CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is showcasing seven cutting-edge projects at the ‘IITs R&D Fair’ being held at IIT Delhi on 14th and 15th October 2022.

These projects are from diverse fields such as Telecommunications and Biotechnology to rehabilitative devices for the differently-abled. They are significant technological innovations that are poised to make a social impact on the community at large.

The Seven Projects include

1. SHAKTI Class of indigenously-designed RISC-V Processors
2. Indigenous 5G/5Gi network solutions
3. Sustainable production of plant-derived anti-cancer drug-lead Camptothecin via microbial fermentation route
4. Bio and Chemical Sensor Technologies for Healthcare, Environment and Pharma
5. ARTSENS® device for Early vascular ageing assessment
6. New-Gen Single/Multi-point Superabrasive Tools
7. NeoBolt – Motorized add-on to Wheelchair for Outdoor Mobility for differently abled

Highlighting the translational and transformational research underway at IIT Madras, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, “The faculty and students of our Institute have been working on technologies of societal importance spanning across multiple disciplines of science and engineering, as evident from the list of projects we will be demonstrating at the IIT R&D fair 2022. The R&D Fair is a great opportunity for the industry-academia interaction with an objective to enable large-scale productization of the technologies. We are confident that this effort shall culminate in multiple atma-nirbhar products in the Indian market.  ”

1. Title: Indigenous 5G/5Gi network solutions

Theme: Smart Cities and Infrastructure

PI: Prof. Radha Krishna Ganti / Prof. Rohit Budhiraja

Brief description: This is an Indigenously developed end-to-end 5G system by IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, CEWIT and Sameer. 5G technologies are going to encompass all aspects of digital life in the coming decade. It is imperative that we have an indigenous solution by which we can realize a secure end-to-end 5G network. Towards this, in this project, IITs have come together and built the required hardware and software for realizing an Indian 5G network solution.

This is a completely indigenously developed solution which works with both the 5G standard as well as the indigenously developed 5Gi standard. Based on ITU standards, the technology will work with commercial cell phones and the designs can be modified for any India-specific use.

2. Title of the technology/project: Sustainable production of plant-derived anti-cancer drug-lead Camptothecin via microbial fermentation route

Theme: Healthcare (Biopharmaceuticals)

PI: Dr. Smita Srivastava, IITM

Brief description: This microbial fermentation process for Camptothecin (CPT) is a sustainable alternative to its extraction from the natural plant source. It is eco-friendly and cost-effective in vitro method, independent of nature. The novel microbial source is amenable to further optimization and scale-up in reduced space and time, for improved CPT yield and productivity, to continuously match its increasing market demands. This can be an indigenous production technology for India to substitute imports of CPT from other countries like China.

Technology readiness is currently at level 3, while its advancement for commercial feasibility is ongoing with initial govt. & industry funding/collaboration.

3. Title of the technology/project: Bio and Chemical Sensor Technologies for Healthcare, Environment and Pharma

(Plasmonic Fiberoptic Absorbance Biosensor (P-FAB) for Low-cost and Ultrasensitive Tuberculosis Diagnosis)

PI: Prof. V.V. Raghavendra Sai

Brief description: The Biosensors Laboratory at IIT Madras, led by Dr. V V Raghavendra Sai, has developed a scalable and field-deployable fiber optic sensor technology that is capable of detecting multiple chemical and biological molecules of interest at ultra-low concentrations (down to 150 molecules in 25 microlitres, volume of a droplet) at a time. A proof-of-concept realized for early diagnosis of diseases including tuberculosis from urine, cancer from blood samples and maternal care; pathogenic bacteria, virii and toxins in food and water; environmental pollutants such as heavy metal ions, antibiotics and pesticides; biomolecular interactions and drug discovery studies for pharmaceutical industry.

4. Title of the technology/project: ARTSENS®: Early vascular ageing assessment:

PI: Prof. Jayaraj Joseph, Prof. Mohansankar Sivaprakasam

Brief description ARTSENS® is an IITM-developed technology for non-invasive assessment of early vascular health markers. The ARTSENS® Plus device can assess the carotid stiffness, aortic pulse wave velocity and central blood pressure – all in a single non-invasive test in a few minutes for quantification of vascular ageing and screening for early intervention and prevention. ARTSENS is clinically validated in India and Europe, on nearly 5000 subjects, and has led to over 100 publications, 3 granted patents and has more than 25 patents pending and is tested as per required IEC60601 standards/The device is ready for technology transfer and manufacturing scale-up.

5. Theme: Manufacturing (including smart, advanced and industry 4.0)

Short Title: New-Gen Single/Multipoint Superabrasive Tools

PI: Dr. Amitava Ghosh, Professor, Dept of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras.

Brief description: New generation single-layer cBN/diamond grinding tools have been indigenously developed with a unique attribute of application-specific patterned grit-distribution. The joining of cBN and diamonds on steel substrate is realised by advanced active brazing Technology. The research team developed indigenous advanced formulations of brazing fillers and a semi-automatic grit printing set-up which are essential for producing such next-generation tools. These tools are claimed to be remarkably superior to commercial counterparts in terms of high tool life and capability of grinding materials with an extremely high material removal rate without wheel-loading. The developed technology enables manufacturers to produce a wide range of tools including straight/profiled grinding wheels, dressers, clipper wheels, rock cutting diamond cable-bids, dental surgical tools etc.

6. Title of the technology/project: SHAKTI Class of RISC-V Processors

PI: Prof. V. Kamakoti

Project Title: SHAKTI Class of RISC-V Processors IIT Madras

Theme: Robotics, Sensors & Actuators, & Semiconductors

Brief description: SHAKTI is India’s first indigenously designed RISC-V processor. Two variants of the SHAKTI processor have been silicon proven in 130nm and 28nm fab facilities. As part of the Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge, more than 100 teams across the country used the SHAKTI processor variants in developing innovative applications and demonstrating the applications running on SHAKTI successfully. A representative set of domains in which this processor can be used are: IoT, Image Sensors, Drones, Edge Computing. Advanced variants of the SHAKTI processor are being engineered currently for better performance.

7. Title of the technology/project: NeoBolt – Motorized add-on to Wheelchair for Outdoor Mobility

PI: Prof. Sujatha Srinivasan

Theme – Smart Cities & Infrastructure (including smart mobility)

Brief description: NeoBolt clips on in seconds, converting the NeoFly manual wheelchair into a road-worthy scooter. With a range of 25 km and a top speed of 25 kmph, NeoBolt empowers users to commute to work, school, hospital, shops, etc., in rural and urban areas. Combined with accessible metros, the NeoBolt enables users to go faster and further than ever before. Tested for Indian road conditions, the device is powered by a battery and is currently used by over 800 wheelchair users across India. NeoBolt simply changes several inaccessible places for wheelchair users into accessible ones, giving a fair chance for persons with disability and the elderly to live active lives and perform their community roles