The School of Electronics Engineering at KIIT Deemed to be University has taken a major stride in clean energy research with the installation of a custom-developed Ocean Wave Energy Emulator at the Advanced Control and Instrumentation Research (ACIR) Lab on 13th May 2025. This emulator is part of a DST-SERB sponsored project titled “Implementation of Artificial Intelligence Based Nonlinear Control Strategy for Oscillating Water Column (OWC) Prototype”, led by Dr. Sunil Kumar Mishra (Principal Investigator) and Dr. Bhargav Appasani (Co-Investigator). The primary objective of the project is to design and implement artificial intelligence-based nonlinear control strategies on a hardware emulator to replicate and optimize the behavior of OWC-based wave energy systems. The emulator setup recreates ocean wave conditions by controlling the torque of a DC motor to emulate the Wells turbine’s dynamic response, which in turn drives a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG). Real-time control of the PMSG’s rotational speed is achieved using FPGA-based implementation. A battery is integrated into the system to manage power flow and ensure stable operation under variable emulated wave inputs. This setup will serve as a valuable platform for M.Tech and Ph.D. research, enabling the testing of both traditional and AI-based control methods in a real-time environment. With this installation, KIIT strengthens its commitment to renewable energy innovation and advanced control system development.
