Nigerian Army Provides Free Medical Care To IDPs In Borno [2015]

The Nigerian Army says it has so far provided free medical treatment to about 300 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Chibok, Borno / Konduga community of Borno State, as part of activities marking this year’s Nigerian Army Day Celebration.

The army spokesperson, Sani Usman, in a statement said the free medical care which would last for three days – August 12 to 14 – is for the internally displaced persons in the area.

The immediate health needs of the displaced persons will be catered for during the exercise.

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Victor Shoaga, Ayodele Obasegun, Oyatope Blessing And Otaru Babatunde Develop Humane Application

Victor Shoaga, Ayodele Obasegun, Oyatope Blessing and Otaru Babatunde have developed Humane Application as a presentation for the 2014 Microsoft Imagine Cup. This accounts for why it is still only available on the Windows Phone platform at the moment. However, the team decided to take it to the next level by making improvements that will make it more widely accepted, of which includes compatibility with other platforms.

The developers are all students of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University.

Humane is virtual sensory software platform that allows visually impaired users to perform tasks on their smartphones which they cannot perform normally.

Humane makes smartphone operation easier for the visually impaired. It helps them select music files, play selected videos (though they can only listen), surf the web, set or check the time, the list goes on.

Humane Application, as it is, is an application software (not available for public download). It was developed for companies who are prospective buyers to add their own modifications to it, although individual buyers will still find it useful as it is.

How Humane Works

Humane is a software that comes with a manual controller. The software itself is downloaded into the user’s phone and then the user is given the controller and an identification number. The identification number is entered into the software for compatibility with the controller, meaning only one controller is able to work with a single software. The manual controller has two dongles for scrolling and a central “select” button, making its operation as easy as can be.

The Humane controller is durable, potable, easy to operate and light. The app also has a voice guide to notify when Humane has been successfully activated but the biggest merit is that for an app they can do so much, it connection is simply by Bluetooth – the same way two phones are connected for file sharing.

Challenges

Seeing as it is an extreme useful app, Humane Application has only a handful of challenges to overcome on its way to becoming widely accepted. For one, it is still only available on the Windows Phone platform, although plans are in place to roll it out on other platforms, so there’s no reason to bother.

Also, the manual controller has low ubiquity. Only a few controllers have been produced and as such, there is still a difficulty with dealing with the demand that will arise when Humane becomes widely known.

Another challenge faced on the part of the controller is it’s design. The controller is still in its prototype stage so it’s a bit bulky. But it works.

Summary

Humane Application is a whole platform on its own. It’s developers are working round the clock to add improvements and other uses, one of which is the Internet Of Things (IOT) module, which will allow visually impaired users to control appliances in their homes and Obstacle, which can notify a visually impaired operator against colliding with an oncoming obstruction to his path.

TCN Transmits 101,088 MWH To National Grid

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) attains an all-time maximum energy transmission per day of 101,088 megawatt hours (MWH) on the national grid.

TCN in a statement signed by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs. Seun Olagunju, said the achievement was recorded on Wednesday, August 5, 2015.

It explained that the previous record of  99,450 MWH was attained on October 31, 2014 and that the new feat was achieved with the supervision of its management contractor, Manitoba Hydro International (MHI), which it said had articulated short, medium and long terms grid expansion plans aimed at growing and sustaining improvement in the nation’s transmission grid.

Megawatt hours is translated as one million watts amount of power delivered in one hour while kilowatt hours is one kilowatt amount of power delivered in one hour.

Kilowatt hours is one of the most common usage in billing the amount of energy delivered by electricity utilities to end users.

TCN however said it has continued to pursue these expansion plans vigorously to ensure that its national grid expansion goals and timelines are met.

The statement further noted that the new record of 101,088 MWH was in line with its grid expansion plan and that the fact that the company has been able to comfortably wheel  the maximum energy ever moved along the nation’s transmission line is indicative of the networks growing capability to evacuate even more energy in the system.

Reaffirming its commitment to ensuring a robust and reliable transmission network, TCN promised that it would continue to work hard to build on the gains of its improved wheeling capacity.