NAKSHATRA
Astronomy & Science Club of NIT-T
Inductions 2025 – Task II (HARDWARE)
Task-II Details
1. This task questionnaire comprises a total of 10 questions.
2. To aid understanding of each sub-domain, the following indicators
are mentioned at the end of every question:
– MS: Mechanical & Structural Design
– EE: Embedded Electronics
– CS: Control Systems
– EP: Electrical & Power Systems
3. It is compulsory to attempt atleast one question from each sub-
domain in Part-I. If a candidate is particularly inclined towards a
specific sub-domain, they are required to attempt all the questions
pertaining to that sub-domain.
4. Part-II consists of BONUS questions. Attempting them is optional,
but it will fetch you additional brownie points and give you an added
advantage over others.
5. Suggested reading materials and resources are included as hyperlinks
after the questions wherever necessary.
6. Every question includes the name and contact number of the POC
who can be reached out in case of any clarifications.
7. Kindly keep the original source files for the programs, codes,
circuits, simulations, engineering drawings, etc. handy as it might
be required during your final evaluation.
1
1. As part of the rover’s onboard logic system, we’re building basic mem-
ory and control units from scratch. So, instead of using inbuilt ICs or
basic gates, we want to explore how sequential circuits can be created
using just fundamental components like multiplexers (MUX).
Your task is to design a T Flip-Flop strictly using 2:1 MUX. The
circuit should toggles its output on every rising clock edge when T = 1
and holds its state when T = 0. You’re not allowed to use logic gates,
latches or any built-in flip-flop blocks.
Implement and simulate your circuit in Proteus or TinkerCAD.
Submit the circuit diagram, simulation screenshot, and a short expla-
nation (4–5 sentences) of how your design works. [EE]
Suggested Resources:
(a) Introduction to Flip-Flops
(b) Proteus Tutorial Playlist
2. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a powerful numerical tool used
to approximate complex structural behaviour by dividing components
into smaller elements. [MS]
(i) Detail all the steps involved in FEA with a suitable example.
(ii) Consider a 10-meter long cantilevered beam with a square cross-
section of 9 m2 , subjected to a uniformly distributed load of 5 kN/m
along its length. Perform a basic FEA using the Static Structural
Solver in ANSYS Workbench to determine the following parame-
ters. You may assume any reasonable material of your choice.
(a) Deformation profile
(b) Equivalent (von-Mises) stress.
(c) Maximum stress and its location.
(d) Maximum deflection and its location.
Suggested Resources:
(a) Basics of FEA
(b) Installation of ANSYS
(c) Structural Analysis of Beam
2
3. In the 1930s, control engineer N. Minorsky developed one of the ear-
liest automatic control systems which is a ship steering mechanism for
the U.S. Navy. The block diagram representation of this system in-
volves the course angle of the ship Y (s), the desired heading R(s),
and the rudder angle A(s). Using appropriate block diagram reduction
Y (s)
techniques, derive the closed-loop transfer function for the
R(s)
given system. [CS]
Suggested Resource: Block Diagram Reduction
4. As part of a robotic sub-system where precise actuation is critical,
you’re required to design a setup on Wokwi that uses a H-bridge to
control motor direction without using a potentiometer. [EE]
Hint: Apply Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals from the micro-
controller to control the speed.
Suggested Resources:
(a) Introduction to H-Bridge
(b) Wokwi Tutorial Playlist
5. Convert the continuous-time transfer function, H(s) of a motor used
in a rover into its discrete-time equivalent so that it can be coded in
an Arduino-based environment. Compute the poles and zeros of the
system. What do you infer from it? [CS]
s2 − 2
H(s) =
s3 + 7s2 + 6s + 3
Suggested Resource: Transfer Function from LDE
3
6. One of the critical sub-systems onboard the Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
satellites is the power regulation unit, which ensures that micro-
controllers (which are responsible for orientation, telemetry, and au-
tonomous control, receive stable, low-noise power. To achieve this,
the satellite uses a buck converter that steps down the battery bus
voltage to a regulated supply. The switch control for this converter is
based on a sawtooth waveform generator that enables PWM con-
trol through a comparator-based feedback loop. Implement these tasks
in LTSpice, attach relevant screenshots and provide a short summary
of your workflow. [EP]
(i) Design the buck converter that steps down a 12 V input from
the satellite’s battery to a regulated 5 V output for powering a
microcontroller having the following parmeters.
(a) Switching frequency = 10 kHz
(b) Nominal output power = 6 W
(c) Output voltage ripple ≤ 50 mV peak-to-peak
(d) Output current ripple ≤ 20 mA peak-to-peak
(ii) Design the sawtooth waveform generator using using a space-
grade LM358 op-amp (or any equivalent) to regulate the buck con-
verter (designed in previous part) with following parameters.
(a) Sawtooth frequency = 10 kHz
(b) Peak-to-peak amplitude of sawtooth = 5 V
(c) Op-amp supply for waveform generator = ±12 V
Suggested Resources:
(i) Design & Simulation of Buck Converter
(ii) Design of Sawtooth Waveform Generator
(iii) LTSpice Tutorial Playlist
7. Illustrate the operation of IR and Ultra-sonic sensor. Which environ-
ment do they work best in? Which is ideal for sensing nearby objects
and why? Design a circuit in TinkerCAD or Wokwi in which a LED
glows whenever an obstacle is detected. [EE]
Suggested Resource: Arduino Basics Tutorials
4
8. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is the backbone of modern engineer-
ing and product development, enabling efficient modelling of complex
parts. In this task, you are required to design the following machine
component using SolidWorks (preferable), AutoCAD or Fusion 360.
After that, draft a short report (100 words) documenting your process.
Include screenshots of the 3D Model, orthographic projections (top,
front, side views) and well-dimensioned drawings. Submit it along
with the source CAD file (e.g. ’.sldprt’). [MS]
Suggested Resource: SolidWorks for Beginners
5
Part II
1. Suppose you are working on a Martian Rover, whose objective is sur-
veying and collecting samples from the surface of Mars. Assume the
explorable surface to be rectangular. Implement both of the following
tasks in Wokwi. [EE]
(a) Joystick Navigation & Obstacle Detection:
Control the rover using a joystick on an 8×8 LED matrix (MAX7219).
Predefine at least 10 obstacle positions in the grid. If rover hits an
obstacle, mark location as Obstacle Detected and sound buzzer for
one second. If rover tries to move into the same obstacle again, stop
movement and keep buzzer ON until redirected. Use a push-button
to toggle LED matrix view between rover path and obstacles.
(b) Return to Start after Capture:
When rover reaches the capture spot, store the path taken. Au-
tomatically return to starting point by retracing the same path in
reverse. Show this return journey on the LED matrix visually.
2. Design and simulate a 3-DOF robotic arm in MATLAB using the
Robotics System Toolbox to pick up a cylindrical object (5 cm dia,
10 cm height) from coordinates (x = 0.3 m, y = 0.2 m, z = 0.0 m) and
place it at a target location (x = −0.2 m, y = 0.4 m, z = 0.1 m), while
avoiding a cuboidal obstacle at (x = 0.0 m, y = 0.3 m, z = 0.0 m)
with dimensions 0.1 m × 0.1 m × 0.2 m. [MS]
Suggested Resource: 3-DOF Robotic Manipulator in MATLAB
6
Guidelines for Task Submission
• For the circuits/simulation/drawings, you have to submit the files in
as standard format and number it as: <Question No.>. Otherwise,
all the documention need to be in the main PDF named as: <Main>.
You may also link the same with public viewing access enabled.
• Create a folder, consolidate all the files and submit it as a ZIP File
(.zip) naming it as :<YourName RollNo Task 2.
• The document formatting should be coherent as follows: font type
is Times New Roman and font size is 14.
• Use of AI-generated solutions is strictly prohibited. Before eval-
uating manually, we will screen the solutions on these grounds. If
significant use of AI is detected, the task won’t be evaluated and the
applicant will be eliminated directly.
• Please refrain from plagiarism. To avoid this, cite all external refer-
ences at end of the main document.
POC Allocation
• Vishakha - 96309 92902 • Part-I Q1: Harsh
• Part-I Q2: Vishakha
• Harsh - 86018 61706
• Part-I Q3: Gowtham
• Part-I Q4: Harsh
• Gowtham - 93630 23702
• Part-I Q5: Harini
• Harini - 98418 28165 • Part-I Q6: Dhaarini
• Part-I Q7: Harsh
• Dhaarini - 98415 62165 • Part-I Q8: Vishakha
• Part-II Q1: Harsh
• Part-II Q2: Vishakha
DEADLINE: 13th July 2025, 11:59 PM
ALL THE BEST
To Infinity & Beyond!
© Nakshatra, NIT-T
