New Delhi: In a groundbreaking development, IIT Delhi and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have joined forces for innovative AI-powered research on technical textiles. As highlighted by Group Captain Prashant Pathak, this partnership is poised to revolutionise the selection of raw materials (fabric) for various parachutes and safety equipment.
Headquarters Maintenance (HQ) Command, Indian Air Force Nagpur, and IIT Delhi have signed this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on advancing innovative technologies for aviation textiles.
According to Group Captain Prashant Pathak, Commanding Officer 16 BRD, some of the areas of interest for collaboration include developing modern technologies/equipment for technical textile testing and the latest standards available for incorporation into product designs related to parachute and safety equipment.
Group Captain Prashant Pathak, Commanding Officer 16 BRD, outlined the specific areas of interest for collaboration. These include the implementation of AI/Robotics or imaging technologies for quality acceptance checks of fabric raw materials and finished products. The focus will also be on innovating machine learning-based imaging technology for finished products such as pilot parachutes, brake parachutes or cargo parachute canopies, associated harnesses and crew restraint systems, etc, received from the field units for repair. Other areas of interest include design and development, reliability studies, simulation studies, and life extension studies of parachutes and associated accessories.
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The MoU, a significant step in this collaboration, was signed by Professor Naresh Bhatnagar, Dean (R&D), IIT Delhi, and Group Captain Prashant Pathak. Under this agreement, IIT Delhi and HQ Maintenance, IAF Nagpur, will collaborate to promote research and development in obsolescence management, self-reliance, upgradations, and digitisation through indigenisation in aviation-grade textiles.
Prof Rajendra Singh, Associate Dean, R&D, IIT Delhi, underscored the practical application of this partnership in addressing the Indian defence sector’s growing demand for indigenisation. He highlighted the potential to leverage IIT Delhi’s advanced research and IAF’s practical expertise to develop innovative solutions for a wide range of aviation-grade textile products, instilling confidence in the success of the collaboration.
Prof Bipin Kumar, Project Coordinator from the Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, IIT Delhi, expressed his optimism about the partnership’s potential to significantly contribute to India’s self-reliance in defence technology.
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–IANS
