CASE STUDY Intel India Embedded Challenge 2011 Accelerating Innovation in Embedded Systems & Applications

Accelerating Innovation in Embedded Systems & Applications - Intel India Embedded Challenge 2011
In the recent past, India has emerged as a global hub of innovation, both at grass root level and in development of novel high end technology solutions and services. The innovation based growth is largely driven by talented younger generation. The growth of systematic industry academia collaborations has propelled the 21st century student to think out of the box and unleash their creativity in addressing real world challenges and finding out new solutions. In order to sustain and accelerate the innovation driven growth its crucial to train our students, equip and empower them with relevant market based skills and knowledge and also create a platform for younger generation to research, experiment and investigate their innovative ideas. Intel India Embedded Challenge (Intel IEC) is one such initiative by Intel that provides a strong pedestal for young innovators and entrepreneurs in India. Intel IEC is a national level embedded design contest hosted annually by Intels Higher Education program in India, where the participants get to architect, design and develop novel embedded applications in areas such as Consumer electronics, Bio-medical, Education, Rural IT, Smart embedded solutions etc.

Intel India Embedded Challenge was a life transforming experience for our team. The excellent support and mentoring provided by Intel were the key factors which contributed to us being able to achieve the prototype goals.
Akash Mohan Singhal, , B.TECH Student, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Rajasthan

Unique Features of Intel India Embedded Challenge

Intel IEC was launched in 2010, with the objective to encourage ideation and innovation in the field of embedded systems and applications. Under this program innovative ideas were invited from students as well as working professionals across India. The essence of Intel IEC was not to just stop at ideating level, but to go a step further and actually design and develop a prototype of the innovation, ready to incubate and further leading to

commercialization of the product / service after successful incubation and testing phase. A unique feature of the program is mentoring support provided by Intel. A group of 40-50 senior technologists from India were associated with finalists of the competition who mentored the young innovators over a period of 4-5 months on development of the prototype. This volunteering effort by Intel Technologist to share their expertise and experience with students resulted in development of high quality projects. Intel also supported the finalist by providing them Intel Atom processor Kit and contingency amount for prototype development. The Intel IEC program has received overwhelming response in 2010 and also in the second version during 2011; it was interesting to note that over 70% of the projects were submitted by engineering college students in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India.

I am very impressed by the passion of the students, their commitment and the way they creatively explore technology for novel solutions. This is an amazing platform to nurture innovation in youth."
-Geeta Kathpalia, Scientist and Director at Department of Information & Technology, Government of India

Evaluation system of Intel IEC 2011

Awards and Prizes of Intel IEC 2011

The prizes and awards for best projects under Intel IEC are very attractive; the participants get to win more than INR 1500000/- in cash as seed fund and also gets direct entry to Next Big Idea a premier technology business plan contest conducted by Department of Science and Technology, Indian Institute of management, Bangalore and Intel to accelerate entrepreneurship among young innovators. Please refer below box item for summary of award winning innovation under Intel India Embedded Challenge 2011

A well structured and stringent multilevel evaluation system ensured that the projects selected for the finals of Intel IEC 2011 were of high quality. A group of 35 Intel Technologists assessed the projects for originality, relevance and feasibility of the project. The final evaluation consisted of face to face interaction with innovators and a well structured evaluation process ensured the selection of winning projects.

We want to cultivate technical talent in India and promote our knowledge economy, so we can cater to emerging markets. Companies like Intel who share their technological expertise and foster the development of these skills in India play a crucial role in this endeavor.
-HK Mittal, Head, National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, Govt. of India.

Way Forward for the Award Winning Projects

Another important aspect of Intel IEC is the opportunity for the best projects to seek further guidance and mentoring by Intel to incubate their prototype for next level of development. The seed fund of Rs. 1000000/- provided to grand prize winners is released in 2-3 phases based on the progress of the product development. Intel helps the innovators to network and also explore additional funding from government schemes such as Techno Entrepreneur Promotion Program (TEPP) or Technology Incubation and Entrepreneurship Development (TIDE)

The jury panel consisted of 14-16 eminent personalities drawn from technical institutions of national importance, senior technologists from industry, scientists from government establishments under the ministry of information technology and members from incubation community and social sector. The strong jury panel interacted with the innovators and conducted a detailed assessment of the prototypes on five key parameters such as 1) engineering goals 2) creative ability and innovation 3) knowledge, clarity, thoroughness and procedure 4) market potential of the product 5) feasibility to commercialize the product.

Snap Shot of Award Winning Projects of Intel IEC 2011

Theme Winners (INR. 50000/ each)

Education Theme: VORWIS (Virtual Object in Real World - Interacting & Sharing) A solution for understanding 3D objects and finding usage in CAD, medical imaging etc. Innovator: Ganesh Pitchiah, Indian Institute Of Technology, Kanpur,

Industrial and Consumer Electronics Theme: A Novel Approach to 4 Dimensional Interfacing Schemes using Intel Atom Processor A project which deals with development of a multipurpose, universal four dimensional interfacing space using IR sensory units finding applications in diverse fields through touch screen interface. Innovator: Gaurav Jain, Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy University, Smart Solutions Theme: 3D Mapper & Navigation System for Autonomous Ground Robots A project which deals with 3D mapping in urban mapping, costal mapping etc. by developing a robot with flexible functionalities. Innovators: Akash Mohan Singhal and Aditya Shanker Raghuwanshi , BITS, Pilani Rural IT Theme: Portable Electronic Nose for Tea Industry - A handheld electronic nose to analyze tea aroma and quality of tea and also monitor other key processes of tea industry like fermentation etc. Innovators: Amritasu Das and Hena Ray, CDAC Kolkata Bio Medical Theme: Smart Arm - An advanced prosthetic arm with capabilities of providing basic functionality like holding, grasping writing by the amputee. Innovators: Deepender Singla and Amit Ranjan, Thappar University.

Intel Grand Innovation Prize (INR 1000000/as seed fund)

Solar Powered Crop Harvesting Robot An innovative solar powered crop harvester controlled by Intel Atom and supporting critical farming activities in rural India. Innovators: T.J. David and Kudikala Shravan Kumar, International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad

Jury Special Award: Remote Operation of Electrical Gadgets Using Simple Mobile Phone A low cost application for remote controlling home appliances using a basic mobile phone. Innovators: Debapratim Sarkar, Saikat Das Adhikari, Techno India College of Technology, Kolkata Intel Employees Popular Choice Award: Embedded Eyes for the Blind A device for the blind for indoor movement through speech and with other functionalities like obstacle recognition. Innovators: Anurag Awasti and Avani Nandan, IIT Kanpur.

TRACTROBOT Success Story- One year after winning at Intel IEC 2010

Sanjay Bansal, together with his team mates Aman Jain, Rishabh Goyal and Anupam Singh, won the Intel Innovation Grand Prize of Rs 10 lakhs in the inaugural Intel India Embedded Challenge in 2010 for their project, Tractrobot. Tractrobot substitutes human controlled agricultural operations with an autonomous tractor through cutting-edge technologies like GPS, GIS, remote video monitoring, artificial intelligence and SMS. It provides a user friendly GUI to control the tractor for straight line/user defined operations. The remote console unit can be used to steer the tractor through a joystick. Its ideal for use in land development, tillage, seedbed preparation, spraying and seeding operations. Says Sanjay: One year after winning in Intel IEC 2010 I feel its a life changing experience for the team. The experience had an intense impact on us as it was covered by many news agencies. The exposure my team mates received has motivated them to study advanced technology. I was invited by Manav Rachna International University to head their Innovation & Incubation Center. The University has provided huge support, opening up plenty of resources like labs, technical assistance and funds. With constant support from Intel & MRIU, the team is developing the project on a real time scenario. We have recently purchased a piece of cultivated land and will soon go for field trials of Tractrobot. Our work has been published by IEEE in the International Conference on Network Communication and Computer 2011.

Intel believes technological innovation is the driver of future economic and social success. By providing Indias engineering students and technical professionals with exposure to the highest level of proficiency, Intel seeks to nurture an ecosystem in which innovation can thrive. This (Intel IEC) platform offers students and professionals an environment where their talent can be nurtured."
-Dr. Praveen Vishakantaiah, President, Intel India.

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