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PLUGGED_IN, A technical club of NIT 

Rourkela aims at keeping pace to the 

scorching technology by not only helping 

tech-lovers to understand recent 

electronic gadgets but also encouraging 

them towards culturing their own ideas. 

This issue of TECHXPLORER aims to drive 

you to a tryst with recent technological 

advancements, updates and must know 

tech stuff for engineers. 

IN THIS ISSUE 

The team PLUGGED_IN has always 

believed in penetrative ventures from 

conducting various workshops on the 

genres shown in the pic to organising 

relevant competitions as an optimal way to 

help people to embrace the recent era 

developments and their concepts. Our 

motto INNOVATION, IMAGINATION AND 

APPLICATION itself accounts for our 

accountability to Engineering. Products are 

said to be engineered when a necessity 

gives birth to an idea leading to an 

innovation which requires passion and 

compliance to the same. 

LET’S AIM BEYOND, LET’S GROW DENSER BEING DOWN TO EARTH. THE WORLD RELIES ON ENGINEERS. JOIN 

AND SUPPORT US. 

TEAM PLUGGED_IN

From the desk of Prof. P.K Sahu, EE Dept. 

I am delighted to note that like previous years, pLuGgeD_iN, NIT, 

Rourkela is bringing out a souvenir in this year as well, on the occasion 

of INNOVISION 16. 

The technical festival ushers the achievements and thus finds a better path 

to build the carrier of young talents. I am very happy to know that the 

organizers on behalf of the plugged_in club have come up with the second 

issue of TECHXPLORER and tech events to lead students to illuminate 

the INNOVISION atmosphere by virtue of their deliberations of 

innovative thoughts. 

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to one and all for their strong 

desire and effort to take part in the event and to make it a memorable one. 

I also like to offer my deep appreciation for the organizing and steering 

committee members of the club who have tried hard to give new tastes in 

promoting technical ideas. 

TECHXPLORER ISSUE 2-2016

From the desk of VP Technical Society, SAC 

It is our pleasure to inform you that pLuGgeD_iN club has come up with the second 

issue of TECHXPLORER based on 'Recent Trends in Science & Technology' in 

national level annual Techno-management festival (INNOVISION'16) organized by 

Technical Society, Student Activity Centre, NIT Rourkela. 

Technical Society is one of the most active societies in Student Activity Centre, NIT 

Rourkela with eighteen Satellite Clubs under its auspices. The aim of this society is 

to promote and encourage technical innovation and entrepreneurship among students 

by organizing modelling-workshops, Technical Seminars, Training Courses etc. 

Followings are the subject areas where the satellite clubs of Technical society are 

involved at present: Astrophysics, Automobile, Aerospace, Robotics, Fluid 

Dynamics, Software, Infrastructure, Mathematics, Business Management and 

Entrepreneurship. 


MILES TO GO. 

A GLIMPSE OF OUR JOURNEY 

In order to fulfil the aim of 

the club and for benefit of 

the students, right from the 

inception in march, 2014 our 

club organized some events 

and workshops: 

PLC WORKSHOP (11th April, 

2015) 

Organized 'A One Day 

Workshop on PLC’ in which all 

the students of NIT, Rourkela 

are cordially invited to attend 

this workshop. There was a 

Tutorial Lecture on the basic 

knowledge of PLC, the 

primary components, 

knowledge about the 

software and hardware used 

in PLC and after that each 

participant performed a 

Hands-On-Session on PLC kit. 

LABVIEW (10 th Sept, 2015) 

PLugGeD_iN club conducted 

a workshop on Lab View and 

Hardware Interfacing with 

the technical collaboration of 

National Instrument. The 

whole technical session went 

on with the Theme of real 

time 

application 

developments using lab view. 

TECHXPLORER 1 ST 

ISSUE LAUNCH (2015) 

MATLAB (31st October, 

2015) 

"A Technical Session on 

MATLAB & SIMULINK" - 

Basics of Simulation & 

Hardware Interfacing with 

MATLAB. 

This session was conducted 

on with the technical 

collaboration of 'ELMAX 

Projects & Services Pvt. Ltd.' 

and 'MATHWORKS’. Expert 

Engineers from MATLAB 

demonstrated 

the 

fundamental concepts of 

MATLAB Programming and 

Simulation on Electronics 

Systems 

and 

Communications. 

D.S.I (1st November, 2015) 

D.S.I stands for Design, 

Simulation 

& 

Implementation. The event 

was the on-spot Analog & 

Digital Circuit Design Contest. 

Simulation was done in 

Multisim/Proteus (Simulation 

Tool) and The Final Round 

was the hardware 

implementation. 

BeyonDuino workshop (9th 

& 10th April, 2016) 

Days Workshop cum 

Training Course on 

'Embedded System Design 

using ‘BeyonDuino’. This 

workshop was conducted by 

CEDT (Centre for Electronics 

Design & Technology) and 

TI-CEPD (Texas Instruments 

- Center for Embedded 

Product Design) under the 

supervision of Prof. D. V. 

Gadre, Director of CEDT & 

TI-CEPD. 


BISWARAJ SAHU 

akhil penta 

ankit sharma 

sambeet sahoo 

EDITORIAL TEAM 

ISSUE 

TECHXPLORER 

2

MOTION SENSING LIGHTS AND BURGLAR ALARMS

TAKING A LEAP WITH THE 

FLEXIBLE LITHIUM ION 

BATTERY 

KOKKU SUDHEER 

A new bendable lithium-ion 

battery that can flex and twist 

could power wearable devices 

and one day be used to develop 

a flexible smartphone, 

according to Panasonic, which is 

developing the new battery. 

Although it's still in the early 

stages of development, the 

battery already has been tested 

to withstand twists, bends and 

other deformations while 

maintaining its ability to hold a 

charge, according to Panasonic. 

In contrast, a regular lithium-ion 

battery, commonly used in 

smartphones and other 

gadgets, can degrade when it is 

deformed, thus shortening the 

device's operating time, the 

company said. 

The battery was unveiled earlier 

this month during the annual 

Combined Exhibition of 

Advanced Technologies 

(CEATEC), a technology fair held 

from Oct. 4 to Oct. 7 in Japan. 

Lithium-ion batteries can be 

highly volatile if they 

malfunction, as was the case 

with the Samsung Galaxy Note 

7, which was plagued by battery 

problems that caused them to 

overheat and sometimes 

explode. Faulty batteries can 

catch fire when they are 

overcharged, because the 

lithium ions can collect in one 

spot and be deposited as 

metallic lithium. If this happens, 

the heat from the overcharging 

can cause oxygen bubbles to 

form, which are highly reactive 

with metallic lithium. If they 

combine, this can lead to an 

explosion. 

Panasonic's bendable battery 

uses "a newly developed 

laminated outer body and 

internal structure" that the 

company said makes it difficult 

for the battery to leak or 

overheat. With this new casing 

and internal wiring, the battery 

is both safer and more reliable 

for wearable tech devices, the 

company said. 

The bendable battery is just 

0.02 inches (0.55 millimeters) 

thick, and was able to withstand 

being bent so that the curve of 

the battery has a radius of 

25mm, and being twisted up to 

25 degrees in tests, according to 

Panasonic. The company noted 

that the capacity of these 

batteries is still small — they 

can hold a charge between 17.5 

mAh (for the smallest size) and 

60 mAh (for the largest). 

Though further development is 

needed before the battery will 

be ready for use in 

smartphones, the invention 

could be suitable for low-power 

devices such as smart cards or 

smart clothing, Panasonic said. 

"When used in card devices 

such as smart cards and card 

keys that work on batteries, as 

well as body-worn devices and 

smart clothing, this battery can 

retain its characteristics even if 

the device is frequently bent or 

twisted," the company said in a 

statement. 

Though samples of the battery 

were on display at the 

conference and sample 

shipments are scheduled for the 

end of the month, Panasonic 

said mass production will 

require further product 

development 

TECHXPLORER 1 ISSUE 2-2016

TECH TURNS TO 

BIOLOGY AS DATA 

STORAGE NEEDS 

EXPLODE 

ANKIT SHARMA 

A bioengineer and geneticist at 

Harvard’s Wyss Institute have 

successfully stored 5.5 petabits 

of data — around 700 terabytes 

— in a single gram of DNA, 

smashing the previous DNA 

data density record by a 

thousand times. 

The work, carried out by George 

Church and Sri Kosuri, basically 

treats DNA as just 

another digital storage 

device. Instead of binary 

data being encoded as 

magnetic regions on a 

hard drive platter, strands 

of DNA that store 96 bits 

are synthesized, with 

each of the bases 

(TGAC) representing a 

binary value (T and G = 

1, A and C = 0). 

To read the data stored in 

DNA, you simply sequence it — 

just as if you were sequencing 

the human genome — and 

convert each of the TGAC bases 

back into binary. To aid with 

sequencing, each strand of DNA 

has a 19-bit address block at the 

start — so a whole vat of DNA 

can be sequenced out of order, 

and then sorted into usable data 

using the addresses 

Scientists have been eyeing up 

DNA as a potential storage 

medium for a long time, for 

three very good reasons: It’s 

incredibly dense (you can store 

one bit per base, and a base is 

only a few atoms large); it’s 

volumetric (beaker) rather than 

planar (hard disk); and it’s 

incredibly stable — where other 

bleeding-edge storage mediums 

need to be kept in sub-zero 

vacuums, DNA can survive for 

hundreds of thousands of years 

in a box in your garage. 

It is only with recent advances 

in microfluidics and labs-on-achip 

that synthesizing and 

sequencing DNA has become an 

everyday task, though. While it 

took years for the original 

Human Genome Project to 

analyze a single human genome 

(some 3 billion DNA 

base pairs), modern lab 

equipment with 

microfluidic chips can 

do it in hours. Now this 

isn’t to say that Church 

and Kosuri’s DNA 

storage is fast — but it’s 

fast enough for verylong-term 

archival. 

One gram of DNA can 

store 700 terabytes of 

data. To store the same 

kind of data on hard drives — 

the densest storage medium in 

use today — you’d need 233 

3TB drives, weighing a total 

of 151 kilos. 

TECHXPLORER 2 ISSUE 2- 2016

ARDUINO 

VS 

RASPBERRY 

PI 

-MAHESH GUIN 

Arduino and Raspberry Pi are 

the most popular boards among 

the students, hobbyists, and 

professionals. Experienced and 

professionals know the utility 

and differences between the two. 

But beginners and students often 

get confused between them¬, 

like which board to use for their 

project or which board is easy to 

learn or why should they use 

Arduino over Pi and vice versa. 

So here I am covering mostly all 

the aspects which make them 

easy to take the decision over the 

choice of Arduino vs. Raspberry 

Pi. 

Raspberry Pi is a fully 

functioned computer, a systemon-chip 

(SoC) device, which 

runs on a Linux operating system 

specially designed for it, named 

Rasbian. Rasbian is the official 

OS for Raspberry Pi, where other 

third party OSes like Firefox OS, 

Android, RISC OS, Ubuntu Mate 

etc. can be installed on Pi, even 

Windows 10 version is also 

available for Pi. Like a computer, 

It has memory, processor, USB 

ports, audio output, the graphic 

driver for HDMI output and as it 

runs on Linux, most of the Linux 

software applications can be 

installed on it. It has several 

models and revisions like 

Raspberry Pi, Raspberry Pi 2, 

Raspberry Pi Model B+ etc. 

Arduino is a microcontroller, 

which is not as much powerful as 

Raspberry Pi and can be 

considered as one component on 

a computer system. But it is a 

great hardware for electronics 

projects. It doesn’t need any OS 

and software applications to run, 

we just need to write few lines of 

code to make it use. There are 

many Arduino boards like 

Arduino UNO, Arduino PRO, 

Arduino MEGA, Arduino DUE 

etc. 

Although they are quite different 

but there are some similarities in 

terms of their inception. They 

both are invented in European 

countries like Raspberry Pi is 

developed by Eben Upton in the 

UK and Arduino is developed by 

Massimo Banzi in Italy. Both the 

inventors are teachers and they 

develop these hardware 

platforms as a design learning 

tool for their students. Raspberry 

pi was first introduced in the year 

2012 while Arduino in 2005. 

To understand the difference 

between Arduino and Raspberry 

Pi, we adopted an approach 

where we will discuss the merits 

and demerits of both the 

hardware over each other. So 

first we are starting with: 

Advantages of Arduino 

over Raspberry Pi: 

Simplicity: It’s very easy to 

interface analog sensors, motors 

and other electronic components 

with Arduino, with just a few 

lines of code. While in Raspberry 

pi, there is much overhead for 

simply reading those sensors, we 

need to install some libraries and 

software for interfacing these 

sensors and components. And the 

coding in Arduino is simpler, 

while one needs to have 

knowledge of Linux and its 

commands for using the 

Raspberry pi. 

Robustness: Raspberry Pi runs 

on an OS so it must be properly 

shut down before turning OFF 

the power, otherwise, OS & 

applications may get corrupt and 

Pi can be damaged. While 

Arduino is just a plug and play 

device which can be turned ON 

and OFF at any point of time, 

without any risk of damage. It 

can start running the code again 

on resuming the power. 

Power consumption: Pi is a 

powerful hardware, it needs 

continuous 5v power supply and 

it is difficult to run it on 

Batteries, while Arduino needs 

less power can easily be powered 

using a battery pack. 

Price: Obviously, Arduino is 

cheaper than Raspberry Pi, 

Arduino costs around $10-20 

depending on the version, while 

the price of Raspberry is around 

$35-40. 

Advantages of Raspberry Pi 

over Arduino: 

One can think that Arduino is the 

best, after reading its merits over 

Raspberry Pi, but wait, it 


completely depends on your 

project that which platform 

should be used. Raspberry Pi’s 

power and its easiness are the 

main attraction of it, over 

Arduino. Below we will discuss 

some of its advantages over 

Arduino: 

Powerfulness: This is the main 

advantage of Raspberry Pi. Pi is 

capable of doing multiple tasks at 

a time like a computer. If anyone 

wants to build a complex project 

like an advanced robot or the 

project where things need to be 

controlled from a web page over 

the internet, then Pi is the best 

choice. Pi can be converted into 

a web server, VPN server, print 

server, database server etc. 

Arduino is good if you just want 

to blink a LED but if you have 

hundreds of LEDs needs to be 

controlled over the web page, 

then Pi is the best suited. 

Raspberry Pi is 40 times faster 

than Arduino, with PI, you can 

send emails, listen to music, play 

videos, run the internet etc. Also 

as we have stated earlier that it 

has memory, processor, USB 

ports, Ethernet port etc. and it 

doesn’t require external 

hardware for most of the 

functions. It can be accessed via 

SSH and file can be easily 

transferred over FTP. 

Networking: Raspberry Pi has 

the built-in Ethernet port, 

through which you can directly 

connect to the networks. Even 

Internet can easily be run on Pi 

using some USB Wi-Fi dongles. 

While in Arduino, it’s very 

difficult to connect to the 

network. External hardware need 

to be connected and properly 

addressed using a code, to run the 

network using Arduino. External 

Boards called “Shields” needs to 

be plugged in, to make Arduino, 

as functional as Pi, with a proper 

coding to handle them. 

Don’t need deep electronics 

knowledge: For Arduino, you 

definitively need an electronic 

background and need to know 

about embedded programming 

languages. But to start with Pi 

you don’t need to dive into the 

coding languages and a small 

knowledge of electronics and its 

components is enough. 

Besides those advantages, one 

advantage is that OS can be 

easily switched on the single 

Raspberry Pi board. Pi uses SD 

card as flash memory to install 

the OS, so just by swapping the 

memory card you can switch the 

operating system easily. 

Example: 

We can understand the need of 

Arduino or Pi through example. 

Like if you want to answer any 

phone call automatically with a 

prerecorded message, then 

Arduino is the way. But at the 

same time if you want to block 

the robot callers or spam callers 

then? Then Raspberry Pi comes 

into the picture, which can either 

filter the spam calls using spam 

caller’s database over the internet 

or it can also put a captcha type 

of verification for human callers. 

So Arduino is suited for repeated 

type of work like open the door 

while anyone at the gate but 

Raspberry Pi can do more 

complex things like only open 

the door for authorized people. 

Raspberry Pi has huge potential 

in the world of Internet of 

Things, where machines will 

directly interact and control 

another machine, without human 

intervention. 

Conclusion: Some people say 

that Arduino is best for beginners 

but I am not agreeing with it, a 

beginner can start with any one 

of them. The choice is just 

depending on your project and 

your background. I am 

concluding it with, how to make 

choice between these two, for 

your next project: 

You should choose Arduino if: 

• You are from electronics 

background or if you are a 

beginner and really want to learn 

about electronics and its 

components. 

• Your project is simple, 

especially networking is not 

involved. 

• Your project is more like a 

electronics project where 

software applications are not 

involved, like Burglar alarm, 

voice controlled light. 

• You are not a computer geek 

who is not much interested in 

software and Linux. 

You should choose Raspberry Pi 

If: 

• Your project is complex and 

networking is involved. 

• Your project is more like a 

software application, like a VPN 

server or Webserver 

• Don’t have good knowledge 

of electronics. 

• Have good knowledge about 

Linux and software. 


Inventions evolve out of necessity and they become great with an ethical cover. 

Inventions that give shape to great inventions and move the entire community towards 

being smart through it are actually ENGINEERED ones. 

SMARTBOX TECHNOLOGY 

- Biswaraj Sahu 

Insurance companies are 

implementing smartbox 

technology so good 

drivers can benefit from 

cheap insurance rates. The 

smartbox, similar to a 

black box for airplanes, 

records details about how 

your car is driven, which 

can result in cheap 

car insurance for 

responsible drivers. 

The device is 

connected to the 

electronics in your 

car and collects a 

wide criteria of 

information such as 

time, speed, braking, 

cornering, acceleration 

and location. The 

smartbox data is wireless 

transferred in real time to 

the insurance company 

and provides a profile of 

when, where and how you 

drive. This profile is then 

used to compare insurance 

rates and to reward lowrisk 

driving behavior with 

cheap insurance rates. 

Drivers are high-risk when 

they drive irresponsibly 

such as speeding, frequent 

lane changing, driving in 

high-risk locations or at 

high-risk times such as in 

heavy traffic or late at 

night. 

These new electronic 

inventions are intended to 

replace the standard 

practice of categorizing 

drivers into group 

behavior to determine 

insurance coverage and 

premium payments. 

For example, young 

drivers are more likely to 

drive fast, drive at night 

and use a cell phone while 

driving. Statistically, 

young drivers are more 

likely to cause an accident 

so insurance companies 

charge them higher rates 

to cover the costs of 

accident claims. 

So even if you're a young, 

responsible driver, you 

will pay high insurance 

rates because of group 

behavior. 

This technology allows 

you to provide proof that 

your driving behaviour 

doesn't fit the pattern of 

your demographic group. 

All the information 

collected about your 

driving can be viewed 

online - including what 

you're doing well and 

what could be improved. 


Your insurance premium 

is then calculated 

according to your driving 

profile. 

THE SQUARE 

The square is a small plugin 

attachment to your 

mobile phone that allows 

you to receive credit card 

payments. The idea 

originated from a 

seller who was 

unable to sell 

some glass work 

to a customer 

because he 

couldn't accept a 

particular card 

being used. 

Accepting credit card 

payments for something 

you're selling isn't always 

easy, especially if you are 

mobile like a tradesman, 

delivery service or a 

vendor at a trade show. 

This latest invention uses 

a small scanner that plugs 

into the audio input jack 

on a mobile device. 

It reads information on a 

credit card when it is 

swiped. The information 

is not stored on the device 

but is encrypted and sent 

over secure channels to 

banks. It basically makes 

any mobile phone a cash 

register for accepting card 

payments. 

As a payer, you receive a 

receipt via email that can 

be instantly accessed 

securely online. You can 

also use a text message to 

authorize payment in real 

time. 

Retailers can create a 

payer account for their 

customers which 

accelerates the payment 

process. For example, a 

cardholder can assign a 

photo to their card 

so their photo will 

appear on the 

phone for visual 

identity 

confirmation. 

Mobile devices 

with touch screens 

will also allow you 

to sign for goods. 

There are no 

contracts, monthly fees, or 

hidden costs to accept card 

payments using Square 

and it is expected the plugin 

attachment will also be 

free of charge. 


V2V AND V2I 

PENTA AKHIL 

Just like how phones have 

evolved into smartphones, 

perhaps cars should also take 

a similar route and evolve 

into ‘smart’ cars equipped 

with futuristic and practical 

features. Car manufacturers 

are seriously looking into and 

researching two technologies 

that would enable future cars 

to communicate with each 

other and with objects around 

them. 

Vehicle-to-vehicle 

communication (V2V 

communication) is the 

wireless transmission of 

data between motor vehicles. 

This V2V works by using 

wireless signals to send 

information back and forth 

between cars about their 

location, speed and direction. 

The information is then 

communicated to the cars 

around it in order to provide 

Information on how to keep 

the vehicles safe distances 

from each other. Imagine a car 

approaching an intersection as 

another car runs a red light. 

The former car driver don't 

see them at first, but that car 

gets a signal from the latter 

that it's directly in your path 

and warns the driver of the 

potential collision, or even 

hits the brakes automatically 

to avoid an accident 

V2I (vehicle to infrastructure) 

would allow vehicles to 

communicate with things like 

road signs 

or traffic 

signals and 

provide 

information 

to the vehicle 

about safety 

issues. In this, 

the infrastructure plays a 

coordination role by gathering 

global or local information 

on traffic and road conditions 

and then suggesting or 

imposing 

certain 

behaviors on 

a group of 

vehicles. In a 

more 

sophisticated 

scenario, the 

velocities and accelerations of 

vehicles and inter vehicle 

distances would be suggested 

by the infrastructure on the 

basis of traffic conditions, 

with the goal of optimizing 

overall emissions, fuel 

consumption, and traffic 

velocities. Suggestions to 

vehicles could be broadcast to 

drivers via road displays or 

directly to vehicles via 

wireless connections. V2I 

could also request traffic 

information from a traffic 

management system and 

access the best possible 

routes. 


Both V2V and V2I 

works by using 

wireless signals to 

send information 

back and forth 

between cars about 

their location, speed 

and direction over 

Vehicular Ad hoc 

NETworks 

(VANETs) to 

prevent accidents. 

VANET is the 

spontaneous creation of a 

wireless network for data 

exchange - to the domain of 

vehicles. Vehicular Ad Hoc 

Networks (VANETs) are 

created by applying the 

principles of mobile ad hoc 

networks (MANETs). 

Basically, both VANETs and 

MANETs are 

characterized by the 

movement and selforganization 

of the 

nodes (i.e., vehicles 

in case of VANETs 

and mobiles in case 

of MANETS). 

VANETs are 

characterized by 

rapid but somewhat 

predictable topology 

changes, with 

frequent fragmentation, a 

small effective network 

diameter, and redundancy hat 

is limited temporally and 

functionally. 

These 

Vehicular 

communications is usually 

developed as a part 

of intelligent transportation 

systems (ITS).These 

technologies could transform 

the way we drive and increase 

automotive 

safety 

dramatically. Good thing is 

car companies and the 

government are already 

working to try to make this a 

reality. All of this 

communication and 

preemptive vehicle assistance 

leads us into our next future 

technology. 

Even 

automotive 

manufacturers are also 

working on Vehicle-toeverything 

(V2X). It is 

a vehicular communication 

system that incorporates other 

more specific types of 

communication as V2I 

(Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), 

V2V (Vehicle-to-vehicle), 

V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), 

V2D (Vehicle-to-device) and 

V2G (Vehicle-to-grid). V2X 

is the platform that regulates 

all connections a car makes 

with the outside world, be that 

another car, an IoT device or 

even a human 

TECHXPLORER 7 

8 

ISSUE 2-2016

QUANTUM 

COMPUTERS 

: ARE WE 

THERE t YET 

This 

quantum 

dot 

technology 

is being 

used by sev 

Vukkisila 

Vishnu Sai 

Computers have become 

basic companions in our 

daily life. They are very 

much advanced and are able 

to compute millions of 

calculations in split second. 

But think of something that 

is a million times faster than 

the normal computer. That 

something is a theoretical 

Quantum computer. 

Considering the 

tremendous ability of the 

present day computers and 

super computers to 

calculate the problems, 

where is the need for 

Quantum computer? Well, 

the present generation of 

super computers are not 

energy efficient and also 

time consuming. They are 

not able to tackle various 

problems involving 

equations to be solved by 

shear guessing such and 

repeating for all possible 

answers. Here comes the 

use of Quantum computers. 

The classical 

computers use binary bits 

for computation. A binary 

bit can hold either 0 or 1. 

Whereas, the quantum 

computers use qubits 

(quantum bits) for 

calculation. A qubit can hold 

the information anything 

between 0 and 1. This helps 

the problem to be solved 

some million times faster 

than classical computers. 

All the above 

discussed points about 

quantum computers are 

theoretical, can they be true 

for real life practical 

applications? 

The practical 

example of a qubit is a 

quantum dot. Quantum dots 

are non-dimensional semi 

conducting materials of 

nearly spherical shape and 

of the size of few nm. The 

electrons and holes in the 

semiconducting material are 

confined in all the three 

dimensions making it nondimensional. 

Quantum dots 

of same material but 

different size emit different 

colour of light. Thus the 

quantum dots can be 

engineered as per 

requirement and altered. 

companies for various 

reasons, including Samsung 

in their Televisions. 

Although there are 

several technologies why 

are we not able to produce a 

Quantum computer? There 

are several reasons but the 

main one being the 

Quantum Decoherence. 

Quantum Decoherence is 

the phenomenon of loss of 

information due to the 

interaction with the 

environment. This causes 

measuring the information 

accurately in qubits highly 

difficult and may lead to 

significant error. 

There are ton of 

advantages with the 

Quantum computers. They 

can be used in different 

types of fields such as 

Biomedical – 

Simulate the 

behaviour of atoms 

and molecules. 

Cryptography – 

Breaking public 

encryption 


Optimisation – 

Engineering 

Applications 

Artificial 

Intelligence 

Space exploration – 

Rocket and Comet 

Trajectories 

Unsurprisingly all 

the above advantages 

made investments to 

surge in quantum 

computing. Big global 

companies like Google, 

IBM, Microsoft, 

American National 

Security Agency and 

NASA have already built 

specific research labs. 

There is a surge in 

published research 

papers and the patents 

filed. 

A company named 

D-Wave Systems built 

working quantum 

computers that has about 

128, 512 and 1000 qubits. 

They are named as D-Wave 

One, D-Wave Two and D- 

Wave 2X respectively. The 

working temperature of the 

above chips is at absolute 

zero i.e. at -273⁰c. The 

above mentioned quantum 

computers are not even as 

fast as classical computers. 

But looking at the pace at 

which technological 

advancements are taking 

place, Quantum Computers 

are just 2-3 decades away. 

By 2050 we could expect a 

quantum computer working 

faster than the current 

generation super computer 

and taking a huge leap in 

advancement of science and 

technology thereafter. 


POWER 

THE 

CROWD: 

CROWDSOURCING 

-BISWARAJ SAHU 

The term "crowdsourcing" 

was coined in 2005 by Jeff 

Howe and Mark 

Robinson. Howe first 

published a definition for the 

term crowdsourcing in a 

companion blog post to his 

June 2006 Wired article, 

"The Rise of 

Crowdsourcing", which 

came out in print just days 

later. 

"Simply defined, 

crowdsourcing represents 

the act of a company or 

institution taking a function 

once performed by 

employees and outsourcing 

it to an undefined (and 

generally large) network of 

people in the form of an open 

call. This can take the form 

of peer-production (when the 

job is performed 

collaboratively), but is also 

often undertaken by sole 

individuals. The crucial 

prerequisite is the use of the 

open call format and the 

large network of potential 

labourers." 

Despite the multiple 

definitions 

of 

crowdsourcing, one constant 

has been the broadcasting of 

problems to the public, and 

an open call for contributions 

to solving the problem. 

Members of the public 

submit solutions which are 

then owned by the entity 

which broadcast the 

problem. In some cases, the 

contributor of the solution is 

compensated monetarily, 

with prizes or with 

recognition. In other cases, 

the only rewards may be 

kudos or intellectual 

satisfaction. Crowdsourcing 

may produce solutions 

from amateurs or volunteers 

, working in their spare time, 

or from experts or small 

businesses which were 

unknown to the initiating 

organization. We know that 

an engaged community can 

drive down operating costs 

by reducing the need for 

conventional support 

models. Just as important is 

that support communities are 

often able to provide more 

first-contact resolution 

(FCR) in the customer 

service environment. 

Improvements in FCR can 

often be attributed to the 

community unearthing 

problems and fixes that the 

company are not aware 

of. In traditional customer 

service models this often 

results in out-of-date 

knowledge bases, longer 

more frustrating support 

calls and ultimately creates 

more customer frustration 

and dissatisfaction. But what 

interests business even more 

is the emerging picture that 

suggests community 

members are more loyal and 

less likely to 

churn. Intuitively, you 

would say this is no 

surprise. If people are 

willing to spend the time to 

participate in the 

community, sharing their 

knowledge or experiences, 

there is likely to be an 

emotional attachment to it 

and the company – 

reinforced by recognition 

and rewards programmes for 

the best community 

members. 

Forrester research 

undertaken in 2009 shows 

community users are more 

satisfied customers, more 

likely to recommend 

products to others and are 

less likely to defect to 

competitors. They also tend 

to buy more often and for 

longer periods. 


The power of the crowd is 

already being utilised by 

many 

businesses. Effectively, 

some companies are 

outsourcing 

their first line 

support and 

service function 

to the crowd or 

are using them 

to focus product 

development 

initiatives. 

Even more 

radical is the 

crowdsourcing 

of sales, 

marketing and service. Here 

are some examples 

1. Giffgaff – is a SIM-only 

mobile virtual network 

operator (MVNO), 

positioned at people who 

want more interaction and 

involvement with the brands 

they choose. Users (or “giff 

gaffers”) provide ideas 

(functionality, pricing 

bundles), market the 

company (word of mouth, 

member get member) and 

provide support to the 

community (customer 

service). 

2. Microsoft’s most 

valuable professionals 

(MVP) programme – the 

MVP Award recognises 

technical community leaders 

who voluntarily share their 

knowledge about Microsoft 

technologies with others. 

MVPs answer more than 10 

million questions each year 

and provide vital feedback, 

reflecting the needs of 

Microsoft customers. MVPs 

are not paid, they do it to 

share their knowledge and 

for the recognition they 

receive. 

3. Trip Advisor – relies on 

the opinions and reviews of 

its members to provide 

information to people 

interested in a flight, trip or 

vacation. With over 40 

million reviews, it has 

become the first port of call 

for many travellers. 

5. Apple – world class net 

promoter scores and brand 

advocacy, but many people 

will have limited interaction 

with the company. Much of 

the product information and 

support required is found in 

forums where people share 

their knowledge. 

For example, Googling 

“iPhone 3GS frozen” returns 

a multitude of answers 

(including YouTube videos), 

only one of which is from the 

official Apple support site. 

7. Starbucks – an ideas 

forum where customers are 

invited to share, vote, discuss 

and see – “You know better 

than anyone else what you 

want from Starbucks. So tell 

us. What’s your Starbucks 

Idea? Revolutionary or 

simple – we want to hear it. 

Share your ideas, tell us what 

you think of other people’s 

ideas and join the discussion. 

We’re here, and we’re ready 

to make ideas happen. Let’s 

get started.” 

8. uTest – 

provide 

software 

testing 

services. They 

have a global 

community of 

over 30,000 

professionals 

providing 

software 

companies 

with a new 

way to test 

their applications. 

Testing covers standard test 

phases such as functionality, 

usability and load testing as 

well as Agile methodologyrelated 

testing. Clients 

include the Met Office and 

Microsoft. 

9. Air New Zealand – Air 

New Zealand’s Aviation 

Design Academy set out to 

design the best long-haul 

flying experience. They 

turned to passengers to 

design parts of the flying 

experience on their new 777- 

300 aircraft – the cocktail, 

in-flight food, eye mask and 

one “freeform” idea. 

10. Wikipedia – perhaps the 

pioneers of crowdsourcing. 

The not-for-profit Wikipedia 

Foundation launched its free, 

web-based, multilingual and 

collaborative encyclopaedia 

in 2001. It has over 17m 

articles 

written 

collaboratively by the 

community and is the most 

popular reference site on the 

internet. 


HYPERLOOP 

SAMBEET 

SAHOO 

Ever since man 

discovered that wheels 

reduce friction and 

transportation time, we 

have strived to make our 

means of travel fast and 

then faster. Sports cars, 

race bikes, jet planes, 

hydroplanes and bullet 

trains to name a few. 

Now yet again we find 

ourselves on the 

threshold of a revolution, 

one that promises, for the 

very first time, an 

emission-free vehicle - 

“Hyperloop”, the latest 

brainstorm concept of the 

visionary Mr. Elon Musk. 

Hyperloop is being 

designed by SpaceX for 

high speed transit of 

goods and people, 

utilizing the concept of 

‘Pneumatic Tube 

Transportation System’. 

Unexpectedly, this 

technology has been 

made Open Source by Mr. 

Musk and SpaceX, 

igniting much fanfare. 

Plans are in motion to 

construct a corridor from 

Los Angeles to San 

Francisco (USA), with a 

projected travel speed of 

970 km/h over a 560 km 

track. 

Dubbed as the ‘fifth 

mode of transportation’, 

this mode of 

transportation has the 

following characteristics- 

1. Immunity to weather, 

collision free, low power 

consumption, and 24 

hour operational 

capabilities. 

The persistent problems 

witnessed in these 

designs like friction and 

air resistance are 

eliminated using the 

concept of VACTRAIN. 

This employs magnetic 

levitation of trains in 

airless tubes. The 

hyperloop operates at 

about 100 Pa of pressure. 

The idea is to propel 

“pods” through 

continuous steel tubes 

maintained at partial 

vacuum. The pods 

basically float air-caster 

skis. This combination 

allows speeds that 

conventional wheels 

cannot sustain. Linear 

induction motors would 

manage the acceleration 

and deceleration of the 

pods. 

Open Source: Why? 

The most obvious 

benefits of making any 

piece of technology open 

ensures that it remains 

under the eyes of 

thousands of enthusiasts, 

thus helps in detecting 

faults in the design stage 

itself. As example, Ansys 

employee Sandeep 

Sovani discovered design 

errors which might cause 

supersonic airflow 

around the vehicle. In 

another instance, 

OpenMDAO released a 

conceptual propulsion 

system for the project. In 

Mr. Musk’s own words, 

the various design 

considerations emerging 

out of this exercise 

directly finds applications 

in his mega projects such 

as 

‘Surface 

Transportation on Mars’ 

and ‘Electric Jet 

Propulsion’. 

Funding 

Currently 3 companies 

are investing in this 

technology: 

1. Hyperloop 

Transportation 

Technology 

2. SpaceX 

3. Hyperloop One 

TECHXPLORER 1413 

ISSUE 2-2016

Hyper loop POD 

Competition 

This gives a tremendous 

opportunity for the 

budding engineers to be 

part of a revolution. This 

competition, held in 

2015-16 witnessed 

tremendous number of 

teams, roughly about700, 

The design concept 

seems pretty promising 

on papers and simulation 

models. However, there 

are still some major 

technological milestones 

to be achieved before we 

buy a ticket for one of 

these high-speed POD 

journey. 

and cost associated with 

its maintenance. 

4. A clear political 

motive seems far off. 

Its indeed clear that we 

shall not find ourselves 

shuttling in one o 

out of which, at least 22 

will be sponsored to 

design and complete 

hardware to compete on a 

hyperloop test track. 

The Bumps Ahead 

1. There are 

concerns about how 

the human body 

shall react to the 

expected levels of 

noise and vibrations 

during journey. 

2. A slight shift in ground 

would would result in 

jostling and buffeting of 

wind flow. 

3. There are also 

concerns about the 

economic feasibility of a 

project of this magnitude 

f these things before the 

above mentioned issues 

are addressed. Also we 

may question ‘Why we 

need it at all’. But 

remember, as John Ford 

once said, “If I had asked 

people what they needed, 

they would have just 

wanted faster horses.” 

This was immediately 

after he released Model-T 

and changed the world 

for-ever. 


MOTION SENSING 

LIGHTS AND 

BURGLAR ALARMS 

SNEHITA REDDY 

Many of us are familiar with 

motion sensors as they have 

become a common part of 

most security systems. 

ACTIVE 

SENSORS: 

MOTION 

Active motion 

sensors ( also called as radarbased 

based motion 

detectors ) send out ultrasonic 

sound waves and these 

waves reflect back to the 

sensor. This pattern 

continues until it is disrupted 

by an interference of some 

sort( e.g. Person walking 

past ).This triggers the 

sensor to send a signal, 

which can open an automatic 

door. 

 

amount of light and 

rings a bell. 

Many grocery stores 

have automatic door 

openers that use a 

very simple form 

of radar to detect 

when someone 

passes near the door. 

The box above the 

door sends out a 

burst 

of 

microwave radio en 

ergy and waits for 

 

use radar, they often 

set off radar 

detectors. 

The same thing can 

be done with 

ultrasonic sound 

waves, bouncing 

them off a target and 

waiting for the echo. 

All of these 

are active sensors. They 

inject energy (light, 

microwaves or sound) into 

There are many different 

ways to create a motion 

sensor. For example: 

 

It is common for 

stores to have a 

beam of light 

crossing the room 

near the door, and a 

photosensor on the 

other side of the - 

room. When a 

customer breaks the 

beam, the 

photosensor detects 

the change in the 

the reflected energy 

to bounce back. 

When a person 

moves into the field 

of microwave 

energy, it changes 

the amount of 

reflected energy or 

the time it takes for 

the reflection to 

arrive, and the box 

opens the door. 

Since these devices 

the environment in order to 

detect a change of some sort. 

PASSIVE 

SENSORS: 

MOTION 

A passive sensor is a device 

that detects and responds to 

some type of input from the 

physical environment. 

TECHXPLORER 16 15 

ISSUE 2-2016

Passive sensor technologies 

gather target data through the 

detection of vibrations, light, 

radiation, heat or other 

phenomena occurring in the 

those observable to the 

naked eye. Sensors can also 

be used in harsh 

environments and places 

inaccessible to people. 

point of observation such as 

a building top. The data 

gathered by remote 

sensing is used for 

everything from cartography 

subject’s 

environment. They contrast 

with active sensors, which 

include transmitters that 

send out a signal, a light 

wavelength or electrons to be 

bounced off the target, with 

data gathered by the sensor 

upon their reflection. 

Both active and passive 

sensing technologies are 

often used to make 

observations 

and 

measurements from a 

distance or on a scale beyond 

Examples of passive sensorbased 

technologies include: 

Photographic, 

thermal, electric field 

sensing, chemical, infrared 

and seismic. However, as 

can be the case with some 

sensors, seismic and infrared 

light sensors exist in both 

active and passive forms. 

Depending on what is being 

sensed these various sensors 

might be mounted to a 

satellite, airplane, boat, 

submarine UAV drone, or 

from another convenient 

to resource exploration to 

atmospheric and chemical 

measurements. Remote 

sensing is also one of the 

basic enabling technologies 

for the Internet of Things 

(IoT), in which almost any 

imaginable entity can be 

equipped with a unique 

identifier and the ability to 

transfer data over a network 

autonomously. 


FAREWELL 

TO ROSETTA 

SAMBEET SAHOO 

Ages since, man has 

always looked up to the 

stars, for inspiration, for 

ideas, and sometimes 

with fear. Whatever the 

case, the stars has never 

ceased to fascinate us and 

represents the final 

frontiers for this 

civilization, which is near 

its pinnacle of 

achievements. Thanks to 

modern science, now we 

have the key to explore 

more of which was denied 

to us. The major space 

giants like NASA, ESA, 

etc have taken the 

initiative to search for 

some unexplained 

answers, as to where we 

come from, and where 

exactly our origins lie. 

Going farther and faster 

than any man, we owe a 

lot to them. No wonder 

they become legends, and 

Rosetta would always go 

down in history as one of 

the most memorable 

missions in our long and 

rich history of quest, 

wonder, struggle and 

victory. 

Rosetta was launched on 

2 nd March, 2004, by the 

European Space Agency, 

from Guiana Space 

Centre, along with Philae, 

the lander module. It is 

named after the Rosetta 

Stone, while the lander is 

named for the Philae 

Obelisk. It is part of 

ESA’s HORIZON 2000 

CORNERSTONE 

MISSIONS. On 6 th 

August, 2014, it became 

the first spacecraft to orbit 

a comet when it made it 

rendezvous with the 

comet 

CHURYUMOV-GERA 

SIMENKO. Philae 

landed on the comet 

Churyumov-Gerasimenk 

o on 12 th November 2014, 

becoming the first lander 

to achieve the feat. 

More than 2,000 people 

have contributed to the 

success of this 

undertaking. The mission 

has achieved many firsts 

in space exploration, the 

major ones being: 

 

 

 

Became the 1 st 

craft to orbit a 

comet nucleus. 

The first craft to 

fly alongside a 

comet 

Examined, for the 

first time the 

activity of a 

frozen comet, 

warmed by the 

sun. 

The Rosetta craft is a 

2.8X2.1X2.0 m central 

frame and honeycomb 

platform, weighing 

approximately 3,000kgs. 

Heaters placed around the 

craft warm the systems 

when away from the sun. 

The communication suite 

comprises of a 2.2m high 

gain dish antennae and a 

0.8m fixed position 

medium-gain antennae, 

and two omnidirectional 

low-gain antennas. 

Electrical power is 

provide by two solar 

arrays, made up of silicon, 

generating a maximum of 

1,500 watts of power, and 

a minimum of 400 watts, 


in hibernation mode. The 

main propulsion 

comprises of 24 paired 

bipropellant 10 N 

thrusters. 

“THE BILLION EURO 

GAMBLE” : On 25 th 

February 2007, Rosetta 

was instructed to perform 

a low fly-by of Mars 

using only its batteries, 

without 

any 

communications with 

Ground Control. This was 

considered to be a gamble 

which fortunately paid 

off. 

A close fly-by of the 

asteroid 2867 Steins was 

achieved on 5 th 

September 2008. On 10 th 

July 2010, Rosetta flew 

by 21 Lutetia, which is a 

large main-belt asteroid, 

providing excellent 

images of asteroid’s 

surface. 

RENDEZVOUS WITH 

COMET 67P 

The surface layout of 67P 

was unknown before the 

arrival of Rosetta. In 

preparation for the lander, 

the surface was mapped 

and five possible landing 

sites were chosen, with 

AGILKIA selected as the 

final site. Philae detached 

from the mothercraft on 

12 th November 2014, and 

touched down with a 

relative speed of 1m/s, 

although it bounced twice 

upon contact. However, 

owing to the unfavourable 

landing conditions, 

valuable scientific 

objectives could not be 

achieved. 

RESULTS: 

The results from Philae 

show that the comet’s 

nucleus has no magnetic 

field. 

The ratio of deuterium to 

hydrogen in the water 

from the comet is 

determined to be three 

times that of terrestrial 

water. 

NASA reported that the 

data from the onboard 

spectrograph determined 

that the electrons within 

1km above the comet 

nucleus are produced 

from photo-ionization of 

water molecules by solar 

radiation, dispelling a 

wrong idea. 

THE END OF THE 

JOURNEY 

The decision was taken to 

guide the space-craft to a 

controlled impact on the 

comet’s surface, owing to 

the comet moving away 

from the sun, to maximize 

the scientific data 

available. On 29 

September 2016, Rosetta 

began the descent, 

targeting a site in Ma ’at 

region of the comet. The 

impact occurred after 

14.5 hours of this 

manoeuvre, with the final 

images received at 

11:19:36:541 UTC. The 

spacecraft was then put 

into safe mode upon 

impact, turning off its 

radio transmitter and 

rendering it inert. 

Thus was the conclusion 

of an adventure stretching 

well over a decade, 

engaging some of the 

finest minds on the planet 

and proving yet again our 

thirst for discovering 

more of the uncharted 

space, of our resolve to 

conquer the final frontier. 

The name Rosetta shall 

always go down in the 

annals of our history as 

one of the finest moments 

of this great race. 

Farewell Rosetta. Rest in 

Peace. 


5G: A NEW ERA 

SOUMYA SAMBIT RATH 

With the exponential 

increase in the use of 

mobile networks and 

wireless communications 

in the present scenario, 

the demand for more and 

more research and 

development in the field 

of communication 

systems is inevitable. 

With the increasing 

number of devices 

getting online, there is 

going to be an acute 

shortage of bandwidth for 

communications in the 

near future. The 4G 

telecommunications 

systems now starting to 

be deployed but curious 

eyes are looking towards 

the development of the 

5th generation. 

A glance over 5G 

Unlike the previous 

generations, 5G will be 

the network of devices. 

Starting from the mobile 

phones to cars, from 

smart homes to Industries 

everything is going to 

experience a significant 

change. From anything to 

everything, everything 

would be connected to the 

network. 

5G is likely to change the 

concept of Internet of 

Things and Remote 

Access. With ultra-fast 

data download and 

upload speeds, 

everything is likely to 

encounter a boost in their 

connectivity. 

Comparison with the 

previous generations 

As the different 

generations of cellular 

telecommunications have 

evolved, each one has 

brought its own 

improvements. The same 

will be true of 5G 

technology. 

First generation, 

1G: These phones were 

analogue and were the 

first mobile or cellular 

phones 

to be 

used. PARAMETER 

Althoug 

Network capacity 

h 

revoluti 

onary in Peak data rate 

their Cell edge data rate 

time 

Latency 

they 

offered very low levels of 

spectrum efficiency and 

security. 

Second generation, 2G: 

These were based around 

digital technology and 

offered much better 

spectrum efficiency, 

security and new features 

such as text messages and 

low data rate 

communications. Data 

speeds were upto 256 

Kbps. 

Third generation, 

3G: The aim of this 

technology was to 

provide high speed data. 

The original technology 

was enhanced to allow 

data up to 42 Mbps. 

Fourth generation, 

4G: This was an all-IP 

SUGGESTED 

PERFORMANCE 

10 000 times capacity of 

current network 

10 Gbps 

100 Mbps 

< 1 ms 


ased technology capable 

of providing data rates up 

to 1 Gbps. 

Any new 5th generation, 

5G cellular technology 

needs to provide 

significant gains over 

previous systems to 

provide an adequate 

business case 

for mobile 

operators to 

invest in any 

new system. 

Facilities that 

might be seen 

with 5G 

technology 

include far 

better levels of 

connectivity 

and coverage. 

The term 

World Wide Wireless 

Web, or WWWW is 

being coined for this. 

For 5G technology to be 

able to achieve this, new 

methods of connecting 

will be required as one of 

the main drawbacks with 

previous generations is 

lack of coverage, dropped 

calls and low 

performance at cell edges. 

5G technology will need 

to address this. 

Big players working on 

5G 

Telecommunications 

giants like Samsung, 

Ericsson, Huawei, 

DoCoMo and Nokia are 

competing with each 

other for the first 

commercial introduction 

of 5G. Although 

Operational Standards 

and protocols are yet to 

be released by 

International 

Telecommunications 

Union (ITU), but it is 

expected to be 

commercialized by 2020. 

Possible 

behind 5G 

technology 

There are no such patents 

or declarations yet about 

the commercial 

technology that is to be 

used in 5G due to 

obvious reasons. But 

however there are 

assumptions about 

possible research in some 

fields for implementation 

in 5G Communications. 

Some of these include 

Millimeter -Wave 

technology, a technology 

which uses a frequency 

band much higher than 

the bands used for mobile 

communications. This 

technology can possibly 

provide a bandwidth of 

1-2 GHz. For use in 5G, 

frequencies above 50 

GHz are being 

considered. Currently this 

technology is in use in 

military applications. 

Some believe 5G will be 

the modified version of 

MIMO or Multiple Input 

and Multiple Output, 

which is currently used in 

4G LTE and Wi-Fi. 

Other theories include 

Pervasive networking, 

also known as hybrid 

connectivity, it is a 

technology where a user 

can concurrently be 

connected to several 

wireless access 

technologies and 

seamlessly move between 

them. Samsung had 

earlier used the same 

technology in its Galaxy 

Devices. 

Whatever may be the 

buzz, but the problem is 

nobody is quite sure 

about anything, but the 

introduction to 5G will be 

a significant revolution in 

the world of wireless 

communications. 


Walk Around in 

the Sun to 

Power 

Wearables 

with This Cloth 

KONDAPALLI.RADHA 

A new wearable fabric that 

generates electricity from 

both sunlight and motion 

could let you power your 

cell phone or smart watch 

by walking around outside. 

Researchers made the 

textile by weaving together 

plastic fiber solar cells and 

fiber-based generators that 

produce electricity when 

rubbed against each other. 

The 0.32-millimeter-thick 

fabric is lightweight, 

flexible, breathable, and 

uses low-cost materials. It 

could be integrated into 

clothes, tents, and curtains, 

turning them into power 

sources when they flap or 

are exposed to the sun. By 

harvesting solar and 

mechanical energy, 

the power-generating night. 

Solar cells fabricated from 

lightweight polymer fibres 

into micro cables are then 

woven via a shuttle-flying 

process with fibre-based 

triboelectric 

nanogenerators to create a 

smart fabric. A single layer 

of such fabric is 320 μm 

thick and can be 

integrated into various 

cloths, curtains, tents and 

so on. This hybrid power 

textile, fabricated with a 

size of 4 cm by 5 cm, was 

demonstrated to charge a 

2 mF commercial 

capacitor up to 2 V in 

1 min under ambient 

sunlight in the presence of 

mechanical excitation, 

such as human motion and 

wind blowing. The textile 

could continuously power 

an electronic watch, 

directly charge a cell 

phone and drive water 

splitting reactions. So 

“The hybrid power textile 

could be extensively 

applied not only to selfpowered 

electronics but 

also possibly to power 

generation on a larger 

scale,”The underlying 

phenomenon in power 

generating cloth is the 

triboelectric effect, which 

causes static electricity. 

When two different 

materials repeatedly touch 

each other, one grabs 

electrons from the other so 

that opposite charges build 

up on the two surfaces. 

Triboelectric 

generator (TENG): 

nano 

TENGs essentially harvest 

static electricity from 

friction. 

TENGs consist of two 

different materials that are 

rubbed together. In this 

way, materials that like to 

give off electrons, such as 

glass or nylon, will donate 

them to materials that like 

to absorb them, such as 

silicon or teflon. By 

corrugating the contact 

surfaces of the materials, 

and by pressing them 

together, the structures 

enmesh, causing the 

TECHXPLORER ISSUE 2-2016 

21

friction that leads to 

electricity generation 

In this new hybrid energy 

textile, thin flat strips of 

copper coated with a 

Teflon-like polymer act 

as triboelectric 

generators. The other 

power-generating 

component is the fiber 

solar cells, which the 

researchers make by 

growing light-sensitive 

zinc oxide nanowires 

on manganese and 

copper-coated plastic 

wires. 

They use an industrial 

weaving machine to 

interlace the triboelectric 

strips and fiber solar cells 

with copper-coated plastic 

threads that serve as 

electrodes. 

When the fabric bends, the 

copper threads brush 

against the Teflon strips 

and generate electricity. 

A flexible, wearable 4 

centimeter x 5 cm power 

patch made by mixing wool 

fibers with the triboelectric 

and photovoltaic 

component charged a 2- 

millifarad 

commercial capacitor up to 

2 Volt in one minute. So it 

will be possible to make 

textiles as large as 20 cm x 

30 cm, and it should be easy 

to scale up with a 

larger weaving 

machine. 

This fabric output 

doesn’t drop even 

after it is bent 500 

times. It works 

well in a 

temperature range 

human can 

endure. “If the 

textile gets wet, 

any drop in 

performance can be 

recovered if the device is 

dried”. 

TECHXPLORER ISSUE 2-2016 

22

GOING 

WIRELESS 

-BALIVADA MOUNIKA 

-KANHU PAL 

Low BATTERY? This new 

technology will let you share 

power wirelessly. 

It's any phone-obsessed 

person's nightmare: you're 

out, your phone's battery is 

depleted down into 

the red zone, and 

there's no any 

electrical plug in 

sight. But mobile 

and wearable 

devices could 

engage in "powersharing," 

by 

wirelessly charging 

each other on the 

go. 

This innovative 

solution could help 

people easily recharge mobile 

or wearable gadgets, 

particularly for tasks such as 

emergency phone calls. 

Mobile and wearable devices 

are now virtually everywhere, 

but their battery lives remain 

limited, with many lasting for 

less than a day. 

A number of devices now exist 

to provide extra power to 

mobiles and wearable, such as 

power packs, mobile hand 

generators and solar cells. But 

although external power packs 

have become popular, they 

add size and weight, and 

mobile hand generators and 

solar cells produce only 

limited amounts of power.In 

2013, Google launched Nexus 

5 which had wireless charging 

technology. Later on, other 

companies have implemented 

the technology. 

Using this science, a charging 

pad is built with a coil inside it 

that gets power from mains 

supply. This coil gets AC 

current, so the flux in the 

magnetic field around this coil 

changes by the charging pad. 

So the changing flux of the coil 

inside the pad also gets linked 

to the coil inside the phone & 

hence induces an emf in it. 

That’s how the charging pad is 

used to change the magnetic 

flux linked to the coil placed 

inside the 

phone to 

supply power 

to it wirelessly. 

That power is 

then converted 

to dc electricity 

with the help of 

the circuit 

present with in 

the phone & 

then fed in to 

the battery for 

it to charge. 

Although it eliminates the 

requirement of charging chord 

making life a bit easier, it also 

has its disadvantages. It has 

slower rate of charging than a 

wired charger. It also has less 

efficiency. But of course 

research are going on to make 

the technology even better so 

that we can make most out of 

this innovation.

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