MoS Singh Inaugurates “Autonomous Navigation” Facility In IIT Hyderabad Campus

MoS Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated state-of-the-art “Autonomous Navigation” facility to develop unmanned ground and aerial vehicles in the IIT Hyderabad campus. During the event, he also interacted with Startups developing unmanned ground motor vehicles like driver-less self-driven motor cars, driver-less self-driven bicycles etc., and unmanned aerial vehicles including drones in different shapes and sizes.

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, cut the ribbon to launch the “Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation” (TiHAN) in IIT Hyderabad campus.

This new hub will be a multidisciplinary initiative, which will make India a global player in the futuristic and next generation “Smart Mobility" technology”. The Union Ministry of Science & Technology will be pouring in Rs 130 crore to fund this initiative. 

After the inauguration, Dr Jitendra Singh also listened to the experience of the young Startups, engaged in unmanned vehicle navigation projects and suggested that they should be linked with industry for further sustenance and growth.

The Minister said, the vision of TiHAN-IITH, is to become a global player for next generation smart mobility technologies and the Ministry of Science & Technology has come forward to support this initiative, which will be a trendsetter for others as well.

He further said, TiHAN Testbed will provide a unique platform for high quality research between academia, industry and R&D labs both at the national and international level, thus making India a global leader in autonomous navigation technologies. 

Dr Jitendra Singh also added that the TiHAN-IITH testbed on Autonomous Navigations (Aerial & Terrestrial) will allow us testing the next generation autonomous navigation technologies accurately and allow faster technology development and global market penetration.

TiHAN is developing and deploying a real-time CPS system utilising autonomous UAVs and ground/surface vehicles for many application sectors of the national importance of this decade. He said, this testbed includes simulation platforms that allow for non-destructive testing of algorithms and prototypes.