Drones for industrial surveys

Hello Reader,

They say the more the merrier and Wordle agrees. If you are a fan of the word game, which went viral amid the pandemic-led boredom, you will soon be able to share the fun with your friends as New York Times has partnered with Hasbro to launch a Wordle board game this October.

In other news, Facebook wants users to open more profiles…on one account. You can now have one for friends and another for co-workers with their unique feed. Compartmentalisation at its best? 

Last but not least, three cheers to Rowdy, a cat that let airport personnel, airline employees, and animal experts on a wild ‘kitten’ chase at Boston’s Logan International Airport after escaping from a pet carrier almost three weeks ago.

To quote an airport spokesperson, Rowdy the cat “finally let herself be caught” after her time on the lam since June 24.

An icon, really.

Drones for industrial surveys

Is it a plane? Is it a bird? Nope, it's a drone!

Drones and other Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been finding use cases across all industries—food delivery, rescue operations, photography and videography, carrying medicines, and agriculture, etc.

Besta Prem Sai and Rajashree Deotalu realised that industrial inspection and surveillance, which requires a high degree of manual monitoring, can be made more efficient and data-rich with the help of drones. In 2018, they founded VECROS which uses AI and computer vision algorithms to make intelligent decisions for drones.

“Our drones complete the task in lesser time at a faster speed. Inaccuracies in data collection are also reduced due to autonomous planning,” explains Prem.

How VECROS drones help:

• Simultaneous localisation and mapping using cameras as guidance systems.
• Records high-resolution feed while surveying and generates 3D map of the terrain.
• Customers get access to a dashboard that inspects all the analytics.

SRK and India’s lonely working women

What's common between a Tamil Brahmin woman engineer from Delhi, a home-based worker from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, and a tribal from Jharkhand working in Delhi? Their dream of meeting Shah Rukh Khan.

The Bollywood megastar just celebrated 30 years in the industry, marking three decades of not just giving memorable performances but also fuelling the dreams and aspirations of his fans. But when we talk about his fanbase, we often tend to miss out on one constituency—women.

This is the focus of Delhi-based economist and author Shrayana Bhattacharya's book, Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh, which looks at the icon of Shah Rukh through the ‘female gaze’. 

"Shah Rukh is not a celebrity they are seeking; he’s a metaphor for comfort. All of us were really turning to him (Shah Rukh) because we were so exhausted doing the arithmetic (of life)," Shrayana tells HerStory. 

Why SRK is an escape:

• Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: Performs domestic chores and helps an unmarried aunt select a sari.
• Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi: Appreciate his wife and the tiffin she makes for him.
• Zero: He ‘dwarfs’ the conventional male hero cult by being “ridiculed” by the leading women characters.

An app to train your dog

I am your best friend. I can smell your feelings. I wag my tail when I'm happy. Who am I?

If your guess wasn't a dog, you haven't come across a beast with floppy ears and a wet nose. Dogs and puppies are an instant serotonin boost, making you feel good, calm, and relaxed. But raising them can be a task and not everyone can afford a trainer. 

Enter Puppr—a self-training app that helps pet parents teach their animal children basic manners, commands, and some tricks. With over one lakh downloads and a 4.7 star rating out of 5 on the Google Play Store, the free-to-download app also comes with a premium, paid version.

What's on offer:

• Basic training including leash walking and potty training, and basic commands like sit, fetch, stay, come, etc.
• All the steps you need to follow to teach the command, including the verbal cues.
• Tips for alternate ways you can use to train, in case the ones laid out don’t work for your dog.

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