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For smart cities, the successful large-scale implementation of solar PV technology, Quality Certification and Standards are mandatory. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a global organization for standardization consisting of all IEC national committees. The IEC PV standards comprise IEC technical committee 82 solar PV Energy System (IEC TC82) which develops and adopts all Photovoltaic related standards. There are nearly 80 standards applicable to photovoltaic and five working groups in IEC TC82. For necessary safety requirements ‘Quality and Standards’ technologically need to be revised and up to date. This paper presents PV standards developed by various technical committees worldwide, mainly focusing on various IEC PV standards, gaps identified by them and the recommendations provided by the committee in recent times. The breakup costs of the various sub-systems of a PV installation with an illustrative example for India is also discussed. It is intended to provide a guideline for consumers and investors, opting for solar PV installations.

A metrological technical specification for the purity assessment of organic pure substance certified reference materials (CRMs) in China was formulated based on the practical experience from CRM developers, comments from experts, the “IUPAC Organic Purity Technical Report—Methods for the SI Value Assignment of the Purity of Organic Compounds”, and other references. After review by the national metrological technical committee for reference material and other experts in China, the specification was issued as JJF 1855–2020 in 2020. The specification describes the principles, requirements and practical guidelines for the purity assessment of organic pure substance CRMs, such as mass balance, quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, coulometry, titrimetry and external standard calibration. It also describes the combination for results and uncertainties for different methods. In which, the classification of mass balance method into three types and the combination approach of value and uncertainty, especially suitable for the purity assessment are firstly introduced. The introduction of the consideration during formulation for each important section in the specification is inspirational and instructive to developers of organic pure substance CRMs around the world.

We present a hypothetical case study to examine the use of a next-generation framework developed by the Genetic Toxicology Technical Committee of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute for assessing the potential risk of genetic damage from a pharmaceutical perspective. We used etoposide, a genotoxic carcinogen, as a representative pharmaceutical for the purposes of this case study. Using the framework as guidance, we formulated a hypothetical scenario for the use of etoposide to illustrate the application of the framework to pharmaceuticals. We collected available data on etoposide considered relevant for assessment of genetic toxicity risk. From the data collected, we conducted a quantitative analysis to estimate margins of exposure (MOEs) to characterize the risk of genetic damage that could be used for decision-making regarding the predefined hypothetical use. We found the framework useful for guiding the selection of appropriate tests and selecting relevant endpoints that reflected the potential for genetic damage in patients. The risk characterization, presented as MOEs, allows decision makers to discern how much benefit is critical to balance any adverse effect(s) that may be induced by the pharmaceutical. Interestingly, pharmaceutical development already incorporates several aspects of the framework per regulations and health authority expectations. Moreover, we observed that quality dose response data can be obtained with carefully planned but routinely conducted genetic toxicity testing. This case study demonstrates the utility of the next-generation framework to quantitatively model human risk based on genetic damage, as applicable to pharmaceuticals.

The Technical Committee on Biological and Medical Measurements (TC-25) aims at establishing, developing, promoting and supporting cooperation among researchers in the different fields of biological and medical measurements. Sensors for the measurement of clinical and/ or biological parameters, instrument and procedure characterization, instrument interoperability and interconnection, and data processing are some of the topics of interest to the TC-25. To those aims, the technical committee designs and realizes joint activities, like study groups aimed at standardization, such as the Subcommittee on Blood Pressure Measurement (SCOBPM); conferences or special sessions, such as the IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications (MeMeA); and several special sessions during the annual IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Technical Conferences. TC-25 is also continuously engaged to maintain liaisons with other committees, groups, societies and organizations working on topics related to the TC scope. This paper presents the latest updates about the main activities of the TC-25. Some information about the TC-25 activities and targets is briefly presented, then the objectives and the efforts of the SCOBPM are summarized, and finally, the history and latest updates of our main conference, the MeMeA Symposium, are reported.

The IEEE Technical Committee 10 (TC-10), the Waveform Generation, Measurement, and Analysis Committee of the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement (IM IEEE Std 1057–2017, Standard for Digitizing Waveform Recorders [2]; IEEE Std 1241–2010, Standard for Terminology and Test Methods for Ana-log-to-Digital Converters [3]; IEEE Std 658–2011, Standard for Terminology and Test Methods for Digital-to-Analog Converters [4]; the IEEE Std 1696–2013, Standard for Terminology and Test Methods for Circuit Probes [5]; and the IEEE Std 2414–2020, Standard for Jitter and Phase Noise [6]. Additional information on these standards can be found in [7].

This is article provides an overview of the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society Technical Committee TC-22 on Intelligent Measurement Systems (https://ieee-ims.org/technical-committee/tc-22). The scope of the TC-22 is related to fostering development and use of artificial intelligence, computational intelligence, and soft computing in measurement systems and related applications [1]–[3].

This article reports on the development of usability engineering recommendations for next-generation integrated interoperable medical devices. A model-based hazard analysis method is used to reason about possible design anomalies in interoperability functions that could lead to use errors. Design recommendations are identified that can mitigate design problems. An example application of the method is presented based on an integrated medical system prototype for postoperative care. The AAMI/UL technical committee used the results of the described analysis to inform the creation of the Interoperability Usability Concepts, Annex J, which is included in the first edition of the new ANSI/AAMI/UL 2800-1:2019 standard on medical device interoperability. The presented work is valuable to experts developing future revisions of the interoperability standard, as it documents key aspects of the analysis method used to create part of the standard. The contribution is also valuable to manufacturers, as it demonstrates how to perform a model-based analysis of use-related aspects of a medical system at the early stages of development, when a concrete implementation of the system is not yet available.

Presents the activities and events sponsored by the MMTS Microwave High-Power Techniques Technical Committee.

Using some nearly forgotten facts, this article reviews the origins of the IEEE Computer Society and the first Technical Committee on Electronic Computers, established about 10 years after the revolutionary invention of electronic digital computing.

Purpose The following article is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry PhD and innovator regarding his pioneering efforts. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The interviewee is Dr Nabil Simaan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Otolaryngology at Vanderbilt University. He is also director of Vanderbilt’s Advanced Robotics and Mechanism Applications Research Laboratory. In this interview, Simaan shares his unique perspective and approaches on his journey of trying to solve real-world problems in the medical robotics area. Findings Simaan received his BSc, MSc and PhD in mechanical engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He served as Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University. In 2005, he joined Columbia University, New York, NY, as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering until 2010, when he joined Vanderbilt. His current applied research interests include synthesis of novel robotic systems for surgical assistance in confined spaces with applications to minimally invasive surgery of the throat, natural orifice surgery, cochlear implant surgery and dexterous bimanual microsurgery. Theoretical aspects of his research include robot design and kinematics. Originality/value Dr Simaan is a leading pioneer on designing robotic systems and mechanisms for medical applications. Examples include technologies for snake robots licensed to Intuitive Surgical; technologies for micro-surgery of the retina, which led to the formation of AURIS Surgical Robotics; the insertable robotic effector platform (IREP) single-port surgery robot that served as the research prototype behind the Titan Medical Inc. Sport (Single Port Orifice Robotic Technology). Simaan received the NSF Career award for young investigators to design new algorithms and robots for safe interaction with the anatomy. He has served as the Editor for IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Editorial Board Member of Robotica, Area Chair for Robotics Science and Systems and corresponding Co-chair for the IEEE Technical Committee on Surgical Robotics. In January 2020, he was bestowed the award of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow for Robotics Advancements. At the end of 2020, he was named a top voice in health-care robotics by technology discovery platform InsightMonk and market intelligence firm BIS Research. Simaan holds 15 patents. A producer of human capital, his education goal is to achieve the best possible outcome with every student he works with.

This special issue of PRIA is devoted to some scientific results and trends of the 25th International Conference on Pattern Recognition (Virtual, Milano, Italy, January 10–15, 2021). Two important events of ICPR-2020 are represented in this special issue: (1) The paper of Professor Ching Yee Suen (Centre for Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada)–the recent winner of IAPR very prestigious K.S. Fu Prize for a year of 2020. The paper based on his lecture “From handwriting to human personality and facial beauty” presented at the ICPR 2020; (2) Special issue “ICPR-2020 Workshop “Image Mining. Theory and Applications.” The analysis of the scientific contribution of IMTA-VII-2021 allows us to draw the following conclusions: (1) The construction of a unified mathematical theory of image analysis is still far from complete. (2) There is considerable interest in the development of new mathematical methods for analyzing and evaluating information presented in the form of images. (3) There is a tendency to expand the mathematical apparatus in the development of new methods of image analysis and recognition by involving in this process areas of mathematics that were not previously used in image analysis. (4) The gap between the capabilities of new mathematical methods of image analysis and recognition and their actual use in solving applied problems remains significant. (5) There is an excessive use of neural networks in solving applied problems of image analysis and image recognition, and quite often without proper justification and interpretation of the results. The special issue includes articles based on the workshop papers selected by the IMTA-VII-2021 Program Committee for publication in PRIA. The PRIA special issue “Scientific Resume of the 25th International Conference on Pattern Recognition” is prepared by the National Committee for Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the IAPR member society, and by the IAPR Technical Committee no. 16 on Algebraic and Discrete Mathematical Techniques in Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis.

Presents information on the work of the GRSS Instrumentation and Future Technologies Technical Committee Working Groups.

Forensic science is crucial for the administration of justice and case investigation. In China, political-legal organizations, including the courts, public security, procuratorate, and judicial administration, developed their own forensic practices before 2004. As a result, the frequent and repeated appraisals undermined judicial authority and credibility. Thus, a law was published in 2005 to improve the uniform forensic management system by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, leading to the establishment of the Forensic Administration of the Ministry of Justice in 2006. During this process, the increased accreditation and interflow highlighted the role of consensus in forensic standards for forensic service providers to avoid uncertainty regarding the methods used and interpretation of results. In 2017, a policy document was promulgated again to strengthen the importance of the uniform standards, which also proposed to establish a new national technical committee for the standardization of forensic science by the General Office of the State Council. In 2018, despite the continuing problems concerning uniformity, the Forensic Administration of the Ministry of Justice was merged into the Public Legal Services Administration. Yet, there is still a long way to go for the national technical committee for the standardization of forensic science. This paper analyses the evolution of forensic standards internationally and nationally, discusses the existing problems, and proposes relative solutions. Moreover, it discusses the future of standards development with the deepening of the reformation of both the national standardization and judicial system.

Despite the difficulties imposed by the worldwide spread of COVID-19, some recent advances have been made by the Technical Committee 17 (TC-17) in topics regarding measurements and materials.