IT major Wipro and nano-electronics company imec have announced a joint initiative called ARISE (Applied Research in Intelligent Systems Engineering) Labs, which will work on technologies to transform emerging markets. The initiative was originally announced in May.

Announcing the launch in CXO conclave here, Dr Anurag Srivastava, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice-President, Wipro Global IT Business, said, “Emerging markets represent 80 per cent of the global population.”

Describing some of the opportunities in emerging markets, he said that 50 per cent of the population was aged below 25, 75 per cent lived in rural areas and mobiles had a market penetration of 64.7 per cent. “The challenges are healthcare, urbanisation, and energy."

He said that ARISE would look into connectivity in rural areas and serve as a bridge between academia and industry.

Dr Luc Van den hove, President and Chief Executive Officer, imec, said, “We need global partnerships to deliver industry relevant solutions.”

Electronic nose

Discussing the need for greater technology for areas such as healthcare, he said, “By 2030, we will have over one billion people who are older than 65.” Mentioning new areas where technology could change lives, he said that today's mobiles had many features, but couldn't smell.

“We are working on an electronic nose which can smell and measure things like the level of carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide in the air. Such technology could also be used to find if food has become spoilt. This technology will be available in mobiles a few years from now,” he said.

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