Bangalore students’ aero project hits bare pocket

Lack of funds may prevent a team of a few Bangalore students from participating in a US design competition. A team of young designers from BM Sreenivasaiah College of Engineering (BMSCE) is running from pillar to post to raise funds to cover the expenses for participating in the upcoming SAE Aero Design Competition which will be held between April 30 and May 2 at Fort Worth in Texas.

Called Stratos by their classmates, the ten-member team has already built an e-model of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It took about three months for the team to complete the project. 
But the students are concerned whether they will be able to raise Rs5,43290 for the US trip.

“There is no dearth of talent in our country. Many students are ready to put in the hard work also. However, only a handful of Indian teams are participating in this international competition and the main reason is fund crunch,” said Rajath Raman, a final year student of Industrial Engineering, BMSCE.

 “The raw materials recommended for the construction of UAV like balsa wood are quite expensive. The shipment also costs a lot,” Raman said. As many as 65 teams from various universities across the world will participate in the competition. “Our team has researched extensively. They have worked on all aspects of the design of the air vehicle whose fabrication was under way for months now,” said Nishanth SC, a student of BMSCE.

The students are members of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). It is the Indian arm of SAE International, a non-profit engineering and scientific society dedicated to the advancement of mobility industry.

The team is planning to take this project further.  “We hope to equip the UAV to enable its usage in the fields of agriculture, defence, and surveillance among others,” said Shashikanth Subramanya, a student of Industrial Engineering.

The range of innovative projects by the team members varies from chuck glider to a double-drive retractable detachable system  (which can be used in cars). “Our team members have designed chuck glider for a competition organised by the IIT Bombay. However, this is the first time we are participating in an international competition,” noted Shashikanth.

If you want to help the team, call them at 99019 89723 or 99019 89723.