India develops robotic soldiers to replace humans

New Delhi: With futuristic warfare in mind, India is working to develop robotic soldiers as part of efforts to boost unmanned fighting capabilities, joining a select group of countries in this endeavour.

Under the project being undertaken by DRDO, robots would be developed with very high level of intelligence to enable them to differentiate between a threat and a friend.

These can then be deployed in difficult warfare zones, like the Line of Control (LoC), a step that would help avert the loss of human lives.

"We are going to work for robotic soldiers. We are going to look for very high level of intelligence in it than what we are talking today... It is a new programme and a number of labs are already working in a big way on robotics," said DRDO chief Avinash Chander in an interview.

The newly-appointed DRDO chief listed the project for development of robotic soldiers as one of his "priority thrust areas" saying that "unmanned warfare in land and air is the future of warfare. Initially the robotic soldier may be assisting the man."

He said in the initial phase of the project, the robotic soldier would be required to be told by the human soldier to identify an enemy or a combatant but "slowly in due course of time, the robotic soldier would be at the front end and the human soldier would be assisting him."

Chander said the need for a robotic soldier is felt to save precious human lives and already robots are used in areas where humans do not want to venture such as defusing bombs or getting inside a high-radiation territory.

"Robotic soldier is one step further. It will have multiple technologies in terms of communication with team members, ability to recognise an enemy," Chander said.

"Today, you have neural networks, whenever the soldier tells him (robotic soldier) that this is a human solider, he will derive his own logic as to what is the difference between him and others (civilians). That learning process will keep building up," he said.

Asked if it would be capable of being deployed in areas such

as the Line of Control, Chander said, "In due course of time but not before a decade in any way."

He said many new technologies have to be developed such as "miniature communication, materials, cognitive technologies, self-learning processes and interaction with human."

Chander said "already five to six countries are actively working. They have not yet developed it fully but they are in fairly advanced stages. This is one of my priority areas."

PTI

A six-lakh flat developed by IIT Madras

Chennai:Imagine a 500-square foot flat that costs about six lakhs.  

The cheap and eco-friendly house has been designed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras which hopes it has delivered a model for housing projects that can be used by the government for the poor.  

"We hope it will be a game changer in addressing the housing shortage," said Devdas Menon, a professor at IIT. The university has offered to train builders in copying its model.  

The house has been set up for display on campus.  Instead of bricks, the flat is made of gypsum reinforced with glass fibre.  The housing technology costs just Rs. 1250 per square foot. Ceilings, floor and staircase made using this don't require plastering. 

The big advantage of the technology, its developers say, is the time it saves. A 500 square foot flat with two bedrooms, a hall and a kitchen can be assembled in just a month.

Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director of IIT Madras, say houses built using this technology are also earthquake resistant. "We have not compromised on anything. These structures are as sturdy and long lasting as any building built today. The designs have been approved," he said.

Professor Menon adds that the fact that Gypsum is an industrial waste material that is easily available is a big advantage.  "The fertiliser industry waste itself is around 40 million tonnes, building up annually and there are many other sources of gypsum. I think for a long time we can sustain with this kind of construction. We are already talking to potential private sector builders. What we need is large number of plants all over the country and trained workers to correctly build it and we hope to provide that support. We hope this would be game changer addressing the tremendous housing shortage". 

The technology can be used for buildings up to ten floors. Presently, a plant at Cochin manufactures the pre-fabricated structures. 

IIT Madras spent 10 years researching and finessing Australian technology on which its house is founded.  

Temperatures drop in North India after rains

New Delhi:Temperatures dropped slightly today at most places across North India after Thursday's rains, even as hot and humid conditions persisted in the region.

Maximum temperature came down in the national capital to settle a notch below normal at 39.3 degrees against yesterday's 43.6 degrees Celsius, but the humidity settled at 77 per cent.

Rains led to a dip in mercury in Rajasthan also, where the monsoon is likely to arrive three-four days in advance as per a Met office forecast.

Bikaner was the hottest place in the state with a high of 47 degrees.

The south-west monsoon will hit Mumbai during next 48 hours and will be normal across the country with overall 98 per cent rainfall, the IMD said, adding that a detailed prediction of it will be made next week.

Temperature also dipped in Punjab and Haryana, but high humidity, up to 100 per cent in some places, left people sweating.

While mercury in Chandigarh stood at 36.6 degrees, two notches below normal, it was recorded in Amritsar at 41 degrees Celsius.

Ludhiana and Patiala had a high of 39.1 and 37.2 degrees Celsius respectively, settling up to 4 notches below normal.

Light to heavy rains continued to occur at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh, leading to decline in the temperature in Faizabad, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, and Meerut divisions.

While Barabanki and Ambedkarnagar recorded 6 cm rainfall each, Lucknow and Faizabad registered 5 cm each. It was 4 cm rainfall in Basti, 3 cm each in Sultanpur, Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar.

Highest maximum temperature of 45.6 degree Celsius was recorded at Banda.

India's state-of-the-art air ambulance

New Delhi: India's first state-of-the art Air Ambulance, Flying Doctors India, was today launched in the national capital.

The new aircraft is tailor-made and equipped with a state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit on a dedicated chartered aircraft. The goal is to provide critical care even when a patient is in transit. The air ambulance is being run by the same team of doctors who flew the Delhi gangrape victim to Singapore in December and brought back VC Shukla from Chhattisgarh last month.

"Earlier whenever we got a call, we would take a private aircraft, tape off the chairs and fit our equipment in. It was basically a 'jugaad' (temporary fix) of sorts. Now we have a dedicated air-ambulance ready for all emergency services," Dr Naresh Trehan of Medanta Medicity told.

With the air ambulance, flying doctors has taken a leap. The response time now is just 20 to a maximum of 90 minutes. Doctors say earlier it would take three hours just to prepare the aircraft.

Another timesaver is the aircraft's longer endurance level of upto seven-and-a-half hours unlike earlier when the aircraft would have to stop after 3 hours for refueling.

"This could perhaps mean a matter of life or death for a patient," Dr Trehan says.

However, Dr Trehan says hiring the aircraft it still not cheap. It can cost at least Rs. 50,000 per hour

The aircraft can cater to patients even in smaller cities with the air ambulance having rough field capability which means it can land even on unprepared air strips.

Two Asiatic black bears rescued in Arunachal

ITANAGAR: A two-member team of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) rescued two Asiatic Black bear male cubs from two local who were raising them in Shergoan forest division of West Kameng district.

According to the rescue team, the cubs were separated from their mother at least three months ago. It was also reported that one of the cubs had suffered a burn injury. Hunting is rampant in Arunachal Pradesh and the bears were at risk of becoming victims of poachers.

The two-member team, including veterinarian Dr Jahan Ahmed and animal keeper Birkhe Bahadur, rescued the cubs, about three-four months old, on June 4 last, official sources informed here on Friday.

Both the bear cubs were admitted to the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) at Pakke Tiger Reserve, Seijosa, in East Kameng the same day.

Ahmed, who will be taking care and treatment of the two cubs at the CBRC, said that other than the burn injury on one cub, their health is good and they will undergo a process of rehabilitation after which they will be released back to the wild after being radio collared.

Another bear cub, which was rescued from Aalo a month ago, was also rushed to the CBRC and is doing fine.

Talking about the wildlife conservation efforts made by the WTI in Arunachal Pradesh, where hunting is prevalent in a big way, Sunil Kyarong, regional head of the WTI, said, "People are now responding to the appeal of rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals, which is a very positive sign."

Sorang Tadap, veterinary officer, Itanagar Zoo, said the Asiatic Black Bear comes under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Source: TNN

Test that accurately detects down syndrome in a baby as early as within 3 months of pregnancy

LONDON: A simple blood test can now accurately tell a pregnant mother, as early as three months into her pregnancy, whether her child suffers from Down's syndrome.

Researchers on Friday announced the first ever non-invasive first trimester blood test to reliably detect the syndrome that affects thousands of children annually.

The routine screening uses a non-invasive test that analyzes fetal DNA in a pregnant woman's blood.

It can accurately detect Down's syndrome and other genetic fetal abnormalities in the first trimester.

Every year between 23,000 and 29,000 children are born in India with Down Syndrome, which is the highest in the world.

Current screening for the syndrome or trisomy 21 includes a combined test done between the 11th and 13th weeks of pregnancy, which involves an ultrasound screen and a hormonal analysis of the pregnant woman's blood.

The results suggest that the test is superior to currently available screening strategies and could reshape standards in prenatal testing.

Researchers from King's college London carried out the new test on 1005 pregnancies at 10 weeks and found a lower false positive rate and higher sensitivity for fetal trisomy than the combined test done at 12 weeks.

Two other tests - chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis can definitely detect or rule out fetal genetic abnormalities.

But these are invasive to the pregnancy and carry a high risk of ending up in miscarriage.

Several studies have shown that non-invasive prenatal diagnosis for trisomy syndromes using fetal cell free (cf) DNA from a pregnant woman's blood is highly sensitive and specific, making it a potentially reliable alternative that can be done earlier in pregnancy.

The study by Kypros Nicolaides from King's College London is the first to prospectively demonstrate the feasibility of routine screening for trisomies 21, 18, and 13 by cfDNA testing.

In the new test, both cfDNA and combined testing detected all trisomies but the estimated false-positive rates were 0.1% and 3.4%, respectively.

The authors said, "This study has shown that the main advantage of cfDNA testing, compared with the combined test, is the substantial reduction in false positive rate. Another major advantage of cfDNA testing is the reporting of results as very high or very low risk, which makes it easier for parents to decide in favor of or against invasive testing."

A second study by the same group, which included pregnancies undergoing screening at three UK hospitals between March 2006 and May 2012, found that effective first-trimester screening for Down's syndrome could be achieved by cfDNA testing contingent on the results of the combined test done at 11 to 13 weeks.

The strategy detected 98% of cases, and invasive testing was needed for confirmation in less than 0.5% of cases.

"Screening for trisomy 21 by cfDNA testing contingent on the results of an expanded combined test would retain the advantages of the current method of screening, but with a simultaneous major increase in detection rate and decrease in the rate of invasive testing," the authors concluded.

Down's Syndrome Foundation of India says chromosomes are thread-like structures composed of DNA and other proteins. They are present in every cell of the body and carry the genetic information needed for that cell to develop. Human cells normally have 46 chromosomes that can be arranged in 23 pairs. Of these 23, 22 are alike in males and females; these are called the "autosomes".

The 23rd pair is the sex chromosome.

Human cells divide in two ways. The first is ordinary cell division by which the body grows. In this method, one cell becomes two cells that have the exact same number and type of chromosomes as the parent cell. The second method of cell division occurs in the ovaries and testicles and consists of one cell splitting into two, with the resulting cells having half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell. So, normal eggs and sperm cells only have 23 chromosomes instead of 46.

The test in which blood or skin samples are checked for the number and type of chromosomes is called a karyotype. The most common cause of Down syndrome occurs when an infant is born with three, rather than two, copies of the 21st chromosome (known medically as trisomy 21).

Some investigators reported that older fathers might also be at an increased risk of having a child with Down syndrome.

Source : TNN

2-wheeler ambulances to hit roads soon

NEW DELHI: Soon, there will be two-wheeler ambulances known as "first responders" across the country to provide emergency medical care to people in congested areas, by-lanes and crowded zones where other types of ambulances cannot reach. This category of ambulance is popular in countries including US, UK, Australia and Sweden which can provide first-aid, but don't transport patients.

Picture only for reference purpose : Not actual Image

The Centre recently decided to allow four categories of ambulances including this one to ensure that ambulances are equipped with necessary gadgets and trained manpower to take care of patients during transit to hospitals. The National Ambulance Code recommended by Central Motor Vehicles Rules-Technical Standing Committee ( CMVR-TSC) specifies that the ambulance would be in "brilliant white" and would be built in a manner that it doesn't disintegrate even if it turns turtle. Besides, ceiling, interior sidewalls and doors of patient's compartment will be non-permeable and resistant to disinfectant. Moreover, patient cabin will be complete with a digital display panel to show status of oxygen supply.

The four types of ambulances (A, B, C & D) are - first responder, patient transport, basic life support and advanced life support. Implementation of this code will ensure uniformity. So far there was no guideline for hospitals and agencies for floating tenders and for industry outlining required specifications.

So now transport vehicles are often converted into ambulances with virtually non-existent emergency care facilities for patients. Majority of ambulances have no proper storage facility, non-ambulatory ventilator support system and other necessary features.

Patient transport vehicle will be designed to transport stable patients for non-emergency transfers like scheduled visits for treatment, routine physical examinations, x-rays etc. Basic life support ambulance will be designed and equipped with staff for transportation and treatment of patients requiring non-invasive airway management/basic monitoring. Advanced life support ambulances will be designed and equipped for transport and treatment of emergency patients requiring invasive airway management and intensive monitoring.

Source: TNN