Solar researchers from Kerala, a southern state of India, have designed the world’s first integrated solar energy storage roof tile. Utilizing special electronics, the researchers have managed to develop solar tiles with integrated battery to store the generated power. Forty researchers of the Amrita Center for Nanosciences, headed by Shanti Nair and Vinod Gopal, have worked on the coveted project.
Integrated solar power tile
AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) is an automatically guided vehicle (battery operated) which moves on guided path like magnetic tape, wire on floor or uses a vision or laser guidance, typically performing repetitive and predefined logistic tasks in industry or warehouses constantly 24h / 7days. Application of the automatic guided vehicle has broadened during the late 20th century and they are no longer restricted to industrial environments.
Automated Guided Vehicle(Designed By: Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz Ltd, India)
The first AGV was invented by Berrett Electronics of Northbrook, Illinois . The inventors idea was to automate the standard “man-on-board” tow truck traditionally employed in factories and warehouses. The dream comes true when the first AGV started running on wire guided system embedded in the factory floor in 1953. Over the years the technology has become more sophisticated and today automated vehicles are mainly Laser navigated e.g. LGV (Laser Guided Vehicle). In an automated process, LGVs are programmed to communicate (via an offboard server) with other robots to ensure product is moved smoothly through the warehouse, whether it is being stored for future use or sent directly to shipping areas. Today, the AGV plays an important role in the design of new factories and warehouses, safely moving goods to their rightful destinations.
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) increase efficiency and reduce costs by helping to automate a manufacturing facility or warehouse. The AGV can be used to tow objects behind them in trailers, which can autonomously attach and can be used to move raw materials or finished product. The AGV can also be used to store objects on a bed and can be placed on a set of motorized rollers (conveyor) and then pushed off by reversing them. These days AGVs are employed in almost every industry, including, pulp, paper, metals, newspaper, and general manufacturing.
An AGV can also be called a laser guided vehicle (LGV) due to its lased guidance method or self-guided vehicle (SGV). Lower cost versions of AGVs are often called Automated Guided Carts (AGCs) and are usually guided by magnetic tape. AGCs are available in a variety of models and can be used to move products on an assembly line, transport goods throughout a plant or warehouse, and deliver loads to and from stretch wrappers and roller conveyors.
It will be very surprising if someone goes to Saloon for hair-cut and you see a robot is cleaning the floor of swanky saloon while your haircut. Yes, this is not a imagination of a science fiction movie, its a true and had been designed by Two students of Dr B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar , which will help in keeping the saloon floors clean.
Nitish Sikka and Manish Kumar, both the students of B-Tech (Instrumentation and Control Engineering)-III year, explored the robotic technology and the vacuum suction technology and designed the amazing Robot ‘Dustcop’ under the guidance of Assistant Professor K.S. Nagla. Robot can work 24X7 and easily pick the cut hair fallen on the floor. The ‘Dustocop’ robot has been developed at the Robotics laboratory of the institute under ‘e-Yantra’ project, which is a robotics collaboration of NIT, Jalandhar and IIT, Bombay.
As per the design team robot is based on vacuum suction technology which makes it practically feasible as it can easily suck the dust from the floor. “Dustocop” can also be used for carpet cleaning in homes and hospitality industry or in any public area. The robot is designed using the micro-controller and the sensors to make it intelligent enough so that it can run automatically and avoid the obstacles. It works similar to a vacuum cleaner.