History
In June 2006, three graduating senior students created a robot, named MARS, for their final year
project. In six months, the students gave the robot the ability to move between multiple userdefined
destinations, be controlled wirelessly via a server terminal with an easy to use Graphical
User Interface, and speak real-time and preprogrammed messages. This robot formed the
foundation and inspiration for the Robotics Lab at Amrita.
Robotics Workshop 2006
The first Amrita University Robotics Workshop concluded as a grand success. Over 180 students from 40 colleges across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, and Karnataka visited the Amritapuri campus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. The workshop was conducted by Dr. Venkatesh of Bangalore Robotics.Dr. Venkatesh, who operates a radio research company, has many years of experience teaching practical robotics to students all over India.
Each teams of four students constructed their own Line-following Robot from individual components. Using a soldering iron, they assembled kits containing all the individual components needed to make a wheeled robot that could follow a curving line. In addition to their hand-built robots, the attendees took home more sophisticated electrical parts, a CD with a wealth of information, and valuable contacts to help them create more advanced robots on their own, at their colleges or homes.
For many students, who were from all engineering disciplines, this was the first thing that they had actually built themselves. The objective of the workshop, to provide students with first-hand practical experience and confidence to build robots on their own, was enthusiastically fulfilled.
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