Journal of the Indian Institute of Science最新文献

This paper explains a unique, multi-sectoral convergence and development project for women self help groups covering sustainable technology, women’s economic empowerment and livelihoods, horticulture, health and nutrition, and education in Yadgir Aspirational District. Yadgir is the most backward district of Karnataka with extremely poor human development indicators, low per-capita income and minimal industrialization. Sustainable technology has been introduced in this district for the first time for setting up a small scale nutritious food production unit run by self help group women, for producing VitaPoshan, a fortified, nutritious multi-grain food, for children, adolescents, adults and family, made from locally available agri-horticulture produce. An accompanying strong multi-layered communication strategy has resulted in progressive behavior change regarding health, nutrition, sanitation practices, already visible in families. This initiative is expected to accelerate improvement of the health/nutritional status of the family/community; economic empowerment of women; higher learning capacity of children; upward social mobility and higher income within families–in short, strengthen Yadgir’s human capital.

India faces an escalating water crisis, marked by diminishing water resources and increasing demand due to rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrialization. This paper highlights the urgent need to revitalize sustainable water practices in modern India to ensure long-term water security and environmental sustainability. Traditional water conservation methods, which have sustained communities for centuries, are now overshadowed. Challenges associated with water management and factors influencing changes in sustainable water practices are discussed in detail. The study explores how integrating these time-tested sustainable practices with contemporary technological advancements can address the pressing water issues. Furthermore, the paper examines the role of community-based initiatives and government policies/programs/schemes in promoting sustainable water practices. A case study from Karnataka is presented to demonstrate the example of the successful revitalization of sustainable water practices with modern sustainable methods to overcome water crises. This case study illustrated the positive impacts on local water security, agricultural productivity, and community resilience. In conclusion, revitalizing sustainable water practices by combining traditional wisdom with modern technology in India is imperative for tackling the current water crisis. India can develop a robust, sustainable water management framework that ensures water availability, supports economic growth, and protects the environment for future generations.

The recovery and reuse of organic solvents from hazardous waste is a sustainable alternative to conventional solvent disposal options. The current work explores recent breakthroughs as well as the versatility of available solvent recovery technologies. Membrane-based separation processes are emerging as superior alternatives to traditional energy-intensive distillation due to (a) recovery of high-purity products, (b) significantly reduced energy consumption, (c) lower operational expenses, and (d) emissions reduction. Nevertheless, distillation-based technologies remain relevant due to their versatility in handling complex solvent mixtures. Hybrid methods, combining the separation and energy efficiency of membranes with the resilience of distillation, offer an optimal solution that is cost-effective and has a low environmental impact. Technology hybridization reduces operational energy and emissions while overcoming the constraints of stand-alone membrane systems such as the high capital requirement. For instance, integrating vapor permeation with distillation reduces ethanol dehydration energy requirements by 63%, while hybrid pervaporation-distillation achieves a 91% reduction in life cycle emissions for isopropanol recovery in comparison to conventional methods. Vapor permeation-distillation further demonstrates 77% cost savings compared to conventional azeotropic distillation. Additionally, adsorption-based approaches, such as hot gas pressure swing adsorption, yield 83–89% isopropanol from aqueous mixtures at industrial scales. Recent advancements in membrane materials, including poly(vinyl alcohol)-silica nanoparticle composites, have improved energy efficiency and reduced CO₂ emissions during separation processes. Future advancements in solvent recovery would facilitate zero-liquid discharge and circular economy objectives, a fundamental aspect of sustainable industrial processes.

Quantum theory revolutionised physics by introducing a new fundamental constant and a new mathematical framework to describe the observed phenomena at the atomic scale. These new concepts run counter to our familiar notions of classical physics, and pose questions about how to understand quantum physics as a fundamental theory of nature. Peculiarities of quantum correlations underlie all these questions, and this article describes their formulation, tests and resolution within the standard framework of quantum theory.

The use of robotics has been increasing in various applications in industrial, medical, entertainment, and disaster management. Biped robotics is one of the most popular specialized fields. This paper starts with a discussion on the application of robotics and argues that bipeds are an important domain of robotics due to their universal application. Stability is an important issue for bipeds. The present paper is an endeavour to review the important topic of stability. The literature review on stability of bipeds in this paper is broadly divided into two parts: Stable gait generation, also regarded as dynamic stability, and stability against disturbance, also regarded as stance stability. Stable gait generation techniques on various geometrical surfaces, such as level ground, inclined grounds, uneven grounds, stairs, and wide ditch (crossing), are discussed. Stable locomotion for avoiding obstacles is discussed as well. For stance stability, the discussion is broadly divided into two parts: with controller and without controller. For small disturbances that do not cause significant changes in the system’s states, proper Centre of mass (CoM) placement ensures stability; controls at the joints are not needed. However, to ensure stability against sufficiently large disturbances causing significant changes in the system’s states, a proper controller strategy must be developed. All these aspects of stability against disturbances are discussed in detail. After critical review of the above aspects of stability in the literature, existing research gaps are identified, and the possible future works to address them are discussed.

Fueled by the ever-growing availability of large-scale datasets and cutting-edge machine learning advances, data-driven approaches are revolutionizing the design, identification, and control of nonlinear robotic systems. This review paper examines this transformative paradigm, focusing on studies that utilize data-driven techniques involving the Koopman operator-theoretic framework, recurrent neural networks, and the Gaussian process regression for modeling and control of robotic systems. In particular, this study undertakes a review of these state-of-the-art data-driven methods, which have delivered significant performance improvement over a large class of robotic systems, including rigid manipulators, soft robots, and quadrotor aerial systems. The challenges, opportunities, and future directions across this dynamic landscape of data-driven robotics are also explored in this study with an emphasis on the interdisciplinary nature of this rapidly evolving field.

Aerial manipulators are being increasingly used in many applications. This paper surveys several quadrotor-based aerial manipulators (QAM) that have been designed and reported in the literature. After a brief review of the history of the developments in aerial manipulator systems, it presents the main components of the QAM system and the various challenges faced by designers in terms of controller design, the various methods used and some actual control system implementations. Finally, the paper presents a complete design and hardware field experiment of an in-house-designed QAM system.