RoboFeast -2013 National Robotics Championship by Revert Technology in Association With iFest IIT Roorkee

Voyager 1 Crossed the influence of SUN

At last the first human-made object reached the interstellar space.... Voyager 1 is going far away from us and crossed the influence of SUN and continuing its mission after 35 years of its launch.... Great jump by NASA...

Check this link to know about the positions of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 with distance from Earth: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/index.html

The 36-year-old probe is about 12 billion miles (19 billion km) from our sun. New and unexpected data indicate Voyager 1 has been traveling for about one year through plasma, or ionized gas, present in the space between stars- Reported Officially by NASA [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/voyager/voyager20130912.html]

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in September 1977 and flew by Jupiter and Saturn before continuing on toward interstellar space. NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft also flew by Jupiter and Saturn and went on to explore Uranus and Neptune. It is still the only spacecraft to have visited those outer planets.

Epiphany 13 | Technical Fest | Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore

EVENT NAME: Epiphany 13

EVENT TYPE: Technical Fest

ORGANISED BY: Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology

LOCATION: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

EVENT DATES: 29th August 2013

WEBSITE: www.epiphany13.in

EVENT DESCRIPTION:

The ILLUMINATI association makes its grand return in launching National Level Technical Symposiums with "EPIPHANY'13", the technical extravaganza. Literally the word 'Epiphany' refers to an occasion where wise people got together to felicitate the genius of Christ. Epiphany'13 is the hub for technocrats and wizards of Engineering to get together, compete and establish themselves in the crew of best future engineers of the nation. The motto of the entire event is to ignite the spark of ever-living fire that can illuminate the entire world, among engineers. Knowledge has no restriction of streams and boundaries. Inspired by the concept, EPIPHANY'13 has unveiled itself as an open to all event, with no restrictions of departments, colleges or any other factors. All self-motivated engineers are assured of finding like-minded engineers capable of developing technologies that will rule the market in the years to come or able-minded entrepreneurs whose decisions will make or break the lives of millions in the next decade. The summit of techno wizards will be celebrated on the 29th August 2013! Don't miss any of the knowledge, fun and competence!! Make your presence felt!!!

LIST OF EVENTS:

1.Carta contest

2.Progretto

3.Microstars

4.Code quest

5.pirate bay

6.Robo clash

7.Gameathon

8.Biz B

9.Flickers

10.Cine mania

CONTACT INFO:

Aravind Mothy +91 9894682524

Kirubakaran S. +91 8870028780

Manoj Kumar V. +91 9976808026

Niranjan Kumar A.M. +91 9894682524

Eupraxia '13 | Technical Fest @ SSN College of Engineering, Chennai

EVENT NAME: Eupraxia

EVENT TYPE: Technical Fest

ORGANISED BY: SSN College of Engineering

LOCATION: Chennai, Tamil Nadu

EVENT DATES: 2nd September 2013

WEBSITE: www.eupraxia.org.in

EVENT DESCRIPTION:

A National Level Technical Symposium conducted by the department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering of SSN College of Engineering, with a great, innovative and informative set of Events and Workshops.

LIST OF EVENTS:

1.Paper Presentation

2.Project Display

3.Robotics(Simple and Complex)

4.Contraption

5.Bridgets

6.Circuit Designing

7.C-Programing

8.Technical Quiz

9.Tech Treasure Hunt

10.Online Photography and Quiz

11..Spot Events

12. Workshops in association with IEEE

CONTACT INFO:

Barani B.

talk2us@eupraxia.co.in

+91-9003009684

PRAVIGYAN'13 | Technical Fest @ PITM Chennai

EVENT NAME          : PRAVIGYAN'13

EVENT TYPE            : Technical Fest

ORGANISED BY      : Prathyusha Institute of Technology and Management

LOCATION               : Chennai, Tamil Nadu

EVENT DATES         : 6th september 2013

LAST DATE (to apply): 25th august 2013

WEBSITE                  : www.pravigyan.in

EVENT DESCRIPTION:

PRAVIGYAN'13 is the 5th National level technical symposium conducted by the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering of Prathyusha Institute Of Technology & Management (PITAM). This event is getting a great response from various leading technical institutions around the country. We strongly support the students to conduct this event to enhance the knowledge sharing in the field of Electronics and Communication Engineering to cultivate new thoughts to kindle their minds. This event also helps the students to get a good organizing skill and enhance their knowledge in the field of Electronics and Communication Engineering.

LIST OF EVENTS:

1. Techno-spot(project display)

2. Cyborg trazer(line follower)

3. Manuscript expo(paper presentation)

4. Gimmics(quizz)

CONTACT INFO:

A.Hemanth

hemanthannichetty007@gmail.com

9498079389

V.Sai bala chandu

chalengingchandu@gmail.com

8098844926

Common P&ID Symbols using in industries | Tip for the week

EXCEL 2013 | Technical - Management Fest at MEC Thrikkakara | September 26-28, 2013

Event                        -  Excel 2013 | Technical - Management Fest

Organized by        -  Govt. Model Engineering College, Thrikkakara

Dates                        -  September 26-28, 2013

Description -

010010000100010101001100010011000100111100100001

If you understood whatever that gibberish meant, you've probably paid attention in digital electronics (either that or you're a computer).

But seriously, haven't you ever wanted to do cool stuff with the things you learned in engineering or management? Just have fun with it?

That is where Excel 2013 comes in. Started in 2001 with the very same vision of giving engineers a chance to have fun and learn new stuff, Excel has grown over a period of 13 years to incorporate so much more.

With the funky motto 'Inspire | Innovate | Engineer 'and a deluge of over 60 technical and non-technical events, workshops, seminars and conferences on latest trends and technology, exhibitions and displays of the latest technical wizardry, talks, open debates, scintillating pro-shows, Excel 2013 is a mecca for engineering and management students out for fun, (cash) and fame, and even working professionals sick of their 9 to 5 jobs :)

Participants can not only have fun [and make some ₹₹₹s in the process ;)] in a variety of competitions(and we've got a LOT), but can learn cool new stuff at our

hands-on workshops, meet like-minded people, interact with the big names of the industry, and above all, JUST HAVE FUN!

We've got something for EVERYONE(and when we say that, we mean it). Roboteers, Footballers, Coders, Quizzers, High School students, Daredevils, Managers, Photographers, Innovators, Designers, Professionals, whatever you may be, we've got something for you!

●        Feel like building a robot capable of wiping the floor with other robots in battle? Come take part in Robowars!

●     Graduates and Postgraduates, would you like to present your research paper and start your journey on the road to fame and fortune (or just get some cash for presenting a paper :P)? Papyrus of Ani is just for you!

●        Good at electronic circuitry?? Try a hand at our debugging events like Extrinsicity, Defuse and  Lifeline!

●  Got the itch to hack something? Test your skills against other hackers at Hackmaster!

●        'C' coders! Stay in the comfort of your home or hostel and prove that you are the best damn coder around in our unique online coding competition #Include!

●        Think you create good apps or love Artificial Intelligence? Have a go at AppGenius and Web Bots !

OR if you aren’t into that techie stuff ( By the way, still trying to decode the binary code on top or just didn’t bother with it? It meant HELLO! Just FYI ;) ), we've got another stack of events  lined up just for you!

●    Good at solving puzzles or solving crime? Just see if you can beat our riddlers and solve Kryptos or play detective at C.S.I!

●        Think you are untouchable at football? Work your magic at 3's Football!

●    Line up that perfect headshot, drift the tightest corners, smother the competition, make that impossible shot to score a goal and prove that you have ‘l33t’ shooting, driving, footballing, HECK! even Temple-Running skills at Counter Strike, DOTA, FIFA, NFS (and even Temple Run!) at our GameZone.

●        Feeling particularly adventurous? Prove it at SpiderWeb!

●     Management dudes! Think you can put those principles you learned, to the test and emerge the 'Best Manager' ?

PROs! How would you like to establish  beyond all doubt that you are still THE best,t and earn some money on the side? We've got an exclusive segment filled with events just for you - Excel PRO !

Learn new tricks and skills(technical and general) at our hands-on workshops and seminars.

Be a part of fierce debates in .ISSUE! (your chance to be on TV, as .ISSUE! Is broadcasted on TV channels too!), exhilarating live concerts by the best performers at the Excel PRO SHOW, jaw dropping stunts and the slickest wheels in Moto Shows.

Technical and Non-Technical Exhibitions that present a bunch of cool new stuff from new bikes to new ways of generating electricity, cool new inventions by enterprising inventors of IBETO (Innovations for a Better Tomorrow) and IBETO Junior, and even projects by our freshmen students at MECLabs all complete what we would like to call the ‘FFA (Fun For All) Package’.

See! We weren't kidding about having something for everyone..

WE’ll update our site at  www.excelmec.org soon with more details! Stay tuned to see what we have in store for you!

Also, conducted in parallel to Excel 2013 is TEDxMEC 2013, head on over to www.tedxmec.com to know more.

So, this September, if you find yourselves roaming unfettered in Kochi or feel like you just have to prove the best at what you do, earn some cash or want to learn a bunch of cool new stuff to impress others or just want to have FUN, head on over to Govt. Model Engineering College and register for Excel 2013 (WARNING – Excel 2013 is labeled as a ‘Infectiously fun zone!’. Enter at your own risk!).

Event Details

Initiatives: IBETO(Innovations for Better Technology), IBETO Junior, TEDxMEC, Developers Conference

Computer Science:

 App Genius, 4*120, Hack Master, Web Mandrake, Web Bots, #include, LOC

Electronics:

 Extrinsicity, Robolts, Robowars, Defuse, Wave Cloning

Electrical:

 Lumiere, Extundo Prodigo

Biomedical: 

Lifeline

Non-Technical:

General Quiz, 3s Football, Moto show, Fun Zone, Gaming, Fun Zone, Crime Scene Investigation,  Online Photography, Instant Photography, Best Manager, Short Film, Treasure Hunt, Spider Web,  Rube Design, Kryptos, Principia Mathematica, Papyrus of Ani, Dalal Bull

Lectures and Workshops:

.issue, and many other workshops.

How to Reach MEC -

Govt. Model Engineering College, one of India's top institutes for engineering , is located in the quiet surroundings of Thrikkakara, within close proximity to Kochi city yet sufficiently removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.

By Road - Kochi is well connected by road to all parts of India by 3 national highways and numerous other routes. Bus services are available from almost all major cities in Kerala, Tamil nadu and Karnataka.The college is located 4 km from Edappally Toll Jn on NH-47 , NH-17. Buses are available from all main centres in Kochi. The private and KSRTC bus stations are situated just 8km away from the college.

By Rail - Ernakulam is a major railway destination with trains running to all parts of the country. College is located 6 km from Ernakulam North Railway station, 10 km from Ernakulam South Railway station and 15 km from Aluva Railway Station.

By Air - Kochi has an international airport connected by major aircraft operators. MEC is situated 20 km from Cochin International Airport along NH-47.

Within Kochi and Ernakulam - The college can be reached from Edapally by taking buses to Pookatupadi, Perumbavoor, Kothamangalam and disembarking at Thrikkakkara

temple bus stop. The college is about 1km from the bus stop.The college can be reached from Kaloor Bus Stand ,Ernakulam South and Ernakulam North railway station by

taking buses to Kakkanad and disembarking at NGO quarters ,which is located 1.5 km from MEC. Autorikshaws are available from both Thrikkakara and NGO quarters.

For any queries please feel free to contact us -

Vishnu K (Chairman, Excel 2013)

+91-8129945728

vishnu@excelmec.org

Vishnu Satheesh (Secretary, Excel 2013)

+91-8089122293

vishnu.s@excelmec.org

George K Abraham (Public Relations, Excel 2013)

+91-9495381441

georgeka@excelmec.org

Amal M Ashok (Marketing Head, Excel 2013)

+91-8089776549

amalashok@excelmec.org

Farsana Majeed K (Marketing Head, Excel 2013)

+91-7736553403

farsana@excelmec.org

Nikhil Mathew (Hospitality/Events Manager)

+91-9447159965

nikhilmathew@excelmec.org      

College web link: http://www.mec.ac.in/

Let Automation Take Control | Report from EFY

Most automation tasks require the engineer to be on-site, which means a lot of travel and outdoor work. So if you are willing to fold your sleeves, hop on to a bus and go to plants at far-flung places to learn and deliver, you can make it big in automation!

--UMA GUPTA

India is investing hugely in infrastructure, catalysing growth of industries like cement and steel. It is also going to be the biggest drug manufacturer in the next couple of years. These industrial processes require automation to keep up with efficiency, accuracy, global norms and speed. Automation improves the safety and reliability of an industrial production process while maintaining a high product quality. With the increasing automation of industrial processes, there is need for efficient manpower as well.

Scope of automation

Anup Wadhwa, director, Automation Industry Association (AIA), explains, “Automation itself it a very vast field. Depending on the needs of businesses, different companies classify it via different criteria. However, for industrial purposes, we talk about manufacturing environments. There are front and back ends to automation, and companies deal in the same from the end user’s point of view. A company can be called to be dealing with process automation if the end user is operating in an explosive or hazardous area. Alternatively, it’s called factory automation if the field and applications are related more to the general manufacturing environment.”

“Automation industry addresses the design, development, production, and application of devices and systems that sense, measure and control industrial processes and manufacturing operations. This includes domains of basic continuous control, discrete, sequencing and manufacturing control, advanced control, reliability, safety and electrical controls, related software development and integration, deployment and maintenance, he adds.”

Leading academia and industry stalwarts emphasise that understanding the principles of automation will enable engineers across various industries to demonstrate new competencies that global leadership demands. These include asset management, production engineering and simulation, energy conservation, material handling and packaging, mechatronics, material and human safety, quality of work and environment, and tracking and tracing systems.

“Operator and machine safety are important issues and there are global standards and risk management practices that machine and equipment designers must begin adhering to. Industrial automation helps in implementing and monitoring safety and machine failure. It’s only logical that the more critical the situation, more the care to be taken while specifying the standard or practice that needs to apply,” informs Wadhwa.

Big demand, low supply

Automation industry needs people having electrical, electronics and instrumentation background. But there is a huge demand-supply gap for these engineers, though India has done a great job in terms of creating a good number of technical institutes.

“There were entrepreneurs and thinkers who realised that there is going to be a huge requirement of engineering talent in times to come. So they created a lot of private institutes and colleges, which churn out hundreds and thousands of engineers every year. However, very few of these graduates are actually ready for the industry. In fact, according to studies done by Mckinsey and Nasscom, only one-fourth of the graduates are ready for the industry,” informs Sabih Ahmad Kidwai, head-human resources (HR), Rockwell Automation India.

Automation industry is very niche. The industry itself is in a nascent stage in India and so we don’t have a huge talent pool available for the industry. On top of it, there are very few colleges that actually teach automation effectively.

Roles available

“Most automation tasks require the engineer to be on-site, which means a lot of travelling and outdoor work. Those who prefer a comfortable environment—sitting all day in front of a computer in a controlled temperature—will definitely not like the automation field and should not think about automation as a career,” says Raj Singh Rathee, managing director, Kuka Robotics (India).

As for opportunities available, one can get into project, application, design or sales engineering. Then there are roles for industry experts. Of course, these are not for freshers but people who have been in the industry over a period of time. For example, there are power generation experts who know a power generation unit’s in and out. They know where automation is working, how automation would save energy or increase speed, and so on.

The main metric is grip on control. And as a design professional, you are expected to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to design practical control loop as per that metric. If you can achieve these, instrumentation and maintenance related solutions will be automatically on your fingertips. To make maximum use of the situation, you need to have expertise to survive in the global-quality working environment of automation.

Automation is a very technical field and therefore domain expertise and knowledge of processes is very important. Because of the technology-driven nature of this field, professionals must at all times keep themselves abreast of the latest improvements and technological upgradations that are taking place, instead of narrowly focusing on their departmental concerns.

Money matters

For a fresh engineering graduate, the salary could start from Rs 350,000- 400,000 per annum. It could go well up to Rs 600,000 per annum for graduates from engineering institutes like IITs. However, the scene is not so encouraging for diploma holders.

You could start at a junior level as part of a major project and grow to become a project leader in 10-12 years’ time frame. In most cases, salaries are proportional to the cost of the projects. Notably, the salary is on the higher side for design section.

What’s expected from candidates?

Candidates willing to take up a career in automation should have electrical, electronics and communication, instrumentation and control, or computer engineering background. They are expected to have an orientation for fundamentals of automation. It helps if the candidate has done some work in automation lab of his college.

“Courses available in colleges are bachelor’s degree in different areas of technology such as electronics and communication, computers, instrumentation and control engineering, electrical engineering, information technology and mechanical engineering. In addition, there are courses available at the postgraduate level in different specialisations,” informs Dr Alok Prakash Mittal, professor and head, Division of Instrumentation & Control Engineering, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology.

Recruiters also look for the learning aptitude in candidates. The selected candidates will have to spend initial few years to move around and learn. This is unlike the IT industry where engineers sit in an air-conditioned office in a fancy building. Only those who are willing to fold their sleeves, hop on to a bus and go to plants at far-flung places around the country to learn and deliver are going to make it big.

“Anyone who has to grow in this field must have a field experience. So experience is more important than qualification for higher levels,” says Rathee.

Rockwell Automation does campus selection. “We don’t look for technology prowess, we just want the candidates to be aware of automation fundamentals— like what is automation, what are the tools and components, how are these connected, and how does a programmable logic controller (PLC) or supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) work. We look for people who are agile to the environment and have some curricular engagement. Thus we look for a holistic personality. We prefer candidates who are well-read and aware, and who have opinion on the environment around us—whether it’s technical, political or social,” informs Kidwai.

Once a candidate is selected, “We provide extensive on-job training, coaching and counselling. Apart from that, there is a lot of classroom or hands-on training. Normally, the programme is one-year long—three months in the classroom and nine months on the job,” adds Kidwai.

Fundamentals go a long way

You need to understand automation elements from both the theoretical and practical point of view.

Automation is a step beyond mechanisation. It is the use of control systems (such as numerical control, programmable logic control and other industrial control systems), along with other applications of information technology (such as computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing), to control industrial machinery and processes, thereby reducing the need for human intervention.

Different types of automation tools exist: Artificial neural network, distributed control system, human-machine interface, SCADA, PLC, programmable automation controller, instrumentation, motion control and robotics.

A simple process control loop consists of a measurement system, a controller and a final control element.

Keep abreast of emerging trends

To get an edge over your competitors, learn advanced process control with respect to the underlying theory, implementation studies, the benefits that its applications will bring and projections of future trends.

In particular, the following trends are redefining automation:

Industrial wireless. Wireless connectivity is lowering the consumption of copper cabling, and associated costs of laying cable trenches and securing the safety of networks that cut across hazardous or difficult-to-reach zones. So automation systems can cover more sensory points and relay important information to moving personnel, bringing down the potential response times.

Embedded intelligence and machine- to-machine (M2M) communications. With increasing memory and computing power, embedded intelligence will grow. And so will M2M and M2H (machine-to-human) communications. These will force adoption of interface standards like OMAC. Understanding these nuances is important to redefine productivity and flexibility norms in future factories. With better understanding, engineers will also be able to integrate energy management and environment control strategies with different kinds of recipe management or production cycles.

Web services and applications integration. Maintenance and audit functions can now be conducted without specialists having to fly down to the machine location. They can connect through Web services. If a human intervention (change of parts or in the application software) is needed, the local person can be guided to make the change.

Real-time information to boost productivity. Real-time access to information is an essential feature of industrial automation systems as these are meant to execute control commands to the process. Recent developments in the area of ‘real-time’ production control have been captured in the shape of manufacturing execution systems. This is a great management tool in the hands of operational personnel.

Robots. Lighter and smarter robots are dominant in fast-moving consumer goods assembly and specialised packaging. Within the core manufacturing such as automotive, the trend of heavy duty robots is seen, with designs for payloads lower than 100 kg. These require about 25 per cent less space, while being consistently more robust and having significantly lower maintenance requirements.

Looking ahead

There are bound to be implications of the global turmoil in India as well but on a mid-term and long-term horizon, things do look good. After all, we are a big country with a lot of potential for automation for want of improvement in quality, manufacturing time or safety. So it is quite encouraging to work in this segment. The concept of a no-man factory is far-fetched; there could be work cells or process zones that are well automated and unmanned, but even these would need human surveillance or intervention for maintenance as mechanical parts are prone to long-term wear.

The author is an executive editor at EFY

Link to the article: http://www.electronicsforu.com/electronicsforu/circuitarchives/view_article.asp?sno=463&title+=+Let+Automation+Take+Control&b_type=new&id=4662#.Udo5erXOPLo.facebook