TheTexas Instruments Innovation Challenge (TIIC) India Design Contest train journey that wound its way through different universities across India, bringing on board talented passengers, finally reached its destination at Texas Instruments, Bangalore. Winding its way uphill and reaching new heights of accomplishments – the journey was nothing but spectacular. We witnessed here fresh young minds, building solutions that bring technology to society and ease the lives of millions.
The Final(s) Destination
As has been recapped in previous blogs, the contest that started last year has come down to the finals after three rounds of selections and 11 months of effort from the students, mentors and organizers. Ten finalists were invited to the TIIC 2015 Finals and Awards Ceremony last week here at the Bangalore Campus.
The teams in the finals come from different parts of India and cover varied applications areas like agriculture, traffic management, disability aids, automotive and automation. Each of the projects had a solution implemented using TI technology, integrated into a deployable prototype and taken through end user testing and reviews. This is clearly visible in the way the products were demonstrated, the product overview videos, the product brochure each team created and the confidence with which the teams addressed questions from visitors.
A collage of the product brochures
Through the day, we had a steady flow of visitors. The TIers were excited to see the products they have worked on being put to practical uses by the young talent, while the invited guests from academia and industry were impressed by the level of completeness achieved by these budding engineers and the promise they represent. What was heartening was the ease with which the visitors were able to relate to the applications of the products and their possible impact.
Packed Room at the TIIC 2015 Finals Exhibits
By the time the reviewers had completed their assessments and the consolidation of the results, it was time for the chief guest of the day, Former President of India, Honorable Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, to arrive. In his speech, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam encouraged the young minds to be innovative and have a vision for themselves, and stressed the need for System Design and System Integration learning in colleges.
The Finalist with Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
The Winners
The Chairman’s award for the TIIC IDC 2015 went to the CARDAR team from M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore for their automotive RADAR based implementation of detection and distance assessment to avoid front collision accidents. The first runner up was the XenCom team from Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, Kolkata, for their implementation of an automated irrigation solution to control pumps by farmers through mobile phones. The second runner up was the RENAISENSE-FARMCORDER team from Easwari Engineering College, Chennai, who implemented low cost system for monitoring important health parameters of crop and consolidation of data.
A special recognition was given to the all-women team from Shri Vishnu Engineering College for Women for their INTERACTIVE SNOEZELEN BUBBLE TUBE that increases concentration level and interest of the user through its unique voice activation methodology.
While there were only four teams that received final recognitions, every student who participated in TIIC IDC 2015 is a winner. Every participant in the TIIC IDC 2015 benefitted from the journey through the contest no matter how far they progressed.
Look out for the next edition of the TIIC IDC contest which will launch soon. Please sign up here to be informed when the next edition begins.
You can find some more event photographshere.