BENGALURU: A single-tyred vehicle to solve last-mile connectivity, a smart water meter which sends usage warnings via SMS and a hands-free three-wheeler were among the projects exhibited by engineering students of M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology (MSRIT) on Monday.
A few hand-picked projects were exhibited on Monday at the Press Club as part of Pradarshana-2017. The remaining projects, around 350 of them, will be on display at the institute on Tuesday and Wednesday.
All the projects were prototypes, which were functional and not far in terms of efficiency and functionality from the intended product. Dr K R Phaneesh, a faculty member at MSRIT, said they wanted to hold this exhibition because some of these projects can actually be converted to start-ups and help the society. Some students also intend to apply for patents for their projects. Express takes a look at some of the inventions.
Multi-utility leg-operated three-wheeler
A vehicle designed for disabled people
Developers
Nesara V Jagannatha, Deepak M Das, Mithun R and K M Ganesh Kumar
The hands-free three-wheeler allows the user to accelerate, apply brakes and even steer the vehicle using their feet. Students have also installed features using electronic components.
The vehicle has a safety feature that sends an SMS to three preset contacts at the press of a button. It also has a sensor which warns the rider of uneven surfaces with a beep sound. In addition, the vehicle can also be used in military and agriculture operations, where one function can be performed by the arms while riding the vehicle with the legs.
This was developed to provide independent transport facility to people with disabilities in the upper limb
Nesara V Jagannatha
The students with their leg-operated three-wheeler at Press Club on Monday
| S Manjunath
Electric unirover
A self-balancing vehicle which can be carried like a briefcase
Developers
Akshay K R, L Rakshith Rao Ksheersagar, Sheeraj C N and
Veeresh S H
The vehicle consists of a single tyre with two plates attached on either side of the tyre where the user can place their feet. The user can move in either direction by slightly tilting his or her feet forwards or backwards. The vehicle is balanced by a gyroscope and is powered by solar energy, harnessed by two attached panels, and a dynamo, which rotates as the vehicle moves. The mechanical engineers have also fitted headlights on its front part and a USB port to charge phones.
Smart water meter using wireless technology
A system that sends SMS, email notifications on water usage
Developers
Candice Gallyot, Gulabi Mandal, Harshitha S V and Hrishikesh Aiyappa
The USP of this product is that it provides an ecological improvement over the current system. The idea is to make water supply volume-based. The digital meter measures the water supply accurately and send an SMS and an email to the user when the supply crosses a preset first limit.
It again notifies when 75 per cent of the second limit is crossed, and finally shuts off the supply upon crossing the second limit. The meters are mapped to unique user IDs. The idea is to prevent water exploitation. The limits can be set by a controller, which in practical sense would be the water supply boards of any town or city.
Biometric design and control of anthromorphic prosthetic hand
Affordable, user-friendly solution for amputees
Developers
Akansha Shrestha, Manoj K L, Manisha N and
Sadhu Sri Ravali
Prosthetics in India are expensive and lack dexterity. The product was designed keeping in mind these two problems and students even spoke to NGOs who work with amputees, such as Aarogyaseva. For amputees missing an arm, the product uses signals from the working arm to activate the prosthetic arm and to provide it natural movement.
Two modes are available controlling the prosthetic. In the first, the amputee’s muscle signals are used and it is meant to grip objects naturally. In the second mode, both muscle signals and the amputee’s voice are utilised. An incorporated feature of tactile feedback enables the user to sense how tightly the object is gripped.
RoBotanist
Design and implementation of an automated device for farming operations
Developers
Adithya N S, Manju Kiran K, Anusha Ravi Patil and Medha Sandill
Tagged as an agricultural robot, the students have developed a universal tool mount by which the farmbot can adopt to do diverse tasks - sow seeds, water them, detect and cut weeds and sense other parameters.
The amount of water to be used is determined by sensing the quantity of moisture in the soil, while the weeds are identified by an image recognition software. Almost all features planned for the farmbot were incorporated in the scaled-down prototype. Each unit is estimated to cost `10,000 to `15,000. And the best part — it runs on solar power.