IIT-B prepares a treat for tech, science lovers at next year's fest

Indian Institute of Technology in Powai is gearing up to host its annual science and technology festival called Techfest.

Scheduled to be held between January 2 and 4 next year, it is expected to feature robots and technologies built in the most advanced research facilities of universities and organisations namely ETH Zurich, EPFL Switzerland, RMIT Australia, Osaka University, Aldebran robotics, and Hanson Robotics among others.

Among the main attractions in the upcoming edition are: Beach Bot, which is the world's first autonomous robot that can create large-scale sand art, developed by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich; Sepios, which is a cuttlefish-inspired marine robot, another project from ETH Zurich. Its qualities, combined with its fish-like appearance, are ideal for closing in on fish, making it the perfect device for marine life filming.

Other technology on display includes Tigers Mannheim, which are soccer playing robots, Bionico Hand, a prosthetic arm designed to assist amputees, bio-inspired flying devices by Imperial College of London, and WRO Art Centre, Poland (Digital Art).

Maintaining its legacy of the best robotics exhibits, there will also be Virtual Robot Simulation, Android Robotics and Humanoids, Dancing Robots and Lego-based Robotics among others on display.

Apart from these, there will be Sina Sim(surgery simulator machine), face recognition classes, live speed digital painting, visual interactive non-stop evolution, display of brain activity in real time by TEEGI, automated 3D chess, augmented reality by MIT Media Labs, smallest electric bike, and many other breakthroughs.