12 Oct 2017-13 Oct 2017|Noida | F1 seminar hall
Indo Swiss Training Center, Chandigarh bags first prize “Jesco Von Puttkamer 2017 India Cup” held at Amity
AmityInstitute of Space Science & Technology (AISST) in association with JescoVon Puttkamer Society, Germany and Tec Mantra LabsIndia organized two day “Jesco Von Puttkamer 2017 India Cup” at Amity UniversityCampus, Sector-125, Noida.
10 Teams from Schools and Universities all over Indiaincluding Indo Swiss Training Center, Chandigarh, Amrita VishwaVidhyapeetham, Kerala, Chandigarh University, Chandigarh, University Instituteof Engineering & Technology (UIET), Kurukshetra University, SRM University,Chennai, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Vikhe PatilMemorial School, Pune and Tech Mantra High School Team, Haryana.
The teams were judged on the basis of Design ofthe Rover, Performance comparison, integrity and team spirit by Ms. DeepikaDavuluri- Ambassador, ISEI, Mr. RalfHeckel, CEO at Jesco Von Puttkamer Society, Germany, Mr. Navdeep Singh,Director, Tec Mantra Labs – Kurukshetra (Haryana) and Dr. MS Prasad- Director,Amity Institute of Space Science & Technology. The teams were given necessary technicalsupport and they were asked to design foldable Rovers- the length, breadth andheight of which should not exceed 1.5 metres and should weigh between 45-50kgs. During the course of the race, various obstacles were created which weresupposed to be traversed by the Rovers on a 2 kms track including “BigCircle”, “Crevasses”, “Ramp”, “Moonrocks”, “Undulating Hills”, “Slalom” and“Sand Trap”. All the Human powered rovers designed by students were timed rightfrom the first stage of “Unfolding and Assembly of Hovers” to the final“completion of the race and penalties were awarded on wrong movements.
The Team from Indo Swiss Training Center,Chandigarh bagged the first prize and Nitte Meenakshi Institute of TechnologyTeam, Bangalore was declared second in University Category. Tec Mantra HighSchool Team was declared first and Vikhe Patil Memorial School, Pune was declaredsecond in the School Category.
Special Awards were also conferred uponUniversity Institute of Engineering & Technology (UIET), KurukshetraUniversity for “Light Weight Rover” and Vikhe Patil Memorial School, Pune forbeing the “Youngest Team” and Tec Mantra High School Team for Innovation
Mr. Ralf Heckel, CEO at Jesco Von Puttkamer Society, Germany, Mr.Navdeep Singh, Director, Tec Mantra Labs – Kurukshetra (Haryana), Dr. (Mrs.) BShukla- Vice Chancellor, Amity University and Dr. MS Prasad- Director, AmitySpace Science Institute inaugurated the Cup.
Sharinghis views, Mr. Ralf Heckel, CEO at Jesco VonPuttkamer Society, Germany expressed his joy and elation to seeyoung Indian students participating in the Cup. He shared with students thestory of German-American Scientist, Dr. Jesco vonPuttkamer who dedicated his life to space and was instrumental inencouraging International participation in the NASA Great Moonbuggy Race, nowrenamed the NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Mr. Heckel shared thatalthough the participation of Indian Teams is increasing in number in NASAHuman Exploration Rover Challenge but there is a dire need to improve theirperformance parameters, which is the reason behind starting “Jesco Von Puttkamer 2017 India Cup” through which talented Indian students will be mentored,trained and given adequate technical support to compete in the NASA Challenge.He advised the students to aim at perfection and excellence while designingtheir Rovers since a small mistake in sending Rovers can cost a life. He wishedall the participating teams and expressed his conviction that in next fiveyears Indian Teams would be amongst the top 5 in NASA challenge.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. (Mrs.) B Shukla- Vice Chancellor,Amity University stressed that Indian brains are the best and it isa fact which is acknowledged worldwide. She called upon the participants togive their best, winning or losing does not matter since participation in suchprestigious events is more important and the experience gained will help themto improvise the designs of the Rovers in future.
Mr. Navdeep Singh, Director, Tec Mantra Labs, Haryana shared that Tec Mantra Labs - Indiahad taken an initiative for providing core technical training on Rovers forInternational competitions to selected students from Indian Schools, Collegesand Universities for NASA Rover Challenge at USA since 2012. Hecalled upon the students to never say no to any opportunity that comes acrosstheir way since every opportunity brings along a new experience and learningsabound.
Sharingjoy and excitement, Ayash Sharma- the Team Leader of the UIET, KurukshetraUniversity stated that their team could win the “Light Weight Category”Award due to its unique attributes such as self-made suspension, single body tomaintain ground clearance and hollow cylindrical tubes. He stated that theirteam is very upbeat about the Competition since it is for the first time thatthey have received such a glorious platform in India which will prepare themfor giving their best in NASA.
VatsalyaAggarwal- the team leader of the Team from Indo Swiss Training Center,Chandigarh expressed her exhilaration and thankedthe organisers for giving them a platform to practically learn about SpaceRovers. She shared that the Rovers have been designed keeping in view thetemperature, gravitational pull and environment at Moon and the obstacles havebeen created as per the experiences of the astronauts while exploring thesurface of the moon. She remarked that the overall experience of participationin the Cup has been very informative and enlightening and will help them inimproving the design of the Rover.