IIT Delhi, IAF Nagpur collaborate for AI-powered research for aviation textiles

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) have signed an agreement with Headquarters Maintenance (HQ), Indian Air Force Nagpur (IAF), to collaborate on advancing innovative technologies for aviation textiles today, October 3. The agreement was signed between Naresh Bhatnagar, dean of research and development at IIT Delhi, and Group Captain Prashant Pathak (Commanding Officer 16 BRD, AF), among other members, the IIT Delhi statement said.

Under the agreement, IIT Delhi and HQ maintenance, IAF Nagpur will cooperate and collaborate and promote research and development in obsolescence management, self-reliance, upgradations, and digitization through Indigenisation in the field of aviation-grade textiles, the IIT statement said.

The other members of the group included professor R Alagirusamy, (HoD), textile and fibre engineering department at IIT Delhi, professor Bipin Kumar, project coordinator, IIT Delhi, Group Captain Asit Kumar (Chief of Planning and Production 16 BRD, AF), and Wing Commander Arun Manohar (Chief of Quality Assurance 16 BRD, AF).

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IIT Delhi, IAF Nagpur collaboration

According to Group Captain Prashant Pathak, commanding officer 16 BRD, AF, some of the areas of interest for collaboration include:

• Raw material selection (textile and fabric) for various parachutes and safety equipment.

• Development of modern technologies, equipment for technical textile, fabric testing, and the latest standards available for incorporation into product designs for parachute and safety equipment.

• Implementing AI and robotics or imaging technologies for quality acceptance checks of textiles, fabric raw material, or finished products.

• Innovate machine learning-based imaging technology of finished products such as pilot parachutes, brake parachutes or cargo parachute canopies, associated harnesses, and crew restraint systems, etc. received from the field units for repair.

• Design and development, reliability studies, simulation studies, life extension studies of parachutes, and associated accessories.

Rajendra Singh, associate dean, at IIT Delhi, emphasized the importance of this partnership for the sector’s growing demand for indigenisation. He highlighted the potential to leverage IIT Delhi's advanced research and IAF's practical expertise to develop innovative solutions for a wide range of aviation-grade textile products, the IIT Delhi statement added.

Bipin Kumar, project coordinator from the department of textile and fibre engineering at IIT Delhi said the partnership between the both aims to contribute to India's self-reliance in defense technology, IIT Delhi note adds.