MVJ College of Engineering bags First Prize in National Aerospace Conceptual Design Competition
Bangalore August 24, 2021: MVJ College of Engineering, a prestigious Engineering institution, has bagged the First Prize in the virtual National Aerospace Conceptual Design Competition (NACDeC-IV) held recently. The College beat top institutions like IIT Bombay, BMS College of Engineering, Sastra University and Manipal Institute of Technology, to take home the prestigious prize. The MVJ team, named Abhimanyu 4.0, was awarded a cash prize of Rs 20,000 and certificates, for their excellent work. The competition was organised by Design Division and Mumbai Branch of The Aeronautical Society of India.
The theme of the project was related to the Conceptual design of Inter-city Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft (ICeVTOLA). The competition witnessed a participation of 26 teams, of which 5 were shortlisted for the final round (4th round). After these 5 teams presented the salient features of their projects, the MVJCE team was declared winners.The team members were Keerthi G N, Amruthamshu K P, Koushik Udayachandran, Mithun Francis P and Atyab Hakeem from Aeronautical Engineering. MVJ College of Engineering has been the winner of National Aerospace Conceptual Design Competition consecutively for four years from 2017-18 to 2020-21.
The MVJCE project is based on the conceptual design of Inter-city Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft (ICeVTOLA). This conceptual design is a potential idea that can usher in a remarkable revolution in the aviation industry. The transportation sector faces the challenge of meeting a growing demand for convenient passenger mobility, while reducing congestion, improving safety and mitigating emissions. ICeVTOLA could overcome these limitations of surface transportation, by enabling urban and regional aerial travel services and is a technology that could end traffic jams. It connects the metros to nearby cities, provides connectivity to augment tourism, and aids in the strategic travel by public agencies. Urban air mobility (UAM) is an emerging aviation market that seeks to revolutionize mobility around metropolitan areas, via a safe, efficient, and accessible on-demand air transportation system, for passengers and cargo.
The MVJCE students from the Department of Aeronautical Engineering, who worked on the project, said, “The project was a challenging task as we had to discuss, communicate and do all the work, virtually. Since ICeVTOLA is a new concept, there were no online resources, and hence it required rigorous brainstorming. Through the NACDEC competition, we were able to develop theoretical concepts that can aid practical applications. This integration helped us design the airship. It has enhanced our understanding of the topic and opened up opportunities for us to perform even better in future and prove our capabilities. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our College, Head of Department, Prof S. C. Gupta, Mentor Dr. R Rajasekar, and all other faculty members, for their constant support.”
Commenting on the students’ performance and the project, Prof. S C. Gupta, Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering, MVJCE, said“I believe our students represent the true spirit of our motto, ‘Engineering A Better Tomorrow’. The project concept was meticulously developed, and a lot of thinking went into the integration of theoretical aspects for practical applications. We commend the hard work and effort of the students who have crafted a futuristic concept. I am very grateful to all the faculty for nurturing such talents.”
The National Aerospace Conceptual Design Competition (NACDeC) is an annual theoretical design competition that has been conducted by the Aeronautical Society of INDIA, Design Division, Mumbai branch, since 2017. It is open to teams of students from Aeronautical or Aerospace Engineering departments of Indian institutes/Colleges. The first NACDeC was conducted in 2017-18, and the problem statement was related to a conceptual design and sizing of a multi-role amphibian aircraft; the second NACDeC was conducted in 2018-19 and focus was on conceptual design and sizing of LIDAR- equipped unmanned high-altitude platform (LU-HAP); the third NACDeC was conducted in 2019-20 and the problem statement was related to Conceptual design and sizing of a High-Altitude Long Endurance Aerial Platform (HALEAP). The fourth NACDeC, and the most recent one, that was conducted in 2020-21 looked at the Conceptual design of Inter-city Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft (ICeVTOLA).
About MVJCE:
MVJ College of Engineering was established in 1982 to impart education in Engineering, Management, and beyond. The 15-acre campus of MVJCE in Whitefield, Bangalore, bears state-of-the-art infrastructure that creates an environment for progressive learning and development. The vision of the College is to become an institute of academic excellence, with international standards.
