Date:25/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/25/stories/2008102552560300.htm

Kerala - Kozhikode

Ideas galore at Tathva

Staff Reporter

Machines rule: A scene from the robotics event ‘Transporter’ organised as part of Tathva-08 at the NIT-C on Friday.

KOZHIKODE: Events at ‘Tathva ‘08,’ the annual techno-management fete at National Institute off Technology-Calicut (NIT-C), got off to a colourful start with an overwhelming participation from colleges from various parts of south India.

Innovative ideas were at their peak at events like ‘Blueprint’ and the open ‘Game-Design Exhibition.’ In ‘GSM 2.0,’ participants had to control as many devices as possible using wireless technologies like Bluetooth, SMS, etc. NIT-C was adjudged winners, while Matha College of Technology, Paravur, came in a close second. In ‘Blueprint,’ held by the respective departments, participants had to introduce innovative ideas in their field of engineering.

‘Road Zeppelin’ involved constructing a vehicle capable of moving on its own axis by deflating air and using the elastic property of balloons. The criteria for judgement were the speed and distance travelled by the vehicle. A total of 20 teams participated. The first two places went to College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, and the hosts finished third. In the ‘Floating Tombstones’ contest, — involving floating concrete boats — all the three places went to NIT-C.

‘Blitzkreig,’ the gaming arena, lived up to expectations in excitement. Participants and audiences flocked to the venue, which holds popular gaming events on all three days.

R. Krishnan, vice-president of Bosch India, in his interactive session with students, emphasised quality in engineering industries and technique as well as trustworthiness of a company.

Mujeeb Ahmad, winner of the Designer of the Year award, along with Lalita Tarani delivered a lecture on architecture today, going beyond generally prevailing notions of functional contingencies.

Amol Desai, tech staff, Sun Microsystems, Goa, enlightened the audience on the latest technology offered by Java, the graphic-enhancer JAVAFX and JAVA SE update10. Arjun Radhakrishnan from the Department of Tourism spoke to the crowd about the strong tourism possibilities of Kozhikode.

An exhibition hosted by VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram, showcased a spectacular range of ISRO satellites and launch vehicles including the PSLV that carried Chandrayaan-1 and also the Chandrayaan-2. Exhibitions by FOSS, Club Mathematica and Nature Club also captured the interest of the visitors.

A total of 50 teams competed in the robotics event, ‘Transporter,’ where a team of four had to assemble a robot that can transport weights from one spot to another.

Another visual delight at Tathva was Bosch Wheels ‘08, where luxury vehicles including the Hummer H3, Toyota Corolla, Audi Q7, Mercedes Benz ML320 were on show.

The second day of Tathva ‘08 promises to be as exciting as the first, with events like ‘League Of Machines’ and ‘Sun-Tracker,’ an astrophotography workshop, as well as ‘Informals’ for the non-techies.