From a device to protect the elderly from accidents to preparation of drainage master plan for the Capital, the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) will showcase more than 500 projects by its students in the 12th edition of “Open House” this year.
The projects will be thrown open for public viewing on Saturday at the IIT campus from 10 a.m. onward.
Over 80 demo projects and 500 research projects will be on display at the Open House, the annual technical exposition displaying the finest of projects to technology enthusiasts, students and colleagues from other technical institutions, school children, the general public and industries.
Speaking about the event, IIT-D Director V. Ramgopal Rao said: “With more than 500 research projects and 80 demo projects on display, and the participation of bearly 4,000 school children, we are focusing on high-impact societal projects which will hopefully live up to the expectations of tech connoisseurs. Technology incubation will be our main focus for the next few years at IIT-Delhi.”
One of the main projects this year is the preparation of a drainage master plan for Delhi. In order to address the perennial problem of water logging here, the Delhi government decided to come out with a new drainage master plan to streamline the sewerage network and tasked the IIT-D with the same.
The IIT students are trying to address the problem by studying existing natural drainage system, urban storm and waste management, and preparing a region-wise guidelines for augmentation, among other measures.
“The storm water drainage system of Delhi demands serious attention due to frequent flooding and water logging, especially during the monsoon. By 2021, the plan will involve the study of the existing drainage systems, including streams, natural depressions and evaluating water carrying capacities of culvers and other cross drainage structures,” Assistant Professor Dhanya C.T. of the Department of Civil Engineering told The Hindu .
The event will also put on display a hip protection device for saving the elderly from getting injured in case of a fall. Composed of low-velocity impact on injection of moulded plastic, the self-contained protective device is designed to protect the hips and pelvis of the elderly. Due to its small size and light weight, it can be put on and removed easily. The device also does not interfere with the body movement.
Another interesting project this year is the smart campus programme. This programme has been conceived in line with making use of smart technology for various aspects of the campus to minimise waste of time and resources. Under this project, smart cards will be given to all campus residents, including guards, for availing cashless facility, normal bulbs will be replaced by LED lights for better energy saving and exchange of information will also be made easier.
Besides displaying projects, Open House 2016 will also include educative sessions on 3D vision and holograms by Prof. Joby Joseph.
(The writer is an intern with The Hindu )
