A Message in a Bottle

Firstly, this post wasn't inspired by the 1999 American romantic drama film. I haven't even watched it, to be quite frank. But I'm certain that the concept is pretty much the same. For all those still oblivious of the term,

A message in a bottle is a form of communication whereby a message is sealed in a container (archetypically a glass bottle, but could be any medium, so long as it floats and remains waterproof) and released into the sea or ocean.

My thoughts about it, however are on a more modern-day platform.

You'd probably think that we're way past the age of messages in bottles especially all the technologically advanced ones among you. Today, we have so many different forms of electronic media that enable us to communicate with each other from practically anywhere. But even in the middle of this age of technological revolution, most of what we share shows likeness to a message in a bottle.

Look at your common social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. What do you do there?

You post your thoughts, hoping that someone will appreciate them, or give you their opinion. It's like a message in a bottle. You write your thoughts, and you set them free. Out in the open, you have no way of knowing if they will ever find it's way to who it's meant for, or anyone at all, for that matter. It is just floating there, in digital space. Although I'm pretty sure that more of your Facebook posts were replied to, than messages in bottles, you could probably credit that to the growth of our population.

What am I getting at here?

No, I'm not promoting the use of messages in bottles, although I think it would be pretty cool to have someone find a letter from you, sometime in the future. What I'm trying to point out here, is that although we have made so many major advancements in the fields of communication, not much seems to have changed. We're all pieces of the same old puzzle, except that now there are many more pieces, and hence, this puzzle moves much faster. However much we go ahead in terms of technology, there will always be some basic truths that prevail. You can accelerate the process further, maybe even aid it, but you can't bypass the basic need of someone finding interest. That basic element that runs human communication, or any other activity for that matter, interest. You cannot force someone to be interested in what you have to offer. A lot of friend-zoned guys know exactly what that means.

Take your thought, write it down, and set it free. Share it with the rest of the world. If you get responses, nurture and build it with the help of like minded people. If you don't, that doesn't make your thought any less important. When Computers were first being developed, scientists laughed at the idea of anyone using more than 25 MB of memory space in their entire lifetime. Yet, here we are today. Only two decades ago, if I were to tell you that you'd have a device the size of your palm, that would be able to process data at speeds higher than 1.5 GHz, you'd have probably laughed at me.

 "If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."  

- Albert Einstein

The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas, and then throw the bad ones away. Your thoughts and ideas have the potential to change the world. But, ideas won't keep something must be done about them. Most revolutions we see around us began as small ideas that everyone else thought was outrageous, yet one person had the courage to see it through. These people are who we call, revolutionaries.

 "There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come."                           - Victor Hugo

Believe in your ideas. Believe in yourself. And finally, think big.

Industrial Visit to Volkswagen's Chakan Plant

Date: 8th August, 2013

Place: Volkswagen Plant, Chakan

It was a day we'd all been looking forward to since we first heard about it. An industrial visit is one of the few out-of-class experiences to look forward to, as an engineering student. It is a chance to see how things actually work, out there in the real world. An experience that cannot be matched by that of any classroom. It was probably all that excitement that brought all the people who can never wake up in time to make it for a 9 o'clock lecture, in college and ready to leave by 8 am. The bus that was there waiting for us looked like it hadn't been washed in years, but it did little to dampen our spirits. We weren't going to let anything cast a shadow on that long awaited day.

The ride was long and bumpy, but a fun trip all the same. It was a good chance for us to interact with our seniors, get to know them, and make note of the long list of tips they had to offer on how to improve our college life. We stopped at Lonavla at 11:30 AM for an early lunch. We were back on the road by 12:30, and we finally reached the Volkswagen plant by 1:45 PM.

As we caught our first glimpse of the plant, we were instantly taken aback by the sheer size of the establishment, covering over 575 acres. A workforce of over 3,500 people was engaged in building it during its peak construction stages. The plant was built in a record time of 17 months, with an investment commitment of INR 3,800 Crores (580 million Euros) by Volkswagen India Private Limited. It is the largest investment by a German company to date in the growing Indian market. The Pune plant is one of the most modern in the Volkswagen Group. It has a high level of vertical integration and a large share of local suppliers. The facility is the only production plant operated by a German automaker in India that covers the entire production process, from press shop through body shop and paint shop to final assembly. The facility uses futuristically designed state-of-the-art equipment. For example, the body shop uses the Diode Laser Brazing (DLB) technology, whereas the Roof & Side Framer laser technology is used for welding the roof to the body of the car. The facility is also one of the few environment-friendly manufacturing plants around the area. For instance, the exhaust of the paint shop is re-burnt and the resultant heat and energy is reused.

After being stripped of our cameras, we were lead into the seminar hall, where we were introduced to Mr. Chetanya, who was going to be presiding over our tour of the plant. Once we had our headsets on, to make sure we could all hear him inspite of all the noise in the body shop, we started our tour, beginning with the final review tunnels, where all the cars are reviewed one last time, before they are deemed worthy to be rolled out of the plant. Next up, we were in the body shop, where there were sparks flying all over the place, quite literally. Different process, here, are taken care of, either manually or using automated robots, depending on their requirements. At the end of it, all the fittings are checked using an infrared camera, to make sure that everything is precisely where it is supposed to be. We were amazed to see the arm of automated robots working with speed and precision. Mr Chetanya inserted, "At most of our plants in Germany, we have achieved almost 95% automation. Here in India, it is about 35-40%, since the labor costs are way lower." Next up, Volkswagen's patented copper wire welding chamber. A completely automated process that has taken roof welding to the next level. This process involves welding the roof of the car to the body, using thin copper wire. This copper wire melts into all the gaps, leaving no room for any water to seep through. Because of this process, Volkswagen has been able to rid their cars of the black strip that is seen on the roof of most other cars. Watching the robots at work, we observed what looked like a simple program, guiding them. The power of a few lines of code, enough to inspire at least one wide eyed computer engineering student.

The entire plant works like clockwork. Everything is timed down to the second. On the assembly line, each station is given a time slot of 115 seconds to complete the task assigned to them, after which the car moves forward to the next station. If at all any station fails to complete their job in the given time, the system automatically highlights that station in red, and sounds an alarm to alert the supervisor. If the problem is minor, it is fixed as soon as possible. If not, then that particular car is removed from the assembly line so that it doesn't affect the production level of the day. Volkswagen has developed ingenious tools and machines, to help make things easier for their employees. We went on to see the safety features installed in even the most low end Volkswagen cars. We observed padding at different impact points, in order to protect those inside the car. Coming to the end of the tour, they really made us want to buy one of their cars. For anyone contemplating on it, I'd definitely recommend it. After all, I've seen what's inside.

Before leaving, we were shown a short film about Volkswagen, and their reach in India, specifically their Pune plant, boasting of one of the most modern production lines and testing facilities in India. Under its massive roof, it rolls out premium cars, including Audi, Bentley, Ducati, etc. In order to do this, they maintain the highest levels of quality standards.

DBIT students and faculty at Volkswagen's Chakan plant

After the customary photo shoot, we finally got on our bus and started heading back. We'd traveled for more than 10 hours, for a tour that lasted a little more than 90 minutes. Was it worth it? Definitely. It is important for us, as young students to get out of our nutshell, and realize that there is a big wide world out there.

Technology doesn't need us. We need technology.

Technology will move on, with or without us. You can never really know enough, especially with computer based technology, for it is forever evolving. What we're learning today, is almost completely obsolete. It is up to us to stay up-to-date with the current day technologies.

Finally, I'd like to thank DBIT, and the ACM for giving us this opportunity. I look forward to many more eye opening industrial visits in the future.

I wrote this as a report to submit to the Computer Department for review.