Science & Technology – Page 12 – Global Records India

Bannari Amman College students team selected for final event of RoboBoat 2022

Organised by RoboNation, RoboBoat invites participants to tackle simplified versions of challenges facing the modern maritime industry

A 35-member team of students from Bannari Amman Institute of Technology in Sathyamangalam, who developed an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV), has been shortlisted for the final event of RoboBoat 2022, an international student competition, which will be held in Florida, U. S., on June 20, 2022.

Organised by RoboNation, the competition invites participants to tackle simplified versions of challenges facing the modern maritime industry like coastal surveillance, port security and oceanographic exploration. The boats are designed to take on tasks that are similar to those faced by the maritime industry in the real world.

The students team “Vyuha ASV” from the institute is the only team representing India in the 15 ^th RoboBoat 2022 Worldwide Autonomous Surface Vehicle Development competition.

Team leaders for their respective teams were Thiruvarulselvan Karunanithi (Team Management), Saravanan Elangovan (Hull design), Krishnan Murugan (Failsafe system), Srisanthosh (Propulsion system), Puviyarasu Sakthivel (Control system) and Tharakeshvar Padmanaphan (Computer vision). The faculty mentors were D. Selvamuthu Kumaran, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering and V. Baranidharan, Assistant Professor, ECE. Both the faculties were UUV lab in charge and facilitated the team.

From IIT Guwahati, a device to turn wastewater into energy

The device uses microbes to convert chemical energy in organic substrates into electrical energy

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have developed a microbial fuel cell (MFC), a bio-electrochemical device that can generate “green energy” by treating wastewater.

The researchers said the device offered a dual benefit — generation of bioelectricity and waste management — by converting chemical energy contained in organic substrates into electrical energy through microbes.

The Department of Science and Technology supported the research led by Mihir Kumar Purkait and his Ph.D student Mukesh Sharma of IIT Guwahati’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

The IIT Guwahati claimed the device could be used for obtaining clean energy from municipal wastewater economically.

** This Kerala ISRO official has spent three decades space-bound

S Geetha, the first woman programme director of space transportation systems at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, will retire after 33 years of service on Tuesday.

She was heading 64 engineers at the centre across seven teams.

Geetha is an alumnus of Vattiyoorkavu Government High School, Thiruvananthapuram, where she studied in the Malayalam medium. Back then, a young Geetha would have never thought she would be one of the best space scientists in the country years later. She vividly remembers coming to know about Valentina Tereshkova, the first and youngest woman to fly a solo mission to space on the Vostok 6 in 1963. Valentina was Geetha’s inspiration to pursue bachelors degree in electrical and electronics engineering from College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET).

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** IIT-M researchers develop zinc-air batteries

It is an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras are developing mechanically rechargeable zinc-air batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles (EV). They have filed for patents for their technology and are collaborating with major industries to develop the batteries.

As zinc-air batteries are economical and have longer shelf-life, they can be used in two and three-wheel EVs, the researchers say.

Aravind Kumar Chandiran, assistant professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the Institute, and his team is working on zinc-air batteries as zinc is a widely available resource in the country. Currently India imports lithium-ion batteries from China. “Our research team is developing a futuristic model for zinc-air batteries for EVs. The team has developed zinc-air cells and is working to develop zinc-air packs for EVs,” he said

** India supplying 1,160 MW power to B’desh, 1,500 MW more in pipeline: Jaishankar

Addressing the “NADI (River) Conclave 2022” here, he also said that India is collaborating on a series of road projects in Bangladesh, including improving the Ashuganj River Port-Akhaura Land Port Road under an LoC of more than $400 million.

“The road project connecting Baruerhat to Ramgarh on the India-Bangladesh border, which will increase Tripura’s road connectivity with Bangladesh, is also being implemented under another LoC of $80.06 million,” he said.

The Minister said that overland movement of goods is taking place using 28 notified Land Customs Stations (LCSs) and three Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along the border.

He also noted that the “Maitree Bridge” over the Feni, connecting Sabroom in Tripura, to Ramgarh in Bangladesh, was opened by both the Prime Ministers in March 2021 and negotiations are also underway to operationalise the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement to ensure seamless vehicular movement.

With the success of four “Border Haats” – two each in Meghalaya and Tripura, nine new haats (markets) are being set up – three in Meghalaya, four in Tripura and two in Assam.

** North India’s first Industrial Biotech Park inaugurated at Kathua in J&K

On the occasion, the Lt Governor said that the Industrial Biotech Park at Kathua will transform the economy and enable scientists to tackle challenges of climate change. The enabling infrastructure will fuel new wave of innovation and impact various sectors, from health and agriculture to cosmetics and materials, he added.

The Lt Governor observed that new Industrial Biotech Park at Kathua will provide Startups, Young Entrepreneurs and SMEs the tools that can make production cheaper, manageable and environmentally sustainable. Together with advances in data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, the biotech park will accelerate change, he said.

** Ajman: Around 6000 people avail benefits of Thumbay Hospital’s Free Mega Medical, Dental camp

More than 6000 people from 40 different nationalities availed the benefits of Thumbay University Hospital’s Free Mega Medical and Dental Camp at its Al Jurf branch, Ajman held on Sunday, May 23.

The free mega health camp offered check-ups with consultant specialists and general practitioners in specialties like Cardiology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Dental, Gynecology, Pediatrics, ENT, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Dermatology, Family Medicine, Urology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology and Pulmonology among others. In addition to this, the camp offered free medicines and free screenings such as a Blood Sugar, ECG, Ultrasound, Physiotherapy, Eye checkup, Blood pressure, BMI screening & discount on dental procedures and radiology services.

** IISc develops device to improve data encryption

‘This will provide better protection for digital data such as credit card details, passwords etc.’

A team at the Department of Electrical Communication Engineering (ECE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has developed a true random number generator (TRNG), which, the team says, can improve data encryption and provide improved security for sensitive digital data such as credit card details, passwords and other personal information. The study describing the device has been published in the journal ACS Nano.

“Almost everything we do on the internet is encrypted for security. The strength of this encryption depends on the quality of random number generation,” explained Nithin Abraham, a PhD student who is a part of a team led by Kausik Majumdar, Associate Professor at ECE, which has developed the device.

** India registers success with BP treatment, control

The India Hypertension Control Initiative, started in 2018, has been expanded to more than 100 districts

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death among adults in India. One of the major drivers of heart attack and stroke is untreated high blood pressure or hypertension. Hypertension is a silent killer as most patients do not have any symptoms.

India has more than 200 million people with hypertension, and only 14.5% of individuals with hypertension are on treatment. Unlike many other diseases, hypertension is easy to diagnose and can be treated with low-cost generic drugs.

India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) is a multi-partner initiative involving the Indian Council of Medical Research, WHO-India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and State governments to improve blood pressure control for people with hypertension. The project initiated in 26 districts in 2018 has expanded to more than 100 districts by 2022. More than two million patients were started on treatment and tracked to see whether they achieved BP control.

** Skyroot successfully test fires space launch vehicle ‘Vikram-1’ rocket stage

Named ‘Kalam-100’ after the renowned Indian rocket scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Skyroot Aerospace, the national-award winning startup building India’s first privately built space launch vehicles has announced the successful completion of a full duration test-firing of its ‘Vikram-1’ rocket stage, representing a major milestone for the company on Thursday.

Named ‘Kalam-100’ after former President and the renowned Indian rocket scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the third stage of ‘Vikram-1’ produces a peak vacuum thrust of 100 kN (or ~10Tons) and has a burn time of 108 sec, said the city based firm’s founders, in an official release.

The rocket stage has been built with high-strength carbon fiber structure, solid fuel, novel thermal protection system, and carbon ablative nozzle. “It’s a highly reliable stage with no moving parts and high level of automation in manufacturing. This testing will help us in development of orbital vehicle Vikram-1 and gives great confidence for our other rocket stages planned to be tested soon,” said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana.