IIT-K's Technopark set to test defence equipment, unmanned aerial systems

Lucknow: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur’s research and technology park foundation, known as Technopark@IITK, is all set to test various equipment and tools to be used in defence products.

Being developed with a budget of more than Rs 50 crore, the facility is going to be the biggest one in the country in conducting the trials of different kinds of unmanned aerial systems.

The virtual testing environment and automated system-level testing would be done in accordance with the standards that meet the requirements of the US military.

The latest development is expected to trigger positive sentiments among the companies interested in setting up manufacturing units within the UP defence industrial corridor, a project that is being executed with the backing of the defence ministry in UP and Tamil Nadu to bring down the dependency on foreign defence and aerospace equipment and technology.

Work on setting up the facility within the premier research institute commenced four years back soon after UPEIDA (Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority), the nodal agency executing the defence corridor project, tied up with IIT Kanpur.

At present, private companies and individuals have the option of opting for 18 different kinds of tests required to build drones and unmanned aerial systems, such as humidity test, thermal shock test, rain test, power supply variation test, navigation and communication test, destruction capability test, wide-range scanning field, among others.

Dr Abhishek from the department of aerospace engineering, who is also the director of the UAS Testing Foundation, the company set up to carry out the tests of private manufacturers, said, “Kanpur one is the only facility in the country that provides EMI/EMC (electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility) to test aerial systems, windwall testing environment, motion-capturing technology along with 1-kilometre-long runway. We are also going to secure certifications from National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories in the coming weeks to improve our capabilities further.”

Similarly, additional chief executive officer UPEIDA, Sri Hari Pratap Shahi, who is also director of the same company, said, “The Kanpur facility is going to encourage private manufacturers to set up shops in UP. We have already started developing the land parcels at the six locations that are situated close to the expressways. The facility has gone live recently, and we have alerted the stakeholders about the kind of tests that can be carried out.”
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