The Innovation Incubation & Research Centre(IIRC) at MGM University not only empowers its students with the advanced knowledge of their field through practical training but also offers design consultancy and rapid prototyping for research work. As part of its consultancy services, the center designed Worm Gears for motorcycle speedometer and material characterizations. A total of 27 specimens were 3D printed under this project for testing different parameters. The dedicated team, which carried out the project successfully, consisted of Dr.Nitin Phafat (IIRC Incharge), Prof. M.N.Bargir (Designer Consultant), Mr. Kishore Mate (PG student, MGM University, Aurangabad), and Mr. Prashant Murmude.

As an important contribution to the field of healthcare, IIRC has designed a ‘Pressure Biofeedback Device’. The device provides valuable information to ensure precision in neck exercises and muscle testing in physiotherapy. It allows the physiotherapist and the patient to determine if the patient can selectively isolate and maintain contractions of the cervical or lumbopelvic core stabilization muscles. The measuring range of this device is 0-30 lbs digital pressure with an accuracy of 0.1 gm pressure. The device includes a resting pad with a base, pressure sensors, digital remote monitor. The passionate team that developed this design included Dr. Nitin Phafat (IIRC Incharge), Prof. M N Bargir (Designer of the device) & Ms. Debba Khan (PG student of MGM Physiotherapy, Aurangabad)

The invention of Drone (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) technology has opened up a plethora of opportunities in a wide variety of fields ranging from scientific research to aerial photography. One of the significant contributions of the technology lies in the area of GIS (Geographic Information System). Thanks to the technology, undertaking land surveys and creating GIS maps with utmost precision have been possible in a fraction of the time and cost compared to the traditional methods. In addition, it requires no rare skills or talent and thus saves the invaluable time of the specialists.

The Innovation Incubation & Research Centre surveyed a land area of 16acres at a Pump house in Gandheli, Aurangabad by using RGB Phantom 4 DJI Drone. Several photographs of the area were taken from different angles by the RGB camera and each image was tagged with coordinates under this survey. After the successful completion of the survey, a topographical GIS report was also prepared. The project was carried out by Prof. M N Bargir, Pankaj Dhoble, LaxmikantKokate, Amol Mahadik, Vishal Ghatgeand IIRC team members.

An aspiring team of students of Mechanical Engineering -Rajendra VaijinathBhalekar, Sushil AsaramShelke, Kunal Shailesh WankhadeamdShivprasadDevlingZadbukechose drone technology as their project work, titled “Design and Development of autonomous Quad Copter”. The project was completed successfully with help of the IIRC team and under the guidance of Prof. M.N.Bargir. Students initially learned about various types of drones, components of drones, and their different applications. The team worked together to design and develop an amazing quadcopter. They were also able to calibrate and turn the drone. The team also designed 3-D printed covers for the drone body. The frame used here was X type frame. The controller is Pixhawk 2.4.8 flight controller. To make it an autonomous drone, GPS and Telemetry systems were also incorporated into it. The selection of motors and batteries was done according to the thrust calculations

Another creative team of students from the Mechanical Engineering Department consisting of Rishi Pankaj Pahade, Yash Pradeep Lodha, Manish Chandrakant Pawar, and Tejas Pratap Patil designed and developed an ‘Autonomous HexacopterDrone’ under the guidance of Prof. M.N.Bargir and with the support of IIRC team. Initially, the students studied the different types of drones, the components they are made up of, and their applications. After a thorough study, they decided to create a hexacopter drone as it offers more in-air stability compared to a quadcopter drone. Instead of using the already available standard drone components, they prepared an in-house drone design in CREO. After a lot of testing, the body material was chosen to be a Flexible Acrylic Sheet, which was later cut and framed using an in-house laser cutting machine. The arms of the drone were made from carbon fiber rods. Couplings were designed 3D printed in ABS for holding arms with the frame. The controller used wasPixhawk 2.4.8 flight controller. The GPS and Telemetry Systems were also included in the drone. The selection of motors and batteries was done according to the thrust calculations

The students of Civil Engineering adopted a different approach and decided to study how the efficiency of land survey methods could be improved. The third-year students, Shreyas Dalal, Dnyanesh Raut, Vishal Mete, and RushikeshSonawnehave have undertaken a project in which they are going to conduct a comparative analysis of land survey using a drone and total station under the guidance of Prof. L.K. Kokate. The primary objectives of this project are to estimate the total volume of data obtained through total station and drone, to measure the area of a particular field by both methods, and to determine the contours by using the drone and the total station

The Innovation Incubation and Research Centre also provided consultancy services in the form of Measurement of Surface Roughness to post-graduate students working on the machining stream of manufacturing engineering. The team included Mr. Kirankumar Jagtap (Lab In charge of Computer Integrated Manufacturing Lab) and Mr. Prashant Murmude. IIRC isequippedwithMitutoyo SJ410P SurfaceRoughness Tester. The Surftest SJ-410 surface roughness measuring instrument here offers numerous innovative features to provide smoother operation and more accurate measurements. It’s an easy-to-use, portable unit with a high straightness specification of 0.3 – 0.5μm over a traverse length of 25 – 50mm.

IIRC has also designed a fantastic ROBOGUIDE that leads the visitor through the Innovation Incubation and Research Center (IIRC). The ROBOGUIDE runs on an embedded Arduino-based system. The line follower mechanism has been achieved using an IR sensor which tracks the white line and stops at every lab when it detects a cross black line. It provides thorough information about each lab using audio commands. The amazing IIRC team that developed the robot consisted of Mr. Pankaj Dhoble, Mr. Swapnil Kadam, Mr. Prashant Murmude, Mrs. Nimra Mohammed, and Mr. PruthvirajBhalerao.

ROBOGUIDE