ESA Develops Zero-Debris Satellite

Space debris is defined as “All non-functional, human-made objects, including no longer functioning spacecraft or fragments of them, in orbit or reentering Earth's atmosphere.” Since the start of the space age in 1957, humankind has launched almost 50 thousand tonnes of material into space. Some of that has returned, but today about 10 thousand tonnes remain in orbit and on average one object returns to Earth every week, uncontrolled.

These numbers are rapidly increasing. More satellites have been launched in the last two years than the entire six decades of space exploration. Earth's space environment is now filled with millions of bits of fast-moving debris, threatening our future in space. A collision with a 1 cm particle travelling 10 km/s (of which there are about a million in orbit) releases the same energy as a small car crashing at 40 km/h.

If current behaviours and trends in orbit continue, crucial orbital regions will become entirely unusable. It’s time to act.

How much debris is it OK to create? Ideally, zero debris.

Building on a decade of ESA-wide collaborative work, the Agency has taken the lead in space sustainability by introducing the ‘Zero Debris approach’: ESA's bold goal to significantly limit the production of debris in Earth and Lunar orbits by 2030 for all future missions, programmes and activities.

“We are seeing a dramatically increased use of space, but still insufficient technology to prevent the risks that follow. Our aim to become debris neutral in just a few years will require clearing precious Earth orbits once a mission is complete, and if the mission fails to do this, it must be actively removed by dedicated vehicles,” explains Holger Krag, ESA's Head of Space Safety.

“We are aiming for rules that compare to every national park on Earth – what you bring in you must take with you when you leave”.

ESA sets a new standard for space exploration

As part of the Zero Debris approach, ESA has updated its debris mitigation requirements and standards that will govern how the Agency's missions are designed, built, flown and disposed of, but also setting the rules for any company or institution that works with ESA on its missions.

In Autumn 2022, a large-scale study was carried out by ESA's Concurrent Design Facility involving all ESA sites across Europe as well as some 270 ESA experts, industry, governmental agencies and academia. The study put forward eight recommendations to reach Zero Debris by 2030, which form the foundation of the recently published ‘ESA Space Debris Mitigation Requirements’.

“ESA has always complied with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requirements when it comes to space debris mitigation – and we will continue to do so,” explains Paloma Villar, Head of ESA's Independent Safety Office.

“However, with the Zero Debris approach we go further still. Our 2030 target means newer, bolder requirements and technologies are needed, and we hope that ISO – and so the global space community – will evolve in the same way.” The deal between three leaders in the European space industry—Airbus Defence and Space, OHB, and Thales Alenia Space—and the European Space Agency (ESA). It was a big step forward in getting rid of space junk. Large platforms for satellites in Low Earth orbit (LEO) that meet Zero Debris guidelines are being built thanks to these contracts.

The Zero Debris Initiative

Space junk is becoming a bigger problem, so ESA came up with the Zero Debris method. By 2030, this new standard aims to stop the creation of space junk in Earth and moon orbits. As previously stated, the Zero Debris plan calls for strict changes to be made to designs. These changes will be enforced by the Space Debris Mitigation Standard, which will be put in place in 2023. This standard, which has the support of twelve countries and many businesses, lays out the necessary changes that must be made for future ESA flights to follow these new rules for preventing debris.

Design and Collaboration

The European companies that were hired have to each come up with a platform for big LEO satellites that don’t leave any debris behind. This partnership shows that everyone in the business is committed to these sustainability goals. In the first part of the contract, the goal is to reach the System Requirement Review (SRR) level, which means finishing an initial design that takes into account important technical choices within 18 months. During Phase 2, these main contractors will work with other tech companies to get the platform ideas to the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) level.

Broader Coverage and Future Steps

ESA is expanding its attempts to design satellites with no debris to include smaller satellites like CubeSats as well as bigger ones. This all-around method makes sure that all satellites, no matter their size or orbit, help keep the space environment healthy. Through these projects, ESA shows leadership that makes it possible for the space industry in Europe and around the world to adopt environmentally friendly methods that will keep space activities safe and going for a long time. Finally, the new contracts and the collaborative nature of this project are important steps toward reaching the Zero Debris by 2030 goal. They will also start a new era of space sustainability that is important for future space operations and adventures.

About Zero Debris standards

Zero Debris standards stress reducing building and demolition waste to almost nothing. 

Important facts are:Started in Europe to make building areas more environmentally friendly.

They need things to be carefully sorted, recycled, and used again.Use cutting-edge tools for managing waste.Important because they help cut down on trash going to landfills. Help lower carbon emissions by wasting as little material as possible.They have to follow strict rules, like those for LEED approval.Legally required by local environmental rules.They encourage people to use products that are good for the environment.Push for architectural plans that take recycling at the end of life into account.Projects to get rid of all trash are in line with global environmental goals like the Paris Agreement.

Website Link : popularengineer.org

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Meta AI is now in India on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram

Meta on Monday announced the availability of its AI assistant 'Meta AI' in India on WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and meta.ai portal. With this, people can use Meta AI in feeds and chats across its apps to get things done, create content, and deep dive into topics, without having to leave the app they are using, according to a statement by the social media giant. "Meta AI, one of the world's leading AI assistants, now arrives in India on WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and meta.ai. And it's built with Meta Llama 3, our most advanced LLM to date," Meta said announcing the rollout in India in English.

Meta first announced Meta AI at last year's Connect, and since April, it has been bringing the latest version of Meta A.I built with Llama 3 to users across the world. "With our most powerful Large Language Model (LLM) under the hood, Meta AI is better than ever. We're excited to share our next-generation assistant with even more people and can't wait to see how it enhances people's lives," it said.

From asking Meta AI in WhatsApp group chat for recommendations on restaurants, to seeking ideas on places to stop on a road trip, or even asking Meta AI on the web to create a multiple choice test, Meta AI works in multiple ways for users. "Moving into your first apartment? Ask Meta AI to 'imagine' the aesthetic you want so that you can create a mood board of AI-generated images for inspiration on your furniture shopping," the Meta announcement said citing examples

Users can also access Meta AI when scrolling through Facebook feeds. "Come across a post you're interested in? You can ask Meta AI for more info right from the post. So if you see a photo of the northern lights in Iceland, you can ask Meta AI what time of year is best to check out the aurora borealis," it said. On the Meta AI's imagine feature, it said, using the word imagine while interacting with Meta AI directly or in a group chat, can help users create and share images.

Meta recently made its Llama 3-powered AI chatbot, Meta AI, available to all users in India. The robot can be found on the Meta.AI website as well as in apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook. This came after the general elections. Before, the chatbot was only available to a small group of people in a few countries.

Functionality and Accessibility
Other top chatbots in the industry, such as ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude, have features that Meta AI does as well. It lets people do many things, like writing summaries, planning workouts, coming up with cooking ideas, and writing emails. On Instagram, it can suggest related Reels, and on Facebook, it bases interactions on what’s in your feed.

Unique Features and Cultural Sensitivity
During tests, Meta AI showed bias in picture generation, often showing Indian men with turbans and creating stereotypical images of Indian settings, even though it had advanced technology. Meta is aware of these flaws and keeps saying that the model is being improved and updated all the time.

Privacy and Interaction
Meta ensures the AI chatbot doesn’t remember what happened in previous group talks beyond the current conversation. This protects user privacy. The Meta AI feature can’t be turned off completely, but users can choose not to use the robot during searches. India is a big market with 500 million WhatsApp users, so Meta’s rollout is meant to reach many people. Adding the AI to group chats makes it more useful by letting it help with things like planning trips and choosing movies. The chatbot can only understand the context of the text used during the active interaction, though.

About Llama 3-powered AI chatbot

The phrase “Llama 3-powered AI chatbot” most likely refers to an AI chatbot that is powered by Meta’s third version of Language Model for Applications (LLaMA). LLaMA is known for how well it handles natural language processing tasks. It was specially made to work well even with fewer computer resources than its predecessors. The structure of the model, which focuses on smaller parameter numbers for similar performance levels, makes it easier for a wider range of applications to be used, such as real-time chatbots. The Llama 3 variant probably has better language understanding and response generation skills. This keeps Meta’s privacy-focused method by preventing personal data from being trained accidentally.

Website Link : popularengineer.org

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Pushpak – ISRO’s Reusable Launch Vehicle, Clears Landing Test

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully carried out the third Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Landing Experiment (LEX) on June 23 at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) in Chitradurga, Karnataka. This was a big step forward in space technology. As part of a larger attempt to make a fully reusable space vehicle, this project will change how people travel to space and how satellites are placed.

India’s space agency on Sunday conducted a third successful test flight of an experimental reusable launch vehicle (RLV), evaluating its endurance against more challenging wind conditions than it had encountered during its second test flight three months ago. The Indian Space Research Organisation said it had achieved “a third consecutive success” in a landing experiment with the RLV — a self-flying winged vehicle designed to execute missions in low Earth orbit and return to land like an aircraft

In each landing experiment, an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter ferried the RLV to an altitude of about 4.5km where the RLV was activated and Isro engineers evaluated its capacity to approach and make a high-precision landing on a runway also about 4.5km away. Sunday’s flight test has demonstrated the RLV’s landing capability “under more challenging release conditions and more severe wind conditions” than the RLV encountered during the second flight test on March 22 this year, Isro said.

This mission simulated the approach and landing interface and high-speed landing conditions for a vehicle returning from space,” Isro said. The third RLV test flight reused the winged body and flight systems from the first test flight in April 2023 and the second test flight in March, demonstrating the vehicle’s capability to reuse flight systems for multiple missions.

The RLV named Pushpak executed cross-range correction manoeuvres, approached the runway, and performed a precise horizontal landing along the runway centreline, the agency said. Due to the RLV’s aerodynamic configuration, the landing speed exceeded 320kmph, compared to 260kmph for a typical commercial aircraft and 280kmph for a fighter aircraft.

After the touchdown, a brake parachute reduced the vehicle’s speed to 100kmph after which the landing gear brakes were activated for further deceleration. During this ground roll phase, Isro said, Pushpak uses its rudder and nose wheel steering system to maintain a stable and precise ground roll. Aerospace engineers say the RLV which combines the complexity of both launch vehicles and aircraft is intended to reduce the cost of launching satellites that have traditionally been ferried into space by single-use rockets.

Context and Objective

The experiment used a winged car called “Pushpak,” which was dropped from a Chinook helicopter of the Indian Air Force from a height of 4.5 km. The vehicle then found its way to an exact landing on the centerline of the runway, even though the conditions were tougher than in previous tests. The goal of this test, called LEX-03, was to show that ISRO can still do independent landings even when conditions are more difficult, like when there is a lot of cross-range and strong winds.

Technical Highlights and Achievements

During the test, important advances in aircraft technology were shown, such as:

Self-Navigation and Landing: Pushpak did cross-range correction maneuvers from a launching point 4.5 km away, showing improved guidance, navigation, and control systems.
High-Speed Landing: The vehicle landed at over 320 km/h, much faster than a regular airplane. This shows how difficult it is to make space-entry vehicles that are both aerodynamically and structurally.

Advanced Sensor Integration: The fact that inertial sensors, radar altimeters, and the NavIC could work together to make exact navigation and landing possible shows how advanced ISRO’s aerospace technology is.
Vehicle Recovery and Reusability:After landing, the vehicle showed good braking by using its brake parachute and landing gear brakes, which is important for reusability. Notably, the winged body and flying systems from the previous LEX-02 mission were used without any changes. This shows that the launch vehicle parts are durable and can be used again.

Implications for Future Space Missions

The success of the RLV-LEX-03 is a big step toward the creation of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) technology, which will allow space missions to happen more often and for less money. The improvements in autonomous guiding algorithms and sensor fusion technology that were proven in this mission are very important for future Orbital Re-entry Missions, which need to have safe and accurate return paths.

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#isro
#reusablelaunchvehicle
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Can AI Detect Parkinson’s Disease Early?

A groundbreaking study from University College London and University Medical Center Goettingen, which was published in the journal Nature Communications, describes a new blood test that can detect Parkinson’s disease about seven years before any signs show up. Using artificial intelligence (AI AI), this test looks for certain signs in the blood. This is a big step forward in finding diseases early and getting them treated.

Researchers were most interested in people who had Rapid Eye Movement Disorder (iRBD), a disease in which people act out their dreams. About 75% to 80% of people with iRBD will develop synucleinopathies like Parkinson’s. These are diseases that are caused by too much alpha-synuclein protein building up in the brain. Using a machine-learning tool, the test was able to find 79% of people with iRBD who had biomarker profiles that pointed to Parkinson’s. The AI looked at eight blood-based signs and correctly predicted that 16 people would get Parkinson’s disease seven years before they did. Follow-ups with these people over time have proven that the test is valid.

The acting editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, talked about how the biomarker test could change diagnosis, treatment, and study in neurodegenerative conditions. Dr. Michael Bartl also said that the test not only predicts when Parkinson’s will start, but also finds connections between the disease and biological processes like inflammation and protein breakdown, which could lead to new treatment targets. But, as many experts have said, this new development shows a lot of promise. To fully enjoy its benefits, however, we need to pay close attention to its validation, ethics issues, and clinical integration.

At this point, diagnosing Parkinson’s disease requires a combination of brain tests, medical history, and clinical evaluations. Imaging tests like the DaTscan are also used to help make the diagnosis. Even with these steps, there is still a big need to find biological markers that can predict disease and help find it faster and more accurately.

Parkinson’s disease was named after James Parkinson, who first wrote about it in 1817. Mood problems are caused by the brain’s lack of dopamine release. Oddly enough, losing the ability to smell often comes before motor signs. Most people are diagnosed after they turn 60, but 4% are diagnosed before they turn 50. About 10% of cases are caused by genetics. The sickness can’t be stopped, but it can be slowed down. Tremors are not necessary for identification, despite what most people think. Parkinson’s disease makes it twice as likely to fall, which raises the risk of getting hurt badly. Pesticides and some metals can make you more likely to get Parkinson’s. On the other hand, caffeine may lower the chance.

Website Link: popularengineer.org

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#earlydetection
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Will Asteroid 2024 LZ4 Pose a Threat to Earth?

NASA has recently been keeping an eye on three asteroids that are moving toward Earth. It is important to note that Asteroid 2024 LZ4 will pass closer to Earth than the Moon, by 173,000 miles. Because it is so close, it stands out even more, but because it is only 72 feet long, about the length of an airplane, it has not been labeled as a possibly dangerous object.


Understanding Near-Earth Objects (NEOs)

Neoasteroids are asteroids that come close to Earth on their paths. Most asteroids are in the belt between Mars and Jupiter, but those close to Earth are closely watched because they could be dangerous.

Criteria for “Potentially Hazardous” Classification

An asteroid is considered possibly dangerous if it is within 4.6 million miles of Earth and is more than 150 meters across. Even though it is close, asteroid 2024 LZ4 doesn’t meet these requirements because it is too small. NASA and other space agencies keep a close eye on these objects in space to figure out their paths and the chances of them hitting Earth. Monitoring is essential for protecting the world, including observing and making predictions.

Historical Impacts and Significance

Asteroids have had big effects on Earth in the past. Famously, the Chicxulub impactor is thought to have wiped out all dinosaurs 66 million years ago. More recently, smaller asteroids like the one that exploded over Berlin in January 2023 show how important it is to keep an eye on these things.

About asteroid belt

Composition and Mass Distribution: The asteroid belt, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, contains millions of asteroids but accounts for less than a thousandth of Earth’s mass. The largest object in the belt, Ceres, was classified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Notably, 50% of the belt’s total mass is concentrated in just four objects: Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea.

Navigation and Population Density: In spite of what most people think, the asteroid belt doesn’t have many people in it, which makes it a pretty safe place for spaceships to travel. The huge gaps between asteroids make it less likely that missions traveling through the area will collide with them.

Origins and Exploration: Studies show that the asteroid belt is a leftover piece of the early solar system. Jupiter’s strong gravity keeps these pieces from coming together to form a planet. There haven’t been any trips that were only meant to explore the asteroid belt, but many have gone through it on their way to other places in the solar system, like the Dawn mission. Many different temperatures can be found inside the belt, ranging from -100°C to 30°C.

About Asteroid 2024 LZ4

Asteroid 2024 LZ4 is only about 72 feet wide, which is about the size of an airplane. Because of its size, it is not very scary. It will be only 173,000 miles away from Earth as it travels at 77,109 kilometers per hour (21.42 kilometers per second). This is compared to the usual distance between Earth and the Moon, which is about 239,000 miles (485 km).

Website Link : popularengineer.org

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What Do India’s New Mars Craters Reveal?

The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad has made a big find on Mars, they have found three new craters in the Tharsis volcanic region. This accomplishment shows how India is making more and more advances in the study of planets.

Naming of the New Martian Craters

The International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has given these craters the names Lal, Mursan, and Hilsa after they were found. These names honor India’s historical and personal ties, adding to the country’s legacy of representation in space travel. Details on the Named CratersLal Crater: It is 65 km across and was named after early Indian geophysicist Prof. Devendra Lal, who was also the head of PRL. It stands out because it is covered in a lot of lava.

Mursan Crater: This is a smaller crater on the eastern edge of Lal Crater. It is about 10 km wide. It was named after a town in Uttar Pradesh to show how different India’s landscapes are.Hilsa Crater: It is about 10 km across and is on the western edge of Lal Crater. Its name comes from a town in Bihar, which is another example of a place on Mars.

Scientific Significance of Lal Crater

The Lal Crater is amazing not only because of its size but also because of what it means for science. Its whole surface is covered with lava, but SHARAD/MRO underground radar found a 45-meter-thick layer of sedimentary rock below it. This finding supports the idea that Mars once had a lot of water because it shows that water has flowed there in the past.

Further Insights from Mursan and Hilsa Craters

Due to their closeness to Lal, the Mursan and Hilsa craters offer a unique chance to study how the environment has changed over time. Their makeup and how they relate to each other show that the Lal Crater’s material filling happens in waves, suggesting that Mars’s surface and atmosphere are changing quickly.

Radar data from NASA's SHARAD instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed a 45-meter thick sedimentary deposit beneath Lal Crater, indicating that water once flowed on Mars.Bolides are any falling body such as a meteorite and are commonly made of rock, ice, or a combination of rock and ice. When a bolide collides with a planet, it produces an impact crater.

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Several parts of Delhi reel under 2-hour power outage after snag at sub-station in UP

Delhi Power Minister Atishi said the restoration process has begun and electricity is now gradually returning to different areas of the national capital.Reeling under a double whammy of temperatures over 42 degrees Celsius and a water crisis, Delhi saw a massive power outage that lasted nearly two hours on Tuesday afternoon after a snag at a sub-station of the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

Power Minister Atishi said several parts of East, Southeast and Central Delhi — including water treatment plants (WTPs) — were affected. Officials said the Delhi Secretariat, the Delhi Transport Corporation headquarters at IP Estate, and other government buildings in ITO, as well as areas such as Laxmi Nagar, Sarita Vihar, Sukhdev Vihar, Ashram, Old Delhi, Shahdara, Seelampur, Trilokpuri, Patparganj, Mayur Vihar, Lajpat Nagar, Jamia, Narela, Model Town, Rohini, Gopalpur, Sabzi Mandi, Wazirpur and Kashmere Gate, were also impacted.

Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Atishi hit out at the Centre and said “it is very worrying that the national power management system has failed today”. “There was a power outage in many parts of Delhi from 2.11 pm. This is due to a fire at the substation of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd in Mandola, UP. Delhi receives 1,200 MW of power from this sub-station…,” she said. Atishi added, “I am seeking time to meet the newly appointed Power Minister Manohar Lal (Khattar) ji and the PGCIL chairman today because it is very serious… the central government runs the power transmission system of the entire country.”

“WTPs that saw power cuts are Sonia Vihar, Bhagirathi, Wazirabad and Chandrawal… and there was no power here from 2.11 pm… so, WTPs are not working… we are in touch with the PGCIL, they are working on restoration of the sub-station,” added the minister. However, UP government officials denied there was any fire. “It was not a fire. There was a spark in one of the isolators of our system which caused the problem in the electricity supply. It happened around 2.10 pm and it was fixed by 3 pm. Supply has been restored and around 1,400 MW of electricity is being supplied to Delhi from our Mandola sub-station in Ghaziabad,” said A K Mishra, Executive Director, Northern Region-1, Power Grid.

Atishi also wrote a letter to Khattar, in which she said Delhi, besides being the national capital and housing political leaders and the entire Union government machinery, is also the home of more than 3 crore people. “In this scenario, it is a matter of grave concern that the failure of the national grid caused a power outage of two hours in the national capital. Due to the prevailing heatwave conditions, the need for uninterrupted electricity supply to Delhi is of paramount concern,” she wrote. Atishi said the Delhi government and discoms worked in tandem with other power sources to restore power, and electricity gradually returned to different areas. In the city, Delhi Transco Limited maintains the high-tension transmissions and discoms maintain power distribution to consumers. “PGCIL and NTPC have a national power grid system… Delhi has very limited power production… Delhi receives electricity from different parts of the states through NTPC and PGCIL… and Delhi Transco Limited transfers the power through high-tension wires situated in different areas and finally, the consumers get electricity through our three power distribution companies,” Atishi explained.

The minister further said the Delhi government tried to provide 24-hour electricity despite peak power demand soaring above the 8,000 MW mark. “A few weeks ago, the peak power demand made history by going above 8,000 MW but there were neither blackouts nor any major power failures… Today, massive power cuts have happened because of the national power grid system’s failure…,” she said.

Meanwhile, a senior DTL official confirmed that power across the city has been restored.

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Corporate responsibility in the era of climate change challenges and solutions

We are treating climate change as if it is something outside of us, as if some asteroid from outer space came over and delivered all the gases and trapped all the heat in our atmosphere. Here are some corporate responsibilies in the era of climate change challenges and solutions.

When we talk of climate change, the word ‘anthropogenic’ is the most important. It’s a basic thing we give the least attention to. We are treating climate change as if it is something outside of us as if some asteroid from outer space came over and delivered all the gases and trapped all the heat in our atmosphere. I want all of us to pay attention to the fact that we have done it. It is our action, and every action is representative of the state of the matter.We are in a particular state internally, and therefore we are doing what we are doing externally.

Corporations are merely a conglomeration of people. Corporations are made up of people making the decisions. You need individuals to make the changes and the decisions to make the changes.

We blame marketing for being a ubiquitous propaganda designed by some of the brightest minds where products tend to be addictive, subsidised or so widely incorporated with it there is evidence on how the various research have been hidden for decades which showed that the colossal corporations knew the harmful effects of their products, but chose to profit from them.

We blame companies trying to "induce demand" in society through marketing that makes them feel like they are missing something they need. People generally don't connect their specific decisions with the impact that decision will have when millions of others do the same. Fast fashion is a good example where people feel like they look outdated or poor because they are not showing up in the current trends. This plays to the human desire to be part of the crowd and not left behind. Companies can do this because there are positive economic benefits and no systemic reputational or regulatory barriers.

But, it shouldn't be on a corporation, it should be on the behaviour and choice of the oblivious and rather pompous consumer.What will happen is that there is this factory, and this factory is harming the health of the local environment. But people have been taught that comfort and greed are more important, more important than the health of the environment. That needs to change.

People don't want orangutans dying but they still buy palm oil products. Actual success has to come from systemic transformation. We can't pin the onus on one party in a decentralised system, there needs to be truly awake and informed coordination between producers and consumers. If consumers demand something that's desire-driven, likely to devastate the mental peace of the masses, or is truly atrocious for the environment, companies will provide it.

It is not the ‘x’ level of production that we need. We need the production of the right stuff in the right quantity. It is not just consumption that we need. It makes no sense to say that a particular nation consumes so much electricity per year, per capita; therefore, that country is a developed one. What do you use that electricity for? For whom is the electricity used? What does the consumer of electricity do with that electricity? That's the indicator of wellness, growth, everything. That particular country consumes so much coal, what do you use the coal for? 

If you have an industry that is, very careful, with love and wisdom-manufacturing stuff or providing services that are useful to everybody, then won’t people be eager to work there? And obviously, it’s not that such an industry will not make profits. If it is providing you with something that you need, why won’t it make a profit? It would make profits first, and secondly, people who are working there would have something
real to work for. Otherwise, you know how the normal employee feels in the average firm.

A lot of times, material profits do bring about an enhancement in the quality of life of the profiteer, of the one who is making the profit. But, equally, more often than not, profits
fail to bring about the inner change that was required of them. One doesn’t just go about trying for profits, harvesting profits for nothing. One wants something through those profits. It is important to keep checking whether that which we want from profits is indeed being delivered by the profits. So that’s the primary profit- the profit beyond profits. It needs to be kept in mind.

We are not saying that the economy is evil and it needs to be destroyed. We are saying ‘we need economics'. Because economics is ultimately for the welfare of human beings. Therefore, we need to measure our inner welfare as a very important, the most important thing in economics. We are talking of that kind of economics; we are talking of sensible economics.We need an entire paradigm shift towards a conscious and illuminated-driven market, which is only possible through Vedanta, and so the onus is on everybody because everybody has to be involved in it.

The transition to such a model is something that has to happen at the societal level, and thinking either individuals or corporations can sit it out is naive and ultimately counterproductive. We as a species need to look at the world that we are apart of with the mindset of cultivation rather than consumption, and thats not something that either businesses or consumers can do in isolation.

When it comes to the question regarding corporates—that students graduate and then they serve the same corporations that are directly or indirectly responsible for much of the tragedy today unfolding on this planet—well, the answer should be obvious. Before the students sit for their placements, there has to be a sufficiently long workshop or a time sterling course that deals with the various industries, and if needed, takes up case studies about regular employers. Why not?

Don't we take up case studies that deal with specific companies? But there we want to know how well they are doing in their marketing strategy, how their SHRM is proceeding, or what kind of cost accounting or financial management systems do they use.

We should also have case studies that take up, for example, their environmental record. Students should know the firm that they are opting for, and to what extent is it life-friendly.
To what extent is your employee consciousness friendly, students should know that. But that kind of case study is neither written nor taught. Whereas it should be a very important thing.



Website Link : popularengineer.org

#climateaction
#sustainablebusiness
#climateresponsibility
#greenbiz
#csr
#climateleadership
#netzero
#ecofriendly
#carbonneutral
#greeneconomy

A chilling near-miss shows how today’s digital infrastructure is vulnerable

Few inventions in history have been as important for human civilisation and as poorly understood as the Internet. It developed not as a centrally planned system but as a patchwork of devices and networks connected by makeshift interfaces. Decentralisation makes it possible to run such a complex system. But every so often, there comes a chilling reminder that the whole edifice is uncomfortably precarious.

On March 29th a lone security researcher announced that he had discovered, largely by chance, a secret backdoor in XZ Utils. This obscure but vital piece of software is incorporated into the Linux operating systems that control the world’s internet servers. Had the backdoor not been spotted in time, everything from critical national infrastructure to the website hosting your cat pictures would have been vulnerable.


The backdoor was implanted by an anonymous contributor who had won the trust of other coders by making helpful contributions for over two years. That patience and diligence bears the fingerprints of a state intelligence agency. Such large-scale “supply chain" attacks—which target not individual devices or networks, but the underlying software and hardware that they rely on—are becoming more frequent. In 2019-20 the SVR, Russia’s foreign-intelligence agency, penetrated American-government networks by compromising a network-management platform called SolarWinds Orion. More recently Chinese state hackers modified the firmware of Cisco routers to gain access to economic, commercial and military targets in America and Japan.

The internet is inherently vulnerable to schemes like the XZ Utils backdoor. Like so much else that it relies on, this program is open-source—which means that its code is publicly available; rather like Wikipedia, changes to it can be suggested by anyone. The people who maintain open-source code often do so in their spare time. A headline from 2014, after the uncovering of a catastrophic vulnerability in OpenSSL, a tool widely used for secure communication, and which had a budget of just $2,000, captured the absurdity of the situation: “The Internet Is Being Protected By Two Guys Named Steve."

It is tempting to assume that the solution lies in establishing central control, either by states or companies. In fact, history suggests that closed-source software is no more secure than is the open-source type. Only this week America’s Cyber Safety Review Board, a federal body, rebuked Microsoft for woeful security standards that allowed Russia to steal a signing key—“the cryptographic equivalent of crown jewels for any cloud service provider". This gave it sweeping access to data. By comparison, open-source software holds many advantages because it allows for collective scrutiny and accountability.

The way forward therefore is to make the most of open-source, while easing the huge burden it places on a small number of unpaid, often harried individuals. Technology can help, too. Let’s Encrypt, a non-profit, has made the internet safer over the past decade by using clever software to make it simple to encrypt users’ connections to websites. More advanced artificial intelligence might eventually be able to spot anomalies in millions of lines of code at a stroke. Other fixes are regulatory. America’s cyber strategy, published last year, makes clear that the responsibility for failures should lie not with open-source developers but “the stakeholders most capable of taking action to prevent bad outcomes".

In practice that means governments and tech giants, both of which benefit enormously from free software libraries. Both should expand funding for and co-operation with non-profit institutions, like the Open Source Initiative and the Linux Foundation, which support the open-source ecosystem. The New Responsibility Foundation, a German think-tank, suggests that governments might, for example, allow employees to contribute to open-source software in their spare time and ease laws that criminalise “white hat" or ethical hacking.

They should act quickly. The XZ Utils backdoor is thought to be the first publicly discovered supply-chain attack against a crucial piece of open-source software. But that does not mean it was the first attempt. Nor is it likely to be the last.

Website Link : popularengineer.org

#cybersecurity
#digitalinfrastructure
#criticalinfrastructure
#cyberattack
#techvulnerability
#networksecurity
#digitalsafety
#databreach
#cyberdefense
#internetsecurity

Consumers expect significant AI role in future daily life: Ericsson report

 Four out of five consumers will use artificial intelligence to make life-altering decisions by 2030. Moreover, 80 per cent of consumers could use AI-powered simulations in the next decade for life-altering decisions such as buying property, stocks, and more. Further, consumers could also use AI health simulations for making lifestyle changes. These are some of the insights from Ericsson Consumer Lab’s “10 Hot Consumer Trends 2030s - the AI-Powered Future” report.

The report stated that more than 60 per cent of AI technology users believe that they will not have full control over how AI will impact their lives by 2030. The figure further rises to 70 per cent for those who are sceptical about the role of AI in daily lives. While a few stated that the usage pattern of AI technology will see fragmentation in the future, more than 95 per cent of respondents believe that at least some of the AI trends will turn into reality.

Based on the responses, the report draws a few trends from the AI space that could become a reality by 2030s. Here are the details: Artificial shoppers: 75 per cent of respondents believe that AI shopping assistants will replace advertisements and the big technology companies will use these AI-powered assistants to influence consumer purchases.Generative Fashion: According to the report, six out of ten respondents agreed that humans in 2030s will use plastic surgeries to achieve the AI-generated beauty standards.Life simulations: 

Almost half of the respondents stated that users will use AI-powered simulations to reduce uncertainties in daily life. For example, the report said that humans of 2030s might simulate marriages for future changes and divorce.AI-assisted childcare: The report stated that AI will play a major role in assisting child care to improve children’s skills. However, 74 per cent of respondents said AI assistance in child care will reduce creative and emotional intelligence in children.AI in employment: AI might improve the performance and efficiency in workspaces. Additionally, 67 per cent early adopters of AI technology believe that AI will be necessary to get job positions.Co-existence with AI: The report stated that in future, as AIs will start getting more interconnected with each other, co-existance with AI will become difficult for humans. This argument was supported by 59 per cent of respondents.

Almost half of the respondents stated that users will use AI-powered simulations to reduce uncertainties in daily life. For example, the report said that humans of 2030s might simulate marriages for future changes and divorce.AI-assisted childcare: The report stated that AI will play a major role in assisting child care to improve children’s skills. However, 74 per cent of respondents said AI assistance in child care will reduce creative and emotional intelligence in children.AI in employment: AI might improve the performance and efficiency in workspaces. Additionally, 67 per cent early adopters of AI technology believe that AI will be necessary to get job positions.Co-existence with AI: The report stated that in future, as AIs will start getting more interconnected with each other, co-existance with AI will become difficult for humans. This argument was supported by 59 per cent of respondents.

While these AI trends paint a mixed future of AI technology, majority of the participants in the research said that AI regulations in the future will allow citizens to opt-out of using AI.
Ericsson ConsumerLab said that it took input from 6,500 early adopters of the AI technology across 13 different cities globally to draw conclusions regarding how AI will affect the consumer by 2030. The early adopters of this technology were asked to evaluate 120 digital service ideas across 15 areas, ranging from fashion and entertainment to working life and simulations.

Website Link : popularengineer.org

#consumerexpectations
#ai 

#future
#dailylife
#ericssonreport
#technology
#innovation
#digitalization
#automation
#smartdevices

The case for international healthcare corridors

Successful Healthcare Corridors will balance demand and supply of healthcare products and services between the two countries and in doing so will positively impact economic growth within the two countries and encourage bilateral trade.

The world is going through a Global Healthcare Crisis where healthcare systems and institutions are experiencing fault lines and breakdowns like never before. The triggers for this are many but the consequences are drastic for both patients and providers alike. Some key negative impacts of decades of activities are a lack of clinicians where they are needed most, clinician burnout and quitting at unprecedented rates, lack of access to medication due to supply chain issues & nationalism, differing regulatory frameworks, and lack of data transparency between countries for global population health issues.

It will take significant efforts on the part of countries to overcome these challenges and navigate national health systems to a place where population health can thrive and there is a balance between demand and supply of skilled labour, products and services. No one nation can produce all healthcare products and services needed by its citizens by itself. However, given the geopolitical complexity of current times, it is also not wise to partner strongly with regions and countries with whom principles are not aligned.

It will take significant efforts on the part of countries to overcome these challenges and navigate national health systems to a place where population health can thrive and there is a balance between demand and supply of skilled labour, products and services. No one nation can produce all healthcare products and services needed by its citizens by itself. However, given the geopolitical complexity of current times, it is also not wise to partner strongly with regions and countries with whom principles are not aligned.

A ‘Healthcare Corridor’ between two or more countries may be defined as an integrated & interdependent system of Health & Wellness related design, innovation, manufacturing, and other services that are developed within a designated industrial cluster, within defined healthcare economic zones between the two or more countries. Successful Healthcare Corridors will balance demand and supply of healthcare products and services between the two countries and in doing so will positively impact economic growth within the two countries and encourage bilateral trade, in addition to promoting the well-being and health of the people at large in the countries in the corridor.

The countries engaged in Healthcare Corridor development should pay close attention to the healthcare and economic needs across the borders and come to a common understanding and agreement on policies, investments, and metrics of success that can be measured. With this approach, there are higher chances of success and strengthening of political and business relations between the countries involved. Of course, a lot of the usual challenges involved in trade agreements are also applicable to these corridors. Some of them have to do with the balance between industrial policy and free trade, for example. Questions like the following are indeed tricky and have to be tackled case by case: To what extent should we allow for foreign healthcare workers to enter our country so that our local healthcare workers do not lose their jobs or face salary cuts or get disincentivized to pursue the profession? To what extent should we allow our own workers to go abroad, given the acute shortage of such workers in our country?
Setting Up for Success

To enable the development of a strong ‘Healthcare Corridor’ between the countries it is important that the governments involved understand what level of confidence private investors have in bilateral trade and investments across the two countries. What are the challenges and key reasons for failure in the past if any? Can these challenges be mitigated with policy efforts or with investments? Can certain initiatives be launched with haste to address burning topics across the countries? Let us consider an example across the US/India in the healthcare sector:

USA is facing a shortage of clinicians due to multiple reasons including clinician burnout, longevity, strikes and clinicians leaving the profession for other professions like entrepreneurship. India on the other hand has a very young labour force that is well educated and trained. In addition, the Indian government is investing in medical, paramedical, clinical and other healthcare education extensively. Given this situation, a dedicated ‘Healthcare Corridor’ could work to enable special clinician Visas for Indian clinicians in the U.S. to meet its population health needs. This would be a policy and immigration-focused solution and can be made time-bound or number-bound based on the needs of US healthcare.
Monitoring Performance

Over time a few simple metrics can help monitor the health (pun intended) of the “Healthcare Corridor” between any two countries. These metrics can be simple like Ease of Regulatory Approval for medical products, Political Stability, Access to talent in healthcare, Access to capital for healthcare investments and special immigration/visas for healthcare professionals needed across the two countries. It is important to get feedback from industry leaders on these metrics and not just from government officials to ensure that trade is indeed flourishing within the ‘Healthcare Corridor’.

Website Link :popularengineer.org

#healthcorridors
#globalhealthcare
#medicaltourism
#healthdiplomacy
#healthpartnerships
#internationalmedicine
#healthcareaccess
#healthinnovation
#healthcollaboration
#globalmedicine