An omni mobile system, an autonomous vehicle which can be used under water, float on water, driven on land and in air, is one of the research projects that the Centre of Excellence for Defence being set up at IIT Jodhpur (IIT-J) will take up, said the institute’s Deputy Director Sampat Raj Vadera.

While the amphibian vehicle that can float on water and driven on land, the omni mobile system will be operated in four modes, he told businessline.

There are many challenges in developing such an omni mobile system. For example, how do you control the vehicle underwater; on the surface and mid air. In land too there could be different terrains, including desert and hilly. Having robust communication in the vehicle is another challenge, he said. All these will be worked out in the CoE, he added.

“We have been collaborating with the Defence for a long time with the DRDO-Industry- Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE) at IIT-J is the latest initiative to help the Defence in various research works. While the MoU for this was signed in October 2022, the sanction for the same came a couple of months ago,” he said.

Desert Warfare Technologies; Futuristic Omni Mobile System and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Information and War gaming are the three verticals under the CoE to develop futuristic technologies and products to meet Defence requirements.

The Defence is looking at various problems. There are problems related to the environment; desert and water. All these things are being looking into, he said.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Information and War gaming is very strategic that includes planning the war; simulating the war and simulating all the resources that will be used in the war. It’s more than a simulation because in simulation there will be models but it will be a visualisation and all those types of things. However, in this case, it the use AI to optimally use the resources; arsenal, vehicles, tanks, helicopters and combat systems.

“You have to draw a scheme using AI and deploy all the resources on hand. And as of now, it has not been tried much. This is going to be a very interesting problem to look into,” he said.

In desert warfare, mobility and visibility are major challenges during dust storms or when another vehicle moves or a helicopter lands. The temperature in the desert can fluctuate to extreme levels. This means, equipment is subjected to either very heat conditions or extreme cold conditions. In such a situation, how the equipment and electronics should behave. At high temperature, there are also challenges of storage; maintenance of tank compartment temperature and working of soldiers, he said.

Dessert is totally open. How to hide your object and how to camouflage. These are major challenges. Water and sand dunes that keep shifting are another major challenge. Communication is also a challenge, he said. “All these challenges will be world on at the CoE. And anybody working in these areas anywhere in the country for DRDO will move through this centre,” he said.

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