AI is the future and the Indian Army is more than prepared to keep up with it. A Chennai-based start-up by three engineering graduates has tied up with BEML (the biggest Defence, Mining & Construction and Rail Coach manufacturer in India) for joint development of Artificial intelligence (AI) based indigenous unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).

Vibhakar Senthil, Vignesh M, Abbhi Vignesh K are the founders of the start-up and all of them are mechatronics engineers. All three have a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree. The trio was initially struggling but their persistent hard work finally showed results when they tied up with BEML to develop AI-based unmanned ground vehicles.

"The product we are going to develop is 750Kg UGV, which can be used for extreme weather and terrain conditions. It is autonomous and can be used for logistics and surveillance," said Vibhakar.

They also mentioned that the Army Design Bureau helped them in the initial stages. 

"We did a proper research on what our Jawans want before embarking on developing the product," added Vibhakar. 

Normally, a Jawan carries more than 60 kg of equipment at high altitude and needless to say, it is extremely difficult. The unmanned ground vehicle will now carry the heavy load which is usually carried by 10 Jawans. 

They will also able to provide them with power through the UGV battery. 

"This will help provide our Jawans a technological advantage," said Vibhakar.

"The product is expected to be launched by the end of this year. And the production can begin by 2023. The electric motor which we developed for UGV is the most efficient one and we are trying to tap the electric vehicle market also," said the SRM graduate. 

Sounds promising!