Rally Rachet robot

Hanoz Mehta, a third year student of Industrial Electronics at the M. G. M. Education Institute’s Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College in Aurangabad, won the first prize at the national level robotics competition, VERISMO ’07, beating 52 nationwide entries with his creation named Rally Rachet, his proud parents Khushroo and Benaifer informed Parsiana. For the uninitiated, robotics is technology dealing with the design, construction and operation of robots in automation. Conducted by the Vidhya Prathishthan’s College of Engineering in Baramati, Poona district, from September 7 to 9, 2007, engineering colleges from all over India were invited to participate in VERISMO ’07.

Mehta shone in Robonance, an event which required participants to design, build and demonstrate their creations at the venue. According to the rules, the robot could not exceed one square foot in size and the motors used had to be under 15 volts each. Rally Rachet, made with plywood and metal sheet, measures 24 cms by 18 cms. It has an arm which can carry a load up to three kilograms and boasts a turning principle of a four-wheel drive vehicle. Rally Rachet moves at a speed of 100 revolutions per minute, powered by five motors of 12 volts each. The purpose of the robot is to lift and transport live bombs in war zones and defuse them in a safe place.

Hanoz Mehta displays his prize-winning robot which can be used to move live bombs in war zones

The Mehtas are residents of Tardeo’s Gamadia Colony in Bombay. Father Khushroo, a former electrician who changed careers and now works for the Bombay Port Trust told Parsiana: "I bought Hanoz a Meccano set when he was 12 or 14 years old, I don’t recall exactly. But I still have the bill which will reveal the date. Even at that age my son was good at creating complicated models with the set. In fact, we are a creative family. My wife teaches fine needlework at the Bai Bengalee Girls’ High School at Churchgate. She is involved with the Girl Guides movement. I was with Sethna’s 18 West Bombay Scout Troop, but I do not have the time for that now.” Hanoz too is a Scout, but his involvement stopped after he passed his SSC examination from St Mary’s School and moved to Sangli to study for a diploma in electrical engineering. The 22-year-old only child is now all set to obtain his degree in industrial electronics from Aurangabad.