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<ul><li>The <keyword id="49488" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lucknow-police">Lucknow police</keyword> are installing cameras with <keyword id="447510" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="facial-recognition-technology">facial recognition technology</keyword>, powered by <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword> (AI), in prominent harassment hotspots.</li><li>The cameras will gauge whether a woman is in distress based on her facial expression and send an alert to the police.</li><li>Anita Gurumurthy, founding member and executive director of IT for Change, called the idea “both absurd and undemocratic.”</li></ul> The <keyword id="6355192" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lucknow">Lucknow</keyword> police seem to be dead serious about attempting to provide women with a sense of security, whether they want it or not. And, experts say, it is testing the fine line between safety measures and a person’s right to privacy. Under the <keyword id="6357713" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</keyword> government's Mission Shakti programme, Lucknow police are <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/smart-cams-to-read-expressions-of-women-in-distress-alert-cops/articleshow/80375401.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">installing cameras</a> equipped with facial recognition technology, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), that will gauge whether a woman is in distress based on her facial expression and send an alert to the police, even before she or anyone else can call the police for help. <div type="image" title="Dhruva Kant Thakur" msid="80422715" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Dhruva Kant Thakur, the police commissioner of Lucknow, asserted that around 200 &amp;#39;hotspots&amp;#39; in Lucknow had been identified from where the most amount of complaints of harassment has been lodged, and the programme will be piloted by placing these special cameras in five of these locations.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> While the idea may seem well-intended at first, most experts consider this surveillance programme precarious. Sumathi Chandrashekaran, a policy lawyer, based in New Delhi, sums it up as follows. "This policy proposal is laughable and problematic in so many multiple dimensions, that it is hard to parse it into a coherent argument,” she told Business Insider. But do Lakhnawis care? <div type="image" title="Lucknow market" msid="80422279" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Representative image.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Some locals of Lucknow do not see the inherent threat in this proposal. Vasudha, a long-time Lucknow resident, is taking heart from the fact that instead of the police monitoring her moves, it will be technology doing so. "Going forward it seems that it's not something we can run away from, but proper and full information is a key. I too got scared seeing the news but after talking to my husband, I realised we use AI every day in our lives anyway and it's not that scary. We just need to know where to draw the line as an informed consumer/citizen," she said. First up: Indian cops do not have a great track record in surveillance Anita Gurumurthy, founding member and executive director of IT for Change, called the idea “both absurd and undemocratic.” And she has her reasons. She cited the example of how cameras in metro trains have been instruments of voyeurism with law enforcers violating the privacy and dignity of women commuters. <div type="image" title="Anita Gurumurthy" msid="80423110" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;quot;These cameras are not likely to enable gender-responsive, victim-centric and rights-oriented policing, assuming the remote possibility that the distress captured is a real case and the response cycle agile enough.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Secondly, the technology is untested, unproven “There are ethical concerns that need democratic deliberation because the AI does not discern the difference between socially meaningful ends and socially repressive and harmful ones,” Gurumurthy added. There are other practical problems for the cops as well. “In a situation wherein two women who are friends are having a heated conversation, an alert generated would only lead to unnecessary harassment by the police. If only certain alerts are responded to, the question that arises is who is making the decision about which alerts to respond to,” explained Anushka Jain, Associate Counsel (Transparency &amp; Right to Information) at the Internet Freedom Foundation. <div type="image" title="Anushka Jain" msid="80422387" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;quot;Misuse of this system is a very real problem that could arise wherein the women face harassment from the police itself or certain areas of the city being overpoliced.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Not just that, Jain raised many pertinent questions, like: <ol><li>How and where will the data be stored?</li><li>Who will have access to the data and who will approve this access?</li><li>Who will be accountable for the misuse of information?</li><li>What if women get harassed by the police itself?</li></ol>“To ensure security in high crime areas, the simple solution would be to install more police personnel there. Installation of these cameras and the subsequent constant surveillance will only lead to more harm than benefits," said Jain. ‘The proposal to use facial recognition tech in this manner is legally untenable’ Chandrasekharan contends that technology is not foolproof. ‘Has the AI algorithm been tested for failures, biases, and the numerous other issues it will likely have?” she asked, highlighting that the policy strikes at the heart of the individual right to privacy. “Any act of surveillance has to pass through hoops of tests under law before it can be deemed a legitimate exercise,” she said. <div type="image" title="Sumathi Chandrashekaran" msid="80422345" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;quot;The presumptions underlying the deployment of the tech are fundamentally flawed: it reinforces classic stereotypes of women as victims and in need of protection, and tackles the act of sexual harassment post facto.&amp;quot; &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> According to Chandrasekharan, if this kind of surveillance receives sanction, nothing prevents the state from invading our private spaces, like homes, more flagrantly, purportedly to "protect" us from becoming victims. “Actions like these are fundamentally opposed to democratic principles, and thus, untenable," she said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/heres-how-indians-are-buying-tesla-facebook-and-apple-shares-through-brokerage-startups/articleshow/80403004.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Here’s how Indians are buying Tesla, Facebook, and Apple shares through brokerage startups</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/recession-in-india-will-end-latest-by-march-says-a-top-economist/articleshow/80399198.cms">Recession in India will end latest by March, says a top economist</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/do-not-panic-when-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-reads-out-the-revised-estimates/articleshow/80400869.cms">Do not panic when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reads out the revised estimates</a>

A scary proposal to use facial recognition and AI by an Indian state has experts fuming

<ul><li><keyword id="6550201" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="staqu">Staqu</keyword> launched an AI powered Video wall which will analyse CCTV footage from 70 prisons of UP.</li><li>The video analytics platform called <keyword id="1821831" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="jarvis">JARVIS</keyword> will check for frisking, unauthorised access, crowd analysis, violence, and intrusion detection.</li><li>The startup has already worked with the police forces of Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana.</li></ul>Indian <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">Artificial Intelligence</keyword> and facial recognition startup Staqu which has partnered with the police on several occasions - has now brought about a ‘Video Wall’ that will analyse movement in the prisons of Uttar Pradesh. The AI-powered Video wall will cover and analyse CCTV footage from 70 prisons of UP. The video analytics platform called JARVIS will use data from 700 cameras from UP’s prisons to check for frisking, unauthorised access, crowd analysis, violence, and intrusion detection. “JARVIS is now no longer limited to the realms of science-fiction; we are making intelligent video analytics a reality for India’s police force, starting with the first phase of integration in Uttar Pradesh. We have installed a super video wall in Lucknow that will be powered with our expertise in artificial intelligence. It will analyse live footage from 70 <keyword id="4621045" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="UP-prisons">UP Prisons</keyword> and provide actionable insights to the police forces,” said Atul Rai, co-founder and CEO of Staqu. Staqu, which was founded in 2015, had turned profitable earlier this year and has been working with various state police departments of India. The startup landed its first deal with the Rajasthan police force after the Alwar lynching. After a flurry of successes, police officials started recommending Staqu to others in the force. It has since then gone on to help solve over 1,100 cases for the police forces of Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana. It has raised only one round of funding – $650,000 from Indian Angel Network.

This Indian startup has launched an AI led ‘Video Wall’ for surveillance in India’s prisons

<ul><li>Around 491 train services have been affected throughout the country, due to the ongoing agitation.</li><li>Schools in Jharkhand remain closed today amid Bharat Bandh called out over the <keyword id="287364" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="agnipath" source="Orion">Agnipath</keyword> recruitment scheme.</li><li>To tackle the ongoing violent agitation, the state government imposed <keyword id="6382007" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="section-144" source="Orion">section 144</keyword> in various districts and cities.</li></ul>The <keyword id="13558307" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="agnipath-scheme" source="Orion">Agnipath scheme</keyword> has triggered protests across the country. Army aspirants from states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have been violently opposing the radical changes in the recruitment scheme that discharges 75% of the recruits within four years without pension. Around 491 train services have been affected throughout the country, due to the ongoing agitation. As many as 229 mail express and 254 passenger trains have been canceled, while eight mail express have been partially canceled, as of June 19, according to an <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1538592544556482560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1538592544556482560%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dnaindia.com%2Findia%2Freport-bharat-bandh-today-491-trains-affected-due-to-agnipath-protests-agniveers-mail-express-2961997">ANI report</a>. Schools in Jharkhand remain closed today amid Bharat Bandh called out over the Agnipath recruitment scheme. Rajesh Sharma, secretary of the education department said the decision has been taken as a precautionary measure. The ongoing examinations of class IX and XII have also been <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bharat-bandh-today-491-trains-affected-due-to-agnipath-protests-agniveers-mail-express-2961997">postponed</a>. The government, on the other hand, is in no mood to back down after increasing the age limit of Agniveer recruits to 23. In fact, on Sunday, June 19, it released a statement that youngsters involved in the violent protest shall not be inducted into the armed forces and also clarified that the scheme. The recruitment scheme will kick-off next week and will begin in November-December. To tackle the ongoing violent agitation, the state government imposed section 144 in various districts and cities. Section 144 prohibits gatherings of four or more people. 1. Gurugram The Gurugram district administration on June 20, imposed the Section 144 as precautionary measures even though no protest or agitation was reported against the Agnipath scheme. Deputy commissioner said in a statement that the order was issued as the protest was likely to continue. “This may have created obstruction, disturbance or interference in the maintenance of law and order,” he said. Some protestors tried to interrupt rail services in Haily Mandi. However, they were stopped by the police before they could reach the location, reportedly. 2. Kota, Dholpur and Jaipur — Rajasthan The Rajasthan government, on June 18, imposed this section amid the ongoing violent protest in Kota till July 18; and in Dholpur district till July 25 to maintain peace and harmony. Jaipur Police Commsionerate, on Sunday, June 19, passed a similar order for nearly two months. Additional Commissioner of Police Ajay Pal Lamba said that the protestors were damaging the public property and vitiating the communal harmony through social media. Earlier on Friday, June 17, protests were held in Jaipur, Sikar, Kota, Chittorgarh and Alwar district. 3. Ayodhya and Ballia Balia District Magistrate Saumya Agarwal imposed Section 144 for the next two months. No person will not be allowed to perform or be part of any protest, which adversely affects the peace and order. Similarly, Ayodhya SSP Shailesh Kumar Pandey appealed to the people not to cause any harm to public property and imposed Section 144 amid ongoing protests. 4. Faridabad Haryana’s district beefed up the security measures and imposed Section 144 in the district on June 16. Police commissioner Vikas Kumar Arora issued a warning that strict action will be taken against rioters. The police commissioner also informed that CCTV cameras were installed in important areas and points and the police are on continuous surveillance. 5. Noida Amid a call for Bharat Bandh on Monday, Gautam Buddh Nagar police on Sunday imposed Section 144 in the district and appealed to the people to not engage in any activity that disrupts law and order. So far, 225 people have been booked and 15 have been arrested in connection with the violent protest at the Jewar toll plaza on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida on Friday. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/agnipath-scheme-what-is-positive-and-negative-points-in-this-army-scheme/articleshow/92277612.cms">Agnipath Scheme: the good and bad sides of the same coin</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/uttar-pradesh-covid-cases-jump-to-2500-500-in-lucknow/articleshow/92327098.cms">Uttar Pradesh Covid cases jump to 2,500; 500 in Lucknow</a>

Agnipath protests: Bandhs, school closures and the Section 144 make a comeback

(Eds: Adding details, with updates) Lucknow, Apr 9 () A day after the UP government sealed off coronavirus hotspots in 15 districts of the state, the authorities on Friday stepped up vigil in the areas allowing only the doorstep delivery of essential services and ensuring that people stay at home. Later in the day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to further divide the hotspots into sectors and appoint a magistrate for each of the area to keep tabs on the situation, an official spokesperson said. All business and other establishments will remain closed in the hotspots and the doorstep delivery of essential commodities will be strengthened, the spokesman said. The state government had decided to seal off the areas from where six or more coronavirus cases have been detected till April 15 morning. The identified hotspots include 22 clusters in Agra, 13 in Ghaziabad, 12 each in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Kanpur, seven in Meerut and four each in Varanasi, Sahanaranpur and Maharajganj. There are three hotspots in Shamli, Bulandshahr, Basti and Firozabad, and one each in Bareilly and Sitapur. State capital Lucknow has eight major and four minor coronavirus clusters. Reviewing the situation, the chief minister also directed that medical teams be sent to every house in the hotspots for a detailed medical examination. He said an extensive sanitation exercise should be carried out in the areas. The chief minister has asked for an audit of existing ventilators in the government hospitals and medical colleges so as to ensure that all are in working condition. He also asked for a wide publicity of the Arogya Setu application to alert people about coronavirus patients. Meanwhile, in state capital Lucknow, where 12 hotspots have been sealed, police vigil and barricading were in place to completely check the movement of people. "All hotspots in the city are already barricaded and are being sealed completely till the morning of April 15. All establishments will be closed in these hotspots and the media's entry will be restricted there," Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujit Pandey said. Since morning police teams are carrying out patrolling in these localities to ensure nobody ventures out of their homes and a complete lockdown is enforced properly, he said. During the period, only basic minimum supply will be maintained in these localities. Only select cleaning staff will be allowed to enter these areas and fire brigade vehicles will be used to sanitise these areas, he said. In Bareilly, where a hotspot has been identified, essential commodities were delivered on the doorsteps. ADM (City) Mahendra Kumar Singh said the area has been completely sealed off. 'Even those who tried to come out of their houses were made to go in. Some aged and ill who needed medical aid were provided help though the 108 ambulance service," the ADM said. In Sitapur, Khairabad remained under a complete lockdown after it was identified as a coronavirus hotspot. The Khairabad area is under surveillance of drone cameras, CCTV cameras, district police chief L R Kumar said. Those tested positive for the infection have been admitted to a hospital, Kumar said, adding police have been deployed to ensure that everyone stays at home. In Kanpur's 12 hotspots, no movement was allowed with a curfew-like situation since midnight. All food items, medicines, and household necessities were delivered to people. Intensive patrolling was witnessed and some areas were sanitised. Announcements are being made continuously to create awareness among the people about the disease and ensuring everyone of all necessary help by the administration, a senior official said. Kanpur has reported 10 coronavirus positive cases so far. ABN SAB RDKRDK

A day after sealing orders, UP authorities step up vigil in coronavirus hotspots

(Eds: Recasts, corrects intro) Lucknow, Apr 9 () The Uttar Pradesh authorities on Thursday stepped up vigil in coronavirus hotspots identified across 15 districts, erecting barricades to stop movement of people and allowing only doorstep delivery of essential services in the sealed-off areas. The strict measures, meant to contain the spread of the virus, came into effect on Wednesday midnight. Later in the day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to further divide the hotspots into sectors and appoint a magistrate for each of the area to keep tabs on the situation, an official spokesperson said. All business and other establishments will remain closed in the hotspots and the doorstep delivery of essential commodities will be strengthened, the spokesman said. The state government had on Wednesday decided to seal off the areas from where six or more coronavirus cases have been detected till April 15 morning. The identified hotspots include 22 clusters in Agra, 13 in Ghaziabad, 12 each in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Kanpur, seven in Meerut and four each in Varanasi, Sahanaranpur and Maharajganj. There are three hotspots in Shamli, Bulandshahr, Basti and Firozabad, and one each in Bareilly and Sitapur. State capital Lucknow has eight major and four minor coronavirus clusters. Reviewing the situation, the chief minister also directed that medical teams be sent to every house in the hotspots for a detailed medical examination. He said an extensive sanitation exercise should be carried out in the areas. The chief minister has asked for an audit of existing ventilators in the government hospitals and medical colleges to ensure that all are in working condition. He also asked for a wide publicity of the Arogya Setu application to alert people about coronavirus patients. Meanwhile, in state capital Lucknow, where 12 hotspots have been sealed off, police vigil and barricading were in place to completely check the movement of people. "All hotspots in the city are already barricaded and are being sealed completely till the morning of April 15. All establishments will be closed in these hotspots and the media's entry will be restricted there," Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujit Pandey said. Since morning police teams are carrying out patrolling in these localities to ensure nobody ventures out of their homes and a complete lockdown is enforced properly, he said. During the period, only basic minimum supply will be maintained in these localities. Only select cleaning staff will be allowed to enter these areas and fire brigade vehicles will be used to sanitise these areas, he said. In Bareilly, where a hotspot has been identified, essential commodities were delivered on the doorsteps. ADM (City) Mahendra Kumar Singh said the area has been completely sealed off. 'Even those who tried to come out of their houses were made to go in. Some aged and ill who needed medical aid were provided help though the 108 ambulance service," the ADM said. In Sitapur, Khairabad remained under a complete lockdown after it was identified as a coronavirus hotspot. The Khairabad area is under surveillance of drone cameras, CCTV cameras, district police chief L R Kumar said. Those tested positive for the infection have been admitted to a hospital, Kumar said, adding police have been deployed to ensure that everyone stays at home. In Kanpur's 12 hotspots, no movement was allowed with a curfew-like situation since midnight. All food items, medicines, and household necessities were delivered to people. Intensive patrolling was witnessed and some areas were sanitised. Announcements are being made continuously to create awareness among the people about the disease and ensuring everyone of all necessary help by the administration, a senior official said. Kanpur has reported 10 coronavirus positive cases so far. ABN SAB RDK

Coronavirus: Hotspots sealed off in 15 UP districts, people face stricter lockdown

Drone lovers, it’s bad news! From now, anyone entering India with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Investors-are-pouring-money-into-drone-startups/articleshow/50938342.cms">drones </a>will have to declare its possession upon arrival. 
 This because the Indian government has recently decided to include <keyword id="94769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="drones">drones</keyword> in the list of prohibited and taxed goods starting April 1. The recent move seems to be a step in government's efforts to restrict the use of drones in the country. 
 As of now, drones are imported easily in the absence of official guidelines and are used for filming royal weddings and <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> films. Moreover, Chinese toy <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/This-Indian-startup-is-using-drones-to-capture-the-beauty-of-the-country-and-its-absolutely-stunning/articleshow/49578874.cms">drone companies</a> are selling their products freely in several cities and online stores to give civilians a chance to experience how these unmanned aerial vehicles work. These have been a hit among Indians because they come really cheap. 
 
India is still miles away from having clear laws and regulations for drones, but several countries across the world have innovative ways in place to regulate the use of drones. In the Netherlands, police trains eagles to grab rogue drones. In Tokyo, the police uses drones with nets to catch dangerous drones. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration requires the country's users to register their small unmanned aircraft with the government. But in India, it is still illegal for civilians to use drones due to security threats. Anyone seen flying a drone in a public place usually lands in the police net. Even as cops know it’s not a serious criminal act, they feel there is a need to investigate because, they say, terrorists can use paragliders and remote-controlled microlight aircraft for attacks. 
 
Earlier this year, an unidentified drone spotted near the international airport in Delhi had raised serious security concerns. As a result, Delhi cops were asked to monitor drone usage before India's Republic Day in January. In one such incident in Mumbai, a drone was found photographing an atomic research centre in July. Since then, police has been issuing a monthly order against using drones. 
 
Most recently, an American tourist was arrested for photographing the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/24-incredible-new-UNESCO-World-Heritage-Sites/articleshow/47978811.cms">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a> of Khajuraho with a drone camera without taking the government's permission. When he was questioned, he said he was not aware that drone photography was not allowed there. He also said there were no signboards anywhere which said it was prohibited in the area. 
 
In India, only the government can use drones to monitor the country's borders and surveillance in conflict-ridden areas. The only time when the cops planned to do something different with drones was in Lucknow. They planned on using the device as pepper spray to control crowds. 
 
(Image credits: Reuters)

Bringing a drone into India just got a lot harder

K Sivan, well-known rocket scientist and Director of the <keyword id="6382619" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vikram-Sarabhai-Space-Centre">Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre</keyword> (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, says with a little tweaking, these materials and technologies developed for hi-tech space applications can easily be spun off for societal use. 
 
“ISRO uses tax payer money so it is answerable to the Indian public,” he says. 
 <keyword id="6358064" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ISRO">ISRO</keyword>’s rockets and satellites certainly help people but there are many more developments hidden in the ‘temples of technology’ like the VSSC that can be used to save lives. 
 If some of these technologies were being used possibly Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad and the nine other soldiers who lost their lives earlier this year at the <keyword id="42770" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Siachen">Siachen</keyword> Glacier could well have been saved. If only these soldiers were using clothing made of the ‘silica aerogel’ they may possibly have been saved from freezing to death. Similarly, if the soldiers were equipped with suitable hand held ‘search and rescue’ devices, their location could have been easily pin-pointed using Indian satellites and rescue efforts could have been speeded up. 
 
Recently India’s main lab that specialises in making rockets for the country mastered the art of making the ‘world’s lightest artificial material’ called ‘silica aerogel’. This aerogel is actually a solid but within its complex matrix it encapsulates 99 per cent air. This gives it several unique properties– it is incredibly light, it is a great thermal insulator. 
 
Naga Priya, scientist in Advanced Materials &amp; Ceramics Division at VSSC who is part of the team that made this material, explains that the process to make the silica aerogel is highly guarded so standardising the procedure to make the aerogel took her team a lot of effort. 
 
The team hopes to use some of the ‘silica aerogel’ for insulating the tanks that hold the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the cryogenic engines. Since it is lightweight, it could also be used in designing the space suits that future Indian astronauts may be wearing. The small buggy that will be part of the Chandrayaan-2 and will run around the lunar surface in 2018 could also see the use of the ‘silica aerogel’ as an insulator. 
 
Naga Priya explains her lab is already in discussion with the Indian Ordnance Factory that manufactures clothes for the soldiers to see how this new material can be sandwiched between layers of cloth for making light weight parkas, socks and gloves for the soldiers who are posted at Siachen. 
 
The Indian space scientists have already made small pieces of the silica aerogel that resemble a fabric but still it is very fragile and suitable fabric has to be developed that can effectively sandwich this great insulator. 
 
There are other societal benefits of using the ‘silica aerogel’, if window panes are given a coating of this new material, light would easily pass but heat would be contained, says Naga Priya. 
 
She says imagine a building, whose exterior is coated with this top class insulator, the building would be cool in summer and warm in winter. It would reduce the load on air conditioning and could lead to saving a lot of electricity and help combat climate change. 
 
It is not that the material is fully ready to be deployed for all these varied uses, it is still very expensive to make and some of it is very fragile. The team at VSSC uses evaporation at ambient temperature to make some of the aerogels. This is cheaper than the specialised super critical drying technique used to make aerogels for special applications. There are many industrial applications like in furnaces where these special materials can also be easily used. 
 
Scientists at ISRO have developed small portable devices that can help in search and rescue. There are handheld devices that can be carried by trekkers and soldiers when they traverse the desolate regions. These smart devices can be activated using a button and once initiated it emits a radio beacon that can be detected by satellites. 
 
Using the Global Positioning System (GPS) the exact location of the person who is in distress can be automatically pin pointed. The battery-powered device sends up a signal, which can then be automatically tracked at ground stations in Lucknow and Bengaluru. If only Lance Naik Hanumanthappa were carrying this device his rescue could have been greatly speeded up. 
 
A similar but slightly larger device has been made by VSSC for use by fishermen. This can be fitted on the fishing boats and can be triggered manually or when it encounters salt water it gets triggered. This device transmits a pulsed signal in the 406 MHz band and can help in locating ships lost at sea. 
 The batteries are robust enough to transmit a signal for at least 65 hours at a stretch. ISRO has helped save the lives of many trekkers in the <keyword id="52569" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="himalayas">Himalayas</keyword> and is eager to help the Indian Armed Forces in case they seek to use the device at the remote locations in times of emergency. 
 
Ensuring uninterrupted maintenance-free power supply at remote locations is a nightmare for technologists, now the scientists at VSSC have made a portable fuel cell system that can produce electricity directly from fuel through an electrochemical process where the only inputs needed are hydrogen gas and air. 
 
Based on the ‘proton exchange membrane’ technology the gadget made at VSSC can generate up to about 100 watts of power. This is like lighting a single bulb but then there are several small devices that need only a small amount of power for it to work round the clock. An all-weather automatic weather station powered using this indigenously made fuel cell is currently being tested at Dehradun. 
 
Another digital GPS device has been deployed at the Gangotri Glacier to see how this hydrogen powered device works at high altitudes. There are also plans to use the sophisticated G-SAT-6 satellite’s multimedia communication capability to deploy surveillance systems in remote locations from where Pakistani infiltrators creep into Indian territory and make devastating terrorist attacks on India. 
 
Such automatic remotely operated cameras could be powered using the maintenance free ‘fuel cells’ and then they could beam pictures up to the Indian satellites through which soldiers could maintain a 24×7 vigil from far away, this would be akin to having closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) but in places where there is neither power supply nor continuous human presence. 
 
Sivan says suitable industrial partners are being actively identified and the technologies will transferred so that so called ‘rocket science’ no longer remains rocket science. More importantly he says ‘desi technology’ can be used to power the ‘Make in India’ effort and help save lives.

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You Searched For "Lucknow surveillance cameras" and got 7 results

A scary proposal to use facial recognition and AI by an Indian state has experts fuming

Kavita Majumdar

This Indian startup has launched an AI led ‘Video Wall’ for surveillance in India’s prisons

Sanchita Dash

Agnipath protests: Bandhs, school closures and the Section 144 make a comeback

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A day after sealing orders, UP authorities step up vigil in coronavirus hotspots

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Here's how ISRO's space technology can save lives of soldiers at Siachen