP) by modelling
high-level abstractions in data which can then be
compared with various other recognised contents in
a conceptual way rather than using just a rule-based
method. Take for instance the Clean India Initiative
directed towards the construction of toilets in rural
India. Public servants are tasked with uploading
images of these toilet constructions to a central
server for sampling and assessment. Image
processing AI can be used to flag photographs that do
not resemble completely built toilets.
Image recognition capabilities can also be used to
identify whether the same official appears in
multiple images or if photos have been uploaded
by officials from a location other than the intended
Scigazette | 27 | June, 2017
AI, at least in the medium term. Of course, in time
this will be achieved – a natural organisation will take
place. However, we will get there faster if we
understand the basic patterns of how intelligence
evolves in nature.
site. Considering the scale of this initiative, which
involves creating more functional toilets, being able
to check every image rather than a small sample
will actually help increase effectiveness. Further, AI
can be applied to the Prime Minister's initiatives
such as the Digital India Initiative, Skill India and
Make in India with varying effects. The range of
application for AI techniques in such large-scale
public endeavors could range from crop insurance
schemes, tax fraud detection, and detecting
subsidy leakage and defense and security strategy.
The Make in India and Skill India initiatives can be
heavily augmented as well as disrupted by AI
adoption in the short term. While the former is
aimed at building the nation-wide capabilities
required to make India a self-sustaining hub of
innovation, design, production and export, the
latter seeks to aggressively build and enhance
human capital.
However, the point to consider here is that if
investments are made in the two initiatives
 Cover Story
without due cognizance of how Industry 4.0 (the next
industrial revolution driven by robotic automation)
may evolve with respect to demand for workforce size
and skill sets, there is a possibility of ending up with
capital-intensive infrastructures and assets that fall
short of being optimized for automated operations and
a large workforce skilled in areas growing beyond the
need for manual intervention only.
AI can also be consumed in traditional industries like
agriculture. The Department of Agriculture
Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of
Agriculture runs the Kisan Call Centers across the
country to respond to issues raised by farmers
instantly and in their local language. An AI system will
help assist the call centre by linking various available
information. For example, it could pick up soil reports
from government agencies and link them to the
environmental conditions prevalent over the years
using data from a remote sensing satellite. It could
then provide advice on the optimal crop that can be
sown in that land pocket. This information could also
be used to determine the crop's susceptibility to
pests. Necessary pre-emptive measures can then be
taken—for instance, supplying the required pesticides
to that land pocket as well as notifying farmers about
the risk. With a high level of connectivity, this is a
feasible and ready to deploy solution which uses AI as
an augmentation to the system.
Ethical considerations
One of the major concerns in any conversation
involving AI is the topic of ethical, legal and societal
norms. AI research needs to base itself on a sound
understanding of the various implications of any
innovation and ensure alignment with rules and
norms. Common concerns are the breach of privacy
that might arise from an environment where hackers
can exploit AI solutions to collect private and sensitive
information.
A bigger threat is the misuse of ML algorithms by
hackers to develop autonomous techniques that
jeopardize the security and safety of vital information.
There is a need to define what 'acceptable behavior'
for an AI system translates to in its respective
Scigazette | 28 | June, 2017
application domain. This should ideally drive design
considerations, engineering techniques and reliability.
Due diligence in ensuring that AI technologies
perform in an easy to understand manner and the
outcome from their applications is in line with the
perception of fairness, equality and local cultural
norms to ensure broad societal acceptance.
AI development will hence need involvement of
experts from multidisciplinary fields such as computer
science, social and behavioural sciences, ethics,
biomedical science, psychology, economics, law and
policy research.
AI algorithms might, by design, be inherently subject
to errors that can lead to consequences such as unfair
outcomes for racial and economic classes—for
example, citizen profiling based on demographics to
arrive at the probability to commit crimes or default
on financial obligations. AI system actions should
therefore be transparent and easily understandable
by humans. Deep learning algorithms that are opaque
to users could create hurdles in domains such as
healthcare, where diagnosis and treatment need to
be backed by a solid chain of reasoning to buy into
patient trust. Trustworthy AI systems are built around
the following tenets:
Transparency (operations visible to user)
• Credibility (outcomes are acceptable)
• Auditability (efficiency can be easily
measured)
• Reliability (AI systems perform as intended)
• Recoverability (manual control can be
assumed if required)
Owing to their vague and contextual interpretation,
ethical standards pose a challenge while being
encoded into AI systems. Some architectural
frameworks that have been widely cited to counter
the above challenge are:
• An architecture designed with operational AI
distinct from a monitor agent responsible for legal
and ethical supervision of any actions
 Cover Story

A framework to ensure that AI behavior is safe for humans and implemented through a set of logical constraints on
AI system behavior
The real challenges
In order to build a truly empowering AI we need to take a fundamentally new and broader perspective that
builds a digital environment (including proposals for the infrastructure and social organisation) and enables
digital intelligence to flourish. This means adopting the following set of resolutions:
Ÿ To build AI platforms that are additionally based on the laws of complexity and thereby exploit approaches
linked to natural evolutionary models
Ÿ To evolve our existing cloud infrastructures to be more cortex-oriented
Ÿ To use the Internet of Things (IoT) as a consistent platform to create an interface that could work like a
digital membrane in our physical world
Creating basic systems following these principles will bring us closer to the moment in which much more of our
world can be better understood and even predicted, having optimized our capacity to be aware of the
complexity of our world and our day-to-day activities.
Both physical and digital worlds stand on the same fundamental building blocks: particles, atoms and matter. It
is apparent that both will follow the same pattern of evolving to generate increasingly complex structures.
Understanding and exploiting this will enable us to build AI in a way that is more efficient and empowering for
the human race.
In order to build improved augmented intelligence or AI systems we need to leverage the complexity and
natural structure of our own world and existence. We need to create more socially oriented and
communicative systems that interact with us as individuals and groups in a more standard and universally
structured way. We also need to build a supporting digital environment in which AI systems can navigate and
operate separately and together in clusters.
With this in mind, by exploiting both digital content and the IoT we can build digital-like membranes in our own
physical and human world. Of course this is not a trivial task and we therefore will need to build on what has
already been discovered and created.

Looking ahead
The field of AI has awed researchers and users equally over time. Right from Alan Turing's paper in the 1950s to
sci-fi movies, there has been a debate on what AI can do and how human beings will be affected by it. In many
ways, this thought process and speculation are not surprising; rather, they are typical in the case of any
evolving field about which complete knowledge is yet to be obtained. The only difference is that AI will
constantly evolve and, hence, being able to foresee the next change becomes a big ask.

Scigazette | 29 | June, 2017

 In-Conversation

Pradeep David General Manager India &

Sri Lanka at Universal Robots

In this interview Pradeep David discusses with us the rise of Robotics in India and
how well Universal Robots is spearheading this collaborative robots revolution.
Pradeep David is the General Manager at Universal Robots in Bangalore, he is
one of the strong pillars of the company responsible for setting up & running the
operations of Denmark based Universal Robots A/S, in India.
Future Pradeep joined Universal Robots India in October 2015 and ever since has been
persistent with his effort and sure vision of the ambitious growth strategy for the

lies in company to fulfill the goal of making the company a market leader in the
segment of robotics that they operate in. Here is the in-depth conversation.
1. How well has the Indian market responded to Universal Robots products and
the hands of services?
The Indian operation is the newest addition to UR Globally and just about a
collaborative year old and has witnessed over 200 CoBots deployment already, majorly in
the market segments of automotive industry followed by FMCG, Electronics,
Education and R&D Centers.
robots Our three different collaborative robots are easily integrated into existing
production environments. With six articulation points and a wide scope of
flexibility, the cobot arms are designed to mimic the range of motion of a human
arm. The nominal investment cost is quickly recovered as our robotic arms have
an average payback period of just six months.

Scigazette | 30 | June, 2017

 In-Conversation
Some of key customers on board with UR are Bajaj
Automotive, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford, TVS,
Hindustan Unilever, P&G, L'Oreal, Siemens, TCS,
Aurolab, Denso etc. With the growing demand of
CoBots in India the company will be looking at
expanding the customer base in various sectors. Now
Our cobots have over 65 patents pertaining to Robot
Safety, Robot Construction, Trajectory Control, Robot
Calibration & Programming.
Indian CoBot market which has just taken shape, has
shown a remarkable growth with revenues expected to
cross INR 30 crores in 2 years, taken conservative
estimates, as all indications are for doubling the
business year on year.
2. What distinguishes Universal Robots from the
others players in the similar segment?
Our cobots have over 65 patents pertaining to Robot
Safety, Robot Construction, Trajectory Control, Robot
Calibration & Programming. Eighty percent of the
thousands of UR robots worldwide operate with no
safety guarding (after risk assessment), right beside
human operators. The safety system of our robots is
approved and certified by TÜV (The German Technical
Inspection Association). This is the key which
separates industrial robots from 'Cobots'.
There are 4 types of collaborative operations as per
ISO/TS 15066 guidelines on safety. Safety rated
monitoring stop, hand guiding, speed and separation
monitoring, power and force limiting.
If the robots come into contact with a person, our
patented technology limits the forces at contact. The
robots can also be programmed to operate in
reduced mode when a human enters the robot's work
area and resume full speed when the person leaves.
With respect to the hand guiding operation, the
human operator uses a hand-operated device and the
robot system moves based on motion commands of
the operator. It is a kind of manually controlled
operation in that the operator is in direct control of
the robot system's operation. This is considered
automatic operation, not manual operation.
3. How is Universal Robots helping shape the future
of robotics in India?
Robots are playing a very important part in the
industry today but the future lies in the hand of
collaborative robots which work along with humans
to create new avenues.
Universal Robots is not just a name. When we say
Scigazette | 31 | June, 2017
universal we mean it. The UR arms can be
implemented in virtually any industry, in any process
and by any employee. Around the world, more than
10,000* operating UR robots are testimony to just
that – and to the clear objective we've had from the
very beginning: To make collaborative robot
technology accessible to companies of all sizes.
Robots are our life. So whether you are looking for a
robotic solution for the sake of precision, speed,
optimization or ergonomics, we can help you. And
probably at a price that will take you by surprise; our
robotic arms have an average payback time of just
195 days, which makes them the most favorable on
the market, within reach of most companies. But that
is far from the only reason why Universal Robots is
the world's no. 1 in collaborative robots:
When we say the UR robot arms can automate
virtually anything we mean virtually anything; from
assembly to painting, from screw driving to labeling,
from packing to polishing, from injection molding to
welding and whatever other processing task you can
think of. And thanks to the flexibility of the UR family,
the robot arms are even economically viable for
small-batch and mixed-product assembly.
Universal Robots is also providing platforms for new
developers. Universal Robots+ which is Universal
Robots latest addition is a unique ecosystem that
adds value for the developer community, distributors
and end consumers of the Danish pioneer in human-
robot-collaboration. Universal Robots+ unites the
developer program +YOU with a showroom for
presenting innovative Plug&Play applications. We are
very soon opening a Universal Robots+ platform for
external R&D. Our idea is to facilitate the developers
with a platform where they can develop their own
apps and we also provide them with kits that they can
work with. If they are good enough, we sign them and
expose the app globally and come up with advertising
for our partners. We are keen to provide all and any
kind of assistance and training for software
developers to develop new products right here in
India. We will be setting up workshops and will give a
chance to developers to interact with our team,
provide them tools and support. But the testing
ground is ours, which is provided through the training
academy where we provide free training. This is fully
compatible and consumer centric.
4. From India's perspective, how do you see the
future of Human-Robot collaboration shaping up at
office workspace, industrial level?
 In-Conversation
Recently there has been much new advancement in
robotic manufacturing technology, enabling robot
workers to be integrated into the labor force to increase
productivity and efficiency. The new term 'CoBots'
(collaborative Robots) which has come into the picture
is a remarkable combination of industrial robotics and
automation. The idea is for humans and robots to be
inter-dependent and achieve what each of them does
best, safely. There are a few things requiring human
ingenuity that are best done manually, whereas the
accuracy, precision and repetitive mass production at
higher efficiency is best taken care of by robots. These
cobots provide an added incentive to the workforce as
consistent quality production is possible with human
supervision.
Industrial robots are usually preferred in large
manufacturing plants for activities like assembly line,
glue dispensing, machine tending and even
processing. For years manufacturers have been weary
of implementing such robots simply because of safety
concerns and also because they are space consuming,
heavy and expensive, especially considering the fact
that they require a safety cage or enclosure to avoid
any contact while co-working with humans. Human
and robot system interaction in industrial settings is
now possible thanks to ISO/TS 15066, a new ISO
technical specification for collaborative robot system
safety. The certification legitimizes these robot
systems or Co-bots and ensures that they are
properly safeguarded.
Instead of replacing human and causing job loss,
collaborative robots helps companies in expanding
operations, thereby creating job opportunities.
Cobots help companies to expand multi-fold, thus
creating jobs and many more opportunities at
supervision roles. In a human-machine study
conducted by MIT researchers at a BMW factory, it
was shown that teams made of humans and robots
collaborating efficiently can be around 85 percent
more productive than teams made of either humans
or robots alone. We develop industrial collaborative
robot arms that automate and streamline repetitive
industrial processes. This approach enables
production departments to assign their staff
members more enjoyable tasks – creating jobs that
provide them with new challenges that add value to
the company.
5. What are the major challenges that you face in
deploying the technology in the Indian region?
Scigazette | 32 | June, 2017
The only challenge that we face in the Indian context
is the lack of awareness regarding the value
proposition of collaborative robots. There are endless
possibilities with collaborative robots due to their
ability to work alongside humans. We want to target
the SME sector and give these smaller businesses a
chance to grow and increase their efficiency and
output. Manufacturers can use collaborative robots
as an advanced tool available for any worker in the
factory to use for stand-alone operations. We have
started creating awareness on collaborative robots
and will continue to do so in the coming years.
6. Please talk about the Collaborative Robotic Arm
and how is it helping companies in increasing their
efficiency?
Collaborative robots are designed to work alongside
human workers, assisting them with a variety of tasks.
Because co-bots are affordable, highly adaptable, and
almost plug-and-play, small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) are eager to adopt this
technology, and some analysts (myself included)
expect this segment will see massive growth in the
next few years.
There are many reasons for the emergence of
collaborative robots: companies are using them
because they can be placed alongside humans in
small-spaced electronics assembly lines, because they
are affordable and easily trainable, and because they
are flexible to handle short runs, repetitive and boring
jobs, and ergonomically challenging tasks.
Collaborative robots are lightweight and incredibly
easy to operate cost effective and safe to operate.
The rise of collaborative technology has brought
them to the manufacturing industry to integrate and
collaborate among humans to increase efficiency,
productivity and quality. The human-robot
collaboration is different from traditional robots.
The days of hiring expensive external consulting
every time a robot has to be programmed are over.
The new reality is operators with no programming
experience can quickly program the Cobot arms (with
the help of patented, intuitive, 3D visualisation). All
we have to do is move the robot arm to the desired
waypoints or touch the arrow keys on the easy-to-use
touch screen tablets. The cobot arms come with an
average payback time of 195 days. That's the fastest
in the industry-quite simply because they are void of
all the added costs traditionally associated with
automation such as
 In-Conversation
external programming resources and shielded work
cells. So automation can no more be considered out of
reach now.
Moreover production setups today often need to be
flexible and agile in order to meet changing demand and
stay competitive. The light weight cobot arms are easily
moved and re-deployed to new processes, enabling you
to automate virtually any manual task, including those
with small batches or fast change-overs.
Universal Robots has been the frontrunner of
collaborative robotics since the term was coined. More
than 80% of the UR robots arms in operation worldwide
works right next to humans-with no safety guards to
shield them and making robot technology accessible to
all levels of industry. And cobots are more than happy to
do the jobs that human operators find repetitive and
dull. The safety system of our robots is approved and
certified by TuV(The German Technical Inspection
Association). The cobots have 15 advanced adjustable
safety functions, These TuV NORD approved safety
function are tested in accordance with: EN ISO
13849:2008PL d, EN ISO 10218-1: 2011, Clause 5.4.3
Our oldest customer Bajaj Auto Ltd. have deployed
over 150 co-bots since 2010 and are now the 3
rd
largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. They
saw a gradual rise in the productivity and efficiency in
their production after deploying Universal Robots
Collaborative robots. It also increased the productivity
of their employees along with their product quality
after associating themselves with Universal Robots.
They are of the view that the added benefits of the
co-bots are easy use, very low annual maintenance
and higher energy efficiency.
UR Cobots have immensely benefited the customers
in terms of speed to market, responsiveness,
consistency in quality and cost effectiveness. Our
CoBots are also doing out of box applications for
customers. They perform basic functions, what we like
to call pick and place applications, which includes
picking things from one place, processing them and
then, putting them back, etc. this is for perfumes,
shampoos, dyes – Procter and Gamble and Unilever
would use a lot of palletizing – are the 2 main
applications that are driving the business right now
and we foresees good business coming from this
sector along with the electronic, Auto and metal
sectors.
7. Which Indian industries have responded well to the
industrial automation and robotics technology?
Scigazette | 33 | June, 2017
Almost all the industries are responding well to
Industrial Automation and Robotics technology
whether it is Automotive and Subcontractors, Food &
Agriculture, Furniture & Equipment, Electronics &
Technology, Metal & Machining, Plastic & Polymers,
Pharma &Chemistry, Scientific & Research,
Healthcare, Fashion etc
If we talk about India, Automotive industry is the
biggest market for our cobots, followed by FMCG ,
Electronics, Education and R&D Centers. Other sectors
are also picking up fast and we are expecting Indian
cobot market to grow immensely in next two years.
8. Your views, predictions or closing comments, if any.
While global cobots market is projected to grow to
$3,811.483 million by 2021, the Indian market is
comparatively quite nascent. According to market
estimates, America and APAC region will drive the
global market for collaborative robots over the
forecasted period due to increase in manufacturing
activity and a surge in demand for these robotic
solutions by the enterprises operating in the regions.
The 2016 annual result of Universal Robots is a
testament to the market growth, with revenue
reaching DKK 662 million (around INR620 Crores) and
delivering a profit of DKK 92 million (around INR 86
Crores) before tax. Taking advantage of the impressive
growth of the market, Universal Robots are aiming to
double their numbers in India in 2017 and this will
only go up from there.
Presently, India is one of the countries with the least
adoption rate of industrial robots. By 2018, India is
predicted to adopt 6000 robots unlike our Asian
counterparts, China which will ship at least 1,50,000
robots into their country by that time. Businesses
around the world are looking at automating their
processes as it not only increases the efficiency of an
organization but also improves the quality of products
being produced by the respective manufacturing
units. Robots are being looked at as an advanced tool
that will enhance production operations. For countries
like India, this is the right time to start adopting
Robots. Universal robots optimizes production levels
and the key industries that these co-bots are best
used for- the Automotive, Food and Processing,
Electronics and Technology, Metal and Machining,
Research, and Pharma industries.
Scigazette | 34 | June, 2017
Scigazette | 35 | June, 2017
 Technology

Digitization and its

Relationship with IoT

Ashish Gula , Country Head Telit India.

The digi za on of everything is an impera ve for digital innova on and engagement which has emerged.
Businesses in every sector have already realized that they must use digital channels to engage with their key
stake holders to maintain relevance and drive the conversa on. The challenge for businesses is to face the
implica ons of the change being bought around due to Digi za on. In par cular, the loss of control over the
customer rela onship, increased compe on, threat of commodi za on, and the need to engage digitally with
suppliers, partners and employees in addi on to customers.
Digi za on is drama cally changing the world. It is impac ng all of our lives, and no individual, company or
country can escape its impact. India is set for a “Digi za on Revolu on” and the overall digi za on of the
country is up for a complete overhaul. This transforma on has emerged as the most transforma ve means to
ignite sustainable growth and improve society. Those countries and companies that embrace the digital
transforma on will uncover limitless possibili es to drive innova on, growth and jobs of the future.
The IoT is bridging the physical, digital, cyber and virtual worlds and this requires sound informa on processing
capabili es for the “digital shadows” of these real things. IoT applica ons are gradually moving from ver cal,
single purpose solu ons to mul -purpose and collabora ve applica ons interac ng across industry ver cals,
organiza ons and people, which represent one of the essen al paradigms of the Digi zed economy. Many of
those applica ons s ll have to be iden fied, while involvement of end users in this innova on is crucial. "The
Internet of Things (IoT) is considered to be one of the enablers that would benefit from this Digi za on drive. It
is fuelled by the advancement of digital technologies, as well as drama cally changing the way how companies
engage in business ac vi es and how

Scigazette | 36 | June, 2017

 Technology

people interact with their environment. The IoT's disrup ve nature requires the assessment of the
requirements for its future deployment across the digital value chain in various industries and applica on areas.

In India Digi za on would act as a catalyst towards the growth of Inter of Things (IoT). Re-inven ng the IoT
func on to cater to Digi za on requires far-reaching changes, from talent to infrastructure and it takes mul ple
years to complete. Fortunately, companies can adopt an approach that delivers results quickly while s ll
reshaping IoT for the long term. This two-speed approach requires first building a “high-speed” IoT func on to
work alongside the exis ng IoT func on and focusing on one or two valuable business areas such as web and
customer rela onship management.
According to NASSCOM, the Indian informa on technology (IT) industry has had a phenomenal run. The
industry crossed the $100 billion mark in 2012 and is expected to treble to more than $300 billion by 2020. The
role of IT in business is shi ing from that of an enabler to a strategic partner. The explosion of data is making it
necessary for businesses to proac vely adopt technology in order to differen ate themselves, and the digital
wave is turning out to be a disruptor across industry ver cals.
IoT has played a crucial role in the success of digi za on across the country and various industries. It has made
the mode of payments so easy that there is no direct access to the customer at me of purchase. The process
where customers can pay their bill through any of the mul ple acquirers via mul ple banks POS to the
merchant/ brand is possible with help of Internet of things (IoT). For a country like India, digi za on could be a
real game changer. Its extensive reach, seamless connec vity, and mass digital literacy are aspects that can truly
ring in the dawn of a digi zed India. With the IoT revolu on and the upward graph of economic growth, a truly
digi zed India in the next five years is not an unreachable goal. The seed of a massive revolu on that
digi za on holds within it has poten ally opened up unlimited opportuni es for businesses – to pioneer this
transforma on, achieve increased profitability in the process and enable businesses achieve customer delight.
“Digi za on Transforma on” has changed the way how people have started thinking. As digi za on takes
center stage, Indian banks have plans up their sleeve for the year ahead. Banks so far have been the backbone
of the country as they can drive or push the country's GDP. Indian banking is set to become the fi h largest by
2020, according to a joint report prepared by KPMG and Confedera on of Indian Industries (CII). But 2016 was
an upheaval, as the banks ba led demone za on and the debit card breach affec ng close to three lakh
accounts. The year ahead too won't provide any relief, as the task to do damage control and the pressure to
leverage digital is huge. This where IoT can help banks not only counter security threats but also successfully
implement hardware and so ware infrastructure that would ba le the pains of Demone za on.
It is not only the banks that are impacted by the Digi za on wave but every sector of the economy is
transforming itself from cash based to using of Internet as the means of payment. Take for example the
transport logis cs sector or the Third Party Logis cs (3PL) sector in India. 80% of this sector is an unorganized
sector with cash transac ons and under invoicing impac ng government revenues. With the focus on
Digi za on, this sector would now be forced to implement hardware and so ware technologies to reduce costs
and also reduce cash and under-invoicing transac ons. This would lead to a full eco system which would be IoT
enabled where hardware and so ware technologies would interact with each other to provide maximum
benefits to the companies. Similarly, nearly in every sector the usage of IoT would grow leaps and bounds in the
coming years in India.
The digital payments landscape in India is s ll nascent though it has seen significant ac vity in the past 2-3
years. The opportunity that lies ahead is enormous. The digital payment offerings of the future need to
combine the simplicity and universality of cash with the security and convenience offered by digital payments
as highlighted in the Google-BCG report. IoT technology will be the key enabler for mass adop on of digital
payments. The right product has to cater to the heterogeneous needs of the customer solved in a customized
manner. The payment methods have to be simple, fast, efficient, and secure. With those in place, the
complexi es of using digital will be gone and the habit of using cash will soon be a thing of the past.

Scigazette | 37 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus

PREPARING FOR
CYBERWAR
Dr Vishal Saraswat, Cryptographer & Asst Professor at C. R. Rao Advanced Institute
of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, Hyderabad

Wars these days are proxy wars, direct or indirect, and the cyberspace has proved
to be a fertile ground for such wars leading to the development of cyberwar
Traditionally, a country's military operations dealt
with four domains: land, water, air, and space. But
since a couple of decades, the advent of Internet and
its growing penetration has changed the nature of
war and introduced another domain in the military
operations, cyber. The cyber domain is comprised of
much more than just computers connected to a
network. While the location of the users and the
physical systems is part of the cyber domain, the
cyberspace itself is beyond the three spatial
dimensions, length, breadth and vertical, and the
temporal dimension, time, and has become the
inherent fifth dimension of battlespace. New
dimensions keep being added to the battlespace with
advances in human civilization, but the cyber-
revolution is as epochal as the industrial revolution, if
not more.
War in Cyber Age
Until 20th century, military only worried about
protecting its data and securing its communications
(cryptography) and dealt with intercepting and
interpreting the data of the adversary (cryptanalysis)
while cyber-security was mainly in the domain of the
software industry and dealt mostly with protecting
computers and data from financial harm. In the 21st
century the cyber-attacks crossed from the digital
world into our physical realm, for example, Stuxnet
destroyed Iranian nuclear program in 2012. Now,
cyber-security is not just about hacking, malwares,
web defacements, email spoofing, identity thefts, and
online financial frauds but also entails data theft,
Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of
Service (DDoS) attacks, unauthorized access to critical
infrastructures of the country, online surveillance and
digital espionage.
Wars these days are proxy wars to a greater or lesser
degree and the cyberspace has proved to be a fertile
ground for such wars leading to the development of a
new kind of war, cyberwar. Cyber warfare has the
potential to avoid attribution or retribution, while
attacking the military installations' critical
infrastructure and communication networks to cause
catastrophic effects that goes far beyond the loss of
human lives. Keeping these in mind, in April 2015,
President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order in
which he stated

Scigazette | 38 | June, 2017

 Tech Focus
“The increasing prevalence and severity of malicious
cyber-enabled activities originating from, or directed
by persons located, in whole or in substantial part,
outside the United States constitute an unusual and
extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign
policy, and economy of the United States. I hereby
declare a national emergency to deal with this
threat.”
India in Cyberspace
India is already among the most heavily cyber-
attacked country today, second only to the United
States. India has been victim to several cyberattacks
that have not only compromised sensitive
government and defence forces' systems, but also
caused loss of lives by propagating manipulated
information. After the Assam violence in 2012, social
media was used to propagate hate messages causing
loss of many lives and the mass exodus of North East
people from major cities in India. More recently, in
early September, details about India's top secret
Scorpene submarine program were published online.
On May 17, the cyber-security firm Symantec
announced that a Chinese cyber-espionage group
called Suckfly had breached the systems of several
Indian central government departments including
one which was responsible for implementing network
software for different ministries and departments and
had access to their information. A week later, on May
25, another cyber-security firm, Kaspersky Lab,
announced that it had tracked at least one another
Chinese cyberespionage group, called Danti that had
penetrated Indian government systems through
India's diplomatic entities.
Edward Snowden's revelation also revelaed that
different Indian networks have exposed the
vulnerabilities in the existing cyber-security setup and
defence mechanism. So, with an increasingly
belligerent cyberspace, where do India's
cybersecurity measures stand up?
Ensuring Cybersecurity
To deal with data protection and computer crimes, in
2000, the Indian government enacted the
Information Technology Act, 2000, that defined
cybercrime and established a Cyber Appellate
Tribunal to resolve disputes The Act was amended to
plug the loopholes in 2006 and 2008, along with
existing laws to make them compliant with
technologies.
Scigazette | 39 | June, 2017
Banks under Threat
Ÿ In 2016, Indian banks had to face tough attacks on
their digital security walls. The following major
cases of data breaches were directly meant to
jeopardise economic security:
Ÿ In the biggest ever breaches of financial data in
India, over 3.2 Million Debit Cards were
compromised through which cards with Visa,
Master Card and Rupay platform of State Bank of
India, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, YES Bank were
infected;
Ÿ India's third largest private sector bank, Axis Bank,
reported that it suffered a cyber attack where it's
authorities found an unauthorized login by some
offshore hacker, reported intrusion was from
Russian security researcher Kaspersky Lab;
Ÿ A Pakistani hacker dubbed as 'Afzal Faizal' in the
month of August claimed to have gained access to
a Nationalized Bank from India, though officials
claim that no financial loss or data leak took place
In 2004, the government established Vigilance
Telecom Monitoring cells (VTM) to deal with
clandestine telecom operations and security issues.
These VTMs subsequently evolved into Telecom
Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells
to act as the technical interface between Security
Agencies and Telecom Service Providers.
In 2004, a cyber crisis management plan was put in
place and the Computer Emergency Response Team
India (CERT-In) was formed as the nodal agency to
deal with cyber security threats and strengthen the
security of the Indian Internet domain. CERT-In
maintains a national repository of cyber-attacks, like
hacking and phishing, and analyses the attacks, traces
the incidents, and profiles the attackers. It reports
incidents, issues early warning and response, issues
security guidelines and advisories, and develops
preventive strategies. The defence establishment has
already set up a sectoral CERT for itself. Railways and
the power sector are also planning to have a CERT of
their own.
With an aim to create information security awareness
and towards capacity building in the area of
Information Security, the government approved the
project Information Security Education and
Awareness (ISEA). The ISEA project trains the
government personnel, including non-IT
professionals, legal and police personnel
 Tech Focus
etc., regarding the pervasive nature and impact of
cyber security on all walks of life. The project has
launched non-formal modular/short-term knowledge-
cum-skill oriented courses etc. for working
professionals at all levels. Information Security
curriculum is also introduced in classroom mode in
formal courses like M.Tech./M.E./M.S., B.Tech/B.E.,
Post Graduate Diploma courses, etc. through
academic institutions
The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) was
established to facilitate the routing of domestic
Internet traffic through the peering the Indian
Internet service providers (ISPs), rather than using
servers in other countries. This reduced the chances
of Indian data being intercepted unlawfully by foreign
agencies while allowing our agencies to monitor the
traffic more efficiently.
Industry has also played its part in making the
cyberspace secure. Data Security Council of India
(DSCI) was established in 2008 by National
Association of Software and Services Companies
(NASSCOM). DSCI brings together government
agencies, data protection authorities, regulators,
industry associations from sectors including IT-BPM,
BFSI and Telecom, industry associations, and think
tanks for establishing best practices, frameworks,
standards and initiatives in cyber security and is
working towards capacity building in cyber security
and cyber forensics through training and certification
program for professionals and law enforcement
agencies.
While the above agencies are more oriented towards
civilian policing, the government established the
Defence Information Warfare Agency (DIWA) and the
National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) to
lead the nation's offensive and defensive operations
in the cyberspace. NTRO is a highly specialised
technical intelligence gathering agency under the
National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister's
Office and acts as a super-feeder agency for providing
technical intelligence to other agencies on internal
and external security. DIWA is an information warfare
agency under the operational control of the Defence
Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nodal agency for all
defence related intelligence, and handles all elements
of the information warfare. DIWA frames the policies
for cyber-wars, formulates counter-measures to
enemy propaganda, and handles information
manipulation and psychological operations.
Scigazette | 40 | June, 2017
The Way Ahead
The National Critical Information Infrastructure
Protection Centre (NCIIPC) is already formulating
guidelines and regulations for ensuring protection of
protected systems and critical infrastructures and will
be formally launched soon. The National Intelligence
Grid (NATGRID) project is in works to integrate the
intelligence grid connecting databases of core
security agencies of the Government of India to
collect comprehensive patterns of intelligence that
can be readily accessed by intelligence agencies.
NETRA (Network Traffic Analysis), a software network
to intercept and analyze internet traffic on real time
basis using pre-defined filters is to be deployed
nationwide soon. A new Telecom Security Policy is in
works. The National Cyber Security Policy draft is
available and would be implemented soon. National
Cyber Coordination Centre was also approved to co-
ordinate the intelligence gathering activities of
various agencies and to develop cybercrime
prevention strategy, deliver cybercrime investigation
training and review outdated laws.
While the government is moving in the right
direction, we need to speed up and scale up the
process. As the country becomes more networked,
the avenues for a cyber-attack will multiply and the
nation will need to continually reinforce the country's
cyber security framework and infrastructure and its
related technologies in almost real time. The
resources for this preparation are not readily available
within the government and we need to include
industry as partners on our team and build with
industry a
foundation of trust and confidence in a cooperative
manner. Their commercial and civil ventures give
them a tremendous knowledge base and the insights
and the skills needed to get the job done. Whenever
the military has approached private partners for its
various requirements, their support led to significant
advances and saved critical time and precious
resources. This time too, we need to bring in the
industry's talent and its expertise towards successfully
defending and dominating the cyberspace. While
large IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant,
and Mahindra are already contributing to the defence
sector in many other ways, we need to involve these
companies for our cyber-security needs too. Many
smaller home grown start-ups working in cyber
security may also be roped in for specific issues.
 New Products
IPM CIPOS Mini integrates power factor correction
Infineon Technologies introduces
the new CIPOS Mini featuring
power factor correction (PFC).The
intelligent power module (IPM)
combines a single switch boost
PFC stage and a 3 phase inverter
in one package.
With the PFC integrated into the
inverter module, the integrated
CIPOS Mini IPM helps to reduce
system size and the bill of
material. Moreover, the
additional PCB space gives room
Vishay unveils IHLP low profile,
high current inductor
Vishay Intertechnology introduced a new IHLP low
profile, high current inductor in the 1616 case size
that combines a high operating temperature to +155
°C with a low profile of 2 mm for commercial and
industrial applications in extreme environments.
With a frequency range up to 2 MHz, the Vishay Dale
IHLP-1616BZ-51 is optimized for energy storage in
DC/DC converters and high current filtering up to the
self-resonant frequency (SRF) of the inductor (see
table below).
Applications include notebooks, desktop PCs, and
servers; low profile, high current power supplies,
PMICs, and point of load (POL) converters; industrial
and telecommunications power systems; and DC/DC
converters for distributed power systems and FPGAs.
For more information visit: www.vishay.com
Scigazette | 41 | June, 2017
for further components. It is
designed to control induction
motors and permanent magnet
synchronous motors with single-
phase PFC in variable speed
drives. These are typically found in
applications like air conditioning
and low-power motor drives of up
to 2 kW power capability.
For more information visit:
www.infineon.com/IPM.
BMA Connectors and Adapters with
Operating Frequency of 22 GHz
Pasternack, a leading provider of RF, microwave and
millimeter wave products, has released a new line of
52 BMA connectors and adapters with maximum
operating frequency of 22 GHz. Typical applications
include blind mating, rack and panels, phased array
systems. RF backplanes and high-speed switching.
Pasternack's new product line is made up of 45
connectors with VSWR as low as 1.2:1, and 7 adapters
with VSWR as low as 1.15:1. They feature gold-plated
BeCu contacts, 50 Ohm impedance and a
temperature range of -65°C to +125°C. Many of the
models provide radial and axial float to help with
alignment. Military versions are made of stainless
steel and commercial versions are constructed of
brass. Hermetic versions are also available. These
BMA connectors and adapters are ideally suited for
military electronics and telecommunications
applications.
Visit https://www.pasternack.com/pages/RF-
Microwave-and-Millimeter-Wave-Products/bma-
interconnects.html

World's Smallest 24W DC LED Drivers
Seoul Semiconductor, a leading
global innovator of LED products
and technology, has developed the
industry's smallest phase-cut DC
LED driver series, with a power
density 10X higher than
conventional LED drivers. he
NanoDriver Series is the world's
smallest miniature converter at
just 13.5mm wide, and is available
in four versions rated for 16W and
Maxim's Dual IO-Link Master Transceiver for Industry 4.0 Applications
Designers of Industry 4.0
applications can now achieve
robust communications and
reduce power dissipation by 50%
with the MAX14819 dual-channel,
IO-Link master transceiver from
Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.
Today's fanless programmable
logic controller (PLC) and IO-Link
gateway systems must dissipate
large amounts of power
depending on IO configuration (IO-
Link, digital input/output, analog
input/output). As these PLCs
evolve into new Industrial 4.0
Artesyn Extends Industrial DC-DC Converter Range
Artesyn Embedded Technologies
extended its range of low power
output industrial DC-DC
converters, targeting a diverse
range of applications, including
instrumentation, data
communication,
telecommunication and computer
peripheral equipment, and
industrial automation.
The new models in Artesyn's ATA
series isolated DC-DC converters
cover 6 watt and 8 watt power
New Products
24W output power for operating
LED lighting with input power of
120V or 230V (50 – 60Hz), and can
be driven by AC or DC power
supplies. Manufactured with Seoul
Semiconductor's original Acrich
technology, the NanoDriver Series
features an IC directly attached to
the substrate, dramatically
reducing the size of the converter.
To learn more about the
smart factories, special attention
must be considered to achieve
smarter, faster, and lower power
solutions while also meeting IO-
Link and standard IO (SIO)
compliance.
outputs and comprise 14 variants
per power output series. The DIP-
16 form factor minimizes occupied
board space and offers very high
power density.
Scigazette | 42 | June, 2017
NanoDriver Series please visit:
http://www.seoulsemicon.com/en
/technology/drivers
Maxim continues to provide a
portfolio of advanced factory
automation solutions that creates
pathways toward achieving
Industry 4.0. The unique
architecture of the MAX14819
dissipates 50% less heat compared
to other IO-Link Master solutions
and is fully compatible in all
modes for IO-Link and SIO
compliance.
Find more information about
MAX14819:
https://www.maximintegrated.co
m/products/MAX14819
All ATA series converters feature
ultra-wide 4:1 inputs; seven of the
models have 9–36 V inputs and
the other seven have 18–75 V
inputs. Within each of these two
categories, there is a choice of five
single output models, offering
voltages of 3.3 V, 5 V, 12 V, 15 V or
24 V, and two dual output models
offering +12/-12 V or +15/-15 V.
For more information visit:
https://www.artesyn.com/

Industry's Smallest Diameter Circuit Protection Thermistor
Ametherm today announced a
new circuit protection thermistor
that offers the industry's smallest
diameter for a UL-approved device
with a maximum continuous
current rating of 6.0 A and energy
rating of 40 J.
Previously, designers had to rely
on devices with larger diameters
from 15.0 mm to 25.0 mm to
achieve the high current and
energy ratings of the new SL12
10006. Offering a radial lead
package with a maximum
diameter of only 13.0 mm and
height profile of 5.5 mm, the
device released today saves board
space, lowers costs, limits excess
circuit board heat, and enables
faster reset times.
The small size and high current
Low Capacitance TVS Diode Arrays from Littelfuse
Littelfuse, Inc., the global leader in
circuit protection, has introduced
a series of a low-capacitance TVS
Diode Arrays designed to protect
high-speed, differential data lines
against electrostatic discharge
(ESD), cable discharge events
(CDE), electrical fast transients
(EFT), and lightning induced
surges. Each SP2555NUTG Series
TVS Diode Array (SPA Diodes) can
protect up to four channels or two
differential pairs up to 45A and up
to 30kV ESD. The SP2555NUTG
Series offers higher surge
New Products
rating of the SL12 10006 make it
ideal for appliance motors and
fractional horsepower motor
drives, 300 W to 600 W switch
mode power supplies, LED drivers,
and small inverters for recreational
vehicles. The device features a
resistance of 10.0 Ω, dissipation
constant of 13.5 mW/°C, and
thermal time constant of 42 s. The
thermistor can handle body
temperatures up to 210 °C at
100% of its maximum current
rating.
The SL12 10006 circuit protection
For more information or to
thermistor is available direct or
request a sample, visit
through distributors such as Digi-
www.ametherm.com. Or call 800-
Key and Mouser. Samples and
808-2434 (toll free in the United
production quantities of the
States) or 775-884-2434 from
devices are available now, with
outside the U.S. and Canada.
factory lead times of eight weeks.
tolerance that existing TVS Diode
Arrays on the market and meets
the lower voltage targets of
emerging Ethernet protocols.
Typical applications for the
SP2555NUTG Series include
protection for 10/100/1000
Ethernet, WAN/LAN equipment,
desktops, servers and
notebooks, LVDS interfaces,
integrated magnetics and Smart
TVs.
For more information visit:
Littelfuse.com
Scigazette | 43 | June, 2017
 New Products

IBM Research Alliance Builds New Microchip simplifies the design

Transistor for 5nm Technology
IBM and its Research Alliance partners
GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Samsung, and equipment
suppliers have developed an industry-first process to
build silicon nanosheet transistors that will enable 5
nanometer (nm) chips. The details of the process will
be presented at the 2017 Symposia on VLSI
Technology and Circuits conference in Kyoto, Japan. In
less than two years since developing a 7nm test node
chip with 20 billion transistors, scientists have paved
the way for 30 billion switches on a fingernail-sized
chip.
The resulting increase in performance will help
accelerate cognitive computing, the Internet of
Things (IoT), and other data-intensive applications
delivered in the cloud. The power savings could also
mean that the batteries in smartphones and other
mobile products could last two to three times longer
than today's devices, before needing to be charged.
of low power LCD applications
A new family of low-power microcontrollers
(MCUs) for driving Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD)
featuring Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs)
and intelligent analog is now available from
Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of
microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-
IP solutions. The nine member PIC16F19197
family includes a battery friendly LCD drive
charge pump, 12-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter
with computation (ADC2), a low-power
comparator, and active clock tuning of its high
frequency oscillator. They are the first 8-bit
MCUs optimised for popular low-power and
battery-powered touch enabled LCD
applications.
The PIC16F19197 family consists of 28- to 64-pin
devices with up to 56 KB Flash and 4 KB RAM.
The charge pump ensures that LCD screens
maintain consistent contrast even as battery
voltage drops. The ADC2 automates signal
acquisition and processing tasks, making robust
touch buttons and sliders easy to implement.

Anritsu Enhances Vector Star VNAs to Support 5G High Data Rate

Anritsu Company introduces the Universal Fixture Extraction (UFX)option for its VectorStar® vector network
analyzers (VNAs) to provide signal integrity and on-wafer engineers with an increased range of on-wafer and
fixture calibration choices, even when a full set of calibration standards is not available. Developed to address the
design challenges associated with the high-frequency, high data rate requirements of 4G and emerging 5G
systems, as well as backhaul and data centers, UFX features unique analysis
toolsso engineers can more accurately and efficiently evaluate designs.
VectorStar VNAs configured with UFX provide signal integrity and on-wafer
engineers with multiple benefits. The VNA solution speeds time to market by
enhancing model accuracy through improved test fixture de-embedding
thereby improving first time yields. It also provides engineers with the ability to
develop high-speed data throughput products with competitive advantages.
For more information visit: www.anritsu.com

Scigazette | 44 | June, 2017

 Research

A solution for precise, low-cost

eye movement detection
Imec and Holst Centre (set up by imec and TNO) have developed a sensing technology to detect eye movement
in real me based on electrical sensing. Paving the way for the next genera on of eye-tracking technology,
imec's solu on has promising applica ons in the fields of virtual and augmented reality.
Today's eye movement detec on technology makes use of high-resolu on cameras embedded in eye-tracking
screens or glasses. Such devices are already being commercialized for numerous applica ons, including
healthcare, research and gaming.
While camera-based solu ons can accurately determine where users are looking, most cameras' frame rates
are not fast enough to match the eye's most rapid movements, such as saccades – a typical movement during
reading. Using a more sophis cated camera that matches the eyes' speed would significantly increase the
already high cost of these devices and could have implica ons for their commercial use. Imec's solu on, based
on electrical sensing, offers a much more inexpensive alterna ve, while solving the issue of the image
processing delay.
Imec's sensors were integrated into a set of glasses, with four built-in electrodes around each lens, two to pick
up the eye's ver cal movement and two for horizontal movements. Parallel to that, an advanced algorithm was
developed to translate the signals into a concrete posi on, based on the angle the eye is making with its
central point of vision. Imec's solu on also offers insights on the eye's behavior, like the speed of movement or
the frequency and dura on of blinks.
"Human eyes have a natural electrical poten al", stated Gabriel Squillace, researcher in the Biomedical
Applica ons & Systems group at imec. "At imec, we are leveraging this feature to develop the next-genera on
of eye-movement detec on devices that can detect the eye's posi on in real me at a five mes lower cost
and up to four mes faster than what is currently available on the market. Imec's ul mate goal is to develop a
solu on that can track the eye's most rapid movements, such as saccades, enabling seamless real me tracking
for AR and VR applica ons."
Other possible applica ons for this technology include a complement to current camera-based solu ons,
poten ally developing cheaper and faster eye-movement detec on devices.
Currently being tested and showing promising results on eye behavior and blink detec on, users are able to
interact with screens by moving the cursor with their eyes and using different blinking pa erns for dis nct
ac ons, such as selec ng files, drag-and-dropping or opening and closing applica ons.

Scigazette | 45 | June, 2017

 Research

New millimeter-wave
technology could make
future vehicles much safer
Hiroshima University and Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited (MIFS) today have developed a low-power
millimeter-wave amplifier that feeds on 0.5 V power supply and covers the frequency range from 80 GHz to
106 GHz. It was fabricated using MIFS's Deeply Depleted Channel (DDC) technology. This is the first W-band
(75−110 GHz) amplifier that can operate even with such a low power-supply voltage. Details of the technology
will be presented at the IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC) 2017, running from June
4th to 6th in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The W-band covers the frequencies used by automo ve radars. Sophis cated driver-assistance and self-driving
will require radars with millimeter-wave beam scanning capability that can "see" in day and night condi ons
and even in adverse weather condi ons. Such a phased array will consist of up to hundreds of transmi ers and
receivers. As ba ery-powered cars become more common, it is impera ve that these circuits be low power.
Lowering the power-supply voltage is the most effec ve means of accomplishing that. However, transistor
performance drops with voltage and no W-band amplifier has so far operated at as low as 0.5 V . The team of
researchers successfully demonstrated a W-band amplifier at 0.5 V by bringing together MIFS's DDC
technology and design techniques developed by Hiroshima University. The DDC technology offers high-
performance silicon MOS transistors even at low voltages and is currently available from MIFS as a 55-nm
CMOS process. The design techniques further improve transistor and circuit performance at millimeter-wave
frequencies.
"Now that seriously low-power W-band circuits really seem possible, we should think about what we can do
with them. Applica ons aren't limited to automo ve radars and high-speed communica ons between base
sta ons. What if you have a radar on your smartphone? Today's smartphones can already sense things like
accelera on, audible sound, visible light, and Earth's magne c field. But the only ac ve probing device is that
ny LED (light-emi ng diode) that can illuminate at most a few meters. Add a millimeter-wave radar on a
smartphone, and it doesn't have to be a so-called primary radar, which only detects waves reflected back. Your
smartphone could respond to waves from your friend's radar and send some signal back. A whole lot of new
applica ons could be created, including games," said Professor Minoru Fujishima, Graduate School of
Advanced Sciences of Ma er, Hiroshima University.
"Another significance of our 0.5-V W-band amplifier is reliability. We researchers know that some millimeter-
wave circuits presented at major conferences, biased at 1 V or higher, won't last long. They degrade as you
measure them, within days or even hours, not years, because of the so-called hot-carrier effects. You wouldn't
want to get into a car that loses its sight so quickly. The 0.5-V supply voltage will significantly reduce hot-carrier
genera on," Prof. Fujishima added.
"Compared to conven onal CMOS, our DDC transistors offer excellent performance in low-power opera ons.
We have proven that we can extend those outstanding quali es to the millimeter band. I am delighted that our
collabora on with Hiroshima University has produced a millimeter-band amplifier. We plan to move forward by
building a design environment for maximizing the capabili es of DDC technology," said Mutsuaki Kai, Vice
President of Technology Development, Mie Fujitsu Semiconductor. The research group plans to con nue
exploring the possibility of low-voltage millimeter-wave CMOS circuits.

Scigazette | 46 | June, 2017

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