TRACK-O-MANIA
The conclusion of Track-o-Mania organized by the EEE association saw 15 teams (including seven outstation ones)
coding for their line-following bots and preparing them for battle.
Out of the 15 teams, only seven could complete the first round successfully wherein points were administered based on
the timing of the bots completing a circuit along the pre-defined track. The deceptively simple looking track was quite
challenging and the teams had to sweat it out to navigate all the turns and forks. The penalties incurred for stalling or
touching the bot added to the adrenaline quotient of the contest. Team mates egging the bots, yelling instructions made
for quite a spectacle, one capable of rendering electronics and robotics enthusiasts rooted to the metaphoric edges of
their seats.
Six teams made it to the second round which was much more challenging and involved more than just simple code written into the bots. The trickiest parts of the track were the crossovers which required some intelligent coding. The assortment of acute curves and forks with varied incentives and intermediate simple curve features put the bots’ navigational
prowess to a stern test.
None of the teams could finish the race spanning the entire track in the second round and winners had to be determined
based on points accumulated in the round. BITSians Sahib, Shashank, Ajinkya and Kanishk bagged the first position
while another set of BITSians, Aniruddh, Dipesh, Adarsh and Aman finished runners-up.
JUNKYARD WARS
Junkyard Wars, as the title suggests, ultimately tests whether a team of (at most) four people is able to build something
out of the scrap material provided. The competition consists of three rounds. The first two rounds are devised to test
one’s theoretical skills and thorough understanding of concepts. The participation for the event looked very promising
with people turning up in decent numbers.
Being a ‘Design and Build’ event, Junkyard Wars had a greater appeal on both the participants and the audience than
most other events. The first round questions were designed to test a person’s knowledge of basic workshop skills, different manufacturing techniques and working mechanisms of various machines. Twelve teams managed to make it
through to the next round.
The second round involved more hustle and bustle than its predecessor. The teams were given a problem statement to
ponder upon and had to demonstrate their solution to the panel of judges after the two hour deadline. Around 4 teams
are expected to make the cut.
The third and final round will be conducted in the workshop building on 29 th starting at 9 AM. The teams will be given
another problem statement, although this time, they are supposed to construct the desired structure using the materials
given. The event will go on for the whole day while the participants try to figure out a solution amidst the tinkering and
hammering.
INTERNET WHIRLWIND
42 and Internet - the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. A plethora of knowledge,
the information superhighway is the go-to for every curious creature. Internet Whirlwind, an event conducted by the
ACM, tests your googling skills and your knowledge of the colossal cyberspace. With a good turnout of more than seventy participants, most of them being outstation participants, the event was a success.
The participants, in teams of two, were expected to find answers to fifteen riddle-like questions within two hours. As
easy as the objective might seem, the event was not everyone’s cup of tea. For example, an image of Megan Fox with the
number 35 embossed would definitely startle most people. Many would let the digits go unnoticed. However, googling
Megan 35 leads you to a website with an encryption/decryption tool. Paste the link provided in the dialog box, decrypt
it, find the link to a book, get the number of pages and voila, you have the answer. Easy, isn’t it?
Apart from these, the event also featured questions based on YouTube and other creative media. For a seemingly techsavvy, geek-oriented event, Internet Whirlwind gathered a lot of attention.