GATE-INTERVIEW-2

INTERVIEW-2

       Hello everyone,
            So here is the second interview in this series,and this time we have with us Sir. ADITYA ZADE who has secured a wonderful AIR-15 in GATE-2016.He did his B.Tech(Electrical Engineering) from sardar patel college of engineering.This was his second attempt, in his first attempt he was not able to make it upto his expectation and then decided to prepare again for GATE-16 and the rest is history.This interview will serve as a motivation for those who were not able to perform well in there first attempt and are still determined to crack gate.
    Finally i thank him for putting up such a beautiful example of how hard-work and determination can help you achieve your dreams. I hope many find his experience and suggestions helpful.

ADITYA ZADE,GATE-2016,AIR-15

Name

Aditya Zade

College

SPCE, Mumbai

YEAR

2016

All India Rank(AIR)

15

Score(out of 1000)

940

Marks(out of 100)

76.88

1.How was GATE paper this year? Give us some insights into GATE-2016 paper and compare it to past year question paper?

This year's paper was easier than the previous year paper. Actually I should say, the paper was not lengthy instead of saying it was easy. As this was the first year of online calculator, IISc did not set the paper with complicated calculations.

2.How did you feel after seeing first few questions? Did you feel relaxed and calm or you were anxious during first few questions? If you felt anxious then how did you calm yourself?

I started my paper with 1 mark questions. The questions were not that hard and could be solved in 1-2 steps. I felt very confident but I also realized that the paper is easy and have to solve the questions very carefully without doing any silly mistakes (as you know that if you are feeling that the paper is easy, 10000 other students might feel that too ). So instead of rushing into anything, I gave enough time to every questions I solved.

3.How did you go about attempting the paper? How did you distribute time among various sections like did you attempt 1 mark questions or 2 marks questions first? Please give a detailed description of time management strategy you followed?

I started my paper with 1 mark question of the technical part. I attempted those 1 mark questions(total 25 questions) in 50 min and then 2 marks questions(total 30 questions) of the technical part in 100 min. Then I attempted the aptitude part(total 10 questions) in 20 min. Still I had 10 min which I used to solve the questions which I had marked for review.
Overall I solved 56 questions out of 65 questions. That is 84 marks out of 100 marks.

4.What was the impact of Online Calculator on GATE Exam? How did you prepare yourself to tackle the Online Calculator?

As we know that "Practice makes a man perfect". I spent 4 months practicing the online calculator. Actually I was happy with the announcement of providing online calculator. Because I knew that IISc will not ask any questions having complicated calculations which was the scenario in actual paper.   

5.What do you feel about the increasing weightage of Numerical Answer Type Questions? How to improve accuracy in order to score well in Numerical Answer Type Questions?

My paper had 29 numerical type questions out of total 65 questions. The specialty of such questions is that even if the question is easy, you can not be sure about the answer. So I solved each numerical type question twice which was time consuming. So I would say if you are attempting any numerical type question, try to solve accurately in first attempt(you can do this by properly solving the question using pen and paper instead of solving in your mind and step by step instead of going for any shortcuts).

6.When did you start preparing for GATE exam?

This was my second attempt for GATE. I started my preparation in June. For first two months I studied for 10 hours a day and then till the month of December I studied for 11-12 hours a day. In the month of January, I reduced the number hours to 8 so that I wont get sick because of exertion. Always remember health is equally important as your preparation.     

7.Up to what date were you able to complete the course once? What was your target as to how many questions to practice in each subject? What was the sequence in which you prepared the subjects?

I completed my portion by the month of October. Then I took 35 days to revise everything(First revision) and appear for the first full test on 11th December. By the end of January I had revised everything for four times.

8.Which subjects according to require more practice and which subjects need to be read from standard textbooks?

(1)Most important subjects which require more practice:
    Power System, Power Electronics, Machines, Networks, Maths and Control         System
(2)Moderately important:
    Signals and Analog
(2)Subjects which can be completed quickly:
    Digital, Measurements and EMF

9.Which study material and standard books would you recommend for GATE Aspirants in each subject?

Power System    : B R Gupta, Nagrath Kothari, Wadhwa, Class Notes
PE                         : P S Bhimbra, Class Notes
Machines            : B R Patil, B L Theraja, Bhimbra, Class Notes
Networks            : Ravish Singh, Class Notes
Maths                  : Class Notes
Control System  : Class Notes
Signals                : Class Notes
Analog                 : Class Notes
Digital                  : Class Notes
Measurements   : Class Notes
EMF                      : Techmax and Class Notes
One suggestion, please do not ignore aptitude portion as it comes for 15 marks.

10.How did you keep the subjects fresh in your memory the entire time? Did you revise the subjects regularly or you left the revision for last few months? What was your strategy for revision in the last few months?

I left the revision for last few months. I completed my portion by the month of October. I took 35 days for my first revision, 20 days for second revision. 15 days for third revision and 10 days for fourth and last revision.  

11.What is the role of mock tests in your success in GATE exam? How many mock tests did you attempt? When did you start attempting mock tests?

According to me, out of 100%, completion of portion and revision contribute 50% and mock tests contribute 50% in our success in GATE exam. I attempted 24 mock tests. I gave my first mock test on 11th December. By the end of December, I had appeared for 8 mock tests. In the month of January, I appeared for 16 mock tests. The final GATE paper was my 25th paper, so I was confident and not nervous at all.
One suggestion, appear for at least 15 mock tests and keep 2-3 days gap between any two mock tests.

12.How was your score in Mock Tests? Is there any correlation between mock test performance and actual GATE performance?

I had joined the test series of three classes
(1) Gateforum   : 75 marks average
(2) Made Easy   : 65 marks average
(3) ACE               : 70 marks average
I would recommend to join ACE test series to every student.

13.What is the role of undergraduate studies or college studies in your GATE prep?

Undergraduate studies is like 'Sone Pe Suhaga'. I am saying this because it is true that even if you have not got proper knowledge during the graduation, you can perform well in GATE (considering you have prepared properly for it). But if you have got knowledge, it will not harm your preparation. It will simplify your preparation. So if you are graduating, try gaining the knowledge instead of 'Rattafication'.

14.How did you motivate yourself for such a long journey towards GATE?

Some people do not think a lot. They just prepare for the exam and appear the exam. Kind of like a robot. Such people do not go through any emotional problems.
But sadly I am not that person. I think a lot. I think about every minute, every second of my life. A person like me goes through the emotional problems like demotivation and depression. If you are a person like me, don't worry. Everyone has a special someone in his/her with whom he/she does not feel any depressed, demotivated. That special someone in my life was 'My Mother'. You just have to find out that person.
You can visit this link where I have answered a question related to motivation :
https://www.quora.com/Gate-2016-is-over-What-should-I-do-now/answer/Aditya-Zade

15.What is the success mantra that you would like to give to other GATE aspirants which has been critical for your preparation as well?

I would like to quote Martin Luther King "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.''
I have seen a lot of students enthusiastically preparing for GATE but quitting by the month of November or December. This should not be you. Finish what you have started. Don't stop preparation even if you are thinking that you won't be able to perform. Who knows, how paper will be. It may happen that you have read only 65 questions properly and exactly those questions appear in the paper.

              Thankyou Aditya for your precious guidance,this will surely help and motivate many to fulfill there dreams.

INTERVIEW-12

FEEDBACKINFRA

www.feedbackinfra.com

Name

AKSHAY MANOJ GAWADE

Branch

ELECTRICAL

College

Sardar Patel College of Engg.

Company

Feedback Infra

Month and year of interview

26/10/2015

Company profile

Design of thermal Power Plants, Laying of transmission Lines, Construction etc.

Hardness Level of Interview

5

Group Discussion Topic

Renewable Energy in India

Technical Round

*Design of Pump and Motor for Agricultural Well

Approach:

General things I considered were Area of Land, Amount of water(depends on type of crop), Duty cycle of motor per day etc.
From these data I got some specifications for pump like

·         Flow Rate(Q)

·         Cross section area of Pipe etc.

·         water head(h)

·         Density of water(rho)

·          Max. Distance up to where water is to be provided etc.

 Considering these parameters, interviewer told me to derive an expression for rating of Induction Motor. Then I simply combined all units, broke them in SI units, compared with SI unit of Watts(P) and got the answer as P=Q*(rho)*g*h.

So basically in this question it was not about the right answer, they were trying to test your approach if you are told to design something.

Other questions asked were on:

* IDMT curves

* what happens when S.C. current in panel flows for time greater than rated S.C. withstand capacity of Breaker

* 3-4 questions framed on 3 feeders having CB with different tripping time

* How a bus bar loses its mechanical strength


HR round

No questions asked

Any advice

      The panelists wanted the interviewees to relate Electrical Engg. with Mechanical.

Don't  give up even if you don't know the Answer!!!

INTERVIEW-11

Technip KT

Name

Shubham Chawande

Branch

Electrical

College

Sardar Patel College of Engineering

Company

Technip KT

Month and year of interview

1/11/2016

Company profile

Technip is a leading Project Management, Engineering and Construction company in for the Energy Industry. The job profile for electrical is core.
It probably includes designing the layout of electrical system of industries to be constructed.

Hardness Level of Interview(Out of 10)

6

Group Discussion Topic

No Group Discussion

Technical Round

1. Which subjects have you studied till now?

2. Details of syllabus studied in PE, M/Cs, Power system

3. Draw economical test cell circuit diagram. (expected answer was test circuit with cascade transformer, voltage multiplier circuit, etc.)

4. Favourite Subject or topic.

5. How 3-ph induction motor works?

6. What are the starting methods for induction motor? Arrange economically. 

7. Why use starters since 3ph induction motor is self-starting? How starting techniques differ from each other?

8. Starting current, starting torque, relation between starting and full load torque in multiples. Draw Torque slip characteristic and explain all regions and quadrants.

9. General idea about internship. I have done internship in distribution sector, so they ask me to draw layout of substation, single line diagram of any substation etc.

HR round

1. Family background.

2. For how many companies did you apply till now? and why have you not get selected?

3. What is your Hobby? I answered sketching so they ask me to sketch anything I wish.

4. Do you watch movies?, What do you do to pass time? etc.
HR interview was short. Interviewers didn't replied much. May they wanted us to speak more and make interview interactive.

Also there was a 3rd round called HOD round for Technical and HR interview selected students. This was the final elimination round.
In this round the head of department of Technip took an interactive interview.
1. What do company do ?and what will be our work in the  company?

2.Hobbies, family background, etc.

3. Recent things in politics that you don't like.

4. Future plans for next five years, higher education, etc.

5. How to deal critical situations in company.

The interview was just like 2nd HR round, more interactive and less question answer type.

Any advice

Visit the company site before going for interview.  Be honest if you don't know anything about topic or question asked.

Thankyou Shubham for your feedback...

INTERVIEW-10

SECURE METER

Name

Shambhavi Mulgaonkar

Branch

Electrical

College

Sardar Patel College of Engineering

Company

Secure Meters

Month and year of interview

10/13/2015

Hardness Level of Interview

6

Company profile

The company is a pioneer for meters and metering solutions in India. It helps monitor and report consumption so that we can use energy more efficiently and responsibly. It is a core job (Marketing profile).

Secure Meters has won the European Smart Metering and Smart grid award for data management and solutions for the year 2015. Corporate responsibilities are done through foundations like 'Dharohar' and 'Khoj'. Its head office is in Udaipur. But it has branches in Mumbai, Gurgaon as well as abroad.

Group Discussion Topic

Group Discussion was completely different. We were given small topics on which we had to answer in one or five lines, concisely and precisely. This was to test how quick and smart we are. 

Then we were given various topics to discuss like- 'Is Mumbai safe for women to travel at night?', 

'Should freshers opt for a job or higher studies?', and so on. All the questions and topics were HR questions in disguise. 

  The sooner you understood that, the better you could formulate your answers.

Technical Round

One technical round was face-to-face. 

Questions regarding:

1. Basic vector analysis, 
2. Three phase power and measurement, 
3. Vector diagrams, 
4. Harmonics, 
5. Single line diagram, 
6. Basic machines, 
7. Power electronics questions 
8. and random questions like what circuit is used for a fan regulator, etc were asked. 

In the video interview (via Skype) ,

I was asked working of Induction motor, and in depth questions related to my BE project. I was also asked general questions regarding upcoming trends in smart grid and power sector.

HR round

HR round was basically were I live, my family background and my interests. 

Further they asked me if I was open to travel since the job offered was sales and marketing. They also asked how I will talk to new people, will I be interested in laying a foundation for their social causes here in Mumbai. They also showed me my technical and general aptitude answer sheets and asked me why I had answered certain questions in a certain manner, etc. They asked me if i was interested in further education, whether i would continue with Secure Meters for a good period of time and also in depth about my hobbies and my thought over various social causes to a great extent. We were also asked to write a feedback for the entire process they had held over a period of two days. 

Later, after I was selected, they informed me that i would be given a knowledge up-gradation schedule and training for two months in Udaipur.

Any advice

Be extremely honest and down to earth. Try to gauge the reason and logic behind every question and never contradict yourself. Be clear in what you know and what you don't and be upfront about. Since it was a marketing position for a core company, you need to have both technical and soft skills. Don't brag. These were very honest people and they expect the same from you. 
Be ready to travel or relocate, such opportunities are hard to find with a rigid set of mind. Try to show them that you can be an asset and bring something new to the table. Confidence is everything! All the best!

Implementation Analysis-Seed Sowing Robot

Preparing  the  Arena        

Design Analysis

Q-1      How will you detect the holes using the sensors available to you in  the kit?     
   We will be using the following sensors for detection of holes :

·         SHARP IR RANGE SENSORS(GP2D120) INTRODUCTION:

We are using the sharp IR range sensors GP2D120. The Sharp GP2D12 infrared ranger is able to continuously measure the distance to an object. The usable range is 10 cm to 80 cm. The device generates an analog voltage that is a function of range, and the output voltage can be measured by an analog-to-digital (ADC) input line on fire bird 5.

How it works

The device emits a pulsed infrared beam at a wavelength of 850 nm ± 70 nm. If an object is within range and in line with the IR beam, reflected light forms an image on a linear CCD  array in the receiver.

Triangulation is then used to determine range. Readings are updated at a rate of approximately 24 Hz. The detector is relatively insensitive to ambient lighting, as well as reflectivity of the object being detected. It is possible to detect relatively dark objects in full sunlight.

The output voltage is a nonlinear function of the distance from the object to the receiver. In figure 1, the curve of voltage vs. distance was taken from Sharp documentation.

**Note that objects less than 10 cm away can look like objects at longer distances. This ambiguity needs to be taken into account if objects are allowed to be closer than the 10 cm threshold.

Triangulation Method:

In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angle to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly. The point can then be fixed as the third point of a triangle with one known side and two known angles.

The figure 2 shows the principle of triangulation method used in sharp sensors to calculate distance from the object

Q-2            Draw a labeled diagram to explain how you have planned to place the sensors on/around  the  robot? (15)

We are using only the two sharp IR range sensors provided in the kit for detection of hole. The figures 3 and 4 accurately determine the position of the two sharp sensors with respect to the arena and the position of the robot

JUSTIFICATION:

We have decided to place the sensors in the position shown above ,because it will help us detect the hole with great accuracy and prevent us from missing any hole .The sharp sensors have been adjusted in our arrangement at a height, such that it gives a great variation of output analog voltage when it moves from the thermocol surface towards  a hole

.This output analog voltage is then feed to the respective ADC converters which gives the approximate distance of the surface from the sharp sensor.(*in our arrangement ,a value less than 85 represents the presence of the thermocol surface underneath and is indicated by a digital value 0, will a value returned by sharp sensor above 120 represents a hole and is indicated by a digital value 1.Thus whenever the value of the sensor goes from 0 to 1 it represents the presence of the hole underneath.)

DIFFICULTIES:

We had to place the sensor in such a way that the surface is always at a distance more than 10 cm ,as we have discussed earlier that objects at a distance closer than 10 cm  can cause problem .

Q-3      Teams have to prepare the dispenser mechanism for dropping seeds into the holes.

a)      Choose an option you would like to use to position the dispenser mechanism on the robot.          (5)

1.     Front           2.     Back                       3.     Right/Left                   4.   On both sides

Answer: On both sides

**We have placed our mechanism at the center of the robot and have drawn to pipes, such that they are exactly over the left and right whole .thus we have selected the 4 option.

We would be placing the dispenser mechanism on the robot as shown in the figure 5

a) Draw a diagram to show the dispenser mechanism and how it is mounted  on the  robot.    (15)

The following figure determines the position of our designed mechanism for dispensing seeds one by one. We decided to mount our mechanism in the position shown after taking into consideration the following factors:

JUSTIFICATION:

We decided to place the mechanism on both sides of the robot such that the robot does not needs to deviate from the line. Thus the robot can remain in its position and can sow the seeds in the intended hole, preventing any error or confusion due to deviation from the line.

Other factors considered to decide the position of the mechanism:

·         Weight balancing :

Initially we had decided to place two storage and dispensing mechanism on both sides of the robot i.e. left and right, but taking into consideration the weight balancing of the robot we decided to use a single storage and dispensing mechanism such that the overall weight of the robot is balanced and took out two outlets from the it one for sowing seed in the left and the other for sowing in the right hole as shown in the figure 5.Besides this it also provides one more advantage that ,the overall load on the motor is reduced thereby reducing the current drawn by the motor.

·         Ease of mobility:

As discussed earlier we changed our plan of using 2 storage and dispensing mechanism, because it also brought a large amount of constraint on the motion of the robot. Thus reducing the ease with which the robot can move around the arena.

·        Stability of the structure:

Figure 5

WORKING:

Our mechanism consists of three major sections:

·         Seed Storage unit: The storage unit is basically used to store the seeds required for sowing .The unit is designed to store a maximum of 88 seeds .it consists of 8 tubular cylinders separated by 45 degrees , each tube having a capacity to store 11 seeds each as shown in the figure .it is always stationary.

·         Temporary Single seed separation unit:

It basically consist of two parts .one part consists of two disk 1 and 2 as shown in  the figure which are coupled together and are connected to the stepper motor .in between this two disk is another storage unit as above but has the capacity to hold only one seed at  a  time  .the  disk  1  and  2  each  have  a  single  hole  in  them  along  the  rim  of  the  disks

,separated by 45 degrees .the upper disk has a hole 45 degree ahead of the hole in the  lower disk. the hole in the disk 1 allows a seed to come in the single seed storage unit , when it is rotated by 45 degrees the hole in the disk 2 comes directly below the seed and thus the seed finally comes out of the storage unit and is then feed into the dispensing  unit

.this process is continued to drop one seed at a time.

Thus the above mechanism does not allow more then one seed to fall at the same time, preventing any unwanted loss of seed.

Figure 6

·         Dispensing unit: After the seed comes in this unit, it is directed by the servo to the respective hole either left or right. The position of the servo motor is shown in the  figure 7.We have used the servo motor to rotate the flap connected to its shaft a shown in the figure 8.The flap is rotated to decide in which hole does the seed actually go into, which is decided by the program .The figure 9 shown how the seed is diverted towards the left hole by the flap. Similarly the seed can be made to go in the right hole as well.

      FIGURE 7

FIGURE 8

After all of this the seeds are dropped in the hole and the robot moves ahead

Figure 9Q-4  Choose the actuator you will use to design the  dispenser mechanism.                  (5)

1.     DC-Motor        2.   Servo Motor             3.    Stepper   Motor                  4. Others Answer: Stepper motor and servo motor both.

Justify your answer by stating the advantage of the chosen actuator over others. Also give reasons for not using other actuators.

JUSTIFICATION:

We are using both a stepper motor and a servo motor in our overall dispensing mechanism ,but the stepper motor forms an much more integral part of our mechanism .The Stepper motor is used to rotate the disc in our mechanism by a specific angle depending on the number of seeds to be dropped in the hole .We decided to use a stepper motor ,because we required the differentiating disc shown in the figure 6 to be rotated by a complete 360 degree and the servo provided in the kit can rotate only a angle of 180 degrees .

Stepper Advantages:

Stepper motors offer several advantages over servo motors:

·         larger number of poles

·         Easier drive control.

·         The design of the stepper motor provides a constant holding torque without the need for the motor to be powered.

·         The torque of a stepper motor at low speeds is greater than a servo motor of the same size.

·         One of the biggest advantages of stepper motors is their relatively low cost and availability.

Conclusion:

For selecting the best motor for our application, we took into consideration the key design criteria for our system including cost, positional accuracy requirements, torque requirements, drive power availability, and acceleration requirements. Overall, servo motors are best for high speed, low torque applications while stepper motors are better suited for lower acceleration, high holding torque applications.

Thus we decided to use a stepper motor for rotating our disc as it required a high holding torque and their was no need of speed in this application.

Algorithm Analysis

Q-1 Draw a flowchart illustrating the algorithm used to complete the  entire task.          (40) We have divided the overall programs into three sub sections as follows:

·         MAIN

·         LINEFOLLOWER:

In the line follower algorithm below the sensors are represented by the terms left ,right and center respectively .while black and white terms are used to indicate the colour of  the surface.

·         SEED SOWING

MAIN PROGRAM

LINE FOLLOWER FUNCTION

SEED SOWING FUNCTION