Dassault Systemes announced Aakruti
2020, a nationwide product design contest for students in India . Aakruti 2020 is targeted at student
teams who can design products based on their innovative ideas that provide solutions
to the challenges of today and the future, and benefit the environment. There
are five diverse themes for Aakruti 2020 that give students the freedom to
innovate: “Small is Big,” “Medical
Devices with Innovation,” “Design Product for Rural Entrepreneurship”, “Stop
Pollution at Source” and a special theme introduced this year in the wake
of COVID-19 - “Re-Engineer Products for
Contactless Operation in view of COVID 19”.
Theme 1: “Small is Big”
Think, re-engineer,
simulate and validate an existing product and optimize it using principles of
reverse engineering, 3D scanning the existing product, topology optimization
and additive manufacturing. The product should be lighter, small in size,
energy-efficient and optimized for performance.
Theme 2:
“Medical Devices with Innovation”
Design a device
implementing biomedical science, bioengineering, human ergonomics, human
safety, medical regulatory and norms, which is innovative and will be a great
boon to patients / medical practitioners. The device should be cost-effective,
energy-efficient, easy to handle and cheaper than existing devices available in
the market. The aim is to design a medical device that will help patients in
critical situations, especially in rural areas.
Theme 3: “Design Product for Rural
Entrepreneurship”
Provide ideas for products
to rural youth that they can manufacture locally, and help them improve their
livelihood opportunities. Look for ideas to boost rural entrepreneurship in
agriculture, affordable energy for remote places, handicrafts, sanitation and
other fields by developing product ideas with DIY kits.
Theme 4: “Stop Pollution at Source”
Look for ideas to prevent
sources of pollution and create a healthier environment and a sustainable world
for future generations. Look for innovative ideas to eliminate or replace the
components which are causing heavy pollution, a larger carbon footprint, and
increasing greenhouse gases by eliminating problems at the source.
Theme 5: “Re-Engineer Products for Contactless
Operation in view of COVID-19”
As the world is gearing up
for the ‘new normal’, it is imperative to re-engineer the interface to operate
or use the publically utilized products across factories, malls, restaurants or
shops or any public utility place with appropriate change in existing product
or design and come up with a cost effective solution. In view of government
guidelines, product designers need to ensure expected safety norms of not
touching surfaces which are in public contact. This means, allowing people to
use these machines without using hands; for instance making them foot operated
or utilizing other type of additions like motion, gesture, temperature, object,
voice etc.
All student teams must register
for the contest online by July 31, 2020 at https://academy.3ds.com/en/ challenges/aakruti2020. Following the registration and acceptance of
their project summary, a student team will get access to Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform and SOLIDWORKS applications
to bring their ideas to life. Another important aspect of Aakruti 2020 is the ability to work with respective team members
virtually through online collaboration enabled by the cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform. The top 10 teams across India , based on
innovations in design, feasibility and application of the project, will be
selected for the Aakruti 2020 final to be held on October 12, 2020. The
participants will have the opportunity to win cash prizes worth INR 300,000,
free SOLIDWORKS subscriptions, vouchers, job opportunities and more.
Launched in 2011, Aakruti
has had tremendous response from all across India over the years. Last year
more than 4,900 engineering, design and technology students from 330 colleges
across 26 states competed by designing innovative products that can bring
positive change to society. K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai, Maharashtra was voted the winner of the competition by a
jury of industry experts from the field of education.