About CAIR

For several decades, the development of intelligent machines that help humans in various tasks are growing at a very fast pace. A myriad of applications ranging from healthcare to autonomous vehicles are powered by recent developments in artificial intelligence, robotics and drone technology.

To address the technological advancements and their potential, IIT Mandi conducted a Workshop on Healthcare Robotics and Drone Applications (WHRDA) between 27th and 29th May, 2022. As a part of the deliberations in the Workshop, several topics emerged under three main themes: a) Robotics, b) Artificial Intelligence, and c) Drone Technology. Consequent to the WHRDA Workshop, it is proposed to establish a Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (referred to as CAIR) at IIT Mandi.

The CAIR will focus on research on topics concerning Robotics, AI, and Drone technology.

  • developing systems that complement and augment human capabilities,
  • understanding and addressing the ethical, legal, and societal implications of this research,
  • creating robust and trustworthy robotics and AI systems,
  • supporting the development of related technical standards and tools,
  • better understand the national R&D workforce needs, and
  • enable long-term investments in these research areas.

Uniqueness

Some of the unique aspects where the proposed centre would focus on are:

Significantly enable the development of robotics, AI, and drone technology-based solutions for societal benefits, and collaborate with partners (e.g. Industry, defense, hospitals, education, environment, etc.) to translate the research coming out of the centre.

Introduce new undergraduate and postgraduate specializations in robotics, AI, and drone technology, and create dedicated facilities and labs for such program

Develop AI and robotics-based frameworks for contributing to some fundamental research areas such as neuroscience, cognitive science, biological sciences, and environmental science which are considered important in the coming decades

Making robotics, AI, and drone technology platforms scalable, efficient and easily upgradable, and compatible across system architectures and OS and library upgrades

Robotics, AI, and drone technology deployment for low-resource environment (e.g. mobile phones and other edge devices), and enabling mixed cloud-edge applications

Deliverables

The CAIR plans to have several deliverables/outcomes that are going to be beneficial to society. Some of the outcomes are detailed below:

High-quality research

High-quality research that evaluates the efficacy of CAIR among academia, industry, and research fraternities.

Skill development activities

Skill development activities produce next-generation CAIR researchers, which include undergraduate students, postgraduate students, doctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty.

State-of-the-art facility

State-of-the-art facility for research in areas of Robotics, AI, and Drone Technology in India, which can be leased by other researchers and labs in India and abroad for research.

State-of-the-art Centre

State-of-the-art Centre, which provides a bouquet of technological developments and know-how for improving healthcare and other facets of society. This Centre could be utilized by both national and international visitors, who would like to experience, learn, and work on several research areas of CAIR in the pristine Himalayan environment.