July 27, 2011
AWNA, Amritapuri
 

The first batch of graduating M.Tech. students from the Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications can look back, with satisfaction, at a highly productive period of two years (2009-2011), wherein they authored a total of 23 research papers.
 

While 4 of these papers were published in journals, 19 others were presented at different conferences around the world. Many of the conference papers were published by IEEE, ACM, Springer and Elsevier.
 

The papers touched on several latest advances in wireless communications, mobile computing, sensor networks, embedded systems, signal processing, robotics and environmental monitoring.
 

The focus of the research papers, beyond just innovations in technology, was also what the technology could be used for. Whether enabling better disaster warning systems, healthcare monitoring or smart grids, the end result was not lost sight of.
 

Several of these publications promoted Wireless Technologies for Humanitarian Relief. The center will host an international conference in this area during December 19-21, 2011 at Amritapuri.
 

For example, iWEDS – An Intelligent Explosive Detection and Terrorist Tracking System Using Wireless Sensor Network authored by Arjun Sasidharan and Balaji Hariharan was published in the July 2011 issue of International Journal of Computer Science Issues (IJCSI).
 

“Current systems for detecting explosives and tracking terrorists have several drawbacks including bulky size, huge consumption of power and manual operation. Our system based on wireless sensor networks overcomes these issues,” the co-authors explained.
 

The student Arjun working with his faculty guide Balaji proposed a solar-powered road side reflector for protecting the sensor device from terrorists. “The system can be easily implemented in public places such as streets, malls, temples or military areas,” they stated.
 

Another paper titled Robot Assisted Wireless Sensor Network for Monitoring and Detection of Explosives was authored by Simi S. and Joshua Freeman and published in the May 2011 issue of International Journal on Computer Science and Engineering.
 

Innovative navigation techniques and sending data in real time to a command center through wireless sensor networks enabled the monitoring and detection of explosives in this paper.
 

Again, the student and teacher collaborated to propose a solution, which was also presented at international conferences around the world.
 

Other notable papers presented at conferences, particularly IEEE conferences, included the following.
 

1. Vinu Omanan, Josh D. Freeman and Maneesha V. Ramesh, Wireless Integrated Robots for Effective Search and Guidance of Rescue Teams, WOCON 2011, Paris, France.
 

The paper explained how robots could assist with finding survivors in damaged buildings, where it would be too dangerous to send rescue teams.
 

2. Anjana Krishnan H., Abishek T. K. and Maneesha V. Ramesh, Collaborative VIEW by Optimally Positioned Wireless Integrated Flying Robots, 7th International Conference on Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing, WiCOM 2011, Wuhan, China.
 

The paper studied the effects of wireless transmission in the atmosphere between mobile flying robots, that could be deployed for remote surveillance and emergency communications after a nuclear disaster, an earthquake or a tsunami.
 

SEE ALSO
Best Paper Award for Amrita WNA
Amrita WNA to Present at SENSORCOMM 2010