Tech treat in store for enthusiasts at DRDO show

2-day exhibition kicks off today; event aims to facilitate better interaction among pvt sector, defence organisations, ace tech institutes

Unmanned aerial vehicles, an assortment of robots -- that could crawl like a spider or swim like a fish -- and many more technological treats will be on display at the two-day Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) exhibition, starting today.

The exhibition aims to promote homegrown technologies, facilitate better interaction between private sector, defence organisations and academic institutions. It also envisages to giving a platform to new talents
from renowned engineering colleges to showcase their innovations.

Symposium of Robotics and Unmanned Vehicles has been organised by Research and Development Laboratory (RnDE), one of the several laboratories of DRDO, will showcase exhibits made by students of leading engineering colleges such as BITS, Pilani, and the IITs. With robots now playing a vital role in modern warfare, the DRDO will display UAVs like NETRA, bomb detection and disposal vehicles such as Daksh and Takshak.

Senior scientist U Gautam of the RnDL, said, "Exchange of ideas between the private players, government institutes and young emerging scientists is necessary for developing indigenous technological to make us self reliant not only in military but in civilian technological development also."NETRA is a small hand-launched helicopter like vehicle that can be used for quick surveillance before an attack or simple reconnaissance missions.

If Daksh is a highly-advanced ground vehicle that can be used for detection and disposal of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) frequently used by terrorists against security forces, Takshak is a low-cost version of Daksh that can also be used for disarming advanced door locks with a "disruptor" mounted on top.
BITS Pilani students will showcase snake, spider and fish robots.

Gautam said that the DRDO also identifies talent from the engineering colleges during campus recruitments, which is done through the Recruitment and Assessment Center at the DRDO headquarters at New Delhi. "This exhibition is however not for recruitment purposes but only a platform to exhibit their technical prowess," added Gautam.