Bhubaneswar: A team of students from the National Institute of Technology Rourkela has brought laurels to Odisha by securing first position in the “Autonomous Maze Solver Robot” category (Senior Level) at Robofest Gujarat 5.0.
The winning team comprised Raj Srivastava, Priyansh Agrawal, Sachin Pal, and Tanmay Rath. They were mentored by Dr. Sadananda Behera, Assistant Professor in the Electronics and Communication Engineering Department, NIT Rourkela, said in a post on X.
The event was held at Gujarat Science City and witnessed participation from top student innovators across the country.
The NIT Rourkela team developed an advanced Autonomous Maze Solver Robot capable of navigating large and complex mazes, identifying the exit, and calculating the shortest path from origin to destination. The team stood out for its strong technical execution and algorithmic efficiency, completing the entire challenge successfully. Notably, it was the only team in the category to do so, with no second or third positions awarded.
For their outstanding performance, the team received a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh at the final stage. They had earlier secured Rs 50,000 at the Ideation Stage and Rs 2 lakh at the Proof of Concept stage, reflecting consistent excellence throughout the competition.
The award was presented by Arjun Modhwadia, Minister for Science and Technology, Forests and Environment, and Climate Change in the government of Gujarat, who commended the team’s innovation.
Director of NIT Rourkela, K. Umamaheshwar Rao, congratulated the students and their mentor, describing the achievement as a proud moment for the institute and Odisha.
Organised by the Gujarat Council on Science and Technology under the Department of Science and Technology, Robofest is a premier platform for robotics innovation in India. The competition follows a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process, including Ideation, Proof of Concept, and Prototype development.
