To reduce manual monitoring, Indian Army deploys AI-based surveillance system at borders

New Delhi [India], August 6: To enhance capabilities, the Indian Army has been deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) based surveillance systems on Northern and Western borders.

Sources in the Defense establishment have confirmed that apart from deploying AI-based surveillance systems at borders, "They are also using it to keep watch on real-time social media monitoring, pattern recognition and prediction of adversary courses of action, etc." "AI-based real-time monitoring software has been deployed for generating intelligence in Counter Terrorist Operations. AI-based suspicious vehicle recognition system has been deployed in eight locations in the Northern and Southern theatre," a source said. It has been said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is capable of providing considerable asymmetry during military operations. It is envisaged that the use of AI will transform war-fighting paradigms.

AI applications can be utilised for surveillance and detection, real-time social media monitoring, pattern recognition and prediction of adversary courses of action, etc. Indian Army has been closely collaborating with Academia and Indian Industry, as also DRDO for the realisation of complex AI-based projects.

For this, an AI Lab has been established at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering wherein AI projects have undergone extensive in-house testing before being given to a production agency for deployment. Indian Army has deployed several units of AI-Powered Smart Surveillance Systems on Northern and Western borders.

The Unit is capable of handling heterogeneous inputs from devices such as PTZ cameras, and handheld thermal imagers. This has considerably reduced the requirement for manual monitoring. AI-based suspicious vehicle recognition system has been deployed in eight locations in the Northern and Southern theatres. AI-based real-time monitoring software has been deployed for generating intelligence in Counter Terrorist Operations.

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New Amazon shopping cart lets users scan & pay to skip checkout lines

Mumbai [India], July 14: The Dash Cart screen will now display images of fresh items nearby, like produce, for shoppers to choose from, or shoppers can type in the item name instead of a four-digit PLU code

Amazon on Tuesday unveiled an updated smart Dash Cart -- a shopping cart that helps users scan and pay for their purchases and skip the checkout line.

In September 2020, Amazon's physical retail team introduced the Amazon Dash Cart for the first time.

"We've built the updated version of the Dash Cart to continue to offer the features people love most, like real-time receipts and the ability to weigh produce directly in the cart's basket, alongside new conveniences and behind-the-scenes technology advancements," said Dilip Kumar, Vice President, Physical Retail and Technology

The Dash Cart are available for use at many Amazon Fresh stores across the US.

The Dash Cart screen will now display images of fresh items nearby, like produce, for shoppers to choose from, or shoppers can type in the item name instead of a four-digit PLU code.

The carts feature an extended all-day battery life that requires less charging, making them even more readily available for customers, said Kumar.

The company has doubled the capacity of the cart while maintaining the ability to quickly measure produce weight for certified accuracy and price.

"As many of our customers return to their in-store grocery shopping routines, it's exciting to introduce new and unique ways for them to shop our stores," said Leandro Balbinot, chief technology officer for Whole Foods Market.

To use the new version of the Dash Cart, shoppers log in through a QR code in the Amazon or Whole Foods Market app, which allows them to easily sign in and begin using the cart.

From there, shoppers place their bags (if using them) in the cart and start shopping, scanning their items using one of the cameras near the handlebar of the Dash Cart.

The cart uses a combination of computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion to help verify each item placed in, and removed from, the cart.

The Dash Cart's screen shows a real-time receipt of all items in the cart, and when shoppers are ready to check out, they simply exit the store through the Amazon Dash Cart lane and their payment is processed using the credit card associated with their Amazon account.

Shoppers will receive an emailed receipt shortly after leaving the store.

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Do you know about in-car payment?

Mumbai [India], July 13: Technology, sure, is making our lives easier. After FASTag cut short our waiting time at toll plazas, more plans are afoot for similar experiments. Let us see what they are, in this report

Swati Bhat

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Thanks to FASTag, we now do not have to carry cash or cards to pay for tolls on highways. It is the first and the most successful example of in-car payment service in India.

The next step now is to enable in-car payments for many other services such as fuel, parking, maintenance, insurance, etc. Before we get to its advantages and disadvantages, let’s understand how the in-car payment system works.

The easiest and most common way to enable an in-car payment system is through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags.

For the uninitiated, RFID tag is a short-range wireless system that uses radio waves to communicate. These tags store a range of information, read by a specific device called reader. The beauty of RFID tag is it does not require power or internet connectivity to work, and can send data over-the-air.

The other method to implement an in-car payment system is through an embedded Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) module. These modules are expensive and require an operating unit to work.

But they can transmit data at a higher range, which, in turn, lowers the chances of payment failure. Unlike the integrated systems such as RFID tags, this embedded system requires power to work.

Another way to implement an in-car payment system is through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). It is an advanced and most secure way among the available methods to enable in-car payments, but is expensive and complicated because of hardware and software compatibility issues. It requires both power and internet connectivity to work.

Coming on to the challenges with in-car payment systems, security is one and foremost because your personal and financial information may be compromised due to cyber attack irrespective of systems used -- integrated such as RFID tags or embedded such as BLE module/APIs -- to enable the payments.

Connectivity is another challenge, especially in embedded systems, because there still is a wide geographical area in the country where the internet has not reached as yet.

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