National Institute of Technology-Karnataka’s ATV deployed for beach cleaning drive in Mangaluru

MANGALURU: Known for their expertise in engineering and innovation, the Centre for System Design (CSD) at National Institution of Technology-Karnataka at Surathkal deployed an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) prototype for beach grooming to effectively collect plastic trash on Thursday.
The four wheeled electrically powered, 24-volt battery ATV can tow around 70kg of debris which is collected in its basket. In a single charge it will run around two hrs. This entire setup can be dismantled and carried in a compact city car. Because of its small size and lightweight property, rather than using heavy machinery vehicles which will affect biodiversity this compact vehicle can be used as a cost effective alternative.
The prototype was developed by student Rajath C. Kotekar and his team, under the guidance of Dr. KV Gangadharan and Dr. Pruthviraj Umesh. The event was inaugurated by Kavan Kubevoor, an alumnus of NITK Surathkal, who serves as the District Leo President. Kavan emphasized the urgent need for technological solutions to combat the pervasive issue of ocean pollution.
Forty students and staff members from NITK Surathkal actively participated in a beach cleaning drive near the Surathkal - NITK Beach. The event, jointly organized by the Ocean Society of India, the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Ministry of Earth Sciences and locally coordinated by CSD.
The team collected about half a ton of waste from the shoreline. The clean-up efforts involved a combination of manual picking by volunteers and the use of automated machines. The waste collected included plastic bottles, wrappers, home appliance covers, glass bottles, and various other non-biodegradable materials.
To promote sustainability, some of the collected materials were recycled using desktop-based plastic recycling units developed in-house. These recycled materials were transformed into utilities such as keychains and pen holders. The remaining waste was responsibly handed over to the municipal authorities in designated gunny bags.