Terra Drone and Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Enter to Establish Center of Excellence for Drones in India

A first-of-its-kind Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Unmanned Aerial Systems (drones) is being established at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Hyderabad in India. It is the result of a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Terra Drone Corporation, a Tokyo-based industrial drone solutions provider along with its subsidiary Terra Drone India and IIT Hyderabad.

According to Terra Drone’s press release the MoU states that the Japanese company and its Indian subsidiary would offer a complete sales-service-support module for the drone ecosystem in India and is actively working to implement unmanned traffic management (UTM) for drones for various government departments.

“We are creating a unique educational ecosystem that combines interactive learning with cutting-edge research, strong industry collaboration, and entrepreneurship. This pact with Terra Drone Corporation and Terra Drone India is a step in that direction” said the Director of IIT Hyderabad, U.B. Desai, adding, “We are especially excited about developing drone-based solutions for domains like 5G communication, agriculture, transportation and AI.”

From left to right, Teppei Seki, COO, Terra Drone Corporation; Yuki Ueno, Director, Terra Drone India; Dr. U.B. Desai, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad; and Kotaro Kataoka, Visiting Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad

The press release stated that the tripartite agreement was signed earlier this month when Desai visited Tokyo. Toru Tokushige, CEO, Terra Drone Corporation, said, “Drones can solve complex business challenges in a safe, timely, and cost-effective manner. As the world’s fastest-growing major economy, the potential for commercial drone market in India is huge. By co-establishing a Centre of Excellence for Drones in India, we will be empowering young professionals and strengthening the future of the industry.”

Prateek Srivastava, CEO, Terra Drone India  commented, “The UAV ecosystem in India is rapidly evolving and drones are set to become an integral part of future working environments in several industries.”

The Hindu BusinessLine reported that Terra Drone will support IIT Hyderabad in organizing workshops, seminars, lectures and joint projects that leverage cutting-edge unmanned technologies and drone LiDAR systems. Terra Drone India will also offer internship programmes to talented students and prepare them for the real-world technology applications.

IITs have been the hubs of imparting tech expertise in India with a huge number of their graduates being hand-picked for top tech positions in the Silicon Valley and around the world.

Terra Drone Corporation already operates in six continents and more than 20 countries. The company is one of the world’s largest drone developers for industrial solutions. Terra Drone not only develops drones for industry, but has also been developing innovative solutions in the aviation industry sector. It is also known for promoting AI technologies in drones. The company offers advisory services to the ‘flying car’ project in Japan.

Joint projects like these in the UAV sector will help speed up the development of drone industry in India.