With the objective of enhancing self-reliance in defence manufacturing, the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme is encouraging the participation of public and private industries, especially start-ups and MSMEs.
Till date, a total of 77 projects, with a commitment of over Rs 300 crore, have been sanctioned to various industries, and 27 defence technologies have been successfully realised under the scheme, defence ministry said here on Wednesday.
The TDF scheme is a flagship programme of Ministry of Defence executed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the 'Make in India’ initiative.
Citing some examples, officials said Combat Robotics, the Pune-based start-up, has successfully developed an Innovative Simulator for Unmanned Vehicles. It is a multi-domain simulator that supports Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs), and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), serving as an excellent development tool for agencies working on developing autonomous systems.
The simulator provides Comprehensive Environmental Modelling, Scenario and Vehicle Modelling and Intuitive Control Systems with Developer Documentation. It is designed to cater to the demands of testing, and validate the autonomous behaviours of unmanned vehicles across multiple domains. It has been developed under the aegis of Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), a Bengaluru-based laboratory of DRDO.
Similarly, virtual sensors for Aero Gas Turbine Engine Health Monitoring project involves development of a comprehensive diagnostic system of various parts of Aero Gas Turbine Engine (AGTE), leading to increased operational reliability and longevity of the engine.
The system is built on stronger foundations of modern Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies. It efficiently handles large-scale data, and conducts operational assessments rapidly with a high degree of accuracy.