Engineering students exhibit futuristic skills at graVITas’25

Engineering students from different streams like mechanical, electronics, and electrical and communication were at work during the three-day technological festival, graVITas’25 organised by VIT Vellore on Saturday.

Events like robo wars, drone racing, toycathon that revolve around making scientific toys, the big bang theory, and map quest were core events on day two of the fest where competing students were busy checking last-minute details of their innovative equipment like robo cars to provide thrill and excitement for viewers.

“Academic years of peer groups, at the university, are spent to develop a robot for the competition. Fine tuning of robots is always done to keep an edge over competitors,” said S. Shanthi Priya, a VIT student.

A winning robot at the robowars competition depends on aggression of the robo, its control and extent of damage caused to competing robots. Such events help engineering students to gain experience by using their classroom knowledge.

Divided into categories based on weight of the robot such as 15kg and 60kg, robots in the bout were remotely operated by the team outside the ring. A damaged robot in the ring should be repaired in 20 minutes to participate again but cannot be replaced with a new robot.

Another attraction at the competition was drones. Participating teams made their drones to negotiate a series of obstacles like arch-shaped structures and poles to a distance of around 200 metres. The drones should not hit these obstacles. Drones that take less time to reach the finish line are winners.

The competition also provided a platform for students to run their own startups. Titled as capital hunt, experienced investors in the startup industry were roped in to guide students on the nuances of running successful startups.

A career expo also provided a bridge between talent and opportunity which aimed to help non-VIT students and winners of a few hackathons and technical competitions get internship offers as their prizes.

Over 40,000 participants are participating at various competitions during the three-day event. Prize pool for graVITas’25 exceeds ₹30 lakhs, including cash and prizes. Over 60 industry experts and professionals have been roped in as resource persons across workshops and seminars, making graVITas’25 a hub of mentoring, knowledge-sharing, and innovation.