At the Centre for Robotics, students have already developed 'Kraken 3.0', a prototype UAV which can go as deep as 10 metres in a pool of water just like a submarine.

"We pre-program it so that it can do specifically assigned tasks like under-water surveying, identifying lost objects or debris, picking them up, etc. It can also be used for conducting repairs under the hull of a ship," Abhay Kumar, who is leading the team of students, told PTI.

Armed with strong censors and cameras to detect its surroundings, the 1.3-metre-long under-water robot is a six-thruster model which can rotate itself in five directions.

Drones can't be used under water because their wireless technologies do not work inside water.

"Once an UAV is under water it has to take its own decisions. Therefore it has a higher level of intelligence than drones. A powerful on-board computer is part of the machine," Kumar said. 
 

Read full article at Times of India

IIT-B wins National Intellectual Property awards in two categories

Yogita Rao, TNN | Apr 28, 2015, 04.57PM IST

 MUMBAI: IIT-Bombay won the National Intellectual Property awards for 2015 in two categories. It won the top Indian academic institution for patents, best commercialization of patents based in India and the WIPO Users trophy. The award was presented by minister of commerce and industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, to Devang Khakhar, IIT-B director, Prasanna M Mujumdar, dean (research and development) and Padma Satish, chief technical officer, at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indian Patents Office (IPO), last week in New Delhi.

The Indian intellectual property office in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, confers the annual IP awards on outstanding innovators, organizations and companies in the field of patents, designs, trademarks and geographical indications on the occasion of World IP Day every year.

Read full article at Times of India

Indo-Russian academic body: IIT-B to lead move

By: Express News Service | Mumbai | Published on:May 10, 2015 2:22 am

The Four-Year Transformation: A note to those entering college

by Ravi Bollina, IIT Bombay, 2000

 

Each one of us is the sum of all of our life experiences put together. This world and life are dynamic. Everything exists in a state of flux. Our experiences keep on adding up as we move through life. You are young (relatively speaking), dynamic and have impressionable minds, embarking on this journey of life. These four years at college will be your "transformative" years. Most of us who have been through this phase of life would agree about the "transformation process" and relish the nostalgia associated with the college years. Some of us would say, "Those were the best years of our lives" when we meet at Alumni meets. So how can you make the best of these years at their university?

These years are where you are free to dream and transform yourself and the society at the large. Let me narrate a small incident from my IITB years. The year was 1996, when I first entered the college in a city, which was then called Bombay. I still call it Bombay. I was awestruck by the shear size of the campus, new languages being spoken around me, new faces, and different food in the mess than what I ate at home. I don't recall fond memories of the mess food ("mess is a mess" no matter where in the world I guess). But mess food is another story. In my second year I befriended Bhimaraj, who later became one of my best friends during my college

years. Bhimaraj was in my department but in a different hostel, and was the mountaineering secretary of the Institute. During one of the chat sessions at the coffee house, he said he was organizing a hike and casually said " join us" it will be fun, to which I said yes. So the day of the hike was Saturday, we woke up at 4:00 AM

in the morning, that's right 4 AM, never did I wake up that early even studying for an exam up to that point, and now only to go on this hike. We all gathered (about 15 of us) at the YP gate at 4:15 am, and took autos to the Khanjurmarg station. The first local to Karjat arrived around 4:30 and we were on our way to the hike. I was

excited and did not know what to expect on the hike. My vision of a hike up to that point was of strolling along a meadow with flowers chatting away with friends. Got of the local at Karjat and took a bus to the nearest village to start our hike. The vision of green in the sahayadri range during monsoon is one of the most beautiful sights to behold. At the foothills started our hike up the mountain that was in front of us, initial excitement was great, and we were talking and walking along the trail. As time went by the trail became steeper and the conversation also trickled out. Tiredness seeped into our legs and we are just dragging ourselves up the mountain. It started to rain, and we were now on slippery slope walking up, I had a scare and

was wondering why did I even sign up for this? Well those thoughts gave way to hunger and anxiety. Slowly but steadily, my mind focused on reaching the top in one piece. The hike gave me time to think, and focus on the task at hand, treading the slippery slopes carefully to reach the top. Finally, like what seemed like forever, we

reached the top. There was a moment of tremendous joy and exhilarating feeling of achievement. We all plopped down, for a magnificent view of the valley and once again started our happy conversations and silly jokes.

The valley was mesmerizing with the lush green and the rain, which fell in streams and was dancing in the wind. We ate the few biscuits we had packed, and after spending some time admiring the beauty of the mountains, we decided to head back down. The way down was trickier compared to going up, however all of us reached down safely, and began our way back to the campus. We reached the main gate around 7 PM. We all shared our memories, and drank sugar cane juice to celebrate the hike. Well, this apparently was a tradition that has been carried on by previous trekkers over many years. With a joyful heart we all headed to our hostels.

In the following years, I was lucky to be a part of many hikes. In the ensuing years after graduation and travelling around the world, I have been on hikes in the Appalachian Mountains, Smokey Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Austrian and Swiss Alps, Korean Alps. Although all of them were thoroughly enjoyable, my first

hike always brings a special joy when I think of it. It was possible because of saying yes to go on a hike with relative strangers and overcoming the inner fears and anxieties. This hike transformed me in many ways, and made me love nature and being on a trail has become one of my hobbies and leisure time activity. This is just

one such incident; there are innumerable situations, some funny, some stupid, some boring and some exciting, which are a part of the transformation. Create your own memories and stories to cherish in the future by making the most of every moment of life in the college years.

It is this very state of flux during the college years and beyond that presents opportunities and allows for innovation - that allows us to be creative. Thus, drop the pre-conceived notions and be open to new ideas, thoughts and adventures. Try something you haven't done before. Listen to others who have a different point of view and try to understand their view. Make new friends, learn new languages, play new sports and travel to new places. Time is a limited commodity. Manage your time well, balance class work with overall development of the mind, body and spirit.