IIT Delhi Showcases Cutting-Edge Research to School Students at the Open House 2023

New Delhi: IIT Delhi organised 16^th Open House, its flagship event for school students, on its campus on Saturday, wherein some of the cutting-edge research works were displayed for them by the Institute faculty and students.

Around 2000 school students from over 40 schools in the Delhi-NCR region visited IIT Delhi on November 4th to witness and participate in various educational activities organised as part of the Open House.

The 16^th Open House exhibited an extensive collection of innovative research and product development projects. The researchers showcased around 50 functional demos and 100 research posters highlighting cutting-edge technologies.

Seven of the student-led technical clubs of IIT Delhi, i.e., Robotics Club, HyperLoop Club, Axlr8r Formula Racing Club, DevClub, Economics Club, Aeromodelling Club, and BlocSoc too, demonstrated their work at the Open House.

The school students also visited around 80 laboratories in various Departments and Centers at the institute.

While addressing the students, Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, said, “The objective of the Open House is to show school students what IIT Delhi is doing in science and technology and showcase our work in the areas that impact the real world. The whole idea of the Open House, where interactive sessions and lectures were also organised, is to encourage school students to make informed decisions about their future”.

Prof. Sunil Jha, Chairman, Open House 2023 said, “Continuing the tradition of the last fifteen years, Open House 2023 provided an insight into path-breaking research work, student projects, and the numerous advanced facilities and laboratories available at IIT Delhi to the school students. The event was a huge success in terms of student participation and enthusiasm.”

Some of the key technologies showcased at the Open House included:

1. Autoscope

PI- Prof. Ravikrishnan Elangovan, Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology

 

Made-in India Automated Microscopy: a digital microscope and its utility for class room teaching. In the live demo, visiting school students were asked to prepare leaf samples and visualise it.

 

2. Sustainable and Affordable Homes Using Agro-Residues: A Step Towards Green Future

 

PI- Prof. Vasant Matsagar, Department of Civil Engineering

Stubble burning in India leads to various problems, such as air pollution, health issues, ill-effects on soil fertility, etc. Another major problem in India is the lack of housing/shelters, more-so under conditions of various emergencies, i.e., natural and manmade hazards, such as earthquakes, windstorms, floods, fire incidents, pandemics, and geographical issues, such as, remote areas, e.g., high altitude and country border areas.

 

Therefore, Under a project titled “Sustainable and Affordable Homes using Agro-Residues: A Step Towards Green Future”, Ms Kusum Saini (PhD Research Scholar) and Dr Vasant Matsagar (Dogra Chair and Professor) from the Department of Civil Engineering of IIT Delhi have conceived a new approach of utilizing the solid waste, i.e., agro-residues for making sustainable and affordable homes to contribute towards the solution of problems above, and to fulfil the vision of India toward a green future, while effectively addressing the air pollution issues, making the construction practices environment friendly, and at-large ensuing sustainability and climate actions. Moreover, these homes are being designed to sustain extreme loads, i.e., earthquakes, and harsh weather conditions, i.e., high temperature in summer and sub-zero (negative) temperature in winter. The building units used to construct these homes are produced using engineered (green) biocomposites made of wheat and rice residues by Ms Kusum Saini under the mentorship of Dr. Vasant Matsagar as a part of their startup company, BIOCOM Structures (BIOCOMposite Structures), Agro-Residue-Reinforced Biocomposites Mobile Production for Structures, funded by the Industrial Research and Development (IRD) at IIT Delhi. These sustainable and affordable homes facilitate rapid assembly and are modular in nature, which have high potential to be used in remote areas as permanent structures, structures for providing healthcare facilities, and rehabilitation structures in the areas struck by any disaster.

 

The biodegradable nature of the building units also provides a solution to the problem of construction material waste disposal, i.e., predominant at high altitude areas. Importantly, the project also effectively addresses climate change issues otherwise escalated by the production of synthetic construction materials with high carbon footprint.

 

The immediate next extended application of this new technology developed by these researchers is in making all-weather roads in rural areas using such agro-residues processed locally. As the agro-residues are available in rural areas, locally converting them into commercial commodities help create jobs/employment and bring prosperity from the so called agro-waste which otherwise is burned to ashes and emit pollutants in air. Thus, the present project promises turning waste to wealth through gainful utilization of the agricultural solid waste management.

 

3. Multi-user video transmission over LiFi Network

PI- Prof. Abhishek Dixit, Electrical Engineering

 

Video signal of multiple users, multiplexed at the transmitter, is transmitted using an LED over a LiFi link and the LiFi receivers situated at different locations will decode their respective signals from the aggregate received signal.

 

 

4. Scalable wearable pressure sensor that can help doctors and specialists analyze gait patterns and postural deformities

 

Prof. Dhiman Mallick, Electrical Engineering

Gait and postural deformities are incapacitating and common in the present world. Studies indicate that the most prominent deformities include splay foot, flat foot, unstable hind foot with protruding heels, high arches, and irregular gait. They are directly associated with poor balance, abnormal posture, swollen knees, and joint weaknesses that cause difficulty in walking. Researchers at IIT Delhi have developed a scalable wearable pressure sensor based on a nanocomposite material, that has unique combination of light-sensitive polymer and piezoelectric nanoparticles, which offers the advantage of easy array design for pixelated sensing over large area, simple process flow, and low-cost implementation for human movement monitoring and injury rehabilitation.  “The integration of sensors and Machine Learning leads to the invention of intelligent sensors for cutting-edge technologies in fields like healthcare, sports science, defense etc. During the number of tests that we conducted in our laboratory, we found that the proposed sensor can potentially help detect foot problems in adults and children by analyzing the pressure variation on the back end of the foot and converting it into electrical output,” the researchers said. (More details here-https://home.iitd.ac.in/show.php?id=45&in_sections=Research)

 

5. A way towards optical nanoscopy

PI- Prof. Joby Jospeh, Optics and Photonics Centre

 

At the Photonics Research Lab of IIT Delhi, researchers under Prof. Joby Joseph of Optics and Photonics Centre have developed a novel structured illumination microscope to get nanoscopic resolution over a large field of view.

 

6. THz Handheld Remote Detector (THRED)

PI- Prof. Amartya Sengupta, Physics

 

THz Rays or T-Rays can ‘see’ or ‘sense’ many chemicals based on the specific response or ‘colour’ of these materials in this range. Unlike X-Rays, T-Rays are a very low energy radiation with ‘low to no’ biological impact; therefore, such safe T-Rays are used in various basic and applied research applications, in the fields of diagnostic medicine, security, cultural heritage preservation, non-destructive evaluation and industrial quality control.

 

In the lab exhibit, the T-ray based THRED platform will be demonstrated to detect and image chemicals. It is faster, lighter, can see around the corners and even materials hidden behind paper, plastic, cloth, and rubber.

 

7. Engineered Microbiome: Simple, Scientific, and Self-Sustainable Engine to Improve Rural Environment

 

PI- Prof. Anushree Mallik, Centre for Rural Development and Technology; Dr Pankaj K Gupta

 

The Centre for Rural Development and Technology is the renowned unit of IIT Delhi, which is continuously engaged in promoting technologies to address rural problems in India. Researchers from the Applied Microbiology Laboratory at CRDT have undertaken a polluted site reclamation project named Engineered microBiome (E-microBiome Project), at Chromium contaminated Rania and Khan Chandpur villages in Kanpur Dehat, UP.

E-microBiome project is unique in itself as it is the fusion of hydrogeology, microbial ecology, and other disciplines of science and technology, which is ultimately cost effective and is likely to bring back the pristine condition of soil and groundwater systems at this site.

 

Such restoration technology is a solution to ensure potable water supply to the local community and preserve ecosystem services. Researchers said that the E-microbiome project has been prepared for large-scale demonstration and soon will be a demonstrative-scale project, which will truly inspire not only polluted site management practitioners in India and abroad but also the residents to support remedial actions.

 

8. Novel light-weight soft body armour and Hybrid flexible armour

PI- Prof. Abhijit Majumdar, Textile and Fibre Engineering

 

9. Portable Robotic Device to Detect Slippery Floorings

Prof. Arnab Chanda, Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CBME)

At the Disease and Injury Mechanics Lab (DIML), researchers under Prof. Arnab Chanda of Centre for Biomedical Engineering, IIT Delhi, have developed a novel robotic device to test the effectiveness of floorings in reducing injuries related to slips and falls. Friction is defined as the resisting force due to rubbing of one surface against another. To properly walk or run, adequate amount of friction is required. When the friction during walking or running reduced, a person can experience an unintentional slip and eventually, a fall. Slips and falls are among the most serious public safety hazards. This fall can lead to fatal or non-fatal injuries such as fractures, dislocations, skin cuts, dislocations, etc. Hence, adequate friction at the shoe–floor contact is necessary to reduce these risks. Major reason of slipping is the quality of flooring installed at a location. Due to less or no knowledge, general public, civil engineers, architect tend to buy floorings which are visually appealing rather than its effectiveness in reducing such incidents. This has led to every third person in India experiencing a fatal or non-fatal fall each year. Although there are traditional devices which measure the friction of flooring and suggest if it is safe for daily activities or not, these devices are outdated and does not consider actual human slipping mechanics. Moreover, these devices are bulky, lab based, and highly expensive to be bought by small floor manufacturers to mark their floorings as “slip-resistant”.

Researchers under Prof. Arnab Chanda have developed a novel cost-effective, portable and biofidelic floor friction tester to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of slip resistance ability of floorings. This robotic device mimics the actual human slipping motion and calculates the available friction during its motion. The device’s structure is highly modular and is fully programmable for its slipping speeds, normal loads, and slipping angles to take into account different slipping scenarios.

This device has led to several high-quality research published in renowned journals. The working of device was also exhibited in the Industry Day held at IIT Delhi. This device was also presented at the India International Footwear Fair 2023 held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi and received a tremendous response from floor manufacturers around the world. This device now helps several floor manufacturing industries to test their flooring samples before going into production and helps them decide whether the developed flooring is safe or not.

 

10. The CoRE stack – a community-based digital public good for climate resilience

PI- Prof. Aaditeshwar Seth (SIT and CSE), School of information Technology

 

The CoRE stack (Commoning for Resilience and Equality) initiative, being led by IIT Delhi, is a collaborative effort between several research partners, civil society organisations involved in groundwater and forest management, and technology enterprises, to build essential technology components that can empower communities to plan and manage their natural resources efficiently and equitably. Rural communities are facing grave intersecting crises of the environment, livelihood, health, and social justice. We believe that they are also best placed to build the necessary infrastructure and means to address these challenges, and the CoRE stack aims at providing them with tools that can enable them to understand socio-ecological aspects about their respective landscapes, provide decision support to propose changes, open up public and private funding channels for resource allocation, and build greater solidarity and trust to transition towards sustainable ecosystems.

At the Open House 2023, author and social entrepreneur Mr Srijan Pal Singh, with deep personal experience alongside Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, delivered a speech on Dr. Kalam’s remarkable nature and profound thinking. In his address, he shared insights into the unparalleled experiences that illuminate the essence of Dr. Kalam’s wisdom and the enduring impact of his teachings.

IIT Delhi’s Prof. Suprit Singh delivered a speech on India’s pioneering twin space missions, Chandrayaan and Aditya L1. His presentation delved into the intricacies of these missions, exploring the scientific significance and technological achievements that have propelled India to the forefront of space exploration.

Prof. Subir Kumar Saha from IIT Delhi delivered an enlightening speech on the theme “Robotics to Rural Technologies.” In his presentation, he discussed the dynamic landscape of robotic developments and the exciting opportunities they present. Additionally, he will shed light on initiatives such as Robocon, DRL (Drone Racing League), and the integration of drones into rural technologies, showcasing how innovative technology can positively impact rural communities and bring about transformative change.

IIT Delhi Alumni Association (IITDAA) awarded the most deserving projects exhibited by the UG and PG researchers at the Open House. A total prize worth Rs. 2,15,000/- was given to the winners. IITDAA emphasized that these awards are intended to develop and support Research & Innovation amongst the students in various UG & PG programs.

UG Prizes:

1. Title: “Qubit Simulator for AI models based on Quantum Computing”

Department: Electrical

Student Name: Purushotttam Malviya

Entry No.: 2020EE10531

2. Title: Easy-to-use Deep Learning based Landslide Detection Tool

Department: Civil Engineering

Student Name: Ria Joshi

Entry No.: 2020CE10281

3. Title: “Accelerated Catalyst System Design for Carbon Capture & Utilization using machine learning”

Department: Chemical Engineering

PG Prizes:

1. Title: “Engineered Micro biome; A polluted site Restoration Project.
2. Title: “Autoscope E. An Automatic Digital Microscope:
3. Title: “Micro-spectro-endoscopy for Oral Cancer Screening and Diagnosis Using Machine Learning”

Department: Physics

Student Name: Pramila Thapa

Entry No.: 2018PHZ8424