Techfest 2005, IIT Bombay's annual Technological festival, has the clear-cut distinction of being the largest fest of its kind in the entirety of Asia. Having gone international from 2004, it, now, strives to be reckoned among the best in the world. The festival this year was scheduled from 28th-30th of January. The aim has been clear - to initiate and further the spirit of the vibrant and dynamic student community. The crux of the fest was simple - Technology for All, and this was achieved by hosting events with far-reaching impact, ranging from robotic competitions, exhibitions of major technological innovations, lectures by eminent personalities, workshops providing hands-on-experience; to fun-filled contests involving creative concepts like constructing bridges and buildings from drinking-straws!! Techfest 2005 ended making many promises for next year.
The big leap in 2004 with the introduction of Cliffhanger, the international competition, helped Techfest in making it's mark among colleges and industry the world over. In it's second attempt at taking a bold step, Techfest 2005 introduced Survivor, which took off with nail-biting competition. Darwin's theory gained a whole new dimension as the phrase "SURVIVAL of the fittest" now applied to strong, rugged machines!!! With a total prize money amounting to $2500 at stake, one by one the best among all the machines entered the arena and performed their feat. The ruthless competitive spirit among the participants was infectious, complemented with a tremendous amount of cheering from the audience that filled the convocation hall of IIT Bombay.
Competitions at Techfest is the amazing,
enthralling and inspiring ensemble of events where the
best are pitted against each other resulting in
something extraordinary. Its the one place and event
which shouldn't be missed to demonstrate your talent
in front of the best possible audiences. And all this fun,
inspiration and appreciation is complemented by the
loads of prizes and rewards in cash and kind.
Yantriki
The premier robotics competition across fests in India. Micromouse, where robots are supposed to autonomously find their way out of a maze, remained individually, one of the most visually spectacular events on offer!!! Another robotics event, Rescue, challenged participants to make their robots go up an incline with blocks, build a bridge once there and come back. A great display of innovation once again enthralled the crowds.
Drishti: One of the most important competitions aimed at a noble cause of improving aids to assist the visually impaired, Drishti was conceived by Techfest 2005 in association with the National Association for the Blind (NAB).
Laststraw: 
Following the tradition of being cast with a difference, this time around Last Straw
forayed into exciting and unexplored avenues. The models of flyovers presented for Under
Construction were some of the most mind-boggling contraptions. Participants displayed amazing
bridge structures which they had managed to put up using just simple ice cream sticks.
Chemsplash
Explores all the aspects of chemical engineering, starting from the age old hardcore distillation towers and piping networks to the synthesis of nano-magnets, all compressed into a schedule of hands-on competitions, simulations, lectures lasting three days. An event of Chemsplash, U Turn had the problem statement to make a chemically powered machine go ten feet and turn back.
Open Competitions
These include Open Hardware, Open Software which have been a regular feature over the years. This year Techfest also introduced Open Design. Anything that might enhance the quality of life qualified as a genuine entry for this competition.
Other competitions featured at Techfest 2005 included Udaan, Atlantis, Decathlon, Contraption, Anaconda, and many more.
Dr.Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan is presently Honorable Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). Dr. Kasturirangan has steered the Indian Space programme gloriously for over 9 years as Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, of Space Commission and Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space.
Dr. P Gopalakrishnan is Director of the IBM India Research Laboratory, one of the company's eight labs. Dr. Gopalakrishnan comes with over 16 years of experience in technology and research.
Dr.Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica and the
author of A New Kind of Science. Having had a distinguished
academic career beginning at an early age, Stephen Wolfram
founded Wolfram Research in 1986, and has been its CEO
since.
Dr. Andrew Harrison is currently the Professor of Solid State Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. He has held positions as a Research Fellow at the atomic energy of Canada Ltd., Visiting Professor, RIKEN, Tokyo and currently he is also Deputy Head of Planning Unit, Chemistry, Edinburgh, Director of Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions, The University of Edinburgh.
Mr. Sharad Sharma is currently the General Manager, India Operations and Vice President, Product Operations, for Veritas Software Inc. Before joining Veritas, Sharad was the co-founder and CEO of Teltier Technologies Inc.
Workshops are an educational rendezvous
emphasizing on the interaction and exchange of
information among its participants and the speakers.
The underlying theme behind workshops is "do while
you learn". Techfest 2005 presented the most eminent
personalities from various academic fields and
industry, bringing forth the latest developments in the
field of science and industry.
User centric Design Workshop
This workshop touched upon aspects of coming out with technologies sensitive to the customer's need while still applying the fundamental scientific principles in the design of such technology.
Animation Workshop
Animation WorkshopSession on 3D animation and 3D modeling, followed by a hands-on session. The workshop saw many brilliant participants come forward who had extremely creative ideas to create and bring to life their own little characters.
Security Workshops
A panel of renowned experts provided an insight of the latest techniques in Computer Security. These were supplemented with lab sessions so that the participants get hands on experience of the technology.
"Dream Machine", was what one could hear everywhere
on the first night of Technoholix. Techfest 2005 boasts of
presenting for the first time in India a formula one racer, a
McLaren Mercedes, bearing the name tag of the famous
David Couthard. The spectators were awed following the
spectacular laser show showcasing the car in a wonderful
display of lights.
The second night of technoholix had nothing less than a 3 vs 3
Humanoid Robot soccer match, the robots developed and
conceptualized by Prof. Baltes and his team from University of
Manitoba, Canada. Apart from the match the robots also
demonstrated various other skills like robot dash, penalty
kicks, obstacle runs, and lift and carry. The audience was in
awe as they watched the diminutive little figures actually
dancing to music like the Macarena and other catchy
numbers.
The Open-air Theatre of IIT Bombay was host to a packed
audience who had come to be a part of one of the toughest
science and technology quizzes in the country. Six teams
made it to the final round comprehensively jostling their way
through a pool of six hundred participant teams.The organizing
committee had done a fantastic job with the setup of the quiz
format providing the teams with LCD monitors and
computerized answering pads. The quiz master Mr. Barry
O'Brien took the reins of the show and handled the excited
audience with finesse.