In a significant advancement for India's marine exploration capabilities, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad and IIT Mandi have jointly unveiled a state-of-the-art underwater robotic vehicle (URV). This groundbreaking technology, funded by the National Mission of Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), is capable of exploring depths of up to 300 meters.
The URV boasts a range of cutting-edge features, including tilting thrusters for enhanced maneuverability, six degrees of freedom manipulators for precise underwater manipulation, high endurance for extended missions, and fully autonomous control for a variety of marine applications.
Extensive testing, conducted in both simulated and real-world environments with the support of the Indian Navy, has demonstrated the vehicle's exceptional performance even in challenging conditions.
The research team, led by Professor Santhakumar Mohan from IIT Palakkad and Assistant Professor Jagadeesh Kadiyam from IIT Mandi, has filed for an Indian patent for their innovative design.
Dr. Kadiyam emphasized the URV's versatility, stating, "The developed system can handle different underwater missions in the ocean and inland waters such as inspection and intervention."
The potential applications of this technology are vast, spanning across industries such as offshore oil and gas exploration, seabed surveys, underwater maintenance, and defense operations.
Recognizing the immense commercial potential, discussions are underway between IIT Palakkad, the IIT Palakkad Technology IHub Foundation (IPTIF), and a leading marine robotics start-up for the transfer and commercialization of this technology.
The development of the URV aligns with IIT Palakkad's commitment to fostering technological innovation. Director A. Seshadri Sekhar highlighted the importance of this achievement, stating, "The progress in URV technology... exemplifies our capability to innovate, design, and manufacture sophisticated engineering products domestically."
He further emphasized the potential benefits for various industries, noting that the URV addresses the need for advanced solutions in the exploration of hostile and unstructured marine environments.
Saishyam Narayanan, CEO of IPTIF, described this accomplishment as "one of the early achievements arising from the technology pipeline of IPTIF." IPTIF, a Section 8 company established by IIT Palakkad and one of the nation's 25 Technology Innovation Hubs, plays a crucial role in supporting deep-tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, fostering skill development, and driving innovation in the field of Cyber-Physical Systems.
