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My blog is about the 7 new Earth-like planets found in a system that is 40 light years away (3.784×10^13 km) from us. You may be thinking that’s a pretty big distance but it’s not true in the case of astronomy. The star found is an ultra-cooled red dwarf about 9 % of Sun’s mass in Aquarius constellation named as Trappist-1. The seven planets orbit the star in the orbit that is much closer than Mercury’s orbit and a year on the closest planet Trappist-1b is only of 1.5 Earth days, while that of the farthest one Trappist 1h is only 18.8 Earth days. The planets pass so close to one another that gravitational interactions are significant.the size of all seven planets are more or less similar to that of Earth , all of them have chances of having liquid water on their surface and three of them that are Trappist 1(e,f,g) are in habitable zone making them the most appropriate place to be capable of sustaining life in the known universe besides Earth.

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The CEV members met on the 24th of March, 2016 for a general discussion on the impact of automation on the current market status. The discussion covered many broad aspects, problems and even probable solutions. Here is the brief conclusion of the discussion.

 

“Automation”, what a beautiful word! Where don’t we find automation? There was a time when men were needed to forward our message to some other person using telegraph. But today we can do that in minutes by simply typing and tapping on the send button. Such a major relief on our side! But what happened to the man whom we used to give our message to forward?

Today we all are so engaged for our comforts that we are overlooking the price we actually are paying for it, unemployment. People are being continuously replaced by the automated machines for the simplest works too. Two decades ago this problem was not found to be on such a large scale, but from the past few years we see a whole lot of unemployed people all over the world due to technological advancements. This problem has reached to such an extent that it has got its own term “TECHNOLOGICAL UNEMPLOYMENT”. 

Industrial sector is marching towards full automation. But it is indeed needed. Machines are developed to reduce human efforts and they are exactly doing that. A person doing some job has a higher chance of making a mistake than a machine. Also the machine does a job faster than a human. If I can read news anywhere through my mobile phone, why would I open up a newspaper? A machine always does things which it is told to do. It does not have feelings(hopefully) and so it would do that work in spite of the conditions.

For a country, unemployment plays a vital role in underdevelopment of the country. It increases the poverty and decreases the literacy rate of the country. Also the per capita income decreases. A purchase of 10-20 machines in an industry leads to hundreds of people losing their jobs. With the advancements in Artificial intelligence, the time is not long that for each and every job man would be replaced. Dooms day comes nearer and nearer with the increasing robots.

But we can’t stay forever in the stone age. With increasing laziness, people come up with new and new ideas for becoming lazier. Technological advancements cannot be stopped. But it can be limited. Why would we want to make a human like robot when we have overpopulation in the country? Such high advancements leads to people losing jobs on much larger scale and also it increases the fear of bots taking over human population.

The technological advancements are inevitable but they should be made in such a way that the unemployment caused due to it is least. Automation leading to short scale or short term unemployment can be entertained, but not the larger ones. Machines are supposed to be developed to decrease human effort not to completely remove it. For example, auto rickshaws replaced the cycle rickshaws that decreased the effort of the driver but it did not make him unemployed. Invention of cars or taxis can also be entertained as there is a need of a driver in that, but driver less cars is way too much. An industry should not replace ten humans with a single machine, but it should bring in machines that reduces the production time and increases the quality of product drastically but need humans for its operation.

The technological unemployment may become the biggest global issue in the near future. Hence we need to make sure to apply brakes on the journey of automation at regular intervals and always have the control in our hand. A limited progress in the technology to reduce human efforts and increase their comforts should be there but it also has to take into view the betterment of the workers who were previously working in place of that technology.

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Lead has been quite useful to mankind since ages, but over the last century, scientists and researchers have discovered the various dangers it poses to the human body.
So, what do we make of the title? In ancient times, white lead was actively mixed with oil to make the most suitable paint as required by the ‘master painters’ of that era. Lead was preferred because of the properties it imparted to the oil-paint, notable ones were washability, less wear and tear and weather resistant. Even,  till the early 1900s, white lead was used by the U.S government to paint the White House and the Capitol building.
But, in recent times, as the world has become more aware of the harms that some of the elements in the surroundings possess, we came to know the various side-effects of the Lead-paint that were used in objects of day to day usages such as household paints and toys. Lead paint is hazardous. It can cause nervous system damage, stunted growth, kidney damage, and delayed development. It is dangerous to children because it tastes sweet, therefore encouraging children to put lead chips and toys with lead dust in their mouths. Lead is considered a possible and likely carcinogen. High levels may result in death.
Now, considering the situation in India, though many major brands in the paint industry have brought the level of lead in paints to below the allowable  limit of 90 ppm, but even today in many tier 2 and 3 cities and towns, oil-paints having a concentration of lead in excess of 10,000 ppm are being sold. According to report published by Toxics Link titled ‘Lead in Enamel Household Paints in India in 2015’ found that 32 of 101 enamel paints analysed had lead concentration above 10,000 ppm (parts per million), way above the prescribed BIS standards (90 parts per million) for lead in paints. All these 32 paints were from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This situation has arisen because the government of India has failed to keep a check and these paints are mostly being sold by small and medium scale manufacturers who look for profits and have fewer or null resources for consumer awareness programs. As of April 2016, GOI has put up a  page for suggestions on banning paints having more than 90 ppm of lead in them.
The conclusion that can be derived from such studies carried is that we, as a community are still not much aware of the various things that affect us daily, and an initiative must be taken by the government to help spread awareness about the health risks and other dangers associated with various daily usage products.

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Probability theory is probably the least understood area by the general population (except for certain gamblers). As a simple example, consider the History professor who was scared of flying and asked his friend one day: “What is the probability that there will be a bomb on an aeroplane?” His friend responded that he really didn’t know, but that it was certainly less than one in a million. So he asked: “Well, what is the probability that there are two bombs on an aeroplane?” His friend responded that (as long as these were independent events) it would be the square of the probability of having one bomb, which is 1 in a trillion – a truly astronomical number. So, from that day forward the History professor always carried a bomb with him when he flew since it reduced the risk of having a bomb on the plane from 1 in a million to 1 in a trillion.

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1) Which one programming language is exclusively used for artificial intelligence?

Ans:- PROLOG

2) “DON’T BE EVIL” is the tagline of which company?

Ans:- GOOGLE

3) What is the full form of html?

Ans:- HYPER TEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE

4) A network designed to allow communication within an organisation is called:

Ans:- INTRANET

5) Printf(“% %”); what will be output of this code in c?

Ans:- %

6) What is the full form of pdf?

Ans:- PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT

7) What is real name of rajnikant?

Ans:- SHIVAJI RAO GAIKWAD

8) Which movie won most number of oscar this year?

Ans:- MADMAX FURY

9) A high-speed transportation system incorporated with reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurized capsules ride on an air cushion driven by linear induction motors and air compressors known as?

Ans:- HYPERLOOP

10) Which is the world’s largest, most complex experimental facility ever built by the human race?

Ans:- LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

11) Why a passenger in train always sees a red signal in traffic pole , but the train passes irrespective of red signal?

Ans:- when you observe the traffic pole you will see some rod which is supported by springs under the track when the engine crosses through that part it will generate a response due to pressure and light automatically turns red.

12) Why does water swirl while draining?

Ans:- The main effect is angular momentum (rotational inertia). This results in the water level being lower near the centre of rotation than further away, setting up centripetal forces which maintain the rotation. When the difference in levels is significant relative to the average water level, you notice the typical whirl effect.

13) Water is colorless and transparent, but why does the foam on breaking waves appear white?

Ans:- Foam consists of bubbles, which are very thin liquid films with air inside. Compared with a water droplet of the same size, a bubble absorbs much less light than the water droplet because it has so little matter. And the air inside the bubble is not a good absorber of light either. Hence, all things being equal, the light coming out from a bubble is brighter than that from water (which is just a large collection of water droplets), and appears white under the sun.

14) The project by google in which you can select the required features and the components for your phone of your choice is?

Ans:- PROJECT ARA

15) The first batsman to score three test century in three successive test on debut.

Ans:- MOHAMMED AZZHARUDDIN

16) Some months have 30 days, some months have 31 days; how many have 28?

Ans:- 12 Months ( All the month have 28 days)

17) Odd-even system in delhi is related with?

Ans:- AIR POLLUTION , VEHICHLES

18) ICAO Stands For

Ans. A) International Civil Aviation Organization

19) Initiative taken by government to increase the connectivity so that government services are made available to the citizens easily

Ans:- DIGITAL INDIA

20) Given these equations, what does 4500 equal?

8898=7  4566=2   1203=1   2313=0   4566=2   5464=1   7774=0   1003=2   9856=4   9955=2   1886=5    1231=0    8764=3    4500=

Ans. It is basically the count of circles in all the digits of a number. Eg. 8898 has seven circle. Similarly 4500 has 2 circles. So ANS is 2.

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Quizzes are the best way to verify ones own knowledge and also lean about the unknown topics. Hence at CEV, we organized a quiz competition on 16th March 2016. The quiz was conducted on various topics like general knowledge, movies, books, latest technology, general aptitude etc. 

We would like to thank all the participants for taking part in the quiz.

For solutions of the Quiz Competition, Click Here.

 

For any queries, please do comment in the comment box.

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Sketching is an art to put down your emotions, your surrounding or anything that allured you.

It is a very effective way for expressing your emotions.. Sketching varies from being the one a professional artist does in preparation of his painting or a random doodling with no end goal. It is also used in a form of concise rendition with a very impactful presentation of a social awareness message.

It is an art with no rules.. Where no one can make any mistakes. Because rather than going into the specifics the essence of the element matters.

Basically there are three types of sketching:

• Croquis
• Pochade
• Portrait sketch

They are not as complex as their names suggests:

• Croquis sketch is used in order to remember the scene or a person in a more permanent type of way. Nowadays fashion designers use this term for the quick sketch of a model.
• Pochade sketch is used to capture the atmosphere i.e. the fleeting effect of the light etc. As opposed to Croquis which is a line art Pochade deals more with the shade and atmosphere of the scene.
• Portrait sketch is used for the artistic representation of a person with predominance given to its expression.

Conventionally it is done by using different kinds of pencils for example the professional graphite pencils (h, 2h, 3h, hb, b, 2b, 4b, 6b) and even charcoal and carbon pencils. But again it can be done using pens, ink, water colours, oil paints, pastels etc. Here the grade ‘h’ defines hardness and ‘b’ defines blackness. The ‘h’ grade pencils are hard and smudge-free so they are predominantly used for technical drawings and light sketches. The ‘b’ grade is used by the artists for brush-like expressions and smoother look.

Predominantly the sketch comprises of 5 types of strokes.

1. Lines
2. Cross-hatching
3. Circular stroke
4. Directional stroke
5. Tapping

 

The different types of shades are created simply by using different type ‘b’ grade graphite pencil. This shades is done by adding layers of the strokes one after the other.

As mentioned earlier there are no specific rules for sketching. But there are few techniques for a beginner to make this experience easy and delightful!

• Use appropriate materials.

Choose the pencil according to the type of the sketch. The ‘h’ grade pencil are hardest and used for non-bendable lines. They are mostly used in industrial drawing.

The ‘b’ grade pencil are softer and smudge easily. Hence they are used for making smudges lines and shading your drawing.

Fine art paper can be used for your sketch rather than the smooth one… As it gives nice texture and improves the overall appearance.

• Choose a subject.

For a beginner it would be better if you use an object or an image as a base for your sketch. It’ll make it much easier than imagining it.

If you are using a physical object, than take a few minutes to observe the object thoroughly. Notice it’s source of light, make the sketch lighter and darker with accordance to the effect of the light . See if the object is in motion and make the sketch in its accordance. If it helps first visualise it in the form of primary shapes (Square, Triangle, circle etc.) and use them as a base to get the dimensions right.

If you are using an image then divide the image in equal 4,9,25 or so parts according to your convenience. Then replicate each smaller part in your drawing paper as dealing with the smaller part is much simpler than dealing with the whole. It even helps in getting the dimensions right!

• Don’t draw heavily

Use light strokes whenever you are sketching as usually it’s a base draft of an image. Therefore always use light and lot of short quick strokes. Using light strokes even helps in erasing the mistakes.

• Next step use darker pencil

Once after completing the rough primary sketch, use darker (6b) pencil to define the strokes more precisely and adding details to them. This strokes are also used to get the inner details right. If you want a smoother final product u can always smudge it with the help of cotton or soft cloth.

• Erase all the extra smudge prints

Usually while using softer pencil you’ll notice smudges on the paper. So remove all this smudges by using a soft eraser lightly. Keep in mind to use a soft eraser as a putty one might tear the page.

• Perfect your lines.

Add further details and repeat the earlier steps with them until you a satisfied with the end result. Many times the soft border gives an unprofessional look to after erasing the extra smudge u can highlight the sketch using a harder pencil (H grade).

• Voila!

You have your beautiful sketch ready.Now you you wish you can spray fixative so that the sketch is preserved and is avoided from smudging

 

Sketching is not that hard as people seem to believe. There are no right and wrong in it. Above mentioned technique just makes it simpler so use them and let yourself indulge in this beautiful experience and let the magic begin!

 

These are some of my own attempts at sketching:

 

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Orientation

In a our college, every student chapters organize the first program in which they inform the fresher’s about their student chapter and the activities done by them throughout the year. Similarly the Orientation program of Cutting Edge Visionaries (CEV) was organized on 3rd September 2015.

In this Orientation program, students were given information about the college, life at college, facilities provided by the college, proper methods of utilizing the provided facilities, how can they be productive in the spare time etc. They were provided with various information, from which projects they can do to which TV shows and movies they should watch. All the information was provided to them.

The main aim of the program was to make the students productive, get involved in creative activities whether it may be technical or non technical. The sole idea of CEV is that people learn something new, something different and share that with the people in the future.

All those who were not able to attend, may contact your friends those who attended and take the given handouts.

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Google Projects

Google projects tend to have a forward focus. The company pours resources into researching everything. In past the company had come forward with many projects like Google Maps, Google Glasses, Google Goggles, driverless car etc. which have changed the life and made it easy.

Similarly some of the new upcoming popular projects that Google is putting resources into development are:

• Project ARA
• Project SOLI
• Project JACQUARD

PROJECT ARA:

The smartphone is one of the most empowering and intimate objects in our lives. Yet most of us have little to say in how the device is made, what it does, and how it looks. And 5 billion of us don’t have one. What if you could make a thoughtful choice about exactly what your phone does, and use it as a creative canvas to tell your own story?

With this idea, Google came forward with the Project ARA. Project ARA is the codename of an initiative that aims to develop an open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones. The platform will include a structural frame or endoskeleton that holds the smartphone modules of the owner’s choice such as a display, camera, speaker, processor or an extra battery.

The project was originally headed by the Advanced Technologies and Projects team within Motorola Mobility while it was a subsidiary of Google and was working in collaboratively with Phonebloks. Although Google had sold the Motorola to Lenovo, it retained the project team.

ARA smartphones are built using modules inserted into endoskeleton frames which will be the only component in the ARA smartphones made by Google. The modules that are attached to the frame by electro-permanent magnets can provide common features such as camera, speakers, display, etc. as well as some specialized features like medical devices, printers, projectors, night vision sensors or game controller buttons.

Google wants Project ARA to lower the entry barrier for phone hardware manufacturers so there could be “hundreds of thousands of developers” instead of the current handful of big manufacturers. This would be similar to how the Google Play Store is structured. Lowering the barrier for entry allows many more people to develop modules. Anyone would be able to build a module without requiring a license or pay a fee.

PROJECT SOLI:

One of the big problems with the wearable devices right now is inputs–there’s no simple way to control these devices. Also at a time when most gesture–sensing technology is unreliable and clunky, Project SOLI, one of Google latest cutting–edge experiments from its ATAP group, provides an enticing example of the type of powerful motion controller that could actually change how we interact with everything from smart watches and tablets to appliances and other everyday objects.

Unlike gesture control tech that came before, Google unveiled an interactive sensor that uses radar to translate subtle hand movements into gesture controls for electronic devices. The sensor is able to track sub-millimeter motions at the speedy rate of 10,000 frames per second and with exceptional accuracy. Not only that, but it fits onto a fingertip sized chip and can be used in everyday devices.

Using radar is a fundamentally different approach to gesture tracking because unlike camera-based system which uses a lens, the radar used in Project SOLI will travel through certain materials, making it possible to place chip inside devices and out of sight.

The basic working principle of the system is that it beams out a continuous signal that gets reflected by arm so it measures the difference between the emitted and received signal. It’s a very complex wave signal and from that the system provides signal processing and machine learns the technique to detect the gestures.

The gestures chosen by the team while tests were selected for their similarity to standard action we perform every day. For example, rubbing thumb and finger could be used for volume control,swiping across the side of a closed index finger with the thumb could be used for scroll across a flat plane, while tapping a figure and thumb together would press a button.

Google’s ATAP department is already testing hardware applications for the technology and we can hope to use this technology in near future.

PROJECT JACQUARD:-

Till now we have heard a lot about the wearable gadgets and might have even used them but how would it be to make the wearable’s that we can actually wear. Yes! Those days are not far. Google’s new Advanced Technology and Project group is trying its hand at manufacturing high-tech fabrics and wearable electronics that you can actually wear with Project JACQUARD and for this it has signed a partnership with Levi Strauss & Co.

Project JACQUARD makes it possible to weave touch and gesture interactively into any textile using standard, industrial looms. Everyday objects such as clothes and furniture can be transformed into interactive surfaces.

Jacquard yarn structures combine thin, metallic alloys with natural and synthetic yarn like cotton, polyester, or silk, making the yarn strong enough to be woven at any industrial loom.

Using conductive yarns, touch and gesture- sensitive areas can be woven at precise locations, anywhere on the fabric. Alternatively, sensor grids can be woven throughout the textile, creating large interactive surface.

The complementary components are engineered to be as discreet as possible. Google developed innovative technique to attach the conductive yarns to the connectors and tiny circuits of size not larger than a button. These miniaturized electronics capture touch interactions, and various gestures can be inferred using machine-learning algorithms.

These captured touch and gesture data can be wirelessly transmitted to the mobile phones or other devices to control wide range of functions, connecting users to online services, apps, or phone features.

Jacquard components are cost-efficient to produce, and the yarns and fabrics can be manufactured with standard equipment used in mills around world.

Connected clothes offer new possibilities for interacting with services, devices, and environments. These interactions can be reconfigured at any time. Further Jacquard is a blank canvas for the fashion industry. Designers can use it as they would and add new layers of functionality to the designs, without learning about electronics. 

Though Google is not the first one to create conductive threads, startups like OmSignal and Sensoria are currently selling shirts and running socks that contains such threads and use their electronics innards to track various metrics associated with physical activity. But Google is trying to combine the radar based Project SOLI with this Project JACQUARD which might be a revolutionary concept.

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The alumni of 1965-70, amongst the earliest batches of SVREC had a joyous reunion, remembering their youthful days of college, how they went ahead in life and made their efforts worth its weight in gold! Of the glorious gathering of around 25 alumni , we the current generation of SVNITians had the honour of knowing, hearing and connecting to them through a CEV Talk entitled “Interactive Session by SVNIT Alumni of Batch 1970” on 8^th February,2015.

The first talk was delivered by Mr. S. Neelakantan (Retd Scientist ‘G’, Group Dir., Helicopter and Fighter Aircraft DRDO) entitled “Helicopters- Concepts and Development” wherein he discussed about the fundamental concepts & history of Indian Helicopter Technologies, development of indigenously built Advanced Light Helicopters- Dhruv, its design, development tests & certification. Prospects of future advanced warfare & tactical helicopters along with their robustness was also shared.

In one of the most interactive sessions, Mr.  Sailesh Lakdawala , Energy Consultant , Duke Energy, USA gave insights on power generation, working and reliability of Nuclear Power. He discussed the current scenario of Nuclear Power Generation in USA, India and rest of the world. This interesting talk also discussed about Fukushima Daiichi Reactor failure, Chernobyl Disaster, Thorium Reactors, Breeder vessels, Small Modular Reactors, Pressurised Water Reactor & Boiling Water Reactors.

In yet another captivating talk, Mr. Harsh Thakkar , Senior Consultant, National Grid USA emphasised the importance of System Protection and also gave us the optimism of honing entrepreneurship skills by giving an example of Green Light Planet , a Forbes 30 under 30 (2012)  start-up founded by his son Mr. Anish Thakkar. In end we had an overview of current Elevator Technology by Mr. Satish Mandirwala, Eskay Elevators.

It was heart rendering to interact with alumni who had such diverse backgrounds such as US Navy Weapon Systems, Indian Army, Super Alloy Project, Mining Industry etc.

We thank all the alumni for sharing valuable lessons and ethics important for all to succeed in life. We also extend gratitude to Dr. PD Porey, Director, SVNIT, Mr. Utpal Mistry President & Mr. Kamal Parekh Hon. Secretary of SVNIT Alumni Association for extending their help in making this event a grand success. We also thank all CEVians for working hard to put together a successful informative session and the wide spectrum of audience that came to listen the golden words of wisdom of their alumni.

 

– Pratik Chatrath  (Founder, CEV )  & Harshit Kapadia (Co-Founder, CEV )