MEERA SRINIVASAN
| Making engineering work for the visually impaired and the differently-abled and turning out cost-effective and time-saving devices can be challenging. But these students seem to relish it. |
Students of Sri Sai Ram Engineering College seem to have invested a good amount of time in project work. Not surprisingly, they have bagged several awards for their innovative attempts.
Integrating machinery
M.R. Aravind Raghavendra, R. Arun, H. Chidambaram and V. Yuvaraj, who passed out this year, have won the `Innovative Students Project Award 2006' instituted by the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) for their project on `Fabrication and Automation of PLC-Based LMD Machine Centre'. The award will be presented at Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi on December 8.
Their project was about integrating lathe, mill and drill machines into a single unit and automating the unit's functioning. The project was aimed at providing a low-cost automation solution to small-scale entrepreneurs.
Reduced initial and operating cost of the machine, easier and simple manufacturing of various geometric work pieces, reduction in area occupied by machine, reduction of the lead time of the product and increased productivity are some of the advantages that come with this unit.
"We took nearly eight months to complete our project. We wish to patent our product and then approach the industry," said Arvind.
Voice-controlled wheelchair
Abhiram Chakraborty, S. Swaminathan and A. Varun Kalyan of the Electronics and Communications Department bagged the first place in the State-level project exhibition held at National Engineering College, Kovilpatti.
The highlight of their project on `Voice-controlled electrical wheel chair with obstacle detection' was the voice recognition unit that helps the user to move in the direction of their choice, following a vocal command. Designed to suit the requirements of the visually-impaired and physically-challenged, the wheelchair is designed to work on both auto and manual mode. In the auto mode, it follows the user's voice commands and navigates through the place, detecting obstacles with the aid of the diffused sensors. In the manual mode, the user could move about with the help of a switch.
This project was also recognised as the best social project by the Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology.
"As of now, we have implemented only a certain number of commands such as stop, go, and right. We can introduce several more commands to suit specific requirements of a user," said Swaminathan.
Cycle for the differently-abled
L. Leo Tolstoy, D. Anthony Raj, K. Raja and D.N.S. Praveen worked on `Design and fabrication of the cycle for the physically-challenged by replacing the rotary motion with reciprocating motion'.
Here, the cycle would be operated by the movement of a lever. The cycle enables the differently-abled to operate it with the lever or the pedal, depending on their requirements.
"This will help to bring down the physical exertion and enable the physically-challenged to move about with ease," explained Leo. The students said care was taken to ensure easy reversal and fast movement. |
