Pushing ahead in its research and development (R&D) activity, the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) has unveiled a driver-less vehicle, drones that can carry humans and an autonomous moving cycle. India’s first test-bed for autonomous navigation was also inaugurated on the IIT-H premises meant for both ground and aerial vehicle testing.
TiHAN of IIT-H is recognised as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (SIRO) by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Union Minister of State (independent charge) Science & Technology Jitendra Singh inaugurated the TiHAN test-bed for Autonomous Navigation at II-TH on Monday, stressing that it will be the destination for next-generation safe, sustainable and smart mobility solutions.
“India’s first test-bed for autonomous navigation would provide a platform for industries, R&D labs, and academia to drive collaborative research in autonomous navigation, thus making India a global leader in these technologies. TiHAN will be the source of futuristic technology generation for autonomous vehicles while the TiHAN-IITH testbed on autonomous navigations will allow us to test the next-generation autonomous navigation technologies accurately and allow faster technology development and global market penetration,” Mr. Singh said at the inauguration.
The department of Science and Technology (DST) is setting up 25 technology innovation hubs across the country under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems, which is one of the many programmes to make India a frontrunner and destination for futuristic technologies, he added. IIT-H has been named the Technology Innovation Hub in ‘Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition Systems,’ a multi-disciplinary initiative, including researchers from electrical engineering, computer science, engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, civil engineering, mathematics, design, liberal arts, and entrepreneurship.
DST Secretary Srivari Chandrasekhar said the department has been funding any agency that comes forward to initiate a startup ecosystem by giving infrastructure. “Through the technology development board, we are also offering small loans at very little interest. Today, IIT-H director B.S. Murty and professor Rajalakshmi have shown us how the drone size can be increased so that even human beings can be carried in it. This drone and autonomous vehicle technology are certainly going to be the game-changer, especially when you want to send the vehicles to places where humans cannot enter, where some chemical poisons are coming out, such as the Bhopal gas tragedy,” he explained.
IIT-H Board of Governors chairman B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, dean (R&D) Kiran Kuchi and Lok Sabha member K. Prabhakar Reddy were present.
