NEW DELHI: Four mechanical engineering students of Dronacharya College Institute of Engineering have developed an Advanced Agro Robot that will make ploughing and sowing less laborious for farmers.
The robot that takes only 30 minutes to charge with electricity, can also work with solar energy.
“The 20-watt solar panel takes around eight hours to fully charge. And once charged, it can work for 45 minutes,” said professor T Bothichander, who is guiding the four students in this project.
The hook-shaped piece of iron attached below the robot will help plough the land before the two boxes with a net—that allow only one seed to pass at a time through its funnel-shaped structure—start sowing the seeds.
Ashwini Kumar Rathore, a final year mechanical engineering student, who has made the robot, said, “Our main objective was to make sowing easier for farmers living in regions with harsh climate. If we get some financial help and motivation from the government, it will change the way farming is done.”
The model, which is among the top 10 entries to be showcased at Make for India competition to be held in Delhi in February, surpassed more than 8,000 entries in the QUEST Ingenium contest organised by a foreign-based company in Bengaluru.
The first model of the robot was made at a cost of `20,000, which was contributed by the students.
“But if mass production is done, the cost of one unit will come down to `9,000,” said Thakur.
The robot is equipped with iron wheels for smooth, informed Ashu Talwar, another student, who is also a part of the project.