Cave exploration is a very adventurous yet risky task. A lot of caves are discovered, almost on a daily basis. They give a lot of ecological information, house an amazing habitat and show how life interacts, grows and thrives in beautiful ways.
But exploration of new caves adds a lot to the risk factor. A cave may have toxic gases, loose soil, rock structure, and hidden groundwater reserves. A lot of old abandoned mines along with the newly dug mines are unsafe for human exposure. This is where automation comes into the picture.
The idea, hence, is creating a robot for reaching the inaccessible places in caves and mines. It will have filters and transducers to analyse the chemical composition of the air, and sensors to detect seismic waves and groundwater proximity.
The Robot will also predict, on the basis of the results, whether further digging is advisable or not. It would have its own electric supply and thus there would be no need to draw power lines inside caves reducing costs. Furthermore, it would also be capable enough to make a decision on the unavailability of a trained personnel.
This round consists of a problem statement in the fields of Robotics, Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, Metallurgy. The teams can take part in one or more problem statements. The teams have to come up with a feasible solution for the same. On March 5th, solution (40%) needs to be submitted via email in a given template. The teams will be shortlisted and announced by March 8th for the finals round of Visionnaire to be held on March 21st and 22nd.
This round is scheduled to be held on March 21st and 22nd. The shortlisted teams have to present their solution in a given format with the aid of any simulating platform of their own choice unless and until mentioned explicitly. Presenting time will be 20 minutes in front of the company officials followed by a 5 min. questionnaire.