Page 40 - PR Communication Age January 2016

quires a light source, such as a stan- One of the big advantages of li-fi is the the firm's search initiatives, told. The
dard LED bulb, an internet connection fact that, unlike wi-fi, it does not inter- concept was intended to test out how
and a photo detector. It was tested by fere with other radio signals, so could users might interact with voice search
Estonian start-up Velmenni, in Tallinn. be utilised on aircraft and in other in new ways. Worn on the chest, the
places where interference is an issue. Google pin is activated with a light tap.
Velmenni used a li-fi-enabled light bulb
to transmit data at speeds of 1Gbps. Google Makes Secret Star The prototype might output sound
Laboratory tests have shown theoreti- Trek like Communicator through an onboard speaker or by con-
cal speeds of up to 224Gbps. It was Device necting to headphones. The idea was
tested in an office, to allow workers to to make it easier for people to query
access the internet and in an industrial Google has developed a prototype to Google without having to fish out
space, where it provided a smart light- wearable device based on the commu- their cell phones.
ing solution. Chief executive Deepak nicator in Star Trek which uses a micro-
Solanki said that the technology could phone to listen to a user's voice and "I always wanted that pin," Singhal
reach consumers "within three to four can use Bluetooth to send those com- was quoted as saying. "You just ask it
years". mands to another device. anything and it works. That's why we
were like, 'Let's go prototype that and
The term li-fi was first coined by Prof In science fiction, Captain Picard and see how it feels.'"
Harald Haas from Edinburgh Univer- his crew used their lapel pins to talk to
sity, who demonstrated the technol- the artificial intelligence and crew The device hasn't left the testing phase
ogy at a Ted (Technology, Entertain- onboard the Starship Enterprise. but illustrates how far Google is will-
ment and Design) conference in Google's prototype circular device con- ing to go to chart the future of search.
2011.Prof Haas described a future nects to a smart phone through Apple, Amazon, Facebook and
when billions of light bulbs could be- Bluetooth, Amit Singhal senior vice Microsoft are all aiming to develop
come wireless hotspots. president and executive in charge of similar services, it noted.

Chennai Flood: Death toll in floods mounts to 347

After days of sticking to one figure, 265 deaths, announced during the lone press conference, the State government
recently put the death toll at 347 due to floods in the State this north east monsoon.

Meanwhile, the Centre has announced the TN floods to be a 'Calamity of Severe Nature' while Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
wrote to the Prime Minister to declare it as a 'National Calamity'.

According to an official, 347 lives have been lost in the period since October 1 throughout the State. As many as 3,889
heads of cattle have also been lost and over 1.16 lakh huts have been damaged in the State.

Several thousand people are being evacuated on a daily basis. Approx 17.64 lakh persons have been rescued, evacu-
ated and accommodated in the 6,605 relief centres. An amount of Rs. 67.47 crore has been disbursed to 1.11 lakh
families so far, the release said.

Facing flak from NGOs and volunteers, the government also released the list of relief co-ordinators in Chennai,
Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.

Meanwhile, State Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar kick-started the drive to provide bleaching powder and chlorine
tablets to flood-hit areas through 100 autorickshaws with assistance from the local bodies.

The objective is to reach half a kg of bleaching powder and 20 chlorine tablets to every household affected in the
floods along with awareness pamphlets.

The government has also started a vaccination drive covering 26,000 sanitary workers involved in the conservancy
work post-flooding. People requiring treatment could call the 24-hour helpline 104.

40 PR COMMUNICATION AGE January 2016

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