Programs
- M. Tech. in Automotive Engineering -Postgraduate
- Master of Physician Associate (M.PA) – (Medicine, Surgery) 2 Year -Postgraduate
The IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICRM25) featured a series of insightful keynote sessions with distinguished experts from academia, industry, and research organizations. Organized by HuT Labs and the ECE Department, Amrita School of Engineering, Amritapuri Campus, these sessions provided participants with valuable perspectives on emerging technologies in Robotics, Mechatronics, and Automation.
The keynote sessions offered participants deep insights into technological innovations, industry challenges, and future trends driving the fields of robotics, mechatronics, and automation, fostering knowledge exchange and inspiration for future research and development.
The IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICRM25) was inaugurated on 7 November 2025 at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus, organized jointly by HuT Labs and the ECE Department, Amrita School of Engineering.The ceremony commenced with prayers and the lighting of the lamp, followed by a welcome address by Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs and Head of SMART & ACORD Centers.
A highlight of the event was the distribution of AI-powered coconut-dehusking machines to beneficiaries, reflecting HuT Labs’ commitment to developing technology for humanity.The inaugural ceremony set the tone for two days of innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing in the fields of Robotics and Mechatronics, inspiring participants and fostering research excellence.
HuT Labs proudly announces the publication of the research paper:
“Novel AI-enabled Ultrasound Probe-Manipulation Training Device with a Triaxial Force/Torque Sensor”
Authors:
Journal: Measurement | Publisher: Elsevier
Impact Factor: 5.6 | Scopus Percentile: 99th | Quartile: Q1 | Year: 2025
This study presents an innovative AI-powered training device that enhances ultrasound probe-handling skills through precise triaxial force/torque sensor feedback, representing a significant advancement in medical robotics and healthcare training.HuT Labs congratulates the authors for this remarkable contribution to cutting-edge research and for advancing the intersection of AI, robotics, and healthcare education.
HuT Labs and Amrita University are proud to announce that Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs and Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amritapuri Campus, has been recognized among the Top 2% Scientists in the World in the Stanford List 2025.
This accolade acknowledges his dedication, impactful research, and significant contributions to the advancement of humanitarian technologies and innovation.HuT Labs congratulates Dr. Megalingam on this well-deserved global recognition, celebrating his continued efforts in driving technological excellence with societal impact.
HuT Labs participated in the Teachers’ Conclave held at Vidyodaya School on 20 September 2025, bringing together educators, innovators, and thought leaders under the theme: “Learn, Teach, Innovate: The AI Way.”The HuT Labs team showcased the Chelonia series of robots—Scorpion, Cancero, Advanced, and Spidera—through live demonstrations for teachers and invitees. The event provided a platform to share insights on robotics, AI, and technology-enabled education, inspiring future-ready learning experiences.
As part of the 72nd Birthday Celebrations of Amma—Sadguru Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amritavarsham ’72), HuT Labs participated in the Environmental & Sustainable Development Exhibition held at Amritapuri Campus from 25–27 September 2025.The exhibition, inaugurated by distinguished dignitaries, highlighted efforts in sustainability, eco-awareness, and social responsibility. HuT Labs showcased several of its humanitarian and assistive robotic innovations, including:
The demonstrations received an enthusiastic response from visitors, students, and guests, who appreciated the humanitarian vision and societal impact of each innovation. HuT Labs’ participation underscored how technology can serve society with compassion and sustainability.
Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs, Amritapuri, visited Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Nagercoil Campus for an Interactive Talk and Orientation Program on HuT Labs initiatives.
The session provided students with insights into innovation, research, and humanitarian technology, encouraging them to explore opportunities in technology for societal impact.
As a mark of honor, Dr. Megalingam was felicitated as Guest of Honor by Dr. Chidanandamrita Chaitanya, Campus Director, Nagercoil. The event highlighted the importance of mentorship, innovation, and knowledge sharing in shaping future engineers and researchers.
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, in collaboration with HuT Labs, conducted two knowledge-sharing sessions in Nagercoil, led by Dr. Sakthiprasad K.M., Scientist & Project Manager (Research), HuT Labs, Amritapuri Campus.
Session Highlights:
These sessions demonstrated the transformative potential of Robotics and AI, inspiring academic growth, research exploration, and practical advancements across disciplines.
HuT Labs is proud to announce that the research paper titled “Deep Learning-Based Eye Sign Communication System for People with Speech Impairments” has been published in the Q1 journal Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology by Taylor & Francis.
Publication Details:
Authors: Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Dr. Sakthiprasad K.M., Mr. Shree Rajesh Raagul Vadivel, Mr. Gokul Riju This work demonstrates the potential of AI and deep learning in developing assistive technologies that empower individuals with speech impairments, enabling effective and inclusive communication. It reflects HuT Labs’ commitment to research excellence, innovation, and social impact through technology
HuT Labs proudly congratulates Dr. Sakthiprasad K.M. on the successful completion of his Ph.D., awarded under the guidance of Sampoojya Swami Poornamritananda Puri.
This achievement reflects his dedication, perseverance, and commitment to research excellence. The HuT Labs community celebrates this inspiring milestone, marking both the culmination of years of rigorous work and the beginning of new opportunities for academic and research contributions.
By Amma’s grace, we wish Dr. Sakthiprasad continued success in inspiring others and making meaningful contributions through his work.
As part of the Solar Fruit Dryer Project, in collaboration with Amrita JSS and the Amritalakshmi Joint Liability Group (JLG), HuT Labs conducted a field visit to Kattappana and Nedumkandam, Idukki on 4 August 2025.The visit, led by Sampoojya Swami Jyanamritananda Puri, Ms. Ramya C., and Mr. Eswaran, focused on:
The communities cultivate a diverse range of crops including jackfruit, mango, banana, mushrooms, pepper, nutmeg, moringa leaves, and coffee, and emphasized the need for dryers that preserve aroma, taste, and nutritional value while remaining climate-resilient.This initiative exemplifies the blending of innovation, tradition, and sustainability to empower local livelihoods and support renewable-energy-driven agricultural solutions.
HuT Labs, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, is participating in IDC ROBOCON 2025, an international robotics design competition held in Shanghai, China.
On the opening day, the team—comprising Alan Soji Varghese, Sourav Prabhakaran, Nived Sajeev, and Adwaith Krishna Parakkunath—under the guidance of Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Associate Professor and Director of HuT Labs—officially entered this prestigious global competition.IDC ROBOCON 2025 brings together top engineering minds from around the world to engage in innovative challenges and collaborative robotics solutions. Over the coming days, the HuT Labs team will demonstrate their expertise, creativity, and technical skills on an international stage.
HuT Labs continues to exemplify engineering excellence, innovation, and global collaboration through such international participations.
As part of the STAC Induction Programme for S1 students, Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs, delivered a motivational talk emphasizing the significance of choosing a domain early and aligning passion with purpose.
“Start building your future from Day 1.”
Dr. Megalingam also conducted one-on-one mentoring sessions, guiding students to identify their interests, set goals, and gain clarity, fostering enthusiasm for innovation and research.The induction programme successfully equipped students with motivation, knowledge, and direction, empowering them to take confident steps into the world of engineering and technology.
The ECE Department at Amrita School of Engineering, Amritapuri organized an engaging welcome session for the incoming B.Tech 2025 batch, attended by over 200 students. The session aimed to introduce students to research opportunities, student clubs, IEEE activities, and ongoing technology projects at Amrita.The event was led by Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs, Head of SMART and ACORD Centers, and Professor, ECE Department, who provided an inspiring overview of the innovative environment at Amrita.
A special online talk was delivered by Dr. Thejus Pathmakumar, a Robotics expert and specialist in Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), who motivated students to explore robot autonomy and system integration. Senior students also shared their projects and experiences, creating a dynamic and interactive knowledge-sharing atmosphere.The session welcomed students to actively engage with HuT Labs, SMART, and ACORD Centers, encouraging exploration, learning, and innovation from the very beginning of their academic journey.
HuT Labs is proud to announce that नेत्रावाद (Netravaad), our innovative assistive technology, was featured in Janmabhumi Daily on 14 June 2025. Netravaad is a voice-free communication system that enables individuals with motor and speech impairments to communicate using eye movements.
Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs, highlighted how Netravaad is transforming lives by providing hands-free, voice-free, and dignified communication for differently-abled individuals.
The technology was developed at HuT Labs, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus, reflecting our commitment to inclusive innovation, accessibility, and social impact.This recognition reinforces our mission of building compassionate technology that empowers lives and promotes independence.
HuT Labs is proud to announce that Dr. Sakthiprasad K. M., Scientist at the Amrita Coconut Research and Development (ACORD) Center, and Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Head of ACORD, have published a pioneering research paper:
“Coconut Tree Modeling based on Abiotic Factors and Modified Cosserat Rod Theory”This work, published in Springer Plant Methods (Q1 journal, Impact Factor: 5.6), introduces the first-ever mathematical model of coconut trees that integrates abiotic environmental factors with modified Cosserat rod theory. The research represents a significant interdisciplinary breakthrough at the intersection of biology, applied mechanics, and computational modeling.
The innovative model has wide-ranging implications for precision agriculture, sustainable farming, and climate-resilient cultivation strategies, opening new avenues for research and application in coconut agriculture and plant biomechanics.HuT Labs congratulates Dr. Sakthiprasad K. M., Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, and the entire research team on this remarkable achievement, which underscores Amrita’s commitment to interdisciplinary innovation and research excellence.
HuT Labs congratulates Smaran Kotaprolu, Alumni Researcher at HuT Labs and ECE graduate of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, on successfully completing his Master’s program under the SUTD-CGU NEED (Nano Electronics Engineering and Design) program.
Smaran’s achievement at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Chang Gung University (CGU) reflects his dedication, innovation, and global vision in the field of nanoelectronics. During his time at HuT Labs and the ECE Department, Smaran demonstrated exceptional research aptitude and a passion for technological innovation.This accomplishment underscores HuT Labs’ commitment to fostering global leaders in research and engineering. We wish Smaran continued success and impactful contributions to the world of advanced electronics and beyond.
HuT Labs congratulates Tejaswi Puchakayala, Alumni Researcher at HuT Labs and ECE graduate of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, on successfully completing his Master’s degree at the University of Florida, USA.Tejaswi’s journey, from conducting innovative research at HuT Labs to achieving academic excellence at a top global university, exemplifies dedication, perseverance, and scholarly excellence. His accomplishments serve as a source of inspiration for aspiring engineers and researchers.
HuT Labs celebrates Tejaswi’s success and wishes him continued growth and impact in his future professional and research endeavors.
HuT Labs congratulates Nigam Katta, Alumni Researcher at HuT Labs and ECE graduate of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, on earning his Master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), USA.Nigam’s journey, from conducting cutting-edge research at HuT Labs to achieving academic excellence at one of the world’s leading technology institutions, exemplifies dedication, innovation, and academic excellence. His accomplishments serve as an inspiration for aspiring engineers and innovators globally.
HuT Labs is proud to celebrate Nigam’s success and looks forward to his continued contributions toward technological innovation, research impact, and societal advanceme
HuT Labs proudly congratulates Avinash Hegde, Alumni Researcher at HuT Labs and ECE graduate of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, on successfully completing his Master’s in Computer Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, USA.
Avinash’s journey from conducting hands-on research at HuT Labs to achieving academic excellence on an international platform exemplifies dedication, vision, and perseverance. His accomplishments underscore the impact of mentorship, research exposure, and global academic engagement fostered at Amrita.HuT Labs celebrates Avinash’s success and extends best wishes for his continued contributions to innovation, research, and technological impact on a global scale.
HuT Labs is pleased to share that Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs, attended the convocation ceremony of his mentee, Mr. Smaran, who successfully completed his dual-degree Master’s program at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Singapore.
This milestone reflects a meaningful academic journey, tracing Mr. Smaran’s growth from hands-on research and innovation experiences at HuT Labs to achieving excellence at a globally reputed institution. His accomplishments exemplify the values of dedication, innovation, and lifelong learning fostered at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
The occasion highlights the strength of mentorship and its role in nurturing globally competent researchers and professionals. HuT Labs congratulates Mr. Smaran on his achievement and wishes him continued success in his academic and professional endeavors.
The Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, actively participated in the National Conference on “AI for Empowering Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)”, held on 30 May 2025 at The Lalit Hotel, Bengaluru. The conference was organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), in collaboration with ALIMCO.
As part of the exhibition, HuT Labs showcased its flagship innovation Netravaad (नेत्रावाद), an AI-enabled, voice-based assistive communication device designed to support individuals with speech impairments. The live demonstration attracted significant interest from technologists, researchers, policymakers, and industry representatives, generating meaningful discussions on accessibility and inclusive innovation.
HuT Labs was represented by:
The demonstration highlighted Netravaad’s mission of restoring communication and dignity for individuals unable to speak. The innovation received highly positive feedback, with several participants expressing interest in potential collaborations and future deployments.
Participation in this national-level conference underscores HuT Labs’ commitment to advancing AI-driven assistive technologies and contributing to the broader movement toward accessibility, inclusion, and technology for social impact.
HuT Labs participated in Vidyut 2025, a national-level inter-collegiate technical and cultural festival organized by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus. The event provided a dynamic platform to showcase innovation, creativity, and emerging technologies to a diverse and enthusiastic audience.
During the exhibition, HuT Labs presented several flagship innovations, including:
The demonstrations were led by HuT Labs interns Mr. Vikas, Mr. Aditya, and Mr. Prasanna, whose dedication and technical expertise played a key role in effectively engaging visitors and conveying the impact of the showcased technologies.HuT Labs’ participation in Vidyut 2025 enabled meaningful interaction with students, researchers, and technology enthusiasts, reinforcing its commitment to innovation, student-led research, and technology for societal good
HuT Labs is pleased to announce that Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Ms. Ramya C., and Dr. Sakthiprasad K. M. have received funding approval from the IEEE Tech4Good Committee for their innovative research project titled:
“Solar Drying System for Year-Round Fruit and Vegetable Preservation.”
The project focuses on leveraging sustainable solar energy technologies to address critical challenges in agriculture and food preservation. By enabling year-round preservation of fruits and vegetables, the initiative aims to enhance food security, reduce post-harvest losses, and promote environmentally sustainable practices.
This project is a collaborative effort involving Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs, ACORD, and the School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, reflecting a strong interdisciplinary and humanitarian approach to technology development.
The approval by the IEEE Tech4Good Committee recognizes the project’s potential for real-world impact, aligning technological innovation with societal needs and sustainability goals. This achievement underscores HuT Labs’ continued commitment to developing solutions where technology serves humanity.
The Symposium on Sustainable and Affordable Healthcare Innovations was successfully conducted on 16 May 2025 at the E-Learning Hall, Biotech Building, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus.
The symposium was jointly organized by HuT Labs and the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, in coordination with the IEEE Student Branch. The event brought together researchers, healthcare professionals, technologists, and policymakers to deliberate on innovative, cost-effective, and scalable healthcare solutions.
Key focus areas of the symposium included medical devices, diagnostics, digital health platforms, and community-based healthcare interventions, with a shared objective of improving access to quality healthcare for underserved and marginalized communities.
A significant highlight of the event was the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Adarsh Charitable Trust and SAKSHAM, marking the initiation of collaborative efforts toward the development of assistive and inclusive healthcare technologies.
The symposium represented an important step forward in fostering compassion-driven, sustainable healthcare innovation, and the organizers extend sincere appreciation to all speakers, guests, participants, and organizing members whose contributions ensured the success of the event.
HuT Labs received the AIRA (Amrita Innovation and Research Awards) in recognition of outstanding contributions across all three categories—Tier 1 journal publications, patents, and extramural research grants—during ARISE 2025 (Amrita Research & Innovation Symposium for Excellence).
ARISE 2025 is a flagship event of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, designed to promote collaboration, research excellence, and purpose-driven innovation. The symposium emphasizes values of compassion, sustainability, and societal impact, aligning closely with HuT Labs’ research philosophy and mission.
The recognition through the AIRA Awards highlights HuT Labs’ sustained excellence in high-impact research, innovation, and successful acquisition of competitive research funding, reinforcing its contribution to advancing knowledge and addressing real-world challenges
HuT Labs, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, participated in the Jyothis AI Confluence 2024, organized by the Jyothis Group of Schools, on 05 April 2024. The event focused on the theme “Shaping the Future with AI” and highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in education.
HuT Labs was represented by Ms. Ramya C. and Ms. Aishwarya B., who showcased B-Inspirado educational robots designed to promote experiential learning and stimulate interest in artificial intelligence and robotics among students.
Live demonstrations attracted significant participation from students, educators, and technology enthusiasts. The sessions effectively demonstrated the potential of AI-enabled robotics in enhancing learning experiences and fostering curiosity in STEM education.
HuT Labs appreciates the Jyothis Group of Schools for organizing an inspiring platform that emphasized value-based education and innovation through artificial intelligence. Participation in this event reflects HuT Labs’ continued commitment to advancing AI-driven educational technologies and community outreach.
HuT Labs participated in Edufest 2025, organized by Asianet News in collaboration with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. The event was officially inaugurated on 26 March 2025 at the Amritapuri Campus, Kollam.
As part of the exhibition, HuT Labs showcased a live demonstration of the B-Inspirado Robot, conducted by Mr. Ashwin and Ms. Vishnu Priya, interns at HuT Labs. The interactive demonstration offered visitors hands-on exposure to advanced robotic systems and highlighted emerging trends in robotics, innovation, and assistive technology.
The event attracted a wide range of participants, including students, educators, and technology enthusiasts. The high level of engagement and curiosity among attendees made the demonstration both impactful and informative.
HuT Labs’ participation in Edufest 2025 reflects its commitment to promoting STEM education, research-driven innovation, and public engagement in emerging technologies.
The Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, in collaboration with IEEE and HuT Labs, successfully organized the IEEE Annual General Meeting (AGM), ASTRA Resumption, and Inauguration of Student Clubs (STAC) at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus.
The event was graced by Dr. Manoj B. S., Chair, IEEE Kerala Section, who served as the Chief Guest. His address provided valuable insights into innovation, research, and professional growth, inspiring students to actively engage in technological advancement and collaborative learning.
The program marked an important milestone in strengthening student engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and academic excellence through IEEE and institutional initiatives. The inauguration of student clubs and the resumption of ASTRA are expected to foster a culture of innovation, research, and leadership among students.
This event reflects the continued commitment of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, IEEE, and HuT Labs to advancing knowledge, collaboration, and technological excellence.
HuT Labs hosted 120 Higher Secondary Science students as part of a campus visit organized by the Directorate of Admissions (DOA). The visit aimed to provide students with practical exposure to emerging technologies and inspire interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Members of the HuT Labs team—Ms. Dhilna C., Mr. Justin, Ms. Ramya C., Ms. Ann Maria, Ms. Sruthi S., Ms. Amrita, Mr. Sethu Madhavan, and Mr. Viswa Siva—conducted live demonstrations of several advanced robotic and assistive technology systems, including AMARAN, Chelonia, VAHA, and Netravaad. The demonstrations highlighted real-world applications of robotics and innovative technologies, generating significant interest among the visiting students.
In addition, Dr. Sakthiprasad K. M., Scientist at HuT Labs, delivered an informative and motivational seminar, offering insights into the future of robotics, innovation, and research. The session encouraged curiosity and enthusiasm among students regarding careers in science and engineering.
The visit was a meaningful outreach initiative, reflecting HuT Labs’ commitment to nurturing young minds and promoting awareness of advanced technological research and innovation.
HuT Labs successfully hosted IEEE Meet 2025 for the newly inducted batch of students on 13 February 2025 at Acharya Hall, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus.
The event welcomed a highly motivated group of students interested in exploring the scope and opportunities offered by IEEE. The session was led by Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs, who delivered an informative presentation highlighting the benefits of IEEE membership, avenues for research collaboration, and opportunities for student engagement within the global IEEE community.
The meet served as an effective orientation platform, inspiring students to pursue innovation, research excellence, and professional collaboration through IEEE initiatives.
HuT Labs is proud to announce that Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs, served as a Keynote Speaker at Motion in Control 2025 – Vehicle Dynamics and ADAS Conference. The conference was held on 6–7 February 2025 at GARC, Chennai.
Dr. Megalingam delivered a keynote address highlighting recent advancements in vehicle dynamics and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), offering valuable insights into the evolving landscape of intelligent and autonomous mobility. His presentation emphasized emerging technologies, research trends, and future directions in automotive systems.
The conference brought together distinguished experts from industry and academia, providing a collaborative platform to discuss innovations shaping the future of automotive engineering and autonomous vehicle technologies.
Dr. Megalingam’s role as a keynote speaker at this prestigious event reflects HuT Labs’ leadership and active contribution to cutting-edge research and innovation in the automotive and intelligent mobility domains.
HuT Labs participated in the 1st Edition of Abilities India Expo 2025, a national-level platform dedicated to empowering Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) and the elderly through inclusive and assistive technologies.
Event Details:
At the expo, HuT Labs showcased its cutting-edge assistive technology solutions designed to enhance accessibility, independence, and overall quality of life. The event provided an excellent opportunity to engage with diverse stakeholders, exchange insights, and participate in meaningful discussions focused on inclusive innovation and technology for social good.
Live demonstrations were conducted by Mr. Rohith Prem Kumar and Mr. Mahendran Jegatheswaran, who presented the practical applications and societal impact of the showcased solutions.
HuT Labs’ participation at Abilities India Expo 2025 reflects its continued commitment to advancing humanitarian technology and fostering inclusive innovation through research-driven solutions.
HuT Labs was represented at the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the IEEE Kerala Section, held on 11 January 2025 at Hotel Woodies Bleisure, Calicut.
The organization was represented by Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of HuT Labs, and Sri. Sakti Prasad K. M., Scientist and Project Manager (Research). Their participation highlighted HuT Labs’ active engagement with the professional engineering and research community.
The AGM convened engineering professionals, researchers, and academicians from diverse domains, providing a collaborative platform to exchange ideas, discuss emerging technologies, and promote innovation under the distinguished banner of IEEE.
HuT Labs’ presence at this prestigious event reflects its continued commitment to advancing research, fostering collaboration, and contributing to humanitarian technology initiatives.
HuT Labs successfully participated in SciNQuest 2025, a National-Level Science Olympiad organized by the Amrita School of Physical Sciences. The event was held on 10–11 January 2025 at the Amritapuri Campus, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
During the event, HuT Labs presented a range of innovative technological solutions reflecting its commitment to scientific advancement and societal impact:
The participation provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange, enabling meaningful engagement with students, researchers, and innovators from across the country. HuT Labs’ presence at SciNQuest 2025 reinforced its mission to drive innovation at the intersection of science, technology, and human welfare.
We are delighted to share an important achievement by Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam and his interdisciplinary research team, who have been awarded a prestigious IEEE EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) Grant amounting to USD 9,950 (approximately INR 9 Lakhs).
This project is supported by the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, AIMS, Kochi, and Adarsh Charitable Trust, Kochi, Kerala. The funding has been awarded for the project titled:
“Personalized Communication Assistive Technologies for Children with Autism and Cerebral Palsy – India.”
This socially impactful initiative aims to develop innovative, user-centric assistive communication technologies designed to meet the unique needs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Cerebral Palsy, particularly within the Indian context.
The IEEE EPICS program is a globally recognized initiative that supports engineering-driven projects addressing real-world community challenges. The selection of this project reflects its strong technical merit, societal relevance, and potential for meaningful impact.
This achievement highlights the team’s continued commitment to leveraging technology for inclusive education, healthcare, and social empowerment, bringing significant recognition to our institution.
“Interactive Robotic Wheelchair with Collaborative Robotic Arm for Proactive Interaction through Spatial Awareness in Navigation and Object Handling for Enhanced Service” (TPN No. 111779), submitted under the India–Sri Lanka Joint Call 2024, has been recommended for funding of ₹35 Lakhs for a two-year period on the Indian side, with an equal amount of support on the Sri Lankan side.
The project is jointly proposed by Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director, HuT Labs and Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus, India, and Dr. A. G. Buddhika P. Jayasekara, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Katubedda, Sri Lanka.
This collaborative research aims to develop an interactive robotic wheelchair integrated with a collaborative robotic arm, leveraging spatial awareness for intelligent navigation and object handling. The system is designed to enhance proactive human–robot interaction and assistive services, contributing to advancements in healthcare robotics and inclusive assistive technologies.
Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Director of Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs and Professor in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, has been honored with the IEEE Kerala Section Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) Chapter Outstanding Researcher Award 2025.
Instituted in 2025, this prestigious award recognizes exceptional research and innovation in the field of Robotics and Automation. The IEEE Kerala Section received several high-quality nominations from across the state, and after a rigorous, transparent, and merit-based evaluation process, Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam’s outstanding technical and scholarly contributions were acknowledged as truly exemplary.
The award was presented during the IEEE Kerala Section Annual General Meeting, held on January 10, 2026, in Thiruvananthapuram.
This recognition stands as a testament to Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam’s significant contributions to research, innovation, and academic excellence — bringing immense pride and honor to Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
Heartiest congratulations to Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam on this well-deserved achievement!
Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam (Director, Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs and Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus) received the prestigious IEEE Undergraduate Teaching Award 2020 on October 23, 2020, from the IEEE President 2020, Dr. Toshio Fukuda in a grand event at the flagship conference of IEEE Education Society, Frontiers in Education (FIE 2020), in Sweden, held online from October 21-24, 2020. He also delivered a keynote address on “Undergraduate Mentoring and Research at HuT Labs, A Case Study” on the occasion.
Team Na-Sarathy of Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus, ranked two in the world rank for Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) Social Medial Challenge. (October 2020)
Team Na-Sarathy of Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus, placed 12th in the world ranking in the Hackathon 2 of Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC), organized by Energy Systems Network (ESN) and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). The hackathon was held for a week from September 12 – 19, 2020.
Two projects of the Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE), School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri campus, got IEEE Standards Education Committee (SEC) funding of USD 1,300 each.(June 2020)
Amrita student teams- ”Paricharya” and “Vijayanta” from the Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri campus, won 2.25 Million Japanese Yen (Approx. 15 lakhs INR) towards participating in 2020 World Robot Summit to be held in Japan next year.
Ruthvik Chanda (Semester 7) of Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE), School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri campus, won first prize at Robocon 2019, an esteemed robotic competition, held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA, from July 29 to August 9, 2019.
The final year students from the Humanitarian Technology (HuT) Labs, Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering (ECE), School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri campus, won First Prize and Sponsors’ Best Prize at RoboCon 2018. RoboCon18 is an international robotic design contest, and was held at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, from August 6-18, 2018
The paper titled “A Novel Intention Prediction Neural Network for Predicting Pedestrian Crossing Behavior in Indian Roads” has been published in the International Journal of Transportation Science and Technology (Elsevier), a prestigious Q1 journal with an impact factor of 4.8 and a Scopus percentile of 87, authored by Drupad Dev, Harin B. S., Arun R., Jishnu B. Thilak, Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, and Shri Naveen Prasad S., contributing significantly to the enhancement of pedestrian safety through AI-driven behavioral prediction models tailored to Indian road conditions.
Under 18 Category:
Team 1: NAAP, Robot: Swachak – Autonomous Room Mopping Robot, Students: Aniketh Das, Pavanth Kumarreddy, P.N.V.K. Naveen, Aswin S.
Team 2: The Challengers, Robot: GeMoRo – Motion Controlled Robot, Students: Sarveswarareddy Sathi, Rishitha M, Chandrika D, Ashwin T R, Aravind PS
Above 18 Category:
Team 1: MAKERS, Robot: ClePa – Staircase Cleaning Robot, Students : Abhijeet Prem, Aravind H. Nair, Aditya Jayakrishnan, Bharath Sn, Arjun P
Team 2: Srishti, Robot: Sparsh – Hand gesture based Navigational Robot, Students – Aparna PTA, Arsha VV, Parvathy Gopal, Akhil G
Team 3: ROHAK, Robot: Amaran – Robotic Coconut Tree Climber, Students: Suryateja Perugupalli, Rajesh GangiReddy, Likhith Bommu, Vignesh Shriram, Sarath Kumar, Vignesh N
Team 4 : Avaroha, Robot: Karbot – Rehabilitation assisting orthosis robot, Students: G Rajesh, B Likhith, S Vignesh, Vinu SV, Nirmal Elamon, Vishnu R
| S.No. | Name of Award | Awarding Agency | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Received Amrita Innovation & Research Awards (AIRA 2024) | Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham | Jan 2024 |
| 2 | 2021 Best-In-Class Dexterity Award under the Standard Disaster Robotics Challenge of Disaster Robotics Category held as part of World Robot Summit, Tokyo, Japan | WRS 2021 | 2021 |
| 3 | 2020 IEEE Undergraduate Teaching Award, IEEE, NJ, USA | IEEE | Oct 2020 |
| 4 | Best Mechanical Design Award, One Moment Robot Glory (OMRG) 2017, “Robotic Coconut Tree Climber and Harvester”. | Singapore | 2017 |
| 5 | Second Prize, One Moment Robot Glory (OMRG) 2017, “Gesture Controlled Wheelchair”. | Singapore | 2017 |
| 6 | Best Paper Award, International Conference on Advanced Computing and Communication Systems 2017, for “Wireless Gesture Controlled Wheelchair”. | Sri Eshwar College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu | 2017 |
| 7 | Best Paper Award, International Conference on Cognitive Informatics and Soft Computing, 2017, for “Autonomous Path Guiding Robot for Visually Impaired People.” | Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad | 2017 |
| 8 | Best Paper Award, IEEE WIECON ECE conference during Dec 19 -20, 2015, in the track AI and Computer Vision. Title: Development of Intelligent Wheelchair Simulator for Indoor Navigation Simulation and Analysis | Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology | 2015 |
| 9 | 2012 Outstanding Students Branch Counseler Award | IEEE | Jan 2013 |
| 10 | 2010-2011 IEEE Students Enterprise Award | IEEE | 2011 |
| Sno | Alumni Name | Designation/Education |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allan Philip | SOC Logic Design Engineer, Intel, Boston |
| 2 | Anand Kumar Mahadevan | Intel, San Jos |
| 3 | Anantha Krishnan P R | Intel, Folsom |
| 4 | Apuroop Sai Ganesh | SUTD, Singapore |
| 5 | Arjun Ashok | Qualcomm, San Diego, US |
| 6 | Ashwin Mohan | Intel, Folsom |
| 7 | Athul A T | Hardware Systems Engineer, Meta, San Jose |
| 8 | Athul Balan | ASIC Design Engineer, Nvidia, San Francisco |
| 9 | Avinash | Principal Engineer, Beacon AI, Mexico |
| 10 | Chandrika Dega | Staff, ASIC Design Engineer, Marvell Tech, Vermont, USA |
| 11 | Deepak Dileep | University of Colorado, USA |
| 12 | Goutham Popuri | Software Engineer, AI @ Microsoft, SFO |
| 13 | Goutham Pocklassery | Tech Marketing & Solutions Planning, AMD, Colorado |
| 14 | Gone Teja | Sr. Layout Engineer, Omni Vision, Bay Area, US |
| 15 | Sriharsha Ghanta | Sr. SW Engineer, LionsBot, Singapore |
| 16 | Hitin Sushruth | Data Scientist, Factspan, USA |
| 17 | Iype P Joseph | Manager, Radio Product Integration, Ericsson, Ottawa, Canada |
| 18 | Meera Viswanatha | Staff R&D Engineer, Synopsys, Mountain View, USA |
| 19 | Mithun Mulralidharan Nair | SOC Physical Design Engineer, Intel, SFO |
| 20 | achyutha shanmukha murali | ASIC Design Engineer, APPLE, Cincinnatti |
| 21 | Nagalla Deepak | SW Engineer, TeraDAR, Cambridge, USA |
| 22 | Nigam Katta | SW Engineer, TeraDAR, Cambridge, USA |
| 23 | Paul Leons | Manager, ASIC Digital Design, Synopsys, USA |
| 24 | Chennareddy Pavanth | Electrical Engineer II, ASM, Phoenix, USA |
| 25 | Pranav Sreedharan V | Embedded Systems Designer, Sieva Networks, SFO |
| 26 | Rahul Sreekuma | Senior Performance Modeling Engineer, Microsoft, NC, USA |
| 27 | Ramesh N Nair | Design Methodology Engineering Manager at Intel, Folsom |
| 28 | Ravi Kiran | Research Assistant, SUTD, Singapore |
| 29 | Rithun Raj Krishna | Product Engineer, Cadence, San Jose |
| 30 | Ruthvik chanda | Electrical Engineer @ Xylem, Dayton, OH |
| 31 | Sachin Namboodiri | Senior Design Engineer at Alphacore Inc., Tempe, AZ |
| 32 | Sandeep Radhakrishnan | Design@MetaRealityLabs, Austin, TX |
| 33 | Shiva Bandyopadhyay | CPU Core Structural Design Engineer at Intel, Folsom, USA |
| 34 | Sonu Dileep | PhD Student in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, Colorado State University, USA |
| 35 | Soundarya | Data Scientist at Analog Devices Inc, Philadelphia |
| 36 | Spurthi | Analog Verification/Design Engineer, TI, Boston |
| 37 | Harikrishna Menon | Embedded Software Designer, IDT, Canada |
| 38 | Thejus P | Robotics lead, Digital Services, TUV SUD, Singapore |
| 39 | Sai Manoj Prakhya | Engineering, Applied Intuition, Munich, Germany |
| 40 | Tom Charly | Sr. Manager, Major Incident Management Team at ServiceNow, SFO, USA |
| 41 | Uday Dutt | SW Engineer, Microsoft, Seattle, USA |
| 42 | Vamsy Vivek | R&D Engineer, Broadcom, SFO, USA |
| 43 | Venkat Krishnan B | Senior Manager, Hardware Engineering at NVIDIA, Santa Clara, USA |
| 44 | Vijay Egumadiri | GPU Design Verification Engineer, Qualcomm, Tampa, Florida, United States |
| 45 | Vinu Sivanantham | Robotics Integration Engineer @ TII, Abu Dhabi, UAE |
| 46 | Vivek Jayakrishnan | Embedded Software Engineer at Nexteer Automotive, Saginaw, MI |
| 47 | Abhijeet Prem | Master’s in Computer Engineering |
| 48 | Aditya Ashvin | MS CS @ University of Southern California |
| 49 | Akhil Tammana | Hardware Engineer at Calix, CA |
| 50 | Aravind Prakash | Robotics and Automation Major @ ASU MS Data Analytics, Tufts University, USA |
| 51 | Asandi Sai Deepika | |
| 52 | Avinash Hegde | Interim Engineering Intern, Qualcomm, TX |
| 53 | Dasari Hema Teja Anirudh Babu | Digital Design Engineer @ TI, Arizona |
| 54 | Gaurav Rudravaram | PhD Student in ECE @ Vanderbilt University |
| 55 | Hemanth Surya Tamanna | Computer Vision Engineer, SkyMull, Atlanta, Georgia |
| 56 | Jahnavi Yannam | Master’s in Artificial Intelligence |
| 57 | Jyothi Mallika Golla | Graduate Teaching Assistant | Master’s in Management Information Systems |
| 58 | Kondareddy Thanigundala | Senior Associate Data Scientist @BNY, PA |
| 59 | Kotaprolu Sai Smaran | Post Graduate Student at Singapore University of Technology and Design(SUTD) Singapore |
| 60 | Krishna Tesjaswi | FPGA Design Intern, Fire Neural Network, Florida |
| 61 | Lokesh Gadde | Service Support Engineer at LionsBot USA |
| 62 | Lokesh K | Master’s in Computer Engineering |
| 63 | Monika Reddy Gunnam | MLOps Developer, Possip, Cincinnatti |
| 64 | Rajesh Gangireddy | AI Research Scientist, Intel, Groningen, Netherlands |
| 65 | Raviteja Chinta | Data Analyst @ Morrison Data Services, UK |
| 66 | Nikhil Chowdary Gutlapalli | Software Engg Co-op @ TeraDAR, Boston |
| 67 | Nishith Reddy Pochareddy | MS in Data Science Student at Khoury College of Computer Sciences, North eastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| 68 | Nithul Bagathi | Post Graduate Student at Singapore University of Technology and Design(SUTD) Singapore |
| 69 | Sai Chaitanya Gupta Uppala | Business and Data AnalystBusiness and Data Analyst, Illinois Department of Transportation |
| 70 | Sairam B C C S | Senior Research Assistant @ SUTD , Singapore |
| 71 | Sakhita Sree Gadde | MLOps Developer @ CGI , TX |
| 72 | Sankar Das Kariparambil Sudheesh | BCI enthusiast, Neuroscience, Graduate student at Arizona State University |
| 73 | Sriharsha Ghanta | Dual Degrees: Master in Nano Electronics Engineering and Design; Master of Engineering (Research) |
| 74 | Sriniketh Kondukuri | Senior Research Assistant @ SUTD , Singapore |
| 75 | Sriram Ghali | Master of Science in Computer Engineering |
| 76 | Sriteja Gone | Masters in Computer Engineering (Major in VLSI) |
| 77 | Sujith Amal | GRA @ VT | Graduate Student at Virginia Tech | Deep Learning| Machine Learning| AI | Software Developer / Ex- Junior Data Analyst @ BCG Gamma |
| 78 | Tanmayi Balla | Data Scientist, Research @ CCPR, UCLA, NJ |
| 79 | Vamsi Gontu | Master of Science in Data Science |
| 80 | Venkata Sai Yashwanth Avvari | Consultant/Engineer at Capgemini Engineering, Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands |
| 81 | Arjun Sahajan | MS EE, University of Texas, Arlington |
| 82 | Aryan K | Masters under SUTD-CGU NEED, Taiwan |
| 83 | Hemanth N | Graduate Student at Purdue University Fort Wayne |
| 84 | Sarveswara Reddy SathiView Sarve | Performance Modeling @ Huawei, Hong Kong & PhD HKUS |
| 85 | Santosh Tantravahi | MS is Robotics, Georgia Tech University, AT, USA |
| Name | Degree/Program |
|---|---|
| Rajesh Gangireddy | AI Research Scientist, Intel, Groningen, Netherlands |
| Chennareddy Pavanth Kumar Reddy | Electrical Engineer II at ASM, Phoenix, AZ |
| Venkata Sai Yashwanth Avvari | Consultant/Engineer at Capgemini Engineering, Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands |
| Vijay Egumadiri | GPU Design Verification Engineer, Qualcomm, Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Sriniketh Kondukuri | Senior Research Assistant @ SUTD , Singapore |
| Sairam B C C S | Senior Research Assistant @ SUTD , Singapore |
| Raviteja Chinta | Data Analyst @ Morrison Data Services, UK |
| Sachin P Namboodiri | PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering; Design Engineer at Alphacore Inc. |
| Sriharsha Ghanta | Dual Degrees: Master in Nano Electronics Engineering and Design; Master of Engineering (Research) |
| Vinu Sivanantham | Robotics Integration Engineer @ TII, Abu Dhabi, UAE |
| Apuroop Sai Ganesh | Dual Degrees: Master in Nano Electronics Engineering and Design; Master of Engineering (Research) |
| Sriteja Gone | Masters in Computer Engineering (Major in VLSI) |
| Shiva Bandyopadhyay | Masters in Computer Engineering (Major in VLSI) |
| Sai Chaitanya Gupta Uppala | Business and Data AnalystBusiness and Data Analyst, Illinois Department of Transportation |
| Lokesh K | Master’s in Computer Engineering |
| Tanmayi Balla | Data Scientist, Research @ CCPR, UCLA, NJ |
| Sakhita Sree Gadde | MLOps Developer @ CGI , TX |
| Monika Reddy Gunnam | MLOps Developer, Possip, Cincinnatti |
| Avinash Hegde | Interim Engineering Intern, Qualcomm, TX |
| Dasari Hema Teja Anirudh Babu | Digital Design Engineer @ TI, Arizona |
| Hemanth Surya Tamanna | Computer Vision Engineer, SkyMull, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Lokesh Gadde | Service Support Engineer at LionsBot USA |
| Abhijeet Prem | Master’s in Computer Engineering |
| Pavanth Kumar Reddy Chennareddy | Masters in Electrical Engineering |
| Sriniketh Kondukuri | Nano Electronics Engineering and Design |
| Ruthvik Chanda | Embedded Systems |
| Nigam Katta | Master of Science in Mechatronics, Robotics and Automation Engineering |
| Vamsi Gontu | Master of Science in Data Science |
| AKHIL TAMMANA | Hardware Engineer at Calix, CA |
| Jahnavi Yannam | Master’s in Artificial Intelligence |
| Deepak Nagalla | Robotics |
| Thejus Pathmakumar | Robotics |
| Aditya Ashvin | MS CS @ University of Southern California |
| Aravind Prakash | Robotics and Automation Major @ ASU |
| Asandi Sai Deepika | |
| Gaurav Rudravaram | PhD Student in ECE @ Vanderbilt University |
| Jahnavi Yannam | Master’s in Artificial Intelligence |
| Jyothi Mallika Golla | Graduate Teaching Assistant | Master’s in Management Information Systems |
| Kondareddy Thanigundala | Senior Associate Data Scientist @BNY, PA |
| Kotaprolu Sai Smaran | |
| Krishna Tesjaswi | FPGA Design Intern, Fire Neural Network, Florida |
| Lokesh Gadde | Service Support Engineer at LionsBot USA |
| Rajesh Gangireddy | AI Research Scientist, Intel, Groningen, Netherlands |
| Raviteja Chinta | Data Analyst @ Morrison Data Services, UK |
| Nikhil Chowdary Gutlapalli | Software Engg Co-op @ TeraDAR, Boston |
| Nishith Reddy Pochareddy | MS in Data Science Student at Khoury College of Computer Sciences, North eastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Nithul Bagathi | Post Graduate Student at Singapore University of Technology and Design(SUTD) Singapore |
| Sai Chaitanya Gupta Uppala | Business and Data AnalystBusiness and Data Analyst, Illinois Department of Transportation |
| Sairam B C C S | Senior Research Assistant @ SUTD , Singapore |
| Sankar Das Kariparambil Sudheesh | BCI enthusiast, Neuroscience, Graduate student at Arizona State University |
| Sriharsha Ghanta | Dual Degrees: Master in Nano Electronics Engineering and Design; Master of Engineering (Research) |
| Sriniketh Kondukuri | Senior Research Assistant @ SUTD , Singapore |
| Sriram Ghali | Master of Science in Computer Engineering |
| Sriteja Gone | Masters in Computer Engineering (Major in VLSI) |
| Sujith Amal | GRA @ VT | Graduate Student at Virginia Tech | Deep Learning| Machine Learning| AI | Software Developer / Ex- Junior Data Analyst @ BCG Gamma |
| Venkata Sai Yashwanth Avvari | Consultant/Engineer at Capgemini Engineering, Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands |
We are happy that by Amma’s grace, HuT Labs successfully hosted 50 continuous weeks of research webinars. As part of the 50 Successful Weeks Celebrations, we have multiple events starting from 4.00pm – 6.00pm on 05 Feb 2022. All are welcome to be part of the event. The events include:
The team VIJAYANTA from HuT Labs won the Best-In-Class Dexterity Award under the Standard Disaster Robotics Challenge of Disaster Robotics Category held as part of World Robot Summit (WRS 2021), Tokyo, Japan. There were a total of 10 teams from all over the world which qualified for the finals. The summit was supposed to be held in Jul-Aug 2020. Due to pandemic, it got postponed to 2021 and we participated remotely.
Team: Anandu R, Shree Rajesh Raagul V, Ragavendra B M, Siddharth B, Sakthiprasad K M, Sreekanth M M, Mahendran J, Rajesh Kannan Megalingam
By Amma’s grace and support, HuT Labs designs SUDHA, the first service robot in India for home and super market applications.
SUDHA team with our VC, Dr. Venkat Rangan
Team Members: Sree Rajesh Ragul, Anandu R, Sakthiprasad K M, Sreekanth MM, Aravind Prakash, Mahendran J and Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam
Some important tasks that SUDHA can perform:
By Amma’s grace, the team VIJAYANTA from HuT Labs won the Best-In-Class Dexterity Award under the Standard Disaster Robotics Challenge of Disaster Robotics Category held as part of World Robot Summit (WRS 2021), Tokyo, Japan. There were a total of 10 teams from all over the world which qualified for the finals. The summit was supposed to be held in Jul-Aug 2020. Due to pandemic, it got postponed to 2021 and we participated remotely.
Team: Anandu R, Shree Rajesh Raagul V, Ragavendra B M, Siddharth B, Sakthiprasad K M, Sreekanth M M, Mahendran J, Rajesh Kannan Megalingam
HuT Labs is extremely happy to share that, with Amma’s grace and hard work of BTech students and researchers at HuT Labs, another paper titled, “Evaluation of Human Intervention Based Hybrid Approach for Position and Depth Estimation with Error Correction” got accepted for publication by the IEEE journal ”Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering/Journal canadien de génie électrique et informatique” with an impact factor 1.53.
The paper was part of the BTech ECE 2018 batch. After they passed out, it took three more years of multiple rejections and revisions before it got accepted by the IEEE journal.
Paper Title: Evaluation of Human Intervention Based Hybrid Approach for Position and Depth Estimation with Error Correction
Journal Title: IEEE Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering/Journal canadien de génie électrique et informatique.
Authors List: Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Ashwin Kashyap Nellutla, Sriteja Gone, Sakthiprasad Kuttankulangara Manoharan, Sreekanth Makkal Mohandas, Shree Rajesh Raagul Vadivel, and Chennareddy Pavanth Kumar Reddy.
Special thanks to Gopalaiengar Sheshadri sir for helping us with the internal review and editing the paper.
By Amma’s grace, 15 student researchers from HuT Labs, ECE have got admissions for various master’s programs in multiple reputed universities across USA. Following is the list of students and the universities they have chosen to join as of now while waiting for results of their masters applications in better ranked universities.
Congratulations all! You have made HuT Labs and Amrita proud! May Amma bless you with all health and wealth in life.
HuT Labs is happy to announce the successful completion of 25 Webinars during pandemic. And we are not stopping. The uniqueness of these webinars is that all webinars are conducted by Amritapuri campus, ECE, HuT Labs alumni!
Udbodh 2021 – Celebrating 25 successful webinars on Oct 24!
We will be honoring all the speakers of the webinars during Udbodh 2021. We also have multiple events planned for the celebrations. Details will be shared soon.
IEEE Student Branch, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus in coordination with HuT Labs is hosting the fifth international symposium ISEE 2021 (IEEE International Symposium on Education, Technology, and Entrepreneurship) on Aug 28, 2021.
When India celebrates the Gold Medal win at Olympics by Neeraj Chopra in javelin throw, Amrita can celebrate for winning three prizes in the International Design Contest (IDC 2021) Robocon held online at Tokyo Tech University, Tokyo, Japan. Incidentally the Olympics is also going on in Japan.
Take a moment to congratulate the Amrita heroes who won the prizes and other students who were part of the finals.
The competition was held for two weeks online due to pandemic, from Jul 26 to Aug 7, 2021. 11 students from HuT Labs, ECE, were fortunate enough to get into the finals of IDC2021. There were 13 teams in the finals. Students from HuT Labs have won first prizes consecutively in the year 2018 (TokyoTech, Japan) and 2019 (MIT, USA) in IDC2018 and IDC2019. The competition is based on invitation only and is extended to only one top university of 15 countries including Japan, Singapore, China, South Korea, France, Brazil, Mexico, India etc. This year students from 8 countries took part in the competition.
IEEE Student Branch, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri Campus in coordination with HuT Labs is hosting the fifth international symposium ISEE 2021 (IEEE International Symposium on Education, Technology, and Entrepreneurship) on Aug 28, 2021.
By Amma’s grace, 11 students from HuT Labs, ECE, Amritapuri Campus, got into the finals of the IDC2021 (International Design Contest 2021) Robocon, one of the esteemed robotic competitions, to be held at TokyoTech University, Tokyo, Japan. The competition will be held for two weeks online due to pandemic, from Jul 26 to Aug 7, 2021.
Following 11 students are fortunate enough to get into the finals of IDC2021.
Students from HuT Labs have won first prizes consecutively in the year 2018 (TokyoTech, Japan) and 2019 (MIT, USA) in IDC2018 and IDC2019. The competition is based on invitation only and is extended to only one top university of 15 countries including Japan, Singapore, China, South Korea, France, Brazil, Mexico, India etc. This year students from 8 countries are taking part in the competition.
By Amma’s grace, HuT Labs is celebrating the successful 25th week of Research@Lunch on July 31, 2021. Research@Lunch is a research webinar series as part of research initiative of HuT Labs exclusively for PhD scholars, PG and UG researchers all over India.
Find the details of PhD Thesis Presentation by Dr. Sai Manoj Prakhya, R&D Robotics, Stryker, Germany.
By Amma’s grace, HuT Labs is celebrating the successful 25th week of Research@Lunch on July 31, 2021. Research@Lunch is a research webinar series as part of research initiative of HuT Labs exclusively for PhD scholars, PG and UG researchers all over India.
Here is the details of Panel Discussion by PhD Scholars.
By Amma’s grace, HuT Labs in collaboration with Megara Robotics, Chennai, (http://megararobotics.com/) successfully built the first product, Prabha – IoT Based UV Sanitizer Robot and delivered two of them to Amrita School of Ayurveda, Amritapuri campus on Mar 22, 2021. HuT Labs developed the first successful prototype Prabha in June 2020 as per Amma’s instructions to develop projects for COVID pandemic cause.
Watch on youtube: Prabha – UV Disinfectant Robot
Product descritption: Prabha, IOT based UV sanitizer robot has UV lamps that can be switched on/off remotely. With 3 UV lamps of 36 W each, Prabha can disinfect a room of 10 cubic meter space in less than 15 minutes. It can be used to disinfect living rooms, class rooms, office rooms, hospital wards where patients of communicable diseases were present; can be used to disinfect restrooms; medical equipment etc. It comes with a cheap price of Rs 13500/- only.
By Amma’s grace, the project NEPHO – A Tele-operated Wheelchair with Negative Isolation Hood by HuT Labs, ECE won the runner-up prize at the Medical Robotics For Contagious Diseases Challenge 2020, organized by UKRAS Network, UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) Network based in United Kingdom. The project was designed to transport COVID patients safely and to avoid spreading of virus in the environment. The project was funded by IEEE SIGHT.
This unique challenge attracted 21 entries from 13 countries – Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan, Uganda, UK and USA – and the winners were decided, from a shortlist of 17 exceptional submissions, by a prestigious judging panel, including Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, Co-Director of IGHI, Professor of Surgery at Imperial College London, UK; Simon Di Maio, Director, Research at Intuitive Surgical, USA; Prof. Russell H. Taylor, John C. Malone Professor at John’s Hopkins University, USA; and Dr. Thomas Neff, Manager Software Medical Robotics at KUKA Deutschland GmbH, De.
I am very much honored to receive the prestigious IEEE Undergraduate Teaching Award 2020 yesterday (Oct 23), from the IEEE President 2020, Dr. Toshio Fukuda in a grand event at the flagship conference of IEEE Education Society, Frontiers In Education (FIE 2020), going on in Sweden. I also delivered a Keynote Address on “Undergraduate Mentoring and Research at HuT Labs, A Case Study”, on this occasion. https://www.fie2020.org/keynote-speakers/
I offer this award at the lotus feet of my beloved Amma, Satguru Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi.
My heart felt thanks to all my students without whom I would have not received this award. I also take this opportunity again to thank for the continued support from Br. Devidasa Chaitanya, the Director, Dr. Bala, the Associate Dean, Dr. S. N. Jyothi, the Principal, Dr. Ravisankar, HoD, ECE and Dr. Sundar, past HOD, ECE. I would also like to thank all the staff of ECE department and all other departments for their continued support.
We are extremely happy to announce that, by Amma’s grace and blessings, HuT Lab develops the first Tele-operated Wheelchair with Negative Pressure Isolation Hood to carry COVID patients, in India. Thanks to Dr. Sundeep from AIMS for his support and help through out this project. This project is funded by IEEE HAC & SIGHT.
COVID patients can be seated on the wheelchair covered by the negative pressure isolation hood and the operator/caretaker can use the teleoperation control method and operate the wheelchair from a safe distance of up to 4 meters without the need to touch the wheelchair. The negative pressure isolation hood using a HEPA filter was developed and integrated into this powered wheelchair. The negative pressure isolation not only prevents the spread of pathogenic microorganisms but also permits rapid and flexible isolation transport. The air discharged from ventilation is through HEPA filters and is purified to ensure no harmful pathogens are spreading out.
Watch on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBf9ViuQyto&feature=youtu.be
By Ammas grace, our team Na-Sarathy of HuT Labs, ECE, got world rank #2 in the IAC Social Medial Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to engage teams in maximizing the visibility of the IAC and participating teams on social media. In total 30 teams all over the world from top universities participated in this challenge.
Our Social Media Links:
https://instagram.com/na_sarathy?igshid=1l8n8zygc9yls
https://www.linkedin.com/company/na-sarathy
https://www.facebook.com/NaSarathy/
https://www.reddit.com/r/NaSarathy/
Led by Energy Systems Network (ESN), an Indianapolis-based non-profit and a branded initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) and CICP Foundation, Inc. (CICP Foundation), working in close collaboration with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), the Indy Autonomous Challenge is a broadly collaborative effort that brings together public, private and academic institutions to challenge university students around the world to imagine, invent and prove a new generation of automated vehicle software and inspire the next generation of STEM talent.
By Ammas grace, our team Na-Sarathy of HuT Labs, ECE, got 12th position in the recently concluded Hackathon (from Sep 12 – 19) conducted Indy Autonomous Car challenge. In total 30 teams all over the world from top universities participated in this Hackathon. Only two teams from India took part in this, Na-Sarathy and a team from IIT, Chennai. Many top universities couldn’t even complete the tasks given in the Hackathon. Only 19/30 teams submitted the completed tasks. IIT Chennai team couldn’t event complete the tasks. Our team surpassed top universities like University of Wisconsin, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Pittsburg,Colorado State Unversity, etc. Note that, only third and final year BTech students of ECE dept. from HuT Labs worked for this event unlike the other teams which consists of masters, PhD students and industry partners.
Led by Energy Systems Network (ESN), an Indianapolis-based non-profit and a branded initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) and CICP Foundation, Inc. (CICP Foundation), working in close collaboration with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), the Indy Autonomous Challenge is a broadly collaborative effort that brings together public, private and academic institutions to challenge university students around the world to imagine, invent and prove a new generation of automated vehicle software and inspire the next generation of STEM talent.
Dear all,
For the past few weeks we were working with several robotic projects at HuT Labs with initiation and blessings from Amma, our university Chancellor for using during COVID situation. Thanks to Shankar sir, Dhanajay, Akhil Raj, Anandu, Arun and Sreelal at HuT Labs. Without their support and help we couldn’t have achieved this. Thanks to Br. Sreevalsan who arranged for GAD help.
ANNAPOORNA: This remotely operated robot using WiFi can serve food, water and medicine to patients in isolated wards. It also has tele-medicine facility and enables patients in isolated wards to interact with doctors/nurses remotely. Will be very useful for front line workers who supply food, water and medicine to the patients during pandemic/epidemic in hospitals.
PRABHA: Fitted with a siren for safety when operated, the mobile robot uses Bluetooth for remote control. The UV lamps can be switched on/off remotely. Can disinfect a room of 12×12 feet in less than an hour. It can used to disinfect patient rooms, rest rooms, medical equipment etc.
BODHI: Police/security personnel can use as outdoor surveillance and awareness robot on the streets, during shutdown/curfew in a situation like COVID or any pandemic or epidemic. Fitted with 360 degrees camera, and powerful speaker, it can be remotely operated using WiFi. It can be used in containment areas on streets where even police/security personnel can’t access. Police/security personnel can play recorded messages or even give live instructions from the control station.
MARUTI: The operator/caretaker using a Bluetooth application which can be installed in any smartphone or using a wireless joystick controller can operate the wheelchair at a safe distance of 1m up to 4m. Patients in isolation wards can be transported without the need for the operator to touch the wheelchair or the patients.
Self-E 2.0: With the self-driving wheelchair, Self-E 2.0, patients in isolation wards can be transported without the need for the operator. With the help of maps created for each floor of the hospital, the wheelchair can operate in various floors, autonomously.
Faculty Name: Dr: Rajesh Kannan Megalingam.
1. Awards
| S.No | Name of Award | Awarding Agency | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IEEE Undergraduate Teaching Award | IEEE, NJ, USA | 2020 |
| 2 | Best Paper Award, “Wireless Gesture Controlled Wheelchair | International Conference on Advanced Computing and Communication Systems 2017, Sri Eshwar College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu | 2017 |
| 3 | Best Paper Award, for “Autonomous Path Guiding Robot for Visually Impaired People.” | International Conference on Cognitive Informatics and Soft Computing, 2017, Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad | 2017 |
| 4 | Best Paper Award, For “Development of Intelligent Wheelchair Simulator for Indoor Navigation Simulation and Analysis” | IEEE WIECON ECE conference held in Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology during Dec 19 -20, 2015, in the track AI and Computer Vision. | 2015 |
| 5 | Best Mechanical Design Award for “Robotic Coconut Tree Climber and Harvester” | One Moment Robot Glory (OMRG) 2017, Singapore | 2017 |
| 6 | Second Prize, for “Gesture Controlled Wheelchair”. | One Moment Robot Glory (OMRG) 2017, Singapore | 2017 |
| 7 | Award of Excellence, for excellent performance during the academic year 2013-2014 | Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University | 2013-2014 |
2) Professional Recognitions
| S.No | Recognitions | Awarding Agency | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invited Speaker | AICTE sponsored FDP on Recent Advances in Sensors and Actuators, College of Engineering, Chengannur,Dec 2019 | 2019 |
| 2 | Invited Speaker Topic: Agricultural Robotics – An Overview and a Case Study of Unmanned Robotic Coconut Tree Climber and Harvester | Trenton Computer Festival (TCF) at The College of New Jersey, Ewing, USA, Mar 2018 | 2018 |
| 3 | Invited Speaker Topic: Agricultural and Healthcare Robotics – An Overview Robotic Coconut Tree Climber and Harvester and Indoor Navigational Platform | ECE Department Society inauguration, Erode Sengundar Engineering College, Jan 2018 | 2018 |
| 4 | Invited Speaker Topic: Self-Driving Navigational Platform | Trenton Computer Festival (TCF) at The College of New Jersey, Ewing, USA, Mar 2017 | 2017 |
| 5 | Program Chair | ROBOTSAVAM 2017, International Technical Festival Exclusively on Robotics, Jul 28 – 30, at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala, India | 2017 |
| 6 | Robotic Competition Co-chair | International Conference on Robotics and Automation for Humanitarian Applications, RAHA 2016, Dec 18-20, at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala, India | 2016 |
| 7 | Session Co-Chair, | International Conference on Robotics and Automation for Humanitarian Applications, RAHA 2016, Dec 18-20, at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala, India | 2016 |
| 8 | Program Chair | IEEE Symposium on Education, Technology and Entrepreneurship, ISEE 2012, at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala, India, | For five consecutive years from 2012 to 2016. |
| 9 | Invited Speaker Topic: Hand Gesture Recognition in Navigational Platform for Rehabilitation of People with Mobility Issues. | IEEE WIECON-ECE 2015, ECE Building, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 19-20, 2015 | 2015 |
Description:
Most of the current research in mechanical energy harvesting focusses on converting mechanical energy created by human actions into electrical energy. Amusement parks industry is one of the world’s fastest growing industries in terms of revenue collected and attendance per year. According to a more recent unofficial survey conducted by roller coaster database, there are more than five thousand amusement parks in the world. Walt Disney World consumes the largest amount of power per year at 1213006 MWh of power with kids rides alone amounting to 83737 MWh of power annually. This project proposes a method of utilizing mechanical energy to drive a kid’s ride instead of electricity. The energy is harvested by winding a flat spiral spring and stored in the same spring through human action. This mechanical energy, without conversion into electrical energy, is used to drive a mechanical kid’s ride. As there is no energy conversion involved in the proposed method, there is no loss of energy. A kid’s ride prototype, Turtle Bot Ride (TBR) using the flat spiral spring is designed andevaluated.
2. Self driving wheelchair with Multimap Navigation for Multi-floor access using Elevator
description :
The Self driving wheelchair is developed for transportation of patients, differently abled and elderly people without any external intervention. It can reduce the burden of manual navigation and can make transportation easier by a single touch using an android application. The wheelchair is built with an isolation hood which will be helpful to keep social distancing. The transportation of infected patients will be risky incase of manual or powered wheelchairs without proper isolation. This self driving wheelchair can map any multi-floor building and can be used for multi-floor access using an elevator. The wheelchair also includes a manual mode which can be controlled using the same android application.
The system software is based on the ROS navigation stack, and it can map each floor separately, and load the maps according to the user’s needs. A Simultaneous Localization and mapping algorithm is used to create maps. A 360 degree laser scanner is used for mapping and navigation procedures. The user can access the elevator from any floor in the building using the android application. When an elevator reaches a particular floor, the floor map can be selected in the application and the wheelchair can be navigated to that floor. The map server in ROS Navigation stack is used to publish different maps as per the user input. The self driving wheelchair has a linux based control unit and a pair of 320 watt motors to power it. The wheelchair movement in the environment is monitored by a pair of rotary encoders attached to the motors. A six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit tracks the orientation of the wheelchair with respect to the environment. In addition to this several Ultrasonic Sensors are included to avoid collision.
The wheelchair can be very much useful in hospitals for the transportation of patients across multiple floors. Since the wheelchair has an isolation hood it will be safe to transport infected patients during a pandemic without any social contact. It has a wide application including households, universities, airports and other public places.
