Nikhil Das

Agri-start up from

Bengaluru Creates AI-Based Tech to Examine Seeds Quality

Agdhi, a Bengaluru based start-up company has recently launched an AI technology to examine the quality of seeds. This technology -- along with photometry, radiometry and computer vision -- offers efficient methods for seed classification and seed quality analysis. During an interaction with Nitisha from BISinfotech, Nikhil Das, Founder, Agdhi shares the specialities of its products and also emphasized that the government should come out with policies in place that allows farmers to be better aware of technology-centric approaches.

Nikhil Das Founder, AgdhiTECHNOVATORS Q. Please explain Agdhi as an organisation. Key focus and what states you out when compared to other AI Companies? Agdhi is on a mission to combine digital technology and human creativity to create sustainable methods in agriculture. Today, India is seeing a huge disruption in agriculture through technology. Agriculture which is both a major industry and foundation of the economy is looking for innovative approaches in protecting & improving crop yield. With this aim we plan to introduce next Generation Electronics products optimized for agriculture. We have a team of dynamic engineers, agri expert, bio-technologist bringing in cross domain expertise from agriculture, biotechnology and engineering domains of embedded, Software, AI , ML and mechanical. We have our team working closely with the agricultural industry and farmers, understanding their problems to the core and bringing in solutions to their needs. Q. Please describe your latest project and how it will be helpful for farmers? We are bringing out three flagship products for the farmers. SeedVision - Seed is the most critical input in agriculture. Besides the regular cultivation practices, it is the quality of seed that determines the uniformity, vigour, growth, development and finally, the yield of crops. Seed quality refers to its uniformity, physical purity (size, shape, colour etc), genetic purity (true to its type), physiological purity (gemination %, vigour) and the presence of admixtures. It is reported that in hybrid rice for example, 1% reduction in seed purity results in yield loss of 100 Kgs/ha. The traditional methods of testing seed quality generally rely on manual inspection, “grow-out tests (GOT) which is time consuming, labour intensive and involves higher costs. With seedVision we are bringing in AI based seed phenotyping method which is a game changer in the agriculture MARCH 2021

Planto - Timely attention and care to crops and unawareness of crop diseases are few of the major reasons why new farmers fail to make their efforts to market. Planto brings you the power to diagnose your plants from your mobile. It provides analysis and suggestions of what you are growing, how's it growing and what can you do to help. Be a crop doctor yourself by recognizing infected crops and treating for any pests or deficiencies. Farmers Network India - When it comes to farming, every enthusiast has the question of what, when , where and how. Here comes the one stop solution for all your farming needs. Dive into a network filled with years of experience and knowledge. Farmer Network India empowers the farmers by providing the right data and services at the right time.

Q. Agriculture has a huge role in economic growth. What are the current needs of the industry and how solutions can empower this sector?

Agriculture plays a strategic role in economic development and ensuring the food security of the country. With the rapid increase in population in the under-developed and developing countries the production of agricultural products has to be increased largely. Also, the changes of climatic conditions and over usage of pesticides and fertilizers are adversely affecting the agriculture in India.This call for scientific, sustainable and digital development for the agricultural sector ensuring the increase in production and per capita income for the farmers.

Q. Challenges and scopes in this sector and the impact of digital transformation?

Today, leveraging the advancements in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), farms across the world are transforming digitally from mere precision farming to smart and digital farming, mainly smart farming modernizes the agriculture sector through the use of automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. Unlike precision farming, smart farming involves the conversion of farm data into actionable insights by enabling mass data communication in real-time among various digital technologies. Thus, it paves way for an efficient route for monitoring, tracking, analyzing, and optimizing various agricultural assets and production processes. Digitalization also currently ensures that the agricultural input resources are managed in a highly optimized, personalized, and intelligent manner. With the growing awareness among consumers to know how their food is being produced, the digitalization of farms will enable traceability along the entire agricultural value chain. Ensuring the last mile reach of the technology is most important. Agdhi is working Hand in Hand with farmers to make sure that information and technologies are reaching the farmers.

Q. How was the year 2020 in terms of business and what are your plans for this year?

We have started the operation by June 2020. Agdhi is bootstrapped with over 5cr investment now. We are planning to raise 25 to 30Cr the coming financial year. And currently we are having a team of 40 members. This year, we plan to expand to 100 numbers across technology and sales.

Q. What are your marketing strategies? Please explain your further plans to improve agriculture sector in India?

We mainly work with B2B (Seed manufacturing companies) which are based in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala and our team is present in these regions. Presently, we are increasing our presence through these seed companies and plan to expand our presence from South to Middle and Northern India. We are also planning to release our B2C products by the early terms of the new financial year.

Q. Apart from Indian market, are you planning to promote your product overseas? Please explain.

We are planning to introduce SeedVision to the global Market by the next financial year. We are already in talks with some of the global leaders in the Seed Industry who can take us to the global market.

Q. During Covid-19 there was a huge economical breakdown. How Agdhi has coped up with such situations?

We would like to this as a new learning curve which has shown us new ways to connect and work. Education sector has revolutionized, digitalisation has accelerated like never before. We take this opportunity to bring in new technologies and digitalised methods to agriculture

Q. Your expectations from the Indian government?

We envision a future where technology has a significant role in providing the average farmer with the best productivity from their limited means. The government should come out with policies in place that allows farmers to be better aware of technology-centric approaches and should enable them to endorse these technologies at viable costs. This can be done as an offshoot of the much-publicized “Digital India” where there was added impetus on the adoption of digital technology. We believe that the government will provide agritech the necessary opportunities & incentives to grow as a robust sector within the Indian economy.

TECHNOVATORS

Kartik Sharma An EdTech Startup: DcodeAI Aims to Democratize AI for Everyone

Co-Founder, DcodeAI

Noida based EdTech startup; DcodeAI offers DIY modules on Data Science, Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing for age groups 12-18. The company uses specialised orchestrated containerization to help learners run AI models without the need for any special computing resources or GPUs. The aim of DcodeAI is to make the next generation of learners equipped with AI without having even coding background. During an interaction with Nitisha from BISinfotech, Kartik Sharma, Co-Founder, DcodeAI shares ahead strategies and the upcoming trends.

Q. Kindly explain DcodeAI and its special offerings?

DcodeAI is an India based EdTech startup focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI). We have launched a new DIY learning platform including Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision (CV), Data Science for children aged between 12 and 18 years. With Angel funding of USD 500,000 from Sultan Chand & Sons (P) Ltd., Educational Publishing House, DcodeAI was launched earlier this year, with the vision to equip the next generation of learners with AI skills, without having a formal coding background. It aims to democratize AI learning among primary and secondary level students across 10,000+ schools that are currently part of its network. DcodeAI focuses on low code / no-code tools and usage of AI to make learning easy, intuitive and personalized. Hence, even those without any coding background can start to learn and implement AI models. The new set of DIY learning programs is designed for students who can learn the concept of AI and hone their skills in data manipulation, data visualization, statistics, machine learning, deep learning and more. These learning programs are suitable for students who want to learn about developing Chatbots, Image Recognition Models, as well as Voice Recognition-based Bots and Home Automation Systems.

Q. How do you differentiate DcodeAI with other AI companies?

We are extremely focused on using AI to teach AI leveraging low code / no code tools. We are providing an integrated learning environment for exploring and executing AI models which is a first of its kind approach given the complexities involved in learning AI. We use hands on activities and projects at each stage and provide an industry interface for learners to solve real world problems. We are holistically looking at Statistics, Python, Data Science, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing as integrated components of AI which makes us unique in this space.

Q. Recently, you have launched DIY learning platforms including Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision (CV), Data Science for children aged between 12 and 18 years. Please describe.

We are heavily focused on all the components of AI (Data Science, Computer Vision and Natural language Processing) for all round learning of the subject. The curriculum is aligned to CBSE standards and is covering various practical aspects of the topics as well. Through this, we aim to revolutionize education system in India and its age-old subjects through its growth into the digital era by combining AI tools with the classroom to make more engaging and interactive.

Q. Any other project you are planning for this year?

We are focused on deepening our ties with AI startups and subject matter experts to provide hands on experiences and projects. We also want to create the largest community of AI educators in the world wherein educators can connect, share and learn together. AI has emerged as an indispensable subject in the worldwide education market to equip the workforce of future with relevant skills and simplify the learning curve of students who want to use AI for solving problems and driving impactful innovations.

Q. How has been the growth of business in the year 2020? What will be your marketing strategy for the year 2021?

We have witnessed rapid growth in 2020-21 with parents looking for opportunities to engage their kids in meaningful activities such as coding, learning emerging technologies such as AI etc. We have been focused on building a strong product and training support ecosystem. Our approach in 2021 is to continue building relationship with educational institutions and strategically align with teacher community to deliver AI experiences with practical hands on projects and integrated industry interface. AI will also help learners become future ready and open new career avenues for them.

Q. During COVID-19 what were your strategies to be viable in the market?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has created a new normal, and many businesses were struggling to adapt, there was a need to develop a mindset to drive flexibility and emerge stronger. We conducted weekly webinars to build a community of AI educators and lot of training sessions were organized to align teachers around AI. We focused on building a robust programme that is adaptive in nature and comprehensive in scope. Our focus has been to develop low code / no code tools to learn AI which makes it easy for anyone to get started in a DIY format.

Q. What are your targets markets apart from India, which of the geographies you are planning to expand in the year 2021?

We believe in India-first strategy and there is a huge opportunity in India which should keep us busy in 2021. India is one of the biggest markets for us considering the technological innovations taking place in the education ecosystem. It is a fast-changing market where we can bring advancements in learning platforms for students. But we have already received interests from partner in US, UK and UAE so we would be taking a strategic partner-led approach in these markets.

Q. Apart from education, are you planning to expand your business in any other industry also? Kindly elaborate.

We are dedicated to the mission of democratizing AI for everyone. We feel deeply associated with the mission of NITI Aayog - #AIforALL. We feel the responsibility of upskilling our young minds to future proof them in an AI ready world and are completely focused on this vision. We, however, wish to continue building a stronger interface with industry so that students trained on AI are employable.

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Infineon’s New iMOTION SmartDriver Series

Infineon Technologies new IMD110 SmartDriver series. The smart motor controller family combines the IMOTION Motion Control Engine (MCE) with a three-phase gate driver in a compact package.

Features:

• Drive a wide variety of MOSFETs and IGBTs in variable speed drives. • The family uses the latest MCE 2.0 providing readyto-use motor and, optionally, PFC control.

Features:

• Flexible compensation algorithms for accuracy over temperature and sensing bridge variation; • Precise pressure information delivery in low delay analog, PWM, or SENT outputs; • A suite of advanced integrated system diagnostics. • Automotive AEC-Q100 Grade 0 qualification and EMC robustness with minimized external components;

Applications:

Motors in major home appliances as well as fans and pumps.

Condition-Based Monitoring Development Platform

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) has released complete condition-based monitoring (CbM) development platform designed to help accelerate condition monitoring hardware, software, and algorithm development.

Features:

• Wide-bandwidth (DC to 10 kHz) MEMS vibration sensor, compatible with existing piezoelectric IEPE compliant interfaces. • Characterized mechanical mounting cube that enables full-bandwidth mechanical transfer function of the MEMs vibration sensor.

Applications:

Unmatched technologies that sense, measure, power, connect and interpret.

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Allegro Unveils Sensor Interface IC

Allegro MicroSystems has released the A17700, an automotive-grade interface IC for resistive bridge pressure sensors featuring top-of-the-line signal conditioning algorithms.

Applications:

Today’s efficiently designed cars.

Availability:

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Microchip High-Side Current Sense Amplifiers

Microchip Technology has released its high-side current sense amplifiers, featuring the industry’s lowest offset for AEC-Q100 Grade 0 qualified high-side current sense amplifier devices.

Features:

• Combat electrically noisy environments. • Addresses the need for higher accuracy current measurement. • AEC-Q100 qualified. • Delivering a maximum offset error of only 12 µV.

Applications:

Creating a current-controlled feedback loop for a power supply or motor, monitoring and charging batteries, or monitoring current levels for safety reasons.

Availability:

Devices in LQFP-40 packages are in mass production, they are pin-compatible with LQFP48 packages.

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ST’s USB Type-C Power Adapters

STMicroelectronics has released a USB Type-C Power Delivery 3.0 reference design with Programmable Power Supply (PPS) support to accelerate the design of easy-to-use, compact, and efficient power adapters up to 27W with the zero-power operation when no cable is connected.

Features:

• USB PPS helps to save power, and reduce device-charging times and heat dissipation • Lower bill-of-materials costs on the device side. • The STEVAL-USBPD27S reference design combines the STM32G071 microcontroller (MCU).

Features:

• Class-leading low ON Resistance • New design improves the quality • Expanded lineup improves reliability while reducing design load in a wide range of applications

Applications:

USB Type-C Power Adapters

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5th Gen P-channel MOSFETs with Low ON Resistence

ROHM Semiconductor new 24-model lineup of 24V input, -40V/-60V withstand voltage P-channel MOSFETs available in both single (RQxxxxxAT/RDxxxxxAT/RSxxxxxAT/RFxxxxxAT) and dual configurations (UTxxx5/QHxxx5/SHxxx5).

Applications:

Industrial and consumer applications such as factory automation, robotics, and air conditioning systems.

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Vishay’s SMD Ceramic Safety Capacitors

Vishay Intertechnology has released a new series of surface-mount AC line rated ceramic disc safety capacitors that are the industry's first such devices to offer a Y1 rating of 500 VAC and 1500 VDC.

Features:

• Withstand harsh, high humidity environments. • Vishay BCcomponents SMDY1 series devices offer industryhigh capacitance to 4.7 nF. • Used for EMI / RFI filtering in power supplies. • Higher humidity resistance with a Class IIB humidity grade (under IEC60384-14 annex I) and a moisture sensitivity level of 2a.

Renesas Electronics Corporation has introduced processor technologies for automotive systemson-chip (SoCs) used in applications such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) systems that aim to optimize both performance and power efficiency while supporting a high level of functional safety.

Applications:

Solar inverters, smart meters, and LED drivers.

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Renesas’ Automotive SoC Technologies

Features: 1) A convolutional neural network (CNN) hardware

accelerator core that delivers a world-class combination of deep learning performance of 60.4 trillion operations per second (TOPS) and a power efficiency of 13.8 TOPS/W;

Applications:

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) systems Renesas’ successful development announced includes:

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ST’s New Energy Meter Evaluation Board TSMC’s Stock and Revenue Hiked in 2020

STMicroelectronics has introduced a new evaluation board that speeds design of 3-phase AC Watt meters. The board meet the most stringent international quality and accuracy standards using low-cost, electromagnetic-immune shunt sensors and advanced galvanic-isolation technology for superior reliability and robustness.

The EVALSTPM-3PHISO evaluation board combines the highaccuracy STPMS2 metering front-end IC and the advanced STISO621 digital isolator, with customizable turn-key firmware running on an STM32 microcontroller to compute metrology and power-quality data. The sensing circuitry and PCB layout are optimized to ensure robustness against EMI and a strong signal-to-noise ratio, for high-accuracy measurement and post-processing computation. ST’s metering evaluation board meets EN 50470-x, IEC 62053-2x, ANSI12.2x standards for AC watt meters. The application provides active wideband, active fundamental, reactive and apparent power and energy data, both per-phase and cumulative, reaching accuracy Class 0.5 according to IEC 62053-22 on 3-phase active/apparent power measurement and accuracy Class 1 according to IEC 62053-21 on 3-phase reactive power measurement. and high-end PCs. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) had a great year in 2020 as a sudden boom in the market occurred with an increase in demand for notebook PCs, 5G smartphones

According to the research data analyzed and published by Stock Apps, TSMC’s net revenue soared by 25.2% to NT$1,339.26 billion ($47.78 billion) in 2020. It was the highest annual revenue figure in the company’s history.

TSMC stock shot up by around 60% in 2020 and was trading at $138 as of February 11, 2021.

According to Marketwatch, it had increased by 120% over the previous year. To spend $25 Billion to $28 Billion in 2021 on Advanced Chip Production TSMC’s record sales in 2020 were attributed to the high demand for chips.

Its consolidated sales in Q4 2020 totaled NT$361.53 billion, up by 1.43% QoQ. Profits shot up by 23% to NT$142.8 billion ($5.1 billion), setting a new record

Philip Harting Named as ZVEI’s CEO Again

HARTING Technology Group has re-elected Philip Harting as the CEO at the virtual general meeting of ZVEI’s “Electronic Components and Systems” (ECS) trade association.

Philip Harting had already served as chairman of the trade association for three years, and will now be on board for another three-year tenure.

“With our components, we represent the “T” in the Internet of Things and are thereby positioned right at the outset of the supply chain. The component industry makes a significant contribution to the networking and intelligence of products and influences all sectors of the electrical industry such as Industry 4.0, the energy transition and smart grid, smart home, medical technology or electric mobility,” said Philip Harting in his assessment of the current situation following his re-election.

Harting has been an elected member of ZVEI's board of directors since 2014. The “Electronic Components and Systems” trade association represents one of the most important and highest-turnover sectors within the electrical industry.

With its segments of semiconductors, passive and electromechanical components and microsystem technology – sensors/actuators, the industry generated sales of some EUR 17 billion in 2020.