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sagarbiswas · 2 years

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Edge of Tomorrow(Movie Review)

MAKAUT MANDATORY ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS(MAR)

NAME OF THE ACTIVITY: MOVIE'S REVIEW

NAME OF THE MOVIE: EDGE OF TOMORROW

"Edge of Tomorrow" is less of a time travel movie than an experience movie; that statement might not make sense now, but it probably will after you've seen it. Based on Hiroshi Sikurazaka's novel "All You Need is Kill", it's a true science fiction film, highly conceptual, set during the aftermath of an alien invasion. Maybe "extra-dimensional being invasion" is more accurate. The fierce, octopod-looking beasties known as Mimics are controlled hive-mind style by a creature that seems able to peer through time, or rupture it, or something. When the tale begins, we don't have exact answers about the enemy's powers (that's for our intrepid heroes to find out), but we have a solid hunch that it can see possible futures through the eyes of specific humans, then treat them as, essentially, video game characters, following their progress through the nasty "adventure" of the war, and making note of their tactical maneuvers, the better to ensure our collective extermination.

Tom Cruise, who seems to be spending his fifties saving humanity, plays Major William Cage, an Army public relations officer. Cage is a surprising choice for the role of hero. He's never seen combat yet inexplicably finds himself thrown into the middle of a ferocious battle that will decide the outcome of the war. The film begins with Cage en route to European command headquarters in London, waking up in the belly of a transport chopper. The rest of the movie may not be his dream per se, but at various points, it sure feels as though it is. The world is wracked by war. Millions have died. Whole cities have been reduced to ash heaps. The landscapes evoke color newsreel footage from World War II, and much of the combat seems lifted from that era as well. When Cage meets the general in charge of that part of the world's forces, he's told he's being sent right into this movie's version of D-Day and is to report for duty immediately. No amount of protest by Cage can halt this assignment, and soon after he joins his unit and learns the rudiments of wearing combat armor (this is one of those science fiction films in which soldiers wear clumping bionic suits festooned with machine guns and other weapons) he dies on the battlefield. Then he wakes up and starts all over. Then he dies again and starts over again. He always knows he's been here before, that he met this person, said that thing, did that thing, made a wrong choice, and died. Nobody else does, though. They're oblivious to the way in which Cage, like "Slaughterhouse-Five" hero Billy Pilgrim, has come unstuck in time. Cage's only allies are a scientist (Noah Taylor) who believes the creatures are beating humanity through their mastery of time, and Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), an Audie Murphy or Sgt. York type who's great for armed forces morale in addition to being an exceptionally gifted killer. Rita has experienced the same temporal dislocation that Cage is now experiencing, but at a certain point, it stopped. She recognizes his maddening condition but can no longer share in it. She can, however, offer guidance (and a key bit of information that defines his predicament), and speed up the learning curve by shooting him in the head whenever it becomes obvious that they're going down a wrong road that'll lead to the same fatal outcome.

Although the film's advertising would never dare suggest such a thing, for fear of driving off viewers who just want the bang bang-boom boom, Cage is a complex and demanding role for any actor. It is especially right for Cruise, in that Cage starts out as a Jerry Maguire-type who'll say or do anything to preserve his comfort, then learns through hard (lethal) experience how to be a good soldier and a good man. He changes as the story tells and retells and retells itself. By the end he's nearly unrecognizable from the man we met in the opening.Cruise is hugely appealing here, not just in the early scenes opposite Gleeson in which he's in Tony Curtis mode—he's always fantastic playing a smooth-talking manipulator who's sweating on the inside—but later, where he exhibits the sort of rock-solid super-competence and unforced decency that Randolph Scott brought to Budd Boetticher's westerns. He was always likable, sometimes perfect in the right role, but age has deepened him by bringing out his vulnerability. There's an existential terror in his eyes that's disturbing in a good way, and there are points in which "Edge of Tomorrow" seems to simultaneously be about what it's about while also being about the predicament of a real actor trying to stay relevant in a Hollywood universe that's addicted to computer generated monsters, robots and explosions. Cruise deserves some sort of acting award for the array of yelps and gasps he summons as he's killed by a Mimic or shot in the head by Blunt and then rebooted into another version of the story.The rest of the cast has less to do because this is Tom Cruise's movie through-and-through, but they're all given moments of humor, terror, or simple eccentricity. Taylor often gets cast as brilliant but haunted or ostracized geniuses, and he's effective in another of those roles here. Gleeson, as is so often the case, invests a rather stock character with such humanity that when the character's motivations and responses change, you get the sense that it's because the general is a good and smart man and not because he's just doing what the script needs him to do. Emily Blunt is unexpectedly convincing as a fearless and elegant super-soldier, and of course a magnificent camera subject as well. Director Doug Liman is so enamored with the introductory shot of her rising up off the floor of a combat training facility in a sort of downward-facing dog yoga pose that he repeats it many times. The film's only egregious flaw is its attempt to superimpose a love story onto Cruise and Blunt's relationship, which seems more comfortable as a "Let's express our adoration for each other by killing the enemy" kind of thing.

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sagarbiswas · 2 years

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Secrets of Saqqara Tomb

MAKAUT MANDATORY ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT(MAR)

NAME OF THE ACTIVITY: REVIEWING A DOCUMENTARY

NAME OF THE DOCUMENTARY: SECRETS OF SAQQARA TOMB

It’s difficult to imagine a world where there are still pieces of history left untouched, and increasingly rarer these days for new discoveries to be made. In Saqqara, Egypt, a team of researchers, Egyptologists, archaeologists, historians, diggers, and more unearth something truly miraculous, and that’s where Secrets of the Saqqara tomb begins. The unearthing of the Saqqara Tomb in Egypt is truly monumental; this 4,400-year-old tomb is completely preserved and so expansive it causes those working at the site to nearly faint of joy. There are sculptures, paintings, and, yes, some good old-fashioned mummies. It’s the archaeological jackpot, a groundbreaking revelation that seems to fully delight every individual interviewed in the film.

Over the course of Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb‘s 2 hours, we’re granted a lot of historical contexts that help these massive discoveries carry even more emotional weight. The importance of the afterlife and preparing for death in Ancient Egypt is discussed, as well as the mummification process and the significance of the hieroglyphics translated throughout the tomb. We learn it belonged to a high-ranking priest from the Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt named Wahtye. They joke he seemed to be something of an egoist, involved in many activities and obsessed with entering the afterlife with all the wealth and status he had while living his natural life. These people are able to gather massive amounts of information based on the hieroglyphics alone, and once they start getting further into the art that adorns the walls and other areas of the tomb, the picture begins to paint itself.

This dig is exciting on its own – and offers entertainment and big emotional moments – but there’s also a sense of urgency in the air due to their funding hinging on how quickly they are able to unearth their next big discovery, which only heightens the stakes further. This isn’t just your everyday dig. Exploring themes of ancestry, tradition, and the future, Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb offers a unique view of a once-in-a-lifetime undertaking.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb will appeal to those who tend to dig a science, history, or nature documentary. Think Discovery and History Channel stuff, but about 100 times better.

Memorable Dialogue: “We are the people who can best give voice to our ancestors… Because they are our ancestors, we are one step closer to them than the foreigner,” one archaeologist says. This sums up what is so beautiful about Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb; the fact that this history is being unearthed by the people it belongs to, rather than the outsiders who often swoop in to make a profit and a name for themselves without a second thought for the real history of it all.

My Take: Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb simply works for a number of reasons; it’s very well-paced, almost meditatively so. Things aren’t over-dramatized for cliffhangers or big reveals. We get such an authentic-feeling glimpse into the everyday lives of these people that when we do reach a big moment – like the unearthing of a mummy while all those present hold their breaths – it is particularly impactful. The film hits a sweet spot that never feels rushed or dragged out, though its subjects are so well-cast they definitely could have made a miniseries that dove even deeper into Egyptian customs and previous discoveries of this nature. In addition to its pacing, it’s also well-scripted and (as I previously mentioned) well-cast; all of the people involved in this historic event are really the heart of the film. The tomb is amazing, yes, but without these people – the diggers and the experts – the film wouldn’t be nearly as special as it is.

It’s rare that a documentary with this kind of subject matter is able to tug at your heartstrings, but Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb manages to do so with ease. Had they just taken us on a journey through the dig and discoveries itself, we would have had something interesting, but not emotionally engaging. Instead, the film brilliantly gets us invested in the lives of the people at the heart of this monumental moment in time, and drives home just how much it means to them – and in turn, makes it mean a lot to us, too. There’s something incredibly special about seeing the pride of these people when it comes to their ability to claim this discovery for themselves; so often are these things ripped from them and distributed to the world before they have the chance to connect with their own history. In Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb, this ancient Egyptian discovery belongs to the Egyptians who are digging it up, translating it, and treating it with the utmost care. They are able to contextualize this history in a way that few others can because so much of it plays a vital role in the way they move through the world today.

It’s this nuance that sets Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb aside from its predecessors exploring the similar subject matter. It’s a film that proves that at the end of the day, most stories work best when you have someone to root for – even the nonfiction ones, like this. And this cast of characters is the perfect group of heroes. They love their country and their land and their history, and they help us fall in love with it too. Watching them get to unearth a piece of it for themselves is something totally astonishing.

#saqqara #ancient egypt #old cairo

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sagarbiswas · 2 years

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Importance of Aerodynamics

#MAKAUT #MAR #MandatoryAdditionalRequirements

Name of Activity: Writing a Blog

Name of the Blog: Importance of Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is the study of how gases interact with moving bodies. Because the gas that we encounter most is air, aerodynamics is primarily concerned with the forces of drag and lift, which are caused by air passing over and around solid bodies. Engineers apply the principles of aerodynamics to the designs of many different things, including buildings, bridges, and even soccer balls; however, of primary concern is the aerodynamics of aircraft and automobiles.

Aerodynamics comes into play in the study of flight and the science of building and operating an aircraft, which is called aeronautics. Aeronautical engineers use the fundamentals of aerodynamics to design aircraft that fly through the Earth's atmosphere.

Aerodynamic drag

The most significant aerodynamic force that applies to nearly everything that moves through the air is a drag. Drag is the force that opposes an aircraft's motion through the air, according to NASA. Drag is generated in the direction the air is moving when it encounters a solid object. In most cases, such as in automobiles and aircraft, drag is undesirable because it takes power to overcome it. There are, however, some cases when drag is beneficial, such as with parachutes, for example.

To describe the amount of drag on an object, we use a value called the drag coefficient (cd). This number depends not only on the shape of the object but also on other factors, such as its speed and surface roughness, the density of the air, and whether the flow is laminar (smooth) or turbulent. Forces that affect drag include the air pressure against the face of the object, the friction along the sides of the object, and the relatively negative pressure, or suction, on the back of the object. For example, cd for a flat plate moving face-on through the air is about 1.3, a face-on cube is about 1, a sphere is about 0.5 and a teardrop shape is about 0.05. The drag coefficient for modern automobiles is 0.25 to 0.35, and for aircraft, it is 0.01 to 0.03. Calculating cd can be complicated. For this reason, it is usually determined by computer simulations or wind tunnel experiments.

Aerodynamics of aircraft

In order to overcome drag forces, an aircraft must generate thrust. This is accomplished with a motor-driven propeller or a jet engine. When the airplane is in level flight at a constant speed, the force of the thrust is just enough to counteract the aerodynamic drag.

Moving air can also generate forces in a different direction from the flow. The force that keeps an airplane from falling is called lift. Lift is generated by an aircraft wing. The path over a wing's curved top is longer than the path along the flat bottom of the wing. This causes the air to move faster over the top than it does along the bottom. With all other factors being equal, faster-moving air has lower pressure than slower moving air, according to Bernoulli's principle, stated by Daniel Bernoulli, one of the most important pioneers in the field of fluid dynamics. This difference is what allows the slower moving air to push up against the bottom of the wing with greater force than the faster-moving air is pushing down against the top of the wing. In level flight, this upward force is just enough to counteract the downward force caused by gravity.

Aerodynamic forces are also used to control an aircraft in flight. When the Wright brothers made their first flight in 1903, they needed a way to control their aircraft to climb, descend, bank, and turn. They developed what is known as three-axis control for pitch, roll, and yaw. Pitch (nose pointing up or down) is controlled by an elevator (the "flaps") on the back or trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer in the tail section. Roll (tilting left or right) is controlled by ailerons (also flaps) on the trailing edges of the wings near the tips. Yaw (nose pointing left or right) is controlled by the rudder on the trailing edge of the vertical stabilizer in the tail section. These controls employ Newton's Third Law of Motion because they generate force by deflecting the airflow in the opposite direction of the desired movement. This force is also what allows aerobatic planes to fly upside down.

A pilot may also use flaps on the inboard section of the trailing edge of the wing during takeoff and landing. When in the downward position, flaps increase both lifts and drag to allow the plane to fly slower without stalling. Some larger aircraft can also extend slats on the front or leading edges of the wings to increase lift at low speeds.

When the smooth airflow over a plane's wing is disrupted and this reduces the amount of lift, a stall can occur. "This is caused when the wing exceeds its critical angle of attack. This can occur at any airspeed, in any attitude, with any power setting." Typically, most stalls occur when an aircraft is moving too slowly with the nose at too high of an upward angle. The air no longer flows along the top surface but instead breaks away and forms turbulent swirls on top of the wing. This causes the plane to lose lift and start to fall, sometimes rather abruptly.

Another thing that can happen in an airplane is a spin. The Airplane Flying Handbook defines a spin as "an aggravated stall that results in what is termed 'autorotation' wherein the airplane follows a downward corkscrew path." This usually occurs in a slow turn when the slower inside wing stalls and the outside wing is still generating lift. "Especially at low altitude, successful spin recovery may be difficult if not impossible in many aircraft," according to Scot Campbell, a doctoral candidate in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Donald Talleur, an assistant chief flight instructor at the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation, writing in "The Aerodynamics of a Spin," for the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. One reason for this is the danger of going into a flat spin in which both wings and all of the control surfaces are stalled, and the aircraft falls like a maple tree seed.

Aerodynamics of automobiles

Automobiles started using aerodynamic body shapes in the early part of their history. As engines became more powerful and cars became faster, automobile engineers realized that wind resistance significantly hindered their speed. The first cars to adopt improved aerodynamics, or streamlining, were racing cars and those attempting to break the land speed record.

"Dreamers, engineers, racers, and entrepreneurs were lured by the potential for the profound gains aerodynamics offered," wrote Paul Niedermeyer, author of "Automotive History: An Illustrated History Of Automotive Aerodynamics," on the website Curbside Classic. "The efforts to do so yielded some of the more remarkable cars ever made, even if they challenged the aesthetic assumptions of their times."

Regarding the aerodynamics of a racing car, Dr. Joe David, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and known as "Mr. Stock Car" at North Carolina State University, said, "Most of the horsepower generated by a racing engine is eaten up by the high-pressure air pushing the front of the car and the low-pressure air — a partial vacuum — dragging at the car from behind."

However, drag cannot be the only consideration. While the lift is desirable for an airplane, it can be dangerous for an automobile. In order to maintain better control for steering and braking, cars are designed so the wind exerts a downward force as their speed increases. However, increasing this downward force increases drag, which in turn increases fuel consumption and limits speed, so these two forces must be carefully balanced.

Many classes of racing cars use movable winglike airfoils to adjust the downward force of the air on the car. When setting up a racing car, one must also consider turbulence caused by other cars on the track. This requires setting the airfoils on the car to produce a greater downward force during the race than is needed for qualifying when the car is on the track by itself. This is why lap times during qualification are usually much faster than they are during the race.

Many of the same aerodynamic principles used in racing also apply to regular cars and trucks. Automotive engineers use computer simulations and wind tunnel experiments with scale models and actual vehicles to fine-tune the aerodynamics of automobiles so they generate the optimum amount of downward force to the front and back wheels with the least possible amount of drag.

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sagarbiswas · 2 years

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India’s Future in Electric Vehicles Industry

#MAKAUT #MAR #MandatoryAdditionalRequirements

Name of Activity: Writing of blog

Name of the Blog: India’s Future in Electric Vehicles Industry

The global automakers have been juggling with finding new and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, for decades. The overall environmental degradation has not been a hidden consequence of burning fuels from the world. And now, the need to switch from fuels to other environmental-friendly alternatives is more than ever. The world has now joined hands together and pledged for a carbon-neutral world with zero carbon emission. Electric vehicles would be a key player to help achieve that goal. Countries like The UK, France, Norway, and Germany have even brought in legislation to ban the sales of non-electric vehicles as early as 2025. This makes the EV industry one of the most exciting, significant, and necessary areas of innovation today.

The global electric vehicle market size is projected to grow from 4,093 thousand units in 2021 to 34,756 thousand units by 2030, at a CAGR of 26.8%. India has already shown its keen interest to be a major part of this automotive paradigm shift. Adding to that, India has already put forward the desire to become the biggest hub for electric vehicles in the future. Industry leaders consider electric cars to be a promising option.

Apart from the environmental benefits, Electric cars have much more to offer. Autonomous driving options, personalized smart assistance solutions, 5G embedded next-generation technologies, are just a few to mention. At a basic level, electric cars offer a dramatically lower operating cost compared to conventional internal combustion engines. On average, electric vehicles are 75-80% cheaper from a fuel and maintenance perspective, which ultimately translated into lower maintenance bills. Consequently an important consideration for many consumers who have high usage. This reality holds true across form factors because it’s materially cheaper to charge a battery compared to refueling a conventional liquid fuel tank.

India has a lot to gain from the widespread adoption of e-mobility. Under the Make In India program, the manufacturing of e-vehicles and their associated components is expected to increase the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP to 25% by 2022. On the economic front, large-scale adoption of electric vehicles is projected to help save $60 billion on oil imports by 2030 – currently, 82% of India’s oil demand is fulfilled by imports. The price of electricity as fuel could fall as low as Rs 1.1/km, helping an electric vehicle owner save up to Rs. 20,000 for every 5,000km traversed. Finally, electrification will help reduce vehicular emissions, a key contributor to air pollution which causes an average 3% GDP loss every year, reports suggest.

The Government is Leaving No Stone Unturned

Going a step further towards its dream of electric mobility, the Ministry of Power has already launched the National E-Mobility program here in India and rolled out electric cars fleet including Mahindra e-Verito sedan and Tata Tigor EV as a part of this program.

India’s National E-mobility Programme aims to provide an impetus to the entire e-mobility ecosystem that includes electric vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure development companies, fleet operators, service providers, etc. The Government also said that it is looking at charging infrastructure and policy framework to have 30% of vehicles in India as electric vehicles.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways along with R. K. Singh, the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, launched the “Go Electric” Campaign to spread awareness on the benefits of e-mobility and EV Charging Infrastructure as well as electric cooking in India.

The Go Electric Campaign is an initiative aimed at reducing the import dependence of our country in the coming years and has also been projected as an important step towards a cleaner and greener future. The campaign is aimed at creating awareness at the PAN-India level and is expected to boost the confidence of Electric Vehicle manufacturers.

The transport minister pointed out some key benefits of using electricity as an alternative fuel. The minister stated that fossil fuels have an import bill of ₹8 lakh crore.

Making the path for an electric future smoother, the government has launched Special policy measures such as slashing GST on EVs to 5% versus 28% for combustion engines, exemption on loans to buy electric vehicles, Union cabinet has proposed customs duty exemption on certain EV parts including electric drive assembly, onboard charger, e-compressor, and a charging gun to cut down costs. Nearly a dozen states either issued or proposed electric vehicle policies to date, with Delhi being the latest one.

The Bumps in the Road

The Charging infrastructure for e-mobility is an area of concern. There are nearly 1000 charging stations for electric vehicles in India, where the population of vehicles on the road is sky-rocketing. The proportions are unrealistic and the apprehensions in the consumer’s mind are absolutely justified. Nobody wants to be stranded in the middle of a road while waiting for a charging station to be installed there. Moreover, the battery charging system of an EV can take a couple of hours which can be another problem as well.

Breaking away from the old norms and establishing a new consumer behavior is always a challenge. It is common to find users anxious about the speed and range of EVs.

There is complete unavailability of primary battery cell manufacturing in India which puts India in the position of being at the risk of increasing our trade deficit. At the moment, most manufacturers rely on batteries imported from Japan, China, Korea, and Europe. Hence, the Indian market needs encouragement for indigenous technologies that are suited for India from both strategic and economic standpoints, such as aluminum fuel cells.

How Far is the Electric Future of India?

Automakers from all around the world are sighting a keen eye on Indian markets. With the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla coming into the Indian electric automotive spectrum, it is not futile to say that India got a new lease for becoming the future hub for electric vehicles. However, the pandemic has slowed the growth speed of India by leaps and bounds.

With the market being so volatile and lacking a sustainable demand, it is imperative to assess the period India will take in switching to electric cars. But industry leaders are optimistic and believe that the shift will happen very soon owing to reasons such as the number of industry incumbents and startups making rapid and significant advancements in the EV segment, the growing demand and user interest, and institutional interest.

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sagarbiswas · 2 years

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Importance of Aerodynamics

Aerodynamic drag

Aerodynamics of aircraft

Aerodynamics of automobiles

#aerodynamics

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sagarbiswas · 2 years

Text

India's Future in Electric Vehicles Industry

The Government is Leaving No Stone Unturned

The transport minister pointed out some key benefits of using electricity as an alternative fuel. The minister stated that fossil fuels have an import bill of ₹8 lakh crore.

The Bumps in the Road

Breaking away from the old norms and establishing a new consumer behavior is always a challenge. It is common to find users anxious about the speed and range of EVs.

How Far is the Electric Future of India?

With the market being so volatile and lacking a sustainable demand, it is imperative to assess the time period India will take in switching to electric cars. But industry leaders are optimistic and believe that the shift will happen very soon owing to reasons such as the number of industry incumbents and startups making rapid and significant advancements in the EV segment, the growing demand and user interest, and institutional interest.

#electric vehicles

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sagarbiswas · 3 years

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#MAKAUT #MAR #MandatoryAdditionalRequirements

Name of Activity: Review a Movie Name of the Movie: The Big Short

My Review: The Big Short is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Adam McKay. Written by McKay and Charles Randolph, it is based on the 2010 book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis showing how the financial crisis of 2007–2008 was triggered by the United States housing bubble. The film stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, with Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, Finn Wittrock, and Marisa Tomei in supporting roles.

The film is noted for the unconventional techniques it employs to explain financial instruments. Among others, it features cameo appearances by actress Margot Robbie, chef Anthony Bourdain, singer-songwriter Selena Gomez, and economist Richard Thaler, who break the fourth wall to explain concepts such as subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations as a meta-reference. Several of the film's characters directly address the audience, most frequently Gosling, who serves as the narrator.

The Big Short began a limited release in the United States on December 11, 2015, followed by a wide release on December 23 by Paramount Pictures. A critical and commercial success, the film grossed $133 million on a $50 million budget and received acclaim for the performances of the cast (particularly that of Bale), McKay's direction, editing, and the screenplay. The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in addition to nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Bale), and Best Film Editing. The film consists of three separate but concurrent stories, loosely connected by their actions in the years leading up to the 2007 housing market crash. Jared Vennett receives a bonus of $47 million for selling the swaps. Mark Baum becomes more gracious from the financial fallout, and his staff continues to operate their fund. Charlie Geller and Jamie Shipley go their separate ways after unsuccessfully trying to sue the rating agencies, with Charlie moving to Charlotte to start a family, and Jamie still running the fund. Ben Rickert returns to his peaceful retirement. Michael Burry closes his fund after public backlash and multiple IRS audits, now only investing in water securities.

The personnel of the banks responsible for the crisis escapes any consequences for their actions, with the single exception of one trader. It is noted that as of 2015, banks are selling CDOs again under a new label: "Bespoke Tranche Opportunity".

The Big Short approaches a serious, complicated subject with impressive attention to detail – and manages to deliver a well-acted, scathingly funny indictment of its real-life villains in the bargain.

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sagarbiswas · 3 years

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#MAKAUT #MAR #lockdownactivities #MandatoryAdditionalRequirements

Name of Activity: Cooking Recipe

Name of Dish: Mutton Rogan Josh

Ingredients of Mutton Rogan Josh for 5 servings :

1 kilogram chopped into cubes mutton 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida 2 cinnamon 5 black cardamom 1 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder 150 gm hung curd salt as required 1 1/2 cup water 2 1/2 tablespoon milk 1/2 cup ghee 1 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon peppercorns 4 red chili 1 1/4 tablespoon coriander powder 2 pinch saffron 1 tablespoon red chili powder 1 1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds powder 1 1/4 tablespoon all-purpose flour For Garnishing 2 sprigs coriander leaves

How to make Mutton Rogan Josh:

1. Saute the whole spices in ghee and prepare saffron milk.

To prepare this delicacy, first, prepare the saffron milk by soaking saffron in milk. Next, put a pressure cooker and heat ghee in it. When the ghee is hot enough, add the whole spices and fry for a few seconds.

2. Cook mutton with the whole spices

Then, add whole red chilies, cumin seeds, and asafoetida to the pressure cooker and fry for a few seconds. Afterward, add the mutton pieces to it and stir well. Cover with the lid but don’t close it and cook the mutton for 5-6 minutes on medium to high flame. You will notice the meat will turn light brown in color. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and add 1/2 cup of water in it and stir well with the spices. This will help the mutton in soaking the flavors of all the spices. Then, lower the flame and cook the mutton for 10-15 minutes.

3. Mix yogurt with saffron milk and other spices

Meanwhile, take a small bowl and add all-purpose flour along with yogurt in it, mix well. In this yogurt mixture, add the saffron milk (step 1), salt, fennel powder, coriander powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, and dry ginger powder (sonth powder). Mix all the spices well in the yogurt. Once done, add to the pressure cooker. Stir well using a ladle and cook the mutton in yogurt for at least a minute.

4. Add this yogurt mixture to a pressure cooker and slow cook the mutton for 1-2 hours.

Then, add 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker and slow cook the mutton for 1-2 hours. Stir in between so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom. You can also pressure cook the mutton for 5-6 whistles. Once done, garnish and serve hot with chapati or naan. You can also enjoy this dish with rice.

Tips: 1. For those who like a thick gravy, add 2 tbsp all-purpose flour in yogurt and whisk it well before adding to the gravy. This will also enhance the taste of the dish.

2. Rogan Josh is made in a pan over low-flame but you can cook in a pressure cooker to speed up the process.

3. The characteristic red color of Rogan Josh can be obtained from Kashmiri red chilies and Ratan jot. It is a herb in the borage family, traditionally used in Indian food.

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sagarbiswas · 3 years

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#MAR #MAKAUT #lockdownactivities #MandatoryAdditionalRequirements Name of Activity: Review a Movie Name of the Movie: Interstellar

My Review: To infinity and beyond goes “Interstellar,” an exhilarating slalom through the wormholes of Christopher Nolan’s vast imagination that is at once a science-geek fever dream and a formidable consideration of what makes us human. As visually and conceptually audacious as anything Nolan has yet done, the director’s ninth feature also proves more emotionally accessible than his coolly cerebral thrillers and Batman movies, touching on such eternal themes as the sacrifices parents make for their children (and vice versa) and the world we will leave for the next generation to inherit. An enormous undertaking that, like all the director’s best work, manages to feel handcrafted and intensely personal, “Interstellar” reaffirms Nolan as the premier big-canvas storyteller of his generation, more than earning its place alongside “The Wizard of Oz,” “2001,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Gravity” in the canon of Hollywood’s visionary sci-fi head trips. Global box office returns should prove suitably rocket-powered.

We begin somewhere in the American farm belt, which Nolan evokes for its full mythic grandeur — blazing sunlight, towering corn stalks, whirring combines. But it soon becomes clear that this would-be field of dreams is something closer to a nightmare. The date is an unspecified point shortly, close enough to look and feel like tomorrow, yet far enough for several radical changes to have taken hold in society. A decade on from a period of widespread famine, the world’s armies have been disbanded and the cutting-edge technocracies of the early 21st century have regressed into more utilitarian, farm-based economies.

“We’re a caretaker generation,” notes one such homesteader (John Lithgow) to his widower son-in-law, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former NASA test pilot who hasn’t stopped dreaming of flight, for himself and for his children: 15-year-old son Tom (Timothee Chalamet) and 10-year-old daughter Murphy (Mackenzie Foy), the latter a precocious tot was first seen getting suspended from school for daring to suggest that the Apollo space missions actually happened. “We used to look up in the sky and wonder about our place in the stars,” Cooper muses. “Now we just look down and wonder about our place in the dirt.”

And oh, what dirt! As “Interstellar” opens, the world — or at least Cooper’s Steinbeckian corner of it — sits on the cusp of a second Dust Bowl, ravaged by an epidemic of crop blight, a silt-like haze hanging permanently in the air. (Some of this scene-setting is accomplished via pseudo-documentary interviews with the elderly residents of some more distant future reflecting on their hardscrabble childhoods, which Nolan films like the “witness” segments from Warren Beatty’s “Reds.”) And as the crops die, so the Earth’s atmosphere becomes richer in nitrogen and poorer in oxygen, until the time when global starvation will give way to global asphyxiation.

But all hope is not lost. NASA (whose massive real-life budget cuts lend the movie added immediacy) still exists in this agrarian dystopia, but it’s gone off the grid, far from the microscope of public opinion. There, the brilliant physicist Professor Brand (Michael Caine, forever the face of avuncular wisdom in Nolan’s films) and his dedicated team have devised two scenarios for saving mankind. Both plans involve abandoning Earth and starting over on a new, life-sustaining planet, but only one includes taking Earth’s current 6-billion-plus population along for the ride. Doing the latter, it seems, depends on Brand’s ability to solve an epic math problem that would explain how such a large-capacity vessel could surmount Earth’s gravitational forces. (Never discussed in this egalitarian society: a scenario in which only the privileged few could escape, a la the decadent bourgeoisie of Neill Blomkamp’s “Elysium.”)

Many years earlier, Brand informs, a mysterious space-time rift (or wormhole) appeared in the vicinity of Saturn, seemingly placed there, like the monoliths of “2001,” by some higher intelligence. On the other side: another galaxy containing a dozen planets that might be fit for human habitation. In the wake of the food wars, a team of intrepid NASA scientists traveled there in search of solutions. Now, a decade later (in Earth years, that is), Brand has organized another mission to check up on the three planets that seem the most promising for human settlement. And to pilot the ship, he needs Cooper, an instinctive flight jockey in the Chuck Yeager mode, much as McConaughey’s laconic, effortlessly self-assured performance recalls Sam Shepards as Yeager in “The Right Stuff” (another obvious “Interstellar” touchstone).

Already by this point — and we have not yet left the Earth’s surface — “Interstellar” (which Nolan co-wrote with his brother and frequent collaborator, Jonathan) has hurled a fair amount of theoretical physics at the audience, including discussions of black holes, gravitational singularities and the possibility of extra-dimensional space. And, as with the twisty chronologies and unreliable narrators of his earlier films, Nolan trusts in the audience’s ability to get the gist and follow along, even if it doesn’t glean every last nuance on first viewing. It’s hard to think of a mainstream Hollywood film that has so successfully translated complex mathematical and scientific ideas to a lay audience (though Shane Carruth’s ingenious 2004 Sundance winner “Primer” — another movie concerned with overcoming the problem of gravity — tried something similar on a micro-budget indie scale), or done so in more vivid, immediate human terms. (Some credit for this is doubtless owed to the veteran CalTech physicist Kip Thorne, who consulted with the Nolans on the script and receives an executive producer credit.)

The mission itself is a relatively intimate affair, comprised of Cooper, Brand’s own scientist daughter (Anne Hathaway), two other researchers (Wes Bentley and the excellent David Gyasi), and a chatty, sarcastic, ex-military security robot called TARS (brilliantly voiced by Bill Irwin in a sly nod to Douglas Rain’s iconic HAL 9000), which looks like a walking easel but proves surprisingly agile when the going gets tough. And from there, “Interstellar” has so many wonderful surprises in store — from casting choices to narrative twists and reversals — that the less said about it the better. (Indeed, if you really don’t want to know anything more, read no further.)

It gives nothing away, however, to say that Nolan maps his infinite celestial landscape as majestically as he did the continent-hopping earthbound ones of “The Prestige” and “Batman Begins,” or the multi-tiered memory maze of “Inception.” The imagery, modeled by Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema on Imax documentaries like “Space Station” and “Hubble 3D,” suggests a boundless inky blackness punctuated by ravishing bursts of light, the tiny spaceship Endurance gleaming like a diamond against Saturn’s great, gaseous rings, then ricocheting like a pinball through the wormhole’s shimmering plasmic vortex.

With each stop the Endurance makes, Nolan envisions yet another new world: one planet a watery expanse with waves that make Waimea Bay look like a giant bathtub; another an ice climber’s playground of frozen tundra and sheer-faced descents. Moreover, outer space allows Nolan to bend and twist his favorite subject — time — into remarkable new permutations. Where most prior Nolan protagonists were forever grasping at an irretrievable past, the crew of the Endurance races against a ticking clock that happens to tick differently depending on your particular vantage. New worlds mean new gravitational forces, so that for every hour spent on a given planet’s surface, years or even entire decades may be passing back on Earth. (Time as a flat circle, indeed.)

This leads to an extraordinary mid-film emotional climax in which Cooper and Brand return from one such expedition to discover that 23 earth years have passed in the blink of an eye, represented by two decades’ worth of stockpiled video messages from loved ones, including the now-adult Tom (a bearded, brooding Casey Affleck) and Murphy (Jessica Chastain in dogged, persistent “Zero Dark Thirty” mode). It’s a scene Nolan stages mostly in closeup on McConaughey, and the actor plays it beautifully, his face a quicksilver mask of joy, regret, and unbearable grief.

That moment signals a shift in “Interstellar” itself from the relatively euphoric, adventurous tone of the first half toward darker, more ambiguous terrain — the human shadow areas, if you will, that are as difficult to fully glimpse as the inside of a black hole. Nolan, who has always excelled at the slow reveal, catches even the attentive viewer off guard more than once here, but never in a way that feels cheap or compromises the complex motivations of the characters.

On the one hand, the movie marvels at the brave men and women throughout history who have dedicated themselves, often at great peril, to the greater good of mankind. On the other, because Nolan is a psychological realist, he’s acutely aware of the toil such lives may take on those who choose to lead them, and that even “the best of us” (as one character is repeatedly described) might not be immune from cowardice and moral compromise. Some people lie to themselves and to their closest confidants in “Interstellar,” and Nolan understands that everyone has his reasons. Others compensate by making the most selfless of sacrifices. Perhaps the only thing trickier than quantum physics, the movie argues, is the nature of human emotion.

Nolan stages one thrilling set piece after another, including several hairsbreadth escapes and a dazzling space-docking sequence in which the entire theater seems to become one large centrifuge; the nearly three-hour running time passes unnoticed. Even more thrilling is the movie’s ultimate vision of a universe in which the face of extraterrestrial life bears a surprisingly familiar countenance. “Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” harks the good Professor Brand at the start of the Endurance’s journey, quoting the melancholic Welshman Dylan Thomas. And yet “Interstellar” is finally a film suffused with light and boundless possibilities — those of the universe itself, of the wonder in a child’s twinkling eyes, and of movies to translate all that into spectacular picture shows like this one.

It’s hardly surprising that “Interstellar” reps the very best big-budget Hollywood craftsmanship at every level, from veteran Nolan collaborators like production designer Nathan Crowley (who built the film’s lyrical vision of the big-sky American heartland on location in Alberta) and sound designer/editor Richard King, who makes wonderfully dissonant contrasts between the movie’s interior spaces and the airless silence of space itself. VFX supervisor Paul Franklin (an Oscar winner for his work on “Inception”) again brings a vivid tactility to all of the film’s effects, especially the robotic TARS, who seamlessly inhabits the same physical spaces as the human actors. Hans Zimmer contributes one of his most richly imagined and inventive scores, which ranges from a gentle electronic keyboard melody to brassy, Strauss-ian crescendos. Shot and post-produced by Nolan entirely on celluloid (in a mix of 35mm and 70mm stocks), “Interstellar” begs to be seen on the large-format Imax screen, where its dense, inimitably filmic textures and multiple aspect ratios can be experienced to their fullest effect.

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sagarbiswas · 3 years

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#MAR #MAKAUT #lockdownactivities #MandatoryAdditionalRequirements "Name of Activity: Review of Youtube Video"

Name of YouTube video: The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin

Link of Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk4gZrBR9CU

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Nicholas Mross.The film interviews multiple companies and people that have played important roles in the expansion of Bitcoin. It first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 23, 2014. The film was nominated for the “Best International Documentary Film” at the 2014 Zurich Film Festival. This film has a run time of 96 minutes. The documentary follows thirty-five-year-old computer programmer Daniel Mross. On top of his job, kids, and marriage, Daniel is an avid enthusiast of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. He discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and from there, he has been fascinated by anything that has to do with it. Daniel and, his brother and producer, Nicholas Mross, decided to start filming because they believe that this could be the future of currency, and filming a documentary is one way to expedite the process. By doing this, they were able to educate anyone who watched this film. Throughout Daniel's journey around the world, he meets the individuals who are leading this potential financial revolution. Bitcoin is a digital currency created in January 2009. It follows the ideas set out in a whitepaper by the mysterious and pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto.1 The identity of the person or persons who created the technology is still a mystery. Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and, unlike government-issued currencies, it is operated by a decentralized authority. Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency. There is no physical bitcoins, only balances kept on a public ledger that everyone has transparent access to. All bitcoin transactions are verified by a massive amount of computing power. Bitcoin is not issued or backed by any banks or governments, nor is individual bitcoins valuable as a commodity. Despite it not being legal tender in most parts of the world, bitcoin is very popular and has triggered the launch of hundreds of other cryptocurrencies, collectively referred to as altcoins. Bitcoin is commonly abbreviated as "BTC." Launched in 2009, bitcoin is the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Unlike fiat currency, bitcoin is created, distributed, traded, and stored with the use of a decentralized ledger system, known as a blockchain. Bitcoin's history as a store of value has been turbulent; it has gone through several cycles of boom and bust over its relatively short lifespan. As the earliest virtual currency to meet widespread popularity and success, bitcoin has inspired a host of other cryptocurrencies in its wake.

The bitcoin system is a collection of computers (also referred to as "nodes" or "miners") that all run bitcoin's code and store its blockchain. Metaphorically, a blockchain can be thought of as a collection of blocks. In each block is a collection of transactions. Because all the computers running the blockchain has the same list of blocks and transactions, and can transparently see these new blocks being filled with new bitcoin transactions, no one can cheat the system. Anyone—whether they run a bitcoin "node" or not—can see these transactions occurring in real-time. To achieve a nefarious act, a bad actor would need to operate 51% of the computing power that makes up bitcoin. Bitcoin has around 10,000 nodes, as of June 2021, and this number is growing, making such an attack quite unlikely.2 But if an attack were to happen, bitcoin miners—the people who take part in the bitcoin network with their computers—would likely fork to a new blockchain, making the effort the bad actor put forth to achieve the attack a waste. Balances of bitcoin tokens are kept using public and private "keys," which are long strings of numbers and letters linked through the mathematical encryption algorithm that was used to create them. The public key (comparable to a bank account number) serves as the address published to the world and to which others may send bitcoin. The private key (comparable to an ATM PIN) is meant to be a guarded secret and only used to authorize Bitcoin transmissions. Bitcoin keys should not be confused with a bitcoin wallet, which is a physical or digital device that facilitates the trading of bitcoin and allows users to track ownership of coins. The term "wallet" is a bit misleading, as bitcoin's decentralized nature means it is never stored "in" a wallet, but rather decentrally on a blockchain.

Daniel and the people that he interviews are the pioneers that are adventuring into this mysterious concept. The future goes to show that not everyone involved, in Bitcoin early, made it out unscathed. Daniel and Nicholas Mross came up with the idea of this documentary when Daniel would have trouble explaining what Bitcoin is to his peers. In an interview, Daniel states “And I found in the short time it was really difficult to talk to people about Bitcoin if they didn't know what it was or to explain it ... It's not something that, you know, especially earlier on was easy to explain to somebody in 1 or 2 minutes.”. This documentary acts as a bridge between those educated in Bitcoin technology and those who are interested in educating themselves. For the inquisitive minds about the inherent flaws in our current monetary system and how money works in general, this simplified overview of Bitcoin is truly refreshing. Many complex issues about the protocol are explained in laymen's terms to enable any family member to appreciate the invention for what it accomplishes. The internet of money has been spawn and naysayers would one day regret not having explored this invention beyond first misconceptions. This documentary provides a great intro into the early adopters' lives and why the community is blossoming in a time when the rest of the world is sinking deeper into depression and debt. It invites one to look beyond mainstream misrepresentations and that it is only a black market currency. Great documentary indeed. Would recommend it to any friend. I watched and enjoyed it. It is quite easy to watch and almost completely non-technical which is good for the non-bit-coiners. It covers all the highs and lows of bit-coin from almost day one and right up to the fall of the biggest exchange. There is no hiding of all the problems bitcoin had and faces in the future but at the same time, it is very optimistically told. Even if you are not interested in investing in this- it is good to know what it is all about- and this movie can interestingly introduce the subject. It would be interesting to hear an opinion of someone who doesn't know anything about bit-coin - whom I think should be the people to watch this.

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sagarbiswas · 3 years

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Technical Review of “The Psychology of Security” by Bruce Schneier

Sagar Biswas

Roll. No.: 26900719040

Technical Review of “The Psychology of Security” by Bruce Schneier

“The Psychology of Security” seeks to explain the difference between people’s perception of how secure they are versus how secure they are. The paper draws from three major fields of research: behavioral economics, psychology, and neuroscience. The beginning of the paper explains that technological evolution has outpaced biological evolution, and it is our brain’s outdated neural circuitry that is to blame for people’s inability to accurately assess security in the modern age. The rest of the paper focuses on existing research that examines the various heuristics humans use when assessing security. These heuristics are further split into four categories: risk heuristics, probability heuristics, cost heuristics, and decision-making heuristics. For each category, the paper discusses how and why these heuristics lead humans astray so frequently. The paper then concludes by suggesting that further research into the psychology of security would advance humans’ ability to get security trade-offs right, and it would allow us to better unify our perception of security with the reality of security.

Pros of the paper:

● Focusing on security as a trade-off allows for greater insight than examining security solely through its efficacy.

● Multiple studies are mentioned for each heuristic, and the variety provides greater understanding without weighing down the paper in unnecessary detail.

● Convincingly relates discussed research back to security and problems specific to the modern age.

Cons:

● Never addresses the potential methodological issue facing many of the cited studies: the most common test subject is college students.

● Cost discounting research was interesting but it was unclear how it related to security and whether the described behavior was positive or negative.

● Time discounting research faced similar issues, and the studies presented were too similar and specific to money to convincingly relate to security.

Overall, I would say the paper is a good one, and most importantly a self-aware one. Early on in the paper, we find the following passage:

“And if this paper feels haphazard, it’s because I am just starting to scratch the surface…much of this essay is me saying: ‘Look at this! Isn’t it fascinating? Now, look at this other thing! Isn’t that amazing too?’ Somewhere amidst all of this, some threads tie together, lessons we can learn…”

Indeed, the paper is more of a public service announcement than anything else, and in that capacity, it performs very well. It does not tie the threads for you nor pinpoint the lessons. What it does do, however, is grab your attention. It forces you to take seriously the psychology of security, and it alerts you to the fact that data and technical prudence have their own (often subtle) limitations.

In particular, I think the decision to conceptualize security as a trade-off with five components (risk severity, risk probability, cost magnitude, countermeasure efficacy, ability to compare disparate risks and costs) made it easier to both organize and understand the mass of research that the paper references. None of the research discussed in the paper deals directly with security, only the components of the security trade-off. This relieves the paper from a research burden—there is limited research that deals with the psychology of security specifically—but it also relieves the paper from the rhetorical burden of explicitly linking each discussed study back to the topic of security. Instead, the paper is free to, for example, explore the ramification of a given heuristic in the context of the modern age, such as when the paper details the dangers of the availability heuristic being coupled with the modern mainstream media. However, this strength is also the paper’s biggest weakness. Not having to explicitly link research back to security means that sometimes the link stays murky. For example, most sections on heuristics cited multiple studies, and each new study mentioned involved participants making different types of choices. However, in the cost heuristic section, every study involves monetary choices. Because of this, it is harder to discern whether the implications of the study generalize to other types of decision making, or if they simply represent a misunderstanding of basic economic principles (e.g. the “$250 today or $350 in twelve months….$3,000 today or $4,000 in twelve months” study strikes me as most representative of the fact that most people are not cognizant of the effect inflation has on the real value of money over extended periods). Additionally, sometimes links stay murky because of methodological issues in the cited studies. Admittedly, the paper often uses collections of studies to prove its point instead of one specific study, so the integrity of one study does not necessarily call into question the integrity of the whole paper. Still, the paper does itself no favours by saying something like, “If you read enough of these studies, you’ll notice…college students are the most common test subject.” Considering that the paper places such a heavy emphasis on neuroscience and brain development as an explanation for our false “feeling” of security, it is dubious to use mostly studies whose subjects are known to have only partially developed brains. Moreover, the area of the college student brain that is usually still under the most development in the neocortex (it generally takes 25 years before the neocortex is fully developed). Seeing how the paper spends most of its time detailing “examples of these newer parts of the brain [the neocortex] getting things wrong,” it strikes me as a glaring omission to not mention that most of the participants in these studies do not have fully developed neocortices.

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sagarbiswas · 3 years

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What is the future of grocery retail?

What do you think the future of the supermarket looks like 5-10 years from now?

The Grocery Retail Industry is experiencing an exponential growth rate as of today thanks to the growing harmony between the market and technological advancements as it is pushing the traditional brick and mortar-based way of business away and directing its consumers towards the more standardized structure of the market. This also shares synergism between evolving consumer attitudes and competitive coercion.

Online-based marketplaces are showing an incremental growth rate polar opposite of the non-digitalized market, closing down every day. With this rate of technological advancement and innovation, we are going to see many radical changes unfolding before our eyes in the upcoming 5-10 years as products are going to be more consumer-centric and not brand-centric as retail store owners will have access to an adequate amount of data about their customers through online surveys, feedbacks, purchasing behaviors which will help them to study, categorize and develop or stock a product which their customers actually wants based on their own feedback and hence will allow them to transform the way they provide the experience of their products.

The value at which a product is being sold for its quality and quantity will be analyzed and prices will be determined concerning those studies as more and more people are looking for new ways to save money while grocery shopping which points towards the increased price sensitivity and at the same time they are also looking for healthier versions of products hence creating a need for the availability of more and more valuable and sustainable products in the market.

How will e-commerce continue to affect these kinds of stores?

As recently due to the eruption of the Coronavirus Pandemic, grocery stores around the world have experienced a steep surge in demands for products as more and more people are shopping less frequently but are buying in bulk to compensate for a longer timeframe of sustainability. A recent Wall Street Journal on grocery stores around the world provided us with the graph of weekly grocery sales change year by year, and from that graph, we can clearly understand the exponential growth of the grocery market because of the pandemic, where the most beneficial section was the online grocers which tell us that more and more people are shifting towards e-commerce to meet their unmet demands.

The growing involvement of retail business with e-commerce increases the chances of that particular business to reach new heights and invest more in sophisticated mediums to deliver a smooth and memorable experience for its customers. We can consider that the list of retails stores are neverending as it covers a very wide range of product catalogs and with the introduction of e-commerce, these retail stores can advertise their products to a wide range of customers with varying demographics and scale their industry to new heights with enhanced profit margins.

How will the future consumers (Gen Z and Gen Alpha) shop? How will these generations shape customer behaviors and expectations?

With continuous development in digital e-commerce platforms like websites & mobile apps, these industries are going to continue reaping the benefit of digitalization while reducing the hassle of shopping every year. More and more technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, chatbots, etc are going to get involved with the retail industry to bridge the gap between the consumers and the sellers.

Consumers belonging to the Gen-Z & Gen-Alpha group have a big influential role to play to improve the understanding of millennials and Generation-Xers as they’ll educate and impact them about their shopping choices and as millennials are more likely to listen to their own children, it’ll allow them to shape the way they shop for themselves. The trends which started with the millennials over the last couple of years are experiencing acceleration due to the emerging new generations. The values which millennials looked for while shopping was about the price point and the overall quality to determine the trade they’re going to make but with the involvement of newer generations the equation of how they evaluate their shopping needs is much more multidimensional as it points towards societal values, their staus and the social influence involved with the product. Alternative dimensions of values have become more important than what it was. As the newer generations are growing up they are also experiencing difficult geopolitical and climatic conditions and are prone to listen to more contradictions than ever before which are making them not choose a certain crowd or get labeled a certain way but instead, they are choosing to be themselves and find security in the uniqueness of a Product.

The overall ecosystem which Gen-Zs are using is fundamentally different. With the growing numbers of niche branding that are popping up, improvements in availability and distribution with the involvement of social media the shopping industries are experiencing some radical changes. With the involvement of technology, the consumers are not entitled to shop from a particular brand or store located nearby but they’re able to avail themselves the benefit of shopping anything from anywhere around the globe and not rely on the traditional way of shopping. The opinions of the newer generations are not solely dependent on one entity but they’re independent to listen to their own choice of media or influencers and even to their own family members when they feel like their narrative is more credible to them and because of this change brands are entitled to paint a better picture by improving their communication with the customers and actually, work with the customers to improve their understandings on the brand or product, something which was far from reality for millennials and Gen-X shoppers.

How might Emerging technologies help shape the future physical store?

The Future Supermarkets are going to be driven by numerous technological advancements one of which is AR, also known as Augmented Reality, The usage of AR is already becoming more and more common around the globe. The idea behind the introduction of AR into the market is to provide a much better shopping experience by integrating tracking and computer vision to help improve our interaction with our shopping list which will lead to customized assistance for each and every consumer based on their personal demographics such as dietary requirement or health-related issues such as picking out more allergy-friendly products.

It will also help us get around the store more efficiently and point us to the sections of the store that are relevant to our needs. The AR will also help us to pick out the exact ingredients we need to use a certain recipe chosen by us, also it will allow us to recognize products based on their visuals hence educating us along the way too! The AR integration is going to have its own ecosystem which will consist of various essential elements to improve our shopping experience by providing ease of access by integrating those elements within one single ecosystem.

Also, software like QueVision introduced by retail giant Kroger is radically going to change the way store managers functions around the store. QueVision is a technology that is made by integration of infrared cameras, sensors, and other analytic systems within one single application helping to provide real-time data to the store managers so that they can predict the number of cash registers that need to be open to assist the volume of customers with their payments while reducing the hassle to stand in a line for much longer periods.

Also, retails shops of the future will provide their customers which technologically advanced shopping carts that will assist the customers to keep a clear and concise tab on their purchases. These carts will have built-in barcode scanners so that customers will be able to scan the products first and then put them in the cart hence reducing the hassle of waiting for your items to get scanned at the payment counter.

These types of carts will also be integrated with AI & Machine learning in some cases where the cart itself will be able to recognize the products which are placed in it and hence will not even need to be scanned. For the items that don’t have a barcode to scan such as a tomato or onion, these carts will be able to not only recognize but also determine the weight of those products categorically altogether. We have already discussed the implications of using Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality but the addition of Blockchain Technology will add numerous necessary traits which the retail industry can benefit from such as transparency in the supply chain as it applies to all the members of the supply chain from the manufacturer and distribution channel to the retailer and end-consumers which will allow the consumers to know exactly where the goods are coming from, manufacturer details, how they were made, etc to improve the product’s or company’s public image by enabling transparency in the supply chain.

Blockchain Technology will also help in counterfeit prevention which is currently a very big problem in our conventional markets as retail industries across the world have to incur huge losses every year trying to deal with this issue. Globally 1.82 Trillion dollars worth of loss is incurred every year due to counterfeit goods and blockchain technology can help us deal with this problem by telling the consumers’ whether the product was originally made by them or not and also providing them with the product’s purchase history to prevent them from buying second-hand products with more money. It will also help to reduce the recall costs, provide customers with more control over their data, cross border payments, ensure product deliveries, use smart contracts, etc while maintaining seamless omnichannel interactions facilitated by a decentralized, encrypted database of customer interactions and preferences which will be accessible real-time from anywhere in the world.

Collecting and analyzing customer data is imperative to ensure growth and can help grocery stores predict shopping trends and buyers' habits. What ways can big data play in the future grocery store & what role do you think this data will play in creating a customized supermarket experience for shoppers?

Big Data refers to the exponential increase and availability of data around the world consisting of extensive datasets primarily in the characteristics of volume, velocity, and variability which requires a scalable architecture for efficient storage, manipulation, and analysis something which more and more Asian retail industries such as in China are reaping benefits for the past couple of years. Big data involves the collection of large sets of data from its consumers maintaining the relevancy and veracity of the datasets which helps them to predict and provide optimal solutions to their consumers hence enhancing the overall experience. One such example for the use case of big data is to recognize potential repeat customers by studying the customer’s data to find out potential loyal customers for their brands. This is a prediction issue that is dealt with using various probability models by studying various logistic regression, decisions tree, neural networks, etc. When the chances of a customer making a repeat purchase are found to be possible then the brands will approach them with customized promotional offers to prompt them to come back. It’s more focused on older customers and not new customers.

Another such use case of big data is to cross-sell products which means that if a customer is purchasing a laptop from their platform they’ll recommend the customers to buy a laptop bag along with it while also providing special discounts on the latter item. This is done by studying the additional needs of the customers based upon their primary purchase. Big data is also used to construct a personalized set of recommendations for a particular customer based upon their shopping history, demographics, and other parameters. It can also be used to sell products at their optimal price segment based upon the customer by studying their demand’s data, real-time market conditions, and comparing the pricing of that product with other competitor products which will help the customer itself to reap the most profit because of the competition. The analysis is also done by collecting data through marketing campaigns where whenever a new product is launched in the retail store the advertisement will be done along various platforms or forums let it be online based or even offline based which will be responsible to collect data from their target audience and conduct studies on those datasets to better understand the customer’s expectations from that product. Market Basket analysis also comes under the big data analysis where the retail industries can recommend their customers products related to their first purchase such as a person shopping for milk is most likely to buy milk and bread-based upon the relation between these three products coming under the same category as breakfast products and hence provide better choices to maximize their profits by making more sales while helping the customers along the way. So, similarly, there are many other methods using data that will revolutionize the way people shop from the grocery retail markets and help them acquire new heights through data analytics by customizing their needs and availabilities and improving the synergy between the supermarkets their customers.

#retail #technology #blockchain #artificial intelligence

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sagarbiswas · 4 years

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Introduction, Implementations, Current & Possible Future Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Hybridization & Management of HEV (Hybrid electric vehicle) system

I. INTRODUCTION TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN EV

Artificial Intelligence can be stated as the Augmentation of natural humans senses by computational systems which can be used to help a device embedded in a system or the system as a whole to think various possible solutions to the provided data or to manipulate those data to form something more sensible in order to handle many real world complex problems, involving imprecision, uncertainty and vagueness, high-dimensionality. Fundamental stimulus to the research and development of hybrid electric system is for the need of system to be self-aware and be capable to manage various variables & constraints of predefined & simulated conditions while working in the real world. The Integration of AI(Artificial Intelligence) is for distinct methodologies that can be done in various form, either by a modular integration of two or more intelligent methodologies, which maintains the identity of each methodology, or by fusing one methodology into another, or by transforming the knowledge representation in one methodology into another form of representation, characteristic to another methodology.

Artificial Intelligence powered systems are embedded inside of current electric vehicles in order to revolutionize the way various control systems manage the data flow coming out of the various embedded sensors and actuators through data extraction with the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) system or ECU and can be used to alert the driver to any impending distortion in the vehicle system or components or else assist the user while commuting under various driving conditions to keep the overall performance of vehicle to the optimal possible degree.

Various types of Implementations of AI in HEV:

POWER SPLITTING - Hybrid systems can be instructed to split the required power between the EV components and ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) to meet the specified needs like fuel consumption, efficiency, performance, and emissions. The power splitting phenomenon, which is the key point of hybridization, is in fact, the control strategy or energy management of the hybrid automobile. Performance of the system, therefore, depends on the control strategy which needs to be robust (independent from uncertainties and always be stable) and reliable.

REAL TIME DATA MANAGEMENT: In order to improve the hybrid drive system, the control strategy should always be adaptive to keep track of all the demands of changes from the driver or drive cycle for optimization purposes. In order to fulfil these conditions, there is a need to develop an efficient control strategy, which can split power based on demands of the driver and driving conditions. Hence, for optimal energy management of in an HEV, interpretation of driver command and driving situation is most important.

RANGE EXTENDER : Although electric vehicles nowadays already have been provided with the R.E (range extender) technology mounted on them in order to assist the driver to cover reasonable length of distance after most the energy present in the batteries run out but upon controlling that range extender technology with the help of an AI can result in improved battery consumption economy and improvised drive patterns along with quick and efficient powertrain rotation, etc in order the improve the overall distance that vehicle is supposed to meant to cover.

AI ASSISTED OR SELF DRIVING AI TECHNOLOGY: The use of Artificial Intelligence to command a vehicle to drive on its own in real time along the traffic from one point to another using tons of pre-processed and simulated driving pattern’s data also with vehicle’s own real time cognitive response to the outside environment by embedded sensors and actuators accumulated while driving in order to assist the driver reach his/her destination while taking in consideration of various safety measures for both the people sitting inside the vehicles and also outside is the prime goal of developing self-driving technology.

360-DEGREE PERCEPTION TECHNOLOGY: Hybrid electric vehicles are being designed and developed not only to work with complex driving patterns or conditions on the road but also to mind their conditional surroundings such to the activate the stop function as a pedestrian suddenly decides to cross the road or also when there’s an unexpected deposition of roadblocks or traffic guidance structures commonly referred as “Channelizing devices” which comprises of cones or drums usually found nearby the construction zones or to guide the traffic stream en route towards that direction to any other alternative route. So, the AI is being used to generate accurate and precise 360-degree perception to its surrounding environment in order to improve functionality and prevent any fatality or accidents. The drivers are the leading cause of critical pre-crash events when compared to the other factors such as vehicle, environment or other. Research points out that most of the vehicles crashes occurs due to event recognition & decision error prior to crash rather than performance errors. The AI technology obviously will be able to understand and react more efficiently and quickly in order to ensure those conditions do not occurs which will lead to disastrous crashes and hence eventually prevent fatalistic automobile crash cases and save lives.

II. UNDERSTANDING OF THE TOPIC The Artificial Intelligence technology possesses and provides a wide range of natural human perspective on various problems encountered by us, filter all of those information based on the current provided conditions and provides us with the best possible logical output by using various pre-processed or real time processing of computational data gathered by the sensors and actuators working with various deep learning algorithms and delivers data or act with respect to possible event predictive techniques to improve the overall vehicle performance. AI which is to be implemented in HEVs plays a tremendous role in converting that vehicle into AGVs(Automated Guided Vehicles) or simply to assist the driver while travelling from point A to point B in numerous possible ways starting from the battery management systems, navigation through the geographic location of the vehicle, assistance in following the traffic guidelines set by higher authority, preventing poor decision making by the driver under harsh road conditions, etc. As AI is designed based on our own natural understanding of the surroundings and knowledge generated by us combined with the powerful data analysing tools and computational softwares it will be hugely beneficial for us to implement this deep learning algorithm guided softwares to power the hardwares of our electric vehicles and generate higher pile of data as feedback to the AI systems in order to record and analyse various driving patterns and conditions of various groups of people, study their decision making pattern, their demands with the infotainment systems, range expectations and eventually develop a better intelligence system able to sustain their demands according to the constraints set by them. AI-powered softwares in the automotive sectors with the help of cloud connection will not just gather real-time data, but also store it for analytics and statistics. In combination with permanent access to real-time updates that are recorded every single second, AI can detect activity that is impeding a car’s performance or analyze the potential failure scenario and prevent it. The best thing about it is that AI in your car software doesn’t complicate the user experience whatsoever. All the inner check-ins happen with no human interaction, and a driver would be bothered only in case you have to step up.

III. NEED FOR RESEARCH NEED OF AI IN HYBRIDIZATION

The need of AI-powered systems in the process of Hybridization & Management of HEVs using range of CPUs & GPUs on it responsible for processing all those data in real time and taking absolute essential decisions is very much important in order to widen our perspective towards the ways of commuting in our everyday life. AI working through what we term as machine learning is actually supervised learning where humans are creating and wide variety of labels to the outside surroundings and compiling at the data and using them to solve other similar possible scenarios where similar labels or elements of environment is found and then use the previously acquired data to tackle current problems and using current problem’s data to tackle future problematic scenarios and so on.

DEEP LEARNING: In case of deep learning the inputs that are being recorded through the various cameras mounted on the vehicles are in the form of raw pixels that are to be taken into account in order to form an architecture which will create dozens or even hundreds of layers of neurons yielding millions of parameters to fit into the program which will eventually provide us with numerous key insights in the form of lots of data & lots of cycles along with careful tuning of the data & cycles to turn into successful learning algorithm.

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE OF AI IN HEV: The System Architecture of a HEV when is designed to work with the AI will first and foremost take the input destination specified by the driver and begins the process of routing wherein it calculates the total estimated distance between the starting point and the ending point along with the best possible route to get there keeping track of the real-time traffic conditions or personalized conditions set by the drivers by adding stops in-between the current location & final destination according to their designated needs. After AI gets done with the routing process it begins the process of motion planning which is the process of utmost importance as here the system takes in various data which is collected through Devices and Sensors such as LiDAR(Light detection and Ranging), GPS(Global Positioning System), RADAR(Radio detection and Ranging), IMU(Inertial Measurement unit), Cameras and Encoders which are being used for mapping and localizing the position of the vehicle with respect to it’s surrounding to create a very logical perception of the on-going traffic conditions and guide the vehicle from Point A to Point B by producing best possible predictions based on the data collected through Imitation Learning & Smart Cognitive responses generated through Computational softwares provided on board the vehicle.

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS: Performance Analysis using AI technology can result in monumental development which can lead to improved performance of the vehicle and timely maintenance alerts being provided to the driver. With the help of new computational softwares & pre-processed data which consists of tons of previously logged data acquired through simulation and real time track testing the vehicle can be designed to be self-aware and capable of handling the situations of its surroundings prior to its launch. The vehicles are deployed in small numbers for testing it under various types of environment variables and then finally the vehicles are deployed in fleet wide numbers.

IV.PROS AND CONS OF AI IN HEV

When we start to think radically about the principles and aspects of AI in order to separate the Pros & Cons associated with its implementation in the AI industry in particular, the weight is far more heavier on the positive end of that spectrum but that doesn’t give us permission to not overhaul the entire system looking for elements that still needs to get worked on in some alternative way in order to carry & deliver the better outcome. Every aspects of intelligence in terms of principles holds the potential within themselves to precisely deducted and get described so that a machine can be constructed in order to simulate them.

PROS OF AI IN HEV:

AVAILABILITY AROUND THE CLOCK 24/7: The emerging AI technology is designed to work based on the cloud network infrastructure tirelessly around the clock and still provide the most accurate and precise results at any given time interval. We need not to develop a routine revolving around active and inactive state of AI as in order to cooperate with them, but the AI technology is available to each one of us around the clock to use as per our schedule dictates. So, while using AI in HEVs we need not to worry about its availability to us with respect to time because its functionality is just sublime around the clock 24/7.

HELPS IN REDUCING HUMAN ERROR: There are certain times when we wish for someone who is much more intelligent, efficient & also quick to do our work because humans cannot always be accurate with their results while dealing with sensitive data or while computing large piles of data consisting of large number of variations and constraints. It is even harder to provide precise readings using real time data as you’re working with respect to the time and the data always changes over time, for example predicting weather forecast based on the current data cannot determine with absolute certainty that it’s going to rain tomorrow. So, here’s where AI come into play and does the math for us by using complex computational methodologies and compiling the data at a much faster and accurate rate than humans and hence reducing the scope of errors and distortion in the output. Using AI technologies in HEVs will ensure proper cooperation between each and every components such as sensors, actuators, battery management systems, fuel management system, maintenance system, infotainment system, traffic alert system, etc in a well designed algorithm and runs things more smoothly and precisely providing us with the optimal results.

PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE USING AI: The proper functionality of a vehicle is always dependent of various elements embedded inside the system. To always ensure the proper functionality of these components inside a system we need a very defined system organized, interlinked and responsive to the driver all at any given time. So, with the help of artificial intelligence technology we can ensure better monitoring of all these system components guiding the system all together and keeping the vehicle in pristine conditions by alerting us about the timely maintenance updates by predicting the need with the help of artificial cognitive response system working with various devices distributed all around the vehicle to provide us with best possible detailed reports about them on a regular basis and also sometimes takes care of things on their own with asking the driver to step up and get out of their comfort zone to get the specified error fixed. This system will help automotive manufacturers to eventually provide the best possible service in least amount of time as they will receive update on the vehicle’s condition prior to the driver’s visit to the workshop and allow them to take least amount of time to tackle it and get that vehicle back on the road with optimal functionality.

AI DRIVING: Nowadays the vehicles which are being manufactured are being provided with everything they need to have to deliver best performance but by including an autonomous system designed to control the flow of all that data and understand the responses generated through them can enable to the system to take place as the driver of the vehicle or function as an assistant to help the owners or drivers of those vehicles to sit back and enjoy the ride as the system itself will do all the work for them. Starting from blind-spot monitoring in case of a hard turn, the emergency braking system which will ensure proper timing of the activation of braking system to prevent disastrous events, cross-traffic detectors which can study & generate a logical perspective of the surrounding traffic and predict necessary route to ensure safe driving conditions, alert the emergency response unit or the driver itself in case the driver nods off in the vehicle unwillingly, etc. This autonomy in HEVs with the help of AI can result for decline in fatalistic cases all around the world and improve one’s perspective towards safe driving pattern and improvement in decision making and responsiveness.

CONS OF AI IN HEV:

HIGH COST OF IMPLEMENTATION: The rate at which the AI industry is progressing it is projected to reach $169.41 billion dollar industry by 2025. The implementation and manufacturing of high-end industry components which are to be subjected to work in correlation with AI technology will cost most of the consumers a fortune. Just as when any new technology is introduced, the prices of the products generated through them or with them skyrockets in the market similarly to make use of the current AI technology will remain to cost most of us a huge pile of money. Although the driver will be able to reap the benefits in a very simplified way and also they will be able to choose from Semi-AI mode (AI-Assist) or fully Autonomous vehicle which can provide the option to the customers to choose their vehicle of choice according to their budget still the industry will take some time to make these high-end technologies more affordable and conceivable by everyone.

AUTONOMY IN HEVs WILL PROMOTE LACKADAISICAL BEHAVIOURAL PATTERN IN FUTURE DRIVING COUNTERPARTS: The autonomous future of driving HEVs using AI surely guarantees safe & secure driving experience with numerous other incentives of having a smarter & reasonably self-sufficient system along with decline in possible human errors while driving but on the other hand it is also going to promote lethargic nature towards driving with respect to time as the continuum in advancement of AI will lead to fully autonomous driving and will not require drivers to assist them in any way. Customers will only use their vehicle just as any regular product just to meet their necessity and will remain idle during the travel period. It will also lead to decline in their understanding and importance of responsiveness and dependency on autonomous system will rise.

#artificialintelligence #ai #automobile #electric vehicles #autonomous #technology #futurology

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