The TI Innovation Challenge India Design Contest was as competitive as ever this year, attracting 11,200 participants from 654 different engineering colleges in India. The following highlights this year’s first-runner up team and how they utilized TI technology to solve a real-world problem. 

A walk through a paddy field sounds simple enough. But what if the walk for farmers is under adverse climate conditions or shadowed by the fear of snake bites, which prevents farmers from carrying out some of their basic daily chores like irrigating the field? These are some of the challenges identified by students Anik Dutta, Suman Basak, Priyanjit Kumar Ghosh, Sourav Sinha and Mostafa Kamal Mallick of Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology.

Farmers are the backbone of the agricultural industry and irrigation is an integral part of farming. Bad irrigation practices result in low crop yield. For many years, farmers have used irrigation systems which require them to manually switch on or switch off the pumps. They also have to travel many miles to get to the pumps, only to discover that there is no electricity and the pump cannot be used. More modern automated irrigation systems have been introduced; however, they have proven to be complex and expensive, which the common farmer cannot afford.

Addressing these challenges, the team of five students developed Xencom, a highly secure, automated irrigation system that farmers can control through their mobile phone. With just the touch of a finger, farmers can switch on the pump and use the timer to monitor the flow of water, preventing water wastage.

The soil moisture sensor feature of Xencom is used to record the water content of the land, allowing farmers to accurately evaluate the water requirement. The farmer can also be notified about climate changes, which helps prevent severe crop damages. The prototype developed costs around USD 80 which is affordable by an average farmer. See Xencom in action with the video below:

The team used TI’s ultra-low-power MSP430G2553 mixed signal microcontroller as the central processing unit. The team also used many other TI parts, including the CD4094B shift-and-store bus register, a TL2575-33 switching regulator and UA7805 voltage regulator.  

The completeness of the low-cost solution, ease of use of the product by farmers and optimal utilization of the water for irrigation to prevent water wastage were the key features which made them successful in winning the First Runner-up Award.

Team Xencom receiving the first runner-up award

The TI Innovation Challenge India Design Contest (TIIC IDC) displays the fine caliber of participating students and their dream for making a difference in society, as shown by this year's submitted projects, of which the top were showcased at the TIIC IDC 2015 finals event.

Does your mind and soul want to break free from the confines of text books and do something innovative? Look no further, 2016 TIIC IDC is just around the corner. Please sign up here to receive information as to when the next contest will begin.

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