Robot battles, remote-controlled aircraft fights, dancing robots, bubble magic and exhibitions showcasing technologies from ancient civilisations to the modern-day one. The annual technology festival of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay — Techfest — began on Friday with a big bang.
Techfest 2012 more than stands up to its promise of bringing forth the most fabulous technical exhibits from across the world.
Case in point, the Japanese Foundation, a leading tech organisation showcasing amazing travelling exhibits from its own collection of artwork. This mega event is conducted by a group of the top 100 technical companies of Japan, highlighting the contribution of Japanese firms to advancements in science and technology.
Exhibitions from various international technology institutes also showcased numerous types of robots and aircraft. One of these included the interesting NAO robot, part of a European project called FEELIX Growing. The robot is capable of expressing anger, fear, sadness, happiness, excitement and pride, and even gets upset when a human fails to comfort it or when confronted by a stressful situation that it cannot cope with.
The University of Plymouth presented the FIRA (Federation of International Robot Soccer Association) team of robots, which kept the crowds entertained.
Children’s Technology Workshop, India, brought Babyminder, Cursometer and ROBOTA to the fest, robots created by 13-15-year-old students. The organisation provides robotics training in schools and colleges.
Other than the international exhibits, Techfest organised TechConnect for the third year, presenting the diverse contributions of IIT-B in the fields of healthcare, energy, defence, wireless communication, information technology and material sciences.
Other presentations included a Parkour performance, and a world-renowned bubble magician show.
Ronnie Philip, media manager of Techfest, expected more visitors during the weekend.”
The fest will end on Sunday.
