Global aviation agencies moot plan to mitigate risks due to jamming, spoofing
The plan emerged out of a jointly-hosted workshop on the topic of GNSS interference held at Cologne recently.
An official release from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said, 'The number of global positioning system (GPS) signal loss events increased by 220% between 2021 and 2024, according to data from the Global Aviation Data Management Flight Data eXchange of IATA. And with continued geopolitical tensions, it is difficult to see this trend reversing in the near term.'
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Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
PMC uses AI to monitor cleanliness and urban amenities
1 2 Prayagraj: In a progressive step towards enhancing urban cleanliness and monitoring, the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation has initiated trial to monitor city's lanes using Artificial Intelligence (AI), following the successful use of AI surveillance on major roads. The trial aims to extend advanced monitoring system, which covers cleanliness, street lighting, encroachments, and illegal dairy activities, into the narrow bylanes of the city. Currently, corporation has equipped the Quick Response Team (QRT) vehicles with cameras and GPS devices to conduct surveillance of lanes alongside the main roads. These cameras capture real-time data, which is analysed with the help of AI to identify cleanliness issues, encroachments, and other violations quickly. O nce the trial phase concludes successfully, the plan is to equip all garbage collection vehicles, which cover the city's lanes and residential areas, with similar camera and GPS technology. This will allow for modern, comprehensive surveillance of nearly all the lanes in the city. Deputy Municipal Commissioner Deep Shikha Pandey explained that the AI-based monitoring on main roads yielded positive results. "Based on this success, we intend to replicate the model for the lanes. AI surveillance will help improve cleanliness in lanes, enable immediate reporting of debris and encroachments, and assist in prompt corrective action," she said. The AI surveillance initiative is also expected to positively impact Prayagraj's ranking in the next Swachh Survekshan (Cleanliness Survey). Prayagraj is the first city in Uttar Pradesh to implement AI technology for monitoring major roads, a pioneering move that is now expanding into the more complex network of the city's lanes. In another major development, the Municipal Corporation recently completed a comprehensive survey of over 1.72 lakh buildings in the city's expanded limits, which include both developed, undeveloped areas. The survey revealed that over 80,000 buildings still lack minimum urban amenities, highlighting the uneven spread of infrastructure across the city. The tax department of the corporation has decided to issue property tax notices this financial year only to those building owners who receive basic urban facilities. Before sending these notices, a thorough cross-check was conducted to verify urban amenities in the extended limits. This exercise uncovered many areas still predominantly rural in character, where municipal services are minimal or absent. Chief Tax Assessment Officer PK Mishra emphasised the challenge, stating, "It is unjustified to levy property tax on residents in areas where no urban facilities exist. Therefore, a re-survey is underway to clearly demarcate urban and rural zones in the expanded region." According to Mishra, approximately 8,000 buildings identified as part of developed areas have already been subjected to property tax collection from the financial year 2024-25 onward.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
2-yr raptor ecology study begins in DNP with vulture tagging
Jaisalmer: A comprehensive study on raptor ecology has begun in Desert National Park (DNP) and surrounding areas to assess the status and local ecology of breeding raptors. Initiated by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the research project commenced on July 21 and will continue till July 2027. The study involves the capture and tagging of 36 vultures from various species, including the Tawny Eagle Vulture and Egyptian Vulture, to better understand their movement and breeding patterns. Under the guidance of Dr Govind Sagar Bhardwaj, director of WII, and led by senior scientist Dr Sutirtha Dutta, the team has already fitted two vultures with GPS transmitters and backpack harnesses. The first bird, a Tawny Eagle, was tagged and released on July 21 in the RKVY enclosure of DNP, while a juvenile Egyptian Vulture was tagged and released near the Gajaimata enclosure two days later. Both birds exhibited normal flight post-release. The study, approved under Section 12(A) of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, also includes collection of biological samples from six individuals each of Red-headed Vulture, White-rumped Vulture, Indian Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Tawny Eagle, and Laggar Falcon. The research aims to generate critical data on the spatial ecology and conservation needs of these threatened species. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 most beautiful women in the world Undo Officials from WII highlighted the importance of the study in recommending measures to protect the vulnerable landscape of the Thar Desert. B M Gupta, divisional forest officer of DNP, emphasised that these efforts are crucial for the long-term conservation of raptors in the region.
NDTV
5 days ago
- NDTV
The Eye-Opening Science Of Close Encounters With Polar Bears
Norway: It's a pretty risky business trying to take a blood sample from a polar bear -- one of the most dangerous predators on the planet -- on an Arctic ice floe. First, you have to find it and then shoot it with a sedative dart from a helicopter before a vet dares approach on foot to put a GPS collar around its neck. Then the blood has to be taken and a delicate incision made into a layer of fat before it wakes. All this with a wind chill of up to minus 30C. For the last four decades, experts from the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) have been keeping tabs on the health and movement of polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Like the rest of the Arctic, global warming has been happening there three to four times faster than elsewhere. But this year, the eight scientists working from the Norwegian icebreaker Kronprins Haakon are experimenting with new methods to monitor the world's largest land carnivore, including, for the first time, tracking the PFAS "forever chemicals" from the other ends of the Earth that finish up in their bodies. An AFP photographer joined them on this year's eye-opening expedition. Delicate surgery on the ice With one foot on the helicopter's landing skid, vet Rolf Arne Olberg put his rifle to his shoulder as a polar bear ran as the aircraft approached. Hit by the dart, the animal slumped gently on its side into a snowdrift, with Olberg checking with his binoculars to make sure he had hit a muscle. If not, the bear could wake prematurely. "We fly in quickly," Oldberg said, and "try to minimise the time we come in close to the bear... so we chase it as little as possible." After a five- to 10-minute wait to make sure it is asleep, the team of scientists lands and works quickly and precisely. They place a GPS collar around the bear's neck and replace the battery if the animal already has one. Only females are tracked with the collars because male polar bears -- who can grow to 2.6 metres (8.5 feet) -- have necks thicker than their heads, and would shake the collar straight off. Olberg then made a precise cut in the bear's skin to insert a heart monitor between a layer of fat and the flesh. "It allows us to record the bear's body temperature and heart rate all year," NPI researcher Marie-Anne Blanchet told AFP, "to see the energy the female bears (wearing the GPS) need to use up as their environment changes." The first five were fitted last year, which means that for the first time, experts can cross-reference their data to find out when and how far the bears have to walk and swim to reach their hunting grounds and how long they rest in their lairs. The vet also takes a biopsy of a sliver of fat that allows researchers to test how the animal might stand up to stress and "forever chemicals", the main pollutants found in their bodies. "The idea is to best represent what bears experience in the wild but in a laboratory," said Belgian toxicologist Laura Pirard, who is testing the biopsy method on the mammals. Eating seaweed It has already been shown that the diet of Svalbard's 300 or so bears is changing as the polar ice retreats. The first is that they are eating less seals and more food from the land, said Jon Aars, the lead scientist of the NPI's polar bear programme. "They still hunt seals, but they also take eggs and reindeer -- they even eat (sea)grass and things like that, even though it provides them with no energy." But seals remain their essential food source, he said. "Even if they only have three months to hunt, they can obtain about 70 percent of what they need for the entire year during that period. That's probably why we see they are doing okay and are in good condition" despite the huge melting of the ice. But if warming reduces their seal hunting further, "perhaps they will struggle", he warned. "There are notable changes in their behaviour... but they are doing better than we feared. However, there is a limit, and the future may not be as bright." "The bears have another advantage," said Blanchet, "they live for a long time, learning from experience all their life. That gives a certain capacity to adapt." Success of anti-pollution laws Another encouraging discovery has been the tentative sign of a fall in pollution levels. With some "bears that we have recaptured sometimes six or eight times over the years, we have observed a decrease in pollutant levels," said Finnish ecotoxicologist Heli Routti, who has been working on the programme for 15 years. "This reflects the success of regulations over the past decades." NPI's experts contribute to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), whose conclusions play a role in framing regulations or bans on pollutants. "The concentration of many pollutants that have been regulated decreased over the past 40 years in Arctic waters," Routti said. "But the variety of pollutants has increased. We are now observing more types of chemical substances" in the bears' blood and fatty tissues. These nearly indestructible PFAS or "forever chemicals" used in countless products like cosmetics and nonstick pans accumulate in the air, soil, water, and food. Experts warn that they ultimately end up in the human body, particularly in the blood and tissues of the kidney or liver, raising concerns over toxic effects and links to cancer.
