Smart India Hackathon '22 Finalist
Led Team THREADRIPPERZS from St. Joseph's College of Engineering to the national Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon 2022 (Hardware Edition, Aug 25–29). Built WaterBot — an AI-enabled, solar-powered unmanned water vehicle that autonomously collects floating trash from urban drains using LiDAR, depth sounder, and computer vision. Problem Statement BV800 from the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Context
Smart India Hackathon 2022 Hardware Edition brought India's top engineering teams to build working hardware prototypes for real government problem statements. Problem Statement BV800 — posed by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti — challenged teams to build an AI-enabled robotic trash boat to autonomously drive and harvest floating trash from urban drains.
The Challenge
Local water bodies such as lakes and canals are being heavily polluted with plastic and chemical wastes, affecting the entire aquatic ecosystem. The challenge was to design an autonomous unmanned water vehicle (UWV) that could navigate urban drains, detect and collect floating debris, and analyze water quality — all powered sustainably and controllable remotely.
Our Solution
Built WaterBot — a solar-powered and battery-backed UWV with a front mesh collection ramp for harvesting floating plastics, debris, algae, and duckweed. The bot uses Arduino with LoRa communication for remote control, a brushless motor propulsion system with ESC, and is equipped as a 'swimming laboratory' with sensors for pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen analysis. The full-scale design integrates LiDAR, depth sounder, P4 multispectral camera, and RTK sensor for AI-driven autonomous navigation.
My Role
As Team Leader, I led the 6-member interdisciplinary team (ECE, CSE, Mechanical, Civil, EIE) through the entire design-build-present cycle during the 5-day Grand Finale. I architected the system, led the hardware assembly and electronics integration, designed the LoRa-based remote control system, coordinated the propulsion and hull construction, and delivered the final presentation to judges from NMCG.
Impact & Results
Successfully built and demonstrated a working WaterBot prototype during the 5-day hackathon. The bot collected floating trash, analyzed water quality, and operated on solar + battery power — directly addressing the Clean Ganga mission's goals. The project later evolved into an MSME pitch for potential commercialization.
Recognition
Selected as national finalist from thousands of teams across India. Presented the working WaterBot prototype to expert judges from NMCG and received commendation for the interdisciplinary hardware-software integration. Team THREADRIPPERZS: Charan Velavan (Lead), Aditya S Nair, Akshay B, Prakriti Harith, Thanisqka N, Medha R. Mentored by Dr. Venkateshwara and Dr. U. Venkateshwara.