Aquatic Cleanup Drone – A Brilliant Project by Students
Young innovators from across India made a splash at the Aquatic Cleanup Drone Challenge Hackathon at IIT Madras, showcasing autonomous drones designed to clean polluted water bodies.
In a remarkable display of brains, brawn and a good dollop of innovation, seven engineering student teams strutted their robotic stuff at the finals of the first-ever Aquatic Cleanup Drone Challenge Hackathon on Tuesday, hosted at the spanking new Discovery Campus of IIT Madras in Thaiyur, Chennai. The event was organised by PALS (Pan IIT Alumni Leadership Series), an initiative that ropes in IIT alumni to lend a helping hand – and the odd nudge – to budding engineers.
Plucked from a veritable sea of talent – 51 colleges, no less – the seven teams showcased autonomous aquatic drones aimed at tackling the ever-growing menace of water pollution. Each prototype was a nifty blend of tech wizardry and environmental purpose, proving these young minds aren’t just fiddling about with wires – they mean business.
C.N. Chandrasekaran, Chairperson of PALS, was positively chuffed. “The winners have worked on aquatic cleaning drones. It’s truly inspiring and addresses a pressing environmental issue. The innovation, dedication, and collaborative spirit reflect the essence of what we aim to achieve through the PALS platform,” he said, likely beaming from ear to ear.
The event wasn’t just a classroom exercise with a splash of coding. It had real muscle behind it, thanks to a cracking collaboration with Deepcyan Software (Mumbai), Cu-Circuits (Chennai), and the International Centre for Clean Water (ICCW). All in all, a top-notch example of the power of multidisciplinary teamwork.
Adding to the gravitas of the occasion, a host of IIT alumni and business stalwarts turned up, not merely to clap politely from the sidelines, but to roll up their sleeves and give the students a steer.
Sankar Kanagasabai, alumnus of IIT Delhi and chairman of Shree Renga Polyster Private Limited, shared a nugget from his own corner of innovation. His firm, he said, recycles PET bottles to make clothing in Karur. “We have to focus on innovation to prevent plastic pollution of the ocean and waterbodies. The students at the event have shown that spirit. But let’s be honest, we also need political will to make such innovations fly,” he said, hitting the nail squarely on the head.
Meanwhile, R. Krishnamurti Rao, another IIT alumnus and PALS champion, was all praise for the teams, saying they had gone above and beyond what’s typically expected of students. “They now have a genuine opportunity to showcase this for the industry,” he noted, giving them a figurative pat on the back.
Now, this hackathon wasn’t your usual tea-and-biscuits academic affair. It was a pioneering effort to encourage students from across India to design unmanned surface vehicles – aquatic drones, if you will – capable of scooping up all manner of floating debris from rivers, lakes, and canals. In other words, high-tech janitors with a mission. Not only did the event sharpen technical chops, but it also planted the seeds of entrepreneurial thinking, neatly ticking boxes for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals around clean water and sanitation.
The real heart of the competition lies in pushing students to think beyond textbooks – to design and build boats that work autonomously, clean efficiently, and, ideally, don’t cost the earth. With the problem of polluted water bodies reaching a bit of a tipping point, the event couldn’t have been timelier. Recent research suggests that unmanned surface vehicles might just be the ace up our sleeve when it comes to giving our rivers and lakes a fighting chance.
Balaji Ramakrishnan, Director of the National Institute of Ocean Technology, handed out certificates with a warm word for each team and a hearty round of applause. He commended their ingenuity and spirit, urging them to continue applying their talents to real-world problems.
In short, while the robots were doing the cleaning, it was the students who walked away squeaky clean with honour and promise. One might say, they’ve only just dipped their toes – and the future’s looking bright, or should we say, unsinkable.
News and Picture Sources : The Hindu
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