The 4th National Workshop on Technology Innovation in Cyber-Physical Systems (TIPS) brought together a galaxy of researchers, innovators, faculty, students working on cyber-physical systems from across the country as well as investors keen to fund innovations in the area.
The cyber-physical systems represent an area that is becoming more and more important in the increasingly pervasive digital world and will drive all sectors of our economy in the near future,” Secretary Department of Science and Technology (DST) Professor Abhay Karandikar pointed out at the inaugural session of the workshop which took place at IIT Bombay on 13 May 2024.
“The 25 Technology Innovation Hubs developed under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems Mission (NM-ICPS) supported by the Department of Science and Technology are generating disruptive technologies through unique initiatives,” he added.
The hubs presented their success stories and progress over the last few years. Stellar technologies from some of the hubs were showcased in a compendium released on the occasion.
These included smart IoT solutions for monitoring crop and soil health & smart patch for early warning and management of diabetes, from TIH of IIT Bombay; IT-OT Security Operation Center for 24X7 monitoring of cyber threats & Blockchain Technology-based System for secure, transparent, & tamper-proof storage and management of Development Rights Certificates (DRCs) in cities, from C3i Hub of IIT Kanpur; 5G Lab and Standardization Effect Lab & Optimized Mobile Surgical Unit for Cataract Surgeries in Remote Areas from Pravartak Technologies Foundation of IIT Madras; Autonomous Vehicles – Map-based Navigation from TiHAN Foundation of IIT Hyderabad; Biodiversity Sensor & AI - powered livestock management CPS to monitor behaviour of livestock, Of Awadh Foundation of IIT Ropar.
The hubs learnt from each other’s success stories and failures through the two-day workshop. The workshop also included an investors pitch for showcasing products and technologies to venture capitalists and angel investors for funding and a tech expo in which cutting edge disruptive technologies developed by the hubs were displayed.
“This unique model to bring the industry, faculty, students & investors in this area together can help catalyse an ecosystem of deep-tech startups. It can set the template for such hub and spoke models for successfully driving innovations in new & emerging areas and make India a world leader in the area,” Professor Karandikar stressed.
Chairman, MGB, NM-ICPS, Dr Kris Gopalakrishnan underlined the need for a cultural change to create products and technologies in the institutions so that the R&D of the industries can be shifted to these institutions.
“The TIH model is a new one and has just stabilised. Hence the leadership of the institutions in which the TIHs are housed should support and nurture them so that they can thrive in a challenging environment,” said Chairman SAC, NM-ICPS, Prof Ramgopal Rao.
Director IIT Bombay, Prof Shireesh Kedare, insisted on the need for faculty of the institutes to work with people from the industry and venture capitalists to take the model forward successfully.
Officials of DST, and of TIH, IIT Bombay, faculty and students of IIT Bombay as well as venture capitalists were present at the inaugural.
The TIHs set up under the NM-ICPS, being implemented by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, are housed within premier academic institutes. Offering a flexible environment for R&D, these TIHs are dedicated to advancing technology development and translation, fostering human resource and skill development, promoting entrepreneurship and start-ups, and facilitating international collaborative research endeavours in cyber physical systems (CPS).
The National Workshop on Technology Innovation in Cyber Physical Systems (TIPS) conducted by the NM-ICPS, DST is a bi-annual workshop wherein each of the 25 TIHs demonstrate the progress and achievements made. It is a platform for all the stakeholders including Government, Startups, Investors, Academia, and Industry to interact, exchange ideas and witness the cutting-edge technology development in CPS domain.
