There is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and all its myriad associated technologies are changing the world we live in. While AI has generally been discussed from the point of job losses and the desperate need to skill new workers and provide them AI-capabilities, it isn’t often that we get to see the good that such path-breaking technology can do. This week’s Academia Accelerator competition, organised by Microsoft, presented such a display.
All three winning college teams, besides hailing from IITs across India, showcased a set of AI-backed solution that could enable rescue workers save far more people during calamities. The winning team from IIT-Madras showcased their own solution based on AI-powered drones. According to the team, the system uses such drones to get accurate information on where victims of disasters are stranded through an end-to-end autonomous system.
The team has equipped such Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) with AI and computer vision, resulting in a system that can scan large areas and perform tasks such as detecting people (both visible and partially visible) regardless of whether they are able to move.
Meanwhile, the runner-up team from IIT Guwahati showcased a mixed reality app for efficient post disaster management. The application seeks to help rescuers who are generally inundated with information during disaster relief operations. The app, based on Microsoft’s Mixed Reality technology, makes basic tasks like communication, navigation and current status monitoring easy. The team’s vision is to create an Augmented Reality-based navigation system enhanced by a voice assistant which will make rescue drives hassle free.
The third place was bagged by a team from IIT Jodhpur, which showcased a distributed IoT-based solution, deployed in different sections or rooms of a building which acts as an early warning system and takes precautionary measures on detection of disasters.
The three winning teams are to be awarded Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively, according to Microsoft. The winning teams will also receive technical and educational support from the company’s AI for Earth grantee community. Each of these teams are also to receive $5,000 in Azure credits from AI for Earth. AI for Earth is a $50 million 5-year effort from Microsoft to put AI at work “for the future of the planet”. Launched in July 2017, its focus areas are climate change, agriculture, biodiversity and water.
What the winners developed...