NIT- Rourkela alumni innovate robotics solution for underwater inspections

NIT- Rourkela alumni innovate robotics solution for underwater inspections

(Inset) Founders Debendra Pradhan and Biswajit Swain Autonomous underwater vehicles developed by them

ROURKELA: For a country like India, the inspection and operation of underwater infrastructure including dams, bridges, and port structures continue to be challenging in the absence of effective technological solutions. Two young alumni of the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela (NIT-R), and three of their batchmates are trying to bridge this technology gap by innovating affordable solutions in the underwater robotics domain.

Debendra Pradhan and Biswajit Swain, both aged 27, founded Coratia Technology Pvt Ltd (CTPL) six months back to change the dynamics of underwater civil infrastructure inspection with faster and safer outcomes. Under the startup, they have developed an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) by employing advanced technologies like sonar scanning, bathymetry, 3D mapping, and other AI-based technologies.

The founders said India currently has just about four startups in the field of underwater robotics with CTPL being one among them. “Underwater robotics domain is most challenging with low market demand as of now due to high finance, cost, and risk,” said Debendra, a mechanical engineer who quit his plum job with the R&D wing of Mercedes Benz in Germany and returned to India to start CTPL with his NIT-R classmate Biswajit.

Biswajit, an engineer in mechatronics and automation, also left his well-paying job in the R&D wing of Development Alternatives in South Africa. Interested in the underwater robotics domain, they launched CTPL in 2021 and roped in their 2017 batchmates, Swostik Rout, Yogesh PraRajapati, and Omprkash Patra as core members. Swostik, Yogesh, and Omprakash are BTech graduates in electrical, chemical, and computer science respectively.

“Since underwater robotics is a least explored domain with vast potential, we saw great future in it. Our startup focuses on the newest technologies of the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics to produce superior outcomes in dynamic stability, maneuverability and analytics compared to other available robots,” said Biswajit.

About CTPL 

The CTPL incubated at the Foundation for Technology & Business Incubation (FTBI) of NIT-R is engaged in developing and providing customized solutions and consultancy services in the field of underwater robotics. It envisages enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructures like dams, bridges, docks, ports, and industrial liquid and gas containers through sustainable technologies.

They said during case studies they found mandatory inspection of critical areas of underwater structures is either skipped or ends up with unsatisfactory results due to the non-availability of technology, resources, and solutions. CTPL is improving on autonomous NDT (Non-Destructive Testing) technology which would be used by the AUV and RUV to change the dynamics of underwater civil infrastructure inspection with faster and safer outcomes, he said.

The team has already got its first commercial assignment. It will inspect one sluice gate of the Mandira dam of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL as it is suspected to have developed some structural deformity and causing the blockage.

The startup has also won multiple recognitions in the last six months. Not only has it been named among the Top-100 startups in the UK-India Tech Startup Launchpad, but also won the NXP Tech Startup Challenge 2022 of the Ministry of Commerce & Industries and a Dutch company NXP Semiconductors. CTPL won the Chunati 2.0 (NextGen Start-up Challenge) of the Ministry of IT & Electronics and bagged the NIDHI EIR grant from the Ministry of Science & Technology.

Help us grow our Positive Movement

We at The Robotics India want to create a Robotics ecosystem in India. By using the power of an effective Platform for enthusiasts, we want to change India. If you read us, like us, and want this positive movement to grow, then do consider supporting us via the following buttons.

NIT- Rourkela alumni innovate robotics solution for underwater inspections for more Similar Robotics-related news and updates follow The Robotics India. Also don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

You can also subscribe to our Newsletter for Indian robotics and Indian robotics startup-related news.