In his address to the nation on 12th May ,
Shri Modi talked about following 5 pillars of Atma-Nirbhar
Bharat ( Self Reliant India ) :
Ø Economy
Ø Infrastructure
Ø Technology
based Systems
Ø Demand
In her press conference yesterday, Smt
Sitharamanji announced 15 steps /
reforms for revival of Economy
In the next few days, hopefully she
will announce steps to strengthen the other “ pillars “ which Shri
Modiji spoke of
As far as that pillar of “ Technology based Systems “ is concerned, it is a vast
field covering following areas where technology can – and must – be deployed
for a speedy revival of economy :
Ø IT to enable people to work
from home ( Video-Conferencing / Holographic Meetings etc )
Ø IT solutions to break-up office-based BPOs into
home-based
( VPN ) BPOs of each employee
Ø NaVIC based surveillance of 230 cr vehicles
for regulating
traffic / reducing traffic density
Ø Technology based solution to “ Engineer
Social Distancing “in public places
The list is very long. Above are just
a few examples of how technology can be leveraged
As far as use of technology for “ Engineering
Social Distancing “ is concerned, I sent following email on 21st April :
===================================================================================
Ø SHOPS – MALLS
" Rule-based Methods “
# April > Only E Com companies / June > Kiranas /
July > Veg Mkts / Aug > Small
Malls
/ Oct > Medium Malls / Dec > Large Malls
“ Engineering Solution “
# Number
of persons inside a mall (or any store within a mall ) to be restricted below 1
for
every 100 sq ft of Floor space
# Store
doors and Mall Entrance to integrate laser beams which get interrupted
when
someone enters / leaves .
Embedded
software will count each entry / exit ( cumulative ADD / SUBTRACT ).
As
soon as specified LIMIT ( for the number of occupants inside ) is reached,
interlocked doors will
refuse to open !
# This
combination of hardware and software will also display outside the DOOR /
GATE
:
>
RED lamp ( to indicate full occupancy )/ GREEN lamp ( to indicate some vacancy )
>
DIGITAL SIGN-BOARD indicating “ No of Vacancies inside , right now “
# At
the Mall Entrance, visitors will be made to wear a suspended NECK – TAG ,
which
will be TIME- STAMPED ( 20 minutes inside a store / 2 hours inside Mall ).
It
will glow RED , if these time-limits
are Exceeded ( Sensors embedded within TAG
will
get activated by the laser beams )
# Above-mentioned
“ functionalities “ could also be achieved through a Mobile App [
KeepAway
? ]
=============================================================================================
It seems, many companies have come up
with quite similar solutions for regulating the number of people that can be
ALLOWED inside a store / shop / office etc., at any given TIME
Context :
Smart
cameras will soon check if you’re social distancing and wearing a mask / 13 May
2020
Extract :
Ø Imagine pulling up to a supermarket
and seeing a big red number on a digital sign outside.
Instead of enticing you to come inside with sale prices or specials, this sign
is estimating the amount of distance between people inside, suggesting that you stay away until the
store is less crowded
Ø “You already
are hearing about things like ‘Waze for occupancy and people movement,’ as
opposed to vehicle movements—not just self-reporting, but automated
reporting on traffic information of people in different indoor locations and public
areas,” says Mahesh
Saptharishi, the CTO of Motorola
Solutions, which is
developing a system of this kind. “I think that’s just going to be more common
until people feel safe enough.”
Ø Motorola’s Avigilon
subsidiary, for instance, is developing software for its latest-generation
security cameras that will detect when people are standing too close or not wearing
masks.
Ø By
identifying hot spots where people are violating those guidelines, building
managers could figure out how to structure their stores and workspaces and
could avoid
sending in too many people at the same time.
Ø Motorola
hopes to start deploying this solution by the end of June, primarily for offices and factories, though supermarkets and retail stores could make
use of the technology as well.
Ø San
Mateo-based Camio is also building a system to detect when people are congregating too
closely or failing to wear masks. While Motorola’s system requires
specific cameras and runs offline, Camio’s product works with any security camera through cloud-based
software.
Ø Like
Motorola, Camio is targeting factories and offices that must decide how to space out their employees and
where to put down social distancing markers, but it’s trying to get into more
public-facing areas as well.
Ø Camio is
working with Sabio Solutions,
an IT integration company in Mexico City, on several other initiatives,
including a solution for retail stores that warns visitors about the level of crowding
inside.
Ø James Siojo,
Sabio Solutions’s CEO, describes a “Social Distancing Factor,” which is
essentially a score based on the amount of space between people—measured
through Camio’s algorithms—and the percentage of people wearing masks. Each
organization would be responsible for setting thresholds that it considers
dangerous, and the resulting score and its associated color coding could help
people decide whether to visit a store. It would take some pressure off employees to
enforce social distancing themselves.
Ø “This is
something that gives [customers] advanced notice, or some amount of advanced
information, so that they can make more considered decisions as they go about
their lives,” Motorola’s Mahesh Saptharishi says.
Ø As Camio’s
Carter Maslan argues, businesses that can document their social distancing
tactics might be better protected against liability claims, and stores could
have a better chance of drawing people back in
=============================================================================================
Among the other foreign manufacturers
, are :
=============================================================================================
Now when Smt Sitharamanji
announces further steps in her press-briefings ( today and next few days ), I
do not expect her to spell out precisely what will be those “ technology based systems “ that the Government will encourage
But the least that she could do is to announce
the following :
Ø 100
% FDI
through automatic route for local manufacture of Social Distancing -
Surveillance products / systems / software
Ø For such manufacturers, priority for grant of collateral - free loans (
announced yesterday for MSME )
Ø Ask States to modify RERA , requiring builders to incorporate such
systems into all new commercial / public buildings / factories / malls etc (
just like today’s Fire Fighting Facilities / Water – Power supply )
Ø Mandate all the Government Buildings to install such Social
Distancing Systems, by end 2024
Ø Consolidate such requirements ( of govt
buildings ) and publish on
govt’s e-purchase portal , as a guidance for demand for the local
manufacturers ( Technical specifications must be laid down )
Ø To encourage local MSME manufacturers of such
Surveillance Systems, do not allow GLOBAL TENDERS
=============================================================================================
Apart from the foreign manufacturers
mentioned in the news-report mentioned above, fortunately some local MSME have
also launched such systems. These are ( among possibly others which I don’t
know ) :
Ø Contactless Covid Fever Screening by
NIRAMAI
Ø Aiotize
Dear Smt Sitharamanji,
I urge you to give an opportunity to
these local manufacturer to install their system in one Govt building,
for comparative evaluation by one of the 3 govt-appointed TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION COMMITTEES
, whose “ Brief / Scope of Work “ , is listed at :
Troika
of Technology ? [ 20 Feb 2020 ]
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Related Readings :
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With regards,
Hemen Parekh
hcp@RecruitGuru.com /
14 May 2020
