Multipurpose Robot

Date:26/12/2009 URL: http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/26/stories/2009122657750200.htm Back Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore Students design multi-purpose robot Staff Reporter – Photo: K.Ananthan. Full of potential: The multi-purpose unmanned vehicle chasing a car at a demonstration at Government College of Technology in the city on Thursday. Coimbatore: Three Computer Science and Engineering students of Government College of Technology have designed a multi-purpose unmanned robotic vehicle. C. Sri Ranganathan, S.R. Anantha Krishnan and S. Rajesh Kannan designed the robot. Principal of the College R. Sundarrajan, Head of Computer Science and Engineering Department V. Lakshmi Prabha and Faculty Advisor K. Baskaran were present at a demonstration of its functioning. A single web camera fitted in front of the vehicle captures an image of the path ahead. Control signals are taken from the computer’s parallel port. Each frame captured during the motion of the vehicle is then processed using the concept of digital image processing. Unlike the existing system which uses electronic sensors for finding obstacles on their path, this robot uses processed images for taking decisions. It would be less expensive and more effective than the existing system. As it is possible to control it from a distance using a wireless transmitter and it has number plate and colour recognition system, it could be used to follow and intercept vehicles. This could be useful for the police department. The robot could also be used for identifying vehicles violating road rules as it could inform the control room and also warn the driver of the vehicle. It could also find use as a guide for people as a route map of a facility could be stored in its database. It also has voice and face recognition features. The robot could also read a book and turn it into editable text. This would be of great benefit to the visually impaired. It was completed on a shoe-string budget of Rs. 8,000 using basic equipment. The performance could be improved further, the students said. © Copyright 2000 - 2009 The hindu Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/26/stories/2009122657750200.htm

ARCHIMEDES

Archimedes (287-212 BC) was a prolific ancient Greek mathematician. Archimedes invented the water screw, a device for raising water using an encased screw open at both ends. The screw is set an an angle, and as the screw turns, water fills the air pockets and is transported upwards. The Archimedes screw is still in use today. Among his many accomplishments was the first description of the lever (around 260 BC). Levers are one of the basic tools; they were probably used in prehistoric times. Many of our basic tools use levers, including scissors (two class-1 levers), pliers (two class-1 levers), hammer claws (one class-1 lever), nutcrackers (two class-2 levers), and tongs (two class-3 levers).

ANEMOMETER

The anemometer is a device that measures the speed of the wind (or other airflow, like in a wind tunnel). The first anemometer, a disc placed perpendicular to the wind, was invented in 1450 by the Italian architect Leon Battista Alberti. Robert Hooke, an English physicist, later reinvented the anemometer. In 1846, John Thomas Romney Robinson, an Irish physicist, invented the spinning-cup anemometer. In this device, cups are attached to a vertical shaft; when the cups spin in the wind, it causes a gear to turn.