Challenges and opportunities thrown up by the advent of disruptive technologies will come up for detailed discussions at the two-day annual national conference of the Computer Society of India (CSI) that will be held here on February 20 and 21.

Being hosted by the Visakhapatnam chapter of CSI in association with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited at Hotel Gateway, the conference will attract 10 domain experts of national repute along with nearly 400 delegates including 75 students from across the country.

The theme of the conference is ‘Edge Computing, Process Automation through Robotics, Industry 4.0 and Cognitive Technology’ (EPIC-2020).

“We will have separate sessions on smart industries, Internet of Things, cognitive computing, robotics and artificial intelligence,” CSI Visakhapatnam chapter chairman and RINL director (Personnel) K.C. Das told reporters here on Wednesday.

He said that the conference assumes significance as Visakhapatnam has been identified as a major smart city to be developed as an IT hub. The main objective of the event was to bring IT professionals, researchers, academia, students, NGOs, MNCs, and government departments on a common platform, he added.

Sharing of ideas

“The event will help in sharing of ideas and knowledge on how disruptive technologies are changing today’s society and industry,” Mr. Das said, adding that the conference would be an ideal platform to foster a ‘developmental dialogue’ between the leaders of today and the leaders of tomorrow.

RINL CMD P.K. Rath will be the chief guest at the event. Principal Secretary (IT) Kona Sashidhar will deliver the keynote address. Visakhapatnam Port Trust chairman K. Ram Mohan Rao has agreed to be the chief guest at the valedictory.

CSI Visakhapatnam chapter secretary B. Gobardhana Reddy, treasurer A.N. Biswal and conference organising committee vice-chairman K.V.S.S. Rajeswara Rao, spoke.