By Team Excel India
A first of its kind monument in India was held at IIT Hyderabad (IIT-H), when the Union Minister of State for Science & Technology (Independent Charge) Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the TiHAN Testbed for Autonomous Navigation at IIT Hyderabad on July 4, Monday, stressing that it will be the destination for next-generation safe, sustainable and smart mobility solutions.
He said that 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.
The event successfully concluded with the milestone of marking the future of the Autonomous Navigation industry in the country & world in the august presence of beloved BoG Chairman, IITH, Dr. BVR Mohan Reddy, Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar – Secretary, DST, and Shri Kotha Prabhakar Reddy (Member of Parliament, Medak), hosted by Prof BS Murty Director, Deans, HoDs, Faculty, Staff & Students of IIT Hyderabad.
“The TiHAN – IITH 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,” Dr. Singh said..
Dr Singh said: “Setting up of 25 technology innovation hubs by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) across the country under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) is one of the many programs launched under the leadership of the Prime Minister to make India a frontrunner and destination for futuristic technologies.
IIT Hyderabad has been awarded the Technology Innovation Hub in ‘Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition Systems, which is a multi-disciplinary initiative, including researchers from electrical engineering, computer science, engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, civil engineering, mathematics, design, liberal arts, and entrepreneurship.
Congratulating TiHAN-IITH on occasion, Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar – Secretary, DST, said, “It is a proud and honor moment for IITH that the minister has given us time to come and see what we are doing here, a great show of how IITH is moving toward autonomous vehicles and how drone technologies are growing up. The minister was advocating how this startup ecosystem would flourish.
We all are aware that Bangalore dominates the startup ecoculture. Still, under the leadership of Dr. Jitendra Singh, we are able to push many centres like we have four in IIT Hyderabad, where these startups are happening, including in the remote areas of Northeast India and Jammu & Kashmir. DST 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.”
Witnessing the TiHAN-IITH this remarkable journey, Dr. BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Hyderabad, said, “It is another momentous day in the history of IITH as we inaugurated the TiHAN, which is a Technology related hub for Autonomous Navigation.
IITH has made tremendous progress under the leadership of B S Murty. Human imagination is the only limitation in terms of the number of applications. We have shown you two applications one is agriculture, and the other is cloud control. Thank Hon’ble Minister, for making time to come to IITH.
Expressing delight on occasion, Prof B S Murty, Director IITH, said, “It is a great day for all of us that Hon’ble Minister for Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh Ji is with us to inaugurate TiHAN Testbed and has seen the excellent research that is going on at IITH in the various fields from Healthcare to Autonomous Navigation.
This Autonomous Navigation Testbed, inaugurated, is 1st of its kind in India that is meant for both Ground & Aerial Vehicle testing. The Team led by Prof Rajalakshmi is doing exceedingly well to ensure that India not only becomes Aatma Nirbhar but also becomes a leader in the field of Autonomous Navigation, said Dr Murthy.
