DRONES TO AI AVATARS, SHIELD ’25 OPENS DOORS TO INNOVATIONS

SHIELD 2025 featured a number of booths by technology companies, showcasing innovations ranging from a humanoid robot with offline capabilities to algorithms for tracking crypto transactions and real-time drone surveillance. Ashresh Marupaka reportsSURVEILLANCE DRONESAccel UAV showcased cutting-edge drone surveillance technology being developed to improve geographical mapping in India. "We are using drones for geographical mapping with custom object detection models for precise geolocation," explained Animi Gourav, founder and director of Accel UAV. The company aims to collaborate with Survey of India, contributing to Smart City planning initiatives. Gourav acknowledged that while this technology is already established in the US, India is working to catch up. "We're running 10 years behind, but we're making significant progress," he noted. The drones are equipped with high-resolution cameras capable of providing live images that can be juxtaposed with older footage for comparative analysis. Beyond civilian applications, the company is exploring defence applications, including kamikaze drones. It is also trying to provide drones as a service.AI HUMANOIDSciRoIT Technologies presented an innovative AI humanoid, showcasing advanced learning and interaction capabilities. Humanoid's most impressive feature was its ability to process and learn from any PDF document, creating a local database of knowledge that can be accessed offline.SciRoIT Technologies is also working on applications for defence purposes, recognising the potential for military training and support operations, said company founder Alok Vijayant.BEHAVIOURAL CYBERSECURITYDeep Algorithms presented their innovative approach to cybersecurity, focusing on behavioural analysis to prevent financial fraud. Anuj Tiwari, business analyst at Deep Algorithms, said the system monitors various metrics across Android and iPhone devices, analysing human-computer interaction patterns to detect potential fraudulent activities.By studying how users interact with their devices, the system can flag anomalous behaviour to banks, providing an additional layer of security beyond traditional methods.AI AVATARS & VR ENVIRONMENTSImaginate Technologies showcased their AI and VR solution, focusing on interactive models using avatars. Hemanth Satyanarayana, founder and CEO said, "We are using an LLM and speech-to-text using avatars for interactive conversations." The system, developed in the Unity environment, offers innovative applications for law enforcement training and crime scene investigation.The technology allows investigating officers to communicate with colleagues through the same headset, enhancing collaboration in investigations. It was suggested that judges could use the system to better understand crime scenes, providing a more comprehensive view of cases.