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TL;DR
- Bangladeshi student team “Bored Tunnelers” becomes first South Asian finalist in Elon Musk’s Not-a-Boring Competition
- The team’s microtunnel boring machine aims to revolutionize Bangladesh’s civil engineering sector with safer, faster, and more cost-effective tunneling
- Comprised of 20 members from eight engineering schools, the team designed and manufactured most parts locally at BITAC in Dhaka
- Despite financial challenges, Bored Tunnelers will compete in the finals in Bastrop, Texas, starting March 24, 2024
A team of Bangladeshi students has made history by becoming the first South Asian team to qualify for the finals of Elon Musk’s Not-a-Boring Competition. The team, named “Bored Tunnelers,” comprises 20 members from eight prestigious engineering schools across Bangladesh, including BUET, RUET, MIST, and SUST.
The competition, hosted annually by Musk’s “The Boring Company,” challenges participants to create innovative tunneling solutions. Out of approximately 400 global teams submitting microtunnel boring machine (MTBM) designs, only 10 to 12 make it to the finals.
Team leader Shaekh Mohammad Shithil recounts the team’s formation, saying, “It all started on a fine morning in February 2023, when my school friend Mahim and I saw the announcement for the fourth cohort of the ‘Not-a-Boring Competition’ and decided to take a chance.”
The Bored Tunnelers’ MTBM features a 500 mm diameter cutter head and a 45-inch metal body. Team co-lead Shahriar Iqbal Mahim explains, “We have a hydraulic system that pushes the machine forward and the area that has been excavated is automatically filled up by the automatic navigation system attached to the TBM.”
The team’s technology aims to address several issues in Bangladesh’s civil engineering sector, including surface disruption during water line digging and safety concerns in manual labor-intensive infrastructure projects. Fahin Uddin Enam, the team’s tech lead, emphasizes the potential of their micro tunneling technology to improve safety, speed, and cost-effectiveness in various applications.
The Bored Tunnelers manufacture most of their machine parts at the Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistance Center (BITAC) in Tejgaon, Dhaka. They have received support from Gigabyte Aorus as their tech partner and guidance from mentors including Salman Promon from the University of Houston and officials from BITAC and the Ministry of Public Administration.
Despite facing financial challenges, the team remains committed to revolutionizing Bangladesh’s civil engineering sector. They are now preparing for the competition finals, scheduled to take place from March 24 in Bastrop, Texas.
This achievement not only showcases the talent and innovation of Bangladeshi students but also highlights the potential for advanced tunneling technologies to address infrastructure challenges in developing countries.
News Source: The Daily Star
