IIT-K students develop device to monitor rly tracks

Four MTech (mechanical) students of IIT-Kanpur, under the guidance of a professor, claim to have invented a matchbox-sized device 'jugnu' to monitor wear and tear of railway tracks. This device could prove to be a boon for the railways to check derailment of trains caused mainly due to faults in tracks during winter and summer.
According to a Railway Board official, the Railways' Research Design and Standard Organization (RDSO), Lucknow, has also collaborated with IIT-Kanpur in developing this device, which is currently under trial even as it has already been tried 25 times in the past one year on tracks on which the Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani Express run. The railways intends to carry out more trial of the tiny device before introducing it, he said.
According to sources, the newly developed device, if approved by the railways, would replace the bulky box-like contraption which is currently used by the railways. This device has been invented in view of the worst railway accidents in the past, sources said. Kshitij Deo of IIT-Kanpur is one of the four students who has developed the device.
A Railway Board official said this device would be a supplementary system for monitoring the condition of tracks across the country. The battery-operated device would have a lifespan of about 10 hours. However, it can be recharged by the universal serial bus ( USB) port on computer, he said. The new device is based on micro-electro mechanical system. It can monitor track health comprehensively pinpointing faults in tracks. This is possible because the device, which weighs hardly 100 gm, is fitted with an oscillation-monitoring system, the sources said.

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