Mumbai: M. Chandradathan, Scientific Advisor to Chief Minister of Kerala, inaugurated an advanced wireless communications lab at Amrita University. The multi-crore ‘Amrita-Keysight Advanced Wireless Communications Lab’ is co-funded by Amrita University, Keysight Technologies of the US, and the Government of India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences and Department of Electronics & Information Technology. The lab will design and develop communication technologies for effective disaster management and risk reduction.

Said Dr. Maneesha Sudheer, Director of Amrita University’s Centre for Wireless Networks & Applications: “This lab is one of the very few of its type in India. It has latest equipment for research and development of new wireless communication radio frequency systems for disaster management and risk reduction. It also enables cutting-edge research in areas like 5G networks, wearable IoT devices, smart buildings, and systems to monitor critical infrastructure. Keysight Technologies will provide us key equipment and design tools as well as technical support, RF certification, and student internships.”

Said Sudhir Tangri, Country Manager, Keysight Technologies, India: “We are pleased to be associated with a prestigious institution like Amrita University. It can use our high-technology products and knowledge of our technical experts to enhance its research, enrich its faculty and offer a unique value in its PG/PhD programmes. Our systems will help Amrita University’s research in wireless systems for disaster management, wireless healthcare, smart grid, offshore communication systems, etc.”

Added Dr. P. Venkat Rangan, Vice Chancellor, Amrita University: “Humankind’s very existence is under threat due to climatic changes and frequent natural disasters. To cope, Amrita University has initiated many programs for disaster risk reduction. It has decade-long experience in the design, development and deployment of wireless-sensor network systems for monitoring and delivering early warning of landslides. These Amrita systems have been deployed in the Western Ghats of Kerala and the Himalayas. We have also developed a system known as OceanNet, an affordable Internet network for fishing vessels at sea, and another system for the management of urban flooding using crowd-sourcing.”

Source : Sachin Murdeshwar