To the accompaniment of thumping Bollywood music, screeching cars and a flurry of excited kids cheering racers, 74 students battled it out at Robotix Learning Solutions Auto Challenge 2012 held at IIT Madras recently.
Touted as India’s first auto technology challenge for students, Robotix Learning Solutions gave engineering enthusiasts a chance to learn from the best in the industry and make their own model cars.
The Class XI students competed with each other for the Best Smart F1 Design and Functionality, as well as the Best Green Car.
While Bhavans Rajaji Vidyashram won the Smart F1 event, Maharashi Vidya Mandir bagged the first place in Destination Zero Carbon Challenge. The winners will get to travel to Singapore for the F1 Grand Prix and the Destination Zero Carbon events respectively, to be held this year.
Encouraging creative talent to learn complex topics such as product designing, aerodynamics and prototyping, a four-day workshop was conducted at the Bala Vidya Mandir School for the participating teams.
Chevy Kok, chief technology officer of 3D ClassWorks, Singapore, along with experts from India, interacted with the students and gave them hands-on experience on the various aspects of constructing a working, scaled model of a car.
Dispelling myths that racing is for boys, the event saw four all-girl teams participate. “We are excited to see so many girls at this event,” gushed A.S. Ramana Prasad, chairman of Robotix Learning Solutions. “We are trying to kindle interest in these young minds to push boundaries and think out-of-the-box.”
Rajan Syal, chief executive officer of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), spoke to the students about road safety. “Along with educating youngsters on law and order, there is need to reinforce road safety values that will benefit them.”
Formula 1 racer Karan Chandok spoke to the children on avenues in motor sport.
