Dr. Satwant Kaur has envisioned an efficient use of energy for our modern world in her new book Transitioning Embedded Systems to Intelligent Environments: A Journey through Evolving Technologies. Having taken her Bachelor's from the India Institute of Technology in Delhi, and her Master's and Doctorate from the research-intensive Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Dr. Kaur has worked for giants such as Symantec and is now publishing for Intel Press. Her discrete articles can be found on the Intel website along with this thorough and masterful presentation of Intelligent Environments in her complete book.
Likening an Embedded System to the human body, Dr. Kaur takes the vision much further to contextualize a virtual human army which would compose an Intelligent Environment. This environment allows humans to connect to things all around them: cars, devices, services, and places of business. There are sensors in everything from clothing to buildings that are powered less and less by our outdated battery technology and increasingly by offset energy sources: for example, a watch powered by the movement of your arm. All the usual suspects play a part, too - geothermal, solar, wind. The mechanical stress associated with our industrial age such as the vibration of trucks on pavement, or acoustic noise, is harnessed in order to store and deliver the energy. Nothing is wasted.
Among challenges Dr. Kaur notes are the need for robust processing devices to endure hostile propagation input. Energy needs storage that will allow for uninterrupted performance, even as collection is sporadic. Of course, there is the Wireless Sensor Network, which would manage these interactions between systems and the environment. She provides charts and technical detail about power usage and tracking in such facilities.
Throughout her work, Dr. Kaur presents amazing ideas using practical examples. One of the most compelling scenario groups involves lighting. Sensors would enable devices to generate only as much light as is needed by sensing time of day, humidity, temperature, and other contextual factors. These "smart lights" can be integrated in all sorts of common sense situations.
The book is intended to be useful to industry professionals by inspiring and highlighting challenges to be addressed in order to realize the possibilities. There are both technical terms and layman's explanations throughout this thoughtful book. The fact that it is the culmination of both research and private sector experience, and published by Intel renders it highly recommended. Indeed, this prophetic foray by Dr. Satwant Kaur is a must read by anyone interested in the convergence phenomenon.
Dr. Satwant Kaur has provided strong technology leadership at some of the world's largest technology companies. In her most recent position, Dr. Kaur was a platform strategist in the Intel Architecture Group at Intel. Prior to joining Intel, Satwant was the CTO of the Emerging Technologies Group at TIBCO Software. She was also Director of Development at Symantec, and Chief Technology Architect of Quest Software. She was a research faculty member in the Computer Science Department of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. Satwant served on the Advisory Board at Panacea Software, and was also a consultant on the Thomson-Reuters Insight Expert Network.
Satwant has a record of cutting edge innovation in the areas of Embedded Intelligence, Intel Platforms, Security, Networking, Storage, and Enterprise Technologies. Satwant's pioneering technology inventions include the first small scale industries capacitor manufacturing robot, a root cause analysis and event correlation engine, reduced interoperability (RI) technologies for architectures, validation, and testing.
Satwant has been interviewed about "Future of Intelligent Environments" on "Dresser After Dark" Internet Radio Show. Satwant is a regular keynote speaker at IEEE Embedded Systems Events. She has been recognized with Technology Innovation Award from Executive-VP, Intel, 2009; featured on Intel IAG magazine/Intel Circuit, 2008; and appeared in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for 2003, 2006 and 2007 for Inventions of CA Event Correlation. She has been passed as "Distinguished Technologist" by HP TCP (Technical Career Pipeline) Review Board. Satwant has also recently been nominated for Fast Company's "Most Influential Women in Technology, 2011" and "Distinguished Alumni Award, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi 2011"
