Welcome to NCC 2017

Abstract: This keynote will be about the design of an entirely new Internet. Today’s internet, accessed by fixed and mobile networks, allows us to transmit files, voice and video across the planet. With the emergence of an ultra-responsive and reliable ‘Tactile Internet,’ advanced techniques in robotics and artificial intelligence, we advocate for the emergence of an ‘Internet of Skills’ which allows the transmission of labor globally. It will invoke an important shift from content-delivery to skillset-delivery networks, where engineers would service cars or surgeons performing critical operations anywhere on the planet. For this to work, however, we require some fundamental laws of physics to be “reengineered.” This presentation will look at the disruptive technology approaches in wireless 5G, robotics and AI which will allow us to break through the next technology frontier.

Bio: Mischa Dohler is full Professor in Wireless Communications at King’s College London, driving cross-disciplinary research and innovation in technology, sciences and arts. He is the Director of the Centre for Telecommunications Research, co-founder of the pioneering smart city company Worldsensing, Fellow of the IEEE and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), and a Distinguished Member of Harvard Square Leaders Excellence. He is a frequent keynote, panel and tutorial speaker, and has received numerous awards. He has pioneered several research fields, contributed to numerous wireless broadband, IoT/M2M and cyber security standards, holds a dozen patents, organized and chaired numerous conferences, was the Editor-in-Chief of two journals, has more than 200 highly-cited publications, and authored several books. He acts as policy, technology and entrepreneurship adviser, examples being Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room, former Minister David Willetts’ 8 Great Technology Fund, UK Regulator Ofcom, UK Ministries, EPSRC ICT Strategy Advisory Team, European Commission, Tech London Advocate, ISO Smart City working group, and various start-ups.

Abstract: A grand challenge in machine learning is the development of computational algorithms that match or outperform humans in perceptual inference tasks that are complicated by nuisance variation. For instance, visual object recognition involves the unknown object position, orientation, and scale in object recognition while speech recognition involves the unknown voice pronunciation, pitch, and speed. Recently, a new breed of deep learning algorithms have emerged for high-nuisance inference tasks that routinely yield pattern recognition systems with near- or super-human capabilities. But a fundamental question remains: Why do they work? Intuitions abound, but a coherent framework for understanding, analyzing, and synthesizing deep learning architectures has remained elusive. We answer this question by developing a new probabilistic framework for deep learning based on the Deep Rendering Model: a generative probabilistic model that explicitly captures latent nuisance variation. By relaxing the generative model to a discriminative one, we can recover two of the current leading deep learning systems, deep convolutional neural networks and random decision forests, providing insights into their successes and shortcomings, a principled route to their improvement, and new avenues for exploration.

Bio: Richard G. Baraniuk is the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. His research interests lie in new theory, algorithms, and hardware for sensing, signal processing, and machine learning. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, AAAS, and the National Academy of Inventors and has received national young investigator awards from the US NSF and ONR, the Rosenbaum Fellowship from the Isaac Newton Institute of Cambridge University, the ECE Young Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Illinois, the Wavelet Pioneer and Compressive Sampling Pioneer Awards from SPIE, the IEEE Signal Processing Society Best Paper Award, and the IEEE Signal Processing Society Technical Achievement Award. His work on the Rice single-pixel compressive camera has been widely reported in the popular press and was selected by MIT Technology Review as a TR10 Top 10 Emerging Technology. For his teaching and education projects, including Connexions (cnx.org) and OpenStax (openstax.org), he has received the C. Holmes MacDonald National Outstanding Teaching Award from Eta Kappa Nu, the Tech Museum of Innovation Laureate Award, the Internet Pioneer Award from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, the World Technology Award for Education, the IEEE-SPS Education Award, the WISE Education Award, and the IEEE James H. Mulligan, Jr. Medal for Education.

Abstract: Right information, right time, right user, and right secrecy and with right quality is the need of the day for ensuring information superiority over the adversaries by our all three wings of services. Information obsolescence rate is very fast as operational decisions and their executions are completed within hours. A large number of communications system are being developed and inducted into the services meeting both tactical and strategic communication needs. DEAL DRDO a premier lab for developing the wireless systems is building systems right from VLF (~15 KHz) to Millimeter Wave frequencies for range as high 5000 Kms to 1-2 Kms at 140 GHz. Products & technologies covering the complete electromagnetic spectrum are part of the plenary talk. DRDO being product and platform oriented organization focuses on applied & targeted research which can be converted for immediate application however concept building & blue sky research is outsourced to academia. After Academic institute enhances the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) level to 3-4 (proof of concept demonstration in lab) then DRDO considers it for converting to products on the requirements of the services. On this line Modern communications systems are being developed taking into consideration spectral efficiency, coverage, adaptability, re-configurability & scalability, inter operability with legacy systems, gigabit data rate, multi band/ multi function/multi role for joint operations and convergence of technologies. Today in the plenary talk products and associated technologies related to Software defined radio, data link for unmanned aerial platforms, satcom phones & terminals, VLF communication system, Troposcatter communication Systems, Millimeter Wave communication & surveillance systems, underwater laser communication are being discussed. A brief on future technologies related to communication systems for highly agile aero platform and cognitive radio will also be discussed. To meet the futuristic requirements of communication systems DRDO need academia support and help for building the concepts and algorithms related to MODCOD, RF transceiver, networking and antenna systems. Elaboration of the technologies which academia should consider for development are briefed in the talk. These technologies will be harnessed for the product development for our services. The academia must consider development of bandwidth efficient modulation techniques, hub less network protocols and convergence of various technologies so that single handheld hardware can be configured for satellite phone, combat network radio and 3G/4G phone compatible with civil infra structure. Power efficient handheld hardware has become need of the hour for forward locations where prime power resources are not available and connectivity is must and mandatory.

Bio: Dr R S Pundir was born on 10 Feb 1959 in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. He completed his post graduation in 1979 and was awarded Gold Medal for securing First Rank in Meerut University. He did his PhD from University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee), Roorkee in 1985. Dr Pundir joined DRDO in in 1983 and contributed in the design and development of Digital Tropo system, Meteor Burst Communication System, HF COMNET System, Software Radio Development Programme, Advance VLF Receiver and modulator, Secure high Data rate VLF Receiver, S-Band satellite terminal for Low Intensity Conflict, in various capacities. He also headed Quality and Reliability Group and ensuring development of high quality product having high reliability factor. Dr Pundir has received may DRDO awards in recognition to his contribution towards design and development of various projects including Scientist of the Year Award (2014), Technology group Award(2011) for Development of VLF receiver, DRDO Performance Excellence Award(2006) for Development of Combat Net Radio for AFV Role, DRDO Technology award (1996) for implementing ISO-9001 in DEAL. He has to his credit a number of research papers published in International Journals and in various conferences and symposia. He is a Lifetime Fellow member of IETE Dr RS Pundir took over as Director, Defence Electronics Applications Laboratory (DEAL), Dehradun on 01 July 2015 and rose to the level of Outstanding Scientist in October 2015. In addition to DEAL’s Responsibilities, Dr Pundir also led ‘The Institute of Technology Management’, a premier training institute of Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, located in Mussorrie (Uttarakhand) as Director in 2016. Dr Pundir has played a vital role in taking the lab to new heights in military communication area to meet the requirements of the services and is providing direction to the activities at DEAL in the field of Data Links for Unmanned Ariel Vehicle, AEW&CS, Software Defined Radios, Satellite Communication and Strategic Submarine Communications.