Kerala: B Tech students in minesweeper role

KOCHI: The IEEE student branch of College of Engineering Adoor, Pathanmathitta, is basking in the honour of becoming the ambassador organisation from India for the Fifth International Minesweeper Competition to be held at Zewail City for Science and Technology in Egypt from October 27-30. The college students are joined by software developer Lentin Joseph from Ernakulam who has developed a software/robotics operating system that could be used with other compatible robots through Humanitarian Robotics and Automation Technology Challenge at the minesweeper competition. “This competition aims at raising public awareness of the seriousness of landmines and unexploded ordnances contamination and fostering robotics research and applications in the area of humanitarian demining in the world,” says Ajas S Nazarudeen, chairman of the IEEE student branch of the college, In this competition, each participating team constructs a teleoperated/autonomous unmanned ground/aerial vehicle that must be able to search for buried and surface-laid anti-personnel landmines and UXOs. The competition also motivates the participants to create new companies and industries geared towards minefield reconnaissance and mapping technologies.