DST allows ₹115 cr for tech hub at IIT Jodhpur

THE SANCTION HAS BEEN GIVEN UNDER THE NATIONAL MISSION ON INTERDISCIPLINARY CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS

JODHPUR: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has sanctioned Rs 115 crore to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur to set up a technology and innovation hub (TIH) on computer vision and augmented and virtual reality (CV and AR-VR), stated a press release issued by the institute.

The money has been sanctioned under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary CyberPhysical Systems (NMICPS).

The TIH, ihub Drishti, is being incorporated as section-8 company at the IIT Jodhpur.

Section 8 company is a company that is licensed under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act), for promoting research and social welfare among other things.

The five verticals on which ihub Drishti will focus are: Dependable computer vision for autonomous systems, bio and medical imaging for healthcare and ecological sustainability, intelligent multimedia platform for digital learning, computer vision and AR-VR for Iindustry 4.0 and artificial intelligence driven augmented and virtual reality applications.

“The ihub Drishti will engage in application directed research and translation of research outcomes to products and processes in collaboration with academic and industrial partners from India and abroad,” said Prof Santanu Chaudhury, director, IIT Jodhpur, who chairs the hub governing board.

He said the centre will support and nurture start-up ecosystems, operate upskilling and reskilling programmes and intend to enable and drive appropriate technology interventions in the relevant areas by the state and central ministries. “It will host teams of faculty members, research scholars, developers and scientists who will work towards achieving the targets of the hub,” the director said.

ihub Drishti project director Prof Mayank Vatsa said the hub will create an ecosystem in and around the thematic areas and building collaborations with other TIHS to foster the overall growth and development of CPS technologies. “ihub Drishti will create state-of-the-art infrastructure that will cater to the national need. In five-year time, it will become the anchoring agency for innovations in the areas of Computer Vision, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality,” he added.