India Mobile Congress (IMC-2023), the most prominent telecom, media, and technology event in Asia, jointly organized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) took place from 27 – 29 November at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The overarching theme for IMC 2023 was “Global Digital Innovation,” emphasizing the significance of technology and innovation in today’s interconnected world. The event served as a meeting ground for industry leaders, policymakers, and technology enthusiasts to showcase their groundbreaking innovations.
As a part of the event, The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) announced the establishment of 100 5G Use Case Labs at Higher Educational Institutions across India. IIIT Hyderabad was one of these institutions. Ms. Anuradha Vattem from Smart City Living Lab (SCLL) along with the faculty involved took the award virtually from the institutions.
IIITH was represented by a team of four engineers – Mr. Vaibhav Naware, Research Engineer; Ms. Ushasri Mogadali, Research Translation Engineer; Mr. Surya Suhaas Modadugu, Research Intern and Ms. Deepti Jhade, Research Intern led by the faculty Prof. Aftab Hussain. They presented the Living Lab Model, which included innovative solutions to address various challenges in smart cities. The exhibition featured IoT devices for monitoring Water Quality, Water Quantity, Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality, Wi-SUN Deployment in IIITH Campus, EV Charging over Wi-SUN, Smart Display, Qualcomm Hardware Development Kit, and the eye-catching Eco Explorer.
“IoT as a buzz word in academia; it’s definitely picking up, and we see at one point in time, everybody was talking about computer science and coding, but now electronics is getting its due share because of IoT, and a lot of people are excited about making these nodes and hardware deployments, connecting them to the cloud, and talking about wireless technologies, 5G and even 6G now, and it definitely feels like it’s taking off,” said Prof. Aftab Hussain when asked about the potential of this field of work and if is there enough push so as to bring all this up, is it better than before or does it still need growth.
When asked about how government or industry support helps, Prof. Aftab said, “In this case, for our growth, government help is very important. For example, the hon’ble prime minister awarded 100 5G use case labs, and IIIT Hyderabad is one of them. So, when we get support like this from the government, it really helps because the 5G or 6G infrastructure is quite expensive, and academics can do very good quality research but not be able to invest that much money upfront, so that’s why government help really comes in handy. and now that we have the support from the government, we can now look at: 1. exciting students about it; 2. training manpower; and 3. doing very good R&D on top of 5G use cases.”
Engagements and Collaborations:
One of the organisers of IMC, “Priya Bhadra Bhowmik” came to our stall and was really impressed by what we showcased and hoped to collaborate with us in the future as well.
Connections and Gaining Experience:
For Smart City Living Lab, IIIT Hyderabad, the entire IMC experience provided an excellent opportunity for possible future collaborations. We also had the chance to view the exhibits of other sizable companies, including C-DOT, AMD, Jio, COAI, ISRO, etc., and learn about new technologies. Through our interactions at their booths, we were introduced to cutting-edge technologies, innovative solutions, and possibly revolutionary breakthroughs in a variety of industries. It’s a valuable opportunity to witness firsthand demonstrations, discuss ideas, and potentially identify areas for collaboration or inspiration.
Several VIPs and delegates also stopped by the IIIT Hyderabad booth to talk about possible technological breakthroughs and how to scale up our solutions. The Bharat 6G Alliance’s Director General, Mr.Rajesh Kumar Pathak, also approached us regarding 6G use cases and potential future implementations of IoT. Upon visiting our exhibit, many students from various colleges and institutions were greatly astonished and motivated by our display of the Smart City Living Lab.
Wi-SUN Deployment steals the show:
Among all the things we displayed, the Wi-SUN Physical Dashboard, Wi-SUN Router, and EV Charging through Wi-SUN were a huge spectacle. Many people were drawn to it, and they had a lot of curiosity regarding the Wi-SUN technology and the campus-wide Wi-SUN deployment that Silicon Labs had made feasible. People were curious to learn about the distinctions and specializations between the three various deployment versions.
The overall presentation went on successfully well and it created a good exposure to the team and has opened new doors to multiple use cases mentioned Anuradha Vattem musing over the event details.
November 2023