Air Bag for Cars, Inflatable Jacket for Bikes....

The Main discussion started with a series of discussions that are listed here:

What is the maximum speed one can travel on a Bike ?
Which bike is suitable for maximum speed ?
Can we ride a bike at 150 Kmph ?
What happens if we ride the bike at more than 150 Kmph .....

The bike starts vibrating
It is difficult to control and in case of emergency, if sudden brakes are applied the bike may skid..

So, What if ABS is installed in the Bike, whether is there any bike with ABS ?

Yes, it has an advantage and will prevent the bike from skidding, But is it really helpful in bikes ?

Suddenly... the topic changed
Air Bags are there for Cars, but there is no such device for Bikes
Hmm

A Balloon on the bike which gets activated when it senses the impact and will expand and protect the bike riders.
Nopes.. If the Bike met with an accident, then the rider surely going to fall away from the bike and is going to get hurt. No such balloon will help the rider.

Then, what about an inflatable jacket ?
The rider will wear the inflatable jacket while riding and that is connected to the bike. Whenever the bike met with the accident, a sensor will sense the impact and it will inflate the jacket so that the rider can escape from getting hurt.

Ohh crazy... [By GK]

The rider will be inside a balloon if every part is inflated, then he may be rolling on the road, ooh then he may fall in the river (considering ODC Road) and float and may end up in sea or in some other place if there is great wind .... [ this is too out of the way]

But what should be the material of construction... [one answer] - PVC. Hmm, PVC cannot expand, it should be rubber, then only the jacket can inflate.
But with rubber jacket, that too in inflated condition, the jacket may be weak to withstand the wear and tear caused by the road when the riders slides/ falls on it.

So, what ever it is, there may be something that can be done to prevent the accident of the bike riders by some innovative devices.. Ride Safe

What's the next big thing?

As we go through the past we see a lot of technological advancements (not inventions) that have changed our lifestyle and surroundings.

The gadget of the current decade is the Mobile Phone. 

requirements. Its handiness, ease of use, a variety of features and ability to provide us information available on the internet in our hands play the major role in its appeal to the masses rather than its ability to help us communicate.

Just before that, it was the Computers that changed the way people worked. From pen and paper soluting of problems to simulation aided by computers or from typewriters to word processors, hand written records to electronic files.

However, if we look at it, the technological advancement is Wireless Technology and not the gadget itself that we're talking about. Similarly computer technology was introduced to ease the accounting, calculations etc. which was the area that needed advancement.

Even though the technology exists in the past and continues to improve in the future, it is always the changing requirement of users that decides the technology. For example after the discovery of the steam engine, automobiles were born to meet the requirement of a new means of transportation that wasn't dependent on domesticated animals. 

Some technological advancements from the past based on needs are listed here:

Publishing News --- Printing Press

Work without human tiredness --- Engine

Transportation --- Automobile

Energy Demand --- Power

Currency / Utensils / Ornaments --- Metallurgy

Security --- Weapons 

Communication ---Telephone and Radio

Entertainment --- Television

Increased Food Demand --- Agriculture Mechanization

Comfort Living --- Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

Capturing visual records --- Camera

Data Analysis / Accounting / Calculations --- Computers

Understanding the Universe --- Spacecraft / Satellites

Portable Transport of day to day stuff --- Plastic

Connecting the World --- Internet

Wireless Communication --- Mobile Phones

So what will be the next generation technological advancement? 

Will it be food pills?

...Inter-Planetary transport?

...Communicating with Aliens?

...Living Underwater?

...Time Travel?

...Telepathy?

...Wireless power transmission?

Savage (adj.) fierce, violent, and uncontrolled

Those of you following the news today must be intrigued by the headlines which talk about a man killed by a White Tiger killed in a Zoo in Delhi.

I wouldn't go over again with the news since it has been thoroughly covered through various media, but would like pass on a few points highlighting the definition of the word Savage and the contrasting behaviour of the humans and the animal in question which again gives you a sort of a face to face comparison as to where that definition would apply.

Our unpreparedness when handling such situations...

Looking at the video footage there is only one thing that came to my mind..When humans cannot understand what humans are saying how can one expect an animal to understand what one wants to convey?

And secondly our denial of accepting our unpreparedness...

Maybe if everyone creating a ruckus over there would have understood that there is nothing they can do about the situation, they would have bought some more time in which the Zoo officials could have made some arrangements to save the man's life.

While videos with blurred out images go viral I request everyone to see the uncensored video which will show how the tiger just carried away that unfortunate man to an isolated corner much the same way humans like to zone out when the situation is out of their control. There's no intention to kill...

The GI Man

The World of fiction and comics have created many characters that can best influence the audience of the theater. Some of these most influencing characters are:
1. Super Man
2. Spider Man
3. Ice Man
4. Bat Man
5. Man of Steel
6. Iron Man

and there comes the GI Man - Galvanized Iron Man - The reason for his birth is that the steel and Iron are susceptible for corrosion and where as a GI doesn't.

Creator of GI man - Jeanson

e-Permit To Work System for Industries

I have worked in a petrochemicals complex during its commissioning. While I grasp the need and importance of a Permit To Work system, I feel that the system is very basic and requires a boost of 21st century gadgetry to help implement it more effectively and stringently.

A sample permit to work can be viewed here.

A 'permit to work', 'work permit' or 'permit' is a signed consent given by the in-charge of a particular plant to the party carrying out some repair or maintenance work in this plant. This permit to work enlists the details of the equipment, the nature of the work to be carried out and the agency carrying out the work, the time for which this permit is valid, the safety precautions to be taken before carrying out the work, the names of the issuing, receiving and the approving personnel and renewal and closing details of the permit. Every issued permit has to be renewed if the enlisted jobs are not completed and have to be closed after the work is completed. The idea is that the issuing personnel will inspect the work area along with the receiving personnel before issuing the permit. He will mark down his observations and any special requirements specific to the job to be carried out and then issue the permit on site. This later has to be approved by the approving authority.

 Existing Flow Chart

What actually happens is that the receiver will try to locate the issuer who usually is the engineer in-charge of a particular area. Since this engineer-in-charge is in-charge of a number of areas instead of just one he may or may not be present in the area where the receiver has to carry out the job. In most of the cases the issuer issues a permit sitting in the office where the permit books are maintained and stored, based on trust, without ever inspecting the area where the work is to be carried out in order to avoid carrying the messy carbon paper and the different permit books which are heavy. The issuer has to maintain a separate register to keep track of open and closed permits. The receiver has to then locate the approving personnel who is never available in the same office. By the time the permits are issued its already 2 precious hours of the day wasted before which the job can be started. And since this 2 hour delay is so common the receiver secretly already tells his men to starts that job in the area before even getting the permit issued. And since this is a preventive measure its usefulness is realized only in case of a rare accident rather than in more frequent safe completion of jobs. So, basically there are more deterrents in the effective implementation of the Permit To Work system, than there are encouragements.

A list of some of the main deterrents and shortfalls in the systems at present:

1. Using carbon paper for making copies, dates back to the age of typewriters and results in erroneous and illegible entries
2. Making 3 copies for each permit issued is a waste of paper
3. Handling three permit books for Working at height, Cold work (regular work) and Hot work (involving welding, grinding, cutting etc)
4. Delay caused by traveling to the site and coming back to the office to issue the permit.
5. Delay as a result of unavailability of approving personnel
6. Often by-passing the site inspection before issue of permit
7. Maintaining a register to keep track of renewals and closure of permits
8. Keeping track of permit books in stock and sending them for printing again and again
9. Predetermined times at which the permits are issued (say in between 10:00-10:30 in A shifts only.
10. Minor details being missed out due to manual entry
11. Maintaining records of permits on paper and in books for 3 years requires a lot of space
12. Immediate issue of emergency maintenance permits is not possible
13. There is no information to Overall Plant In-charge  in case permits are issued, renewed or closed, thereby rendering him clueless about the work being carried out under his shift in various areas of the factory.

I came up with the idea of making this process all electronic for industries. For that we need

The Gadgetry

1. Central Server for Permit To Work System
2. Tablet PCs with a camera, WiFi and NFC capability
3. A touch-input friendly application designed for the table
4. Integration of this system with the e-mail server for immediate notifications

 This is how the system would work.

New Flow Chart

The receiver has to ask the issuer to be present at the area where he intends to carry out some work. The Issuer carries his tablet PC to the plant in question. The Issuer opens the application on the tablet PC and selects the type of permit that is to be issued (Hot, Cold or Height). He enters the details of the job to be carried out. He goes through the checklist and enters his observations. He clicks a time and location stamped picture of the area he has inspected, which is the area where the work is going to be carried out. If any point is not conforming to the checklist or the minimum requirements to be taken care of for that particular job, the form can be saved to continue later when the necessary requirements are met. He digitally signs the permit by touching his ID card (NFC based) to the NFC port thereby signing the permit. He then asks the receiver to sign the permit digitally using his ID card. After these two signatures a serial number will be generated and the e-Permit will be sent to the Central (PTW) Server which then communicates with  the e-mail server of the organization which sends an e-mail notification to the approving authority. The e-mail will have the e-Permit form with the pictures of the locations that was generated in the tablet PC.The approving authority can finally approve the permit by sending back a confirmatory reply or the opposite. Renewals can be carried out on request with provision for additional details and pictures to be added during renewal.

Using this new scheme organizations can not only implement the PTW system effectively with much ease but can also bring in a system to keep track of the kinds of permits being issued and the frequent areas where these permits are being issued to find out the cause of recurrence of similar problems which are being rectified. Definitely opens new doors.

Business Ideas - Topic of the day (15-07-14)

The only source to earn more money in less time is nothing but with a good business model. So What to do and what are the options available?

Options:

1. Setting up a new business unit

2. Hiring an existing industry on lease

3. Looking for an existing industry for sale

4. Browse on internet for any ideas

5. Next future market - Scrap Handling

6. Handling biological matter in collaboration with a municipality.

1. Setting up a new business unit:

This needs a lot of effort in the initial stages and is to be well planned. More time is required with huge man hours. This is a risk based option where in the feasibility, market conditions etc plays a major role.

2. Hiring an existing industry on lease

This is a good option. The only requirement is an investment and an initial market study. Pay the company, hire it, explore market for rigorous demand and start producing the product at peak capacity. Make Profit and pay the owner. But the margin in this is less as some part of the profits are being paid against the lease.

3. Looking for an existing industry for sale

Found one -  http://www.cencorefining.org/ which says that "CENCO Refining Company is located in Santa Fe Springs, California, near Los Angeles.  The 50,000 barrel per day refinery has been sold.  However, some units and equipment that are not part of the sale remain available." Buy some equipment which may suit to set up an establishment of your interest at a relatively less price and reduce the initial investment. 

4. Browse on internet for any ideas

Lot of projects and business ideas are not put into use because of lack of funds, time and technology. Select a project or a business idea and work on it

5. Next future market - Scrap Handling

There is a great future for scrap handling. Currently the goods being manufactured have less life time. This is one of the greatest marketing strategy implemented jointly by all the industries. Even though a product can be designed for a more life time, it is designed for a lesser time in-order to enhance the year-on-year sales of the company. Because of this strategy, the life time of the products has come down and there is a lot and lot of scrap being generated. This scrap has a real competitive price in the market. The main scrap being the e-waste generated from the silicon cities all across the world has a huge potential. Even though this industry has an add-on advantage of government subsidies, wherein the government will provide enough benefits for clearing the scrap and reusing the material further.

6. Handling biological matter in collaboration with a municipality.

Municipalities all across the world are currently facing the problem of handling biological matter that is being generated on day to day basis. There is enough technological growth in this area wherein the matter is treated with a bacteria to convert it into useful energy and also to compress its size by increasing the energy density. This reduction in space can be used for further storing of the matter as well in transforming the matter into energy rich. The government also provide subsidies in this area, as this is a part of society development.

Ganzfeld experiment and psi.

I was reading an article about the ganzfeld ("whole field" in German) experiments today. These experiments are widely renowned for being the first scientific attempt at proving the existence of telepathy.

The ganzfeld experiment involved two people, one of whom was termed the 'sender' and the other, the 'receiver'. The receiver was placed in an isolated environment from the sender. The sender had to look at an image and had to try to relay the details of the image over to the sender, through psi. The sender had to describe the image to the person conducting the test and later identify the image that the sender had seen, from among four images in which one was the actual image and other three were decoys. If left to chance, the receiver would have a strike rate of only 25% (1 out of 4). But the experiments turned out a result of more than that. Even though there were a number of shortcomings in the procedure which even the experimenter accepted, this experiment caught my interest because of the somewhat sound logic based on which the results were to be obtained.

Psi, is the name given to a unknown factor, the presence of which helps people perform actions which cannot be explained by known physical and biological mechanisms. Call it the dark force or the sixth sense, if you may.

We hear numerous anecdotes wherein people are able to foresee or get an inkling of events which have not yet occurred or have occurred in isolation. But in almost all the cases we cannot surely say that the foresight or inkling was a result of extra sensory perception. The perception which does not rely on the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. The intriguing thing is that most of these foresights, inklings and premonitions come to us in our dreams, when we are in deep sleep. Which brings me to the important point I want to make.

We all perceive the world to be what it is through the five senses we know of, and that is why extra sensory perception seems so surreal to us.

Take for example floating on water on your back, replicating a state of weightlessness. I, for one, feel vulnerable doing that. Concerned whether my breathing is in sync, whether there is water finding its way into my ears, whether or not I have floated adrift too far away, whether I have been in this state for too long, why am I doing this. All these thoughts occupy my mind and drag me back into the world of these five senses. Compare this to the state of deep sleep. A state of sleep in which our mind is free from the clutter of these random thoughts and we create a world of our own with such detail, that it seems real. We often don't even remember the dream as soon as we wake up. Just goes to show the untapped power of our minds. But even in this state we are wrapped up in a blanket made out of the five senses, which is so cozy, that even the loss of one of the senses (eg. weightlessness caused by an endless fall)  in our dreams, pulls us out of that state and wakes us up.

People who have lost the ability to see are known to have developed the power to see through touch and hearing (echo location). People who have lost the ability to hear are known to have developed the power to hear though sight (lip read). So it is known that the loss of one sense strengthens the others and our dependence on them. .

Imagine ourselves in an environment which does not give us any sensory inputs in the five forms we know of and you may just as well imagine yourself developing psi.