Ashis Panigrahi Innovation, Society, Technology

Sustainable approaches for IoT devices

According to the latest available data, there are approximately 17 billion connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices and this figure is expected to almost double to 29 billion by 2030. As per verified market research, IoT Devices Market size was valued at USD 125 B$ in 2023 and is projected to reach 620 B$ by 2031 (1).

The growing adoption of smart devices has driven demand for IoT devices, making sustainability more critical than ever as IoT’s role in business continues to expand. Most of the IoT devices have dangerous elements inside, ranging from heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and beryllium to hazardous chemicals like brominated flame retardants.

They are smaller in size!

The good news is; compared to other technology products, IoT devices has lesser environmental impact and they can deliver greener results. IoT devices are small physical devices, so their production requires fewer raw materials and lesser plastics and packaging materials, thus producing less e-waste.

The unique design of IoT devices has inherent restrictions in memory, so they use embedded systems programming which can run in such restricted conditions. IoT industry dictates the development of more complex systems that can be run on limited resources. IoT devices are compact and smaller than regular computers, designed for seamless integration into various environments. Despite their size, they can perform critical tasks, including real-time monitoring and data analysis. Their efficiency and versatility make them essential in smart systems and automation. Manufacturing of IoT devices requires less material as well as less energy than a large computers.

IoT devices are used primarily for data collection. They continuously collect information and send it to data centers for analysis. The whole process takes a lot of energy and is perhaps not always worth it. It would be a good practice to evaluate the real need for IoT use, in terms of what we gain and how much we spend in the race for popular digital instruments.

Where is the challenge?

The challenge is in it’s waste disposal, and associated environmental impact. Some of the critical concerns are:

  1. Increased Volume of E-Waste: The proliferation of IoT devices leads to a significant increase in electronic waste, contributing to the growing global e-waste problem. 17B IoT devices as of today and it is growing exponentially.
  2. Resource Consumption and Toxicity: IoT devices often contain rare earth metals and hazardous materials that are challenging to recycle and can be toxic to the environment if not disposed of properly.
  3. Short Lifespan: Many IoT devices have short lifespans and are not designed for easy disassembly or recycling, leading to more frequent disposal and accumulation of waste in landfills.

As we discussed at the beginning, IoT devices often contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. These metals can leach into soil and water, causing environmental contamination and health issues like neurological damage, kidney disease, and cancer. Lead exposure can cause high blood pressure and brain, kidney and reproductive health issues in adults. Exposure to mercury may cause irritation to the eyes, skin, and stomach, cough, chest pain, or difficulty breathing, insomnia, irritability, among others. IoT devices often contain lithium-ion batteries in them, which can pose fire hazards if damaged. Improper disposal can lead to toxic leaks, causing soil and water contamination.

What are sustainable approaches?

To reduce the environmental impact of IoT devices in terms of e-waste, several approaches can be considered:

  1. Design for Longevity and Repairability: Develop IoT devices with longer lifespans, modular components, and easy repairability to reduce the need for frequent replacements.
  2. Use of Sustainable Materials: Utilise recyclable and non-toxic materials in the manufacturing of IoT devices to minimise environmental harm.
  3. Improved Recycling Programs: Establish and promote efficient e-waste recycling programs to ensure proper disposal and recovery of valuable materials from discarded IoT devices.
  4. Standardisation and Interoperability: Encourage standardisation of components and interoperability between devices to reduce the need for multiple, redundant gadgets.
  5. Manufacturer Take-Back Schemes: Implement take-back programs where manufacturers are responsible for collecting and recycling their products at the end of their lifecycle.
  6. Consumer Awareness and Education: Educate consumers about the environmental impact of e-waste and encourage responsible purchasing, usage, and disposal of IoT devices.
  7. Legislation and Regulation: Advocate for stricter regulations and policies that mandate environmentally friendly practices in the production, usage, and disposal of IoT devices.

Can GenAI come to the rescue?

Identifying alternative materials used in IoT devices is crucial as we use more and more connected devices and in-order-to address environmental concerns. The search for eco-friendly materials can reduce the environmental impact and promote the development of greener technologies. Generative AI (GenAI) can play a pivotal role in this process by analysing vast amounts of data to predict and discover new materials with desirable properties. GenAI can simulate the performance of these materials in various conditions, accelerating the research and development process. Additionally, GenAI can optimise manufacturing processes to incorporate these new materials efficiently, ensuring that IoT devices are not only sustainable but also cost-effective and high-performing.

Conclusion

The market demand for IoT devices is rapidly increasing as industries and consumers want to harness the power of connected technologies for enhanced efficiency, convenience, and innovation. However, this surge in demand brings about significant environmental challenges due to the materials and manufacturing processes currently used. Adopting sustainable approaches in the production and deployment of IoT devices is critical to mitigating these environmental impacts. Sustainable practices, such as using eco-friendly materials, improving energy efficiency, and implementing robust recycling programs, ensure that the growth of IoT does not come at the expense of our planet. By prioritising sustainability, manufacturers not only will meet regulatory requirements but also will contribute to a greener future while maintaining the technological advancements that IoT devices offer.

References

  1. IoT Devices Market Size And Forecast. https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/iot-devices-market/
Ashis Panigrahi Innovation, Technology

Blockchain and IoT technology for Train Signalling System


Railway systems/networks are divided into sections (also known as blocks) to avoid collision between trains; because more than one train is NOT permitted to run on the same section of the track at the same time. The recent train accident in India along with the casualty numbers has warranted to revisit the train signalling system and how technology can come for rescue. The probe report flags multiple protocol breaches including signalling system as reason for the accident (1).

Combination of Blockchain, IoT and AI technology will play a big role in addressing this real-life challenge.

Signalling system plays a vital role in a Railways network to monitors the trains movement and operates the trains in a safe manner. Finding issues with signal failure  before time will not save lives and national infrastructure. Key objectives of a Rail signalling system are:

  • Maintain a safe distance between trains
  • Control the trains movement at junctions
  • Prioritise track allotments based on business rules (Fast train vs slower trains vs goods trains)

Internet of Things (IoT) based event logger are being used in many countries to monitor and log the data related to train movements, but many a times this logger is not integrated or overlooked by personnels during the decision making which are primarily manual in nature. Also the usage of IoT systems are limited to predict failure of equipments to alert signal engineer for maintenance rather than using in real-time decision makings.

Problem statements:

In the above diagram, a passenger train has got priority over a goods train. When both the trains approaches a station which is equipped with a “passing loop” track, Peer to Peer (P2P) negotiation takes place. In this case, passenger trains negotiate with Station master to get access to the main line, and good train negotiate with station master to divert into passing loop track. Just imagine when trains are also passing in opposite track at the same time, the station master will get engaged in similar P2P negotiations. Such a P2P coordination can become with more number of trains participating in the network and also if train lines are crossing each other (diamond crossing). The real treat to safety is, the outcome of such a bilateral coordination (P2P) is provisional until all the coordinations are completed (between station master and participating trains).

Concurrent one-to-one coordinations are potentially complex and inefficient or even dangerous if done manually or by unsophisticated approach. All the coordinations between peers must be able to execute the same safeguarding logic that take into consideration of all relevant actors within the given railway network.

Secondly, in some cases it is seen that, once a section of track is allowed to one train post P2P negation, the track fails to switch as intended and hence creating accident situation.

Solution Components:

Blockchain: Blockchain technology provides both centralized and decentralized aspects of a solution.

It will hold the network-wide data at central level which is unique truth and can be shared across all participating nodes (information like train routes, timetables, passenger reservations, infrastructure reservations etc.). It will hold network-wide rules to safeguard trains in terms of smart contracts (stored on the ledger). These are software defined rules and will get executed when certain conditions are met.

The governance will be decentralized, business network administration is based on consensus and on transparency. Transactions are verified (endorsed) and ordered (serialized) by peers/orderers distributed over the participating network. When participating trains in a section or within a defined proximity met certain criteria consensus being taken in defined channel and corresponding smart contracts are verified and ordered for execution. This way, any bottleneck from central broker that is responsible for information distribution is avoided.

Internet of Thing: IoT devices are used to provide real-time situational data from the ground.

Once consensus is arrived in Signalling system for a train to get access to a particular section, the Switch operators makes sure the required switches happens before a green signal provided to the train driver.


So the IoT system will be a participant of the Blockchain system to provide a finality to the transactions before it get executed. IoT devices can be used to monitor the track changes and pass/fail flag will come back to Blockchain system as input before it commits the transaction. Computer vision/ camera solutions can be also used alternatively.

The status of the signal (green or red) on a particular track can be easily  broadcasted by a wireless transmitter to any near-by approaching train. This come handy especially early morning hrs with less visibility where train driver need not have to look for the signal outside, but will get the status inside the driver cabin itself.

IoT devices using RFID and other technology can be used to build Anti Collision Systems for railway which can sense static or slow moving objects on the track. Indian railway has been using Train Collision Avoidance System in certain sections of the network successfully (2).

Conclusion

The Blockchain-based signalling System will be a software defined safety mechanisms that can be considered to automate train traffic management. Exponential technologies such as Edge Computing, 5G, IoT and AI can be used to bring right capability for  implementation of such a system.

Blockchain and IoT solutions together will provide the real time data to all the stakeholders including Station Masters, Section Controllers, Signal Engineers and others. By sharing real time data on train movement with data integrity and transparency in place, this solution will enhance decision making capability. All the participating trains can communicate with each other, and decisions will be executed through smart contract that can avoid train delays which typically happens due to information gap and lack of trust with the existing systems.

Data will be stored in a distributed ledger using cryptography which will ensure data integrity and tamper proof. Applications and user interfaces can be build on Blockchain system to authenticate participants (driver, dispatcher, station master) based on face recognition or similar technology to avoid security risks.

References:

  1. Indian Express (2023, 5 July). Probe report flags multiple protocol breaches for Bahanaga Bazar crash. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2023/jul/05/probe-report-flags-multiple-protocol-breaches-for-bahanaga-bazar-crash-2591586.html
  2. India Times (2022, 3 April). Explained: How Railways’ Indigenous Anti-Collision System Kavach Can Prevent Train Accidents. https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/indian-railways-indigenous-anti-collision-system-kavach-565956.html

 

Ashis Panigrahi Technology

Application of Digital Twin Technology

Digital Twin technology is much more than representation of 3 dimensional view. This can produce value when augmented with real time data collected from IoT devices and analysed with Machine Learning/ AI techniques. As the data is expanding exponentially with billion devices getting connected where sensors are providing reliable data on real time basis; Digital Twin technology are coming handy in analysing and assessing products, services and processes for efficiency, better maintenance, and bringing many other benefits. Since the data continues to flow, simulations made by the digital twins can learn, improve, get continuously updated on near real time basis and models can be deployed in the physical world very quickly.

This is a promising technology with a time to acceptance of 5 to 10 years as featured in Gartner’s hype cycle for emerging technology trends for 2017 (Gartner, 2017). Market forecast is to have one-half of companies using Digital Twins to improve their products, services, and to solve real life challenges like traffic management, climate changes among others in next five years or so.

What is a Digital Twin?

Digital twin is a digital representation of a physical entity or system. The object can be an actual physical assets like building or can be a product like vehicle or a city by itself. These virtual replica gives control over the product or process from the design phase to the deployment phase, hence we will see a growing demand of digital twin technology globally. Digital Twin is getting widely adopted due to multiple benefits it offers, such as real-time monitoring, reduce product defects, shorten time to the market, extend the life of assets and reduction in production cost.

Why Digital Twin technology is important?

Digital twins are powerful masterminds to drive innovation and performance. Digital twin technology helps companies improve the customer experience by better understanding customer needs, develop enhancements to existing products, operations, and services, and can even help drive the innovation of new business.

Digital twins are virtual replicas of physical devices that data scientists and IT pros can use to run simulations before actual devices are built and deployed. They are also changing how technologies such as IoT, AI and analytics are optimized. Digital twins can marry human and AI to produce something far greater and simulate complex systemswhich wasn’t possible otherwise. Also combined with AR, VR and related technologies provide a framework to overlay intelligent decision making into day-to-day operations. Digital twins offer a real-time look at what’s happening with physical assets, which can radically alleviate maintenance burdens.

Where Digital Twin technology can be used?

Electronics & Manufacturing Industry are expected to b ethe largest users of this technology. But increasingly Digital Twin technology is used in government, Automotive,  Energy and Utilities, Retail, Healthcare and many other industries. The applications range from Product Design & Development, Inventory Management, Manufacturing Process & Planning, city Planning, Traffic managements and others.

Retail Industry: During the pandemic retail industry was one of the most affected business next to travel and hospitality. Consumer experience is critical in the retail industry and Digital twin implementation played a crucial role in augmenting customer experience by creating virtual twins for customers and modelling fashions for them on it. Other benefits of Digital Twins are in the area of floor space management, security features implementation and energy management among others.

Smart Cities: Creating a replica of the physical world Digital Twin is rapidly becoming indispensable technology to visualize the city  in real-time; layered with buildings data, urban infrastructure, utilities network, traffic data and others helped city authority to take real time decisions while planning new and making adjustments to existing conditions.

Tourism: Many nations have started using Digital Twin as a tool to promote their cities to attract tourists by creating high-quality 3D models supplemented with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality applications. This virtual tourism also got a boost during COVID-19 pandemic with limited travel options for tourists.

Industry 4.0: Digital twin technology applied to in-use products provide comprehensive insights into usage patterns, workload capacity; a holistic view of the health and performance of equipment enable companies to carry out Maintenance and replenishment of spare parts to minimize time-to-service and avoid costly asset failures.

Manufacturing: Usage pattern and use feedback are incorporated into product designing where Digital twin has a significant influence simulating the next generation of products and aligning them to manufacturing pipeline.

Healthcare: Digital twin technology can be used for pre-operative planning by simulating the medical conditions, taking all medical risks into account and plan for better outcome. In addition to simulating process flows to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks.

Current challenges for adoption

Three Dimensional drawings are the foundation of Digital twin. Most of the industries are still working on two Dimensional drawings currently and adoption of Digitization is the biggest bottleneck. As number of digital Twins increases; version control and storing the up-to date replica of physical assets in digital format can be being considered as a challenge to address. Finally, as massive amounts of data being collected and utilized in Digital Twin initiatives, it has potential risk for Data security and privacy which needs to be addressed carefully and responsibly.

References: – Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends (2017). Link: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartners-top-10-technology-trends-2017/

Ashis Panigrahi Society

Strategic Imperatives for Government

Covid-19 pandemic has not only exposed how unprepared the entire world is, but also surfaced social and economic inequalities in the community. The administration and vision of all world leaders are being tested during this time. Role of independent international bodies like WHO has been doubted and there could be drastic changes going forward. Carrying out business remotely with minimum mobility and decreased levels of industrial activities have brought down pollution levels in urbanised areas. This has resulted into daily global CO2 emissions to decrease by –17%; by far the ONLY positive externality of the Covid-19 pandemic (Nature.com, 2020). New economic policies need to be established quickly to cushion the impact of declining world’s GDP as production units are severely affected by shutdown caused due to pandemic. Immediate priority for each nation is to contain the outbreak and at the same time to maintain a sustainable level of economic activities. Each nation is also constrained with technical capabilities and available capacity in terms of healthcare professionals, medical infrastructure; this is where private public partnership can come handy to address the crisis jointly.

For details please visit LinkedIn page  

Ashis Panigrahi Economics, Society, Technology

Contact Tracing & Worker Safety: two pillars of safe re-opening of economy

As world is desperately looking for a comeback on it’s economic activities, we all need to play our part by following safe distance measures and quarantine rules imposed by the respective governments. IBM has developed offerings for Worker Insight Solutions which receives inputs from optical and thermal imaging cameras, Bluetooth beacons and mobile phones to provide analytical insights to workers and supervisors for a wide range of critical use cases targeting for COVID-19 situation.

For details please visit LinkedIn page.

 

Ashis Panigrahi Pandemic

World is more connected than ever: COVID-19 and beyond

Each nation and individual needs to act responsibly; honesty, transparency, and trust are the discipline areas we need to work more and more. A strategy of reskilling programmes for workers in COVID-19 affected industries will be the key exercise immediately in hand to redeploy workers once this crisis is over. This may lead to a new way of working or doing business; and public-private partnership is utmost important. Gratitude and admiration shown towards caregivers on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak is well appreciated across the world. This demonstrates our emotional attachments during this crisis time, strengthens our unity and manifests, this not a war fought by a single nation, but all. We will overcome this situation. We are Stronger Together. Stay Positive.

For details please visit LinkedIn page