New Delhi : Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi (IIIT-Delhi), a State University created by an Act of the Delhi State Government, has joined hands with Enord, India’s first AI-on-edge Drone Tech Startup, to carry out joint research in the field of navigation of drones.

Enord is engaged in the business of designing and developing drones that have an AI pilot system for autonomous navigation, which is capable of flying even in any confined spaces that will ultimately create ease in operating, generating insights, and taking action that does not rely on GPS.

This collaboration of IIIT-Delhi and Enord will work towards developing robust algorithms to enable increased autonomy of drones in GPS-denied environments.

IIIT-Delhi houses The Space Systems Laboratory, which focuses on fundamental and applied research in the fields of Global and Regional Navigation Satellite Systems, Space Situational Awareness, estimation algorithms and navigation of space vehicles. The research programs of the laboratory are funded by DST-SERB, ISRO Respond Program and National Supercomputing Mission.

“The use of autonomous drones is rapidly growing in agriculture, defence, power, and telecommunication to increase productivity and reduce operational costs. India’s drone market was valued at around 6700 crores in FY2020 and is expected to grow 14.5% by 2026. Our collaboration with Enord  will enable the development of indigenous technologies to support the growth of the Indian drone market in alignment with the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems,” Dr.Sanat K Biswas, Principal Investigator on the project from IIIT-Delhi.

“This collaboration will strengthen the backbone of Enord and help in competing the market with cutting-edge technologies. As a matter of fact, Enord has made significant growth within two years of incorporation in the core development of AI & Drones. Enord is a collaborative company, and it intends to grow more strategic partnerships & collaboration to design, develop & deliver drones having state-of-the-art capabilities to meet the most complex mission in a seamless manner. With this significant growth, Enord is opening a Pre-Seed Round of $1.5 Mn on its secondanniversary in January 2023” Muhammad Anas, Co-Founder, Enord.

The outcome of this joint research will revolutionise the use of drones in industries, providing significant benefits in safety and productivity..