Robots Rule

Updated on: Thursday, August 25, 2011

‘Solar Powered Crop Harvesting Robot’ wins Intel India Embedded Challenge 2011. It comes as recognition for India’s embedded technology innovations. More than 1,600 entries were received from all over India for the second annual contest. A grand prize of Rs 10 lakhs was awarded to ‘Solar Powered Crop Harvesting Robot’. Winners had the opportunity to participate in ‘The Next Big Idea’ run by the department of science and technology and the Indian Institute of Management, in conjunction with Intel Bangalore.

TJ David and Kudikala Shravan Kumar, from International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad won the coveted Intel India Embedded Challenge grand prize for 2011 for their project, Solar Powered Crop Harvesting Robot. The nationwide competition was an initiative by Intel in India to recognize and reward outstanding ideas in embedded technology, based on the Intel Atom processor.

“We want to cultivate technical talent in India and promote our knowledge economy, so we can cater to emerging markets. Companies like Intel who share their technological expertise and foster the development of these skills in India play a crucial role in this endeavour,” said H K Mittal, head, National Science and technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), department of science and technology, government of India, New Delhi. “Our association with Intel India on the Intel Embedded Challenge awards helps to create a pipeline of ideas in the field of embedded technology that will further advance social development,” added Mittal.

“Intel believes technological innovation is the driver of future economic and social success. By providing India’s engineering students and technical professionals with exposure to the highest level of proficiency, Intel seeks to nurture an ecosystem in which innovation can thrive,” said Dr Praveen Vishakantaiah, president, Intel India.

This year’s Intel India Embedded Challenge had two main categories – ‘embedded geeks’ and ‘embedded solutions for a social cause’. Entries were submitted under five themes: biomedical and healthcare, education, smart solutions, industrial and consumer electronics, rural information technology, e-governance and citizen services. In addition to the grand prize, each of the following theme winners received Rs 50,000 as prize money for the best innovation in their category.

Winners will also have the opportunity to participate in ‘The Next Big Idea’, conducted by Intel, the department of science and technology and the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. The new initiative aims to foster greater entrepreneurial growth across the country by acting as an incubator for outstanding ideas. The programme assesses business plans and provides practical support to develop them into sustainable business models.

Robots Rule

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