Mangaluru: NITK students design e-bike for forest department

Mangaluru: Students of the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) have designed an environment friendly e-bike ‘VidhYug 4.0’ which is suitable for commuting inside the Kudremukh National Park under Kudremukh Wildlife Division (KWD).

The e bike, designed under the guidance of Dr Pruthviraj U, assistant professor, water resources and ocean engineering, NITK, Surathkal, is powered by solar batteries and has a detachable headlight which can be used as a torch by the officials.

Dr Pruthviraj informed that the e-bike was designed keeping in mind the need of the forest department and officials.

He further said, “This mobility drive can be solar-powered and charge walkie-talkies, mobiles or GPS systems and the headlight can be dismantled into a portable torch with inbuilt batteries.”

Moreover, the electric motor of the e-bike is silent and will be an added advantage to officials as it will not create any disturbance to wildlife and may aid in nabbing poachers.