Roorkee : Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee will soon get a Technology Hub under the National Mission of Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS). It is one of the 25 hubs being set up in the country with financial support from the Department of Science and Technology. Named as ‘ihub’, it will serve as a one-stop solution for 356 fundamental technologies. Out of Rs 135 crores sanctioned for the period of the next five years, Rs 7.25 crores has already been released.
The hub will focus on projects in “Device Technology and materials” spread across seven application domains-Health Research, Defence Research and Development, Electronics and Information Technology, Housing and Urban Affairs, New and Renewable Energy, Telecommunications and Atomic Energy.
Prof. Sudeb Dasgupta, Head of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, IIT Roorkee said “Cyber-Physical System comprises an advanced suite of technologies that will address the challenges of Industry 4.0 and foster an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem. This initiative will offer us an opportunity to shape futuristic India”.
The hub is mandated to deliver products, publications, Intellectual Properties, Technology Transfers along with aiding the growth of start-ups. This will also generate numerous direct and indirect jobs. It will also explore potential collaborations and industry partnerships at both national as well as international level with institutions such as Washington University, Tokyo Institute of Japan, Colorado State University, School of Engineering, Malaysia, Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Chandigarh, and many more, to achieve its objective.
“The hub is envisaged to be a one-stop platform for Cyber-Physical Systems and allied technologies. The move will facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration, upskilling of the workforce and the generation of employment opportunities” said Prof. Manish Shrikhande, Dean, SRIC, IIT Roorkee
Under the Hub, IIT Roorkee proposes to develop several products related to CPS in collaboration with various national and international academic and industrial partners. Some of the proposals include the development of an AI-powered multipurpose intelligent security & surveillance system in collaboration with IIT Kanpur and McGill University Canada, a secure edge AI Processor in collaboration with Proficient Design LLC, USA, a Cyber-Physical Platform for Prototyping Microfluidic Lab-On-Chips in collaboration with IIT Guwahati; Ritsumeikan University, Japan; National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan and Johannes Kepler University, Austria.
A proposal for the development of an advanced multistage diagnostic tool to detect antimicrobial resistance in clinical and environmental samples in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, University College, London, and the University of Bath, UK is also put forth. A hack-free hydro plant control system is also proposed to be developed in association with CDAC Trivandrum, THDC India Ltd., BHEL, and the University of Victoria, Canada.
The development of the cooperative guidance and navigation system for multi-agent-based surveillance & transportation in mountainous terrain for border security applications and a body movement-based energy Harvester for healthcare application is also on the agenda.
“The iHub will accelerate the adoption of Cyber-Physical Systems and related technologies. It is in line with our commitment towards a technology-driven research ecosystem. The project will augment the efforts of the government to upskill workforce in line with Industry 4.0” said Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee
Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) is a new group of engineered systems that integrate computation and physical processes in a dynamic environment. CPS encompasses technology areas of Cybernetics, Mechatronics, Design and Embedded systems, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and many more.
The Department of Science and Technology has established NM-ICPS to accelerate the deployment of CPS technologies in India. The objective of NM-ICPS is to build a strong foundation and a seamless ecosystem for the said purpose. The Mission is mandated with the implementation of CPS and associated technologies, preparing the skilled workforce in CPS, encouraging translational research, and accelerating entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystem development in CPS among others. A network of 18 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs), 6 Sectoral Application Hubs (SAHs), and 4 Technology Translation Research Parks (TTRPs) have been envisioned under the Mission.
