A scholar team from Coimbatore’s Kumaraguru Institutions have clinched four awards at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC) 2024, beating 35 groups from 25 nations.
The 13-member team — Team Sea Sakthi — comprised third and fourth 12 months college students from Kumaraguru College of Technology and Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts. They bagged the Innovation, Design, Communications and Monaco Townhall prizes at the marquee occasion.
The MEBC is a world sustainability know-how occasion organised by the Yacht Club de Monaco in Monte Carlo. Its eleventh version which featured 450 engineering college students from 40 universities concluded on July 6.
Team Sea Sakthi was the only real team from India to qualify for MEBC for the third consecutive 12 months. While it received the Innovation and Design problem for the primary time, it was awarded the communications prize for the third 12 months in a row and the Townhall cup, which awards giant enhancements from earlier editions, for the second time.
Yali 3.0 boat
Despite third 12 months of participation, the team’s boat Yali 3.0 had vital adjustments this 12 months. Last 12 months they used a twin power supply of battery and hydrogen cells, whereas they selected to go together with solely battery this time to cut back weight and enhance speeds to 13 knots per hour. The team additionally went for a twin propulsion mannequin, every with the capability of 6.5 KW and likewise indigenously constructed a ten KW Lithium Ferro Phosphate Battery Pack.
The team additionally constructed an working system named ‘Yacht OS’ to help the pilot in monitoring and navigating the yacht/boat. They collaborated with wearables firm Ultrahuman to watch pilot well being and fatigue in real-time.
“The cockpit of our boat was designed by sandwiching a layer of carbon fibre in between natural pineapple fibre and this way the boat can withstand under cyclic loads and we were also able to bring down weight of cockpit by 50 per cent. This design was particularly complimented by the jury,” Roshan Manoj, a member of Team Sea Sakthi, instructed businessline. They additionally received appreciated for his or her ingenuity in utilizing AI for navigation, he added.
Another member Hemalatha V mentioned that they have been unable to come back within the high ranks within the precise race as a result of total improve within the weight of the boat and hoped that they deal with the difficulty within the subsequent 12 months’s problem to emerge victorious.
The team was a mixture of college students from the faculty throughout streams reminiscent of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and others.
“We are incredibly proud of the young students from Coimbatore who have achieved this remarkable feat. Their success showcases the immense talent of our students and signals a bright future for Tamil Nadu’s #innovation, industry, and entrepreneurship,” TN industries minister TRB Rajaa mentioned in a tweet on Wednesday.
