A team of 14 students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela have developed two submersible robots to facilitate the survey of dams and bridges.
While balancing regular studies, the students took out time for this project, which took them around two years to complete and cost over Rs 1 lakh. They have named the robots as Jaladuta and Jalasimha. These two robots are remotely operated vehicles (ROV).
While Jaladuta can go as deep as 150 metres, Jalasimha has the capacity of going 500 to 600 metres deep into the water. Weak dams and bridges often result in mishaps. These two robots can prevent such mishaps as they are able to inspect the condition of dams and bridges within minutes.
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So far, the students have won several awards and accolades for their project. The team also had an opportunity to showcase their robots to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
“Earlier, human beings would go deep into the water to study the condition of structures like dam and bridges and their longevity. While they can go down 30 meters, our robots can go deeper into the water, easily inspect the condition of bridges, send live footage and data,” said Anubhav Sahu, a NIT student and member of the project team.
“India is a developing country and engineers like us can shape the future of India by contributing new technologies,” said Prasad Patra, another student involved in the project.