CHENNAI: A missile sized object that can detect cracks on the base of ships was the cynosure of all eyes at the Open House exhibition conducted by the Centre for Innovation (CFI) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M).
The object, which is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by IIT-M students, has the potency to reduce expenses to the shipping industry with its purposefulness.
“This will eliminate the need for ships to be removed from water to study cracks on their base,” said Shameem S, one student on the team. “Lifting a 50,000 freighter off the water is an arduous task and time consuming. The AUV, which is unmanned, can go under water, study the surface from close quarters and send images to help the process,” he said.
Mahesh V Panchagnula, Advisor, Student Affairs at IIT-M, said that CFI was trying to replicate the environment which was provided to students in world class institutions.