Chennai: Entertainment, tech in Shaastra limelight

CHENNAI: With several new competitions ranging from hovercraft racing to big data challenge and the first-ever electronic dance music night, ‘Shaastra 2018’, the four-day annual technical festival of IIT Madras,  has combined entertainment with technology this year.

The festival, which started on Thursday, displayed various innovations such as transmission system of Arjun battle tank from DRDO and Isro’s model rockets, besides displaying innovations on virtual reality, augmented reality and smart devices.

This year for the first time, Shaastra is hosting India’s biggest Deep Learning services, in association with the Amazon Web Services (AWS).

 As part of the tech festival, IIT Madras students have taken up a social campaign in government schools of Chennai district. The project called ‘Bubbles’ is aimed at inculcating the habit of hand washing in government school students using techniques of behavioural sciences. The programme would cover over 1,300 students in Arumbakkam, Saidapet, Kodambakkam, Taramani.

“The event has combined entertainment with technology through the newly introduced shows, open house showcasing landmark technological achievements of IITM and inter IIT technical competitions,” said Prof M.S. Sivakumar, Dean (Students), IIT Madras.

Rajendra Singh, the waterman of India and Prashant Bhushan, activist will deliver spotlight lectures on global warming and challenges to the constitution. 

Labs opened to public
For the first time, IIT-M, is throwing open around 40 of its research laboratories to the public on Friday.  To explain cutting edge researches in various fields the premier institute has decided to conduct the open house. “We will allow people who have registered with us to visit our labs. The researchers and professors will explain about the cutting-edge researches being conducted at the facility to the public,” a professor said.