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The digital stethoscope is being commercialised by the startup Ayu Devices, with over 60 orders for the device, the startup is also focusing on bringing it to rural India.

At the 2015 Medical Device Innovation Conclave (MEDIC) organised by IIT Bombay, two engineers and a doctor came together to solve a conventional problem in the medical device field. The problem of the stethoscope.

The stethoscope is the most commonly used medical device in the healthcare industry. Although a simple device, its efficiency is determined by the person who uses it. Further, it can only pick up faint sounds, making a diagnosis quite difficult.

With this in mind, Adarsha K and Tapas Pandey teamed up with Dr Nambiraj Konar to develop a digital stethoscope for the MEDIC showcase in 2015.

Their prototype could amplify heartbeats and lung sounds, record the audio, and convert it into an audio file which could then be shared over different platforms. “So, an Asha worker in a remote village can capture a patient’s stats and share them with a doctor located elsewhere,” Adarsha explained to Forbes India.

(An Asha worker or an Accredited Social Health Activists is a community health worker instituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. As part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), every village in India is to have an Asha worker.)

This prototype won the showcase that year, and the trio was offered a fellowship at the Biomedical Engineering and Technology Centre (incubation), or BETiC, at IIT-Bombay, where they could refine their device, undertake clinical trials and take it to the market.

Fast forward to 2018 when the digital stethoscope is being commercialised by the startup Ayu Devices. With over 60 orders for the device, the startup is also focusing on bringing it to rural India.

Ayu Devices have now made the ‘digital’ part available to any stethoscope. With the AyuLynk, doctors can turn any conventional stethoscope into an advanced one by the small addition of the unit. This can also share the information via Bluetooth technology.

The startup is also working on a ‘smarter’ device that will use Artificial Intelligence to read patient data and collate necessary information for better diagnosis.

The startup and the innovation is an example of how incubation centres like BETiC can help bring out such technologies, refine them and make them commercially available for people.

Source : https://www.thebetterindia.com/141488/engineers-invent-low-cost-digital-stethoscope-better-village-healthcare/

by Ahmed Sherrif May 15, 2018, 1:07 pm

THE INDIAN Institute of Technology, Bombay, is the 26th best university among the universities in the BRICS region and emerging economies, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings released Thursday.

THE INDIAN Institute of Technology, Bombay, is the 26th best university among the universities in the BRICS region and emerging economies, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings released Thursday. The premiere technology institute secured the 44th rank among universities in Asia.

Among universities in countries classified by the FTSE as “advanced emerging”, “secondary emerging” or “frontier”, IIT-B ranked 26th on the list retaining its last year’s ranking. In India, the institute only ranks second to the Institute of Science, Bangalore, which is the 13th best institute in the emerging economies.

Among the key statistics measured by the Times Higher Education, a global data provider and an analytics organisation that measures the quality of higher education, was the observation that the institute has a poor male to female ratio. For every 83 male students and faculty members on campus, there are only 17 women. Besides, for every 18 students, the institute has only one teacher. The release also highlighted that only 1 per cent of the institute’s student population is from other countries.

The rankings released by THE is used a benchmark by several universities and IIT-B has fared poorly in the World University Rankings. The institute makes an appearance in the 351 to 400 slab in the World University Rankings.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/education/times-list-iit-bombay-ranks-26th-among-varsities-in-brics-emerging-nations-5172078/

By: Express News Service | Mumbai | Updated: May 11, 2018 3:08:08 am

MUMBAI: Researchers at IIT-Bombay have suggested that global warming could be good news after all, for generating power using off-shore wind energy (from the sea bed). Debunking fears that the changing climate could have an adverse impact on power generation from offshore wind, researchers have concluded that Indian government should aggressively install their plants.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has identified three locations – Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram and Jakhau – along the Indian coastline for their offshore wind farms. In a study published in the Royal Meteorological Society and Journal of Meteorological Applications, researchers at the Powai institute, have claimed that the rising sea temperatures will benefit the off-shore wind farms at these locations.

In fact, they conclude that the annual “average wind potential obtained at these sites might undergo a substantial increase over the next three decades as compared to the past three. It is expected to significantly rise to about 25%”. However, this will be subjected to variations in the average wind potential over the monsoon and non-monsoon months. The study predicts that different sites are differently impacted by climate change; some show an increase in the power potential while it may drop at other places.

Professors Sumeet Kulkarni, M C Deo and Subimal Ghosh from the institute, who co-authored the paper ‘Framework for assessment of climate change impact on offshore wind energy’ have made use of the General Circulation Model (GCM) to study the impact of climate change in the specified locations.
“An earlier study by India’s National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai has found that moving from onshore to offshore platforms results in increasing the capital cost by 111 %, but this is more than compensated by the rise in power production by 184%”, added professor Deo.
Wind energy contributes to 12% of installed power in India. At present, most of this comes from the wind farms located on land. The IIT-B research approves the feasibility of government’s ambitious plans of expanding energy generation from off-shore wind farms in the next five years.

Source: Yogita Rao | TNN | Apr 10, 2018, 11:26 IST

URL : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/climate-change-could-help-harness-power-using-off-shore-wind-energy-iit-b-researchers/articleshow/63693122.cms

Researchers stated that the annual average wind potential at three sites — Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram and Jakhau — is expected to rise by 25 per cent over the next 27 years.

RESEARCHERS FROM the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, have found three locations along the Indian coastline where the wind potential is expected to increase as a result of climate change. This potential, the study revealed, can be used to generate electricity.

Researchers stated that the annual average wind potential at three sites — Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram and Jakhau — is expected to rise by 25 per cent over the next 27 years. The three areas, where the annual average wind potential is higher than 200 watt per square metre, were identified by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). “This means that global warming has thrown open a potential source for renewable energy,” said Subimal Ghosh, co-author of the study and professor at the Civil Engineering Department of the IIT-B.

Increasing temperatures on the sea are expected to increase the wind speed, which will be in the range required to generate electricity. The rise in wind potential could be tapped to produce offshore wind energy by setting up wind farms on the seabed. “Turbines can only operate at a certain wind speed. We have found that such speeds have already been attained and will increase. We will now analyse many more possible scenarios of global warming and look for other similar spots along the coastline that hold potential,” said M C Deo, co-author and professor at IIT-B.

Deo added that the team will now lay down guidelines for prospective planners from the wind energy industry who might be interested in setting up offshore wind farms.

He said the study predicted the impact of climate change on different sites. “While some show an increase in the power potential, some may experience a dip… The analysis presented in the study shows that the power potential may increase at the three identified Indian offshore locations. The wind industry, thus, need not have any concern regarding the impact of climate change and should go ahead and install their plants aggressively,” said Deo.

“The impact of climate change on coast and ocean has attracted attention of researchers from all over the world who have been trying to develop reliable atmospheric models. This study was aimed at bridging this gap,” he added.

Source: Written by Priyanka Sahoo | Mumbai | Published: April 10, 2018 1:51:32 am

URL : http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/iit-bombay-study-on-climate-change-impact-wind-can-be-harnessed-at-three-sites-to-generate-power-5130924/

MUMBAI: IIT-Bombay has managed to retain its position as the country’s third best institute. The Powai institute is also ranked as the second best engineering institute and fifth in the management category in India after institutes such as NMIMS and SP Jain. In the overall institutions’ category, only six from the city make it to the top 200. St Xavier‘s is the only one from the city to figure in the country’s top 100 colleges. However, its rank has dropped from 40 to 74.

Unsurprisingly, Mumbai University did not figure in the top 100 universities in the country. In fact, the university’s position dropped from the 101-150 band down to 151-200.

While an official statement released by deputy registrar Leeladhar Bansod said that they would work towards improving its performance under the NIRF parameters for the next ranking cycle, academicians attribute the poor performance to lack of research, patents, consultancy and even poor placements.

A professor said that the university is only focussed on conducting exams and announcing results for the last few years. “Teachers do not have enough time for research. In the semester pattern, exams have to be conducted every six months. Most time is consumed in teaching and assessing papers,” said the professor.

Principal Agnelo Menezes from St Xavier’s said that he is not very disappointed with the drop. “We have not fared well in research and in government scholarships, so we were expecting a drop in our rank. Ours is an undergraduate college and the focus is more on conducting lectures and exams, which is time consuming. We will work on setting up more endowment scholarships in the years to come,” said the principal. Though more colleges have participated in the process this year from Mumbai, the numbers have not exceeded 15. In the state, Pune’s Fergusson College is ranked the best with a 19th rank.

A professor pointed out that many colleges from Delhi have participated in the process for the first time and have taken over the top ranks. Fifty-four of the top 100 colleges in the country are from Delhi, said the professor, which pushed other institutions too.

Medical colleges were ranked for the first time by NIRF. However, not many from Mumbai or Maharashtra participated in the process. Pravin Shingare, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), “We were not informed about the medical category this year. But we will definitely participate in the process next year.”

Mumbai, March 21, 2018: e-Yantra is a Robotics outreach project that emerged out of the Embedded Systems course at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay. This year’s e-Yantra Symposium achieves a six-year track record of running a massive (MHRD-funded) National Robotics outreach program. On display are the finals of two of its major student-facing initiatives: the e-Yantra Robotics Competition (eYRC-2017) and e-Yantra Ideas Competition (eYIC-2018).
One of MHRD’s flagship projects, e-Yantra has established 280 e-Yantra labs throughout the country over the past three years. It has now been given a three-year extension with a challenge to increase the number to 1,000 labs. e-Yantra Robotics Competition (eYRC) presents a real-world problem in the form of a game with a rulebook and scoring criteria. What makes this competition unique is that selected candidates are given all the material to compete along with guidance, supervision and an all-expense paid visit to IIT Bombay for the finals to be held on March 22-23, 2018.
Every year, e-Yantra strives to increase the number of teams selected for participation in the competition. The organizers have introduced three ‘tracks’ with one or more themes in each track. All three tracks are conducted in parallel and differ slightly in the format, subject matter and platforms used. This year, e-Yantra introduces seven exciting themes in agriculture. Automation of various processes in a farm – from sowing a seedling to harvesting the crops and transporting the produce to the market – are abstracted into themes.
This year’s competition features five finalist teams for each of the seven themes. Whereas every year there are some themes for first-time participants, there are also more difficult themes for students who have participated before. For instance, the “Spotter Snake” theme in which over a period of three months, the teams have to design and build a robotic snake using 3-D printed parts designed and simulated using open-source software. e-Yantra arranges to have the teams 3D print the final versions of the snake which is then made to catch “rodents” in an arena designed by e-Yantra. Similarly this year there is a drone-based theme where a drone acts as a warden to catch an animal that has strayed into a field by landing a small palm-sized drone on the animal modeled by another robot.
e-Yantra Ideas Competition (eYIC) is different in that it seeks to identify and nurture potential entrepreneurs in the e-Yantra Labs that the project has set up throughout the country. Students are invited to submit a proposal to solve a local problem using their e-Yantra lab and after an intense process of selection and vetting, are permitted to build the proposed system using their e-Yantra labs. Following a pre-selection in regional finals this year in Coimbatore, Ernakulum, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Noida, the 18 finalists will present their implemented ideas in IIT Bombay on March 23-24, 2018.
For the past 6 years, e-Yantra’s National Robotics Competition has been growing exponentially from 4,500 registrations in 2012 to 23,500 registrations (5,932 teams) last year despite falling engineering college seats (30% YoY). This competition teaches hardcore engineering skills through a scalable competition paradigm. Most importantly, it needs no expense on the part of selected participants – e-Yantra provides the kit, training and guidance and even a travel allowance and boarding/ lodging at IIT Bombay for the duration of the finals at IIT Bombay.
Whereas the competition engages annually with students, e-Yantra has extended its contact with students and teachers by setting up robotics lab in colleges throughout the country. A college invests Rs. 2 lakh in basic equipment and nominates four teachers who are trained by e-Yantra over a period of 6 months. Training involves a two-day face-to-face workshop followed by a online Task Based Training (TBT).
Now that this IIT-based project has reached critical mass, it seeks to make a major difference to the ‘Make in India’ initiatives in the country by directing the activities in e-Yantra labs towards local industry. The e-Yantra Symposium is an attempt to reach out to industry, where the team will present a ‘report card’ of the project and their model for academia-industry engagement. This will be followed by a panel discussion on how this potent model may best be used for academia-industry engagement.
Following the panel discussion, there will be talks in an inspirational vein for the finalists and teachers being hosted at IIT Bombay. The speakers include Prof. Dinesh Singh (ex-VC, Delhi University), PV Subramanyam (financial consultant) and Rashmi Bansal (author).
Visitors also have a chance to browse the finalists of the e-Yantra Ideas Competition exhibits where students from regional e-Yantra labs have turned problems into opportunities to solve local problems using the resources of the e-Yantra lab in their college. Prof. Kavi Arya (Principal Investigator, e-Yantra) believes this to be an important beginning to the startup model being proposed.
Almost 40+ IIT Bombay faculty across departments have volunteered to help evaluate the finalists of the two competitions. Says Dr. Krishna Lala, Sr. Project manager of e-Yantra, “This just shows that technology is a passion all around for IIT teachers”. Dr. Saraswathi Krithivasan, Sr. Project Manager suggests, “The students who have worked hard to reach the finals have the envied privilege of being grilled in depth about their work by IIT faculty”.
The goal is the much-coveted prize of a six-week paid summer internship with the e-Yantra team where they get the opportunity to work 24×7 on ambitious technical projects under the guidance of e-Yantra mentors and exposure to a host of training in soft skills, theatre workshops, meditation sessions, lectures on history and so on.
This year, Prof. Arya plans to travel around the country helping connect these labs to industry. e-Yantra has a working platform and he has tasked himself to get the word out to industry to engage with its labs. “We owe it to the young talent who have been failed by our education system but have so much to contribute to society. e-Yantra wishes to inspire the new generation to think of itself differently: not just as knowledge consumers but also as knowledge creators,” he said. e-Yantra is definitely showing the way.
A detailed schedule is at:
http://elsi.e-yantra.org/eyantra/schedule

Source: http://indiaeducationdiary.in/e-yantra-national-finals-includes-e-yantra-robotics-competition-eyrc-2017-e-yantra-ideas-competition-eyic-2018-e-yantra-symposium-eys-2018/

Last week, N Sivananda, Joint Secretary in Department of Heavy Industry, said in a statement that the government is making plans to set up four centres in the country which would support the SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) take steps to implement industry 4.0. The ministry proposed to set up the centres this year in institutes including IIT Delhi, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bengaluru, and IIT Bombay.

Understanding Industry 4.0

The first industrial development came with mechanised processes that helped our ancestors in few methods of production. Then came electricity and mass production. The third phase was categorised by the advent of automation and computers when machines started replacing the human labour in assembly lines. The fourth industrial revolution, synonymously called industry 4.0, introduces what has been called the “smart factory”, in which cyber-physical systems monitor the physical processes of the factory and make decentralised decisions. The physical systems become the Internet of Things, communicating and cooperating both with each other and with humans in real time via the wireless web. Interoperability is an essential component, whereby machines, devices, sensors and people connect and communicate with one another. Decentralised decision-making is another component, which shows the ability of cyber-physical systems to make simple decisions on their own and become as autonomous as possible.

Leapfrog opportunity for India

For India, the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings tremendous opportunities to leapfrog many stages of development, hastening its journey towards becoming a developed economy. In many ways, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a leveller. The technologies being used in India will be the same as those in use in the developed world. Robots, AI and IoT, are all technologies transforming the industry in the West and are ready to do the same in India. In many ways, companies in India are ensuring their survival by adopting these technologies. Those who adapt faster and better will be more competitive than others, and definitely in a better position to compete with global entrants. Their survival comes at the cost of jobs. But these can be countered by reskilling and by creating new opportunities. The Indian automotive sector has caught the world’s attention and has attracted many global brands to set up manufacturing units here. The automotive sector alone contributes more than 45 percent to the country’s manufacturing GDP (and about 7.1 percent to India’s GDP) and employs 19 million people. Clearly, there is an opportunity for India to move from a lethargic manufacturing outfit stuck somewhere between Industry 1.0 and 2.0 to Industry 4.0 and beyond.

Is India ready?

The Indian government has implemented various schemes that promote digital penetration in the country. For instance, Digital India initiative started in 2015, which aims at providing access to digital technology and internet to every nook and corner of the country, has been helping the companies in rural areas apart from households. To tackle the job loss, Skill India initiative was started in recent years. However more has to be done to ensure the accessibility along with affordability. Various challenges should be confronted in this process of transformation. Data security issues are greatly increased by integrating new systems and more access to those systems. Additionally, proprietary production knowledge becomes an IT security problem as well. A high degree of reliability and stability are needed for successful cyber-physical communication that can be difficult to achieve and maintain. Loss of high-paying human jobs is always a concern when new automation is introduced. And avoiding technical problems that could cause expensive production outages is still a concern.

Towards 4.0

Major Indian states are taking initiatives to adapt to Industry 4.0. Andhra Pradesh has taken an initiative to capitalise on the IoT potential in the country. The state government has approved the first-of-its-kind IoT policy with an aim to turn the state into an IoT Hub by 2020 and tap close to 10 percent market share in the country. The Indian government has created Green Energy Corridors to bring in more renewable energies, to make smart grids that will support the variable input of renewable energies and create storage. India has committed over $1 billion in this initiative and has started projects in many states, such as Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh. India’s first smart factory, moving from automation to autonomy, where machines speak with each other, is being set up in Bengaluru. It is making progress at the Indian Institute of Science’s (IISc) Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing (CPDM) with investment from The Boeing Company. A smart factory, armed with data exchange in manufacturing and the Internet of Things (IoT) is the future and experts are calling it revolution Industry 4.0. Reports peg the smart factory industry to touch US$ 209 billion by 2025, and all major economies are likely to accept it. Various Indian companies are increasing their focus and partnering with other companies for developing new IoT, and M2M solutions, the Digital India initiative from the government of India is expected to enhance the focus on IoT in tackling domestic challenges.

The initiative is a welcome step by the government. However, more has to be done to ensure that India reaps the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution.

Source: https://qrius.com/industry-4-0-a-boost-for-manufacturing-in-india/

By Sravya Vemuri

A multipurpose and low-cost biological air purifier, a smartphone-based system for detection of cardiac biomarkers, a window solar cooker, a rolling water carrier-cum- purifier, buzzing bands for speech and hearing impaired, an augmented rehabilitation system for stroke patients, an eco-friendly water retention natural polymer, a rapid cervix cancer detection system and a social search engine.

These are among winners of Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards for 2018. The innovations and prototypes are on display at the Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship inaugurated by the President at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday.

GYTI awards recognize technological excellence imbued with social relevance among students from all over the country. Out of over 2,900 entries in 54 technology domains received from over 300 universities and institutions, 51 have been awarded this year. And 15 of them have got a research grant of Rs 15 lakh each to pursue their projects. The award winners come from IITs, Indian Institute of Science, central and state universities and research institutions.

The innovations span a large number of sectors– water and sanitation, early detection of communicable and non-communicable diseases, air pollution, technologies for differently abled, engineering and digital technologies. For instance, a team led by Divya Beri at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has developed a new strategy to block transmission of malaria, while Brince Paul and team from IIT Hyderabad has come up with a low-cost, disposable microfluidic chip diagnosis of malaria.

Debasmita Mondal and Sourabh Agarwal from IIT Bombay have developed a smartphone-based system for detection of two common cardiac biomarkers – myoglobin and myeloperoxidase. Technological innovations in agriculture sector include a novel technique to replenish micronutrients in soil using iron-capped nanomaterials. It has been developed by Pallabi Das and Kasturib Sarmah of Tezpur University. Ravi Prakash of National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, has designed a low-cost milking and cooling plant based on Phase Change Material.

A few years back, a grassroots innovation of hippo roller – a rolling drum to transport water in rural area – had caught wide attention. Now Ramesh Kumar and Swathy Ravindran of IIT Madras have gone a step further – they have made the roller into a water purification system also. This means as water is transported in the roller, it will also get purified. The rolling water purifier designed by this team has an outer body to deal with mechanical forces and a polybag to store filled water which makes sure that even if barrel body is broken or cracked, there are no water leakages. It purifies water as it is transported, using novel nanomaterials without any power requirement.

Neeta Ganesh Waghle and Priti Prabhakar Yewale from D Y Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, have designed a biological air purifier which has a compact carriage assembly containing replaceable adsorbent packed in biodegradable pouches or wrappers. The natural biomaterials used as solid porous material act like an adsorbent. Since the material is recyclable, it reduces the cost. The purifier, according to the students, can be installed at the mouth of automobile exhausts. In tests done by them, it has been found that it considerably reduces levels of carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide.

The window solar cooker designed by Avinash Prabhune of IIT Bombay looks pretty much like a microwave oven and it can be fitted into a window like an air conditioner. Unlike old fashioned, box-type solar cooker, this one has a cylindrical chamber that makes sure that it absorbs sunlight all through the day. It has a higher efficiency compared to box-type cookers and cooks faster. Prabhune says it can be idea for those living in multistoried buildings and those with a taste of ‘slow food’.

The team of Narayan Lal Gurjar, Shashi Pratap Shekhawat and Ankit Jain of Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture Technology, Udaipur, has identified a natural polymer for water retention. While superabsorbent polymers that can absorb and carry water about 300 times their weight are commercially available, they are very costly and are not biodegradable. The team has developed a super absorbing material using orange and avocado peels. The material can retain large amounts of water and keep soil moisture high for crop.

The GYTI awards are given by National Innovation Foundation (NIF), Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

Source: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/frugal-yet-high-tech-innovations-that-can-change-your-lives/article23304234.ece

by Dinesh C Sharma

New Delhi, March 20, 2018

Source: https://researchmatters.in/news/air-conditioners-energy-efficiency-star

Deekshith Nevil Pinto

Mumbai Mar 21, (Research Matters):