The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras showcased student projects that have garnered international recognition in the recent months at the Centre for Innovation’s (CFI) Open House on October 8.
CFI, a student-run lab that encourages engineers to apply theoretical knowledge to find solutions to real-world problems, organises the Open House annually to demonstrate its work to the public.
This year, over 40 projects were presented, including Team Anveshak’s Mars rover, which qualified for the finals of the University Rover Challenge; Team Raftar’s Formula race car, which is built from scratch and is driven by the students of IIT-M at Formula SAE; and Team Abhiyaan’s autonomous vehicle, which qualified for the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition.
Other competitive teams such as Team Amogh, whose paper on design and motion control of autonomous underwater vehicles was published in IEEE Xplore ; and Team Adhira, which created the institute’s first electric vehicle for Formula Student Electric, also demonstrated their models to the eager public, industry persons and potential investors.
In addition, the various clubs – such as aero, analytics, astro and physics, 3D printing, and electronics – of IIT Madras showcased their projects.
Work in progress
A winner of the James Dyson Award, the Railroad Fault-Detection Robot was another attraction at the event. While there are fault-detection mechanisms already in place, this robot can do the job without disrupting the train schedule. And since there have been several Railway mishaps in recent past, some caused by damaged or misaligned tracks, this project becomes all the more relevant.
Though the team hasn’t yet tested the robot out on an actual railway track, they are hopeful of its future.
The 3D printing club had quite a few visitors because of its social venture. In an attempt to help the animals of IIT, which get injured from time to time, they have come up with a 3D-printed limb replacement system. They have currently tied up with Bengaluru-based group People for Animals to test one such plastic limb on an amputee monkey. If they get positive results after the trial period, they plan to improve the invention.
A birthplace of start-ups
Speaking about CFI at the inauguration of the Open House, Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, said, “CFI, now nearly a decade old, is a model for similar labs across institutes in the country. Student groups have won several prizes in international competitions and many start-ups have emerged from the projects undertaken here.”
In fact, it’s not uncommon for alumni to revisit their former clubs and teams during placement season. Third-year B.Tech (electrical engineering) student Raghav Vaidyanathan, who heads the branding and engagement at CFI, said that no matter how far-fetched an idea may seem, CFI is always willing to encourage students and help them develop their product, if they are enthusiastic.
Peer-to-peer learning
CFI not only encourages experiential learning but also gives space to peer-to-peer education. Every club, project and team is a potpourri of students in their under-graduate, post-graduate and research levels.
Professor B Ravindran, Faculty-in-Charge, CFI, IIT Madras, said that CFI has become an integral part of student life on campus, with a vast majority of them undertaking some project at CFI during their tenure at the institute. “This serves as an introduction to the vibrant entrepreneurial eco-system in IIT Madras and several successful start-ups have been incubated from projects started at CFI,” he added.
Freshers and seniors alike spend hours at CFI on their projects. Talking about their routine, Raghav said, “We wake up, finish class by 5 in the evening, head to CFI to work on our projects, have dinner and come back to the Centre. Sometimes we sleep over there, too!”
The Open House also saw active participation from the students of IIT Tirupati and IIT Palakkad, who are being mentored by IIT Madras under their mentorship programme, Vistaar.