KITS-W invents driverless automated tractor
HANAMKONDA: The Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Kakatiya Institute of Technology & Science, Warangal (KITS-W), has invented a driverless automated tractor for farmers. According to institute principal Prof K Ashoka Reddy, the fourth trial run of the vehicle was successfully completed at the campus.
Former Rajya Sabha MP and KITS Warangal governing body chairman Captain V Lakshmikantha Rao said SEED (Science for Equity Empowerment and Development) division under the Department of Science and Technology sanctioned a major research project titled “Automation of farming tools for smart farming using Android application (a gaming approach)” to the department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE).
Principal investigator of the project is Md Sharfuddin Waseem, assistant professor of the CSE Department at KITS-W, co-investigator Prof P Niranjan Reddy, head, department of CSE, and the mentor was associate professor, Dr S Narsimha Reddy, head, department of CSE (networks). A total amount of Rs 40 lakh was sanctioned to KITS-W to implement the project.
Speaking to TNIE, Ashoka Reddy claimed that the driverless automated tractor would help farmers in tilling the land. It would be cost-effective and would increase the income of farmers, he said.The goal of the project is to reduce human efforts in farming, he said adding, “A farmer can plough small fields with the help of the remote-controlled tractor.”
According to Niranjan Reddy, the ploughing machine can be operated with an Android application similar to a computer game. “We have embedded different kinds of sensors to detect proximity, temperature and soil moisture to gather the data from the live field and act according to the situation. The machine identifies the obstacles via the proximity sensor,” he explained.Md Waseem said the project is currently in the implementation phase and an onsite location has been allocated in the college for experimentation.