By C.M. Paul
Guwahati, Feb. 17, 2019: Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU) has organized a two-day workshop as part of its commitment to promote the use of Free and Open Source Software in Engineering studies.
The February 16-17 workshop was the fourth on Arduino and Raspberry Pi (WAR-2019) hardware and software that the Guwahati-based university has organized.
A total of 18 people, including participants from other engineering Institutes in the northeastern India state, attended the workshop.
Director of Girijananda Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT), Guwahati, and former principal of Assam Engineering College Prof P.K. Brahma was the chief guest.
Other dignitaries from ADBU included heads of departments of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. P. Joseph; EEE Prof Shakuntala Laskar, and Faculty and Staff Members of EEE department.
“The main objective of the workshop is to give the participants an insight to various applications of Arduino and Raspberry-Pi, the former being an open-source platform to develop engineering projects whereas the latter is a handy small single-board computer,” explained ADBU pro vice-chancellor Father Joseph Nellanattu.
Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs – light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message – and turn it into an output – activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online.
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV, and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in languages like Scratch and Python.
Coordinator of the workshop Senior Assistant Prof Jesif Ahmed added, “Covering from the basics, the workshop included hands-on projects using Arduino and Raspberry-Pi, which are the latest trends in many electrical and electronics applications.”