APJ and Anirudh Sharma

Intelligent Systems is what I will be going ahead with. Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Mining.

It is extremely empowering for an assembly of processor, memory, hard disk, I/O devices to now have 'thoughts' and to understand and act on its own. You doing it makes you play the Creator.

APJ's demise came to me as a message on a WhatsApp group absurdly just below the least important thing I was saying about that girl.

I was shocked. Read it twice or thrice. Called home to confirm that with TV news channels. And then almost immediately left what I was doing (if at all) and left the room going most likely to some place I could see the news to know the details.

Very strangely, last clicked photo in my phone is

 which I clicked just yesterday. And I was very sad. Was I?

I am not sure should I be ashamed of it but I wasn't feeling that sad.

Maybe I shouldn't. That Prof. said the other day in this universe of millions of galaxies having millions of stars whether you live or die it doesn't matter.

I am fortunate I saw APJ in March this year at NIT Kurukshetra. He awarded us degrees in the convocation. He was very motivating and charismatic. He said next big things to go for are- Internet of Things, Nanoscience and Biotechnology. And then he also conducted an oath for all of us. I took the oath and now don't remember even a word. I am certainly ashamed of that.

I was out of my room going probably to some TV room but spent next 3 hours playing TT and then came back and still thinking about APJ's death I slept.

Today morning again and I am ashamed of myself.

To make an AI thing would be great. Call it 'Jarvis'. To have the Cray 40 analysing deeply the sample data I give, the way I say would be great.

Exhausting departmental orientation talks ended-up to an exhausted evening. Half the time I was half-slept and the other half the time parallel upgrading my phone to Android 5.1. But at 5 PM was scheduled a talk by Mr. Anirudh Sharma, an entrepreneur who made smart shoe soles to help blind people.

The speaker was late by more then 30 minutes. He came but was evidently totally unprepared not even knowing how long he is expected to present. Still it turned out very worthwhile for me to attend the talk. The guy talked plain and simple and had a real and strong story to tell.

He described and demoed couple of things-

• guiding soles for the blind. Vibrator motors (the ones we have in phones) embedded within shoe soles and integrated to GPS; the corresponding foot gives a haptic feedback telling you to take a turn. 

Very innovative and impressive. Also it was very connecting to know he came across this idea while in Koramangla Bangalore where he would see many blind people on streets seeking help with directions.

• Next was printing ink made from pollutants. He showed how unburnt soot collected on a burning flame (which otherwise is used as kajal) when mixed with some oil acts as a good ink and can be fed into inkjet cartridges.

He showed getting ideas is very easy. "Just look around and think how the thing would be in future". "Knowing the latest technologies, look for simple objects where that can be integrated". "Look for problems to solve. Luckily India has many of them".

He doesn't use WhatsApp.

I am myself considering to follow him on that.

OK done.

31st July being the cut-off I will get rid of this WhatsApp. DEAL.

• Next was a ruler which sees the drawings it drew and can display physics simulations on a transparent display (the scale itself) augmented with your line drawing. Amazing. 

• A small magnifying glass. You point it to a fruit and it gives its biological name. Reminds me of the pocket device Ash Ketchum used to have in which you pose a pokemon and it would pull out characteristic details of that.

He said don't think too much. Think and then make a prototype, show it to people and collect opinions.

A good team is very beneficial.

And don't hold-on to your ideas for too long. If you hold in your hand, the flower you like, for long it will die in your hand.

• Next was the coin size circuit chip with embedded sensors. It goes into the audio jack of your phone and your phone can now measure pH, test soil, check blood pressure and a lot more. 

This guy dropped out of his B. Tech at some local college in Bikaner and went around making smart displays and interfaces- the ones like we have in "Minority Reports". Then he luckily got employed (despite being unqualified) to HP Labs in Bangalore. From there he worked on those smart soles, gave it a good shape and then went to MIT Media Labs. He is now back and has setup a workplace in Indiranagar Bangalore.

- A good one to chase.

After the talk, I participated in a gathering and we paid homage and lit candles in memory of APJ at the Faculty Hall, IISc.

Next, I will get some food now and then TT and then grab a newspaper to know whats up with Yakub Memon.

20:00 28th July 2015