Terminology Related/Applications to Robotics
Robotics TerminologiesRobotics Applications
Terminology Related
Robotics is a branch of Engineering that involves the conception, design, manufacture, and operation of robots. This field overlaps with electronics, computer science, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, nanotechnology, and bioengineering.
Parts of a Robot
Robots come in many shapes and sizes. The industrial robots resemble an inverted human arm mounted on a base. Robots consist of a number of components that work together: the controller, the manipulator, an end effector, sensors, a power supply, and a means for programming.
1. Controller:
a. The controller is the part of a robot that coordinates all movements of the mechanical system. It also receives input from the immediate environment through various sensors. The heart of the robot’s controller is generally a microprocessor linked to input/output and monitoring devices.
2. Manipulator
a. The manipulator consists of segments that may be jointed and that move about, allowing the robot to do work. The manipulator is the arm of the robot which must move materials, parts, tools, or special devices through various motions to provide useful work.
3. End Effector
a. The end effector is the robot’s hand, or the end-of-arm tooling on the robot. It is a device attached to the wrist of the manipulator for the purpose of grasping, lifting, transporting, maneuvering, or performing operations on a workpiece.
4. Sensors:
a. Robot Vision Sensors are what allow a robot to gather information about its environment. This information can be used to guide the robot’s behavior. Some sensors are relatively familiar pieces of equipment.
Classification of Robots
• Robots are categorized depending upon the circuits of the Robots and the variety of application it can perform. The robots are classified into 3 types:
– Simple level Robots
– Middle level Robots
– Complex level Robots
– Middle level Robots
– Complex level Robots
Types of Robots
A robot needs to be above all functional and designed with qualities that suit its primary tasks. It depends on the task at hand whether the robot is big, small, and able to move or nailed to the ground. Generally robots can be divided into following categories-
• Mobile Robots – Mobile robots are able to move, usually they perform task such as search areas. A prime example is the Mars Explorer, specifically designed to roam the mars surface. Further mobile robots can be divided in two categories:
– Rolling Robots: Rolling robots have wheels to move around.
– Walking Robots: Robots on legs are usually brought in when the terrain is rocky and difficult to enter with wheels.
– Walking Robots: Robots on legs are usually brought in when the terrain is rocky and difficult to enter with wheels.
• Stationary Robots – Robots are not only used to explore areas or imitate a human being. Most robots perform repeating tasks without ever moving an inch. Most robots are ‘working’ in industry settings.
• Autonomous Robots – Autonomous robots are self supporting or in other words self contained. In a way they rely on their own ‘brains’. Autonomous robots run a program that give them the opportunity to decide on the action to perform depending on their surroundings. At times these robots even learn new behavior.
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
• The term “artificial intelligence” is defined as systems that combine sophisticated hardware and software with elaborate databases and knowledge-based processing models to demonstrate characteristics of effective human decision making.
The criteria for Artificial Systems include the following:
• Functional: The system must be capable of performing the function for which it has been designed.
• Able to manufacture: The system must be capable of being manufactured by existing manufacturing processes
• Designable: The design of the system must be imaginable by designers working in their cultural context;
• Marketable: The system must be perceived to serve some purpose well enough, when compared to competing approaches, to warrant its design and manufacture.
• Able to manufacture: The system must be capable of being manufactured by existing manufacturing processes
• Designable: The design of the system must be imaginable by designers working in their cultural context;
• Marketable: The system must be perceived to serve some purpose well enough, when compared to competing approaches, to warrant its design and manufacture.
The Early Phase of the Freedom Struggle (1900-1915)
Indian National Movement - I (1905-1918)
The Early Phase of the Freedom Struggle (1900-1915)
Partition of Bengal
• The partition of Bengal was done by Lord Curzon, on 16 October 1905, through a royal proclamation, reducing the old province of Bengal in size by creating East Bengal and Assam out of rest of Bengal.
• The government said that it was done to stimulate growth in the eastern region.
• But motives were to break the growing strength of Bengali nationalism since Bengal was the base of Indian nationalism and to divide the Hindus and Muslims in Bengal.
• On the same day when the partition came into effect, the people of Bengal orgainsed protest meetings and observed a day of mourning.
• The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was observed on 16th October, 1905 where Hindus and Muslims tied rakhis to each other to show solidarity.
• The whole political life of Bengal underwent a change. Rabindranath Tagore composed the national song ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ for the occasion which was later adopted as the national anthem of Bangladesh in 1971 after liberation from Pakistan.
• Gandhi wrote that the real awakening in India took place only after the Partition of Bengal.
• The anti-partition movement culminated into the Swadeshi Movement and spread to other parts of India.
• The government said that it was done to stimulate growth in the eastern region.
• But motives were to break the growing strength of Bengali nationalism since Bengal was the base of Indian nationalism and to divide the Hindus and Muslims in Bengal.
• On the same day when the partition came into effect, the people of Bengal orgainsed protest meetings and observed a day of mourning.
• The ceremony of Raksha Bandhan was observed on 16th October, 1905 where Hindus and Muslims tied rakhis to each other to show solidarity.
• The whole political life of Bengal underwent a change. Rabindranath Tagore composed the national song ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ for the occasion which was later adopted as the national anthem of Bangladesh in 1971 after liberation from Pakistan.
• Gandhi wrote that the real awakening in India took place only after the Partition of Bengal.
• The anti-partition movement culminated into the Swadeshi Movement and spread to other parts of India.
Swadeshi Movement
• Lokamanya Tilak took the movement to different parts of India, especially Poona and Bombay; Ajit Singh and Lala Lajpat Rai spread the Swadeshi message in Punjab and other parts of northern India.
• Syed Haidar Raza led the movement in Delhi; Rawalpindi, Kangra, Jammu, Multan and Haridwar witnessed active participation in the Swadeshi Movement; Chidambaram Pillai took the movement to the Madras presidency, which was also galvanized by Bipin Chandra Pal’s extensive lecture tour.
• The Indian National Congress took up the Swadeshi called and the Banaras Session, in 1905, which was presided over by G.K. Gokhale.
• It supported the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement for Bengal.
• The militant nationalists led by Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh were, however, in favour of extending the movement to the rest of India and carrying it beyond the programme of just Swadeshi and boycott to a full fledged political mass struggle.
• Afterwards Naoroji in his presidential address of Congress 1906 declared that the goal of the Indian National Congress was ‘self-government or Swaraj like that of the United Kingdom or the Colonies.’
Course of Action during Swadeshi Movement
• Great emphasis was given to self-reliance or ‘Atmasakti’ as a necessary part of the struggle against the Government.
• Self reliance in various fields meant the re-asserting of national dignity, honor and confidence.
• Further, self-help and constructive work at the village level was envisaged as a means of bringing about the social and economic regeneration of the villages and of reaching the rural masses. In actual terms this meant social reform and campaigns against evils such as caste oppression, early marriage, the dowry system, consumption of alcohol, etc.
• One of the major planks of the programme of self-reliance was Swadeshi or national education.
• Taking a cue from Tagore’s Shantiniketan, the Bengal National College was founded, with Aurobindo as the principal.
• Scores of national schools sprang up all over the country within a short period.
• In August 1906, the National Council of Education was established.
• The Council, consisting of virtually all the distinguished persons of the country at the time, defined its objectives as to organize a system of Education Literary; Scientific and Technical – on National lines and under National control from the primary to the university level. The chief medium of instruction was to be the vernacular to enable the widest possible reach.
• For technical education, the Bengal Technical institute was set and funds were raise to send students to Japan for advanced learning.
• The Swadeshi period also saw the creative use of traditional popular festivals and melas as a means of reaching out to the masses. The Ganapati and Shivaji festivals, popularized by Tilak, became a medium for Swadeshi propaganda not only in Western India but also in Bengal.
• Traditional folk theatre forms such as jatras i.e. extensively used in disseminating the Swadeshi message in an intelligible form to vast sections of the people.
• The newspapers also played a significant role in the movement. The main newspapers were K.K. Mitra’s Sanjeevani, S.N. Banerjee’s Bengali, Motilal Ghosh’s Amrit Bazaar Patrika, B.B. Upadhyaya’s Yugantar, Bipin Chandra Pal’s New India, Aurobindo Ghosh’s Bande Mataram and Ajit Singh’s Bharat Mata.
• Syed Haidar Raza led the movement in Delhi; Rawalpindi, Kangra, Jammu, Multan and Haridwar witnessed active participation in the Swadeshi Movement; Chidambaram Pillai took the movement to the Madras presidency, which was also galvanized by Bipin Chandra Pal’s extensive lecture tour.
• The Indian National Congress took up the Swadeshi called and the Banaras Session, in 1905, which was presided over by G.K. Gokhale.
• It supported the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement for Bengal.
• The militant nationalists led by Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh were, however, in favour of extending the movement to the rest of India and carrying it beyond the programme of just Swadeshi and boycott to a full fledged political mass struggle.
• Afterwards Naoroji in his presidential address of Congress 1906 declared that the goal of the Indian National Congress was ‘self-government or Swaraj like that of the United Kingdom or the Colonies.’
Course of Action during Swadeshi Movement
• Great emphasis was given to self-reliance or ‘Atmasakti’ as a necessary part of the struggle against the Government.
• Self reliance in various fields meant the re-asserting of national dignity, honor and confidence.
• Further, self-help and constructive work at the village level was envisaged as a means of bringing about the social and economic regeneration of the villages and of reaching the rural masses. In actual terms this meant social reform and campaigns against evils such as caste oppression, early marriage, the dowry system, consumption of alcohol, etc.
• One of the major planks of the programme of self-reliance was Swadeshi or national education.
• Taking a cue from Tagore’s Shantiniketan, the Bengal National College was founded, with Aurobindo as the principal.
• Scores of national schools sprang up all over the country within a short period.
• In August 1906, the National Council of Education was established.
• The Council, consisting of virtually all the distinguished persons of the country at the time, defined its objectives as to organize a system of Education Literary; Scientific and Technical – on National lines and under National control from the primary to the university level. The chief medium of instruction was to be the vernacular to enable the widest possible reach.
• For technical education, the Bengal Technical institute was set and funds were raise to send students to Japan for advanced learning.
• The Swadeshi period also saw the creative use of traditional popular festivals and melas as a means of reaching out to the masses. The Ganapati and Shivaji festivals, popularized by Tilak, became a medium for Swadeshi propaganda not only in Western India but also in Bengal.
• Traditional folk theatre forms such as jatras i.e. extensively used in disseminating the Swadeshi message in an intelligible form to vast sections of the people.
• The newspapers also played a significant role in the movement. The main newspapers were K.K. Mitra’s Sanjeevani, S.N. Banerjee’s Bengali, Motilal Ghosh’s Amrit Bazaar Patrika, B.B. Upadhyaya’s Yugantar, Bipin Chandra Pal’s New India, Aurobindo Ghosh’s Bande Mataram and Ajit Singh’s Bharat Mata.
Muslim League, 1906
• In December 1906, Muslim delegates from all over India met at Dacca for the Muslim Educational Conference.
• Nawab Salimullah of Dacca proposed the setting up of an organisation to look after the Muslim interests.
• The All-India Muslim League was set up on December 30, 1906.
• Like the Indian National Congress, they conducted annual sessions and put their demands to the British government.
• They enjoyed the support of the British.
• Their first achievement was the separate electorates for the Muslims in the Minto-Morley reforms.
• Nawab Salimullah of Dacca proposed the setting up of an organisation to look after the Muslim interests.
• The All-India Muslim League was set up on December 30, 1906.
• Like the Indian National Congress, they conducted annual sessions and put their demands to the British government.
• They enjoyed the support of the British.
• Their first achievement was the separate electorates for the Muslims in the Minto-Morley reforms.
Surat Session of INC, 1907
• Controversy rose over the elected president, Ras Bihari Ghosh, as extremists didn’t accept him. Extremists wanted Lala Lajpat Rai to be chosen.
• The moderates also wanted to modify the Congress resolutions on Swadeshi and boycott passed in the 1906 session.
• They wanted to insert a clause in the Congress constitution that Swaraj was to be achieved only through constitutional means and by reforms in Administration. Whereas the extremists were in favour of direct agitation through the Swadeshi and boycott movements.
• The INC split into two groups – The Extremists and the Moderates, at the Surat session in 1907. Extremists were led by Bal, Pal, Lal while the Moderates by G.K. Gokhale.
• Immediately after the Surat Congress, the British Government decided to crush the revolutionary movement – also known as the Extremist movement – led by the Indian Nationalist Congress.
• The British introduced repressive measures such as: The Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act; The Explosive Substance Act; The Criminal Law Amendment Act; The Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act.
• Sri Aurobindo was arrested in May 1908, in the Alipur Conspiracy Case as implicated in the doings of the revolutionary group led by his brother Barindra; but no evidence of any value could be established against him.
• At the same time, Lala Lajpat Rai was deported, Tilak was arrested on July 22 and sentenced to six years in prison and Chidambaram Pillai and other leaders from South India were also arrested.
• The moderates also wanted to modify the Congress resolutions on Swadeshi and boycott passed in the 1906 session.
• They wanted to insert a clause in the Congress constitution that Swaraj was to be achieved only through constitutional means and by reforms in Administration. Whereas the extremists were in favour of direct agitation through the Swadeshi and boycott movements.
• The INC split into two groups – The Extremists and the Moderates, at the Surat session in 1907. Extremists were led by Bal, Pal, Lal while the Moderates by G.K. Gokhale.
• Immediately after the Surat Congress, the British Government decided to crush the revolutionary movement – also known as the Extremist movement – led by the Indian Nationalist Congress.
• The British introduced repressive measures such as: The Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act; The Explosive Substance Act; The Criminal Law Amendment Act; The Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act.
• Sri Aurobindo was arrested in May 1908, in the Alipur Conspiracy Case as implicated in the doings of the revolutionary group led by his brother Barindra; but no evidence of any value could be established against him.
• At the same time, Lala Lajpat Rai was deported, Tilak was arrested on July 22 and sentenced to six years in prison and Chidambaram Pillai and other leaders from South India were also arrested.
Indian Council Act (Morley-Minto Act) 1909
The Act was introduced during Secretary of State Morley and Viceroy Minto tenure. Major features of this Act were:
• The maximum number of nominated and elected members of the Legislative Council at the Center was increased from 16 to 60. The number did not include ex-officio members.
• The maximum number of nominated and elected members of the provincial legislative councils under a governor or lieutenant-governor was also increased.
• It was fixed as 50 in Bengal, Bombay, Madras, United Provinces, and Eastern Bengal and Assam, and 30 in Punjab, Burma, and any lieutenant-governor province created thereafter.
• The right of separate electorate was given to the Muslims. Thus communal representation was introduced which aimed at dividing the nationalist ranks and at rallying the Moderates and the Muslims to the Government’s side.
• Official members were to form the majority but in provinces non-official members would be in majority.
• The members of the Legislative Councils were permitted to discuss the budgets, suggest the amendments and even to vote on them; excluding those items that were included as non-vote items. They were also entitled to ask supplementary questions during the legislative proceedings.
• The Secretary of State for India was empowered to increase the number of the Executive Councils of Madras and Bombay from two to four.
• Two Indians were nominated to the Council of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs.
• The Governor-General was empowered to nominate one Indian member to his Executive Council.
• The maximum number of nominated and elected members of the Legislative Council at the Center was increased from 16 to 60. The number did not include ex-officio members.
• The maximum number of nominated and elected members of the provincial legislative councils under a governor or lieutenant-governor was also increased.
• It was fixed as 50 in Bengal, Bombay, Madras, United Provinces, and Eastern Bengal and Assam, and 30 in Punjab, Burma, and any lieutenant-governor province created thereafter.
• The right of separate electorate was given to the Muslims. Thus communal representation was introduced which aimed at dividing the nationalist ranks and at rallying the Moderates and the Muslims to the Government’s side.
• Official members were to form the majority but in provinces non-official members would be in majority.
• The members of the Legislative Councils were permitted to discuss the budgets, suggest the amendments and even to vote on them; excluding those items that were included as non-vote items. They were also entitled to ask supplementary questions during the legislative proceedings.
• The Secretary of State for India was empowered to increase the number of the Executive Councils of Madras and Bombay from two to four.
• Two Indians were nominated to the Council of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs.
• The Governor-General was empowered to nominate one Indian member to his Executive Council.
Ghadar Party, 1913
• Ghadar Party was formed by Lala Hardayal, Taraknath Das and Sohan Singh Bhakna.
• Its name was taken from a weekly paper, Ghadar, which had been started on November 1, 1913 to commemorate the 1857 revolt.
• Its headquarters was at San Francisco.
• The outbreak of the First World War provided the Ghadarites with an opportunity to free India from a Government which was indifferent to their cause.
• They began to return to India in thousands for a co-ordinated revolt in collaboration with the Bengal revolutionaries.
• Its name was taken from a weekly paper, Ghadar, which had been started on November 1, 1913 to commemorate the 1857 revolt.
• Its headquarters was at San Francisco.
• The outbreak of the First World War provided the Ghadarites with an opportunity to free India from a Government which was indifferent to their cause.
• They began to return to India in thousands for a co-ordinated revolt in collaboration with the Bengal revolutionaries.
Komagata Maru Incident 1914
• Komagata Maru was the name of a ship which carried a shipload of Sikh and Muslim immigrants from Punjab to Vancouver, Canada.
• The Canadian immigration authorities turned them back after months of uncertainty.
• The ship finally anchored at Calcutta on September 29, 1914. But the inmates refused to board the Punjab bound train and there was a clash with the police in which 22 persons died.
• This incidence fired up the revolutionary activities which sought to avenge the death of the innocents.
• The Canadian immigration authorities turned them back after months of uncertainty.
• The ship finally anchored at Calcutta on September 29, 1914. But the inmates refused to board the Punjab bound train and there was a clash with the police in which 22 persons died.
• This incidence fired up the revolutionary activities which sought to avenge the death of the innocents.
The Lucknow Pact (1916)
• Two major events occurred during Lucknow session of Congress:
– The divided Congress became united, and
– An understanding for joint action against the British was reached between the Congress and the Muslim League and it was called the Lucknow Pact.
• The signing of the Lucknow Pact by the Congress and the Muslim League in 1916 marked an important step in the Hindu-Muslim unity.
The reasons responsible for the pact were:
• Cancellation of the Partition of Bengal:- Lord Curzon had partitioned Bengal in 1905 and the cancellation was done in 1911. The Muslims, therefore, lost faith in the British government.
• The Turko-Italian War of 1911:- The Turkish Sultan was the Khalifa of Islam, means the religious head of all Muslims in the world. In the Turko-Italian war of 1911, Turkey was defeated by Italy. The British, who often projected as friend of the Muslims did not help Turkey. This event led Muslims in India to go against the British Government.
• The World War I (1914-18):- Turkey fought against the British in the World War I. The Indian Muslims considered that it was their duty to help Turkey in the holy war against the British. The Muslims started the Khilafat Movement against the British in India. The Indian National Congress supported the Muslims. That brought them to collaborate with each other.
– The divided Congress became united, and
– An understanding for joint action against the British was reached between the Congress and the Muslim League and it was called the Lucknow Pact.
• The signing of the Lucknow Pact by the Congress and the Muslim League in 1916 marked an important step in the Hindu-Muslim unity.
The reasons responsible for the pact were:
• Cancellation of the Partition of Bengal:- Lord Curzon had partitioned Bengal in 1905 and the cancellation was done in 1911. The Muslims, therefore, lost faith in the British government.
• The Turko-Italian War of 1911:- The Turkish Sultan was the Khalifa of Islam, means the religious head of all Muslims in the world. In the Turko-Italian war of 1911, Turkey was defeated by Italy. The British, who often projected as friend of the Muslims did not help Turkey. This event led Muslims in India to go against the British Government.
• The World War I (1914-18):- Turkey fought against the British in the World War I. The Indian Muslims considered that it was their duty to help Turkey in the holy war against the British. The Muslims started the Khilafat Movement against the British in India. The Indian National Congress supported the Muslims. That brought them to collaborate with each other.
Home Rule Movement
• Home Rule League, was two short-lived organizations of the same name in India established in April and September 1916, respectively, by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant.
• The term was borrowed from a similar movement in Ireland, referred to the efforts of Indian nationalists to achieve self-rule from the British Indian government.
• Tilak’s League was set up in April 1916 and was restricted to Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, Central Provinces and Berar. It had six branches and the demands included swarajya, formation of linguistic states and education in the vernacular.
• Besant’s League was set up in September 1916 in Madras and covered the rest of India (including Bombay city). It had 200 branches, was loosely organised as compared to Tilak’s League and had George Arundale as the organising secretary. Besides Arundale, the main work was done by B.W. Wadia and C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar.
• The Home Rule agitation was later joined by Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Chittaranjan Das, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Tej Bahadur Sapru and Lala Lajpat Rai.
• Many of the Moderate Congressmen who were disillusioned with Congress inactivity, and some members of Gokhale’s Servants of India Society also joined the agitation.
• However, Anglo-Indians, most of the Muslims and non- brahmins from South did not join as they felt Home Rule would mean rule of the Hindu majority, mainly the high caste.
Objectives:
• The League campaign aimed to convey to the common man the message of Home Rule as self government.
• It carried a much wider appeal than the earlier mobilisations did and also attracted the hitherto ‘politically backward’ regions of Gujarat and Sindh.
• The aim was to be achieved by promoting political education and discussion through public meetings, organising libraries and reading rooms containing books on national politics, holding conferences, organising classes for students on politics, propaganda through newspapers, pamphlets, posters, illustrated post-cards, plays, religious songs, etc., collecting funds, organising social work, and participating in local government activities.
• The Russian Revolution of 1917 proved to be an added advantage for the Home Rule campaign.
• The term was borrowed from a similar movement in Ireland, referred to the efforts of Indian nationalists to achieve self-rule from the British Indian government.
• Tilak’s League was set up in April 1916 and was restricted to Maharashtra (excluding Bombay city), Karnataka, Central Provinces and Berar. It had six branches and the demands included swarajya, formation of linguistic states and education in the vernacular.
• Besant’s League was set up in September 1916 in Madras and covered the rest of India (including Bombay city). It had 200 branches, was loosely organised as compared to Tilak’s League and had George Arundale as the organising secretary. Besides Arundale, the main work was done by B.W. Wadia and C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyar.
• The Home Rule agitation was later joined by Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Chittaranjan Das, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Tej Bahadur Sapru and Lala Lajpat Rai.
• Many of the Moderate Congressmen who were disillusioned with Congress inactivity, and some members of Gokhale’s Servants of India Society also joined the agitation.
• However, Anglo-Indians, most of the Muslims and non- brahmins from South did not join as they felt Home Rule would mean rule of the Hindu majority, mainly the high caste.
Objectives:
• The League campaign aimed to convey to the common man the message of Home Rule as self government.
• It carried a much wider appeal than the earlier mobilisations did and also attracted the hitherto ‘politically backward’ regions of Gujarat and Sindh.
• The aim was to be achieved by promoting political education and discussion through public meetings, organising libraries and reading rooms containing books on national politics, holding conferences, organising classes for students on politics, propaganda through newspapers, pamphlets, posters, illustrated post-cards, plays, religious songs, etc., collecting funds, organising social work, and participating in local government activities.
• The Russian Revolution of 1917 proved to be an added advantage for the Home Rule campaign.
August Declaration, 1917
• On 20 August 1917, Montague, the Secretary of State in England, made a declaration in the Parliament of England on British Government’s policy towards future political reforms in India.
• He promised the gradual development of self-governing institutions in India.
• This August Declaration led to the end of the Home Rule Movement.
• It was attributed to the Hindu-Muslim unity exhibited in the Lucknow Pact.
• The Montague Chelmsford reforms or the Act of 1919 was based on August declaration.
• He promised the gradual development of self-governing institutions in India.
• This August Declaration led to the end of the Home Rule Movement.
• It was attributed to the Hindu-Muslim unity exhibited in the Lucknow Pact.
• The Montague Chelmsford reforms or the Act of 1919 was based on August declaration.
Buddhism and its Sects
Buddhism and its Sects
Buddhism is a religion which encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India around 5th Century BC, from where it spread through much of Asia, where after it declined in India during the middle ages.
For nearly 500 years, the Buddha’s teachings were passed through generations of the monastic community by oral tradition. In the late first century BCE they were first written down in a collection known as the Pali Canon. Since the first century AD, variety of sects started to appear as a means for disseminating his ancient wisdom in different forms of beliefs and practices.
Sects
There are many sects within Buddhism, but most can be classified into three major branches:
There are many sects within Buddhism, but most can be classified into three major branches:
• Theravada (“Way of the Elders”)
• Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”)
• Vajrayana (“Diamond Vehicle”)
• Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”)
• Vajrayana (“Diamond Vehicle”)
Theravada – Theravada, the most ancient form of Buddhism, is the dominant school in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar, Burma, Cambodia, and Laos). Its name translates to “Doctrine of the Elders,” and it centres around the Pali scriptures. By studying these ancient texts, meditating, and following the eightfold path, Theravada Buddhists believe they will achieve Enlightenment. Strong emphasis is also placed on the monastic community and on heeding the advice of the wise.
Mahayana – Mahayana Buddhism developed out of the Theravada tradition around first century AD is dominant school in East Asia. Mahayana Buddhism focuses on the idea of compassion and touts bodhisattvas, which are beings that work out of compassion to liberate other sentient beings from their suffering, as central devotional figures. A number of individual schools and traditions have formed under the Mahayana school, such as: Zen, Pure Land and Tantric Buddhism
Zen Buddhism – Zen Buddhism is said to have originated in China. Zen Buddhism treats Zen meditation and daily practice as essential for attaining Enlightenment, and deemphasizes the rigorous study of scripture.
Vajrayana – Vajrayana Buddhist tradition is an esoteric sect that is predominant in Tibet and Nepal. Vajrayana was last of the three ancient forms to develop, and provides a quicker path to Enlightenment than the other two. They believe that the physical has an effect on the spiritual and that the spiritual, in turn, affects the physical. Vajrayana Buddhists encourage rituals, chanting, and tantric techniques, along with a fundamental understanding of Theravada and Mahayana schools, as the way to attain Enlightenment.
Biometrics
Biometrics
Biometrics is the use of physiological and/or behavioral characteristics to recognize or verify the identity of individuals through automated means.
It is divided as:
Physiological biometrics is based on data derived from direct measurements of parts of the human body. Fingerprints, iris scans, retina scans, hand geometry, and facial recognition are all leading physiological biometrics.
Physiological biometrics is based on data derived from direct measurements of parts of the human body. Fingerprints, iris scans, retina scans, hand geometry, and facial recognition are all leading physiological biometrics.
Behavioral characteristics are based on a person’s actions. Behavioral biometrics, in turn, are based on measurements and data derived from an action, thus indirectly measuring characteristics of the human body. Voice recognition, keystroke scans, and signature/sign scans are leading behavioral biometric technologies. One of the defining characteristics of a behavioral biometric is the incorporation of time as a metric, i.e., the measured behavior has a beginning, middle, and an end.
A brief introduction of the commonly used biometrics is given below:
• Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) is the one- dimensional ultimate unique code for one’s individuality – except for the fact that identical twins have identical DNA patterns. It is, however, currently used mostly in the context of forensic applications for person recognition.
• It has been suggested that the shape of the ear and the structure of the cartilegenous tissue of the pinna are distinctive. The ear recognition approaches are based on matching the distance of salient points on the pinna from a landmark location on the ear.
• Different technologies can be used for face recognition. One approach consists on capturing an image of the face using an inexpensive camera (visible spectrum). This method typically models key features from the central portion of a facial image extracting these features from the captured image(s) that do not change over time while avoiding superficial features such as facial expressions or hair.
• Gait is the peculiar way one walks and is a complex spatio-temporal biometric.
• Hand geometry can frequently be found in physical access control for commercial and residential applications, for time and attendance systems, and for general personal authentication applications.
• Retinal Scanning method of personal authentication uses the vascular patterns of the retina of the eye.
• The way a person signs her name is known to be a characteristic of that individual. Signatures of some people vary substantially: even successive impressions of their signature are significantly different. It is based on measuring dynamic signature features such as speed, pressure and angle used when a person signs a standard, recorded pattern.
• Voice recognition or speaker recognition is the problem of identifying a speaker from a short utterance. This biometric technology uses the acoustic features of speech that have been found to differ between individuals. These acoustic patterns reflect both anatomy (e.g., size and shape of the throat and mouth) and learned behavioral patterns (e.g., voice pitch, speaking style).
Rare Earth Metals
Rare Earth Metals
Rare earth elements are a set of seventeen chemical elements which include fifteen lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium. All the 17 elements have similar chemical properties. In terms of their overall abundance in the Earth’s crust, the rare earth elements are not particularly rare. Cerium (Ce) is the most abundant and Thulium (Tm) is the rarest rare earths element. Promethium (Pm) is virtually absent, since it is radioactive with a short life-time.
Rare earths (RE) are actually found quite abundantly in the Earth’s crust, but termed ‘rare’ because they occur in minute quantities and a diffused state that makes it difficult as well as expensive to extract and process.
Applications of rare earths Metals
Rare earths metals are critical to many industries of the future. Theses 17 elements are necessary for making everything from nuclear reactors to flat-screen televisions, from smart phones to hybrid cars to solar panels.
Rare earths metals are critical to many industries of the future. Theses 17 elements are necessary for making everything from nuclear reactors to flat-screen televisions, from smart phones to hybrid cars to solar panels.
Due to their distinctive properties, rare earth elements have several desirable properties that have use in a variety of high technology applications.
• They are important for manufacturing of key intermediates that are used in production of a number of green energy products such as hybrid cars, energy efficient lighting, fuel cells and windmills.
• Some of the intermediate industries that are dependent on rare earth elements are the glass industry, permanent magnet industry, phosphors used in lighting and display devices, catalysts for the oil refining industry, etc.
• Rare earth elements are also useful in a number of military and strategic systems. Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (NdYAG) lasers are used in range finding applications that are used in advanced weapon systems.
• Terfenol D, which is an alloy of terbium, iron and dysprosium, has unique properties and it is used in sonar and other acoustic applications.
• Rare earth oxides are mixed with Tungsten to improve its high temperature properties for welding, replacing thorium which was mildly hazardous to work with.
No comments:
Post a Comment