With APOGEE just around the corner, the APOGEE English Press interviewed Moksh Gupta, the coordinator of CRISS Robotics, to learn about their work for the upcoming fest.

Moksh began by assuring that their kernel event, RoboWars, would be held with the same rigour as it always had, with minor changes in weight classes, going from 15 kg and 30 kg to 8kg and 15kg. The event has a prize pool of two-and-a-half lakh rupees. Another event from the club is going to be the Technical Experience Zone, where participants could engage in activities such as Mini-RoboWars and Maze Solver. Collaborating with the Department of External Affairs (DExA), they have also planned to organise mini-fests in schools and colleges around India, to conduct workshops on Blender, Arduino, Computer Vision and Fusion 360.

The club had pitched Gaming Zone as well, an event they had previously organised during BOSM and were awaiting approval from the CoStAA. If confirmed, it would be held alongside the Technical Experience Zone. Moksh shared that their 3D printing workshop, in collaboration with the Department of Sponsorship and Marketing (Sponz), might not happen at all due to Sponz pulling out of APOGEE this year.

Moksh stated that they had faced issues with the cost of their equipment but managed to haggle down reasonably well. He recalled having a huge budget in APOGEE ’24 and claimed that they would be conducting similar events with just a tenth of the previous budget this time. He further expressed that their focus this time was more on generating revenue than spending the money allotted to them.

Moksh elaborated on his experience as a coordinator by appreciating his team and the CoStAA for their continued support. He concluded by requesting the GBM to stay on campus and enjoy the events that the tech teams on campus had to offer.