IIT Guwahati signs MoU with Industry partners to boost drone tech in Northeast
The MOU aims at R&D for Development of few prototype drones for agriculture and surveillance purposes
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with M/S Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (AMTRON), and M/S RC Hobbytech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (RCH), on 18th January 2023 with a motive to work together on strengthening and expanding drone-based training, research and development, manufacturing for varied sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, wildlife conservation and health care, among others.
The MoU was signed between Prof. Parameswar K. Iyer, Officiating Director, IIT Guwahati, and S. Sundar, IFS – Managing Director, AMTRON, and Biswajit Dey, Co-Founder – RC Hobbytech Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Speaking during the MoU signing event Prof. Parameswar K. Iyer, Officiating Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “The three organizations will work in tandem to actively engage in the research and development activities and the esteemed members of IIT Guwahati Drone Centre and Technology Incubation Hub will be integral parts in this endeavor for the greater good of the region.”
The scope of operations under the new collaboration will include –
Establishment of a Commercial Drone Flying School at IIT Guwahati campus
The Commercial Drone Flying School will offer commercial drone flying fresher courses and other related advisory and consultancy services such as renewing their drone flying license, secure necessary commercial drone permits and help prepare students for drone flying tests.
Along with this, the school will also connect the students with organizations that need professional drone flyers.
Professional Drone Courses
Professional courses in the field of drones that will offer a wide range of services such as Drone based survey and mapping; Geographic Information Systems courses; Coding and AI related courses, and other related courses will be a part of this objective. The classes for these courses will take place at IIT Guwahati campus.
Research and Development for initial Development of few prototype Drones for Agriculture and Surveillance purposes
IIT Guwahati along with the industry partners will work on initially developing few prototype drones with an aim of getting it certified by the Quality Council of India (QCI) which will be used in activities including Agriculture; Spraying/ Seeding and Crop health monitoring, and Vertical Take-Off and Landing fixed wing Drone for payload delivery, mapping and surveillance.The Institute will provide all the necessary machinery, software, related hardware and other utilities for the same.
Development of a Disaster Response Management System to Identify and Actuate any Disaster Response within the State of Assam
By utilizing the expertise of all stakeholders, a Disaster Response Management System will be developed to address the identify and actuate any disaster in Assam. For the same, a team of students, professionals along with ready to fly surveillance and payload delivery drones will be setup for emergency response.
For the same, IIT Guwahati will develop drones to cater to the needs of the state to contain disasters, AMTRON will provide communication support, and RCH will provide necessary technical expertise in developing the drones and associated systems.
The MOU aims at R&D for Development