Chennai (Tamil Nadu): An alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has donated Rs. 1 crore to establish a ‘Robotics Research and Teaching Laboratory’ in the department of engineering design, the institute said in a press release on Wednesday.
The laboratory will provide a hands-on learning experience for students and will enable teaching and research in robotics field.
“Alumni have made a big difference to several of our research and teaching initiatives at IIT Madras. This interdisciplinary lab on robotics will help train several generations of students for our emerging high tech workforce,” said Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (International and Alumni Relations) at IIT Madras.
The alumnus awardee has requested anonymity, according to the press statement.
The facility is expected to fill a gap in robotics education in India and promote learning and increase research output in this field, the release said. Considering the growth in robotic technology and applications, this facility is expected to attract highly motivated students and enhance the overall standing of IIT Madras in the field of robotics teaching and research, the release said.
Highlighting the importance of this upcoming facility, T Asokan, head, department of engineering design, IIT Madras, said, “We thank the donor immensely for this support and we are confident that the research and teaching facility in robotics will make a large impact in the long run and the students and the faculty will be hugely benefitted.”
The major facilities being planned for this Robotics Research and Teaching Laboratory include
- Serial Manipulators for collaborative manipulation (cobots)
- Parallel Manipulators
- Robotic automation systems
- Robotic vision system
- Aerial robots
- Underwater robots
- Medical robots and haptic systems
- Robot calibration systems
- Controller design and analysis
- Robotic system design and programming
In order to provide a formal academic program completely devoted to robotics, IIT Madras started the Interdisciplinary Dual Degree program in Robotics in 2017, which is open to students from various departments across the Institute.
Also read: Bharat Bandh: Left, Mamata blame each other for instigating violence in WB
The objective of the program is to nurture and develop the next-generation professionals in the area of robotics who can contribute in the design, development, and implementation of robotic systems in the industry and help the industry to improve their productivity, leading to the overall economic growth of the country.
The Department of Engineering Design is the implementing department for this program and all the necessary infrastructure for the program are being established with the help from the Institute as well as private industries.
