Tag Archives: Tamil Nadu Records

NATIONAL: DRONE PATENTS: Patent Granted: Path-Breaking Drone Technology Developed by Anna University Researchers to Revolutionise Package Delivery Applications

A path-breaking technology has been developed by the researchers at the Madras Institute of Technology, Anna University, Chennai that may open up a new era of drone operations.

The airborne-based intelligent autonomous landing system for mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that come with accurate identification of geographical location of landing sites from the plurality of images captured has been granted patent by the Indian Patent Office, Intellectual Property India.

“The technology would immensely help in the delivery/pick up of load such as weapons, ammunition, medicines, food etc. to armed forces deployed along hilly terrains or inaccessible locations along the border,” said Dr K. Senthil Kumar, Professor and Director, Dr Kalam Advanced UAV Research Centre, Department of Aerospace Engineering, MIT,

The system developed by his team of researchers is capable of not only finding the precise location of a marker like a particular coloured dress or object on the site and land there safely even if it were to be a hilly terrain with uneven surface and slope. At present, existing UAVs were designed to land at a pre-determined well prepared plain surface locations,

Dr Senthil Kumar explained, “Once the landing site is identified, the position coordinates are obtained and UAV lands at the target including moving platforms. Further, QR code can also be used to enhance reliability. The efficiency of the UAV landing system is increased, landing time is reduced, and the complete process is on-board and autonomous using AI and deep learning algorithms. The system is particularly useful for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) applications.”

According to Dr Senthil Kumar, the UAV landing system could be utilised in high-altitude logistics drones to assist armed and border security forces in day-to-day essential supplies delivery to border posts, emergency relief and rescue operations or delivery of certain goods to strengthen combat missions.

“We now have UAVs with the capability to fly up to 50 kg load to 20 km. Efforts are on to enhance the load to 100 kg and flying distance to 50 km,” he added.

Highlighting the UAVs utility, Dr Senthil Kumar said, besides defence, firefighting and surveillance operations, the intelligent autonomous landing system for mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles could also be used for civilian missions such as organ/medicine delivery in healthcare, product delivery in e-commerce etc.

“The invention marked a significant breakthrough in drone technology as it would revolutionise the package delivery applications. The existing delivery methods were done only by way of airdrop from certain altitudes,” he remarked.

source/content: raksha-anirveda.com (headline edited)

INDIA: INNOVATION IN SPACE TECHNOLOGY: ‘Mission Rhumi 2024’: India to launch 1st reusable hybrid rocket on August 24

The rocket will be launched from Chennai using a mobile launcher and will carry “3 Cube Satellites and 50 PICO Satellites to a suborbital trajectory.”

India is set to launch its first reusable hybrid rocket – RHUMI 1 – on August 24, developed by the Tamil Nadu-based start-up Space Zone India. The rocket will be launched from Thiruvidandhai in Chennai using a mobile launcher and will carry “3 Cube Satellites and 50 PICO Satellites to a suborbital trajectory.” This launch, scheduled for 7 am on Saturday, is a collaboration between Space Zone India and the Martin Group and is designed to focus on flexibility and reusability.

According to a report by Money Control, the RHUMI series of rockets, which includes RHUMI-1, RHUMI-2, and RHUMI-3, is engineered to reach altitudes ranging from 1 km to 500 km.

This event marks the third collaboration between the Martin Group and Space Zone India. In 2023, as part of the ‘Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Students Satellite Launch – 2023’ mission, over 2,500 students from government, tribal, and public schools across the country collaborated to design and build a student satellite launch vehicle. This mission included a payload of 150 Pico satellite research experiment cubes. In 2021, during the ‘Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Space Research Payload Cubes Challenge 2021,’ 100 FEMTO satellites developed by 1,200 students were successfully launched.

Key features of RHUMI-1

– The rocket’s launch angle can be precisely adjusted between 0 to 120 degrees, allowing accurate trajectory control.

– A cost-effective, innovative, and eco-friendly descent mechanism uses CO2 to ensure the safe recovery of rocket components.

– The rocket’s applications extend beyond space exploration, impacting fields such as agriculture, environmental monitoring, and disaster management.

– The three cube satellites being sent will monitor atmospheric conditions, including cosmic radiation, UV radiation, and air quality, according to the Money Control report.

– Pico satellites will analyse environmental factors like vibration, accelerometer data, altitude, ozone levels, toxic content, and molecular bonding, contributing to a deeper understanding of atmospheric dynamics.

– The rocket utilises a hybrid propulsion system that combines solid fuel with liquid oxidizer technologies to ensure environmental safety.

– Space Zone India Founder and CEO Anand Megalingam highlighted that this system is reusable, offering a more sustainable and cost-effective approach to satellite launches.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / REGIONAL: MEDIA: The Hindu Group wins 06 Awards at WAN-IFRA Digital Media South Asia 2023

The Hindu Made of Chennai, a campaign to celebrate the city, won gold in both ‘best in audience engagement’ and ‘best in native advertising campaign’ categories.

The Hindu’s projects bagged six of the WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards South Asia 2023 presented at an event recently organised in New Delhi.

The Hindu Made of Chennai, a campaign to celebrate the city, won gold in both ‘best in audience engagement’ and ‘best in native advertising campaign’ categories.

Chennai-A-Maze, an online cryptic crossword challenge, bagged silver in the ‘best in audience engagement’ category. The crossword was rolled out on The Hindu Crossword and website as part of the Made of Chennai campaign for Madras Day (August 22, 2023) for 10 days. The activity was organised along with the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation and was powered by Storytrails, a company that organises story-based walking tours in India.

A ‘Made of Chennai song’ — an audio-visual tribute to the city that was part of the campaign — won a special jury mention in the ‘best use of video’ category. The track reinforced the uniqueness of the coastal city.

The Hindu website won silver in the best news website category. The Hindu’s meta description for news articles using generative artificial intelligence bagged silver under the best use of AI in the newsroom category.

L.V. Navaneeth, Chief Executive Officer of The Hindu Group, said, “With Made of Chennai, we embraced the city’s passion points and crafted engaging activities around them. The resounding success of our campaign underscores our deep understanding of Chennai and its vibrant community. With digital technology, we intend to elevate the user experience on our platforms and foster deep engagement with readers. The Hindu website is reshaping how we deliver top-notch news content, particularly to young audiences. This acknowledgement from WAN-IFRA fuels our drive to elevate the efforts.”

The World Association of News Publishers is the global organisation of the world’s press. Its mission is to protect the rights of journalists and publishers to operate independent media.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: LEADERS IN USA: Ashwin Ramaswami? The First Gen Z Indian-American In US Senate Race

The most recent Indian American to enter US politics is a 24-year-old software engineer, who is the first Gen Z candidate of Indian descent to run for state senate in the nation.

Ashwin Ramaswami is a second-generation immigrant who has the distinction of being the first Indian American senator from Georgia and the only one with a law degree in addition to a computer science degree. If elected.

He is a Democratic candidate facing off against Republican Shawn Still, who was charged with the same crimes as former US President Donald Trump for the US Capitol uprising on January 6.

Ashwin Ramaswami: Who Is He?

Ramaswami is a tech startup entrepreneur who has worked in cybersecurity for the US government and currently runs a technology law and policy consulting firm.

His parents, both IT professionals, immigrated from Tamil Nadu to US in 1990 and Ramaswami graduated from Stanford University in 2021. “I was born and grew up in Georgia. I’m a second-generation immigrant, an Indian American, a twin brother, and an engineer,” his campaign website reads.

“I’m running for (Georgia) State Senate in order to give back to my community. I want to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities that I had growing up,” the 24-year-old told news agency PTI.

Ramaswami says he is keen to make sure the young people have who come from “unconventional backgrounds in politics” have “a new voice”.

“I’m a Hindu”

Even as a young techie, Ramaswami says he is grounded in Indian culture. “I’m a Hindu. I’ve been very interested in Indian culture philosophy my whole life,” he said.

The 24-year-old, who was raised on epics like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavad Gita, also taught Hindu philosophy and culture to schoolchildren at the Hindu spiritual movement’s Chinmaya Mission Balavihar.

“When I was in college, I learned Sanskrit and ended up reading a lot of ancient texts and got very interested in reading Upanishads, ..and my whole life I’ve been very involved in yoga and meditation and now also teaching Baal Vihara to younger students,” he told news agency PTI.

Apart from this, he founded the Dharmic Law Student Organization, a group that conducts programs for Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Jain students.

Gen Z And Political Goals

As a civil servant involved in election security, Ramaswami claimed to have contributed to the security of the 2020 and 2022 elections. In response to scepticism regarding his youth in his State Senate campaign, the twenty-four-year-old claimed that his generation is “very aware politically.”

“We very much see the news, we see all these things happening, and we want to ensure a good future for ourselves. But I think one problem we face is we don’t have the resources or ability to go and make a difference in the sense that it’s really hard for people my age to get elected because the election process skews towards people who are wealthier and older,” he said.

With his eyes set on the state senate, Ramaswami says he aims to increase wages for state employees and introduce better technology to secure elections. He also plans to Introduce “common-sense gun laws” and antitrust laws to hold big tech companies accountable for online harms.

The young techie wants to create a sustainable tech hub in the south of US and make Georgia a leader in green energy investments.

source/content: zeenews.india.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORT / ATHLETICS : Praveen Chithravel Walks the Talk, Breaks National Record in Cuba

ATHLETICS

The Tamil Nadu triple jumper qualifies for World Championships, moves to No. 2 in this year’s World list’

With the country’s top triple jumpers in great form last year, three months ago triple jumper Praveen Chithravel predicted that the National record could fall early this season.

In 2016 when Renjith Maheswary broke the National record, raising it to 17.30m in Bengaluru a month before the Rio Olympics, many rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

But Chithravel spoke of much bigger things in a chat with this writer from his training base, the JSW Inspire Institute of Sport, in Ballari in February.

“The goal is to do more than 17.40m this year. I need to jump something like 17.40 or 17.50m, that sort of process is going on and it’s going good,” Chithravel, the Asian indoor silver medallist, had told The Hindu then.

The 21-year-old walked the talk in Cuba on Saturday, breaking the National record comfortably at the Prueba de Confrontacion athletics meet in Havana with a gold-winning 17.37m. The Tamil Nadu youngster had three jumps over 17m (17.14 first jump, 17.07 fourth, 17.37 fifth) during that stunning series that saw him climb a rung, to second, in triple jump’s World list this year. That also saw Chithravel qualify (qualification standard 17.20m) for the World Championships in Budapest in August.

With Selva Prabhu Thirumaran — the Tamil Nadu youngster had won the under-20 Worlds silver medal in Colombia last year — finishing fourth with a personal best 16.59m, improving his previous best by 44cm, it was a nice day for Indian athletics. However, Asian Games champion Arpinder Singh had a disappointing 15.03m and finished sixth in the same event.

It was not clear whether Chithravel went through a dope test, an Athletics Federation of India criterion to ratify national records, after his Saturday stunner.

“We normally approve a record only after a dope test. Whether they had a dope control (in the Havana meet), I will have to collect all those details,” National chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair told The Hindu on Sunday afternoon.

“We also had national records in the men’s and women’s 5000m (Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary at the Sound Running Track Fest in California, a World Athletics Continental Tour-Silver event). There, dope test was done.”