Startup demonstrates delivery of goods by large cargo in Tiruchi school
The drone is said to be the largest of its kind in terms of payload capacity, and is launched by Amber Wings, an entity of The ePlane Company, the start-up incubated by the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras. The demonstration was part of the school's 'Role of Engineering in India's Growth and Development' programme.
'The day is not far when Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights will be technologically enabled to be operated routinely without any fear of security breaches. Once this happens, drone deliveries in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities will become commonplace, because these areas would constitute 'green zones' where they are permitted to fly,' Satyanarayanan R. Chakravarthy, founder of The ePlane Company and professor of Aerospace Engineering, IIT-M, told The Hindu. The academician is co-founder of Agnikul Cosmos.
Mr. Chakravarthy said that drone applications in the civilian space for deliveries of essential commodities as well as e-commerce cargo are a growing field, especially in India. The company had debuted the 'Atva' Vertical Take off and Landing (VTOL) drone in 2023, with a 2 kg payload capacity, and 10,000 km of flights.
'This is the first time that we are bringing our larger model out of its laboratory conditions. It is still a prototype that has been in development for the past six months. We are all excited to see it perform well in an open setting,' said Mr. Chakravarthy.
At yesterday's demonstration, all eyes were on the drone as it soared high with a speed of 100 km and passed a real bird in the sky without incident. The drone is powered by an onboard battery.
Santhanam Vidyalaya chief executive officer K. Chandrasekharan spoke.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
Google launches new AI innovations to strengthen agri sector
Bengaluru: To strengthen India's agriculture sector and make AI models more sensitive to the country's linguistic and cultural diversity, Google launched a new agricultural monitoring and event detection (AMED) application programming interface (API). The company also announced a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur to build localised datasets on India's rich cultural tapestry. It will help in equipping global Large Language Models with better linguistic and cultural context at the local level. The new mechanism will provide information on crops and field activity across India that will eventually empower the ecosystem to build targeted solutions that support agricultural productivity and resilience, the global tech giant said in a statement. The API details the type of crop on individual fields across India, as well as each field's size and corresponding sowing and harvesting dates. It will also provide historical information of last three years about the agricultural activity in each field. 'With AI research -- and especially with AMED building on the foundation of ALU -- we're working on accelerating crucial shifts, transforming broad insights to granular, real-time data, so that increasingly impactful solutions not only translate into benefit for India's farmers, but also bolster the nation against rising climate risks,' said Alok Talekar, lead, agriculture and sustainability research lead, Google DeepMind. 'At Google, along with charting new frontiers in foundational AI, which forms the backbone of many of our launches in the Gemini era, we have continued advancing fundamental research that addresses some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity,' said Dr Manish Gupta, Senior Director for India and APAC at Google DeepMind. By adding more localised data — such as various languages, dialects, and cultural quirks that aren't currently included in AI training — Google's Amplify Initiative seeks to fill in knowledge gaps in Large Language models. 'We're thrilled to collaborate with Google on the Amplify Initiative and open a new chapter in global AI development,' stated Dr Mainack Mandal, Assistant Professor, IIT Kharagpur.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
IITian still remembers each of 75 rejections but went on to build a Rs 9,500 crore business. Who is Pavan Guntupalli, founder of Rapido?
While it's common to hear tales of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) alumni achieving stellar positions in global corporations, one particular journey stands out for breaking the mold—a tale of entrepreneurship, resilience, and remarkable brand-building worth Rs 6,700 crore in under ten years. This narrative has become a beacon of motivation for many aspiring Indian entrepreneurs. Pavan Guntupalli: The Visionary Behind Rapido Among the many successful IITians, Pavan Guntupalli's story shines as a standout example. Originating from Telangana, Guntupalli cracked the demanding IIT-JEE entrance exam and completed his degree at IIT Kharagpur. He began his professional journey at tech giant Samsung before venturing into the startup world. His initial business effort was a logistics venture named 'theKarrier,' which he co-founded with a friend. Despite their dedication, the company didn't take off and eventually shut down. Yet, Guntupalli remained undeterred. Using his learning from that setback, he launched Rapido —a bike-taxi and auto-rickshaw service aimed at offering quick and inexpensive commuting options to everyday riders. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 10년 발톱무좀, 정확히 6개월 걸렸습니다! (사실주의) 홈시네라이프 더 알아보기 Undo Overcoming Investor Rejections Bringing his vision to life wasn't easy. Convincing investors of Rapido's potential was a daunting challenge. Over 75 potential funders rejected the proposal, largely due to fears that the startup couldn't compete with dominant players. But Pavan's determination never wavered. In an interview with NDTV Profit, he said that he still remembers the 75 rejections but acknowledges that some of them were valid. "We learnt from it," he said. The Strategy That Made Rapido Unique What gave Rapido an edge was its unconventional growth strategy. While most ride-hailing services zeroed in on India's metro cities, Rapido turned its focus to tier-1 and tier-2 towns, where mobility issues were widespread and solutions limited. Initially, the company offered highly competitive rates—a base fare of Rs 15 and Rs 3 per kilometer—prioritizing affordability even at the cost of profitability. This grassroots-level thinking paid off. Rapido gradually expanded across India and today operates in over 100 cities. Its mobile app has recorded over 5 crore downloads, and it boasts a dedicated network of 50,000 riders, referred to as 'captains,' serving a growing user base of around 7 lakh active customers. A Billion-Rupee Brand As of 2025, Rapido has grown into a solid brand valued at Rs 9,350 crore, as per a report. According to a report by Inc42 , the company's annual revenue has crossed Rs 1,000 crore, solidifying its position in India's fast-growing mobility sector—all born from one man's refusal to quit after failure.
Indian Express
20 hours ago
- Indian Express
IIT Guwahati 2025 Convocation: 2093 graduating students; SreeHari C from BTech bags President's Medal
The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IITG), on July 13, hosted its 27th convocation with 2093 graduating students. The event marked the graduation of 22 students from the inaugural BTech. batch of the Mehta School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. The graduating cohort comprises a diverse and accomplished group of students across various academic disciplines. A total of 1,005 students have completed their undergraduate programmes in BTech and BDes. While 556 students have earned their postgraduate degrees in MTech and MDes. The institute also celebrates the academic journey of 270 research scholars, including those pursuing PhD and integrated Master's + PhD programmes. In addition, there are 172 MSc graduates, 51 students from the MA stream, 18 from MS (Research), and 21 MBA graduates, as mentioned in the press release. Sreehari C., BTech in Computer Science and Engineering, achieved the top score in the entire Undergraduate batch and was awarded the President of India Gold Medal. Abhishek Gautam, in Engineering Physics, received the Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal. Additionally, Anubhav, M. Tech. in Mechanical Engineering, was awarded the Governor of Assam PG Gold Medal, while Souraja Kundu, in Electronics and Communication Engineering. was awarded the Governor of Assam UG Gold Medal. The Institute also awarded 16 students with Institute Silver medals for their remarkable academic performance. During his address, Prof. Devendra Jalihal, Director, IIT Guwahati, said, 'On the national and global front, IIT Guwahati has retained the 7th position among the best engineering institutions of the country, 9th position in 'Overall' and 10th position in 'Research' categories in the 'India Rankings 2024' declared by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). In QS Rankings 2026, the Institute has secured 42nd rank globally in the Research Citations per Faculty category and 334th position in the World University Rankings 2026.' Over its 31-year history, IIT Guwahati has seen over 24,700 graduates. During the reporting year, the Institute has received 338 Consultancy and 22 Sponsored Research projects. IIT Guwahati has incubated over 60 startups across diverse sectors such as healthcare, agritech, defence, clean technology, and fintech, among others. The Institute has also launched pioneering initiatives including North East Innovators' Catalyst Program, SPARSH, the Startup Seminar Series, and the AquaTech Innovators Hackathon, to strengthen the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Northeast,stated the release.
