Steps of a Bot : Taking to the fields
In this article, Abdul Ahad, Dept. of EEE, shares his experience of the Inter IIT Tech Meet 2019.
I fondly remember the day, when we bagged the second position in the robotics module at Inter-IIT Tech meet 8.0 at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. It was a surrealistic moment filled with happiness and excitement. It’s a beautiful process to watch the project come together, the vision seemingly impossible in the beginning being presented and later getting the recognition for that work. Sharing this story is almost like reliving it.
I participated in two events -
1)High Prep Event - DIC Terrace Farming Bot
2)Low Prep - Engineers Conclave (Exhibition)
During starting days of preparation, we were a little bit nervous. It was because of our challenging problem statement in which we were asked to design a bot that could climb a 40 cm steps of a terrace farm while also being able to perform tasks like irrigation, ploughing, seeding and harvesting. Well, That's the actual height of steps in terrace farming. So, before starting any work on bot, we discussed a lot about the design of bot and distribution of work. We divided this project into different modules like Design, control, mechanical etc. I was handling the Control and Electronics Module in which I worked on PID controller, development of hybrid automata control system and dual-PID FSM model for autonomous navigation. Once everything was decided, there was nothing much to worry about just a few sleepless nights spent to transform our idea into execution.
When it felt that everything was under control, we were faced with unforeseen challenges- the CAA protests! The CAA/ NRC protest decelerated the pace, but didn’t dampen our enthusiasm. There was a shortage of food in mess and canteen due to curfew in Guwahati city, there was also complete internet shutdown for more than 24 hrs, though we somehow got the LAN working, mobile internet still remained shut. But the worst was yet to come.
Due to the protest, we couldn't get some parts and components for our bot because delivery services were unavailable, due to which we had to make some changes in the design of the bot at the last moment. Despite all the struggle and difficulties, we toiled away and even small progresses were exciting and encouraging.
Also, we had to change our traveling plans because of the protests in the northeast region. With all these disturbances going on, the massive protests, curfews and revolts, internet shutdown and shortage of supplies, we were still focused on our goal. We worked really hard to perform well in the event.
As soon as we reached IIT Roorkee, we assembled our bot. During testing we found that our bot is much simpler and rather more unique as compared to other IITs, we felt nervous at that time, but we had faith in our earnest efforts. What motivated us was that, there was soil on steps as we expected. Many teams used wheels that couldn't move on soil. Also, our bot was much stable in comparison to any other IIT's bot. The bot was able to climb up the stairs quite effortlessly which gave us confidence for the main event.
On 20 Dec, through a Lucky Draw, each team was given their presentation number by the organisers, thus deciding the order in which teams had to present. Our Team got 16/17 which meant we were going to present next day on 21st Dec. Although Bot was submitted to organisers on 20 Dec itself, still we got some additional time to prepare for the presentation and make last minute improvements.
On D-Day, we were all thrilled and excited but also minutely edgy. We got around 15 minutes for the presentation and explanation. Judges were impressed by our unique design and confident answers. Other teams were also amazed by our design and assertiveness.
As the presentation went quite well, I was happy and relieved. I was excited about the result and impatiently waited for it. I slept early that day because I was tired and when I woke up and checked my phone, I found my teammates were congratulating each other for securing 2nd position in the event. It was one of the best mornings for me. I was on cloud-nine that finally our hard work paid off and our bot passed with flying colors.
This was not only an experience about learning and exploring new stuff, but also about not losing hopes and keep making persistent efforts towards the goal. Moreover, it was extremely fun and cherish able. I might sound hooey, but it’s true that ‘anything’s possible if you got enough nerve’. And it was teamwork that was the heart of this big achievement.
