Prototype jellyfish robot developed to record marine life
Indore: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore has developed a prototype version of a robot, which resembles a jellyfish, to capture the marine life through a camera attached to it. Talking to PTI, head of IIT Indore’s Mechatronics and Instrumentation Laboratory, I A Palani, said the prototype robot, which weighs around 250 grams, has been developed after six months of research. “This robot has been developed in such a way that it looks like a jellyfish, so that marine creatures find it natural and they can go close to it. Its camera can capture their activities,” he said, adding that a soft polymer has been used in its structure. “A motor is used in the traditional robots developed for the study of marine life. This limits their functionality as aquatic creatures may get affected due to the sound of the motor. Hence, it may become difficult to capture the natural movement of marine creatures in the ocean,” Palani added. “Considering this shortcoming of motor-driven robots, we used the wires of shape memory alloys (SMA). The SMA is a class of smart material that can recover from induced deformation and revert to its memorised shape on heating,” he said. (PTI)
Rs 204 cr defamation suit against BJP MLA
Bengaluru: Senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar on Sunday said he has filed a Rs 204 crore defamation suit against BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for levelling certain “false and baseless” allegations against him over a month ago.In a statement, Shivakumar said Yatnal had told reporters at Vijayapura on June 23 that he (the Congress leader) has been exerting pressure on BJP leaders and union ministers to ensure that the Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate do not puruse cases against him.The Congress leader alleged Yatnal had also stated if the cases were dropped, he (Shivakumar) promised to remain neutral over the formation of BJP government in Karnataka.”These are the baseless, false, irresponsible and irrelevant statements made by Mr Yatnal,” Shivakumar said.Alleging that the remarks were made with malafide intention to malign and tarnish his public image, Shivakumar said it has put a huge question mark on his loyalty, sincerity, integrity and image at party and public level. The false and baseless statements mislead the investigating agencies as well as their probe, he added. (PTI)
32 arrested for lynching
Patna: The police have arrested 32 people, including 6 women, in connection with mob-lynching of a man here on Saturday on suspicion of being a child lifter and appealed people to refrain from breaking the law. According to the police, the victim was a mentally retarded man. He was beaten to death by a mob at Chulhaichak under the Rupaspur police station. Amid the swirling rumour about the rise in child lifting incidents in Bihar, Director General of Police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey appealed the people not to take law in their hands. The people must inform the police instead of thrashing someone over some suspicion, he said. Bihar has witnessed over a dozen incidents of mob violence in the past five days. Two Sikhs on Saturday were assaulted by a mob on suspicion of being child lifters in Patna, before being rescued by the police. Same day in Danapur, near Patna, two youths were thrashed by a mob on Saturday on suspicion of being child abductors. (IANS)
Statue of Unity to receive award
Ahmedabad: The Statue of Unity, a memorial to Sardar Patel, in Gujarat’s Kevadia town has been shortlisted for ‘The Structural Awards 2019’ of the UK-based Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). The 182-metre-tall statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31 last year. It is among the 49 structures that will vie for the prestigious award, according to the institution’s website. The awards will be announced in a function in London on November 15. Other structures shortlisted for the award include a sports stadium with a roof made up of rotating petals in Hangzhou in China, a 22-metre deep basement beneath a 5-star hotel in London and buildings showcasing the world’s best seismic performance in San Francisco, according to the website. “Our profession has again demonstrated extraordinary innovation over the past year. The 2019 shortlist offers many great examples of the ingenuity, creativity and skill of structural engineers worldwide,” Professor Tim Ibell, head of the judging panel, informed PTI through an email. The institute has been bestowing this award for best structural designs for the last 52 years. (PTI)