1

Editor’s Note

Gree�ngs!

This edi�on of FOCUS addresses the compila�on of probabilis�c graphical models into chemical

reac�ons, replacement of everything around you using USB Gizmos. Our student writers take you on a

tour to establish human se�lement on Mars. Have a look at news ways of using your mouse and

keyboard using leap mo�on controller. This volume updates the members about AICSSC 2013 and

Arduino sessions organized by the student branch.

We appreciate the efforts of the many authors who contributed to this edi�on, and hope that our readers

are well informed about the latest trends in technology. Our sincere thanks to Mrs. Usha Raghunath for her con�nuous support and guidance. Divya Chandra

6th SEM,ECE

Third Edition: April 2014

3

Inspir ing young minds, th is

workshop was to kick start these

minds into probably one of the

most fascinating chapters that

engineering has to offer: Robotics.

A field still very immature, still

untapped and with a world of things

yet to be explored. An endeavor of

IEEE to introduce students to the

Open Source platform: Arduino,

inevitably the most popular board

for those just stepping into the

world of robotics.

The workshop was conducted by

5th Semester students Abhishek

Dugar and Abhinav Sharma of

EEE department and was divided

into three session on three days to

encourage the self learning

process.

The three one and half hour

sessions explored three different

attributes of arduino. The first was

an open to all theoretical session

which was to motivate the students

and impart a primitive familiarity

with the arduino board and

m ic rocon t ro l l e rs . Th is was

followed by a hands-on round

exclusively for IEEE members

covering the programming aspect

of arduino. After which was a

r i g o r o u s t h i r d d a y w h i c h

constituted sensor interfacing,

motor interfacing and finally

building a closed loop system

using the two.

The purpose of this workshop was

to provide the 'Activation energy'

required to propel these young

minds towards building smarter

robots, building a smarter future.

Team Focus

Arduino Sessions

SLC

The congress was held at one of

the most peaceful places near

Mysore, the Suttur Mutt from 14th-

15th September, 2013. A team of 9

members f rom IEEE PESIT

student branch namely Kartik R

Kannapur, Abishek Shenoy,

Ashwin Shroff, Shubham Khurana,

Divya Chandra, Sumukh Desu,

Sindhu BM, Bharath, Girish B

headed to Mysore.

The day began with an Ice-Breaker

session where we were divided

into 9 groups and each of us had a

set of 7 activities to perform which

involved getting along with each

person of our team and also taking

pictures with members of the other

team helping in networking with

members of various IEEE student

branches. This was followed by a

session by Mr.Pavan Sondur on

his enterprise Unbxd which helps

search engines become more

accurate by differentiating the

aspects of the words entered in a

search engine as in differentiating

between the attributes of the object

and the object itself. This was

followed by a keynote talk by

Mr.Sudeendra Koushik. Once we

were briefed about the basics of

s ta r t ing a company by Mr .

Ravikiran A, Mr.Rakesh Prabhu

gave us an overview about

IP(Internet Protocol) rules and

about how to file a patent and the

checklist we must follow. Mr. Siva

Yellampalli, the chair of Bangalore

SAC told us about the various

act iv i t ies conducted by the

Bangalore Section.

The sessions were punctuated

with breaks for tea and snacks. We

had entrepreneurship activities like

the 50 Rupee Activity, Udaan

based on team efforts to create a

new product and to sell it using

marketing strategies and the

entrepreneurship skills we just

learnt. In the evening we had

Suttur Darshan where we visited all

the prominent places present in the

Suttur Campus..

The night was spent socializing

with the newly met friends who all

had a similar goal of taking IEEE

fo rward . The second day 's

sessions were even more exciting

as most of us knew each other

there and we also got insights into

the startups by Mr. Nikhil Furtado(3

Ventures based on T-Sh i r t

2

Matter is becoming

programmable and intelligence

more tangible. The

accentuated neuronal plasticity

in the non-sapiens world is

evident from the budding blue

brain machines blooming into

our natural world. Be it the IBM

Watson that beat humans in

Jeopardy or Deep Fritz chess

program, the evolution of

machine intelligence knows no

bound today, with the advent

of statistical non probabilistic

machine learning,

convolutional neural networks

and other algorithms to

augment the standard

planning and coordination

artificial intelligence

algortithms, there is a huge

potential for the expansion of

artificial intelligence into the

most unconventional fields.

Probabilistic graphical models,

to simplify, is a method which

uses mathematical algorithms

used on graph theory,

wrapped with probability, to

provide an intelligent

conditional dependence

structure between random

variables. But what Nills Napp

and Ryan Adams at School of

Engineering and Applied

Sciences at Harvard, have

done is a brilliant moonshot at

chemical AI.

In their approach they have

developed a procedure that

can take arbitrary probabilistic

graphical models, represented

as factor graphs over discrete

random variables and compile

them into chemical reactions

networks that implement

inference.

This step forward opens up a

plethora of opportunities for

computer scientists working on

statistical machine learning,

such as how to develop

innovative algorithms and

models that are specifically

tailored to tackling uncertainty

faced by molecular engineers.

In addition to this it unleashes

the potential for analysing

natural biological reaction

pathways and regulatory

networks that perform

statistical inference.

Biological systems serve as

inspiration for the artificial

world and analysing bio-

behaviour at a molecular level

could provide engineers a

glimpse into an unexplored

realm, helping to formulate

smart therapeutics, artificial

nano machines etc to tackle

problems at the molecular

level.

The key insight is that the

dynamics of chemical

reactions map directly onto the

two types of computational

steps that computer scientists

would normally perform in-

silico to achieve the same end.

Bioengineers often face

daunting challenges as many

molecular pathways are still

poorly characterised and

available data are corrupted by

random noise. Using machine

learning these challenges can

now be overcome by

modelling the dependencies

between random variables and

using them to extract and

accumulate the small amounts

of information each random

event provides.

Well surely Napp and Adams

have chemodified machine

learning.

Abhinav Sharma

6th SEM, EEE

Chemo AI

4

designing, Poster making and 3D

P r i n t i n g ) a n d M r . S r i n i d h i

Prahlad(Academic helper called

Reinventio). The later sessions

were spent on discussing various

activities done by each section in

Karnataka and awareness was

spread about the branch funding,

grants,awards and competitions.

Goutham Prasad told his journey

on how he made IEEE work for him

and presently he is a GOLD

member which is a very prestigious

position to hold.

We ended the day by a session on

l e a d e r s h i p b y D r . R

Balasubramaniam who was a Lok

Ayukta member and presently

teaches po l i t i cs in var ious

institutions. After congratulating

the Mysore SAC on conducting a

brilliant Conference, we headed

back to Bangalore looking forward

to yet another SLC!

Namratha Kasi 6th SEM, ECE

A whopping 165,000 and counting!

This is the number of applicants

hoping to be chosen to go on a

one-way trip to Mars and spend the

rest of their lives there, thus being a

p a r t o f M a r s O n e ' s g o a l :

establishing a permanent human

settlement on Mars. Mars One is a

non-profit organization that plans

to establish a permanent human

colony on Mars by 2023. For the

astronauts, who are willing to be

dedicated settlers, Mars will be

their new home planet.

"I believe mankind is destined to be

a multi-planet species, to move

beyond the confines of our home

planet. To work with Mars One is to

be a living part of this incredible

undertaking."

- A r n o A .

Wie lders ,

M.Sc., Co-

Founder &

C h i e f

Technica l

O ffi c e r

(Netherlan

ds)

Mars One

h a s

incorporate

d into its Mission plan, a detailed

risk analysis protocol, built by

highly experienced individuals with

experience at NASA and the ESA. .

“Since we started Mars One in

March 2011, we received support

f rom sc ien t is ts , eng ineers ,

businessmen and –women and

aerospace companies from all over

the world. The announcement of

our plan in May 2012 resulted in

the engagement of the general

public, and the support from

sponsors and investors. To see our

mission evolve this way feels like

my dream is becoming a reality."

-Bas Lansdorp, M.Sc. , Co-

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

(Netherlands)

January 2016 will mark the start of

Mars One colonization effort when

a supply mission, carrying 2500

kilograms in spares parts, solar

panels, and other necessary

supplies will be launched. In 2018,

a settlement rover will explore the

terrain of Mars in search of the

ideal location for humans to reside

and in 2021, the rovers will prepare

to assemble the landing of six

separate units designed to sustain

human life. By 2022, the first team

o f f o u r c a r e f u l l y s e l e c t e d

applicants will head to Mars.

M a r s h a s a n u n f o r g i v i n g

envi ronment where a smal l

mistake or accident can result in

large failure, injury, and death. The

astronauts will have access to a

relatively spacious area of over 50

m2 per person . Wi th in the

s e t t l e m e n t a r e i n fl a t a b l e

componen ts wh ich con ta in

bedrooms, working areas, a living

room and a 'plant production unit',

where they will grow greenery. If

t h e a s t r o n a u t s l e a v e t h e

settlement, they have to wear a

Mars Suit. The rovers would take

care o f mos t o f the heavy

constructions and the astronauts

w o u l d c a r r y o u t v a l u a b l e

construction works and research

about how their bodies respond

a n d

c h a n g e ,

and how

f o o d

crops and

o t h e r

p l a n t s

g r o w i n

hydroponi

c p l a n t

productio

n units.

Success in this human mission to

Mars, overcoming the criticisms

will inspire the future generations

to come, that all things are possible

and anything can be achieved.

Mission Mars One

Sumukh Desu 4th SEM, ECE

5

The All India IEEE Computer

Society Student Congress 2013

(AICSSC) organized at P.E.S

Institute of Technology, Bangalore

on 16th and 17th December, 2013

based on the Theme: “Enhancing

Technical Competencies of Indian

Students through IEEE Computer

Society" is the second edition of

the IEEE CS Student Congress in

India.

Day 1

The event starred IEEE Computer

Society giants like Dr. David Alan

Grier, IEEE Computer Society

President, Mrs. Angela Burgess,

E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r , I E E E

Computer Society.

The India IEEE Computer Society

Chair Mr. Satish Babu took the dais

and spoke about the advantages of

being a computer society member

and urged the participants to join

the computer society. Mr.S.V

Sankaran, a senior member of

I E E E w h o s e r v e d a s t h e

cha i rman(2002-2003) , V ice

President (2009) addressed the

ga ther ing and insp i red the

participants for a collaborative

environment for creativity and

productivity.

Mrs Pamela Kumar took time in

knowing each par t i c ipan t ' s

aspirations and she shared some

of her life experiences with the

participants. As part of the group

activity the whole group was split

up into nine groups in accordance

w i t h t h e i r c h o s e n p r i m a r y

topics.The primary topics were

nanoelectronics, cloud computing,

green technology, cognit ive

comput ing , da ta sc iences ,

r o b o t i c s e t c . E a c h g r o u p

presented their ideas pictorially

using charts. The participants

were left inspired and brimming

with ideas.

Day 2

The day started off with the

inaugural speech by Mr T G

Srinath who is the VP & Global

Head Sales & Marketing at Exilant

T e c h n o l o g i e s . H e g a v e a

presentation about " Taking the

jump -From campus to company ",

e m p h a s i s e d t h e d i ff e r e n t

challenges faced in a company,

the change in the scenario from a

campus to a company and spoke

about adapt ing to d ifferent

scenarios in a company.

T h i s w a s f o l l o w e d b y t h e

networking activity organised by

the IEEE PESIT Student Branch

members. The main intention of

this was to help participants open

up, work in a group and showcase

their leadership skills.

The networking activity was

followed by a talk on Ethical

hacking and non conventional IT

careers. This event featured a

college participant, Mr Monendra

Sahu who has hacked some of the

most secured internet networks

existing on world wide web and got

rewarded by his targets. He talked

about the lack of cyber security

force in our developing world and

asked the participants to look for

jobs in the security field rather than

being developers.

Mr Aditya Rao, Vice chair of the

Member and Geographic Board

(MGAB) of the IEEE Computer

Society, also the Chairman of the

M e m b e r s h i p D e v e l o p m e n t

C o m m i t t e e ( M D C ) a n d i s

responsible for supporting the

global outreach and overal l

membership development for

IEEE computer society. He took

the dais and organised a group

activity to emphasize “Agile” which

is a group of software development

methods based on iterative and

incremental development, where

requirements and solutions evolve

through collaboration between

self-organizing, cross-functional

teams.

Mr Satish Babu is the Director of

the International Centre for Free

and Open Source Sof tware

(ICFOSS). He is the current chair

of IEEE Computer Society Chapter

in India.The talk was flooded with

information on not only the IEEE

India CS Chapter but also MGA

AICSSC

6

famously known as Member and

Geographic Activities.

The participants were very eager

and the enthusiasm beamed in

their faces. Dr. K Srikrishna was

the next person on the agenda to

speak who is an entrepreneur and

a writer. Being in the field for years,

he brought out the participants'

passion to not only work in startups

but also to start up themselves. He

went against the common beliefs

people had about startups and also

gave them valuable tips in starting

u p a n d r u n n i n g a s t a r t u p

successfully.

Next to speak was Prof. S V

Sankaran. He gave a short

presentation titled " Why be a CS

Volunteer " that highlighted the

impo r tance o f be i ng a CS

volunteer and the advantages it

gives a student.

After lunch the participants were

eager to listen to the most awaited

talk by Dr. Xun Luo, Vice Chair

Geographic Unit Operations at

Computer Society Member &

Geographic Activi t ies Board

(MGAB). Luo spoke about how he

began as an IEEE volunteer and

how the experience helped him to

not only to complete his studies in

Top Universities but also get him to

a credible position. He spoke of the

challenges he faced and how he

overcame them with hard work,

determination and passion that he

had for IEEE. The keynote talk by

Dr. Xun Luo was much appreciated

by the participants.

As is custom to every Congress of

IEEE, the event ended with a panel

discussion featuring Dr. David Alan

Grier, Mrs. Angela Burgess and Dr.

Xun Luo. The discussion was the

highlight of the day. This was an

excellent opportunity for the

participants to grasp knowledge

not only about the IEEE Computer

Society but also about the personal

lives that these eminent individuals

lead and also giving an insight into

the working of their minds. Mr.

Sudheendra Koushik was the

perfect host and fired away with

wonderful questions that helped

participants know more than what

they had come for.

This event which brought together

p a r t i c i p a n t s , s p e a k e r s &

organizers made for an excellent

experience!

Team Focus

USB Gizmos

USB-powered toaster

Now you can take a toaster

everywhere you take your laptop.

Insert a slice of any bread and in 7-

9 minutes you have the kind of

perfect toast you could only get

from a computer .This USB-

powered toaster when connected

to your laptop prints out news,

weather reports and much more

onto your breakfast.

U S B W i r e l e s s M i s s i l e

LauncherImagine if you can set

up your own missile launcher

a n y w h e r e ! T h i s s u p e r c o o l

launcher powered by USB with 4

feet of cable has wireless control up

to 15 feet. It can shoot a target

within a range of 10 feet at an

extremely fast pace. You can add

missile launching sound effects

when you fire and the missile

rotates 360 degrees and about 45

d e g r e e s u p a n d d o w n .

Install the software that comes

with this SAM launcher and you

can control from the your strikes

control panel that appears on your

laptop screen.

Wrist Band Charger

Does your BlackBerry, iPhone, or

any other gadget run out of charge

a t t h e m o s t i n o p p o r t u n e

moments? Then this is what you

are looking for. A portable,

rechargeable 1500 mAh lithium-

ion battery that straps directly to

your wrist to ensure that none of

your gadgets ever run out of

battery. The unit comes with nine

separate connectors to fit an army

of gizmos.

USB Cup Warmer

Time flies when you're vegeta�ng at

your computer, and it's only when you

put that coffee cup to your lips you

realize it's been a while since you had

se�led down with it. Instead of

heading to a microwave oven, check

out this cool USB Cup Warmer. It does

not require ba�eries and includes an

ON/OFF switch. It will perform the

s i m p l e j o b o f p re ve n� n g h o t

beverages from losing their warmth!!

Girish B

4th SEM, ECE

7

"Leap - A revolutionary

device,is more accurate than

a mouse , as reliable as

keyboard , and still more

sensitive than a touchscreen

."

Have you ever wondered

about doing things on your

computer like doing them in

real l i fe ? Do you get

exhausted us ing your

keyboard or mouse while

your just fiddling around

wi th your computer ?

Imagine if you could replace

all those clicks,drags,drops,

with your natural hand

movements! Wouldn't it be

amusing if we can interact

with our computer for real

and bridge the gap between reality

and virtuality?

How would it be if something like that

exists ? It is now absolutely possible

with a petite device called LEAP

MOTION CONTROLLER - a sleek

,light 3" long USB peripheral device to

be placed upward on physical

desktop. It allows the user to sculpt,

mould , stretch ,bend , wave and poke

their way through a digital world with

unprecedented speed and accuracy.

It has 8" cubic feet of interactive 3D

space which tracks your movements

at a rate of over 200 frames per sec. It

is able to detect the smallest of

m o v e m e n t s w i t h v e r y l i t t l e

perceivable delay. Finally,scenes like

in the movie "Minority Report " are

apparently a reality now.

Let us have a look on how this device

works :

It consists of two monochromatic

InfraRed cameras under a protective

sheet of dark plexiglass and 3

InfraRed LEDs which roughly capture

an area of a pyramid.The tiny leap

motion base has a rather wide field of

view directly above it. The LEDs

generate a 3D pattern of dots of

reflected data. When you place your

hand within its pyramidal

view , a circle appears on the screen.

This lets you know how your hands

and fingers move before you interact

with anything on your screen.

If you want to push or control

something on your monitor , you

extend your hands or fingers forward

until you reach an invisible barrier.

This unseen wall is the threshold, you

must cross before the leap motion

registers and waves into clicks and

swipes. This reflected data of your

hand movements is sent to computer

through USB cable where it is

analysed by leap motion controller

software on your PC using complex

math. That's how the action on your

screen keeps up with your every

move. Its exhilarating for the things

you do everyday and for things you

thought you could never do.

By using simple hand movements to

drive computer experiences , we can

now reach out and interact directly

with the applications in the most

natural way . Masses will soon find

new applications more accessible

and approachable as they can now

learn through intuition and first- hand

experience . This leap motion

controller can find its applications in

numerous fields :

1. Healthcare

2. Retail

3.desktop productivity

4. Education

5. Manufacturing

6.security

7.data visualisation

8. Defence and aerospace

Leap motion controller

can possibly change the

way you use your

technology. It doesn't

replace your keyboard,

mouse or trackpad , it

works with them instead.

As intuitive as the leap

motion maybe ,

there does exist a kind of

hand-motion-mind

learning curve to

surmount.

Snigdha Prasad

4th SEM,ECE

LEAP MOTION

It was proposed by Christian Goldbach that every odd composite number can be written as the sum of a prime and twice a square.9 = 7 + 2×1^215 = 7 + 2×2^221 = 3 + 2×3^225 = 7 + 2×3^227 = 19 + 2×2^233 = 31 + 2×1^2It turns out that the conjecture was false.What is the smallest odd composite that cannot be written as the sum of a prime and twice a square?

Send us a pic of your solved 8x8 to ieeefocus.pes@gmail.com and take back a

OFFICE BEARERS

Chairman: Shubham Khurana

Vice-Chairman: Sumukh Desu

Treasurer: Tejna N

Secretary: Divya Chandra

DESIGNERS

Abhishek Dugar

Abhinav Sharma

8