Pothole Warrior built by students wins prestigious Young Innovators’ Award at IIT Kharagpur

Pothole Warrior, designed by a team of three school students from Andhra Pradesh won the first runner-up prize in the Young Innovators’ programme held at IIT Kharagpur.

A team of three students from The Crossword School, Guntur of Andhra Pradesh, who designed an electronic device named, Pothole Warrior to fix potholes on roads, has won a prestigious award.

Designed by Hema Srivani S, Vishnuteja CH and Sudhamshu G won the first runner-up award in the Young Innovators’ Programme at IIT Kharagpur.

Out of 2,000 schools that had sent their ideas for the programme, only 24 were invited to the institute to represent their working model, according to Principal Keshava Reddy of Crossword School, reports The Hindu.

The Pothole Warrior is powered by electronic circuitry and has a portable wheelbarrow, which contains a tar mixture. It also has ultrasound sensors, an Arduino micro-controller and a servo motor, which is fitted under the wheelbarrow.

The integrated sensors map the dimensions of a pothole after which the micro-controller accumulates the data. Later, a significant amount of required tar is poured into the pothole, which is applied by a pedal-driven roller. The pedal-driven roller is controlled by the servo motor fitted to the outlet port, reports The Better India.

It’s the second time that the school has been nominated for the Young Innovators’ Programme. Its curriculum is designed in a way to encourage students to think creatively.

Potholes have been a constant nightmare for commuters and put a large number of lives in danger. According to a report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways released mid-year, an estimated 93,000 and 25,000 deaths have been caused by potholes in the last three years, reports India Today.

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