Tag: rural technologies

IIT KGP Develops Agro-Robotic Solution for Plant Disease Management

IIT Kharagpur Develops Robotic Solution for Plant Disease Identification and Pesticide Use

India is moving at an accelerated pace towards digitization automation. The farm sector which employs about 58% of India’s workforce and contributes to about 14% of the current GDP, has adopted technological advancement to warrant uniform progress. However, farm mechanization in India still has less than 50% penetration. The Govt of India has been taking several measures and a significant drive towards this end is the multi-body project “Development of autonomous multipurpose agricultural robotic platform” funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and run by C-DAC Kolkata as the nodal implementing institute along with IIT Kharagpur, BAU Ranchi and KCT Coimbatore. Under this project, IIT Kharagpur has designed a robotic system capable of identifying the plant diseases (say vegetables, maize etc.) through the camera-captured image analysis and spraying the appropriate pesticide, as the situation demands. 

The robotic system is a tracked mobile manipulator that aims to achieve the conflicting objectives of increased productivity, improved quality. This robotic system consists of (i) a tracked vehicle suitable for negotiating rough terrain field, (ii) a serial manipulator mounted on the tracked vehicle capable of holding the camera and pesticide spraying nozzle, (iii) a pesticide spraying module, and (iv) camera-based vision module. 

Prof. D K Pratihar, from the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering who is leading this innovative project said, “Our device can detect the plant diseases using camera and image analysis thus model the uncertainty associated with the human vision system and consequently remove it. This will help the farmers to detect the disease(s) correctly. Further use of such a device instead of manual operation of spraying pesticide will protect the farmers from related probable health hazards.”

The device has been fabricated by Sun Fab Industries Pvt. Limited, Mumbai (in collaboration with TECHNIDO).

“The serial manipulator will have sufficient dexterous workspace making it capable of spraying the pesticides from the top, bottom and various sides of the plant, which may be difficult to achieve utilizing the widely used drones,” said Prof. Alok Kanti Deb from the Dept of Electrical Engineering.

The developed robotic system is battery-driven one and once it is fully charged, it will be able to perform its duty in the field for about two hours. The robot will be operated remotely using buttons placed on a control panel and thus, a specialist technician may not be required for operating the robot in the field.

“We will soon resume the final assembly of the robotic system and field testing as we are recovering from the present COVID-situation. We have further plans in the future to make this robot autonomous and intelligent,” confirmed Prof. Pratihar.

The Government of India is giving a major boost to innovative rural livelihood technologies. In May 2020, the Finance Ministry had announced an economic stimulus of ₹1.5 trillion to boost agricultural infrastructure and logistics.

Talking about the potential of such technologies Director, Prof. V K Tewari, who himself is an expert in farm machinery design and precision agriculture said, “If we are looking at a comprehensive development towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, the strategic importance of such technology development is profound. Most importantly such technologies need to be taken from the lab to the land.”

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Project Contact: Prof. D K Pratihar, dkpra@mech.iitkgp.ac.in

Media Contact: Shreyoshi Ghosh, E: shreyoshi@adm.iitkgp.ac.in; M: +91 8145 736 048 

For News Visit: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/ 

Follow IIT Kharagpur on Social Media: Facebook: @IIT.Kgp; Twitter: @IITKgp; Instagram: @iit.kgp

Transforming Rural Economies

COVID-19 has given a clarion call for a technology-enabled world, more so in the context of the Indian rural sector which has always stayed several steps behind the urban way of living. The slow progress could be attributed to not just lack of financial resources but also towards weak communication of functional knowledge, for a large population lacking literacy (M: 80.9%, F: 64.6%), and reliance on western technologies failing to cater to the requirements of the rural population of India. Researchers at IIT Kharagpur have come forward to bridge this gap by rolling out farming technologies as well as non-farming technologies for rural employment. 

Talking about this initiative, Director, IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Virendra Tewari said,

“The Government of India offers huge subsidies for mechanization of the rural sector, but the farm machinery sector has not invested significantly in creating a market for indigenous technologies  addressing the burning need of the Indian rural sector.  Experts at IIT Kharagpur are answering this challenge by designing technologies well suited for the livelihood of the rural class of our country.”

The Institute, through its Precision Farming Development Centre, Farm Implements and Machinery and Rural Technology Action Group projects, has developed and deployed farm machinery including ranging from micro-irrigation, combined harvester, crop and vegetable planters, solar energy operated transplanters, groundnut diggers, ultrasonic sprayers. Further non-farming livelihood technologies for rural small-scale and cottage industries have been mechanized. To name a few, Dhenki, Potter Wheel, Jute Rope making, Door Mat making, Amber Charkha, Rice Flaking. The initiative also includes social impact technologies such as Smokeless Chullahs, Rural Drinking Water Facility. 

Prof Kamlesh Tiwari, one of the lead researchers in this program confirmed the training of around 2500 farmers from nearby villages of West Bengal and Odisha in micro-irrigation and protected cultivation structures. Several farmers who adopted these farm machinery and farm equipment reported a decrease in labor cost, reduction in the cost of cultivation, timeliness operations, improvement in pulverization, increase in soil fertility and production. Mr. Karthik Maity, from Hurnal village of Purba Medinipur and Subratha Mahesh from the Gurgram village of Paschim Medinipur, expressed their delight over their enhanced yield due to the technologies they adopted and the increased profits. 

Further, outreach programs were organized by the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering and the Rural Development Centre to communicate, train rural people and help their transition to mechanized farming and livelihoods. IIT Kharagpur has extensively mobilized the funding available under national mission projects like ‘National Initiative for Design Innovation’ and ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ towards achieving this goal. 

“We are ensuring the technologies are being implemented either in their farms or being adopted to generate employment through startups, setting up self-help groups. The livelihood technology adoption program witnessed significant acceptance in three North Eastern states including Assam, Manipur, Tripura as well as in several districts of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,”  Prof. Kamlesh Tiwari said.

Earlier this year, the India Brand Equity Foundation, an initiative of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, had estimated the gross value to be added by the rural sector, including agriculture, forestry and fishing, at ₹20 trillion approximately with a dominant employment share of 58%. Also, in May, the Finance Ministry had announced an economic stimulus of ₹1.5 trillion to boost agricultural infrastructure and logistics and ₹400 billion was allocated for the rural employment guarantee scheme. Referring to this Director, Prof. Virendra Tewari further emphasized on the strategic importance of such technology development.

He remarked, “While India is moving at an accelerated pace towards digitization, there is a crucial need to complement it with automation in the rural livelihood and farming sector and warrant a uniform progress. Such transition in rural livelihood will not only increase productivity and earnings manifold but will also lead to capacity building for rural and cottage industries, improved product quality, increased employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities in rural areas.” 

Media Coverage:

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Contacts:

Project Information: Prof. Kamlesh N Tiwari, kamlesh@agfe.iitkgp.ac.in;

Institute Related: Prof. B N Singh, registrar@hijli.iitkgp.ac.in; 

Media Outreach: Shreyoshi Ghosh, shreyoshi@adm.iitkgp.ac.in; More News:: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/; 

Follow IIT Kharagpur on Social Media: Facebook:@IIT.Kgp; Twitter: @IITKgp; Instagram: @iit.kgp

Reaching Out to Rural Community

IIT Kharagpur Reaches out to Village Youth at the Agri Food Expo 2020 for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in Rural Technologies

with contributions from Guru Sanjeev Kumar

The Dept. of Agriculture & Food Engineering organized the Agri Food Expo 2020 during February 14-16, 2020, under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan programme of the Government of India. A Workshop on Technologies for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was conducted wherein 300 participants from West Bengal and neighbouring states were trained. The workshop was primarily targeted towards unemployed rural youth who at least have a college degree and a zeal to undertake livelihood projects. The participants included representatives from 34 colleges, and district officers from West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha.

The areas of training involved Operation, Maintenance and Repair of Farm Machinery & Farm Implements, Green House and Drip Irrigation Technology, Soil Testing, Vermi-composting Technology & Organic Farming, Rice milling & Rice puffing Technology, Food Processing and Preservation Technology, Effective Storage techniques for Fruits and Vegetables, Solar Technology, Extrusion Technology, Bio-fertilizers and Bio-pesticide Production Technology from Organic Wastes, Water Quality Measurement, Bee Keeping (Apiculture), Mushroom Farming, Betel Leaf Technology and various other Rural Technologies.

The participants visited the research laboratories at the Institute and Experimental Farms, Rural Energy Park and Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Park for demonstrations machineries, processes and food processing technologies developed by IIT Kharagpur and various industries. Lectures and discussions were also held in these areas.

A key concern of the participants regarding challenges by the rural community in adapting to new technologies was a point of discussion.

Prof. P B S Bhadoria, coordinator of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan at IIT Kharagpur said, “in recent years introduction of technologies has led to economic empowerment and improved livelihood of rural community. This has been achieved by means of outreach initiatives through various colleges.” 

The inaugural ceremony was attended by prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, Prof. B N Singh, Registrar, IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Vivek Kumar from IIT Delhi, Prof. Aditya Bandyopadhyay from IIT Kharagpur and many others.

Doing good is simple

Times of India     India Today

On March 26 2019, the Director of IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, proudly flagged off a truck bearing a small hoarding which said, “Technology Transfer to the Government of Tripura”. The vehicle carried a consignment of five machines produced by the Rural Design Innovation Centre of IIT Kharagpur. In it were four gas-based puffed rice (muri) making machines and one motorized dehusker or dhenki in Bengali.

This is the third consignment that is making its way to distant Agartala. A total of 22 machines have already been transported through earlier consignments, says Prof. P.B.S. Bhadoria, Coordinator of the Design Innovation Centre of IIT Kharagpur and Rural Technology Action Group-Eastern India. He heads the multi-disciplinary team at the Institute that has been working hard to make a difference to the lives of the rural population by introducing new rural technology that make their work easier or upgrading the technology that is already in use.

A villager operating the Sutli making machine near Nadia

The two units in IIT Kharagpur making this possible are the RuTAG-EI and DIC. The first was set up in 2008 and the second in 2016 as part of the MHRD, government of India’s National Initiative for Design Innovation. The Design Innovation Centre has connected with more than 50 NGOs in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar, several self-help groups and individual beneficiaries, and devised technological innovations that have improved the life and livelihood of clusters of rural population in these states. The Design Innovation Centre of IIT Kharagpur sponsored by MHRD, working in the hub and spoke model – IIT Kharagpur being the hub and IIEST Shipur, NIT Jamshedpur and NIT Patna being the three spoke centres – have also made important contributions.

Prof. Bhadoria says that the centres work in close connection with NGOs and self-help groups that help the team to identify areas where intervention is required. “They voice the need and we provide the solution,” says Prof. Bhadoria. Often the individuals who use the technology work together with the team, as happened during the time they were devising the Motorized Single Twist and Double Twist Jute Rope Making Machine. The machine devised by DIC has increased productivity by 500g/hr and is also being used in Tripura. Government of Tripura and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) has invested around Rs 40 lakh for the machines.

The North-East, in fact, figures prominently in the enterprise of both the IIT Kharagpur units. The MDoNER is in collaboration with IIT Kharagpur. MDoNER is willing to adopt and disseminate technologies like muri making, feed block making through different schemes/livelihood projects.

A muri-making machine at a village near Agartala

Biomass-based and LPG based puffed rice making machines are one of the most popular products of IIT Kharagpur. The others are motorized pottery wheel, mechanized dehusker or dhenki, Rice flaking (chiwra) machine, motorized jute rope making machine and motorized Sabai Grass rope making machine. Of these the puffed-rice making machine are the most expensive. Till now the units have developed close to 35 products, and filed for 32 patents. They have transferred technologies to both NGOs and individuals, many of these in and around in the villages of IIT Kharagpur itself.

As part of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, IIT Kharagpur has transferred many of these technologies in the villages of Kenthia, Balijuri, Bhimpur and Porapara along with interventions in the natural resources management, organic farming, post-harvest processing technologies, storage and non-farm technologies. These have been well received by the local people.

“The idea is to do simple things so that the work can be done efficiently, drudgery can be reduced, and consequently productivity is increased. The quality of life naturally improves,” Prof. Aditya Bandopadhyay of the Mechanical Engineering Department pitches in. The Electrical Engineering Department, the Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering, the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship all contribute to the efforts. The last two run courses that cater to the ergonomic design/improvement of products, processes, product development, safety and quality engineering, product analytics and modelling, reverse engineering, and promote entrepreneurship. Prof. Nirupama Mallick, Prof. E.V. Thomas, Prof. Rajendra Singh, Prof. Hifjur Raheman, Prof. Dillip Kumar Swain of the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering and Prof. Vikranth Racherla of the Department of Mechanical Engineering are the other members of the team evolving such technologies.

MDoNER officials witnessing the demonstration of the pottery machine at Lodhasuli village

Even then there is shortage of hands, say both Prof. Bhadoria and Prof. Bandopadhyay. The demand far outstrips the supply and there are not many hands going around for the fabrication of the machines. They have entered into an arrangement with STEP and are looking out for entrepreneurs to fabricate the machines. “We can then concentrate on making the prototypes,” says Prof. Bandopadhyay. Every day there are calls from distant shores – as far away as Malaysia, California and even Dubai. And of course, call for more consignments to deliver to the hills of Tripura and perhaps increasingly other North Eastern states where there simple machines will make a major difference.

 

Photo banner: Suman Sutradhar