Indian Students Win Gold Cup with AI Platform That Simplifies Industrial PLC Programming

New Delhi, – A team of Indian students has won the Gold Cup at the Mitsubishi Electric Cup after developing an artificial intelligence-based platform that simplifies industrial programmable logic controller (PLC) programming.

The team, called **Nexus AI**, created a system that enables users to describe machine control logic in natural language. The platform then automatically converts these instructions into Structured Text code, a modern programming alternative to traditional ladder logic used in industrial automation.

After several months of development, the students successfully built an AI-powered platform capable of generating executable control programs for Mitsubishi Electric IQ-F (FX5U) PLCs.

The innovation was demonstrated through a fully functional **Automated Dip Dyeing Machine**, which operated entirely on AI-generated control code produced by the Nexus AI platform. The system ran using Mitsubishi Electric’s industrial automation equipment, including PLCs, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), servo motors, and other factory automation components.

During the final round held at the MIT Pune campus, the project underwent detailed evaluation by an eight-member jury consisting of automation programmers, ladder logic specialists, and Mitsubishi Electric research and development engineers. The panel assessed the platform’s architecture, logic reliability, safety framework, and scalability.

Senior company leaders, including Atsushi Takase, Managing Director of Mitsubishi Electric India, also interacted with the team and expressed interest in potential collaboration opportunities in the future.

Team Nexus AI from **Sona College of Technology in Tamil Nadu** will now represent Mitsubishi Electric India at the Global Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation (MECA) Competition scheduled for September 2026.

The team was selected from nearly 300 entries across the country and progressed through multiple stages of technical evaluation with guidance from Mitsubishi Electric mentors and trainers. After around 150 days of intensive work alongside their academic studies, the team emerged as the Gold Cup winner and received a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000.

Commenting on the achievement, Chocko Valliappa, Vice Chairman of Sona College of Technology, said the institution’s research-driven environment encourages innovation among students.

He noted that this is the third national industry competition won by Sona student teams in recent months, following victories in competitions organised by Capgemini and Google Gemini, highlighting the strong mentoring ecosystem at the college.

—IANS