New Delhi: The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in modern times will now prove to be effective in the country’s defence sector as well. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi is set to create special AI-powered parachutes and other equipment for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The IAF’s Nagpur-based maintenance headquarters has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Delhi to cooperate on advancing new technology for aviation clothing.
The agreement was signed by the Dean (R&D) at IIT Delhi Prof Naresh Bhatnagar and Group Captain Prashant Pathak (Commanding Officer 16 BRD) of the Air Force in the presence of Prof. R. Alagirusamy.
Prof. Rajendra Singh, Associate Dean, of Research and Development, at IIT Delhi, said the partnership would go a long way in meeting the growing demand for indigenisation in the Indian defence sector. He highlighted the potential of leveraging IIT Delhi's advanced research and the practical expertise of the Air Force to develop solutions for a wide range of aviation-grade textile products.
Step Toward Self-Reliance
Project Coordinator of the Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, IIT Delhi, Prof. Bipin Kumar, said that the MoU is expected to contribute to India's self-reliance in defence technology.
Prof. Kumar, Group Captain Asit Kumar (Head of Planning and Production, 16 BRD, Air Force), and Wing Commander Arun Manohar (Head of Quality Assurance, 16 BRD, Air Force) were also present during the MoU.
The areas included in the cooperation with IIT Delhi and Air Force include selection of raw materials (textiles/fabric) for various parachutes and safety equipment; development of techniques/equipment for testing technical textiles for parachutes and safety equipment; applying AI-robotics or imaging technology for quality acceptance testing of textiles, clothing raw materials, and finished products; innovating machine learning based imaging technology for pilot parachutes, and other things.
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